Podcasts about book two

In this week's episode, Dennis Jernigan shares the story behind his song, "Live the Adventure", from the album "The Chronicles of Bren: Captured – Songs for the Journey". That mp3 is available at https://www.thechroniclesofbren.com/store/captured-songs-for-the-journey-album/ The lyrics can be found below. You can join Dennis and the people of All In All Church for live-stream worship on the first Wednesday evening of each month. Just go to https://www.facebook.com/therealdennisjernigan at 7 PM CST. Mark it in your calendar. Worship with All in All Church - First Wednesday of each month. Daily Devotions for Kingdom Seekers, Vol. 3 is available at https://www.amazon.com/Daily-Devotions-Kingdom-Seekers-Vol-ebook/dp/B081K8TZLX Check out my Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/DennisJernigan and read through the various tiers of support and discover the myriad of benefits you will receive based on the level of support you choose. If you're willing, go ahead and sign up! You will find the show notes and lyrics below: Welcome to The Dennis Jernigan Podcast. The purpose of this podcast is to help you find healing for your wounds; find hope in your despair; find intimacy in your loneliness; find refuge from the storms of life; Basically, to help you find a deeper walk with Jesus. There is one thing I know after having lived all these years: God wastes nothing. Not our sorrows. Not our wounds. Not even our failures. Hi. I am your host, Dennis Jernigan. Today's podcast is gonna be a bit different from most of my podcasts. This is the story behind the final installment of the music from my fantasy book series, The Chronicles of Bren: Book One: Captured. The collection of songs is called “Captured: Songs for the Journey.”  This week's episode is the story behind the last song in the series. That song is called, “Live the Adventure.” “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” Helen Keller I love that quote. It almost captures my heart for this series of books. Almost. I have adapted a  personal version that has influenced the writing of these stories of and from the land of Bren. “Life is either a grand, daring adventure or it is nothing at all.” Dennis Jernigan My love of writing and my love of hearing great stories of people who have overcome impossible circumstances has led me to write…in spite of whether those writings are ever considered great or not. The reason I wrote The Chronicles of Bren series and The Bairns of Bren series is simple. I wanted to leave a legacy for my children and grandchildren for generations to come. As a part of that legacy, I endeavored to write stories which depict the realities of life. Life is not easy. Life is full of sorrow. Life brings times of wounding of both body and soul. Life brings times of disappointment and even betrayal.  My goal is to leave my family a legacy that explains how life, even with its many hurtful episodes, is meant to be lived with joy. And just how does one do that? I personally believe that if one sees life and its circumstances - both good and bad - from the Lord's point of view, insurmountable mountains become molehills. Impassable rivers become rites of passage. Unbearable grief becomes an opportunity to receive comfort. Fear is replaced with love. Rather than being something to somehow endure, life becomes the most grand adventure because a life lived with the Lord ever-present at one's side sands away the bitterness of life revealing a many-faceted treasure of great worth.  Forgiveness and humility replace bitterness with the heroic heart of a benevolent conqueror. My desire, as a dad and granddad, is that my heirs would come to see themselves as overcomers. I believe Almighty God created the human imagination as a means of revealing His nature to mankind and as a means of helping the human mind understand and begin to unravel the wonderful mystery of Who God is. The gift of imagination has helped me see how even things that are meant to hurt me can be seen from a different point of view - and perspective is everything. Why write in the fantasy genre? Simple. God used fantasy to rescue my heart and mind when I was just a young boy. I felt trapped in what I now call stinkin' thinkin' concerning my identity. I felt I was being held captive in my own mind but God did something amazing during my boyhood that carried me through to the day He set me free.  From the time I was a little boy and all the way into my marriage and adult life, God has used fantasy, mythology, and imagination to rescue and save me. Just a quick case in point. When I was a boy, I felt constantly bullied and that my father could not possibly love me and that there was no escape and no one to rescue me…but each night as I fell  asleep, I was suddenly on the USS Enterprise. My dad was none other than Captain James Tiberius Kirk and my mother was Doris Day. Each dream I was captured by aliens and just as they were about to end me, my dad, Captain Kirk, would materialize and blast them with his phaser, not set to stun but set to destroy. My mom was always there singing Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be…Just a cool memory of how my mother used to comfort me. I believe the Lord used that recurring dream to keep me hanging on…to make me feel someone or something good was pursuing me. When it dawned on me that this was the case, I began to understand the role of imagination in the way I viewed the world and the massive creativity and divine order God set in motion by His own imagination. What does any of that have to do with living the adventure? A simple example from my own life. When I was about 30 years old, I asked myself this question: When you get to the age of 65, what is something that you would look back on and regret not even having tried? For me that was writing and recording music and authoring books. In college I was not allowed to major in song writing because they told me they saw no potential in me. I nearly gave it all up…but something deep inside of me kept nudging me to step out and see life as a grand adventure…so I did. And Father God has seen fit to spread my music literally all over the world. I also wanted a large family, but many told me we needed to wait until we had enough money to start a family before we should even consider it. If I had taken that advice I would not have had the privilege of raising 9 of the most amazing men and women I know of on this planet. I worked hard to provide for my family, but set aside personal time to be with them a lot, and I also carved out time to write each and every day. But had I not dared to believe what the Lord was putting in my heart, I never would have taken one step toward any of my dreams.  Even if you're 65, it's not too late to begin living out the adventure of things you have dreamed of doing. If you're breathing, there is hope…and if you take that first step in the journey, your adventure has begun. What is your heart telling you right now?  [Pro 13:12 NIV] 12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. SONG [Joel 2:28 NIV] 28 "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.” I certainly enjoyed writing the three book series, The Chronicles of Bren. They honestly helped me get a better grip on Father God's point of view of my life. My hope is that you would discover joy and solace within the pages of the books and the melodies of the songs. May they serve as uplifting companions, guiding you to encounter Jesus even amidst life's toughest trials.  Thank you for tuning in to The Dennis Jernigan Podcast. For more about my journey, music, and more, visit dennisjernigan.com. Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram, and explore my music on various streaming platforms. If you're keen on joining my team, consider becoming a Patron at patreon.com/dennisjernigan. Your support means the world to me! The book "Captured" is now available on Amazon in paperback, ebook, and audiobook versions. Once you have finished reading captured, I invite you to read the next two books in the series. Book Two is called “Sacrifice” and Book Three is called “Generations”. All are available on Amazon.  Soon, I hope to introduce you to the songs from book 2, but that will be at sometime in the near future. In the meantime, I encourage you to delve into "Captured" and then enjoy the songs inspired by its characters, all available for FREE. Simply head to https://www.thechroniclesofbren.com/store/captured-songs-for-the-journey-album/ to download the complete collection at no cost. Thank you once more for being a part of today's podcast. Remember, you are deeply loved by God and by me. Dare to see life as a grand adventure - in spite of your circumstances - and dare to live that adventure with fullness of joy. Now go and be who your heavenly Father says you are. Live The Adventure WORDS & MUSIC Dennis Jernigan October 2012 Verse Life is best lived with a sense of adventure! You can wonder what flying is like Or you can take to the sky! Life is the best lived in wonder and splendor! Even when you're knocked down Just get back up and dare to believe! Chorus Live the adventure!  Conquer the wind! To the ends of the earth And right back again! Live the adventure!  Dare but to dream! Around every corner new sights to be seen! But you'll never fly if you never try To conquer the wind! Live the adventure!  Dare to believe Knowing he cannot fly Who won't spread his wings! Live the adventure!  Knight, take your horse! Ride to the horizon, Eyes fixed on the course! But you'll never see what you don't believe! And you'll never live what you never dare to be! Verse  Life is best lived with a sense of pure wonder!  Even storms that we face can be seen From a new point of view! Life is best lived with a sense of pure wonder! Dare to see far beyond What most human eyes dare to conceive! Chorus Live the adventure!  Conquer the wind! To the ends of the earth And right back again! Live the adventure!  Dare but to dream! Around every corner new sights to be seen! But you'll never fly if you never try To conquer the wind! Live the adventure!  Dare to believe Knowing he cannot fly Who won't spread his wings! Live the adventure!  Knight, take your horse! Ride to the horizon, Eyes fixed on the course! But you'll never see what you don't believe! And you'll never live what you never dare to be! Chorus Live the adventure!  Conquer the wind! To the ends of the earth And right back again! Live the adventure!  Dare but to dream! Around every corner new sights to be seen! But you'll never fly if you never try To conquer the wind! Live the adventure!  Dare to believe Knowing he cannot fly Who won't spread his wings! Live the adventure!  Knight, take your horse! Ride to the horizon, Eyes fixed on the course! But you'll never see what you don't believe! And you'll never live what you never dare to be! You, dare to be!

“Angry But Adorable”The scouts battle griffons atop a mountain peak.Episode Artwork by MikeBroken Tusk Rising Cover Artwork by Shaun @shaunmakesTales of Bob Cover Artwork by @CosmicAmazingAudio Production by Mike Featuring:Mike as The GMAshley as AklepJessica as XankathJosh as IvanPavel as Luukallo—Need More Bob in Your Life? Check out our other (NSFW) podcast, House of BobApple PodcastsSpotify—Support the Show:PatreonMerch StoreEtsyContact Us:Discordhobcast.comTwitterInstagramFacebookEmail—Thank you so much to our current Patreon supporters! This podcast would not be possible without you.AnetteBrandonCarlosChristineConnorD ChanDan Klip-KlopEliasElliEthanGarbanzoJessica CJessica DJoshKeithMarkPadraigPavelScooterShakaTeam EAMONNThe Pink PastorThomasTom ITom W—Music by:Mike Hammockhttps://mikehammock.bandcamp.com/Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Tales of Bob uses trademarks and/or copyrights owned by Paizo Inc., used under Paizo's Community Use Policy (paizo.com/communityuse). We are expressly prohibited from charging you to use or access this content. Tales of Bob is not published, endorsed, or specifically approved by Paizo. For more information about Paizo Inc. and Paizo products, visit paizo.com. The Quest for the Frozen Flame adventure path Book Two was written by Jessica Catalan.

Groomed for power from childhood, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was more than a prince. He was Reza Shah's guarantee for a successful political project. The post Book Two – Ep.8: The Heir appeared first on The Lion and The Sun Podcast.

At the end of many of these groups, my only thought is that the beauty of the writings of the fathers is exquisite. Often when reading them one is both pierced to the heart, but also raised up and consoled. This is surprisingly so in this hypothesis on contrition. None of the fathers' writings appear to be an abstraction, but rather their words reverberate with the pain and the love of those who experienced the struggle with sin.  One comes to know not only the weight and burden of sin, but a kind of otherworldly darkness to which it drags the soul. A soul begins to understand how the demons act as accusers; seeking to cast it down into the depths of despair after having coaxed it into sin. There are two kinds of contrition with which we must become familiar. The first is rooted in fear; the acknowledgment of the coming judgment and the consequences of turning away from God. The soul becomes painfully aware of what it is to turn away from He who is light and life. The second kind of contrition, however, arises out of desire for the kingdom. Once a soul has tasted the sweetness of God‘s compassion they weep tears over any way that they turn from the depths of that Love. That are hearts would be watered with this kind of contrition is an extraordinary gift! To see contrition as a gift is admittedly difficult. Yet in reading the fathers one comes to see that it is not only the prerequisite for the spiritual life, but also the path that opens one up to the deepest consolation. To see ourselves as we truly are, to stand in the light of the truth, may be extremely painful, but that light comes from the Physician of souls, who in the very act of revealing our sins removes them. It is then with freedom that the soul can entrust itself to God to chastise it; knowing that “a broken and contrite heart the Lord will not scorn”.  Every breath becomes a groan; a cry of love that is united to the groan of the Spirit that dwells within the human heart. The humbled soul is then elevated, exalted, to God who embraces his prodigal child and rejoices. This bitter path then is the path to true joy. And taking it, the soul loses interest in anything else around him; most of all the actions of others or their sins. He will judge no man, knowing that he himself will soon stand before the Judge of all. Imagine hearts that take up the burden of their own sins, that do not say so much as a word on their own behalf and that confess what they have done and accept that whatever comes to them is just and fitting for it comes from the hand of the Lord! Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:13:35 Myles Davidson: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/9068317091?ref_=mr_referred_us_au_nz 00:18:08 Anthony: I knew it! Jazz music. :) 00:23:24 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 241 A paragraph starting “For many….” 00:23:45 Catherine Opie: Reacted to "P. 241 A paragraph s..." with

