Ask Rod Now

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

2012-01-17T07:11:00.000-08:00

Does it seem that you are incapable of setting goals for yourself - do you feel that you are living your life everyday but not knowing where you are going? This is a common thing for people who used to take for granted their future. When you are young, it is understandable to live each day to the fullest and not thinking about tomorrow but as you grow older, you will eventually ask to yourself questions like "where will I go next", "what will happen to me next" and everything about the future.

Rod Elmore, M.Ed
Life Coach
“It is your life, give it your best”

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

2012-01-16T21:03:00.001-08:00

Today we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As Americans, we have come to appreciate the differences of others. Coexisting with different types of people has proved to be rewarding experience for many. Everyone has a unique personality trait that in some form has the ability to teach a lesson. Many view Dr. Martin Luther King Jr as a hero, some as a leader. To those who understood him, he was a man that had a vision, as mentioned in his “I have a dream” speech. I am proud to be part of a nation and a culture that allows people to be and become their best. You are not who you are by accident. You were wonderfully created to make a difference and to help someone else along the way. Thank you for who you are.

Rod Elmore, M.Ed
Life Coach
“It is your life, give it your best”

So now What??

2012-01-02T00:22:00.001-08:00

2012 is here. What are your plans? What do you plan to change this year?

Don't quit, Pastor Rod

So what is it about some teenagers exactly that make them so extraordinarily exasperating?

2011-12-29T14:22:00.000-08:00

Why do they give their parents such a hard time over… everything? What can't they keep their rooms tidy, their demeanors pleasant; their shirts tucked into their pants? Why are they so obstinate, so loud and yet so closed-mouthed? Why do they use foul language and express themselves so crudely? Why do so many fall prey to drug abuse and self-destructive social entanglements? Why are they so lazy, but have more than enough energy to be defiant and angry? And into what chasm did that sweet kid of just a few, short years ago disappear?

Children arrive into the world quite helpless. They cannot do much of anything for themselves other than communicate their comfort or pain through cooing and crying; sometimes both at once. We must feed them, change them, bathe them, occupy them, educate them and comfort them. We learn to control them and even their environments to make their experiences in the world safe and -- hopefully-- pleasurable.

With the passage of time, parents and their children continue on in their relationship as the nurturing and the nurtured, respectively, with minor adaptive changes reflecting the larger physical size and commensurate increases in dexterity and intelligence on the part of the rapidly developing and growing child. Play time begins to give way to homework; learning to use a fork and a spoon to riding a bike; freckles to pimples and so on.

By the time the pre-teen years are upon them we have pretty much figured out how to take really good care of all of their needs. In the end, children masterfully use wonderful educational tools like trial and error, order and chaos, smiles and scowls and other less pleasant methods to educate us to be effective in handling them. And just when we seem to have it all down pat, everything changes.

It's called independence.
And it's a crucial part of our development as human beings. It allows the next amazing phase of human growth and self actualization to occur. It prepares the nurtured to become nurturers in kind. It causes young pre-teens to begin to exercise control over their own lives and seemingly to draw away from us, their doting, controlling and woefully unprepared for teen-hood parents. Even though this process is as old as humanity itself, it comes as a shocking surprise and a most painful experience to most parents who simply have become set in their child rearing ways and do not have the tools to reexamine and readjust their parenting roles.

It certainly begins subtly enough with children refusing to acquiesce to our tastes in food, our experience in what's "good for them," our sense of fashion and our very philosophy of life. The ways in which they make their disagreements known can be quite varied and may range from the subtle to the stingingly not-so-subtle. By the way, we're talking good kids here: kids who are working hard at school, popular with their classmates and polite to everyone else. And for some teenagers and their parents this relatively low-grade disagreeability is how it's going to be for the next four, five or six years. But other families are going to experience a precipitous deterioration which, if left unchecked, will lead to a complete breakdown in the parent/child relationship and may lead life threatening, self destructive behavior on the part of the child in his or her attempt to escape the pain or experience the perception of control.

Breaking the Mold
Whether the stereotype is accurate or not, Jews as parents are known to be extraordinarily involved in the raising of their offspring. Certainly we are depicted in the popular media as being just a little too aggressive at Little League games, a bit too defensive at PTA meetings and overall we probably are too protective of our kids. And that over-protectiveness is read by our budding adult children as being treated "like a baby." It conflicts with the independence "program" that is being run in our teenagers' central processing units at full throttle and through which they tend to see and interpret their ongoing relationships with their parents.

