Thus far, $HEGE has grown with very little marketing. However, $HEGE has now planned a huge marketing push that will be deployed to 13 different channels simultaneously at the end of this week including:

• Bitcoin.com Main Page article for 1 week along with Bitcoin.com X posts, Facebook, and Telegram posts
  
• TikTok / YouTube / X influencer calls
  
• London and Times Square ads
  
• Published articles to 8 news outlets and published on their homepage
  
• Cryptocurrency Subreddit Banner Rental for 1 week
  
• Targeted airdrops
  
• DEX Ads
  
• Bitmedia Ads
  
• Solscan Ads
  
• Giveaway contest
  
• Meme contest
  
• Content push (burst of animations / videos / graphics released)
  
• and more!
  

To see the full details of the plan, join our Tg channel and see the pinned Google docs marketing plan link (this is a great example of the kind of transparency the team provides and the kind of quality work the team does).
Lots has been said about $HEGE's strong community and how people get early SHIB and WIF vibes. In another incredible showing of strength, the community donated over $25,000 USD to the project in the first 8 hours of the marketing fundraise (fundraising ongoing until end of this week).
Our current MC sits at about $4-5M. We expect this marketing push to conservatively bring us to $10M MC at which point we will list on a CEX (we have been discussing listings with several exchanges) which should take us up even further.
FOMO is already starting! Get in before it is too late!

🌐 www.hegecoin.com

https://dexscreener.com/solana/ULwSJmmpxmnRfpu6BjnK6rprKXqD5jXUmPpS1FxHXFy

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are 3 major components to this meme coin

Story
The story is second to none. This meme is not just some random animal picture slapped onto an AI generated background. Instead, it has carefully crafted characters (HEGE the hedgehog being the main one) along with a chapter of a story that unlocks at every market cap milestone (see more at www.hegecoin.com).
Team
The dev and the team are top notch and work around the clock. The dev is also a graphic designer who draws all the images himself. Every AMA roundtable call with other project devs makes it even more apparent how standout dev is.
Community
With a top notch story and a top notch team behind the wheel, it is only natural that a great community will develop. No need to sell you here, the best way to research this is to join our Tg group and see for yourself.

Thus far, $HEGE has grown with very little marketing. However, $HEGE has now planned a huge marketing push that will be deployed to 13 different channels simultaneously at the end of this week including:

• Bitcoin.com Main Page article for 1 week along with Bitcoin.com X posts, Facebook, and Telegram posts
  
• TikTok / YouTube / X influencer calls
  
• London and Times Square ads
  
• Published articles to 8 news outlets and published on their homepage
  
• Cryptocurrency Subreddit Banner Rental for 1 week
  
• Targeted airdrops
  
• DEX Ads
  
• Bitmedia Ads
  
• Solscan Ads
  
• Giveaway contest
  
• Meme contest
  
• Content push (burst of animations / videos / graphics released)
  
• and more!
  

To see the full details of the plan, join our Tg channel and see the pinned Google docs marketing plan link (this is a great example of the kind of transparency the team provides and the kind of quality work the team does).
Lots has been said about $HEGE's strong community and how people get early SHIB and WIF vibes. In another incredible showing of strength, the community donated over $25,000 USD to the project in the first 8 hours of the marketing fundraise (fundraising ongoing until end of this week).
Our current MC sits at about $4-5M. We expect this marketing push to conservatively bring us to $10M MC at which point we will list on a CEX (we have been discussing listings with several exchanges) which should take us up even further.
FOMO is already starting! Get in before it is too late!

🌐 www.hegecoin.com

https://dexscreener.com/solana/ULwSJmmpxmnRfpu6BjnK6rprKXqD5jXUmPpS1FxHXFy

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are 3 major components to this meme coin

Story
The story is second to none. This meme is not just some random animal picture slapped onto an AI generated background. Instead, it has carefully crafted characters (HEGE the hedgehog being the main one) along with a chapter of a story that unlocks at every market cap milestone (see more at www.hegecoin.com).
Team
The dev and the team are top notch and work around the clock. The dev is also a graphic designer who draws all the images himself. Every AMA roundtable call with other project devs makes it even more apparent how standout dev is.
Community
With a top notch story and a top notch team behind the wheel, it is only natural that a great community will develop. No need to sell you here, the best way to research this is to join our Tg group and see for yourself.

Thus far, $HEGE has grown with very little marketing. However, $HEGE has now planned a huge marketing push that will be deployed to 13 different channels simultaneously at the end of this week including:

• Bitcoin.com Main Page article for 1 week along with Bitcoin.com X posts, Facebook, and Telegram posts
  
• TikTok / YouTube / X influencer calls
  
• London and Times Square ads
  
• Published articles to 8 news outlets and published on their homepage
  
• Cryptocurrency Subreddit Banner Rental for 1 week
  
• Targeted airdrops
  
• DEX Ads
  
• Bitmedia Ads
  
• Solscan Ads
  
• Giveaway contest
  
• Meme contest
  
• Content push (burst of animations / videos / graphics released)
  
• and more!
  

To see the full details of the plan, join our Tg channel and see the pinned Google docs marketing plan link (this is a great example of the kind of transparency the team provides and the kind of quality work the team does).
Lots has been said about $HEGE's strong community and how people get early SHIB and WIF vibes. In another incredible showing of strength, the community donated over $25,000 USD to the project in the first 8 hours of the marketing fundraise (fundraising ongoing until end of this week).
Our current MC sits at about $4-5M. We expect this marketing push to conservatively bring us to $10M MC at which point we will list on a CEX (we have been discussing listings with several exchanges) which should take us up even further.
FOMO is already starting! Get in before it is too late!

🌐 www.hegecoin.com

https://dexscreener.com/solana/ULwSJmmpxmnRfpu6BjnK6rprKXqD5jXUmPpS1FxHXFy

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are 3 major components to this meme coin

Story
The story is second to none. This meme is not just some random animal picture slapped onto an AI generated background. Instead, it has carefully crafted characters (HEGE the hedgehog being the main one) along with a chapter of a story that unlocks at every market cap milestone (see more at www.hegecoin.com).
Team
The dev and the team are top notch and work around the clock. The dev is also a graphic designer who draws all the images himself. Every AMA roundtable call with other project devs makes it even more apparent how standout dev is.
Community
With a top notch story and a top notch team behind the wheel, it is only natural that a great community will develop. No need to sell you here, the best way to research this is to join our Tg group and see for yourself.

