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LESSON 154I Am Among The Ministers Of God.Let us today be neither arrogant nor falsely humble. We have gone beyond such foolishness. We cannot judge ourselves, nor need we do so. These are but attempts to hold decision off, and to delay commitment to our function. It is not our part to judge our worth, nor can we know what role is best for us; what we can do within a larger plan we cannot see in its entirety. Our part is cast in Heaven, not in hell. And what we think is weakness can be strength; what we believe to be our strength is often arrogance.Whatever your appointed role may be, it was selected by the Voice for God, Whose function is to speak for you as well. Seeing your strengths exactly as they are, and equally aware of where they can be best applied, for what, to whom and when, He chooses and accepts your part for you. He does not work without your own consent. But He is not deceived in what you are, and listens only to His Voice in you.It is through His ability to hear one Voice Which is His Own that you become aware at last there is one Voice in you. And that one Voice appoints your function, and relays it to you, giving you the strength to understand it, do what it entails, and to succeed in everything you do that is related to it. God has joined His Son in this, and thus His Son becomes His messenger of unity with Him.It is this joining, through the Voice for God, of Father and of Son, that sets apart salvation from the world. It is this Voice Which speaks of laws the world does not obey; Which promises salvation from all sin, with guilt abolished in the mind that God created sinless. Now this mind becomes aware again of Who created it, and of His lasting union with itself. So is its Self the one reality in Which its will and that of God are joined.A messenger is not the one who writes the message he delivers. Nor does he question the right of him who does, nor ask why he has chosen those who will receive the message that he brings. It is enough that he accept it, give it to the ones for whom it is intended, and fulfill his role in its delivery. If he determines what the messages should be, or what their purpose is, or where they should be carried, he is failing to perform his proper part as bringer of the Word.There is one major difference in the role of Heaven's messengers, which sets them off from those the world appoints. The messages that they deliver are intended first for them. And it is only as they can accept them for themselves that they become able to bring them further, and to give them everywhere that they were meant to be. Like earthly messengers, they did not write the messages they bear, but they become their first receivers in the truest sense, receiving to prepare themselves to give.An earthly messenger fulfills his role by giving all his messages away. The messengers of God perform their part by their acceptance of His messages as for themselves, and show they understand the messages by giving them away. They choose no roles that are not given them by His authority. And so they gain by every message that they give away.Would you receive the messages of God? For thus do you become His messenger. You are appointed now. And yet you wait to give the messages you have received. And so you do not know that they are yours, and do not recognize them. No one can receive and understand he has received until he gives. For in the giving is his own acceptance of what he received.You who are now the messengers of God, receive His messages. For that is part of your appointed role. God has not failed to offer what you need, nor has it been left unaccepted. Yet another part of your appointed task is yet to be accomplished. He Who has received for you the messages of God would have them be received by you as well. For thus do you identify with Him and claim your own.It is this joining that we undertake to recognize today. We will not seek to keep our minds apart from Him Who speaks for us, for it is but our voice we hear as we attend Him. He alone can speak to us and for us, joining in one Voice the getting and the giving of God's Word; the giving and receiving of His Will.We practice giving Him what He would have, that we may recognize His gifts to us. He needs our voice that He may speak through us. He needs our hands to hold His messages, and carry them to those whom He appoints. He needs our feet to bring us where He wills, that those who wait in misery may be at last delivered. And He needs our will united with His Own, that we may be the true receivers of the gifts He gives.Let us but learn this lesson for today: We will not recognize what we receive until we give it. You have heard this said a hundred ways, a hundred times, and yet belief is lacking still. But this is sure; until belief is given it, you will receive a thousand miracles and then receive a thousand more, but will not know that God Himself has left no gift beyond what you already have; nor has denied the tiniest of blessings to His Son. What can this mean to you, until you have identified with Him and with His Own?Our lesson for today is stated thus:I am among the ministers of God, and I am grateful thatI have the means by which to recognize that I am free.The world recedes as we light up our minds, and realize these holy words are true. They are the message sent to us today from our Creator. Now we demonstrate how they have changed our minds about ourselves, and what our function is. For as we prove that we accept no will we do not share, our many gifts from our Creator will spring to our sight and leap into our hands, and we will recognize what we received.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

John 16:23-30.16:23. And in that day you shall not ask me any thing. Amen, amen, Isay to you: if you ask the Father any thing in my name, he will give ityou.16:24. Hitherto, you have not asked any thing in my name. Ask, and youshall receive; that your joy may be full.16:25. These things I have spoken to you in proverbs. The hour comethwhen I will nolonger speak to you in proverbs, but will shew youplainly of the Father.16:26. In that day, you shall ask in my name: and I say not to you thatI will ask the Father for you.16:27. For the Father himself loveth you, because you have loved me andhave believed that I came out from God.16:28. I came forth from the Father and am come into the world: again Ileave the world and I go to the Father.16:29. His disciples say to him: Behold, now thou speakest plainly andspeakest no proverb.16:30. Now we know that thou knowest all things and thou needest notthat any man should ask thee. By this we believe that thou camest forthfrom God.

Neste episódio do Na Trilha da Coragem, Carla Brandão conversa com duas mulheres que representam força, reinvenção e autenticidade: Márcia Dantas e Thati Brasil. Ambas brilharam na TV, conquistaram reconhecimento e viveram momentos de glória profissional. Mas, em pleno auge — e logo após casamentos celebrados com grande emoção — enfrentaram a inesperada demissão.Entre surpresas e viradas, essas duas comunicadoras mostram como é possível se reinventar com dignidade, coragem e brilho no olhar. Uma conversa potente sobre recomeços, identidade e a coragem de seguir em frente mesmo quando tudo parece ruir.