Think of typically defiant teen behavior. Curfew violations, smoking, inappropriate dating, criminal involvements and traffic violations are all "big" behaviors on the part of little people who are trying to play ball in the big leagues. It's not really so different from a four-year-old trying on her mother's high heeled shoes, dragging around her immense purse and pretending to go shopping. It's just that these escapades are a lot safer -- and certainly look a whole lot cuter -- when the antics are harmlessly performed by a toddler.

If we could begin to wean our teens from their dependence upon us in a wholesome way, they might not look for their independence in all the wrong places.

If we could begin to wean our teens from their dependence upon us in a wholesome way, we would be addressing their need for adult behavior safely and they might not get carried away be looking for their independence in all the wrong places.

For example, 12 and 13-year-olds generally have the intelligence and ability to travel locally by utilizing public transportation or arranging to go to a ball game or a Bar Mitzvah with a friend's parent. Yet, being in the habit of driving our children everywhere they need to go, we might reflexively balk at their suggestion to make their own arrangements. Instead, we might embrace the child's idea of traveling solo after we carefully review the specific plan and help him/her to adjust it if needed and then make sure to duly note and compliment the child's handling of his budding independence and wonderful initiative.

Parents who may stubbornly deny their child's first tentative steps -- all with good reason, of course -- to begin to exercise a small but important amount of control of his or her own life, may inadvertently be broadcasting a message of no-confidence in the pre-teens' capabilities and may thereby be setting the stage for a conflict in which a far more desperate to be in control youngster will escalate the battle to a far less benign playing field to express his or her quickly growing need for independence.
A good general rule to parents of pre-teen boys and girls to follow is to stop saying no automatically out of habit in response to the child's practical requests, but to first silently say, "Why not?" And after carefully considering the answer to that question, it behooves us to see whether the child's query might in fact be a powerful opportunity to build his confidence as a rapidly maturing young adult.

By: Yerachmiel Milstein
Don't quit, Pastor Rod

Rod Elmore wants you to join foursquare!

2011-10-11T10:42:00.001-07:00

Rod wants you connect with you on foursquare. You should give it a try! foursquare helps you meet up with friends, discover new places, and save money with Specials. When your friends share where they are, you'll get a message like:

Rod E. is @ Motorino Pizzeria (12th St. and 1st Ave.). Swing by and say hi!

And if you choose to 'check in,' you'll get great nearby Tips, like:

Since you're so close to Motorino, Rod E. says: It's not on the menu, but ask for the Sorpressa pizza. It's their best!

Signup and Get Started

Please remember you can always go to your User Settings page to adjust your account and contact info, privacy controls, email preferences and options linking to Twitter and Facebook.

What type of issues are you dealing with

2011-08-08T11:23:00.001-07:00

It has been said that letting others know what is on your mind, you just may find the solutions you were looking for. What is going on in your life.

Pastor Rod

DON'T JUST STAND THERE

2011-08-02T21:04:00.001-07:00

When you find yourself becoming discouraged, take heart in knowing it too will come to pass. Life is full of ups and downs. However, if you stand there with your head down trying to analyze what happened, you may not see the blessings that belong to you “coming your way”. Though Disappointment is a part of life, it is NOT your life and should never consume you. Many people boast about being lucky. Preparedness coupled with Opportunity is a formula for success. Do not stand there dwelling on what you consider a loss, instead hold your head up and walk into your destiny. You will not get there if you stop walking. I believe in you. Tag you’re it.

Pastor Rod

Just In Time

2011-08-02T00:19:00.000-07:00

I often find myself seeking to become something great. At times it is hard to keep the dream candle burning. In reality the candle tends to burn at both ends. Maybe we try so heard to go our own way and fail to realize that God has a different direction. My flesh wants me to believe that I know what is best for me. However, I must bring myself to understand that God has a perfect plan for me. Sometimes we feel God is very slow in his deliverance. God knows what he is doing. We just need the strength to hold on and wait. May God grant you the grace you need to continue on.

Don't quit, Pastor Rod

Casey Anthony verdict

2011-07-08T22:13:00.000-07:00

Share your thoughts, concerns, and/or comments regarding the Casey Anthony verdict!

