Lotsa cool, new stuff over at BXG

Since I took a part time job (downgraded from my full-time job as of a few weeks ago to make more time for my activism "lifestyle"), I've had some time to devote to my bXg life. The result of that was the weekend in Memphis and some updates to the beyondexgay.com website (yay!) and, as some of you have noticed, more blogging (yay again).

As of yesterday, we added a whole bunch of new stuff onto the bXg website.

John Holm, an ex-gay survivor who told his story for the first time in Memphis, has a newly-created collage up on the site. He gave a framed copy of the collage to Melissa Fryrear at Love Won Out in Memphis. We'll be posting his narrative very soon. Box Turtle Bulletin has also just posted video by Dan Gonzales of him telling some of his story outside of Love Won Out.


We also posted a new collage for a wonderful guy named Tom O'Toole, Jr. Tom's narrative has been on our site for a while, and we've posted two really great articles he's written (Hope Deferred and Loving Dissonance), but we had not yet posted his collage, which is viewable here.

We also created three new pages to cover our memphis weekend. One is our photos page, the other is the video for the weekend, and last (but certainly not least) is the detailed page about the chalk talk, which includes text from the wall and some commentary. If you only have time to watch one video out of the five, I'd recommend watching Jacob Wilson's video about his time at Love in Action. It moved me to tears.

One of the workshops we held at the Beyond Ex-Gay Mid-South Regional Gathering (wow, who came up with that title? – what a mouthful, Peterson, er, I mean, anonymous person) was about recovery, and all the ways we can recover from the harm. As a group, we came up with lots of different ways, and have turned all of the ideas into an article called "Ideas for Recovery from Ex-Gay Harm".

We've also highlighted a new narrative, Randy Baxter's story. Randy writes,

"...after three years as a counselee and over a year in ministry leadership, I'd observed and prayed with hundreds of sincere sisters and brothers in Christ who, like me, had diligently read the Bible, led exemplary lives of faith and submitted themselves to God in every way possible for years and years — all without any change in sexual preference."

Read all of Randy's story

The other new page on the site is a narrative by Marcus Lira. Marcus's narrative begins,

It starts with a desire.
And it ends with conflict.
That’s why it’s called the Struggle.

Read the rest of his story about his time in Love In Action (the pre-Memphis version).

Dan Gonzales, a frequent writer and filmmaker for Box Turtle Bulletin (as well as filming wonder for bXg) produced a powerful piece of art for the Ex-Gay Survivor Art Show in Memphis. See a larger version of his work on our Visual Art page, and while you're at it, check out our other artists, too.

So take a look at all the great new stuff at bXg. And if you want to be on our mailing list so you're alerted when we make major updates, please send us an e-mail at bxg (at) beyondexgay.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

From Peterson: Lovely Shifts and Dramatic Changes

Note: This is a direct cross-post from Peterson's blog entry about some exciting updates in the Ex-Gay Survivor Movement.

by Peterson Toscano

I keep having to remind myself that it is not even a full year since Christine Bakke and I launched Beyond Ex-Gay (bXg) and the Ex-Gay Survivor Movement. That was in April of 2007 after an all night crazy session where we posted nearly 30 pages of content in eight hours. Now we have over 120 pages of content with loads of narratives, art work, articles and resources. Soon we will have a recap of what happened in Memphis with photos, video and more.

After the launch of bXg, we partnered with Soulforce and UC Irvine's LGBT resource center to organize the first ever Ex-Gay Survivor Conference in Irvine, CA. By choosing to have it in the same city and the same week as Exodus' annual conference, we saw the beginnings of a deeper sharing that previously had not taken place between ex-gay leaders and ex-gay survivors.

By telling our stories through art, in the media, over dinner, in a chalk talk, apologies, through video and written narratives, our message has been that for many of us, our ex-gay experiences caused us more harm than good. In telling our stories we have sought to understand what happened to us and to stand as a witness and warning about some of the harm that can come from trying to change and suppress our orientation and gender differences.