A letter to a farmer who inquiries about getting into the not raising hogs business. http://www.campconstitution.netHonorable Secretary of AgricultureWashington, D.C.Dear Sir;My friend, Ed Peterson, over at Wells Iowa,received a check for $1,000 from the government for notraising hogs. So, I want to go into the "not raisinghogs" business next year.What I want to know is, in your opinion, what is thebest kind of farm not to raise hogs on, and what is thebest breed of hogs not to raise? I want to be sure thatI approach this endeavor in keeping with allgovernmental policies. I would prefer not to raiserazorbacks, but if that is not a good breed not toraise, then I will just as gladly not raise Yorkshiresor Poland Chinas.As I see it, the hardest part of this program will be inkeeping an accurate inventory of how many hogs I haven'traised.My friend, Peterson, is very joyful about the future ofthe business. He has been raising hogs for twenty yearsor so, and the best he ever made on them was $422 in1968, until this year when he got your check for $1000for not raising hogs.If I get $1000 for not raising 50 hogs, will I get $2000for not raising 100 hogs? I plan to operate on a smallscale at first, holding myself down to about 4000 hogsnot raised, which will mean about $80,000 the firstyear. Then I can afford an airplane.Now another thing, these hogs I will not raise will noteat 100,000 bushels of corn. I understand that you alsopay farmers for not raising corn and wheat. Will Iqualify for payments for not raising wheat and corn notto feed the 4000 hogs I am not going to raise?Also, I am considering the "not milking cows" business,so send me any information you have on that too.In view of these circumstances, you understand that Iwill be totally unemployed and plan to file forunemployment and food stamps.Be assured you will have my vote in the coming election.

Introduction: Two Problems Jesus Has with Divorce (Matthew 5:31–32): Divorce TRIVIALIZES MARRIAGE. (Matt 5:31) Genesis 2:24 – Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Deuteronomy 24:1–4 – When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house, and if she goes and becomes another man's wife, and the latter man hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife, then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the LORD. And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance. Divorce RESULTS In ADULTERY. (Matt 5:32) Ephesians 5:24–25 – Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her... Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead Matthew 5:31-32 & Mark 10:2-12What was your big take-away from this passage / message?What are some beliefs you've heard Christians believe about divorce and remarriage? How do these line up with Scripture?Explain what Jesus meant in Matt 5:32, how someone's divorce even leads to other people committing adultery.How exactly would you counsel a trusted Christian friend who is considering divorce?BreakoutPray for one another. Audio Transcript Matthew chapter 5, are you there?This section we are in on the Sermon on the Mount is about the heart of God's law.And we saw that Jesus said, "I didn't come to abolish the law or destroy the law."That's what we would call the Old Testament.Jesus said, "I didn't come to do away with the Old Testament."He said, "I came to carry out everything that was said in it."It's not irrelevant at all.And through this section you're going to see, as we've already seen many times, Jesus says,"You have heard that it was said, but I say to you."And when Jesus says that, what He's saying is, "You've lowered God's standard."And Jesus is correcting them, and He's correcting us when we take the Word of God and just makeit purely external.God wants your heart.God wants your heart.That's what we saw a couple of weeks ago.Pastor Taylor taught us, Jesus said, "Murder isn't just the physical act of killing someone.It's a heart issue."We saw last week adultery is not just the physical act.It's a heart issue.And in these verses we're looking at today, Jesus is continuing His teaching on the destructivenessof adultery.And today we're going to talk about divorce.And look, there's so much controversy on this topic.And if we're going to be honest, the controversy doesn't come really from God's Word becausethe Bible is clear.The reason there's so much controversy is because if you are a divorced person, thisgets very personal and it gets very painful.And look, I've done so many weddings over the past 20-some years, so many weddings.And I can tell you emphatically that nobody gets into marriage wanting a divorce.That doesn't happen.I've never seen the wedding ceremony where the vows include something like, "I can'twait to be done with you."Or "I love you today, but in six months I will hate you more than anybody on the planet."Nobody thinks that.Nobody expects that.And when divorce happens, it's always, it's just always so painful.And we get through a passage like, "Look, I know some of you are going to be temptedto tune out because you're going to think, 'Well, you know what, Jeff, you don't knowmy circumstances.'And you're right.I don't.I don't know your circumstances."And I'm certainly not trying to be dismissive of the pain that you've gone through.And I'm certainly not trying to be judgmental for what brought about your divorce if that'syour situation.And I'm also keenly aware that I cannot exhaust everything that the Bible says on the subjectin just one sermon.What I want us all to do, it's nothing new.I just want us to do what we do every week.We're just going to take a giant step back and we're going to see what our Lord sayson the subject.And we're going to see Jesus speaks on divorce here.And I can't undo anything that happened in the past, nor can you as much as we mightwant to.It's gone.But I'm hoping with this message that we can prevent any future pain and hurt that comesfrom divorce.So let's look at Matthew chapter 5, looking verses 31 and 32.Jesus says, "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate ofdivorce.'But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality,makes her commit adultery and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery."What is going on in these verses?Well, first of all, look at verse 31.Jesus says, "It was also said," what?Jesus gives a quote, "Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce."You're like, is that what the Old Testament says?Ish.Here's the problem.This statement was used by the scribes and the Pharisees as a gross misrepresentationof a passage in the Old Testament.So does the Old Testament say that?Yeah, it kind of does, but they took a direction that the Lord never