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Building healthy biblical friendships requires understanding that truth comes from God's Word, not personal opinion or cultural norms. While we should love everyone, not everyone deserves access to our inner circle. True friendship means being friendly first and loving others unconditionally, even when they have nothing to offer. We must guard our hearts by setting wise boundaries, as our closest relationships directly impact our spiritual growth and future direction. The people we surround ourselves with either make us wiser or lead us toward destruction, so we need discernment to choose companions who draw us closer to Christ rather than away from Him.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

Life often brings unexpected storms that can leave us feeling shipwrecked and broken. The Apostle Paul experienced this when his ship was destroyed during a violent storm while he was following God's will. Sometimes we face difficulties because of our own poor choices, sometimes because of others' actions, and sometimes because God allows storms for His greater purposes. When everything falls apart, we must grab hold of something that will sustain us - Jesus Christ and His Word. Even in our darkest moments, God provides help through unexpected sources and uses our storms to position us for ministry to others who are struggling.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

They are identical twins with an identical goal, getting the very best out of high school athletes on the Riverton High School girls lacrosse team. On this episode of the Supercast, meet identical twin sisters Hannah and Maddie Kelleher who recently led the Riverton High girls lacrosse team to their very first state championship title. It was a hard-fought victory that came down to the wire in overtime. But the winning didn't stop there, the team had something else to celebrate as Coach Hannah Kelleher was named the 2026 Utah USA Girls Lacrosse Coach of the Year. Audio Transcription Anthony Godfrey: Tell me about this team in particular. Student: I mean it's like just such a special group. It is like how can I go and be successful for the team. Student: We all like sisters, we all support each other. Student: We just knew this year, like before the season even started all the seniors just got together. We decided like hey, let's just make this the best year ever. [Music] Anthony Godfrey: Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They are identical twins with an identical goal, getting the very best out of high school athletes on the Riverton High School Girls Lacrosse team. On this episode of the Supercast, meet identical twin sisters Hannah and Maddie Kelleher, who recently led the Riverton High Girls Lacrosse team to their very first state championship title. It was a hard-fought victory that came down to the wire in overtime, but the winning didn't stop there. The team had something else to celebrate as Coach Hannah was named the 2026 Utah USA Girls Lacrosse Coach of the Year. [Music] Anthony Godfrey: We are at Riverton High School on the field talking with two of the Riverton Girls Lacrosse coaches. Introduce yourselves. Coach Hannah: I'm Coach Hannah, I'm the head coach here at Riverton. Coach Maddie: I'm Coach Maddie, and I'm the assistant coach. Anthony Godfrey: So if you can't tell by listening to their voices, they are twins, and they are incredible. They just won, here at Riverton, the first Girls Lacrosse state title. Tell us how that feels to be part of that. Coach: Oh, I mean it feels great. Like, I mean, we told the girls because we had the privilege of doing it at Herriman when we were played over there in 2019. And it's like, I'm like, it's the best day ever. Coach: Seriously, like, it's all that hard work. It's like finally coming to fruition and to have been able to make history with this group of girls, like, I mean, it's something we've been working on for three years now. And so to have finally seen it happen, like, it's just so, so awesome. Coach: Yeah, I mean, just to add on to that awesome feeling, awesome group of girls, I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else. And so it's just an awesome feeling, so exciting. And to see all the girls' hard work come like to this, it's just awesome. Anthony Godfrey: So you were players at Herriman, and you won the state title there. And in 2019, which, because it was pre-pandemic feels like prehistoric to me. That was not long after lacrosse had been sanctioned, probably. So tell me about the timeline. Coach: Yeah, so 2019, it was actually the year before it got sanctioned. Anthony Godfrey: Okay. Corch: So that was when they still had like the divisions. So you'd have Division 1, Division 2, Division 3 championship instead of having it by class. 6A, 5A, 4A. And so we were Division 1 state champions, which was awesome. Played Park City. So yeah, that was kind of this timeline there. Then 2020 is when it got sanctioned. And word on the street was we were going to go back-to-back, but we'll never know. We'll never know. Anthony Godfrey: We'll never know. I'm going to just say that you went back to back. In our hearts. In our hearts you went back to back. So tell me about the evolution of the sport since you played at Herriman the last year that it was not sanctioned. And tell me how it's grown and how it's evolved over time. Coach: I mean, I think the biggest thing that you see is there's a lot more players now. Back when it was pre-sanctioned, schools would have to kind of combine sometimes. So especially the schools up north, like it would be like Davis and Northridge. They didn't have enough to fill their two separate teams, so they would combine. And so I think with the sanctioning, it's getting a lot more girls wanting to play. Honestly, we've seen it with our team. We have basketball players wanting to come. We're having soccer players wanting to come. And initially it's like, "Oh, I just want to come do this for fun. Kind of on my off-season.“ And then they end up quitting their main sport to come play because they love it so much. So I think that's the biggest thing I've seen. Coach: Yeah, I mean, I also think the girls' game is always changing. It feels like every year we get new rules. And so, I mean, it's hard to think back to when we last played in 2019 in high school. Just again, with all those changes. But I think it's also just like a faster moving sport now with like the different rules that they've applied, which is cool to see. Right? Like it used to be a little bit odd, but now it's very free flowing and everything. Anthony Godfrey: So what are some of the rules changes that you've seen happen over the years? Coach: So it used to be on every whistle. So the refs would blow the whistle. The player who got fouled would get the ball. The refs would be like, "Okay, everybody four away." And they would individually have to be like, "No, you have to go four away. You have to keep backing up." Like you were the player who fouled. You had to come four behind. Anthony Godfrey: Four away, meaning four feet away. Coach: Four meters, sorry. Four meters. Anthony Godfrey: Four meters, okay. Coach: And it was like so slow. It was like every whistle. It was like, "Stop. Move everybody away." And then to start play again, it was like a whistle start. Then it's crazy because everybody on the field would have to stop. Like it would be whistle. Everybody stops. Everybody is like being positioned, whistle again. So it was just so slow. Like it made the game so slow. It was so choppy. So now it's like, you know, there's a whistle. They're giving the advantage. So it's just, yeah, much, much better game. Anthony Godfrey: So it's a faster-moving game, the way that they're officiating it now. Coach: Oh, yeah. For sure. Anthony Godfrey: Tell me about this team in particular. Coach: I mean, it's like just such a special group. Like truthfully, like they went out there every single game. And it was never about them. It was never about their stats. It was like, how can I go and be successful for the team? We talked at the very beginning of the season, like everybody has a role. And, you know, sometimes that role is you're going to be a starter. It's going to be like you're going to be a sub. Sometimes you're going to be a bench player. You know, but like everybody has a role, and everybody is key to the success in our role. And, you know, I think a good example is that is our freshman goalie, Ellis Snow. You know, she didn't play at all that championship game. And I think sometimes it's easy to be like, “Oh, like I wasn't part of it. Like I didn't do it.”  Like it's very easy to get stuck in that mindset. But you look back to Mountain Ridge, our semifinal game, and you put her in like a little bit into that second half, and she came up with huge saves. Truthfully, we wouldn't have made it to the championship game without her. You know, and so like in Mountain Ridge, she was, she played the sub role, you know, in the championship game, she played the bench role. But like truthfully, every single girl, we couldn't have done it without any of them. And so it was just good group, good group of girls, pure hearts. Like they're just great, great girls. Coach: Yeah. And I mean, I'll add on to that. These girls, they are like, I know it's so corny, but they're like sisters. I mean, they the seniors have done a great job of making such a good like team community, a great culture here. They embrace the underclassmen as one of their own. And they just are great leaders. Like all of our seniors are just great girls, great leaders, and have done a great job getting this team to where they are, as far as culture goes and like the hard work and everything that everybody puts in. Anthony Godfrey: What are the two of you love most about coaching? Coach: I think one of two things for me, I think one, it's just so awesome to still be involved in the game. Like I am athlete at heart. Like I like to compete, and this is without playing, this is as close as I can get to still getting the wins and losses and having that competitive nature. But I think, also like I look back on my time at lacrosse and the things that I've seen from it, and like I've had some awesome, awesome coaches. And for me, it's like I want these girls to experience that. Like, I want the girls to have that state championship feeling. I want them to like, have that and just get back to the sport. And it's just been fun. Coach: Yeah, I mean, very similarly, I've had great coaches, I've had bad coaches. And for me, I want to be a great coach and give the girls that experience to have a good coach. A good coach, because I mean, a coach can definitely change your outlook on, I think, the sport as well as your experience. And so I want to give the girls the best experience possible. And you know, if I can do that by being a good coach, like I'm going to do it. Anthony Godfrey: Stay with us when we come back. The Riverton High Girls Lacrosse team tries to teach me how to play lacrosse. [music] Male Voice: Never miss an episode of the Supercast by liking and subscribing on your favorite podcasting platform. Find transcripts for this episode and others at supercast.jordandistrict.org. [music] Female Voice: In Jordan School District, we like to support students in and outside the classroom, along with their families. That's where the Jordan Family Education Center comes in. Offering support services and a wide variety of classes for students and their families free of charge. You can take a class called “Blues Busters” for children feeling sad or worried. “Just Breathe” is a class that helps students reduce stress. Or how about a class that supports parents in helping their children make and keep good friends. There are also support groups and free counseling, all provided by Jordan School District School psychologists and counselors. To find out how you can benefit from free family support services offered by the Jordan Family Education Center, call 801-565-7442 or visit guidance.jordandistrict.org. Crowd: Go, baby! Let's go! Let's go, baby! Let's go! Let's go, baby! Let's go! Let's go! Anthony Godfrey: We're now going to talk with three of the girls on the team. Introduce yourselves. Student: ”I'm Olivia, and I'm a senior. Student: I'm Paisley, and I'm a senior. Student: And I'm Maggie, and I'm a senior. Anthony Godfrey: Paisley, did I see your dad barefoot on the sidelines during the entire time? Student: He's always barefoot on the sidelines. Anthony Godfrey: And I saw, he has two daughters, your sister is on the team as well. What was it like having your dad on the sidelines there and coaching along through the season? Student: It's kind of awesome because whenever something cool happens or something like bad happens, I'll just make eye contact with him and he'll just be looking right back at me. Anthony Godfrey: Gives you those dad vibes there, right there. Tell us about your experience winning a state championship yesterday. First of all, congratulations. But how does it feel? Student: It's crazy. It's kind of unreal, I guess. Anthony Godfrey: You're still soaking it in. Still taking it in. Student: I don't really know how to describe it. I was talking to a bunch of people yesterday after the game, and everyone was super proud of us, super giving us all sorts of congrats and stuff. They were just asking me, "Oh, I don't know. How does that feel?" And I was like, "I have no idea. This is not like anything I've ever felt." Student: Yeah, it does really feel real just because it's something that we've all wanted for so long. And we finally did it. So I don't know. It's just crazy to think about. Anthony Godfrey: You've wanted it for a long time. Tell me what the revenge tour means. I've seen it on your shirts. I heard it kind of chanted from the crowd. Which, by the way, you talked about bench players. They got the crowd going. It was really exciting to see the enthusiasm and the support from parents and from students. But tell me about the revenge tour. What does that mean? Student: Well, it's like we've always... I don't know. I can just remember from my freshman year, it was like we weren't very good, and then my sophomore year we were good and then we lost our chance, and then my junior year we had a lot of problems. It just feels like everything was building up, and we just got beat too many times. And we were like, "It's time for us to get our revenge and show everyone that Riverton is the best team in 6A and beat all of our rivals, and that's what revenge tour is." Anthony Godfrey: Well, I even talked with a senior who had been on the team last year, who was talking about revenge and was so excited to cheer you guys on. So it doesn't sound like it's revenge against anyone in particular. It's just like moving you forward and kind of reclaiming what you know you could be. Tell me about the team in general. What has this team been like? Student: It's been great. I transferred here this year, and everybody's just been so nice to me. From the first day, I felt welcomed and a part of the team. Everybody's just so great. Student: I think our team culture this year has been pretty great. Like my coach said, we are basically all like sisters. We all support each other through whatever we had to deal with this season. Student: Yeah, and we've definitely had problems with it in past years. And so we just knew this year, before the season even started, all the seniors just got together. We decided, "Hey, let's just make this the best year ever where we're all best friends and we all just feel like a family." And that was really important to us this year, and I feel like it really made a difference in the way we played as a team. Anthony Godfrey: Well, clearly it worked and you've done this together. I love watching lacrosse. I don't understand it. So you are going to teach me a little bit today. I really want to try, what is it called when you start off and you try to see who gets it? It's basically the jump ball of girls' lacrosse. What is it? Student: Oh, it's a draw. Anthony Godfrey: It's a draw. So let's grab some sticks. Let's grab the ball and let you guys are going to teach me the draw. You're going to teach me? You ready? Student: Yeah, let's do it. Anthony Godfrey: All right, let's do it. While she's getting that. So what got you started in lacrosse? Coach: My sisters, like, I don't know. I just remember them always like talking to me, like trying to convince me to like try it. And just, I finally did one year. Anthony Godfrey: And by sisters, you mean your two coaches. Student: Yes. Anthony Godfrey: We didn't point that out to those who are listening. If you're here, it's obvious. But so your sisters are the ones who started it. And did you …. what have you learned from them about lacrosse? Student: Just a lot, like I think honestly, everything like just I grew up watching them like going to like tournaments and stuff. And yeah, I don't know. I think like they're very close and like seeing them on the field working together. I think it like shows like it's like they're good teammates like to each other and to all their other teammates. Anthony Godfrey: So no wonder you want to be part of it. How about the two of you? What got you started in lacrosse? Student: I was playing soccer, and then in second grade, my friend Brittany came up to me, and she was like, come play lacrosse for me and my dad. And I was like, “OK.” And then I just have played ever since. So Brittany got me on that. Thank you, Brittany. Anthony Godfrey: Good job, Brittany. Student: What got me started was my neighbor across the street. She came over with like a little …. looked like a tennis racket before like they like evolved to the like kind of sticks we have today. But she gave me that. She was like, “come to practice.” And I went to school the next day. I got a flyer from Brittany. Student: Yeah. Yeah. Same. Anthony Godfrey: All right. It all comes back to Brittany. Student: She was like, you should come try this out. And I was like, OK. And so I just quit everything else because I liked it so much. Anthony Godfrey: Where's Brittany today? Is she playing lacrosse still? Student: Oh, yeah. She was with us yesterday. Anthony Godfrey: OK. So she's still she's still part of things. That's awesome. And you gave up your other sports. What other sports? You said soccer, Student: Soccer and volleyball. Anthony Godfrey: And volleyball. OK. Well, we're glad we're here. Now, like I said, I loved watching you yesterday, but I do not understand it. You're so you're going to teach me you were flipping this just casually like flipping it around. And I've already dropped the ball and I don't know if I can even pick it up. OK. I'm going to pick it up like this. All right. Now, flip it again for me like that. You're just flipping it casually. Student: Just for fun. Anthony Godfrey: How does it stay in there? Student: Centrifugal force. Anthony Godfrey: OK. All right. I need to spin it a little faster. All right. So show me how this starts off. You two do it and then I'll try to do it. So when you start off, it's called what now? Student: It's called the draw. Anthony Godfrey: It's called the draw. Student: So basically it's like you're going to put the two heads of the stick together. Student: Upper one-third of the stick. Student: And the ball goes in there. And you just push against each other. Anthony Godfrey: OK. Student: And then when the refs tweet, you just kind of like flip your stick. Anthony Godfrey: Somebody's going to say tweet, right? Voice: Tweet. Student: Whoo! Look at you. That's a draw win right there. Anthony Godfrey: Was that a draw win? Student: Yeah. Anthony Godfrey: OK. Great. That feels fantastic. Student: That was awesome. Anthony Godfrey: You know, I like I like a sport with a stick in your hand the whole time. I'm going to toss it to you. You said you're not going to hit me, but I can't make that same promise. Here we go. Hey! That was a good catch. You kind of right …. Wow. OK. Well, I admire your skills even more after trying it out. So what's next for you? You're all seniors. What are you doing after you graduate? Student: I want to go to esthetician school, but it's a little bit TBD. Anthony Godfrey: OK. That's all right. Student: I'm going to Grand Valley State University in Michigan to keep playing lacrosse. Anthony Godfrey: Awesome. Student: I'm going to Westminster, up in Sugar House, Utah to also keep playing lacrosse. Anthony Godfrey: Congratulations on a tremendous run and a great victory yesterday. Student: Thank you. Anthony Godfrey: It was so fun to be part of that and to be there. So let's see what next year brings. Student: Yeah, for sure. [music] Anthony Godfrey: Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, “Education is the most important thing you'll do today!” We'll see you out there. [music]

