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After thousands of years of biblical wisdom available to us, humans are still stressing over whether there is any peace to be found in the daily struggle to survive and thrive. We overfill our lives with more than we can handle, stew over unfinished to-do lists, and quietly convince ourselves that choosing to rest is somehow irresponsible — maybe even brazen. And so the exhaustion compounds, and restoration stays just out of reach. But God's ultimate plan is restoration. And you cannot even spell that word without rest. Genesis 2 tells us that after the immeasurable work of creating everything, God Himself chose to rest on the seventh day and made that day holy. He did not have to. He is infinitely capable. But at the very beginning of His love letter to us, He modeled something essential: rest is not a reward for finishing everything. It is a sacred rhythm built into the design of life itself. Psalm 4:8 was written on an index card beside a bed during one of the hardest seasons imaginable — between jobs, in a temporary apartment, caring for a child through painful change — and whispered aloud in the dark as a declaration of trust: in peace I will lie down and sleep, for You alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety. That verse is an invitation to unclench our grip on every fear and worry and let God watch over what we were never designed to carry through the night. Today's Bible Verse "In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety."— Psalm 4:8, NIV Ponder Today Rest is not a reward for finishing everything — it is a God-designed necessity. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy precisely because He rested on it. Rest is not laziness or irresponsibility. It is obedience to the rhythm God built into creation. You cannot spell restoration without rest. God's ultimate plan for you is restoration — of body, mind, heart, and soul. Refusing to rest is not faithfulness. It is standing in the way of what God is trying to do in you. Reclaiming rest requires shifting from striving to trusting. First Peter 5:7 invites you to cast your cares on God. Philippians 4:6-7 promises that when you present your requests to Him, He will guard your heart and mind. Rest is an act of faith, not an act of indulgence. Psalm 4:8 is a declaration you can whisper in the dark. When fear and worry make sleep feel impossible, speaking this verse aloud is not a passive act. It is a deliberate choice to place yourself under God's watchful care and release what you were never designed to hold through the night. You are loved not for your works or achievements, but because you are God's beloved child. Rest is the place where that truth settles most deeply. In stillness, without anything to prove or produce, you are simply held by the One who made you. A Prayer for You Today Dear God, help me remember that rest is an intentional gift from You. Remind me that I am not proving myself to You — rather, I am celebrating Your goodness. Show me how to ease the pressure I put on myself and make room for the restoration my heart, mind, soul, and body need. Inspire me with ideas for relaxing that let me enjoy unstructured time, naps, and sleep without guilt. I know You desire what is best for me. Help me not to stand in the way of the sweet refreshment You provide. Show me how to reclaim rest. In Jesus' name, Amen. Don't Miss an Episode If today's prayer gave you permission to finally put something down and rest, we'd love to stay connected. Subscribe to the LifeAudio newsletter at LifeAudio.com for daily prayers, devotionals, and more content to restore your soul and renew your faith every day. If you like this podcast, be sure to check out our sister podcast, Your Nightly Prayer - an evening Christian prayer podcast to help you end your day in conversation with God. https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-nightly-prayer/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
Episode Summary:In this message from Philippians 4:4-7, we continue the Fruit of the Spirit series by looking at the peace Jesus gives. This is not a shallow peace that depends on life being easy, but the internal calm of the Spirit in the middle of pressure, pain, problems, and difficult people. Paul wrote about this peace from a Roman dungeon, showing us that peace is not the absence of difficulty but the presence of Jesus in the middle of it. Because Jesus is our peace, we can rejoice, relax, release our cares to the Father, and rest in what He has already given us.Main Scripture:Galatians 5:22-23Philippians 4:4-7Psalm 73:28Isaiah 41:10Isaiah 26:31 Peter 5:7Romans 5:1Big Idea:Jesus is our peace, and we live from His peace as we rejoice, relax, release, and rest.In This Episode:Peace is not the absence of difficulty; peace is the presence of Jesus in the middle of it.Worry and anxiety try to blind us to the peace that is already ours in Christ.Paul teaches us to rejoice in the Lord even when circumstances are painful, pressured, or uncertain.The Lord is near, not only beside us but living within us by His Spirit.Prayer, thanksgiving, and trust help us release our cares to God instead of carrying them alone.The peace of God guards our hearts and minds as we stop struggling and rest in Christ.Reflection Questions:Where have I been looking for peace outside of Christ?What circumstance has made it hard for me to rejoice in the Lord?What problem, pressure, or person has caused me to forget that the Lord is near?What care have I cast on God, only to reel it back in later?What can I thank God for because He is good, even before the situation changes?Where do I need to stop struggling and trust the peace of God to guard my heart and mind?Next Steps:Read Philippians 4:4-7 this week and practice the four acts of faith: rejoice, relax, release, and rest.When worry rises, stop and talk to the Father instead of carrying the pressure alone.Speak God's promises out loud so your own heart can hear what He has said.Thank God because He is good, not only when everything feels good.Identify one care you have been reeling back in, and release it to God again without taking it back.Remind yourself daily: Jesus is my peace, and His peace already lives inside me.Closing Line:Listen in, share it with someone who needs peace, and subscribe for more messages from The Gospel Unfiltered.
Have you ever gotten into a disagreement with your brothers or sisters? So did Joseph. But even with trouble at home, Joseph still dreamed big!JOSEPH FORGIVESHey parents! Use these questions as a guide to talk over this week's Bible story called Joseph Forgives with your child after they've listened to this week's story. Remember the Big Idea: God has an important job for me.What was your favorite part of the story we just heard?Who was mean to Joseph and threw him into a pit?His brothers. They were jealous of Joseph because their dad loved Joseph the most.What happened when people thought Joseph did something wrong?They put him in jail.Who was always with Joseph, even when bad things kept happening?God!Is God always with you?Yes! We know God is always with us when we believe in him because he tells us in the Bible, and he helps us through the Holy Spirit. He helps us be brave and gives us what we need.Take some time to pray with your child. You might pray something like this:Dear God, thank you for always being with me. Help me remember you are with me when I am scared or when bad things happen. We love you! Amen.Parent Devotional Hey parents! We have something just for you to enjoy this Bible story for yourself. We encourage you to read over this devotional sometime this week as a way to reflect on the Bible story your child saw from Church at Home. We love you!DownloadEarly Childhood Craft – Joseph Story OrderColor the Joseph story cards and help your child test their memory of the Bible story as they put them in the right order. Remind them that God was with Joseph in every part of his story, and God is always with us.DownloadEarly Childhood Activity – God is With Me Pretend PlayYour child is learning that they can believe God is with them. As they play pretend, they will act out different things as a reminder that God is with them no matter what.DownloadEarly Childhood Activity Sheets Each week we have activity pages for your child to remember the week's lesson. They include new coloring pages and activity sheets for your child to enjoy!DownloadNavigating ParenthoodHey parents! Saddleback Parents has great training, tips, and tools to help you win. Check out http://saddlebackparents.com/ for resources to help guide you as you do the challenging and worthy work of raising brave, loving, kind kids who love God and others!Download
Frédéric Prégent, President and CEO of Taxelco
Most of us prefer the path to be direct and short. When life requires a longer route — application after application with no offer, a caregiving season that stretches on without relief, a waiting period that feels uncertain and never-ending — it is easy to become disillusioned not only with the situation but with God Himself. Why this way? Why so long? Why not the obvious route that was right there? The Israelites asked the same questions. After the miraculous liberation from Egypt, God led them away from the shortest path and around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. It made no sense — until it did. The longer route was not a delay. It was divine protection. If they had gone the direct way and encountered the Philistines in battle, they would have lost heart and run back to Egypt. And when Pharaoh's army bore down on them at the edge of the sea, what looked like the worst possible outcome became the stage for one of the greatest displays of God's power in all of Scripture. Psalm 27:14 calls us into the posture the Israelites ultimately had to choose: wait for the Lord, be strong, take heart, and wait. The three invitations this episode offers — pray to trust the detour, pray to see God at work, and pray until you praise — trace the same journey the Israelites traveled from fear to song. God is fighting for you. Stand firm long enough to see it. Today's Bible Verse "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."— Psalm 27:14, NIV Ponder Today The longer route is not a mistake — it may be divine protection. God led the Israelites away from the shortest path because He knew what lay on the other side of it. When His timing makes no sense, He may be shielding you from something you cannot yet see. What looks like the worst possible timing is often the setup for God's greatest display of faithfulness. The Israelites were trapped between Pharaoh's army and the Red Sea — and that was exactly where God chose to part the waters. Your impossible situation is not beyond His reach. Standing firm in fear is an opportunity to see God at work. Moses told the terrified Israelites to stand still and watch. That instruction still holds. When circumstances feel overwhelming, resist the urge to retreat to what feels familiar. Stay long enough to witness what God will do. A Prayer for You Today Lord God, when the road ahead feels uncertain, long, and tiring, I am tempted to lose heart. Help me to trust Your direction for my life and Your timing for the situation I face. Remind me that even when Your ways seem longer or less direct than I would like, You are still leading me with wisdom, protection, and care. Give me the courage to stand firm when fear rises and circumstances feel overwhelming. Open my eyes to see You at work in ways I might otherwise miss. Teach me to wait for You and to be strong even when I feel like quitting. I commit to waiting until my heart is once again filled with praise for Your majesty, grace, and faithfulness. Amen. Don't Miss an Episode If today's prayer helped you trust the detour you are currently walking, we'd love to stay connected. Subscribe to the LifeAudio newsletter at LifeAudio.com for daily prayers, devotionals, and more content to strengthen your heart while you wait on God's perfect timing. If you like this podcast, be sure to check out our sister podcast, Your Nightly Prayer - an evening Christian prayer podcast to help you end your day in conversation with God. https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-nightly-prayer/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
Get the 200+ Page Optimal Living Daily Workbook (PDF) — Free. Want to turn today's episode into an actionable plan? Join the Optimal Living Weekly newsletter and I'll send you our 200-page digital workbook immediately. It's packed with the best takeaways from the show, formatted for easy reading and implementation at home. Get your free PDF workbook here: https://oldpodcast.eo.page/join Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 3079: Jen from This Time of Mine encourages parents to focus less on academic checklists and more on practical life skills that help children feel confident and independent as they begin kindergarten. From finding the bathroom to asking for help and making friends, these simple preparations can make the transition smoother and help kids enjoy their new school experience. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://thistimeofmine.com/how-to-actually-be-ready-for-kindergarten/ Quotes to ponder: "Teach them that it's ok to speak up and ask for help, especially when they're unsure." "Remind them that it's ok to feel nervous when they meet new people. And coach them on how to ask kids to play." "They're going to be just fine. There's a lot of change and learning that will happen, but they'll figure it out. And so will you." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sacred Earth beneath my feet,draw my scattered attention down and in.Let my senses be roots,sight, sound, scent, taste, touch,and the knowing beneath words,reaching deep into your living heart.Remind me that life is not a race,but a gentle returning to what always holds me.As I change, may I stay rooted.As I root, may I be free to change.Happy July and welcome to this week's Rituals of Returning newsletter! This month we are steeping in the Cauldron of Change. We also have August's ritual kit ready for you in the shop. This week's magic:13 minute mini ritual video: allies for Julyimpromptu “witch at work” studio altar tourpart two house altar tourI'm happy to report that I won third place in the Deane Wagner Poetry Contest for my poem: “Do Poets Eat at Taco Bell?”My 100 word story, “Warm-blooded” (shortlisted in the Tadpole Press 100 word story contest last month), has now been published in the 10th volume of “How to Save the World” from Compassiviste Press. 