Podcasts about carve

Connect with Michael: https://michaelkoulianos.org/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelkoulianos/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelKoulianos1/Youtube: https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCBKurdZlFEMaLdwxSYMRNAwI'll be honest — I almost didn't record this episode the way I did. Because it required me to sit across from one of my closest friends and one of the most gifted men I know when it comes to the presence of God, and admit that I've been struggling. Struggling to feel connected. Struggling to cultivate that place with the Holy Spirit that I know I'm supposed to have — especially after walking through five weeks of watching my mother-in-law die of cancer. That's not an easy thing to say as a pastor. But I said it anyway. And what Michael gave me back was one of the most practically powerful and spiritually deep conversations I've ever had on this podcast.Michael Koulianos leads Jesus Image, a church and global movement, and there is genuinely no one I know who flows in the presence of God the way he does. In this episode, he walks us through his personal morning prayer routine — two hours, early, consistent for 20 years — and breaks down exactly what it looks like: silence, Bible reading from Genesis to Revelation looking for Jesus the whole way, worship, and a prayer list he's been building for years with names being crossed off one by one. But more than the mechanics, he talks about what it means to feel God's presence not as an emotional high but as a continual awareness. And he talks about mourning — why giving yourself permission to grieve is actually the door that opens to the Holy Spirit's comfort.We also get into the real cost of leading a movement, the false sense of responsibility that burns leaders out, what God is actually doing on the earth right now, and why the cross isn't just the starting point of the Christian life — it's the whole shape of it. If you're a man who's been running on empty spiritually, or you've been grinding so hard you've lost the thread of why you started, this episode will recalibrate you. Carve out the time to watch the whole thing. It's worth every minute.Chapters:00:00 – Welcome: Jason Gets Honest07:15 – Little Ezra, Grief, and Why Mourning Opens the Door14:31 – Sensing vs. Feeling21:46 – Inside Michael's Morning Routine29:01 – Prayer Lists, John Eldridge, and Hearing God's Promises36:16 – How to Find Jesus in Every Page of Scripture 43:32 – The Hardest Part of Leading a Movement50:47 – Burnout, Boundaries, His Church Doubling While Michael Couldn't Speak58:02 – What God Is Doing on Earth Right Now1:05:17 – Living on His Mission, the Cross-Shaped Life & Closing PrayerCONNECT WITH BRAVECOJoin Our Free Community for Men (ladies, sign up your man): https://www.braveco.orgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/braveco.menInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/braveco.men/Shop: https://shop.braveco.org/ABOUT BRAVECO: We live in a time where men are hunting for the truth and looking for the codebook to manhood. At BraveCo, we are on a mission to heal the narrative of masculinity across a generation; fighting the good fight together because every man should feel confident and capable of facing his pain, loving deeply, and leading a life that impacts the world around him.

On this episode of 50 Shades of Green hosts Adam Lake and Katie Lanagren interview Jennifer Hinton, co‑founder of Carve Designs, about building a performance swimwear brand rooted in sustainability. Jennifer explains how Carve developed recycled‑bottle and natural‑blend fabrics (including coconut‑infused blends), the challenges of recyclable swim materials, and the company's shift from local manufacturing to certified partner factories. They discuss logistics and carbon reductions, the importance of supply‑chain visits and ethical factory choices, and ambitious plans to create fashion recycling loop. Jennifer also shares her observations of changing seasons from an outdoor‑athlete perspective, and how policies such as California's textile producer responsibility legislation is starting to push the industry toward end‑of‑life solutions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In dieser deutschsprachigen Episode von Inside SAP S/4HANA Cloud tauchen wir in die spannende Reise von RealCore Industry & Materials ein. Erfahren Sie, wie das Unternehmen seine Geschäftslandschaft durch eine schnelle Implementierung von SAP Cloud ERP nach einem bedeutenden Carve-out transformiert hat. Lernen Sie direkt von Kevin Hurnik und Stephanie Heesen, wie sie organisatorische Herausforderungen gemeistert haben. Ob Sie sich für Geschäftsstrategie oder IT-Integration interessieren – diese Erfolgsgeschichte bietet wertvolle Einblicke für Ihr nächstes Cloud-ERP-Projekt. Welches Thema sollen wir als Nächstes behandeln? Senden Sie uns gerne eine E-Mail an insides4@sap.com

Buy & Build gehört seit Jahren zum Standardrepertoire europäischer Finanzinvestoren, aber zwischen dem Zusammenkaufen von Unternehmen und dem echten Aufbau von Marktführern liegen Welten. Die meisten Investoren sprechen von Integration, tatsächlich gelebt wird sie aber selten konsequent genug, um dauerhaften Wettbewerbsvorteil zu schaffen. Und in einer Zeit, in der KI schon im Gartenbau Ausschreibungsprozesse verändert, stellt sich die Frage: Wer hat das Rüstzeug für Buy & Build 3.0?Mein Gast ist Eric Blumenthal, Managing Partner und Vorstand bei AURELIUS Growth. Mit ihm spreche ich über zehn Jahre Aufbauarbeit mit fast 100 Transaktionen, warum AURELIUS Growth bewusst gewerblich statt vermögensverwaltend agiert, wie echte Integration im Mittelstand funktioniert und was Low-Code und KI für Portfoliounternehmen in klassischen Branchen bedeuten.Wir beleuchten in dieser Episode:warum Eric kein Ingenieur blieb,wie AURELIUS Growth aufgestellt ist,welche Rolle echte Integration im Buy & Build spielt,was Low-Code und KI für traditionelle Branchen bedeutet,warum Unternehmerfamilien statt Fonds das Kapital stellen,und vieles mehr...Viel Spaß beim Hören!***Timestamps(00:00:00) Intro(00:01:45) Begrüßung & Werdegang(00:05:23) Stationen vor Aurelius(00:08:52) Timing des MBA(00:11:52) Buy & Build: Konzern vs. Investor(00:13:14) Fehler & Rückschläge(00:16:00) AURELIUS Anfangsjahre & Carve-out-DNA(00:20:14) Gründung AURELIUS Growth(00:23:48) Investitionsstrategie & Kriterien(00:26:22) Outbound-Strategie & Vertikalhypothesen(00:28:39) Wettbewerbsumfeld & Sektorfokus(00:32:47) Operativer Ansatz & Hands-on(00:37:38) Rückbeteiligung & Unternehmerbindung(00:39:57) Investorenbasis & Evergreen-Struktur(00:45:48) Wachstum & Skalierung des Teams(00:49:09) Internationalisierung(00:54:28) Integration konkret: Gartenbau & KI(00:57:26) Software-LBOs & Low-Code(01:00:43) KI-Demokratisierung & Mittelstand(01:11:12) Zukunft von Buy & Build***Alle Links zur Folge:Kai Hesselmann auf LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kai-hesselmann-dealcircle/CLOSE THE DEAL auf LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/closethedeal-podcastEric Blumenthal auf LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-blumenthal-126670/AURELIUS Growth auf LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aureliusgrowth/Folge 68 mit Dirk Markus: https://dealcircle.com/ClosetheDeal/episoden/68-aurelius-dirk-markus/Website CLOSE THE DEAL: https://dealcircle.com/ClosetheDeal/***DUB.de und AMBER sind die Plattformen für sichere Unternehmensnachfolgen. Schaut vorbei, wenn ihr euer Unternehmen schnell, sicher und kostenfrei zum Verkauf inserieren wollt oder als Käufer auf der Suche nach passenden Deals seid:www.dub.dewww.amber.deals***Du bist M&A-Berater im Small- oder Midcap-Segment und suchst einen Überblick über alle relevanten Deals? Jetzt schnell den

The Sunday Continuous Call Team goes through The Carve Up for this weekend.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

• Alabama passed its gerrymandered map during an active tornado warning — sirens blaring while lawmakers carved up Black voting districts.• Tennessee and Alabama wasted zero time after the Supreme Court ruling — voting rights took a direct hit.• Iran's ceasefire is over — oil prices are spiking and the global response is tense.• Trump says America is fine — millions of people are asking if that's actually true.• Labor organizer Chris Smalls was arrested at the Met Gala — the contrast between labor struggles and elite parties couldn't be sharper.• An Israeli court in Ashkelon extended the detention of foreign activists Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Ávila until May 10, 2026 — raising international human rights concerns.

This time on Giggle Pod, comedy historians Robert and Gemma Ross unlock the creaking doors of the classic British comedy-horror film What a Carve Up! — starring the incomparable Sidney James and Kenneth Connor.With a spooky mansion setting and a gathering of suspicious relatives for the reading of the will, with lots of razor-sharp one-liners and glorious slapstick chaos, Robert and Gemma dig into the film's place not only in comedy history, but its many connections with classic horror cinema. Along the way, they discuss the legendary cast, and just why the film will make you yearn for a fish 'n' chips supper!So, as Friday Night is Horror Night, and today is the anniversary of the birth of Sid James, what better subject for Robert and Gemma to sink their teeth into.And if you enjoy this spirited chat about the film, we highly recommend you read the book. Well, Jonathan Coe's novel which is something sort of the same but very different! And wonderful.#GigglePod #WhatACarveUp #SidJames #KennethConnor #BritishComedy #ClassicComedy #ComedyPodcast #BritishCinema #VintageFilm #ComedyHistory #CarryOn #ComedyLegends #FilmPodcast #CultCinema #RetroComedy

The guys listen to audio from some of the rookies at Ravens rookie minicamp.

The Sunday Continuous Call Team goes through The Carve Up for this weekend.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nurses Report on America Out Loud with Ashley Caputo, RN, FMP – This episode of The Nurses Report explores how Pharmacy Benefit Managers shape access to medications, often leading to delays and denials. It examines carve-outs, ERISA limits, and real patient impacts while highlighting the growing need for transparency, advocacy, and patient-centered decision-making in today's healthcare system...

