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Anyone involved in the plant-based lifestyle knows about the Campbell legacy, including Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Nelson Campbell, founder of PlantPure Nation, and our guest for this episode of the Health Science Podcast, Kim Campbell. Kim Campbell, the spouse of Nelson and daughter-in-law of T. Colin, is a renowned plant-based chef. She is passionate about making healthy, easy-to-prepare foods accessible to all. She stresses the importance of using easily obtainable ingredients, such as those found at her local Super Walmart. Kim also shares insights on essential kitchen tools and gadgets, highlighting the value of a well-equipped kitchen for an enjoyable cooking experience. Kim's interest in nutrition and health predates her connection with the Campbells. Her love for cooking and desire to be involved in the medical field led her to explore nutrition programs and be inspired by T. Colin Campbell's research documented in The China Study. She embraced a plant-based lifestyle even before meeting her husband, Dr. Nelson Campbell. https://www.HealthScience.org/Podcast/032-Kim-Campbell 

Series: All! Jesus has all authority, So that all nationsMight pledge all allegiance to him.Title: “How to Practice Church Discipline” (Darien Gabriel)Scripture: Matthew 18:15-20 NIVHeavily relied on O'Donnell for this one. (See below)Bottom line: We all practice church discipline by lovingly confronting those who sin against us (per Matthew 18) with the aim of restoring the relationship.DISCUSSION QUESTIONSSERMON OUTLINE & NOTESMAIN REFERENCES USEDDISCUSSION QUESTIONSDiscussion questions for group and personal study. Reflect and Discuss1. What does it mean to become like children in verse 3? What is the difference between having childlike faith and being immature in your faith?2. How does the requirement of humility in verses 1-4 compare with our culture's view of greatness?3. Explain how a biblical view of the church goes against a culture that prizes independence?4. How should the parable of the Lost Sheep in verses 10-14 inform our view of church discipline?5. Respond to the following objection to church discipline: If our church disciplines members, then unbelievers will be turned off and discouraged from coming.6. What is the ultimate goal of church discipline?7. What does Matthew 18 have to add to our view of church membership?8. List things that should and should not be matters of church discipline.9. What is the main point of the parable of the Unforgiving Servant (wv. 23-35)?10. If you aren't showing mercy to others, how might that be an indica tion that you are not being shaped by the gospel?Final Questions (optional or in place of above)What is God saying to you right now? What are you going to do about it?Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcastWeekly questions I answer in preparation for the sermon:Q. What do I want you to know? A. How to practice church disciplineQ. Why? A. Because it leads to a holier and healthier church familyQ. What do I want you to do? A. Practice church discipline/confrontation per Matthew 18Q. Why? A. Because these steps lead to a holier, healthier church family. OUTLINE & NOTESOur oldest grandson is almost 2-1/2 years old. He trusts his parents and grandparents right now. He has an implicit faith in us. When we tell him something, he just believes us. You might call him innocent. He is not! You might call him naive. But for now he trusts us implicitly and humbly. He just knows he doesn't know near as much as we do.This is what I think Jesus was trying to communicate to his 12 earlier here. To know that you're a son off the king, you must humble yourself and turn and become like a 2-3 yr old trusting your Heavenly Father in all he says.ContextMatt. 18:1–20:34 The Community of the Messiah Revealed. This is the fourth of Jesus' five major discourses in Matthew's GospelAs his earthly ministry draws to a close, Jesus has spent considerable time clarifying his identity and mission (chs. 14–17). He instructs his disciples on the nature of his covenant community, explaining the kingdom community's characteristics (18:1–35), its implications for the sanctity of marriage (19:1–12), and its value (19:13–20:34). ESV Study Bible noteWhat's important to remember about this context is that Jesus is dealing with how local believers interact with each other. They pursue wandering brothers and sisters in Christ. They lovingly confront sinful behavior. This is different than confronting someone in the world outside of the church.IntroductionBottom line: We all practice church discipline by lovingly confronting those who sin against us (per Matthew 18) with the aim of restoring the relationship.Church discipline is the act of lovingly confronting one who sins against us so that they humbly respond with repentance restoring their relationship with us and the Lord. How do we do this?First, Why confront?My notes after reading O'DonnellHave you ever been legitimately confronted over something you did wrong? Or sin?It's a humbling experience. Makes you feel small. “But small, as we learned (earlier in Matthew 18), is the appropriate size to get into the kingdom as well as move up in it. Thus, if confrontation can lead to that kind of smallness, it is something we all, from time to time, very well need.” P. 509Why confront?This passage is about how the church (the people) confronts the one who sins against them. But before we tackle how, let's understand why we even do it.Most churches want to do this as much as a parent wants to spank a child in the Super Walmart. It's hard form some to hear that a church can excommunicate someone. It sounds harsh, judgmental, unloving and so against the spirit of the age. This is why we start with why?4 reasons one Christian confronts another:1 from our passage and 3 from the surrounding contextThe first reason for Christian confrontation is the value of one straying sheep.Notice how Jesus moves from his parable of the lost sheep directly to this. Matthew inserts nothing in between. Presumably, Jesus does not stop talking in between.From: Sheep—how God values each individual Christian, even and especially strayed sheepTo: ThisWhy? Because they are thematically linked.The Father's concern for sinners and the Shepherd's rescue of those who've wandered from the fold are now the church's concern. The Church confronts because we value each and every sheep, even and especially straying sheep.The second reason for Christian confrontation is the hope of forgiveness and family reconciliation.Immediate context: Theme is the forgiveness of a brother's sin.Note “Brother” is generic for Christian but is also familial language. He could have used “disciple”Family reconciliations are the best. Think of the prodigal son. (Luke 15)The third reason for Christian confrontation is, a little laxity leads to a lot of lapsing. Paul said, “a little leaven leaven's the whole lump.” 1 Cor 5:6A little leaven (neglected sin in the church) leaven's the whole lump (affects whole church)A little laxity (let this or that sin go unchecked) leads to a lot of lapsing (I guess if he does that, I can do this)Cutting off sin (18:8-9) “That by guarding our own personal holiness we guard others, especially those weaker in the faith” p. 511Ex. “Newly baptized Christian sees an elder in the church sinning, and that elder is not confronted and corrected by the church, then the younger Christian will likely be tempted to similarly sin.” p. 511“Christian confrontation helps protect and purify the church (like salt), and it helps prevent the spread of sin throughout the Body of Christ.”The fourth reason for Christian confrontation is that it is a command of Christ…because Jesus is Lord.”Reproof and love go together.“Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” Lev 19:17-18Tolerating sin is not loving.Because God loves, God disciplines.It's the loving shepherd who goes after the lost sheep.The unloving shepherd stays at homeHe's either indifferent (what's 1 out of 100), orHe's lenient (oh, sheep will be sheep)So, Christians are to confront sinning Christians becauseWe value one straying sheepWe hope for forgiveness and family reconciliationWe know that a little laxity leads to a lot of lapsing, andChristian confrontation is a loving command from the most loving man who ever lived.Then, How confront?3 Strikes and You're Out (Quick and dirty)Confront one on one. If they listen, you've won them over. It's over.If they don't, proceed to step two.Confront with 2-3 witnesses. If they listen, you've won them over. It's over.If they don't, proceed to step three.Confront with the church. If they listen, you've won them over. It's over.If they don't, you expel them from the church and treat them as a non-Christian.More detailed outline…How to Lovingly Confront—3 Steps (O'Donnell)Go and win (gain) First, 3 important detailsNotice who is confronting whom—it's brother to brother…Not brother to person in the world.There's a time for that—this isn't about that.Notice when this occurs—only “if your brother sins against you.” (In ESV text; footnoted in NIV)Just between you and him alone (if have “against you” personally as in ESV)And it is “sin”, behavior that is clearly and consistently contrary to Christ's commandsThis is not bad personality traits or poor hygieneNotice (speaking on sin) that Jesus assumes Christians will sin Step 1: Go and win (Gain) PRIVATE CORRECTION / LOVING CONFRONTATION First step is not…To waitTo sit and sulkTo give a cold shoulder or silent treatmentIndifferenceTit for tatTo gossipTo slanderRather, step 1 is a private conversation—underline “just between the two of you” (15)Gently and/orWith holy harshnessNathan modeled this in a balanced way with King David (2 Sam 12:1-7)Paul throughout his ministry; Gal 2:11 I opposed Peter to his faceJesus showed holy harshness in 18:8-9Regardless, the spirit is that of humility and love, a solemn concern for your brother's soulSo we go hoping to win i.e. restore, gain to God and to fellowship with the churchHoping to bring light to their darkness. If he sees this darkness, confesses it, asks for forgiveness, you're won or gained your brotherStep 2: Establish Testimony (evidence) SMALL GROUP CLARIFICATION Jesus is practicalJesus is also realistic. Most of us get defensive when confronted. Why? Because we're proud. Instead of melting like butter, we harden like clay.“Jesus' lesson on becoming like little children applies well here as well. Humility is needed! and such humility is helped along by bringing others to hear the case.” P. 5162 or 3 others/witnesses comes from Deut 19:15. Why?To protect against a false accusation—brother B is exaggerating or lying about brother A's offense. To help brother A, if he's been rightly accused, to see his sin as sin, or in other words, to add their voice of reproof so he might repent, andTo be public witnesses, if needed, if the matter comes to the whole church (2 Cor 13:1; 1 Tim 5:19)Step 3: Church Censure CHURCH ADMONITION & POSSIBLY EXCOMMUNICATION A censure is an official reprimand and judgment. Here it is the church saying, “3 strikes and your out—you've been excommunicated from the fellowship.”p. 516First, let's be clear on who is to blame here—it's the unrepentant brother—he has refused to “listen”This text isn't just how to confront—it's how to respond to confrontation3 Strikes and you're out“If a sinner won't cut off his sin, the church cuts him off.” V. 17That is, treat him like someone who has betrayed the covenant (like a traitor tax collector) and someone who does not currently believe in the covenant (gentile or pagan); their actions move leaders to declare that they are not a follower of ChristIn NT, excommunication meant not allowing this unrepentant “brother” to participate in the public gatherings—A worship serviceLord's SupperPrayer meetingA judicial meeting For some, this is the limited versionFor others, it was unlimited restriction:“If any false teacher ‘comes to you…do not receive him into your home or give him any greeting'” (2 John 10)“As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice (i.e. Matthew 18:15-17), have nothing to do with him.” (Titus 3:10)“[Do] not …associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is justly or sexually immoral or greedy, or is an idolater, reviled, drunkard, or swindler”—[Do] not even eat with such a one.” (1 Cor 5:11)“Yet for both—with limited and unlimited restriction—the hope was held out that this ‘severe measure' would make the sinner come to his senses, that this ‘brother' would act like a brother should —repent and return.” P. 5171 Cor 5-62 Thess 3:14-15Coming out of 15-17, Jesus masterfully assumes there will be pushback. “Says who?” AUTHORITY“You see, when a brother or sister is excommunicated, before they leave (and/or sue) the disciplining church and go to another, they will nearly always reply to the disciplining church, ‘You're not God. Who gives you the right?' And to that objection our Lord leaves his church 18-20, his gentle way of saying ‘shut it'” pp. 517-18“These verses are not about the value of prayer meetings.”“Rather, these verses are about Jesus giving his divine authority to forgive sins (or loose) or not forgive (to bind) into the hands of the church.” P. 518“If the local church gathers together in the name of Christ—even two or three—to judge another brother (that's the context, v. 17 esp.), then what these brothers decide on earth is decided (already) in heaven. Why? Jesus' answer is, ‘Because I say so'…It's a matter of transference of authority.” P. 518“The church has been given the authority to forgive (receive back into fellowship) or excommunicate (remove from fellowship). This is how we use the keys to the kingdom.ConclusionOur bottom line today is that we all practice church discipline by lovingly confronting those who've sinned against us with the aim of restoring the relationship. Are you ever confronting sin?When you do, do you do so with humility and love and the aim to restore the relationship?Is someone confronting you? Are you responding with humility and repentance?Is the Lord challenging you to join your local church?What is God saying to you right now?Let's pray.Church discipline -various levels by warren wiersbe“Various levels of church disciplinePersonal differences between Christians (Matt. 18:15–18; Phil. 4:1–3). If a brother or sister sins against me (either deliberately or unknowingly), I should go to that person privately and seek to get the matter settled. Only if the person refuses to settle the matter should I bring anyone else in; and the problem must not go to the church family until every other means has been exhausted.Doctrinal error. Determine first of all why the person is teaching wrong doctrine. Perhaps it is because of ignorance and lack of Bible knowledge. In that case, patiently teach him the truth (2 Tim. 2:23–26). If he persists, rebuke him (Titus 1:10–14). Paul had to do this to Peter (Gal. 2:11ff). If the error continues, avoid him (Rom. 16:17–18), and then separate yourself from him (2 Tim. 2:18ff; 2 John 9ff).A believer overtaken by sin (Gal. 6:1–3).Even the great Apostle Peter denied the Lord. And David yielded to lust and committed adultery. When a Christian is caught in known sin, the spiritual members of the church must seek to restore him with gentleness and love. The word restore here means “to set a broken bone”—and that takes tenderness and patience. Too often the church quickly passes judgment on a believer who has sinned, and the damage done causes problems for years to come.A repeating troublemaker (Titus 3:10). The word heretic does not refer to doctrinal error, but to a proud attitude of one who gets people to “take sides” in the church. The Greek word means “to make a choice.” This leads to divisions and cliques in the local church (see Gal. 5:20 where heresies ought to be translated “sects, parties”). There is hardly a church that does not have its parties for or against anything—the pastor, the building program, even the color of the kitchen walls. Usually these “heretics” are people who like to be important; they want a following. Often they have deep emotional problems that Satan can use to create spiritual problems in the church. Perhaps they are frustrated at home or on the job; or perhaps they have, in the past, been hurt by some pastor or church. These “factious people” should be given two official warnings. If they repeat their sin of dividing the church, they should be given a third warning and rejected. “Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned” (Titus 3:10–11, niv). It is my conviction that such people should not hold office in the church. It is also my conviction that, if they leave the church “in a conviction that, if they leave the church “in a huff,” they should be restored to fellowship only twice. The third time—they are out!Open immorality (1 Cor. 5).The church must mourn over the sinner (the same word is used for mourning over the dead) and seek to bring him to repentance. If he refuses, the church collectively should dismiss him (1 Cor. 5:13, where the Greek word means “expel”). If he repents, he must be forgiven and restored to fellowship in the church (2 Cor. 2:6–11). In the case of the “lazy saints,” Paul told the believers to exhort them, warn them, and if they did not repent, withdraw intimate fellowship from them. This probably meant that these believers were not permitted to share in the Lord's Supper, and that the church members would not invite them to their homes. Second Thessalonians 3:14 does not apply to every case of discipline. It applies only to the matter of saints not working for a living. “Have no company” literally means “do not get mixed up with”; the same word is used in 1 Corinthians 5:9. There is a difference between acquaintanceship, friendship, and fellowship; for fellowship means “to have in common.” For obedient saints to treat disobedient Christians with the same friendship they show to other dedicated saints is to give approval to their sins. However, Paul (knowing the tendency of human nature to go to extremes) cautioned them not to treat the offenders like enemies. “They are still your brothers in Christ,” he added. Lot was out of fellowship with God and Abraham because he lived in Sodom; yet Abraham rescued Lot from the enemy because Lot was his brother (Gen. 14, and note especially v. 14). It requires much patience, love, and grace to help an erring brother; and this is why Paul added a final motive for earning a living.”Church Discipline by Warren WiersbeThe Question of Chapter 18"At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" Matthew 18:1 The rest of the chapter is a response to that question. --God's Search and Rescue Plan: Church Discipline by David V. Edling, p. 6From John Stott wrote in "Christian Counter-culture":"The addition of the words as we also have forgiven our debtors is further emphasized in verses 14 and 15 which follow the prayer and state that our Father will forgive us if we forgive others but will not forgive us if we refuse to forgive others. This certainly does not mean that our forgiveness of others earns us the right to be forgiven. It is rather that God forgives only the penitent and that one of the chief evidences of true penitence is a forgiving spirit. Once our eyes have been opened to see the enormity of our offence against God, the injuries which others have done to us appear by comparison extremely triffling. If, on the other hand, we have an exaggerated view of the offences of others, it proves that we have minimized our own. It is the disparity between the size of debts which is the main point of the parable of the unmerciful servant. It's conclusion is: 'I forgave you all that debt (which was huge)...; should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?'" pp. 149-150MAIN REFERENCES USED“Preaching the Word” Commentary, Douglas Sean O'Donnell, Edited by Kent Hughes“Matthew” by RC Sproul“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)“Exalting Jesus in Matthew” by David Platt (CCE)Outline Bible, D WillmingtonNIV Study Bible (NIVSB)ESV Study Bible (ESVSB)God's Search and Rescue Plan: Church Discipline by David V. Edling

Griff reports on mass shooting last night at a Super Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, that left 6 dead plus the shooter.

