Christmas in July #1

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This is one of the most beautiful Christmas songs out there.  And it deserves to be played all year.  It's so beautiful, it brings me to tears.  And I imagine that this is how heaven will sound ...

Christmas Canon by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. 

 (And for the equally-great, more rockin' version - Christmas Canon Rock. Oh my goodness, it makes my heart want to burst! Too much beauty!) 

Most Popular Posts of the Week:

Cindy's Comment on Theistic Evolution vs. A Literal Genesis

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(Happy 4th, America!  I'm sorry for what's being done to you.) There's a comment from someone named Cindy in the comment section of a post on theistic evolution vs. a literal Genesis.   (Actually, the post is really just a nasty attack on Ken Ham.)  Since the author of that blog stopped allowing comments on that post - it appears she didn't want any more opposing voices - I wanted to post the comment I like and agree with here, since I couldn't agree with it there.   [Note: I have linked to this blog before when it comes to Calvinism, but I don't like the tone the author is taking in the post I linked to above, her attacks on Ken Ham and those who believe in a young earth, that God created the universe in 6 days.  (For the record, I really like and respect Ken Ham, and I agree with him.)  I'm not sure what her deal is, but it bothers me.  And I find it a little concerning that after her strong stances against Calvinism, she would affirm a Calvinis...
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#6: When You Don't Feel Like You're Enough, August 2017 (repost)

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[Reposted from August 5, 2017.  I had my panic attack the summer of 2016.  I remember it took me about six months to not feel absolute panic every morning, to be able to wake up without feeling terror at the thought that I had to face another day, another chance for something bad to happen.  And it took me even longer to be able to really smile again, to feel a little lightness in my spirit, to be able to breathe again.  I mean, of course, I smiled before that.  I acted like I was okay.  But I didn't feel like smiling or being happy for the longest time.  I was just too afraid of life - too discouraged by life - to be able to smile.  This post was written as I was still working towards being "normal," as I worked on protecting my faith after the previous summer.  The way I see it, my life has been marked by that panic attack.  It's now "BPA" (Before Panic Attack) or "APA" (After Panic Attack).  That summer was just such a life- and...
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Alana L: 5l (educated into Calvinism)

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This series is based on this 14-minute video from Alana L.:   5 Signs Your Loved One is Becoming a Calvinist   Point #5 Still: L.   I agree with Alana that Calvinism contradicts the plain, clear, commonsense understanding of Scripture, and that we have to be taught to find Calvinism in the Bible because it's not there.   And even the Calvinists know this!   In  Doctrine of Election , Calvinist A.W. Pink says  " Unless we are privileged to sit under the ministry of some Spirit-taught servant of God, who presents the truth   [the doctrine of election]   to us systematically, great pains and diligence are called for in the searching of the Scriptures, so that we may collect and tabulate their scattered statements on this subject. It has not pleased the Holy Spirit to give us one complete and orderly setting forth of the doctrine of election, but instead 'here a little, there a little...  No novice is competent to present this subject ...
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More Creation Videos We Watched

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A couple good videos my kids and I just watched as part of our homeschooling day: Did Dinosaurs Walk With Man  - a 45-minute seminar from Genesis Apologetics God of Wonders - an hour and a half "documentary" on the wonders of the God's creation (Also see this other post of mine for more creation videos we watched: Starting the new school year with Creation vs Evolution .)
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Napoleon's Comment about Jesus

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  I love this quote from Napoleon: "Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires.  But on what did we rest the creations of our genius?  Upon force.  Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for him."  Sadly, I think many Christians are more willing to die for Him than to really  live  for Him.  Dying for Him is usually theoretical, but living for Him would require a lot of actual, real-life changes. Will you be counted among the faithful ones?  The ones willing to die for Him  and  live for Him? I know I share these songs often, but they're worth it:   Oh, What Love  and  Sweetly Broken .    And how about one more: Fearless . (repost)
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Should Christians Worry About Being Left Behind? (repost)

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This won't be popular or make people happy but ... Yes, I think Christians need to be concerned about the possibility of being left behind.  This is my opinion.  I cannot say for sure that it's what's really going to happen.  And I'm still considering it all.  But the more I read the Bible, the more I wonder if it shows that not all Christians will go up in the rapture. Of course, unbelievers will be left behind.  Those who have rejected Jesus's offer of salvation and grace and mercy, who have rejected the offer God gives the faithful church to be spared from the coming wrath. But I think it's possible that there will be Christians left behind, too, sp ecifically those who choose their life on earth over the Lord, those who are living disobediently and for themselves, those who compromise or alter Scripture so it says what they want, and those who think they are Christian but really aren't. And what Scripture is there to support this possibility? 1.  ...
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No Masks Allowed!

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           I’ve talked before about the need to get real with God.   But I think that we Christians also need to do better at being real with each other.   Why can’t we Christians just admit that we are broken, hurting people too, that we are sinful and need help?               Why do we act like we can do it all on our own and like we can handle everything with grace and style and a smile on our faces?   Why do we spend so much time and energy polishing up our outsides?   Is it t o earn approval?   To make God happy and proud of us?   To impress others?   To feel better about ourselves?   To look better than others?             Honestly, all we are doing is hurting everyone.   When we are not real, we miss out on a genuine relationship with God and others. ...
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Is God Drawing Lines in the Sand?

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(reposted from a few years ago, updated slightly) It’s amazing and disturbing how brazen our society is in attacking everything about God and everything He created:  marriage, monogamy, sex, family, sexuality, the scientific reality of gender, morality, modesty, the value of a person, the right to life, the existence of "right and wrong," the Bible, Jesus, and Absolute Truth.  Not to mention God Himself, His very existence. We are destroying everything associated with Him (except nature – we worship that), and then we call ourselves "progressive." But you know what I think about it all?   I think that God is letting it happen because He is drawing lines in the sand.  Through all these divisive issues and all the immorality, God is saying “Pick a side!  I am forcing you to decide which side you want to be on ... because I am coming back soon to take My people out of here.  So I need you all to decide:  Me or the world?  Which do ...
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And Yet Again - 21 More Anti-Calvinism Memes

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I giggle making these.  Helps me blow off steam. Only if you're elected ... So you're a Calvinist? Except for you ... "I love being a Calvinist" First I'll tell them ... Said Jesus Never! We Calvinists say ... The bookcase Researching John Calvin Snap Out Of It The Pro-Calvinism Meme Absolutely Sure ... Calvinist Lunatic If you want people ... Another Predestination Sermon It's called "Calvinism" Lucky Dude "All" Means "Some" God "In Control" "Total depravity" (AKA "Total Inability" - a concept NOT found in the Bible anywhere!) It's be...
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What Will The Rapture Be Like? (repost)

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So what will the rapture be like? Answer: I don't know. There is no way to know exactly what the rapture will be like until it happens.  So this is only my opinion, based on Scripture, as best I understand it.   Here are some passages I believe refer to the rapture (though many others believe some of these refer to events during the tribulation) :   "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air."   ( 1 Thess. 4:16-17 .  Definitely the rapture.) " Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." ...
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