Master the Microsoft co-sell evolution today. Subscribe to our Newsletter:https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/Check Out UPX:https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ In this deep-dive panel discussion, industry experts Erin Figer, Erika Irby, and Reis Barrie celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Microsoft Co-Sell program by dissecting its evolution from its 2016 inception to today's data-driven, outcome-focused landscape. The group explores the critical shift from transactional sales to modern, frictionless co-sell motions, emphasizing the importance of signals, intentionality, and building credibility with Microsoft field teams. Whether you are navigating the complexities of the marketplace, struggling with reseller enablement, or looking to integrate AI into your sales process, this conversation offers actionable insights to align your organization's go-to-market strategy with Microsoft's evolving priorities and achieve results. https://youtu.be/KV1MGSoyWbQ Key Takeaways Effective co-selling has shifted from autonomous, fragmented motions to a highly collaborative, data-driven approach essential for modern cloud GTM strategies. Credibility is the currency of partnership; without trust from vendors and customers, technical go-to-market motions will fail to produce long-term outcomes. The “REO” (Reseller Enablement Offering) model is an operational unlock for ISVs to go global and sell local without the friction of multi-party private offers. Integrating AI into CRM systems is vital for identifying total addressable market (TAM) signals and maintaining sales velocity. “Don’t automate a bad process” remains the cardinal rule; technology should be used to refine existing, successful motions, not to propagate inefficient ones. The human element—community, in-person events, and empathy—is a necessary differentiator in an increasingly digital, automated B2B landscape. If you're ready to lead through change, elevate your business, and achieve extraordinary outcomes through the power of partnership—this is your community. At Ultimate Partner® we want leaders like you to join us in the Ultimate Partner Experience – where transformation begins. Key Tags Microsoft Azure, Co-sell evolution, Hyperscaler strategy, SMB partner investment, Cloud Marketplace, Veeam GTM, Partner Center alignment, Channel enablement, REO, Cloud consumption, ISV scaling, Go-to-market optimization, Partner-led growth, Azure consumption, Channel friction reduction, Outcome-driven sales, Microsoft ecosystem, Revenue acceleration, Partner alignment. Transcript Erin Figer Panel For Cut Out [00:00:00] Vince Menzione: So when we, so, uh, this all started ’cause I was trying to figure out what was next when I left Microsoft and I had this woman who was doing work, actually starting the co-selling process when we first started doing co-selling. And she was working with one of our partners and she was working with my team when I was at Microsoft. [00:00:17] And then I said, this lady knows a lot about this stuff. So I reached out, I left Microsoft, I said, I think we can help each other. Like, I think we’re gonna, I got these companies that I spoke at Microsoft’s conference. They’re like, can you come help us out? And we teamed up. And, uh, we’ve been friends and doing fun stuff ever since. [00:00:34] And she’s spoken at just about every event in some capacity or another, whether it was on stage or a workshop. Aaron Feiger. And then, uh, I, I found, I also, through Aaron, I met this other gentleman who had another company and he was doing amazing work with ISVs or SDCs, uh, Reese Barry from Carve. And then, uh, when I think we started up the event, I mean, Erica Irby came to one of our first events and spoke on stage. [00:00:58] I was like, yeah, this. The person knows what she’s doing. So I’ve asked the three of them to come up and kind of round out and end the day, but all three of ’em have a tremendous, uh, background in this whole process of co-selling go to market strategies. And I thought you, you can, I’m just giving it over to the three of you. [00:01:17] Erin Figer: I we don’t need [00:01:18] Vince Menzione: a, you don’t needer you don’t need a clicker and you, you know what you’re all gonna be talking about. But these are some really smart people about how to partner with Microsoft. So, yeah. No, thank you for having us. [00:01:27] Erin Figer: Um, hello. Hello. I think this is on. All right. So actually we’re gonna do an exercise. [00:01:32] Um, I want everyone to close their eyes. Close your eyes. Close your eyes. All right. I want you to think back to January of 2016. What were you doing? Where were you in your career? What company were you working for? What was going on in your Microsoft partnership in January of 2016? Okay, Erica, what was happening for you? [00:01:59] Erika Irby: So, uh, is this on? Sorry, I cannot tell. Um, I was at Veeam for the first time. We had just launched our first, uh, endpoint backup, uh, product in April of the previous year because nobody knew what cloud was yet, and people were scared. So we had to launch that product. And we had a relationship with Microsoft in a sense that about 20% of our business sat on Hyper V. [00:02:25] That equated to about, I think like around 90 ish million dollars, which at the time was incredible for us. But to Microsoft was, you know, like, who are you guys again? And, um, we begged and begged to have any type of communication with them. Events. Funding nothing. We did not know what Azure consumption was. [00:02:43] We didn’t have any of that information. And if somebody would’ve told me at that time that nine years later we would sign a five year contract with them and have multiple products dedicated to Microsoft, I would’ve been like, y’all are bananas. [00:02:58] Erin Figer: Reese, what were you doing in January of 2016? [00:03:00] Reis Barrie: Uh, let’s see, Jan, 2016, I was moving from Orlando, Florida to Seattle, Washington, uh, sight unseen with no place to stay. [00:03:10] Uh, to take a job at a place called Microsoft or Consulting Gig, a place called Microsoft. Um, kicking off some of the cool motions that we’re, uh, we’re gonna talk about today, I think. [00:03:20] Erin Figer: Does anybody know the significance of January, 2016 in the audience? Any takers? It was the launch of Cosell officially for Microsoft. [00:03:31] Congratulations. We’re celebrating 10 years of officially. Problematizing how you connect with the Microsoft sales organization in a programmatic at scale way. And try to build meaningful relationships. And I have been helping partners since the inception of Microsoft’s Cosell program. Um, I was on the partner side, Reese was on the inside. [00:03:59] You were at a partner. So we have all seen the evolution of Cosell across all three hyperscalers launching, you know, their co-sell initiatives. So I just wanted to take a moment to recognize. I didn’t know how many people realized that it’s been 10 years, it’s 10 year anniversary. I think it’s a big milestone. [00:04:15] Huge. So. Yeah. Yeah. Well, we, you know, when they launched it, I went, I was consulting for a startup outta Boston and we were trying to get Microsoft’s attention, competitor to fame, and I went to the business development guy and said, uh, do you, did you just see this program that Microsoft launched? I think we should include this in our branding strategy and we should use co-sell as a way to get our brand out to Microsoft and be able to tell our story of who we are and what we’re doing and that we’re in their accounts and they don’t even know it. [00:04:55] ’cause we’re the startup out of Boston who switched over from AWS to Microsoft. And we did, and I put every single opportunity in the system I could for the first six months, which was the last six months of their fiscal year. We go to partner of the, we go to, what was it called? Them WPCI think at the time. [00:05:13] Mm-hmm. Uh, in Vegas. And Nasuni won wins like all four wards worldwide. US Education, healthcare Partner of the year because I put 117 deals in the system and then it seeded Na Sunni’s Marketing for the next two years. ’cause Microsoft gave them tons of money and attention and we were off to the races. [00:05:35] Right. And then it was, can you repeat that? And we went and repeated it with Red Hat and Rubrik and Nintex and Quest and. I don’t know, lots more. But it was, it’s been fun journey co-selling. And it’s interesting to see now, um, how we continue 10 years later to evolve co-sell. And so Erica, what were some of the takeaways you had today listening to the conversation about how co-sell, how you’re modernizing and co-sell is changing inside your organization, especially now being a boomerang. [00:06:08] Erika Irby: Yeah, well we call it a Veeam ring ’cause everything a veer ring, everything has to start with with Veeam. Well, one thing I was gonna comment on, I think I’m sitting here thinking how wild is it that back in the day we actually had to define that co-sell was an action that, that, you know, partners and vendors needed to take or, and different vendors and alliances. [00:06:25] I mean, now we can’t even imagine going to market without, you know, that, that attach. But at the time, we were just very autonomous and everybody sold their own product and it, it took like this actual motion, um, to get us working together. But now look at us. I mean, this community is incredible. And we can also see this by, and even when AGU was mentioning earlier, all the bosses he had in his room, I mean. [00:06:47] How many people like know each other. I mean, this is like part of that, that ecosystem. But today, um, a couple of things I took away, and by the way, we want a lot of interactions, so we’re going to kind of throw it back out at you guys. But for me, um, outcomes came up repeatedly that was mentioned multiple times about outcomes. [00:07:04] Um, speed with intentionality. I think that was super critical. We have to go to market. There has to be a sense of urgency, but if we’re not intentional, it’s like, what are we doing? It’s just like a big mess. Um, and then credibility. And this is something I think is super important, regardless of, um, all of our emotions, all of our go to market, all of the, the things that we do, if we are not credible or not building trust with our vendors, our, our co-partners, our customers, we will never be successful. [00:07:35] Um, so those are the three main things that I took away from, from everybody talking today. And I, I thought, I mean, to me personally, I thought those were pretty powerful. [00:07:42] Yeah. [00:07:42] Erika Irby: So we’d love to hear. [00:07:43] Erin Figer: Yeah. And I know Reese, you have been doing a lot around outcomes and changing kind of the cosal, um, intention. [00:07:54] Reis Barrie: Yeah. The, uh, the, just thinking back to today, like that was like such a, it was really a, a big key theme of today. Like everyone talked about, whether it’s pivot of, of sales, partnership, um, even when you’re talking about AI and some of the, the, uh. POC discussions. So the live like type of stuff, everything was centered around that narrative. [00:08:17] And so, um, and it’s the same with, it’s the same with partnerships. It’s the same with your co-sell motion, same with your benefits utilization, um, and the way you’re utilizing partnerships. And so that’s, that’s a huge, huge component of, um, what I also took away from today. Um, and then somebody, I think it was Mark who said it that I’m gonna, I’m gonna steal this because the, the whole, um. [00:08:40] Near and dear to my heart of like, don’t, don’t scale automate ai, A-I-F-I-A bad process. Like as someone who deals with like, for the most part, bad processes, like day in and day out, um, and trying to refine them and improve them. Like, that’s one of the first things that we, uh, that we talk to partners about when it comes to their partnership and, and the processes they have in place. [00:09:03] So those are like two really big, just takeaways from [00:09:06] Erin Figer: Yeah. Nice. So we’re here to learn from each other, right? Like this is an ultimate partner community of learning from each other. So I’d really love to hear from the audience, like what are some of the things you’re doing in your cloud? Go to market approach and co-selling that you’re trying out. [00:09:23] Either you tried it, you failed fast, you learned from that, that you can share those lessons learned or like what’s working and how are you changing to be more outcome driven in your cloud go to market, uh, approach. Any takers in wanting to experience share? Great. Give that man a mic. [00:09:50] Audience Member: The SMB investments. Um, these, these new, I don’t know what they are. I partner accelerators, PBAs, uh, there’s kind of something going on in the SMB space where it just seems like they’re coming outta the woodwork to come help. On deals. I’ve never seen Microsoft really embrace the customer that they, the way they have in SMB in the cos sells. [00:10:10] I’m not sure if anybody else is seen that, but seems to be working. It’s two things. One, you at Data 60 [00:10:22] America. [00:10:54] I think, I think part of the rarity there is that. Typically you wouldn’t get a seller attached, right? They’re unmanaged that they’re kind of in the nobody cares category, but, [00:11:06] um. So Microsoft made a huge investment in the distribution space saying we’re gonna lean on distribution to help enable our 165,000 indirect resellers that we have as a business. And part of that enablement goes back to field sales alignment. So there’s these roles, ca roles called um, partner Solutions Sellers, PS. [00:11:30] And so they’re aligned by, um, solutions architecture, if you will, for Microsoft. So, or cloud solution area, whatever the new term, modern work, uh, or, uh, AI work, AI workforce, um, data and ai. And so they are there to help support your deal. So it’s, it’s a huge investment and one that I would just can say continue to advocate for it if you’re seeing success with it, because I mean, we’re heading into FY 27 planning for Microsoft. [00:11:58] So. Like there, there could be role changes. So I would say if it, if it’s helpful, like make sure you’re talking positively about it. [00:12:05] Reis Barrie: Yeah, yeah. Just to, to your point, like I, I’d say like, um, in the last six to 12 months, like that’s been a, a thing that’s like we’ve to go back and like, I mean we manage a portfolio of a couple dozen, dozen partners at this point, and so we’ve had to go back and rewrite some of our playbooks, reeducate some of. [00:12:26] Uh, some of the partnership folks that we use because, um, historically you kind of get into this like void of, you’re in partner center, you’re picking, you know, account alignment and it’s not managed. And so it’s like, okay, I expect to do nothing with this deal on the Microsoft side from a co-sell standpoint. [00:12:42] Um, but that’s kind of, that’s changed quite a bit, um, in the last six months where, um, it’s not like a, it’s hard to create, it’s hard to create processes and dependence around it ’cause it’s not like a guarantee that you’ll get, you get engagement, but. Uh, you see more eng engagement, more on more and more deals. [00:12:58] Um, and so we’ve had to go back and work with some of our partners to rewrite some of our, uh, deal sharing playbooks to account for, uh, things like that, which is, it’s super cool to see, frankly, um, to see engagement on these, like predominantly. [00:13:12] Erin Figer: So in that motion. So first off, for the folks that are on the other side of this black curtain by the food station, if you guys could please stop the conversation. [00:13:19] It’s really hard to pay attention to what’s going on in this room. Um. Thank you. Thank [00:13:25] Erika Irby: you for saying that. [00:13:26] Erin Figer: That was a great, that was a great, that’s a great point. And what I wanna talk about next is like in order to kind of continue to evolve the playbooks and they’re changing and people are changing, and priorities are changing, what are some of the signals that you guys are using internally in your organization, whether you’re building or buying, um, but would love to learn from all of you. [00:13:46] What kind of signals are you looking at to help you continue to like co-innovate, co-sell, co-market? Um, in your go-to market strategies? [00:13:58] Audience Member: Yeah, [00:13:58] Erin Figer: please. Um, [00:14:00] Audience Member: well, I’m, I’m, we’re building everything from scratch right now because we’re brand is integration. [00:14:39] Like having our, our engineer be able to interact with product [00:14:43] Erin Figer: engineer. [00:14:50] I’m gonna pick on trend ’cause I had just spent last week with them and Sanjay, I think like what you guys are building internally, um, using signals, building it into an AI agent. To help you understand your tam, you wanna share a little bit. [00:15:06] Audience Member: Happy to, and I’ll disclose. The first thing I did was hire Aaron Feiger to run my co-sell operations, uh, for the, for the second time. [00:15:12] It’s [00:15:13] Erin Figer: nice to be a GDI again [00:15:14] Audience Member: for the second, so well planted. Um, but honestly, like I can’t have an environment where I fail my sellers, like this process has to be frictionless in co-sell and marketplace operations. Or I lose trust in my own house, let alone in my channel and in my customer base. So. Uh, building that strong foundation is like job number one. [00:15:34] I’ve been, I spent a decade at Trend. I’m back, uh, five weeks on the job now. Um, but I’d say we’ve built a multi hundred million dollar cloud marketplace business thinking highly transactional. And what we’re trying to pivot to is a highly dated driven approach where we can look at any cloud in any region around the world, figure out roughly how many accounts they have. [00:15:57] Figure out what those customers are spending and things that we can protect from a cybersecurity standpoint, knowing that four or 5% of that total spend will be spent on cybersecurity, doing an overlap of where I have existing customers in that drawing a tam, overlapping that with my incumbent partners to get the Venn diagram of like, where’s my sweet spot to move this forward? [00:16:18] And then where’s my blast radius? So when I sit down with a guy leading France, or a person leading healthcare. I can have a really specific opportunity about how to leverage my cloud partnerships to accelerate deals and expand growth in a very surgical, data-driven, propensity driven way. And it like totally changes the conversation. [00:16:40] And the other thing we’ve done because you get a lot of pushback and when you’re working with Microsoft, uh, I was chatting with a few folks today, like if you’re in cybersecurity, it’s not easy. They got a 25 billion ish dollars cybersecurity business. So you gotta find your swim lanes. And the dialogue I have now internally with my sellers is a major League baseball analogy, which is, if you play major league baseball and if you hit the ball 30% of the time, you’re gonna go to this little thing called the Hall of Fame, right? [00:17:07] If you bat 300, if you’re in sales and Microsoft, or Amazon or whoever helps you, 30% of the time, you’re gonna go to this thing called President’s Club. That’s the difference between sitting at home in Ohio and sitting with your beach. You know, your, your toes in the sand. So it’s, we’re really trying to change. [00:17:25] Uh, one of the first things I ask my team is, what’s our brand promise to our sales leaders and our sales team? And if you don’t know that answer, you got a fricking problem. So you gotta get that. What’s your Brene Brown would call it? What’s your North Star? What are your values? Whatcha are you gonna deliver? [00:17:38] Right? So you gotta get that right and then you gotta be relentless in making it frictionless. And then you gotta hire Aaron Fier to run your co-sell. [00:17:46] Erin Figer: Okay? Okay. And so, I mean, I think like that’s a trend that I’m seeing across the partners that I’ve been working with is how they’re using data and doing more data driven, um, decision making and getting to their TAM faster so that as they start to then look at this pathway of, okay, now I’m trying to go to market, what. [00:18:11] Programs does Microsoft have or my other partners have that I can use to move me down that path faster. But getting that tam and feeling more confident about it, like, this is the group, this is the subgroup that I’m gonna start with until I see something that says, oh, I need to deviate and do something different. [00:18:30] Um, so I’m definitely seeing that trend. Like what are you seeing, uh, what are you guys doing at Vem? [00:18:35] Erika Irby: Um, so a couple different things. So like you were saying, we, we do leverage, um, AI more, uh, recently for New Deal Reg, um, automation. And we lit, literally just launched it this week. So this is the week that it’s exciting until the, someone tries to use it for the first time and then for. [00:18:52] Um, so I can’t wait to see my emails later, but, um, it, it’s, we’re seeing like that, that that movement, which is, uh, definitely good for that. We have a task force internally for marketing, so trying to figure out how we’re gonna, um, you know, leverage that, uh, um, internally. And I think that Veeam, you know, they, they have been on the forefront of technology for, for a while. [00:19:12] You know, they were the first with the. Virtual backup and, you know, all these things, you know, really trying to be ahead of the thing, ahead of the game. But, um, one thing I, I, I love how many people brought up the intentionality and the mindfulness because I think sometimes we can easily. Put out a whole bunch of tools. [00:19:28] I love that you called out the point about the bad processes, um, because it actually, I think, can just create more confusion, more of a mess, and that, um, really mindfulness will be so much more beneficial, you know, down the road for your partners, for your customers, for everybody that has to, you know, do that interaction business with you. [00:19:47] I did wanna call out that I thought it was lovely that you had a positive comment about Microsoft. I dunno if I, [00:19:53] Audience Member: yeah, [00:19:53] Erika Irby: I like rarely hear that. So like, awesome. I hope that does get back to Microsoft. I hope that they do, um, continue that. I’m sure their SMB is quite a bit bigger than maybe others, but that is a massive install base for, for Veeam as well. [00:20:07] And even though we’re driving and trying to push into the enterprise, protecting that install base is just absolutely critical for success. [00:20:15] Erin Figer: What about you race? [00:20:17] Reis Barrie: So if I’m looking at like signals, I, I think. Uh, I’ll focus on too, I think you mentioned, uh, the, the cycles of change at Microsoft. Like it used to be an annual thing and now it’s like a, then it was a half base thing, and then it was a, now it’s a quarterly thing basically. [00:20:30] Um, but there’s also like, there’s, there’s big signals and small signals, and so annually we still get like that, like the, the, the guiding direction so that we can align. How we talk about ourselves, how we talk about our partnership, how, how we enable our sellers and whatnot. And then we got a lot of programmatic shifts from a, from a quarter to quarter standpoint. [00:20:50] Um, and so focusing on the, like these, um, these signals so we can align our, our messaging and our frameworks to align with, with, with our partnership, um, is, is one thing that’s, you know, super, super important to keep, keep tabs on. Um, and the second one, I’ll, I’ll give, you’ll. Mention is more on the cus sorry, uh, customer side, but like the seller enablement. [00:21:15] And so how is your, on the marketplace side, how, how are your sellers talking to your customers about marketplace? Um, are they, are they bringing up earlier in the, in the qualifying discussions of how does the customer prefer to buy? Um, are there fire drills with two weeks to go, um, till the, till the deal closes and now the customer wants to go marketplace and, and no one knows how to do it? [00:21:37] Um, seen that way too many times. Um, and so, but how, how, like studying kind of the, uh, maturity of our sales org to see well, like where, where, where is our, our, where are our sellers competent to have this marketplace discussion? Um, because I often relate, like, this is kinda a silly analogy, but I, I, simple stuff works really, really well with me. [00:22:00] But I like, have you ever been to a farmer’s market and you’re like nervous to buy something? ’cause you don’t know if they take credit card. [00:22:07] Audience Member: Yeah. [00:22:07] Reis Barrie: And so like to me, I’m like, okay, well, like it’s the same thing with Marketplace to me. And so like, it’s, it’s the same concept of you want your customer to be able to buy, they want the way that they would like to buy. [00:22:19] Um, and you want the person that they’re interacting with to be able to, um, facilitate that, that transaction in, in a way that feels frictionless. Yeah. Right. Uh, and so that’s a lot. Like, those are the kind of, the really two deep signals, um, that we, we look at a lot. [00:22:37] Erika Irby: I wanna make a comment on the marketplace. [00:22:38] So I don’t know if anybody else is experiencing this, you know, Veeam being an ISV, we have a really strong traditional, traditional channel motion. So, to your point about how sellers are, are managing the marketplace, to be totally honest, we struggle on, um, that, because right now it feels like a deal that goes to the marketplace is taken away from a reseller, and that reseller loses out then on that upfront margin and. [00:23:06] Um, there’s not a clean path necessarily for, you know, just because the, the deal happened there. They really, they still need to maintain that because they’re the one pri providing the services. And somebody had brought up earlier that, um, A SMB customer will never be successful without a partner. And I, I totally agree with that, but it’s like that part is missing. [00:23:26] So we almost need like a mindset change. In the channel where the marketplace is just a route to market and how the customer receives the product. It shouldn’t totally matter because at the end of the day, the, they still have to provide the services. It’s like, I could go to Home Depot and purchase a bunch of pipe for my house, but can I install it a thousand percent? [00:23:49] No. I would destroy my house. I used to have to have a plumber. So I think there’s, we could help our channel by changing that mindset, and at the same time, we, we need the marketplace owners to, to provide the benefits so that it is still very attractive for those traditional. Partners to, to push their customers there or else I, I think we’re just gonna constantly have that strife. [00:24:11] Erin Figer: Yeah. Does anyone in the audience, has anyone in the audience activated REO with Microsoft? You have? Yeah. So how’s it, like, how’s it going? Yeah, there’s Bump. Yeah. [00:24:32] Audience Member: How that shifts making people more effective in their roles individually. So we’re early stage of it, but it’s, it’s been a good experience. [00:24:42] Erin Figer: Has it helped to kind of unlock some of that friction with the resellers and continuing to include them to get to the s and b customers? [00:24:49] Audience Member: Yeah, I think the, the challenge that we’re working through right now is, you know, Erica may have said it, but it’s. [00:24:56] It’s not just the, the view of the marketplace taking people out of the equation, it’s how do we use the marketplace for, for co-innovation to keep people in it. So if, if, if it’s gonna take three to five of, of us in this room to deliver that spectrum to innovation for the customer. Um, how do we use the marketplace as a force multiplier of bringing that together and making that transaction easy? [00:25:21] Yeah. If, if our consumers are more and more influenced by Instagram and TikTok Shop Now buttons, like my husband’s texting me about my stuff that showed up today, [00:25:31] Erika Irby: which is none of his business. [00:25:32] Audience Member: None of your business. That’s right. Just put it [00:25:36] Erika Irby: in my room. Thank you. [00:25:37] Audience Member: If people are, people as consumers in the, in the u, us consumer based economy is driving more and more people through like that social experience of purchasing, that is an area where I do think Microsoft could help us and we could help ourselves in marketing how that, how we leverage it to be a force multiplier versus another omnichannel. [00:25:58] Well, [00:25:58] Erin Figer: so on that note, how many of you have put a button on your website? Click to buy? Yeah, [00:26:02] Audience Member: that’s, that’s where I’m at with our marketing team. [00:26:04] Erin Figer: Right? [00:26:04] Audience Member: Yeah. That’s, I think, the next evolution for us in the, in the REO piece. [00:26:08] Erin Figer: Yeah. Yeah. [00:26:10] Audience Member: I, I don’t want it on our website. I want to, I want it on my Instagram, my LinkedIn, my TikTok reels. [00:26:15] That’s, we’re going to, sir, it’s coming next week at our sales kickoff. Yeah. [00:26:21] Erin Figer: Nice, nice. Anybody else? Uh, activated. REO [00:26:28] besides the, you know, RE speed wagon? Uh, it’s the Microsoft Reseller Enablement. Um, offering, so like you activate your resellers to just take your listing and be able to do a private offer so that you don’t have to do multi-party private offers anymore. Your resellers can just take the listing and sell it directly, and they don’t have to wait for you to send them the offer. [00:26:52] Then they have to go do, so it takes out some of the steps and that friction in the process streamlines it and it allows them to like. Add on and do their own pricing. And then the reseller, however you have your arrangement with that reseller, continues to pay you in the back end for, um, selling that through the marketplace. [00:27:11] Erika Irby: I think I’m going to have you come and do a webinar for our Veeam partners to, to help them with that, because to your point, I don’t, I don’t think it’s as prevalent yet. It’s, it hasn’t really caught on. [00:27:21] Erin Figer: Yeah. It’s been really an unlock of, I had a large, um, ISV that I helped. We implemented REO internally, so they have 34 marketplace offerings and they have this initiative. [00:27:36] They wanted to go global, sell local, and so they launched five more publishing accounts and they came to me and said, we need to replicate our catalog five times 34. And I was like, oh God, please, no. And luckily like two months later, Microsoft, like GAed, uh, REO, and I was like, here’s your answer. We’re not going to do that. [00:27:58] We’re going to enable each of your publishing accounts to be resellers of your quote unquote gold standard publishing account, and that we actually implemented REO as an internal mechanism for them to issue their own publishing accounts, to resell private offers in local currencies. Um, and that was really an operational unlock for them. [00:28:25] All right. Anybody you wanna ask a question to the audience? [00:28:29] Audience Member: Okay. I’ll just keep going. [00:28:32] Erin Figer: Um, all right. So what are some other, um, signals or ways that you guys are evolving the way you’re co-selling? Um, does anybody else have some experience shares that they want to, to share with the audience? We’ve got, we’re using data, uh, we’re using some ai, we’re helping us get to our audience faster. [00:28:51] I really loved work span, um, building in an AI tool inside your CRM system, um, so that you can get some of those signals. Any other signals that you guys are using, uh, to change the way you’re co-selling? [00:29:07] It’s quiet on [00:29:07] Reis Barrie: Maybe, maybe I’ll share one, but Yeah. Yeah. So, um, just when it comes to, like, for us, account alignment to me is like one of the most important things and consistently doing, uh, you know, account planning and account alignment against Microsoft their accounts. Um, now it’s a bit interesting ’cause you can include some s and b stuff in there. [00:29:27] Um, but also, uh, Jason you mentioned up there, the. Uh, marketplace rewards, having the propensity mapping. And so looking at not only from an account alignment, um, what Microsoft accounts are, we, um, you know, areas are we most penetrated in, but also of those accounts, which ones are already buying on marketplace. [00:29:47] Uh, maybe have a commitment to Microsoft in, in some way to help us just further, uh, further target and focus on, you know, if we have 500 opportunities that we’re trying to, um. I’m trying to work through, um, to Sanjay’s point, like what’s, what’s the 30% that I’m gonna get my batting average on? Um, and so that constant account alignment to us is like a, is a huge, huge signal, um, for us to focus on. [00:30:14] Um, and then you can even take it a layer deeper to identify, okay, well if I’m looking like, do I have density within Nina had the, the ou up here on the screen. So do I have densities with density within like specific. Uh, verticals or regions, um, or segments that I should maybe if I just focused on that one segment or one vertical, um, you know, then all of a sudden I, I’m super successful having an executive sponsorship in that, uh, in that ou, something like that. [00:30:44] Um, and, but that, that’s all starting with, um, the foundations of that being that consistent account alignment and leveraging some of the, some of the propensity stuff that Microsoft is, is providing. [00:30:56] Erin Figer: And then making sure you’re like bringing it back into your CRM and storing it so that you can continue to use that information ongoing. [00:31:03] And we’re trying to figure out how to embed more and more. [00:31:37] And are you integrating like. Microsoft and other partners into that data as well. It’s like, this is a great partner. Incorporate them at this point in the journey. Yeah, we um. [00:31:50] When [00:31:50] Audience Member: you’re in the process with, with Microsoft, we haven’t opened it up externally, so that’s our crawl, walk, run is we’re, we’re trying this out internally. Let’s see if we can work the bugs out, get the agents working, and then how do we now go to our MSP community and offer this up as an agent they can use within their sales team. [00:32:08] And on the end of. We’re still working in the middle, but front end profiling, it’s helping a ton, um, and giving us a lot of good intel that the sellers are driving through the agent on the back end. It’s, it’s giving us not, um, just propensity data, but what’s resonating. So if we launched 12 products this year and we trained sellers on. [00:32:28] What’s hitting, where’s my pipeline velocity coming from? Where’s my close rate coming from? So that every month when we have our sales town hall, it’s like, here’s the top three sales motions that are actually driving pipeline and fast to cash close rates. [00:32:42] Erin Figer: And I gotta imagine that helps you get to your differentiators. [00:32:45] Audience Member: Oh [00:32:45] Erin Figer: yeah. And refining your superpower story. [00:32:48] Audience Member: That’s right. That’s. Yeah, because it’s for, for our sales team. I mean, we were talking about it earlier, it’s all about simplification. There’s so many options, so much noise. It’s like, just go focus on these three things and this is where you’re gonna deliver impact and outcomes to your customer. [00:33:01] And if we’re doing that, we’re all winning. [00:33:03] Erika Irby: Yeah. I, I, um, just recently, this is why one of the coolest things that Veeam has done, we just launched this tool called, um, expansion iq, and it’s part of our command, the expand motion this year where we’re really. Upselling and cross-selling our, um, install base. [00:33:17] This tool takes all the partners individual propensity data, puts it against four solution plays that we think are the main plays, and then provides them, this is what you could be earning if you took this motion. And then from a marketing perspective, we provide them. And to do this, here’s your campaign. [00:33:37] Here’s your this, here’s your that. Step one, send this email. Like very, very, you know, just, uh, planned out. And I loved what Nina said earlier today when she shared that, um, org chart. Essentially with all the different, um, industry focuses we are driving. One of our go to market actions is a Microsoft healthcare campaign. [00:33:56] That is like very, very specific, but it’s helping our partners in that manner. Could they go to their own database and pull their own and do all this stuff? Of course. But for our sellers to go blink and then give them a report and be like, here it is. It makes it so much more relevant. And then the steps just, they just hand that to their marketing org and then they’re just off and running. [00:34:18] Going back into your team to say, Hey, we rolled out these 12 things, only three landing. You gotta go back to the drawing on the other side. Or We need more money for these three. Yeah, but let’s figure what’s not with customer [00:34:38] to record the. [00:34:47] Audience Member: A better, faster, uh, listening post for, uh, can I talk really loud? Um, it’s, it’s, it’s helped turning on a listening post for our engineering, our marketing, our service delivery organization that would’ve taken months or quarters to get spun up in an executive board meeting or something. Right now they get it real time every week. [00:35:09] Okay. [00:35:09] Erin Figer: So what I’m hearing, like the theme here is to really like. Understand your sales process. Also, your co-sell sales process that runs in parallel with that. And how do you continue to serve up the right data at the right time to help your people take the right next action to continue to drive those outcomes that you’re looking for, but then also using data to circle it back, to say what’s working, what’s not working, to continue to refine that whole motion. [00:35:43] Um, so if you’re not doing that, I think that’s a big aha moment and takeaway, uh, from today’s session or from here today is like, okay, am I really identifying all the opportunities in my process to involve data to help my people continue to drive outcomes? [00:36:04] Audience Member: You [00:36:04] Erin Figer: have a, [00:36:05] Audience Member: you have your head in up back there, Gary. [00:36:06] Yeah. I, I couldn’t tell if, uh, you were prompting me when you asked that question and I, I didn’t want to, you know, do a shameless plug for cloud, but I think everybody [00:36:15] Erin Figer: should shamelessly plug, plug away. [00:36:16] Audience Member: Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know, you brought up a mitt and, uh, the co-sell thing, but it, it does relate to what Reese had said about, um, you know, the being at the farmer’s market and. [00:36:26] Not sure what, you know, can I use a credit card or not? And I think that, um, or [00:36:30] Erin Figer: can I use Apple Pay? I still ask. I’m like, do you, do you accept Apple Pay? [00:36:32] Audience Member: Oh, yeah. Yeah. So it’s like, I think, uh, a lot of times you don’t understand the seller in that situation is not sure how to handle that conversation. So, and there’s not a lot of information about their, about that. [00:36:44] Like how to, when it comes to a seller talking about marketplace and asking about the commit. Because the commit obviously is one of the main drivers, right? 900 billion out there. And committed spend across all the hyperscalers. So how to actually bring that up with a customer and what if they don’t know, right? [00:37:05] So there’s a whole process that, you know, they, they need to be taught this. But the first thing that’s also come up multiple times is activating them also means how to engage them. So an approach there of how to engage your salespeople is critical because if salespeople aren’t in it, they’re nothing’s happening. [00:37:23] You’re not gonna do well with marketplace. And on the co-sell part, it’s kinda the same thing. The typical thing, and I remember talking to Aldo Desal about this at another Ultimate Partner event, but uh, you bring your salespeople into a call, like you set up a call with, with Microsoft and the seller comes in unprepared. [00:37:42] Typically they’re not sure what to say and it’s a little bit intimidating. How, how, how do I, you know, what do you do in this situation? Like, so you start talking about product ’cause that’s what you know, and it’s the last thing you want to do. You, you want to understand what they care about, like em stage and, and, uh, what’s your consumption story and what kind of MRR impact you’re gonna have. [00:38:03] So it’s, these things are just unusual topics for the salespeople to be prepared, uh, to talk about. But it’s critical if your salespeople are gonna be enabled that they can do that. So I think from a co-selling standpoint, that’s just what I want to mention. And by the way, we offered a tool that does that. [00:38:20] Erin Figer: Nice. Awesome. Thank you. Uh, I mean, I don’t know about you. Reese Cloud Atlas. Every time we helped an ISV with their cosell motion, we would say, okay, we’re ready to go share cos sells and drive introductions. Have you done your sales enablement? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. We’ve enabled the sellers we have, and then we launch like the first batch of cos sells and then they immediately come back. [00:38:43] Stop, stop, stop. Don’t share any more deals, like we’re causing too much confusion. Uh, we didn’t do our sales enablement. Wow. Grace, [00:38:52] Reis Barrie: I mean, sound [00:38:53] Erin Figer: familiar? [00:38:53] Reis Barrie: It sounds very familiar. It sounds too familiar. Uh, P-T-S-D-A little bit there, but the, uh, sorry, [00:38:58] Erika Irby: but that’s why you guys have jobs. [00:39:00] Reis Barrie: Yes. Go on. It’s, it’s, um, but this, you know, I, I always come back to the, the concept of like, if we showed up to a Microsoft co-sell call the way we do to a customer call, like, oh. [00:39:14] Erin Figer: It, [00:39:14] Reis Barrie: it would, it would be night and day difference of the value you’d get outta your Microsoft partnership and co-sell. That’s all. It’s [00:39:20] Erin Figer: Well, [00:39:20] Reis Barrie: but I think people [00:39:21] Erin Figer: forget Microsoft is your customer too. [00:39:23] Reis Barrie: Yeah. [00:39:23] Erin Figer: They’re your partner, but you have to sell to before you can sell with and through. So you first gotta like master the sell to. [00:39:30] Reis Barrie: Yeah, a hundred percent. So there, there’s there like, and then to your point, [00:39:34] Erin Figer: it’s still true. 10 years later, people, it’s still true. Back to the fundamentals, right? [00:39:39] Reis Barrie: Yeah. It’s, [00:39:40] Erin Figer: yes. Go for it. [00:39:44] Audience Member: The, um, Microsoft being customer, right? So, and I love what you said about sem uh, alignment. So we actually made it a point, um, in our co-sell process, we have a validation checkpoint with Microsoft. If we build a co-sell packages, um, we are an si We’re not primarily ISV, but I think that’s shifting as well gradually. [00:40:10] And ESI kind of becoming a little bit of ISV. Um, so why it’s important, I think like Ree said, like you come up, you show up to co-sell call and you just pitch your services or say, well, let’s do account planning with this and that. Right? But what if it doesn’t work in the field? So that validation became critical for us, and I can tell you that now we have success stories that are actually proven based on that multifaceted feedback, uh, as to it’s one thing to build it. [00:40:46] Yeah. But is it useful for seller, for Microsoft sellers actually in the field? Can they actually position it and help clients to be more successful? Because that’s the ultimate goal. So that validation became, uh, an important checkpoint for us, uh, to make those packages repeatable and successful for customers at the end of the day. [00:41:06] So when we talk about signals, you absolutely right. It’s not just customer signals like we use ZoomInfo, we use all this data points, et cetera, but it’s also signals from the field because while Microsoft is a huge organization, they’re also very dynamic. On very regular basis, a lot of things changed. So taking those signals into account, uh, has created that, what we call like, more of a holistic approach for us, uh, to make it more meaningful. [00:41:33] So [00:41:34] Erin Figer: I like it. And you made it sticky by making it like a required point in the sales process? Absolutely. That everyone stops. Take a moment. [00:41:41] Audience Member: Yeah. [00:41:41] Erin Figer: And make sure that we’re all on the same page. [00:41:43] Audience Member: Yeah. And I think for us as si it’s even more critical. Like I, I, I think there is a lot more to happen in marketplace as, as, as much as we talk about it, but being in si I, we still kind of figure it out, like how Mark marketplace actually becomes a place of transaction for a size. [00:42:01] Yeah. So that’s why, you know, we’re passionate about packages and it’s not just a matter of publishing it and say, oh, it’s co-sell ready? Then what? Yeah. Right. So yeah, so, so that’s why that, that checkpoint is very important for us. So [00:42:16] Erin Figer: definitely, definitely. I think you ladies over here in the corner had some, some hands up, Michelle and, and the other Michelle, Michelle Squared. [00:42:26] Audience Member: Thank you. Michelle Squared. I like it. Um, so. I’ve been a little quiet because I wanna just give my background. So I’m a global VP of channels and alliances and, um, I think it’s a bit of this, uh, the movement, right? So I love your farmer’s market analogy so much. I’m gonna steal that. Thank you. But the reason is because you don’t know unless you’re gonna meet your partners where you are or meet your customers where they are in that journey. [00:42:53] So the first time that they’re selling whatever their goods or wares are, and somebody says, do you take Apple Pay? That’s a clue. And then when you hear it over and over again, you realize there’s a correlation that there’s a need in the market. So in In my life, all roads read to Romes, right? Reseller and VARs, OEM, alliances, MSPs, MSPs, ISVs System integrators. [00:43:17] And as a partner leader, you wouldn’t necessarily think marketplace is first because you feel like you’re going around your partners. But am I meeting my partners where they are in their journey and choosing to procure the way they want to procure? And I think that’s the notion that I have a lot of learning from this team and everyone in this room to understand how do we in a company. [00:43:38] Prescribe the right solution to, to meet our partners in that journey. And I’ll use, kind of circling back to the MSP space, PAX eight, one of Microsoft’s largest partners created a marketplace dedicated to MSPs. And while I was the global Channel chief of SonicWall, a lot of partners said to me, I like you. [00:43:56] I like your products, I like your firewall, but unless you’re on the park, PAX eight Marketplace, I’m not gonna buy from you because they make my life frictionless. And easier to do business with. And I think that’s the motion that every vendor in this room needs to understand is, are we truly meeting our partners where they are? [00:44:14] PS I work for Carrero DDoS Solutions and come to talk to me about that. Thank you. [00:44:18] Erika Irby: Well, and a Guo owes you some money for that commercial right there. [00:44:30] Audience Member: From, we’re actually community first. Um, as an MSP, even though we’re national, like we really focus in on community local touch. Um. Like you said, um, um, Southern seldom me in a southern way. Like that’s what we focus on. I’m your [00:44:45] Erin Figer: huckleberry. [00:44:46] Audience Member: I love that. Exactly. Um, and we’re seeing a ton of success with actual in-person events now. [00:44:53] Like the majority of our business is come in, leads are coming from that right now. And even though, like I, I truly believe in digital first motions, we need to be on Instagram and have that self-serve motion as the next generation comes up in our. Buying and transitioning to their kids or whatever that looks like. [00:45:14] Like we have to remember that there’s also a trend of tactile in person people first coming with it. And so like we, I, I feel like there, there has to be that motion engaged and I would love to hear your thoughts around how are vendors thinking about engaging in that community driven approach, not just the platform itself. [00:45:37] Erika Irby: Yeah, I, I personally also, this is hilarious ’cause we’re like best friends, so we can talk about this later, but, um, from a Veeam perspective, Michelle, um, we are seeing a resurgence in like these thought leadership type of events. And I think there’s, this is, this is sort of related, but just to, this is kind of how I think about this. [00:45:57] Um, Barnes and Noble’s business has like gone through the roof lately, and they are, they’re actually like opening more stores, which is bananas because at one point they were like going outta business because nobody wanted to go and like, touch a book or talk to somebody. But that is changing, thank God. [00:46:11] Right? That is like changing and people are actually like becoming more social because they’re missing this. Um, my kids’ generation refers to places like Barnes and Nobles as the third place. Like this magical place that exists where you can talk to a real human that’s not on your phone. Like it’s, it’s amazing. [00:46:28] But anyways, we’re, I think we’re starting to see this in marketing. We used to like pump everything out digitally, but after a while people get that form and they’re like, I am not putting my dang information in this form. And then your ability to capture that lead completely dissipates. All it is, is, is now an impression, which is. [00:46:47] Fairly worthless. You can have millions of them and nothing happens. So we are definitely investing more into, um, uh, live events, but also with the live streaming because then people can, they’re still watching it live. They still have to register for it. They knew they couldn’t make it. So I think that there’s definitely that digital aspect that’s super helpful. [00:47:05] But a purely digital, you will never make that connection. [00:47:10] Erin Figer: Yeah, I mean, I think. Unfortunately, COVID made us, you know, all do things digitally. But now that we’re past that, getting back to that multifaceted approach, I think if we think about what’s going on in the B2C world, lots of communities within communities, there’s whole company’s getting created, like women are bringing women together to do craft circles. [00:47:37] And literally. Okay. But like I did that digitally. That was pretty awesome. I was like three years. That shameless plug. No, I, no. But like then now there’s like companies that are actually like renting space, bringing people together, like crafting and while they’re doing the activity, um, if anyone’s ever done therapy, a therapist will say. [00:48:01] You know, if you wanna get your kids talking, get them coloring, like distract them and they will start to open up. And so you distract people with an activity and they start to open up. And what they really are, thrive, like what they really need is in this digital world where we’re getting so much information, we still need. [00:48:22] The next layer of filter to help us vet out and validate and confirm like our thinking or like our suspicions on things like, am I in the right going down the right path? Is this the right direction? So there’s still a human element that needs to be involved in that buyer journey, and you’re seeing that with these little micro communities inside communities. [00:48:45] Um, and so I’ve. I mean, I love micro communities inside of bigger communities. I’ve started two of them, three of them. So I, it definitely, like, we need still that in person, uh, interaction and I love seeing it coming back in our space. [00:49:04] Erika Irby: I, I was just thinking about ear, the, the previous panel and the, the topic came up about who can assist partners as they transition from that direct to CSP motion. [00:49:15] And I mean, yes, it, I think Microsoft plays a role there, but I think it would behoove Microsoft to invest in these communities and they would enable that change. Yeah, [00:49:26] Erin Figer: yeah, yeah. There is a person inside of Microsoft who has that remit, but she’s like one person, one person trying to do that. I was like, wow. [00:49:36] Okay. Grace, what are you seeing amongst your partners and also your perspective with working with Microsoft? [00:49:42] Reis Barrie: Yeah, yeah. Um. There’s a really good, uh, the frontier study, the work like door work study that they did, um, which talks really heavily about just like in this, you know, post 20, you know, 2020 culture, how like the amount of busyness has just increased in an insane amount and how a, a really strong use case for AI is to buybacks from that time essentially, um, for us to, you know, return back to a, a normal state and I think social creatures, right? [00:50:10] And so, um, in this. I run a fully remote company, which is like a blessing and also like really interesting to try to create a really strong culture within people that are, you know, 13 times zones apart times. Um, and so it’s uh, it’s a really interesting thing and coming together and, um, into an in-person space or a place here or a place where you can actually talk to your customers, talk to, um. [00:50:39] Step away from that, like that busy day to day where like, I, I can’t even fit a 15 minute break in to grab lunch. You know, days like how much, supposed to find 15 minutes to just have a, a casual conversation and these types of events, which I’m sure Vince is cheering back there that we’re talking about this right now. [00:50:57] But the, uh, but these type of events, they let you decompress from that day and they let you kind of just have these really important conversations that, you know, bring us back to just being humans To me. [00:51:10] Erin Figer: And being human and co-selling with each other. And on that note, we’re 44 seconds over. Yeah, we’ll give it back to Vince, [00:51:18] Reis Barrie: but we were plugging Vince’s events, so I think we’re okay. [00:51:21] Vince Menzione: We One more question. We have one more question from, sorry. Oh yeah. [00:51:23] Reis Barrie: It’s [00:51:23] Audience Member: maybe more a, a shared just as we’re talking [00:51:25] Vince Menzione: by the clip, right. [00:51:27] Audience Member: And to compliment everything that you guys have been talking about around co-sell and. Getting ready in line with Microsoft to speak to the customer and speaking. So the signals that we’re going after are on the actual conversations that are happening in the conversation. [00:51:41] So aside from all the planning, which I agree on, we’re building agents to hear what’s going on on the calls with Microsoft, on the calls with customer, and grab those actual signals. Are we answering the questions in the right way? What types of questions are coming back to us that we weren’t able to answer. [00:51:58] Maybe we forgot some information that we planned on and thought about can we signal and provide that feedback to the user, the seller, or whatnot on the call. And so as we’re doing this, ’cause we’re in the communication space, so we have some self-interest here ’cause that’s sort of the future of our business. [00:52:12] But it’s a really interesting opportunity for us to grab these signals to improve how we’re selling with our customers, how our partners are selling with our customers, with Microsoft. It’s just an interesting way with everything that’s going on full circle, we’re trying to complete that sort of sales journey with AI and, and grab those signals and keep getting better all the time. [00:52:32] Erin Figer: Yeah, I love that. And I think it’s like the ongoing balance of people, process and technology and how do you continue to keep the human in the loop? It, as we continue to introduce and evolve AI and use of data in our companies is like continuing to be mindful about the human in the loop. Um, part of that journey. [00:52:54] So thank you all. [00:52:55] Vince Menzione: Very cool. Great conversation. [00:52:56] Erin Figer: Thanks for all the audience engagement. We appreciate it. [00:52:59] Vince Menzione: Co-selling the house, co-selling the house. [00:53:02] Audience Member: Thank you, Vince. [00:53:02] Vince Menzione: Thank you. And I remember that January, 2016. Yes.

