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The fourth and final episode in our series on the Jinshin no Ran: we cover the campaign in Afumi (aka Ōmi - 近江).  Prince Ōama and Prince Ōtomo (aka Kōbun Tennō), have drawn up their forces.  Last episode we covered the fighting in the Nara Basin, around the ancient Yamato capital: Asuka.  This episode focuses on the defense of the Karafu and Fuwa passes and the eventual march to the bridge at Setagawa. This is a name heavy episode, and we'll be noting some of it here: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-132   Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is episode 132: The Jinshin no Ran, Part 4: The Afumi Campaign The Afumi soldiers on the western side of the bridge looked across the open expanse of water towards their Yoshino rivals on the eastern side.  If it weren't for the banners and the red tags barely visible on the sleeves of the opposing forces, it would be hard to know which side was which.  Both were equipped in similar ways, and a few of the soldiers could even make out familiar faces on the other side.  That is the nature of civil wars—especially in a conscript society, where the soldiers often had little choice which side they were fighting for.  Not that it necessarily mattered much to them which side came out on top, whatever their commanders might have told them. The bridge across the Seta river was large and wide, and normally quite well traveled.  Now, however, the central boards had been pulled up for a span of about 30 feet or so, leaving a gap spanned by only a single, narrow plank.  That plank was, itself, tied to a rope, which was being held by the Afumi troops.  The soldiers knew that should any of the enemy try to cross, they could pull the plank out from under them and they would fall into the river, their metal armor dragging them down into the dark depths of swirling water below.  Even should they somehow make it across without being peppered by arrows, there would be no reinforcements coming: they would be slaughtered, and the trap would be reset. It seemed like the Afumi forces held all the cards in this battle, and yet they were still tense. Archers could still shoot across the distance. The front rank of troops held wooden shields as a defense, but there were still openings in the formation and the armor, and in the chaos of battle, nobody was truly safe. And so the Afumi forces waited.  Confident, but wary. A commotion on the eastern side of the bridge grabbed the spotlight.  The Yoshino forces had approached, and they were clearly preparing for something.  The Afumi soldiers strained to see what was going on.  Suddenly, the front line of the Yoshino forces parted, and a strange sight confronted the Afumi soldiers.  It took them a moment to fully comprehend what was barreling towards them at full tilt: a soldier that looked almost like two soldiers put together, wearing armor placed over armor, in an attempt to protect from harm.  It must have been heavy, and as he stepped on the beam, it visibly buckled under the weight.  The Afumi archers let loose with their arrows and crossbow bolts, but to no avail.  They simply stuck in the armor, adding to the bizarre and otherworldly appearance of their opponent. The spell was broken on the Afumi side as arrows came cascading in.  The Yoshino forces weren't just sitting idly back, they were making sure they were doing everything they could to keep the Afumi forces distracted.  And for a split second it worked—and a split second was all they needed.  Before the soldiers could gather up their wits about them enough to pull the rope there was a terrifying sound of metal on wood.  The Afumi soldiers pulled the rope, but it came all too easy—the Yoshino soldier had dashed across and cut the rope tied to the plank.  Behind him, the Yoshino forces were now pouring across the bridge.  Soon they would establish a foothold, and behind the front line they would be able to have other soldiers place more planks so that the number of Yoshino soldiers on the Western side of the bridge only continued to increase. Realizing that their trap had been circumvented, the Afumi forces fell back, but their strategic withdrawal soon turned into a full on retreat.  While pockets of soldiers resisted, many were suddenly all too aware that perhaps it was better to live and fight another day, instead.  Despite threats and even attacks from their own commanders, the Afumi forces fled the battlefield, leaving the Yoshino army victorious.  With the Seta bridge now secured, there were no more major obstacles in their way:  They would march to the capital at Ohotsu and finish this war.   Welcome back!  This is Part 4, and so if you haven't already done so, I recommend going back and starting with Part 1.  That said, we'll briefly recap here. Over the past three episodes, we've talked about the causes of the war between Prince Ohotomo and Prince Ohoama as they vied for the throne.  Prince Ohotomo seemingly had the stronger position, as he was actually running the Yamato state from the Afumi capital in Ohotsu.  He had the various ministers and all the official organs of the state on his side.   He was also 23 years old. Ohoama, on the other side, was Ohotomo's paternal uncle.  His own son, Prince Takechi, was 19 years old and helping to lead the army.   Upon learning that the State was gathering forces against him, Ohoama had quickly moved east, gathering forces as he went, and now he stood near Fuwa, modern day Sekigahara, prepared to begin his march on the capital.   This episode we are going to cover the conclusion of the war.  Warning, though, this is going to be a *lot*.  A lot of place names and people names.  Apologies if it is hard to follow.  I'll have a rough map and info on the various players on the podcast blog, so you may want to bring that up if you are having problems following. In Part I of this series we covered the causes leading up to the conflict.  In Part II we covered Ohoama's mad dash to Fuwa, at modern Sekigahara.  Last episode, Part III we covered the fighting in the Nara Basin. This episode we are going to talk about the last two fronts of the war: the defense of the Iga area and Kurafu Pass, and the march from Fuwa to the Afumi capital of Ohotsu. Before we go into the details of the next battles, let's look at what each side of the conflict was doing, what they are concerned about, and where they are on the board.  We'll then go into how the rest of the war played out, and its conclusion and aftermath.     Ohoama's Yoshino forces had largely been drawn from the countries in the east—the very same countries that Ohoama was denying to the Afumi court.  In response, the Afumi court had drawn their forces from where they could.  There were those that they had already called up under the pretense of building Naka no Oe's burial mound, but they had sent others out to raise troops in Yamato and out the western side of Honshu, all the way to Tsukushi—modern Kyushu.  However, not everyone in the Western region of the archipelago was friendly to the Afumi court—especially the regions of Kibi and Tsukushi.  This was significant.  Kibi was an ancient rival of Yamato, and likely could contribute a sizeable force.  Tsukushi, on the other hand, was quite large, and besides the conscripts from among the regular inhabitants, Tsukushi also was in charge of defending the archipelago from invasion—they were the first line of defense.  They had constructed numerous castles and fortifications to defend against a possible invasion, and those castles and fortifications were no doubt manned by troops that had been raised for that purpose.  If they could now be turned inwards, that could be enough to really turn the tide against Ohoama and his Yoshino army. The only problem was that neither Kibi nor Tsukushi were exactly sympathetic to the Afumi court.  The governor of Kibi and Prince Kurikuma, the viceroy of Tsukushi, both had ties to Ohoama, and the ministers suspected them of sympathizing with their Yoshino rivals.  As such the envoys that were sent out were authorized to take whatever drastic steps they felt necessary to secure the troops. So how did that all go down?  Well, last episode we talked about how Hodzumi no Momotari and his crew had been stopped from raising troops in Asuka by Ohotomo no Fukei, whose bluff of pretending to be Prince Takechi and a host of cavalry soldiers caused the conscripted troops to flee, and ended up in the death of Momotari and the capture of his compatriots. In Kibi, things took a turn in Afumi's favor.  When the Afumi government's envoy arrived at the government center in Kibi, he tricked the governor into taking off his sword.  Once he had done so, the envoy drew his own sword and killed the governor.  Without the governor to get in his way, the envoy then went about securing the land and troops for the Afumi court. Prince Kurikuma, the viceroy in Tsukushi, at the Dazaifu, was not quite so easily fooled, however.  Kurikuma knew how the court operated, and was apparently well informed of what was going on.  When the Afumi court's envoy met with Kurikuma, the Prince was flanked by two of his sons, Prince Mino and Prince Takebe, each one armed.  When Prince Kurikuma heard what the Afumi court wanted—for him to send the troops from Tsukushi to help quell Ohoama's rebellion—Kurikuma responded that he needed those troops to hold the border.  After all, the Tang dynasty was still a potential threat, and what good would it do to send the troops from the border regions to fight an internal war, only to then have an invader come in and destroy the state entirely?  No, he reasoned, he would not be sending the troops as the Afumi court requested. We are told that for a moment, the Afumi envoy thought about grabbing his sword and killing Prince Kurikuma, as the Afumi court had suggested, but with both of Kurikuma's sons armed on either side of him, he realized that he didn't have great odds, and so he eventually left, empty handed, but alive. This is significant.  While we don't know exact numbers, it is likely that there were quite a few troops stationed in Kyushu and the islands, all in case of foreign invasion.  By not supplying them to the Afumi court, Prince Kurikuma dealt a huge blow to the Afumi's ability to make war.  Add to that the fact that Ohoama had likewise blocked the court's access to the eastern countries, and that further narrowed the troops that Afumi had access to.  Nonetheless, they still had enough to be dangerous, and it is impossible to say exactly what might happen in a war. So we know where the Afumi and Yoshino forces ostensibly came from, but let's talk about the battlefield.  All of the fighting that we talk about was happening in an area between Naniwa—modern Ohosaka—and Fuwa, modern Sekigahara, northwest from the modern city of Nagoya. There are three main theaters we are talking about.  The first is in the Nara basin, which we talked about extensively in the last episode.  The Nara basin itself was not necessarily of the most strategic importance, militarily, but it was of huge symbolic importance.  After all, that was still the ancient capital, even though the governmental functions had been moved north, to Ohotsu, on the shores of Lake Biwa.  The second is in the Suzuka mountains.  This includes the areas of Iga and Kouka, and it is bordered by the Nara basin on the west, the Mie coastline on the east, and Afumi, the area around lake Biwa, to the north.  This is the same region that Ohoama had to naviagate through on his way from Yoshino to the east, and the mountains and valleys make it so that there are only so many traversable routes through.  For our narrative we are going to be primarily talking about the Kurafu Pass, between Kouka and Iga, at modern Tsuge city.  This pass  was an important route between Kouka, Iga, and Mie.  The road followed the Soma River which eventually flowed into Lake Biwa.  This made it a route out of Afumi, and if the Afumi forces could secure the Kurafu pass and the fields of Tara, just on the other side, they could split Ohoama's forces and cut off any help that he could possibly send to the Nara basin, and possibly even take Ohoama from behind. Finally, let's talk about our third theater:  Afumi itself.  Specifically, we are looking at the southern and eastern sides around Lake Biwa.  Biwa is the largest lake in Japan, and it is almost entirely surrounded by mountains except for where the Seta river flows south, eventually winding its way to Naniwa.  Today, the area of Afumi is largely co-located with modern Shiga Prefecture. Back in 668, after finding themselves on the losing side of the Baekje-Tang war, Naka no Oe, aka Tenji Tennou, had moved the capital to Ohotsu, or Big Port, in Afumi, on the shores of Lake Biwa, likely for the protection it gave.  From Afumi, there were three major routes out of the basin, and a few minor ones.  All of them were through defensible mountain passes, like Karafu Pass, Fuwa Pass, and Suzuka Pass.  Three such passes:  Fuwa, Suzuka, and Arachi would become prominent barriers, or seki, along the ancient roads, and were known as the Sangen, or Three Barriers, protecting the capital region.  Suzuka no seki, at the pass of the same name, was in the south.  To reach it from Afumi, one crossed the Karafu pass, and then turned east through a pass near Mt. Miyama.  At the northern tip of the Suzuka mountains was Fuwa pass, future home of the Fuwa barrier.  The Barrier, or “Seki” would give its name to the area in another form:  Sekigahara.  This was along the Tousandou, the Eastern Mountain road, and even today it is the path through which roads and even the Shinkansen traverse between eastern and western Honshu.  Finally, though less important to our story, was the Arachi pass. Arachi no seki was part of the Hokurikudo, the Northern Land Route, and led to the ancient country of Kochi and the port of Tsuruga, which had a long history as an alternate port, especially for ships sailing from Goguryeo.  Later, Arachi no seki would be replaced in the Sangen ranking by another pass between Afumi and modern Kyoto, which would be known as the Afusaka, or Ohosaka, Pass.  This was the pass that would have been used to get to Yamashiro and, from there, to Naniwa and the Nara Basin. These three passes would come to define the island of Honshu, and became the dividing line between the Kanto region, in the east, and the Kansai region, in the west.  By holding the Suzuka and Fuwa passes, Ohoama effectively denied any travel to the eastern regions.  Sure, Afumi could have tried going through the Arachi pass and into Kochi, but then they would have had to traverse the Japan alps—no small feat, especially without modern conveniences like the trains and busses used today. From Fuwa Pass, where Ohoama and Prince Takechi had set up their headquarters, it was largely a straight shot to the Afumi capital of Ohotsu.  Between Lake Biwa and the Suzuka mountains is a wide, flat plain, divided primarily by the rivers and streams running out from the mountains into the lake.  Immediately west of Fuwa is the area of Maibara.  Following the shore of the lake one traverses through modern Hikone, to Yasu.  Yasu would also have been the location where the road to the Karafu pass broke off into the Suzuka mountains.  Beyond that was the bridge across the Seta River. The Seta river was one of the largest obstacles that would have to be negotiated, and the Afumi forces knew this.  Just as Ohoama would set up at Fuwa pass, a large number of the Afumi forces were set up on the western bank of the Seta river.  If the Yoshino forces could get across, however, it would mean that they had a more or less unimpeded route to the capital at Ohotsu. So now let's talk about what was happening in each of these places. Ohoama had set up at Fuwa—Sekigahara—and had begun to call soldiers to him.  Not only did did this allow him to block the rival Afumi troops from accessing the Eastern countries and possibly raising troops to use against him, but he was also able to maintain a line of communication with ancient Yamato, in the Nara Basin.  In order to keep his communication lines open, and to ensure that the Afumi forces couldn't sneak up behind him, Ohoama split his forces in two.  He knew that Afumi forces were trying to take his stronghold in Yamato, and if successful, from there they could move in to Uda and on to Iga.  thereafter that, they could march up behind him through the Suzuka pass.  Alternatively, the forces in Afumi could come up through Kouka and the Karafu pass, and then try to divide and conquer So the first group of Ohoama's army were to go south, through the Suzuka pass into their mountain namesake.  Once there, Oho no Omi no Honji was to hold Tarano, the Plain of Tara, where the routes to Suzuka, Kafuka, and Iga met.  Tanaka no Omi no Tarumaro went with him, with orders to guard the Kurafu pass, which is to say the road to Kouka.  This first group was headed by Ki no Omi no Abemaro, and also included Miwa no Kimi no Kobito, and Okizome no Muraji no Usagi.  Along with what we are told were tens of thousands of men, this first made their way south from Fuwa  through Mie and Ise and over the Suzuka pass.  Once there, they took up their positions at Karafu and Tarano.  It was a good thing, too, because only a couple of days after they arrived, the enemy struck.   Now as soon as he got there, Oho no Honji had fortified Tarano with some three thousand men, and Tanaka no  Tarumaro was sent to guard the Kurafu pass.  Prior to this, Tarumaro had been the official in charge of the Hot Springs in Ise, but he had joined Ohoama and the Yoshino forces when they first arrived over the Suzuka Pass.  Now he was in charge of a military force, encamped along the road through the Kurafu pass, waiting for the enemy. Unbeknownst to him, a deputy commander of the Afumi forces, Tanabe no Wosumi, was approaching from Mt. Kafuka.  Presumably he'd been sent out from Ohotsu and had followed the road along the Yasu and Soma rivers towards the pass.  Wosumi had  sizeable force with him, but he was not looking for a direct assault.  Even if he would win, he would suffer casualties, especially trying to attack an entrenched enemy in a fortified position.  He needed to be sneaky.  He had no way of knowing that, centuries later, the lands of Iga and Kouka would be known for their sneaky warriors—their legendary ninja—but I digressed.  What Wosumi did was this.  First, he rolled up his banners and muffled the drums.  He even had his men gag themselves—a continental custom where soldiers were given a stick to hold in their mouth, like a horse's bit, to discourage any talking amongst the ranks as they approached.  Presumably, they kept them in until just before attacking, because they also devised a watchword “kane”—transcribed as metal or gold.  Wosumi knew that it would be hard enough to tell who was who in the daytime—after all, it wasn't like these were regimented forces with uniforms.  The soldiers were likely all wearing whatever they had available, and clothing and armor would have been similar across the two armies.  At night, even some kind of mark or flag would hardly be enough to tell who was who in the dark.  As lines broke and melee ensued, it would be easy to get turned around, and find yourself facing a friend.  By saying the watchword you could distinguish friend from foe. Sure enough, this tactic worked.  The Afumi forces broke through the Yoshino fortifications in the middle of the night and swarmed into the encampment.  Men who had been asleep were waking up to chaos.  Tarumaro's Yoshino soldiers were thrown into confusion.  Tarumaro himself, escaped, but just barely.  we are told that he noticed that the enemy kept shouting the word “kane”, and so he started doing it as well. The Afumi forces, assuming he was one of their own, left him alone.  Still, he only escaped with difficulty. His escape was no doubt critical, however.   He presumably would have headed to Tarano to try and warn Oho no Honji, but this may not have been possible, as we are told that on the following day, after the attack at Karafu pass, the Afumi commander Wosumi continued his advance, and came upon the Yoshino encampment at Tarano unexpectedly.  Still, General Honji did not back down.  With a force of hand-picked soldiers, Honji counterattacked against Wosumi and struck him.  We are told that Wosumi made it out—the only one who did—but that he did not try and make another attack.  The Yoshino forces would ultimately hold the pass and the critical juncture of Tarano.  The Afumi forces would not get a second chance. By the way, a quick note here:  I can't help but notice a bit of a trope showing up in these stories:  At Narayama, General Fukei is defeated, and is the only person who makes his escape.  Then Tarumaro is the only person to escape his defeat.  Finally, Wosumi is the only one of his forces to leave the plain of Tara. I am more than a little incredulous that these generals are the only ones who actually survived, and that the rest of the army was slaughtered.  In fact, you may recall that at the battle at Taima, General Fukei told his men not to pursue the fleeing common soldiers.  As I've tried to point out, the common soldiers were not likely as invested in the cause.  In fact, it is just as possible that the common soldiers may have changed sides and joined the other army if they thought it would serve them well.  Or maybe they were escaping and just blending into the countryside.  After all, the elites weren't really spending the time to get to know them, let along record any details about them.  So I suspect that it was more about the fact that the various armies would be broken, and the soldiers flung to the four corners, rather than that they were necessarily slaughtered.  After all, if you had the choice, would you have stayed there? A few days after Wosumi was defeated, the Yoshino general that Ohoama had sent to Iga along with Honji and Tarumaro, Ki no Omi no Abemaro, heard that their ally, Ohotomo no Fukei was in trouble in the Nara Basin.  He'd been defeated by the Afumi general Ohono no Hatayasu at Narayama,  and without reinforcements, the entire Nara Basin could fall, along with the ancient Yamato capital at Asuka. So Abemaro sent Okizome no Muraji no Usagi with more than a thousand cavalry to go assist.  They met Fukei at Sumizaka, and suddenly, things were looking up in the Nara Basin.  For more on how that turned out, check out last episode, where we covered the events in the Nara Basin. Once the events in the Nara Basin settled out, then both the Nara Basin and the Karafu pass would be well and truly in the hands of the Yoshino forces.  But there was no way for those guarding those locations to know that the fighting was over, and they would have to hold their positions until the fighting had definitively stopped.  Which brings us back to Ohoama and the Yoshino troops gathered at Fuwa, where things were about to kick off as well.  The troops at Fuwa, while being led by Ohoama and his 19 year old son, Takechi, were placed under the command of Murakuni no Muraji no Woyori—who, , as things progressed, would be noted as the primary general for the campaign that would lead Yoshino troops from Fuwa, on the offensive towards Ohotsu. The only reason that they seem to have waited before going on the offensive was that every day, more troops were coming in.  So even as the fighting was going on in Nara and at the Karafu pass, the Yoshino army at Fuwa gathered men and made their preparations.  As they did so, the Afumi court Was going to do whatever they could to try and break them, hoping that they could stop the threat posed by Ohoama and his men before they began their march. For the Afumi forces first attempt to break the Yoshino defenses at Fuwa pass, they picked troops to try and make an incursion into the village of Tamakurabe, which appears to have been in the pass itself; it was probably modern Tama district of Sekigahara.  They were repelled, however, by Izumo no Omi no Koma, who drove them off. Later, the Afumi court ordered another force of several tens of thousands of men to attack under the command of Prince Yamabe no Ou, Soga no Omi no Hatayasu, and Kose no Omi no Hito.  Soga no Hatayasu and Kose no Hito were both part of the inner circle of the Afumi court, or so it would seem.  When Prince Ohotomo had taken the reins of the government in a ceremony in the Western Hall of the Palace, he was attended by the ministers of the right and left, as well as Soga no Hatayasu, Kose no Hito, and Ki no Ushi.  They were at the very heart of this whole matter.  Prince Yamabe is a little bit more of a mystery.  We know he was someone of note, and when Prince Ohotsu was brought to his parents, they were apparently traveling under the guise of Prince Yamabe and another prince, Prince Ishikawa.  But we know little else. The three men and their Afumi troops headed out and camped on the bank of the Inukami river, near modern Hikone.  There, however, trouble broke out. The Nihon Shoki does not record exactly what it was, but there must have been some kind of falling out.  Prince Yamabe no Ou was killed by Soga no Hatayasu and Kose no Hito.  We don't know if this was due to some quarrel or what, but either way, it threw the army into a state of disarray and there was no way for them to move forward.  Soga no Hatayasu appears to have taken responsibility for whatever happened, as he headed back from Inukami, presumably back to Ohotsu, where he took his own life by stabbing himself in the throat.  There would be no attack on Fuwa Pass, however. Finally, the Nihon Shoki also recounts the story of another Afumi general, named Hata no Kimi no Yakuni, and his son, Ushi.  Together with others, who remain unnamed, they surrendered themselves to Ohoama and the Yoshino forces, rather than fighting.  It isn't clear if they were deserters, if they had been part of one of the other two attempts to take Fuwa Pass, or if there was something else going on.  Either way, Ohoama was so pleased that he welcomed them in and we are told that Hata no Yakuni was “granted a battle axe and halberd” and appointed a general.  This is probably stock phrasing, but it does seem he was given some measure of trust.  Yakuni's men were then sent north, to Koshi. We aren't quite sure what those forces' ultimate objective was.  It may have been that he was to take the northern pass and make sure that none of the Afumi troops tried to escape and head to the East along that road.  Many of the accounts of this war seem to suggest that he, or at least some part of the forces, were to head north and then come around Lake Biwa the long way.  This would mean that if Ohoama attacked, there would be no easy way to flee.  From Ohotsu they couldn't turn north without running into more troops, and their only escape would seem to be through the Afusaka pass towards the area of modern Kyoto.  And of course, whoever was victorious in the Nara Basin would then be able to control the route to the coast. It is unclear how much Ohoama could have actually known, though, about what was happening across the various distances.  Messages would have meant riders on swift horses carrying them; they couldn't just text each other what was going on. And so, with one attack repelled, another aborted, and a turncoat now on their side, Ohoama's Yoshino forces were finally ready to head out on the offensive themselves.  According to the Nihon Shoki this was on the 7th day of the 7th month—Tanabata, today, but I doubt people were paying much mind to the Weaver and the Cowherd.  Murakuni no Woyori, with the group advancing from Fuwa to Afumi, set out, and met with their first resistance at the Yokugawa river in Okinaga.  As far as I can tell, this is likely the Amano River in modern Maibara, which anyone who takes the Shinkansen between Kanto and Kansai probably recognizes as one of the usual stops.  Once again, we have a situation where, while they would have had banners flying, in the crush of battle it could be quite easy to mistake friend for foe, especially with large numbers of troops who were pulled from vastly different regions.  You had to have some way of knowing quickly who was on your side – that's why the Afumi commander Wosumi had his troops use the password “kane”, for example.  Ohoama's approach was to have his men place a red mark—possibly a ribbon or similar—on their clothing so that one could tell who, at a glance, was on their side.  As a note, later samurai would sometimes attach flags to their shoulder armor, or sode, and these “sode-jirushi” would help identify you even if people didn't recognize your armor.  Ohoama's troops may have used something similar. And so Woyori's Yoshino forces attacked the Afumi defenders, and the Afumi troops were clearly outmatched.  Woyori's men killed the Afumi commander and defeated the opposing forces. But that was just the beginning.  Afumi forces had been stationed all along the route from Fuwa to Ohotsu.  Thus it was that only two days later Woyori and his men made it to Mt. Tokoyama, probably in Hikone, by the Seri river.  There they met more Afumi soldiers, but once again they were triumphant and slew the opposing commander.   Woyori and his men were on a roll. I would point out that these battles aren't given much detail, but we do see how it progressed.  There are names of various individuals and commanders—certainly not much on the common people.  From what we can tell, this was not a rush to Ohotsu, but rather a slow march, probably doing their best to fortify their positions and make sure that nobody was sneaking up on them.  After each battle, it is some days before the next, probably spent spying out ahead and formulating plans. Woyori and his men next fought a battle on the banks of the Yasukawa River, presumably near modern Yasu city.  Here, Aston's translation claims that he suffered a great defeat, but more likely I suspect it means to say that he inflicted a great defeat on the Afumi forces, because if he had been defeated, how would he have pressed on only a few days later.  We are told that  two men, presumably the Afumi commanders, were both taken prisoner. Since we don't have anything more about them in the narrative all we can really do is assume that they must have therefore been on the side of the Afumi forces. By taking Yasu, that would have likely cut off the Afumi forces from any future considerations about using the Kurafu Pass.  The noose around Ohotsu was slowly tightening. Four days after that, on the 17th day of the 7th month, Woyori attacked and repulsed the Kurimoto army—presumably a force loyal to the Afumi court under a general named Kurimoto, or possibly raised from a place called Kurimoto, perhaps over on Awaji.  Either way, it was another victory on Woyori's belt. From there, Woyori and his men arrived at Seta, where they would have to cross the Setagawa—the Seta River. The Seta River is a wide river, and the only one flowing out of Lake Biwa.  It winds its way south and west, eventually becoming the Uji and then the Yodo rivers, which flow all the way to Naniwa—modern Ohosaka.  At the Seta river, there was a major bridge, the only way across, other than to swim.  Prince Ohotomo and his ministers, along with their entire army, were encamped on the west side of the bridge.  Their forces were so numerous that it was said you could not see all the way to the back of them.  Their banners covered the plain, and the dust of their movement caused a cloud to rise into the sky.  Their drums and songs could be heard for miles around.  We are told they even had crossbows, and when they were discharged the arrows fell like rain.  Of course, some of this may have just been more poetic license by the authors of the Nihon Shoki, but you get the picture:  There were a lot of troops on the western side of the river. The bridge itself was defended by General Chison.  We know very little of this general, as he only appears in this one part of the record, but his name implies that he may have been from the continent.  We aren't given a surname, and it is possible he was one of the Baekje refugees, now fighting for the Afumi court.  He led an advance body of specially selected troops, and in the middle of the bridge they had removed planks for about three rods or thirty feet.  Across that span was a single plank, daring anyone to try and cross it.  Of course, if they did, they would be a sitting duck in front of the enemy archers, and the plank was attached by a rope so that it could always be pulled out from under them.  It seemed as if it were impossible to advance. Finally, one of Woyori's soldiers, Ohokida no Kimi no Wakaomi, got up the courage to cross.  We are told that he put on double armor, put down his long spear, and drew his sword.  He then charged suddenly across the plank and cut the rope on the other side before the Afumi troops could pull it back.  In spite of the arrows that were raining down on him, he entered the ranks of the Afumi troops, slashing with his sword as he went.  The Afumi forces were thrown into confusion and some of them tried to leave, but General Chison drew his own sword and began to cut down anyone who tried to flee.  Still, he was unable to check the rout.  Woyori's troops secured the bridge and soon were pouring across it.  They cut down General Chison and advanced into the Afumi army, who broke and ran.  The Afumi sovereign, Ohotomo, aka Koubun Tennou, along with the Ministers of the Left and Right, narrowly escaped with their lives. Woyori and his troops marched to the foot of Awazu hill, and we are told that Hata no Yakuni, the Afumi commander who had earlier defected, and whose men were sent north to Koshi, set a siege to Miwo castle along with Izumo no Koma, who had defended against the attempted seizure of Tamakurabe.  Presumably this is Mio, south of Ohotsu, and it was likely guarding the southern approach to the Afumi capital. The only thing here that gives me pause is that we were earlier told that Yakuni's men, after he defected, were sent to Koshi.  So was Yakuni not with them?  Had he returned?  Or had the troops made it all the way around Lake Biwa already, taking the longer route up and around the lake? Regardless of how it happened, Yakuni and Koma were able to take Miwo castle.  As a reminder, a “castle” at this time would have likely been defined more by its walls, which were probably rammed earth and wood—not the elegantly sloping stone walls and  donjon base that would come to typify castles of the Warring States period. The following day, Woyori and his men continued their pursuit.  At the Awazu marketplace, Woyori ran into the Afumi generals Inukahi no Muraji no Isokimi and Hasama no Atahe no Shihote.  We mentioned Isokimi last episode—he was the Afumi commander attacking the Middle Road in the Nara Basin.  His deputy, Kujira, had been defeated, and it seems Isokimi had retreated back to Afumi and rejoined the main force. He would not be quite so fortunate this time.  Isokimi and Shihote were both slain, and Ohotomo fled once again.  He didn't get very far, hiding at Yamazaki, thought to be near the site of the modern city hall, in Ohotsu. Despite his best efforts, he knew he would be discovered, and he eventually strangled himself, rather than facing the humiliation and punishment that would come with capture. With Ohotomo dead, the other ministers of the Afumi court dispersed and fled.  Woyori and his men, meeting up at Sasanami, hunted down the Ministers of the Left and Right—Soga no Akaye and Nakatomi no Kane—as well as others who had fought with Ohotomo and who were considered criminals. They were all marched back to Fuwa, where, on the 25th day of the 7th month, Ohotomo's head was presented to Ohoama.  The war, it seems, was over. Or at least, the fighting was over.  There was still a lot to be settled.  First off, it would hardly have been practical to wipe out every single person on the losing side.  For one thing, that would have devastated the Court even further, likely creating a huge power vacuum.  In addition, many of the supporters on both sides were not necessarily there out of purely partisan reasons.  I would point out that many of the family names that we see in the record are found on both sides of the conflict.  Inukahi no Isokimi may have fought for Ohotomo, but we also see an Inukahi no Ohotomo fighting on the behalf of Ohoama.  Fumi no Nemaro was a major commander in Ohoama's army, while Fumi no Kusuri had been sent by the Afumi court to raise troops in the East Country.  And Hasama no Shihote was killed with Isokimi at Awazu, while a Hasama no Nemaro was working under the command of General Fukei, in Nara, to guard Tatsuta. There wasn't necessarily a simple divide along family lines.  It is possible that these individuals were all fairly well removed from each other, and from different parts of their respective families, or clans. They are often given different kabane, the family rank system used at this time, though I suspect that may have more to do with later changes, with those on the winning side being promoted over those who supported the Afumi court.  However, it is also the case that Japan has a long history of family members supporting both sides in any major conflict.  That way, no matter who wins, the family itself finds itself on the winning side. But there did have to be some accountability.  This is something that one can point to time and again—if the losing side is not held accountable for their actions, then what is to prevent them from just regrouping and trying again?  And yet that need for justice and punishment must be tempered with some amount of humanity. Ultimately, about one month after the end of the war, eight of the Afumi ministers were found guilty of truly heinous offences and they were condemned to suffer what the Nihon Shoki says was the “Extreme Penalty”.  The Minister of the Right, Nakatomi no Kane, was executed at Tane, in Asai.  Meanwhile the Minister of the Left, Soga no Akaye; along with the Dainagon, or Grand Councillor, Kose no Hito, as well as their children and grandchildren, along with the children of the late Nakatomi no Kane and Soga no Hatayasu, were all sent into banishment.  All others were pardoned. And of course those who had supported Ohoama, and who had come to his aid, were given public favour and reward.  In many cases this likely meant receiving high office and corresponding rank, along with increased stipend payments.  There is a notable shift in the makeup of the court, going forward, and it seems clear that families would want to associate themselves with those who fought on Ohoama's side, rather than Ohotomo's, if they could help it.  That was no doubt a part of works like the various diaries and house records that would have been used to compile the Nihon Shoki, recording the deeds that any house did for the throne. Along with all of the punishments and plaudits that were meted out in the 8th month of 672, there was one more event—something of an outlier.  We are told that Chihisakobe no Muraji no Sabichi, the governor of the province of Wohari, went off into the mountains and committed suicide. Sabichi had originally met Ohoama at the Kuwana district house—the local government office—when he had first arrived from Yoshino.  He had a large number of troops—20,000 by the Nihon Shoki's count—which helped Ohoama to ultimately defeat the Afumi court.  So why he would go off into the mountains and commit suicide was anyone's guess.  The Nihon Shoki suggests that it was possible that his allegiance had changed, and he may have been trying to plot against Ohoama.  Perhaps he had been convinced that Afumi court was going to come out on top, and so had begun some plot.  Or he just had a falling out or became disillusioned for some reason.  Whatever it was, it remains a mystery, even today. With the war concluded, it was time for Ohoama to make his way from the field to the Capital so that he could transition to ruling the State properly.  But Ohoama was not interested, it would seem, in setting himself up in his brother's capital.  Setting up in the Ohotsu capital may have raised a few eyebrows.  It had not been a completely popular move to begin with, and it was also the home of the Afumi court's legitimacy.  To take up the throne there, I can only imagine that it would have further reinforced the idea that Ohoama was the usurper, taking the throne that was meant for his nephew.  Instead, he made the decision to travel to the ancient capital, in Asuka, but he was not in a hurry. They headed out on the 8th day of the 9th month of 672, making it from Fuwa to Kuwana.  Here he likely met up with his wife, Princess Uno, and his ten year old son, Prince Ohotsu.  The following day they headed out, traveling back along the route that they had taken from Yoshino, but at a much more leisurely route.  The royal carriage stayed the night in Suzuka.  From there, it was another day to Abe, likely referring to modern Ahai county, in Iga, near Ueno city.  They then continued on to Nabari.  Finally, on the 12th day,they arrived at the Yamato capital—that is to say Asuka—and Ohoama took up residence for a time at the Shima Palace.  This was only, it seems, to give people time to get the actual palace ready, because three days later, Ohoama moved into the Wokamoto Palace.  And with that, Ohoama began the work of running the state—but there was still plenty to prepare.  For one thing, there were foreign embassies—Kim Ap-sil and others arrived.  It was still going to take a while to get the capital ready for guests, though.  From what we can tell, they were probably building a grand new palace, and it would take some time for it to be prepared.  So the Silla embassy was entertained in Tsukushi, where Prince Kurikuma would have been in charge of hosting them.  They were likely filled on the new developments and provided a ship. Meanwhile, Ohoama made sure that all of the appropriate rewards were given out.  On the 4th day of the 12th month, we are told that all those who had rendered services were given higher cap-ranks, based on what they had done. And as the year 672 closes out—and with it, the first of the two Chronicles for Ohoama, the soon-to-be elevated Temmu Tennou. But there is one final entry, marking the death of Wina no Kimi no Takami in the 12th month of the year.  We know that Wina no Kimi no *Iwasuki* was working for the Afumi court, sent to rally troops in the East, but he fled when they encountered Ohoama's troops at Fuwa Pass.  Takami, on the other hand, we know little about, but I suspect may have been on the side of Ohoama.  It is an odd entry, and, like so many, unexplained.  Perhaps it meant something to the people of the early 8th century, but if so, that meaning is likely lost to us. And so we close the book on the Jinshin no Ran—the Jinshin War, or possibly the Disturbance or even Rebellion, depending on how you feel about it.  This account is one of the most detailed we have of this kind of event, and yet it does not seem that it was entirely unique.  There are plenty of indications that previous sovereigns had to fight their way to the throne, or else had to repel others who would try to take it by force.  This was almost a tradition among the royal house of Yamato.  But now that the matter of succession was well and truly settled, it was time to get on with other things. Who knows what an Afumi court may have done and how they could have changed things.  What we do know is what Ohoama—and his queen, Uno no Himemiko—did.  They built upon, or in some cases possibly even fabricated, the legacy of Naka no Oe.  They would set in stone many of the things that had been put in place, and at the same time make certain changes, as well.  The Yamato state was getting started. And we'll start to dive into that next episode.  Until then, thank you once again for listening and for all of your support. If you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website,  SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  

