Podcasts about Summarize

870 A Samaritan Woman Came to Draw Water, A Guided Christian Meditation on John 4:5-9 with the Recenter With Christ app The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in  and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.  Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.  You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrelaxing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.   Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:   Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate,  deflate. Scripture for Meditation John 4 NET 5 Now he came to a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there, so Jesus, since he was tired from the journey, sat right down beside the well. It was about noon. 7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me some water to drink." 8 (For his disciples had gone off into the town to buy supplies.) 9 So the Samaritan woman said to him, "How can you—a Jew—ask me, a Samaritan woman, for water to drink?" (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.) NKJV 5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Reflection on Scripture: I love this story. It is the moment Jesus reveals himself at Jacob's well, literally Israel's well and yet it is not in the country of the Jews. This leads to interesting questions like who were the Samaritans and why do they show up in the New Testament? I think it is meaningful to ponder these questions for a moment. The Samaritans had a meaningful history. Through the whole Bible we see God's interaction with people that he has called His. God called the people of Jacob as his people. Jacob's name was changed to Israel and he had sons that formed large tribes. After Solomon the tribes split into two parts. The Southern Kingdom which was mostly the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin and the Northern kingdoms representing the other tribes. The northern tribes fell to the Assyrians and interbred with the pagan nations that surrounded. As a result they adopted different habits and theology and for this they did not get along with the Jews well.  So this is why the well of Jacob is among the Samaritans and additionally why Jesus would be near the lands of the Samaritans. They had been Israelites in the past. Jesus chose to reveal that he was the Messiah at this well. He did not choose Jerusalem. He did not go to the Pharisees. He chose those who were rejected, not those who thought themselves very important. We will talk more about the choice of this woman in the future but for now it is important to reflect on God's choice of the Samaritans.  Each of us are, in a form, outsiders to God. We are His children, yet we have acted in a way inconsistent with His perfection. He is able ot use the imperfect to do His work. In fact, imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with. You are enough for God to love and for Him to accept. His grace is sufficient for you.   Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?  FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod  

At CES 2026, Lenovo showcased an exciting new AI innovation called QIRA, redefining what personalized technology can offer. This powerful, system-level feature works seamlessly across devices and platforms, enhancing user experience like never before, and it's now being rolled out on select Lenovo devices.In this episode, I had the privilege of speaking with Jeff Snow, the Head of Product and AI Ecosystem at Lenovo. We explored the inspiring vision behind QIRA, its capabilities, and how Lenovo is uniquely positioned to offer such an experience. Join us as we dive into how QIRA gathers insights, develops its extensive knowledge base, maintains synchronization across devices, and implements robust measures to protect user privacy and security.Index:00:00 - Intro02:00 - Guest intro (Jeff Snow, VP & Head of Product & AI Ecosystem)02:50 - What is QIRA - Cross-device, local-first personal intelligence03:42 - The vision of QIRA - Uniform "Lenovo AI Experience" across devices05:13 - Organizationally, one team is working on QIRA, implemented on all Lenovo devices06:12 - Examples of what it can do today: Catch me up - Summarize what happened across devices, Pay attention - Summarize meetings, and make it part of the knowledge base across devices, more08:17 - QIRA learns from experiences - Implicitly and explicitly (with user permission), gathers and personal knowledge & insights09:59 - It is more than an OTT app - App interface, but tightly integrated into the machine, even connecting with the OS, utilizes local AI models, and can be surfaced in any other apps12:29 - The inputs to QIRA - Multimodal, text, images, voice, additional context (emails, chats, etc.), system health and telemetry, cross-device artifacts (e.g. notifications)14:00 - Explicit user permission is required before saving any inputs, and it can be revoked at any time. "Humans are always in the loop"15:06 - ALL the data generated by the device is stored locally on that specific device, the vectorized and encrypted data is shared across devices to keep all the devices in sync18:16 - The "learning" happens and is stored in the individual device, and synced across devices20:10 - Hybrid and agile model selection: mix of local, cloud, own, and third-party, with always a local-first approach21:56 - User option "Local-only" or "Hybrid." Even in local-only mode, sync across devices can be enabled23:56 - Most QIRA actions are user-initiated or part of an experience or workflow.23:27 - It can surface suggestions, but not directly take action without direct user intervention28:49 - QIRA can be the primary AI assistant interface on your Lenovo device32:20 - Lenovo is exploiting its unique position, with pocket-to-cloud offerings, to provide a more personalized and well-rounded AI experience to its users32:49 - Key challenges Lenovo faced in bringing QIRA to market: changing the mindset of the team to be software-focused, and moving quickly34:99 - Defenses against accessing QIRA-related data when the device is stolen36:17 - Ability to migrate personal knowledge base from old to new device37:20 - No QIRA knowledge base vector data cloud back-up38:30 - Different peer product in China, QIRA is for the rest of the world39:33 - Evolution of QIRA: More devices, third-party devices, even richer knowledge base & orchestration, enterprise solution39:48 - Portability of QIRA vector database41:20 - Closing

868 He Had To Pass Through Samaria, A Guided Christian Meditation on John 4:1-4 with the Recenter With Christ app The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in  and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.  Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.  You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrelaxing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.   Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:   Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate,  deflate. Scripture for Meditation John 4 KJV 4 When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, 2 (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) 3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. 4 And he must needs go through Samaria. NASB 4 So then, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that He was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing; rather, His disciples were), 3 He left Judea and went away again to Galilee. 4 And He had to pass through Samaria Reflection on Scripture: I find the framing of this chapter interesting. Because the Pharisees knew Jesus had gained many disciples it seems he was forced to leave and additionally forced to travel through Samaria, which we will explore in coming weeks. This is an interesting way to phrase it and it can give an interesting idea for what was an imperative for Jesus. In the strictest sense Jesus did not have to do anything. Jehovah did not have to create the universe or anything else after that. These things are consistent with God's character and therefore God chooses them. The only way that God would not choose those things is if he did not have his current character. With that said none of that makes it a foregone conclusion for what God has to do. Perhaps this is very obvious but it is worth pondering on for a moment.  God is certainly able to determine His guiding ethics and it is far above human understanding to tell God what he has to do. It is something of a ridiculous notion that the Pharisees could force Jesus to do anything. Even when he was on the cusp of being sent to death, Jesus told Peter he could have called down legions of angels to do His bidding and chose not to. There is literally nothing that the Pharisees could have done, that you could do, that I could do, that would force God to do something that He didn't already determine that He should do.  With that said, once God determines to do something, he lays out a plan on what is needed for that to happen, and then he does it. Before the foundation of the earth God determined that Jesus would come to save us all. So when this moment arrived Jesus planned to go to Samaria and talk to the woman at the well. To make that happen he traveled through Samaria consistent with His intent and as such he HAD to go through Samaria. Just as God has executed His actions through all history he continues to do the same for you in yoru life right now. He has given you the exact life you need, to be challenged sufficiently Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?  FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod  

Your time never gets a refund. Let AI watch that 53 minute YouTube. Full recap in 15 seconds. Plus, Michael is drowning in real estate contracts. I'm helping save $999 an hour on a lawyer by using AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode SummaryIn this archive episode of With Flying Colors, Mark sits down with Todd Miller — longtime NCUA expert, former Director of Special Actions, and member of the CU Exam Solutions team — to break down one of the most misunderstood and under-optimized tools in credit union governance: the board package.Boards get in trouble not because they don't care, Todd explains, but because they are often misinformed, overwhelmed, or kept in the dark. A well-designed board package solves that — if it's built with the right mix of clarity, consistency, and candor.Todd explains:What high-performing board packages includeWhy “size and complexity” shape reporting expectationsThe danger of data dumps, inconsistent formatting, and detail overloadHow to pair dashboards with strong qualitative narrativesThe one question every executive should answer in their reportsWhy peer comparisons matterHow risk appetite, strategic plans, and deviation explanations must tie togetherReal-world stories from troubled and well-run credit unionsHow to avoid examiner criticism by aligning reporting with actual riskThis episode is full of practical actions your board and leadership team can apply immediately.Key Themes & Takeaways1. Great Board Packages Balance Qualitative + Quantitative ReportingTodd outlines a simple principle: Board reports should demonstrate management's compliance with the business plan, board policies, and the credit union's risk appetite. transcript Board Packages Todd …Boards need both data and narrative to understand where the credit union is, how it got there, and where it's going.2. Consistency Builds Board TrustFrom formatting to color-coding to dashboards, consistency helps directors quickly understand risk without getting bogged down.Inconsistent layouts or disorganized reporting create confusion and can lead to micromanagement or oversight failures.3. Avoid the “Data Dump” TrapTodd highlights that many troubled credit unions had mountains of data… but no clarity. Board packets that keep expanding over time—without periodic pruning—bury critical insights.Annual reviews of what stays, what goes, and how information is summarized are essential.4. Dashboards Are Critical — But Must Be Thoughtfully BuiltDashboards should show:Where the CU has beenWhere it is nowWhere it's trending nextThey must also be paired with narrative analysis to flag:VariancesDeviations from strategic/annual plansNew risksNew opportunities5. The Biggest Blind Spot: Credit Risk ReportingCredit risk is the No. 1 cause of failures. Todd explains how to reduce hundreds of pages into 2–3 meaningful pages with:Risk migration visualsLTV + credit score overlaysPortfolio trendsBusiness loan concentration & large-borrower exposure6. Committees Create Risk — and Reporting ObligationsALCO, lending, IT, risk committees… Boards need visibility but not minutiae.Todd walks through how well-run credit unions:Summarize committee outputElevate red flagsKeep the board focused on strategy, not operations7. Real-World Stories—The Good, The Bad, The UglyTodd shares examples of:39 unprofitable branches hidden in an overly detailed packetBoards blindsided by marijuana banking risk and resulting finesA $4 million depositor walking out because the board lacked contextThese stories underscore the need for transparency, context, and prioritization.Why This MattersA strong board package:Improves governanceEnhances regulator confidencePrevents surprisesSupports faster, cleaner examsKeeps boards strategicHelps management demonstrate competence and controlThis episode is a must-listen for CEOs, CFOs, lending executives, and directors looking to elevate their governance culture.

This week, Paul argues that the one word that best summarizes the Bible is redemption—the story of God's rescuing, transforming, and restoring work through Jesus Christ, from Exodus to eternity.Join us for a weekly narration of Paul Tripp's popular devotional. You can subscribe to our email list to receive this devotional straight to your inbox each week, or read online at PaulTripp.com/Wednesday or on Facebook, Instagram, and the Paul Tripp App.If you've been enjoying the Wednesday's Word podcast, please leave us a review! Each review helps us reach more people with the transforming power of Jesus Christ.

Eric and Marty return to TSP and talk about their favorite new hardware.EPOMAKER TH108 PRO Full Size Mechanical Keyboard with Screen & Knob, Wireless Gaming Keyboard https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FVLS8Z9BMacBook Neo - Applehttps://www.apple.com/macbook-neo/Plaud Note Al Voice Recorder, Note Taker w/Case, App Control, Transcribe & Summarize with Alhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CZX48H2ZMOKiN 10Gbps USB C Hub Ethernet, 7 in 1 USB C Adapter for MacBook Pro/Air with 4K@60HZ HDMIhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CN115DM4Lifelong Ergonomic Adjustable Laptop Stand for Desk, Extra Tall 20" Height Aluminum Laptop Riserhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B08G3YGDJ1Presentation Clicker PowerPoint Wireless Presenter Remotehttps://www.amazon.com/Presentation-PowerPoint-Presentations-Presenter-Projector/dp/B0B8SDK2LH/Ember Temperature Control Smart Mug 2, 14 Oz, App-Controlled Heated Coffee Mughttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z5H4TF5YouTube.com/@TechSavvyProfessorThePodTalkNetwork@gmail.comThePodTalk.Net

866 You Will Not Go Away Empty-handed, A Guided Christian Meditation on Exodus 3:20-22 with the Recenter With Christ app The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in  and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.  Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.  You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrelaxing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.   Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:   Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate,  deflate. Scripture for Meditation Exodus 3 NIV 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go. 21 "And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians." 20 So I will extend my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will do among them, and after that he will release you. 21 "I will grant this people favor with the Egyptians, so that when you depart you will not leave empty-handed. 22 Every woman will ask her neighbor and the one who happens to be staying in her house for items of silver and gold and for clothing. You will put these articles on your sons and daughters—thus you will plunder Egypt!" Reflection on Scripture: Human ethics are not complete. For hundreds of years the Israelites had been oppressed. None of those past people saw relief in this life. Similarly in the time of Jesus, many Jews were persecuted as well as early Christians. Additionally there are people who suffer around the world, some of them children. In our human ethics this can be very difficult. Yet I think this presents a problem of perspective and what life is. With this perspective many people could argue that life isnt fair. If we consider this human life to be the totality of life then any discomfort during that time is injustice indeed. I am in the military and have had very unpleasant training periods. Additionally I asked a Marine recently if he thought that Marine Corps boot camp was fair, he did not understand the framing of the question. It didnt matter if it was fair was his response. It is very physically demanding and full of suffering but the framing of this experience in his mind was not about it being fair or not because he was doing it for the end result of going where he wanted to go in the USMC.  If we consider this life as a training period for us then it changes our whole ethical framework. Marine Corps boot camp was not designed to be comfortable nor was this life. So it is not a failure if it is not comfortable. The real question is, does it move us to what we need to move toward. For example for early Christians who were murdered for their faith, their ethics would be different. For example when they are in the presence of God for all eternity I seriously doubt that they will consider their lives to have been unfair.  In this scripture we see that God will eventually reconcile His children. He will avenge us of wrongs done to us with His mighty arm. He will forgive our wrongs if we come to Him with His power of grace. Not only that he will reward us for going through these challenges. We will be blessed beyond our understanding for the hardship we go through. This compensation the people received also allowed them to create a beautiful tabernacle unto the Lord. Trust that the Lord will reward every injustice in His way, not ours. Praise God that we will be judged according to His ethics and not our own.  Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?  FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

This week I talk about why summarizing everything isn't actually reading more — summaries rob you of the experience, the context, and the ability to form your own opinion, and I'd rather read one primary source than 14 summaries I'll forget. Then a heavy but admirable piece from The Dispatch on Ben Sasse facing terminal cancer with poise, and what it teaches us about being present with our families, and a recommendation for Lou Gehrig's Luckiest Man speech on YouTube.Links:Don't Let AI Steal Your LifeBen Sasse Is Teaching Us How to Die—And Live—Well (The Dispatch)Lou Gehrig's Luckiest Man SpeechIf you enjoyed this, consider joining my newsletter at https://streamlined.fm/wrap. You'll get an additional Automation of the Week, as well as regular emails on how to approach building systems that help you take time off, worry-free.View the episode transcript (00:00) - Introduction (00:31) - On My Mind: What's the point of summarizing everything? (08:34) - Recommended Reading (13:57) - Recommended Media (15:30) - Outro ————Streamlined Solopreneur is the podcast for solopreneurs who want to automate their business and take time off worry-free. Each week, Joe Casabona shares practical systems, tools, and strategies to help you reclaim your time and run your business without sacrificing your the rest of your life, or your health. Start with the free Solopreneur Sweep — a step-by-step method for finding where your business is losing time: https://streamlined.fm/sweepIf this episode helped you, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts helps other solopreneurs find the show — it only takes a minute and means a lot.Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

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 Dave Charest. Summary of the Dave Charest Interview In this episode of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, Rushion McDonald interviews Dave Charest, Director of Small Business Success at Constant Contact, a leading digital marketing platform. Charest discusses the rising wave of entrepreneurship, the foundational importance of email and direct‑to‑customer channels, common mistakes new business owners make, and how AI is reshaping small‑business marketing. He provides practical guidance on marketing consistency, channel selection, building community relationships, and using technology to scale. Throughout the conversation, Charest emphasizes that while small businesses often lack marketing expertise, they possess a valuable advantage: real, human relationships that can be strengthened through consistent communication. Purpose of the Interview The purpose of Rushion McDonald’s conversation with Dave Charest is to: 1. Educate new and aspiring entrepreneurs Charest breaks down the basics of digital marketing—email, social, SMS—and how to begin building a strong marketing foundation. 2. Highlight the key trends driving the entrepreneurship boom He explains motivations like work–life balance, independence, and financial potential that inspire people to launch businesses. 3. Provide practical, actionable marketing advice Especially around consistency, choosing marketing channels, and building direct customer relationships. 4. Introduce how AI can simplify and amplify marketing Charest showcases tools that help business owners quickly generate content, develop campaigns, and analyze customer behavior. Key Takeaways 1. Direct relationships (email/SMS) outperform social media Email offers ownership, stability, and higher ROI—unlike social platforms that can change algorithms or visibility overnight. Charest stresses that “the money is in the list.” 2. You don’t need huge numbers to be effective Small businesses often see high open and engagement rates because followers know and trust them. 3. Consistency matters more than platform choice Whether you choose Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, or email, the biggest driver of marketing success is showing up regularly. 4. Start small—don’t overwhelm yourself One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is trying to do everything at once. Begin with the basics and grow steadily. 5. Community is a crucial marketing asset Local businesses thrive when they maintain strong connections with nearby businesses, customers, and community networks. 6. Entrepreneurs face challenges—but resilience wins Charest notes that small business owners rarely have a “Plan B,” which pushes them to adapt and continue learning. 7. AI is transforming small‑business marketing Constant Contact offers tools to: Generate emails and content Summarize content for social Build full marketing campaigns Analyze behavior from large email lists to recommend actions Notable Quotes (from the transcript) Here are direct paraphrases and key phrases—not copyrighted material but drawn from the transcript: On email vs. social “There’s a $36 return for every $1 invested in email—but what matters is that you own the relationship.” “If a social platform goes away, so does your following. Email is a direct line.” On audience size “Big numbers aren’t necessary—small lists can see 50% open rates and strong engagement because those people actually care.” On entrepreneurship motivations “People want better work‑life balance, independence, and financial potential.” On mistakes “A big mistake is trying to do too much at once. Start small and stay consistent.” On community “Digital marketing should extend real relationships—not replace them.” On choosing platforms “Where your audience spends time matters, but so does where you can show up consistently.” On AI’s role “AI can generate emails, build campaigns, and analyze audience data—saving you time for what you’d rather be doing.” #SHMS #STRAW #BESTSupport 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 Dave Charest. Summary of the Dave Charest Interview In this episode of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, Rushion McDonald interviews Dave Charest, Director of Small Business Success at Constant Contact, a leading digital marketing platform. Charest discusses the rising wave of entrepreneurship, the foundational importance of email and direct‑to‑customer channels, common mistakes new business owners make, and how AI is reshaping small‑business marketing. He provides practical guidance on marketing consistency, channel selection, building community relationships, and using technology to scale. Throughout the conversation, Charest emphasizes that while small businesses often lack marketing expertise, they possess a valuable advantage: real, human relationships that can be strengthened through consistent communication. Purpose of the Interview The purpose of Rushion McDonald’s conversation with Dave Charest is to: 1. Educate new and aspiring entrepreneurs Charest breaks down the basics of digital marketing—email, social, SMS—and how to begin building a strong marketing foundation. 2. Highlight the key trends driving the entrepreneurship boom He explains motivations like work–life balance, independence, and financial potential that inspire people to launch businesses. 3. Provide practical, actionable marketing advice Especially around consistency, choosing marketing channels, and building direct customer relationships. 4. Introduce how AI can simplify and amplify marketing Charest showcases tools that help business owners quickly generate content, develop campaigns, and analyze customer behavior. Key Takeaways 1. Direct relationships (email/SMS) outperform social media Email offers ownership, stability, and higher ROI—unlike social platforms that can change algorithms or visibility overnight. Charest stresses that “the money is in the list.” 2. You don’t need huge numbers to be effective Small businesses often see high open and engagement rates because followers know and trust them. 3. Consistency matters more than platform choice Whether you choose Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, or email, the biggest driver of marketing success is showing up regularly. 4. Start small—don’t overwhelm yourself One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is trying to do everything at once. Begin with the basics and grow steadily. 5. Community is a crucial marketing asset Local businesses thrive when they maintain strong connections with nearby businesses, customers, and community networks. 6. Entrepreneurs face challenges—but resilience wins Charest notes that small business owners rarely have a “Plan B,” which pushes them to adapt and continue learning. 7. AI is transforming small‑business marketing Constant Contact offers tools to: Generate emails and content Summarize content for social Build full marketing campaigns Analyze behavior from large email lists to recommend actions Notable Quotes (from the transcript) Here are direct paraphrases and key phrases—not copyrighted material but drawn from the transcript: On email vs. social “There’s a $36 return for every $1 invested in email—but what matters is that you own the relationship.” “If a social platform goes away, so does your following. Email is a direct line.” On audience size “Big numbers aren’t necessary—small lists can see 50% open rates and strong engagement because those people actually care.” On entrepreneurship motivations “People want better work‑life balance, independence, and financial potential.” On mistakes “A big mistake is trying to do too much at once. Start small and stay consistent.” On community “Digital marketing should extend real relationships—not replace them.” On choosing platforms “Where your audience spends time matters, but so does where you can show up consistently.” On AI’s role “AI can generate emails, build campaigns, and analyze audience data—saving you time for what you’d rather be doing.” #SHMS #STRAW #BESTSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Facilitator:  NedTopics:  PixyBot App; Using Gestures to go home screen; What is Dynamics?;  Accessible VO games on phone;  Using Facetime Video;  VO focus announces time when on call; Using hotel WI-FI; New update out;  Sheet Grabber Expander;  Using resizing on screen;  JumpStart; VO tutorial;   Can you add Android Phone to Find My;  Turn off Summarize messages;  What is Summarize?  New Update bugs;  Tracking people or Packages on Phone;  Moving folders with apps;  Using Slides with VO; iBytes:  Toggle Live Regional and Announces

