Keeping Caught Up

For the last few years, I have been doing the routine of laying flat in bed for at least 2-3 hours, then sit for 45 minutes, and repeat. On flat time, I often watch YouTube, Pure Flix, and other video options. It wasn't infrequent to run out of new things to watch from my regular channels with so much down time. However, I always ran out of time to get work finished during my time upright. Now, the scenarios are starting to switch.

With everyone still at home due to the coronavirus, many people are looking for things to do, especially parents. As a result, some organizations have greatly increased the amount of material they put online. One I regularly watch is Answers in Genesis. They normally publish 1-2 videos a week that I generally watch the day they come out. In late March and all of April, they have posted 4-5 videos per day during the week and a 2-3 on the weekends. A lot of the content has been geared toward kids, but it's still interesting to watch. However, they aren't the only place with more videos.

Other resources I regularly watch are Living Waters, Is Genesis History, and more, not to mention railroad related content. With so many new videos being produced, I'm having trouble keeping caught up with everything. The majority is educational and teaches about the Bible and the world God has given us. I enjoy watching it, but am starting to get a back log in my watch list as well as skipping some updates.

On the other hand, like most people, work related items are getting slow. One of my clients that has multiple updates a week suddenly decided to do everything on their own. That change cut my monthly work in half. I have a tendency to take it personally when a client leaves, thinking I didn't work fast enough, charged too much, or they're no longer willing to work with someone in the quad life (it has happened). This time though, I haven't felt the usual disappointment and think it's partially due to trying to save funds that suddenly decreased.

I will still have plenty to do with writing and catching up on my own sites for my sitting time. Watching the increase of videos has given me more sermon ideas, so I can possibly prepare messages as well. That is if churches start meeting again and I get asked to preach somewhere. I'll see what comes in the weeks and months ahead and will use the time God has given me.

Over 1,000 Miles

With my calendar completely empty of any activities, I have had plenty of time around the house. My caregivers have also thankfully been healthy and able to come. Therefore, I have been getting plenty of time to go biking.


I have primarily been three times a week for the last few months and have seen some good results. My legs are regularly doing at least 20 seconds on their own and have had a few times of well over a minute. When I started biking in summer 2015, they were used to being completely lazy and not do anything on their own. They're still lazy, but just not quite as bad as they used to be.

Weekly report (click for larger)

Every Monday, I receive an email summarizing my previous week's sessions and a total of what I have done since starting nearly five years ago. Since March, I have been watching the total miles get closer and closer to 1,000 and estimating when I would reach it. I thought I calculated correctly, but one session didn't record correctly due to internet trouble. So my official report read only 998 miles biked.

Finally, just before Easter, I broke the 1k threshold. There weren't any fireworks or horn blasts, just an extra digit added to my total mileage. However, for legs that haven't moved under any sort of control for 35 years, I think it's a great milestone to reach.

For equivalent, I could have pedaled from my home to Grand Rapids, MI, and back, and have miles to spare. Other destinations could be the Ozarks in Missouri or train watching in North Platte, NE. Just going one way, I could have gone to Houston, TX, Grand Junction, CO, or Washington, D.C.

In the quad life, it is rare to have my limbs actually do something constructive and not just hit and kick those trying to help me. I'm very thankful God has allowed us to make such technology and that He blessed me with the opportunity to use it.

Another week has passed with three more 3.58 mile segments in the charts. I don't know when, or if, I will get to double this achievement, but I am grateful I have been enabled to go this far.

Easter 2020

Today is Easter Sunday, when Christians all over the world celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. It is an essential part of the Christian faith, much like Christmas celebrations of Jesus' birth. For people that don't regular attend church, their are often only two times a year they go, Christmas and Easter. Church sanctuaries are usually filled on these dates, except this year.

The shelter-at-home rules are still in place as they have been for over a month. I attended an evening church service on March 8 that concluded with a doctor and county health supervisor saying to be cautious about the coronavirus and advising to limit contact with people. That was the last time most churches in my area had services in their buildings. Since then, it has quickly become the norm to go to YouTube on Sunday morning and watch a message that was recorded a few days earlier. Worship music is also included from singers staying as far apart from each other as possible.

Two days ago was Good Friday. My family, and church congregation, normally go to a late evening service that includes taking of communion, singing and reading about Jesus' crucifixion, and leaving a dark, quiet building. This year was watching the service online, drinking cranberry juice from med cups when prompted, and quietly listening to my church's talented musicians sing.

At this point, some predictions say the United States will start leaving homes and resume regular activities in early May. Others have given dates in early summer, and some say not until November. Whatever the date, I'm fairly confident life as we new it in early March will eventually return. When it does though, what will the church look like?

One conservative Christian commentator I watch predicts people will be even more hesitant to physically attend a service and just opt for online viewing. One friend I talked with said her family is enjoying sitting at home Sunday mornings, in pajamas, and watching sermons and singing. I admit that I somewhat do as well, but it is not church. Sunday worship is not just listening to a sermon, but also fellowship with fellow believers.

At some points in life, including the quad life, worshiping in person isn't always an option. However, speaking from experience, it can quickly become a part you miss and look forward to joining together again. Hopefully that will again become reality, but it could take even longer than other aspects of life.

No matter how we worship, remember Jesus' death and resurrection nearly 2000 years ago. Christians serve a risen Savior that offers a free gift of salvation for all who truly repent of their sins and trust in Him alone. If you haven't done that already, please be sure to do so now, before another day has passed.

2020 Picture Challenge

My mom likes to scrapbook. It's fun to look back at old memories and see what was happening and remember vacations or something our family was doing. For a few years, she has taken on a goal of taking one picture per day. It would be best to be something unique, but also just ordinary activities as well. Some years it's a picture a week, once a month, a group of people, and different varieties.

In January, I started the first few weeks with adding a graphic, or picture for non-webmasters, to my blog. Without intentionally meaning to, I added something every week of January and into February. When I noticed it, I thought it would be a fun challenge to see if I can add some type of graphic for every blog entry this year.

Now that April is here, I've managed to get through the first quarter of the year with adding something. If I plan ahead, I'll try to include pictures of what I'm doing. However, I don't often plan and come up with something on Saturday afternoon or evening.

For a few years, I have had an account at an online store that sells pictures for use in advertising, web sites, or anything related. Every week, they offered one picture you could download for free. I don't like passing up that price, so I now have over 400 generic photos I can sort through and use as well.

When the year is complete, if I find something each week, it should be fun to see what I thought pertained for every topic. I have come back to old posts to try to jog my memory about a certain time in life. Clicking on a month, I'm often greeted with just a long block of text with different headings. I like reading, but something to add visual appeal always helps.

Today's picture is just me sitting here as I wrote this. It's a very common scene for my quad life, but I never know what the view could be in a few years, or months, ahead. Celebrating Palm Sunday and Good Friday by video this week will be strange. However, it's the new normal we have become familiar with this past few weeks.