Podcasts about summary now

Summary Now, this one is a topic close to my heart: self-kindness.   This episode is me allowing myself to share my personal reflection on the power of adopting intentional practice of self-compassion to lead a more fulfilling existence.   I have committed to not judge myself if today's best is not as good as yesterday's best. As an (open) introvert myself, I understand the challenges we introverts face in honouring our own needs and boundaries. Hence being kinder to ourselves is very important for us.   By challenging limiting beliefs and affirming our worth through positive self-talk and actions aligned with our goals, we as introverts can thrive in serenity and confidence.   Key Points Self-Kindness is the foundation of all kindness Being kind to self is key to healthy and fulfilled life Doing your best is variable and that's okay PRODUCTS / RESOURCES: What Type of Introvert are you? Find out by taking the quiz here. Email your suggested topics here. Take advantage of the free Clarity call here. It's time to explore your development needs to unlock your potential. Visit Joanna's website right here. Join the Flourishing Introverts Facebook Community of like-minded Introverts here.

"This book is written not only for those who were asking the questions but for those who are strong enough to accept the answers, no matter what form the truth is packaged in." - Art Frazier Abduction, Sightings, Portals, Experiences on Craft - ETs in the yard and in the house. An experiencer offers his fantastic photograph archive as he continues to document his reality to provide evidence for his encounters and the presence of UFOs and ETs. In addition to ETs, the descriptions Art offers of the beings he has seen include those categorized as fairies, pixies, elementals, and assorted others known to populate the paranormal category. It is quite possible that some of those others might represent entities we have yet to identify who can remain invisible to human eyesight but evident via photography. - THE GODS LIVE IN THE SHADOWS: The Truth About UFOs, Volume ll, Art Frazier, Amazon Affiliate Link. Volume ll is an update after nearly 15 years of recording his UFO/ET encounters.   Summary: Now, after years of denial from the government, and so much ridicule from family and friends, I can finally say that the question of whether extraterrestrials exist has finally been answered. Art remembers a face to face ET encounter when he was 5 years old. At the same time, he saw a UFO in his house. Since 2008, he has worked to photograph as many sightings and encounters as he can to help provide evidence for his experience.  An abduction encounter provided an opportunity to witness ETs and what appeared to be Caucasian children in the company of an alien aboard a space craft. Art has more stories to share. I hope to continue our conversation and provide additional information -- and photographs.   - THE GODS LIVE IN THE SHADOWS: The eight year study, Volume 1, Art Frazier, Amazon Affiliate Link.  - The first book in the series covers Art's eight year experience with extraterrestrials, and the accompanying photographs. Art posted a recent photo of one of the ETs he photographed. This is the link for that image. Description: "You don't have to look that close to determine that this figure is not human. As a matter of fact, If you do look a little closer you'll begin to see the red eyed extraterrestrial, with it red eyes being shown and it's green ear on the left. As a matter of fact this image is made of several extraterrestrials attempting to appear human." "When I realized it was standing in the yard, I too, thought that someone was standing, but my instincts kicked in and I decided rather than go out and investigate it, I would instead return inside. I believe that it was a good decision on my part." ~~~ Connect with Art on Linkedin Wendy's Blogs: https://talkingtonightlights.wordpress.com/ https://paranormalcurious.wordpress.com/ *This is the video Art refers to that triggered a shift. Link. They showed up.

Summary: Now that you know what MOTUS is and what it does, let's talk about how is helps Arizona birds. Join Cheryl and Kiersten to find out how MOTUS is helping some Arizona birds.   For our hearing-impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.   Show Notes: “Desert Deliverance”, by Margo Rosenbaum, Audubon Magazine Fall 2023, pg 18-19 “Home Away From Home”, by Daniel Grossman, Audubon Magazine Fall 2022, pg 30-35 “The Mysterious Decline of the American Kestrel,” by Jillian Mock, Audubon Magazine Spring 2023, pg 20-27 “Keeping Up with the Grosbeaks,” by Zoe Grueskin, Audubon Magazine Winter 2023, pg 15 Transcript   Cheryl-Intro:             Recently, we posted a podcast about MOTUS.  What it is-radio tracking system-more towers being placed in Arizona, one possibly at the Gilbert Riparian Water Ranch.  I wanted to revisit this because I found actual research studies using MOTUS that has an impact on Arizona birds.  It is exciting to see the impacts of this new technology and how it is advancing research in bird studies. Keirsten: Purple Martins             If you have lived on the east coast or in the mid-west of U.S. you have seen Purple Martins, and the colonial-style bird houses that they like to nest in.  A little back story about this bird, Purple Martins are insectivorous (insect eaters) which has made them vulnerable to the pesticides we use on our yards.  So, their numbers were really in decline here in the U.S. until citizen science got involved.  People who enjoyed seeing the birds and understood their importance to local insect control started placing the correct nest boxes these birds like.  These citizen scientists monitored the boxes, eliminated pesticide use on their properties, kept cats indoors etc.  Over time the populations of Purple Martins bounced back in the Untied States.  So why are we talking about them…because their numbers are still in decline, and scientists don't really know why.  Purple Martins have been studied extensively In North America; scientific knowledge tapers off when they fly south.  Just where do they go, Wat routes they take, and what critical habitat lies Along the way remain largely a mystery.  The marathon journeys these birds undertake every year compounds the risk to their survival. Arizona has its own sub-species of Purple Martins that prefer to nest in Saguaro cacti in the southern part of our state.  Arizona's Purple Martins spend the winter where?  They take a similar marathon journey as those who summer east of the Mississippi River. Cheryl: Get to the point-Brazil.             Just off a slice of land sitting mid-stream in Brazil's Rio Negro, is an island locally known as Ilha do Comaru, every year this island is submerged in March and only the tree tops poke above the surface.  There in those treetops are Purple Martins.  Now, Motus helped to locate this tiny island of 12 acres (slightly larger than Yankee Stadium).  How you ask?  Back in the U.S., scientists with the help of volunteers tagged nesting Purple Martins (adults and fledglings) with radio tags that will ping a receiver, that by chance was placed near this island.  Scientists looked at the MOTUS network tracking and thought huh?  Where is that?  It turns out that MOTUS revealed to scientists a space that is host to a concentration of roughly 250,000 birds between February and April, it's one of the largest Purple Martin roost ever discovered.  Its significance isn't just its size, however, but also the pivotal role the roost may play in the bird's long-distance migration.  Comaru could be the staging ground, or launch pad, for many of the 9.3 million Purple Martins that funnel through from South to North America.  Scientists are tagging Purple Martins on this tiny island, so they can trace birds coming and going to see where these birds' journey to breed.  Some head to Arizona, and some head towards the east coast of the U.S. This is important to Arizona Purple Martins because our sub-species like to nest in Saguaros that are 40 ft high.  It is easier for everyone if the tagging is done on this tiny island. Scientists are excited to trace the movements of these birds to figure out what they're eating and analyze whether they've been contaminated by pesticides and other pollutants, we can learn something about how they're doing in Brazil. Scientists feel that by taking a closer look at the birds onto this small isle, they hope to glean insights that can help secure the future of the entire species, and any discoveries they make will help uncover what's behind the decline of other songbirds, especially other aerial insectivores. Keirsten: The American Kestrel             Arizona hosts the American Kestrel all year long.  It just moves within the state.  This bird is on the decline here due to loss of habitat, pesticide use, and the increase in population of Cooper's Hawks, to name a few challenges this small falcon must face daily.  Scientists are racing to understand why this bird is continuing to disappear from our skies.             Let's move to Texas where there is a project that outfits kestrels with radio trackers to glean how they move on their wintering grounds and where they breed come spring.  The exact paths kestrels take and the ultimate winter destinations for many populations are mysteries.  Their smaller scale movements are also an enigma:  researcher Maddy Kaleta stated in an article for Audubon Society “We know kestrels need open space, but we don't know enough about where they prefer to hunt, how big their territories are, or what they do when their preferred habitat disappears. Kestrels that spend one winter hunting in a field may return to find it has disappeared under concrete and new shopping attractions the next winter.  MOTUS is helping answer these questions.             Data from this study indicates sharpest kestrel declines are in the East.   For the birds that show up in the nest boxes placed by citizen scientists, their success rates are very high.  A single kestrel pair fledges three to four chicks on average.  The puzzling problem is that they are not showing up.              In the west, kestrels are showing up, but they are breeding weeks earlier than they did in the 1990's and scientists discovered that farmers are taking advantage of significantly warmer winters by planting crops earlier to avoid the hotter summers.  The change in planting draws insects and rodents which is a bounty for the kestrels, and kestrels are taking advantage of this change.              All this data collected will help Arizona protect the American Kestrels that choose Arizona as their home. Cheryl: Evening Grosbeaks             This beautiful bird winters here in the lower part of Arizona on occasion but spends most of its time up in Arizona's boreal forests.  But since 1970, the once common species has sharply declined in the EAST, making irruptions less frequent and grosbeak visits increasingly rare.              Scientists started out with a small number of tagged birds aiming to discover where these birds go in spring. Then with numbers declining they scaled up their tagging and tracking to over 200 birds so far.  Using radio and satellite tags, scientists plan to expand across more of the species U.S. Range because Evening Grosbeakshave unpredictable roving patterns and this makes it vital and challenging to understand their movements.  These birds are somewhat secretive and breed in remote areas, so trying to find where they're nesting isn't easy.  So once a bird is tagged in winter scientists can follow its journey.   This data collected from MOTUS will help answer questions and could reveal bottlenecks or pressure points for the species and clues about what's driving the decline.             Researchers have found evidence of climate change is stressing spruce and fir forests where these birds like to nest, and diseases such as conjunctivitis, West Nile virus, or salmonella infections may all play into Evening Grosbeaks and their decline.  Tagging and tracking birds has highlighted the vulnerability of birds and window strikes.             All this data, even if it is collected on the East coast will help Arizona fast track efforts to protect our population of Evening Grosbeaks with MOTUS' help.

