When You're Discouraged By The Hard Days

-
For an encouraging reminder that we don't always know why things happen or how they will work out, but we can trust that God is always working all things for good:  
The White Horse Maxim by Ann Voskamp.

Most Popular Posts of the Week:

List of Calvinist Preachers, Authors, Theologians, Websites, etc.

-
I  found a lot more names to add to my list of known Calvinists (found in my various  "How to Tell if a Church, Pastor, or Website is Calvinist"  posts).  But instead of adding this huge list to all those posts, I am going to put it here, and I'll just provide a link on those posts to this one.  [FYI: I added a note at the bottom of this post on May 5, 2021.] So here it is, a "master list" of known Calvinists to help you be careful and discerning about who you listen to and where you get your theology from.  There are plenty more Calvinists out there, but these are just the names that I ran across the most.   These are either definite, self-professed Calvinists or "most likely Calvinist," in my estimation.  (I haven't heard of most of them, but it's good to know their theology before I do.)   After finding these names in various places online, I looked up each person to see if they are Calvinist.  If they did not self-identify ...
Read more

Updated: Alana L. 5K "sovereign"

-
Image
[I redid Point #5 and #6 in the Alana L. series on my other blog (and re-lettered the posts).  But instead of going back and changing the already-posted points on this blog, I'll just add the posts in their own little "series."  Some of this stuff is in the already-published posts on this blog, but a lot is new and/or changed.  FYI: I've already got the posts in this series preset to be published every other week up into late 2026.  So there will be a long series of posts about Calvinism coming up, but with some non-series/non-Calvinism posts thrown in now and then for variety or fun.]   Point #5:  K : "Sovereign, sovereign, sovereign, sovereign."     Hahaha, Alana nailed this one!   And as she said,  "What many new Calvinists don't understand, and what they'll learn little by little by little - because if they were told this in the beginning they probably would catch on a little too quick and not follow the path  [Bi...
Read more

Calvinist Hogwash #1 (God and sin/suffering)

-
Image
Subtitle:  "Calvinists say the stupidest things"  Sub-subtitle:  "Yes, Calvinists really do teach this stuff"  Sub-sub-subtitle:  "You're probably gonna wanna take a shower when you're doing reading"    This is the first of a series of posts o f Calvinist quotes that reveal Calvinism's true colors, that show what it really believes underneath all the sugar-coating, and that show how deceptive it is.   (I'll keep my comments to a minimum here, but I did add some emphasis,  in bold,  from time to time.  I'll post one whole long post at the end of the series.)   Have a filthy, stinkin' good time rolling around in this pig-slop.  (And then go take a shower.) But first... I want to start with some quotes from those who've been hurt by Calvinism, to show the damage Calvinism can do to people and their faith.  (Of course, Calvinists would probably just claim these are non-elect people anyway.).    A ...
Read more

Using Scripture in Spiritual Battles

-
If there is one thing I have been learning as I have faced the spiritual battles of depression and anxiety, it’s this:   I NEED GOD’S WORD. I used to see God’s Word as a good guidebook for life.   And, yes, it is that.   And, yes, it is a history lesson and a prophecy of things to come and God’s message of love, redemption, and salvation.   But it is still more than all that.   Ephesians 6:17 identifies the Word as the “sword of the Spirit.”   Along with prayer, it is the only offensive weapon we have in the spiritual battle.   The other pieces of “armor” (read Ephesians 6) are defensive, meant to help us resist the attacks of Satan.   But prayer and the Word (and the Holy Spirit) are meant to help us advance against him, to strike back.   The Word is a sword . . . and yet so often I treat it like a pillow.   Like a nice soft, comforting, cushy thing to lay my head down on at night to help me sleep better.   I read...
Read more

"Bring me pain, Lord, if it brings You glory!"

