I have a diverse group of friends with different religious beliefs, backgrounds, and ideologies. My faith is a significant part of my life. Though I have strayed from my faith at times, I have grown to realize in my later years that prioritizing faith and gratitude has brought me peace, comfort, and the freedom to do what's right without being influenced by others. Some may argue that having faith is pointless when members of the same faith condemn my choices regarding who I love. But, I believe that faith is not just a set of rules but a relationship with Jesus Christ and meditating in his word. It is through this relationship, that I have accepted myself as I am and believe that Jesus accepts me and loves me unconditionally, as I am. I don't feel the need to apologize for my relationship with my faith, or who I am and who I love. Whether my friends be Christian, Atheist, Muslim, LGBT, or whatever. I do not force my beliefs on anyone. But what I hope your see is that my faith brings me joy and encourages me to live a life in love. And it is through this walk of faith, I hope that my testimony inspires others to see the internal joy that faith has given me. Jesus' message of love remains clear and relevant to this day, offering me guidance and hope amidst a sea of challenges where I believe that following this path is the best way to live despite people's judgment of who I am and who I feel God has destined me to love.

Love is love… 

Divide and conquer...

Telling impressionable children who could just as easily be convinced they are a Caterpillar that they could have been born in the wrong body and priming them for a lifetime of confusion and medical exploitation is the definition of child grooming. Adults facilitating children to keep secrets from their parents is predatory behavior, and referring to the entire LGBT community as one homogeneous hive mind that supports this is depreciatory and false, but necessary to erase the middle ground and any potential for civil discourse in favor of fueling the polarity and making victims out of both sides. For everyone to pick a side and fight for, society remains distracted, divided, and conquered.

Take the grey pill...

I'm going to try my best to describe my political beliefs because it's gotten to a point where they are no longer defined by Republican or Democrat. I believe there are only two genders, and I don't think that sex and gender are separate, but I do also understand that there are some people who have gender dysphoria and should have the freedom to live their lives freely, from government intervention as adults.  

I believe most rich people contribute to society just as much as they take from it. I don't believe that we can create a racially equal future for our children if we continue to teach them to look at race now, that doesn't mean I don't acknowledge our country's past and how that past affects communities in the present day. It just means that I don't believe in creating future problems to rectify previous ones.  

I believe a country can't survive without a border, and we also can't survive by not vetting the people who are entering our country. However, I also believe that legal immigration can greatly contribute to our society. If somebody wants to chase the American dream and come here the right way. They should have the ability to do so. 

I'm not falling for the Russian propaganda trying to convince us to hate America, but I'm also not falling for the American propaganda trying to convince us to send our tax dollars everywhere but here. 

I believe that is you are gay and I want to have a family and I think that they should continue to have the freedom to do that. I also think that a woman who is struggling to get pregnant should have access to IVF. But I also understand that people are allowed to have their own belief systems if a business owner doesn't want to bake my cake, I'll go and get a cake from somewhere else. 
I also forgot to add, I want to be able to defend that family should somebody try to break into my house. And then if that person gets arrested because a firearm wasn't needed, I would hope that they're not out running the streets the same night that they just committed a crime. 

I don't believe all cops are bad, but some are. 

I believe that religion plays an instrumental role in facilitating A civilized society, but I don't believe that religion should play any role in government. I love this country and I want to see it succeed. I want to see its people debate and propose real solutions and then shake hands after. 

So in a very hostile political climate, where everyone's telling you to take either the blue pill or the red pill. Take the Gray one because it's not always that black and white. 

Please remember this...

Don't seek evidence that you're not enough in the world, because you'll always find it. Our worth and belonging are not determined by others. We carry them inside our hearts. I know who I am and I won't compromise that to fit in with others. Doing so would be a betrayal to myself, and I'm no longer willing to do it.

Dreams...

Dreams without goals are simply illusions, and ultimately, they lead to disappointment. On the journey to realizing your dreams, it's essential to embrace discipline, and most importantly, consistency. Without commitment, you'll never take that first step, and without consistency, you'll never reach the finish line.

Your voice matters...

I understand how difficult it is to stay silent when you feel like your words aren't valued. Your silence communicates exhaustion and a sense of having nothing left to fight for. It's a way of expressing that you've reached a point where explaining your feelings feels too draining. Your silence also signifies acceptance of life's changes and a desire to move forward without complaint. It's a form of self-healing and an attempt to let go of unfulfilled expectations. I can see that you're trying to maintain your dignity as you navigate through this challenging time. It's clear that the pain of being silenced while others disregard your emotions is overwhelming. Remember, it's important to find your voice and speak up for yourself.

More than you know...

One of the greatest tragedies in life is that you will always be loved more than you will ever know. Someone in class finds your presence inviting and warm, even if you've only ever exchanged a few words with them, maybe none at all. Someone on the street loves your smile, and it brightens their day as they walk down the next few streets. Someone you used to be friends with still wishes to fondly call your name. Someone you used to be friends with five years ago would give anything to be in the same room as you today. Someone who regularly comes into work is disappointed when you aren't there to brighten their day. Someone missed you today. Someone noticed you were gone. Someone loves you when you're there. Someone loves you when you're nowhere to be found at all. You might think you have always disappeared when you're no longer in the picture, but you've never left the frame. Your impact lingers in ways you might never fully realize, so remember, even in your quietest moments, you are deeply valued. Your presence matters more than you know.

Let go ...

When someone treats you like one of many options, help them narrow their choice by removing yourself from the equation. It's important to prioritize your well-being and self-respect. Do not give part-time people a full-time position in your life. Know your value and what you have to offer, and always strive for what you truly deserve.

What if...

 

“A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.” — Greek Proverb

Don't be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality. - Belva Davis

If you work just for money, you'll never make it, but if you love what you're doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours.

Ray Kroc

ICON GONE TOO SOON!!!

10 YEAR OLD ME

 

Validation okcraves

 

validation

 

To be great is to go on… to go on is to go far… and to go far is to return. Life’s meaning returns back to the beginning if you do it right.

    Kevin Smith

one of the first jobs I had. seikels grocery

My first job where the fed recognized me a “employee” was in this building 1985.   

RIP Christine McVie - Fleetwood Mac - Everywhere

†|2ø|\| 40th anniversary

The Judds - Love Is Alive (song of the day)

REST IN LOVE NAOMI. 💖

 

Optimism...

Optimism is an essential ingredient of innovation. How else can the individual welcome change over security, adventure over staying in safe places? 

Robert Noyce

Amazing google Sheets trick

How do you search and replace [*] in Google Sheets so that the brackets and whatever is in the bracket (or parentheses) gets deleted?

You need regular expressions to solve your find and replace the problem. A regular expression pattern is an admittedly arcane character string capable of matching various text patterns with exquisite sensitivity and precision

Google Sheets supports regular expressions in its Find & Replace dialog. You must check the box for “Search using regular expressions” each time you perform such a search. The Find field will be the regular expression pattern \[.*\] and the Replace field should be left blank.

To explain the regular expression pattern,


• the backslash means the next character is a literal rather than a regular expression special character. 

• The . mean any character.

• The * means 0 or more occurrences.


So the regular expression pattern is looking for a left square bracket, 0 or more characters, and a right square bracket.

Thank you Brad Yundt... you Sheets aficionado

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