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Jonah's More Relatable Than You Think

Despite the header image, this isn't a nerdy post this time. But it is an intro into my series for next month which will mainly target leadership (but any reader can get something from those posts). Read on to potentially get a new outlook on Jonah.

Ah, Jonah, the prophet we love to point fingers at for running away from God and then getting grumpy when the people he told to repent actually did. Growing up, I definitely fell into this camp, but after taking a seminary class on the minor prophets where I had to read this book, my perspective definitely changed. And yes, I went with Veggietales for the header photo because that movie slaps.…

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What a Hella Perverted Anime Taught Me About Purity Culture

Comin at you again with the anime devotionals. This one in particular you might be surprised what I got out of. Read on to see what I mean.

Yup, I’m coming to you once again with the click-baity titles that actually have a bigger purpose. Admittedly a bit late with this post since World Sexual Health Day was on September 4th, but it’s still Sexual Health Awareness Month, so it works out. Today, you’re gonna hear about an anime called Shimoneta: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn’t Exist. Yes, it’s a wild title. You…

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Roll for Initiative

Not anime-related, but still a nerdy post coming through this week. Read on to see what D&D taught me about our walk with God.

If you know what the title of this post is referring to, then hello fellow Dungeons & Dragons player. If not, allow me to explain. Dungeons & Dragons is a roleplaying game where you can play as different classes and races of characters to complete a quest. The campaign (the overall quest with different players) can be anything from starting a local grocery store chain to going on a quest to try…

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Thank You, Koro-sensei

A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a…

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Unconditional Love—You Need It, Too

Back at it again with the One Piece devos. Revisiting a topic I've talked about in a couple of posts before; read on to see my twist on it this time.

Jesus said that the two greatest commands are to love God and love your neighbor as yourself. I’ve mentioned this in a post or two before, but in that second command, there’s an implicit one about loving yourself. How can you love your neighbor if you don’t love yourself? He didn’t say love your neighbor more or less than yourself; He said as yourself. Well, if you’re anything like me, that can…

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A Modern Look at "Give to Caesar What Is Caesar's"

Another work-inspired message for this week's devo. A hard lesson I'm learning, but an important one nonetheless.

So the title of this post comes from a verse in Matthew 22 (verse 21 to be exact). Brief summary of the context here: The Pharisees were scheming again. They sent some of their disciples to trap Jesus by asking Him if it was right to pay taxes or not. Jesus was basically like, “…Baby Girl, I see right through you” and told them to give to Caesar what’s Caesar’s. I’m sure I’m not the only one who…

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Spiteful Worship

No nerdy devo this week; just me bearing my soul and sharing how I'm getting through it. Read on to hear another perspective of how God's grace is enough for us.

I hate my job. There, I said it. To my coworkers, it’s not really a secret, and it’s definitely not a secret to my church. The environment’s just gotten really toxic, and they’re not really doing much to show they care about their employees, no matter how much they tell us they’re grateful for us and our hard work. I’m sure a lot of you reading this can relate to being overworked and…

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The Prophetic Justice We Seemingly Overlooked

Wrote this post a little over a year ago, but it's now timely again given the date. The folding chair might give you a clue about what I'm referencing, but if it doesn't, keep reading to see what I mean.

F.O.A.F.O. I’m pretty sure we’re all familiar with that acronym by now, especially after August 5, 2023. If you’re not, it basically means “F**k around and find out.” If you know anything about the Battle of Montgomery/Cinco de Negro/Fadesgiving (which, at this point, how do you not?), then you have an idea of where I’m going with this. If you don’t know what happened, here’s a quick recap. TW…

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"There's Only Us"

Taking a break from the anime devos to bring you this post inspired by the movie Rent. Read on to see what God showed me this time.

Recently, Sanctuary had its first Pride Prom. It was a small event at one of our member’s house, and we forwent dancing in favor of dinner and a movie. Rent, to be specific (because what’s a queer occasion without a queer movie?). I’d forgotten a lot about the movie since I’d only seen it once in college. Well, I’d rewatched some of the clips from my favorite songs, including “Take Me or Leave…

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How (a Lot of) the Church Is Buggy From One Piece

Back again with another One Piece devo. And yes, Buggy's making an appearance on the blog...as he randomly does in the series. Read on to see why he shows up here.