People began to listen. Others felt encouraged to speak out. In less than a year dozens have come forward, not to attack ex-gays, but simply to share how the ex-gay life was not possible or healthy for them, and that they found a better way for themselves.

Some discussions we held were very public, others very private, and will remain private. And we have begun to see shifts and changes.

Love Won Out has since revamped their web site and now presents a slightly more realistic picture about change than they have in the past. Ex-gay leaders attended some of the Ex-Gay Survivor Conference events and blogged about how moved they were by what they saw and heard. People have begun to use the term ex-gay survivor in the media and on their blogs. Recently Wendy Gritter, a leader of an Exodus affiliated program in Canada, specifically referred to the stories at Beyond Ex-Gay in her keynote address to Exodus leaders earlier this year. Wendy has since published a piece over at Ex-Gay Watch outlining some changes she would like to see take place at Exodus.

And today we learn from Ex-Gay Watch that Alan Chambers announced that

In August, 2007 after a lot of prayer, deliberation and listening to friends and critics alike — but mostly the Lord — we decided to back out of policy issues and our Director of Government Affairs took a position with another organization.

This is good news indeed and comes after much work on the part of folks both within and outside of Exodus to help the leadership to consider backing away from getting tangled in debates about LGBT rights.

Back in July during the Ex-Gay Survivor Initiative sponsored by Soulforce, ex-gay survivors shared their stories around the country with a recurring theme about harm, but also with a call to ex-gay leaders and church leaders to consider pastoral care and people's lives before politics.

John Corvino, a philosophy professor and wonderful lecturer about LGBT issues recently wrote an excellent article about ex-gay issues. In it he says,

People often ask me what I think about ex-gay ministries. I have no objection to them in principle, but serious problems with them in practice.

I have no objection to them in principle because I believe we should give others the same respect that we ourselves demand. That includes giving people wide latitude about living their lives as they see fit. If you really believe that you’re heterosexual deep down, and you want to take steps to help realize that identity, far be it from me to insist otherwise. I’ll let you be the expert on what you feel deep down, as long as you show me the same courtesy.

You can read the rest of the piece here.

Lovely shifts and dramatic changes are happening. Thank you to all ex-gay survivors who have stepped up to share their lives and their stories. Later this week along with Box Turtle Bulletin we will release more video of ex-gay survivors who recently began to speak out. We cannot underestimate the power of telling our stories honestly, vulnerably, not out revenge or malice but out of concern for others who may not know the other side of the story.

(posted here by Christine, written by Peterson Toscano. I'm thrilled by all the progress made and by Exodus' willingness to listen, but busy putting our post-Memphis recap pages together so we can show them soon!)

Memphis Chalk Talk

A few folks have asked about our Chalk Talk at the Beyond Ex-Gay Mid-South Regional Gathering that we had in Memphis last weekend. Thanks to Dan Gonzales we have a video of the Chalk Talk wall. I'll also post still photos and quotes from the wall in a few days. But in the meantime, here's the video. My comments are below (I'd recommend watching the video before reading my comments that relate to it).



I wrote a number of things on the wall during this exercise. It was a really interactive time, probably because we had a much smaller group and smaller space. We really took time to take in what each other was writing/drawing, and we responded to what everyone else was writing, and I noted more connecting of ideas and thoughts. Like I said in a previous post, this weekend was something that I really needed, in part because I wasn't able to experience much of our Irvine conference because of my organizational role. I was able to feel like I could take part in this, and I did. So many things touched me deeply, that I can't even isolate one or two things that were written, but I'll try.

I've still been struggling mightily with the emotional dependency/enmeshment idea and trying to figure out relationships. Ironically, because of how this weekend has rocked my emotional boat, I've had to reach out to my friends a lot this week, and I've seen that they're there for me, and I see that I've been better able to accept their help and friendship without being as afraid of needing or being too dependent. So I think I have made progress there and I am so glad for the friends I have, and especially for a few who have hung in there while I've kept my distance out of my own fear.

