Podcasts about Seek

Cornelia Choe is an international leadership expert, global keynote speaker, and Thinkers50 Radar honoree who has advised hundreds of CEOs and senior leaders across five continents. A Georgetown University and Harvard Kennedy School graduate, Cornelia has worked in private equity at Morgan Stanley and other institutions, supporting leadership teams across Asia, Europe, and North America. Fluent in three languages and having lived in 11 different places, she brings a uniquely global perspective to leadership, decision-making, relationships, and navigating complex, high-stakes environments. Her TEDx talk has been viewed more than two million times. On this episode we talk about: How moving from Minnesota to South Korea at age 10 taught Cornelia to question her assumptions and adapt to new environments The importance of being willing to rewrite your mental “map” when entering a new culture, industry, or situation How Cornelia's early efforts to help women start businesses shaped her perspective on using your efforts to create meaningful change Why embracing uncertainty and constant change can help you develop resilience and better decision-making skills How talking to people with different perspectives can help leaders see a bigger picture and make better decisions Cornelia's approach to personal finance, including the importance of timing, flexibility, savings, and having “dry powder” for unpredictable opportunities Why strong relationships and trust are essential infrastructure for building businesses, leading people, and accessing accurate information Top 3 Takeaways Question the map in your head. The assumptions and mental models that work in one environment may not work in another. When circumstances change, be willing to gather new information, challenge your assumptions, and build a new understanding of how to succeed. Seek perspectives you don't already have. Leaders can easily surround themselves with people who think similarly or tell them what they want to hear. Talking with customers, suppliers, employees, and people who see situations differently can reveal angles you wouldn't see on your own. Build relationships based on trust. Strong relationships aren't just valuable socially—they can become the infrastructure for better leadership, better information, and greater opportunities. Leaders need to create enough trust that people feel safe telling them difficult truths rather than simply telling them what they want to hear. Notable Quotes "We can't just expect to coast through life and do nothing, yet at the same time empowering people so that they can realize their dreams." "Any person in a world of constant change is only able to see a certain part of the puzzle or the certain part of the landscape." "Our relationship network and the relationships that we have in our lives are the infrastructure and the backbone of our ability to create money." Connect with Cornelia Choe: Website: Cornelia Choe Instagram: @corneliachoe_author A Word from Our Sponsors: - The most successful business owners don't do it all themselves — they delegate. Upwork lets you build a team of highly skilled specialists for every function your business needs, so you can focus on what you do best and let experts handle the rest. Visit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily. I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep winning! Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Judith Joseph. A psychiatrist, researcher, and author of High Functioning: Overcome Your Hidden Depression and Reclaim Your Joy, joins Rushion McDonald to discuss the often-overlooked condition she calls high-functioning depression. The discussion focuses on successful, productive individuals who appear to be thriving externally but privately struggle with a persistent lack of joy, emotional exhaustion, restlessness, and unresolved trauma. Drawing from her research, clinical practice, and personal experiences, Dr. Joseph explains how many high achievers become trapped in a cycle of constant productivity, using work and accomplishment to avoid addressing deeper emotional wounds. She offers practical strategies for identifying these patterns and reclaiming joy before a mental health crisis occurs. Purpose of the Interview The primary purpose of the interview was to: Raise awareness of high-functioning depression, especially among entrepreneurs, executives, caregivers, and high achievers. Differentiate high-functioning depression from burnout and other mental health challenges. Help people recognize signs of hidden depression before a breakdown occurs. Provide practical tools for restoring joy and emotional wellness. Encourage vulnerability and support-seeking, particularly among those viewed as "strong." Key Takeaways 1. High-Functioning Depression Often Hides Behind Success People with high-functioning depression can maintain careers, businesses, families, and responsibilities while suffering internally. Characteristics include: Constant productivity Difficulty resting Emotional numbness Fatigue Irritability Lack of joy Feeling empty despite achievements Dr. Joseph refers to many of these individuals as: "Humans doing, not human beings." 2. The Core Symptom Is a Lack of Joy According to Dr. Joseph, the defining feature is not necessarily sadness but anhedonia, the inability to experience pleasure or joy. People may notice: Favorite activities no longer feel rewarding Relationships feel emotionally flat Accomplishments provide little satisfaction Life feels like an endless checklist Many dismiss this feeling as simply "adult life," when in fact it may signal depression. 3. Burnout and High-Functioning Depression Are Different Burnout is generally tied to work-related stress. Dr. Joseph explains: Burnout symptoms often improve when work stress is removed. High-functioning depression follows a person everywhere. If symptoms remain even after vacations, weekends, or time away from work, something deeper may be occurring. 4. Productivity Can Become a Mask Some individuals become "pathologically productive." They: Build identities around achievement Seek constant accomplishment Feel uncomfortable when idle Use work as a way to avoid confronting emotional pain Success becomes a coping mechanism rather than a source of fulfillment. 5. Unprocessed Trauma Often Drives Overachievement Dr. Joseph introduces the concept of scarcity trauma. People who grew up with financial instability, insecurity, or hardship may develop a perpetual fear of running out of resources, opportunities, or success. As a result: They struggle to slow down. They remain in a chronic fight-or-flight state. They continuously push themselves despite exhaustion. 6. Reconnecting With Your Past Can Restore Joy A major theme throughout the interview is the value of what Dr. Joseph calls mental time travel. She encourages people to: Look at old photos Reflect on who they were at 18 or 22 Remember activities that once energized them Revisit meaningful relationships and experiences The goal is to rediscover authentic sources of joy and values that may have been lost amid professional success. 7. Music Is a Powerful Healing Tool The conversation highlights how music can: Trigger positive memories Improve emotional regulation Connect different parts of the brain Transport people to happier experiences Dr. Joseph notes that music is even used therapeutically in psychiatric settings because of its healing effects. 8. Joy Must Be Scheduled and Protected Joy should not be treated as something that happens accidentally. Dr. Joseph encourages people to: Put joyful experiences on their calendar Protect personal time like important meetings Create intentional opportunities for happiness She emphasizes that leaders who prioritize joy positively influence everyone around them. 9. Strong People Need Support Too Many high-performing individuals are admired for their resilience but often suffer in silence. The interview stresses that: Strong people need places to be vulnerable. Leaders need trusted advisors. Asking for help is a strength, not a weakness. Rushion McDonald shares his own experience of reaching out for support during a demanding period of his career and how meaningful that guidance became. Dr. Joseph's Five Vs Framework One of the most practical portions of the interview is Dr. Joseph's "Five Vs" approach to reclaiming joy. 1. Validation Acknowledge and name your emotions without judgment. 2. Venting Express emotions through conversation, prayer, journaling, therapy, or trusted relationships. 3. Values Focus on what truly matters rather than only pursuing material success. 4. Vitals Take care of physical health through sleep, nutrition, movement, and protecting brain health. 5. Vision Plan future experiences that create joy and celebrate achievements rather than immediately moving to the next goal. Memorable Quotes On hidden depression "The key symptom is a lack of joy." On the human need for fulfillment "You are built with the DNA for joy. It's your birthright as a human being." On overachievement "I call these people humans doing, not human beings." On success masking pain "You're wearing this mask of productivity." On unhealthy achievement patterns "What are you trying to outrun?" On constant accomplishment "You think you're chasing happiness, but you're really trying to outrun the past." On emotional awareness "If you name it, that uncertainty goes down." On vulnerability "No one knows you're suffering if you don't say anything." On joy and leadership "Joy is very contagious." On support systems "Don't do it alone." Overall Message The interview's central message is that success does not protect people from depression. Many high achievers, entrepreneurs, leaders, and caregivers continue functioning at a high level while quietly struggling with emotional emptiness and loss of joy. Dr. Joseph argues that recognizing these signs early, processing unresolved trauma, reconnecting with personal values, and intentionally cultivating joy can help prevent burnout, breakdowns, and long-term mental health challenges. The ultimate goal is not merely productivity, but a life that feels meaningful, connected, and joyful. #SHMS #STRAW #BEST Money Making Conversations Master Class with Rushion McDonald is America's premier entrepreneurship, business leadership, financial literacy, and wealth-building podcast featuring successful entrepreneurs, executives, founders, celebrities, and industry experts sharing actionable insights for professional and financial success. Business Podcast Entrepreneurship Small Business Business Growth Financial Literacy Wealth Building Black Entrepreneurs Minority Business Leadership Executive Leadership Business Funding Marketing Strategies Personal Development Startup Advice Sales Training CEO Interviews Founder Stories Professional Development Economic Empowerment Business Success Networking Brand Building Innovation How to start a business Small business funding Entrepreneur success stories Business leadership podcast Wealth building strategies Black entrepreneur podcast Minority business development Marketing for small businesses Business growth strategies Startup funding opportunities Executive leadership training Financial literacy education Success mindset podcastSteve Harvey Morning Show Online: http://www.steveharveyfm.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stop Saying "Not Yet": It's Not Too Late to Change What have you gotten so used to that you don't even see it anymore? From 2004 to 2012, Rob Skinner worked as a realtor while planting a church in Ashland, Oregon. Whenever someone bought a fixer-upper, he gave them one piece of advice: Fix the problems right away. Why? Because human beings have an incredible ability to get used to almost anything. The cracked tile that drives you crazy when you first move in eventually becomes your cracked tile. You stop noticing it. Rob shares an unforgettable illustration from John Kotter and Dan Cohen's The Heart of Change: if you leave something unfixed long enough, eventually you could get used to stepping over the proverbial "dead body in the living room." And we don't just do this with houses. We do it with our: marriages character spiritual lives health finances relationships dreams ministries callings We live with something for so long that eventually we stop seeing it. What's Your Unfinished Foundation? In the book of Haggai, God's people returned to Jerusalem excited to rebuild the temple. They restored worship. They laid the foundation. Then opposition came. The work became difficult. They got discouraged. And they stopped. One year passed. Then two. Five. Ten. Eventually, roughly 16 years had passed. Imagine walking by that unfinished temple foundation every day. At first: "We need to finish that." Years later: "We really should get around to that someday." Eventually? You barely notice it. The unfinished foundation has become part of the scenery. That's what can happen in our lives. Maybe you once intended to deal with your temper, bitterness, lust, selfishness or lack of discipline. Maybe there's an issue in your marriage that you and your spouse have learned to work around rather than resolve. Maybe you once dreamed about having a vibrant relationship with God, knowing your Bible, helping people and making a difference. Maybe it's your health. Your finances. The book you wanted to write. The business you wanted to start. The church you wanted to plant. The person you wanted to mentor. The relationship you wanted to repair. You didn't necessarily decide it wasn't important. You just started saying: "Not yet." Two Dangerous Words: "Not Yet" God's people didn't say they would never rebuild the temple. They said: "The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord's house." — Haggai 1:2 Not yet. I'll work on my marriage—but not yet. I'll deal with my finances—but not yet. I'll get serious about my health—but not yet. I'll deal with that sin—but not yet. I'll pursue that dream—but not yet. When work slows down. When the kids get older. When I have more money. When I'm less stressed. When life settles down. But life rarely settles down. And "not yet" has a nasty habit of turning into "never." What Does Your Life Say Matters? Haggai challenges God's people: "Give careful thought to your ways." Don't just look at what you say matters. Look at what you're actually doing. Look at your calendar. Look at your spending. Look at your attention. Look at your energy. What gets the first and best part of you? Does the way you're living match what you say matters most? Jesus didn't say to seek only God's kingdom. He said: "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness." — Matthew 6:33 Something has to come first. If you wait to give the most important things the time that's left over, there probably won't be any time left. 16 Years of Delay. 23 Days to Change. Here's the hopeful part of Haggai. The people had procrastinated for approximately 16 years. Then Haggai challenged them to reconsider their ways. They listened. They repented. They obeyed. And 23 days later, they were building again. Their circumstances didn't change first. They did. They still had jobs. Bills. Families. Opposition. Hard work. What changed was their priorities. And then God told them: "I am with you." He stirred their spirits and they got to work. Maybe we've been waiting for that sequence to happen backward. "When I feel motivated, I'll exercise." "When I feel close to God, I'll pray." "When I feel passionate, I'll share my faith." "When I feel creative, I'll write." "When I feel ready, I'll have the difficult conversation." But maybe you shouldn't wait until you feel stirred to obey. Obey—and see what gets stirred. Put on your shoes. Open your Bible. Make the phone call. Schedule the appointment. Apologize. Write the first paragraph. Make the budget. Submit the application. Pick up the hammer. Take the first step. Find Your "Dead Body" When this episode ends, take ten quiet minutes and ask: What's the "dead body" in my living room? What have I gotten so accustomed to that I barely see it anymore? What's my unfinished foundation? And where have I been saying: "Not yet"? Don't make a list of ten things. Pick one. Then do something about it in the next 24 hours. Because 16 years of procrastination can become 23 days of transformation. Your past delay does not have to determine your future. You haven't missed your opportunity simply because you've waited. The unfinished foundation is still there. And as long as you're alive, you can pick up the hammer again. Have a great day—and make this life count.

Seek the Lord and His strength. Seek His face continually.

When you are building something meaningful, be deliberate about what you let in. Use the news strategically, not reflexively. Seek out places that elevate you—art galleries, forests, great architecture, open water. Visit the spaces where beauty lives. Your environment is not a passive backdrop to your creative life; it is an active ingredient in it. The people you surround yourself with, the places you choose to work, even the music you play—all of it is either feeding your creativity or diminishing it.I'm truly super excited over the upcoming release of my new book The Robot and the Gardener: Being Fully Human in an Artificial Age (Penguin Random House). It's a parable and it's different (by far!) from any book I've ever written.You can join the list here if you'd like to be among the first to receive any updates.FOLLOW ROBIN SHARMA:InstagramFacebookYouTube