100% of the proceeds from the anthology goes to the Zaatari Desert Garden project, helping Syrian refugees develop hydroponic food production in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan. The digital book is available from:Compassiviste websiteAmazonBarnes and NobleKoboEvent notice for upcoming free event (not-affiliated, just passing the word along): On July 21st at 11am PT/ 2pm ET/ 8pm CET, there is a free online gathering with Pat McCabe (Weyakpa Najin Win, Woman Stands Shining): Seeding a New Future. Pat is a Diné elder, ceremonial leader and voice for global peace and will be in conversation with Rachel Duffy and Michael Denmeade. Together we'll explore the wisdom of these times. And the work of coming back into right relationship with the Earth, with each other, and with our own true nature, such that together we can seed a thriving future for all. It's free, donation-based, and open to all. The registration link is here. Replay from our 2000 Days of Goddess live celebration including free printable booklets!Back to the Roots collection with so many free resources from June!The Cauldron of ChangeI've been making space to steep in the Cauldron of Change this month, even with just a few morning minutes to reflect and integrate. I made this little prompts booklet for my community and it has been such a helpful resource—I've also been dropping my Womanrunes draw of the day into the Cauldron rune and seeing how the two work together. I'd love to invite you to join us as well—we're doing live community practices each Monday!Back to the Roots!Back to the Roots has drawn to a close after celebrating our 2000th day of #30DaysofGoddess! Make sure to check out the collection where all of the free posts are available.And, you can still grab your welcome kit with beautiful journals and customizable covers.Life's Bits and Pieces:Even when life is busy even when there is too much to do,even when everythingand everyone needs something from you,you know a one word spell of power:Return,a practice,a process,a prayer, an invitation to settle and re-settle into your own wise center,to root downand reach outand reclaim.reading: (to self) How to Save the World—referenced above from Compassiviste. This is an interesting anthology with poems, short stories, and book excerpts from speculative fiction. It has made me highlight several book titles to get separately because I was hooked in by the extracts included.(to kids) The Violet Keystone, the sixth and final book in the Seventh Tower series (why there aren't seven gets on all of our nerves, but we're also ready for the series to be over). listening to:by self: Caroline—this is an adult retelling of the Little House on the Prairie saga through Ma's eyes. It WAY overuses simile and is a little more navel-gazing than I expect Ma would actually have had time for, but I'm finding it very engaging and interesting. Listening to this for me is completely independent of the new Netflix series that is currently ALL over the news and social media. I didn't even know there was going to be a new series until just this week and I have been on the waiting list for Caroline for several months now. I also feel like I need a disclaimer that despite my deep childhood fondness for this series, as an adult, I've definitely come to see what a sanitized, idealized, and whitewashed picture it paints of the westward expansion, colonialism, and the indigenous nightmare of forced removal.with Tanner and Mark: Daughter of the Deep—a lengthy revisiting of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Rick Riordan. Shades of Percy Jackson and a bit of Harry Potter abound therein. I do enjoy the diverse cast and the female heroine. This made for good listening on our recent drive to Ohio and Kentucky.Note: I am on Fable if you want to follow along with what I read there!Resource Reminders:Intro audio about the Goddess Magic Mystery SchoolI've started to add our monthly activation replay videos for this year's #30DaysofGoddess practice to the homepage! Scroll past the “2026 Practice Updates” section to access the videos. Note: Live monthly activations are available to any member of the Goddess Magic Mystery School Patreon community free and paid both!FREE class:forty week Intro to Goddess Studies class!Gift a Goddess Magic membership to a friend!Rituals of Returning for Midyear Reflection & IntegrationHappy July!Rooster call, cicada buzz, fly dance, wind rustle, spiderweb shimmer, ironweed in bloom. Wise weeds and wild ones, show me the holiness hidden in what I overlook. There is plenty right here, a cocoon for the metamorphosis of now.Inviting you to step into the Cauldron of Change in our Rituals of Returning video for July. This month is a gently powerful invitation into midyear reflection and integration—a sacred pause to let your experiences steep, so you can carry forward what truly nourishes you.Reminder: I do create monthly handbooks for members of our Goddess Magic Mystery School community and July's handbook is available here.Expanded post available here.Questions to consider:What from the first half of this year needs to be:Scooped out and released?Left to steep longer?More fully savored and integrated?What needs to be reconsidered, redefined, or re‑explored at this midpoint of the year?Where do you need spikier boundaries around your time, your days, and your energy?What needs to be lovingly cut away so you can choose transformation?Where are you being invited to savor the sweetness of your life more fully?How can you create sanctuary in your everyday life, right where you are?How can you create what you seek right now, in the middle of everything?What might become clear if you grant yourself a sacred pause this month to integrate, reflect, deepen, and steep?AffirmationsI tumble with the turning.I allow myself to choose and to change.I take my life to the cauldron and listen.I am on the lookout for the presence of wonder.I am awake to the miracle.I tend to the secret garden in my soul.I am at home in myself.I create a sanctuary in my everyday.I savor this sweet and wild life.A Blessing of BelongingWe close our weekly live community practice each week with our familiar blessing of belonging:Breathing in, we arrive in our bodies,breathing out we soften.We remember we belong to the earth and the sky,to ourselves and one another.May our small, steady flamesjoin countless othersin a great weaving of repair.Here, in the Cauldron of Change of summer, we remember: we do not change alone.We change in circles, in conversations, in the solidarity of knowing that other people, other places, are lighting their candles too, placing their own experiences into the cauldron, asking their own questions, and trusting that together, across distance and in all our imperfect humanity, we are part of a great weaving of repair.So as July unfurls, I invite you to steep in some practices/ideas that we've recently been exploring in circle:Let July be July.Let yourself be yourself.Release what is too heavy.Let what is still becoming have time to steep.Savor what is already sweet and true.And remember, every time you pause to remember you belong: you are a small, steady flame in a wide, wild, shimmering cauldron of change in which we can brew a new world to share. Our Inner Pace…My inner pace in Julymoves in resonancewith the languorous,liquid,luminous,lazy rhythm of desire,of longing,of curiosity and wonder. It is the pace of discovery,of creative renewaland energetic re-setand review,the pace of life's own unfolding,on its own time,in its own ways.Sending love to all of you.Keep living your magic, Molly, Mark, + Family This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goddessmagic.substack.com/subscribe
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2 Timothy 2:14-26 [14] Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. [15] Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. [16] But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. [17] And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, [18] who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some. [19] Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” [20] But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. [21] Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. [22] Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. [23] But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. [24] And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, [25] in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, [26] and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
Telling the Story: Part 1 Acts 7:1-16 by William Klock Last Sunday, in Acts 6, we saw Stephen confronted as he preached in the synagogue. We don't know exactly what he was preaching, but from the accusations that were made against him, he was—of course—preaching that Jesus is the Messiah, but must also have been talking about the way in which Jesus and the Spirit fulfil God's promises to Israel, the law and the prophets, the torah and the temple. We can surmise that, because what they accuse him of is saying blasphemous things against God in general and specifically against Moses. They accuse him of saying that Jesus will destroy the temple and change the customs that Moses had handed down to them. We can surmise this, too, because this is what we've been hearing Peter preach in the earlier parts of Acts. Never in the early church do we see the apostles or anyone else just launching into a sermon about Jesus. They always and consistently preach Jesus as part of the story of the God of Israel and his people. That's important. In fact, it's critical; it's essential. Leave out the story that leads to Jesus and you just may lose Jesus himself. That's what happened with Marcion of Sinope back in the Second Century. His was one of the very first heresies the church had to confront. He threw away the Old Testament. He believed the God of the Old Testament was an evil, sadistic god and not the same God we see in the New. So he just unhitched the Old Testament and left it behind. And that heresy has been cropping up throughout church history in one form or another ever since. A few years ago, ex-evangelical pastor, Andy Stanley, caused a big stir when he preached that the church has to unhitch itself from the Old Testament. Even if we don't cut out the Old Testament from our Bibles, even if we cherish the Old Testament, if we lose the story it contains, we're going to get ourselves into trouble. Men like Tertullian and Justin Martyr addressed Marcion and he was eventually excommunicated. The church would always hold tenaciously to the Old Testament. But it wasn't even a hundred and fifty year later that we started to undermine its story-telling. As the church became increasingly dominated by gentiles, we started to read the Old Testament (and the New), not as the story of the God of Isreal and his people, but as a book of moral allegories and of types that pointed to Jesus. We flattened it out and made it abstract. We “spiritualised” it. We knew the story of the God of Isreal and his people was there, but we denigrated it. That was the simplest, the least important, the least “spiritual” way to read the Bible. And by the grace of God we didn't lose the gospel, but gradually we started putting the em-PHA-sis in the wrong places. What we see in the Bible, in the Gospels, in the teaching of Jesus, and in the teaching of the apostles in their epistles, and in the examples we see through Acts, is that the good news about Jesus is deeply rooted in the Old Testament and in Israel's story. You cannot separate the old and the new. The story tells us the problem of human sin and rebellion and of the corruption of Gods' good creation. The story shows us how God has stepped into the world to set it to rights. The story shows—long before we ever get to Jesus—the goodness and faithfulness of God. The story shows why the Israelites could and should trust the God who spoke through Moses and the Prophets—and eventually through Jesus and the apostles. The story prepared them—and it prepares us—for Jesus, for his death and his resurrection and his ascension and his kingdom and it prepares us to know the Spirit and to be the temple, purified by the blood of Jesus and made a dwelling place for God, to be a the truly heaven-on-earth people God had promised to make Israel; to be the beginnings, the firstfruits of his new creation, his new age, his kingdom. That's what Stephen was getting at when he reminded his fellow Jews about the day when Jesus had said that he would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. It wasn't about the end of Moses or torah or temple; it was about fulfilling them. They were signposts point into God's future—a future in which God would live with his people, not in a building, but actually in them, and a future in which the law would no longer be carved on stone tablets, but written on human hearts. But they refused to hear. They drummed up false witnesses and they dragged Stephen before the Sanhedrin, the governing body of the Jews. Look at Acts 7. [Page 1086 in the pew Bibles.] Having been dragged before the Sanhedrin, “The high priest addressed Stephen. ‘Are these things true?' he said. ‘Brothers and fathers, hear me,' replied Stephen. ‘The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he moved to live in Haran.'” Let me pause there. Notice how Stephen is going all the way back to the beginning. He speaks first of the God of glory, which might not seem very important to us, but it's noteworthy that “God of glory” is not a common way to speak of God in the Old Testament. In fact, Psalm 29:3 is the only place this title is used. On the one hand, I suspect Stephen uses it to make the point that he has no interest in denigrating or blaspheming the God of Irael. Stephen is invested in proclaiming the glory of God, and that's exactly what he's about to do by reminding them of their own story—and, most importantly, how it ends with Jesus and the Spirit. But Stephen is also invoking Psalm 29 as it ascribes glory to the God of creation, the God who is enthroned, sovereign over the seas and over the forests, sovereign over the nations, the God who blesses his people as they cry out in his temple, “Glory!”