The Coffee Psalm

I love when I find new ways of expressing ourselves to God. In looking for a way to teach my kids Thanksgiving and worship I came across this psalm.

There could be the thought, that this psalm is making trite (overused and consequently of little import; lacking originality or freshness) the worship of God. In fact this psalm is doing the opposite. It is relating to God in a new way. Expressing to God our inner thoughts based on what we know, have, and enjoy.

So enjoy this little cup of praise.

8 MORE THINGS TO HELP THE A.D.D. BRAIN, kinda

All of these tips and tricks for staying or getting focused don't work all the time. They do work most of the time, and sometimes have to be done in different combinations. But they are always worth trying. These also work for those of you who have Attention Focused Order.

Beginning a new job kinda gives me a clean start. I get to set things up how I want them in my office. I can control what is there and off and out. (Don't tell that to Ms. Priss in the desk behind me. She'll prove me wrong.) So I am trying to collect and compile the little things that help.

Trying to figure out what works and what doesn't is not as easy as you think. Things that work, you really don't realize it, because they are not distracting you. Things that don't work, you don't remember because your chasing other little thought and ideas like a hound dog after a rabbit.

With some help of a few other buddies who think like I do, here are some more things that seem to work.

1. Hard Deadlines

I like hard deadlines. I like them way in advance. It doesn't mean I'm going to get it done way in advance, but I know what is expected of me and when it is due. I will start it when I first learn about it, but I might be up at 3am to have it finished on time. Those "whenever-you-get-it-done" projects don't get done. (ask my wife, I have a list a mile long of not completeds) Most husbands do have this problem with their wife's list, but this is with everything.

2. Instrumental Music

This helps me. I like epic movie music. Wandering tunes through the Shire. The sound of battlefields in Scotland. The rhythm of the plantation in the south. The feel of battles across the galaxies. I like the idea that my little mundane life has some sort of far reaching impact and will change the world as i know it. Ok, it won't. But, if attacking paper work with a sense of  defeating the foul nemesis to send it back to the metal filing drawer of the abyss helps, then so be it. You have to listen to what works for you. Sometimes it's helpful, sometimes not, but experiment and you'll figure it out. My opinion is if that music gave Samwise the strength to carry Frodo up Mount Doom, maybe it will do the same for me.

3. No Notifications

I turn off all the notification on my computer. No email flash in the lower right hand corner. No FB pings. No text message tones. It all gets turned off when I have to work or concentrate on something. Actually it's usually turned off anyhow. If you don't know how to do it write yourself a note so you don't forget what your task is and hit the F1 key while in the program to search for it. Turn notifications off.

4. Preparing to Work

Preparing to accomplish something is like a dog preparing to lay down. Sniff the area, walk around it sniffing. Come back. Sniff the area again. Dig a little. Lay down. Dig a little more, sniff, lay down, lather, rinse, repeat. Lay down. Getting me ready to work is as much work as doing the work. Clearing the area, removing distractions. Get a drink. Sit down. Scan the area. Remove other distractions. Get the tools and books. Get a drink. Wait I already did that. Oh well, I have two now. Which one do I drink first. Sit down. Get up and change into comfy cloths. Sit back down. Maybe work. Make sure you have what you need and ONLY what you need. Pop a few Altoids. Drink a Monster energy drink. Oh wait, already had two drinks. Get to work.

5. Specify End Results

When asking a person with ADD to do a task for you, teach a lesson, preach a sermon, plan a meal, build or make something, BE SPECIFIC. Whatever-you-want-to-do's only give us a sense of anxiety and eminent failure. You see we know how things go in our brain. We know we try and try and still come up short of expectations. We have thoughts and good ideas and loose them. LOTS of them. So be specific. Give us a very narrow window of the end result, then leave us alone. Don't micromanage, or tell us how to do. Our opinion is if you want it that specific, do it yourself and I'll go over hear and play with something.

6. Drink heavily

Our brains need water. It activates it and hydrates it. It helps those little neurotransmitters stay fueled and firing. Drink lots of water. It helps everyone with focus and attention so it has to help us as well.

I'm pretty careful about this one. Energy drinks are a poor substitute for vitamins and nutrients, but they can help at times. Energy drinks with B vitamins and Ginkgo Biloba can give a shot of NOS to your brain if you need it. The extra sugars and corn syrup can have negative effects. The high dose of caffeine, a stimulant, can make the brain too relaxed. So drink them carefully, if at all. A coffee has enough caffeine to relax my brain and get it focused, or help me get to sleep.