Written version below.Venus Retrograde: Heroine's Journey — I'm keeping the price as it is. I was going to raise it, and then I listened to my intuition, which said no. Start date is October 1st, and Venus stations retrograde on October 3rd — there was a timezone error on my sales page that said the 2nd; the 3rd is correct.I've already started uploading new content to the portal — video guides, aspect breakdowns for the lead-in to the retrograde. And I want to say something I've been sitting with: I called this possibly my last run, and I don't know that's true. It's my favourite thing I do. Things are changing in my life and work, and I don't know exactly what form future iterations will take. But this one — this one — is ready, and I'm genuinely excited about it.Two tiers: the basic Journey at $397 (seven weeks, eight calls, all recorded, full course portal, pre-work videos, slides in colour and black-and-white), and the Dragon Rider add-on (an extra $500) which includes a private 30-minute one-on-one ($175 value), a year's membership in the Spiral Codex community ($600 value, beginning after the class), and a personalized gift I'll mail to you.louiseedington.com/VenusRetrograde2026Before We Dive InComing up: Cathy and I are recording on Friday, likely looking at the Aries Full Moon chart alongside the US Sibley chart — the DC chart for the full moon has exactly the same angles as the Sibley. We'll see what that means.Subscribe free on Substack for weekly posts and everything else. Spiral Weave on my website louiseedington.com — $10/month or $90/year.The Week at a GlanceThis is a week of building intensity, heading toward the Aries Full Moon on Saturday September 26th at 12:49pm Eastern. I've done a full separate video on that — go watch it for the depth. The week is the lead-in.The cards open at the end of your tether and build to fire. The astrology opens with a grinding cardinal T-square and builds to a kite configuration pointing at justice and transformation. By Saturday, the pieces come together.Key events:* Equinox — Sun enters 0° Libra — September 22nd* Pholus stations direct at 9° Capricorn — Friday September 25th* Aries Full Moon at 3° — Saturday September 26th at 12:49pm EasternOne note to carry all week: only Venus, the Sun, and Mercury have crossed the South Node and Regulus at 0° Virgo. The rest are still coming. Mars, Jupiter, Juno, Hygieia — all heading there eventually. For now, the direction is set, but the journey is ongoing.The Cards — A First GlanceFrom the Red Seeds Tarot (Linda Hill, Etsy UK) and the Witch Oracle by Angie Sullins: Seven of Torches reversed, King of Torches, Ace of Torches reversed, She of the Invisible Ally.Three fire cards and one water card — and all of them, in their different ways, saying the same thing: the answer is within. The fire is within. The magic is within. The allies you've forgotten about are within.More at the end. But hold that thread.Day by DaySunday, September 20 — Moon in Capricorn. Cardinal T-Square. The Goddess Archetypes Are Screaming.We open the week with the Moon out of bounds in Capricorn — and Pluto also out of bounds, as it will be until early December each year through 2035. More erratic, more beyond the pale, more heightened. The usual advice: more self-care than you think you need, more boundaries, more kindness to yourself.The Moon squares Saturn retrograde (the guide for Capricorn, going back over the structures and rules) and opposes Ceres in Cancer — forming a cardinal T-square at 12°–13°. Cardinals push for action. This T-square is asking, again, loudly: how are our needs being met? How are the people's needs being met? How are the needs of the most vulnerable people being met?The outer expression of this energy keeps showing up in the news. Congress being sent home until November 9th — after the midterms, before Venus and Mercury station direct — while essential legislation is pending. A building in Gaza that had been bombed collapsed further, killing twenty people and trapping nearly a hundred. These are the literal expressions of the Moon opposing Ceres: needs not being met, structures not holding, the people saying enough.Mars in Cancer squares Vesta and Eris — both in Aries, both retrograde. Mars and Eris are siblings in the mythology, and this square is in some ways the two of them working together despite the friction. Mars (assertive drive, protective instincts, cooling its jets in Cancer) squares Eris (the truth-teller for the outsiders, sharply aware of exclusion and hierarchy). Together: there's a push to assert and claim space. And there's a deep fear of being controlled or sidelined. But the square is a cardinal square — initiating. Things have to change, and Mars is moving forward toward them.Mars then opposes Juno — now direct and heading back into Aquarius. The sacred contracts of our collective life are being confronted: none of this is working. We're seeing it everywhere.The Moon opposes Asteroid Lilith — and every goddess archetype in the chart this week seems to be screaming: we need to be heard. The Divine Feminine — not just women, but that whole energy of care, reciprocity, interconnection — needs to be heard.Black Moon Lilith at 25° Sagittarius makes a fire trine to the whole Aries retrograde cluster and to Hygieia and the South Node. The answer is to burn off the old, rise up, create the new. Tune into the spirit of fire — which I experience as the fire of inspiration. That whooshing feeling when something unlocks.The Moon closes the day by trining the Sun (last major Ptolemaic aspect before the full moon, Earth-to-Earth saying we are going to build a more meaningful world) while simultaneously squaring Chiron back in Aries. There is still work to finish. Every one of us is playing a part in building what comes next — in tight community, in broader collectives, in the most private inner work. All of it matters.Jupiter in Leo trines Pallas Athena — the expander meeting the wise strategist and pattern-seer. Strategies to rise up like phoenixes. To lead from the heart rather than from the throne.Monday, September 21 — Moon Into Aquarius. Mercury Opposes Pallas Athena. Hygieia and Hekate.The Moon finishes its Capricorn passage still carrying all those T-square themes, then enters Aquarius at 1:14pm Eastern — the sign of the people, the future, the collective. Things shift slightly: from the weight of structures collapsing to the vision of what we want to build instead.Mercury in Libra opposes Pallas Athena in Aries — big new ideas for justice. New strategies being assembled. In what feels like a surreal indicator of the astrology: Steve Bannon and Bernie Sanders were reported on the same stage (not at the same time) making the same argument: the future of AI must be decided by the people, not the oligarchs. I had to read that twice. Mercury opposing Pallas Athena in the sign of justice, pulling pieces together from unexpected places, finding new strategies to challenge concentrated power.AI is part of this week's conversation. The founders are fighting amongst themselves. Companies are finding that replacing workers with AI is not delivering what was promised. The data centre heat problem remains unsolved. And amid all of it, the argument about who gets to decide the future of this technology — whether it's the few or the many — is getting louder. Hekate has her torch. The way forward is being shown.Hygieia opposes Hekate in this same cluster — holistic, preventative health in all its forms (not just physical; the health of our collective mind and leadership) facing the torchbearer at the crossroads. Which way do we go? Hekate knows. The answers are within.Mercury forms a sextile to Jupiter in Leo — big new ideas, big new plans, a real expansiveness in how we speak and think about what's possible.Tuesday, September 22 — Equinox. Sun Enters 0° Libra. The People Are Rising.The Autumn Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, Spring in the Southern — the Sun enters 0° Libra, a world point, beginning a new season and seeding new things.I took a quick look at the equinox chart set for Washington DC, and a few things caught my eye. Venus retrograde is in the 7th house of others and open enemies. The Aries retrograde cluster is in the 12th house of hidden enemies. Uranus is in the 2nd house of values, waking people up to what isn't feeding them. Ceres sits at the base of the chart — the IC, the foundation — and she is saying: this system is not working for the people's needs. Jupiter is moving into the 5th house of joy, creativity, self-expression, and the inner child — people beginning to find that.And the Aquarius Moon is on the cusp of the 11th house — the house of causes, politics, humanitarian concerns, and the collective voice. The Moon is the people. And the people are rising.Happy equinox.The Aquarius Moon meanwhile squares Haumea (regeneration at 2° Scorpio, the exact degree where Venus and the Moon met in their occultation gate), then sextiles Neptune (let go of who you thought you were; step into interconnection), then trines Uranus — ahas, pattern-shifts, those head-explodey moments of seeing things differently. We're going to have quite a few of those this week as we build toward the full moon.The Moon squares Venus in Scorpio — digging into the shared values and power relationships that Venus is about to take us through in her retrograde. Who has power over us? Who have we given our power away to? These are not rhetorical questions this week.Hygieia trines Vesta and Eris — the holistic health of the collective in flowing conversation with the inner flame and the truth-teller. The answers are within. Tune in.The Moon closes the day by conjuncting Pluto — the shadow to the light, the buried treasure beginning to emerge. Pluto and Haumea are heading toward another of their 13 squares (which run 2022–2028), and the Moon is activating that approach. Three more squares after this one. The transformation is not done.Wednesday, September 23 — Moon Opposes Jupiter. Moon Meets Hekate and Chariklo. Moon Into Pisces.The Aquarius Moon opposes Jupiter in Leo — the people looking directly at the expanded king energy and saying: your time is limited. Jupiter is heading toward the South Node in Leo. Leaders, in the astrology world and in the wider world, are being taken down or called to account. Not necessarily the ones we want yet — but the motion is real.The Moon trines Mercury (air to air: the collective mind, speaking out, ideas flowing) and then makes what I find genuinely beautiful: the Moon meets Hekate and Chariklo, both retrograde in Aquarius, both quietly holding space and weaving the new story from the pieces that are simultaneously falling apart and falling into place.The Moon opposes Hygieia — everything heading down the South Node drain that is not for our genuine holistic flourishing, individually and collectively. Circling the drain of what's not working. And the Moon conjuncts the North Node at 29° — still that eclipse charge, still that pull toward the future. Still at the threshold.Change is coming. 29°. The anaretic degree of the liminal space.And at the very end of the day, the Moon enters Pisces — things get very emotional as we build toward the full moon. But also: clouds clearing. The feeling quality of the coming days is going to be intense and also somehow clarifying.Thursday, September 24 — Quiet Build. Lightning Hitting Water.Not a huge number of aspects — a day to let things settle and integrate as the energy builds.The Pisces Moon squares Sedna (adapt; change is coming; mutable signs pressing) then trines Haumea (ready to create from our feelings and our right brain; intuition and balance coming together) and then squares Uranus — and Louise described this perfectly: lightning hitting water. Uranus in Gemini, all those electrical awakenings and flashing ideas, square the Pisces Moon's deep emotionality and flow. Shocking. Potentially beautiful. Possibly a few jarring revelations.The Moon then trines Venus — seeing clearly about values, self-worth, how power has been given away. This is Venus retrograde territory, and we're already starting to feel it from the outside in.Asteroid Lilith squares Vesta — the original equality and the inner flame in friction, both asking the same question from different angles: what are you devoted to at the deepest level of who you are? With Chiron back in Aries, this is about healing the core self — finding the medicine of genuine individuality (not rugged power-over, but power from within) and healing the inner masculine while we're at it.Mercury trines Hekate and Chariklo — the messenger in flowing conversation with the torchbearer and the cosmic doula. The mind is starting to catch up with what the soul already knows.Friday, September 25 — Venus Day. Pholus Stations Direct. The Kite Forms. Sun Enters Libra Season Fully.Pholus stations direct at 9° Capricorn. Nine — the number of endings. Pholus is the Pandora's Box centaur — the lid-comes-off energy, the things that get out that can't be put back in. He has been retrograde in Capricorn for a long time, going back over what has been out of integrity in our institutions and structures. And now he stations direct.More things are going to come out of the box. More revelations about the structures we've been living under. More things that, once seen, cannot be unseen. This station coincides directly with the full moon approaching and the Sun making exact aspects to the basket/cradle planets.The Sun trines Pluto and Uranus, and opposes Neptune exactly — forming a kite in fire and air, with the Aries retrograde cluster as the focal point and Neptune (dissolving the old, birthing the spiritual warrior) as the tail. Big ideas for justice. New people rising up. New alliances forming in unexpected places.The Sun at 3°–4° Libra is now past the equinox and building power in the sign of balance, harmony, and — often forgotten — justice. Libra is also traditionally associated with war (as the scales of battle), and the resistance to injustice is very much Libran at its highest.New lawsuits. New strategies. New coalitions. Some of them surprising.Mercury in Libra opposes Vesta and Eris — speaking up for the inner flame, speaking up for the outsiders. Mercury past 22° Libra means it's now in the territory where Venus will station direct on November 13th. The mercury mind is already walking the ground Venus will return to.Saturday, September 26 — The Aries Full Moon. 12:49pm Eastern.Go and watch the full moon video. It's all there.What I'll say here: the Moon in Pisces makes a water trine to Mars in Cancer (finally cooling its jets, the guardian energy settling into water) before entering Aries at 6:23am Eastern — and look at what it steps into. The whole retrograde Aries pileup. Chiron, Eris, Vesta, Pallas Athena, Saturn, Manwë, Neptune. The Moon as the focal point of this kite, as the people meeting all those planets going within, reviewing, reflecting.The Moon meets Neptune (spiritual warrior; releasing who we thought we were), sextiles Sedna (adapt), sextiles Pluto (transformation), sextiles Uranus (radical awakening) — the mini grand trine activated right at the full moon.Full Moon exact at 12:49pm Eastern at 3° Aries. Fulfillment. Illumination. Something completing.Right after the full moon, the Moon conjuncts Manwë — the Law of Grace. Spontaneous resolution through internal alignment and correct action. Without external intervention. This is what the class does: guide you to take that self-directed, inner journey.Then the Moon squares Pholus — facing what we see as the lid comes off, some people extending more grace to each other than before.And one date to hold: Venus and Mercury station direct on November 13th. Congress is due back on November 9th — four days before. Mars crosses the South Node the day after that, on November 14th, alongside Jupiter. Watch this space.The Cards in DetailSeven of Torches (Wands), reversed — Lacking Courage:You may start the week feeling this. A lack of faith in yourself. Like it's all too much. Like quitting would be easier. The upright Seven of Torches is I Am Courage — and the reversal doesn't remove the courage. It asks you to look within for it rather than expecting it to come from outside. The fire is in there. It always was.King of Torches — I Am Dynamic:The more you go within — even if you begin the week feeling defeated — the more this dynamism starts to build as the full moon approaches. Things are being ignited. The King of Torches doesn't wait for permission. He knows he carries his fire within him. The full moon is the ignition point.Ace of Torches, reversed — I Am Inspired (from within):The Ace reversed is still the Ace — pure creative fire, the beginning of something. Reversed, the invitation is to find the inspiration within, not to look for the external spark. This is where the three fire cards are pointing together: defeat, then dynamism, then inspiration — all sourced from the interior. This is the Red Seeds Tarot, the deck of the Eleusinian Mysteries and the descent and return. Perfectly placed for the week Venus is about to take us underground.She of the Invisible Ally (Witch Oracle):“There are unseen forces guiding you right now. They rarely let themselves be seen, but that doesn't mean they're not there. While it's true that you often name and number your resources, you forget about the unseen ones. The invisibles are available to you always, but they tend to dwell in the higher places — energies of wonder, curiosity, and hope.Petition them. A witch will reach into these energies and swim with them through the cosmos. This is a good time for dreaming and journeying. Take a walk in nature. Seek out a credible plant shaman who can help you access the gifts of the green world. Spend time in the liminal realm with active imagination. Put yourself in the way of magic. Helpful spirits are ready to guide you, and now is the time to summon them to show themselves.”We do exactly this in the Venus Retrograde class — the active imagination, the guided journeys, the liminal realm work. Not coincidentally.And: find your inner dragon.The planets don't make anything happen. Everything is happening within you. Stuff happens, challenges happen — but how you respond to them, and how you work with them, is what matters.You are the cosmos. The invisible ally is you.Summing UpA cardinal T-square pressing on the structures that aren't working. Mars and Eris, siblings, asserting and claiming space. The equinox — a new season, a world point, a chart that says the people are rising. Pholus stationing direct with more things coming out of the box. The fire and air kite forming as the Aries Full Moon approaches. Manwë, the Law of Grace, right after the full moon. And four cards — three of them fire — that move from defeat, through dynamism, to inner inspiration, held by the unseen allies that have never left.Start the week however you need to start it. Look within. Find the fire.It was always there.— LouiseVenus Retrograde: Heroine's Journey — starts October 1st, Venus retrogrades October 3rd. $397 basic Journey; Dragon Rider add-on $500 extra. louiseedington.com/VenusRetrograde2026Cathy and I are recording on Friday — check the channel. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cosmicowlastrology.substack.com/subscribe

01. TRS - Hit That (Forthcoming Delafra Records) 02. TRS, Four Motion - Amenaza (Unreleased) 03. Paket - Climax (Forthcoming Br8kn Records) 04. TRS, Four Motion, Destroyers - Bershka (Elektroshok Records) 05. Guau, Destroyers - Pioneers (Forthcominng Elektroshok Records) 06. Destroyers - Control (Elektroshok Records) 07. HUGEL & Imael Angel & Ultra Nate - Movin' To The Sun ( SUNSHA BREAKS EDIT ) (Dub) 08. Paket - La Banda (Br8kn Records) 09. Burgos -Lesson 28 x Sekret Chadow - Elastic Groove (TRS mashup) (Dub) 10. The Darrow Chem Syndicate - Moogue (Phattom Remix) (Nipponeer Records) 11. Code Breakerz - Time Warp (Elektroshok Records) 12. Cude - Aries (Elektroshok Records) 13. XPROD - Hide & Seek (83 Records) 14. Code Breakerz - X Master (Elektroshok Records) 15. Future Funk Squad - Same Frequency (Aggresivnes Remix) (Elektroshok Records) 16. Cude - Cancer (Elektroshok Records) 17. TRS, Four Motion - Pussy (Raveart Records) 18. Cude - Geminis (Elektroshok Records) 19. TRS, Four Motion, Destroyers - Pull & Breaks (Forthcominng Elektroshok Records) 20. MÜME - Dune (Forthcominng Elektroshok Records) 21. Jennie - Like Jennie (TRS, Four Motion Bootleg) (Dub) 22. TRS, Four Motion - Perros (Unreleased) 23. TRS, Four Motion, MÜME - Bobba Fet (Forthcoming Raveart Records) 24. TRS, Four Motion - Mandalorian (Toast & Jam Recording) 25. TRS, Four Motion - ID (Unreleased) 26. TRS, Four Motion - Kylo Ren (ElectroBreakz Records) 27. Four Motion - Paranoia (Delafra Records) 28. TRS, Four Motion - Skywalker (TRS Edit) (Dub)

Send us Fan MailTodays Episode  Contain a "Hodgepodge of Health Secrets" Today we look at numerous habits that may be causing you health issues. 1. Why Fertility Rates or down. The one thing Men are wearing that takes sperm to Zero!!!2. Bad Habits that are causing breast cancer you can change now3. Does your water bottle contain more bacteria than your toilet seat?4. Protein that may be causing kidney damage. 5. Can a walk in the forest boost immunity? What's happening here? phytoncides6. Your Farts can tell you a lot about your microbiome.7. Botox ToxicitySee the website for the next dates of our 10 Day Healing Retreat. Support the showVisit our websiteFollow us!YouTube Instagram Facebook Give us a call at (208) 378-9911David's favorite Supplements and Natural Body Products Get your favorite supplements 15% discount & purity testedSuper PatchStem Cell Activation PatchesCreate your EMF Safe SpacesDisclaimerNothing here is meant to diagnose, cure, or treat any disease. Seek out a qualified healthcare professional to see if anything mentioned in this podcast is right for you.

Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily. I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep winning! Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Judith Joseph. A psychiatrist, researcher, and author of High Functioning: Overcome Your Hidden Depression and Reclaim Your Joy, joins Rushion McDonald to discuss the often-overlooked condition she calls high-functioning depression. The discussion focuses on successful, productive individuals who appear to be thriving externally but privately struggle with a persistent lack of joy, emotional exhaustion, restlessness, and unresolved trauma. Drawing from her research, clinical practice, and personal experiences, Dr. Joseph explains how many high achievers become trapped in a cycle of constant productivity, using work and accomplishment to avoid addressing deeper emotional wounds. She offers practical strategies for identifying these patterns and reclaiming joy before a mental health crisis occurs. Purpose of the Interview The primary purpose of the interview was to: Raise awareness of high-functioning depression, especially among entrepreneurs, executives, caregivers, and high achievers. Differentiate high-functioning depression from burnout and other mental health challenges. Help people recognize signs of hidden depression before a breakdown occurs. Provide practical tools for restoring joy and emotional wellness. Encourage vulnerability and support-seeking, particularly among those viewed as "strong." Key Takeaways 1. High-Functioning Depression Often Hides Behind Success People with high-functioning depression can maintain careers, businesses, families, and responsibilities while suffering internally. Characteristics include: Constant productivity Difficulty resting Emotional numbness Fatigue Irritability Lack of joy Feeling empty despite achievements Dr. Joseph refers to many of these individuals as: "Humans doing, not human beings." 2. The Core Symptom Is a Lack of Joy According to Dr. Joseph, the defining feature is not necessarily sadness but anhedonia, the inability to experience pleasure or joy. People may notice: Favorite activities no longer feel rewarding Relationships feel emotionally flat Accomplishments provide little satisfaction Life feels like an endless checklist Many dismiss this feeling as simply "adult life," when in fact it may signal depression. 3. Burnout and High-Functioning Depression Are Different Burnout is generally tied to work-related stress. Dr. Joseph explains: Burnout symptoms often improve when work stress is removed. High-functioning depression follows a person everywhere. If symptoms remain even after vacations, weekends, or time away from work, something deeper may be occurring. 4. Productivity Can Become a Mask Some individuals become "pathologically productive." They: Build identities around achievement Seek constant accomplishment Feel uncomfortable when idle Use work as a way to avoid confronting emotional pain Success becomes a coping mechanism rather than a source of fulfillment. 5. Unprocessed Trauma Often Drives Overachievement Dr. Joseph introduces the concept of scarcity trauma. People who grew up with financial instability, insecurity, or hardship may develop a perpetual fear of running out of resources, opportunities, or success. As a result: They struggle to slow down. They remain in a chronic fight-or-flight state. They continuously push themselves despite exhaustion. 6. Reconnecting With Your Past Can Restore Joy A major theme throughout the interview is the value of what Dr. Joseph calls mental time travel. She encourages people to: Look at old photos Reflect on who they were at 18 or 22 Remember activities that once energized them Revisit meaningful relationships and experiences The goal is to rediscover authentic sources of joy and values that may have been lost amid professional success. 7. Music Is a Powerful Healing Tool The conversation highlights how music can: Trigger positive memories Improve emotional regulation Connect different parts of the brain Transport people to happier experiences Dr. Joseph notes that music is even used therapeutically in psychiatric settings because of its healing effects. 8. Joy Must Be Scheduled and Protected Joy should not be treated as something that happens accidentally. Dr. Joseph encourages people to: Put joyful experiences on their calendar Protect personal time like important meetings Create intentional opportunities for happiness She emphasizes that leaders who prioritize joy positively influence everyone around them. 9. Strong People Need Support Too Many high-performing individuals are admired for their resilience but often suffer in silence. The interview stresses that: Strong people need places to be vulnerable. Leaders need trusted advisors. Asking for help is a strength, not a weakness. Rushion McDonald shares his own experience of reaching out for support during a demanding period of his career and how meaningful that guidance became. Dr. Joseph's Five Vs Framework One of the most practical portions of the interview is Dr. Joseph's "Five Vs" approach to reclaiming joy. 1. Validation Acknowledge and name your emotions without judgment. 2. Venting Express emotions through conversation, prayer, journaling, therapy, or trusted relationships. 3. Values Focus on what truly matters rather than only pursuing material success. 4. Vitals Take care of physical health through sleep, nutrition, movement, and protecting brain health. 5. Vision Plan future experiences that create joy and celebrate achievements rather than immediately moving to the next goal. Memorable Quotes On hidden depression "The key symptom is a lack of joy." On the human need for fulfillment "You are built with the DNA for joy. It's your birthright as a human being." On overachievement "I call these people humans doing, not human beings." On success masking pain "You're wearing this mask of productivity." On unhealthy achievement patterns "What are you trying to outrun?" On constant accomplishment "You think you're chasing happiness, but you're really trying to outrun the past." On emotional awareness "If you name it, that uncertainty goes down." On vulnerability "No one knows you're suffering if you don't say anything." On joy and leadership "Joy is very contagious." On support systems "Don't do it alone." Overall Message The interview's central message is that success does not protect people from depression. Many high achievers, entrepreneurs, leaders, and caregivers continue functioning at a high level while quietly struggling with emotional emptiness and loss of joy. Dr. Joseph argues that recognizing these signs early, processing unresolved trauma, reconnecting with personal values, and intentionally cultivating joy can help prevent burnout, breakdowns, and long-term mental health challenges. The ultimate goal is not merely productivity, but a life that feels meaningful, connected, and joyful. #SHMS #STRAW #BEST Money Making Conversations Master Class with Rushion McDonald is America's premier entrepreneurship, business leadership, financial literacy, and wealth-building podcast featuring successful entrepreneurs, executives, founders, celebrities, and industry experts sharing actionable insights for professional and financial success. Business Podcast Entrepreneurship Small Business Business Growth Financial Literacy Wealth Building Black Entrepreneurs Minority Business Leadership Executive Leadership Business Funding Marketing Strategies Personal Development Startup Advice Sales Training CEO Interviews Founder Stories Professional Development Economic Empowerment Business Success Networking Brand Building Innovation How to start a business Small business funding Entrepreneur success stories Business leadership podcast Wealth building strategies Black entrepreneur podcast Minority business development Marketing for small businesses Business growth strategies Startup funding opportunities Executive leadership training Financial literacy education Success mindset podcastSupport the show: https://www.steveharveyfm.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily. I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep winning! Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Judith Joseph. A psychiatrist, researcher, and author of High Functioning: Overcome Your Hidden Depression and Reclaim Your Joy, joins Rushion McDonald to discuss the often-overlooked condition she calls high-functioning depression. The discussion focuses on successful, productive individuals who appear to be thriving externally but privately struggle with a persistent lack of joy, emotional exhaustion, restlessness, and unresolved trauma. Drawing from her research, clinical practice, and personal experiences, Dr. Joseph explains how many high achievers become trapped in a cycle of constant productivity, using work and accomplishment to avoid addressing deeper emotional wounds. She offers practical strategies for identifying these patterns and reclaiming joy before a mental health crisis occurs. Purpose of the Interview The primary purpose of the interview was to: Raise awareness of high-functioning depression, especially among entrepreneurs, executives, caregivers, and high achievers. Differentiate high-functioning depression from burnout and other mental health challenges. Help people recognize signs of hidden depression before a breakdown occurs. Provide practical tools for restoring joy and emotional wellness. Encourage vulnerability and support-seeking, particularly among those viewed as "strong." Key Takeaways 1. High-Functioning Depression Often Hides Behind Success People with high-functioning depression can maintain careers, businesses, families, and responsibilities while suffering internally. Characteristics include: Constant productivity Difficulty resting Emotional numbness Fatigue Irritability Lack of joy Feeling empty despite achievements Dr. Joseph refers to many of these individuals as: "Humans doing, not human beings." 2. The Core Symptom Is a Lack of Joy According to Dr. Joseph, the defining feature is not necessarily sadness but anhedonia, the inability to experience pleasure or joy. People may notice: Favorite activities no longer feel rewarding Relationships feel emotionally flat Accomplishments provide little satisfaction Life feels like an endless checklist Many dismiss this feeling as simply "adult life," when in fact it may signal depression. 3. Burnout and High-Functioning Depression Are Different Burnout is generally tied to work-related stress. Dr. Joseph explains: Burnout symptoms often improve when work stress is removed. High-functioning depression follows a person everywhere. If symptoms remain even after vacations, weekends, or time away from work, something deeper may be occurring. 4. Productivity Can Become a Mask Some individuals become "pathologically productive." They: Build identities around achievement Seek constant accomplishment Feel uncomfortable when idle Use work as a way to avoid confronting emotional pain Success becomes a coping mechanism rather than a source of fulfillment. 5. Unprocessed Trauma Often Drives Overachievement Dr. Joseph introduces the concept of scarcity trauma. People who grew up with financial instability, insecurity, or hardship may develop a perpetual fear of running out of resources, opportunities, or success. As a result: They struggle to slow down. They remain in a chronic fight-or-flight state. They continuously push themselves despite exhaustion. 6. Reconnecting With Your Past Can Restore Joy A major theme throughout the interview is the value of what Dr. Joseph calls mental time travel. She encourages people to: Look at old photos Reflect on who they were at 18 or 22 Remember activities that once energized them Revisit meaningful relationships and experiences The goal is to rediscover authentic sources of joy and values that may have been lost amid professional success. 7. Music Is a Powerful Healing Tool The conversation highlights how music can: Trigger positive memories Improve emotional regulation Connect different parts of the brain Transport people to happier experiences Dr. Joseph notes that music is even used therapeutically in psychiatric settings because of its healing effects. 8. Joy Must Be Scheduled and Protected Joy should not be treated as something that happens accidentally. Dr. Joseph encourages people to: Put joyful experiences on their calendar Protect personal time like important meetings Create intentional opportunities for happiness She emphasizes that leaders who prioritize joy positively influence everyone around them. 9. Strong People Need Support Too Many high-performing individuals are admired for their resilience but often suffer in silence. The interview stresses that: Strong people need places to be vulnerable. Leaders need trusted advisors. Asking for help is a strength, not a weakness. Rushion McDonald shares his own experience of reaching out for support during a demanding period of his career and how meaningful that guidance became. Dr. Joseph's Five Vs Framework One of the most practical portions of the interview is Dr. Joseph's "Five Vs" approach to reclaiming joy. 1. Validation Acknowledge and name your emotions without judgment. 2. Venting Express emotions through conversation, prayer, journaling, therapy, or trusted relationships. 3. Values Focus on what truly matters rather than only pursuing material success. 4. Vitals Take care of physical health through sleep, nutrition, movement, and protecting brain health. 5. Vision Plan future experiences that create joy and celebrate achievements rather than immediately moving to the next goal. Memorable Quotes On hidden depression "The key symptom is a lack of joy." On the human need for fulfillment "You are built with the DNA for joy. It's your birthright as a human being." On overachievement "I call these people humans doing, not human beings." On success masking pain "You're wearing this mask of productivity." On unhealthy achievement patterns "What are you trying to outrun?" On constant accomplishment "You think you're chasing happiness, but you're really trying to outrun the past." On emotional awareness "If you name it, that uncertainty goes down." On vulnerability "No one knows you're suffering if you don't say anything." On joy and leadership "Joy is very contagious." On support systems "Don't do it alone." Overall Message The interview's central message is that success does not protect people from depression. Many high achievers, entrepreneurs, leaders, and caregivers continue functioning at a high level while quietly struggling with emotional emptiness and loss of joy. Dr. Joseph argues that recognizing these signs early, processing unresolved trauma, reconnecting with personal values, and intentionally cultivating joy can help prevent burnout, breakdowns, and long-term mental health challenges. The ultimate goal is not merely productivity, but a life that feels meaningful, connected, and joyful. #SHMS #STRAW #BEST Money Making Conversations Master Class with Rushion McDonald is America's premier entrepreneurship, business leadership, financial literacy, and wealth-building podcast featuring successful entrepreneurs, executives, founders, celebrities, and industry experts sharing actionable insights for professional and financial success. Business Podcast Entrepreneurship Small Business Business Growth Financial Literacy Wealth Building Black Entrepreneurs Minority Business Leadership Executive Leadership Business Funding Marketing Strategies Personal Development Startup Advice Sales Training CEO Interviews Founder Stories Professional Development Economic Empowerment Business Success Networking Brand Building Innovation How to start a business Small business funding Entrepreneur success stories Business leadership podcast Wealth building strategies Black entrepreneur podcast Minority business development Marketing for small businesses Business growth strategies Startup funding opportunities Executive leadership training Financial literacy education Success mindset podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Forgiveness is difficult in any painful relationship. But what does forgiveness look like when the hurt involves abuse? And can you forgive someone while still maintaining boundaries, requiring accountability, and choosing safety?In this episode, April Bordeau is joined by Care to Change coach Sherry Follett and “Lynn,” a mother whose daughter experienced domestic abuse. Lynn shares the impact abuse had not only on her daughter, but on their entire family, and the ongoing struggle of forgiving someone who caused significant harm. Together, they explore the complexity of abuse, why leaving is rarely as simple as it appears from the outside, and why forgiveness should never be confused with excusing harmful behavior or restoring unsafe relationships. In this episode, you'll hear about: How abuse can be emotional, verbal, psychological, financial, spiritual, sexual, or physical  Why recognizing and naming abuse is an important part of healing  Common barriers that make leaving an abusive relationship difficult  Why forgiveness is often a process rather than a one-time decision  What forgiveness does not mean: forgetting, excusing, trusting again, removing consequences, or minimizing what happened  Why forgiveness and reconciliation are not the same thing  How healthy boundaries and limited access can coexist with forgiveness  The grief that accompanies the loss of trust, safety, relationships, and the future you thought you would have  Why family members may move through forgiveness at very different speeds  How abuse creates a ripple effect throughout an entire family   Resources that can help survivors and their families move toward safety and healing One of the most important reminders from this conversation is that forgiveness does not mean giving someone continued access to you. It does not remove responsibility or consequences. Instead, forgiveness can become a choice to release yourself from remaining emotionally chained to what happened, even when the feelings take much longer to follow. If you are experiencing abuse or questioning whether a relationship is abusive, you do not have to navigate it alone. Seek support from a qualified professional or domestic violence organization. Safety comes first, and healing is possible. Resources: Domestic violence hotline number(s) —  Text 88788 or call 800-799-SAFE, or locally call 317-745-1496.Sheltering Wings - for shelter and resourcesLeslie Vernick — The Emotionally Destructive Marriage and The Emotionally Destructive RelationshipNatalie Hoffman — Is It Me? Making Sense of Your Confusing MarriageLysa TerKeurst — Forgiving What You Can't ForgetIf you are struggling with forgiveness after being deeply hurt, Care to Change is here to walk alongside you with compassion and competent care. 

Energy bills have soared for Massachusetts residents. And many people are struggling to keep up with the costs. With higher prices on things like gas and food, some people are forced to make tradeoffs or find drastic ways to balance their bills.

Kit interviews me about my counterculture take on healing. Primordial Wholeness - what is it and how does it help adoptees? We dig deep and debate on whether we can / how to uncover our wholeness underneath our trauma.Kit Myers is an associate professor in the Department of History & Critical Race and Ethnic Studies. He was previously a Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Merced. His teaching interests include the study of race as a social, relational, and intersectional category of difference and power. His forthcoming book, The Violence of Love: Race, Adoption, and Family in the United States, with University of California Press (2024), uses interdisciplinary methods of archival, legal, and discursive analysis to argue that while adoption is imbued with love, violence is attached to adoption in complex ways. The book comparatively examines the transracial and transnational adoption of Asian, Black, and Native American children by White families to understand how race has been constructed relationally to mark certain homes, families, and nations as spaces of love, freedom, and better futures against others that not. Myers has also published journal articles in Adoption Quarterly, Critical Discourse Studies, Adoption & Culture, and Amerasia. He serves as on the executive committee for the Alliance for the Study of Adoption and Culture. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of California, San Diego in ethnic studies and his B.S. in ethnic studies and journalism from the University of Oregon.https://www.linkedin.com/in/kit-myers-21463417/Here's where I interviewed him https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/the-logic-mystery-of-healing-kit-myers Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Thanks for watching Ridge Church! For more information about our church, check out https://www.ridgechurchonline.com —— Ridge Church exists to help people follow Jesus for all of life. —— We all have a next step to take as we follow Jesus or even as we consider following Jesus. Are you ready to take your next steps? Check out some of the ways below: —— I want to start following Jesus: https://tinyurl.com/4dhpzhrd I want to be baptized: https://tinyurl.com/4dhpzhrd I'd like to join a community group: https://tinyurl.com/4dhpzhrd I'm interested in serving: https://tinyurl.com/4dhpzhrd I would like to support Ridge Church through giving: https://tinyurl.com/yvxcpunm

Thanks for watching Ridge Church! For more information about our church, check out https://www.ridgechurchonline.com —— Ridge Church exists to help people follow Jesus for all of life. —— We all have a next step to take as we follow Jesus or even as we consider following Jesus. Are you ready to take your next steps? Check out some of the ways below: —— I want to start following Jesus: https://tinyurl.com/4dhpzhrd I want to be baptized: https://tinyurl.com/4dhpzhrd I'd like to join a community group: https://tinyurl.com/4dhpzhrd I'm interested in serving: https://tinyurl.com/4dhpzhrd I would like to support Ridge Church through giving: https://tinyurl.com/yvxcpunm

Mens Room Question: What is the coolest or least cool injury that you've earned?

“Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:6-9)

Financial loss can happen slowly or all at once. A business closes. A home is lost. An investment collapses. A scam wipes out savings built over decades.And when money disappears, the loss can reach far beyond the balance sheet. It can affect our sense of security, our plans for the future, and even the way we understand God's provision.Scripture does not minimize those losses. It gives us permission to grieve them. But it also reminds us that while we can lose wealth, we cannot lose our true treasure.Three stories—from Job, Horatio Spafford, and John Wesley—offer perspective for responding faithfully when financial loss comes.Job: When Loss Reveals Where We Place Our TrustFew people in Scripture understood loss as Job did. In a remarkably short span of time, his possessions, livelihood, and children were taken from him. Job grieved deeply. He tore his robe. He wept. He asked hard questions.The Bible never suggests that faith requires us to pretend loss does not hurt. But Job also shows us something important about where his confidence ultimately rested. In Job 31:24–28, he reflects on the danger of placing his security in wealth:“Have I put my trust in money or felt secure because of my gold? Have I gloated about my wealth and all that I own? … If so, I should be punished by the judges, for it would mean I had denied the God of heaven.”That is especially significant because Job had been extraordinarily wealthy. Scripture describes him as the greatest of all the people of the East. His possessions were real blessings, and losing them was a real tragedy.Yet even before they disappeared, Job understood that wealth was never worthy of carrying the weight of his hope. Financial loss often reveals what prosperity can conceal.We may sincerely say that our security is in God, but a collapsing account balance can expose how much security we were actually drawing from that account.So when loss comes, the first question may not be, How quickly can I get this money back? A better question may be, Lord, what have I been trusting to do what only You can do?That does not mean we stop rebuilding. It means we rebuild on the right foundation.Horatio Spafford: Peace Does Not Mean Pretending Everything Is FineHoratio Spafford knew something about rebuilding after loss.He was a successful Chicago attorney and real estate investor who suffered significant financial losses around the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Then, two years later, tragedy struck at a level money could never measure.Spafford's wife and four daughters were crossing the Atlantic when their ship collided with another vessel. His wife survived, but all four daughters died.Spafford soon crossed the Atlantic to join his grieving wife. In the midst of that devastating season, he wrote words Christians still sing today: “It is well with my soul.”Notice what he did not say. He did not say everything was well. It wasn't. Christian peace is not denying loss. It is the assurance that loss does not have the final word.That distinction matters when you have been scammed, when a business fails, when retirement savings disappear, or when the house you thought you would grow old in is gone.You can grieve what was lost without believing that you have lost everything.John Wesley: A Different Definition of RichesThat brings us to John Wesley's story. When Wesley was only five years old, the Epworth Rectory, where his family lived, caught fire. John became trapped on the second floor as the flames spread.With no time for a ladder, neighbors climbed onto one another's shoulders and pulled him through a window shortly before the roof collapsed.The house and nearly everything in it were lost. But Wesley later remembered his father responding to the disaster by giving thanks that his children had survived. His perspective was essentially this: Let the house go. My children are safe. I am rich enough.That is a radically different definition of wealth.Financial loss has a way of forcing us to take inventory. And sometimes, after the numbers have changed dramatically, we discover that our greatest riches were never held in an account to begin with.If you belong to Christ, you still have His promises. You still have His people. You still have work to do, people to love, opportunities to give, and a Kingdom that cannot be shaken.When the Numbers Change, Your True Treasure Hasn'tIf you are walking through financial loss today, give yourself permission to grieve. Loss is real, and Scripture does not ask us to minimize it.At the same time, ask the Lord to reveal where your trust has been placed. Seek wise counsel. Assess what remains. And take the next faithful step toward rebuilding. But do not measure your life solely by what disappeared.Financial loss may change your circumstances dramatically, but it does not change who God is or what belongs to those who are in Christ.When everything around us feels shaken, our ultimate treasure remains secure. And what we have in Christ can never be taken away.On Today's Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions:I have a 7.1% mortgage and have been offered a refinance at 6.1% with $4,900 in closing costs. Does refinancing make sense?I owe $83,000 on a home worth about $240,000 at 4%, so refinancing at a higher rate didn't make sense. I was denied a HELOC because of my credit, but I still need money for urgent home repairs. What other options should I consider?I'm behind on filing my taxes and don't even know how many years I've missed. How can I find out what I owe and get caught up with the IRS?I'm 58 and have about $60,000 in an old 403(b) I can no longer contribute to. Should I roll it into another retirement account, such as an IRA or new 403(b), and how should I continue saving until retirement?Resources Mentioned:Become a FaithFi PartnerFaithful Steward: FaithFi's Quarterly MagazineFaithFi Field Guide: How Much Money is Enough? Our Ultimate Treasure: A 21-Day Journey to Faithful Stewardship by Rob WestWisdom Over Wealth: 12 Lessons from Ecclesiastes on MoneyLook At The Sparrows: A 21-Day Devotional on Financial Fear and AnxietyRich Toward God: A Study on the Parable of the Rich FoolFind a Certified Kingdom Advisor® (CKA)FaithFi App Remember, you can call in to ask your questions every weekday at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. You can also visit FaithFi.com to connect with our online community and partner with us as we help more people live as faithful stewards of God's resources. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Five years ago, many people in the regenerative agriculture space thought that simply paying farmers for soil carbon storage would rewire the agricultural system in a heartbeat. It turned out to be considerably more difficult. The European soil carbon market has not scaled at the speed needed. The voluntary carbon market has not delivered the financing that was hoped for.Is regulation part of the answer? The solar market suggests yes.Christian Holzleitner is Head of Unit for Land Economy and Carbon Removals at DG CLIMA, European Commission, and one of the architects of the EU's Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming Regulation (CRCF). He is an economist by training who has spent his career designing market frameworks — including the EU's Innovation Fund and Modernization Fund — and is now applying the same logic to soil carbon.This episode is part of the podcast's carbon series, supported by the OGCR project.In this episode:— Why the CRCF is designed to solve a bureaucratic problem: farmers reporting the same data five times for five different schemes— How the solar feed-in tariff model could work for carbon farming — cover the funding gap until the market scales— What the EU ETS reform means for demand outside the agricultural value chain— Why a portfolio of small certified European projects is more attractive to institutional investors than a single large project in Africa— Why peatland rewetting in Finland is the landscape-scale intervention that excites Christian most— Why carbon is a means, not an objective — and what that means for how investors should think about this space— His magic wand answer: a single call for European carbon farming projects in the next EU multiannual budget.More about this episode.Thoughts? Ideas? Questions? Send us a message!Find out more about our Generation-Re investment syndicate:https://gen-re.land/ Thank you to our Field Builders Circle for supporting us. Learn more hereSupport the show=======In Investing in Regenerative Agriculture and Food podcast show we talk to the pioneers in the regenerative food and agriculture space to learn more on how to put our money to work to regenerate soil, people, local communities and ecosystems while making an appropriate and fair return. Hosted by Koen van Seijen.

Seeing the people we love walk away from Jesus is one of the hardest parts of living the faith today. So I sit down with David Spesia, Executive Director for Evangelization and Catechesis at the USCCB, to talk about the massive shift happening across the country as the US bishops unite around one single priority: seeking and saving the lost. We dive into the quiet fruit of the Eucharistic Revival and talk about how to keep your eyes fixed squarely on Jesus, even when human flaws and institutional friction threaten to pull you off track. Episode Timeline: [00:00] – Introduction [02:41] – Personal Encounters and Intellectual Conversion [07:45] – Lessons from Teaching High School Religion [16:12] – Navigating Diocesan Leadership and Building Collaboration [22:00] – Behind the Scenes of the National Eucharistic Revival [33:40] – Measuring Long-Term Fruits of Spiritual Renewal [40:01] – The USCCB Mission Directive to Seek and Save the Lost [44:03] – Evangelical Discernment and Evaluating Ministry Fruitfulness [51:41] – Loving the Church as Christ's Body Amidst Human Brokenness Resources Mentioned Living as a Missionary Disciple (PDF) Companion to the Handbook on the Catechetical Accompaniment Process ⭐️ Enjoying the Show? If The EquipCast is helping you navigate the realities of parish leadership, please take 60 seconds to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Your review helps other tired ministry leaders find these tools and realize they don't have to walk this path alone! Connect & Take the Next Step: Grab Your Free Tools: Get the playbook that actually changes lives at EverydayEvangelization.org. Bring This to Your Parish: Discover strategic training and accompaniment at Anchor Consulting. Read the Book: Order your copy of A Clear Path: How to Make Missionary Disciples in Your Parish. The EquipCast is powered by Everyday Evangelization in conjunction with Anchor Consulting, delivering practical evangelization strategies and parish ministry tools to help you leave your ministry better than you found it. Copyright © 2026 Anchor Consulting. All rights reserved.