When you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you were enlisted into God's army and engaged in spiritual warfare. As a good soldier of Christ, you must focus on your Commander in Chief rather than seeking universal approval from people. Prepare for battle by putting on the full armor of God daily, including truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, and God's Word. Learn to endure hardship by choosing commitment over comfort and faith over fear. Stop blaming the devil for things your flesh is choosing and take responsibility for your spiritual condition. Remember that you are a new creation in Christ, and you have the power to defeat the enemy through Jesus.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

How is AI transforming accessibility for indie authors — and why should you care even if you consider yourself able-bodied? What happens when the tools designed to help people with disabilities end up making everyone's creative business better? Jeff Adams, accessibility expert and romance author, explores how AI is opening doors that were previously closed. In the intro, Spotify Audiobook Innovations; The Economics of Convention Life [The Indy Author]; Friction in your Author Business [Self-Publishing with ALLi]. Today's show is sponsored by Draft2Digital, self-publishing with support, where you can get free formatting, free distribution to multiple stores, and a host of other benefits. Just go to www.draft2digital.com to get started. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Jeff Adams is the author of YA thrillers and gay romance, and the co-author of Content for Everyone, a practical guide for creative entrepreneurs to produce accessible and usable web content. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes How ending a long-running podcast made space for more writing — and how to know when it's time to let go of a good thing What accessibility really means for indie authors and why your digital content might be excluding part of your audience How AI agents like Claude Cowork are removing physical and cognitive barriers for authors with disabilities, chronic pain, or limited energy The culture of shame around AI use in the writing community and why blanket anti-AI statements can be ableist Practical tools including NotebookLM, ElevenReader, and ChatGPT for marketing copy, metadata management, and multimodal research Exciting futures in personalised reading, real-time translation, and AI browser agents that could change how everyone interacts online You can find Jeff at JeffAdamsWrites.com. Jeff also now has a SubStack at contentforeveryone.substack.com Transcript of the interview with Jeff Adams Jo: Jeff Adams is the author of YA thrillers and gay romance, and the co-author of Content for Everyone, a practical guide for creative entrepreneurs to produce accessible and usable web content. Welcome back to the show, Jeff. Jeff: Thanks so much, Jo. It's good to be back. Jo: It is. You were last on the show in March 2023, so over three years ago now. Give us a bit of an update on your writing and publishing business and what it looks like at the moment. Jeff: Sure. I think the biggest thing that happened is that my husband Will, who is also a writer, we ended the Big Gay Fiction Podcast at the end of 2024, after 470-something episodes. It was basically time to do that. So we both focused on writing from that point. In 2025 we had some of our biggest successes in getting writing out into the world. I refound my groove—my difficulty in writing went away finally. We talked a little bit about that back in 2023 too. Will started a new pen name and started producing again, and it was really good to be able to move in that direction. Jo: Was this the hockey romance that really hit at the right time? Jeff: You know, I wish I could have capitalised more on Heated Rivalry when it came out, but I did get hockey books out, and I think I did get to ride that wave a little bit there too. Jo: Yes, and if people don't know about that, that was a super popular streaming series. Was that based on a book? Jeff: It was, yes. Rachel Reid was the author of that book and that series that then Jacob Tierney optioned and made into what fairly turned into a global phenomenon at the end of 2025. Jo: Yes, absolutely. Although I particularly liked Red, White and Royal Blue. That was the one I liked. Not so much into hockey. But anyway, I just wanted to ask you about the Big Gay Fiction Podcast. As you say, you did hundreds of episodes over many years. You and I met over podcasting. You've had lots of connections with people. You ended it, and I know you struggled with ending it, but it sounds like it went really well for you. So maybe you could talk a bit about— How do you know when it's time to end something—a good thing rather than something bad? Does that make more space for writing, essentially? Jeff: It absolutely did make more space for writing for both of us, in particular for me because I have a day job. I balance everything on the creative side with the day job. Will and I had been talking about it for over a year. It just was like, it's really time. After nine years, getting to that 470 mark, we thought about trying to get to 10 years and we thought about, if not 10, then getting to 500 and ending on a milestone. As we looked at everything in our creative business, it was like, this is fun, we enjoy it, but we're not getting as much out of it as we might be if we were actually also writing books, which we also really want to do. It became a time thing and what was the best use of the time. We absolutely miss it occasionally. The whole Heated Rivalry thing, I would've loved to have had episodes to talk about that on, but in the long run, it was worth it. Jo: I mean, one of the things with a podcast, particularly around fiction, was that it was a marketing angle for your fiction. This show is a marketing angle mainly for my nonfiction. So what did you replace the podcast with, in terms of book marketing? Jeff: It was really stepped-up email marketing. I'd always had a list. Will started a list, of course, as he started his new pen name. So it was really turning on that, focusing on that, getting some email marketing with a Bargain Booksy and a Fussy Librarian and a BookBub occasionally to do that work. To be honest, even though we covered things in our genre that if you like what we're talking about, you should like our books, there was never as much of a connection there as you'd want there to be. Even from that book marketing angle, these other things that we can do, it's also a better spend of the money to get those types of promos than it was to continue running the show. Jo: Yes, that is interesting. I mean, obviously I think about podcasting a lot since I have this one, and I put Books and Travel on a hiatus and that was meant to help my fiction and definitely didn't help my fiction sales. But I want to bring it back again because I love doing it. Do you have this hankering sometimes? Do you think you'd ever do the podcast again? Because you are also quite into all the technical stuff and all that. Jeff: It's possible. I've toyed with the idea of doing a short accessibility podcast geared towards creatives, tilting to the same audience that Content for Everyone does. Then I come back and look at the time—is my time better served writing new fiction or perhaps starting a Substack, which I also toy with the idea of, for accessibility stuff? So it bounces around in my head to do another show, but I haven't really decided to jump on that yet. Jo: Yes, and I think that waiting is really good. As you say, you quit a big thing and you don't have to rush to fill it again. I love that you guys are writing more books. So I wanted us to talk about that up front because I know people who listen to this show—I encourage people to start podcasts if you want to, but equally it can take a lot of time. So that's fantastic. Now, you mentioned accessibility, and I feel like the word can be quite difficult for people. So let's just start with a definition. What is accessibility? Why do you care and why should we care? Jeff: So accessibility is really about making sure that whatever the thing is, whether it's something out in the physical world or in the online world, that everybody has access to it. Access to the information, access to getting into a building or being able to cross the street appropriately, whatever that is—that the accessibility of the thing is high. So that regardless of who is approaching it, they can interact with whatever the thing is. If we put that into the digital world, it's about making sure that text on a screen can be perceived by anybody, whether they're trying to read it visually or if they're trying to read it through a screen reader or through a braille monitor. Whatever that is, they need to be able to interact with it, get the information they need, do all the functions of whatever it is on the screen. Check out on Amazon, check out at their favourite e-commerce place, be able to get the products in their cart, check out, et cetera. For creatives, it's about the things that we do: the websites that we build for ourselves, the e-commerce platforms that we use, our email marketing, our social media posts. Making all of that as accessible as we can so that we're not perhaps missing a part of our audience or our prospective audience from being able to engage with our work and in turn, hopefully, buy our books and enjoy our books and become a fan. This became important to me because of my day job. I hadn't really considered this—like, I think most people don't—until I started working at UsableNet. It's going to be 15 years I've been at that company come this autumn, and I really started to see the impacts because UsableNet is all about accessibility on the digital front. I really started to learn, being a project manager for them, what all of that meant and how it impacted people who couldn't buy something online, couldn't book a hotel room, couldn't book an airline ticket. It just really became something I got passionate about. I ended up writing the book because I realised that nobody talks to creatives about this. Nobody tells the independent author what they should do to help make their digital stuff accessible so that they don't miss people. I never expected my day job to interact with my creative side so much, but this certainly has over the last few years. Jo: I mean, has it got better? Like we said, you were on here three years ago. We did talk about some of the things around EPUB formats and taking off DRM and what we need to do on our websites—labelling images, for example, and that kind of thing. Do you think accessibility has gotten better? Jeff: I think the awareness of it has improved, both within the creative community and in the broader web ecosphere, that the awareness is better. There's so much knowledge that needs to go into creating something that is accessible. Sometimes there's so much that you have to think about with colours and alt tags on images and all the little bits and pieces, if it doesn't really come to muscle memory, it's easy for it to fall off. There's a survey that's done by WebAIM every year about the top one million homepages out in the universe, and they surveyed those for just the things that an automated scan can detect, which is a small portion of overall accessibility, and the number of errors across that top million actually ticked up this year. Even though there's all these laws around the world—people get sued all the time in the US—the number of errors ticked up for the first time in a few years. So I think the awareness is up, but I think being able to take action on it and make the time to take action on it isn't where it needs to be. Jo: So last time you gave us all those tips. I'll refer people back to that and also to your book Content for Everyone, which has got loads of great stuff in. I wanted to talk to you for this show because I was sitting watching Claude Cowork—now I use Claude Code a lot more—but updating 140 titles on IngramSpark, where me clicking things and there's like 15 clicks per record on IngramSpark updates for pricing, is an absolute nightmare. I was watching the AI do the work and I realised this isn't just saving me time, it's actually saving my wrist and my arm from repetitive strain injury. That's when I thought about this accessibility thing. As you mentioned, for example being physically accessible into a building, say someone's in a wheelchair, they can't necessarily get into a building if there's no ramp. I was thinking that for many years, being an indie author, being a writer online, there's also been these physical barriers because there's a lot of plumbing and clicking for us. So I wondered, starting with an attitude around a shift in who this is opening up to— How is AI starting to help people with these accessibility issues? Jeff: Yes, there's so much opportunity around this. We should note, just to timestamp this, that we're talking on 14th April 2026, because who knows what will change, even in an hour from now. I think Cowork was one of the first things that we saw, and that's only been out since the very top of this year. Being able to do actual agentic tasks. Other things have sort of gotten there, but Cowork really opened it up. You mentioned the repetitive stress that you would've had clicking all of those forms on IngramSpark across 140 books. But there's that type of stress, chronic pain, cognitive drain for somebody who may have some cognitive disability and trying to work through that form. The cognitive energy just might drain out and maybe knock them out for several days after trying to get through that, or the tasks take them multiple days to do. Someone who has lower vision, someone who's trying to work through that form with a screen reader—all of that draws energy, draws focus. Now we've got something where, with plain language, we could say something like: here's all my pricing information, I've logged into IngramSpark, go update these books. Obviously the prompt's going to be a little more than that, but in broad terms, that's what