Don't quit, Pastor Rod

Extinguished Almost $10,000 of Debt in One Year

2011-06-27T16:40:00.000-07:00

Here is an article written by Jimmy Collins, a Yahoo! contributor

Like many Americans today, I had a ton of debt that seemed to pile on month after month. Between credit cards, car payments, and the like, my debt situation seemed hopeless. I had one Visa card with a $1,250 balance and another with $5,000. I also had a MasterCard with a $1,250 balance and a Discover Card with around $2,500. Then I decided to take steps to eliminate my debt without having to make more money.

The method I used was not rocket science, and anyone can duplicate my success with just a little sacrifice and discipline. Here's what I did to all but eliminate my debt within one year.

Decide What Is Necessary

This is the discipline part I was talking about. When you make up your mind that you want to wipe out debt, then you have to have discipline. This starts with taking a hard look at what you have and what you want to get and then deciding what is really a necessity.

For me, this meant cutting out coffee shops in the morning and making my own cup of joe. I saved about $4 per day or $28 per week, for a total of $1,456 a year. I used this to pay off the $1,250 balance on my Visa and even had a couple of bucks to spare.

Others might decide to brown-bag it instead of buying lunch every day. You could also save if you spend $5 for lunch at the store instead of $9 for lunch at a restaurant.

Downgrade Where Possible

My wife and I went from being a two-car family to a one-car family. We sold the car that had payments and kept the one that was paid off. As our car payment was $450 per month that meant we saved an astounding $5,400 in one year. Include the money we saved on insurance at $70 per month or $840 per year, plus what we saved on gasoline at $25 per week or $1,300 per year. In total our downgrade saved us $7,540 for the year. Goodbye Visa Card No. 2 and Discover Card!

While this was an inconvenience, it saved us tremendous amounts of money each month that we then applied to our debt. We now have two cars again, and both are paid in full.

Cash Is King

My new favorite saying is, "If I don't have enough cash to get something I want, then I don't need it." This can be hard as credit cards allow you to make purchases that you otherwise wouldn't be able to. However, this will catch up with you, and then what good is a house full of material items?

Not Always Top of the Line

You don't always have to have the best of the best. My cell phone is nice, but not too nice. I also ended my long-term contract with a major cell carrier and now use a prepay service. While my phone doesn't do all the latest and greatest things, it still makes calls and texts, which is really all I use it for anyway. Besides, not having the "newest and greatest" cell phone is saving me over $80 per month or $960 per year. That was nearly enough to pay off my MasterCard.

When cutting debt you need to decide what is important. With a little sacrifice and discipline, I have been able to get rid of almost all my debt in one year's time and sock away a few bucks. At the end of the year I paid off $9,956 of debt. Now, I use my credit cards only to secure a hotel room or a car rental, and I've learned the value of what is important over what is wanted. Even though I did this without making any additional money, it feels like I make more since I actually get to keep some of it now.

Focus On the future

2011-04-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

It is not where you have been. What matters most is where you are going and do you have a plan to get there.

If we continue to move forward and focus on what is ahead, we leave less time to worry about the past.

-Rodriquez Elmore

2011-04-25T16:08:00.001-07:00

OutskirtsPress: VIDEO: A Life of Courage and Love by Mark S. Foster http://youtu.be/U4NIUUenNnU

2011-04-25T16:07:00.001-07:00

"In Author's Words" The Adventures of Fluff the Bunny by Bernadine Motto http://ow.ly/1ciI51

Can Christianity Be Cool?

2011-02-22T15:29:00.001-08:00

An interview with Brett McCracken
Brandon O'Brien

Monday, February 21, 2011

In his new book, Hipster Christianity: When Church and Cool Collide (Baker, 2010), Brett McCracken continues the generations-old conversation about the relationship between Christ and culture. In particular, McCracken, managing editor of Biola magazine, explores the preoccupation of some churches with being relevant, trendy, and, well, hip. Can churches be cool without becoming lukewarm? Brandon O'Brien asked McCracken how what he discovered impacts the local church.

Is being "in the world but not of it" still a useful way for the church to think about its relationship to culture?

Maybe. But we need to be clearer about what we mean by "in the world" and "of it." I've grown up hearing that phrase quoted anytime discussions about the relationship of Christianity to culture come up, as if citing it answers the question. But what exactly does being "of" the world mean? Are we "of" the world if we drink a beer occasionally? Are we "of" the world if we spend all weekend watching sports on TV?