They Don't Want Us To Heal...Leah's words stopped me dead in my tracks when we first spoke. Surely everybody wants the best for us all? Listen and make your own mind up...Leah Sutterlin serves as the Adoption Communication Manager for National Council For Adoption. Leah comes from a business and technology background and is passionate about writing and data-driven storytelling. She also brings lived experience as an adoptee from China and previous work experience with organizations like the Christian Alliance for Orphans and Help One Child in the foster care and adoption space.Leah earned a B.S. in economics from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. She and her husband, Spencer, reside in the SF Bay Area in California and love traveling and experiencing new cultures.https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidson125/https://adoptioncouncil.org/https://www.facebook.com/AdoptionCouncil/https://www.instagram.com/adoptioncouncil/https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-council-for-adoption/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Can we know Jesus and still lose sight of Him? In this message from Luke 2:41–52, we follow Mary and Joseph as they search for twelve-year-old Jesus and discover Him in the temple, listening, asking questions, and attending to His Father's business.Their experience opens a window into our hearts. When life doesn't unfold as expected, guilt, fear, and anger can expose our desire to stay in control. We become frustrated when God doesn't follow our plans, forgetting that Jesus is committed to His Father's purposes.Yet the gospel offers something we could never achieve for ourselves: forgiveness and righteousness received by grace through faith. Jesus takes our sin upon Himself and gives us His righteousness. We come with empty hands, trusting what He has accomplished through His death and resurrection.This sermon invites us to examine the distractions, misplaced priorities, and attempts to earn God's favor that interrupt our communion with Christ. It also offers three ways to seek Him: recognize Jesus on His throne, pursue Him within the church, and join Him in His mission. Even listening and asking someone about their faith can open a conversation about Jesus.Whether you feel weighed down by guilt, unsettled by uncertainty, or disappointed by circumstances, this message calls you to turn toward Christ. You don't have to have everything figured out before you return. His grace invites you to lay down what you're holding and receive Him by faith.We may lose sight of Jesus, but He never loses us.

In our Hide and Seek series, we'll explore what it means to stop hiding, trust God with the parts of ourselves we'd rather keep hidden, and discover that real friendship, healing, and belonging often begin when we're willing to be seen.

Artificial intelligence may be changing the world, but Stan Hustad believes the most important question is far more personal: What will it change in you, and what will you choose to do with it? In this timely edition from the What It Takes Radio Company, Stan the Radio Man steps into the controversy surrounding artificial intelligence with curiosity, humor, faith, and a broadcaster's instinct for asking the question beneath the headlines. Will AI improve human performance or diminish human purpose? Will it expand creativity or encourage intellectual laziness? Will it help people serve their audiences more effectively, or merely fill the world with more noise? For Stan, the answer will not be determined by the technology alone. It will be determined by the wisdom, character, imagination, and intentions of the people using it. Between Fear and Fascination The program was recorded during the Jewish tradition's Days of Awe, the reflective season between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It is a time associated with examination, repentance, forgiveness, and the determination to live differently in the coming year. That spiritual setting provides an appropriate background for a conversation about AI. Artificial intelligence is already provoking its own kind of awe: sometimes wonder, sometimes fear, and frequently confusion. Some predict that AI will solve extraordinary human problems. Others warn that it will threaten employment, distort truth, consume enormous resources, and possibly become dangerously difficult to control. Stan does not dismiss legitimate concerns, but he resists the temptation to surrender to panic. History reminds us that almost every significant technological change has produced both exaggerated promises and exaggerated fears. The automobile, radio, television, the internet, and social media were all expected either to save society or ruin it. None fulfilled every promise. None produced every predicted disaster. Each became a tool whose consequences depended substantially upon the people, purposes, and systems directing it. AI may become extraordinarily powerful, but power is not the same thing as wisdom. From Artificial Intelligence to Human Performance Stan proposes a constructive shift in the conversation: move from merely discussing artificial intelligence to considering human performance. The best question may not be, "What can AI do?" It may be: What can AI help human beings do better? Used wisely, AI can help people research, organize, compare, question, revise, illustrate, and communicate. It can assist entrepreneurs in developing ideas, teachers in preparing lessons, broadcasters in extending programs, and authors in transforming spoken insights into published work. But AI cannot decide what a human life should be about. It cannot determine whom a person is called to serve. It cannot substitute information for integrity, automation for imagination, or production for purpose. Stan's challenge is to use artificial intelligence in the service of human flourishing. Technology should help people become more thoughtful, creative, capable, generous, and fully alive, not merely faster. Everyone Has an Audience One of the program's central ideas is Stan's enduring conviction that everyone has an audience, or at least a potential audience. That audience should not be treated simply as prospects, customers, clients, or statistical targets. An audience is a community of people who might be informed, encouraged, helped, challenged, or transformed by what someone has learned and is willing to share. Finding that audience begins with two questions: Who are you called to serve? How can you help them become better, happier, wiser, braver, more capable, or more fully alive? AI can assist in reaching those people, but it cannot answer the calling question on a person's behalf. That requires reflection, self-knowledge, spiritual discernment, and a willingness to listen. Success begins not with attracting the largest possible audience, but with becoming genuinely useful to the right one. Become Someone People Trust Remember and Follow Technology may create visibility, but visibility does not automatically produce credibility. Stan draws upon ideas he has studied throughout his career, including the enduring principles associated with Dale Carnegie, to describe the kind of communicator worth becoming: a person whom others can trust, remember, and follow. Trust is earned through truthfulness and consistency. People remember those who communicate with clarity, personality, and genuine concern. They follow those who have demonstrated that their ideas can lead somewhere worthwhile. AI may polish a sentence or improve a presentation, but it cannot manufacture a trustworthy life. The communicator must still do the inner work. Anyone hoping to transform a business, organization, audience, or community must first be willing to experience some transformation personally. That may involve the discomfort, even the trauma, of questioning familiar assumptions, abandoning ineffective habits, confronting personal limitations, and beginning again. The Seen the Unseen and the Limits of Knowledge The program also moves beyond technological questions into something deeper: the mystery of how little human beings truly know about themselves and their world. Stan reflects on the difference between what is seen and what remains unseen. People naturally place great confidence in what can be measured, displayed, calculated, or explained. Yet some of life's most powerful realities, including faith, love, courage, memory, imagination, motive, and spiritual influence, cannot always be placed neatly on a screen. Human beings also understand only a portion of what is taking place within themselves. Talents may remain undiscovered. Fears can operate below conscious awareness. Unexamined desires can influence decisions. Shadows, selfishness, and destructive tendencies can coexist with remarkable generosity and courage. Artificial intelligence can reveal patterns in enormous collections of information. It may even help people notice patterns within their own work. But it does not eliminate the need for humility. The beginning of wisdom may be the admission that neither the machine nor its maker knows everything. A Touch of Immortality Stan then introduces one of the program's most provocative and engaging ideas: the possibility of achieving a touch of immortality. He is not suggesting that human beings can avoid death. His meaning is both simpler and more demanding. A person gains a touch of immortality when something they create continues serving others after they are gone. During a long life in broadcasting, teaching, coaching, and entrepreneurship, Stan has produced thousands of radio programs, videos, articles, interviews, and presentations. Many remain online. Some may be discovered years from now by people he has never met. The same opportunity is increasingly available to others. A book, recording, course, podcast, letter, lesson, or story can preserve hard-earned wisdom and carry it beyond the limits of one lifetime. The goal is not simply to leave behind more digital material. The internet already contains more material than anyone could consume. The challenge is to create something true and useful, something capable of helping another person live, work, believe, or serve more faithfully. As Stan reminds his audience, it may not be what a person completes or achieves that finally matters most. It may be what that person starts. From Books to Broadcasting and Back Again Stan sees a powerful relationship between publishing and broadcasting. Someone who wants to write a book may begin by speaking it. Teaching, recording, interviewing, and telling stories can uncover the natural voice and central ideas that eventually become chapters. A microphone can also help an author introduce and distribute a completed book. The book supplies depth and permanence; broadcasting creates presence, personality, and connection. The process works in both directions. A book can become a broadcast, podcast, course, or video series. A collection of broadcasts can become a book. A spoken story can become an article. A lifetime of experience can become a body of teaching that continues serving others. AI can assist with transcription, organization, editing, summarization, and adaptation. But the lived experience, conviction, wisdom, and human voice must come from the person. The machine can help shape the material. It should not replace the soul of it. Entering the Transformation Zone Stan places this conversation within his larger understanding of the stages, or zones, of a meaningful life. People begin in the Curiosity Zone, where they explore, question, discover, and learn. They move into the Impact Zone, where they must create value, earn a living, serve others, and produce meaningful results. Experience can then lead into the Wisdom Zone, where lessons are examined, tested, and better understood. From wisdom comes the possibility of entering the Transformation Zone: the place where a person becomes capable of creating changes that are profound, lasting, and genuinely important. Transformation is more than improvement. It is not merely doing the same thing a little faster or decorating an old idea with new technology. Transformation changes what a person, organization, or community is capable of becoming. AI may participate in that process, but it cannot lead it alone. Transformation still requires people who possess moral imagination, spiritual depth, practical wisdom, and a genuine desire to be the cause of good things. Things to Remember Artificial intelligence is a powerful tool, but it is not a source of ultimate wisdom, purpose, or calling. The essential question is not only what AI can do, but what it can help human beings do better. Everyone has a potential audience: people they may be called and equipped to serve. Lasting influence grows from becoming someone others can trust, remember, and follow. We understand only a portion of ourselves and our world; humility remains essential. A book, broadcast, lesson, or story can continue serving people long after its creator is gone. Technology should strengthen human performance and flourishing, not diminish human responsibility. Things to Share Share this program with: Someone who is fearful or confused about artificial intelligence. An entrepreneur wondering how AI might strengthen a business without compromising its humanity. A teacher, pastor, coach, or broadcaster with wisdom that deserves a larger audience. A friend who has always wanted to write a book but does not know how to begin. A person entering a new season of life who may be ready to turn experience into service. And share this question: What good thing could you begin today that might continue helping people long after you are gone? Things to Take Action On Identify your audience. Write down the people you feel called to help and the transformation you hope they will experience. Choose one piece of enduring wisdom. Record a five-minute explanation of something life has taught you. Use AI as an assistant. Ask it to help transcribe, organize, or refine your words, but carefully review the result so the final work remains truthful and recognizably yours. Turn one form of communication into another. Convert a talk into an article, a podcast into a chapter, or a book chapter into a short video. Examine your own transformation. Ask what must change in you before you can credibly help transform someone else. Be the cause of good stuff. Do one practical thing today that makes another person's life better, wiser, richer, braver, or more hopeful. The Final Challenge Artificial intelligence will undoubtedly transform many occupations, industries, institutions, and methods of communication. But Stan Hustad leaves his audience with a more personal and consequential challenge. Do not merely ask whether AI will transform the world. Ask whether you will use it to become more fully alive, to serve your audience more faithfully, and to create something that matters. Speak well. Seek truth. Create good. Help others. Begin something worth continuing. That may be how artificial intelligence contributes to human transformation, and how an ordinary human life acquires a genuine touch of immortality. Connect with Stan Hustad For coaching, mentoring, broadcasting guidance, and help turning ideas into enduring books, programs, and transformational messages, contact Stan Hustad at stan@witradio.net or visit www.witradio.net. Best and blessings, and be a blessing to someone else today.

Dave Rubin of "The Rubin Report" gives a first look at the stories you need to know to start your day, including federal subpoenas reportedly seeking six years of records involving California Gov. Gavin Newsom's privately funded travel, personal expenses, donors, and the California State Protocol Foundation—requests that do not by themselves indicate that anyone named is suspected of wrongdoing; the CIA releasing 71 formerly classified presidential intelligence products showing repeated but often imprecise warnings about Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda before the September 11 attacks, including the possibility of an explosive-packed airplane striking an American city; and President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson arguing that overly restrictive artificial-intelligence rules could undermine America's technological position against China as industry leaders demand stronger safeguards; and much more. #rubinreport #gavinnewsom #doj #september11 #cia #billclinton #georgewbush #ai #daverubin

In this episode, Rabbi Schneider invites us to embark on a journey of self-reflection, challenging us to examine our motives and to discern if we are truly pure of heart. **** BECOME A MONTHLY PARTNER - https://djj.show/YTAPartner   **** DONATE - https://djj.show/YTADonate  **** TEACHING NOTES - https://djj.show/7xi 

EA772 - Sexual Activities, and News about Jay Wiseman & Talina Zar  This week on the Erotic Awakening Podcast, episode 772, Dawn reviews some sexual activity terminology… …plus, she shares some sadness with the passing of Jay Wiseman and updates on the court procedings of the murder of Talina Zar.  LINKS MENTIONED: Scissortail https://fetlife.com/events/2026/09/25/scissortail-leather-conference-midwest-power-exchange-contest-sjvqwm   Kinky Holiday Bazaar https://fetlife.com/events/2026/11/21/kinky-holiday-bazaar-ogivu7   SEEK submissive retreat https://fetlife.com/events/2026/10/08/submissive-seek-retreat-2026-zdjhi5 TRANSCRIPT 1:53 Bukkake 3:08 Gooning 3:56 Dogging 4:46 Fisting 5:19 Outstroking 6:32 Free Use 7:16 Frotting 7:51 Where will I be?  9:35 Passing of Jay Wiseman 13:30 Person responsible for Talina Zar murder pleads 'no contest' Enjoy!!! Dawn   ************************************************************ Enjoy the podcast and the education Dawn shares? Join the PATRONs who help make it possible, for as little as $2/month. Discounted/Free books, kink starter cards, online classes; early access to the show, and more!  https://www.patreon.com/eroticawakening Or  Donate at KOFI https://ko-fi.com/dawn_awakening   ***************************************** Fetlife - @Erotic_Awakening   Fetlife - @Dawn_Awakening Instagram - @eroticawakening Youtube - @eroticawakeningpodcast TikTok - @eapodcastdawn Newsletter - www.eroticawakening.com Discord - https://discord.gg/WQtSM56V39   ******************************************** 772 - #frotting #gooning #fisting #jaywiseman #talinazar #kinkstartercards #powerexchange #livingms #kinkeducation #onlinekinkeducation #eroticawakeningpodcast #podcast #bdsm #domsub #submission #heartsandcollars

What does it take to thrive in all areas of our lives? Listen in as Jody shares her learnings on thriving mentally, emotionally and physically. Lots of priceless insights to help you thrive...https://www.bridgealife.com/https://www.facebook.com/BridgeALife1/https://www.instagram.com/bridge.a.life/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jody-jester-91b744bb/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

We would love to hear from you, follow this link to send us a message directly. Include a voice message and you might even be featured in a future episode! Whether it's the demands of work, the responsibilities of fatherhood, marriage, or simply facing a situation that feels too big to handle, every dad will eventually find himself overwhelmed. In this episode of the All Pro Dad Podcast, host Ted Lowe is joined by BJ Foster and Bobby Lewis to talk about what dads should do when they become an overwhelmed parent.WHY THIS MATTERSFeeling overwhelmed can become an opportunity. Dads can learn to slow down, acknowledge when they're struggling, and gain new wisdom when parenting gets hard. KEY TAKEAWAYS1: When you're overwhelmed, relax and slow things down so fear doesn't take over your ability to think clearly.2: Admit when you're in over your head. Acknowledging reality isn't weakness, and failure isn't the end.3: Face the challenge, learn what you need to learn, and ask others for help and wisdom.PRACTICAL TIPS FOR DADSRelax. Take a breath, step away from the situation, exercise, pray, or do something that helps calm your nerves and restore perspective.Admit it. Be honest when you're overwhelmed. You don't have to maintain an image of invincibility or pretend you can fix everything yourself.Face it. Ask, “What am I going to do about this?” Take responsibility for the situation and determine what you may need to change—or say no to.Learn. Study the problem. Seek information and learn from people who have successfully navigated similar situations.Ask for help. Seek advice, support, and wisdom from people who have experience. Asking for help isn't weakness; it can help you become a better dad.IMPORTANT EPISODE TIMESTAMPS[00:00] What Should I Do When I'm In Over My Head as a Dad?[00:26] Times When the Dads Have Felt Completely In Over Their Heads[04:18] When Your Kids' Struggles Make You Feel In Over Your Head as a Dad[05:22] Step 1: Find a Way to Relax[11:49] Step 2: Actually Face What's Going On[13:02] Step 3: Admit You're Struggling[16:33] Step 4: Learn From Others[18:22] Step 5: Ask for Help[24:30] This Week's Pro Move: Identify Your People and Reach OutTed wraps up with one simple challenge — the next time you feel in over your head, think about who your people are and reach out, even if it's just "Hey, can I ask you a question?"SPONSOR:The All Pro Dad Podcast is proudly brought to you by Family First, a nonprofit dedicated to equipping parents with resources to strengthen their families. Learn more at FamilyFirst.net.ALL PRO DAD RESOURCES:Episode 124 – Am I Handling My Anger Well?Dan Orlovsky: 5 Times Dads Must Battle ThroughYes, Parenting is Harder Now and What to Do About ItConnect with Us:Ted Lowe on LinkedInBobby Lewis on LinkedInBJ Foster on LinkedInSubscribe on Apple PodcastsGet All Pro Dad merch!EXTRAS:Follow us: Instagram | Facebook | X (Twitter)Join 200,000+ other dads by subscribing to the All Pro Dad Play of the Day. Get daily fatherhood ideas, insight, and inspiration straight to your inbox.This episode's blog can also be viewed here on AllProDad.com. Like the All Pro Dad gear and mugs? Get your own in the All Pro Dad store.Get great content for moms at iMOM.com

Welcome to the KC CHIROpulse Podcast.  This week's topic:  There's more holes in your profit bucket than you realize!The KC CHIROpulse Podcast is designed for Chiropractic professionals ready to elevate their practice to new heights.  This week, the show is hosted by Kats Consultants' coaches Dr Michael Perusich and Dr Troy Fox, seasoned experts in Chiropractic business management.  This podcast provides invaluable insights and actionable strategies to help you create a flourishing and sustainable Chiropractic business.In this episode, we discuss:Why the profit bucket has holes in itWhere those holes come from and how to watch for themWhy some leaks are making you work harderWhy your bucket needs to be fixed now…and so much more…In each episode of KC CHIROpulse, we delve into crucial aspects of building a successful Chiropractic practice, covering topics such as establishing a strong foundation, adopting a patient-centric approach, mastering marketing techniques, achieving financial fitness, fostering effective team building and leadership, integrating technology and innovation, and navigating common challenges in the field.Whether you're a seasoned chiropractor or just starting your practice, the KC CHIROpulse Podcast offers a wealth of knowledge and personalized practical advice to help you navigate the intricate world of Chiropractic business. Join us on this journey as we explore proven strategies, share success stories, and connect with industry experts to empower you in your pursuit of building a thriving Chiropractic practice.Don't miss out on the latest insights and expert guidance. Subscribe now and unlock the secrets to taking your Chiropractic practice to the next level. Good coaching is an investment in your future success.DISCLAIMER:  The information presented in this broadcast is for educational purposes only and is not intended to offer legal, investment, accounting, or medical advice, and represents the opinions of the speakers.  Seek the consultation of a professional for advice in those areas. And remember…your results using this information may be different than described.Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to the Kats Consultants CHIROPulse Podcast When you are ready we can help.Free Resource: Download What's Your Practice Worth? Let's Chat -30-minute chat about your practice Attend a Virtual Seminar Join the new subscription program Path to ProsperKC CHIROpulse Podcast.  Helping Chiropractors keep their pulse on success.  Thanks for listening.

If you were house shopping, you wouldn't buy a house on the edge of a mountain that's known to have mudslides, that's guaranteed to crumble! You want a house that is on solid ground and won't be going anywhere anytime soon. In today's message, Pastor Dan says that some churches are completely built on the wrong foundation. Churches that use worldly things to bring you in are churches built on the wrong ideals. This can affect your faith and how you perceive the Gospel. Seek a church with the right foundation!

