All Hail The King

by Summer D Clemenson | Apr 16, 2026 | Opinions, Poetry, Prayers & Thanksgiving

On this 16th day of March 2026
I know this day is giving
The prophets I have listened to
agreed that this day was
one reason we are all twitterpated

You are holy
All knowing
You created this day and me
I don’t know anything about aura
But I thought I was seeing something golden
Instead it was a prism
of jewel tones
Like a crown if You were to wear one
Like You have called me

Every sound is profound
I feel them
Even as the nerve pain has
made it quite painful to speak
So painful it has a taste
So I write
You are holy
You are here
I am in You

So I wait for what is to come
because waiting is a practice
Listening is a skill
Hearing is a process
Living is a gift

All Hail the King
not the one on the throne
the one that demands glory
respects no one and gives little
But the one in my heart
Who showed me what love is
so I could love Him
and my neighbor
and calls me His Beloved

Because They Love You

by Summer D Clemenson | Apr 12, 2026 | Opinions, Poetry, Politics, Prayers & Thanksgiving

I was breathed into life
by The Creator
The All Powerful
They were here before even the stars
so were you

I am not less than you
I am no one’s superior
We are equal
regardless of any Declaration of Independence
or executive order issued

My sex does not matter
My nation is irrelevant
Who I love doesn’t scare Him
I am in Christ and Christ is in me
because in Christ we are one

Or maybe you call Him another name
and They answer
because They choose to love you
the one They created
and see Themselves in
Because They love you

I Want to be Real

by Summer D Clemenson | Apr 11, 2026 | Opinions, Poetry, Prayers & Thanksgiving

I was raised in a
conservative church and
a conservative family
I did what I was told
but I read my bible
because I enjoyed it
My understanding was in part
but I was diligent

I served
If I did what was expected
I got the stuff I needed
But I was not heard
My heart often held my un-cried tears

Now Jesus had found me
at a young age
and He had been my guide
when I was often alone
He was the teacher
who knew the most
who heard me when I cried
His warmth was my clarification

When I left the church
and then the family
He was the one that remembered me
He was the one that taught me to love
Jesus knows how to listen
He knows the power
of asking questions
of honoring each person He created

Jesus understands persecution
He knows what it feels like
to not be heard in your hometown
He knows what it feels like to not be able to go home
He knows I want to be real

People who stand on top of bibles
and use them as weapons
and not as a love letter make me sad
Not only are they hurting
the people they target
The people they decided
God doesn’t want
They are hurting themselves too

If you don’t let your Beloved chase you
however will you know
that you know
how far He will go
if the crucifixion wasn’t enough

Because people who stand on bibles
who make laws
more important than people
are telling you that
Christ’s death on the cross
was not enough
His choice to die for all of us
is circumstantial

But the direct evidence indicates
that when Israel
continued to choose lust, pride and greed
when they broke God’s heart repeatedly and still do
Jesus died for all of us

When Jesus was here
He ate with sinners
the people the church people
would not be seen with
the people they could be punished
for partying with
because Jesus knew
with them them He could be real

I haven’t learned to trust
most people yet
But with Jesus
I can be real
With everyone else boundaries are my friend

A note about the art. I was at a loss about what to use and I decided to google “I Want to be Real” and was overwhelmed with these images. So I went with it.

A Reconstructed Easter

by Summer D Clemenson | Apr 4, 2026 | About Summer, Life, Opinions, Prayers & Thanksgiving

I have been undergoing what many believers are calling deconstruction since I was 25 years old. It happened by accident but it became on purpose pretty quickly. My car broke down and no one contacted me until it was my turn to dress the communion table — 6 months later. But I have been under a huge transformation before that. Since then I have also undergone many huge changes in my life and this year I am considering the joy of what I am going to call a reconstructed Easter.

I was raised in a Southern Baptist Church. I had already met Jesus when I was 5. He came to me when I was playing by myself under the apple trees in my backyard and He was always with me after then. My mom took me to the paster at our church and we talked. Then I was enrolled in a class to make sure I understood what I was talking about. There was a workbook and everything. When I was 7 years old, I was baptized in front of everyone at the church. I remember fighting with my father because I wanted him to come. He was raised Catholic and he said he was not allowed to go to other churches. I think he came. But I remember every moment of being baptized. I was so nervous. But Pastor Cotton was slow speaking and methodical and that helped. He had told me what we would do beforehand and I was so excited. When I came back to the church sanctuary with wet hair, everyone was so happy for me. I had invited all my friends, but I don’t think they came; however I kept telling them about being baptized at school on the playground at Columbia Valley Gardens Elementary School.

I loved church. I loved to read my bible. I didn’t understand all of it, but I would read it. I loved to sing and was excited to be part of the children’s choir. I think I sang my first solo when I was 9. I am pretty sure my father didn’t come that time, because he had left by then. As I grew up in the church, I was pulled out of youth group when they needed help in the nursery. I tried to be part of the adult choir but I didn’t have time. I had already been hired by the church to work in the nursery by 15, and I was a nanny for a local family and I babysat when I could fit it in for other families in the church. I also was the oldest in my house and my mom needed help with my younger siblings. But I sang solos.

When I graduated high school, I didn’t need to look for a job because First Baptist Church of Longview also had a daycare and they needed a preschool teacher. I was hired before I graduated high school. I had taken Early Childhood Development classes in high school, volunteered at a local private grade school and was planning on continuing my education at Lower Columbia College, so this would work into my plans. During the summertime I would teach Vacation Bible School. On Wednesday nights my friends and I taught the school age kids bible classes.

My life was devoted to my family and my church. I had never had time to be a teenager. I had never considered rebellion. I had always done what I was told. But I was also an emotional neglect and abuse survivor. I had some chronic health issues that we didn’t know about. I didn’t know how to take care of me. I had always put everyone else first.

Then the church daycare closed and I had to find another job. I had not been able to pass one of my classes at college and it put my grant on hold. I could not afford to pay for a quarter of school on my own, so I could fix my problem at the college, so I just worked. I got hired on at another daycare and got a night job, hoping I could afford to go back to school. It didn’t work out that way. I got distracted and started to rebel a little. I was 20 years old. I dyed my hair pink.

The church stopped asking me to sing. It was 1996.

They still needed someone to take care of their kids though, so I didn’t lose my job, but no one took me under their wing. I can’t say I didn’t experiment with a little cannabis but it wasn’t much; nothing to worry about. I have always been a practical person. They were losing me. My Sunday School teacher did take me to lunch once, but no one else.

One day, after walking with Jesus for 15 years, I heard the voice of God. I was sitting in one of the back pews, my new spot, since no one talked to me anymore, short of the fake church hugs after service. And I verbally heard a voice in my right ear. I had never heard it before, but I hear it regularly now. The voice said, “It is time to leave now. They can’t teach you any more.” I was shocked! No one was sitting behind me. But my heart felt so warm and I knew it was God.

I stopped going to church for a bit after that. I had visited a few churches before that, but they were all too out there for a girl that had been indoctrinated into such a conservative belief system. I had taken up smoking cigarettes. It was the most rebellious thing I could do. My mom and Nana were viciously against smoking but Winnie and Ms. Colvin were chain smokers and most of my closest friends, at the time, were smokers. I have always been naturally rebellious about fads, I sometimes am shocked that this one caught me. So one Sunday, while I was laying on a past friend’s bed smoking, she didn’t know what to do with me. I had drug her to church so many times. She finally said I could not spend all day smoking on her bed. We had to go to church. I told her that was fine. I refused to drive and we would not go to First Baptist. She lived on Commerce, so we walked down to a church that is now New Life, but it is was a different church back then, I don’t remember the name. I was amazed. They were closed. So we walked back to her apartment. But on the way we heard this awesome music. It was rock n roll, but it was talking about Jesus. I stuck my head in the door and I saw a couple with mohawks and dog collars on. There were people dancing, like real dancing. There was a full band with drums. And no one looked at me with my, now purple hair like it was anything other than beautiful. So we walked in.

I was getting ready to flee because there were people shaking; although it did amaze me that there were people nearby, ready to catch them. The people singing in tongues scared me, but there seemed to be people that sang out something in English that seemed to make me feel better and connected. There were people like me that were quiet and contemplative. There were people with banners, dancers, people reading their bibles. Everyone was doing their own thing. As I was about to climb out of my skin, because I have never experienced this much freedom, Pastor Jeff got up and said something like: I am so thankful that we are all free to move as the Spirit leads us.

Something about his words made me decide to stay and learn about this freedom that I knew nothing about. I had always known about programmed everything. Evangel Christian Fellowship, at the time, was sharing the building with Father’s House on Commerce Avenue. The building was raw and we sat on fold up chairs. I love it. I had come from red carpet and wooden pews. Most of the time I would show up early, walk around the building praying about whatever came to my heart and then I would sit on the floor to the left of the building and the stage during the teaching time and I would greet people and pray and eventually I became a dancer. After the teaching time, I would move my things near a friend, throw off my Birkenstocks and let my body move as the Spirit led me. Occasionally I would pick up a banner, but the Spirit led me through movements that made my arms like banners most of the time. I could dance for hours sometimes.

I went to every class and service I could get to at both churches and even some at Evangel’s parent church, Shekinah. I was learning valuable things. And sometimes I could hear nothing. I had learned that God hedges us in sometimes and sometimes He would not let me hear what people were saying when it was not something He didn’t want me to know because it wasn’t true. I experience this in conversations where people are lying in any situation that God doesn’t want me to have to heal from something new. I am glad that I have not had to deal with some of the issues that some Christians going through deconstruction have had to heal from. Sometimes I even hear the truth, while I see people’s lips move to their lies. It always amazes me.

As I became more involved at Evangel, I did not get involved with the children’s ministry on purpose. I was never asked to be part of the music ministry, well once I was, but it wasn’t for Evangel, but for a specific pastor that moved a lot and I was on my way out and I knew I could not be what this pastor needed so I declined. I did get involved in my generation’s bible studies and we had a great time. I also gave rides to people that didn’t have transportation and I set the communion table at my scheduled time. And then my car broke down. I contacted the people I drove and they found other means to get to church, but no one contacted me.