This week on Facebook: a poster became concerned after googling if a ham product was gluten free. The AI overview stated that the animal feed contained gluten and therefore it wasn't gluten free even though the product had no gluten-containing ingredients.This topic has come up and Beyond Celiac has addressed it a number of times. On the topic of whether beef from conventionally-raised, grain-finished cattle may contain gluten to date, basic principles of ruminant digestion have been cited in support of the prevailing expert opinion that beef is inherently gluten-free.Meat is naturally gluten free. Plain, fresh cuts of meat, including beef, poultry (chicken, turkey, etc), rabbit, lamb and fish/seafood meat, are all gluten free. However, be careful with breaded or floured meats, which typically contain wheat and therefore gluten.Read more here.I would love to hear from you! Leave your messages for Andrea at contact@baltimoreglutenfree.com and check out www.baltimoreglutenfree.comInstagramFacebookGluten Free College 101Website: www.glutenfreecollege.comFacebook: http://www.Facebook.com/Glutenfreecollege Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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In this episode, Steve discusses the concluding book of the Border Trilogy, 'Cities of the Plain.' He reflects on the narrative's key events, including the tragic story of John and Magdalena, the significance of various scenes, and the overarching themes of change and the passage of time. The conversation delves into character relationships, particularly between John and Billy, and concludes with a poignant reflection on the trilogy's ending and its emotional impact.Send us a messageSupport the showFilm Chewing Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2235582/followLens Chewing on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lenschewingSpeculative Speculations: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/speculative-speculationsSupport the podcast: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/7EQ7XWFUP6K9EJoin Riverside.fm: https://riverside.fm/?via=steve-l

