At the end of the video the Reverend says our only job is to love god by loving others. The only question is … how much will you love. Good thoughts in this video. Had the church been like this when I was a teen, had the church been inclusive like this when I was a little boy being molested by the Pastor I would have stayed in the faith, in the church. I might not have believed in the magic parts of the bible and I might have quibbled over the facts, but I would have stayed for the community. The environment of people who enjoyed each other’s company and loved the comradery of fellowship. Sadly the churches I saw as a child, as a teen, and as an adult lost people because rather than love, they clung to hate. The joy of feeling better than some other group, of being able to look down on them, to revel in negative emotions meant more to them than hugging those different that maybe they did not understand. They set themselves up as god judging others. Not as a loving flock, but as deciders over who was worthy to be in the flock. They were not the sheep, they wanted to be the Sheppard. Hugs
Hello everyone. I have slowed down posting about Ron and myself other than the home repairs. Some because I have been so tired and worn out from trying to help Ron as he worked on the new bathrooms by doing as much housework as I could around the house. But I Ron realized I was trying so hard to pitch in to help as he did the remodeling that I was getting sick / ill. He has been insisting and pushing me to not help so much. But yesterday was grand.
We had a small supper of a few hotdogs with homemade chili. I ate one. Then we picked everything up and went to bed together. We had “quality time” if you can read between the lines. Then we cuddled back and forth and fell asleep in each other’s arms. Then at around 1:20 am we both woke up to urinate … it is an old man thing. But we started talking and I was hungry as I felt my blood sugar was dropping bad. He was also hungry. So I suggested that we get up and have waffles with him showing me how to use the waffle maker. So we got up in our birthday suit to come from the bedroom to the kitchen and learned that the stuff to make a good waffle meal we did not have. So I offered to make a scrambled egg, link sausage, ham steak, and toast meal. We had the stuff but it was more than we had planned for that time. I thought he would just want to go back to bed. But he agreed. He offered to do it, but I felt I wanted to.
I got 6 eggs out, and I use a sharp knife using the sharp edge to snap the eggshell to break open the eggshells with no fragments in the bowls. Then I add a small amount of water to add fluffy ness to them. We had 6 frozen sausage links which I fried and the ham steak. I fried the sausage and ham, then I did the eggs.
Everything came out perfect and Ron was so impressed that as he ate he told me it was the most wonderful midnight meal he had ever had. I admit I had only one sausage, a quarter of the ham steak, And only one of my two pieces of toast. Ron ate the rest including my sausage, rest of my ham steak, and my second piece of toast. I was so happy and full but so tired. I picked stuff up while Ron sat in his chair and then we decided to go back to bed. I was willing as I was very happy as my belly was full and everything seemed wonderful.
Then as we laid there cuddling talking about things … Ron made me very happy with a second quality time event. He asked me … how could I refuse. I was so spent and happy … that we slept in the next morning with him still in my arms.
Today I have had little time for the blog. I did get time to add more stuff to my cartoon / meme / news item post. But mostly while Ron rested and worked on the new bathroom I did the dishes, started / did laundry, and took care of the house stuff. But all day Ron has been so concerned for my health he has tried to keep me from doing stuff, wanting me to just take the entire day off and rest. I so love that man. For supper he made me a stir fry meal with both thick noodles and angel hair pasta. I love it. I do miss the Chinese take out we sometimes still order because I love the hot / sour soup.
Even as right wing media is desperately trying to erase the gains made by the LGBTQ+ communities here and in the UK, worldwide we see more and more acceptance for LGBTQ+ people. Maybe there are no rabid Christians trying to force the entire country to worship their version of god based on their church doctrine. Those people do what we first did, they got out among the people, they stood up to be counted, they were vocal on social media. We better get back out there. Send the best speakers to these places to correct and spewed misinformation / lies. They wore shirts with their pride on them. I am going to buy a few as soon as I get paid. I need new shirts anyway. Hugs
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On the heels of legalizing same-sex marriage, Thailand’s Public Health Ministry is now allocating 145.63 million baht (roughly $4.3 million) toward funding health services, including hormone replacement therapy (HRT), for transgender citizens.
