I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas!

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So, I'm just wondering, are anyone else's children playing the song "I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas" at unexpected, random times throughout the day for the past week, simply so that it gets stuck in your head and you can't stop singing it the rest of the day?

 No?

 I didn't think so.

 (Go ahead and take the challenge: Listen to this song once and see if you don't sing it the rest of the day, too.  That little, warbly, chipmunk voice rattling around in your brain.  And yeah, I know, this is a cruel and inhumane challenge.  I'm sorry!  But if I gotta suffer, I'm takin' you all down with me!😏)

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Giggle Translate #18: Yes, I am a Christian, but...

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Here's the original stuff I wrote on my blogs (and then I'll Giggle Translate it) : Yes, I am a rock-solid Christian, but sometimes I just want to do bad things.    I want to say bad words and watch bad movies and listen to bad music and drink bad things and be all mean and cranky toward annoying people. But what I usually end up doing is just watching my 80’s movies, listening to my 80’s music really loudly, drinking no more than an ounce-and-a-half of mildly-alcoholic hard cider (because I really don’t like alcohol ... honestly, I drink no more than one bottle of hard cider a year!), muttering bad words under my breath, and telling my husband all of the whip-smart, snarky things I wanted to tell others but didn’t think of till it was too late. And it’s a good thing that I don’t think of all the smart-mouthed things until it’s too late or else I might end up saying them out loud.    Because while I am a buttoned-up, walk-the-line, stoic, straight-arrow kind of...
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This One's For You! (A Christmas Sermon)

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Did you ever listen to a sermon where you felt as if God was saying "This one's for you"?  I've never looked up Willow Creek sermons before, but for some reason I decided to watch one yesterday.  And you know what?  This one was meant for me.  It really hit me in the heart.  Watch it; it's good.  In fact, I couldn't stop thinking about it all day and into the night.  (Skip to the 35-minute mark to start the sermon.) "Christmas at the movies: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (December 18, 2022)" (Willow Creek Huntley YouTube channel) Merry Christmas, Everyone! [FYI: I've written before about how I disagree with woman being head pastors.  And it seems that, at Willow, the head pastor is a man but there are several teaching pastors under him, including women.  To me, that's a gray area.  And I'm not sure yet what I think of it.  But  since it doesn't break my hardline, definitive "no woman head pastor" rule , I've decided to ...
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A Website Worth Visiting: Hoppers Crossing Christian Church

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I recently found a good website that has lots of information about the dangers and errors of Calvinism:  Hoppers Crossing Christian Church .  (Also try this link for blog post.) I decided to leave a comment for them, telling them a bit about my church's experience with Calvinism and thanking them for speaking against it.  It's always encouraging to find others who have come to the same conclusion about Calvinism that we did, simply by comparing it to what the Bible says.   And they replied with a long, well-written response which I think should be out there for people to read.  They gave me permission to post their response here.  And so here is our brief exchange on Calvinism.      My comment to them: Thank you for taking the time to research Calvinism so thoroughly and for being bold enough to speak against it.  I am currently trying to do the same thing ( https://mycrazyfaith.blogspot.com ).  I'm sure my story is ...
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Calvinist Comments: Hiding "God Causes" Under Other Phrases

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I can't remember which Soteriology 101 post these comments are from, but read this exchange between Calvinists and non-Calvinists.  (I added my own notes in between.)  Note how convoluted the Calvinist view is, how he tries to cover up Calvinism's view of "God preplanned and causes and controls everything " with various words and layers, such as "God understands ... gives freedom ... permitted ... helps ... enables, etc."   But underneath it all (underneath every Calvinist attempt to sound like they believe in free-will, in our ability to make choices) is "God preplanned everything and causes exactly what He preplanned, causing man to do what he does, and no one can choose to do anything differently" - a very essential, fundamental Calvinist belief that they disguise with all sorts of "free-will" words and phrases.   First, a non-Calvinist (anti-Calvinist), BR.D. made this comment:   ‘For example – where Calvin’s god DECR...
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Calvin's Contradictions (simplified)

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  In the comment section of a Soteriology 101 post -  Flowers Man Bad  - someone (Simon Peter) was defending John Calvin, quoting him as saying  "the gate of salvation is open to all," making it sound like he thought Calvin really taught that salvation is truly available for all and possible for all.   I replied that Calvin contradicts himself in his writing, and so I wouldn't believe what he said in one place because he would contradict it or qualify it or add another layer to it in another place, changing what he originally said.   Simon Peter replied: " A sign of being a great scholar is the ability to change one’s mind and improve one’s system of thought. Calvin had that ability, as did Luther and many other great theologians.  In this light I would ask you to demonstrate the alleged contradictions from Calvin’s writings?" I'm guessing he thought that I made a baseless, ignorant comment, that I didn't have anything to back me up. And so I...
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Christian Testimony: Evangeline - "My Testimony: Lust, Drugs, Depression, Heartbreak, New Age to Jesus Christ"

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This is Evangeline's 23-minute testimony .  This is her first YouTube video, posted October 27, 2020 ... so let's show her some encouragement! In this video, she shares honestly and openly about how she grew up in a Christian home but drifted from the Lord, getting involved with drugs and men, making mistakes along the way.  She shares how she realized that her self-worth was wrapped up in these relationships but that they were not truly fulfilling to her.  At least not in the way we need to be fulfilled deep in our souls.  Only God, only Jesus Christ, can do that! I think there's a lot of wisdom in what she says about "I surrender!... I can't do this; take it from me!"  That is a point I think God takes us all to eventually - the point of choosing to either let Him be God or not.   It's not always easy.  In fact, it seldom is.  Learning to die to self.  To let God be God. To let go of the things we hold onto dearly, the things we think ...
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A Few Good TobyMac Songs

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Get Back Up Again    (God allows U-Turns!  There's always hope, always forgiveness, always a new day.) Hold On (The pain won't last forever.  And His mercies are new every morning.)  Break Open The Sky (Amen, Come, Lord Jesus!)
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Calvinist Comments: A God of Love?

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I will be posting some interactions between Calvinists and non-Calvinists from the comment sections of various Soteriology 101 posts.  It's interesting and informative to see the actual things that Calvinists themselves say about the Gospel and God, and to see how non-Calvinists respond.  (I made minor edits for clarity.  And for those who are not aware of my position on this: I am a strong anti-Calvinist.  I believe Calvinism distorts the Gospel horribly.  We recently left our home church of almost 20 years because of the newish, dogmatic Calvinist pastor who came on board.  And I have been researching it deeply and writing against it ever since he started preaching.) This interaction is from "5 Reasons Why I Stayed Out of Calvinism" : A non-Calvinist, Graceadict, made this comment: "Calvinism creates a god that is NOT a god of love….” And Calvinist Jtleosala responds:  1. Then, your claim that God loves all humanity is a “...
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