An ADHD Journey

Some random and not so random thoughts ... due to my brain this blog will likely be updated whenever I remember it exists

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About Me

I'm a 40 something year old living in Leeds and currently working as the Faith at the Margins Lead for Leeds Church Institute. I have a PhD in the History of Science and am currently traing for ministry in the Methodist Church. All views expressed in this blog are my own and do not reflect on my employers or on my training institution.

As for the rest of it, that is very much what this blog is about but in some respects it all started with the question "who is Paul Coleman" I'm kind of curious to find out.

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A tiny flickering hope

The greatest gift we have as Christians and the greatest gift we can share with the world is the hope we have in Jesus.

Paul Coleman

2 days ago3 min read

Clearing out music - having a theological clear out

OK so today's ADHD hyper focus led me to start tidying up my study. Before I knew it, I got distracted sorting out the immense piles of worship music taking up one of my shelves and realising just how much my theology has changed over the years. I've been playing church music almost as long as I can remember. I have a love hate relationship with songs such as Shine Jesus Shine, It is one of the first pieces of worship music I learnt and I have a distinct memory of inflicting

Paul Coleman

Dec 28, 20253 min read

Writing an Inclusive Carol - A Modern Magnificat?

Last night I took part in Queer Carols with Pride Church Leeds. We had an awesome time singing together and sharing some Christmas Joy with those who had come into the city centre doing their Christmas shopping. This morning, one of my colleagues pointed out how non-inclusive the words of many traditional carols are. Last night, I wrote an LGBTQI+ verse to 'God rest you merry gentlemen.' This morning, I wrote a few more verses, picking up on some of the themes from the Magnif

Paul Coleman

Dec 11, 20253 min read

Rushing towards Christmas ... An advent reflection.

This week I've been thinking about what it is we are preparing for in advent and what it means for us to repent.

Paul Coleman

Dec 7, 20255 min read

It's world diabetes day

To be honest I'm not sure I really need a day for this, I've had type 1 diabetes everyday since I was diagnosed in mid 1999(sorry I can't remember the exact day) , so to be honest I'd kind of prefer day off from dealing with it. Being diabetic involves rather a lot of maths, calculating the carbohydrates in anything I eat, figuring out how much I need to inject, remembering to include an injection for a cup of coffee (my favourite flat white has 6 grams of carbs) having a bee

Paul Coleman

Nov 14, 20252 min read

Reflecting on fear and hate Vs hope and love

I'm leading a remembrance Sunday service again. I'm aware that this is almost the last time that this will be a choice (assuming that both myself and the Methodist church conceive to agree that I should be ordained). This year, the massive upsurge in nationalism means that I am even more wary than I have been in the past. Over the last year fear of the other and hated for anyone who is different has become much more prevalent. As part of the service I will be sharing elements

Paul Coleman

Nov 9, 20253 min read

Reading Zacchaeus Anew: Disability, Stature, and Inclusion ... some initial thoughts.

This Sunday's gospel reading was Luke 19:1-10, the story of Zacchaeus, a short man who climbs a sycamore tree to see Jesus. This story is often interpreted as simply a wealthy sinner who repents. Zacchaeus is presented in a way that assumes that he is corrupt; after all, we are told the crowd asks why Jesus would go and stay with this sinner. In this morning's sermon, it was suggested Zacchaeus repented and promised to repay anyone he had cheated because, for the first time e

Paul Coleman

Nov 2, 20253 min read

My brain got bored

My brain got bored while preparing for Sunday ... So here is a parody of womaniser .... Sorry ...

Paul Coleman

Oct 17, 20252 min read

Made in the Disk Image of God ... Random ADHD thoughts while preaching

I found myself thinking about computers, disk drives, and disk images, and whether humans could be made in the disk image of God.

Paul Coleman

Oct 1, 20253 min read

Made in God's Image

Over the last week, there has been discussion in the United States about trying to “eliminate autism.” Some leaders have spoken about it...

Paul Coleman

Sep 23, 20255 min read

The kingdom comes in the weeds.

"Weeds" in broken stone, hope roots deep in wrong places, grace breaks through the cracks.

Paul Coleman

Aug 21, 20252 min read

Sermon Blogging: The Reckless Love of God

God’s love is not cautious, measured, or calculated. It pursues us, longs for us, calls us to readiness, reminds us of what is important, and promises us joy.

Paul Coleman

Aug 16, 20255 min read

People as things ....

"sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. That’s what sin is.”

Paul Coleman

Aug 7, 20253 min read

Getting into the habit ....

I've always felt slightly guilty about my apparent lack of a "regular" pattern of daily prayer. Now, don’t get me wrong, I pray every day, often multiple times a day, but never at set times and not normally in a way that feels planned ... So I have a lot of sympathy for the disciples needing to ask Jesus how to pray.

Paul Coleman

Jul 28, 20254 min read

And the sea was no more ....

In Scripture, “the sea” often symbolizes chaos: Leviathans rising, armies drowned, the deep threatening everything ordered. Likewise, my brain can feel a little primordial with racing thoughts, shifting focus, and emotions surging like storm waves. Yet just as Genesis shows God’s Spirit hovering over the deep, and Jesus calms the stormy sea, I often find that spending time with God in prayer and worship can help to bring a sense of calm and stillness to my chaotic thoughts.

Paul Coleman

Jul 24, 20253 min read