. This is the God of creation. And then to mention Abraham in the next breath is to set the opening scene. God created the heavens and earth. God created human beings to serve as his stewards and his priests in this creation. And we rebelled. We broke it. We corrupted it. We introduced darkness where there was supposed to be light. We drove a great wedge between heaven and earth, between God and man as we claimed his creation for ourselves, to do with as we pleased, to try to rule it as if we are gods ourselves. To write our own stories instead of living in the one he's given us. And it was into that darkness, into that void in which men and women had lost all knowledge of their creator and had turned to idols, God spoke. And he called to Abraham. That call was the beginning of a new story—a story to set creation and to set humanity to rights. A story that would, one day, culminate in God returning to dwell with his people. It's the story that everyone in Israel new, inside-out, backwards and forwards, top to bottom. And yet something had gone wrong in the telling. Because when God returned, Israel had rejected him. Because when Stephen proclaimed Jesus and the Spirit, the people accused him of blasphemy. Because as faithful as they were to the story, they hadn't got it quite right. Remember last week I talked about how you might take a trip to the other side of the country. You drive your car to Nanaimo, then you leave it there and take a ferry to Horseshoe Bay, then you get off the ferry and take a bus downtown, and then you get off the bus to get on Skytrain to the airport, and then fly in airplane to your final destination. That journey might break down at any number of points. We might really, really like to drive our car and we can't bear to think of leaving it parked at the ferry terminal and taking a ferry instead. And so we refuse to stop driving. When our friend tells us you can't drive on water, we get angry. We accuse him of being a car-hater. We accuse him of saying that cars are bad and evil and no good. And we wait for the ferry to leave and then we drive full-speed down the ramp and crash into the water and drown. Not because cars are bad, but because cars were simply never designed to drive across water. That's what's going on with Stephen's accusers. Stephen never said that torah or temple were bad things. They were good things. They were wonderful, spectacular, glorious gifts of God's great grace. They were signposts leading Israel to Jesus. It's just that in this new age, God's given something even better. There's a new law and a new temple. Those things were the promise, but now the fulfilment of the promise is here. But they don't want to hear that. But let's image you managed to transition from car to ferry to bus to Skytrain and you get to the airport, but instead of looking at the departures board to find your gate, you just walked down the concourse. And you looked for the gate you liked best. You stopped at one and you looked out the window and on the horizon, across the Strait, you could see Vancouver Island. And it was comforting and you decided this was the right gate. You could sit and wait for your plane to Montreal and never lose sight of the Island. And you waited and waited, but no plane came. And eventually you asked a gate agent, and she said, “Oh, you're at the wrong gate. Your flight's leaving from such-and-such gate.” But you didn't listen. You liked this gate with the view of home. And a while later they announced your flight—and the gate—but you ignored it. Eventually you even heard them page you: “Passenger So-and-so, this is your last call for boarding at gate such-and-such.” But you just sat there. This gate was nice. Everyone else was wrong. Eventually the plane will come. And that's what most of Isreal did. The Messiah came to fulfil the law and the prophets, but people already had their ideas of who and what the Messiah was be and to do. Because they'd got the story wrong. Not all wrong. They'd got to the airport after all, but wrong enough that they were convinced it was this gate, not that one. So Stephen's going to do what Jesus had done and what he'd heard Peter do. He's going back to the very beginning of the story and he's going to tell it again. He's going to tell it so they can understand that leaving the car and getting on the ferry doesn't mean you hate cars or think they're evil—and that the same goes for Moses and the Prophets and torah and temple. And he's going to tell it so that when they do get to the airport, they be willing to trust the departure board and the gate agents and the pages about the right gate—so that they'll see how the story was, all along, leading them to Jesus. The real key here is to pay attention to the bits of the story that Stephen—inspired by the Holy Spirit—decides to emphasise. There are a thousand parts to this story, but—Stephen is saying—look at it this way and you can't help but recognise that in Jesus, the Messiah has come. So, again, picking up at verse 2: “The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he moved to live in Haran. ‘Leave your land and your family,' he said to him, ‘and go to the land which I will show you.' So he left the land of the Chaldeans and went to live in Haran. Then, from there, after his father's death, God moved him on to this land in which you now live. God didn't give him an inheritance here, not even a place to stand up in. Instead, he promised (when Abraham still had no child) that he would give it as a possession to his seed after him. This is what God said to him: that his seed would be strangers in a foreign land, that they would serve there as slaves, and that they would be afflicted for four hundred years. But God said that he would judge the nation that had enslaved them, and that they would then come out and worship him ‘on this mountain'. And he gave them the covenant of circumcision. So Abraham became the father of Isaac, and he circumcised him on the eighth day. Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of the twelve patriarchs.” You can't understand Judaism or Christianity without understanding Abraham. This is where the story of God's rescue begins. With this call, God's plan to set the world to rights begins to unfold. Israel wasn't just some random nation in history. God's calling Abraham out of the darkness of ignorance and sin and idolatry is what sets the story on its trajectory to Jesus, it's what establishes that this is the story of how God will rescue human beings and fix his creation that we broke. It's like Stephen is answering the charge of blasphemy by affirming that, no, he is actually affirming the story they knew; he's affirming God's call; he's affirming the special status of Israel. Just because we also had to take a ferry, doesn't mean the car was a bad thing or that it didn't have a good and useful purpose. And Stephen makes a point of zeroing in on Genesis 15. That's the part of Genesis where Abraham has been faithful to God and followed him to the holy land, and God responds by establishing his covenant with him. We see this, too, over and over in the New Testament, especially with Paul in Galatians 3 and Romans 4. This is a vitally important part of the story that leads us to Jesus. And so Stephen stresses: God promised the land to Abraham's descendants. The most Abraham would ever have it was a burial plot that he had purchase. But after his descendants had been strangers in a foreign land for four hundred years—he's talking about Israel living as slaves in Egypt—he would judge that land and its people, and he would bring Abraham's children out of Egypt to worship him “on this mountain”. Why was that important? Because it shows how God works. He makes promises and he keeps them, but he does so in his own good time. If Abraham hadn't know better, he might have thought God had failed. Moses might have said, “I don't think this is what was promised.” But instead, Abraham trusted. Instead, Moses believed and followed God as he did a new thing. And I think that's why Stephen phrases this bit about “on this mountain”—that was originally God's promise to Moses that he would bring the Israelites back to the place where God had met him in the burning bush and they would worship there, but Stephen connects that with the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Already—long before Jesus—God was fulfilling his promises in ways that were unexpected. Mount Sinai points to Mount Zion. For Jews in the First Century, the temple had become a symbol of the land of Israel and of God's promise to Abraham. That's why they were so angry at Stephen when they thought he was blaspheming the temple and saying it was no good or that it would be destroyed. You might as well say—in their thinking—that God was going to abandon his promise to Abraham. So Stephen connects this all together. He affirms the promise; he affirms the covenant; he affirms God's promise of the land; and most of all he affirms the temple. Most importantly, what he's doing is affirming that God has called this people and given them a purpose. Through them he's going to save the world. They knew that, but they'd muddled the story just enough that they'd got the “how” part of it wrong. Stephen's on his way to Moses now. We'll look at that part of what he says next week. There's too much to his speech to cover it all in one sermon. But on the way to Moses, Stephen pauses. He needs to remind them of the part of the story about Joseph. Look at verses 9-16: “Now the patriarchs became angry with Joseph, and were jealous of him. They sold him into Egypt. But God was with him, and rescued him from all his troubles an gave him grace and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, making him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. But then there was a famine over the whole of Egypt and Canaan, which resulted in great hardship. Our ancestors couldn't find food to eat. Jacob, however, heard that there was grain in Egypt, and sent our ancestors there on an initial visit. On their second trip, Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and revealed to Pharaoh what family he was from. So Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his family, seventy-five people in all. Jacob came to Egypt and he and our ancestors died there. They were brought back to Shechem and buried in the tomb which Abraham had bought with silver, at a named price, from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.” Before Stephen gets to Moses, there's Joseph and Joseph's story. Abraham (and Moses as we'll see next week) point to Jesus through their calling and the promises God made to them. Joseph points to Jesus another way and he's particularly relevant to the current situation. Joseph was rejected by his brothers, but it was precisely in that rejection that God was work. It was through his rejection and through Joseph's unjust suffering that God raised him to govern the whole land of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. When famine came to Canaan and Egypt, it was Joseph whom his brothers came to for food—the man they'd been jealous of, the man they'd abused, the man they nearly murdered, the man they sold into slavery. And yet, what happened when they came to Joseph. Instead of being angry, instead of retaliating, instead of getting revenge, Joseph was gracious. He wept for joy to see his brothers again and invited them to come and live with him in a land of plenty. I hope that sounds familiar. I hope you can hear echoes of Jesus there. I can't help but think of the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son and the rejoicing that Jesus says happens in heaven when sinners repent. I hope you can see in Joseph's story, particularly as Stephen tells it, how God was preparing his people for his son. This is how God works: through humility, through rejection, through letting sin and evil and human rebellion do their worst, and then rising triumphant. This is how God works, Stephen declares: He is loving and gracious and merciful toward those he has created. One day, when he finally finishes the work of setting creation to rights, it'll mean wiping from its face all those who persist in their rebellion, who persist in sin and evil. God does not rejoice in the destruction of those he loves. And so he rejoices—just as Joseph did—to welcome the repentant, to welcome those who want to be part of God's new world, to welcome those who come to be washed clean in the blood of Jesus and to be filled with his Spirit, to become new creations themselves, to become part of his new temple. Stephen's pointing back to Joseph to tell the Sanhedrin: There is grace, there is forgiveness for you too—even for those who cried out “Crucify him!” I suspect there were some men there in that meeting of the Sanhedrin that day who saw where Stephen was going with this. Like I said, this is as far as we'll go with Chapter 7 today. It's too much for one sermon. But the real takeaway from these first sixteen verses is, I think, simply to understand what Stephen, inspired by the Spirit and steeped in the scriptures, is doing here. This is—or it should be, because it sadly usually isn't—this is the great art of Christian apologetic and Christian preaching and the proclamation of the good news about Jesus. It's to tell the story of God and his people, to have the wisdom to know which of the thousand and one details is relevant to the immediately situation or immediate audience, and then to tell that story as the story that leads to Jesus as its fulfilment and its climax on the one hand, but that also proclaims God's glory by showing his goodness and faithfulness in the story that brings us to Jesus. Brothers and Sisters, the Old Testament is not just a collection of useful stories for teaching morals nor is it a collection of allegories that foreshadow Jesus. It is, first and foremost, the story of how God has been at work to save us and to save his creation from sin and death. And we need to learn it. We need to learn it well. So that we can tell the story in a way that doesn't leave us behind as the ferry sails away or that leads people stranded at the wrong gate at the airport. We need to tell the story in way that honours the old covenant, torah and temple, but we also need to tell it in a way that reveals Jesus as the fulfilment of them, a story that faithfully follows the signposts as they lead us to Jesus and to the Spirit, to the cross and to the empty tomb, to the ascension and to the creation of this new temple, not made of stones, but made of people washed clean by Jesus and filled with God's own Spirit. We need to learn to tell the story so it gives glory to God for his goodness and faithfulness, for his grace and mercy, not just when we get to the part about Jesus, but at every step of the way: from Abraham to Joseph to Moses to David to Jesus—and then to you and to me, and to those who are lost and whom God so longs to rejoice over. Let's pray: Father, in the Collect we acknowledged your goodness and your promises that exceed all we can desire. Remind us always that we know your goodness, because we know your story. Capture our hearts and minds, we pray, by the glory of that story, that we might immerse ourselves in it, that we might meditate on it, that we might in habit it, and that we might tell it over and over and over until the whole world knows your glory. Through Jesus our Lord, through the one who embodies your glory in all its fullness, we pray. Amen.