The Sunday Continuous Call Team goes through The Carve Up for this weekend.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you didn't know this already, this podcast is truly a week-by-week sharing of my own reading and writing life, what I'm learning and how I'm growing in my own restorative practice. I talk about the books I'm actually reading, the things I'm actually writing and the ways I'm furthering my own knowledge in this little niche that I love so much. This week is no exception.I stumbled upon a key piece of research that could be the one thing standing in your way of a reading and writing life that is interesting and passes the time to a restorative reading and writing practice that actually calms your nervous system and makes you feel better.As a quick review, there are a few key steps to a restorative reading and writing practice that alchemizes the healing power of them both:* Carve out a block of time and create soothing conditions to read and write.* Choose the book or passage that you need right now in this season of life.* Read with an open mind and heart.* Write about the nudges you feel in your body and mind.* Take inspired action from the page to make life better. As is with many things, the first step can be the hardest part: finding the time and creating the optimal conditions for your own reading and writing. But honestly, if we do, such beautiful changes can happen in your mind, body and life, especially when we layer our reading and writing practices with soothing signals from our senses. Why?Well, I used to think it was because those sensory signals provided a soothing message to our nervous systems that we could calm down and sink into our practice, elevating our reading and writing experience. And that is still true. But I know know it is much, much more than that. The sensory layers we add to our practice actually signal SAFETY to our bodies.Let me explain, courtesy of my learning from Brett Larkin in HEALING WITH SOMATIC YOGA, a book from my RELEASE book apothecary this month:Our bodies do not speak in words. That's why, even though we truly want to, we can't tell it to stop worrying and to stop overthinking and to stop ruminating and have it easily respond. It simply cannot listen to us in the language we are using. Why? Because it speaks a different language: the language of movement, sensation, breath, sound and touch. When we speak in THAT language and give our body messages at the somatic and sensory level, our bodies can finally listen. That's why paying close attention to the sensory elements in our restorative reading and writing practice is critical.Armed with this new information, I think it's the perfect time to take a sensory audit of our current restorative practice and give it a bit of a refresh for the Spring season. To begin, take an honest look at your current reading and writing practices:* What signals of safety are you currently providing your system during your reading and writing time?* How do they align to the season of the calendar we are in to take advantage of Mother Nature's rhythms? Take a minute and list some ideas for your own personal practice and then borrow some from my own brainstorming below:Sight: Spring invites us to notice nature and the world around us.* Take your practice outside or read and writing with a visible view of the outdoor world. * Add a plant or flower to your reading and writing space.* Choose books, notebooks and bookish bling with Spring-like colors.Hearing: Spring invites us to listen to sounds of renewal and growth. * Read outside and listen to the birdsong or play nature-infused audio tracks while reading and writing. * Press play on a nature-themed ASMR room on YouTube.Smell: Spring invites us to embrace the scents of the blooming season. * Diffuse fruity and floral flavors in your essential oil diffuser.* Light a citrus, floral or minty candle while reading and writing. Taste: Spring invites us to explore personal flavors of joy and presence.* Choose a beverage or snack that feels like comfort and presence for you, even if not aligned to the Spring flavor profile.* Experiment with Spring flavor drinks, like flowery herbal teas or LMNT (my favorite is citrus and lemonade!).Touch: Spring invites us to ground ourselves in the physical world. * Read with your bare feet touching the grass for additional grounding. * Read with a natural stone to rub for presence.These are just a few of the ideas I'm trying in my own personal practice and I'd love to know your recommendations, too. Leave your thoughts in the comments below and let's build a restorative Spring reading and writing practice together!Here are the other episodes mentioned in the podcast:E218: Why a Personal Curriculum Isn't a Book Apothecary & Why That MattersE202: Create a Restorative Reading & Writing AltarLet's Work Together!I love to connect with others around our shared love of reading and writing.Here are some ways we can work together to create a life you love where restorative reading and writing is at the center of it all:

