Podcasts about Careful

On this episode of BBB, we return to the universe of Stephen King and Joe Hill in  King Sorrow" by Joe Hill.  A tale of a group of friends you attempt to create the impossible, and then try to make a deal with it.  Careful watch you wish for. WIshes come true, not free, and no good deed goes unpunished. Our pairing on this episode is Virginia Distillery American Single Malt Whisky To learn more about Virginia Distillery, take a gander HERE To see more of Joe Hill and his books, wander on over HERE

This video is intended to point out the flaw in the teaching, not the flaw in the person. My prayer is that Mason and those around him would come to a change of mind and believe in Christ alone for salvation.HOW TO HAVE ETERNAL LIFE : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX6NdGnm_vASUBSCRIBE https://www.youtube.com/c/biblelineLIKE https://www.facebook.com/biblelineminCOMMENT ask us a question!SHARE with all your friends and familyHave a Bible question? The questions@biblelineministries.org email address is not longer in use, but you can:- Explore Pastor Jesse's full teaching library: https://www.youtube.com/@BibleLine/playlists- Watch a clear gospel presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX6NdGnm_vA- Ask your question live on air during our YouTube call-in show:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLElaVGv3oAZ6Y9q4uV9TOX5PMEYimFXqgSupport Bibleline - https://www.calvaryoftampa.org/donate/Bibleline is a ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida and is hosted by Pastor Jesse Martinez.LIKE THIS? CHECK THESE GUYS OUT:@Northlandchurchstc@YankeeArnoldMinistries@focusevangelisticministriesinc@TheKeesBoerMinistryChannel@FishersWithFaithMinistries@QuentinRoad@NorthsideChurchAthens@C4CApologetics@OnoDiamante#bibleline #salvation #reacts #chamber #careful #gay #drink #smoke #2026 #biblelinereacts #masonlocklear #mason #kidpreacher #kid #preacher #gospel

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2026-03-08-0830 Pastor Loran Livingston is the speaker this morning, March 8 2026, in the 8:30 am service.   Scripture: Galatians 1:6–10, Romans 1, Leviticus 20, Jeremiah 23, 1 Kings 13   Notes: -It is easy in today's culture to hear from many so-called Christian teachers and prophets, but many distort the gospel -But Pastor Livingston warns us to be careful of what we listen to -To protect yourself, pray and let the Holy Spirit in us discern the truth

2026-03-08-1030 Pastor Loran Livingston is the speaker this morning, March 8 2026, in the 10:30 am service.   Scripture: Galatians 1:6–10, Romans 1, Leviticus 20, Jeremiah 23, 1 Kings 13   Notes: -It is easy in today's culture to hear from many so-called Christian teachers and prophets, but many distort the gospel -But Pastor Livingston warns us to be careful of what we listen to -To protect yourself, pray and let the Holy Spirit in us discern the truth

Careful now... lol https://www.reddit.com/r/cincinnati/comments/1ro6hj9/ill_see_your_fivethirteen_and_raise_you_a/

This edition of Doing What Works illustrates the old saying: “If everyone put his problems on the table, you'd probably take yours back.” It's been quite a winter for a couple of (vintage!) RV dwellers, put it that way.Here are your show notes…You can't always get what you want.The Big Leap will help you overcome a universal human tendency to sabotage yourself if things start going “too” well.

This week, Pastor Jim walks us through 1 Samuel 8, where the people of Israel ask for a king so they can be like the nations around them. Even though this request grieved Samuel, God allowed it and warned the people about the cost of putting their trust in human leadership. The chapter reveals how easy it is for God's people to trade His leadership for something that feels more familiar or visible. It challenges us to examine our own hearts and remember that Christ alone is the King we truly need.Scripture: 1 Samuel 8Recorded: March 8, 2026

Anna points out a large stain on the wall and asks Gao Yue what happened the night before. Gao Yue admits it probably happened while playing games with friends after drinking too much.—————————————————————————————————安娜：你醒啦？昨天晚上你和朋友们做了什么？你看！墙上的这些污渍。高月：哎呀，我都没注意。一定是和我朋友们玩游戏的时候弄的。安娜：你不记得吗？这么大一块污渍。哈哈哈，别装了。高月：真的不记得了。可能我们都喝太多了，大家都有些醉了。看上去应该是啤酒污渍。安娜：好吧，算了。怎么办呢？不知道能不能去掉这些污渍。不然，我们就有麻烦了。高月：别担心，交给我吧。啤酒污渍不难去掉。或者，我可以重新粉刷一下这里。安娜：好吧，那我就不管了。下次小心啊！—————————————————————————————————If you're enjoying this story, there's so much more waiting for you inside maayot:✅ Daily bite-sized stories that suit your level✅ native audio✅ Interactions with native for practice your speaking✅ One tap Pinyin, explain in context for words and sentences✅ Writing and speaking exercises with real person feedback✅ Track your learning streakNot using these features yet? Open our app or visit maayot.com and explore everything your Mandarin journey needs. Use promotion code “Podcast” , get a 50% off today !If this episode made you smile, laugh, or learn something new. Please Take just 30 seconds to leave us a rating and short review. It helps other Mandarin learners discover us !

This month's show is a very special guest mix by the likes of Michel. Based in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, Michel is an up and coming DJ and is a part of the Psylox DJ group. He'll be sharing his genre-bending and eclectic sounds on the 40th episode of The Nightwave Special. Prepare your mind, body, and gas tank, as you'll want to cruise through the coast under they night sky with this one. "The Nightwave Special”, hosted by Dirk Deafner, is a music show dedicated to capturing the essence of the night through a blend of sexy, moody, and occasionally upbeat electronic tracks. The program features a diverse mix of genres, all chosen to complement the nocturnal atmosphere. Whether you're preparing for a night out, winding down after an event, driving through the city streets, or hosting a cozy gathering at home, The Nightwave Special sets the perfect mood. Feel the night, feel the vibes…this is, The Nightwave Special. ⚡️Like the Show? Click the [Repost] ↻ button so more people can hear it!

Other risks in the market you should be aware of    Since Covid, speculative investments have continued to rise in popularity. We have talked a lot about the risks we see in margin, crypto, private investments, and prediction markets, but now there is new data about the increasing popularity of leveraged funds and options. According to exchange-traded fund manager Direxion, it looks like leveraged and inverse funds, which can be very dangerous investments, saw average daily trading volumes of 1.41 billion in 2025. That's a gain of more than 130% from 2024 and 250% from 2020, the firm found. For those that aren't aware of these products, leveraged funds use derivatives to try and boost the return of an asset in up markets, but they also amplify losses in down markets. Inverse funds on the other hand try and produce the opposite performance of the underlying asset. It's not just these risky tools that have surged though as it is projected that average daily options volume hit 58 million in 2025, which is a roughly 26% increase from 2024 and is more than double the amount seen in 2020. For comparison purposes, stock volume expanded at a yearly pace of 10% between 2020 and 2025, while leveraged funds and options trading saw daily volumes grow at compound annual rates of 29% and 16%, respectively. Part of the reason for the huge increase in the volume for leveraged funds is that the total number of active leveraged funds grew by 50% in 2025, which was the largest annual increase since 2007. Ultimately, there continues to be more and more risk that is finding its way into this market. While it's great when things are going up, it could create a downturn that is more problematic than many believe is possible.      Ivy League Endowments have dismal returns because of private equity    I was concerned when I saw the Ivy League schools, who I thought would be the smartest people in the room, began investing in private equity a few years ago. The results are now in, and the returns are terrible. The best annual return goes to Cornell and for the years 2022 to 2025 they only had an annualized return of 5.7%. They were closely followed by Harvard at 5.5%. The worst performer is an embarrassment as Princeton only had an annualized return of 2.8%. A large reason for the low returns is that the managers of these endowment funds invested heavily in private equity as the category made up 40% or more of the portfolios for schools such as Harvard, Yale and Princeton. The endowment funds have tried to liquidate as much as they can, but the secondary market has been rather weak, and Yale and Harvard were only able to liquidate about $1 billion of their private equity holdings last year. I think we're in the second or third inning of how bad things will get with private equity and private debt. Unfortunately, many people, including foundations, will have poor performance and probably even some losses. A lesson to all investors, don't get sucked into a hype investment of any type as eventually the hype disappears and you end up with nothing but dismal returns or losses.      Is AI impacting the labor market?    The headlines look concerning as February payrolls showed a loss of 92,000 jobs in the month. This was well below the estimate which was looking for a gain of 50k jobs and January's reading of 126k jobs. January's reading was revised down by 4k, while December saw a major negative revision of 65k jobs and now shows a loss of 17k jobs in the month. Health care employment, which has been such a stable force, showed employment declined by 28k in February. This was largely due to the Kaiser Permanente strike that sidelined 30k workers. The strike has now been resolved, so this should be a big benefit in the March data. Another important factor to remember was the severe weather that likely had an impact on hiring across all sectors in the month. The federal government continued to show declines as payrolls declined by 10k in the month and since reaching a peak in October 2024, federal government employment is down by 330,000, or 11.0 percent. Looking specifically at sectors that could be impacted by AI, information saw a decline of 11k, and the industry has lost an average of 5,000 jobs per month over the prior 12 months. While this looks concerning and I do believe part of this is due to AI, I think a lot of the decline is due to a normalization after rapid hiring post Covid that led to bloated employment and waste at many companies. Another sector that could be impacted by AI/Robots is transportation and warehousing. This sector declined by 11k in February, but a good chunk of the job loss occurred in couriers and messengers, which fell by 17,000. I'm still not seeing robotic delivery trucks out there, so again this could be due to normalization or the weather. With that said, employment in transportation and warehousing has declined by 157,000, or 2.4 percent, since reaching a peak in February 2025. Many of the other major sectors like   construction, manufacturing, professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality saw little change in the month.   Overall, there was definitely not much strength in the report. It is important to remember that the employment rate is still healthy at 4.4%, so I'm still not overly concerned about the labor market. With that being said, it is definitely worth watching in the coming months.      Financial Planning: Beware of the Tax Hike Above $505k    For married couples with adjusted gross incomes between $505,000 and $606,333, there's a hidden tax increase caused by the way the state and local tax (SALT) deduction phases out. Below this range, taxpayers can deduct up to $40,400 in state and local taxes. As income rises through this band, that deduction gradually shrinks to $10,000, effectively losing $30,400 of deductions. Put another way, about $100,000 of extra income can increase taxable income by more than $130,000. Households at this level are usually in the 32% federal tax bracket, but because each extra dollar of income also reduces deductions, the real marginal tax rate jumps to roughly 42%. What makes this especially striking is that many people in this range are barely above the 24% bracket, meaning their marginal rate can spike from 24% to 42% over a relatively small income increase. Careful planning ahead can help avoid this sudden tax jump.    Companies Discussed: Planet Fitness(PLNT), Paramount Skydance Corp (PSKY), Old Dominion Freight Line Inc (ODFL), Salesforce (CRM)

