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At its essence, we champion the unparalleled brilliance of God’s design for sexuality—a design that enlightens, empowers, and transforms. We partner with individuals who aspire to align their lives with this divine blueprint, assisting them in achieving healing, recovery, integrity, and overall wellbeing.
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When I came across Matthew 22:37, it made me stop in my tracks.
“‘… love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
What piece of me am I not loving God with? Am I wearing a mask in my relationship with God, let alone family, friends, and church members?
To love God with all our soul, means to unmask and be real with yourself. We need to face what’s broken and unhealthy inside of us.
As many have said, what cannot be named, cannot be healed. Once we’ve named or identified those places within our heart, we can surrender them and be healed.
Emotional wellness isn’t about having a perfect life. It’s about being honest with ourselves and taking the necessary steps toward healing. A simple but powerful process to achieve this is using this equation:
Emotional Wellness = ITripleA or IA3, where I = Identify; A = Acknowledge; A = Accept; A = Act.
Let’s walk through each step.
The first step is to Identify the pain.
We need to take time to reflect and be honest with ourselves. We often go through life carrying emotional pain, struggles, and wounds without fully identifying them. Ask yourself: What are the things that keep me stuck? What are the things that prevent me from fully loving God and others? Consider whether it’s past hurts, toxic work or home environments, unresolved anger, fear, or even guilt.
Identifying the root of your emotions is the first step to healing.
Once we identify what is broken, we need to Acknowledge it.
This step requires courage. Acknowledging doesn’t mean staying stuck in the pain, but it’s about being real with yourself, and God. For example, a trusted friend asks, “Are you okay?” Instead of the automatic “I’m fine,” breathe and admit “I think I’m really stressed. I feel anxious all the time, and I don’t know how to slow down.”
This honesty removes the power of that hidden pain.
The third step is to Accept.
This step is about accepting the flaw or brokenness within us. For instance, you might realize that a toxic friendship is draining you, but you’ve been avoiding the truth because you don’t want to let go. You can tell yourself, “This relationship isn’t healthy for me, and I need to set boundaries.”
We are not perfect or superheroes. It doesn’t mean liking the situation or issue that you are in. Rather, it means facing it so you can move forward.
The final step is to Act.
After identifying, acknowledging and accepting what’s wrong, you need to make changes. If stress is overwhelming you, start prioritizing rest and seeking help. If it’s a painful past, begin therapy, prayer, and forgiveness. If it’s an unhealthy relationship, take steps to distance yourself and find healthier connections.
Healing doesn’t just happen overnight, and it requires action on our part.
Remember, emotional wellness isn’t about ignoring pain, it’s about working through it!
When you follow the steps in the Emotional Wellness equation—Identify→Acknowledge→Accept→Act—then you open the door to healing, growth, and peace.
As you take this journey, be hopeful because you are … Beautifully Broken!!! As the song says:
Every tear, every doubt
Every time you’ve fallen down
When you’re hurting, feeling ashamed
When you’re numbing off your pain
When you’ve lost your way
And feel so far away
You’re not
You’re beautifully broken
And you can be whole again
Even a million scars doesn’t change whose you are
You’re worthy
Beautifully broken
…
Do not let past situations and traumas keep you from loving God with ALL your soul. He knows you are Beautifully Broken, so love yourself as you grow because God loves all of you!
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Visit our Online Resource Center for resources on sexuality and positive, transformative change.
Contact Us to schedule TFT Services: life coaching, communications, or consulting.
Copyright © 2025 Training for Transformation, Inc. All rights reserved.
Have you ever said something, done something, or missed an opportunity that you regret? You’re not alone. Most people have regrets about things in life. I know that’s true for me.
Regrets may arise related to education; work or career; relationships (e.g., parents, children, siblings, family, friends, significant others); health or self-improvement; finances; spirituality; and more.
With regrets, here are three key questions to answer. What can we do about it? How do we live a life with fewer regrets? How do we deal with the regrets we already have?
