Same Kind of Different As Me demonstrated the life we are called to live.

Loving others as we love ourselves.

Once we do that, God will take the ordinary and make it extraordinary.

“He must become greater; I must become less.” – John 3:30.

And if you must have some kind of review… the book was great. Read it.

A few weeks ago I did something that I have sworn off many times.

I ironed.

You see, I have a process when I do laundry. I do NOT allow myself to go anywhere while my clothes are in the dryer. I must be there when the dryer is done so I can immediately scoop the clothes out of it and head off as fast as I can towards my room.

I then work like a madman (do madmen work really hard or something? Never understood this phrase) and hang everything up before the wrinkles set in.

I am convinced that hell is being in a room with an iron and a huge pile of wrinkled clothes. All day long you attempt to get wrinkles out of clothes…oh God, please save me! I didn’t want to see the movie Ironman at first because it sounded like a horror film to me!

It doesn’t matter how hard I press, how many times I spray starch, or push that little steam button, the wrinkles do not come out. The shirt or pants look just the same as they did before I attempted to iron.

Which leads me to my next point, and it’s a good one, with all the advances in technology how has the iron been forgotten? When cavemen needed to get the wrinkles out of whatever it is they wore, all they did was get a big rock and put it on top and moved it back and forth. What has changed?

We added heat and a few buttons that don’t do a thing. To be honest, we didn’t really even add heat because when you move something back and forth what do you get? Friction, or…drumroll…heat.

We can send a man to the moon, but we can’t improve the iron?

So inventors out there, I beg of you please come up with a new way to get wrinkles out of clothes. Please. I have shirts that I haven’t worn in months because they are wrinkled too much to wear.

Oh, and please don’t tell me that it’s already out there and it’s called “Wrinkle Release” spray. All that does is get my clothes wet. Then they are wet and wrinkled.

Sometimes, all a person needs is a little perspective.

In my own life, I had never though much about perspective. Situations would come and go and my attitude never made a difference in the outcome, or so I thought. It wasn’t until I read Andy Andrews book, “The Noticer” that my perspective changed.

The book tells the stories of the residents of Orange Beach, Alabama. They have the same problems and fears as any other town in America, but they also have Jones. Not Mr. Jones, just Jones please. He is a noticer. A what? Yeah, a noticer. He notices things about people and offers them “perspective.”

Take for example a 27 year old who was just lost his job. He is clueless on what comes next in his life and is scared. Jones would sit that kid down and offer him perspective. He would say, “Like all things that seem like a big deal… this ain’t a big deal. Okay?” By the end of the conversation that 27 year old would not look at himself as an unemployed 27 year old who is clueless on what is next. He would be a 27 year old who has the extra time to spend with this creator, many more chances to show God’s love by serving others whenever they need it, and finding out what his true passions are in life.

That is perspective. That is what Jones did for me.

The Noticer is a book that will entertain while imparting wisdom into your everyday life. It will remind you that what you are going through in life is no different from what others are experiencing. It will offer you perspective and leave you with some seeds to plant in someone else’s life. In the end we all should strive to be a “noticer” for others. Because sometimes, all a person needs is a little perspective.

It’s Wes. Not Mr. Wes, just Wes.