(Thanks for the photo goes to Bruce Garrett)

I had a huge emotional reaction to the idea of failure and "you didn't try hard enough" and I wrote the response "or you tried too hard." Since the Glamour article I have had both of those sentiments directed at me way too many times to count. (I know, sometimes I think I'm too sensitive a soul to be doing this work) But that has hurt me a great deal. I just can't win. And while I know this isn't about convincing the unconvinced, it still hurts to always feel the failure, especially with people I used to be close to.

Which leads me to the locked church (seen in video), and the idea of those whose lives I used to be such a part of, who welcomed me into their homes with open arms, as long as I was Christian and ex-gay. Actually, two of "My House of Cards" playing cards related to this so I thought I would post them here. They're about finding a church with welcoming and open arms, and sinking into those arms that just exuded feelings of unconditional love, which turned out to be conditional, even though I believe they did love me. Still, it hurts to have so much loss when you come out again. (click to enlarge the cards)

Advocate of the Impossible

One of the pieces of art I showed at the Memphis Ex-Gay Survivor's Art Show was called "My House of Cards" and consisted of a huge number of collages on playing cards that together became a collapsed house of cards. The collages contain bits and pieces of my ex-gay story and encompass everything from the highs and hopes to the lows and the devastation, including some of the aftermath.

I've been thinking about posting some of the cards here on my blog periodically. Here's the first one. (A note: these cards reflect my experience only...your mileage my vary.)

Ooooh, this reminds me. If you check out bXg or read Peterson's blog (and really, who doesn't?) this is way old news, but anyway...there's video up of the press conference we held at the art show location on Friday. It's in 5 parts and all can be seen here (including some wonderful information about ex-gay issues by Jim Burroway of Box Turtle Bulletin and Jacob Wilson sharing for the first time ever his heart-wrenching Love In Action story). The gallery walk part is on video 5 (but I haven't seen it yet - can't stand watching myself on video. I am pretty sure there is footage of the house of cards piece). So check out all the video and the art show. Special thanks goes out to all the participants and to Dan Gonzales for his super videoing skills.

More Memphis

Our weekend of Action and Art in Memphis is almost over and it's been an amazing success.

Today we had, among other events, the Mid-South Regional Gathering for Ex-Gay Survivors and Allies. At the conference in Irvine, I was so busy doing the behind-the-scenes work I didn't really have the ability to participate in the conference. This afternoon, though, I was able to take part in the activities and workshop we'd planned. I really needed it. I've been heavily processing a lot of stuff the last 6 months or so and it really helped to get together with a group of folks who know exactly what I'm talking about, and just really "get" me. It also felt good to be able to communicate with my art.

We did another chalk talk. We'll post photos of it soon. It moved me deeply and I participated by writing a lot of thoughts on the paper wall, and then crying and processing during the debriefing. I really appreciate everyone else's comments and input, as well as the understanding nods as we all talked about our experiences. It is so wonderful not to feel alone with all of this.

I also enjoyed the workshop about practical ideas for recovery. It was good to see just how much work I've done, and also to get ideas from others for healthy ways to recover. I'll be working with Peterson in the next couple of days to get that up on BXG.

Thanks to everyone who attended today's gathering. It was very special for me. Thanks to everyone who helped support us (and who continue to support us) over this weekend. This work is not easy, and it's been a hard weekend for me, as I strive to be real with what's going on with me, protect myself in some cases (know my limits), and yet try to maintain committed to the responsibilities I have on the organizational side of things (limited as they are; thanks Peterson).

It's so good to know that even though we are just fragile human beings with fragile psyches and hearts, together we can heal, and perhaps together is where the true healing begins.

Walking in Memphis

I know, what an obvious title. I'm out of inspiration. I'm using it all for the art I'm finishing up for the upcoming Memphis show.