July 12, 2026 Daily Devotional: “The Rock”Deuteronomy 32:4 "He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he." Life rarely gives us a heads-up before the ground shifts beneath our feet. A sudden medical report, an unexpected shift in a relationship, or the quiet, creepinganxiety of an uncertain future can leave us feeling completely untethered. When everything around us is in motion, we desperately look for something—anything—that will hold still. In Deuteronomy 32, Moses is standing at the end of his life, delivering a final song to the people of Israel. They are on the precipice of entering the Promised Land, facing an unknown future filled with battles and new challenges. Moses doesn't anchor their confidence in their own strength, their military strategy, or even their favorable circumstances. Instead, he anchors them inthe character of God, using a powerful metaphor: The Rock. When scripture calls God "The Rock," it isn't just poetic imagery; it is a declaration of absolute dependability. Moses is stating that God is the ultimate baseline of reality—completely immovable, completely reliable, and an absolute refuge when the ground beneath your feet shifts. His works are perfect; even when life looks chaotic or messy from our limited perspective, God's grand design is flawless. He doesn't make mistakes, and He doesn't leave loose ends. All His ways are just; in a world where unfairness seems to win the day, God operates with absolute equity. His timing and decisions are always right. He is a faithful God who does no wrong, because at some point people will fail us, systems will crumble, and our own hearts might waver. But God is incapable of betrayal. He is upright, true, and consistently good. To say God is our Rock means that when the cultural tides turn or personal storms hit, our foundation remains completely immovable. You don't have to muster upthe strength to hold yourself together today. Your job is simply to stand on the One who cannot be shaken. The verse acts as a counter-weight to human instability. Moses is telling them: "Your circumstances are about to change drastically, and your own hearts will wave and falter. But your foundation—The Rock—is completely secure. When you don't understand what is happening around you, look back at who He is." Take a moment to identify the areas in your life right now that feel unstable. Are you trying to build your peace of mind on shifting sand—like financial stability, others'approval, or perfect circumstances? Consciously choose to shift your weight back onto the Rock. Remind yourself that even if the worst happens, the foundation of your life is secure in a faithful God who does no wrong.
In Tim Burton's 2010 film Alice in Wonderland, Alice is told repeatedly that she is not herself — that somewhere between childhood and adulthood, she lost something essential. The Mad Hatter names it plainly: she has lost her muchness. It is a clever phrase, but it points to something real. When we are hemmed in by others' expectations, constrained by circumstances, and focused on what we lack, something in us shrinks back. The grandness of spirit we were made to carry quietly disappears. Philippians 4:11-13 is one of Scripture's most frequently quoted and most frequently misunderstood passages. Paul's declaration that he can do all things through Christ is not a mantra for winning difficult moments or achieving personal goals. It is the testimony of a man who had learned, through experience and through faith, the secret of contentment — in plenty and in want, with a full stomach and an empty one. That contentment was rooted not in circumstances but in his identity and position in Christ. When we develop eyes to see the abundance we already have in Him, something shifts. Dissatisfaction loses its grip. Our spirit stops shrinking. We begin, like Alice, to embrace who we actually are rather than who our fears and circumstances have told us we must be. Godliness with contentment, Scripture tells us, is great gain — and it is available to every beloved child of God who is willing to remember what they already have. Today's Bible Verse "I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength."— Philippians 4:12-13, NLT Ponder Today Contentment is learned, not given. Paul said he learned the secret of contentment — which means it took time, experience, and deliberate faith. If you have not arrived there yet, you are not behind. You are in the process. A focus on scarcity shrinks the soul. When our eyes are fixed on what we lack rather than what we have in Christ, dissatisfaction creeps in and our spirit begins to contract. Muchness of soul grows when we develop eyes for abundance. Philippians 4:13 is a promise of endurance, not invincibility. Christ does not promise to make us immune to pain or guarantee that every goal will be achieved. He promises to strengthen us to face our circumstances with courageous, enduring hope. Your identity in Christ is the foundation of contentment. We are not striving to earn our place or prove our worth. We are beloved children of God who already have everything we need in Him. Resting in that truth changes everything. Dissatisfaction is often a signal that we have forgotten who we are. When life shrinks to a series of tasks and worries crowd out everything else, it is time to return to the truth of what we already possess in Christ: eternal life, spiritual blessings, and His constant presence. A Prayer for You Today Lord, I often feel like I have lost who I am. Between the worries of everyday life and the constant striving to make ends meet, I forget about my belovedness. Life becomes a series of tasks, and dissatisfaction creeps in far too easily. Forgive me for letting my worries drown out the truth of what I already have in You. In You, Christ, I have everything: eternal life, spiritual blessings, and the promise of Your constant presence. Instead of living in fear of not having enough, help me rest in the knowledge that You provide everything I need, including the strength to bear difficult circumstances. Remind me of who I am in You. And when I face situations that lead me to doubt or forget, teach me to respond with faith and say with confidence that I can do everything through You, because You strengthen me. In Jesus' name, Amen. Don't Miss an Episode If today's prayer helped you recover a sense of who you are in Christ, we'd love to stay connected. Subscribe to the LifeAudio newsletter at LifeAudio.com for daily prayers, devotionals, and more content to keep your identity anchored in the abundance you already have in Him. If you like this podcast, be sure to check out our sister podcast, Your Nightly Prayer - an evening Christian prayer podcast to help you end your day in conversation with God. https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-nightly-prayer/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
Summer is the season of light. The sun rises early, stretches across long golden afternoons, and lingers well into the evening. On clear nights, bright stars fill the sky long after the sun has set. There is something in us that is naturally drawn to all of that light, and this episode invites us to let it point us somewhere deeper — to the One who declared Himself the light of the world and promised that those who follow Him will never walk in darkness. The darkness in this world is real and can feel overwhelming. Bad news arrives daily, personal struggles accumulate, and it can begin to seem like darkness is gaining the upper hand. But Jesus' words in John 8:12 reframe everything. Just as lighting a single candle in a dark room demonstrates that light always dispels darkness physically, Jesus makes clear that His light dispels darkness spiritually — in any situation, no matter how challenging. Summer gives us a beautiful, unhurried invitation to meditate on that truth. A sunrise can become a prayer of gratitude. A golden afternoon can become a reminder of grace that covers everything. A clear starlit night can produce the kind of awe that only comes from contemplating a vast and powerful God. Let the light of this season renew your perspective and remind you that the God who created physical light is the same God who offers spiritual light to your soul — and His light always wins. Today's Bible Verse "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'"— John 8:12, NIV Ponder Today Light always wins when it arrives. No matter how dark a room, a single candle changes everything. Jesus' light operates the same way spiritually — it is stronger than any darkness you are facing, no matter how overwhelming that darkness feels. Following Jesus means you are never without light on the path ahead. His presence illuminates the way forward, guides you toward God's best, and offers the encouragement that a hopeful future is planned for those who walk with Him. Summer's light is a daily invitation to reflect on God's hope. A sunrise, a golden afternoon, a starlit sky — each one is an opportunity to turn your heart toward the God who created light and who offers that same light to your soul. When discouragement comes, let physical light point you back to spiritual truth. Whenever the darkness of this world presses in, step outside, look up, and let what you see remind you of what is true: God's light is stronger, His hope is greater, and His promises do not fail. A Prayer for You Today Dear Jesus, thank You for the wonderful light You have placed in the world around me. The sunlight of summer days and the stars that shine on clear nights remind me of Your goodness and power. You say that You are the light of the world and that those who follow You will not walk in darkness. Please help me remember that promise whenever I get discouraged about the darkness in this fallen world. Remind me to look beyond my dark circumstances to the light of hope You are always shining. Let the light of summer remind me again and again that Your light is stronger than any darkness. Fill my life with the peace and confidence that come from walking in Your light each day. Thank You. Amen. Don't Miss an Episode If today's prayer helped you see summer's light with fresh and hopeful eyes, we'd love to stay connected. Subscribe to the LifeAudio newsletter at LifeAudio.com for daily prayers, devotionals, and more content to keep your heart anchored in the light of Christ every day. If you like this podcast, be sure to check out our sister podcast, Your Nightly Prayer - an evening Christian prayer podcast to help you end your day in conversation with God. https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-nightly-prayer/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
Grab the GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY Prompt Vault HERE Welcome to another EFT Tapping Session on the YOU CAN CALL ME “BOSSY” PODCAST! In this replay EFT I will guide us through a powerful EFT Tapping session designed to set you up for a truly great week. Join me as I share uplifting affirmations, inviting you to trust in the universe, and help you focus on growth, opportunity, and self belief. Whether you're facing challenges or looking to kickstart your best week yet, this episode will leave you inspired and ready for success. NEED A VISUAL WHILE YOU TAP? If you need a visual while tapping you can CLICK HERE for the Instagram post I shared with a step-by-step guide.If you want to learn more about EFT Tapping (cause maybe you are new and need more details on what this weird but powerful practice is - I get it) CLICK HERE for the EFT Tapping Intro Episode! Key Takeaways: Mindset is everything: Remind yourself daily, "It's going to be a really good week" and focus on positive outcomes Opportunities are everywhere: Stay curious by actively looking for lessons and growth in every situation. Trust your journey: Even during challenges, trust that the universe has your back and everything is working for you. Episode Resources: Original EFT: HERE If you enjoyed this episode and are excited for more, please be sure to SUBSCRIBE and write a review to help build momentum and support the show (5-stars would be AWESOME!)_____________________________________________ JOIN US IN - THE CLUB - An annual membership where high-achieving women come together to unapologetically OWN THEIR “BOSSY” in order to rise to the top, make massive impact, and not burn out while doing it.Join TODAY to get access to all past workshop replays and past group coaching calls - always incredible takeaways and AHA moments from reviewing these sessions! Grab your spot in THE CLUB today by CLICKING HERE! _____________________________________________ LET'S FREAKING GO! GRAB THIS FREE DOWNLOAD: GRAB 100 FREE JOURNAL PROMPTS TO OWN YOUR BOSSY BY CLICKING HERE LET'S CONNECT: Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, or join my STAND IN YOUR POWER FACEBOOK GROUP Grab a signed copy of my bestselling book STAND IN YOUR POWER HEREWatch my TEDx Talk “The Wisdom of Your Ancestors Should Be Ignored” HERE
Today's poem is When you have to remind me to do the dishes by Isaac Pickell.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “When I think back to my own upbringing and what I learned from my mother and father, almost none of it has to do with growing up as a girl. I got my work ethic, sense of humor, and sense of fairness from both of them. I remind myself of all of that whenever I wonder if my son is getting what he needs from me. And I remind myself that he has a village around him.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Power your daily dose of poetry at Slowdownshow.org/donate
What if the way we talk about periods shapes how our daughters feel about themselves for the rest of their lives? For generations, menstruation was treated as awkward, embarrassing, or simply ignored. In this conversation, Kylie sits down with holistic educator and author Kate Andrews to explore how honest conversations about puberty, periods and changing bodies can help girls grow up feeling informed, empowered and connected to themselves. They discuss why period education matters, how parents can become a trusted source of information, and the powerful role of community in helping young people navigate life's biggest transitions. KEY POINTS:• Why period education is about far more than biology• The lifelong impact of shame and secrecy around menstruation• Helping girls understand the emotional and physical changes of puberty• Why parents need to become the trusted source before children look elsewhere• The importance of rites of passage and community support• How honest conversations strengthen relationships with our kids QUOTE OF THE EPISODE:"We should be made to feel empowered by our periods, not taught to ignore them." RESOURCES: Body Wise: A Puberty and Period Guidebook by Kate Andrews Wild Creative Australia Untangled by Lisa Damour A Girl's Guide to Puberty by Michelle Mitchell Pippin Girl - fantastic period-related resources for girls, created by Emma Tabacaru ACTION STEPS FOR PARENTS: Start age-appropriate conversations about puberty earlier than you think you need to. Speak openly and honestly about body changes and emotions. Create opportunities for your child to ask awkward questions without embarrassment. Help your child build a trusted circle of adults beyond just mum and dad. Remind your children that change is normal and they don't have to navigate it alone. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Marjorie Taylor Greene says she is in talks about starting a third party. Is that a serious political movement, or just another sign that voters on both the right and the left are frustrated with the two parties they have now? Is America ready for a real third-party challenge, or does our system still make that almost impossible? Paul Pelosi is facing a recommended misdemeanor charge for fleeing the scene of an accident after hitting a parked car in Yountville, California. Scoot recaps the Fourth of July celebrations and looks at how Americans marked the country's 250th anniversary. Did the holiday remind us that Americans are really unified, or did the Fourth become another reminder of how divided we are? Scoot sat down with John Waite, legendary rock musician who played with the Babys and Bad English, to discuss everything from childhood memories to handling fame to feeling like an outcast.