Dr. Alex Germano // #GeriOnICE // www.ptonice.com  In today's episode of the PT on ICE Daily Show, join Modern Management of the Older Adult lead faculty Alex Germano to find out which lateral stepping strategy is associated with more strength and less falls during today's episode. She discusses how to assess this stepping strategy, which is preferable, and how to intervene! Take a listen to learn how to better serve this population of patients & athletes, or check out the full show notes on our blog at www.ptonice.com/blog. If you're looking to learn more about live courses designed to better serve older adults in physical therapy or our online physical therapy courses, check our entire list of continuing education courses for physical therapy including our physical therapy certifications by checking out our website. Don't forget about all of our FREE eBooks, prebuilt workshops, free CEUs, and other physical therapy continuing education on our Resources tab. EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION INTRODUCTION Hey everyone, this is Alan. Chief Operating Officer here at ICE. Before we get started with today's episode, I want to talk to you about VersaLifts. Today's episode is brought to you by VersaLifts. Best known for their heel lift shoe inserts, VersaLifts has been a leading innovator in bringing simple but highly effective rehab tools to the market. If you have clients with stiff ankles, Achilles tendinopathy, or basic skeletal structure limitations keeping them from squatting with proper form and good depth, a little heel lift can make a huge difference. VersaLifts heel lifts are available in three different sizes and all of them add an additional half inch of h drop to any training shoe, helping athletes squat deeper with better form. Visit www.vlifts.com/icephysio or click the link in today's show notes to get your VersaLifts today. ALEX GERMANO Good morning, everybody. All right. Good morning and welcome to the PT on Ice daily show brought to you by the Institute of Clinical Excellence. My name's Alex Germano. I'm a member of the older adult division, and I'm really excited to be talking to you all today about something that comes up in our live course. We're going to be talking about reactive steps, particularly in the lateral plane. This may sound a bit specific, but picking up on our patients' tendencies to step a certain way when recovering their balance laterally can actually tell us a lot about their strength and inform us about better treatment interventions and inform us about our patients' fall risk. You may have noticed that we humans have a variety of stepping strategies available to us when we start to lose our balance. And you actually may be seeing this with patients in a formal way by doing maybe the mini best test. Or when you're doing challenging balance activities, you'll notice that different patients use a different stepping strategy, especially in the lateral direction. You may see a crossover step. So this is when the patient is standing, where if they start to fall, say, to the right, their left leg becomes unweighted. They take the left leg and they cross it. over the right leg. You may also see, we'll call it a lateral step or a lateral withdrawal step, where the, say they're again, falling to the right, and instead of moving their left foot, instead they kind of quickly push the weight back to the left foot and then step out big with the right leg to recover balance. So we've got two different strategies, crossover step or a lateral withdrawal step. Now on the mini best test, if you're doing this in a formal manner and you're running that assessment on folks, When you get to that reactive balance component, or that reactive balance section, you'll notice that you can get a full two points, you mean pass that part of the test, if you do either the lateral withdrawal step or the crossover step. WHAT'S "BETTER": LATERAL OR CROSSOVER STEPPING? Now, my question, and what I've been thinking about for a while here, is actually one strategy better than the other. Should they really be equal in our mind? Should I be satisfied with the crossover step? Let's talk anecdotally first, like my own clinical practice. I will say that I don't see the lateral withdrawal step chosen as often in my older patients. I see that If my patient is going to perform that lateral withdrawal step, they tend to be stronger, faster patients. I will say that the unloaded crossover step is seen in my weaker patients. And so I was trying to dig into the evidence to figure out, does this make sense with what's in the evidence? Can looking at this different type of step tell me more about the human in front of me? So I'll be talking about three different studies. I'll link them on Instagram after this. The first one was kind of diving into the crossover step. This first study pitted older adults versus younger adults. They saw that the older adults tended to select that crossover step more frequently. They also noted and described the crossover step as being passive in nature. It's a passive approach to maintaining your balance in that direction. They also noticed that when the crossover step was selected, that older adults tended to use more steps to recover their balance. and there was heightened inner limb collisions. That makes sense, right? We're crossing one leg over the other. The legs naturally may hit each other if they didn't take a far enough step forward or back. We also see that these crossover steps come, they take longer and they come with more alterations in trunk movement. None of these things sound great to me, but these were just observations of the step themselves. Then there was a systematic review of hip muscle strength activation in both balance and mobility tasks. This one confused me a little bit, but I'll walk us through it. There was a study within the systematic review that suggested that hip abduction torque couldn't distinguish who was going to take the lateral step versus the crossover step. But then another study in the review reported that older adults with greater hip abduction torque had a higher incidence of lateral steps. So maybe it's hard to say like, is lateral stepping predictive of strength? If my patient took a lateral step, does that mean they're stronger? I don't know if we can say that, but strength is looking to be more predictive of the lateral step. Like if the patient is stronger, they're more likely to choose the lateral step. Um, what the study did say, quote, is in this present systematic review, we identified overall during predictable and unpredictable induced balance perturbations, a lateral step requires greater hip abductor neuromuscular activation compared with other step types across the age group. So in order to take this lateral step, you do have to have better hip abductor activation. STEPPING STRATEGIES & FALL RISK Okay. Lastly, let's dive into maybe a patient-specific population. This will talk about patients with Parkinson's disease. Surprisingly, I was surprised, that they didn't see a huge difference in step selection in people with Parkinson's disease and without. However, they did find that people who use the lateral step had the least amount of falls. This suggests that maybe there's a more optimal stepping strategy. To put this all together, here's what the evidence maybe is leading us in the direction of, not just my anecdotal experience. Lateral steps are safer. I would prefer my patient use a lateral stepping strategy. I'm happy if they select any stepping strategy. Honestly, at this point, if you've done enough mini best assessments, you see a lot of people use no strategy at all. I'm okay with a crossover or lateral. If I start seeing the crossover, I know in my mind, I want to start training the lateral step. I would prefer my patient use them. They are safer because those crossover steps are a passive strategy. All right, the crossover step is a passive strategy. It's a strategy that has a risk of interlimb collision. It's going to take longer to facilitate the steps. It's going to cause more alterations in trunk movement. Now, we don't want to assume anyone is weak when they take the crossover step. Let's not assume that they're weak. but we know that you have to have pretty strong hip abductors in order to take the lateral step. Okay. You've got to have strong hip abductors. Older adults tend to take longer to activate hip abductors. So we need to work on increasing speed in loaded conditions with this group. So this makes me really reflect on this, like, uh, makes me really reflect on how much lateral power work am I doing? in my sessions with older adults. I think this is where we really could have a game-changing, more game-changing interventions for our older folks. IMPROVING LATERAL STEPPING STRENGTH & POWER So here's some simple ways, let's think of some simple ways to layer up lateral hip power exercises, okay? Think about all the ways that you can get your patient to move in the lateral direction quickly, right? And we wanna maybe do this first in unloaded conditions, where a patient maybe does a big step out to a target, and we ask them to stomp and step quickly. Maybe we give them a cue or a target to step to. We then want to start practicing this lateral step out. Because if you think about the mechanics of the step out, right? Like if they're falling to the right, they're going to have to take a leg, their right leg, that has all the weight on it. They're going to have to shift the weight back to the left leg quickly, then send the right leg out to the side. We can practice that. We can practice lean to the right, all right? Quick step left, right. Right. We can practice these kind of weight shifts onto a leg, then quickly weight shift off and then lateral step out to the side. Okay. Those are things we can practice. So you probably first want to start with unloaded limbs, working on the speed of an unloaded limb, then layer up the difficulty on the loaded side. All right. You can absolutely train the person's crossover step. I think about, I use grapevine stepping or karaoke, whatever you want to call it. all the time. I think that's a great intervention, but maybe you're training the crossover step to reduce inner limb like collisions, okay, reducing inner limb collisions. I also see the utility of the clock yourself app, right, you can use if you want to work on that that crossover step maybe you have the clock yourself app set up on one side of the patient and then you have the opposite leg reaching for numbers so they're having to work on some coordination of the crossover step. And then obviously we want to take all of this lateral hip power that we're going to start working on with patients, you want to move them to more reactive situations and scenarios. So reactivity could include using the big resistance band over the patient, pulling them in different directions so they're having to react quickly. You can do this while standing, while moving, ideally while moving and walking. In conclusion, we can learn a lot about our patient based off of what stepping strategy they use in the lateral plane. Are they using a lateral withdrawal step or are they using that crossover step? We know that we probably don't love the crossover step. It's not an ideal stepping strategy. It's not as safe It is associated with more falls. It is associated with inner limb collisions. We know that you need strong hip abductors to perform that lateral step. So we need to start training speed in the hip abductors under loaded and unloaded conditions during our interventions for older adults, during our interventions. So let's start seeing some really cool lateral hip power interventions here going forward. SUMMARY Now, we hope to see you at a live course. We actually get to practice this mini best test at our live course. We get to get hands on, we get to work on our guarding technique, and we talk a little bit about these strategies that are used. And we would love to see you at some of our live courses this year. We've got quite a few on the radar. I'm going to highlight some of our options in March and April. Just if you're a planner like me, I know you're probably not thinking about coming to a course this weekend, but if you're looking forward to an early spring course, we've got a couple on the radar. We are in Glencoe, Maryland, March 2nd and 3rd. We're in Rome, Georgia, that same weekend. Madison, Wisconsin, at the end of the month, the 23rd and 24th of March. We'll be in Urbana, Illinois, on the 6th of April, as well as Raleigh, North Carolina, on the 6th. So those are just five of many courses. Please head to the ptonice.com website to check out where MMOA is going to be. All right, I hope you all have a great rest of your Wednesday. Get stepping. OUTRO Hey, thanks for tuning in to the PT on Ice daily show. If you enjoyed this content, head on over to iTunes and leave us a review, and be sure to check us out on Facebook and Instagram at the Institute of Clinical Excellence. If you're interested in getting plugged into more ice content on a weekly basis while earning CUs from home, check out our virtual ice online mentorship program at ptonice.com. While you're there, sign up for our Hump Day Hustling newsletter for a free email every Wednesday morning with our top five research articles and social media posts that we think are worth reading. Head over to ptonice.com and scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up.

Summary: Now that Harry is back at Hogwarts with Hermione for eighth year, he realises that something's missing from his life, and it either has to do with Ron, his boggart, Snape, or Malfoy. Furthermore, what, exactly, does it mean when one's life is defined by the desire to simultaneously impress and annoy a portrait? Harry has no idea; he's too busy trying not to be in love with Malfoy to care. 1. Purgation 2. Sublimation 3. Calcination 4. Exuberation 5. Fixation 6. Dissolution 7. Commixtion 8. Putrefaction 9. Inhibition 10. Fermentation 11. Multiplication 12. Projection 13. Magnum Opus 14. Epilogue Find the original by zeitgeistic: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://archiveofourown.org/works/1049966/chapters/2100285⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Art by the very talented Alek.

13. Magnum Opus & 14. Epilogue Aaand we are done! I really enjoyed reading this story and making it more accesible to people. I hope you enjoyed it, too. Thanks for sticking around, and don't go anywhere. There is plenty more to come! Let me know in the comments, what story you would like next. Summary:Now that Harry is back at Hogwarts with Hermione for eighth year, he realises that something's missing from his life, and it either has to do with Ron, his boggart, Snape, or Malfoy. Furthermore, what, exactly, does it mean when one's life is defined by the desire to simultaneously impress and annoy a portrait? Harry has no idea; he's too busy trying not to be in love with Malfoy to care. Chapter 13&14 of 14 Find the original by zeitgeistic: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://archiveofourown.org/works/1049966/chapters/2100285⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Art by the very talented Alek.

Summary: Now that we know about the existence of caecilians. Let's talk about how caecilians make more caecilians! Join Kiersten as she walks us through the various ways caecilians reproduce.   For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.   Show Notes: “The Care and Captive Breeding of the Caecilian Typhlonectes natans” by Richard Parkinson. Herpetological Bulletin, 2004, Number 88.   “Reproductive ecology of female caecilian amphibians (genus Ichthyophis): a baseline study” by Alexander Kupfer, Jarujin Nabhitabhata, Werner Himstedt. Boiological Journal of the Linnean Society, Vol 83, Issue 2, October 2004, pg 207-217. *cool egg pictures in this paper “Life history and reproduction of the neotropical caecilian Siphonops annulatus with special emphasis on parental care” by Carlos Jared, Pedro Luiz Mailho-Fontana, Simone G. S. Jared, Alexander Kupfer, Jacques Hubert Charles Delabie, Mark Wilkinson, and Marta Maria Antoniazzi. Acta Zoological, Vol 100, Issue 3, pg 292-302.     Music written and performed by Katherine Camp   Transcript (Piano music plays) Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife. (Piano music stops) Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I'm Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we'll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating.  This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won't regret it. This episode continues caecilians and the seventh thing I like about these hidden gems is how they reproduce. When it comes to reproduction most animals will reproduce in one of three ways. If you are viviparous, you give live birth to young that have developed in your uterus. If you are ovoviviparous, you give live birth to young that have developed inside eggs that are incubated in your uterus. These young are typically born with a yolk that helps nourish the young for a few days after birth. If you are oviparous, then you lay eggs that are incubated outside the body by parental warm or substrate covering. There are animals out there that reproduce in other ways, but these are the three main ways of animal reproduction. Caecilians use two of these reproductive techniques. Of the caecilians we know of today, they are either oviparous or viviparous.  Let's take a look at our oviparous species' first. Some research has been done on species in Family Ichthyophiidae. These species lay eggs and their young go through an aquatic larval stage. The species studied in this particular research was found in Thailand and individuals were observed in the wild as well as in captivity.  It was actually one of the first times caecilians in this family had been studied in situ, which means on site in their natural habitat. Ichthyophis kohtaoensis was studied for three consecutive years and researchers discovered many previously unknown behaviors.  When we talk about reproduction in most species, it tends to revolve around certain times of the year. Very few animals are like humans and reproduce anytime of the year. Most amphibians found in tropical areas jump into breeding mode at the start of monsoon season, so one of the first questions researchers asked is whether this would be the same for caecilians. The answer they found was a bit of yes and a bit of no. Just like other amphibians, caecilians breeding season was cyclical and revolved around the rainy season. But actual mating appeared to begin at the end of the dry season before the rains came and continued into the beginning of the rainy season. Egg laying typically happened after the rainy season had already begun. When it comes to parental care, if there is any given, it is the female only. Ichthyophis kohtaoensis does incubate eggs for approximately three months. Toward the end of the dry season, females will begin to gain weight in anticipation of remaining in a nest to guard and incubate eggs. The average number of eggs is 37 with a range of 22-58 eggs laid in one nest. Larger females tended to have larger clutch sizes. The eggs are round and clear, so you can see the developmental stages of the young inside. The pictures they included in their  scientific paper were pretty cool! The nest site is extremely important because the larval stage of this caecilian is spent in the water. Females will chose a site with softer substrate such as sand, loose soil beneath tree roots, and sandy clay loam under grass tufts. Every nest found was between seven to nine feet from the edge of a freshwater source. The sources were varied including standing ponds and pools, slow moving brooks and rivers, and large seasonal ponds. Once the eggs hatch the young make their way into the water and are on their own. Field studies and captive observations indicate a long larval period so the chosen body of water needs to last long enough for the young to survive through this period to adulthood. This pattern of reproduction is only one option for oviparous species. Another pattern lengthens the parental care window and has been well studied n only one species, Siphonops annulatus. Unlike Ichthyophis kohtaoensis, the young of Siphonops annulatus do not have an aquatic larval stage. When the young of this caecilian hatch they remain in the underground nest with the mother.  Breeding season occurs about about the same time as our previous caecilian, beginning at the end of the dry season. Females gain weight at this time and lay eggs after the rainy season has begun. This is more support for the hypothesis that caecilian reproduction is cyclical and follows the seasonal changes revolving around monsoon season because this pattern has now been seen in two species from different countries. Ichthyophis kohtaoensis is found in India and Siphonops annulatus is found in Brazil. The observations reported in the study on Siphonops annulatus were collected over a period of ten years and were gathered in situ and in captivity.  The young of Siphonops annulatus hatch after about a month but remain in the underground nest with the mother for approximately four months. This species practices dermatophagy which means they eat skin. Specifically the young eat the outer layer of their mother's skin. Part of the weight that the female gains before egg laying includes a thickening of the outer layer of her skin. This layer bulks up with nutritious fatty lipids that the young scrape off using special baby teeth that they lose when they leave the nest.  In captivity, young have also been seen congregating around the mother's cloaca, which is the orifice near the end of the tail, consuming a liquid. We don't currently know what this substance is but it may be another nutritious liquid for the young. After four months of feeding on mom in the nest, the young will emerge into the world and be on their own. Siphonops annulatus lay fewer eggs than Ichthyophis kohtaoensis and this may be due to the intensive parental care Siphonops annulatus provides. The last form of reproduction in caecilians is live birth and we're going to look at one of the most well studied species of viviparous caecilians, Typhlonectes natans. Hopefully you remember from previous episodes that this species is an aquatic caecilian, living their entire lives in the water. The information about the breeding behaviors of this species comes mostly from captive specimens, so this information needs to be taken with a little grain of salt because animals always act a little different in captivity than they would in the wild. These behaviors have been in several different individuals; therefore, we feel fairly comfortable saying this is what happens in the wild.  Once again, it appears that breeding behaviors are influenced by monsoon season, but in a slightly different way than with our egg-laying species. The dry season that comes before monsoon season is when Typhlonectes natans is triggered to begin breeding. Then the females will carry their young through the following rainy season and give birth when the next dry season begins. We have no proven information why this happens, yet, but using some inference, this pattern probably provides females with more consistent access to food while they are pregnant. They carry their young for about 10 months, so it's important to be healthy and well fed.  The young are born in the dry season when waters are lower and calmer. This makes it easier for them to get to the surface of the water and that is important because Typhlonectes natans must surface to breath air. The young are in danger of drowning if they can't breath air from the surface of the water.  While they are growing inside mom, the young scrap a secretion from the mother's uterine wall to nourish themselves. They have small fetal teeth that help them collect these nutrients. I can't believe there is another species of caecilian that eats its mother!  The developing young also have gills which allows the female to pass oxygen to them in utero. When the young are born, the gills are already gone or disappear within two days. After birth the young will begin to eat small, soft invertebrates within a few days and do not rely on mom for anything.  Females are not the only one's involved in the reproductive process. Let's take a quick moment, because that's all it's going to take, to talk about what the male contributes to the next generation of caecilians. Unlike all other amphibians, that we currently know of, caecilian reproduction is internal. Most amphibians lay eggs that are fertilized after they are laid. Caecilian males have a phallodeum which is an organ that they use to pass sperm into the female through her cloaca. No other amphibian does this. With every episode I make, these caecilians become more and more fascinating. Whether in the water or underground, the males and females twine their bodies together aligning their cloacas up with each other. Then the male inserts his phallodeum into her cloaca and passes her his sperm. A month after mating eggs are either laid or pregnancy indicators, such as weight gain and size growth, are seen.   All of the behaviors I talked about in this episode are based on observations of just a few species of caecilians and may not apply to other species. There is so much more we have to learn about them and hopefully we'll be able to do that in the future. That's all I wrote about caecilian reproduction and I trust hope you found it as fascinating as I did because it is my seventh favorite thing about the unknown amphibian.   If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change.    Join me next week for another thing I like about caecilians!   (Piano Music plays)  This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

12. Projection As I have been asked about updates of this story a lil quick answer from my side: I can't actually give you a schedule. I do this in my free-time, beside my real-life job, and I do all the recording, editing etc. myself, so it is a lot of work. Even though I really love doing it, I just squeeze it in whenever I can and especially for this story with very long chapters I can't really forsee when I'll have time to do it. Hope you understand. And yes, this story is also on youtube, as are a lot of other stories, so check that out if you want. Summary:Now that Harry is back at Hogwarts with Hermione for eighth year, he realises that something's missing from his life, and it either has to do with Ron, his boggart, Snape, or Malfoy. Furthermore, what, exactly, does it mean when one's life is defined by the desire to simultaneously impress and annoy a portrait? Harry has no idea; he's too busy trying not to be in love with Malfoy to care. Chapter 12 of 14 Find the original by zeitgeistic: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://archiveofourown.org/works/1049966/chapters/2100285⁠⁠⁠⁠ Art by the very talented Alek.