Hey Everyone! first post here! Anyone commuting from North Edinburgh/West Lothian or even North Glasgow to Aberdeen? Trying to understand how their experience is and the pain points. It looks like a 2 to 2.5 hour commute and i have done a few day trips from ABZ to Edinburgh in the past. Planning to do this for 2-3 years atleast..is it doable?
I currently live in Aberdeen but Im thinking of buying a house in the central belt (mainly for secondary schools, house values not depreciating, future of O&G and job prospects for the wife) and commute to Aberdeen 2-3 days a week. I am prepared to to stay in a hotel/friend's couch for a few nights when im up here during winters or if work gets a bit late during the week. Will be having a EV (with free office charging) so hoping the commute cost wont be that bad! Am i over simplifying it or will it be a torturous commute?

Thus far, $HEGE has grown with very little marketing. However, $HEGE has now planned a huge marketing push that will be deployed to 13 different channels simultaneously at the end of this week including:

• Bitcoin.com Main Page article for 1 week along with Bitcoin.com X posts, Facebook, and Telegram posts
  
• TikTok / YouTube / X influencer calls
  
• London and Times Square ads
  
• Published articles to 8 news outlets and published on their homepage
  
• Cryptocurrency Subreddit Banner Rental for 1 week
  
• Targeted airdrops
  
• DEX Ads
  
• Bitmedia Ads
  
• Solscan Ads
  
• Giveaway contest
  
• Meme contest
  
• Content push (burst of animations / videos / graphics released)
  
• and more!
  

To see the full details of the plan, join our Tg channel and see the pinned Google docs marketing plan link (this is a great example of the kind of transparency the team provides and the kind of quality work the team does).
Lots has been said about $HEGE's strong community and how people get early SHIB and WIF vibes. In another incredible showing of strength, the community donated over $25,000 USD to the project in the first 8 hours of the marketing fundraise (fundraising ongoing until end of this week).
Our current MC sits at about $4-5M. We expect this marketing push to conservatively bring us to $10M MC at which point we will list on a CEX (we have been discussing listings with several exchanges) which should take us up even further.
FOMO is already starting! Get in before it is too late!

🌐 www.hegecoin.com

https://dexscreener.com/solana/ULwSJmmpxmnRfpu6BjnK6rprKXqD5jXUmPpS1FxHXFy

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are 3 major components to this meme coin

Story
The story is second to none. This meme is not just some random animal picture slapped onto an AI generated background. Instead, it has carefully crafted characters (HEGE the hedgehog being the main one) along with a chapter of a story that unlocks at every market cap milestone (see more at www.hegecoin.com).
Team
The dev and the team are top notch and work around the clock. The dev is also a graphic designer who draws all the images himself. Every AMA roundtable call with other project devs makes it even more apparent how standout dev is.
Community
With a top notch story and a top notch team behind the wheel, it is only natural that a great community will develop. No need to sell you here, the best way to research this is to join our Tg group and see for yourself.

when i was in middle school during my last year i planned two things 1. i took a kitchen knfie to school and planned stab another kid that i did not like but ended up not doing it but it was close i stood next to him in the hall one day with the knife hidden in on of the arms in my hoodie but i chould not bring myself to do it and just skipped the rest of the day instead
2 i planned to jump of the highest point of the school to kms during the last day of school before graduation when the first thing did not work out but i did not do it

1. i sometimes think about hanging myself in the woods or just drowning myself in the canal but i have tried to drown myself but it did not work i had tied weights to my legs and all and just ended up sitting by the water instead for about 2 hours
   
2. i wanna be manhandled and be used as a sex doll by a bunch of diffrent guys at the same time and also bet put on drugs and kept in someones sex dungeon all consensual ofc
   
3. i am not on meds anymore and for some reaosn i feel a lot better the only thing i really use is nicotine gum
   
4. and finally i sometimes fantasize about skinning the flesh of my hands why i don't know and an other thing maybe just use a knife to carve things all over my body
   

Thus far, $HEGE has grown with very little marketing. However, $HEGE has now planned a huge marketing push that will be deployed to 13 different channels simultaneously at the end of this week including:

• Bitcoin.com Main Page article for 1 week along with Bitcoin.com X posts, Facebook, and Telegram posts
  
• TikTok / YouTube / X influencer calls
  
• London and Times Square ads
  
• Published articles to 8 news outlets and published on their homepage
  
• Cryptocurrency Subreddit Banner Rental for 1 week
  
• Targeted airdrops
  
• DEX Ads
  
• Bitmedia Ads
  
• Solscan Ads
  
• Giveaway contest
  
• Meme contest
  
• Content push (burst of animations / videos / graphics released)
  
• and more!
  

To see the full details of the plan, join our Tg channel and see the pinned Google docs marketing plan link (this is a great example of the kind of transparency the team provides and the kind of quality work the team does).
Lots has been said about $HEGE's strong community and how people get early SHIB and WIF vibes. In another incredible showing of strength, the community donated over $25,000 USD to the project in the first 8 hours of the marketing fundraise (fundraising ongoing until end of this week).
Our current MC sits at about $4-5M. We expect this marketing push to conservatively bring us to $10M MC at which point we will list on a CEX (we have been discussing listings with several exchanges) which should take us up even further.
FOMO is already starting! Get in before it is too late!

🌐 www.hegecoin.com

https://dexscreener.com/solana/ULwSJmmpxmnRfpu6BjnK6rprKXqD5jXUmPpS1FxHXFy

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are 3 major components to this meme coin

Story
The story is second to none. This meme is not just some random animal picture slapped onto an AI generated background. Instead, it has carefully crafted characters (HEGE the hedgehog being the main one) along with a chapter of a story that unlocks at every market cap milestone (see more at www.hegecoin.com).
Team
The dev and the team are top notch and work around the clock. The dev is also a graphic designer who draws all the images himself. Every AMA roundtable call with other project devs makes it even more apparent how standout dev is.
Community
With a top notch story and a top notch team behind the wheel, it is only natural that a great community will develop. No need to sell you here, the best way to research this is to join our Tg group and see for yourself.

