WITH GRATITUDE

I already posted these pics on Facebook, but on this beautiful Thanksgiving Eve I'm just sitting here thinking about all that I have for which to be grateful, and I wanted to post them again here on the blog...they were taken last Sunday at our METRON Community Thanksgiving event while Ken was talking about what he is most thankful for...as you can see, it was a very emotional moment...I didn't know that Bill, from our tech team, was taking them, but I'm glad that he did, because I think they capture a lot truth and feeling in them...

Tomorrow we're having Thanksgiving at Debye's house...she and Lucien are doing the cooking, and Ken is making a couple of things that we'll bring with us...her parents and my parents will be there...Ken's dad is doing Thanksgiving with his lady friend, and his boys are eating at their other grandparents' house...I think Jared will be with us tomorrow...Christina is flying in from Key West, so we're hoping she makes it in time before they have to go to her mom's house...Jonah is touring in Europe, and the band just finished up in the Netherlands and landed in London today for a gig there tonight, so he'll miss it...Judah, who blew me away with his performance last night on the local Christian TV station, will definitely be there...I'm sure it will be a wonderful day...

When I count my blessings tomorrow, I will remember to be thankful for my kids and my precious granddaughters and all the beautiful people at METRON who have stayed with me through every transition...I will be thankful to live in the USA, even with all of its problems, and will be grateful in faith for a peaceful day in our country...I will be thankful that I still have my parents with me for another Holiday Season, and that they are doing well...I will be thankful for my health, and for the fact that our Modern Family will be happily together tomorrow...but I will be especially grateful for the man in my life...I never take for granted that I found someone like Ken, even though I came out quite late in the journey...I am grateful that tomorrow I will be my authentic self, with nothing to hide, nothing to fear, nothing to dread, and nothing to regret...I am grateful for all the love in my life...I am grateful for every single thing that I have...

God is good...

Life is good...

I am so grateful...

LOVE STORY

PHOTOS BY KEN MARSHALL

This morning I was privileged to perform a very special wedding ceremony for two sweet and charming people who are totally in love with each other, and have been for a very long time...

Harold and Dan have been in a committed, monogamous relationship for 45 years, but today they were finally able to make it legal and get married in the state of North Carolina, because of the recent changes there...

We drove up to Cherokee last evening to meet them and to get a game plan for this morning's event...we had a great time getting to know both of them, and hearing the stories of their nearly five decades together...

Dan is 80, and is suffering from stroke-induced dementia, but he absolutely knew what was going on today, and was able to answer "I do" at the appropriate time...he has a very sweet spirit, and we loved him immediately...

Ken's mom died from Alzheimer's disease a few years ago, and after meeting Harold and Dan last night, he told me that Dan watches Harold intently when he speaks in the exact same way that Ken's mom used to watch his dad before she transitioned...he was very moved by their connection to one another, which is now beyond verbal communication, but is undoubtedly genuine...

Harold is Dan's total caregiver, and is one of the most devoted men that I have ever met...Dan is the most important thing in the world to him...prior to last evening, I only knew Harold through FB, where he comes across as a funny, outspoken, (often irreverent) larger-than-life personality...but the man I met last night and spent time with today is the epitome of unconditional love...his absolute commitment to Dan, the love of his life, is nothing short of inspirational...

Today turned out to be a perfect day in every way...every part of it...I/we were blessed to be involved with the festivities...

I hope that Harold doesn't mind me going ahead and writing something about this...Ken took pics today, and put them together in this collage a little while ago, and so I decided to just go ahead and say what was on my heart...

To any person who is still opposed to marriage equality for whatever reason, I can only say that if you could spend a little time with these two gentlemen who have lived together for nearly half a century...if you could see how patient and tender Harold is with Dan, and how completely dependent on Harold Dan is...if you could witness their love in person, I think that you would change your mind...

What God has joined together let not man put asunder...

Congratulations, gentlemen...all the best to you!

NO NONSENSE!

Sigh...I wasn't even going to comment on this, but enough people have asked me about it that I guess I will, and then I will be done with it...