O to Grace how great a debtorDaily I'm constrained to be!Let that grace now, like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to thee. Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love.Here's my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for thy courts above. -Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, Robert Robinson Those Who Seek (James 5:19-20) Rev. Bradley Barnes James 5:19-20

September 9, 2026 | Pastor Joël Jean-Simon continues the Seek & Save series in Luke 13:1-35.

Here is a young couple in Arkansa trying to fight for a path of farm sustainability by reducing the acres and diversiifying the production. Adam Chapell & Taylor Herron .

What does Proverbs 11 teach us about expanding our capacity for success, relationships, leadership, business, wealth, and the blessings God has for our lives? My Pops used to tell me, “Boy, don't shrink your thinking”—and Proverbs 11 might be one of the clearest biblical blueprints I've ever found for building a foundation strong enough to think bigger, live bigger, and handle more.Yesterday, a friend told me about a phone call that happened because of one relationship—and that conversation could lead to a $25 million investment capable of shifting the landscape of one of the most well-known sports in the world.Then we talked about Maddox getting serious about photography and what we were doing this weekend.Normal conversation. Oh…and I forgot. My morning started with one of the most elite trial lawyers in Atlanta talking about preparation, motherhood, serving her community, and some of the highest-profile cases in the country.And it hit me:Relationships expand your world—but your foundation determines your capacity to handle what enters it.Proverbs 11 lays that foundation out in almost ridiculous detail.Do the right thing.Integrity wins.Pride brings disgrace; humility brings wisdom.You can't buy love.Relationships cannot be faked.Put your hope in the right place.Speak Life.Preparation creates confidence.Be generous.Be good to people.Watch your mouth.Gossip never wins.Foolish people talk about people. Wise people talk about ideas.Seek wise counsel.Stay out of debt.Do right business.Honor what is truly valuable.Honor your family.Trust God to provide.Years ago, Mark Palermo told me that most challenges in business ultimately come down to capacity.I think that's true about life too.If we want to expand our capacity, we have to strengthen our foundation.Proverbs 11 shows us how.Because when the foundation is strong, maybe we stop shrinking ourselves to fit our circumstances—and develop the capacity to receive the relationships, opportunities, responsibilities, and blessings designed for our lives.Pops, you were right again.And somehow you summed up an entire chapter of Proverbs in five words:“Boy, don't shrink your thinking.”Sit with that for a second.Wisdom doesn't have to be complicated.Thanks, Pops. I miss you every day. I love you.Subscribe to The VIBE with Kelly Cardenas for INCHSTONES on Proverbs, biblical wisdom, leadership, personal development, relationships, business, faith, mindset, purpose, entrepreneurship, and becoming the person capable of carrying what you're asking God for.