I'm 21. I got diagnosed with POTS over a year ago after I started fainting continuously and accidentally injuring myself from falling. Now I faint pretty much every day, if not many times a day. I can't shower alone, my boyfriend has to help washing my hair, I can't stand for much more than 5-10 minutes at a time. I ended up in the ER a couple weeks ago because I'd apparently been having an absence seizure most of the night because my brain wasn't getting enough oxygen. I can't remember that night but apparently I started speaking Norwegian, which I haven't used in years, and just repeated myself but would then pass out and wake up and repeat it again.
Today I had another appointment with my heart specialist because of that night. He said basically the only step left is trying weekly IV drips with sodium and stuff that my cells don't know how to store efficiently due to the POTS. Before starting that, he wanted to check my heart again so we did the echo and sonar. Apparently, one of the heart valves seems to be caving in a little. He said it's nothing to worry about now but we'll have to keep an eye on it, especially since it wasn't there last sonar. Then he said I should see a specialist about possible ehlers-danlos syndrome. My heart seemed to show symptoms of weak, flexible connective and vascular tissue.
Approximately 2 years ago I was working full time, 10 hour shifts on my feet the entire time. I went to school along with it. I would work a night shift and then go straight to school. My parents never put any pressure on being successful or anything, my mom always said that as long as we were all healthy, happy and kind to the people around us, she had done her part well. But I know they expected me to grow up and change the world. I've always had an insanely strong need for justice and fairness, my plan was to become a developmental psychiatrist and work myself up in child protective services and transform it. Make it better.
Now, realistically, I'm never gonna be able to work full time. Most days, the pain, fatigue and dizziness is just unbearable. I rely so much on the people around me, I can never be alone at home for too long, I can't shower without assistance, I can't cook, it takes me over an hour to change one sheet cause I get so out of breath and I have to stop to rest. I feel like I need to mourn the life I imagined myself having because the rug has been yanked from underneath my feet and it will never be the same.
And I'm not allowed to stop and scream and shout from helplessness because I need to show improvement in my outpatient ARFID/OCD treatment because if I don't, I lose the financial aid and if that happens, I'm doomed because my parents can't support me. They would try their best but I wouldn't put them in that position.
I don't know, everything is falling apart yet I don't feel like I'm allowed to do the same because then those I burden constantly will have to comfort me and I'll burden them more.
I'm just so sad and tired and overwhelmed. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I should be in university, working to support myself, be able to cook for myself, walking my dog. Thank you for listening to my venting, it's appreciated.

I took my first official GMAT last Wednesday (so no score improvement) and managed to get a perfect score. Also, I've been studying for the GMAT since July of last year, and it's taken up a lot of my free time and energy, which I suddenly have available again, so I might as well lay out my experience in case it's helpful for anyone else.
I pretty exclusively used Target Test Prep, aside from the question review mentioned above. I started mid-July. I didn't really know how long I would need to prepare, as I work a lot and I have limited free time. As any good citizen of the internet does when searching for product reviews, I went to Reddit to find what programs people recommended, and TTP came up a lot. Positive (and less positive) reviews mostly talked about how thorough TTP's program is. I'm anxious and I like to overprepare for things, so that sounded great to me. I had a vague notion of preparing for a couple of months left over from my erstwhile undergrad days. That's clearly not what happened. I ended up spending about 9 months prepping, and I logged about 500 official prep hours.
Here's what I liked about TTP: 1. It is crazy thorough - Every chapter has review tests in three difficulty levels, and many have multiple review tests in each level. 2. Difficulty - There were lots of very challenging questions. I often felt I understood concepts well, but when asked to apply them to harder questions, it was a whole other deal. This was one of the most helpful things for my prep. A lot of the concepts that I was tested over aren't necessarily difficult, but seeing how to get from the question to the answer (in the allotted time) will absolutely make or break the experience. 3. The lesson structure- This turned out to be a much bigger plus than I expected. If I had a minute while waiting at the doctor's office, or in between customers, or before my partner got home, I could tackle a lesson or two. They're broken down, bite-sized concepts, followed by specific questions to apply the concepts. Being able to make a little progress when I had time, instead of having to carve out whole blocks of time every day, fit into the life I live a lot better. 4. I liked their vibe- This will be personal preference to a degree, but I liked the TTP team's overall vibe. They give off the impression that they know what they're doing and they want to be doing it. I just wanted a slightly dry, no nonsense, coven of math wizards to run me back through a review course of most of high school, and these people answered the call. Even when I had questions that weren't about the course exactly (applying for accommodation), it was TTP's Scott (on Reddit) that answered those questions as well. I appreciate dealing with people who are dedicated to their craft. A note on my accommodation, and a quick note about the TTP study plan layout (which I recommend following): TTP recommends not stressing early on about the time that you take to answer questions, but instead focusing on building a strong foundation of the knowledge and knowing that you'll get faster with practice. That was true. At the end of the study plan, they have you take the 6 official GMAT tests that are available to purchase on MBA.com, and I took one per weekend for 6 weeks. TTP's website is nice, well laid out, decent on mobile, overall pretty user friendly. The GMAT Focus is very Windows 95. It's not nearly as user-friendly. It also does this fun thing where, after every question, it pops up a box that makes you confirm that you are ready to submit your answer and move to the next question. The TTP tests aren't clunky in that way, and the first time I took a practice test, it threw me all the way off. I wasn't doing super bad on my time up until that point, but the extra seconds dealing with that popup every time takes, and the way it felt generally disruptive to me added a lot of stress. I ended up applying for an accommodation for time and a half pretty quickly after my first practice test, because it's recommended that you give the GMAC 30ish days to get a decision back to you, and you can't schedule your test until you're approved for the accommodation or it doesn't count. I got my decision back in like 5 days, so I was lucky. I pushed my time and a half to the limit on quant in every. single. practice exam. In the actual exam, I ended up having about 2 minutes left on DI, 5 minutes left on Verbal, and like 15+ minutes left on Quant. My actual test score was higher than any practice test and less stressful than any practice test (even though the kid in the testing cubical next to mine sounded like they were coming down with consumption, and I would recommend earplugs).
TTP does mention to take care of yourself while you're studying, get enough sleep, get enough exercise, anything that makes you feel your best. They especially recommend to take it easy the last week before the test, eat a good breakfast the morning of, get there early. I made myself do 10 minute meditations before bed every night for the last two weeks before my exam, because even though they can be frustrating in the moment, they do force me to calm down. The day of, I woke up 15 minutes earlier than I usually do so I would have time to do a bit of yoga and a quick meditation before I went to the test center, and I do think that helped. Also, some of it was luck, because there were almost zero questions that covered the topics I have the most trouble with, and even with infinity preparation, the topics covered are still incredibly broad and some will be easier for you than others. Good luck!