Speaking of Memphis (how convenient!)...

There's a great article in the Memphis Commercial Appeal about Jacob Wilson, a former Love In Action participant who attended the program as a teen, and a participant at our weekend of action and art. Local memphis folks might consider adding to the comments to show that not all memphis folks agree with some of the comments that have been initially left there.

Since we're on the topic of Memphis, here's a schedule of the upcoming events this week:

• NEW!  Friday 2/22 noon Press Conference (Press only) at the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center MGLCC (892 S. Cooper). Ex-gay survivors, local leaders and experts release statements about the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered community in response to Focus on the Family and Exodus promoting an inaccurate picture about LGBT people.
  

• Friday 2/22 12:30 - Sunday 2/24 6:00 PM The Ex-Gay Survivor Art Show at the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center MGLCC (892 S. Cooper). The show is hosted by the MGLCC & Beyond Ex-Gay.

• Friday 2/22 8:00 PM Doin' Time in the Homo No Mo Halfway House--How I Survived The Ex-Gay Movement, at First Congregational Church (1000 S. Cooper)

• Saturday 2/23 2:00-5:00 PM Beyond Ex-Gay Mid-South Regional Gathering, MGLCC (892 S. Cooper)

• Saturday 2/23 8:00 PM Preview of the Morgan Fox's film This is What Love in Action Looks Like  at First Congregational Church (1000 S. Cooper)

• Sunday 2/24 10:00 AM Art, Activism and Spirit a presentation by Peterson Toscano at the Memphis Friends Meeting (917 S. Cooper)

• Sunday 2/24 2:00-6:00 Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center's 5th Anniversary Party at 892 Cooper 19 Years in Memphis, 5 Years in Cooper Young!

• Sunday 2/24 7:00 PM Memphis premiere of Transfigurations--Transgressing Gender in the Bible, at Holy Trinity Community Church (685 S Highland Street)

Watch the informative and stylish video ad created by Daniel Gonzales.

If you can join us for any or all of the Memphis events, please do. If you can't, please keep us in your thoughts that the weekend will be exactly what it needs to be for all involved.

Call to Artists!

Beyond Ex-Gay (bXg) and the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center will host an art show with works by those whose lives have been negatively affected by the ex-gay movement. This could include former ex-gays, as well as spouses, children, parents, and friends of former ex-gays.

In the summer of 2007, at the Ex-Gay Survivor Conference in Irvine, Beyondexgay.com organized a similar art show that helped to communicate how for many of us ex-gay experiences caused more harm than good. Beyondexgay.com also features art by ex-gay survivors at its online gallery.

Submissions of all types of visual art are welcome including drawings, painting, collage, mixed media, photography, or multimedia. Please send photos of your work, along with dimensions, a brief statement about the work, and any other information by February 13th, 2008 to bxg (at) beyondexgay.com

We cannot guarantee that we will feature your artwork, but our panel will review your submission and contact you with further details.

Reason and art

(click to enlarge) ©2007. Christine Bakke.

If you're anything like me and find that art speaks to you on a level that words perhaps don't touch, check out some of the new art at Beyond Ex-Gay. We have photography by Gregg Moreland (who showed his work at the first ever Ex-Gay Survivor Art Show in Irvine this summer), as well as art by Michael Goll and David Christie, two other ex-gay survivors.

If you're an ex-gay survivor and artist, please shoot me an email at bxg [at] beyondexgay.com as we're organizing an upcoming art show and would love to consider your work for inclusion.

Remember Pearl Harbor

Today is Pearl Harbor Day. While I do not want to minimize in any way the pain and suffering experienced in our nation on this day in 1941, I wanted to post this art I created a while back called "Remember Pearl Harbor." I thought today might be an appropriate day to post it. A part of my story intersects with this day and while I don't feel comfortable sharing all of the background, certain actions of mine in the past have been compared to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Hence, my emotional connection to this day, and the art that came from this.