Make way for Markwayne Mullin! PLUS, Ryan Morgan, chief Pentagon correspondent for The Epoch Times, tells Shaun about his front row seat to history last Friday, how President Trump is fighting the same wars in the Middle East with different objectives, and Hegseth's counter-cartel efforts in the Western Hemisphere. And Shaun's favorite guest, John O'Connor, discusses how we have been paying for Jimmy Carter's inaction in Iran for over 40 years and applauds President Trump's decision to finally make them pay their dues.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 215: Meth-associated HFrEF.   Abishak and Zat (medical students) explain the cardiotoxic effect of methamphetamine and the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Dr. Arreaza adds insight into the reversibility of meth-associated HFrEF.   Written by Abishak Govindarajan, MSIV and Zat Akbar Shaw. American University of the Caribbean. Edits and comments by Hector Arreaza, MD. Welcome Dr. Arreaza: Welcome to Rio Bravo qWeek. My name is Hector Arreaza, family physician, faculty and associate program director of the Clinica Sierra Vista/Rio Bravo Family Medicine Residency Program. Today we will explore heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, a high-yield and clinically relevant topic in medicine. We will discuss the role of methamphetamine use in the development of HFrEF. This is a pressing issue because about 0.8% of the population 12 and older in the US reported using methamphetamine within the past 12 months in 2024 (National Survey on Drug Use and Health, NSDUH), that's about ≈2.4 million people!We are joined by two aspiring physicians who will help explore this topic. By the way, we will refer to methamphetamine in this episode as “meth”. [Abishak and Akbar introduce themselves] Abishak: [Introduce yourself] The role of meth in HFrEF Dr. Arreaza: Meth is a growing problem in many places, including Bakersfield, where we live. Meth is also known as Meth Crystal, Poor man's cocaine, Ice, Glass, Crank, Speed, Chalk, and Tina. How does meth contribute to the development of HFrEF? Abishak: So, first, let's understand how methamphetamine works. It has a chemical structure similar to dopamine and norepinephrine, and it gets taken up through the neuron transporter proteins. Once it enters the synaptic vesicles (storage sacs for neurotransmitters), it displaces and forces the release of large amounts of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin into the synapse (the space between neurons). Additionally, meth blocks the reuptake of those neurotransmitters into the neuron, ensuring they remain in the synapse for a prolonged period. All this causes a downstream effect of increased sympathetic pathways in the body. Diagnosis Dr. Arreaza: The diagnosis starts with collecting a good history and performing a complete physical exam, and then we confirm with an echocardiogram.  Abishak: Yes, diagnosis requires both symptoms consistent with heart failure and objective evidence of reduced ejection fraction. Echocardiography is the primary diagnostic tool. We also measure BNP. In certain cases, cardiac MRI is used to evaluate myocardial fibrosis and exclude infiltrative or inflammatory etiologies. Coronary angiography may be performed if ischemic disease is suspected.Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy Dr. Arreaza: GDMT Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy started around 1987 when ACE inhibitors were proven to improve mortality in patients with heart failure. Then, during the following decades, many medications have been added to GDMT. Until around 2019–2022 we came out with the main 4 groups of medications that we know as GDMT. Let's talk about GDMT. Akbar: There are four core pillars in GDMT. First, an angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor, such as sacubitril with valsartan (Entresto), is preferred over ACE inhibitors when tolerated. This medication reduces mortality and heart failure hospitalizations. Second, evidence-based beta blockers including carvedilol, metoprolol succinate, or bisoprolol are used to reduce sympathetic overactivity and improve ventricular remodeling. Third, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists such as spironolactone or eplerenone reduce fibrosis and improve survival. The Fourth pillar is SGLT2 inhibitors such as dapagliflozin or empagliflozin, which provide significant reductions in heart failure hospitalizations and cardiovascular mortality, regardless of diabetes status. Abishak: Other main parts of the treatment are diuretics, which are used for symptom control but do not reduce long-term mortality. Dr. Arreaza: As a recap: The current 4 pillars of GDMT are: ARNI/ACEi + β-blocker + MRA + SGLT2i)  Beta Blocker Considerations Dr. Arreaza: Sometimes we may be concerned about using beta blockers in active meth users. What did you read about it? Abishak: Historically, there was concern about unopposed alpha stimulation. However, in chronic heart failure, beta blockers remain essential. Carvedilol is often favored because it provides both alpha and beta blockade. Careful titration and close monitoring are critical.Reversibility and Remodeling Dr. Arreaza: Regarding meth-associated HFrEF, we have good news for meth users. Tell us about how reversible this condition is.  Akbar: It can be reversible. One of the most important aspects of this condition is that significant reverse remodeling may occur if the patient stops methamphetamine use and adheres to medical therapy. The Left ventricular ejection fraction can improve substantially and, in some cases, normalize. On the other end of the spectrum, continued meth use may lead to progressive fibrosis, ventricular dilation, and potentially irreversible damage, leading to death.Complications of meth-associated HFrEF Abishak: These patients are at increased risk for ventricular arrhythmias, sudden cardiac death, left ventricular thrombus formation, and progressive pulmonary hypertension. If the ejection fraction remains below 35 percent after at least three months of optimized therapy, implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (known as ICD) placement should be considered for primary prevention.Addiction Treatment as Core Therapy Dr. Arreaza: It sounds like GDMT cannot be done without talking about meth use disorder treatment. Akbar: Absolutely. Treating the myocardium without addressing the substance use disorder is ineffective. Primary care providers can be trained to manage addictions, but if resources are available, you can place a referral to addiction medicine, psychiatric support, behavioral therapy, and social support services. This is an essential part of the treatment. Sustained abstinence is the single most powerful predictor of recovery.Prognosis Abishak: Prognosis is highly dependent on abstinence. Patients who stop using methamphetamine often experience meaningful improvement in EF and even return to normal.  Dr. Arreaza: Yes, the key factor is complete abstinence, plus standard heart failure treatment. If the damage is mostly functional and inflammatory, recovery is possible. If there is extensive fibrosis (scar) recovery is less likely. Observational studies have shown that patients with meth-associated cardiomyopathy who stop using meth have significant improvement in EF over 3–12 months, fewer hospitalizations, and lower mortality. Akbar: Absolutely. Not all meth-associated cardiomyopathy behaves the same way. The extent of fibrosis determines recovery potential. Cardiac MRI with late gadolinium enhancement can help us estimate scar burden. Patients with minimal fibrosis often have better improvement with abstinence and medical therapy. Dr. Arreaza: So, MRI can actually help us determine the prognosis. Abishak: Yes, very much so. If MRI shows extensive fibrosis, the likelihood of full EF recovery is lower. That information helps us counsel patients more accurately. Akbar: Another key issue is right ventricular involvement. Methamphetamine can affect both ventricles. When the right ventricle fails, patients may develop severe peripheral edema, ascites, and hepatic congestion. Right ventricular dysfunction also worsens prognosis significantly. Dr. Arreaza: And pulmonary hypertension can also worsen the whole picture.  Akbar: That's correct. Meth is associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension independently of left-sided heart failure. In some patients, you may see a combined picture of both pulmonary vascular disease and right ventricular dysfunction. That can make management more complicated because pulmonary pressures may remain elevated even after EF improves. Dr. Arreaza: Tells us about the role of BNP in monitoring these patients.  Abishak: Serial BNP levels can help track response to therapy. Additionally, troponin may be elevated at times in meth users due to myocardial injury. Monitoring renal function is critical because many heart failure medications affect kidney function and potassium levels. Akbar:Other lifestyle modifications include sodium restriction, regular follow-ups, vaccination, and avoidance of other cardiotoxic substances such as alcohol or cocaine. Sleep disorders, especially OSA, should be evaluated because untreated OSA worsens heart failure outcomes. Dr. Arreaza: WhatIs there any role for wearable devices or remote monitoring? Abishak: Yes, increasingly so. Remote weight monitoring, blood pressure tracking, and symptom reporting can reduce hospitalization. In select patients, implantable hemodynamic monitors may help detect rising filling pressures before symptoms occur. Dr. Arreaza: It was a great discussion. Thank you, Abishak and Akbar for bringing all that valuable information to us. Let's wrap it up.     

A walk through the forest, a park or on a city street and you realize you forgot the doggie bags. Do you leave it for others to pick up on their shoes or do you pick it up with your hands?Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-unplugged-totally-uncut--994165/support.

A walk through the forest, a park or on a city street and you realize you forgot the doggie bags. Do you leave it for others to pick up on their shoes or do you pick it up with your hands?Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-like-it-s-live--4113802/support.

Episode 152 of Key Frames, a podcast about anime. It's the winter anime season once again, so Ben, Duncan, and Jeff drink deeply of anime good and bad. There's the austere, mature palate of Scotch whiskey in the drama of Journal with Witch, but maybe Golden Kamuy's straightforward, crowd-pleasing breadiness, so much like a macro lager, is more your style. Careful about the latter, though: it might have a bitter finish. And don't confuse the bright zip of You and I Are Polar Opposite's gin-gin mule with the bubbly sweetness of Trigun Stargaze, another drink that might not leave you with a satisfying finish. Regardless, the point of booze is to have fun with friends, so be sure to share your faves of the season just as we did ours! The post 152 - Ruri on the Rocks first appeared on Key Frames.

Visiting the Bay Area to cheer on the Warriors? Careful planning is the best way to make game day unforgettable; use these tips to avoid the most common mistakes fans make when heading to Chase Center. For more transportation tips, visit https://limosfvip.com/ Limo SF VIP City: San Francisco Address: 1555 Yosemite Ave Website: https://limosfvip.com/

Watch the full podcast! https://chinauncensored.tv/programs/podcast-326 Careful what you do in a Chinese hotel because you may end up on a porn website! A BBC investigation found lots of cameras set up in Chinese hotel rooms. And when they took one offline, more popped up in their place. Join our fight to expose the CCP at https://chinauncensored.tv and get ALL the new full-length interviews! And check out our other channel, China Uncensored: https://www.youtube.com/ChinaUncensored Our social media: X: https://www.x.com/ChinaUncensored Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChinaUncensored Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ChinaUncensored #China

The 94 WIP Morning Show compares how the Phillies handled Johan Rojas early in his career and how they are handling Aidan Miller and Justin Crawford.