  Summary: Now that the Bible is complete, the Spirit speaks only through the Book He wrote. But here (v.6), He spoke either audibly or by a vision (cf.v.9). Two years later, the Spirit did let Paul preach in Asia … Continue reading →

  Summary: Now that the Jewish kingdom church has written Paul's new Gentile converts to say they didn't have to keep the law, they “dismissed” the men they sent to deliver the letter (v.30).  Once they read it, the Gentiles … Continue reading →

Summary: Now is the time to be the most vigilant and think ahead about how you secure your personal data. Security expert Bryant Tow comes on the show to inform us about this. Oftentimes, people go as long as 100 days without knowing that an account of theirs has been hacked. How does this happen? Bryant explains the difference between open and closed operating systems and the risks to be aware of, but adequate cyber safety boils down to understanding what phishing looks like, looking for security measures (i.e. Captcha), and avoiding password reuse. Tune in for more insight from Bryant on how to protect your data. Highlights: -How do you know if you're being hacked? It can take over a hundred days to even realize that you've been hacked -Most adversaries establish command and control, and patch the vulnerability so that it will no longer show up in a scan but remain in your system -The Mac OS is closed, meaning you have to go through the company to get your application out on their store -Android is open, so anyone can develop an application. Adversaries are more likely to target these devices because it is easier -Bryant talks about the importance of empowering users rather than treating them as the weakest link -Even if all technical aspects are perfect, half of the attack surface is still open -Technology can only function as well as your process. We have to build a culture of security and make it something that people think about on a day to day basis -Bryant's business offers training for phishing awareness—measuring how susceptible individuals are to phishing tactics -Bryant discusses several types of phishing methods used by adversaries -The most common hacking method is achieved through password reuse -Online shopping sites report that 60% of people will abandon their cart if their are no security measures on the site (i.e. captcha) Useful Links: Financial Survival Network bryant.tow@leapfrogservices.com

Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Oncology Focusing on Translocation RCC Co-Host: Nick G. Cost, MD Outline: Topic 1: Adolescents with cancer are different from both children and older adults with cancer Topic 2: Differences in biology Topic 3: Differences in clinical behavior Topic 4: Specific clinical trial options Topic 5: Summary – “Now what? What should I do the next time I see an AYA with kidney cancer?”

Summary: Now that the Covid-19 restrictions are being lifted, people are likely thinking they can get back to pursuing happiness. But what is happiness and how does one go about attaining it? In his new book, https://amzn.to/3pQtVgR (How and How Not to Be Happy), J. Budziszewski applies his lifetime of study to answering those questions, while refuting several myths about human happiness along the way. Guest bio: J. Budziszewski is a professor of government and philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin, where he also teaches a few courses in religious studies and the School of Law. Married for almost five decades, a teacher for almost four, he has several grown children and a clutch of grandchildren. A former atheist who once denied not only the reality of God but also the reality of good and evil, he is a convert to Catholicism who worships and teaches adult confirmation classes at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Austin, Texas. His website is https://undergroundthomist.org/ (undergroundthomist.org). Book discussed: https://amzn.to/3pQtVgR (How and How Not to Be Happy) Special Offer: Blinkist summarizes the key points of nonfiction books so you can absorb them in as little as 15 minutes! Listen to “blinks” from the books in their extensive library while you commute to work or run daily errands. Get 20% off your first year with your free trial of Blinkist https://blinkist.o6eiov.net/c/3109367/1097451/10732 (here). Free Gift from Tom: Download a free copy of Tom's new e-book, It's the Fed, Stupid, at https://forms.aweber.com/form/87/2092395087.html (itsthefedstupid.com). It's also available in paperback https://amzn.to/3HTYSYh (here). It's priced at a pre-hyperinflation level so grab a few copies for friends if you can. It makes a great introduction to the government's most economically damaging institution for liberals, conservatives, libertarians, socialists, and independents alike. Like the music on Tom Mullen Talks Freedom? You can hear more at https://skepticsongs.com/ (tommullensings.com)!

Summary: Now in the mountain city of Satomar, the heroes begin their first full day of investigating Thorkillin's vault. Mc Nastly goes shopping, with magic this time! Malphaedor receives a strange letter from a stranger. Thadeus leads the way to the Diamond Security division.Cast:Malphaedor Bromroyo - voiced by Mike ColeMc Nastly - voiced by Wes "William" WhitmanThadeus Trebilcock - voiced by Chris JohnsonDM - Nico RodriguezFind Us:www.afoolsquest.comIf you would like to follow along with our map, you can find it on our social media pages: www.Facebook.com/afoolsquest / www.Twitter.com/afoolsquest / www.Instagram.com/afoolsquestpodcastMusic:Music Provided in part by Midnight Syndicate. www.MidnightSyndicate.comAdditional music provided by Algal the Bard.www.youtube.com/user/alvariu

Summary:Now on the coastal road from Farrow's Expedition Base Camp to Hammerpost, the villains make camp and get to know their new friends a little bit more. The party soon learns why the island is named Giant's Isle, as the group is assaulted by giant creatures. Cast:Francis the Lion - voiced by Tony KinneyAyda - voiced by Jess OwenHesh Von Eggars - voiced by Shamas RodriguezDM - Nico RodriguezFind Us:If you would like to follow along with our map, you can find it on our social media pages: www.Facebook.com/afoolsquest / www.Twitter.com/afoolsquest / www.Instagram.com/afoolsquestpodcastMusic:Music Provided in part by Midnight Syndicate. www.MidnightSyndicate.comAdditional music provided by Algal the Bard.www.youtube.com/user/alvariu

Summary: Now aboard the ship Sealab, the Fools continue their journey to Maraxi's Tower. Ingvald makes a new friend. Hobbes struggles with sea sickness. And Malphaedor learns a little more about his new ward, Macy. Unfortunately, it is not smooth sailing for the Fools. But is it ever?Cast: Malphaedor Bromroyo - voiced by Mike ColeIngvald Porter Altbeir - voiced by Wes "William" WhitmanHobbes - voiced by Chris JohnsonDM - Nico RodriguezFind Us:www.afoolsquest.com If you would like to follow along with our map, you can find it on our social media pages: www.Facebook.com/afoolsquest / www.Twitter.com/afoolsquest / www.Instagram.com/afoolsquestpodcastMusic Provided in part by Midnight Syndicate. MidnightSyndicate.comAdditional music provided by Algal the Bard.youtube.com/user/alvariu

Summary: Now that everything everywhere has changed, let’s ask one of the burning questions: do you even need an office anymore? Would that huge expense be better placed elsewhere? Many companies are abandoning the office completely, so what exactly has changed? Why is it ok to not have an office now where it wasn’t 3 months ago? And is fully remote a good thing? Sure, it sounds great to work from the beach everyday, but is that really a reality that is sustainable? Today we debate these questions as we determine the new work conditions of our own agencies. We also discuss another hot topic - what services are ACTUALLY selling right now?    Resources Mentioned:  Hubspot Covid19 Sales Data   Top 3 Curtain Pulls in this episode:  Rethinking the way you run your day-to-day business, including where you physically do that business. The stigma once attached not having an office is probably gone for good.  In rethinking the way you run your internal business, rethink the way you provide value to your clients! Seriously, rethink it from the ground up. If prospects are closing, you need to adapt. Don’t be afraid to ACT. Providing that feedback and helping a client find a solution allows YOU to gain new experience and even proof of success for future clients.   For more tips, discussion, and behind the scenes: Follow us on Instagram @AgencyPodcast Join our closed Facebook community for agency leaders   About The Guys:  Bob Hutchins: Founder of BuzzPlant, a digital agency that he ran from from 2000 -2017. He is also the author of 3 books. More on Bob:  Bob on LinkedIn twitter.com/BobHutchins instagram.com/bwhutchins Bob on Facebook Brad Ayres: Founder of Anthem Republic, an award-winning ad agency. Brad’s knowledge has led some of the biggest brands in the world. Originally from Detroit, Brad is an OG in the ad agency world and has the wisdom and scars to prove it. Currently that knowledge is being applied to his boutique agency. More on Brad: Brad on LinkedIn Anthem Republic twitter.com/bradayres instagram.com/therealbradayres facebook.com/Bradayres Ken Ott: Co-Founder and Chief Growth Rebel of Metacake, an Ecommerce Growth Team for some of the world’s most influential brands with a mission to Grow Brands That Matter. Ken is also an author, speaker, and was nominated for an Emmy for his acting on the Metacake Youtube Channel (not really). More on Ken:  Ken on LinkedIn Metacake - An Ecommerce Growth Team Growth Rebel TV twitter.com/iamKenOtt instagram.com/iamKenOtt facebook.com/iamKenOtt   Show Notes: [1:45] The Guys talk about the new feelings of slight freedom that we’re starting to experience here in Nashville- though many are still quarantined, there isn’t as much anxiety about being out in the world as there was three months or so ago.  [3:00] Brad: “There’s been good and bad during this quarantine… but I don’t want to take for granted the freedom that we have and the ability to just be human.” [3:40] Bob asks Ken about new data from Hubspot. [4:00] Ken: “One of the things I would like to know is what agency services are selling these days? What kind of leads are we getting and… how has that landscape changed?” Hubspot’s data has been aggregated from thousands of clients, separated by industry and sorted into deals created vs deals closed. Charted from January through to May, the number of deals created and closed were as low as 40% below baseline. That number is gradually increasing, which is telling and encouraging.  [5:56] Brad asks if the guys think that part of that uptick was because of the stimulus checks that were handed out.  Overall, Americans are saving more and spending less, but also seeing light at the end of the tunnel because of the stimulus. Even still, with that glimmer of hope there is a lot of uncertainty from a consumer side.  [6:46] Bob asks: “Is this rise that we’re seeing… of business coming back going to happen quick enough to coincide with the end of the payroll protection plan, which was 90 days…. 8 weeks from however you got it.”  Recently changes were made recently that will allow an extension of the ability to use your PPP past the 8 weeks initial date. Limits to spending still apply.  [8:15] Bob clarifies: “So the question is from the time that that starts to end- the payroll protection plan… to the point where business comes back up… are things going to get better?” [8:31] Brad talks about how many encourage others to buy in the stock market right now, while things are low. But we don’t know how long these benefits are going to last, right now people are getting a little bonus for their unemployment but that won’t last forever.  There is fear that this summer is where the recession will truly hit. In many economic spaces, the attitude is that this hasn’t happened yet, attitudes are high and positive.  [10:15] Bob talks about how this type of uncertainty and change will naturally lead to certain industries being more hard-hit than others. For example, the real estate industry is being disrupted and may be in store for even more disruption, as many companies are asking themselves if office space is really necessary for their business.  Companies like Twitter are moving to 100% work from home, opening up a LOT of real estate availability.  [11:15] Ken: “I think reexamining the things that you do just because you do them every once in a while is healthy. And I think the way we work is definitely one of those things.”  [11:30] Brad talks about how in recent months and years, there has been a natural movement towards more open spaces and allowing employees to come and go as necessary, and this change in style of work has just sped up the process of moving towards mobile and remote work across the board.  [13:25] Ken talks about how many agencies have probably felt for a long time that they don’t need an office space, and how there has been social pressure to be ashamed if you don’t have a physical presence- almost as if you’re not a real business until you have an office.  “Rethinking that… is a healthy thing.” [14:45] Bob talks about how that need to save face exists in other industries as well. New real estate agents are told to not drive a car older than 3 years, because then it would tell the client that you’re selling a lot of houses.  [15:30] Ken mentions the mindset shift that has happened recently- that to some, having an office may actually appear wasteful and not a sign of health. Physical office spaces may have offered credibility in the past, but other things have taken the place of that.  [16:45] Bob talks about the “phases” of leveling in business- the internet was the first leveling. And now a second leveling is happening and has been expedited. Currently, the focus is more on the work, the message, and the result.  [19:19] Brad speaks to this “leveling.”  “The honeymoon’s over and the environment doesn't matter anymore… it just works.” [21:15] Ken speaks on his experience of having a physical space that isn’t a huge, elaborate office or the standard “wow” factor that many agencies go for. Metacake has a small, 1920’s house that has many original features and is historical. It’s impressive, but not typical, interesting without being imposing. So there is a way to “wow” without being showy or grandiose about your workspace.  Even Metacake will eventually switch to a majority remote schedule and some time/days/projects at the office.  [22:45] Bob mentions that although an open workspace is a great idea in theory, “... it doesn’t take into account the uniqueness of every individual. And I think with an open workspace… some people are miserable… some people need to be sequestered. A closed door, need to be in silence. They can’t be interrupted or else they don’t function at a high level.”  [23:39] Ken points out that that also depends on the task at hand- more creative tasks sometimes thrive in that co-working environment.  [24:17] Brad says that even in his open-air office, most people wear headphones. Doing so is a way to isolate yourself, and tell everyone that you’re busy. Sometimes he wonders if they had their own office, would they be wearing their headphones?  [26:05] Ken speaks to the down side to people working from home exclusively- when there is no teaching or mentoring around staying responsible for yourself, keeping a schedule, being disciplined, being taught some of these things can err too much on the side of irresponsibility. [25:55] Brad: “I think great mentorship happens through observing… I don’t know that through Zoom calls I could get that… being in a physical space with them, seeing how they interact with their employees, the way they keep their desk, etc…” [29:00] Ken speaks to the challenges of bringing new people on to the team, and how a new culture of working remotely will bring new challenges to the idea of building team culture and onboarding people to the systems for success that a company already has set in place.  Previously Metacake has embraced the “working remote” concept with team remote work days at cafes, wine bars, and even a Vineyard in their area.  In quarantine this has translated to virtual happy hours and more intentional one on one interactions.  [29:41] Brad talks about how easy it might be to “get lost” and isolate themselves even further from the team… things that go on at home, dynamics that they can’t control… isolation for them might become even more difficult. [30:27] Bob speaks about how giant companies with huge overhead are changing the overhead costs to create team-building for these people. That team-building budget has now been allocated to a weekly or twice-monthly team bonding exercise.  [31:49] Brad: “I don’t often feel the need to connect deeply with people… it’s a deficit of my own that struggles because that’s not the case of my team… it doesn’t come naturally as a need or desire to me.”  [33:05] Ken talks about how Metacake had been moving towards remote work days and being in relationship with each other even before the pandemic, so now things are moving towards that even more.  [34:55] Ken continues: “In some ways, I found that it was easier to make these deeper connections… because you had a reason to ask how someone is doing.”  The focus is productivity and work, but more so how the person is doing, how life is going, how they feel about their position and role.  [37:15] Bob mentions that his wife has talked about new business opportunities for those who can help get home offices organized, get things set up for those who are moving towards remote working. This led to deeper thoughts about new opportunities for services that we can offer our clients.  [38:50] Brad talks about employees asking for stipends to support working from home, and expresses that there is some hesitation about the challenge of maneuvering that with employees in the future.  [39:25] Ken says that Metacake has been coaching their customers to ask how they can repurpose their knowledge. “You can naturally help with those skills and that provides value.” [41:00] Brad speaks about a live event that had a lot of RSVP’s prior to quarantine happening, so they created solutions to that virtual RSVP problem, which opened the event up virtually to a lot more people, and in turn provided more value that it would have otherwise.  “Now we have proven results and successful stories, and so we could easily do that for other companies.”  [44:33] Ken talks about new opportunities within other industries to change how you do business. Gives example of an architectural firm running in a very antiquated way, and with the pandemic that has shifted massively, the governing body of that industry has been forced to change.  Drive-in concerts are happening, drive-in theaters are becoming popular again.  [47:20] Brad talks about a client who has just recently been forced to pay via ACH instead of a handwritten check, because quarantine makes getting signatures on checks very difficult. Forced change has been great for his company!  Some companies have been surprised by how many new opportunities are opening up because of that forced change. New ideas are coming to the table that are progressive and give everyone confidence.  [49:30] Ken asks again: What are the services that your clients want?  [40:50] Brad responds: There has been a mixture of freezing up with a lack of action, and being overzealous and taking action without thinking things through.  Being a thought partner with clients is valuable- thinking through the benefits and costs of the different options they see in front of them.  [52:30] Ken: While there are clients who say they don’t know what to do or how to take action, there are more that are looking for specific solutions and thought partners to think through problems that are similar across multiple industries. [54:20] Bob: “The opportunity now is for those of us in an agency who have done ecommerce, who have done social media marketing, who have done branding, who have done digital strategy… there’s going to be a lot of people pop up… and so to be able to separate ourselves and say that we are the experts.”