Here are some other views. Click on any image to get a larger view.

Heaven and hell on I-35

Turns out I somehow missed yet another opportunity to get cured of my homosexuality (you'd think with all the effort, prayers, money, sweat, blood and tears I've put into this that it wouldn't be quite so elusive when others just walk right into their healing). Apparently I-35 (the highway that runs vertically through the center of the U.S.) has turned into something of a spiritual war zone. Groups of Christians have declared Purity Sieges along various sections of I-35. The "sieges" consist of youth “siege”[ing] sites of impurity in their city, by doing on-location prayer. They will be protesting the machinations of evil, such as pornography, injustice, abortion, and other strongholds. They will stand outside of spiritual strongholds and visually demonstrate their opposition thereof, while doing warfare in heavenly realm." Gay bars, not surprisingly, also are considered sites of impurity.

Anyway, this piqued my interest not only because I traveled over parts of I-35 while on Thanksgiving holiday, but also because CBN (Pat Robertson's "News" show) has a report of a homosexual being set free from his homosexuality.

I found this account online:

One of the most astounding encounters of the evening was that of James, a 19 year-old homosexual atheist, who called the police in an effort to stop the Siege. One of the men from the Siege struck up a conversation with him, and James stated that he had never accepted Christ nor felt the power of God. The young man told James he was about to experience something that would change his life, and that is exactly what happened. James was one of many who fell under the power of the Holy Spirit that night.

He then accepted Christ as his Savior, and was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. We serve a miraculous God!

Immediately, James packed his Jeep and moved in with five students who attend Heartland School of Ministry, a Bible college in Irving, TX. He left his family, his partner, everything he knew, and everything that identified him with his past. His plan is to attend Heartland School of Ministry. In an interview, James said, “I am willing to talk to any homosexual, drug addict or sex addict because I know what hell feels like, but now I know what heaven feels like and it is so much better.” [emphasis mine]

It made me so sad to read parts of that. I mean, I'm happy that he feels like he's in a better place. But in the interview he gave for the CBN piece, he talks casually about being headed to meet his fiance (when he had his God encounter), but he doesn't mention anything about that situation now.

These left behind ones many times end up also being ex-gay survivors. All I'll say about James' story is that so many of us have had huge emotional rides where we rode a wave of enthusiasm and thought we'd gotten "the cure" only to end up flat on our faces several weeks or months down the road (it's been less than three months for him since this encounter). But what about the fiance? What about the family?

I saw this all the time in ex-gay groups, and have now heard about it many times over from the ex-gay survivors I've come into contact with. People who had just cut everyone off. People who came in and got a lot of support and attention because they'd made the sacrifice to "leave it all behind" (I know I got some of that for my drastic decision to move four states away and cut off contact with 99% of the people I knew). But rarely are we encouraged to think about (or take responsibility) to what we do to loved ones, former partners, etc.

The other thing that struck a strong chord with me was the quote that he "knows what hell feels like." He may have known what hell feels like, but many people, when they have a chance to really sort it all out, find that it usually doesn't have anything to actually do with being gay. Many have issues with drugs and sexual addiction, and these are definitely valid issues that needed to be addressed. But those aren't the same as being gay. Being gay does not equal knowing hell. I've known lots of pieces of hell in my life, and in the end, most of it has had little to do directly with being gay in and of itself, but much to do with the messages I received from society, family, and church, poor decisions I made in my life, reactions to bad situations, and so on. I also have known and know bits of heaven, and they have to do with lots of things most often unrelated to my sexuality or my spiritual identity. I treasure those things, but they don't depend on whether I am gay or not (or identify as such).

I do wish James the best. Truly I do. But I also wish the best to his former fiance and his family, who might be feeling a bit of what hell feels like right now. May they find a bit of heaven again soon. And may they not have to leave themselves (or anyone else) behind on I-35 to get there.