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Always Be Careful When You Take On A MonsterBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/darkest-mysteries-online-the-strange-and-unusual-podcast-2026--5684156/support.Darkest Mysteries Online

Job 38-42

Platonic friends help with Intimate shaving, complicated by arousal.By darrenr.  Listen to the ► Podcast at Steamy Stories.“There's one thing, though,” Anna said hesitantly. “I'm nervous about wielding a razor in such a tender place when I can't see very well down there. Would you, would you be willing to help me?”Jake swallowed. “Help, um, help you shave?”Anna nodded. “I know it's a big favor. It's no problem if you'd rather not.”Jake couldn't think of anything he wanted to do more than spend some quality time with Anna's vagina.“There’s one thing, though,” Anna said hesitantly. “I’m nervous about wielding a razor in such a tender place when I can’t see very well down there. Would you… would you be willing to help me?”Jake swallowed. “Help, um, help you shave?”Anna nodded. “I know it’s a big favor. It’s no problem if you’d rather not.”Jake couldn’t think of anything he wanted to do more than spend some quality time with Anna’s vagina.“It’s not that! I’m happy to help. It’s just, I’ve never shaved a, um, you know, a…”“Vulva?” Anna said with a smirk. “It’s okay to use the word. Anyway, neither have I! But you have the advantage of being able to see down there.”“Okay, fair point,” Jake said. “But it also means… well in order to do this, I’ll need to…” Anna raised her eyebrows waiting for him to finish.“I’ll be clean,” Anna said. “I’m going to shower first, of course.”Jake wasn’t expecting that. He shook his head. “Oh, no, I’m not concerned about that. I just mean I’ll need to… touch… you. There. You know, to shave you.”Anna frowned. “Yes, hmm, I see the difficulty now. You’ve got a friend sincerely asking for your help with her most private place, and you’re balking because even a clean vulva is, let’s face it, pretty gross.”“NO!” Jake said. “That’s not it at all!” Anna looked hurt. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to yell. You’re completely misunderstanding me. I don’t think you’re gross in any way. I don’t think your… vulva is gross. At all. Not to be too corny about it, but I think your whole body is beautiful. Including your vag–, I mean, vulva.” Anna looked skeptical. Jake grimaced. “I’m nervous because… well, you’ve said our relationship isn’t sexual. I have to be honest with you. There’s no way I can touch your body… your vulva… and not be affected. Sexually.”Anna bit her lip and looked down, nodding. “I’m still figuring myself out. I think that experience with Andrew all those years ago affected me more than I realized. I don’t know what I want, or what I feel. I just know I feel safe with you.” She lifted her head to look him in the eye. “Do you think it’s possible to just pretend that it’s not sexual between us?”“Yes, I can do that,” Jake said. “Though my body might react differently.”Anna smiled in relief. “Then there’s nothing to worry about. Once the novelty wears off, you’ll realize what a tedious task you’ve volunteered for. Now come ON already.” Her face bright with happiness, she jumped up from the couch, pulling him by the hand to the bathroom. “I’m happy to help shave you in return, of course.”“That’s probably safest,” Jake said, trying to play it cool as he realized where she would be touching him.They showered together like normal. Anna got two fresh towels, spreading one on the floor of the bathroom and keeping the other folded as a pillow. She unwrapped a new razor and put it, along with a can of shaving cream, beside the towel. Lying down on her back, she stretched her legs out and spread them apart.“Do you think I should shave it all or keep a patch of hair?” she asked.Jake stood transfixed by the sight, contemplating her lovely bush. It was full and fluffy and beautiful, with light brown hair looking impossibly soft. Part of him didn’t want her to shave it, but only part of him.“We could definitely leave a patch of hair if you want. Though even if you start fully shaved it would grow back soon.”“Good point. Let’s just shave it all to start.” She reached for the can of shaving cream.“Wait,” Jake said. “When I’ve shaved my beard in the past it worked much better when I clipped the hair short first. Otherwise the razor gets clogged. I have some small mustache scissors, if you want?”“Good idea,” Anna agreed.Jake dug in his drawer until he found the scissors, and then turned to face her and froze. Could he really do this? He felt a bit faint at the thought of accidentally cutting her.“It’s okay, Jake. I know you’re going to be gentle. Go ahead and start!” She smiled nervously at him. “But please be careful.”Jake took a deep breath and knelt between her open legs. He’d never been this close, and his greedy eyes took in every detail. He looked up to her face, framed at this angle by her lovely breasts, and she gave him an encouraging nod. Taking a deep breath, Jake raised his empty hand toward her and gently grabbed a tuft of hair. It was even softer than it looked.“Your hair is beautiful. Are you sure you want me to cut it?”Anna rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m sure. Let’s do it!”Slowly, Jake brought the scissors up and snipped off a chunk of hair. Realizing he needed a place to collect it, he spread out a tissue. Anna watched him intently, propped up on her elbows. Carefully he worked, gathering and snipping, gathering and snipping. He gently brushed the loose hairs off her after trimming everything above her cleft.“How are you doing?” Jake asked.“Thank you for being so gentle. I would be a nervous wreck doing this myself.”“It’s my pleasure,” Jake said automatically, before realizing how intensely true the statement was. Quickly, he added, “Are you ready for me to continue working down… lower?”“You mean on my vulva?” She laughed. “Please use the names of my body parts, you silly.”“Sorry, you’re right. Are you ready for me to trim your vulva?”“Absolutely, please go ahead,” Anna said with a smile, though he still saw nervousness in her eyes. She dropped back onto the towel pillow, her breathing only a little shaky.Looking at her tender folds, Jake felt his palms sweating and his heart beating furiously. Gently, so gently, he touched his finger to the top of her cleft and drew it down to tease out the hairs trapped within. It took a few tries to get the hairs pulled off the bit of her inner labia that sat flush with her cleft. Careful to hold the scissors so he could see exactly where they cut and terrified of hurting her, he trimmed down the length of her outer lips.Anna’s hips twitched a little. “That tickles!”“Sorry! I’m not trying to tickle you.”“I know, it’s just a bit of sensory overload. Can you please just pause for a minute and press your palm against my skin, just to give my nerves a minute to calm down?”“Skin? Don’t you mean ‘vulva’?” Jake said.Anna laughed. “Fair point! Yes, please put your hand over my vulva to calm it down.”Jake put his palm against her cleft and felt its warmth, relishing the intimacy. Anna sighed and took a few deep breaths. “Okay, I’m good. Keep going.”“Could you please spread your legs a bit wider, so I can trim at the base of your legs?”“Sure thing!” Anna said. She bent her knees, bringing her feet up to rest against the sides of Jake’s legs as he knelt before her. Her outer lips were pulled apart, revealing moist pinkness inside. Her lovely scent grew stronger in his nose. Jake felt his erection jump. At least she couldn’t see his obvious arousal now. A few more minutes of careful clipping and he was done. He couldn’t be sure, but her inner lips looked wetter than before. He gently brushed the loose hairs away from her cleft and onto the tissue. Remembering how it might tickle, he placed his palm over everything again to relieve her.“Would you like me to clip, um, further down?” Then, remembering her earlier admonishment, added, “Around your, uh, anus?”Anna giggled as she sat up, her cheeks a little red. Anna bit her lip. “I suppose getting embarrassed at this point is silly. Yes, please trim down there, too.” She turned over onto her knees and pushed her bottom into the air, giving Jake his first clear view between her cheeks. His heart yearned with affection for her, the desire to care for her, even her cute little butthole. Only a few wisps of hair grew back there, and he was soon finished clipping.“Okay, I think we’re ready to start shaving,” Jake said. “Does it make sense to do that in the tub with lots of warm water?”“Definitely the tub, but we’re not ready yet. I need to clip you!”“Oh!” Jake said, “I forgot.” It was true. He was disappointed to realize he was quite erect, and with no way to hide it.