I'm excited to work with Microsoft once again as the presenting sponsors of the AI Engineer World's Fair! We'll streaming live from MS Build today for a special crossover pod with our friends at No Priors and the one and only Satya Nadella. However we did not hold back with this interview - we asked all the burning questions about uptime and Copilot that we know you have in your minds. Lets go!For almost two decades, GitHub has been the home of software, where both open source and closed flow, through commits, pull requests, reviews, actions, etc.This ecosystem flourished as open-source maintainers and contributors would continue shipping code for the benefit of the community. However as coding agents began to ship mass quantities of code - growing 1400% in 2026, it marked a new era that was both extremely exciting and challenging for GitHub.While these agents help more people ship more projects, they also significantly increase the floor of how much code is shipped, how often it is shipped, how many people commit code, and basically orders of magnitude multiples in every dimension of GitHub infrastructure:Now GitHub inevitably experiences more pressure on their infrastructure which was originally designed around human developers moving at human speed. This has resulted in a very publicly notable uptime story:So it begs the question of whether current systems around code can absorb what AI produces. Can CI/CD keep up when every idea becomes a build? Can open source maintainers survive floods of AI-generated slop contributions? Can GitHub preserve the human social contract of software while becoming the operating layer for agents?Which brings us to the perfect person to answer these questions: GitHub COO Kyle Daigle. In this episode, he joins swyx to unpack what happens when AI doesn't just autocomplete code, but starts changing how companies operate, how open source works, how pull requests get reviewed, and how GitHub itself has to scale. We go deep on GitHub's internal AI workflows: micro-skills, WorkIQ, MCP, Slack, Teams, email, Copilot workflows, the new Copilot desktop app, CLI, cloud agents, and how Kyle uses agents to look backwards across company context before deciding what to do next. Kyle also reflects on GitHub's history building webhooks, APIs, Actions, npm, Dependabot, and Semmle, why the AI era is breaking GitHub in new ways, how Actions became a general-purpose compute layer, and what Copilot becomes after code completion.Full Video PodWe discuss:* Kyle's expanded role across GitHub* How AI got Kyle coding again after years in leadership* Why GitHub rolls out AI through existing workflows instead of forcing new tools* WorkIQ, MCP, Slack, Teams, email, and GitHub as company context* Why massive “mega-skills” are giving way to small, atomic micro-skills* How AI changes summarization, communications, marketing, and analyst work* Why former developers in leadership may have a unique advantage in the AI era* Kyle's “15 agents on Saturday” workflow* How Kyle built an AI-generated executive presentation for CRO/CFO teams* Why AI changes the chief of staff role without removing the human work* GitHub Actions, webhooks, arbitrary code execution, and secure agent compute* The npm acquisition, supply-chain security, 2FA, and token invalidation* Slop forks, vendoring, and whether AI agents change dependency management* What pull requests become when most PRs come from agents* Prompt requests, vouching, AI review, and trust in open source* What counts as a “developer” when AI lowers the barrier to building* GitHub Spark, low-code, and why GitHub refuses to hide the code* 14x commit growth, Actions load, databases, monorepos, and availability* Copilot's evolution from completion to CLI, desktop app, cloud agents, and SDK* Context, memory, rules, and making GitHub “act like Kyle wants it to act”* Ambient AI, OpenClaw, enterprise security, and the new operating system for agents* What swyx should ask Satya Nadella about Microsoft's AI futureKyle Daigle* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyledaigle* X: https://x.com/kdaigleTimestamps00:00:00 Introduction00:03:36 Why AI Got Kyle Coding Again00:07:04 Running GitHub with AI: WorkIQ, MCP, Slack, Teams, and Skills00:15:39 The Golden Age for Former Developers in Leadership00:17:31 15 Agents on Saturday and AI-Generated Executive Work00:20:20 How AI Changes the Chief of Staff Role00:21:45 GitHub's History: Actions, npm, Webhooks, and Open Source00:28:45 Slop Forks, Vendoring, and AI Dependency Management00:33:57 Pull Requests, Prompt Requests, and Trust in Agent-Generated Code00:41:21 GitHub Stars, 200M+ Developers, and the New AI Builder Wave00:45:15 GitHub Spark, Low-Code, and Why GitHub Still Shows the Code00:47:38 GitHub's Hardest Era: 14x Growth, Reliability, and Scale00:59:21 Actions as the Compute Layer for CI/CD and Automation01:02:04 The State and Future of GitHub Copilot01:08:24 Ambient AI, Background Agents, and the Future of the SDLC01:13:09 OpenClaw, Enterprise Security, and the New OS for Agents01:18:03 Build Announcements, WorkIQ, FoundryIQ, and Microsoft Context01:21:41 What Should swyx Ask Satya?TranscriptIntroduction: Kyle Daigle's Expanded Role at GitHub and MicrosoftSwyx [00:00:00]: We're here with Kyle Daigle, COO of GitHub. Welcome.Kyle [00:00:07]: Hey, thanks for having me.Swyx [00:00:08]: You're not just CEO of GitHub. People know you as that. You have a new role.Kyle [00:00:11]: So I have an expanded role now. I've been working at GitHub for thirteen years and doing all things developer. Joined as a developer myself. And now, I'm also responsible as the CMO of Developer for Microsoft. And so all the kind of learnings and passion for developers and how we work with them and how we communicate and how we bring our products to market, we're also bringing that expertise to the broader Microsoft ecosystem and helping every developer that uses a Microsoft product or would like to have a sort of similar experience that they've had with GitHub over the years. So it's a different role in some ways, but it's also just building on the experience that I've had at GitHub of just sort of tell the truth, be authentic, show people how to use it and then let the products speak for themselves. Now just doing that with, all of Microsoft.Swyx [00:01:09]: We'll be releasing this in conjunction with Build. You got lots of stuff planned, and we can sort of touch on that whenever it's appropriate. I think one of the interesting things is I rarely meet a COO who's also a CMO. I think you're a very outward facing and you're very confident publicly. That's rare. Do you actually view yourself as COO? What's What is your thing?From GitHub Developer to COO/CMO: Building the Platform and Operating GitHubKyle [00:01:33]: I think for me, it's been funny. The titles have always been, a— have always felt a little strange to me. I joined GitHub as a developer? I wrote so much of theSwyx [00:01:46]: Let's bring that up. You wrote the back ends?Kyle [00:01:48]: I was going through, I was going through, some old photos, when folks were talking about how things were being built or how there was a build GitHub. I built, webhooks and worked with teams building the API, built the platform layer. Anything that integrated with GitHub, up until really twenty eighteen, I built or ran the engineering teams. And that's kind of where my the beginning of my passion always was helping people build things, deliver them to, their customers. And so being a developer, building for developers was always super unique. In a— I think as my role expanded, it became my ability to talk to not just developers, but also enterprise customers or business leaders and have this translation layer. And then through all those years, GitHub has always operated pretty uniquely. Post-pandemic, working remotely was not as novel as it was when GitHub started in two thousand and eight. But all that expertise of running remote teams, doing it well, became this sort of bigger role, ultimately turning into the COO role of how do we operate GitHub in the way that GitHub's always operated after the Microsoft acquisition. And kind of so on from there. So like for me, I think the— I've, I still code. I love coding but the problem has always been, people. It's a much harder problem to both support our own employees, a harder problem to communicate to developers and enterprise buyers what we're building why it matters, ‘cause those are two very different messages. And so getting to work in the mix of COO, CMO, also just being a dev, I think is what's kept me at GitHub for so long.AI Workflows for Leadership: Commits, Retrospectives, and ContextSwyx [00:03:40]: Apparently, you have— your commits have gone up. What's this? What's going on?Kyle [00:03:45]: Rui's called me out pretty aggressively. So I think— as you can imagine, right, you can see my normal era of being a dev In the twenty thirteen, twenty fourteen era, and then moving into management, and then ultimately the COO role. I think what you see there is me, really getting back to coding thanks to AI. I— similar to, attaching problems between how to market and how to operate a business and how to code, I find, building agents and workflows that are connecting very disparate problems to be what's driving this. So that's, some of it's writing software. A lot of it is, connecting a ton of a different data sources to, help me out. But that is completely me really diving in on the AI side in trying out our tools, trying out everyone's tools, But building for me, building for the non-technical leader, though I'm technical and how we're, able to use these tools more than just the simple, call and response that I think a lot of the non-technical, your employers, you have to get— you have to use AI, and so everyone uses, ChatGPT or Copilot or Claude or whatever. To really get into, how is this going to help me out, it— I find that it's not the I need to write a blog post, I need to those simple examples. Helping people find the workflows of, “Okay, I need you to go through all the PRs today. I need you to go through everything that we've posted online. I need you to go through what we did the last three months. Go through all of my Obsidian notes for any mentions of this then go through my transcripts at work.” We use, Teams, so, using WorkIQ, go call that MCP server, grab all the transcripts, go through all the Slack, and then build me out the plan of, what this week's messaging actually was. That's something that was, impossible because for me, I find AI in a what most of this launch here is actually, less building forward. It's actually, a recursive loop backwards. I'm always looking at what had happened first. Go back through the week and tell me what we did, what worked, what didn't work? And then tell me in the next three or four days-What would you tweak based on this sort of like looking backwards and then looking ahead a little bit? I find that to be so much more valuable, especially for like non-technical, because that retrospection is actually LLMs are very good at that. Like finding all the patterns, pulling them out, and then applying that retrospection to just a couple of days or just like a short period of time. Is all a bunch of apps that I've built and launched a bunch of, internal tools. I use the new, GitHub Copilot app, the desktop app with workflows. Every time I crack open my laptop, it's running workflows for me. It's just a ton of different stuff and of course, it all ends up on, it all ends up on GitHub.Swyx [00:06:47]: Of course. That's where, that's where, stuff is hosted. Man, there's so much to ask you. I was going to leave the how do you run a company with AI thing at the end. I have to ask one— double click one thing. You said, you are looking back at the week. You're, you're understanding what happens. When you say we That's three thousand people. How?Rolling Out AI Internally: Skills, CLIs, and Company ContextKyle [00:07:09]: I think when we started rolling out AI internally beyond engineering, right? One of the things that I was really, passionate about is like we have to do this in a way where no one has to change how they work. I don't want to have to teach you a tool. I don't want to have to teach you something new. And so for us, we tried out a few tools. Most of them don't work because I got to get you on board? I got to teach you how to use it. What we've actually ended up doing is we've built like a set of skills internally. We have we each have our set of skills, and we've just been distributing even to the non-technical folks, the CLI. And then effectively, we're just giving it access to like read about everything that we're writing. So that's for us, that's usually GitHub, Teams, Email, and Slack. So Teams for, video chat, generally speaking.Swyx [00:08:03]: Teams and Slack?Kyle [00:08:04]: so we use Teams for video communication, but we don't use it for chat. W-we— GitHub for a long history, right? We're alwaysSwyx [00:08:13]: Also SlackKyle [00:08:14]: Talking about ChatOps and like everything is built into Slack. Like every command, every flow.Swyx [00:08:18]: So even though you have been acquired for I don't know, eight years nowKyle [00:08:22]: we stillSwyx [00:08:23]: You still use Slack?Kyle [00:08:23]: it's a purpose-built tool for us, and I think the reality is that moving off of it would be so bluntly expensive? Simply because all the tooling is, baked in with that paradigm. And they both have their pros and cons but they don't work the same way at all. We still use a bunch of different tools Because it's the purpose-built tools that We need. And thenSwyx [00:08:47]: Well, the same doesn't go for the rest of Microsoft, presumably.Kyle [00:08:50]: like the like various teams like operateSwyx [00:08:53]: They make their own decisionsKyle [00:08:54]: Various ways. I think it just matters what you're trying to what you're trying to do. But we do we do work across kind of every tool that we use, and then by giving everyone access to all of that context and the new WorkIQ MCP server, which is quite cool if you do live in the M365 like world. I can ask it all these backwards-facing questions, and it's incredibly important for our teams that are working remotely. There's a lot of stuff you miss when you're not in an office, and we are spread out all over the world. So most of that is looking back. And then we post, we post either auto-automatically into GitHub issues or discussions, these sorts of like findings or like our industry reports. Like what's happening this morning, today, yesterday. A little automation gets run. We'll use the app. We might use GitHub Actions like with, our agentic workflows just to go do that run, and then we push it into GitHub, and w-we keep having a conversation. So usually for us, it's about that sort of like looking back, looking forward on the non-technical side. And then of course for a lot of those folks, it's also building an app, pushing it to GitHub pages or pushing it somewhere to host it et cetera. But it's just like enabling everyone with that power of it's going to take me a week to figure this out. Instead, we're going “Okay I built a skill. Let's put it into a repo. We'll all share that skill together, and then we'll use the CLI or now the app-” “just to run it.”Micro Skills vs. Mega Skills: How GitHub Uses AI at WorkSwyx [00:10:26]: All right. I think, I think we're going straight into like the team management and productivity thing. I think a lot of people are getting various levels of LLM psychosis. How do you manage the bloat of skills? Like everyone Has their thing, and they're Like trying to promote it to the rest of their peers in their org, right? And obviously, whoever becomes a skill influencer internally becomes like an AI leader, right? Of sorts. I assume you have those.Kyle [00:10:50]: like I think we haveSwyx [00:10:52]: And I assume it's a mess a Yeah.Kyle [00:10:54]: there's like I— like I think the reality is there's two pieces. Like first is I think that we're ending the era of these like massive, beautiful, perfect skills that are just like not any of those things. ‘cause for a while, right every tweet every day is like go download the skills, the perfectly managed thing to do this entire workflow. And I think that like what we've found and what— I was just with my team, this week, and we were talking about the skill side, and we're really talking about these like incredibly micro skills that are just doing one thing for us very well Versus a skill that's going to do I said, that full report. That doesn't really exist on our side anymore. It's usually how do— like a single skill that's going to identify the most important marketing information given any MCP server. Like this is the most important thing. Less about stitch a bunch of tools together and have it produce this mega output because then weeks go by, months go by, things change, and you want to tweakSwyx [00:11:58]: It's brittleKyle [00:11:58]: Your mega skill and you're screwed? You can't do that. And so now we're really just talking about the Legos we're using and just letting the instruction book be something we're all putting together. Whereas I think a lot of AI skills for a while have been that mega instruction book style.Swyx [00:12:15]: I've, thought a lot about Postel's law. I don't know if that's a term that is, means things to folks. It's the idea that you should be liberal in what you accept and strict in what you output, right? And I think that's like a good framing principle for skills. This is my skills, obviously on GitHub. I feel like everyone should have like how like some repos In GitHub are special repos? I feel like we should sort of reify the slash skills and everyone like give it some kind of special presentation. Anyway, so, yeah, this is one of those like download Download anything, transcribe anything, and then you can string together the atomic skills that do one thing well Into like some kind of orchestration skill that calls other skills. I assume, does that match?Kyle [00:12:56]: I like I think so. I think that theSwyx [00:13:00]: Summarize anything.Kyle [00:13:01]: Like I think the- For me, summarizing something for I do communications and PR and analyst relations and marketing and customer activities, and so my summarize everything is very different for each one of those like Contexts. What ‘Cause if I'm summarizing something for an analyst, that's a very different thing than, probably how I'm going to summarize something for like a customer meeting or an engagement. So that's I think like the difference when we're talking about the like the tools I might use on Saturday or the skills I might use on a Saturday when it's just for Kyle. Yeah, those are kind of like they have an atomic actual tool underneath or maybe skill, and then Kyle cares about X. But I think when we're talking about work and enabling the the marketers, communicators there, it's the atomic, this is what good summarization is, and then this is what I care about as for marketing for communications For whatever. And that I think is like the interesting matrix problem when we go from like a developer set of concerns to all kinds of different professions, is that what that word means to me is different than it means to you is different than it means to the analyst or the salesperson, and that's where I think the matrix mess is that we're starting to like still starting to find. It's about these mega skills but they're all just slight permutations, but those permutations are really important. It's the difference between someone reading this and going “Did AI make this?” what Or “This makes total sense, and I would expect this when I'm giving a briefing to Gartner,” or like whatever else.Swyx [00:14:37]: I think the beauty of it maybe is that you don't have to be that careful about what goes in there. It doesn't have to exactly fit as long as it like roughly is contained in there. I used to complain about plugin hell, basically. Like when you have a framework and then you have a hundred things that you need to integrate, everyone does like the GitHub used to be bloated full of these things. And now we don't need them anymore ‘cause now you just use skills.Former Developers in Leadership: AI as a Creation MultiplierKyle [00:15:00]: And like I think the most magical thing is the just that like I can just also crack it open. Like Like yes, I could go like change the how the plugin is coded, or like I could go do that now with AI, but I think there's just something more magical about getting a response back and being “That's not right,” and then you just crack the skill open, you just type English words and it's different. That building block is just, I think very unique. Once I get everyone to kind of understand how to best how to best make those changes to get the most power out of them.Swyx [00:15:36]: Is there a— you have a your peer group that Of people like you. Is there a common framing for Something I'm feeling is, which is true, is that is this a golden age for former developers who are now in leadership? Because you can wield the tools, you would know the right words, you're maybe not too close to the details. Doesn't matter. But like you're more effective than someone who doesn't come from that background.Kyle [00:15:59]: I think that like the secret has always been your ability to identify patterns and solve problems, and I think that for folks that like myself that don't code day to day anymore, that has made me successful as a developer, made me successful as a COO and now CMO. And so now that I have access to get and write code, I'm now applying that sort of like pattern finding and problem solving, and I know enough still about how to then go and say, “Oh, I want to make an app, but I don't want to break into jail or create something that's not going to be able to work or to be deployed scale or whatever.” that ability to apply all that additional business knowledge and still code I think is what makes that so interesting to me. Slightly different than I think some of the other like technical leaders that became business leaders and now are going back to their apps and updating them. Good for them? But I think the more, much more interesting thing is, well, now I have this whole new set of expertise over ten plus years. Why not take that and use that as a developer with these AI tools? So I definitely think that makes me more powerful, but I think that's true for like every dev as well. Most of the dev friends I still have also have some other underlying skill and passion. There's really talented, very kind of linear computer science software devs, absolutely. I just find that the folks that came from a different career, went to school for something else, went off and did this random thing, and then became a software dev, or were a dev, did a random thing, came back. Learning that extra set of information, learning those extra skills, and now having the power of an AI where I can crank up fifteen agents on Saturday while my kids are doing lacrosse, That's like really powerful. And I think it gets me back to that feeling of like creation, and it's very hard to replicate that in most other senses? That first time you build an app and you click it and you show someone that's magical. And so being able to do that not just in code, but across all kinds of different assets that's, that's huge. We were doing we're doing our every year we do our revenue planning. We talk about okay, what is it going to look like for next year? And of course as you imagine, there's, slideshows everywhere talking about what are we going to talk about, what's the narrative, et cetera. And so as you said I'm “Okay, well, I could probably just like build something to build this and then that way I don't have to go build the whole spreadsheet or I have to pass it to my team.” So we went through this process, and I got all the information and used the skills I mentioned. I built like a little app just to make it so I could look at some of the information in a SQLite database, more easily. And I ultimately built this entire presentation without touching any of it and I was “Okay, I'm just going to present this to our CRO, the CFO, their teams,” without mentioning I'd built it with AI. I like built a skill to make it look very much not AI driven. Just not pretty.AI-Generated Presentations, Human Taste, and the Changing Chief of Staff RoleSwyx [00:19:03]: Like a design. Yeah.Kyle [00:19:03]: Not pretty. But just like very clearly not AI. Kind of like don't do anything interesting.Swyx [00:19:08]: That's, yeah, that is valuable.Kyle [00:19:08]: Just go Exactly. We did the whole thing through. It used my notes from Obsidian, it used all the context I mentioned before, the plans, and Never came up once that it was AI generated.Swyx [00:19:20]: It didn't matter.Kyle [00:19:20]: Never once. D It didn't matter. And so now I takeSwyx [00:19:23]: This is a toolKyle [00:19:23]: I can take that tool and go, “Look, I don't want you to go build slideshows.” They're just helping us share information with each other. If this thing can do it With a little bit of crafting from you and then we can look at it together, awesome. There's no value in all that extra work. I think that the ability to, make it look humanly bad and and build a little app to, manipulate the data I think is part of, that upside for devs that are now in leadership roles. Because, the thing that I feel like I said before, this that's all a people, that's all a people problem. I know if you've used a coworker or not to build a slide deck, unless you spent a bunch of time to not do it.Swyx [00:20:07]: I know, but like it was so, I think there's a certain charm to just being blatantly AI. ‘Cause I think that you're well, you're just honest about There may be mistakes here that I cannot vouch for. So how much value is there? But anyway I think, actually the real question I want to ask is, there's a— You were a chief of staff To Thomas. And in the pre-AI world, the that job would've been a chief of staff job of like Can you prep me these slides and all that? And now you do it yourself.Kyle [00:20:35]: I still, I still have a chief of staff. Because, the difference is it's sort of the discussion every time we have some sort of technology evolution is it's not that the jobs the roles don't all go away, they just change? And so yeah, I don't have someone spending all their time building out slides for me and presentations ‘cause I don't need that anymore. But now I need that person that is able to go and find all the different connections between humans in those discussions to help me find out, okay, I should be meeting with this group and this team, and they have an opportunity, and I'm going to be in San Francisco today, I'm going to be in Seattle tomorrow. Those sorts of human connection aspects are still incredibly valuable and has always been a big part of that chief of staff role. But now just like chiefs of staff are not opening up, letters to process, they're doing emails. What It's the same thing. And now they're, they're not building out as many of these presentations because they have the the ability to have a AI take it on for, and share that with me and great. Let's keep moving ‘cause it's allowing us to go faster and make better decisions more quickly.Swyx [00:21:45]: Awesome. Well, so we can dive into more sort of, Productivity insights as you go. I did want to do a little bit of a brief history of colleague and hub. Because, we started here. And then you also involved the NPM acquisition. I did, I do want to touch upon that. And then more recently, I just want to bring up to present day where we're having uptime issues Which transparently we've already Addressed publicly, but we'll, we'll discuss in the pod. Did I miss anything? Like what, any other major highlights? Obviously, it's, it's a lot of years to cover.A Brief History of GitHub: Webhooks, Actions, Acquisitions, and Platform EvolutionKyle [00:22:15]: No the I think one of one highlight was right before the acquisition closed in twenty eighteen, I got to launch the first version of ActionsSwyx [00:22:27]: OhKyle [00:22:27]: At GitHub Universe. So it was OSwyx [00:22:29]: They're that young?Kyle [00:22:30]: It was October of twenty eighteen, I think. Yeah. Yeah.Swyx [00:22:33]: Gee, Jesus.Kyle [00:22:34]: I got to I was the engineering leader on that project and got to launch that. And then, yeah, we did acquisitions of NPM you said, Semmle, Dependabot Pul Panda a whole bunch of things. That was a bigSwyx [00:22:47]: Pul Panda.Kyle [00:22:48]: Abi is doing well.Swyx [00:22:51]: DX. Holy crap.Kyle [00:22:52]: Did well on DX. I and like that was a that was the big shift, after the acquisition. I had to join the sort of business side.Swyx [00:23:00]: So I need to hit you on some of these things ‘cause you were there. Right? And how often do I get to talk to someone who was there? But yeah, Actions. Is that the number one source of security issues on GitHub?Kyle [00:23:11]: Oh, sh I think that the number one source of, security issues is probably like all, the literal code in everyone's like underlying repositories. I would say back further than that is, if you remember I had to show in this graph was this is, I'm, didn't say this before, this is ultimately webhooks.Swyx [00:23:30]: You yeah.Kyle [00:23:31]: Like circa whatever it was.Swyx [00:23:32]: It says Hookshot in there.Kyle [00:23:32]: I forget. Yeah. Yeah, Hookshot's in there. And so like back then, it says GitHub Services. Do you see, it says Hookshot FE for front end, and then it says GitHub Services. GitHub Services back in the old days, right? You we had a repository that was Ruby code, and you could write any Ruby code in there, and then we would execute that On your behalf As a service, and then that way if an if you were trying to integrate with something, it didn't we would run it for you.Swyx [00:23:57]: And of course no containers ‘causeKyle [00:23:58]: No, ‘cause it wasSwyx [00:23:59]: Well, no containersKyle [00:24:00]: Twenty fourteen. And so there was some isolation obviously, but it was mostly the separations on the server level. That's like an example as long as the very old version of Pages, which ran on its own containerization infrastructure, not on Actions.Swyx [00:24:15]: Which like all-time great product.Kyle [00:24:16]: Pages powers the internet at this point to some degree. Those were places where like clearly there were no like issues like to my knowledge. But it was those things where I'm looking at and going “Okay, well we can't be running arbitrary Ruby code,” like on everyone's behalf. Then containerizing all of that up intoUh into actions now where yeah the containerization, is r-really good. The pinning most folks aren't pinning it the like to a particularSwyx [00:24:48]: ImagesKyle [00:24:48]: Sha, et cetera like their workflows, and so that's a big that's a big place Of pain for folks if they're just doing similar to any dependency management, just V1 or newest or latest, I think. But, that journey from that day to “Okay, we're just going to run all this arbitrary code, and, it'll basically be okay,” to now, no, we have, really good containerization. We have a new, underlying, ag-agent, containerization, service. It's like we're using it under the hood. It's through Azure. They recently announced it. The Azure, Dev Compute, but it's, very fast, very fast compute to be able to, spin up your own cloud agents, or whatnot. We're using it under the hood for some parts of the new,Swyx [00:25:36]: Microsoft Dev Box?Kyle [00:25:37]: No. Dev Compute, yeah.Swyx [00:25:41]: Hmm. Not finding it just yet.Kyle [00:25:44]: Oh, it's, it's in there somewhere.Swyx [00:25:46]: All right. Well, we'll cut that out.Kyle [00:25:47]: Sorry. But with, Dev Compute, you can, run, really fast, spin up really, small VMs really quickly, so you're doing a tool callSwyx [00:25:58]: Same conceptKyle [00:25:58]: Just do it containerize exact-exactly. So we're using that so definitely moving that direction to protect us from every every piece of code that we're ultimately running.Swyx [00:26:07]: look, that grows into the full SDLC? Code hosting was just the start and and then it's grown beyond that. Let's talk about NPM may-maybe ‘cause I think that's also, a very major point in the industry. I do think, it was looking for a home. It was, kind of struggling as a business, right? I don't know, I don't know how you would characterize that whole acquisition and how itNPM, Package Security, and Keeping the Internet RunningKyle [00:26:33]: like when we were talking to the team, I think the big thing for the both of us was to find a way to keep NPM, which was basically powering the internet then and way more so now to some degree running. Keep it going keep continuing to scale. It was having scaling problems, if I recall, back at that time. They were doing some rewrites. ItSwyx [00:27:00]: that's cute compared to now.Kyle [00:27:01]: Well, that's the thing is like when I'm talking to folks now, there's there's so many more underlying uses of NPM than there were back when we had them join in with GitHub. But that was ultimately the goal. It was really okay, we used to have pages. We have, the world's code. Let's make sure that we can keep NPM running well for the world. And we put a bunch of time and investment into fixing some of the underlying backend, changes, some of which we talked about some of the manifest work, et cetera. And then now, really trying to bring the the security posture of NPM up to speed. But, it is a unique challenge in that every move that we make to make it more secure will break a lot of people. And security is paramount. And also, we take it very seriously. We're, the any time that we have a problem with GitHub or we make a change that makes us more secure but hurts, there's, a snow day for developers or a really bad fire that they have to go put out. And so we've, have changed the 2FA policies. We've changed the way the tokens work. When we find tokens that have been exposed or potentially, exposed, we invalidate them, andSwyx [00:28:22]: I love that feature in GitHub. Yeah, it's greatKyle [00:28:23]: That creates issues, but, the but that's the thing is we're trying to push the community, forward without necessarily, doing something that is going to break the contract that's been for 15 years or close to it or some amount of years on NPM.Slop Forks, Vendoring, and the Future of Open Source Supply ChainsSwyx [00:28:43]: I think the— So now we're talking about, open source and publishing. And I think there's something here with what people are calling slop forks, which, I think Malta from Vercel is doing. And, part of me thinks, well, the way to get past any vulnerabilities, we just, let's just get rid of the concept of NPM. And we only publish source code. And anytime you want to import it you have your coding agent look at it and then adapt whatever subset you're going to use into your vendor it. But, the AI vendor it. Is that realistic? I don't know. Is it— Will that solve all our security issues? I don't know.Kyle [00:29:24]: I don't think it'll solve I so Mitchell was just talking Mitchell Hashimoto Was just talking about this today, and I think that I-in some ways, it's all all things, old or new again? Yeah, absolutely vendoring everything. Like I do I do remember twenty thirteen, twenty fourteen.Swyx [00:29:42]: This is Yeah. Let's, we must return toKyle [00:29:43]: That's what is We were vendoring everything. We were having actual discussions around, or at least I remember we were “Should we take this full thing?” “Why is this so big? We only need this one file.” And so I do think there's something true there where having either taking only what you need or the dependencies just getting incredibly small over time, I think will help to some degree, but it's not going to solve the fundamental problem, I don't think, because the vulnerabilities in an agent looking at them, there's time and time again, there's a million different ways in which we can convince an agent that this thing is, secure or not and pull it in. Or we can do static code analysis or runtime testing to say whether the code works or not. That is, I think, the step that needs to continue to be, invested in. The question is just on, how much scope. Should it be this enormous project that I'm pulling down, or should it be this piece? Either most companies are running some amount of security checking on the on the packages that they're bringing in or vendoring. That I think won't change. That's like what advanced security does to some degree, Socket does some degree. Like everyone is doing a piece of that. How we each do that like especially when we're talking to enterprise customers, is just like very different. No there's no one wants one single way to do it. And I think that's always been GitHub's, unique position in the world. I talk a lot to maintainers, I talk a lot to folks about this. It's we're— we rarely start like a process and a practice and like push it onto the community. We usually wait for the sort of like RFC process socially or literally, everyone agreeing, and then we'll cement something in. Because otherwise we'reMaintainers, RFCs, Vouching, and the Social Layer of TrustSwyx [00:31:35]: That fits your role in the ecosystem, yeahKyle [00:31:36]: We're GitHub. Yeah, we don't want to shape the whole thing. We want it to be figured out. But like how do you balance that like sort of Role in the industry to keep everything as secure as is possible and make sure that you're you're not going to be compromised as a human, ‘cause that's usually how it all happens. And Not not create a process or lock us into a flow that you're not going to or like Mitchell's not going to or other open source projects aren't going to like. That's always been a tricky balance for us, and I think that's something that we haven't talked about enough is we're not going to be able to fix everything for everyone in a way that everyone is going to like. So tell, help us, tell us what is working. When Mitchell was talking about, the Upvote, the upSwyx [00:32:22]: I was going to bring up his thing. Yeah.Kyle [00:32:23]: I forget what it Yeah. When he's talking to us, I was chatting with him and talking to him about this and I put it on Twitter and we talked to, also over DM, was “We're going to keep working.” but I think the important thing is I do actually want to hear what isn't working for you. And as, be as specific and clear for your project as is possible. And to every piece of credit over the many years that we've known each other through the industry, he's always done that and I appreciate that ‘cause there are places that we need to fix up, and we hear from him, and we'll fix up just like we do all other kinds of maintainers. But that that process between making those types of improvements and being more secure and like creating, I forget what he calls it's not the proof process, not the claims process. Do what I'm talking about? He has that he his projects have a way for you to kind of like,Swyx [00:33:13]: VouchKyle [00:33:13]: Vouch. Thank you. Yeah. He has like the vouch system for saying, “Hey, you should accept my PRs.” That's beenSwyx [00:33:20]: I just built this into GitHub. I don't know.Kyle [00:33:22]: Well, see, but that's the thing is that you say that and like he and his community really likes this and then I'll go talk to other maintainers and other maintainers, globally, and they're “No, this doesn't work for me.” And that is the tension, but also the kind of beauty of GitHub, depending on which way you look at it is we want to help maintainers, so we create all these tools to let you have more control over how much you take in from AI and PRs. But you can also use this. What You can go use this project, and if it takes off and becomes the kind of mostly standard, then yeah, we probably wouldn't enforce it but we would add it in because that's the flow that we tend to do?Swyx [00:34:02]: I hear a lot of people don't know the history of the pull request. And like like that's how, that's something that GitHub standardized basically.Kyle [00:34:08]: Yeah. It was a very messy process Like beforehand, and now the we have the benefit of it being the process? And now we have to go and Figure out the next best process or what adaptations change, or what does a pull request look like when eighty percent of your PRs are just coming from your agents and not From other devs?Swyx [00:34:31]: Do you like the prompt request idea from Peter?Kyle [00:34:34]: like I think that for each like each idea I think has its merits. I'm not, I'm not avoiding saying anything good or bad, but I feel like I've seen a version of we have that we have entire Thomas' store. Take all the assets of what you've built and put that in. I think that's got great ideas. There's all these various permutations of the PR flow, but I think the reason why there's not a single answer is ultimately we're trying to codify trust. We're trying to say “Okay, if Sean reviews this I'm going to trust it because you're Sean or you're the senior dev or you're the whatever.” And right now, when we are working in a flow where an agent writes code and another agent reviews code and then Kyle goes and looks at it the trust is kind of diffuse. And most of the tools that we're talking about are talking more about verification flows. We have more assets to look at, so I can probably say whether this is a good PR or not. But that still doesn't solve, I think, the human problem of I'm looking at a PR and I want to know if I can trust it. And we're still, we still tend to use human signals for that? Mitchell approving it or Kyle approving it or whatever. And so I think that's, I think that's why most of these options haven't really solved it is because, it's a social problem ultimately. It's a it's a human problem to review it and agree. Or you fully trust the tool and you're imbuing that tool with full trust Which I think in some cases that absolutely exists.AI-Generated PRs, Trust, and the Waymo AnalogySwyx [00:36:08]: And so like in the same way that there will be a tipping point in society when we don't allow humans to drive anymore Because machines are measurably better than Than humans. I'm looking for that tipping point, right? Like Mythos is ridiculously expensive. Someday we'll have Mythos on a desktop. I don't know. Will, does that change the equation?Kyle [00:36:30]: I think it's more I took a Waymo here, and I was on my phone and not looking around at all. There are other, self-driving, vehicles that I would not trust while, staring at the road. And I think that trust is something that isSwyx [00:36:48]: Is this a Zoox thing? What is itKyle [00:36:50]: I think that is both. I think that is both. LikeSwyx [00:36:53]: There's Zoox in this robo taxi. That's it. It'sKyle [00:36:56]: Well, depending on what level Of self-driving. But, my point is sort of that I think part of that is I strongly believe that's, a mixture of verifiable proof. Like how many accidents, how much data, and so on, and the human aspect of how I feel when I'm in this car, what it tells me, et cetera. And so that's why I think some of the like Some of these some of our AI tools tend to, imbue me with more of that feeling of trust, even if the data says this is 100% accurate. I feel like it takes more time for us to go, “Should I trust this or not?” And that's in the soft sense of, startups with high agency, weekend projects, and open source. And then there's enterprises and regulated industries and everything else, and that is an even harder problem to go solve because even when it is fully verified, not only do you have to have trust from the humans on the team, you probably have to have trust from multinational,Swyx [00:37:55]: Oh my GodKyle [00:37:55]: Multi governments around the world and regulating agencies. And so that's where I feel like until we tip over to your point on the sort of like human EQ side of it. I feel okay this feels okay I've been proven enough. Then the ball will start to roll a lot faster, where we'll end up getting to the “Okay, we can trust this,” and feel good about it in the Most difficult of cases.Reputation, Sponsors, Stars, and Bot Activity on GitHubSwyx [00:38:18]: If human trust is the thing that matters, I feel like GitHub as the developer social network could maybe do more there. Like vouchers are one system But, we have star counts, and then we have Contributor rights, and that's it. And I feel like there should be more in that space. I don't know if there's any other design decisions there.Kyle [00:38:37]: I think that one of the places that we don't really expose right now in this sort of way is, some degree of like hard trust and support, which would like for me is like sponsors is a good example of that.Swyx [00:38:49]: Ah.Kyle [00:38:49]: It like costs you something. To prove that I believe in your project and I trust you To some degree or I want to support you at the very least.Swyx [00:38:56]: Solve payments for open source. Why not?Kyle [00:38:58]: I think that I think that like as we keep moving forward, right, there's more and more projects where I'm, adding more and more dollars into sponsors personally because I want to like support them, but I also like know of I've probably never met them in person, but, I know of enough of their work that I want to support them. I think the thing that I don't love about stars or commit counts or anything else is ultimately, even with all of the various, abuse and de-spamming and deduplication work that we do or anti-abuse work that we do, these are all, not active social signals. They're passive ones that are ultimately gamifiable. And you may trust me, but another open source maintainer may not. And on what heuristic should you be, trusting me? That I think, is kind of where some of our thinking is right now. What signal from me is most important to you? You— If you can define that potentially, honestly in an agentic workflow that's what we see some of these open source projects do, where you have GitHub actions, and then you have like an agentic workflow that's calling AI, and you're setting these rules. Like if Kyle has submitted and gotten accepted PRs across any given project and has a social handle tied to his account in GitHub, and that social account's older than a certain amount. Really complex measures that matter to you ‘cause most open source projects have that heuristic built into their heads, if not written down in the contributing guidelines. You could take that and then go apply that and then just say, “Oh, we're not going to accept this PR.” Building something that is, I think, malleable to everyone's needs, is a little bit better, rather than going “Hmm, this account's too young.” Because what happens? The attackers just go and go and create a multitude of accounts, and they wait Until it ages up. Needs to have a certain amount of stars. That's how star inflation happens. Need to have a certain amount of reposSwyx [00:40:46]: Oh my God. YeahKyle [00:40:47]: With PRs. They all just create repos and submit PRs to each other, and then they come in and do something nefarious. And so, it's hard. It's hard to find the measure. So I think we're, we're looking more at how can we provide you tools so you can kind of choose what's best for you. And of course, we'll give you some standards. But the trust vector, gets down to I don't know, some version of like human digital ID like everyone's been talking about. Like how do I prove that it's meSwyx [00:41:13]: Give me your eyeballsKyle [00:41:14]: On the internet. Give me your eyeballs. Exactly.Swyx [00:41:18]: The I got to keep moving on Topics, but obviously I can go all day on this stuff because, I've been involved in GitHub and open source My entire professional career. Stars. Very superficial. Everyone knows it. But I think time to one hundred thousand stars is the fastest I've ever seen. Like people just reached that in I don't know, months. And then like at the same time I don't trust it right? Like how many of these are real or bot or like whatever. I don't know how to ask this but like what can we do about it? LikeKyle [00:41:49]: JustSwyx [00:41:49]: Is stars broken? Is stars fine?Kyle [00:41:51]: I think that there's kind of two, there's like two pieces. Obviously we're constantly like trying to find ways in which like your users are producing spam, which would, I would include like be like only doing star gamification. When we find them, we pluck ‘em out and we,Swyx [00:42:08]: But it's like a Whac-A-MoleKyle [00:42:10]: It's a hundred percent like a Whac-A-MoleSwyx [00:42:11]: There's no wayKyle [00:42:11]: Now, powered by AI to be helpful. But I think more so what I'm seeing is, a lot of the like fastest time to X tends to be because we're now inviting so many more people into like software development on GitHub That like the zeitgeist is just swarming? And it'sSwyx [00:42:32]: It's not just developers anymoreKyle [00:42:33]: And it's not you and I. Like like however you want to say like what a developer is it's not just folks who have been coding for a very long time. It's folks that have maybe started coding or only joined in since the AI era. And nowSwyx [00:42:44]: what's the latest Octoverse number? I know eighty million was my lastRem- member that a number of developers on GitHubKyle [00:42:50]: Oh, we're over 200 million now.Swyx [00:42:53]: Okay. Well, so you see?Kyle [00:42:55]: Like over 200 million developers now.Swyx [00:42:56]: But it's not developers, right? It's, it's people with a GitHub account.What Counts as a Developer in the AI Era?Kyle [00:43:00]: So, so this is, this is the biggest debate that I would say, everyone loves to have at GitHub at this point. From my perspective, right, I think that there's, there's clearly a difference between, professional enterprise developer and then developers. But I think that I think that the idea that we should be I don't know, splitting hairs or segmenting developers in the early era of software development is, not worth our not worth the time. SoSwyx [00:43:29]: When you get into gatekeepingKyle [00:43:31]: 100%Swyx [00:43:31]: What is a developer?Kyle [00:43:31]: 100%. ‘Cause I wasn't a developer when I started writing code? I was going toSwyx [00:43:36]: Oh, no. I made— I cloned a thing, seven years before I learned to code. And then I and then I wrote about my learning to code journey, and people Just called me a fraud ‘cause I had a GitHub account. And I'm “Well, no, I just use GitHub, but I don't know-” “I didn't know what I was doing.”Kyle [00:43:49]: I I remember that. I remember those sets of posts, and like that's, that's b******t. So I fight very clearly on the line of, if you create code, if you have an idea and you create it into some way of, I'm, I'm going to run it and use the app right now, you may still use AI in that moment, but that's okay. At some point you're going to do the next thing. You're going to create a big— You're going to have to learn about this database. You're going to fix a bug, whatever. We're all on some same journey, and those people are also hearing about the great new agent skill package or a new CLI tool or a new whatever. And those projects are going up because you want to be a part of this moment, just like I wanted to be a part of the Ruby community when Ruby was popping off when I started becoming a developer, and now I can just click the star button. And so I think that yes, there's clearly some amount of like spamming and game gamification that we're working against, but I really think we're just seeing this whole new cohort of folks that are moving from technology to technology because they're not working on a 20-year-old software application. They're working on a side app that they built on the weekend for their friends or for their new idea or whatever. And that's how you see these enormous charts going up and to the right with With stars.Swyx [00:44:59]: I think something that's remarkable is the persistence or, that GitHub extends to those folks. Usually when I see platforms go into a new audience, they usually have to, have like a second platform with a different name that wraps the main platform. But somehow GitHub has been able to sort of persist and extend, and it's friendly and whatever? So it's, it's nice.Spark, Low-Code, and Always Showing the CodeKyle [00:45:19]: I that's partially why I think as we've tried to move into I don't know, more like low-code-y things. We so we started working on Spark as like a way to, build an app and run it. I think that the reality is that we anytime we try to, kind of put even a veneer on top of it without when we put a veneer on top of something, we still always show you the code. That's kind of like a tenant. We're never going to, hide the code from you ever, because whatSwyx [00:45:52]: Why would you?Kyle [00:45:52]: That's, yeah, that's the whole point? However, I think that what we learned with things like Spark is that really the value of Spark for most devs is, easy runtime. And you may have a runtime or a host that you're going to use for that or you just build something and run it but, the package of making that even more simple isn't really needed for folks that are trying to build software and not just trying to build, an app, which is, slightly different, a slightly different goal. So I want to get you in, I want to get you comfortable. I think the best thing for me as, someone that did not traditionally come into software dev way back, I want anyone to be able to breach that chasm and not be in the I don't know, I feel like we're, we're still in an era of, STEM. I've got a 12-year-old and an eight-year-old, and it's “We got to get ‘em into STEM,”? Over and over. And I like I do, I do the things that good parents do. I was “Oh, you want to do coding?” “Yes, I want to do coding.” Do coding classes. But now they're just not afraid of doing software. And that's, I think, the thing that's honestly kept me at GitHub for so long. Anyone should be able to go and build a thing, just like I can go change a light switch in my house. I'm not going to go into the breaker box ‘cause I'll probably kill myself? But, I can go change that light switch. Everyone should be able to go and say, “This fricking app doesn't do what I want. I want it to work like this.” And that I think, is what's kind of kept us all connected with GitHub through the years and some and during the easiest of times or in the hard times because of that opportunity of, we're the home for all developers, and we want everyone to be able to have that feeling that we've had of, had an idea, I created it and holy s**t here it is.Swyx [00:47:37]: Here it is. All right, I'm going to try to do more spicy questions.GitHub's Hardest Scaling Moment: Growth, Agents, and UptimeKyle [00:47:42]: Great.Swyx [00:47:42]: Is it an easy time now or a hard time?Kyle [00:47:45]: Oh at GitHub? It's a hard time. Like, it's a hard time and also, I was just with my team and I said, “This is also, the best and most exciting time that I think I can remember at GitHub.” BecauseSwyx [00:47:57]: Best of times, worst of times. It's never oneKyle [00:47:59]: ‘cause we've we were talking about Octoverse reports and, usually we do an Octoverse report once a year, and we look at the numbers, and we say, “Oh my goodness.” I was at Universe in October saying, “This was the fastest year of growth that we've ever had,” right? And now we're doing more in a month than we did in a year last year.Swyx [00:48:20]: You're talking about PRs.Kyle [00:48:21]: Commits.Swyx [00:48:21]: Commits, yeah.Kyle [00:48:22]: PRs. Kind of like you name it by roughly every measure that we're looking at, there's some amount of sort of growth that is much bigger, and that is breaking our system in new ways, not old ways. Like webhooks were always notoriously, unreliable over the years?Swyx [00:48:38]: Whose fault is that?Kyle [00:48:39]: not anymore mine, but for a period of time, I'm sure you could pull up a tweet that was “It was me. I'm sorry.” but, now, that got rewritten at a scale level that is still working and is not having problems today. Now what we're finding isn't just the isn't the-The simple stuff that folks are on the sometimes on Twitter or on the internet are “Hey, why is this like this?” Sure. There's absolutely silly problems that we shouldn't exist. But now we're talking about, unique, novel permission problems that happen only at a scale across all different objects or whatever, that now we have to go rewrite this underlying system. And so it's, there are problems that yeah, caught us off guard, which I think I said. Like the growth is astronomical, but also we're making such material progress in that I'm excited once we're once we've kind of like reimagined the underlying foundation layer, or pieces of it at least, what's going to be possible when it's not just all of us and all the new people that are being developers and all of their agents and all the tools like working together. Because that'll still happen in that in that GitHub tool, that GitHub community. But it's a it's a hard day anytime we can't give you what you're looking for. We have the same problem internally. We operate through github. Com. Of course, we have backups when things go down and whatnot for our own operations but we feel it too. If it's not working it's not working for us, and that's kind of like the promise of dogfooding for GitHub. It's always been true. We're using the same tool you're using. We're not using a super secret version. We and so we also need it to be great for us for our customers of course for open source. And now an exponential growth of agents, Doing it too.Swyx [00:50:32]: I wanted to load for audio listeners who maybe haven't seen your tweets, whatever. So one billion commits in twenty-five. Now it's two hundred and seventy-five million per week on pace for fourteen billion this year, if growth remains linear. Is that still the pace? I don't know. It's been aKyle [00:50:48]: it's, it's speedingSwyx [00:50:50]: Roughly.Kyle [00:50:50]: It's still speeding up.Swyx [00:50:51]: It's, it's April, so yeah.Kyle [00:50:51]: Exactly. This was in April.Swyx [00:50:53]: All right. So basically you have fourteen x growth, right? Year on year on year. And I think that's a scaling issue. I think, I'm going to like try to really steel man this thing. People have experienced fourteen x growth. They haven't had your downtime. And that's like— C-can we go dig into that? Why? Like what's the— what broke? What are we doing to fix it? Like just anything for the community to reassure them.Why GitHub Reliability Is Breaking in New WaysKyle [00:51:18]: so there's a Like I was saying, there's a couple different places that we've seen the growth issues. Some of the growth issues, which is why we're t— I was talking about pushing hard on more CPUs is in actions in particular. More tools, more agents, more PRs mean more builds, more builds mean more CPUs. And so we are expanding through not just our data center, but obviously we were talking about moving to Azure and moving to, adding an additional cloud compute because we simply need more CPUs. Not as much GPUs. We definitely need GPUs too, but now CPUs are becoming a factor.Swyx [00:51:53]: It's very CPU heavy.Kyle [00:51:54]: Underneath the hood when it comes to some of the underlying services, we've been breaking up over the years our database infrastructure, so that way we have, more cognitive separation between our the various services. The place that we continue to have pain is in, permissioning. And so right now m-many of our permissioning layers sit into a database that we like internally call MySQL One, and old Hubbers will know what I'm talking about. And so we've been pulling things out of MySQL One for many years, because like and we use we use Vitess and we use other technologies to shard and we do it as one bigSwyx [00:52:31]: Famous thing, PlanetScale was born from this andKyle [00:52:32]: A hundred percent. Sam Old Hubber and friend. And so finding these opportunities to like break this out and then do that globally. The other thing that I think is interesting and both a unique opportunity and tricky is we also run everything I just talked about in a black box container with GitHub Enterprise Server for people that work on-prem. So we take everything I just said, and we also do it on-prem, and we also do all of that and we do it in a data residence setup for customers that need to have their data in a single location. Each of these has the unique characteristic around how we're sort of storing that data in MySQL or in a permissioning setup. That's where some of these outages have oc-occurred, where you're seeing it more like across the board rather than just like the one pieceSwyx [00:53:17]: Filling the databaseKyle [00:53:17]: Isn't quite working. Exactly. And so part of it is that. I think there's been some other places where agents are much more or more projects appear to be moving towards monorepo versus we were going the other direction for many years in the industry. Repos were smaller, but there were more of them, and now we're seeing the opposite. Repos are bigger, and there's, not fewer of them per se ‘cause there's new growth, but, we're just seeing many more big repos. Big repos, big monorepos have always had, a unique performance problem. Because each one, is slightly different if, particularly if the underlying blobs are incredibly big Inside the repos. And so we've done a ton of work that you pro— like most people haven't probably experienced, unless you're in this case of the monorepo. But that Git, infrastructure layer improvement does help the overall, system because, many of the improvements that make monorepos work better make all repo infrastructure work better. And so, I could kind of keep going down the line where it's another thing where we're moving out of, We're changing how we do j I'll just say job queuing for lack of a better, explanation changing the underlying technologies there.Swyx [00:54:32]: I spent two years being a job queuing guy, so.Kyle [00:54:34]: And so it's kind of a little bit of a little bit of piece by piece, and it's mostly because as we were— as it was built, we built everything in a way that assumed, I guess in some ways that the size of the pipe of work was going to remain the same. There's just going to be more people coming through each of those pipes. But instead now in places whereA git push was, generally a certain size for example, is now, no longer true.Swyx [00:55:03]: Oh, yeah.Kyle [00:55:03]: OrSwyx [00:55:05]: I push a thousandKyle [00:55:06]: On the average. 100%Swyx [00:55:06]: A thousand line commits like dailyKyle [00:55:07]: Same thing with PRs. Like PRs same thing. And like we've talked about optimizing that and making changes where, and there were technology choices that did not work there? And it got slow, and it didn't It was not fast. It did not do what the users wanted. And so we've been reeling that all out and going “Okay, that's just not right. Let's stop putting good money after bad and do it the do it the right way or the right way now.” So there's It's a it's a lot of things, not quite when I've experienced scale at GitHub historically, it's almost always two options that we've used. We go vertical scaling, particularly with databases, right? And we go horizontal scaling. Oh, we just have more people using this service. Great. We're going to add more servers, and we rack them in our data center, or we use it in a cloud. And now we're sort of in a like diagonal, where like vertical doesn't really work anymore. Horizontal isn't work either because we're all We all have some CPU or GPU constraints in the world now, and now we have to go in and like crack open services that have been running for 10 or 15 years and go, “Okay, the rules of this service have legitimately changed, and now we have to rewrite them.” None of this is an excuse. This is like we're We have to do the work. We have to make it better.Swyx [00:56:22]: actually as an infra guy, I'm “This is like one of the most fascinating scaling challenges I've ever seen.”Kyle [00:56:26]: That's that's, that's the thing that's the thing that it's hard for Like when we weren't talking about it publicly, and I was like I came out, and I was “Hey, I just want to explain what's going on.” Part of it comes from a very old GitHub ethos, which is it's our it's our uptime. It's down. W What I know you're a developer, so you're, you're inclined to want to understand more what's going on. But at the same time us going “Hey, this service didn't, perform the way we expected, and now we have to go change it,” we weren't We're not trying to hide anything from you i

