Living Proof

Let me just say one thing (maybe two or three or four) -- if there is one thing about me, or if you knew my wife and I on a personal level, the first thought (or second or third) would not be "sexual deviants" or "filthy heathens". You would't call us "perverts", unless I groped you while Mad wasn't looking or Mad winked at you on the sly. Ok, all kidding aside, you would probably just think that we were a normal (maybe not so normal) couple who love one another and who've been together for 22 years. We are two imperfect people refusing to give up on one another. We believe in God and make God number one in our lives. We try and share everything we have with everyone else as much as we possibly can. We have a deep respect for one another. We're there in sickness and in health, as we vowed to one another when we were married by our Christian pastor. She's my life companion, she's my best friend and confidant -- I can tell her abso...

Most of us adapt to our cultural backgrounds and even current influences. Most influences are cultivated by our own relation to whatever we were brought up to believe in. But what if your core beliefs were shaken up a bit? What if God came down to earth and said, "You got it all wrong! Why did you solely rely on words that men wrote? Some of that wasn't inspired by me." How would you look at the world? And if you are a conservative Christian -- if everything you read with total conviction came tumbling down, how would you respond to those you warned about hell? Many conservatives are angered by the whole transgender bathroom fiasco. I've covered this a million and one times, so to save you the pete and repeat -- let's just say this: how does this affect you? Most unexposed people who have never met someone who is transgender are assuming that they all look the same, dare I say that derogatory term mostly used in the porn industry of "tranny". They ...

This morning I woke up confused. It's Primary Day, and although I have detached myself from either left or right parties -- I'm lost about who to vote for. When you think about the candidate you're choosing, do you base it on what you hear from mainstream media? Or do you mostly base your decision upon what other people say about them? How do you know who's right and who's wrong? And how do you get real and true info on each candidate? Do you believe what they say? I mean, let's face it -- all politicians are liars anyway. Here's my dilemma. Not every pro-lifer is a republican. Not every person of the LGBT community is a liberal or democrat. Not every Christian is a republican either. Why do all of these political opinions categorize someone into a political party? I guess you can call someone an "independent" if they have various views on certain issues? Or maybe that's up to the person? Or, maybe the democrats and republicans all sleep in...

"Why are you mad at God?" It was a question asked while I was going through a horrible night of seizure-like episodes which kept me from sleeping for more than five days in a row. Why would God let this happen? Doesn't He want me to be productive in the daytime? Does He need me to help other people? Doesn't He need me to take care of my family if they need me? Doesn't He? Yes. As I tried to make my way across the day's fatigue and exhaustion, I thought to myself, "Well, my body's gotta shut down sometime, right?" And it did for about four hours. But then it was back to zero sleep. I could've gotten angry at God again, but what exactly am I expecting my imperfect and vulnerable body to do? Are we meant to live in perfect health all the time with no aches, pains, ailments or issues? Are we supposed to float through life without problems and distress? So when they say, "If He brought you to it, He'll get you through it," -- t...

Have you ever thought about your struggles in life and wished you could trade it in for something else? We all have crosses to bear and I think that's specifically designed for each individual. I keep hearing, "God won't give ya what you can't handle" and "If He brings you to it, He'll get you through it," but sometimes our thought-to-be "big problems" are something we would want back if a larger issue came barreling through our front doors. I'm going to be honest here.  I cursed God last night. I was angry.  As the most imperfect Christian you can meet, I set a time every single morning for at least 1-2 hours to pray and meditate. I don't tell a lot of people that. If I don't get to do it in the morning, I do it before bedtime in my living. I make the room dark, I light a few candles and use sage for cleansing. I've been on this bizarre journey with God -- one that I never thought possible. He has given ...

In the past couple of months, I've witnessed various examples of the consequences of being unexposed to certain lifestyles, whether it be the LGBT community or any type of minority race. What I noticed first is the fear. I'll explain each one shortly. The fear is always about the "unknown" and after that, the fear develops into either a "dislike" to even "hatred" if it's a deep-seated issue brewing. Some people have encountered negative experiences with either gays, lesbians, hispanic and black people. But what they're doing is blaming an entire race or lifestyle on say their one experience with just one PERSON. There are some people who were brought into believing that anyone different from their race or lifestyle is to be seen as either "dangerous" or to be avoided altogether. I grew up in an old fashioned Italian/Catholic household. My parents were born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. My father was like Archie Bunker...