It's a long story. Please bear with me, my mind is really chaotic right now. I am in college and have a circle of female friends since the first semester. All of us went to the same major. This year will be our 4th year being a group of friends together. I cherished them a lot, they helped me a lot and one of the reasons I survived college so far.
Then came the guy. It's a little too common actually. I first got close with this guy when we're in our second year, that's on 2021. The classes were still held online due to COVID back then, so we actually never see each other in real life. He was a quiet, shy guy who didn't get noticed by others, and as the class' leader, I contacted him a lot to make sure he didn't feel leave out since the others were joking around frequently in the class' group chat. From that, he began to ask me if I already have a partner for group assigments (there were quite a lot of assigments for group of 2 people) and since my other friends know other people too, I said yes. We began to become a duo for every group assignments. He was responsible and working together with him was pretty enjoyable. We began to talk everyday about random things to each other. We even played game together. I considered him as a close friend at this point.
Then, I introduced him to one of my close friends since she also plays the game we played together. I didn't actually know the extend of their interactions, just that he helped her in game sometimes and I guess they played from time to time without me too. Then, one day in 2022, my class had a first gathering where we booked a villa and held many games and gift trades, you know the thing you did to create a bond since it's our first meeting as classmates due to the pandemic. I was very shy at the thought of seeing him in real life for the first time (he actually a good looking, he got really popular among the girls in my major after this gathering) and pretended not to see him, yet he walked up to me first and greeted me. That time was ... really magical. The villa was located in an mountain area so it was really cold and he gave me his hoodie since I got cold easily. We took a lot of photos together at that time, and it seemed everyone in our year already treated us like a "campus couple" because of that. I, of course, denied that I like him and said that we're only good friends because ... a girl like me is afraid of rejection and reading the signs wrong.
But after the gathering ended, one of my close friends (the one that I introduced to him to play game together before) suddenly announced to our female friends group that she has a crush on him. Little by little, she began to show hostility to me then there was this one point when she ignored me for two months. Even when I tried to talk to her in, she didn't give me respond. At that time, I was scared I will ruin this friendship groups. I was longing for female friendships, the thing you saw in movies, and I finally have one when I entered college so I saw them as a blessing. In high school, I either got bullied or not having friends at all since I was always coming straight home after school ended (I came from a poor family so I didn't have the money to hang out and friendship in high school requires money for me since I attended a prestigious school where almost everyone has rich parents). So, I made a decision to cut him off. I stopped talking to him. For group assignment, I grouped with other people. Little by little, the distance between the two of us widened. In the end, we didn't talk to each other anymore, and that's when my friend started to talk to me again. I didn't ruin my friendship group. My friend and him got close and by then she already "replaced" me being his group assignment's partner. I let him go, thinking that I didn't have the time and energy to date anyway since I was busy doing part-times to earn money. He came from a good family, and so does my close friend. They suited each other. I won't become a girl who abandoned her friend for a guy. Since summer of 2023, I never had a talk with him again.
I was fine, well not really. It hurt not being able to talk to him again when we used to be close, but I did this to myself. My close friend talked about him a lot in our group's chats. Apparently, she already confessed twice and got rejected. But she wanted to stay as a friend so both of them were "best friends" until now. She told us she still held feelings for him. She sent him flowers on his graduation since he graduated early than us. I didn't. Yet, he approached me and asked me to take photo together. After 1 year of no contact. On his graduation day, he asked me to take photos together, just two of us. With everyone watching.
Later, he confessed to me that he always has feelings for me. It was ... not quite a shock since I wasn't that dense, but still ... I got nauseous. Part of me wants him too, but the realistic part of me reminding me that I couldn't be that kind of girl who betrayed her close friend. I told him, I couldn't. I got a lot in my plates, I haven't graduated yet, I am not ready for relationship ... all the reasons because I couldn't bring myself to lie that I don't like him. Because I do. Very much. For years. He was everything I ever wanted in a boyfriend. He said he could wait until I graduate. He was waiting for me for the past 2 years, waiting a few months won't matter much.
What should I do? Should I confess everything to my friendship group? I want to talk to my friends about this, to hear their thoughts, but I couldn't because I always kept my feelings for him as a secret. Then, how about my friendships? My close friend who likes him will definitely got hurt ... am I just not suitable for friendships, since I wasn't honest? If you were in my position, will you choose your crush or your close friend?
(Thank you so much for taking your time to read this.)

My best friend and I now live on opposite coasts of the US, see eachother maybe once a year. She came to visit home for 2 weeks, and I only saw her at a little party she planned with her old college friends.. and invited me to. She also planned a 5 day resort/trip during her visit out here, with another friend of hers. She usually always spends a few days with me during her visits, and nothing this time.
I want to tell her I'm pissed. I'm really upset about it. I feel like she forgot about me and just squeezed me in. Other people are getting ample time with her one-on-one. But.... I don't want her to hang out with me out of pity or whatnot because of complaining about it, you know? I want to be part of the itinerary because she WANTS me to be.
what would you do?

I just wanted to share my story here! I was diagnosed with three uterine fibroids earlier this year, and scheduled my hysterectomy (laparoscopic) for June 20th. My doctor put me on megestrol acetate to help control my bleeding leading up to the surgery, as it was an anemia diagnosis that put me on this path in the first place. I found this subreddit and joined with the intent of using it to help me prepare for the surgery when the date got closer.
At first all was well, but two weeks after starting the megestrol, I started bleeding *constantly*. Some days were manageable, and some days had flooding so bad I just sat on the toilet for hours. Eventually my doctor doubled my megestrol dosage, but it didn't seem to make much difference.
On April 28th, I had terribly bad constipation and just general abdominal pain. I tried to treat with gas-x and plenty of fluids, but by the evening I started passing golf-ball sized blood clots and made the call to go to the ER. My husband drove, and as we got there I ended up passing a *softball* sized clot in the parking lot.
(It turns out you get admitted to the ER pretty quickly when you show up covered in your own blood.)
I spent about two days in the hospital as they tried to figure out what was wrong. A CT scan showed far more than the three fibroids we'd known about, and an MRI eventually confirmed that they'd detached and started deteriorating. Suddenly my surgery was moved up to May 1st, and as it turned out, my uterus was now too large to be done as simply as originally planned (equivalent of a 6mo pregnancy). I was in surgery for 4.5 hours, with five little incisions above my stomach and one 5cm incision below my belly.
They kept me two more nights in the hospital, as they wanted to do a full course of IV antibiotics due to the nastiness they pulled out of me. Moving and walking was like the game QWOP - learning to move each of my limbs individually, without engaging my core muscles. I was able to void on my own within 24 hours (because I'm stubborn and desperately wanted to be home again) and discharged on May 3rd.
I spent the first two weeks post-op laid up either in bed or my armchair downstairs, taking little walks as I felt able to. It was such a relief when I was finally able to sit down or stand up without risking searing pain! They gave me oxycodone, but it didn't seem to do much more for me than the ibuprofen/tylenol combo I was prescribed, so it's mainly sat untouched. As of this week I'm sitting upright at my desk and finally able to get back to work (at home, thankfully), but I can tell it's going to be a long while yet until I'm at 100% mobility.
One thing I've struggled to find help with was how to manage my lower incision as an obese person with an apron belly. The incision is perfectly in the fold of my stomach, and I can't quite tell if that's helped me or made things worse. If anything, keeping it clean is a struggle, and having my husband to help has been an absolute godsend. But I think it's managed to keep some pressure against a spot that benefits from having some weight against it (especially since the hospital-supplied belly band was too small, sigh).
At any rate, I'm so thankful for this resource, and I hope my story can help somebody else in their own journey. <3 Wishing all of us the best!