At the same time I suddenly realized that I had walked with Jesus for 20 years and I felt like a toddler and not a 20 year old. So I challenged God to grow me up. I set it at His feet. I said I will talk to You when You talk to me. I am not going to read my bible unless You encourage me. I want You to prove Yourself to me. I don’t really have any moments where I can prove to anyone that He did these things, but I have moments where I knew I was not alone and He was showing me that He loved me and He was proving it. There were moments that I was stronger. There were moments that only He could have done what He did. When Evangel called to remind me that it was my turn to set the communion table, I told them I had been gone for 6 months and no one had called me. They needed to find someone else to set the table.

2 years later I came back. I had changed; not only had I quit smoking but I knew myself and God much better. They had changed too. They were programmed. The freedom was gone. Somewhere in my sabbatical, I had focused on one scripture and prayed through many thing to cleanse a lot of burdens through it and I was different. And eventually I had added the verse after it and it made it even more powerful.

Galatians 2:20-21

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for it righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.

The Baptist church I was raised in had taught me that every answer was correctly answered by Jesus on the cross, but they still lived by programs. Now Evangel was doing the same thing and when I corrected my pastor during a sermon, he did not appreciate it. I had gotten so used to stopping during my bible study time, to ask God to show me where I didn’t understand, why this verse conflicted with this one, that I had forgotten that humans are not God. They don’t see inside my heart and know that I am just curious and want the truth, I am not meaning to make them look bad.

I have visited First Baptist again too. And been amazed that 10 years had passed and even though they got a new building, they were preaching the same sermon.

I don’t believe in organized religion anymore. I think it can’t foster real growth because it must keep the people in the building so it can pay the bills. But the people are needed outside the building. And society and politics have castrated the church. Yes. I said that. Because the last church I went to, I was greeted at the door, not by a human but by a row of computers ready for me to give my money online. And during the message I could not hear most of what the guest speaker was saying.

At the last funeral I went to, I got to hear why men are superior and I am going to hell because I love my wife. It was a funeral. Why was that important? Bob knew both, my wife and me; he loved us both.

Today I had a conversation with my mom about Easter. This will be the first Easter that Karen G Clemenson and I spend with anyone on the actual day. Karen usually works and we tend to do something on a later day with Jamie Holloway. Mom is very excited. In an earlier conversation I had told her that Karen had said that she doesn’t think about Easter. I understood this. We don’t go to church and we don’t have children around and we don’t have people that invite us over to celebrate with them. When you don’t have community or children, you have to make your own celebration and tradition. I never talk about it but I usually make a quiche on Easter because Nana always made quiche. I make quiche regularly because we like it, but Karen didn’t know we eat quiche on Easter because it was something Nana did and I quietly remember Nana on Easter. I had told that to Mom and now she is preparing for us to make quiche tomorrow and a salad much like Waldorf salad, which Nana also loved.

This year, I have enjoyed several holidays more for the first time in years. Part of my mental and emotional healing was to separate myself from family. I had to do this so that I could focus on me. Learn how to take care of myself and listen to myself and just heal. I was telling a friend, that is having trouble with their family, that I would be glad to listen if they need an ear. I understand having to separate from family. I understand that sometimes certain people are not going to change and you have to stay away from them because they are dangerous, but sometimes you get to reconnect with the ones that are safe. I am enjoying having Mom and Sarah back.

I was talking to Mom about Winnie and Ms. Colvin (Winnie’s 2nd wife) and my other siblings. They are not safe. They don’t think they are wrong. Specifically Ms. Colvin and Shannon are very much alike and I can’t be around them. The rest of them are beholden to the two. I think of money and things as tools. They are a means to an end. I value being heard, respected and loved. All I have ever really wanted was to be able to have good conversations with my father. But that is not allowed. When I am with these people I feel like shit and it has a lasting effect on my psyche and overall well-being for sometimes weeks afterwards. I can’t afford that. She has been worried about me financially. I appreciate my mother’s worry. But God always takes care of me. Ms. Colvin and Shannon need money and things. They can have everything. I choose me.

I told Mom that TyAnne said that her mother, Ms. Colvin, used to whisper things to me. I don’t remember. I have disassociated many things about my childhood. Mom suggested that maybe Ms.Colvin is the one that told me the things that I thought Mom had said to me. I can’t argue. I do know that I have confused their voices in my head on several issues regarding the Clemenson family, why not my own mother. Ms. Colvin has always hated me and Mom. Mom wanted to know why I think she hates me. I told her because Ms. Colvin can’t control me. I am not easily bought. Yes. I have needed money at times, but I have always paid it back. I don’t care about things and money. What I want, she can’t give. She doesn’t have it to give.

After that, we decided to go back to our talk about our Easter celebration. Mom has this friend that she is so excited to have coming tomorrow. Her name is Margaret and she is from Ireland and she is a devout Catholic. She was telling me all these lovely things about her, It made me wonder if she thought I might have trouble with her beliefs. I don’t. Finally I told her about our friend Jordis. Karen and I worked with her at Professional Communication Services. She was the most wonderful and generous lady. She too was Catholic. The meanest thing I ever heard her say about someone is that they made her tired. She cooked for people and gave when people needed help, until her dying day. No one knew she was wealthy because she lived in a modest home and kept repairing her old car. Mom said that Margaret was the same way. I know tomorrow will be lovely! Margaret is going to serve communion. I have not had communion in years.

Today I read an article by an ex-Southern Baptist Preacher. It reminded me of a lot of things. I think I am farther along in my journey than he is. Which I am thinking I will name my reconstruction phase. I know the bible tells us that God will never leave, nor forsake us. We have been made in the image of God. There is no male or female, we are all one in Christ; which leads me to believe that sex is a human issue, not a God-issue, since in heaven we are not given into marriage and we will have heavenly bodies. Jesus said to give freely and out of abundance, not exhaustion. This explains the need for a day of rest and also giving out of love and not expectation. I believe in the separation of church and state and I think Jesus did too because He said to give to Cesar what is his. Jesus said that the most important commandment was to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, soul and mind and to love our neighbor as ourself. If we are loving our God with all of ourself and God is God, with no evil in Him and He made everyone in his image and we are free from the law that causes sin, we don’t need laws because we will naturally love each other, care for each other and not abuse each other. When you rely on laws set by government to tell you what your rights are, you might forget what your responsibility to everyone is, who is made in the image of God, and also has His breath in their lungs, just like you.

But I am not perfect, so I am so thankful for grace and forgiveness.

Do I believe that Christianity is the only answer? I know that there are many religions and most of them have a golden rule that comes down to love your neighbor as yourself or treat others as you want to be treated. The rest is details. Rituals. Rituals are for people to make them feel safe. Much like making quiche on Easter because it reminds me of Nana. Who’s handwriting was just like the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. Who taught me many good habits and loved me as much as I could stand it. The same woman who married Grandpa Bill and eventually told me I could stop calling him that and just call him Grandpa (she didn’t know that he was so special and part of it was his name, but I dropped Bill, however I still called him that when I spoke about him because I wanted people to know I was talking about him and not my other grandfathers and I made sure he knew he was the best Grandpa ever). God is the same way. I know if I call Him, Bob, He will answer me because He knows my heart.

When I was a young lady and I sang at First Baptist, I sang some of the most gut-wrenching songs about the crucifixion at this time of year. It was hard to learn them and sing them. I was glad when the season was over. I have heard some of the most bloody stories ever about Jesus’ death and it always bothered me. Not just because it was the most violent and brutal death imaginable but it just seemed like we were focusing on the wrong thing. Much like Winnie and his crucifix with Jesus still on the cross. I always told him, Jesus isn’t on there anymore. We should focus on our new life.

Now as I begin to define my new life in a new way I am enjoying new thoughts. I can’t remember the term that Brandan Robertson used but it basically means that God reconciles all of us to Himself in the end. That hell is not something in the end. We all go to God in the end. When I read that, something clicked into place for me because I believe that hell is now, when you choose to not love. It is a natural consequence for not loving. If God made us for His good pleasure and time is for Him to manipulate, why wouldn’t He be able to reconcile us to Himself, because He wanted to?

I have read the crucifixion story so many times over the years. From the perspective of all the gospels and Paul, of course. I always get into the Jesus parts. I am always worried about Him. I know He has to put the soldier’s ear back on and He has to get control of the disciples. He is going to be beaten and lied to and about. He will be completely humiliated and yet in all of it, He will not save Himself because He has chosen to save me; to save you. For generations the Jews had chosen money and things over God, they chose laws over people. Because that is what humans do. But you know what else humans do? They streak.

Yep. In a message from one of my favorite teacher’s Reverend Joseph Yoo, he, is telling the story about when Jesus is being arrested in Mark chapter 14. Everything is crazy and this young man wearing nothing but a linen cloth is running by, and a soldier grabs him, but the guy slipped out of his cloth and runs away, completely naked. I love to listen to Rev. Yoo because he is just an honest guy and he keeps things authentic. Also he tends to bring scripture to a new place for me. A human place because God made humans. He loves humans. The story of the crucifixion and resurrection is a supernatural story for humans. Jesus did what He did because He loves humans.

Jesus loves us everyday. I don’t really need a holiday to thank Him for my salvation. I thank Him every time I think about it and that is most every day. But holidays are for people and people need rituals. It makes us feel safe. It helps us remember people we love. Nana could not sing with a pretty voice, but she had a lot of joy and I love to think about her shrill voice, in the kitchen making our waffles in the toaster, as she belted out: Up From the Grave He Arose!

Feel free to leave your comments below!

My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven. For anyone reading this that isn’t a Christian, unapologetically, I am a Jesus Follower, but I believe there is room for lots of beliefs and religions in the world. It is not my intent to offend people with different beliefs than I have and I would be open to open-minded conversations with no goals of changing anyone’s mind, but sharing information. If you are interested in becoming a Jesus Follower…Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.

If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.

