Tuesday, September 1, 2009

This Blog's Not About Me, But... Some Background


Forty-five years ago, I went off to study at Nebraska Wesleyan University. At that time, women in college either studied nursing or teaching. I never took much science in high school, so decided the teaching route was for me. In 1974, I earned a Masters of Arts in Educational Psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and planned to be a high school guidance counselor. Instead, I stayed at home for a few years with my children.

At that time, I took and then taught the Bethel Bible Study at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd. Those who took that class would tell you that I was a pretty good teacher—I know I thoroughly enjoyed teaching that class and discovered that, not only did I love it, but I had a special talent for teaching. I wound up at Hastings College from 1986-2002, where I taught Social Psychology and then was Associate Dean of Students for fifteen years. In that position, I advised new students and taught a freshman orientation class, (along with many other duties).

When I quit at Hastings College, I was able to pursue my love of writing and photography. My first book was Entrepreneurs of Hastings published in 2005. It has sold almost 2,000 copies, mostly to residents of Hastings, Nebraska.

For almost four years, I worked on a book that I thought I would call Simple Faith: A Memoir and 40-Week Devotional. When the first draft was almost finished I “test drove” the contents by teaching a Bible study at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Hastings, Nebraska, where I had the love and support of the congregation. This blog enabled the class to obtain the chapters one at a time and got me some world-wide exposure before I published my book in July, 2011. The title became Simple Faith: Mighty Faith: A 40-Lesson Devotional and Memoir; and the book is now available from local bookstores and the author at http://www.JerriHaussler.com. I have also published a Teacher's Guide/Student Workbook and it is available at no charge at my website.

Since I wrote Simple Faith for my grand-kids first, I guess it may be about me, after all, but I'm hoping even more to glorify God with these stories. I hope you'll buy the book and enjoy reading!

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