The last big push...

It's time to finish my second book. It's been sitting at about 150 pages for a few months now, and I haven't had the time to dive back into it to finish editing, sprinke with personal anecdotes, or expand certain thoughts. But now is the time.

Saturday night Angela and I watched the Dixie Chicks' documentary, Shut Up and Sing. I don't know if that inspired me, or if I would have had the urge anyway, but after the movie I just sort of instinctively walked into our home office and pulled out the big white binder that holds the manuscript for the second book, and started reading and editing again. I hadn't looked at the manuscript for months prior to Saturday. Then at church on Sunday, my proof-reader extraordinaire came up to me and asked about the progress of the second book and mentioned how excited she was about it. In the same conversation Angela mentioned that she had just had a vision for the cover. Wow, okay. I can take a hint. Get to work! So here I go.

As I focus increasingly on this effort (without neglecting my real job), it becomes necessary to take a break from this blog. I hope you'll be here when I return! It shouldn't be long. And then hopefully we'll have something new and tangible to celebrate.

What does Pride mean to you? One response to Pride Radio

Here's an excerpt from an email I received Friday evening, from someone who had just seen a news story about Pride Radio DFW on television. The email reads:

Quoting from the Bible, your venerable arch nemesis in holy writ that doesn't lie as men do, "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." (In God's Kingdom, Pride is definitely NOT in, okay?) I would also like to quote the Psalmist, David, reputed by gays to be gay because of his close relationship in the Bible with Jonathan (pure bunk I assure you) who said, "The wicked strut about freely when what is vile is honored among men."

Okay....first of all, the Bible is NOT our arch nemesis! In fact, it's one of my bestest friends. Not eveyone in the gay community chooses to make the Bible part of their lives and that's fine, but it's unfair to say that the Bible as a whole is the arch nemesis of the gay community. Absolutely, unequivocably untrue.

About the word Pride....spiritual pride is evil, I'll give you that. Any assumption that makes us feel "better than," or falsely elevates us in some way has no place in a healthy faith. Spiritual pride might lead us to think that we know better than God, and that's just plain silly.

Pride Radio is about living the truth. It's about owning that part of ourselves which we may have been denying to ourselves or to the communities around us, and living life out loud, with greater freedom and less fear. For me, God is one hundred percent part of that outward motion. So Pride is not evidence of sin in this case, but rather a symbol of God's unconditional embrace. It's okay to be proud of a son who performs well in a soccer game, right? Pride Radio is encouragement, inspiration, a sense of community, and just plain fun. All good things.

One could even argue that it's part of a revolution, that God is stirring in order to rid the world of homophobia altogether. Homosexuality is love, and Pride Radio is just one tool that God can use to get that point across. It's is not a Christian station and will not always line up perfectly with faith, but it is a reflection of truth, and those of us who are Christians can find God in those moments.

Of the hundreds of comments about Pride Radio that I've received, leave it to me to blog about the negative one. :-) But I think it provides some food for thought and that's always a good thing.