To Be Defined By Love

by Summer D Clemenson | Mar 24, 2026 | Life, Opinions, Prayers & Thanksgiving

Isn’t it amazing that a coward is running our country? Isn’t it even more astounding that his helpers are even more greater cowards, because they are afraid of him? I was afraid of him too, at one time, but when he was shot, there was a moment, while I was watching the footage. I saw the blood on his lips. I suddenly realized who he reminded me of. That moment clarified his humanity for me, and solidified that his narcissism is really a mask for how he has to control and take everything for himself. He has to do this because without that power and stuff, he is not enough.

But that isn’t real power. Real power is not needing things to define you. Real power is having love and relationships to carry you and give you a reason to keep going even when you have nothing. It is much more great to be defined by love.

My friend, Linea, had shared a post that Senator John Kennedy admitted that TSA workers could already be getting paid, but Trump told republicans, “no deals with the Democrats.” I wasn’t surprised because I had read that Trump had said that he would not sign any laws until the Save Act was voted in but We The People have not agreed to this and so our representatives wont vote for it. Linea had heard that too but she said:

I agree. But when he gave his cabinet shoes that were the wrong size, they wear them because they’re afraid of him.

Isn’t that sad?

My friend, Robert, posted 3 days ago, asking his followers what we thought about the importance of character in our elected officials. He included a screen capture of a post from Truth Social made by our president and asked if we thought this was appropriate for an elected official, with good character, to have posted for all to see and asked us all to give a reason for why we felt that way. I am relatively new to politics. I have not had the time or mental fortitude to be able to study this topic before the last few years and I had to look up the name of the person that Trump was speaking poorly about. Wikipedia had wonderful things to say about this person, his education, his veteran status, his career. He was someone who gave much to society and in return, there was much to say about him, and much to admire. If we were talking about just any elected official, I would say that the post Trump made was terrible and rude, however, because the comment was made by good ole 47, it is typical of a narcissist who does not know how to give, but only take and so his accomplishments will never look as shiny because the only person he can love is himself and he doesn’t even do that well.

Today Jamie Holloway shared a video of one of my favorite teachers. Reverend Joseph Yoo was talking about peace. He said that peace is not the absence of war or bad things but shalom, the word that Jesus would have used, means wholeness, justice, restoration, healing, provision — when human lives flourish. Reverend Yoo said that peacemakers do not avoid conflict but they help restore a broken world. I went to put a hug on this video, and realized I have done that before. 🙂 You can watch the video at the bottom of this article as long as the video is still on Facebook and the code still works.

But listening to Reverend Yoo got me to thinking about the word peacemaker and how I always feel a check or a pull in my heart when I read the beatitudes.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:3-12

I remember being taught about this as a child and for some reason I have always thought that I could only have one of these blessings. I have had that stuck in my head since I was a small child. I could only have one, but I didn’t know which one, and yet I was somewhat afraid of being a peacemaker. But today, after many days of feeling a strength that is new to me, and hearing Reverend Yoo’s message in a new way, I read the beatitudes, after reading the 9th verse first, about being a peacemaker first, and then letting all the other gifts falling around it, like they were spokes in a wheel (at least that was the picture in my mind) I saw it so differently.

You need all these gifts if you are going to make it in this world that is so heavy and hard to understand sometimes. If you aren’t looking to Jesus or whoever your Creator is, because the haters are everywhere. The narcissists are waiting. There are people that must be comforted, We must know when to be quiet. We must seek knowledge and goodness because sometimes it is hard to find and if you are not pure of heart you are easily led astray. We are going to be persecuted. There are books written on how to hurt each other and enslave each other. We makes laws to make sure it happens. And you must find joy because if you don’t, what is the point?

Have you ever seen the president smile. It is very rare and usually because he got something that he didn’t earn because people are scared of him. But I am not. He only has money. Money is a tool.

Love defines me.

If you want to watch the video, hopefully it hasn’t been taken down and it is still here 🙂

Republicans Says Trump Blocked TSA Agents Getting Paid by Jasmine Laws for Newsweek, March 24, 2026

Feel free to leave your comments below!

If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.

Spring Solstice 2026

by Summer D Clemenson | Mar 23, 2026 | About Summer, Life, Opinions, Prayers & Thanksgiving

On Friday night I had posted that in honor of Spring Solstice 2026, I wanted to invite anyone that wanted to pray with me at 10 am on Saturday, I would send them an invitation to join me on Zoom. It turned out to be a wonderful visit with Jamie Holloway since we don’t get to see each other nearly enough. Her new AAC device makes it so much easier to communicate with her but Zoom makes it nice to see her sparkly eyes and pretty smile too! If we could figure out how to do virtual hugs it would be perfect!

I confessed to Jamie, that I was full. The stress of the world was too much. I couldn’t take anymore. She reminded me that God told us to have a sabbath for a reason. I remember that I was successful at leaving Facebook alone, except for a few select posts, on Sunday, back before the world became so hostile. And then somewhere I just couldn’t look away. I stopped reading anything but the bible for joy. After our conversation, I picked up Gather Together in My Name by Maya Angelou. I have devoured it since that conversation.

Yesterday I was gathering some dried herbs to add to a soup. I was looking for oregano, rosemary, and sage. And the voice that talks to me when I cook, told me to grab the thyme. I responded that I don’t like to cook with thyme like this.

Usually I don’t argue with the voice. I also don’t usually feel emotions from the voice but I felt some irritation from it and it was kind of muffled, but the voice said, “But Karen likes it.”

So I grabbed the thyme. By then I had sensed the voice was female and she was coaching me through adding the herbs. Which I didn’t care for, but I thought it was sweet that someone cared this much about our food so I listened as added a small amount of sage and just a little bit of thyme and then some lemon oil because the voice reminded me that they knew Jamie had told me that it goes well with oregano and it made her happy when we enjoyed our food. Then as I was about to walk away, she said to add a half a tsp of salt. That was when I was done with being told what to do because I salt when I first start cooking vegetables and at the end. I don’t salt in the middle because I don’t want to over salt. So I said: “Which Grandma are you?”

And she said: “Does it matter? Do what you are told!”

So I did.

Then I called my mom and told her about it. She was a little uncomfortable because this is not something we talk about in her part of my family. She did humor me though. She said that it would not have been Nana, because Nana didn’t cook. It would not have been, Grammy because she only cooked dessert and Grandpa Johnny was the cook in their house. She said it must be Grandma Clemenson. After thinking for a few seconds, I agreed that it made sense that it would have been Grandma. You did not talk back to Grandma.

When Karen G Clemenson came home she tasted the broth and said it was perfect. I told her about my visit. Then I told her that this weekend was spring solstice and Grandma’s birthday is the 28th. We agreed it did not seem weird that she would come for a visit.

I must admit that taking a sabbath, no matter what you do, is important. I made time for some self care. I did some reading. I had some deep thoughts that I am still considering. In fact one thing I should put out there for anyone who wants to consider inviting us to your church for Easter, please don’t. I know I wrote about being ready to find a church, and I know there is one I might go to one day, but I never did, mainly because I don’t believe in organized religion. I love people and I love Christians but my, oh my! I believe in the separation of church and state and that is not the world we live in anymore. In any case, if we were to visit, which I am not against, if we were to visit it would never be on a holiday. Church on a holiday is like religion on steroids. I am a brutally honest person and I think it is hypocrisy to go to church on a holiday if you wont go on just any old Sunday.

If you wont invite me to your un-birthday, I am probably not the one you want at the big shindig on the only day you bring out the fine china. I think if you have finery, it should be used because the sun came out and you felt like inviting me over and that is the holiday. And if you don’t have finery, I am fine with that too.

To borrow a quote from Peter Pan in the movie Hook:

“To live, to live would be an awfully big adventure.”

Feel free to leave your comments below!

If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.

He Is The Search Light

by Summer D Clemenson | Feb 27, 2026 | Opinions, Poetry, Prayers & Thanksgiving

The search light searches
for life and truth
And sometimes there is just mystery
Because God cannot be completely understood
by my human mind
I know Him
In the quiet I have spoken my honest heart
and sought new ways to see and hear and speak

He is the search light
and the truth
But both take time to absorb
and adapt as He and I remove
what doesn’t serve to make room for what does
As my humanity sometimes fails me
or becomes more humble
A book is still only a book in men’s hands
and relationship has breath

Mankind has built an alter of evil
Babylon was never really demolished
only demonized
The tower was flattened and men’s language confused
but God still knew what men would do
were doing
are doing
God knows where all the children are
He made women with the best part of Himself

If you don’t seek Him
You won’t find Him
If you don’t know Him
He won’t know you
What a loneliness that distinction is
And you wonder why you have no joy
We have come to a fork in the road
Decisions must be made

Veils have been torn down
Lust
pride
and greed
has grown too great
Someone is shinning the search lights
in places so well hidden
right in front of our faces

Thriller may be more of warning
than a song to dance to
with friends
Where will you stand
when there is no place to rest
if you never learned to endure
Because love has always been an action word
not something to collect

Hell is not a place to go to
It is right here
when you choose not to love
God is love
God is light
Without love there is no light
So in the dark
we all burn and the hounds of hades
are hungry for those who enjoy the masquerade

But me and my house
we enjoy the light
We don’t wear masks
Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
The One able to search me
and know me
Alpha and Omega
You are the breath in me

Under The Apple Trees

by Summer D Clemenson | Feb 18, 2026 | Opinions, Poetry, Politics, Prayers & Thanksgiving

I must stand in the light
and be the reflection
Of the love I know full well
Many think they know His love
But if you are following the lead of men
they will fail
because they must
so you will know you need a Savior

It isn’t His name that will save you
but His love
It is different than what can be
bought with money or influence
It is given freely
under the apple trees
or in places where
money doesn’t matter

Holy, Holy, Holy
is the Lord God Almighty
He has always been here
and always will be
And They don’t care what you call Them
But that you do
They are ravished
by one glance of your eye

The men in power can not save you
but your Teacher can help you
Through whatever war is created
whatever mistake you make
and They will love you all the way
Because you were breathed into existence
by the same Creator of the mountains
and the trees

Naked under the apple trees
we are all the same
Bodies come in many colors
but our souls either reached out to Them
or they did not

Shalom Doesn’t Just Mean Quiet

by Summer D Clemenson | Feb 3, 2026 | Opinions, Politics, Prayers & Thanksgiving

My writing has become fervent lately and pointedly political lately. More than ever it has had a point in mind and not just to be art or education. I pray every day that I hear God; that He be blessed by me and that I bless you. The target is not to be divisive against a political party but systems that are not healthy; that have never allowed for true equality or peace. Shalom doesn’t just mean quiet. Shalom, the word, Jesus would have used for peace is much greater than the word we throw around so easily.