“Well come on, trade places with me!” Jake stood up, his massive erection hanging out in the open air. He lay on his back feeling exposed and embarrassed. Anna knelt between his legs, and then she picked up his feet and brought them against the sides of her legs, so he was spread apart like she had been. His straining dick pointed up at the wall somewhere above his head.“Sorry about that,” he said, gesturing toward his erection.“Don’t be!” Anna replied. “I think it actually works better to have the skin stretched out for this. See if you can keep it that way. Are you ready?”“Sure, go ahead,” Jake answered. He didn’t expect it to be difficult to stay hard with her breath gently tickling his shaft. Sitting up on his elbows, he watched her gently grab a tuft of hair and clip it. She looked up to make sure he was okay, and then resumed careful clipping. Her breasts hung down in a lovely way as she bent over him clipping. Jake put his head back on the towel pillow and tried to relax, her every touch thrilling him.“I didn’t realize hairs grew up the shaft of your penis.”“Yeah it’s pretty nasty.”“No, it’s not nasty,” Anna said. “Just interesting.” He felt her fingers gingerly wrap around his shaft. “Wow, the skin is so soft. It’s a weird contrast with the hardness beneath the skin.” Jake relished the feel of her hand on him and listened to the soft swish of the scissors.“Are you doing okay?” Anna asked. She paused and kept her hand still on his hardness, the same anti-tickling strategy he’d used on her. It felt so nice. Jake was far more than okay, though he didn’t dare say that.He tilted his head up to look at her. “Perfectly comfortable. Thank you for being so careful.” She smiled at him, and then returned to her trimming. Her tongue poked out between her lips the same way it did when she was focused on some electronics soldering project. Seeing her so dedicated to caring for him made his ridiculous dick strain against her fingers.“Everything is more dynamic down here than I thought,” Anna said.Jake sat up again to give her a questioning look.“I suppose it’s obvious. It just hadn’t occurred to me. Like, when you’re hard it’s not simply rigid. It’s constantly softening a bit and re-hardening. I can even feel your pulse! And your scrotum moves!”Jake laughed. “Yeah I guess it’s all pretty weird.”“Not weird! Interesting.”Anna moved her hand down to his scrotum, her fingers gently stroking it as she trimmed hairs.“Alright, flip over so I can trim your… um,” Anna giggled for a second before continuing. “Your anus.” Jake dreaded this, but he complied. “Oh, I like how this seam of skin connects to your scrotum. This is so interesting!” A few more minutes of trimming and then she was done.“Okay NOW we’re ready for the shaving part,” Anna said brightly.Jake righted himself and helped clean up the tissues of trimmed pubic hair. There was a lot of hair.“Wow, look at us all trimmed!” Anna said, looking back and forth between the two trimmed crotches. “It feels cooler already. This is going to be great!” She started the water running and moved the new razor and can of shaving cream to the edge of the tub. They climbed in together and sat facing each other in the rising water.“This is fun,” Anna said. “I know it must be weird and tedious for you. I really appreciate you doing this with me.”“Are you kidding?” Jake said. “I’m having fun too. It’s not tedious at all.”Anna pulled herself up to sit on the edge of the tub and handed Jake the can of shaving cream. Still sitting in the water, he scooted toward her as she spread her legs apart. Jake squirted some shaving cream into his hand.“Ready?” he asked. Anna nodded, but he could see that her smile was a bit forced. He didn’t blame her for being nervous. He knew he felt more than nervous, and was grateful his hands remained steady. Jake dabbed the cream on the clipped-short hairs above her cleft and massaged it in with circular motions of his fingertips. Then he carefully dragged the razor in downward strokes, with the grain of her hair, stretching her skin flat as needed. Rinsing the razor often, he made sure to avoid re-shaving the same patch of skin. Finally, he was done with her pubic mound and rinsed her with cupped handfuls of water.“Nicely done, Jake!” Anna said, stroking the smooth skin with her hand. “Very nicely done.”Jake smiled, feeling pleased with his work. “Are you ready for me to shave your vulva now?”“Yes please!” Anna replied, though he could tell her enthusiasm was trying to conceal her nervousness.Jake squirted more cream in his hand and dabbed it on either side of her cleft. With both hands he gently rubbed cream along the inside of her legs and along her outer lips. Glancing up to check on her, he saw her cheeks were flushed. Did his touches feel good to her, or was that simply terror? Anna gave him a reassuring smile. Jake tried to focus.Continuing the short downward strokes, Jake gently drew the razor along her outer lips. Terrified of hurting her, with his other hand he stretched the skin flat and pulled it away from her inner labia as he shaved. After several minutes of careful work, she was shaved as far down as he could work at this angle. He brought up cupped handfuls of water to rinse and carefully stroked her skin feeling for any spots he might have missed. After a few touch-up strokes, he felt satisfied.“How is that?” Jake asked, looking up to her face. Anna’s cheeks were even more flushed, and she bit her lower lip. She broke out into a big smile.“Wow, Jake, you did a great job!” She explored all the shaved places with her fingers. “It feels so strange.”“I didn’t do a perfect job,” Jake said. “I was afraid of giving you a razor burn, so I went for gentleness over thoroughness.”“Thank you for being so careful. The whole time I knew I was in safe hands.”“You’re beautiful,” Jake said softly, lost in thought staring at her smooth cleft. Then, catching himself, “I think it looks great! Want me to finish your, uh, anus?”“Definitely!” Anna said. She dipped her bottom in the tub water to get everything freshly wet and turned over on her knees to present her bottom to him. Jake put shaving cream along the inside of each bottom cheek. A few careful strokes of the razor later he was finished, and he stopped to admire his work on her beautiful body.“All done!” he announced.Anna sat back down in the tub. “Alright, your turn now. Up on the edge of the tub!”While shaving Anna, Jake was so focused on being careful that his misbehaving dick shrunk down to nearly normal. Spreading his legs and presenting himself to Anna, however, quickly brought it back to fully erect.“Thank you,” she said. “I was worried how I would do this properly if your penis wasn’t erect. Are you ready?”Jake nodded, and Anna started rubbing shaving cream into his pubic hair. Looking down he watched her beautiful face, completely focused on her task. Her breasts, so comforting to see, jiggled as she moved. Part of him was very present, relishing her touches and attention. Another part of him was so deep in thought it was almost like having an out of body experience. Anna was the one person he cared most about in the whole world. She was his closest friend, the person who most understood him. When he was away from her, he missed her. When he was with her, he felt utterly content. His place didn’t feel like home unless she was there too. This wasn’t mere physical lust, though there was plenty of that as well. He truly loved her. The trouble was he didn’t see a way to tell her this, without risking messing up what he already had. The thought of frightening her off, of not sharing this intimacy with her, was too horrible to consider.Seeing the way she touched him, though, so carefully and tenderly, it was hard to believe she didn’t have any sexual feelings for him.“There we go,” Anna said, waking him from his reverie. Jake looked down to see himself thoroughly hairless. He didn’t get time to really look before she turned him over to shave between his butt cheeks. A minute later she was finished. They rinsed off in the shower and stood next to each other in front of the mirror to admire the results.“We look fantastic. I love this!” Anna said.“You look amazing,” Jake said.“So do you!” Anna was striking poses in the mirror. “Oh, I almost forgot. We need to moisturize.” She dug in her drawer and pulled out a bottle of lotion. “It’s a very gentle lotion suitable for the whole body. Do you mind if I apply it?” Jake shook his head and Anna straightened the towel on the floor for him to lie down upon. Anna used both hands on him to gently massage lotion everywhere she had shaved, including the shaft of his rock-hard dick and his smooth ball sack. Unlike shaving, he was obviously capable of applying lotion to himself without danger. But if she wanted to touch him and be touched by him, he certainly wasn’t going to argue. He was surprised to find Anna spreading the lotion beyond the sha