intended it to go.The scribes and the Pharisees took a passage from Deuteronomy, we're going to look at herein a few moments, and they twisted it for their own purposes.Jesus says, "But I say to you," and this is one of the most difficult verses in yourBible.Jesus says, "I say, everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexualimmorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commitsadultery."So here's the short version.See the scribes and the Pharisees, as I said, twisted this passage in Deuteronomy, and theyreduced it to this.Look, divorce and remarriage is okay as long as it's legal.As long as you do the paperwork, it's fine.It's just fine.It is just fine.And I think it's obvious that Jesus did not agree with their assessment because He saiddivorce leads to adultery.That's the short version.So let's unpack that a little bit today.On your outline, excuse me, we're just very simply calling this "two problems Jesus haswith divorce."All right, let's look at these two verses very intently, and we see there's two problemsthat Jesus has with divorce.Number one, write this down, divorce trivializes marriage.Divorce trivializes marriage.That's the problem.Quick review, marriage was defined once and for all to the first two people that God created,Adam and Eve.And I know there have been attempts to redefine marriage.It doesn't matter.God defined marriage once and for all.With the first two people that He created, Adam and Eve, and the most important versein your Bible on marriage is Genesis 2.24.It says, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to hiswife, and they shall become one flesh."That's the most important verse in the Bible about marriage.And I can say that emphatically because when Jesus was asked about marriage and divorce,this was the verse He quoted, Matthew 19, Mark chapter 10, when the Apostle Paul waswriting about marriage and divorce and husband and wife issues, this was the verse He quoted,1 Corinthians chapter 6, Ephesians chapter 5.God's plan in marriage is two people turning into one person.That's the plan.There's not a relationship on the earth like that.Not a business partnership.Not members of a sports team.There's nothing like the marriage relationship.This was God's intention of marriage in the very beginning.I want two people to turn into one person.And when you study Genesis, you'll see divorce was never part of God's original design formarriage.Like, "All right, well, if it wasn't part of God's plan, where did divorce come from?Where did this idea for divorce come from?"So allowance was made for divorce in the Old Testament law.I want you to look at this.We're going to put this passage on the screen.I want you to look at it very closely because this is the passage that's in question herewhere Jesus is confronting the scribes and the Pharisees.This is from Deuteronomy chapter 24.Because, again, Law of Moses here, when a man takes a wife and marries her, if thenshe finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her and he writesher a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house andshe departs out of his house and she goes and becomes another man's wife and the latterman hates her and writes her certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sendsher out of his house.Or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife, then her former husband, whosent her away, that's husband number one, may not take her again to be his wife aftershe has been defiled for that as an abomination before the Lord.And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the Lord your God is giving you for aninheritance.Now listen, it's a tough passage but we're going to get through this together.Here's what Moses was saying.Divorce had to have a cause.And here it's defined in the Law as some "indecency."It could have been a natural or a moral or a physical defect or whatever.It had to be something that they categorized as unclean, whatever that is.This limited the possible reasons for divorce.This was the purpose, understand.The reason Moses wrote this Law was so that a man couldn't just divorce his wife for anyreason whatsoever.Just make up some excuse, something frivolous.I'm just divorcing you because I feel like it.I don't like the meatloaf you made or I don't like your new haircut or those shoes lookhorrible.You can't just willy nilly divorce your wife.Moses is saying, "Look, there has to be a reason for the divorce."So this was actually to emphasize the importance of marriage.Like, well why would he allow the divorce then?Why go through this?Don't miss this.The purpose of divorce in this case in Deuteronomy 24 was to protect the woman.You see, when you give her the certificate of divorce, that woman had legal proof that,listen, she was dismissed from the marriage but it was not because she was unfaithful.You see that certificate for the woman showed, "Look, I did not have an affair.My husband found something wrong with me and dismissed me but it wasn't because I wasunfaithful."That's what's going on in Deuteronomy 24.But I want you to see here, listen, because this is where the Pharisees and the scribesmissed it.In Deuteronomy 24, there is not a command to divorce.That passage is just simply describing a scenario.In that passage, if we're going to boil it down, we would say this, they were told towrite a certificate of divorce if there was a divorce.The only command that you see in this passage, the only one in that passage is this, if youdivorce your wife, you cannot take her back if she's rejected by her next husband.Or if he croaks, you cannot take her back.Again, the reason for this was to protect the woman.It was to keep women from being used and discarded.It was to keep men who are hogs admittedly, it's to keep men from saying, "You know what?I'm going to try out women."But you know what?My first wife was better than this one.So I'm going to get rid of her and I'm going to take the first one back because I preferredher.That's a horrible, horrible way to treat a woman.See, that's the heart of the law here.Like God's like, "No, no, no, no, no, you're not going to treat women that way, men.This isn't a high school relationship, boyfriend, girlfriend, on again, off again.No, no, no, no, no, no.We're not treating women like that.Marriage is a very serious covenant and you're not going to just have a woman on a leashwhere you let her go and you anchor back and let her go and you anchor back.No, you are not allowed to do that."That's the heart of the law here.Deuteronomy 24 was intended to stop divorce from happening willy-nilly.Everybody on board with me now.Okay, because now I want you to see how the scribes and the Pharisees