Chronic pain is a prevalent and complex condition where evidence continues to evolve around commonly prescribed therapies. This course discusses the latest systematic review comparing tramadol with placebo in adults with chronic pain, highlighting limited analgesic benefits and the balance of potential harms versus benefits that pharmacists should understand. You will gain evidence-based insights to guide medication review, patient counseling, and clinical decision-making in chronic pain management. HOSTRachel Maynard, PharmDGameChangers Podcast Host and Lead, Clinical & Partnership Education, CEimpactGUESTEmma Murter, PharmD, MPHClinical Pharmacist, Intermountain Health Pharmacists, REDEEM YOUR CPE HERE!CPE is available to Health Mart franchise members onlyTo learn more about Health Mart, click here: https://join.healthmart.com/PRACTICE RESOURCEReceive the exclusive Practice Resource to use as a reference guide for this episode by enrolling in the course. Click here to enroll!CPE INFORMATION Learning ObjectivesUpon successful completion of this knowledge-based activity, participants should be able to:1. Summarize the current evidence on tramadol's efficacy and safety profile in chronic pain based on placebo-controlled randomized trials.2. Describe the clinical implications of recent tramadol evidence for pharmacist-led medication management in chronic pain care.Rachel Maynard and Emma Murter have no relevant financial relationships to disclose.0.05 CEU/0.5 HrUAN: 0107-0000-26-223-H01-PInitial release date: 6/1/2026Expiration date: 6/1/2027Additional CPE details can be found here.

