Podcasts about bether

This afternoon, we will continue our Mountains of Bether sermon series where we are looking at things that come between us and the Lord. This week, the barrier we are looking at is one of those mountains that we often don't notice—in other words, we are blind to it. It is what I am calling the mountain of false peace. I hope that you do cry out to Him when your relationship is dried up. That is a mark of a true believer.

In our afternoon sermon series, we are looking at things that come between us and our Lord.We have looked at quite a few of the mountains that He overcomes—and today it is one mountain which has two opposite barriers that we will find to be essentially the same thing: Worry and Overconfidence—one mountain with two aspects. We might call this Mount Self-trust—which produces both worry and overconfidence.

The Mountain of Bether we will consider today is Envy. For those who have not been with us for this series, the Mountains of Bether are barriers that stand between us and God that Christ overcomes.

Today we will continue our sermon series about the things that separate us from God from which Jesus delivers us. According to the scriptures, we are His betrothed bride. One mountain that is especially displeasing to Him is our indifference to one another. Jesus' bride is unique because although she is one bride, one church, she is made up of many members, and Jesus wants us to love one another. We are all brothers.

This afternoon in our Mountains of Bether Sermon series where we look at things that separate us from God we are looking at 'Lack of Devotion.' This is a Mountain that Jesus our Saviour transforms into a Mountain of Devotion. When I speak of devotion today, I am speak in particular of the devotion to please Him.

In our afternoon worship service, we are looking at things (Mountains of Bether) that come between us and God and at how Jesus removes them. Today the mountain is "Deficient Praise" whether because it is empty or neglected. We are not looking at all aspects of worship, but specifically at praise: declaring to God and to each other His surpassing sweet excellence as the one who is worthy of all honour and adoration. God rebukes His people for deficient praise in Malachi 1.

Today in our Mountains of Bether series we are looking at harlotry and wine (intoxication). Our Scripture reading is Hosea 4:11.

In this sermon series, we have been looking at some of those mountain barriers that are called Mountains of Bether and at how He overcomes them. Today the barrier we are considering is discontentment.

In our afternoon sermon series, we have been looking at the mountains that are between us and God that Christ overcomes. They are like mountains that stand between us and Him. The Mountain we are looking at today is the Mountain of Deficient Fear of God. Job is commended by God as a man that fears Him. In Job 28, Job tells us about the importance of fearing God.

In the afternoons, we have been looking at mountains that stand between us and the Lord. We are fallen creatures in a fallen world, and even after we have been converted, there are things that hinder our relationship with the Lord. In this series we are looking at how Jesus overcomes these mountains. The mountain that we are looking at today is one that is radically removed at conversion, but that still haunts us, as it were, and that we ask Christ to further eradicate from our lives. It is Self-Righteousness. When you come to Christ you renounce your own righteousness, but some of it still remains in you and sometimes you get a new supply of it!

Today in our Mountains of Bether sermon series, we are looking at Bitterness. In particular, bitterness toward other people who have wronged us (or those we perceive to have wronged us).

In our afternoon sermon series, I have been preaching on things that separate us (Mountains of Bether) from the Lord and how He overcomes them. The main focus here is not on what we must do when we are separated from Him, but on what He does to overcome the things that separate us. Today the barrier we are considering is prayerlessness.

As we get into this series, I have noted that there are mountains of significantly different kinds that separate us from Him as believers. Unconfessed sin is quite different than affliction, but both are barriers that He overcomes. Today we look at a mountain that is more of a condition: worldliness. He overcomes it too.

The topic in our Mountains of Bether sermon series today is Affliction. In case you have not been with us, the Mountains of Bether are Mountains of Separation. Today's topic falls into a very different category. Affliction is something that is done to us while sin (and failure to confess it) is something that we do. In Christ's hands, both sin and affliction separate us from God initially, but in the end bring us closer to Him.

Last week we started a new afternoon Sermon Series called The Mountains of Bether. The Mountains of Bether are used in the Song of Solomon to refer to the barriers that stand between us and Jesus Christ our bridegroom. In Song 2:17, we ask Him to come to us as He has done in the past—like a gazelle (agility) or a young stag (passion) to get through whatever has come between us and Him. When He does, those mountains that separated us are transformed into mountains of spice—sweet monuments of His all-conquering love that unites us to Himself. This week, we are looking at the "mountain" of unconfessed sin.

Today I am starting a new afternoon sermon series. In this series, we will look at the things that separate us from God and how Christ closes the gap between us and Him as our faithful bridegroom (if we are indeed His bride). There are so many things that have created a distance between us and God, but He deals with every one of them.

“My Beloved is mine, and I am His: He feedeth among the lilies. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my Beloved, and be Thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.” — Song of Solomon 2:16, 17 Surely if there be a happy verse in the […]

This is a reading of the Gospel story of Jesus of Nazareth as told in the private revelation to Maria Valtorta. In this episode we see: Jesus' Arrival at Bether.

(Season 8 is in partnership with ⁠ADCOLOR⁠. ADCOLOR champions diversity and inclusion in creative industries) Ghee is the Founder and CEO of Expectant Media. A Black Women Owned media company that connects clients to the diverse audiences that fuel their growth while elevating other Black Owned Media. Ghee has worked for some of the most powerful media companies in the world generating more than a billion $'s in revenue. Including, the CEO of Ebony and Jet, where she helped revive the iconic brand, Allen Media Group, The Weather Channel, CNN, A&E, The History Channel and BET Networks. While at BET, Michele created and ran the first and only network for Black women: BETHer. Her mission is simple: lead people, transform communities and drive revenue. Ghee has received many honors, authored three books and was honored with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from her alma mater, Golden Gate University.  Ghee resides in New Jersey and is a proud wife of husband Tony and honored to be the mom of Taylor and Jordan.

Old Testament: Song of Solomon 1–4 Song of Solomon 1–4 (Listen) 1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. The Bride Confesses Her Love She1 2   Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!  For your love is better than wine;3     your anointing oils are fragrant;  your name is oil poured out;    therefore virgins love you.4   Draw me after you; let us run.    The king has brought me into his chambers. Others   We will exult and rejoice in you;    we will extol your love more than wine;    rightly do they love you. She 5   I am very dark, but lovely,    O daughters of Jerusalem,  like the tents of Kedar,    like the curtains of Solomon.6   Do not gaze at me because I am dark,    because the sun has looked upon me.  My mother's sons were angry with me;    they made me keeper of the vineyards,    but my own vineyard I have not kept!7   Tell me, you whom my soul loves,    where you pasture your flock,    where you make it lie down at noon;  for why should I be like one who veils herself    beside the flocks of your companions? Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other He 8   If you do not know,    O most beautiful among women,  follow in the tracks of the flock,    and pasture your young goats    beside the shepherds' tents. 9   I compare you, my love,    to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots.10   Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,    your neck with strings of jewels. Others 11   We will make for you2 ornaments of gold,    studded with silver. She 12   While the king was on his couch,    my nard gave forth its fragrance.13   My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh    that lies between my breasts.14   My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms    in the vineyards of Engedi. He 15   Behold, you are beautiful, my love;    behold, you are beautiful;    your eyes are doves. She 16   Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.  Our couch is green;17     the beams of our house are cedar;    our rafters are pine. 2   I am a rose3 of Sharon,    a lily of the valleys. He 2   As a lily among brambles,    so is my love among the young women. She 3   As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,    so is my beloved among the young men.  With great delight I sat in his shadow,    and his fruit was sweet to my taste.4   He brought me to the banqueting house,4    and his banner over me was love.5   Sustain me with raisins;    refresh me with apples,    for I am sick with love.6   His left hand is under my head,    and his right hand embraces me!7   I adjure you,5 O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing6 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes7 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes8 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.9 The Bride's Dream 3   On my bed by night  I sought him whom my soul loves;    I sought him, but found him not.2   I will rise now and go about the city,    in the streets and in the squares;  I will seek him whom my soul loves.    I sought him, but found him not.3   The watchmen found me    as they went about in the city.  “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”4   Scarcely had I passed them    when I found him whom my soul loves.  I held him, and would not let him go    until I had brought him into my mother's house,    and into the chamber of her who conceived me.5   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. Solomon Arrives for the Wedding 6   What is that coming up from the wilderness    like columns of smoke,  perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,    with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?7   Behold, it is the litter10 of Solomon!  Around it are sixty mighty men,    some of the mighty men of Israel,8   all of them wearing swords    and expert in war,  each with his sword at his thigh,    against terror by night.9   King Solomon made himself a carriage11    from the wood of Lebanon.10   He made its posts of silver,    its back of gold, its seat of purple;  its interior was inlaid with love    by the daughters of Jerusalem.11   Go out, O daughters of Zion,    and look upon King Solomon,  with the crown with which his mother crowned him    on the day of his wedding,    on the day of the gladness of his heart. Solomon Admires His Bride's Beauty He 4   Behold, you are beautiful, my love,    behold, you are beautiful!  Your eyes are doves    behind your veil.  Your hair is like a flock of goats    leaping down the slopes of Gilead.2   Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes    that have come up from the washing,  all of which bear twins,    and not one among them has lost its young.3   Your lips are like a scarlet thread,    and your mouth is lovely.  Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate    behind your veil.4   Your neck is like the tower of David,    built in rows of stone;12  on it hang a thousand shields,    all of them shields of warriors.5   Your two breasts are like two fawns,    twins of a gazelle,    that graze among the lilies.6   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  I will go away to the mountain of myrrh    and the hill of frankincense.7   You are altogether beautiful, my love;    there is no flaw in you.8   Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;    come with me from Lebanon.  Depart13 from the peak of Amana,    from the peak of Senir and Hermon,  from the dens of lions,    from the mountains of leopards. 9   You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride;    you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,    with one jewel of your necklace.10   How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!    How much better is your love than wine,    and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!11   Your lips drip nectar, my bride;    honey and milk are under your tongue;    the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.12   A garden locked is my sister, my bride,    a spring locked, a fountain sealed.13   Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates    with all choicest fruits,    henna with nard,14   nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,    with all trees of frankincense,  myrrh and aloes,    with all choice spices—15   a garden fountain, a well of living water,    and flowing streams from Lebanon. 16   Awake, O north wind,    and come, O south wind!  Blow upon my garden,    let its spices flow. Together in the Garden of Love She   Let my beloved come to his garden,    and eat its choicest fruits. Footnotes [1] 1:2 The translators have added speaker identifications based on the gender and number of the Hebrew words [2] 1:11 The Hebrew for you is feminine singular [3] 2:1 Probably a bulb, such as a crocus, asphodel, or narcissus [4] 2:4 Hebrew the house of wine [5] 2:7 That is, I put you on oath; so throughout the Song [6] 2:12 Or pruning [7] 2:15 Or jackals [8] 2:16 Or he pastures his flock [9] 2:17 Or mountains of Bether [10] 3:7 That is, the couch on which servants carry a king [11] 3:9 Or sedan chair [12] 4:4 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [13] 4:8 Or Look (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 79 Psalm 79 (Listen) How Long, O Lord? A Psalm of Asaph. 79   O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;    they have defiled your holy temple;    they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.2   They have given the bodies of your servants    to the birds of the heavens for food,    the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.3   They have poured out their blood like water    all around Jerusalem,    and there was no one to bury them.4   We have become a taunt to our neighbors,    mocked and derided by those around us. 5   How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever?    Will your jealousy burn like fire?6   Pour out your anger on the nations    that do not know you,  and on the kingdoms    that do not call upon your name!7   For they have devoured Jacob    and laid waste his habitation. 8   Do not remember against us our former iniquities;1    let your compassion come speedily to meet us,    for we are brought very low.9   Help us, O God of our salvation,    for the glory of your name;  deliver us, and atone for our sins,    for your name's sake!10   Why should the nations say,    “Where is their God?”  Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants    be known among the nations before our eyes! 11  

Old Testament: Song of Solomon 1–4 Song of Solomon 1–4 (Listen) 1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. The Bride Confesses Her Love She1 2   Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!  For your love is better than wine;3     your anointing oils are fragrant;  your name is oil poured out;    therefore virgins love you.4   Draw me after you; let us run.    The king has brought me into his chambers. Others   We will exult and rejoice in you;    we will extol your love more than wine;    rightly do they love you. She 5   I am very dark, but lovely,    O daughters of Jerusalem,  like the tents of Kedar,    like the curtains of Solomon.6   Do not gaze at me because I am dark,    because the sun has looked upon me.  My mother's sons were angry with me;    they made me keeper of the vineyards,    but my own vineyard I have not kept!7   Tell me, you whom my soul loves,    where you pasture your flock,    where you make it lie down at noon;  for why should I be like one who veils herself    beside the flocks of your companions? Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other He 8   If you do not know,    O most beautiful among women,  follow in the tracks of the flock,    and pasture your young goats    beside the shepherds' tents. 9   I compare you, my love,    to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots.10   Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,    your neck with strings of jewels. Others 11   We will make for you2 ornaments of gold,    studded with silver. She 12   While the king was on his couch,    my nard gave forth its fragrance.13   My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh    that lies between my breasts.14   My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms    in the vineyards of Engedi. He 15   Behold, you are beautiful, my love;    behold, you are beautiful;    your eyes are doves. She 16   Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.  Our couch is green;17     the beams of our house are cedar;    our rafters are pine. 2   I am a rose3 of Sharon,    a lily of the valleys. He 2   As a lily among brambles,    so is my love among the young women. She 3   As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,    so is my beloved among the young men.  With great delight I sat in his shadow,    and his fruit was sweet to my taste.4   He brought me to the banqueting house,4    and his banner over me was love.5   Sustain me with raisins;    refresh me with apples,    for I am sick with love.6   His left hand is under my head,    and his right hand embraces me!7   I adjure you,5 O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing6 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes7 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes8 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.9 The Bride's Dream 3   On my bed by night  I sought him whom my soul loves;    I sought him, but found him not.2   I will rise now and go about the city,    in the streets and in the squares;  I will seek him whom my soul loves.    I sought him, but found him not.3   The watchmen found me    as they went about in the city.  “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”4   Scarcely had I passed them    when I found him whom my soul loves.  I held him, and would not let him go    until I had brought him into my mother's house,    and into the chamber of her who conceived me.5   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. Solomon Arrives for the Wedding 6   What is that coming up from the wilderness    like columns of smoke,  perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,    with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?7   Behold, it is the litter10 of Solomon!  Around it are sixty mighty men,    some of the mighty men of Israel,8   all of them wearing swords    and expert in war,  each with his sword at his thigh,    against terror by night.9   King Solomon made himself a carriage11    from the wood of Lebanon.10   He made its posts of silver,    its back of gold, its seat of purple;  its interior was inlaid with love    by the daughters of Jerusalem.11   Go out, O daughters of Zion,    and look upon King Solomon,  with the crown with which his mother crowned him    on the day of his wedding,    on the day of the gladness of his heart. Solomon Admires His Bride's Beauty He 4   Behold, you are beautiful, my love,    behold, you are beautiful!  Your eyes are doves    behind your veil.  Your hair is like a flock of goats    leaping down the slopes of Gilead.2   Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes    that have come up from the washing,  all of which bear twins,    and not one among them has lost its young.3   Your lips are like a scarlet thread,    and your mouth is lovely.  Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate    behind your veil.4   Your neck is like the tower of David,    built in rows of stone;12  on it hang a thousand shields,    all of them shields of warriors.5   Your two breasts are like two fawns,    twins of a gazelle,    that graze among the lilies.6   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  I will go away to the mountain of myrrh    and the hill of frankincense.7   You are altogether beautiful, my love;    there is no flaw in you.8   Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;    come with me from Lebanon.  Depart13 from the peak of Amana,    from the peak of Senir and Hermon,  from the dens of lions,    from the mountains of leopards. 9   You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride;    you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,    with one jewel of your necklace.10   How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!    How much better is your love than wine,    and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!11   Your lips drip nectar, my bride;    honey and milk are under your tongue;    the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.12   A garden locked is my sister, my bride,    a spring locked, a fountain sealed.13   Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates    with all choicest fruits,    henna with nard,14   nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,    with all trees of frankincense,  myrrh and aloes,    with all choice spices—15   a garden fountain, a well of living water,    and flowing streams from Lebanon. 16   Awake, O north wind,    and come, O south wind!  Blow upon my garden,    let its spices flow. Together in the Garden of Love She   Let my beloved come to his garden,    and eat its choicest fruits. Footnotes [1] 1:2 The translators have added speaker identifications based on the gender and number of the Hebrew words [2] 1:11 The Hebrew for you is feminine singular [3] 2:1 Probably a bulb, such as a crocus, asphodel, or narcissus [4] 2:4 Hebrew the house of wine [5] 2:7 That is, I put you on oath; so throughout the Song [6] 2:12 Or pruning [7] 2:15 Or jackals [8] 2:16 Or he pastures his flock [9] 2:17 Or mountains of Bether [10] 3:7 That is, the couch on which servants carry a king [11] 3:9 Or sedan chair [12] 4:4 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [13] 4:8 Or Look (ESV) New Testament: Hebrews 1 Hebrews 1 (Listen) The Supremacy of God's Son 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,   “You are my Son,    today I have begotten you”? Or again,   “I will be to him a father,    and he shall be to me a son”? 6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,   “Let all God's angels worship him.” 7 Of the angels he says,   “He makes his angels winds,    and his ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But of the Son he says,   “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,    the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.9   You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;  therefore God, your God, has anointed you    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” 10 And,   “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,    and the heavens are the work of your hands;11   they will perish, but you remain;    they will all wear out like a garment,12   like a robe you will roll them up,    like a garment they will be changed.

Morning: Song of Solomon 1–3 Song of Solomon 1–3 (Listen) 1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. The Bride Confesses Her Love She1 2   Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!  For your love is better than wine;3     your anointing oils are fragrant;  your name is oil poured out;    therefore virgins love you.4   Draw me after you; let us run.    The king has brought me into his chambers. Others   We will exult and rejoice in you;    we will extol your love more than wine;    rightly do they love you. She 5   I am very dark, but lovely,    O daughters of Jerusalem,  like the tents of Kedar,    like the curtains of Solomon.6   Do not gaze at me because I am dark,    because the sun has looked upon me.  My mother's sons were angry with me;    they made me keeper of the vineyards,    but my own vineyard I have not kept!7   Tell me, you whom my soul loves,    where you pasture your flock,    where you make it lie down at noon;  for why should I be like one who veils herself    beside the flocks of your companions? Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other He 8   If you do not know,    O most beautiful among women,  follow in the tracks of the flock,    and pasture your young goats    beside the shepherds' tents. 9   I compare you, my love,    to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots.10   Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,    your neck with strings of jewels. Others 11   We will make for you2 ornaments of gold,    studded with silver. She 12   While the king was on his couch,    my nard gave forth its fragrance.13   My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh    that lies between my breasts.14   My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms    in the vineyards of Engedi. He 15   Behold, you are beautiful, my love;    behold, you are beautiful;    your eyes are doves. She 16   Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.  Our couch is green;17     the beams of our house are cedar;    our rafters are pine. 2   I am a rose3 of Sharon,    a lily of the valleys. He 2   As a lily among brambles,    so is my love among the young women. She 3   As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,    so is my beloved among the young men.  With great delight I sat in his shadow,    and his fruit was sweet to my taste.4   He brought me to the banqueting house,4    and his banner over me was love.5   Sustain me with raisins;    refresh me with apples,    for I am sick with love.6   His left hand is under my head,    and his right hand embraces me!7   I adjure you,5 O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing6 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes7 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes8 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.9 The Bride's Dream 3   On my bed by night  I sought him whom my soul loves;    I sought him, but found him not.2   I will rise now and go about the city,    in the streets and in the squares;  I will seek him whom my soul loves.    I sought him, but found him not.3   The watchmen found me    as they went about in the city.  “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”4   Scarcely had I passed them    when I found him whom my soul loves.  I held him, and would not let him go    until I had brought him into my mother's house,    and into the chamber of her who conceived me.5   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. Solomon Arrives for the Wedding 6   What is that coming up from the wilderness    like columns of smoke,  perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,    with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?7   Behold, it is the litter10 of Solomon!  Around it are sixty mighty men,    some of the mighty men of Israel,8   all of them wearing swords    and expert in war,  each with his sword at his thigh,    against terror by night.9   King Solomon made himself a carriage11    from the wood of Lebanon.10   He made its posts of silver,    its back of gold, its seat of purple;  its interior was inlaid with love    by the daughters of Jerusalem.11   Go out, O daughters of Zion,    and look upon King Solomon,  with the crown with which his mother crowned him    on the day of his wedding,    on the day of the gladness of his heart. Footnotes [1] 1:2 The translators have added speaker identifications based on the gender and number of the Hebrew words [2] 1:11 The Hebrew for you is feminine singular [3] 2:1 Probably a bulb, such as a crocus, asphodel, or narcissus [4] 2:4 Hebrew the house of wine [5] 2:7 That is, I put you on oath; so throughout the Song [6] 2:12 Or pruning [7] 2:15 Or jackals [8] 2:16 Or he pastures his flock [9] 2:17 Or mountains of Bether [10] 3:7 That is, the couch on which servants carry a king [11] 3:9 Or sedan chair (ESV) Evening: 2 Corinthians 12 2 Corinthians 12 (Listen) Paul's Visions and His Thorn 12 I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. 3 And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. 5 On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses—6 though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. 7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations,1 a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Concern for the Corinthian Church 11 I have been a fool! You forced me to it, for I ought to have been commended by you. For I was not at all inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing. 12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works. 13 For in what were you less favored than the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong! 14 Here for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden, for I seek not what is yours but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. 15 I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? 16 But granting that I myself did not burden you, I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit. 17 Did I take advantage of you through any of those whom I sent to you? 18 I urged Titus to go, and sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not act in the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps? 19 Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? It is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ, and all for your upbuilding, beloved. 20 For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. 21 I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced. Footnotes [1] 12:7 Or hears from me, even because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations. So to keep me from becoming conceited (ESV)