What does it actually mean to persist in prayer? In episode 505 of the Reformed Brotherhood, Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb conclude their study of Luke 11's "Parable of the Night Friend" — and the answer is far richer than most Christians expect. Rather than teaching a technique for wearing down a reluctant God, Jesus presents a contrasting image: a grudging friend who finally relents out of pure annoyance, set against a Father who overflows with delight to give His people the very best gift imaginable. Through careful exegetical attention to the parable's logic, covenantal structure, and Trinitarian movement, Tony and Jesse show that the ultimate object of persevering prayer is nothing less than the Holy Spirit Himself — the supreme covenant gift of the new covenant age, promised by the Father to the Son, and freely given to all who ask. Key Takeaways The parable operates by contrast, not direct comparison. The annoyed friend is not a picture of God — he is a foil. Everything about God's character is the opposite of this reluctant neighbor, and reading the parable correctly depends on recognizing this reversal. Persistence in prayer is appropriate, not impudent. The word translated "persistence" in verse 8 carries a sense of shameless, boundary-crossing boldness. But unlike the midnight knocker whose asking had become socially inappropriate, our asking of God never crosses a line. There is no point at which we have asked too much. The shift from "friend" to "father" is a deliberate relational and moral intensification. Jesus moves the argument from voluntary friendship (revocable, lateral) to fatherhood (covenantally obligated, vertical), and then from sinful human fathers to the holy divine Father — two axes that together magnify the certainty and character of God's giving. Total depravity and common grace are both present in verse 13. Jesus calls even his disciples "evil," grounding the argument in the doctrine of total depravity, while simultaneously appealing to the nearly universal parental instinct to give good things to children as evidence of common grace operative even in fallen humanity. The ultimate gift is the Holy Spirit, not general blessings. Luke's version of this teaching specifies what Matthew's leaves general: the supreme "good thing" the Father gives is the Holy Spirit Himself. This is not a second-blessing theology, but a call to pray explicitly and persistently for the subjective experience and fresh working of the Spirit already indwelling believers. God's giving is grounded in the Covenant of Redemption. The Father's obligation to give the Spirit to believers is not merely an expression of His general goodness — it flows first from His pretemporal covenant commitment to the Son, to grant Him a people marked, redeemed, and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is on full display in Christ's earthly ministry. The Father sending the Holy Spirit is unavoidably Trinitarian language — and Jesus' disciples received it without confusion. The Old Testament had already furnished them with this framework, and the New Testament simply brings it into full light. Key Concepts The Parable Operates by Contrast, Not Direct Comparison One of the most common misreadings of Luke 11 is to identify the sleeping friend with God — as though Jesus is saying, "If you pester God long enough, He will eventually give in." Tony points out that this reading produces a deeply distorted picture of God: an annoyed deity who only answers prayer when sufficiently harassed. The actual logic of the parable is a contrast. The friend is reluctant where God is eager. The friend gives grudgingly where God gives joyfully. The friend is moved by annoyance where God is moved by covenant love. Jesus is not saying, "God is like this friend." He is saying, "Even this friend eventually gave what was needed — how infinitely more will your Father, who is nothing like this friend, give you everything you need?" The parable's force depends entirely on the distance between its human character and the divine reality it points toward. The Ultimate Gift Is the Holy Spirit Himself A comparison of Matthew 7 and Luke 11 reveals something significant. Where Matthew records Jesus promising "good things" to those who ask, Luke specifies: the Holy Spirit. This is not a contradiction — it is Luke's Spirit-guided theological clarification, shaped by his characteristic pneumatological emphasis and his post-Pentecost vantage point. The teaching closes where it must: not with general providential blessings, but with God's own personal presence and power. Tony is careful to distinguish this from two-stage salvation theology. The call to ask for the Holy Spirit is a call for what might be described as the subjective experience of the Spirit — fresh assurance, sanctifying power, gifts for ministry — not a second indwelling. The Christian who already possesses the Spirit objectively is nonetheless invited, even commanded, to ask persistently for His living and active presence. That invitation is itself grounded in covenant promise. God's Giving Is Grounded in the Covenant of Redemption Perhaps the most theologically profound moment in the episode comes when Tony traces God's obligation to give the Spirit beyond the Covenant of Grace and back to the Covenant of Redemption — the pretemporal, intra-Trinitarian covenant in which the Father promised the Son a redeemed people whose redemption would be applied by the Holy Spirit. This means that when believers ask the Father for the Holy Spirit, they are not merely appealing to His general benevolence. They are appealing to a promise the Father made to the Son before the foundation of the world — a promise sealed in the Son's obedient life, atoning death, and glorious resurrection. God's faithfulness in answering prayer for the Spirit is, at its deepest level, an expression of His covenant faithfulness to Christ. That is the ground of Christian boldness in prayer, and it is the ground that never shifts. Memorable Quote God has covenantally bound himself to grant us the Holy Spirit when we ask him... That covenantal obligation first and foremost is not primarily his covenant with us. It is his prior commitment and covenantal obligation to his Son to grant him a people who would be marked by and redeemed and have redemption applied by the Holy Spirit. - Tony Arsenal We could not petition him enough to be annoying to him. There is no boundary for when it is inappropriate to stop asking or seeking or knocking. - Tony Arsenal It doesn't teach a doctrine of prayer as a technique, somehow like wearing down a reluctant God, but a doctrine of prayer as a filial confidence grounded in the Father's revealed character, exercised through this persevering, believing, asking. - Jesse Schwamb Full Transcript [00:01:03] Jesse Schwamb: Welcome to episode 505 of the Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse  [00:01:12] Tony Arsenal: And I'm Tony, and this is the podcast With Ears to Hear. Hey, brother.  [00:01:16] Jesse Schwamb: Hey, brother. So I'm excited for this little conversation because I tried to tee all, all of this up for the culmination of this amazing parable, which I, I don't know if you coined it or if it comes from somewhere else or if it's what the Patristics called it- [00:01:32] the parable of the night friends, but I really loved that. Yeah. It sounds like an amazing movie as well, so maybe there's a drama that can unfold. I mean, this is, this is cinematic. And if you're wondering what we're even talking about, you know it. It's the parable in Luke 11, the one where Jesus tells a story about a guy pounding on his neighbor's door at midnight begging for bread because apparently first-century hospitality customs did not include 24/7 7-Eleven. [00:01:58] And so a lot of [00:02:00] us get this one wrong. We hear in this parable words like ask, seek, and knock, and we turn it into some kind of prayer vending machine where if we do the right things or we ask long or hard enough that God will give us exactly what we want. And it turns out the whole parable is about God giving us what we need, the best blessing, the best gift, the thing that is the best in all the world, which is His spirit, and that's what we're gonna talk about on this episode. [00:02:25] So it's all- Yeah ... been set up, loved ones. Now it's time for the good stuff. Tony's here. We're going after it hard. How about that?  [00:02:33] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, it should be good.  [00:02:34] Jesse Schwamb: It's gonna be, it's gonna be better than good, Tony. It's gonna be, like, amazing. I- I was hoping, like, the, the energy. I, I was just anticipating you were just gonna come in hard with me on that. [00:02:45] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. I, I, I wish I had the energy. I mean, we'll, we'll talk about this maybe a little bit in denials. It's just been a, it's been a long day.  [00:02:53] Jesse Schwamb: Well, speaking of-  [00:02:54] Tony Arsenal: But it's good. It's good ... speaking- I'm excited.  [00:02:57] Jesse Schwamb: I, I felt like you were just like that was, [00:03:00] like, your pretty excitement for me and you were like, "All right. [00:03:02] Move us along." Yeah. "Enough of this stuff." I get it. No, no. I, I'm totally down with that.  [00:03:06] Tony Arsenal: It's good.  [00:03:06] Jesse Schwamb: Honestly, that's as good a set of a segue as any. It is time before we get to the, the full excitement, we'll war- we'll both warm up a bit.  [00:03:14] Affirmations And Denials Segment [00:03:14] Jesse Schwamb: Let's take us to that segment where we take a page from the Reformed tradition of writing confessions, except these are ones that nobody asked for. [00:03:21] It's that time where we affirm with something that we really like or we deny against something that we don't like so much. So I can only wonder now, given that little preamble, that just short little nugget that you dropped there, I am really curious, more than ever, are you denying against something or are you actually affirming with something else? [00:03:40] Tony Arsenal: I'm gonna cheat a little bit and go back, go old school and do an affirmation and a denial.  [00:03:44] Tony Denies Sleep And Twitter Bait [00:03:44] Tony Arsenal: So- Oh, okay ... I guess my denial is just sleep deprivation. It's, it's just been, for whatever reason, it's been a couple nights in a row of, of sort of disruptive sleep with the kids and the dog. And this time of year in New Hampshire, the, the nights start to get a little bit chilly, which is, is great. [00:04:01] Um, but you start to get rodents and other animals moving around and- When you live in the, the kind of house that I do, there's a large crawl space underneath, so even if, even if the animals aren't making their way into the house itself, they move around under the, the house. And so when you have a terrier that has been bred over many generations to hunt those kinds of animals, uh, when they start hearing them moving around under the floors, they don't, they don't stay quiet about it. [00:04:27] So denying sleep deprivation. We've talked a lot about how important sleep is, and how it's a blessing from God, and it's a way to show that we're not in charge, and we're not necessary, that God's, you know, God's plan and God's world keeps spinning even when our brains are shut off for the night. So I'm denying sleep deprivation. [00:04:45] My affirmation, uh, actually it's a denial too. It's two denials. It's a double denial. Uh, my denial, I guess what I'm gonna call it is I'm, I'm denying taking the bait. So there's, there's been a, a rather high-profile, uh, [00:05:00]Christian figure that I honestly was not super familiar with. I don't need to get into the specifics, but I was not super familiar with, and when I was silly enough to ask the question online as to like why is everybody even paying attention to this person who has no theology training and is clearly not articulating things in a reasonable way? [00:05:17] The answer was like, "Well, he has 4.5 million followers." I was like, "Oh. O- okay." Uh, where I'm denying taking the bait is that this is a person who's been railing against Reformed theology, Calvinism, uh, for a, like a week now probably, week and a half. Uh, total straw man arguments, just totally misrepresenting things, not a good faith engagement effort, not really trying to understand the position they're critiquing. [00:05:41] Just sort of like painting really broad, inaccurate strokes and then s- sort of congratulating himself when he knocks down that straw man. And where I'm denying taking the bait is that in the same breath as me saying like, "Why are we bothering to engage this person?" Uh, I engaged the person. And, uh, you know, like it [00:06:00] just turns into what you, what it turns into. [00:06:02] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah.  [00:06:02] Tony Arsenal: It turns into both parties kind of screaming into the void and just feeling like the other person's not listening, and I don't have time for that. So, uh, I've, I've come up with a new policy for myself on Twitter. If someone is clearly not a good faith actor, uh, then I'm just gonna block them, and then I don't have to worry about it anymore. [00:06:18] Good  [00:06:18] Jesse Schwamb: for you.  [00:06:18] Tony Arsenal: Um, so there's plenty of people who wanna have good conversations, who are interested in dialogue, critical or otherwise, uh- [00:06:41] -fashion. Um, first of all, we should always be asking like, "Am I even the person that should be responding?" But i- if you, in God's providence and in wisdom and Christian prudence decide that you are, uh, then, you know, like is this a person worth responding to? Is Twitter the place to respond or, or is it a longer [00:07:00] format or something like that the best, um, best option? [00:07:03] So I'm denying taking the bait. It's like that, uh, like that GIF, like that's bait, and then I total- I totally took it. I totally took it, wasted a bunch of my time. Uh, and I used to think like, "Well, there's people watching, and they're reading what I'm..." But like nobody's reading what I'm saying. Nope, nobody  [00:07:17] Jesse Schwamb: cares. [00:07:17] Tony Arsenal: Nobody cares. Yeah. It's just a bunch of voices online. So there's ways to have influence and, and there are certainly people that have influence through Twitter, and I've had some really good conversations, and I think there is some value at times to engaging in that, uh, that media. But, uh, this was not one of them, so I'm denying taking the bait. [00:07:35] Jesse Schwamb: Would you look at us? I mean, would you look at us? How, how far God has brought us. Yes. I, I just wanna commend you for bringing that up and just kinda laying that all out in transparency. I, bully for you. I think that's right on. There's a... Everybody listen to that again, 'cause there was a lot of good stuff in that short little denial. [00:07:52] Very good.  [00:07:54] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. What about you, Jesse? What do you got for us tonight?  [00:07:57] Jesse Schwamb: I'm in that place now where, remember you and I [00:08:00] said we should create a list of our affirmations, Niles? I think you have been more faithful in that, uh, honestly, than I have. I, I have- ... coveted your, your faithfulness in doing that. So then I did it, and now I can't remember. [00:08:10] I'm not crossing them off, so now I can't remember if I've actually- ... given this. So everybody please have mercy on me if I've already said this before. I don't think I have, because, you know, I'm just burying a lead that doesn't need to be buried.  [00:08:23] Jesse Affirms Invictus EP [00:08:23] Jesse Schwamb: But I've got a affirmation, and it's more music, and it'll hur- hit a certain group I'm sure. [00:08:29] But I'm affirming with a band called Invictus. They have a new EP that's out this year. It's called Sealed and Sent, and I'll just give you... I, I don't, I'm not trying to make light of this, but, like, I'm not gonna tell you what the music... I mean, I have a pedigree I'm sure in history here. But let me just give you, there's six tracks. [00:08:46] I'm just gonna give you the names of the tracks. Maybe you might guess the style of music from these tracks. Um, it starts with Crush the Snake, then goes on to Heaven's Weapon, Hymn for the Fallen, which is acoustic, Retribution, Drive Them Out, and I Won't [00:09:00] Break. This is a great album. It is, I'm gonna go with their definition of their own sound. [00:09:04] They're a cinematic Christian metal project blending crushing riffs, melodic metalcore, and scripture-inspired themes of spiritual warfare, redemption, perseverance, and victory through Christ. Here's the thing. All of that's true, and you might say, as I did when I first came across them, "Uh, sounds a little cheesy. [00:09:22] Sounds a little kitsch." Turns out it's just awesome. And sometimes, like, you need this kind of music that's so spiritually rich in victory with Christ, that is so expressive of... 'Cause there is, as you heard, like a tint there toward the supernatural realm, toward the battles that are in that realm. But I, sometimes you need that. [00:09:43] This is fantastic. The only word of warning I have is that, so if you're not into that style, and there is, like, beautiful, it's very melodic. There's a lot of beautiful melodies in this. A lot of, like, the voices are really truly fantastic. So it's worth listening to for just for that But my warning is, um, [00:10:00] kind of strange. [00:10:01] This track three, it's acoustic, it's Hymn for the Fallen, is, uh, exactly what it is. It's almost like an anthem for those, uh, condemned to hell, and it is troublingly haunting. Uh, I think it's, like, exactly theologically precise, and it's beautiful in its own right. It's a strange song to listen to because it is beautiful in its expression. [00:10:22] The music is phenomenal, and again, the voice work from this, this single artist is incredible. His range is fantastic. I think it'll leave you at parts just almost breathless. And yet what they're singing about is not quite a celebration, but it is like a song of mourning. And every, uh, time I listen to it, and I wanna listen to it, and yet when you're done with it, you do feel this different sense and urgency for those around you. [00:10:46] So that's my only warning is it's a really complex little EP, but it's strong, and it's beautiful, and it's glorious, and it's a little bit haunting, and it's certainly convicting and challenging. So it turns out, I guess I do like... I [00:11:00]just love the word cinematic. Like, I'm not sure entirely all that it entails, but I think it's probably an, an accurate description. [00:11:07] So if you're looking for some new music or some different music, I highly recommend Invictus because I think you'll be blessed by them  [00:11:16] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. My, um, my musical, uh, I don't know, repertoire consists mostly of, like, kids worship bop music. Uh, so, uh, maybe I'll, maybe I'll put that on the next time I'm in the car by myself just to listen to some sort of, like- [00:11:34] I don't know, like grown-up music. 'Cause, 'cause I don't listen to a lot of grown-up music as it is now. I, if, if I'm lucky, I get a couple, uh, couple minutes on the bus or something like that to listen to some real, real adult music. But yeah, I'll, I'll have to check it out, and there's always a chance that this will be the screaming music or the heavy music that I like. [00:11:55] There's always a chance.  [00:11:57] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. It's more, it's more heavy than maybe screaming. There is a [00:12:00] little bit of that good rasp, but it brings me back to, you and I are of a certain age. I'm, I'm older than you, but I think back to, like, maybe that late '90s, early 2000s, kinda like Creed style. Mm. Like, almost like that, but a little bit deeper and richer and, and a little bit harder. [00:12:16] But it's, it's not, I think, so dissonant that the average ear wouldn't find great value in it. And again, that- Yeah ... third track, which is acoustic, is very beautiful in its own right. It's just a very strange song. Usually you don't hear a song like that, and it really caught me by surprise. And the more I listen to it, the more it does create some kind of mourning within you, and I've thought about it quite a bit, even as I interact with people around me, thinking about the essential emergency of what it means that souls are, are in play here, so to speak. [00:12:44] That, of course, they're all under the providence of God, but He used us as a means in which to preach that gospel message, and we ought to be about that gospel message. And I suppose- Yeah ... in point, that started the podcast as we talked about the gospel and became excited every time we spoke about the [00:13:00] gospel, and then it's, it flowed into this whole series we're doing on the parables. [00:13:04] Back To Luke 11 Reading [00:13:04] Jesse Schwamb: And now, of course, we find it again in Luke chapter 11 here And I was excited to speak with you because I tried to set up for everybody, ourselves included, just like all of the little prolegomena, all the, all the kinda like little fine, fun details of like the circumstance and the interaction that's happening in this parable. [00:13:23] But really the punchline comes in this, I would say, unexpected twist that one, we have this friend going to another, and the friend is reluctant when he really shouldn't be, and there's this incredible juxtaposition of, well, how much more so is God going to be less reluctant because He's our Father, and He delights to give us that which is good, the best of gifts. [00:13:43] And this sometimes gets turned around in that we ought to just really continually annoy God to the extent that He just gives us the very thing, and that somehow this is explained to us that we have to have enough perseverance, hope against hope, to continue to pray against all odds. And instead what we find [00:14:00] buried in this parable is something far better than that. [00:14:02] Actually, the gift that God gives us is something that we really could not conceive of apart from the gospel itself. So I'm gonna take us back- Yeah ... into Luke chapter 11. I'm gonna read the whole passage or the parable that we were just talking about, started it last week. But we're really gonna pick it up in this, so everybody can be listening, at this turning point where Jesus begins to speak about the role of the Father and what He desires to give us. [00:14:27] So this is Luke chapter 11, beginning verse one. "And it happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of the disciples said to Him, 'Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.' And He said to them, 'When you pray, say, "Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. [00:14:45] Give us each our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation."' Then He said to them, 'Which of you has a friend and will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me [00:15:00] three loaves for a friend has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.' [00:15:05] And from the inside he answers, 'Do not bother me. The door has already been shut, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot rise up and give you anything.' I tell you, even though he will not rise up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as much as we needs. [00:15:23] So I say to you, ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who receives asks, and he who, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks will be opened. But what father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? Or if his son asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? [00:15:45] If then you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give you the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?'"  [00:15:57] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah.  [00:15:59] Tony Unpacks The Parable Logic [00:15:59] Tony Arsenal: This is, um, one of those passages that I think... I think you're exactly right. We, we sort of fall into a very specific way of thinking because for some good reasons, right? [00:16:13] Like, this is a parable about prayer. It's couched, y- you know, it's, it's sort of sandwiched in different parts tea- teaching about prayer. And so I think we, we instinctively, kinda like we saw with the Parable of the Good Samaritan, we kind of instinctively assume who certain characters in the, in the analogy here are, right? [00:16:34] Sure. Just like in the, the Parable of the Good Samaritan, we kind of assume that, like, the neighbor that is being talked about is the guy who got beat up and left for dead, but in, in the s- the punchline, we find out it's actually the Samaritan. In this case, I think we assume the person who is being, um, who is being e- entreated upon must represent God, and the person who is doing the entreating, uh, is, you know, is us.[00:17:00] [00:17:00] And I'm not sure that the parable, a- and again, like, what even is a parable? Some people would say, "Well, this isn't a parable," but w- we're really just talking about kind of like the figures of speech ministry of Christ, the figures of the sayings of Jesus that sort of circulate around these analogies. Um, w- what even is a parable? [00:17:19] And in this case, like- We need to be careful not to just make those assumptions without-  [00:17:25] Jesse Schwamb: Right ...  [00:17:26] Tony Arsenal: justifying them in the text because it'll lead us to the wrong conclusion. Like, like you've said, like if we assume that the person in the text, in the, the, the parable here who is being entreated upon represents God the Father, well, what we've done now is we've made God sort of like this annoying or this annoyed figure who doesn't really wanna answer our prayers, but because we harass him so much, because we're so persistent. [00:17:51] Another translation of that word is impudence, right? It's a word that has to do with, like, almost like a shameless begging. Like, [00:18:00] it's, it's someone who is asking something that goes beyond the boundaries of appropriate.  [00:18:05] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:18:05] Tony Arsenal: Right? It's, it's impudence, it's persistence, but it's not just persistence in that, like, it's not just stick-to-it-iveness. [00:18:12] It's like persistence to the point of being, uh, inappropriate is really what this word is getting at. Well, now what we've done is we've made it so we have to inappropriately pursue God for prayer. Right. So I'm, I'm glad you set it up this way to sort of say, like, we need to think about this parable. Yes, there's something here about prayer, for sure. [00:18:29] There's more here about the fact that God desires to give us good gifts, but we really need to understand how it is that this teaching is functioning in almost like a, a, almost like a contrasting example kind of way compared to, like, a direct example. It, it's, it's not, it's not exactly an argument to the lesser, from the lesser to the greater. [00:18:51] I mean, it kind of is.  [00:18:52] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:18:52] Tony Arsenal: But it's, it's almost like a reverse argument from the lesser to the greater. Like, there's this lesser that's so much lesser that he's actually [00:19:00] sort of- Yes ... like an annoying, like not a super admirable, noble figure. Then how much more noble is God? It's kind of the, the sort of the force of this parable, the force of this teaching. [00:19:09] Jesse Schwamb: Yes. I like how you said that. It was... You crystallized something I've been thinking about, which was, it's almost like in this text, think of, like, these two different shores. On one shore is this function, the action, and the worship of, uh, through prayer. On the other shore is this g- great supreme gift of the Holy Spirit, and there's something about a bridge that's being built between these two things, and it starts with this really interesting analogy. [00:19:34] But then there's, like, this turning point from friend to father, and for me, what, like I mentioned last week, I'm seeing, I'm picking up, maybe too much so, all of this interesting covenantal shadows and language here. And so, like, in this shifting, specifically from this analogy to friend to fa- from friend to father, there's almost in my mind, like, an intensifying of the relational bond. [00:19:56] I mean, friendship being voluntary and revocable, fatherhood, [00:20:00] especially in ancient thought, bound by nature, and then that again, covenant obligation. It does strengthen this interesting logic that's unfolding for us. But it's as if the bridge that's being built here by Jesus is taking and uniting or bringing together this idea of good gifts of the Father, and the greatest gift being the Holy Spirit, and prayer and how that accomplishes or receives or invokes those gifts, and the bridge being the right way in which to think about prayer and the right mode in which to consider prayer so as to ask for the things in the name of Jesus according to God's will, that is the greatest of all gifts, which is the Holy Spirit. [00:20:36] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:20:36] Hospitality Context And Midnight Bread [00:20:36] Tony Arsenal: And I, I think it's interesting too because this teaching, this parable opens with y- you know, kind of a s- sort of standard format that Christ use, uses in some of these circumstances, where He's talking to an audience who may or may not be hostile. In some instances it's hostile. In this instance it was a friendly, a friendly audience. [00:20:57] It was His disciples. Um, He says, "Which of [00:21:00] you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say, 'Friend, lend me three loaves. For a friend of mine- Right ... has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.'" This is parallel similar language to, like, which of you having a sheep who falls into a- [00:21:22] not like everybody has experienced it, right? I think I, I've never had, like, livestock, but, like, I know my dog has gotten into stuff. Like, everybody who's had a pet is like, "Yeah, my animal has done something stupid at some point." Like, ate something stupid, got stuck in something, hurt itself. So, like, the, the, the way that this is set up is [00:21:53] Tony Arsenal: In a way where it's like the scenario is sort of insane and nobody would [00:22:00] be in that situation. Um, and then there are times where he says, "Which of you having a friend, which of you having a sheep who falls into a ditch?" [00:22:09] Um, and, and the assumption is on some level either the, it, it's such a common scenario that of course everyone would have understood it, right? Which of you... It's like, it's like a woman losing a coin who sweeps the house to look for the coin. Everybody who has a, a, a valuable piece of money that they lose is gonna spend time looking for it. [00:22:29] Jesse Schwamb: That's right.  [00:22:29] Tony Arsenal: This one I think is more like that second one, which feels weird to us. Again, like we're, like you kind of alluded to and kind of joking, but I think is, is a, is a per- serious point, we can just go to the store. Like I could go to a 24-hour supermarket and buy resources if a guest shows up unexpectedly. [00:22:46] It's not like that in the ancient world. So this statement of like, which of you Basically like which of you who has unexpected company show up would not go to your friend or neighbor and ask for something to serve them? And especially in the sort of [00:23:00] hospitality-driven culture that the 1st century was, it would've been deeply, deeply troubling for a guest, especially a, a guest who's coming on a l- from a long journey who's showing up at midnight. [00:23:10] That feels like in our culture we'd be like, "Yeah, it's understandable that I don't have anything on hand." It would be deeply troubling for someone in that scenario to not be able to provide hospitality. So I think that's the first hurdle we have to get over with this one is the scenario feels, at least to me, feels a little bit insane, but I actually think the assumption baked into the teaching is that this is an understandable, relatable situation with an obvious answer. [00:23:36] Of course, all of us would go beg a friend for a few loaves of bread to serve our guest who shows up unexpectedly.  [00:23:43] Jesse Schwamb: That's right. There is like a foil in all of this. Again, it's not like Jesus is not commending like wear God down with nagging as a technique, but there is a lot at stake here in this scenario that's been set forward because there's, there's honor, there's covenantal honor like I think I [00:24:00] mentioned p- last time. [00:24:00] Again, this is where I'm seeing that there is something to be said for like the petitioner is a little bit shameless here. That is, like he's bold. It's, it's socially inappropriate maybe, the persistence in the knocking, but that's what secures the loaves. And so on this view, verse 8 does teach like persevering bold prayer. [00:24:18] I think then what we're being lead to, try, led to try to understand is well, what kind of bold prayer here? Is it just like any kind of prayer, or is there something specific that Christ himself is directing these people to ask for in prayer? And to me, it, to like, you know, maybe preempt a little bit, it seems like, of course, like he's saying, "Ask for God, of God the only thing that God can give you. [00:24:39] Ask boldly for that thing. Ask shamelessly, unapologetically for that thing," because we're gonna be led again to this kind of reprisal of roles here and see that he's gonna speak about himself again as, as Father, as being this really good father over and against this really reluctant friend who only gets up really because he has been annoyed, and that's certainly the opposite of [00:25:00] God's stance towards us. [00:25:01] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:25:02] Persistence Without Impudence [00:25:02] Tony Arsenal: And you know, there is, um, you know, like we mentioned, there's this element of- The an- sort of annoyed friend, right? And, and we don't wanna be too quick to compare God directly to the annoyed friend, right? It is this foil. It's kind of like, it's almost like God is not, is like this in some ways, but not like this- Yes [00:25:23] in the most important ways. I actually think the asking itself falls into that category, right? In, in the context of the parable, the asking, m- maybe not the asking, but the persistence, the continuing to pound on the door when the answer no has already been delivered. That is, in the context of this teaching, is, is seen as inappropriate, right? [00:25:45] It's, it's impudent. It's disrespectful. It's, it's an- Right ... unrelenting persistence beyond the bounds of propriety. Not only is God not like the annoying friend, or the annoyed friend, or the annoying friend, I guess, not only is God [00:26:00] not annoyed, uh, so there's this sort of like argument to the, from the lesser to the greater opposite or the greater contrary But our asking itself and our persistence is not impudent. [00:26:13] And I think that's a really key thing here, and that's why it goes directly into the next verse. "Ask and you will g- give it given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock, it will be opened to you." He's not saying because you're so persistent, because you continue to wear God down, it's gonna be given to you. [00:26:29] It's almost like he's saying, like, look, in this context of this parable, not only is the friend, not only did the friend say no, and the, the seeker is seeking inappropriately, and the friend finally, not out of the goodness of his heart, not out of his loyalty to his friend, not out of his desire to serve a stranger, not out of any of those noble things, just because he's annoyed, he finally gives in. [00:26:51] Well, not only is that not what God is like, but your prayers are not like the persistent, annoying friend who won't give up when the answer is no. Right. [00:27:00] Your, your prayers are appropriate insofar as you persist. As you continue to persist, they are appropriate. And, you know, we could get into all of the Greek details about the, the participles and all of this stuff about it's, it's not just ask at one point. [00:27:15] It's, it's continue asking, it'll be given to you. Yes. Continue knocking, it'll be given to you. Like, we can, we can go into all that, and I'm sure we'll talk about a little bit. But the reality is the sort of like durable nature of prayer, the like ongoing, persistent nature of prayer here is not established by those participles. [00:27:32] It's established by the comparison to this inappropriate asking, this inappropriate persistence in the parable, but it's not inappropriate. And I think that's, again, like that's another sort of argument from the lesser to the greater contrary. I don't know if that's actually a term or if I invented that, but that seems like what's going on here. [00:27:49] There's this sort of like minimum situation, and then you flip it over a little bit and, and make it bigger, and that's what we're getting at here. It's, it's sort of a strange technique that, [00:28:00] um, again, like is it present in oth- a lot of other teaching? There's obviously like the parable of the widow and the unjust judge that's basically the same situation. [00:28:08] Right. And we're- I'm sure we'll get to that, but like it's the same basic situation. It's, it's this idea that like Christ is presenting this scenario that has this one touch point, and everything else is like flipped over. It's like everything else is sort of opposite day.  [00:28:24] Jesse Schwamb: And that is a little bit different than the stuff that we've covered so far, which is what makes this a little bit exceptional. [00:28:29] There are ones that mirror it, but this technique-  [00:28:31] Tony Arsenal: Right ...  [00:28:31] Jesse Schwamb: is something that we haven't really come across yet, of course, in our conversations.  [00:28:35] Covenantal Frame For Ask Seek Knock [00:28:35] Jesse Schwamb: And I would say, like, good Biblical hermeneutics, like you said, resolves all of that, what you just said, not by, like, weakening the promise, but by locating it within its covenantal frame again. [00:28:46] Yeah. This promise is spoken to disciples who have just been taught to pray, "Your kingdom come, give us, forgive us, lead us not." That is, all of this prayer needs to be conformed to God's revealed will and kingdom priorities. And so what's hard is I [00:29:00] hear this spoken about a lot, this parable, but it always gets cut, like, from the teaching that just preceded it. [00:29:06] Right.  [00:29:06] Why This Contrast [00:29:06] Jesse Schwamb: Like, a- as if, again, they're coming to Jesus saying, "John was really good at providing instruction to his disciples on how to pray, and you being the Son of God, like the ultimate teacher, teach us then. How do we see you pray? We know that you're a man of prayer. We know that you're Son of God. Teach us, instruct us in this way." [00:29:22] W- w- let's get it, as it were, the... These guys are like, "Boys, let's get it from the horse's mouth." And so it's interesting that Jesus gives the instruction, he gives the prayer, he gives some language and a framework, and then he's like, follows it immediately with this teaching. And this teaching, though, like you said, doesn't draw, like, often, like it's orthogonal. [00:29:39] There's no, like, parallel or linear lines here- Right ... so to speak. It's, it's all about creating this weird contrast. And you might ask, "Well, why do it this way?" And so it does beg the question of does that distinction, that almost like cognitive dissonance between these characters, and then again, like the comparison to God, does that draw out in different ways this character of God so that we might actually [00:30:00] see it more clearly in that juxtaposition? [00:30:02] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:30:03] Midnight Friend Parable [00:30:03] Tony Arsenal: And I think, y- you know, one of the other comparisons that I think's going on here, and, and again, I think this is basically the same teaching as the, the pa- the widow and the unjust judge. Like, she wears him down with her petitioning, and he finally gives her justice. Like, I think a big part of this, the idea here is when we look at this parable, everything in the parable is- uh, understandable and relatable, right? [00:30:28] To some extent. Um, again, we i- in our 21st century modern context, at least in the West here, we don't have a situation where we can't basically just drive to the store and get something, even, even in the middle of the night. I, I don't know m- many people personally who don't have access to some sort of 24-hour supermarket or convenience store, something where they could go and get something to present to a guest who shows up unexpected in the middle of the night. [00:30:57] Um, and even the idea of, like, someone showing up [00:31:00] unexpected in the middle of the night is kind of like, even then, like, what we think of as unexpected is, like, the person calls us and they're like, "Hey, I'm 35 minutes away. I'm gonna be there. Do you have a bed I can use?" What we're talking about here in the 1st century is literally like, I'm asleep, all of a sudden there's a pounding on my door, and my friend has come from a long journey. [00:31:18] There's no advance notice, there's no messenger that came. This is literally just someone who appears out of nowhere in the middle of the night, and so he has to go get something. That is actually a somewhat relatable situation, even to us What I think is interesting, what I, what I really love about these, this parable and the other one I referenced, is when you think about the way that the, the friend, the annoyed friend, the friend who's sleeping and gets woken up, the way he responds is still to provide the need. [00:31:49] But then look at how we are... Look at the language around how God gives us good gifts, right? Right.  [00:31:56] Ask Seek Knock [00:31:56] Tony Arsenal: He's not giving us... It, it's almost like the teaching is God gives us good gifts. We should ask, we should persevere in prayer. If you continue asking, it will be given to you. If you continue knocking, it, it will be opened to you. [00:32:07] If you continue seeking, you will find. Like, that's the, that's the positive teaching of this. But the contrast is not just, yeah, if you continue to be persistent enough, you're gonna get what you ask for. It's, look, God is going to give you what you need and what you ask for. He's going to give that to you joyfully and out of his own abundance and out of his own desire to bless you with good gifts. [00:32:30] Not like this worldly dude who just does it 'cause he's annoyed.  [00:32:34] Jesse Schwamb: Exactly.  [00:32:34] Tony Arsenal: So it's not just the argument of like, here's a picture of somebody who's persisting in prayer and gets what they want, and like, yeah, we have some language about the guy being annoyed and about inappropriate asking. God's not quite like that. [00:32:47] God Not Annoyed [00:32:47] Tony Arsenal: It's really designed to paint this picture of marveling at the goodness and, and graciousness of, of God in that not only does he grant us what we need, but he does so [00:33:00] joyfully. We could not petition him enough to be annoying to him. There is no boundary for when it is inappropriate to stop asking or seeking or knocking. [00:33:12] That's the real point of this, is not to just compare God to this annoyed friend who finally gives in, but to show us, like, this is what the world looks like. When you ask enough, you might get what you want, but you're going to annoy someone. That's what worldly pr- like, persistence in lateral prayer, if we wanna call it that, just to sort of keep the analogy going, right? [00:33:33] Lateral prayer, lateral petitioning, or lateral whatever. Like, lateral interceding, all of those things, however we wanna phrase it. That is real, and yes, if you do it long enough, you're probably gonna get what you want. You might burn a bridge in the process. You can never burn the bridge to God by being so annoying, because he's saying continue to ask, continue to seek- Right [00:33:55] continue to knock, and it will be given to you. And not only will it be given to you, but it will [00:34:00] be given to you out of the joy and goodness of my heart. That is really the big comparison that's going on here  [00:34:06] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, there's something that we just get to see about God's character here. It's grounds this perseverance not in doubt about God's willingness, but in confidence about it. [00:34:15] And that's what's so interesting here is it comes about by seeing this distinction. It is like a great mockery of saying like you're saying this friend who w- should've been a good friend and had all the reason to be reluctant, even though you pers- persevered with him, he relented and gave you that very thing. [00:34:32] Guess who will be the exact opposite of that? Yeah. Is God himself who lavishes love upon you. And so therefore because of that, you come before him and see he's nothing like this friend. And even a friend will do this in the worst of all circumstances. How much more so will God, where he's given you every spiritual blessing in Christ? [00:34:50] From Friend To Father [00:34:50] Jesse Schwamb: And that's, that's where he leads us, and that's why I think then it transitions to this different set of characters or comparisons by speaking about fathers. So in verse [00:35:00] 11, where we find written, "What father among you, if he has sons, asks for a fish will instead of a fish give him a serpent? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?" [00:35:09] And, and I've read that there's some commentators who will draw from these pairs being chosen for maybe, like, their potential visual tactile resemblance. Like, a, an eel-like fish might have resembled a snake, and generally there were, like, these whitish scorpions I, I guess that were common in Galilee that might have resembled an egg. [00:35:26] And perhaps even here there's a little bit of humor in the illustration just to show, like, just the extreme nonsensical nature of this thing. It's, it's- Yeah ... a really cruel bait and switch. It's deliberate. You know, Jesus is appealing certainly to this universally recognized parental instinct as evidence, again, like you're saying, Tony, for a still greater divine instinct which is present, and that's this love of God for us that we can't even imagine. [00:35:49] But we can comprehend by him saying, "Come, ask, seek, knock." And so, so to me, I think we've got these two axes kind of going on here which are really interesting and beautiful. We've got the reluctant friend [00:36:00] to the willing father. That's a kind of, like, I would say again, like, relational intensification. Like, we're firing it up. [00:36:05] Here, we're taking it to the next level. And then because we got... I gotta slip this in because we got a little, a little TD coming in here hot. From the second axis is from, like, the sinful human father to the holy divine Father, which I would say is, like, a moral intensification, and that's made explicit in verse 13. [00:36:24] Total Depravity Common Grace [00:36:24] Jesse Schwamb: And here's the TD. Like, lest anybody doubt this, to me, and I don't want to over-read, but that second axis is of course where Reformed theology's doctrine of total depravity becomes, like, exegetically significant here. Yeah. Because Jesus himself just calls it out in this verse, and that's part of the, the setup that he's gonna bring forward to explain just how loving God is. [00:36:44] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, and it's even, um... It's not only is it total depravity, it's also common grace, right? Yes. Even evil, even evil, wicked people. And again, like, evil is a, is in this instance is sort of a relative term, right? It's, it's, um- [00:37:00] The audience is the disciples, at least primarily the disciples. So it's not like he's talking to, he's talking to unregenerate people, right? [00:37:09] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:37:09] Tony Arsenal: Um, the, the disciples by all realistic assessment, I think, uh, were regenerate w- with the exception of Judas at this point. Um, you know, you could make some arguments that maybe some of them came to faith during the course of his ministry, but, uh, for the most part we should think of the disciples not as like coming to faith and becoming regenerate after Christ is raised. [00:37:31] Like, they're, they're believers, they're followers with the exception of Judas at this point in his ministry, and he's still calling them evil. But even Even an unregenerate father, for the most part. There are exceptions. There are, are, there are those who are so wicked that even their base parental instincts are messed up, right? [00:37:51] And that's reality. It's terribly sad, but that's, that's the vast exception. Even the worst parents in the world still love their [00:38:00] kids and wanna give them good, good gifts. Like, it's just baked into the genetics of wanting to do that. Even that still is, uh, is an act of common grace. But I, I think you're right, too, and actually, as I think about it, too, like, this isn't even just one parable. [00:38:14] Right. This is actually, if we're talking about the first one as a parable, this is actually, like, its own second parable, right? That's which of you, having a friend that shows up in the middle of the night, would not go- Yep ... and then there's, "Now what father among you?" And it's, again, it's that eminently understandable, relatable scenario where either it, it's so common that everyone has dealt with it, or it's so, like, obviously practical that even if you haven't dealt with it, you, you couldn't come to any other conclusion. [00:38:42] Right. What father among you, if your son asks for a fish, would give him a serpent, right? It's one of those, like, who does that? The answer is no- nobody. Right.  [00:38:53] Jesse Schwamb: Exactly. Right?  [00:38:53] Tony Arsenal: Who, who asks for an egg and gives a scorpion? Nobody. So we've got these two [00:39:00]scenarios where the assumption is there's a question that has an obvious outcome, and it drives us to this understanding of the, this image of God as the supremely good giver of gifts, father, faithful, gracious provider, who provides not just a good gift, but the ultimate perfect necessary gift. [00:39:22] Jesse Schwamb: Yes.  [00:39:22] Tony Arsenal: Right?  [00:39:22] How Much More Spirit [00:39:22] Tony Arsenal: And that's where we come to, uh, at the end of verse 13 is how much more, right, there's that argument from... This is truly an argument from the lesser to the greater, like in the purest sense. How much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? And I think there's all sorts of implications that we can come out of this, right? [00:39:42] Um, there are those, uh, in the Christian world who never ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit. And, and I'm not, um, I wanna be careful here because I'm not a two-stage salvation person. I'm not a second blessing person, right? We get the Holy Spirit as part of our [00:40:00] regeneration. Like, the Holy Spirit indwells us in regeneration and in, in, not in necessarily in regeneration, but when we are united to Christ, we're united to Christ by the, by the Spirit. [00:40:10] Right. And so there's never a point where we can be considered truly saved Christians- Those who are united to Christ, we cannot be united to Christ and not have His Spirit dwelling within us. But there is this element of the subjective experience of the Holy Spirit where we don't ask for the Holy Spirit, right? [00:40:31] Think of, like, Psalm 51, right? "Take not your Holy Spirit from me." David was not saying, uh, "I've lost the Holy Spirit." He was talking about the enjoyment of the presence of the Holy Spirit, the awareness of the gracious, loving presence of the Holy Spirit. That's what he was asking not to have taken away from him, and, and probably also there was elements of, like, anointing and office that were in there. [00:40:52] But there are lots of Christians who have the Holy Spirit in an objective sense- Right ... who don't take time [00:41:00] to ask the Father for the Holy Spirit in the subjective sense. I think that's the final sort of payout of this teaching, is that we need to continue to ask, continue to knock, and continue to seek, not for general gifts. [00:41:16] Yes, there's a general teaching about persevering in prayer for temporal blessings or spiritual protection, all of those things, all of those petitions that we have. Those are good things. It's good to be persistent in those. But the real point of this whole series of teachings here is that we need to persist in prayer to ask the Father for the Holy Spirit. [00:41:36] Like- Right ... full stop. That's the point  [00:41:40] Jesse Schwamb: Right. Wow, you just did a full stop right there. I thought there was gonna be more, but I, I was getting pumped as you were going on No, no.  [00:41:46] Tony Arsenal: It's all you. Full stop.  [00:41:49] Jesse Schwamb: Uh, yeah.  [00:41:50] Luke Versus Matthew [00:41:50] Jesse Schwamb: I mean, the comparison, of course, is not one of degree alongside, like, a single continuum where it's as though God is a better version of a human father, but it's a kind. [00:41:59] I mean, [00:42:00] God's fatherhood is the archetype of which human fatherhood is just this faint, fallen kind of analog. And so by the time you get to this payload, I like that. It's kinda like a nuclear bomb in a way. I mean, it's so theologically loaded here. Because I was just looking up Matthew's parallel passage here, and it reads, th- this is his punchline, "How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?" [00:42:26] So it strikes me that Luke, as we've been saying, writing to a largely Gentile audience after Pentecost, and with his kinda characteristic pneumatological emphasis, he emphasizes or specifies that the good things here are the Holy Spirit himself. And so we're gonna read this not as a contradiction between the Gospels, but as Luke's inspired Spirit-guided clarification/specification of what the good gifts ultimately are. [00:42:54] And while they're always pointing toward that even this temporal good gift from the Father is subordinate to and [00:43:00] finds, I guess it's like its telos in the supreme covenantal gift of God's own indwelling presence. That is a bomb. Like, that's incredible. Yeah. And so I like what you're saying here. I think it is a challenge for Christians to think about not just that we shouldn't, of course, go to God with the big and the small things, the concerns of all our lives, the anxieties and the cares which we cast before him. [00:43:20] This is all part and parcel of what real prayer means, what real communion with God is, and speaking with him and listening to his Word, uh, i- in our ear. At the same time, we shouldn't forsake the greater things that we ought to ask God with strong perseverance, knowing that he will give all those things to us. [00:43:38] I think, and you correct me if I'm wrong, I, I'm reading this as- All of this kind of momentum in Christ teaching about the Spirit coming and about where this passage had been placed in the whole kind of grand arc, and I, I think there's, like, all kinds of Ordo Salutis implications in here. But I love a good Ordo Salutis implication, so it's possible [00:44:00] I'm just coming in a little bit too hot. [00:44:01] But I think first it, it anchors this teaching within this broader Lucan narrative, narrative arc toward Pentecost, where the ascended, glorified Christ pours out the Spirit as the chief blessing of the new covenant. And so again, I'm reading this, I'm like, "Covenant, covenant, covenant." Like, only if you're watching this on YouTube can you actually see me do the, the point, like the g- the finger guns- [00:44:24] where really strongly emphasize that point. And so I just see so much covenant in this. I mean, how mu- how much covenant, how much covenant do you see in this, Tony?  [00:44:36] Covenant Obligations [00:44:36] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, I mean, I, there, there is also this element, and this goes back to sort of the first parable or the first teaching in this little segment here, um- The friend is obligated in a certain sense. [00:44:48] Like- Yes ... there is, there is a, there's a sense, a real sense I think, and again, this is something I don't think we understand. If, if, um, if I show up at my neighbor's house, my n- I live in a [00:45:00] small community. My neighbor's house is like 25 feet away from me, and if I knocked on his door in the middle of the night and said, "Gus, I need a cup of sugar," he would give it to me with a smile. [00:45:11] But he's not obligated to do that. Right. He has every right, and no one would look sideways at him if he told me to pound sand and go back to bed, right? I think, um, in the 1st century, the answer from this other friend, "No, I'm already in bed," like that actually is sort of a scandalous answer in and of itself. [00:45:29] And so even within that little dynamic, there's covenant implications, right? The a- the continued asking is inappropriate, but it, the continued asking is almost only reasonably necessary because the annoyed friend already broke a social contract. Not quite a covenant- Right ... but we might call it a social contract, where there's an a- there's an assumed position in the 1st century that if someone comes to you asking for hospitality, you give it. [00:45:57] Like there's no exclu- And that's what's [00:46:00] driving this other friend to go talk to him in mid- at midnight in the first place, is I have to provide hospitality. I'm obligated to do so. So I think, yeah, there's all sorts of covenant implications here. And when we're talking about the, the earthly fathers, right? [00:46:14] There's a covenant, um, I'm, I'm careful to use the term covenant. So I'm gonna use it, but I'm not talking, maybe we'll say lowercase C covenant rather than like formal covenants. Right, right. There's a, there's a covenantal, lowercase C [00:46:28] covenantal obligation that fathers have to their children, right? I didn't make a covenant with August and Addie, but I have obligations to them in light of my station and my role related to them, right? And there's an obligation that if they ask me for something that is reasonable and is good for them, that I should give it to them, right? [00:46:46] I'm obligated to provide food, shelter, um, I would say things like education, love, um, you know, attention. Like the things that are necessary for the health and wellbeing of my children, as a father I'm obligated to give that to them. [00:47:00] [00:47:00] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:47:00] Tony Arsenal: Whether they ask me or not. When they ask me to, right, there are times it's funny. [00:47:05] I, I'll be the first to say, um, I maybe am a little bit on my phone more than I should be, just in general, right? There are times now Addie is old enough where she sees me on her ph- on my phone, and, and sometimes, like, it's fine. They're playing and I'm, I'm doing something on my phone. There are times where she'll come up to me and she'll say, "Daddy phone," and she'll tell me to put my phone down. [00:47:23] I'm obligated to do that. Like, there's a covenantal, lowercase C, covenantal obligation. When she asks me to play with her, if there's not a pressing reason I can't, I should play with her.  [00:47:33] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:47:33] Tony Arsenal: That is really what we have at play here, and this is, this is what I think is amazing. God has covenantally bound himself to grant us the Holy Spirit when we ask him, right? [00:47:42] Jesse Schwamb: That's  [00:47:43] Tony Arsenal: what I'm  [00:47:43] Jesse Schwamb: saying.  [00:47:43] Tony Arsenal: That, and that's, that's, um, that covenantal obligation first and foremost... Man, I didn't even think we were gonna get here. Who would've thought we would've gotten to pretemporal covenant of redemption here just- Would you  [00:47:53] Jesse Schwamb: look at us ...  [00:47:54] Tony Arsenal: uh, look at us.  [00:47:55] Covenant Of Redemption [00:47:55] Tony Arsenal: Um, that covenantal obligation that the Father has to give us the Holy Spirit when we ask is not primarily his covenant with us. [00:48:03] It is, right? It's the covenant of grace, but that only is, is necessary because of his prior commitment and covenantal obligation to his Son to grant him a people who would be marked by and redeemed and have redemption applied by the Holy Spirit. The Father has promised the Son to give the people of the Son the Holy Spirit when they ask. [00:48:26] That's, that's profound in a way that I think, um, really only Reformed theology can fully get at-  [00:48:33] Jesse Schwamb: Right  [00:48:34] Tony Arsenal: on ... is that there is a promise that God the Father made to God the Son to, to send the Holy Spirit to apply the redemption that the Son purchased to his people. That's really what we're getting at here. [00:48:46] I think that's really the, sort of the final outcome of this, is there's this covenantal obligation- That the Father is not just out of His own goodness, of course out of His own goodness- Right,  [00:48:57] Jesse Schwamb: right ...  [00:48:57] Tony Arsenal: but even maybe if it, maybe it's, [00:49:00] hopefully it's not blasphemous to say this, but like even more than just His own goodness is His covenant faithfulness to the promise He's made- Amen [00:49:07] first and foremost to His Son, and then to steal some language from the Westminster Larger Catechism, first and foremost to His Son, but then also to all the elect in Him who are His spiritual seed.  [00:49:17] Jesse Schwamb: That's right. That's right. That's, see that's the good stuff.  [00:49:20] Wrap Up Holy Spirit [00:49:20] Jesse Schwamb: And so what's crazy is then this beautiful wrap-up, which is brings us back to exactly where we started, but we find that we're on another level because the passage closes exactly as it began with this imperative of asking, but now the object of asking has been specified as God's own personal presence and power, not merely material provision. [00:49:41] And so it's everything you just said all wrapped up, and we can ground then like the practice of specifically and explicitly praying for the Spirit's fresh working, which is sanctification, assurance, gifts for ministry, as entirely a biblical form of prayer distinct from, though not opposed to, a prayer for providential [00:50:00] needs. [00:50:00] In other words, I think the disciples started in a place where they were saying, "Teach us to pray so that we might receive that what which we need." And it's almost as if God says, "I will do that and one better for you. Because not only will I just open your eyes to the thing that you need most, but I'm going to instruct you on how to ask for and then receive by way of these covenantal promises, by way of my own character, my faithful precis- provision, both in establishing the promise and then seeing it to fulfillment that you might have the Holy Spirit reside within you." [00:50:33] And that is mind-boggling. We've, we've talked before just what it is to even conceive that God's presence be with us, but then that God's presence it, uh, the Holy Spirit, one of the Trinity, would be residing within us is just inconceivable. Yeah. Even now with the words coming out of my mouth it just sounds wild. [00:50:51] And yet that is what we have to give credit to here is we have to take God at His word. This is the thing that He's, He said to us. His son, His Son Himself has given us this proper [00:51:00] instruction. And I think all, all the other things we talked about, what it means again to seek after gifts for ministry, to serve in our churches and congregations, to have grand assurance, which is the right and the purview and the blessing, the propriety of the Christian to, uh, want to go after sanctification, that all of this strikes me now is part of praying for, to receive the Holy Spirit, a fresh working of the Holy Spirit in that it's not just, it's both like a command and a gift and the greatest priv

