Alexa PenaVega on her heartbreaking loss

On Godtube, I just watched this touching testimony from Alexa PenaVega (she's in my favorite Christian movies of all time, Do You Believe?, and one of my favorite TV shows, The Middle).  

I had no clue she had gone through such a tragic loss in her life (in 2024, I think) - the death of her newborn baby.  Heartbreaking!

I haven't experienced the same kind of loss she did, but I totally appreciate that she's sharing her story, from a heart full of faith.  May God bless her and use her story to encourage others who've gone through loss, too.

[One thing that caught my attention is that she quoted a verse - one verse - and it happened to be one (of about 5) that I had just written down shortly before I watched her video.  Out of all the verses in the Bible, I encounter the same one twice within a couple hours... coincidence?  

I know that it's a verse I need... and maybe someone else out there needs it too: 

"I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." Jeremiah 31:25

Anyone else weary?  Faint?  

You might also like the songs Worn and Hold My Heart and By Your Side and Healing Begins from Tenth Avenue North...

and Oh, What Love and Fell Apart and Honestly and Praise the Lord from The City Harmonic.

Some of the songs that helped me get through so much!  Sometimes songs and God's Word can do what nothing else can.]

Hardest Spiritual Lesson #3: Praise

[Sorry I've not posted in awhile.  Life got busy.  And click here for Hardest Spiritual Lesson #1 Let Go and #2 Prunings.]

Learning to Praise and Trust God Anyway

I think one of the hardest lessons to learn - and one of the greatest indicators of humility - is learning to praise God, to trust Him, and to cling to Him in the painful hard times. 

It's easy to be thankful and to trust Him and to “sing His praises” when things are going our way and when we have more than enough (which is why I wonder about the level of spiritual maturity and commitment of those who are richly blessed on earth with success and money and power and who have not been broken by the trials and hard times).  But it is so hard to do this when we are in the “desert times” of our lives and when we feel like life is letting us down, like God is letting us down, and like we have been abandoned by Him.

Learning to praise Him and trust Him (and glorify Him) in the painful hard times is part of the journey of faith... and it can only be learned through painful hard times.

It can only be learned ...

James and Wisdom

 James 1:5: "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

James 1:6-8: "But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does."

I don't know why, but something just hit me the other day about these verses that I probably once knew but must have forgotten: They go together!

Happy Easter to everyone!

Happy Easter Weekend!  

Never forget how much Jesus loves you and what He went through for you, for everyone, so that anyone who believes in Him would be saved (and anyone can!):

Sweetly Broken by Jeremy Riddle

Oh, What Love by The City Harmonic

Secret Ambition by Michael W. Smith

Hallelujah Christmas by Cloverton

My Jesus by Todd Agnew 

I Am by Crowder

The Champion by Carman (This will always be one of his best!)

When Calvinists say "But predestination!" (tiny, bare-bones version)

[This is from my other blogs, but I figured I'd put it here too.  Just to heavy things up a bit.  It's my tiniest version of my "But predestination!" post.  The short version with more memes and quotes and information can be found here, and the longest version (a series of posts full of many more Calvinist comments, my Calvinist ex-pastor's sermons, and my replies to them, written for my own amusement and for my ex-church) can be found by starting here.  But this tiny version includes only the most basic parts you need to know, with a few memes and quotes thrown in to spice it up.]

At the heart of Calvinism is predestination and God's sovereignty (among other things, like "total depravity"), which according to Calvinism essentially amounts to: "God preplans and controls everything, even sin and evil and all our decisions, and so He pre-picks who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.  He causes the 'elect' to believe in Him and be saved, but He made sure the 'non-elect' have no chance or ability to believe and be saved because He predetermined they'd go to hell (and so Jesus never died for them anyway), all for His glory."

And if we push back against this - if we say Jesus died for all people and God offers salvation to all people and that He lets us decide to accept or reject it - Calvinists go "But God is sovereign, and predestination is in the Bible, and so you have to believe it!"  

But the problem is not that we misunderstand the Bible or can't accept biblical truth.  It's that Calvinists mis-define both sovereignty and predestination (among other things).  

Not such an old fuddy-duddy now, am I!

Videos on Baking Sourdough Bread

One of the most relaxing things for me lately has been watching videos of people making and baking sourdough bread.  And as a bonus, it's not only relaxing, but informative, productive, and rewarding, too.  A great "waste of time."  Especially if you actually bake the sourdough bread instead of just watching the videos😁. 

Anyway, here are some of the videos I enjoyed the most and found the most helpful.  Some use scales to measure, and some don't.  Some use Dutch ovens to bake the bread, and some use bread pans.  Some do more prep, and some do less.  But they're all informative and enjoyable.  

In no particular order:

Farmhouse on Boone - Sourdough Bread for Beginners | NO KNEAD - YouTube

Alexandra's Kitchen - Simple Sourdough Bread: Step by Step 75% Hydration - YouTube

Grant Bakes - A Sourdough Masterclass for Home Bakers - YouTube

Lovely Bell Bakes - Daily Sourdough Bread with Fresh Milled Flour | Without a mixer

Preppy Kitchen - Amazing Sourdough Bread Recipe - YouTube

Healthy Elizabeth - My Easy GUIDE To Making Foolproof SOURDOUGH BREADS | BAKE WITH ME - YouTube

The Perfect Loaf - The Secret to Make the BEST Sourdough Bread 

Mary's Nest (a playlist): No Knead Sourdough Bread Recipe - FAST and FOOLPROOF

Homesteading with the Zimmerman's: Kate's SOFT SOURDOUGH SANDWICH BREAD - YouTube

Little Spoon Farm: Soft Sourdough Sandwich Bread from Little Spoon Farm

LoveMeg 2.0: HOW TO MAKE THE BEST SOURDOUGH SANDWICH BREAD | EASY STEP BY STEP BEGINNERS GUIDE | LOVEMEG 2.0

Our Gabled Home: Bake A Delicious Sourdough Bread with Me - Even Beginners Can Do It!

Melissa K. Norris: Best Beginner Sourdough Sandwich Bread Recipe | HOMEMADE YEAST

Rustic Honey - Sourdough For A Year | What I've learned + favorite recipes for beginners - YouTube

Alexandra's Kitchen - Simple Sourdough Pizza + Pizza Margherita  - YouTube

And here's a blog post, on baking in a bread pan: Can You Bake Sourdough In A Loaf Pan? - The Pantry Mama

And here's a blog post with the sourdough recipe I use: Sourdough Bread Recipe - Sugar Spun Run.  But I usually bake it in a Dutch oven instead of a loaf pan.  

   

[And see here for the videos I like on starting a sourdough starter.]

My idea of a good time

  

Troublemaker!