Did He Visit My Church?

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Too funny!  Did the writer of this satirical article visit my church during my pastor's 8-month-long series on Romans?  

 I am absolutely convinced that my dogmatically-predestination pastor did a series on Romans specifically so he could talk about predestination for EIGHT MONTHS.

 (The good thing that came out of it is that I ended up thoroughly researching this issue and studying the Bible to come to the conclusion that I don't believe God predestines whether we go to heaven or hell.)

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Jill 4 Today: Around the world in 80 breads

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While researching bread-baking around the world, I stumbled on this YouTube channel -  Jill 4 Today  - and I just have to say that I'm really enjoying her.  A lot of fun to watch.  And I love when older women do videos like these because it feels very homey, very grandmotherly.    I'm especially interested in her new series "Around the world in 80 breads."  And I love it that she makes some of these breads for the first time on camera, leaving in the doubts and mistakes and all.  Amusing and charming. Anyway, I'd love for her to actually do all 80 breads, but she doesn't think she'll get to them all.  So if anyone else is interested in this too, support her channel and send her some comments to encourage her to actually do all 80.  It'd be fun to see. Here are the three breads she's done so far: #1 No-knead French bread #2 Icelandic Rye Bread  (just listening to their reactions as they eat it makes me want to try it too) #3 German B...
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"Honestly, I Need To Be Broken"

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(A post from my other blog , written March 2, 2022.  I was only adding new posts to that blog at the time, so that's why it wasn't posted here earlier.) I would like to dedicate the following song to anyone who is breaking down right now - like how I broke down this past weekend, sobbing to my husband about everything that's wrong in life and then vomiting uncontrollably for 11 hours because of tension in my neck that triggers my "throw up" button.   Is anyone else exhausted from trying to bear up under the pressures of this fallen, evil, upside-down, post-Covid world, from watching all their expectations crumble, from feeling like the future is just one big blackhole for you and your kids, from not knowing where to turn or what to do or how to do it anymore, and from knowing that you have to  testify against a close relative  in court very soon?  (Okay, maybe that last one is just me.   I've been dizzy every day since just hours before I got the ...
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An Open Letter to Christian Churches Doing Yoga

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We haven't set foot in a church for a Sunday service since we left ours in 2019.  We were just so burned out on churches after dealing with the Calvinism that took over ours (and discouraged about how much it's spreading to many churches) that we simply stayed home and watched Tony Evans' sermons online (and we met with another family for Bible study for over a year, until they found a church to attend).   But recently, we decided to check out a church, just to see.  And it was good.  Not perfect, but good.  We're not necessarily looking to make a church home out of it, but we just need a little something right now.  And this was good enough.  But on the way out, I saw a flyer for upcoming events at their church, and one thing they offered was a "Christian Yoga" class.  That, to me, is a huge no-no, something Christians should not engage in.  But they do.  All over the place.  With no sense of it being wrong.   In f...
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Why is Calvinism so dangerous? #9 (Love and justice)

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  [In this series, I'm breaking the long post   "Why is Calvinism so dangerous?"   into bite-sized pieces.] 9. The Bible says ...  God shows H is love and His j ustice by sending Jesus to the cross to pay for our sins. But Calvinism says ...  God shows His love by saving the elect (and by caring for the non-elect on earth)  and He shows His justice by damning  the non-elect to hell for their sins/unbelief. Calvinists know the Bible says "For God so loved the world ...", and so to appear biblical they say "Of course, God loves everyone."  But secretly, they believe in  two different kinds  of love: a "salvation" kind of love for the elect and a mere "kindness" kind of love for the non-elect.   He shows His l ove to the elect  by predestining  them to heaven, but He shows His "love" to the   non-elect merely by providing  for their needs while t hey're on earth (before sending them to eternal hell for being th...
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Things My Calvinist Pastor Said #4: God's Love Saves Some But Not Others

