Faith & Sexual Identity | Using Your Spirituality to Strengthen Your Confidence

It was Halloween. I stood in a Scooby Doo outfit made from random pieces of clothing and garments I found in the dusty corners of my closet. We walked into a massive, gay party, me and my queer friends from seminary. I stood talking with a guy who might as well have been a model—his muscles filled what could be extra fabric of his costume. He asked what I do for a living and I told him that I was a counselor for the LGBTQ+ community, one who also works with religious parents of queer children. I told him about my time in seminary, where I reconciled my sexual orientation with my faith. 

With confusion in his brow, he interrupted me to ask, “Wait, you can be gay and Christian?” 

Many queer people are confused not only that some would call themselves both queer and Christian, but also that the combination itself is a sheer possibility. 

Faith and sexual identity go hand in hand, in my book. To prove similar claims, many reach for theological academic resources, diving head-deep into biblical commentaries, historical languages, and archeology to understand what was penned in Scripture centuries before us. 

Sure, the biblical texts have helped many come to a place of self-acceptance, but as a trained psychotherapist, I am certain that there is no better way to understand one’s inherent value than to experience love, relationships, change, and growth. 

Let me begin by stating that, as a seminary student, I hated who I was, who I was becoming, and the fact that I was completely powerless to change the unwanted attraction that involuntarily occurred within my body. To be honest, relying on old biblical texts that referred to sexual behavior seemed like a bad mistake—not because they would tell me something I didn’t want to hear, but because too many smart people disagree too much. I couldn’t trust the manner in which we didn’t agree. 

I stopped reading the Bible for a while. In seminary, I had learned that the Bible was assembled by men who voted on which books should and should not be included. These men voted by throwing colored, marble-like stones into the center of their meeting table. When I learned this, I was like, “What the heck?” I seriously began to doubt the credibility of the Bible. 

So I set off on a different path, a truly experiential one. I didn’t just want to read about God; I wanted to experience God. I didn’t just want to hear what people thought about God; I wanted to know what God thought about me. 

Here are some important things I learned on that journey: 

1. God does not care about our behavior.

God cares about the motivation that underscores the behavior. As I started treating clients for sexual addictions, explosive anger, and compulsive habits, I began to realize that the behavior (which is what most therapists would focus on) was only a symptom of what my clients were emotionally experiencing. I realized the same thing of my own motives and desires; they, too, were initiating my behaviors. It does no good to change behaviors if the desire is still missing the mark. I believe Jesus was stating the same point when he conversed with the Samaritan woman at the well. And this leads me to my second revelation…

2. Once we make peace with our desires, we take back the power from shame.

Shame is a sneaky force that convinces us that desire itself is wrong. The moment we are persuaded by shame, we will start to hide our emotional yearnings and cravings, thus limiting our options for satisfaction to occur only in the silent, secretive moments when no one is looking. But when we strip shame away from our desires, allowing them to be seen as pure and innocent, we are able to behave in a way that leaves us demonstrating integrity and pride! This is a powerful transition for those trying to reconcile sexuality and spirituality.

3. Trusting God has nothing to do with what we do.

Trusting God means that we do not worry about who we are in God’s eyes. It does not mean we have to keep an eye on God’s emotions, or feel afraid when we make a mistake. For example, if I were to trust a babysitter with a newborn, I wouldn’t spend my time away worrying, calling to check in, or texting to feel comforted by the sitter’s responses, and I wouldn’t end my night early to dash home to feel relief. Trusting the babysitter with the child means that I do not worry because I intrinsically believe the child is safe in the care of a competent person.

Learning to truly trust God with who I am was a revolutionary lesson. It was not only a cognitive thought that left me with some cool insight; it was a physical experience of relief that convinced me I was safe…forever. I could feel comforted by my behavior to keep God happy, but this is not trusting God; it is trusting myself and my actions. Practice trusting God with who you are, not yourself by what you do.

