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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Prayer, Faith, and God's Will

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(repost, summary of “Understanding God’s Will,” Question 9, Q9a -Q9i)             “‘Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered.   ‘I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.   Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.’” ( Mark 11:22-24 )                    I have to be honest.   I struggle with this verse more than any other.   I really do.   I mean, it sounds pretty straightforward to me: believe that you’ll get what you ask for and you’ll get it.   Name it and claim it!   Sounds great!               But there’s a problem.            ...
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Links To Other Anti-Calvinism Posts

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Some of my thoughts and research on Calvinism (Why I believe it's not Scriptural!): Why is Calvinism So Dangerous? If Calvinism is true, then God is a liar! What's The Best Way To Make People Agree With Your Calvinist Views? Letter To Our Elders Regarding Calvinism Growing In Our Church Acts 13:48: Not As "Predestination" As It Sounds Sovereignty and Free-Will Working Together Anti-Calvinism Memes and Links Why Is It So Hard For Calvinists To Get Free From Calvinism? Can You Lose Your Salvation? Problems in John Calvin's  Institutes of the Christian Religion Are We Only Here For God's Glory? What About God's Love? So Job was a dimwit, huh? "Defend Your Calvinism" Challenge More Anti-Calvinism Memes.  Just for fun! Some of John Calvin's Contradicting Nonsense! How to tell if a Church, Pastor, or Website is Calvinist (extended version)  and the  (simplified version) You know what happens when you assume things!  A look at John Calvin...
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Feminism Nonsense (repost)

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(Oh, how we love nonsense in our country!) We women are fighting so hard to be like men, to downplay femininity, to be perceived as more masculine, to overtake any "men's realm" we find.   Because it’s “cool” and “progressive” and “strong.” But do we not realize that we are not “leveling the playing field” so much as we are destroying ourselves , the things that make women special? Women can be strong, too.   And they don’t have to be like men to do it.   Trust me, I know.  I've had four children, one by c-section and three by natural, drug-free homebirth (with over 15 hours of labor for each one).  And then I work in the home every day, all day long.  No pay.  No vacation time.  No weekends off.  No bonuses.  No overtime pay. But I do it because my family and I value my position, my role.  Even if the world doesn't. W e women can be strong and capable and accomplished in our...
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Be Wary Of The Christian Post

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(Written 6/15/18)  Occasionally, I check in with the Christian Post to see what's going on in the world that specifically relates to Christians.  And generally, I've never really had any red flags go up about this website ... until now. A recent article by Stoyan Zaimov, with a title that starts "Christian Lesbian rock star ..." goes on to share this woman's story about being assaulted by a male priest when she was young.   However, I don't think the reason for this article is to talk about the abuse she suffered and her courage in speaking up.  I think this is a deliberate attempt to affirm Christian homosexuality.  The very fact that they put "Christian" and "lesbian" in the title makes it sound like it's indeed possible to be a Christian and a practicing homosexual who sees no need to change. And it seems to me that this article paints her in a heroic light, as though she is in the right and should be applauded and e...
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"Home Church" and Worship Songs

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Since   we left our church   in May 2019, we have been staying home   watching sermons online   as a family.  And I've loved it.  I could finally breathe and feel my soul starting to come alive again after years of being suffocated by and angry about  the wretched Calvinism   growing in our church.  I would rather be home alone with my family every Sunday than spend one more week listening to that Calvinist garbage! However, I have often thought that it would be nice to meet with at least one other family, doing like a "home church" thing, watching sermons online and discussing them, or just reading the Bible and discussing it amongst ourselves. And thankfully, we recently met up with another family who has also wanted to do that too, to meet together in a home and just pray together, read Scripture together (verse by verse through a book of the Bible),  talk about what we learn from God's Word, and maybe sing.   We met last we...
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Help for Anxiety, Depression, and Suicidal Thoughts

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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 think you might hurt yourself, call 911 or go to the emergency room): 1.   Put on a worship song right now.  Or sin...
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Calvinist Hogwash #1 (God and sin/suffering)

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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 ...
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Calvinist Bad Logic #16: Accepting Jesus?

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Bad Logic #16 :  In Calvinism, "accepting Jesus" is works.  They believe that God has to do everything for our salvation, even deciding who believes and who doesn't and causing the believers to believe, or else He's not really a "sovereign" God.  (Once again, it's all based on their faulty view of sovereignty.) And so they believe that we cannot "accept Jesus as Lord and Savior" because "accepting" is an action we do which would be us working for our salvation, instead of it being all God's doing.  According to them. And to get you to believe this, they accuse us - those who believe we decide whether to accept Jesus or not - of "taking credit for our salvation."  They mock us for acting like we "saved ourselves." But this is just manipulation!  Getting you to feel ashamed of the idea that we can accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. The fact is, the Bible is full of calls to believe in Jesus (which mean not...
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Anyone else? (Thank you, Nate...)

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[If you don't want to read this really long post, hang in there because I'll eventually publish it as a series of smaller posts.] Oh my goodness, does anybody else feel this song, too? NF - Oh Lord "What are y'all doing down there?  I don't know, Lord." I don't know, Lord. What a mess. God help us. God help me. "Sometimes I look up to the sky and wonder, 'Do you see us down here, O Lord?'" I totally love Nate (NF) for saying the real, raw, hard things that many of us think and feel but don't often admit out loud, the things we're afraid to say because they don't sound very "good Christiany," the kinds of things Job cried out honestly but that his religiously-high-and-mighty friends scolded and shamed him for.   How about these lines from his song "Paralyzed" : "When did I become so numb?  When did I lose myself?... When did I become so cold?  When did I become ashamed?  Where's the person that I kn...
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Calvinists Hogwash #2 (the elect)

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More comments from Calvinists ( bold emphasis added): Only for the elect: Calvinists - by playing word-games and redefining "all, the world, grace, love," etc. - will try to make it sound like they really believe that God truly loves all people, that Jesus truly died for all people, and so  anyone  can be saved.  But all they really mean is that anyone could be one of the elect, that anyone could've won the salvation lottery, but we just don't know who they are yet.  (And of course, everyone whose name wasn't drawn in the salvation lottery is out of luck.)   They'll deceptively say "everyone who wants to be saved will be saved" or "God will never turn away anyone who wants to come to Him"... but all they mean is "only the elect can and will want to come to Him and be saved; the non-elect can never and will never want to be saved, by God's decree."   They've got ways of spinning it, of making it sound like they agree with ...
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