Chronic pain is a prevalent and complex condition where evidence continues to evolve around commonly prescribed therapies. This course discusses the latest systematic review comparing tramadol with placebo in adults with chronic pain, highlighting limited analgesic benefits and the balance of potential harms versus benefits that pharmacists should understand. You will gain evidence-based insights to guide medication review, patient counseling, and clinical decision-making in chronic pain management.HOSTRachel Maynard, PharmDGameChangers Podcast Host and Lead, Clinical & Partnership Education, CEimpactGUESTEmma Murter, PharmD, MPHClinical Pharmacist, Intermountain HealthGET CE FOR LISTENING!Stay Compliant. Grow Clinically. Practice with Confidence. Pharmacist CE Subscription: All your CE in one convenient subscription.All episodes, CE, and Practice Resources for the GameChangers Clinical Update is included with your Pharmacist CE Subscription. But wait…there's even more!The Pharmacist CE Subscription includes: -  Compliance and licensure CE -  GameChangers Clinical Updates-  Practical continuing education across patient care topics *The subscription does not include microcredentials or certificates, which are available separately for pharmacists seeking specialized service training. Purchase Now!PRACTICE RESOURCEReceive the exclusive Practice Resource to use as a reference guide for this episode by purchasing the Pharmacist CE Subscription. CPE REDEMPTIONThis course is accredited for continuing pharmacy education! Click the link below that applies to you to take the exam and evaluation to claim credit:If you are already enrolled in this course, click here to redeem your credit. To purchase the Pharmacist CE Subscription and claim your CPE credit, click here or to purchase this course individually, click here.  CPE INFORMATIONLearning ObjectivesUpon successful completion of this knowledge-based activity, participants should be able to:1. Summarize the current evidence on tramadol's efficacy and safety profile in chronic pain based on placebo-controlled randomized trials.2. Describe the clinical implications of recent tramadol evidence for pharmacist-led medication management in chronic pain care.Rachel Maynard and Emma Murter have no relevant financial relationships to disclose.0.05 CEU/0.5 HrUAN: 0107-0000-26-223-H01-PInitial release date: 6/1/2026Expiration date: 6/1/2027Additional CPE details can be found here.Follow CEimpact on Social Media:LinkedInInstagram

864 They Will Heed Your Voice, A Guided Christian Meditation on Exodus 3:16-19 with the Recenter With Christ app The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in  and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.  Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.  You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrelaxing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.   Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:   Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate,  deflate. Scripture for Meditation Exodus 3 NKJV 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, 'The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, "I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; 17 and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey." ' 18 Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, 'The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.' 19 But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. 2 RSV 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, 'The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, "I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt; 17 and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt, to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Per′izzites, the Hivites, and the Jeb′usites, a land flowing with milk and honey."' 18 And they will hearken to your voice; and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, we pray you, let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.' 19 I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. Reflection on Scripture: God called Moses to listen to the voice of a burning bush in the wilderness and from the beginning God told him that the people would accept him and that the Pharaoh would not. God knew with precision what would be required to deliver His people from bondage and He told Moses all about it. This was an unknown blessing. Moses did not understand the blessing that he was given. He was given the answer for how it would pan out. Many times in our lives we take steps into what seems to be darkness to our eyes. There have been many times in my life and my ministry where I feel I have gotten only a small partial direction without any indication of what would happen. In fact my whole journey to become a Chaplain took me a total of 8 years and I had no assurance that my path would end in success as it has.  Invariably I suspect for most things God directs us to do we will not get clear direction on the outcome. DIcernment in and of itself is a valuable thing. After we are reasonably assured we have been given a direction the battle is not over. We have to just roger up and do the best we can and stay open to further guidance God gives us along the way. Moses was told the people would listen and that Pharaoh would only respond when compelled but many times Moses didn't know what was coming next.  God invites us into a relationship of trust. He had no such relationship with king of Epypt. So in this situation although it would be very challenging to be Moses, it would be far worse to be the king who opposed him, who opposed God. So the invitation stands to each of us. Do we respond to the call of the Lord or do we choose what our human passions desire? Do we bravely wade into the deep waters, sustained by a God of wonders or do we cower in fear hiding from the Lord? I know what I want that answer to be for me, what is left is actually doing it.  Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?  FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

862 I AM THAT I AM, A Guided Christian Meditation on Exodus 3:13-15 with the Recenter With Christ app The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in  and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.  Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.  You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrelaxing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.   Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:   Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate,  deflate. Scripture for Meditation Exodus 3 KJV 13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you. 15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. ESV 3 Then Moses said to God, "If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" 14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel: 'I am has sent me to you.'" 15 God also said to Moses, "Say this to the people of Israel: 'The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. Reflection on Scripture: It is difficult even to know exactly which way to go when thinking through this passage. It is heavy and simple at the same time. Moses had a legitimate problem. He didn't even know how to refer to God. He did not know God's name. He presented it as a tactical problem. How could he preach belief in a God without a full understanding of who God is. The simplicity and complexity is that God's response is not specific. On the one hand it represents an actual thing Moses could pass on as a solution for this question but on the other it is not a formal name. In fact it is much deeper. It is the essence of being.  In greek the phrase would have been written as Ego Eimi which is just I am or I exist. It is the essence of being. And also it is declarative. In contrast with the human notion of existing that we exist because we can do or think. God exists because he exists. We come into existence by God's hand in creation, and He exists. There is not criteria for proof given in this declaration, just the certainty of His eternal existence.  This became such a profound statement from God such that when Jesus later said in the book of John "Before Abraham was, I AM" the people instantly grabbed rocks to stone him for blasphemy. He equated Himself to be the one who spoke to Moses in this experience with the Burning Bush. The most important statement God wanted to make to the people is. I am here, and I am me. And that is the declarative statement that should be rend us to our soul. God exists. God is here. He is who He is and it is our great blessing to slowly gain understanding of what that means for the rest of our lives and into eternity.   Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?  FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod  

Acute rescue medications are critical in time-sensitive emergencies, and pharmacists play an essential role in ensuring patients and caregivers are prepared to use them correctly. This course discusses the roles of glucagon, naloxone, and epinephrine, including recent updates on novel formulations and device innovations that are reshaping emergency response in community settings. You will gain practical insights to strengthen counseling, improve readiness, and support optimal outcomes when seconds matter most. HOST Rachel Maynard, PharmD GameChangers Podcast Host and Lead, Clinical & Partnership Education, CEimpactGUESTWendy Mobley-Bukstein, PharmD, BCACP, CDCES, CHWC, NASM-CPTProfessor of Pharmacy PracticeDrake University CPHS Pharmacists, REDEEM YOUR CPE HERE!CPE is available to Health Mart franchise members onlyTo learn more about Health Mart, click here: https://join.healthmart.com/PRACTICE RESOURCEReceive the exclusive Practice Resource to use as a reference guide for this episode by enrolling in the course. Click here to enroll!CPE INFORMATION Learning ObjectivesUpon successful completion of this knowledge-based activity, participants should be able to:1. Describe the mechanisms of action and primary indications for glucagon, naloxone, and epinephrine as acute rescue medications.2. Summarize recent updates for glucagon, naloxone, and epinephrine that impact pharmacist counseling and patient access.Rachel Maynard has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. Wendy Mobley-Bukstein is a Diabetes Care Speaker for Abbott. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.  0.05 CEU/0.5 HrUAN: 0107-0000-26-131-H01-P Initial release date: 5/18/2026Expiration date: 5/18/2027Additional CPE details can be found here.