In this week's episode, Dennis Jernigan shares the story behind his song, "Battleground", from the album "The Chronicles of Bren: Captured – Songs for the Journey". That mp3 is available at https://www.thechroniclesofbren.com/store/captured-songs-for-the-journey-album/ The lyrics can be found below. You can join Dennis and the people of All In All Church for live-stream worship on the first Wednesday evening of each month. Just go to https://www.facebook.com/therealdennisjernigan at 7 PM CST. Mark it in your calendar. Worship with All in All Church - First Wednesday of each month. Daily Devotions for Kingdom Seekers, Vol. 3 is available at https://www.amazon.com/Daily-Devotions-Kingdom-Seekers-Vol-ebook/dp/B081K8TZLX Check out my Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/DennisJernigan and read through the various tiers of support and discover the myriad of benefits you will receive based on the level of support you choose. If you're willing, go ahead and sign up! You will find the show notes and lyrics below: Welcome to The Dennis Jernigan Podcast. The purpose of this podcast is to help you find healing for your wounds; find hope in your despair; find intimacy in your loneliness; find refuge from the storms of life; Basically, to help you find a deeper walk with Jesus. There is one thing I know after having lived all these years: God wastes nothing. Not our sorrows. Not our wounds. Not even our failures. Hi. I am your host, Dennis Jernigan, and I am so excited about the final two installments of the music from my fantasy book series, The Chronicles of Bren: Book One: Captured. The collection of songs is called “Captured: Songs for the Journey.”  This week's episode is the story behind the next to last song in the series called, “Battleground.” The story behind this song is really quite simple. This is classic darkness versus the light; good versus evil; truth versus lies; the understanding that true love involves the laying down of life. There came a point in my life on November 7, 1981 where I had to do it decide if Jesus Christ was real; if he thought that I was worth dying for; if I thought he was worth dying for; if he truly loved me or not.  I came to the irrefutable conclusion that he thought I was worth dying for; that he thought I was worth fighting for; that he, indeed, had paid for my life and my sin-debt by the shedding of his own blood. In the process, he had gone to battle on my behalf and conquered Satan, hell and its demons, giving me a brand new identity and a brand new start on life in the process. God was no longer a distant, unknowable force of the universe. He was now alive and well and living in my heart, giving me a brand new purpose and a brand new perspective on living out my life in joy. I have now been granted a forever relationship with God who created all that is good. What I soon discovered was just because the enemy had been defeated did not mean that I no longer had to fight for my freedom. I discovered the true battleground of my life was not some thing I could see with flesh and blood. The true Battleground of my life is my mind; the thoughts I think; the perspective through which I run my thoughts. The enemy's only option was to try and trip me up through his deception and lies about who I am.  I learned that God had equipped me, as a believer in and follower of Jesus Christ, with the full armor of God and that my greatest weapon against the lies of the enemy is the truth of God's Word. My battle-sword! As I begin to recognize the lies of the enemy, I soon learned the key to renewing my mind. As soon as the lie was revealed to me, I picked up my sword, the Word of God, and replaced that lie with the truth of God's Word. I have since discovered that the enemy does not stop lying to me, so I must be vigilant by putting on the Word of God each and every day of my existence. In fact, I have learned the best thing to do regarding the enemy is to run towards the battle and not away from it. Having read the end of the book, I know who wins. Now you know the story behind the song, ‘Battleground”, let's all pick up our swords and take it to whatever dark lies the enemy has spoken against our minds over the next few minutes. The Truth of God's Word is clear: we are more than conquerors! We are sons and daughters of the Most High God! SONG [Rom 8:37-39 NASB20] 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. I certainly enjoyed writing the three book series, the chronicles of Bren. They honestly helped me get a better grip on Father God's point of view of my life. My hope is that you would discover joy and solace within the pages of the books and the melodies of the songs. May they serve as uplifting companions, guiding you to encounter Jesus even amidst life's toughest trials.  We only have one song left to go in this series which has gone by so quickly for me. Be sure and listen to next weeks episode because I think he will enjoy it thoroughly and that it will minister to your soul in someway. Thank you for tuning in to The Dennis Jernigan Podcast. For more about my journey, music, and more, visit dennisjernigan.com. Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram, and explore my music on various streaming platforms. If you're keen on joining my team, consider becoming a Patron at patreon.com/dennisjernigan. Your support means the world to me! The book "Captured" is now available on Amazon in paperback, ebook, and audiobook versions. Once you have finished reading captured, I invite you to read the next two books in the series. Book Two is called “Sacrifice” and Book Three is called “Generations”. All are available on Amazon.  Soon, I hope to introduce you to the songs from book 2, but that will be at sometime in the near future. In the meantime, I encourage you to delve into "Captured" and then enjoy the songs inspired by its characters, all available for FREE. Simply head to https://www.thechroniclesofbren.com/store/captured-songs-for-the-journey-album/ to download the complete collection at no cost. Thank you once more for being a part of today's podcast. Remember, you are deeply loved by God and by me. Be quick to humble yourself when pride raises its ugly head and be quick to seek forgiveness when you have wounded another. Now, I challenge you to rise as the warrior for God's kingdom you are called to be today. Cast off the enemy's lies, embrace the truth of your identity in the Lord, and go forth as the cherished son or daughter of your Heavenly Father. Battleground Words & Music
Dennis Jernigan ©2015 Dennis Jernigan Verse Standing on the battleground Faced with life or death Faced with ‘Will I run away?' Or “Give my very best?' Standing on the battleground Faced with destiny This could be the difference Between victory or defeat! Face to the fight! Fight for what is right! Conquering the night! Swords lifted high! Son, this is war! Better be sure What you fight for Is worth dying for! Chorus Fight for what is right! Keep truth on your side! Love lays down its life! Willing to die! Verse Facing down the enemy Facing down your fear Look ahead to victory And keep your vision clear Facing down the enemy Warrior, stand your ground You will have the victory This freedom comes with life laid down Face to the fight! Fight for what is right! Conquering the night! Swords lifted high! Son, this is war! Better be sure What you fight for Is worth dying for! Chorus Fight for what is right! Keep truth on your side! Love lays down its life! Willing to die! Bridge Put on the armor! Prepare for war! This is a cause worth dying for! Put on the armor! Prepare for war! This is a cause worth dying for! Put on the armor! Prepare for war! This is a cause worth dying for! Chorus Fight for what is right! Keep truth on your side! Love lays down its life! Willing to die!  

In their discussion of the struggle with the passions and in particular those associated with the bodily appetites and what we experienced through the senses, the fathers do not neglect to show us the effect that our thoughts and our lack of watchfulness can have upon the unconscious. Certain images and ideas will emerge from our dreams and often take on a form that can be agitating or of a subject matter that is disturbing spiritually. The fathers want us to understand that we are not morally culpable for what arises during the night in our dreams nor can the Evil One directly influence what happens because of our dreams such as nocturnal emissions. Yet, are not to ruminate upon the meaning or the content of these dreams during the day. To do so is to open ourselves “daydreaming”, where we openly allow ourselves to think about images thoughts and ideas that came to mind during the night. Such rumination then can be a source of temptation for us. It is best to set such thoughts aside and focus on fostering temperance and love. As long as we are focused upon God then what arises out of the unconscious will eventually be healed as well. However, if we are slothful or worse prideful we become more subject to the effects of such a dreams or their frequency will become more prominent in our life because of our lack of spiritual discipline. In Hypothesis XXXII, our attention is drawn toward the work of contrition. Saint Gregory tells us that contrition manifest itself in many forms of spiritual beauty. This is striking if only because of the negative connotation that the word contrition sometimes holds. Saint Gregory tells us that ultimately it is a path to beauty, goodness and love. When a soul first seeks after God at the outset it feels contrition out of fear. It is humbled by the depths of its poverty and how contrary this is to that which is good and to our essential dignity. Tears begin to flow and as they do the soul begins to develop a certain courage in the spiritual life and is warmed by a desire for heavenly joy. The soul which shortly before wept from the fear that it might be condemned, eventually weeps bitterly simply because of how far it perceives itself from the kingdom of heaven. As the soul is cleansed, however, it clearly beholds before it what the choirs of angels are and the splendor that belongs to these blessed spirits. Ultimately, the soul begins to behold the vision of God himself. One then weeps for joy as it waits to experience this vision in its fullness. When perfect contrition emerges then the soul's thirst for God is satiated; tears now turning in to the living waters of the kingdom. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:11:02 Lorraine Green: Fr., can you take a Mass request?  Where would we send that is so?  And the stipend? 00:11:33 Suzanne Romano: Reacted to I've got a (pet) rab... with "

“Is it bigger than a breadbox?”It's time to chat again with an old friend and wrap up sidequests.Episode Artwork by MikeBroken Tusk Rising Cover Artwork by Shaun @shaunmakesTales of Bob Cover Artwork by @CosmicAmazingAudio Production by Mike Featuring:Mike as The GMAshley as AklepJessica as XankathJosh as IvanPavel as LuukalloShaun as Andreas—Need More Bob in Your Life? Check out our other (NSFW) podcast, House of BobApple PodcastsSpotify—Support the Show:PatreonMerch StoreEtsyContact Us:Discordhobcast.comTwitterInstagramFacebookEmail—Thank you so much to our current Patreon supporters! This podcast would not be possible without you.AnetteBrandonChristineConnorD ChanDan Klip-KlopEliasElliEthanGarbanzoJessica CJessica DJoshKeithMarkPadraigPavelScooterShakaTeam EAMONNThe Pink PastorThomasTom ITom W—Music by:Mike Hammockhttps://mikehammock.bandcamp.com/Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Tales of Bob uses trademarks and/or copyrights owned by Paizo Inc., used under Paizo's Community Use Policy (paizo.com/communityuse). We are expressly prohibited from charging you to use or access this content. Tales of Bob is not published, endorsed, or specifically approved by Paizo. For more information about Paizo Inc. and Paizo products, visit paizo.com. The Quest for the Frozen Flame adventure path Book Two was written by Jessica Catalan.

After his first foreign trip, Reza Shah declares war on Islam and orders women to remove their hijab. Follow us... The post Book Two – Ep.7: Unveiling appeared first on The Lion and The Sun Podcast.

The more that I read the fathers' writings and about their spiritual struggles, the more I understand that what we need to see is the desire that is the foundation their life and driving force behind their behaviors.  Our life is to be an urgent longing for God who has given everything to us and revealed his desire to draw us into his life. Our spiritual life cannot be an abstraction; something that exist in the mind alone. Nor can it be a kind of rigorous moralism where one is driven by fear or an intense scrupulosity; rooted in the doubt of God's compassion and mercy.  We have had to read the Evergetinos very closely and with a critical eye; for the stories capture for us the fathers' struggle to hold on to the one thing necessary while maintaining a balanced understanding of what it is to be a human being. This is a difficult thing for people to do in general and for the fathers we find that there withdrawal from society intensified and complicated this struggle. We have noted in past discussions the tendency to project the struggle within the human heart onto others as the cause of their anger, lust, etc. In reality, the battle lies within. Having said this, we must understand that desire is the heart of the spiritual life. It is the one thing that we should be seeking to inflame from moment to moment and day to day. This the fathers understood; especially those who had experienced a radical intimacy with God and purity of heart. When one has tasted the sweetness of the kingdom, the life and love of the living God, then the urgency of one's desire for God and holding on to what is precious becomes the goal of life. When one's heart has been touched by the Beloved one can think of nothing else. And when one has lost that intimacy through ingratitude or sloth, the depths of pain in the heart is equally great. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:01:43 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: This is the best reflection I've read on Climacus' description of the prison in The Ladder of the Divine Ascent: The visitation of the uncreated Light generates the most intense desire which does not allow man any rest on earth. When speaking to his monastic community, Father Sophrony indicated that the prisoners in The Ladder of Saint John Climacus were not ordinary people. They were not people to be despised as sinners who were expelled to be punished. They were people of unrestrainable desire for God, who had known the uncreated Light and then lost it after having sinned in one way or another. They voluntarily went to that prison, determined to die rather than to betray the covenant they had made with God in the beginning. As we read, some of them were so totally consumed by the pain of their desire and repentance, that they passed to the other life even before they had reached the tenth day of their abode in that prison. 00:01:49 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: There is a verse from the Psalms which truly describes the state of those prisoners: ‘Lord, remember David, and all his afflictions: How he sware unto the Lord, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob; surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.' In my humble opinion, there is not a more perfect expression of the gift of longing for the living God than this verse of prophet David.  Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou  “Monasticism” 00:12:35 Suzanne Romano: Nothing in chat 00:12:36 Maureen Cunningham: Nope 00:12:41 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: This is the best reflection I've read on Climacus' description of the prison in The Ladder of the Divine Ascent: The visitation of the uncreated Light generates the most intense desire which does not allow man any rest on earth. When speaking to his monastic community, Father Sophrony indicated that the prisoners in The Ladder of Saint John Climacus were not ordinary people. They were not people to be despised as sinners who were expelled to be punished. They were people of unrestrainable desire for God, who had known the uncreated Light and then lost it after having sinned in one way or another. They voluntarily went to that prison, determined to die rather than to betray the covenant they had made with God in the beginning. As we read, some of them were so totally consumed by the pain of their desire and repentance, that they passed to the other life even before they had reached the tenth day of their abode in that prison. 00:12:49 Suzanne Romano: Yes 00:12:50 Julie: Yes 00:12:50 Maureen Cunningham: Yes 00:12:55 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: There is a verse from the Psalms which truly describes the state of those prisoners: ‘Lord, remember David, and all his afflictions: How he sware unto the Lord, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob; surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.' In my humble opinion, there is not a more perfect expression of the gift of longing for the living God than this verse of prophet David.  Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou  “Monasticism” 00:12:59 Troy Amaro: Reacted to "This is the best ref…" with