Women have played a vital role in advancing the gospel from the very beginning.In Romans 16, the Apostle Paul introduces us to Phoebe—a trusted partner whose generosity, influence, and service helped further his ministry. Her story offers a compelling picture of what it means to use the resources God has entrusted to us to advance the gospel.John Rinehart, founder and CEO of Gospel Patrons, has spent years studying and telling the stories of men and women who have supported gospel ministry throughout history. He says Phoebe is one of the clearest biblical examples of what he calls a gospel patron.What Is a Gospel Patron?A gospel patron is someone who comes alongside those proclaiming the gospel and supports their work through relationships, influence, financial resources, and other practical means.These partnerships have existed since the earliest days of Christianity.Luke 8 tells us that Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and other women supported Jesus and His disciples “out of their means.” They were using what God had given them to help make ministry possible.Throughout church history, the names of gospel patrons have often appeared in the background. They may not have been the ones preaching sermons, translating Bibles, planting churches, or leading missionary movements, but their generosity helped make those ministries possible.As Rinehart explains, behind many gospel proclaimers throughout history have been faithful men and women helping fuel the work.Phoebe was one of them.The Remarkable Trust Paul Placed in PhoebeRomans is one of the most significant theological writings in the New Testament. Yet when Paul reaches the final chapter, the first person he mentions is Phoebe. Paul writes:“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself.” —Romans 16:1–2Phoebe was apparently someone Paul trusted deeply. She is widely understood to have carried Paul's letter to the believers in Rome—a significant responsibility involving a long and difficult journey.Paul also describes her as his own patron.We do not know exactly what Phoebe's financial support provided. She may have helped cover Paul's travel, living expenses, ministry costs, or even expenses associated with producing and distributing letters. Scripture does not tell us.What it does tell us is significant enough: Phoebe was an important partner in Paul's ministry, and her resources were being used in service to the gospel.Her example reminds us that faith and finances were never intended to occupy separate parts of our lives.Wealth Is an Opportunity to Do GoodChristians can sometimes struggle with how to think about money. We may begin to view wealth as something inherently worldly while treating faith as something private and spiritual.Scripture gives us a much more integrated picture.What we do with the resources God entrusts to us can itself become an act of worship. Money can be used to care for people in need, support missionaries, serve widows and orphans, strengthen ministries, and help spread the gospel.The important question is not merely, “How much wealth do I have?” It is, “How can I faithfully use what God has entrusted to me?”Phoebe understood that her resources carried Kingdom possibilities.That lesson may be particularly significant in the years ahead as enormous amounts of wealth change hands and women become increasingly influential stewards of financial resources. Phoebe offers a biblical picture of what can happen when financial influence is placed at God's disposal.Three Characteristics of a Gospel PatronRinehart identifies three qualities that can help us recognize faithful gospel patronage: vision, generosity, and humility.1. VisionGospel patrons develop eyes to recognize where God is working.They can see potential before the results are obvious. They recognize that something seemingly small today—a missionary, ministry, church plant, Bible translation, or act of service—may bear fruit far beyond what they will ever personally witness.That requires faith.God often begins His work through what appears small, like the mustard seed Jesus described. Gospel patrons have the vision to see what God might do and the willingness to participate.2. GenerosityVision eventually leads to action. Gospel patrons do more than admire good ministry. They joyfully put their resources behind it.That generosity may sometimes involve sacrifice. Instead of viewing giving merely as another financial obligation, gospel patrons see it as an opportunity to participate personally in God's work.Their resources become tools that can help others proclaim the gospel, serve people in need, and bless communities.3. HumilityGospel patrons are also willing to serve without being at the center of attention. They do not need the microphone.Their name may never appear on a platform or become widely known. Their joy comes from knowing that the work is being accomplished.Phoebe's name appears only briefly in Scripture, yet imagine the impact connected to the letter she carried. Christians have been studying Romans for nearly two thousand years.Sometimes extraordinary Kingdom impact happens through people willing to serve faithfully behind the scenes.How Do You Choose What to Support?Generosity should not mean giving impulsively to every opportunity that appears. Wisdom and discernment matter.Rinehart encourages believers to begin with prayer, asking God to help them see where they may have a role in His work.Then comes thoughtful evaluation.Before supporting a person or ministry, consider its theological convictions, character, competence, and clarity of mission. Talk with people who know the organization. Seek wise counsel. Ask whether the ministry has demonstrated faithful stewardship and whether its work aligns with biblical priorities.Generosity and due diligence do not compete with one another. Responsible stewardship includes both.You Don't Have to Wait Until You're WealthyPerhaps the idea of becoming a gospel patron sounds exciting, but you are still early in your career or don't have substantial financial resources.You do not have to wait.Jesus teaches in Luke 16 that faithfulness begins with what we have now. One of the dangers of generosity is always moving it into the future:I'll give when I earn more.I'll become generous when the debt is gone.I'll support ministry once I've reached a certain financial milestone.But habits established with a little often remain when we eventually have much. Start where you are.That might mean supporting a missionary with a modest recurring gift. It could mean giving toward a ministry you believe in, opening your home, sharing your professional expertise, introducing people who could accomplish more together, or intentionally creating financial margin so generosity can grow over time.Small acts of faithfulness have a way of preparing us for larger ones.Lifestyle matters here, too. Rising income can easily be consumed by rising expenses. If every increase in income automatically raises your lifestyle, generosity will always feel difficult.Choosing to live below your means can create margin not simply for financial security, but for giving.What Has God Put in Your Hands?Phoebe's story raises a question worth considering: What resources has God entrusted to you that could help advance the gospel?Perhaps it is wealth. Perhaps it is your business experience, professional expertise, relationships, home, influence, or ability to connect the right people.You may be called to proclaim the gospel publicly. Or you may be someone whose faithful support allows another person to devote more of his or her life to doing so.Both roles matter. Phoebe did not write Romans. Paul did.But Phoebe faithfully used what God had entrusted to her, and she became an important partner in Paul's ministry. Nearly two thousand years later, we are still saying her name.Her story reminds us that we do not need to be the person standing in the spotlight to have an extraordinary gospel impact. We simply need to ask God to show us what He has placed in our hands—and then faithfully use it for His glory.On Today's Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions:I'm over 70, still working, and collecting Social Security. I'm considering withdrawing about $175,000 from my 401(k) to buy a rental property that could generate around $1,600 a month, leaving about $125,000 in the account. Would that be a wise move?My 91-year-old father has pension income and long-term care insurance, but we still face a $3,500 to $4,000 monthly shortfall, and he's down to about $25,000 in savings. A reverse mortgage could help him stay in his home for another couple of years. Would that be a good option, and what type should we consider?Resources Mentioned:Become a FaithFi PartnerFaithful Steward: FaithFi's Quarterly MagazineGospel PatronsGospel Patrons: People Whose Generosity Changed The World by John RinehartMovement MortgageFaithFi Field Guide: How Much Money is Enough? Our Ultimate Treasure: A 21-Day Journey to Faithful Stewardship by Rob WestWisdom Over Wealth: 12 Lessons from Ecclesiastes on MoneyLook At The Sparrows: A 21-Day Devotional on Financial Fear and AnxietyRich Toward God: A Study on the Parable of the Rich FoolFind a Certified Kingdom Advisor® (CKA)FaithFi App Remember, you can call in to ask your questions every weekday at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. You can also visit FaithFi.com to connect with our online community and partner with us as we help more people live as faithful stewards of God's resources. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How to Use Stories in Business Presentations Turn Data Into Meaning with Business Storytelling Episode 321 (Dave is based in Florida) (repeat of #40) In this conversation with Dave Bricker we explore: how stories connect speakers with audiences why every business story must involve people how personal experiences become audience metaphors when fictional stories can deliver honest lessons how leaders can use stories to address difficult issues why conflict keeps listeners curious how to define the audience's transformation why deeper emotional concerns matter more than surface goals how sensory details pull people into a scene why speakers need to perform rather than merely recite a story how strategic pauses strengthen important words why business figures require meaning and context how to turn nervousness into service why coaching and regular practice improve speaking skills ----- About ouir guest, Dave Bricker: He's sailed 1000s of miles in search of stories-not gold, but stories. Two, he's an award-winning speaker who has authored 12 books. And three, he's a business storytelling expert who helps professionals discover what to say and how to say it. Learn more at https://remarkable-stories.com/ ----- Key Learning Points from this conversation: Stories connect when the audience recognizes its own journey in them. Make your personal experience a metaphor for the listener's experience. A useful business story does not need to come from your own life. Fiction can teach a legitimate lesson when you present it honestly. Stories focus on people rather than prices, processes, ingredients, or data. Decide how you want the audience to think, feel, or act differently. Build the story around a journey from conflict to transformation. Look beneath surface goals to find the audience's deeper concerns. Conflict creates the question, “What happened next?” Open strongly enough to pull listeners into the story. Use sensory details to create an emotional experience. Perform the story through vocal variety, pacing, and pauses. Give listeners time to process a question, idea, or humorous line. Translate business figures into meaning for the people listening. Reduce speaking anxiety by shifting your attention from fear to service. Seek coaching, feedback, and regular practice to strengthen your speaking. ----- ----more---- Your Intended Message is the podcast about how you can boost your career and business success by honing your communication skills. We'll examine the aspects of how we communicate one-to-one, one to few and one to many – plus that important conversation, one to self. In these interviews we will explore presentation skills, public speaking, conversation, persuasion, negotiation, sales conversations, marketing, team meetings, social media, branding, self talk and more.   Your host is George Torok George is a specialist in communication skills. Especially presentation. He's fascinated by the links between communication and influencing behaviors. He delivers training and coaching programs to help leaders and promising professionals deliver the intended message for greater success.   Connect with George www.SpeechCoachforExecutives.com https://superiorpresentations.net/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgetorokpresentations/ https://www.youtube.com/user/presentationskill  

