Anyone else need this song and video right now:
Have a Little Faith in Me (by Joe Cocker, which I know is not a Christian song, but it totally fits right now)
Just breathe. You're gonna be okay.
And remember, all we need is a little faith.
God will take it from there.
It's a dreary, rainy, cool day here - one of my favorite kinds of days. So I brewed a hot cup of Pumpkin Spice tea (The Republic of Tea brand - so good!) with a dash of milk and sugar and nestled in for a half-hour of wandering through the Lost Forest, a YouTube channel I recently found.
Such simple videos from a woman in Ireland (I've always wanted to visit there, I have strong Irish roots) who records scenes from her day as she visits her garden (where her cats meander), her jewelry studio, nearby cottages and castles and landscapes, etc. It's delightful and relaxing - no speaking, no faces, no chaos, just gentle music and simple captions at the bottom of the screen sharing her thoughts.
If you've got an extra 15-30 minutes in your day and need to relax, grab a cup of tea or coffee (or maybe you prefer lemonade), and spend some quiet time wandering the Irish countryside.
Here's the newest video I just watched: Visit an Irish Cottage, A Cosy Day in Autumn
[Note: She refers to nature as Mother Nature, and her jewelry business has a "folklore/mythological goodness" aspect to it. I enjoy mythology and think her jewelry is beautiful, but I but would not worship or honor the "gods and goddesses" of mythology. But I do still enjoy her peaceful videos, and so I'll just overlook the other stuff. But I'm sharing this with you so you can be discerning for yourself.]
The other day, I watched a Willow Creek sermon again, and it happened to be Megan preaching again. (I talked about her once before, see at the end of this post). It was about heaven. And it was good. Very good.
But after that sermon, I decided to watch the sermon at the Calvinist church we left (I won't identify the church, or link to it), just to see what they were preaching. And I wanted to compare these two sermons, to give you a taste of what sermons are like at a non-Calvinist church versus a Calvinist church. I'm going to paraphrase what each pastor said, for space and to sum it up quickly. And interestingly, both of them gave their version of the gospel, the call to salvation. Notice how different they are.
And I want you to imagine what it would be like to be in the audience listening to these different sermons, especially if you were a broken, hurting, lost person who was aching for help and healing and hope.