The Southeast Asian country’s National Health Security Board approved the funding during its 2025 budget planning. The Bangkok Post reports that these health services are expected to provide care for around 200,000 trans people out of the country’s estimated trans population of 314,808. Deputy government spokesman Anukool Pruksanusak said in a statement that the Public Health Ministry’s coverage of gender-affirming healthcare aims to reduce national health disparities by emphasizing both physical and mental healthcare for “sexually diverse individuals,” per the Bangkok Post.
Earlier this week, thousands of queer Thai couples tied the knot as Thailand officially began recognizing marriage equality on January 22, making it the first Southeast Asian country and the third Asian country overall to do so. Under the legislation, same-sex couples are entitled to the same legal, financial, and medical rights afforded to married heterosexual couples, including inheritance and adoption rights.
“This marriage equality law marks the beginning of Thai society’s greater awareness of gender diversity, and our embrace of everyone regardless of sexual orientation, race, or religion — our affirmation that everyone is entitled to equal rights and dignity,” Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said in a recorded statement played at a mass wedding in the Thai capital city of Bangkok on January 22, according to CNN.
The responses were taken from the organization’s 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People which made the following open-ended request to respondents (who were between the ages of 13 and 24): “We would love for you to share a message of advice or encouragement to other young people in the LGBTQ community.”
“I walk around my city, and I see businesses that have gay pride flags and pride flags in their windows,” one gay man said.
One respondent wrote, “Finding a sense of community helps so much, whether it’s online or in person. Just find a place where you can ask questions and read about other people’s experiences.”
Another stressed the importance of envisioning a better future and doing what one can to cultivate community support now.
“Find your group and work towards where you wanna be in life and you’ll make it there,” one wrote, as other offered encouraging words like, “Keep pushing,” “Keep going for another day,” “Just keep going, please,” and “Please keep strong.”
Another urged resilience and perseverance. “Be yourself always,” they wrote. “You may lose connections along the way but trust, there’s someone out there who will love you.” Another respondent agreed, writing, “Just look for the people who love you no matter what.”
Others urged self-compassion and patience as young people figure out their identities. One such message said, “Don’t rush finding your identity. Take your time to explore, and don’t be afraid to take up labels if they feel right at the time.”
Some respondents suggested repeating self-affirmations like the following:
I love you.
I believe in you.
You got this.
You are so strong and you are deserving of love always.
“Wake up everyday, and tell yourself you love yourself — until, one day, you believe it,” one young person wrote.
Other respondents acknowledged the adversity faced by young LGBTQ+ people, whether in politics or unaccepting homes.
“[It’s] very easy to think that the entire world [despises] you for who you are when your home environment conveys that,” one wrote. “You might not feel safe and happy now,” another wrote, “but hopefully, there will come a day when you find your home.”
“Don’t let the people around you tell you that you can’t love who you want and feel what you want to feel,” one respondent wrote.
Another added, “I know things look down right now and it’s hard to see past the hate that’s being spread but it always helps to remember that most people don’t hate us and that there are tons of us out there that are willing to help.”
“We’ve always been here. And we always will be,” another wrote. “They cannot erase us.”
Other respondents advised doing things to lessen negativity.
“Ignore the Idiots and cut people off if [you] have too [sic]. Life is too short to care what people think about you and they don’t even have to live your life and experience the things you do.”
In the same vein, another respondent replied, “Don’t let the people around you tell you that you can’t love who you want and feel what you want to feel.”
“Peer support is associated with lower levels of emotional and behavioral distress among LGBTQ+ young people,” the Trevor Project wrote. “However, not all LGBTQ+ young people have consistent access to peer support, especially LGBTQ+ young people who hold multiple marginalized identities.”
As such “hearing words of encouragement and advice from fellow LGBTQ+ young people has never been more needed,” the group added.
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