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• Real Photography Competition
  by RedBubble

  This is really big! We’ve tracked down some of the coolest photography prizes we could find, passed the hat round the office for some b…

  This is really big! We’ve tracked down some of the coolest photography prizes we could find, passed the hat round the office for some bubblecash, stuck the megaphone out the window, and now we’re ready to launch the RedBubble Real Photography Competition. Prizes include: / – Leica M4-P plus 50mm F2 Summicron (or a Canon 400D + 17-85mm IS USM) / – Elinchrom D-Lite 4 – Studio Lighting Kit / – Gitzo Carbon Fiber Tripod with a Really Right Stuff BH-40LR Head / – 15 x great photography books / – $2500 bubblecash There are five categories, and you can only enter once per category. Simply upload your entry and tag it as follows: 1) Landscape, Travel and Nature Tag your entry with landscapephotocomp 2) Portrait, Fashion and Commercial Tag your entry with fashionphotocomp 3) Black and White, Street, and Reportage Tag your entry with bwphotocomp 4) America Tag your entry with usaphotocomp 5) Europe Tag your entry with europephotocomp See www.redbubble.com/promo/photocomp for full details

• And The Winners Are...
  by RedBubble

  STOP PRESS! Right, so for all you die-hard Bubblers’ out there who have been keeping a relentless eye on our little hamster ‘Harry’ wh…

  STOP PRESS! Right, so for all you die-hard Bubblers’ out there who have been keeping a relentless eye on our little hamster ‘Harry’ who’s been slaving away in the wheel all arvo to get BubbleWRAP 16 out – the time has come to see the results of the RedBubble Real Photography Competition ! So stop your salivating, open your eyes and settle into your desk chair because the results make some spectacular viewing! Check your email or simply view BubbleWRAP online here. We hope you enjoy!

• Houston - We have a black and white problem...
  by The RedBubble Real Photography Comp

  Folks – it seems the winner of the black and white category is not the owner of the winning image. Thank you to whoever has helped alert…

  Folks – it seems the winner of the black and white category is not the owner of the winning image. Thank you to whoever has helped alert the real owner and ourselves to this. As the poms say, “that’s not cricket old chap” Please be assured our image pirate will not be winning that glorious Leica. James.

• The Real Photo Comp Winners...
  by The RedBubble Real Photography Comp

  Are …. Sorry folks, you’re all going to have to wait for the special issue of bubble-wrap to be published here...

  Are …. Sorry folks, you’re all going to have to wait for the special issue of bubble-wrap to be published here a bit later in the day to find out who won ! James.

• Real Photography Comp Update
  by RedBubble

  What a dazzling start to the RedBubble Real Photography Competition! Over 800 entries already, from all over the planet. We’re looking fo…

  What a dazzling start to the RedBubble Real Photography Competition! Over 800 entries already, from all over the planet. We’re looking forward to seeing even more as the competition continues through until August 24. However, an important reminder: only one entry per category If you got multiple entries in a category, please choose your best one and remove the competition tag from the others. Otherwise you won’t be eligible to win any of the cool prizes.

• LETS SEE WHO'S REAL
  by KEITH R. WILLIAMS

  THIS IS A SIGNUP SHEET FOR ANYONE, AND EVERYBODY WHO HATES RACISM. IF YOU UNDERSTAND THE HATRED, AND THE EVIL THAT EXISTS SPEAK UP, AND S…

  THIS IS A SIGNUP SHEET FOR ANYONE, AND EVERYBODY WHO HATES RACISM. IF YOU UNDERSTAND THE HATRED, AND THE EVIL THAT EXISTS SPEAK UP, AND STAND UP FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE. ALL RACES DISCRIMINATE, THE RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATE, THE SAD PART IS EVEN CHILDREN DISCRIMINATE, AND WE KNOW WHY!!! LETS END IT NOW, TELL ME HOW U FEEL, LET THE WORLD HEAR

• Exhibition Opening - A real blast!
  by Paul Vanzella

  Huge thank you to everyone that came down yesterday to Kustom Lane Gallery to see the works of: / 
*Paul Vanzella, Jo O’Brien, Paula Delle…

  Huge thank you to everyone that came down yesterday to Kustom Lane Gallery to see the works of: / 
Paul Vanzella, Jo O’Brien, Paula Delley, Helen McLean, & Matt Black Big thanks to TimChuma for taking some cool pics of the event and also for Tony Peake at Kustom Lane Gallery for organising a great day – the exhibition runs till October 18th and is well worth seeing live…..

