My Crazy Faith

And to close out July, one more Christmas song .  And a light show to go with it.  This is one of my 9-year-old's most favorite songs.  And when we play it, we play it LOUD!  (Good job, Roderique family!)

If you've read posts from this last month or so, you can tell that I write quite strongly about certain politically-charged, socially-debated issues.   But we don't often talk one-on-one with people as strongly as we write to the online mass of humanity.   For the record, I do not talk this strongly one-on-one with people.  I am very gentle and compassionate and loving when I talk to others, very much concerned for their hearts and souls and feelings.  But I do write this way to the general masses. I didn't always.  But here's why I do now: 1.   As I've said in other posts, churches and Christians have drifted too far from the truth.  They have compromised too much in order to please society, to make people feel better about their sinful choices.  And their voices are loud and convincing.  And, horrifyingly, they even use God's Word, Jesus's love, and the idea of being "gracious to others" to spread this compromised truth.   (...

So some parents are raising their children "genderless," letting the kids decide for themselves which gender they want to be.  These parents clearly think they are being open-minded and progressive, hip and cool. But when parents refuse to acknowledge the maleness or femaleness of their children, they are not so much "letting the child choose who they want to be" as they are "denying who their child really is." What a shame to be raised by parents who deny a very personal, meaningful part of you and who refuse to celebrate the boy or girl that you are! Children, you are beautiful just the way you were created.  You are perfect as you are, whether you are a boy or a girl.  Enjoy being the boy or girl you are!   Parents:   Sometimes "being progressive" is simply another way of saying "completely lacking common sense." Don't be so open-minded that your brains fall out! [Related posts:  "Gender Neutral" Nonse...

When women fight for their "reproductive rights," what they're really saying is this:  "We want the right to sleep with whomever we want, whenever we want, without having to face the consequences of our choices.  And we want the right to have everyone else pay for our expenses." But I say that a woman's reproductive right is this:  You have the right to keep your legs closed, to say "no" to random sex, and to not take the chance of getting pregnant in the first place.  You have the right to get married and create a family within the safe bounds of a committed relationship.  And if you still get pregnant even when you didn't want to, you have the right to keep the baby or give it up for adoption. "But," you say, "I have the right to do what I want with my body." "Well," I say, "a baby is not a part of your body."   Trust me, I know.  I've had four kids myself.  And never once did the doctor pro...

I love this video clip of 20-year-old Joseph O'Brien on America's Got Talent.  What a difference it makes when your singing it from the heart!  

(Oh, how we love nonsense in our country!) We women are fighting so hard to be like men, to downplay femininity, to be perceived as more masculine, to overtake any "men's realm" we find.   Because it’s “cool” and “progressive” and “strong.” But do we not realize that we are not “leveling the playing field” so much as we are destroying ourselves , the things that make women special? Women can be strong, too.   And they don’t have to be like men to do it.   Trust me, I know.  I've had four children, one by c-section and three by natural, drug-free homebirth (with over 15 hours of labor for each one).  And then I work in the home every day, all day long.  No pay.  No vacation time.  No weekends off.  No bonuses.  No overtime pay. But I do it because my family and I value my position, my role.  Even if the world doesn't. W e women can be strong and capable and accomplished in our...

When I hear reports of celebrities who are hurting, who have hit rock bottom, who are desperately searching for healing from the demons that torment them, I say a prayer for them. The latest one is Demi Lovato .  I'm sure there are a lot of people who envy celebrities, who think they live a glamorous life. I don't envy them at all.  I think living in the public eye is a terrible burden to bear.  Being followed by the paparazzi, having pictures of everything you do published for the pleasure of a voyeuristic society.  Being picked apart by every trash magazine.  Having every detail of your life examined by people who think they have a right to comment on everything you do, to judge every outfit you wear, every choice you make, every thing you say, every pound you gain. I think it's a torturous way to live.  I don't think the fame and money they get makes up for the lack of privacy.  And my heart goes out to the celebrities who want more than what ...