GENERAL THOUGHTS
Definitely more relaxed than LB6, as many people already said. Despite that, it was really fun and interesting to read, definitely the story is what keeps me playing this game. I still have some complains regarding some characters, which I'll discuss later on this post; even then, really enjoyable and left me with some sour feelings regarding the end
SPECIFIC THOUGHTS

1. Don Quixote. Fucking goated, by far my favourite character. I had really high hopes for him and I was not disappointed. His concerns and fear due to seeing a lot of heroes being crushed down in Atlantis and his realizing of his own reality really makes sense; that's why his decision to fight Konstantinos alone is so goddamn epic. He understood that heroes do fear, but they do not let that stop'em. He still fears and sometimes wants to scape, he is a really human character and this makes him highly likable (glad I got him from the banner)
   
   1. Charlemagne. This is tbh my main complain, I can understand that he was really weakened but, at the end of the day, he had the decision on when to show up. Couldn't he show up earlier during the battle againts the Reinstatement Realm? Dude appeared when the Righteous Realm was about to be wiped out; yes, he helped to prevent that, but he could've prevented even more deaths imo. His character was good, he is likable, but I didn't find him very impressive.
   2. Holmes. I already knew he was going to die due to spoilers, but I definitely wasn't expecting him to kill himself like OMFG WHY. I can understand the reasons, very noble of him. Honestly, I think a lot of us were expecting him to be a Disciple of the Foreign God or a Foreigner or something sus; in spite of that, we were not expecting that he was betraying the FG instead. I still can't totally grasp why he decided to side with Chaldea and seal his memories to avoid the FG influence so, if someond can give some insight regarding this topic, I'd be really grateful. I am a little bit mad about the game not revealing his mission; yeah, we know he was spying Chaldea and trying to understand the nature of the Incineration of Humanity (which I get was not exactly due to Goetia), but why? He disliked the FG's nature, but why? He avoids following his true creed and being impartial but I still can't get why
   3. The unknown servants. I know that a lot of people liked the Rider of Sicily cuz, hell yeah, he is really funny. Personally, I liked the Righteous Assassin more, he is just too silly, I want to befriend him. Overall, the characters were good and funny, no doubts
   4. Xu Xu. Yeah I love this woman, definitely. I find her Lady Yu plushie really cute.
   5. Siegfried. Buff man who is invincible until he is against you/with Kriemhild. Feels like a Deus ex machina to me xd
   6. Konstantinos and Johanna. Beautiful relationship, I can absolutely get why Konstantinos falls for her, she is just that sweet. I also like that her love for him is the reason why she can set her inner conflict aside
   7. Johana's conflict. On point, she makes a good point when she mentions that other fantastical characters at least are part of a bigger story/legend/myth (e. g. Holmes, Don), but she is totally alone against all of Humanity denying her existence. Charlemagne makes a good point too, if she was created in the first place it means that humanity wanted her to exist, and the fact that scholars discussed her existence for so long also is an indicator that she is important to humans, even if she is not real.
   8. Krimhield-Siegfried conflict. At the beginning I didn't get at all why Krimhield was mad at Siegfried since I am totally unaware of their legend, but when the story went on and we finally reached Kriemhild it made a lot of sense that she felt betrayed. I used to think that her hatred was towards those who killed him, so it seamed illogical for her to want to fight Siegfried; yet, it was Siegfried who she felt hatred towards due to him being so heroic and letting himself and his relationship with Kriem go in order to stop the war. Objectively, this conflict is better than the Konstantinos-Johana.
   9. Zhang Jue. CAN YOU JUST FUCKING DIE!?!
   10. Moriarty. He is obsessed with Holmes, no doubt. How would he direct Chaldea against the FG? No fucking idea. Why was he betraying the FG? No damn idea. His character was good, not exactly amazing but hia relationship with Holmes makes me enjoy him. It makes a lot of sense that he loses due to his pride and his ego, since he is just a younger Moriarty AND he had the power to alter fate.
   11. Kadoc. HOLLY SHIT my second favourite character. His sarcasm and pessimism is genuinely enjoyable, he makes a good contrast with all the nonsense that is going at Chaldea. He (almost) sacrificing himself to save Ritsuka was marvelous, it means so much to his character since he valued being alive more that anything, but now he sees that all those betrayals he did to keep himself alive only led him to humiliation, so it's not worth it to continue in that path.
   12. Vlad. Even nerfed that guy is just awesome
   13. Narrative. At the beginning we see Vinci and Sion talking bout what is a perfect human. I find it really cool that Holmes ultimately reaches something very close to that, he chooses to ignore a problem not because he is not capable of solving it but because it leads to a bigger good.

We also see Holmes mention that he surely would be able to seal himself similar to the way Vlad did, this makes an apreciable pay-off when he reveals that he sealed himself to avoid obeying the FG.

1. The end. The body of the alien, the singularity being marked as "Ex falso quodlibet". Wtf just happened? Did the alien arrived at 1919 or at 2019? Why is the body of David Bluebook not there? I have so much doubts rn

Introduction I have been looking all over the internet for the past 3 months. Watched every video. Read every forum. All because I want to buy a high-end home espresso setup. I want it to be my endgame - just so that I do not have to worry about upgrades the coming years.
The journey started because I have amazing coffee at work and I hate my Nespresso at home. We finally have some budget to upgrade our home setup. We're just with the two of us, but love hosting dinners occasionally. Milk drinks are a big yes! Would love to switch to other beans every month or so.
The machine I'm certain of the one I would like to order. A stainless steel La Marzocco Linea Micra. Dual boiler, PID, quick-heat up, timeless design and well build. I'm also be able to setup on and off schedules via the app. I might be biased, because we have a La Marzocco Linea PB - 2 group at work.. but the heart wants what it wants.
I do miss the brew by weight function that the Linea Mini has (with an additional €400 scale) but that is just nonsens. I can flip the switch myself for that amount of money.
The grinder But.. I cannot decide on the grinder. Since I found out grind-by-weight (GBW) grinders are a thing now I'm intrigued. That would make dialing in espresso's a bit quicker and the overal consistency would be perfect. No need to weight the portafilter anymore. So I'm debating between two GBW models;
1. Fiorenzato AllGround Sense (64mm) - €1100

• 250 watt
• 1600 RPM
• Cheaper
• Nice tactile ring that communicates with the screen
• Looks cool in the newest blue colour

2. Eureka Atom W 65 GRINDER (65mm) - €1400

• 280 watt
• 1370 RPM
• Seems to be the quietest grinder by some patented cool stuff
• Established brand for a long time
• Not that fun to look at

The accessoires I think I do need a fancy Normcore Spring Loaded Tamper V4 with Ripple Base?
The questions.. But.. Is a lot of money. So now I'm sitting here writing this post for advice and to help me make a choice before I spend. I might need some encouragement, I can postpone this endlessly because there is always something better of more bang for the buck somewhere else.