we're going to tell it. Jo: Hmm. Jeff: And being able to have it go through and do the thing. If it gets stuck, have it come back and say, “Hey, I've got trouble with this. Please help me.” That can just free up so much of the drains that people can have—the things that can take them out of doing the part of the work that they need to do for an author business. They can go write the book through whatever process you're going to use to do that, rather than getting caught up in something like having to update all those books on IngramSpark. Jo: You mentioned writing the book there. I have this real sense of being an able-bodied indie author in terms of my computer use and my ability to write a whole book, a 70,000-word thriller that I write regularly. We're all special in some way, but I do have a reasonably normal brain where I can do this work without too much strain. It's hard work, but I can do it. I meet people who are now using AI to help them write, to help them organise their work—maybe someone has dyslexia or ADHD or cognitive issues or pain—there's just so many things that I take for granted that don't affect me. I hear from people who, at this point in time in the community, are almost shamed for using AI to write. So I wanted to bring this up to discuss it under the terms of accessibility. Do you have any thoughts on that? Jeff: I have real difficulty with people who will say anything in the broad range of, “I don't need to use this thing, and therefore you should not either.” Which is adjacent to indie anti-AI speak that there is out there. Certainly we're living right now at probably the highest point that it's ever been, where more and more there's a sentiment towards not using AI for whatever the reason is. I totally respect that people can have concerns about the environment and about energy use and water use, et cetera. Not to mention all the other things that are on the more difficult side of AI. To shame someone who may not be able to put their story out there without the use of that AI, whichever one they're using, or to shame them because they're using AI to run part of their business—updating IngramSpark, doing other things like that—I think it can come down to there being some ableism there. Ther is some privilege behind that too, where they're just like, “I don't need this, and you shouldn't have it either.” I want to give people just a sliver of an idea of what this can mean for someone who is disabled and what AI can unlock for them. There is a person on LinkedIn that I follow whose name is Hannah Desmond. She's an ADHD coach and a former software developer, and very recently she posted this on LinkedIn. This is a paraphrase of what she said, but: having something that can meet you where you are and help you bridge that gap is what I think I have found so helpful about using AI. Here's what I keep coming back to. Without that support, I wasn't more motivated or more capable. I was just stuck. That's the bit that gets lost. We've been taught that struggling is how you know you're doing it properly. So when something reduces the struggle, it can feel wrong—even when it's the thing that actually makes the work possible. Because there's a difference between avoiding thinking and being able to think at all. I think that rounds it up. She's talking about her time as a software developer, but you can apply that to any realm of AI when we're thinking about trying to shame someone for why they may be using it. We may not know that they have a disability because we don't always share that part of ourselves. So I really feel strongly about that and how we are in this culture of shame. Jo: Yes. It drives me up the wall, actually. But I will also say: you don't have to have a disability or accessibility issues in order to use AI in whatever way you personally decide is okay—talking to the listeners now. I think Orna Ross from the Alliance of Independent Authors says it well, which is you should have your own AI policy. So you personally decide where your lines are, how it helps you, what you want to keep for you, and what you want help with. I was also thinking in terms of accessibility around money. Again, for many of us, professional cover design, professional editing, professional human-level translation, these are things that are pretty pricey for many people. So again, this makes it more accessible. One of the reasons we got into the indie way and being indie authors was to try and remove the barriers to entry to people who have been excluded from the environment of publishing. So, yes, it is really hard to talk about this, and yet that's why I wanted to talk about it, because— There's so many variables for each individual and there's no situation that's the same, really, is there? Jeff: No, not at all. The things that I may need to do my work in the most efficient way possible is different from the way that you're going to work, is different than the way my husband's going to work, is different than every other person and the way that they're going to work. Which is why any kind of blanket statement about “I don't need something and therefore you shouldn't need it either” can just be so problematic, because we have no idea what someone else is going through. Either it's a permanent part of their lives or maybe it's something that is happening temporarily with them where they might need to leverage other tools. Jo: Yes. Talking about that temporary, I think I really got the first sense of this when I had COVID the first time, which was really bad. I remember I was so sick, the only thing I could do was listen to an audiobook. I couldn't think, I couldn't read. It was really probably months of not having my brain back. Then the other thing that's happened as I age, as women age, is menopause kicks in and the brain fog is a real thing. I've heard from other people too who've said having Claude or whoever, an AI tool, to help with the brain fog is so important because otherwise I just wouldn't be able to gather my thoughts. Again, as you said— Even if we don't need these things now, it's quite likely we're going to need them at some point, given ageing, given the potential for injury and disease. I mean, we don't escape this alive, do we? Jeff: Yes, that's a great point because unless we're extremely lucky as individuals, we're all likely to have some sort of a disability in our lives at some point. I know for me, as I age and my eyes get more and more tired after being in front of a screen all day for work, and then whatever creative stuff I do in the afternoon on a book—when it comes near bedtime and I do want to read, I probably want to do that with an audiobook, much more audio, especially for any long reading project. That can also be like, if I have a long document or a long article to read, I am likely to give it to ElevenReader, let it load itself up, and then listen to it, because I take the information in better than trying to follow words across a screen. Jo: Yes. Jonathan, my husband, now also listens to a lot of academic papers on ElevenReader. Most of us will know it as where we publish some audiobooks from ElevenLabs, or you can also publish other things there. So it is super useful to think about what we can do with ElevenReader. Another thing that I found really useful recently is NotebookLM. On NotebookLM, there is a free tier. You can put various things in there and then create a custom audio. So this is something I've been doing as part of research. You can put in, say, 10 YouTube videos or some PDFs or your book or whatever, and then you can create a custom audio. Then I'll go for a walk and I'll listen to the custom audio, and then I'll go back and look at the detail of what it was. It gives me the framework of whatever I'm thinking about on a broader level, and then I can come back to the details. So again, it's this multimodal approach that can help us manage our energy, I guess. Jeff: And it's all about the managing of the energy, I think, too. That is a great way to think about the accessibility of it all. You mentioned a great use there for NotebookLM. That could also be putting your book in there and having it help you build a world bible or something like that. Or building marketing materials off of that. There's a lot of things now that NotebookLM can do in terms of helping you create FAQs maybe for a newsletter or for your website, and building video stuff off of the material that it has. So there's a lot of options there, and ever-growing options that can be useful for someone to manage any number of the things that they may need in their creative business. Jo: Yes. In fact, talking about Claude, there are a lot of Claude plugins now, skills and integrations. Shopify just released a Claude plugin and many of us now have Shopify stores. I have a lot of products with a lot of different variations and the metadata. There's so much metadata. And again, I'm just so pleased now that I can work with Cowork and get it to actually update directly into Shopify. In fact, coming back, you mentioned updating alt tags earlier. That's something again that AI could help you update—the back list of your alt tags on a website. I've now got my Cowork doing EPUBs so I could finally update all my EPUBs with back matter and all of this kind of thing. So I feel like perhaps we could go beyond accessibility to talk about amplification. All the things that we didn't do because it was too tiring and we just couldn't be bothered, or it would just be way too much work, that now it's opened up as a possibility because of these tools. Jeff: Absolutely. I mean, you look at a backlist as large as yours and the things that you're now able to do. I didn't know that Claude had a Shopify plugin. So the abilities that we have now to maybe do things in the business that we hadn't before. One of the things I've been working with Claude on is rewriting my website and creating a more proper website for Will. I'm really making sure that it is not only SEO prepared but also GEO prepared, with all the metadata and all the backend code schema that it needs so that LLMs can find me, can understand what I do, can understand the books, branch out to the other areas that it needs to. Doing that through WordPress would've been so much more difficult, even with Claude, that to be able to rewrite the site in a way that is going to let me manage it better so that I will do it on a more consistent basis. Whatever that thing is, we're now able to do these things. That could be updating keywords in Amazon or making sure we're aligned across all of the sales platforms that we might be on and things like that, that Claude can do and do well. Jo: Yes, I think marketing is just the killer app really for people, isn't it? I think most authors do not enjoy marketing. I find Claude better for creative work, for strategic work, for doing work through Cowork or Code, but— ChatGPT with marketing copy is very, very good. So I've actually been using that as we record this. I've got a Kickstarter launching next week, so I've been getting it to do ad copy and social media copy and all that kind of thing. This is stuff when you have to produce—give me 20 taglines, give me 20 hooks, give me another 20 and another 20. I mean, we just cannot do it as humans, right? Jeff: Yes, I have found GPT wildly helpful. I mentioned trying to get Bargain Booksy and Fussy Librarian promos. Jo: Mm. Jeff: And you have to give it the marketing hook, and it can't just be the blurb that's on Amazon—it's got to be something fresh, and they each have slightly different requirements. Having GPT—here's the blurb, give me a dozen different options—and then I may take pieces of all of them and create one of my own. But it reworks that much faster than my brain was ever going to try to find the right thing I want to give to Bargain Booksy. Jo: Yes, you are right. Or it says write this in 300 characters or less. Jeff: Yes. Jo: I do exactly the same. That kind of transformative work can be really good. In fact, there was somebody I know who has been rampantly anti-AI for years and then said, “Would this help me? I have to do a synopsis for an agent, so I've got this 100,000-word book and it needs to be a 10-page synopsis. How would I do that with AI?” So I was encouraging her to take each chapter and ask it to summarise the chapter, and of course read through it and everything. But I mean, doing a synopsis once you've actually written a book—that can be super useful. So I think what we're saying is— There are levels of need in terms of both the author and the audience. Then there are levels of your personal use from one end of the spectrum to the other in terms of how far you want to go in every area of the business. And in that way, it's just different for everyone. Jeff: Yes, and I think getting to that mindset shift that we were talking about a little bit—it can be so easy to dip your toes in. That one author came to you and said, “Do you think it could do this?” And I think that's the beginning exploratory area for perhaps anyone. People are going to hear us talk about this and it might inspire them to go try something that we've talked about. But these things, whether it's Claude or GPT or Gemini or whichever one it is, you can come to it and say, “I'm an author, I have X, Y, Z going on in my life”—whether that's a disability, whether that's a time constraint because you have a day job and maybe you have kids and a family that need your attention—”I have these time constraints, I want to do X, Y, and Z in my business. How can you help me with that?” It's going to tell you what it can do to help you with that. I would even say, if you have the ability to have multiples of these, you could ask the same question to GPT and Claude, and they're going to give you similar answers in some instances, but they may also have different ones because of the abilities that the different platforms have around these things as well. That can help you make that mindset shift of, “Well, now I see that it can do that. Could it also do this?” And then ask it if it could do that. Because I know for me, Jo, I've taken so much from you and your journey