Softball with Tori

Tori and I passed softball this evening. We walked around the block playing catch. I walked backwards all the way around the block as we pass the ball. She would say “Dad, throw grounders” or “Throw pop-ups.” She catches them all and throws it right back at me with enough speed to make my glove pop. Tori is great and I love to play with her. She has a game tomorrow and I get to see her play.

Speaking in Pike County

Yesterday I did another training for counselors at the Pike County Recovery Council. I enjoyed it! I am teaching them how to use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. I signed a contract to provide four more CBT trainings, write two manuals (one for individual and another for group), and conduct an outcome study on the effectiveness of the treatment they provide. We will be using several measures like the MAST, the BDI, and the BAI. I thank God for this opportunity. I love working with the people there.

Attention

My light bulb has been on all evening. I love it when it happens. Especially when I really need it to happen because of time. This took place after an extended period of reading and preparing for two sermons on The Da Vinci Code. I got home at 9pm, helped Amber prepare for a science test which she has to take tomorrow, then I went to the office in my garage and started writing. It was weird. I started writing a blog post about the Da Vinci Code and it turned out to be too long. Then I thought, this is my sermon! It may not be weird to you but it felt weird to me. It was coming so fast my fingers could hardly keep up. I love that feeling - it just keeps flowing and I just keep writing. I did not get up and walk around. There were no mental pop-ups to distract me. I stead in one window and accomplished a lot during the past 7 hours. Now, at this point, I really don't know if I have anything because I'm tired. I may wake up, go to the office, read it and thing "This is terrible! I can't believe I wasted all that time" and start over. I will not know until four hours from now. But my hopes are high because I put it in text aloud and had the computer read it to me. I think it's what I want to say. I think.

Mom

Mom raised three children – Susan, Jeanie, and Jeff (that’s me). We grew up on Six Mile in Boone County WV. We’re proud she is our mother! She is a godly woman. She is full of Jesus. She has devoted her life to her children. She loved dad and was married to him for 52 years. Mom is strong. She possesses “quiet power” – which means dignity and strength and stability. She is beautiful inside and out. Her beauty comes from her inner self. It’s the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is of great worth in God’s sight and in ours. Her heart is full of love. She is kind and good. Mom is sensitive and considerate of others. She’s always interested in us. Mom is dignified. She has a wonderful personality and a great sense of humor. We love to see her smile and to hear her laugh. She likes funny stories, especially stories about her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. We’ve laughed so hard (I’m smiling as I write) we could barely catch our breath. Jeanie, Susan and I have so many wonderful memories. All of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren love her. She is respected and esteemed by her friends. All of our friends looked up to our mom when we were growing up. The people in the Boone County Churches respected our parents and depended on their leadership. Mom was a rock for her parents and sisters and their families. She was a wonderful daughter to Granny and Paw. She was a wonderful sister to Jenny, Carol, Johnny and Nan. She was stable and strong. Nothing bad was tolerated in our home. Mom and dad were shinning examples for our entire family, for the community and for the churches in Boone County. I believe the Lord will have a special gift for mom’s service to Sue. She was so patient and good to Sue. After Dad died Mom moved to Barboursville. To say that she has adjusted to her new home doesn’t communicate how well she has done. I mean, she has established friendships and remained active – well, it’s like she’s lived here all her life. The people at her new church praise mom for her devotion to Christ, her knowledge of the Bible and her sweet spirit. Mom has written the Bible by hand. She studies hard-to-understand passages. If you ask her what she’s studying she may say Ezekiel or Daniel and she does this in her own personal devotion. She leads ministries and gives good counsel. She writes a monthly bulletin for the Sonshiners (the senior group at Norway Avenue). People asked her questions and she writes letters explaining God’s word to them. She’s always growing and stretching and learning. She challenges people to think differently. She influences people to change for the good. The elders of the church read her letter about instrumental music and even asked her permission to share it with others. That’s awesome! We are so proud of mom. Dad, who is now in heaven, would be so proud of her. Mom is smart. She edits all my papers. She tirelessly helped me with my dissertation. She read, re-read and edited my dissertation. I couldn’t have finished my dissertation without mom. She continues to proof manuscripts for me. She helps our girls with home work. Jeanie and Susan could tell you more stories than me because they’ve known mom longer than me. They could add to this post with stories of how she has served them and their children. Mom loves us! She is always available, always dependable, always on call to help in any way. She raised us right. She made us feel secure and loved. She taught us to follow Jesus and study the Bible. Her faith is inspiring and her love is wonderful. We thank God for our mother. She is the best!