The Sunday Continuous Call Team goes through The Carve Up for this weekend.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Send us Fan MailIn Part Two of this thought-provoking conversation, Chris Comeaux and Robin Heffernan unpack the complex realities shaping the future of hospice under Medicare Advantage. From the lessons learned in the VBID demonstration to the growing momentum behind “carve-in” models, this episode explores the tension between cost, quality, and patient experience—and what it will take to align all three.  At the center of the discussion is a critical question: how do we design a system that truly rewards high-quality care while eliminating inefficiencies and poor outcomes?The conversation dives into emerging models like concurrent care “bridge pathways,” which challenge the traditional binary transition into hospice and offer a more patient-centered approach to serious illness care. It also tackles the impact of private equity, consolidation, and payer incentives—raising important considerations about accountability, network design, and the sustainability of mission-driven providers.  For leaders navigating an evolving healthcare landscape, this episode provides both clarity and challenge on what comes next.  Key TakeawaysThe VBID demonstration revealed both promise and limitations—strong outcomes are possible, but only with better network control and quality alignment.  “Concurrent care bridges” may offer a more realistic and compassionate transition into hospice, improving patient experience and outcomes.  Financial incentives must shift toward total cost of care, not fragmented payment models, to truly drive better patient outcomes.  Consolidation is likely, but high-quality providers—regardless of size—can still thrive if value and outcomes are prioritized.  Payer accountability and earlier palliative care engagement are key to reducing costs while improving care quality.  Guest:Robin Heffernan, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO, EmpassionHost:Chris Comeaux, President / CEO of TELEIOS and author of The Anatomy Of LeadershipThe Anatomy of Leadership podcast explores the art and science of leadership through candid, insightful conversations with thought leaders, innovators, and change-makers from a variety of industries. Hosted by Chris Comeaux, each episode dives into the mindsets, habits, and strategies that empower leaders to thrive in complex, fast-changing environments. With topics ranging from organizational culture and emotional intelligence to navigating disruption and inspiring teams, the show blends real-world stories with practical takeaways. The goal is simple yet ambitious: to equip leaders at every level with the tools, perspectives, and inspiration they need to lead with vision, empathy, and impact.https://www.teleioscn.org/anatomy-of-leadership

In Part Two of this thought-provoking conversation, Chris Comeaux and Robin Heffernan unpack the complex realities shaping the future of hospice under Medicare Advantage. From the lessons learned in the VBID demonstration to the growing momentum behind “carve-in” models, this episode explores the tension between cost, quality, and patient experience—and what it will take to align all three.  At the center of the discussion is a critical question: how do we design a system that truly rewards high-quality care while eliminating inefficiencies and poor outcomes?The conversation dives into emerging models like concurrent care “bridge pathways,” which challenge the traditional binary transition into hospice and offer a more patient-centered approach to serious illness care. It also tackles the impact of private equity, consolidation, and payer incentives—raising important considerations about accountability, network design, and the sustainability of mission-driven providers.  For leaders navigating an evolving healthcare landscape, this episode provides both clarity and challenge on what comes next.  Key TakeawaysThe VBID demonstration revealed both promise and limitations—strong outcomes are possible, but only with better network control and quality alignment.  “Concurrent care bridges” may offer a more realistic and compassionate transition into hospice, improving patient experience and outcomes.  Financial incentives must shift toward total cost of care, not fragmented payment models, to truly drive better patient outcomes.  Consolidation is likely, but high-quality providers—regardless of size—can still thrive if value and outcomes are prioritized.  Payer accountability and earlier palliative care engagement are key to reducing costs while improving care quality.  Guest:Robin Heffernan, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO, EmpassionHost:Chris Comeaux, President / CEO of TELEIOS and author of The Anatomy Of LeadershipTeleios Collaborative Network   /   https://www.teleioscn.org/tcntalkspodcast

FREE Two Day Event: The Farm Marketing Fix - June 2026 Sign Up HERE You didn't build a bad farm. You built a trap — and you did it the only way you knew how. Most farmers start out with a real dream: freedom, purpose, something meaningful. But somewhere between the equipment breakdowns, the cash flow stress, and the 16-hour days, that dream gets buried. And the harder you work, the more stuck you feel. In this first episode of the brand-new 3-part series From Burnout to Balance: Creating a Business You Love, Charlotte Smith gets honest about why so many hardworking farmers end up burned out — and what it actually takes to get out. In this episode you'll learn the three types of burnout hitting farmers at the same time and why addressing just one keeps you spinning, the hidden cost of burnout that's quietly draining your profit (and it's probably not what you think), why most farmers are actually running a job — not a business — and what that distinction is costing you every single day, and the "Only I Can Do This" exercise you can do this week to start breaking the cycle. This episode is 27 minutes. Carve out the time. It's worth it. Click HERE and Let's Meet! Chat with us to see if The Profitable Farmer can break you out of marketing misery.

Warning! This episode is not suitable for children! Mature Audience Only Ever since I was old enough to read the bible and understand it, I have come across the words “Fornication” and “Adultery” but did not know there was a difference. The two are closely related but they each mean something different. Most translations will use the words “sexual immorality” instead of “Fornication”. In the church at Corinth, a young man was committing sexual immorality with his stepmom! Yeah! He was having sex with his dad's wife! And the bad thing was, the church was tolerating the sin and ignoring it! Paul says, “This can't be happening and you need to deal with it immediately!”

This week we re-examine our favorite strategy for making the transition into retirement, the "Carve Out." When transitioning into retirement, the safe asset bucket or "Carve Out" is often touted as the ultimate psychological safety net. But how much cash is actually enough to weather a prolonged market downturn without selling equities at a loss?In this episode, we revisit the mechanics of the retirement carve out. Is 5 years the magic number? Whether you are five years out or already enjoying your golden years, we explore the strategies needed to ensure your liquidity matches your needs.Send us Fan MailSend your questions for upcoming show to checkyourbalances@outlook.com @checkyourbalances on Instagram

Send us Fan MailIn Part One of this thought-provoking conversation, Chris Comeaux and Robin Heffernan explore the evolving intersection of private equity, artificial intelligence, and end-of-life care—raising critical questions about accountability, quality, and the future of hospice under Medicare Advantage. As the healthcare system shifts toward value-based models, the discussion challenges long-held assumptions about whether hospice should remain “carved out” or be fully integrated into payer responsibility.Robin offers a systems-level perspective, arguing that aligning financial accountability across the entire patient journey—including end-of-life care—could drive better outcomes, reduce fragmentation, and elevate hospice quality. At the same time, Chris voices the concerns shared by many hospice leaders: issues of trust, the deeply human nature of end-of-life decisions, and the risk of reducing care to cost-containment mechanisms.Together, they unpack the real tension facing healthcare leaders today—how to preserve the holistic, compassionate ethos of hospice while navigating economic realities, emerging AI capabilities, and increasing private equity influence. This episode invites listeners to think critically about what must change—and what must be protected—as the future of serious illness care takes shape.  Key TakeawaysAlignment drives accountability: Integrating hospice into Medicare Advantage could incentivize payers to prioritize quality outcomes across the full continuum of care—not just upstream services.Quality vs. access tension: Without strong network design, “carve-in” models risk perpetuating low-quality providers rather than elevating high-performing hospice organizations.The economics are shifting: Value-based and capitated models may ultimately reward high-quality hospice providers more than traditional fee-for-service structures.AI will expand early intervention: Predictive analytics and lower-cost engagement tools could identify patients earlier and broaden access to palliative care conversations.Trust remains the central challenge: End-of-life care is fundamentally different—patients and families must trust that decisions are guided by care, not cost.If this conversation challenged your thinking, don't stop here. Share this episode with a colleague, reflect on how these shifts impact your organization, and join the dialogue shaping the future of end-of-life care. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss upcoming episodes that continue to explore leadership, innovation, and purpose in healthcare.Guest: Robin Heffernan, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO, Empassion Host:Chris Comeaux, President / CEO of TELEIOS, Author of The Anatomy of LeadershipThe Anatomy of Leadership podcast explores the art and science of leadership through candid, insightful conversations with thought leaders, innovators, and change-makers from a variety of industries. Hosted by Chris Comeaux, each episode dives into the mindsets, habits, and strategies that empower leaders to thrive in complex, fast-changing environments. With topics ranging from organizational culture and emotional intelligence to navigating disruption and inspiring teams, the show blends real-world stories with practical takeaways. The goal is simple yet ambitious: to equip leaders at every level with the tools, perspectives, and inspiration they need to lead with vision, empathy, and impact.https://www.teleioscn.org/anatomy-of-leadership

In Part One of this thought-provoking conversation, Chris Comeaux and Robin Heffernan explore the evolving intersection of private equity, artificial intelligence, and end-of-life care—raising critical questions about accountability, quality, and the future of hospice under Medicare Advantage. As the healthcare system shifts toward value-based models, the discussion challenges long-held assumptions about whether hospice should remain “carved out” or be fully integrated into payer responsibility.Robin offers a systems-level perspective, arguing that aligning financial accountability across the entire patient journey—including end-of-life care—could drive better outcomes, reduce fragmentation, and elevate hospice quality. At the same time, Chris voices the concerns shared by many hospice leaders: issues of trust, the deeply human nature of end-of-life decisions, and the risk of reducing care to cost-containment mechanisms.Together, they unpack the real tension facing healthcare leaders today—how to preserve the holistic, compassionate ethos of hospice while navigating economic realities, emerging AI capabilities, and increasing private equity influence. This episode invites listeners to think critically about what must change—and what must be protected—as the future of serious illness care takes shape.  Key TakeawaysAlignment drives accountability: Integrating hospice into Medicare Advantage could incentivize payers to prioritize quality outcomes across the full continuum of care—not just upstream services.Quality vs. access tension: Without strong network design, “carve-in” models risk perpetuating low-quality providers rather than elevating high-performing hospice organizations.The economics are shifting: Value-based and capitated models may ultimately reward high-quality hospice providers more than traditional fee-for-service structures.AI will expand early intervention: Predictive analytics and lower-cost engagement tools could identify patients earlier and broaden access to palliative care conversations.Trust remains the central challenge: End-of-life care is fundamentally different—patients and families must trust that decisions are guided by care, not cost.If this conversation challenged your thinking, don't stop here. Share this episode with a colleague, reflect on how these shifts impact your organization, and join the dialogue shaping the future of end-of-life care. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss upcoming episodes that continue to explore leadership, innovation, and purpose in healthcare.Guest: Robin Heffernan, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO, Empassion Host:Chris Comeaux, President / CEO of TELEIOS, Author of The Anatomy of LeadershipTeleios Collaborative Network   /   https://www.teleioscn.org/tcntalkspodcast