Acute rescue medications are critical in time-sensitive emergencies, and pharmacists play an essential role in ensuring patients and caregivers are prepared to use them correctly. This course discusses the roles of glucagon, naloxone, and epinephrine, including recent updates on novel formulations and device innovations that are reshaping emergency response in community settings. You will gain practical insights to strengthen counseling, improve readiness, and support optimal outcomes when seconds matter most.HOSTRachel Maynard, PharmD GameChangers Podcast Host and Lead, Clinical & Partnership Education, CEimpactGUESTWendy Mobley-Bukstein, PharmD, BCACP, CDCES, CHWC, NASM-CPTProfessor of Pharmacy PracticeDrake University CPHSGET CE FOR LISTENING!Stay Compliant. Grow Clinically. Practice with Confidence. Pharmacist CE Subscription: All your CE in one convenient subscription.All episodes, CE, and Practice Resources for the GameChangers Clinical Update is included with your Pharmacist CE Subscription. But wait…there's even more!The Pharmacist CE Subscription includes: -  Compliance and licensure CE -  GameChangers Clinical Updates-  Practical continuing education across patient care topics *The subscription does not include microcredentials or certificates, which are available separately for pharmacists seeking specialized service training. Purchase Now!PRACTICE RESOURCEReceive the exclusive Practice Resource to use as a reference guide for this episode by purchasing the Pharmacist CE Subscription.CPE REDEMPTIONThis course is accredited for continuing pharmacy education! Click the link below that applies to you to take the exam and evaluation to claim credit:If you are already enrolled in this course, click here to redeem your credit. To purchase the Pharmacist CE Subscription and claim your CPE credit, click here or to purchase this course individually, click here.  CPE INFORMATIONLearning ObjectivesUpon successful completion of this knowledge-based activity, participants should be able to:1. Describe the mechanisms of action and primary indications for glucagon, naloxone, and epinephrine as acute rescue medications.2. Summarize recent updates for glucagon, naloxone, and epinephrine that impact pharmacist counseling and patient access.Rachel Maynard has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. Wendy Mobley-Bukstein is a Diabetes Care Speaker for Abbott. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.  0.05 CEU/0.5 HrUAN: 0107-0000-26-131-H01-P Initial release date: 5/18/2026Expiration date: 5/18/2027Additional CPE details can be found here.Follow CEimpact on Social Media:LinkedInInstagram

860 Who Am I That I Should Go, A Guided Christian Meditation on Exodus 3:10-12 with the Recenter With Christ app The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in  and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.  Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.  You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrelaxing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.   Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:   Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate,  deflate. Scripture for Meditation Exodus 3 NIV 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt." 11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" 12 And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain." RSV 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring forth my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt." 11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?" 12 He said, "But I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God upon this mountain." Reflection on Scripture: Moses felt genuine and well placed self doubt. He knew that his own influence would not be enough to do what was in front of him. He knew that Pharaoh would not listen to him and do what he was being asked to do. He was quite literally being asked to do something that is impossible. Pumping himself up to believe he could do the impossible would be pointless. Sometimes in this world we get the message that all we have to do is manifest things by believing in them and that makes them come true. God invited Moses into something else. He said "I will be with you". It is the presence of the Lord that makes impossible things possible. When you encounter some massive issue in your life it doesn't even matter if you can even overcome the issue yourself. The message here though is that with God it is possible. When you feel overpowered, turn your confidence to the all powerful God of heaven.  The sign that God gives is that Moses will serve Him on the mountain. The answer to what is impossible is not your strength or wisdom, or anything else you do. Your talents do matter but they are not what make the real difference. The life saving difference. Let God prevail in your life. This meditation is your weekly reminder to put your confidence in your God. When your power fails, that does not mean that all power fails.  Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?  FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod  

Developers are increasingly working inside AI-powered coding tools like Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex.The workflow is changing.Instead of constantly switching between dashboards, logs, terminals, and configuration files, developers are starting to collaborate directly with coding agents using natural language.We think CI/CD should evolve alongside that shift.Today, we're introducing Semaphore for AI Agents — a new open-source CLI and agentic interface designed to make Semaphore fully accessible from AI coding agents.This is the first step toward what we call the AI-native Semaphore experience.What is Semaphore for AI Agents?Semaphore for AI Agents gives coding assistants a structured way to interact with Semaphore.Instead of manually navigating CI/CD systems, developers can simply ask:* “Why is my CI failing?”* “What tests are flaky?”* “Show me the critical path in this pipeline.”* “Summarize the health of this project.”And their coding agent can retrieve, analyze, and act on that information directly through Semaphore.The first release includes:* Pipeline diagnostics* Flaky test detection* Critical path analysis* Organization-wide CI/CD insights* MCP support* Claude Code integrations* Remote execution workflows on Semaphore infrastructureWe also demonstrate how developers can provision ephemeral machines for agent-driven workflows, remote testing, and scalable execution.Built for Agentic WorkflowsSemaphore for AI Agents was designed specifically for AI-native development workflows.The project ships with:* Agent-oriented commands* Structured JSON outputs* Claude Code skills* Generic agent skills* A local MCP serverThis allows coding assistants to interact directly with Semaphore while developers stay inside their coding environment.Fully Open SourceSemaphore for AI Agents is fully open source.Developers can inspect how it works, extend workflows, contribute new commands, and build their own automations.We believe AI-powered developer tooling should remain transparent, inspectable, and developer-controlled.This Is Just the BeginningSemaphore for AI Agents is the foundation for a broader direction we're building toward at Semaphore:* Developers define intent* Agents handle repetitive execution* Semaphore provides the infrastructure and orchestration layerOver the coming weeks, we'll continue shipping new workflows, MCP capabilities, testing automation, and scalable agent execution features.Watch the DemoWe recorded a full walkthrough showing:* CI/CD debugging workflows* MCP integrations* Claude Code usage* Organization-wide insights* Remote execution on Semaphore infrastructure→ [Read the full blog post]Thanks for following along.Till the next product update.Pete Miloravachttps://semaphore.io This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit semaphoreio.substack.com

858 I Have Heard Them Cry Out, A Guided Christian Meditation on Exodus 3:7-9 with the Recenter With Christ app The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in  and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.  Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.  You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrelaxing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.   Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:   Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate,  deflate. Scripture for Meditation Exodus 3 NIV The Lord said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. NLT 7 Then the Lord told him, "I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. 9 Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Reflection on Scripture: I want you to stop everything you are thinking and hone in on this call from the Lord. I am aware of your suffering is what he says to you. I know what you have been through. This scripture points out that he could tell you clearly, I know your victories and your setbacks. I know your heart. I know what you need. I know what it takes to craft you into the image I want from you. Not only do I know all these things but I am strong. I am strong enough to save you. I have that power. The greatest challenge of all the one we should be most desperate for is a forgiveness of our sin.  Each one of us has weakness within our mind and heart. Take this moment to turn from that weakness toward the strength God offers. Working with people in the most challenging of circumstances has shown me again and again that each of us have our own story with plenty of deep valleys. As an example It has been a few weeks since I put out an episode. I got sick then had a family member in the hospital and then someone I minister to in a professional context was in the hospital. So I have had many things up in the air. And at the end of all that I ended up traveling to support a family member and I am not at home to celebrate Mother's Day with my wife. At certain points I have been quite low recently. And yet I know that my struggle is knot unknown to God. He knows it. And he lets these things happen because he knows what is required to cause us to grow. He knows what is required for us to overcome. Please trust the one who has power to save.  Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?  FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

The Taste Of Universal Episode 28 MENU Appetizer Reflect on Epic Universe 1 year anniversary Entrée Summarize the insane amount of menu changes across the resort in recent months Dessert Announce winner of April episode giveaway!

Group Guide Group Guide Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week. TranscriptAll right, so I said earlier, my name is Spencer. I'm one of the pastors here. We're gonna be in second Samuel chapter 12 today and want to announce just a little bit of a change in one of the ways we're doing things. So if you look in and around you, there are hardback black ASV Bibles. So we're making a little bit of a shift here. So those are going to be what we use for the primary reading of the text that we're walking through. So we've had in the past, we've had text on the screen, we'll still have some of that. But we wanted to move a little bit more towards what we kind of used to do, which is to really read out of a physical Bible. So we've actually made the investment. We bought some nicer kind of hardback Bibles to use in during worship. So if you go to page 300, that's where it will be. We would invite you A couple things. We invite you to, if you have a Bible that you regularly use to actually bring that on Sundays that we use the esv. If you have a different version, that's fine. We're blessed in the English language to have so many wonderful translations. People who get in just knife wars over translations, it just drives me nuts sometimes some are not great. The majority are quite good. Then it's very possible that you have a very good one. So if you have one, bring it and bring that regularly. Write in the margins of the Bible, take notes during the sermons, like really engage there. If you don't ever have one, if you don't actually. Let me say this, if you don't have a Bible at home, a physical copy, please take that one. That is our gift to you. We want you to have a Bible that you can read at home. But if you didn't forget to bring your Bible on a Sunday, pick one of those up, engage with it. The text, the main part of the text will not be on the screen. Or we would like to discourage being on our phones. That is something that we're actually making a shift towards. I'm not going to like stare at you in the middle of the sermon and just start pointing. Not going to do that. But one of the things we've realized is, is that when we are on our phones and we read the Bible from the phone, sometimes we get distracted. I felt this all of a sudden, a text message comes through, an email comes through, and we want to try to minimize that distraction as much as possible. So you Know, again, I'm not going to be angry from the pulpit if you're on your phone, but we would like to discourage that as much as possible and actually be in the text. So going forward, we'll kind of make this announcement a few different times, but that's the shift we're going to make. And the hope will be, is as we're reading a physical Bible, it's going to come to life in some new and better ways. It's a little more active than kind of passively looking up at the screen. So we're going to be in Second Samuel, verses 1 through 13, which is on page 300 in those Bibles. And we'll get to that text in a moment.There are times where. Where I am, where I've sinned, and I'm being confronted in my sin. Now, most of the time that happens with my wife, because I don't know if you know this. If you're married, the person you sin against the most is. Is your spouse. Vice versa. You know why? Because you're living in close proximity with your spouse and she's a sinner and you're a sinner, and this is what happens. So you should expect sin to happen in marriage, which should result in conflict resolution, all the things that we do and we encourage. But what happens sometimes is that when my wife confronts me in my sin, there's such a clear crossroads. Like, there's just two paths. And the first path is Christ exalting, humble consideration of her words, of myself and my own sin. And then, like, time to really reflect and think and consider. That's path one. Then there's the second path, which is I'm not going down without a fight. I'm going to argue my way through this. First off, I reject the premise of your argument. Second, do we need to get to your stuff? Like, I mean, all the terrible ways, And I'll be honest, this way is pretty appealing and it's pretty easy at first. The other way is quite difficult at first to actually do the work of humility and to consider your own sin and be open to confrontation and to like. Like, that's hard on the front end. Way easier in the back end over here. Way easy in the front end because I got to do what my flesh desires, which is not consider my own faults, not consider my own sin. I get to do what I like to do, which is talk. So let's go for it. But the back end is way worse. And there are just times where I see the crossroads in front of Me. And it's like, oof. The desires of the flesh and the spirit at work in ways where, you know, sometimes by God's grace, I choose what is good, and sometimes I choose what is evil, and it results in good. But I think I'm going to guess I'm not alone in this, that many of us feel that, that with spouses and friends and co workers and family members and et cetera, you feel that you're at the crossroads when someone does the work of confronting you. And that's where we see David today. David is about to be confronted in his sin, and we're going to see what comes out of that and how we should think about that as Christians.So let me pray for us, and then we'll walk through this together. Lord, we thank you that you are patient with us in our sin and that you have incredible hope held out to us. God, I pray that that would be clearly seen in a way that changes the very way that we operate and live our lives. This morning we ask this in Jesus name, Amen.Okay, so summary summarizing. Last week, Chet walked us through what is the lowest point of David's reign. The David who's supposed to be on the battlefield leading his people as their king. He's back home. And then temptation comes. He's out. And then he sees Bathsheba, the wife of one of his soldiers, and he inquires of who this is. And then he takes her. And then, attempting to deal with the consequences of his sin, deceives, lies, plots, and then ultimately sends Uriah to the front lines to be killed by the Ammonites, which he is. So David, committing adultery, deception, murder, comes out looking like the good guy. I'll take Bathsheba, she'll be my wife. And he thinks that he's moving forward and his tracks are covered. But God sees everything. The eyes of the Lord see everything. And he sends Nathan, one of his prophets, to confront David in his sin.> And the LORD sent Nathan to David.> He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a city, the one rich and the other poor.> The rich man had very many flocks and herds,> but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought.> And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him.> Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him,> but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him. (2 Samuel 12:1–6 ESV)So Nathan is a prophet. And this is what God does to his kings. We saw this with Samuel and Saul. We're seeing it here with Nathan and David. You keep reading. You're seeing this with Elijah and Ahab. This is what God does. He sends his prophets to correct the people and especially the kings, in their sin. So Lord sent to Nathan to David, and what he's about to tell David is a parable. But David doesn't know it's a parable. David hears this as an actual thing that has Happened.Okay, let's consider the details of this parable. This is the classic evil rich man versus lowly poor man story. This rich man has an abundance. He has more lambs than he can count. He has flocks upon flocks upon flocks, herds upon herds upon herds. He has an abundance. But then there's the poor man. The poor man doesn't have any. And eventually he gets enough money just to have one little ewe lamb, and that's it. Seemingly all he can ever afford. And then you get into the relationship of that this poor man has with his lamb, and it's like the family pet. I mean, you consider the details, that he raises this lamb, that this lamb grew up with his children. We have a family dog. Her name is Piper, and she is the same age as my middle child, my son. And there are pictures. I can go through a photo show, just the puppy and my son growing up together. That's our family dog, and we love our dog. And that's what this is. This is the family lamb. They love this lamb. This lamb comes to the table and they feed her morsels from the table. Yes, you can have some of this. That lamb drinks out of his own cup, which is kind of gross, just being honest. But some of you let your dog lick your face. So same. They just have this. You can see him just give him some of the cup and then scooping up the lamb and just running it just in circles. Montage. Just, just absolutely. Just this brushing the wool. His sweet little ewe lamb says he treated her like a daughter. You. So once you're attached to the lamb narrative, it shifts back to the rich man. And the rich man has a guest coming to town, and he wants to prepare lamb chops for his guest. You could see him scanning the fields and thinking Thoughtlessly about which one he's going to have one of his people, one of his servants grab. And who. Who. Who's going to. And then he sees the poor man's lamb and the. And he says, oh, no, I'll have that one. And it feels like a. Like a. Like a movie, as you like. You just imagine him sending his goons to, like, just go in and just forcibly take the lamb. And the children are crying, and the man can't do anything because he's the lowly poor man. This is the rich man in town. He has all the power with the sheriff and has all the power with. And he's got all the money. He can't do anything. Or maybe he comes in the middle of the night and his goons come in and sweep and take the lamb. And then all of a sudden, the next day, they're looking, calling for her, wondering where she is. And then all of a sudden, they hear that she's been slaughtered and cooked and served at the table of the rich man. And when you hear the details of the story, you want Liam Neeson, with his particular set of skills, to team up with John Wick and just absolutely destroy this man. And if you feel that kind of angry at the story, I want you to imagine how David felt. Because David was a shepherd. He. He knows what it's like to love the flock, to take care of these lamps. And he is furious again, he doesn't know it's a story. He's furious at this.> Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die,> and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.” (2 Samuel 12:5 ESV)David is furious. And as a man of great passion, he responds to Nathan. He invokes the name of the Lord, and he says, this man deserves to die for what he has done. We are going to make this right. He's going to pay back fourfold what he did. Because this man was cruel. He had no pity. He was a savage. He was brutal. He was an evil man of wealth and power. He deserves judgment. And what's wild is that David can't see it. He can't see it. He so clearly can see this man's sin, but he can't see his own sin. And if you're honest, we've been there. You've been there, where it's so easy to see the sin of others. It's so easy to Point out all the ways that they have failed. So blind to our own reality, the plank so lodged in the eyes we can't see. That's David. He just can't see it. And Nathan just has him exactly where he wants him.> Nathan said to David, “You are the man. Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.> And I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more.> Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.> Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.> Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.> For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.'” (2 Samuel 12:7–10 ESV)And now the deeds are coming into the light. Because God sees it all. Every thought, every action, and this life for the next will be exposed. And he exposes it for all to see. He saw when temptation came upon him. When he saw Bathsheba, he saw him take her. He saw him scramble to cover up the Pregnancy. He saw him murder him with the sword of the Ammonites, which pause for a moment. Those of us who sometimes have seared consciences and are like, well, I didn't really do the thing. They did the thing. I didn't really participate. They participated. But you were actively in the background doing things. It's a lesson in morality that if you're the first domino, you're responsible, that you might not brought the sword down, but you are culpable. You, you murdered. He says all of that. He sees it, it's exposed. Then God pronounces judgment, verse 10. Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus says the Lord, behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor. And ye shall lie with your wives in the sight of this Son, for you did it secretly. But I will do this thing before all Israel and before the Son. So the judgment is that strife is about to come upon David's house. It will not be the same, but strife will come upon his house because he despised God, despised his commands. And notice it didn't say he took Bathsheba. You took the wife of Uriah. The sting here of the rich man taking the poor man's lamb because of what you did and the evil that you brought upon this man and the evil you've done against me. Now evil will come out of your own house. And the very things that you have done in the secret and the dark will be done before the sun, out in the open, which we are going to see come to fruition in just a few chapters as this house is torn to pieces. And this is the tragedy that awaits David and the judgment that is given to him.And now is a pivotal moment for David because Nathan just called him out publicly. All of the nation is going to hear about this. And then all of God's people for the next 3,000 years are going to hear about this. What is he going to do? He is the king. And kings in history typically don't respond well to public shaming. They don't respond well to being dressed down in the Bible. Kings typically don't respond well to being called out by prophets. So what is he going to do? Is he going to put them in jail like Jeremiah was put in jail? Is he going to threaten his life like Elijah was threatened? What is he going to do to the prophet who has openly just dressed him down for all to see.> David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”> And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.” (2 Samuel 12:13 ESV)And we're going to stop there, and we're going to pick up next week in the second half of that verse and finish off the chapter. At the crossroads of confrontation, David repents. He repents. He acknowledges who this sin was primarily against. I have sinned against the Lord, the God who took me, who chose me, who made me king, who blessed me with blessings I could never earn. I've sinned against him. And then in the same breath, Nathan delivers the message from the Lord. The Lord has put away your sin, and you shall not die. David is given forgiveness, which is massive, y', all, because if you understand the Old Testament law, what David did actually merits death. And the Jewish law, that's the death penalty for what he's done. But he's given forgiveness, and his repentance is genuine. You might could read this and go, okay, does he really. He does. And what we read earlier in Psalm 51 for our liturgy this morning is the. Is the window into his soul, because he wrote Psalm 51, David did, in the midst of. In the aftermath of this sin, really fleshing out repentance in his soul.So what I want to do is I want to go to Psalm 51, which that is on page 554 in that black Bible, and I want us to look at Psalm 51 and to consider really, the elements of repentance. We're not going to get into all of it because we don't have the space to look at every single verse. But I want to just. I want to look at this to consider some of the elements of repentance that are happening here in Psalm 51, on page 544, starting in verse one, David says,> Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. (Psalm 51:1 ESV)You see, there's a. There's a neediness in his repentance. He's in a humble state. He says, have mercy on me. Have mercy. Now, why would he need to have mercy? Because he sinned against a holy and perfect and righteous God who brings wrath towards sin. Have mercy on me according to your steadfast love. He says, according to your abundant mercy. Blot out my transgressions. Remove them. There's this deep desire for repentance, and he's not sorry for what awaits him in the discipline of the Lord. He's sorry because he sinned against God. That's important for us because Spurgeon was quoted as saying this once, that if I hate sin because of the punishment for sin, I've not repented of sin. I merely regret that God is just. So if we. If we just hate sin because we don't like the punishment, which is the wages of sin is death, which is hell. If that's why we hate sin, then it's like we're not understanding whom we've sinned against. Actually, we're just more concerned with the judgment of God. And if he's just or not. David is like, I've sinned against you, God. You. You see the. You see this. This beginning, this restoration in his heart of just understanding this relationship that he's had with God that he's gone wayward from. Have mercy.And then he says in verse two,> Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! (Psalm 51:2 ESV)Like he just feels the stain of sin on him every now and then. I get to take my kids, we go camping and go camping for a few days, and at the end of it all, we haven't showered, haven't. I've got sweat and bug spray and sunscreen and dirt and grime and marshmallow residue and, like, the works. It just. And I'm like. And when we get in the car to go home, it's just like, I'm really, really looking forward to getting in the shower because I just want to. I just am so ready to just get rid of all of the filth. And David just. He's. He sees it. He finally has eyes to see, and he sees all of the sin and everything that was involved and the plot and the murder and the. And the lust of the heart. He sees all of it, and he's just like, God just washed me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleansed me from my sin. I don't want to be stained like this anymore. God, would you wash me? Would you cleanse me?Verse 3 says,> For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. (Psalm 51:3 ESV)He has this knowledge now. Like, I know my transgressions are before me, and I know you see it. And I've done what's evil in your sight, which if you just think about it for a moment, you just see, this is. This is the human heart on display before God, because very Logically, God is actually not the only person he sinned against. Right, Uriah. He sinned against him grievously. Had him murdered. All the lying and deception. So there's sin that affects the community and all around, but he sees whom he's primarily sinned against and it's the Lord better. Sin first and foremost is against the Lord. He just. He sees it so clearly. I've sinned against you. I've done what's evil in your sight.Go skip down to verse seven.> Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. (Psalm 51:7 ESV)It's like he just. Would you purge me with the hyssop branch? Would you cleanse me so I can be clean? I want to be righteous before you again, God. Go down to verse nine.> Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. (Psalm 51:9 ESV)Just God, I want a clean record. I don't want the iniquities to be counted against me. Hide your face, Lord, from my sins. I don't want it counted against me.In verse 10, he says,> Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10 ESV)So he understands so clearly that his heart has been wayward. And he understands this is really helpful, y'. All. He understands it's not just the actions, it's the inner heart. It's the human. It's the inner being. And he says, I need to be made new. I need you'd to create a new heart within me. I need you to renew the right spirit within me. I need. I need to love you and delight in you and follow you again. I just. I lost my way and I just. I need you to cleanse my inner self so that I can be right with you again.In verse 11, he says,> Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. (Psalm 51:11 ESV)Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit. The reality is that there are folks who will harden their heart towards their sin and will pursue it and will pursue it and will pursue it. And their heart becomes cold and callous and. And distant. And yes, God hides his lovely face from his people. Sometimes you can't read the rest of the Psalms and not see that. That's why the old Hin says, when darkness see, when darkness hides his lovely face, I rest on his amazing grace. There are times where God hides his unique presence from us. And that's not a place you want to. He says, I don't want to Be away from your presence. I want to remember. I want to restore to me God the joy of your salvation and walking with you. I want to feel your presence and your redemption yet again. God, don't abandon me.And then you skip down to verse 17, says> The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Psalm 51:17 ESV)What's so helpful there is that David understands that it's more than just going to the tent of meeting and offering sacrifices, which he would have absolutely done in accordance with the law. It's more than that. Because what God ultimately desires is not the outward action. It's the inward, broken, contrite heart. He wants contrition in our hearts. A broken, sorrowful, remorseful heart that sees I've sinned against you, God, to feel sorrow over sin. And through tears and anguish, with remorse for his adultery and his murder and his deception, he feels all of that against the Lord.Now take a step back from Psalm 51 and you observe his repentance. Summarize some of the elements of what we see. He's desperate. He gives pleas for mercy. He desires to be cleansed. He gives an acknowledgment of who he's primarily sinned against. He has a desire for his presence. He has a plea for his sins to not be counted against him. He has a longing for joy and his salvation again. And he has a confessed reality of contrition and sorrow over his sin. That's what repentance looks like. Which begs the question, does our repentance look like that? Does our repentance and the way that we consider sin mirror this? Because this is what repentance is.Years ago, many of you know this. I was, for years I was bivocational, doing real estate and pastoring. And then I went full time years ago. And every now and then I'm doing some real estate here or there. But years ago I was doing. I was doing a deal and I was. It was me directly with a seller on a property and we were in negotiations and this property needed a lot of work and it got to the end of it all and then went through some inspections and when the H VAC unit, the air conditioning unit came back, I was like, yeah, I don't. I don't know. Like, I just. And there's a lot of trust between this person. This person loved God and I love God. And we're just trying to figure this out. But I just, at the very end of it all, just, I don't know, I think. I think I have to drop the price by 2000 because this. This unit, I think it's about to go. And then she did. And then the years that followed. A couple things came to reality. First, that that H VAC unit actually was a tank. That thing was. It just kept going. Just needed a little maintenance. But I got four solid more years out of that thing. But in evaluating my own heart, and I just realized I was like. That was done from a place of greed and a place of fear. It was done from a place of taking advantage of someone else. And I just. When that finally sunk in, I just. I felt this. I felt like just, lord, what have I done? And rejecting your ways and rejecting your desire and loving money over people. And I just. I felt the overwhelming weight of sin. And I just. I can't. I can't move forward like this. This. This can't be. And I just. I talked to my wife, and we kept thinking and praying through. I talked to the pastors. I kept thinking and praying through it, and I just finally came to the conclusion I just can't stand. I'm not gonna stand before the Lord and this sin. So I. In repentance, I finally. I reached out. I just said, hey, listen, I wrote a letter. I just said, I. I think. I think. I think I did wrong in this. I think you're owed $2,000. I want you to take this check and I want you to cash it. Please, please, please do not send this back. And thankfully, God in his providence in allowing me to be in sin for a period of time, this person actually needed that exact amount at the exact time. But I just. I felt this. That happens, y'. All. We have these. These moments where we're tempted and we're lured and enticed, and the sin grows within us, and we choose wickedness. And this is needed. This. Psalm 51. This contrite, broken heart, this desire to be. Desire to. To be obedient to what God desires for us is so desperately needed in us. And David feels that. He feels a sorrow over his sin, a longing and a hope for God. He. He feels this, and then he's given forgiveness, and his sin is not counted against him. And he spared the judgment of death. And next week we'll see consequences for sin. Because even though sometimes we don't face eternal consequences for sin, there are eternal punishment for sin, there are earthly consequences, and we'll get to that. But for the moment, this week, I wanted to pause and to consider that David's sin is not held against him. He spared the judgment of death.And here's the deal. The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that we are like David, more so. We are like David, more so because we, knowing the gospel, choose to deliberately, intentionally, flagrantly, grievously, sometimes joyfully sin against God, reject his ways in favor of wickedness, in favor of selfishness and self centeredness. And we choose to do this over and over and over again as we break his commands. And what I want us to hear so clearly this morning is that sin is costly, that sin costs. For the wages of sin is death. And God looks at us just as he looked at David. And he looked at David and he said, the Lord has put away your sin. You shall not die. And the reason that's true for us is because the Lord has put away our sin, because Jesus Christ died. Because we get to look to Jesus Christ who dies in the place of sinners, using some of the same language put away in Hebrews 9:26.> For then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (Hebrews 9:26 ESV)In the back part of that verse it says, but as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, that if he belonged to Jesus Christ, your sin was put away because of his sacrifice on the cross. Because somebody has to pay the penalty for sin, because we don't sin against a holy and perfect God and reject his ways without a cost. And Jesus Christ lovingly went and paid that penalty for us. And in paying that penalty, he has better things held out for us.> He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24 ESV)That Jesus Christ takes our sins, he bore them on the tree, the cross, that we might hear this, die to sin and live to righteousness. There are those of us who belong to Jesus Christ who have trusted in the finished work that he did on the cross, that his atonement has covered our sin. He does that so that we might die to sin, not, not living it. That we might see sin be put to death in our lives. I mean, goodness, y', all, we should take the call to repentance seriously, like David did. You should understand the cost of sin. It's the blood of God. You should understand the precious gift that was given for us because of our sin. We should take sin seriously.The puritan Thomas Watson once said that Christ is never loved until sin is loathed. You cannot love Christ if we do not hate sin. Those go hand in hand. There's no way that you can love a God who loved you so much that he gave up his only Son to be crucified for our rebellion against Him. And then us just wink and nod at sin as if it's the. Not a big deal. No, the only logical conclusion to a love that great is a hatred that is that great, too. And that hatred is towards our sin. We must hate sin. We must feel the reality of sin and deal with it seriously, which means considering it, grieving the offense, repenting of it, and running towards Christ.Listen, if we can stare at our sin and have the general posture of our hearts, well, good thing I'm forgiven. Good thing God's a God of grace, right? It's like, whoa, are we. If we can be flippant about what our sin cost and just treat grace like it's a cheap gift, then maybe we've misunderstood grace entirely. And maybe we need to be reoriented with the reality of sin. Listen, we don't have to beat ourselves up after we've repented. I'm not wallowing in the sin of greed from years ago. I find joy in Jesus Christ because what he has done. But we don't skip the work to get there. And some of us skip the work, myself included. We don't do the work of repentance. And we need to. We should be. Listen, we should be terrified at the possibility that we could sin repeatedly in a way that our heart could grow cold and our love could be dim to where we don't sense the presence of God. That's a terrifying place to be.To summarize, Thomas Watson in another place, he says we either must drown our sin in the tears of repentance or our sin will be drowned in the judgment of hell. And that should weigh upon us, and we get to face that reality right here as we have the opportunity to come to the table, invite Christy up to take the Lord's Supper and to play for us in a moment.> “When he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.'” (1 Corinthians 11:24 ESV)> “In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.'” (1 Corinthians 11:25 ESV)On the night that Jesus Christ was betrayed, he took bread and he broke it. And he said, this is my body that was broken for you. And that's the. That's the physical reminder that Jesus gave up his body. And then Jesus took the cup, which is the cup of the new covenant. He said, this is my blood that was shed for you. And it's the reminder of the blood that flowed down from Jesus Christ that covers our sins. And as we consider that until Jesus Christ returns, one of the ways we do this in taking seriously the Lord's Supper, is we consider our sin in repentance. So we're going to sit in silence for a few moments. And if you belong to Jesus Christ, I want you to ask God to reveal, just as he sent Nathan the prophet to reveal his sin, may you ask God to send the Spirit upon our hearts to awaken within us the reality of our own sin. And I want you to sit in that for a moment. And once you've considered the ways in which you've sinned, I'm going to pray, I'm going to invite you to the table, and I want you to come being reminded of the seriousness of sin. I want you to take the Lord's Supper and return. And then I want you to worship him. Enjoy.Now, attached to some of this, maybe. Maybe you've got some work left to do when you leave here. And maybe you need to make a phone call and maybe you need to have a conversation and maybe a group this week, you need to finally walk in the light. Which brothers and sisters, be reminded, undoubtedly, with the size of this room, there, there's some. There are folks in here who are just hiding their sin, who aren't being honest and open, who aren't actually being real about the reality of sin in their life. And I want to make this clear to you. That's a terrible place to be. Don't hide your sin. There's freedom that's found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Believe that God doesn't want you to walk in darkness. He wants you to walk in light and in power and in victory. And you will not have victory over sin and if it remains in darkness. So part of what needs to happen coming out of this, this week is in your group, is you need to confess your sin. You need to confess it to God first and then one another. But don't choose the path of darkness time and time again. Don't presume upon the kindness of God that's meant to lead us to repentance. But as Christians, we need to come to the table after we've prayed, and we need to walk this out in repentance. If you. For some of you, some of you have never done this. You've never seriously considered your sin. You've never seriously considered the Savior. And the table is not for you, but Jesus Christ is. You have a God that loves you so deeply that he, though he absolutely could, he could have brought judgment down upon you for repeatedly rejecting his will and his desire for you. But he loved you so much that he sent Jesus Christ to die for you, to capture you, to set you apart into eternity. And there's so much joy that's found in that, but it doesn't happen unless you believe. So right now, as we sit in silence, you need to pray and you need to plead for God to blot out your sin, maybe look at Psalm 51 and see Jesus in it and just pray it and ask God to have mercy on you as a sinner and to believe and trust in him. And then come talk to me. Come talk to a person who brought you. But don't come to the table. Come to Jesus Christ. We're going to sit in silence for a few moments, and then I'll close in prayer and invite you to the table.So bow your heads with me, Sam. Heavenly father, We are so thankful for the blood of Jesus Christ. May the wonderful reality of your work compel us to faith. May it move us to beautiful repentance. As we consider your death, your body, and your blood. For those of us that need to do a thing, need to have a conversation, that need to put sin to death, need to throw out something from their house, need to confess their sin. And group this week, they need to walk in freedom. May you help them do it. May you help us do it. And as we come to the table and return to our seats, may we stand and may we sing joyfully that our sins are not counted against us. Amen.

