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WASHINGTON — Rhode Island’s longtime U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, a leader on the second impeachment of former President Donald Trump, an advocate for breaking up big tech and a champion for LGBTQ+ rights, will step down from Congress in late May to lead his state’s largest community foundation. https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/03/26/a-rhode-island-democrat-exits-congress-in-search-of-an-impact-no-longer-found-in-d-c/?

I hear there was a rally in Waco, Texas yesterday. That is in my neck of the woods but yesterday was the Sabbath. I decided to skip going to the political rally. I went to church instead. Then my family stayed for potluck. A group of us went to a children's hospital in the afternoon. Then in the evening our church had a meeting that is part of a mental health series we are doing. My daughter sang special music for it. I feel good about my decision to choose the church activities instead of the political. I think the guy speaking at the political rally was an old has-been anyway. Probably not much to learn from that anyway.

I am certified in sexual therapy by the National Christian Counselors Association and one of my children is transgender. I have written a workbook for those experiencing this that is available on Amazon.com. There is a lot we don't know. I think acknowledging that is the place to start. Then we should distinguish between gender dysphoria and transgender. Gender dysphoria is the psychological condition that causes a person to identify as the opposite gender than their birth sex. Transgender is a person that has taken steps to live, at least part of the time, as the opposite gender from their birth sex. About 50% of individuals seeking professional help for gender dysphoria drop out of therapy. What does that mean? We don't know what that means other than that they no longer continue in therapy. If they had started taking hormones, that stops. They never transition surgically. Some may commit suicide. Others may crossdress or use other noninvasive coping measures. Others may just live with it and not take any steps to transition. A big misconception is that transgenders are gay. My son is not gay. He is sexually attracted to women and identifies as one. He calls himself a lesbian. Caitlyn Jenner, one of the most famous transgenders, is the same way. He (or she) is attracted to women and has completely transitioned to one. Before 2016, most gender dysphoria cases were diagnosed among prepubescent children. Most of them would grow out of it but of those that did grow out of it, most would become gay as teenagers. Most were also boys identifying as girls. Since 2016 we have seen a spike in late-onset gender dysphoria (as is the case with my son). Now, most cases are late-onset and it is more common among females identifying as males. What causes it? We are too early in studying it to know for certain. How should we treat it? We are trying to figure that out too. Unfortunately, most studies that have been done have had an agenda and have not been scientifically sound. The Obama Administration wanted Medicare to cover gender affirmation surgery but a government review of the studies that had been done concluded it lacked evidence to determine if the surgery is helpful. The studies that have been done do not have a control group. They follow up shortly after surgery and are not long-term studies. What we have seen in Europe is making it more difficult to transition there. The suicide rate after surgery is still very high. I do support laws that prevent minors from transitioning but question how effective they are. Most of the kids that want to transition will not change their mind before they are 18. If we could prevent them from transitioning until 25, that would more than likely make an impact. However, these people need help. They need a lot of help. Psychologically, they need far more help than someone who is gay. Homosexuality isn't even classified as a disorder. Most gay individuals that need psychological help simply need help with depression or anxiety. Transgenders need that and more. We certainly do not want to restrict psychological services for those experiencing gender dysphoria regardless of their age. The church has a role to play too. There are three lenses used to view gender dysphoria. 1. The Integrity Lens, 2. The Disability Lens, 3. The Diversity Lens. Sadly, many Christian view gender dysphoria through the Integrity Lens. They consider it sinful. Their proposed solution is "suck it up buttercup.". That view is not helpful. It isolates people from the church and increases their risk of suicide. The Adventist church views gender dysphoria through the Disability Lens. We see the person as broken and the condition as part of the fall. We understand why they will use coping mechanisms to deal with it. The only major concern is that the person not engage in prohibited sexual relationships such as gay or premarrital sex. The LGBTQ+ community views gender dysphoria through the Diversity Lens. For them it falls within the range of the normal variety of human development. It is no different than having blue eyes or being left handed. There is nothing abnormal about it. The church (embracing the Disability Lens) should love these people just as we love those with cancer. We may not agree with their treatment but view it as such - it is treatment. If they are crossdressing, taking hormones or whatever. They have an illness and they are treating it. That is not sin. Prohibited sexual relationships are sin. Cross-dressing or gender affirming surgery are not sin. We need to love them and abstain from giving them advice unless they ask for it. And if they do ask for it, don't pretend to be an expert in something that no one is an expert in. We really don't know enough about this condition to tell other people what to do.

And I missed it!!!

Since I don't understand Hebrew, I wouldn't have much use for it. I wonder how much good a Bible-believing Christian could do with $50 million. That is enough to produce a couple seasons of The Chosen.

That is a lot of pennies. Have you been saving phkrause?

I've been drinking Silk Almond for many years. It took a few days to get use to the taste. I remember reading somewhere that any change of diet takes about 20 days, so I always tell people that if they really want to change their lifestyle they need to do one or two things at a time, especially when they start complaining about the taste of certain food, it just takes time so bare with it!! I also have found that if you've changed a few things it gets easier to change other eating habits too!!