Micheal Miller // September 6, 2026

How do obscure pulpy 1950's Atlas comic characters fit in the modern Marvel Universe.  Let's jump into the first Agents of Atlas mini-series to find out! Seek us out under the Field of Geeks umbrella wherever you podcast, YouTube, or www.fieldofgeeks.com. We are also available on Facebook and Gmail under The Number 1 Comics Podcast.  Huge thanks to Raven Xavier for crafting our awesome theme. Check Raven out at https://ravexmusic.bandcamp.com/). #marvel #marvelcomics #comicbooks #agentsofatlas #atlascomics #jimmywoo #marvelboy #kenhale #gorillaman #jeffparker #leonardkirk

Send us Fan MailChris Mearns comes from a background in technology and research and has spent years investigating the science of fructose metabolism and its role in human biology. His work focuses on connecting research on fructose, cellular energy, mitochondrial function, cravings, and metabolic dysfunction to explain why so many seemingly different health problems can occur together.IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL LEARN:• Why fructose may function as more than just a calorie and how it can act as a metabolic signaling molecule• How fructose metabolism may affect ATP, uric acid, mitochondrial efficiency, inflammation, and cellular energy• Why persistent sugar cravings and “food noise” may have a biological component beyond willpower or discipline• The difference between naturally occurring fructose in whole fruit and the concentrated fructose found in added sugars, juices, and processed foods• How the body can produce fructose through the polyol pathway when glucose levels are elevated, and why this may connect to metabolic dysfunction• How Chris Mearns developed Sugar Shield as a potential way to target fructose metabolism while reducing cravings and supporting energyGUEST LINKS:Website:https://liv3health.com/Product: LIV3 Sugar ShieldCALL TO ACTION:If you found this conversation valuable, subscribe to the show and leave a review to help more people discover The Whole Body Detox Show.David DeHaas is the host of The Whole Body Detox Show and founder of Living Waters Cleanse,  a 10 Day Healing Retreat using Colon Hydrotherapy and many other complimentary Modalities in Boise, Idaho  www.livingwaterscleanse.com Support the showVisit our websiteFollow us!YouTube Instagram Facebook Give us a call at (208) 378-9911David's favorite Supplements and Natural Body Products Get your favorite supplements 15% discount & purity testedSuper PatchStem Cell Activation PatchesCreate your EMF Safe SpacesDisclaimerNothing here is meant to diagnose, cure, or treat any disease. Seek out a qualified healthcare professional to see if anything mentioned in this podcast is right for you.

A look at what could have been done better to prevent thousands of flooding deaths in Nepal. Also, a 9/11 widow helps Afghan widows. And, a former employee at the AI company Anthropic has warned on social media that the technology could “kill us all” by 2030, though others dispute the claim. Plus, the organic waste processing method that's sparked a social movement in Colombia. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Are YOU ready to seek sponsorship?  In episode 136 I shared how to determine whether establishing sponsor relationships is right for you + specific steps and tips to do so. For many more barrel racing resources, visit BarrelRacingTips.com. Please subscribe, rate & review the show - thanks for listening!

An earnest student asks for help with important, sincere questions that are relatable for all seekers of Truth, including: - How to transcend mind storms? - Is grace required to make a radical shift? - Is the main effort just to remain as impersonal perceiving? - Is pure Consciousness the same as the Divine? Moojibaba takes the time to clarify these points, offering simple and essential Self-discovery guidance. 16 August 2026 Monte Sahaja, Portugal ~ For more freely offered talks, visit Mooji TV—a dedicated online satsang space: https://mooji.org/mooji-tv If you would like to support the sharing of Satsang, you can donate here: https://mooji.org/donate?tcode=mtv7 #Mooji #satsang #spirituality #advaita #nonduality #awakening

Only 4% of Benedikt Bösel's customers scanned the QR code on their meat — even though that code would have shown them the life of the specific cow they were eating, its pasture, its movement, everything. The other 96% either trusted the brand completely, or simply didn't care. That number sits at the centre of this conversation.This episode was recorded live at Groundswell 2026, the UK's largest regenerative agriculture festival. Koen moderated a 55-minute panel on a question that matters as much to investors as to farmers: who actually benefits when data is collected from farms?The four panellists: Ichsani Wheeler, soil scientist at the OpenGeoHub Foundation and satellite data researcher building an open-access soil registry; Benedikt Bösel, farmer of a 3,000-hectare operation in eastern Brandenburg running a digital twin alongside the physical farm; Antony Yousefian, co-founder of The First Thirty, an investment firm building the data infrastructure to turn farms into preventative healthcare systems; and Matthijs Westerwoudt, co-founder of Wilder Land, building what he calls a Strava for biodiversity using AI-powered acoustic monitoring.Video credit @Commonland.In this session:— Why Benedikt says most farm data has been useless — and what is finally changing— Why Antony believes the cost of communicating with plants has collapsed— The NHS values one quality-adjusted life year at £30,000 — and why that number should reframe the entire food system— The 2013 US case where aggregated farm data was used to set surveillance pricing on inputs against the farmers who generated it— Why only 4% of customers scanned the QR code with full cow data — and what that tells us about the real entry point to consumer behaviour change— How Wilder Land is turning bird species counts into a biodiversity score farmers can put on a product label— What Benedikt's wife's iron levels after birth have to do with all of this-------This session is part of the AI 4 Soil Health project which aims to help farmers and policy makers by providing new tools powered by AI to monitor and predict soil health across Europe. For more information visit ai4soilhealth.eu.Thoughts? Ideas? Questions? Send us a message!Find out more about our Generation-Re investment syndicate:https://gen-re.land/ Thank you to our Field Builders Circle for supporting us. Learn more hereSupport the show=======In Investing in Regenerative Agriculture and Food podcast show we talk to the pioneers in the regenerative food and agriculture space to learn more on how to put our money to work to regenerate soil, people, local communities and ecosystems while making an appropriate and fair return. Hosted by Koen van Seijen.

Matthew 6:33https://www.curlynikki.com/daily-devotional-september-7-2026.html

Episode Description:Kareem Abdul-Jabbar joins James for a From the Archive conversation about basketball, identity, mentorship, faith, writing, civil rights, and his book Becoming Kareem: Growing Up On and Off the Court.The episode begins with basketball. James asks Kareem how the game has changed since his playing days, and Kareem explains the shift toward the three-point shot, the rule changes around physical defense, and the way modern spacing has altered how teams score.But the conversation quickly becomes deeper than basketball.James sees Becoming Kareem as a book about the search for identity. Kareem agrees, explaining that Black Americans have often had identities imposed on them—first through slavery, then through Jim Crow, then through the lingering assumptions and limitations of American racism. His own journey required rejecting those imposed definitions and building an identity he could be proud of.Kareem emphasizes the importance of mentors. Some were direct mentors, like John Wooden and Bruce Lee. Others were cultural or intellectual mentors, like Malcolm X. Together, they helped him understand not only how to succeed, but how to think about who he wanted to become.The central advice Kareem gives young people is simple: knowledge is power. Learn what your future could be. Seek out what motivates you. Do not let someone else define your path. Every person has a unique spark, and the work is to discover where that spark leads.James and Kareem also talk about fundamentals. Kareem remembers John Wooden expecting him to graduate and teaching his players the smallest details of preparation, including how to put on their socks. The lesson is that success depends on doing the basic things correctly before the glamorous work begins.The conversation then turns to Kareem's life as a writer. James asks about the challenge of moving from basketball into Sherlock Holmes fiction. Kareem explains that writing Mycroft Holmes required serious preparation: understanding Victorian England, Arthur Conan Doyle's canon, and the possibilities hidden inside Mycroft's brief appearances.Kareem also reflects on Islam, his conversion, and the way faith gave him a moral anchor. He talks about being raised Catholic, studying Islam, reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and finding a belief system that helped him understand right and wrong.Near the end, James asks about Kareem's seriousness in photos and the HBO documentary Kareem: Minority of One. Kareem explains that his height made him visible everywhere he went, and that constant scrutiny made him more guarded than someone who could disappear into a crowd.The episode closes with the idea that everyone is, in some way, a minority of one. Every person has to figure out their own path, and often that path is not the one their parents followed. Kareem's story is about basketball, but it is also about becoming a whole person.Editorial Note:This is a From the Archive episode. References to Kareem's career scoring record, the state of the NBA, Becoming Kareem, and his then-current writing projects reflect the original recording period.Since this conversation was recorded, LeBron James has surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA's all-time leading scorer. The conversation remains historically valuable because it captures Kareem reflecting on his record, his era, and his evolution before that milestone changed.What You'll Learn:How Kareem thinks basketball changed after his era.Why the three-point shot transformed modern NBA strategy.Why Becoming Kareem is ultimately a book about identity.How imposed identity shaped Kareem's experience as a Black American.Why knowledge is power in the search for a future.How mentors helped Kareem understand who he was and who he wanted to become.What John Wooden taught him about education, discipline, and preparation.Why fundamentals matter before talent can fully express itself.How the lesson of “putting on your socks” applies far beyond basketball.Why Bruce Lee's “one kick 10,000 times” idea connects to the skyhook.How Kareem approached writing Sherlock Holmes fiction through Mycroft.Why religion became part of Kareem's search for identity.How Islam gave him a moral anchor.Why constant public scrutiny made him more guarded.Why competitive fire separates great athletes from talented ones who do not fully develop.Why every generation has to find its own path.Timestamped Chapters:[02:38] How Basketball ChangedKareem explains how the three-point shot, rule changes, and less physical defense changed the modern NBA.[04:14] Beyond BasketballJames introduces Becoming Kareem and frames Kareem's life as a continuing search for identity.[05:44] Rejecting an Imposed IdentityKareem explains how Black Americans have had identities imposed on them and why his journey required building one he could be proud of.[07:03] Mentors and the Making of a SelfJames points to Coach Wooden, Bruce Lee, Muhammad Ali, Wilt Chamberlain, Malcolm X, and other influences who shaped Kareem's identity.[08:17] Knowledge Is PowerKareem says young people should seek knowledge, understand what motivates them, and choose a path instead of accepting one imposed by others.[09:57] Education, UCLA, and CommunityKareem explains why earning a college degree mattered to him personally and to his community.[11:12] Finding Your Path in AmericaKareem talks about the many ways to become successful and the need to figure out what you want to pursue.[12:12] Fundamental PreparationKareem explains why every field requires fundamentals, whether basketball, chemistry, law, or any other discipline.[13:05] John Wooden and the Socks LessonJames and Kareem discuss Wooden teaching players how to put on socks and why small details determine whether bigger work can happen.[14:26] The Skyhook and 10,000 KicksJames connects Bruce Lee's practice philosophy to Kareem's skyhook and the discipline of repeating one skill until it becomes mastery.[15:46] Becoming a Sherlock Holmes WriterKareem explains the challenge of entering a new creative field and writing about Mycroft Holmes.[17:02] Finding the Blank Space in MycroftJames notes that Kareem built a story from Arthur Conan Doyle's brief suggestion that Mycroft was, at times, the British government.[17:39] Religion and IdentityKareem explains how his Catholic upbringing, interest in monotheism, African history, and The Autobiography of Malcolm X led him toward Islam.[18:49] A Moral AnchorKareem says Islam helped him clarify his belief system and understand right and wrong.[20:06] A Minority of OneJames asks why Kareem often appeared so serious in photos, and Kareem explains the effect of lifelong scrutiny.[21:31] What Coach Wooden Still Teaches HimKareem reflects on Wooden's example, expectations, and belief that effort in academics and athletics was worthwhile.[22:47] Talent, Skill, and Competitive FireKareem says competitive fire often separates championship athletes from talented players who never fully make it.[24:35] Civil Rights and Speaking Up YoungJames asks about the Cleveland Summit, Muhammad Ali, and Kareem's early role in civil-rights conversations.[25:54] Everyone Is a Minority of OneJames and Kareem return to the question of identity and the need for each generation to define its own path.Additional Resources:Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Official WebsiteBecoming Kareem — Hachette Book GroupMycroft Holmes Series — Penguin Random HouseKareem Abdul-Jabbar — Simon & Schuster Author PageWe All Want to Change the World — Penguin Random HouseGame of Death — Janus FilmsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hayden Panettiere's ex hid under a table before arrest, Buttsniffer busted, Times Square stabbing, Lindsay Clancy jury deadlocked, Puka Nacua doesn't want his kid, Mayor Mary Sheffield in trouble, Brendan Schaub v. Bryan Callen, and Meghan Markle's bossing around the UK. Jerry Chen > Jim Bentley. This was playing on the radio when Jim found out. Speaking of Jim, his dog is dying ASAP. Sad. Lindsay Clancy's jury is deadlocked. Seems like some of the jury might be #TeamLindsay. The fan mail is pouring in because she murdered her children. Denver Bronco, Jonathon Cooper, is fighting domestic violence charges. Amanda Knox is a stand-up comedian now. Greg Maddux sucks at baseball now. John Hinckley Jr. keeps pulling down YouTube videos we want to watch.  A woman in Times Square went on a knife attack and was taken out by the NYPD. Brendan Schaub is getting really pissed that Bryan Callen is late and missing episodes of TFATK. Drew was once bamboozled by a Notre Dame hockey "star". He is not a fan of people exaggerating their athletic feats. Jerry Sandusky is still claiming innocence after 1 victim (out of 10) may recant their story. M1 Insurance Group joins DLS. Check them out! Puka Nacua is really good at football and really bad at relationships. His ex is popping off on TikTok. Tony Romo needs to drink and drive sometimes because his back hurts. Jaime Pressly was kicked out of a California hotel for causing a ruckus. Brian Hickerson once hid from police under a table at Barney's Beanery. Drew had fun watching this street fight, but specifically the dude in pink swinging at nothing. Al Sharpton fires back against Nolan Wells "so-called friends". Detroit Mayors: Kwame Kilpatrick was a crook. Mike Duggan was investigated.Mary Sheffield seems to be following in their footsteps. Cheers to the next Pulitzer Prize winner. Charlie LeDuff has been breaking stories left and right. Dan Wetzel made an appearance on ML Soul of Detroit. College football has an age issue. Blurred face and what's-her-name force their new school to abide by Meghan Markle rules. Jim will try and redeem himself tomorrow with another top 10 list. Merch is available if you want to rep the show. You'd look amazing too. If you'd like to help support the show… consider subscribing to our YouTube Channel, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (Drew Lane, Marc Fellhauer, Trudi Daniels, Jim Bentley, BranDon, and Roberto).