• Do you have experience with your Linea Mini, how many years does it last if it is well maintained?
• Do you gave experience with the brands for the grinder I mentioned? What would be your pick? Any others that I missed?
• And which accessories did I forget?

Thanks in advance!

A good friend of mine from a fairly conservative evangelical background is considering becoming a pastor at his non-denominational church. As part of the evaluation process, they asked him to write a paper on these topics that he is not an expert on.
He asked for my opinion and I offered to share it online to solicit constructive criticism, notes of encouragement, and or reading recommendations on these topics.
I believe his goal is to be faithful to the scriptures, loving to those outside the church, and challenging to those inside the church, as most of us could do better.
What he wrote is in the quotation marks below.
“1: Scope of the Issue
Sexual immorality has become a besetting and ubiquitous issue in our culture and in our churches. While many aspects of it are not novel or unique to this time and have clear scriptural input, there are others that bring challenges to our church for which we don’t have obvious precedent. The main point of these comments is to try and answer three questions with some degree of specificity: (1) how do we make ourselves a place where people who do not know Christ will feel welcome to come and learn of Him regardless of where they come from, (2) how do we pastorally care for people who have come in to the church with pre-existing circumstances related to sexual immorality, and (3) how do we equip our members to represent Christ to those in their lives that are dealing with these issues. We want to do this in a way that does not “walk a tight rope” or compromise to appease, but honors Scripture in its commands to both show compassion and exhort and correct. We must recognize that every individual circumstance is unique, and many will require careful and prayerful consideration, but this is meant to give a framework for that consideration.
2: Scriptural Basis for Corporate Response
There are many references we can point to that discuss and define sexual immorality throughout Scripture and many of these will be used below as we consider specific examples and situations. Let us start, however, by looking at passages that deal with corporate response rather than individual sin. It is clear that the Corinthian church had significant issues in this area, and much of Paul’s first letter was devoted to it. In chapter 5, Paul states that when sexual immorality is discovered in the church we should “mourn” over it and “not to associate with immoral people.” Importantly, he also makes clear in vv. 9-13 that these comments only apply to those “who bears the name of brother.” He explicitly writes, “not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world…for what have I to do with judging outsiders?” This is key in informing our response to those who are not members of the church. If it is our desire to see sinners come through our doors and come to know our Savior through our ministry, then we must be welcoming, accepting them where they are. This is not to say we hide or compromise the biblical position, but it is not an issue on which we want to filter people at the door. There are three categories of people in sexual sin that we need to form a response for. First, those just coming to the church who have not committed to it – these should be treated the same as any we are reaching out to with Christ’s love. They need Jesus, not behavioral change. Next, those who have recently joined the church but have pre-existing sexual sin patterns. This can and should be addressed with patience, dignity, and love. There are often many sin areas in the life of a new believer, and it is prudent to discern how and when to address each of them. Lastly, those who have been members in the church for some amount of time and fall into sexual sin. This is the group that Paul is primarily addressing in 1 Corinthians. While sex within marriage is a private issue, sexual sin cannot be a taboo topic. It needs to be addressed regularly and clearly. We need close enough relationships within the church that such problems do not fester in the dark. We must avoid the typical church pattern to vilify the first group, never see the second group, and pretend the third group doesn’t exist until it all blows up in scandal. May it never be.
3: Consistency Issue
There is a tendency in our Christian culture to treat some sexual sins as worse than others. Like the Corinthians, some things we seem to have accepted as just ubiquitous parts of our culture. Knowing the prevalence of promiscuity and fornication among teens and single adults and usage of pornography even within the church, we tend to address these as issues of indwelling sin, similar to anger or fear of man, with offers of accountability and understanding when someone falls. By contrast, when it comes to homosexuality or adultery, it is often a church discipline issue. We view homosexual marriage as a major problem, but remarriage after a non-biblical divorce is rarely addressed. These inconsistencies lead to stigmatization and polarization and should have no place in the church. The criterion for escalation should be unrepentance, not the nature of the sexual sin. It is clear from 1 Corinthians that all should be taken seriously, but none should be vilified above others.
4: Culture and Identity
The major underlying problem with many of the sexual sin and gender issues is that they have come to be culturally bound up with people’s identities. This is not a new phenomenon and is not unique to this issue. As far back as Acts 19, you see people becoming “enraged” because Paul had threatened the Ephesians’ cultural identity as worshipers of Artemis. People continue to find their primary identities in their employment, hobbies, sports teams, or families rather than Christ. None of these should be accepted, but none should be reviled either. If a person does not know Jesus, they are dead. How they identify themselves is of no concern. Once they have been made alive, they can be taught that “whose” they are is more important than “who” they are. All identity outside of Christ is not sinful, but if it takes paramount importance, it may become so. A person who recognizes a tendency toward same sex attraction may label themselves as gay or lesbian. This should not be considered a sin issue unless it becomes, for them, their defining characteristic or leads to sinful actions. We should recognize the difficulty of this struggle and support such a person rather than get hung up on labels. There must be clear distinction between identifying same sex attraction and engaging in homosexual behavior. These should be the guiding principles underlying everything that follows are regards individual cases.
5: Public Facing Information, Guests, and New Attendees
Considering what we have discussed, and Paul’s assertion in 1 Corinthians 5 that we ought to reserve judgment on sexual immorality to those we call brother, I would submit that public facing information regarding the church (i.e. website, app, etc) should not publish a position on sexual immorality, marriage, and gender identity. Doing so effectively places the filter at the door so that people who do not know Christ may be turned away from it. This is not tantamount to tacit approval. In appropriate contexts within the church, these topics should still be discussed and addressed, but I do not believe it is consistent with a biblical treatment of unbelievers to place it in a public facing forum. If we have guests or new regular attendees who appear to be engaged in a cohabitating or fornicating relationship, a homosexual relationship, or other sexual sin, this should not be a priority to address unless we have discerned that they are believers and join the church. Even then, it is important to draw a distinction between someone who deals with same-sex attraction and someone who engages in homosexual behavior. The next seven points are meant to discuss, in broad terms, how we should address those who join the church with pre-existing relationships or identity issues:
6: Promiscuity, Cohabitation – Hebrews 13:4, 1 Cor 7:1-2, Ex 22:16
Much of the biblical discussion on promiscuity is by inference. Clearly, sex was meant to be inseparably linked to marriage and outside of that context should be considered immoral. For those who join the church already in a sexual relationship who are unmarried we should apply Exodus 22:16 and encourage them to marry as soon as possible. If they do not wish to marry, they should be encouraged to separate. Paul acknowledges in 1 Cor 7:2 that marriage is the best remedy for “temptation to sexual immorality.”
7: Adultery, Divorce and Remarriage – Matt 5:32, Matt 19:9, 1 Cor 7:10-11