What is the limit of our desire for God?  What conditions do we set on our pursuit of virtue, constancy of prayer and the avoidance of sin? What emerges from the writings of the fathers is their willingness to sacrifice themselves and comfort in ways that are unimaginable to the modern mind. Beyond that their actions seem to be absurd and extreme to the point of falling to the criticism of masochism or self hatred. It is very difficult for many to grasp the nature of such thirst and desire for God and to please Him. Equally, it is hard to imagine going to the lengths that these ascetic did in avoiding sin or overcoming temptation in the heat of the battle. They often treated the body harshly to prevent themselves from pursuing natural or disordered desires. Rarely do we consider the pretext that the Evil One is willing to use to draw us into sin. Therefore, we often will put ourselves to the test or engage in futile warfare that bears witness to pride within our hearts. Thus, even in our critical reading of the fathers we have to be wary of allowing our modern sensibilities to convince us that we see things with greater clarity psychologically and spiritually. If we are wrapped in the illusion of faith and comfortable with mediocrity, our sensibilities are going to be dulled and the Cross will remain for us as it has often been in every generation – a stumbling block rather than the revelation of selfless love. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:01:26 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Page 231 number 9 01:01:12 Suzanne Romano: This is the reason  why people should dress modestly. 01:02:40 Myles Davidson: Reacted to "This is the reason  ..." with

“Chicken Trouble”The scouts fight off some shadows by a sphere of darkness.Episode Artwork by MikeBroken Tusk Rising Cover Artwork by Shaun @shaunmakesTales of Bob Cover Artwork by @CosmicAmazingAudio Production by Mike Featuring:Mike as The GMAshley as AklepJessica as XankathJosh as IvanPavel as Luukallo—Need More Bob in Your Life? Check out our other (NSFW) podcast, House of BobApple PodcastsSpotify—Support the Show:PatreonMerch StoreEtsyContact Us:Discordhobcast.comTwitterInstagramFacebookEmail—Thank you so much to our current Patreon supporters! This podcast would not be possible without you.AnetteBrandonChristineConnorD ChanDan Klip-KlopEliasElliEthanGarbanzoJessica CJessica DJoshKeithMarkPadraigPavelScooterShakaTeam EAMONNThe Pink PastorThomasTom ITom W—Music by:Mike Hammockhttps://mikehammock.bandcamp.com/Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Tales of Bob uses trademarks and/or copyrights owned by Paizo Inc., used under Paizo's Community Use Policy (paizo.com/communityuse). We are expressly prohibited from charging you to use or access this content. Tales of Bob is not published, endorsed, or specifically approved by Paizo. For more information about Paizo Inc. and Paizo products, visit paizo.com. The Quest for the Frozen Flame adventure path Book Two was written by Jessica Catalan. 

This week I decided to share an excerpt from my novel THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders (Adelaide Books – New York & Lisbon). Although the novel was published in 2018, it has recently come to my attention because it has been seriously harassed online by white supremacists who have harassed me with a barrage of homophobia, antisemitism, and the threat of book burnings. As a practicing Buddhist, I do believe in having compassion for everyone and I do, including for the harassers. Because of them, I have decided to revisit this novel and for that I am thankful. These few paragraphs I am bringing you are from Book Two, Chapter Thirteen of THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders where my main character, Tamar, is reborn in the womb of the Mother, with her twin brother Yeshua.read more on my author blog: Compassion for the harassers—revisiting THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders #FaithfullyLGBT #amreading | Janet Mason, author

We see clearly within the struggles of the desert fathers how difficult it can be to avoid extremes in thought and action. We see in them those filled with desire for God and striving for purity of heart; maintaining watchfulness and fostering a hatred of sin. Yet, how is one form and develop a sensitive conscience and awareness of the power of our own appetites and desires as human beings, concern with demonic provocation, and yet to hold on to a true view of the beauty of creation and the dignity of the human person? As fully invested as the desert fathers were, and as psychologically and spiritually astute as they could be, this was no small task. We find in their language at times a tendency to project their fear of sin or temptation onto others. This can be uniquely the struggle of religious people; rather than humbly acknowledging the truth within our own hearts and the power of our own desires we will blame temptation upon others – on the things they say or do. Saint Philip Neri once said: “Man is often the carpenter of his own crosses”. We do not like to acknowledge the truth of that fact; that we are the source of our own temptation or that it arises out of our own imagination and memory. Despite this, however, they did see very clearly that the Evil One can use every pretext to provoke a person into sin. The devil can appear as an angel of light, and the desert fathers would have us never forget this. Even that which is good - those bonds of love and familial affection, nostalgia for those relationships that have been so powerful - all of these things, the evil one will work on to distract us or pull us in a particular direction. One might argue, somewhat convincingly, that such a concern is extreme or neurotic. In this we do not want to defend the indefensible. However, we want to understand the changeableness of the human heart and mind, its fickleness and treachery. Demonic provocation can turn the mind and the heart toward things that we never imagined we would ever consider or do. May God have mercy on us and guide us. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:19:49 Wayne: page  again 00:20:09 Myles Davidson: Pg 230 L 4 00:20:30 Wayne: thnx 00:28:58 Anthony: This actually makes a lot of sense if we consider pagan myth. Monks strove to be like the descriptions of angels. But that desire to be "heavenly" can be perverted if we let the pagan myths distort our minds of the heavenly since sex was so often part of myth: like the relationship of Uranos and Gaiea, or the Olympians. We need a right view of God and creation and created things if we will truly strive to the true God. 00:52:05 Anthony: I saw it. Very good.  Also has scenes of temptation to love a woman who was attracted to him when they were young. 00:57:34 Catherine Opie: Being a new convert and coming from a non Catholic, mostly atheist family, and having a friend base who are not Christian I can relate in a small way how that might feel. I have had both friends and family become vitriolic over my change in belief. It can be challenging because I am no longer their ally in viewpoint. 01:03:01 Ashton L: I'd say a lot of people get fanatic and someone with genuine zeal confused 01:04:11 Anthony: Honest, not being a fanatic is a serious concern because some kinds of fundamentalism and truly nuts and malformed.  I don't want to be that guy.  I don't want to blow out of proportion stories of demons or private visions.  Then you're almost a solupsist, and insufferable. 01:07:29 Kate : There are a number of Western saints, men and women, who were great friends.  For example, Sts. John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila, Sts. Francis and Clare, Sts. Francis de Sales and Jane Frances de Chantal, among others.  I wonder if you could comment on how to understand these great spiritual friendships in light of these writings. 01:08:02 Forrest Cavalier: Reacted to "There are a number o..." with

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions!What do a flooded house, a nine-month (and still going) renovation, and a debut novel have in common? Angelika Morini.In this episode, Angelika shares what it actually looked like to finish her first novel, Do You See Me Now?—while living in chaos (read: house stripped to the studs). We talk about why character development can feel a lot like falling in love with someone mysterious and how launching a book is less of a finish line and more like Mile One of a marathon you didn't know you signed up for.EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:The (not so) glamorous reality of writing and editing during a home renovation from hellWhy marketing Book One while dreaming up Book Two can feel like a  bit of a tightrope actThe decision to write in English (even though she's German) Weaving the complexities of post-reunification Germany into her novelThe way she allowed her characters to show up and surprise her (no outline, no problem!) Awesome Email Templates for AuthorsFrom communicating with your launch team to building relationships with readers, my customizable templates take all the guesswork out of writing emails that turn email subscribers into loyal readers.

Tonight‘s group consisted mostly of a monologue (out of necessity) about how it is that we are to read the Fathers. We have learned over these few years that one must read in a discerning and discriminating fashion, as well as prayerfully. There is great wisdom to be found within the ascetical writings, however, we must understand that the spiritual life and the personal struggle of each of the desert monks was unique. Furthermore, the desert itself was a laboratory like no other. In the deep solitude, the fathers saw with great clarity the workings of the human mind and heart as well as temptations that came from within and through demonic provocation.  If there is one point that I wanted to make clear in pressing through this with the group is that our love of virtue, of God and our desire to be free of the passions can lead us not only into extremes of discipline but also into a kind of psychological violence. The sorrow over our own poverty and sin can lead us to repress certain parts of our personality and aspects of our life as human beings that are a source vitality and the capacity to love. We have often spoken about desire being at the heart of the spiritual life; we seek He  alone who can fill what is lacking within us.  Yet when the ascetic life is treated like a defense mechanism, we can project our struggles and responsibility for ourselves onto others or, in the intensity of the struggle, repress that which is essential to being fully human. This is not an ancient phenomenon. Those who engage in the spiritual battle today can be tempted in similar ways. Each generation is unique in regards to the nature of the battle but the same pitfalls remain. It is for this reason that the ascetical life cannot be seen as an end in itself. It must begin with Christ, our relationship with him and our trust in his mercy and grace. Devoid of this relationship, the ascetic life can draw us into self focus that is destructive to us both emotionally and spiritually. Thus, our reading of the fathers places upon us a responsibility to be striving at the same time to draw close to Christ. Otherwise, the spiritual life can become a tragic distortion of the truth rather than the source of healing that it is meant to be. The current state of affairs within the life of the Church and the disconnect with this greater spiritual tradition points to such a distortion. When Christianity becomes a cultural phenomenon and whenever even its deepest and most beautiful forms of prayer become habitual and automatic, it becomes lifeless. Let us take heed then of this great responsibility and entrust ourselves to the grace of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. All things are possible with God, but without him there is  only darkness or a sad simulation of faith. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:13:17 Bob Čihák, AZ: P 230, K 00:23:29 Rachel: Is the connection instable for anyone else? 00:23:42 Rachel: unstable* 00:24:21 Monk Maximos: Replying to "unstable*" Mine is fine 00:24:44 Nypaver Clan: Reacted to "Mine is fine" with

“He was my best friend for two days”The scouts camp and then scheme with the crusader commander.Episode Artwork by MikeBroken Tusk Rising Cover Artwork by Shaun @shaunmakesTales of Bob Cover Artwork by @CosmicAmazingAudio Production by Mike Featuring:Mike as The GMAshley as AklepJessica as XankathJosh as IvanPavel as Luukallo—Need More Bob in Your Life? Check out our other (NSFW) podcast, House of BobApple PodcastsSpotify—Support the Show:PatreonMerch StoreEtsyContact Us:Discordhobcast.comTwitterInstagramFacebookEmail—Thank you so much to our current Patreon supporters! This podcast would not be possible without you.AnetteBrandonChristineConnorD ChanDan Klip-KlopEliasElliEthanGarbanzoJessica CJessica DJoshKeithMarkPadraigPavelScooterShakaTeam EAMONNThe Pink PastorThomasTom ITom W—Music by:Mike Hammockhttps://mikehammock.bandcamp.com/Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Tales of Bob uses trademarks and/or copyrights owned by Paizo Inc., used under Paizo's Community Use Policy (paizo.com/communityuse). We are expressly prohibited from charging you to use or access this content. Tales of Bob is not published, endorsed, or specifically approved by Paizo. For more information about Paizo Inc. and Paizo products, visit paizo.com. The Quest for the Frozen Flame adventure path Book Two was written by Jessica Catalan. 

In our ongoing discussions of the Desert Fathers' writings, especially upon sexual desire and sensuality as a whole, one comes to the realization that we have to read in a discerning fashion. In other words, we cannot be lazy while sitting at the feet of the elders. Their wisdom grew out of experience. However, it was the experience of the desert and of monks. What they discovered and understood is unparalleled in its value for the life of the Church and our understanding of spirituality.  Yet, although they saw so very much it does not mean they saw everything or that they articulated it in a way that is going to speak to every generation in the same fashion. Every generation, every person, must embrace and embody the fullness of the gospel through striving to enter by the narrow way. The ascetic life is our exercise of that faith and every generation will have particular struggles and battles that are unique to it. In a time like our own, when so many aspects of the culture have been hyper-sexualized, living a life of purity of heart can seem to be not only a difficult but impossible pursuit. While we can see that the dignity of human sexuality and women change radically with Christianity, those changes were not immediate or complete and we see lingering vestiges where women are seen as the cause of sin. This implants in the spirituality of purity of heart and the struggle with temptation a kind of misogyny, a temptation to the hatred of the self and of sexuality. Inevitably this leaves a void in our understanding and practice of the faith that can be disastrous. Rather than seeing the dignity of the human person made in the image and likeness of God and our destiny in Christ to participate in the Divine life, we can drift into a lifeless moralism. Christianity must speak to the deepest part of a person‘s religiosity; capturing what it means to be a human being, fully alive and transformed by the grace of God. Even as we sit at the feet of the Fathers, we must keep our eyes upon Christ; for it is in Him alone, that we can plumb the depths of mysteries of God and the kingdom, but also the mystery of what it is to be a human being. Purity of heart is much more about what we can see having removed the impediment of the ego or of disorder desires. Far from being restrictive, it gives us a greater capacity to love and be loved. What is needed in our day are saints who embody this reality so fully that their lives reveal to us the deepest truths about ourselves and God. Only saints stand transparent to the fullness of truth revealed to us in Christ. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:12:51 Bob Čihák, AZ: P 227, I 00:14:06 Bob Čihák, AZ: P 227, I 00:24:18 Una: Let the past stay in the past, in other words 00:24:32 Diana Sciuto: Reacted to "Let the past stay in…" with ❤️ 00:24:49 Mary Clare Wax: This is why it is so important to live in the present moment. The past is dead, the future yet unborn. God is the God of "I Am", not "I Was," or "I Will Be." 00:25:05 Myles Davidson: Reacted to "This is why it is so..." with

Murder, Banishment and Suicide. As Reza Shah's rule becomes more authoritarian, the alliance that put him in power comes to a bitter end. The post Book Two – Ep.6: Triumvirate (2) appeared first on The Lion and The Sun Podcast.