Untitled (on a chilly thursday evening)

So, as usual these days, it's been a while. I'm not even bothering to apologize anymore. How are you all out there in blog-land? Thank for all the encouraging and supportive comments on my last blog entry. For those who knew that I lost my cell phone a couple of months ago, I finally have a new one. Please e-mail me your digits, eh?

Here's some media updates....

Brian Murphy finished a 15 minute video of our Ex-Gay Survivor Conference at the end of June 2007. Check it out.


You can click the link here, or click above.


If you have a short attention span, or the 15 minute film won't load, or heaven-forbid (::shudder::) you have dial-up, there's a 3 minute version as well.


Direct link

Peterson and I were interviewed the other night in a very nice, relaxing 2-hour interview on the "Strictly Confidential" radio show. Peterson talks more about that interview in a recent post. You can hear the whole thing here. It starts out with some new stuff, but then we get on there within a few minutes. About a two-fifths of the way in, Peterson does some of his characters from the Homo No Mo Halfway house.

OK, I think that takes care of the recent media stuff.

I have tons of stuff I want to say, but still am not in a "words" mode I guess.

Here's some digital art I did the other day. (You can click to enlarge.)




the end for now.

In Mesh

It's probably not surprising that I've been somewhat burnt out on ex- or ex-ex-gay stuff. So I've been a little distant from bXg and ex-ex-gay blogger friends. At the same time, I've been creating a lot of art. Peterson told me that perhaps I have things to express that don't have words. I'd have to agree. Still, I always attempt words, anyway.

A few days ago, Peterson posted maybe one of the most important blog posts I've seen in quite a long time. Called "Ex-Gay Harm--Let Me Count the Ways" it begins to catalog some of the harm that many of us have experienced from our ex-gay time. From relationship harm to financial harm, for some of us, the toll has been great. There have also been wonderful comments as people add their own stories and lists. It is turning into a powerful witness and catalog of experiences.

I recently posted my own comments, which I will copy and paste here, following a recent piece of art (click for larger image):

I have avoided reading this post and the comments here for a few days, because I was afraid of getting close to some still-fragile places.

While I have worked through a lot of the grief of what I lost, and the damaging messages I received and believed, it still hits like a ton of bricks to read this post and these comments.

I have finally starting creating art again, after eight years of creative slumber, a casualty of shutting off so much of myself. My art right now is still very much about my ex-gay time and the hopes, dreams, desires, and great loss.

The biggest problem I still face is fear of close relationships with others - especially women. Fear of "emotional dependency" or "enmeshment." Fear of needing someone. Fear of...I don't know. Just fear, and now just a consistent inability to wholly participate in friendships with others.

I know that it's not true - that while some relationships can be unhealthy, most are not. And closeness and yes, even at times emotional dependency should not be demonized. There are times when we all need others, and to be shamed for relationships that we had while ex-gay, those that others deemed unhealthy; relationships that may have been getting us through some of the tougher moments in our ex-gay process...it is a great harm and a great disservice to us at a time when we were the most vulnerable, and the most laid bare, needing others around us.

I am 36 years old and beginning a new life. I am still trying to put some pieces together, and still trying to figure out relationships. Still trying to untie myself when it comes to closeness with others; needing others; being able to receive from others.

I have lost much, and I could talk about how much I have now gained, and all these things (many real) that we do to convince ourselves that "all things work together for good." I know that I now live with great authenticity, and that I have the strength to use my story to help others. But tonight, in the aftermath, it hurts, and I'm feeling it.

Intercommunion

Seen on E-bay:


Which reminds me, I haven't checked out Engrish.com (and the Engrish.com store) lately.



I'll be back to some serious blogging soon, for those of you into that sort of thing. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Some of my best friends are into serious blogging.

Je m’habillais comme une bimbo

I dressed like a bimbo.

Yes, yes I did, for a while there, my senior year in high school. Sometimes. It's hard to dress like a bimbo in a Jack in the Box uniform.