As for being "in the world," I think it is getting harder for the church to understand its place both within and distinct from culture. In our post-Christian culture, the church is no longer the heartbeat of the worlds of, say, art and academics, as it was for many centuries in previous eras. Now that the church occupies a more peripheral relationship to "the culture," which is now largely secular, it's naturally going to be harder to figure out just how we as Christians should approach and evaluate culture.

What elements of culture do pastors and churches find most seductive?

These days, being up-to-date on technology is a huge allure, and for obvious reasons. Things like social networking (Facebook, Twitter), iPhones, iPads, and podcasts have direct application to ministry because they make communication more efficient and more relevant to tech-savvy audiences. And technology is relatively easy to adopt.

A deeper temptation is having "relevant" tastes, wanting to be savvy to what music is cool right now, what films people are talking about, or what the right hairstyle is. It's incredibly hard to keep up with these trends. So when we try to seek after it, we're usually a few steps behind.

Are there any cultural values that the church should try to appeal to?

Many younger people would like to see the church more interested in the arts and culture, which is healthy and can be done without compromising Christian principles. Younger people also really would like to see church life become more intellectually robust. I've gone to churches where the congregation is entirely twentysomething hipsters and the sermons are 90 minutes long and intellectually stimulating. This goes against the claims that this generation has no attention span or is uninterested in being challenged in church.

Finally, some younger people like history and tradition and a sense of the longevity of Christianity. That's why some favor liturgical worship styles. They want church to transcend the rapidly changing fads of the day.

So churches don't need to adopt the latest trends to attract young people?

A church is truly relevant when it seeks first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. It becomes irrelevant when the tangential worries (packaging, PR, what brand of coffee is served in the foyer, etc.) take precedence over living and preaching the biblical gospel.

The life-transforming, history-altering, salvation-offering gospel of Christ is eternally relevant. An "authentic" church is one that preaches the gospel and is honest and open about its imperfections and open with one another in love and accountability.

Tell us about a church that you think is successfully navigating the tension between cultural relevance and Christian faithfulness.

I've attended The Bridge in Los Angeles (a plant from Bel Air Presbyterian) for the last year and a half. We meet in a building owned by a Japanese church in downtown Los Angeles, on the border of Little Tokyo and Skid Row. The congregation is diverse in both age and ethnicity, and the church doesn't try to put on a "cool" worship service.

The church engages in service projects in the community (a group goes to Union Rescue Mission down the street every Thursday) and is active in the arts, including outings on the downtown art walk and sponsoring a summer film series in the church sanctuary as an outreach to the community.

Meanwhile, the preaching by pastor Jim Kermath is solidly biblical, doctrinally sound, and intellectually robust. The church's real strong suit is its emphasis on community and fellowship. It's a tight-knit group that embodies humility, service-mindedness, and love, and I think that is extremely attractive.

Copyright © 2011 by the author or Christianity Today International/Leadership Journal.

Don't quit, Pastor Rod

2011-01-18T15:00:00.001-08:00

You are one of a kind. Deeply loved. ;-)

keep your head up and stay strong.

Blessings,

Take a breath!

2011-01-05T07:51:00.000-08:00

Many people find themselves looking forward to the middle of the week. Others find themselves looking forward to the end of the week. Stop; take a moment to notice what is around you. Enjoy life there is more to life than aimlessly working toward the weekend. We have a purpose and a desire to be so much more.

Today take a moment and reflect where you are in life, where you came from and where you are headed. Keep it in perspective and keep it real.

God Bless
Don't quit, Pastor Rod

Take a chance this year!

2011-01-02T20:55:00.000-08:00

As we charter the unknown territory of a New Year. Many people in retrospect are quite disappointed with things that took place in the previous year. For many, the job market slump created an overwhelming hardship with minimal relief, if any at all. One thing remains certain. America will not die. Dredging forward, demonstrates your resilient ability to overcome what some would call an economical set back.

Did you know that your attitude dictates the inner you and possibly provides a bird's eye view of Your potential future. How is this possible? A person that harbors a negative attitude never seems to find inner peace. They are constantly and consistently unhappy, in search of someone to blame for there misfortunes. Playing the blame game can prove to be exhausting and completely unfruitful.