Daily Dose of Hope August 12, 2025   Scripture – Luke 6:37-49   Prayer:  Abba Father, You are our Creator, Provider, and Sustainer.  Thank you, Lord, for wanting to be in relationship with us. You are a God who sits high and looks low.  You, who are over everything, also care deeply for us.  We are so grateful.  Help us do all we can to glorify you.  We desperately need you, Jesus.  Amen.   Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, a deep dive into the Gospels and Acts.  Today, we finish up Luke 6.   We are finishing up Jesus' Sermon on the Plain.  This is the Gentile-friendly version of Matthew's Sermon on the Mount.  Basically, Jesus is outlining how we are to behave and think fundamentally different from the world around us.  The first portion of the today's reading deals with judging others.  Judgement is something that has gotten Christians in a lot of trouble with the world around us.  In fact, being judged by Christians is one of the main reasons people say they have avoided the church or left the church.  This should be heart-breaking to all of us.  Something has gone terribly wrong.    Jesus is saying you will be judged by the same measure you use to judge others. Think about this. How do you want to be judged? I can tell you that I want to be judged with mercy and compassion. Jesus talks about not trying to take the speck out of a friend's eye without taking the plank out of our own.  Why do we obsess over others' specks, over their shortcomings? Well, because it's easier, it's more fun, but most of all we feel so much better about ourselves when we point out someone else's stuff. It distracts me from dealing with my own stuff.  I wonder if sometimes we don't even notice the plank hanging from our own eye. Maybe we just aren't very self-aware, or we don't want to be self-aware. We are happy being ignorant about our own issues.    We then move on to a tree and its fruit.  A good tree bears good fruit and a bad tree bears bad fruit. So what is Jesus saying to us?  Well, a person's character is demonstrated by the kind of fruit they produce.  Someone can talk the Jesus talk but if they are generally selfish and rude to others, then we can be pretty certain that something is off.  I think about celebrity pastors or politicians who make a big deal about calling themselves “Christian.”  But they aren't honest, they are consumed with wealth, and they treat people like dirt.  Their fruit is rotten and we need to pay attention to that.  Character is judged by fruit, not talk.   The last portion of today's chapter is about the wise and foolish builders. Jesus says that those who hear his words and put them into action are like those who build their homes on firm, solid foundations.  On the contrary, there will be some people who call “Lord, Lord...” but don't follow his teachings at all.    Where do you fall?  Think about some of Jesus' main teachings: Loving God and loving other people, forgiveness (receiving and giving), repentance, believing in and trusting in God (recognizing that Jesus is God), being radically generous, and recognizing the Kingdom of God.  There is also caring deeply for the least and the lost.  Spend some time thinking about each of these.  Do you live these out in your life?  Are you obedient to the teachings of Jesus?  How can you take a step closer to greater obedience?   Blessings, Pastor Vicki  