Let’s briefly explore these questions.
But first, let me define regret.
Regret is a self-focused negative emotion about something that has happened or been done by us.
We feel bad because we did or did not do something we believe we should or should not have done.
The negative emotions and the severity of those emotions vary depending on the person and the situation, but may include:
So, what do we do with our regrets? Consider these seven tips.
There is little to no benefit to denying or stuffing or repressing your regrets. Own them—not to be consumed by them but in order to learn, grow and change from them. It’s difficult to impossible to deal with regrets if not honestly acknowledged. There comes a point when it’s important, yes even essential, to say “I made a mistake.” “I messed up.” “I was wrong.”
If you can correct it or fix it or reclaim it, by all means do so.
If you committed a wrong against another person, confess, repent, and seek forgiveness—from God and from the person. Eliminate the “but”—no excuses or attempts to justify. Just acknowledge and ask for forgiveness. And, whenver possible, restore or replace the damage done.
BUT, be sure to respect the privacy of the other person. If they’ve asked you not to connect with them, respect their wishes. Or, if connecting with them would cause them further harm, stand down. In this case, speak or write a letter of confession—that you DO NOT send to the person—that you share in a safe and confidential setting.
If it’s an opportunity you missed or squandered, endeavor to reclaim it. If that’s not possible, focus on making the most of the life you have now.
Take a careful look at what happened. Look for lessons learned that you can apply to your life now and going forward to help you minimize repeats of what gave rise to your regrets. “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Learn from your regrets and live wisely from the lessons you learn from them.
With regret, you tend to focus on negative emotions. Engage in activities or practices that generate positive emotions, like a hobby, or recreation, or meditating on the promises of God, or spending time with great friends.
With regret, you tend to focus on the past. Focus forward to pursuing your dreams and living your best life possible.
Let your modus operandi going forward be loving God as the first priority of your life and loving your neighbor as you love yourself as the second priority of your life (Matthew 22:36-40, NLT). Look for opportunities to lovingly serve others, e.g., engage in random acts of kindness. Living a life a love is very fulfilling and will help to replace your nagging thoughts of regret.
If/when your regret(s) reaches the point of being all-consuming and/or interfering with your “normal” day-to-day functioning, consider looking for help, for example: counseling; group therapy; or participating in a support group. And, equally important, invite God to equip you and empower you to live in his love, forgiveness, grace and mercy.
Join Our Email List on our Home page to be notified when new blogs are posted and to receive other TFT updates.
Visit our Online Resource Center for resources on sexuality and positive, transformative change.
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Copyright © 2025 Training for Transformation, Inc. All rights reserved.
On October 26, 2025, Living Hope Seventh-day Adventist Community Church hosted the second annual God’s Design for Sexuality Conference (GDFS-2), a ministry of Training for Transformation®. The event’s theme was “Embracing Love & Sexuality: His Plan – Our Joy!”
The conference was designed primarily for family and friends of LGBTQ+, and pastors, ministry leaders and professionals who serve LGBTQ+ individuals. We engaged with attendees around two topics: identity and relating with the LGBTQ+ community.
In this blog, we sincerely thank everyone who helped organize and run the conference, along with all attendees. We also share the main takeaways from the event.
Guiding Principles
We deeply appreciate everyone who took part in the conference; your presence made it possible. Thank you for fitting this event into your schedule.
While there isn’t space to cover every insight from our gathering, we'll briefly highlight three important principles below. If you attended, we encourage you to share your thoughts in the comments section for this blog.
Love
Love is central to both the gospel of Jesus Christ and the life of His disciples—loving God and loving others, as outlined in Matthew 22:34-40. This connection underscores that love lies at the heart of God’s design for sexuality; the acts of loving God and loving others are fundamental and interwoven elements in this design. That understanding inspired our conference theme: Embracing Love & Sexuality: His Plan–Our Joy.