This year challenge yourself to change the way you think. Be aware of the things you allow to go through your mind. You have the most remarkable mental filtering system known to man. If you choose to change something now, rest assure, the boomerang affect will be quite rewarding. You must intend to be successful. Setting a vague goal of "of simply stating you want to be successful" is a great way to fail.

However, if you are definite in your planning process, you could be on to something. "commit to reading 2 books a month people do not plan to fail, they just fail to plan. What if you were told someone had 2.5 Million dollars waiting for you in Washington State? After you confirmed it was true, your next step would be to figure out how to get to the appropriate place. If you jumped in your car and just started driving there is a 99.9 % chance you will not get to the appointed place.

This is exactly what most people do. They go through life with expectations of great accomplishment and promise without preparation. Right now let us begin your preparation.

· Decide to accomplish a goal 30 days from now.
· Write this goal down
· Create weekly goals
· Everyday, complete a task or idea leading to your weekly goal
· Read your goal aloud everyday
· Before breakfast, lunch, and dinner repeat these words aloud to yourself

"My goal of _____________ will be accomplished by this date (_________). Nothing will stop me. Everything needed will come with due diligence.

First and foremost make a realistic goal. After all you only have 30 days. If you don't believe in yourself, who will?

Many people believe they are unable to obtain their goals in life. Everyone has a road to choose. Though the choice belongs to you, many people need assistance in developing a positive thought process. There are many obstacles designed to keep you from reaching your goal(s). Regardless of the goal the final outcome is mostly up to you.

What is your thought process? Are you normally a positive person or do you look for reasons not to succeed?

Don't quit, Pastor Rod

What do you have planned for 2011?

2011-01-02T00:42:00.000-08:00

What is your 2011 New Year’s Resolution?

Don't quit, Pastor Rod

How have you shown kindness today?

2010-12-04T14:25:00.001-08:00

Many people believe they are kind hearted, sweet, and nice. The problem is one can not call him/herself kind. The true way of knowing if you are all those NICE things is to hear it from those you are kind to. Be kind and see what happens. Besides, your life may depend on it.

Pastor Rod

Did you give up

2010-11-29T08:22:00.000-08:00

The Obstacles That Prevent Success

The road to success has always been scattered with obstacles. The unsuccessful did not feel like they could overcome those obstacles and they did not. What would life be like if every time there was road construction and traffic came to a stop people got out of their cars and sat on the side of the road, just giving up. They may not be able to see the end of the traffic and from their perspective they cannot see where they will ever be able to move forward.

While this may seem like a ludicrous example, it is a point illustrated by Og Mandino called the "Living Death". "Living Death" is the concept that most people are already dead or slowly dying. They have just given up, much like those in our example who have abandoned their cars due to traffic. Those individuals have lost their ambition, their dreams, and their desire to excel in life. These individuals have built a prison for themselves to keep them from venturing out into the world.

If they risk venturing out they may get hurt or rejected again. They find themselves with a lack of self-esteem, a fear of failure and a lack of self-confidence. These negatives reinforce the prison walls.

This prison is a mental penitentiary but it can be destroyed if the desire is strong enough. In order to destroy the prison one must learn and implement the seeds of success and become success oriented. To break down those prison walls, people must understand that each opportunity will present two possible outcomes, acceptance or rejection.

Regardless of the outcome, each opportunity will give us knowledge. For example if a salesperson gets a sale, they have learned something, and made money. If they didn't get the sale they hopefully still learned something that they can take with them to their next opportunity. They then can take the information learned and adjust their sales presentation, always growing and learning.

Life is the greatest gift of God, try to utilize every second of your life profitable. Never ever stop learning. Each individual learns with his life. Sometimes he has good experience and sometimes he fails. Never be hopeless on your failure learn from it and try to do it again and again until it convert to success. Keep in mind that failure is the basis of success. You can see many examples of successful peoples who have many failures in their early life.

As I have grown in business I have taken each success as well as the failures and tried to better myself from each experience. I have learned that each experience has helped shape me into who I am today. My personal brand, who and what I am, would not be what it is now if I had not taken each and every opportunity as just that, an opportunity. I challenge you to do the same.