Distraction

It’s easy for me to get distracted. There are so many things competing for my attention. Some distracters are important and urgent. Others are unimportant time wasters. When I finally sit down to study my mind is divided because I am distracted. It’s so frustrating. It’s like a virus on my computer that causes so many pop-ups I can’t do my work. Some of the pop-ups are interesting and I begin to work on them only to realize I've wasted 30 minutes and I've made no progress on what I needed to accomplish. Alarmed, I start closing every pop-up window. It seems like I'm so busy closing pop-ups I can’t get to the window I need to work in. Then time becomes short and frustration becomes high and I become emotionally reactive and creativity leaves me. Frustrated, I stop and walk a bit but even that can be distracting. I get a diet Pepsi, check the bills on the table and think about the bills. I see things I left undone like the invitations for my H.S. reunion that I need to mail. I remember a hospital visit I need to make. I write down things I need to do. I send myself an email. Leave myself a voicemail so I won’t forget. And on and on. The break is not helpful it’s just more distraction. It’s a constant fight for attention. I sometimes say aloud “Stop Jeff! Focus!” Do you identify? I’ll bet you do. Everybody has problems with attention. Some more than others but everybody struggles with it. Brain scans show more brain activity during periods of distraction. It’s like the brain lights up in many regions during periods of distraction and confusion. But it looks different when you are focused. Brain scans show less activity during periods of creativity. When you are focused and creative, it’s like one bulb lights up in your brain. That’s why I frequently pray “Lord, turn my light bulb on.” That means, “Shut down everything else and light up that one place in my brain so that I can focus.” That’s happening tonight. So I pray – "Lord, please turn my light bulb on now."

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Little Johnny went shopping with his mother. He loved chocolate chip cookies. Before they went into the grocery store his mother told him “You are not getting any chocolate chip cookies in this store because it will spoil your dinner.” They went through the store and he was good. But when they got to the isle where the cookies were he said “Mommy, please let me have some chocolate chip cookies.” She said, “I don’t want you to even ask. I told you before. If you ask again you are going to get it when we get outside.” Then they went down another isle. And he said, “Mommy, please let me have some chocolate chip cookies.” She said, “I told you not to ask and you are in big trouble. When we get outside you are going to get it!” She went to the end of the isle looking for something on her shopping list. Johnny stood up in the cart and shouted “In the name of Jesus can I have some chocolate chip cookies?” I don’t know whether the people felt convicted or amused but when the mother got back there were 22 boxes of chocolate chip cookies in her shopping cart.

Lunch with Milton Jones

I went to church three times today at Northwest Church in Shoreline WA (a suburb of Seattle). Northwest Church is a Christian Church/Church of Christ. They blend a cappella and instrumental music. I was inspired by the worship and enjoyed eating lunch with Milton Jones, his wife Barbie, and their two sons Pat and Jeremy who play guitar in their praise band. His wife plays the keyboard. They lead an excellent worship service. Milt preached on Nehemiah in the morning and Romans in the evening. After church tonight I enjoyed eating pizza with Milt. He's a great leader and an excellent preacher. I've admired him for a long time. I'm thankful I had the privilege of spending time with him.

Seattle Pacific University

I spent the past two days at a Christian Writers Conference on the campus of Seattle Pacific University (which is associated with the Free Methodist Church, Asbury Theological Seminary is a sister school of SPU) . The theme of the conference was “The Master’s Call to Excellence.” Calvin Miller’s lecture was brilliant, humorous and inspiring. I pitched my proposals during group editorial appointments to Terry Glaspey (Director of Acquisitions, Harvest House Publishers) and Lonnie Hull DuPont (Director of Acquisitions, Revell/Baker). I participated in classes, round table discussions, and forums featuring panels of publishing experts. This was my first Christian Writers Conference. I enjoyed it and learned many things that will help me in sermon preparation, preaching and writing. I've talked to Kim and the girls every day. I miss them and will return Monday. Tomorrow (Sunday) I am going to attend the Northwest Church which is a Christian Church/Church of Christ. I'm having lunch with Milton Jones.

Taming the Tongue

Sometimes our mouth really gets us in trouble. A man working in the produce department was asked by a lady if she could buy half a head of lettuce. He replied, "Half a head? Are you kidding? God grows these in whole heads and that's how we sell them!" "You mean," she persisted, "that after all the years I've shopped here, you won't sell me half-a-head of lettuce?" "Look," he said, "If you like I'll ask the manager." She indicated that would be appreciated, so the young man marched to the front of the store. "You won't believe this, but there's a lame-braided idiot of a lady back there who wants to know if she can buy half-a-head of lettuce." He noticed the manager gesturing, and turned around to see the lady standing behind him, obviously having followed him to the front of the store." And this nice lady was wondering if she could buy the other half" he concluded. Later in the day the manager cornered the young man and said, "That was the finest example of thinking on your feet I've ever seen! Where did you learn that?" "I grew up in Grand Rapids, and if you know anything about Grand Rapids, you know that it's known for its great hockey teams and its ugly women." The manager's face flushed, and he interrupted, "My wife is from Grand Rapids!" "And which hockey team did she play for?" Our mouths get us into a lot of trouble. Maybe that’s why James talks so much about the tongue. 3:1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. The word "perfect" literally means "mature" or "healthy". When you go to the doctor and say, I'm not feeling good. The first thing he says is "Stick out your tongue." Doctors can tell a lot about your physical health by having you stick out your tongue. And God can tell a lot about your spiritual health by looking at your tongue. So watch what you say. Use your tongue to encourage people and praise Jesus.

Sleepless in Seattle

I am sleepless in Seattle. Tomorrow I ill be attending a writer’s conference. Calvin Miller will be speaking. I read his “Singer Trilogy” and I look forward to hearing him speak.

Headed to Seattle

It’s been a long time since I’ve written. I’ve haven’t taken time to write because my schedule has been heavy. I’m sitting in an airport terminal in Lexington Kentucky waiting for a plane. I’m going to a conference at Seattle Pacific University. I will return Monday.