C.A. Weis  is proud to be the first elementary level community partnership school in the state of Florida. Learn how this one-stop-shop partnership that includes University of West Florida, Children's Home Society, Community Health Northwest Florida and Escambia County School District, is unifying and strengthening our community.Guests: Dr Kimberly Thomas & Lisa Coleman, https://cawes-ecsd-fl.schoolloop.com/partnersinedu Learn more about Escambia County School District: https://ecsd-fl.schoolloop.com/ Host:  Meredith Hackwith Edwards 

Mobile home parks attract many investors because of their beautiful aesthetic, minimal maintenance costs, and low competition. When Jefferson Lilly decided to give this type of property a try, he bought his first-ever deal off eBay, of all places. Sitting down with Dale Corpus, the Founding Partner of Park Avenue Partners and host of the Mobile Home Park Investors Podcast shares how he secured this transaction successfully. Jefferson breaks down the strategies that made him one of America's largest mobile home park owner-operators. He explains how he encourages site managers to utilize technology when working remotely, why average household income is the most important factor, and why they are always looking for a Super Walmart within five miles of a property.

If you like this podcast, please be sure to rate us 5 stars in Apple podcasts and like our videos on YouTube.  Sorry for the misfire - harvest got me out of practice!Episode 0024:Wine Reads – November 18, 2021Welcome back to Viti+Culture, and welcome to season 2.  It’s been a few weeks since our last podcast, but here we are, rested and ready to deliver some great content.  Harvest is finally over, a few fermentations remain bubbling away, the cellar is cleaned, our equipment is winterized, and we are moving into our next phase of cellar work - stabalizing and bottling sparkling wine, preparing to bottle our early release wines like our Cabernet Franc Rose, our White Merlot, and some of our Chenin Blanc, and finally disgorging some of our sparkling wines, such as our 2017 and 2019 Chardonnay based Blanc de Blanc, and Chenin Blanc.  I’ll keep you updated as to what winemakers are experiencing in the cellar as we move forward with season, and key you in to some of the winemaking decisions we have along the way.We are also launching a new segment - Wine Reads - where we choose an article from the world of written content on wine, read it on the show, and share our thoughts and opinions on the topic.  If you’re a wine writer, feel free to forward me an article for consideration at viticulturepodcast@gmail.com.  I’m happy to look it over, and maybe even discuss it with you on the show.  We will continue to produce and publish our long-form interviews on YouTube, but some of the shorter content will be podcast and Substack only, so make sure you’ve clicked subscribe in your favorite podcast platform, and sign up to our Substack newsletter.  For our first Wine Read, I figured I’d actually reflect on the 2021 vintage by reading the letter I’m preparing to send out to our Missick Cellars Wine Club.  I’m excited to be shipping out the first Finger Lakes produced Sparkling Chenin Blanc with that shipment, as well as some other really cool small lot wines, but I also generally engage with our members by sharing some of my deepest thoughts, and letting them know what is going on in the cellar.  Here’s a sneak preview of the vintage, an audio taste of our wine club, and a survey of what the final tally of the 2021 vintage felt like. Remember, if you like this podcast, please be sure to rate us 5 stars in Apple podcasts and like our videos on YouTube.  It really helps with the ratings and in introducing new folks to the show.  Be sure to tune in next week, where I speak with Phil Plummer, winemaker at Montezuma, Idol Ridge, and Fossenvue wineries.  Phil embraces the ethos of our show, those of the philosopher-maker, and intertwines culture, art, history, and music in some subtle, and not so subtle ways, into each of his wines.   So, here we go, our 2021 Missick Cellars Wine Club Newsletter:Dear Wine Club Member,                                                        When I was deployed as a soldier in the Army with Operation Iraqi Freedom, every few months we were able to take an R&R day, and head down to the large U.S. base in Kuwait on the coast of the Persian Gulf called Camp Doha.  Camp Doha had a PX (post exchange) that was both sized and filled with the inventory of a Super Walmart.  It was where we could stock up on nearly everything we needed, or wanted, to get us through the long weeks back at our small desert outposts.  Camp Doha also had a Starbucks and a Burger King, all of which brought a sense of normalcy, but also a little bit of cognitive dissonance.  I remember browsing those location oriented Starbucks mugs while waiting in line that list the city you are in, and looking at the one with Kuwait City and the skyline depicted.  I wish I would have bought one as a memento.  The pearl of Camp Doha in those days however, was a place called the Marble Palace.  It was a short bus ride from camp, and had a large recreational pool adjacent to the Gulf, there were therapeutic masseuses, and in many ways, offered everything you could find at a luxury resort.  It was, for a day, potentially overnight if you had some other business to attend to, a respite from the dusty tents we slept in, the day to day monotony of my job as a Signal Corps non-commissioned officer, guard tower shifts in 110 degree temperatures, and hours spent sitting under the skud bunkers scattered all throughout my home camp with a battle buddy, talking about home.  Harvest certainly does not carry the emotional intensity or gravity of deployment, I would not sell our servicemembers short by drawing a straight line between the experience of deployment and the intensity of the harvest or the crush pad.  There are analogies though, and in many ways, the pace of harvest rarely allows for the periods of pause and contemplation that a deployment permits.  Nonetheless, as harvest approaches, the mind prepares for what you know will be extremely long days, endless physicality, isolation from family and friends (outside the wine industry), discomfort, and exhaustion.  Similarly, it provides a purpose, a mission, with goals that must be accomplished, in specific periods of time with little room for error.  The elements of weather, of available resources, the risk of physical danger around powerful equipment if you’re careless or thoughtless, and the knowledge that there is an end date, all provide a very similar psychological framework to that the soldier experiences.  You have set out on a path, the end goal is known, there will be surprises and challenges, but at the end of this period, victory is in sight.I recalled my time at the Marble Palace, a place I hadn’t thought about in years, after returning home for the first time in what felt like weeks (though it had only been a few days), to spend an entire day and night with my family.  It was mid-October, about half-way through crush, and having the chance to push Andrew and Audrey on the swing-set in the backyard, sharing dinner at the table with the family, and having my wife Laure massage my shoulders that night made home feel like the R&R I had been craving.  I particularly enjoy pairing our wines with meals during harvest.  It puts a perspective on the hard work we are presently enmeshed in, and opening the time capsules of vintages past during dinner with the family, ties moments of our past to moments of the present, even as we all sacrifice and work for the future that is gurgling away through its fermentation in the cellar.   Perhaps the moments from my deployment were fresh with me this year after what we witnessed in Afghanistan in August, and during which I spent countless hours speaking with other veterans and checking in on friends that I knew had spent years of their life in that country.  Perhaps it was because we were shorter on cellar staff this year than in years’ past, placing extra burdens and extra work on myself and my assistant.  Maybe it was simply because I see my children growing so fast and am realizing how quickly time goes with every year we gather around the table to watch them blow out that additional candle on the cake.  And finally, it may have been because this was such a difficult harvest, where extra vineyard work coupled with crucial picking decisions dictated the quality of the wine that was made, and with our first year of a significant harvest from our estate vineyard, I felt an enormous amount of pressure to deliver the best possible effort to everyone who enjoys our wine.  2021 was our most difficult vintage since 2018.  As with 2018, moisture was the catalyst for a lot of stress on vineyard crews this vintage.  The heavy rainfall, high temperatures, and high dewpoints which kept vineyard canopies and clusters too wet for too long in 2018, had analogs for all of us who farm grapes in the Finger Lakes this year.  Granted, temperatures were not as high as three years ago, and dewpoints were not as deleterious, the rain proved a difficulty that we had to navigate around.  There were indeed some much needed breaks, three or four days here, maybe a week there, but from August through the end of October, the rain fell, and we needed to be cognizant of when it was falling.Though 2021 wasn’t our largest harvest, between our own wines and some custom crush projects, we processed nearly 70 tons of fruit, with about 6 tons coming from our own vineyard.  We managed an incredibly clean harvest of Chenin Blanc, Riesling and Cabernet Franc, with multiple passes in the Riesling in order to produce some different styles of estate wines, from sparkling to still.  Our vineyard, planted in 2019, is in what is called its third leaf, in other words, its third growing season.  The third leaf is generally when you can expect to get your first real crop, with an expansion of yield occurring in the following vintages.  Of course, yield is not the most important aspect.  The vineyard must be balanced, producing enough fruit to match the energy output of the vine, but not so much that you stress the vine or dilute the concentration of flavors that a vineyard can deliver.In addition, we worked with our traditional growing partners at Gibson Vineyard and Morris Vineyard, to bring in varietals like Seyval Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Valvin Muscat, and some other hybrids that will go into our Foreword series.  Although we have a significant amount of wine still fermenting, I must share with you that I am more proud of this vintage than nearly any in the last 10 years.  There are vintages that naturally make great wines.  The weather is perfect from April to November, harvest happens on your schedule and not based on the risk of rain, and every piece of equipment cooperates fully with no downtime or repairs required.  I think of vintages like 2012, 2016, and 2020, where a winemaker can only get in the way of making good wine.  Nature gave us great, clean and ripe fruit, and we need only fulfill its promise.  Vintages like 2021 require inordinate amounts of attention to detail, a willingness to sacrifice bad fruit in the vineyard in order to make good wine in the cellar, a dedication and time commitment unparalleled in many other fields, and a drive that overlooks exhaustion, lack of sleep, and sore muscles.  Those ingredients have added up to what amounts to be the proof of work, required in challenging wine regions like the Finger Lakes, and years like 2021, that deliver high quality, deliciousness, and inspiration even under trying circumstances.  These are the vintages that prove the mettle of the winemaker.  2021 will be a vintage that I believe will deliver some of our best sparkling wines.  On their way in the years to come will be a small lot of estate Chenin Blanc, Cab Franc Rose, Chardonnay based Blanc de Blanc, Estate Riesling, and Gewurztraminer.  Our sparkling wine program has continued to grow and witness strong sales, and we are responding by increasing production with the focused goal of being known as one of the great sparkling wine producers in the region and the U.S.In other areas of “winery life,” our brand change continues moving ahead.  New signage should be up by the spring, and new labels showing up on shelves in Upstate New York retailers.  Our new labels shipped in October, and we began labelling wines as quickly as we could.  Our new labels speak to our place, with the shoreline of Seneca Lake outside our cellar presenting the background frame for where we are, our new logo, as discussed in our previous letters playing a prominent role, and each wine now suggesting a specific food and wine pairing.  Of course, these are only my opinions, but I welcome you to try them out and send me your suggestions as well!I generally try to make our Fall Wine Club shipment focused on wines that I think will pair well for Thanksgiving, and so with that backdrop, each of these wines will be on our Thanksgiving table, paired perfectly with all of the classic accoutrements of my favorite holiday.  2020 Sparkling Chenin BlancI’ve mentioned in the past that we have been pioneering Chenin Blanc in the Finger Lakes since 2015, when we engaged in our first contract planting of the varietal at the Gibson Vineyard.  The logic was pretty simple… I love Loire Valley wines.  The Loire, being a cool climate growing region in France, famously grows Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc.  One of the most premiere subregions in the Loire Valley, is Vouvray.  What is wonderful about Vouvray wines, is that so many different wine styles can emerge from them.  From dry crisp whites, to sparkling, to wonderfully rich and sweet styles, Chenin Blanc from Vouvray exhibits an amazing amount of versatility.  Knowing that the Finger Lakes can have such variable vintages, with there being a necessity to alter the styles of wine depending upon what the year gives us, combined with the fact that Cabernet Franc is, in my opinion, our premiere red varietal, planting Chenin Blanc just made sense to me.  We garnered our first harvest in 2017, making only a few dozen cases.  We have continued exploring the varietal, planting our estate block, and making a wide range of Chenin Blanc wines.  This spring, I hope to release our 2020 barrel fermented dry Chenin Blanc, alongside our 2021 estate Chenin Blanc which was fermented in stainless steel and finished with a touch of sweetness.  In the meantime, I’m extremely excited to share this first, Wine Club disgorgement of our 2020 Chenin Blanc.We began producing sparkling Chenin Blanc in 2019, but that wine remains in tirage, resting on its lees in bottle, with an anticipated disgorgement in 2023.  Only 50 cases were made in 2019, and with its level of acidity, it will need time to grow into its full potential.  2020, being a beautiful and ripe vintage, also managed to deliver to us some exhilarating and fresh sparkling wine bases.  Our 2020 Sparkling Chenin is technically an early disgorgement.  Most of the 100+ cases will be disgorged at a later date, but with the profile of this wine showing such elegance, I wanted to disgorge a special lot for our wine club members to enjoy this holiday season.  Just prior to harvest, we disgorged 30 cases, removing the spent yeast sediment and finishing the wine with a small dosage of a few grams of residual sugar.  This sparkling wine is still dry, but accentuates the wonderful fruit that comes from Chenin Blanc from the Gibson Vineyard.  Rather than topping the bottle with a Champagne cork, we opted to use a stainless steel crown cap.  Most of the time, when I use cork on sparkling wine, I will let the wine sit in the cellar for up to 6 months before release.  It can take quite a bit of time to allow the cork to cease its propensity to expand.  Trying to open a sparkling wine that has just been corked is nearly impossible, and can be dangerous if it is tried with a corkscrew due to the pressure inside.  Opening with a bottle opener isn’t as exhilarating as popping a cork, but I assure you, it has no impact on the quality.  It also means, you won’t have a problem opening it on Thanksgiving, should you want to share it with family and friends.  Produced in the classic traditional method, the base wine was picked slightly early, fermented to dryness, and chaptalized with 24 grams per liter of sugar prior to bottling with a yeast culture.  The wine then went through its bottle fermentation and aged for around a year on the lees in the bottle prior to disgorgement.  This is the first sparkling Chenin Blanc ever produced and released in the Finger Lakes, and we managed such a small disgorgement in order to ensure that our Wine Club members received the first chance at tasting the “unicorn” wine.  It has actually been one of the fun benefits of having the only two plantings of Chenin Blanc in the Finger Lakes, since ever demi sec, barrel fermented, sparkling, and dessert Chenin will inevitably be the first ones ever produced and released.  My hunch is, given some time and the opportunity to taste what these wines can do, we’ll start seeing more and more plantings of the varietal in the region.  When that happens, you’ll be able to say you joined us in this journey before anyone else.  2019 Morris Vineyard RieslingAs you may know, my philosophy on Riesling is to treat it with utmost care, producing dozens of small lots from which I can later blend our mainline Dry Riesling and Riesling.  I do that because I see these two wines as the canvas upon which I paint my view of that vintage through this varietal.  Fermenting in small lots, in different mediums with different yeast cultures, provides the color palette from which we can paint these pictures.  It is from these small lots that some exciting single vineyard, or specifically designated wines come from.  Our 2019 Morris Vineyard Riesling is no exception.  An incredibly small lot of 22.5 cases, this bottling represents a single barrel of Riesling which exhibited such immense appeal to me, that I wanted to be able to share it with our wine club.  Fermented in a ten year old barrel that delivered little to no oak flavor influence, this wine was uninoculated.  In other words, no commercial yeast culture was added to this wine, rather, only ambient yeasts converted the sugars in this wine to alcohol.  The Australians have a term for these wines - ferrell ferments.  Ferrell, referring to the fact that the fermentations are wild, are characterized by their lack of intervention from the winemaker.  Interestingly, it also means that there likely wasn’t a single yeast culture that fermented the wine, but rather, numerous different cultures that rose and fell in dominance depending on the conditions of the wine, i.e., the alcohol, nutrient load, etc., at any given time.  It was our job to merely produce fresh clean wines with as light of a hand as possible.  Consequently, after fermentation, the wine was allowed to rest on its lees (spent yeast) until March of 2020, when it received a small dose of sulfur to prevent oxidation.  It was removed from the barrel in June of 2020, and bottled in July.  We allowed the wine to cellar in a temperature controlled room until this shipment and its release.  In ten years, we have likely released more than 50 Rieslings.  Some vintages have seen as many as 8 different bottlings of the varietal.  Of all these different wines, this specific bottling is likely my favorite bottling of still Riesling to date.  Although dry, it provides generous fruit and balanced, but bright, acidity.  It is a perfect food pairing wine, and will be an excellent accompaniment for Thanksgiving Dinner. 2018 Cabernet FrancOf all the wines I produce, if there is one that my wife will most frequently ask me to grab for dinner from the winery, it will be one of my Cabernet Francs.  She loves them, and she also loves the variability they provide vintage after vintage.  Our 2017 Cabernet Franc, with a bright and sunny fall, but coming from a slightly larger crop, was refreshing and light with prominent notes of cherry and raspberry.  It has been the kind of wine enjoyed with a meal, and just as often, with some chocolate and television, relaxing after we have put the kids to bed.  Our 2018 is a much deeper wine, with slightly more pronounced tannin, richer color, and complement of herbs to match the fruit.  It’s richer texture can carry fattier meats, and pairs just as well with game.  It has become the new favorite around our house, and it is wine I am thrilled to be releasing shortly.  As with the other wines in this shipment, Wine Club members are getting the first tastes of these exciting new releases.When it comes to producing red wines, I do engage in some slightly different cellar practices than many of my other colleagues in the Finger Lakes.  I have mentioned many times before, but saignee is a French word for “the bleed.”  This practice involves removing portions of juice from a red wine fermentation before the fermentation has begun.  The goal of this technique is to naturally increase the skin to juice ratio of the red wine fermentation, thereby increasing the availability of anthocyanins and tannins.  Anthocyanins are the red color molecule that gives red wine its color, and so by increasing the availability of this molecule in the fermentation, I am able to produce deeper color red wines.  Additionally, increasing the tannin naturally provides more bonding points for the color, and adds structure to the wine.  All of this is in the backdrop of understanding that berry size tends to be much larger in the Finger Lakes, due to the amount of rainfall we receive.  Saignee provides the winemaker with a natural tool to make deeper, more structured red wines, while also making some pretty delicious rose from that initial “bleed.”  Finally, there is an impact on the acidity of the wine.  Grape skins contain potassium, and potassium can help precipitate tartaric acid during the fermentation, naturally lowering the level of acid and increasing the pH of the wine. If you like this podcast, please be sure to rate us 5 stars in Apple podcasts and like our videos on YouTube.  It really helps with the ratings and in introducing new folks to the show. Get full access to The Viti+Culture Podcast Newsletter at viticulturepodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Paul Moore is the Founder & Managing Partner of Wellings Capital, a real estate private equity firm focused on mobile home parks and self-storage facilities.  He is an author, podcaster, a regular contributor to Bigger Pockets and an experienced real estate investor. In this episode, Paul talks about forcing appreciation, speculating versus investing, and some of the metrics he looks at for mobile home parks and self-storage facilities.Paul talks about forcing appreciation and compressing cap rates as reliable ways to increase the value of an investment.  He explains what a cap rate is and how it works when forcing appreciation. He describes commercial real estate investing as buying an income stream and working to increase the income.Paul talks about his decision to move from multifamily to self-storage and mobile home park investing because he saw there was significant undervalued opportunity in those asset classes.  He likes asset classes with mom-and-pop owners because a good operator can dramatically increase efficiencies. He estimates around 85% of mobile home parks and 50% of self-storage facilities are owned by mom-and-pop owners.Paul discusses how he diversifies by operator, asset class and market, as well as how he does due diligence and vets operators.  He also talks about the advantages and disadvantages of investing in funds.Paul talks about the difference between in investing and speculating – investing is when principal is safe with a chance to make a return.  Speculating is when principal is not safe and there is a chance to make a return.  Paul discusses some of the metrics he looks at when evaluating a deal.  For self-storage – he looks at the density of self-storage in an area, requires the property to be on a main road and visible from the road, and the average income for the area should be equal to average income near the facility.  For mobile homes – he only looks at parks in a town with 5000 or more people, within five miles of a Super Walmart, and no private water or sewer.Podcasts he recommends:The Real Estate Guys Radio ShowBigger Pockets Bigger Pockets Business  Books mentioned on the show:Storing Up Profits: Capitalizing on America's Obsession with STUFF by Investing in Self-Storage The Hands-Off Investor Paul mentions his work fighting against human trafficking, below are the educational resources he recommended:Nefarious Exoduscry.comTo connect with Paul go to wellingscapital.com.If you would like to contact Jim Pfeifer, you can email him at jim@leftfieldinvestors.com or if you would like to find out more about Left Field Investors go to www.leftfieldinvestors.com.  Our sponsor, Tribevest provides the easiest way to form, fund, and manage your Investor Tribe with people you know like, and trust.  Tribevest is the Investor Tribe management platform of choice for Jim Pfeifer and the Left Field Investor's Community.    Tribevest is a strategic partner and sponsor of Passive Investing from Left Field.  

