Lighted Path Coaching & Art Studio

11/15/2025

11/15/2025

This is the time to be slow,
Lie low to the wall
Until the bitter weather passes.

Try, as best you can, not to let
The wire brush of doubt
Scrape from your heart
All sense of yourself
And your hesitant light.

If you remain generous,
Time will come good;
And you will find your feet
Again on fresh pastures of promise,
Where the air will be kind
And blushed with beginning.

JOHN O'DONOHUE

From his books, Benedictus (Europe) / To Bless the Space Between Us (US)
Ordering Info: https://johnodonohue.com/store

County Clare, Ireland
Photo: © Ann Cahill

11/04/2025

Sometimes loving others will make you unpopular.

I have several social circles. Many of them faith-based.
Fellow pastors. Ministry partners. Church friends.

And when the topic of LGBTQ people comes up,
I’m often the lone voice speaking for them.

And in some of those Christian circles?
My words about as popular as flatulence in an elevator.

But here’s what I’ve learned—
It’s not my job to accept or reject anyone.
To "affirm" or "not affirm" anyone.
It’s not my job to sit in God’s chair
and decide who’s “in” or “out.”

My job is to love.
My job is to reflect Jesus so clearly
that people who’ve only known rejection
finally see what His love and grace look like in real life.

Because rejection kills.
Literally.

Nearly half of LGBTQ youth seriously consider su***de.
I've sat, cried and prayed with many of them.

But when just ONE adult offers acceptance,
that risk of su***de drops by almost 40%.

One person. One heart.
One moment of kindness that says,
“It's not my job to judge you. It's my job to love you. And you matter.”

And yet somehow,
we’ve turned the command to love
into a debate about theology.

Jesus didn’t say,
“Love your neighbor—once they agree with your interpretation of Leviticus.”

He said, “Love your neighbor.” Period.
(Matthew 22:39)

This isn’t about politics.
It’s not even about religion.
It’s about people.
People made in the image of God.

People who’ve heard “God hates you”
more times than “God loves you.”

Because when religion draws lines, Jesus crosses them.
(Mark 2:15-17, John 8:1-11, Luke 19:1-10)

And when we hide behind unBiblical clichés like
“love the sinner, hate the sin,”
we usually end up hating the sinner
while ignoring our own sin.
(Matthew 7:3-5)

If your version of faith needs someone to feel unworthy
so you can feel righteous,
it’s not faith in Jesus—it’s faith in yourself.
Faith in your opinions. Your fears. Your superiority.
Faith in your traditions. Your social identity.

That kind of faith ignores the teachings and commands of the very Christ our religion is named after.

Turns out, loving people enough to keep them alive isn’t “woke.”

It’s Pro-Life. 🤯

***de

10/10/2025

🤍