with Cowork that it's like, “Oh, she did that. I wonder if I could do this.” And all of that piles on top of itself. Then eventually I think your brain starts to think on its own, “Oh, I have to do this task. Can Claude maybe do this for me? Let's go find out.” Jo: Yes, and if it couldn't do it for you yesterday, you never know, it might be able to do it tomorrow. Jeff: Right? Because I haven't tested yet its new ability to actually use your computer. Jo: Mm. Jeff: And I'm curious what that might open up. Because one of the things that I've seen that I wish it would do is be able to take the EPUB that's on my drive and actually put it into a platform I'm trying to upload to. Cowork on its own hasn't been able to cross that barrier, but I wonder if with computer use added to that, if it could. Like, “here's the EPUB, upload that over there,” be able to pick it from the file picker, essentially. Jo: Yes. I think, well, a little tip for everyone: I wouldn't give access to your entire file system to the AI. Jeff: That's a good point too. Jo: Yes. I have a Claude folder in my drive and it only has access there. So if you put files in that drive, it might be able to do that. But I know what you mean. I have been using it to help me publish things in German on KDP. Now I can use the browser, so you can actually do that. In terms of uploading the actual file, I know what you mean. These things will change. As we record this, again middle of April, we are almost about to get the next models being Mythos, which might be Claude 4.7 Opus, or also ChatGPT has a new model coming, and these models are getting very powerful. With every shift they can do more things. So as you say, the very first thing to do is ask it, “I want to do this—what are my options?” And some of them, for example, doing an AI-narrated audiobook, ChatGPT and Claude don't do that. You want ElevenLabs or one of the other services for that, but they can tell you what your options are. So that's one thing, but I wondered if you have any thoughts on the gaps that you are seeing. You mentioned one there around file uploads, but— What do you hope might come and some of the things that might be exciting if they arrive? Because you never know, they might be here already. Jeff: There's certainly some movement in some areas. One of the things I'll share is, in March I was at the 2026 CSUN Assistive Technology Conference—CSUN is California State University, Northridge—and they've run this conference for some 40 years now. One of the sessions I went to was from Tara Maisel—I hope I'm pronouncing her last name right. She's a senior project manager in books accessibility at Amazon, and she was doing a session specifically on readability. She had all kinds of statistics and information about what goes into making something readable. One of the things she talked about with AI was the future of personalised reading. If you think about the Kindle app, for example, there's a lot of settings you can make there—font size, colours, brightness, text spacing. There's a lot of tools in there. She was pointing out that potentially readers don't even know what they actually need for the optimised visual reading experience. She sees a world where AI can perhaps do an analysis of your reading behaviour and then help you find the optimal settings. Maybe even multiple optimal settings for, say, if you were reading in a room that had daylight versus at bedtime, and the ways you might shift it. I was almost thinking of this like when you're at the optometrist and they're like, “Which lens is better—this one or that one?” Jo: Oh, sometimes that is very hard. Jeff: Yes. It's that AI could step you through that a little bit to help you find that optimal reading experience in that moment. And then it might even notice, potentially, if you're changing something in the way that you're moving through a page, that it might flag to say, “Hey, do we need to adjust something?” Some other areas that I think are really exciting, for everyone and perhaps particularly for people who are disabled and needing the support of some assistive technology, is what we're seeing in the browsers. OpenAI's Operator has been out for quite a while now, since sometime I think autumn of last year. Perplexity Comet has been around even longer. Then we've got browser extensions from Gemini and Claude that are available, that can let you just type natural language. You know, “Please go find for me jeans in this size that are on sale on this website. Find me the best price for blue jeans on this site and this size,” and it'll just go do it. Which can certainly speed things up for people in the disabled community to find things quickly, to spend time navigating less, and maybe ending up with the AI coming back and saying, “I found these five things. Which one would you like me to buy for you?” Or, “I found this one thing that you do need and it's waiting for you in your shopping cart.” The ability for that on the horizon is an amazing jump from an accessibility point of view. But really it's one of those things that accessibility will then help everyone because we can all just shop that way, if we choose to. These are early days for these browsers and these extensions. The other side of it comes back to basic web accessibility too, because I've seen these types of activities not work so well on a site that may not actually be accessible on its own. A great example is something I ran into with Claude Cowork about a month ago. I was testing to see if it could help me navigate and get things uploaded together for a site where I wanted to upload books, knowing again that it's not going to upload the actual file, but it could fill in the metadata from my master database of metadata stuff. There were areas on the site that it actually couldn't hit the button, because the site itself was also not functional to a screen reader. So there are gaps there. It's early days, but I really see that as an interesting future that'll really help people with disabilities—but again, help everybody too, just manage time better. Jo: I know exactly what you mean there. I've done some collaborative work with Claude Code when it's like, “I can't click the button,” and I'm like, well, I'll click the button—you fill in everything else. Jeff: Exactly. Jo: It's actually quite a funny situation. But goodness, coming back to IngramSpark again—these things need APIs. We need better functions. It's funny because I think a lot of traditional publishers have these APIs or backend upload things that you can do. I'm like, well, we need to get to that with these systems. But I think things will change. Another thing that I think has also shifted is the use of voice. Voice for dictation—it used to be with dictation that you would have to say “comma,” “open quote,” “new line,” and all of that. And you'd also have to make sense. Whereas now I feel like you can just dictate a whole load of things to these AIs and then say, “Tidy that up,” and they will do a lot more than the old situation. So I think voice will also help. Also automatic translation. I don't know if you know this about X, and if you're on X anymore, but just this week they've made it multi-language. So I can read tweets by people who've posted in another language in English. I can read something from Korean or read something that someone French has posted and it gets translated. It has made a huge difference to the content I'm seeing, which is fascinating because I don't think we've ever had this kind of automatic “everything is translated into your language” situation. It's really got me thinking about how [automatic translation] might work for eBooks or other things if the rights are there. I don't know. Have you seen stuff like that? Jeff: There's so much available now with voice and the ability to not have to speak all the other stuff that went with it—comma, full stop, next line. It was a little mind-bending sometimes, trying to think about quote marks and all that stuff. And now it's so good. Different platforms do it to different degrees of ability. Even being able to speak your prompts into the very platforms themselves without having to type all of it. Chronic pain comes to mind, any kind of mobility thing—all the typing would be a drain or maybe even impossible. So the voice ability is so powerful there and unlocks more things. At the same time, those translation abilities—I believe AirPods now have the ability, if you've got the right stuff on your phone, that you could be talking to somebody, they may speak back to you in a language you don't speak, but your AirPods will give it to you in your language. Jo: Hmm. Jeff: Google has, I believe, a live captioning app that you can use. I think there's even a split screen—I don't know if that's available now or something in their future—where you could put the phone on the table and tell it who's looking at what side of the screen, and it'll put the language that I need on my side and the language the other person needs on the other. So there continues to be such a shift in how we're being able to translate stuff that really opens up communication and can open up our books to so many more people. I'm very interested to see—I haven't pulled the trigger on this yet—but how Amazon's auto-translation rolls out and how that's received in terms of the accessibility around our books and being able to put it in someone's hands who doesn't speak—I think it's only English to other languages right now—but who doesn't speak the language it was written in but wants to read that book. We could never, as indies, or really even big five publishers, wouldn't have the money to create custom translations everywhere. But if the AI can help do that and spread those books around so that everybody could have the story they want to read, I think that's such a win for the reading audience. Jo: Yes, I think it's so exciting to think what might be coming, and that's what I want to stay on the side of on the AI discussion. There's enough negativity out there and you can get that information somewhere else, but for me I want us to stay on the positive side of how this helps both the author and the reader. And hopefully the community, to create more and read more and enjoy being human more. Right? Because I find that I do get out more and listen to stuff, or I'm out walking instead of at my desk, and I mean, that's what it's about. I'm pretty excited about the future. How about you? Jeff: I am. I think there are, quite honestly, some scary things that could be out there in the future. I mean, there's been a lot of talk about what Mythos is capable of. But on the other side of it, there are all these advances. I also look back at Google and AlphaFold and what DeepMind was able to do there for science. There's more of that stuff out there, and individually for each of us, spending a little bit of time—and I do have to say, I think you need to spend time on a paid plan because the free stuff doesn't give you the idea of what these platforms are actually capable of. So if you only drop in, even briefly, to experiment on one of the $20-a-month plans and give it your situation, ask it what it can do for you, I think you'll see where, on a personal level, AI will help you unlock some things. It can help you move some things to the next level in your business that for whatever reason you haven't been able to do. You don't have to use it for everything. You may decide that it's still not for you for whatever reason, and that's fine. But I think there's so much to explore here and to let your curiosity run for a little bit to see what's possible and what you might unlock with it. Jo: Brilliant. So where can people find you and your books and everything you do online? Jeff: So pretty much everything lives at JeffAdamsWrites.com. Jo: Well, thanks so much for your time, Jeff. That was great. Jeff: I loved it, Jo. Thanks for having me..The post Accessibility And AI: How New Tools Are Opening Doors For Indie Authors With Jeff Adams first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Mark Pierce Sr. https://www.amazon.com/Four-Twenty-Blackbirds-Mark-Pierce/dp/1963735579/ Wardlarsen.com Mark A. Pierce Sr. has written a saga that uncovers an innocuous slight to the military service record of thousands of African Americans. His sweeping novel about a military social experiment starts in Detroit in 1943 and reaches its profound conclusion forty years later. The battles repelled by the greatest generation of fighting men the world had ever seen were covered in the memories of a zeitgeist… underneath the sands of time. Pierce has come forward with an unspoken story – until now. FOUR AND TWENTY BLACKBIRDS will astound the reader. About the Author After years of research and organizing, Mark A. Pierce Sr. used his first draft of “FOUR AND TWENTY BLACKBIRDS” as his Senior Project at California Polytechnic State University in 1992. The work was recognized with the university’s student arts commendation on behalf of the English Department. Still Pierce did not immediately seek to have it sent out. He did revision after revision on the manuscript… decades of revision. Two years ago he finally felt it was ready. Pierce was so deliberate with the manuscript because its nexus had come to him from his father, August Pierce. He had shown Pierce the memorabilia of 1944 U.S. Army Movement orders. August Pierce had been asked to volunteer for the December 1943 assignment, but had refused (despite being decorated three times for bravery). Pierce assumed the weight of this information and wanted to give it just treatment. This is Pierce’s second book, but his first novel. In 2012, Pierce published the social/educational book, Micro aggressions Across the Great Divide, an inquiry about how perceptions get aligned to multicultural misconceptions and how that damages learning. Pierce holds a Master’s Degree in English Rhetoric (2007) and a Master’s Degree in Education (2008), both received from the California State University of Northridge. He is a credentialed teacher and public school administrator. Pierce lives with his wife, Corinne, on the central coast of California.