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ENCOUNTERED TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WITH THE AUDIO IN THE RECORDING OF THIS EPISODE. AS A RESULT, IT DOES SOUND GLITCHY. WE APOLOGIZE. What is unique and distinctive about the Christian identity, perception of reality, and our experience of what it is to be a human being? How do we experience human sexuality and understand how it is shaped by the grace of God or how it can be distorted by sin or demonic provocation?  If we are honest, we would have to say that it is the popular culture, modern psychology, and politics that shape our understanding of these things rather than an encounter with the living God. It is Christ who reveals to us what it is to be a human being made in the image and  likeness of God. Beyond this, it is the Grace that comes to us through baptism, the Eucharist, and the gift of the Holy Spirit that shapes are perception of reality most fully. The ascetic life, driven by our desire for God, seeks to remove the impediments to our understanding what it is to be a human being and “fully alive.” We are not simply seeking psychological peace of mind or self understanding. Rather, we are seeking to understand the mystery of our existence and our dignity and destiny in Christ.  These realities should sharpen and intensify our sensibilities and how we engage in our day-to-day life and relationships. The writings and actions of the desert fathers may seem distorted, masochistic or misogynistic.  Yet, upon deeper reflection we discover they had a fuller experience and understanding of life. One Saint said: “HE who ceases to pray is no longer a human being.” In other words, when we turn away from God, we lose sight of ourselves and the truth. Our focus and our vision is turned downward, like animals, only seeing what is before us and what can be consumed or used to satisfy our own desires. The life and the writings of the fathers cry out to us saying: “See your dignity, O man. See your glory in Christ your Redeemer and embrace your true identity in Him.” --- Text of chat during the group: 00:11:32 Bob Čihák, AZ: P 220, paragraph starting "After these words...." 00:27:32 Sr. Charista Maria: So true Fr. Thank you for your vulnerable sharing regarding social media even if it's ministry; how important it is to be ever vigilant and conscienceous 00:36:27 Anthony: There are some special considerations regarding Arsenius. He fled imperial Rome to enter the Desert. And, he might have in mind the role women played in puffing up Arius. 00:44:39 Julie: This can be both ways. 00:44:55 Julie: For a women 00:49:09 Maureen Cunningham: Was this because it  is the early church. And it would have never lasted all these years. 00:49:18 Maureen Cunningham: Had they compromised 00:52:46 Kate : I don't know if this is the proper use of the word “gluttony”, but curiosity seems to lead to a certain kind of gluttony for information. 00:53:22 Nypaver Clan: Reacted to "I don't know if this..." with

“Anyone who dies from standing up is weak”The scouts come to the aid of a goblin crusader battling the undead.Episode Artwork by MikeBroken Tusk Rising Cover Artwork by Shaun @shaunmakesTales of Bob Cover Artwork by @CosmicAmazingAudio Production by Mike Featuring:Mike as The GMAshley as AklepJessica as XankathJosh as IvanPavel as Luukallo—Need More Bob in Your Life? Check out our other (NSFW) podcast, House of BobApple PodcastsSpotify—Support the Show:PatreonMerch StoreEtsyContact Us:Discordhobcast.comBlueskyInstagramFacebookEmail—Thank you so much to our current Patreon supporters! This podcast would not be possible without you.AnetteBrandonChristineConnorD ChanDan Klip-KlopEliasElliEthanGarbanzoJessica CJessica DJoshKeithMarkPadraigPavelScooterShakaTeam EAMONNThe Pink PastorThomasTom ITom W—Music by:Mike Hammockhttps://mikehammock.bandcamp.com/Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Tales of Bob uses trademarks and/or copyrights owned by Paizo Inc., used under Paizo's Community Use Policy (paizo.com/communityuse). We are expressly prohibited from charging you to use or access this content. Tales of Bob is not published, endorsed, or specifically approved by Paizo. For more information about Paizo Inc. and Paizo products, visit paizo.com. The Quest for the Frozen Flame adventure path Book Two was written by Jessica Catalan.

Behind the Pahlavi dynasty were three politicians who orchestrated Reza Khan's rise and shaped his rule. This is the story of their fall. The post Book Two – Ep.5: Triumvirate (1) appeared first on The Lion and The Sun Podcast.

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.“  As we read through the stories of the desert fathers and the trials and temptations they experienced in relation to their passions, we began to see with greater clarity how we must cling to God and rely on His grace. No matter how disciplined or virtuous an individual may be the wiles of the devil are always going to be relentless and fierce. If the Evil One can appear as an “angel of light”, then he most assuredly can present a thought to the mind that leads one to assent to sin or present himself as the very object of temptation. In the stories of the fathers tonight, the object of temptation was women or thoughts about them that arise through direct contact, conversation or imagination.  It would be very easy for us and it is often a danger when the Fathers are read out of context to have our thoughts devolve into a negative anthropology - a negative image of what it is to be a human being as well as a sexual being. In hearing some of the stories, one might think that the monks simply sought to destroy this part of themselves or to bury it whether consciously or unconsciously. Perhaps it was simply a manifestation of masochistic repression. Thus, we must read these stories in a discerning fashion. Yet, even more so, we must read them in context; not only in the context of the larger corpus of the writings we are considering, but in the context of our spiritual lives. For it is only within our own hearts that we begin to understand the nature of human desire as part of our identity and experience of the world. It is also only within our hearts that we understand that desire gives us the capacity to love and give ourselves in love. The ascetic life must reveal that we understand that we are created in the image and likeness of God and that with which He has endowed us is good. It only becomes destructive when it is distorted by sin and selfishness. We must also understand that these desires are very powerful – capable of leading us to great good or, outside of the grace of God, to become something that brings us unending grief. We must read the Fathers writings, then, within the context of interiorizing the worldview rooted in faith that they put forward. Do we desire what they desired? Are longing for God and the desire to please him the reality that drives us forward in our day-to-day lives? Do we understand that it is only by living in the grace of God, living in Christ, that we become fully human? --- Text of chat during the group: 00:19:21 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 221 # D 00:28:08 Rebecca Thérèse: Do you think that lack of asceticism is a cause of clergy or monks perpetrating abuse or could it  an indicator that perhaps abusers have entered these vocations/occupations with nefarious motives hence they would not be committed to the more challenging aspects of these ways of life? 01:01:49 Forrest Cavalier: Father, I expected to see the mention that desire for sexual relations outside of matrimony is irrational selfishness (especially victimizing women and offspring), and use the contemplation of that realization to dissuade the passions. But I haven't noticed that in any of these stories so far, which combat the temptation with physical activity (fasting, fleeing, burning) only. Am I missing it? It seems the intellect is ignored. 01:06:47 Mary Clare Wax: The tender love of a perfect Mother, the Mother of God, and consecrating ourselves to her Immaculate Heart is very powerful in this day and age. When we do this, it is like riding the waves of grace rather than being tumbled underneath them. 01:07:11 Sr. Charista Maria: Reacted to "The tender love of a..." with

After an unexpected hiatus, Isaac and Caleb are back on Bending the Elements as they continue their look at Book Two of the Legend of Korra! How will your hosts react to Korra's first lesson under her new mentor, Unaloc? Find out now!   And for a brief scheduling note, Isaac and Caleb have had a harder time matching up their schedules as of late. But you can still find new episodes appearing with your hosts on the following feeds!   Their original podcast feed, covering movies, comics, books, tv episodes and much more! https://thenoviceelitists.podbean.com/   And Join Caleb, Isaac & friends on their Star Trek podcast Romulan's Bearing Gifts Podcast:   Romulans Bearing Gifts: The Star Trek Podcast | Libsyn Directory   And another movie podcast they appear on, Prognosis Negative: Doctor Who: Prognosis Negative   You can also find Isaac & Caleb as guest hosts on The Best Picture Podcast: The Best Picture Podcast | Libsyn Directory

Fear and hope! These are the two realities that are put before us by the writings of the fathers on the struggle with lust and fornication. They are hard stories to listen to for in them we begin to see the poverty of man and what we are capable of doing not only in our lesser moments, but when we turn away from God in the slightest fashion. Whatever one's religious identity might be or how vigorously one has embraced the ascetic life, what brings an individual to the depths of sin is hubris; trusting in our own understanding or following our own desires in such a way that we put ourselves in God to the test.  Thus, the stories should give rise to fear within our hearts in order that we might place our trust only in God and cling to him through constant prayer. However, we are also give that which provides hope of salvation through the very same stories. God does not abandon us even when we have turned away from him. He will use every means possible (other people or affliction) to draw us back to himself. He will turn the world upside down if it gives rise to a spirit of repentance within our hearts. It is this repentance that draws us out of the mire.  The fathers are quick to instruct us that we are not to abhor human sexuality or members of the opposite sex. However, we must respect the power of natural desire, especially when it is paired with concupiscence. The darkness brought to our minds because of our sin often leads us to objectify the other; to lose sight of their dignity and to focus simply on ourselves and the satisfying of our needs. The fathers would have us understand the great power of the demons. We are told in one story this evening where all of the forest in the place were consumed by the flame that came from the serpent being cast out.  We must understand, then, that we are not simply struggling with our natural defects and flaws but rather with principalities and powers.  Sin is a fearful thing and true faith allows us to see its ugliness and destructiveness. This same faith allows us to see the only source of our true hope – Christ. With humility let us cry out to him that he might show us his abundant mercy. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:38:06 Forrest Cavalier: Hard topic1 00:38:59 Forrest Cavalier: I've heard bits and pieces of what you have said, from different people, who were not prelates. The 1970's approach of trying a cure was disastrous. 00:54:15 Forrest Cavalier: Teach us to strive from the pulpit. Hebrews 12:9-12 Besides this, we have had our earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not [then] submit all the more to the Father of spirits and live? They disciplined us for a short time as seemed right to them, but he does so for our benefit, in order that we may share his holiness. At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.e 00:59:41 Forrest Cavalier: A fire poker 01:00:43 Maureen Cunningham: If he would have fell and a chid would came then he could not be a church Father .  What would happen 01:04:32 Anthony: I worked for a firm that worked in divorces and in child protection....even in the Bible Belt, divorce is a SERIOUS problem. We don't have much understanding beyond flesh, and that is reinforced by ads and movies and cartoons and songs. 01:08:49 Maureen Cunningham: Always a Blessing  Thank You 01:09:36 ANDREW ADAMS: Thanks be to God! Thank you, Father! 01:09:36 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you

The walls are closing in on Rose.But when powerful enemies move her from house arrest to a literal prison, Rose finds herself alone. Caged. And without help.Isolated from her friends and allies, yet stumbling on the truth of her captors' schemes, Rose must free herself. If she doesn't make it out in time, evil oppressors will take over her city.Can Rose escape her cage before her foes win and destroy what took the Underground generations to build?Find out in the second book in the award-winning YA dystopian Divided series that reviewers say reminds them of such classic YA dystopian as Divergent and The Giver.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/houseofmysteryradio. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/houseofmysteryradio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

PWYFA BOOK 2 IS OUT NOW! Find the "Prayer Journal" on Amazon or playwhereyourfeetare.com today!In this episode, Cameron sits down with bestie and fellow reporter Hannah Russo to spill the scoop on Book 2! Enjoy the laughs, conversation, and gold nuggets from the girlies. AND HAPPY READING!May this episode impact you and glorify God! PWYFA :)...If you have not already, please submit a review of the podcast on Apple Podcasts! We would love to hear your thoughts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pwyfa-play-where-your-feet-are/id1585687661…BUY THE BOOKS: https://pwyfaplaywhereyourfeetare.myshopify.com/BUY THE MERCH: https://pwyfaplaywhereyourfeetare.myshopify.com/...SOCIALSPodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playwhereyourfeetare/Podcast Linktree (Find all other platforms here): https://linktr.ee/PWYFACameron's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cam.dobbs/Hannah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannahrrusso/...DISCOUNT CODES :)FRE Skin: CAMDOBBS for 15% off https://www.freskincare.com/collections/fre-products?utm_source=micro&utm_medium=ambassador_CAMDOBBS&rfsn=6160972.e2ad50

“So, Josh, what's your next character going to be?”The battle against the forest wyrms comes to a surprising end, and the scouts receive their next assignment. Episode Artwork by MikeBroken Tusk Rising Cover Artwork by Shaun @shaunmakesTales of Bob Cover Artwork by @CosmicAmazingAudio Production by Mike Featuring:Mike as The GMAshley as AklepJessica as XankathJosh as IvanPavel as Luukallo—Need More Bob in Your Life? Check out our other (NSFW) podcast, House of BobApple PodcastsSpotify—Support the Show:PatreonMerch StoreEtsyContact Us:Discordhobcast.comBlueskyInstagramFacebookEmail—Thank you so much to our current Patreon supporters! This podcast would not be possible without you.AnetteBrandonChristineConnorD ChanDan Klip-KlopEliasElliEthanGarbanzoJessica CJessica DJoshKeithMarkPadraigPavelScooterShakaTeam EAMONNThe Pink PastorThomasTom ITom W—Music by:Mike Hammockhttps://mikehammock.bandcamp.com/Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Tales of Bob uses trademarks and/or copyrights owned by Paizo Inc., used under Paizo's Community Use Policy (paizo.com/communityuse). We are expressly prohibited from charging you to use or access this content. Tales of Bob is not published, endorsed, or specifically approved by Paizo. For more information about Paizo Inc. and Paizo products, visit paizo.com. The Quest for the Frozen Flame adventure path Book Two was written by Jessica Catalan.

