Pause, breathe, smile

Please, allow me to vent and to listen to myself talk.  And come along, if you want, on a trip through my mind (I apologize in advance for how the messy it is😉.):

Are you exhausted?  I am.  I am sick and tired of all the craziness out there, all the chaos, fighting, hate, lies, fear-mongering, violence, increasing prices (for less product or services), natural disasters, wars, rumors of wars, AI this-and-that, Big Pharma, social deviance/immorality, efforts to force people to tolerate social deviance/immorality, political posturing and mudslinging and nonsense, etc.  

I'm done with it.  I just so done with it all.  "You can stop the world now, God.  We wanna get off."  

I am sick of both social media and the news - because everyone just wants to fight, scream their opinions, demand their way, calls names, make accusations, and force everyone else to agree with them and do things their way.  Everything's an "us vs them" thing, and "if you don't agree with 'us' then you're a bad bad person who shouldn't be here."  It's sick.  And everyone reacts to soundbites and snippets, instead of getting the whole story and wisely responding.  There are no attempts to understand, to really listen, to connect, to talk through things, to be tolerant of other opinions.  (Maybe younger people don't know this because they've been fed bad definitions, but tolerance used to be about respectfully agreeing to disagree with someone, allowing others to have different opinions, even ones you don't like or agree with.  But now - due to social brainwashing - it's about supporting, affirming, condoning everyone else's view, over and above your own... or else you're "intolerant.")  

Anyone else? (Thank you, Nate...)

[If you don't want to read this really long post, hang in there because I'll eventually publish it as a series of smaller posts.]

Oh my goodness, does anybody else feel this song, too?

NF - Oh Lord

"What are y'all doing down there?  I don't know, Lord."

I don't know, Lord.

What a mess.

God help us.

God help me.

"Sometimes I look up to the sky and wonder, 'Do you see us down here, O Lord?'"

Another great sermon: What if love meant more than you thought?

Before I get to part 2 of "White Horses and a cup of tea," here's another great sermon from Willow Creek (they're on a roll): 

What If Love Meant More Than You Thought?

A sermon like this is especially needed in this "outrage culture" where people spend their days looking for things to be angry about, for people to lash out at.  Ugh.

But there's a better way.  It doesn't have to be like this.  We don't have to let the news and social media lure us into an ever-increasing spiral of hopelessness and discouragement, antagonizing us into hating life and everyone around us.

White horses and a cup of tea (part 1)

I generally don't make New Year's Resolutions.  I mean I do sometimes, but I don't really see the point because they never last.  It's often more fun making the resolution than keeping the resolution, isn't it?  And so what started out as a grand idea on January 1st becomes a grand flop by January 31st.  We can waste more time planning and daydreaming about our resolutions than actually doing them, am I right?😁  

(Besides, if it's important enough, we'll do whatever it is when we're motivated enough to do it, regardless of the time of year.)  

And so instead of any grand resolutions these past several years, I've been trying to think of more light-hearted things to "resolve" to do throughout the year, relaxing things.  

Who says resolutions have to be lofty or serious anyway?

Such as these resolutions from the past several years:

"More Noble Berean"

There's a YouTube channel I just found - More Noble Berean - that you might like.  I've only watched a few videos (so I don't know all her beliefs, which means there may be things I disagree with her about), but this woman - Patti - warns against a lot of the same things I've warned about, such as:

Calvinism, "The 5 points of Calvinism Reformed Theology"

Catholicism 

New Age

Holy Spirit Fire Encounters Channeling: Is it the Holy Spirit?

But the video that really caught my attention was this one: Kat Von D Got Baptized

It made me smile because I wrote a post with a similar heart: Calling out High-and-Mighty, Holier-than-Thou Judges, in defense of Kat Von D

I really appreciated that Patti was standing up for Kat (a brand-new believer), giving her the benefit of the doubt.  It was far more gracious than many of the things I read from other Christians who condemned Kat from the very beginning.  Patti's gracious attitude is what made me want to highlight her YouTube channel here, to encourage other people to check out what she has to say.  You might find something you like and agree with, or something new to learn.

"American Noise"

A Skillet CD (yes, I still listen to and prefer Cd's.  I'm that old!) is in the player of our van right now.  And because I hate switching CD's if I don't have to, sorting through dozens of them, trying to find one I'm in the mood for... I leave the Skillet one in the player and just keep listening to the same song over and over again (with a few other songs thrown in too): American Noise.  

I really like this song.

Anyway, it made me think of the post I wrote about it 5 1/2 years ago on my other blog (wow, time flies!).  And after re-reading that post, I decided to print it again, because it stills fits.  In fact, there's even more noise in America now - in the world - than there was then.  (Anyone else getting sick of it all too?)