May I Remind You (Fourth of July Weekend) Dave Diefendorf Download
Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 4071: David Cain reflects on witnessing his father's final moments and discovering an unexpected truth: life is an ongoing weight of needs, worries, and unfinished business that never fully resolves. His meditation on death becomes a powerful reminder that peace doesn't come from tying up every loose end, but from learning to live gracefully with life's perpetual incompleteness. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://www.raptitude.com/2010/11/you-must-go-do-the-next-thing/ Quotes to ponder: "Remind yourself that when you die, your in-basket won't be empty." "Life doesn't stop, until it does. Whatever has happened, if you are alive, you must go do the next thing." "Now and then I can sit right in the middle of all of my uncertain and unfinished business and relax in the knowledge that everything really is in its right place." Episode references: Don't Sweat the Small Stuff... and It's All Small Stuff: https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Sweat-Small-Stuff-Its/dp/0786881852 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 4071: David Cain reflects on witnessing his father's final moments and discovering an unexpected truth: life is an ongoing weight of needs, worries, and unfinished business that never fully resolves. His meditation on death becomes a powerful reminder that peace doesn't come from tying up every loose end, but from learning to live gracefully with life's perpetual incompleteness. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://www.raptitude.com/2010/11/you-must-go-do-the-next-thing/ Quotes to ponder: "Remind yourself that when you die, your in-basket won't be empty." "Life doesn't stop, until it does. Whatever has happened, if you are alive, you must go do the next thing." "Now and then I can sit right in the middle of all of my uncertain and unfinished business and relax in the knowledge that everything really is in its right place." Episode references: Don't Sweat the Small Stuff... and It's All Small Stuff: https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Sweat-Small-Stuff-Its/dp/0786881852 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 4071: David Cain reflects on witnessing his father's final moments and discovering an unexpected truth: life is an ongoing weight of needs, worries, and unfinished business that never fully resolves. His meditation on death becomes a powerful reminder that peace doesn't come from tying up every loose end, but from learning to live gracefully with life's perpetual incompleteness. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://www.raptitude.com/2010/11/you-must-go-do-the-next-thing/ Quotes to ponder: "Remind yourself that when you die, your in-basket won't be empty." "Life doesn't stop, until it does. Whatever has happened, if you are alive, you must go do the next thing." "Now and then I can sit right in the middle of all of my uncertain and unfinished business and relax in the knowledge that everything really is in its right place." Episode references: Don't Sweat the Small Stuff... and It's All Small Stuff: https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Sweat-Small-Stuff-Its/dp/0786881852 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Grab the GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY Prompt Vault HERE Welcome to another EFT Tapping Session on the YOU CAN CALL ME “BOSSY” PODCAST! In this replay EFT I will guide us through a powerful EFT Tapping session designed to set you up for a truly great week. Join me as I share uplifting affirmations, inviting you to trust in the universe, and help you focus on growth, opportunity, and self belief. Whether you're facing challenges or looking to kickstart your best week yet, this episode will leave you inspired and ready for success. NEED A VISUAL WHILE YOU TAP? If you need a visual while tapping you can CLICK HERE for the Instagram post I shared with a step-by-step guide.If you want to learn more about EFT Tapping (cause maybe you are new and need more details on what this weird but powerful practice is - I get it) CLICK HERE for the EFT Tapping Intro Episode! Key Takeaways: Mindset is everything: Remind yourself daily, "It's going to be a really good week" and focus on positive outcomes Opportunities are everywhere: Stay curious by actively looking for lessons and growth in every situation. Trust your journey: Even during challenges, trust that the universe has your back and everything is working for you. Episode Resources: Original EFT: HERE If you enjoyed this episode and are excited for more, please be sure to SUBSCRIBE and write a review to help build momentum and support the show (5-stars would be AWESOME!)_____________________________________________ JOIN US IN - THE CLUB - An annual membership where high-achieving women come together to unapologetically OWN THEIR “BOSSY” in order to rise to the top, make massive impact, and not burn out while doing it. Join TODAY to get access to all past workshop replays and past group coaching calls - always incredible takeaways and AHA moments from reviewing these sessions! Grab your spot in THE CLUB today by CLICKING HERE! _____________________________________________ LET'S FREAKING GO! GRAB THIS FREE DOWNLOAD: GRAB 100 FREE JOURNAL PROMPTS TO OWN YOUR BOSSY BY CLICKING HERE LET'S CONNECT: Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, or join my STAND IN YOUR POWER FACEBOOK GROUP Grab a signed copy of my bestselling book STAND IN YOUR POWER HEREWatch my TEDx Talk “The Wisdom of Your Ancestors Should Be Ignored” HERE
Some mornings you wake up and you're just bone weary. The messes, the guilt, the late nights — all of it piling up at once. If that's you today, this episode is for you. LINKS:Join the Summer Book Club!Download How to Pray God's Word for Your ChildrenFollow Everyday Prayers @MillionPrayingMomsA Prayer to Move Our Weariness to Worship by Tara L. Cole We're talking about five practical ways to abide in Jesus even when you have nothing left. Listen today! Reference: John 15:1,4-5 Prayer: Father, thank you so much for seeking a relationship with us and reaching out towards us first. Please move our weariness to worship. Remind us of all you've done, help us to remember your character when the days are long. Please open our eyes to all the ways we can abide in you throughout our days. Thank you for your presence in our lives. In Jesus name Amen Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
Single mom burnout is real, especially when you are raising tweens and teens through behavior problems, screen time battles, emotional ups and downs, curfews, money stress, and hard conversations that you may not feel ready to have.When you are parenting alone, every decision can feel heavier. Every boundary can feel like a battle. And when your teen pushes back, it can be easy to wonder, “Am I doing this wrong?”In this episode of the Single Parenting Reset Show, Tess Connolly, LCSW, is joined by life coach and fellow solo parent Carrie Spranzi for an honest conversation about single parenting, resilience, burnout, communication, and raising teens through difficult seasons.Carrie shares her experience becoming a single mom at a young age, navigating financial stress, parenting through major life challenges, and learning how to stay connected with her son through honesty, trust, and open communication.Together, Tess and Carrie talk about what it means to parent tweens and teens with both boundaries and humanity.In this episode, you'll learn:Why single mom burnout often shows up during the tween and teen yearsHow to stay grounded when your teen is pushing backWhy trust-based boundaries can work better than constant controlHow to talk honestly with your teen about money, curfews, sex, safety, and real-life limitsWhy showing your humanity as a parent can actually strengthen your relationshipHow to build communication that lasts beyond the teen yearsOne of the biggest takeaways from this conversation is that your teen does not need you to be perfect. They need you to be honest, steady, respectful, and willing to keep showing up.If you are feeling burned out, overwhelmed, or unsure how to set boundaries with your tween or teen without constant conflict, this episode will help you reset.Listen to the full episode, then take one small step this week:Choose one boundary that needs more clarity.Have one honest conversation instead of avoiding it.Let your teen know what you need while still communicating trust.Remind yourself that connection and leadership can exist at the same time.⭐Got screen time problems at home? Get the Tech Reset Agreement here
"Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it." — Genesis 28:16. LINKS:Join the Summer Book Club!Download How to Pray God's Word for Your ChildrenFollow Everyday Prayers @MillionPrayingMomsA Prayer for When the Enemy Whispers that None of This Matters by Shalene Roberts How many times could we utter those same words? Today's episode of Everyday Prayers is a prayer for kingdom eyes — for awareness that God is in this place, filling, providing, sustaining, comforting, even when we don't see it. Reference: Genesis 28:16 Prayer: Lord, we confess that we rush past so much. Your kingdom is among us, and yet so often we don’t see it. Open our eyes today. Let us sense Your presence in the ordinary moments. Remind us that we are not merely mothers; we are co-heirs with Christ, called to a sacred and eternal work. Let that truth change the way we see our children, our home, and our calling. And when the enemy whispers that none of this matters, let us remember … we are standing on holy ground. In Jesus’ name, amen. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
Rio is joined at his Airbnb by Joel Beya and Ste Howson after a hectic few days where the trio went on a horse riding experience, welcomed Spain, Barcelona, Liverpool an Bayern Munich legend Thiago to the villa and watched England set up a huge knockout tie with Congo. Rio does a deep dive on the way Thomas Tuchel is utilising the attributes of Marcus Rashford and compares his view on Rashford's performance with those using statistics to criticise him. There's been a lot of discussion about the selection of Jordan Henderson in Thomas Tuchel's squad. After hosting Henderson's former teammate Thiago at the villa, Rio reveals why his inclusion is so important for Tuchel and the other members of the team. As the tournament starts hotting up with the knockout rounds, Rio discusses why this current French side remind him of Brazil in 2002 and how the switch from group stage games to knockout matches affect players' mentalities. The trio review their Airbnb experience of horse riding through the Malibu hills and laugh at Joel's unusual tactics of settling his horse down and tease the fact that another guest is coming to stay with Rio at the villa.Brought to you in partnership with Airbnb Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We are into a section of God's word that has, in practice in most churches and tragically across entire denominations, been forgotten or ignored in our generation. It has become the norm to think that in order for the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ to grow, we have to be innovative in what we do. Many seminaries have been telling students to figure out what the felt needs of people are, and to build a ministry around meeting those needs. That pragmatic mindset tragically ignores the fact that God's word tells us what our real need is, and it is not what most people "feel." The truth is that it doesn't matter what I feel. What matters is that I understand my need to be reconciled to God from whom I am alienated by sin. This portion of God's word, indeed the whole book of 2 Timothy, is not hard to understand. It's not esoteric. It's not abstract. It is bold and direct, and it tells us what God wants from His Church and its leaders. Church is not meant to entertain, and it's not meant primarily to address unbelievers. It is for the people of God to worship Him in spirit and in truth, so they are equipped to take the gospel to the world. As we have been seeing paragraph by paragraph, there are direct and clear commands we must heed. In our passage, there are four more imperatives which help frame it for us. If you ever wonder what is required to be approved to God, you need wonder no more. The answer is in our passage, which is built around the four imperatives. 1 - Remind (14) 2 - Be Diligent (15) 3 - Avoid (16-18) 4 - Abstain (19)
The Lakers remind me of the Heat 6-25-2026