twisted it.Look at verse 31 again in Matthew chapter 5.Jesus quotes them.He says, "It was also said, whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate ofdivorce."What the scribes and the Pharisees did was through their twisting this passage, theyactually made it say the opposite of what God intended.They used this passage to justify easy divorce, that you can get a divorce for any reasonat all so long as the paperwork is done.That's what they reduced this to.Like, well look, you studied the Old Testament, it tells you very plainly.If you get a divorce, make sure that all the documents are filled out appropriately.That's really all that matters, right?That's all that matters.Just that we signed on the right line and we crossed our T's and we dotted our I's.That's really what matters.As long as you do the paperwork, as long as the divorce is legal, hey, everybody's goodwith that because everything's above board then, right?I mean, I'm not like one of those illegal divorcers, right?You know, that I get some janky, unofficial, illegal divorce document from online, fromthe dark webs.I'm not like that guy.You better be sure that when I get a divorce, it's done right.That was their mindset.The Law of Moses commands divorce to be done legally, so make sure that you do it right.And see, that's Jesus' problem with their attitude.He says your attitude about divorce trivializes marriage.And you have justified in your mind the mistreatment of women in the name of making sure the paperworkis filled out properly.That's not what the Law is about, Jesus is saying.Now, over the years, I have heard all kinds of unbiblical justifications for people wantinga divorce.And I don't even have time to get into all that today.And we're going to get to the biblical reason for divorce in a moment.But we need to stop here and say, listen, marriage should not be taken so lightly amongGod's people.The scribes and the Pharisees were so diligent to make sure that the divorce was done right.We church should be so diligent to make sure that the marriage is done right.So that's the first problem Jesus has with divorce.You trivialize marriage.You trivialize marriage.Not on board with that.But here's the second problem Jesus says I have with your attitude towards divorce.Scribes, Pharisees, church in 2025, divorce results in adultery.Look at verse 32 again.Like I said, this is a difficult verse.But this is what our Lord said.Jesus said, but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the groundof sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery.And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.So Jesus is saying, listen, with divorce, even when the paperwork is done properly, divorceleads to nothing but more and more adultery.And I think one of the troubling things about this passage is I could see in my mind thatI make choices that cause me to be guilty and suffer consequences for my own choices.But it's very clear here in verse 32, Jesus is saying that a choice for a divorce resultsin other people being guilty of sin.That's a tough pill to swallow, but that's what He said.What does He mean?In Deuteronomy 24, that passage we just looked at, when the woman was divorced for somethingless than sexual immorality, which by the way, sexual immorality breaks the bond of marriage,but in the Deuteronomy 24 case, she was divorced for something less than that, right?Jesus said, even when you divorce for less than sexual immorality, that still makes foran adulterous situation.Jesus said the divorced wife moves on, she consummates a new union when there was nogrounds to break the first one, and if you do that, if you divorce like that, you arenow guilty of adultery, and whoever marries that woman is guilty of adultery, and whoevermarries you is guilty of adultery.And Jesus is saying when you unbiblically break the marriage covenant and people gooff and get remarried, He says now we've resulted in more and more adultery happening in otherpeople.That's what He said.He says now everybody's guilty.So what Jesus is saying to the scribes and the Pharisees is that you could sit here andsay, "Oh, I'm not an adulterer.I have never slept with another man's wife.I have never committed adultery."Jesus says you shouldn't think that way.Actually, you've made adultery worse because you have such a shallow view of divorce.Jesus said you lowered God's standard because all you're focused on is the external.I didn't commit adultery.Jesus said you did.You commit adultery when you look at a woman lustfully.It proves that you already had adultery in your heart.And furthermore, when you divorce without biblical grounds, which Jesus says is sexualimmorality, Jesus said you have committed adultery and you've made her and you've made her newhusband commit adultery too.Your sin not only affects you, but it affects so many more people than just you.And I really don't have to sell people who have experienced divorce how far reachingthe damage goes.The pain is not limited to just the two people in the marriage.I mentioned biblical grounds for divorce.Biblically, now looking at the whole counsel of God, I believe that there is one biblicalgrounds for divorce and it's hardheartedness.Like wait, wait, wait, wait.How do you know when somebody is heart-hearted?Because it would be real easy, right?You're like, "I'm divorcing you because I think you're heart-hearted."Like how do you know that somebody is heart-hearted?Biblically, heart-heartedness in a marriage manifests in two ways.One is abandonment.I don't have time to get into all this today, but just jot down 1 Corinthians 7 verse 15.Abandonment.When you have a spouse who just walks out of the marriage, "I'm not willing to counsel,I'm not willing to reconcile, I'm not willing to consider anything, I'm leaving you, I don'tcare.I am done."Abandonment.My best understanding from Scripture is that is biblical grounds for divorce.When you've tried, but your partner is completely unwilling.That gives evidence that their heart is so hard, they're not willing at all to investin a covenant.Abandonment.And the other evidence of heart-heartedness in marriage, well Jesus references here,and that's adultery.Your heart is so hard towards your spouse that you were willing to physically sleepwith somebody else.It's evidence of a heart-hearted.I want you to listen very closely because even these conditions, even the issue of adulterydoes not obligate anyone to divorce.Because you study God's Word.God's Word never condones divorce and it never commands divorce.There is not one passage in your Bible where God says, "If this happens, I command my peopleto get a divorce."That it is legitimate in abandonment and