Podcasts about her mother in law

My guest, Lisa Steven, is the author of A Place to Belong: The true story of a Teen Mom, a Humbling Leadership Journey, and a House Called Hope. She is also the cofounder and executive director of Hope house Colorado. Lisa was the oldest of four children. Her parents' relationship was volatile. Her brother's accident and unexpected death caused her to be mad at God. At seventeen, she discovered she was pregnant. Being a teen mom wasn't in her plans, but she and her boyfriend got married. His parents welcomed Lisa into their family.Her mother-in-law became an influential person in Lisa's decision to grow her faith in Jesus. The leaders of MOPS – Moms of Preschoolers – and the other young mothers welcomed Lisa. It was here she learned that God redeems everything. Years later, God called Lisa to start Hope House, which provides free personal, educational, and economic programs for teen moms. Powerful quotes from Lisa:·         “I just wanted his family.”·         “He will always surround you with the most extraordinary people to make His call a reality.”·         “Look what God can do! It's crazy what He can do!”Bible verses:·         Romans 8:28·         Jeremiah 29:11 Learn more about Lisa Steven:·         Hope House Colorado https://hopehousecolorado.orgSend me a COMMENT or QUESTION!THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! Have a comment about this episode? Click HERE and complete the form.

Most people would say that Rhonda Farrah has had a difficult and, at times, scary life. As you will hear, Rhonda had a pretty conservative upbringing. She will tell us that she was in fact surrounded by love from her family and even her extended family of aunts and uncles and grandparents who all lived under the same roof. Rhonda was the oldest of her siblings and many looked to her for strength and knowledge.   Rhonda went to college first majoring in Horticulture, but switched to Psychology. As she says, she likes to help things grow and while she loves gardening, she preferred to help people grow and development.   Rhonda, as part of her so-called difficult life spent six years in prison and while there discovered that she had a lump on her breast. She didn't address the lump until she was released from prison. She used a combination of Western and Eastern medicine to complete eliminate the tumor without surgery. Also, fairly soon after leaving prison the sentence and charges she faced were completely expunged. While many told her she should litigate she disagreed and turned to forgiveness instead.   Today Rhonda coaches and teaches women to grow and learn to look within themselves to better understand how to grow and move forward. Rhonda calls herself a lifestyle empowerment alchemist. As she explains, an alchemist changes materials. She helps women to change by learning to look within for answers. As she says, if we look for answers, the best place to find them is within ourselves.   Rhonda offers many wonderful and relevant pieces of knowledge we all can learn to use. I think you will enjoy her story, her progress and her inspirational and unstoppable attitude very much.       About the Guest:   Rhonda M. Farrah, MA, DRWA, a LIFEstyle Empowerment Alchemist, Coach and prominent figure in personal development, has dedicated her years of insights as a psychotherapist to be a guiding light for women facing unique challenges, helping them embark on a transformative journey of Selfdiscovery and Empowerment.   In a world where external issues often command our attention, Rhonda Farrah stands out as a catalyst for inner growth with her mantra, “Fix Your Reflection First.” A beacon of hope for women who find themselves trapped in the throes of personal turmoil, be it in relationships, careers, or daily life.   Through her extensive career and profound dedication, Rhonda Farrah has spearheaded the Fix Your Reflection First method of realizing that both the joys and the setbacks in your life can serve you IF you can look past your immediate emotional response and use your Self-awareness to grow instead of pushing yourself down. Farrah's holistic approach centers on Self-reflection and the restoration of Self-love as the cornerstone of personal growth and Change.   As a seasoned author, Empowerment Alchemist coach, speaker, entrepreneur, spiritual teacher, and educator, Rhonda has cultivated an extensive toolkit designed to assist individuals in addressing the challenges that hold them back and embracing the joys that propel them forward. Working with clients and companies from International Centers For Spiritual Living to the US Open Wellness Team, Rhonda's teachings emphasize harnessing Self-awareness and leveraging life's setbacks as opportunities for growth rather than obstacles.   Rhonda's mission is to Empower women to prioritize their Self-love and Self-awareness, nurturing a profound alignment that positively influences every facet of their lives. Her work fosters a renewed sense of confidence and a hunger for personal growth, igniting a powerful journey of Self-discovery. Having written several e-books, Rhonda has participated as a Contributing Author to America's Heroes, Leaders, Legends, The Power Of The Human Spirit, and America's Leading Ladies Who Positively Impact Our World, featuring Oprah Winfrey and Melinda Gates.   Ways to connect with Rhonda:   Website: https://helpmerhondanow.com Email: rhonda@helpmerhondanow.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhonda-m-farrah-ma-drwa-81097b14 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rhonda.farrah Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helpmerhondanow_   About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, hello and welcome to another episode of unstoppable mindset. I am your host, Mike Hingson, our guest today is Rhonda. And Rhonda pronounce your last name Farrah, which is what I thought. But I always like to make sure I get it right. Well, Rhonda Farrah is our guest, and as you will learn from her, Rhonda is a lifestyle empowerment Alchemist, and I'm intrigued to learn more about that and all sorts of other things. She especially helps women and helps ground them, I think, to summarize a lot of what she does, and we're going to talk about that. I know she talks and and in her bio, I read a lot about encouraging people to really think and center themselves. And that's something that we talk a lot about on various episodes of this podcast, and it's something that I talk about in the new book that is published in August of 2024 called Live like a guide dog, where I talk about and encourage people to be much more self analytical and look at themselves and take the time to do it, because it will create a lot less fear in their lives if they discover that they don't need to be afraid of so many things, but that's not something we're going to worry about as much today, unless Rhonda wants to talk about it, but we'll get there anyway. Rhonda, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're really glad you're here.   Rhonda Farrah ** 02:50 Thank you so much, Michael, thank you for inviting me to be your guest. I love the name of your podcast, unstoppable mindset, because that's, after all, where everything begins, it   Michael Hingson ** 03:02 does. Well, why don't you start, since we talk about starting at the beginning by telling us a little bit kind of about the early Rhonda growing up and all   Rhonda Farrah ** 03:10 that stuff. Okay, yes, the early Rhonda growing up. Early Rhonda. I am originally from the East Coast. I grew up in Connecticut in a largely traditional household and family. I had a stay at home mom. I had dad who preferred mom stay at home. And I am the oldest of three brothers and one sister, and during that period of time, largely through grade three. You want to talk about my early days through grade three, I lived in an extended family, and many people know what that is. It was my parents, myself, my siblings, grandparents, at least one set at a time, aunts, uncle, one, uncle and great aunts, and it was a all under one roof, so there was a lot of love and there was a lot of discipline all at the same time. And it was a household primarily women, and my sense of nurturing and nurturing nurturance began very early with that feminine influence there. It's not that men don't nurture but I had an entourage of all that feminine presence around me, and also being the oldest of my siblings, I took on that while everyone's looking to you, Rhonda, that you're the role model so early on growing up, it was, I would have to say, We were a very conservative family, and I had conservative influences around me, and it actually paved the way for me wanting to. Not only to be in service of to others, but to go ahead and do my studies in psychology, counseling and educational psychology, and to help others be their highest and their best self. And that, that unstoppable mind, as you put it, is when we go within and we understand, how are we attending to the agenda of our soul that going within? So that's that's a brief that's a capitalized version of how I grew up. I like to play girls CYO softball. I was raised Catholic, Roman Catholic, later on, rebaptized a Christian. I honor all paths to God. I consider myself spiritual. I've always been spiritual, whether I realized it or not, and that, you know, that helps with that going within once, one says, Once I said, Yeah, I want to, I want to experience what is going within little Rhonda. And as I grew into an adult, and I got better at it, let's, let's put it that way, I got better at going within.   Michael Hingson ** 06:16 Well, yeah, and I think that's, that's important, and I think that that development of the brain is something that more people ought to do and and don't do nearly as much as as they should live like a guide dog. Is all about learning to control fear, because when I was in the World Trade Center and we had the emergency that we did on September 11, although I had plenty of fear, fear did not overwhelm or, as I put it, blind me. I used it as a powerful tool to help me focus. And the reason all that happened as I really figured out many, many years later and then started to write about it in the era of the pandemic was that I developed a mindset. I knew what to do because I researched what to do. It wasn't a matter of reading signs. Oh, I can read these signs that'll tell me what to do. That works until it doesn't, and it's not nearly the same as knowledge. And so I learned what to do. I talked to the Port Authority, police, the fire department, emergency preparedness people, and learned everything that I could about what was, what was occurring, or what what could occur in an emergency, and what to do in an emergency. And did it enough that it became a mindset for me, so that when it actually happened, although we never thought that it would, when it did, I was able to function because I had conducted a lot of self analysis and thought about, what do I do in this kind of situation? Realized I know what to do. Yeah, it's always possible the building could have just come down around us, and then where would we be? Well, we wouldn't be here talking about it, probably anyway, but knowing what to do was the issue, and we we, selectively or collectively as a society, tend not to do that. We think we can just read signs or Well, if it happens, it happens. But we don't think about that. But we think about so many other things. My gosh, what? What if one politician gets elected? What if another politician gets elected? What if any number of things happen? What if I go to the store and I get robbed and all sorts of things that we don't have any real control over, and we create so much fear because we don't just focus on the things that we can control and leave the rest alone. And I think that that is probably something that leans right into a lot of the things that you talk about,   Rhonda Farrah ** 08:53 yes, and that's you make an excellent point, because there's a point where we need to depend on what's going on within us. We can't depend on the government. We can't depend on the economy. We can't depend on the health care system, the pharmaceutical system. We need to listen to our intuitive self, to our authentic self from within and sure, I've been scared, sure, but with with stuff that happened within my all my own life. However, I wasn't paralyzed by fear. I didn't react. I responded, and that's really important for people to consider. We have so many questions, and especially now in these times, we're in chaotic we're in uncertain times. We're in a mess, basically, but the mess is here for us to learn, to grow and to move forward with that power from within, as I call it, our authentic power from. Then, and we, we all have, it's the power to thrive and not merely survive.   Michael Hingson ** 10:06 Yeah, and we all have the power to work together and to create harmony, if we would, but do it right   Rhonda Farrah ** 10:15 if we choose to. Yeah, it is a choice.   Michael Hingson ** 10:18 But make no mistake, it is a choice, and we can do it if we if we wanted to, and it would be so much more amazing how well people would get along on how much more we would accomplish if we did that.   Rhonda Farrah ** 10:32 That's absolutely correct. Michael, we are oftentimes we get caught up in what is different within us. You know, what are our differences? How about, let's talk about, how are we so similar, right? And that's where the strength comes in. That's where the power of numbers come in with that strength, with that power.   Michael Hingson ** 10:56 Agreed. So you grew up? Did you go to college?   Rhonda Farrah ** 11:01 I did. I attended the University of Connecticut under graduate school. And ironically, I didn't start out in psychology. I started out in horticulture, and was two years it's an agricultural college, actually the University of Connecticut. It was at that time. Now it's in the top 25 in the United States. And I enjoyed school. I enjoyed college immensely, and I always I switched to psychology. And let me tell you why. When I was a kid, I used to watch this show. It was The Bob Newhart Show, and he was a psychologist in this particular part in   Michael Hingson ** 11:52 that show, right?   Rhonda Farrah ** 11:54 And and for you know, unfortunately, several days ago, he made his transition. But when I heard that, I said, wow, look at how long ago. I mean, I admired him. I admired what he did. And I said, No, that's that's what I want to do. So I started out in horticulture, growing, okay, so I just switched to help people grow within themselves, and I am an avid gardener, by the way, and I like all those things with respect to preparing the soil, with respect to pruning, with respect to weeding so that you can grow healthy plants. And I'm a big advocate in growing where we are planted. We always have something to learn, if it regardless of situation, circumstance or happenstance. There's always something to learn wherever we're being planted or plant. There are no accidents, in my opinion, no coincidence, no happenstance. And we call everything forward into our lives to do just that, to grow when we are we are planted to experience joy, to experience sorrow,   Michael Hingson ** 13:05 and a lot of times when we experience sorrow, if we would really stop and think about it, we might find it's not as bad as we think too, right? But that happens, and that's again, it's a growth era and a growth thing to deal with. Yes,   Rhonda Farrah ** 13:20 yeah, absolutely. And you know that paved the way in psychology for me to become what I call a lifestyle, empowerment Alchemist, a coach, author and a speaker and alchemy, believe me, I am no left brain person. I alchemy is the precursor to chemistry. I never took chemistry. I opted for, I think it was environmental science. I was safe when there was a science requirement. I was good with that. But alchemy is indeed the precursor to chemistry, and it's the transmutation of one substance into another. So I learned by my own situations and circumstances. I have plenty of credentials, but my biggest credentials are that I came out on the good side, I'll say, On the positive side, on the Empowered side of some not so good situations and circumstances in my life. So that's why I refer to myself as an alchemist, and I am dedicated to awakening those who choose to be awakened, to opening their hearts, their minds, and most especially, their spirit within them, so that they can live their best life ever.   Michael Hingson ** 14:36 So in in your case, you you you do change things, what? What were some of the the maybe negative things that you had to work through that caused you to decide that you were truly an empowerment Alchemist, a lifestyle empowerment Alchemist, nothing   Rhonda Farrah ** 14:53 is negative unless, unless you think,   Michael Hingson ** 14:57 what challenges? Yes, the challenge. Challenges,   Rhonda Farrah ** 15:00 the struggles, the the adversity. Okay, six years in a woman's federal prison camp, breast cancer, several divorces, financial ruin was thrown in there, and it was like, wow, this is the not so good stuff that's happening, and it took me a while to understand. I called all this forward. I called all this forward for all the reasons why, whether it was poor choices, especially in the case of prison camp, called it forward to learn lessons and to to actually be in a major time out, because it began there that I began to realize my biggest struggle and challenge was I didn't know myself. I'd lost my sense of self. It I was in there somewhere, but I had lost my sense of self, and I needed to be literally extricated, separated from all that was familiar to me, so I could do something about that.   Michael Hingson ** 16:08 Yeah, how long ago was that that you were in the prison camp? No,   Rhonda Farrah ** 16:12 would have been. Actually, I was there when 911 hit. Okay, oh yeah, it's been a while, and I began that prison term of being of service to others, as well as myself, service set loosely in 20 in 2002 1000 in 2000 in 2000 and when 911 hit, I wasn't in a place where it was, you know, bars and razor wire or any of that. But when 911 hit, most I know my family and other people that I knew were saying she's probably in the safest place she can be. Yeah. And I said, Wow, this is actually happening. And I remember that happening. I remember I was actually part of a work cadre. I was teaching wellness classes as well to my fellow inmates, 300 women, and that came a little later, but it was part of a work cadre that went to the Presidio five days a week, five of us, five women, and we did Gardening. We did organization within, let's say, the warden's house that was up there on the Presidio. So I was part of the those that were trusted enough to be out five days a week. I mean, we had to go back, but so I experienced a lot. That was a gift and that was a blessing, and that is what got me through that instance. Just as other instances, I found the gift, I found the blessing in particularly like where I was at all times. But I did find gifts and blessings. I'm an avid runner. I had a track to run on. I a strength trainer. I had what was called a weight pile up there with antiquated equipment and everything else. But yet it was, it was mine. It was available to me. And so the gifts and the blessings come in in sometimes unlikely places, if you are open and receptive to them. And it wasn't about until a year after being incarcerated that I stopped banging the phone against the wall saying, Get me out of here. I had an aha moment. It was that period where I surrendered that I really began to peel away the onion skin that was keeping my sense of self, my true sense of self, self with a capital S at bay.   Michael Hingson ** 19:13 So you, as you said, started peeling back the onion and went on clearly, what was a journey of self discovery, and you began to realize, and I put it in quotes, I made these choices, and I'm the one that can fix it in the long run, in   Rhonda Farrah ** 19:39 the long run, right? But in the short run, I was learning more about myself than I ever imagined. Yeah, because I was separated from all those things that were my comfort zone, I was definitely out of my comfort zone, which is where our life really begins. When you're out of your comfort zone.   Michael Hingson ** 20:02 Yeah, and in so many ways and and, of course, that's the whole point that we get so comfortable on our comfort zone that we never really do look beyond it. And that's a problem, because life is all about so many things that we choose not to explore that would be so beneficial if we did? Yes,   Rhonda Farrah ** 20:26 absolutely, and I was pivoted right back into being of service to others.   Michael Hingson ** 20:35 Okay, by   Rhonda Farrah ** 20:36 teaching wellness classes and by you know there was a camaraderie. It was like women would say, Well, what about what should I do in this situation? What I said, I think you should take this time, because you have this time, literally time to explore from within, you can a lot of women that want to lose weight, they want to have better body image and otherwise. And those wellness classes were not just physical wellness classes I was teaching. It was emotional well, because that's how you get to the physical if you're working from the inside out, going within, then you're gonna have better results well being, rather than Ill being. And I would often say, you know, well, they would say, Well, when I get home, I'll get on a program and   Michael Hingson ** 21:36 lose weight, and yeah, when I,   Rhonda Farrah ** 21:39 when I said, Well, let me tell you what, when you go home, you're going to have to pay your rent, take care of your kids, have a job, and do everything else that you do in the real world without being institutionalized. So I said, there is a gift for being here. It's sad a lot of the times, because we all missed our families, but there is a gift and a blessing if we choose to know that so many women took me up on that some did not, and that's was their right. It's not my right, nor obligation, to want for someone what they do not want for themselves, not at all.   Michael Hingson ** 22:25 We are our own best teachers, and no one else can can do that for us,   Rhonda Farrah ** 22:30 right? That's exactly right, Michael, and it's it was an interesting time in my life. I actually so I was in my very early 40s, and I just turned 66 last last month, and I I never imagined that my midlife crisis, that was act one of my midlife crisis to be incarcerated to be and actually incarcerated to be liberated. I had more freedom getting to know myself and my true sense of self than I ever had at that point again, it wasn't all roses, it was pain, sorrow, emotional, largely, but I went through it. I felt, you've heard the the phrase, um, feel the fear, feel the pain, and do it anyway. Yeah, because it's subside. It's actually empowering to know that we have that power to feel pain, to feel sorrow, yet it will move us forward, or propel us forward. So   Michael Hingson ** 23:49 was that time in prison for you? Kind of the the end of Act One, and then the transition to act two.   Speaker 1 ** 23:57 Well, that was act one of my midlife crisis. Oh, you're master of your midlife crisis. That's my midlife crisis.   Rhonda Farrah ** 24:03 That that was that. But it was so surreal to me. I've never had a parking ticket or speeding violation, and it was like, What is this? So? Hard lessons, hard lessons when you do not trust your intuition. When you make poor choices, when you try to please people, just remember you, you will not come out on the best side of things, but you must go where you need to go to learn what you need to learn. Yeah, kind of like a college. It's an extra. Was an extra grad school,   Michael Hingson ** 24:45 well, and you said something very interesting, because, in reality, if you trust your intuition and you really work and develop that it will help you avoid things that otherwise you might not be able to avoid. But we. Don't tend to do that. And my favorite example of that is the game Trivial Pursuit. How often do you play that game and someone asked the question, and you think, I know the answer, and then you go, No, that can't be the right answer. And it turns out it was the right answer, and you should have answered with it. But, you know, it happens so often in so many ways, with so many things, yes.   Rhonda Farrah ** 25:19 So I mean, I took the best of a not so good situation and it was all right. It served me. It served me to empower me so that I could have that like in my that was a notch in my belt, to let people understand, that I could understand what they're going through because I was there.   Michael Hingson ** 25:47 So what happened when that time was over?   Rhonda Farrah ** 25:51 So I was teaching wellness classes there, and I was supposed to be released in April of 2005 and it got delayed until, I believe it was July of that year. And for 11 months I knew I had a lump on my breast, and I did nothing about it, but go within, meditation, prayer. I was not going to subject myself to the Bureau of Prisons, medical, and I took a risk, sure, but I went within and the intuition said, Okay, you're going to be all right. I call it my godling self, not my mere, earthling self. I didn't run around in this chaotic, chaotic tone and in every area of my life and say, Oh, my God, I got I got to do something about this. And no, I knew, but I knew what I had to do. I had to go within and reinforce that my authentic power would help me get through this? So that act two of midlife crisis is now entering in and I came home. I was living on the Monterey Peninsula, and we had to go to a halfway house for a month or so when they understood I had a lump on my breast, because I told them they couldn't wait to get rid of me from the halfway house. So I went home and I went to my gynecologist. He ordered a biopsy immediately, and in none other than breast cancer awareness month, October, I was diagnosed with nearly stage three breast cancer. And I'm a believer that what happens to us really happens for us. And that's that period incarceration strengthened me to get through this. And I was scared, but I was not in fear mode. I was not immobilized. And of course, biopsy comes back, and everyone's saying, what happened? What was it? And I, my response has always been, well, it's not the best news, but it's not the worst news, right either. And from that point, I met with my friends, would say, we're going to get you another breast. And I go, No, I don't want another breast. I like this one, and I have a nice little war scar right here, and I'm good. I'm good with that. No one has ever complained. So I'm good with all of it, because I'm good with it myself. And I got this feeling that had the best breast dye they called him in the United States, Dr Jeffrey Hyde, and he I was scared because I told my god, I heard about chemotherapy, surgery, radiation. And he said something to me that surprised me from within the Rhonda inside. He said, this can be chemically treated. And I said, What? And I was happy that it could be chemically treated. Okay, so I mean that meant chemotherapy. I was happy, but I was like, How could this be? I'm an athlete. I take care of myself. I don't have any negative vices or anything. And now this is happening and the incidents, so here I am the nurturer. Okay? I nourish others now. I help them be their highest and best self by taking the. The adversity as well as the joys, and making it work for them, if they choose that finding the gift of the blessing. So here I am the nurturer now realizing that incidence of breast cancer in women is due to the fact that women do not nourish or nurture themselves. They're good with everyone else. Okay, they're good, but nourishing others. I wasn't nourishing myself. Couple that with and that had started well before prison. I was a people pleaser. I was a doormat at times, and I just went about my life. And that was that, until I got a major time out in prison camp, and then I got hit with the breast cancer thing, and I decided, well, oh, there's my aha breath. That's my god breath. I decided, well, I'm gonna, I'm going to do this with Eastern medicine. I began the practice of medical Qigong, and I put off going to chemotherapy, and my daughter looked at me as if I was nuts, and she says, I don't know when we're going to get a break. And I go, it's going to be okay. Everything's going to be great. Don't worry, I'm not going to die, because who will be here to run your life? Tell you to brush your teeth and all of that in between. And I mean, I was interjecting some of you into a very serious thing, and that day, I made a promise to myself and to my daughter, I am not only going to live, I'm going to dance at your wedding, and I'm going to see my grandchildren and all that happened. There you go. That happened. I've been cancer free for about 17 or 18 years now, but my point of telling you that is that the medical Qigong professional heat said, go back and get to your oncologist and get an ultrasound, because Western medicine has the best diagnostic tools. I went back to her, my daughter was with me, and she said to me, I don't know what you're doing, but you're shrinking your tumor. And I felt good about that. And then my daughter's head spun around on her neck, and she looked at the oncologist as well as me, and said, Are you buying this shit like that? And I knew then that was another fear of mine. There were enter that fear of surgery, chemotherapy and all of that in between. I knew then, no, you got to go through you go, you'll use Western and Eastern medicine. And I never looked back. I had chemo. They cleaned up the margins a little bit on one of my breasts, and I had 40 blasts of radiation. So I got over that fear. I mean, that's, I'm not a doctor person. I don't I don't like to go to doctors, so I needed to call that forward so that I could understand that I had that power from within me to face even that fear. But once again, I was pivoted right back into being of service to others and doing support groups with women with breast cancer. Cancer.   Michael Hingson ** 33:44 So when did you become cancer free?   Rhonda Farrah ** 33:49 It was the end of March, 2006 Okay, and so what claimed cancer free? What?   Michael Hingson ** 33:56 What did you do? How did Eastern medicine help with that. What? What was involved with the Eastern medicine aspect of it?   Rhonda Farrah ** 34:03 Well, even though I started the chemotherapy, I had very few side effects from chemotherapy, because I continued with the medical dig on. I continued with acupuncture and prayer chanting, so I had side effects. I'm a runner. I was, I wasn't running as quickly, but I was, I was moving along with my dog four days, sometimes five out of the week, and I went. I was very diligent on Thursdays at 11 o'clock. That was my chemotherapy. So I come I combined them, but I was glad I combined them, and I was glad I faced that fear of, Oh, my goodness,   Rhonda Farrah ** 34:52 I need to do this stuff that I don't like to do. Do. So I could have become a victim and said, Oh, poor me,   Rhonda Farrah ** 35:04 we would probably not be having this conversation right now, because it's a little over 35% of women with breast cancer. Yeah, never   Michael Hingson ** 35:12 fake it. Well, yeah, go ahead.   Rhonda Farrah ** 35:15 I didn't choose that. I chose. I chose my own healing once again, and whether I knew it or not, by helping others heal emotionally, most especially, I was healing, and I was becoming more empowered. And I just took this next scary piece of life, adventure of midlife crisis, and I made it work for me, rather than anything less.   Michael Hingson ** 35:46 But that's really the whole point of stepping back and doing introspection in your own life and thinking about it and listening to what you have to tell yourself, because that's where the real solutions come from in most anything that we do, if we but listen. And you know, we don't tend to listen to that inner voice nearly as much as we can or should, and we lead ourselves astray.   Rhonda Farrah ** 36:21 I so agree with that. Michael, you know, we, we have so many questions within understand that the answers are within us. Yeah, that's it, and it is an inside job to live the powered life, to live the life that you want to live. Perhaps the life that you dream about, it comes from here, that comes from the heart, space, the heart, the emotions. And I believe there's only two emotions, fear and love, right? Whatever emotion you're in creates your thoughts, and your thoughts create your external world,   Michael Hingson ** 36:59 and you have some control over how all that really shakes out in the end, we all   Rhonda Farrah ** 37:05 do. We're all our own Guru. That's it. If we only knew that we we all have a godly self, not merely an earthling self.   Michael Hingson ** 37:17 Well, I think, in reality, they're they're one in the same in various ways, but I hear what you're saying   Rhonda Farrah ** 37:23 the and whether you call it, I happen to call it God, because my upbringing it universe, source, spirit, the divine.   Michael Hingson ** 37:31 Well, God's a very powerful word. I have no problem using that. Yeah,   Rhonda Farrah ** 37:35 black people are afraid of the God word. I like the God word. Yeah, definitely. Every time, there it is again, the AHA breath, that's my god breath. It's a confirming breath. So we just confirmed that it's great to say the God word, and   Michael Hingson ** 37:51 it has nothing to do with any specific religion.   Rhonda Farrah ** 37:54 No, it does not.   