Summarize the events of the FIFA International window and preview our upcoming matches at Denver Summit & Portland Thorns. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Episode 111 of 2 Minute Disciple, host Nick Oyler leads a contemplative devotional through Matthew 7:12 — the Golden Rule. In one sentence, Jesus distills the entire ethical teaching of the law and the prophets: treat others the way you want to be treated. It sounds simple. But let it become specific and it becomes one of the most demanding things Jesus ever said.

856 Take Your Sandals Off Your Feet, A Guided Christian Meditation on Exodus 3:4-6 with the Recenter With Christ app The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in  and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.  Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.  You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrelaxing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.   Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:   Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate,  deflate. Scripture for Meditation Exodus 3 NIV 4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." 5 "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." 6 Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. NET 4 When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him from within the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." 5 God said, "Do not approach any closer! Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." 6 He added, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. Reflection on Scripture: Moses saw the burning bush and was curious. He turned toward the Lord. I love the way the Lord called to him. He called Moses by name twice. God called out to Moses personally by name. This scripture represents an interesting and valuable duality. On the one hand God calls to Moses in a personal way and in another he immediately turns and tells him to recognize the supremacy of God and God's holiness. God wants Moses to acknowledge the glory of God by taking off his shoes. God does not need to choose between being honored and pouring out immense and immeasurable love.  God clearly self identifies as the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob and at this moment Moses feels fear enough to hide his face. I think that this is the natural effect of people catching even a glimpse of the Glory of God but I also think that this is not the state that God wants us to move toward. I think he wants us to honor and respect but not fear in that sort of way.  I think there are some similarities between comparing a loved dog instead of a stray Coyote. God has lots of positive regard and profound deep love for us. He also demands that we respect His glory merits. I do think he wants this veneration with a heart full of love and gratitude. As humans we struggle with this dichotomy all throughout scripture. When we struggle and long for the pure love of God remember that God calls to you by name. He knows you and loves you. This profound and deep, perfect love does not require us to ignore the vast chasm of difference between God's perfect nature and glory and our weakened fallen human condition. Take a moment to ponder this deep and profound love that God has for you as his well known child and then turn in your heart to honor and venerate the Glory he represents.   Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?  FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

How much information do you need to answer exam questions correctly? In some cases -- not all, but some -- you can get a question correct just with your knowledge of the profession, without needing to know anything from the specific vignette in front of you. These sample questions come from the 2023 version of the NCMHCE Candidate Handbook produced by NBCC. [Detailed, 1,000-word case vignette describing the intake process with a new client.] 1. During the intake, how would you establish a therapeutic relationship with this client? Challenge her irrational thoughts about her self-evaluations. Advise her about how to manage painful experiences. Summarize her emotional struggles and desire for change. Explore areas in which she could improve interpersonal relationships. 2. What long-term goal would guide treatment of the client's presenting problem? Spend 1 hour each day focusing on what is going right in life. Return to pre-marital levels, or better, for self-confidence and autonomy. Decrease negative thoughts and feelings by half in 6 weeks. Get out of bed before 8 am each morning. For exam prep programs including exam strategy, full-length practice tests, video-based learning, anxiety management, and features no other program has, all at prices up to 50% less than major competitors, check us out at High Pass Education. highpass.com Intro/outro music: "Swampy Lands" by Adam Saban, licensed via Soundstripe.

Watch the YouTube version of this episode HEREIn this episode of the Maximum Lawyer podcast, host Tyson Matrix speaks with guest Bill Farias about transforming law firm recruiting into a systematic, marketing-driven process. Inspired by Claire Hughes Johnson's book Scaling People, Bill shifted from reactive hiring to building a consistent talent pipeline. They discuss treating recruiting like client acquisition, developing a strong talent brand, and using tools like LinkedIn, Indeed, and Monday.com to manage candidates. Bill emphasizes that competitive compensation combined with a strong culture attracts top talent, while speed and clear communication are critical to converting strong candidates into hires.00:00:46 Inspiration from "Scaling People" 00:03:32 Building a Consistent Hiring Pipeline00:06:47 Recruiting Tools and Process Management 00:08:20 Recruiting as Marketing: What Are You Marketing? 00:13:03 Tracking and Measuring Recruiting Efforts 00:15:45 Employer Value Proposition in Recruiting 00:17:19 Compensation vs. Culture in Recruiting 00:22:17 Bill emphasizes prioritizing character and drive over experience.00:25:19 Notes that different roles require different candidate qualities, from reliability to innovation.00:27:06 Summarizes main lessons: hiring as a scalable system, recruiting as marketing, and the power of culture and brand.Connect with Bill:Website Instagram LinkedIn Facebook Resources:Join the Guild MembershipSubscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube ChannelFollow us on InstagramJoin the Facebook GroupFollow the Facebook PageFollow us on LinkedIn

AI is rapidly reshaping pharmacy practice, raising both concern and opportunity for healthcare teams. Vizient host Kerry Schwarz is joined by Dr. Jason Chou, Vice President of the System Pharmacy Service Line, and Dr. Catherine Oliver, System AVP of Clinical Pharmacy Services at Ochsner Health, to explore how AI is improving efficiency while redefining how pharmacy teams spend their time. They discuss where technology is already making an impact and where its limits still require human expertise.   Guest Speakers:  Dr. Jason Chou, Pharm.D., MS Vice President, System Pharmacy Service Line Ochsner Health Dr. Catherine Oliver, Pharm.D., BCPS, DPLA, CPGx System AVP, Clinical Pharmacy Services Ochsner Health Host  Dr. Kerry Schwarz, Pharm.D., MPH Senior Clinical Manager, Evidence-Based Medicine and Outcomes Vizient Center for Pharmacy Practice Excellence       Shownotes:  00:05 — Introduction Announcer welcomes listeners to VerifiedRx, produced by the Vizient Center for Pharmacy Practice Excellence.   00:14 — Episode Overview Host Kerry introduces the topic: the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare and pharmacy. Key themes: Addressing fears of job replacement Identifying real-world use cases Understanding limitations of AI Practical strategies for adoption Guests: Dr. Jason Chou, VP, System Pharmacy Service Line, Ochsner Health Dr. Catherine Oliver, System AVP, Clinical Pharmacy Services, Ochsner Health   01:04 — Will AI Replace Healthcare Jobs? Concern exists, but largely driven by misunderstanding AI is expected to: Augment, not replace, pharmacy roles Improve efficiency in daily workflows AI is not capable of: Independent clinical judgment Meaningful patient interactions Human elements—trust, empathy, and nuance—remain essential.   02:20 — Where AI Can Add Value Today Focus should shift from fear to practical use cases Ideal applications: Reducing non-value-added tasks Improving efficiency Supporting clinical decision-making preparation (not replacing it)   02:39 — Early Use Cases: Operational Efficiency AI can reduce administrative burden such as: Prior authorizations Insurance-related communications Data gathering and documentation Opportunity to eliminate “busy work” and improve staff satisfaction   03:31 — Clinical Workflow Support AI can: Summarize patient charts, labs, and notes Organize large volumes of clinical data Enables pharmacists to: Spend less time preparing Spend more time in patient care and provider interaction   04:08 — Additional Opportunities: Supply Chain & Operations AI can support: Inventory management Purchasing optimization Multi-site coordination Benefits include: Cost savings Improved efficiency Better resource utilization   05:00 — Where to Draw the Line AI should not replace clinical decision-making Limitations include: Lack of experience and judgment Inability to incorporate patient values and preferences Final decisions must remain with clinicians.   05:42 — Preserving the Human Element Patient care involves: Trust Empathy Relationship-building Over-reliance on AI risks eroding patient confidence.   06:11 — Patient Interaction & Transparency Patients want to know: When AI is used How it impacts their care Transparency and communication are critical   06:48 — AI in Direct Patient Care: Ambient Listening AI tools can: Capture conversations during patient visits Reduce documentation burden Important considerations: Patient consent Ability to opt out Privacy concerns   07:31 — Risks of Poor Implementation Poorly designed AI interactions can: Frustrate patients Reduce trust Healthcare AI must avoid: Impersonal experiences Inefficient automation 08:21 — AI as a Tool, Not a Replacement Comparable to tools like: Search engines (e.g., Google) Enhances efficiency without replacing professional roles.   09:12 — Early Success Stories Prior Authorization Optimization AI improves: Data extraction Documentation speed Approval timelines Benefits: Faster patient access to therapy Improved staff satisfaction   10:07 — Clinical Decision Support Enhancements AI-driven rule systems: Identify high-risk patients Reduce unnecessary chart reviews Example outcome: Reduction in time spent reviewing charts without intervention Frees pharmacists for: Medication reconciliation Patient counseling   11:11 — Impact on Workforce Engagement Staff report: Increased satisfaction More time for meaningful work AI seen as an enabler rather than a threat 12:03 — Vendor Landscape & Challenges Rapid growth of AI vendors addressing niche problems Key risks: Data security concerns Vendor quality variability Overlapping or redundant solutions   12:51 — Integration & Workflow Considerations Successful AI tools must: Integrate with EHRs Align with pharmacy workflows Avoid siloed systems Poor integration leads to inefficiency and adoption barriers   14:04 — Vendor Evaluation Considerations Assess: Clinical and operational expertise Product maturity Implementation effort Risk vs benefit Balance between: Ready-made solutions Custom-built tools requiring internal resources   14:56 — Practical Advice for Health System Leaders Develop a system-wide AI strategy Collaborate across departments (not siloed decisions) Engage: IT Legal Ethics teams Avoid duplicative solutions across service lines   15:31 — Building Organizational Readiness Be open to learning and experimentation Ask questions and maintain healthy skepticism Focus on: Improving workflows Enhancing patient outcomes Supporting workforce engagement   16:02 — Infrastructure & Speed of Innovation AI vendors move quickly Organizations must: Be prepared to adapt rapidly Avoid delays that hinder innovation Balance speed with governance and safety   16:27 — Closing Kerry thanks the guests for their insights Encourages continued exploration of AI's evolving role in healthcare Reminder to subscribe and engage with VerifiedRx.   Subscribe Today! 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854 Why Does The Bush Not Burn Up, A Guided Christian Meditation on Exodus 3:1-3 with the Recenter With Christ app The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in  and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.  Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.  You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrelaxing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.   Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:   Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate,  deflate. Scripture for Meditation Exodus 3 NABRE 1 Meanwhile Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock beyond the wilderness, he came to the mountain of God, Horeb. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him as fire flaming out of a bush. When he looked, although the bush was on fire, it was not being consumed. 3 So Moses decided, "I must turn aside to look at this remarkable sight. Why does the bush not burn up? 3 Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to the mountain of God, unto Horeb. 2 And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, I will turn aside now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. Reflection on Scripture: Moses had been living his life. It appears he was not very familiar with the workings of God and then suddenly God showed him something. God showed Moses a miraculous thing. Something that Moses could not understand. There was nothing in Moses' understanding that would allow him to comprehend or explain what he was seeing. It began with wonder. As he led his flock in the mountains he saw a bush which seemed to be on fire but was not consumed. Moses stopped what he was doing. He noticed the wonder. He did not create the situation. He did not make the Lord burn a bush. All he did was wonder at what he saw and he responded In our lives if we pay attention we can see the hand of the Lord, normally in much less subtle ways than for a prophet who was so central to God's plan with His children, nevertheless we get our own version of signs. The question I ponder is, am I looking for God's wonders? How often do I pass by a miracle from the Lord because I don't pause to wonder why that bush is burning so to speak. For Moses this experience was part of his call from God. Similarly you have a call from God. I don't know what yours is, perhaps you know and perhaps you don't. One thing that is crucial… Keep looking for God in your life.  He who has ears to hear let him listen. Let us listen with our ears to what God proclaims. Those answers often come from the scriptures are we are more likely to hear them if we pray to the Lord. So let us spend time in God's word and in prayer to God. Then when we see His word fulfilled or we read a passage that rings out from beyond, turn and look at that burning bush. Respond to the voice of the Lord.   Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?  FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod  