4. I am inherently valuable.

As I began living life as one connected to God, not religion, I discovered that I was inherently valuable. No matter what mistake I made, my God-given value could not diminish, and no matter how perfectly I behaved, my value could not increase. I was perfect to God, even when I messed up and even when I was trying too hard. Our inherent value does not excuse unhealthy or immoral behavior, but it does help us live tied to our worth. And when we know our true worth, we begin to honor it with the actions of our life.

Can you be queer and Christian? Of course. Some may want to rely on religion as a way of finding confidence. I find, however, that the combination of theology and spirituality is a dynamic duo. Reconciling sexuality and spirituality is no easy feat. There is no one answer that fits all personalities, belief systems, and religious backgrounds. That’s why it’s important to rely on what works best for you. A therapist, a pastor, a loving parent, and a best friend can all give you advice because they love you to pieces. All of their words of wisdom could, however, be dramatically contradictory. 

An experiential season of spirituality might just help you discover what you believe and why you believe it.

Need help making peace with your faith and sexual identity?

4 Signs of an Unhealthy Sex Life in Gay Relationships

As a clinician who specializes in working with the LGBTQ+ community, I often have conversations around healthy sex. Growing up, many of us had the “birds and the bees” talk, but not many had “birds and birds” or “bees and bees” talks.

Like we all know, healthy sex can be an incredibly emotional event, and it can be an experience of pure physical pleasure. In my office, however, one of the most frequent conversations I have is around unhealthy sex lives. After specializing in the field for nearly 10 years, I have identified four common signs that your sex life may be unhealthy.

1.     Obligation & Guilt

Many clients, who are looking for love and so hopeful they’ll find it, tell me that they are fierce in their flirtation. After creating too much emotional momentum and hinting at things they only wanted in their fantasies, my clients often feel guilty for luring someone with tempting words. They can’t shut down the sexual momentum, even when things start to feel uncomfortable, because they feel responsible for creating it in the first place. Whatever the context, whether it be a game of flirtation, a long-standing relationship, or a short-term hookup, going through with a sexual act out of obligation will lead to guilt at least and shame at most, for you and your sexual partner(s).

A major component of creating a healthy sex life is presenting the authentic self and being willing to say, “No.” Speak honestly about what you really want and don’t want right from the beginning. This will set a tone of honesty and authenticity for your relationships.

2.     Resentment

For many of us, sex and emotional intimacy are deeply tied. In fact, the same neural system that houses the sexual orgasm also hosts anxiety, anger, aggression, and trauma. In other words, relational pain and resentment towards your partner can override your neural system, making sensuality, sex, and the sexual orgasm nearly impossible.

Resentment builds when we bottle up feelings of being unsatisfied, isolated, unimportant, or when we tolerate unfairness for too long. These relational pain points will grow into full-blown resentment, and this, in my opinion, is the number one agent that will shut down anybody’s sex life. So, whatever your pain may be, your one job is to talk about it constructively with your partner(s). Then and only then will your sex life have the option of returning to hot passion. I always tell my clients, “You have to protect your relationship from your resentment,” and I mean it.

3.     The silent transaction

Being held, feeling valued, and getting affirmation during sex can often mimic true safety. In the heated moments of sexual passion, we tell ourselves that our sexual partner will forever be the one who will provide relational security. In fact, hormones are released and areas in the brain are activated during sex specifically to deliver the message of belonging to the body, but because many of us perpetually crave to feel connected, we may prematurely ‘give’ our sense of belonging, security, and value to our sexual partner(s) in a silent transaction that happens [unknowingly] during sex.

If this transaction has happened in an unhealthy way, it leaves one partner feeling too tied, too needy, or too dependent. Their partner won’t engage emotionally at the same depth or intensity, because they have no clue that they now hold the other’s safety and security. As a result, many wonder why sex “always ruins the relationship.” To avoid the unhealthy passing of your emotional stability, It doesn’t mean you need to be monogamous, committed, or married; it just means you need to understand the emotional depths to which all people involved are ready and wanting to go. Before you hand over your heart, make sure your partner(s) are ready to hold it.