So here it is, the previous post on it:

I was driving the other day, and this song began playing from a CD my husband had in the CD player.  I had never heard it before, but for some reason, it struck me.  I don't know why, but it did.  It struck me ... and it stuck with me.

Skillet - American Noise

I don't know ... maybe it's about a sense of hope in the middle of the chaos.  The fact that things are going to be rough, but that there is still good there and good can still come out of it all.  

It got to me. 

I think sometimes we all need a little of that hope and love that cut through the American Noise.  

At least, I know I do!

I vote for ...

Here in America, it's election day again.  And I think we can all agree that it's a super-emotional, super-heated, super-critical election this time around.  Everyone's fighting over it.  Everyone's demonizing the other side.  Everyone's absolutely certain that their candidate must get in or else the country's going to go to hell-in-a-handbasket.  (Actually, I bet we're all thinking it's going to hell-in-a-handbasket anyway, no matter who gets into office.)

And as I walk around the neighborhood every day on my prayer-walks, I see all the political signs in people's yards:  Harris!  Trump!  Vote for love and truth!  Don't vote for hate!  Make America great again!  Take back America!  Vote like your daughter's rights depend on it!  Trans-rights!  No one is illegal!  Hate doesn't live here!  Blah, blah, blah.

But in all the political noise, I saw one sign that made me say "YES!":

Jesus 2024 - Our only hope!   

Can I get an "Amen"!?!  

Scariest Halloween decoration ever?

 So it's Halloween time again, huh?  Is it just me, or has there been a big increase in the amount of Halloween decorations in people's yards?

I don't decorate for Halloween, nothing more than maybe a few pumpkins.  But a neighbor and I were talking the other day, and she inadvertently stumbled on what I think would make the best Halloween decoration.  Something truly terrifying.  And if I had more guts, I'd maybe consider doing it someday.

She was reading out loud some reported quotes from famous atheists just before their death, and I thought Now that would make a scary Halloween display in your yard, a collection of tombstones with atheist quotes on them!  

Quotes such as these:

"Why does God care about who I sleep with?"

Considering the condition of the world nowadays - with its loosey-goosy morals and lack of a true, stable, meaningful foundation - I think a lot of people might find some encouragement in this sermon from Willow Creek.  For being such a sensitive topic, this pastor did a great job addressing it (though I agree with him that he could've spoken a lot longer and covered a lot more about it): 

"Why does God care about who I sleep with?" 

Two songs for the presidential election

I posted these for the 2020 elections too, but here they are again for this election season:

A couple of Tim Hawkins songs as this election season gets under way, just for fun:

Jimmy Buffet for President

The Government Can

If you can't do anything about it, may as well have some fun with it!

Calling Out High-and-Mighty, Holier-Than-Thou Judges in Defense of Kat Von D

I read a post from a Christian the other day that bugs me so much I've gotta address it.  It's a post from the Rapture Ready website called "An Artist's Testimony or Agenda?"  And it's basically a Christian calling a newly-born-again celebrity a "false convert."  

And the "proof" that this Christian uses to support their case are things like the celebrity said she wasn't planning on changing her goth looks, that she didn't burn her witchcraft books but merely threw them out, that she's "BFF's" with a satanist, that she thinks skulls are beautiful, that she recently released a song with some nasty lyrics (and yes, I agree they're nasty), and that she said she refuses to talk about her faith on her social media accounts anymore, etc. 

And because of things like these, this Christian "judge" (named Candy) declares the celebrity guilty - a "false convert" and possibly one of the "Satanists/Luciferians" who are "God-haters who use every chance they get to mock our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, even to the point of using 'Trojan Horse assimilation' into the church."

But do you know what I think?

So Earth's crust is full of water, huh?

Did you see this article - "Earth's crust swallowed a sea's worth of water and locked it away beneath Pacific seafloor" - about how there is a massive deep reservoir of water hidden beneath the ocean floor by New Zealand and how the rocks there are abnormally wet, how they should contain much less water for being many "millions" of years old?

Do you know what this makes me think of?

"The fountains of the great deep" which burst open during the worldwide flood of Genesis 5:11: "In the six hundredth year of Noah's life... all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of heaven were opened."

And it makes me think that maybe the earth isn't really "millions" of years old like scientists keep insisting.

Also see "Maybe 'millions of years' is actually just 40 days!"  and "Starting the new school year with Creation vs. Evolution" and "Is Evolution True?" 

Just something to think about. 

Family-Friendly Demons?

I've said this before, but I think this stuff will get more and more out in the open as we get closer and closer to the end times:

They're Coming For Your Children (article)

If you invite demons into your life, don't be surprised when they show up.

And do you really think they'll care if you go "Oh, I didn't really mean it; it was just a joke"?  (Here's my story about why I take this stuff so seriously, how I know it's real and shouldn't be messed with.)