Fact checking super fan Tom Callahan, free birthday treats, the Asian coffee lady and coffee charging pads. Also, famous people who we share birthdays with, late night shopping at the Super Walmart and campaign quotes. All that and more on this episode of The Born Stupid show.

This week our boys get a new neighbor and consume.@roadsodaspod on instagramCorrespondence? Comments? Improvements? How dare you. Email us at roadsodaspod@gmail.com

Wow! Geese flying over tonight, flying east! Have I mentioned in a while just how much I cannot stand Tonic Water? I know it's good for me and all...Oh, and is anyone anywhere else having issues finding Vicks Vap-O-Rub? TWO different Super Walmart's -OUT, Publix -OUT, CVS -OUT! I got the last one on the shelf at Walgreens on Sunday. Have the workers at the plant been deemed as nonessential? You are more than essential for what I do here! THANK YOU for always being here! The Music Authority LIVE STREAM Show & Podcast...recorded and on Tune In, Podcast Addict, Cast Box, Radio Public, and Pocket Cast, APPLE iTunes, AND Google Play Music! AND NOW IN CANADA! https://s1.citrus3.com:2000/public/HCRRadio Hamilton Co-Op Radio! Follow the show on TWITTER JimPrell@TMusicAuthority!  Are you listening?   April 27, 2020, Monday, verse three…Microcosms - TightropeJenny James - I Don't Care AnymoreThe Coral Cross Band - NarcissistThe Coral Cross Band – WorthCharms Against the Evil Eye - 19 Oscar [Big Stir Singles The Second Wave] (Big Stir Records)Richard Turgeon - Still Not Ready to DieDream Aria - Lingua CosmicaJamie Hoover Music - Battle Scars (@Loaded Goat Records)The Lunar Laugh - 10 Saying Goodbye [Goodnight Noises Everywhere] (You Are the Cosmos - Record Label)The Crushing Violets - DragonSarajevo '84 - Arctic FireThe Cynz - Quick Fix ManIn Deed - 12 I'm Alright (When I'm With You) [Everest (Extended CD Version)] (Big Stir Records)Genya Ravan - 12 Shadowboxing (Rum Bar Records)Uncle Watson's Widow Featuring Kate Evans – The Truth Will Set You Free

Long time listeners are well-aware of my love of cemeteries. This week, we’re going to cover 6 cemeteries that may not have enough history for their own episodes, but are still places everyone should visit. Learn about the final resting places of Revolutionary War soldiers, the Father of Country Music, the creator of Chick-fil-A, the real-life inspiration for Driving Miss Daisy and where Dr. King was first interred before moving to the King Center. Also, the first community mausoleum in the South and a cemetery in the parking lot of a Super Walmart! Enjoying the podcast? Visit: www.patreon.com/archiveatlanta www.archiveatlantapodcast.com/ Email: thevictorialemos@gmail.com FB: www.facebook.com/archiveatlanta IG: www.instagram.com/archiveatlanta T: www.twitter.com/ArchiveAtlanta  

This is a great interview with Gary Harris on his bareboat charter along the Amalfi Coast. Gary has allowed me to share his journal for the trip along with the photographs, Here it is! July 23, 2016 Castellammare di Stabia- We arrived at Naples terminal from Florence at 11:00. We had previously arranged a van and driver through Pompeii Car Service to meet us at the terminal and Mario was waiting with his 8 person Mercedes Van. We mentioned that we'd like to have lunch nearby then visit Mt Vesuvius. As we were in Naples, he suggested a Pizza place in town which, if we are lucky, would not yet have a line. We were pleasantly surprised to find no line at L'antica Pizzeria da Michele which is an unassuming place on a small side street that one would never know has the best pizza in Naples (and thereby Italy, and therefore in the world). Here there are exactly 3 items on the menu; Margherita, Margherita with extra cheese, and Marinara. We sat at the basic formica tables on simple chairs and ordered 5 pizzas and two bottles of still water for the seven of us which arrived in about 7 minutes. There was a signed photo on the wall above our table of Julia Roberts, who apparently added notoriety (especially for American tourists) by eating at this restaurant in “Eat, Pray, Love” (spectacularly awful movie). The pizza was fantastic which we ravenously devoured in 15 minutes. At this point the restaurant had filled with locals and tourists and a line had formed outside. Mario was waiting outside as routed through Naples, noting interesting items and facts about the city on our way to Vesuvius. He dropped us at the end of the road several hundred feet below the summit where we paid the park entrance fee and walked the mile or so to the top where we looked down into the caldera and had a hazy view of the entire bay of Naples including the Sorrento peninsula and Isle of Capri to the South and Procida and Ischia to the north west. Mario mentioned the haze was primarily from the unusually high humidity that day and not pollution. We spent 20 or so minutes at the top then returned to meet Mario at the drop off point. The drive to Castellammare di Stabia took about 45 minutes and he had to circle around the marina area and ask a couple of times to find Sun Charters (office marked with another charter company sign). The boat was ready early so we unloaded our luggage and send the kids aboard while Val, Holly and I had Mario take us to Auchan Pompei for provisions. Auchan is a supermarket / Mega store akin to Super Walmart in the states. We found everything we could want at very reasonable prices. We even picked up a couple of beach towels and a large “American style” pillow to augment the typical charter boat flat pillows. We spent 149€ on provisions for the week, thinking that we'd augment with local fresh bread and water each morning, eat breakfast and lunch on the boat and dine ashore each night which worked out quite well. We returned to the boat, arriving right around 5:45. Mario suggested 250€ for the nearly 7 hours of driving (normal rate is 100€ from Naples + 30€ / hour) and I threw in another 20€ tip (not expected in Italy but, alas, American habits die hard). Certainly, the hired van was a bit of a pricey extravagance but, the convenience and Mario's local knowledge to get us the Pizza, tour of Naples, and especially finding the Charter company lead me to consider this money well spent. Nick, Scott and I did the boat check-out with Sun Charter personnel while the rest went ashore in search of Gelato and dinner. The check out was fairly basic with going through running the motor, explaining the instruments, and going through the electrical panel. Asked for and received helpful suggestions on good anchorages at the Islands and confirmation that Agropoly was worth a visit. I received the equipment list which I did inventory separately. When asked, I said we'd stay aboard that evening but would like to leave early in the morning.

When someone makes a promise to you and then doesn’t follow through, would you believe them the next time? And if you trust them a second time and they don’t come through, what about a third time? In recent years, plans for new developments in the West End -- like the FoodPort and a Super Walmart -- have come and gone. Now, west Louisville residents are again being asked to put their faith in planned developments aimed at revitalizing the neighborhoods, particularly Russell. Will things be different this time? For some projects, the answer seems to be yes -- things are going along as planned. For others, the future seems less certain. _ Here Today is listener supported, and every little bit helps. Click here to support the work we do: wfpl.org/supportheretoday

Tony opens the show by debating with Torie about whether he was invited to her party, and also about the etiquette of re-gifting wedding presents. ESPN's Brian Windhorst calls in to talk some NBA, and Nigel gives the news.  During Old Guy Radio, Tony talks about the passing of Doris Day, the Wizards play by play job, and about his trip to a Super Walmart.  Lastly, they close out the show by opening up the mailbag.  Songs : The Diane Kruger Effect "March Awareness Month" "Song Arrangement Blues"

  In today's episode, we help Melissa take her writing business to the next level. FULL TRANSCRIPT Jocelyn Sams: Hey y'all. On today's podcast, we help Melissa take her writing business to the next level. Shane Sams: Welcome to The Flipped Lifestyle Podcast, where life always comes before work. We're your hosts, Shane and Jocelyn Sams. We're a real family that figured out how to make our entire living online. Now, we help other families do the same. Are you ready to flip your life? All right, let's get started. Shane Sams: What's going on everybody? Welcome back to The Flipped Lifestyle Podcast. It is great to be back with you again today. Super excited to be helping another one of our amazing Flip Your Life community members take their business and their life to the next level. We are super excited today to welcome Melissa Webb to the show. Melissa, welcome to the podcast. Melissa Webb: Well, thank you so much you guys. I am so excited. This is such a big deal for me, and I can't thank you enough for having me on. Jocelyn Sams: Yeah. I have been, seriously, waiting for this podcast for weeks, because I have an amazing story to tell about Melissa. We actually have not met Melissa in real life just yet, but she did sign up for one of our coaching calls. We do a limited amount of one-on-one coaching, and Melissa had signed up to talk to me. Jocelyn Sams: This is kind of interesting because I do a lot of calls in the evening because my kid is doing gymnastics and it's in another town, and it really isn't a long enough amount of time for me to drive all the way home, so I sit in a parking lot while I wait for her. Shane Sams: Oh my gosh. This story's amazing. I forgot about this. Oh, guys, buckle up. This is the best story ever. Jocelyn Sams: This is actually my first evening call that I had done since we started doing the one-on-one calls. I thought, "Hey, I'm going to have something to do while I'm sitting here waiting. This is not the worst thing, make a little money and hang out and talk to somebody in our community." Like, "Pretty good night." Shane Sams: She does it in a parking lot because in this little, small Southeast Kentucky town, literally, the only place you can get enough Internet to make a call is in the Walmart parking lot, so that's why she's sitting in a parking lot making this call. Jocelyn Sams: This is pretty much as like Podunk, small town as it gets, okay? Shane Sams: I love it! You said, "Podunk." Jocelyn Sams: This is, okay, I just want to like also say that this is not even a Super Walmart, okay? This is like a- Shane Sams: It's an old school Walmart- Jocelyn Sams: Old school. Shane Sams: It's like 1987 Walmart is what we're talking about here. Jocelyn Sams: Yes. Okay, so I'm sitting in the parking lot and I just connected up to Melissa, who's in California, right? Melissa Webb: Yes. Jocelyn Sams: Okay. I just connected up to her in California. I go to the parking lot and I find a place to go, which is underneath a big light pole, so I think, "This is fine." Let me just say also that I have sat in this parking lot, literally, like hundreds of times, completely uneventful. Jocelyn Sams: I go and I connect up on this call to Melissa. I park in the middle of the parking lot under a big light pole. We had, seriously, been on the call maybe about 60 seconds when this, as I call it, van full of rednecks pulls up beside me. When I say beside me, I mean like within probably 50 feet. Not even that. I'd say about 20 feet from me. Jocelyn Sams: Not only was it a van full of rednecks, they have the doors, like the side doors are all open. They are yelling at someone in a pickup truck across the parking lot, and not only are they yelling at them, this crazy woman gets out with a baseball bat, a baseball bat. You cannot make this up, and starts waving it at this man in the parking lot. Shane Sams: A fight breaks out in a Walmart parking lot,