People have accused me of hating our president; maybe they are confused by my post Dear President Trump. At one time that was sort of true, for a time. But as I looked inside myself, because I had to understand what was happening every time I heard his name and I lost control of my body, in an anxiety attack. I eventually realized I was afraid of him. There were layers that I had to look at. And as I dealt with myself and my scars from emotional abuse and neglect in my past, I was healing and on the day Trump was shot, I saw something in that video clip that brought clarity to my fear. He looked like my abusers. His defiance, even in a moment of terror; I knew that look. On that day, I was no longer afraid of him because I knew I was just like him, if I wanted to be. And I don’t.

Over the last 25 years or so, I have blatantly chosen to become softer, calmer, a better listener, more inclusive than I was taught to be. It has been difficult but Karen G Clemenson and Jamie Holloway are good coaches and Jesus is the best teacher.

When I thought I hated President Trump, it really bothered me. Just about as much as when I realized I hated another person in my life. I don’t want to hate anyone. If God lives in me, there can be no room for hate inside me. Why would I ask Him to live with that? But I am lucky because God desires to live in a relationship with me, in Spirit and truth, so I can and have been brutally honest with Him and while I did that He has helped me to set down a lot of painful things. He will do that every time I ask Him to. I do not hate President Trump. I do not like President Trump, but I do respect the fact that he too, is made in the image of God and God made Trump and God loves Trump and He will find glory for Himself in what Trump is doing, because that is what God does.

I have been considering the fact that people think that I hate Trump and then I saw a video of one of my favorite spiritual leaders, Reverend Joseph Yoo. Today he was reflecting on peacemakers.

>>>Watch the video

“Shalom means wholeness, things being restored the way they were supposed to be. Justice where there was exploitation. Healing where there was harm. Provision where there was lack. Belonging where there was exclusion. Shalom is when human lives actually flourish. Because you can have no war and still have injustice everywhere.” Rev. Joseph Yoo

I was watching another person speak today, where they stated that they felt that Trump had been elected by people because people saw themselves in him. People that were offended by facts, accountability, and equality for all people liked Trump. People who thought that cruelty was strength and compassion was weakness and lying, cheating, and bullying people were something to brag about, they believed in this man.

>>Watch the video

I don’t know if I agree with this video completely, but it something to consider; to chew on. I read a lot of people’s comments on Facebook. I read more comments than I ever comment on, mainly because I am shocked at what people are willing to say to each other. It makes me wonder, if TJ Talks is correct about at least a few of my fellow United States citizens. So while I pray for President Trump, I pray for the people that voted for him and the people that make those comments that shock me. I ask that God find glory for Himself in what He is doing in their lives too.

I have written a lot of Letters to my Representatives lately. I think it is a better use of my time than protesting. I don’t have a body that can handle the winter weather or standing for hours. But God gave me the gift to write. But I also feel compelled to honor the people that have been killed by ICE. I am almost done writing a poem for each person that has been killed this year by ICE. It isn’t because I hate ICE. I don’t. I don’t like that they wear masks, are inconsistent with warrants and don’t check IDs. They have used many policies during this administration, against United States citizens that we have never seen before. What I am doing is honoring the lives that are lost because I believe that Every Person is Important.

>>>Read the ICE Memorials

I have thought about people who argue that many people died while in detention centers under President Obama. I vaguely remember this. It was a long time ago, but at that time we were trying to get a business or two off the ground. Also I was starting to get sick and trying to not worry about it. I was also unaware of many issues I had lived with always. I do remember that we did not hear about ICE agents randomly asking for proof of citizenship from anyone they saw, they didn’t go door to door and people didn’t feel the need to protest the government like they do now. I remember being angry about neglect and abuses in detention centers but I didn’t know what to do about it. I am older now and more comfortable and able to speak my mind, which is why I write to my representatives and encourage others to do so as well, now.

I felt safer with President Obama. I don’t feel safe with President Trump. But it is not their breath in my lungs; It is God’s and I understand this better now, than I ever have. By looking honestly at what is happening and considering and praying and trying to listen and be inclusive and even mourning the loss of lives I want to restore balance. Because that is Shalom.

Feel free to leave your comments below!

If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.

Why Religious Freedom Might Be Hard

by Summer D Clemenson | Jan 13, 2026 | Opinions, Politics, Prayers & Thanksgiving

I was doing my bible study today and it occurred to me while I was reading Deuteronomy 7:1-19 why countries where Judaism or Muslim is the primary or first religion and that religion shapes their culture, why religious freedom might be hard with the United States. On the flipside of that, our response to those countries from all the different glasses we wear in the United States, including a million denominations of Christianity and the many other religions we say we make room for, and even though I am truly ignorant and very naive, think I have a better understanding today.

In the Jewish Faith there are many sacred texts but the main book that they study is the Torah which is also found in the Christian Holy Bible. These books are called Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

The Qur’an is the primary text of Islam, revealed to the Prophet Muhammed beginning in the year 610 C.E. The Qur’an is required reading for anyone who wants to understand Islam. Qur’an means “The Recital” in Arabic; according to the story, the angel Gabriel commanded Muhammed to “Recite!”. Some Muslims do not believe that any text other than the actual Arabic text of the Quran (even a transliteration or an Arabic text with vowels) can strictly be called ‘the Qur’an’. This is because the Arabic text is considered canonical and there can be no other versions of it.

I met a Muslim woman, while I at the hospital once. I asked her about her beliefs and she said basically her beliefs were the same as Christianity, except she did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God. Now I know that isn’t entirely true, but there are some similarities.

Deuteronomy 7:1-19 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

“When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are about to enter and occupy and he clears away many nations before you—the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and mightier than you— ²and when the Lord your God gives them over to you and you defeat them, then you must utterly destroy them. Make no covenant with them and show them no mercy. ³Do not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, ⁴for that would turn away your children from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly. ⁵But this is how you must deal with them: break down their altars, smash their pillars, cut down their sacred poles,^[a] and burn their idols with fire. ⁶For you are a people holy to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on earth to be his people, his treasured possession.

⁷“It was not because you were more numerous than any other people that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples. ⁸It was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath that he swore to your ancestors that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. ⁹Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, ¹⁰and who repays in their own person those who reject him. He does not delay but repays in their own person those who reject him. ¹¹Therefore, observe diligently the commandment—the statutes and the ordinances—that I am commanding you today.

Blessings for Obedience

¹²“If you heed these ordinances by diligently observing them, the Lord your God will maintain with you the covenant loyalty that he swore to your ancestors; ¹³he will love you, bless you, and multiply you; he will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock, in the land that he swore to your ancestors to give you. ¹⁴You shall be the most blessed of peoples, with neither sterility nor barrenness among you or your livestock. ¹⁵The Lord will turn away from you every illness; all the dread diseases of Egypt that you experienced, he will not inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you. ¹⁶You shall devour all the peoples that the Lord your God is giving over to you, showing them no pity; you shall not serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.

¹⁷“If you say to yourself, ‘These nations are more numerous than I; how can I dispossess them?’ ¹⁸do not be afraid of them. Just remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, ¹⁹the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.

So God says:

WHEN I bring you into 7 nations that are mightier than you, you WILL defeat them.
Make no agreement with them and show them no mercy.
Destroy all idols and high places.
Do not intermarry with them because that will cause you to become confused and turn away from Me and worship other gods.
If you worship other gods, I will have to destroy you.
I have chosen you and sustain you because I love you. If you are loyal to Me, I will keep My promise to you.
If you reject Me. I will reject you.
If you follow My laws, I will richly bless you.
If you doubt Me, I will make you like the countries I have already beaten for you.

I don’t take it lightly that Judaism, Muslim/Islam, Christianity are all Abrahamic religions because they are connected through one person. All three religions are monotheistic (they believe in only one God), they originate in the Middle East and they are all connected to Abraham, the first man to make a covenant with God, the father of Isaac and Ishmael. Isaac became Israel, the father of the Israelites, otherwise known as the Jews. Jews believe in God and Jewish prophets. They do not believe in Jesus or Muhammad.

Ishmael was Abraham’s other son. The son of the servant who was sent away, the father of the Muslim people. They believe in the prophet Muhammad who was inspired, divinely to write the teachings of the Muslim religion. They believe Jesus was a prophet, but not the Son of God. Islam sees Judaism and Christianism as earlier versions of their religion, and their religion as the final, complete and correct version of religion.

Christianity is an offshoot of Judaism. Many Christian Saints lived in the Middle East. Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God that was foretold in the Old Testament or Torah. Christians believe that Jesus was born of a virgin birth, He was crucified on a cross and rose after 3 days ascended to heaven and left His Holy Spirit here to guide them, until He comes back. Christians do not follow Jewish laws and they do not accept Muhammad as a prophet. They follow a “love they neighbor as thyself,” type of teaching.

And then I read about the crucifixion. (I have done this before)

Mark 15:37-39

Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed His last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from the top to bottom. Now when the centurion who stood facing Him saw that in this way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

Matthew 27:50-54 said that there was an earthquake and dead saints came back to life and were seen by many.

Luke 23:44-47 said that there was an eclipse for 3 hours from noon to 3 pm and as the light failed, that was when the curtain in the temple was torn in two.

The Tabernacle and Temple were signs that God was with the Jewish people. This building was built on separation. There were many courts. The Outer Court was for Non-Jews, the ceremonial unclean, and women. The Inner Court was for men. The Holy of Holies, which was enclosed by a thick curtain, contained the Ark of the Covenant. This symbolized the manifest presence of God. Only the High Priest was allowed in there, after ritual cleansing, one time a year. (Hebrews 9:7) The tearing of the veil meant there was now no separation between God and man.