• How I promote my work outside in the "real world"................
  by Nuh Sarche

  An idea from me how to get more people to know about your stuff…...... I create give-away promotion-cards from all of my work, p…

  An idea from me how to get more people to know about your stuff…...... I create give-away promotion-cards from all of my work, print them out as 10×15 pictures in a photo-store, cut in two pieces and approach my customers with small handy product-cards with all useful informations…....... (did you have seen my easy redirected shop name down the card? Because I’ve made shops to put all the together belonging work together…) and the customer can find the interesting work now easier in all the “big internet world”..... :) HERE THE DOWNLOAD LINK FOR THE TEMPLATE which I have made… feel free to download it, use and share…. :) do you promote your work? greetings Nuh Sarche

• Exhibition next week.
  by Cathleen Tarawhiti

  Hi, I’m having my first exhibition with graphic artist Marion Chastelas :)) Can’t quite believe it myself – wahee. Monday the 16th of …

  Hi, I’m having my first exhibition with graphic artist Marion Chastelas :)) Can’t quite believe it myself – wahee. Monday the 16th of June to Saturday the 21st / Ariki Gallery / 555 Victoria St / Hamilton / ph 021 44 7030 take my number; you may need directions lol. The opening night is Monday 16th June at 5.30pm and is open daily from 10am – 4pm. I’d love to meet some Redbubblers there – I’m not quite sure you’re real, I’d need to touch one ;) The theme is Real Life ... plus a couple more I havn’t decided on yet. Love to see you there. So Wendy, Meach, Basia and Paul, pull your finger out and win lotto so you can get over here. And buy all my stuff:)

• Are you up to the Challenge??
  by tuffcookie

  My dear Friend Pixie has recently done some photoshoots with Real women. I absolutely love how she has managed to portray these beautiful…

  My dear Friend Pixie has recently done some photoshoots with Real women. I absolutely love how she has managed to portray these beautiful women in their natural form! this has gotten me thinking quite abit. I myself have been working on getting a couple moms to do a photoshoot with me. So far they are resisting because they do not feel they are beautiful. They are they type of women who have had children, are not small slim petite women with perfect bodies. They possess voluminous curves, etc. For me a womans beauty comes from within, beauty comes from the soul and shines through they eyes. The skin fades, the hair greys and bodies change throughout the years. So lets celebrate the natural beauty of women. Jerame does a wonderful job of moderating the Everyday woman group and i throughly love seeing all the everyday women images. I’d just like to see what we can all come up with. this is something i’ve been wanting to do myself and thought i’d see if anyone else is interested in joining me My challenge to all my dear rb friends if go out find a real woman in all her glory, convince her she is beautiful and do a photoshoot! I will be hopefully doing a shoot this week. I would like to see everyone’s view on women’s beauty. Age doesn’t matter, neither does body size, or wrinkles or grey hair. Find a woman who portrays a woman and show off her beauty. / Just a friendly challenge to everyone.. I’d love to see the results. If your interested in participating let me know.. I’d like to do up a calandar or book with the results. Your all the best /

• Winners - Theme Challenge #4 - Oil Paintings of People
  by Rahul Kapoor

  Dear Members, We saw some beautiful work by all participants in the challenge. Thank you for your participation and votes. Here are…

  Dear Members, We saw some beautiful work by all participants in the challenge. Thank you for your participation and votes. Here are the winners for the Theme Challenge #4 – Oil Paintings of People: 1. Ranked #1 – Sao By Hidemi Tada Wins the feature artist for this week. 2. Ranked #2 – Drinker, approaching Storm by Victor 3. Ranked #3 – Young Blue by DavidArtShed> Congratulations to the winners!! The artwork for all artists will be featured on the group home page. All 259 of you Rock!! Keep entering the challenges and winning there are a few more coming up. We are a little dissappointed though looking at the number of people who have actually posted any congratulatory note on the posts for the winning artists. Would like to encourage the members to do that and share their views with the challenge winners via this forum. Cheers, Group Hosts Rahul Kapoor And Joseph Rieg

• House For Sale
  by Jo O'Brien

  Sometimes I get so caught up in creating photographic art that I forget photography has other purposes. Like science, recording evidence,...