In today's episode, we help Melissa take her writing business to the next level. FULL TRANSCRIPT Jocelyn Sams: Hey y'all. On today's podcast, we help Melissa take her writing business to the next level. Shane Sams: Welcome to The Flipped Lifestyle Podcast, where life always comes before work. We're your hosts, Shane and Jocelyn Sams. We're a real family that figured out how to make our entire living online. Now, we help other families do the same. Are you ready to flip your life? All right, let's get started. Shane Sams: What's going on everybody? Welcome back to The Flipped Lifestyle Podcast. It is great to be back with you again today. Super excited to be helping another one of our amazing Flip Your Life community members take their business and their life to the next level. We are super excited today to welcome Melissa Webb to the show. Melissa, welcome to the podcast. Melissa Webb: Well, thank you so much you guys. I am so excited. This is such a big deal for me, and I can't thank you enough for having me on. Jocelyn Sams: Yeah. I have been, seriously, waiting for this podcast for weeks, because I have an amazing story to tell about Melissa. We actually have not met Melissa in real life just yet, but she did sign up for one of our coaching calls. We do a limited amount of one-on-one coaching, and Melissa had signed up to talk to me. Jocelyn Sams: This is kind of interesting because I do a lot of calls in the evening because my kid is doing gymnastics and it's in another town, and it really isn't a long enough amount of time for me to drive all the way home, so I sit in a parking lot while I wait for her. Shane Sams: Oh my gosh. This story's amazing. I forgot about this. Oh, guys, buckle up. This is the best story ever. Jocelyn Sams: This is actually my first evening call that I had done since we started doing the one-on-one calls. I thought, "Hey, I'm going to have something to do while I'm sitting here waiting. This is not the worst thing, make a little money and hang out and talk to somebody in our community." Like, "Pretty good night." Shane Sams: She does it in a parking lot because in this little, small Southeast Kentucky town, literally, the only place you can get enough Internet to make a call is in the Walmart parking lot, so that's why she's sitting in a parking lot making this call. Jocelyn Sams: This is pretty much as like Podunk, small town as it gets, okay? Shane Sams: I love it! You said, "Podunk." Jocelyn Sams: This is, okay, I just want to like also say that this is not even a Super Walmart, okay? This is like a- Shane Sams: It's an old school Walmart- Jocelyn Sams: Old school. Shane Sams: It's like 1987 Walmart is what we're talking about here. Jocelyn Sams: Yes. Okay, so I'm sitting in the parking lot and I just connected up to Melissa, who's in California, right? Melissa Webb: Yes. Jocelyn Sams: Okay. I just connected up to her in California. I go to the parking lot and I find a place to go, which is underneath a big light pole, so I think, "This is fine." Let me just say also that I have sat in this parking lot, literally, like hundreds of times, completely uneventful. Jocelyn Sams: I go and I connect up on this call to Melissa. I park in the middle of the parking lot under a big light pole. We had, seriously, been on the call maybe about 60 seconds when this, as I call it, van full of rednecks pulls up beside me. When I say beside me, I mean like within probably 50 feet. Not even that. I'd say about 20 feet from me. Jocelyn Sams: Not only was it a van full of rednecks, they have the doors, like the side doors are all open. They are yelling at someone in a pickup truck across the parking lot, and not only are they yelling at them, this crazy woman gets out with a baseball bat, a baseball bat. You cannot make this up, and starts waving it at this man in the parking lot. Shane Sams: A fight breaks out in a Walmart parking lot, led by a crazy woman with a baseball bat and it's a van full of rednecks versus a pickup truck. Jocelyn Sams: I could nearly, I could almost reach out and touch them. I'm on this call, that someone has paid for, Melissa has paid for, and I'm like, "Uh ..." I don't even know what to say. Because I'm just like, when on earth are you in this situation? It's not like anything has prepared you for this situation. Shane Sams: Yeah. Has anyone else ever had to ... You had to move your car. You had to move it. Jocelyn Sams: Yeah, so I'm like, "Uh, okay. I know this sounds really weird, but like there's these people beside me ..." Shane Sams: There's a street fight breaking out next to me, Melissa, and I got to go to the other end of the Walmart parking lot. At this point, Melissa's probably like, "Maybe I signed up for the wrong first step." Jocelyn Sams: No, listen. She was like so nice to me. She's like, "I just want you to be safe." Shane Sams: Melissa, what were you thinking when Jocelyn was like, "Hey, look a street fight just broke out between this woman with a baseball bat and a dude in a pickup truck, so could you give me five minutes-" Melissa Webb: Oh my gosh. Shane Sams: ... "and start the call?" Like what were you thinking at this point right now? Melissa Webb: I was thinking like, "Okay, I could totally write a story here." Jocelyn Sams: Exactly. Shane Sams: You couldn't make it up, because nobody could imagine something like that happening. Jocelyn Sams: No, you can't make this stuff up. Melissa Webb: Totally, so from my perspective, it was fantastic. Like I have told this story so many times because on my end, so here I was, I put down a good chunk of change to like have some valuable time, one-on-one with Jocelyn, and so she was right. Like 60 seconds in, she's asking me some questions, I'm giving her some feedback and then she's like, "Um, hang on just a second. There is a person wielding a bat next to me." Shane Sams: Wielding a bat. This is- Melissa Webb: I'm like, "Jocelyn, just call me back." Like, "Drop the phone, go. Go be safe." Like, "Go take care of yourself." She's like, "No, hang on just a second," and like I hear the phone like fly out of her hand, like probably into the passenger seat. The car's moving. Shane Sams: Oh my god. Melissa Webb: I'm just like on the line, like hanging on. Like, "Is she okay? What's going on?" All of a sudden, like I don't know, seconds go past and she comes back on, totally collected herself. She's like, "Okay, that was interesting, so that's what we were talking about." Shane Sams: Task switching at its finest right there. Jocelyn Sams: Oh my goodness, so- Shane Sams: She's also simultaneously texting a friend of hers- Jocelyn Sams: Yes. Shane Sams: ... to dial 911 to call the police because there's a fight breaking out in Walmart's parking lot. Jocelyn Sams: Yeah, because I'm on this call and I've already been like, "Hold on just a minute." I don't want to be like, "Hold on, let me call the cops." Jocelyn Sams: Being the like ever-present professional that I am, I get on my computer and I typed to my friend on text, because her uncle is like the Police Chief of this town. I'm like, "Can you please call the police and tell them to come?" The police do come. They talked to the people. No one was arrested because, I guess, no like physical ... Shane Sams: She didn't swing her bat. Jocelyn Sams: Yeah. Shane Sams: Apparently, so no. Jocelyn Sams: Yeah, and they're like, this whole thing, they're like yelling profanity. I mean, this was like, you cannot make this up. I mean, you just can't. Melissa Webb: No. Shane Sams: The moral of the story is if you want to be on the most entertaining coaching calls in the history of the world, be a part of The Flip Your Life community and you might grab one of these street fight calls with me and Jocelyn. You know what I mean? Like- Melissa Webb: Oh my gosh. It was awesome. Shane Sams: She sent me a message- Melissa Webb: I was awesome. Shane Sams: She sent me a message- Melissa Webb: It was awesome because it all ended well. Shane Sams: Yeah, no doubt. Nobody hit the ... Broke our windshield with a baseball bat to prove they could swing it. Like, the funny thing was that Jocelyn also text me. She sent me this weird text. Shane Sams: It was like, "Talking to Melissa. Just called the police on a big woman with baseball bat." I'm like, "What?" Like, how ... I didn't even know what she was talking about, so I didn't hear this story 'til later, and oh my gosh. I laughed for hours and hours and hours about that call, so ... Jocelyn Sams: Yeah, so there's never a dull moment. Shane Sams: We decided to bring you on the podcast for surviving the street fight at Walmart. Jocelyn Sams: Well, I just wanted to say that I did over-deliver for this call. We talked for a really long time because I felt really bad about this. Melissa Webb: It was the half hour session and she gave me a full hour. Shane Sams: Oh, I love it. Jocelyn Sams: Exactly. Shane Sams: See, that's how you- Jocelyn Sams: Yeah. It all turned out okay. We talked through some stuff. I think that we had a good ending, and you've actually had some successes since, so I can't wait to dive into that. Let's kind of bring this thing back around a little bit. Tell everybody a little bit about you and like your background and what you're doing online. Melissa Webb: Oh, absolutely. I do have to say I'm very happy to know that you're recording this in the safety of your own home. Shane Sams: Right, exactly. Melissa Webb: Okay, so yes. A little bit about me. As anybody might see on my Instagram profile, I am a bold believer and I am a very happy wife of pretty much the world's must supportive husband. I hear people talk about not having that. I'm so grateful I have that. I am a loving mom of three spectacular boys. Our youngest is now 15 years old. Melissa Webb: I am a very passionate teacher, especially when it comes to writing. I will geek out over course standards and things of that nature. I am the creator and owner of WriteOnWebb.com. I am a huge fan of home schooling moms everywhere, they are the unsung heroes. Jocelyn, you are joining those ranks, girl. In the spring of 2019, I'm also going to be a published children's book author, super excited for that. As of January 11th, 2019, I will be unemployed. Jocelyn Sams: Wow. Shane Sams: That's crazy. Because that's happening in like what? Three weeks? Is that what- Melissa Webb: Yes. Shane Sams: Yes, wow. Now, are you unemployed or unemployable? There's a difference there, you see what I mean? Melissa Webb: Oh, good. Shane Sams: Unemployable is like, "I'm going to go make my own money and not work for anyone else." That's like what unemployable is, correct? Melissa Webb: Yes. Shane Sams: My mom and ... Jocelyn's grandfather, I tell this story all the time. When we quit our jobs ... Like he's an old guy, worked in the coal mines. Didn't really get it, what we were doing. Right? Melissa Webb: Yeah. Shane Sams: One time, we went home and he reached over and slipped me a 20 in a handshake and he pat me on the shoulder and he goes, "I know you're not working now, son, so there's a little gas money to get home." I'm like- Jocelyn Sams: Which was so sweet. Shane Sams: It was so sweet, I was like, "Do I want to break this guy's heart?" Melissa Webb: So sweet. Shane Sams: ... Or just be like, "Thanks, papa," you know what I mean? Like I just took the money. He didn't realize I was unemployable, not unemployed. Does that make sense? Melissa Webb: I love it. Shane Sams: Awesome. Melissa Webb: I love it. It was by my choice, in fact. I've been a teacher for 26 years and I have worked for an amazing charter school, Julian Charter School in San Diego area, and love it. I'm happy to be leaving on excellent terms. Shane Sams: Awesome. Melissa Webb: I'm actually kind of switching hats. I want to be a vendor of theirs, so I can still support their home schooling families in the area of writing. It's all good, it's just I kind of feel like I want to throw up and jump for joy at the same time. Shane Sams: For sure. It's a big change. Jocelyn Sams: Yes. Shane Sams: Any big change like that is going to be, not disruptive, but just like riding a new wave. Right? Melissa Webb: Yes. Shane Sams: It's going to be scary to go out and do something different. Does your online business, this Write On Webb, it's supporting home school co-ops and home school teachers for writing, or is it bigger than that? Like what's ... Or is it a bigger, broader scope than that? Like what exactly is Write On Webb? Melissa Webb: I directly work with home schooling moms, who want to teach excellent writing but they're, honestly, they're overwhelmed. With the whole Common Core and course standards, all students are supposed to understand the difference between persuasive and expository and narrative and then understand what descriptive is, and then all of the subcategories under that. It's a lot. Melissa Webb: It's what I love to teach, and so I actually am happy to teach it, so that they can take something off their plate. They know that everything I put out for them ... I use Teachable to house all of my lessons, so I have all the videos are embedded in that. I think the biggest difference that people love about what I'm doing is that I create a community of these young writers in grades three through eight. Shane Sams: Got you. Melissa Webb: They love that. Like the kids, like I have a joke of the week every week. It's a Q&A time and we go live. It's the one thing that in a home school environment, if a family is not using co-op for things like that, then who's their audience? Melissa Webb: The child needs an audience and as great as mom is, that's a tough one. You need other children to be around and you get that in a traditional class, but when you're home schooled, it's like that missing piece, and I provide that and have so much fun doing it. Shane Sams: That's awesome. We just started home schooling about two weeks ago. Melissa Webb: I know. I'm so excited for you. Shane Sams: It's been really, really good but really, really challenging. Not hard. Like there's nothing been hard about like ... Like hard is laying bricks or building a ... You know what I mean? Melissa Webb: Yes. Shane Sams: It has been ... You got to be more intentional. You really got to control your schedule. There is a lot more responsibility feeling to it, right? Melissa Webb: Oh, yes. Shane Sams: You know what I'm saying? Writing was one of the things Jocelyn was worried about. Like getting that writing experience. Like we live in a small area. Shane Sams: There are some people working together, but it's not like in a bigger city or like a San Diego where you're going to have these co-ops, you're going to have these schools, you're going to have all these resources, so we've definitely turned toward these virtual type things for different subjects, like what you're doing. Melissa Webb: Yes. Shane Sams: There's millions of kids being home schooled. Like people don't realize how many people are actually being home schooled out there. You know? Melissa Webb: Yes. Shane Sams: This would even be good ... This is like, this could even be supplemental to kids who are struggling with writing in regular school though too, right? Melissa Webb: Absolutely. I've actually started from my monthly live courses, I've created stand-alone versions so that people can do just that. I've already had a few sales of that. I think you're absolutely right. Then in the summer, I usually do ... I actually did a, I did a really fun book club last summer. I did invite Isaac, by the way. Jocelyn Sams: Oh, okay. Shane Sams: Oh, you did? Was it virtual? Was it an email? Okay. Melissa Webb: I was like, "Hey, Isaac should join." For some reason, you were busy or something. Shane Sams: Oh, yeah. Okay. We will definitely look for that this year. We get a lot of messages, Melissa. Melissa Webb: You think? Shane Sams: You can imagine what our inbox looks like and all that. Melissa Webb: Oh, I can only imagine. Shane Sams: We may have missed that one. I love that, because you've got so much opportunity to make money year-round with something like this, and you can just- Melissa Webb: Yes. Shane Sams: ... kind of pass through different seasons of different people's calendars and make that happen. Melissa Webb: Yes, well, okay. In the forum, which, okay, can I just say how much I love your forum? Because it is gold. I just, I have to say, so at first, people will, obviously, want to listen to your podcasts, because your podcasts are just free value. Melissa Webb: I heard you first on Pat Flynn, and I haven't stopped listening to you since. That was like, I don't know ... The one I heard, because I think you've been on a few times, was back in May 2017. I think it was his number 265, I think. Shane Sams: Oh yeah, that was- Melissa Webb: Anyway, yeah. I started listening, I haven't stopped. At first, I was like, "This is awesome. It's all free stuff. This is really great." You are so generous as individuals. Like you can just tell it's from your heart. Melissa Webb: I was just gobbling up all of your free information and making huge progress until finally, I was like, "I really love this forum that they're talking about. I like the idea. I want to get in there and check it out." I'm going to tell you, like people don't get how much they're missing. Like not only do you have your blueprint, which has like all of the video lessons embedded in there ... That's where I got my idea. Melissa Webb: Like, I was like, "Ah, I love how they have this here. They still have live components, but they have all these resources that I can go to on my own time and my own schedule." Then, I jumped in and started talking to other like-minded people, and amazing, amazing. Then I heard, do you remember Cory Doohan? Shane Sams: Oh, yeah. Melissa Webb: He was on your number 190. He was the auto detailing expert. Shane Sams: Yup. Melissa Webb: Yeah. He and this other guy Nick Robishaud and then another gentleman by the name of Mike Henry. We all put together a Mastermind and we still meet. It's been like eight months. We were just figuring it out, how long it's been. It's been eight months. We meet every other week- Shane Sams: Wow. Melissa Webb: ... in a Zoom room. We hold each other accountable- Shane Sams: None of you knew each other beforehand, right? None of you knew each other before the forums. You met each other like in the community and started getting together and all that. Melissa Webb: Yes. It was your community. Yeah. Shane Sams: Isn't it cool though, like to have like ... We always view like everything ... We try to always view it like a ... When we say community, we don't just mean like, "Oh, you're in our online membership." It's literally like a community. Melissa Webb: Yes. Shane Sams: You've got your family, you've got your friends, you've got your extended network. We really, like we even call our live event, the big one that we do every year, we call it the Flip Your Life family reunion when we talk about it. Like we don't actually call it like the live conference or some business thing, we call it the family ... "What time's the family reunion? Yeah, we're starting at 3:00." Like we actually talk about it like that. Melissa Webb: Oh, absolutely. Shane Sams: It's amazing how many of these little pockets of Masterminds do happen. They're all over the place. Jocelyn Sams: Probably some we don't even know about. Like I know that there's one that meets in Ohio. There's several ladies who get together. Shane Sams: One up in Cleveland. Yeah, that group. One in California. You guys are meeting online, virtually. Jocelyn Sams: There are a bunch of people who do like Zoom calls and things like that. I mean, we would love to know about these. Maybe we should start a discussion in the community. Shane Sams: Yeah. We need to get a list of all of them. Like it's crazy how ... Jocelyn and I always talk to each other about like, we talk to, yeah, we actually had someone on the podcast though today that lives in Saudi Arabia. Like what are chances that two people in Kentucky would connect on a business call and a podcast with someone on the other side of the planet. Shane Sams: Then we hear about you guys meeting each other, and like one's in California, one's in Canada, one's over here, one's over there. It's like these connections would never happen in some random course. It's happening because this community is a living, breathing, actual place for like-minded people, family-focused entrepreneurs to connect. Shane Sams: Yeah, it blows our mind every day when we hear stories like this. There's a funny story about Nick Robishaud. Nick came to our live event. I don't know if you know this story. I don't know, did he tell you about what happened in the moderator thing? Did he tell you guys about- Melissa Webb: Yes. Shane Sams: Okay- Melissa Webb: He was so stoked about that experience. Shane Sams: We have moderators in our community, people who are really active. They're in there, they're helping a lot of people. We give them a few perks to help us kind of just moderate and manage forums, just like any community would have online. Jocelyn Sams: In September, one of the things that we offered for our moderators was when we had our live event, we had like a little special- Shane Sams: Like moderator meetup, but with us. Jocelyn Sams: Yeah, so we met them like before we met everyone else, just as like a little perk of, to say, "Thank you for being a moderator." Shane Sams: I'm standing there, and we have a lot of moderators so it's hard for me ... We have, there's so many people we have to manage, it's hard for me to remember every single person, every single minute. Nick walks up to me and I don't really recognize him. He's got a thing on that says "moderator." It says "Nick Robishaud." Shane Sams: Like sometimes, like our assistant will hire a moderator and then we'll find out about it later, and then we'll talk to them. It's like all kinds of different ... Jocelyn Sams: We're giving out these invitations, so when people checked-in, they got a name tag that said "moderator" if they were a moderator, and then they got an invitation to tell them where and when to go to the party. Shane Sams: Nick comes up to me, goes, "Hey, Shane." I'm, "Hey, Nick." I thought he might have been a brand new moderator or something like that. He goes, "Shane, listen. I feel bad." I go, "Why do you feel bad, man? We're here to have a good time." He goes, "No, man. Let me tell you something." He leans in and he goes, "You see, I'm not really a moderator." I go, "What?" I go, "What do you mean?" Shane Sams: Now remember, this is only for moderators. There's 20 people in this room, all by ourselves. I'm like, "Did this guy beat up a guy in the elevator and take his pass?" Like, "How did he get in here?" Jocelyn Sams: The funny thing is, we never would have known. Shane Sams: I never would have known if he had never said anything. Jocelyn Sams: We never would have known. Shane Sams: I would have found out later, but he goes, "Yeah, man," he goes, "I got to the sign-in table, they handed me my name badge and they handed me this envelope. I open it up and it's got my name on it and it says 'moderator.' I thought, 'Oh, no. They've accidentally put me on the moderator list.' I went over to the side and I called my wife and I said, 'What do you think I should do? Do you think I should tell them or do you think I should just go to this party so I can hang out with Shane and Jocelyn?'" She was like, "Go to the party." Shane Sams: He just went with it and he just walked in and he was like, "Yeah." He goes, "I just, I'm sorry. I just could not pass this up. I had to come up here and talk to you guys." Jocelyn Sams: We laughed so hard. Shane Sams: I laughed so hard. I actually was so impressed that he did that, because that's exactly what I would have done. Like I would have totally went over to Jocelyn and like, "Look ..." Jocelyn Sams: You would have no conscious about it. Shane Sams: I would have had no conscious about it. I wouldn't have asked her, I'd have told her, "We're going to this party because we got in." He came upstairs, and we hung out. If anyone ever makes a mistake, they give you the key, walk through the door. Jocelyn Sams: Exactly. Shane Sams: It was absolutely- Melissa Webb: Gosh. Yeah. Shane Sams: I actually opened my computer and I made him a moderator right there. I just said, "All right. Now you're really a moderator, so you're here legally, Nick." Melissa Webb: I love it. I love it. Well, and when Nick was telling us the story, because it is like the best story, he was saying like at one point he was like, "You know what? I know if this happened to Shane, he would totally go to this party, so I'm going." Shane Sams: 100%. Without- Jocelyn Sams: Absolutely. Shane Sams: Yes. Jocelyn Sams: Yes. Nick, he's one of my introvert friends. I had this conversation with him. We talked about being an introvert and all the different challenges of it. Awesome person. So glad that I had the opportunity to meet him in person. Shane Sams: You got a good group. I would keep that group together as well. Jocelyn Sams: They are amazing. Shane Sams: Okay. All right, let's turn back to you now. Let's talk about your business. Jocelyn Sams: All right, so we talked a few weeks ago and- Melissa Webb: Yes. Jocelyn Sams: We talked about some different things that you were working on, and we talked about kind of what next steps you were going to take. Let's start there and talk about like what were you doing before? What have you done after? Then, we'll sort of get into your next steps. Melissa Webb: Absolutely. When I talked to you, one of the ... Well, one of the issues that I was having at the time and I know a lot of people struggle with this. I had so many ideas going around in my head that I really didn't know what to do, like in what order. Melissa Webb: Lots of people will tell you, "Just write it all down." Okay, great. Now those ideas are out of my head but they're still staring at me, glaring at me on this piece of paper. I still don't know what I need to do first, second, third, fourth. Again, the list felt like it was 20 ideas deep. Melissa Webb: What I loved about our conversation, Jocelyn, is that you were ... It was so, it seemed so simple to you to be able to just say, "Okay, so out of all of these things, it sounds like first we're going to want to help you grow your list, but before we do that, let's take a look at your Google Analytics. You just, you had these few steps for me to do. Melissa Webb: One of the things that I had said is that, I really wanted to grow my home schooling audience and I wasn't sure really how to that. Obviously, I did the Facebook things and some of the social medias. You had also suggested putting things on my website, some free giveaways, things that would really draw a person in. Melissa Webb: That whole thing about it's important that, you have to realize if people don't know you, they don't trust you, and they don't like you yet. You need to let people know you, trust you, like you. I thought, "That is a great idea. I'm going to put some things on there that are just like those giveaways, and that the course comes with an exchange in email." I did all of that. Melissa Webb: Then you suggested I start listening to like podcasts of home schoolers, so I started looking at some of those. Then I was like, "I really want to find out ... I don't want to just, out of the blue, go to these people and say, 'May I be on your podcast? I really want to bring value to you and to your community.'" How do I ... I just felt so lost. I really appreciated that you gave me some steps in doing that. Melissa Webb: That's where I am right now, is where I really want to continue. The question that I have or the advice that I need is if I were to approach a podcast host, what could I offer or suggest that might interest them in having me on? Jocelyn Sams: Okay, we will get into that, for sure. I want you to talk about, a little bit, you posted a success story. We talked like, I guess it was about a month ago. We're recording this in like mid-December right now. Talk about your success story. You did these things. We talked, you did the work, and what happened? Melissa Webb: A lot happened. I actually, since we talked last time, I have gone up in 50 ... I have 50 new subscribers and so my email list has grown. I ended up doing another ... I just have to tell you, so Jocelyn, you motivated me to like work, work, work, work, work. I think I put a few success stories in there, so I'm not even sure if there's a specific one that you're talking about. Melissa Webb: I most recently did the KingSumo giveaway, where I was giving away books. I got more people that way. I mean, the whole thing, the whole idea, and you guys are so big on this, is it takes action people. Like you can't just think it and want it, you have to do it. I've just been doing. Like since we got off the phone, I stayed up another four hours