(What would be really interesting would be to hear the stories of what happened in these families' lives in the months that followed their demon summoning.  Sadly, they won't realize how real it all is until it's too late.  And more sadly, it will be their kids who pay the price.)

And how about some relevant songs from Carman, just for fun:

A Witch's Invitation - Love this one!

No Monsters - Carman knows the power of Jesus's name!

Satan, Bite The Dust - I wouldn't go around challenging Satan, but Carman's making a good, important point here about the power of God compared to the power of the devil.

God's Got An Army - with a little Narnia thrown in

A better explanation than demons?

Check out this article, the woman's eyes: Unreal Video: I'm beginning to seriously believe DC is run by literal demons

Does anyone else have a better explanation?

And a bonus article on a different note, not about demons in government (or maybe it is, since they're the ones pushing the vaccine): "Why do people's personalities suddenly change following Covid vaccination?"  I haven't yet noticed personality changes in people, so I'm not sure how much I trust this.  But it might be worth tucking in the back of your mind.

And if this is true ["Drag Queen tops iTunes "Christian Chart" music genre"], what is wrong with Christians nowadays!?!  Or maybe it is what's wrong with Christians nowadays.  No discernment.  No biblical stands on anything anymore.

Time to boycott Starbucks

You know, up until now, I never boycotted Starbucks for their very leftist stances.  I wouldn't want leftists to boycott a conservative organization just because they disagreed with our moral stances (which happens, of course, both ways), and so I didn't want to do it to them.  I just wanted coffee.

But now that the Starbucks employees have decided to put their desires above the customers - their desire to have the Pride decorations they want above their responsibility to sell coffee at a coffee shop - it's time for me to boycott.  

Businesses have forgotten what business is about.  Employees have forgotten who they work for and what their job is and who keeps them running.  And so I'm sorry, my beautiful Cafe Mocha friend, but I can't see you anymore for awhile.  It's not me; it's you (Starbucks, the employees).  You've forced me into this by putting yourself above us, the customers.  And we don't need to tolerate being treated this way, not when there are many other good coffee shops to visit who are willing to do their job of serving coffee.

May you get your heads on straight soon, Starbucks.  Till then, goodbye. 

[Update: Well, that didn't last long.  My cafe mocha and I are reunited... and it feels so good.  But at least I tried.😁]

Anyone else wondering ...

So is anyone else wondering what's going on here: Fox News gets rid of Tucker Carlson while CNN hosts Trump Town Hall?  What are the powers-that-be trying to do here?

Life is ...

Life is the slow, steady journey of turning from this:

into this:

[My kids are watching Parks and Recreation right now, and this popped into my mind.  Couldn't help it.]

A Warning about Prophetic Messages and Speaking in Tongues

(For the rest of the Spiritual Warfare series, click here to go to my other blog.)

There are a couple videos I recently linked to of someone sharing the spiritual warfare they've gone through.  It was good advice and on-track biblically.  But since then, she's done videos more along the lines of "prophetic messages," sharing dreams she's had and what she thinks God is saying through them to the people watching her videos, including the prophecy that God is going to bring someone an unexpected business opportunity.  This makes me leery, and it makes me want to share a quick warning about those kinds of "prophetic" messages.  

I don't want to quench the Spirit or limit His work, or anything like that.  And I don't know exactly what this specific woman is experiencing (so I'm not writing this specifically about her, but about things like this).  And I don't know exactly how the Spirit works nowadays through spiritual "gifts."  So this is just my opinion, a word of caution.  (There's a note about the "gift" of speaking in tongues, which has nothing to do with this woman's messages, near the end of this post.)  

I think "prophetic messages" are something we should be discerning about, especially as the New Age and the occult has seeped into churches more and more over the years.  When do things cease to be strictly biblical and start to blend into New Age or the occult, especially when it comes to supernatural things?

Some Interesting Articles

I stumbled across these interesting articles today.  Passing them on to you for your reading pleasure:

"'I am so sorry': Naomi Wolf apologizes to conservatives for believing mainstream Jan. 6 narrative"

"Secret Pfizer & Government documents reveal COVID Vaccination has caused Antibody-Dependent Enhancement, V-AED, and AIDS resulting in millions 'dying suddenly'" 

The looming reckoning for COVID tyrants

A fun, catchy, new song: Trump Won (but I don't foresee him winning in 2024)

 

[Four sources for more world news headlines like the above: 

Tracking the Birth Pangs - News and Links (trackingbibleprophecy.org)

Rapture Ready News - End Times News Stories and Headlines

Natural Health News and Scientific Discoveries - Natural News.com]

When clowns run the circus

So get this: 

An Arizona elementary school should not hire teachers with Christian values because it doesn't feel "safe" ... so says the self-proclaimed "queer" schoolboard member wearing cat ears.  (See here.)