Encouraging Songs for the Hurting!

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A couple of encouraging videos by Matthew West:

Having Broken Pieces doesn't mean being hopeless or useless.  

In fact, God is in the business of using broken pieces to make some of His greatest creations.  

And with His help and healing touch, broken becomes Mended!

Most Popular Posts of the Week:

Updated: Alana L. 5R (no freedom needed)

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Point #5 still (updated) :   R:  "Sovereign, sovereign, sovereign, sovereign."     [A continuation of the last post on  "robots" , with more quotes to show what I mean.]   Not only do Calvinists believe that God - in His "sovereignty" - predetermines/orchestrates our sins but then punishes us for sinning, but they also believe (and this is downright crazy to me) that true human freedom is  not even a necessary condition  for accountability and responsibility.  They  don't think that  we need to have the real ability to make real free decisions among real options in order for God to hold us truly responsible for what we do.   But they think that we can be held accountable for sin simply because we had  the desire to disobey God, because we did what we "wanted" to do - even though, in Calvinism, God determined we'd want to do it.    Reformed commenter  Tiny-Development3598  said this in a...
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Anti-Calvinism Links

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This is the last half of the post "What's The Best Way To Make People Agree With Your Calvinist Views."   But I put it here in its own post so that it's easier to find. These are some links to posts which are against Calvinism, the belief that the Bible teaches God has predetermined from the beginning of time who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.  It's no secret from my writing that I strongly disagree with this view.  I believe the Bible clearly teaches that God offers us all salvation, that Jesus's death paid for everyone's sins, and that we have to decide if we will accept Him or reject Him.  And here is some of what others have to say about Calvinism: (FYI, I haven't read everything in all of these yet and I don't necessarily agree with every point they make, but I needed to link to them before I lost them online.  And for the record, I came to my belief about what the Bible says by reading the Bible, not extra-biblical books or articles...
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#2: Embracing Hope, Jan. 2016 (repost)

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[Reposted from my other blog, from January 2016.  This comes shortly after the "Wrestling With God" post, the summer when I found myself utterly discouraged by life, by gardening.  When it seemed like one thing after the next just kept going wrong.  This was my call to hope again.   Update:   I mentioned in the last post that my mom is currently trying to drink herself to death.  I got a call last night that she was found unconscious at a friend's house after drinking since 10 a.m. that morning and taking a bunch of Librium.  They called me last night to tell me that she was in the hospital with a blood alcohol level of 375, unconscious, and not breathing on her own.  (A couple days ago, she went in with level of 400.)  They had to put tubes in her lungs to keep her alive.  It's the fourth time, they said, that the ambulance was called on her in about a week.  I tell ya, it seems almost supernatural that she hasn't died yet....
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#1 Wrestling With God, 2015 (repost)

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[ I wrote this post in August of 2015.  But I am reposting it because I need to read it again.  I guess I need to read it again because life sometimes feels like one big "wrestling with God" match.  Wrestling with faith.  With life.   As I look back on these past several years, I am kinda amazed at how things turn out.  Or ... how they don't, I should say.  How real and raw and messy life can be sometimes.  These next numbered posts are taken from over these last few years, showing the progression of life, of the unexpected, of the "wrestling with God, faith, and life" moments.  This one goes up to August 2015, how beaten up I've felt over the years up till then.  And then comes the post about the hope I had that 2016 would be better.  And then comes 2016 - the worst summer of my life.  A life-changer for me.  And then, well, I'm not sure yet what I am putting after that.  But I'm reposting these because it's fasci...
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Calvinism: Abusing God's Sovereignty to Defend Its Heresy