7. Turn the lights off

I turn the lights out a lot. This causes my eyes to focus on whatever I light up and shuts everything else out. I get up and work in the morning a lot while it is still dark, for this very reason, but I'm not a night owl. Light, like TV and hand held devices stimulate the brain in different ways, so turn those lights off as well. Remember the point is to remove distractions and calm the brain so you can focus on something specific. I have the lights out a lot and that really helps. 

8. Leave us alone

One of the worst things to do is stop a focused person. If we are in the grove and being productive and really absorbed in our work, leave us there. Unless of course the building is burning down around us or the zombie apocalypse is beginning. We may not get that kind of focus for a couple of days, so let us and you take advantage of it.When we are focused we can be very productive and creative and turn out some good stuff.

These are just things I've found to help with focus. Your list might be different or similar. Maybe let me know if you do somethings that I've not listed. If I come up with more, I'll share them. If not, then I probably forgot I made this list and will keep doing things the same old way.

Keep watching out for squirrels.

The Squirrels are after me, they think I'm nuts!!

Standing in the shower this morning, and most mornings is a confusing time for me. I know showers are an every day occurrence. Simple, right, turn the water on, throw the towel over the curtain rod. Toss the pjs in the hamper and climb in. Wash the hair, wash the face, wash the body, right. Nothing to it.
This morning however, I asked the question I ask myself a lot in there, "did I wash my hair". I know I picked the bottle up, but what was I thinking about? Oh yeah, I have to remember to take my allergy medicine and take Elijah's scout popcorn order form to work with me. I hope I can find something to do at work today. I think I was going to go somewhere, I'll have to look on my calender. The hot water running down my face feels really great. How's the best way to breath in while the water runs over my face so i don't drown. . . . Did I wash my hair?" I feel my hair and try to think back to what I'm doing and then go, "I need to try to remember to take those Vitamin B and Ginko supplements to help with memory and focus. I probably should do that before I kiss Katie bye, because she'll ask me a question or tell me something and I will forget to do that. . . . "Did I wash my hair." There's no deep thinking about the meaning of life or the direction I'm going. Last week I forgot to even rinse my body.

I either washed my hair three times, one time, or not at all. As I'm sitting here I still don't know. When i turned the shower off, "Where the Heck did I put my towel? Oh I hung my dry towel on the door to dry.? I know I washed my body because I put shampoo on the scrubber thing first and then added the body wash, the whole time my mind is racing through ideas, all connected by a word, idea, or something I saw in the bathroom.

I wish it was just in the bathroom I do this. Driving to work is exhausting. Having to see everything, not wreck, read bumper stickers, (because if someone is willing to stick little informational decals on a $40K vehicle it might be important, nope just an Obama ad) and make it to the place I originally set out to get to is sometimes iffy.

I know what your thinking. Mitch, you need to just pay attention and get yourself organized. I would agree, but I have calenders, and schedules, and notes, and helps, and alarms, and lists, and so much organizing I don't know which one to look at. I try to keep as little clutter and stuff on my desk as humanly possible, because who knows what I would end up doing with a block of post-it notes sitting in front of me begging for some action to their little stuck-up life. I probably should just have one ink pen ever, because choosing the best one to use is sometimes just as big a hassle as deciding if I washed my hair. It's like living life with constant squirrel attacks.

A number of years ago while working in the mental health field the psychiatrist, on several occasions, "encouraged" me to let him write a prescription for Adult ADD. I said, "Doc, your crazy i don't need meds. I just need to get organized." Before that in college, one of my professors, the one who worked in a psychiatric hospital for 20 years, mentioned based on what he has seen from me, I might would benefit from some medication for ADD. I'm not an active person. If my body moved as much as my brain, I would end up killing people from shear motion and turmoil. I was a B and C student through college and high school. I love to study and learn and read. I can become so enthralled with these activities that I can block almost anything in the world out. BUT I have to reread and rewrite and reread, because I can read something several times and then back and read something I thought I missed, and did. A movie, however, I can fall asleep to before the opening credits are over.

Prayer, well, that is almost impossible. Making myself close my eyes and think in a logical and sequential order and carry on a "one sided" conversation lasts about a minute and a half. I can't even focus on a two sided conversation for long, and it has effected my ability to connect with people.

I'm not even going into the anxiety, fear, and feelings of failure and self-mental abuse I put myself through.

Anyhow, I have been trying to control my mind with non medicinal means. I use brain-gym activities and body movements to stay focused in group settings and teaching times. I take detailed notes to try and keep up with the pastor or teacher. I drink lots of water. I keep Altoids Peppermint with me. I have started taking Ginkgo Biloba and Vitamin B supplements. I have cut back my coffee because too much makes me drowsy. I have cut back on Coke and soft drinks, because sometimes my pants are too tight.  

