"Afraid For Our Lives" or "Is It Really All That Bad?"

I have been getting really down lately. Every time I turn on the TV, all I see is the bad news going on all around us. Gas prices are going up again, wars in the Middle East, bickering in Washington, and on and on and on it goes. Then I had to stop myself and think about it for a second. Hasn’t gas been going up for years? When was the last time there was peace in the Middle East? Has Washington EVER been peaceful? Yet we are all up in arms because the loudest in society is drawing our attention towards it!

I have had the pleasure of hearing many people talk about what God has done in their lives lately. The stories which I hear everyday are quite amazing! In a different part of the Kentucky, teenagers are changing a county because of their love for God and their enthusiasm in reaching their friends regardless of the obstacles the “grown-ups” at church put in their way! Friends and family of mine are selling their houses and possession because they are headed out to reach a lost world for Christ! This Easter, people from all walks of life are reflecting on what the Cross means to them and their lives! People from all over the country have left home and family on order to train at a Bible College so they could be useful for the Kingdom of God! And the stories just go on and on and on. These are just the stories I have heard this week alone!

So next time, the news gets you down and the troubles of this world seem overwhelming, just remember that under the noise, a real movement of God is happening! All you have to do is open your eyes and see it! (And turning off the TV might not be a bad idea either!)

"OOOHHH, Look Shiny!" or "I Don't Suffer From ADD, I Enjoy Every Minute of It!"

One of the things that have shaped my life is the fact I have ADD. I didn't know I had ADD until about 10 years ago, because when I was a kid there was no ADD. You were just a hyperactive kid or unfocused kid! But I have learned over the years how to live and actually thrive with my ADD. Then a couple of months ago I found a new therapy for ADD. I refuse to take the prescription drugs so this therapy relied on Vitamins and Supplements. I took them and within a week I notice remarkable changes. I was more focused, less distracted. I slept easier. The "voices" (most of them mine) quieted. It seemed the a great solution!

One problem though, I never realized how much I had grown to depend on my ADD. I kept telling Steph things were too quiet. I couldn't come up with answers quite as quickly! I would be so focused I could no longer do 3 things at once! In short, I hated it!! I went off the therapy immediately and now appreciate this "abnormality" in my life. I love my ADD and what it allows me to do. Sure I would to be able to sleep more and easier, but I won't give up what it allows me to do while I am awake! Even as I write this blog I am busy with 3 others things. I am preparing my sermon for Sunday, learning Russian, and checking on my garden.

There will always be things in our lives we will not like about ourselves, but they make us into who we are! They mold and shape us into the people God wants us to be. Embrace the flaws! Celebrate abnormality! Enjoy the dysfunction! You might just find out you would miss them if they left!