  Sometimes I get so caught up in creating photographic art that I forget photography has other purposes. Like science, recording evidence, and advertising things. Recently we were asked to photograph a friend’s house that is for sale. I’m new to this sort of photography so any feedback, advice, and ideas are appreciated. The shots below are a mix of our work.

• Clarifications on the Real Photo Comp
  by The RedBubble Real Photography Comp

  Some feedback on a bunch of questions we have received thus far. One entry per person ? / Quite a few folks are tagging more than one…

  Some feedback on a bunch of questions we have received thus far. One entry per person ? / Quite a few folks are tagging more than one image for each category – Unfortunately that’s going to mean all your entries have to be disqualified and overlooked. This is the only way we can be fair to all the other participants who only tagged once. We will make our best effort to let folks know who have tagged more than once, but it’s up to everyone to play by the rules. Don’t panic if you have multiple tags, just go back and remove the tags on all but your best image. Nobody will be disqualified before the closing date, as long as they only have a maximum of one image per category. Why these themes ? What does each theme mean anyway ? / Depending which way you look at it, the first three themes are based around the major prizes, or the prizes are based around the themes. The idea is that if you shoot that kind of stuff, odds are the prizes will be up your alley. The European and American themes are to celebrate our international expansion, and encourage folks from those regions into our bubbleverse – That doesn’t exclude the rest of us though, photos you’ve taken in those places, or just on those themes are just as valid… eg. A photo of a US flag over an embassy can make a strong photo and fit within the theme. The intention isn’t that any of the themes will be interpreted too strictly. We want to see some great images, and the themes are a way of grouping them together for prizes. Theme 1: Landscape, Nature and Travel / Landscapes, Macro of flowers, bugs and critters, wildlife as well as people and places images can all fit into this theme. Theme 2: Portrait, Fashion and Commercial / Individual faces, environmental portraiture, fashion shoots, architecture and product photography could all fit into this theme. Theme 3: Black and White, Street and Reportage / Black and white images, photo journalism, streets and cities, colour is fine in the street and photo journalism styles. Theme 4: Europe / Anything taken in Europe or with a european flavor. Scandanavian tourists in Australia are still european for example… Theme 5: America / Anything taken in America or with an american flavor. An american flag anywhere in the world is still american etc.

• How to make real change
  by Julie Langford

  I have recently had this comment discarded from a discussion on Redbubble – I have no idea why as not only was it completely relevant to …

  I have recently had this comment discarded from a discussion on Redbubble – I have no idea why as not only was it completely relevant to the topic, but was also in response to another persons post. Ironically, the discussion was about censorship and how it is a bad thing?? So, I have decided to start the discussion here instead, as all of my contributions to the original discussion are likely to be deleted. Here is the comment I made and I would very much like this discussion to continue, in a place where I can participate – the subject is important to me as those who know me will already know. Julie Langford , 17 minutes ago in response to this / / And yet poverty still exists in so many places in the world. Many programs have been instigated all across the globe to try and eliviate the problem, very few of them work. The question is why? I wrote This is a good question xxxxxxx, and one which interests me greatly when it comes to activism. I give a substantial amount of time in voluntary work to the conservation of primates – the great apes in particular. There are many groups that share enthusiasm for this work, from anti poaching, armed guards in the protected forests of Africa, right down to school teachers who teach about the apes, both in Africa and the West. I have heard many an activist cry out the simple sentence – Stop killing apes, aimlessly, without thinking why people aren’t listening to them. The fact is, it is easy for a lot of people to say this, when they havent got to worry about where the next family meal is coming from. It is easy for more advantaged people to say it, when they have some creature comforts and dont have to risk their lives and that of their children everyday by drinking water that will kill them. Instead of standing up and shouting Dont do it – why not look for alternative ways for the hunters to make a living, and help them achieve it. Alternative livelihoods need to be promoted and education given on how to improve living standards for families provided. Education to halt the bushmeat and pet trade in exotic apes and monkeys needs to be promoted. No matter how much a person doesnt like the action of these hunters, unless they can communicate and get the message over that there are better ways to earn a living, and then go on to help with projects to promote these alternatives, whats the point in saying – Oh, dont do it, or shouting about it! How do you feel about activism? Do you think it works? Do you think that simply stating what you think, without thought of how to achieve things will work? Is it better to communicate on the same adult level, rather than shout down people who oppose your view? I personally think its good to talk, and when people disagree with a view, now matter how strongly you feel about it – you are more likely to have a chance at getting that opposing view to change, even if only a tiny bit, by talking in a civil manner. ALL comments are welcome! There will be no censorship by way of deletion of any comment that is part of the discussion – whether it opposes or agrees with any view within the opening post of this journal, or in the comments within it. No personal attacks, or naming and referencing peoples work without their persmission will be tolerated [no matter who they are by, or who they are directed at] and will be reported – however, they will not be deleted by me – if attacks do take place, they will be left for Redbubble to delete, or request deletion by me. If you do want to quote people in here, or make reference to their work outside of this journal at all [other than their original post in here to reference your response] please seek their permission. I will not participate in censorship against anyone for their view here, nor will I shout at, scream at, or attack them. I will however, ask people to play nice and report attacks against anyone, to Redbubble staff.