Michael Hingson ** 37:58 So what happened after Act Two in your midlife crisis, world,   Rhonda Farrah ** 38:10 I was asked in an interview, and I'll get to act three. Adventure number three, I was once asked in an interview, what was the worst date you've been on? So I was videoed, and the long and short of it was, I said, Oh, I thinking about it. I don't date and meet somebody. We get to know one another. They asked me to marry them, and the rest is history. Enter two divorces. You know, pretty close together, five, six years apart, very short lived divorces. And I'll tell you what prison prepared me for, breast cancer, and prison and breast cancer together prepared me for a lot of people don't think prison or breast cancer would be worse than divorce. It wasn't the divorce, it was the betrayal. It was the trusting of someone and then, like being sideswiped, that was it. Sideswiped and lots of tears. I always say, wherever I was, tears and laughter are signs of growth. If one is not laughing or crying weeping, then you're not growing. And growth is essential if you're going to be your highest, best self, if you're going to be an empowered, your empowered self. So the first one was ugly, the second one was ugly, and but I, I, I know I have a formula for living in empower. Life, and boy, did I use it my formula, because, after all, I am an alchemist, is gratitude plus forgiveness equals living the life that you want to live. So I was, first of all, I was grateful for meeting these people, because they taught me again about myself. I was settling, no disrespect to whomever I was married to, but I was settling because, well, I don't want to be alone, and maybe no one will also come and blah, blah, blah. I mean, I went through these gyrations. I'm no stranger to feeling that way, and I'm very vulnerable. I think you know that by now, and I'm good, you can hold me up to the light, and I'm transparent because I'm okay, whereas I wasn't to begin with, and that's about two years ago. My brand changed to fix your reflection first and live your best life ever, because that's why we're not living our best life ever. It's not that everything must go right for us, it's that we can find the gift and the blessing when nothing is going right. My whole life fell apart only so it all together in better ways. So I went from that people pleaser door map to under to thanking those who I was pleasing and had used me as a doormat. Thank you. I got it now. Okay, I got it so when I look in the mirror now, I see the love of my life. Because unless we are able to understand who we are and our magnificence, we will attract much less. Again, no disrespect to any situation, circumstance or event, to any person that I have been with so and the other thing is, if you treat yourself like the love of your life,   42:11 you will attract the love of your life,   Rhonda Farrah ** 42:14 not only in a romantic situation, in every freaking area of your life, you will attract the best of the best,   Michael Hingson ** 42:24 and I gather you've done that.   Rhonda Farrah ** 42:26 Oh, I'm open to love, but I'm not, I'm not with any I'm single and but I'm not, like, not in any dating sites or anything like that, right? I'm I'm working with myself,   Michael Hingson ** 42:40 yeah, well, that's what I'm getting at and yeah, that's   Rhonda Farrah ** 42:44 who I'm with. I'm with myself. Because wherever we go, we take ourselves with us, and   Michael Hingson ** 42:48 somebody might come along at some point that you develop a relationship with, but you're going to look at it differently now than you have in the past. Absolutely, absolutely, which is so cool.   Rhonda Farrah ** 43:06 It's what needs to happen. If it happened to me, then I have the right to say, well, it could happen to you too,   Michael Hingson ** 43:15 and it's not an ego issue. To say you're the love of your life. That's That's not it at all, and and it's important, I think, that people understand that it is that you're you're happy with yourself, you respect yourself. Now, my life was different than yours. My wife and I got married in 1982 and she passed two years ago, almost two years ago. So we were married 40 years and lots of wonderful memories, and I don't know what will happen in the future, although I'm not looking for any anything like the romantic kind of thing to happen, although some people told me I'm crazy and I should, but my response is, you know, Karen is monitoring from somewhere, and if I misbehave, I'm going to hear about it. So I got to be a good kid. That's   Rhonda Farrah ** 44:05 it. And it works. And it works because it works for you, and this works differently for everyone, exactly, right. It works differently for everyone, but, and I have to say, and sometimes an audience will go up one side of me and down the other when I say, you know, selfishness is the most selfless thing we can do, right? I think, especially as a woman.   Michael Hingson ** 44:33 Well, yeah, I would say everyone, but I hear what you're saying, but I hear what you're saying. Well, so what do you do today, what, what is your, your your job, or whatever, or what do you what do you do with your life today?   Rhonda Farrah ** 44:49 With my life today, I I have dual duties after divorces. I was heading back to Connecticut. I. All my family's in Connecticut, two grandchildren. And not that I don't love the rest of my family, but, you know, grandkids, yeah, okay, I could do this, and ages 10 and eight, and a friend of mine, that's why I'm in Colorado Springs. Asked me to I've known her for 12 years. I know her through someone else that no longer speaks to me, okay, but that's that's how it happens. That's how people come together to learn lessons and otherwise. And she said to me, I need you to make a pit stop. Here I go, Oh, I kind of knew what was going on. Her mother in law has dementia, and she's totally ambulatory, and she's we high functioning. But as I'm in there somewhere, wherever I was, she's in there somewhere. So I came, I met the woman, and my friend said, Can you give us a year? A year? You want me stay here for a year, grow where you're planted? This is my point of telling you this, and this is why I do what I do. I have another growing where I'm planted. So she said, Can you give us a year? I said, What? It'll be three years, the beginning of October. I'm feeling that this woman and I will make our exit together, because I'm feeling I'm supposed to be here on one direction or dimension. Now I I still do plenty of interviews. I have my own radio television show on transformation network, which I'm inviting you to be on, and you'll hear from me on that. Let me know. Oh, yeah, and I'm catering to several clients. You know, everything is zoom these days, which fine. That's fine with me. So that's what I do. I'm in the process of, right? I've written three ebooks, a contributing author to three books, and I'm writing a book from PTA to prison, my journey in transformation. Now that was just a part of it, but that was the beginning, right? My journey and transformation. We're never too old for transformation. No, I would often joke and say, you know, Moses, he was transformed. He didn't didn't think he could do anything major. That was his mistake. And he did the greatest thing in his late 70s, yeah, the greatest thing for him. And the interesting part is I do mirror work is nothing new. And I go to the mirror every morning and at night sometimes as well, and lots of things developed after I changed my brand to fix your reflection first and live your best life ever. I went, I call it. I came out of the closet with prison and other personal aspects of my life. It's the best thing I ever did, be vulnerable in front of audiences and show them that I'm not immune to anything either. Just because I live and breathe this, which I do and I like it, I'm not stuff still happens to me, happens for me that not so good stuff, but so what I'm doing now is I'm continuing to transmute myself so that I can be A better service to others. That's literally what I'm doing.   Michael Hingson ** 49:05 One of the things that I love to say, and it fits right in with what you're discussing, is when I have the honor of doing these podcast episodes, if I'm not learning as much as, or more than anyone listening or whoever to the podcast that I'm not doing my job. And I think that that's an absolute part of it. We we all need to learn and transform. And I look for the opportunities that come along where people may say something like you've said a number of things that make perfect sense. I'm not sure I've heard today too many brand new things, but the reality is, there aren't that many. There really aren't new things in the world. It's just that either we haven't heard them yet, but they're still there, or we. We've forgotten them, and we need to remember them, or we have heard them, and we do remember them, and it reinforces it. But the fact is, there really isn't anything new in the world. We just have to sometimes rediscover it for ourselves. Exactly   Rhonda Farrah ** 50:14 it's it's the amount of reading I did in prison camp, and if I make notes on the in the sidelines of the pages, and then I go back and I read the same passages and books and everything else, and I'd read what I've written, and I'd say that was a learning experience. And my measure look how far I've come. That that's when self help wasn't called self help. Yeah, now we have self help, you know, yeah, Bob bought the programs and everything, and then never opened them, because, again, it's an inside job. And I believe that with all my heart,   Michael Hingson ** 51:02 right? Yeah, and I think there's, there's merit to that. So you have clients in various places nowadays, yes,   Rhonda Farrah ** 51:12 Canada, Australia. I'm actually the final touches on a group coaching program. It is coaching program for women. I'll take 15 women for 12 weeks, 12 weeks, and if they choose to continue with another 12 weeks, at the end of 412 weeks, we've done a year, yeah, together, and we've accomplished what we want to accomplish, but in bite sized pieces, right? We're building on the first 12 weeks, so I'm very excited about that. And my clientele is, I say 45 and over, but like 5850 and over, because we all having those little crises for our benefit. What?   Michael Hingson ** 51:57 What made you decide, though, to work with people who are essentially 50 and older, as opposed to younger people, because   Rhonda Farrah ** 52:04 I kept getting older. You know, I kept getting older, and my experience has happened to me, and I call it the mid life, and there are so many people going through, maybe not exactly the same thing, but in some cases, yes, the same things. They're going through them, and I, I want to be the light at the end of whatever tunnel they are journeying through, and let them know this is not a train coming at you. Your light is exactly that. It's your light. It's your guidance to move forward, and nothing less.   Michael Hingson ** 52:49 Now you you teach women, and that's fair, but if I were to carry it forward, what about men? Not that you that you're doing that, but don't men also really deal with the same issues they do,   Rhonda Farrah ** 53:03 but they deal with them in different ways, and in many cases, men have it over women because of the way they're dealing with them. Society has ingrained in men. They're the strong, they're the powerful, they're the empowered. Of course, you look at the state of affairs in this world today and you find that, well, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 53:26 and that's, of course, that's the problem is that it's great to be the powerful and the empowered and so on. But if you will, you let it go to your head, and you're not listening anymore,   Rhonda Farrah ** 53:37 right? The what I believe is that that's That's exactly true. If you're not listening to your intuitive self from within, if you're not, you're doing a number on yourself with that whole mindset thing. Yeah, think you can, you're right. If you think you can't, you're right as well. You're right as well. So the I have just had more women approach I've had more women approach me. There's a the they kind of assimilate with me and who I am, you know, I'm Mom, I'm the grandmother, and I'm the sister, you know, the oldest, and I'm in this thing, this gig, called counseling. Now, when I was a psychotherapist, my I turned to right around in 2005 couple things happened. I was released from prison. By the way, my sentence was expunged shortly after that.   Michael Hingson ** 54:46 Oh,   Rhonda Farrah ** 54:48 and so, and many people will also say, Aren't you mad? Aren't you angry? I go for what? For   Michael Hingson ** 54:54 what? Yeah, what good is that gonna do? I forgave   Rhonda Farrah ** 54:58 everybody. And. I came that's was part of my program for being my best self ever.   Michael Hingson ** 55:04 What were you accused of doing? If I might ask the   Rhonda Farrah ** 55:07 money. Money, crime, non violent. Non violent. No drugs, yeah. Money, crime, okay, got it. I mean, I was no milking and all of that. But the interesting part about that is, I served my sentence in prison camp. It used to be a men's prison camp, and Milken was there, and that's where he contracted cancer, and he won his release in $5 million and built the Cancer Center in Los Angeles. So you see, and that's, you know, everyone had me convinced, well, you should sue the government. I go, No, I don't think so. It's like, I need to move on. You know, it's like I'm moving on, and I'm taking the best pieces of that part of my life and this part of my life and these parts of my life, we teach that they can do the same.   Michael Hingson ** 56:04 When I was in my mid 20s, something happened. I became blind because I was born two months premature and given a pure oxygen environment, and that caused the retinas not to develop properly, something known at the time as retro enteral fibroplasia. And if we really want to learn to spell it, go buy my book thunder dog. Um, now it's called retinopathy or prematurity, and you can learn that in Thunder dog too. But anyway, um, I think it was in the mid 20s somewhere I read an article about someone who was born around the same time that I was and blind for the same reason, and they sued their medical people, and just, had just won a major lawsuit and got money and all that. And I was talking to my father about it, and I said, What do you think about that? And he he said, probably something that you can really imagine, he said, and what good would suing really do at the time? They probably had just the information that they had, and medical science had started to hear that retro enter fibroplasia was a condition, but medical science hadn't really accepted it yet. But my father said, Sue isn't going to solve anything. And he was absolutely right. And I thought the same thing. And to this day, I think that's true. I think there are times when there is such a thing as doing litigation for some purpose, but, you know, don't do it for the wrong reason, and don't go off and try to mess up somebody else's life, because I'm sure that those same ophthalmologists and so on in the 70s and 80s would never take the same approach that they did when I was born, or if they had to, because it really meant the life of the child, the parents would get an appropriate warning saying this could happen, which is what does happen. But also, it's been proven that it doesn't take a pure oxygen environment, 24 hours a day, every day to keep a child alive, and even just a few minutes a day will prevent the whole issue of becoming blind. So there are a lot of aspects of it.   Rhonda Farrah ** 58:34 There sure are.   Michael Hingson ** 58:36 But you know, we all are. We're in this same world, and we do need to, you know, to move forward. So what do you think that people can learn from you? We've talked for almost an hour. Summarize some of that, if you would.   Rhonda Farrah ** 58:52 I think people can learn from me that, you know, we're all whole, perfect and complete, even in our imperfections, all of us and I am more like others, and others are more like me than we all realize, because we all have that wholeness, that perfection within each within us, and they can learn to get out of their comfort zone a little before they're taken out of their comfort zone, to live an empowered life, to live maybe a little bit of the life that they've been Thinking about, perhaps dreaming about, they can learn that you know, even with everything that happened to me, I mean, I am so blessed. It could have been a lot worse in every situation that we have just talked about again in the last hour. But there was something within me, and it's within everyone. We are not alone. Alone, no one is alone. To take the best to count the gifts and the blessings, to use that formula gratitude plus forgiveness, not a popular topic, forgiveness will empower us if we go within and say, Yeah, that's the that I think that's the biggest thing, and that they're to get passionate about something, whether whether it's garden or whether it's changing lives, helping people fix their reflection first and live their best life ever. That's what they can learn from me. Find something to be passionate about,   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:50 yeah, the operative part about that is fix your reflection first, do something that you're passionate about. I would add to that, that doing something for negative reasons is only going to hurt you. It's not going to hurt anyone else exactly that's   Rhonda Farrah ** 1:01:06 taking the poison and expecting the other person to die. Yeah, it's not happening.   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:12 It doesn't happen. Well, if you were to Well, go ahead.   Rhonda Farrah ** 1:01:17 No, that's ask me. I want you to ask me another question. Do   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:23 you have a particular one you want me to ask you? No, oh, just checking. Just checking. If you were to to summarize all of this and leave people with one thought that they should take away and remember what? What do you want them to learn from this. I know we've talked about it a lot, and I kind of suspect I know the answer. But if you were to summarize it very briefly, what would you what would you say very   Rhonda Farrah ** 1:01:49 briefly? I would say, once again, you're not alone if you are struggling with a challenge, with something that not so good stuff in your life, reach out, whether you reach out to me, whether you reach out to someone else, reach out and go within. If you don't know who to reach out, to go within and listen and listen, and you'll know who to reach out to. And I have to say that wherever we go, and I alluded to this during the interview, during our conversation, wherever we go, we take ourselves. So those of us who are trying to avoid in life, wherever you go to avoid, whatever it is you're trying to avoid, you're the common denominator. You have still taken yourself there   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:41 and avoiding doesn't help. Facing is a different story than avoiding. Facing   Rhonda Farrah ** 1:02:46 Yes and it's okay. We all have feelings, feels. You want to feel sad, you want to feel angry, feel whatever the hell you want to feel okay. Because if you keep shoving those feelings down, eventually they will erupt at the most inopportune time. And quite frankly, and quite bluntly, I liken it to a toilet overflowing when you have a house full of guests, not a good thing. And finally, I'm inviting our audience to treat life as if it were ice cream and enjoy it before it melts.   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:28 I believe life is an adventure. We should all partake of it and not hide. We may not and shouldn't all do it exactly the same way. Everyone is has got their own way of doing it, but enjoy it, as you said, especially before it melts. Well, Rhonda, if people want to reach out to you, and I hope people will. And you know, you may get some, some guys who who email you, but how do people get hold of you?   Rhonda Farrah ** 1:03:58 I would welcome any questions. I love to hear what is on the heart and minds of others, and you can get a hold of me. At, Rhonda. R H, O, N, D, A at, help me, Rhonda now.com, Rhonda. At help me. Rhonda now.com,   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:18 and as I said earlier, we know what musical groups you grew up with.   Rhonda Farrah ** 1:04:24 Yes, we do.   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:27 But Rhonda at help me. Rhonda now.com and I hope people will reach out and seek the wisdom that you are providing and the knowledge that you have to offer, what a wonderful treasure trove of information and knowledge you are and you have, and I hope people will take advantage of that. Thank you. Thank you. Michael, well, I want to thank you for being here, and I want to thank all of you for listening and watching. Us today. We really value it. I would really like to hear from you. I want to hear what your thoughts are about today. Please email me, whoever you are, wherever you are. You can reach me at Michael H, i@accessibe.com that's m, I C, H, A, E, L, H, I at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, I b, e.com, or go to our podcast page, www dot Michael hingson.com/podcast, and Michael hingson is m, I C, H, A, E, L, H, I N, G, s, o, n.com/podcast, wherever you're listening, I hope you liked today and that you will rate us and give us a five star review. We value your reviews and your ratings. So very much. Really hope that you will provide us with a five star rating. We love it, but we really, most of all, value your thoughts and anything that you have to say about what you heard today, and I know Rhonda will appreciate that as well. So email Rhonda at helpmeda now.com and communicate with her as well. If you know of any guests Rhonda you as well who might be wonderful people that we ought to have on unstoppable mindset. Would love to hear from you. We're always looking for guests. I found Rhonda through a person who reached out to me and said, I know this great person who ought to be on the podcast. And he was right. So definitely, if you know of anyone, please let us know, but give us rankings, five star ratings, and communicate with us, because that's the only way we get a feel of what you like and what you're interested in and and what you're thinking. So please tell us. And with that, Rhonda, I want to thank you one more time for being here, and we appreciate all your time, and hopefully we'll do it again in the near future, and I'm certainly glad to come on the program that you were talking about earlier.   Rhonda Farrah ** 1:06:49 Yes, yes, thank you, Michael, it's been my pleasure to be here.   Michael Hingson ** 1:06:58 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. For this week's episode of APEX Express, we are joined by Yi Thoj and Belle Vang from Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP) and Pana Lee and Jennifer Xiong from California Hmong Advocates Network – Building Our Futures (CHAN-BOF) who will go into depth about these very tough but very real and needed conversations about abusive relationships, especially within the Hmong community, where 70% of Hmong Americans are under 24 years old.   Important Resources: Hmong Innovating Politics website California Hmong Advocates Network – Building Our Futures website Healthy vs. Unhealthy Relationships infographic How to Spot Abusive Relationships infographic Do you know someone in an abusive relationship? infographic Are you in an abusive relationship? infographic What does consent look like? infographic Transcript Cheryl: Good evening, everyone! You are tuned in to APEX Express. I'm your host, Cheryl and tonight is an What is AACRE?, you might ask. Well comprised of 11 grassroots, social justice groups, the Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality (AACRE) network, leverages the power of its network to focus on long-term movement, building and support for Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders committed to social justice. Speaking of AACRE groups, APEX express is proud to be a part of the AACRE network.  For tonight's episode, we will be spotlighting the work of AACRE group Hmong Innovating Politics, also known as HIP. Belle Vang and Yi Thoj from HIP will be in conversation with Pana Lee and Jennifer Xiong from the California Hmong Advocates Network Building Our Futures, also known as CHAN-BOF.  They'll be in discussion on the importance of teen dating violence awareness, especially in the Hmong community as they are among the youngest of all ethnic groups in the United States with about 70% of Hmong Americans being under 24 years old.   I know somebody, you might want to learn more about HIP and CHAN-BOF so I'll let our speakers introduce themselves. And don't forget. All of their socials and websites will be linked in the show notes.    Belle: Hi, everyone, thank you so much for making time in your night to join us. We really appreciate it. Today we're going to be having a panel discussion in recognition of Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. I really want to thank CHAN-BOF for collaborating with Hmong Innovating Politics. We're very excited to do this collab together. We're going to do a brief introduction. So, hi, everyone. My name is Bella Gaonoucci Vang. I'm with Hmong Innovating Politics as a Communication and Narrative Manager. If you're not one of our followers, make sure to follow us.  Hmong Innovating Politics is a grassroots organization focused on strengthening political power within Hmong communities through civic engagement. And with that being said, I'll go ahead and pull in one of our HIP members, Yi.  Yi Thoj: Hi everyone, my name is Yi and I use she, her pronouns, and I been a HIP young adult for around three to four years. I'm also working on the Bright Spots project.  Belle: And then if we can have Pana join the conversation.  Pana: Hi, everyone. I am Pana with CHAN-BOF champion stands for California Hmong Advocates Network Building Our Future. We were two grassroots organizations in community and outreach and this past year we have been able to provide mobile direct services to our Hmong survivors of domestic violence across the Central Valley– so from Sacramento to Fresno. Jennifer Xiong: All right. And that leaves me. Hi, everyone. My name is Jennifer Xiong. I use she/her pronouns and I work as a program specialist with CHAN-BOF and Banak, who actually serves as my supervisor. I'm really excited and happy to be here and really grateful for HIP for giving us a space time and platform to have this conversation  Belle: Thank you again CHAN-BOF for collaborating with us here at HIP. We really appreciate all the work y'all do in the community. I know y'all individually are really great folks. I'm really excited to dive into today's conversation. In your experience, I'm just asking everyone in the panel, where are some cultural norms or expectations within the Hmong community regarding relationships and dating, and that could be anything that you'd like to share from your own personal experiences. Pana: I think I can go. So I think growing up in the eighties, cultural expectations for women, Hmong women, We were expected to just cook, clean, and take care of our younger siblings and our parents. Right? So if you were dating, your relatives would just look down on us. Dating was frowned upon. I remember it was expected that if a guy is interested in you, they would have to come by your parent's house and your parents would have to approve. I remember guys come in and during our teenage years, my mom would have to be present. Right. My parents are really strict. Their limit was they could only stay two hours. And so my mom would ask fast questions. If they don't qualify, they don't meet expectations, they better be out ASAP. My parents are really, really strict.  So those were our expectations back in the 80s. We weren't really allowed to date during my younger days that's what we had to go through. Yi Thoj: I feel like a lot of the gender expectations of my generation is still very much by heteronormative and patriarchal norms and construct.  I'm the youngest of 7 girls, so all of my, 6 older sisters– they're fierce and they're also wonderful, powerful women who have helped me navigate through a lot of the contentions that I held before, interacting with romantic encounters and engagements. And so I think having that model definitely helped me navigate through my experiences as well. I feel like our parents are like, oh, if you want to engage in romantic encounters at a young age, that's welcome. But thankfully, they also didn't pressure us to do so. Jennifer Xiong: It's got me thinking about my own experiences, very little experiences, I might add. I think about some of the things my mom has said to me, which still stick around, it's kind of like embedded in my mind where she says Oh, ([Jennifer speaks in Hmong) meaning when your partner is visiting or at our home, you guys shouldn't be in your bedrooms. You should be out in the living rooms because that's really disrespectful. It, it invites negative perceptions about the person and about the relationship and it is a form of disrespect toward the, the parents and the home. I've also felt and seen from my older cousins or distant relatives who've gotten married– I think it's centered a lot around saving face. I remember hearing stories about my cousins. If they had gone out and they came home late, for example, and the parents were extremely displeased or unhappy, and they're like, no, you dishonored me and my daughter. You have to marry my daughter now because you took her home late, even if they didn't do anything salacious, so to speak. I'd hear those a lot. And, for me, those are always scary. Like, Oh my gosh, they would just do that! And you're a kid and you're growing up hearing these and actually, I think I heard it more commonly than I expected– people marrying young because of the whole consequence of arriving home late from a date or a hangout. So those are some of my experiences or what I've, I heard and witnessed. Yeah.  Belle: Thank y'all for sharing. I love hearing about your experiences. I It's really interesting how we all have different experiences, but it's still in the same realm of a very similar community, right? Very tight knit community. I echo both Jennifer and Yee's experience where my parents are a little bit more lax, but at the same time, it's like, make sure you marry someone who's a quality person. Right? I think that's really telling of how we see dating in the Hmong community. We don't date to date, right? We date to commit forever. And especially, I know all of us on this panel are women identifying and that can be a very dangerous tool, right? To just date to only marry– you're willing to put up with a lot, even if it's not really what you want for yourself, because the way the culture shapes us is if you are dating, you're only dating seriously. It's not to explore, not to be curious about yourself. And so I really appreciate the way that y'all frame it and the way that you share your experiences too. And I know we touched a little bit on this as well, but kind of gauging what it looks like to be in a healthy relationship. How would you say a healthy relationship is defined within the Hmong community? And what are qualities that you consider important? For a positive and respectful relationship within the community? Pana: So you all heard the word [Pana speaks in Hmong], right [Pana speaks in Hmong] right? [Pana speaks in Hmong] We We hear this over and over. I think even with my age, I've heard that. I'm pretty sure some of y'all have heard that to even my parents or friends or family, right? To me, what's considered positive in a relationship is really compromising and allowing you to have your own space, really meeting each other in the middle, trusting each other, having boundaries, appreciating each other, respecting, having that respect, right? Effective communication, being able to communicate with each other and having empathy. Also consent. Really having the permission of something to happen or agreement. Be able to agree with something and being committed to your relationship.  Jennifer Xiong: Yeah, I wanted to add, and also share that I think a lot of the times traditional expectations around what a healthy relationship looks like in the Hmong community generally entails being constricted and confined to your pre established roles that have been gone for generations. But I think that how we can further redefine that nowadays is to really think about how everything that Pana has already listed and shared. Right. I think it's important that those things like healthy boundaries and having balance within a relationship, I feel a lot of those things should be contextualized to the relationship. That's one, but also, I think it should be formed organically, which is difficult, and there will always be ongoing conversations about what a romantic commitment looks like, and what does that mean for the exact couple, but I think it's important to have an ongoing conversation about it, and then also it's important to understand these layers, that , If the couple is both Hmong, it's important to put that in context, and then it's also, what if it's a multiracial or multiethnic relationship? I think that's also very important. Understanding the values, and how these things can be formed organically as well. There are certain learned behaviors, beliefs, attitudes, that we pick up as we grow up and what the kind of relationships and dynamics we witnessed as we're growing up and then getting or getting involved in our own romantic relationships with people, and the things we witness and see can also really shape the way we go into relationships and the way we show up as partners.  I really don't know how to define it within the Hmong community, but I will say that I have seen when relationships and dynamics of dating are built on a foundation of patriarchy, it can, relating back to what Yi and Pana says, it can build really toxic and concerning, unhealthy relationship dynamics of power and control, and not knowing how to allow your partner to have autonomy to themselves, or knowing that it's two different people coming in together to a relationship. Power and control, when it gets mixed into this relationship, it can become really unhealthy and toxic. So I think it's also about unlearning those and realizing that certain attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs don't serve in creating a healthy relationship between a partnership or a romantic relationship. Within the Hmong community, a lot of us I've seen unlearning those behaviors and attitudes that we may have witnessed and maybe even internalized growing up. To answer the second part of the question what qualities are considered important for a positive respectful Relationship. I think it's really all that you you both named. Those are important like compromise and y'all named so many other great stuff, but then I was also just cranking up the things in my mind, but I just want to echo back what Yi and Pana said, and I'll leave it at that. Yi Thoj: What Jennifer just shared, about what we witnessed growing up sparked something in my mind as well about the media that we consumed growing up too. I watched a ton of Tyler Crohn's and Southeast Asian media growing up, and so much of the representations of love in there. It's so romanticized that abuse is okay. Non consensual engagements is okay. The media and real life relationships that are reflected and also modeled throughout our lives hold such a big factor into how we view love growing into a young adult and further. I know it definitely impacted me because I was always like, Oh, I think that's what love is, right? That's what it's showing on TV and things like that. Yeah, definitely holds weight.  