Daily Dose of Hope August 11, 2025   Scripture – Luke 6:1-36   Prayer:  Heavenly Father, We come to you today praising your holy name.  You are a good God!  Thank you for caring for us, for walking alongside us, but  most of all thank you for Jesus, who died our death, so that we can walk hand in hand with you.  Help us live like resurrection people in the way of Jesus.  We don't want to get stuck in our religion.  We want to live transformed lives in Jesus.  How we need you, Lord.  We are stubborn people.  Amen.   Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church Bible reading plan.  We are currently doing a deep dive into the Gospels and Acts.  Today, we begin Luke 6.  Our reading today contains a lot of substance and I'll do my best to do it justice.   We begin with Jesus' disciples plucking off heads of grain on the Sabbath and then Jesus healing on the Sabbath.  Both of these things infuriate the Pharisees who have made the Sabbath incredibly complex for the people.  They instituted an extremely complicated system of Sabbath laws of their own that was oppressive and legalistic. There were strict laws regarding how to observe the Sabbath, which included 39 categories of forbidden activities. This went far beyond what was required in the Torah.  For example, they weren't allowed to swat a fly (it was considered hunting), nor were they allowed to look in a mirror because they might be tempted to primp.  Basically, these religious leaders, with their own lists of rules, had made themselves lords of the Sabbath, thus making themselves lords over the people.    Jesus was pushing back against this.  He speaks about how David and his men ate consecrated bread from the Temple when they were hungry, even though it was off-limits.  There are times when rules make sense and there are times when they don't.  People are always more important than rules.  The original intent of the Sabbath was to give humans rest, not to create a heavy burden.  The Pharisees had lost sight of this.    Jesus then states that he is Lord of the Sabbath.  This really gets the Pharisees worked up.  By saying this, he is declaring that he has authority over the Sabbath.  Jesus can overrule the Pharisees' rules and regulations because he is the one who created the Sabbath in the first place.  He has the power to correctly interpret the meaning of the Sabbath and the rules pertaining to it.  Let's be clear, Jesus is making a bold statement about who he is.    Do you get distracted by our own rules and traditions?  And do those rules and traditions get in the way of doing the work of Jesus?    The next portion of today's reading has Jesus choosing the twelve disciples.  Notice how he spends all night in prayer.  The fact that God the Son spends all night in prayer with God the Father is something to which we should pay attention.  If Jesus needed time away to pray to God, how much more do we who are made in God's image but do not share His essence?   The last section of today's reading includes the blessings and woes and love for enemies.  This teaching block is known as Jesus' Sermon on the Plain.  While it has similar elements to Matthew's Sermon on the Mount, it also is very different.  Matthew is clearly writing to Jews, while Luke's audience is mainly Gentiles.  It's for that reason that Luke doesn't worry about including references to Old Testament equivalents.   Luke is making a point about how God is in the business of turning human realities upside down.  The poor are blessed by God and the rich have already had their blessing.  The hungry will be satisfied but those who are full now will hunger later.  These beatitudes and woes are examples of a pattern we see in Luke --- God is at work in Jesus, turning worldly values upside down and challenging perceptions.  The mighty are cast down and the lowly are lifted up.   Thus, when Jesus then says to love your enemies, please know this audience would be shocked.  In the Gentile world, people did not love enemies.  It would have been a sign of weakness.  And yet, Jesus is turning things upside down, establishing a new standard of compassion that crosses religious, political, and cultural lines.    Notice this wasn't a suggestion.  It wasn't something that Jesus says to do every now and then or when it's convenient.  It's a command.  Interestingly, we find it hard to love good friends and family members.  It can be tough to love ourselves.  But Jesus is showing us all a different way.  Mercy for the those who are unmerciful, forgiveness for the unforgiveable, love for the unlovable – this is the way that God has chosen to transform people.  I recently read that we are the delivery system for God's healing power.    Blessings, Pastor Vicki

This show has been flagged as Clean by the host. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also known as IP telephony, is a set of technologies used primarily for voice communication sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. VoIP enables voice calls to be transmitted as data packets, facilitating various methods of voice communication. Voice over IP - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_over_IP Plain Old Telephone System (POTS) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_old_telephone_service Retirement of circuit-switched public switched telephone network (in the UK) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephony_copper_plant_retirement_in_the_United_Kingdom Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) - https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3261.txt Network Address Translator (NAT) - https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2663 Session Traversal Utilities for NAT (STUN) - https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5389 Voice over IP Companies - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_VoIP_companies Voice over IP Hacking - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VoIP_vulnerabilities Provide feedback on this episode.

Hour 3 with Lynnell Willingham: Fans shouldn't sweat about the Commanders performance, but it wasn't good / Parts of Dan Quinn's postgame press conference from the Preseason opener / Chris Russell joins to give his takeaways from the Preseason opener / NFL Preseason update / Plain and simple, the Commanders weren't good Friday night / Around the NFL Preseason

U-Haul's truck-sharing service has expanded to Chadwick's Mill Plain Shell in Vancouver, bringing essential moving resources like trucks, trailers, and supplies to local residents. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/business/u-haul-truck-sharing-comes-to-chadwicks-mill-plain-shell-in-vancouver/ #VancouverWA #UHaul #TruckRental #SmallBusiness #MovingHelp #SelfStorage #ClarkCounty #ChadBudnick

In this heated and often hilarious episode, Niall opens the phone lines to listeners with one thing in common—they've all been clamped. Whether caught overstaying in a private car park or parking illegally on city streets, they share their stories of frustration, fury, and, in some cases, acceptance.Some callers vent about predatory private clamping companies, sky-high release fees, and the feeling of being “targeted for profit.” Others argue that clamping is a necessary evil—a tool to keep roads safe, footpaths clear, and ensure people respect the rules.Is clamping about enforcing law and order—or squeezing money from already-stretched drivers? Should there be more warning and leniency, or are we too soft as it is?Niall keeps the debate rolling with humour and sharp questions, asking:Is clamping fair? Or is it time for a new approach to parking enforcement in Ireland?Have you ever been clamped? You're not alone.Tune in for tales of rage, regret, and real talk from drivers on both sides of the wheel.

Thom chats with Steve Balzo, executive director of the Clermont County Veteran Service Commission. Also, Plain glass, stain glass with Pastor Chad Hovind. This week's topic is affairs.

Thom chats with Steve Balzo, executive director of the Clermont County Veteran Service Commission. Also, Plain glass, stain glass with Pastor Chad Hovind. This week's topic is affairs.

This week's topic is affairs.

It's good to be back in Luke's Gospel, and today we're looking at Jesus' teaching on judgment in Luke 6:37–42. We started with a little fun—Jesus never called it the “Sermon on the Plain” or “Sermon on the Mount,” and He certainly didn't ask for red pencils! But the message is serious: we're not called to judge, because we're all carrying logs in our own eyes. We also talked about why karma doesn't fit in Christian theology—Jesus didn't get what He “deserved,” and neither do we. Grace, not karma, is our hope. We give, forgive, and show mercy because that's what we've received. And if we're going to point at anything, let it be toward Jesus—not at someone else's speck.Shameless plug: here's a link to Method(ist) to the Madness, our new, hopefully entertaining podcast about church history. - https://methodisttothemadness.buzzsprout.com/Join us for our daily reflections with Andy. In 10 short minutes, he'll dig a little deeper into Scripture and help you better understand God's Word.You can read today's passage here - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%206%3A%2037-42&version=NRSVUEClick here if you'd like to join our GroupMe and receive this each morning at 7:00 a.m. CST. - https://groupme.com/join_group/107837407/vtYqtb6CYou can watch this in video form here - https://revandy.org/blog/

Welcome to Day 2691 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom – Theology Thursday – “Hidden In Plain Site” – Supernatural Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2691 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2686 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Today, we continue with the 10th of 16 segments of our Theology Thursday lessons. I will read through the book "Supernatural," written by Hebrew Bible scholar, professor, and mentor Dr. Michael S. Heiser, who has since passed away. Supernatural is a condensed version of his comprehensive book, ‘The Unseen Realm.' If these readings pique your interest, I would recommend that you read ‘The Unseen Realm.' Today, we will read through chapter ten: “Hidden in Plain Sight.” Since the fall, God had been trying to revive his original goal for Eden: to live with both his divine and human family on earth. God had told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply, thereby spreading God's good rule over the rest of the planet. God wanted the whole earth to be a place where heaven and earth met, where humanity could enjoy the divine, and where the divine could enjoy earth and humanity. We know how that went. A History of Failure Humanity sinned and was expelled from God's presence. Eden was shut down. The divine enemy, the Serpent, was banished—cast or cut down—from God's presence to earth, the place where death reigns, where life is not everlasting. He became lord of the dead, and therefore had claim to every human being who would ever live—because they sin, and sin's wages is death (Rom. 6:23). After the flood, God had repeated the goal of Eden to Noah and his family: be fruitful and multiply. It was a do-over. Instead, humanity rebelled. Rather than obey God and spread the knowledge and rule of God everywhere, they would build a tower where God could come to them. Failure again. God wouldn't go for it. He mixed up the nations' languages and turned the nations over to his divine council to rule. Then he decided to start over with a new human family—through Abraham and Sarah. He would get back to the other nations—through Abraham's descendants—once his kingdom rule was revived (Gen. 12:3). This, too, was a failure. So was the next attempt, bringing Israel out of Egypt, then to Sinai, and then finally to the Promised Land. Israel failed. Eventually God raised up David, and then Solomon. But after Solomon died, Israel followed other gods and the Israelites turned on each other. God had to expel them from the Promised Land in exile. The human story, apart from God's presence, is the story of failure. This is because humanity is lost since the fall. All humans are imperfect and estranged from God. No human leader could be trusted with starting and maintaining God's kingdom. They would resist loyalty to God alone. They would go their own way. Humans would sin, fail, and join the lord of the dead, God's great enemy. But God's vision of sharing the blessing of being steward-kings over a new Eden couldn't happen without humans. And the only way humans would ever be able to hold up their end of God's plan would be for them to be made new again. The curse of the fall must be lifted. And for that, God had a plan. The Solution—and a Problem God needed a man who was more than

This morning we dove back into Luke 6:20–26, where Jesus lays out blessings and woes that flip the world's values upside down. On Friday, we looked at the big picture—how Luke's “Sermon on the Plain” compares to Matthew's “Sermon on the Mount.” Today we focused on the heart of Jesus' message: our Christian ethics aren't grounded in this world—they're grounded in eternity. Jesus says the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and the hated are blessed, while those who seem to have it all now—the rich, the full, the laughing, and the praised—should be warned. Why? Because worldly success is fleeting, but the Kingdom of God is forever. When we live for eternity, we gain purpose, freedom, and a deeper joy in the here and now. So let's aim at heaven—and trust that God will take care of the rest.Shameless plug: here's a link to Method(ist) to the Madness, our new, hopefully entertaining podcast about church history. - https://methodisttothemadness.buzzsprout.com/Join us for our daily reflections with Andy. In 10 short minutes, he'll dig a little deeper into Scripture and help you better understand God's Word.You can read today's passage here - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%206%3A%2020-26&version=NRSVUEClick here if you'd like to join our GroupMe and receive this each morning at 7:00 a.m. CST. - https://groupme.com/join_group/107837407/vtYqtb6CYou can watch this in video form here - https://revandy.org/blog/

God's warnings are an act of kindness, mercy, and compassion. When we choose to heed those warnings, we find peace, healing, and salvation. When we ignore Him, we hasten death. Plain and simply put, choose life because the alternative terrible.

#gardening #organicgardening #urbangardening #gardeninglife #thehappygardeninglife #indoorgardening #gardeningisfun #gardeningtips #lovegardening #homegardening #ilovegardening #backyardgardening #gardeninglove #gardeningideas #gardening101 #gardeningmakesmehappy #gardeningfun #happygardening #gardeninggoals #gardeningismytherapy #gardeningislife #gardeningtools #mobilebotanicalgarden #conservation #environment #horticulture #radio #podcast #broadcast #radioshow #thankyouforyoursupport

A critical vulnerability in SUSE [SOO-suh] Manager allows attackers to run commands with root privilege. A joint CISA and U.S. Coast Guard threat hunt at a critical infrastructure site reveals serious cybersecurity issues. Healthcare providers across the U.S. report recent data breaches. Cybercriminals infiltrate a bank by physically planting a Raspberry Pi on a network switch. Russian state-backed hackers target Moscow diplomats to deploy ApolloShadow malware. Luxembourg investigates a major telecom outage tied to Huawei equipment. China's cyberspace regulator summons Nvidia over alleged security risks linked to its H20 AI chips. A new report examines early indicators of system compromise. Today we are joined by Ryan Whelan, Managing Director and Global Head of Accenture Cyber Intelligence, with their analysis of Scattered Spider. Pwn2Own puts a million dollar bounty on WhatsApp zero-clicks. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you'll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire GuestOur guest today is Ryan Whelan, Managing Director and Global Head of Accenture Cyber Intelligence, discussing the possibilities of Scattered Spider. Selected Reading Critical flaw in SUSE Manager exposes enterprise deployments to compromise (Beyond Machines) CISA identifies OT configuration flaws during cyber threat hunt at critical infrastructure organization, lists cyber hygiene (Industrial Cyber) CISA Issues ICS Advisories for Rockwell Automation Using VMware, and Güralp Seismic Monitoring Systems (Cyber Security News) Florida Internal Medicine Practices Discloses November 2024 Data Breach (HIPAA Journal) Cybercrooks use Raspberry Pi to steal ATM cash (The Register) Russian Cyberspies Target Foreign Embassies in Moscow via AitM Attacks: Microsoft (SecurityWeek) Luxembourg probes reported attack on Huawei tech that caused nationwide telecoms outage (The Record) Nvidia summoned by China's cyberspace watchdog over risks in H20 chips (CGTN) Hackers Regularly Exploit Vulnerabilities Before Public Disclosure (Infosecurity Magazine) Pwn2Own hacking contest pays $1 million for WhatsApp exploit (Bleeping Computer) Audience Survey Complete our annual audience survey before August 31. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here's our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This morning's reading from Luke 6:17–26 gives us a version of Jesus' famous teaching that's often called the Sermon on the Plain. Like the Beatitudes in Matthew, Jesus speaks blessings over the poor, the hungry, the grieving, and the hated—but Luke also includes a set of “woes” that warn the rich, the satisfied, and the admired. The setting is different too: Luke places Jesus on level ground, while Matthew has Him on a mountain. But both versions are true—Jesus likely shared these core messages many times, and each Gospel writer highlights different angles. Matthew emphasizes Jesus as the new Moses; Luke shows Him as a teacher for everyone. Together, they help us see Jesus more clearly.Shameless plug: here's a link to Method(ist) to the Madness, our new, hopefully entertaining podcast about church history. - https://methodisttothemadness.buzzsprout.com/Join us for our daily reflections with Andy. In 10 short minutes, he'll dig a little deeper into Scripture and help you better understand God's Word.You can read today's passage here - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%206%3A%2017-26&version=NRSVUEClick here if you'd like to join our GroupMe and receive this each morning at 7:00 a.m. CST. - https://groupme.com/join_group/107837407/vtYqtb6CYou can watch this in video form here - https://revandy.org/blog/

“Uncle Joab” was the most famous preacher in the West for a reason ... and that reason was pretty much exactly why the pioneer lawmakers found him to be such a lousy fit for the job of Chaplain of the Legislature. Suddenly they were desperate to get rid of him. But, they'd hired him before his salary was in the treasury.... (Salem, Marion County; 1850s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1901d.uncle-joab-powell-political-firsts-2of2.html)

Tenshin Roshi talks about Case 12 of the Book of Equanimity, Jizo Plants the Field

We are degenerates. Plain and simple. We are making some bets for tonight's game and talking breaking trades in the MLB world.

