It's Friday, but ...

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Friday is the day of heartbreak and suffering and loss.

Saturday is the day of waiting and despair and hopelessness.

But Sunday... thank God ... Sunday is coming!


Hang in there, dear ones who are discouraged about life, who are exhausted from treading water, just trying to make it through, and who feel hopeless about the future.  

Hang in there... because Sunday's coming.

Sunday's coming.

(Two great, encouraging songs for the hurting, exhausted people: Worn by Tenth Avenue North and Fell Apart by The City Harmonic.)


Most Popular Posts of the Week:

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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"Neo-Calvinism vs. The Bible" - Andy Woods

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This is just a quick post to share a series from Andy Woods against Calvinism: Neo-Calvinism vs The Bible | Andy Woods Ministries I've only listened to the first three so far, but I found this one quite intriguing:   Neo-Calvinism vs. The Bible 003 | Andy Woods Ministries In that one, he gets a little into the Catholic roots of Calvinism and the errors of Calvinism related to prophecy.  As he says, Luther didn't believe Revelation was inspired by God (and he considered it satanic to take end-times' prophecy literally), and this explains why many Calvinist churches don't address prophecy much.   And he also says that Calvin believed in amillennialism.  And to me, this would explain why the EFCA - which I believe has been taken over by Calvinists - removed the belief in premillennialism from their statement of faith, allowing for pastors to preach things like amillennialism. He also gets into the damage that Lordship Salvation - with John MacArthur at the for...
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If They Mated ...

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I think I stumbled upon the perfect "If They Mated ..." scenario for who I look like and how I act.  (You know, when they take two people and morph their faces into one to show what their offspring would look like if they mated.)  I wasn't trying to figure this out or anything; it just came to me as I was watching The Hobbit recently.  And once I saw it in my mind, I couldn't unsee it.  Then after I thought about possibly sharing it with all of you, my mind won't let it go until I do.  And so here it is, much to my chagrin... I kid you not, if you mixed these three characters - their looks and their personalities - you would totally have me.   Frankie Heck from The Middle (Someone once told me I looked like her, when I was a lot younger.  Actually, it was when she was in Everybody Loves Raymond , but we're both a lot older now.  And I was told once I looked like Winona Ryder, for a split second.  Ah, to be young again!) Bard...
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Alana L: 3g (surprised God saves ANYONE)

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This series is based on this 14-minute video from Alana L.:   5 Signs Your Loved One is Becoming a Calvinist    Point #3:   G.   Alana talked about how Calvinists claim to be "surprised" (happy, thrilled, thankful) that God has enough grace to save anyone at all, because we're all so bad and deserve hell. You'll hear this over and over again in Calvinism, such as these quotes from my Calvinist ex-pastor: ... From his October 12, 2014 sermon:  " After thousands of years of [human] rebellion, that God would be willing to elect  any  rebellious sinner to eternal life shows tremendous love and grace and mercy." ... From his February 1, 2015 sermon on unbelief:   " ...  Now your question might be this: 'Why doesn't God draw everybody?  And why doesn't He save everybody and open the eyes of every sinner and have mercy on them all?' ... He does not.  He does not.  (*see the note below)    You know what: When w...
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Why do Christians make such a big deal out of certain issues?

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I've run across quite a lot of Christian blogs where the writer asks questions like this: "Why do some Christians focus so much on the issues of abortion and homosexuality and evolution?  Why do they focus on these over other ones, such as spreading Jesus's love and extending grace and taking care of the poor?  Why do they make such a big deal out of these issues when it only causes division and makes people feel worse and tears churches apart?" Well, here is my thought on this topic: The reason some of us take such strong stands on these issues is because too many Christians take such weak, flimsy stands on them.   Too many Christians nowadays are trying to spread the idea that the Bible doesn't talk about these things or that it isn't clear about them.   But that's absolutely not true!   The Bible is very clear on them - on the value of life and God being the creator of life, on the shedding of innocent blood (God doesn't have to specify ...
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Giggle Translate #5: Knuckle Enchiladas