The Sunday Continuous Call Team goes through The Carve Up for this weekend.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Sunday Continuous Call Team goes through The Carve Up for this weekend.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Experiencing the hope of Easter doesn’t have to be limited to one Sunday a year. Psalm 112:4 reminds us that light breaks through darkness for those who walk with God—and that truth can shape how we begin every single day. Just as the sunrise brings warmth, clarity, and renewed energy, a Christ-centered morning can ground our hearts in peace and purpose. This devotional reframes the idea of a “sunrise service” as a daily rhythm rather than a yearly event. Even in busy, chaotic, or exhausting seasons of life, we are invited to intentionally create space for God each morning. When we choose to start our day focused on Him, we position our hearts to experience His presence, reflect His character, and carry His hope into everything we do. Highlights Easter hope isn’t seasonal—it’s available to anchor us every day Light and warmth from the sunrise reflect the spiritual renewal found in Christ Our mornings set the tone for our mindset, peace, and spiritual focus Even a few intentional minutes with God can shift the entire direction of your day Choosing God over chaos requires discipline but leads to greater stability and peace Creating structured morning rhythms can reduce stress and open space for spiritual growth Gratitude and reflection in the morning help cultivate a Christ-centered perspective Living in daily resurrection hope allows us to reflect God’s light to others This episode is sponsored by Trinity Debt Management. If you are struggling with debt call Trinity today. Trinity's counselors have the knowledge and resources to make a difference. Our intention is to help people become debt-free, and most importantly, remain debt-free for keeps!" If your debt has you down, we should talk. Call us at 1-800-793-8548 | https://trinitycredit.org TrinityCredit – Call us at 1-800-793-8548. Whether we're helping people pay off their unsecured debt or offering assistance to those behind in their mortgage payments. https://trinitycredit.org Full Transcript Below: How to Have a Sunrise Service Every Sunday Morning By: Peyton Garland Bible Reading:“Light shines in the darkness for the godly. They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.” - Psalm 112:4 (NLT) My mood is greatly impacted by the weather, much to my chagrin. In Eastern Tennessee, with the Appalachians spanning my backyard, we see bouts of heavy rain in the winter. Of course, for all our farmers, this is quite the blessing, and it certainly benefits our neighbors’ cattle. But for me, it’s just week after week of mental gloominess (and feeling stuck inside with a toddler who would nap much better if he could run and play and soak up Vitamin D). Easter arrives when the weather is often playing tug-of-war between winter and spring, unsure which will take precedence for the holiday. Thus, it’s hard to know if your Easter dress should actually be a dress, or if a pair of pants will make life much warmer and more comfortable. Regardless of Easter’s final forecast, it’s only normal for us to crave the light and warmth of the sun. Nature makes this clear: the sun not only affects the neurotransmitters that regulate our mood but also our heart rate. Light and warmth stabilize us from the inside out, and is this not the perfect physiological representation of an Easter sunrise service? It’s mankind’s eager anticipation for the first rays of light that whisper, “You’ll see a bit clearer in just a moment. Better things are coming. Hope is here.” Easter, regardless of the day’s weather report, is our blessed hope, the spiritual truth that we can celebrate year-round to keep us tethered to our faith. It’s available for all the highs and lows, all the storms, and the uncontrollable chaos that undoubtedly rears an ugly head in this fallen world. And if we are intentional, spiritually desperate enough, we can experience this sunrise service filled with hope and joy each day of our lives. I’m certainly no expert in accessing this beautiful, glorious gift each morning, especially eight months pregnant with a toddler who doesn’t sleep through the night. I often wake up starving, grumbly, and in desperate need of a chiropractor. But even when the mornings start hectic or heavy, we have a choice: We can use our desperation for God’s goodness to force five minutes of quiet for Him to settle our hearts and homes, or we can surrender to the never-ending demands of a loud, noisy world that cares little about how stable our souls are once we’ve clocked out for the day and gone home. God gives good gifts to His children, most notably salvation through His Son’s death and resurrection, but the choice to access those gifts rests with us. If we want hope, no matter how gloomy, mundane, or hard life is, we must pursue it, choose it, share it with others, and praise God that His mercies are as faithful as the morning sunrise. Intersecting Faith & Life: Consider your morning routine. Is it consistently chaos as everyone grabs a breakfast bar to go and forgets a gym bag, homework, or a shoe or two? If your days always start in a state of stress, create a schedule specifically for your morning routine. Perhaps you need to wake up thirty minutes earlier, or the kids need to pack lunches and set out clothes the night before. Sit down with your entire family to discuss ways to make the mornings smoother so everyone can begin each day with a healthier head and heart space. Carve out space so your morning has dedicated time to practice gratitude to God for a new day of mercy and grace. As a believer and as an adult in your house, it is your spiritual responsibility to set a positive, hope-filled, Christ-focused tone for the family. As Scripture says, the hope and light we long for are byproducts of godliness, of our willingness to get uncomfortable and change our schedules, and even our perceptions, so we are in a position to practice generosity, compassion, and righteousness. (Let’s be honest, when we begin our days in chaos, without the peace and hope of Christ’s resurrection, our souls aren’t positioned to practice, let alone consider, these godly principles.) Consider this as more than a mandate. Let this be an honor as you overhaul your morning routine to have an Easter sunrise service in your home, for your family, each day. Further Reading: 25 Easter Scriptures to Celebrate the Resurrection: He IS Risen! 5 Habits to Help Start Your Day with Jesus Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

The Sunday Continuous Call Team goes through The Carve Up for this weekend.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Sunday Carve Up, 22nd of March 2026.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chrissy Cox, VP & Head of Corporate Development, Booz Allen Hamilton ​​Booz Allen Hamilton didn't build one of the most active acquisition programs in federal tech by waiting for banker inbounds. They built it by showing up years before anyone else. Chrissy Cox has built Booz Allen's corporate development function from scratch and done it twice. Her team was named Deal Team of the Year by the Association for Corporate Growth, and under her leadership, roughly 80% of their acquisitions come from companies they already have a relationship with. That's not luck, it's a system. In this episode, she breaks down exactly how that system works — from pipeline development to cultural diligence to integration ownership — and what most corp dev teams get wrong before they ever get to LOI. What You'll Learn in This Episode How to build a proprietary pipeline that makes you the preferred buyer before a process starts The specific cultural fit questions Chrissy asks — and the one answer that ended a deal on the spot Why she tells founder-led sellers to hire their own banker, even on proprietary deals How to navigate a carve-out when scope is impossible to fully define upfront When spinning out a business beats building it internally The three mistakes that derail most corp dev functions before they find their footing This episode is sponsored by M&A Science Intelligence Hub If you're trying  to move from cold outreach to genuine relationship-building with targets, the Intelligence Hub has the Partner-First Acquisition Evaluation Playbook — a practitioner-built framework for structuring pre-acquisition partnerships, evaluating targets through the lens of existing relationships, and moving from partner to acquirer with conviction. Become an M&A Scientist at www.mascience.com/membership  _____________________ ‍This episode is also sponsored by DealRoom‍ The best M&A teams close deals faster...not because they work harder, but because they have better systems. DealRoom helps you manage your entire deal lifecycle from target identification through close. No more hunting for documents or wondering what's blocking progress. Request a Demo today: https://hubs.ly/Q03ZMvQX0 ____________________ Episode Chapters  [00:00:00] Intro [00:04:20] Chrissy Cox's path into M&A [00:05:04] Building Booz Allen's corp dev function [00:10:32] How Booz Allen builds a proprietary deal pipeline [00:15:08] The partner-first approach to acquisitions [00:20:31] When founders should consider selling [00:23:49] Why culture can kill a great deal [00:29:40] Carve-out lessons from the PAR Government deal [00:33:24] Why founders should hire bankers [00:43:43] Integration: protect the secret sauce [00:48:01] The biggest mistakes in corporate development [00:49:33] The craziest thing about M&A

Right now the world's attention is focused on Iran, which is under siege by the US and Israel.But many in America think the real threat to Amercia -- economically and geostrategically -- is a different country, perhaps one the war in Iran is designed to weaken = China.Many viewers of this channel have been asking for a deep dive on China -- its capabilities, its motivations and its likely future actions.Well today we're delivering on that. I have the good fortune to welcome to the program Peter Alexander, Founder & CEO of Z-Ben Advisors, a leading provider of market intelligence and strategic advice on every facet of China's asset management industry.#china #geopolitics #monroedoctrine _____________________________________________ Thoughtful Money LLC is a Registered Investment Advisor Promoter.We produce educational content geared for the individual investor. It's important to note that this content is NOT investment advice, individual or otherwise, nor should be construed as such.We recommend that most investors, especially if inexperienced, should consider benefiting from the direction and guidance of a qualified financial advisor registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or state securities regulators who can develop & implement a personalized financial plan based on a customer's unique goals, needs & risk tolerance.IMPORTANT NOTE: There are risks associated with investing in securities.Investing in stocks, bonds, exchange traded funds, mutual funds, money market funds, and other types of securities involve risk of loss. Loss of principal is possible. Some high risk investments may use leverage, which will accentuate gains & losses. Foreign investing involves special risks, including a greater volatility and political, economic and currency risks and differences in accounting methods.A security's or a firm's past investment performance is not a guarantee or predictor of future investment performance.Thoughtful Money and the Thoughtful Money logo are trademarks of Thoughtful Money LLC.Copyright © 2026 Thoughtful Money LLC. All rights reserved.

Northeastern blizzard is expected to result in significant, but manageable losses for P/C insurers, according to a new Best's Commentary discussed by AM Best Industry Research Analyst Helen Andersen.