James 2 challenges believers to examine whether their faith is genuine by looking at their actions. Written by Jesus' half-brother to persecuted early Christians, this passage addresses the problem of showing favoritism based on wealth or appearance. James argues that true faith naturally produces good works - not to earn salvation, but to demonstrate it. He uses examples like Abraham and Rahab to show how authentic faith requires action, not just intellectual belief. Even demons believe in God, but their belief doesn't save them. James concludes that faith without works is like a body without spirit - dead and lifeless.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

The fear of the Lord appears over 150 times in Scripture yet remains largely unexplored in many churches today. This biblical concept isn't about cowering in terror, but rather developing a healthy reverence and awe for God that combines respect for His power with deep love and trust. According to Proverbs 9:10, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the foundation for all spiritual growth. This reverence transforms our lives by providing the right perspective, leading to godliness, unlocking future blessings, offering true refuge, and bringing sweet peace that surpasses understanding.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

Susan Hyde In 1978, the women's tennis team at California State University, Northridge was rocked by a grisly murder borne out of jealousy. Susan Hyde and her partner of several years, Janis Hasse, lived and worked together on campus, but Hasse's relationship with 21, Loni Andersen, carried on even though Hasse lived with Hyde. When Hyde was out of town, Hasse and Andersen would get together. Finally, Hasse ended the affair, and though Andersen seemed to move on, she was silently plotting and planning to get back together with Hasse, but it would all end in murder. Robert Evans In 1986, Robert Evans went missing until his body was found beaten, battered, and bruised. His killer would be a young man who had developed a penchant for cruising gay men and robbing them; in this case, a victim stood between him and what he wanted. The trial's ending might surprise you. Fred Pletka In 1977, the nude bodies of Robert Schmeckpeper and James King were found in their Sioux City trailer, setting off a case that would spiral into a brutal trial and a disturbing legal defense. Fred Pletka was eventually convicted, but the way the crime was framed says as much about the era's prejudice as it does about the murders themselves. The Black Cat On New Year's Eve 1966, undercover LAPD officers raided the Black Cat bar in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, triggering one of the earliest LGBTQ civil rights protests in U.S. history. There was another bar raided on the same night as the Black Cat, two patrons were arrested bring the total to 16. The protest against police violence across Los Angeles was one of the first protests where LGBTQ+ folks joined in common cause with members of the African American and Latino communities, also protesting violence at the hands of police. To watch any of these episode check out the YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/@queerpanic 