Summary: Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. Matthew 1:18-25

Summary: Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.”Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Matthew 11: 2-11

  Why hello and welcome.  Welcome to Episode 20 of the Small Business Made Simple Podcast. How are you today?  I hope you are going well, achieving this week’s goals and having a laugh as you go along.  Today I’m touching on a subject I haven’t spoken about on the Podcast and yet find myself using everyday and quite successfully too, I might add!  That’s LinkedIn. Are you on it?  Do you even know what it is?  Or how you can use it to drive leads and connections in your business?  Well today we are covering all that and more with my 16 tips for using LinkedIn. LinkedIn is an obvious choice for professional services businesses and is a great way for these businesses to produce content to establish themselves as an authority in their field. It is also great for building a database of contacts. With more than 575 million users worldwide, and 9 million Australians, the network provides an opportunity to develop strong business connections with a large number of people. But before we go down the LinkedIn rabbit hole, let’s do this week’s discovery of the week! THIS WEEK’S DISCOVERY! Ok this week’s discovery is something I’ve known about for a while – but haven’t used to its full potential in my business – until now! And now I’m totally hooked. Have you heard of Creative Market?  Creative Market is an online marketplace for community-generated design assets.  And what do I mean by design assets – I mean things like Instagram templates, eBook templates, PDF downloadable guide templates, fonts, oh my gosh – so so much. Now as a big, huge, massive fan of Canva – which I’ve talked about lots on this podcast – I failed to see, to my detriment, for years the advantage of Creative Market. But it’s amazing.  It sits somewhere between Canva – do it yourself and hiring a designer. Ok, to help you understand it better – for instance, I’ve recently purchased a template for doing my latest eBook – 7 Sure-Fire Ways to Grow Your Instagram.  All the design work was done for me.  I purchased it, I think it was around $35 (uhm it would take me hours to do this and I work for more than $35 an hour), I uploaded it to Canva (some of them you can do this) and basically loaded my photos and copy into it and hey presto, it was done.  Formatted, styled and on brand!  YAY! For a better understanding, head to www.creativemarket.com.  And remember, yes things do cost money to purchase, they’re not free, but what’s your hourly rate again?!?!? Oh, but just another little tip – if you sign up for the newsletter you can get loads of awesome freebies! As always, just a little disclaimer, my discoveries are just that and I am in no way affiliated with any of them but promise to tell you if I ever am.  I just love them and from the response of my listeners, you guys, you are loving them too! Hey and if you have a little discovery, or something you use in your business that you’d like to share, please do so.  Email me at jenn@jenndonovan.com.au or tag me @smallbusinessmadesimple.  I really love to know what tools you use to help make your life simpler! Hey, also, if you want my 7 Sure-Fire Ways to Grow Your Instagram – head to www.socialmediaandmarketing.com.au/instagram 16 TIPS FOR USING LINKEDIN IN YOUR MARKETING MIX The best way to describe LinkedIn is a professional Facebook.  And I can’t tell you how true this is.  Last year one of my LinkedIn connections and acquaintances posted a blog post to both Facebook and LinkedIn. The picture that went with the blog, so like the header picture, was of women in bathing suits – which I have to admit I thought was a bit odd considering this person was a LinkedIn expert – not really talking about bathing suits in the blog post – so a photo put there for “stopping the scroll” eye catching purposes rather than related to the blog post. To see the different reactions on the different platforms almost blew my mind.  Seriously, the people on Facebook were like hungry pack of dogs.  Ripping into this person with statements about women’s rights and sexism and using sex to sell – an absolute shamble and so detrimental to a brand. However, same article, same picture on LinkedIn was dealt with by a single person requesting that the picture be changed because it really wasn’t appropriate for the article written – to which the author responded with a “sure, deepest apologies”.  That was it. The professionalism of LinkedIn was evident.  We’re all professionals – the article wasn’t so professional but like professionals and rational people, we simply said “hey, I think you should take it down”. On Facebook, it was like a war declared on a small country.  Disgraceful really. Have you seen any examples like this? So that’s why calling LinkedIn a professional Facebook rings true to me. So, is LinkedIn for you? If you want to grow your network, do online networking, set yourself in your industry as the expert, go to person, create opportunities including employment and/or business ventures, then I think it’s for you. Or if you’re sick of the trolls on Facebook – maybe it’s for you too! Oh, and I can’t forget to mention the Google ranking of LinkedIn.  Google anyone’s name and if they have a LinkedIn profile – chances are it will come up in the first couple of search results.  We can spend $1000’s on keywords to get a ranking like that or we can have a LinkedIn profile!  Money for jam, I’d say! Despite the social nature of LinkedIn, it is very different than other social media networks like Facebook or Twitter so that’s why I thought I’d give you some tips for using it or using it better here today. Must Do: Keep Your Profile Basics Updated! Many people forget to keep their LinkedIn profiles updated. Whether you’re a total newbie, just starting a new job, or starting to explore new opportunities, there’s no excuse to have outdated information on LinkedIn. It will reflect badly on you. Here are two quick and easy areas you must check are up to date: Professional Headline: The job of any headline is to entice people to click. At minimum, you can use your headline to highlight your current position and company (e.g., “Director of Inbound Marketing at ABCXYZ Corporation”), but you can and should go further. Highlight your expertise (e.g., “Content Marketing Strategist and Copywriter”) or awards or showcase skills you want to turn up in searches (e.g., “Speaker, Trainer, Author, Consultant, Evangelist”). Tell everyone on LinkedIn who you are, what you do, and why you’re someone they need to connect with. Location and Industry: Are your location and industry still accurate? If not, fix them now! Doing these two simple things will help more people find you and help you find more relevant potential contacts. Only Use Professional Photos LinkedIn profiles that have a picture are 11 times more likely to be viewed. So, if you’re still showing a silhouette, it’s time to make a change and reveal yourself. However, some friendly advice: Your LinkedIn photo shouldn’t be from 20 years ago. It shouldn’t look like it belongs on a dating site, stock photo site, or social network (e.g., Facebook or Instagram). And don’t feature your pet or significant other. Just. No. LinkedIn is for professionals. Be one. Brand Your Profile With a Background Photo If your LinkedIn profile still has the blue LinkedIn background, then it’s time to change that. Give your profile page a bit more personality, or branding, with a visually appealing background image. If the image can let your audience know what you do, then even better.  For example, if you’re a speaker, maybe your photo is of you on stage speaking. LinkedIn advises users to use an image (PNG, JPG, or GIF) with a resolution of 1400x425. Canva.com has templates already set up for you to do your LinkedIn banner – it’s easy! Write a Ridiculously Good Summary This is where you really sell yourself to potential connections. Your summary should expand on what appears in your headline, highlighting your specialties, career experience, noteworthy accolades, and thought leadership. There has been much discussion about whether it’s best to write in first-person versus third-person narrative here. Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter either way — just stay consistent with whichever you choose. Don’t go back and forth between first person and third person as it’s confusing and signals a lack of attention to detail. In summary of LinkedIn summaries: keep your ego in check, focus on the most relevant details about your career, avoid meaningless jargon, and ensure it’s easy to read.  Oh, and make sure there’s no typos! Use Keywords With Intent Words are so incredibly important, especially when search is a big part of the equation. Using the right keywords in your profile is the difference between being found and being invisible. Identify the words you want to be found for when people use LinkedIn search and use those keywords in your headline, summary, and profile. Using the right keywords will expose you to more potential connections and opportunities. Neat Trick: Pick the “Other” Website Option Under your Contact Info, LinkedIn gives you the option to link to a website or blog. But by default, the text that shows in your profile is the extremely dull “Blog” or “Website.” Anyone visiting your profile has no clue where they’ll end up if they click on that. Want to use your actual brand or business name? You can! Here’s a simple little trick. When editing the Websites area of your profile, select the “Other” option. Now you can add your own website title and URL. Personalize Your LinkedIn Profile URL When you created your LinkedIn profile, it had some ugly combination of letters, numbers, and backslashes that had no value for your personal branding. You don’t still have this, right? If you do, it’s time to customize your public profile URL. For example, my customized URL is https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenndonovan. LinkedIn makes it simple to keep your profile consistent with your other social profiles. Add Shiny New Sections to Your Profile LinkedIn lets you add several sections to give your profile more visual appeal and depth. You can add sections for posts, volunteering, languages, honours and awards, patents, causes you care about, and many more. All these sections open you up to more opportunities to make new connections. Tidy Up Your Endorsements People are going to endorse you for all sorts of skills — sometimes even skills you don’t actually have. But just because you’ve been endorsed for Fire Eating, Chewing Gum, or Showers (yes, these are all real “areas of expertise,” according to LinkedIn) doesn’t mean you have to show other LinkedIn users — unless, of course, fire eating plays a critical role in your professional life. LinkedIn lets you remove any irrelevant skills and endorsements. You should avoid “lying” about your skill set, even if it is by omission. Connect With People You Don’t Yet Know One of the biggest mistakes people make on LinkedIn is failing to reach out to connect with people you want to know but don’t yet. That’s the whole point of networking — getting to know new people, not just established connections. Building out your LinkedIn network has many benefits. You get in front of influencers. You get more endorsements. More people see your best content, share that content, and visit your website. And it’s great for personal branding. Have you considered using LinkedIn more like Twitter? You should! Personalize Invitations to Connect “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.” The default message LinkedIn provides is so dreadfully boring and impersonal. When you invite someone to connect, make it more personal — mention where you met or a topic you discussed in a LinkedIn group, over email, or during a phone interview. This personal touch will increase the odds they’ll accept your request. And when someone accepts your request to connect, don’t start pitching your service or product. This is a relationship killer. Start slow. Comment on, share, or Like their posts. LinkedIn even makes it super simple to stay in touch, telling you when contacts are celebrating work anniversaries or starting new jobs. Again, these are opportunities to Like or comment. Build the relationship and trust before you start asking for favours!   Publish Amazing Posts LinkedIn posts offer another way to grow your influence, gain more visibility, and acquire new followers. Your existing connections are notified whenever you publish. New people can discover your posts via search. Always think about the audience you want to reach. Highlight your expertise and interests by posting awesome content. Just make sure your posts are appropriate for the 400 million business professionals who use LinkedIn. Find and Join Groups One way to start connecting with people you want to know is to join LinkedIn groups. Whether it’s a group run by a major publication, a group for people with certain job titles, or a group dedicated to a niche topic, there are millions of groups to choose from, so start searching to find groups that are right for you and join them. Join discussions. Start interesting discussions. Don’t sell your product or service or promote yourself — sell your expertise! That will help build your personal brand. Remember Where and When You Met What’s-His-Name Once you’ve grown your network to thousands, it can be a bit daunting to remember every single person, or to stay in touch with a few important connections. Luckily, LinkedIn makes this easy. In the Relationship section, in addition to telling you the date when you connected, LinkedIn allows you to write notes about your contact, including how you met, or set reminders to “check in” at intervals from a day to every year. Don’t worry, these notes and reminders are only visible to you! Use (but Don’t Abuse) Status Updates LinkedIn status updates are your chance to highlight some of your recent work, share an article or book you’ve read, promote your presence at a conference or event, or offer inspiration through a quote or saying. Because LinkedIn is a business network, it’s best to use it during business hours. Keep active, but don’t go overboard. Try to post an update at least once a day at minimum; aim for a maximum of three or four updates per day, as long as you’re sharing useful, relevant content. Every update is another opportunity to strengthen or forge a connection. Ask for Recommendations So, you haven’t received as many LinkedIn recommendations as you’d like? After all, it takes a bit of time and thought for someone to write a recommendation. What can you do? Ask for them! LinkedIn makes is super easy, providing an “Ask to be recommended” link, where you can specify what you want to be recommended for, who you want to recommend you, and write a personal message. Pick specific people. Don’t just randomly ask all your contacts if they can recommend you. Be selective. Share details in your message to your connection. If there are specific skills you want your contacts to highlight in his or her recommendation, don’t be shy, tell them. Another way to increase the likelihood that you’ll get a great recommendation: Give a great recommendation to someone you’ve worked with. This increases the odds that your contact will feel obligated to return the favour. Bonus Tip: Export Your LinkedIn Connections One last helpful tip: Remember to occasionally download your connections. After you’ve gone to all the trouble of building an amazing network, you don’t want to risk losing their contact info! Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage. Select Settings & Privacy from the dropdown. Click the Privacy tab at the top of the page. Under the How LinkedIn uses your data section, click Change next to Download your data. Note: You may be prompted to sign in. You’ll be redirected to the Download your data page where you can select Connections. You will receive an email to your Primary Email address which will include a link where you can download your list of connections.   Now you have a file containing your contacts’ first and last names, email addresses, job titles, and companies.  Which you could then upload into Facebook and serve them an ad for something you think they would be interested in. Summary Now you know everything you need to do to refresh your LinkedIn profile. Make yourself look amazing, wow future connections, and grow your influence. It all starts with a killer profile. What are you waiting for? Get updating now! Be a Unicorn in a Sea of Donkeys Now – go get social and continue this conversation in my Facebook Group – Like Minded Business Owners.  I’d love to hear your thoughts. But that’s all for Episode 20 of the Small Business Made Simple Podcast. I’ll be back next Thursday with some more marketing know-how and another discovery of course. If you’re liking the podcast – please head over to where you listen and leave a rating and even a review – those things are GOLD for podcasters like me!  I’ll be eternally grateful, and it helps others find this podcast and enjoy the free training, tips and tricks too.  It could be the best gift you give them! Feel free to leave me a DM on Instagram with any comments or ideas (including fab discoveries)!  The DMs seriously make my day! Catch you next week, …….. and remember small business peeps, as my opening song says, there’s no point in dreaming small!

