Author: Chris Westbrook

Wow, it has been a while since I have written anything here. I need to fix that, so here goes. I just finished a course on AI programming that was very interesting. I also started a new job at Pennsylvania College of Technology as an accessibility specialist part time.

I am hoping to spend at least part of my remaining time mentoring and speaking to kids about blindness. I want children especially, but the public in general, to realize that we can do pretty much anything the sighted population can do given the proper opportunity and training. This past weekend I was in state college at the Family Learning Conference put on by PATTAN where I got to speak to families of children who were deaf blind. I view it as part of my mission in life to help families and their children with similar conditions to mine succeed, although this is made difficult by the fact that school districts don’t often wish to connect families with other resources that may be helpful so it is difficult to find them. If you know of any opportunities for me either physically or virtually, please get in touch. That’s all for now.

AI is a huge buzz word these days. But what is it and how should Christians think about it?

Ai is short for Artificial Intelligence. That sounds really scary to some people, but it doesn’t have to be when used correctly. At it’s core, AI is simply using large language models to predict text, perform tasks, and engage in reasoning. It is simply a tool. It can be used for good or bad, like any other tool.

That doesn’t mean there are not concerns, just like with any other tool. I am concerned that AI will help lead to people socializing less with other humans and more with computers. This has been going on for a while, and it is not good for society. We cannot replace God’s creation with computers. Another concern is economic. We must train our workers to embrace the future that is coming so they are not left behind.

There are some really positive things about AI. Using chat gpt has made me much more productive in my programming. It has also made finding information more natural. It can make mistakes, and we must be aware of that, but it is improving all the time.

It can also be used ot further the kingdom. I recently created a small project using data publicly available from gotquestions.org that allows users to ask questions by voice or text. You can see it at https://gotquestions-web.vercel.app/ Let me know what you think.

In summary, AI is strictly a tool that can be used for good or ill. There are concerns around socialization and economics, but it can be extremely helpful. There are Christians exploring how best to use these tools to spread the gospel and good Christian teaching. I hope this article is helpful.

I just wanted to take a moment to wish all of my readers a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Remember the reason for Christmas, that Jesus our savior was born in a manger. Amidst all the hustle and bustle of time with family, presents, Etc. take time to remember and praise

our savior. Remember that he died and rose again that we may have forgiveness of sins and eternal life with Him. Praise God!!

Forgiving yourself or someone else is probably one of the hardest things to do in life. Yet we must do it if we are going to claim to be followers of Jesus. When Jesus was dying on the cross, he said ““Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34 NIV). This does not necessarily mean that you forget the sin entirely or live like it never happened, Jesus would never want you to go back to an abusive situation for example, but it does mean that you cannot hold a grudge against someone else or yourself. Sometimes I find the hardest person to forgive is myself. While it is necessary to repent of our sins and apologize when appropriate, that should be the end of it. We must move forward in life and not wallow in the past. And we must also accept Jesus’s forgiveness and turn to Him to receive eternal life. He died for our sins that we may be forgiven and receive the gift of being with Him for eternity (John 3:16, Acts 16:31). I urge you to turn to Jesus Christ, make him Lord of your life, and find a good bible believing church today. It will be the most important decision you will ever make. And then you can truly forgive yourself and move on with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and his Word, the Bible. Thanks as always for reading.

I have some online friends, some of whom are sighted and some of whom are blind. These are people that I have never met in person who I still consider my friends. Particularly amongst blind people, it is neat to have a small community where we can share struggles and successes. However, I feel that even though I can’t see them, I still get the most out of my relationships with people physically close to me. The ones who do life with me. The ones who are there through good times and bad, who see all of me, not just what I want to show. I am very fortunate to have in person friends, I know some people who are not so lucky. Friendship seems to be a dying art these days, the give and take and just being there for people. Everyone is so busy I get it. But when you find a true friend, it is worth it to keep that friendship going. Thanks to all who have been there in some cases almost as long as I’ve lived here. That is all for today.

I have always known I was blind, there’s no hiding that. I have always known I was hearing impaired also, but for a long time I didn’t recognize the significance of it. I’ve worn hearing aids for as long as i can remember. I remember as a little kid getting the hearing aids pinned to my shirt so I wouldn’t throw them. Growing up I was able to do pretty well in school with the help of an FM system which consisted of a mic and transmitter the teacher would wear and a receiver I would wear. I am sure the technology is way more advanced now. I didn’t really think about my hearing loss growing up. In college I soon realized I preferred less background noise so I could actually speak with people, but I still didn’t think about my hearing loss much and went about my life. Sometimes I faked that I could hear more than I did, but for some reason I never told people I had a hearing loss even though my loss is quite severe. I think we all have a tendency to hide our limitations from others. Then a member of the blind community said I was deaf blind. She explained that anyone with any amount of vision and hearing loss was considered deaf blind. At first I resisted this, because I could hear pretty well even though I really couldn’t, and my hearing loss didn’t affect me or so I thought. The more I thought about it the more I realized she was right. This started the journey of coming to terms with my hearing loss.