For this and other articles by Brad Hess, please go to http://www.mymark.com/articles . MyMark, LLC is a media rich professional social networking website that gives you the tools to use social media optimization to enhance your search engine optimization and generate revenue. Visit http://www.mymark.com/ today to set up your free account!

Source: http://www.submityourarticle.com

Permalink: http://www.submityourarticle.com/a.php?a=131095

Don't quit, Pastor Rod

Stop "Trying" Just do!

2010-11-28T14:55:00.000-08:00

"Stop trying to reach your goal(s)" The word TRY means "to attempt to do or accomplish something. We must understand that in order to reach a final destination, we must first move forward. The word Goal is the result or achievement toward which effort is directed. When I speak with people who failed to reach their goals, there are a few questions that must be answered.
1. Why do you think you did not reach your goal?
2. When you failed, what did you do next?
3. What are you telling yourself?
4. Who said you can't reach your goal?
5. How bad do you want to reach your goal?
6. Will you stop TRYING and make it happen?
1. Why do you think you did not reach your goal? Most peoples' first response is "I am not sure" The truth is they are sure. We all make mistakes and must be willing to accept those mistakes. Understanding the WHY is a good start in moving forward. Why is this goal so important to you? There is a burning desire to accomplish something great in everyone.

2. When you failed what did you do next? The fact is failure is a part of life. What you do with and about it is what matters. If there were no failures, true champions would not be able to rise to the top. A steel sword has to be heated, formed, and cooled. Our life parallels this analogy. We are first heated by trials and circumstances. Trials are designed to shape us into the person we were designed to be. If you sit around after failing, your desire to reach your goal is never going to happen. The next step after failing is learning from it and not making the same mistake again. Every winner has had failures. The difference is those failures are meant to be stepping stones up the ladder of success toward goal attainment.

3. What are you telling yourself? Believe it or not your mouth can be your biggest enemy. When you speak negativity you subconsciously agree to negative results. The next time you find yourself falling short of your goal, speak life to the situation. Tell your self this will work, I can.... and no matter what, you will do what it takes to make your dream come to pass.

4. Who said you can't reach your goal? The problem I see all too often is the change in belief. As humans it is normal for us to seek approval and acceptance from our friends and family. The truth of the matter is your family and friends will attempt to talk you out of your life long dreams. There was a time when others would be excited to see you succeed. You must be attentive to the subtle comments that are made. You are a superstar so don't listen to your friends and family if they are not supportive.

5. How bad do you want to reach your goal? How bad do you hunger to achieve your dream? Hunger: “to have a strong desire" It is one thing to want to achieve. It is another to hunger for achievement. When your desire out weighs the actual process you will be halfway there.

6. Will you stop TRYING and make it happen? Your mind is more powerful than you think. When there are no other options on the table, but to reach your goal, then you will know that you are close. "Try" implies attempt. Stop attempting and start making things happen. Once you purpose in your mind that there is no other option, you will soon see a major change in the way you operate and the way you see your progression.
GOOD LOOK! Feel free to let us know if this article was beneficial
Many people believe they are unable to obtain their goals in life. Everyone has a road to choose. Though the choice belongs to you, many people need assistance in developing a positive thought process. There are many obstacles designed to keep you from reaching your goal(s). Regardless of the goal the final outcome is mostly up to you. What is your thought process? Are you normally a positive person or do you look for reasons not to succeed? I have found that many people talk themselves out of an ideal life. Come join us and get the answers you need to hear.

Don't quit, Pastor Rod

Calling All Dads!

2010-11-27T17:17:00.000-08:00

As a Dad I know how difficult tt can be to raise teen girls. I just want to offer encouragement to all the Dads out there who only want what is best for their child. If you have questions we have answers.

Don't quit, Pastor Rod

The words we use matter!

2010-11-19T23:31:00.000-08:00

The words we use to communicate our frustration must be delivered in ways that are non-threatening. So, choose your words carefully.

Don't quit, Pastor Rod

Depressed Because You Have an Autistic Child?

2010-11-09T19:24:00.000-08:00

You Admit You Are Depressed Because You Have an Autistic Child. How do You cope?

What is depression? It is defined as "a hollow; being in a low state; a state of sadness: dejection." You admit you are depressed because you have an autistic child. You have every right to own those feelings and admit how you are feeling. How do you cope?

It is difficult to cope with any kind of shocking news. The news that your own child, has been diagnosed with autism, is a challenge to accept.