You Don't Have To Be Strong All The Time 2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.” I love this verse. When I hear this verse, I remember that we don't always have to be strong. We don't always have to be perfect. We don't always have to get it right. When I hear this verse, I am reminded that God's power is made perfect in our weakness, not in our strength. I don't know about you, but I find that awfully comforting. We tend to feel like we have to be strong for everyone else around us. Whether we are a parent, a spouse, or a friend, we want to be the strong ones for those around us. Do you ever feel like that? Do you ever get tired of feeling like you have to be strong? This verse gives you permission to not be the strong one all the time. I have kiddos who struggle with their mental health at times. When they are struggling, it feels like we have to be strong as they need us to be there for them. They need us to be the safe place that they can land. They need us not to fall apart because they are already falling apart, and they need us to hold them together. This isn't just kids, either. Maybe you have a spouse or a friend who struggles with mental illness. When they are falling apart, you feel you need to be strong to help hold them together. Is this you? Do you feel like if you fall apart, everything will fall apart? I get it, I understand how that feels. This is why I love this verse. We may have to be strong with others and for others, and yet we don't have to be strong for God or when we are with God. When we are with God, we can let it all go. We can be weak. We can cry, we can yell, we can fall apart. The beauty of it all is that when we are weak with God, He actually makes us stronger. I just thought of an analogy, and I don't know if it's an exact fit, but it came to my mind, so I am trusting the Holy Spirit wants me to share it with you. The analogy I just thought of was something my son mentioned the other day. He was talking about how when we work out, our muscles are broken down, and then when they heal, they are stronger. This is what came to mind when thinking of being stronger when we are weak with the Lord. God said His power is made perfect in our weakness. When we are weak with God, we are strong. Why is this? One reason for this is that when we allow ourselves to be weak, we make more room for the Lord. We finally admit that we can't do it all ourselves and that we need help. We turn to Him, and we ask him to help us. Actually, at this point, we usually beg Him to help us. When we finally decide to be weak, it's because we have done all that we could do and it didn't work. When we are finally ready to admit we need God, we are so desperate, and we would do anything for our prayers to be answered. This is when God can help us the most. This is when we are the most ready for His help. God is just waiting for us to realize that we need His help. He is such a good Father that He waits for us to ask for help. He does not try to force himself on us. He is patient too! He will sit by patiently watching us make the same mistakes over and over again until we finally realize that we don't have to do it by ourselves. I imagine it must be frustrating for Him to sit there and watch us make the same mistakes time and time again. I heard this story at Christmas Eve Mass once, and I have never forgotten it. It just popped into my head when I was thinking about how patiently God waits for us. It's called The Man and the Birds, a Christmas story made popular by Paul Harvey. (CLICK HERE to read the whole story) The story is about a kind man who didn't believe that God would become human. One snowy Christmas Eve, while his family was at church, he noticed birds repeatedly flying into his window because they were desperately trying to escape the storm. Wanting to help them, he opened his barn, turned on the lights, and even scattered breadcrumbs to lead them inside. No matter what he did, the birds were terrified of him and wouldn't follow him to the safety of the warm barn. Finally, he realized that if he could somehow become a bird, they would trust him. Then he could tell them not to be afraid and show them the way to safety. At that very moment, the church bells began ringing, and he suddenly understood why Jesus came to earth. God became one of us so we could know Him, trust Him, and follow Him. I just love that story. To me, it shows how much compassion God has for us. He isn't watching us from Heaven, judging us or wondering why we don't get it. He sees us struggling, just like the man saw those frightened birds struggling in the snow. God knows our lives would be easier if we trusted Him and listened to Him. He isn't angry with us; He is patiently waiting for us to stop trying to do everything on our own and let Him help us. When we finally come to Him in our weakness, I imagine Him smiling and saying, "Finally, my child. How can I help you?" I just love that story. In the story, the man finally understood why God sent His only Son to save us. To me, it also shows how frustrating it must be for God to watch us live our lives. This man wasn't angry at the birds; he was full of compassion and just wanted to help them. I believe this is how God looks at us, too. I think he watches us live our lives, and He knows things would be easier if we listened to Him. He knows we wouldn't be suffering as much if we lived in this world but were not of this world. He is not up there judging us and thinking we are stupid and wondering why we just don't get it. I think he looks at us with compassion and is just waiting for us to stop trying to do it ourselves and finally turn to Him. When we do, he is ready to jump in and help us. I think when we are weak, when we finally give in and ask for help, God smiles and says, “Finally, my child, how can I help you!” You may feel you have to be strong with others, but you do not have to be strong with God. Let him shoulder your problems. Hand Him your worry, your cares, and your deepest desires, and let him carry them for you. In your weakness, His power is made perfect. Wouldn't it be great to have more of God's power in your life? I know I could definitely use more. Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we want to be weak with you; show us how. We want your power to be made perfect in us. We love you, Lord, and we know your grace is sufficient for us. We know this, and we also forget it when times get tough. Please remind us, Lord. Remind us that we don't have to always be strong. Remind us that your power is made perfect in weakness. Remind us that we can be ourselves with you. We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus' holy name, Amen. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. Being a parent is hard, and raising kids who struggle with mental illness, and let's be honest, there aren't many that don't struggle with something these days, is even harder. If you have a child struggling, please know you are not alone. You are doing a great job. You are a good parent, even when it feels like you are failing. The unkind things they say when they are struggling are not true. They love you, even if they can't show it at the moment. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Have a blessed day! www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace
Today we present “Remind Me Who I Am” a poem by Ritter, a musical retriever with a passion for literature. You can find more of his stories, including the Loom of Hours story cycle, on AO3.Read for you by Rob MacWolf — werewolf hitchhiker.thevoice.dog | Apple podcasts | Spotify | Google PodcastsIf you have a story you think would be a good fit, you can check out the requirements, fill out the submission template and get in touch with us.https://thevoice.dog/episode/remind-me-who-i-am-by-ritter
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What are his NBA comps?
https://jo.my/0m843fSlips, Trips, and FallsGravity has no mercy. A stray pallet wrap or a spilled coffee might seem minor. They aren't. They are trip hazards waiting for a victim. Real safety culture isn't about binders on a shelf. It is about a fierce, personal refusal to let your crew get hurt on your watch. It means you see a hazard, you kill it, and you move on. No excuses. No waiting for someone else to fix it. We protect our people by owning every square inch of that facility floor, every single shift.We are wrapping up National Safety Month with the big stuff. Hazard recognition. Slips, trips, and falls. These incidents are fast. Dangerous. Preventable. Let's talk about how we keep each other upright and moving safely today.Here are a few tips to assist you with National Safety Month Week 4: Hazard Recognition & Slips/Trips/Falls: Own Your Zone with 5S: Sort and straighten your work area every single shift. Keep the facility floors clear of straps, debris, and plastic wrap. If it does not belong on the floor, move it immediately. Maintain Three Points of Contact: Ladders demand respect. Always keep two hands and one foot, or two feet and one hand, on the ladder. Do not carry tools in your hands while climbing. Use a tool belt. Attack Spills Fast: Liquid and powder spills are immediate hazards. Never walk past a spill. Block the area off right away. Clean it up using the proper absorbent materials for your facility. Report the Near Misses: Did you almost trip over an uneven floor joint? Speak up. Reporting a close call today prevents a broken bone tomorrow. As always, these are potential tips. Please be sure to follow the rules and regulations of your specific facility.Every choice you make on the floor ripples out. When you bypass a mess or skip a safety step, you gamble with someone else's well-being. Look out for the greenhorn who does not yet know the dangers. Remind the veteran who gets too comfortable.Keeping this facility safe takes every single one of us. It is about watching each other's backs when the floor gets hectic. Let's make this shift the safest one yet.Thank you for being part of another episode of Warehouse Safety Tips.Until we meet next time - have a great week, and STAY SAFE!#Safety #SafetyCulture #StaySafe #SafetyFirst #SafetyTips #StayAlert #SafetyAwareness #NationalSafetyMonth #HazardRecognition #FallPrevention #5S #5SMethodology
Episode 2 of McBee Dynasty delivers once again! We learn of Galyna's arrest last Halloween, her classic mugshot, her terrifying shovel work and her excellent confrontation skills. We also see Steven Jr rush to the altar after only two pumps of pleasure, and we find out that Cole is actually the business tycoon of this dynasty! Remind me to go fight a hill later as he may be onto something!Don't forget to join us this Thursday, 6/25 at 5pm pdt/8pm edt for online trivia hangout at www.patreon.com/vanderpumprulespartyDownload EarnIn on the App Store or Google Play. Type in VanderpumpRulesParty under PODCAST when you sign up, it'll really help the show.Schedule35's goal is to destigmatize, re-educate about the science and real-world benefits of psilocybin, and make it accessible to everyone. Get 15% off with code VPR at schedule35.co. That's 15% off at schedule35.co and use code VPR. www.schedule35.coElevate your summer wardrobe. Go to www.Quince.com/vpr for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, tooReady to reach your goals? Visit www.forhers.com/vanderpump to get personalized, affordable care that gets you. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Magellan AI - https://docsend.com/view/5vdvbdx7cr4tikmyClaritas - https://claritas.com/privacy-legalPodscribe - https://podscribe.com/privacy
(2 Corinthians 13:11 NIV)Brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.One of the most important aspects of personal peace and a clear mind is unity and harmony in our relationships. The Apostle Paul promised that when we do all we can to keep our connections to others clean and right, God's love and peace will prevail in us and for us.Who do you need to restore, encourage or connect with today?What relationship do you need to give over to God's peace?Listen once again for Message Bible:Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure.A life surrendered to Christ is a life marked by restoration, unity, and harmony, producing peace of mind.Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Which of these ares do you need to focus on this today?Pray with me:“God, today I want to choose to rejoice in You no matter what is going on around me. Lead me towards restoration with everyone in my life. Remind me to speak encouragement to others. Help me to choose peace in all things. I know You are with me always. As above, so below.”