• Urban Décor Pt 1... How to get your voice heard
  by Redtempa

  The UK has been a bastion of free speech for many years now and it is something I am very proud of. Our recent heritage is full of grea…

  The UK has been a bastion of free speech for many years now and it is something I am very proud of. Our recent heritage is full of great bands, writers, artists and film makers that have thrived in tolerant society that has welcomed free expression. The UK’s artists are known the world over for pushing boundaries and mixing together genres of art to create sub-genres and in some cases completely new genres! However I sometimes wonder what this tolerant, free society is going to make of the latest trend to hit the streets of the city, political urban art. Of course I realise Its not a new phenomenon , look at the scrawl on the old Berlin Wall or on the walls in Northern Ireland and you would find political graffiti slogans left in protest and to provoke thought. You can even find the ancient paintings of any native race anywhere in the world on rock faces or cave walls, whether they were made as decorative pieces or with some social impact in mind, who knows? Even in its most recent form as scrawl with spray can on a wall it has been alive in this country for years. The point is it is becoming very evident to me that this is becoming something of an epidemic here in London. When I say becoming, well I travel the streets searching this stuff out and I can tell you it is on the rise in quite a dramatic fashion here! Kids, young men and professional artists are getting more and more confident and ballsy about making bigger and more controversial statements on the walls of our city. The obvious answer is Banksy has created a precedent for the flood gates to open… although he was not the first to create this form of political graffiti in London, he is just the most well known and the first to achieve worldwide fame and fortune. But I feel to blame him or to even praise him for this would be wrong because to me he is only responding to the problems in society not creating them. Almost like blaming Hip Hop for the problems in Harlem, it’s short sited and completely missing the point. These artists are responding to the way the people are feeling right now and trying to get their voices heard the only way they can. For me this rise in political graffiti stems from the feeling that the noise society is creating is so loud and inconsequential the important points are not reaching the people. For example, a messed up singer will get front page headlines of our major newspapers while continued atrocities are being committed the world over by that do not even get a mention! How can a footballers affair be more important to the people than 2 million refugees going without food, water and medicine in Dafur. We are being drowned in a sea of pointless messages, with the substance floating past unnoticed. Whether you think it’s a problem with society or a government ploy to control us it’s clear that that to get the message across artists are resorting to more drastic measures. These measure are to take to the streets and to paint them on our walls for all to see… and in that respect I support what many of them are trying to do. Now I’m not saying all of this is political, some is just a beautiful piece of artwork designed to brighten up a… well Urban sh1thole! As well as this much of it is blatant vandalism that causes distress to its victims and actually ruins a perfectly beautiful building. Whatever the point is I have been documenting these images in my own way for years now. I don’t want to just show the images, I want to show them in context, this means including a bit about their surroundings and even the people that pass them on a day to day basis. The rest is up to you as to what you consider art, political messages, vandalism or even all three put together! So I am making it my mission to bring these images to you in what will be called my URBAN DÉCOR Journal, this is part 1 Ben AKA Redtempa