Platonic friends help with Intimate shaving, complicated by arousal.By darrenr.  Listen to the ► Podcast at Steamy Stories.“There's one thing, though,” Anna said hesitantly. “I'm nervous about wielding a razor in such a tender place when I can't see very well down there. Would you, would you be willing to help me?”Jake swallowed. “Help, um, help you shave?”Anna nodded. “I know it's a big favor. It's no problem if you'd rather not.”Jake couldn't think of anything he wanted to do more than spend some quality time with Anna's vagina.“There’s one thing, though,” Anna said hesitantly. “I’m nervous about wielding a razor in such a tender place when I can’t see very well down there. Would you… would you be willing to help me?”Jake swallowed. “Help, um, help you shave?”Anna nodded. “I know it’s a big favor. It’s no problem if you’d rather not.”Jake couldn’t think of anything he wanted to do more than spend some quality time with Anna’s vagina.“It’s not that! I’m happy to help. It’s just, I’ve never shaved a, um, you know, a…”“Vulva?” Anna said with a smirk. “It’s okay to use the word. Anyway, neither have I! But you have the advantage of being able to see down there.”“Okay, fair point,” Jake said. “But it also means… well in order to do this, I’ll need to…” Anna raised her eyebrows waiting for him to finish.“I’ll be clean,” Anna said. “I’m going to shower first, of course.”Jake wasn’t expecting that. He shook his head. “Oh, no, I’m not concerned about that. I just mean I’ll need to… touch… you. There. You know, to shave you.”Anna frowned. “Yes, hmm, I see the difficulty now. You’ve got a friend sincerely asking for your help with her most private place, and you’re balking because even a clean vulva is, let’s face it, pretty gross.”“NO!” Jake said. “That’s not it at all!” Anna looked hurt. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to yell. You’re completely misunderstanding me. I don’t think you’re gross in any way. I don’t think your… vulva is gross. At all. Not to be too corny about it, but I think your whole body is beautiful. Including your vag–, I mean, vulva.” Anna looked skeptical. Jake grimaced. “I’m nervous because… well, you’ve said our relationship isn’t sexual. I have to be honest with you. There’s no way I can touch your body… your vulva… and not be affected. Sexually.”Anna bit her lip and looked down, nodding. “I’m still figuring myself out. I think that experience with Andrew all those years ago affected me more than I realized. I don’t know what I want, or what I feel. I just know I feel safe with you.” She lifted her head to look him in the eye. “Do you think it’s possible to just pretend that it’s not sexual between us?”“Yes, I can do that,” Jake said. “Though my body might react differently.”Anna smiled in relief. “Then there’s nothing to worry about. Once the novelty wears off, you’ll realize what a tedious task you’ve volunteered for. Now come ON already.” Her face bright with happiness, she jumped up from the couch, pulling him by the hand to the bathroom. “I’m happy to help shave you in return, of course.”“That’s probably safest,” Jake said, trying to play it cool as he realized where she would be touching him.They showered together like normal. Anna got two fresh towels, spreading one on the floor of the bathroom and keeping the other folded as a pillow. She unwrapped a new razor and put it, along with a can of shaving cream, beside the towel. Lying down on her back, she stretched her legs out and spread them apart.“Do you think I should shave it all or keep a patch of hair?” she asked.Jake stood transfixed by the sight, contemplating her lovely bush. It was full and fluffy and beautiful, with light brown hair looking impossibly soft. Part of him didn’t want her to shave it, but only part of him.“We could definitely leave a patch of hair if you want. Though even if you start fully shaved it would grow back soon.”“Good point. Let’s just shave it all to start.” She reached for the can of shaving cream.“Wait,” Jake said. “When I’ve shaved my beard in the past it worked much better when I clipped the hair short first. Otherwise the razor gets clogged. I have some small mustache scissors, if you want?”“Good idea,” Anna agreed.Jake dug in his drawer until he found the scissors, and then turned to face her and froze. Could he really do this? He felt a bit faint at the thought of accidentally cutting her.“It’s okay, Jake. I know you’re going to be gentle. Go ahead and start!” She smiled nervously at him. “But please be careful.”Jake took a deep breath and knelt between her open legs. He’d never been this close, and his greedy eyes took in every detail. He looked up to her face, framed at this angle by her lovely breasts, and she gave him an encouraging nod. Taking a deep breath, Jake raised his empty hand toward her and gently grabbed a tuft of hair. It was even softer than it looked.“Your hair is beautiful. Are you sure you want me to cut it?”Anna rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m sure. Let’s do it!”Slowly, Jake brought the scissors up and snipped off a chunk of hair. Realizing he needed a place to collect it, he spread out a tissue. Anna watched him intently, propped up on her elbows. Carefully he worked, gathering and snipping, gathering and snipping. He gently brushed the loose hairs off her after trimming everything above her cleft.“How are you doing?” Jake asked.“Thank you for being so gentle. I would be a nervous wreck doing this myself.”“It’s my pleasure,” Jake said automatically, before realizing how intensely true the statement was. Quickly, he added, “Are you ready for me to continue working down… lower?”“You mean on my vulva?” She laughed. “Please use the names of my body parts, you silly.”“Sorry, you’re right. Are you ready for me to trim your vulva?”“Absolutely, please go ahead,” Anna said with a smile, though he still saw nervousness in her eyes. She dropped back onto the towel pillow, her breathing only a little shaky.Looking at her tender folds, Jake felt his palms sweating and his heart beating furiously. Gently, so gently, he touched his finger to the top of her cleft and drew it down to tease out the hairs trapped within. It took a few tries to get the hairs pulled off the bit of her inner labia that sat flush with her cleft. Careful to hold the scissors so he could see exactly where they cut and terrified of hurting her, he trimmed down the length of her outer lips.Anna’s hips twitched a little. “That tickles!”“Sorry! I’m not trying to tickle you.”“I know, it’s just a bit of sensory overload. Can you please just pause for a minute and press your palm against my skin, just to give my nerves a minute to calm down?”“Skin? Don’t you mean ‘vulva’?” Jake said.Anna laughed. “Fair point! Yes, please put your hand over my vulva to calm it down.”Jake put his palm against her cleft and felt its warmth, relishing the intimacy. Anna sighed and took a few deep breaths. “Okay, I’m good. Keep going.”“Could you please spread your legs a bit wider, so I can trim at the base of your legs?”“Sure thing!” Anna said. She bent her knees, bringing her feet up to rest against the sides of Jake’s legs as he knelt before her. Her outer lips were pulled apart, revealing moist pinkness inside. Her lovely scent grew stronger in his nose. Jake felt his erection jump. At least she couldn’t see his obvious arousal now. A few more minutes of careful clipping and he was done. He couldn’t be sure, but her inner lips looked wetter than before. He gently brushed the loose hairs away from her cleft and onto the tissue. Remembering how it might tickle, he placed his palm over everything again to relieve her.“Would you like me to clip, um, further down?” Then, remembering her earlier admonishment, added, “Around your, uh, anus?”Anna giggled as she sat up, her cheeks a little red. Anna bit her lip. “I suppose getting embarrassed at this point is silly. Yes, please trim down there, too.” She turned over onto her knees and pushed her bottom into the air, giving Jake his first clear view between her cheeks. His heart yearned with affection for her, the desire to care for her, even her cute little butthole. Only a few wisps of hair grew back there, and he was soon finished clipping.“Okay, I think we’re ready to start shaving,” Jake said. “Does it make sense to do that in the tub with lots of warm water?”“Definitely the tub, but we’re not ready yet. I need to clip you!”“Oh!” Jake said, “I forgot.” It was true. He was disappointed to realize he was quite erect, and with no way to hide it.“Well come on, trade places with me!” Jake stood up, his massive erection hanging out in the open air. He lay on his back feeling exposed and embarrassed. Anna knelt between his legs, and then she picked up his feet and brought them against the sides of her legs, so he was spread apart like she had been. His straining dick pointed up at the wall somewhere above his head.“Sorry about that,” he said, gesturing toward his erection.“Don’t be!” Anna replied. “I think it actually works better to have the skin stretched out for this. See if you can keep it that way. Are you ready?”“Sure, go ahead,” Jake answered. He didn’t expect it to be difficult to stay hard with her breath gently tickling his shaft. Sitting up on his elbows, he watched her gently grab a tuft of hair and clip it. She looked up to make sure he was okay, and then resumed careful clipping. Her breasts hung down in a lovely way as she bent over him clipping. Jake put his head back on the towel pillow and tried to relax, her every touch thrilling him.“I didn’t realize hairs grew up the shaft of your penis.”“Yeah it’s pretty nasty.”“No, it’s not nasty,” Anna said. “Just interesting.” He felt her fingers gingerly wrap around his shaft. “Wow, the skin is so soft. It’s a weird contrast with the hardness beneath the skin.” Jake relished the feel of her hand on him and listened to the soft swish of the scissors.“Are you doing okay?” Anna asked. She paused and kept her hand still on his hardness, the same anti-tickling strategy he’d used on her. It felt so nice. Jake was far more than okay, though he didn’t dare say that.He tilted his head up to look at her. “Perfectly comfortable. Thank you for being so careful.” She smiled at him, and then returned to her trimming. Her tongue poked out between her lips the same way it did when she was focused on some electronics soldering project. Seeing her so dedicated to caring for him made his ridiculous dick strain against her fingers.“Everything is more dynamic down here than I thought,” Anna said.Jake sat up again to give her a questioning look.“I suppose it’s obvious. It just hadn’t occurred to me. Like, when you’re hard it’s not simply rigid. It’s constantly softening a bit and re-hardening. I can even feel your pulse! And your scrotum moves!”Jake laughed. “Yeah I guess it’s all pretty weird.”“Not weird! Interesting.”Anna moved her hand down to his scrotum, her fingers gently stroking it as she trimmed hairs.“Alright, flip over so I can trim your… um,” Anna giggled for a second before continuing. “Your anus.” Jake dreaded this, but he complied. “Oh, I like how this seam of skin connects to your scrotum. This is so interesting!” A few more minutes of trimming and then she was done.“Okay NOW we’re ready for the shaving part,” Anna said brightly.Jake righted himself and helped clean up the tissues of trimmed pubic hair. There was a lot of hair.“Wow, look at us all trimmed!” Anna said, looking back and forth between the two trimmed crotches. “It feels cooler already. This is going to be great!” She started the water running and moved the new razor and can of shaving cream to the edge of the tub. They climbed in together and sat facing each other in the rising water.“This is fun,” Anna said. “I know it must be weird and tedious for you. I really appreciate you doing this with me.”“Are you kidding?” Jake said. “I’m having fun too. It’s not tedious at all.”Anna pulled herself up to sit on the edge of the tub and handed Jake the can of shaving cream. Still sitting in the water, he scooted toward her as she spread her legs apart. Jake squirted some shaving cream into his hand.“Ready?” he asked. Anna nodded, but he could see that her smile was a bit forced. He didn’t blame her for being nervous. He knew he felt more than nervous, and was grateful his hands remained steady. Jake dabbed the cream on the clipped-short hairs above her cleft and massaged it in with circular motions of his fingertips. Then he carefully dragged the razor in downward strokes, with the grain of her hair, stretching her skin flat as needed. Rinsing the razor often, he made sure to avoid re-shaving the same patch of skin. Finally, he was done with her pubic mound and rinsed her with cupped handfuls of water.“Nicely done, Jake!” Anna said, stroking the smooth skin with her hand. “Very nicely done.”Jake smiled, feeling pleased with his work. “Are you ready for me to shave your vulva now?”“Yes please!” Anna replied, though he could tell her enthusiasm was trying to conceal her nervousness.Jake squirted more cream in his hand and dabbed it on either side of her cleft. With both hands he gently rubbed cream along the inside of her legs and along her outer lips. Glancing up to check on her, he saw her cheeks were flushed. Did his touches feel good to her, or was that simply terror? Anna gave him a reassuring smile. Jake tried to focus.Continuing the short downward strokes, Jake gently drew the razor along her outer lips. Terrified of hurting her, with his other hand he stretched the skin flat and pulled it away from her inner labia as he shaved. After several minutes of careful work, she was shaved as far down as he could work at this angle. He brought up cupped handfuls of water to rinse and carefully stroked her skin feeling for any spots he might have missed. After a few touch-up strokes, he felt satisfied.“How is that?” Jake asked, looking up to her face. Anna’s cheeks were even more flushed, and she bit her lower lip. She broke out into a big smile.“Wow, Jake, you did a great job!” She explored all the shaved places with her fingers. “It feels so strange.”“I didn’t do a perfect job,” Jake said. “I was afraid of giving you a razor burn, so I went for gentleness over thoroughness.”“Thank you for being so careful. The whole time I knew I was in safe hands.”“You’re beautiful,” Jake said softly, lost in thought staring at her smooth cleft. Then, catching himself, “I think it looks great! Want me to finish your, uh, anus?”“Definitely!” Anna said. She dipped her bottom in the tub water to get everything freshly wet and turned over on her knees to present her bottom to him. Jake put shaving cream along the inside of each bottom cheek. A few careful strokes of the razor later he was finished, and he stopped to admire his work on her beautiful body.“All done!” he announced.Anna sat back down in the tub. “Alright, your turn now. Up on the edge of the tub!”While shaving Anna, Jake was so focused on being careful that his misbehaving dick shrunk down to nearly normal. Spreading his legs and presenting himself to Anna, however, quickly brought it back to fully erect.“Thank you,” she said. “I was worried how I would do this properly if your penis wasn’t erect. Are you ready?”Jake nodded, and Anna started rubbing shaving cream into his pubic hair. Looking down he watched her beautiful face, completely focused on her task. Her breasts, so comforting to see, jiggled as she moved. Part of him was very present, relishing her touches and attention. Another part of him was so deep in thought it was almost like having an out of body experience. Anna was the one person he cared most about in the whole world. She was his closest friend, the person who most understood him. When he was away from her, he missed her. When he was with her, he felt utterly content. His place didn’t feel like home unless she was there too. This wasn’t mere physical lust, though there was plenty of that as well. He truly loved her. The trouble was he didn’t see a way to tell her this, without risking messing up what he already had. The thought of frightening her off, of not sharing this intimacy with her, was too horrible to consider.Seeing the way she touched him, though, so carefully and tenderly, it was hard to believe she didn’t have any sexual feelings for him.“There we go,” Anna said, waking him from his reverie. Jake looked down to see himself thoroughly hairless. He didn’t get time to really look before she turned him over to shave between his butt cheeks. A minute later she was finished. They rinsed off in the shower and stood next to each other in front of the mirror to admire the results.“We look fantastic. I love this!” Anna said.“You look amazing,” Jake said.“So do you!” Anna was striking poses in the mirror. “Oh, I almost forgot. We need to moisturize.” She dug in her drawer and pulled out a bottle of lotion. “It’s a very gentle lotion suitable for the whole body. Do you mind if I apply it?” Jake shook his head and Anna straightened the towel on the floor for him to lie down upon. Anna used both hands on him to gently massage lotion everywhere she had shaved, including the shaft of his rock-hard dick and his smooth ball sack. Unlike shaving, he was obviously capable of applying lotion to himself without danger. But if she wanted to touch him and be touched by him, he certainly wasn’t going to argue. He was surprised to find Anna spreading the lotion beyond the sha

