Monthly Archives: February 2024
The Week Ahead
I’m sitting here early on a Monday morning contemplating the week ahead. There isn’t much on my agenda at work this week, except for Friday which will be a long day. My week will basically consist of a few meetings scattered throughout the week, some projects I need to finish up, and a full day and evening of meetings on Friday. Like last Friday, I’ll be heading into work at 7:30 am, and it’s doubtful that I’ll get home much before 9 pm that night.
At least the evening meeting is at a nice restaurant with great food. It’s rare that I get to go to this restaurant two weeks in a row. I’m looking forward to the Salmone Cucina, which they describe as “wood roasted salmon with artichokes, red peppers, lemon, and capers in a white wine sauce served with risotto.” I’ll probably also get dessert which will either be their Chocolate Ganache Cake or the Lemon Italian Cream Cake, both of which are very good. I had the Salmone Cucina with the Lemon Italian Cream Cake last Friday. I usually get that because it’s an Italian restaurant, and the pasta dishes are not really something you can eat gracefully.
Other than Friday, the rest of the week should be fairly easy going (knock on wood). I wish we had today off since it’s Presidents’ Day, but like most universities and museums, we don’t take Presidents’ Day as a holiday.
I hope all of you have a wonderful week ahead!
Inseparable
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
—Romans 8:38-39
Romans 8:38-39 are verses that every true Christian, especially LGBTQ+ Christians, should keep in their hearts. This is especially true of those that f us who were grew up in conservative and unwelcoming churches. When churches are unwelcoming, they drive people away when they should be opening their arms to all people, no matter their sexuality or race or any other defining characteristic that some people who call themselves Christians claim separate us from fellowship with God.
Oh, many of those same Christians will say, “Hate the sin, but love the sinner,” but those words mean nothing. It is still a hateful rejection because they are passing judgment when only God can pass judgment. In Matthew 7:1-2, Jesus says, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” James in James 4:12 says, “There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?”
God clearly tells us that man cannot and should not judge us by their own rules, and likewise, those man-made rules “nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God.” People may try to separate us from God’s love and try to make us believe that we are not worthy of God’s love, but nothing can separate us from God’s love.
Too many LGBTQ+ Christians have been driven from churches, have had hate shouted at them, or laws passed against them by people claiming to be doing God’s work while they are doing the opposite. When hate in any form becomes the defining character of a person or a church, they have not separated us from God, but they’ve have separated themselves from God.
Remember, nothing anyone says or does can separate us from God’s love. His love is as everlasting and unwavering as our love of God should be.
The Snow Is Back
Just after Burlington broke their record for the most consecutive winter days without snow on the ground (16 days), we finally received more than a dusting of snow. The forecast had called for 2-4” of snow. Luckily, when I looked outside, it appears we got closer to the 2” than 4”.
I’m glad that it wasn’t too much snow because today is not a day I could take a snow day and work from home. I have important meetings at the museum all day today, one will even cause me to be there an hour late. Then, I have a business dinner to continue the meetings tonight. At least the museum is paying for the dinner tonight. I’m just crossing my fingers that all goes well today.
Wine & Truth
Since I started back to being able to actually read books, because improvement with my headaches, instead of only listening to audiobooks, I’ve been reading a series of male/male romances called “Vino & Veritas.” The series has one pre-series book (Roommate by Sarina Bowen), nineteen books with in the original Vino and Veritas series (two of the books are female/female romance, which I skipped) and an additional six books in the “In Vino Veritas” series. The description of the series says:
Welcome to Vino & Veritas, your new favorite LGBTQ+ friendly and inclusive bookstore and wine bar in Burlington, Vermont! Have a seat at the bar, or browse the aisles. There’s romance lurking behind every corner…
Two things drew me into this series from the beginning: it takes place in Burlington and it’s about an inclusive bookstore and bar. I wish Vino & Veritas really existed in the Church Street Marketplace, but sadly, it’s all fictional. With twenty-seven books, there are some good and some not so good. Each of the books is written by a different author. There are very few of them, besides the lesbian ones, that I would not recommend. Some stand out more than others.
The books by J. E. Birk are particularly good because she was raised in Vermont, and the real familiarity with Vermont makes a difference. She has also started another series “Devon Falls” which continue to take place in this fictional Vermont, though not centered around the Vino and Veritas bookstore and wine bar. Most of the other books are written by women (most m/m romance authors are women) who have probably never been to Vermont, but most have done their research. Vermont is a quirky place, and in the books where Vermont itself feels like a character in the book instead of merely a backdrop are the best in my opinion.
When I finish the book I’m currently reading, Unforgettable by Marley Valentine (I find it funny that I just happened to start this book on Valentine’s Day), I have two more books in the series. Then I’ll move on to the “In Vino Veritas” series.
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The Closet Professor 