• Tboism VII - Real Estate, Rewards and Respect
  by thickblackoutline

  Hi Kids, Ahh its been so long since I’ve done one of these… mainly b/c I haven’t been doing much vector, in fact I haven’t done any …

  Hi Kids, Ahh its been so long since I’ve done one of these… mainly b/c I haven’t been doing much vector, in fact I haven’t done any for over a month (please clear a space for me to pass out, with my hand on my forehead) Never fear though, I’ve been painting, drawing, and keeping that creative soup at a slow simmer! TBO has taken up some creative real estate 2 days a week, for a Japanese company, and I must say, its rather hilarious. So tired at the end of today, I couldn’t get out all of my otsukaresama deshita :| which I have to say I was a little disappointed by. But, I will get there!! I’ve been keeping you informed with little trickles of Competitions I’ve been having a good trot with, which is probably why I haven’t done one of these for a while….. b/c I’m cheating!! If you missed it, TBO on Snowboard vinyl kits, and TBO a part of exclusive Moo Sticker Collections will be on the other side of a mouse click soon! If you train your telescopes to the northern skies tonight, you will see that I have been paid such an honour, and i’m so thrilled, and so very thankful for Peter, Martin and Paul for starting up this RedBubble jazz…... you guys need some special bubbles! Go on, give yourself 2!! ;) Much Love and Light, /

• Card sold and a feature on Real Life Art!!
  by Avril Brand

  I woke up this morning with a thundering headache, a sore throat and the sniffles. Feeling miserable and still had to do some house-clean…

  I woke up this morning with a thundering headache, a sore throat and the sniffles. Feeling miserable and still had to do some house-cleaning, I come to RB for a quick fix of beautiful art and what do I find??? A card sale and a feature!!! Wow… Thank you so much for buying my card, Saleire, my sweet, darling friend!!! / And to the Real Life Art Group for featuring my painting of the Rock of Cashel Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I can bear the headache, sore throat and sniffles now and the miserable cloud has disappeared, thanks to Sal and Real Life Art. I can’t bear the house chores though!

• Featured!!! Prayer
  by Avril Brand

  Thank you so much to Real Life Art for featuring my painting “Prayer”... I only noticed a few moments ago that my little ‘Sarah’ was feat…

  Thank you so much to Real Life Art for featuring my painting “Prayer”... I only noticed a few moments ago that my little ‘Sarah’ was featured! Thank you so much!

• My First Sale in the "Real World"
  by Sarah Moore

  Last night was the opening of “About a Woman” an all female exhibition run by bodymechanic (Steve) at the Tap Gallery, Sydney. My imag…

  Last night was the opening of “About a Woman” an all female exhibition run by bodymechanic (Steve) at the Tap Gallery, Sydney. My image I am Woman was part of the exhibition (I entered it with fear and trepidation as it is my bum!!!). Anyway to cut a long story short, before I left the official opening one of the organisers came rushing over to catch me to tell me that my image was the first to sell!!!! I blushed, stammered and thanked her profusely. I have been on a high ever since… So thanks to Steve for organising this amazing exhibition…I urge all of you who live in Sydney to go and check it out as there are some amazing works by some equally amazing female artists.

• Performance of Life - food for thought
  by Kristy Lee

  What is life / but a stage / a play, a performance Are you the star; do they cheer / Do you dress in character / and spout pious phrases / ...

  What is life / but a stage / a play, a performance Are you the star; do they cheer / Do you dress in character / and spout pious phrases / written by another / Phrases that you know / will win you favor Or do you speak / words that are real / words that cause the masses / to despise your name / or to run scared Are you the villain / whom the crowd / loves to hate / Or the friend / that speaks inane; / simply comic relief Maybe yours / is the role of support / unseen, unheard What is your role / did you decide / Or did you accept / the one in front of you / the easy path / the path of least resistance? _____ Do you play different roles with diferent people? I believe we all do, to some extent. / Who are the people you feel most yourself with? Who can you be yourself with and still feel loved and respected? Cling onto those people in your life. They are a real rarity.