A torn-out contract, a paranoid shah, and Iran's most lucrative resource. With Iran's oil deal up for renewal, Reza Shah clashes with the British and grows suspicious of his closest allies. The post Book Two – Ep.4: AIOC appeared first on The Lion and The Sun Podcast.

Stephen Grootes speaks to Bronwyn Williams, Partner at Flux Trends, to discuss and review the book, Two Thoughts: A Timeless Collection of Infinite Wisdom by Jim O’Shaughnessy & Vatsal Kaushik. The Money Show is a podcast hosted by well-known journalist and radio presenter, Stephen Grootes. He explores the latest economic trends, business developments, investment opportunities, and personal finance strategies. Each episode features engaging conversations with top newsmakers, industry experts, financial advisors, entrepreneurs, and politicians, offering you thought-provoking insights to navigate the ever-changing financial landscape.Thank you for listening to The Money Show podcast.Listen live - The Money Show with Stephen Grootes is broadcast weekdays between 18:00 and 20:00 (SA Time) on 702 and CapeTalk. There’s more from the show at www.themoneyshow.co.za Subscribe to the Money Show daily and weekly newslettersThe Money Show is brought to you by Absa. Follow us on:702 on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702 702 on TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702702 on Instagram: www.instagram.com/talkradio702702 on X: www.x.com/Radio702702 on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@radio702CapeTalk on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@capetalk CapeTalk on Instagram: www.instagram.com/capetalkzaCapeTalk on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@CapeTalk567CapeTalk on X: www.x.com/CapeTalkSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As we are drawn more deeply into the spiritual warfare of the Desert fathers and learn from their stories of how the demons will provoke a soul and lure it into sin, we begin to see how important it is to put on the mind of Christ; that is, to embrace fully the mindset of the person of faith and the life that we are meant to embody. One of the beautiful aspects of the Evergetinos is that it does not simply present us with teachings but also with the concrete struggle of the fathers and the nature and subtlely of demonic provocation.  We begin to understand that there is no room for pride in the spiritual life. In particular with the passion of fornication, it is the coward who is the victor; that is, he who flees. Our strength is found only in the Lord and clinging to him. We must have no illusion about the strength of our virtue, no matter how long we have engaged in the spiritual life or how virtuous we may seem to be. “Pride rideth before the fall”.  We also see in these stories how the demons sing out to the soul in order to present the temptation as the most attractive and beautiful of things. They can draw even the most seasoned of ascetics into a kind of crazed frenzy or mania. Therefore, we are taught that we must turn immediately to the Lord, raising our hands to the heavens and falling on our knees, begging for his protection.  The demons will show no mercy. In fact, their goal is not simply to draw an individual into sin, but also to draw them into despair where repentance is stymied. After a fall, they become the soul's accuser and will even use scripture to mock her in such a way as to drive her into greater darkness. Their desire is to make us lose confidence in the mercy and compassion of God. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:05:21 Bob Cihak: P. 212 # 8 00:13:45 Bob Cihak: P. 212 # 8 00:20:40 Wayne: What page? 00:20:53 Nypaver Clan: 213 00:21:00 Nypaver Clan: top 00:21:05 Wayne: thanks 00:28:27 Fr Marty, AZ 480-292-3381: It's interesting to consider that we can till the soil for this temptation by giving into other passions. Just reminds me to be vigilant, especially in how I consider others. And in fleeing too. Valuable insight to help me realize that I'm not as blindsided as I thought but I'd been opening doors to weaken me in temptation. 00:32:14 Anthony: Sometimes it takes getting sick and tired of the situation to develop a contempt for it. 00:35:04 Fr Marty, AZ 480-292-3381: Did you say the mindset is called phronema? 00:35:48 Kate : The mindset you describe is like nothing I have ever heard or experienced being a Latin Rite Catholic. 00:39:49 Anthony: The West co.es by it honestly...having to know by size, weight a day number, which medieval texts extrapolate I think from Sirach.  I prefer St Ephrem's poem on the Hidden Pearl taken as a unity. 00:40:12 Anthony: Comes 00:42:19 Nina and Sparky: Phil 2:2 πληρώσατέ μου τὴν χαρὰν ἵνα τὸ αὐτὸ φρονῆτε     "fill up my cup of happiness by thinking with the same mind"  See the last greek word phronete. In modern writing, I have heard the phrase "according to the mind of the church" 00:42:25 Myles Davidson: The word “re-enchantment” is being used more amongst some Catholic circles. The need to return to a more poetic pre-Cartesian worldview 00:44:00 Anthony: Reacted to The word “re-enchant... with "

“Nothing bad happens when you are alone on a cliff”The forest wyrms and the scouts carefully engage in combat.Episode Artwork by MikeBroken Tusk Rising Cover Artwork by Shaun @shaunmakesTales of Bob Cover Artwork by @CosmicAmazingAudio Production by Mike Featuring:Mike as The GMAshley as AklepJessica as XankathJosh as IvanPavel as Luukallo—Need More Bob in Your Life? Check out our other (NSFW) podcast, House of BobApple PodcastsSpotify—Support the Show:PatreonMerch StoreEtsyContact Us:Discordhobcast.comBlueskyInstagramFacebookEmail—Thank you so much to our current Patreon supporters! This podcast would not be possible without you.AnetteBrandonChristineConnorD ChanDan Klip-KlopEliasElliEthanGarbanzoJessica CJessica DJoshKeithMarkPadraigPavelScooterShakaTeam EAMONNThe Pink PastorThomasTom ITom W—Music by:Mike Hammockhttps://mikehammock.bandcamp.com/Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Tales of Bob uses trademarks and/or copyrights owned by Paizo Inc., used under Paizo's Community Use Policy (paizo.com/communityuse). We are expressly prohibited from charging you to use or access this content. Tales of Bob is not published, endorsed, or specifically approved by Paizo. For more information about Paizo Inc. and Paizo products, visit paizo.com. The Quest for the Frozen Flame adventure path Book Two was written by Jessica Catalan.