In the Old Testament, it was believed that people would die if they spoke directly or saw God. (Exodus 19, Exodus 30:20-33, Leviticus 10:1-2) But Jesus became the conduit between God and His people. (1 Timothy 2:5) He fulfilled all prophecies. (Genesis 3:15, Genesis 22:18, Genesis 49:10, Deuteronomy 18:15-18, Psalm 2:1-12, Psalm 16:8-11, Psalm 22, Psalm 78:1-2, Psalm 110, Psalm 118:22-24)

As a Jesus Follower (I prefer this term to Christian) I feel like this is the final revelation. The New Testament is full of what was taught by Jesus as the new covenant. We are to show love and compassion. Share what we have. Be honorable towards each other and hold each other up. I believe that Jesus died to free us from the law that is so important to the Jews but can’t save anyone. (Romans 7:4)

I also see that in the United States we have a lot of options that other countries do not have. We have a lot to have to try to shut out so we can try to focus on the teachings of Jesus and things that are good and pure and holy. There are a lot of temptations. There are a lot of freedoms that might even be seen as idols to worship. Even the idea of religion can be an idol if we aren’t careful. It is hard to stay humble on this earth, regardless of where we are. Even yesterday, I got angry and forgot to pray before I sent a message to someone, I should have never sent a message to. I have been praying ever since about how to attempt to rectify that. It is hard to be human on this earth. I can see why our judgement can get us in trouble and why others might think badly of us and even hate us, especially if we hate them. If I am having trouble with my religion, I can see how others might have trouble with there own and even mine.

Its a lot to think about and even more to pray about.

Be blessed.

10 Sacred Texts of Judaism by Menachem Posner for Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center
Chart of Old Testament Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus by Ray Konig for About-Jesus.org, April 11, 2018, revised May 7, 2024
Global Connections: The Middle East by PBS Staff for PBS, 2002
Texts of Islam by John Bruno Hare, 2023
What Are the Five Books of Moses? by Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center.
Why Is It Significant That The Veil Was Torn in Two? by Britt Mooney for Christianity.com, February 12, 2024
Image Credit: Religion Vectors by Vecteezy

Feel free to leave your comments below!

If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.

Dear Random Messenger

by Summer D Clemenson | Dec 20, 2025 | Opinions, Prayers & Thanksgiving, Queer Community

This week I got a note from a random messenger that saw one of my posts. I didn’t edit their message. This is what they said:

Hi you stated that you are a Christian but you are not christ like as you are gay and you are sinning. You are also have a problem with our president who is way better than the other which is a devil.

At first I was a little miffed. Who likes to be judged, especially by a stranger? I have never met this person. But as I began responding, I was also thinking…

How do you know? Have you done your own research with more than one book or are you relying on what other people have told you? How long have you walked with God? Does He talk to you? Has He verbally told you what you are saying is true? Our president is just a man, just like all the rest before him. He is not perfect. Have you read in the bible what a good leader is supposed to look like, because Trump is not that. (Exodus 18:21, John 13:13-17, 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:7-14)

Also, when did I state that I am a Christian? I don’t use that word. I think that word has been morphed into something very sad. I am a Jesus Follower. It’s a very different thing. Jesus never said anything about sexuality but He said very specific things about adultery, selfishness, taking care of the poor, compassion… (Matthew 5:2-12, Matthew 5:27-28, Matthew 19:21, Matthew 23:25, John 15:13)

Another thing, who told you I am gay?

You might think I am angry with you but I’m not. I’m angry but not even at you. I’m angry at the system that taught us to judge each other and to think small. I used to think like you. I was raised in a conservative family and church. I was taught that homosexuality was an abomination. I didn’t know to ask questions. I never even met a queer person until I was 18 years old.

I had to meet several queer people to realize that each one was an individual with their own personality and dreams. I had to learn who I was to learn that it is not my job to tell other people how to live. Even the bible says, ‘judge not, lest ye be judged.’ (Matthew 7:1)

I know you are ignorant. The letters LGBTQIA+ all mean something special. I am old enough that I prefer the term queer, which is a blanket term for everyone. I’m not a Lesbian (women that only love women). I’m not Gay (men that only love men). I’m Bisexual (I have loved 2 men but I married my wife). I’m not Transgender. I’m Queer. I’m not Intersex (a person born with genetic markers or genitalia for both male and female sex). I am not technically A-sexual, however I am Demisexual which falls in that category. They added a + for any other groups people want to be in…

The far right republicans and conservative christians have spent years creating a platform to control people. Telling people that the media is fake and science is wrong and all kinds of propaganda. You probably can’t hear me, but I said it anyway. I don’t hate republicans. My wife is a republican. I don’t hate christians. Most of the people I know believe in some version of this faith. I myself, am a Jesus Follower.

But the word homosexual was not in the bible until February 11, 1946. You can research all of what I am saying. It is not hard to find. This translation was created to convince people to hate queer people who had quietly lived among us forever. There was no word for this kind of relationship in the bible because marriage was mainly a way to create children and provide inheritance; it was a business agreement. If you got lucky, you learned to love each other. People did not marry for love.

There are many books about this. I recommend you start with Bible Gender Sexuality Reframing the Church’s Debate on Same-Sex Relationships by James V. Brownson, if you feel so inclined.

I did not realize I was queer until I was almost 40. But I have lived through a lot of trauma and have been in therapy for years. The reason I am bothering with you is that, I know people who knew they were queer all their life. They were abused terribly and have many scars. I don’t have scars about my sexuality. So I feel comfortable expressing things that someone of my queer community might not be able to communicate clearly.

I have read the bible through and through many times. I talk to God everyday. I have walked with Him for 45 years. I have read lots of books and watched documentaries. I don’t believe that loving my wife is a sin. I believe God created her for me. We have found so much healing with each other and so much peace and growth that no one else was ever able to create. God guides us and helps us together. Our marriage is just like any other marriage that relies on God to inspire.

I really don’t care if you don’t believe me, but I do want to impress on you that there are people who have hurts because people judged them merely on who they loved; not on their character or deeds or aspirations and it is not right. Jesus told us to love our neighbor as ourself and He did not differentiate. I hope to inspire you to share the same kind of love the He gave to you. (Mark 12:30-31)

Even with the woman that was caught in adultery, He did not judge her. When all the men were ready to stone her, He advised that the man that was free of sin should cast the first stone. After they all left, He sent her on her way. (John 8:1-11)

We are not here to judge each other. We are here to learn how to love each other and to learn how to be loved.

This person never responded to me. I find this confusing because they cared enough to accuse me but they didn’t care enough to say anything to what I had to say. I don’t believe I was rude or even mean. I was sharing information I have collected over the years while I was learning who I was and meeting great people. But I think I can understand because the conservative right doesn’t teach us to question or study. They want us to stay ignorant so we are easily led. I am afraid this person expected me to either ignore them or respond with verbal violence, but that is not where growth is. That is not who I am.

In the end we can only grow through education. My hope is that this person learned something.

Feel free to leave your comments below!

If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.

Is Abortion Wrong?

by Summer D Clemenson | Oct 7, 2025 | Opinions, Politics, Prayers & Thanksgiving

In my life I have walked with Jesus for almost 45 years. In the first half of my relationship with Him, I did not have as much control over where I learned about Him or what that meant, however, He saved me so many times. In much more conservative surroundings, my viewpoint on abortion was very set in stone. As I have learned more about humanity and a very compassionate Jesus, my views on laws have changed a lot. But today I woke and thought: Is Abortion Wrong?

I have always thought I knew what the bible said about abortion, however, today it occurred to me that I have not researched what the bible said with an open mind on this topic, or even in this decade, and probably not in the last 20 years. Today I did a search online about what the bible actually says about abortion and found several sites that were interesting and offered many scriptures and a couple viewpoints. I have shared a couple of the sites below if you are interested in reading them. I made sure to find more than one viewpoint.

There were plenty of scriptures:

We can know that God planned our lives before He created us and He created us in His image. We know that God always knows us and He is always with us.

Moses wrote in Genesis 1:26-27

Then God said,” Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

also see Genesis 9:6

King David wrote Psalm 139:13-16

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.

The prophet Jeremiah wrote in Jeremiah 1:5

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

Regarding violence Moses writes in Exodus 21:22-25

If men fight, and hurt a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

But it should be known that the bible isn’t specific about who’s life they are replacing and in one article, it says the bible is not concerned with the life of the baby, but the mother.

Moses writes in both Exodus 20:13 and Deuteronomy 5:17 say: You shall not murder.

I have no argument with this scripture. It is pretty cut and dry, however is it murder to have an abortion? There is no clear scripture about this in the bible. We know that there were abortion procedures in the days of the bible times, not anything like what we have now, but it was known how to end a pregnancy. Genesis 9:6 says whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood will be shed, however, who’s blood are you shedding by committing an abortion? The mother’s or fetus?

It is important to stand up for those that can’t stand up for themselves. This could be unborn children, but there is no reason to believe that the bible is talking about this in the following scripture, but talking about civil rights for the people that are poor and not heard.

King Lemuel writes in Proverbs 31:8-9

Open your mouth for the speechless, in the case of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.

Paul writes in Galatians 6:1-5

Brethren, if a man is ever taken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall hear his own load.

So we know we are to carry each other. We are to love each other. We are to be mindful of our weaknesses so that we are not tempted to do wrong. But in the end, we are only responsible for our own life choices.

Differences Between Christians and Nonbelievers

Nonbelievers are not to be held to the same expectations as Jesus Followers. Why should they be? Why should we have the same laws?

Freedom of Choice

God gave us freedom of choice because He wants to be chosen and He respects our right to make choices and supports them.

In Exhaustion

I walked away from the bible and the computer. I needed a break. As I peeled a sweet potato for dinner, I suddenly knew I wasn’t alone. God asked me if my choice regarding my opinion on abortion was based in love or the law. When I am trying to persuade someone to my side, am I considering their circumstances, their health, their ability to live with what happened to cause the pregnancy, the chance of their survival, if they were to give birth or do I just want to be right? When I am interrogating a medical professional, am I being professional, or am I being hateful, or murderous even? Can I only hear myself or am I stuck on being right?

