January marches on. It’s partway through week three already.
As for health news, I’m all better & folks haven’t had any surprises this year yet. My eyes got postponed due to weather. It’s a matter of driving 3.5 hours one way and gambling that nothing will leave me stranded on the road in 2 degrees. I’ll wait. Doctors still need to identify why Mom’s platelets are unstable. Once that’s settled, they want to determine whether illness caused her heart weakness or heart weakness is another illness to be treated.
A funeral sparked a visit of friends. The deceased was well honored, though weather kept many people away. My friends and I played Quiddler (before & after, not during!). If word games and card games make you happy, this is the one for you. I noted that it’s in my friend’s core to simply play as written and in her husband’s to see what else can be done with a game. That hearkens back to a long-held question of mine, and I have pre-K teachers to ask. It turns out that even in toddlerhood, some kids ask, “What’s usual?” while others ask,”What else?” Without one group, there’s no stability, and without the other, no innovation. A very interesting (and freeing) observation.
We also watched a couple of movies. Admittedly, I’ve shied away from them (and this genre) because sensational nonsense gives me a headache. However, I found that these, and a third one I watched later, were even-handed and left each viewer to reach their own conclusions. In all, parents were being good parents without surrendering either their integrity nor their childrens’ hearts. So, don’t be afraid to watch “Heaven Is For Real,” “Miracles From Heaven,” or “The Cokeville Miracle.” They’re actually pretty good.
As for Deaf Kids Connect, I’ve made more progress in the Jesus Movie curriculum, our deadline is February. We also have a retreat coming up in February, so I did some work on my presentation for that and some editing of retreat materials. At 40 hours weekly, that would be easy… but if you’ve been observing a while, family health and the ministry budget have me at 15 hours weekly, and the “salaried volunteer” role is not doable at this time. Like the movies mentioned above, I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
On the other end of the spectrum are deaf inmates – yup, those folks behind actual prison bars as well as trapped in a place of extremely limited (if any) communication. There’s more to be said on the topic, but we’ll stick to correspondence. Several inmates have written us through the years, sparked by seeing the Dr. Wonder’s Workshop show. One asked about a referral for a new deaf-friendly clergyman as theirs was retiring at age 87. Another asked for advice in transitioning from prison to the outside world. Currently, a man is looking to us for information and resources to increase communication with a deaf inmate at his facility. Although we are a children’s ministry, be assured that we minister to more than children.
Another look at the dilemma today reveals that there are three hurdles to address in a ministry to Deaf children. In no order, there’s pride (my kid doesn’t need that), information (I didn’t know that), and resources (that doesn’t exist). This isn’t limited to families, as we’ve frequently run into churches and communities with these same issues. Consider yours. We can, and try to, help with two of them. Jesus’ help is needed with all three.
Watch for blog articles in the near future, likely on the Stained Glass site. You can also add these to your prayer list now, or even take action as so moved.
February may hold the deadlines for projects I’m working on, but only God knows what deadlines exist for various people we could be reaching. That’s why I’m here.