Discover the intriguing connections between the Book of Enoch and Mormon theology in this deep dive into religious texts and revelations. This video explores why Mormons have a unique understanding of the Book of Enoch, largely due to Joseph Smith's revelations which align with ancient texts discovered long after his time. The discussion delves into the historical context of these revelations, comparing them to the Dead Sea Scrolls and other apocryphal writings. We'll examine how Joseph Smith's translations and revelations provide insights that are not found in other Christian denominations, making the Book of Enoch a significant part of Mormon doctrine. Join us as we explore the fascinating world of ancient scriptures and modern revelations, uncovering truths that have been hidden for centuries.

In this episode, we delve into John's emotional journey as he navigates the complexities of love and sacrifice for Magdalena. Despite the heart-wrenching decision to sell his cherished pistol and even consider parting with his horse, John's determination to rescue Magdalena from a life of hardship is unwavering. As tensions rise with Eduardo, who views Magdalena as mere property, John's resolve is tested. Will his sacrifices be enough to secure her freedom, or will the looming threat of Eduardo's retaliation cast a shadow over their future? Join us as we explore the depths of love, courage, and the lengths one will go to for those they hold dear.Send us a messageSupport the showFilm Chewing Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2235582/followLens Chewing on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lenschewingSpeculative Speculations: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/speculative-speculationsSupport the podcast: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/7EQ7XWFUP6K9EJoin Riverside.fm: https://riverside.fm/?via=steve-l

This week's topic is racism and more.

This letter pulses with emotion as Paul defends his ministry, confronts critics, and pleads with the church to embrace true gospel leadership marked by humility, weakness, and grace. In this season, we explore the drama, pain, and beauty of a pastor fighting for the hearts of his people—and the God who reconciles us through it all.

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In this episode, we move on into Luke 7:1-17. Within this passage we see two different miracles, one involving a centurion, and one involving a widow. Together we discuss these two different healing stories and all that Jesus demonstrates about His upside down kingdom. Following His Sermon on the Plain, we have the opportunity to see Jesus live out these teachings. Living in Jesus' upside down kingdom, we are invited to love, to see, to care for, to trust others, and to identify all Jesus is doing in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

In this discussion, Steve delves into the first three chapters of Cormac McCarthy's 'Cities of the Plain,' part of the Border Trilogy. He reflects on the character dynamics, the impact of modernization on traditional life, and the relationships that are developing, particularly between John Grady Cole and Magdalena. The conversation also touches on the foreshadowing elements present in the narrative and looks ahead to future discussions and book choices.Send us a messageSupport the showFilm Chewing Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2235582/followLens Chewing on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lenschewingSpeculative Speculations: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/speculative-speculationsSupport the podcast: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/7EQ7XWFUP6K9EJoin Riverside.fm: https://riverside.fm/?via=steve-l

This week's chat is about...Secrets.

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Send us a message or question! This week, we tackle some thorny issues with our  with guest Paul Woodadge, the host of YouTube show WW2TV about the multifaceted history of RAF Bomber Command during World War II.  Growing up near former USAAF airbases in Suffolk, just across the border from Essex and Colchester, Paul, who most of you will know simply as "Woody", developed a fascination for history and the Second World War. Paul now lives in Normandy in France, and is a Battlefield guide, historical advisor, and consultant on numerous projects.He is an author, including the book, Angels of Mercy, which relates the history of the village of Angoville-au-Plain, during the Second World War. He has appeared on numerous other productions including Walking the Ground with James Holland and Al Murray, History Rage, and History Hack. He was also an extra in some pretty incredible productions including Enigma (2001), Saving Private Ryan (1998), and Memphis Belle (1990). What a CV! The discussion  delves into how the air war is remembered and memorialized in France,  and in particular in Normandy. We debate the impact of civilian casualties, and the ongoing debates surrounding the ethics of bombing campaigns. Through personal anecdotes and historical insights, the episode highlights the importance of understanding the broader context of the air war and its legacy.WW2TV is one of the best history shows out there, with experts and enthusiasts from all over the world sharing their knowledge, perspectives and passions. And there's a MAHOOSIVE back catalogue of episodes. You can watch James talk about the raid on the Dortmund-Ems Canal, and listen to his excellent discussion on Bomber Command in the Battle of Britain ;  you can also watch Jane's contributions on the Handley Page Halifax and Bomber Command Gardening Operations. Support the showPlease subscribe to Never Mind The Dambusters wherever you get your podcasts. You can support the show, and help us produce great content, by becoming a paid subscriber from just $3 a month here https://www.buzzsprout.com/2327200/support . Supporters get early access to episodes and invitations to livestreams. Thank you for listening! You can reach out to us on social media at @RAF_BomberPod (X) or @NeverMindTheDambusters (Instagram)You can find out about James' research, articles, lectures and podcasts here .You can read more about Jane's work on her website at https://www.justcuriousjane.com/, and listen to podcasts/media stuff here

Join us for a conversation with Michelle who was raised in various Anabaptist groups and published a book about growing up with a seeker father joining these groups. Judas Girl read an excerpt here: https://michellestewartauthor.com/2025/05/04/exerpts-from-judas-girl-a-sneak-peek/   Hosted by Mary Byler, Abe Troyer, Old Order Amish, and James Schwartz. Produced by The Misfit Amish 2025 Funded by our Patreon Subscribers Art by BJK and MB www.themisfitamish.com

#gardening #organicgardening #urbangardening #gardeninglife #thehappygardeninglife #indoorgardening #gardeningisfun #gardeningtips #lovegardening #homegardening #ilovegardening #backyardgardening #gardeninglove #gardeningideas #gardening101 #gardeningmakesmehappy #gardeningfun #happygardening #gardeninggoals #gardeningismytherapy #gardeningislife #gardeningtools #mobilebotanicalgarden #conservation #environment #horticulture #radio #podcast #broadcast #radioshow #thankyouforyoursupport

A Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity St. Luke 5:1-11 by William Klock Our Gospels during these first few Sundays of Trinitytide—so far—have all had us following Jesus as he made his way to Jerusalem to observe the Passover for the last time.  But today's Gospel—from the Fifth Chapter of Luke—takes us back to the beginning of Jesus' ministry—those early days when he was travelling around the region of Galilee a long way from Jerusalem.  Luke gives a series of vignettes in Chapter 4.  Every sabbath, he writes, Jesus was teaching in the synagogues.  He read from Isaiah one sabbath in his hometown synagogue in Nazareth and then he told the people, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your own hearing!”  The people were so angry that they tried to stone him and he fled from the town.  So he went to Capernaum and taught in the synagogue there.  That's where a demon-possessed man stood up and shouted at Jesus: “I know who you are.  You're God's holy one!”  And just to prove it, Jesus then cast out the demon and word went out throughout the whole region.  On another sabbath, after preaching in the synagogue, he was invited to the house of Simon Peter.  Peter's mother-in-law was sick with a high fever.  Jesus rebuked the fever and straightaway she recovered and served them lunch.  Pretty soon everyone who was sick or who had a demon showed up and Jesus healed them all.  And because of that, no matter where Jesus went, Luke writes, the crowds hunted for him.  And that's how today's Gospel begins.  One day Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret.  Finally a moment of peace.  An early morning walk on the beach.  He found a little cove.  The shores of Gennesaret (or Galilee as it's otherwise known) are full of little coves.  He watched as the fishermen dragged their boats ashore after a night of hard work.  But then someone came down the trail to the beach.  And he saw Jesus.  And he went running back up the trail out of sight shouting, “He's here!  He's here!  I've found him!”  And others began to follow the man back down the trail to the beach.  And more and more until another crowd had gathered and was pressing in on Jesus.  They had seen for themselves or they had heard the stories of the amazing things the God of Israel was doing through Jesus and they wanted to see more.  They wanted to hear more of the good news that Jesus was proclaiming. But it was no good trying to preach from the middle of the crowd.  People kept interrupting them with their problems.  Even if he could get a few words out, the crowd just couldn't hear him.  So Jesus had an idea.  Sound travels wonderfully over water and the little beach cove was a perfect amphitheatre.  So he made his way down to the water where he'd seen the two boats, and got into one of them, and standing there, he called to one of the fishermen.  Jesus recognised the man.  It was the same fellow who'd invited him to lunch after the synagogue service.  It was the same fellow whose mother-in-law he'd healed.  “Hey you!  Was it Simon or Peter or Simon Peter.  Yes, this is your boat isn't it?  Row me out a little way from the land.”  Maybe Peter felt like he owed Jesus something or maybe he was flattered that Jesus had chosen his boat and remembered him from the other day.  Whatever the case, Peter set aside his net, got in the boat, and rowed Jesus out into the middle of the cove.  And Luke says that Jesus sat down in the boat and began to teach the crowd. It was probably some version of Jesus' favourite sermon.  Luke has preserved one version of that sermon that we sometimes hear called “The Sermon on the Plain”—because Jesus preached it in a flat, open place, but mostly because it contrasts with the version preserved by Matthew, where Jesus preached from a hillside.  We call that version “The Sermon on the Mount”.  That's the sermon where Jesus preaches about the kingdom of God.  It's the sermon in which he calls the people of Israel to trust in the Lord because he never fails to provide.  He clothes the flowers of the field that wither tomorrow.  He feeds the birds so that they have no need to worry.  How much more important are you—the Lord's elect, chosen, called covenant people—than flowers and birds?  So stop worrying and trust him.  Pursue, seek his kingdom above everything else, and trust him to take care of you.  Israel had struggled for forever with idolatry—in one form or another—instead of trusting in and giving her full allegiance to the Lord.  That's what got them exiled to Babylon.  The Pharisees were right.  That idolatry and fickle faith was what kept them in a sort of in-house exile in their own time.  So, in other words, Jesus is saying to the people of Israel: Give the Lord your allegiance.  Give your all to his agenda: to holiness, to being light in the darkness, stop being so fickle.  You do that and, just as he promised, the Lord will take care of you—he'll even pour out his blessings on you. And Peter sat there right in front of Jesus, holding the oars, keeping the boat in position and Jesus facing the shore, and he listened.  The Bible doesn't tell us anything about Peter's past, but just like anyone else, he had one.  I don't think Peter was any great or notorious sinner or anything like that.  Reading between the lines, I think it's safe to conclude that he was just your ordinary, average Judean who obeyed torah as best he could, who celebrated Passover with his family every year, who went to the temple in Jerusalem as required—at least most of the time.  But he knew he wasn't perfect.  He could be impetuous at times.  He could fly off the handle.  But most of all, as Jesus preached, I think Peter was convicted of his own fickleness.  He tithed, but sometimes he did so grudgingly.  He kept the sabbath, but sometimes he worried where the money was going to come from when he took off that one day a week from fishing.  Some days, especially in the summer, sunset on Saturday just couldn't come soon enough for Peter so he could get back to work. Jesus got Peter thinking.  Did he really trust in the Lord?  Or did Peter trust in Peter?  Had he really given his full allegiance to the God of Israel or was Peter really serving Peter?  And Peter mulled on these things as Jesus finished speaking and said to him, “Put out into the deeper part, and let down your nets for a catch.”   Peter was still playing through in his head what Jesus had been saying about trusting the Lord and giving him his full allegiance.  This snapped him out of it.  No more introspection.  It's like Jesus knew what he was thinking.  Peter didn't really want to let down his nets.  He'd fished all night and they hadn't caught anything.  They certainly weren't going to catch anything in the daylight.  That's because they fished with nets made of linen.  The fish could see them in the day, but they'd swim right into them in the dark at night.  And Peter had just finished cleaning and mending his nets.  Now he'd have to clean them—and if they hit a snag, maybe mend them too—all over again.  Peter was born and bred to fishing.  He knew everything there was to know about it.  He knew the habits of fish, he knew about nets, he knew about the seasons, the time of day, and the play of light in the water.  He knew about boats.  He knew about marketing and selling fish.  He was a fisherman!  And if First Century fishermen were anything like Twenty-first Century fishermen, the last thing you'd want to do with Peter is start an argument over fishing—especially if you're not a fisherman.  And, of course, Jesus was not.  His father had taught him the carpentry and the building trade. Peter really, really didn't want to cast his net into the water again and he wouldn't have for anyone else.  But this was Jesus.  Just like everyone else, Peter wasn't quite sure exactly what to make of him, but he'd not only heard the stories; he'd seen it for himself.  His mother-in-law had been on the verge of death, but Jesus made her well—so well that virtually instantly she was up serving them lunch.  And so he says to Jesus, “Master”.  Let me pause there.  Master is okay, but it might not be the best translation.  In the Gospels people address Jesus as “teacher” or “rabbi” or even as “lord”, but unique in Luke's Gospel, people occasionally address him as epistata.  An epistates is someone in charge, someone with authority.  The ten lepers address Jesus as epistata.  The disciples, when they were in the boat being tossed around by the storm, addressed him as epistata.  That's how Peter addresses Jesus here.  “We were working hard all night and caught nothing.  But okay, Master.  You're the boss, you're calling the shots here.  So if you say so, I'll let down the nets.”   Peter sounds like he's letting down his nets grudgingly.  I wonder if that's how it really was.  He's been convicted in his own heart of how he's been half-hearted in serving the Lord.  He's just been hearing Jesus preach about God taking care of flowers and birds.  Or something along those lines, because we know Jesus liked to preach on that topic.  It was exactly what fickle, half-hearted Israel needed to hear.  So Peter probably didn't want to go through the hassle of letting down his nets again, but I think he wanted to trust that through Jesus, the God of Israel really would look after him.  Jesus might not know anything about fishing, but Peter had seen that Jesus had authority and that he took charge of things—whether demons or blindness or sickness or even the fish in the sea.  He could see, plain as day, that the God of Israel was working through Jesus.  Peter was thinking on those words: “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these thing will be added to you.” I think the main reason Luke records these words from Peter about having fished all night and caught nothing is that he wants to remind us that this is the way the Lord works.  Jesus is telling Peter to fish at the worst possible time to fish.  Jesus does this throughout the Gospels.  He hears that Lazarus is sick and near to death, but then he waits three days before going—time enough for Lazarus to be well and truly dead.  So instead of healing Lazarus from sickness, he raises him from the dead and calls him out of his tomb.  Or think of the woman who was bleeding for twelve years or the man who was blind from birth.  In that last instance Jesus had the opportunity to explain why these things happened.  The disciples with their conventional wisdom assumed that either the man or his parents were great sinners and that the Lord had punished him with blindness.  But Jesus said that, no, the man was born blind that God might reveal his glory.  Because that's how the God of Israel works and Israel is the chief example.  The Lord allowed his people to become slaves in Egypt so that he might display his glory both to them and to the watching nations.  In the events of the Exodus the God of Israel exposed the king and the gods of Egypt as frauds, totally lacking the great power and authority they claimed to have.  The God of Israel single-handedly beat the gods of Egypt at their own games and humbled mighty Pharaoh—the greatest king on earth—and drowned his army in the sea.  And at the same time, in Israel, he created a people who would forever be singing his praises and announcing his glory to the nations.  All because they had watched him do the impossible.  Every newborn baby boy was circumcised and, in that, he was given the sign of God's covenant promise.  And every year the fathers of Israel led their families as they ate the Passover meal and recalled the Lord's promises and the glory he displayed on their behalf in the Exodus. Jesus was doing the same thing.  He had come to lead the people in a new exodus and along the way, he was acting out that exodus, that divine deliverance as he did the impossible—and the more impossible the better, because the more power and authority it displayed.  Why had Peter (and James and John, his partners) why had they been skunked that night?  I don't know.  Maybe Peter said something unkind to his wife before leaving that night.  Maybe he'd shorted the Lord in his tithing that week.  Maybe he'd dallied too long with that dancing girl the day before.  Maybe Peter thought his empty nets were punishment for some sin.  But if he'd asked Jesus, “Why did I toil all night and catch nothing?  Did I sin?”  Jesus would have said, “No, Peter.  It was so that the Lord, the God of Israel, would be glorified.” And that's exactly what happens.  Luke writes, beginning at verse 6 that when they let down their nets, they caught such a huge number of fish that their nets began to break.  Usually they'd fish all night for a catch that wouldn't break their nets, but now Peter let down his net and before he could even pull it back into the boat to keep from becoming over-full of fish, the catch was so great that it strained the integrity of the net.  I assume it was just he and Jesus in the boat and he and Jesus were, themselves, straining to pull the net in.  They signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them, Luke writes.  So they came, and filled both the boats, and they began to sink.   And right there, in a sinking boat, with fish wriggling all around them, Luke writes that Peter took stock of everything that had just happened.  He fell down at Jesus' knees.  “Depart from me, Lord!” he said, “Because I'm a sinful man!”  James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon Peter's partners were just as amazed, Luke writes.  But being in the other boat, they couldn't kneel at Jesus' knees.  But Peter knelt there convicted of his sins by this amazing display of God's glory.  I found myself asking this week why Peter didn't have this same reaction when Jesus healed his mother-in-law.  Why was Peter's mother-in-law sick?  For the same reason: so that Jesus could display the glory of the God of Israel.  Presumably Peter was impressed when he saw the healing.  But it didn't impact him the way the multitude of fish did.  And maybe that's because Peter was a fisherman, not a doctor.  It highlight the fact that God gets to each of us in different ways to convict us of sin and to move us to faith.  Every one of us has a different story of how God got hold of us.  That, too, is how he works.  But one way or another, each of us has been amazed and captivated by the glory of God. Our reactions to that revelation are often different too.  Some people encountered God's glory and were moved to faith as Jesus wiped away their tears.  Peter, however, is met by that glory and is moved to tears.  He knew how the prophets had preached about the coming judgement of Israel for her sins.  He'd heard Jesus preach—not just the warm-fuzzies, but also the announcement of soon-coming judgement.  And when he saw the glory of God, when he experienced the presence of the holy, Peter found himself overwhelmed by his own sinfulness.  He knew he didn't belong in the presence of the holy.  He knew he belonged with those people who would find themselves in the outer darkness weeping and gnashing their teeth.  He responded just like Isaiah when he found himself in the presence of the holiness of God.  Remember Isaiah.  He cried out, “Woe is me!  For I am lost.  For I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.  For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5).  But it was just as Isaiah acknowledged his sinfulness that an angel flew down to touch his lips with a cleansing and holy fire.  The angel announced that his guilt had departed and that his sin had been blotted out.  And when the Lord called out, “Whom shall I send?  Who will go for us?  Who will proclaim my message to Israel?”  Isaiah cried out, “Here I am!  Send me!” And it's that scene all over again in that sinking fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee with fish wriggling all around.  Peter knelt there shaking at Jesus kneels and Jesus said, “Don't be afraid.  From now on you'll be catching men!”  Jesus is, himself, the holy fire who purifies us from our sins. Now, it doesn't come across in our English translations, but when Jesus says that Peter will be catching men, that “catching” isn't usually a word associated with fishing.  It has the sense of catching someone or something alive—like a warrior catching an enemy, but sparing his life.  There's a reason behind Jesus' odd choice of words.  What he's doing is echoing the words of Jeremiah 16.  There, through the Prophet, the Lord announced the judgement that was about to come on the people of Judea for their unfaithfulness and their idolatry.  The Babylonians would come and none would escape.  The Lord says, “I am sending for many fishers, declares the Lord, and they shall catch them…For my eyes are on their ways.  They are not hidden from me, nor is their iniquity concealed form my eyes.”  Jesus draws on the common Greek translation of the prophet.  He uses the same word: catch.  The people of Judea in those days wouldn't be killed, but neither would they escape the judgement of exile.  But now Jesus flips the imagery around.  The people of Judah are still in their long exile, still experiencing the punishment brought by their sins, but now the Lord will send fishers again, this time to catch sinners and to rescue them alive from the coming judgement.  What was in Jeremiah's day an image of the Lord's judgement on sinners, Jesus now turns into an image of God's mercy for them.  As Jesus says in John's Gospel, “God did not send the son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world could be saved by him.”  That's what Jesus has come to do.  And even though only he can go to the cross to accomplish the redemption of sinners, he's not going on this fishing trip alone.  He's calling Peter (and James and John and eventually a whole host of men and women that we call the church) to go fishing with him, to catch men and women that they—that we—might be delivered from our sins and from the coming judgement. How much of this did Peter understand that day?  Probably not much.  But what he did know is that in Jesus the God of Israel was at work.  He knew that judgement was inevitable and he knew that somehow and in some way the Lord was making deliverance possible through Jesus.  He had seen the glory of the Lord and there was no going back.  And so, Luke writes, They brought their boats to land, then they abandoned everything and followed him.   Peter walked away from all of it.  The boats, the net, the sea, the fish.  They had been his source of security.  That's what he'd trusted.  But he heard that reminder from Jesus: Seek first God's kingdom, and all these things will be added to you.  If the Lord could fill his nets to bursting just to make this point, Peter was ready to trust him with everything—to give his full allegiance to Jesus the Messiah.  If God could do this, he could do anything.  And so Peter gave his allegiance to the Lord Jesus.  And he knew hardship and he knew persecution and eventually he would even come to know martyrdom.  His faith and his love for Jesus would eventually lead him from Jerusalem all the way to Rome and all along the way he proclaimed the glory of God.  All the way he proclaimed the good news that Jesus died to forgive sins and rose to restore God's life to us and to the world, and that this Jesus is the Lord of all who shows us the glory of his Father.  Peter went out into the world to challenge the fake gods and the fake kings in whom we trust, and proclaimed the crucified and risen Lord so that everyone would know the glory of the one, true God.  Peter eventually died for that message.  But Peter knew that his risen Lord was master over death itself, just as he'd been master over all those fish that one morning years before.  And so he trusted Jesus' promise: Seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness—even if it means martyrdom—and he will take care of you. Let's pray: Father, you have called us and made us your people.  You send us out, like Simon Peter, to fish for people that they might know the life of your kingdom.  When we're tempted to protest, thinking that we are unworthy of the task, that we are too sinful, that we aren't up to it, remind us that in Jesus you have forgiven us, that you have made us holy, that you have filled us with your Spirit, and that you have given us this remarkable and irresistible story to tell the world, this story of your goodness, your love, your grace, your mercy, and your faithfulness.  Your glory.  Give us the grace to do the work of your kingdom as we trust in your faithfulness to us and to all who hear it.  Amen.