Is my being right more important than Christ’s law of love (see the words in red above), because if that is the case, than that is what Jesus had against the Pharisees. Jesus was not intimidated by sinners. He knew He would forgive them.

In Mark 5:24-34 the bible tells of a woman with a gynecological issue. She had seen many doctors and spent all her money and been suffering for years, only to get worse. The word tells us that by Jewish law, her touching Jesus would make him unclean. But she believed in her heart that if she only touched His garment, that she would be made well. Because Jesus was here to love, He commended her for her faith. She had been healed.

I still believe that abortion is very personal choice. I still think that we have no right to make laws about another person’s body because I should not be able to make decisions about your body. That should be between you and your doctor. Do I think God is for or against abortion? I think God is for people. I think God is for healing people. I think God does things that we don’t always understand, for His good pleasure. I think He cares more about us loving each other, than our laws that we impose on each other. I don’t think God wants us to let women die because they couldn’t choose a life saving medical treatment. I think He doesn’t want us to treat medical professionals and women that need to make a choice about their own life, treated with hate.

Furthermore, I think that when you don’t know what to do with your life, you should ask God. He knows you better than anyone else. When you are concerned about someone else, I also think, instead of judging or criticizing someone else, you should pray for them. Again, God knows you and them, better than you do.

James, the brother of Jesus, wrote in James 1:5

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

If you have had an abortion and you feel guilty you can always go to Jesus. He has already died for your sin. He has already forgiven you. He will show you how to forgive yourself. He will heal your wounds. Jesus came to show us the way to live a life free of law and sin. He came to show us how to love each other and ourselves.

Paul wrote in Romans 8:1-2

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

Our job on this earth is to learn to love. Not just that but to stop being afraid because perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18). To sum up I will let Paul’s words finish up this article. His words seem to say it all:

Paul wrote in 1Corinthians 13:1-13

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice is iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. When I was a child, I spoke as a child. I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three: but the greatest of these is love.

What the Bible actually says about abortion may surprise you by Melanie A. Howard for Religion Hub
What Does the Bible Actually Say About Abortion by Heather Riggleman for Christianity.com
What does Proverbs 31:8-9 really mean? by God’s Blessing Team

Feel free to leave your comments below!

If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.

My Failure to Love Scared Me

by Summer D Clemenson | Sep 17, 2025 | Opinions, Politics, Prayers & Thanksgiving

He made me afraid and I am sorry. My failure to love scared me. My lack of empathy for the death of Charlie Kirk scared me. Even as I wrote strong words to explain my fears, I didn’t understand what I was doing, and that is the truth.

I took a break from media for a few days so I could let myself rest and control my input better. I was overwhelmed and tired. But as the end drew near, the very mention of his name, made me angry and so I asked God why I was so angry. Why did this one person bother me so much?

So I made myself listen to the news, listen to what was being said and not being said and later to what God had to say. The news called Kirk a Political Activists and Debater. I have seen myself as these things at times. But my need for and my greatest gift, is my empathy; something Kirk did not believe in — I heard him say this with his own mouth. There are many people groups that he did not value as I do and this hurt me too. I felt that because he believed that a few gun deaths each year, justified our 2nd amendment and this flippant comment may have warranted his demise. I was so afraid of his platform, I stopped loving; I lost my empathy.

This is where I failed. I let my fear make me small. No matter how we justify our opinions, if we are functioning out of fear, we are small and we make God small. But God is not small. God is infinite. The words of a person cannot take root in us if we are not open to them. If we are aware of who our Creator is and what our job is, we can walk tall and love big. But when we fail we can always bring our failures to God and He will help us to see what slowed us down or what stopped us from doing what He created us for. I did this. I brought my tears to Him and I confessed that I let my fears stop me from loving and He understood and He forgave me and helped me forgive myself. He is still working with me because this is no small thing and it has several layers.

I decided to find out what I had in common with Kirk, to help me know him better. We both co-founded and held the position of executive directors of our non-profit organizations. He wrote books and I have a blog and write for a number of websites. He was a host for a TV show and radio show and I produced my wife’s TV show and radio show. He and I both had conservative religious and political influences, growing up. We also have beautiful wives that are talented and capable. From there, we have much that is different about us.

I am old enough to be Charlie Kirk’s aunt, because he is the same age as my oldest nephew. This tells me that although he has an impressive resume, maybe Kirk didn’t have time to grow fully into himself. He was raised with wealth, he had opportunities for education, even if he didn’t take them, that I didn’t have. He was physically healthy. He and his wife are white and straight, he is from Chicago and she is from Arizona. My wife is mulatto and we are queer, she is from North Carolina and I am from Washington. He was raised in a Pentecostal church and chose to change to a Christian Nationalist religion. I was raised in a Southern Baptist Church and then was part of a Non-denominational church and now study and praise the Lord at home and with friends because I haven’t found a church I fit in. I have never said that Kirk was not a Christian, but the fact that there are foundational differences between us, I do think I would have asked different questions of Jesus. My relationship is probably different.

My friend Joshua Simila sent me a message that really made a good point to me. He said:

He held up a mirror for parents. We have an entire generation of kids that are overstimulated, too much technology, having extreme melt downs and can’t debate properly. No matter what side of politics you are on, I hope my kid is prepared to go to college without having a full blown tantrum during a debate. Americans have become extremely spoiled.

I work in the school system. I have nothing against our nation’s kids, many of them are full of kindness and good qualities. I have seen some of the greatest examples of compassion and responsibility from this generation coming up.

However Summer, we are seeing some of the most unregulated emotionally charged destructive behavior I have ever witnessed. I am a parent within the millennial age group. I know this first hand. Charlie is causing division that we unfortunately need. Your generation knows how to debate properly. This one doesn’t. I’m being completely honest in this. They aren’t getting consequences and having to learn. We are failing them (parentally). They deserve so much better.

I saw Mary Steenburgen and her husband, Ted Danson, on TV Sunday night, receive the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award. In her acceptance speech she said there are two main emotions that all others come from: Love and Fear. She said that we are at a time where we are out of balance. This is the reason for the work that her family does to bring more love into balance. I really respect her statement.

Robert Pape from the University of Chicago was on Face the Nation on the same night. He does research and critical surveys. He has found that although politicians want to blame all political hate, that has become so prevalent, on the media and specifically social media, he is emphatic that it is the fact that there is something to hate, that is causing the rise of political violence.

I don’t think that Charlie Kirk and I would have been friends. There were enough differences between us that I am not sure we could have enjoyed our time together. Some of our beliefs may have even made us peaceful enemies. Meaning, we would have:

Chosen to agree to disagree
Pray for each other because the bible says to pray for our enemies
Do what we can to live in peace with everyone
Let God deal with those that hurt us
Conquer evil by doing good
Bless those who hurt us by doing good

It is never okay to use physical violence to make your voice heard, but if you don’t feel that your representatives are not working for you, I can understand your angst. However, that means you must make time to make phone calls, write emails, hold signs and make your voice heard in peaceful ways. All violence does is make it necessary for legal action to be brought against you and people to live with the pain you caused.

We are in a time where it is easy to become tired, angry or just not ourselves. It is good to unplug and regroup. That is what the Sabbath is for. God knew we needed time to have quiet and rest and time with Him to restore us so we can have a fresh face to tackle the next week. So we can love better.

I am sad for the loved ones of Charlie Kirk. I know they are mourning a great loss and I pray they find comfort with God and each other and that they grow in their mourning in a peaceful and loving way. I am sure he is with his Savior.

I am confirming that I do not agree with any political party. I believe our government is corrupt and run, much of the time, by self-serving individuals. But I am praying that God help me to love all of them with His love because He made them too, in His image.

I am sorry where I failed you. Please forgive me. Be blessed.

Image Credit: Glazonoid

Feel free to leave your comments below!

If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.

I Need Help

by Summer D Clemenson | Sep 11, 2025 | Opinions, Politics, Prayers & Thanksgiving

I am neither sad nor mad about the end of Charlie Kirk, other than to question why he was so profoundly important to others and I need help. Some of his words were small, they lacked empathy and were not from the Jesus I know. He called himself a christian, yet he did not love all his neighbors in a way that I can understand, the second most important law, according to Jesus. He would spit out the 10 commandments but he didn’t show that Jesus was the new covenant. That loving God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and all our neighbors is the entire purpose of being a Jesus Follower. Nothing else matters. Jesus told us to be a humble, peaceful, generous, merciful servants. This was not this man’s message as I heard it.

We should be upset that on the same day Kirk was killed, a woman who came to the United States from Ukraine for protection was murdered by a mentally ill man, with a huge history of violence. Even his mother had asked for him to be committed, and yet, he was still on the streets of North Carolina; a walking time bomb.

Why do we not have better legislation is place for dangerous people?

We should care that also on the same day Kirk was murdered, when someone brought a gun to a school in Colorado, we should be thankful that a student would be willing to throw himself on that gun so that there were only 3 people hurt. We need to be celebrating this 18 year old man!

There were two school shootings on the same day but we are only talking about one, over and over…I can’t see why Kirk is more important than these children.

I do not know that Charlie Kirk would have thrown his body on a gun to protect others because I don’t know him. I don’t know if he was that selfless. If he did know how big God is, I didn’t see a God as big as mine in his messages. But maybe I wasn’t listening well.

Maybe this incident where Kirk was silenced, was just God pruning an unfruitful branch, as it mentions in John 15. Or maybe I am broken somewhere.

I don’t mean to be cruel. I know a wife lost a husband and 2 children lost a father. I don’t know why I can’t feel genuine empathy for them. It is usually abundantly available for me to offer for people in prayer, which I did pray for his family and loved ones, but it was not as natural as it usually is and for that I need to talk with God about. My humanity is getting in the way and I don’t know why.

I am afraid because I am not recognizing myself. Why does the mention of his name or vision of his face make me feel so angry?