Song of Solomon 1–8 Song of Solomon 1–8 (Listen) 1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. The Bride Confesses Her Love She1 2   Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!  For your love is better than wine;3     your anointing oils are fragrant;  your name is oil poured out;    therefore virgins love you.4   Draw me after you; let us run.    The king has brought me into his chambers. Others   We will exult and rejoice in you;    we will extol your love more than wine;    rightly do they love you. She 5   I am very dark, but lovely,    O daughters of Jerusalem,  like the tents of Kedar,    like the curtains of Solomon.6   Do not gaze at me because I am dark,    because the sun has looked upon me.  My mother's sons were angry with me;    they made me keeper of the vineyards,    but my own vineyard I have not kept!7   Tell me, you whom my soul loves,    where you pasture your flock,    where you make it lie down at noon;  for why should I be like one who veils herself    beside the flocks of your companions? Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other He 8   If you do not know,    O most beautiful among women,  follow in the tracks of the flock,    and pasture your young goats    beside the shepherds' tents. 9   I compare you, my love,    to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots.10   Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,    your neck with strings of jewels. Others 11   We will make for you2 ornaments of gold,    studded with silver. She 12   While the king was on his couch,    my nard gave forth its fragrance.13   My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh    that lies between my breasts.14   My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms    in the vineyards of Engedi. He 15   Behold, you are beautiful, my love;    behold, you are beautiful;    your eyes are doves. She 16   Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.  Our couch is green;17     the beams of our house are cedar;    our rafters are pine. 2   I am a rose3 of Sharon,    a lily of the valleys. He 2   As a lily among brambles,    so is my love among the young women. She 3   As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,    so is my beloved among the young men.  With great delight I sat in his shadow,    and his fruit was sweet to my taste.4   He brought me to the banqueting house,4    and his banner over me was love.5   Sustain me with raisins;    refresh me with apples,    for I am sick with love.6   His left hand is under my head,    and his right hand embraces me!7   I adjure you,5 O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing6 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes7 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes8 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.9 The Bride's Dream 3   On my bed by night  I sought him whom my soul loves;    I sought him, but found him not.2   I will rise now and go about the city,    in the streets and in the squares;  I will seek him whom my soul loves.    I sought him, but found him not.3   The watchmen found me    as they went about in the city.  “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”4   Scarcely had I passed them    when I found him whom my soul loves.  I held him, and would not let him go    until I had brought him into my mother's house,    and into the chamber of her who conceived me.5   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. Solomon Arrives for the Wedding 6   What is that coming up from the wilderness    like columns of smoke,  perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,    with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?7   Behold, it is the litter10 of Solomon!  Around it are sixty mighty men,    some of the mighty men of Israel,8   all of them wearing swords    and expert in war,  each with his sword at his thigh,    against terror by night.9   King Solomon made himself a carriage11    from the wood of Lebanon.10   He made its posts of silver,    its back of gold, its seat of purple;  its interior was inlaid with love    by the daughters of Jerusalem.11   Go out, O daughters of Zion,    and look upon King Solomon,  with the crown with which his mother crowned him    on the day of his wedding,    on the day of the gladness of his heart. Solomon Admires His Bride's Beauty He 4   Behold, you are beautiful, my love,    behold, you are beautiful!  Your eyes are doves    behind your veil.  Your hair is like a flock of goats    leaping down the slopes of Gilead.2   Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes    that have come up from the washing,  all of which bear twins,    and not one among them has lost its young.3   Your lips are like a scarlet thread,    and your mouth is lovely.  Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate    behind your veil.4   Your neck is like the tower of David,    built in rows of stone;12  on it hang a thousand shields,    all of them shields of warriors.5   Your two breasts are like two fawns,    twins of a gazelle,    that graze among the lilies.6   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  I will go away to the mountain of myrrh    and the hill of frankincense.7   You are altogether beautiful, my love;    there is no flaw in you.8   Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;    come with me from Lebanon.  Depart13 from the peak of Amana,    from the peak of Senir and Hermon,  from the dens of lions,    from the mountains of leopards. 9   You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride;    you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,    with one jewel of your necklace.10   How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!    How much better is your love than wine,    and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!11   Your lips drip nectar, my bride;    honey and milk are under your tongue;    the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.12   A garden locked is my sister, my bride,    a spring locked, a fountain sealed.13   Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates    with all choicest fruits,    henna with nard,14   nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,    with all trees of frankincense,  myrrh and aloes,    with all choice spices—15   a garden fountain, a well of living water,    and flowing streams from Lebanon. 16   Awake, O north wind,    and come, O south wind!  Blow upon my garden,    let its spices flow. Together in the Garden of Love She   Let my beloved come to his garden,    and eat its choicest fruits. He 5   I came to my garden, my sister, my bride,    I gathered my myrrh with my spice,    I ate my honeycomb with my honey,    I drank my wine with my milk. Others   Eat, friends, drink,    and be drunk with love! The Bride Searches for Her Beloved She 2   I slept, but my heart was awake.  A sound! My beloved is knocking.  “Open to me, my sister, my love,    my dove, my perfect one,  for my head is wet with dew,    my locks with the drops of the night.”3   I had put off my garment;    how could I put it on?  I had bathed my feet;    how could I soil them?4   My beloved put his hand to the latch,    and my heart was thrilled within me.5   I arose to open to my beloved,    and my hands dripped with myrrh,  my fingers with liquid myrrh,    on the handles of the bolt.6   I opened to my beloved,    but my beloved had turned and gone.  My soul failed me when he spoke.  I sought him, but found him not;    I called him, but he gave no answer.7   The watchmen found me    as they went about in the city;  they beat me, they bruised me,    they took away my veil,    those watchmen of the walls.8   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    if you find my beloved,  that you tell him    I am sick with love. Others 9   What is your beloved more than another beloved,    O most beautiful among women?  What is your beloved more than another beloved,    that you thus adjure us? The Bride Praises Her Beloved She 10   My beloved is radiant and ruddy,    distinguished among ten thousand.11   His head is the finest gold;    his locks are wavy,    black as a raven.12   His eyes are like doves    beside streams of water,  bathed in milk,    sitting beside a full pool.14

Psalms and Wisdom: Song of Solomon 2:8–17 Song of Solomon 2:8–17 (Listen) The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing1 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes2 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes3 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.4 Footnotes [1] 2:12 Or pruning [2] 2:15 Or jackals [3] 2:16 Or he pastures his flock [4] 2:17 Or mountains of Bether (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Judges 2–3:6 Judges 2–3:6 (Listen) Israel's Disobedience 2 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.1 And they sacrificed there to the LORD. The Death of Joshua 6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. Israel's Unfaithfulness 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. The Lord Raises Up Judges 16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. 3 Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods. Footnotes [1] 2:5 Bochim means weepers (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Jeremiah 18 Jeremiah 18 (Listen) The Potter and the Clay 18 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear1 my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. 9 And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the LORD, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.' 12 “But they say, ‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.' 13   “Therefore thus says the LORD:  Ask among the nations,    Who has heard the like of this?  The virgin Israel    has done a very horrible thing.14   Does the snow of Lebanon leave    the crags of Sirion?2  Do the mountain waters run dry,3    the cold flowing streams?15   But my people have forgotten me;    they make offerings to false gods;  they made them stumble in their ways,    in the ancient roads,  and to walk into side roads,    not the highway,16   making their land a horror,    a thing to be hissed at forever.  Everyone who passes by it is horrified    and shakes his head.17   Like the east wind I will scatter them    before the enemy.  I will show them my back, not my face,    in the day of their calamity.” 18 Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.” 19   Hear me, O LORD,    and listen to the voice of my adversaries.20   Should good be repaid with evil?    Yet they have dug a pit for my life.  Remember how I stood before you    to speak good for them,    to turn away your wrath from them.21   Therefore deliver up their children to famine;    give them over to the power of the sword;  let their wives become childless and widowed.    May their men meet death by pestilence,    their youths be struck down by the sword in battle.22   May a cry be heard from their houses,    when you bring the plunderer suddenly upon them!  For they have dug a pit to take me    and laid snares for my feet.23   Yet you, O LORD, know    all their plotting to kill me.  Forgive not their iniquity,    nor blot out their sin from your sight.  Let them be overthrown before you;    deal with them in the time of your anger. Footnotes [1] 18:2 Or will cause you to hear [2] 18:14 Hebrew of the field [3] 18:14 Hebrew Are foreign waters plucked up (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Hebrews 1 Hebrews 1 (Listen) The Supremacy of God's Son 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,   “You are my Son,    today I have begotten you”? Or again,   “I will be to him a father,    and he shall be to me a son”? 6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,   “Let all God's angels worship him.” 7 Of the angels he says,   “He makes his angels winds,    and his ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But of the Son he says,   “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,    the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.9   You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;  therefore God, your God, has anointed you    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” 10 And,   “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,    and the heavens are the work of your hands;11   they will perish, but you remain;    they will all wear out like a garment,12   like a robe you will roll them up,    like a garment they will be changed.1  But you are the same,    and your years will have no end.” 13 And to which of the angels has he ever said,   “Sit at my right hand    until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? Footnotes [1] 1:12 Some manuscripts omit like a garment (ESV)

Song of Solomon 1–8 Song of Solomon 1–8 (Listen) 1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. The Bride Confesses Her Love She1 2   Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!  For your love is better than wine;3     your anointing oils are fragrant;  your name is oil poured out;    therefore virgins love you.4   Draw me after you; let us run.    The king has brought me into his chambers. Others   We will exult and rejoice in you;    we will extol your love more than wine;    rightly do they love you. She 5   I am very dark, but lovely,    O daughters of Jerusalem,  like the tents of Kedar,    like the curtains of Solomon.6   Do not gaze at me because I am dark,    because the sun has looked upon me.  My mother's sons were angry with me;    they made me keeper of the vineyards,    but my own vineyard I have not kept!7   Tell me, you whom my soul loves,    where you pasture your flock,    where you make it lie down at noon;  for why should I be like one who veils herself    beside the flocks of your companions? Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other He 8   If you do not know,    O most beautiful among women,  follow in the tracks of the flock,    and pasture your young goats    beside the shepherds' tents. 9   I compare you, my love,    to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots.10   Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,    your neck with strings of jewels. Others 11   We will make for you2 ornaments of gold,    studded with silver. She 12   While the king was on his couch,    my nard gave forth its fragrance.13   My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh    that lies between my breasts.14   My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms    in the vineyards of Engedi. He 15   Behold, you are beautiful, my love;    behold, you are beautiful;    your eyes are doves. She 16   Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.  Our couch is green;17     the beams of our house are cedar;    our rafters are pine. 2   I am a rose3 of Sharon,    a lily of the valleys. He 2   As a lily among brambles,    so is my love among the young women. She 3   As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,    so is my beloved among the young men.  With great delight I sat in his shadow,    and his fruit was sweet to my taste.4   He brought me to the banqueting house,4    and his banner over me was love.5   Sustain me with raisins;    refresh me with apples,    for I am sick with love.6   His left hand is under my head,    and his right hand embraces me!7   I adjure you,5 O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing6 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes7 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes8 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.9 The Bride's Dream 3   On my bed by night  I sought him whom my soul loves;    I sought him, but found him not.2   I will rise now and go about the city,    in the streets and in the squares;  I will seek him whom my soul loves.    I sought him, but found him not.3   The watchmen found me    as they went about in the city.  “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”4   Scarcely had I passed them    when I found him whom my soul loves.  I held him, and would not let him go    until I had brought him into my mother's house,    and into the chamber of her who conceived me.5   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. Solomon Arrives for the Wedding 6   What is that coming up from the wilderness    like columns of smoke,  perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,    with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?7   Behold, it is the litter10 of Solomon!  Around it are sixty mighty men,    some of the mighty men of Israel,8   all of them wearing swords    and expert in war,  each with his sword at his thigh,    against terror by night.9   King Solomon made himself a carriage11    from the wood of Lebanon.10   He made its posts of silver,    its back of gold, its seat of purple;  its interior was inlaid with love    by the daughters of Jerusalem.11   Go out, O daughters of Zion,    and look upon King Solomon,  with the crown with which his mother crowned him    on the day of his wedding,    on the day of the gladness of his heart. Solomon Admires His Bride's Beauty He 4   Behold, you are beautiful, my love,    behold, you are beautiful!  Your eyes are doves    behind your veil.  Your hair is like a flock of goats    leaping down the slopes of Gilead.2   Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes    that have come up from the washing,  all of which bear twins,    and not one among them has lost its young.3   Your lips are like a scarlet thread,    and your mouth is lovely.  Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate    behind your veil.4   Your neck is like the tower of David,    built in rows of stone;12  on it hang a thousand shields,    all of them shields of warriors.5   Your two breasts are like two fawns,    twins of a gazelle,    that graze among the lilies.6   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  I will go away to the mountain of myrrh    and the hill of frankincense.7   You are altogether beautiful, my love;    there is no flaw in you.8   Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;    come with me from Lebanon.  Depart13 from the peak of Amana,    from the peak of Senir and Hermon,  from the dens of lions,    from the mountains of leopards. 9   You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride;    you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,    with one jewel of your necklace.10   How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!    How much better is your love than wine,    and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!11   Your lips drip nectar, my bride;    honey and milk are under your tongue;    the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.12   A garden locked is my sister, my bride,    a spring locked, a fountain sealed.13   Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates    with all choicest fruits,    henna with nard,14   nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,    with all trees of frankincense,  myrrh and aloes,    with all choice spices—15   a garden fountain, a well of living water,    and flowing streams from Lebanon. 16   Awake, O north wind,    and come, O south wind!  Blow upon my garden,    let its spices flow. Together in the Garden of Love She   Let my beloved come to his garden,    and eat its choicest fruits. He 5   I came to my garden, my sister, my bride,    I gathered my myrrh with my spice,    I ate my honeycomb with my honey,    I drank my wine with my milk. Others   Eat, friends, drink,    and be drunk with love! The Bride Searches for Her Beloved She 2   I slept, but my heart was awake.  A sound! My beloved is knocking.  “Open to me, my sister, my love,    my dove, my perfect one,  for my head is wet with dew,    my locks with the drops of the night.”3   I had put off my garment;    how could I put it on?  I had bathed my feet;    how could I soil them?4   My beloved put his hand to the latch,    and my heart was thrilled within me.5   I arose to open to my beloved,    and my hands dripped with myrrh,  my fingers with liquid myrrh,    on the handles of the bolt.6   I opened to my beloved,    but my beloved had turned and gone.  My soul failed me when he spoke.  I sought him, but found him not;    I called him, but he gave no answer.7   The watchmen found me    as they went about in the city;  they beat me, they bruised me,    they took away my veil,    those watchmen of the walls.8   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    if you find my beloved,  that you tell him    I am sick with love. Others 9   What is your beloved more than another beloved,    O most beautiful among women?  What is your beloved more than another beloved,    that you thus adjure us? The Bride Praises Her Beloved She 10   My beloved is radiant and ruddy,    distinguished among ten thousand.11   His head is the finest gold;    his locks are wavy,    black as a raven.12   His eyes are like doves    beside streams of water,  bathed in milk,    sitting beside a full pool.14

With family: Numbers 4; Psalm 38 Numbers 4 (Listen) Duties of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites 4 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 3 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things. 5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin1 and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles. 7 And over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular showbread also shall be on it. 8 Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 9 And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. 10 And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. 11 And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 12 And they shall take all the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. 13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry. 16 “And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.” 17 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18 “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, 19 but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, 20 but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.” 21 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' houses and by their clans. 23 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can come to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: 25 they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting 26 and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. 28 This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers' houses. 30 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 31 And this is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases, 32 and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall list by name the objects that they are required to carry. 33 This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.” 34 And Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 35 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting; 36 and those listed by clans were 2,750. 37 This was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses. 38 Those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 39 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting—40 those listed by their clans and their fathers' houses were 2,630. 41 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD. 42 Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 43 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting—44 those listed by clans were 3,200. 45 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses. 46 All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 47 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, 48 those listed were 8,580. 49 According to the commandment of the LORD through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the LORD commanded Moses. Footnotes [1] 4:6 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; compare Exodus 25:5 (ESV) Psalm 38 (Listen) Do Not Forsake Me, O Lord A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering. 38   O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,    nor discipline me in your wrath!2   For your arrows have sunk into me,    and your hand has come down on me. 3   There is no soundness in my flesh    because of your indignation;  there is no health in my bones    because of my sin.4   For my iniquities have gone over my head;    like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. 5   My wounds stink and fester    because of my foolishness,6   I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;    all the day I go about mourning.7   For my sides are filled with burning,    and there is no soundness in my flesh.8   I am feeble and crushed;    I groan because of the tumult of my heart. 9   O Lord, all my longing is before you;    my sighing is not hidden from you.10   My heart throbs; my strength fails me,    and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.11   My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,    and my nearest kin stand far off. 12   Those who seek my life lay their snares;    those who seek my hurt speak of ruin    and meditate treachery all day long. 13   But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,    like a mute man who does not open his mouth.14   I have become like a man who does not hear,    and in whose mouth are no rebukes. 15   But for you, O LORD, do I wait;    it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.16   For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me,    who boast against me when my foot slips!” 17   For I am ready to fall,    and my pain is ever before me.18   I confess my iniquity;    I am sorry for my sin.19   But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,    and many are those who hate me wrongfully.20   Those who render me evil for good    accuse me because I follow after good. 21   Do not forsake me, O LORD!    O my God, be not far from me!22   Make haste to help me,    O Lord, my salvation! (ESV) In private: Song of Solomon 2; Hebrews 2 Song of Solomon 2 (Listen) 2   I am a rose1 of Sharon,    a lily of the valleys. He 2   As a lily among brambles,    so is my love among the young women. She 3   As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,    so is my beloved among the young men.  With great delight I sat in his shadow,    and his fruit was sweet to my taste.4   He brought me to the banqueting house,2    and his banner over me was love.5   Sustain me with raisins;    refresh me with apples,    for I am sick with love.6   His left hand is under my head,    and his right hand embraces me!7   I adjure you,3 O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing4 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes5 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes6 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.7 Footnotes [1] 2:1 Probably a bulb, such as a crocus, asphodel, or narcissus [2] 2:4 Hebrew the house of wine [3] 2:7 That is, I put you on oath; so throughout the Song [4] 2:12 Or pruning [5] 2:15 Or jackals [6] 2:16 Or he pastures his flock [7] 2:17 Or mountains of Bether (ESV) Hebrews 2 (Listen) Warning Against Neglecting Salvation 2 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. The Founder of Salvation 5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. 6 It has been testified somewhere,   “What is man, that you are mindful of him,    or the son of man, that you care for him?7   You made him for a little while lower than the angels;    you have crowned him with glory and honor,18     putting everything in subjection under his feet.” Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source.2 That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers,3 12 saying,   “I will tell of your name to my brothers;    in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.” 13 And again,   “I will put my trust in him.” And again,   “Behold, I and the children God has given me.” 14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Footnotes [1] 2:7 Some manuscripts insert and set him over the works of your hands [2] 2:11 Greek all are of one [3] 2:11 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters (ESV)

Rumor has it that Paramount could put BET and VH1 up for sale! BET just merged with VH1 last fall, and Paramount just acquired Showtime. I look back at both network launches, reminisce classic shows they broacasted, and reveal three celebrity moguls who are bidding to become potential new owners.Theme Song: "Dance Track", composed by Jessica Ann CatenaVariety: https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/tyler-perry-byron-allen-bet-paramount-global-exploring-sale-1235544409/https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/sean-diddy-combs-bet-sale-revolt-1235552395/BET: https://www.bet.com/, https://www.bet.plus/BET shows: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_programs_broadcast_by_BETVH1: https://www.vh1.com/VH1 shows: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_programs_broadcast_by_VH1Paramount+: https://www.paramountplus.com/CMT Storytellers: https://www.cmt.com/shows/cmt-storytellers/b1xbdz/season-2VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown shoutout: https://www.instagram.com/p/nmBBLgnaJE/900th episode: https://www.vh1.com/news/d5wq1d/vh1-top-20-video-countdown-900th-episode Related Episodes: Ep. 34 - Soul Train & BET's American Soul: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/28735951Ep. 83 - Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On": https://www.spreaker.com/episode/44835493Ep. 94 - MTV's Music Impact: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/45920382Ep. 123 - Z100's Radio History: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/48800235

Morning: Romans 5:20; 2 Corinthians 8:9; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:7–9; 1 Timothy 1:14; Titus 3:5–6 The grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.—But where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. So that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.—Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.—He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. Romans 5:20 (Listen) 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, (ESV) 2 Corinthians 8:9 (Listen) 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. (ESV) Galatians 2:16 (Listen) 16 yet we know that a person is not justified1 by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. Footnotes [1] 2:16 Or counted righteous (three times in verse 16); also verse 17 (ESV) Ephesians 2:7–9 (Listen) 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (ESV) 1 Timothy 1:14 (Listen) 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. (ESV) Titus 3:5–6 (Listen) 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, (ESV) Evening: Numbers 24:17; Song of Solomon 2:17; Isaiah 21:11–12; Mark 13:33–37; John 8:12; Romans 13:12; Revelation 2:28; Revelation 22:16 “I am… the bright morning star.” “A star shall come out of Jacob.” The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.—Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle or a young stag on cleft mountains. “Watchman, what time of the night?” The watchman says: “Morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; come back again.” “I am the light of the world.”—“And I will give him the morning star.” “Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake… lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.” Numbers 24:17 (Listen) 17   I see him, but not now;    I behold him, but not near:  a star shall come out of Jacob,    and a scepter shall rise out of Israel;  it shall crush the forehead1 of Moab    and break down all the sons of Sheth. Footnotes [1] 24:17 Hebrew corners [of the head] (ESV) Song of Solomon 2:17 (Listen) 17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.1 Footnotes [1] 2:17 Or mountains of Bether (ESV) Isaiah 21:11–12 (Listen) 11 The oracle concerning Dumah.   One is calling to me from Seir,    “Watchman, what time of the night?    Watchman, what time of the night?”12   The watchman says:  “Morning comes, and also the night.    If you will inquire, inquire;    come back again.” (ESV) Mark 13:33–37 (Listen) 33 Be on guard, keep awake.1 For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants2 in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows,3 or in the morning—36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.” Footnotes [1] 13:33 Some manuscripts add and pray [2] 13:34 Or bondservants [3] 13:35 That is, the third watch of the night, between midnight and 3 a.m. (ESV) John 8:12 (Listen) I Am the Light of the World 12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (ESV) Romans 13:12 (Listen) 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. (ESV) Revelation 2:28 (Listen) 28 And I will give him the morning star. (ESV) Revelation 22:16 (Listen) 16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” (ESV)