Belle: Yeah, I love that you mentioned that Yi. I didn't really seriously start dating until I was in college and a lot of our generation grew up watching kdramas. Like, oh so romantic, super rich Boy is in love with super poor girl and he dictates her life and buys her everything like so romantic. And I tell my partner now that i'm married, if you ever do anything like in kdramas we are not messing around. That is not cool I don't want you to decide anything for me. I don't want you to pretend like you're in the hospital just as a prank You know boys over flowers. It's really interesting how love is framed growing up and how, just like you said, it's super romanticized. And like, you know how K dramas, you feel that excitement, like that, it's not necessarily love, right? That's just the thrill of being in something new, experiencing something different, but not necessarily love itself. And I really resonate with what you said earlier, Yi, about how it's really important to form those healthy boundaries and organically. And I really closely ties to Pana's comment about being able to create a consensual relationship and, Just like Jennifer said to like dismantling that patriarchy and foundation that we were built on.  We;re Belle: Learning those things are really hard to because initially I thought that drama was what love was supposed to be, but love is supposed to be safe and supposed to protect you, make you feel like you belong. Right? Because we like do grow up in a society that perpetuates love in honestly a violent way, I also just kind of want to know like y'all's thoughts on do you think there's enough awareness about dating violence within our communities, particularly the Hmong community? And how do you feel like it's generally perceived or even discussed amongst one another? Pana: I actually think there's not much awareness happening in the Hmong community. We really need to continue and bring more awareness. And it's awareness. Prevention. Intervention. We need to continue to do that. Some parents don't talk much to their youths about teen dating violence, what's healthy and what's not healthy, or actually like what to look for in a relationship.  In my household, I have only boys. And so we talk about safe sex, healthy boundaries, healthy relationship. What would they like to see in a relationship. I do this because, I've had experience working in the domestic violence field, sexual assault field for a long time. And plus, that's something that I never got from my parents. So my goal was, from now on, when I have my kids, these are stuff that I'm going to teach them. And so I kept my goals, you know, that was something that I told myself that I promised myself that I would do this, to continue to teach my kids healthy boundary, healthy relationship and dating violence., Most parents were taught when they were young you're going to get married and just have a good life, have a good family.  Yi Thoj: All points that are so valid and so true. There are generational gaps, between the elders and ourselves and myself. My parents are around mid 60s. As much as I think I try to bridge that gap sometimes, I think youth just don't have the language as well to fully explain to them.  There's even the conversation about like mental health and how romantic relationships are embedded in mental health and even that in itself is a difficult conversation to start. More tangible resources to learn more about communication in terms of learning the Hmong language and whatnot would definitely help with outreach and building awareness in the community. But I think a lot of recent events as well have also shown to me about where The reflection of culture and the communities as well Which I would also like to provide some sort of affirmation for any youth who's watching this that these contentions and frictions within the community– it's never a reflection of you. You know, it's always a reflection of the larger culture and what is happening. And something that we all need to advocate for and invest into to change.  Jennifer Xiong: yeah. I agree that Bottom line, there isn't enough awareness about dating violence within the Hmong community on many different fronts, like Pana mentioned, the prevention piece and the intervention piece. How does someone recognize or learn to recognize signs of I might be in a toxic, unhealthy relationship that is or can eventually lead into something that's violent? Or maybe I am in a current relationship where there is violence, but I don't know how to pick up on the signs and actually realize that, hey, I'm not in a safe place in this relationship, or in a safe relationship.  And then if your loved ones or family members or friends are recognizing it from an outside perspective, like, we lack a lot of resources and information out there for our community to engage with to learn how to intervene or also recognize it among our loved ones and the people we care about if they may be in those types of dynamics and relationships. And then when we do recognize it, how do we step in and help? What do we do? How can we help? And yeah, so bottom line, there isn't enough resources out there. I think it's still really on the, I guess the loose term, up and up. I really have a lot of faith and hope and I've seen, the work continue to expand and grow and obviously CHAN-BOF is a part of that, along with so many other organizations, statewide organizations that are trying to build more resources and information and push it out there into our communities, so that they know this information, they have access to it and can tap into it with our youth and young adults , and maybe even with our older folks or generations, cause I know you mentioned brought up a really great point too,in that , there's different gaps or different ways of understanding how to talk about dating violence within the Hmong community. Pana: Yeah, I remember my parents would tell me, [Pana speaks in Hmong] [Pana speaks in Hmong] [Pana speaks in Hmong] and I'm like I never understood that. And so growing up, getting older, I kind of understood it. And again, they said the same thing. We were talking, me and my kids were sitting in the table and we're talking about healthy relationship and stuff. What do you look for? How would the relationship look like? What's healthy? And then again, my dad says, yeah [Pana speaks in Hmong]  And my son was like, I don't understand that mom. It was just very generalized, and I had to like recorrect that. This is what he means. My definition of what my dad said was Look for a healthy relationship. Get to know the person Date them Belle: I love that example Pana because growing up everyone always told me that, and I took it at face value. You know when we speak in moments like poetry, right? but growing up I took that at face value saying like when you grow up make sure you marry someone who has Power, who has good reputation in the community, and then As I got older, my mom's like, that's never what I was telling you. Jennifer Xiong: I was just telling you, marry someone who makes you happy. And I was like, Oh, how come you didn't just say it that way? Then like you put it in a way that I was like, Oh man, I have to make sure I marry someone who's brings honor to my family, right? Like what a Mulan way of thinking. But I feel like that's always how I really perceive dating. And tying how Hmong is very much like poetry in our communities, I really like what Yi's comment earlier about how there's not really a lot of terminology in our community for even awareness about the mental health in our community. It's very much how medical terms have only really come to fruition in our community within the past like 50 years. We don't have anything regarding terms that we can use for mental health or dating violence, like the only thing we can use is sick, like that's pretty much how you say when you talk about mental health.   You just say basically, you have a sickness in your head, but there's not actual terms. When we talk about diabetes, like, [Jennifer speaks in Hmong] which literally translates to sweet blood or blood. Well, that is sweet. I hope to see, the next, I don't want to wait 50 years. I hope in the next 20 years there is verbiage that can help the community decipher and break down and bring more awareness to the violence that's being perpetrated in our communities as well. Belle: I love this conversation. I really love that. You showed examples of your son, and it really feels like how intergenerationally we think. We all think so differently, even though we have good intentions it doesn't get translated across the board. I kind of want to elaborate a little bit more when we talked about how it's really important to have consent when it comes to dating, how you really teach your sons that. Would you mind elaborating a little bit more about what consent looks like when it comes to dating, your perspective and how you see it within our communities as well. Pana: Have y'all seen the little video about drinking tea ? Sometimes you can drink the tea and you're like, I don't want to drink it no more. You know, and so you can change at any moment, right? And being able to understand okay, I This person might not want to, so I need to be able to give that respect and step away, right? And so, getting them to understand that. So if you all watched that video, the tea consent video. It's really cute, and It's really good for the youth, even for the kids. They understand it real quick. In a relationship, you should be able to give them that space and say, Okay, I get it. I'm gonna be able to understand if someone says no, then no means no. And then their body gestures are like they're pushing back, that means no. If my face is looking like, i'm shaking my head or you can see in my eyes like I don't like you stay away Right? And so being able to understand that Jennifer Xiong: I think one thing I want to add to that which is great. Like the tea consent video is super amazing at just Easily explaining under the understanding of consent, but also when someone can't consent like when they can't answer yes or no. For example, they're at a party and they've passed out drunk. They're just not conscious and awake and they can't answer yes or no, decline or accept. That also is not an invitation or permission. That is not a consent, basically. So I'm going back and forth. When a person can't answer, it's definitively no, because they're not consciously aware and awake enough to give that response. So I think that is also something I wanted to add. Yi Thoj: Yeah, I don't have much to add to this question. I've never seen the tea consent video, but putting that into perspective, that is such a great analogy and wonderful example and easy way to explain things can change right in the middle of an interaction.  Also just wanting to provide admiration to Pana as well to opening up the conversations with your sons because I think that's so important. A lot of the times younger Men or Hmong youth who are male identified. A lot of the times their influences are from other male figures in their lives who may not be the best role model. And so I'm totally leaning in towards the Hmong woman leaders in people's lives, especially Hmong youth, and just really loving that. Belle: I love that affirmation. we are right now a room of powerful women in our community itself. So I really, I want to like, double up on that echo Yi's statement as well.  Cheryl: You are currently tuned in to APEX Express on 94.1 KPFA and 88.1 on KFCF. You have so far been listening to Belle Vang and Yi Thoj from Hmong Innovating Politics, also known as HIP, and Pana Lee and Jennifer Xiong from California Hmong Advocates Network Building Our Future (CHAN-BOF). We are going to take a quick music break, but don't go anywhere. More on breaking the silence about teen dating violence awareness in the Hmong community after our break.  Welcome back. You were tuned into apex express on 94.1, KPFA 88.1. KFCF in Fresno. And online at KPFA. Dot org. You were just listening to your track off of the Anakbayan LB May Day mix tape called “Letter to Mom” by shining sons. Anakbayan LB is a Filipino youth and student organization based in long beach, California, working to arouse, organize and mobilize the community to address issues that impact Filipinos in the U S and in the Philippines.  Now, back to the show. We are here, with belle Vang and Yi Thoj from Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP) and Pana Lee and Jennifer Xiong. From California Hmong Advocates Network Building Our Futures (CHAN-BOF). We're talking about teen dating violence awareness and its impacts and implications in the Hmong community.  Belle: Jennifer, you talk about patriarchy and shared about how, you really tried to shape your son because you also work in this field you are definitely more eloquent work in addressing these issues. I want to dive more into what that looks like within our community and in our culture. Do you feel like there are specific cultural or community barriers that may prevent individuals, particularly Hmong individuals, from seeking help or disclosing incidents of dating violence? And what does that look like? Especially since I know CHAN-BOF does a lot of that direct work with clients. Pana: I think because we're so closely knitted, that's a barrier too, being afraid of, okay, this person might know me. One example is while growing up, I was taught men were more valuable than women. I think in our family, my parents really wanted a son and they kept on trying and trying until after they got 7 daughters, they finally got their son, right? And so we were told, you have to be patient because boys, [Jennifer speaks Hmong] and as a teenager, I was like, I guess I held no value. And so, and also keeping in mind for a long time, a lot of our culturally specific organizations were mainly ran by Hmong men. Hmong men are the main person who makes the decisions Jennifer Xiong: Some of those barriers are they don't seek help or support. The other barrier that I experienced in high school is I had a friend who was dating someone who was really abusive and verbally abusive, physically abusive. He sexually assaulted her. When she came to me. I was like, Oh, no, you need to go to your parents. The minute she told her parents, she was forced to marry him to save face. And so, after watching what had happened to my friend made me feel like if that happened to me and I went and told my parents. But these are back in my days, though, right? I would be forced to get married, like, and that time I didn't know that that was not okay. If someone raped you and forced you, that is not okay, but I wasn't aware of that. She wasn't aware of that. And so, again, we said, you know, back, awareness needs to happen. Awareness and education. That was something I remember for a long time and I felt guilty and I, I felt bad because I didn't know who to send to go for help. I referred it back to her parents and said, yeah, your parents would help you go for it and go for it. And that's, that's what happened. That's one of the other barriers. Some of our parents are not very educated in this topic, and it's a topic that we don't talk about. I do want to add, there's still strong sentiments of, victim blaming, shaming, disempowering. I've heard statements, or I will say, I was doing my research paper on DV in the Hmong community. My sources were like YouTube videos. And so, I found these videos of these women speaking out about their experiences of DV. In this particular example, she's married she was pregnant and her husband was abusing her. So much so that he was dragging her down the stairs of their apartment building. And so she mentioned her stomach was basically getting shaped. She was somehow able to escape his grasp and run to a neighbor and ask them to call law enforcement. And so law enforcement came and took away the husband because they visibly could see what, what had gone on. Her mother in law had said to her, Oh. [Jennifer speaks Hmong], meaning, oh, daughter in law, why did you call law enforcement and have them take away my son? It dawned on me how we perceived some of these dynamics and abuses when it happens in relationships. And again, the whole, why did you do that instead of are you okay? What happened to you? Why did they do that to you? Or really focusing on the wellness and safety of the person being in a violent relationship, violent abusive relationship. And to add to that, the terminology and the way we frame some of the resources out there, I remember a lot of the [Jennifer speaks in Hmong] the elders, would call DV shelters [Jennifer speaks in Hmong] right. The term, the explanation of it is like the place for runaway women or wives or mothers. But in fact, these shelters meant to house and keep individuals, women, children, who were experiencing abuse and violence in their relationship safe. But then we use negative connotations and terminology to label them because it brings a lot of shame and hesitation to seek out help. The fact that the resources that are available mainstream wise for those who are seeking help and resources because they may be in an abusive violent relationship is that there's also a lack of culturally responsive resources and services to aid and assist our specific community members when they're out trying to get the help that they need. I've witnessed and heard that a lot from the clients that I directly support and assist. Like, oh, we've gone here and then they mentioned not having a great experience, or being misunderstood, or I'm not feeling even safe or comfortable enough to talk about their experiences and get the resources and help that they need because some of the agencies really lacked the cultural understanding awareness or the intersection of that when it comes to dating violence or domestic violence in our own community. Yi Thoj: Yeah, all of this is like really great examples. Also, unfortunate. I think that from my own experience with dealing with victims around me who have undergone a lot of these violences, what I've seen is that a lot of it is them recognizing that the harm that is being done to them is wrong. Very much so. But they've also internalized and conditioned themselves to accept it as something that is normal and okay, even if a lot of the times there's this back and forth resistance of wanting to debate themselves from the situation, but then at the same time, them like always going back and this is the cycle of abuse, right, and how it works. But one note that I would also like to make is that what I've also seen is that it's really, really important that male perpetrators, especially Hmong men, it's important that there are other Hmong men who are holding them accountable, is what I found to be true. Because as much as Hmong women who are victims and other Hmong women bystanders who are wanting to advocate for these victims try to stand up for them, These perpetrators and also the culture inherently does not change if people who are in power and have that privilege don't actively help dismantle it, too. So, I think that it's important to note. There's so much power that goes into having woman led spaces and woman voices because that's so important, but I also think there should be so much more work done from the cisgendered male counterparts in our lives and in the community Belle: Thank y'all for that. Your sentiment is so powerful, yi and it's Very valid. A lot of times the folks that were leading this work are often the women in our communities Like that's just straight up facts, right? I attended a Boys and men of color conference, and one of the panels said the one time that men have these spaces together is also when women created. Right? As women, we build a lot of community for our community and at the same time, don't get the recognition of the work that is being done. So, it's really important that those who do have power, make sure that they implement it correctly and support communities that minorities within their communities that need that extra support.  The examples provided to I felt were very powerful, but also very traumatizing. When I was listening to your story, when you were talking about how you advise your friend to go to their family and they were forced into marriage. I know that we are different generations, but I feel like I definitely have met folks who are my age who were still forced to the situation. Those culture practices are so very normal and not unheard of. Like it's not completely cultural shift within one generation. And I'm sure When you witnessed that, that it was very traumatizing for you too, even though you were not the one immediately affected by it, but it also shifted the way you saw community, the way you viewed culture itself. And you even expressed you felt a lot of guilt and responsibility for that. It's really interesting that when there are those traumatizing, abusive relationships happening to those folks, and even at the third per person party that you feel that trauma in other ways as well. You mentioned how the patriarchy does affect our communities in that way. What is being done? What is being said to help heal our communities and work past these issues that are obviously very much rooted in our communities. I know we talked a little bit about the way cultural identity influences our communities. I know we specifically talked about the Hmong community too as well. I know we only have about 10 minutes left and so I kind of just want to dive into, not necessarily solutions, but what are things that we can take, what are steps that we can take to make progressive action and change in our community? So in your opinion, what role can the Hmong community play in addressing and preventing this deep imbalance? And Are there any community led solutions that you feel could be effective within our community? Yi Thoj: Yeah, I think as we've mentioned throughout the conversation, it's important to emphasize and highlight prevention work that can be done. And that is teaching the young boys and men and ongoing older Hmong men in our lives to. Because that is community, right? Folks who are directly within our circles, as well as people who we interact with. I think it's important to teach them very simple things that should already be fundamental, but unfortunately are not. Such as informed consent, and then also just normal consent. I think to echo back on what I just shared as well, having more male mentors who are very much progressive and radical in their work, and also centered in the actual tangible dismantling of the culture and harmful aspects of the system, I think is, A really big part of it. The reason why I think I'm bringing this up is because my experience with younger men who still hold a lot of these traditionalist and violent behaviors and mentalities receive a lot of their mentorship from other male mentors in their lives, and also just media consumption such as Andrew Tate and whatnot. A lot of folks in my own young adult experience very much religiously follow Andrew Tate and I had believed that we were at a point in our progressive history to where we have gone past that, but it's still very rampant in the community and it's affecting The youth, and it's affecting how they interact with and also date other Hmong women as well, assuming that this is a binary relationship.   Pana: It's time to talk about it, supporting each other, talking about what health relationship really is. And It doesn't have to just come from the school. For a long time, a lot of our parents, we depend on the school. Oh, they'll figure that out, right? it needs to come from everyone, every one of us. Even as a friend, as an individual, we all need to support in that piece like supportive organizations such as CHAN-BOF and HIP, right? Continuously talking about this, bringing the awareness. If you're feeling uncomfortable, if we're really uncomfortable talking about a certain topic, we do need to talk about that and really addressing that. Getting to understand what's healthy and what's not healthy. What are the signs of an abusive relationship? I think if we really want change, change needs to happen especially as parents and it comes from the youth too. We want a better future for our youth so I think really continue to really address this and doing a lot of prevention work because we tend to deal with a crisis and we're forgetting about the prevention part. How do we prevent this stuff. One great example that I always use is we're constantly supporting and trying to jump in and support people who are drowning, but we keep forgetting about, what's happening on the other side of that river. Something's happening and it's the prevention education piece that we need to start doing and continue to do. Cheryl: We're going to take a quick music break, but don't go anywhere. Next up,. You're going to be listening to “cultural worker” by power struggle. More on the ways we can work towards. Teen dating violence awareness in the Hmong Comunity when we return.    Cheryl: And we're back!. You are tuned in to KPFA on 94.1, KPFA 88.1 KFCF F in Fresno and online at kpfa.org. You were just listening to “cultural worker” by power struggle, a Filipino beat rock music artist based in the bay. We're currently here with Belle and Yi from Hmong innovating politics, hip. And Jennifer and Pana from California Hmong advocates network, building our futures, cHAN-BOF as we discuss the ways we can address teen dating violence in the Hmong community.    Jennifer Xiong: I'm gonna echo, I mean, both of you brought up the same points, but in really distinctive examples of your own, and I really appreciate that. It is about really bolstering, our community up to be proactive and engaged and informed about this, and really equipping and building them up to be a part of this, that it's not oh, you know, I think it's great that obviously we do this work as current active advocates who've had previous quote, unquote, professional experience dealing with , crisis like this, or dealing with and supporting directly individuals who have gone or are going through this and that, like, everyone is more than capable of being equipped with the knowledge and being enforced with the knowledge and the ability To learn and understand this and be proactive about it in our community. It does lead a lot back to the whole prevention and intervention work and building up our youth and young adults. Cause you know, okay. So a side note is, so we did a lot of outreach and engagement work this past year, really putting it out in front of our community, in the Hmong community. And let me tell you, I was scared to do this because I was like, oh my gosh, people are going to be bringing their pitchforks and torches and, and they're going to come around and be like, who's this girl going on TV, talking about DV and providing resources and services for our community. Interestingly enough, I got like so much of the opposite reaction and responses. And I think to me, that's really heartwarming. And it gives me a lot of hope because I got so much positive affirmation and reinforcement and feedback from even our older generations in our community and young folks too, saying this is so needed. This is critical, important. I'm so glad you're out here. Or how can we get involved? Even being like, , I'm so happy that you guys are doing this work. And we really have a lot of faith because so much of our younger folks, younger generations are stepping up to do this sort of work. So I think it's really the community, a large portion of the community, from what I've experienced, really recognize how important and needed this work is to implement this and incorporate this into our community so they know and understand like, Hey, violence is not okay. Dating violence is not okay. Domestic violence is not okay. But what can we do? , what do we do about it? And I think we're at that place where people are really curious and desiring to really step up and do something about it. And again, I think what Pana and Yi mentioned.  Belle: Thank you. I love those ideas on how the Hmong community can take action to change the violence that happens in our communities, right? I love dismantling the patriarchy and empowering our youth. I think that also really comes with, I know we didn't really touch on this, but, the 18 class system. How there really needs to be more, you mentioned, women leadership. We have a lot of women leadership in our communities, but not within our 18 class system. And why is that right? And how do we convince them that we need women in those leadership roles within our communities to represent our communities. That also ties into the same thing with Jennifer, how we really want to empower youth. We should also have youth leadership because then the folks who are in those important seats are 60 plus and so disconnected with the reality that we're living in today. So, you know, I just really appreciate everything y'all brought to the table today. I know we only have a few minutes left. , I know we talked a lot about youth empowerment, how there's a lot of women leadership. Since we're focusing on teen dating violence today, what is a tip or advice that you would have liked to receive as a teenager, now being a little bit more experienced with your relationships. And if you could say it really quick. Any of the teenagers listening out here, perk your ears up– there's a lot of great advice in here, so make sure that you absorb it like a sponge. And I'll just go ahead and leave it at that.  Pana: I think with me– it's okay to not be okay, right? It's okay to not be okay, and it's really okay to talk to someone. And really reach out for help and, you know, really understand that it's okay to say no, and we are all equal. Jennifer Xiong: For me, Oh gosh, this is hard. First things first is like, I think my teen self would have loved to know dating during your teen years. It's not a big deal. Like, it's okay. Don't feel like you're missing out or that there's something wrong with you if you aren't in a relationship while you're in your teen years. Really spend that time cherishing and valuing the time you have with yourself and getting to know yourself first, so that when you do get into a relationship, you know what you want, you know, the values that you want in a relationship, the values you want to bring into a relationship, you know yourself. And also don't forget that you are you're worthy. You matter, you're important. And that, anyone who disrespects you or does not value your work in a relationship more than likely aren't worth your time and aren't worth your tears. And so I think that's what I would have wanted to know.  Yi Thoj: for mine, it's very specific. How I came to be with my current partner. It was through an intersection of events with a lot of things that we've already discussed today as well. And so I think what I would have wanted to know is that It's very difficult to try to empower and change the hearts and minds of people on the ground level. Even if you're going in head strong. please treat yourself with grace in all of that. And then lean in on your partner to help you navigate that. It's so important. I think a lot of Hmong women and Hmong girls are taught to be hyper individualistic and independent, and it's needing to teach that sometimes you can lean into your femininity. Sometimes you can lean in on support from other people. And also from your partner, it's really important. C: Thank you. I love all the self love in the room and just really great advice on being gentle with yourself and recognize that you are deserving of all the good things in life. I hope that everyone really takes that to heart and it's just friendly reminder to continue loving yourself in the process of loving others. Love is abundant. It's not scarcity mindset. We are here to share our love and that love should be shared with ourselves as well. We're going to wrap today up and I just want to say thank you so much to Yi, Pana, Jennifer for joining us and thank you so much CHAN-BOF for collaborating with HIP for dating violence awareness month. We really appreciate all your effort and all the work you do in our communities as well. If you haven't already in the audience, please make sure to follow and like HIP and CHAN-BOF so you can continue following the work that we do and support our endeavors as community members, because you are part of the change in our communities as well. Well, all so much and have a good rest of your night. Thanks everyone.  Cheryl: And that's the end of our show. Learn more about the incredible work being done by Hmong innovating politics and CHAN-BOF by checking out our show notes.   Also HIP and CHAN-BOF ask work together to create these really helpful infographics on themes of teen dating violence awareness, such as what is consent? How do you know you're in an abusive relationship. How can you help someone who's in it? I found them to be really helpful. So I will also make sure to link those in the show notes as well.  Cheryl Truong: Apex express is produced by Miko Lee, Paige Chung, Jalena Keane-Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar. Shekar, Anuj Vaidya, Kiki Rivera, Swati Rayasam, Nate Tan, Hien Nguyen, Nikki Chan, and Cheryl Truong   Tonight's show was produced by me, cheryl. Thanks to the team at KPFA for all of their support. And thank you for listening!  The post APEX Express – 01.23.25 – Hmong Teen Dating Violence Awareness appeared first on KPFA.