Listen to the Sunday Carve Up, 15th of March 2026.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Last Ten Nights Are HereBefore diving into the final ayah of Surah Al-Muzzammil, a timely reminder — tonight is the 23rd night of Ramadan. The last ten nights are upon us, and the Prophet ﷺ told us to hunt for Laylatul Qadr in these nights, especially the odd ones. Tonight is one of them.So what should fill these nights? Extra raka'at. Extra Quran. Extra dhikr. And the best du'a for this occasion comes to us through Sayyidatuna Aisha (رضي الله عنها), who asked the Prophet ﷺ: if I encounter the Night of Al-Qadr, what should I say? He replied: “Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuhibbul ‘afwa fa'fu ‘anni” — “O Allah, You are the Most Pardoning and You love to pardon, so pardon me.”Now, there's an important distinction here between ‘afw and ghafar. When we say astaghfirullah and ask for Allah's forgiveness (ghafar), the record of the sin remains — but the punishment is cancelled. The deed is still in the books on the Day of Mahshar, but Allah will not punish us for it.Al-'Afw is something else entirely. It is when the record is expunged altogether. Wiped clean. As if the sin never happened. This is why the Prophet ﷺ said that whoever fasts sincerely and prays during the nights of Ramadan — and catches Laylatul Qadr — will have all their past sins forgiven. They exit Ramadan like the day they were born. No record of sins whatsoever.It's just a few nights. Sleep a little less. Yes, there will be tiredness — that's okay. This is our training. Don't miss a night that is greater than a thousand months, greater than 83 years of worship.Grounded is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Where We Left Off — The Arc of Surah Al-MuzzammilThe surah opened with a command: stand up at night, pray, and recite the Quran. Why? Because the day is full of heavy tasks — spreading truth, standing for justice, enduring hardship — and the strength to carry all of that comes from the spiritual work done at night. Reading about Jannah motivates. Reading about Jahannam sobers. The connection to Allah realigns everything.Then came the warning through the story of Fir'aun — richer, stronger, more powerful than the Quraysh, yet destroyed in an instant when he rejected Prophet Musa. Then the terrifying imagery of Yawmul Qiyamah: skies torn apart, children's hair turning white from sheer terror. And finally, the choice: believe and take the prophetic path, or reject and face the consequences. Every choice carries a consequence.Now the surah circles back to where it began — Qiyamul Layl — but this time with something remarkable: mercy.Allah Knows Our WeaknessThe original command was demanding. Stand up most of the night — two-thirds, or at least half, or at the very minimum a third. The Prophet ﷺ did this every single night, without exception, even while travelling, even during battle. But Allah knew that the rest of the ummah would struggle.Allah says: “Indeed, your Lord knows that you stand less than two-thirds of the night, sometimes half, sometimes even less than a third — and so do a group of those with you.”Allah is the One who measured the length of night and day. Some seasons, the nights are long and Qiyamul Layl is easier — in Perth during winter, Maghrib comes in at 5:15 and Fajr isn't until around six. Plenty of time to sleep and still wake up. But in the peak of summer, when Fajr is at 3:30? That's a different story. Allah knows all of this.And so He says: “He has forgiven you.” Qiyamul Layl is fard upon the Prophet ﷺ, but for the rest of us, Allah has already shown mercy and lifted that strict obligation.But Don't Abandon It AltogetherHere's the key — just because the full obligation has been eased doesn't mean doing nothing is an option. Allah says: “So read what is easy for you from the Quran.” Stand up for even two raka'at. Read whatever surahs have been memorised. Carve out even a small portion of the night for spiritual work.This is a fundamental principle in Islam: what cannot be accomplished entirely should not be abandoned in totality. Islam doesn't teach perfectionism — it's not 100% or nothing. It teaches consistent effort. The Prophet ﷺ said that the most beloved deeds to Allah are those that are consistent, even if they are small. Two raka'at every single night outweighs a marathon session once a month.And this, by the way, is one of the great purposes behind memorising the Quran — so that those surahs can be recited in prayer. Al-Kahf, Al-Mulk, Al-Baqarah — they come alive when recited standing before Allah at night.The Three Excuses Allah AcceptsThen Allah provides specific concessions. First: those who are sick. Illness isn't a choice — when rest is needed for recovery, Allah says it's okay.But then come two more categories that are remarkable, because they are things people can choose — and Allah still grants them as valid reasons for doing less Qiyamul Layl.The first: those who travel the earth seeking Allah's bounty — meaning those who are out working, doing business, building economic stability. The second: those who fight in the path of Allah, defending the religion and the community.These two are placed in equal standing. Working hard to earn a living is given the same weight as defending the faith. That is extraordinary. It tells us something profound about how Islam views economic productivity — not as a worldly distraction, but as an act valued by Allah Himself.The Prophet ﷺ said the best rizq is what a person earns from their own effort, and he pointed to Prophet Dawud (عليه السلام) as the example — a prophet, a king, and yet also a blacksmith who worked with iron and ate from the labour of his own hands.Ibn Umar expressed this beautifully. He said the best deaths he could wish for were two: martyrdom in the path of Allah, and dying on a business journey — on his camel, with his trade goods, on his way to earn a living. Because this ayah puts them side by side.Islam Wants Muslims to Be Wealthy — But With PurposeThe encouragement to work hard and build wealth doesn't come without direction. Islam doesn't say: get rich so you can buy the fanciest car, then a fancy island, and once you run out of things to buy on earth, spend a trillion dollars trying to conquer Mars.Islam says: be rich, but that's not the end goal. The ummah becomes strong when Muslims have economic power and an akhirah mindset. With wealth, the community can build schools, support students in critical fields, fund long-term projects. This is Sadaqatul Jariyah — continuously flowing charity that keeps giving long after the initial contribution.There's a telling hadith in Imam Al-Nawawi's Forty Collection that captures this tension perfectly. The poor companions once came to the Prophet ﷺ and complained: “Ya Rasulullah, the rich have taken all the extra reward! They pray like we pray, they fast like we fast — but they can give charity from their surplus wealth, and we can't.” The Prophet ﷺ reassured them that dhikr — saying SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar — is also charity. The poor companions went away happy. But a few days later? The rich started doing dhikr too. Now they had both. The poor came back and said: what about us now?The point isn't to vilify poverty. The Prophet ﷺ went on to explain that there is charity in every good act — helping someone onto their ride, carrying someone's load. But wealth opens doors that nothing else can. Zakat, the pillar of Islam, is only payable by those who have wealth. And the framing matters: it's not that the wealthy have to pay zakat — they get to pay zakat. Without wealth, that entire pillar of Islam is inaccessible. And hajj is the same.The story of Sayyidina Uthman (رضي الله عنه) at the Battle of Tabuk drives this home. He donated so generously — horses, camels, wealth — that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Nothing Uthman does after this will harm him.” Guaranteed paradise. And Uthman wasn't living in poverty. He had luxuries. But look at the scale of what his wealth allowed him to do for the ummah.At the same time, Islam doesn't expect anyone to give 100% away. The best charity, the Prophet ﷺ said, is what is spent on family — on spouses, on children. The balance is always there: spend on yourself, on your family, and on the ummah for the sake of the akhirah.The Beautiful LoanEven with all these concessions, Allah says: still, read what is easy from the Quran. Establish your salah. Pay your zakat. Don't let the extras overshadow the foundations — a hundred raka'at of Qiyamul Layl mean nothing if Fajr is missed. Generous charity donations mean nothing if zakat is neglected. The obligatory always comes first.Then comes a stunning phrase: “And give Allah a beautiful loan (qard hasan).”A qard hasan is a loan with no deadline for repayment and no interest. Every good deed — every act of worship, every charity, every kindness — is a loan to Allah. And here's the beauty of it: Allah doesn't need our loan. He owns everything in the heavens and the earth and everything in between and beyond. He could simply say: “That's Mine, I gave it to you, give it back.”But in His mercy, Allah understands human nature. He understands that people are wired to think in terms of profit and return on investment. So He frames it as a transaction: give Me a loan, and I will surely repay you — multiplied many times over. In human transactions, demanding extra on a qard is riba. But with Allah, He is the One promising to multiply the return. It's the ultimate ROI.And what can a person invest with? Two things: wealth or skills. Both require Muslims to be hardworking.It's All For UsAllah then makes something clear: whatever is sent forth for the akhirah, it's essentially for our own benefit. Allah doesn't need our investment. Every command He gives is for our sake, not His.And there's a profound observation embedded here. As humanity lives more and more comfortably — materially, physically — mental health continues to decline. The richer the country, the higher the rates of depression and anxiety. Why? Because life without purpose erodes the soul. When everything is easy and comfortable, humans lose their sense of direction.Islam solves this by providing a purpose so enormous that no amount of wealth or comfort can make it irrelevant: getting to Jannah. How do we get there? That question structures every day, every decision, every effort. It keeps life purposeful no matter the circumstances. And when the community works together with that shared purpose, everyone rises.Ending with IstighfarThe surah closes with a command to seek Allah's forgiveness. Wastaghfirullah — make istighfar. There are two dimensions to this.First, the timing. The pre-dawn hours — suhoor time — are the best time for istighfar. Allah praises those who seek forgiveness in the early morning. For those already awake for Qiyamul Layl, this flows naturally.Second, there's a subtler reason. Sometimes, in the middle of worship and good deeds, something dangerous creeps into the heart. A feeling of: “I woke up for Qiyamul Layl. I read Surah Al-Kahf in one raka'ah and Surah Al-Mulk in the next. I'm amazing.” Or after giving a large charity: “I'm so generous. Look at what I gave.”This is kibr — arrogance — and it's one of Shaitan's favourite tricks. When he can't stop someone from doing good deeds, he tries to spoil the deed through the intention. So the surah ends with the antidote: astaghfirullah. Centre yourself. Realign the intention. “Ya Allah, if there was any misalignment in my heart, I seek Your forgiveness.”Indeed, Allah is Most Forgiving and Most Merciful.The Complete Message of Surah Al-MuzzammilAnd with that, Surah Al-Muzzammil comes to a close. Its message is beautifully complete: stay up at night, even a little. Pray. Read Quran. Let that spiritual recharge fuel everything in the day — the work, the earning, the serving of the ummah. Islam is a religion of balance: worship at night, work hard in the day. And in between, give everything its right. The body has a right — rest, nutrition, exercise. Family has a right — time and attention. And Allah has a right — acts of worship.Fulfil all those rights. That's the straight path.Your Action Steps This Week* Make the du'a of Laylatul Qadr every night. Memorise “Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuhibbul ‘afwa fa'fu ‘anni”and repeat it abundantly in the remaining nights of Ramadan. Understand the difference — this isn't just asking for forgiveness, it's asking for a complete clean slate.* Do something every night, even if it's small. If two raka'at is all that's manageable, pray two raka'at. If one page of Quran is what's realistic, read one page. Don't let the inability to do everything become an excuse to do nothing.* Reframe how work fits into worship. This ayah places earning a livelihood alongside fighting in the path of Allah. Approach work this week with the conscious intention that economic productivity is an act Allah values — and use what is earned to benefit family and community.* Audit the foundations before the extras. Before adding more nawafil, make sure the obligatory salah and zakat are fully in order. The extras don't compensate for gaps in the foundations.* End every night with istighfar. After Qiyamul Layl, after du'a, after any act of worship — close with astaghfirullah. Let it be the safeguard against arrogance creeping into the heart through the very deeds meant to bring closeness to Allah.May Allah grant us the strength to apply the lessons from Surah Al-Muzzammil — to pray at night, recite the Quran, and work hard in the day for the benefit of the ummah. May Allah allow us to enter Jannah with the Prophet ﷺ and with the Sahaba.Next week, inshaAllah, we begin Suratul Muddaththir. Don't forget — tonight is the 23rd night. Qiyamul Layl. Stay up extra. Make lots of du'a.Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.Thanks for reading Grounded! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit groundeddaily.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to the Daily Compliance News. Each day, Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, brings you compliance-related stories to start your day. Sit back, enjoy a cup of morning coffee, and listen in to the Daily Compliance News. All, from the Compliance Podcast Network. Each day, we consider four stories from the business world, compliance, ethics, risk management, leadership, or general interest for the compliance professional. Top stories include: On Wall Street, don't dress better than the boss. (WSJ) Workplace abuse was physical at Noma. (NYT) The Trump risk for international travel. (FT) Kalshi sued over the failure to pay out on a bet on the death of the Iranian leader. (Reuters) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen to the Sunday Carve Up, 8th of March 2026.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let's Connect:You can join the Grief and Happiness Alliance which meets weekly on Sundays by clicking hereYou can order the International Best Selling The Grief and Happiness Guide by clicking here.You can order Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief by clicking here at Amazon:You can listen to my podcast, Grief and Happiness, by clicking hereRequest your Awaken Your Happiness Journaling Guide hereSee acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to the Sunday Carve Up, 1st of March 2026.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Remember that being underestimated is an opportunity. Carve out your own niche, innovate, and let your authenticity do the talking." Episode Summary: Welcome to this episode of The Gun Experiment, where Big Keith and I sit down with Chris Long, the content and communications manager — now head of marketing — for Walther Arms. We kick things off sharing funny and awkward stories from daily life, then dive into Chris's unique journey from fuel tank cleaning to leading marketing for one of the gun industry's most innovative brands. We explore Walther's approach to product development, social media restrictions, creative marketing strategies, and how being the “underdog” is actually a pretty great place to be. We discuss Walther's generous 30-day money-back guarantee and their efforts to expand gun culture into fringe markets like action sports, cars, and martial arts. Chris shares behind-the-scenes insights on product innovation (hello, PDP and the drift car!), the importance of training, and why pistol shooting should be treated almost like a martial art. If you're curious about where Walther is headed, how they keep things “real,” and how brands can help normalize responsible firearms ownership, this episode is packed with relatable stories and actionable insights. Call to Action: 1. Join our mailing list: Thegunexperiment.com 2. Subscribe and leave us a comment on Apple or Spotify 3. Follow us on all of our social media: InstagramYoutube 4.  Grab some cool TGE merch 5. Ask us anything at AskMikeandKeith@gmail.com 6. Be sure to support the sponsors of the show. They are a big part of making the show possible. Show Sponsors: HSM Ammunition: Official ammo sponsor of The Gun Experiment. Find their products at your local gun shop and look for the HSM logo! Onsite Firearms Training: Our trusted partner for firearms training — fundamentals, accountability, decision-making, and performance matter most. Key Takeaways: Walther Arms offers an industry-leading, no-questions-asked 30-day money-back guarantee on their pistols. Social media restrictions remain a big challenge for firearm marketing, but creativity and authenticity can still win. Walther is pushing the boundaries by bridging the gap between gun culture and fringe/action sports, cars, music, and martial arts. Treating pistol shooting as a martial art, and focusing on training over gear, sets serious gun owners apart. Being a smaller “underdog” allows Walther to move fast, be real, and build a tight-knit family culture in the industry. The PDP line stands out for trigger, ergonomics, and innovation — and Walther continues to expand its product offerings globally. Authentic community engagement (like collabs on social media) is key for growing brand loyalty. Guest Information: Name: Chris Long Role: Head of Marketing, Walther Arms Social: @waltherarms on Instagram Website: waltherarms.com Keywords: Walther Arms, PDP, Walther PDP Pro, Gun Marketing, Firearms Industry, Social Media Restrictions, Action Sports Marketing, 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee, Gun Training, Onsite Firearms Training, HSM Ammunition, Martial Arts and Guns, Drift Car, Gun Culture, Shooting Sports, Competition Pistol, Concealed Carry, Podcast Episode, Firearms Community, Ammo Sponsor, Gun Product Innovation, Family Culture in Business

John 15:1-8,“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.This morning we come to the seventh of Jesus's seven great “I am” statements in the Gospel of John. Jesus is the bread of life; he is the light of the world, the door, the good shepherd, the resurrection and the life; he is the way, the truth, and the life. And finally, in John 15, he is the vine.The vine. It's such a memorable and concrete image that it might be hard for some of us to hear it afresh. One of the challenges for us is how this old English word “abide,” which is not a word we use today. Anyone use “abide” on the street this week? It's an old word, but it's easy enough. It just means “remain” or “stay.” “Abide in me” equals “Stay in me.”Now, that command to stay or abide in Jesus doesn't come until verse 4. Verses 1-3 set the table with vital background information before Jesus turns to us, the branches, in verse 4, and says, Stay in me.So, we branches have something to do here, to engage in. In this picture of Christ's provision, you do get to play a part. You are not decisive, but you are involved: you stay, remain, continue. Or, said negatively: don't bail, don't fall away; don't coast and drift from Jesus — especially when conflict comes, when interruptions come, when agitation comes, disorientation, confusion, insults, opposition, slander.The call to abide, to stay, assumes a context of conflict, with forces pulling on the branches, trying to disconnect them from the vine.It's easy to pull these verses out of context and imagine a nice, peaceful, sunshiny day in the vineyard. But John 15 is right at the beginning of the storm. Remember this is the longest Thursday night, the night before Jesus dies. The storm is bearing down on them, and Jesus is getting his men ready.He said in 14:27:“Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”And he said in 14:31, “Rise, let us go from here.”But he keeps talking. I imagine the disciples rising to their feet, but before they go, Jesus wants to prepare them a little bit more, with a battlefield speech: I am the vine; you are branches. That's what you need for this storm. Stay in me.Then in 16:1 Jesus will say why he said what he did in chapter 15:“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.”So, abiding is not about cushy, idyllic days. It's about staying in Jesus when forces are trying to pull you away from him. Which relates to another context for this passage: our context. Jonathan called it our “Troubled Heart Situation”: the jarring interruption of our worship a few weeks ago, with its insults, and since then, the questions and many misunderstandings we've endured from those who don't know the truth and may show little interest in it.So, originally, the Vine and branches was to help Jesus's disciples, against opposition, stay with him. And now God has given Cities Church the Vine and branches this morning to help us, against opposition, stay with him.Now, when we see ourselves in this passage, it is a very simple, modest role. Jesus uses the word six times: branch. That's what you are, what I am: we are branches. Humble branches, totally dependent, powerless and unimpressive on our own — and yet branches on a good vine can be very happy, nourished, well supplied, empowered, and fruitful.So, we make our way this morning with four truths about us as humble, happy branches who need to stay in Jesus in the storm.1. We branches are distinct from the Vine. (vv. 1–2)We are just branches. We are not the Vine. Jesus is the Vine. We are distinct from the Vine and we do not become the Vine, and yet, amazingly, we are joined to the Vine. And not just Vine, but in verse 1, Jesus says “true vine.” “I am the true vine.”We've seen Jesus use the word true throughout John to talk about being the real or genuine or ultimate. He is the true light, the true bread, true food, true drink. And now true vine.True vine implies that another vine has come before, and now Jesus comes as the true one, the ultimate one. What was the previous vine? Israel. Psalm 80:8–9 is one place among many:You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. In Psalm 80, and in Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Israel is God's vine, and tragically, in the prophets, God's vine that did not bear the fruit it should have.So, this is no small claim when Jesus says he's the true vine. He's saying that God's first-covenant people, the first vine, the old vine, were not the final vine. And now Jesus comes as the new vine, the true vine, the ultimate vine. Which means he's the new and final place of connection to God, not Israel.Previously, to be God's people, you had to be born into or specially brought into God's ethnic people. But now, to be God's people, you need only to be joined to Jesus.This joining to Jesus is what we call “union with Christ.” Through faith, by the connecting power of the Holy Spirit, men and women from every nation, whatever ethnicity, are joined to Jesus and, in union with him, experience all the benefits he provides: righteousness, redemption, forgiveness, holiness, sonship, and true family, and best of all, at the center of it all, the surpassing joy of knowing Jesus.And a union works in two directions. A husband and all he has becomes his wife's, and the wife and all she has becomes her husband's. So, verse 4 says, “Abide in me, and I in you.” Verse 5: “Whoever abides in me and I in him.” This is mutual indwelling. We branches are not only in the Vine by faith, but he is in us: “I in you.” As we saw last week, the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us, is the presence of Jesus in our lives and ministers to us the realness of Jesus. (And we'll see in a minute how this gets more tangible.)So, we branches are not the Vine; we are distinct from the Vine. And yet, we are joined to the Vine, united to the Vine. Which raises a question in verse 2:Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he [the Father, the vinedresser; literally, the Farmer, geōrgós] takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.Get this, it's not just vine and branches. There's a Farmer in the vineyard: the Father. He walks the vineyard. He helps the Vine and the branches by pruning the good ones and removing the fruitless ones. We'll come back to the Father and his pruning, but here's the question: What do we make of these branches that are “in the Vine” but the Father “takes away”? Verse 6 continues the thought:If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away [cast out] like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.Can someone be truly in the vine and taken away? The answer is the metaphor is not meant to go that far. Jesus has made plain again and again in this Gospel that no one can take his true sheep from him (6:37; 10:29; 17:12; 18:9), and John has made it clear that there are some who seem to believe, so-called followers of Jesus, even Judas among his twelve (2:23-24; 6:60, 6; 8:30ff; 12:42-43). The reality is not that they were once truly in and then fell away, but that their falling away shows they were never truly in the Vine. Those who are truly in Jesus persevere; they abide, and bear fruit; and they are the ones the Father prunes that they might bear more fruit (like the Lord's discipline in Hebrews 12:4–11).The point is that true Christians will bear fruit, not that a person could be genuinely united to Jesus and lose their connection.Jesus is the Vine, and we are the branches, distinct from him, and united to him by faith and the Holy Spirit. 2. We branches delight in the sap. (vv. 3, 7a)I assume we don't have many viticulturists in the room. I should probably make it clear that life-giving sap flows in one direction: from the Vine to the branches. Sap, containing water and nutrients and sugar flows from the vine to the branches to nourish the branches that they might grow and develop fruit.And if you ask, Okay, that's great in theory about the vine, but how does this relate to our union with Jesus? Verse 7 gives us the critical answer for how this union becomes tangible:“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you…”Did you hear it? What's staying in us when we stay in Jesus? His words. And this is not the only mention of his words in this passage. Jump up to verse 3:Already you are clean [katharoí, same root as “prune” in v. 2] because of the word that I have spoken to you.So, before telling them to abide, Jesus says, already (one of the most important words in this passage) you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. What's the word he spoke to them? In chapter 13, Jesus says something very similar. He's washing the disciples' feet, and Peter objects. Jesus says, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” So, Peter says, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus responds, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean [same as 15:3], but not every one of you” (referring to Judas).So, here's the significance of this first word in 15:3: it's his word of full acceptance, a declaration of right standing (what Paul will call justification by faith). Before you're purified, you are pure. Before you're cleaned, you are clean. You are in Jesus by faith, united to him, before you abide the storms. Union first, then abiding. Not abide to secure union; abide because you're united. So, verse 3, refers to a word Jesus speaks that effects full acceptance with God, in union with him, that is already true before we abide.Then, back to verse 7, where we have his word for fresh abiding, or the word for daily strength. This is the ongoing, sustaining flow of grace that comes to us in union with Jesus through his word. This is the word for sanctification or for perseverance. Jesus's word, with his Spirit, is the sweet sap that flows to our souls and gives them life and delight. (Do you long for and enjoy his word like a branch enjoys the sweet sap of the vine? Do you, like a newborn infant, long for the pure spiritual milk of his word? 1 Peter 2:2.)Vital to abiding in Jesus is savoring the sap of his word, having his word stay in you, getting his words lodged into our hearts. How do you do that? Not just reading Scripture but meditating on it. Chewing on it. Savoring the sap, slowing down to savor the sap of his word, and ponder it, and lodge it in your heart, that Jesus himself might abide in you by his Spirit.Healthy branches stay in the vine through regular, particular moments of intentional, unhurried abiding, staying in Christ's word, not reading quick, praying quick, checking the box, and onto the rest of your day; but lingering unhurried in the Vine through his word. Put your phone away. Carve out enough time to lose track of time, to stay, without rushing, abide, in the presence of God in the Vine, savoring his words as energizing, life-giving sap for your soul.So, branches delight in the sap, that is, the word.3. We branches depend on the Vine. (vv. 4, 5, 7b)Not only does the sap of the word flow from the Vine to the branches, but there is a particular orientation of the branches back toward the Vine: utter dependance. There is in humble, happy branches a glad admission of powerlessness, and a glad response to the word called prayer, asking for more of the Vine and for his help in doing what he calls us to do: be fruitful.The powerlessness is in verses 4–5:As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. . . . [A]part from me you can do nothing.So, such powerless dependent branches, delighting in the word of the Vine, respond with their own words called prayer. The last part of verse 7:“ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”We saw another of these “ask whatever” verses in chapter 14, verses 13–14:“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”We'll see another next week in 15:16:“…whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you…”Now verse 7:“…ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”I don't think Jesus is giving us a blank prayer check for natural desires, and clearly we all know from our experience that we don't have that. The key in verse 7 is to remember the context. How different it is when you're in a trial and hanging on his words! His words in us feed our desires and prayers that echo his own heart. And “in my name” qualifies it. We have a banner in Jesus's name. And we have a backstop in the Spirit interceding for us. Romans 8:26–27: …the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us [in our] groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.Perhaps the main thing to take away is how much the Vine wants his branches to pray. He wants to hear from us — to live on the sap of his word, lodge his words and his will in our souls, and then, in his name, speak back to him. Pray. He wants there to be relationship, communion in the union.And a holy heart, shaped by God's word, is unleashed to ask, and ask, and ask, and know that when we don't know how to pray, and pray for the wrong things, we have the Spirit of Jesus in us interceding for us.So, the branches are distinct from the Vine, and we delight in his words, and we depend on him in prayer.4. We branches develop fruit, and so draw attention to the Farmer. (v. 8)Go to verse 8:“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”I say develop fruit because fruit doesn't happen in a moment. It grows organically, bit by bit over time. If you ask, what does “bearing fruit” mean for us, it includes all the good that flows from our union and communion with Christ: love for one another and joy and obeying commands and being his means to others coming to abide in him (more on that next week).None of which branches should hear as a burden! Bearing fruit is a joy for branches. That's what they were made for. Branches bearing fruit are branches fully alive and happy.And if you ask how you might evaluate your fruit, I would say this: don't evaluate your fruitfulness relative to how well you could someday love or obey or be effective in evangelism, or comparing yourself to the fruit of others. But ask yourself about you: your past, your former desires, your old self — how is the life-giving sap flowing into your soul and developing the fruit of love for others in your life? Perhaps you've heard the famous quote from John Newton:I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am.And verse 8 is clear that developing fruit does not make you to be Jesus's disciples but proves you are his disciples. Our fruit shows that we had already become his. Which makes the Vine look good. And the vine producing fruit, through his branches, makes his Father, the Farmer, look good.Pruning Cities ChurchSo, we come back to verse 2 and that there's a Farmer. John 15 isn't just Vine and branches. We have a Farmer, the Father, who walks the vineyard. And he serves the vine and all the fruitful branches by removing the unfruitful ones. And he prunes the fruit-producing branches so that they can produce more fruit.So, I want to end with this question: Was the Farmer away on January 18? He was not away. John 15 clues us in on what he was doing: he was pruning Cities Church for our good, that we might bear more fruit. I don't think “more fruit” means headlines or relates to the opinions of people far away. But in the Vine, God has given us fruit together in these first eleven years in worshiping Jesus together, and loving one another, and seeking the good of these Cities. And “more fruit,” I would assume, would relate to these same three avenues.Brothers and sisters, the Farmer wasn't caught off guard on January 18. And he hasn't been away since. He is ever vigilant over his Vine and his branches. He is ever gardening. He is pruning with perfect cuts. And I can already see he's done and is doing some amazing work, to take so many individuals from some fruit to more fruit, and to work on us a people to prune us from fruit to more fruit. Most of you have leaned in with an engaged hope that has been remarkable. But if the last month has distanced you from the Vine, if you sense yourself withering, with less of his word, less prayer, less fellowship, make this your day of turning. The main thing the Farmer is doing in this suffering is causing his branches to go deeper into the Vine. Don't drift from the Vine. Stay. Remain. Abide.Delight in his sap. Lodge his sweet, life-giving words into your mind and heart. Depend on his help. Having filled yourself with his words, pray in your own words. And ask him for whatever you need in his call to love each other and these Cities.Fellowship of BranchesWe said at the beginning, we are not the Vine. And now: you are not the only branch. Jesus says branches. You are never a lone branch in Christ, and never alone at this Table.We call this Communion for two reasons: communion with the Vine and communion with the other branches that are in him. So, take a morsel of nourishment, and a thimble of sap, and let's enjoy the Vine together.