I'm excited to have this guest on the show. We are diving into a series involving the video game industry and who better to lead off this season is Tanya DePass. Tanya DePass is the founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a not-for-profit organization based in Chicago, which is dedicated to better diversification of all aspects of gaming. I Need Diverse Games serves the community by supporting marginalized developers. Tanya is a lifelong Chicagoan who loves everything about gaming, #INeedDiverseGames spawn point, and wants to make the industry better and more inclusive for everyone. She's a partnered Twitch variety broadcaster; and often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics online, at conventions, and as a public speaker. She's named as one of The Game Awards Future Class 2020, a diverse group of builders, thinkers, and dreamers whose voices elevate and diversify our art form. It recognizes individuals around the world who represent the bright, bold, and inclusive future for video games. She was also named as one of Gamers of the Year 2020 by Kotaku along with three of her contemporaries. She was also invited to the Xbox MVP program in February 2021. Her work to make the industry more inclusive has been highlighted in Game Changer, Directed by Tina Charles, WNBA star & olympian as well as filmmaker. The short documentary premiered at Tribeca 2021, as part of the Queen Collective; an initiative started by Queen Latifah, supported by Proctor & Gamble in an effort to get more Black women into filmmaking. Game Changer was also featured as part of BETHer's 2021 Juneteenth Programming on 19 June 2021. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Old Testament: Song of Solomon 1–4 Song of Solomon 1–4 (Listen) 1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. The Bride Confesses Her Love She1 2   Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!  For your love is better than wine;3     your anointing oils are fragrant;  your name is oil poured out;    therefore virgins love you.4   Draw me after you; let us run.    The king has brought me into his chambers. Others   We will exult and rejoice in you;    we will extol your love more than wine;    rightly do they love you. She 5   I am very dark, but lovely,    O daughters of Jerusalem,  like the tents of Kedar,    like the curtains of Solomon.6   Do not gaze at me because I am dark,    because the sun has looked upon me.  My mother's sons were angry with me;    they made me keeper of the vineyards,    but my own vineyard I have not kept!7   Tell me, you whom my soul loves,    where you pasture your flock,    where you make it lie down at noon;  for why should I be like one who veils herself    beside the flocks of your companions? Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other He 8   If you do not know,    O most beautiful among women,  follow in the tracks of the flock,    and pasture your young goats    beside the shepherds' tents. 9   I compare you, my love,    to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots.10   Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,    your neck with strings of jewels. Others 11   We will make for you2 ornaments of gold,    studded with silver. She 12   While the king was on his couch,    my nard gave forth its fragrance.13   My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh    that lies between my breasts.14   My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms    in the vineyards of Engedi. He 15   Behold, you are beautiful, my love;    behold, you are beautiful;    your eyes are doves. She 16   Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.  Our couch is green;17     the beams of our house are cedar;    our rafters are pine. 2   I am a rose3 of Sharon,    a lily of the valleys. He 2   As a lily among brambles,    so is my love among the young women. She 3   As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,    so is my beloved among the young men.  With great delight I sat in his shadow,    and his fruit was sweet to my taste.4   He brought me to the banqueting house,4    and his banner over me was love.5   Sustain me with raisins;    refresh me with apples,    for I am sick with love.6   His left hand is under my head,    and his right hand embraces me!7   I adjure you,5 O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing6 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes7 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes8 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.9 The Bride's Dream 3   On my bed by night  I sought him whom my soul loves;    I sought him, but found him not.2   I will rise now and go about the city,    in the streets and in the squares;  I will seek him whom my soul loves.    I sought him, but found him not.3   The watchmen found me    as they went about in the city.  “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”4   Scarcely had I passed them    when I found him whom my soul loves.  I held him, and would not let him go    until I had brought him into my mother's house,    and into the chamber of her who conceived me.5   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. Solomon Arrives for the Wedding 6   What is that coming up from the wilderness    like columns of smoke,  perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,    with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?7   Behold, it is the litter10 of Solomon!  Around it are sixty mighty men,    some of the mighty men of Israel,8   all of them wearing swords    and expert in war,  each with his sword at his thigh,    against terror by night.9   King Solomon made himself a carriage11    from the wood of Lebanon.10   He made its posts of silver,    its back of gold, its seat of purple;  its interior was inlaid with love    by the daughters of Jerusalem.11   Go out, O daughters of Zion,    and look upon King Solomon,  with the crown with which his mother crowned him    on the day of his wedding,    on the day of the gladness of his heart. Solomon Admires His Bride's Beauty He 4   Behold, you are beautiful, my love,    behold, you are beautiful!  Your eyes are doves    behind your veil.  Your hair is like a flock of goats    leaping down the slopes of Gilead.2   Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes    that have come up from the washing,  all of which bear twins,    and not one among them has lost its young.3   Your lips are like a scarlet thread,    and your mouth is lovely.  Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate    behind your veil.4   Your neck is like the tower of David,    built in rows of stone;12  on it hang a thousand shields,    all of them shields of warriors.5   Your two breasts are like two fawns,    twins of a gazelle,    that graze among the lilies.6   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  I will go away to the mountain of myrrh    and the hill of frankincense.7   You are altogether beautiful, my love;    there is no flaw in you.8   Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;    come with me from Lebanon.  Depart13 from the peak of Amana,    from the peak of Senir and Hermon,  from the dens of lions,    from the mountains of leopards. 9   You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride;    you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,    with one jewel of your necklace.10   How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!    How much better is your love than wine,    and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!11   Your lips drip nectar, my bride;    honey and milk are under your tongue;    the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.12   A garden locked is my sister, my bride,    a spring locked, a fountain sealed.13   Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates    with all choicest fruits,    henna with nard,14   nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,    with all trees of frankincense,  myrrh and aloes,    with all choice spices—15   a garden fountain, a well of living water,    and flowing streams from Lebanon. 16   Awake, O north wind,    and come, O south wind!  Blow upon my garden,    let its spices flow. Together in the Garden of Love She   Let my beloved come to his garden,    and eat its choicest fruits. Footnotes [1] 1:2 The translators have added speaker identifications based on the gender and number of the Hebrew words [2] 1:11 The Hebrew for you is feminine singular [3] 2:1 Probably a bulb, such as a crocus, asphodel, or narcissus [4] 2:4 Hebrew the house of wine [5] 2:7 That is, I put you on oath; so throughout the Song [6] 2:12 Or pruning [7] 2:15 Or jackals [8] 2:16 Or he pastures his flock [9] 2:17 Or mountains of Bether [10] 3:7 That is, the couch on which servants carry a king [11] 3:9 Or sedan chair [12] 4:4 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [13] 4:8 Or Look (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 79 Psalm 79 (Listen) How Long, O Lord? A Psalm of Asaph. 79   O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;    they have defiled your holy temple;    they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.2   They have given the bodies of your servants    to the birds of the heavens for food,    the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.3   They have poured out their blood like water    all around Jerusalem,    and there was no one to bury them.4   We have become a taunt to our neighbors,    mocked and derided by those around us. 5   How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever?    Will your jealousy burn like fire?6   Pour out your anger on the nations    that do not know you,  and on the kingdoms    that do not call upon your name!7   For they have devoured Jacob    and laid waste his habitation. 8   Do not remember against us our former iniquities;1    let your compassion come speedily to meet us,    for we are brought very low.9   Help us, O God of our salvation,    for the glory of your name;  deliver us, and atone for our sins,    for your name's sake!10   Why should the nations say,    “Where is their God?”  Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants    be known among the nations before our eyes! 11  

Old Testament: Song of Solomon 1–4 Song of Solomon 1–4 (Listen) 1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. The Bride Confesses Her Love She1 2   Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!  For your love is better than wine;3     your anointing oils are fragrant;  your name is oil poured out;    therefore virgins love you.4   Draw me after you; let us run.    The king has brought me into his chambers. Others   We will exult and rejoice in you;    we will extol your love more than wine;    rightly do they love you. She 5   I am very dark, but lovely,    O daughters of Jerusalem,  like the tents of Kedar,    like the curtains of Solomon.6   Do not gaze at me because I am dark,    because the sun has looked upon me.  My mother's sons were angry with me;    they made me keeper of the vineyards,    but my own vineyard I have not kept!7   Tell me, you whom my soul loves,    where you pasture your flock,    where you make it lie down at noon;  for why should I be like one who veils herself    beside the flocks of your companions? Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other He 8   If you do not know,    O most beautiful among women,  follow in the tracks of the flock,    and pasture your young goats    beside the shepherds' tents. 9   I compare you, my love,    to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots.10   Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,    your neck with strings of jewels. Others 11   We will make for you2 ornaments of gold,    studded with silver. She 12   While the king was on his couch,    my nard gave forth its fragrance.13   My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh    that lies between my breasts.14   My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms    in the vineyards of Engedi. He 15   Behold, you are beautiful, my love;    behold, you are beautiful;    your eyes are doves. She 16   Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.  Our couch is green;17     the beams of our house are cedar;    our rafters are pine. 2   I am a rose3 of Sharon,    a lily of the valleys. He 2   As a lily among brambles,    so is my love among the young women. She 3   As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,    so is my beloved among the young men.  With great delight I sat in his shadow,    and his fruit was sweet to my taste.4   He brought me to the banqueting house,4    and his banner over me was love.5   Sustain me with raisins;    refresh me with apples,    for I am sick with love.6   His left hand is under my head,    and his right hand embraces me!7   I adjure you,5 O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing6 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes7 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes8 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.9 The Bride's Dream 3   On my bed by night  I sought him whom my soul loves;    I sought him, but found him not.2   I will rise now and go about the city,    in the streets and in the squares;  I will seek him whom my soul loves.    I sought him, but found him not.3   The watchmen found me    as they went about in the city.  “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”4   Scarcely had I passed them    when I found him whom my soul loves.  I held him, and would not let him go    until I had brought him into my mother's house,    and into the chamber of her who conceived me.5   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. Solomon Arrives for the Wedding 6   What is that coming up from the wilderness    like columns of smoke,  perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,    with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?7   Behold, it is the litter10 of Solomon!  Around it are sixty mighty men,    some of the mighty men of Israel,8   all of them wearing swords    and expert in war,  each with his sword at his thigh,    against terror by night.9   King Solomon made himself a carriage11    from the wood of Lebanon.10   He made its posts of silver,    its back of gold, its seat of purple;  its interior was inlaid with love    by the daughters of Jerusalem.11   Go out, O daughters of Zion,    and look upon King Solomon,  with the crown with which his mother crowned him    on the day of his wedding,    on the day of the gladness of his heart. Solomon Admires His Bride's Beauty He 4   Behold, you are beautiful, my love,    behold, you are beautiful!  Your eyes are doves    behind your veil.  Your hair is like a flock of goats    leaping down the slopes of Gilead.2   Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes    that have come up from the washing,  all of which bear twins,    and not one among them has lost its young.3   Your lips are like a scarlet thread,    and your mouth is lovely.  Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate    behind your veil.4   Your neck is like the tower of David,    built in rows of stone;12  on it hang a thousand shields,    all of them shields of warriors.5   Your two breasts are like two fawns,    twins of a gazelle,    that graze among the lilies.6   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  I will go away to the mountain of myrrh    and the hill of frankincense.7   You are altogether beautiful, my love;    there is no flaw in you.8   Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;    come with me from Lebanon.  Depart13 from the peak of Amana,    from the peak of Senir and Hermon,  from the dens of lions,    from the mountains of leopards. 9   You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride;    you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,    with one jewel of your necklace.10   How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!    How much better is your love than wine,    and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!11   Your lips drip nectar, my bride;    honey and milk are under your tongue;    the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.12   A garden locked is my sister, my bride,    a spring locked, a fountain sealed.13   Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates    with all choicest fruits,    henna with nard,14   nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,    with all trees of frankincense,  myrrh and aloes,    with all choice spices—15   a garden fountain, a well of living water,    and flowing streams from Lebanon. 16   Awake, O north wind,    and come, O south wind!  Blow upon my garden,    let its spices flow. Together in the Garden of Love She   Let my beloved come to his garden,    and eat its choicest fruits. Footnotes [1] 1:2 The translators have added speaker identifications based on the gender and number of the Hebrew words [2] 1:11 The Hebrew for you is feminine singular [3] 2:1 Probably a bulb, such as a crocus, asphodel, or narcissus [4] 2:4 Hebrew the house of wine [5] 2:7 That is, I put you on oath; so throughout the Song [6] 2:12 Or pruning [7] 2:15 Or jackals [8] 2:16 Or he pastures his flock [9] 2:17 Or mountains of Bether [10] 3:7 That is, the couch on which servants carry a king [11] 3:9 Or sedan chair [12] 4:4 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [13] 4:8 Or Look (ESV) New Testament: Hebrews 1 Hebrews 1 (Listen) The Supremacy of God's Son 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,   “You are my Son,    today I have begotten you”? Or again,   “I will be to him a father,    and he shall be to me a son”? 6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,   “Let all God's angels worship him.” 7 Of the angels he says,   “He makes his angels winds,    and his ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But of the Son he says,   “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,    the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.9   You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;  therefore God, your God, has anointed you    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” 10 And,   “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,    and the heavens are the work of your hands;11   they will perish, but you remain;    they will all wear out like a garment,12   like a robe you will roll them up,    like a garment they will be changed.

Morning: Song of Solomon 1–3 Song of Solomon 1–3 (Listen) 1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. The Bride Confesses Her Love She1 2   Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!  For your love is better than wine;3     your anointing oils are fragrant;  your name is oil poured out;    therefore virgins love you.4   Draw me after you; let us run.    The king has brought me into his chambers. Others   We will exult and rejoice in you;    we will extol your love more than wine;    rightly do they love you. She 5   I am very dark, but lovely,    O daughters of Jerusalem,  like the tents of Kedar,    like the curtains of Solomon.6   Do not gaze at me because I am dark,    because the sun has looked upon me.  My mother's sons were angry with me;    they made me keeper of the vineyards,    but my own vineyard I have not kept!7   Tell me, you whom my soul loves,    where you pasture your flock,    where you make it lie down at noon;  for why should I be like one who veils herself    beside the flocks of your companions? Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other He 8   If you do not know,    O most beautiful among women,  follow in the tracks of the flock,    and pasture your young goats    beside the shepherds' tents. 9   I compare you, my love,    to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots.10   Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,    your neck with strings of jewels. Others 11   We will make for you2 ornaments of gold,    studded with silver. She 12   While the king was on his couch,    my nard gave forth its fragrance.13   My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh    that lies between my breasts.14   My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms    in the vineyards of Engedi. He 15   Behold, you are beautiful, my love;    behold, you are beautiful;    your eyes are doves. She 16   Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.  Our couch is green;17     the beams of our house are cedar;    our rafters are pine. 2   I am a rose3 of Sharon,    a lily of the valleys. He 2   As a lily among brambles,    so is my love among the young women. She 3   As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,    so is my beloved among the young men.  With great delight I sat in his shadow,    and his fruit was sweet to my taste.4   He brought me to the banqueting house,4    and his banner over me was love.5   Sustain me with raisins;    refresh me with apples,    for I am sick with love.6   His left hand is under my head,    and his right hand embraces me!7   I adjure you,5 O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing6 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes7 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes8 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.9 The Bride's Dream 3   On my bed by night  I sought him whom my soul loves;    I sought him, but found him not.2   I will rise now and go about the city,    in the streets and in the squares;  I will seek him whom my soul loves.    I sought him, but found him not.3   The watchmen found me    as they went about in the city.  “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”4   Scarcely had I passed them    when I found him whom my soul loves.  I held him, and would not let him go    until I had brought him into my mother's house,    and into the chamber of her who conceived me.5   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. Solomon Arrives for the Wedding 6   What is that coming up from the wilderness    like columns of smoke,  perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,    with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?7   Behold, it is the litter10 of Solomon!  Around it are sixty mighty men,    some of the mighty men of Israel,8   all of them wearing swords    and expert in war,  each with his sword at his thigh,    against terror by night.9   King Solomon made himself a carriage11    from the wood of Lebanon.10   He made its posts of silver,    its back of gold, its seat of purple;  its interior was inlaid with love    by the daughters of Jerusalem.11   Go out, O daughters of Zion,    and look upon King Solomon,  with the crown with which his mother crowned him    on the day of his wedding,    on the day of the gladness of his heart. Footnotes [1] 1:2 The translators have added speaker identifications based on the gender and number of the Hebrew words [2] 1:11 The Hebrew for you is feminine singular [3] 2:1 Probably a bulb, such as a crocus, asphodel, or narcissus [4] 2:4 Hebrew the house of wine [5] 2:7 That is, I put you on oath; so throughout the Song [6] 2:12 Or pruning [7] 2:15 Or jackals [8] 2:16 Or he pastures his flock [9] 2:17 Or mountains of Bether [10] 3:7 That is, the couch on which servants carry a king [11] 3:9 Or sedan chair (ESV) Evening: 2 Corinthians 12 2 Corinthians 12 (Listen) Paul's Visions and His Thorn 12 I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. 3 And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. 5 On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses—6 though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. 7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations,1 a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Concern for the Corinthian Church 11 I have been a fool! You forced me to it, for I ought to have been commended by you. For I was not at all inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing. 12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works. 13 For in what were you less favored than the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong! 14 Here for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden, for I seek not what is yours but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. 15 I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? 16 But granting that I myself did not burden you, I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit. 17 Did I take advantage of you through any of those whom I sent to you? 18 I urged Titus to go, and sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not act in the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps? 19 Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? It is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ, and all for your upbuilding, beloved. 20 For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. 21 I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced. Footnotes [1] 12:7 Or hears from me, even because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations. So to keep me from becoming conceited (ESV)

Song of Solomon 1–8 Song of Solomon 1–8 (Listen) 1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. The Bride Confesses Her Love She1 2   Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!  For your love is better than wine;3     your anointing oils are fragrant;  your name is oil poured out;    therefore virgins love you.4   Draw me after you; let us run.    The king has brought me into his chambers. Others   We will exult and rejoice in you;    we will extol your love more than wine;    rightly do they love you. She 5   I am very dark, but lovely,    O daughters of Jerusalem,  like the tents of Kedar,    like the curtains of Solomon.6   Do not gaze at me because I am dark,    because the sun has looked upon me.  My mother's sons were angry with me;    they made me keeper of the vineyards,    but my own vineyard I have not kept!7   Tell me, you whom my soul loves,    where you pasture your flock,    where you make it lie down at noon;  for why should I be like one who veils herself    beside the flocks of your companions? Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other He 8   If you do not know,    O most beautiful among women,  follow in the tracks of the flock,    and pasture your young goats    beside the shepherds' tents. 9   I compare you, my love,    to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots.10   Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,    your neck with strings of jewels. Others 11   We will make for you2 ornaments of gold,    studded with silver. She 12   While the king was on his couch,    my nard gave forth its fragrance.13   My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh    that lies between my breasts.14   My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms    in the vineyards of Engedi. He 15   Behold, you are beautiful, my love;    behold, you are beautiful;    your eyes are doves. She 16   Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.  Our couch is green;17     the beams of our house are cedar;    our rafters are pine. 2   I am a rose3 of Sharon,    a lily of the valleys. He 2   As a lily among brambles,    so is my love among the young women. She 3   As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,    so is my beloved among the young men.  With great delight I sat in his shadow,    and his fruit was sweet to my taste.4   He brought me to the banqueting house,4    and his banner over me was love.5   Sustain me with raisins;    refresh me with apples,    for I am sick with love.6   His left hand is under my head,    and his right hand embraces me!7   I adjure you,5 O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing6 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes7 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes8 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.9 The Bride's Dream 3   On my bed by night  I sought him whom my soul loves;    I sought him, but found him not.2   I will rise now and go about the city,    in the streets and in the squares;  I will seek him whom my soul loves.    I sought him, but found him not.3   The watchmen found me    as they went about in the city.  “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”4   Scarcely had I passed them    when I found him whom my soul loves.  I held him, and would not let him go    until I had brought him into my mother's house,    and into the chamber of her who conceived me.5   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. Solomon Arrives for the Wedding 6   What is that coming up from the wilderness    like columns of smoke,  perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,    with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?7   Behold, it is the litter10 of Solomon!  Around it are sixty mighty men,    some of the mighty men of Israel,8   all of them wearing swords    and expert in war,  each with his sword at his thigh,    against terror by night.9   King Solomon made himself a carriage11    from the wood of Lebanon.10   He made its posts of silver,    its back of gold, its seat of purple;  its interior was inlaid with love    by the daughters of Jerusalem.11   Go out, O daughters of Zion,    and look upon King Solomon,  with the crown with which his mother crowned him    on the day of his wedding,    on the day of the gladness of his heart. Solomon Admires His Bride's Beauty He 4   Behold, you are beautiful, my love,    behold, you are beautiful!  Your eyes are doves    behind your veil.  Your hair is like a flock of goats    leaping down the slopes of Gilead.2   Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes    that have come up from the washing,  all of which bear twins,    and not one among them has lost its young.3   Your lips are like a scarlet thread,    and your mouth is lovely.  Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate    behind your veil.4   Your neck is like the tower of David,    built in rows of stone;12  on it hang a thousand shields,    all of them shields of warriors.5   Your two breasts are like two fawns,    twins of a gazelle,    that graze among the lilies.6   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  I will go away to the mountain of myrrh    and the hill of frankincense.7   You are altogether beautiful, my love;    there is no flaw in you.8   Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;    come with me from Lebanon.  Depart13 from the peak of Amana,    from the peak of Senir and Hermon,  from the dens of lions,    from the mountains of leopards. 9   You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride;    you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,    with one jewel of your necklace.10   How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!    How much better is your love than wine,    and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!11   Your lips drip nectar, my bride;    honey and milk are under your tongue;    the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.12   A garden locked is my sister, my bride,    a spring locked, a fountain sealed.13   Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates    with all choicest fruits,    henna with nard,14   nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,    with all trees of frankincense,  myrrh and aloes,    with all choice spices—15   a garden fountain, a well of living water,    and flowing streams from Lebanon. 16   Awake, O north wind,    and come, O south wind!  Blow upon my garden,    let its spices flow. Together in the Garden of Love She   Let my beloved come to his garden,    and eat its choicest fruits. He 5   I came to my garden, my sister, my bride,    I gathered my myrrh with my spice,    I ate my honeycomb with my honey,    I drank my wine with my milk. Others   Eat, friends, drink,    and be drunk with love! The Bride Searches for Her Beloved She 2   I slept, but my heart was awake.  A sound! My beloved is knocking.  “Open to me, my sister, my love,    my dove, my perfect one,  for my head is wet with dew,    my locks with the drops of the night.”3   I had put off my garment;    how could I put it on?  I had bathed my feet;    how could I soil them?4   My beloved put his hand to the latch,    and my heart was thrilled within me.5   I arose to open to my beloved,    and my hands dripped with myrrh,  my fingers with liquid myrrh,    on the handles of the bolt.6   I opened to my beloved,    but my beloved had turned and gone.  My soul failed me when he spoke.  I sought him, but found him not;    I called him, but he gave no answer.7   The watchmen found me    as they went about in the city;  they beat me, they bruised me,    they took away my veil,    those watchmen of the walls.8   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    if you find my beloved,  that you tell him    I am sick with love. Others 9   What is your beloved more than another beloved,    O most beautiful among women?  What is your beloved more than another beloved,    that you thus adjure us? The Bride Praises Her Beloved She 10   My beloved is radiant and ruddy,    distinguished among ten thousand.11   His head is the finest gold;    his locks are wavy,    black as a raven.12   His eyes are like doves    beside streams of water,  bathed in milk,    sitting beside a full pool.14

Psalms and Wisdom: Song of Solomon 2:8–17 Song of Solomon 2:8–17 (Listen) The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing1 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes2 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes3 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.4 Footnotes [1] 2:12 Or pruning [2] 2:15 Or jackals [3] 2:16 Or he pastures his flock [4] 2:17 Or mountains of Bether (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Judges 2–3:6 Judges 2–3:6 (Listen) Israel's Disobedience 2 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.1 And they sacrificed there to the LORD. The Death of Joshua 6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. Israel's Unfaithfulness 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. The Lord Raises Up Judges 16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. 3 Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods. Footnotes [1] 2:5 Bochim means weepers (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Jeremiah 18 Jeremiah 18 (Listen) The Potter and the Clay 18 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear1 my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. 9 And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the LORD, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.' 12 “But they say, ‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.' 13   “Therefore thus says the LORD:  Ask among the nations,    Who has heard the like of this?  The virgin Israel    has done a very horrible thing.14   Does the snow of Lebanon leave    the crags of Sirion?2  Do the mountain waters run dry,3    the cold flowing streams?15   But my people have forgotten me;    they make offerings to false gods;  they made them stumble in their ways,    in the ancient roads,  and to walk into side roads,    not the highway,16   making their land a horror,    a thing to be hissed at forever.  Everyone who passes by it is horrified    and shakes his head.17   Like the east wind I will scatter them    before the enemy.  I will show them my back, not my face,    in the day of their calamity.” 18 Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.” 19   Hear me, O LORD,    and listen to the voice of my adversaries.20   Should good be repaid with evil?    Yet they have dug a pit for my life.  Remember how I stood before you    to speak good for them,    to turn away your wrath from them.21   Therefore deliver up their children to famine;    give them over to the power of the sword;  let their wives become childless and widowed.    May their men meet death by pestilence,    their youths be struck down by the sword in battle.22   May a cry be heard from their houses,    when you bring the plunderer suddenly upon them!  For they have dug a pit to take me    and laid snares for my feet.23   Yet you, O LORD, know    all their plotting to kill me.  Forgive not their iniquity,    nor blot out their sin from your sight.  Let them be overthrown before you;    deal with them in the time of your anger. Footnotes [1] 18:2 Or will cause you to hear [2] 18:14 Hebrew of the field [3] 18:14 Hebrew Are foreign waters plucked up (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Hebrews 1 Hebrews 1 (Listen) The Supremacy of God's Son 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,   “You are my Son,    today I have begotten you”? Or again,   “I will be to him a father,    and he shall be to me a son”? 6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,   “Let all God's angels worship him.” 7 Of the angels he says,   “He makes his angels winds,    and his ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But of the Son he says,   “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,    the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.9   You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;  therefore God, your God, has anointed you    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” 10 And,   “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,    and the heavens are the work of your hands;11   they will perish, but you remain;    they will all wear out like a garment,12   like a robe you will roll them up,    like a garment they will be changed.1  But you are the same,    and your years will have no end.” 13 And to which of the angels has he ever said,   “Sit at my right hand    until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? Footnotes [1] 1:12 Some manuscripts omit like a garment (ESV)

Song of Song 2:17 Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether. The amazing House that Jesus is building required the mountains of Bether - find out why in this episode

Over the past few episodes we looked at correlations between the sharp sickles of Passover, specifically the First Fruits of the Barley, and the sharp sickles of Revelation Fourteen. Within that passage of Revelation, we read a very specific prophecy: And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. And the wine press was trampled outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses' bridles, for a distance of 1,600 stadia. (Re 14:17-20) Yeshua harvests for Firstfruits of the Barley and Shavuot, the conclusion of human “wheat.” The angel of fire harvests those from the Vineyard as well as the vineyard of the whole earth to throw them into the winepress of Sukkot, when the decrees of Rosh HaShanah are executed upon the whole world. Sukkot is also known as “The Feast of the Nations.” One may enjoy the Feast of the Nations with Yeshua, or one may be part of a nation consumed by his wrath. As we've seen, the prophecies of Scripture are fulfilled multiple times in history. Often there are textual markers, such as a doubled word or repetition within the text, or sometimes a chiasm. Blood up to the horses' bridles is a very precise prophecy, and it leads the reader to a previous fulfillment. In the last stand of the Jews who followed Bar Kokhba, a false messiah, the Romans massacred the inhabitants of Beitar. According to the lone survivor of the massacre, the blood in Beitar ran up to the Roman horses' noses. That leads to the Footsteps prophecy of Song of Songs, which prophesies the “turn” of Messiah on the mountains to meet with his Beloved Israel. 2:17 Until the cool of the day, when the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether. The mountains of Bether are an odd location because they are not mentioned anywhere else in Scripture, and even the Romans' massacre there was far in the future when first prophesied in the Song. There must have been a singular event in history that would mark a step of Messiah's turning to his Beloved.