• real
  by Ena Lü

  just because his voice is really really really doin it for me! real

  just because his voice is really really really doin it for me! real

• Urban Décor Pt 2... Artist vs Criminal
  by Redtempa

  After publishing Urban Décor part 1 on M…

  After publishing Urban Décor part 1 on Monday I was interested to see the reaction from the Redbubble community on the subject of urban art. To be honest I was expecting a mixed reaction because this form of art has many guises, some of which have a habit of pissing people off… tagging being one of them. This side of graffiti is the hardest to justify, something even I would struggle to do… not that I would want to anyway! Personally I am not even going to get involved in the debate because I can see both sides of the story and both are as valid as each other… in reality your opinions will probably be individual and varied and will be based on your personal experiences, good or bad. My own experiences have been both negative and positive and I’m pretty open minded on the subject, so I can understand the mixed reactions that some of the images I produce may cause. Some people will say tagging causes distress and is just blatant vandalism created by bored jobless youths with no respect for the property of others. Others will say it has been around for as long as the human race has been able to express itself through painting and (in some cases) can even brighten up the ugliest of human creations. Whatever your opinion in a free society such as the UK’s it is not going to disappear anytime soon. This is because to truly stop it we would need to take drastic measures that would not sit comfortably in our so called ‘free society’. However, as a photographer I like to document a street scene that I’ve found and I see beauty in. As I primarily photograph natural street scenes in urban areas urban art/vandalism is often a major feature of my work. This is because to me it is such and intriguing and powerful form of artist expression completely without censure that can reach and effect anybody or any age. I am intrigued as to the thought processes that go into designing tags and what they tell you about the artist/criminal that has created it. My intention with these is not to express my personal opinion, instead just to document a scene I think is beautiful and to show it in context with its surroundings. The fact these scenes are dynamic and constantly changing as more graffiti/urban art/tags gives me confidence that recording them is an important thing to do. In fact many of the scenes I have shot in my portfolio have been whitewash or replaced, something that makes me feel justified in spending the many days trawling the streets looking for them. Peace Ben AKA Redtempa

• Is it a cure, or a curse? Is it even real?
  by Daniel Rarela

  “Is it true?! They can cure us?” _“No, Rogue… they can’t cure you. Do you know why? There’s nothing to cure. Nothing’s wrong with…