4.     Self-esteem booster

Sex is often a nice little elixir that medicates our loneliness or insecurities. And many of us feel a whoosh of self-esteem when we can get someone ‘like that’ to sleep with us. Placing emphasis on sex, we often confuse sexual acceptance for relational belonging. The confusion will leave us hunting for sex because it helps us believe we are truly worthy. For many of us, this hunt persists for years. It can even be our default setting if gone unchecked. We may have a glorious and adventurous sex life, capturing the trophy types and the model-esque, and yet we can remain confused as to why we can’t find true, long-lasting love.

But when we start by cultivating self-esteem, we don’t need others in the same way; we know how beautiful we are and what we’re worth without needing someone to prove it to us.

Obviously, sex is a beautiful thing—but it can very easily ruin relationships. Let sex be something that adds joy and satisfaction to your relationship, not the pillar that sustains you or your self-esteem.

Relationships Hurt: Emotional Cravings Part 3

As we enter relationships we are come equipped with a dominating guidebook for our emotional cravings, their roles, and when they are appropriate. We all have these emotional guidebooks because they come from childhood.

My childhood neighbor was a rough and tough, tumbling G.I. Joe-loving little kid. We would play for hours, mostly me trying to understand his world.

I really couldn’t understand the allure of an action figure, but whatever I played I did it because I longed to fit in. As a boy with significant insecurities around boyhood, I was just glad to have a friend.

Soon enough my friend, Eric, would enter the jock crowd. He would pick other playmates during games of baseball and ignored me as I walked down the hall.

After being teased daily for being a “faggot,” I simply craved to have the protection of another boy my age. Would anyone come to my side, validate my boyhood, and welcome me to the place where I belonged…the boy world?

When puberty settled in I started to crave protection in a much more profound and sacred way. I dreamed of my other. My innocent fantasy told me that he would want to be by my side. And when my emotional craving for protection led me to romantic attractions to other boys, I felt incredibly dirty. 

My emotional craving to be protected was labeled by my church as a perversion and by boys as gay, the derogated type.

But watching shame distort our emotional cravings is something we all do. 

Emily, one of my clients, had a brother with a sever mental disability and she was scolded for being too energetic and laughing too loudly. Emily was taught that her innocent emotional cravings for fun and joy were wrong. So in relationships she was stoic. She would often cry on my couch, grieving the part of herself that used to feel alive.

Every time Mark approached his father with the hopes of securing emotional intimacy, Mark’s father would complain that Mark was in the way. And Mark wondered why he had incredible feelings of discomfort whenever he tried to open up to his partner. He was frustrated that only vulnerability he could share comfortably was buying gifts and doing deeds around the house.

Because of Emily and Mark’s childhood environment, they had significant shame binds wrapped around their emotional cravings; Emily felt shame for being joyful and Mark was shamed for wanting connectedness.

In other words, to use Pia Mellody’s language, we carry many shame binds around some of our innocent emotional desires. Your shame bind will take on a life of its own-without your consent-and may distort the way you see yourself as a relational being.

Essentially, when we’ve received negative feedback about our emotional cravings we’ll play the script over and over as we progress in our relationships. In this light, the distortions of emotional desires actually prevent us from engaging in relationships with freedom, reciprocity, and vulnerability.

Although many shame binds can be undone with awareness and practice, the hardest part is allowing them to be reclassified as innocent.

It is hard to redefine the cravings of your heart in a way that bolsters your new relationships, as opposed to letting it leave feeling inferior.

As a means to redefining your emotional cravings, practice trusting that your partner won’t be overwhelmed by your joy, or that you won’t be rejected when you ask your loved ones for relational intimacy.

After several years of rehearsing the script that told me I didn’t belong, I tried something new. I ask the men of my life to listen to my history of using a self-deprecating dialogue. They helped me understand who I am once they learned how hurt I had been. Some of them went road biking with me, and others shopping. I was able to cry and laugh with them. We had shallow conversations and deep ones, too. Overtime, I felt cherished. But mostly I was able to learn that I belonged, I just needed new teachers. 

