PastorJustinDean

Historically Reformed, Husband, Father of five, Sacred City Church Lead Pastor, Doctrine Teacher at New City Classical Academy, Business Owner, BJJ Black Belt.

[PastorJustinDean @JustinDean]

A Psychiatrist told my parents something like, “most of the people with this level of ADHD end up in prison.” They put me on meds for a few months and it was awful. I couldn’t sleep, cried all the time, and got depressed.

Then in Jr. High the wrestling coach grabbed me and told me I needed to wrestle. From that point on I was a different dude. Wrestling, football, and weightlifting gave me a place to put my energy everyday and put me on a path to self-discipline. My grades went up. I learned to focus and accomplish goals. I also learned a few ADHD hacks along the way and now I think it’s almost a superpower. It’s like I’ve got a spare gas tank that I can tap into when I need it.

[PastorJustinDean @JustinDean]

If you know how to harness your ADHD it can become a super power. Yesterday I wrote a sermon in about 3.5 hours. I taught an OT class to Jr. High students. I recorded a couple podcasts and then after family dinner I researched my ancestry for about 2 hours before working out. I don’t say this to brag in anyway. It’s actually a normal Thursday for me. But my daughter came up to me during my post-dinner deep dive and said, “Dad are you working or are you doing this for fun?” and I realized I was locked in and intensely focused.

I’m not an expert on ADHD. I was diagnosed when I was young. My parents were told by a child psychiatrist that kids with my level of ADHD usually end up in prison. They put me on meds. I hated them and they took me off of them after a couple of months. But eventually I learned how to harness my ADHD and become hyper focused to achieve my goals in life. Here’s 4 things that work for me.

1. Build a schedule around your goals that maximizes urgency. I can’t write my sermons a week in advance. I don’t know why. I’ll read and research and think but I can’t write. I write my sermons on Thursday mornings before I preach on Sunday. I usually get them about 90% done and then return to them Saturday night to finish them. This is true of almost everything I do. Until it’s urgent, I procrastinate and do something else, anything else. But when it feels urgent and the pressure builds I can lock in for 3-4 hours at a time.

2. Break up your deep work with physical work. I usually work out over my lunch break. Currently, I work out every day. I mix it up between BJJ, CrossFit, rucking, mountain biking, golfing, and running. When I type that out, I sound crazy. But I’ve got a lot of interests and it keeps me moving without getting bored.

3. Caffeine and Nicotine help me focus. Since I’m 46, I can’t do caffeine after 2 pm if I want to get good sleep. So I do one pour over in the morning before my time with the Lord and usually something after lunch. My post lunch caffeine intake depends on what I’ve got to do. If I don’t have something that requires intense focus I’ll just drink a zevia. If it needs intense focus, an iced coffee or maybe an energy drink. For Nicotine I use Alp 9mg’s and I keep them in about 90 minutes at a time. I use about 5-6 of them a day but occasionally more.

4. I get between 7-8 hours of sleep a night. If I get less, I’ll struggle all day long to focus.

[PastorJustinDean @JustinDean]

@JoshDaws Glad is blessed you Josh!

[JD Vance @JDVance]

Henry Nowak died the same way a civilization dies: abandoned, handcuffed by authorities who neither trusted nor cared for him, and accused of hate crimes he did not commit. His murder is as tragic as it is enraging. He should still be alive today, and he would be if the last few generations of European elites had stood their ground against the politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West and the people who love it.

Henry was far from the first to so needlessly lose his life, and I fear he won’t be the last. Each time a life like his is lost, the proper response—the only response—is righteous anger. One of the most important things the Trump administration has proven to the world is that stopping the flow of mass migration and defending national sovereignty is a matter of political will and leadership. Anything else is an excuse.

It is because we love the West that we want to preserve it. We love our civilization. We love our country. We love our children. And nobody—nobody—should ever die the way that Henry Nowak died. May God comfort those who loved him, and may God rest his soul.

[Zach Lahn @ZachLahn]

🚨 GOP Primary Alert 🚨 Steve Deace:

"YOU NEED TO VOTE FOR ZACH LAHN"

[PastorJustinDean @JustinDean]

Risk, Failure, and Failing Forward https://t.co/ks8LT86phM

[PastorJustinDean @JustinDean]

A patriot with good taste in watches.

[Elaad Eliahu @elaadeliahu]

ICE agent standing guard at Delaney Hall sports a Hulk green Rolex Submariner over his “We The People” tattoo

[PastorJustinDean @JustinDean]

518 days to failure. Graduation ceremony, three grad parties, my 5 year old’s dance recital, then I had to finish the sermon so I didn’t get home until 9:30 pm and I just totally forgot to workout. It was a good run.

[PastorJustinDean @JustinDean]

18 years ago. Man, I feel old.

[PastorJustinDean @JustinDean]

This book has been brewing in @jchasedavis for years and is desperately needed in the church today. Get the book and get strong.

[PastorJustinDean @JustinDean]

517/730. Construction work in the morning and a round of golf in the afternoon. I was 1 over after 9. That’s a personal best for me.

[Michael Foster @thisisfoster]

Even the size of this book is offensive

[PastorJustinDean @JustinDean]

516/730. Gym day. Bench, Deadlift, a little CrossFit burner, and then 15 minutes on the treadmill incline walking.

[PastorJustinDean @JustinDean]

515/730. 1 hour of BJJ. 500 cals burned.

[Auron MacIntyre @AuronMacintyre]

Evangelical Christian activists were mocked relentlessly for being right about everything

The mocking of the slippery slope was a war on basic pattern recognition

[PastorJustinDean @JustinDean]

514/730. Full body push day in the gym + 30 minutes on the treadmill. 12% incline at 3mph.

[PastorJustinDean @JustinDean]

513/730. Emmaus University golf outing. We achieved MJ status with the boys. Back to back to back champions.

[PastorJustinDean @JustinDean]

512/730. Preached twice. Then a round of golf.

[PastorJustinDean @JustinDean]

511/730. Mowed the grass, yard work, plus a 20 minute walk.

[PastorJustinDean @JustinDean]

510/730. A round of golf.

[PastorJustinDean @JustinDean]

@adamsteen Done.

[PastorJustinDean @JustinDean]

@adamsteen Do you have any plans to be in the Quad Cities anytime soon? We’d love to have you at Sacred City Church to hear your vision for Iowa.

[Dante @DanteTheDon]

Was not ready for Eric Church to deliver the best commencement speech I’ve ever heard.

Six guitar strings. Six pillars of a life.

Faith. Family. Spouse. Ambition. Community. You.

Tune them when you’re whole, not just when you’re broken.

Watch the whole thing.