Refocusing My Family Refocusing My Family contains writings for LGBTQ Christians and their family, friends, pastors, and allies Thu, 14 Feb 2019 17:09:19 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 Loving Yourself without Shame (An Excerpt from Unashamed) https://www.patheos.com/blogs/refocusingmyfamily/2019/02/loving-yourself-without-shame-an-excerpt-from-unashamed/ Thu, 14 Feb 2019 17:09:19 +0000 https://admin.patheos.com/blogs/refocusingmyfamily/?p=1489 It was a snowy Saturday afternoon in Denver, Colorado, when I showed up to lead a workshop at the 2018 Q Christian Fellowship conference. Together with Susan Cottrell of FreedHearts, we led a sixty-minute session on “Navigating Life and Relationships with Non-Affirming Families.” Anticipating the need for a presentation on this topic, the conference team […]

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]]> Don’t Say You Love LGBTQ People – Prove It https://www.patheos.com/blogs/refocusingmyfamily/2018/10/dont-say-you-love-lgbtq-people-prove-it/ Sun, 14 Oct 2018 20:14:34 +0000 http://admin.patheos.com/blogs/refocusingmyfamily/?p=1293 I can’t tell you how many times over the last several years people have told me that they love me like family. They mean well, trying to fill the void of the family I lost when I came out as gay. But unfortunately, I’ve been disappointed too many times to put weight in lip service […]

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]]> 5 Ways to Hug Your Anxiety Today https://www.patheos.com/blogs/refocusingmyfamily/2018/09/5-ways-to-hug-your-anxiety-today/ Mon, 10 Sep 2018 22:15:55 +0000 http://admin.patheos.com/blogs/refocusingmyfamily/?p=1239 I recently went through the most intense bout of anxiety that I have experienced in years. It grabbed hold of my very being and altered my reality in such a way, that I could only see life through a lens of fear. I was not okay. And even though I knew what had triggered it, […]

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]]> The Trauma of Almost https://www.patheos.com/blogs/refocusingmyfamily/2018/08/the-trauma-of-almost/ Tue, 14 Aug 2018 17:41:21 +0000 http://admin.patheos.com/blogs/refocusingmyfamily/?p=1202 I have to be honest–it’s taken me awhile to write this because, well…trauma isn’t easy to admit. It embeds fear, causes intense anxiety, and cripples the world in which you previously lived. My most recent experience with trauma has been particularly hard to share with others because, for those who don’t bond with pets, it […]

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]]> What Amy Grant at Wild Goose Taught Me About Jesus https://www.patheos.com/blogs/refocusingmyfamily/2018/08/what-amy-grant-at-wild-goose-taught-me-about-jesus/ Thu, 02 Aug 2018 17:04:43 +0000 http://admin.patheos.com/blogs/refocusingmyfamily/?p=1105 A couple weeks ago, I had my first experience at the Wild Goose Festival in Hot Springs, NC. Let me tell you friends-it was hot, it was humid, and it was holy. I didn’t know what to expect and quite frankly, was a little nervous about what I would find. But these three days in […]

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]]> Speaking Requests and Book Two Details! https://www.patheos.com/blogs/refocusingmyfamily/2018/06/speaking-requests-and-book-two/ Tue, 19 Jun 2018 17:35:55 +0000 http://ambercantorna.com/?p=825   Hey Friends and Family! I hope you are enjoying your Pride month and finding ways to celebrate what makes you uniquely YOU! Two quick things I’m excited about and want to share with you: I AM CURRENTLY BOOKING SPEAKING EVENTS THROUGH DEC 2018. If you attend or pastor a church that is looking for […]

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]]> Why My Heart Aches on Father’s Day https://www.patheos.com/blogs/refocusingmyfamily/2018/06/why-my-heart-aches-on-fathers-day-2/ Fri, 15 Jun 2018 22:18:47 +0000 http://ambercantorna.com/?p=821 “I’m so proud of you Amber,” my dad frequently told me growing up. He said it more times than I could count. It didn’t matter whether it was a new piece on the piano I had accomplished, a story I’d written, or a good grade I got on a test, my dad was good at telling […]

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]]> How “She is Called” Awakened the Poet Within Me https://www.patheos.com/blogs/refocusingmyfamily/2018/05/how-she-is-called-awakened-the-poet-within-me/ Mon, 21 May 2018 23:43:25 +0000 http://ambercantorna.com/?p=818 My Dear Friends, This last weekend, I had the rare and incredible opportunity to gather with a group of 50 women from across America for a unique conference experience titled “She is Called.” Together we had discussions around the topics of sex and power, intersectionality and equity, and prevention and repair. We made art, we […]

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]]> Mother’s Day Reflections from a Motherless LGBTQ Daughter https://www.patheos.com/blogs/refocusingmyfamily/2018/05/mothers-day-reflections-from-a-motherless-lgbtq-daughter-2/ Thu, 10 May 2018 17:04:58 +0000 http://ambercantorna.com/?p=815 I am a motherless LGBTQ daughter. My mother is not deceased, she does not live out of state, and my parents are not divorced. My mother lives only 60 miles from me, yet because of our differing religious beliefs, we are divided. We have not spoken in years. I never dreamed it would be this […]

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]]> Speaking Persuasively of LGBT+ Inclusion https://www.patheos.com/blogs/refocusingmyfamily/2018/04/speaking-persuasively-of-lgbt-inclusion/ Wed, 18 Apr 2018 05:47:30 +0000 http://ambercantorna.com/?p=798 Hey Friends, This week I have the exciting privilege of featuring another guest blog by my friend, Alicia Johnston. Alicia was a pastor in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church before coming out as bisexual in 2017. Here are some tips from her about how to engage in the important dialogue of LGBT+ inclusion. Enjoy and share […]

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