Tag Archives: writing

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A day of great distraction…….

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Sometimes it is just hard for me to write. It’s not that I don’t have a lot running through my mind, it is just the distractions. I can say that since my stroke, it takes very little to distract me. I always thought that if I were ever tested for ADD they would make me the ADD King, but since the stroke I am even more proficient at being distracted.

Case in point, I have sat down to type this blog numerous times tonight. It is too cold now for the porch, so I am in the kitchen at the table. Everything tears my attention away…..Amanda, Ben, the phone, the TV, and now even the dishwasher. And every good thought that comes seems to leave me as I concentrate upon something else. I envy those with the ability to not be distracted, and I am pretty certain I will never be asked to join them!

Sadly, one of the problems with my problem is in trying to concentrate, I often appear rude. I don’t mean to be, but pre-stroke I could at least recover. Now when a thought leaves me it is just gone forever. I have to try really had to stay focused, and as you can imagine with all the writing I do, that is a big task.

I don’t think the Lord wants me to give up doing what I do, but He has led me to make major adjustments. Being on the porch with the cat to write these blog entries was one of them, but now that she is hibernating for the winter, I am left to fend for myself. Cats are loyal mostly to themselves…..a lot like toddlers!

Anyway, me and my fuzzy mind will head off to bed. I have outlasted all my distractions but the dishwasher and want to finish before it expects me to unload it. And I hope and pray that your day was productive and distraction free.

Until tomorrow goodnight and God Bless.

Tom+

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Of deep fog and the need for a clear voice…….

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I am sorry to report that this weekend I went into a real fog, and though I was able to work, I did not feel as if I was really connecting with people. As I sat down to write tonight, I found another incedible block…..fortuantely Amanda offered to write another for me. It follows….thanks Amanda!!!

Tom+

From Amanda:

I am reading a great book called Intercessory Prayer by Dutch Sheets. I decided to read it because I don’t think I really understand the power of prayer, and I certainly don’t fully understand the concept of intercessory prayer. I am only on page 75, but it has been fantastic and very thought-provoking for me. There was a story the author shared about a friend who was powerful in prayer, but was unable to intercede on behalf of his gravely ill son with his prayers alone. So he called and asked for help from friends with intercessory prayer for his son. After his son was healed, he asked the Lord why he needed help in overcoming the illness, why his prayers alone were not enough. The answer he received from the Lord was “Sometimes the covenant of the Lord is released to you through others coming to your aid.” (I don’t do justice to the story here, so you should read it for yourself on pages 68-70.)

I am a very fast reader, but for some reason I stopped at this point and actually put the book down (very unusual for me!). I was astounded at the lesson I had learned. For so long, I have been fearful or embarrassed of intercessory prayer, even the prayer we offer at our church after communion. I have noticed that very few people take advantage of the spiritual warfare that is available for them at church. I can’t help but wonder why?
Is it because others are also afraid? Or do they just not understand their need and the power that it can provide?

I don’t know all of the reasons, and if you are someone who is also not participating in intercessory prayer, I encourage you to find out your reasons why. For me, I always feel my needs or request are so small compared to what others may need, that I never want to “hoard” all the prayer time for my little problems! But here is the news…..our needs, no matter the nature, are never too big or small to bring before the Lord. And many times, the prayers of others may be needed for the Lord to work in our lives. All I can say is that the first time I ever leaned on the intercessors at church, my son was not sleeping at all during the night for about a week. They prayed for Ben and I after communion, and Sunday night, he slept the entire night. I know it sounds cheesy, but it is a true story.

I have decided to move past my insecurities about intercessory prayer and confront them head-on…after all, there is no way to get comfortable with it until you try! I encourage you to create your own experiences of intercessory prayer. Pray with others, ask other to pray for you and for those your know are hurting and may not be able to ask for themselves. Take your troubles to the Cross, and lay them at His feet with the aid of other’s that have been given the spiritual gift of intercessory prayer from the Lord Himself. It’s certainly worth a try! God bless!

Amanda

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The one that (I gave) got away……..

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I wrote an email today turning down the opportunity to write that journal article I mentioned a few days ago. First and foremost I want to be clear, my intentions were pure, I just have come to grips with the reality that I do not have the ability right now. It has nothing to do with my desire or my competency…..I am just not together enough since my stroke to write on that level.

But interestingly enough, as I gathered this weekend with our staff, two of them shared that they had also received a similar request from the same source. It now appears that the solicitation for articles from this journal, if “solicitation” is the proper description (I am not sure if it is…it’s a stroke thing), went to a “list” rather than just a few people they thought they might want to hear from. And personally, that made the whole thing harder for me, not because I do not have a fine staff, I know I do, I think they are the best and very capable, but because I really struggled with whether or not this was something I was being called to do. There is a big difference in my mind about being selected, perhaps because of your work, and being cast upon by a wide net. The notes were all very personal, and in the midst of my rehab I took them very seriously and struggled with the issue of my current ability. But had I known it was sent to a list (apparently partially a CANA list) I wouldn’t have struggled so much with it. Had I known it was a blanket offer, I would have just taken a quick “pass” and offered to do it later….just like I did today. You see writing an article in my current state would have really been pushing myself, and I did consider it. Amanda and I even had a “disagreement” about it, because I thought it was too much for me to attempt in my current state of rehab, while she thought it would be good for me. All of it now however, just seems to have been an unnecessary struggle. I have passed, and I hope, and believe, I will one day write for a journal somewhere….but all in the Lord’s good time. It is good to take this off my radar screen.

As for me, in truth, sermons and all that I already do is more than enough, and often even all of that is too much for me! But no worries, I will make it through! After all, with God all things are possible! He’s taken me this far, and I know He still has a lot more planned for my life! Writing journal articles may not be in my immediate future (just like movie stardom, professional sports, and modelling) but each new day brings me (and all of us) a little further along this road with Him.

Life is a journey, full of twists and turns, but He walks it with us and makes each day both an adventure and an opportunity.

I could not imagine it, nor would I want it, any other way!

Nite my friends, and God Bless.

Tom+