I had the pleasure of meeting Emily Scherberth when we were in an Organizational Change & Transformation class in our Master's in Organizational Leadership program. I knew right away that Emily was whip smart and someone I wanted to geek out with and learn more from. When Emily shared her recent research on feedback, vulnerability, and leadership - and the glaring gender differences, I knew I wanted to do a deep dive with her. This conversation is that deep dive. I'm so grateful to Emily for doing this important work and bravely sharing it with the world.  Emily Scherberth is the Founder and CEO of Turas Leadership Consulting, Inc.  She serves as a partner and strategist for executives, teams, and organizations that are ready to transform their cultures and lead with purpose. With nearly 30 years of experience in corporate strategy, communications, leadership, qualitative research, and facilitation, Emily created Turas Leadership to realign more intentionally with her own purpose: to help actualize the potential in others.   As the creator of the Leader-First Transformation™ model and a Gallup-Certified CliftonStrengths® coach, Emily synthesizes decades of direct leadership experience with forward-thinking research and evidence-based methods to help clients increase performance and find meaning in their work. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies from Loyola Marymount University, a Master of Arts degree in Communication Studies from California State University, Northridge, and is completing a second Master of Arts degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University. Listen in to hear Emily share: How she made a pivot from a 30-year communications career into leadership consulting How to assess and develop your leadership capacity by identifying connectedness within yourself and within the systems in which you lead Her recent research on the vulnerability of receiving feedback and being challenged The surprising data on leaders wanting to be challenged  The dramatic gender differences in her data, and how to account for these differences  How current organizational systems are limited in their capacity to provide psychological safety on a systemic level, and the problem with only addressing psychological safety on the team or department level What capacity building means in leadership, and why leadership development needs to focus more specifically on capacity building How you can own and honor your leadership capacity while also challenging yourself to advance your current capacity Links Mentioned: Connect with Emily and Turas Leadership: https://turasleadership.com/ Follow Emily on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyscherberth/ Turas Leadership Article and Research: The Leadership Paradox: Leaders Want Feedback but Fear the Cost of Asking for It Emily on Medium: The Leadership Journey: https://medium.com/the-leadership-journey Hire Sara to speak: saradean.com/speaking Coach with Sara: https://saradean.com/executive-coaching-services Connect with Sara on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saradeanspeaks Watch Shameless Leadership episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@saradeanspeaks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Every mother has the potential to be a wonder woman in God's eyes. Drawing from the biblical example of Timothy's mother Eunice and grandmother Lois, this message explores seven key characteristics of godly motherhood. These include deep devotion to God, disciplined prayer and Bible study, intentional discipleship of children, integrity, modeling forgiveness and grace, seeking grace over perfection, and total dependence on the Lord. The greatest legacy a mother can leave isn't material wealth, but genuine faith that sustains children through life's challenges and prepares them for eternity.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

James chapter 1 reveals the crucial difference between trials and temptations in our faith journey. Trials are God's tests designed to mature our faith and develop patience, while temptations come from Satan to destroy us. When facing difficulties, we need wisdom from God, which He gives liberally to those who ask in faith without doubting. The progression of temptation follows a pattern: lust leads to sin, which brings death. We must be careful about what we entertain in our lives, as whatever we allow in through entertainment, relationships, and habits can lead us down a dangerous path. True faith requires being doers of God's word, not just hearers, and practicing pure religion by caring for orphans and widows while keeping ourselves unspotted from the world.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

The Book of James, written by Jesus' half-brother who transformed from skeptic to believer after the resurrection, offers practical guidance for authentic Christian living. James addresses the relationship between faith and works, explaining that genuine faith naturally produces good works - not to earn salvation, but as evidence of it. The letter teaches believers how to pray with unwavering faith, respond properly to sin with a broken heart rather than indifference, and view trials as opportunities for spiritual growth. James emphasizes that mature faith isn't just about believing the right things, but living them out in observable ways that demonstrate the reality of our relationship with God.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

Have you felt anxious lately—or stuck? Anxiety has become a familiar word in today's world—and for good reason. A significant portion of the population is navigating its effects daily, often in quiet, unseen ways. I even see it in the smallest moments—like our little dog pacing the gate if I step away for just a few minutes. But for many in mid-career or halftime of life—the deeper tension isn't just anxiety, it's the question beneath it: What's next? Maybe there's less energy for what used to excite you, or the realization that even a full life can feel incomplete or without purpose. I've experienced those seasons myself. Not because something was wrong, but because growth was happening and I wanted to make sure I was ready for it. And much like an earthquake can reveal issues with areas not structurally reinforced, similarly moments of disruption expose the mindset patterns we've been relying on. This episode is about strengthening your internal foundation—because the shift that moves you forward isn't about doing more, it's about thinking differently.Full article here: https://goalsforyourlife.com/mindset-shift YouTube Video of this episode here: https://youtu.be/7mtuaMc9j8w Watch & subscribe! Get POWER OF AFTER BOOK HERE: https://amzn.to/3GpEGlJ Make sure you're getting all our podcast updates and articles! Get them here: https://goalsforyourlife.com/newsletter Resources with tools and guidance for mid-career individuals, professionals & those at the halftime of life seeking growth and fulfillment: http://HalftimeSuccess.com Chapters 0:00 Navigating the mid-career halftime 2:50 Lessons from the Northridge earthquake 5:45 Understanding the weight of anxiety 8:30 How stress impacts your creativity 11:15 Fixed vs growth mindset explained 14:45 Why you are not starting from zero 17:30 Adopting the apprentice mindset 20:15 Five practical steps for momentum 23:00 Building a reinforced future Stop letting uncertainty hold you back from your most impactful years. Visit https://goalsforyoulife.com/newsletter  to stay connected and learn more about elite mentorship and online courses designed for your next chapter. #careerchange #mindset #midlife #personalgrowth #professionaldevelopment. Full article here: https://goalsforyourlife.com/mindset-shift

“You know, there’s that old saying, anywhere you go, there you are. The Hoffman Process brings that magic with it wherever it goes.” – Perry Dorsey Jr. Today’s guest is Perry Dorsey Jr., Hoffman Institute’s retreat site manager and a beautiful human being. As we transition from Petaluma Retreat Center to our new Santa Sabina Retreat Center, we invited Perry to share his wisdom with you. He tells the story of how the land nurtured him during his Process. The land continued to do so as he stepped into his important role at Hoffman. Perry’s relationship with the land at our site in Petaluma has been foundational to his care for the site, his fellow Petaluma staff, and the students who come to do the Hoffman Process. Perry completed his own Process at White Sulphur Springs, our old retreat site. He supported the opening of our new site, Santa Sabina. Perry is managing both Petaluma and Santa Sabina during our crossover period in April and May, with programs in both places. Perry holds a reverent long view of Hoffman from the perspective of the land. Over time, he has witnessed how it interplays with students there to do the deep work of the Process. In hearing his experiences witnessing the students interact with nature, we begin to get a sense of this important interrelation with the land. As Perry says, the land feels “the vibrations and the energy of all the hard work and love that is held there. You know, there’s that old saying, anywhere you go, there you are. The Hoffman process brings that magic with it wherever it goes.” The land at White Sulphur Springs and the Petaluma Retreat Center will remember all who opened their hearts there, as new students open theirs at Santa Sabina. A special addition to Perry’s episode: The land blessing ceremony, led by (Clockwise from top-left) Jessica Harjo, Matt Brannagan, CEO, Karen Waconda-Lewis, and Jessica’s daughter. In the last portion, Sadie and Perry welcome Jessica Harjo to the conversation. Jessica shares a bit about the land blessing we held onsite for Santa Sabina the morning before the first students arrived for their Process there. Jessica was integral to our land blessing for Santa Sabina. After the circle of Indigenous leaders, including Jessica, Karen Waconda-Lewis, and Jessica’s daughter, led the blessing ceremony, various attendees read the Thanksgiving Address. Jessica reads a portion of this address in this episode. Jessica’s multicultural ancestry (Indigenous/San Carlos Apache, Indigenous/Chicana/Mexican, Filipina, Japanese, and European) has been a source of strength in her life. It is reflected in her work in recognizing and uplifting multicultural and Indigenous knowledge.  We hope you enjoy this loving conversation with Perry, Sadie, and Jessica.  Listen on Apple Podcasts More about Perry Dorsey Jr.: As the Retreat Site Manager for the Hoffman Institute, Perry currently oversees operations at our Petaluma site and the new Santa Sabina site. His history with the institute began at White Sulphur Springs. There, he supported the daily operations before leaving to pursue his graduate degree. After four years away, Perry returned to the Hoffman Institute to manage the Petaluma site. He brought a perspective deeply influenced by the profound changes he experienced during his own Process at White Sulphur Springs in 2017. Perry’s professional approach is shaped by a Master's in Diverse Community Development Leadership from Cal State University, Northridge, and his time living on the Big Island of Hawaii. Those experiences were foundational in shaping his passion for food security. Perry has supported the development of food hubs and helped create sustainable operational practices for small, localized businesses. They also deepened Perry’s understanding of how essential community is, not just for individual growth, but for our collective resilience. He now carries that into his work. He helps create spaces where students can open up, feel supported, and fully step into the work in a way that's meaningful and impactful. Follow Perry on Instagram and Facebook. More about Jessica Harjo: Jessica Harjo is a soul-embodied human being and lifelong learner. She's a proud homemaker and mother of three daughters, three stepchildren, and four grandchildren. For the past eighteen years, Jessica has worked in the nonprofit sector as the Director of Operations for the Tribal Law and Policy Institute. A nonprofit leader, Jessica specializes in policy development, administrative infrastructure, team development, project management, HR implementation, and business and financial operations management. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Film, Media, and Social Justice and a minor in Business Administration. Jessica also holds an MBA from Mount Saint Mary's University. Mount Saint Mary's is the only women's university in Los Angeles.  It is known for its annual report on the Status of Women and Girls in California. Jessica has volunteered on numerous nonprofit boards that serve Indigenous communities. She's an active volunteer for the Hoffman Inner Work for Indigenous Leaders Advisory Circle and the Indigenous outreach team. She provides support for other Indigenous Process fellows and graduates. A student of Yoga philosophy, Nichiren Buddhism, and Indigenous Mindfulness, Jessica is currently working on her RYT500 Yoga Teacher Training. She regularly uses her Hoffman tools to continue healing, visualizing, and growing. This has been the journey of her lifetime. The Process brought her to herself, and the BIPOC Q2 brought her home. Jessica and her husband, Tim Harjo, live in Oklahoma. They balance their careers, family life, and running Sovereign Ranch, a first-generation, Native-owned bison ranch. Listen to Jessica on The Hoffman Podcast: My Ancestry Is My Soil, My Foundation As mentioned in this episode: California Hoffman Retreat Centers: •  Santa Sabina Retreat Center, San Rafael •  Petaluma Retreat Center, Petaluma •  White Sulphur Springs Retreat Center, St Helena The Thanksgiving Address, read by Jessica Harjo.      