Trusting someone with the vulnerable parts of who you are, especially after they’ve been wrapped in a shame bind, will be utterly frightening. But trust me, you’ll be glad you did. Relational stability and freedom are priceless and well worth the fight. 

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Your Emotional Desires Are Always Clean: Emotional Cravings Part 1

"Emotional cravings, I began to notice, were not my demise, they were God’s blueprints tucked into my soul. When I followed my emotional cravings I was following God’s plan." 

After a night of drinking and driving I would slip my key into the lock. It was always my turn to open up shop on Friday mornings. I had to be there early enough to test the blood alcohol content of all the DUI offenders.

I would show up with bloodshot eyes and embarrassment smattered all over my face. How could it be that I was a substance abusing, seminary student working to rehabilitate DUI offenders?

After work I would dash to my own therapy sessions. I would talk of my own emotional needs with my counselor, questioning their validity. A good Christian, I often heard, didn’t and shouldn’t “need” anything but the Lord. It was easy to believe my emotions were damaged, since my own emotional needs always led me down the wrong path.

My own emotional cravings were the anatomy of the flesh that I should learn to live without.

But my view has changed.

Now I see that the majority of Christians have been too quick to call emotional cravings pathology. We have literally split ourselves from, well, ourselves.

I can’t help but to be astonished when I hear sermons where emotional cravings are characterized as the internal vehicle that drives us away from God. We have really lost the fact that God gives us the desires of our heart (Proverbs 3:5-8 & Psalms 37:4).

I used to think that God was like Santa Clause, delivering the desires of my heart. Being clean enough -ensuring my name staid on the good list- and having quiet times was going to keep God in the overnight line at the post office.

As I realized that my good behaviors weren’t forcing God to slide down the chimney and deliver my emotional needs, I had to seriously question the foundation of my faith. 

Like a two-by-four whacking me in the head, I realized that God was not sending me the gifts for which I asked. But I came to understand that God had planted the original desire in my heart, and it was my job to seek the materialized version for which my heart craved.

"God had planted the original desire in my heart, and it was my job to seek the materialized version for which my heart craved!"

God didn’t give me a gift, he gave me the craving itself. Like seeds holding all of the genetic coding for every aspect of how the tree would blossom, so too are our emotional desires. All of our cravings are packed into our heart from day one.

In this way, then, growing up meant watching that seed blossom into full-fledged, God-given, innocent desires. God had given me the desires of my heart and I could feel them growing, reaching their way to the surface. What was most spectacular during this revelation, even though it is incredibly simple, was that I was experiencing God’s heart when I experienced my own emotional cravings.

Emotional cravings, I began to notice, were not my demise, they were God’s blueprints tucked into my soul. When I followed my emotional cravings I was following God’s plan.

I didn’t need to follow some random, intangible path with a finicky compass that God would flip on and off whenever pleasing. The plan that God has for me, for us, is to follow the emotional cravings of our heart…that were planted within our essence.

“But what about the desires for porn or the desires for midnight chocolate cake that I get? These are my emotional desires, the cravings of my heart. Some emotional cravings can lead us away from God,” some might say.  

Not so fast!

Underneath every craving that leads to a shaming behavior has its origin in an innocent desire.

Porn: the craving to feel powerful, seen, acceptable, desired, and thrill.

Midnight chocolate cake: the desire for pleasure, comfort, reprieve, and safety.

We have to move beyond judging our physical behaviors so that we have time to stop and peak at our emotional cravings. What really is the primary motivation for wanting to look at porn?

The function of our emotional desires is to lead me back to God's heart itself.

— Isaac Archuleta (@iAmArchuleta) October 3, 2016

It’s not like we’re only craving to do something wrong and dirty. It’s not just about having a sexual experience. It’s not just about a cancerous selfishness festering in your heart.

It could very well be, and most likely is, that an innocent emotional craving has become associated with a shaming human behavior.