There are chapters of motherhood we'd rather skip past. The hard ones. The messy ones. But we can't fully appreciate the sacred gift of redemption until we've honestly looked at our need for it. LINKS:Join the Summer Book Club!Download How to Pray God's Word for Your ChildrenFollow Everyday Prayers @MillionPrayingMomsA Prayer for Christ to Transform my Ordinary, Broken, Beautiful Motherhood by Shalene Roberts Reference: Romans 5:8 Prayer: Lord, we come to you broken. We come to you weary from the weight of the smothering rule and the pain of living in the fallen world. Remind us today that our brokenness need not defeat us. Rather, use it to draw us to you. Thank you for the cross. Thank you that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Let the miracle of the empty tomb be the foundation of our motherhood today. Where we are depleted, fill us. Where we are afraid, steady us. Where we are grieving, hold us. And let the resurrection power of Jesus Christ transform our ordinary, broken, beautiful motherhood into something eternal. In Jesus' name, amen. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
Get AudioBooks for Free Best Self-improvement Motivation A Short Osho Story to Remind You Who You Really Are Discover a powerful Osho story that inspires self-awareness, inner peace, and personal transformation. Reconnect with your true self today. We Need Your Love & Support ❤️ Get 3 Audiobooks Free -
We often hear that it's harder to raise kids today than ever before. That isn't true, of course. All eras down through history have been challenging. We live in a world scarred by sin, after all, and children grow up among all sorts of temptations.That's why the role of a parent is something to take seriously, as a sacred duty.We've been discussing the best practical guide for living: the Bible. Nowhere is this truer than in its practical wisdom for raising successful children.Although we all have the freedom to make our own choices, and your kids certainly will make their own decisions, they benefit greatly from a loving father or mother who also loves the Lord.Proverbs 22:6 says, “Start children off in the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”This isn't the kind of thing you hope for — this is scripture, the Word of God, and can be relied on to bring about the promise made. The Lord will honor your commitment to raising children who love their Creator.One way to do that is to be bold in your discussions with your children, who likely hear anti-God stuff from school, and entertainment. For example, talk with them as if you believe the Bible is really true. Then point out that the book of Exodus commands all of us to value our parents.Exodus 20:12 says, “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God has given you.”It doesn't hurt to point out the bonus: long life.Make sure you also share with your children the wonderful practical tips from the Bible. Much of it will save them a broken heart down the road.For example, Proverbs 18:24 says, “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”This is repeated in the New Testament in 1 Corinthians 15:33, which says, “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.”God's Word promises us a sound mind. This state of being will help your children in everything they do from completing school assignments to caring for elderly relatives. A child who knows the Lord, and prays consistently, will become a human being you can be proud of.Let's pray.Father God, children are a gift from you. They are a sacred treasure — entrusted to us for a little while. Remind us daily of our role in shaping their lives, so that they are healthy and content, in the world that you made for them. In Jesus' name, amen. Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15.
A volunteer on stage. A backpack filled with rocks. Labels reading grief, loss, regret, shame, worry, disappointment, unforgiveness. And the visible, undeniable picture of what it looks like when we carry those things. The weight slowing every step, changing our posture, bending us forward under a load we were never meant to bear. Heidi Vegh draws from a moment at a grief retreat that stopped the room, and invites us to ask an honest question: what are we choosing to put in our backpack each morning? Because that is the truth Isaiah 43:18-19 points us toward. God is doing a new thing — but we have to give Him space to do it. Joseph chose to release the weight of betrayal, slavery, and suffering, declaring that what others intended for harm, God had intended for good. That same God of restoration is available to us today. When we lay down the rocks at the foot of the cross, the grief, the shame, and the regret, we don't walk away empty. We walk away lighter, freer, and ready to be filled with His peace, love, and purpose. Our pain is not wasted. But we do have to let it go. Bible Verse "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!"— Isaiah 43:18-19, NIV Ponder Today What we carry is a daily choice. Every morning we decide what goes into our backpack. Shame, regret, grief, and unforgiveness don't stay there on their own — we put them back in, often without realizing it. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. When we choose to dwell on past mistakes and carry shame, we are picking up a rock that the cross already broke. You have been forgiven. You do not have to carry what Christ has already taken (Romans 8:1). God can use everything you have walked through for good — but you have to give Him space. Joseph's story is proof that even the deepest betrayal and suffering can be redeemed. Surrender is what opens the door to that redemption in your own life. Laying down your rocks is a process, not a single moment. Heidi's prayer acknowledges this honestly — letting go requires endurance and trust, not just a one-time decision. Give yourself grace for the ongoing nature of surrender. A lighter backpack doesn't mean an empty life — it means room for peace, love, and purpose. When you stop filling your days with what hurts, God fills that space with something far better. You were made to walk with a lighter step and a more purposeful posture. A Prayer for You Today Lord, my backpack is heavy, sometimes too heavy to bear. I long to walk in freedom from my past, from difficult circumstances, and from the weight I carry every day. Remind me to leave these rocks at the foot of the cross instead of placing them back in each morning. I choose to believe You are a God of restoration and peace, that You can take the ugly and regretful parts of my story and make them into something beautiful. I open my heart to You, inviting You into the deepest places that hold bitterness, resentment, regret, and grief, and I ask that You replace them with Your peace, a peace that surpasses all understanding. Give me the endurance and trust to fully surrender, and to walk in the freedom that only You can give. In Your precious name, Amen. Don't Miss an Episode If today's prayer helped you set something heavy down at the foot of the cross, we'd love to stay connected. Subscribe to the LifeAudio newsletter at LifeAudio.com for daily prayers, devotionals, and more content to help you walk lighter and live freer in your faith every day. If you like this podcast, be sure to check out our sister podcast, Your Nightly Prayer - an evening Christian prayer podcast to help you end your day in conversation with God. https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-nightly-prayer/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.theflyingfrisby.comThe S&P 500 is close to all-time highs, but it's looking wobbly. After magnificent runs, gold and silver are both washed out and trending lower.Bitcoin is all but dead and buried. Rates are rising the world over so you can forget about government bonds - that particular bull market is over. Oil and gas have turned down now Trump and Iran have their deal. Remind me what uranium is again? What to do? Sell? Buy? Take profits? Run? Hide? Risk on? Rotate? Hedge?Everyone everywhere is telling you to do something. There is an entire financial industry dedicated to persuading you that inactivity is irresponsible.Three years ago I proposed the opposite and launched the Dolce Far Niente portfolio - “the sweetness of doing nothing” portfolio.It was based around a simple notion. Do nothing. The sweet FA portfolio. Most of us have busy lives to live with jobs, businesses and families. Some of us even have hobbies. We do not have the time, inclination or temperament to be constantly monitoring markets and worrying. I don't know about you but I find the more decisions I make, the more bad decisions I make. The aim of the portfolio was to build a sensible allocation to the major themes of the coming decade, and then largely leave it alone.No fiddling. No panicking because of some thing you read on X that morning. Nothing.Different readers used different vehicles. When uranium went nuts, we reduced to 2.5%. I simplified the equity allocation, so the exact implementation evolved over time. What follows therefore is not an audited fund report, but an approximate check-in.The broad conclusion, however, is clear.If you live in a third world country such as the UK, I urge you to own gold or silver. The pound will be further devalued, as will the euro and dollar. The bullion dealer I use and recommend is The Pure Gold Company. They deliver to the UK, the US, Canada and Europe. More here.Doing very little works surprisingly well.Depending on exactly how you measure it, the portfolio is up around 65-70%.Not bad for something specifically designed to reduce activity and thus stress.If by the way, you are investor starting out, this is the portfolio I recommend, and I recommend it way ahead of racy, smallcap stock tips, such as you sometimes read on here.So let's take a look at the portfolio, and let's see if any activity is required.The first lesson is that asset allocation remains far more important than stock selection. This is one of the basic truths that, it seems, one keeps having to re-learn.Doesn't matter which gold miner you own if gold miners are trending lower. Being on the right track matters more than backing the right horse.
The bible reminds us that it's okay to remind God of what he told you.
Imagine a seasoned grandfather pulling up a chair beside his restless, frustrated grandchildren — children upset about the apparent success of dishonest people and the seemingly unchecked wrongdoing in the world — and offering them hard-won, life-tested wisdom: don't fret. That is precisely the spirit Lia Girard finds in Psalm 37, written near the end of King David's turbulent life by a man who had seen plenty of evil, committed some of his own, and repeatedly returned to the God who proved faithful through it all. This is not the advice of someone who has lived a sheltered life. It is wisdom forged in the fire of real experience. Psalm 37 was written as an alphabetic acrostic — each stanza beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet — designed to be teachable, memorable, and passed down through generations. And its message is as urgent today as it ever was: do not fret when wicked people seem to prosper. Refrain from anger. Wait patiently for God. Because divine justice is coming, in His perfect timing, by His sovereign hand. We are not called to be passive in the face of wrongdoing. We can still love, still serve, still reach out to those in need. But we are called to keep the faith, guard our own spiritual integrity, and trust that the God who sees every atrocity is not indifferent, and that wrath is not ours to wield. Bible Verse "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger, and turn from wrath; do not fret — it leads only to evil." — Psalm 37:7-8, NIV Ponder Today Fretting is not just unpleasant, it is dangerous. Psalm 37 warns that fretting leads only to evil. Unchecked anger over injustice, left to simmer, can pull us away from faith, integrity, and the peace God desires for us. God sees every atrocity and every wicked scheme. Waiting patiently for Him is not the same as believing He is uninvolved. He sees it all, and Psalm 37 promises that the swords the wicked wield against the poor will ultimately pierce their own hearts. David wrote this psalm as a man of deeply imperfect but genuine faith. His wisdom is credible precisely because he earned it through failure, repentance, and watching God come through in the mess. His counsel is not naive. It is seasoned. Stillness and action are not opposites. Being still before the Lord does not mean doing nothing. We can still love, serve, and reach out to those in need, but we do so from a place of trust rather than outrage, faith rather than fear. A Prayer for You Today God, I know You see our world in turmoil. It's hard to tamp down anger when I see wrongdoing seemingly rewarded with power and success. Help me stop the fretting in my heart. Remind me that You have this. Equip and guide me to do good in my own circle of influence, and to refrain from worry and wrath. Give me an overflowing measure of the inner peace only You can provide — and help me stay hopeful, joyful, and merciful in these confusing times. In Your mighty name, Amen. Don't Miss an Episode If today's prayer helped quiet the noise of a confusing world and anchor your heart in God's justice, we'd love to stay connected. Subscribe to the LifeAudio newsletter at LifeAudio.com for daily prayers, devotionals, and more content to keep your peace steady and your faith strong every day. If you like this podcast, be sure to check out our sister podcast, Your Nightly Prayer - an evening Christian prayer podcast to help you end your day in conversation with God. https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-nightly-prayer/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
