I was gay, in the closet, and on staff at a church that remains opposed to LGBTQ people living true to their sexual identities. My church and the denomination of which it is a part will still not officiate, celebrate, or recognize the marriages of same-sex couples. The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is reversed.

A year before I drove out of my little Oregon hometown to move to Big Texas, the community church in which I was raised went through a nasty split. I say nasty because, in a town of population 2,000, is there any other way for a church split to go? I wish I could say yes. Of pain and confusion and bitterness before the Healing ever came to be.

A story of caffeine, panic attacks, sleepless nights, and a few fortunate events. English as a Second Language. Whoever does not visit Paris regularly will never really be elegant. Eiffel Tower Notre Dame The Lourve Champs-Élysées Arc de Triomphe Sacré-Cœur. Myself at the very start of my backpacking journey, hence why I look refreshed and not haggard.