  “Is it true?! They can cure us?” “No, Rogue… they can’t cure you. Do you know why? There’s nothing to cure. Nothing’s wrong with you… or any of us, for that matter.” X3: The Last Stand might very well have been the worst movie out of the X Men movie trilogy, but some of the underlying social/ ethical issues throughout the movie really did hit home for me. The biggest of these was the issue concerning whether or not Rogue ought to have taken the “mutant cure” and become a normal human being. First, let me provide a bit of background information for those of you who might not be familiar with what I’m talking about – X Men started out as a very popular comic book series that eventually made its way onto the big screen, featuring people who were born with special traits/ abilities/ powers that made them different from others. These people were called mutants, and were feared by the rest of the human race because of what made them different. Eventually, however, that fear began to melt away, and was instead replaced with (misguided?) compassion – in X3: The Last Stand, a medical company develops a serum that, when taken by injection, removes the mutant gene from the body, and turns the mutant into an ordinary human being, without any of the different traits/ abilities/ powers they had been born with. This, of course, sparks a fierce controversy in the mutant population – for some mutants, their special abilities (ranging from telepathy, fast reflexes, the ability to manipulate the elements, etc.) are something to be celebrated, and any attempt to remove that or take it away is a huge insult to everything they are. For other mutants, this cure is viewed as an opportunity to finally be free of oppression, exclusion, and prejudice – an opportunity to finally be accepted by the mainstream society that has given them the cold shoulder for so long. This is especially true for a mutant named Rogue, whose special ability is that she can inflict intense, even life-threatening, pain on somebody just by touching them. Some might think it to be amazing, but for Rogue, it is a curse, as she feels condemned to live for the rest of her life without ever coming into contact with another human being. Her powers prevent her from being able to touch her boyfriend, Bobby, and prevent her from being able to even kiss him without putting his life in danger. As a result, she is eager to get a dose of the mutant cure, in spite of the fact that a lot of her peers and friends advise her not to, or at least think it over instead of just rushing into it. The question that I would like to ask the RedBubble community, particularly the gay and the Christian community on RedBubble, is: what if there was a way to cure homosexuality? What if it was possible for a gay person to change his or her sexuality and become a heterosexual? How many of us in the gay community would take that cure? I don’t care if you believe your sexuality cannot be changed. Assume, for a minute, that what I’m asking you right now is actually common knowledge and you really did have a choice. The reason I am asking you this question, is because this is a path that I have recently wondered if I am capable of walking on. As I said in a previous journal entry- , yes, I am gay… I also became a Christian four years ago, and have been trying to live my life in tune with the message of Jesus Christ ever since. I can’t say I left behind a life of promiscuity, since I’ve only had sex twice in my entire life… but the fact remains that my sexual desires are still directed towards other men, and even going beyond sex, I find it virtually impossible to even imagine myself married to and in love with a woman, with biological children of my own. Now this probably isn’t a problem at all for the gay man who doesn’t believe in God, and recklessly acts on his sexual desires every chance he gets, but for someone like me… it’s tough to call yourself a true follower of Christ when you find yourself getting really uncomfortable with verses in the Bible like Romans 1:27 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. Promiscuity no longer feels like freedom… instead, I only feel like a slave to my own body, which is humiliating, considering that I’d like to be seen as an intelligent human being that’s above bowing to every single request made by the area between my legs. In terms of love… I’d like to imagine that there’s a man out there who sees past whatever he witnesses with his own two eyes. I’d like to imagine that there’s a man out there who sees kindness and graciousness before he even notices muscles or good looks… a man who knows and loves Christ more than he could ever love me, and at the same time, be willing to make a commitment so that my lips would be the only lips he would ever kiss for as long as we both would live. And then I wonder… am I wishing for an impossibility, hoping that there’s a good Christian man out there that I could love with all my heart? Is it even more outrageous to hope that God would look down from Heaven at the two of us and smile? Is it like holding an apple in your outstretched hand, and hoping that it’ll fly up into the sky, instead of falling down to the ground when you let it go? I ask all this because I just get so tired of being at war with myself. The worst fight is over, mind you – I feel that it’s important to let you all know that I’m NOT struggling with this because I’ve got this intense fear that God is going to send me to hell. If it’s true that whosoever believes in the divinity of Christ Jesus will have everlasting life, then there’s no need for me to be afraid of the future. But if it’s also true that real Christianity transcends mere religion, and is instead a relationship with God, then I see my homosexuality as a barrier preventing my relationship with God from becoming more wonderful than it is as of today. Think of it this way – imagine a man who has the perfect wife… a wife who loves him wholly, unconditionally… and constantly forgives him in spite of the fact that he’s constantly cheating on her. The man sees how much his wife loves him and feels an intense wave of guilt over the fact that he feels so unworthy of her love because of his unfaithfulness to her. The husband knows that his wife’s love for him is so pure that she would never divorce him, but instead of seeing that as an incentive to keep cheating, the man is now inspired to stop, in hopes of becoming at least a little more worthy of the love that his wife gives so freely. That’s kind of the way it feels between me and God. I know, of course, that salvation is given by grace, and that even if