adultery, but it's still not commanded.So if you're married, you should do everything that you can to avoid divorce.See the scribes and the Pharisees, they live their marriages with one hand over the ejectseat button.It's like I'm not happy with you for any reason.I am done.Jesus said, "No, no, no, no, no, that's not how it should be.You should do everything you can to avoid divorce."You're like, "Well, what about abuse?What if I'm in a relationship where there's abuse that absolutely should not be happening?"And listen, if you're in an abusive situation, you need to let me know as soon as possible.Because we will protect you.We will get you out of harm's way.We will do everything to keep you from being abused.That should not be happening.Somebody else would say, "Well, what about neglect?What about detachment?What about my husband's a lazy bum?Do not be too proud to get biblical counsel.Because there's something else I've seen over the last two and a half decades or so.No marriage is beyond saving.I've seen couples come in hours away from filing for divorce whose marriage ended upin a better place than it ever has been through the result of the ministry of the Word ofGod.If both parties are willing, the marriage can be saved.And when we talk about, yes, abuse and neglect and things like that, we have to readily admitthat there are extreme cases that require extreme action, 100%.But in our day, like in Jesus' day, the vast majority of divorces weren't because of that.The vast majority of divorces were motivated by sinful, selfish desires.The vast majority of divorces result from people treating people like used cars.Like, "Well, this one isn't working out for me.I thought I would like it, but I'm not really digging it anymore.I'm just going to trade it in."That's most divorces.And Jesus says, "Now, you've reduced the marriage covenant.You've trivialized it.You've made it purely external.And now, as a result, all kinds of adultery is happening because you're unwilling to takemarriage seriously."That should not be among God's people.It's a hard passage.What I want us to do, just so I don't want anybody to think that this is some oddballpassage, this is a one-off.Because I want you to turn to Mark chapter 10, because what I want you to see here isJesus teaching the exact same thing, but in a different context.In Mark chapter 10, the context, you'll see they were testing Jesus.They were trying to trap Jesus.They were always trying to trap Jesus.And they thought, "Oh, we know how to trap Jesus.We'll ask Him about marriage and divorce.That'll get them for sure.Why?"Well, you know the story of John the Baptist.He objected to a marriage and divorce, and he lost his head.And I go, "We get Jesus on that.They'll get them for sure.We'll trap them."So I want you to see, now we have context, but I want you to see Jesus teaching the exactsame thing, but in a different context.Mark chapter 10, verse 2, "The Pharisees came up and in order to test Him asked, 'Is it lawfulfor a man to divorce his wife?'"They're like, "We got them.We got them."Slam dunk.Because, see, if Jesus says no, we're like, "Oh, you disagree with the Old Testament,which tells us to get a divorce."If Jesus says no, you shouldn't get a divorce, rather.You're disagreeing with the Old Testament.If Jesus says, "Oh, yeah, you can get a divorce.Oh, now Jesus is taking marriage lightly, and we're going to get Him either way."You know, Jesus is disregarding the serious system of marriage, or He's disregarding whatthe Old Testament says about divorce.We got them.We got them."Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"I love this.Jesus answered them, "What did Moses command you?"Jesus is like, "What's the Bible say?"Turned it back on them.They said, "Look at this.Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away."Do you see?It's about the stinking paperwork again.That's all they were fixated on.Yeah, Moses said, "Fill out form A-27, and you're good."Jesus said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart," there it is, "because of yourhardness of heart," He wrote to this commandment."But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and thetwo shall become one flesh."Sound familiar?Genesis 2.24.And Jesus comments on it.He says, "So they're no longer two, but one flesh.But therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."Verse 10 says, "And in the house the disciples asked him again."That's controversial, wasn't it?Disciples asked him again about this matter.And he said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adulteryagainst her.And if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."See, it's the same teaching.Same two points in this exchange that we see in Matthew chapter 5.Jesus says you've trivialized marriage, and it just causes more adultery.God takes marriage very seriously, especially to those who claim to be followers of JesusChrist.Why is God so...Why does God seem so strict about marriage?Why is God seems so serious about marriage?It's because divorce ultimately misrepresents God.See God takes marriage seriously because there's a picture that's to be on displayin the marriage.So when that picture is broken, God is misrepresented.Ephesians chapter 5 tells us what the picture is.It says, "Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everythingto their husbands."Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.See this, this is the idea behind marriage.The ultimate goal of marriage is the ultimate goal of everything else in the universe isto glorify God.And the way God is glorified in your marriage is by demonstrating the relationship thatJesus Christ has with His bride, the church.And in this picture, the wife represents the church following, submitting, honoring, andthe husband is to represent Jesus loving, leading, laying His life down.And when you live this out, God is glorified and your marriage is blessed.But when you divorce, you're misrepresenting God.So my friends, what are we showing the world about God and the way we conduct ourselvesin our marriages?Our worship team and communion servers would come up.It's only appropriate that we close by gathering around the Lord's table.Like, well, what does this have to do with marriage?The answer is everything.Because we gather around the Lord's table, we are reminded that Jesus Christ has a covenantlove for us.This love that Jesus Christ has for us is forever.It's never going to change.And even when His bride fails Him, and we do.Oh, and we will.Jesus isn't going to give up on us.This is our reminder of what covenant love looks like.And this is a reminder of how covenant love is to be demonstrated in our marriages.

