Today, at 12:20pm, I turn twenty years old. In my twentieth year of life, I rented my own home for the first time, got a full-time job and my own healthcare for the first time, and then left it, after considering the idea of joining the military for all of one hour. I also learned […]
Author Archives: LP
august seventh
My mind has so many thoughts at once. In one moment, I feel the weight of my foot stepping, resting on the Earth before it pushes away, moving forward, supporting my whole body in a balance I have somehow never perceived with as much wonder as it seems to warrant I notice the sound of […]
Take Pride in Me: A Letter to My Non-Affirming Parents
To the people who birthed me, raised me, taught me my worldview, and make up my DNA. On that pleasant October day when I was born, you took pride in me. You were overcome with joy to have a new son. After wondering if you would be blessed with any more children at all, you […]
On Joining the Air Force and Beginning a New Chapter of Life
A few months ago, I received a text from an Army recruiter. I asked him how he got my number, and he told me (college list). And while I felt every urge to simply ignore him and move on, or let him know that the military just wasn’t my thing, I didn’t do any of […]
Loving God
As soon as the snow falls, I’m ready for Christmas. October 31st, 2019, it was snowing in Kalamazoo, and I was singing along to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas is You” at full blast on the way to a Halloween party. It was a good time. Today, I’m sitting in a Starbucks, sipping […]
Am I entitled to the Presence of God?
In July of 2018, I penned a blog post describing my experience of the Presence of God. It was a moment of centering for me—amid so much anxiety and turmoil, it brought me peace to recall the details of God’s warm embrace and the gentle breeze of God’s Spirit. As my belief in God has […]
How to be friends with a gay person if you don’t think queerness is the bee’s knees
We were standing outside the church doors, a calm summer evening just beginning as the sun descended and the wind rested. The past few weeks, I’d slowly felt more and more unwelcome in groups of people I counted as my closest friends. And I knew I needed to ask him. “I want to know. Are […]
Queer Faith: a Collection of Resources
It’s been two months since I came out. Those 59 days have been full of texts, emails, Facebook messages, Instagram DMs, and conversations. This is to be expected. While the vast majority of my close friends were well aware of my orientation, many followers and Facebook friends were surprised. Not as much by the fact […]
My Story of Growing Up, Coming Out, and Being Embraced by God
Chapter One In bite-sized installments, I shared my testimony: who I was, who I am today—through the unconditional love and unraveling grace of Christ. I told my story this way because to do otherwise, I felt, would ignore the core of who I am. Because I am, first and foremost, a child of God, and […]
Good
The last season of my life has been one of absolute gratefulness upon gratefulness. In the midst of dark times, I can say that the joy of Yahweh has truly been my strength, and Jesus’ people have been my abounding encouragement. I am ever more aware and in awe of the never-ending goodness and startling […]