Surrender
We are ALL sinners (Romans 3:23), and we are ALL tempted to sin—temptations both from outside self (Ephesians 6:11-12) and from inside self (James 1:13-14). We believe that the way forward for ALL is to surrender one’s entire life—including one’s sexuality—to Jesus Christ as Savior AND Lord (John 3:16; Romans 6:22-23), and live by the power of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16-24).
We ALL need the love, grace and mercy, forgiveness, and gift of salvation through Jesus Christ (Acts 2:37-38; 1 John 4:9-10; Ephesians 2:8). Following Jesus is voluntary, not mandatory—it’s a choice. We accept that there are those who will accept and those who will reject Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Moreover, we accept that it’s the Holy Spirit, not us, who convicts and transforms (Romans 8:9-17; 2 Corinthians 3:18).
Those in whom Christ Jesus abides and who abide in Christ Jesus (John 15:4-5), become new creations—the old is passed away and the new is come (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our unity with Christ defines our identity, which is rooted in Him. And through Him, ALL things are possible (Luke 18:27)!!!
Compassion Without Compromise
When considering how loving God connects with loving others, Jesus Christ serves as our example. He cared deeply for people, all while consistently living harmoniously with and remaining open to God's guidance. His compassion never came at the expense of his core values—loving without sacrificing God’s truth/principles for living (John 5:19; John 14:23-26; Matthew 6:10; Matthew 7:21; Luke 9:26).
Acknowledgements
The successful realization of this conference was the result of collaborative efforts among numerous individuals, groups, and organizations. We would like to formally recognize those whose contributions ensured its success.
Host Venue
We extend our sincere appreciation to Pastor Christian Martin, the Board of Elders, the Church Board, and the congregation of Living Hope Seventh-day Adventist Community Church for graciously hosting GDFS-2 at their facility located at 5235 Merchants View Square in Haymarket, Virginia. The venue provided an ideal setting for the conference.
Speakers
We appreciate Jennifer Jill Schwirzer, LPC, EdD, Counselor and Founder of Abide Network, for her presentation on identity, and Michael Carducci, Co-Founder, Senior Speaker, and Executive Director of Ministry Development at Coming Together Ministries, for his talk about relating with people in the LGBTQ+ community.
Facilitators
After each presentation, four breakout sessions took place. We would like to thank the following individuals for skillfully guiding these groups (clockwise from top left):
On-Call Counselor
We also extend our appreciation to Heidi Martin, MSW, LCSW, Youth Sabbath School Division Leader and Music Ministry Committee Chair at Living Hope SDA Community Church, who was present on-site and served as our on-call counselor for attendees.
Meeting Planner
We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to Chariolett M. Johnson, CFMP, CMP, MTA, Owner & Principal Event Planner at CharMari Events, for her outstanding leadership and expertise during the entire event planning process. She played an essential role as a member of the GDFS-2 Planning Committee. If you are looking for experienced and dependable event support, CharMari Events comes highly recommended.
Volunteer Contributions to GDFS-2
Many volunteers played a crucial role in both the planning and execution of GDFS-2. Their dedication and hard work were pivotal to the event's overall success.
Well ahead of the conference, a group of committed individuals formed a planning committee to oversee every detail of the event. While some members were part of the team from the inception, others joined as preparations progressed, and a few had to step away before the conference for various reasons. At the time of the conference, the committee consisted of:
In addition to the Planning Committee, a remarkable group of volunteers contributed their time and energy to manage the on-site aspects of the event. These individuals assisted with setup and takedown, as well as other aspects of event management.
Special recognition is due to:
The success of GDFS-2 would not have been possible without the commitment and contributions of these dedicated volunteers.
Sponsors and Vendors
And last, but by no means least, we gratefully acknowledge our sponsors and vendors.
To Learn More
For further information on this subject, as well as additional resources about sexuality and transformative change, please visit our Online Resource Center.
We welcome your comments on this blog, particularly if you participated in the conference.
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