The vid of the young man being "delivered" from homosexuality at a recent COGIC meeting that is currently circulating on FB is so sad and ludicrous that it doesn't even merit commentary, but it is in fact part of the reason that I wrote the post on Neuroplasticity on one of my blogs (http://jimswilleyblog.blogspot.com/…/ive-been-readingstudyi…)...

Bottom line is this kind of nonsense is ultimately coming to an end, and these kinds of occurrences only help to show how ridiculous the notion of changing a person's sexual orientation actually is...there are much bigger problems in the world that need to be dealt with, and church people and people in government who are on the wrong side of this issue need to stop wasting their time on obsessing over trying to change what doesn't need to be changed...

I've already written a book about this, so I don't want to repeat myself, but I will say again that same-sex attraction isn't a demon...it's not a choice...it's not a "lifestyle"...the world isn't turning gay...there is no gay agenda...gay people are not anti-family...heterosexuality is alive and well, and shows no signs of going away...those of us from a Scriptural background already read the things Moses and Paul said, and we don't relate to them any more than any straight person does...Jesus never said anything about gay people, and He never wasted His time trying to get any of them "delivered"...in fact, if you really understand the story about the Roman Centurion and his relationship with his servant, and the way Jesus responded to the man's request for the servant's healing, you already know where Jesus was on the subject...

I so loved the things that Apple CEO, Tim Cook, said about being proud of who he is when he came out, recently...makes me enjoy using my Mac even more than I already did...I add my voice to his in saying that I am also proud of who I am, and am in good company with Plato, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Tchaikovsky, James Baldwin, Katharine Lee Bates, King James, and a host of other brilliant and creative people who have given so much to the world...

I do feel badly for the young man in the video who got caught up in the religious fervor of the moment, and said what the people in that room wanted him to say...we should keep him in our prayers, and learn from his example to not allow that kind of spectacle to happen again...

That is all...

NEUROPLASTICITY

1. 

   I've been reading/studying some about Neuroplasticity, and teaching on it, as I understand it, at METRON...
   
   Neuroplasticity, of course, is the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life...Dr. Joe Dispenza (who I love) talks about it a lot, and I find it fascinating that they/we are learning to rethink brain function, and that we have information available to us on the subject that can improve our lives...

   
   

   Neuroplasticity allows the neurons (nerve cells) in the brain to compensate for injury and disease and to adjust their activities in response to new situations or to changes in their environment...I like embracing the notion than we can change the way we think, and ultimately change our lives as a result...

   
   

   Since I've been talking about it, a few people have asked me if I think that Neuroplasticity offers us the option of changing our sexual orientation, and my simple answer to that is no...
   
   I know that what they are really asking is if I think you can change from gay to straight, and again, the answer is no...
   
   Homosexuality or same-sex attraction in humans is just a natural part of the biological experience, like left-handedness or having red hair...it doesn't need to be changed...not everyone is meant to be a breeder, and even those of us who are gay and still figured out a way to reproduce are not breeders by orientation...I sired four children, and was gay the whole time because that's how I was born...if I had been celibate my entire life, I would still be gay, just like heterosexuals are still straight, whether or not they ever have sex...
   
   I already wrote a book about this, so I won't repeat myself, but it's pointless to keep bringing up the "Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve" nonsense, because heterosexuality is simply not the norm for everyone...homosexual behavior in animals is a reality, regardless of how many times you quote Moses or Paul or say that same-sex attraction is abnormal... sexual behavior among non-human species that is interpreted as homosexual or bisexual may include sexual activity, courtship, affection, pair bonding, and parenting among same-sex animal pairs...research indicates that various forms of this are found throughout the animal kingdom...as of 1999, nearly 1,500 species, ranging from primates to gut worms, have been observed engaging in same-sex behaviors...this is well documented in about 500 species...
   
   I've been asked in many interviews if I would choose to be straight if I could, and again, the answer is no...I am who I am, and I embrace all of me, including the fact that I'm gay...I wouldn't be me otherwise...
   
   So I will continue to explore the things that can be changed through Neuroplasticity...I've even experienced some positive changes in myself recently through the "re-fire and re-wire" concept...the brain is an amazing thing...but I will never change the fact that I have blue eyes, am left-handed, have curly hair, and am gay...
   
   And I'm totally good with that...