Summary - Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.” So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth. Genesis 11:1-9

Summary - Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. Mark 11:1-11

Summary Now you know all I do about getting scam-free in your own personal life. You can see that this book contains a short synopsis of a great deal of data out there on how life is actually wired. The data I give you here has been tested and proved over and over. But it […] The post Get Your Self Scam Free – Summary appeared first on Living Sensical.

Audioengine B1 Bluetooth Receiver   Both iOS and Android device users have easy ways to wirelessly transmit audio. For Apple users, Airplay sends music to the AppleTV and various Airplay speakers. Android users have Chromecast which has similar functionality. But what if you want to OS agnostic solution? Fortunately for you there is the Audioengine B1 Bluetooth Receiver (Buy Now $189).   The B1 streams high-quality audio from your Bluetooth enabled smartphone, computer, or tablet to any music system or powered speakers. Audioengine used the aptX codec which enables your mobile device to transmit 24 bit audio to the B1. The aptX® audio codec algorithm originated in the late 1980s at Queen's University Belfast. The research was focused on bit rate reduction and achieved significant bit rate efficiencies while preserving audio quality. Features: Fast Setup Plug-n-play, no software to install Superior sound and extended range Streams audio from any media player (iTunes, Amarra, Youtube, etc.) Connects to any music system with an audio input Setup: The physical part of the setup is pretty straight forward. Connect power via USB and connect the audio, either RCA or Optical. Then pair your source device through its Bluetooth settings. That's it! The entire process is less than 5 minutes. Then on your device you select the B1 in your bluetooth settings and anything you listen to will be routed to the device. That means all apps work with the B1. If you have a player that makes use of 24bit audio you are good to go! If your app is only 16 bits, the B1 will pad out the bits to 24 which will get you a better signal to noise ratio. Audio: We tested the B1 with four songs played on an iPhone, Macbook, and Samsung S5. We tried to find music that had a lot dynamic range, (Diana Krall - Fly Me to the Moon, Eagles - Hotel California) as well as some Rock from our youth (Van Halen - Ain't Talkin' ‘bout Love) and finally some current stuff (Imagine Dragons - Its Time).   The sound was quite good. Highs on the first two songs were crisp and airy. You could swear the piano was in the room with you. The mid-range was smoother than a fresh jar of skippy. Bass was tight and felt full. In all you could close your eyes image the soundstage in front of you. The music was easy to listen to and didn't sound cluttered or muddy. Summary: Now we're not saying that the B1 made the music better or clearer but we are saying that it didn't add any artifacts that would distract from listening to it. If you are looking for a cross platform cross device product that allows you to share your music in crystal clear quality, the Audioengine B1 is made for you.