Chat with CSUN Head Coach Eddie Cornjeo before game with Fresno State, from Robert J. Hiegert Field, Northridge, CA.

Christian parents today face the challenge of raising children with biblical values in a morally relativistic world. Using the metaphor of arrows in a warrior's hand from Psalm 127, effective parenting involves three essential stages: establishing clear vision and purpose, providing proper motivation and discipline, and eventually releasing well-prepared children into the world. The primary goal isn't worldly success but fostering hearts that love and fear God. Parents must be intentional about modeling authentic faith, teaching biblical truth, and preparing their children for a culture that opposes Christian values. Without clear direction and purposeful discipleship at home, children become defenseless against secular worldviews that will inevitably shape their thinking.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

Biblical giving transforms our relationship with both God and money, leading to joy, peace, and freedom. The tithe represents 10% of our gross income given as first fruits to God, demonstrating that He comes first in our finances. Jesus spoke about money more than heaven and hell combined because our treasure and heart are connected. Five key principles guide biblical giving: God owns everything and we are His managers, our heart follows our treasure, heaven is our true home, giving breaks materialism's power, and God blesses us to increase our giving rather than our lifestyle. Starting with 1% and gradually increasing helps develop faithful giving habits that position us to experience God's abundant blessings.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

Conversation with Eddie Cornejo, ahead of mid-week matchup with San Diego State, from Robert J. Hiegert Field, Northridge, CA. Audio Courtesy CSUN Matadors' Sports Properties & Learfield

The resurrection power of Jesus transforms not just our eternal destiny, but our present reality. Through the story of Jesus healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath, we learn that God wants us to stretch out what we consider our greatest weakness so His strength can be manifested. Faith without works is dead, and we're called to activate our faith by using what God has given us - our spiritual gifts, abilities, personality, and even our struggles. Sometimes God delivers us through trials rather than out of them, meeting us in our difficulties like He met Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace. Our perceived limitations can become platforms for God's power when we make ourselves available to Him.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

Scripture reveals that believers will face the Judgment Seat of Christ, also called the Bema Seat, which is different from the Great White Throne Judgment for unbelievers. This evaluation focuses on our motives and faithful service rather than determining salvation. God will examine whether our works were done for His glory or personal recognition, testing them like fire tests gold versus wood and hay. Five heavenly crowns await faithful believers: the Imperishable Crown for endurance, the Crown of Rejoicing for maintaining joy, the Crown of Righteousness for eagerly anticipating Christ's return, the Crown of Glory for faithful leadership, and the Crown of Life for enduring persecution. These crowns represent our eternal inheritance that we will ultimately present back to Jesus at the marriage supper of the Lamb.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

True discipleship begins when we stretch forth our weaknesses to God, just as the man with the withered hand did in Matthew 12. God uses our limitations rather than our strengths because when He works through our weaknesses, only He receives glory. Taking up our cross daily means denying ourselves completely, not just practicing self-denial. This requires surrendering control of our lives to Christ and understanding that our struggles have purpose in God's economy. Even when we can't see God in our darkest moments, He stands guard over our lives, developing our faith through trials.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

Chat with Eddie Cornejo, ahead of series finale with UC Davis, from Robert J. Hiegert Field, Northridge, CA. Audio Courtesy CSUN Matadors' Sports Properties & Learfield

TOPIC: Jesus Changes Everything - The Way Of Love (Part1)Paul SchoolmeestersThe Way of Love - Part 1  Ephesians 4:25-5:2 (key verse 5:1-2) It is so easy to be selfish in our relationships. It's easy to focus on what's best for ourselves, to think about what's convenient or what's irritating and make behavior choices accordingly. This week we are challenged to change lenses from the selfish way to the Jesus way. We will be challenged to relate to others by following the way of love. Let's do unto others what God has done unto us.#NorthRidge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#Jesus⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#churchonline⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ WELCOME PAD / MY RESPONSE -- Use this link to respond to the sermon, request prayer, or to give tithe/offerings online: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://northridgefellowship.churchce...⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠I'M SAYING YES TO JESUS!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://northridgefellowship.churchce...⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ MORE SERVICE INFO AND INTERACTION: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://northridgefellowship.org/watch/⁠

Conversation with Head Coach Eddie Cornejo, ahead of series opener, against UC Davis, from Robert J. Hiegert Field, Northridge, CA.

durée : 00:05:04 - Avec sciences - par : Alexandra Delbot - Il y a 75 000 ans, le froid pousse les Néandertaliens à se replier dans le sud-ouest de la France. Selon cette étude, tous les derniers représentants descendent de ce petit groupe. En repartant de si peu, Néandertal a perdu l'essentiel de sa diversité génétique, ce qui aurait pu précipiter sa chute. - invités : Hélène Rougier Paléoanthropologue et professeure d'anthropologie à l'Université de Northridge, en Californie

Conversation with Head Coach Eddie Cornejo, ahead of mid-week match-up with LMU, from Robert J. Hiegert Field, Northridge, CA. Audio Courtesy CSUN Matadors' Sports Properties & Learfield. Photo Courtesy CSUN Athletics.

TOPIC: Jesus Changes Everything - The New LifeIntegrity Ben McEachernEphesians 4:17-24 It's not about rules. It's about living with integrity through the love of Jesus in us. We are not who we used to be. To have Christ in us and try to live like the world around us is inauthentic. The authentic Christian life means being who God made us to be. This is a battle. The Jesus way is different than the world's way. Yet as we seek God, He gives us power to live with integrity.⁠#NorthRidge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#Jesus⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#churchonline⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ WELCOME PAD / MY RESPONSE -- Use this link to respond to the sermon, request prayer, or to give tithe/offerings online: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://northridgefellowship.churchce...⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠I'M SAYING YES TO JESUS!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://northridgefellowship.churchce...⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ MORE SERVICE INFO AND INTERACTION: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://northridgefellowship.org/watch/⁠

Conversation ahead of mid-week clash with Pepperdine, from Robert J. Hiegert Field, Northridge, CA. Audio Courtesy CSUN Matadors' Sports Properties & Learfield. Photo Courtesy CSUN Athletics.

Death is an inevitable reality, but for believers in Jesus Christ, it's simply a transition to eternal life. The resurrection of Jesus proves He is who He claimed to be, has the power He claimed to have, and did what He promised to do. This victory over death means our past can be forgiven, our present problems cannot overtake us, and our future is secure. The same resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in believers today, enabling us to overcome through His blood and our testimony. We are called to live with urgency, sharing the gospel and standing firm in God's promises rather than being defeated by circumstances.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

TOPIC: Easter Sunday - He Is For YouPower for LivingBen McEachernMatthew 27:62-28:20 He is for you! This is the wonder and joy of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. It's history we can trust. More than that, it's God's statement of the kind of life He desires for us, starting now and going on into all eternity. He is risen, and now for you there is power for living.   ⁠#NorthRidge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#Jesus⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#churchonline⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ WELCOME PAD / MY RESPONSE -- Use this link to respond to the sermon, request prayer, or to give tithe/offerings online: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://northridgefellowship.churchce...⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠I'M SAYING YES TO JESUS!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://northridgefellowship.churchce...⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ MORE SERVICE INFO AND INTERACTION: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://northridgefellowship.org/watch/⁠

Eddie Cornejo chats with us, ahead of series finale, with Long Beach State, from Robert J. Hiegert Field, Northridge, CA. Audio Courtesy CSUN Matadors' Sports Properties & Learfield. Teams gave split first two games in series.

Eddie Cornejo Joins Us, ahead series opener against Long Beach State from Robert J. Hiegert Field, Northridge, CA. Audio courtesy CSUN Matadors' Sports Properties & Learfield. Photo Courtesy CSUN Athletics.