If you are 50+, there's a great chance that You Light Up My Life was included on a mix tape you either gave or received! Today, we are speaking with music royalty Debby Boone! She was born into the entertainment world, toured with her father, Pat Boone, and her family, nailed a GRAMMY on her first solo gig, and went on to have a successful singing career in pop, adult contemporary, contemporary Christian, and now swing. Heavy metal is on deck (just kidding). In between that, she has starred on television, in movies, and on Broadway. Her mother-in-law is Rosemary Clooney, and Debby now owns the scores from her that she has used to pay homage to a true superstar with an album, Reflections of Rosemary. She will be in Annapolis on September 21st at the Rams Head On Stage to present it all, along with tales from her life and family, in a special, very intimate show! On a personal note, I have done many of these types of interviews, and Debby was hands down the most gracious guest, by far! And, I may have wrangled a Thanksgiving dinner at the Boone household! (JF) Have a listen now, and then grab some tickets! LINKS: Debby Boone (Website) Debby Boone (Facebook) Debby Boone (Twitter | X) Debby Boone (Instagram) Debby Boone (YouTube) Debby Boone (Spotify) Debby Boone (TICKETS)

Can you imagine going from running marathons to fighting for a diagnosis that doctors initially dismissed as stress? Kristine has lived this journey, and she shares it with us in a gripping conversation about her struggle with chronic illness and rare diagnoses. From the first strange tweak in her foot to the emotional toll of being invalidated by medical professionals, Kristine's story is one of resilience and the critical importance of having an advocate in the healthcare system. Her mother-in-law, a doctor, provided the support Kristine needed to document her symptoms meticulously, finally making the medical community listen.Her experience shows that sometimes, the most significant support we can offer is not trying to fix things but just listening and connecting through shared invisible struggles.We also explore Rare's offerings, from custom t-shirts and stickers to the innovative treatment-accessible sweatshirt. Kristine highlights the importance of size inclusivity and comfort, ensuring that everyone can find something meaningful in her brand. Beyond clothing, Rare's mission extends to mental health support through moderated groups on the Cabana platform, particularly for underserved communities. Kristine's insights into creating judgment-free spaces for those battling chronic illnesses underline the episode's overarching message: turning personal challenges into a beacon of hope and connection for others.All links: RARE. Link Tree | LinktreeShope RARE: RARE. (findyourrare.com)Grab your FREE Cabana membership here: Cabana and Rare Disease Community Collaboration (Page 1 of 5) (office.com)You're Always Fine Pod: You're always fine (yourealwaysfinepod.com)Send us a Text Message.New Intro 2024 2024 Thoughtful premium products for all the immune challenged.We make living with chronic illnesses easier! BeWell - Thoughtful products for those with an autoimmune disease. (wearebewell.com)Support the Show.Website: https://myspooniesisters.com/Support:https://www.etsy.com/shop/MySpoonieSisters

Resistance-Training For Everyone: From Chair Workouts to Advanced Movements In this episode, Ali Novitsky discusses the importance of strength training for beginners and how she has created a program, Muscles & Mindset, to make it accessible and doable. She shares her own experience with starting strength training at a young age and the obstacles that beginners often face. Ali emphasizes that it's never too late to start strength training and that less is more when it comes to workout duration. She also highlights the benefits of strength training, such as maintaining muscle mass, improving insulin resistance, and boosting metabolism. Ali encourages beginners to try her program and shares success stories from her clients, including someone going through chemotherapy who has maintained muscle mass. Dr. Ali's Personal Journey and Realizations Dr. Ali reflects on her strength training journey of more than 30 years.  She started back in the early '90s, a time when it wasn't common for preteen girls to engage in strength training, so it wasn't until her mother-in-law needed a strength training routine that she revisited the basics. Dr. Ali and her 2nd mom, Kathy, recorded a video together called the "mother-in-law workout," which received an overwhelming response. This made her realize the importance of making strength training accessible and comfortable for everyone, regardless of their starting point. Introducing Muscles & Mindset - a Program for all Fitness Levels Dr. Ali expresses excitemebt about her new program, Muscles & Mindset, a year-long training program designed to cater to all levels of fitness. The program is divided into three phases: Phase One: For absolute beginners, including those who may need a chair for support. Phase Two: For those who can move from the ground to standing unassisted but aren't ready for advanced movements. Phase Three: For advanced strength training. Overcoming Common Obstacles Many people feel it's too late to start strength training or don't know where to begin. The goal of Muscles & Mindset is to eliminate these obstacles by providing a program that requires no equipment and can be done from the comfort of your home. Dr. Ali curates every workout, ensuring you understand and feel each movement, which is crucial for beginners. The Importance of Accessibility Strength training should be accessible to everyone. You don't need expensive equipment or a gym membership. The Muscles & Mindset program allows you to train in your pajamas, without shoes, and still achieve great results. The key is consistency and starting with manageable goals, like 10 minutes of training three days a week. Personal Experience and Client Success Dr. Ali has recorded 468 workouts for this program, and even got sore from Phase One due to the deliberate use of muscles. Her mother-in-law has lost 75 pounds without losing muscle mass, thanks to her dedication to strength training. This program is designed to be affordable and effective, costing just $199 for a whole year of access to all three phases. The Science Behind Strength Training Strength training is non-negotiable for maintaining muscle mass, especially as we age. It helps with insulin resistance, bone density, and metabolism. Combining strength training with adequate protein intake is essential for muscle maintenance and growth. Real-Life Impact One of Dr. Ali's clients, who is undergoing chemotherapy, has not lost any muscle mass thanks to the 10-minute, three-day-a-week workouts. This is a testament to the program's effectiveness and accessibility. Final Thoughts Dr. Ali believes in you, and I believes that strength training can be a transformative experience for everyone. Whether you're a beginner, intermediate, or advanced exerciser, Muscles and Mindset has something for you. Let's make this our strongest year yet!  Don't forget to check out the link in the show notes to sign up for Muscles & Mindset. Timestamps: 00:00:18 - Dr. Ali's Personal Journey with Strength Training 00:01:00 - Early Experiences with Weight Lifting 00:01:44 - Mother-in-Law's Health Journey 00:02:27 - Launch of Muscles & Mindset Program 00:03:09 - Overcoming Obstacles in Strength Training 00:04:13 - Learning Through Watching Videos 00:05:05 - Strength Training from Home 00:06:09 - Inclusivity in Strength Training 00:07:01 - Importance of Accessibility 00:08:04 - Minimal Equipment Needed 00:09:00 - Strategic Program Design 00:10:00 - Personal Training Costs 00:11:00 - Affordable Training Program 00:12:06 - Consistency and Results 00:13:09 - Advancing Through Phases 00:14:02 - Engaging Core Muscles 00:15:05 - Enjoying the Process 00:16:08 - Confidence in Workouts 00:17:01 - Advanced Training Options 00:18:05 - Mental Benefits of Exercise 00:19:00 - Importance of Strength Training 00:20:04 - Combining Nutrition and Strength Training 00:20:52 - Inspirational Client Stories 00:21:09 - Muscles & Mindset Program Accessibility and Sign-Up Information Resources: The Muscles & Mindset Program is now available! Enroll TODAY. Muscles & Mindset Podcast was recently featured in the top 100 blogs on FeedSpot! You can see the list HERE. Optimal GLP-1 Weight Loss Program. Join the waitlist HERE. 31 Days of FIT. Learn more HERE. Fit Woman Collective™. Learn more HERE. Transform® 8.0 enrollment for a July 8th, 2024 start is now open. Sign up HERE. Follow Dr. Ali Novitsky on TikTok | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Subscribe to The Muscles and Mindset Podcast on Spotify | Apple Podcasts *Ali Novitsky MD, this podcast, and podcast write-up are NOT providing medical advice.  We do not recommend you start any exercise program without first consulting with your Doctor!*

Her mother-in-law warned her never to go down into the basement alone because if you do, she wouldn't come back up the same.  If you have a real ghost story or supernatural event to report, please write into our show or call 1-855-853-4802! If you like the show, please help keep us on the air and support the show by becoming a Premium Subscriber.  Subscribe here: http://www.ghostpodcast.com/?page_id=118 or at or at http://www.patreon.com/realghoststories Watch more at: http://www.realghoststoriesonline.com/ Follow Tony: Instagram: HTTP://www.instagram.com/tonybrueski TikToc: https://www.tiktok.com/@tonybrueski Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tony.brueski  

For Mother's Day, Chip reminds us of a strong woman and mother in the Bible, a woman named Naomi. Austin recently taught us the book of Ruth, focusing on Ruth's unlikely rise to be a mother in the lineage of Jesus. But Ruth isn't the only incredibly strong woman in the story. Her mother-in-law's life is an example of the seasons many women and men walk through in life. Chip encourages us to grow strong in our faith walk with Jesus no matter what season we are in.