His words hurt me. They sliced into me because some of his words were unloving, dis-inclusive, violent at times, and arrogant. Sometimes they were perfectly programmed “christian” words, and I am sure he did believe them, but Jesus came to teach us to love, He said He came to bring division, but that was because He knew humanity so well. Jesus’ words could get into our egos and without the pure soul, where love can grow, it can become foul, and then some of us would care about things that we have no business thinking about. That is evil, and I am afraid that sometimes, that was where Kirk spoke out of, even if it was unintentional. That is very sad.

Am I speaking from there too?

People hide behind the phrase, “We have a right to have our own opinion.” This is true. But words are important. God tells us that we have the power of life or death from our mouth. He told us to be careful. I am not rectifying the murderer’s actions. Murder is not ever acceptable. But what if Kirk’s words hurt someone so badly, they felt like they had no other choice? We may never know.

Or what if this murder is also meant by another evil, to bring even more division in a church that is already divided, on the eve of an event that at one time brought us all together for at least a moment?

Twenty four years ago, I know where I was when I heard about the Twin Towers. I remember that day more clearly than most days in my life. It started with a dream about it, before it happened. It ended with me being at a church worship service dancing and praising Jesus. But soon after some United States citizens began to hate Muslims and do terrible things to them, even though, they too were United States citizens, and they were in pain also by the loss of almost 3,000 people, and they had nothing to do with the plans of evil men from al-Qaeda.

I invite you to take a breath. Bring yourself to your center. Don’t try to blame anyone right now. The facts will come as they are supposed to. Today is a day of remembering. 9-11 brought our country together like no other day in a long time. We were quieter, more appreciative and we had been given a different perspective that helped some of us. Death is not always just an end, but also a door to a newness because as we mourn, we begin to live differently.

God loves you. No matter what name you call Him/Her/They. For a moment let that be enough to empower you to love others. That is the purpose of this life, there is no other reason we are here.

I will get the answers to my questions when I am ready for them. But if you want to pray for me, I appreciate that. Be blessed.

Feel free to leave your comments below!

If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.

Being Brave is Like Breathing

by Summer D Clemenson | Sep 8, 2025 | About Summer, Opinions, Prayers & Thanksgiving

I have never felt more confident in God or connected to Him in my life than I do now. Being brave is almost like breathing. Being who I am has never been less complicated than now. I don’t know what changed but I don’t feel like competing with anyone anymore, even myself. I do what I can with the effort I have energy for and I am grateful.

I have always known I was put on this earth for something special. I have known that I have been here before and I have a special task which is why I can ask God to teach me how to do something and I will have a dream about it and wake up with new knowledge. It has never occurred to me to not ask Him for the simplest of things, even in picking out a melon at the grocery store.

I will never forget a time I was at the store, right after church. I had just asked God which cantaloupe to buy and one had glowed so I put it in my cart. Someone from church saw me and asked me how to pick a good melon. I told her my method and she gave me the oddest look and walked away. I could not comprehend her response. We had both just left church.

But a few years later, when I was 20 years old, I finally heard God’s voice. He told me it was time to leave. He told me they had taught me all they could teach me. So I left. 10 or so years later, I visited. I had grown far beyond where I had been spiritually, but they were giving the same sermon I had heard back then. This church didn’t really encourage spiritual growth, they encouraged spiritual dependence, but not on God, on human dogma. Just like we see in our society and politics.

Our Creator made us to be curious, powerful and confident in Him. He empowered us to be successful in every situation. Society has put up walls to make us believe we are smaller than we are. If Jesus lives in us, we are priests and royalty, just like Him. We have to live up to that. He will help us if we are willing to live this way.

Image Credit: Casey Horner

Feel free to leave your comments below!

If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.

Bringing People Together in Faith

by Summer D Clemenson | Sep 6, 2025 | Opinions, Politics, Prayers & Thanksgiving

Trump’s followers are so wrong when they say he is bringing people together in faith. In my opinion, Trump is not bringing us together. He is setting us against each other and up for failure. How can a man that has been married 3 times and cheated on all his wives and has abused women and laughed about it in public, lead anyone to faith and family? I certainly don’t respect him. But I do pray for him and I do ask God to help me have love for him.

Wake up!

These same people want to say the democrats are to blame for everything. How can you say ‘the left’ is trying to ‘erase faith from public square, rewrite history, and replace God with government,’ when that is exactly what Trump’s administration is doing? But don’t think I think the democrats are any less guilty than the republicans in the “establishment,” because both parties have made the rich richer and the poor poorer.

I do think it would be glorious if 1 million people prayed for each other every week. Even more if they prayed for wisdom on how to overthrow our current government and build one that invested in education, healthcare, good jobs and infrastructure, plus a fair tax structure that includes taxing the rich so that we would have a strong middle class and less homelessness.

Trump’s kind of change is not something new. It is social blindness. It is either oligarchy or poverty. It is war. Because it is coming. And no one will be protected.

Try praying about that. World War III is coming. But it doesn’t have to start between United States citizens, we can choose to stop fighting each other and remember that at the end of the day we all want the same thing: safety, love and community.

Image Credit: Wikipedia Commons

Feel free to leave your comments below!

If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.

Dear Non-Affirming Church

by Summer D Clemenson | Aug 26, 2025 | Opinions, Prayers & Thanksgiving, Queer Community

Dear Pastor,

Although I can hear the love you are trying to convey in your message, I still feel sadness when I read your words. I have been walking with Jesus since I was 5 years old, and He came to me in my back yard when I was playing alone, under my apple trees. He found me when I was alone and then I was never alone. He came before my family fell apart and He has seen me through many traumas. It has been 44 years since that day.

He is smiling at me now.

I didn’t understand myself growing up. I was different. I didn’t have many crushes growing up and I didn’t get googly eyed like my friends did. I thought I was broken. I also thought both men and women were beautiful. But I was raised by my nana, who told me never to waste my affections on someone I wouldn’t marry, while teaching me to be a lady, so I just focused on what was in front of me. I met my wife at work. We were friends for 10 years. She actually helped me through a terrible break up with someone I had also been friends with for 10 years. When I got sick, really sick, she was the one that helped me get well. Although I was aware of feelings, I thought they were just coming from her, until they were not only coming from her. We got married 11 days later.

It took me a year of therapy (I have been in therapy most of my life) to be able to say I was bisexual and later to learn the word demisexual. The first year of our marriage was beautiful and God was with me. I just told people I had married my best friend. That was true. But it was also true that I had not chosen to be bisexual and demisexual. I was created that way. I was also created to be more than that and I was confused, but God wasn’t. When I asked Him if I should divorce my wife, He said, “No.” He also told gave me the following scripture:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28

I believe that sex and gender are human issues. They are something we only deal with on earth, because in the new world we will have heavenly bodies and will not be given away in marriage. I believe that God knows our hearts and He is bigger than a book with words in it that has been edited by humans. Did you know that the word homosexual was not added to the bible until 1947? It was added by humans that wanted to control other humans. The term they were trying to describe was abusers. Consenting people that are committed to each other and love each other are not abusing each other.

My wife and I have been married 11 years. That is longer than both our parents were.

What makes me the most sad about churches that are not affirming, is that they claim to be the body of Christ, yet they create these areas that are ok to judge people and set them aside. I know that I can come to your church, and I will probably be treated kindly by most, feared by some, ignored by the ones that don’t know what to do with people like me and wife. But some day you are going to preach something from your pulpit about how my marriage is an abomination to God and if I brought one of my Queer Family members to visit that day, they might not have made the same peace with the incorrect doctrine, as I have, because Jesus is the Living Word of the bible. The one we read has been translated badly. What can I do to change their broken heart?

I appreciate your kind words but I can’t affirm your church.

Be Blessed,

Summer D Clemenson

Photo Credit: https://soundcloud.com/sssleye/walkingouturdoor

Feel free to leave your comments below!

If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.

I Am A Jesus Follower

by Summer D Clemenson | Aug 12, 2025 | Opinions, Prayers & Thanksgiving

I am a Jesus Follower. I do see value in ALL people because I believe God made them. God told us to love our neighbor and He did not differentiate between anyone.

I have read the bible many times and it says to take care of the fatherless, widows, the sick, to be kind to emigrants and everyone because we have all been made in the image of God; we are all connected.

There is a different standard for christians than those who have other beliefs. This makes sense because if you have never read the bible and accepted the word for truth, how can you be held accountable to it?

I don’t have a lot of grace for people that call themselves christian yet don’t love all of God’s creation, who don’t have empathy and compassion and care as we were told to. Who don’t do as we were taught to. This is the apocalypse we were warned about. The undressing of the church.

There are people that call themselves christians that have protected rapists. They are cheering on others who terrorize the innocent. They have made money and power their god instead of the Creator while justifying murder of women and sick people who can’t get proper medical care, while they shout about their religious beliefs and our christian nation. They have continued to pay for wars while innocent lives are annihilated, even as children starve.

No. Not all Christians are the same. Some know a God that is gentle and lowly in spirit and wants to bear your burdens. Some Christians know that our God laughs at the enemy now because in the end, they have nothing. Some Christians really do love their neighbors, all of them, but we do not have much use for the ones that are hurting themselves or the ones they are hurting because they have decided they are not worthy. But I pray for them too.

Feel free to leave your comments below!

If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.

I Want To Be Done Now

by Summer D Clemenson | Aug 9, 2025 | Cancer, Chronic Illness, Life, Prayers & Thanksgiving

On August 9th I wrote the following on Facebook:

I just added appointments to the calendar for imaging to see if the cancer is gone. I’m fighting an anxiety attack. I am supposed to do 3 more radiation treatments and I am terrified. I should be safe. I am taking 10 mg of Eliquis, twice a day. I should not be worried about blood clots. We have a plan for injectable blood thinners while we commence with radiation but I am just working through what I wrote during this time. I am just getting to a place where I can begin to push myself to build muscle. I don’t want to be broken down again. I’m just feeling sure for now. I don’t know if I am ready to be brave enough for another battle. Even if Karen G Clemenson is with me most of the time, I am still the one who has to fight. I am the one that has to bleed. I am the one that will wake up to a body that isn’t mine but is. I know I am lucky; my cancer is curable. It is slow growing. But it still hurts. I’m still gun-shy. I don’t want to trust people that are helping me but are going to cause me a ton of pain. I want to be done now.