Song of Solomon 1–8 Song of Solomon 1–8 (Listen) 1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. The Bride Confesses Her Love She1 2   Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!  For your love is better than wine;3     your anointing oils are fragrant;  your name is oil poured out;    therefore virgins love you.4   Draw me after you; let us run.    The king has brought me into his chambers. Others   We will exult and rejoice in you;    we will extol your love more than wine;    rightly do they love you. She 5   I am very dark, but lovely,    O daughters of Jerusalem,  like the tents of Kedar,    like the curtains of Solomon.6   Do not gaze at me because I am dark,    because the sun has looked upon me.  My mother's sons were angry with me;    they made me keeper of the vineyards,    but my own vineyard I have not kept!7   Tell me, you whom my soul loves,    where you pasture your flock,    where you make it lie down at noon;  for why should I be like one who veils herself    beside the flocks of your companions? Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other He 8   If you do not know,    O most beautiful among women,  follow in the tracks of the flock,    and pasture your young goats    beside the shepherds' tents. 9   I compare you, my love,    to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots.10   Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,    your neck with strings of jewels. Others 11   We will make for you2 ornaments of gold,    studded with silver. She 12   While the king was on his couch,    my nard gave forth its fragrance.13   My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh    that lies between my breasts.14   My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms    in the vineyards of Engedi. He 15   Behold, you are beautiful, my love;    behold, you are beautiful;    your eyes are doves. She 16   Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.  Our couch is green;17     the beams of our house are cedar;    our rafters are pine. 2   I am a rose3 of Sharon,    a lily of the valleys. He 2   As a lily among brambles,    so is my love among the young women. She 3   As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,    so is my beloved among the young men.  With great delight I sat in his shadow,    and his fruit was sweet to my taste.4   He brought me to the banqueting house,4    and his banner over me was love.5   Sustain me with raisins;    refresh me with apples,    for I am sick with love.6   His left hand is under my head,    and his right hand embraces me!7   I adjure you,5 O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing6 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes7 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes8 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.9 The Bride's Dream 3   On my bed by night  I sought him whom my soul loves;    I sought him, but found him not.2   I will rise now and go about the city,    in the streets and in the squares;  I will seek him whom my soul loves.    I sought him, but found him not.3   The watchmen found me    as they went about in the city.  “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”4   Scarcely had I passed them    when I found him whom my soul loves.  I held him, and would not let him go    until I had brought him into my mother's house,    and into the chamber of her who conceived me.5   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. Solomon Arrives for the Wedding 6   What is that coming up from the wilderness    like columns of smoke,  perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,    with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?7   Behold, it is the litter10 of Solomon!  Around it are sixty mighty men,    some of the mighty men of Israel,8   all of them wearing swords    and expert in war,  each with his sword at his thigh,    against terror by night.9   King Solomon made himself a carriage11    from the wood of Lebanon.10   He made its posts of silver,    its back of gold, its seat of purple;  its interior was inlaid with love    by the daughters of Jerusalem.11   Go out, O daughters of Zion,    and look upon King Solomon,  with the crown with which his mother crowned him    on the day of his wedding,    on the day of the gladness of his heart. Solomon Admires His Bride's Beauty He 4   Behold, you are beautiful, my love,    behold, you are beautiful!  Your eyes are doves    behind your veil.  Your hair is like a flock of goats    leaping down the slopes of Gilead.2   Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes    that have come up from the washing,  all of which bear twins,    and not one among them has lost its young.3   Your lips are like a scarlet thread,    and your mouth is lovely.  Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate    behind your veil.4   Your neck is like the tower of David,    built in rows of stone;12  on it hang a thousand shields,    all of them shields of warriors.5   Your two breasts are like two fawns,    twins of a gazelle,    that graze among the lilies.6   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  I will go away to the mountain of myrrh    and the hill of frankincense.7   You are altogether beautiful, my love;    there is no flaw in you.8   Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;    come with me from Lebanon.  Depart13 from the peak of Amana,    from the peak of Senir and Hermon,  from the dens of lions,    from the mountains of leopards. 9   You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride;    you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,    with one jewel of your necklace.10   How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!    How much better is your love than wine,    and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!11   Your lips drip nectar, my bride;    honey and milk are under your tongue;    the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.12   A garden locked is my sister, my bride,    a spring locked, a fountain sealed.13   Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates    with all choicest fruits,    henna with nard,14   nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,    with all trees of frankincense,  myrrh and aloes,    with all choice spices—15   a garden fountain, a well of living water,    and flowing streams from Lebanon. 16   Awake, O north wind,    and come, O south wind!  Blow upon my garden,    let its spices flow. Together in the Garden of Love She   Let my beloved come to his garden,    and eat its choicest fruits. He 5   I came to my garden, my sister, my bride,    I gathered my myrrh with my spice,    I ate my honeycomb with my honey,    I drank my wine with my milk. Others   Eat, friends, drink,    and be drunk with love! The Bride Searches for Her Beloved She 2   I slept, but my heart was awake.  A sound! My beloved is knocking.  “Open to me, my sister, my love,    my dove, my perfect one,  for my head is wet with dew,    my locks with the drops of the night.”3   I had put off my garment;    how could I put it on?  I had bathed my feet;    how could I soil them?4   My beloved put his hand to the latch,    and my heart was thrilled within me.5   I arose to open to my beloved,    and my hands dripped with myrrh,  my fingers with liquid myrrh,    on the handles of the bolt.6   I opened to my beloved,    but my beloved had turned and gone.  My soul failed me when he spoke.  I sought him, but found him not;    I called him, but he gave no answer.7   The watchmen found me    as they went about in the city;  they beat me, they bruised me,    they took away my veil,    those watchmen of the walls.8   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    if you find my beloved,  that you tell him    I am sick with love. Others 9   What is your beloved more than another beloved,    O most beautiful among women?  What is your beloved more than another beloved,    that you thus adjure us? The Bride Praises Her Beloved She 10   My beloved is radiant and ruddy,    distinguished among ten thousand.11   His head is the finest gold;    his locks are wavy,    black as a raven.12   His eyes are like doves    beside streams of water,  bathed in milk,    sitting beside a full pool.14

Although the red beast Rome destroyed the daily sacrifice, it cannot destroy the sacrifices in the highest place, the Kingdom just above Mount Zion. Now let's investigate the image of the beast, its last kingdom Rome, and red Rome's daughters. This will help us to understand Revelation Fourteen, the one like the Son of Man with a sickle, and then the angel with the sharp sickle who follows him. The “Footsteps” working text is found here in the Song of Songs: Until the cool of the day, when the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether. (So 2:17) “The mountains” in the corresponding midrashic thread allude to the powerful kingdoms that have subdued Israel, and specifically Rome, the largest and most powerful kingdom, whose “feet” are still mingled with the governments of the kingdoms of the earth. The mountains of Bether (Beitar) are an unusually specific reference to a place that had no historical significance until hundreds of years later when the Romans destroyed the last of the Jews there who followed the false messiah Bar Kokhba.

With family: Numbers 4; Psalm 38 Numbers 4 (Listen) Duties of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites 4 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 3 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things. 5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin1 and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles. 7 And over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular showbread also shall be on it. 8 Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 9 And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. 10 And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. 11 And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 12 And they shall take all the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. 13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry. 16 “And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.” 17 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18 “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, 19 but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, 20 but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.” 21 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' houses and by their clans. 23 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can come to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: 25 they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting 26 and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. 28 This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers' houses. 30 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 31 And this is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases, 32 and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall list by name the objects that they are required to carry. 33 This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.” 34 And Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 35 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting; 36 and those listed by clans were 2,750. 37 This was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses. 38 Those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 39 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting—40 those listed by their clans and their fathers' houses were 2,630. 41 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD. 42 Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 43 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting—44 those listed by clans were 3,200. 45 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses. 46 All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 47 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, 48 those listed were 8,580. 49 According to the commandment of the LORD through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the LORD commanded Moses. Footnotes [1] 4:6 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; compare Exodus 25:5 (ESV) Psalm 38 (Listen) Do Not Forsake Me, O Lord A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering. 38   O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,    nor discipline me in your wrath!2   For your arrows have sunk into me,    and your hand has come down on me. 3   There is no soundness in my flesh    because of your indignation;  there is no health in my bones    because of my sin.4   For my iniquities have gone over my head;    like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. 5   My wounds stink and fester    because of my foolishness,6   I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;    all the day I go about mourning.7   For my sides are filled with burning,    and there is no soundness in my flesh.8   I am feeble and crushed;    I groan because of the tumult of my heart. 9   O Lord, all my longing is before you;    my sighing is not hidden from you.10   My heart throbs; my strength fails me,    and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.11   My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,    and my nearest kin stand far off. 12   Those who seek my life lay their snares;    those who seek my hurt speak of ruin    and meditate treachery all day long. 13   But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,    like a mute man who does not open his mouth.14   I have become like a man who does not hear,    and in whose mouth are no rebukes. 15   But for you, O LORD, do I wait;    it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.16   For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me,    who boast against me when my foot slips!” 17   For I am ready to fall,    and my pain is ever before me.18   I confess my iniquity;    I am sorry for my sin.19   But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,    and many are those who hate me wrongfully.20   Those who render me evil for good    accuse me because I follow after good. 21   Do not forsake me, O LORD!    O my God, be not far from me!22   Make haste to help me,    O Lord, my salvation! (ESV) In private: Song of Solomon 2; Hebrews 2 Song of Solomon 2 (Listen) 2   I am a rose1 of Sharon,    a lily of the valleys. He 2   As a lily among brambles,    so is my love among the young women. She 3   As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,    so is my beloved among the young men.  With great delight I sat in his shadow,    and his fruit was sweet to my taste.4   He brought me to the banqueting house,2    and his banner over me was love.5   Sustain me with raisins;    refresh me with apples,    for I am sick with love.6   His left hand is under my head,    and his right hand embraces me!7   I adjure you,3 O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing4 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes5 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes6 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.7 Footnotes [1] 2:1 Probably a bulb, such as a crocus, asphodel, or narcissus [2] 2:4 Hebrew the house of wine [3] 2:7 That is, I put you on oath; so throughout the Song [4] 2:12 Or pruning [5] 2:15 Or jackals [6] 2:16 Or he pastures his flock [7] 2:17 Or mountains of Bether (ESV) Hebrews 2 (Listen) Warning Against Neglecting Salvation 2 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. The Founder of Salvation 5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. 6 It has been testified somewhere,   “What is man, that you are mindful of him,    or the son of man, that you care for him?7   You made him for a little while lower than the angels;    you have crowned him with glory and honor,18     putting everything in subjection under his feet.” Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source.2 That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers,3 12 saying,   “I will tell of your name to my brothers;    in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.” 13 And again,   “I will put my trust in him.” And again,   “Behold, I and the children God has given me.” 14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Footnotes [1] 2:7 Some manuscripts insert and set him over the works of your hands [2] 2:11 Greek all are of one [3] 2:11 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters (ESV)

Morning: Romans 5:20; 2 Corinthians 8:9; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:7–9; 1 Timothy 1:14; Titus 3:5–6 The grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.—But where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. So that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.—Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.—He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. Romans 5:20 (Listen) 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, (ESV) 2 Corinthians 8:9 (Listen) 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. (ESV) Galatians 2:16 (Listen) 16 yet we know that a person is not justified1 by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. Footnotes [1] 2:16 Or counted righteous (three times in verse 16); also verse 17 (ESV) Ephesians 2:7–9 (Listen) 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (ESV) 1 Timothy 1:14 (Listen) 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. (ESV) Titus 3:5–6 (Listen) 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, (ESV) Evening: Numbers 24:17; Song of Solomon 2:17; Isaiah 21:11–12; Mark 13:33–37; John 8:12; Romans 13:12; Revelation 2:28; Revelation 22:16 “I am… the bright morning star.” “A star shall come out of Jacob.” The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.—Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle or a young stag on cleft mountains. “Watchman, what time of the night?” The watchman says: “Morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; come back again.” “I am the light of the world.”—“And I will give him the morning star.” “Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake… lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.” Numbers 24:17 (Listen) 17   I see him, but not now;    I behold him, but not near:  a star shall come out of Jacob,    and a scepter shall rise out of Israel;  it shall crush the forehead1 of Moab    and break down all the sons of Sheth. Footnotes [1] 24:17 Hebrew corners [of the head] (ESV) Song of Solomon 2:17 (Listen) 17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.1 Footnotes [1] 2:17 Or mountains of Bether (ESV) Isaiah 21:11–12 (Listen) 11 The oracle concerning Dumah.   One is calling to me from Seir,    “Watchman, what time of the night?    Watchman, what time of the night?”12   The watchman says:  “Morning comes, and also the night.    If you will inquire, inquire;    come back again.” (ESV) Mark 13:33–37 (Listen) 33 Be on guard, keep awake.1 For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants2 in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows,3 or in the morning—36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.” Footnotes [1] 13:33 Some manuscripts add and pray [2] 13:34 Or bondservants [3] 13:35 That is, the third watch of the night, between midnight and 3 a.m. (ESV) John 8:12 (Listen) I Am the Light of the World 12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (ESV) Romans 13:12 (Listen) 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. (ESV) Revelation 2:28 (Listen) 28 And I will give him the morning star. (ESV) Revelation 22:16 (Listen) 16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” (ESV)

Storyteller and TV Writer Ester Lou Weithers learned how to take ownership of her own narrative before crafting the lives of characters on Hollywood shows. A proud Caribbean-American, FAMU Alumna, and writer for shows on NBC and Fox, she discusses why your uniqueness is key to moving the culture forward. #theentouragepodcast Ester Lou's Biography (Abbreviated):  After studying journalism at Florida A&M University, Ester Lou started a career on the corporate side of cable television working at LIFETIME and MTV Networks in New York City. But after feeling she was too far away from the creative side of production, Ester relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a career in writing. She got her first break in the writers' room as a writer's production assistant on SHOWTIME'S HOUSE OF LIES.  During hiatus, Ester worked with Black&Sexy TV to create, write and direct two web series - SEXLESS and CHEF JULIAN - which were both acquired by BETHer. In 2016, she was accepted into the FOX WRITERS INTENSIVE and ultimately became the fellow for that year, leading to a development deal with Twentieth Century Fox Television.  Ester Lou's previous credits include PITCH and STAR. She is currently working on NBC's crime drama, GOOD GIRLS, as an executive story editor.  During this episode, she shares: The importance of taking ownership of your own narrative Why your perspective and self awareness are key  The necessity of doing your research  Ester's leap of faith from a New York office job to becoming a writer in Los Angeles Resources Mentioned:  The Entourage Podcast Season 1 Episode 1: The Importance of Scripting Your Own Narrative in the Creative Industry with Actor and Filmmaker Denzel Whitaker with Denzel Whitaker: https://bit.ly/35XJeZT Social media:  Ester Lou Weithers' Website: http://www.bookofester.com/ Ester Lou Weithers on Instagram: @Ester_Lou Ester Lou Weithers on Twitter: @Ester_Lou Intro/Outro Music:  “Waiting IV” by Celeste Betton Link to album: http://bit.ly/celeste-betton-entourage Instagram: @celestebetton Facebook: Celeste Betton Who this episode is for: writers, tv writers, filmmaker, director, producer, writer, tv writer, television, television writer  

Old Testament: Song of Solomon 1–4 Song of Solomon 1–4 (Listen) 1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. The Bride Confesses Her Love She1 2   Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!  For your love is better than wine;3     your anointing oils are fragrant;  your name is oil poured out;    therefore virgins love you.4   Draw me after you; let us run.    The king has brought me into his chambers. Others   We will exult and rejoice in you;    we will extol your love more than wine;    rightly do they love you. She 5   I am very dark, but lovely,    O daughters of Jerusalem,  like the tents of Kedar,    like the curtains of Solomon.6   Do not gaze at me because I am dark,    because the sun has looked upon me.  My mother's sons were angry with me;    they made me keeper of the vineyards,    but my own vineyard I have not kept!7   Tell me, you whom my soul loves,    where you pasture your flock,    where you make it lie down at noon;  for why should I be like one who veils herself    beside the flocks of your companions? Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other He 8   If you do not know,    O most beautiful among women,  follow in the tracks of the flock,    and pasture your young goats    beside the shepherds' tents. 9   I compare you, my love,    to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots.10   Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,    your neck with strings of jewels. Others 11   We will make for you2 ornaments of gold,    studded with silver. She 12   While the king was on his couch,    my nard gave forth its fragrance.13   My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh    that lies between my breasts.14   My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms    in the vineyards of Engedi. He 15   Behold, you are beautiful, my love;    behold, you are beautiful;    your eyes are doves. She 16   Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.  Our couch is green;17     the beams of our house are cedar;    our rafters are pine. 2   I am a rose3 of Sharon,    a lily of the valleys. He 2   As a lily among brambles,    so is my love among the young women. She 3   As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,    so is my beloved among the young men.  With great delight I sat in his shadow,    and his fruit was sweet to my taste.4   He brought me to the banqueting house,4    and his banner over me was love.5   Sustain me with raisins;    refresh me with apples,    for I am sick with love.6   His left hand is under my head,    and his right hand embraces me!7   I adjure you,5 O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing6 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes7 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes8 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.9 The Bride's Dream 3   On my bed by night  I sought him whom my soul loves;    I sought him, but found him not.2   I will rise now and go about the city,    in the streets and in the squares;  I will seek him whom my soul loves.    I sought him, but found him not.3   The watchmen found me    as they went about in the city.  “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”4   Scarcely had I passed them    when I found him whom my soul loves.  I held him, and would not let him go    until I had brought him into my mother's house,    and into the chamber of her who conceived me.5   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. Solomon Arrives for the Wedding 6   What is that coming up from the wilderness    like columns of smoke,  perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,    with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?7   Behold, it is the litter10 of Solomon!  Around it are sixty mighty men,    some of the mighty men of Israel,8   all of them wearing swords    and expert in war,  each with his sword at his thigh,    against terror by night.9   King Solomon made himself a carriage11    from the wood of Lebanon.10   He made its posts of silver,    its back of gold, its seat of purple;  its interior was inlaid with love    by the daughters of Jerusalem.11   Go out, O daughters of Zion,    and look upon King Solomon,  with the crown with which his mother crowned him    on the day of his wedding,    on the day of the gladness of his heart. Solomon Admires His Bride's Beauty He 4   Behold, you are beautiful, my love,    behold, you are beautiful!  Your eyes are doves    behind your veil.  Your hair is like a flock of goats    leaping down the slopes of Gilead.2   Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes    that have come up from the washing,  all of which bear twins,    and not one among them has lost its young.3   Your lips are like a scarlet thread,    and your mouth is lovely.  Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate    behind your veil.4   Your neck is like the tower of David,    built in rows of stone;12  on it hang a thousand shields,    all of them shields of warriors.5   Your two breasts are like two fawns,    twins of a gazelle,    that graze among the lilies.6   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  I will go away to the mountain of myrrh    and the hill of frankincense.7   You are altogether beautiful, my love;    there is no flaw in you.8   Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;    come with me from Lebanon.  Depart13 from the peak of Amana,    from the peak of Senir and Hermon,  from the dens of lions,    from the mountains of leopards. 9   You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride;    you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,    with one jewel of your necklace.10   How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!    How much better is your love than wine,    and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!11   Your lips drip nectar, my bride;    honey and milk are under your tongue;    the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.12   A garden locked is my sister, my bride,    a spring locked, a fountain sealed.13   Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates    with all choicest fruits,    henna with nard,14   nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,    with all trees of frankincense,  myrrh and aloes,    with all choice spices—15   a garden fountain, a well of living water,    and flowing streams from Lebanon. 16   Awake, O north wind,    and come, O south wind!  Blow upon my garden,    let its spices flow. Together in the Garden of Love She   Let my beloved come to his garden,    and eat its choicest fruits. Footnotes [1] 1:2 The translators have added speaker identifications based on the gender and number of the Hebrew words [2] 1:11 The Hebrew for you is feminine singular [3] 2:1 Probably a bulb, such as a crocus, asphodel, or narcissus [4] 2:4 Hebrew the house of wine [5] 2:7 That is, I put you on oath; so throughout the Song [6] 2:12 Or pruning [7] 2:15 Or jackals [8] 2:16 Or he pastures his flock [9] 2:17 Or mountains of Bether [10] 3:7 That is, the couch on which servants carry a king [11] 3:9 Or sedan chair [12] 4:4 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [13] 4:8 Or Look (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 79 Psalm 79 (Listen) How Long, O Lord? A Psalm of Asaph. 79   O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;    they have defiled your holy temple;    they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.2   They have given the bodies of your servants    to the birds of the heavens for food,    the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.3   They have poured out their blood like water    all around Jerusalem,    and there was no one to bury them.4   We have become a taunt to our neighbors,    mocked and derided by those around us. 5   How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever?    Will your jealousy burn like fire?6   Pour out your anger on the nations    that do not know you,  and on the kingdoms    that do not call upon your name!7   For they have devoured Jacob    and laid waste his habitation. 8   Do not remember against us our former iniquities;1    let your compassion come speedily to meet us,    for we are brought very low.9   Help us, O God of our salvation,    for the glory of your name;  deliver us, and atone for our sins,    for your name's sake!10   Why should the nations say,    “Where is their God?”  Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants    be known among the nations before our eyes! 11  

