Some Great Songs To Encourage You

Some songs from The City Harmonic that I enjoyed on my walk today.  Every day, in fact:

Fell Apart  (I don't know about you, but I know what it's like to fall apart.  To ache for something real in a world of fake.  To be desperate for hope, peace, and grace.  But there's only one place you can find it.  Only one!) 

Praise The Lord  (This truly is the key to getting through the hard times.)

My God  (I know where my help comes from.  Do you?)

Holy (Wedding Day)  (That day is coming ... soon!)

Oh, What Love!  (One of my all-time favorites)

And my favorite Jeremy Riddle song: "Sweetly Broken"

Things My Calvinist Pastor Said #3: Even Babies are Wicked

(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.)

3.  "We all, even babies and small children, are depraved and wicked to the core, deserving of death, and we can never come to God on our own."  
            Calvinists love to remind us of how wicked even babies are.  For some twisted reason, it makes them feel intellectually-superior and ultra-humble to embrace this "evil baby" idea!  "Look how smart and humble we are to embrace such distasteful teachings!  So much better than those of you who question it because you can't handle it or understand it!"  (Of course they don't say this out loud; it's just my characterization of them.)

Giggle Translate #6: Hot Diaper, Monkey Dust, Invisible Bikes, and Toilet Splash

Some more "Random Facts About Me," run through many different languages with Google Translate, just to see what happens:

1.  Original Paragraph:
I had an embarrassing moment the other day.  I was checking out at Trader Joes and chatting politely with the teen boy who was ringing up my groceries.  And I decided to quickly pop a Tic-Tac in my mouth.  But as I opened my mouth to say something (and, of course, he’s looking directly at me), the Tic-Tac comes flying out of my mouth and lands on the floor.

Mocking Pigs

“Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘You who were going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself!  Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!

In the same way the chief priest, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him.  ‘He saved others,’ they said, ‘but he can’t save himself!  He’s the King of Israel!  Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe him....’”  (Matthew 27:39-42)


Jesus was always misunderstood by people.  Mocked and discredited.

Things My Calvinist Pastor Said #2: You're Like a "Dead Body"

(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.)

2.  "We are as dead inside as physical dead bodies, unable to do anything.  Like a dead body that just lays there - all dead - we can't even think about, want, or seek God on our own unless God makes us do it, unless the Holy Spirit first regenerates our hearts and opens our eyes."  
            Calvinists call it "total depravity," but to them it's really "total inability."  
            [It's much more convincing and deceptive to call mankind "depraved" instead of "unable," because all Christians are willing to admit to the depravity of man.  But if Calvinists called it what they really mean - "total inability," that mankind is completely unable to think about God, want God, seek God, or believe in God on our own so God has to cause the chosen ones to do it, while the non-chosen ones can never do it - then there would be a lot more Christians alarmed about Calvinism.  But "total depravity" flies under the radar.  Sneaky!] 

Giggle Translate #5: Knuckle Enchiladas

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 throw out a whole pan of dinner just for a tiny piece of knuckle.  You understand.  Right?)

Two Timely Billy Graham Sermons: Will Our World End? And Who Is Jesus?

This message was spoken decades ago, but it is so timely right now ...

Billy Graham's "Will Our World End?" (36 min) 

Anything here sound familiar?

What have you put your faith in?

We all have faith in something.  

What's yours in?  What are you counting on to save you?

Also, if you're interested, here's a second Billy Graham sermon: "Who Is Jesus?"  (24 min)  

(And see my posts "Why I Could Never Be An Atheist", "Support for Jesus and the Bible" and, for comparison, "An Overview of World Religions.")

Come on, you can spare an hour of your life to figure out where you're going in the end, which seems to be getting closer and closer every day!

Christian Testimony: Dustin - "My Faith Story: How God Saved Me"

This is Dustin (25 min):  My Faith Story: How God Saved Me.

I think men especially could relate to him, as he shares how he went from a dysfunctional family to beer and girls to finding Jesus.

In the beginning, he might be smiling as he talks of his family, but you can tell the pain goes deep.  I can relate.  I understand dysfunctional, broken families.  And those last 5 minutes of his video ... "Wow!"  So honest and refreshing.  

I hope and pray he's found the assurance and answers he's looking for.

(He has, according to an email I got back after I sent one thanking him for sharing his testimony.)

Is It Too Late For America? I Think So.