If you think you will not be happy until all your circumstances are right, you will never be happy. Your depression will continue.

I am one of those people who felt down, depressed, lost, and felt I was the only person in the world who had a brother who was diagnosed with his disorder.

You may feel depressed as parent(s), caregiver(s) and admit that you do, but, we all have experienced various times in our life when we feel down and depressed, for various reasons. Reasons that are out of our control. Such as your child being diagnosed with autism. You should not allow circumstances to control you.

It is a positive step forward in the right direction, now that you have admitted to the fact, that you are depressed. Of course you will feel frustration and distress and perhaps have unfulfilled hopes and dreams, due to the news of hearing your child is autistic. That does not mean you will not have the strength to cope.

When things or life does not go according to our plans, it is normal to feel disappointment. Do not trust your thoughts and feelings. That is one way to cope. It appears that your number one enemy is your emotions of depression. I know for a fact, that I tend to be led by my emotions and how I feel at times. Depression and emotions can change from each day.

Having an autistic child can bring many emotions of depression. You can learn to cope and make these emotions positive even though you have admitted you are depressed.

It is easy to follow every thought that comes to your mind, because your thoughts and feelings do not dictate the truth to you. You must not allow this to happen. When you give into these feelings and emotions of depression because your child is autistic, it will become more difficult for you to cope.

Admitting you are depressed because you have a child with the disorder of autism, does not mean you have to stay disappointed or discouraged. I have learned, that it is impossible to be hopeful and discouraged at the same time.

Once you admit you are depressed, it is time to learn how to cope and be in control of your emotions. Therefore, the real cause of your depression is not where your are, but your attitude about where you find yourself.

Remember, to cope with depression because your child is autistic, is to realize you will always have feelings; they will never go away, but you can make your feelings line up with your decisions.

You may be depressed because you are not able to face the truth about your child being autistic. You are not able to control your circumstance, but you do not have to allow what happens today, ruin your tomorrow. This will help you to cope.

When you face the truth that you have a child with autism and take responsibility for your actions and quit making excuses and blaming everyone else, you will become a stronger person and you will cope.

Are you willing to take inventory of yourself, now that you have admitted you are depressed and want to find out why? Do you want to turn the depression around, so that your emotions become positive? Will you make choices of knowing that each day has opportunities that will help you and your child grow? Will you take action and tell yourself, you will get through the depression, your child is important? Are you willing to seek out other parent(s), caregiver(s), who are going through depression because of the same situation you are involved with?

Your child who has autism, may bring you depression, and you have admitted it, but your child is a blessing and will bring you strength, as well.

"Bonita Darula operates, an informational web sight==> http://www.autismintoawareness.com Where you sign up and RECEIVE your FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER about depression potting training, coping, research, nutrition, and many other imperative topics for your Autistic child and you, to learn from."

Source: http://www.submityourarticle.com

Permalink: http://www.submityourarticle.com/a.php?a=126412

Don't quit, Pastor Rod

Is your Baby Sleeping Through the Night?

2010-10-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

Although being a parent is a joyful and wonderful experience, every parent wants to know the big question, When will my baby sleep through the night?

Having their baby sleep through the night is something that all parents look forward to.

Before we look at the term sleeping through the night let’s give you a brief outline of the usual sleep patterns at different milestones throughout your babies development.

During the first month babies spend a lot of their time asleep. It is not uncommon for a newborn baby to sleep around 15-17 plus hours in any 24 hour period, generally in 4 hour blocks. By around 3 months babies are beginning to sleep longer during the night and staying awake more during the day. By about 5-6 months babies are likely to be having 2 naps a day as most of their sleep will now be a night. Around the 6 month mark most babies are usually sleeping through the night.

So is your baby sleeping through the night?

Well you might be interested to know that the term Sleeping Through actually refers to when a baby puts themselves back to sleep without waking up completely and crying. All humans including babies have small waking periods during the night. Babies from around 6 months generally sleep through the night.

Does your baby stir during the night but not cry out but you tend to them as soon as they make a noise?

If so you have to ask yourself these questions, Is my baby just having brief waking periods and making a little noise?

Am I tending to my baby to prematurely?

Are they actually able to resettle themselves?

I challenge you tonight to not tend to your baby the first sound they make.

See what happens, you might just be surprised.

By:

Don't quit, Pastor Rod