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I believe that many - if not most - Calvinists are Calvinists simply because they think it means believing that God is sovereign.  They say "Well, I believe God is sovereign, so I guess I'm a Calvinist then."  (I think this is how many people get trapped in Calvinism.) And so they think that if you aren't a Calvinist or if you are an anti-Calvinist (as I am!), then you do not believe that God is sovereign, that you are rejecting God's authority and control, that you are elevating yourself above God. But this is not necessarily true.  Many of us anti-Calvinists are not anti-God's-sovereignty; we are simply against the Calvinist's misunderstanding of sovereignty. You see, Calvinism defines sovereignty as God must cause and control everything that happens, that nothing can happen that He doesn't actively cause.  And so therefore, there can be no free-will.  People cannot have the ability to make decisions because if there is one decision that God does...
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More Anti-Calvinism Memes #8

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I think these are the last of the Anti-Calvinism memes for now.  When I get creative, I'll make more. Hmm!?! So you're a Calvinist? That would be great ... That face you make ... So let me get this straight ... See, nobody cares! Still waiting ... Calvinism:  One does not simply ... Look at this Calvinist world ... When A Calvinist Hears ... Tell me again ... The bookcase I told you ... WRONG! Santa Claus A "Secret" Will Hard To Swallow Pills How Calvinism Was Created and Two Calvinists Talking...   (Yeah, yeah ... I know ... they're childish and mean.  But I couldn't help it.  They basically wrote themselves.  If it makes you happy, you can choose to substitute "Free-Will" in there for Calvinism.  But I like these the way they are.  Makes me giggle.) Then why fight it ... . When it turns ugly
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#3: My Panic Attack, June 2016 (repost)

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[Reposted from June 2016.  Sometimes, just when you think, hope, and pray that things are finally going to start looking up for you, everything gets worse.  So much worse.  As seen in the last numbered post , I started off 2016 with the word "hope," thinking that maybe it meant the year would be better than the previous ones.  And then ... I had the worst summer of my life.  A real life-changer, heart-changer.  I guess maybe "hope," for me, was the kind in Romans 5:3-5 .  It's starts with suffering, which brings perseverance, which creates character, which develops hope.  Hope in what exactly?  I'm not sure.  Maybe just hope that God is always with you, no matter what.  Hope that He will work all the good into bad.  Hope that you'll make it through one more day .  And so here it is - my panic attack.  The terrible summer that came after starting off my year with "hope."  If you've ever had a panic attack, maybe...
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Sermons by Tony Evans (repost)

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Tony Evans is my all-time favorite pastor.  He always gives messages that convict, challenge, and comfort.  Find some great sermons on  his YouTube channel and be encouraged.   There are so many great ones to choose from.   You can't go wrong with any video of his.  I found him to be the most biblically-accurate preacher (especially as I researched Calvinism and found out how wrong it is), who is also great at helping us practically apply God's truths to life. [Update: I removed the list of sermons I originally had here because most links were broken.]
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A cool LOTR channel

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I just found this YouTube channel that takes deep dives into The Lord of the Rings, and I'm really enjoying it (even if it is AI sound and images): The Sundered Age I've only seen two videos so far, but they are insightful, profound, and quite touching.  If you are a massive LOTR fan like I am, check them out and see what you think. Here are the two I watched: Why Galadriel Was the Most Dangerous Person in Middle earth | LOTR Lore Gandalf Would Have Been Worse Than Sauron! | LOTR Lore These videos aren't from a Christian perspective or anything (at least I don't think so), but it still relates in my mind, illustrating how wise and good God is to create people with free-will, instead of dominating everyone with His sovereign control.  (And at the same time, it illustrates how wrong it is for the Calvinist god to deny people true free-will, to control our wills so that we can only think and do what he decrees us to do.)  
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Motherhood Matters To The Ones Who Matter Most!

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Motherhood: It's not just something to do while you wait for a "real job" to come along. Motherhood IS the job - the job that matters most. Pour your heart into it.  Give it your all, your best.  "Just a mom" is an incredible privilege and a blessed responsibility.  Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Y ou might feel like you don't mean much to the world, but you can bet that you mean the world to your children! Make choices that honor their love for you, that show how much you value your children and your role as the only mother they have. I am proud to be a mother!
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