Remember, the God-given emotional cravings that have been screaming in the heart of one who looks at porn are innocent: the craving to feel powerful, seen, acceptable, desired, and thrill. How innocent are those!

So here’s my thought:

After spending countless hours working with clients and examining my own emotional plane, I have come to believe that our emotional cravings are God’s way of leading us to an authentic life where we can experience freedom, joy, and congruence. But when they become overshadowed by the shaming behavior, we allow them to be called wrong.

But its time the Church make peace with the desires of the flesh, because they're from God. 

God gave you the desires of your heart. Identify them. Memorize their callings from within your body. Respect them. And meet their needs with healthy innocent resources that leave you feeling proud and liberated, not guilty.

Our desires have been present from the time we were born. Watch them blossom and let them guide you forward.

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My Response to A Conservative Christian: Unconditional Love

I have come to believe, at many instances unwillingly, that my attractions for men are an expanded way of observing God’s love expressed through humanity- another pure form of general revelation. 

Original conversation stemming from my Huffington Post piece.

Dear Dr. Brown,

As a high school student I was a strong advocate for sexual purity, making a big deal out of the covenant ring I sported. I was zealous in my fight to protect sacred convictions from any form of secular contamination.

And so it is important for me to answer your first question. You ask, “…how can we ‘build relational and religious paradigms free of hate’ when you are branding our sacred convictions as hateful?”

I believe that all convictions, even those of the conservative church, are not hateful, in and of themselves. They are always essentially pure. Like the innocence of that covenant ring-sporting teenager, we just want to do the right thing.

So although I don’t label conservatives’ sacred convictions hateful, I do distinguish sacred convictions from the behaviors with which one chooses to defend those convictions.  

The fear of many conservative Christian parents, with whom I work, is that unconditional love will create a crack in the container that keeps their convictions stable. Sorrowfully, unconditional love has become synonymous with moral compromise. 

And this seems to connect us to question two: “…if we cannot have real fellowship with professing Christians whom we believe are practicing sin… how can we have true fellowship with you if we believe you are living in sin?”

I have spent years working with families comprised of conservative Christian parents and LGBT+ children. These families are often trapped in a cycle of relational ambivalence perpetuated by: 1) a deep desires to experience connectedness and 2) the anger created when their loved one cannot agree with their moral perspective.    

Many parents choose to cut all ties with their children. The “moral compromise” of the children is too great. They indirectly answer the question, “Is there anything your child could do to make you stop loving them?” Their answer is an angry and prideful, “Yes!”

There are also conservative parents who demonstrate unconditional love- a love that supersedes their children’s actions and dogmatic statements. These parents feel comfortable in tension because they’re familiar with the process of spiritual development at work in their children’s lives.

Such parents are able to compassionately accompany their children’s journeys without feeling threatened by their relational or sexual decisions.

God does this for all of us daily. In fact, I believe unconditional love is one of the effects of spiritual maturation, not spiritual degradation. Unconditional love is the fundamental orthopraxy of Christianity, not its end.

In this way, I hope that all Christians- including you and I- will recreate unconditional love, regardless of one another’s actions or dogmas. Creating this side-by-side fellowship, or emotional intimacy, is the way we will build relational and religious paradigms free of hate.

I believe unconditional love is capable of allowing a vast diversity of opinions to coexist within its power.

I’ll tie this answer to my response to question three: “…since you identify as bisexual, what stops you from affirming your heterosexual attraction as God-given and your homosexual attraction as fleshly, whatever its cause or root?”

I do not deny my attractions for men because I do not consider them sinful, but a blessing equal to my attractions for women. My attractions are part of my flesh, but this is no different than the innocent attractions of the straight woman or man. I’ll explain.

As a psychotherapist trained at conservative seminary by conservative psychologists, proving conversion therapy’s successfulness was my life’s mission. As a result, I spent many hours studying biblical passages, reviewing psychological research, and listening to my sincere Christian clients’ experiences of human sexuality- behaviorally, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually.  