I had one of those moments this afternoon.  The kind that make you go, "Hmm?" I went to Walmart with my kids to buy something for my son's birthday.  I ended up parking next to a minivan that was pulled back a little farther into the lane than it should be, which I knew would make it a bit harder to see around when I backed up.  I honestly thought, Maybe I should park one spot over so it's easier to see when I back out?   But I figured I'd be fine.  I'd just be extra careful. Yeah, you know where this is going! Well, as I was backing out of the spot, I glanced in my rearview mirror and in my reverse-camera screen to make sure no one was right behind me.  Then I checked to the right and carefully to the left to make sure no cars or pedestrians were coming. "Hey kids, does anyone see a car or pers ..." Crunch! As I was easing out of the spot, with my eyes carefully on any pedestrians or cars that might be approaching, I felt and heard th...

I'll just say it honestly:   For the most part, I do not trust churches that have a woman as head pastor.  I have no plans to ever attend a church with a woman head pastor (WHP). And here's why: If the Bible teaches one thing ... and a church does the opposite ... I don't think that church can be trusted to uphold the Word of God in all areas.   When they are already compromising in one clearly taught area, they are likely to compromise in others. To me, the Bible clearly teaches that men are to have the positions of ultimate leadership in a church.   1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 state that the overseers of a church should be men.  I take this to mean that the very top people - the ones ultimately responsible for the church, the head pastors - are to be men. This "man as head leader" is also evident in the fact that Paul doesn't allow women to have authority over men in church, that God made men the head of the family, and that Jesus is the head o...

Neither my husband nor I like to put our names on things or share our email addresses easily.  But both of us signed the petition asking Disney to re-hire James Gunn as director of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies (warning: the petition contains cussing).  And here's why: First off, please understand that I do not support the jokes he made which got him fired, nor am I looking at his political views or anything else he stands for nowadays.  I am only considering the issue at hand: the jokes he made that got him fired!  (And I'm assuming that he didn't live out those jokes and isn't currently doing anything like the things he joked about.)  Of course, no one should make jokes like those, not when people have undergone serious abuse in those kinds of situations.  I think those jokes are terrible.    But ... so does he !   Disney said they fired him because his jokes are inconsistent with their values.  But he himself says that ...

While I'm not sure what all the lyrics mean, I have always loved this song.  And I've learned what it is to sing a broken Hallelujah .  (And, yes, "Christmas in July #3" was deleted because the video is no longer available.  Bummer!)

Sweetly Broken by Jeremy Riddle  - A life-changing, heart-changing song for me. Oh, What Love by The City Harmonic  - This song says it all!  Confession (Agnus Dei) by the City Harmonic   - I woke up once singing the line "Lamb of God who takes away ..." over and over again in my mind. I have loved it ever since. I AM by Crowder  - He's always there holding onto us, calling us to hold onto Him. And three for those who are hurting.  But don't listen to them unless you are hurting because you won't be in the right frame of mind to really hear it.... Love, Heal Me by the City Harmonic   The song that inspired the name of one of my blogs - my heart's cry for the past couple years. Fell Apart by the City Harmonic   One of the best opening lines ever!  These City Harmonic songs became my prayers at a time I was too broken to pray for myself. Healing Begins by Tenth Avenue North So much truth in this wonderful song. (I don't know why the stupid com...

I totally agree with this article about the dangers and insanity of the trans-gender revolution.  I would write more about it, but this says it so well that there's not much more to add. I can only hope and pray that this revolution will fail, like the title proclaims. Please note that I am not speaking against individual people who are dealing with deeply-held, trans-feelings (that's a whole other issue).  I am talking about the trans-frenzy that's going on nowadays - the push to expose children to it at younger and younger ages, to punish anyone who doesn't support them, to change our textbooks and laws to further encourage and celebrate them, to commandeer women's sports and competitions, to demote scientific fact to mere fantasy and utter nonsense, and to silence any opposition.   Having the right to live the way you want doesn't mean you get to force everyone else to celebrate your lifestyle or to deny their views in favor of yours! This "...