Look, I know that title sounds outrageous and click-baity, and you’re absolutely right. But I do have a point I’m gonna make here. Stay with me. Spoilers ahead. Buggy is a pirate captain from One Piece who…basically bumbles his way to the top. He goes from being a feared pirate in the East Blue that Luffy K.O.s to one of the Four Emperors. At different points throughout the series, he gains…

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The Journey Has a Purpose

And the One Piece series is back! This has been sitting in my drafts for almost a year (yikes), so God told me to pull it out and finish it. Keep reading to see how Luffy and Paul have a few things in common.

Thought you forgot I was doing a One Piece series, did ya? Well…so did I to be honest. The AOT brain rot was (and is) still strongk. But it’s back! So let’s jump into it. One Piece is now 26 years old (yes, you read that right). The journey so far has taken so many twists and turns, and apparently Eichiro Oda (the creator) said last year that he was just getting started. Twenty-six years, and…

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All-American Christianity

Back to the pop culture devos this time. Who knew a Youtube musical would make its way onto my blog? Well, probably everyone given it’s me, but anyway. Keep reading to see what God showed me in this song.

Been a while since I’ve done a lyrics analysis post. Let’s get back to that, shall we? Today, I’ll be looking at “All American” by Todrick Hall. For context, this song is part of a musical called Forbidden that he created (yes, you read that right) back in 2018. In this, he basically flips American society on its head: homosexuality is the norm, whites are the ones with a history of racial…

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How Wasps Nest Reminded Me of the Church

A day late with this post (I promise I'll get back on schedule soon), but never too late for some more spiritual insight gained from life's circumstances.

At the time I’m writing this, I’m dealing with another wasp nest problem. The problem being that they’ve started building yet another nest in the stairwell leading up to my door. Even though they could go anywhere else, for some reason, they looked at my stairwell and said: Even though hardly anything’s free in this economy, but I digress. Okay, dramatics aside, I am actually going somewhere…

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On Shower Curtains, Wasp Nests, and Community

A wild Saturday devo appears! Sorry I'm late; physical issues delayed me posting on Wednesday. But never here, a new post is here. And now I'll stop being corny so you can read what exactly I'm talking about.

As that one EXO song says, “Hear me out.” I know how the title sounds, but it’ll make sense in a bit, promise. This all started one fateful Sunday, specifically yesterday at the time I’m writing this. I had my fellow church leaders and queerplatonic partners over for Bible study, breakfast for dinner, and then watching The Princess and the Frog. Prior to all this, I got a call when Charlie was…

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Hell Is a Place on Earth

A week late with a post, but I'm back nonetheless. This post is loosely based on pop culture (if you squint/catch the reference in the title), but it came about from a discussion with Sanctuary's leaders.

In case you may be wondering, this post won’t have a new age-y feel. But we will dive into a bit of history. Oh and for the first time in weeks, this post will not be about AOT. That just might be the most shocking part of this blog (JK…unless). Alright anyway. Oh and if the first thing that came to mind when you read the title was that lyric “Oooo Heaven is a place on earth,” then good. I was…

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Let's Talk About Shipping

Ah, Pride Month, a time to celebrate different types of love and relationships. So why not have a discussion about shipping? Read on to see what I have to say about Eruri and ships in general.

In honor of Pride Month, I figured I’d talk about something I’ve been mulling over for a while now. And yes, it has to deal with AOT again. I will talk about something else eventually. It’s just that, well… So recently I’ve been obsessed with the Eruri ship from AOT, which is Erwin Smith and Levi Ackerman. If you don’t know what a ship is, it’s basically pairing together two or more characters…

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A Study of Submission Via AOT

No, I haven’t abandoned my One Piece series or that Hunchback of Notre Dame sequel post I mentioned…actually, let’s not mention how long ago that was. Anyway, the AOT brain rot is just still consuming me and taking over my personality. So onto the topic at hand: submission. The Bible talks a lot about submission, like in Hebrews 13:17, James 4:7, Luke 22:42, 1 Peter 5:6, and Philippians 2:3-8.…