Platonic friends help with Intimate shaving, complicated by arousal.By darrenr.  Listen to the ► Podcast at Steamy Stories.“There's one thing, though,” Anna said hesitantly. “I'm nervous about wielding a razor in such a tender place when I can't see very well down there. Would you, would you be willing to help me?”Jake swallowed. “Help, um, help you shave?”Anna nodded. “I know it's a big favor. It's no problem if you'd rather not.”Jake couldn't think of anything he wanted to do more than spend some quality time with Anna's vagina.“There’s one thing, though,” Anna said hesitantly. “I’m nervous about wielding a razor in such a tender place when I can’t see very well down there. Would you… would you be willing to help me?”Jake swallowed. “Help, um, help you shave?”Anna nodded. “I know it’s a big favor. It’s no problem if you’d rather not.”Jake couldn’t think of anything he wanted to do more than spend some quality time with Anna’s vagina.“It’s not that! I’m happy to help. It’s just, I’ve never shaved a, um, you know, a…”“Vulva?” Anna said with a smirk. “It’s okay to use the word. Anyway, neither have I! But you have the advantage of being able to see down there.”“Okay, fair point,” Jake said. “But it also means… well in order to do this, I’ll need to…” Anna raised her eyebrows waiting for him to finish.“I’ll be clean,” Anna said. “I’m going to shower first, of course.”Jake wasn’t expecting that. He shook his head. “Oh, no, I’m not concerned about that. I just mean I’ll need to… touch… you. There. You know, to shave you.”Anna frowned. “Yes, hmm, I see the difficulty now. You’ve got a friend sincerely asking for your help with her most private place, and you’re balking because even a clean vulva is, let’s face it, pretty gross.”“NO!” Jake said. “That’s not it at all!” Anna looked hurt. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to yell. You’re completely misunderstanding me. I don’t think you’re gross in any way. I don’t think your… vulva is gross. At all. Not to be too corny about it, but I think your whole body is beautiful. Including your vag–, I mean, vulva.” Anna looked skeptical. Jake grimaced. “I’m nervous because… well, you’ve said our relationship isn’t sexual. I have to be honest with you. There’s no way I can touch your body… your vulva… and not be affected. Sexually.”Anna bit her lip and looked down, nodding. “I’m still figuring myself out. I think that experience with Andrew all those years ago affected me more than I realized. I don’t know what I want, or what I feel. I just know I feel safe with you.” She lifted her head to look him in the eye. “Do you think it’s possible to just pretend that it’s not sexual between us?”“Yes, I can do that,” Jake said. “Though my body might react differently.”Anna smiled in relief. “Then there’s nothing to worry about. Once the novelty wears off, you’ll realize what a tedious task you’ve volunteered for. Now come ON already.” Her face bright with happiness, she jumped up from the couch, pulling him by the hand to the bathroom. “I’m happy to help shave you in return, of course.”“That’s probably safest,” Jake said, trying to play it cool as he realized where she would be touching him.They showered together like normal. Anna got two fresh towels, spreading one on the floor of the bathroom and keeping the other folded as a pillow. She unwrapped a new razor and put it, along with a can of shaving cream, beside the towel. Lying down on her back, she stretched her legs out and spread them apart.“Do you think I should shave it all or keep a patch of hair?” she asked.Jake stood transfixed by the sight, contemplating her lovely bush. It was full and fluffy and beautiful, with light brown hair looking impossibly soft. Part of him didn’t want her to shave it, but only part of him.“We could definitely leave a patch of hair if you want. Though even if you start fully shaved it would grow back soon.”“Good point. Let’s just shave it all to start.” She reached for the can of shaving cream.“Wait,” Jake said. “When I’ve shaved my beard in the past it worked much better when I clipped the hair short first. Otherwise the razor gets clogged. I have some small mustache scissors, if you want?”“Good idea,” Anna agreed.Jake dug in his drawer until he found the scissors, and then turned to face her and froze. Could he really do this? He felt a bit faint at the thought of accidentally cutting her.“It’s okay, Jake. I know you’re going to be gentle. Go ahead and start!” She smiled nervously at him. “But please be careful.”Jake took a deep breath and knelt between her open legs. He’d never been this close, and his greedy eyes took in every detail. He looked up to her face, framed at this angle by her lovely breasts, and she gave him an encouraging nod. Taking a deep breath, Jake raised his empty hand toward her and gently grabbed a tuft of hair. It was even softer than it looked.“Your hair is beautiful. Are you sure you want me to cut it?”Anna rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m sure. Let’s do it!”Slowly, Jake brought the scissors up and snipped off a chunk of hair. Realizing he needed a place to collect it, he spread out a tissue. Anna watched him intently, propped up on her elbows. Carefully he worked, gathering and snipping, gathering and snipping. He gently brushed the loose hairs off her after trimming everything above her cleft.“How are you doing?” Jake asked.“Thank you for being so gentle. I would be a nervous wreck doing this myself.”“It’s my pleasure,” Jake said automatically, before realizing how intensely true the statement was. Quickly, he added, “Are you ready for me to continue working down… lower?”“You mean on my vulva?” She laughed. “Please use the names of my body parts, you silly.”“Sorry, you’re right. Are you ready for me to trim your vulva?”“Absolutely, please go ahead,” Anna said with a smile, though he still saw nervousness in her eyes. She dropped back onto the towel pillow, her breathing only a little shaky.Looking at her tender folds, Jake felt his palms sweating and his heart beating furiously. Gently, so gently, he touched his finger to the top of her cleft and drew it down to tease out the hairs trapped within. It took a few tries to get the hairs pulled off the bit of her inner labia that sat flush with her cleft. Careful to hold the scissors so he could see exactly where they cut and terrified of hurting her, he trimmed down the length of her outer lips.Anna’s hips twitched a little. “That tickles!”“Sorry! I’m not trying to tickle you.”“I know, it’s just a bit of sensory overload. Can you please just pause for a minute and press your palm against my skin, just to give my nerves a minute to calm down?”“Skin? Don’t you mean ‘vulva’?” Jake said.Anna laughed. “Fair point! Yes, please put your hand over my vulva to calm it down.”Jake put his palm against her cleft and felt its warmth, relishing the intimacy. Anna sighed and took a few deep breaths. “Okay, I’m good. Keep going.”“Could you please spread your legs a bit wider, so I can trim at the base of your legs?”“Sure thing!” Anna said. She bent her knees, bringing her feet up to rest against the sides of Jake’s legs as he knelt before her. Her outer lips were pulled apart, revealing moist pinkness inside. Her lovely scent grew stronger in his nose. Jake felt his erection jump. At least she couldn’t see his obvious arousal now. A few more minutes of careful clipping and he was done. He couldn’t be sure, but her inner lips looked wetter than before. He gently brushed the loose hairs away from her cleft and onto the tissue. Remembering how it might tickle, he placed his palm over everything again to relieve her.“Would you like me to clip, um, further down?” Then, remembering her earlier admonishment, added, “Around your, uh, anus?”Anna giggled as she sat up, her cheeks a little red. Anna bit her lip. “I suppose getting embarrassed at this point is silly. Yes, please trim down there, too.” She turned over onto her knees and pushed her bottom into the air, giving Jake his first clear view between her cheeks. His heart yearned with affection for her, the desire to care for her, even her cute little butthole. Only a few wisps of hair grew back there, and he was soon finished clipping.“Okay, I think we’re ready to start shaving,” Jake said. “Does it make sense to do that in the tub with lots of warm water?”“Definitely the tub, but we’re not ready yet. I need to clip you!”“Oh!” Jake said, “I forgot.” It was true. He was disappointed to realize he was quite erect, and with no way to hide it.“Well come on, trade places with me!” Jake stood up, his massive erection hanging out in the open air. He lay on his back feeling exposed and embarrassed. Anna knelt between his legs, and then she picked up his feet and brought them against the sides of her legs, so he was spread apart like she had been. His straining dick pointed up at the wall somewhere above his head.“Sorry about that,” he said, gesturing toward his erection.“Don’t be!” Anna replied. “I think it actually works better to have the skin stretched out for this. See if you can keep it that way. Are you ready?”“Sure, go ahead,” Jake answered. He didn’t expect it to be difficult to stay hard with her breath gently tickling his shaft. Sitting up on his elbows, he watched her gently grab a tuft of hair and clip it. She looked up to make sure he was okay, and then resumed careful clipping. Her breasts hung down in a lovely way as she bent over him clipping. Jake put his head back on the towel pillow and tried to relax, her every touch thrilling him.“I didn’t realize hairs grew up the shaft of your penis.”“Yeah it’s pretty nasty.”“No, it’s not nasty,” Anna said. “Just interesting.” He felt her fingers gingerly wrap around his shaft. “Wow, the skin is so soft. It’s a weird contrast with the hardness beneath the skin.” Jake relished the feel of her hand on him and listened to the soft swish of the scissors.“Are you doing okay?” Anna asked. She paused and kept her hand still on his hardness, the same anti-tickling strategy he’d used on her. It felt so nice. Jake was far more than okay, though he didn’t dare say that.He tilted his head up to look at her. “Perfectly comfortable. Thank you for being so careful.” She smiled at him, and then returned to her trimming. Her tongue poked out between her lips the same way it did when she was focused on some electronics soldering project. Seeing her so dedicated to caring for him made his ridiculous dick strain against her fingers.“Everything is more dynamic down here than I thought,” Anna said.Jake sat up again to give her a questioning look.“I suppose it’s obvious. It just hadn’t occurred to me. Like, when you’re hard it’s not simply rigid. It’s constantly softening a bit and re-hardening. I can even feel your pulse! And your scrotum moves!”Jake laughed. “Yeah I guess it’s all pretty weird.”“Not weird! Interesting.”Anna moved her hand down to his scrotum, her fingers gently stroking it as she trimmed hairs.“Alright, flip over so I can trim your… um,” Anna giggled for a second before continuing. “Your anus.” Jake dreaded this, but he complied. “Oh, I like how this seam of skin connects to your scrotum. This is so interesting!” A few more minutes of trimming and then she was done.“Okay NOW we’re ready for the shaving part,” Anna said brightly.Jake righted himself and helped clean up the tissues of trimmed pubic hair. There was a lot of hair.“Wow, look at us all trimmed!” Anna said, looking back and forth between the two trimmed crotches. “It feels cooler already. This is going to be great!” She started the water running and moved the new razor and can of shaving cream to the edge of the tub. They climbed in together and sat facing each other in the rising water.“This is fun,” Anna said. “I know it must be weird and tedious for you. I really appreciate you doing this with me.”“Are you kidding?” Jake said. “I’m having fun too. It’s not tedious at all.”Anna pulled herself up to sit on the edge of the tub and handed Jake the can of shaving cream. Still sitting in the water, he scooted toward her as she spread her legs apart. Jake squirted some shaving cream into his hand.“Ready?” he asked. Anna nodded, but he could see that her smile was a bit forced. He didn’t blame her for being nervous. He knew he felt more than nervous, and was grateful his hands remained steady. Jake dabbed the cream on the clipped-short hairs above her cleft and massaged it in with circular motions of his fingertips. Then he carefully dragged the razor in downward strokes, with the grain of her hair, stretching her skin flat as needed. Rinsing the razor often, he made sure to avoid re-shaving the same patch of skin. Finally, he was done with her pubic mound and rinsed her with cupped handfuls of water.“Nicely done, Jake!” Anna said, stroking the smooth skin with her hand. “Very nicely done.”Jake smiled, feeling pleased with his work. “Are you ready for me to shave your vulva now?”“Yes please!” Anna replied, though he could tell her enthusiasm was trying to conceal her nervousness.Jake squirted more cream in his hand and dabbed it on either side of her cleft. With both hands he gently rubbed cream along the inside of her legs and along her outer lips. Glancing up to check on her, he saw her cheeks were flushed. Did his touches feel good to her, or was that simply terror? Anna gave him a reassuring smile. Jake tried to focus.Continuing the short downward strokes, Jake gently drew the razor along her outer lips. Terrified of hurting her, with his other hand he stretched the skin flat and pulled it away from her inner labia as he shaved. After several minutes of careful work, she was shaved as far down as he could work at this angle. He brought up cupped handfuls of water to rinse and carefully stroked her skin feeling for any spots he might have missed. After a few touch-up strokes, he felt satisfied.“How is that?” Jake asked, looking up to her face. Anna’s cheeks were even more flushed, and she bit her lower lip. She broke out into a big smile.“Wow, Jake, you did a great job!” She explored all the shaved places with her fingers. “It feels so strange.”“I didn’t do a perfect job,” Jake said. “I was afraid of giving you a razor burn, so I went for gentleness over thoroughness.”“Thank you for being so careful. The whole time I knew I was in safe hands.”“You’re beautiful,” Jake said softly, lost in thought staring at her smooth cleft. Then, catching himself, “I think it looks great! Want me to finish your, uh, anus?”“Definitely!” Anna said. She dipped her bottom in the tub water to get everything freshly wet and turned over on her knees to present her bottom to him. Jake put shaving cream along the inside of each bottom cheek. A few careful strokes of the razor later he was finished, and he stopped to admire his work on her beautiful body.“All done!” he announced.Anna sat back down in the tub. “Alright, your turn now. Up on the edge of the tub!”While shaving Anna, Jake was so focused on being careful that his misbehaving dick shrunk down to nearly normal. Spreading his legs and presenting himself to Anna, however, quickly brought it back to fully erect.“Thank you,” she said. “I was worried how I would do this properly if your penis wasn’t erect. Are you ready?”Jake nodded, and Anna started rubbing shaving cream into his pubic hair. Looking down he watched her beautiful face, completely focused on her task. Her breasts, so comforting to see, jiggled as she moved. Part of him was very present, relishing her touches and attention. Another part of him was so deep in thought it was almost like having an out of body experience. Anna was the one person he cared most about in the whole world. She was his closest friend, the person who most understood him. When he was away from her, he missed her. When he was with her, he felt utterly content. His place didn’t feel like home unless she was there too. This wasn’t mere physical lust, though there was plenty of that as well. He truly loved her. The trouble was he didn’t see a way to tell her this, without risking messing up what he already had. The thought of frightening her off, of not sharing this intimacy with her, was too horrible to consider.Seeing the way she touched him, though, so carefully and tenderly, it was hard to believe she didn’t have any sexual feelings for him.“There we go,” Anna said, waking him from his reverie. Jake looked down to see himself thoroughly hairless. He didn’t get time to really look before she turned him over to shave between his butt cheeks. A minute later she was finished. They rinsed off in the shower and stood next to each other in front of the mirror to admire the results.“We look fantastic. I love this!” Anna said.“You look amazing,” Jake said.“So do you!” Anna was striking poses in the mirror. “Oh, I almost forgot. We need to moisturize.” She dug in her drawer and pulled out a bottle of lotion. “It’s a very gentle lotion suitable for the whole body. Do you mind if I apply it?” Jake shook his head and Anna straightened the towel on the floor for him to lie down upon. Anna used both hands on him to gently massage lotion everywhere she had shaved, including the shaft of his rock-hard dick and his smooth ball sack. Unlike shaving, he was obviously capable of applying lotion to himself without danger. But if she wanted to touch him and be touched by him, he certainly wasn’t going to argue. He was surprised to find Anna spreading the lotion beyond the sha