I hate to say it, but I agree with this article: "Crossing the Rubicon."  In fact, I was just thinking about this kind of stuff the other day, before I read this.  I know that because of all the chaos in the world right now, lots of Christians are praying that God would heal our land, our society.

But I think it's too late for that.

I think the march to the "end times" has started, and it can't be stopped.  I don't think this chaos in the world is necessarily God trying to turn us back to Him (but all the better if it does turn people toward Him), but I think it's about getting all the final pieces in place before Jesus returns.

I don't think it's about pleading with God for mercy and healing right now.  Because I don't think He'll listen or change anything, as He did in Jeremiah's time (see "God Would Never Do That!  Or Would He?).  I think it's about getting our final affairs in order, working as hard as we can these last few moments to draw as many people to Him as possible before it's too late, about hanging on to Him as we ride out these last few chaotic days, staying faithful to Him as we wait in hopeful expectation for Him to come get us and take us Home.  (But I am not saying to stop praying for His mercy, for revival.  We don't know what God's got planned or how He'll respond to our prayers.)

In fact, I think it's overdue.  I was thinking this stuff back in at least 2018, as seen in the prayer I wrote in this post, "Is God Drawing Lines in the Sand?"

I think the fuse has been lit and it can't be stopped.  And it's just a very short matter of time now.

Now is the time to make your decision, before it's too late.

Also see "Do You Believe?" and "Starting Your Own Relationship With Jesus"

And these two timely songs: "I Wish We'd All Been Ready" and "In The Sky"


And sure, maybe I'm wrong about all this.

But what if I'm right?

How Great Is Calvi-god's Love and Grace?

Calvinists love to sing the praises of God's love and grace.  They wax poetic about it - about how it's so huge, undeserved, unconditional, humbling, generous, and amazing!

His love and grace for the elect only, that is.


But do you want a picture of what the love and grace of Calvi-god is really like?  (Calvinism's god is not the same as the God of the Bible, that's why I gave him his own name.)

Imagine that Calvi-god is a man who owns a stadium.  

And he invites (drags) 1000 people to come live in his stadium, providing all they need to live there.  

Things My Calvinist Pastor Said #1: We Can't Choose

(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.  All memes were created with imgflip.)

The inevitable has finally happened, the day we hoped would never come: The day we officially resigned from our church because of our pastor's dogmatic Calvinist preaching (May 20, 2019).  (From now on, I will try to call him our "ex-pastor."  And for the record, it was an Evangelical Free Church, which are being taken over by Calvinism all over the place.  So be wary and educated.)

It's been a long road.  He came on board about 6 years ago, and began introducing his Calvinist views here and there.  Just a little bit at a time, never really exposing the ugly parts of Calvinism.  Just subtle points that didn't really alarm us.  

The New "Star of David"?

First read this: Video: Doctor Recommends Children Wear Yellow Badges If They Haven't Been Vaccinated"

Does anyone else see this being eerily similar to this: The Jewish Badge?  (Also see the longer story here: Jewish Badge: During the Nazi Era.)

I'm just sayin'.


(Also see "Doctors Lay Out Plan To 'Punish' People Who Refuse Coronavirus Vaccine: 'There Is No Alternative.'")

Giggle Translate #4: My Garden (My Favorite)

This has got to be my favorite Giggle Translates for one reason only.  You'll see why later.  I was actually nervous copying and pasting it, because I was so afraid I would accidentally delete it or alter it.  But, phew, it's all good.  Anyway, I am not going to repost the original post but you can read it if you click on it.  It's called "My Garden."


Here is the post when it's been translated through a bunch of languages with Google Translate (honestly, it's really kinda poetic, almost better than the original):

We are still in the freezer this season.  Now is the time to think and design your garden.  And then there are a lot of articles about me.  I try to do it for myself, but not for myself.  And during the lessons, my soul embraces me and teaches me to live with God.

            Gardening for me is an accent, a time of choice, a time to learn to lose weight and wait for prices.  It is also a reminder that life does not go according to plan.  Things that bother me (small insects that eat asparagus every summer) find me every day and what makes me uncomfortable (Japanese bell that shattered the Virgin Mary) and thrown in a towel (everything from deer hands, rabbits and squirrels)) .