TODAY ON THE ROBERT SCOTT BELL SHOW: Vaccine Carve-Out Ending, Lead Pipe Cuts, PFAS Liver Risks, GLP-1 Scurvy, Rag-Weed, MAHA Counter-Elite Debate, Mandate Battles Intensify, Texas AG Backs Bowden, Pharma Ad Ban Questioned, Consciousness Beyond Death, and MORE! https://robertscottbell.com/vaccine-carve-out-ending-lead-pipe-cuts-pfas-liver-risks-glp-1-scurvy-warning-maha-counter-elite-debate-mandate-battles-intensify-texas-ag-backs-bowden-pharma-ad-ban-questioned-consciousness-b/ Purpose and Character The use of copyrighted material on the website is for non-commercial, educational purposes, and is intended to provide benefit to the public through information, critique, teaching, scholarship, or research. Nature of Copyrighted Material Weensure that the copyrighted material used is for supplementary and illustrative purposes and that it contributes significantly to the user's understanding of the content in a non-detrimental way to the commercial value of the original content. Amount and Substantiality Our website uses only the necessary amount of copyrighted material to achieve the intended purpose and does not substitute for the original market of the copyrighted works. Effect on Market Value The use of copyrighted material on our website does not in any way diminish or affect the market value of the original work. We believe that our use constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you believe that any content on the website violates your copyright, please contact us providing the necessary information, and we will take appropriate action to address your concern.

Tuesday, February 17, 2026Welcome to "Seasons By the Well: Lenten Reflections".Join me with through daily prayer, meditation and reflections through this Lenten season. Take time to prepare yourself for the resurrection of our Lord Jesus, to carve out time in your busy schedule to take time during this season to become closer to God.To be prepared for this Lenten journey:1) Make sure you subscribe and follow this podcast and turn on notifications so that you will receive notifications once the new day's podcast is uploaded.2) Carve some quiet time and space to listen to this podcast every day. Preferably in the morning, when you first wake up.3) Have a dedicated journal and pen handy to jot down any inspiration during this reflection and follow the daily journal prompts.The best way you can support this podcast is by taking a few moments to RATE & REVIEW on your podcast app. This will ensure this podcast is visible to more listeners.Also, if you desire additional faithful inspiration beyond this podcast, follow me on Instagram @_bythewell. There, we can continue our journey together, sharing reflections, thoughts, and moments of spiritual connection.⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/_bythewell/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 12th of February, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Gospel of John 15:13. Jesus said: “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.” What a beautiful scripture! We need to invest in people, not in things. That man of God, Theodore Cuyler, said, “Marble and granite are perishable monuments, and their inscriptions may be seldom read. Carve your names on human hearts, for they alone are immortal.” Investing in people and not in things! I have been to some of the most beautiful churches and cathedrals, built for the glory of God, and I have walked through them. I am thinking of St Paul's Cathedral in London, just as one example, but at the end of the day, we are called to invest in people's lives because they last forever.Do you remember that song that was very popular years ago, about a man who lived, died, and went to Heaven? When he went to Heaven, he was standing with Jesus, and people started coming up to him, thanking him for what he had done for them on earth. He didn't even remember them. First of all, there was that young man who said, “Thank you for what you did for me because you came to our Sunday School when I was only 8 years old and you spoke to us and I gave my life to the Lord, and that is why I am here today. Thank you for giving to the Lord.”Another man came up. He said, “Thank you. A missionary came to your church. He showed you pictures of the needs of people. It made you cry. You gave him money, and because of that money you gave him, I am here today.” A long line of people were lining up to give you thanks and Jesus took your hand, and He said, “Child,” with tears running down your face, “Look at your great reward!” Just a story, but a beautiful one - investing in people!The other day I got a beautiful letter. You see, a while before that, a young student in Central Africa sent me a letter and said, “I can't go on anymore. I am studying to be a doctor, but the course is too hard. What should I do?” And I sent him a little note back, that's all I did. I said, “Keep on pressing on.” And about a year later, I got a beautiful email from him saying that he pressed on and the letter was signed, Dr so and so - He had passed his exams and is now a qualified Christian doctor. Invest in people. It is worthwhile!Jesus bless you and goodbye.

An employee is on vacation in the mountains when it happens: “I left my laptop at home.” Instead of scrambling, the employee logs into a virtual desktop from another device, pulling up what looks and feels like their own PC, delivered through the cloud. That simple moment captures how Steve Shimizu describes Omnissa's mission—helping companies enable a digital employee experience that allows people to work from anywhere, on any device, he tells us.For Shimizu, this practical use case reflects a broader evolution in end-user computing. What began with desktop computers moved to laptops and mobile devices, and now extends to “everything” that consumes data—from retail scanners to cars, Shimizu tells us. Omnissa operates at that expanding edge, supporting both physical and virtual endpoints while helping employees stay productive regardless of location.That same blend of flexibility and discipline shapes how Shimizu thinks about the company's growth. Although Omnissa emerged from a carve-out, he resists the startup label. Running a multi-billion-dollar organization with thousands of employees is more like earning a pilot license and being handed a “747” as your first plane, he tells us. Growth matters, but only when paired with financial stability—what he calls “profitable growth.”Finance plays a central role in that balance. Shimizu explains that real partnership comes from moving beyond surface-level metrics and “double-clicking” into the data until it becomes actionable. Just as importantly, finance must revisit those decisions, measuring what worked and what didn't, to guide the company through its next phase of transformation, he tells us.

