Crafty Queer

Wanted a different look for the summer, so I made myself a fitted bedspread and shams. Kinda diggin it. ;-P

MOM

“If you have a mom, there is nowhere you are likely to go where a prayer has not already been.”

― Robert Brault

IMPORTANT MSG FOR ALL!

“Don't be too hard on yourself. There are plenty of people willing to do that for you. Do your best and surrender the rest. Tell yourself, "I am doing the best I can with what I have in this moment. That is all I can ever expect of anyone, including me." Love yourself and be proud of everything you do, even your mistakes, because your mistakes mean you're trying.

If you feel like others are not treating you with love and respect, check your price tag. Perhaps you subconsciously marked yourself down. Because it's YOU who tells others what you're worth by showing them what you are willing to accept for your time and attention. So get off the clearance rack. If you don't value and respect yourself, wholeheartedly, no one else will either.”

ASK THE BIG QUESTIONS!

The BIG question for 2014!!?? We are always hearing about how Social Security is going to run out of money. How come we never hear about Welfare running out of money? What's interesting, the first group worked and paid for their money... the second didn't!!

LOVED

This is the message of Christmas: We are never alone. ~Taylor Caldwell

Xmas Eve Delusions

CHRISTMAS QUOTE

One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don't clean it up too quickly. ~Andy Rooney

Gonna be a long night!

In this season of barren woodlands and naked branches upraised to grey-veiled sky,
family...chosen and born...provide the warmth of color and heart.

Happy Solstice!

Latter Gays!

Yay! I want the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to sing my wedding march.

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4482703/

4 & 20 Blackbirds Fall from the Sky!

OMG!  You have to watch this video.  This has got to be some of the most ridiculous news I've seen in awhile.  It reminds me of all the Jack Van Impe end-times crap my mom used to make me watch.  It amazes me that this 21st century world still has time for this kind of medieval superstitious rambling.  Tell me, Cindy...do you suppose global warming is an answer to the antagonistic and frostbitten hearts of you and your sheeple?
btw...I'm surprised that 500 leopards didn't fall dead from envy after seeing that Wilma Flinstone ensemble.

You can read the transcript of the video here.
4 & 20 blackbirds fall from the sky!

3 o'clock High

I was reading this article this morning, and it brought back some memories.  It's amazing how this kind of subtle hate can gauge popular mindset.
Read through the article and then see if you agree...
It reminds me of high school, with the Republicans as the preps and jocks and the Democrats as the band geeks and artsy theater kids.  We all know that kids can be cruel.  As gay people, we've heard that statement incessantly.  What alot of people fail to see is the motivation behind those hateful comments.  Most likely, it was either to establish or maintain popularity.  Making derogatory remarks strikes something in our funny bone...ask any successful comedian.  It also provides something to rally behind, allbeit a bad cause.
What I'm trying to say is that the modern political climate seems to be nothing more than a high school popularity contest.  What alot of people don't realize is that as gay adults, we are not as easily isolated as we were in high school.  We really are everywhere.  We are the jocks, the preps, the band geeks, the artsy theater kids.  Beware the Revenge of the Nerds scenario, America, and find a cause with some worth and value to everyone.  This Trojan Horse has opened and released its gay soldiers in your midst, and they are poised to fly their rainbow banners from shore to shore.
To close, someone at work once asked me if I was gay.  I replied, "O yeah!  Queerer than a two dollar bill."  He said, "Don't you mean a three dollar bill?  You can find a two dollar bill anywhere."  As I was leaving, I turned and said, "Exactly."

Namaste, my friends.

For The Emo Gays...

Wow!  We're now a commodity!  Tee-Hee.


Gay Coffins


I think my favorite passage from this article had to be:  "We believe you should be able to have a coffin that lets you embark on your last journey in a way that reflects how you lived your life," said undertaker Thomas Brandl.


Honey!  We all wish we we got to spend our gay years in the perpetual presence of naked, young men!  I ain't sayin nothin...I'm just sayin.

Brain-Fart! WTF

Acceptance? Really, Mary?  Jeebus!  How much longer will it take for you people to figure this out?!

Listen very carefully, dear folks.  I'm going to try and put this as simply as possible.  Acceptance and familial attitudes are going to decrease harmful behavior in your children, regardless of whether they are gay, straight, bisexual, transgender or still figuring it out.  If a child knows that they are loved and are encouraged to express themselves in whatever positive way they choose, you are providing a supportive environment.  Good parenting, people...it starts with you.  Namaste.

Study finds that family acceptance could save LGBT youths

By Brooke Johnson, 365gay.com
12.06.2010 11:00am EST

For the very first time, researchers have established a clear link between accepting familial attitudes and behaviors toward their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender children and a significantly decreased risk and better overall health in adulthood.

The California Endowment funded study, “Family Acceptance in Adolescence and the Health of LGBT Young Adults,” is published in theJournal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing and has successfully explored a world of study that no other researcher has yet pursued.

The study, authored by Dr. Caitlin Ryan and her team from the Family Acceptance Project at San Francisco State University, has critical implications for changing how families relate to their LGBT children and how LGBT youth are served by a wide range of providers across disciplines and systems of care, including custodial care systems such as foster care.