I have come to believe, at many instances unwillingly, that my attractions for men are an expanded way of observing God’s love expressed through humanity- another pure form of general revelation.

So, being made to love the same gender and being loved precisely because I’m attracted to the same gender are God’s expressions of unconditional love- those expressions covering the spectrum from creative design (sexual orientation) to human orthopraxy (falling in love, even same-gender romantic love).

And so we arrive at your fourth question: “…what do you say to those who are ex-gay? Do you embrace their stories and thank God for their transformation, or do you deny their stories and even call them liars or self-deceived?”

Several of my clients who initially presented for unwanted same-gender attractions have fallen in love with someone of the opposite sex. They have expressed their love through sexual intimacy, and reported that sex has been extremely gratifying. And I genuinely rejoice with them.

I would never call people who fall in love ‘liars’ or ‘self-deceived.’ In fact, I embrace their stories because the experience of love, true love, is equally pure among all- even those who have attractions for the opposite sex, same gender, and those who have experienced an augmentation in their emotional cravings. 

What I mean here is that when many conservatives see a shift in the gender one dates, with whom one has sex, or with whom one falls in love, they easily call it a conversion or confuse external changes as a transformation of sexual orientation or a deliverance from homosexuality.

But what we’re actually seeing is their full, and until then latent, array of emotional desires creating changes in their external, relational world.

So while examining the fluidity of human sexuality, I think it unwise to call their new demonstrations of love a transformation. Language like this mischaracterizes one's emotional cravings, limits our understanding of sexual orientation, and may prohibit one’s ability to experience ‘God is love’ in its most authentic form.

To many, my responses will sound like the contamination to which I have previously fought against. And to many others they will peacefully reinforce self-understandings.

As I mentioned in my initial letter, I am not hoping that conservative Christians see it my way. I am not positioning my side of a debate.

I am, however, hoping that by empathizing with my perspectives conservative Christians will replace hatred- as a way to defend sacred convictions- with unconditional love. Doing so will literally save lives. Let us not forget that 49 have been buried because a learned hatred evolved into violence.

Thank you for your questions. I look forward to more discourse.

Blessings,

Isaac Archuleta

Christian Counselor Encourages Homosexuality Calling it 'Diversity'

"I know the voices of my critics very well. Their critique of my diversity helped cultivate the shame that spoon-fed me the message, 'I am a broken boy.' But I’ve also lost my way and found the magic that points me toward God, which means I ultimately find myself over and over again."

My 11 year-old nephew was driving with me in the car two weeks ago. He plugged his mother’s pass-me-down iPhone 5 into the stereo. Periodically looking at one another with smiles, we bobbed our heads in matching rhythm.

He rocked a Justin Bieber snap-back while I waved my hands in the air.

We both adore one another and this is a glimpse into the sweet spot we’ve co-created over the years. We just let one another be. His child-likeness reminds me how to be genuine, and I give him the freedom to be authentic when I enter his world matching his energy.

In between Toby Mac and Flo Rida, my nephew turned down the music bringing us back to reality. “My mom said that you might marry a man. Is that true?” he asked me.

Advocating for the inclusion of all people-and all versions of love-I replied with a normalizing, “Yes, I might.”

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“Can I marry a man, too?” he questioned. Again, with a normalizing tone, and the pressure to aid in the construction of his shame-less worldview, I replied by giving him freedom to be authentic one more time. “You can marry whoever you fall in love with. The trick is to follow your own heart,” I told him. 

After he understood that he was free to love whomever activated his heart and body, he turned up the volume, this time with Daft Punk:

“Every body will be dancing and will be doing it right…

If you lose your way tonight

That’s how you know the magic’s right.”

I couldn’t help but think that only when we feel lost are we truly secure. So in the way of losing a safe heterosexist way of life- and an appeasing version of myself to present to the world-do I know that the magic is right. Feeling lost is the course correction that points me home and I know I’m on a spiritual journey (Matthew 10:39). 