Jesus Followers Must Carve Out Quiet Times to Listen for the Holy Spirit Who Speaks to Us in His “still small voice” MESSAGE SUMMARY: God will speak to you, but you must learn to listen for Him. Learning to listen for and to God requires focused and "in-tune" listening in combination with a filter for all the in-life clutter that your lifestyles and culture create. As Paul tells us in Romans 10:17, followers of Jesus must listen and hear the Word from the Lord: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.". You are going all the time with stimuli from many different sources – how can God speak or be heard, in a still small voice, through all your noise? To hear and listen for God, "lengthy times in silence and solitude" with the Lord are needed. Times of quiet prayer with God permits the noise and clutter get taken away. Again, in Psalm 141:1, the Psalmist admonishes us to call upon the Lord and to listen for God's Word: “LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you!".   TODAY'S PRAYER: Abba Father, I admit that I am often afraid and embarrassed to openly tell you all that is going on inside me — even though I know you know it all anyway. Teach me what boldness in prayer looks like as I draw near your throne of grace. In Jesus' name, amen.  Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 112). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Anger. Rather, I will abide in the Lord's Forgiveness. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Exodus 19:5; Daniel 9:9-14; John 10:2-16; Psalms 106a:1-12 A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “Essentials Part 2 – More than Just a Man”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Audio Transcript Yeah, Full house this morning. There we go. So, yeah, it’s good to meet in God’s house and to sing praises to the Lord. So today we are going to continue our sermon series in the book of Luke. And so if you have a Bible, you can go ahead and open up there. And if you don’t have a Bible, there should be some blue Bibles in the chairs that you can go ahead and grab. And so we are in Luke chapter six. And we’re going to be reading verses 12 through 19. And so this passage is focusing on the calling of the 12 disciples and the events that follow right after their calling. And so I’m going to read this passage and then I’ll pray and we’ll get started. So here’s what the word of the Lord has for us this morning. Luke 6:12. In these days he went out to the mountain to pray. And all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them 12 whom he named Apostles Simon, whom he named Peter and Andrew his brother, and James and John and Philip and Bartholomew and. And Matthew and Thomas and James the son of Alphaeus and Simon, who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. And he came down with them and stood on a level place with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all. So that’s God’s word for us. Please pray with me. God, thank you that you speak to us through, through your holy word that you have preserved so that we might hear from you. Now I pray God that you would indeed speak, and God you would help me to speak your word and that you would give us hearts and ears to receive what you are saying this morning. It’s in Jesus name we ask these things. Amen. All right. So up until this point in Luke’s eyewitness account of Jesus life, Jesus has done a lot in the region of Galilee and in Judea. And in the very beginning of Jesus ministry, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, followed by a supernatural phenomenon with the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus like a dove and the voice of the Father declaring, this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Jesus was then led into the wilderness for 40 days, where he was tested and tempted by Satan and where he overcame the devil through God’s word. Jesus taught in the synagogues throughout the surrounding area of Galilee, teaching that the scriptures were now being fulfilled in him. Jesus declared that he is the Son of man, who has authority to forgive sins. The Bridegroom of God, the Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus had casted out demons, proving his authority over spiritual realms of darkness. Jesus had healed many people of a variety of sicknesses and malformities, including fever, disease, leprosy, paralytics, withered hand and and much, much more. Jesus had called forth specific individuals to begin following him that nobody would expect, including outcasts and fishermen and a tax collector. And with all of these things Jesus had done and continued to do, he was doing the will of his Father. But now a shift in Jesus ministry strategy was about to happen. So no longer was Jesus going to continue his mission in solidarity. And although Jesus certainly could have done this, that’s not what God planned to happen. Instead, Jesus would now choose 12among those who had been following him since the baptism of John, and they would become his personal disciples. And so understand, like this is no small thing for the ministry of the Son of God this moment here in our passage, as we know that these 12 disciples would go on after Jesus to establish God’s church for the edification of the saints and for the proclamation of the Gospel to the ends of the earth. So the establishment of God’s kingdom for generations would come, beginning with these 12 disciples. Through these 12, by the power of God, lives would change and the world would change. So how does Jesus make this very big decision? Looking at verse 12 in our text, it says in these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. So before choosing the 12 disciples, we learn that Jesus removes himself from all distractions by going to a mountain in Galilee and he goes there alone to pray to God the Father. And Jesus did this actually early, early on in his ministry that Luke mentions. And he’s doing this at the days when the Pharisees hate for Jesus was only increasing more and more as we learned about from last week’s sermon. And as Luke had mentioned, Jesus had done this in the past. What is unique here in this passage is that this is the only time Luke records Jesus takes all night to pray in isolation. Like the only other time Jesus comes close to doing this is in the Garden of Gethsemane before his crucifixion. And so there’s two Reasons why I think God’s Word gives us this information and why Jesus prays all night. The first reason is to show us the humanity of Christ. Jesus is fully God and fully man. And therefore during his time on earth, there are times when Jesus knowledge or power were willingly limited in order for him to be fully human. And so to put it another way, Jesus subjected himself to the Father’s will by choosing not to exercise the full limit of his divinity during his life and ministry on earth. So Jesus never stopped being God, but also he was man. And Jesus dependency upon prayer with his heavenly Father shows us the humility of Christ as he had to depend on his Father at times to reveal to him what the Father’s will was. And since this is such a large decision happening here, Jesus spent the entire night in prayer seeking the Father’s will. The second reason I think Jesus did this is to teach us about the vital importance of prayer. So when faced with a large decision that Jesus knew was part of God’s will for his life, he didn’t say like, I’ll pray about it and then like walk away and like forget to pray about it or just kind of briefly mention it to God in prayer and then just kind of go further about his day. Like actually Jesus, like knowing that he was going to choose the 12among this crowd of disciples, like took, made the disciplinary action to step away from the busyness of ministry to be alone with God and to pray not for five minutes, not for 15 minutes, and not for an hour, but all night long until the text tells us like the sun rose the next day. Like, let that sink in. This is vitally important what Jesus is doing and taking this time to pray. And if the Son of God felt that prayer was this vitally important for his ministry, then how much more vitally important is prayer for God’s people and determining God’s will for our lives? Jesus is the perfect example of what it means to be a Christian and what it means to walk by faith in the living God who hears and answers prayer. And so we as God’s people, we must do the same and carve out devoted time to pray to God individually as a family and corporately if we want to carry out God’s will for our lives. And so if your prayer life is lacking, then let the example of Jesus encourage you to make time for prayer this week. Make some like, attainable goals on how you can devote more time to prayer this week so that God’s will may be done in your life. For God delights in hearing and answering the prayers of his saints. And if the perfect Son of God depended on His Father to lead and direct him while on this earth through the power of prayer, how much more do we need to depend on our heavenly Father through prayer? That being said, moving to verse 13, it says, and when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them 12 whom he named apostles. So the sun rises after Jesus long night of prayer, and Jesus knows who he is going to choose as his 12 student. 12 students. The meeting that Jesus had with his heavenly Father in prayer made it clear who would be chosen and what he would teach them that morning. It’s important to note that the only reason the disciples are made like one of the 12 is, is because Jesus graciously chose them to become his apostles. Like, this isn’t something that they signed up for, but rather something Jesus called them forth to do and chose them to do. And with that line, like John the Baptist understood this as well. John the Baptist said this about his own ministry. A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given to him from heaven. It is by the grace of God and his choosing that these men are made into 12 disciples for the purposes that God set long ago. And the word apostle that is here in our text that Luke points out, it literally means to send. And so this is signifying the mission that was given to these men, to these disciples from Jesus. So in both the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark, Jesus choosing of the 12 apostles involves giving them authority to be sent out to preach, to cast out demons, and to heal every disease and affliction, which is exactly what Jesus is about to do in the next few verses. And so the 12 apostles were God’s chosen disciples in whom he gave authority to carry out his great mission. Jesus was instituting a new office of apostleship for the early church, who would serve as his official representatives. And the way he would teach his apostles is by spending time with them. 24, 7. Because of this, these 12 disciples would get to know their teacher and their Lord on a much more personal level from this point on, which is such a privilege for each of these 12 disciples. And then in our text, verses 14 through 16 gives us a list of these apostles names. And so A list of 12 disciples is also given in Matthew, Mark, and Acts. And in each of these lists, Simon Peter is always listed as first. And then Judas Iscariot is always listed as last. This is because Simon, who was renamed Peter, which literally means rock, is whom Jesus said, on this rock, I will Build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Jesus chose Peter to be the leader in whom he would begin to build his church after his resurrection. And Jesus words are actually fulfilled later in the Book of Acts we read on the day of Pentecost, Peter preaches a sermon of repentance to all who gather to hear him in Jerusalem. And about 3,000 people profess faith in Jesus that day and are baptized. And so hence, Jesus uses Peter to begin to build his church. So overall, there’s not actually a ton of information known about each of these apostles based on what God gives us in His Word. We know that, like, four of these guys were just simple fishermen and they were called to follow Jesus. And this was Peter and Peter’s brother Andrew, and then two other men named James and John, who Jesus called the Sons of Thunder. We know that John was called the disciple of whom Jesus loved, and that John wrote the Gospel of John and as well as three epistles and the Book of Revelation. And then we know that John was exiled to the island of Patmos at the end of his life. We know that Matthew, also known as Levi, was a tax collector who wrote the Gospel of Matthew, which we just spent some time learning about him a few weeks ago. We know Bartholomew was also known as Nathanael, and he was described by Jesus in the Book of John as an Israelite in whom there is no deceit. We know Thomas doubted the resurrection of Jesus until he saw him again, which, honestly is kind of a bummer thing to be remembered as. But I’m pretty sure as we get to heaven, we’ll learn like, there’s some other great things that Thomas did in faith. We know that Simon was a zealot, in which the zealots was like a zealous religious group who are committed to the fall of Rome. And then we know about Judas Iscariot, who was the money keeper for the apostles and who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. And after betraying Jesus, Judas hung himself in the field of blood and was later replaced by a man named Matthias, who became the 12th apostle in his place. And as for the rest of the disciples in this list, like, the Bible actually doesn’t give us a ton of information about them. And from what we know, these apostles, like, they did not come from noble or wealthy families. They weren’t priests or scholars. They weren’t even like, really educated. They were like untrained, ordinary people like you and me. And so don’t miss this with this list that is provided here. By Luke, these guys were just ordinary men. And yet they were called and chosen by an extraordinary God. And because they were chosen by an extraordinary God, by Jesus, their names will stand as pillars in heaven for all of eternity. Which is wild to think about. Just listen to what Revelation 12:14 says concerning the new Jerusalem that represents the city of God in the new heavens and new earth. It says this, and the wall of the city had 12 foundations, and on them were the 12 names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb. So these apostles, they may have been just ordinary guys before Jesus called them to himself, but because they were called by an extraordinary God, their names will be remembered as pillars in heaven forever. And the Bible doesn’t tell us much about the apostles, but that’s because it’s not about who the apostles are, it’s about the extraordinary God the apostles were called by and who followed for the sake of Christ’s kingdom. That’s what matters here in this passage. And because Jesus chose these 12 disciples who gave up their lives for the sake of the Gospel, according to church tradition, today there is a foundation that the household of God’s church stands upon and will forever stand upon, namely, because Christ is its cornerstone. And so we, Red Village Church, we are in debt to the way that God used these 12 disciples. And that is something incredible to think about. God chooses ordinary people like you and like me for extraordinary purposes that make ripples into eternity. And we would do good to never forget that. Moving on to verses 17 through 19, our text says, and he came down with them and stood on a level place with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them. So after Jesus chooses his 12 disciples, he now comes off of the mountain that he was on in prayer with these 12 at his side, to what Luke said, a level place. Now, this description of a level place, it’s important because it seems to be signifying that this is a different place from the Sermon on the Mount, where Matthew clearly says Jesus went up on the mountain, and then he began preaching the Sermon on the Mount after he had ascended the mountain. And so the sermon, this sermon right here, it differs from the Sermon on the Mount in that it doesn’t focus on the Jewish law, but instead its focus is on love and fruit that a disciple’s life should have. And so although this like sermon is very similar and it’s actually using the same information that Jesus uses on the Sermon on the Mount, it’s actually only half as long as the Sermon on the Mount. And because of this, this sermon is often referred to as the Sermon on the Plain, in which many scholars agree was a similar sermon to the Sermon on the Mount, but it was given a different. It was given at a different time, likely before the Sermon on the Mount. So before Jesus preaches the Sermon on the Plain, Luke tells us a great crowd of Jesus, other disciples, and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon. They all gather to Jesus for these three reasons that Luke gives us. To hear Jesus preach, to be healed of their diseases and to be freed of unclean demonic spirit. So it’s important to note that Jesus fame, like it’s now spreading beyond just the region of Galilee and Judea in which Jesus has been up to this point. And so now, like Luke says, great multitudes, which is most likely in the thousands, are now coming from the sea coast of the cities on the Mediterranean, which means these were Gentile cities. And so Gentiles are now coming in to gather around Jesus to hear him teach and to be healed and to be freed by demonic spirits by Jesus. So we know that this is the reason why Jesus came is to redeem and to save not only the Jews, but also the Gentiles from every tribe and language and tongue on the earth. And as people came from near and far, their diseases were healed. And the demons that oppressed those who were troubled were cast out and cured. And those who came wondering like, could this be the long awaited Messiah that we have been waiting for? Truly they heard and they seen that this is the Christ. Verse 19 tells us that as people began to be healed and cured, others in the crowd who had not been healed simply made it their mission to just touch Jesus. Because Luke says divine power was radiating out from Jesus that healed them all. Now this is like an incredible scene that Luke is portraying for us. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of people pressing in just to simply touch Jesus. For just by touching him, lifelong illnesses, chronic pain, infirmities, and agonized demon possessed people who have been dealing with this for who knows how long are instantly healed when they touch Jesus. Like that is incredible. All because the Son of God, the Christ, was standing on level ground on planet earth and from him was radiating this life restoring power to whom all were healed. That came to him like, what a sight this must have been. This, this had to been incredible to witness, especially for the 12 disciples that are now called to join in with Jesus ministry. Like this had to be mind blowing. And the word for power here that Luke gives is actually the Greek word dunamis, which is where we get the English word for dynamite. And so this is the same power that Luke describes Jesus having in Luke 4:14, where Luke says, and Jesus returned in the power of the Holy Spirit to Galilee. So this power that Jesus has coming from him is directly related to the Holy Spirit who we see brings life and restoration both to creation and to all of mankind throughout the Bible. And this is the Holy Spirit’s life changing power being poured out from Jesus to everybody who is coming to him and to everybody who is touching him. And so this picture is certainly painting for us. A picture of the nations coming to Jesus in great physical and spiritual need. And Jesus is at the center, allowing all to come to him and to be healed as they believe and touch the Son of God, who is the supply and source of the Holy Spirit’s power, which knows no bounds. And it’s important to think about this scene in relation to the 12 disciples who were just chosen. Like up to this point, they’ve listened to Jesus teach, they’ve watched him heal and cast out demons. But this, this is on a completely different level. Directly after being chosen to be Jesus apostles and given authority to do the same work as Jesus, this scene unfolds. And so this is the work that Jesus is doing and will continue to do with all of his 12 disciples at his side. People will be drawn to Jesus in both physical and spiritual need, both Jews and Gentiles. And Jesus will continue to restore and change lives through the power of the Holy Spirit living in his disciples. This is what Jesus Kingdom looks like. And he invites his 12 disciples to join in on this work. For it is only the beginning and that ends our passage. And so from this I have three applications for you that I want to give you from this passage of Scripture that I think speak loudest. And so the first application I have for you, if you have put your faith in Christ, remember you are chosen by Christ for the purposes of his kingdom as his disciple. In the same way that Jesus chose the 12, he has chosen you that all may be drawn to Christ. Ephesians 1:4:5 says this. He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. He predestined us for adoption to Himself as the sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will. That being said, there is purpose in the will of God as He calls his people from death to. So if you are a Christian here this morning, meaning that you have made Jesus like the Lord of your life, then just like the 12 disciples, remember that God has purpose for your life. As his disciple, he wants to use you to draw others to himself by sharing the gospel and by living as Christ’s ambassador, not because of what you’ve done, but because of who God is. And that is really encouraging to know that if you are in Christ, God created you for good works to do today, tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day and the next day that will ripple into eternity. When I was in college at a fall retreat for a collegiate ministry that I was a part of, it was in New Mexico. This was a collegiate ministry called the Christian Challenge. And the director there was named David Engelhardt. And so David led us out from this little Bible camp in the mountains of New Mexico. And he had all these students, including myself, gather around a little pond that was about 50 yards wide. And what David taught me that day and the rest of the students, I will never forget. With everyone gathered around this pond, he picked up a rock and then he just threw it into the pond and told all of us just to be silent and to watch. And so David does this. The rock goes. Splashes into this pond. And then ripples are sent out from this rock that go out all the way to the edges of this pond and. And then bounce off of different things in the pond until they all begin to go completely still. And so, in silence, everyone, including myself, watches these ripples go out. And after the ripples disappeared, David said this. Serving Christ is a lot like ripples in a pond. You, by faith, make a splash in obedience to Christ. And ripples are sent all across the pond, but the rock is at the bottom of the pond. And often the rock does not see the ripples that are going on up above. But God, he sees all that his hand is doing with these ripples. And so what he is saying is, God has purpose in every splash, every good work, every step of faith, every Gospel conversation, every Sunday service that we gather. God says he is working. And even if we can’t see it, God is building his kingdom through his chosen disciples, and that is through you. If you have put your faith in Jesus, he has chosen to use you to make ripples that will last for eternity. An extraordinary God calls ordinary people like you, like me, to follow him so that they might live with extraordinary purpose for the glory of God. So first application is, do not forget this. My second application from this passage is very simple, and that is to seek to make disciples of Christ Jesus. Master plan of evangelizing the world started with investing more time into just 12 disciples. And then Jesus spent even more time in just three of those disciples who were Peter, James and John. And so Jesus intentionally invited these disciples to not only join his ministry, but to also get a glimpse into his personal walk with God. And we are called to do the exact same thing. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he gave the great commission for his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and to teach them to observe all that Christ has commanded his people. And so if you’re here and you believe in Jesus as the Lord of your life, then you are his disciple. And you too are called to make other disciples through baptism and teaching other followers of Jesus to observe all that Jesus has commanded in the Bible. So if you’re a believer, my question to you is, who are you discipling right now? Who are you helping to follow Christ? Discipleship can look like a lot of different things. It can look like serving in kids ministry to help teach kids about the Bible and how they can know God. It can look like having a daily time of family worship with your kids and teaching them about the Bible and how to walk with God. It can look like inviting people to church so they can hear God’s Word preached and then grow in their faith through community with other believers. It can look like meeting together with a believer who is new to the faith or with someone who is considering the claims of Christ and to study the Bible with them and teach them about Jesus. It can look like leading a small group Bible study that is teaching others God’s Word and how to put it into action. Or it can look like inviting a college student to your home for a meal to see how you are following Christ while encouraging them to do the same. Which is what I personally am praying that God will do with Adoptive Student Day today. And so, regardless of how we do discipleship, what’s important is that we do seek to do it no matter what it will. No matter what it will require you to be intentional and to invite another person into your life and into the church so that they too may become a disciple who follows Jesus and who keeps his commands and if you’re not sure where to start, then I encourage you to do what Jesus does here in our passage of scripture. Carve out some intentional time to pray to God that God would give you someone to disciple and to show you who that person is. And if you do this, then God will guide you in the right direction and he will equip you with what you need to help others grow in Christ. This is the work that God is doing and what he’s called us to do. And it’s not about who you are and how good you are at teaching or helping others. It’s about just seeking to be faithful and God using you to build up and raise up other disciples. My third and last application from this passage is point all people to the life restoring power found in Christ alone. Our passage ends with human need, both little and great being met in the person of Jesus. So Jesus is the only one with the power to change a person’s life from spiritual death to spiritual life. Only in Jesus can the Holy Spirit change a dead heart to beat for God and to live the extraordinary life that God calls us to live by faith. Jesus lived the life that we could not and died on a cross in our place. And then three days later, Jesus rose again from the dead and is victorious over sin and death. And today, Jesus is alive. That’s why we gather here and that’s why we continue to worship God. It’s because Jesus lives. And if you repent today and believe that Jesus truly is the Lord over all the earth who rose again from the dead, then scripture says you too will receive the resurrection power by the Holy Spirit who will come to live inside of you and who guarantees that you will be with God in heaven for eternity. Which is incredible. This is the gospel, the good news given to mankind. And so no matter who you are, where you’ve been, or what you’ve done, the power of God can change your life today. And I believe that wholeheartedly, because I am a walking example of that. God has changed my life from death to life through faith in Him. And so, in summary, point all people to the life restoring power that is found in Christ alone. May we never grow weary in doing that and in seeing that our Savior is the one who has life life restoring power so that all who believe may find new life and joy in him for eternity. That being said, please pray with me, God. We believe that Jesus truly is alive. And we believe, God, that you can use us as you use these 12 disciples to bring about life for others, to bring about Godliness, to bring about godly fruit that is good and righteous and holy. And Lord, that you call us to make other disciples. And so I pray, help us to be faithful in trusting Lord in your choosing and being faithful, to step out works of faith and to be intentional with others so that others may grow in Christ and be able to know and love you and walk with you and God, that the Gospel by your grace, may go to the ends of the earth, that you would use our small little church to fulfill your great commission. And God, that we would never grow weary in pointing people to the all powerful Christ who is alive and who gives new life to all who believe in him. And I pray God be with us as we continue our service today. And it’s in Jesus name we all pray. Amen. The post Chosen Disciples – Luke 6: 12-19 appeared first on Red Village Church.

Did you know there's MAGIC in your Meditation Practice? Say Goodbye to Anxiety and Hello to More Peace & More Prosperity! Here Are the 5 Secrets on How to Unleash Your Meditation Magic https://womensmeditationnetwork.com/5secrets Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player. Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Take a deep breath and let serenity find you, Focus and invite it within. Carve out a space of tranquility and calm, Lean into its peace as you begin.   PAUSE… Call to mind your unspoken thoughts, The things you choose not to say. The time has come to honor them, To set them free in some way.    PAUSE… Sometimes it's best to hold our tongue, And other times, it doesn't serve us. Either way, those thoughts build up, When wrapped in silence and never discussed. Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life. If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want! Namaste, Beautiful,

In Episode 454 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with author, futurist, and U.S. foreign policy expert Jamie Metzl about the aims and objectives of the 2025 National Security Strategy and its implications for American prosperity and power in the 21st century. Jamie and Demetri spend the first hour of this conversation digging into the Trump administration's 2025 National Security Strategy and the story that the administration is trying to tell to the American people and to itself about America's place in the world, where it went astray, and what needs to be done on a strategic planning level in order to "Make America Great Again." From there, Metzl and Kofinas debate whether the strategy amounts to a "containment" of China or something closer to a 19th-century balance-of-power where the largest and most powerful countries—namely the United States, Russia, and China—will be granted the freedom to operate with impunity within their own spheres of influence, dealing a final death blow to the international rules-based liberal order that the United States sought to universalize after the fall of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago. The second hour is a wide-ranging tour through what this strategy might look like in practice, from the Western Hemisphere and Venezuela to Europe and Ukraine, and what "power politics" means when so much of modern conflict is fought through influence campaigns, institutional sabotage, and cyber operations rather than through the use of conventional arms and occupations. The two also explore the dangerous vacuum created when a superpower can no longer clearly articulate what it stands for—at home or abroad—and how that confusion can lead to a cascade of unintended consequences that further destabilize the international system, resulting in a new form of total war. Subscribe to our premium content—including our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports—by visiting HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you'd like to join the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community—with benefits like Q&A calls with guests, exclusive research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners—you can also sign up on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed today's episode of Hidden Forces, please support the show by: Subscribing on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, CastBox, or via our RSS Feed Writing us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Joining our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and support the podcast at https://hiddenforces.io. Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 12/15/2025

Austin shares 6 tactics that you can leverage during your job search to minimize burnout and protect your mental health!Time Stamped Show Notes:[0:30] - Burnout is REAL![1:45] - Set expectations early[3:20] - Identify & reallocate your energy[4:27] - Find some support[5:08] - Carve out “me” time & realize that it's OK to unplug[6:49] - Therapy is amazing - Seek it out if you need itWant To Level Up Your Job Search?Click here to learn more about 1:1 career coaching to help you land your dream job without applying online.Check out Austin's courses and, as a thank you for listening to the show, use the code PODCAST to get 5% off any digital course:The Interview Preparation System - Austin's proven, all-in-one process for turning your next job interview into a job offer.Value Validation Project Starter Kit - Everything you need to create a job-winning VVP that will blow hiring managers away and set you apart from the competition.No Experience, No Problem - Austin's proven framework for building the skills and experience you need to break into a new industry (even if you have *zero* experience right now).Try Austin's Job Search ToolsResyBuild.io - Build a beautiful, job-winning resume in minutes.ResyMatch.io - Score your resume vs. your target job description and get feedback.ResyBullet.io - Learn how to write attention grabbing resume bullets.Mailscoop.io - Find anyone's professional email in seconds.Connect with Austin for daily job search content:Cultivated CultureLinkedInTwitterThanks for listening!

Topics:  Parenting/Vision, Breaking Animal New, AI Newspaper, Shock Jock BONUS CONTENT: School Car Lines   Quotes: "We can look at Jesus as a vision of what to be." "Rabbits are quick to get married." "You can become a different person." "I think we're getting lazy, here." . . . Holy Ghost Mama Pre-Order! Want more of the Oddcast? Check out our website! Watch our YouTube videos here. Connect with us on Facebook!

The Senate is mad they got spied on during arctic frost but what about all those persecuted who were at the capitol during January 6th? The communist lies about everything at all times because they have to. Did Jesse really run for political office? Is cheese pizza kids food? Follow The Jesse Kelly Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheJesseKellyShowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Israeli forces still occupy half of Gaza. In the cease-fire deal, Israel agreed to fully withdraw its presence there once Hamas fully demilitarized. But Amit Segal thinks that's unlikely to happen anytime soon. Instead, he believes Gaza will end up divided. So what does that really mean? What are the implications?Segal is the chief political analyst for Channel 12 News in Israel and is known to be quite close to the Netanyahu government. He writes the newsletter It's Noon in Israel and is the author of the book “A Call at 4 a.m.: Thirteen Prime Ministers and the Crucial Decisions That Shaped Israeli Politics,” which was recently published in English.In this conversation, he talks about why most Israelis don't see the cease-fire as the end of the war between Israel and Hamas and how this conflict is mapping onto Israeli politics — both at present and as the country looks toward its next elections.This episode contains strong language.Book Recommendations:The Accidental President by A. J. BaimeAn Unfinished Love Story by Doris Kearns GoodwinMessiah in Sde Boker by Hagai SegalThoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.You can find the transcript and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.htmlThis episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Jack McCordick. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, Kate Sinclair and Mary Marge Locker. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Isaac Jones. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show's production team also includes Marie Cascione, Annie Galvin, Rollin Hu, Kristin Lin, Emma Kehlbeck, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Pat McCusker and Aman Sahota. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Transcript editing by Naomi Noury. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.