You have to watch out for those pesky genetics.

Hermanos Vasquez is a circus that comes here every year. It is quite a show. Tickets are expensive but it is one act after another. There is not a boring moment for sure. They became animaless too. I did take the kids during the years when they had animals. I have a picture of them riding the elephant when they were about 3 and 5 years old.

Do you know where the idea of stars in the crown came from? I read it came from an old Methodist preacher. That would explain how it has worked its way into Adventist doctrine. If it is true, do you think multiple people could have a start in their crown for one believer that came to Christ? I do. It is like the seed that is planted, grows and later is harvested. Someone plants the seed. Perhaps many people plant the seed. Others water it it. Then someone comes and harvests it. I think there are scores of people whose witness for the Lord brings just one soul to Christ.

Gavin made some Christian movies before he died. The Secret of Johnathan Speer is a tear jerker. I have given used copies of the DVD to friends in addiction recovery that don't attend church and it moves them.

I hadn't heard of Cindy Williams' death. I used to watch the reruns of Laverne & Shirley everyday after school when I was a kid. It was a big deal when they moved from Milwaukee to Hollywood.

I have mixed feelings about unions. I have been a union member in the past. Currently, I live in a right to work state. In a right to work state, the employees can vote to unionize but those that do not want to join the union do not have to. Consequently, the unions do not have a lot of power. Without unions corporations have a history of taking advantage of workers. When there are unions, unions have a history of keeping corporations from being competitive. There are two extremes. Collective bargaining does seem to work well in some European countries. It works so well in some that they do not have a minimum wage. They don't need it because workers are protected by unions.

There has been a marked increase in lesbianism and transgenders but not so much in male homosexuality. I will point out this article is from 2015 and the increase in transgenders seems to have started in 2016. Both the increase in lesbianism and transgender could be attributed to society. History shows that society does impact mass human behavior. Another possibility is that there really isn't an increase. What we are seeing is simply more people acting out. That is, previously, there were just as many women experiencing same-sex attraction as there are today but they did not act out on it. The same with transgender. The belief is that previously there was just as many experiencing gender dysphoria but did not act out on it. I am not inclined to believe that but both are speculative. We don't know why there has been such an increase in cases. What we do know is this provides a great opportunity for the church to love these people and demonstrate God's love to them. Jesus hung out with the marginalized of society and we should be inviting them to our homes and churches. A fiend of mine recently got back from Israel. While touring what is believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, the tour guide told them the "inn" that had no room for Mary and Joseph was not like a modern-day hotel. It was the home of Joseph's family. The reason there was "no room" for Mary and Joseph in the "inn" may well have been because of Mary's pre-marital pregnancy. From His birth, our Lord was marginalized. He came unto His own but they would not have Him.

Interesting thought. I definitely believe it was Christ in the burning bush speaking to Moses. But am not so inclined to believe that it was Him speaking to Joseph. I suspect the term "angel of the Lord" has more than one application. However, I would not want to dismiss the possibility of that it could have been Christ speaking to Joseph. I don't think we completely understand the inter-workings of the Holy Trinity. Good discussion.

My wife makes fantastic hummus. It is very good with pita bread. I am not a big fan of garbanzo beans but when prepared as hummus I really enjoy it.

I hope I can stay as healthy and active as he has over the years.

I'm in 100% agreement with you on the good not so good part! I had a family member who was screwed over by their employer (lied about in terrible way) and the union essentially did NOTHING for them or the horde of other similarly situated people - 7 years after that employment action the Union took the matter to arbitration and won in a most decisive way. Pastor Gregory was a huge help to me in navigating through that mess which thanks to God turned out the way it should have (it didn't for around 30 other people). So, on one hand the Union ended up giving us justice, but they defecated on many other people who were absolutely innocent. My view is that initially Unions were a much needed entity but after time they became more of a self-serving entity that doubled as a P.A.C. I'm thankful for the outcome I'm speaking about but feel very badly for all the folks who were totally innocent and got knifed in the back and thrown overboard for the sharks. [I had forgotten about that. Now I remember. Glad that I was able to give you good advice. But, the bottom line was your extensive efforts over a period of years. You never gave up and finally you got justice--GM.]

If the rise of homosexuality and transgenderism has to do with exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, then we should have empathy and compassion for them as physically sick people, rather than simply condemning them as morally deviant. At one time, alcoholism was condemned as a moral failure rather than regarded as a disease.

Quote: Only in the black community will you find that curious form of bigotry in which one man doesn't actually measure up to the racial scale set by his fellow blacks because of his political views. Quote: I would think that the mess the black community is in men like Ben Carson would be seen as a great inspiration. There we go. Keep posting, You are evidence that Carson has hit his head and will go the way of Sarah Palin.

New York Knicks legend Willis Reed dies at 80 https://fanrecap.com/new-york-knicks-legend-willis-reed-dies-at-80/?