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(This "Things My Calvinist Pastor Said" series is a breakdown on this much longer post:  "We Left Our Church Because of Calvinism,"  which was written last year but updated July 2020.  They are almost exact quotes.  All memes were created with  imgflip .) 4.   "God didn't have to save any of us.  But in His love and sovereignty, He chose to elect some to salvation, even though we are depraved and wicked and in rebellion against Him.  But none of us deserve to be saved; we all deserve hell.  So the real question isn't 'Why would God predestine some people to hell.'  It's 'Why did God elect any of us for heaven when no one deserves it?'"               That's right, make people feel like they can't ask the hard questions.  And deflect away from the bad stuff.  It's much easier to sell your poison when you hide the skull-and-crossbones!             [Skille...
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Delightful Wanderings in the Lost Forest

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It's a dreary, rainy, cool day here - one of my favorite kinds of days.  So I brewed a hot cup of Pumpkin Spice tea (The Republic of Tea brand - so good!) with a dash of milk and sugar and nestled in for a half-hour of wandering through the Lost Forest , a YouTube channel I recently found. Such simple videos from a woman in Ireland (I've always wanted to visit there, I have strong Irish roots) who records scenes from her day as she visits her garden (where her cats meander), her jewelry studio, nearby cottages and castles and landscapes, etc.  It's delightful and relaxing - no speaking, no faces, no chaos, just gentle music and simple captions at the bottom of the screen sharing her thoughts. If you've got an extra 15-30 minutes in your day and need to relax, grab a cup of tea or coffee (or maybe you prefer lemonade), and spend some quiet time wandering the Irish countryside. Here's the newest video I just watched: Visit an Irish Cottage, A Cosy Day in Autumn [Note:...
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Tony Evans Preaches on Prayer and God's Will

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I am always thankful for Tony Evans' preaching.  He understands the Word and God's character correctly.  He preaches a view of God and Scripture that accurately reflects truth, that affects us and our faith in practical ways, that fills me with hope, and that makes sense ! Unlike Calvinism.  Unlike my Calvinist pastor.   I have been so discouraged by the constant hammering of Calvinism at our church - the sick twisting of Scripture, the damaging distortion of God's good character and amazing gifts, the hopelessness that Calvinism is - that I don't listen to our pastor anymore.  Because when I did, it would leave me angry for days.  (Angry ... but motivated to see what the Bible really says.  So that's a good thing.) And so I listen to Tony Evans' sermons online instead.  And it feels like a breath of fresh air.  Like I can breathe again.  Like I am not so crazy for disagreeing with Calvinism.  Because Calvinism is wrong! ...
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When Sunday Comes

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First: The last scene of the Passion of the Christ (7 minutes long)  Today, let's remember why Jesus came to earth, died, and rose again: “… ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the whole world.”  ( John 1:29 ) "For what I received I passed onto you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures,"  ( 1 Cor. 15:3-4 ) “Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.”  ( Romans 5:18 ) "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies,"  ( John 11:25 ) “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”  ( Ephesians 1:7 ) “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the t...
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List of Calvinist Preachers, Authors, Theologians, Websites, etc.

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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 ...
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War Rooms, Praying Scripture, and Spiritual Warfare (repost)

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I strongly believe that there are angels and demons.  That prayer matters.  That there is a spiritual battle going on around us all the time ... and that we need to get involved in it, actively and consciously.  (Something I haven't been doing lately.)   Regardless of if we want it or not, we are constantly facing spiritual battles.  But if we don't acknowledge it - if we stick our heads in the sand, refuse to get involved, fail to put on our spiritual armor or to use the spiritual weapons available to us - we open ourselves up to deceptions, to defeat, to being very vulnerable to the strategies and attacks of the evil one.  You can't win a battle you don't even know you're in.  You can't defeat an enemy you pretend isn't there. What I have done here is compile a list of posts on spiritual warfare, on praying Scripture, and on creating a War Room (or War Journal). Have you ever seen  War Room ? You should.  It's a great movie.  And it is...
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