The study shows that specific parental and caregiver behaviors – likestanding up for their children when they are mistreated because of their LGBT identity or supporting their gender expression – help to prevent depression, substance abuse, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts in early adulthood.

In addition, LGBT youth with highly accepting families have shown significantly higher levels of self-esteem and social support in young adulthood.

“At a time when the media and families are becoming acutely aware of the risk that many LGBT youth experience, our findings that family acceptance protects against suicidal thoughts and behaviors, depression and substance abuse offer a gateway to hope for LGBT youth and families that struggle with how to balance deeply held religious and personal values with love for their LGBT children,” said Dr. Caitlin Ryan, PhD, Director of the Family Acceptance Project.

“Times have changed,” said Stephen Russell, PhD, President Elect of the Society for Research on Adolescence and a consultant to the Family Acceptance Project.

“More and more families want to be accepting of their children. Yet, many families still struggle when a child comes out as LGBT. It’s essential to have research like this to deeply understand the ways that families show their acceptance, so that we can identify how to support families,” he said.

With funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Dr. Ryan and her team at the Family Acceptance Project are currently developing a new evidence-based family model of wellness, prevention and care for LGBT adolescents. This model uses a behavioral approach to help ethnically and religiously diverse families decrease rejection behaviors and increase support for their LGBT children–reducing the risk for suicide, depression, substance abuse, homelessness and placement in custodial care and HIV.

This systems-level approach helps communities and providers to engage diverse families as allies in decreasing their LGBT children’s risk, increasing their well-being and while respecting the family’s deeply held values. This work is being conducted in English, Spanish and Chinese with families from all ethnic backgrounds, including immigrant and very low income families, and out-of-home children (those in foster care or juvenile justice facilities).

The existing approach to serving LGBT adolescents by pediatricians, nurses, social workers, school counselors and others has focused almost exclusively on serving LGBT youth alone and through peer support, rather than in the context of their families.

The current approach has not considered the impact of family reactions on the adolescent’s health and well-being, which, as this study shows, is proven to be a crucial element in an effective evaluation and treatment.

In addition to providing direct services for families with LGBT children and working with communities in the U.S., the Family Acceptance Project is collaborating with organizations, providers, advocates and families to develop an international movement of familial acceptance to promote wellness and healthy futures for LGBT children, youth and young adults.

Major Research Findings:

·Family accepting behaviors towards LGBT youth during adolescence protect against suicide, depression and substance abuse.

·LGBT young adults who reported high levels of family acceptance during adolescence had significantly higher levels of self-esteem, social support and general health, compared to peers with low levels of family acceptance.

·LGBT young adults who reported low levels of family rejection during adolescence were over three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts and to report suicide attempts, compared to those with high levels of family acceptance.

·High religious involvement in families was strongly associated with low acceptance of LGBT children.

Today's Funny

This was on the bathroom wall in one of the more illustrious gay bars in Pgh. I thought it was hysterical. It's kinda hard to read, but it says:

Blow Jobs

$.50

with lipstick

$.75

with teeth marks

$1.00

without teeth

PRICELESS

BEHOLD! I BRING YOU THE GIFT OF CLEANLINESS...

Now we know why they call it PNC Park...

Syntactic Arrangement...

How 'bout I was on my way home from work the other day, cruisin along & listening to the radio...yes, radio does still exist.

Anywho...an ad came on for that new language learning system, "RosettaStone". The announcer praised the software as being, "...the fastest, most easiest way to learn a new language."

I wonder if they have a program for "ENGLISH?"

On the same note, this morning on Channel 11, meteorologist, Scott Harbaugh, remarked on the fog surrounding the city as, "...so thick, you can't even barely see."

What my ears immediately heard was, "can't heretofore, not noticeably see."

I don't know about all of you, but this really hits home. While I realize that understanding that our education system involves diverse learning styles isn't a cure-all, I also realize that it will at least begin the process of making our students better self-learners.

What do you think?

Is Gay A Sin?

I accidentally or fatefully happened upon this webpage. I found the info to be quite poignant. Whatta you think?

WHAT DID JESUS SAY?

The only place Jesus really addressed or even hinted at sexuality is found in Matthew chapter 19. Here you find Jesus, the disciples and the Pharisees discussing this very topic of marriage between males and females. It is true that God created males and females and instituted marriage. But in Matthew 19 Jesus adds another thing that many ignore or overlook because it doesn't apply to them:

Matthew 19:11-12

Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."

Typically a eunuch is defined as a castrated male. This is incorrect. Castration means to remove the testicles (that were already there) or emasculate. If all eunuchs were castrated males then why would Jesus say that "some were born that way?" A eunuch is a man who has no desire or ability to have sexual relations with a woman. These men were commonly used to protect the harems. Since the Word of God is for everyone we can apply the spiritual concept found in Galatians 3:28 where the Apostle Paul says: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Therefore, a eunuch can be male or female in this passage.