This tidbit about me comes from the French version of Glamour magazine - their September issue. It was re-written in first person, so I talked to them for a while on the phone, reviewed a draft (had a friend translate it roughly from the French) and that was that. "I dressed like a bimbo." Not exactly how I would have put it, but never mind. Take note: I would love that on my grave stone.

Anyway, I'm alive. Yes, I am. I know it's been 85,000 years since I've updated my blog, or responded to e-mails. I've been exhausted, and just trying to recuperate and put my life back together after the last few months (6 months, I guess) of craziness. I needed to get back working again, as it turns out that activism doesn't pay. Who knew?

So I've been trying to have a regular life again, and I'm picking up any work I can take. It looks like I'm giving up some of my wild, freelancing ways though, because I took a job three days a week at an agency. But that's boring stuff. You don't want to read about my work.

I did go on a spectacular camping trip a few weeks back. My friends rented some kayaks and took me along with them to a little island off of a lake in Wyoming. Oddly enough, it's actually the first time I've been to Wyoming since I moved here in 98. It's only about two hours up the road.

I've never camped at a place where I had to ferry my gear over in a kayak. Tons of fun, wonderful weather, good conversation and friends. I also got to do something I've always wanted to do, but never felt safe enough doing. I camped by myself.

My friends had to leave on Sunday, and I didn't have to leave until Monday. So they left me and my kayak on the little island. I figured I would hear anyone coming, and really, who would want to? It was kind of in the middle of nowhere (in fact, the nearest town was 20 minutes away, with a population of 15). And not so easy to get to.

It was an amazing experience. The quiet. The moon. At one point, I was out kayaking when the moon was coming up in the sky. A beaver decided he needed to check me out, and kept swimming around my kayak, at times being only about four feet away, until I would do something crazy and threatening, like breathe, and he would slap his tail, go underwater and appear again in a totally different location. We played hide and seek for a while, with the moon rising on a piece of lake and land inhabited by no human but me.

Thanks to everyone who has e-mailed me, or commented on my last blog entry. I promise not to be gone so long in the future. I'll be back again soon.

Fortunately

I think I am done with my traveling for a while (I hope anyway). My cats hope so, too. They miss me. I honestly don't know how Peterson does all the travel he does. Just a couple of trips through an airport in a month about does me in.

So I'm back from a recent trip to Kentucky and Tennessee. I did have a couple of days in there when I was able to get some much needed rest.

These last few months have been really busy and filled with a lot of wonderful things, and some incredibly stressful times as well. I remember this book I wrote when I was in the third grade. It started out "Fortunately, I..." and then the next line would be "Unfortunately,..." and they would alternate back and forth like that.

Fortunately, I got to see my cousins. Unfortunately, my cousin had oral surgery the day I arrived so was in pain most of the time. Fortunately, we're all pretty low-key folks and just go with the flow. Unfortunately, I messed up the back bumper of my rental car. (The second rental car I've damaged in the last five weeks. My insurance agent asked me to stop playing bumper cars.) Fortunately, I got to see some GCN friends. Unfortunately, I had a lot of problems with air travel and delayed flights and missed connections. Fortunately, I got to swim in the lake behind my cousin's house. Unfortunately, a rock dislodged while I was climbing down to the lake and I fell a few feet into a pile of huge rubble, and got bruised and scraped up. Fortunately, I was still able to swim across the lake and back.

Fortunately, I got to meet Disputed Mutability in person after talking to her online since 2003 (she's great). Fortunately, I had time to read two books. Fortunately, I got to caravan with Jamie from Soulforce (we had to drive from Lexington to Nashville), and share a hotel room with him. Fortunately, I got to spend a bit more time with Darlene Bogle. Fortunately, we held a press conference at the Baptist Convention headquarters that went well. Fortunately, my cousin's kids are a lot of fun to be around. Fortunately, I have friends who really care. Fortunately, I have more fortunate things in my life than unfortunate.

That's my last two weeks in a nutshell. Fortunate indeed.