About

Hi, I’m John.

That’s me with the pink hair.  Surrounding me are my husband Seth, and my two best friends on the whole planet, Leandra and Kyle.

I bet you’re wondering why you clicked on this page, huh?  Nah, you already know.  You’re awesome like that.  Let me answer some questions you might have about me and my blog.

Who am I?  As I mentioned above, my name’s Jonathan, but I go by John.  My most defining feature is my ever-changing hair.  I’m also known by my friends as the compassionate, social justice loving, musical theater/opera nerd.

Some pictures from my latest production, The Gondoliers by Gilbert and Sullivan.  This year, we’re doing HMS Pinafore.

I’m also a Christian.  We’ll get into the nitty-gritty of what I believe in a moment, but for now let me tell you my journey.  I was raised in the church, and have always loved hearing the sound of Maranatha music (they were a band in the 80s and 90s).  Being raised non-denominational, I’ve never really held that you have to believe what your church says no matter what.  Instead, I’ve been raised to study the Bible for myself and learn what I know on my own.

In college, I took a class called “Comparative Religions,” where I learned about the six most influential and popular religions of the world, as well as their offshoots and the movements they’ve brought about.  For a while, I considered changing my religion to Buddhism, but some of their ideas didn’t sit right with me.  If anything, that class strengthened my belief in Christianity as the religion I wanted to follow.  I couldn’t imagine believing the world works the way some other religions say it does.

Well, since college, my life has been kind of hectic, and until recently I’ve been struggling in my walk with Christ.  I still know what I believe and why, but staying in the Word and in prayer have been difficult for me.  My chronic depression and some difficult situations have put a strain on my relationship with God, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still believe He exists and wants the best for my life.

Overall, I’m just some guy, human like the rest of us with my own struggles and my own triumphs.  I’m sure I wouldn’t be the person I am today, though, without my wonderful husband, my mom, and my adorable fur children.

My dog Taffy, cat Max, husband Seth, and my mom and her sister (my mom’s in the striped shirt)

Why did I start this blog?  Do you ever have an idea that’s kind of crazy and takes a lot of commitment but if you don’t do it, you’ll never know what it was like?

Well, one day, I was sitting at work, and I just thought, “you know what?  I’m sick of this.  All of it.  I’m tired of the way my life looks, I’m tired of seeing all those posts on Facebook and Tumblr and Reddit about how Christianity has become an embarrassment, and most of all I’m sick and tired of not doing anything about it.”  So I did–right there and then I started my blog, and after work I posted my first post.

What am I “fed up” with?  Well, I live in the United States, so I think that’s as good a reason as any to be fed up.  For real though, I think a lot of people, particularly people my age, are fed up with the world as it is right now, and I’m definitely one of them.  I don’t see why the world works the way it does, and I hate seeing the injustice that’s happening around the world on a daily basis.  I don’t think my blog will change any of that, but I’m hoping that if I can even help one person to be less hateful, more kind and loving, that will be enough for me.

What do I believe?  I have several unpopular beliefs within the Christian community, and the one that stands out the most is my stance on gender and sexuality.  Growing up, I believed that being gay or anything that wasn’t straight and cisgender was a sin.  Sure, I’d felt like I was in the wrong body and hated being called “she” since before I knew what that meant, but I thought every girl did.

When my brother came out as gay, I didn’t understand it.  But I also didn’t understand why it was wrong, or why people who were gay “couldn’t be Christian.”  I just knew it was, and they couldn’t.

Well, the time came when I was in college that I was talking about my feelings toward my body and self with a lesbian friend of mine, and was explaining to her that just because you felt a certain way didn’t mean you should act on it (you know the spiel), when she told me she thought I was transgender.  I had no idea what that meant, but I knew she was wrong.

Long story short, she wasn’t and I was, and it took me a long, difficult year before I could accept that part of me, and the fact that God still loved me.  Believe me, I didn’t ask to be this way.  I didn’t want to be rejected by my family and many of my friends at the time.  I had been praying since I was young to either become a boy, or make the feelings go away.

I also don’t expect to change your mind about the subject–it’s impossible to understand if you’ve never felt it.  When I was struggling at first with the concept, I prayed and begged and pleaded for the feelings to be taken away, but instead what I heard over and over again was that God loved me and He created me this way for a purpose–to show love to the LGBT community through understanding.

What else do I believe?  Here’s a list:

• I believe Jesus was the son of God, the savior and sacrificial lamb sent to Earth to take our place so we can be with God in Heaven
• I believe that Christianity is the only way to Heaven, and that without Jesus, there is no way to enter Heaven
• I believe the Bible is inerrant, and was written by the Hand of God through human authors
• I believe God still speaks and works through us today, and that He loves all of humanity and wants each of us to be saved
• I believe that Jesus is coming again with an army of angels to reclaim the Earth as his and establish the Kingdom of Heaven, and that no one can know the day or time that will happen
• I am pro-choice because while I’m not pro-abortion, I believe everyone should have access to safe medical procedures
• I am a liberal Democrat because I believe in human rights and the destruction of capitalism
• I believe Jesus was a Jewish radical who would be turned out of most churches today for the things he said in his time

Questions?  Comments?  Leave them in my “Contact” page and I’ll be sure to answer whatever I can!  Thanks for stopping by, and have a blessed day.