-
(Reposted from my other blog.)  I’ve always found the statements of “I want the Lord to do whatever He wants in my life to bring Him the most glory possible, even if it means bringing me pain” to be inspirational … and a bit “off.” Wh en I was 21 (half my lifetime ago), I went to Papua New Guinea for a summer on a mission trip.    And I told my mom that I picked PNG over any other place because it was so remote and primitive.    I said that I wanted to have everything taken away to really challenge me, to grow my faith in new ways.    And I meant it.    I really did.    My heart was in the right place. But my mom said something wise, something that stuck.    She said, “Don’t ask for that!    Never ask for that!    Because He could take away everything – your legs, your eyesight, your health, your home, etc.” Wow!    So true. As I thought about it, I realized that I didn’t really want God to do...
Read more

How Would You Spend Your Last Day?

-
Okay, so today (reposted from 9/23/17) is the beginning of the end of the world, according to a Christian numerologist.  As I went to bed last night, I was thinking, "What if the world really did 'end' tomorrow?  How would we choose to spend our last day?" As I laid in bed by myself last night watching Gilmore Girls for the 832nd time while my husband and kids watched a show together in the other room, I thought about how we all had eaten dinner together earlier (homemade BBQ chicken pizza) and how hubby and I had our "mommy and daddy" time and how we were all just chillin' now with each other, hanging out in our normal low-key way, eating mint chocolate chip ice cream.  And I thought, "This is exactly how I would want to spend my last day.  If the world ended tomorrow or if the rapture really happened and Jesus came back and took my family out of here, I would be happy to end my time on earth like this."  Actually, I can t...
Read more

Help for Anxiety, Depression, and Suicidal Thoughts (repost)

-
It's so sad to hear about all the celebrities who have recently committed suicide (or about anyone who has committed suicide, for that matter).  My heart breaks for them, for the pain they went through, and for the ones who love them, for the pain they are now going through.  It is truly a tragedy. To anyone who is hurting really badly, who is struggling with overwhelming anxiety or depression, who is considering taking their own lives ... I dedicate this post.  Please, take some time to look through some of the links here.  This is a round-up of some on-line resources or posts about dealing with anxiety or depression, particularly as a Christian. But first: Quick tips for help: If you are desperate for some immediate help and don't want to look through the links I have below, try some of these (or if it's really bad and you're afraid you might hurt yourself, call 911 or go to the emergency room): 1.   Put on a worship song right now.  Or sing a...
Read more

When Calvinists say "But predestination!" (shorter, basic version)

-
Image
[I'm interrupting the Alana L. series for the much-shorter version - I said shorter, not short😉 - of my "But predestination!" series.   The longer version - full of many more Calvinist comments, my Calvinist ex-pastor's sermons, and my replies to them - can be found by  starting here .  But in this simplified version, I'm simply sharing the basics.  And I'll do a tiny version soon too, cutting out many quotes and memes.  But, oh, they add so much that it's hard to cut them out. ] At the heart of Calvinism is predestination and God's sovereignty (among other things, like "total depravity"), which according to Calvinism essentially amounts to:  "God preplans and controls everything, even sin and evil and all our decisions, and so He pre-picks who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.  He causes the 'elect' to believe in Him and be saved, but He made sure the 'non-elect' have no chance or ability to believe and be saved bec...
Read more

"Why does God care about who I sleep with?"

-
Considering the condition of the world nowadays - with its loosey-goosy morals and lack of a true, stable, meaningful foundation - I think a lot of people might find some encouragement in this sermon from Willow Creek.  For being such a sensitive topic, this pastor did a great job addressing it (though I agree with him that he could've spoken a lot longer and covered a lot more about it):  "Why does God care about who I sleep with?"  
Read more

Are We Forced To Be Obedient or Disobedient?

-
Image
(Part of the "Predestination vs. Free-Will" series) Does God cause us to be obedient or disobedient?   If you believe in predestination – that God has predetermined that some people will go to heaven but that most people will go to hell and there is nothing they can do to get to heaven – then you have to say that God ultimately causes us to either be obedient or disobedient.       But I strongly believe that we have the responsibility to decide if we will obey or disobey.   And I think the whole Bible attests to this, from the Fall . . . to the fact that God lays out “the blessings path” and “the curses path” for the Israelites to choose between . . . to the many calls to “obey” and “choose whom we will serve.”  
Read more