The first week of the year is gone already, 51 to go, and deadlines creeping up. By creeping I mean marching with long strides and a ball-bat in hand. But at least it’s downgraded from what was in hand before.
We’ve made it through December and the first of January without some urgent family illness requiring multiple doctor visits. I didn’t escape a schedule change, but the objectives got shrunk significantly so I can breathe easier. The Covid that took me offline from Christmas until about yesterday was thankfully not horrible and now mostly in the rear-view mirror.
Next, as far as I know, is some work on my eyes, or at least my right eye. The doctor who said I had small growing cataracts two years ago recently stated that one is ready for surgery and explains why my vision has deteriorated so much. I’m completely night-blind now and must be safely parked before the sun sets. That’s 5’ish in the winter time, quite annoying. Blood pools in both eyes add a layer of complication and caused me to reduce blood-thinners prescribed to avoid the next stroke. I have follow-ups with primary and cardio in February and need to schedule a follow-up with neurology as well. All of these are financially self-pay and may be reimbursed if one event exceeds the cost-sharing threshold. I did check into regular insurance options, and that simply won’t work at this time. Jesus isn’t surprised, and has proven Himself quite the provider all along.
The curriculum project that’s had me wringing my hands since August is chopped down to a few words & questions per scene. We’re targeting parents who are already somewhat competent in their signing abilities, and we’ll go the other few layers deep on a later project. Also in progress are the kids signing memory verses which we’ll start releasing in February and the mini-conference also in February where we’ll explain what we have and determine what to do in the next year and who might step up to help. We’re hoping to finally dive back into the SignLab work after that mini-conference and I expect to be in on that as well as our backlog of hard drives with files to be found, sorted, and stored on newer (and smaller) media.
Personally, I have just a few months left in Albany and a plan to build income through writing and sewing. I intend to look into Patreon and online sales. I still have several children’s books in mind, and I’ve just added a couple more in recent days. I need to make a list of publishers and see which ones best align with my materials and personal values. The marketplace has gone beyond whether you build a quality product for a fair price and has become what they call a “bully pulpit” where your coffee choices represent a vote for this ideal or that one. That’s sad, but Jesus told us it was coming. Trading hours of effort for a simple paycheck is also on the radar if it comes to that. I did that last May and realized I need to be a bit more careful in my agreements this time around.
I’ve become more acquainted with the content of the Jesus Film by Deaf Missions coming out in April, and truly look forward to its release and aftermath.
I also took the opportunity this weekend to see His Only Son, the story of Abraham and Isaac, and highly recommend it. What the author did with the material is simply beautiful, showing both Abraham’s grief and his life in flashbacks as he learned to trust God and rely on what he believed he heard. Sometimes we have to go back to the understanding that God knows how we’ll receive and process His instructions, and He has a plan to make course corrections as needed. Ours is to grow in our ability to pay attention and follow directions. Since we have the advantage of reading a completed Bible to cross-verify God’s commands and character, we should do that more (I should do that more).
A movie on Paul’s conversion had a bit more embellishing and proved to be more entertainment than education. Beware those, as not all “based on a true story” films actually follow the truth of the case. Fortunately the important points of record can be found in the scriptures, and as I’ve said before, where we don’t line up with those tells us where we need to adjust if we intend to be holy.
Week two of 2024 has begun – what are you doing with it?