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Of Life and The Yellow Lights

January 21, 2011 By Randy Thomas
yellow light

I really dislike approaching yellow lights.  I am not a driven Type-A personality but I just don't really care for in town driving ... and not getting my way ... ummm... When it comes to yellow lights, do I hurry through and possibly get a ticket or run over that confused looking squirrel? It never gets cold here so when it does repeatedly, the wildlife and native Floridians don't quite know what to do. Do I hurry through or do I just stop on a dime and scare the guy in the Lexus behind me talking on his phone way to close to my bumper? If the light is green I can just keep on … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Encourage, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Post-gay, Support Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Telling Your Story: Sharing Your Struggle With Family at the Holidays

December 16, 2010 By Brenna Kate Simonds
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The holidays can be intense time.  Food, family, fun - and often friction.  It’s also a time when those of us who are struggling to overcome same-sex attraction may choose to “come out” to our families. I came out to my dad as gay-identified at around 15 or 16, then a post/ex-gay at 25, and then as an Exodus ministry leader probably around 29 or 30.  He raised me as a single dad from when I was an early teen, and my mom was in and out of the picture.  At one point, a family member out’ed me to my mom, but she & I never talked about it since our relationship has always been … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bi-sexuality, Encourage, Friendship, Gay, God, Holy Spirit, Homosexuality, Jesus Christ, Lesbian, Parents, Post-gay, Support, The Father, Youth & Young Adults Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“I Am The Vine and My Father is The Gardener” – David Fountain’s Testimony

November 17, 2010 By David Fountain
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This testimony appears in both our offline and online newsletters.  To receive testimonies like this along with the full newsletter online via email or offline through the postal service please sign up here. — I love this description of God as “The Gardener.” As someone who made a lifelong decision to embrace the process of change over 13 years ago, I can certainly relate to how God chooses to reveal Himself by this title.  Night after night, I would beg God for freedom from my struggle with same-sex attractions.  I knew that my feelings and attractions were outside of God’s … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Church, Encourage, Exodus Blog, Gay, God, Holy Spirit, Homosexuality, Jesus Christ, Post-gay, Support, Testimonies, The Father Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What’s in a Name? The Story of Brenna Kate Simonds – Part 1

November 11, 2010 By Brenna Kate Simonds
Brenna with a mohawk from having her head shaved

A Christian speaker recently reminded me that words are a container for power. The book of Proverbs says “reckless words pierce like a sword”, “the words of the wicked lie in wait for blood”, and “when words are many, sin is not absent”.  In the Bible, words & names are very important. Throughout my life, I allowed people and circumstances to label me, name me, and define who I am. I was born prematurely in May of 1975. I was given a 50% chance of survival and rode in an ambulance to a hospital 50 miles away since the hospital where I was born did not have premie … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bi-sexuality, Encourage, Exodus Blog, Friendship, Gay, God, Holy Spirit, Homosexuality, Jesus Christ, Lesbian, Marriage, Post-gay, Purpose, Support, Testimonies, The Father, Youth & Young Adults Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jesus Likes Me This I Know

October 11, 2010 By Mike Goeke
Jesus Likes Me

Jesus Likes Me This I Know Mike Goeke, October 2010 I am sort of a weird guy. I prefer the term quirky, but semantics aside, I am weird. My interests are not typical (or maybe I should say that they are not stereotypical) of your run-of-the-mill guy. I remember sensing that I was different at about age 5. In many ways, my early years were spent feeling odd and yearning for friends and some sort of acceptance. These days, I don’t worry so much about being weird. For the most part, I am comfortable with myself. I can still feel lonely at times, and I can feel like that little 5 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Church, Encourage, Exodus Blog, Friendship, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Post-gay, Support, Testimonies, Youth & Young Adults Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Finding a Safe Place– Real Stories for September 2010

September 22, 2010 By Randy Thomas
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This testimony appears in both our offline and online newsletters.  To receive testimonies like this along with the full newsletter online via email or offline through the postal service please sign up here. --- I am a wife of a man with undesired same-sex attraction struggles. Together we have attended two Exodus conferences. Through the ministry of Exodus, God showed me that He truly cares about human brokenness. He loves homosexual men and women. He also loves my husband and desires to free him from his past and present pain, fears, and shame. The Exodus Freedom conference … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Church, Encourage, Exodus Blog, God, Holy Spirit, Homosexuality, Jesus Christ, Marriage, Post-gay, Spouses, Support, Testimonies, The Father Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Asking Questions

August 13, 2010 By Brenna Kate Simonds
question-mark-1

My son is in that stage of asking the same question over and over again. “What his name is?” is one of his favorites.  He especially wants to know all the names of superheros, kids at the playground, and animals.  I don't even know the names of the superheros, so I've had to get creative in answering.  I just recently discovered that if I asked him the same question he's asking me, he often knows the answer and will go ahead and answer it. We see in the Bible that God often asks questions. In the garden of Eden, God asked Adam and Eve where they were hiding- as if He couldn't see … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Encourage, Exodus Blog, God, Support Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Masturbation: Is it Sin?

August 4, 2010 By Chris Stump
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*Posted originally at Exodus Youth. About seven years ago I attended my first Exodus conference.  As I was looking at the multitude of workshops offered during the week I came across one entitled "Something, something...MASTURBATION".  I can't remember the whole title, because I just saw that "m" word.  I knew I had to go to that one.  But of course when the time came to go I was filled with so much trepidation and shame.  Would I be the only one in the workshop?  I got up enough courage to go, and to my amazement, the room was so full, there was barely any standing room.  It … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Encourage, Exodus Blog, Purpose, Support, Youth & Young Adults Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Parenting The Sensitive Soul

July 22, 2010 By Randy Thomas
happy son

A mother sent me a link to this article, Parenting The Sensitive Soul, by Ricky Chelette who is the Director of Living Hope Ministries.  She was deeply moved by it and was forwarding it on to some in her family.  From the article: "I think my son wants to be a girl," the father blurted out through tear-filled eyes as he entered my office. He was an enthusiastic father, an articulate, well-educated man, with a passion for God and truth. His wife was with him, tears streaming from her face as she saw the pain in her husband's heart. She was a gentle mother with a deep passion for her … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture, Encourage, Exodus Blog, God, Identity, Member Ministry, Parents, Post-gay, Support, Youth & Young Adults Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

When To Confront Someone’s Sin? – John Piper (Video)

July 21, 2010 By Randy Thomas
Piper

I am currently writing for a different project the topic of salvation and how some emphasize sin and hell to an inordinate degree.  It's a tough one to write.  I found this video late last night. I think it is important to note that Piper says that the importance of "confronting" sin in another increases among Christians to other Christians. That is what I understand from the scriptures as well. However, he also emphasizes that we have to be aware of our own spiritual walk with humility and meekness before talking with someone else about what he terms "destructive" behavior. Now, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Church, Encourage, Exodus Blog, Jesus Christ, Post-gay, Support, Video Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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