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. For this week's episode of APEX Express, we are joined by Yi Thoj and Belle Vang from Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP) and Pana Lee and Jennifer Xiong from California Hmong Advocates Network – Building Our Futures (CHAN-BOF) who will go into depth about these very tough but very real and needed conversations about abusive relationships, especially within the Hmong community, where 70% of Hmong Americans are under 24 years old.   Important Resources: Hmong Innovating Politics website California Hmong Advocates Network – Building Our Futures website Healthy vs. Unhealthy Relationships infographic How to Spot Abusive Relationships infographic Do you know someone in an abusive relationship? infographic Are you in an abusive relationship? infographic What does consent look like? infographic Transcript Cheryl: Good evening, everyone! You are tuned in to APEX Express. I'm your host, Cheryl and tonight is an What is AACRE?, you might ask. Well comprised of 11 grassroots, social justice groups, the Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality (AACRE) network, leverages the power of its network to focus on long-term movement, building and support for Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders committed to social justice. Speaking of AACRE groups, APEX express is proud to be a part of the AACRE network.  For tonight's episode, we will be spotlighting the work of AACRE group Hmong Innovating Politics, also known as HIP. Belle Vang and Yi Thoj from HIP will be in conversation with Pana Lee and Jennifer Xiong from the California Hmong Advocates Network Building Our Futures, also known as CHAN-BOF.  They'll be in discussion on the importance of teen dating violence awareness, especially in the Hmong community as they are among the youngest of all ethnic groups in the United States with about 70% of Hmong Americans being under 24 years old.   I know somebody, you might want to learn more about HIP and CHAN-BOF so I'll let our speakers introduce themselves. And don't forget. All of their socials and websites will be linked in the show notes.    Belle: Hi, everyone, thank you so much for making time in your night to join us. We really appreciate it. Today we're going to be having a panel discussion in recognition of Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. I really want to thank CHAN-BOF for collaborating with Hmong Innovating Politics. We're very excited to do this collab together. We're going to do a brief introduction. So, hi, everyone. My name is Bella Gaonoucci Vang. I'm with Hmong Innovating Politics as a Communication and Narrative Manager. If you're not one of our followers, make sure to follow us.  Hmong Innovating Politics is a grassroots organization focused on strengthening political power within Hmong communities through civic engagement. And with that being said, I'll go ahead and pull in one of our HIP members, Yi.  Yi Thoj: Hi everyone, my name is Yi and I use she, her pronouns, and I been a HIP young adult for around three to four years. I'm also working on the Bright Spots project.  Belle: And then if we can have Pana join the conversation.  Pana: Hi, everyone. I am Pana with CHAN-BOF champion stands for California Hmong Advocates Network Building Our Future. We were two grassroots organizations in community and outreach and this past year we have been able to provide mobile direct services to our Hmong survivors of domestic violence across the Central Valley– so from Sacramento to Fresno. Jennifer Xiong: All right. And that leaves me. Hi, everyone. My name is Jennifer Xiong. I use she/her pronouns and I work as a program specialist with CHAN-BOF and Banak, who actually serves as my supervisor. I'm really excited and happy to be here and really grateful for HIP for giving us a space time and platform to have this conversation  Belle: Thank you again CHAN-BOF for collaborating with us here at HIP. We really appreciate all the work y'all do in the community. I know y'all individually are really great folks. I'm really excited to dive into today's conversation. In your experience, I'm just asking everyone in the panel, where are some cultural norms or expectations within the Hmong community regarding relationships and dating, and that could be anything that you'd like to share from your own personal experiences. Pana: I think I can go. So I think growing up in the eighties, cultural expectations for women, Hmong women, We were expected to just cook, clean, and take care of our younger siblings and our parents. Right? So if you were dating, your relatives would just look down on us. Dating was frowned upon. I remember it was expected that if a guy is interested in you, they would have to come by your parent's house and your parents would have to approve. I remember guys come in and during our teenage years, my mom would have to be present. Right. My parents are really strict. Their limit was they could only stay two hours. And so my mom would ask fast questions. If they don't qualify, they don't meet expectations, they better be out ASAP. My parents are really, really strict.  So those were our expectations back in the 80s. We weren't really allowed to date during my younger days that's what we had to go through. Yi Thoj: I feel like a lot of the gender expectations of my generation is still very much by heteronormative and patriarchal norms and construct.  I'm the youngest of 7 girls, so all of my, 6 older sisters– they're fierce and they're also wonderful, powerful women who have helped me navigate through a lot of the contentions that I held before, interacting with romantic encounters and engagements. And so I think having that model definitely helped me navigate through my experiences as well. I feel like our parents are like, oh, if you want to engage in romantic encounters at a young age, that's welcome. But thankfully, they also didn't pressure us to do so. Jennifer Xiong: It's got me thinking about my own experiences, very little experiences, I might add. I think about some of the things my mom has said to me, which still stick around, it's kind of like embedded in my mind where she says Oh, ([Jennifer speaks in Hmong) meaning when your partner is visiting or at our home, you guys shouldn't be in your bedrooms. You should be out in the living rooms because that's really disrespectful. It, it invites negative perceptions about the person and about the relationship and it is a form of disrespect toward the, the parents and the home. I've also felt and seen from my older cousins or distant relatives who've gotten married– I think it's centered a lot around saving face. I remember hearing stories about my cousins. If they had gone out and they came home late, for example, and the parents were extremely displeased or unhappy, and they're like, no, you dishonored me and my daughter. You have to marry my daughter now because you took her home late, even if they didn't do anything salacious, so to speak. I'd hear those a lot. And, for me, those are always scary. Like, Oh my gosh, they would just do that! And you're a kid and you're growing up hearing these and actually, I think I heard it more commonly than I expected– people marrying young because of the whole consequence of arriving home late from a date or a hangout. So those are some of my experiences or what I've, I heard and witnessed. Yeah.  Belle: Thank y'all for sharing. I love hearing about your experiences. I It's really interesting how we all have different experiences, but it's still in the same realm of a very similar community, right? Very tight knit community. I echo both Jennifer and Yee's experience where my parents are a little bit more lax, but at the same time, it's like, make sure you marry someone who's a quality person. Right? I think that's really telling of how we see dating in the Hmong community. We don't date to date, right? We date to commit forever. And especially, I know all of us on this panel are women identifying and that can be a very dangerous tool, right? To just date to only marry– you're willing to put up with a lot, even if it's not really what you want for yourself, because the way the culture shapes us is if you are dating, you're only dating seriously. It's not to explore, not to be curious about yourself. And so I really appreciate the way that y'all frame it and the way that you share your experiences too. And I know we touched a little bit on this as well, but kind of gauging what it looks like to be in a healthy relationship. How would you say a healthy relationship is defined within the Hmong community? And what are qualities that you consider important? For a positive and respectful relationship within the community? Pana: So you all heard the word [Pana speaks in Hmong], right [Pana speaks in Hmong] right? [Pana speaks in Hmong] We We hear this over and over. I think even with my age, I've heard that. I'm pretty sure some of y'all have heard that to even my parents or friends or family, right? To me, what's considered positive in a relationship is really compromising and allowing you to have your own space, really meeting each other in the middle, trusting each other, having boundaries, appreciating each other, respecting, having that respect, right? Effective communication, being able to communicate with each other and having empathy. Also consent. Really having the permission of something to happen or agreement. Be able to agree with something and being committed to your relationship.  Jennifer Xiong: Yeah, I wanted to add, and also share that I think a lot of the times traditional expectations around what a healthy relationship looks like in the Hmong community generally entails being constricted and confined to your pre established roles that have been gone for generations. But I think that how we can further redefine that nowadays is to really think about how everything that Pana has already listed and shared. Right. I think it's important that those things like healthy boundaries and having balance within a relationship, I feel a lot of those things should be contextualized to the relationship. That's one, but also, I think it should be formed organically, which is difficult, and there will always be ongoing conversations about what a romantic commitment looks like, and what does that mean for the exact couple, but I think it's important to have an ongoing conversation about it, and then also it's important to understand these layers, that , If the couple is both Hmong, it's important to put that in context, and then it's also, what if it's a multiracial or multiethnic relationship? I think that's also very important. Understanding the values, and how these things can be formed organically as well. There are certain learned behaviors, beliefs, attitudes, that we pick up as we grow up and what the kind of relationships and dynamics we witnessed as we're growing up and then getting or getting involved in our own romantic relationships with people, and the things we witness and see can also really shape the way we go into relationships and the way we show up as partners.  I really don't know how to define it within the Hmong community, but I will say that I have seen when relationships and dynamics of dating are built on a foundation of patriarchy, it can, relating back to what Yi and Pana says, it can build really toxic and concerning, unhealthy relationship dynamics of power and control, and not knowing how to allow your partner to have autonomy to themselves, or knowing that it's two different people coming in together to a relationship. Power and control, when it gets mixed into this relationship, it can become really unhealthy and toxic. So I think it's also about unlearning those and realizing that certain attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs don't serve in creating a healthy relationship between a partnership or a romantic relationship. Within the Hmong community, a lot of us I've seen unlearning those behaviors and attitudes that we may have witnessed and maybe even internalized growing up. To answer the second part of the question what qualities are considered important for a positive respectful Relationship. I think it's really all that you you both named. Those are important like compromise and y'all named so many other great stuff, but then I was also just cranking up the things in my mind, but I just want to echo back what Yi and Pana said, and I'll leave it at that. Yi Thoj: What Jennifer just shared, about what we witnessed growing up sparked something in my mind as well about the media that we consumed growing up too. I watched a ton of Tyler Crohn's and Southeast Asian media growing up, and so much of the representations of love in there. It's so romanticized that abuse is okay. Non consensual engagements is okay. The media and real life relationships that are reflected and also modeled throughout our lives hold such a big factor into how we view love growing into a young adult and further. I know it definitely impacted me because I was always like, Oh, I think that's what love is, right? That's what it's showing on TV and things like that. Yeah, definitely holds weight.  Belle: Yeah, I love that you mentioned that Yi. I didn't really seriously start dating until I was in college and a lot of our generation grew up watching kdramas. Like, oh so romantic, super rich Boy is in love with super poor girl and he dictates her life and buys her everything like so romantic. And I tell my partner now that i'm married, if you ever do anything like in kdramas we are not messing around. That is not cool I don't want you to decide anything for me. I don't want you to pretend like you're in the hospital just as a prank You know boys over flowers. It's really interesting how love is framed growing up and how, just like you said, it's super romanticized. And like, you know how K dramas, you feel that excitement, like that, it's not necessarily love, right? That's just the thrill of being in something new, experiencing something different, but not necessarily love itself. And I really resonate with what you said earlier, Yi, about how it's really important to form those healthy boundaries and organically. And I really closely ties to Pana's comment about being able to create a consensual relationship and, Just like Jennifer said to like dismantling that patriarchy and foundation that we were built on.  We;re Belle: Learning those things are really hard to because initially I thought that drama was what love was supposed to be, but love is supposed to be safe and supposed to protect you, make you feel like you belong. Right? Because we like do grow up in a society that perpetuates love in honestly a violent way, I also just kind of want to know like y'all's thoughts on do you think there's enough awareness about dating violence within our communities, particularly the Hmong community? And how do you feel like it's generally perceived or even discussed amongst one another? Pana: I actually think there's not much awareness happening in the Hmong community. We really need to continue and bring more awareness. And it's awareness. Prevention. Intervention. We need to continue to do that. Some parents don't talk much to their youths about teen dating violence, what's healthy and what's not healthy, or actually like what to look for in a relationship.  In my household, I have only boys. And so we talk about safe sex, healthy boundaries, healthy relationship. What would they like to see in a relationship. I do this because, I've had experience working in the domestic violence field, sexual assault field for a long time. And plus, that's something that I never got from my parents. So my goal was, from now on, when I have my kids, these are stuff that I'm going to teach them. And so I kept my goals, you know, that was something that I told myself that I promised myself that I would do this, to continue to teach my kids healthy boundary, healthy relationship and dating violence., Most parents were taught when they were young you're going to get married and just have a good life, have a good family.  Yi Thoj: All points that are so valid and so true. There are generational gaps, between the elders and ourselves and myself. My parents are around mid 60s. As much as I think I try to bridge that gap sometimes, I think youth just don't have the language as well to fully explain to them.  There's even the conversation about like mental health and how romantic relationships are embedded in mental health and even that in itself is a difficult conversation to start. More tangible resources to learn more about communication in terms of learning the Hmong language and whatnot would definitely help with outreach and building awareness in the community. But I think a lot of recent events as well have also shown to me about where The reflection of culture and the communities as well Which I would also like to provide some sort of affirmation for any youth who's watching this that these contentions and frictions within the community– it's never a reflection of you. You know, it's always a reflection of the larger culture and what is happening. And something that we all need to advocate for and invest into to change.  Jennifer Xiong: yeah. I agree that Bottom line, there isn't enough awareness about dating violence within the Hmong community on many different fronts, like Pana mentioned, the prevention piece and the intervention piece. How does someone recognize or learn to recognize signs of I might be in a toxic, unhealthy relationship that is or can eventually lead into something that's violent? Or maybe I am in a current relationship where there is violence, but I don't know how to pick up on the signs and actually realize that, hey, I'm not in a safe place in this relationship, or in a safe relationship.  And then if your loved ones or family members or friends are recognizing it from an outside perspective, like, we lack a lot of resources and information out there for our community to engage with to learn how to intervene or also recognize it among our loved ones and the people we care about if they may be in those types of dynamics and relationships. And then when we do recognize it, how do we step in and help? What do we do? How can we help? And yeah, so bottom line, there isn't enough resources out there. I think it's still really on the, I guess the loose term, up and up. I really have a lot of faith and hope and I've seen, the work continue to expand and grow and obviously CHAN-BOF is a part of that, along with so many other organizations, statewide organizations that are trying to build more resources and information and push it out there into our communities, so that they know this information, they have access to it and can tap into it with our youth and young adults , and maybe even with our older folks or generations, cause I know you mentioned brought up a really great point too,in that , there's different gaps or different ways of understanding how to talk about dating violence within the Hmong community. Pana: Yeah, I remember my parents would tell me, [Pana speaks in Hmong] [Pana speaks in Hmong] [Pana speaks in Hmong] and I'm like I never understood that. And so growing up, getting older, I kind of understood it. And again, they said the same thing. We were talking, me and my kids were sitting in the table and we're talking about healthy relationship and stuff. What do you look for? How would the relationship look like? What's healthy? And then again, my dad says, yeah [Pana speaks in Hmong]  And my son was like, I don't understand that mom. It was just very generalized, and I had to like recorrect that. This is what he means. My definition of what my dad said was Look for a healthy relationship. Get to know the person Date them Belle: I love that example Pana because growing up everyone always told me that, and I took it at face value. You know when we speak in moments like poetry, right? but growing up I took that at face value saying like when you grow up make sure you marry someone who has Power, who has good reputation in the community, and then As I got older, my mom's like, that's never what I was telling you. Jennifer Xiong: I was just telling you, marry someone who makes you happy. And I was like, Oh, how come you didn't just say it that way? Then like you put it in a way that I was like, Oh man, I have to make sure I marry someone who's brings honor to my family, right? Like what a Mulan way of thinking. But I feel like that's always how I really perceive dating. And tying how Hmong is very much like poetry in our communities, I really like what Yi's comment earlier about how there's not really a lot of terminology in our community for even awareness about the mental health in our community. It's very much how medical terms have only really come to fruition in our community within the past like 50 years. We don't have anything regarding terms that we can use for mental health or dating violence, like the only thing we can use is sick, like that's pretty much how you say when you talk about mental health.   You just say basically, you have a sickness in your head, but there's not actual terms. When we talk about diabetes, like, [Jennifer speaks in Hmong] which literally translates to sweet blood or blood. Well, that is sweet. I hope to see, the next, I don't want to wait 50 years. I hope in the next 20 years there is verbiage that can help the community decipher and break down and bring more awareness to the violence that's being perpetrated in our communities as well. Belle: I love this conversation. I really love that. You showed examples of your son, and it really feels like how intergenerationally we think. We all think so differently, even though we have good intentions it doesn't get translated across the board. I kind of want to elaborate a little bit more when we talked about how it's really important to have consent when it comes to dating, how you really teach your sons that. Would you mind elaborating a little bit more about what consent looks like when it comes to dating, your perspective and how you see it within our communities as well. Pana: Have y'all seen the little video about drinking tea ? Sometimes you can drink the tea and you're like, I don't want to drink it no more. You know, and so you can change at any moment, right? And being able to understand okay, I This person might not want to, so I need to be able to give that respect and step away, right? And so, getting them to understand that. So if you all watched that video, the tea consent video. It's really cute, and It's really good for the youth, even for the kids. They understand it real quick. In a relationship, you should be able to give them that space and say, Okay, I get it. I'm gonna be able to understand if someone says no, then no means no. And then their body gestures are like they're pushing back, that means no. If my face is looking like, i'm shaking my head or you can see in my eyes like I don't like you stay away Right? And so being able to understand that Jennifer Xiong: I think one thing I want to add to that which is great. Like the tea consent video is super amazing at just Easily explaining under the understanding of consent, but also when someone can't consent like when they can't answer yes or no. For example, they're at a party and they've passed out drunk. They're just not conscious and awake and they can't answer yes or no, decline or accept. That also is not an invitation or permission. That is not a consent, basically. So I'm going back and forth. When a person can't answer, it's definitively no, because they're not consciously aware and awake enough to give that response. So I think that is also something I wanted to add. Yi Thoj: Yeah, I don't have much to add to this question. I've never seen the tea consent video, but putting that into perspective, that is such a great analogy and wonderful example and easy way to explain things can change right in the middle of an interaction.  Also just wanting to provide admiration to Pana as well to opening up the conversations with your sons because I think that's so important. A lot of the times younger Men or Hmong youth who are male identified. A lot of the times their influences are from other male figures in their lives who may not be the best role model. And so I'm totally leaning in towards the Hmong woman leaders in people's lives, especially Hmong youth, and just really loving that. Belle: I love that affirmation. we are right now a room of powerful women in our community itself. So I really, I want to like, double up on that echo Yi's statement as well.  Cheryl: You are currently tuned in to APEX Express on 94.1 KPFA and 88.1 on KFCF. You have so far been listening to Belle Vang and Yi Thoj from Hmong Innovating Politics, also known as HIP, and Pana Lee and Jennifer Xiong from California Hmong Advocates Network Building Our Future (CHAN-BOF). We are going to take a quick music break, but don't go anywhere. More on breaking the silence about teen dating violence awareness in the Hmong community after our break.  Welcome back. You were tuned into apex express on 94.1, KPFA 88.1. KFCF in Fresno. And online at KPFA. Dot org. You were just listening to your track off of the Anakbayan LB May Day mix tape called “Letter to Mom” by shining sons. Anakbayan LB is a Filipino youth and student organization based in long beach, California, working to arouse, organize and mobilize the community to address issues that impact Filipinos in the U S and in the Philippines.  Now, back to the show. We are here, with belle Vang and Yi Thoj from Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP) and Pana Lee and Jennifer Xiong. From California Hmong Advocates Network Building Our Futures (CHAN-BOF). We're talking about teen dating violence awareness and its impacts and implications in the Hmong community.  Belle: Jennifer, you talk about patriarchy and shared about how, you really tried to shape your son because you also work in this field you are definitely more eloquent work in addressing these issues. I want to dive more into what that looks like within our community and in our culture. Do you feel like there are specific cultural or community barriers that may prevent individuals, particularly Hmong individuals, from seeking help or disclosing incidents of dating violence? And what does that look like? Especially since I know CHAN-BOF does a lot of that direct work with clients. Pana: I think because we're so closely knitted, that's a barrier too, being afraid of, okay, this person might know me. One example is while growing up, I was taught men were more valuable than women. I think in our family, my parents really wanted a son and they kept on trying and trying until after they got 7 daughters, they finally got their son, right? And so we were told, you have to be patient because boys, [Jennifer speaks Hmong] and as a teenager, I was like, I guess I held no value. And so, and also keeping in mind for a long time, a lot of our culturally specific organizations were mainly ran by Hmong men. Hmong men are the main person who makes the decisions Jennifer Xiong: Some of those barriers are they don't seek help or support. The other barrier that I experienced in high school is I had a friend who was dating someone who was really abusive and verbally abusive, physically abusive. He sexually assaulted her. When she came to me. I was like, Oh, no, you need to go to your parents. The minute she told her parents, she was forced to marry him to save face. And so, after watching what had happened to my friend made me feel like if that happened to me and I went and told my parents. But these are back in my days, though, right? I would be forced to get married, like, and that time I didn't know that that was not okay. If someone raped you and forced you, that is not okay, but I wasn't aware of that. She wasn't aware of that. And so, again, we said, you know, back, awareness needs to happen. Awareness and education. That was something I remember for a long time and I felt guilty and I, I felt bad because I didn't know who to send to go for help. I referred it back to her parents and said, yeah, your parents would help you go for it and go for it. And that's, that's what happened. That's one of the other barriers. Some of our parents are not very educated in this topic, and it's a topic that we don't talk about. I do want to add, there's still strong sentiments of, victim blaming, shaming, disempowering. I've heard statements, or I will say, I was doing my research paper on DV in the Hmong community. My sources were like YouTube videos. And so, I found these videos of these women speaking out about their experiences of DV. In this particular example, she's married she was pregnant and her husband was abusing her. So much so that he was dragging her down the stairs of their apartment building. And so she mentioned her stomach was basically getting shaped. She was somehow able to escape his grasp and run to a neighbor and ask them to call law enforcement. And so law enforcement came and took away the husband because they visibly could see what, what had gone on. Her mother in law had said to her, Oh. [Jennifer speaks Hmong], meaning, oh, daughter in law, why did you call law enforcement and have them take away my son? It dawned on me how we perceived some of these dynamics and abuses when it happens in relationships. And again, the whole, why did you do that instead of are you okay? What happened to you? Why did they do that to you? Or really focusing on the wellness and safety of the person being in a violent relationship, violent abusive relationship. And to add to that, the terminology and the way we frame some of the resources out there, I remember a lot of the [Jennifer speaks in Hmong] the elders, would call DV shelters [Jennifer speaks in Hmong] right. The term, the explanation of it is like the place for runaway women or wives or mothers. But in fact, these shelters meant to house and keep individuals, women, children, who were experiencing abuse and violence in their relationship safe. But then we use negative connotations and terminology to label them because it brings a lot of shame and hesitation to seek out help. The fact that the resources that are available mainstream wise for those who are seeking help and resources because they may be in an abusive violent relationship is that there's also a lack of culturally responsive resources and services to aid and assist our specific community members when they're out trying to get the help that they need. I've witnessed and heard that a lot from the clients that I directly support and assist. Like, oh, we've gone here and then they mentioned not having a great experience, or being misunderstood, or I'm not feeling even safe or comfortable enough to talk about their experiences and get the resources and help that they need because some of the agencies really lacked the cultural understanding awareness or the intersection of that when it comes to dating violence or domestic violence in our own community. Yi Thoj: Yeah, all of this is like really great examples. Also, unfortunate. I think that from my own experience with dealing with victims around me who have undergone a lot of these violences, what I've seen is that a lot of it is them recognizing that the harm that is being done to them is wrong. Very much so. But they've also internalized and conditioned themselves to accept it as something that is normal and okay, even if a lot of the times there's this back and forth resistance of wanting to debate themselves from the situation, but then at the same time, them like always going back and this is the cycle of abuse, right, and how it works. But one note that I would also like to make is that what I've also seen is that it's really, really important that male perpetrators, especially Hmong men, it's important that there are other Hmong men who are holding them accountable, is what I found to be true. Because as much as Hmong women who are victims and other Hmong women bystanders who are wanting to advocate for these victims try to stand up for them, These perpetrators and also the culture inherently does not change if people who are in power and have that privilege don't actively help dismantle it, too. So, I think that it's important to note. There's so much power that goes into having woman led spaces and woman voices because that's so important, but I also think there should be so much more work done from the cisgendered male counterparts in our lives and in the community Belle: Thank y'all for that. Your sentiment is so powerful, yi and it's Very valid. A lot of times the folks that were leading this work are often the women in our communities Like that's just straight up facts, right? I attended a Boys and men of color conference, and one of the panels said the one time that men have these spaces together is also when women created. Right? As women, we build a lot of community for our community and at the same time, don't get the recognition of the work that is being done. So, it's really important that those who do have power, make sure that they implement it correctly and support communities that minorities within their communities that need that extra support.  The examples provided to I felt were very powerful, but also very traumatizing. When I was listening to your story, when you were talking about how you advise your friend to go to their family and they were forced into marriage. I know that we are different generations, but I feel like I definitely have met folks who are my age who were still forced to the situation. Those culture practices are so very normal and not unheard of. Like it's not completely cultural shift within one generation. And I'm sure When you witnessed that, that it was very traumatizing for you too, even though you were not the one immediately affected by it, but it also shifted the way you saw community, the way you viewed culture itself. And you even expressed you felt a lot of guilt and responsibility for that. It's really interesting that when there are those traumatizing, abusive relationships happening to those folks, and even at the third per person party that you feel that trauma in other ways as well. You mentioned how the patriarchy does affect our communities in that way. What is being done? What is being said to help heal our communities and work past these issues that are obviously very much rooted in our communities. I know we talked a little bit about the way cultural identity influences our communities. I know we specifically talked about the Hmong community too as well. I know we only have about 10 minutes left and so I kind of just want to dive into, not necessarily solutions, but what are things that we can take, what are steps that we can take to make progressive action and change in our community? So in your opinion, what role can the Hmong community play in addressing and preventing this deep imbalance? And Are there any community led solutions that you feel could be effective within our community? Yi Thoj: Yeah, I think as we've mentioned throughout the conversation, it's important to emphasize and highlight prevention work that can be done. And that is teaching the young boys and men and ongoing older Hmong men in our lives to. Because that is community, right? Folks who are directly within our circles, as well as people who we interact with. I think it's important to teach them very simple things that should already be fundamental, but unfortunately are not. Such as informed consent, and then also just normal consent. I think to echo back on what I just shared as well, having more male mentors who are very much progressive and radical in their work, and also centered in the actual tangible dismantling of the culture and harmful aspects of the system, I think is, A really big part of it. The reason why I think I'm bringing this up is because my experience with younger men who still hold a lot of these traditionalist and violent behaviors and mentalities receive a lot of their mentorship from other male mentors in their lives, and also just media consumption such as Andrew Tate and whatnot. A lot of folks in my own young adult experience very much religiously follow Andrew Tate and I had believed that we were at a point in our progressive history to where we have gone past that, but it's still very rampant in the community and it's affecting The youth, and it's affecting how they interact with and also date other Hmong women as well, assuming that this is a binary relationship.   Pana: It's time to talk about it, supporting each other, talking about what health relationship really is. And It doesn't have to just come from the school. For a long time, a lot of our parents, we depend on the school. Oh, they'll figure that out, right? it needs to come from everyone, every one of us. Even as a friend, as an individual, we all need to support in that piece like supportive organizations such as CHAN-BOF and HIP, right? Continuously talking about this, bringing the awareness. If you're feeling uncomfortable, if we're really uncomfortable talking about a certain topic, we do need to talk about that and really addressing that. Getting to understand what's healthy and what's not healthy. What are the signs of an abusive relationship? I think if we really want change, change needs to happen especially as parents and it comes from the youth too. We want a better future for our youth so I think really continue to really address this and doing a lot of prevention work because we tend to deal with a crisis and we're forgetting about the prevention part. How do we prevent this stuff. One great example that I always use is we're constantly supporting and trying to jump in and support people who are drowning, but we keep forgetting about, what's happening on the other side of that river. Something's happening and it's the prevention education piece that we need to start doing and continue to do. Cheryl: We're going to take a quick music break, but don't go anywhere. Next up,. You're going to be listening to “cultural worker” by power struggle. More on the ways we can work towards. Teen dating violence awareness in the Hmong Comunity when we return.    Cheryl: And we're back!. You are tuned in to KPFA on 94.1, KPFA 88.1 KFCF F in Fresno and online at kpfa.org. You were just listening to “cultural worker” by power struggle, a Filipino beat rock music artist based in the bay. We're currently here with Belle and Yi from Hmong innovating politics, hip. And Jennifer and Pana from California Hmong advocates network, building our futures, cHAN-BOF as we discuss the ways we can address teen dating violence in the Hmong community.    Jennifer Xiong: I'm gonna echo, I mean, both of you brought up the same points, but in really distinctive examples of your own, and I really appreciate that. It is about really bolstering, our community up to be proactive and engaged and informed about this, and really equipping and building them up to be a part of this, that it's not oh, you know, I think it's great that obviously we do this work as current active advocates who've had previous quote, unquote, professional experience dealing with , crisis like this, or dealing with and supporting directly individuals who have gone or are going through this and that, like, everyone is more than capable of being equipped with the knowledge and being enforced with the knowledge and the ability To learn and understand this and be proactive about it in our community. It does lead a lot back to the whole prevention and intervention work and building up our youth and young adults. Cause you know, okay. So a side note is, so we did a lot of outreach and engagement work this past year, really putting it out in front of our community, in the Hmong community. And let me tell you, I was scared to do this because I was like, oh my gosh, people are going to be bringing their pitchforks and torches and, and they're going to come around and be like, who's this girl going on TV, talking about DV and providing resources and services for our community. Interestingly enough, I got like so much of the opposite reaction and responses. And I think to me, that's really heartwarming. And it gives me a lot of hope because I got so much positive affirmation and reinforcement and feedback from even our older generations in our community and young folks too, saying this is so needed. This is critical, important. I'm so glad you're out here. Or how can we get involved? Even being like, , I'm so happy that you guys are doing this work. And we really have a lot of faith because so much of our younger folks, younger generations are stepping up to do this sort of work. So I think it's really the community, a large portion of the community, from what I've experienced, really recognize how important and needed this work is to implement this and incorporate this into our community so they know and understand like, Hey, violence is not okay. Dating violence is not okay. Domestic violence is not okay. But what can we do? , what do we do about it? And I think we're at that place where people are really curious and desiring to really step up and do something about it. And again, I think what Pana and Yi mentioned.  Belle: Thank you. I love those ideas on how the Hmong community can take action to change the violence that happens in our communities, right? I love dismantling the patriarchy and empowering our youth. I think that also really comes with, I know we didn't really touch on this, but, the 18 class system. How there really needs to be more, you mentioned, women leadership. We have a lot of women leadership in our communities, but not within our 18 class system. And why is that right? And how do we convince them that we need women in those leadership roles within our communities to represent our communities. That also ties into the same thing with Jennifer, how we really want to empower youth. We should also have youth leadership because then the folks who are in those important seats are 60 plus and so disconnected with the reality that we're living in today. So, you know, I just really appreciate everything y'all brought to the table today. I know we only have a few minutes left. , I know we talked a lot about youth empowerment, how there's a lot of women leadership. Since we're focusing on teen dating violence today, what is a tip or advice that you would have liked to receive as a teenager, now being a little bit more experienced with your relationships. And if you could say it really quick. Any of the teenagers listening out here, perk your ears up– there's a lot of great advice in here, so make sure that you absorb it like a sponge. And I'll just go ahead and leave it at that.  Pana: I think with me– it's okay to not be okay, right? It's okay to not be okay, and it's really okay to talk to someone. And really reach out for help and, you know, really understand that it's okay to say no, and we are all equal. Jennifer Xiong: For me, Oh gosh, this is hard. First things first is like, I think my teen self would have loved to know dating during your teen years. It's not a big deal. Like, it's okay. Don't feel like you're missing out or that there's something wrong with you if you aren't in a relationship while you're in your teen years. Really spend that time cherishing and valuing the time you have with yourself and getting to know yourself first, so that when you do get into a relationship, you know what you want, you know, the values that you want in a relationship, the values you want to bring into a relationship, you know yourself. And also don't forget that you are you're worthy. You matter, you're important. And that, anyone who disrespects you or does not value your work in a relationship more than likely aren't worth your time and aren't worth your tears. And so I think that's what I would have wanted to know.  Yi Thoj: for mine, it's very specific. How I came to be with my current partner. It was through an intersection of events with a lot of things that we've already discussed today as well. And so I think what I would have wanted to know is that It's very difficult to try to empower and change the hearts and minds of people on the ground level. Even if you're going in head strong. please treat yourself with grace in all of that. And then lean in on your partner to help you navigate that. It's so important. I think a lot of Hmong women and Hmong girls are taught to be hyper individualistic and independent, and it's needing to teach that sometimes you can lean into your femininity. Sometimes you can lean in on support from other people. And also from your partner, it's really important. C: Thank you. I love all the self love in the room and just really great advice on being gentle with yourself and recognize that you are deserving of all the good things in life. I hope that everyone really takes that to heart and it's just friendly reminder to continue loving yourself in the process of loving others. Love is abundant. It's not scarcity mindset. We are here to share our love and that love should be shared with ourselves as well. We're going to wrap today up and I just want to say thank you so much to Yi, Pana, Jennifer for joining us and thank you so much CHAN-BOF for collaborating with HIP for dating violence awareness month. We really appreciate all your effort and all the work you do in our communities as well. If you haven't already in the audience, please make sure to follow and like HIP and CHAN-BOF so you can continue following the work that we do and support our endeavors as community members, because you are part of the change in our communities as well. Well, all so much and have a good rest of your night. Thanks everyone.  Cheryl: And that's the end of our show. Learn more about the incredible work being done by Hmong innovating politics and CHAN-BOF by checking out our show notes.   Also HIP and CHAN-BOF ask work together to create these really helpful infographics on themes of teen dating violence awareness, such as what is consent? How do you know you're in an abusive relationship. How can you help someone who's in it? I found them to be really helpful. So I will also make sure to link those in the show notes as well.  Cheryl Truong: Apex express is produced by Miko Lee, Paige Chung, Jalena Keane-Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar. Shekar, Anuj Vaidya, Kiki Rivera, Swati Rayasam, Nate Tan, Hien Nguyen, Nikki Chan, and Cheryl Truong   Tonight's show was produced by me, cheryl. Thanks to the team at KPFA for all of their support. And thank you for listening!  The post APEX Express – 04.25.24 – Hmong Teen Dating Violence Awareness appeared first on KPFA.