In this week's episode, we continue our discuss about how seeking prestige can be dangerous for writers, specifically in the form of traditional publishing and the New York Times Bestseller list. This coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Shield of the Knight, Book #2 in the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store: DRAGONSHIELD50 The coupon code is valid through March 21, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook for spring, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00   Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 241 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is February 28th, 2025. Today we are continuing our discussion of how to escape the trap of prestige for writers, specifically traditional publishing and The New York Times Bestseller List. Before we get to our main topic, we will do Coupon of the Week, an update on my current writing and audiobook projects, and then Question of the Week.   This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Shield of the Knight, Book Two in the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store. That coupon code is DRAGONSHIELD50. As always, I'll include the coupon code and the link to the store in the show notes. This coupon code is valid through March 21st, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook as we start to head into the spring months, we have got you covered. Now an update on my current writing projects. I'm pleased to report I am done with the rough draft of Ghost in the Assembly. I came in at 106,000 words, so it'll definitely be over a hundred thousand words when it's done. I'm about 20% of the way through the first round of edits, so I am confident in saying that if all goes well and nothing unexpected happens, I am on track to have it out in March. I am also 10,000 words into Shield of Battle, which will be the fifth of six books in the Shield War series and I'm hoping to have that out in April, if all goes well.   In audiobook news, recording for both Cloak of Dragonfire and Orc-Hoard is done. I'm just waiting for them to get through the processing on the various stores so they're available. There is also an audiobook edition of Half Elven Thief Omnibus One and Cloak Mage Omnibus Three that hopefully should be coming in March. More news with that to come.   00:01:55 Question of the Week   Now let's move on to Question of the Week. Question of the Week is intended to inspire interesting discussions of enjoyable topics. This week's question: what is your favorite subgenre of fantasy, high fantasy, epic fantasy, sword and sorcery, historical fantasy, urban fantasy, LitRPG, cultivation, or something else? No wrong answers, obviously.   Cindy says: Epic fantasy or those with a good history for that world. The Ghost Series are fantastic at this.   Thanks, Cindy.   Justin says: I enjoy all those sub-genres, if they are done well. In times past I would've said comic fantasy, but that is because Terry Pratchett at his best was just that good.   Mary says: High fantasy.   Surabhi says: I'd honestly read anything fantasy that's written well and has characters I'm attached to, given that it's not too gritty. Bonus points if there's humor! Also, I love your books so much and they're the perfect blend of fantasy, adventure, and characters. Your books were what really got me into Sword and Sorcery.   Thanks, Surabhi.     Matthew says: See, that's difficult. I love my sabers, both light and metal. I would say urban fantasy crosses the boundary the most. If it's a captivating story, it will be read.   John F says: I can't choose one- Lord of the Rings or LWW, The Inheritance Cycle, The Dresden Files, Caina, Ridmark, or Nadia. I think what draws me is great characters who grow. The setting/genre is just the device. That's why I keep coming back to your books. You create great characters.   Thanks, John F.   John K says: I think I'm partial to historical fantasy. I enjoy all genres, but when I think of my favorites, they tend to be derivations of historical settings. Think Guy Gavriel Kay or Miles Cameron. That said, I was weaned on Robert E. Howard, Fritz Lieber, Michael Moorcock, Karl Edward Wagner, Jack Vance, so a strong sword and sorcery second place.   Juana says: High fantasy. Belgariad, Tolkien, dragons, et cetera.   Jonathan says: Sword and sorcery in space! Prehistoric sword and sorcery, sword and sorcery always.   Quint: says Sword and sorcery!   Michael says: Sword and sorcery.   For myself, I think I would agree with our last couple of commenters and it would be sword and sorcery. My ideal fantasy novel has a barbarian hero wandering from corrupt city state to corrupt city state messing up the business of some evil wizards. I'm also very fond of what's called generic fantasy (if a fighter, a dwarf, an elf, and a wizard are going into a dungeon and fighting some orcs, I'm happy).   00:04:18 Main Topic of the Week: Escaping the Prestige Trap, Part 2   Now onto our main topic for the week, Escaping the Prestige Trap, Part 2, and we'll focus on traditional publishing and the New York Times Bestseller List this week. As we talked about last week, much of the idea of success, especially in the United States, is based on hitting certain milestones in a specific order. In the writing world, these measures of success have until fairly recently been getting an MFA, finding an agent, getting traditionally published, and hitting The New York Times Bestseller List. Last week we talked about the risks of an MFA and an agent. This week, we are going to talk about two more of those writing markers of prestige, getting traditionally published and having a book land on The New York Times Bestseller List. Why are they no longer as important? What should you devote your energy and focus to instead?   So let's start with looking at getting traditionally published. Most writers have dreamed of seeing their book for sale and traditional publishing for a long time has been the only route to this path. Until about 15 years ago, traditional publishing was the way that a majority of authors made their living. Now that big name authors like Hugh Howie, Andy Weir, and Colleen Hoover have had success starting as self-published authors (or in the case of authors Sarah J. Maas and Ali Hazelwood, fan fiction authors) and then are getting traditional publishing deals made for them for their self-published works. It's proof that self-publishing is no longer a sign that the author isn't good enough to be published traditionally. Previous to the rise of the Kindle, that was a common belief that if you were self-published, it was because you were not good enough to get traditionally published. That was sort of this pernicious belief that traditional publishing was a meritocracy, when in fact it tended to be based on who you knew. But that was all 15 years ago and now we are well into the age of self-publishing. Why do authors still want to be traditionally published when in my frank opinion, self-publishing is the better path? Well, I think there are three main reasons for that.   One of the main reasons is that the authors say they want to be traditionally published is to have someone else handle the marketing and the advertising. They don't realize how meager marketing budgets and staffing support are, especially for unknown authors. Many traditionally published authors are handling large portions of their own marketing and hiring publicists out of their own pocket because publishers are spending much less on marketing. The new reality is that traditional publishers aren't going to do much for you as a debut author unless you are already a public figure.   Even traditionally published authors are not exempt from having to do their own marketing now. James Patterson set up an entire company himself to handle his marketing. Though, to be fair to James Patterson, his background was in advertising before he came into publishing, so he wasn't exactly a neophyte in the field, but you see more and more traditionally published authors who you think would be successful just discontented with the system and starting to dabble in self-publishing or looking at alternative publishers like Aethon Books and different arrangements of publishing because the traditional system is just so bad for writers. The second main reason authors want to be traditionally published is that they want to avoid the financial burden of publishing. This is an outdated way of thinking. The barrier to publishing these days is not so much financial as it is knowledge. In fact, I published a book entirely using free open source software in 2017 just to prove that it could be done. It was Silent Order: Eclipse Hand, the fourth book in my science fiction series. I wrote it on Ubuntu using Libre Office and I edited it in Libre Office and I did the formatting on Ubuntu and I did the cover in the GIMP, which is a free and open source image editing program. This was all using free software and I didn't have to pay for the program. Obviously I had to pay for the computer I was using and the Internet connection, but in the modern era, having an internet connection is in many ways almost a requirement, so that's the cost you would be paying anyway.   The idea that you must spend tens of thousands of dollars in formatting, editing, cover, and marketing comes from scammy self-publishing services. Self-publishing, much like traditional publishing, has more than its fair share of scams or from people who aren't willing to take the time to learn these skills and just want to cut someone a check to solve the problem. There are many low cost and effective ways to learn these skills and resources designed specifically for authors. People like Joanna Penn have free videos online explaining how to do this, and as I've said, a lot of the software you can use to self-publish is either free or low cost, and you can get some very good programs like Atticus or Vellum or Jutoh for formatting eBooks for very low cost.   The third reason that writers want to be traditionally published is that many believe they will get paid more this way, which is, unless you are in the top 1% of traditionally published authors, very wrong. Every so often, there's a study bemoaning the fact that most publishers will only sell about $600 worth of any individual book, and that is true of a large percentage of traditionally published books. Traditional publishers typically pay a lump sum called advance, and then royalties based on sales. An average advance is about the same as two or three months of salary from an office job and so not a reflection of the amount of time it typically takes most authors to finish a book. Most books do not earn out their advance, which means the advance is likely to be the only money the author receives for the book. Even well-known traditionally published authors are not earning enough to support themselves as full-time authors. So as you can see, all three of these reasons are putting a lot of faith in traditional publishers, faith that seems increasingly unnecessary or downright misplaced. I think it is very healthy to get rid of the idea that good writing comes from traditional publishers and that the prestige of being traditionally published is the only way you'll be accepted as a writer or be able to earn a living as a full-time writer. I strongly recommend that people stop thinking that marketing is beneath you as an author or too difficult to learn. Whether you are indie or tradpub, you are producing a product that you want to sell, thus you are a businessperson. The idea that only indie authors have to sell their work is outdated. The sooner you accept this reality, the more options you will have. Self-publishing and indie publishing are admittedly more work. However, the benefits are significant. Here are five benefits of self-publishing versus traditional publishing.   The first advantage of self-publishing is you have complete creative control. You decide what the content of your book will be; you decide what the cover will be. If you don't want to make the covers yourself or you don't want to learn how to do that, you can very affordably hire someone to do it for you and they will make the cover exactly to your specifications. You also have more freedom to experiment with cross-genre books. As I've mentioned before, publishers really aren't a fan of cross genre books until they make a ton of money, like the new romantasy trend.   Traditional publishing is very trend driven and cautious. Back in the 2000s before I gave up on traditional publishing and discovered self-publishing, I would submit to agents a lot. Agents all had these guidelines for fantasy saying that they didn't want to see stories with elves and orcs and dwarves and other traditional fantasy creatures because they thought that was passe. Well, when I started self-publishing, I thought I'm going to write a traditional fantasy series with elves and orcs and dwarves and other traditional fantasy creatures just because I can and Frostborn has been my bestselling series of all time in the time I've been self-publishing, so you can see the advantages of having creative control.   The second advantage is you can control the marketing. Tradpub authors often sign a contract that they'll get their social media and website content approved by the publisher before posting. They may even be given boilerplate or pre-written things to post. In self-publishing, you have real time data to help you make decisions and adjust ads and overall strategy on the fly to maximize revenue. For example, if one of your books is selling strangely well on Google Play, it's time to adjust BookBub ads to focus on that platform instead of Amazon.   You can also easily change your cover, your blurb, and so forth after release. I've changed covers of some of my books many times trying to optimize them for increased sales and that is nearly impossible to do with traditional publishing. And in fact, Brandon Sanderson gave a recent interview where he talked about how the original cover of his Mistborn book was so unrelated to the content of the book that it almost sunk the book and hence his career.   You also have the ability to run ad campaigns as you see fit, not just an initial launch like tradpub does. For example, in February 2025, I've been heavily advertising my Demonsouled series even though I finished writing that series back in 2013, but I've been able to increase sales and derive a significant profit from those ads.   A third big advantage is that you get a far greater share of the profits. Most of the stores, if you price an ebook between $2.99 (prices are USD) and $9.99, you will get 70% of the sale price, which means if you sell an ebook for $4.99, you're probably going to get about $3.50 per sale (depending on currency fluctuations and so forth). That is vastly more than you would get from any publishing contract.   You also don't have to worry about the publisher trying to cheat you out of royalties. We talked about an agency stealing money last episode. Every platform you publish your book on, whether Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Google Play, Smashwords and Apple will give you a monthly spreadsheet of your sales and then you can look at it for yourself, see exactly how many books you sold and exactly how much money you're going to get. I have only very rarely seen traditional publishing royalty statements that are as clear and have as much data in them as a spreadsheet from Google Play or Amazon. A fourth advantage is you don't have to worry about publishers abandoning you mid-series. In traditional publishing, there is what's called the Publishing Death Spiral where let's say an author is contracted to write a series of five books. The author writes the first book and it sells well. Then the author publishes the second book and it doesn't sell quite as well, but the publisher is annoyed enough by the decrease in sales that they drop the writer entirely and don't finish the series. This happens quite a bit in the traditional publishing world, and you don't have to worry about that in indie publishing because you can just publish as often as you want. If you're not happy with the sales of the first few books in the series, you can change the covers, try ad campaigns, and other strategies.   Finally, you can publish as often as you want and when you want. In traditional publishing, there is often a rule of thumb that an author should only publish one book a year under their name. Considering that last year I published 10 books under my name, that seems somewhat ridiculous, but that's a function of the fact that traditional publishing has only so much capacity and the pieces of the machine involved there are slow and not very responsive. Whereas with self-publishing, you have much more freedom and everything involved with it is much more responsive. There's no artificial deadlines, so you can take as long as you want to prepare it and if the book is ready, you don't have to wait a year to put it out because it would mess up the publisher's schedule.   So what to do instead of chasing traditional publishing? Learn about self-publishing, especially about scams and bad deals related to it. Publish your own works by a platform such as KDP, Barnes and Noble Press, Kobo Writing Life, Apple Books, Google Play, Smashwords, and possibly your own Payhip and/or Shopify store.   Conquer your fear of marketing and advertising. Even traditionally published authors are shouldering more of this work and paying out of their own pocket to hire someone to do it, and if you are paying your own marketing costs, you might as well self-publish and keep a greater share of the profits. The second half of our main topic, another potential risk of prestige, is getting on The New York Times Bestseller List. I should note that I suppose someone could accuse me of sour grapes here saying, oh, Jonathan Moeller, you've never been on The New York Times Bestseller List. You must just be bitter about it. That is not true. I do not want to be on The New York Times Bestseller List. What I would like to be is a number one Amazon bestseller. Admittedly though, that's unlikely, but a number one Amazon bestseller would make a lot more money than a number one New York Times Bestseller List, though because of the way it works, if you are a number one Amazon bestseller, you might be a New York Times Bestseller, but you might not. Let's get into that now.   Many writers have the dream of seeing their name on the New York Times Bestseller List. One self-help guru wrote about “manifesting” this milestone for herself by writing out the words “My book is number one on The New York Times Bestseller List” every day until it happened. Such is the mystique of this milestone that many authors crave it as a necessity. However, this list has seen challenges to its prestige in recent years. The one thing that shocks most people when they dig into the topic is that the list is not an objective list based on the raw number of books sold. The list is “editorial content” and The New York Times can exclude, include, or rank the books on the list however they choose.   What it does not capture is perennial sellers or classics. For example, the Bible and the Quran are obviously some of the bestselling books of all time, but you won't see editions of the Bible or the Quran on the New York Times Bestseller List. Textbooks and classroom materials, I guarantee there are some textbooks that are standards in their field that would be on the bestseller list every year, but they're not because The New York Times doesn't track them. Ebooks available only from a single vendor such as Kindle Unlimited books, ebook sales from not reporting vendors such as Shopify or Payhip. Reference Works including test prep guides (because I guarantee when test season comes around the ACT and SAT prep guides or the GRE prep guides sell a lot of copies) and coloring books or puzzle books.  It would be quite a blow to the authors on the list to realize that if these excluded works were included on the list, they would in all likelihood be consistently below To Kill a Mockingbird, SAT prep books, citation manuals, Bibles/other religious works, and coloring books about The Eras Tour.   Publishers, political figures, religious groups, and anyone with enough money can buy their way into the rank by purchasing their books in enormous quantities. In fact, it's widely acknowledged in the United States that this is essentially a legal form of bribery and a bit of money laundering too, where a publisher will give a truly enormous advance to a public figure or politician that they like, and that advance will essentially be a payment to that public figure in the totally legal form of an enormous book advance that isn't going to pay out. Because this is happening with such frequency, The New York Times gave into the pressure to acknowledge titles suspected of this strategy with a special mark next to it on the list. However, these books remain on the list and can still be called a New York Times Bestseller.   Since the list is not an objective marker of sales and certainly not some guarantee of quality, why focus on making it there? I think trying to get your book on The New York Times Bestseller List would be an enormous waste of time, since the list is fundamentally an artificial construction that doesn't reflect sales reality very well.   So what can you do instead? Focus on raw sales numbers and revenue, not lists. Even Amazon's bestseller category lists have a certain amount of non-quantitative factors. In the indie author community, there's a saying called Bank not Rank, which means you should focus on how much revenue your books are actually generating instead of whatever sales rank they are on whatever platform. I think that's a wiser approach to focus your efforts.   You can use lists like those from Publishers Weekly instead if you're interested in what's selling or trends in the industry, although that too can be manipulated and these use only a fairly small subset of data that favors retail booksellers, but it's still more objective in measuring than The New York Times.   I suppose in the end, you should try and focus on ebook and writing activities that'll bring you actual revenue or satisfaction rather than chasing the hollow prestige of things like traditional publishing, agents, MFAs, and The New York Times Bestseller List.   So that is it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all back episodes at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week.

Once again, we are blessed by the practical counsel of the fathers in regard to the struggle with the passion of lust and fornication. What becomes evident is that the struggle is primarily with the thoughts and how we address them in our lives. The origin of such thoughts may be from ourselves and our own memories, what we experience with our senses in the present moment or from demonic provocation. Whatever their origin, our asceticism must be such that we are willing to lay all such thoughts aside in preference for remaining in stillness with our focus set upon Christ.  It is always best not to engage the thoughts that rush upon us understanding that we will be overwhelmed, especially if their origin is from the demons. We are not to argue or wrestle with the thoughts but rather call upon the holy name of our Lord and to plead for his help and strength.  This is the source of our healing, even in ways that we do not comprehend. The more we call upon the Lord, the deeper the healing becomes and the more free we become from our attachment to the things of this world. The Jesus Prayer in particular can be used as a gentle weapon to cut away the thoughts as they come upon us. When we are able, it is beneficial to say the prayer in an audible fashion making use of multiple senses. Having a chotki in hand as we say the Prayer and making prostrations repeatedly involves the whole self in the spiritual battle. When we humble ourselves in mind and body before God, He rushes to our aid.  Thus, humility, vigilance and constancy of prayer must be the foundation of our ascetic practice. Furthermore, we must be simple and not count ourselves as clever in this battle. The wiles of the evil one can turn even our conversations about piety into instruments that agitate and stir up the heart. Let us examine our hearts well as we approach the Great Fast and ask the Lord to be our strength. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:11:46 Niño: Have a nice day everybody

A new king, a unified nation, and a country on the brink of transformation. As Reza Shah Pahlavi seizes power, he reshapes Iran with relentless ambition, even at the cost of its democracy. The post Book Two – Ep.3: God, Shah, Nation appeared first on The Lion and The Sun Podcast.

