{"id":3188,"date":"2012-10-17T10:22:06","date_gmt":"2012-10-17T14:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=3188"},"modified":"2012-10-17T11:01:59","modified_gmt":"2012-10-17T15:01:59","slug":"wearing-a-sweater-and-other-distractions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/10\/wearing-a-sweater-and-other-distractions.html","title":{"rendered":"Wearing a sweater and other distractions"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It’s only the beginning of fall in Central Florida. \u00a0The temperatures remains in the upper 80’s I cannot even find<\/strong> a sweater, much less an insulated jacket. \u00a0Tomorrow, I’m headed for Indiana for a disability meeting. \u00a0The tempertures there are in the 40’s and 50’s. \u00a0It won’t be that cold until January or February where I live. \u00a0Then the cold will only last a day or two; and we complain bitterly.<\/p>\n

For me, cold is a great distraction. \u00a0Over the years in meetings, I’ve learned to concentrate during sermons, teachings and presentations, unless I’m cold. \u00a0That is why I constantly take a sweater with me during the winter. \u00a0Even in the summer, air conditioning can m some rooms too cold for me.<\/p>\n

Face it. \u00a0We all fight distractions. \u00a0Ministering to the mentally challenged community, we work exceptionally hard to minimize distractions. \u00a0There are most many things we do to try to eliminate or downplay distraction.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>1. \u00a0We try to be sure that \u00a0the room is clear of visual distraction. \u00a0It’s important to move equipment, books and all other objects out of the view of our members.<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0If \u00a0there are things that cannot be moved out of site, we will try to make them as attractive as possible. \u00a0Meeting in an attractive room isn’t always an options. \u00a0Therefore, we use barriers to cut away from the starkness of an exposed and empty area.<\/p>\n

3. \u00a0Try to minimize the distracting effect of the things you cannot hide. \u00a0I not only do the praise and worship; I also operate the sound system. \u00a0This means that I need to have the sound equipment close to me. \u00a0In Vero, I can hide the equipment and still have it in an accessible place. \u00a0That isn’t true about Melbourne. \u00a0Therefore, I must have the sound board behind me. \u00a0Each week I try to set up the equipment in an orderly manner. \u00a0Everything is put in the same place. \u00a0Routine can give us the illusion of order.<\/p>\n

4. \u00a0We try to keep our appearance or mannerisms from becoming a distraction. \u00a0Each week, I dress in a professional manner–suits and good shoes. \u00a0Black suits are always a good choice for a woman Our executive director, Richard Stimson wears a white robe or a business suit when he preaches on Sunday. \u00a0He will dress down a bit for our programs during the week.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Whatever you do and no matter how much you “minister” recognizing distractions are important. \u00a0Keeping yourself focused is equally vital. \u00a0Christianity is building a relationship with the Lord. \u00a0All of our lives are filled with distraction. \u00a0You may not need to carry a sweater; but we all need to recognize what keeps us from concentrating on the things of the Lord and do our best to minimize or eliminate it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s only the beginning of fall in Central Florida. \u00a0The temperatures remains in the upper 80’s I cannot even find a sweater, much less an insulated jacket. \u00a0Tomorrow, I’m headed for Indiana for a disability meeting. \u00a0The tempertures there are in the 40’s and 50’s. \u00a0It won’t be that cold until January or February where…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20,3,40,186,49,16,8,4,41,1],"tags":[690,21,688,7,551,699,715,701,694,689,552,57,6,700],"class_list":["post-3188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","category-uncategorized","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-distractions","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-overcoming-distractions","tag-prayer","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nWearing a sweater and other distractions - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wearing a sweater and other distractions - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It’s only the beginning of fall in Central Florida. \u00a0The temperatures remains in the upper 80’s I cannot even find a sweater, much less an insulated jacket. \u00a0Tomorrow, I’m headed for Indiana for a disability meeting. \u00a0The tempertures there are in the 40’s and 50’s. \u00a0It won’t be that cold until January or February where…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/10\/wearing-a-sweater-and-other-distractions.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-10-17T14:22:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-10-17T15:01:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2012\/10\/sweater.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. Howard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Wearing a sweater and other distractions - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Wearing a sweater and other distractions - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","og_description":"It’s only the beginning of fall in Central Florida. \u00a0The temperatures remains in the upper 80’s I cannot even find a sweater, much less an insulated jacket. \u00a0Tomorrow, I’m headed for Indiana for a disability meeting. \u00a0The tempertures there are in the 40’s and 50’s. \u00a0It won’t be that cold until January or February where…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/10\/wearing-a-sweater-and-other-distractions.html","og_site_name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","article_published_time":"2012-10-17T14:22:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-10-17T15:01:59+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2012\/10\/sweater.jpg"}],"author":"Linda G. 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