Tag Archives: ADHD

The First 100 days – Day 63 – Minimalism

Our journey here in 2011, in Texas, and in moving full time into an RV, was enhanced by a very unique post. The author is Francine Jay. Her blog is Miss Minimalist, Living a Beautiful Life with Less Stuff.

The first post I read, A Short Guide to Consumer Disobedience…stirred up the rebel in me, the desire to NOT conform to the pulls of this world.

I live a minimalist lifestyle for many reasons: for example, I love the freedom, the flexibility, and the financial benefits of not owning a lot of stuff.

But I must admit, it’s also a chance to indulge my inner rebel. I’ve been a straight-A student, model employee, and overall law-abiding citizen; yet when it comes to consumerism, I can’t resist my desire to stick it to the man.

Today, I found Miss Minimalist’s New Year’s challenge, The Year of the Butterfly.

The small butterfly
moves as though unburdened by
the world of desire

-Haiku by Kobayashi Issa
Today marks the first day of the Chinese New Year, which according to their lunar calendar is the Year of the Rabbit.

Well, I’d like to propose a special New Year for us minimalists: let’s make this the Year of the Butterfly.

I enjoy her writing, and philosophy so much, I purchased her book, The Joy of Less.

Less Stuff = More Joy

Having less stuff is the key to happiness. Do you ever feel overwhelmed, instead of overjoyed by all your possessions?  Do you secretly wish a gale force wind would blow the clutter from your home?  If so, it’s time to simplify your life!

While I do not agree that having less stuff is the key to happiness – since I believe that JESUS in our hearts, and right relationship with Him is the KEY – I do agree that past that, our stuff holds us hostage.

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God…NOT THINGS!

Things as idols….that could make hoarding idolatry…and this has been a big issue for me as I’ve downsized!

Does this clutter make me look fat? – Peter Walsh from TLC’s Clean Sweep wrote a book called Does this clutter make my butt look fat?
I haven’t read it, because I’ve been afraid of what it might say!  The point is, clutter and hoarding in any area of your(my) life tends to excess. Keeping three copies of one book…why?  Eating three hamburgers instead of one…why?  Who needs it?

So, my biggest challenge has been cleaning away the emotions connected to the things…which is also part of the point of learning about emotional eating.  Binge eating is just the same as binge buying, or binge hoarding.  It’s BINGE – more than I need. Do I hear the word GLUTTONY???

So, I’m off to learn more about minimalism in so many areas…and to learn, in a new way that:

Phil 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

In fact…Phil 4 is a great chapter to read, and reread to learn what to focus upon.

Phil 4:20 Now unto God and our Father [be] glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment! Or ‘like’ me! Or follow me with the RSS feed.

  1. 100 days of moving challenge – day 63
  2. 100 days challenge- blog – check
  3. 25 verses in 52 weeks – Ps 15:3-5(didn’t set up verse 4)
  4. 90 days Bible Reading – Isaiah – very behind.
  5. 50 days T-Tapp – ???

The First 100 days – day 37 – ADHD Bible Reading

Hi.
My name is Christi.
I have ADHD.
(Hi Christi!)

I get distracted. Even when I read my Bible.
I don’t get distracted when I read a fiction book.
I think this is the work of the devil.
Nevertheless, it is what it is, and I need tools to help me ‘read’ my Bible.

Are ‘tools’ acceptable to God, or do I need to be puritanically religious about sitting down and reading and studying and notating MY Bible? Well, when Timothy was having some issues, Paul wrote this: Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities. (1Tim 5:23)
If that isn’t enough, God thought it was good enough to be put into the Bible!!! Now, I’m NOT talking about drinking wine instead of water!

I have been doing Bible in 90 days, and I have had some difficulties. I am committed, therefore, I have looked for some tools.

First, Speed! the Bible in 90 days website has some tools. Of course, these are for reading through the Bible in 90 days.  As for benefiting someone with ADHD…it is a faster way to get through all the begats and such. It moves faster, more at the speed of an ADHD brain!

Second, for ADHD persons, there is a need for multiple sensory experiences for things to hold our attention, and to stick in our brains. Here are some multi sensory tools that I have used, or have just found:

VISUAL – obviously the Bible reading is visual, but black letters on white paper is not very stimulating.

  • Christian Cinema has Matthew, Acts, and John on DVD.
  • For children(young and old) there are picture Bibles – such as The Beginners Bible, The Picture Bible, The Comic Book Bible, The Children’s Illustrated Bible.
  • For adults, there is this really neat Bible – The Archeological Study Bible. It adds details that keep this ADHD person from mentally straying!

AUDITORY – Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God…

KINETIC OR TACTILE – Touch it…..

  • Write out the Bible Verses.  Have a journal, or a flip chart, such as the one Beth Moore offers.
  • Coloring charts – yes, even for adults. PapaJan has free ones. Another site, Coloring.ws, has some pages with scriptures.
  • Kay Arthur’s Inductive Study Method, which my husband calls me coloring my Bible.

And here’s two more that I have just started to incorporate:

SCENT – a candle burning that stimulates memory.

  • Ps 141:2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee [as] incense; [and] the lifting up of my hands [as] the evening sacrifice.

TASTE – I have a personal communion time – with a small piece of bread, and a small amount of grape juice.

  • 1 Cor 11:26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.

Taste and Scent are strong memory encoders.