I was as good of a person as Mother Teresa, it could never match the kind of love that God has for me. That being said, I also feel it important to mention that I’m not looking to destroy my sexuality in order to earn God’s love. There’s no point in trying to earn something that was already given to me freely. The reason why I’m trying to do this is because it tortures me to know that God is so madly in love with somebody like me, and I feel as if He deserves so much better than me. So even if I could never be “good enough” to God, I feel as if I should at least try to be good enough, so I can feel a little less guilt over the fact that I’ve received an incredible blessing that I know I don’t deserve. Think about the last time you deeply hurt somebody you love. Then think about how good it felt to be forgiven…to have that person hug you, look into your eyes and say, “It’s okay. I forgive you. I love you and will always love you.” I think about God’s forgiveness, and I as much as I am filled with relief and happiness… there’s another voice that points a finger at me and says, “You’re such a fucking asshole! If you really understood the weight of what you had done, you would’ve jumped into a tub of acid, because a person as bad as you doesn’t deserve to even look into the face of the person you wronged.” I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s felt this… more often than not, even though we wish to be forgiven… a lot of us sometimes wish that the person we hurt would stop loving us altogether, because we know that punishment is what we actually deserve, as opposed to having that person look us in the eye and say “I love you still, and I don’t love you any less than I did yesterday, or the day before.” To have God say that makes you all the more aware of how unworthy you really are… it makes you feel bad about yourself… it makes you want to hold God at arms length and wail “Look, God – just don’t_… STOP IT, okay?! I know You love me, and I love You too…but You’re too good for me, and I love You too much to let you settle for less than what You actually deserve… so let me just jump off this bridge, so You’ll have room in Your life to actually find someone who’s _GOOD ENOUGH for You, because that person isn’t me, as much as I wish it was!” So, going back to homosexuality… what if there really was a way to become straight? What if there really was a way to be at least a_little_ bit less ashamed of yourself when you look into God’s face for the first time? Why would anyone turn down the opportunity to make life a little easier, Christian or not? And if the opportunity is truly there, what am I supposed to do? Watch lesbian porn for weeks on end until I finally get turned on by it? Ask a random girl out on a date and pretend that I’m sincere enough times, hoping that by the end of the date I really will be sincere about it? It’s obviously not enough to argue the point that one should turn away from homosexuality because the Bible commands you to… if that was all it took, then nobody on this planet would be gay because nearly everybody on this earth has heard a pastor say those words at least once! So having a valid point in an argument clearly doesn’t do the job… So to my fellow brothers/ sisters in Christ, I ask you, how exactly does one deal with and fix homosexuality after letting God into their lives? I’ve prayed about it more than once, believe me, and my prayers have not been halfhearted either… yet I woke up the next morning and was still gay, so if “former” homosexuals are the real deal, it’d be nice to know what it is they did that I am obviously forgetting to do. I’m not even leading a homosexual “lifestyle” – been celibate for four years, don’t go to gay clubs/ bars/ events, don’t go around looking for hookups with other guys – check, check… checking everything off my list and I still know quite clearly in my heart that I’m gay. So what exactly am I missing? And to my gay friends/ family… if there really was a way to turn yourself around, if there truly exists out there a way for you to no longer be a homosexual, would you take the opportunity? And if you wouldn’t, why not? I sincerely hope you’ll try to give me more than the “I was born this way/ love yourself for who you are” cliché. There are serial killers and pedophiles out there that could probably make that same argument (keep in mind that I’m not equating my fellow gay brothers/ sisters with serial killers and pedophiles – I’m just saying that clichés heard a thousand times will not justify you in the eyes of the rest of the world when worse people than you will say the same things). Just because you’re born a certain way doesn’t mean you need to stay that way. If a person is born blind, would it be wrong for him to accept a doctor’s offer to give him a new set of eyes? Would the rest of his blind friends tell him there’s no need, and that he’s fine the way he is? And is that just because none of them have ever known what it’s like to have sight, therefore they just don’t know any better? Again, I say all this because I want to at least try. For all anyone knows, I might fall flat on my face and fail. I might never get married or fall in love for the rest of my life. I might even fall deeply in love with a man and stay married to him for the rest of my life. At this point, I hardly know what to pray for anymore. I might show up in Heaven one day just to have the angels say, “We’re letting you in, but just make sure you know that you were fooling yourself when you thought being in a loving monogamous relationship with another man would erase what the Bible said about homosexuality. Doesn’t matter if you sincerely loved him and weren’t having one-night stands all over the place.” I might hang my head in shame (I’m going to be humbled in the presence of God regardless), but I want to at least be able to say, “Yes, I failed at being able to live completely by Your word, God… but I can tell You, if nothing else, that at least it wasn’t for the lack of trying.”

• I Wanted To Say Thank You To All Of you!
  by Astrid Pardew

  I would really like to thank all of you who voted for the Cruciform Tree to be the October avatar in the group ‘For the Love of Jesus’. / ...

  I would really like to thank all of you who voted for the Cruciform Tree to be the October avatar in the group ‘For the Love of Jesus’. It is not so much my victory as the Lord’s because now more people will be able to get a glimpse of this awesome tree. The comments you all wrote are so appreciated! Thank you all again! Marie and co-host/s, keep up the good work with this wonderful group! Astrid xxx /