From baon-budget hobbies to adult-money upgradesIn this episode of Tawa, Let's!, Kara, Monica, Karl, Angelica, Bibay, and Missy talk about the hobbies that defined their childhood — dancing, printing kung anu-ano, photography phases, music, games — and what they're actually spending their adult money on now.They also unpack the hobbies they want to pursue and how hobbies change in every life stage.Careful: this might convince you to finally buy that camera… or sign up for that class.

“Death in battle for God's sake is better than a shameful and sluggish life.” There is always a lion for the man who does not want to begin. Always a reason. Always a danger. Always a wiser moment to wait for. And so he remains on the road his entire life. Careful. Thoughtful. Unbloodied. Unchanged. St. Isaac is merciless here. Much wisdom can damn a soul. Not the wisdom that fears God, but the kind that calculates and delays obedience. The man who watches the winds never sows. The man who weighs every risk never enters the fight. The simple man jumps into the water. He does not negotiate with fear. He does not preserve his body. He burns with first ardor and moves. This is what we lack. Not knowledge. Fire. The way is filled with blood. Blood means loss. Blood means humiliation. Blood means the death of the life you hoped to keep. If you wish to begin, hold your death in your mind. Remember the day after your burial. Let eternity crush your attachment to this present age. Hope in this life weakens the soul. Do not begin with a divided heart. Divided labor exhausts and yields nothing. God does not give grace in proportion to our techniques but according to the ardor of love and the boldness of faith. “As thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.” Some beat their heads in repentance. Some drown in prostrations. Some burn in psalmody. Some are seized into silence. There are many forms. But all give themselves without reserve. Then comes the ruin. One tastes and turns back. One tastes a little and grows proud. One is enslaved by ambition. One by vainglory. One by greed. One by habit. One begins well and does not endure. These are the lions. Not in the street. In the heart. The one who stands firm does not turn back until he receives the pearl. He begins again and again. He refuses slackness. He does not wait for ideal conditions. He does not demand guarantees. Always begin. If the heart is pure from passion and doubt, God Himself raises the soul. Not because it was clever. Not because it was impressive. But because it believed and stepped onto the blood-stained road without bargaining. Begin. Or die still talking about the journey. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:07:55 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Anthologion 00:08:15 Jesssica Imanaka: https://ignatius.cc/products/anthologion-modern-english 00:08:28 Una's iPhone: What about The Agpeya? Coptic 00:08:43 Jessica McHale: I use the Publicans Prayer Book. Sophia Press. It's a Small Horologion. 00:09:14 Anthony: Reacted to I use the Publicans ... with "❤️" 00:09:24 Una's iPhone: What book is Gather talking about? 00:10:49 David Swiderski, WI: Reacted to "I use the Publicans ..." with

Always Be Careful When You Take On A MonsterBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/darkest-mysteries-online-the-strange-and-unusual-podcast-2026--5684156/support.Darkest Mysteries Online

Ma$e, Cam'ron & Treasure "Stat Baby" Wilson are back with another one!! Please rate, review, and follow the podcast for more content.  Sign up with promo code IIWII and play $5 to get $75 in bonus funds: https://play.underdogfantasy.com/p-itiswhatitis #UDpartnerMake sure to support the show by hitting the link in the bio and downloading the Underdog app. Use code MASE, CAM, or STAT to get up to $1,000 in bonus funds with your first deposit! Follow the show and our hosts on social media: ⁠It Is What It Is⁠, ⁠Cam'Ron⁠, ⁠Ma$e⁠, and ⁠Treasure "Stat Baby" Wilson⁠ , ⁠Producer Ayooo Nick⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

the show goes off the rails when Matt tells Producer Josh about the casting of "Heat 2", and Matt FINALLY tells you why his Kool-Aid Meter is rising in Spring Ball!

Have you ever regretted God answering your prayer exactly the way you wanted? Prayer is not a formula to control God, but a relationship of surrender where saying "Your will be done" is the ultimate sign of a mature and trusting heart.#FULLTANKwithBroBo​ #FULLTANKwithBroBo2026​ #BoSanchez​ #PowerOfPrayer​ #FaithInAction​ #Matthew6​ #TrustGod​ #SpiritualMaturity​ #Surrender​ #GodsWill​ #TrulyRichMindset​ #PrayerLife​Support this podcast. Help me reach others by supporting this podcast.To support my mission work, click this link now! http://BuyMeACoffee.com/brotherbosanchez

Welcome to the Saltbox Church Podcast. We desire to lead people to become fully surrendered disciples of Jesus. On our channel, you'll learn how to read and understand the truths of the Bible from Pastor Michael Mattis and other members of our teaching team. You can expect to walk away with a deeper understanding of the things of God, but challenged to live a surrendered life. We cover topics such as the will of God, mental health, women in leadership, Christianity vs. other faith traditions and many other in-depth studies of scripture. -------------------------------- Scripture & Literature References: Luke 8:16-25 & James 2:14-26 -------------------------------- CONNECT: Small Group Questions ► https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JuOjnHAtvScVQQSHSbajv2yNYpfkbFHl/view?usp=sharing LinkTree ► https://linktr.ee/saltboxchurch Website ► http://www.SaltboxChurch.com Podcast ► https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/saltboxchurch/ Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/saltboxchurch/ Yellow Truck Coffee Co. ► https://www.yellowtruckcoffeeco.com/ --------------------------------

Conversations from the heart and soul of Humanity Church with Nathan Neighbour. For more information, visit www.humanitychurch.com LINKS: CONNECT CARD: https://humanitychurch.com/card JOIN A GROUP: https://humanitychurch.churchcenter.com/groups/humanity-groups GIVE: https://humanitychurch.churchcenter.com/giving   Christian discipleship, spiritual growth, freedom from addiction, body and spirit connection, overcoming temptation, Christian living, spiritual transformation, breaking bad habits, temple of the Holy Spirit, Christian discipline, agency, integrity, mindfulness, spiritual freedom, body stewardship, Christian self-control.

She never thought of herself as someone who attracted strange experiences. A few odd moments over the years, maybe—but nothing persistent. Nothing that suggested sensitivity. Her niece, however, was different. Quiet about it. Careful not to draw attention. But undeniably aware.When her niece came to stay in a small basement apartment, nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first. A walking tour through historic neighborhoods felt harmless. The apartment felt familiar. Normal. But certain moments didn't sit right—sounds that stopped instead of finishing, reactions that came before explanations, animals that froze without warning.As time passed, unease followed her beyond the apartment and into places that should have felt safe. Subtle changes in atmosphere replaced obvious signs. Silence became meaningful. Space felt occupied.#RealGhostStoriesOnline #ParanormalExperience #SensitiveAbilities #HauntedApartment #ShadowFigures #UnexplainedEncounters #SomethingFollowed #TrustYourInstincts #CreepingDread #TrueGhostStoryLove real ghost stories? Want even more?Become a supporter and unlock exclusive extras, ad-free episodes, and advanced access:

We hope you enjoy today's Scripture reading and devotional aimed at motivating you to apply God's word while strengthening your heart and nurturing your soul. Today's Bible reading is Joshua 23. To read along with the podcast, grab a print copy of the devotional at https://www.crossway.org/books/daily-joy-hcj/. Browse other resources from Robert A. Peterson. Follow us on social media to stay up to date: Instagram Facebook Twitter

It looks like a bargain… until it’s not. We reveal the one massive mistake people keep making on Facebook Marketplace that’s costing buyers big time. From fake listings to awkward meet-ups gone wrong, this is the red flag you need to watch for before you hit “send message”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“We need an answer by the end of the day.” Ten words. And the moment you hear them, something shifts inside your chest. Your pulse ticks up. Your focus narrows. Careful thinking stops. The clock starts. You probably haven't even asked the most important question yet. Is that deadline real? Most of the urgency you […]

Bitcoin has had everything going for it: a crypto-friendly president, ETF approval, congressional legislation, institutional adoption, a strategic reserve executive order. And yet the price has halved from its all-time high. So what's going on? And in today's Dumb Question of the Week: What happens when it costs more to mine a bitcoin than it's actually worth? --- Thank you to Trading 212 for sponsoring this episode. Claim free fractional shares worth up to ‎£⁠100. Just create and verify a Trading 212 Invest or Stocks ISA account, make a minimum deposit of £1, and use the promo code "RAMIN" within 10 days of signing up, or use the following link: Sponsored Link. Terms apply - trading212.com/join/RAMIN When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance doesn't guarantee future results. Pies & Autoinvest is an execution-only service. Not investment advice or portfolio management. Automatic investing refers to executing scheduled deposits. You are responsible for all investment and rebalancing decisions. Free shares can be fractional. 212 Cards are issued by Paynetics which provide all payment services. T212 provides customer support and user interface. Terms and fees apply. ---Get in touch

