I Like Being with My Own Kind
Do not insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must fear your God; I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:14 NLT) Recently I went the annual picnic of Hearing Loss Association of America, Washington State Association. I have been away from hard-of-hearing people for so long, I missed being with them. They are my own kind. With them, I feel more at ease. If I don’t hear something correctly, it’s OK. No one will look down on me. After all, everyone in the group is hard of hearing. We understand each other. I am happy to say that Creekside does a good job of providing assisted listening...
Read MoreWe Have an Awesome God
I’ve been the primary caregiver for my wife. Being a caregiver can be very difficult, and when the government gets involved, it becomes a real headache trying to do everything, and to do it right. And this is in addition of making sure my wife is cared for. In Washington State there is Department of Social and Health Services. DSHS. Their maze of regulations is huge. To make it even worse, the basic law comes from the federal government. So now you’re dealing with both state and federal. Then add county and different non-profit organizations, and you wonder how anybody can figure all this...
Read MoreI Like the Book of Job
I cannot eat for sighing; my groans pour out like water. (Job 3:24 NLT) I know many people think the book of Job is depressing. It’s not very popular. First there is a rich man named Job, who fell on some very hard times. Not good. Then some windbags get together and yak, and blah, blah, blah. And then, in the end, Job becomes rich again. This is basically the whole book. All 42 chapters—minus a lot of details. But it’s because of these details that I like the book. First Job was rich, but because of fire, theft, and a house collapsing, killing his sons and daughters… Then, to make things...
Read MoreMercy for the Hearing
Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!” (Matthew 18:21-22 NLT) A few years ago I was in a coffee shop when I noticed a Deaf woman signing to a friend on a tablet. After she finished, I was able to start up a conversation with her. This was before I learned American Sign Language (ASL). We communicated by way of a few signs and a lot of typing on the laptop I had with me. I learned that she was born deaf and her sister was born hard of hearing. Both have been...
Read MoreWhat I Learned in ASL Class
Last year I was reading a blog about the deaf and how many of their relatives won’t learn ASL. I myself have seen this. But as I read further, I realized they were talking about a different ASL than what I thought. They were talking about Australian Sign Language. I was thinking American Sign Language. Interesting that two countries in different parts of the world have the same cultural problems. Of course, since I am an American, I’ll be talking about what I learned while taking American Sign Language. I was talking with a couple of people once about why people who lose their hearing will...
Read MoreI Am Stubborn
“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” (Matthew 7:3-5, NLT) Imagine being in a room with a small group of people sitting on metal folding chairs. Some even holding a cup of coffee. Someone stands in front of the room and says, “Hi....
Read MoreWelcome To My World, Mom
“Do not insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must fear your God; I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:14, NLT) “English is my second language, I have no first.” quote from me, Steve Pettijohn. Unless you were you had a hearing loss or deafness from a very young age, yet born to hearing parents; this may not fully make sense. The relationship between my mom and I has taken a strange turn in the last few months. I know they say it’s common for a parent and child to change places, but this is different. My mom has entered my world. Brief history. One of my...
Read MoreHoo Hoo Hoo-aaoo
“Do not insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must fear your God; I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:14, NLT) During The Scoop event on June 29, we were asked what we would like the church to do. One of the things mentioned was ministering to people with problems communicating. Either problems hearing or speaking. I started thinking of all the problems I’ve seen and experienced over the years. My hearing loss is different than most. Even though my hard hearing friends (and others) will disagree, I do not consider myself disabled because of it. But it’s a...
Read MoreHelp!
“Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2) Why is it so hard to ask for help sometimes? You know there are many people who would like to help. One day when I was walking out of the bank, I saw a couple with car trouble. I had no problem giving them a jump start. In fact I was happy to do so. A few years ago the heater went out on our car. The only way to fix it was to replace the heater core which would require removing disconnecting all the wires and vacuum hoses, then removing the dashboard. Removing all nuts and bolts, and disconnecting all...
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