Passages: Matthew 11:28-30Sermon Notes: 1. Your soul knows that rest is real. It must be found.2. The passage today will do just thatI. Come to me all who are weary and burdeneda. Weary and Burdenedi. In a secular wayii. In a religious wayb. Jesus invites us to turn away from those ways and come to Himi. You're weary and burdened because you are searching for your soul to RESTII. I will give you resta. What does it mean?i. Rest for the soulb. What does that look like?i. No more effort to earn God's favorii. To be at peace with Godiii. To end the constant strivingiv. To be without fearv. To have assurance in the one we depend onc. (How do I come to Jesus?)I. Take my yoke upon you, learn from mea. Context of Yokei. Made with specific specs for the oxen, in order for it to pull and till the ground.b. What does it mean to be Yoke to Jesusi. Place of listeningii. Place of intimacyiii. Place of Lordshipiv. Place of Learningc. (Why would i want to get in the Yoke with Jesus and How would that possibly give me rest?)II. I am gentle and lowly in heart—for my yoke is easy and my burden is lighta. 9 descriptions of Jesusi. Jesus has authority over diseaseii. Jesus has authority over all suffering and siniii. Jesus has authority over all disasteriv. Jesus has authority over demonsv. Jesus has authority over sinvi. Jesus has authority to savevii. Jesus has authority over deathviii. Jesus has authority over disabilityix. Jesus has authority over the devilb. Conclusion: He IS GODc. Does not even take His position seriously (gentle)i. Scandal of heavenii. Degrade Himself in order to have you by His side.d. Rest comes when we realize that Christ has done it all for us, and continues to do it all for us.To give please visit: https://www.wearetruelove.com/give Join TLC on our social media for updates!YouTube: https://youtube.com/truelovecommunity Facebook: https://facebook.com/truelovecommunityministry Instagram: https://instagram.com/truelovecommunity

28Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene andthe other Mary went to see the tomb.2And behold, there was a great earthquake, foran angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.3His appearance was like lightning, andhis clothing white as snow.4And for fear of him the guards trembled andbecame like dead men.5But the angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.6He is not here, for he has risen,as he said. Come, see the place where he[a]lay.7Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold,he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.8So they departed quickly from the tombwith fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.9And behold, Jesusmet them and said,Greetings!And they came up andtook hold of his feet andworshiped him.10Then Jesus said to them,Do not be afraid;go and tellmy brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me. 16Now the eleven discipleswent to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.17And when they saw him theyworshiped him, but some doubted.18And Jesus came and said to them,All authorityin heaven and on earth has been given to me.19Go therefore andmake disciples ofall nations,baptizing themin[a]the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20teaching themto observe all thatI have commanded you. And behold,I am with you always, tothe end of the age.

Introduction: Influencer = Social media professional who has built a sizable following around a relevant topic, and can therefore influence their followers to take an action, thanks to their credibility and authority. As Salt and Light, I Am God's Influencer (Matthew 5:13-16) My Influence is Expected. My Influence Comes from Me Being Different. My Influence Is for God's Glory. Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Audio Transcript Open up your Bibles with me, please, to the book of Matthew in chapter 5.Today we are going to talk about influencers.Now the young people here already know something about this, but those of us whoare older, this is, I'm in that category too, this might be a newconcept to some of this. But what is an influencer? We have a definition here, canwe get the definition up on the screen? This is what an influencer is, okay?It's a social media professional who has built a sizable following around arelevant topic and can therefore influence their followers to take anaction thanks to their credibility and authority. That's what a social mediainfluencer or an influencer, that's what that is. And those relevant topics,that's a lot of different things, right? It's food, health, fashion, pop culture,travel, gaming, beauty, you name it, there's somebody out there that is aninfluencer. They are internet celebrities. And by that, some of them were alreadycelebrities and they got online. And some of them are people who becamecelebrities because of their online presence. There's lists of the top ones.I was looking up all these lists and you can do this sometime, not now, but I waslooking up lists of who were the biggest influencers of our day. And forsake of time today, I'm just going to share top five. Here's the top five,according to this one list for whatever that's worth. The number one biggestinfluencer, Cristiano Ronaldo. I don't even know who she is. Is anybody a soccerplayer? Not football. That is a different sport. We call it soccer like goodAmericans. Okay, so apparently Cristiano Ronaldo is a soccer player and on thislist, the biggest influencer in the world currently. Number two, I think I heard ofher. It's Selena Gomez. Isn't she like an, is she an actor or something? Okay,actor, singer. Okay, all right. Number three is Mr. Beast. Probably not his realname. Number four is Lionel Messi. Messi, another soccer player.What? I played soccer in high school and college and it was not popular back then.Now two of the top five so far. Oh, number five. I know number five. Number five isthe Biebs as his followers like to call him. Justin Bieber. That's number five.Did you know God has a face for his brand? God has a spokesman. God has someoneto endorse his relevant topic. Do you know who that is? It's you. It's you.Think it by your heads with me and I want you to pray for me. Once we turn to God'sword that I'll be faithful to communicate it and I will pray for you tohave a heart open to receive what God has for us today. Let's pray.Father, your word tells us that faith comes by hearing and hearing through theWord of Christ. The only transformation that can happen is supernaturaltransformation. It has to come from you. And I pray, Father, that as we encounteryour word, as we encounter you, we are profoundly changed. We pray these thingsin Jesus' name. And all of God's people said, "Amen." We just finished what waslike an eight-week series on the Beatitudes. And the Beatitudes describewhat a follower of Jesus is like. Verses 13 through 16 describe the function ofthe believer in the world. You are God's influencer. You are. When you live asdescribed in the Beatitudes, you influence the world. Like, well, how does thathappen? Well, let's see what our Lord says. Matthew 5 verse 13. He says, "You are thesalt of the earth. But if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness berestored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out andtrampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world." A city said on ahill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Buton a stand, and it gives light to all in the house, in the same way, let yourlight shine before others so that they may see your good works and give gloryto your Father who is in heaven. Jesus here is saying, okay, here's the shortversion. The world is decaying and it's dark. Have you noticed? What it needs issalt and light. Let's talk about salt and light for a second, shall we? When itcomes to salt, look, in our day, we kind of take salt for granted. It's everywhere.It's on every table, it's in your cabinet. It's everywhere, and it's cheap. But thepeople that lived in Jesus' day would have had a different view of salt. To theGreeks, they considered salt divine. The Romans said that there is nothing morevaluable than two things, sun and salt. In fact, Roman soldiers were actually paidin salt. Do you ever hear that expression? He's not worth a salt? Ask where that comesfrom. True story. It was so important in so many ways. People would use salt inmaking covenants. Salt was used in Old Testament sacrifices. Salt was used forflavor, obviously. Salt is an antiseptic. Like, well, how did Jesus mean it?I believe the main primary focus of Jesus' teaching here is salt as apreservative. Salt prevents corruption. You see, in Jesus' day, they didn't haverefrigerators. They didn't have a deep-freeze chest in the garage like we do.So in order to preserve meat, you would literally have to rub salt into the meatto keep it from spoiling. And in the same way, Jesus' followers are the salt in themeat of the world. We are what's preventing the world from totally rotting right now.But the Bible says, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, the book of Revelation, whenthe church is removed from the world in the rapture, the world is going to go tohell. It's going to get horrific because the salt's been removed. It's gonna rot.So the implication here of salt is that the world is polluted and corrupt and ithas this tendency to rot like meat. And what it needs is your influence. It needs salt.Let's talk about light for a second. Also, much more valuable in Jesus' daybecause, again, we kind of take it for granted, don't we? We're so used to havingelectricity and flicking the lights on. But don't we just lose our minds when astorm takes the power out and there's no light? I know our house does, but theydidn't have that electricity. So light would have been a much more valuablething to them. But you know, Jesus said, "I am the light of the world," back in Johnchapter 8 and verse 12, "and here Jesus says you are the light of the world." Sowhich is it? And the answer is both. It's both. It's His light through us. Just asthe moon doesn't produce its own light but reflects the light of the sun, that'show it is for followers of Christ. We are to reflect the light of Jesus Christ inour lives. Now when the Bible talks about light, it's talking about revealingGod's truth. This is what the Bible refers to when it's talking about light,right? Psalm 119, 105, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Solight has to do with the revelation of God's Word. It is the light that tells usthe cause of the darkness. It is the light that shows us that our problem iswe're separated from God. But it's also the light that shows us the way out ofdarkness. It's the light of God's Word that says there is a way to get back toGod, and that is through Jesus Christ, who died for your sins, who rose from thedead to give you eternal life. It's through faith in Him. That's how you get back toGod, and that is only revealed in the light of God's Word. So the implicationwhen Jesus talks about light is this, the world is dark. Sin has made this world avery dark place. What it needs is light. It needs your influence. So on youroutline, I encourage you to take some notes here. Here's the sermon, "As Salt andLight, I am God's Influencer. I am. And if you claim to be a follower of JesusChrist, you are an influencer for God. You are." Let's unpack this a little bit.Shall we, number one, write this down, "My influence is expected." My influence isexpected. Interestingly, in the Greek, we talked about this in the Beatitudes. It'shere too. You know, you as emphatic in the Greek. So literally, you couldtranslate this. Jesus is saying, "You are the only light in the world. You are theonly salt in the world." You know, I was thinking about salt this week. You know,something really interesting about salt, as valuable as it is, it's really no goodon its own, is it? It's not good by itself. I mean, when was the last time youwent to Pantera bread, and you said, "Yeah, you know what? I'm not really that hungry.I'm just gonna have a bowl of salt." Like, who does that? It's no good on its own.Salt is always used for something else. And you know, thinking about that further,light is the same, isn't it? Light is always used for something else. Meaningthis, when you turn on the lights, you don't do it because you're like, "You knowwhat, man? I just really like light." Like, nobody just really likes light. Why do youturn it on? Because it's light that illuminates what's in the room. Light hasno other purpose. So salt and light always used for something else. Always usedfor something else. You know what? You are so valuable. You are. But like salt,you're not valuable for yourself. Here's what I mean. If all God wanted was for youto be saved, then the moment you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, Godwould just take you to heaven. Like, we're done. Good job. I wanted you to be saved.But He doesn't do that. God, when you're saved, God keeps you on this earth for onereason. It's influence. He keeps you here to be salt and light. You see, that's whatJesus is saying here. There is no salt and light except from a Christ followerwho is going to show and tell the people around you about Jesus. Like, well, you'rethe pastor, isn't that your job? No. Look, it can't be. You're going to encounterpeople just through the course of your every day that I'm never going to meet.You're going to work with people and there's people in your family. Thepastor Taylor is never going to meet. So whose job is it to let them know aboutJesus Christ? That's yours. That's why God has you there. There's no alternative.There's just not another option. But you know, side note, it's an interestingparadox. Last week we were talking about persecution, right? And people hating youbecause of Jesus. Isn't it an interesting paradox that the world hates us so much,but the world needs us so desperately? Look, you're expected. You are expected tobe salt and light. That is so clear from Jesus' words. It is just anexpectation. That's why Jesus gives warnings of being useless. Did you seethat? He says, verse 13, "If the salt has lost its taste." And then over in verse 15,he says, "Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket." What's the point?Well, the point is this. If salt isn't salty, it's useless, right? And if lightdoesn't shine, useless. What Jesus is saying here is when salt isn't salty,when light isn't bright, what that means is you've lost your influence. You'velost your influence. It's a terrible place to be when you lose your ability