For me, the key is to have various opportunities and tools that will flood me with the Word of God.  I hope this helps anyone with a tendency to be distracted as they read the Word of God!

Thanks for joining me in this journey,

In His hands and under His wings,

~Christi

Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment! Or ‘like’ me! Or follow me with the RSS feed.

  1. 100 days of moving challenge – day 38 -Sick
  2. 100 days challenge- blog – check
  3. 25 verses in 52 weeks – Ps 15:1-2
  4. 90 days Bible Reading – Ecclesiastes
  5. 50 days T-Tapp – check – SICK
  6. 30 days – T-Tapp January Jumpstart- SICK

The First 100 days – day 34 – ADHD Praying part three

Hi.
My name is Christi.
I am ADHD. ( Hi Christi!)

I sat down to do this blog at 8AM. It is now 11AM. I got distracted with

gmail(there could be prayer requests that I need to know about),

facebook( I need to stay aware of my friends),

chat(I have a really good friend to chat to, and I miss her when I don’t),

school alumni site(there’s a reunion coming and I have to get the news out).

I even have skype on, just in case my daughter, and grandson decide to jump in and say HI!

And my phone is it’s own computer!

Here’s the rushing of an ADHD mind:

  1. I chatted with a friend about doing some art for her,
  2. and I sent her some of my art photos –
  3. and my art photo files are so messed up…
  4. I need to organize them.
  5. So, I’m in my photo files, and my reunion/alumni site,
  6. so I decide to upload my Sr photo for my profile pic on the alumni site…
  7. and all the photos are really mixed up.
  8. I gotta organize this photo file system!
  9. While I’m at it, I’ll send these OLD photos of my graduation to the web guy for the reunion site…
  10. but I should try to improve them with some editing.
  11. Pull up the editing program, and I try to figure out what the best way to do this would be.
  12. Then, I give up on the editing, and just send him the pile raw…let him deal with it…
  13. Oh yeah, the reunion website guy just might help me with my word press issues…but how much does he cost?
  14. The other guy I was going to use just upped his fees from $1,000 to $2500 for what I wanted done…and, well, I don’t have $2500 for a web blog that is just my thoughts about the Bible…not selling anything yet!
  15. Oh, wait…here’s my friend on chat…and she has sent me a special gift…but it hasn’t come in the mail,
  16. so I check my gmail,
  17. my fb message and
  18. started to check my phone message to see if I sent her the right address…yep, she has the right address….

I need to write this blog!

And I have been everywhere but ‘here’.  I’m thankful that I got my musical praying done earlier…and now, I need to share my additional praying techniques. Maybe I need to pray for some blog focus techniques!
ADHD is a gift, but it’s a gift that one must control.  Self Control.

And sometimes we need tools to help us learn Self Control.

Prayer Tools

Various Prayer Tools

In addition to being ADHD, distracted at prayer time, I am also fat…I tend to fail at self control with food.  Self Control bleeds into every area of our lives.  So, just like tools to help with better eating…self control for praying  can include some extra aids to enhance focus.  It’s obvious that I need a lot of help in this area, and I have collected a lot of tools! And this isn’t even all of them!

Stormie Omartian has put out many many good books about prayer. She even has a blog with prayers that you can pray – just read a loud…and there you have it…a focused prayer!  I have several of her books, one being ‘The Prayer that Changes Everything – the hidden power of praising God”. The pages are prayer cards, they come out, and you can carry them around!

Beth Moore has written a book about Praying God’s Word. “Learn to tear down the strongholds in your life with the power of God’s word.”  That is the cards that go with that Bible Study, in the photo.

Sylvia Gunter, of The Father’s Business has made it her calling to teach people to pray God’s word.  Her Prayer Portions and Prayer Essentials Guides are HUGE compilations of praying God’s word.  The smaller For the Family is an excellent guide to focus your prayer life.

Psalms was the prayer book and the Praise book for the Jews.  It’s still a great tool to focus prayer…but I’m never quite sure what to do when David has me praying for God to kill all my enemies.  So, I get distracted!

The Catholic church and the Anglican/Episcopalian church has had a prayer book almost from the beginning.  In this prayer book there are wondrous prayers, such as the Nicene Creed, and the Apostle’s Creed.

Of course, we do have the greatest example of having a planned prayer given to us by Christ, Himself.

Luke 11:1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

Luke 11:2-4 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread.  And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

There are many tools available to help someone focus in their prayer life.  I have only mentioned the ones that I have used.  Whatever path an ADHD person uses to focus on God, it is good, and will be blessed because God honors those that seek Him.

Here is a blessing that I put together, to remember what I want to pray over my friends and family. And here, I will pray it over those that read this blog…

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. …The Prince of Peace… Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of Jesus Christ: For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Numb6:24-26; Phil 4:7; Is 9:6; Phil 1:6; Rom 8:38-39

Thanks for joining me in this journey,

In His hands and under His wings,

~Christi

Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment! Or ‘like’ me! Or follow me with the RSS feed.

  1. 100 days of moving challenge – day 34 – walk on treadmill
  2. 100 days challenge- blog – check
  3. 25 verses in 52 weeks – Ps 15:1-2
  4. 90 days Bible Reading – 2 Chronicles 11-
  5. 50 days T-Tapp – check – MORE, OIP/HF, AL
  6. 30 days – T-Tapp January Jumpstart- day 6