Old Testament: Song of Solomon 1–4 Song of Solomon 1–4 (Listen) 1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. The Bride Confesses Her Love She1 2   Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!  For your love is better than wine;3     your anointing oils are fragrant;  your name is oil poured out;    therefore virgins love you.4   Draw me after you; let us run.    The king has brought me into his chambers. Others   We will exult and rejoice in you;    we will extol your love more than wine;    rightly do they love you. She 5   I am very dark, but lovely,    O daughters of Jerusalem,  like the tents of Kedar,    like the curtains of Solomon.6   Do not gaze at me because I am dark,    because the sun has looked upon me.  My mother's sons were angry with me;    they made me keeper of the vineyards,    but my own vineyard I have not kept!7   Tell me, you whom my soul loves,    where you pasture your flock,    where you make it lie down at noon;  for why should I be like one who veils herself    beside the flocks of your companions? Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other He 8   If you do not know,    O most beautiful among women,  follow in the tracks of the flock,    and pasture your young goats    beside the shepherds' tents. 9   I compare you, my love,    to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots.10   Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,    your neck with strings of jewels. Others 11   We will make for you2 ornaments of gold,    studded with silver. She 12   While the king was on his couch,    my nard gave forth its fragrance.13   My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh    that lies between my breasts.14   My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms    in the vineyards of Engedi. He 15   Behold, you are beautiful, my love;    behold, you are beautiful;    your eyes are doves. She 16   Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.  Our couch is green;17     the beams of our house are cedar;    our rafters are pine. 2   I am a rose3 of Sharon,    a lily of the valleys. He 2   As a lily among brambles,    so is my love among the young women. She 3   As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,    so is my beloved among the young men.  With great delight I sat in his shadow,    and his fruit was sweet to my taste.4   He brought me to the banqueting house,4    and his banner over me was love.5   Sustain me with raisins;    refresh me with apples,    for I am sick with love.6   His left hand is under my head,    and his right hand embraces me!7   I adjure you,5 O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing6 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes7 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes8 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.9 The Bride's Dream 3   On my bed by night  I sought him whom my soul loves;    I sought him, but found him not.2   I will rise now and go about the city,    in the streets and in the squares;  I will seek him whom my soul loves.    I sought him, but found him not.3   The watchmen found me    as they went about in the city.  “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”4   Scarcely had I passed them    when I found him whom my soul loves.  I held him, and would not let him go    until I had brought him into my mother's house,    and into the chamber of her who conceived me.5   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. Solomon Arrives for the Wedding 6   What is that coming up from the wilderness    like columns of smoke,  perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,    with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?7   Behold, it is the litter10 of Solomon!  Around it are sixty mighty men,    some of the mighty men of Israel,8   all of them wearing swords    and expert in war,  each with his sword at his thigh,    against terror by night.9   King Solomon made himself a carriage11    from the wood of Lebanon.10   He made its posts of silver,    its back of gold, its seat of purple;  its interior was inlaid with love    by the daughters of Jerusalem.11   Go out, O daughters of Zion,    and look upon King Solomon,  with the crown with which his mother crowned him    on the day of his wedding,    on the day of the gladness of his heart. Solomon Admires His Bride's Beauty He 4   Behold, you are beautiful, my love,    behold, you are beautiful!  Your eyes are doves    behind your veil.  Your hair is like a flock of goats    leaping down the slopes of Gilead.2   Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes    that have come up from the washing,  all of which bear twins,    and not one among them has lost its young.3   Your lips are like a scarlet thread,    and your mouth is lovely.  Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate    behind your veil.4   Your neck is like the tower of David,    built in rows of stone;12  on it hang a thousand shields,    all of them shields of warriors.5   Your two breasts are like two fawns,    twins of a gazelle,    that graze among the lilies.6   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  I will go away to the mountain of myrrh    and the hill of frankincense.7   You are altogether beautiful, my love;    there is no flaw in you.8   Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;    come with me from Lebanon.  Depart13 from the peak of Amana,    from the peak of Senir and Hermon,  from the dens of lions,    from the mountains of leopards. 9   You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride;    you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,    with one jewel of your necklace.10   How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!    How much better is your love than wine,    and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!11   Your lips drip nectar, my bride;    honey and milk are under your tongue;    the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.12   A garden locked is my sister, my bride,    a spring locked, a fountain sealed.13   Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates    with all choicest fruits,    henna with nard,14   nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,    with all trees of frankincense,  myrrh and aloes,    with all choice spices—15   a garden fountain, a well of living water,    and flowing streams from Lebanon. 16   Awake, O north wind,    and come, O south wind!  Blow upon my garden,    let its spices flow. Together in the Garden of Love She   Let my beloved come to his garden,    and eat its choicest fruits. Footnotes [1] 1:2 The translators have added speaker identifications based on the gender and number of the Hebrew words [2] 1:11 The Hebrew for you is feminine singular [3] 2:1 Probably a bulb, such as a crocus, asphodel, or narcissus [4] 2:4 Hebrew the house of wine [5] 2:7 That is, I put you on oath; so throughout the Song [6] 2:12 Or pruning [7] 2:15 Or jackals [8] 2:16 Or he pastures his flock [9] 2:17 Or mountains of Bether [10] 3:7 That is, the couch on which servants carry a king [11] 3:9 Or sedan chair [12] 4:4 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [13] 4:8 Or Look (ESV) New Testament: Hebrews 1 Hebrews 1 (Listen) The Supremacy of God's Son 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,   “You are my Son,    today I have begotten you”? Or again,   “I will be to him a father,    and he shall be to me a son”? 6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,   “Let all God's angels worship him.” 7 Of the angels he says,   “He makes his angels winds,    and his ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But of the Son he says,   “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,    the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.9   You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;  therefore God, your God, has anointed you    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” 10 And,   “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,    and the heavens are the work of your hands;11   they will perish, but you remain;    they will all wear out like a garment,12   like a robe you will roll them up,    like a garment they will be changed.

Morning: Song of Solomon 1–3 Song of Solomon 1–3 (Listen) 1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. The Bride Confesses Her Love She1 2   Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!  For your love is better than wine;3     your anointing oils are fragrant;  your name is oil poured out;    therefore virgins love you.4   Draw me after you; let us run.    The king has brought me into his chambers. Others   We will exult and rejoice in you;    we will extol your love more than wine;    rightly do they love you. She 5   I am very dark, but lovely,    O daughters of Jerusalem,  like the tents of Kedar,    like the curtains of Solomon.6   Do not gaze at me because I am dark,    because the sun has looked upon me.  My mother's sons were angry with me;    they made me keeper of the vineyards,    but my own vineyard I have not kept!7   Tell me, you whom my soul loves,    where you pasture your flock,    where you make it lie down at noon;  for why should I be like one who veils herself    beside the flocks of your companions? Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other He 8   If you do not know,    O most beautiful among women,  follow in the tracks of the flock,    and pasture your young goats    beside the shepherds' tents. 9   I compare you, my love,    to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots.10   Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,    your neck with strings of jewels. Others 11   We will make for you2 ornaments of gold,    studded with silver. She 12   While the king was on his couch,    my nard gave forth its fragrance.13   My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh    that lies between my breasts.14   My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms    in the vineyards of Engedi. He 15   Behold, you are beautiful, my love;    behold, you are beautiful;    your eyes are doves. She 16   Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.  Our couch is green;17     the beams of our house are cedar;    our rafters are pine. 2   I am a rose3 of Sharon,    a lily of the valleys. He 2   As a lily among brambles,    so is my love among the young women. She 3   As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,    so is my beloved among the young men.  With great delight I sat in his shadow,    and his fruit was sweet to my taste.4   He brought me to the banqueting house,4    and his banner over me was love.5   Sustain me with raisins;    refresh me with apples,    for I am sick with love.6   His left hand is under my head,    and his right hand embraces me!7   I adjure you,5 O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing6 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes7 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes8 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.9 The Bride's Dream 3   On my bed by night  I sought him whom my soul loves;    I sought him, but found him not.2   I will rise now and go about the city,    in the streets and in the squares;  I will seek him whom my soul loves.    I sought him, but found him not.3   The watchmen found me    as they went about in the city.  “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”4   Scarcely had I passed them    when I found him whom my soul loves.  I held him, and would not let him go    until I had brought him into my mother's house,    and into the chamber of her who conceived me.5   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. Solomon Arrives for the Wedding 6   What is that coming up from the wilderness    like columns of smoke,  perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,    with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?7   Behold, it is the litter10 of Solomon!  Around it are sixty mighty men,    some of the mighty men of Israel,8   all of them wearing swords    and expert in war,  each with his sword at his thigh,    against terror by night.9   King Solomon made himself a carriage11    from the wood of Lebanon.10   He made its posts of silver,    its back of gold, its seat of purple;  its interior was inlaid with love    by the daughters of Jerusalem.11   Go out, O daughters of Zion,    and look upon King Solomon,  with the crown with which his mother crowned him    on the day of his wedding,    on the day of the gladness of his heart. Footnotes [1] 1:2 The translators have added speaker identifications based on the gender and number of the Hebrew words [2] 1:11 The Hebrew for you is feminine singular [3] 2:1 Probably a bulb, such as a crocus, asphodel, or narcissus [4] 2:4 Hebrew the house of wine [5] 2:7 That is, I put you on oath; so throughout the Song [6] 2:12 Or pruning [7] 2:15 Or jackals [8] 2:16 Or he pastures his flock [9] 2:17 Or mountains of Bether [10] 3:7 That is, the couch on which servants carry a king [11] 3:9 Or sedan chair (ESV) Evening: 2 Corinthians 12 2 Corinthians 12 (Listen) Paul's Visions and His Thorn 12 I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. 3 And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. 5 On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses—6 though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. 7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations,1 a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Concern for the Corinthian Church 11 I have been a fool! You forced me to it, for I ought to have been commended by you. For I was not at all inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing. 12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works. 13 For in what were you less favored than the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong! 14 Here for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden, for I seek not what is yours but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. 15 I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? 16 But granting that I myself did not burden you, I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit. 17 Did I take advantage of you through any of those whom I sent to you? 18 I urged Titus to go, and sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not act in the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps? 19 Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? It is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ, and all for your upbuilding, beloved. 20 For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. 21 I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced. Footnotes [1] 12:7 Or hears from me, even because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations. So to keep me from becoming conceited (ESV)

Song of Solomon 1–8 Song of Solomon 1–8 (Listen) 1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. The Bride Confesses Her Love She1 2   Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!  For your love is better than wine;3     your anointing oils are fragrant;  your name is oil poured out;    therefore virgins love you.4   Draw me after you; let us run.    The king has brought me into his chambers. Others   We will exult and rejoice in you;    we will extol your love more than wine;    rightly do they love you. She 5   I am very dark, but lovely,    O daughters of Jerusalem,  like the tents of Kedar,    like the curtains of Solomon.6   Do not gaze at me because I am dark,    because the sun has looked upon me.  My mother's sons were angry with me;    they made me keeper of the vineyards,    but my own vineyard I have not kept!7   Tell me, you whom my soul loves,    where you pasture your flock,    where you make it lie down at noon;  for why should I be like one who veils herself    beside the flocks of your companions? Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other He 8   If you do not know,    O most beautiful among women,  follow in the tracks of the flock,    and pasture your young goats    beside the shepherds' tents. 9   I compare you, my love,    to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots.10   Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,    your neck with strings of jewels. Others 11   We will make for you2 ornaments of gold,    studded with silver. She 12   While the king was on his couch,    my nard gave forth its fragrance.13   My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh    that lies between my breasts.14   My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms    in the vineyards of Engedi. He 15   Behold, you are beautiful, my love;    behold, you are beautiful;    your eyes are doves. She 16   Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.  Our couch is green;17     the beams of our house are cedar;    our rafters are pine. 2   I am a rose3 of Sharon,    a lily of the valleys. He 2   As a lily among brambles,    so is my love among the young women. She 3   As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,    so is my beloved among the young men.  With great delight I sat in his shadow,    and his fruit was sweet to my taste.4   He brought me to the banqueting house,4    and his banner over me was love.5   Sustain me with raisins;    refresh me with apples,    for I am sick with love.6   His left hand is under my head,    and his right hand embraces me!7   I adjure you,5 O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing6 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes7 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes8 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.9 The Bride's Dream 3   On my bed by night  I sought him whom my soul loves;    I sought him, but found him not.2   I will rise now and go about the city,    in the streets and in the squares;  I will seek him whom my soul loves.    I sought him, but found him not.3   The watchmen found me    as they went about in the city.  “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”4   Scarcely had I passed them    when I found him whom my soul loves.  I held him, and would not let him go    until I had brought him into my mother's house,    and into the chamber of her who conceived me.5   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. Solomon Arrives for the Wedding 6   What is that coming up from the wilderness    like columns of smoke,  perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,    with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?7   Behold, it is the litter10 of Solomon!  Around it are sixty mighty men,    some of the mighty men of Israel,8   all of them wearing swords    and expert in war,  each with his sword at his thigh,    against terror by night.9   King Solomon made himself a carriage11    from the wood of Lebanon.10   He made its posts of silver,    its back of gold, its seat of purple;  its interior was inlaid with love    by the daughters of Jerusalem.11   Go out, O daughters of Zion,    and look upon King Solomon,  with the crown with which his mother crowned him    on the day of his wedding,    on the day of the gladness of his heart. Solomon Admires His Bride's Beauty He 4   Behold, you are beautiful, my love,    behold, you are beautiful!  Your eyes are doves    behind your veil.  Your hair is like a flock of goats    leaping down the slopes of Gilead.2   Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes    that have come up from the washing,  all of which bear twins,    and not one among them has lost its young.3   Your lips are like a scarlet thread,    and your mouth is lovely.  Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate    behind your veil.4   Your neck is like the tower of David,    built in rows of stone;12  on it hang a thousand shields,    all of them shields of warriors.5   Your two breasts are like two fawns,    twins of a gazelle,    that graze among the lilies.6   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  I will go away to the mountain of myrrh    and the hill of frankincense.7   You are altogether beautiful, my love;    there is no flaw in you.8   Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;    come with me from Lebanon.  Depart13 from the peak of Amana,    from the peak of Senir and Hermon,  from the dens of lions,    from the mountains of leopards. 9   You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride;    you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,    with one jewel of your necklace.10   How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!    How much better is your love than wine,    and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!11   Your lips drip nectar, my bride;    honey and milk are under your tongue;    the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.12   A garden locked is my sister, my bride,    a spring locked, a fountain sealed.13   Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates    with all choicest fruits,    henna with nard,14   nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,    with all trees of frankincense,  myrrh and aloes,    with all choice spices—15   a garden fountain, a well of living water,    and flowing streams from Lebanon. 16   Awake, O north wind,    and come, O south wind!  Blow upon my garden,    let its spices flow. Together in the Garden of Love She   Let my beloved come to his garden,    and eat its choicest fruits. He 5   I came to my garden, my sister, my bride,    I gathered my myrrh with my spice,    I ate my honeycomb with my honey,    I drank my wine with my milk. Others   Eat, friends, drink,    and be drunk with love! The Bride Searches for Her Beloved She 2   I slept, but my heart was awake.  A sound! My beloved is knocking.  “Open to me, my sister, my love,    my dove, my perfect one,  for my head is wet with dew,    my locks with the drops of the night.”3   I had put off my garment;    how could I put it on?  I had bathed my feet;    how could I soil them?4   My beloved put his hand to the latch,    and my heart was thrilled within me.5   I arose to open to my beloved,    and my hands dripped with myrrh,  my fingers with liquid myrrh,    on the handles of the bolt.6   I opened to my beloved,    but my beloved had turned and gone.  My soul failed me when he spoke.  I sought him, but found him not;    I called him, but he gave no answer.7   The watchmen found me    as they went about in the city;  they beat me, they bruised me,    they took away my veil,    those watchmen of the walls.8   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    if you find my beloved,  that you tell him    I am sick with love. Others 9   What is your beloved more than another beloved,    O most beautiful among women?  What is your beloved more than another beloved,    that you thus adjure us? The Bride Praises Her Beloved She 10   My beloved is radiant and ruddy,    distinguished among ten thousand.11   His head is the finest gold;    his locks are wavy,    black as a raven.12   His eyes are like doves    beside streams of water,  bathed in milk,    sitting beside a full pool.14

Psalms and Wisdom: Song of Solomon 2:8–17 Song of Solomon 2:8–17 (Listen) The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing1 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes2 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes3 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.4 Footnotes [1] 2:12 Or pruning [2] 2:15 Or jackals [3] 2:16 Or he pastures his flock [4] 2:17 Or mountains of Bether (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Judges 2–3:6 Judges 2–3:6 (Listen) Israel's Disobedience 2 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.1 And they sacrificed there to the LORD. The Death of Joshua 6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. Israel's Unfaithfulness 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. The Lord Raises Up Judges 16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. 3 Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods. Footnotes [1] 2:5 Bochim means weepers (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Jeremiah 18 Jeremiah 18 (Listen) The Potter and the Clay 18 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear1 my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. 9 And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the LORD, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.' 12 “But they say, ‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.' 13   “Therefore thus says the LORD:  Ask among the nations,    Who has heard the like of this?  The virgin Israel    has done a very horrible thing.14   Does the snow of Lebanon leave    the crags of Sirion?2  Do the mountain waters run dry,3    the cold flowing streams?15   But my people have forgotten me;    they make offerings to false gods;  they made them stumble in their ways,    in the ancient roads,  and to walk into side roads,    not the highway,16   making their land a horror,    a thing to be hissed at forever.  Everyone who passes by it is horrified    and shakes his head.17   Like the east wind I will scatter them    before the enemy.  I will show them my back, not my face,    in the day of their calamity.” 18 Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.” 19   Hear me, O LORD,    and listen to the voice of my adversaries.20   Should good be repaid with evil?    Yet they have dug a pit for my life.  Remember how I stood before you    to speak good for them,    to turn away your wrath from them.21   Therefore deliver up their children to famine;    give them over to the power of the sword;  let their wives become childless and widowed.    May their men meet death by pestilence,    their youths be struck down by the sword in battle.22   May a cry be heard from their houses,    when you bring the plunderer suddenly upon them!  For they have dug a pit to take me    and laid snares for my feet.23   Yet you, O LORD, know    all their plotting to kill me.  Forgive not their iniquity,    nor blot out their sin from your sight.  Let them be overthrown before you;    deal with them in the time of your anger. Footnotes [1] 18:2 Or will cause you to hear [2] 18:14 Hebrew of the field [3] 18:14 Hebrew Are foreign waters plucked up (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Hebrews 1 Hebrews 1 (Listen) The Supremacy of God's Son 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,   “You are my Son,    today I have begotten you”? Or again,   “I will be to him a father,    and he shall be to me a son”? 6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,   “Let all God's angels worship him.” 7 Of the angels he says,   “He makes his angels winds,    and his ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But of the Son he says,   “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,    the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.9   You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;  therefore God, your God, has anointed you    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” 10 And,   “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,    and the heavens are the work of your hands;11   they will perish, but you remain;    they will all wear out like a garment,12   like a robe you will roll them up,    like a garment they will be changed.1  But you are the same,    and your years will have no end.” 13 And to which of the angels has he ever said,   “Sit at my right hand    until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? Footnotes [1] 1:12 Some manuscripts omit like a garment (ESV)

Sade Oyinade and Deshawn Plair are a dynamic African-American female writing/producing team based in Los Angeles.  Sade most recently was a Showrunner on the BET+ crime docu-series American Gangster: Trap Queens where Deshawn served as producer of one of the most popular episodes profiling Delrhonda “Big Fifty” Hood. Prior to that, both Sade and Deshawn worked on the award-winning TV One series Unsung and Unsung Hollywood which is where their partnership began. On Unsung, Sade was Co-Executive Producer and Deshawn was a Producer and Production Supervisor. They received multiple NAACP Image Awards under the series. Both women are also directors. Sade directed the 2017 short film Yemi's Dilemma and the AIDS short Who Do You Know? which aired on ASPIRE TV. After serving as an apprentice to award-winning director Qasim Basir on his Sundance selected film, A Boy, A Girl, A Dream, Deshawn made her directorial debut with the 2019 provocative short film on gun violence, First Day Back, starring Loretta Devine and Aisha Hinds. The pair wrote and produced the short that was a featured selection in multiple film festivals and won Best Narrative Short at the International Black Film Festival. The film received distribution after premiering at the Bronze Lens Film Festival and is now streaming on UMC.TV and Amazon Prime.  Deshawn and Sade were selected as participants in the 2019 PGA Fellowship: Producers Guild Power of Diversity Master Workshop with their feature script Better Than I Know Myself. The film is an adaptation of an Essence Magazine best-selling novel by Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant. Most recently, the duo served as Co-Executive Producers of the UMC.TV comedy series For the Love of Jason and were half of the writing team for the series. Also, the pair wrote a project for BETHer titled A Long Look in the Mirror that aired on Oct 17, 2020 for Breast Cancer Awareness Month as a part of the Waiting Room series.  As a duo, they aim to tell positive stories that have meaning and impact within their community using their diverse backgrounds as inspiration. Deshawn grew up in the foster care system and was directly affected by the mass incarceration issue in this country through the imprisonment of her mother. Sade is a First-generation American  with Nigerian parents who tightly held onto their culture leading her to navigate finding a place in two different worlds. Together they embrace tackling hard issues while highlighting the good in it all.  Sade is from Silver Spring, Maryland. Deshawn hails from Kalamazoo, MI.