Shortly after that, I qualified for a cochlear implant. That is worth a separate post all to itself, but let’s just say it was a rocky road. Once I finally got comfortable with it, I realized how much I was missing out on before. My usable hearing still fluctuates based on the amount of background noise and sometimes even the acoustics of the rooom. But now I am more willing to admit to others that I have a hearing loss. It just makes things go a lot smoother when people know and can give me that extra grace. I find that most people don’t mind repeating themselves, especially those who are my friends. I would encourage those who have a hearing loss to not try to hide it, but admit it and seek treatment for it. It will make your life a lot easier.

Some readers may be wondering how I can be a Christian when i am blind. Some may think I should be bitter at God for allowing me to be blind. I am thankful that I am not bitter at all. There are certainly things that are difficult about being blind, but overall God has given me a great life. Paul wrote about the thorn in his flesh in2 Corinthians. He said that he would rather boast in His infirmities, that God’s grace was sufficient. I can’t say I feel that way all of the time, but God has allowed me to have a positive attitude most of the time. I also know that I will be able to see once I am in heaven and my body will be made new. So I am willing to put up with blindness and hearing loss for a bit longer, knowing that eternity will be so much better. God has also given me the skills and technology that I use to combat the problems of blindness today, so that even now i am able to live a pretty independent life. Praise God for that. If you are struggling with bitterness and discouragement, give it to God and look at the positives both in this life and the life to come. I hooope you will come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ, remembering that He died on the cross for you and has forgiven you of all your sins if you accept his offer of forgiveness. Thanks for reading.

Yesterday was one of those days. We’ve all had them. I woke up feeling fine, and was going to make a phone call about possibly getting some new audio equipment. Then the fun began.

My phone fell into my recliner, and in an attempt to find it I moved the recliner and crunched the phone. When I found it I realized it was broken, with the camera hanging off the back of it. While it still kind of worked, I knew I needed a new phone. Off to Xfinity I went, via uber, which of course is a cost, not to mention the cost of the new phone which I definitely wasn’t planning on. By the end of the afternooon I was feeling pretty frustrated, setup was taking longer than I’d like, etc. I then read the commentary from the bridge, our church’s recovery program, and it was about dealing with discouragement. Something I desperately needed. It referenced Psalm 77, which I encourage you to read. The first part of the psalm is all about someone who is doubting God and feeling discouraged. The second part of the psalm is about remembering what god has done. In times of discouragement, it is important not to dwell on ourselves but to fix our eyes upon Jesus. Remember what He has done for all of us by dying on the cross and saving us from our sins. Remember God’s past provisions in times of trial. Remember that contentment is a state of mind rather than a response to getting one more material thing. Let us all be thankful for what we have and give praise to Him, and in so doing defeat discouragement!!

I want to talk about what ableism is and it’s effect on us. Ableism is the attitude that a nondisabled person is inherently superior to a disabled person. Most people won’t come right out and say this, but the way they act betrays their attitude. For example, some people talk down to us as if we were children when we are adults capable of making our own decisions. Even if we are not fully adults yet, i.e. under 18, we still deserve a level of respect that we are sometimes not given.

Another way ableism manifests itself is assuming that we as disabled people cannot do simple things or things that would have nothing to do with our disability. For example a lot of people still think we are unable to use a computer or mobile phone effectively, when given the right tools and possibly some training both can be used effectively by many disability groups.

I think the only way we can defeat ableism is to educate the public. It is not always easy, sometimes it doesn’t work, and we have to pick our battles. Nonetheless I have seen in my own life that once people are educated they can become some of our closest friends and are fiercest advocates. Also don’t mistake asking questions for ableism. Some people are just genuinely curious about how we do things and aren’t afraid to ask which I think is a great thing. As I’ve said before, surround yourself with curious people who believe in you and want to help you succeed.

Ableism can effect different people differently depending on our personality, support system, etc. It is important no matter how you feel in the moment to step back and realize that there are people out there who get it and are willing to help you succeed. Find a good community, whether that be people with disabilities or nondisabled allies, and keep pushing forward. You never know what you are capable of and what God has in store for you. Always keep pushing forward and never give up.