The Plain Unvarnished Truth about Jesus and UsMatthew 10v34-38 as Jesus speaks to his disciples, he never sugar-coats his words, or plays down the difficulties or promises them that life as a Christian will be easy. He's not the ‘gentle Jesus meek and mild' person some people think him to be. Jesus said: ‘…he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.' How different! According to Jesus, the Christian Life is a:-CONFLICTCOMMITMENTthis sermon was recorded at Ballymacashon, - so it has some echo and background noise.Read the NOTES HERE. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Morgan Hamon, co-founder and president of EAG Dental Advisors, returns to the podcast to talk about dentistry financials. As a CPA, Morgan pulls from his experience to talk with Kiera about what it takes to be profitable (beyond revenue and expenses). Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:01) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera. And today I am so jazzed. I have one of my absolute favorite guests back on the podcast, Morgan Hamon. He used to be with HDA. They have now upgraded their name to EAG Dental Advisors. Super excited. He's an incredible CPA, does all things dental, loves airplanes. He's been on the podcast so many times. We've had some good chats. Dear friend to me, Morgan, welcome back to the show. How are you?   Morgan Hamon (00:20) Ha ha.   Kiera, I'm doing good. It is so great to be with you and looking forward to our conversation today.   Kiera Dent (00:31) to you and me both. So I have to know since you love airplanes and it's in your background, are you a fan or not a fan of Top Gun? I just need to know.   Morgan Hamon (00:35) Mm-hmm.   You know, I have a soft spot   for that movie because when it came out in 1986, I was 15. And I, you know, I sort of set my sight. That definitely influenced me. said, that's what I want to do. So I went out and did it. And so.   Kiera Dent (00:46) Mmm.   So then how did you like Top Gun Maverick? was the second? Tell me, are you fan?   Morgan Hamon (00:56) That one, the purpose   of that movie was entertainment and it was entertaining, but it was a little, you gotta suspend disbelief a little bit. It was a little nostalgic because that was set in Naval Air Station, Lamar, which is where I was for eight years. So it was pretty cool seeing that and the flying scenes were real. And so they were all filmed out. It's called restricted area 2508, which is where we always used to fly. So it was pretty nostalgic seeing some of the flying scenes back where we used to go fly.   Kiera Dent (01:17) Mm-hmm.   Morgan Hamon (01:26) But technically, there's a little, like any movie, there's a little Hollywood going on there. But it was entertaining.   Kiera Dent (01:26) No.   can't   How cool though that they like made a spot for Iceman with him having throat cancer. I thought that was incredible. Like way to go Tom Hanks. So I know you guys didn't come to the podcast to hear Morgan and I talk about top men, but we're going to segue now because Morgan does all things. We love to talk profit. We love to talk taxes. We love to talk all things nerding out on CPA land, which I have really truly fallen in love with like understanding my numbers. So this is a soft spot for me, but   Morgan Hamon (01:39) Yes   Yep.   Hahaha   Mm-hmm.   Kiera Dent (02:01) Morgan said he won the topic today, which I think is a sexy topic and I cannot wait where he said leadership relates to profitability. And I said, Morgan, sign me up. Here we go. So Morgan, this is our time. This is our topic because I absolutely agree with you that leadership does relate to profitability, but take it away. And then we're to dig into tax savings. We're going to dig into all this stuff and who knows where else we're going to go, but ⁓ it'll be a great one. It always is.   Morgan Hamon (02:16) Mm-hmm.   Yes.   Well, think   this topic has evolved with me a little bit, because we've been doing this 15 years and going now. And so a lot of conversations over the years. And I've always thought about profitability, which let's face it, that's why we own businesses. We don't own businesses to pay tax. We own businesses to make a nice living and have some control over our lives. So you've to have profit, and it's hard owning a business. So if we don't have adequate profit, why bother? ⁓   Our mission has always been to really focus on profit, give our doctors feedback on what that profit is, and diagnose if things are, you know, if there's something that could put more money in their pocket. Now, with my CPA hat on, right, there's two parts of that profit equation. There's the expense side of the equation and the revenue side of the equation. And so for a lot of years, I mean, that's where our focus has been.   But I've recently, last year or two, I've really come to the conclusion, look, there's a third component there, right? And it's not math, I can't point to the P &L. But where this comes from is I get asked all the time about, and it's from the clients either considering a startup or purchasing a practice, and they'll say, okay, Morgan, you got clients all 50 states, like where's the great area? Where should I go where folks are doing well?   Kiera Dent (03:27) Ooh, I can't wait.   Morgan Hamon (03:47) I that question. I get asked, hey, do you have a special report for pediatric dentists? Because I'm going to be pediatric, so I'm going to be making more money kind of thing. Or I'll hear a report. Or I'll get a question that, do you have a report just for your clients in California? Because it's like way different out here. And I say, look, the answer is no. We have one report. In geography and specialty,   I think they may influence profitability, but that's not the deal breaker. We have plenty of clients who are specialists. The struggle, we have plenty of clients, like one of our longest term clients is in Nob Hill, San Francisco. She recently moved across the bay, but it's like the most expensive city on the planet. She killed a 55 % profit margin for like 10 years. So geography isn't, that's not how we connect the dots. I think we connect the dots with leadership.   Kiera Dent (04:33) Yeah.   Mm-hmm.   Morgan Hamon (04:43) You know, we have a lot of clients I've known for a long time. I've been with them along with their journey as I've been on my journey, which has been very rewarding. And I've come to the opinion that if we quantify success for a doctor and let's, and we'll talk a little bit more about this when we get to tax, but you know, is it money? Is it time? Is it all the above? If we look at, who's crossed the finish line? Who has the full deal? ⁓ It's the doctor that runs a tight.   Plain and simple. Like you can tell in me talking with them, I know them real well. You can tell by their numbers. Look, they're an amazing clinician, but they're also an amazing business leader. They know how to inspire their team. Their patients feel comfortable. They lead from the front. They just, they do it all. Those are the doctors that have the high profit margin and the high quality of life. It's not geography. It's not specialty, although that can have an influence.   That's the full package. So it is, yes, revenue, expenses, and how well do you lead your practice, in my opinion.   Kiera Dent (05:50) Morgan, I was so happy when I read that and when we were talking about what to bring on because I see it as well. I tell everybody, I can tell walking into a practice even before I walk into the practice, if I've met the leader of the practice, I usually can tell if this practice will be successful or not, truly based on the leader at the helm. And it's interesting because we did, I recently did this at our summit. So people were there, awesome.   Morgan Hamon (05:52) you   Kiera Dent (06:16) If they weren't, that's okay too. But we actually broke down and me and the consultants, we went through all of our clients. Like we looked at the clients, we looked at past clients, we looked at future clients, we looked at different pieces, what were our best clients, what were our worst clients. And I actually broke down, I'm trying to pull it up here, of like common themes of great practices and like great leadership and common themes of the not so good. And so some of the things I've seen in...   Morgan, I'm super curious to hear like what you'd add to our list. Cause I, you see it from a different perspective than we see it. So on my not so good list, these are the ones that like really they always are floundering is they don't trust their office manager. They're sometimes poor clinicians. Like they need to hire somebody else or get some training for that. ⁓ Poor leaders, they have team turnover constantly. They don't implement strategies. They're highly driven by emotion. They don't look at their numbers or their results.   Morgan Hamon (06:45) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.   you   you   Kiera Dent (07:11) They do a lot of CE, but they never like implement. They have lots of coaches, but they don't trust and execute. They're half in on everything. So they're not like solid on anything. They want to pay to fix the problem with no self-realization identification that maybe they are the issue. They have ego fear with no accountability. And there's a lot of blame. Like everybody else is the problem. Are some of the things that I've seen and I don't know, like I know I'm putting you on the spot. didn't, I have my nice list over here, but is there anything else you see of patterns? I'm, you and I can both like,   Morgan Hamon (07:30) Mm-hmm. ⁓   Kiera Dent (07:41) in our Rolodex of humans we know are not so good leaders or the practices who aren't as profitable, are there any other things you've noticed in their leadership that maybe isn't as strong?   Morgan Hamon (07:41) No. Right.   Well, that was a very comprehensive list. Once we're done, I'm going to write all those down because I that's very good. If I were to summarize that, if we talk about leadership, it's really about ownership and engagement. You have to own it. Everything's your problem when you're the owner. There's another podcast I like.   Kiera Dent (07:58) Yeah, of course. I'll happily share. I will happily share. And if you get anything else, share back our way too.   Morgan Hamon (08:20) and it's nothing to do with dental, it's all about leadership. And there's a saying, and it's really stuck with me, and I swear I think about this every day, Kiera, when I think about my business and how do we keep doing a good job, is that if there's a problem in your organization, it's a leadership problem. You can trace it all the way back, go any direction you want, it's going to tie back to a leadership problem.   So, if something is going sideways, it ultimately comes back to your leadership as a business owner. So, maybe the staff, maybe there was a bad patient experience, something went sideways with the patient. Was that staff trained? Maybe they were trained, maybe they were not held accountable. Do you have a bad procedure? Maybe the procedure needs adapted. mean, we think about that all the time, constantly adapting, constantly tweaking, and I think you have to do that in any business. If, like you said,   in your list there if people don't want that accountability, there's always making excuses or they don't want to engage. They say, you know, and maybe they are a good clinician. They say, I'd rather just be in the operatory but my staff's a mess. Kiera, come on in here and whip them into shape and let me know when it's all good. You know, that's not how it works. That's not how it works.   Kiera Dent (09:32) Exactly. No, not   only they're part time. I'm not your manager. I'm not your leader. I'm not your boss.   Morgan Hamon (09:38) Right, or you know   what, I'm going to have an hour meeting with my accountant and that should solve it. Like, no, we're going to come up with some action items and then you need to execute those. So you have to own it. Everything's your problem when you own a business. ⁓ And if you own it and you engage, then I think we're on the right path to not be on that extensive list that you gave, which I just love.   Kiera Dent (10:03) right? Yeah, no, and I love it. And   it just made me actually think of something I heard a financial conference and they said EBITDA equals engagement. And I've thought about that a lot because the more engaged your team is, the more engaged you are, honestly, a lot of higher EBITDA there is, I won't leave our audience hanging. I do have the good list and maybe you can add to this to see. So the ones that I found like, that truly just knock it out of the park, these are our most successful right? I'm like, what is their DNA makeup that makes them this great leader?   Morgan Hamon (10:22) Mm-hmm.   Mm-hmm.   Kiera Dent (10:32) and it's their great implementers. They allow the teams to be free, like within the parameters. So they've got a great team culture. They're great at decision-making. They execute, they're consistent. They roll with the punches. They have long-term teams. They make their decisions based on numbers. They're great visionaries. And they know what they're working towards. They don't get distracted. So there's this laser focus that they have. ⁓ And on here, I would also say that they have massive ownership. And they also are not afraid to have the uncomfortable conversations with their team.   Morgan Hamon (10:52) Mm-hmm.   Thank   Mm-hmm.   Kiera Dent (11:02) So   like they truly do, they're excellent at it. They might not be excellent communicators, but they're excellent at like tidying it up, driving their team for success. Those are some of the things I see, but I'm curious if there's anything else you'd want to add to that list because I think you're right. But I think that's a DNA makeup, right? It's people who are disciplined. If I go into the gym, they probably have like strong work ethic. They are laser focused. It's just like, it's who they are in all the aspects of our life, but I don't think they're necessarily born that way.   Morgan Hamon (11:10) Mm-hmm.   Kiera Dent (11:30) I think a lot of them can be, but I think a lot of them create that over time as well. Like it's an evolution of them, not necessarily like, if I'm just born a great leader, like, no, they're constantly working on it, but I'm curious your thoughts.   Morgan Hamon (11:34) Mm-hmm.   Thanks   Yeah,   no, I think that's a good list. If I were to try to tie that together, I would say it's you lead from the front. you know, like all just a personal example for me, like responsiveness is a huge part of our culture. Like, you know, if clients reach out to us, they need to hear back like in a few hours, like today. Lead from the front. is not do what I say. It is do what I do and keep up. Keep up with me.   Kiera Dent (12:03) Yeah.   Morgan Hamon (12:12) Let me show you what I expect. You follow my example and let's go where I'm leading us. I think is when you own a dental practice, you have to do the same thing, whether that's in the daily huddle. You lead by example. If there's a certain patient experience you want your office to have, you have to lead that. They have to be emulating you and say, I sure hope I can do this as well as the doctor. ⁓ Lead from the front. I think you also have to make sure your team understands why their work is important.   Kiera Dent (12:42) cream.   Morgan Hamon (12:42) And   I do that all the time. Why is our work important as well? Because our clients are these dentists. They're drowning in debt. They don't necessarily learn how to run a dental practice in dental school. They're trying to put it all together to make a nice living. And they have probably eight or 10 employees that are accounting on them for their jobs. So our work matters. We're working with people's lives here. So you really have to... ⁓   I think articulate why the work's important and maybe that's not as challenging and don't practice because everybody knows. It's care. They're there to get care. They're in the chair. They're scared. They want to be comfortable and everything's going to be okay. I think you got to lead from the front. You got to say, look, let's do what I do and make sure you keep up with me.   Kiera Dent (13:32) Yeah, no, I love that. I just, think something that I love that you brought this up is I love when I have things internal, as much as it's annoying, that could actually help me become more profitable. It's like, hey, let me go to the gym and work out to be more disciplined. Let me read leadership books to learn how to lead. Let me practice uncomfortable conversations. Let me practice my decision-making. And the reality is like you becoming this person and leadership.   Morgan Hamon (13:34) you   Hehe.   Mm-hmm.   Kiera Dent (14:00) will equate to higher profitability. It's wild. Like I look back at maybe not so strong of leadership days and my business and profitability, I think definitely mirrored and matched where I was. And so also for us to say like, Hey, how do I maybe get to the next level? How can you evolve as a leader as well and be a bit stronger of that good version rather than the not so good version I think is really powerful.   Morgan Hamon (14:10) Mm-hmm.   Hehehe.   Yeah,   I think you really have to recognize whatever industry you're in that your technical skill and your leadership skill are completely different. You have to invest in those skills to acquire those and to maintain them. And just because you could be the most amazing CPA, just brilliant practitioner, that doesn't mean you're a good leader. You could be the most amazing clinician.   Kiera Dent (14:35) 100.   Morgan Hamon (14:51) and just do the most amazing work. That doesn't mean you're gonna be running a ⁓ great tunnel practice. You have to invest in those skills. Just being a smart person with some big degrees, that doesn't do it. You have to acquire those skills. And I didn't realize, I mean, when I was a younger guy in the Navy, I I learned all this. back then, I was just trying to do a good job and...   get killed and and make it all happen. I didn't realize all these amazing lessons and training I was learning because they, mean leadership is, I mean that's first and foremost what we're there to do and so I was very fortunate in that regard but I don't, you you can't, no matter what business you're in, can't rest on your laurels. You got to always be thinking about leadership. Am I being a good leader? Okay, this is going sideways. I need to lead the team back, you know. I can't just, you know, write a memo.   Kiera Dent (15:17) Yeah   Morgan Hamon (15:44) Hey everybody, this is where we need to be. Follow me. Keep up with me.   Kiera Dent (15:49) Yeah, no Morgan, that was such a brilliant piece and I really loved how you just highlighted it and so fun to see that what we see on the team side and the success of the growth and the production and the collections also now correlates with your financial PNL, ⁓ which I think is just magic and it all just ties together. But as you listen to this list and Morgan I talking about it, I also want to just say like if this does not light you up and you're like, ⁓ gosh.   Morgan Hamon (16:05) Mm-hmm   Kiera Dent (16:17) That's okay. You actually can just be an amazing clinician and have somebody actually be the great leader. Just because you opened the practice and you do the dentistry does not mean you need to be the leader of the practice. So I've seen some doctors actually be great implementers. Like they actually would rather execute, implement, do all the ideas and have somebody else be the visionary. That's okay too. And I think like my best thing is know thyself and be free. But if you want to be more profitable, look at this. And I want to take like a sharp   Morgan Hamon (16:18) Mm-hmm.   Mm-hmm.   Hmm.   Mm-hmm.   Yes.   Kiera Dent (16:46) right turn Morgan and talk taxes. It's like, didn't know how to awkwardly like transition. So I'm just gonna like, but I want to talk taxes because I'm like, this also ties into the discipline of leadership, the ownership of leadership and like being freaking savvy to learn how to do taxes better. Like Morgan, I had this client the other day and we were talking and we built this like cute little overhead scorecard for people. We have the EBITDA on there. It comes from the CPAs. So we're like, just make it very simple, like black and white.   Morgan Hamon (16:53) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.   Mm-hmm.   you   Kiera Dent (17:15) And then I was like, wait a second, I should throw a tax bucket on there. So like what you're getting paid for your W-2 plus what your profit is, like that gets taxed. I have a doctor, she has been an owner, we're talking 20 plus years. She's like, Kiera, I never knew that my profit had to get taxed. Like I never knew that that extra cash, like I just thought that was cash that came to me. And I'm like, this is why doctors are always broke because they don't know how this works out. So I'm super excited to talk about.   Morgan Hamon (17:21) Mm-hmm.   Mm-hmm.   you   Mm-hmm.   No. Right. Mm hmm.   Kiera Dent (17:45) tax planning, it's mid-year, let's make sure you're not crying in December and like, popping the confetti.   Morgan Hamon (17:46) Yeah.   Yeah, right. And   crying in December. if you recall, ⁓ my topic was just kind of the psychology of tax. And again, this has evolved over time with a lot of conversations. I think...   Kiera Dent (17:54) was New York I'm   The   is like the wise sage over there, Morgan. Like you got, like, just, you're just hanging out over there.   Morgan Hamon (18:09) Well, it's always trying to,   you know, I think about my conversations. How do we kind of empower these dentists to achieve this? And it's all through, I think, education. You've got to understand why. Like this doctor, 20-year-old, didn't understand.   Kiera Dent (18:29) I was like, no, I'm not wearing a strip.   Morgan Hamon (18:30) Every initial consultation   I'm having now with a startup doctor, we do a tax 101 just real quick, takes me like five minutes. Let's get our hands on some concepts here. Why I think this is important to really understand and talk about tax, just kind of how it makes us feel, is because we've had some instances where you have a doctor, and let's just say on our previous conversation, this is how we're gonna tie it together, right? So we have the doctors on that secondary list,   They're rock star. They're killing it. They're making tons of cash. They're engaging the right people. They got the right people in place, and it ultimately results in a lot of success. I've seen people do that, but then when it comes time for tax, they lose sight of all that, and they get just really obsessed about that tax bill. They lose what I'll think of as like peace and fulfillment.   just at the start of the call, I recently got remarried and my wife and I, we talk about that a lot, peace and fulfillment. Why do we have that in life? And that's what we're working for. And I think when you own a business, you're working towards something, right? And we want to have that peace and fulfillment. And I've seen that just get destroyed with people because they get very emotional and overly focused on their tax. And I see the logic just sort of exit stage left.   and we just end up with this very emotional reaction to tax. And who I tend to really direct this conversation to is not necessarily what you just described, Bill. That's kind an interesting one. Usually if someone's been making great money 20 years, they kind of know the program. It is, Kiera, it's the newer owners making real money for the first time in their lives. And that is where there's an adjustment. There's a mental journey they have to go on.   Kiera Dent (20:21) 100.   Morgan Hamon (20:29) And so what I thought today, like, I guarantee you we have some listeners as soon as they heard tax, they're like, what's on their mind is, what's the secret? How do I save more on tax? Well, it does. So, right? So we're going to get to that. All right. Well, we'll get to that. But before we do that, I thought, let's have some straight talk.   Kiera Dent (20:40) It does feel like the CPA's hold back or the secret robot. mean, tell me your Harry Potter rules there, Morgan. I just want to know. I need to find one CPA that just knows the secrets of the trade.   Yeah.   Morgan Hamon (20:58) Let's have some straight talk on tax. Why is this emotional? Why is this hard? Let's just take the journey of a doctor that is an associate doing pretty well with their W-2. We all think that we all go in W-2s. You have mandatory withholding. It comes out of your check, gets fired off to the government. You get your net check and you might look at your paycheck and go, what's all this stuff? don't know. I got my net check. I'm to plan my life around this net check. Then we do the tax return.   There's always a little settle up. You might owe a little, get all my back. You always hope to get a little money back, but generally you just plan your life with never having your hands on that money as a W-2. So now we own a business. You get all that money and then we now have to turn around and pay it back. Now keep in mind your tax rates. Okay. If you are married, Google the 2025 tax rates, right? That's what they are. That's what they are. If you're an employee.   Kiera Dent (21:44) Yep.   Morgan Hamon (21:55) That's what they are if you're the owner of a pass-through business. They are the same. But that act of having to turn around and write a check just is, you gotta become comfortable with that and it's an adjustment. ⁓ And here's the other thing where if we just, okay, let's take all our emotions about tax, let's just kind put it over the side and let's just talk very logically.   Kiera Dent (22:12) I agree.   Morgan Hamon (22:23) If you're gonna make three times as much money, what's also going to be three times as much? Your tax. But it's actually maybe a little bit more, right? We got a progressive tax system, right? So, I think when people become high earners, and they go through the grieving process,   Kiera Dent (22:36) see what we feel. It's awesome.   Morgan Hamon (22:48) And I guarantee you, I'll just talk through this briefly, but Gary, you and I have both been through this. And the doctors that are killing it and making lots of money, they've probably been through it too. But if we think about the grieving process, what's the first step? All right, it's denial. Okay, it's the first year you went from making 200 grand as an associate and now making 700 grand. And we've already written off the equipment and now we got 700 grand income. And you get your tax plan and you're like, what? This isn't for me.   Kiera Dent (22:54) Yes.   Morgan Hamon (23:17) Honey, think our email got hacked. We got this, this can't be right. This isn't mine. You go full on denial, this can't be right. And then we're like, no, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, that is your tax plan. And then we immediately go to anger. I'm so mad. thought Morgan was, I thought Morgan was this cool guy. I'm mad at him.   Kiera Dent (23:22) I'm   Hmm?   I need a different CPA, Morgan. I'm finding a different Harry Potter wizard. I need someone better than you.   Not today, I'm out of here.   Morgan Hamon (23:45) You get angry.   You're like, what the heck? I got this tax bill. So you get kind of angry. And then you go into bargaining and say, you know what? I'm going to go buy a CEREC machine tomorrow. Say, OK. I mean, do you need that? mean, do you do a lot of grounds? So you get all, I'm going to do this, this, and then where people are really in troubles and they stop making their estimated payments. Well, this can't be right. This can't   Kiera Dent (23:53) Hahaha.   Ha   Morgan Hamon (24:14) I'm going to go, I'm going to buy this and this and this. And then we start, there's a 6,000 pound truck. I'm going to go buy this big truck. And I kind of joke around a little bit. Yeah. So you get into bargaining, right? And then you're like, OK, well, gosh, I don't need any other equipment. I'm already doing the stuff. And then you get into depression. You're like, really? Am I going to? I guess this just stinks. And then finally, get to acceptance.   Kiera Dent (24:23) G-Wagon right now. I'm gonna brand it.   Morgan Hamon (24:43) and you realize if you're a high earner, there is a corresponding bill. Now that can be managed. There are ways for legal, perfectly legal tax avoidance to get into the so-called secrets. But you go through this journey. This has just been my, I guess, my 15-year research project. I've been through it personally myself, and I'm a CPA, and I still like writing this check. Dang. ⁓   Kiera Dent (25:06) same.   you   Morgan Hamon (25:13) But,   so that's what we have to, I think, wrap our head around, you understand that. And I encourage people, look, if you're a dentist, and maybe this dentist joins the seven figure club, right? You got seven figure profit, that's pretty amazing, right? That's really good income. But you will have a six figure tax bill. And that's okay. That's okay. ⁓   Kiera Dent (25:37) You will.   Morgan Hamon (25:42) And you just, got to get through to acceptance and take comfort in that you are engaged to take advantage of the legal opportunities that are out there for proper tax avoidance. And that's the, we talk about the secrets, you know, I see these clowns on, on YouTube of like, ⁓ I know the secrets of the tax code. mean, if you see that, I mean, just run. ⁓ There are no secrets. They're all well-known. Like I know all our competitors in our, the dental field and I'm on friendly terms with many of them.   We all know these. We all know the stuff that can be done. Legal tax avoidance. here's, we'll call it the secret, ⁓ Dentists, everyone's part of it. Here's the secrets, okay? Here's the secret. When you have a pass through business, which is what these dental practices are, right? So the business, and this will shed some light on your client 20 years, right? Your business does not pay income tax. The business tax return   Kiera Dent (26:22) Everybody's perking up right now, Morgan. They're like, okay.   Morgan Hamon (26:42) is math. It's absurdly complex math, but it quantifies the profit that's passed it through and gets listed on your personal tax return. And you owe income tax on that profit. That's what it means by pass through. And it's all ordinary income tax. There's no special tax rate for business owners. It's ordinary income tax. So how do we save money? Here's the secret. We have to capture as many expenses that we're otherwise incurring and capture those as business deductions.   When we do that, that lowers profit. Less profit passes through to the personal tax return, you pay less tax. That's the secret. So you have to execute the strategies, right? The home office is perfect for doctors. Totally substantiated, totally mainstream deduction. That's what justifies the car.   You can deduct a car, but that means you have to be engaged. You have to get the mile IQ. You have to understand what is your business percentage use. You have to do this right. You have to document it. There's things you have to do right. Take your board meeting. ⁓ If the cash flow allows, have a qualified retirement plan. Take full advantage of that. ⁓ If you're okay with having staff over to your house, have those meetings at home and have the office rent it from you. again, these aren't... People know these. This isn't...   I'd love to tell you I'm some genius that went and studied the tax code and formulated all these myself. This is out there. What you're engaging with your CPA is folks that will actually bring this to you and do it, but ultimately the doctor has to do it. What I think about is if someone thinks, well, I'm just going to have an hour meeting with my account at the end of the year and they're just going to take care of all of this. That's like saying, you know what?   Kiera Dent (28:07) haha   cringe.   Morgan Hamon (28:30) I know I need to work out and eat right to be healthy but I'm just going to go meet with my doc this fall and that should do it. Maybe they'll give me a pill that'll make me in shape and healthy. But no, you got to do the stuff. So if your accountant tells you, look, take a board meeting, document it properly, there's a proper way to do it, you got to do it. That's how we say the proper legal avoidance. your account comes to you and says, look, it's time to be an S-Corp,   Kiera Dent (28:51) Mm-hmm.   Morgan Hamon (29:00) because the profit is appropriate, you gotta follow the instruction. There's a procedure there and it's gonna save a lot of money on self-employment payroll tax if it's done correctly. You gotta listen, but you gotta engage. There's action items. And so we, ⁓ every September, I made a checklist. You know, again, Navy guy, right? I got a checklist. Log in, do the checklist. I call it our business tax savings maximizer. That's the flashiest, catchiest name I could think of. But like, log in and do it. That's the secret.   Kiera Dent (29:19) I love it.   you   Morgan Hamon (29:29) So, you know, for those listeners that waiting for the secret, that's it, right? We got to capture expenses as business deductions and there is action items for the doctor. It requires that engagement. And to circle back to where what you said earlier, like you can't come into the office and just fix it for them. They've got responsibilities on things to do too and that's the same with tax policy.   Kiera Dent (29:53) I thought that was such a beautiful way. And as you were going through the phases of grief, I'm like, oh yeah, I definitely lived all of those.   Thanks for kicking it off with Top Gun, ending with like tack strategy. Thanks for sharing some of the tips. But truly super honored to work with you and love what you guys are doing for dentists out there.   Morgan Hamon (30:04) Alright.   Kiera,   I always enjoy our visits and look forward to each one. So I appreciate you having me. I really enjoyed it.   Kiera Dent (30:16) course. And for all of you listening, thank you for listening and I'll catch you next time on The Dental A Team podcast.  