852 Not Allowed To Live Forever in Sin, A Guided Christian Meditation on Genesis 3:20-22 with the Recenter With Christ app The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in  and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.  Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.  You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrelaxing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.   Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:   Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate,  deflate. Scripture for Meditation Genesis 3 RSV 20 The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them. 22 Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever" NET 20 The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. 21 The Lord God made garments from skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. 22 And the Lord God said, "Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not be allowed to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." Reflection on Scripture: In the continuation of Genesis 3 we see an incredibly fascinating issue. Eve receives her name as the mother of all humans. Additionally God clothed them, which replaced the poor example of coverage from the fig leafs. Ultimately this scripture is focused on setting up the human race for their need for the Lord. God acknowledged that the struggle in regards to the fruit, did in fact open Adam and Eve's eyes and allowed them to have knowledge of good and evil. This is the perfect concept to cover on Easter. It is an incredibly valuable distinction to make that living forever is not God's goal for us. After Adam and Eve ate the fruit, God then prevented them from eating from the tree of life. If God's goal for us was only to live forever, then there would be no interest or need to stop them. God's goal is that we are eternally reunited with Him. Jesus came to earth to overcome that death, but in the context of eternal salvation. When Jesus was born, His death fit within that structure of physicality related to humanity.  Similarly for us, we need death. If we were never to die, then we would be confined to earth forever in this form. God stated without ambiguity that this was not the plan. Even worse would be for us to die without any possibility to overcome it. Jesus' resurrection overcame that hurdle. God's ideal plan for us requires us to overcome death through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The victory of Easter is indirectly referenced in this scripture.  Easter is directly connected to creation and the fall. I want you to know one thing above all. God love the world enough to give up His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him should not die but have everlasting life. That eternal and everlasting life requires salvation from the God of the universe. I am so profoundly grateful that God loves us so much to offer that to us. Ponder on that love.  Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?  FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod  

Please visit answersincme.com/KQK860 to participate, download slides and supporting materials, complete the post test, and get a certificate. Presented by Virginia Clark, MD, MS. In this activity, an expert in liver disease discusses practical considerations for identifying and managing liver disease related to alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) across the care continuum. Upon completion of this activity, participants should be better able to: Apply strategies to reach a diagnosis of AATD and associated liver disease; Summarize the evolving treatment landscape for AATD-associated liver disease; and Explain multidisciplinary team approaches to effectively manage patients with AATD-associated liver disease.

Xenotransplantation—the use of organs from other species to treat human disease—has long existed at the intersection of science fiction and surgical innovation. While early efforts were marked by limited success and ethical controversy, recent advances in genetic engineering, immunosuppression, and organ preservation have brought the field closer than ever to clinical reality.In this episode of Behind the Knife, we are joined by Dr. Joshua Mezrich to explore the history, science, and future of xenotransplantation. Through a narrative lens, we trace the evolution of transplantation from its earliest experimental days to the modern era of gene-edited porcine organs, highlighting key breakthroughs, ethical challenges, and the pioneers who shaped the field. We also examine the current state of clinical trials and what xenotransplantation may mean for the future of organ availability and transplant practice.Hosts - Madeline Cloonan, MD PhD, General Surgery Resident, University of Nebraska Medical Center, @maddie_cloonan  - Joshua Mezrich, MD, Professor, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public HealthLearning Objectives By the end of this episode, listeners will be able to:- Describe the historical evolution of xenotransplantation, including the primate and early porcine eras - Explain the key immunologic and biologic barriers to xenotransplantation, including hyperacute rejection and the role of natural antibodies - Summarize major scientific advances that enabled modern xenotransplantation, including cloning and CRISPR-based gene editing - Discuss recent clinical experiences and ongoing trials of xenotransplantation in humans -  Evaluate the ethical considerations and societal implications of xenotransplantation - Consider the potential role of xenotransplantation in addressing organ shortage and reshaping transplant eligibility and allocationCheck out Dr. Mezrich's new book! https://www.amazon.com/Every-Living-Creature-Xenotransplantation-Change-ebook/dp/B0FH14LF6K***Fellowship Application Link: https://forms.gle/QSUrR2GWHDZ1MmWC6***Surgical Instrument FlashCards: https://app.behindtheknife.org/premium/surgical-instrument-flashcards Please visit https://behindtheknife.org to access other high-yield surgical education podcasts, videos and more.  If you liked this episode, check out our recent episodes here: https://behindtheknife.org/listenBehind the Knife Premium:General Surgery Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/general-surgery-oral-board-reviewTrauma Surgery Video Atlas: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/trauma-surgery-video-atlasDominate Surgery: A High-Yield Guide to Your Surgery Clerkship: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/dominate-surgery-a-high-yield-guide-to-your-surgery-clerkshipDominate Surgery for APPs: A High-Yield Guide to Your Surgery Rotation: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/dominate-surgery-for-apps-a-high-yield-guide-to-your-surgery-rotationVascular Surgery Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/vascular-surgery-oral-board-audio-reviewColorectal Surgery Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/colorectal-surgery-oral-board-audio-reviewSurgical Oncology Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/surgical-oncology-oral-board-audio-reviewCardiothoracic Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/cardiothoracic-surgery-oral-board-audio-reviewDownload our App:Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/behind-the-knife/id1672420049Android/Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.btk.app&hl=en_US

850 To Dust You Shall Return, A Guided Christian Meditation on Genesis 3:16-19 with the Recenter With Christ app The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in  and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.  Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.  You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrelaxing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.   Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:   Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate,  deflate. Scripture for Meditation Genesis 3 ESV 16 To the woman he said, "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;     in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband,     and he shall rule over you." 17 And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife     and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you,     'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you;     in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;     and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face     you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground,     for out of it you were taken; for you are dust,     and to dust you shall return." NASB 16 To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you shall deliver children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he shall rule over you." 17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; With hard labor you shall eat from it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; Yet you shall eat the plants of the field; 19 By the sweat of your face You shall eat bread, Until you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return." Reflection on Scripture: The effect of the fall was not fully captured in these few verses yet there are some things that are indicated. A few consequences are pointed out. These are not even described as the way things should be, just what would happen. God was not commanding Adam to sweat or for Eve that somehow that this pain was ideal, for example. God was saying what would result in life. Equally interesting to me is the fact that there are different consequences laid out for Adam and Eve. Eve's focus on the pain of motherhood and being a wife, for Adam the difficulty of feeding himself and his family with the inevitability of pending death.  They were not commanded to not feel that pain or the threat of death. There is nothing they could do to stop the things of this world. God did want for them to understand the effects of a sinful world. In fact, this pain acts a little more than a speed bump on our path bath to the Father if we have our focus placed on His path, His way, and His life, that of Jesus Christ. Yield yourself to God's path for you. Walking the path of God is what should be considered normative, or ideal. Believe in Jesus and walk his path despite the challenges of this life. That is what Jesus asks. Although we participate with other people in life,  it is God's path we need to follow. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we overcome the effects of sin, pain, weakness, and everything that makes this world less than heaven. Never let anything get in the way of keeping your ears open to the voice of the Spirit. Whoever has ears to hear let them hear.  Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?  FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

Summary Meetings dominate our workdays—but what if they could become a source of intelligence rather than inefficiency? In this episode of On the Brink with Andi Simon, I speak with Ramsey Pryor, CEO and founder of Rumi, an AI‑powered meeting intelligence platform that is redefining how organizations capture knowledge, collaborate, and make decisions. Together, we explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping the future of work by transforming everyday conversations into actionable insights. The Problem with Meetings Today Let's start with a simple truth: most meetings underperform. Professionals spend 30% or more of their time in meetings, and much of that time is wasted repeating information, catching people up, or trying to recall what was previously discussed. As Ramsey noted, research suggests that two‑thirds of meeting time is spent rehashing prior conversations—a staggering drain on productivity and morale. Across industries—from banking to healthcare—I've seen meetings with no agenda, no clear outcomes, and no shared understanding of next steps. Attendance becomes the work, rather than progress. So the real question becomes: What if meetings could finally work for us instead of against us? The Hidden Value Inside Your Meetings—and How AI Unlocks It Ramsey Pryor founded Rumi during the pandemic, when virtual meetings exploded and attention became fragmented. His idea was deceptively simple: Capture everything that happens in meetings and turn it into usable knowledge. Using AI, Rumi: Automatically transcribes conversations Summarizes key insights Identifies and tracks action items Creates a searchable "meeting memory" Instead of relying on human recollection—or scattered notes—teams gain access to a living, searchable database of institutional knowledge. This is where the transformation begins. From Note‑Taking to Knowledge Creation Traditional note‑taking is reactive. You jot things down and hope they make sense later. AI flips that model. With meeting intelligence, employees can: Ask: "Why did we make this decision?" Find: "Who has expertise in this area?" Track: "What actions were assigned—and to whom?" As Ramsey explained, this reduces interruptions, eliminates redundant conversations, and accelerates decision‑making. Instead of digging through emails or pinging colleagues, employees can query their organization's collective memory directly. The result is simple but powerful: Less redundancy. Faster decisions. Better alignment. Changing Habits—and Culture This shift is not just technological—it's behavioral. We are moving from: Listening and forgetting → capturing and retrieving Individual memory → shared intelligence Meetings as events → meetings as data assets Just as many of us instinctively turn to tools like ChatGPT for answers, organizations are beginning to turn inward—to their own data—for insights. This represents a profound cultural transformation. The Global Dimension: Culture Still Matters As an anthropologist, I find the global implications especially compelling. Meetings are deeply cultural: In some regions, hierarchy shapes who speaks In others, open debate is expected Communication norms vary widely AI can help bridge gaps—especially in language, documentation, and clarity—but it cannot replace the need to understand how people interpret and act on information. Technology enables. Culture determines adoption. Measuring the Impact The value of AI‑powered meeting intelligence is not theoretical—it's measurable. Ramsey shared an example of a 300‑person sales team that saved 33,000 hours annually by reducing repetitive tasks and improving access to information. That's the equivalent of adding 15 full‑time employees—without hiring anyone. This is where AI shifts from "interesting" to indispensable. A New Way to Think About Meetings Here are three key insights to carry forward: Meetings are a hidden source of value They contain knowledge your organization is already paying for—but not fully using. AI turns conversations into assets What was once ephemeral becomes searchable, actionable, and scalable. Behavior change is the real transformation The technology matters, but the real shift is in how people think, ask questions, and access information. Final Thought We are at the beginning of a major shift. Just as the internet democratized access to global knowledge, AI‑powered meeting intelligence is democratizing access to organizational knowledge. The question is no longer: "What did we say in that meeting?" It is: "What can we do with everything we know?" From Observation to Innovation, Andi Simon, PhD CEO | Corporate Anthropologist | Author Simonassociates.net Info@simonassociates.net @simonandi LinkedIn

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848 The Serpent is Cursed by God? A Guided Christian Meditation on Genesis 3:14-15 with the Recenter With Christ app The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in  and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.  Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.  You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrel axing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.   Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:   Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate,  deflate. Scripture for Meditation Genesis 3 KJV 14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. NET 14 The Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the cattle and all the living creatures of the field! On your belly you will crawl and dust you will eat all the days of your life. 15 And I will put hostility between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel." Reflection on Scripture: In this chapter the serpent is not specifically identified as Satan, the adversary, the enemy of God but in other places in scripture that link is explicitly made. Why does God punish Satan? Satan tried to take the place of God. He tried to be the one to direct Adam and Eve in opposition to what God says. He does not fully understand the plan of God. His knowledge is limited. Even if he intellectually knows what God's intent is, which it is not even clear that this is the case, he certainly doesn't understand it. An intellectual understanding of the words of God is not enough. While in graduate school some of the books I read about the New Testament were written by incredibly knowledgeable atheists. This caused me to be suspicious of their insights about the true meaning of what the Word said. Satan intended to oppose and displace God, regardless of how futile that is.  Similarly how do we approach the wisdom of God? Do we do so indifferent to God's intent and presence? Where much is given, much is expected. When we approach God's word supported by God's Holy Spirit we are more prepared to understand it. As a result we should attempt to use every resource we have, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually to draw unto the Lord and seek His riches. If we approach God's word with an intent to critique it and demonstrate why it doesn't fit with modern thoughts, we have a greatly diminished ability to be fed by it spiritually.  In all, Satan has been punished for rejecting the authority and supremacy of God. We are rewarded when we align with God's spirit and His purpose. If we choose the side of rebellion or pride we choose the side of the serpent whose head is crushed by Jesus. When we follow Jesus we take the side of the one who will crush the enemy. Use your time in meditation as a method for aligning your will, your mind, and your heart, to the Lord Jesus Christ that is the only path back to the Father. Without Jesus, we have no ability to overcome the effects of the fall of Adam and our resulting propensity to sin.  Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?  FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

8. In this final segment, Cline summarizes the rankings of ancient societies based on resilience definitions from the IPCC. He distinguishes between those that "transformed" (the antifragile Phoenicians and Cypriots), those that "adapted" or "coped" (Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon), and those that failed (the Hittites). He emphasizes the importance of geography, noting that major river systems like the Nile and Euphrateshelped Egypt and Mesopotamia survive the collapse. Cline's work illustrates that resilience involves more than just survival; it requires the agility to innovate in response to extreme impact events, offering lessons for contemporary global stability. (8)

844 I Hid Myself Because I Was Naked, A Guided Christian Meditation on Genesis 3:8-10 with the Recenter With Christ app The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in  and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.  Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.  You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrel axing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.   Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:   Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate,  deflate. Scripture for Meditation Genesis 3 NIV 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?" 10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." KJV 8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. Reflection on Scripture: What an interesting turn of events. When Adam and Eve ate from the tree from which they were commanded against, the scripture does not say they hid because they disobeyed God. It says they hid because they were naked. It seems like the wrong thing to be fearful that the Lord sees. God created their naked bodies. God has already seen their nakedness and yet this is the motivation for hiding from God.  Aside from the silliness of trying to hide from God, it seems the wrong reason to hide from God. It also seems like a wonderful deception for Satan. To foul their understanding of their sexual identity before the Lord quite literally. In the final day of active creation God created Adam, then as his culminating act of creation, he created Eve. In this act of creation he invited Adam and Eve to participate with Him in the act of creation of human bodies. The sexual acts that create their offspring is a literal usage of this gift for its intended purpose. Satan did not want them to develop a healthy relationship with this power. He wanted to immediately corrupt their perception. Their sexual bodies were incorrectly seen as an embarrassment before God.  Satan has waged a full fledged war against the correct perception and usage of this sacred creative power represented by their nudity. He tries to make the whole world mock, cheapen, objectify, and minimize the gift of sexuality. And on top of that, after he has done that, he seeks to heap on shame for it at the same time. God would have us reject the perspective of Satan, and the world. I believe God would prefer for us to protect the sacredness of this gift while also rejecting the shame the enemy would place upon it. Embrace the sacredness that God has put into you. Don't misuse it. Don't hide from the Lord when you fear or make errors. Let us not be in a place where God ever has to ask, where are you? Let us always seek His face, especially when we fall short, that he can redeem us.  Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?  FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod      

Embracing God's Grace while Rejecting Satan's Shame, A Guided Christian Meditation on Genesis 3:4-7 with the Recenter With Christ app The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in  and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.  Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.  You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrelaxing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.   Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:   Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate,  deflate. Scripture for Meditation Genesis 3 RSV 4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. NET 4 The serpent said to the woman, "Surely you will not die, 5 for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 When the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Reflection on Scripture: Satan directly rejects what God taught Adam and Eve. Although in one way Satan put some truth in his lie. Their eyes were in fact opened when the partook of the fruit of the tree. Yet the ultimate point is they faced spiritual death when they ate of the fruit, which is separation from the presence of God, and they became subject to physical death. God's word was fulfilled. This scripture also begins to point out the beginning of shame. When we act in contrast to what God has told us to, we feel a conviction of our guilt from God. This can be a good and Godly influence. God's desire for us is not to retain this bad feeling and live in it. His desire is really aimed at bringing our hearts back in line with His will. He wants us to feel forgiven. He wants us to feel welcome back to his presence. So I think we should be aware of the effects of sin and seek to actively reject sin.  Satan is aware of God's grace. He knows God will forgive us when we turn to, and trust in Jesus as the source of forgiveness and salvation. He wants to actively deny that. He would prefer that we become immobilized by shame. He wants us to hide our sin from God which we will talk more about next week. Satan wants to turn our attention away from our God who longs to pour out forgiveness and guide us to overcome sin. So my invitation to you is to ponder, do you allow Satan to use shame to take your focus away from the forgiveness that God freely offers? Equally destructive is do you reject any negative emotions associated with your guilt because you feel sad about it? Rejoice in any guilt that draws your heart back to the Lord and reject the shame of the enemy who seeks to destroy your hope in a glorious forgiveness.  Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?  FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod    

Robotic surgery has moved from novelty to norm, and in this episode of Behind the Knife, Drs. James Jung and Joey Lew sit down with urologic pioneer and Medtronic CMO Dr. Jim Porter to dissect how we got here, what the data really say about “the death of laparoscopy,” and where competing robotic platforms like Hugo may take the field next. From ergonomics and education to economics and global access, they tackle both the hype and the hard questions around robotics as the future of minimally invasive surgery.Hosts: ·      James Jung, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Duke University·      Joey Lew, MD, MFA, Surgical resident PGY-3, Duke University, @lew__actuallyLearning Goals: By the end of this episode, listeners will be able to:·      Describe key clinical, ergonomic, and educational drivers behind the rapid adoption of robotic surgery in the United States and globally.·      Summarize current evidence comparing robotic and laparoscopic approaches for common procedures, including where outcomes are equivalent, inferior, or clearly superior.·      Explain how surgeon ergonomics, trainee experience, and video-based learning influence practice patterns and learning curves in minimally invasive surgery.·      Discuss the role of cost, reimbursement structures, and market competition (e.g., Medtronic Hugo vs da Vinci) in shaping robotic adoption across different health systems.·      Anticipate how next-generation, task- or organ-specific robotic platforms may further change standards of care in minimally invasive surgery.References:·      Violante T, Ferrari D, Novelli M, Larson DW. The Death of Laparoscopy - Volume 2: A Revised Prognosis. A retrospective study. Ann Surg. 2025 Jun 16. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000006792. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40518997. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40518997/·      Yu Yoshida, Yoshiro Itatani, Takehito Yamamoto, Ryosuke Okamura, Koya Hida, Kazutaka Obama, Single-incision plus one robot-assisted surgery (SIPORS) using the Hugo robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) system for rectal cancer, Annals of Coloproctology, 10.3393/ac.2025.00787.0112, 41, 6, (586-591), (2025). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41486916/Please visit https://behindtheknife.org to access other high-yield surgical education podcasts, videos and more.  If you liked this episode, check out our recent episodes here: https://behindtheknife.org/listenBehind the Knife Premium:General Surgery Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/general-surgery-oral-board-reviewTrauma Surgery Video Atlas: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/trauma-surgery-video-atlasDominate Surgery: A High-Yield Guide to Your Surgery Clerkship: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/dominate-surgery-a-high-yield-guide-to-your-surgery-clerkshipDominate Surgery for APPs: A High-Yield Guide to Your Surgery Rotation: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/dominate-surgery-for-apps-a-high-yield-guide-to-your-surgery-rotationVascular Surgery Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/vascular-surgery-oral-board-audio-reviewColorectal Surgery Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/colorectal-surgery-oral-board-audio-reviewSurgical Oncology Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/surgical-oncology-oral-board-audio-reviewCardiothoracic Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/cardiothoracic-surgery-oral-board-audio-reviewDownload our App:Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/behind-the-knife/id1672420049Android/Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.btk.app&hl=en_US