This message is a very vulnerable one. I try hard to not live in this state because I know that I am here to live the life that God has created for me to live and I am not afraid to die. In fact there are very few things that I am actually afraid of for myself.

Angry Men Yelling
Earthquakes
Snakes
Personal Suffering
Other People Suffering

But through this time where I have had to undergo things that have shown me I am stronger than I realized, I know that the prayers of others have helped me so much. Although I try not to complain too often, when I have posted that I was suffering, those posts have been overwhelmed by the caring of others and I have felt the prayers and love from people I have both met and not met.

In a world where I have chosen to not join a church per se, I have found a church family, right here on Facebook, where there are people that regularly check in with each other and support each other, even if we have never met. We pray for each other and lift each other up and I find that to be refreshing because we don’t have to, but we do.

So when the moments come when I want to be done happen, I am always encouraged by you to keep going because there is always someone who cares and gives me encouragement. Thank you.

Feel free to leave your comments below!

If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.

Wade In The Water

by Summer D Clemenson | Aug 5, 2025 | About Summer, Life, Opinions, Politics, Prayers & Thanksgiving

I recently have begun looking for old songs that have called to me throughout my life. I hummed a tune to Karen and she immediately began singing “Wade in the Water,” which, with a very small amount of research, I learned is an Underground Railroad Hymn. It was used to communicate how to travel from slavery to freedom.

“Wade in the water
Wade in the water, children
Wade in the water
God’s gonna trouble the water.”

These words tell people to make sure to stay off the path and get into the water because the slave hunter’s dogs couldn’t smell their scent when they went into the water and the rivers led to salvation. Wading also implies defiance. Unlike swimming or floating, you must push against the water and current to wade in the water; it is work to stay steady in the mud and rock and grasses.

Although my ancestors came from Europe and Canada, I have always seen a beauty and connection to Native American and Black culture. I feel connection with trees and tall grasses in the wind. I love to feel leaves, as though we are talking. Worshiping with Jerry Chapman, a local Native Pastor, showed me the beauty of drums and how we are all connected. In my 20’s I learned so many lessons about how I was made to understand more than one realm. Through nature God shows us that we are all one. Because He made the first man and breathed His breath into him and humanity was created.

I don’t need to read or listen to the news to know a catastrophe has happened. I can feel it. When I was a child, I would see things and have dreams that scared me. But as an adult, with the bible and more experienced teachers, I learned how to pray about these things, limit spiritual attack, and now I am learning to rest.

Recently someone sent me a short video of a white woman. Her message was that people make groups to divide us: Queer/Straight, Black/White, Disabled/Able-Bodied…and we just need to love everyone. Tee Hee (I am sorry that is what I heard in my head…and I know it is judgmental and not fair)

My problem with straight, white, healthy women telling me to just love everyone, is not that I don’t agree, or that I don’t think she might not be sincere, but she, or someone like her, has been saying something like that for a long time, while straight, white, healthy men keep making laws that make it harder for queer, or disabled, or people of color, or women to live their lives the way they want. God made free will for everyone, not just white men. I know not all white women support some of the terror in the world, not all white men are terrorist, and what I am saying might sound unfair. It is.

My black, queer, disabled family would like to invite you to research what other black families still are living with. Maybe read about what queer communities have to deal with. Have you read about some of the issues disabled people face? Yes we do need to love each other but we also need to know each other.

I think “Wade in the Water” is a universal song. We are still struggling and everyone struggles. We are all needing salvation.

“See those people dressed in red
Must be the children that Moses led.

Wade in the water
Wade in the water, children
Wade in the water
God’s gonna trouble the water.”

Feel free to leave your comments below!

If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.

The Presence of The Fruits of the Spirit

by Summer D Clemenson | May 20, 2025 | Opinions, Prayers & Thanksgiving

Jesus told us that we could tell when others were true believers of God by the presence of the Fruits of the Spirit in their life. I don’t care what someone tells me about themselves. If I don’t see these attributes in their life, I know they are not a true Jesus Follower and I don’t expect good things from them. It helps me not judge them or be angry with them because they don’t know the love that I do. It helps me be at peace and feel more love, joy, patience, goodness, generosity, etc…

I want to clarify that I don’t think that only christians can have the Fruits of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. I know that many religions teach these attributes and some people naturally have these characteristics. I know that Jesus spoke to people of other faiths and He had many friends while He was here on earth. There is one rule to being a christian, but there are many ways to be a good and loving human.

I think I am starting to understand maybe some of what God wants me to learn by His choice of our president. We want to believe that The United States of America is a christian nation but we are not truly united and we are definitely not only christian. Groups of people mess these ideas up because “group think,” while it can be powerful, is not how we do our best. We were all created to be in a personal relationship with a higher power, in my life it is the Trinity of God, Jesus and Holy Spirit; He is supposed to be the main relationship in our lives, yet we easily give this spot away to politics, religion (which is very different than relationship), addiction and idolatry, and the human condition: lust, pride and greed. We let our emotions drive us away from God, rather than towards Him so He can help us sort them out (I am so guilty of this too). We judge others before we realize that we now have made ourselves guilty, when we should be praying for each other.

I understand the frustration and anger, the pain and fear because as a human being, I am compelled by the same fragility that all humans experience. But we can also choose to love. We can choose to look around and ask ourselves, “How can my anger benefit someone and when is it causing a problem?” MOST of the time, our anger must be let go. Sometimes anger compels us to do important things. But most of the time, it is only to show us where we need to cry out to Jesus.

I am trying to remember this. I am trying to let go of the austerity I once thought was important. I am trying to just tell my Savior, sometimes only in groans and tears that I am sad, overwhelmed and I need help. When I hear of people being murdered or taken advantage of on the news, I pray for the hurt person and their loved ones. When I read about war, I pray for help and wisdom, because only God really knows all the details. When I hear about tornadoes and other scary weather and I can hardly breathe, for the pain I feel for those that are in that turmoil, God knows what I can’t say. When my friends are hurting sometimes I just sit with God because my pain is too big and I don’t have to say anything because God loves them more than I do.

No politician can give me this. There is no amount of money that can buy me this type of safety. Even my friends and loved ones are going to fail me, but Jesus never has. He deserves my attention. God’s Spirit is love, which is where all the Fruits of the Spirit come from. We learn these for ourselves by spending time with Him. That is why we need Him.

Feel free to leave your comments below!

If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.

She Is It

by Summer D Clemenson | Apr 17, 2025 | About Summer, Chronic Illness, Opinions, Prayers & Thanksgiving, Queer Community

I don’t think I could put in words how much I love, need and want Karen G Clemenson. She is it. As I grew up I had made lists of what I wanted in a partner. I have never taken choosing a partner lightly and I am not casual about sex at all. Karen is one of two people I have ever been with. She even helped me get over the first guy, promising he would come back, until I finally told her, I didn’t want him to come back.

I have loved 3 people in my life and there were about 10 years between each person. I was friends with each person first. My lists always changed as I had my heart was shattered. Because I love completely. I am so grateful that I am demisexual because I don’t have overwhelming sexual feelings that get in my way until I have bonded with someone emotionally, intellectually and have learned if they are worthy of my trust.

When I prayed to God and asked for a partner I was shocked that Karen was the one. I had been fighting my feelings for some time, to be honest. I was raised in a conservative family and conservative religion and being gay was wrong. However, I had also walked with God since I was 5 and I had an authentic relationship with God and there had been many things God had shown me, that I had been taught, that were wrong.

It was still 1 year after we were married, before I could verbalize that I was bisexual and demisexual. But I also knew that God knew that I was queer. He made me this way and He loved me and this very small part of who I am, is part of the calling He has for me. Nothing I have ever done or ever will do, will ever change how much He loves me or that the salvation He created for me is mine. He promised me that. I am supposed to love Him, let Him love me, and love my neighbor. He will fill in all the blanks.

Karen and I have this little joke. She asks me — Who loves you? — I always answer, with a smile on my face: Jesus.

The only competition Karen has is The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. I do find other people attractive but I don’t want them. We talk about that. Neither of us wants anyone else. And even the most exquisite looking person can open their mouth and say a selfish, judgmental, or hateful thing and suddenly they are no longer interesting to me in any way.

I have had people try to use their religious beliefs to justify their fear that I am going to hell. I am sick of this. It just isn’t true. God created inclusion. The word “homosexuality” wasn’t even added to the bible until 1947 by white people that wanted to control the narrative. I do realize the bible I read, in its imperfection, was inspired by God, but edited by man. This doesn’t stop me from reading it, but I read it with Jesus and I ask questions and wait for answers.

Karen was the best gift God ever gave me. When I could not hide that I was sick anymore, she was there. I had never been taken care of before. I had been the one to serve. I am an artist and chronically ill. I don’t know what my body and mind will be like from day to day; I don’t often know what I will say until I say it. She is never intimidated by me, my body, my mind or my ideas. She loves the challenge and surprises. On earth, she is my rock and I am her’s. I don’t take this for granted.

On the flip side, she eats healthier, dresses better and has more organization in her life than she ever had on her own because once we were married, we both learned, we needed someone to take care of. Her blood pressure is normal, her weight is exactly what her doctor wants it to be and her muscle tone is impressive. Plus she has some pretty great aspirations that she would never have attempted if she didn’t have someone cheering her on. Who else is going to correct her when she says she is crazy and tell her she is just juggling a lot?

We make an amazing team. I thank God for her all the time. I can’t and don’t even want to imagine life without her. We have healed and grown so much in this relationship and I wish that the kind of love, trust, honesty and kindness we share was in all partnerships. If there was, there would probably be little to no divorce and less STIs and unwanted pregnancies too. Because when you have all you want in your relationship, you don’t have to look anywhere else and you make decisions together and you don’t do things to tear down the team.

I am a blessed woman.

Feel free to leave your comments below!

If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.