Day 3 = BSL

Nice and simple entry for today. As a keen BSL learner, I am always looking to expand my knowledge, enrich my vocabulary and practise my language use through prayer (of one form or another). I sign a lot in my work, and find it a very beneficial medium in which to start to contemplate, and grasp, difficult concepts. 

As a creative person, and fond of using my hands a lot, I thought BSL would be a fantastic medium in which to pray today. So I chose one of my favourite scriptures (Isaiah 40:31), matched it with a beautiful song (On Eagle's Wings) and spent my 30 minutes this afternoon learning to sign the song, whilst focussing on the comparisons between the song and scripture, and applying the signs from the song to similar signs for the scripture. 

I am a slow learner, so it took me most of the time today to commit the song to memory, yet as I was working through it, I adapted some of the signs for ones that meant more to me and which I felt were more appropriate to the context. The demonstration sign for Satan, for example, was 'eagle', and the song included the words that God would raise us over the difficult situations in our life by carrying us on eagles' wings - not such a great image and not really fitting to the context, so I changed the sign for Satan to the one for devil.

I found this time of 'study' more memorable and absorbing. I could still remember the signs a week later, which is extremely unusual for me. I often get bored when sitting still and find it difficult to concentrate on scripture for such a prolonged period of time, but I had an hour today, and would have kept going if I hadn't had a meeting I needed to attend.

I will use BSL in the future, and am looking to attend signed services if I can, to continue to develop and widen my knowledge and use of BSL in scripture and ecclesiology.