Daft Punk reminded me of Richard Rohr who penned these words, “People who’ve had any genuine spiritual experience always know that they don’t know. They are utterly humbled before mystery.”

A “genuine spiritual experience” is an awakening that feels like the rug has pulled out from underneath your feet. Those proverbial rugs are the pillars of false security by which we name ourselves and rely on for temporal sustenance. While steadfast, pillars of false security keep us from discovering the authenticity inherent to God's creative design. 

A hidden sexual identity or calling one another sinners are true pillars of false security. Hiding and judging can surely be the trap of shame, yet the refuge protecting you from ridicule. What a false version of acceptance to which we’ve become accustomed.  

To Register for the FREE Launch Party, visit www.ThisIsiAmProject.com LGBT+ people are still widely kept out of the Christian Church. iAmProject is designed to help create inclusivity and union with the Christian Church on this topic. What is proof that LGBT+ people are part of God's creative design?

When it’s a true spiritual experience we realize what we 'didn't know' about true security- the security that is reinforced from within, not by other's approval. We also don’t know where we’ll land. In these moments, we’re humbled by the mystery of God’s love- the liberating love that perpetually invites authenticity. 

What a brilliant way to demonstrate creative authority and unconditional belonging. Makes sense to me. No artist wants to see their masterpiece hanging upside-down or tucked behind protective walls that force its secrecy. 

But sometimes you have to dance with an 11 year-old who loves you to death to remember that being intentionally diverse was the sovereign plan all along. 

For many Christians my words will sound offensive and flat-out heretical. How can a bisexual uncle talk so openly and comfortably about homosexuality to his 11 year-old nephew? How can a Christian encourage homosexuality?

I know the voices of my critics very well. Their critique of my diversity helped cultivate the shame that spoon-fed me the message, “I am a broken boy.”

But I’ve also lost my way and found the magic that points me toward God, which means I ultimately find myself over and over again.

Self-discovery is never about latching onto pride so that we can feel confident by our performances that keep others happy. Self-discovery is about humbly making peace with our diversity- the diversity that let’s God’s creativity be true, even if it’s knit into our biology, temperament, gender, or emotional cravings (Psalms 139:13).

I wonder, what would happen to our world if we started referring to God by the name of Diversity?

Would we respect others more? Would we then understand freedom and love with more depth than any generation before us? I believe so.

If we could see Diversity as God’s face shinning on this planet we would be less inclined to conform and judge or more connected to the true confidence of ‘I AM' (Exodus 3:14).

This is our work at iAmProject: reshaping the way I AM shines on earth by remembering the basics of God’s creative design. iAmProject is here to reclaim God’s diversity so that we can all love ourselves first, so we can love our neighbor fully.

As a means to launch this brand new baby, iAmProject, we are offering a free launch party on May 7th at the Holiday Theatre on 32nd and Clay. We’ll have a live art demonstration, live music, and a FREE cocktail hour! For more information visit us at ThisIsiAmProject.com.

When will it be my turn to find love?

"Even harder, how do we let ourselves live in confidence as God’s wonderfully created, LGBTQ children?"

Most Christian LGBTQ persons are aware that they have been rejected on some level. Friends and family distance themselves because we “chose the gay lifestyle” or because of their religious discomfort with a same-gender version of love.

In this light, many of us have spent years, and countless interactions, protecting moms and dads from our being out, specifically because we are afraid of hurting their feelings.

Our history with relationships helps us feel as though we are categorized for a love-less life.

As we launch into dating, we feel that being gay and Christian not only limits our options for dating by 1,000 degrees, but that finding a healthy partner is even harder.

Its like the universe is playing a joke on us- a very cruel joke. 

In such a relational desert, many of my friends, clients, and fellow Christians begin to wonder if they really have something to offer another. “If I was really special, spectacular, or attractive, someone would want me,” we berate ourselves. We spin in shame and confusion as to why family, friends, or a romantic partners seem to stay at bay. 

Whether it is the distancing of loved ones or the loneliness of dating, many of us begin to feel hopeless. And our relational esteem suffers.