“My Beloved is mine, and I am His: He feedeth among the lilies. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my Beloved, and be Thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.” — Song of Solomon 2:16, 17 Surely if there be a happy verse in the […]

Song of Solomon 1–8 Song of Solomon 1–8 (Listen) 1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s. The Bride Confesses Her Love She1 2   Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!  For your love is better than wine;3     your anointing oils are fragrant;  your name is oil poured out;    therefore virgins love you.4   Draw me after you; let us run.    The king has brought me into his chambers. Others   We will exult and rejoice in you;    we will extol your love more than wine;    rightly do they love you. She 5   I am very dark, but lovely,    O daughters of Jerusalem,  like the tents of Kedar,    like the curtains of Solomon.6   Do not gaze at me because I am dark,    because the sun has looked upon me.  My mother’s sons were angry with me;    they made me keeper of the vineyards,    but my own vineyard I have not kept!7   Tell me, you whom my soul loves,    where you pasture your flock,    where you make it lie down at noon;  for why should I be like one who veils herself    beside the flocks of your companions? Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other He 8   If you do not know,    O most beautiful among women,  follow in the tracks of the flock,    and pasture your young goats    beside the shepherds’ tents. 9   I compare you, my love,    to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.10   Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,    your neck with strings of jewels. Others 11   We will make for you2 ornaments of gold,    studded with silver. She 12   While the king was on his couch,    my nard gave forth its fragrance.13   My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh    that lies between my breasts.14   My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms    in the vineyards of Engedi. He 15   Behold, you are beautiful, my love;    behold, you are beautiful;    your eyes are doves. She 16   Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.  Our couch is green;17     the beams of our house are cedar;    our rafters are pine. 2   I am a rose3 of Sharon,    a lily of the valleys. He 2   As a lily among brambles,    so is my love among the young women. She 3   As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,    so is my beloved among the young men.  With great delight I sat in his shadow,    and his fruit was sweet to my taste.4   He brought me to the banqueting house,4    and his banner over me was love.5   Sustain me with raisins;    refresh me with apples,    for I am sick with love.6   His left hand is under my head,    and his right hand embraces me!7   I adjure you,5 O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing6 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes7 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes8 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.9 The Bride’s Dream 3   On my bed by night  I sought him whom my soul loves;    I sought him, but found him not.2   I will rise now and go about the city,    in the streets and in the squares;  I will seek him whom my soul loves.    I sought him, but found him not.3   The watchmen found me    as they went about in the city.  “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”4   Scarcely had I passed them    when I found him whom my soul loves.  I held him, and would not let him go    until I had brought him into my mother’s house,    and into the chamber of her who conceived me.5   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. Solomon Arrives for the Wedding 6   What is that coming up from the wilderness    like columns of smoke,  perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,    with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?7   Behold, it is the litter10 of Solomon!  Around it are sixty mighty men,    some of the mighty men of Israel,8   all of them wearing swords    and expert in war,  each with his sword at his thigh,    against terror by night.9   King Solomon made himself a carriage11    from the wood of Lebanon.10   He made its posts of silver,    its back of gold, its seat of purple;  its interior was inlaid with love    by the daughters of Jerusalem.11   Go out, O daughters of Zion,    and look upon King Solomon,  with the crown with which his mother crowned him    on the day of his wedding,    on the day of the gladness of his heart. Solomon Admires His Bride’s Beauty He 4   Behold, you are beautiful, my love,    behold, you are beautiful!  Your eyes are doves    behind your veil.  Your hair is like a flock of goats    leaping down the slopes of Gilead.2   Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes    that have come up from the washing,  all of which bear twins,    and not one among them has lost its young.3   Your lips are like a scarlet thread,    and your mouth is lovely.  Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate    behind your veil.4   Your neck is like the tower of David,    built in rows of stone;12  on it hang a thousand shields,    all of them shields of warriors.5   Your two breasts are like two fawns,    twins of a gazelle,    that graze among the lilies.6   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  I will go away to the mountain of myrrh    and the hill of frankincense.7   You are altogether beautiful, my love;    there is no flaw in you.8   Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;    come with me from Lebanon.  Depart13 from the peak of Amana,    from the peak of Senir and Hermon,  from the dens of lions,    from the mountains of leopards. 9   You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride;    you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,    with one jewel of your necklace.10   How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!    How much better is your love than wine,    and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!11   Your lips drip nectar, my bride;    honey and milk are under your tongue;    the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.12   A garden locked is my sister, my bride,    a spring locked, a fountain sealed.13   Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates    with all choicest fruits,    henna with nard,14   nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,    with all trees of frankincense,  myrrh and aloes,    with all choice spices—15   a garden fountain, a well of living water,    and flowing streams from Lebanon. 16   Awake, O north wind,    and come, O south wind!  Blow upon my garden,    let its spices flow. Together in the Garden of Love She   Let my beloved come to his garden,    and eat its choicest fruits. He 5   I came to my garden, my sister, my bride,    I gathered my myrrh with my spice,    I ate my honeycomb with my honey,    I drank my wine with my milk. Others   Eat, friends, drink,    and be drunk with love! The Bride Searches for Her Beloved She 2   I slept, but my heart was awake.  A sound! My beloved is knocking.  “Open to me, my sister, my love,    my dove, my perfect one,  for my head is wet with dew,    my locks with the drops of the night.”3   I had put off my garment;    how could I put it on?  I had bathed my feet;    how could I soil them?4   My beloved put his hand to the latch,    and my heart was thrilled within me.5   I arose to open to my beloved,    and my hands dripped with myrrh,  my fingers with liquid myrrh,    on the handles of the bolt.6   I opened to my beloved,    but my beloved had turned and gone.  My soul failed me when he spoke.  I sought him, but found him not;    I called him, but he gave no answer.7   The watchmen found me    as they went about in the city;  they beat me, they bruised me,    they took away my veil,    those watchmen of the walls.8   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    if you find my beloved,  that you tell him    I am sick with love. Others 9   What is your beloved more than another beloved,    O most beautiful among women?  What is your beloved more than another beloved,    that you thus adjure us? The Bride Praises Her Beloved She 10   My beloved is radiant and ruddy,    distinguished among ten thousand.11   His head is the finest gold;    his locks are wavy,    black as a raven.12   His eyes are like doves    beside streams of water,  bathed in milk,    sitting beside a full pool.14

With family: Numbers 4; Psalm 38 Numbers 4 (Listen) Duties of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites 4 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 3 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things. 5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin1 and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles. 7 And over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular showbread also shall be on it. 8 Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 9 And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. 10 And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. 11 And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 12 And they shall take all the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. 13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry. 16 “And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.” 17 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18 “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, 19 but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, 20 but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.” 21 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’ houses and by their clans. 23 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can come to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: 25 they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting 26 and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. 28 This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers’ houses. 30 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 31 And this is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases, 32 and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall list by name the objects that they are required to carry. 33 This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.” 34 And Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 35 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting; 36 and those listed by clans were 2,750. 37 This was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses. 38 Those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 39 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting—40 those listed by their clans and their fathers’ houses were 2,630. 41 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD. 42 Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 43 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting—44 those listed by clans were 3,200. 45 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses. 46 All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 47 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, 48 those listed were 8,580. 49 According to the commandment of the LORD through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the LORD commanded Moses. Footnotes [1] 4:6 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; compare Exodus 25:5 (ESV) Psalm 38 (Listen) Do Not Forsake Me, O Lord A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering. 38   O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,    nor discipline me in your wrath!2   For your arrows have sunk into me,    and your hand has come down on me. 3   There is no soundness in my flesh    because of your indignation;  there is no health in my bones    because of my sin.4   For my iniquities have gone over my head;    like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. 5   My wounds stink and fester    because of my foolishness,6   I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;    all the day I go about mourning.7   For my sides are filled with burning,    and there is no soundness in my flesh.8   I am feeble and crushed;    I groan because of the tumult of my heart. 9   O Lord, all my longing is before you;    my sighing is not hidden from you.10   My heart throbs; my strength fails me,    and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.11   My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,    and my nearest kin stand far off. 12   Those who seek my life lay their snares;    those who seek my hurt speak of ruin    and meditate treachery all day long. 13   But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,    like a mute man who does not open his mouth.14   I have become like a man who does not hear,    and in whose mouth are no rebukes. 15   But for you, O LORD, do I wait;    it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.16   For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me,    who boast against me when my foot slips!” 17   For I am ready to fall,    and my pain is ever before me.18   I confess my iniquity;    I am sorry for my sin.19   But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,    and many are those who hate me wrongfully.20   Those who render me evil for good    accuse me because I follow after good. 21   Do not forsake me, O LORD!    O my God, be not far from me!22   Make haste to help me,    O Lord, my salvation! (ESV) In private: Song of Solomon 2; Hebrews 2 Song of Solomon 2 (Listen) 2   I am a rose1 of Sharon,    a lily of the valleys. He 2   As a lily among brambles,    so is my love among the young women. She 3   As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,    so is my beloved among the young men.  With great delight I sat in his shadow,    and his fruit was sweet to my taste.4   He brought me to the banqueting house,2    and his banner over me was love.5   Sustain me with raisins;    refresh me with apples,    for I am sick with love.6   His left hand is under my head,    and his right hand embraces me!7   I adjure you,3 O daughters of Jerusalem,    by the gazelles or the does of the field,  that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing4 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes5 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes6 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.7 Footnotes [1] 2:1 Probably a bulb, such as a crocus, asphodel, or narcissus [2] 2:4 Hebrew the house of wine [3] 2:7 That is, I put you on oath; so throughout the Song [4] 2:12 Or pruning [5] 2:15 Or jackals [6] 2:16 Or he pastures his flock [7] 2:17 Or mountains of Bether (ESV) Hebrews 2 (Listen) Warning Against Neglecting Salvation 2 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. The Founder of Salvation 5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. 6 It has been testified somewhere,   “What is man, that you are mindful of him,    or the son of man, that you care for him?7   You made him for a little while lower than the angels;    you have crowned him with glory and honor,18     putting everything in subjection under his feet.” Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source.2 That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers,3 12 saying,   “I will tell of your name to my brothers;    in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.” 13 And again,   “I will put my trust in him.” And again,   “Behold, I and the children God has given me.” 14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Footnotes [1] 2:7 Some manuscripts insert and set him over the works of your hands [2] 2:11 Greek all are of one [3] 2:11 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters (ESV)

我是沙崙的玫瑰花（或作：水仙花），是谷中的百合花。（新郎） 我的佳偶在女子中，好像百合花在荊棘內。（新娘） 我的良人在男子中，如同蘋果樹在樹林中。我歡歡喜喜坐在他的蔭下，嘗他果子的滋味，覺得甘甜。 他帶我入筵宴所，以愛為旗在我以上。 求你們給我葡萄乾增補我力，給我蘋果暢快我心，因我思愛成病。 他的左手在我頭下；他的右手將我抱住。 耶路撒冷的眾女子啊，我指著羚羊或田野的母鹿囑咐你們：不要驚動、不要叫醒我所親愛的，等他自己情願（不要叫醒……情願：或作不要激動愛情，等他自發）。 聽啊！是我良人的聲音；看哪！他躥山越嶺而來。 我的良人好像羚羊，或像小鹿。他站在我們牆壁後，從窗戶往裡觀看，從窗櫺往裡窺探。 我良人對我說：「我的佳偶，我的美人，起來，與我同去！ 因為冬天已往，雨水止住過去了。 地上百花開放，百鳥鳴叫的時候（或作：修理葡萄樹的時候）已經來到；斑鳩的聲音在我們境內也聽見了。 無花果樹的果子漸漸成熟；葡萄樹開花放香。我的佳偶，我的美人，起來，與我同去！」 我的鴿子啊，你在磐石穴中，在陡巖的隱祕處。求你容我得見你的面貌，得聽你的聲音；因為你的聲音柔和，你的面貌秀美。 要給我們擒拿狐狸，就是毀壞葡萄園的小狐狸，因為我們的葡萄正在開花。（新娘） 良人屬我，我也屬他；他在百合花中牧放群羊。 我的良人哪，求你等到天起涼風、日影飛去的時候，你要轉回，好像羚羊，或像小鹿在比特山上。 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.  As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.  As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.  He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.  Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.  His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.  I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.  The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.  My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.  My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.  For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;  The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;  The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.  O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.  Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.  My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.  Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether. 今天錄這段的時候雜音有點大，請大家見諒。不過這個配樂我自己本身非常喜歡，希望你們也會喜歡囉~✨

Tet Talks : Aggie Homecoming Special Edition This week we will get up close and personal with the extraordinary Toy Holmes. We will learn about her personal success as a Singer, Voiceover Actor & Coach. We will also learn how she is navigating her most recent breast cancer diagnosis - that led her to explore a Holistic Healing & treatment in Spain. ((Snapshot of her great work)) TOY !!! Holmes' award-winning voice has graced millions of ears around the globe for more than a decade. On TV, Radio and the Web, from commercials and promos, to narration, animation, live announcing and beyond—she is the voice behind some of retail, entertainment and media's most celebrated productions. Toy discovered voice acting while working as a TV Production Assistant, where she occasionally contributed her singing & songwriting talents to projects in-house. The music connection eventually landed Toy an opportunity to direct several voiceover sessions with the late, legendary soul singer & voice actor, Isaac Hayes. Toy has worked as the signature voice for channels such as Nick Jr., NBC-11, MTV, Centric, BETHer, VH1 and Aspire. Her wealth of promo experience earned her a 2016 Voice Arts™ Award (Outstanding TV Promo Campaign, Best Voiceover) for BET's, Black Girls Rock, with subsequent nominations in 2017 (Being Mary Jane, Rebel) and in 2018 (Outstanding TV Narration, 3o Years of Soul Train Awards.) In 2019, Toy was nominated yet again for her role as the promo voice of ESPN's 2018 US Open Tennis Championship 2-week event, and became the newest imaging voice of Sirius XM channel, Progress 127. She has voiced numerous national commercial campaigns for brands including AT&T, Shoe Carnival, JC Penney and Old Navy. Her lead role as the firecracker Old Navy mannequin character, “Michelle”, in the wildly popular “Supermodelquins” ads was part of the most successful and highest sales-boosting campaign in the store's recent history. Toy has even crossed into animation and video games, voicing characters in Nickelodeon's hit cartoon, Go Diego, Go! and Rockstar Games cult classic, Need For Speed: Undercover, as well as the portrayal of several characters in EA Sports' Midnight Club Los Angeles as a motion capture actress. Toy's dynamic energy, presence and musical edge also makes her a go-to for star-studded events where, as the live announcer, she has welcomed some of the most iconic names in entertainment, music and pop culture to the stage. She was the live announcer voice of the Image© Award-Winning UNCF's An Evening of Stars Tribute to Lionel Richie & AEOS Tribute to Patti Labelle, as well as VH1 Hip Hop Honors 2005, 2006 and a 2016 encore. Also in 2016, she was the live announcer for Airbnb Open LA, introducing top executives and celebrities— from Gwyneth Paltrow to Ashton Kutcher (broadcasting simultaneously across six separate venues.)

Nakia Stephens is an award-winning screenwriter/filmmaker born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a graduate of the first public HBCU in Georgia, Savannah State University, where she studied Mass Communications with a concentration in Radio/Television Broadcasting. During her undergrad tenure, Nakia also Studied writing in Shanghai, Beijing, and Ghana. After receiving her degree, Nakia went on to work and study screenwriting in Los Angeles, California. Her travel and studies helped influence her love for storytelling so much that in 2014 Nakia decided to be the master of her own fate by creating the Damn Write Originals screenwriting Label. Nakia is an avid champion for Women and People of Color and as Founder and Chief of Content for Damn Write Originals, she is devoted to telling authentic and purposeful stories. Since the launch of her Label, Nakia has had over 20 of her screenplays produced to screen including her most notable projects: Suga Water, Cream x Coffee, and Novella. Nakia has been featured and recognized for her work by festivals and platforms such as BLAVITY, ABFF, Rolling Out Magazine, and Black Girls Rock! She also garnered partnerships with major media outlets such as Revolt TV, Black&Sexy TV, BETher and most recently inked a development deal with Earvin "Magic" Johnson's cable network, aspireTV. Nakia believes in the magic of storytelling and always creates art with a purpose greater than self. In this episode, Nakia speaks on her journey to creating her production company, and gives tips on getting into the industry Thanks for listening! xoxo @blackgirlsinmediainc

What an great interview with Dr. Parks on the importance of building great relationships through COVID-19, (dating &intimacy) The protest, George Floyd, staying healthy, workplace relationships, being upfront when dating and more! Dr. Cassandra M. Parks, owner of Let's Learn Love, LLC., is a Certified Relationship, Dating, and Intimacy Coach and Sexual Educator. On top of all that, she is an Ambassador for The American Sexual Health Association and the Sexual Health Alliance. Dr. Parks, in the past, was an affiliate of the IOC, the Institute Of Coaches through McLean Hospital which is a part of Harvard University. She believes "learn what you need and be unapologetic for it!" Let's Learn Love's Mission is to empower people all over the world to create Fun and Healthy Relationships, Dating, and Intimacy through correct information and techniques. She has been featured on CNN, Voyage ATL, the “Style With Trysh” TV Show on aibtv.com, and has been a featured panelist for the BETher's 2019 Black Women's Expo in Atlanta and is a staple on the "Style With Trish" show on aibtv.com. She is also the mother of two boys, Michael and Tristan. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/yourbestlifestyles/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yourbestlifestyles/support

Storyteller and TV Writer Ester Lou Weithers learned how to take ownership of her own narrative before crafting the lives of characters on Hollywood shows. A proud Caribbean-American, FAMU Alumna, and writer for shows on NBC and Fox, she discusses why your uniqueness is key to moving the culture forward. #theentouragepodcast Ester Lou's Biography (Abbreviated):  After studying journalism at Florida A&M University, Ester Lou started a career on the corporate side of cable television working at LIFETIME and MTV Networks in New York City. But after feeling she was too far away from the creative side of production, Ester relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a career in writing. She got her first break in the writers' room as a writer's production assistant on SHOWTIME'S HOUSE OF LIES.  During hiatus, Ester worked with Black&Sexy TV to create, write and direct two web series - SEXLESS and CHEF JULIAN - which were both acquired by BETHer. In 2016, she was accepted into the FOX WRITERS INTENSIVE and ultimately became the fellow for that year, leading to a development deal with Twentieth Century Fox Television.  Ester Lou's previous credits include PITCH and STAR. She is currently working on NBC's crime drama, GOOD GIRLS, as an executive story editor.  During this episode, she shares: The importance of taking ownership of your own narrative Why your perspective and self awareness are key  The necessity of doing your research  Ester's leap of faith from a New York office job to becoming a writer in Los Angeles Resources Mentioned:  The Entourage Podcast Season 1 Episode 1: The Importance of Scripting Your Own Narrative in the Creative Industry with Actor and Filmmaker Denzel Whitaker with Denzel Whitaker: https://bit.ly/35XJeZT Social media:  Ester Lou Weithers' Website: http://www.bookofester.com/ Ester Lou Weithers on Instagram: @Ester_Lou Ester Lou Weithers on Twitter: @Ester_Lou Intro/Outro Music:  “Waiting IV” by Celeste Betton Link to album: http://bit.ly/celeste-betton-entourage Instagram: @celestebetton Facebook: Celeste Betton Who this episode is for: writers, tv writers, filmmaker, director, producer, writer, tv writer, television, television writer

I had an great interview with the King, A.D. Dolphin, known for being Steve Harvey's health and wellness expert, has appeared on a variety of media platforms discussing the benefits of clean eating and healthy weight loss. He has also helped transform the waistlines of high profile clientele, including Emmy Award-Winning Actress, Niece Nash, Grammy Award-Winning Singer Brandy, WeTV's Celebrity Hairstylist Kim Kimble, Actress Sherri Shepherd, ABC's Blackish star Anthony Anderson, Windy City Host Val Warner and many more. A.D. has been featured on The Doctors, Sister Circle Live, Great Day Houston, Windy City Live, MNewsOne Now, Yung Joc's radio show on Streets 94.5 ATL, The Breakfast Club, Essence Magazine, Sheen Magazine, CentricTV.com (now BETHer) and many more. Additionally, he has appeared numerous times on the Steve Harvey Show, where he has not only helped Steve with his own weight loss, but has also been involved in food demonstrations, weight loss challenges and met face to face with people who have succeeded using his methods. Listen in! www.yourbestlifestyles.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/yourbestlifestyles/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yourbestlifestyles/support

Welcome to the pre-show Champions! I am not new to the airways, and you will hear it in my first few teasers before our official launch to get you excited about what is to come. In this episode of my Change the Family, Change the World I interviewed Michelle Thorton Ghee. Michelle is an Author, Media Executive and Stratechic! At the time of this interview she was the VP for BETHER. Enjoy this episode entitled, Changing the World will Require Strategy!

Hello everyone and welcome to Women's Sports Matter, a podcast that is your one-stop-shop for all things women's sports. In today's episode, I had Logan Tesmer, the creator of Red Stars Report, on the podcast to talk all things Red Stars! We discussed who our favorite young players are on the team, who would be our picks for an All-Star game, and more! You can follow me on Twitter and Facebook @WSMpodcast & Instagram @womenssportsmatter. To submit questions, topics, folks I should interview, and more, send me a DM! Want to message me about coming on the podcast or for suggestions? Email the podcast here: womenssportsmatterpodcast@gmail.com. Make sure to subscribe and thanks for listening!Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenssportsmatter/Twitter: https://twitter.com/WSMpodcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/WSMpodcastMy Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfvUE_I7u2rbN3aOFOX1M-A/My podcast website: https://redcircle.com/shows/womens-sports-matter Learn more about Derek:Derek Helling is a journalist out of Chicago. He writes about the legal side of sports for multiple publications and has covered the legal gambling industry since 2018. As the site manager for BetHer, he provides readers with the latest news about betting on women's sporting events along with insights into those markets.Bet-Her:BetHer.com is a gambling affiliate website that focuses on women's sporting events. BetHer.com provides news about legal wagering on women's events, analysis of the industry, and supports the best-quality regulated sportsbooks in both Canada and the United States. Podcasts I've Been On:On the Beat: https://youtu.be/10T5LhMZAOoBrandon's Sports Talk: https://youtu.be/tb2HRNhfjzMBryant and Me: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0APHmgdrKadkcyCbKFiHDJ?si=89b49f49f9a34cdfhttps://open.spotify.com/episode/6kGMOl46uzRKgBohNAfUpf?si=e5843333182745c8https://open.spotify.com/episode/1vC18GKwauIZLCsCi3jZ1P?si=af5893591c5a4c63GP Soccer Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6szWCGS0RxFE4LiR6s6bUU?si=afe6a15ed74d4a72The Final Third Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4gE0UOhI0iebqzlRqDZZC1?si=74684a56e5814481https://open.spotify.com/episode/5tSpItgcs1OuCxiK9fpTQO?si=13064cd24e7b4298https://open.spotify.com/episode/2E1APdTg8qLzczXCjuKWUL?si=0af34ff428134139United Soccer Coaches Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4cChnScMp0iULj5ybfWyP5?si=3b2c539f8ab14090 Articles About The Podcast: Medi-Nerd: https://medi-nerd.com/2021/10/23/2021-wizardworld-chicago-trip/On the Beat: https://globalwomenssportsradio.com/f/on-the-beat-with-gianna-belcastro-of-womens-sports-matter?fbclid=IwAR0YWeAZ6d5ki56qmiMHNadjIVMnsEtrbArX4fMCqiGGKIU1U-1eTaaxnBw Patch: https://patch.com/illinois/chicago/beat-wizard-world-2021?fbclid=IwAR0ciAAH2Pimi1I1ocBNaULIq_5gUGElASCTxSqENcKvaJdhY2neFvzSvjs  Resources:Register to Vote: https://www.vote.org/Find A Vaccine Near You: https://www.vaccines.gov/search/Black Women's Player Collective: https://www.bwplayercollective.org/Grow The Game: https://t.co/iQJ97rAbhrNWSL Player's Association: https://www.nwslplayers.com/WNBPA: https://wnbpa.com/PHFPA: https://twitter.com/nwhlpa?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5EauthorWomen's Football Alliance: https://wfaprofootball.com/2Cents FC: https://2centsfc.com/Find Your Legislator: https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/The Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/NAMI: https://www.nami.org Other great women's sports podcasts: The Final Third: https://open.spotify.com/show/2rc8WvMP4yAy3mZOgD1L71?si=5a7bd57f58404788Snacks: https://open.spotify.com/show/4n4ZxsVs1Ix9DY9E0KPSc6?si=2f7b7ef1b1554649Bryant and Me: https://open.spotify.com/show/5sNbmAKpf7nzOJMFuJZFSZ?si=22be190fea90463aMickey Mics Up: https://open.spotify.com/show/6QcIR6XhR2SEYtN5rI2cFl?si=d12ca95561d54ab8Pilla Talk: https://open.spotify.com/show/7ut3cCgCUDIJ7KMNBfX2fa?si=3948d14db2e74766Shea Butter FC: https://open.spotify.com/show/3MRQs9Tu6s6OqUbgVvwToF?si=918934f786874d81Diaspora United: https://open.spotify.com/show/17hfDzNUYD9MMVvxZe6fd6?si=1b545ff4af1442f2Soccer Over Gotham: https://open.spotify.com/show/27YcPeWrDrFvClh56TFMgH?si=3a7c426e879b4789Where you can listen to my podcast: Amazon Music, Anghami, Apple Podcasts, Audacy, Audible, Breaker, Gaana, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, RedCircle, Spotify, Stitcher, and TuneInSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/womens-sports-matter/exclusive-content