I. The Highest Honor of the Gospel If you would, take your Bibles and open to Romans chapter 8, a magnificent passage of Scripture. We're looking this morning at verses 14-17, but in a little bit of a different way. Last week, we went through the verses, verse by verse, and we tried to understand the privilege, and what it means to be called a child of God, and specifically, in one sense: How do we know if we are children of God? And we drew out five questions, and we applied those to ourselves, that we might understand and know, whether we, ourselves, are children of God. Nothing could be more important than that. There is no inquiry more significant than to determine, are we children of God? Am I a child of God? "I believe the reason why so many poor souls," it says, William Gurnall said, "The reason why so many poor souls have so little joy in their hearts, is that they have so little light of Gospel knowledge in their minds. The further a soul stands from the light of truth, the further he must needs be from the heat of comfort." I guess, in a way, I'm inviting all of us to come into the cottage and sit right by the fire. Get right close to the Scripture truth, that we might be warmed by it, that we might understand the light and the heat that come from the promises of God. Because the fact of the matter is, we don't experience, in our physical world, in our physical lives, all the blessings of being a child of God. Most of them are deferred, aren't they? And we're not going to experience them all, until we die, and go to Heaven. And so, we actually have to read, constantly, the Scriptures, and renew, again, our minds in them, that we might understand the privileges of the child of God. I'm hoping that joy will enter your heart this morning. I'm going to be going over a list of privileges of being a child of God. I'm hoping that, as you read each one, the promise, the lavish promise that comes to you, as a child of God, might bring joy into your hearts. Thomas Watson said this, "Here, in this world, joy enters into the saints, but in Heaven, the saints enter into joy." Here, we just get a little foretaste, don't we? We get a little drink, and hopefully, it'll be enough for you, as you face all of the trials, and the things that you're going to face this week. But think, someday, perhaps, even soon, for some of you that are listening to me, joy won't enter into you, you're going to dive into an ocean of joy. As Jesus said, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You've been faithful in a few things. Now, I'll put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your Master." What kind of joy does God have? Well, it's an ocean of joy, and someday, as a child of God, you're going to dive in. But today, I'm praying that just joy will enter into you, as you consider the blessing of being a child of God. I believe that when we first come to faith in Christ, all of these things are given to us in totality. They're all ours. They're part of our inheritances, as a child of God. They're given to us in lump sum, and then time, the purpose of time, among other things, is to unfold each of those blessings, as we walk along, as children of God. We're going to unfold them a little bit this morning. Thomas Watson said this, "God is ever giving to His children, yet, has nonetheless forgiving. His riches are imparted, they are not impaired. And so, as God doles out these privileges, these riches of the Gospel, He doesn't have any less to give." We're looking, this morning, in terms of adoption, and the fact that we are adopted children of God, at what I think is the highest, the most surprising honor and blessing of the Gospel. Now, Romans chapter 8, as a whole, is given to us, to give us assurance of salvation. The very first sentence in Romans 8, namely, verse 1, gives us a sense of that assurance. Look, again, at it. It says, "There is, therefore, now, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." What an incredible promise that is. But realize that, even there, it's delimited. It's stated very clearly who gets that blessing, "Those who are in Christ Jesus." For them, there is no condemnation. And so, all the way through to the end, in Romans chapter 8, at the very end it says that, nothing, "neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God, that is in Christ Jesus." From the beginning to the end of Romans 8, from 'no condemnation' all the way through to 'no separation,' there are incredible blessings given to us, but all of them come to those that are in Christ Jesus. Or, to zero in the way we've been looking, last week, and this week, to those that are adopted children of God. All the blessings of the Gospel are given to those that are children of God. II. Am I a Child of God? Those Who Receive Christ by Faith Now, last week, we zeroed in on that question, the central question of your existence. We could put it this way, "Am I or am I not a child of God?" We looked at five questions. A child of God are those who have received Christ by faith, so have you received Christ by faith? In John 1:12, it says, Those who are justified by faith are children of God. They're adopted by faith into the family. Simply by receiving Christ, by trusting in Him, that He is God in the flesh, that He died on the Cross for you, that He rose from the dead, that His death was your death, the death you deserve, that His resurrection from the grave is really your resurrection, spiritually now, physically later, that there is a union between you and Christ. Have you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior? If so, you're a child of God. Those Who Are Led by His Spirit Secondly, the text says that, "Those who are led by His Spirit are children of God." Look at verse 14, it says, "All who are being led by," is a good translation, "All who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God." Now, we saw last week, that that meant, specifically, if you look back, if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die, but if by the Spirit, you are putting to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you put it all together, basically, you are a child of God, if you are daily putting sin to death by the power of the Holy Spirit. That's the second test and the second way you can know, whether you're a child of God. Those Who Cry “Abba, Father” by His Spirit Thirdly, children of God are those who cry, "Abba Father," by the Spirit. As we began our prayer time today, as I stepped up here, I had the privilege of addressing God as Abba Father, daddy. A sense of intimacy, a sense of love. We're going to talk more about that this morning, but those who have the Spirit moving us to cry up to God, "Abba Father," those are the children of God. It says in verse 15, "You have not received a Spirit of slavery leading to fear, again, but you have received a Spirit of adoption, as sons, by which we cry out, 'Abba Father.'" Those Who Receive the Internal Witness by His Spirit And then fourthly, those who receive the internal testimony of the Spirit, that you're a child of God, those are the children of God. Look at verse 16, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of God." If you're a child of God, the Holy Spirit's going to be telling you so. Over and over, He's going to be speaking to you. He's going to be addressing your spirit. He's going to be talking to you and saying, "Child of God. You're a child of God." It's like a homing beacon. "A child of God." He's just speaking and communicating to you, "You're a child of God," the indwelling Holy Spirit. Those Who Suffer With Christ by His Spirit And then, fifthly, we said, those who suffer with Christ, by His Spirit, these are children of God. Look at verse 17, "And if we are children, then we are heirs also, heirs of God, and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, in order that we may also be glorified with Him." In other words, you boil that verse down, "No suffering, no Kingdom." If you don't suffer with Christ, by the Spirit, you will not go to Heaven and reign with Christ. It's a clear teaching from Scripture. Well, what kind of suffering? Again, we talked about that last week, but I think there are two specific kinds of suffering that are in mind here. Suffering from temptation, as we resist sin and say, "No," and suffering persecution from a world that cannot understand Christ. These are the types of suffering, I think, that are in view here. Those are the questions that we have to ask, to determine, am I a child of God? We did that last week. But I think it's still good for us to review it. III. What Are My Privileges As a Child of God? Now, what I'd like to ask, secondly, this week is, what are, specifically, my privileges, if I am a child of God? Boy, isn't this joyful? What a joy to go through a list like this. I've written out 11 privileges. You might wonder, "Why didn't I squeeze it out and get 12?" I didn't count them, until this morning. I guess I might've worked at it and we could've found more. I'm not saying these are all the privileges there are for a child of God, but these are some that we can find most naturally in the New Testament. And here, we're going to digress a little bit from my ordinary method. Usually, I'm just going verse by verse, word by word, looking through, but I have to tell you, that the New Testament is so filled with rich teaching on the idea of us as children of God, that it's really quite a delight to go through the New Testament, to try to understand the privileges, and also the responsibilities, of being a child of God. Eternal Life Well, the first privilege that I'd like to bring to your attention, as a child of God, is that of life, mainly eternal life. Look what it says, again, in verses 13-14, "If you live according to the sinful nature, you will die. But if by the Spirit, you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live." That's the life that we're talking about. Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly." There's an abundant rich, spiritual life that Christ has come to give. Now, the opposite of that life is spiritual death, and the confirmation of both of those, is either condemnation in hell, or a rich welcome into Heaven. The life that we're talking about is the life of a child of God, namely, an intimate love relationship with God. We're going to talk more about that in a minute, but a life that can never be snuffed out. Children of God cannot die. Therefore, we have eternal life. That's the first privilege of being a child of God. Title The second is a title. Now, in America, we've kind of turned our back on titles and privileges, haven't we? We left all that behind in the Revolutionary War. We're a free and open society, and we don't think much of Dukes, and Duchesses, and Lords, and Ladies, and all of that. That's part of the old world. But I think there is still a sense of a title being significant, that we should be called by the title 'children of God.' Isn't that incredible? And what an honor and a privilege it is. It says in 1 John 3:1, "Behold, how great is the love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God." There's a sense of a delight, in just having the title 'child of God,' that we could be called 'children of God.' It's incredible. And it's an honor, isn't it? It's not something we deserve. We can't say, "This is my birthright as a created being." No, not at all. We've already said, in John 1:12, "As many has received Him, to them, He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name." It's a privilege to be called a child of God. It's not for anyone, but for those who have faith in Christ, and they received this privilege. Hebrews 2:11, it says, "Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy, are of the same family, so Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers." What an incredible verse. He's not ashamed to own you as a brother or a sister. We've been meeting on Thursdays, and discussing Hebrews in a Bible study, and we've turned the whole thing around, saying, "Jesus is not ashamed to call you a brother. Are you ever ashamed of Jesus?" Isn't that a stinging question? We should never be ashamed of Christ, or of this Gospel that gives such blessings. Paul says, "I'm not ashamed of the Gospel," not at all, but sometimes, I think the world wants to make us feel ashamed of Christ. Well, let me tell you something, on Judgment Day, if you're a child of God, he is going to own you as a brother or a sister. He's going to say, "She's mine. He's mine. I've paid with my blood for them." 'Child of God,' it's a title that's bestowed and it's an honored title. Love Relationship with the Father Thirdly, there is a precious and a special, an intimate love relationship with the Father. God could've sat as a Judge and with his robes on there, just merely justified us very coldly, "Based on the blood of Jesus Christ, I absolve you of all of your sins. You're free." But there's no relationship there, is there? That's why I think adoption's the most incredible thing in the Gospel. He hasn't just sat there with his black robes on and discharged justice, but rather, He has adopted us into His own family. And so, we have a love relationship with the Father. Verse 15, again, "You received the Spirit of adoption, and by Him, we cry out, 'Abba Father.'" Romans 5:5, "God has poured out His love into our hearts, by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us." There's a sense of God just taking a huge cistern, and a pitcher, and just pouring love into you, because of His love for you in Christ. He loves you in the same way that He loves His own Son. "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you." That's the way that Jesus loves you. There's a lavish love here, isn't there? A love relationship with the Father. "How great is the love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God!" Can I ask, just for a moment, are you taking advantage of that? Do you have a sense of the richness of your relationship with the Father, that He has loved you? It says in Jeremiah 31:3, "With an everlasting love." He set on you a love which cannot be broken. We're going to talk more about that at the end of Romans 8, but there's no enemy that can come, that can separate you from the love of Christ, nothing. Oh, you should be filled with joy, filled with a sense of security, a sense that, "I belong to the family of God," a sense of protection in that love relationship. Free Access to the Throne Well, along with that, fourthly, we have free access to the throne. Your Father runs the universe, isn't that incredible? You ever hear a little son or daughter boast about what his or her dad does? "Well, my dad's this. My dad's that." Well, your Heavenly Father runs the universe, runs the universe. I remember a story, Christy Wilson, one of my heroes, a missionary in Afghanistan, and he trained me and many others, in terms of missionary theory. But one of the best things about him, was he was a great storyteller, phenomenal storyteller, just from experiences. And he was there in Kabul, that very same place we've been thinking a lot about, and it's bombed out now, and we're praying. He was the one that enjoined on President Eisenhower, that a church building be built there, and it was. He was a great man of faith and a great man of prayer. Anyway, they had a hospital for the blind, and it was very renowned in that whole area, and people would come from all over to come to this hospital for the blind. And it was very difficult to get in, because there were so many people. And one poor person, who was losing her sight, came to Christy Wilson, and said, "I need to get in there. I need to be able to get in." Now, Dr. Wilson had nothing to do with the hospital. He prayed for them and knew the people who ran it, but he had nothing to do with it. He said, "Well, I want you to know that I know the person who's in charge of this hospital. Why don't we ask him, if you can get in?" And then he stopped, and prayed. And he interceded with God, that this individual would be able to get in, and she did, that very same day. Now, he had no power over the queue, and the line, and where people were, but an opening worked out, and so she was able to get in, and her eyesight was restored. You should have that same attitude toward anything, "I know the CEO of that company." "I know who's running that country." "Oh, I know who's in charge of that particular wing of the government." It is God, your Heavenly Father, and you have access, right to the very throne room of God in prayer. If you're a child of the King, you can just go right into His presence with a holy boldness and ask Him for anything. Listen to what it says in Ephesians 3:12, "In Him and through faith in Him, we may approach God with freedom and confidence." Do you approach God with freedom and confidence? Do you have a sense of the freedom of access, right into the very throne room of God? You should, if you're a child of God. It says in Hebrews 4:16, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy, and find grace to help us in time of need." You have free access to the one who runs all things. Discipline Now, the fifth one, you may say, "What? What is that? Discipline is a privilege of the child of God? Well, first of all, let's understand discipline properly. Discipline, in this case, would be a holy spanking when you do wrong. And that's a privilege from a child of God? The Bible thinks so. The Bible speaks of it that way. If you're a royal prince or princess, you're trained from an early age, how you are to behave, and there is a training program, isn't there? And so, also, for the children of God. Deuteronomy 8:5 says this, "Know then, in your heart, that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord, your God, disciplines you." "As a man disciplines his son, so…God disciplines you." And then, of course, Hebrews 12:7-8 says, "Endure hardship as discipline. God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his Father? If you are not disciplined, and everyone undergoes discipline, then you are illegitimate children, and not true sons." In other words, if you're walking along in your life and start to stray from God, start to sin, start to disobey, expect a response soon from your Heavenly Father. It is a privilege of the child of God, and why? Because He loves you. He's not going to let you stray. He's not going to let you roam or wander. He's going to discipline you. You're a child of God. Provision Sixthly, He's also going to provide for you. If you're a child of God, it's His job to take care of you, isn't that right? If you're a slave, it's the master's job to care for the slave. If you're a servant, the master's job to provide for all the needs. It's a servant and slave's job to just do what the master wants. We are also servants of God or slaves of God, it says in Scripture. And so it's up to God to provide for all our needs. Why then do we be anxious about these things? Now, fess up, have you been anxious at all about material needs this week, about money, about taxes? I don't know. It's coming up. Sorry to remind you. I saw that pained look on some faces. It's true. Are you concerned about these things? Are you anxious over them? Your Father has promised to provide for you. He's promised to provide for you. Psalm 37:25, "I was young, and now I'm old, and I have never seen the righteous forsaken, or their children begging bread, never." Royal children get to eat from the royal table, don't they? There's a story about David adopting Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son, into his own family, and he got to sit at the King's table every day. What does that mean? No more worries. You don't have to worry anymore about where your next meal's coming from. "I get to sit at the King's table." Isn't it that exact way of thinking, that Jesus uses in Matthew 6, to banish anxiety forever? Why do you worry about your life, what you'll eat, or your body, what you'll wear? Your Father's going to take care of you. He's going to meet all your needs. Seek first, the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well. He also said in Matthew Seven, "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or, if you ask for fish, he'll give him a snake? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him?" He knows how to take care of His children, and so provision, rich provision is part of being a child of God. Protection So also, protection. Royal children are the apple of the King's eye. "You better not touch him, because if you touch him, you're going to rue the day." And anyone who wants to get to you has to go through God first. Do you realize that? Is that not one of the many lessons of the Book of Job? Remember, Satan’s frustration in front of God? "I can't touch him. You've got this hedge around him all the time, and I just can't get at him. Would you just give me a chance, to just get a pop at him?" And he said, "Yeah, I'll give you a chance, but this far, and no farther may you go." Remember, how it worked? God controls all of these things. And so you have protection. Now, you might say, "How does that line up with the sufferings we have in this world?" We're going to talk about that, God willing, next time. There is suffering in this world, physical suffering. But what God is protecting you from, ultimately, is ultimate spiritual ruin, do you understand that? He's protecting your faith, that it may not fail. He's protecting your spirit, that you may not be attacked and go down, but rather, that you may stand firm in the midst of your temptation and your struggle. Jesus, in praying the high priestly prayer in John 17 says to the Father, "I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world." Do you know what that means? They're in a place of danger. Everything of this world system hates your faith. You're in a dangerous place. Jesus said, "I'm sending you out like sheep among wolves, but don't worry about it, because I'm Sovereign and I will protect you. I will keep you safe." He says, "Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name… While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe, by that name you gave me. None has been lost." Do you understand how Jesus is thinking about protection? "Protect them by your name, Father, that none may be lost." And so also, God will protect you. If you're a child of God, you're not going to drop out of the family, He's going to keep you safe. Fellowship with the Royal Family Well, along with that comes fellowship with the Royal Family. Now, again, you're going to say, just like the discipline, "That's not always such great shakes." But to be honest with you, it really is one of the richest blessings in this world, isn't it? Fellowship with the children of God. As a matter of fact, the more that we go on in this world, and if our culture continues to go non-Christian, who do you think are going to be the most precious people in the world to you? True believers in Jesus Christ. Isn't that what David said in Psalm 16:3? "As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones and whom is all my delight." I love being with them. I love to be with true children of God, who love the Word and who love Christ, and who are growing in their faith, don't you? Isn't that precious? But not only that, we get fellowship with dead people too. Now, don't misunderstand me. I'm not talking about seances or anything weird. Those things are cut out from Scripture. But what I'm saying to you, specifically, is that we are part of one family of God, and many of them have already died, and gone on to be with the Lord. You're in rich fellowship with the same God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Someday, you'll meet them too. They still are Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. They haven't lost their identity. We're not Hindus, who believe that the water drops into the ocean and loses its identity. There's still Abraham, there's still Isaac, still Jacob. They're still the same ones. David's up there, also Nehemiah, also all the saints of old. Aren't you looking forward to meeting them? And then all the ones from church history, from when the Bible ended on to our present day, 2,000 years of godly women and men, and they're waiting, rich fellowship, fellowship in the Royal Family. Freedom And ninth, freedom. You're free. If you're a royal son or daughter, you're free. There's a freedom that comes there. Freedom from what? Well, freedom from law. You don't have to obey the law anymore. Is that what I'm saying? Well, in one sense, yes. Think of what Jesus said in Matthew 17:25-26. You remember, there was the question about the taxes you had to pay to go into the temple? You remember that? And so they asked Peter, "Does your teacher, [Jesus] pay the temple tax?" "Yes, He does," Peter said. Then they go into the house, and Jesus sits Peter down, and said, "I want to teach you a lesson about what it means to be a child of God. From whom do the kings of the Earth collect duty and taxes, from their own sons or from others?" "From others," said Peter. "Then the sons are exempt," said Jesus. Did you hear that? Exempt from paying taxes. Now, don't misunderstand me. It says in Romans 13 that you need to pay your taxes to the secular government, but the point is, you have freedom in this matter of spiritual access to God. Why should you have to pay to go into the house of your Father? In one sense, we are free from the law. Why is that? Because law is given to transgressors, not to sons. What do we get instead? We get the Spirit from within. We're not under the law anymore, but rather, under the Spirit. We're free also, therefore, from sin. Romans 6:18, "You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness." You're free from fear of condemnation. Isn't that wonderful? Look, again, at Verse 15, "You did not receive a Spirit that makes you a slave, again, to fear." You don't need to be afraid anymore of condemnation. You don't have to be afraid of death. It says in Hebrews 2 that by faith you should be free forever from the fear of death. You're free from these things. You're free, also, from fear of earthly catastrophe. Now, understand what I said. You're free from fear of earthly catastrophe. I did not say you'd be free from earthly catastrophe. You're free from fear of earthly catastrophe. Listen to this. This is from Robert Leighton. He was a Puritan. He said this, "How can you make a child of God afraid? Bring him word that his estate has been ruined and he'll say, 'Yet, my true inheritance is safe.' " Did you hear that? "Bring him word that his wife, or child, or dear friend has died, 'Yet, my Heavenly Father still lives.' " Do you hear the response? "Tell him you, yourself, will soon die. He will answer, 'Well, then, I go home to my Father and to my eternal inheritance.' " Do you see that? There's an attitude. You're free from fear of these things, because they have no ultimate harm for you. Immense Inheritance Also, as a child of God, you have an immense inheritance. Look at verse 17, "Now, if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. If indeed we share in His sufferings, in order that we may also share in His glory." And Revelation 21:7 says, "He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his Father, and he will be my son." And so we have this incredible inheritance. Well, what are you going to get? What do we get as children of God? Well, you get the Kingdom. You get the Kingdom itself, and you get to rule on the Kingdom. You will sit down and rule with Jesus. Listen to this one, Revelation 3:21, "To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on His throne." John Piper gets this image of lap, and lap, and lap. Father on His throne, Jesus on the Father's throne. We're on Jesus' throne, ruling with Him. What is that going to mean? I don't know. But, boy, is that rich? And an inheritance of your own possessions. Jesus said, "If you're not faithful with worldly mammon, who's going to give you true riches? If you're not faithful with little things that belong to somebody else, who's going to give you," listen, "Possessions of your own?" The Book of Hebrew says that, they were willing to not even worry about their houses being destroyed, because they had their own lasting possessions. You're going to get an inheritance in the Kingdom of God, if you're a child of God. Well, those are all the joys that come from being a child of God, and they culminate in the greatest, and that is in glory. Look at 17-18, "Now, if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. If indeed, we share in His sufferings, in order that we may also share in His glory." Glory And then, again, verse 18, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Someday, you're going to be glorious. You're going to, it says in Matthew 13, "Shine like the sun in the Kingdom of your Father." You're going to be like Jesus, and you're going to radiate with a brightness that can't even be measured. Well, 11 privileges of the child of God. Maybe to make it a round 12, just like the number of the tribes of Israel or the apostles, you could find another one today, but this is a rich inheritance, isn't it? But along with that, comes some responsibilities. IV. What Are My Responsibilities As a Child of God? Look at verse 12, it says, "Therefore, my brothers, we have an obligation." We are debtors, aren't we? We have an obligation. There's a story that James Baldwin tells about King Alfred, King of England, and the Cakes. I read this, this morning. I found it interesting. He was King of the West Saxons in England during the ninth century. He was called King Alfred the Great, because he was able to defeat the Danes in battle, and drive them out of England. He also was a very enlightened ruler, and that he taught common people how to read, and so was an early advocate of public education. Well, the Danes had invaded England and they were winning one battle after another. After one particularly fierce battle, his own army was defeated, and he had to flee for his life. He put on a shepherd's outfit, and managed to escape, and was fleeing through the woods and the bogs, and he went that way for a long time. He was hungry, and tired, and came to a little clearing in the woods, and there was a cottage there. Just being in need, he went up and knocked on the door of the cottage. It was a woodcutter's cottage. His wife opened the door, and she looked at him, and said, "What can I do for you?" And he said, "I'm very hungry. Is it possible for me to have a morsel of bread, and maybe warm myself by your fire?" She was a kindly woman and said, "Well, I'm cooking some hearth cakes now. If you'll sit down, and tend the cakes, and watch them, care for them, I'm going to go out, and milk the cow, and we'll share what we have with you." Well, he agreed to do that. And he sat down, and started to tend the cakes. She went out to milk the cow, and he just, through fatigue, and through his concern and worry for England, didn't pay attention to his work, and let the cakes burn. Well, she comes back in, and smells the smoke, and looks down, and they're burned to a crisp. And she loses her temper, she said, "You lazy, good-for-nothing fellow, I left you with a simple task to do, taking care of cakes, and now, none of us has anything to eat, because of you. I couldn't entrust you with a simple task." And he just quietly hung his head in shame. Well, at that moment, the woodcutter comes in, and immediately recognizes who he is. And he had caught the tail end of his wife's rebuke, and said, "Do you realize who this man is? This is the king." She was immediately afraid for her life. And he said, "Don't worry, you were right to scold me. I told you I would watch the cakes, and then I let them burn. I deserve what you said. Anyone who accepts a duty, no matter how small the duty or how great the person, should perform that duty faithfully. I have failed this time, but I shall not fail again. Now, I must leave. My duties as King await me." Now, I've given you a list of 11 privileges. How could it be then, that you are called on to do something as humble as sweep a floor, or wash the feet of a brother or sister in Christ, or some humble task, if you're this exalted child of God? Well, God has given you many tasks to do, and just like King Alfred The Great, with this great task, and this great inheritance and responsibility, sometimes called on to do simple tasks. And Jesus said, "He who is faithful in little will be faithful in much." He wants us to be faithful, both in little and much, and He's given us some responsibilities, and we need to be faithful to them. Imitating the Father’s Nature The first responsibility of a child of God, is that we need to imitate the Father's nature. The basic principle in the New Testament, as in the Old is, "Like the Father, like the Son." Whatever the Father is, that's what we must be in this world. We must imitate our Father. It says in 1 Peter 1, "As obedient children, do not conform any longer to the desires you had while you lived in ignorance, but just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written, 'Be holy, because I am holy.'" Do you hear that? "Imitate me. Be like me." He's calling on us to imitate Him. That includes love. It says, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect." Do you see that printed in your outline? "Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect." Is that not a challenge? Well, that's the responsibility of a child of God. Bearing the Father’s Name Along with that, secondly, we bear the Father's name, don't we? We carry the Father's name. Do you know one of the Ten Commandments says, "You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain?" What do you think of when you think of that? Isn't it a sense of not letting a word slip out of your mouth? Don't say 'God' or 'Jesus,' unless you're praying or meaning to address God. But I think it means more than that. We are, in effect, carrying or taking the name of our God everywhere we go. Do you hear that? Everywhere we go, we're taking His reputation with us. Don't bear His name in vain. Do you hear that? Everywhere you go, His reputation goes with you. It says in Jeremiah 15:16, "When your words came, I ate them. They were my joy and my heart's delight. [Listen] For I bear your name, O God." Obeying the Father’s Commands Thirdly, along with that, we need to obey our Father's commands. First John 5:3-4 says, "This is love for God, to obey His commands, and His commands are not burdensome. For everyone born of God overcomes the world." If you're born of God, if you're a child of God, you're going to obey His commands. You're going to do the things that He's told you to do. You can't tell your Father, "I love you," and then you don't do what He says. Jesus said the Kingdom of God is like a father who had two sons. He went to the first son and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard.' And he said, 'I will,' but he didn't go. And then he goes to the other son, and says, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard.' He says, 'I won't,' but he later changes his mind and goes. And He says, "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" The point is, we need to obey our Father's command. Doing the Father’s Work Along with that, we need to do the Father's work. Jesus lived constantly to do the will of the Father. He said, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and finish His work." We also should be doing the Father's work. We should be about the Father's business. 1 Peter, it says we should live such good lives among the Pagans, that though they may accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and, do what? "Praise your Father in Heaven." As you're doing good deeds, serving God, obeying Him, doing His work, they're going to think about God, they're going to understand Him differently. Well, what kind of work are we going to do? How many of you read Henry Blackaby's book, "Experiencing God?" He talks about being where the Father's at work, working where the Father's working. Jesus put it this way, "The Son can do nothing by Himself. He can only do what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does, the Son also does." Facing the Father’s Enemies And the fifth responsibility, is we need to be willing to face our Father's enemies. We need to be willing to face our Father's enemies. A child of God has to bear the reproach and scorn of a world that hates Him. If you're going to carry His name, you are going to be reviled and persecuted. Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus, who wants to carry the name of God into a world in rebellion against Him, will face that persecution. Jesus said in Romans 15:3, it says, "For even Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written, the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me." "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me." And Jesus put it this way, "If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how do you think they're going to treat the members of the household?" If you're in His household and He's your Father, be willing to bear the reproach that Jesus bore. V. Summary Now, the last two weeks, we've asked three questions concerning being a child of God. The first is the most important of all. All of you have heard me talk about the privileges and the responsibilities this morning, of being a child of God, but none of it means anything to you, if you are not, in fact, a child of God today. The first and most important question I want to ask you is, are you a child of God? Have you come to personal faith in Christ? Are you, moment by moment, step by step, following the Holy Spirit, to put sin to death in your life? Do you have the internal welling up of the Holy Spirit, to cry out, "Abba Father," from your heart? Is He speaking to you and testifying to you, that you are a child of God? Or is He actually convicting you right now, that you are not a child of God, and that you need to become one? These are the questions you have to ask. Are you, in fact, a child of God? If you are, do you understand your privileges? Do you know all the things that you get as a child of God? Eternal life, a title, love relationship with the Father, free access to the throne, discipline from a loving Father, provision and protection, fellowship within the Royal Family, freedom, immense inheritance and glory. Do you understand these things? And finally, are you fulfilling your responsibilities as a child of God? Imitating the Father's nature in holiness and in love, bearing the Father's name, obeying the Father's command, doing the Father's work, and being willing to face the Father's enemies? As we close in prayer, I'd like to ask any, who you feel like the Lord is convicting you, that you are not a child of God, please come and speak to me. Don't let today go by, without knowing, for sure, that these things are yours. And if you are a child of God, look over this list of privileges, and thank God, and look over, again, the responsibilities, and ask to be faithful.