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Is Abby's friend's wedding tradition cute or creepy? Her Mother-In-Law wants to buy her lingerie for her WEDDING NIGHT! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The jury returns with a 10-2 majority verdict. Annette faces a long time in prison, but still insists that she is innocent. Her mother-in-law, Veronica, gradually gets an appeals campaign underway. Top solicitors, journalists and family members join the cause.As the campaign progresses there is increasing concern about Annette's worsening mental health in prison. Will she survive in prison long enough to see if her Appeal hearing is granted?An Inspire Film and Television Production for BBC Sounds.Credits: Narrator: Nicole Jacob Producer and Editor: Amy Derrick Finishing Editor: Steph Lynch Additional Sound Design: Kevin Langhamer Post Production: Bang Executive Producer: Wayne Derrick

In this episode, I introduce you to Francie G. Francie found herself googling for basement organization podcasts when her mother-in-law decided to downsize from her home of 46 years in November of 2022. She came across the “arranging your hot mess rooms” episode and was hooked. For her mother-in-law's move, which turned into her move too…she invested in The Productive Home Solution®. She grasped the idea of “same with same” and ease of access based on frequency of use. She then chose her own organizational adventure. At the same time, Francie, her husband, and two children, Thomas and JoAnn, were living in a condo. Francie and her husband started their lives there 18 years ago, but knew it was not their forever home. Her mother-in-law downsizing meant they would be acquiring some furniture, memorabilia, and other items from this transition. They knew it was more than their condo could hold. They temporarily rented a storage space, but knew that money could instead go towards a mortgage for a house that was plenty big to have all their stuff in their home. This was the perfect time to start the search for their new home.  We got to talking about our children getting older and that means their bodies get bigger too! It's like 4 adults were living in their home. They were at a point in life where a little more space would be nice. And I don't think we talk enough about buying your first nice piece of furniture or your first home in your 40's. We don't move into our first home and everything is perfect and brand new! Cue the The Paper Solution® Financial Binder. They needed to be more diligent with their money and she wanted peace of mind to know things would be ok.   Francie and her husband have always been intentional with their spending despite esteemed professions. They have only had one car, stayed in their condo till they felt they needed to move, and hired a nanny that had capabilities to drive. Francie's first investment actually was the ADHD Bundle, and we might have gone down a rabbit hole about shipping internationally and how things have changed. She also explained that because of the public transportation and the nanny, she was able to work from home with both children attending different schools, uninterrupted. When the children were in school, the nanny would run errands or help with housework. If Francie needed to go anywhere, she could hop on the public transportation. With all this change for her mother-in-law and their family, Francie started thinking she too may have ADHD. Re-establishing the systems she's learned, she realized she just has a lot of complexities in her life and no ADHD. Those complexities can suppress executive function. She laughed thinking “Well, I had gestational diabetes while I was pregnant. So maybe I'll have ADHD while the kids live at home!” She's realized that Organize 365® is the cure for that! She's regaining her work/life balance and knows she can do hard things. Francie's advice is, “the systems, routines, and schedules at home that Organize 365® teaches are the external scaffolding that keeps life organized. ”  EPISODE RESOURCES: The Sunday Basket® The Productive Home Solution® The Paper Solution® Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter  On the Wednesday podcast, I get to talk with members of the Organize 365­® community as they share the challenges, progress, missteps and triumphs along their organizing journey. I am grateful that you are reaching out to share with me and with this community. You can see and hear transformation in action. If you are ready to share your story with us, please apply at https://organize365.com/wednesday. Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

Are you familiar with the power of love and the strength of hope in the midst of grief and trauma? Picture this: author, speaker, and podcaster Jessye Wilden and her family find themselves unexpectedly caring for two children left orphaned by their best friends. As they navigate this new and challenging journey, an unexpected addition to their family sparks a light of joy and hope, reshaping Jessie's perspective on life and the power of love. Think for a moment about the challenges your own family has faced. Have you ever wondered how you'd cope with a significant loss? Jessye  shares their personal experience of pulling together as a family and underscores the importance of prioritizing the needs of others. She paints a vivid picture of their journey through grief, the absence of support groups for families in similar situations, and her dream of starting a grief group to help others. Now, imagine the strength it takes to choose love and empathy over judgment in the face of a personal tragedy. This episode features a compelling story of a woman who experienced the tragic loss of her son and daughter-in-law to murder-suicide. Her mother-in-law's act of painting her son's name in color every morning serves as a profound testament to the power of love. Tune in to this moving and uplifting conversation that will inspire you, make you think, and perhaps transform your perspective on life. Jessye Wilden's story is one you won't want to miss.Follow Jessye on Instagram @jessye_wildenOrder Jessye's book and memoir, "We Wrote Your Name in Color"Connect with her at https://www.jessyewilden.com/  Order Stephanie's new book Imagine More: Do What You Love, Discover Your Potential Learn more at StephanieNelson.comFollow us on Instagram @stephanie_nelson_cmFollow us on Facebook at CouponMom

On this episode: Jamilah, Zak, and Elizabeth help a listener who is conflicted over their vacation plans. Her mother-in-law lives across the country and doesn't have a super strong bond with her young grandson. They're wondering if they should spend their precious vacation days visiting grandma or if there's some kind of compromise.  In Slate Plus, they answer a bonus listener question about unique Christmas and Hanukkah activities that would actually keep older kids engaged.  Join us on Facebook and email us at momanddad@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today's show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318.  If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you'll also be supporting the work we do here on Mom and Dad are Fighting. Sign up now at slate.com/momanddadplus to help support our work. Podcast produced by Maura Currie and Rosemary Belson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode: Jamilah, Zak, and Elizabeth help a listener who is conflicted over their vacation plans. Her mother-in-law lives across the country and doesn't have a super strong bond with her young grandson. They're wondering if they should spend their precious vacation days visiting grandma or if there's some kind of compromise.  In Slate Plus, they answer a bonus listener question about unique Christmas and Hanukkah activities that would actually keep older kids engaged.  Join us on Facebook and email us at momanddad@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today's show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318.  If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you'll also be supporting the work we do here on Mom and Dad are Fighting. Sign up now at slate.com/momanddadplus to help support our work. Podcast produced by Maura Currie and Rosemary Belson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Heather Courville, a local entrepreneur who offers beautiful handcrafted children's clothing and accessories through her business, Banannie Bands, joins Discover Lafayette to share her journey in breaking into the business world as a seamstress who produces heirloom items. Heather had a booth at the Junior league's Christmas show, Tinsel & Treasures, in September, 2023. The quality of her work, the beauty of her designs, and her endearing spirit made her the perfect guest as we enter the holiday season and people are looking for that perfect gift for a young family member. Where did her career journey begin? A very young, divorced mom who was short on funds but rich in time, Heather took sewing classes and began sewing gifts such as burp cloths, bibs and other baby items for her daughter and friends. Her hobby turned into a career upon the encouragement of Heathe, her then boyfriend and now husband, who announced one day that he had booked her at a craft show in Breaux Bridge. He said, "I have had bought you a 10' x 10' tent and 6 ' table, here's the date of your craft show, and you will have to fill the table with baby items." She filled the table with headbands and burp cloths, all priced at $5.00, and the items sold out fast. Heather made a grand total of $75 at her first show. But this young mother of a ten-month old, who was three months behind on her mortgage and about to lose her house, felt her entrepreneurial spirit lit on fire. She began booking craft shows anywhere possible every weekend....Baptist church parking lots, anywhere there was a show. Low on funds, she would buy scraps of material from Lola Pink Fabrics in Lafayette and would sew items that customers requested such as pacifier clips. She caught up on her mortgage and realized she could take care of herself and daughter. The business has grown exponentially since its early days. And her business paid for her wedding to Heathe! And as they say, the rest is history! Surviving the COVID shutdown was a challenge and Heather pivoted to making masks which sold at retail in Drug Emporium stores. She believes that God provided for her and her business and they both have survived. While she is not yet back to her all time high of eight employees, Heather does enjoy the help of other women who love sewing and she calls Banannie Bands a family business. Heather mentioned a former babysitter of hers.....Ms. Debbie, who makes up to 400 bibs at a time for Banannie Bands. Her mother-in-law also sews for her. Gerber baby diapers serve as the base for Banannie Band burp cloths. Heather has never wanted a 'brick and mortar' store because it would be too difficult to produce enough inventory to keep the store stocked. Heather always wants to focus on custom orders that meet the needs of her customers. She brought a custom order she would be delivering after our show finished to show me a sample of her work. Banannie Bands doesn't sell on Amazon, but you can find creations locally at Trove & Company at 126 E. Bridge Street in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. Annie Bannanie is the nickname of her oldest daughter, who is now 12 years, and the inspiration for her business name. Capri is her youngest daughter, four years old, and Heather still makes all of her clothes. Banannie Bands makes clothes for newborn children to 5 years of age. Heather is especially proud of her reversible rompers which give the choice of a Halloween outfit and then flipping it inside out to show a Christmas theme. Heather details how in the early days, she worked as a receptionist at a walk-in clinic while she was building her business as a side gig. She then worked for a beloved woman who was a dementia patient but never sewed while on the job....she always waited until her off hours to produce Banannie Bands' crafted outfits and items. But when her patient had to move on to Assisted Living, Heather finally took the jump to supporting herself ...

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Recap (4:15)Taylor Swift reaches billionaire status with Eras Tour success: report (Page Six) (23:02)Kylie Jenner matches faux leather looks with Kendall Jenner, Hailey Bieber for Khy launch Designer Betsy Johnson claims Kylie Jenner copied her ideas for new clothing line Khy (Page Six) (36:29)Kris Jenner Says It Was a 'Huge Mistake' Cheating on Robert Kardashian Sr (PEOPLE) (44:24)Nicola Peltz Pays Tribute to Her Mother-in-Law as She Wears Victoria Beckham Shirt (PEOPLE) (50:52)Historic Flatiron Building to be Converted into Condos (PEOPLE) (53:41)Dear Toasters Advice Segment (1:01:05)The Toast with Jackie (@JackieOshry) and Claudia Oshry (@girlwithnojob) The Camper and The Counselor by Jackie OshryMerchThe Toast PatreonGirl With No Job by Claudia OshrySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We need to encourage women to take a deep dive into their passions and break free from societal labels. We can conquer any field and be successful. - Joanna Kail For Joanna Kail, her journey began with an instilled Wyoming pride and a natural affinity for communication. Born and raised in Lander, she was influenced by the close-knit community and the one-degree separation that tightly binds Wyomingites together. Her initial dream was to work for the State Department, a dream inspired by her desire to represent America globally. However, the realization of her natural communication skills steered her towards a custom degree in Communications, Marketing, and Political Science at the University of Wyoming. Her mother-in-law, Elizabeth Kail, the first female county and district court judge in Wyoming, provided constant inspiration. Elizabeth's commitment to her role, overlooking her ‘first female' status and focusing on competence instead, deeply resonated with Joanna. This inspiration, coupled with Joanna's passion for storytelling and the Wyoming community, eventually led her to Wyoming PBS. Joanna Kail's story is one of aspiration, redirection, and fulfillment. My special guest is Joanna Kail Meet Joanna Kail, a woman who balances resilience, humility, and pride with aplomb. Joanna has held prominent positions, including the executive director of the Wyoming PBS Foundation. Her journey continues as she steps into the role of general manager and chief executive officer for Wyoming PBS. Her commitment to universal education, information dissemination, and preserving Wyoming's history remains unwavering. Joanna is not just about breaking the glass ceiling, she advocates for women to redefine it, empowering them to explore fields and roles typically dominated by men. The resources mentioned in this episode are:  Visit the Wyoming Humanities website to learn more about their programs and initiatives.  Tune in to Wyoming Public Broadcasting stations to stay informed about current events and important issues.  Follow Wyoming Humanities on social media for updates and behind-the-scenes content.  Encourage young women to pursue careers in male-dominated fields like computer science and engineering.   Consider running for political office in Wyoming to represent your community and make a difference.   Advocate for equal treatment and opportunities for women in all industries and sectors.  Listen on all your favorite platforms and subscribe! Connect with me here: ThinkWY Facebook Twitter LinkedIn As always leave a review if you enjoyed these stories and follow us on Instagram or visit the webpage of the Wyoming Humanities! Sign up for the podcast newsletter using the QR code of follow this link: http://eepurl.com/igy4fH  

“I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you!”Jeremiah 1:19 "They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you.”I know a lot of people who could use this promise right about now.  I know a lot of people who are struggling with a lot of different things.  There are some who are battling addiction, cancer, family members treating them badly, recovering from a stroke, recovering from a car accident, dealing with depression and anxiety, you name it and I probably know someone who is going through it right now.  This is a great verse to keep handy and rely on when we are in a tough situation.  “They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you.”The Lord is saying this verse to you, yes you.  You can even change this verse so it is talking you specifically.  This is a great way to personalize the scriptures.  Here is one way you can change it.  “They will fight against me; but they shall not prevail against me, for God is with me and will deliver me.” Another way to personalize it would be to add your name.  “They will fight against you, Catherine; but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you, Catherine.” Do you see how both of these ways help me to see more clearly that the Lord is talking directly to me?  This is a promise that the Lord is making to you.  His Word is truth.  Whatever you read in the Bible, you can be sure it is true.  The Lord doesn't say things lightly, and he doesn't say things He doesn't mean.  There isn't anything in the Bible that was put there by accident.  If it is in the Bible it is because it is something God wanted us to know.  I think there are two things in this verse that God wants us to know and both are equally important.First, God wants us to know that we will encounter hard times.  There will be people that will want to fight with us.  We will not just skate through life without any difficulties.  Some people believe that once they decide to give their life to Christ, once they decide that they will follow God and live according to His law, everything will be ok.  Life will be easy and they will not encounter the difficulties they had been facing.  This is not the case.  God never promised us an easy life.  If you look at the faithful people in the Bible they had plenty of struggles.  They struggled to pay bills, to put food on the table, they struggled to conceive children and they lost people they loved.  Believing in God and following His ways doesn't mean that struggle and tragedy will no longer exist.  What it means is that you will no longer be dealing with these things on your own.  You will no longer be dealing with them with your human strength, you will now have the strength of the Holy Spirit within you as well.  Looking back at the people in the Bible who have struggled with something you are struggling with can be a great way to find a way through your struggle.  You might read the story of how they struggled and you may find out they did something that made all the difference and you can try to do the same thing.  For instance, in the story of Ruth, she lost her husband, her brother-in-law, and her father-in-law.  Her mother-in-law, Naomi, wanted to move back to be with her people, the Israelites.  Those were not Ruth's people and yet Ruth went with Naomi back to her homeland. They had both lost their husbands, they had no money, no food, and Naomi was ashamed as she lost everything and was coming home with nothing.  Ruth was obedient and did all that Naomi told her to do. Because of this obedience, Ruth met a man, married him, and eventually became the great-grandmother to King David.  None of this would have happened if she had decided not to stay with her mother-in-law and if she had decided not to be obedient. We can learn from her example.Obedience can be hard.  Sometimes we don't want to do what we are being asked to do. One example of this was when Tony asked me if I could help outside yesterday.  I did not want to help outside, that is one of my least favorite things to do.  Our flower beds really needed to be weeded along with the sand surrounding our fire pit.  Weeding is not fun.  We also needed to redo the railings on our porch.  That is not something I really know how to do, so I was asked to do the weeding while he did the porch railing.  I knew he needed the help and since we both live in the house it is not just his responsibility to do the weeding.  I put in my headphones and listened to a few episodes of the Elevation Podcast.  I was obedient, even though I didn't want to, and now our flowerbeds look great!Sometimes what we are being asked to do is really difficult.  Maybe you are being asked to watch as your loved one re-learns how to walk, talk, eat, and swallow after a stroke or brain bleed.  Maybe you are being asked to wait for weeks for your radiation to start.  Maybe you are being asked to watch while your child struggles with mental health. Maybe you are being asked to wait for the courts to decide what they will do about your situation.  Whatever it is that you are waiting for or what you have been asked to do, be obedient in the situation.  If God is calling you to be patient, then try to be more patient.  If God is calling you to wait, then try to wait joyfully.  When we can be obedient, even when it's hard, then amazing things will happen to us.  The second thing I believe God is trying to tell us in the verse today is that even though we will have people and things that will come against us, they will not prevail.  God is there for us and he will deliver us from whatever comes against us.  He will deliver you from the situation at work.  He will deliver you from that cancer.  He will deliver you from that struggling relationship.  He will deliver you from your enemies.  God did not promise us an easy life and yet He did promise to always be there with us.  He promises He will protect us from evil and from all that comes against us.  This verse is telling us we won't sink, we won't go under.  We may feel like what we are going through will get the best of us, but it won't.  God is with us, He will protect us, He will save us.  He will deliver us from whatever is troubling us.  "They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you.”Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, we thank you for always being with us.  We thank you for protecting us and delivering us.  Lord, you are amazing.  Help us to rely on you.  Help us to believe you are there with us each step of the way and that you will deliver us.  Lord, we ask for strength when they come against us.  Give us the strength we need Lord.  We love you and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus' holy name, Amen!Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  I am so excited to announce that the retreat I am hosting is officially open for registration.  CLICK HERE for more details and registration in the show notes and you can also go to walkboldlywithjesus.com and click on the link for the retreat link.  The retreat will be from October 7th-9th and it will be at the Holy Cross Retreat House in Easton, MA. It will be a weekend to get filled up with God's love.  Have you ever wanted to personally experience God's love?  Yes, God loves us all.  He also loves each one of us individually and He wants to have a personal relationship with each one of us.  This retreat could be your first step in discovering a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him.  I hope you will join me! I look forward to seeing you here again tomorrow.  Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 11 Psalm 11 (Listen) The Lord Is in His Holy Temple To the choirmaster. Of David. 11   In the LORD I take refuge;  how can you say to my soul,    “Flee like a bird to your mountain,2   for behold, the wicked bend the bow;    they have fitted their arrow to the string    to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;3   if the foundations are destroyed,    what can the righteous do?”1 4   The LORD is in his holy temple;    the LORD's throne is in heaven;    his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.5   The LORD tests the righteous,    but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.6   Let him rain coals on the wicked;    fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.7   For the LORD is righteous;  he loves righteous deeds;    the upright shall behold his face. Footnotes [1] 11:3 Or for the foundations will be destroyed; what has the righteous done? (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Ruth 2 Ruth 2 (Listen) Ruth Meets Boaz 2 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. 4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you!” And they answered, “The LORD bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.' So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”1 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” 13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.” 14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” 17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah2 of barley. 18 And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. 19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.'” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.” 23 So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law. Footnotes [1] 2:7 Compare Septuagint, Vulgate; the meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain [2] 2:17 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Jeremiah 39 Jeremiah 39 (Listen) The Fall of Jerusalem 39 In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city. 3 Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the middle gate: Nergal-sar-ezer of Samgar, Nebu-sar-sekim the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, with all the rest of the officers of the king of Babylon. 4 When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled, going out of the city at night by way of the king's garden through the gate between the two walls; and they went toward the Arabah. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, at Riblah, in the land of Hamath; and he passed sentence on him. 6 The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes, and the king of Babylon slaughtered all the nobles of Judah. 7 He put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon. 8 The Chaldeans burned the king's house and the house of the people, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. 9 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, carried into exile to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to him, and the people who remained. 10 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time. The Lord Delivers Jeremiah 11 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave command concerning Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, saying, 12 “Take him, look after him well, and do him no harm, but deal with him as he tells you.” 13 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, Nebushazban the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon 14 sent and took Jeremiah from the court of the guard. They entrusted him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, that he should take him home. So he lived among the people. 15 The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the guard: 16 “Go, and say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will fulfill my words against this city for harm and not for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day. 17 But I will deliver you on that day, declares the LORD, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. 18 For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your life as a prize of war, because you have put your trust in me, declares the LORD.'” (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Mark 10 Mark 10 (Listen) Teaching About Divorce 10 And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them. 2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” 5 And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.' 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,1 8 and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” Let the Children Come to Me 13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. The Rich Young Man 17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is2 to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him,3 “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time 32 And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.” The Request of James and John 35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,4 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave5 of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus 46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. Footnotes [1] 10:7 Some manuscripts omit and hold fast to his wife [2] 10:24 Some manuscripts add for those who trust in riches [3] 10:26 Some manuscripts to one another [4] 10:43 Greek diakonos [5] 10:44 Or bondservant, or servant (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface) (ESV)

With family: Ruth 2; Acts 27 Ruth 2 (Listen) Ruth Meets Boaz 2 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. 4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you!” And they answered, “The LORD bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.' So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”1 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” 13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.” 14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” 17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah2 of barley. 18 And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. 19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.'” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.” 23 So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law. Footnotes [1] 2:7 Compare Septuagint, Vulgate; the meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain [2] 2:17 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters (ESV) Acts 27 (Listen) Paul Sails for Rome 27 And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius. 2 And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. 3 The next day we put in at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for. 4 And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. 5 And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7 We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. 8 Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea. 9 Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast1 was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying, “Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there. The Storm at Sea 13 Now when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to the shore. 14 But soon a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster, struck down from the land. 15 And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 Running under the lee of a small island called Cauda,2 we managed with difficulty to secure the ship's boat. 17 After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship. Then, fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the gear,3 and thus they were driven along. 18 Since we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day to jettison the cargo. 19 And on the third day they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned. 21 Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. 22 Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, 24 and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.' 25 So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 26 But we must run aground on some island.” 27 When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. 28 So they took a sounding and found twenty fathoms.4 A little farther on they took a sounding again and found fifteen fathoms.5 29 And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. 30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered the ship's boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship's boat and let it go. 33 As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take some food. For it will give you strength,6 for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.” 35 And when he had said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat. 36 Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 (We were in all 2767 persons in the ship.) 38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea. The Shipwreck 39 Now when it was day, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned if possible to run the ship ashore. 40 So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the rudders. Then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the beach. 41 But striking a reef,8 they ran the vessel aground. The bow stuck and remained immovable, and the stern was being broken up by the surf. 42 The soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. 43 But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, 44 and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land. Footnotes [1] 27:9 That is, the Day of Atonement [2] 27:16 Some manuscripts Clauda [3] 27:17 That is, the sea-anchor (or possibly the mainsail) [4] 27:28 About 120 feet; a fathom (Greek orguia) was about 6 feet or 2 meters [5] 27:28 About 90 feet (see previous note) [6] 27:34 Or For it is for your deliverance [7] 27:37 Some manuscripts seventy-six, or about seventy-six [8] 27:41 Or sandbank, or crosscurrent; Greek place between two seas (ESV) In private: Psalm 10; Jeremiah 37 Psalm 10 (Listen) Why Do You Hide Yourself? 10   Why, O LORD, do you stand far away?    Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 2   In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;    let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.3   For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,    and the one greedy for gain curses1 and renounces the LORD.4   In the pride of his face2 the wicked does not seek him;3    all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”5   His ways prosper at all times;    your judgments are on high, out of his sight;    as for all his foes, he puffs at them.6   He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;    throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”7   His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;    under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.8   He sits in ambush in the villages;    in hiding places he murders the innocent.  His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;9     he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;  he lurks that he may seize the poor;    he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.10   The helpless are crushed, sink down,    and fall by his might.11   He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,    he has hidden his face, he will never see it.” 12   Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand;    forget not the afflicted.13   Why does the wicked renounce God    and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?14   But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,    that you may take it into your hands;  to you the helpless commits himself;    you have been the helper of the fatherless.15   Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;    call his wickedness to account till you find none. 16   The LORD is king forever and ever;    the nations perish from his land.17   O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted;    you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear18   to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,    so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more. Footnotes [1] 10:3 Or and he blesses the one greedy for gain [2] 10:4 Or of his anger [3] 10:4 Or the wicked says, “He will not call to account” (ESV) Jeremiah 37 (Listen) Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah 37 Zedekiah the son of Josiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah, reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. 2 But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the LORD that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet. 3 King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Please pray for us to the LORD our God.” 4 Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison. 5 The army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt. And when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem. 6 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7 “Thus says the LORD, God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who sent you to me to inquire of me, ‘Behold, Pharaoh's army that came to help you is about to return to Egypt, to its own land. 8 And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city. They shall capture it and burn it with fire. 9 Thus says the LORD, Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away. 10 For even if you should defeat the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men, every man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.'” Jeremiah Imprisoned 11 Now when the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh's army, 12 Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his portion there among the people. 13 When he was at the Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Irijah the son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans.” 14 And Jeremiah said, “It is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him, and seized Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15 And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison. 16 When Jeremiah had come to the dungeon cells and remained there many days, 17 King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house and said, “Is there any word from the LORD?” Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, “You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” 18 Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land'? 20 Now hear, please, O my lord the king: let my humble plea come before you and do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, lest I die there.” 21 So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guard. And a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers' street, until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard. (ESV)

