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My Brain Is Like A Stubborn Dog Sometimes

Sometimes I think my brain works much like a stubborn dog. You know, the kind of dog that does what it wants – or at least tries to – instead of doing what you want.

my brain is like a stubborn dog sometimes

I found my brain in that kind of mode yesterday afternoon when I was working on my sermon. There wasn’t even that much more I needed to write, but I was getting nowhere. 

I had no will power to stick with it. Something would grab my attention and I would go with it. 

… Like a dog whose nap gets disturbed by a chipmunk. 

A big old dog could be sleeping away but is suddenly awakened by a chipmunk in the yard. He can’t leave it alone. The dog runs after it, trying to sniff it out of its hole. 

Then a butterfly catches his attention and he’s off leaping and running after it. 

He was sleeping five minutes ago and now look at him. 

My brain works that way sometimes – yesterday was one of those times. I was stuck. And I just couldn’t get past one point in my sermon. I spent a lot of time staring at the computer screen and my white board. 

Finally I decided to take a break. I needed to do somethings outside the church anyway.

I was gone for an about an hour. But I hoped that when I came back my brain would have reset and I would be able to get moving on the sermon again.

No such luck. I just couldn’t stay with it long enough to get anywhere. 

It was like my brain was saying, “Forget it, Paul. I’m not doing this right now. You can waste your time trying, but I’m not budging.”

… Which kind of reminds me of my brother’s dog, Chopper. He is an Old English bull dog so the name really fits him. 

He weighs in at about 75 plus pounds so when he decides he’s not going any further on a walk, sometimes he wins. 

We’ve been on walks down to the beach with my brother and about half way there Chopper has decided to pull the old stubborn donkey routine. He has locked his legs and no amount of pulling on his leash would faze him.

No way will he continue.

Instead he would pull in the direction of the cottage, and sometimes it was just best to take him back and then go for a stroll on the beach without him. 

That’s what I ended up having to do. I tried and tried to work at that sermon, but I finally gave in and stopped for the night. 

This morning I had hockey at 6:30 am, but for some reason I woke up at 5:00 am. I decided to spend a few minutes on my sermon. 

And, wouldn’t you know it, just like Chopper was ready for a walk to the beach the next day, I spent forty minutes on my sermon and got it finished. 

Here’s the thing: When do you spend time with God? When your brain is more like Chopper’s or when you are fresh and eager to think and learn? If you find that the time you spend with God is often a struggle, maybe you just need to find a time when your brain is not so stubborn. Try something new; try a different time. Notice when you are fresh and be sure to give God the best of your mind. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What time of day are you at your best? Leave your comments and questions below.

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How To Listen To A Presentation 

As a giver of presentations, I’m not often on the listening end of them. So the other day in church, when I was listening to someone give the message, I found my mind going in lots of directions.

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It’s not easy to listen; it’s difficult to stay engaged with the speaker.

I noticed first off that the message was going to be about light. I knew that because, before the pastor got up to preach, they showed a video about Christ being the light of the world.

The video was good and I wanted to know more about this light show that he was going to talk about. I started looking at the lights on stage and thought it was cool how they could change colour.

But I also noticed how dark the auditorium was and thought they could throw a little more light on the platform.

At the beginning of the message, the pastor read the passage and I noticed it was particularly long and filled with a host of possible ideas. I began to wonder how he was going to handle this length of text.

I couldn’t help myself thinking that I would make this passage into a series and preach several sermons from it.

The preacher was doing pretty good – people laughed when he said something funny – but I started getting concerned that he wasn’t talking about light as much as other things.

I wanted him to come back to the light in two ways: I wanted him to step into the light – like a spotlight or something – so I could see him better, and I wanted him to tell me more about the impact of Christ being the light of the world.

I also started to wonder if this message was something that he got on the internet and was re-preaching or if it was something he wrote himself and really believed. I spent a little time trying to tell if he really owned his message.

My seat was at such an angle that I could see people sitting across the auditorium. I looked at them to see if they were listening, day dreaming, bored, or engaged in what he was saying.

I saw a few nods of the head and could tell they agreed with what was being said. But there was this one guy whose nodding looked more like a guy on a hot bus is trying to stay awake after a long day at work!

And while I was thinking about all that, I realized something similar happens to all the people who are listening to me preach every week. . . . It’s a tough job to give a presentation!

Here’s the thing: It’s easy to settle into a presentation and start thinking about all kinds of things related and unrelated to what is being said. It’s easy because you don’t have to apply it to yourself. You don’t have to think deeply and personally about the material. But the idea of a presentation is that it is for your personal benefit. It’s for you, your ministry, your work, or your personal development.

So, though all kinds of thoughts come to distract you, to keep you from applying the message, your job as a presentation listener is to focus on how it has a bearing on you. Keep three questions running through your mind while you listen: 1. What is true here for me? 2. God, what are you saying to me? 3. What am I now going to do with this?

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you stay focussed in a presentation? You can leave your comment below.