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Here is something that happened a couple nights ago.  I'm making it my "Giggle Translate #5."  I'm going to share the original paragraph, and one that got run through several random languages with Google Translate, and then I'm going to show what happens when you run the same paragraph through a string of languages one way and then when you do those same languages in reverse: Original paragraph: "Has this ever happened to anyone else?  I was hand-grating a block of mozzarella today for tonight's chicken enchilada dinner.  And in my zealousness to grate quickly and because of my bad angle, I cheese-grated some skin right off my knuckle.  Thankfully, the strip of skin was still hanging on my knuckle because I doubt we'd have noticed the blood mixed in the salsa or the skin flap mixed in the shredded chicken.  (But honestly, I don't know if I would have told my family about it if I couldn't find the skin.  I know that's bad, but I can't t...
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On this Good Friday

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Take some time on this Good Friday to remember what Jesus went through to bring us forgiveness, to offer us all eternal life - and then thank Him for it.   Some great songs and videos about it: Jeremy Riddle's  "Sweetly Broken"   Cloverton's  "Christmas Hallelujah" Michael W. Smith's  "Secret Ambition" Crowder's  "I AM" "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood." ( Romans 3:23-25 ) “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life   in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  ( Romans 6:23 ) “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”   ( Romans 5:8 ) "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us...."  ( 1 John 3:16 ) "Christ suffered for you... When ...
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Okay, One More ...

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(Update September 2021: I'll be adding new random posts over at my other blog, https://heathersgardenandhome.blogspot.com .  And I'll have new ones about Calvinism until the end of 2021 at  https://anticalvinistrant.blogspot.com .) Dedicated to all my brothers and sisters in Christ, the faithful few, in these crazy, uncertain times:   Eyes on the Prize   (from the movie Greencard) Listen to the words.  Hear the message.  And hang in there.  It's gonna be okay. Psalm 121:1-2 : “I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Joshua 1:9 : “Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Deuteronomy 31:8:  “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.  Do not be afraid; ...
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The Last of the Anti-Calvinism Memes For Now

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(All memes created with  IMGFLIP ) Cuz I Still Don't Get It The Devil Made Me ... Why Not Just ... You Underestimate My Power So today this Calvinist ... Close Enough! Oh my goodness!... So what if ... How do you know a Calvinist ... In the farthest reaches of the earth ... So somehow I ended up ... Distracted Boyfriend Me at church ... What the Calvinist preacher said Sunday... (Do you know what their answer to that is?  "Because it brings God glory when we fight against those things that He's causing for His glory."  Insane!) Then why fight it ... Inspirational Calvinist Preaching: When God hears ... Of course Calvinism is true! 1 Of course Calvinism is true! 2 (Ahh, just cracking myself up here!) Of course Calvinism is true! 3 In the afterlife ... Saying goodbye ... How a Calvinist feels ... I know, I know, some low blows in some of the memes I've made.  But scold me later, 'cuz I'm having too much fun for now! I know some will take offense to these, sa...
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A Moment Of Silence, Please!

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I lost something today that was very precious to me.  And I don't know if I'll get it back anytime soon ... My weekly, all-alone, just-me quiet time! (I could have just called it "my sanity.") For the past so many years, my four sons and husband have gone to church on Wednesday nights during the school year for Awanas or youth group.  And I got the house all to myself for two-and-a-half precious hours.  (When you homeschool - when you're an introvert who loves the quiet and you're home all day long with four boys in a house that seems to be shrinking as the years go by - those are precious, precious hours.) But for the past summer, while my older ones have gone to youth group, my youngest has been home with me and my husband because Awanas doesn't run through the summer.  And I was really looking forward to when we got back to the normal "everyone else is out of the house but me" time.  (I only get out by myself to do fun things about once...
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