Dr. Sigoloff with a patch you can buy to help his lawsuit against the Department of Defense Dr. Sam Sigoloff, a Major in the U.S. Army, has not been allowed to see patients for well over a year.But, that gives him time to Podcast. His crime was telling people to make their own decision about getting injected with the mRNA shots. Sam was doing his duty, protecting the troops against these fraudulent injections. As part of that effort, he and some other doctors mined military data and uncovered the great harms the mRNA injections appear to be doing to the fighting force, Sam discussed those harms in detail. Senator Ron Johnson wrote a letter to the Department of Defense telling them to preserve the data Sam and his colleagues gathered and forbidding the DoD from retaliating against the doctors. We see what's happening to Same. Guess what happened to the data . . . ? What does God say? Good troops are willing to lay down their lives for us. Sam is also laying down his career. John 15:1313 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.Episode 640: What is happening in Palestine, Ohio? LISTEN TO EPISODE 640Diana Campbell with Health Freedom Pennsylvania talked with us about what is going on next door, in Palestine, Ohio.We decided to reach out to a real person, not the media, or government, to learn what people are being put through in and around Palestine, Ohio. Diana Campbell is with Health Freedom Pennsylvania. She lives near Palestine and evacuated her home. Her mother-in-law was next to the explosion zone where people were evacuated. People Diana knows have taken pictures of dead fish in their streams. Unbelievably, citizens are being told it's safe to return home just days after massive amounts of toxic chemicals were blasted into the air. Diana made a great point about this public “health” advice: citizens are being told to clean up their homes . . . what WHAT? Should there be some guidance on which cleaning chemicals to use? Is the water, which often comes from uncovered reservoirs, actually clean enough to use, let alone drink? Some reports are that these chemicals could have formed acid rainBest video I've found explaining the chemical aspect of the Ohio train disaster Extremely toxic liquid vinyl chloride was leaking so authorities planned a “controlled burn” but that created hydrogen chloride acid that clings to water Basically acid rainBut, in defense of Mayor Peter, there are bigger priorities for the Secretary of Transportation than infrastructure. The national media is finally reporting some of the truths about the latest train derailment in a Country with infrastructure left to rot while Mayor Pete bravely battles letters. What does God say? Thank God there have been no deaths, particularly among the first responders who embody what it is to love their neighbors. John 15:1313 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.The LinksEpisode 639: Military Doctor: the mRNA is a bioweapon. Mjr. Sam Sigoloff joins the show to share his personal opinion, not that of the DoD or the government Sam's video explains why he calls the mRNA injections bio-weapons, please subscribe Another video by Sam ion the fraud of "comarinty", Made in France, Not FDA ApprovedSupport Sam's lawsuit against the DoD and DoD bosses! Buy his patch! Reprimando Moral And Morale Patch. Dr. Sigoloff34Patriots https://4patriots.com Protect your family with Food kits, solar generators and more at 4Patriots. Use code TODD for 10% off your first purchase. Alan's Soaps https://alanssoaps.com/TODD Use coupon code ‘TODD' to save an additional 10% off the bundle price. BiOptimizers https://magbreakthrough.com/todd Use promo code TODD for 10% off your order. Bonefrog https://bonefrog.us Enter promo code TODD at checkout to receive 10% off your subscription. Bulwark Capital http://KnowYourRiskRadio.com Find out how Bulwark Capital Actively Manages risk. Call 866-779-RISK or visit KnowYourRiskRadio.com Patriot Mobile https://patriotmobile.com/herman Get free activation today with offer code HERMAN. Visit or call 878-PATRIOT. RuffGreens https://ruffgreens.com/todd Get your FREE Jumpstart Trial Bag of Ruff Greens, simply cover shipping. Visit or call 877-MYDOG-64. SOTA Weight Loss https://sotaweightloss.com SOTA Weight Loss is, say it with me now, STATE OF THE ART! Sound of Freedom https://angel.com/freedom Join the two million and see Sound of Freedom in theaters July 4th. GreenHaven Interactive https://greenhaveninteractive.com Digital Marketing including search engine optimization and website design.

Step into the Lorin-Cory-Isley branch of the Lincoln, Nebraska library system on a delightful Saturday morning, and you'll encounter our next guest, Alania. Adopted at a young age, she was swiftly welcomed into the warm embrace of her new home in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Her father's transition from a police officer to a FedEx delivery driver added a unique twist to their rural life, as his deliveries took him on fascinating journeys through the countryside, far different from the bustling streets of New York City.In the heart of their home, Alania's mother embodied the role of a devoted stay-at-home mom. Church played a central part in their lives, with numerous events and activities revolving around their faith. Alania had an older brother and eventually had the opportunity to meet her birth parents. Among her birth parents, she formed the strongest connection with her birth father. Lucky to have two fathers in her life, Alania cherishes the profound relationships she shares with both.However, Alania's early childhood was marred by significant trauma between the ages of 3 and 6. These experiences left a lasting impact, leading to self-harm behaviors. Eventually, she was placed in group homes, where she endured even greater trauma. The irony of it all was that her parents, who loved her deeply, stood by her side throughout her challenging journey, despite the unexplainable nature of her trauma-related behavior.At the age of 18, Alania left home and, despite having abstained from alcohol and drugs, decided to attend a party one night. Tragically, she was given a date rape drug and fell victim to sexual assault. This harrowing experience plunged her into a downward spiral of substance abuse. In the depths of her despair, she tragically and painfully delivered her deceased fetus alone, a moment that forever marked her soul.In her early twenties, Alania found herself pregnant again and entered into a marriage with a veteran. They welcomed two children together. However, her husband's battle with PTSD and alcoholism eventually led to their divorce. Despite the heartbreak, Alania found love and happiness in her third marriage. Embracing the Mormon faith, she and her new family became members of the LDS Church. Her mother-in-law became a shining example of a faith-led life, providing Alania with hope and a role model to emulate. The enduring love of her parents further bolstered her spirits.Alania's story is one of complexity and hardship, yet her indomitable spirit, her unwavering determination to be the best version of herself for her children, her husband, and the world, shines through. Join us as we navigate through The Jar and bear witness to the incredible journey of Alania. Prepare to be moved, inspired, and reminded of the resilience of the human spirit.For more of Alania, Check out her instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alaina.l.hulette/ For more of The Jar, visit:Website: https://www.thejar.live/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaTqB1dhDvl0Oh505ysdxTgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/podcast.thejarInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejar_podcast/Disclaimer: The views stated in this episode are our guest's opinions and do not represent the views, beliefs or opinions of The Jar Podcast. Our goal is to provide a platform for everyone no matter what they believe, and we would like to continue to do that while making it clear our guests are not a representation of The Jar Podcast. 

Her Mother-In-Law was planning on joining them for their Honeymoon! What did she say to her to make sure that DOESN'T happen?! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Old Testament: Ruth 2–4 Ruth 2–4 (Listen) Ruth Meets Boaz 2 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. 4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you!” And they answered, “The LORD bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.' So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”1 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” 13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.” 14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” 17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah2 of barley. 18 And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. 19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.'” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.” 23 So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law. Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor 3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? 2 Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3 Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” 5 And she replied, “All that you say I will do.” 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! 9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings3 over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” 10 And he said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. 12 And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. 13 Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the LORD lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.” 14 So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city. 16 And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her, 17 saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.'” 18 She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.” Boaz Redeems Ruth 4 Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, “Turn aside, friend; sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down. 2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. 3 Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. 4 So I thought I would tell you of it and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.' If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you4 will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.” 5 Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth5 the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.” 6 Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” 7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. 8 So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal. 9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. 10 Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.” 11 Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem, 12 and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the LORD will give you by this young woman.” Ruth and Boaz Marry 13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. 17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. The Genealogy of David 18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, 19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, 20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, 21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, 22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David. Footnotes [1] 2:7 Compare Septuagint, Vulgate; the meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain [2] 2:17 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters [3] 3:9 Compare 2:12; the word for wings can also mean corners of a garment [4] 4:4 Hebrew he [5] 4:5 Masoretic Text you also buy it from Ruth (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 117 Psalm 117 (Listen) The Lord's Faithfulness Endures Forever 117   Praise the LORD, all nations!    Extol him, all peoples!2   For great is his steadfast love toward us,    and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.  Praise the LORD! (ESV) New Testament: 1 Corinthians 11 1 Corinthians 11 (Listen) 11 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. Head Coverings 2 Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife1 is her husband,2 and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, 5 but every wife3 who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. 6 For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. 7 For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9 Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.4 11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; 12 for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God. 13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, 15 but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. 16 If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God. The Lord's Supper 17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part,5 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. 23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for6 you. Do this in remembrance of me.”7 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.8 31 But if we judged9 ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined10 so that we may not be condemned along with the world. 33 So then, my brothers,11 when you come together to eat, wait for12 one another—34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come. Footnotes [1] 11:3 Greek gunē. This term may refer to a woman or a wife, depending on the context [2] 11:3 Greek anēr. This term may refer to a man or a husband, depending on the context [3] 11:5 In verses 5–13, the Greek word gunē is translated wife in verses that deal with wearing a veil, a sign of being married in first-century culture [4] 11:10 Or messengers, that is, people sent to observe and report [5] 11:18 Or I believe a certain report [6] 11:24 Some manuscripts broken for [7] 11:24 Or as my memorial; also verse 25 [8] 11:30 Greek have fallen asleep (as in 15:6, 20) [9] 11:31 Or discerned [10] 11:32 Or when we are judged we are being disciplined by the Lord [11] 11:33 Or brothers and sisters [12] 11:33 Or share with (ESV)

Old Testament: Ruth 2–4 Ruth 2–4 (Listen) Ruth Meets Boaz 2 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. 4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you!” And they answered, “The LORD bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.' So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”1 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” 13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.” 14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” 17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah2 of barley. 18 And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. 19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.'” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.” 23 So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law. Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor 3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? 2 Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3 Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” 5 And she replied, “All that you say I will do.” 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! 9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings3 over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” 10 And he said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. 12 And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. 13 Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the LORD lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.” 14 So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city. 16 And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her, 17 saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.'” 18 She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.” Boaz Redeems Ruth 4 Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, “Turn aside, friend; sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down. 2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. 3 Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. 4 So I thought I would tell you of it and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.' If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you4 will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.” 5 Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth5 the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.” 6 Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” 7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. 8 So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal. 9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. 10 Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.” 11 Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem, 12 and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the LORD will give you by this young woman.” Ruth and Boaz Marry 13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. 17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. The Genealogy of David 18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, 19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, 20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, 21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, 22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David. Footnotes [1] 2:7 Compare Septuagint, Vulgate; the meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain [2] 2:17 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters [3] 3:9 Compare 2:12; the word for wings can also mean corners of a garment [4] 4:4 Hebrew he [5] 4:5 Masoretic Text you also buy it from Ruth (ESV) New Testament: John 21 John 21 (Listen) Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples 21 After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. 8 The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards1 off. 9 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. Jesus and Peter 15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.” Jesus and the Beloved Apostle 20 Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” 23 So the saying spread abroad among the brothers2 that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?” 24 This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. 25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Footnotes [1] 21:8 Greek two hundred cubits; a cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [2] 21:23 Or brothers and sisters (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 117 Psalm 117 (Listen) The Lord's Faithfulness Endures Forever 117   Praise the LORD, all nations!    Extol him, all peoples!2   For great is his steadfast love toward us,    and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.  Praise the LORD! (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 15:15–17 Proverbs 15:15–17 (Listen) 15   All the days of the afflicted are evil,    but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.16   Better is a little with the fear of the LORD    than great treasure and trouble with it.17   Better is a dinner of herbs where love is    than a fattened ox and hatred with it. (ESV)

5/7/2023 Pastor Paul Bang Ruth Meets Boaz 2 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. 4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered, “The Lord bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.' So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”[a] 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” 13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.” 14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” 17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah[b] of barley. 18 And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. 19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.'” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.” 23 So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

Her mother-in-law used her work laptop for some adult browsing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the dinner table, Savera mentions that she might take her children and husband to Disneyland. Her mother-in-law says, "Would you be terribly upset if we went with you?" Savera does get upset, and she judges her mother-in-law as entitled, boundaryless, aggressive, and needy. What to do! Join us as she works through this impasse. Let's do The Work.   Don't miss Byron Katie every M-T-W, 9-10 am Pacific Time. Register: athomewithbk.com   If you enjoy this podcast, please give us a five-star rating and review on iTunes, subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and invite your friends to join us. Follow Byron Katie on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Byron Katie's Books: “Loving What Is” (New Revised Edition) “I Need Your Love—Is That True?” “A Thousand Names for Joy” “A Mind at Home with Itself”   The Work App is available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The Work of Byron Katie is available at thework.com.

Her Mother-In-Law was planning on joining them for their Honeymoon! What did she say to her to make sure that DOESN'T happen?! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Her Mother-In-Law wants to join them on their HONEYMOON! What would you say to her?

Morning: Ruth 1–4 Ruth 1–4 (Listen) Naomi Widowed 1 In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, 5 and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. Ruth's Loyalty to Naomi 6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the LORD had visited his people and given them food. 7 So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The LORD grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10 And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, 13 would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.” 14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” 18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more. Naomi and Ruth Return 19 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi;1 call me Mara,2 for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. Ruth Meets Boaz 2 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. 4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you!” And they answered, “The LORD bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.' So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”3 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” 13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.” 14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” 17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah4 of barley. 18 And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. 19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.'” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.” 23 So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law. Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor 3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? 2 Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3 Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” 5 And she replied, “All that you say I will do.” 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! 9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings5 over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” 10 And he said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. 12 And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. 13 Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the LORD lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.” 14 So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city. 16 And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her, 17 saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.'” 18 She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.” Boaz Redeems Ruth 4 Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, “Turn aside, friend; sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down. 2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. 3 Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. 4 So I thought I would tell you of it and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.' If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you6 will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.” 5 Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth7 the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.” 6 Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” 7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. 8 So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal. 9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. 10 Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.” 11 Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem, 12 and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the LORD will give you by this young woman.” Ruth and Boaz Marry 13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. 17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. The Genealogy of David 18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, 19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, 20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, 21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, 22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David. Footnotes [1] 1:20 Naomi means pleasant [2] 1:20 Mara means bitter [3] 2:7 Compare Septuagint, Vulgate; the meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain [4] 2:17 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters [5] 3:9 Compare 2:12; the word for wings can also mean corners of a garment [6] 4:4 Hebrew he [7] 4:5 Masoretic Text you also buy it from Ruth (ESV) Evening: Luke 11:29–54 Luke 11:29–54 (Listen) The Sign of Jonah 29 When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. The Light in You 33 “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. 35 Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. 36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.” Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers 37 While Jesus1 was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. 38 The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. 39 And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you. 42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.” 45 One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” 46 And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. 48 So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,' 50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. 52 Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.” 53 As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, 54 lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say. Footnotes [1] 11:37 Greek he (ESV)

Ruth 1–4 Ruth 1–4 (Listen) Naomi Widowed 1 In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, 5 and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. Ruth's Loyalty to Naomi 6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the LORD had visited his people and given them food. 7 So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The LORD grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10 And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, 13 would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.” 14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” 18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more. Naomi and Ruth Return 19 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi;1 call me Mara,2 for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. Ruth Meets Boaz 2 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. 4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you!” And they answered, “The LORD bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.' So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”3 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” 13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.” 14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” 17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah4 of barley. 18 And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. 19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.'” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.” 23 So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law. Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor 3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? 2 Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3 Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” 5 And she replied, “All that you say I will do.” 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! 9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings5 over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” 10 And he said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. 12 And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. 13 Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the LORD lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.” 14 So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city. 16 And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her, 17 saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.'” 18 She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.” Boaz Redeems Ruth 4 Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, “Turn aside, friend; sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down. 2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. 3 Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. 4 So I thought I would tell you of it and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.' If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you6 will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.” 5 Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth7 the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.” 6 Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” 7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. 8 So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal. 9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. 10 Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.” 11 Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem, 12 and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the LORD will give you by this young woman.” Ruth and Boaz Marry 13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. 17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. The Genealogy of David 18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, 19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, 20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, 21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, 22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David. Footnotes [1] 1:20 Naomi means pleasant [2] 1:20 Mara means bitter [3] 2:7 Compare Septuagint, Vulgate; the meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain [4] 2:17 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters [5] 3:9 Compare 2:12; the word for wings can also mean corners of a garment [6] 4:4 Hebrew he [7] 4:5 Masoretic Text you also buy it from Ruth (ESV)

Ruth 1–4 Ruth 1–4 (Listen) Naomi Widowed 1 In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, 5 and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. Ruth's Loyalty to Naomi 6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the LORD had visited his people and given them food. 7 So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The LORD grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10 And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, 13 would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.” 14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” 18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more. Naomi and Ruth Return 19 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi;1 call me Mara,2 for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. Ruth Meets Boaz 2 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. 4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you!” And they answered, “The LORD bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.' So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”3 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” 13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.” 14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” 17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah4 of barley. 18 And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. 19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.'” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.” 23 So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law. Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor 3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? 2 Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3 Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” 5 And she replied, “All that you say I will do.” 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! 9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings5 over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” 10 And he said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. 12 And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. 13 Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the LORD lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.” 14 So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city. 16 And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her, 17 saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.'” 18 She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.” Boaz Redeems Ruth 4 Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, “Turn aside, friend; sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down. 2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. 3 Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. 4 So I thought I would tell you of it and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.' If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you6 will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.” 5 Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth7 the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.” 6 Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” 7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. 8 So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal. 9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. 10 Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.” 11 Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem, 12 and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the LORD will give you by this young woman.” Ruth and Boaz Marry 13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. 17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. The Genealogy of David 18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, 19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, 20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, 21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, 22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David. Footnotes [1] 1:20 Naomi means pleasant [2] 1:20 Mara means bitter [3] 2:7 Compare Septuagint, Vulgate; the meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain [4] 2:17 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters [5] 3:9 Compare 2:12; the word for wings can also mean corners of a garment [6] 4:4 Hebrew he [7] 4:5 Masoretic Text you also buy it from Ruth (ESV)

Ruth 2-3English Standard Version2 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. 4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered, “The Lord bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.' So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” 13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.”17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 18 And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. 19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.'” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.” 23 So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law.3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? 2 Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3 Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” 5 And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! 9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” 10 And he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. 12 And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. 13 Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.”14 So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city. 16 And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her, 17 saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.'” 18 She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.”

#pruebeidler #kimfoxx #lakeforestillinois #lakeforestpodcast #Lakecountygazette In backing Foxx, Lightfoot, Lake Forest Mayoral hopeful Beidler was also boosting daughter-in-law's career By LGIS News Service Mar 4, 2023 Lake Forest Mayoral candidate Prudence Beidler made campaign donations to Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot as her daughter-in-law worked in high level positions for both offices. That's according to an analysis of public employment and Illinois State Board of Elections (ISBE) records. Deborah E. Witzburg-Beidler, 39, worked as an Assistant State's Attorney for Cook County from 2008 to 2016 before leaving to join the Chicago Mayor Inspector General's office. In Fall 2015, Beidler made a maximum, $5,400 donation to Foxx's first campaign for Cook County State's Attorney 2015, while her daughter-in-law worked for the office, ISBE records show. Her husband, Frank, also donated $1,000 to Foxx that fall. A former assistant state's attorney herself who rose to the role of supervisor, Foxx and Witzburg-Beidler worked together for five years, from 2008 - 2013, county records show. ISBE records show Beidler has been a longtime backer of Foxx-sponsor, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, donating to her campaign 14 times for a total of $9,500. Preckwinkle hired Foxx as her “Chief of Staff” before positioning her to challenge then-incumbent Anita Alvarez for Cook County State's Attorney in 2016. Six promotions Witzburg-Beidler joined then-Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in May 2016 as an assistant inspector general and stayed on when Lightfoot won election three years later. Her mother-in-law has been a campaign supporter of both Chicago mayors. Beidler made campaign donations to Emanuel in 2011 and 2013, totaling $2,500. She backed Lightfoot in Feb. 2019 with $1,000, and then, after she assumed office, gave her $1,000 again in June 2019. According to her LinkedIn page, two months later, Lightfoot promoted Witzburg-Beidler to “acting deputy general counsel for public safety.” Lightfoot promoted her three more times, naming her as the city's Inspector General in March 2022. Last month in an email to supporters, Beidler explained that she made donations to Foxx and Lightfoot because she thought they could "reduce the rate of crime in Chicago." She didn't mention her daughter-in-law's work with either office. "My son, his wife, and their two daughters are Chicago residents. In recent years, my husband and I have become increasingly concerned about their safety and I had hoped that candidates I supported might be able to help reduce the rate of crime in Chicago," Beidler wrote. Beidler is the only Lake Forest resident who has donated for Foxx; she is one of 12 who have backed Lightfoot. Deborah and Jay married in Boston in 2007. They met while attending Brown University in Providence, R.I. Witzburg-Beidler attended Northwestern University Law School in Chicago. Beidler, 77, is challenging Lake Forest Caucus-endorsed Dr. Stanford R. "Randy Tack," 64, in the race for mayor. Election Day is Tues. April 4. Full Article here: https://lakecountygazette.com/stories/640007726-in-backing-foxx-lightfoot-lake-forest-mayoral-hopeful-beidler-was-also-boosting-daughter-in-law-s-career --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lakeforestpodcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lakeforestpodcast/support

Her mother-in-law tried to steal her sparkle on her wedding day by wearing the SAME dress! How did your mother-in-law try to ruin your “special day”?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Diana Campbell with Health Freedom Pennsylvania talked with us about what is going on next door, in Palestine, Ohio.We decided to reach out to a real person, not the media, or government, to learn what people are being put through in and around Palestine, Ohio. Diana Campbell is with Health Freedom Pennsylvania. She lives near Palestine and evacuated her home. Her mother-in-law was next to the explosion zone where people were evacuated. People Diana knows have taken pictures of dead fish in their streams. Unbelievably, citizens are being told it's safe to return home just days after massive amounts of toxic chemicals were blasted into the air. Diana made a great point about this public “health” advice: citizens are being told to clean up their homes . . . what WHAT? Should there be some guidance on which cleaning chemicals to use? Is the water, which often comes from uncovered reservoirs, actually clean enough to use, let alone drink? Some reports are that these chemicals could have formed acid rainhttps://twitter.com/DC_Draino/status/1625111326681968640But, in defense of Mayor Peter, there are bigger priorities for the Secretary of Transportation than infrastructure. The national media is finally reporting some of the truths about the latest train derailment in a Country with infrastructure left to rot while Mayor Pete bravely battles letters. What does God say? Thank God there have been no deaths, particularly among the first responders who embody what it is to love their neighbors. John 15:1313 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.The Links Health Freedom PennsylvaniaShow AdvertisersAlan's Soaps https://alanssoaps.com/TODD Use coupon code ‘TODD' to save an additional 10% off the bundle price. Bonefrog Coffee https://bonefrog.us Enter promo code TODD at checkout to receive 5% off your subscription. Bulwark Capital https://knowyourriskradio.comGet your free copy of “Common Cents Investing” Call 866-779-RISK or visit the website. Healthycell https://healthycell.com/todd Journey to better health and save 20% off your first order with promo code TODD.My Pillowhttps://mypillow.com Sleep cool with the new MyPillow 2.0 now Buy One Get One Free with code TODD.RuffGreens https://ruffgreens.com/todd Get your FREE Jumpstart Trial Bag of Ruff Greens, simply cover shipping. SOTA Weight Loss https://sotaweightloss.com SOTA Weight Loss is, say it with me now, STATE OF THE ART!Texas Superfoods https://texassuperfoods.com Texas Super Foods is whole food nutrition at its best.GreenHaven Interactivehttps://greenhaveninteractive.comGet more customer online with a world class website and Google