that night, you had me so motivated. Jocelyn Sams: I love that, I love that. Shane Sams: Basically- Melissa Webb: Everything's off like crazy. If there's a specific one you want to know about, you just tell me, but I just don't stop. Shane Sams: Basically, what happened was, you talked to Jocelyn. The big thing was, is growing your list. One of the strategies she talked about was, well, if you go out and go on 20 of these podcasts, we'll probably get a bunch more emails. Right? Melissa Webb: Right. Shane Sams: You started ticking off all the other ideas, like putting thing actually on your site, they can opt-in when they find the site. Going out and offering some kind of benefit or opt-in or something like that. Low and behold, you did that and your email list actually started growing. Jocelyn Sams: The one that I was talking about specifically is the one where you talked about getting 10 new members in December. Like that's crazy. A lot of people think, "Oh, December is so busy. It's Christmas time," whatever. You said, "No. I'm not going to use that as an excuse. I'm going to create some type of value for these people and pitch them something." Low and behold, what happened? Melissa Webb: I did. I got 10 more. I now have 70 students- Shane Sams: That's amazing. Melissa Webb: ... total in my online writing business. Shane Sams: It's cool because, like after you talked to Jocelyn, like all ... These things are cumulative. That's what people really don't realize. I think that's what Jocelyn's trying to get to. Shane Sams: Basically, if you do these five actions steps and you just get them done, regardless of it's the right order or the wrong order, the end different order, doesn't matter. Things happen. Like if you had 10 members, you add 50, 60 something, you added one-seventh of your membership in one month, right? Melissa Webb: Yes. Shane Sams: Well, like what if you do that again and again and it keeps getting cumulative? Then you start going on podcasts, and then it starts all adding up to where you get this snowball effect, this avalanche happens where you make things happen, right? That's where we go back to the 20 thing list that you had. You were paralyzed and not doing anything, looking at the 20 thing list on paper, right? Melissa Webb: Yes, yes. Shane Sams: That's where most people really fail when they try to change their life, is they see all the things and they get paralyzed, when really, if you'll just do some of the things, you'll move forward and things will happen and that cumulative compound interest effect happens until you get to the point where you can do whatever you want. Shane Sams: I talked to ... I had a call this morning with somebody else in the Flip Your Life community and we talked about that exact same thing. They were paralyzed, they were frozen, they weren't doing anything. They were like, "Why is nothing happening?" I'm like, "Because you're not doing anything. You've got this giant list, you've got all these things, but you're not enjoying the compound effect. Shane Sams: " Then they said, "Well, wait. Well, how much time you think we're going to put into this? How much time did you and Jocelyn put into it at the beginning?" I said, "Well, we worked from 7:00 to 5:00. We came home, we went back and forth with the kids. We stayed up 'til midnight. For seven days a weeks, 365 days for the first year, we did not get good sleep or any good rest, but now we sleep in as long as we want to." Because the compound interest is coming to fruition. We're getting that effect later. Shane Sams: That's what we told them, and I told them earlier, and that's exactly what you're saying now. It's like, "Oh, I was paralyzed, and nothing was happening." "Oh, I got, a log jam broke free after this call, and now I got 10 members just like that." That's what we want you to do next. Melissa Webb: That's ... Yeah. Shane Sams: Let that loose and get even more members. Melissa Webb: That's exactly what she did for me. Like that whole paralyzation, like that's the key word, you hit it on the nose. I felt paralyzed. Melissa Webb: Once I started doing one thing, that is the amazing thing that I would say to anybody else. "Don't really worry with the first one or two, three things that you start. Just start, because that will motivate you to do whatever's next. Then when that ball starts rolling, it just goes. Just do not, do not stop." Shane Sams: This, just, Jocelyn and I are like two ends of the spectrum. Like she's very much like order and I'm very much like chaos. Sometimes, when we get stuck, like Jocelyn has like ... Almost dies, because I'll just go do anything. Shane Sams: Like the other day, we were frozen in a conversation talking some different things about membership offers. Like how we were going to move some things around in the membership itself and we were totally paralyzed. I sent an email to the list and said, "We're going to do these three things." Jocelyn goes, "Have you even made the order forms for those? Have you even made the page for those?" I was like, "Nope, but now the ball's rolling." Shane Sams: Like we just ... Like it drives her crazy when I do that, but sometimes that's the only way you can get past the impasse is to just announce and say and do and, "What if it breaks? What if doesn't?" Shane Sams: What was it last ... Oh, last year, when we sold the live event, I sent an order form out and I didn't connect it to anything. Jocelyn was like, "You know we have to have a survey for these people, and we have to figure out their dietary restrictions, and have to do all of these things." I'm like, "Ah, whatever. We'll do it later." Then it got it unstuck. Like we had to launch it out or it wouldn't work, right? Melissa Webb: Right. Shane Sams: Yeah. It's so scary to do that, but if you don't, oh my gosh, you'll just sit there forever and wonder, "What if?" as you look back on it. Melissa Webb: I totally agree, and I think too that the live component is so huge. Because, like I said, I'd written my list. I'd written my list many times, but talking to Jocelyn and then like sharing my success stories in the forum, a live person encouraged me. A live person said, "Go do this." Melissa Webb: I think that a lot of people, if all you're going to do is just go read a book and go study under some other great coach, that's fine but until you get that live person who cares about you ... Jocelyn cared. Like I could tell her sincerity was authentic. She was like, "Melissa, this is going to be great. You're doing awesome." Like it was so motivating. Jocelyn Sams: Yeah, and I don't even know that it's that you always have to talk one-on-one, because some people might not be able to make that investment right now, but there is something that you can invest in to get you to your next step. Maybe it is just joining a community like ours. I mean, I would love to have anyone as part of our community. Shane Sams: Or getting in a Mastermind where you see other people doing it. It might even be telling you what to buy sometimes. Jocelyn Sams: Maybe it's buying a book, maybe it's going to an event. Like there's different kinds of investment for different stages of your business. If you're not doing any of them, I got a spoiler alert, you're probably not going to make much progress. You have to invest time, you have to invest money to be able to move forward in anything that you do. Shane Sams: That's why we did home school. Like we would have probably never done it, especially when we did it. Melissa Webb: Right. Shane Sams: Because we actually brought two experts on the podcast who had written a book called 5-Hour Home School Week. It was, how do you pronounce their last name? It's Kaleena and Aaron ... Jocelyn Sams: Oh, I don't know. Shane Sams: Oh, it's Amuchastegui or something like that. Jocelyn Sams: Yeah. Shane Sams: They're on the podcast. Go listen to it. It's already aired. Melissa Webb: They were great. Shane Sams: Yeah. We actually brought them out and talked to them for two hours. We needed to hear and see someone else do it. Like, we need that. It's not like we're just sitting here figuring everything out on our own, right? We draw as much inspiration from other people as they do from us. Melissa Webb: Right. Shane Sams: That's just a part of it. Let's go back, let's circle back around to this question about the podcast. Because this was a very interesting question because we always ask people about fears and obstacles, and then we talk practically about what to do next for business. This is the ultimate question that, basically, rolls all of that into one. Shane Sams: It's like, "How do I approach someone else to be on their platform?" Because that in itself brings all of your insecurities, all of your doubts, all of your disbeliefs to the front. Then on the back side, it's also like, "Then, how do I use that opportunity without being a selfish user, and I'm just using someone else for their audience?" Right? Melissa Webb: Yes, yes. Shane Sams: It's like, "How do I overcome the insecurity? How do I deliver value for the audience? Then how do I ..." Selfishly is not the right word but I'm going to use it, just because it's close enough. Basically, "Pitch my thing at the end." Does that make sense? Melissa Webb: Yes, yes. That's exactly where I am. Because by nature, I'm a giver. Like I can be almost too generous. It's so funny, in our Mastermind group, Corey is constantly saying, "Melissa, you're not charging enough. Melissa, you're in this to make money." I'm like, "Okay, okay. Well, let me just make a straight tutorial." Shane Sams: Right. Jocelyn Sams: Exactly, yeah. A lot of people have that situation. We live in a culture where people think, "Oh, well, all information is free online." Well, I mean, that is true to an extent but- Shane Sams: It's not curated correctly. It's not organized. Jocelyn Sams: Exactly. You are delivering value to people and so there has to be some type of value exchange. Shane Sams: Always remember this, okay? Melissa Webb: Okay. Shane Sams: No one succeeds alone. The people ... The big online viewers that make it look like it's all about them. I don't know, like the Gary Vs and the Tony Robbins. It looks like it's all about them, but none of them succeeded without some kind of reciprocal relationship helping them all feed into this loop that keeps everybody kind of moving forward. Like you can't ... That person can't grow their podcast without great people on their podcast, right? Melissa Webb: True, true. Shane Sams: You can't grow and go into new territory without someone introducing you to other people. Correct? Melissa Webb: Correct. Shane Sams: Just by going on their podcast, you are already helping them because it is really hard to carry solo shows. It's really hard to be the only person every day talking by yourself. Like even people that look like they do that, that have their own show where it's just them and they're just talking, they've got a team behind them doing research, helping them write the script. It's not just one person alone and they're growing forever. Does that make sense? Melissa Webb: Absolutely. Shane Sams: That's how you've got to approach first asking to be on other people's platforms is, hey look, this person is more than likely looking for really interesting, really helpful people to come on their show. They're looking for people that want to help their audience, because that makes them look good, and it is a status thing. It is an ego thing. It is a, "Hey, I can't do this alone. I need guests." Right? Melissa Webb: Right. Shane Sams: One reason that we do our podcast the way we do it is because after about 40 solo shows in the very beginning of our podcast, we realized that we would not be able to do this forever. Like we could not just come up with topics and write scripts and do it just me and Jocelyn all the same ... There was no way that's how this podcast was going to work. Shane Sams: At the same time, we didn't really want to bring on like expert guests and just rehash the same podcast that everybody else is doing. We thought, "Hey, people ask us great questions in our Flip Your Life stuff. Our coaching clients, our members ask great questions. Why would we not just have them on, let them ask their question, and we can talk, and it's going to help them too?" Shane Sams: You coming on our podcast helps us because we don't have to sit for six hours and script a podcast. We just get to tell our stories and talk about our relationship and then help you move forward. We need you to help us create good content. Melissa Webb: That's a great point of view. Yeah. Shane Sams: You're helping the podcast as much as they're helping you, basically. Jocelyn Sams: Exactly. Melissa Webb: Okay. Jocelyn Sams: Like as long as you're not approaching it from a selfish point of view, just go to them and say, "Hey, I have some really cool content, and I can help people teach their children at home how to write better." Shane Sams: Yeah. Melissa Webb: Okay. Jocelyn Sams: I feel like you're already in that frame of mind in that you want to give to people, so just take that and run with it. Jocelyn Sams: I just encourage you to look at other people in your space. What podcasts have they been on? That's a good place to start looking and say, "Hey, this person teaches home school writing, and they've been on podcasts x, y and z, so I'm going to go and say, 'Hey, I do something similar to this person.'" Or maybe have them introduce you, if it's someone you know. Shane Sams: Being strategic is not being selfish. Like that, people confuse that. They get really confused and like, "Well, if I'm ... This is all about me and I'm being so strategic. I've picked, I've identified these hundred targets, these podcasts that I'm going to reach out to because I know they've got home school families listening, and it's going to put me in front of the right people." No, like that's the reciprocal, working together agreement. Shane Sams: That podcast introduces you to the home school people who get value from you and really appreciate the podcast host that introduced them to you, so they come back and listen to the next episode to find more help, right? Melissa Webb: Yes. Shane Sams: Everyone wins in that feedback loop, every single person. The listener wins, because they get the information they need to solve their problem. The podcast host wins, because they created good value for their audience and they introduced them to the right person. Then you win, because you get to go and put your stuff in front of people who pay you so that you can not have to go do another job and can keep creating resources for them. Shane Sams: Then that person comes back to listen to that person's podcast again next week, where they introduce them to a new person, which provides values, which helps them solve problems, which makes them come back and listen again. Being strategic is not being selfish. It's the way that we all help each other. Like society needs that, we have to do that or it just doesn't work. Melissa Webb: I love that. Shane Sams: Go out and ... You almost owe it to the podcast person to ask them to be on their show. Right? Melissa Webb: That's fantastic. Yes. Shane Sams: I think where people get confused is it's like the podcast host ... Well, a hundred people ask them to be on, they only have 10. Melissa Webb: Yes. Shane Sams: That's not because they don't care about what you have to say. It's because they can only record 10 episodes a quarter. Like there's a limit in time, that's why you strategically and tactically have to go out and ask 50 people to be on their podcast to get on 15 of them. Right? Melissa Webb: Yes. Shane Sams: It's not because you're being rejected. That's just the limitation of time. We can't have every single person on our podcast from the community. We can only have 52 people a year on this podcast. Jocelyn Sams: Well, and then that's where you have to start getting into systems. Like our system is we look for people with success stories or people that we know in-person, people that we've talked to on coaching calls. We look for those types of people because we know that they'll make a good guest because they're actually doing what it takes to get to the next level. Shane Sams: Yeah. Jocelyn Sams: They probably have those types of systems too, but just look for one, look for podcasts or opportunities where you can provide value and then you can get value in return. That's the way the world works. There are going to be a lot of people who don't take you up on your offer, and that's fine. Jocelyn Sams: Like there are thousands of people who listen to our podcasts every week who have never paid us a dime, and that's totally fine. Like that's just the way that it works. Then there are some people who are going to find enough value in what you do to want to give you some type of monetary exchange, and that's fine too. Shane Sams: There's other kinds of value too. Like there's other ... Like we don't, like not everyone will pay you, right? Some people will listen to you and some people will use your stuff, which might give you a testimonial. Some people might ... Shane Sams: I did a think recently where I wanted to speak at an event. I emailed our list and I just asked them to go nominate me to speak. Like, "Hey, you may not be in the community. You may not buy anything from us, but if you enjoy our podcast and you want some reciprocity, would you please go nominate me for this, or go do it?" Like, "I give you free content every week, you go do this for me." Like that's just the way the world works. Shane Sams: I think the world makes us feel like we're not supposed to ask for anything, because like bosses don't want people to ask for raises. It's like, "Don't ask for what you want. Don't be an advocate for yourself. Don't do that." Like that's what the world tells us to do, but that's not really how we should do it, because that doesn't really help in any way. Shane Sams: Some people are ... There's going to be some podcasters that are like, "Hey, I have a $500 fee for my podcast." That's the reciprocity they want. Maybe you're like, "Wow. They have 100,000 home school listeners. Maybe that's worth $500." Right? Melissa Webb: Right. Shane Sams: It's not just an exchange of information pool. That's called a negotiation. That's what they value. Maybe you should pay it. You know what I'm saying? Melissa Webb: Right, right. Shane Sams: There's lots of different ways that people build in these relationships. You just have to figure out, strategically, what works best for you, and don't feel selfish about. Like why would you not want to be on their podcast? Does that make sense? Melissa Webb: It's such a great mind shift for me, when you shared it in that perspective. That's fantastic. Shane Sams: Yeah. Don't feel like you're bragging about yourself or that you're like, "Oh, I don't want to ... What do I have to offer them?" Well, an hour of your time. You don't get that hour back, so that's really valuable. Okay? Melissa Webb: Right. Shane Sams: Now, on the podcast, what you have to do is your part is deliver the value, right? Melissa Webb: Right. Shane Sams: Deliver the value and then don't be afraid to tell people their next steps. So many people want to get their pitch right when they go on the show. Like at the end, "I got to spin everything back to my pitch. I got to spin everything back to my opt-in. I got to spin everything back to make sure that everybody who listens goes to my site and give me an email," but that's really, that's not how you do that. Shane Sams: You deliver value for that person and help them. That's what takes people to want to go to the next step, and they'll like and trust you, and all that good stuff. Melissa Webb: Well, and that's true from a consumer point of view as well. You've had amazing people on your podcasts, and I've never gone to their site because they pitched it. I've always gone because I think it's valuable. Melissa Webb: Like that would be the reason why I would go somewhere else, so that's something that I certainly want to keep in mind as I do the same thing. Like I'll offer the value that makes somebody want to go there. Jocelyn Sams: Exactly. The people who are most willing to buy from you, they will find you whether you give a URL or you don't. Shane Sams: That's true. If you'll go back and listen to almost any podcast we've ever done anywhere else, we never, almost never talk about ... Like spin things back to what we're selling or anything. We don't even say ... Like sometimes I've ... When was ... Shane Sams: I was on Michael O'Neal's podcast. I did an interview on that for a second time. I forgot to even tell our URL or our anything at the end. Like we just had a conversation for like 45 minutes, and we talked. I totally forget. Shane Sams: I got of the call, I looked over at Jocelyn, I went, "Did I tell anybody about our website or anything?" We're like, "Nah. Forgot it." People wrote us and said, "I heard you on this specific episode and I sought you out." If you're delivering enough value, that will happen automatically. It's not about your technique or, "How do I strategically, tactically get the most opt-ins off of this?" It's like be yourself, tell your story, deliver value and people will come. They just will. Melissa Webb: I love it. Shane Sams: Yeah, and you got to convince them to join your email list, when they get to your website, right? Melissa Webb: Got to have a call to action. Shane Sams: Yeah. Actually go out and say ... I'll tell you a different way to even find the podcast. Go find the 50 home school podcasts that you genuinely think you can help the most. Don't look at their audience size, don't look at their social media following, don't do any of that. Right? Melissa Webb: Okay. Shane Sams: One thing we do do is when we're trying to go on an interview ... We do try to find people that have over 50 episodes because we know that person's in it for the long-run, because 90% of all podcasts stop at episode 30. Okay? Melissa Webb: Wow. Yes. Shane Sams: Look for people who have actually been in it, and are in it, and are staying in it, because you don't want to just jump on anything that might not be there in a year. Jocelyn Sams: One that comes out regularly. I mean, you don't want one that comes out once a week and then like- Shane Sams: Last episode's been out six months ago, or anything like that. Jocelyn Sams: Yeah. Shane Sams: Yeah. Yeah, so make sure people are consistently creating content before you go on it. Then, look for the ones you think you can help the most. Don't just look for the biggest ones. Okay? Melissa Webb: Love it. Shane Sams: Yeah. That will make it ... It'll make it a whole lot easier to pitch your stuff. Jocelyn Sams: It'll just make it feel better for you. Like that you're really in it for the right reasons. Melissa Webb: It will. 100%. Jocelyn Sams: All right, we have had a lot of fun talking today. We've had some crazy stories. This has been a very unusual episode, but I hope it's been fun. Shane Sams: Very interesting. Yeah, it's hilarious. Jocelyn Sams: We always ask people before we finish the episode, what is one thing that you plan to work on in the next 24 hours or so based on what we talked about here today? Melissa Webb: Well, without a doubt, we're going to end this call and I am going to go find those 50 home schooling podcasts that have had at least 50 episodes themselves, and ones that I really, truly believe that I can bring value to their audience. Shane Sams: I think that is a tremendous goal. Based on your track record, Melissa, I have no doubt that you will go out and make that happen today. You may just be calling us in a week going, "Hey, guys. I'm on 10 podcasts. It's going to be amazing. I'm going to help a lot of people." That is awesome. Shane Sams: Melissa, we appreciate you for coming on the show. We know how hard it is to go on a podcast and share your story and be transparent. We also know how important that is for all of our listeners out there to hear not just us, not just experts, but just other real people who are out there making this thing happen. Shane Sams: I have no doubt that your story is going to inspire a lot of people out there in our audience. We have another inspirational thing to share with you. Because Melissa is going to share our bible verse today. Jocelyn and I draw a lot of our inspiration from the bible for our life and our business. We know that a lot of people in our audience do as well. What verse will you be sharing with us today? Melissa Webb: I'm going to be sharing Psalm 118:24. I have to say this, before sharing it, that it's like such a blessing that we are given the ability to have our own thoughts. We're not puppets, that we are allowed to believe what we choose to believe. I just think that's one of God's greatest gifts. Why not choose those positive thoughts? Melissa Webb: For years, I have just made it a very intentional first thing that I think as I'm waking up, as my eyes are opening. I just claim this verse every single morning. "Today is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it." Shane Sams: Love it. Jocelyn Sams: Love it. Shane Sams: Absolutely love it. I actually, when I'm feeling bad ... It's funny. We all grab onto different verses, but I can't tell you how many times when I'm in a bad mood, that's the verse I always fall back to. Melissa Webb: It's an awesome one. Shane Sams: Just to be grateful. Just to be grateful that we're alive and things could always be worse. Let's be realistic, right? Melissa Webb: Yes. Shane Sams: Man, today is the day. Rejoice. That is an awesome verse. Listen, Melissa, thank you so much. Melissa Webb: Thank you. Shane Sams: Cannot wait to hear you on all those other podcasts and to share this with our audience out there as well. Jocelyn Sams: Yeah, and I can't wait to see this success story. Definitely come back and let us know how it goes. Melissa Webb: Thank you. Shane Sams: All right, guys. That was another great episode of The Flipped Lifestyle Podcast. Another amazing conversation with a real life Flip Your Life community member. Maybe you're out there right now and you feel alone. Maybe you're looking for that forum, that community, that group, that Mastermind, just like Melissa was and you need some help putting that together. We would love to help you do that inside of the Flip Your Life community. Shane Sams: You can join the Flip Your Life community right now for free over at FlippedLifestyle.com/free. That's F-L-I-P-P-E-D Lifestyle.com/F-R-E-E. We would love for you to start your Flip Your Life journey today, and maybe someday we can share your success story as well right here on the podcast. That's FlippedLifesyle.com/free. We cannot wait to meet you and talk to you inside. Shane Sams: All right, guys. That is all the time that we have for today. Until next time, get out there and take action, do whatever it takes to Flip Your Life. We'll see you then. Jocelyn Sams: Bye. Melissa Webb: When you guys have talked about numbers, like I used to think I needed like 10,000 people to find me. Shane Sams: No. Melissa Webb: Then you guys one time were talking about like, "Do you guys realize, you really don't need that many people?" If I had 250 people ... Because I don't want to be huge. I like the community piece. Shane Sams: Yup. Melissa Webb: If I had 250 people paying me $100 a month, yeah, so much for teaching. Shane Sams: Exactly. Jocelyn Sams: Exactly. Melissa Webb: I never made that much in teaching. Shane Sams: That is an amazing statement. I love hearing people say that. "If I just had x people ..." Melissa Webb: Yes. Shane Sams: ... "Paying $5 a month, I could put my child ..." Jocelyn Sams: It's such an eyeopening thing. Like people, when they finally realize that, I mean, there are like seven to eight billion people on the earth. Like you don't need that many of them. Shane Sams: That was the biggest epiphany. That's what really, I think, is the formula that really led to our success is us in the car one day, and me looking over and just saying, "We only make like $5,000 a month." Like, "What if we had a 100 human beings send us $50?" Like, "That literally would be as much as we're making now killing ourselves at work," right? Melissa Webb: Right. Shane Sams: That's the formula. How much do you want to make? How many people times what dollar amount makes that happen? What value can you provide to earn that money? Melissa Webb: Yes. Shane Sams: If you can figure that out, you win. Like you're going to succeed and it's going to happen. Links and resources mentioned on today's show: Melissa's Website Flip Your Life LIVE 2019 Tickets & Registration Information Flip Your Life community 30-day trial Enjoy the podcast; we hope it inspires you to explore what's possible for your family! Get your FREE 30-DAY Membership in the Flip Your Life Community NOW! – https://flippedlifestyle.com/free