Out of frustration and constantly letting my wife and family down, I have finally made the decision that it is time to go see a doctor about this. I don't know how to go about it though. It seems too weird to make an appointment to talk about this at 36, when I probably should have done something about it a long time ago. Especially when there are so many people abusing prescription drugs in our area. It could possibly have made me a better employee, minister, father and husband. It may be something else in my life. I may just be a simpleton. I may just be lazy or empathetic, but I don't think so.

If you would pray for me in this, however you see fit or Jesus leads. This has been a long difficult decision, and the doctor may still say I don't need it and just need to man up.  

Letting Him shape me. Mitch

9 facts that prove Jesus loves Coffee!

Jesus loves Coffee!

I don't know how we have missed this for all these years, but this may change your life forever!

Coffee is a holy drink. 

• God made all seed baring plants and called them good. Coffee is a good seed plant. (Genesis 1:11)

• When God asked people to approach him he reminded them they were on “Holy ground” (Exodus 3:5)

• The promised land is referred to as a place flowing with cream and sweetener. (Exodus 3:8)

• God uses the illustration of being refined by fire to remove impurities, or maybe he prefers dark roasted. (Zechariah 13:9)

• God was always talking about things being a pleasing aroma to him, and we all know there is no greater and more pleasing aroma than fresh ground coffee. (Genesis 8:22)

• Jesus said that he is source of living water, coffee is best made with cold fresh water. (John 4:10)

• He also says that we must go through the water, so obviously God prefers a "french press" method of making coffee, as opposed to a "drip" method. (Acts 8:38)

• In the prophetic book of the Revelation we learn that Jesus likes his coffee hot or iced, because when it’s luke warm he wants to spit it out of his mouth. (Revelations 3:16)

• He called his chosen people the “HE-brews”. (Genesis 14:13, and the Book so named)

But I must put a warning. When Jesus goes to fill your cup, set it down on the table. He has been know to make our cup over-floweth (Psalm 23:5).

Just a bit of fun today. 
Enjoy your morning brew.
-Mitch, lump of clay

A “free gift” of coffee

One day I went down to my favorite coffee shop Coffee Xpresso. I usually went  down every other Wednesday, have a cup of coffee, and read, work on lesson or something of that nature. Most people wouldn’t think it possible, but when you have a hard time focusing, it is chaotic enough to get a lot done. As i was going in I stopped to make faces at a kid in the car of a very close friend. When i got inside there were several people in there I usually see and spoke to them. I ordered my coffee and sat down, opened my MacBook and started working. When Andrew, the Barista, finally brought my Pecan Pie Latte, I told him I would pay before I left because I needed some coffee beans. He said, “Somebody already paid for it, so don’t worry about it.” I asked who it was, because the shop had almost cleared out by that time, and he said I knew he wouldn’t tell me. I asked him to thank whoever it was and enjoyed a very delicious latte. It might even have tasted better than if I had paid for it.

Now I don’t accept things very easily. My first thought is out of pride. “Why would someone do that? I can pay for a latte.” “I’ll just go ahead and pay for it myself.” And then, “Am I going to be indebted to this person?” Those kind of things are normal for me when someone does something nice. However I am learning  to accept things, so these questions are not much of an issue issue anymore. This got me thinking, “It would be silly to try and pay for something that was already been paid for, especially from God.”

 Romans 5:15 But God's free gift is not like Adam's sin. Many people died because of the sin of that one man. But the grace from God was much greater; many people received God's gift of life by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ.

Romans 6:23 “The payment for sin is death. But God gives us the free gift of life forever in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 4:10 Jesus said, [to the samaritan woman at the well] "If you only knew the free gift of God and who it is that is asking you for water, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."

Revelation 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" Let the one who hears this say, "Come!" Let whoever is thirsty come; whoever wishes may have the water of life as a free gift.

Salvation is free to us. We can’t give enough offering, hug enough babies, pet enough puppies, do enough missions, or teach enough lessons to pay for our sins. We can’t read our Bibles enough, pray, fast, or worship enough to pay for our salvation. IT IS FREE. And we should live like we are not paying God back, but enjoying being in his Grace. 

Like my Latte, how much more could we enjoy life if we just lived it with God. How much better would we enjoy church, if we didn’t feel indebtedness, but worshipped out of freedom and desire. What would our lives look like if we accepted the fact that God’s grace is much greater than our sin.

I couldn’t pay for my latte anymore than I can pay for my salvation.