Tonight we follow the thought of Saint Isaiah, the Solitary and St. John Cassian on the struggle with the passion of lust and fornication. One things stands out clearly: we must be fully engaged in the formation of the mind and the heart in virtue - for the devil is fully engaged in seeking to provoke us to sin. Therefore, we must guard all of the senses with great attentiveness. With this particular passion, we must engage in the battle both physically and spiritually. Thus, we must be attentive to both prayer and fasting; that is, humbling the mind and the body in such a way that we turn to God for our nourishment and strength. In shaping the habit of virtue, we must study the scriptures, engage in fervent prayer, and labor with our hands; in other words, we must keep our focus simple in order that we might be aware of what is going on within the heart.  Cassian makes it clear that the heart is the place where the disease is hidden – the depths of the soul. Yet, it is also here that the remedy is found. We must open our heart fully to God by guarding the senses and directing all of our energies towards the formation of virtue and the love of the things of the kingdom.  Humility is the foundation of all of these pursuits. In it, we recognize our poverty and so cling to God. As we cling to him, we experienced that he alone can bring not only healing where there has only been sin but also fill the heart with the love that he alone can satisfy. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:02:12 Anna Lalonde: Hello! We missed last week due to sickness. Glad to hear Father Charbel you've gained 11 new brothers in the monastery! 00:20:51 Joseph Muir: What page are we on? 00:21:07 Bob Cihak: P. 207 E 00:22:00 Joseph Muir: Reacted to "P. 207 E" with

“You can't ask people why they're dead”The former crusaders and Broken Tusk scouts prepare an ambush.Episode Artwork by MikeBroken Tusk Rising Cover Artwork by Shaun @shaunmakesTales of Bob Cover Artwork by @CosmicAmazingAudio Production by Mike Featuring:Mike as The GMAshley as AklepJessica as XankathJosh as IvanPavel as Luukallo—Need More Bob in Your Life? Check out our other (NSFW) podcast, House of BobApple PodcastsSpotify—Support the Show:PatreonMerch StoreEtsyContact Us:Discordhobcast.comBlueskyInstagramFacebookEmail—Thank you so much to our current Patreon supporters! This podcast would not be possible without you.C. HueySarah EiseleDan Klip-KlopThe Pink PastorElliGary TheobaldGarbanzoD ChanAnetteThomas KuhlmannBen CarterConnor McCollochPadraig HegartyBrandon KnoxTeam EAMONNPavel LishinChristine BraileTom InnsElias AndersonMark BoykinJessica ColvinScooter EmersonTyler K.JoshKeith HaddadBluckett12Tom WesleyJessicaLuke Conroy—Music by:Mike Hammockhttps://mikehammock.bandcamp.com/Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Tales of Bob uses trademarks and/or copyrights owned by Paizo Inc., used under Paizo's Community Use Policy (paizo.com/communityuse). We are expressly prohibited from charging you to use or access this content. Tales of Bob is not published, endorsed, or specifically approved by Paizo. For more information about Paizo Inc. and Paizo products, visit paizo.com. The Quest for the Frozen Flame adventure path Book Two was written by Jessica Catalan.

The spiritual life is not lived out in the abstract. Among the fathers, we find a distinct emphasis on praxis; that is, the practice of the faith. We come to know God and to love virtue not through reading but rather through experience.  As a defense, often used to hold onto attachments, we make our faith into something that is purely intellectual or notional. Yet in this hypothesis, hearing tonight in particular from Saint Ephraim, the Syrian, we are presented with the experience of those tempted by the demons to minimize the effects of the embrace of sin and the loss of grace. Rather than holding onto our virtue as precious and maintaining a clear vision of our identity as temples of the Holy Spirit, we cast it all aside thoughtlessly for a moment of pleasure. The struggle with sensuality in particular is challenging because of how it is experienced. We covet what we see and when something is seen it is held within the imagination and the memory. It remains with us even if for a moment we are drawn away from it. When we indiscriminately expose ourselves to what stimulates the passions, we make ourselves more vulnerable. Once the demons have been successful in leading us to embrace such thoughts and actions, then the images seep into the unconscious and emerge later in our dreams. The loss that comes to us is immeasurable, and it is only by the grace of God that healing can come. Saint Ephraim counsels us to keep our eyes downward in their focus and not allow our vision to rove around indiscriminately. On the other hand, we must keep the eyes of our soul constantly turned upward toward God. Only when He fills us with his grace when we turned to him in a spirit of repentance can the imagination, memory and unconscious be healed. The more we fill our hearts with the love of virtue and the things of the kingdom the more we are transformed and begin to experience, once again, the freedom of those who have been made sons and daughters of God. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:12:48 Suzanne Romano: It's certainly been a bad flu season for the chickens...

In the aftermath of the parliament's vote to abolish the Qajar dynasty, Reza Khan and his team lay the groundwork for his ascension to the throne and his official coronation as the new king. The post Book Two – Ep.2: Constituent Assembly appeared first on The Lion and The Sun Podcast.

Send us a textSummaryIn this episode, author Megan Schaulis discusses her YA duology, The Susa Chronicles. Book One, Protector, is inspired by the book of Esther and follows the story of Novalice, a brave heroine who becomes the king's bodyguard. Book Two, Proclaimer, is set to release in April. Megan shares how her faith and personal experiences influenced the writing of the series, emphasizing the importance of our relationship with God and the labels He gives us. She also discusses her love for YA literature and the impact it can have on young adults' journey of self-discovery and faith.Takeaways The Susa Chronicles is a YA duology inspired by the book of Esther, with Book One, Protector, already released and Book Two, Proclaimer, set to release in April.The series explores themes of faith, identity, and the importance of our relationship with God.Megan emphasizes that our faith is our greatest advantage and that our identity is defined by God, not the labels the world gives us.YA literature plays a significant role in helping young adults navigate their journey of self-discovery and faith.Chapters 00:00 Introduction to The Susa Chronicles04:46 The Plot of Protector09:21 The Power of Our Relationship with God13:41 Megan's Journey as an Author15:43 Favorite Books and Impactful Reads21:31 What's Next for Megan23:38 Conclusion Megan Schaulis | Author, Young Adult Christian FictionLet's discover great books together!Follow for more:FB: @bookworthypodcastInstagram: @bookworthy_podcastYouTube: BookWorthy Podcast - YouTubetiktok: @valeriefentress

The struggle with impurity and fornication in our day is so fierce - as well as accepted and embraced by most of the secular culture - that those seeking purity of heart not only have to engage in the ascetic life deeply but also have to embrace a living martyrdom.  The fathers understood how powerful our natural desires can be; in particular our sensuality. They also understood the devil‘s machinations and the relentless nature of temptations that also come to us  from our own imagination and memory. What is captured for us in the writings of this hypothesis is the necessity of engaging in the spiritual battle. We must of course cling to the grace of God and engage in constant prayer. Yet knowing the devil‘s actions, we must embrace many different remedies; such as doing violence to the self and depriving ourselves of the things that the culture freely embraces.   What we heard tonight from multiple writers is the need to remember our own mortality. What we behold as beautiful and covet with the eyes quickly turns to dust. With salvation in the balance, the devil can often tempt us to give ourselves over to satisfying a passion “just once” - as if that would resolve our need. We have to understand that desire does not work in that fashion. The more that it is fed the more its longings increase.  If we could only understand this in light of our desire for God! The more that we desire him in love, the more that we pursue him through prayer, the greater our longing becomes. Soon our attachment to lesser things begins to diminish and we are freer to pursue the Beloved.  Finally, we are encouraged to look to the heroes of our faith; in particular those who wage war against this particular passion or who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect their purity. In them, we see those whose hearts belong to the Lord and to Him alone. May God give us the grace to imitate them. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:03:25 Tracey Fredman: I apologize if I'm in and out this evening. I'm on call for work and may need to in/out. 00:13:39 Anthony: Well, some of the women were looking for a female take on 6th commandment concerns...here is a lead... 00:13:56 Bob Cihak: P. 202, top of page 00:24:32 Lee Graham: Brother Sun and Sister Moon 00:24:46 Nypaver Clan: Reacted to "Brother Sun and Sist..." with

“We don't choose our parents or our necromancers”The Broken Tusk scouts negotiate with former crusaders.Episode Artwork by MikeBroken Tusk Rising Cover Artwork by Shaun @shaunmakesTales of Bob Cover Artwork by @CosmicAmazingAudio Production by Mike Featuring:Mike as The GMAshley as AklepJessica as XankathJosh as IvanPavel as Luukallo—Need More Bob in Your Life? Check out our other (NSFW) podcast, House of BobApple PodcastsSpotify—Support the Show:PatreonMerch StoreEtsyContact Us:Discordhobcast.comBlueskyInstagramFacebookEmail—Thank you so much to our current Patreon supporters! This podcast would not be possible without you.C. HueySarah EiseleDan Klip-KlopThe Pink PastorElliGary TheobaldGarbanzoD ChanAnetteThomas KuhlmannBen CarterConnor McCollochPadraig HegartyBrandon KnoxTeam EAMONNPavel LishinChristine BraileTom InnsElias AndersonMark BoykinJessica ColvinScooter EmersonTyler K.JoshKeith HaddadBluckett12Tom WesleyJessicaLuke Conroy—Music by:Mike Hammockhttps://mikehammock.bandcamp.com/Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Tales of Bob uses trademarks and/or copyrights owned by Paizo Inc., used under Paizo's Community Use Policy (paizo.com/communityuse). We are expressly prohibited from charging you to use or access this content. Tales of Bob is not published, endorsed, or specifically approved by Paizo. For more information about Paizo Inc. and Paizo products, visit paizo.com. The Quest for the Frozen Flame adventure path Book Two was written by Jessica Catalan.

In this episode of The Write Place, I'm joined by award-winning historical crime novelist D.V. Bishop for a deep dive into the craft of storytelling, structure, and writing with confidence.D.V. shares his Wallace & Gromit approach to plotting—laying the tracks just ahead of the train as he writes—and why mystery writers don't always need to know the ending before they begin. We discuss the pressures of writing under contract, the benefits of finishing Book Two before Book One is published, and how to find the balance between planning and discovery.He also reveals the book that changed his life (and career), the unexpected way he researches characters, and why Call the Midwife helped him write a convent full of nuns. If you've ever wrestled with plotting, structure, or self-doubt, this episode is packed with insight, inspiration, and plenty of laughs.His latest book is Divine Fury - check it out here.Connect with D.V. Bishop:

As Iran's exiled king prepares to return, the parliament grants Prime Minister sweeping powers. With the help of his rivals, Reza Khan sets out to dismantle the century-old Qajar Dynasty. The post Book Two – Ep.1: A New Dynasty appeared first on The Lion and The Sun Podcast.

We have continued our discussion of the farhers' writing on fornication and the effects that it has upon the soul. Purity of heart is the foundation of the spiritual life and the immediate goal. We are called to remove every impediment that prevents us from not only receiving the grace of God but from offering him our hearts and our love fully.  In fact, our hearts can be divided, and this is exactly what the demons seek to accomplish. They know they have a strong bodily appetite and desire that they can stir up through our thoughts and images, words and the actions, and the presence of others. Even memories of conversations and the images of people from the past can be used against us in more vulnerable moments to lead us astray. Holiness and purity is not something that one can judge from external realities. Even the most holy individual who seems to be most endowed with gifts from God can have a heart that is radically divided and even wholly given over to the spirit of fornication. To lack watchfulness in this regard opens one up to the experience of obsession. It does not take more than one instance of infidelity to open the door to taking another step in that direction where obsession can become oppression. Fornication can take hold of the mind and the heart with a fierce grip. Finally oppression can give way to possession where the demon of fornication takes hold of one's life and darkens their heart completely.  Disconnected from the wisdom of the father's we find the counsel of our day much akin to self-help.  Such counsel sad leads a person more deeply into the obsession that wounds them. Under the false guise of prudence and wisdom there's often deep foolishness that leads an individual to put himself and God to the test. The discipline and watchfulness the father‘s put forward would often be dismissed in our day as scrupulosity or unhealthy. Yet the Saints knew and understood what is precious and what must be protected. Unless one loves virtue and has tasted the sweetness that it brings to one's life one will easily walk away from it. I might hazard to say that very few of our generation know the kind of purity of heart of which the fathers speak and to which we are called. Our culture has become so permeated with disordered sensuality that our love for the virtue of purity has been compromised as well as our capacity to pursue it. Only radical humility and clinging to the grace of God can aid us. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:04:28 Sr. Charista Maria: Fr. what community? 00:05:24 ANDREW ADAMS: Replying to "Fr. what community?" https://www.monksofmttabor.com 00:41:37 Rachel: I think this is very important. fwiw not scrupulous at all 00:42:23 Myles Davidson: Replying to "I think this is very..." I agree 00:44:16 Mary Clare Wax: Very well said! Thank you! 00:44:33 Forrest Cavalier: Attributed to St Alphonsus: “To avoid the sight of dangerous objects, the saints were accustomed to keep their eyes almost continually fixed on the earth, and to abstain even from looking at innocent objects,” says St. Alphonsus de Liguori. 00:45:35 Forrest Cavalier: There are many times I need to do this, in Sheetz. Or Walmart. Or wherever 00:53:34 Una: What exactly does she mean by prudent? Is there another word? 00:55:21 Forrest Cavalier: Greek is σωφροσύνην 00:55:37 Forrest Cavalier: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophrosyne 00:58:16 Una: What would the nuns have been leaving the convent for? Shopping? Visiting? 01:00:42 Una: One priest told me that in seminary he was advised to visit his family regularly to protect temptations against chastity 01:00:56 Una: To avoid too much lonliness 01:01:31 Sr. Charista Maria: Father I would like your thoughts if you are familiar with the story of Bishop Nonnis in the book: Harlots of the Desert, by Benedicta Ward? She shares of the beauty of the Harlot Pelagia, and Bishop Nonnis was so struck by her beauty that it led him to pray for her, and she converted. I happened to just read this on the Feast of St. Anthony. 01:03:07 Mary Clare Wax: Reacted to "Father I would like ..." with