It's Christmastime in Deliverance and despite the decorations, the gingerbread lattes, and the gently falling snow, all is not well in this sleepy Ohio town. The Kindred have detected a dangerous presence -- or, dangerous presents -- lurking somewhere inside of the Super Walmart, a presence somehow tied up in the feud between two warring Christmas tree lots. What festive ghost, ghoul, or demon awaits the Kindred, through those automatic doors, and what does Fairweather frat XMS have to do with it?   NOTE: This episode takes place prior to DELIVERANCE, OH 01 and can be listened to out of sequence with the continuity of the season.    twitter: @unexploredcast cover art by Chaz: @cicadahymns theme music by Andrew: http://andrewperricone.bandcamp.com/

Glorious cantaloupe, Vegas comics, true crime and small towns celebrating their Super Walmart! Host, Erin Whitehead, drags stand-up comedian Jozalyn Sharp out of bed for an early morning fun conversation! Do all stand up comedians do cocaine, or just the Vegas ones? If you tell me I can’t, will I do it just to spite you? Do you cry at Christmas commercials? How cool is not learning how to play the piano? How much do we NOT want to be here? Are politics funny, or terrifying? Is Jozalyn ready to become an FBI profiler, or is she just chasing a poor family in a mini-van for 100 miles? In a battle to the death, who would win: In & Out, Whataburger or Chick-fil-A? Why is Publix the supermarket of the South? What weird drug do they put in McDonald’s fries? Who wants cantaloupe now?  Listen to all three of Jozalyn’s podcasts: The JolleySharp Hour, Metal Sucks and Rise to Offend wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also follow her on social: www.facebook.com/jozalyn.sharp, www.twitter.com/TheJozofLife, www.instagram.com/jozalynsharp To find out where you can see her stand-up, visit http://www.jozalynsharp.com  To follow us on social, find us @bralesspodcast on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! You can interact with our guests, our host and other listeners by joining the closed Facebook group: Braless Podcast Conversations! Don't forget to check out our super soft and comfy t-shirts at www.bralesspodcast.com and for more information on how you can support this podcast visit www.patreon.com/bralesspodcast. To make a one-time donation to the podcast, which helps us to continue to produce more frequent content and improve our sound quality, etc. you can donate through PayPal bralesspodcast@gmail.com   Thanks for listening!

The charming and funny, Christine Lavin is Steve's guest on the podcast. She's talking about her career before being a singer songwriter and sings an original song about finding a puppy on the subway tracks in New York. Or is it? The general store is open and it's so big it makes a Super Walmart look like a little mom and pop shop. It has everything, and I mean everything. You want to teach a chicken to play oboe? They have a book on how to do it. You wanna send your kid to the moon? They have the rocket.