This issue is given much more explicit biblical instruction but is often glossed over in our Christian culture due to the messy landscape of divorces and remarriages. In cases where non-biblical divorce has occurred, if reconciliation is possible, this should be pursued. If reconciliation is impossible because one or more parties have remarried, it would not be sensible to divorce again in order to achieve reconciliation. The principle to apply here, I believe, is from 1 Cor 7:17-24 summarized in verse 20: “Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called.” This is not an ideal circumstance, but it is the best way forward in an imperfect world. Of note, polygamy was common in the culture of the early church, and while not ideal, was accepted by the church, as evidenced by the qualifications for elder to be “a husband of but one wife.” We have polygamous cultures even within our local community and if they came to Christ, we should not counsel them to divorce all but one wife and thus disrupt their social structure. It is not ideal and would disqualify them from eldership, but they should remain as they are. Whether marriage after unbiblical divorce in the past disqualifies a man from eldership is a case-by case question for the eldership.
8: Pornography, Sensuality, and Lust – Lev 18:6-18, Matt 5:28
As mentioned above, use of pornography has reached a high saturation point within our culture and within our church. While once thought of as simply a male issue, there is a growing trend toward gender parity in pornography usage. It is an issue that should be discussed with some frequency within our church. For those that join the church and view pornography regularly, it needs to be made clear that while the world has largely destigmatized it, it is still sexual immorality. Furthermore, this isn’t just limited to nudity and pornography, but any sensuality that leads to looking at someone “with lustful intent” is the heart equivalent of adultery according to Matt 5:28. In our culture, it is not possible to avoid such things by just turning away. We need to address the heart issues of idolatry, selfishness, and satisfaction in Christ. Practically, how should we deal with those who have on-going struggles with pornography, sensuality and lust? Should this preclude them from eldership? From deaconship? Taken strictly, this would preclude nearly all men from eldership. These require individual evaluation from the elders, but a guiding principle should be, if the person is repentant and there is evidence of growth in their life, we should consider more responsibility and continued discipleship.
9: Homosexuality – Lev 18:22, Lev 20:13, 1 Cor 6:9, 1 Tim 1:8-11
From the above references and others, it is evident that homosexual behavior is sexual sin. We cannot equivocate on that point. As we have discussed above, if a person who is already a believer and in the church and struggles with same sex attraction, we should approach them as we would handle anyone who is sexually attracted to someone to whom they are not married. If such a person decides that homosexuality is not sinful and begins sexually immoral activity, we should deal with them in the same way as any member who falls into unrepentant sin and go through the processes of correction and, if necessary, of church discipline. It is important that we draw a distinction between same sex attraction and homosexual behavior. We can do tremendous harm by demonizing same sex attraction and creating a taboo around it. A person who is struggling to abstain from homosexual behavior should be supported and encouraged. I believe Paul’s strong statements about not associating with sexually immoral people applies to those who remain unrepentant. Much more nuanced is the issue of how we address those that join the church already in a homosexual relationship. What about the married homosexual couple who join the church with their adopted child? Should we break up their family? I believe, in this case, the same principle should apply as to those who have gone through an unbiblical divorce in the past. We should apply 1 Cor 7:20: “Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called.” We can recognize that this is not ideal, but it is the best we can do in a fallen world just as we do with someone who is married after unbiblical divorce. Whether should apply to a homosexual couple in a long term committed relationship who are not legally married would be an individual discussion with the elders. Again, these are nuanced cases that will need individual prayer, discussion, and discernment. I believe a great deal more patience is called for when a new believer joins the church that has a history or present reality of homosexuality, even if they are unrepentant at first, believing that homosexuality is not sinful, than we would demonstrate to a person who has been in the church for a period of time and then decides to pursue a homosexual relationship.
10: Bisexuality – Heb 13:4
Bisexual attraction is no more or less of an issue than anyone who finds that they are sexually attracted to someone other than their spouse. This is not a rare or unique circumstance, even within the church. Someone who is practicing bisexuality is, by definition, not confining sex to the marriage bed, and this, therefore, qualifies as sexual immorality. The issue, here again, is one of identity and cultural acceptance. If a person “identifies as bisexual,” the real issue is not the bisexuality, but the fact that they identify themselves primarily by their sexual desires, and not by Christ. It would be equally a problem if they “identified as heterosexual” and that was seen as their defining characteristic. If such a person were to join the church, our priority should be in helping them see their identity in Christ rather than focusing on renouncing their sexual preference.
11: Transgenderism/Non-binarism – Psalm 139: 13-15
It should be noted that the next two points should not be considered in the category of sexual immorality, but as they are connected to the same cultural moment will be discussed here. It should further be remarked that transgenderism is a modern issue with no direct reference in Scripture. It is a challenging issue that often falls prey to oversimplification and scapegoating. It is not sufficient to simply state that a person should identify with their born gender. There are those born with ambiguous genitalia and those born with sex chromosome abnormalities such that “born gender” is not necessarily accurate. These occur with a frequency of 1 in 448 births on average which is not particularly rare. The majority of people who consider themselves to be transgender do not fall into these categories, but the fact remains that these categories exist. Unless we plan to embark on genetic testing, we must be careful how we assert someone’s gender assignment. Furthermore, we must acknowledge that much of the gender confusion in our culture is due to a distortion of biblically accurate masculinity and femininity in our culture of which the church has been widely supportive for generations. Many transgender and non-binary individuals consider themselves so because they do not fit into the traditional boxes our culture has created for the genders. The church can start by recognizing that these boxes are incorrect. We can also acknowledge that gender differences and roles are far less important than most human cultures perceive. Christ himself challenged many gender norms in his ministry and Paul maintains “…there is no male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3:28b) It is much more difficult to recognize this issue as a sin issue than many of the above concerns. If someone wishes to be addressed by different pronouns than they once did or dress differently than they once did, this does not amount to immorality. Once again, this can be an idolatrous identity issue if the person sees it as the central characteristic of their lives. There is often an inherent pride in asserting that such a person does not feel they fit in the body created for them, but if they come to love Jesus and understand and believe that they are “fearfully and wonderfully made” then this issue may become moot. Whether or not they revert to dressing differently or using pronouns they did when they were younger is largely immaterial. This also addresses the issue of people who may have undergone permanent physical changes. While we should not endorse such modification if it is being considered, there is no reason to reverse such a thing in order to return to a base state. We must recognize that this is a group that has a high propensity toward mental health concerns, instability, and suicidality. They need love, support and prayer, not scapegoating and extra-biblical expectations of conforming to a cultural norm. We must further note that this group as well as the homosexual group have often experienced psychological and even physical harm from others in our culture, sometimes in the name of Christ. We must foster an environment of champions physical and psychological safety for these people.