"We need an answer by the end of the day." Ten words. And the moment you hear them, something shifts inside your chest. Your pulse ticks up. Your focus narrows. Careful thinking stops. The clock starts. You probably haven't even asked the most important question yet. Is that deadline real? Most of the urgency you feel every day is fake. Manufactured by someone who benefits from you deciding fast instead of deciding well. Most people can't tell a real deadline from a manufactured one. By the end of this, you will. Let's get into it. What Time Pressure Actually Does to Your Brain Last episode, we talked about decision fatigue. How your brain degrades over a long day. Time pressure is different. Fatigue is a slow drain. Time pressure is a switch. When the clock is ticking, your brain stops analyzing and starts reacting. Normally, the front of your brain runs the show: careful analysis, weighing trade-offs, long-term thinking. Under time pressure, a faster, older, more emotional region takes over. You don't feel less accurate. You feel more confident. Decades of decision science research have found that under time pressure, people's confidence in their decisions goes up while their actual accuracy goes down. You're not just thinking worse. You're thinking worse while being more sure you're right. That false confidence makes you predictably worse at three specific things. Evaluating trade-offs. You lock onto whichever side your gut grabs first. Considering consequences beyond the immediate. Second-order thinking goes offline. Recognizing what you don't know. Because you feel certain, you stop looking for what you're missing. And that's exactly what manufactured urgency is designed to exploit. This is mindjacking in its purest form. Someone engineers the pressure, your brain switches modes, and you make their decision instead of yours. The Urgency Trap: Real vs. Manufactured Not all time pressure is the same. Some deadlines are real. Your tax filing date is real. The board meeting on Thursday is real. The patient who needs a decision in the next ten minutes? That's real. These deadlines exist because of actual constraints in the world, not because someone manufactured them. A huge portion of the urgency you experience? It's engineered. "This offer expires at midnight." Really? Will the company stop wanting your money tomorrow? "We need your decision today." Why today? What actually changes between today and Wednesday? Manufactured urgency is one of the most effective persuasion tools ever invented. Countdown timers on websites that reset when you refresh the page. "Limited time" sales that somehow run every month. Negotiators who invent deadlines because pressure extracts concessions. Manufactured urgency is everywhere. And it works because of what we just covered. Time pressure flips you into fast-decision mode. When someone engineers urgency, they're not just rushing you. They're changing which part of your mind makes the call. The decisions that actually shape your career almost never show up with a countdown timer. The urgency trap pulls your attention to whatever is loudest, while the ones that matter sit quietly in the background. Until it's too late. Five Tests for Manufactured Urgency How do you tell the difference? I use five tests. Test One: The Source Test. Ask yourself: who benefits from me deciding quickly? If the answer is "the person creating the deadline," that's a red flag. Real deadlines serve the situation. Fake deadlines serve the person imposing them. The car salesperson who says "this price is only good today"? That deadline serves the dealership, not you. The surgeon who says "we need to operate within the hour"? That deadline serves the patient. Test Two: The Consequence Test. Ask: what actually happens if I wait? Not what I'm told will happen. What actually happens. "The offer expires." Does it? What would happen if you called back next week? In most cases, the offer magically reappears. Real deadlines have real, verifiable consequences. Manufactured ones have threats that evaporate on contact. Test Three: The History Test. Has this "urgent" situation happened before? If the company has run "ending soon" promotions every month for a year, that's not urgency. That's a business model. If a colleague marks everything "urgent" in their emails, that's not urgency. That's a habit. Test Four: The Reversibility Test. This one builds on our earlier work in the series. How reversible is this decision? If you can cancel, return, or renegotiate, urgency matters less. But if the decision is hard to reverse, like a long-term contract or a major hire, artificial urgency is especially dangerous. The less reversible the decision, the more suspicious you should be of anyone rushing you. Test Five: The Separation Test. Remove yourself from the pressure source and check if the urgency survives. Step out of the room. Sleep on it. Call back tomorrow. Real urgency persists when you leave. Manufactured urgency dissolves. You don't need all five to spot fake urgency. Two or three is usually enough. And once you start applying these tests, something shifts. You realize how much of the urgency in your life was never yours to begin with. I've watched this happen with more than one friend. A cancer diagnosis. Doctors giving them a timeline. And in every case, the same thing happened. Not panic. Clarity. Every manufactured urgency in their lives just fell away. The stuff that didn't matter stopped getting their attention. The stuff that did got all of it. They're well past the timelines their doctors gave them. The outlook is good. But the clarity never went away. They don't need the five tests. They already know which pressure is real. Most of us won't get that kind of forced clarity. So we need tools to create it for ourselves. When "I Need More Time" Is the Problem Everything I just said could become a very sophisticated excuse to never decide anything. "I need more time to think about it" is sometimes wisdom. And sometimes it's avoidance wearing wisdom's clothes. They feel identical from the inside. And that's what makes this so difficult. Recognizing avoidance in yourself is one of the hardest skills in this entire series. We spent all of Episode 10 on it because there's no quick trick for telling the two apart. If you haven't watched that one, I'd recommend going back to it. For this episode, the key connection is this: manufactured urgency and avoidance are opposite problems that feed each other. The more you've been burned by fake deadlines, the more justified "I need more time" feels. And the more you default to delay, the more vulnerable you become when real urgency hits. But watch for this: if you're using the Five Tests to justify delay rather than to evaluate urgency, that's avoidance borrowing the language of skepticism. The tests are meant to help you evaluate the deadline, not to give you another reason to avoid the decision. Calibrating Speed to Stakes So how do you calibrate between moving too fast and waiting too long? Jeff Bezos talks about one-way and two-way door decisions. I've expanded that into what I call the Stakes-Reversibility Grid. Two questions: How much does this matter? And how hard is it to undo? Low stakes, easy to reverse. Which project management tool to try. Where to hold the offsite. What to order for lunch. Decide immediately. These are the decisions people waste hours on that deserve minutes. High stakes, easy to reverse. A new marketing campaign. A pilot program. A hire with a 90-day probation period. Decide quickly, but build in a review date. You can course-correct, so speed matters more than perfection. Low stakes, hard to reverse. The subscription you never cancel. The small clause in a contract nobody reads. These are sneaky. They don't feel important, so you rush. But they're hard to undo, so they accumulate. High stakes, hard to reverse. A merger. A long-term contract. Shutting down a product line. This is where you slow down. This is where you deploy every test for manufactured urgency. This is where anyone rushing you should make you suspicious. Most people get this backwards. They spend weeks picking a laptop and fifteen minutes reviewing an employment contract. The grid fixes that. Be fast on what doesn't matter so you have the bandwidth to be slow on what does. From Knowing to Doing Early in my career, I watched all of this play out in a single conversation. I was negotiating a major technology partnership. The other side's lead negotiator dropped this line: "We need a signed term sheet by Friday or we're moving to the next candidate." Friday was two days away. I felt the shift. That tightening in my chest, that narrowing of focus. My brain immediately started racing toward "how do we make this work by Friday?" Not "should we?" Not "are these the right terms?" Just speed. Then I caught it. Source Test: who benefits from this Friday deadline? They did. We were their preferred partner and they knew it. Consequence Test: what actually happens if we miss Friday? They go to a backup they'd already passed over once. So I said: "We're serious about this partnership and we want to get the terms right. We'll have our response by next Wednesday." Pause. Then: "Okay." The deadline was never real. That's what this skill gives you. Not the ability to stall. Not the excuse to avoid commitment. The judgment to know which pressure deserves your speed and which deserves your skepticism. Next time you feel that tightening in your chest, that rush to decide, run two tests before you respond. The Source Test: who benefits from me deciding fast? The Consequence Test: what actually happens if I wait? You don't need all five every time. Those two alone will catch most manufactured urgency before it catches you. That's not indecisiveness. That's intelligence. Closing In Episode 10, we tackled uncertainty. In Episode 11, depletion. Now you can spot manufactured urgency. But there's a pressure harder to resist than any deadline. A room full of people who've already made up their minds, and they all disagree with you. The CEO nods. The team nods. Everyone nods. And you're sitting there thinking, "They're wrong." What do you do with that? That's next time. Subscribe so you don't miss it. Before You Go You've got the Source Test and the Consequence Test. Use them this week. Then drop a comment and tell me: what's the most obvious manufactured deadline you've ever seen through? I want to hear these stories. If mindjacking is a new concept for you, I've got a full episode that breaks down how your thinking gets hijacked, sometimes by outside forces, sometimes by yourself. Link's below. For those who want to support the work and the team behind these episodes, you can become a paid subscriber on Substack. That link is below too. Share this with someone who needs to hear it. We all know someone who either rushes every decision or can never pull the trigger. I'll see you in the next one.   Sources and References:  Less deliberation time leads to higher confidence (inverse relationship): Smith, J.F., Mitchell, T.R. & Beach, L.R. (1982). "A cost-benefit mechanism for selecting problem-solving strategies." Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 29(3), 370–396. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0030507382900343 Time pressure reduces processing efficiency and accuracy in decision-making: Dambacher, M. & Hübner, R. (2015). "Time pressure affects the efficiency of perceptual processing in decisions under conflict." Psychological Research, 79(1), 83–94. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24487728/ Time pressure increases risk-taking and alters neural outcome evaluation: Lin, C.J. & Jia, H. (2023). "Time pressure affects the risk preference and outcome evaluation." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(4), 3205. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9963851/ Time pressure shifts exploration strategies and dampens uncertainty processing: Wu, C.M., et al. (2022). "Time pressure changes how people explore and respond to uncertainty." Scientific Reports, 12, 3955. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-07901-1 Comprehensive review of the speed-accuracy tradeoff: Heitz, R.P. (2014). "The speed-accuracy tradeoff: history, physiology, methodology, and behavior." Frontiers in Neuroscience, 8, 150. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4052662/ Stress rapidly impairs prefrontal cortex function and shifts control to subcortical structures: Arnsten, A.F.T. (2009). "Stress signalling pathways that impair prefrontal cortex structure and function." Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10, 410–422. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2907136/ The amygdala's role in decision-making under emotional and time pressure: Gupta, R., et al. (2011). "The amygdala and decision-making." Neuropsychologia, 49(4), 760–766. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3032808/ Stress and decision-making — a neurobiological integrative model: Pabón, E., et al. (2024). "Decision-making under stress: A psychological and neurobiological integrative model." Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11061251/ Jeff Bezos's Type 1 / Type 2 decision framework (2015 Letter to Shareholders): Bezos, J. (2015). Amazon Annual Report — Letter to Shareholders. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018724/000119312515144741/d895323dex991.htm The 70% information threshold (2016 Letter to Shareholders): Bezos, J. (2016). Amazon Annual Report — Letter to Shareholders. https://ir.aboutamazon.com/annual-reports-proxies-and-shareholder-letters/default.aspx Time pressure effects on decision-making in loss scenarios (eye-tracking): Zhou, Y-B., et al. (2024). "Time pressure effects on decision-making in intertemporal loss scenarios: an eye-tracking study." Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1451674. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1451674/full How time pressure in different phases affects human-AI collaboration: Cao, S., Gomez, C. & Huang, C-M. (2023). "How Time Pressure in Different Phases of Decision-Making Influences Human-AI Collaboration." Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 7(CSCW2), Article 277. https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3610068 All sources were active and validated as of February 2025.   

Send a textLong live the new flesh! It's been a long time coming, but we're looking at Cronenberg's paranoid, futuristic, body horror... Realized I could be talking about at least 4 different movies here. We're talking about Videodrome. Careful, it bites.Look at us on InstagramFollow us on Twitter (or don't we're not really there - and you probably shouldn't be either. And yeah, we know, the dumb name changed)Hit us up with comments and suggestions at horrorcurious@gmail.comRate! Review! Recommend!

I. Ezra Leads a Men's Bible Study (v 13) II. The Result is Obedience (v 14-17b) III. Obedience Leads to Joy and the Word (v 17c-18) You can watch this message here.

In part one of Red Eye Radio with Gary McNamara and Eric Harley, Marconi award winning radio host Dan Mandis fills in for the guys tonight and we begin with the influence of social media on children and how platforms like TikTok are promoting the left's agenda on school age children. Also the corruption of Minnesota's AG Keith Ellison and the pushback of ICE in Minnesota. Now Gov. Tim Walz wants taxpayers to reimburse the state for damages. Also the top lawyer at Goldman Sachs, Kathy Ruemmler, has announced that she will resign following revelations of her links to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Ruemmler's resignation comes after the DOJ's latest release of investigative files about Epstein showed that she had received gifts from Epstein, offered him advice on managing his reputation, and likened him to an older brother. For more talk on the issues that matter to you, listen on radio stations across America Monday-Friday 12am-5am CT (1am-6am ET and 10pm-3am PT), download the RED EYE RADIO SHOW app, asking your smart speaker, or listening at RedEyeRadioShow.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After years of struggle and crying out in prayer, Frank quit drinking. He attributes his continued sobriety to God’s work in his life. But he also made some important changes. He no longer kept alcohol in the house, watched for warning signs in his thinking and moods, and was wary of certain situations. He leaned on God and knew not to leave an opening for temptation or sin. “Be alert and of sober mind,” the apostle Peter warned. “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Peter knew we needed to be watchful, because the devil’s attacks are often unexpected—when it seems like our life couldn’t be better, or we think we’d never be tempted in a certain area. James too warned his readers to submit to God and “resist the devil.” When we do, our enemy “will flee” (James 4:7). The best way to resist him is to stay close to God through prayer and time in Scripture. When we do, God comes near to us (v. 8) through His Spirit (Romans 5:5). James also offered this encouragement: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (James 4:10). We all face challenging moments in life when we’re tempted and struggle. We can rest knowing that God wants us to succeed and overcome. He is with us in our troubles.

She never thought of herself as someone who attracted strange experiences. A few odd moments over the years, maybe—but nothing persistent. Nothing that suggested sensitivity. Her niece, however, was different. Quiet about it. Careful not to draw attention. But undeniably aware.When her niece came to stay in a small basement apartment, nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first. A walking tour through historic neighborhoods felt harmless. The apartment felt familiar. Normal. But certain moments didn't sit right—sounds that stopped instead of finishing, reactions that came before explanations, animals that froze without warning.As time passed, unease followed her beyond the apartment and into places that should have felt safe. Subtle changes in atmosphere replaced obvious signs. Silence became meaningful. Space felt occupied.#RealGhostStoriesOnline #ParanormalExperience #SensitiveAbilities #HauntedApartment #ShadowFigures #UnexplainedEncounters #SomethingFollowed #TrustYourInstincts #CreepingDread #TrueGhostStoryLove real ghost stories? Want even more?Become a supporter and unlock exclusive extras, ad-free episodes, and advanced access:

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Kate Ahnstrom joins me to tell about her journey. Most people get the dog first and then figure it out. Kate reversed engineered the process. She is an incredible women who just can't say no......

Kate Ahnstrom joins me to tell about her journey. Most people get the dog first and then figure it out. Kate reversed engineered the process. She is an incredible women who just can't say no......