Welcome to episode 40 of the Mobile Home Park Investors podcast, hosted by Jefferson Lilly and Brad Johnson, with the Park Street Partners. Jefferson records this quick 9-minute episode to discuss in detail the things you can do in 30 seconds or less, to find out whether you’ve got a good mobile home park deal on your hand. As you look at more deal flow, you can’t afford to waste time on bad properties!   Key Takeaways: [1:40] As you start seeing more deal flow, it’s very important to start separating wheat from chaff. [2:25] Spend the first 15 seconds just seeing if the property is listed on the Yellow Pages website. [3:15] Half of the deals that both Jefferson and Brad make are not listed in the Yellow Pages. [3:25] This is a good thing. It means the owners are mom-and-pop places. [4:10] You have a huge advantage if the owners aren’t advertising. [5:45] Jefferson guesses that you can increase your cashflow by 10-20%, just because the owners haven’t reached these key advertising areas. [6:05] Once done, take your next 15 seconds and head on over to Google Maps. [6:25] You want to be located within 5 miles of a Super Walmart. [7:55] If a Walmart is not in your area, it indicates the town isn’t doing that well economically. [8:10] Jefferson and his team are actively raising money right now! Go to the website to find out more!   Mentioned in This Episode: Park Street Partners www.parkstreetpartners.com Mobile Home Park Investors mobilehomeparkinvestors.net Investment Opportunities Park Street Partners Business Resources LinkedIn: Mobile Home Park Investors Group Send deals to: deals@parkstreetpartners.net Yellowpages.com

This is a great interview with Gary Harris on his bareboat charter along the Amalfi Coast. Gary has allowed me to share his journal for the trip along with the photographs, Here it is! July 23, 2016 Castellammare di Stabia- We arrived at Naples terminal from Florence at 11:00. We had previously arranged a van and driver through Pompeii Car Service to meet us at the terminal and Mario was waiting with his 8 person Mercedes Van. We mentioned that we'd like to have lunch nearby then visit Mt Vesuvius. As we were in Naples, he suggested a Pizza place in town which, if we are lucky, would not yet have a line. We were pleasantly surprised to find no line at L'antica Pizzeria da Michele which is an unassuming place on a small side street that one would never know has the best pizza in Naples (and thereby Italy, and therefore in the world). Here there are exactly 3 items on the menu; Margherita, Margherita with extra cheese, and Marinara. We sat at the basic formica tables on simple chairs and ordered 5 pizzas and two bottles of still water for the seven of us which arrived in about 7 minutes. There was a signed photo on the wall above our table of Julia Roberts, who apparently added notoriety (especially for American tourists) by eating at this restaurant in “Eat, Pray, Love” (spectacularly awful movie). The pizza was fantastic which we ravenously devoured in 15 minutes. At this point the restaurant had filled with locals and tourists and a line had formed outside. Mario was waiting outside as routed through Naples, noting interesting items and facts about the city on our way to Vesuvius. He dropped us at the end of the road several hundred feet below the summit where we paid the park entrance fee and walked the mile or so to the top where we looked down into the caldera and had a hazy view of the entire bay of Naples including the Sorrento peninsula and Isle of Capri to the South and Procida and Ischia to the north west. Mario mentioned the haze was primarily from the unusually high humidity that day and not pollution. We spent 20 or so minutes at the top then returned to meet Mario at the drop off point. The drive to Castellammare di Stabia took about 45 minutes and he had to circle around the marina area and ask a couple of times to find Sun Charters (office marked with another charter company sign). The boat was ready early so we unloaded our luggage and send the kids aboard while Val, Holly and I had Mario take us to Auchan Pompei for provisions. Auchan is a supermarket / Mega store akin to Super Walmart in the states. We found everything we could want at very reasonable prices. We even picked up a couple of beach towels and a large “American style” pillow to augment the typical charter boat flat pillows. We spent 149€ on provisions for the week, thinking that we'd augment with local fresh bread and water each morning, eat breakfast and lunch on the boat and dine ashore each night which worked out quite well. We returned to the boat, arriving right around 5:45. Mario suggested 250€ for the nearly 7 hours of driving (normal rate is 100€ from Naples + 30€ / hour) and I threw in another 20€ tip (not expected in Italy but, alas, American habits die hard). Certainly, the hired van was a bit of a pricey extravagance but, the convenience and Mario's local knowledge to get us the Pizza, tour of Naples, and especially finding the Charter company lead me to consider this money well spent. Nick, Scott and I did the boat check-out with Sun Charter personnel while the rest went ashore in search of Gelato and dinner. The check out was fairly basic with going through running the motor, explaining the instruments, and going through the electrical panel. Asked for and received helpful suggestions on good anchorages at the Islands and confirmation that Agropoly was worth a visit. I received the equipment list which I did inventory separately. When asked, I said we'd stay aboard that evening but would like to leave early in the morning.

I'm doing something a bit different with this episode and I think you are going to really enjoy it. While I realize that the name of this podcast is “Apartment Building Investing” it's good for us to expand our minds and see what else is out there. Today I'm joined by Jefferson Lilly to talk about mobile home park investing! Jefferson Lilly is a self-made millionaire mobile home park investment expert, educator, and industry consultant. Prior to co-founding Park Street Partners in 2013, Mr. Lilly spent seven years investing his own capital acquiring and operating his own mobile home parks. Before becoming an investor full-time, Jefferson spent nine years in sales leadership roles with several venture-backed startups in Silicon Valley. Jefferson has been featured in The New York Times, Bloomberg Magazine, and on the 'Real Money' television show. He holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business.   Key Takeaways: [6:58] In the mobile home business, you want to own the land, not the homes. “Be in the real estate business. Not the wheelestate business.” [8:08] Owning the land only, cuts out the vast majority of repair and maintenance that you are responsible for. [8:53] What to look for when investing in mobile home parks. Look for properties that have no website and are undermanaged. Buy a park that is on municipal water/sewer. Make sure rents are going to remain relatively consistent. Look at parks within 5-10 miles of a Super Walmart. [13:19] What to look for in an onsite mobile home park manager: Someone that has lived in the community for a while Someone who owns their own home Someone that keeps their home looking sharp. [20:22] People tend to treat the park and their homes with more respect the father north you go (in the U.S.). [22:16] When starting out, be hands on for the first 6 months. After that, think about outsourcing tasks. [25:05] Income streams from Mobile home parks: Leasing the grounds. Selling mobile homes, via rent to own agreements. [26:13] Common financing options for mobile home parks: Region banks (most common) Seller financing (preferred option) [30:44] Primary ways to find deals: Brokers Direct outreach [34:09] Why mobile home parks can offer great upside: Less competition in certain areas of the country. Not a “sexy” investing option.  [38:38] Ways to invest in mobile home parks: Do it yourself. Invest through a fund like Park Street Partners.   How to Connect with Jefferson www.parkstreetpartners.net Podcast: Mobile Home Park Investors MobileHomeParkInvestors.net   http://www.lillyandcompany.net/

LISTEN to Interview DEC. 11, 2015 EHT Mayor Sonny McCullough was a guest with Mel Taylor on AC Primetime News Radio. Show date DEC 11, 2015. Topics included Mayor Sonny's recent election victory, how concealed carry weapon licenses could keep Americans safe, a forthcoming Super-Walmart, how Egg Harbor Township was split up over the years and the battle between Longport & EHT over Seaview Harbor. EHT Mayor McCullough

