Christian Testimony: Catharina - "How I Met Jesus"

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 This is Catharina's 19-minute testimony:  "How I met Jesus: The Moment My Life Changed Forever."  (It's hard to hear, so you have to put in headphones or get in a quiet spot.  But it's worth it.)


She's been through a lot - dealt with judgmental Christians, bullies, bad relationships with her parents, hated her life, faced the "Why Me's," dealt with repressed pain, etc.  And she learned that sometimes God might take away the things we rely on in this life, but He does it to save our souls, to drive us to Him.  And that's what she did, she let the pain drive her to the Lord, instead of away from Him.

Her testimony is very real and very touching, and I think a lot of people can relate to it their own way.  

It's okay to not be okay .. because that's where Jesus meets you and takes over, if you let Him!



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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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My Panic Attack (repost)

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(Reposted from my blog, https://myimpressionisticlife.blogspot.com , from 2016.   A really bad year for me.) I wrote this in the post called “Random Facts about Me.  Just for Fun!” on my other blog.  It’s #64 on the list.  But I think it deserves its own post.  So I am reposting it here, because it fits with the theme of this blog.   If you’ve ever had a panic attack, maybe you can relate.  I hope not, though.  Because panic attacks suck!             64.   I had a small panic attack three days ago (May 30, 2016).  It’s the first one I’ve ever had and I don’t plan on ever having another one.  [I also once had a minor nervous breakdown during my parents’ very messy divorce.  It was so bad that the only way I could start breathing and stop crying was to flee from everything, to jump in the car with my husband and two kids and run away to the middle of nowhere for a little while.]
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Anti-Calvinism Memes and 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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Sermons by Tony Evans (repost)

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(I recently fixed the broken links as well as I could, had to switch some out for others) Tony Evans is my all-time favorite pastor.  He always gives messages that convict, challenge, and comfort.  Here are some sermons that I have listened to or am going to listen to.  For more, simply go to his website by clicking here .  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. Reversing Anxiety Consequences Keeping the faith when life gets hard Trusting God in a storm How to have strength in your struggles How to overcome your worry How to Get Your Prayers Answered Trusting The God You Believe In God knows what He is doing How the enemy tries to distract you from God's plan Grab your sword The Secret to Powerful Prayer Spiritual Warfare playl
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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: 1.   Put on a worship song right now.  Or sing a worship song out loud.  (Or watch some Tony Evans sermons for encouragement, find a list by clicking here .)  If demo
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How do you help someone understand the errors, dangers, and cult-like tactics of Calvinism when they aren't even really sure yet what it is or what it teaches?  Where do you start?   My kids know that my husband and I believe Calvinism is a corruption of God's truth and character.  They know because we left our church over it in 2019 - the church they grew up in for many years - and because we haven't stopped researching and talking... venting?... lamenting?... complaining?... about it since. They know we want them to avoid it.  But I'm not sure how much they really understand  for themselves  what it is and why it's wrong... or if they would know how to recognize it if they encountered it unexpectedly in a church or book, if we weren't there to point it out and explain it.   And so to help them (teenagers right now) understand for themselves what it teaches and why it's wrong, we recommended that they watch some Soteriology 101 videos about it.  But then af
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  [In this series, I'm breaking the long post   "Why is Calvinism so dangerous?"   into bite-sized pieces.] 10. The Bible shows that ...   "Sovereignty" means that God is the highest authority there is.    There is no one above Him and no one He is accountable to.  (I say it's perfectly fine to end a sentence with a preposition.)  He has the power to do whatever He wants.  And as seen in the Bible all over the place, part of what He wants is to allow us to make decisions, within any boundaries He sets up.  He wants us to want Him, to willingly choose to love and worship and obey Him, not to be forced to or programmed to.   (Anyone else singing "I Want You to Want Me" from Cheap Trick right now?  If you weren't, you will be now.  Ha ha ha!)  Forced love can never be true love.   And being sovereign and all-knowing, He knows ahead of time what we will choose to do and how He can work it all into something good, to accomplish His over-arching plan
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My Everyday Prayer (part 1)

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            I want to share with you a prayer that I wrote, my personal version of The Lord’s Prayer with verses that mean something to me and reminders that I need.   And then I will explain this prayer over the next few posts.   I call it My Everyday Prayer.   It’s the one I go to in the morning, especially when I can’t think of where else to start.   (I don’t manage to do it every day, but I try to say it often.)   And then I just continue to talk to God spontaneously the rest of the day.   But I like to say this one first because every line means something to me and is there for a reason, and I’ll explain later.   So here it is, My Everyday Prayer:  
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What does "Women's Reproductive Rights" really mean?

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When women fight for their "reproductive rights," what they're really saying is this:  "We want the right to sleep with whomever we want, whenever we want, without having to face the consequences of our choices.  And we want the right to have everyone else pay for our expenses." But I say that a woman's reproductive right is this:  You have the right to keep your legs closed, to say "no" to random sex, and to not take the chance of getting pregnant in the first place.  You have the right to get married and create a family within the safe bounds of a committed relationship.  And if you still get pregnant even when you didn't want to, you have the right to keep the baby or give it up for adoption. "But," you say, "I have the right to do what I want with my body." "Well," I say, "a baby is not a part of your body."   Trust me, I know.  I've had four kids myself.  And never once did the doctor pro
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Understanding God's Will #5: So prayer really does matter when it comes to making sure that God’s Will happens? Yes, it does!  God hinges a lot of things on our prayers and our choices.    But if we (like Calvinists) believe that God always does whatever He wants regardless of us and that He has preplanned and controls all we do and so we don't get a choice anyway, then we won’t realize how much prayer matters in discerning God’s plans for us and in getting His Will done.   And o ur prayer life will be weak.    And there are examples in the Old Testament that support the necessity of prayer and the fact that it affects whether His Will gets done or not. In  Exodus 23:32 , God tells Israel to make no covenant with the people in the land of Canaan after they take possession of it.    But in  Joshua 9 , we read about the Gibeonite deception and how they did make a treaty with these people, believing that they were from a distant land.    Joshua 9:14  says that in this instanc
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