I. Introduction: A Fairy Tale Turn in your Bibles this morning to 2 Timothy 3. We're going to continue our series Boldness and Faithfulness in the Gospel: Part Six. Now you can see how much of a joke it was if we're going to get through 83 verses that first Sunday. At this pace, I don't think we could ever have done that. I enjoyed that children's choir this morning. Didn't you? Wasn't that marvelous? I thought that you might enjoy a fairy tale this morning. So I wrote one for you, in honor of the children. One of the things I enjoyed the most when I was a child was my bedtime stories with my mom and she'd sit on the bed and read, and I did the same with my kids and still do. I enjoy doing that. So I thought I'd grace you with a fairy tale. Maybe there's some children here that would enjoy it, maybe some adults as well. It's called, The Spreading of the Good News: A Fairy Tale for Children. Once upon a time, in a large kingdom far, far away, there was a good and wise king who wanted to be sure all of his subjects knew just how much he loved them. So he sent his son, the crown prince, to the largest town with a special message. When the prince arrived, all the townspeople greeted him with joy, calling out his name and cheering in their loudest voices. The prince sat up high on his majestic white horse where everyone could see him, and he made this announcement, "My good people, your gracious king wants you to know how much he loves each and every one of you. So he has sent me to tell you some wonderful news and to give you a wonderful job to do. The wonderful news is that there is to be a great banquet inside the walls of the royal palace, and all of you are invited." At this, all the people cheered and hugged each other with great joy. Someone called out, "Is there anything we can do to get ready for the banquet?" The prince said, "Only this one thing. The king has asked you to be his messengers to spread the news of this banquet throughout all the towns and villages of the kingdom. Everyone is to be invited. No one is to be missed. The banquet will be in four weeks so you have plenty of time to spread the news. The banquet is free and everyone is welcome to come for the finest foods and the most delicious drinks you've ever experienced." The people cheered again loudest of all and the prince spurred on his charger and rode off with a laugh and a wave. The townspeople were thrilled about their special mission, and they immediately began to go from town to town, village to village, and even door to door. It was such wonderful news that everywhere they went, the people responded with incredible joy. They had never been inside the royal palace before and they couldn't wait to go. The messengers were treated with great respect and joy, and some of them were even given gifts by the grateful people for the good news they carried. Everyone was so excited and the entire kingdom was soon traveling toward the royal palace for the banquet. On the great day, the drawbridge was lowered down and all the people streamed into the enormous palace. Everyone from that kingdom came. Not a single person was missing. Old men, young children, wives, grandmothers, everyone was there. Most of the people had never been near the royal city, and certainly, no one had ever been invited to enter it before. So their eyes were wide with astonishment, as they looked at the high walls and the beautiful decorations. They all sat down to a feast and it lasted for two weeks. At the end of the feast, the king stood up and said, "I am so filled with joy that you have all come. I have decided that none of you ever need go back to your fields and your shops again. But you can just stay here with me and work here in the royal palace. This will be your permanent home and all your needs will be met." The people couldn't believe their ears, and they all broke out in a joyful shout to the praise of the king's generosity, and they all lived happily ever after in the royal city. The end. Paul’s message: Times of Difficulty Are Coming That is a fairy tale. Now, you may wonder what that has to do with 2 Timothy 3:1-13. My answer? Nothing. It has absolutely nothing to do with the passage I'm going to read this morning. As a matter of fact, this fairy tale stands in direct contrast to what Paul tells Timothy to expect when he spreads the gospel. It also stands in contrast with a similar parable that Jesus told, where there was going to be a wedding banquet and no one wanted to come. And everywhere the messengers went, they met nothing but trouble. Children enjoy fairy tales, but adults want the real thing. They want reality. They want the truth. And Jesus tells us the truth. The night before he died, He told His disciples exactly what they would face as they spread the gospel. He said, "If they hated Me, they're going to hate you also. In this world, you will have trouble, but be of good heart. I have overcome the world." In the same spirit, Paul prepares Timothy for reality in taking this gospel message. Listen to the first 13 verses of chapter three and you'll see what stark contrast it shows to the fairy tale I just read. "But mark this, there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceded, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women who are loaded down with sins and swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men opposed the truth, men of depraved minds, who as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far, because as in the case of those men, their folly will soon be clear to everyone. You, however, know all about my teaching and my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings, what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus, will be persecuted while evil men and impostors go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." II. Facing These Violent Last Days (vs. 1) Now, that's the truth. That's no varnished fairy tale. This is the truth that Paul wanted to tell Timothy. Now you remember in chapter one, Paul was trying to get Timothy ready to carry on that gospel ministry. Do you remember he gave him a series of charges to fan his gift into flame, that he would be zealous in preaching the gospel, that he would not be ashamed of Jesus Christ in any way or ashamed of Paul as prisoner, and then he would take his share of suffering? And then in chapter two, he kind of unveiled the centerpiece of it all, multiplication ministry. You remember? Making disciples who themselves make more disciples. So Timothy, if you want to accomplish this, you're going to need to set yourself out in a way that a good soldier does or a dedicated athlete or a hardworking farmer, total dedication. And you have to be willing to die with Christ even, so that you may reign with him. And then, Timothy, you're going to have to deal with scripture properly, like a good skilled craftsman. You're going to have to deal with temptation properly, like a clean vessel. And like the servant of the Lord, you're going to have to deal with opposition properly. Now we talked about all that last week. Where does this opposition come from? It comes from this, the kind of people that Paul describes here in 2 Timothy 3. Paul begins his description by saying, "Understand or mark this. Reckon with this Timothy, that there's going to be violent or difficult times in the last days." Now, Paul wants Timothy to understand this so that he has wide open eyes before he goes in to preach this gospel. Can you imagine if he gave him the kind of fairy tale I read to you? And then he began to preach the gospel and the reality of people's hatred of God, and their sinful opposition to him hit. How long do you think he'd last in that ministry? A very brief time. Just like Jesus, Paul wants to tell him the truth and get him ready. But he says that in the last days, there will be terrible times. How many of you believe we're in the last days now? Raise your hand if you think we're in the last days now? Well, every one of you are right. You're all right. We are in the last days. Of course, if I had asked the founders of the church in 1845, "How many of you believe we're in the last days?", and they had raised their hands, I would've said the same thing. You're all right. As a matter of fact, the last days began when Jesus Christ came to earth. And they've continued now for 2000 years and they will end when he returns. Now if I were to ask you to speculate as to whether we are the final generation, now that's a whole different thing. I'm not going to give you that kind of speculation. I know I could attract a crowd if I predicted that in one week the Lord would return, come here and be ready, get your white robes and be ready, we'll be all set, now that would be exciting. We would have a tremendous... That would be high attendance Sunday here I think at First Baptist. Get your white robes and come. But what about the next week? Low attendance Sunday, I think. So you all realize that I'm a false teacher. Now I'm not going to give you that kind of speculation. But we are in the last days and have been. The last days is the last days because it's the last message given by God. It's the final message. It's the gospel. And this era, this church era, is characterized by an advancement of this message and opposition to it. That's what the last days is all about. It says in Hebrews 1:1, "In the past, God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways. But in these last days, he has spoken to us through his Son." Jesus brings that final gospel message, and we go out and preach in his name. These are the last days. But the last days are going to be times of stress or difficulty, not times of ease. The word "difficulty" or "hard times," "difficult times," "stressful times," is also the word used to describe the demoniac of the Gadarenes, the demon-possessed man who lived in the Gadarenes, a violent man. I don't know if you remember that story. He was possessed by a number of demons and he was able to rip chains apart. Nothing could hold him. Violence and anger. No one could walk that way until Jesus came and cast that demon out, or those demons out. This kind of aggression in opposition to God is what characterizes as these final days. It's not a time of ease for most of our Christian brothers and sisters around the world. Bring in a brother or sister from China and ask them if this is a time of ease or of stress and difficulty, and they'll tell you. Same thing, brothers and sisters in parts of Eritrea. This is a time of difficulty. III. The Ungodly & Their Teachers (vs. 2-9) But where does this sinful opposition, this violence come from? Well, in verses 2-9, he describes the characteristics of a heart living in rebellion against God. There are 19 terms that he uses, 19 descriptions of these evil people. But we could sum them up this way. In verses 2-4, we'll looking at their moral conduct, and you could kind of boil it down to a discussion of what it is they love and what it is they hate, what they love and what they hate. In Verse 5, you see their religious life, and you could sum that up and say it's a matter of form, not of power. And then in verses 6-9, you see the zeal of their teachers. There's some out of them that have a kind of a deal to advance their message, the teachers who go from house to house. They're sneaky. They're aggressive. Ultimately, their actions are futile. But that's where this opposition comes from. And so he wants us to understand it. Their moral conduct (vs. 2-4) Now in verses two through four, we look at their moral conduct. And I think you could boil these 19 descriptions down into a bracket that happens at the beginning at the end. It starts out saying that people will be lovers of themself, or lovers of themselves. And then at the end, it says rather than lovers of God. Pick that up like bookends and gather them all together and you're going to see that they all fit into that, lovers of themselves rather than lovers of God. Actually, it's interesting to me how many times the word "love" even appears in this list. You've got lovers of self, then lovers of money, later on you get lovers of pleasure, not lovers of God. The Nature of Religious Affections Why do you think love features so strongly in this list? Well, the great theologian, Jonathan Edwards, answered that question. He said that he believed that religion, true religion, consisted primarily in the affections. He wrote a work called A Treatise on the Religious Affections. He said it has to do with passions, with love. It really does. And he said that the human soul has been endowed by God with two capabilities. The first is perception, the ability to judge or assess, take in information and process it, to understand things. But the second you could call inclination. There's a sense of, "How do you feel about this or that?" It's not just a matter of your new car. It's a matter that you love your new car. You like it. Or you enjoy it. Maybe it's not a matter of your old car, it's a matter that you hate your old car and you can't wait to get rid of it. You see? It's not just a matter of assessing or judging, it's how you feel about something. You're going to either be attracted to the thing you're thinking about or you're going to be repelled away like a magnet, either attracted or repelled. You're either going to be strongly attracted to something or strongly repelled. Those things we call love or hate. You're either going to be attracted weakly or repelled weakly, things we like or dislike. Then there's some things kind of right in the middle and you really don't know one way or the other. But religion is all about that. And we know this because Jesus said you could sum all the commandments up in two commands: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength," and, "Love your neighbor as yourself." So Jonathan Edwards is just teaching what Jesus did. It's all a matter of what you love. Now these people, they love themselves. That's how you characterize it. They want to feed themselves, their own pleasures, and they have no interest whatsoever in God. There's no interest in pleasing God. You could really look on them as kind of having like a furnace inside, a pleasure furnace, and they just keep adding logs one after another, whatever pleases them. It's not just a matter of sensual pleasures, but just the pleasure of being able to crush or dominate someone else. You see in this list, boastful, proud, abusive. They're carrying themselves like a king within a realm, willing to crush people, anyone who opposes them. And it all comes from that love of self, doesn't it? Then there's a list of five words in the middle of this, that has to do, it seems to me, with family life. It starts out by saying that they're disobedient to their parents. Don't you think it's interesting that both in this list and in Romans 1, that list of humanity apart from Christ, this expression "disobedient to parents" comes in? Why do you think this is? Well maybe I couldn't answer this until I had children of my own, but I think it wasn't until that first infant came into our home and I realized what was on his mind when he was born. It was 3:00 in the morning and he was hungry and had a need. Did he say, "You know, Mom hasn't been getting much sleep recently. I think I'll wait until 6:30 or 7:00, give her a good night's sleep, refresh her a little bit, and then I'll start to let her know that when she has time, if she's gotten a shower, she'll have an opportunity to feed me if it's not too much trouble." Is that what the infant does? Absolutely not. That infant will scream with ever-increasing pitch until its needs are met. The child comes into the family totally self-focused. They have two goals. They want to run their own lives themselves and they want to run your life too if they can. That's it. Now it's a parent's job to train them up and out of that, isn't it? Good parents do a good job. Bad parents do not. But I think this is kind of the essence of parenting, training a child that there are other people in the world, venue, and that their needs are precious too, alright? So disobedient to their parents really fits into this whole idea of being a lover of self. If you reject parental authority, you're going to feed yourself and you're going to keep doing it your whole life. That's what he says, "Me, me, me," all the time. And then after that, we see ungrateful. They're not able to say thank you for anything. I was often wonder what people like this do at Thanksgiving, fourth Thursday in November. Who do they thank? Is there anyone to thank? They thank themselves. "I thank myself for all the good things that I have accomplished by the strength of my hands," this kind of thing. They're ungrateful. They're unable to look beyond what their needs to who it is that gave it. Certainly they can't look up and see God who met all their needs. They're unholy. They have no natural piety, no natural love, they're irreconcilable although the word in the original language here gives a sense of unyielding. I had an experience with this the other day. I was driving on the Durham Expressway, and a car came up on the ramp. And I think, is it not true in your state that you have to yield when you're coming on a ramp, you're supposed to wait? I had the edge on the guy. I was definitely ahead of him, but he just accelerated and finally I just dropped back. I yielded to him even though that was a reversal of the law. I said, "What a beautiful sermon illustration. I've got to remember that one. At the right time, I'm going to express this." They're unyielding. When they come to a point, they're not going to back down. They're going to get what they want no matter what the cost is. And then there's a bunch of other words that show that the walls of self-control have broken down. They have no self-control. They're going to feed themselves all the time. Treacherous means that they make covenants or promises to people and break them. Rash, interesting word. I think about Generation X and its favorite word "extreme." Have you ever heard of the Extreme games, where you do extreme things like jumping off of towers with elastic attached to your ankles. I heard one about this guy that jumped out of an airplane without a parachute, did it on purpose. What he did is he put the parachute inside an aerodynamic pot. He sent it out the door, waited for a few seconds and dove out after it, maneuvered over to it, flew over to it. He had a certain amount of time, put that thing on. He got to it, opened it up, put the parachute on and pulled the cord just in time. He saved his life. Now that's a perfect example of the word "rash," throwing yourself headlong into something without having any idea how you're going to get out of it. Well, this is a description of people apart from God. Now, this kind of life leads to a cycle of frustration. It leads to a cycle of difficulty, stress and distress, and anger, a totally godless way of living. Only the gospel can turn this around. God's order is natural and it's clear. God first, neighbor second, self third. Simple self reverses it. I'm first, neighbor, if he's able to meet my needs, God, not even in the picture. The gospel alone can reverse this whole thing. Their religious life (vs. 5) Well it may surprise you, according to verse 5, that these people have any kind of religious life at all. But many of them do. Many of them line pews every week. They come and worship in churches across America. And Paul says that these kind of people do have a religious life. They have a form of godliness, but they deny its power. Now what is a form of godliness? It's a kind of garment that you put on. It's a way of carrying yourself, a way of talking to people that's holy and nice and good. But there's no reality behind it. We call those kind of people hypocrites, and those kind of people chase others away from the church. I know in sharing the gospel so many times the people at work. I hear the word hypocrite all the time. Now I think to some degree we're all hypocrites. What is a hypocrite but somebody who has a certain standard and then doesn't live up to it. But these people are far worse. They are putting on religion, but there's absolutely nothing that corresponds inside. Jesus characterized the Pharisees this way. He said they are like whitewashed tombs. Looks good on the outside, but inside full of dead men's bones. Well these people are a form of godliness, but they deny its power. What is the power? It's the power of transformation, the change within that only God can produce, true righteousness from within, a yearning of what it is you really love, a changing of what you love and what you used to hate. These kind of things, that's a true transformation. Stay Away From These People! It's interesting that Paul tells Timothy, though, to stay away from those kind of people. Those are the kind of people that have heard the gospel. They understand all the right answers and they've turned their back on it and they've rejected it. Those are dangerous people in a church. Paul tells Timothy to have nothing to do with them. The Teachers: proselytizing zeal (vs. 6-9) And then he talks about the teachers. They have a kind of a proselytizing zeal. They worm their way it says into homes. It's kind of an interesting word in the original language. It's kind of like slipping into something comfortable. That's the way he put it, sliding a garment on. They kind of come in the back door. That's the way these teachers operate. They're not upfront about anything. They have an agenda. But even though they're kind of smooth and stylish coming in, their intention is aggressive. They have an aggressive attend. They're trying to take captive people. Now, Paul is talking here I think about a specific problem there was in Ephesus. There was a group of women that the way he describes them here were always learning and never able to acknowledge the truth. They had moral weakness. I don't know if they were born again or not, but I really don't think so. I think when he says that they're always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth, he's talking about people who keep hearing the truth but they can't grab hold of it themselves. I remember when Christy and I were missionaries in Japan, we had the opportunity to teach the Bible to some Japanese women. Some of them had been in Bible studies for 20 or 25 years. They know the Bible aspects of it better than a lot of you. But they'd never been able to grab the truth for themselves. None of them have been baptized. They weren't Christians. And therefore I think they were susceptible to any kind of new teaching or wind of doctrine that would come along. That's the way these men were. And Paul says, just like Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. I bet you're wondering who they are. Have you ever heard of Jannes and Jambres? Well, you're not going to find them in the Bible. But tradition has it that these were magicians who had special powers and they opposed Moses when Moses came to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Do you remember they were able to imitate the first trick I guess we would call that Moses did? He threw his staff down that turned into a snake. And Jannes and Jambres I guess were the ones who were able to turn their staff into a snake. And then when Moses was able to turn the Nile into blood and they were able to change some river water into blood, they were imitating the power of religion. But they couldn't keep pace with God. Ultimately, when the gnats came up, that's when it was, the dust turned into gnats, they said, "This is the finger of God." You see? They said, "I can't do this." There was a limitation to their power, and that's the way it is with these men. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men opposed the truth, men of depraved minds. Their minds are corrupted. Their minds are twisted, and they're unable to understand true doctrine. As far as the faith is concerned, they are rejected. They don't teach true doctrine. They teach a false gospel and they are rejected. What's interesting here though is the confidence that Paul has that their ultimate outcome will be a failure. Ultimately, they're going to fail. In Verse Nine it says, "They will not get very far, because as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone." Now, what does he mean by this? Does this mean that cults can't grow? Well, I think we've seen that cults can grow. Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses and other strange cults do grow in fact. Well, what does Paul mean here? I think he means in the case of those people who are truly the sheep of the good shepherd. Remember in John chapter 10, it said, "My sheep, hear my voice. I know them. They follow me. I give them eternal life," remember? And He said, "They will not follow the voice of a stranger but will rather," what? "Run away from a stranger." So God's sheep hear Christ's voice. Do you know how we hear it? We hear it in two ways: Through the written word of God and through the indwelling Holy Spirit. And the more mature we get, the more we read these kind of warnings that we get here in scripture, the more we're able to discern a false teacher when we hear him. We're able to say that's just not true, for the scripture says such and such, and the Holy Spirit testifies that we are teaching the right doctrine, you see. Well, all of this is the false way, the false teaching, the false leaders. IV. Paul’s Godly Contrast (vs. 10-13) Paul sets himself up instead as the contrast. God has always had leaders who are able to stand up and say, "Follow me and I follow Christ. Imitate me as I imitate Christ." And the church needs that again today, now, men and women who will be mentors and leaders to those who are younger in the faith. And so he sets himself up as a contrast. He says, he puts forward a contrasting doctrine, a contrasting lifestyle, contrasting reception and ultimately contrasting protection. In terms of his contrasting doctrine, he says, "You… know all about my teaching." What is his teaching? Says, "I'm not teaching to itching ears. I'm not trying to satisfy you with entertainment and jokes and stories and to tell you to pander to your sin nature. I'm not satisfying itching ears, but I am saving lost souls. I'm not telling people to indulge those sinful passions, but I'm telling them to put them to death so that they can know real joy. I'm not preaching an earthly ease and sensual pleasure, a child's fairy tale. But I'm telling you that you can expect persecution and in the end a crown of righteousness. That's my teaching. It's my doctrine." Well, what about Paul's way of life? He said, "You know about my purpose. You know my faith, my patience, my love and my endurance. That's my way of life. Everything I do is for a purpose." In chapter two he told us what that was. He said, "I endure everything for the sake of the elect that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." Everything I do, I do so that people may have salvation in Christ, and I'll put up with anything to accomplish that end." And so he mentions his persecutions and sufferings. And this is a contrasting reception. False teachers will always be welcomed and received by the world, always, because they say what people want to hear. But true teachers will gain true disciples and also meet with persecution. And so he says, "You know what happened to me in Antioch. I was expelled from that city. You know what happened to me in Iconium. I was almost stoned. And then in Lystra, I was welcomed and worshipped like a god, and then they stoned and left me for dead. You saw it, Timothy. You know what I went through. Don't expect any different, because everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse. Teachers will keep teaching this kind of false doctrine. People will keep stoning messengers. But the gospel is going to advance irresistible. People are going to come to faith in Christ and there's nothing that can stop it. So Timothy, be courageous because I also had protection from God. The Lord rescued me from every one of those trials," he says. V. Summary Now, this morning I began by telling you a fairy tale. I don't think it's going to be a classic. I don't really know if they're going to multiply this or print it. I think that some great art work could come from it. Kids love the pictures and all that. But there's not a word of truth to it. We are adults, mature in the faith if we recognize that the gospel advances through persecution, hardship and difficulty, and that God stands at our side and gives us the strength we need to advance that message. But we don't stand and teach a fairy tale, but we preach the truth, and the truth is that Jesus Christ has come to save sinners. Now, if Paul were here, he would say Jesus has come to save sinners of whom I am the first. And he'd reach out to any who are here today who have never given their life to Christ. It is my prayer every week that God brings people here to hear the gospel, that you know that if you're living this kind of life described here in these nine verses, a selfish life, a life of pleasure, of money and all this, that Jesus is the only one who can save you out of it. He died in a place of sinners just like you and me. Give your life to Jesus today. If you're a believer, prepare yourself to be a witness for Jesus Christ by reading a passage like this. Don't look for a fairy tale, but look to be used in a powerful way by God.