Value: After Hours is a podcast about value investing, Fintwit, and all things finance and investment by investors Tobias Carlisle, and Jake Taylor. See our latest episodes at https://acquirersmultiple.com/podcast We are live every Tuesday at 1.30pm E / 10.30am P. About Jake Jake's Twitter: https://twitter.com/farnamjake1 Jake's book: The Rebel Allocator https://amzn.to/2sgip3l ABOUT THE PODCAST Hi, I'm Tobias Carlisle. I launched The Acquirers Podcast to discuss the process of finding undervalued stocks, deep value investing, hedge funds, activism, buyouts, and special situations. We uncover the tactics and strategies for finding good investments, managing risk, dealing with bad luck, and maximizing success. SEE LATEST EPISODES https://acquirersmultiple.com/podcast/ SEE OUR FREE DEEP VALUE STOCK SCREENER https://acquirersmultiple.com/screener/ FOLLOW TOBIAS Website: https://acquirersmultiple.com/ Firm: https://acquirersfunds.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Greenbackd LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tobycarlisle Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tobiascarlisle Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tobias_carlisle ABOUT TOBIAS CARLISLE Tobias Carlisle is the founder of The Acquirer's Multiple®, and Acquirers Funds®. He is best known as the author of the #1 new release in Amazon's Business and Finance The Acquirer's Multiple: How the Billionaire Contrarians of Deep Value Beat the Market, the Amazon best-sellers Deep Value: Why Activists Investors and Other Contrarians Battle for Control of Losing Corporations (2014) (https://amzn.to/2VwvAGF), Quantitative Value: A Practitioner's Guide to Automating Intelligent Investment and Eliminating Behavioral Errors (2012) (https://amzn.to/2SDDxrN), and Concentrated Investing: Strategies of the World's Greatest Concentrated Value Investors (2016) (https://amzn.to/2SEEjVn). He has extensive experience in investment management, business valuation, public company corporate governance, and corporate law. Prior to founding the forerunner to Acquirers Funds in 2010, Tobias was an analyst at an activist hedge fund, general counsel of a company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, and a corporate advisory lawyer. As a lawyer specializing in mergers and acquisitions he has advised on transactions across a variety of industries in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Australia, Singapore, Bermuda, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and Guam. He is a graduate of the University of Queensland in Australia with degrees in Law (2001) and Business (Management) (1999).

“Xankath Margareth Bramblesong, you are in big trouble!”The scouts venture into a forest and encounter the people they were looking for.Episode Artwork by MikeBroken Tusk Rising Cover Artwork by Shaun @shaunmakesTales of Bob Cover Artwork by @CosmicAmazingAudio Production by Mike Featuring:Mike as The GMAshley as AklepJessica as XankathJosh as IvanPavel as Luukallo—Need More Bob in Your Life? Check out our other (NSFW) podcast, House of BobApple PodcastsSpotify—Support the Show:PatreonMerch StoreEtsyContact Us:Discordhobcast.comTwitterInstagramFacebookEmail—Thank you so much to our current Patreon supporters! This podcast would not be possible without you.C. HueySarah EiseleDan Klip-KlopThe Pink PastorElliGary TheobaldGarbanzoD ChanAnetteThomas KuhlmannBen CarterConnor McCollochPadraig HegartyBrandon KnoxTeam EAMONNPavel LishinChristine BraileTom InnsElias AndersonMark BoykinJessica ColvinScooter EmersonTyler K.JoshKeith HaddadBluckett12Tom WesleyJessicaLuke Conroy—Music by:Mike Hammockhttps://mikehammock.bandcamp.com/Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Tales of Bob uses trademarks and/or copyrights owned by Paizo Inc., used under Paizo's Community Use Policy (paizo.com/communityuse). We are expressly prohibited from charging you to use or access this content. Tales of Bob is not published, endorsed, or specifically approved by Paizo. For more information about Paizo Inc. and Paizo products, visit paizo.com. The Quest for the Frozen Flame adventure path Book Two was written by Jessica Catalan.

Once again, my first thought at the end of this group is “Revolution“.  When read in the context of all that we have considered from The Evergetinos to date and from St. John Climacus, our entire way of viewing reality is being challenged, overthrown, or illuminated. One begins to see that our capacity as Christians to read and hear the Gospel, let alone the writings of the fathers, has been compromised. We have been formed in and by an atheistic secular culture.  That culture has permeated the Church in modern times in ways that we cannot even comprehend.  God has revealed himself to us; not only the depth of his love and compassion, but also the reality of sin and the struggle that remains for us within this world.  We cannot understand the danger of fornication and lust to our salvation unless we come to understand the importance of purity of heart. God has created us for Himself, in His image and likeness, and our desire must be directed toward Him if we are to experience the fulfillment of the deepest longings of the human heart - let alone the right ordering of our bodily desires. Thus, our lust or fornication is not simply a moral infraction or a negative view of human sexuality but evidence of an idolatry of the self and so adultery in regard to our relationship with God - infidelity in regard to the Heavenly Bridegroom who has given Himself to us completely. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:22:39 Bob Cihak, AZ: P. 195, # A 00:31:49 Myles Davidson: There's a book called Your Brain On Porn about the brain changes that happen 00:35:05 Myles Davidson: Yes, its a book… Your Brain on Porn: Internet Pornography and the Emerging Science of Addiction https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00N2AH8NW?ref_=mr_referred_us_au_nz 00:43:58 Myles Davidson: John Cassian does a good job of outlining the difference between abstinence and chastity (Conference 12) 00:49:41 Forrest Cavalier: If they are unrepentant in a state of mortal sin, the attempt to be married will fail. 00:55:26 Anna Lalonde: Yes! I don't wear makeup because I feel the same way. 00:57:28 Anthony: Someone on substance wrote an article that dressing to be titillating is a way to exert power over others and is socially worse than pornography which often is in red light areas. 00:57:48 Anthony: Substance. Sorry. :) 00:57:56 Anthony: Substack 00:57:58 Myles Davidson: Substack? 01:07:32 Anna Lalonde: When is a thought a sin? My child asks. 01:12:21 Anthony: There's got to be an "easier" way to approach this. God wouldn't make us to be so easily manipulated without help ready at hand; God wouldn't make us so that we understand the value of chastity only after experiencing sin in thought word and deed. 01:17:17 Anthony: I wasn't being facetious. 01:20:53 Cameron Jackson: Evil is real.  Warfare is not really a metaphor. 01:27:15 Myles Davidson: Replying to "202501131635300000.jpg" That's a beautiful book! Where did you get that? 01:27:39 Nikki: Wonderful teaching 01:30:59 Anna Lalonde: Replying to "[Full message cannot be displayed on this version]"   What's the book link? I got kicked out 01:32:37 Lilly: Sorry I didnt hear. No class Wed? 01:32:40 MOME hermits: Thank you dear Father :)! 01:32:44 Maureen Cunningham: Thank You it always a Blessing every time we gather 01:32:48 Cameron Jackson: Thank you Father! 01:33:25 Suzanne Romano: Pax! 01:33:27 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you

The human appetites and desires are ever so powerful. This we know from experience.  Reflecting upon them through the lens of the ascetic life of the desert fathers shows us the scope and the depth of these realities and how they affect our lives.  The spiritual and psychological astuteness of the desert fathers is unparalleled, but we must read their writings in a discerning fashion. We do not want to overgeneralize certain aspects of their teaching and so develop a negative anthropology; a kind of hatred for the body and its' natural desires. Indeed there are many stories where certain desert fathers fell into great extremes; making themselves ill or placing themselves in grave danger. The desert fathers had to learn as we do through experience how to approach these desires and to be clear about what they were truly seeking. The goal is purity of heart; a capacity to love and to give ourselves in love freely and without objectifying the other. Understood in this fashion, purity of heart and chastity should increase our capacity to love. It is not a restriction of our freedom but rather a state of being unfettered by our own desire for satisfaction and pleasure. The human heart can be a treacherous thing and at times can lead us along a path of self-destruction even when that path seems to promise the satisfaction of our hearts' deepest longing. What the fathers came to understand through experience is that Grace alone can bring the healing that we desire and that Divine Eros is what overcomes disordered Eros. The Love of God dwelling within us opens up a path to the fulfillment of life. It is not control that we seek in the ascetic life but transformation; specifically transformation “in Christ.” --- Text of chat during the group: 00:09:34 Forrest Cavalier: Snowfall in inches in Pittsburgh by season. 00:10:09 Forrest Cavalier: Data from https://www.weather.gov/media/pbz/records/hissnow.pdf 00:10:44 Una: Why do we live in these environs? 00:20:05 Lilly: What page number? 00:20:36 Lori Hatala: 192 00:20:37 Wayne: 192 00:21:03 Lilly: Reacted to "192" with

After many weeks of reading the hypotheses on fornication and the pursuit of purity of heart, what finally comes into focus is the fruit of the fathers' experience in the struggle. What they discovered is that discipline, fasting, vigils, etc. are absolutely necessary. Yet these practices are not ends in themselves. They are to be a reflection of our desire for God and our seeking in love our soul's Beloved.  Desire is what gives us the capacity to love and give ourselves in love. In it we sense a lack that only God can satisfy. Ascetic practice is not meant to be an act of contempt for our human nature, but rather an acknowledgment of the strength and the power of our natural desires. What is good can become disordered whenever there is an imbalance or lack of measure. Our natural desire, Eros, can only be transformed by Divine Eros. Therefore, it is only by grace that the passions can be overcome.  Our hearts must be filled with an urgent longing for God.  Outside of the acknowledgment of the necessity of Grace, we become the most pitiable of all creatures. So long as we hold onto the illusion of overcoming the passions by raw grit, we will find ourselves returning to our sin or sinking into a much darker place of anger and pride. St. John Cassian tells us we must “base our courage not on our own power or on our asceticism, but in the aid of God, our Master”. When this takes place, even the deepest recesses of the unconscious can be healed and transformed. Likewise, the  countenance of the pure of heart begins to change; we begin to see the inner beauty that rest in the heart of one who loves and desires God wholly. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:04:03 Lori Hatala: reboot 00:12:17 Una: Problem with sound? 00:12:25 Una: Yes 00:13:01 Una: It's good now 00:13:08 Una: . Can hear you humming 00:16:33 Lilly: Do you know Fr Teodosy? 00:16:34 ANDREW ADAMS: My copy came today! 00:21:09 Una: What page? I'm lost 00:21:23 ANDREW ADAMS: 190 00:21:50 Una: Thanks 00:32:34 Lilly: Asking this question respectfully, if a Priest can't cure his passion, would it be appropriate to take medicine to help ? 00:33:37 Lilly: Generally speaking, no specific medicatiob 00:33:42 Lilly: n* 00:37:28 Suzanne Romano: My experience has been that the grace of continence is given to those who use the means God gives, and is diligent in avoiding the occasions of sin. 00:48:38 Anthony: Life is like art. Each of us is a unique material: canvas, copper foil, paper, wood. Part of Christian life is learning what material we are and what techniques best bring out the beatific vision in the material we are.  The same image can be brought out uniquely in each different art. 00:52:24 Suzanne Romano: Father, may I ask a question that relates to the previous Hypotheses on gluttony?  00:52:37 Forrest Cavalier: Elias in the earlier story did not mutilate, emasculate, or injure himself. By avoiding injury, keeping his masculinity intact, and building on nature, he returned to serve the convent in a very masculine and fatherly way for a long time. It would have been tragic if he deformed the gifts God had given him. 00:52:52 Myles Davidson: Is using caffeine during a night vigil cheating? 00:54:22 Una: It can mess with your sleep when you do get to bed 00:54:59 Una: I used to write until 3 a.m. during my last novel. 00:56:09 Suzanne Romano: Father, may I ask a question that relates to the previous Hypotheses on gluttony?  00:56:59 Suzanne Romano: Thank you. I can distill three principles from the readings: Eat once per day; stop eating before you are completely full; and never eat for the sheer sake of pleasure or comfort. If one takes up these three principles as a regular discipline, are there ever times when it is permissible to take something just for pleasure or comfort - say on Sundays or on Holidays - say, a dessert or a hot cocoa, etc? 00:59:25 Anthony: Haha 00:59:34 Carol Roper: Reacted to "Haha" with