It's a Good day

"Consider how the wildflowers of the field grow..."
Matthew 6:28 HCSB 

     Some of my earliest childhood memories involve 'church pew squirming', wondering if that preacher was ever going to stop talking. I can't remember a single sermon from that era of my history but I do remember the songs. Even as a child I knew that the old hymns carried something beyond word and note... something the writers imparted from their own deep places. One of my childhood favorites, Count Your Blessings, was by Jonathan Oatman, Jr. Here is the Chorus:

 

Count your blessings
Name them one by one
Count your blessings
See what God hath done

     As I told a friend yesterday, I am a blessed man.

     Sometimes I need to stop and remember I am blessed.

     Sometimes I need to count my blessings.

     Bryan Hutchinson has written another book, a book that serves as a reminder call to busy people- Stop, Look, Count...

"Happiness is about perspective. It's not just a feeling. True happiness is the essence of hope."

Bryan L. Hutchinson 

     
     If you trudge through your day trapped in the cycle of 'I work so I can eat so I can work so...' consider this:

Life is made in the midst of the mundane.

     Happy Every Day by Bryan Hutchinson will give you a few places to begin restoring your perspective and remind you that today is a good day.

 

One Boy's Struggle

"ADD is an explanation for the way my mind works, but using it or thinking of it as an excuse is not helpful. Taking responsibility for who I am is infinitely more beneficial for me than sulking and feeling sorry for myself."

Bryan L. Hutchinson

One Boy's Struggle- A Memoir

     There is a recurring question that gnaws at me- "Are you paying attention?!?"  The question first came from my parents, pre-classroom confinement, remained a staple throughout my K-12 experience and persists to this present day. For decades now, I am the one asking the question. I am a teacher. I wish I had read Bryan Hutchinson's book before my first roomful of students stared back at me. In Bryan's words, 

"This book is an endeavor to help others understand the disorders called Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)." 

In reality, One Boy's Struggle is much more- the book provides an opportunity to hear Bryan's struggle in his own words. Anyone who struggles with feeling different can relate to Bryan when he writes:

"For a very long time I hated the way I was and wished I could be someone else: a good kid, who did exactly what he was told to do. I couldn't change no matter how desperately I tried."

Bryan tells his story is a manner that is painfully honest. As I read I remembered my own childhood teachers and, for the most part, they are not fond memories.  I can relate to this thought from Bryan-

"I felt that none of the teachers understood me, because they were too busy trying to teach me in a way that was right for them, but impossible for me."

I now know that the true teacher teaches people, not subjects.

One Boy's Struggle is the success story of Bryan Hutchinson, a misunderstood kid who overcame tremendous obstacles with the help of friends and doctors and should be read by everyone considering the field of education. 

Thomas Edison said, "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

Thank you Bryan for not giving up.