Jesus addressed three types of eunuchs.
1. Those born that way. (That's people like me who are born gay.)
2. Those made that way by men. (Those castrated or those sexually abused people who choose to be gay as a result of this abuse rather than because it is their natural sexual affinity.)
3. Those who elect not to have a sexual relationship for the sake of the kingdom. (For example a priest or nun. This group makes the decision on their own.)

So here, our Lord Jesus states that not everyone will marry according to the custom as in male and female. He also said that not everyone can accept this. He says that those that can accept it should accept it. Can you accept what Jesus said? I can.

Hate Crimes Bill

LGBT advocates expect Congress to enact federal hate crimes legislation this year that includes protections for sexual orientation and gender identity; has been renamed after Matthew Shepard.
WASHINGTON (AP)—Supporters of hate-crimes legislation said Thursday they expect Congress to enact a law this year expanding federal penalties for acts of violence against homosexuals.
They have renamed their latest proposal in honor of Matthew Shepard, the gay college student who died after he was beaten and tied to a fence in Wyoming in 1998.‘’I can’t think of a better way to honor Matthew’s memory. He was a 21-year-old college student just living his life,’’ said Shepard’s mother Judy Shepard, who now heads a foundation in her son’s name.

Asked about potential opposition from religious groups that disagree with homosexuality, Smith said that should not be a problem.
"This act is about the prosecution of crime, not prohibition of speech," Smith said. "Unless they believe part of their religion is the practice of violence against others, they should not be affected by this bill."

One of the main opponents to the bill is Ted Pike of the National Prayer Network. I'm not going to give him a whole lot of narrative, but let's say he's just another radical, conservative, evangelical, Christian fundie with a supposed direct line to God.

This is a excerpt from Ted Pike's website. I'll leave you to do the math:

EMERGENCY ALERT!!!
FEDERAL HATE LAW WILL PERSECUTE YOU
By Rev. Ted Pike30 Apr 07

The federal "anti-hate" bill, to be voted on Thursday by the U.S. House of Representatives, says anyone who verbally "intimidates" members of federally protected groups faces indictment as a hate criminal, a violator of federal law. Also, anyone who "aids, abets, counsels" 1 that criminal will face charges. This means any talk show host who interviews me could face a federal "hate crimes" trial!

Since I first sounded the alarm on the federal hate bill last November and warned of its almost certain passage in the Democrat-controlled Congress, I have been interviewed on 114 national talk shows. My message against the hate bill has probably "intimidated" two groups the federal hate bill would especially protect: homosexuals and Jews. Homosexuals are intimidated because I regularly quote Holy Scripture describing their sexual behaviors as an abomination. The Jewish Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith is intimidated by my exposure of them as architect of thought crime laws worldwide. ADL is, in fact, so intimidated they don't dare to mention my name on their website for fear tens of thousands will visit www.truthtellers.org and hear the whole truth about them. The same goes for a cluster of Jewish activist organizations presided over by B'nai B'rith International. ACLU, People for the American Way, American Jewish Congress, American Jewish Committee, Southern Poverty Law Center, etc. rarely, if ever, mention Ted Pike. In contrast, I expose their anti-American, anti-Christian activities to the world from the highest place of attention I can find - talk radio and the internet. If H. R. 1592 becomes law, I and the 33 talk show hosts who have "aided and abetted" me since November are eminently indictable.

I've been arguing this matter for years. Freedom of speech should not include expressions of hate. Many times, these so-called spiritual leaders make such inflamatory remarks that they incite anger & aggressive behavior. Don't think for a moment that Pike's "sheep" are going to feel anything but disdain for the Jewish people after he hurls anti-semitic drivel from his pulpit.

Freedom of speech was designed to allow us checks & balances for our governing bodies. It is in place for our representatives to gage the country's attitudes & social conscience. The United States was founded on spiritual & cultural diversity. We cannot have freedom based on 1 religion's tenets & beliefs. We are a melting pot...& it just keeps getting hotter!

Holy Public Education

I wrote this a few years ago, but thought it may have some relevance now. I've been hearing & reading alot about the possible inclusion of world religions as curriculum for public schools. I'm rather divided on this one. Some of the arguments are convincing...others are questionable. I'm anxious to hear your points of view. So anyway...I thought I'd throw my hat into the arena, if not just for S&G.

There's alot of controversy about the role of prayer to God, in the Christian acceptation, in governmentally or publically established areas of society. Namely, the phrase from the American Pledge of Allegiance, stating, "...one nation under God"; as well as the opening devotional prayer before meetings of governmental depts and benedictions in public shool or college/university events.

Christians say that our nation was founded on an absolute belief in God and removing these religious ceremonies from the public will ultimately result in the removal of God from our nation.

My opinion, here, is that we need to foster and encourage our loved ones to more adamantly follow their own path to God. Why do we need government or public authority to remind us that we all come from something greater and that reverence for a Higher Power is necessary for our own spiritual well-being. No! I believe this controversy will bring others to an understanding of their own personal spirtuality.

You can ask 10 hardcore, fundamentalist, bible-toting Baptists how they worship God, and even though they have all been taught the same strict beliefs, they will still each give a different answer. Spirtuality is subjective. The path to God is a lonely one, for it must be tread alone.