Inferiority is the mask Shame uses to enter your life. Rehearsing inferiority on yourself makes Shame your partner. #IntentionallyWoven

— Isaac Archuleta (@iAmArchuleta) August 3, 2016

How do we understand that our relational offering is more accurately evaluated when we are being authentic and not when we perform some dating call like elk during autumn? Even harder, how do we let ourselves live in confidence as God’s wonderfully created, LGBTQ children?

#IntentionallyWoven, which meets teleconference style, begins on August 25th of 2016 AT 6 PM MT. We will explore how to understand our relational esteem, that which makes us invaluable, from God’s creative design perspective. We will examine the development of human sexuality from a clinical/religious standpoint, how shame distorts our self- and relational-esteem, as well as how to live in confidence.

The goal of the teleconference group is to understand how to create healthy relationships and live in the long-lasting love for which you crave.

Want to know more? We'll send you all the specifics, a FREE Relational Esteem guide, and details right to your inbox! 

Starting August 25th - 6 to 7:30 PM Mountain Time

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Or read Isaac's work on The Huffington Post.

6 Ways to Argue that Produce Long-lasting Love

"We were driving across the autobahn in East Germany. As the tires sang along to the cadence of the highway's cement slabs, I found that my heart rate matched the hurried tempo. I was fuming in the passenger seat. My boyfriend and I were vacationing and I was a shadow, following him around on his dream vacation. I sat pouting because I was always sacrificing my desires to ensure his happiness. 

The annoyance in his brow told me that my passive-aggression had been seen, but it was working against me. He began poking at my wall of frustration. With rage in his voice and anger in his eyes he yelled, "You love to argue!" I was being blamed for feeling insignificant, but maybe I deserved it. All he could see was my behavior, not my true desire to feel cherished. 

Many think that a couple which doesn't argue has it all figured out. As a professional counselor, I'd say those who argue well are the ones who have found the true answers. These couples use open communication to avoid resentment and maturity to advocate for necessary changes. 

Like me on that European vacation, many of us are desperate for signs of being loved, signs that are communicated with behaviors more than words. Someone can tell me they love me all day, yet refuse to understand the emotional cravings of my heart. Even though the words are spoken, I will still feel valueless when my partner doesn't take time to see me from the inside out. 

So here are 6 ways to make sure your loved one feels loved: 

1. Negative control isn't control. It will leave you powerless.
Negative control is a tactic that cons your significant other into meeting your emotional needs. It is the silent treatments, the pouting, or the heavy sighs that communicate a message of needing some sort of attention. When we use negative control we trap ourselves into getting our needs met out of coercion and insincerity. Essentially, we trap ourselves in the actor/actress role and rob our partners from expressing their love organically. The fruits of negative control are never sustainable. In other words, forcing the response we desire will work in the short-term, but we'll always remain hungry for an authentic demonstration of expressed love..."

 

Read the Rest on The Huffington Post

Conservative Parents and Gay Children: 3 Ways to Survive the Holidays

"I was a 26-year-old seminary student in the midst of coming out. Depression had arrested my personality and I was furious at God. I was drowning in waters of anxiety and worry. Seeing myself toil over my sexuality, my mother responded to my angst. Without my knowing, she invited my boyfriend and his parents over for the holidays.

My mother greeted them in one of those moments that felt like a hundred years. She was hugging his mother. I was elated to be her son, yet simultaneously terrified that I was too needy. I worried that I was wasting credit with her. It was as if I was spending my last $20 on the old carnival game, whack-a-mole.

Yet there my mother stood in solidarity. She was going to be my pillar of security.

I have to say that she was not steadfast because she approved of my gay relationship. She's a conservative Christian pastor and my sexual orientation leaves her a bit uncomfortable. Her gesture wasn't a statement of acceptance for my choice to date men. Her role as my mother came first. She was my mom no matter what reality was created by my development. She was accepting the role of love and not that of fear..."

Read the rest on Huffington Post