Palm Sunday reminds us how quickly people turned from shouting "Hosanna!" to "Crucify him!" when Jesus didn't meet their expectations. Today, we often do the same - creating our own image of how Jesus should work in our lives. When breakthrough seems impossible despite our prayers, the issue might not be God's faithfulness but our willingness to leverage spiritual disciplines. Jesus told His disciples they couldn't cast out a demon because of their unbelief, explaining that some breakthroughs require prayer and fasting. Biblical fasting - abstaining from food while focusing on prayer - helps us hear God's voice, demonstrates humility, and confronts unbelief by weakening our flesh while strengthening our spirit.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

TOPIC: You Matter To GodBen McEachernMatthew 21:1-17 We call it Palm Sunday because of the way people greeted Jesus with Palm branches as He rode into Jerusalem that day. But the purpose of the people was not the purpose of Jesus. From the way He rode in to what He did when He got there, He was sending a message. He wanted the outsider in. You might consider yourself an outsider, but to Jesus, you matter. ⁠#NorthRidge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#Jesus⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#churchonline⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ WELCOME PAD / MY RESPONSE -- Use this link to respond to the sermon, request prayer, or to give tithe/offerings online: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://northridgefellowship.churchce...⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠I'M SAYING YES TO JESUS!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://northridgefellowship.churchce...⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ MORE SERVICE INFO AND INTERACTION: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://northridgefellowship.org/watch/⁠

Head Coach Eddie Cornejo joins us, ahead of series opener against CSU Bakersfield, from Robert J. Hiegert Field, Northridge, CA. Audio Courtesy CSUN Matadors' Sports Properties & Learfield

The Book of Ruth teaches profound lessons about patience and faith during uncertain times. When Ruth asked Boaz to take her under his wing, she was seeking divine protection and covering, similar to the healing power found in the tassels of ancient prayer shawls. Naomi's advice to sit still wasn't about inactivity, but about trusting God's timing over our own urgency. The story demonstrates that we cannot worry and worship simultaneously - anxiety focuses on ourselves while worship redirects our attention to God's character. Ruth's background as a despised Moabite shows how God brings forth redemption from broken beginnings, ultimately placing her in the lineage of Christ.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

It's time for believers to mature beyond surface-level Christianity and embrace authentic faith. Many Christians wear the label without living the life, treating church as entertainment rather than equipping. True faith involves obedience, transformation, and walking as Christ walked. The church's purpose is to equip saints for ministry, not just provide religious services. We must move from consumer Christianity to active participation, from inviting people to church to personally bringing them. Christ calls lukewarm believers to buy gold purified by fire, white garments of righteousness, and eye ointment for spiritual insight. Stop playing church and start being the church.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

Deep within the body lies a group of muscles we rarely think about, yet they hold so much of our daily lives—our continence, our stability, our pleasure, and sometimes our pain. The pelvic floor is both an anatomical and emotional terrain, where physiology meets intimacy and where silence has long replaced education. Yet despite its importance, pelvic health remains surrounded by silence and stigma, even though pelvic floor disorders affect nearly one in three women and millions of men worldwide. Why do so many people live with pelvic pain, incontinence, or painful intimacy without ever seeking help? How much of sexual pleasure and dysfunction is rooted in the body—and how much in the mind? And what might change if we finally started talking openly about pelvic health, intimacy, and the muscles that quietly support them both?In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Willy Quach, DPT, PT (known online as Dr. Q / Pelvic Floor Galore), a California-based Doctor of Physical Therapy and a pelvic health specialist, particularly in rehabilitation for men and the queer and underserved communities. Dr. Quach received his BS in Kinesiology and Exercise Science and DPT from California State University, Northridge.We are also joined by Kimmy Wu, MHC, MA (known online as the Asian Sex Therapist), a New York-based relational and sex psychotherapist, seeking to tear down the taboos surrounding the topics of sex and pleasure. Kimmy received her MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Northwestern University. Currently, she is the founder of Thirdspace, a startup that helps create authentic connections in a disconnected world, and the mental health writer behind 'Between Living & Dreaming,' a Substack that explores the tensions of being human & cultural critiques of modern society. Previously, Kimmy was the Director of the WAVES program of Asian Mental Health Collective, a community-driven initiative focused on reducing stigma and promoting mental wellness within the Asian diaspora.Follow Friends of Franz Podcast: Website, Instagram, FacebookFollow Christian Franz (Host): Instagram, YouTube

Dani Forrest is an author, mentor and educator. She received a B.A. from Wellesley College in English literature, a J.D. from LoyolaLaw School, a teaching credential from CaliforniaState University, Northridge and is a certified Pilates and yoga instructor. She has worked with individuals and families affected by alcoholism and addiction as well as others seeking the emotional sobriety and empowerment necessary for navigating an increasingly imbalanced world. Her current focus is on systems, power and consequences, with aparticular eye to the lived experiences of Generations Jones and X.Gregory Copploe is a multi-talented artist, author, and entrepreneur dedicated to sparking creativity and authenticity in others. A four-time American Art Awardwinner and accomplished gallery artist, his work is celebrated for its evocative depictions of nature—particularly his signature clouds and seascapes—as well as his cinematic cityscapes.His creative journey is anchored by a distinguished 25-year career in Hollywood, where he served as the Director of Special Events at Sony Pictures. These deeproots in the entertainment industry, combined with a BA in Theatre from UCLA, provided the foundation for his unique ability to blend high-level productionwith intimate artistic expression.Gregory is the CEO and Founder of Stir Up The Paint, a premier paint-and-sip and team-building company. Through this venture, he makes art accessible andmeaningful, helping individuals and organizations unlock their potential through experiential learning.Beyond the canvas, Gregory is a published author of transformative works, including The Art of Being Whole and I Am Pink. He is currently working on his third book for all ages, Joy of the Journey. His writing and speaking engagements emphasize mindfulness, resilience, and the courage to live a life aligned with one's inner voice, inspiring others to move through the "labyrinth" of life with passion and joy. 

God's standard for humanity is perfection, as stated in Matthew 5:48, yet Romans 3:23 reminds us that all have fallen short of His glory. This creates an impossible situation that only grace can resolve. Through Ephesians 2:8-9, we learn that salvation comes by grace through faith, not by works. The story of the woman caught in adultery perfectly illustrates how Jesus balances grace and truth - He offers forgiveness without condemnation while calling us to leave sin behind. Grace is not a license to continue sinning but the power to break free from sin's slavery and walk in transformation.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

Vuch gets ready and heads over to Mike Massella's Graduation Party. He attends somewhat nervously, as he is afraid of what will happen when he sees Vinnie Manta after several weeks without hanging out with him.  At the party, Vuch spends time with his group of friends, and is very surprised when he spots Vinnie. Vuch spends time with Ivy, John Kirby's pregnant girlfriend and introduces her to two friends that leave quite an impression on her.  The party is disrupted by Pete Taglienti and his friends. Taglienti and Vinnie Manta have a long history of hating each other and those feelings culminated in a physical encounter back at the Northridge High Football Camp the previous Summer. Vuch wants to run interference between the two sworn enemies. How will his estrangement from Vinnie affect the plans of Taglienti ?

Penn and his wheelchair lost at the SAG Awards but still came back with lots of stories, filming Vegas in Northridge, David Copperfield announces his retirement on Penn's birthday, Matt sees David Blaine and a Congregation favorite bit comes full circle, and lots more.

Ruth's story reveals powerful truths about finding security in God's covering and the courage to step into His purposes. The concept of the kinsman redeemer, fulfilled by Boaz, beautifully pictures Christ as our ultimate redeemer who had the power, love, and sacrifice necessary to buy back our spiritual birthright. Ruth's bold faith demonstrates that God's favor can rest on anyone, regardless of background or circumstances. The threshing floor represents a place of separation where the Holy Spirit tests what is genuine from what is superficial in our faith. Ruth's request for Boaz to spread his covering over her points to the spiritual covering we receive through Christ's atonement.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

Prayer serves as our spiritual plumb line, keeping our lives aligned with God's will just as a carpenter's tool ensures proper construction. The Lord's Prayer provides a perfect framework for effective communication with God, beginning with worship and reverence rather than immediately presenting our requests. This model emphasizes our relationship with the Father, submission to His kingdom, daily dependence on His provision, and the crucial connection between receiving and extending forgiveness. Many believers struggle with prayer because they treat it as a monologue instead of a dialogue with God. Developing a disciplined prayer life requires moving beyond motivation to consistent practice, creating space to both speak and listen to God.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

The story of Ruth and Boaz reveals profound truths about God's favor and redemption. When Ruth, a Moabite widow, humbly asks to glean in Boaz's fields, she encounters extraordinary kindness that goes far beyond legal requirements. Boaz, whose name means strength, represents our kinsman redeemer and demonstrates how God's favor can transform circumstances from emptiness to fullness. Ruth's faithfulness and humility opened doors to blessing, while her willingness to share those blessings with Naomi shows the heart of true gratitude. This beautiful Old Testament picture reminds us that God can take anyone from outsider to insider, giving us beauty for ashes through His incredible grace.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

Eddie Cornejo joins us, ahead of mid-week affair with Michigan, from Robert J, Hiegert Field, Northridge, CA.

Two major demonic spirits threaten believers today: the spirit of harlotry and the spirit of antichrist. The spirit of harlotry represents spiritual adultery, manifesting when anything competes with our devotion to God, including idolatry, mixing truth with worldly philosophy, and ungodly soul ties from past relationships. The spirit of antichrist denies Jesus Christ's full deity and operates through false teachings. Other dangerous spirits include Leviathan (pride), Jezebel (manipulation and control), vanity (seeking man's approval over God's), and religious spirits that emphasize legalism over grace. Breaking free requires immediate action: cast out demonic influences, take ownership of your spiritual state, break ungodly soul ties, and recommit fully to Christ. Victory is possible through the Holy Spirit's power within believers.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

The Book of Ruth reveals God's faithfulness during life's bitter seasons. When famine struck Bethlehem, Elimelech's family fled to Moab, where tragedy left three widows facing destitution. While Naomi blamed God for her circumstances, calling herself Mara (bitter) instead of Naomi (pleasant), God was orchestrating redemption behind the scenes. Ruth's loyalty to Naomi and faith in Israel's God positioned her in Christ's lineage, showing how God uses even despised outsiders in His redemptive plan. Our spiritual famines often result from following our own hearts instead of God's Word, but He remains faithful even when we can't see His hand working.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

In this conclusion of a two-part series, we talk about whether you can permanently increase the size of your dick. We discuss the psychological issues that can develop from comparing yourself to others, the effect porn has on our self-esteem and other factors that we encounter when considering our own dick size. I conclude with talk about the average erect length and girth of dicks in the top 50 countries. *I am trying very hard to increase the subscriptions on An Older Gay Guy Show's YouTube Channel. Please consider helping me get to 3000 subscribers, and then I will put out my long-promised video showing my weight-loss (52 pounds) and subsequent muscle development. And then I will posts videos about my training and my successes (or not) as I continue the quest at age 68 to get fully back in shape.* Here is the link to the most recent video short on YouTube. It is just under 1 minute long and shows what I consider to be how the 4 main characters from Northridge High Football Camp and now in The Guys of Northridge look and speak. I enjoyed creating this very much. I think you'll think the guys are hot! Click here for YouTube video !