Tales From Another Planet

One million words could not express What one heart holds for you One million small requests That you always followed through Every time and every place Where I felt your sweet embrace Exists for every time to come Within my mind There's no where this love can hide There's nothing my heart can do It's bursting out and breaking through Until I think I'll die if I do Or die if I don't see you One million things to do now Waiting for your return One million broken vows And people I have hurt Everything and everyone Tell me that I can't go on But you show me who I am and  Heal my heart One million more days And yet I still will wait One million tired and poor And just one more You said you'd come back for me Even if you had to leave One million behind And so I know You are one in a million mine

Recently, there have been several news articles coming out about parents of very young kids allowing their children to "change gender" pre-puberty. Understandably, there are medical benefits to this. Unfortunately, in my opinion, it is a classic case of child abuse. Here's my problem. Unless you have a toxic view of masculinity, there is absolutely no need or even a desire for a boy to become a girl (or vice versa). For example, a pro transgender friend of mine shared an article that basically asked everyone, whether transgender or not, to think about their gender. What about you says that you are a man/woman? What about you doesn't fit your idea of a gender role? What do you think of when you think of a man/woman? And then they admitted that the final decision to change gender was, "I just don't want to be a man/woman". Well, here's the problem with that idea... not one single person in this world is the "ideal" model for their gender.

 Tragedy or triumph can strike in the most unexpected of places. It has been nine months into this pandemic in America, and there are still no answers. People who have “taken every precaution” and still fall ill. Teachers at schools that have been closed since March for “safety” and still fall ill. Depression, anxiety, and suicide at all time highs, and people are still falling ill. And yes, it is a disease that has caused many to die. Where are the answers? Why can’t we do better? The answer is and has always been, that we cannot control life and death. We may hope to, we may wish to, we may struggle when “plans” change. I hope one thing that we’ve learned is not to take each other for granted. Our lives are not a guarantee. A smaller risk of dying because I am young is not a zero chance of dying. Our discipleship group has recently completed an in-depth study of James. While there is so much in the book of James, one thing that really stood out during this time was the story of