Hello everyone and welcome to Women's Sports Matter, a podcast that is your one-stop-shop for all things women's sports. In today's episode, I had the creator of Althea Magazine, Nina-Grace Montes on the podcast! We talked about what inspired her to create the magazine, her song of the summer, and more! You can follow me on Twitter @WSportsMatter and on Facebook, Instagram, & TikTok @womenssportsmatter. To submit questions, topics, folks I should interview, and more, send me a DM! Want to message me about coming on the podcast or for suggestions? Email the podcast here: womenssportsmatterpodcast@gmail.com. Make sure to subscribe and thanks for listening!My Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfvUE_I7u2rbN3aOFOX1M-A/My podcast website: https://redcircle.com/shows/womens-sports-matter Althea MagazineWebsite: https://www.altheamagazine.com/Insta: https://www.instagram.com/altheamagazine/Twitter: https://twitter.com/MagazineAltheaLearn more about Derek:Derek Helling is a journalist out of Chicago. He writes about the legal side of sports for multiple publications and has covered the legal gambling industry since 2018. As the site manager for BetHer, he provides readers with the latest news about betting on women's sporting events along with insights into those markets.Bet-Her:BetHer.com is a gambling affiliate website that focuses on women's sporting events. BetHer.com provides news about legal wagering on women's events, analysis of the industry, and supports the best-quality regulated sportsbooks in both Canada and the United States. Podcasts I've Been On:On the Beat: https://youtu.be/10T5LhMZAOoBrandon's Sports Talk: https://youtu.be/tb2HRNhfjzMBryant and Me: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0APHmgdrKadkcyCbKFiHDJ?si=89b49f49f9a34cdfhttps://open.spotify.com/episode/6kGMOl46uzRKgBohNAfUpf?si=e5843333182745c8https://open.spotify.com/episode/1vC18GKwauIZLCsCi3jZ1P?si=af5893591c5a4c63GP Soccer Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6szWCGS0RxFE4LiR6s6bUU?si=afe6a15ed74d4a72The Final Third Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4gE0UOhI0iebqzlRqDZZC1?si=74684a56e5814481https://open.spotify.com/episode/5tSpItgcs1OuCxiK9fpTQO?si=13064cd24e7b4298https://open.spotify.com/episode/2E1APdTg8qLzczXCjuKWUL?si=0af34ff428134139United Soccer Coaches Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4cChnScMp0iULj5ybfWyP5?si=3b2c539f8ab14090 Articles About The Podcast: Medi-Nerd: https://medi-nerd.com/2021/10/23/2021-wizardworld-chicago-trip/On the Beat: https://globalwomenssportsradio.com/f/on-the-beat-with-gianna-belcastro-of-womens-sports-matter?fbclid=IwAR0YWeAZ6d5ki56qmiMHNadjIVMnsEtrbArX4fMCqiGGKIU1U-1eTaaxnBw Patch: https://patch.com/illinois/chicago/beat-wizard-world-2021?fbclid=IwAR0ciAAH2Pimi1I1ocBNaULIq_5gUGElASCTxSqENcKvaJdhY2neFvzSvjs  Resources:Register to Vote: https://www.vote.org/Find A Vaccine Near You: https://www.vaccines.gov/search/Black Women's Player Collective: https://www.bwplayercollective.org/Grow The Game: https://t.co/iQJ97rAbhrNWSL Player's Association: https://www.nwslplayers.com/WNBPA: https://wnbpa.com/PHFPA: https://twitter.com/nwhlpa?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5EauthorWomen's Football Alliance: https://wfaprofootball.com/2Cents FC: https://2centsfc.com/Find Your Legislator: https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/The Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/NAMI: https://www.nami.org Other great women's sports podcasts: The Final Third: https://open.spotify.com/show/2rc8WvMP4yAy3mZOgD1L71?si=5a7bd57f58404788Snacks: https://open.spotify.com/show/4n4ZxsVs1Ix9DY9E0KPSc6?si=2f7b7ef1b1554649Bryant and Me: https://open.spotify.com/show/5sNbmAKpf7nzOJMFuJZFSZ?si=22be190fea90463aMickey Mics Up: https://open.spotify.com/show/6QcIR6XhR2SEYtN5rI2cFl?si=d12ca95561d54ab8Pilla Talk: https://open.spotify.com/show/7ut3cCgCUDIJ7KMNBfX2fa?si=3948d14db2e74766Shea Butter FC: https://open.spotify.com/show/3MRQs9Tu6s6OqUbgVvwToF?si=918934f786874d81Diaspora United: https://open.spotify.com/show/17hfDzNUYD9MMVvxZe6fd6?si=1b545ff4af1442f2Soccer Over Gotham: https://open.spotify.com/show/27YcPeWrDrFvClh56TFMgH?si=3a7c426e879b4789Where you can listen to my podcast: Amazon Music, Anghami, Apple Podcasts, Audacy, Audible, Breaker, Gaana, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, RedCircle, Spotify, Stitcher, and TuneInSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/womens-sports-matter/exclusive-content

Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of the Women's Sports Matter Podcast! In today's episode, I finally pick a college. You can follow me on Twitter and Facebook @WSMpodcast & Instagram @womenssportsmatter. To submit questions, topics, folks I should interview, and more, send me a DM! Want to message me about coming on the podcast or for suggestions? Email the podcast here: womenssportsmatterpodcast@gmail.com. Make sure to subscribe and thanks for listening!Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenssportsmatter/Twitter: https://twitter.com/WSMpodcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/WSMpodcastMy Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfvUE_I7u2rbN3aOFOX1M-A/My podcast website: https://redcircle.com/shows/womens-sports-matter Learn more about Derek:Derek Helling is a journalist out of Chicago. He writes about the legal side of sports for multiple publications and has covered the legal gambling industry since 2018. As the site manager for BetHer, he provides readers with the latest news about betting on women's sporting events along with insights into those markets.Bet-Her:BetHer.com is a gambling affiliate website that focuses on women's sporting events. BetHer.com provides news about legal wagering on women's events, analysis of the industry, and supports the best-quality regulated sportsbooks in both Canada and the United States. Podcasts I've Been On:On the Beat: https://youtu.be/10T5LhMZAOoBrandon's Sports Talk: https://youtu.be/tb2HRNhfjzMBryant and Me: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6kGMOl46uzRKgBohNAfUpf?si=e5843333182745c8https://open.spotify.com/episode/1vC18GKwauIZLCsCi3jZ1P?si=af5893591c5a4c63GP Soccer Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6szWCGS0RxFE4LiR6s6bUU?si=afe6a15ed74d4a72The Final Third Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4gE0UOhI0iebqzlRqDZZC1?si=74684a56e5814481https://open.spotify.com/episode/5tSpItgcs1OuCxiK9fpTQO?si=13064cd24e7b4298https://open.spotify.com/episode/2E1APdTg8qLzczXCjuKWUL?si=0af34ff428134139United Soccer Coaches Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4cChnScMp0iULj5ybfWyP5?si=3b2c539f8ab14090 Articles About The Podcast: Medi-Nerd: https://medi-nerd.com/2021/10/23/2021-wizardworld-chicago-trip/On the Beat: https://globalwomenssportsradio.com/f/on-the-beat-with-gianna-belcastro-of-womens-sports-matter?fbclid=IwAR0YWeAZ6d5ki56qmiMHNadjIVMnsEtrbArX4fMCqiGGKIU1U-1eTaaxnBw Patch: https://patch.com/illinois/chicago/beat-wizard-world-2021?fbclid=IwAR0ciAAH2Pimi1I1ocBNaULIq_5gUGElASCTxSqENcKvaJdhY2neFvzSvjs  Resources:Register to Vote: https://www.vote.org/Find A Vaccine Near You: https://www.vaccines.gov/search/Black Women's Player Collective: https://www.bwplayercollective.org/Grow The Game: https://t.co/iQJ97rAbhrNWSL Player's Association: https://www.nwslplayers.com/WNBPA: https://wnbpa.com/PHFPA: https://twitter.com/nwhlpa?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5EauthorWomen's Football Alliance: https://wfaprofootball.com/2Cents FC: https://2centsfc.com/Find Your Legislator: https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/The Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/NAMI: https://www.nami.org Other great women's sports podcasts: The Final Third: https://open.spotify.com/show/2rc8WvMP4yAy3mZOgD1L71?si=5a7bd57f58404788Snacks: https://open.spotify.com/show/4n4ZxsVs1Ix9DY9E0KPSc6?si=2f7b7ef1b1554649Bryant and Me: https://open.spotify.com/show/5sNbmAKpf7nzOJMFuJZFSZ?si=22be190fea90463aMickey Mics Up: https://open.spotify.com/show/6QcIR6XhR2SEYtN5rI2cFl?si=d12ca95561d54ab8Pilla Talk: https://open.spotify.com/show/7ut3cCgCUDIJ7KMNBfX2fa?si=3948d14db2e74766Shea Butter FC: https://open.spotify.com/show/3MRQs9Tu6s6OqUbgVvwToF?si=918934f786874d81Diaspora United: https://open.spotify.com/show/17hfDzNUYD9MMVvxZe6fd6?si=1b545ff4af1442f2Soccer Over Gotham: https://open.spotify.com/show/27YcPeWrDrFvClh56TFMgH?si=3a7c426e879b4789Where you can listen to my podcast: Amazon Music, Anghami, Apple Podcasts, Audacy, Audible, Breaker, Gaana, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, RedCircle, Spotify, Stitcher, and TuneInSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/womens-sports-matter/exclusive-content

Hello everyone and welcome to Women's Sports Matter, your one-stop shop for all things women's sports. In today's episode, I discussed my very exciting weekend covering the WNBA and NWSL in-person for the first time! Thanks again to the WNBA and Chicago Red Stars for making this happen! You can follow me on Twitter @WSportsMatter & on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @womenssportsmatter. To submit questions, topics, folks I should interview, and more, send me a DM! Want to message me about coming on the podcast or for suggestions? Email the podcast here: womenssportsmatterpodcast@gmail.com. Make sure to subscribe and thanks for listening! Remember to go out and support your local women's sports team!Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenssportsmatter/Twitter: https://twitter.com/WSportsMatterFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/womenssportsmatterMy Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfvUE_I7u2rbN3aOFOX1M-A/My podcast website: womenssportsmatter.com Follow Don't Touch My Jersey: Insta: donttouchmyjerseyTwitter: donttouchmyjrsyFollow More Than 5%:Insta & Twitter: morethanfivepctLearn more about Derek:Derek Helling is a journalist out of Chicago. He writes about the legal side of sports for multiple publications and has covered the legal gambling industry since 2018. As the site manager for BetHer, he provides readers with the latest news about betting on women's sporting events along with insights into those markets.Bet-Her:Bet-Her.com is a gambling affiliate website that focuses on women's sporting events. Bet-Her.com provides news about legal wagering on women's events, industry analysis, and supports the best-quality regulated sportsbooks in Canada and the United States.Podcasts I've Been On:On the Beat: https://youtu.be/10T5LhMZAOoBrandon's Sports Talk: https://youtu.be/tb2HRNhfjzMBryant and Me: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6kGMOl46uzRKgBohNAfUpf?si=e5843333182745c8https://open.spotify.com/episode/1vC18GKwauIZLCsCi3jZ1P?si=af5893591c5a4c63https://open.spotify.com/episode/0APHmgdrKadkcyCbKFiHDJ?si=1a30525906f84c4bGP Soccer Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6szWCGS0RxFE4LiR6s6bUU?si=afe6a15ed74d4a72Mickey Mics Up:https://open.spotify.com/episode/5h9TYTLXfwBR0hefFQBBWt?si=09080a249d5f4979The Final Third Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4gE0UOhI0iebqzlRqDZZC1?si=74684a56e5814481https://open.spotify.com/episode/5tSpItgcs1OuCxiK9fpTQO?si=13064cd24e7b4298https://open.spotify.com/episode/2E1APdTg8qLzczXCjuKWUL?si=0af34ff428134139United Soccer Coaches Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4cChnScMp0iULj5ybfWyP5?si=3b2c539f8ab14090 Articles About The Podcast: Medi-Nerd: https://medi-nerd.com/2021/10/23/2021-wizardworld-chicago-trip/On the Beat: https://globalwomenssportsradio.com/f/on-the-beat-with-gianna-belcastro-of-womens-sports-matter?fbclid=IwAR0YWeAZ6d5ki56qmiMHNadjIVMnsEtrbArX4fMCqiGGKIU1U-1eTaaxnBw Patch: https://patch.com/illinois/chicago/beat-wizard-world-2021?fbclid=IwAR0ciAAH2Pimi1I1ocBNaULIq_5gUGElASCTxSqENcKvaJdhY2neFvzSvjs  Resources:Register to Vote: https://www.vote.org/Find A Vaccine Near You: https://www.vaccines.gov/search/Black Women's Player Collective: https://www.bwplayercollective.org/Grow The Game: https://t.co/iQJ97rAbhrNWSL Player's Association: https://www.nwslplayers.com/WNBPA: https://wnbpa.com/PHFPA: https://twitter.com/nwhlpa?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5EauthorWomen's Football Alliance: https://wfaprofootball.com/2Cents FC: https://2centsfc.com/Find Your Legislator: https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/The Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/NAMI: https://www.nami.orgWhere you can listen to my podcast: Amazon Music, Anghami, Apple Podcasts, Audacy, Audible, Breaker, Gaana, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, RedCircle, Spotify, Stitcher, and TuneInSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/womens-sports-matter/exclusive-content

Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of the Women's Sports Matter Podcast! In today's episode, Season 4 is back! After taking four months off for school, I've decided it's time to come back for another season of the pod! With five grueling months of school finally over, I get to focus my time and energy on the podcast. Get ready for some fantastic interviews, women's sports content, and learning more about how to bet in women's sports. Speaking of betting, Women's Sports Matter has a new sponsor, BetHer. In each episode, Derek Helling, the newest member of the Women's Sports Matter team, will educate listeners of the podcast about how to safely and adequately bet on women's sports. These segments will take place at the end of each episode and are sponsored by BetHer. Some of today's topics include where I will be attending school in the fall, what is coming up for the pod, and what I have been up to in my "off-season". Also, I would like to give a special shoutout to Subria Whitaker, Erika Piancastelli, Carly Jackson, and Connor Moore for being a part of this season's intro! I wanted to do things differently for Season 4, so I got some past guests from last season to be a part of the intro! Thank you all for being a part of this, it means the world to me! Anyway, that's enough written stuff from me; I hope you enjoy today's episode.You can follow me on Twitter and Facebook @WSMpodcast & Instagram @womenssportsmatter. To submit questions, topics, folks I should interview, and more, send me a DM! Want to message me about coming on the podcast or for suggestions? Email the podcast here: womenssportsmatterpodcast@gmail.com. Make sure to subscribe and thanks for listening!Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenssportsmatter/Twitter: https://twitter.com/WSMpodcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/WSMpodcastMy Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfvUE_I7u2rbN3aOFOX1M-A/My podcast website: https://redcircle.com/shows/womens-sports-matter Learn more about Derek:Derek Helling is a journalist out of Chicago. He writes about the legal side of sports for multiple publications and has covered the legal gambling industry since 2018. As the site manager for BetHer, he provides readers with the latest news about betting on women's sporting events along with insights into those markets.Bet-Her:BetHer.com is a gambling affiliate website that focuses on women's sporting events. BetHer.com provides news about legal wagering on women's events, analysis of the industry, and supports the best-quality regulated sportsbooks in both Canada and the United States. Podcasts I've Been On:On the Beat: https://youtu.be/10T5LhMZAOoBrandon's Sports Talk: https://youtu.be/tb2HRNhfjzMBryant and Me: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6kGMOl46uzRKgBohNAfUpf?si=e5843333182745c8https://open.spotify.com/episode/1vC18GKwauIZLCsCi3jZ1P?si=af5893591c5a4c63GP Soccer Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6szWCGS0RxFE4LiR6s6bUU?si=afe6a15ed74d4a72The Final Third Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4gE0UOhI0iebqzlRqDZZC1?si=74684a56e5814481https://open.spotify.com/episode/5tSpItgcs1OuCxiK9fpTQO?si=13064cd24e7b4298https://open.spotify.com/episode/2E1APdTg8qLzczXCjuKWUL?si=0af34ff428134139United Soccer Coaches Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4cChnScMp0iULj5ybfWyP5?si=3b2c539f8ab14090Articles About The Podcast: Medi-Nerd: https://medi-nerd.com/2021/10/23/2021-wizardworld-chicago-trip/On the Beat: https://globalwomenssportsradio.com/f/on-the-beat-with-gianna-belcastro-of-womens-sports-matter?fbclid=IwAR0YWeAZ6d5ki56qmiMHNadjIVMnsEtrbArX4fMCqiGGKIU1U-1eTaaxnBw Patch: https://patch.com/illinois/chicago/beat-wizard-world-2021?fbclid=IwAR0ciAAH2Pimi1I1ocBNaULIq_5gUGElASCTxSqENcKvaJdhY2neFvzSvjs Resources:Register to Vote: https://www.vote.org/Find A Vaccine Near You: https://www.vaccines.gov/search/Black Women's Player Collective: https://www.bwplayercollective.org/Grow The Game: https://t.co/iQJ97rAbhrNWSL Player's Association: https://www.nwslplayers.com/WNBPA: https://wnbpa.com/PHFPA: https://twitter.com/nwhlpa?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5EauthorWomen's Football Alliance: https://wfaprofootball.com/2Cents FC: https://2centsfc.com/Find Your Legislator: https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/The Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/NAMI: https://www.nami.orgOther great women's sports podcasts: The Final Third: https://open.spotify.com/show/2rc8WvMP4yAy3mZOgD1L71?si=5a7bd57f58404788Snacks: https://open.spotify.com/show/4n4ZxsVs1Ix9DY9E0KPSc6?si=2f7b7ef1b1554649Bryant and Me: https://open.spotify.com/show/5sNbmAKpf7nzOJMFuJZFSZ?si=22be190fea90463aMickey Mics Up: https://open.spotify.com/show/6QcIR6XhR2SEYtN5rI2cFl?si=d12ca95561d54ab8Pilla Talk: https://open.spotify.com/show/7ut3cCgCUDIJ7KMNBfX2fa?si=3948d14db2e74766Shea Butter FC: https://open.spotify.com/show/3MRQs9Tu6s6OqUbgVvwToF?si=918934f786874d81Diaspora United: https://open.spotify.com/show/17hfDzNUYD9MMVvxZe6fd6?si=1b545ff4af1442f2Soccer Over Gotham: https://open.spotify.com/show/27YcPeWrDrFvClh56TFMgH?si=3a7c426e879b4789Where you can listen to my podcast: Amazon Music, Anghami, Apple Podcasts, Audacy, Audible, Breaker, Gaana, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, RedCircle, Spotify, Stitcher, and TuneInSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/womens-sports-matter/exclusive-content

Hello everyone and welcome to Women's Sports Matter, your one-stop shop for all things women's sports. In today's episode, I did a live show at Fan Expo Chicago! I talked about All-Star Weekend in Chicago, some of my thoughts on a few NWSL teams, and my thoughts on the Brittney Griner/Russia situation. Thanks again to Fan Expo Chicago for letting me do a live show! You can follow me on Twitter @WSportsMatter & on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @womenssportsmatter. To submit questions, topics, folks I should interview, and more, send me a DM! Want to message me about coming on the podcast or for suggestions? Email the podcast here: womenssportsmatterpodcast@gmail.com. Make sure to subscribe and thanks for listening! Remember to go out and support your local women's sports team!Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenssportsmatter/Twitter: https://twitter.com/WSportsMatterFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/womenssportsmatterMy Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfvUE_I7u2rbN3aOFOX1M-A/My podcast website: womenssportsmatter.com Follow Don't Touch My Jersey: Insta: donttouchmyjerseyTwitter: donttouchmyjrsyFollow More Than 5%:Insta & Twitter: morethanfivepctLearn more about Derek:Derek Helling is a journalist out of Chicago. He writes about the legal side of sports for multiple publications and has covered the legal gambling industry since 2018. As the site manager for BetHer, he provides readers with the latest news about betting on women's sporting events along with insights into those markets.Bet-Her:Bet-Her.com is a gambling affiliate website that focuses on women's sporting events. Bet-Her.com provides news about legal wagering on women's events, industry analysis, and supports the best-quality regulated sportsbooks in Canada and the United States.Podcasts I've Been On:On the Beat: https://youtu.be/10T5LhMZAOoBrandon's Sports Talk: https://youtu.be/tb2HRNhfjzMBryant and Me: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6kGMOl46uzRKgBohNAfUpf?si=e5843333182745c8https://open.spotify.com/episode/1vC18GKwauIZLCsCi3jZ1P?si=af5893591c5a4c63https://open.spotify.com/episode/0APHmgdrKadkcyCbKFiHDJ?si=1a30525906f84c4bGP Soccer Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6szWCGS0RxFE4LiR6s6bUU?si=afe6a15ed74d4a72Mickey Mics Up:https://open.spotify.com/episode/5h9TYTLXfwBR0hefFQBBWt?si=09080a249d5f4979The Final Third Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4gE0UOhI0iebqzlRqDZZC1?si=74684a56e5814481https://open.spotify.com/episode/5tSpItgcs1OuCxiK9fpTQO?si=13064cd24e7b4298https://open.spotify.com/episode/2E1APdTg8qLzczXCjuKWUL?si=0af34ff428134139United Soccer Coaches Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4cChnScMp0iULj5ybfWyP5?si=3b2c539f8ab14090 Articles About The Podcast: Medi-Nerd: https://medi-nerd.com/2021/10/23/2021-wizardworld-chicago-trip/On the Beat: https://globalwomenssportsradio.com/f/on-the-beat-with-gianna-belcastro-of-womens-sports-matter?fbclid=IwAR0YWeAZ6d5ki56qmiMHNadjIVMnsEtrbArX4fMCqiGGKIU1U-1eTaaxnBw Patch: https://patch.com/illinois/chicago/beat-wizard-world-2021?fbclid=IwAR0ciAAH2Pimi1I1ocBNaULIq_5gUGElASCTxSqENcKvaJdhY2neFvzSvjs  Resources:Register to Vote: https://www.vote.org/Find A Vaccine Near You: https://www.vaccines.gov/search/Black Women's Player Collective: https://www.bwplayercollective.org/Grow The Game: https://t.co/iQJ97rAbhrNWSL Player's Association: https://www.nwslplayers.com/WNBPA: https://wnbpa.com/PHFPA: https://twitter.com/nwhlpa?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5EauthorWomen's Football Alliance: https://wfaprofootball.com/2Cents FC: https://2centsfc.com/Find Your Legislator: https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/The Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/NAMI: https://www.nami.orgWhere you can listen to my podcast: Amazon Music, Anghami, Apple Podcasts, Audacy, Audible, Breaker, Gaana, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, RedCircle, Spotify, Stitcher, and TuneInSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/womens-sports-matter/exclusive-content

