Update and "For The Bible Tells Me So"

I haven't neglected the blog! I swear! I've only been trying to get used to the schedule I have now with classes starting again and work adding some new shifts for me.

Just as a small update for you all. I will be finishing (finally) my general education at the junior college and then I am actually transferring to California State Polytechnic University-Pomona. I really felt that God was pulling me towards Pomona and the whole area that surrounds it (which will include Azusa Pacific University since it is 10 minutes away). I'll start there in the Fall and graduate soon there after.

There will be a screening of "For The Bible Tells Me So" in Pasadena on January 31st. I highly, highly recommend seeing it. It is a fantastic film and if you come to the screening in Pasadena, then you should stay after for the panel discussion. I was asked by Faith/Activism Collective (the hosts of the screening) to be a panelist, so I definitely look forward to being down there and being apart of that experience.

The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet

So after a very long flight to New York City, I was finally there. I woke up bright and early to head to the studio of Fox News. The segment was "Teen Confessions on the Web" focusing on teenagers who share their intimate secrets online and their parents usually have no idea.

My story was basically I came out of the closet initially online and that's how my family essentially figured out my sexual orientation. My mom and I were both on the show with Mike and Juliet, it was a great experience overall I must say. Although it would have been great if the entire segment was on coming out. But I understand where my story fits in with this segment.

To watch the show online just go to the show's website at this link http://www.mandjshow.com/videos/teen-web-confessions/

On The Morning Show This Week

I got confirmation today that I will be a guest on The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet this Monday. It airs on the Fox network, so be sure to check your local listings.

I will be flying to New York City on Sunday and will be on the show first thing Monday morning. I'll keep you all posted on what's to come.

I attended "Jesus Camp"

"Jesus Camp" is an intensely great movie to watch. This isn't going to be a movie review, because I couldn't share half of what I felt watching and thought while watching the movie. But I will share a little information about the movie--with a little help from Wikipedia.

Jesus Camp is a 2006 documentary directed by Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing about a Pentecostal summer camp for children who spend their summers learning and practicing their "prophetic gifts" and being taught that they can "take back American for Christ." According to the distributor, it "doesn't come with any prepackaged point of view" and tries to be "an honest and impartial depiction of one faction of the evangelical Christian community."

I've watched "Jesus Camp" many times! I sort of just can't get enough of it. Because every time I watch it I walk away with something new. Last night, as I was watching I caught myself saying the "Pledge to the Christian Flag" and the "Pledge to the Bible" with the children, Vince told me that I do that every time I watch it--I was unaware of this. But it made me remember what it was like for me to be a part of a pentecostal setting.

Although my mother's side of the family is really Catholic (and I am an active Catholic) my father's family is very much into the Assemblies of God (AG) faith. Throughout my childhood I was very involved in the AG church. Which I don't necessarily see as a bad thing. I was a committed member of our church's Royal Rangers outpost--which is like an AG version of Boy Scouts, I was in this Bible Quiz Challenge team, I was in choir (which is where I learned how to sing like no other), and I was on the drama team.

At a young age, I was taught that there were two types of people: those who loved Jesus and those who didn't. Those who didn't would go straight to hell and those who loved Jesus should actively show it. I did.

There is one scene in the beginning of the movie that brings me to tears. It is when the children's minister is preaching and then all the children begin to speak in tongues and "fall in the Spirit." I am brought to tears because it reminds me of a time when I was 10 years old. We had this amazing speaker at our church who worked primarily with youth. He did a 4 consecutive day series of just offering God's word and letting the Spirit pour out. Every night was filled with teenagers and children speaking in tongues and falling in the Spirit. On the third night, I spoke in tongues for my first time and "fell in the Spirit." It was an amazing feeling as I laid there on the ground with words coming out of my mouth that I couldn't understand. I think back now and I think that at age 10 I didn't know what was going on--not to say that the experience wasn't genuine and real, but I'm sure I didn't understand why I was speaking in tongues or why I was "falling in the Spirit."

The next night a young woman was exorcised at the altar. It was the first exorcism I had ever scene. I was horrified at age 10 at what I saw. It was like nothing I had seen before. Little did I know that 8 years later I would be getting an exorcism...at the same church, by the same pastor.

Queer Merced

I was recently contacted on my MySpace by Queer Networks of the Central Valley.  They recently purchased QueerMerced.com which is online blog that focuses on queer topics and issues of Merced.  They asked if I would be willing to write for them.  It sounded like a great opportunity to do some outreach and ministry here in Merced.  So I've been praying about it for the last week and made a decision finally.

I wrote my first post for Queer Merced today.  I decided to talk about the transgender community in my first posting as there are many transgender and gender variant individuals here in Merced, it's amazing.  Please check out my post and I will keep everyone updated on how it's going writing for them.

It seems that I have discovered the untapped transgender fountain here in Merced! Everywhere I go now, I am encountering more and more gender variant people and it's beautiful. Many of us within the LGB community often forget about our "T" family members, nor do many queer people truly know how to be an ally to a trans person. Here are some tips and information that has helped me in being a huge trans ally.  Read More.