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 Dave Charest. Summary of the Dave Charest Interview In this episode of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, Rushion McDonald interviews Dave Charest, Director of Small Business Success at Constant Contact, a leading digital marketing platform. Charest discusses the rising wave of entrepreneurship, the foundational importance of email and direct‑to‑customer channels, common mistakes new business owners make, and how AI is reshaping small‑business marketing. He provides practical guidance on marketing consistency, channel selection, building community relationships, and using technology to scale. Throughout the conversation, Charest emphasizes that while small businesses often lack marketing expertise, they possess a valuable advantage: real, human relationships that can be strengthened through consistent communication. Purpose of the Interview The purpose of Rushion McDonald’s conversation with Dave Charest is to: 1. Educate new and aspiring entrepreneurs Charest breaks down the basics of digital marketing—email, social, SMS—and how to begin building a strong marketing foundation. 2. Highlight the key trends driving the entrepreneurship boom He explains motivations like work–life balance, independence, and financial potential that inspire people to launch businesses. 3. Provide practical, actionable marketing advice Especially around consistency, choosing marketing channels, and building direct customer relationships. 4. Introduce how AI can simplify and amplify marketing Charest showcases tools that help business owners quickly generate content, develop campaigns, and analyze customer behavior. Key Takeaways 1. Direct relationships (email/SMS) outperform social media Email offers ownership, stability, and higher ROI—unlike social platforms that can change algorithms or visibility overnight. Charest stresses that “the money is in the list.” 2. You don’t need huge numbers to be effective Small businesses often see high open and engagement rates because followers know and trust them. 3. Consistency matters more than platform choice Whether you choose Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, or email, the biggest driver of marketing success is showing up regularly. 4. Start small—don’t overwhelm yourself One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is trying to do everything at once. Begin with the basics and grow steadily. 5. Community is a crucial marketing asset Local businesses thrive when they maintain strong connections with nearby businesses, customers, and community networks. 6. Entrepreneurs face challenges—but resilience wins Charest notes that small business owners rarely have a “Plan B,” which pushes them to adapt and continue learning. 7. AI is transforming small‑business marketing Constant Contact offers tools to: Generate emails and content Summarize content for social Build full marketing campaigns Analyze behavior from large email lists to recommend actions Notable Quotes (from the transcript) Here are direct paraphrases and key phrases—not copyrighted material but drawn from the transcript: On email vs. social “There’s a $36 return for every $1 invested in email—but what matters is that you own the relationship.” “If a social platform goes away, so does your following. Email is a direct line.” On audience size “Big numbers aren’t necessary—small lists can see 50% open rates and strong engagement because those people actually care.” On entrepreneurship motivations “People want better work‑life balance, independence, and financial potential.” On mistakes “A big mistake is trying to do too much at once. Start small and stay consistent.” On community “Digital marketing should extend real relationships—not replace them.” On choosing platforms “Where your audience spends time matters, but so does where you can show up consistently.” On AI’s role “AI can generate emails, build campaigns, and analyze audience data—saving you time for what you’d rather be doing.” #SHMS #STRAW #BESTSupport 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 Dave Charest. Summary of the Dave Charest Interview In this episode of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, Rushion McDonald interviews Dave Charest, Director of Small Business Success at Constant Contact, a leading digital marketing platform. Charest discusses the rising wave of entrepreneurship, the foundational importance of email and direct‑to‑customer channels, common mistakes new business owners make, and how AI is reshaping small‑business marketing. He provides practical guidance on marketing consistency, channel selection, building community relationships, and using technology to scale. Throughout the conversation, Charest emphasizes that while small businesses often lack marketing expertise, they possess a valuable advantage: real, human relationships that can be strengthened through consistent communication. Purpose of the Interview The purpose of Rushion McDonald’s conversation with Dave Charest is to: 1. Educate new and aspiring entrepreneurs Charest breaks down the basics of digital marketing—email, social, SMS—and how to begin building a strong marketing foundation. 2. Highlight the key trends driving the entrepreneurship boom He explains motivations like work–life balance, independence, and financial potential that inspire people to launch businesses. 3. Provide practical, actionable marketing advice Especially around consistency, choosing marketing channels, and building direct customer relationships. 4. Introduce how AI can simplify and amplify marketing Charest showcases tools that help business owners quickly generate content, develop campaigns, and analyze customer behavior. Key Takeaways 1. Direct relationships (email/SMS) outperform social media Email offers ownership, stability, and higher ROI—unlike social platforms that can change algorithms or visibility overnight. Charest stresses that “the money is in the list.” 2. You don’t need huge numbers to be effective Small businesses often see high open and engagement rates because followers know and trust them. 3. Consistency matters more than platform choice Whether you choose Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, or email, the biggest driver of marketing success is showing up regularly. 4. Start small—don’t overwhelm yourself One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is trying to do everything at once. Begin with the basics and grow steadily. 5. Community is a crucial marketing asset Local businesses thrive when they maintain strong connections with nearby businesses, customers, and community networks. 6. Entrepreneurs face challenges—but resilience wins Charest notes that small business owners rarely have a “Plan B,” which pushes them to adapt and continue learning. 7. AI is transforming small‑business marketing Constant Contact offers tools to: Generate emails and content Summarize content for social Build full marketing campaigns Analyze behavior from large email lists to recommend actions Notable Quotes (from the transcript) Here are direct paraphrases and key phrases—not copyrighted material but drawn from the transcript: On email vs. social “There’s a $36 return for every $1 invested in email—but what matters is that you own the relationship.” “If a social platform goes away, so does your following. Email is a direct line.” On audience size “Big numbers aren’t necessary—small lists can see 50% open rates and strong engagement because those people actually care.” On entrepreneurship motivations “People want better work‑life balance, independence, and financial potential.” On mistakes “A big mistake is trying to do too much at once. Start small and stay consistent.” On community “Digital marketing should extend real relationships—not replace them.” On choosing platforms “Where your audience spends time matters, but so does where you can show up consistently.” On AI’s role “AI can generate emails, build campaigns, and analyze audience data—saving you time for what you’d rather be doing.” #SHMS #STRAW #BESTSee 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 Dave Charest. Summary of the Dave Charest Interview In this episode of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, Rushion McDonald interviews Dave Charest, Director of Small Business Success at Constant Contact, a leading digital marketing platform. Charest discusses the rising wave of entrepreneurship, the foundational importance of email and direct‑to‑customer channels, common mistakes new business owners make, and how AI is reshaping small‑business marketing. He provides practical guidance on marketing consistency, channel selection, building community relationships, and using technology to scale. Throughout the conversation, Charest emphasizes that while small businesses often lack marketing expertise, they possess a valuable advantage: real, human relationships that can be strengthened through consistent communication. Purpose of the Interview The purpose of Rushion McDonald’s conversation with Dave Charest is to: 1. Educate new and aspiring entrepreneurs Charest breaks down the basics of digital marketing—email, social, SMS—and how to begin building a strong marketing foundation. 2. Highlight the key trends driving the entrepreneurship boom He explains motivations like work–life balance, independence, and financial potential that inspire people to launch businesses. 3. Provide practical, actionable marketing advice Especially around consistency, choosing marketing channels, and building direct customer relationships. 4. Introduce how AI can simplify and amplify marketing Charest showcases tools that help business owners quickly generate content, develop campaigns, and analyze customer behavior. Key Takeaways 1. Direct relationships (email/SMS) outperform social media Email offers ownership, stability, and higher ROI—unlike social platforms that can change algorithms or visibility overnight. Charest stresses that “the money is in the list.” 2. You don’t need huge numbers to be effective Small businesses often see high open and engagement rates because followers know and trust them. 3. Consistency matters more than platform choice Whether you choose Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, or email, the biggest driver of marketing success is showing up regularly. 4. Start small—don’t overwhelm yourself One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is trying to do everything at once. Begin with the basics and grow steadily. 5. Community is a crucial marketing asset Local businesses thrive when they maintain strong connections with nearby businesses, customers, and community networks. 6. Entrepreneurs face challenges—but resilience wins Charest notes that small business owners rarely have a “Plan B,” which pushes them to adapt and continue learning. 7. AI is transforming small‑business marketing Constant Contact offers tools to: Generate emails and content Summarize content for social Build full marketing campaigns Analyze behavior from large email lists to recommend actions Notable Quotes (from the transcript) Here are direct paraphrases and key phrases—not copyrighted material but drawn from the transcript: On email vs. social “There’s a $36 return for every $1 invested in email—but what matters is that you own the relationship.” “If a social platform goes away, so does your following. Email is a direct line.” On audience size “Big numbers aren’t necessary—small lists can see 50% open rates and strong engagement because those people actually care.” On entrepreneurship motivations “People want better work‑life balance, independence, and financial potential.” On mistakes “A big mistake is trying to do too much at once. Start small and stay consistent.” On community “Digital marketing should extend real relationships—not replace them.” On choosing platforms “Where your audience spends time matters, but so does where you can show up consistently.” On AI’s role “AI can generate emails, build campaigns, and analyze audience data—saving you time for what you’d rather be doing.” #SHMS #STRAW #BESTSteve Harvey Morning Show Online: http://www.steveharveyfm.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One day when our daughter was a teenager, I heard an interesting variety of emotions coming from her room. First, I'd hear her laughing, then sniffling, then she'd let out an occasional "I can't believe it!" Finally, my curiosity got the best of me; I had to know what she was doing. She said, "I'm reading my diary, Dad." Well, as she was reading that diary, she was reliving a lot of great moments, some hard times, and a number of lessons learned. I've often wished I could go back and enter into how I felt at some key moments in my life. The problem is I didn't write it down. I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Power of Journaling God." Now, it really is true: if you want to keep something, write it down. Like a friend once told me, "The weakest ink is stronger than the strongest memory. In fact, when it comes to some of life's experiences - some of life's most eternally important experiences - writing it down shouldn't be optional. Your most important experiences in life are your personal times with Jesus Christ. They are what shape your life here. They're a foretaste of what your eternity is going to be about - being with Jesus. And this side of heaven, the primary place where you meet your Lord is in His Word - the Bible. But it won't change you if you don't remember what He says to you. Which is what God is saying in our word for today from the Word of God in James 1:22-25. God says, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does." Like a person looking in the mirror in the morning, you're supposed to look into God's Word to see what needs to change. First, God says to reflect on what He's saying to you in His Book, "looking intently" into it. Then He says to remember what He's said to you, and that's usually the problem. Even a few hours later, we probably can't remember what He said or what we read. And these verses in James imply that we will only make spiritual progress if we are "not forgetting" what we heard from the Lord. That's why I tried something many years ago; keeping a daily spiritual journal. If I gave it a title, I'd just call it "My Times with Jesus." I never kept a personal diary about how I was feeling but I did start a journal of my times with Jesus. And I started doing it and I haven't stopped, including this very morning. Those entries in a notebook have turned out to be the tangible proof of God at work in my life - an album literally showing my growth in Jesus Christ. I really want to strongly recommend this spiritual journaling to you. As you browse back through it later on, you'll be able to see the pattern of God's leading as it's unfolded and you'll find in it an incredible faith-builder in the crunch times. Write down the date and where you're reading. Then read a few verses two or three times. Then write down two things: first, what did you read? Summarize what God was saying in your own words, not Bible words. Secondly, write down what you're going to do differently that day because of what God said. (1) What did God say? (2) What am I going to do differently because of it? It's really exciting to keep a record of what God says and what He does in your life. That diary will be filled with the power and the presence of your Lord. And when you're feeling discouraged or confused or alone, reach for the record and experience again the wonderful power of a journal that is glowing with your personal experience of God.

One day when our daughter was a teenager, I heard an interesting variety of emotions coming from her room. First, I'd hear her laughing, then sniffling, then she'd let out an occasional "I can't believe it!" Finally, my curiosity got the best of me; I had to know what she was doing. She said, "I'm reading my diary, Dad." Well, as she was reading that diary, she was reliving a lot of great moments, some hard times, and a number of lessons learned. I've often wished I could go back and enter into how I felt at some key moments in my life. The problem is I didn't write it down. I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Power of Journaling God." Now, it really is true: if you want to keep something, write it down. Like a friend once told me, "The weakest ink is stronger than the strongest memory. In fact, when it comes to some of life's experiences - some of life's most eternally important experiences - writing it down shouldn't be optional. Your most important experiences in life are your personal times with Jesus Christ. They are what shape your life here. They're a foretaste of what your eternity is going to be about - being with Jesus. And this side of heaven, the primary place where you meet your Lord is in His Word - the Bible. But it won't change you if you don't remember what He says to you. Which is what God is saying in our word for today from the Word of God in James 1:22-25. God says, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does." Like a person looking in the mirror in the morning, you're supposed to look into God's Word to see what needs to change. First, God says to reflect on what He's saying to you in His Book, "looking intently" into it. Then He says to remember what He's said to you, and that's usually the problem. Even a few hours later, we probably can't remember what He said or what we read. And these verses in James imply that we will only make spiritual progress if we are "not forgetting" what we heard from the Lord. That's why I tried something many years ago; keeping a daily spiritual journal. If I gave it a title, I'd just call it "My Times with Jesus." I never kept a personal diary about how I was feeling but I did start a journal of my times with Jesus. And I started doing it and I haven't stopped, including this very morning. Those entries in a notebook have turned out to be the tangible proof of God at work in my life - an album literally showing my growth in Jesus Christ. I really want to strongly recommend this spiritual journaling to you. As you browse back through it later on, you'll be able to see the pattern of God's leading as it's unfolded and you'll find in it an incredible faith-builder in the crunch times. Write down the date and where you're reading. Then read a few verses two or three times. Then write down two things: first, what did you read? Summarize what God was saying in your own words, not Bible words. Secondly, write down what you're going to do differently that day because of what God said. (1) What did God say? (2) What am I going to do differently because of it? It's really exciting to keep a record of what God says and what He does in your life. That diary will be filled with the power and the presence of your Lord. And when you're feeling discouraged or confused or alone, reach for the record and experience again the wonderful power of a journal that is glowing with your personal experience of God.

840 The Cunning Serpent Opposes God, A Guided Christian Meditation on Genesis 3:1-3 with the Recenter With Christ app The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in  and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.  Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.  You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrelaxing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.   Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:   Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate,  deflate. Scripture for Meditation NIV Genesis 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" NKJV 3 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" 2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' " Reflection on Scripture: I think sometimes when we talk about life we longingly consider how good life would be if Adam and Eve didn't mess everything up. I have heard some commentary on Genesis that says the fall of Adam is not what God intended. I find this a confusing take. God prepared his saving plan since before the formation of the world. Satan did not defeat God on the first real opportunity to do so. Satan is always trying to mess up God's plan but evil will lose. God is sovereign and all powerful. He is the one who placed the tree of Good and Evil in the garden to begin with. He did not place it a thousand miles away. He placed it in the garden. The Forbidden fruit was from the Tree of Good an evil. When Satan comes tempting you, trying to be crafty and derail your plan. Turn away and turn to God, the true source of eternal knowledge of good and evil. He is the one that makes it possible for our eyes to be opened. He opens the eyes of the blind. He takes us from our weakness and teaches us how to love Him. He teaches us how to overcome our sin. He shows us the way back to the Father and it is only through Him. When you are tempted it may seem as though God's plan is breaking down. This is not a failure of God's plan. It is a fulfillment of it. God prepared salvation for you since before your birth and before the creation of the world. God will not fail you. God's plan is never derailed by difficulty. God's plan is never derailed by our sin. God's plan will never fail. That plan includes offering salvation to those who will trust on the holy name of Jesus. Trust in the one who never fails.  Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?  FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod    

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Dave Charest. Summary of the Dave Charest Interview In this episode of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, Rushion McDonald interviews Dave Charest, Director of Small Business Success at Constant Contact, a leading digital marketing platform. Charest discusses the rising wave of entrepreneurship, the foundational importance of email and direct‑to‑customer channels, common mistakes new business owners make, and how AI is reshaping small‑business marketing. He provides practical guidance on marketing consistency, channel selection, building community relationships, and using technology to scale. Throughout the conversation, Charest emphasizes that while small businesses often lack marketing expertise, they possess a valuable advantage: real, human relationships that can be strengthened through consistent communication. Purpose of the Interview The purpose of Rushion McDonald’s conversation with Dave Charest is to: 1. Educate new and aspiring entrepreneurs Charest breaks down the basics of digital marketing—email, social, SMS—and how to begin building a strong marketing foundation. 2. Highlight the key trends driving the entrepreneurship boom He explains motivations like work–life balance, independence, and financial potential that inspire people to launch businesses. 3. Provide practical, actionable marketing advice Especially around consistency, choosing marketing channels, and building direct customer relationships. 4. Introduce how AI can simplify and amplify marketing Charest showcases tools that help business owners quickly generate content, develop campaigns, and analyze customer behavior. Key Takeaways 1. Direct relationships (email/SMS) outperform social media Email offers ownership, stability, and higher ROI—unlike social platforms that can change algorithms or visibility overnight. Charest stresses that “the money is in the list.” 2. You don’t need huge numbers to be effective Small businesses often see high open and engagement rates because followers know and trust them. 3. Consistency matters more than platform choice Whether you choose Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, or email, the biggest driver of marketing success is showing up regularly. 4. Start small—don’t overwhelm yourself One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is trying to do everything at once. Begin with the basics and grow steadily. 5. Community is a crucial marketing asset Local businesses thrive when they maintain strong connections with nearby businesses, customers, and community networks. 6. Entrepreneurs face challenges—but resilience wins Charest notes that small business owners rarely have a “Plan B,” which pushes them to adapt and continue learning. 7. AI is transforming small‑business marketing Constant Contact offers tools to: Generate emails and content Summarize content for social Build full marketing campaigns Analyze behavior from large email lists to recommend actions Notable Quotes (from the transcript) Here are direct paraphrases and key phrases—not copyrighted material but drawn from the transcript: On email vs. social “There’s a $36 return for every $1 invested in email—but what matters is that you own the relationship.” “If a social platform goes away, so does your following. Email is a direct line.” On audience size “Big numbers aren’t necessary—small lists can see 50% open rates and strong engagement because those people actually care.” On entrepreneurship motivations “People want better work‑life balance, independence, and financial potential.” On mistakes “A big mistake is trying to do too much at once. Start small and stay consistent.” On community “Digital marketing should extend real relationships—not replace them.” On choosing platforms “Where your audience spends time matters, but so does where you can show up consistently.” On AI’s role “AI can generate emails, build campaigns, and analyze audience data—saving you time for what you’d rather be doing.” #SHMS #STRAW #BESTSupport the show: https://www.steveharveyfm.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Dave Charest. Summary of the Dave Charest Interview In this episode of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, Rushion McDonald interviews Dave Charest, Director of Small Business Success at Constant Contact, a leading digital marketing platform. Charest discusses the rising wave of entrepreneurship, the foundational importance of email and direct‑to‑customer channels, common mistakes new business owners make, and how AI is reshaping small‑business marketing. He provides practical guidance on marketing consistency, channel selection, building community relationships, and using technology to scale. Throughout the conversation, Charest emphasizes that while small businesses often lack marketing expertise, they possess a valuable advantage: real, human relationships that can be strengthened through consistent communication. Purpose of the Interview The purpose of Rushion McDonald’s conversation with Dave Charest is to: 1. Educate new and aspiring entrepreneurs Charest breaks down the basics of digital marketing—email, social, SMS—and how to begin building a strong marketing foundation. 2. Highlight the key trends driving the entrepreneurship boom He explains motivations like work–life balance, independence, and financial potential that inspire people to launch businesses. 3. Provide practical, actionable marketing advice Especially around consistency, choosing marketing channels, and building direct customer relationships. 4. Introduce how AI can simplify and amplify marketing Charest showcases tools that help business owners quickly generate content, develop campaigns, and analyze customer behavior. Key Takeaways 1. Direct relationships (email/SMS) outperform social media Email offers ownership, stability, and higher ROI—unlike social platforms that can change algorithms or visibility overnight. Charest stresses that “the money is in the list.” 2. You don’t need huge numbers to be effective Small businesses often see high open and engagement rates because followers know and trust them. 3. Consistency matters more than platform choice Whether you choose Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, or email, the biggest driver of marketing success is showing up regularly. 4. Start small—don’t overwhelm yourself One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is trying to do everything at once. Begin with the basics and grow steadily. 5. Community is a crucial marketing asset Local businesses thrive when they maintain strong connections with nearby businesses, customers, and community networks. 6. Entrepreneurs face challenges—but resilience wins Charest notes that small business owners rarely have a “Plan B,” which pushes them to adapt and continue learning. 7. AI is transforming small‑business marketing Constant Contact offers tools to: Generate emails and content Summarize content for social Build full marketing campaigns Analyze behavior from large email lists to recommend actions Notable Quotes (from the transcript) Here are direct paraphrases and key phrases—not copyrighted material but drawn from the transcript: On email vs. social “There’s a $36 return for every $1 invested in email—but what matters is that you own the relationship.” “If a social platform goes away, so does your following. Email is a direct line.” On audience size “Big numbers aren’t necessary—small lists can see 50% open rates and strong engagement because those people actually care.” On entrepreneurship motivations “People want better work‑life balance, independence, and financial potential.” On mistakes “A big mistake is trying to do too much at once. Start small and stay consistent.” On community “Digital marketing should extend real relationships—not replace them.” On choosing platforms “Where your audience spends time matters, but so does where you can show up consistently.” On AI’s role “AI can generate emails, build campaigns, and analyze audience data—saving you time for what you’d rather be doing.” #SHMS #STRAW #BESTSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.