Residents of the agricultural town of Pescadero in San Mateo County have long dealt with the issue of flooding. But what happens when each solution spells an issue for their neighbors?

Continuing from the wishlist, in this episode we focus on underused features in Power Pages - capabilities that are built into the platform but often overlooked during development. We discuss features such as redirects, shortcuts, site markers, and web link sets, highlighting where they fit and why they're still relevant, especially for structured navigation and content management. We also cover content snippets, explaining how they support multilingual content, reduce duplication, and allow non-developers to manage content without modifying code. Additional topics: Leveraging form and list metadata instead of custom JavaScript Choosing fetchXML in liquid over Web API for secure, server-side queries The challenges and potential of conditional multistep forms The role of site settings in fine-tuning authentication and behavior A lot of Power Pages features are often overlooked. Hopefully you get some extra ammunition to improve structure, usability, and long-term maintainability across projects. Get in touch voice@crm.audio Nick Hayduk @Engineered_Code George Doubinski @georgedude

Scrump and Drew talk about; Plain White T's, Fergie, The Modern Lovers, Limp Bizkit, Kanye West, Pusha T, Ghostface Killah, Prof, Bruce Springsteen, Gary Clark Jr, and more! Hey There Delilah-Plain White T's Big Girls Don't Cry-Fergie Hospital-The Modern Lovers Rollin'-Limp Bizkit New God Flow-Kanye West ft Pusha T & Ghostface Killah Light Work-Prof Dancing In the Dark-Bruce Springsteen This Land-Gary Clark Jr   Patreon Merchandise   Social Media: Twitter Instagram 

Charnak, Dinfa & Eabis get their next mission from the Azure Foundry. They're heading back to a familiar plane, but with a new destination.   Time Keeps on Slipping Rain Stays Mainly On The Plains Not Like Us - Drake v Kendrick   Get Bonus Content and More on Patreon: patreon.com/dungeondads   Shop: Dungeon Dads store on TeePublic FanRoll Dice (use code DungeonDads for 10% off!)   Join the Conversation: On Facebook On Instagram On Twitter On Reddit On YouTube   Episode Page: dungeondads.com/episode142  

Lament Honestly. The “Sermon on the Plain” is noticeably more grounded than Matthew's version. Jesus here attends to the material condition of his followers' lives, and dares to speak the truth about that. He says God knows it's true, and has in mind a reversal of fortune that will honor the truth of their daily experience of lack. Carisa Robinson is preaching.To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: info@galileochurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or Zelle (generosity@galileohurch.org), or just send a check to P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060

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There's a vast difference between those who dream and those who do. Plain and simple—it's the doers, the ones who take action, who actually make things happen. So, how do you get to that point? Maybe you're not feeling ambitious, or maybe you're too fearful—or just too comfortable with where you are right now. Well, in today's video, I'm here to light a fire under you and get you out of dreaming and into doing. Let's get the ball rolling and out of your head! Important Links: Save TIME & MONEY by running your biz on a single platform- check out my software, Equipt360 Rent Boujee on the Beach Rent Boujee on Miramar Beach