We Left Our Church Because of Calvinism (Things My Calvinist Pastor Said)

[A repost: Updated July 2020 with lots of new stuff, including memes.  (When do I ever write anything short?)  For the text-only version, no memes, click here.  For the memes only, click here.  For the links only, click here.  I also broke this long post down into smaller posts, and I put the links here.  All memes were created with imgflip.]

The inevitable has finally happened, the day we hoped would never come: The day we officially resigned from our church because of our pastor's dogmatic Calvinist preaching (May 20, 2019).  (From now on, I will try to call him our "ex-pastor."  And for the record, it was an Evangelical Free Church, which are being taken over by Calvinism all over the place.  So be wary and educated.)

It's been a long road.  He came on board about 6 years ago, and began introducing his Calvinist views here and there.  Just a little bit at a time, never really exposing the ugly parts of Calvinism.  Just subtle points that didn't really alarm us.  

Christian Testimony: Jessica - "Atheist to Christian: How God Saved Me"

I bet a lot of people can relate to Jessica and her story (30 minutes):

"Atheist to Christian Testimony: How God Saved Me"

I like her honesty.  And I agree with her that the rapture is soon, that time is short.  And so I appreciate that she's sharing her testimony in the hopes that she can reach as many people as possible before the Church is gone.

[Update: While I like and recommend her testimony video and the one on spiritual warfare, I am leery of the current ones she's posting about dreams and prophetic messages.  I am very wary about that kind of stuff, especially when it's about earthly blessings or opportunities.  Personally, I'd stay away from (or at least be very cautious and discerning about) messages and promises that come from other people, since they are not directly from God or His Word.  Anytime we get our messages from other people, we can be led astray.]

Blogger Is Making Changes (And It May Affect My Blog)

Blogger is making changes to the format of all blogs.  It shouldn't affect what you see, but it does affect what I see and how I access my posts, write, and manage the blog.  They have given us a "sneak peek" at the new format ... and I really don't like it.  And so I am not sure how much I will write after the change is permanent.  

But thankfully, they won't be forcing the change on everyone for a couple months.  So what I am going to do is load up all the posts I can on the "schedule," so that it posts them automatically on the date I set for each post.  That will probably fill a couple months.  (I'm actually posting the same series on all my blogs during these next months, just not on the same days.)  But then after that, I'm not sure if I'll be writing much because it's harder to use the new format.  At least for me.  (I hate changes.  Why can't people just leave well-enough alone?)

But my hope is that we Christians aren't here anyway in a few months, that the Lord returns to take us home as soon as possible.  And so if the rapture does happen, don't think that the addition of new posts means that I got left behind.  All those posts are already going to be on the schedule, posting automatically.  Because I assure you ... when the Lord comes back, I'm going with Him!  

God Would Never Do That? Or Would He?

(End of the "End Times" series)

God would never send a famine or economic distress to get our attention.

God would never send disease to open our eyes to our bad choices and to call us to repentance.

God would never use wars or violence to cause us to cry out to Him.

God would never use a tornado, earthquake, or tsunami to draw our hearts back to Him.

God is not like that.  He is a soft, squishy, all-loving God who would never dream of punishing or disciplining or causing any kind of pain for us.  He just wants us to be happy.  He’s all about catering to our requests and pouring out His goodness on us and allowing us to live life on our own terms, because we are the center of the universe.  We are the lords of our own lives.  Aren’t we?  

Surely, in this day and age of rampant sexual diseases, violent wars, economic recession, famines, natural disasters, devastating consequences of our choices, etc., none of this has been allowed by God in order to open our eyes to our need for Him.  God would never do that!

Would He? 

Is God Drawing Lines in the Sand? (repost)

(Reposted from a few years ago, updated slightly.  Part of the "End Times" series.)

It’s amazing and disturbing how brazen our society is in attacking everything about God and everything He created:  marriage, monogamy, sex, family, sexuality, the scientific reality of gender, morality, modesty, the value of a person, the right to life, the existence of "right and wrong," the Bible, Jesus, and Absolute Truth.  Not to mention God Himself, His very existence.

We are destroying everything associated with Him (except nature – we worship that), and then we call ourselves "progressive."

But you know what I think about it all?  

I think that God is letting it happen because He is drawing lines in the sand.  Through all these divisive issues and all the immorality, God is saying “Pick a side!  I am forcing you to decide which side you want to be on ... because I am coming back soon to take My people out of here.  So I need you all to decide:  Me or the world?  Which do you choose?"