Hello everyone and welcome to Women's Sports Matter, a podcast, that is your one-stop shop for all things women's sports. In today's episode, I chatted with Chicago Red Stars defender Tatumn Milazzo! We talked about the young talent on the Red Stars roster, game-day fits, and manifesting your goals. Also, congrats to Tatumn for getting on her first NWSL Best XI of the Month! Well deserved! You can follow me on Twitter @WSportsMatter & on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @womenssportsmatter. To submit questions, topics, folks I should interview, and more, send me a DM! Want to message me about coming on the podcast or for suggestions? Email the podcast here: womenssportsmatterpodcast@gmail.com. Make sure to subscribe and thanks for listening!Follow Tatumn:Insta & Twitter: @tatumnmilazzoWatch today's episode here: https://youtu.be/UT4b6h3yoZASocial Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenssportsmatter/Twitter: https://twitter.com/WSportsMatterFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/womenssportsmatterMy Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfvUE_I7u2rbN3aOFOX1M-A/My podcast website: https://redcircle.com/shows/womens-sports-matter Learn more about Derek:Derek Helling is a journalist out of Chicago. He writes about the legal side of sports for multiple publications and has covered the legal gambling industry since 2018. As the site manager for BetHer, he provides readers with the latest news about betting on women's sporting events along with insights into those markets.Bet-Her:BetHer.com is a gambling affiliate website that focuses on women's sporting events. BetHer.com provides news about legal wagering on women's events, analysis of the industry, and supports the best-quality regulated sportsbooks in both Canada and the United States. Podcasts I've Been On:On the Beat: https://youtu.be/10T5LhMZAOoBrandon's Sports Talk: https://youtu.be/tb2HRNhfjzMBryant and Me: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0APHmgdrKadkcyCbKFiHDJ?si=89b49f49f9a34cdfhttps://open.spotify.com/episode/6kGMOl46uzRKgBohNAfUpf?si=e5843333182745c8https://open.spotify.com/episode/1vC18GKwauIZLCsCi3jZ1P?si=af5893591c5a4c63GP Soccer Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6szWCGS0RxFE4LiR6s6bUU?si=afe6a15ed74d4a72The Final Third Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4gE0UOhI0iebqzlRqDZZC1?si=74684a56e5814481https://open.spotify.com/episode/5tSpItgcs1OuCxiK9fpTQO?si=13064cd24e7b4298https://open.spotify.com/episode/2E1APdTg8qLzczXCjuKWUL?si=0af34ff428134139United Soccer Coaches Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4cChnScMp0iULj5ybfWyP5?si=3b2c539f8ab14090 Articles About The Podcast: Medi-Nerd: https://medi-nerd.com/2021/10/23/2021-wizardworld-chicago-trip/On the Beat: https://globalwomenssportsradio.com/f/on-the-beat-with-gianna-belcastro-of-womens-sports-matter?fbclid=IwAR0YWeAZ6d5ki56qmiMHNadjIVMnsEtrbArX4fMCqiGGKIU1U-1eTaaxnBw Patch: https://patch.com/illinois/chicago/beat-wizard-world-2021?fbclid=IwAR0ciAAH2Pimi1I1ocBNaULIq_5gUGElASCTxSqENcKvaJdhY2neFvzSvjs  Resources:Register to Vote: https://www.vote.org/Find A Vaccine Near You: https://www.vaccines.gov/search/Black Women's Player Collective: https://www.bwplayercollective.org/Grow The Game: https://t.co/iQJ97rAbhrNWSL Player's Association: https://www.nwslplayers.com/WNBPA: https://wnbpa.com/PHFPA: https://twitter.com/nwhlpa?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5EauthorWomen's Football Alliance: https://wfaprofootball.com/2Cents FC: https://2centsfc.com/Find Your Legislator: https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/The Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/NAMI: https://www.nami.org Other great women's sports podcasts: The Final Third: https://open.spotify.com/show/2rc8WvMP4yAy3mZOgD1L71?si=5a7bd57f58404788Snacks: https://open.spotify.com/show/4n4ZxsVs1Ix9DY9E0KPSc6?si=2f7b7ef1b1554649Bryant and Me: https://open.spotify.com/show/5sNbmAKpf7nzOJMFuJZFSZ?si=22be190fea90463aMickey Mics Up: https://open.spotify.com/show/6QcIR6XhR2SEYtN5rI2cFl?si=d12ca95561d54ab8Pilla Talk: https://open.spotify.com/show/7ut3cCgCUDIJ7KMNBfX2fa?si=3948d14db2e74766Shea Butter FC: https://open.spotify.com/show/3MRQs9Tu6s6OqUbgVvwToF?si=918934f786874d81Diaspora United: https://open.spotify.com/show/17hfDzNUYD9MMVvxZe6fd6?si=1b545ff4af1442f2Soccer Over Gotham: https://open.spotify.com/show/27YcPeWrDrFvClh56TFMgH?si=3a7c426e879b4789Where you can listen to my podcast: Amazon Music, Anghami, Apple Podcasts, Audacy, Audible, Breaker, Gaana, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, RedCircle, Spotify, Stitcher, and TuneInSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/womens-sports-matter/exclusive-content

Hello everyone and welcome to Women's Sports Matter, a podcast that is your one-stop shop for all things women's sports. In today's episode, I had my friend, Anne Tokarski, on the podcast! We talked about how she first got into women's hockey, what it's like to be a voting media member for the PHF End of Season Awards, who's PHF shirsey I should get, and more! You can follow me on Twitter and Facebook @WSMpodcast & Instagram @womenssportsmatter. To submit questions, topics, folks I should interview, and more, send me a DM! Want to message me about coming on the podcast or for suggestions? Email the podcast here: womenssportsmatterpodcast@gmail.com. Make sure to subscribe and thanks for listening!Follow Anne:Twitter: @annetokarskiKo-fi: https://ko-fi.com/annetokarskiBrave Space Alliance:Website: https://www.bravespacealliance.org/Twitter: @BraveSpaceChiAbout Brave Space Alliance: BSA is a vehicle to empower and elevate queer and trans voices, particularly those belonging to people of color, to allow our communities a seat at the table on key decision-making processes that impact the community of Chicago.Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenssportsmatter/Twitter: https://twitter.com/WSportsMatterFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/womenssportsmatterMy Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfvUE_I7u2rbN3aOFOX1M-A/My podcast website: https://redcircle.com/shows/womens-sports-matter Learn more about Derek:Derek Helling is a journalist out of Chicago. He writes about the legal side of sports for multiple publications and has covered the legal gambling industry since 2018. As the site manager for BetHer, he provides readers with the latest news about betting on women's sporting events along with insights into those markets.Bet-Her:BetHer.com is a gambling affiliate website that focuses on women's sporting events. BetHer.com provides news about legal wagering on women's events, analysis of the industry, and supports the best-quality regulated sportsbooks in both Canada and the United States. Podcasts I've Been On:On the Beat: https://youtu.be/10T5LhMZAOoBrandon's Sports Talk: https://youtu.be/tb2HRNhfjzMBryant and Me: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0APHmgdrKadkcyCbKFiHDJ?si=89b49f49f9a34cdfhttps://open.spotify.com/episode/6kGMOl46uzRKgBohNAfUpf?si=e5843333182745c8https://open.spotify.com/episode/1vC18GKwauIZLCsCi3jZ1P?si=af5893591c5a4c63GP Soccer Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6szWCGS0RxFE4LiR6s6bUU?si=afe6a15ed74d4a72The Final Third Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4gE0UOhI0iebqzlRqDZZC1?si=74684a56e5814481https://open.spotify.com/episode/5tSpItgcs1OuCxiK9fpTQO?si=13064cd24e7b4298https://open.spotify.com/episode/2E1APdTg8qLzczXCjuKWUL?si=0af34ff428134139United Soccer Coaches Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4cChnScMp0iULj5ybfWyP5?si=3b2c539f8ab14090 Articles About The Podcast: Medi-Nerd: https://medi-nerd.com/2021/10/23/2021-wizardworld-chicago-trip/On the Beat: https://globalwomenssportsradio.com/f/on-the-beat-with-gianna-belcastro-of-womens-sports-matter?fbclid=IwAR0YWeAZ6d5ki56qmiMHNadjIVMnsEtrbArX4fMCqiGGKIU1U-1eTaaxnBw Patch: https://patch.com/illinois/chicago/beat-wizard-world-2021?fbclid=IwAR0ciAAH2Pimi1I1ocBNaULIq_5gUGElASCTxSqENcKvaJdhY2neFvzSvjs  Resources:Register to Vote: https://www.vote.org/Find A Vaccine Near You: https://www.vaccines.gov/search/Black Women's Player Collective: https://www.bwplayercollective.org/Grow The Game: https://t.co/iQJ97rAbhrNWSL Player's Association: https://www.nwslplayers.com/WNBPA: https://wnbpa.com/PHFPA: https://twitter.com/nwhlpa?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5EauthorWomen's Football Alliance: https://wfaprofootball.com/2Cents FC: https://2centsfc.com/Find Your Legislator: https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/The Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/NAMI: https://www.nami.org Other great women's sports podcasts: The Final Third: https://open.spotify.com/show/2rc8WvMP4yAy3mZOgD1L71?si=5a7bd57f58404788Snacks: https://open.spotify.com/show/4n4ZxsVs1Ix9DY9E0KPSc6?si=2f7b7ef1b1554649Bryant and Me: https://open.spotify.com/show/5sNbmAKpf7nzOJMFuJZFSZ?si=22be190fea90463aMickey Mics Up: https://open.spotify.com/show/6QcIR6XhR2SEYtN5rI2cFl?si=d12ca95561d54ab8Pilla Talk: https://open.spotify.com/show/7ut3cCgCUDIJ7KMNBfX2fa?si=3948d14db2e74766Shea Butter FC: https://open.spotify.com/show/3MRQs9Tu6s6OqUbgVvwToF?si=918934f786874d81Diaspora United: https://open.spotify.com/show/17hfDzNUYD9MMVvxZe6fd6?si=1b545ff4af1442f2Soccer Over Gotham: https://open.spotify.com/show/27YcPeWrDrFvClh56TFMgH?si=3a7c426e879b4789Where you can listen to my podcast: Amazon Music, Anghami, Apple Podcasts, Audacy, Audible, Breaker, Gaana, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, RedCircle, Spotify, Stitcher, and TuneInSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/womens-sports-matter/exclusive-content

Hello everyone and welcome to Women's Sports Matter, a podcast that is your one-stop shop for all things women's sports. In today's episode, I interviewed Phoenix Suns/Mercury photographer Kate Frese! We talked about what it was like to move from the east coast to the west coast, what it's like being a female photographer in sports, and what it was like to work for the Metropolitan Riveters. You can follow me on Twitter and Facebook @WSMpodcast & Instagram @womenssportsmatter. To submit questions, topics, folks I should interview, and more, send me a DM! Want to message me about coming on the podcast or for suggestions? Email the podcast here: womenssportsmatterpodcast@gmail.com. Make sure to subscribe and thanks for listening!Follow Kate:Insta: kate_freseTwitter: @KateFresePhotoWebsite: katefrese.comAthlete Ally: https://www.athleteally.org/Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenssportsmatter/Twitter: https://twitter.com/WSportsMatterFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/womenssportsmatterMy Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfvUE_I7u2rbN3aOFOX1M-A/My podcast website: https://redcircle.com/shows/womens-sports-matter Learn more about Derek:Derek Helling is a journalist out of Chicago. He writes about the legal side of sports for multiple publications and has covered the legal gambling industry since 2018. As the site manager for BetHer, he provides readers with the latest news about betting on women's sporting events along with insights into those markets.Bet-Her:BetHer.com is a gambling affiliate website that focuses on women's sporting events. BetHer.com provides news about legal wagering on women's events, analysis of the industry, and supports the best-quality regulated sportsbooks in both Canada and the United States. Podcasts I've Been On:On the Beat: https://youtu.be/10T5LhMZAOoBrandon's Sports Talk: https://youtu.be/tb2HRNhfjzMBryant and Me: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0APHmgdrKadkcyCbKFiHDJ?si=89b49f49f9a34cdfhttps://open.spotify.com/episode/6kGMOl46uzRKgBohNAfUpf?si=e5843333182745c8https://open.spotify.com/episode/1vC18GKwauIZLCsCi3jZ1P?si=af5893591c5a4c63GP Soccer Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6szWCGS0RxFE4LiR6s6bUU?si=afe6a15ed74d4a72The Final Third Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4gE0UOhI0iebqzlRqDZZC1?si=74684a56e5814481https://open.spotify.com/episode/5tSpItgcs1OuCxiK9fpTQO?si=13064cd24e7b4298https://open.spotify.com/episode/2E1APdTg8qLzczXCjuKWUL?si=0af34ff428134139United Soccer Coaches Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4cChnScMp0iULj5ybfWyP5?si=3b2c539f8ab14090 Articles About The Podcast: Medi-Nerd: https://medi-nerd.com/2021/10/23/2021-wizardworld-chicago-trip/On the Beat: https://globalwomenssportsradio.com/f/on-the-beat-with-gianna-belcastro-of-womens-sports-matter?fbclid=IwAR0YWeAZ6d5ki56qmiMHNadjIVMnsEtrbArX4fMCqiGGKIU1U-1eTaaxnBw Patch: https://patch.com/illinois/chicago/beat-wizard-world-2021?fbclid=IwAR0ciAAH2Pimi1I1ocBNaULIq_5gUGElASCTxSqENcKvaJdhY2neFvzSvjs  Resources:Register to Vote: https://www.vote.org/Find A Vaccine Near You: https://www.vaccines.gov/search/Black Women's Player Collective: https://www.bwplayercollective.org/Grow The Game: https://t.co/iQJ97rAbhrNWSL Player's Association: https://www.nwslplayers.com/WNBPA: https://wnbpa.com/PHFPA: https://twitter.com/nwhlpa?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5EauthorWomen's Football Alliance: https://wfaprofootball.com/2Cents FC: https://2centsfc.com/Find Your Legislator: https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/The Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/NAMI: https://www.nami.org Other great women's sports podcasts: The Final Third: https://open.spotify.com/show/2rc8WvMP4yAy3mZOgD1L71?si=5a7bd57f58404788Snacks: https://open.spotify.com/show/4n4ZxsVs1Ix9DY9E0KPSc6?si=2f7b7ef1b1554649Bryant and Me: https://open.spotify.com/show/5sNbmAKpf7nzOJMFuJZFSZ?si=22be190fea90463aMickey Mics Up: https://open.spotify.com/show/6QcIR6XhR2SEYtN5rI2cFl?si=d12ca95561d54ab8Pilla Talk: https://open.spotify.com/show/7ut3cCgCUDIJ7KMNBfX2fa?si=3948d14db2e74766Shea Butter FC: https://open.spotify.com/show/3MRQs9Tu6s6OqUbgVvwToF?si=918934f786874d81Diaspora United: https://open.spotify.com/show/17hfDzNUYD9MMVvxZe6fd6?si=1b545ff4af1442f2Soccer Over Gotham: https://open.spotify.com/show/27YcPeWrDrFvClh56TFMgH?si=3a7c426e879b4789Where you can listen to my podcast: Amazon Music, Anghami, Apple Podcasts, Audacy, Audible, Breaker, Gaana, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, RedCircle, Spotify, Stitcher, and TuneInSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/womens-sports-matter/exclusive-content

Hello everyone and welcome to Women's Sports Matter, your one-stop shop for all things women's sports. In today's episode, I had Jasmine Brown of HighlightHer on the podcast to teach me about rugby! Jasmine is a former college rugby player at the University of Maryland. I hope you enjoy this new segment of the show! You can follow me on Twitter @WSportsMatter & on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @womenssportsmatter. To submit questions, topics, folks I should interview, and more, send me a DM! Want to message me about coming on the podcast or for suggestions? Email the podcast here: womenssportsmatterpodcast@gmail.com. Make sure to subscribe and thanks for listening! Remember to go out and support your local women's sports team!Follow Jasmine:Twitter: @jazzvangoghSocial Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenssportsmatter/Twitter: https://twitter.com/WSportsMatterFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/womenssportsmatterMy Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfvUE_I7u2rbN3aOFOX1M-A/My podcast website: womenssportsmatter.com Follow Don't Touch My Jersey: Insta: donttouchmyjerseyTwitter: donttouchmyjrsyFollow More Than 5%:Insta & Twitter: morethanfivepctLearn more about Derek:Derek Helling is a journalist out of Chicago. He writes about the legal side of sports for multiple publications and has covered the legal gambling industry since 2018. As the site manager for BetHer, he provides readers with the latest news about betting on women's sporting events along with insights into those markets.Bet-Her:Bet-Her.com is a gambling affiliate website that focuses on women's sporting events. Bet-Her.com provides news about legal wagering on women's events, industry analysis, and supports the best-quality regulated sportsbooks in Canada and the United States.Podcasts I've Been On:On the Beat: https://youtu.be/10T5LhMZAOoBrandon's Sports Talk: https://youtu.be/tb2HRNhfjzMBryant and Me: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6kGMOl46uzRKgBohNAfUpf?si=e5843333182745c8https://open.spotify.com/episode/1vC18GKwauIZLCsCi3jZ1P?si=af5893591c5a4c63https://open.spotify.com/episode/0APHmgdrKadkcyCbKFiHDJ?si=1a30525906f84c4bGP Soccer Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6szWCGS0RxFE4LiR6s6bUU?si=afe6a15ed74d4a72Mickey Mics Up:https://open.spotify.com/episode/5h9TYTLXfwBR0hefFQBBWt?si=09080a249d5f4979The Final Third Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4gE0UOhI0iebqzlRqDZZC1?si=74684a56e5814481https://open.spotify.com/episode/5tSpItgcs1OuCxiK9fpTQO?si=13064cd24e7b4298https://open.spotify.com/episode/2E1APdTg8qLzczXCjuKWUL?si=0af34ff428134139United Soccer Coaches Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4cChnScMp0iULj5ybfWyP5?si=3b2c539f8ab14090 Articles About The Podcast: Medi-Nerd: https://medi-nerd.com/2021/10/23/2021-wizardworld-chicago-trip/On the Beat: https://globalwomenssportsradio.com/f/on-the-beat-with-gianna-belcastro-of-womens-sports-matter?fbclid=IwAR0YWeAZ6d5ki56qmiMHNadjIVMnsEtrbArX4fMCqiGGKIU1U-1eTaaxnBw Patch: https://patch.com/illinois/chicago/beat-wizard-world-2021?fbclid=IwAR0ciAAH2Pimi1I1ocBNaULIq_5gUGElASCTxSqENcKvaJdhY2neFvzSvjs  Resources:Register to Vote: https://www.vote.org/Find A Vaccine Near You: https://www.vaccines.gov/search/Black Women's Player Collective: https://www.bwplayercollective.org/Grow The Game: https://t.co/iQJ97rAbhrNWSL Player's Association: https://www.nwslplayers.com/WNBPA: https://wnbpa.com/PHFPA: https://twitter.com/nwhlpa?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5EauthorWomen's Football Alliance: https://wfaprofootball.com/2Cents FC: https://2centsfc.com/Find Your Legislator: https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/The Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/NAMI: https://www.nami.orgWhere you can listen to my podcast: Amazon Music, Anghami, Apple Podcasts, Audacy, Audible, Breaker, Gaana, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, RedCircle, Spotify, Stitcher, and TuneInSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/womens-sports-matter/exclusive-content

Hello everyone and welcome to Women's Sports Matter, your one-stop shop for all things women's sports. In today's episode, I talk about the Women's Sports Matter relaunch! You'll learn about what's new at WSM: the logo, two new shows, and more! Huge shoutout to Cee Rivers, Carly Jackson, and Zoe Hicks for being a part of this new journey at Women's Sports Matter! You can follow me on Twitter @WSportsMatter & on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @womenssportsmatter. To submit questions, topics, folks I should interview, and more, send me a DM! Want to message me about coming on the podcast or for suggestions? Email the podcast here: womenssportsmatterpodcast@gmail.com. Make sure to subscribe and thanks for listening!Follow Don't Touch My Jersey: Insta: donttouchmyjerseyTwitter: donttouchmyjrsyFollow More Than 5%:Insta & Twitter: morethanfivepctLearn more about Derek:Derek Helling is a journalist out of Chicago. He writes about the legal side of sports for multiple publications and has covered the legal gambling industry since 2018. As the site manager for BetHer, he provides readers with the latest news about betting on women's sporting events along with insights into those markets.Bet-Her:BetHer.com is a gambling affiliate website that focuses on women's sporting events. BetHer.com provides news about legal wagering on women's events, analysis of the industry, and supports the best-quality regulated sportsbooks in both Canada and the United States. Podcasts I've Been On:On the Beat: https://youtu.be/10T5LhMZAOoBrandon's Sports Talk: https://youtu.be/tb2HRNhfjzMBryant and Me: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6kGMOl46uzRKgBohNAfUpf?si=e5843333182745c8https://open.spotify.com/episode/1vC18GKwauIZLCsCi3jZ1P?si=af5893591c5a4c63https://open.spotify.com/episode/0APHmgdrKadkcyCbKFiHDJ?si=1a30525906f84c4bGP Soccer Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6szWCGS0RxFE4LiR6s6bUU?si=afe6a15ed74d4a72Mickey Mics Up:https://open.spotify.com/episode/5h9TYTLXfwBR0hefFQBBWt?si=09080a249d5f4979The Final Third Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4gE0UOhI0iebqzlRqDZZC1?si=74684a56e5814481https://open.spotify.com/episode/5tSpItgcs1OuCxiK9fpTQO?si=13064cd24e7b4298https://open.spotify.com/episode/2E1APdTg8qLzczXCjuKWUL?si=0af34ff428134139United Soccer Coaches Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4cChnScMp0iULj5ybfWyP5?si=3b2c539f8ab14090 Articles About The Podcast: Medi-Nerd: https://medi-nerd.com/2021/10/23/2021-wizardworld-chicago-trip/On the Beat: https://globalwomenssportsradio.com/f/on-the-beat-with-gianna-belcastro-of-womens-sports-matter?fbclid=IwAR0YWeAZ6d5ki56qmiMHNadjIVMnsEtrbArX4fMCqiGGKIU1U-1eTaaxnBw Patch: https://patch.com/illinois/chicago/beat-wizard-world-2021?fbclid=IwAR0ciAAH2Pimi1I1ocBNaULIq_5gUGElASCTxSqENcKvaJdhY2neFvzSvjs  Resources:Register to Vote: https://www.vote.org/Find A Vaccine Near You: https://www.vaccines.gov/search/Black Women's Player Collective: https://www.bwplayercollective.org/Grow The Game: https://t.co/iQJ97rAbhrNWSL Player's Association: https://www.nwslplayers.com/WNBPA: https://wnbpa.com/PHFPA: https://twitter.com/nwhlpa?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5EauthorWomen's Football Alliance: https://wfaprofootball.com/2Cents FC: https://2centsfc.com/Find Your Legislator: https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/The Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/NAMI: https://www.nami.orgWhere you can listen to my podcast: Amazon Music, Anghami, Apple Podcasts, Audacy, Audible, Breaker, Gaana, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, RedCircle, Spotify, Stitcher, and TuneInSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/womens-sports-matter/exclusive-content