12: Asexuality – 1 Cor 7:25-38
Asexuality also should not be considered sexual immorality. There is, in fact, wide support in Paul’s letters such as in 1 Cor 7 for people, if they are able, to remain unmarried and be “anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord.” We tend to champion the model of the nuclear family in our Christian culture, but Paul sees chaste singleness as a better way. There should be no pressure from the church to make sure that single people pair off and get married because it is expected of them. As this state has been culturally identified with the LGBTQIA movement, it is seen on the same spectrum as the sexual immorality and gender issues discussed above, but it is not. It can still fall prey to the same issue of an idolatrous identity as some of the above issues, but it need not be so.
13: Glass Ceiling
In the event that God sees fit to bring people from these subgroups into our church, there would inevitably be a glass ceiling. The question is at what point. The four logical points are: regular attender, member, deacon, and elder. Regardless of their background or position, all should be welcome to be a regular attender. It is also clear, from the biblical requirements for eldership, that on-going problems or engagement in any of the sexual sins would disqualify them from that post. The middle two are less clear. I would submit that the bar for membership should be very low. This step, in my opinion, is when they would “bear the name of brother” and not before. Even if they disagree about the sinful nature of homosexuality, this should not disallow them from becoming members as long as they agree to submit to the churches position and not cause division. Allowing them to become members gives us the pastoral authority to speak into their lives, and we would hope that over time the Spirit would work in their hearts to convince them of the truth. Putting such a person in a deacon role would probably not be wise but would need to be evaluated prayerfully on a case-by-case basis. The difficulty here is that, while a position on homosexuality is not a salvific issue and should not be considered a core doctrine in the same way as the deity of Christ, for example, it is a sin issue. There is a limit to how far we can “agree to disagree” and still uphold our duty to root out sin in our midst. Once again, we should also distinguish between a struggle with same sex attraction and engagement in homosexual behavior when we consider our response. There is also a glass ceiling when it comes to marriage. While I believe we should not break up existing homosexual marriages, we should not participate in creating them. The marriage covenant between a man and woman was created, in part, to reflect the relationship between Christ and the church (Eph 5). This should not be co-opted to excuse or normalize immorality.
14: Nuance and Edge Cases
The above outline is by no means meant to be exhaustive or definitive. It is meant to provide a lens, supported by scripture, through which we can view these issues and consider corporate and pastoral responses. It should inform how we view the people that walk through the door from a wide range of backgrounds and how we equip those in our church to be Christ’s ambassadors to those in our community. Every person and circumstance, history and baggage will be different, and any non-nuanced position would be inherently evil. I pray we have many opportunities to talk, think and pray through specific situations that God would bless us with the chance to be a part of. What an honor it would be to be used to reach into broken lives like these with the Gospel of Grace.
15: Action Steps
As we consider practical and philosophical ways of responding to the above, I believe we should start from a position of corporate repentance. If we wish to truly reach out and touch the lives of broken people in need of a Savior who live a life of same sex attraction or gender dysphoria, we need to begin by recognizing that a great deal of harm, emotional and physical, has been inflicted on this group by the Church for generations. There are homeless people living in our area who were kicked out of their homes by parents holding a Bible. There are those who have been subjected to horrific methods that amount to torture under the guise of “Conversion Therapy” from Christian organizations. The only “conversion” we should concern ourselves with is to a regenerate heart. Attempting to change someone’s sexual attraction is very much beside the point. We cannot hope to be a place where such people can hear about Jesus unless they feel safe to enter our doors. We must also fight the tendency to consider sin in this area as something worse than others, even in non-Christians. James 2 says “…For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it….So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” As we consider corporate and pastoral responses to the argument above, we must start by removing our own planks and repenting for the historical actions of the Church.
Practical steps that we could consider taking would include: removing the statements from the website about marriage and sexuality, especially directly under our Core Beliefs. Again, this is not meant to hide or equivocate on the truth, but not to set such a barrier before someone even walks through our door. Secondly, we should consider how to address these topics within the church. A Sunday morning sermon is not ideal as it is time limited and a unidirectional conversation. A small group course format would be a consideration. We need to equip parents and family members of adolescents, teens, and adults with language to talk about these things in loving, humble, God-honoring ways. In the longer term, we need to consider how we can make our church a place where people would feel comfortable inviting friends and family who look, think and act differently than we do. We need to find a way of projecting safety and inclusion even in our public facing information. This isn’t a balancing act where we must make it clear early and often that we “love the sinner but hate the sin” as the saying goes. We just need to love the sinner. Dealing with the sin can come later God-willing. A third application point is to be mindful of what we say and what we allow to be said without being checked. Certainly, joking at the expense of those who are dealing with these issues is unacceptable, but we also need to work to avoid getting dragged in to pseudo-political discussions on bathroom issues, sports issues or other divisive concerns that have no bearing on the church.
I recognize that these proposals have the potential to divide the church. There are some who may leave the body over these sorts of changes. I would argue that it is our responsibility to them as well as to the unreached in our community to have those discussions and risk some of them leaving over it. These are not all things we should change overnight but after ample opportunities for discussions and prayer.
16: Conclusion – Mark 2:15-17
At its core, these are not issues of who someone loves, sexual attraction, or even specific sex acts. The core is idolatry and identity. When acceptance by others, self-determination, or physical pleasure become the central force driving our lives then we have become idolators. Though our idols take on different shapes, the struggles in this space are shared by all. Whether you are identified by your profession, your family, or your gender identity, you are not being identified by your Master. Building fences around or within the church because someone sins in a different way than us cannot be allowed. Making the excuse that we are somehow “protecting our children” by shielding them from people in our community who desperately need a Savior will not show our children who Jesus is. Within the church, we cannot be afraid to “speak the truth in love.” We need not and cannot shy away from sin in the church, but we must recognize that the Spirit works in each of our lives. Often this happens over a period of time. We should be prepared to walk alongside our brothers and sisters in this journey for as long as they need.
There is a significant correlation between this community and their relationship with religious groups, and the “tax collectors and sinners” that Jesus sought out in His ministry and their relationship with the religious leaders of the day. Our heart should reflect His. Jesus responded: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17) If our church was filled with transgender people and gay families that loved Jesus, God would be glorified.”
Thank you in advance for any constructive criticism, notes of encouragement to and or waiting recommendations on these topics that I can pass along.