Introduction I’d like to ask if you would turn in your Bibles to Isaiah Chapter 23. This morning we’re going to be looking at this oracle in Isaiah 23. While you’re at it, I wouldn’t mind if you would also flip over to Ezekiel 27. We’re going to be looking at things from Ezekiel 26, 27, and 28 as well for more details about Tyre. Take the time to go there. But our home base this morning is Isaiah Chapter 23. When our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ was beginning His public ministry, the Lord led Him to be baptized by John. Immediately after that, He was led by the Spirit into the desert where He was tempted by the Devil for forty days. In one of those temptations, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him in an instant all of the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. I don’t know how he did that. But in some way, he made all of the glory of the world flash by Jesus’ eyes, immediately and quickly, on that high mountain. A vision of the world, of its kingdoms, of the glories of those kingdoms, in an instant. Then he said, “All of this has been given to me. I can give it to anyone I want to. It will all be yours, if you will just bow down and worship me.” You know very well that the Lord did not do that. He said, “Away from me, Satan, for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’” But I was thinking about that passage this morning, and how it is that the devil had the kind of power to be able to cause all of the glory of various kingdoms of the world to flash before Jesus’ eyes in an instant. I was thinking that the Word of God, frankly, has a similar power. Maybe not in an instant, but we can be transported geographically. We can move from wherever we are to a distant location. We can actually move across time as well. We can be put in distant places and distant times by the Spirit of God through the Word of God. We can learn the lessons of history. We can learn spiritual lessons from what God has done in history. That’s what’s going to happen today. By the power of the word of God, by the power of the Spirit, we’re going to be transported from First Baptist Durham. We’re going to sit by a harbor in the harbor city of Tyre. We’re going to learn the lesson. Maybe we’re going to look over it as it burns, as it smolders, as it’s being conquered by army after army. We’re going to seek to learn the spiritual lessons that God has for us to learn concerning the fall of Tyre. We’re in this section of Isaiah in which he’s dealing with oracles against the nations. So you see here in 23:1, an oracle, sometimes translated as a burden, concerning Tyre. This is the tenth of ten such burdens, one after the other, from Isaiah 13 up through 23. We’ve had one oracle, or burden, against one nation after another. This is the tenth and final one, a specific burden, or oracle, against a nation or city on earth. The first of these was in Isaiah 13, an oracle or burden against Babylon. Then we went through a series of them, one after the other, whether Edom or Moab or Philistia or Damascus, Arabia; one after the other. Now, at last, we’ve come to the final one, the tenth, and it’s this oracle against Tyre. Tyre Described: A Wealthy Merchant City Two Patters of World Dominance: Military and Economic It’s fascinating, as you consider the bookends of these oracles: the oracle against Babylon and the oracle against Tyre. There are two different kinds of power being dealt with in those two cities. With Isaiah 13, the oracle against Babylon, you have military conquests. You have the power to build an empire by military means. The power of Babylon is the power to conquer, to rise up and build a military machine that can steamroll one nation after another and build a mighty empire. It’s pictured in Daniel Chapter 7 as a series of beasts or animals, beasts that come up out of the sea, one after the other. All of them have the power to crush and devour their enemies and their neighbors. That’s the power of Babylon. What was Tyre? Isaiah 23 deals with the power of Tyre. It’s a very different kind of power. It’s economic power. The merchants of Tyre are not trying to dominate their neighbors. They’re trying to befriend them. They’re trying to shake their hands and smile at them, not because they care about them, no, but because they want to get their money. You can picture a used car salesman here. Nothing against used car salesmen, you can get into trouble with these illustrations. I’m not saying anything about that, but you picture a guy who’s trying to build a relationship. He’s trying to do it to gain worldly influence for the sake of money. So the Lord speaks these oracles against Babylon, against Tyre, and amazingly, the same word is spoken against each, and for the same reason. The Lord is going to lay these lofty cities low and He’s going to do it to humble the pride of all human glory. Whether a military glory, a military empire, or an economic one, all lofty towers and every high, stately trading ship, everything, every high lofty mountain will be leveled and made low. The Lord alone will be exalted in that day. All the idols will totally vanish. He is sweeping away idols here. Tyre is described in Isaiah 23 as a wealthy merchant city. Look at verse 3. It says, concerning Tyre, that she became the marketplace of nations. Think of a Super Walmart, only bigger. Okay? A place where you can buy the stuff of this world. In verse 8, it says that Tyre’s merchants are princes whose traders are renowned or esteemed to the distant places of the earth. As a matter of fact, in verse 7, it speaks of far off lands. Look at verse 7. It says these people’s feet have taken her to settle in far off lands. Tyre was a city on the eastern Mediterranean coastline that was established for trade. It was established twenty-eight centuries before Christ by the Phoenicians. It had a seafaring people. The city itself was made up of two cities: a land-based city and then, just offshore, a pair of islands in the harbor of Tyre. These people were merchants. They sent out colonies for the sake of trade all over the eastern Mediterranean and eventually throughout the Mediterranean. For example, Carthage was a colony of Tyre. They were planted centuries before Rome came to ascendancy, and then they gave Rome a lot of trouble. Carthage eventually had military aspirations. You’ve heard the story of Hannibal and his elephants and how close they came to conquering Rome. Well, they were a colony of Tyre originally. Some scholars believe Tarshish, which is as distant from Tyre as you can be in the Mediterranean, in the western part of the Mediterranean in Spain, was also a colony. Tyre a Fortress Tyre is described as a fortress. It was very, very difficult to conquer, both the land-based city and the harbor-based city. You can picture Alcatraz, for example, an island, a rocky island, just offshore. Both of them had high, lofty protected walls. So the word “fortress” is used here. If you look at verse 11, it concerns the fortress, and the decree is that her fortresses, plural, be destroyed. Again, in verse 14, your fortresses are destroyed. So it’s a very powerful place, very, very difficult to conquer. It’s difficult to conquer because one of the things you do with a walled citadel is you surround it and starve it to death. Well, that just can’t happen with this merchant city. They’re very good on the water, and they can be constantly resupplied by their colonies. So you can’t starve them to death. There’s no chance. You can’t actually even get to the island fortress. If you don’t have a navy, you have no chance of subduing it, none. So it’s very, very difficult to conquer. This is Tyre, wealthy merchant city. Initially a Good Relationship with Israel We know through the Bible of the good relationship that both David and Solomon had with Hiram, King of Tyre. Hiram sent cedars of Lebanon down (not for free, by the way) and sold them to David in exchange for some wheat. This is what they did. His son, Solomon, was able to build his palace and also the temple of God from trade with Tyre. This is the power of this incredible city. Put your finger here in Isaiah 23, turn over to Ezekiel 27, and you have a sense of the widespread trade of Tyre. Look at Ezekiel 27:12-23. It says, “Tarshish did business with you because of your great wealth of goods; they exchanged silver, iron, tin and lead for your merchandise. Greece, Tubal, and Meshech traded with you; they exchanged slaves and articles of bronze for your wares. Men of Beth Togarmah exchanged work horses, war horses and mules for your merchandise. The men of Rhodes traded with you, and many coastlands were your customers; they paid you with ivory tusks and ebony. Aram did business with you because of your many products; they exchanged turquoise, purple fabric, embroidered work, fine linen, coral and rubies for your merchandise. Judah and Israel traded with you; they exchanged wheat from Minnith and confections, honey, oil and balm for your wares. Damascus, because of your many products and great wealth of goods, did business with you in wine from Helbon, and wool from Zahar. Danites and Greeks from Uzal bought your merchandise; they exchanged wrought iron, cassia and calamus for your wares. Dedan traded in saddle blankets with you. Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your customers; they did business with you in lambs, rams and goats. The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; for your merchandise they exchanged the finest of all kinds of spices and precious stones, and gold.” You get a picture of the vast wealth of Tyre and the widespread nature of their trade, their colonies. The oracle begins in verse 1 with ships of Tarshish from Spain, as far away from the eastern Mediterranean cities of Tyre and Sidon as you could be. They’re making their way. They’re sailing across the Mediterranean. Their bows are pushing the water aside, the wake is trailing behind them, and they haven’t heard yet. They haven’t heard the news. It’s not until they get to Cyprus, which is a big island in the eastern Mediterranean, that they finally hear: Tyre is destroyed. There’s nowhere for you to bring your cargo. You have to go to a different place. Tyre has been destroyed. It’s actually very dramatic. It’s how, if you are a producer making a movie of this chapter, you’d begin. Those ships of Tarshish sailing back to Tyre and they hadn’t heard the news yet. The news hasn’t come. So Tyre is described as a wealthy merchant city. Tyre Exposed: A Satanic Stronghold Ezekiel 26-27: Major Sections of Prophecy Against Tyre Secondly, we learn from Ezekiel rather than in Isaiah 23, that Tyre is exposed as a satanic stronghold. Really what we get here (and this is why I began this sermon as I did with Jesus and Satan), is that behind Tyre’s economic might and power, there is a malevolent force, a dark demonic force. Satan is there. Again, you’re not going to get this from Isaiah 23, but you’re going to get it from Ezekiel 28. So go over to Ezekiel 28. There you’re going to see an amazing thing. Ezekiel 26 and 27 describe Tyre as an actual city, a real place up in the north of Israel, a coastline city that carried on trade. There are various words of woe and lamentation spoken concerning Tyre and Sidon. Ezekiel 28: A Lamentation Against the “King of Tyre” But in Chapter 28, we have this prophecy directed against the King of Tyre. The language of this prophecy reaches a spiritual level that’s very difficult to align with just a human king. It begins in verse 12. Ezekiel 28:12-19 says, “Son of man, take up a lament concerning the King of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘you were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in all your ways from the day you were created til wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a terrible end and will be no more.” Two Prophecies About Satan in the Old Testament Friends, how could this be talking merely about an earthly king? He was in the garden of God. He was in Eden. He was on the mountain of God. He was exalted. He was perfect in beauty. He was in some way holy and pure on the day he was created, until wickedness was found in him. Many scholars believe that this is speaking of the fall of Satan. As a matter of fact, probably the greatest single unanswerable question in theology is how it was that wickedness was found in Satan to begin with. Where did it come from? There is no answer. It just happened. In some way, God gave him the freedom to become wicked, though the wickedness did not come from God. He was cast down. He was expelled from the mountain of God, thrown down to the earth. I mean, you’re reading through these verses and you know you’re not talking about a human king any more. Amazingly, the same kind of thing happens in Isaiah 14. Right after the oracle against Babylon, the prophet turns his guns on the King of Babylon and uses the same type of language. He said, “I will ascend to the mountain of God. I’ll make myself like the most high.” All this lofty language, but he will be thrown down. Same message. God is Not Deceived They have the same king, friends. Babylon and Tyre have the same king. He loves to hide himself behind human puppets, behind the human kings that he is the puppet master of and to orchestrate their comings and goings and their dealings, whether their military conquests or their widespread trade. In their love for the things of the world, behind all of it is Satan. He’s unmasked by the Word of God. It makes perfect sense because he doesn’t reveal himself openly as who he is. He doesn’t come to Eve in the garden and say, “I’m Satan. I’m here to destroy your world.” He comes disguised. He comes clever. He’s not what he appears to be. He disguises himself as an angel of light. He’s attractive; he’s alluring. That’s the danger for us. Would we do as well as Jesus if we were shown all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor? Well, Satan’s not offering that to peons like you and me. He’s just offering us a small portion of it. Just a little bit of the glory of the world, just a little taste, and that will probably be enough for many of us. He needs to be unmasked, dear brothers and sisters. We need to see behind Tyre and see what’s going on. Because in our text, Tyre’s destroyed, but the spirit of Tyre lives on. It’s going to continue right to the end. In Revelation 18, this vast trade city of Babylon gets thrown down in the ocean, and we have the same kind of perspective. The distant people who can’t trade with it any more are standing far off and wailing and lamenting over its fall. It’s the same type of thing. The spirit of Tyre lives on because it’s what Satan is doing. He must be unmasked. We must see him for what he is. We must understand that he is standing there offering us the world. He’s offering you the world if you’ll only trade your soul for it. And it’s Jesus alone who speaks wisdom to us, saying, “What would it benefit you if you would gain the whole world and lose your soul?” What would you give, what portion of the world would you give, in exchange for your soul? Or reversing it, what portion would you hold on to, saying, “That’s too expensive. I’ll go ahead and lose my soul?” Jesus is speaking wisdom across how Satan is lying to us about Babylon and Tyre. Judgment from God will fall on all of it We have to see him unmasked, so that’s Tyre exposed as a satanic stronghold, truly. Go back to Isaiah 23. We have the oracle now, and we face it full on. The oracle is against Tyre and its satanic overlords. Tyre will be destroyed. By the way, it’s interesting, the King of Tyre, his future is to burn. If you look at that, fire is going to come out and consume him. You read about it in Revelation 20, when at last the devil is thrown into the lake of fire where he will burn forever and ever. As we know from the story of the sheep and the goats, Jesus says, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” That’s the King of Tyre. That’s where he’s going. A fire will consume him forever. Tyre Destroyed: A Divine Punishment The Punishment Declared by Isaiah the Prophet So judgment is decreed against Tyre, and we have this oracle of judgment. Look at Isaiah 23:1 again. “Wail, O ships of Tarshish! For Tyre is destroyed.” It’s an oracle of destruction. You have it again in verse 11, where he has given an order concerning Phoenicia, that her fortresses be destroyed. It’s an oracle of destruction. Again in verse 14, it says, “Wail, you ships of Tarshish; your fortress is destroyed!” So the question comes: who planned this against Tyre and why? They’re friendly people. They’re easy to like. They’re very likeable veterans. When they come to your town, you’re going to like them immediately. They’ll slap your back. They’ll shake your hand. They’ll give you a hug. They’ll sell you what they have to sell. Why destroy them? What’s wrong? And who would plan such a destruction and for what reason? On one level, we could say that who planned it are the military conquerors that are coming one after the other. The Assyrian kings planned it. Nebuchadnezzar planned it. Alexander the Great planned it. Well, they had their own plans. But God is the one that really planned it. And God is going to bring these nations, one after the other. It’s clear in Ezekiel 26 (you don’t have to go there), where he likens it to wave upon wave. The Lord is going to bring nations, plural, against you, O Tyre. You get the feeling of crashing waves, like tidal waves, just smashing Tyre one after the other, not all at once. The Punishment Described in Greater Detail in Ezekiel 26 In 701 BC, it’s the Assyrians. They come and they conquer the land-based city. I told you that the island fortress is very, very difficult to conquer. They couldn’t do it. Then Nebuchadnezzar came over a century later. He did the same thing. He leveled the land-based city but could not conquer the island city. As a matter of fact, God, through His prophet, actually said, “You know, Nebuchadnezzar and Babylonian army, you guys worked really hard and you didn’t get much. So I tell you what, I’m going to give you Egypt.” That’s about the spirit of the oracle there. Every head was rubbed bare, every shoulder was rubbed bare, and what did you get? You got nothing. It slipped away in the night by ships of Tyre and you got nothing for it. You got no pay. You’re doing my will, so I tell you what, I’m going to give you the grain of Egypt, of the Nile. Then along comes Alexander the Great. They don’t call him Alexander the Great for nothing. He’s a man of great ego, a man of great ability, a man of great ambition. He says, “All right, I know that the land-based cities have been conquered before. I know I can do that. I want that island city.” And he tried and he tried and he tried. He built the causeway out to the island using the rubble from the destroyed city on land. He strapped it into the harbor and started to build up a causeway. This is an ambitious man, he’s not to be deterred. The problem is you’re approaching a walled fortress, a citadel. They’re shooting at you with arrows. They’re able to come out at night and destroy the work you’ve done. The ships are able to come and fire at you and you can’t really do much to them. Alexander finally realized, “I’m not doing this without a navy. I’ve got to have a navy.” So what does he do? He recruits the area ships to be his navy, and he conquers the city, levels it. At last the prophesies in Ezekiel come true. “I’ll scrape it bare like a rock and there fishermen will dry their nets. It’ll be a small village.” There’s a picture of it on the cover of your bulletin. There’s nothing there. Imagine a vast economic trading center like New York City, if the Lord tarries, one hundred years from now being a small fishing village. That’s about how shocking it was what happened to Tyre. The Punishment Decreed by Almighty God So Tyre would be destroyed. It says clearly in Isaiah 23:8-9, “Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are renowned in the earth? The Lord Almighty planned it, to bring low the pride of all glory and to humble all who are renowned on the earth.” God did this. Yes, he used Sennacherib. Yes, he used Nebuchadnezzar. Yes, he used Alexander the Great. But they’re all dead. The Reason for the Decree: The Humbling of All Human Pride No, this was God’s plan and His reason is plain. He wants to humble all mankind. He wants to lay the lofty city down low. He wants to crush human pride because at the root of all of this is idolatry. It’s worshipping and serving the created thing rather than the creator who should be forever praised, amen. God will not have it. Our God is a jealous God and He will not have your heart going affectionately after the things of this world. So He crushes Tyre, even though they’re really nice guys who seek to be your friends, but not for free. He wants to crush it because He’s bringing low the pride of all glory. He’s humbling all idols. Tyre is destroyed as a divine punishment and as a warning to nations like us who come later, who have our own marketplace, our own economic ambitions, our own widespread trade, our own interests in the mighty dollar. It’s warning us to not be drawn into the marketplace of the nations and not to live for the almighty dollar, not to live for the merchandise. It’s listed there in Ezekiel 27 and Revelation 18, all of the stuff that you can get at Walmart or even Super Walmart. God destroys Tyre to warn us to not live for those things, to warn us against it and to humble us. The Time Span of the Decree: Carefully Measured Out The glory of this chapter is that it doesn’t ultimately end with woe and disgrace for Tyre. Jesus will have His remnant from every nation. He will have His converts. The prophecy is very clear, if you look at verses 15-18. At the end of seventy years, the span of a king’s lifetime, the time of the exile to Babylon, Tyre’s going to be rebuilt. Tyre will again ply her trade with the nations and act like what she is, a prostitute who walks through a city, strums on her harp, and sings a song, an alluring song to try to get customers to come and trade with her and buy her wares. So she’s going to regain her place as a prostitute of the nations. She’s going to regain her trade among the nations. But ultimately, as Ezekiel makes plain, one nation after another will come and finish the job. The Profits of Tyre will Ultimately go to the Godly And yet, it says in verse 18, her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord. They will not be stored up or hardened. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord for abundant food and fine clothes. Friends, this is the best reason why you should not marry the world now. You’re going to get it after the resurrection anyway and it’s going to be far more beautiful then. It’s going to be resurrected itself. It’s going to be glorious. The meek will inherit what? What are they going to get? The earth. After all of the corruption’s over, after the decay is ended, after the resurrection, the meek will inherit the earth, the resurrected new earth and the new heaven. That’s why it says in Romans 4:13, “It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world.” If you’re a child of God, if you are a son or daughter of Abraham, your title is “heir of the world.” What do you need it for now anyway? Now, God may give you some of it now to advance His kingdom, and so you can wear clothes and eat and have what you need. The money will come to you so that you can use it for His kingdom. Tyre Evangelized: A Triumph for Christ Tyre More Bearable on the Day of Judgment than Capernaum Jesus will have His trophies. He will have His victories, even in Tyre. Remember what He said in Matthew 11:21. He was talking about Korazin and Bethsaida where all of His miracles had been done, “Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.” They were ready to hear the gospel. As a matter of fact, some of them did hear the gospel from Jesus. In Luke Chapter 6, He was preaching in a wide plain area and many people came from that region of Israel and Judea and also from Tyre and Sidon had come and listened to Him preach, and brought their sick so that He could heal them. Tyre Visited by Christ, the Syro-Phoenician Woman Even more remarkable is in Matthew 15, where Jesus is walking through the streets of Tyre, and a Syro-Phoenician woman, a woman of Greek descent born in Phoenicia, came up. She’s a woman whose daughter was suffering terribly with demon possession. She’s crying out after Jesus. Jesus ignores her, doesn’t answer a word. The disciples aren’t really her advocates at that point. They say to Jesus, “Send her away. We’re sick of listening to her.” She’s really the picture of the persistent widow at this point. She will not be sent away. I get the picture that she comes and stands right in front of Jesus. Do you get that picture? “I’m not going home. You must deal with me.” Remember what Jesus said to her? “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” It’s one of the toughest things Jesus ever said to anybody. But He knew her. He knew her heart. In effect, you don’t come into the kingdom without getting humbled. At that moment, if she had gotten a little prideful, raised her chin a bit and said, “I’m no dog,” and walked away, what would she have gotten from Jesus? Nothing. But what does she say? She said, “Yes, Lord. But even the dogs get the crumbs that fall from their master’s table. Isn’t there something that can fall off for me?” And Jesus said, “Woman, you have great faith. Go home. You will find your daughter healed.” Isn’t that marvelous? What a sweet story. Jesus will have His remnant, if they’ll just come to Him humble and by faith and trust in Him. He will do a better healing than that. He’ll heal them of sin. He’ll heal them of death. He’ll give them resurrection bodies. They’ll live forever in that world I just described to you, that resurrected world, that new heaven and new earth. Live forever, you descendant of Tyre. You inhabitant of Tyre and Sidon, that’s where you live. You live in Super Walmartville. You need to find yourself in this chapter and say, “I’m not going to get sucked down the drain of Tyre. I don’t want to live there. I want to separate myself from it. I want to be pure and holy from its defilements.” The Last Mention of Tyre: Acts 21 The last time Tyre shows up in the Bible is in Acts 21, when Paul is en route to Jerusalem where he will be arrested and put on trial for the gospel. Just before he gets there, he stops in the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon. Some disciples from that area come to meet him. Isn’t that sweet? The disciples of Tyre. These are Christians. It’s just incredible. They’re begging Paul not to go to Jerusalem. They’re convinced he’s going to be arrested there, which he will be. But they see that Paul will not be deterred and so they accompany him out. They kneel down on the beach; they pray with him; and they hug him and tearfully say goodbye to him. That’s the last time you see Tyre in the Bible. Isn’t that incredible? God will have His remnant from every tribe and language and people and nation. In the end, Jesus gets what He wants. Application So, application to us. What do you get out of this chapter? First of all, the easy thing to do is to say, “I get nothing. This is some weird oracle about some city that got destroyed centuries ago and it doesn’t have anything to do with me.” Well, look again, friend. Look again. We do live in Tyre. The spirit of Babylon, the spirit of Tyre, whatever you want to call it, it’s still here. Satan is still roaming the earth. He’s still laying traps for your feet. He’s still speaking to your soul, giving you a small portion of the world, not the whole thing like he did with Jesus. He’s luring you with a little part of it. He’s trying to win your heart. He’s trying to win your affections with things that money can buy. Come to Christ! We are among the wealthiest people that have ever lived on the face of the earth. We are held accountable for all our stuff. So for me, the application is the same as it always is. I need to run to Christ. I need to flee to Jesus. I need to know that the blood of Jesus, His blood shed on the cross, His resurrection from the dead, is the only hope I have to escape the future judgment that’s coming on whatever Tyre there is when Jesus returns. I need to flee the wrath to come. And I can by running to Jesus, because He has absorbed the wrath to come for me. I can find a refuge in Jesus if I just, by faith, cry out for Him to be my savior. Maybe you came here today just to hear this message right now. You can say, “What must I do to be saved? I know I’m materialistic. I know I’ve been living for money. I know I’m living for the worldly pleasures of this world. I know that it has a lure on my heart. I want to be free but how do I do it?” Come to Christ. Jesus has the power to free you, to save you from all of your idolatry, from the friendship of the world that is adultery toward God (as James 4 puts it). He has the power to deliver you from that. Come to Christ, look to Jesus. You don’t need to do anything. You just need to believe and trust. Do Not Love the World For the rest of you who know that you’re forgiven, you know in your heart that Tyre has power over you. You know it, don’t you? You can feel the lure of it, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the boastful pride of life. It’s a magnetic pull on you and it’s hard to resist. It’d be good for you just to acknowledge it, to admit that you have sometimes slept with the prostitute, worldliness, that your heart has been lured away from sincere and pure devotion to Christ and that you went after worldly things. Confess it, as the text says. Wail over it. Be ashamed about it and turn away from it and hate it, as I talked to you about it last week. Genuine repentance. Do not love the world and do not love the things of this world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. The battle against worldliness is one of the hardest and most challenging to define. What is worldliness? Do I have too much stuff? Am I making too much money? Do I buy too many things? Do I need to get rid of some things? These are hard questions, and the text makes us face them. Scripture makes us face them. I can’t answer for you. When the elders, the leaders of a church answer for you, that’s a cult, dear friends. You will have to answer for yourself. But the question stands in front of you. My job is to put the question in front of you. It’s your job to answer. Are you worldly? Have you bought too much stuff? Are you living too much for the things of this world? Does God want you to free up more of your resources for the advancement of the kingdom? For the relief of the poor and needy? That’s a question you have to face. The scripture will help you face it. Keep it in front of you for the rest of your lives. So, I end with this. In I Corinthians 7:29-31, in the marriage section, Paul says something interesting. He says, “From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none.” Friends, don’t go too far with that, okay? Don’t misunderstand that. What he’s saying there is that those who use the things of this world should do so as if not engrossed in them. Being engrossed in the wares of Tyre is materialism, which is greed or covetousness, which is idolatry. It says it multiple times. Say it, “Lord, search me and know me. Am I using the things of this world appropriately or am I engrossed by them? And if I am engrossed, oh God, I am your child. I know that. Deliver me from Tyre that I may not share its judgments.” Close with me in prayer. Prayer Father, I thank You for this warning against Tyre. I thank You for what You did in history. Thank You for the fact that, by the Word of God, we can travel across the centuries back to when Alexander the Great scraped that city into the sea and made it a bare rock where fishermen dried their nets, so we can learn the spiritual lessons, not just study it as secular historians. We can learn the spiritual lesson that says there is a future judgment coming on Babylon and Tyre in Revelation 18. It will be thrown into the sea and heaven will celebrate at that point. Oh Lord, help us to understand that celebration, to embrace it, and to live not as worldlings but as true spiritually-minded sons and daughters of the living God. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.