How do I know if I've had a psychic experience? In this week's episode of Jessica Meils: The Podcast, Jess brings us to her mother in law's property in the beautiful Washington State. Nestled in the sacred land of the Pacific Northwest, in Stoney Ridge, her mother-in-law was a healer, astrologer and truly lived off the land, growing her own food, and utilizing herbs for healing. On a visit with the two of them spending some quality one-on-one time together, Jessica shares some experiences in hopes of getting some clarity on what exactly is happening to her. She recalls her husband's surfing accident in front of their home in Hermosa Beach, mentioning visitation dreams from loved ones who have passed. Jessica shares that she was very much afraid of the experiences and synchronicities that surrounded her. Her mother-in-law guided her through a practice called Muscle Testing. This modality is a way of tapping into the energetic and physical body. The energy surged through her like lightning through the crown, spine and she began channeling all of these message for her mother in law from passed loved ones. The aftermath left her depleted and required several days of rest. She had her doubts on whether this was real. After returning home after the trip, she was still feeling the push. The practice was nothing short of a phenomenal experience that solidified Jessica's capabilities as a psychic medium. She asked for prayers of confirmation. “Bring me a teacher”, she asked. She saw visions of remote work, and traveling with her family. She opens her laptop to find a webpage for a teacher, with words reading “Psychic Bootcamp”. Knowing that she hadn't searched for this, she knew this was the confirmation she had been asking for.------ ANNOUNCEMENTS: If you loved what you heard and would like to enter to win a free 75 min session with me, share the love! In order to be entered to win, you must complete the following: 1. Subscribe to the podcast (Available on all platforms, including iTunes & Spotify. 2. A five star review. 3. A written review. 4. Take a screen shot of your review. 5. Email your screen shot to jessicameils@icloud.com with POD REVIEW in the subject line. *Written reviews will take up to 7 days to post onto Apple. Spotify requires that you listen to at least two episodes to leave a written review. I'll be choosing 3 winners! First winner will be announced February 28th, 2023 and then end of each month following. Share with a friend or loved one who you feel will benefit from a session. Let's stay connected!  Follow me on Instagram: @peoplecallmejess Work with me + Website: www.jessicameils.com  .......................... Submit your voice message Q&A: Click Here --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jessica-meils1/message

Her mother-in-law cooks food for the family, but she always throws it away once she gets it. Is she being an a*hole or not? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today With Amy Baradell and Amy Meinecke: Welcome to Window Treatments for Profit! Listen in today as I speak with two great ladies who have created a wonderful partnership over the years, Amy Baradell and Amy Meinecke. They met in 2003 through the High Point Chapter of the WCAA. At that time, they each had their own window treatment business. In July 2009 they merged their businesses to form Window Works Studio, Inc.  In today's episode they will share with us how their journey started, what are some of the most valuable things they have learned about a partnership, and of course how they overcome difficult situations as a team. More About Amy Baradell and Amy Meinecke: Amy Baradell and Amy Meinecke met in 2003 through the High Point Chapter of the WCAA. At that time, they each had their own window treatment business. In July 2009 they merged their businesses to form Window Works Studio, Inc. Amy Meinecke's first career was a Registered Nurse. She worked in Critical Care for 10 years and then in a local Cardiology office for 6 years. Her mother-in-law taught her how to sew when she was pregnant with her first child. After that, she took classes, learning through practice. Growing up, she wanted to be a Nurse or an Interior Designer. In 2000, after many years of Nursing, she decided to fulfill her other dream and started her own business creating custom window treatments. Her home based business quickly grew. She was the founder of the High Point Chapter of the WCAA.  She worked from her home until 2009 when she merged her business with Amy Baradell, creating Window Works Studio, Inc.  Amy M. loves working with clients and enjoys getting to know them through the design process. She has worked with a wide variety of clients and a wide range of budgets. She has experience designing and making custom window treatments, bedding, pillows, cushions, and slipcovers. She has been married for 34 years and still enjoys spending time with her husband! They  enjoy time with their grown children, extended family and friends. About once a month they get together with a group of long time friends to play Bunco. Saturday night is still “Date Night” for her and her husband. She loves to be outside, has been an avid runner and has recently taken up biking. She has quite a green thumb with both flowers and vegetables.  A huge supporter of Habitat for Humanity, she has organized two women only builds over the past few years. This fall she is organizing Habitat's main fundraising event that will take place on September 22, 2022. Amy Baradell began sewing at a young age. Her first “project”, at the age of five was a pillow for her grandfather who had suffered a stroke. In 1983 she obtained a bachelor's degree in clothing and textiles from UNC-Greensboro. In 1987 she began her own business, fabricating custom window treatments for designers in Charleston, SC. Having just had her first baby, she often brought him along for her  measuring appointments. Her business was home based until 2003 when she purchased the space where Window Works Studio is currently located. Through the years Amy B has worked with homeowners,  interior designers, and furniture showrooms. She has designed dance costumes, historical costumes, weddings gowns, custom window treatments, bedding, and slipcovers. She enjoys spending time with her husband. They married in 2018 after being introduced by Amy Meinecke. They share a love for running and music. They have four grown children between them and two grandchildren whom they  enjoy traveling to see. Amy can be found hiking, running, cooking, and trying new local restaurants. She is serving this year as president of WPF, Women's Professional Forum. It is an organization formed in the 70's to encourage, support, and educate professional women.  She and her husband are members of Hope Chapel in Greensboro and enjoy serving the community with them. Window Works Studio, Inc. has grown in many ways over the past 13 years. When Amy and Amy began, they  were both fabricating, consulting, and designing. Fairly quickly they realized that they would be more efficient if they divided the duties. Amy Meinecke's focus is sales to retail clients, designing, marketing, and keeping up with the numbers. She also trains  design consultants. Amy Baradell's focus is providing service to interior designers, managing the workroom team, designing, and fabrication. She also provides training for our fabricators.  In 2015 they were able to purchase the unit next to their original space, bringing the square footage from 1600 to almost 3000 square feet. In the summer of 2020, during COVID, they upfitted the space, creating a larger workroom, a fabric sample room and a showroom. They have six seamstresses, an office assistant and have just hired a second design consultant.  Through the years they have invested in business coaching, attending conferences, and most recently took Vita's class at LuAnn University.  Their goal is to continue to grow, document their systems, and have a saleable business in the near future. Connect with Amy Baradell and Amy Meinecke Website  Instagram What's new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn's Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn's Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Audiobook: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn's Website LuAnn's Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast Other Shows Mentioned: #43: Peggy Morgans: How Do I Get My Business Ready to Sell? Other Resources Mentioned: The 7-Step Sales Process Systems-Driven Operations

“This is an example of exactly the type of ghost story I'm looking for. It's beautiful, thorough, and an incredible story.” — Dr. Amy Robbins   ***********************************************   SUPPORT DR. AMY ROBBINS:   If you're enjoying the podcast and finding value in guest interviews, ghost stories, and the content I share, please consider supporting the show by becoming a Patreon member for as little as $5 a month at Patreon.com/DrAmyRobbins   As a member you'll get more say in the content we cover and exclusive access to behind-the-scenes goodness!   Stay Connected with Dr. Amy Robbins:   Instagram YouTube Website Facebook   ***********************************************   EPISODE SUMMARY:   My first ghost story of 2023! These episodes are an opportunity for my listeners to share their stories of a loved one who's passed, or a sign of life on the other side.   Sometimes you ask yourself if you're making it all up, but some experiences are so powerful that our listener knew it was real. This listener has always been a very sensitive person, and has been in touch with spiritual activity since she was a child, but this experience was different.   Recently, during a visit with her mother in law, she put on an old cape and heard someone say “I'm here, alright?” Her mother-in-law responded, “Ok, I've heard you.” She figured it was her mother-in-law's husband letting her know he was back from the pub, but it was something else entirely…   Listen in to hear this listener's story of realizing what she experienced was real—because someone else experienced it too—and how her mother came to visit her during a reiki session.   DO YOU HAVE A GHOST STORY?   Ghost Stories are a way for listeners to tell their amazing stories. If you have a great story to tell, a relationship you have with your loved one who has passed, or another mystical experience please reach out: Team@DrAmyRobbins.com. Tell me your story so we can feature it on the show.   Life, Death and the Space Between is brought to you by: Dr. Amy Robbins | Host, Executive Producer PJ Duke | Executive Producer 2 Market Media | Audio & Video Editing Mara Stallins | Outreach & Social Media Strategy Claire | Clairperk.com | Podcast Cover Design

On today's show, a listener wrote in asking for advice. Her mother-in-law asked her a really inappropriate question and all of us are a little surprised the MIL had no idea how rude it was to ask a pregnant woman this question. For the whole podcast, as well as a ton of other exclusive perks, sign up to be a Fancy Idiot at FreeBeerAndHotWings.com!

Annette Marinaccio is a Certified Public Accountant and an accomplished healthcare executive. Her mother-in-law led her on a path after she died to prove to Annette that there is an afterlife. Being a hard-wired, analytical, left-side brain dominant person, she had to be convinced with visible, tangible, and otherwise unexplainable occurrences.  With her mother-in-law's gentle nudge, she was guided to research the after life. She eventually connected the dots, so to speak, that spiritual people often take for granted and that non-spiritual people have a difficult time experiencing and believing. She is one of the few people who has been able to experience the other side, without direct access to it. Today she talks to us about everything she has learned. She explains why she believes we are here on this Earth, and she gives us a glimpse into life on the other side.  Bits of Gold Podcast https://www.bitsofgold.co/ Contact Annette: https://www.annettemarinaccio.com/ Contact me: Purchase show merchandise https://awaken-your-inner-awesomeness.creator-spring.com/ Join my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/moatman?fan_landing=true https://melissaoatman.com melissaoatman77@gmail 636-748-4943   Download my free eBook on Manifesting  https://mailchi.mp/240e02dfadcf/ebook Download my free checklist Habits of Highly Successful People https://mailchi.mp/b8078533248a/habits-of-highly-successful-people    Join my monthly membership:  https://www.melissaoatman.com/magical-mo   Free Heart Chakra Healing Guided Meditation https://www.melissaoatman.com/landing-page   Purchase my book Beautifully Broken: https://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/beautifully-broken-the-spiritual-womans-guide-to-thriving-not-simply-surviving-after-a-breakup-or-divorce/459896   https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beautifully-broken-melissa-oatman/1136174371?ean=9781989579060 https://www.amazon.com/Beautifully-Broken-Spiritual-Thriving-Surviving/dp/198957906X https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50977070-beautifully-broken   Purchase my book Mindfulness Matters   https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HDSKGGH/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=melissa+oatman&qid=1599159677&sr=8-2   Follow me on social media:   https://www.facebook.com/groups/awakenyourhearttopurpose/ https://www.facebook.com/reikiwithlissa/  http://www.instagram.com/melissaoatman222 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQPtU9hPeEWjbHr62LxuEXA  https://www.twitter.com/MelissaOatman   Donations are not necessary, however, if you feel inclined to donate to my channel through Venmo or PayPal, your energetic gifts are very much appreciated! Venmo @Melissa-Ann-161 PayPal: melissaoatman77@gmail.com  

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 11 Psalm 11 (Listen) The Lord Is in His Holy Temple To the choirmaster. Of David. 11   In the LORD I take refuge;  how can you say to my soul,    “Flee like a bird to your mountain,2   for behold, the wicked bend the bow;    they have fitted their arrow to the string    to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;3   if the foundations are destroyed,    what can the righteous do?”1 4   The LORD is in his holy temple;    the LORD's throne is in heaven;    his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.5   The LORD tests the righteous,    but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.6   Let him rain coals on the wicked;    fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.7   For the LORD is righteous;  he loves righteous deeds;    the upright shall behold his face. Footnotes [1] 11:3 Or for the foundations will be destroyed; what has the righteous done? (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Ruth 2 Ruth 2 (Listen) Ruth Meets Boaz 2 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. 4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you!” And they answered, “The LORD bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.' So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”1 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” 13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.” 14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” 17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah2 of barley. 18 And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. 19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.'” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.” 23 So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law. Footnotes [1] 2:7 Compare Septuagint, Vulgate; the meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain [2] 2:17 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Jeremiah 39 Jeremiah 39 (Listen) The Fall of Jerusalem 39 In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city. 3 Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the middle gate: Nergal-sar-ezer of Samgar, Nebu-sar-sekim the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, with all the rest of the officers of the king of Babylon. 4 When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled, going out of the city at night by way of the king's garden through the gate between the two walls; and they went toward the Arabah. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, at Riblah, in the land of Hamath; and he passed sentence on him. 6 The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes, and the king of Babylon slaughtered all the nobles of Judah. 7 He put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon. 8 The Chaldeans burned the king's house and the house of the people, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. 9 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, carried into exile to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to him, and the people who remained. 10 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time. The Lord Delivers Jeremiah 11 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave command concerning Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, saying, 12 “Take him, look after him well, and do him no harm, but deal with him as he tells you.” 13 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, Nebushazban the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon 14 sent and took Jeremiah from the court of the guard. They entrusted him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, that he should take him home. So he lived among the people. 15 The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the guard: 16 “Go, and say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will fulfill my words against this city for harm and not for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day. 17 But I will deliver you on that day, declares the LORD, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. 18 For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your life as a prize of war, because you have put your trust in me, declares the LORD.'” (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Mark 10 Mark 10 (Listen) Teaching About Divorce 10 And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them. 2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” 5 And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.' 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,1 8 and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” Let the Children Come to Me 13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. The Rich Young Man 17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is2 to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him,3 “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time 32 And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.” The Request of James and John 35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,4 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave5 of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus 46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. Footnotes [1] 10:7 Some manuscripts omit and hold fast to his wife [2] 10:24 Some manuscripts add for those who trust in riches [3] 10:26 Some manuscripts to one another [4] 10:43 Greek diakonos [5] 10:44 Or bondservant, or servant (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface) (ESV)

With family: Ruth 2; Acts 27 Ruth 2 (Listen) Ruth Meets Boaz 2 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. 4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you!” And they answered, “The LORD bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.' So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”1 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” 13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.” 14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” 17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah2 of barley. 18 And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. 19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.'” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.” 23 So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law. Footnotes [1] 2:7 Compare Septuagint, Vulgate; the meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain [2] 2:17 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters (ESV) Acts 27 (Listen) Paul Sails for Rome 27 And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius. 2 And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. 3 The next day we put in at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for. 4 And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. 5 And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7 We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. 8 Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea. 9 Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast1 was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying, “Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there. The Storm at Sea 13 Now when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to the shore. 14 But soon a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster, struck down from the land. 15 And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 Running under the lee of a small island called Cauda,2 we managed with difficulty to secure the ship's boat. 17 After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship. Then, fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the gear,3 and thus they were driven along. 18 Since we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day to jettison the cargo. 19 And on the third day they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned. 21 Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. 22 Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, 24 and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.' 25 So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 26 But we must run aground on some island.” 27 When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. 28 So they took a sounding and found twenty fathoms.4 A little farther on they took a sounding again and found fifteen fathoms.5 29 And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. 30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered the ship's boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship's boat and let it go. 33 As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take some food. For it will give you strength,6 for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.” 35 And when he had said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat. 36 Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 (We were in all 2767 persons in the ship.) 38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea. The Shipwreck 39 Now when it was day, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned if possible to run the ship ashore. 40 So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the rudders. Then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the beach. 41 But striking a reef,8 they ran the vessel aground. The bow stuck and remained immovable, and the stern was being broken up by the surf. 42 The soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. 43 But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, 44 and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land. Footnotes [1] 27:9 That is, the Day of Atonement [2] 27:16 Some manuscripts Clauda [3] 27:17 That is, the sea-anchor (or possibly the mainsail) [4] 27:28 About 120 feet; a fathom (Greek orguia) was about 6 feet or 2 meters [5] 27:28 About 90 feet (see previous note) [6] 27:34 Or For it is for your deliverance [7] 27:37 Some manuscripts seventy-six, or about seventy-six [8] 27:41 Or sandbank, or crosscurrent; Greek place between two seas (ESV) In private: Psalm 10; Jeremiah 37 Psalm 10 (Listen) Why Do You Hide Yourself? 10   Why, O LORD, do you stand far away?    Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 2   In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;    let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.3   For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,    and the one greedy for gain curses1 and renounces the LORD.4   In the pride of his face2 the wicked does not seek him;3    all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”5   His ways prosper at all times;    your judgments are on high, out of his sight;    as for all his foes, he puffs at them.6   He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;    throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”7   His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;    under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.8   He sits in ambush in the villages;    in hiding places he murders the innocent.  His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;9     he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;  he lurks that he may seize the poor;    he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.10   The helpless are crushed, sink down,    and fall by his might.11   He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,    he has hidden his face, he will never see it.” 12   Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand;    forget not the afflicted.13   Why does the wicked renounce God    and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?14   But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,    that you may take it into your hands;  to you the helpless commits himself;    you have been the helper of the fatherless.15   Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;    call his wickedness to account till you find none. 16   The LORD is king forever and ever;    the nations perish from his land.17   O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted;    you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear18   to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,    so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more. Footnotes [1] 10:3 Or and he blesses the one greedy for gain [2] 10:4 Or of his anger [3] 10:4 Or the wicked says, “He will not call to account” (ESV) Jeremiah 37 (Listen) Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah 37 Zedekiah the son of Josiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah, reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. 2 But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the LORD that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet. 3 King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Please pray for us to the LORD our God.” 4 Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison. 5 The army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt. And when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem. 6 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7 “Thus says the LORD, God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who sent you to me to inquire of me, ‘Behold, Pharaoh's army that came to help you is about to return to Egypt, to its own land. 8 And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city. They shall capture it and burn it with fire. 9 Thus says the LORD, Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away. 10 For even if you should defeat the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men, every man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.'” Jeremiah Imprisoned 11 Now when the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh's army, 12 Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his portion there among the people. 13 When he was at the Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Irijah the son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans.” 14 And Jeremiah said, “It is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him, and seized Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15 And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison. 16 When Jeremiah had come to the dungeon cells and remained there many days, 17 King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house and said, “Is there any word from the LORD?” Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, “You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” 18 Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land'? 20 Now hear, please, O my lord the king: let my humble plea come before you and do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, lest I die there.” 21 So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guard. And a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers' street, until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard. (ESV)

Website for this episode: https://ordinarysherpa.com/077Will you leave Written Review on Apple Podcasts:  https://ordinarysherpa.com/review/ Subscribe to the email List:  https://ordinarysherpa.com/subscribe/ Join the Everyday Adventure Challenge  for simple adventure tips to create a summer to remember. https://www.ordinarysherpa.com/challenge Our guest today has an obsession with financial independence. After years of consuming content she thought it was about time she produced and shared her obsession with others. She realized there was a gap in resources around personal finances geared towards moms. Trying to get ahead with money is one thing, trying to get ahead as a mom is whole other ball game. In an effort to learn and crowdsource the best, she is on a mission to find moms who can share their money examples, interview then and share their knowledge with other mom listeners.  The Investor Mama podcast was born and the origin story of my connection with Jen was born, as we grew up in podcasting. With 2 young kids and moonlighting as a real estate agent among all the other things, Jen shares some of her money tips for making adventures fun without breaking the bank.  Jen Narcisso of Investor Mama, welcome to Ordinary Sherpa.   Key Takeaways Podcasting was in the honor of her son Nathan and brought good to his name and kept her going.  What are the things that drive you and keep you going?   House Hacking is a way to rent a portion of your house while living in another unit. When you start to see opportunities in how to use your assets differently it might create streams of income.  On the flipside, what's the point of having money if you aren't creating joy with it.   Jen's dream is to throw a dart at a map on the globe and spend 4 weeks, to create intense family connection time.  Forced family time removes you from the distractions of daily life.     Jen found a way to prove to her husband to take the family to Disney.  Her child was in early childhood intervention and the experience at Disney exploded his growth and development.   Travel with kids under 2.  They fly free.   Jen used Travel rewards through Chase Ultimate Rewards to cover flights, Hilton card has 4 nights and 5th night free and covered hotel.  Her mother-in-law had a Citi card that covered Park tickets as a travel eraser.  Jen stayed at the DoubleTree at Disney Springs and used the shuttle for free.     The Unofficial Guide to everything Disney (and other parks) from how to get discount tickets, to how to plan your day, optimize the lines.  The Wyndam Bonnet Creek is on Disney property but not a Disney property.  It's a condo with all the amenities and with a full kitchen, living room and several bedrooms in each unit.   Jen optimizes her big backyard, local playgrounds, and scavenger hunts.  Ultimately your outlook is the driving factor and if you are excited about it, the kids will mimic your energy.  Let kids' curiosity be the guide.  Find the extraordinary in the ordinary.   “My daughter doesn't know she is missing out.” Kids don't need to be signed up for a bunch of different activities.  Jen prioritizes swim lessons due to the safety concerns around water.  The better we get at getting creative at home, the easier it is to master adventures on the go while traveling.   There is no bad weather, just bad attire.  By focusing on good gear they are able to spend more time outside. Having an intention to go outside allows you to focus on the options versus being comfortable inside.   Kids don't need to be told what to do if we encourage them to be creative and model excitement.  Leaning on your community helps to get you unstuck from lulls in the season.  Nobody wakes up to say, I'm going to be a bad parent today.  Give yourself grace, you just survived your first pandemic.   You don't need to spend money to be a good mom.  Finances are foundational to allow us to thrive in life so having your finances in order opens so many options.  Connect with Jen, she is amazing and loves to help.   If you are looking for simple adventures to help you make it through your summer, I'd suggest registering for the Summer Season of the Everyday Adventure Challenge from June 5th -August 5th by heading to ordinarysherpa.com/challenge To Connect with or Follow Jen from Investor MamaPodcast: Investor MamaWebsite: https://investormama.com/Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/438814630372392/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/investor_mama/

Ruth 2 1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.” Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” 3 So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek. 4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The LORD be with you!” “The LORD bless you!” they answered. 5 Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?” 6 The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.' She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.” 8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. 9 Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.” 10 At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?” 11 Boaz replied, “I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. 12 May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” 13 “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.” 14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.” When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. 15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don't reprimand her. 16 Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don't rebuke her.” 17 So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah. 18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough. 19 Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!” Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said. 20 “The LORD bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers. ” 21 Then Ruth the Moabite said, “He even said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.' ” 22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him, because in someone else's field you might be harmed.” 23 So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law. Glean again.   Participate in God's provision. Position yourself to pick up God's provision. Praise God for the provision. Give again.   Participate in God's provision. Purposefully let provision flow to you and through you.  Praise God for the provision.

Old Testament: Ruth 2–4 Ruth 2–4 (Listen) Ruth Meets Boaz 2 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. 4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you!” And they answered, “The LORD bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.' So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”1 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” 13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.” 14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” 17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah2 of barley. 18 And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. 19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.'” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.” 23 So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law. Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor 3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? 2 Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3 Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” 5 And she replied, “All that you say I will do.” 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! 9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings3 over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” 10 And he said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. 12 And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. 13 Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the LORD lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.” 14 So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city. 16 And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her, 17 saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.'” 18 She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.” Boaz Redeems Ruth 4 Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, “Turn aside, friend; sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down. 2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. 3 Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. 4 So I thought I would tell you of it and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.' If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you4 will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.” 5 Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth5 the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.” 6 Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” 7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. 8 So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal. 9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. 10 Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.” 11 Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem, 12 and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the LORD will give you by this young woman.” Ruth and Boaz Marry 13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. 17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. The Genealogy of David 18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, 19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, 20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, 21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, 22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David. Footnotes [1] 2:7 Compare Septuagint, Vulgate; the meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain [2] 2:17 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters [3] 3:9 Compare 2:12; the word for wings can also mean corners of a garment [4] 4:4 Hebrew he [5] 4:5 Masoretic Text you also buy it from Ruth (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 117 Psalm 117 (Listen) The Lord's Faithfulness Endures Forever 117   Praise the LORD, all nations!    Extol him, all peoples!2   For great is his steadfast love toward us,    and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.  Praise the LORD! (ESV) New Testament: 1 Corinthians 11 1 Corinthians 11 (Listen) 11 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. Head Coverings 2 Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife1 is her husband,2 and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, 5 but every wife3 who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. 6 For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. 7 For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9 Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.4 11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; 12 for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God. 13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, 15 but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. 16 If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God. The Lord's Supper 17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part,5 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. 23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for6 you. Do this in remembrance of me.”7 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.8 31 But if we judged9 ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined10 so that we may not be condemned along with the world. 33 So then, my brothers,11 when you come together to eat, wait for12 one another—34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come. Footnotes [1] 11:3 Greek gunē. This term may refer to a woman or a wife, depending on the context [2] 11:3 Greek anēr. This term may refer to a man or a husband, depending on the context [3] 11:5 In verses 5–13, the Greek word gunē is translated wife in verses that deal with wearing a veil, a sign of being married in first-century culture [4] 11:10 Or messengers, that is, people sent to observe and report [5] 11:18 Or I believe a certain report [6] 11:24 Some manuscripts broken for [7] 11:24 Or as my memorial; also verse 25 [8] 11:30 Greek have fallen asleep (as in 15:6, 20) [9] 11:31 Or discerned [10] 11:32 Or when we are judged we are being disciplined by the Lord [11] 11:33 Or brothers and sisters [12] 11:33 Or share with (ESV)