Here we are, God's daughters, under attack. Every day the enemy attacks with the hopes of distracting us or distancing us from God. That's why we must put on the full armor God has offered us. He doesn't want his girls vulnerable to the devil, he wants us victorious. Last week we studied the first 3 pieces of our God given armor for the spiritual battle: The Belt of Truth The Breastplate of Righteousness The Shoes of Peace Now, it's time for us to pick up our shield. Ephesians 6:16, “In addition to all these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.” Okay girls, let's learn about this shield and about those fiery arrows coming our way. Roman soldiers had 2 kinds of shields. One was a small, handheld shield. This is not the shield Paul is talking about. Paul is talking about the other type of shield – the one almost as big as a door. This shield was called the scutum (pronounced sk-U-tum). This shield, the sputum was about 4 feet high and 2 feet wide, made of layers of laminated wood, then covered with leather and bound with iron. The shield was big enough for a soldier to crouch behind and be completely protected. You've likely seen the movies where soldiers are carrying these large rectangular shields and when the enemy forces shoot their arrows, the soldiers stand together in formation with their door like shields held tightly ,forming a barrier all around them, in front of them and above them. That's the precise image of our faith as a shield. We are protected, but not only protected, we are enabled to move forward even while under attack. In this formation with their shields fully protecting them on all sides, the army wouldn't just crouch and endure the attack, they would MOVE FORWARD. Forward towards the objective. Forward towards the goal. Forward towards their mission. Forward, even while the enemy attacked. This is the power of our shield of faith. Now, what bout those arrows? Paul says the devil shoots “fiery arrows” at us. Soldiers in these days would often dip their arrows into a flammable liquid, then light them on fire before launching them at their enemy like a missile. AND THAT IS SATAN'S STRATEGY AGAINST US. Fiery, blazing arrows. His objective is to destroy you and he'll use every single thing at his disposal to do so. Don't be so naive to think he won't come after you. Scripture says he's “like a roaring lion”, and honey, lions don't care if you're cute, they don't care if you're happy, they don't care if you're rich, they don't care if you've got a whole family depending on you … lions want to kill you. Period. You have been under attack. No doubt, it's been happening. Even just this past week, fiery arrows were flying at you. Let me help you identify them: Arrow 1: Tempt you to sin Arrow 2: Get you to ignore the things that would help you Arrow 3: Make you miserable Arrow 4: Make you doubt Arrow 5: Make you settle Remember when you just ignored praying about it? Yip – that was an arrow. Remember when you didn't make time to open your Bible? Yip – that was an arrow. Remember when you thought it wasn't a big deal and you could hide it? Yip – that was an arrow. Remember when you felt so tired, so defeated and so discouraged that you just sat there? Yip – that was an arrow. Remember when you checked the box but didn't really give it your best? Yip – that was an arrow. Remember when you knew you should, but you didn't – Yip that was an arrow. Remember when you felt guilt and shame over it – Yip that was an arrow. Not to mention all the things you've been dealing with that make you scared, make you hurt, and make you question – All arrows. Now do you see the attacks you are continually facing? This is your every day reality. Girl, you are always under attack. That's why you need this shield of faith. To put it quite simply, the way you defend yourself from Satan's attacks is on a very practical level TRUST WHAT'S TRUE ABOUT GOD. Faith isn't just hearing about God – Faith isn't even just knowing about God – Faith is actively positioning God's promises between your vulnerability and the enemy's fiery assaults. The devil is going to shoot his fiery arrows to tempt you, distract you, discourage you, detour you and defeat you, but that big ol' shield of faith in God's promises is what you actively pick up and hold up to protect you. I know my God. I know his ways. I feel his presence. I receive his strength. I believe his promises. I trust my God. My sister, that is your defense! Faith is what will protect you when the fiery arrows are coming at you. Faith is what will help you advance even when you're under attack. Faith is not optional for this battle, it is essential! So really, what is faith? What a really hard thing to describe. If we're not careful, faith becomes nothing more than hoping or wishing. You know when you apply for a job and you'r pretty sure you're not going to get it because you're not even remotely qualified for it and someone says, “Well, you've got to have faith.” No, that's not faith. That's not what our Bible is talking about. That kind of faith is not a defense. When you're under attack, just wishing that something is true will never give you the defense you need. Let's give faith a real definition. I read about a missionary named John Paton – someone you've likely never heard of before. He was a Scottish missionary who went to the islands of the South Pacific in the 1800's to tell these remote people about Jesus for the first time. He wasn't welcome there. His wife and child died. Yet, he continued. He learned their language, then he set out to translate the entire Bible into their language so they could know about Jesus. While translating scripture, he got to Ephesians chapter 6 and he was stuck on verse 16, “Hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.” Their language had no word for faith. Faith was non-existent in their world, without even a word for it. As John sat in his island hut, stuck on translating this word “faith”, a local man came running and and flopped himself in a chair. He said to John, “It's just so good to rest my whole weight in this chair.” And that's when John knew – that's what faith is. This is how he could explain faith to the islanders. Faith is resting your whole weight on God. With that translation, the islanders understood faith and they came to put their whole weight on God through Jesus. Faith is putting your whole weight on God. If God said it, then it's true, and I believe it. That is faith. Faith is believing what Jesus has done for us, believing what God says about us, and living it out because it's THE truth. That's a shield of faith. Protected from the attacks of the enemy and able to advance! Through the Bible, we know: • God has chosen us. Before this world even began, he predestined that we would be his girls. He chose us first, gave us the family name, and bestowed upon us all the privileges of being his daughters. • God has blessed us. In everything that God has done for us, his intention is to bless us and give us what we don't deserve. • God has sealed us. He put his mark on us saying we belong to him and we're protected by him. • God has promised us an inheritance. We are in line to inherit the kingdom of God and eternal life. Through Jesus, it's our guaranteed destiny. Girl, that's where you're heading and today you're one day closer! God has held absolutely nothing back from you. He's given his all, he's given his best. He's actively taking everything in your life and making it work together for eternally good purposes. And when you put your whole weight on that, you will be able to survive the attacks of the evil one. Not only survive, but advance! When the fiery arrows come flying at you, and they always do – When you're tempted to doubt, leaning towards fear, hurting and questioning, avoiding the very things that will help you most, wandering down paths not meant for you and knocking on the wrong doors – STOP AND REMEMBER WHAT YOU KNOW OF GOD. Remember his promises for you. Remember what he's already done for you through Jesus. But don't just think about those things, LIFT THEM UP. Lift up that shield of faith by actually leaning into what you KNOW IS TRUE ABOUT GOD. Put your full weight on him. You know what you need to do in that moment of wandering, wallowing, wondering and wavering … you need to have a good talk with yourself. Listen here, self, stop this depressed, unhappy nonsense. Stop this wavering. Stop this delaying. Stop wallowing. You stop it now. Stop letting this steal your praise. Stop letting this distance you from Jesus. Stop it. Put your full weight on God. Remember his promises. Lean on them now! It's not going to be easy, but we all need to do this. We need each other to do it for us. Preach to yourself. Remind yourself of God. Arrange your life so that you're in the path of grace as much as possible — reading Scripture daily, praying, surrounding yourself with the right people. Know where you're vulnerable. Look to God, who will grant you the strength that you need. Then put your whole weight in what we know to be true about God. Remember the Roman shield formation? It's one thing to be a single soldier with a shield. Something much better happens when we come together with faith. As we create a shield-wall of faith, we'll be able to advance even when we're under attack. That's why you and I are connected. That's why God has given us an Army of sisters here. We fully put our weight on God in this together and we move forward even while under attack. Where are you being attacked? What fiery arrows are coming your way? What truths about God can you lean into today? Take up your shield of faith! Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com
A stranger in a bakery made one comment about a young girl’s body — and it sparked a conversation every parent needs to hear. When should we speak up? When should we walk away? And how do we help our kids build confidence in a world where careless comments about appearance are still far too common? In this powerful episode, Justin and Kylie unpack the viral bakery confrontation that divided the internet, explore the lasting impact of body-shaming comments, and share practical ways parents can help children become resilient, self-aware, and emotionally strong. They also dive into healthy masculinity, raising respectful boys, and the simple lesson every child should learn about commenting on other people’s bodies. KEY POINTS: Why comments about kids’ bodies can leave lasting emotional scars The difference between reacting publicly and protecting your peace How to teach children resilience without dismissing their feelings The “30-second rule” for commenting on appearance What healthy masculinity really looks like How to help daughters identify respectful relationships and red flags Using difficult moments as powerful teaching opportunities QUOTE OF THE EPISODE:“Healthy men help the people around them feel safer and stronger.” RESOURCES MENTIONED: Boys: Building Strong Young Men From the Inside Out by Dr Justin Coulson Happy Families podcast News.com.au article discussed in the episode ACTION STEPS FOR PARENTS: Teach children that other people’s opinions do not define their worth Model respectful language about bodies and appearance Use difficult social moments as teaching opportunities, not panic moments Encourage kids to notice how people make them feel: safer and stronger, or smaller and ashamed Remind children they never need to tolerate disrespect to be accepted See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Whom do you remind people of? At work or in society at large, is it evident that you are a Christ-follower? Jesus is always our supreme example for how to live a godly life in an ungodly world. Peter told us that we should submit to government as well as to management, and now he tells us why we should—because Jesus did and He's the one we follow.
Friendship drama is one of the biggest sources of stress for kids — and heartbreak for parents. In this episode, Justin and Kylie unpack the six powerful habits that create strong, lasting friendships and explain how parents can help children build healthier relationships from the very beginning. From loyalty and inclusion to emotional support and trust, these simple but profound friendship skills can shape your child’s confidence, wellbeing, and sense of belonging for years to come. If your child is struggling socially, feeling left out, or constantly caught in friendship ups and downs, this conversation will help you guide them with clarity and compassion. KEY POINTS: The six friendship habits linked to stronger relationships Why loyalty matters more than popularity How gossip quietly destroys trust The difference between emotional support and “fixing” Why belonging at school impacts lifelong wellbeing How small acts of kindness deepen friendships What parents can teach kids about inclusion and empathy QUOTE OF THE EPISODE:“Kids who understand that friendships require active care are far better equipped to keep them.” RESOURCES MENTIONED: Research by Michael Argyle and Monika Henderson on friendship Dr Kelly-Ann Allen’s work on school belonging ACTION STEPS FOR PARENTS: Talk with your child about what loyalty looks like in friendship Encourage them to include others and notice who gets left out Teach them to pause before sharing hurtful information Model emotional support by listening without trying to fix everything Help them look for small ways to encourage and serve friends Remind them that good friendships need effort, kindness, and consistency See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Walking through the aisles of a home décor store, surrounded by signs declaring "Peace," "Joy," "Hope," and "Strength" — it's a lovely sight, but Emily Rose Massey asks the question most of us don't stop to consider: are those words actually rooted in anything real? Because hope that isn't anchored in Christ is just a sentiment — beautiful to display, but powerless when the storms come. In this episode, Emily draws a clear and urgent distinction between the hollow encouragement the world offers and the true, anchored hope that only God's Word can produce in the hearts of His people. True hope, Emily reminds us, is not something we can conjure through positive thinking or a well-timed pep talk. It is a gift given by the Holy Spirit, cultivated through Scripture, and grounded in the unshakable faithfulness of God. Romans 15:4 tells us that everything written in the Word was written for our instruction — so that through perseverance and the encouragement of Scripture, we might have hope. That hope lifts our eyes above the chaos of our circumstances and fixes them on what is eternal. And it is that eternal perspective — the certainty of a heavenly home and the return of Christ — that fuels us to keep putting one foot in front of the other, no matter how dark things become. Today's Bible Verse "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." — Romans 15:4, NASB Ponder Today Hope rooted in anything other than Christ is empty. Decorative signs, motivational quotes, and self-encouragement have their place — but they cannot sustain you through real suffering. Only hope anchored in Christ holds when the storm hits. True hope is a gift from the Holy Spirit, given through Scripture. The more we fill our hearts and minds with God's Word, the more our capacity for genuine, sustaining hope grows. This is not passive — it requires intentional, daily engagement with the Bible. An eternal perspective is your greatest weapon against despair. When you remember that this world is not your home, the chaos around you loses its power to define you. Being heavenly-minded during earthly trials is what keeps hope alive. Your feelings of hopelessness are not the final word. As children of God, we are called to move beyond what we feel and remind our hearts of what is true. The Holy Spirit is ready to help us in our weakness — we simply need to ask. The hope you carry is meant to be shared. You have been given an anchor in a world that is desperately adrift. That message of hope in Christ is not just for you — it is good news for the lost and hurting people around you. A Prayer for You Today Dear Heavenly Father, You have given me the gift of faith in Your Son, and my hope is not built on what this world offers — fleeting and fragile — but on what is eternal and settled. Help me guard my heart when my circumstances tempt me to give in to despair. Remind me that the chaos of this world cannot cause me to sink, because I am anchored in the hope of the heavenly home that awaits me. May I carry that message of hope to the lost and hurting around me. In Jesus' name, Amen. Don't Miss an Episode If today's prayer helped anchor your soul in something deeper than circumstances, we'd love to stay connected. Subscribe to the LifeAudio newsletter at LifeAudio.com for daily prayers, devotionals, and more content to keep your hope fixed firmly on Christ every day. If you like this podcast, be sure to check out our sister podcast, Your Nightly Prayer - an evening Christian prayer podcast to help you end your day in conversation with God. https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-nightly-prayer/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
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