to besalt and light for Jesus Christ. You're like, well, how does that happen? How doyou lose your influence? How does salt lose its taste? How do you hide yourlight? Well, it happens through sin. That's how it happens. Constantlycomplaining, you're losing your saltiness. Gossiping, you're losing yoursaltiness. Do you have a hair trigger temper? You're losing yoursaltiness when that erupts. I'm inappropriate with the opposite sex inany way. Flirtation, direct messages to full-on affairs. You're losing yoursaltiness when you're involved in sin. Jesus gives a hard wording about thathere. He says you're not good for anything when that happens. I can justspeak personally, you know, over the years there have been several pastors whohave been a big influence influence. Several pastors have been a big influenceon me. Some local guys, some national names. People who have disqualifiedthemselves from ministry because of flagrant sin. And in a lot of the casesit was affairs. Whether it was emotion or physical, that seems to be thepredominant disqualifier. And look, right wrong or indifferent, you can reach yourconviction on this. But I gotta tell you, I've thrown away a lot of books and alot of sermons and a lot of materials for ministries. Because those pastors losttheir influence, how can you preach this? And for years secretly live acompletely different way. How can you do that? You don't have audience with meanymore. You're like, yeah, that's terrible. Well, what about you? What aboutyour influence with your unsafe family, with your friends, with your co-workers?When they know that you're a Christian, and by the way they absolutely should,look, when they know you name the name of Christ, they're watching you. They arewatching everything you do. They're watching your attitudes. They're listeningto every word that you say and how you say it and what you talk about. They'relistening. They're watching. I have to ask you, do theysee sin? Or maybe you just try to tone down the salt a little bit whenyou're around them. Maybe when you're around them, you don't want to be theweird religious wackadoo. So you're just, let's just dim the lights a little bit.Can we just dim the lights a little bit? Jesus says, if that's the case, He says,you're not good for anything. Like, Jesus is saying, why do I have you here? Why do Ihave you here if you're not going to be salt and light? You're no good. It's ahard warning. But notice, Jesus didn't say after the beatitudes, okay, now wouldyou pretty please be salt and light? He said, you are. You are. So really thequestion is, how salty are you? How bright are you? Because you're going toinfluence people one way or the other. And Jesus is expecting His influence onthis world to happen through you. So your influence is expected, number one.Number two, right this time, my influence comes from me being different. Myinfluence comes from me being different. That's something else about salt andlight. It has to actually be touching what it's going to affect. Did you knowthat? If the salt's going to be of any use, it has to be on the food. I know that'sprofound, right? What did you learn in church today? He said something about thesalt's no good unless it's on the food. Right. Right. The light must be mingledwith the darkness, right? But at the same time that it's touching, it's alsodistinct. What I mean is salt and light are unlike the medium on which they'replaced. So the point is we are to be different from the world. We're to beas different as the salt is from the meat. We're to be as different as thelight is from the darkness. And that means my friends, we're not we're notself-serving. We're not materialistic. We're not worldly. The influence happenswhen we're different from the world. And somehow we have a hard time asChristians remembering that. We think that we are going to attract theworld by imitating them. We have this game in our minds where we say, "Well, I'mgoing to show them that I'm no different than them. And they're going to see thatI'm cool and I'm relevant and then I'm going to be able to give them the gospel."We think being like them is going to attract them.Just imagine you have this co-worker and you have an exchange like this.Your co-worker says, "Hey, you want to hear a dirty joke?" And your reply is, "Yes." Andthen I will tell you one because I'm cool. Your co-worker says, "Hey, did you checkout that new lady that they hired? She is fine." And your reply to that is, "Yes, Ialso think she is smoking as you do because you and me are the same." Yourco-worker says, "Hey, do you want to have too much beer later?" And your reply is, "Isure would because that would be relevant to my relationship with youbecause I'm just like you." And then maybe after our beers I will tell you howJesus changed me. Changed you? From what? Even in the church. Even in the church.There's this tendency, we want to attract unsaved people so we think we'vegot to be just like them. Let's put on a show. Let's make it like a secularconcert. Let's get the laser lights and the smoke machine and put on a bigtheatrical production here. Let's be like the world. That'll win the world, won't it?Because don't we want people to be comfortable? We hate that, don't we? Whenchurches are like, "We want you to come and be comfortable." Church is the lastplace you should be comfortable. Standing in the face of the Word of God isthe last place you should feel comfortable. The church is, "Let's be like theworld and what that means is we're going to have to not take such ahard stand on the truth of God's Word because we want to win the world, right?And in order to do that, we got to be like the world." I was shown a churchrecently online was advertising, "You can get baptized there." But the interestingkicker was, they said, "You can get baptized any way you want."Any way you want. You want to get dunked? Well, don't you? You want to getsprinkled? We'll splash you? You want us to dip our hands in water and touch yourforehead? We'll do that. You name the way you want to get the water on you. We'll getthe water on you. As our Lord would say, "What is going on?" I heard this quote onetime that always stuck with me. Somebody said, regarding the church, they said,"Just when the world needs us the most, we become just like them." And look, if we'rejust the same, we got nothing to offer them, right? And if we learn anything fromthe Beatitudes, it's this, kingdom of heaven people live different than kingdomof earth people. We are not the same. We are not made out of the same stuff thatthe world is made out of. We are salt and light. My influence comes from beingdifferent, right? And finally, number three, my influence is for God's glory. Myinfluence is for God's glory. Look at verse 16 again. Jesus says in the same way,"Let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and giveglory to your Father who is in heaven." Good works. Good works. You do good works?Well, you have to check your motives for that, right? Because it's not about whatpeople think about me as much as what they think about God. But Jesus said,"They'll see our good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."Meaning this, "I do what I do because I love Jesus." And people are going to seethat, and that is going to give me the opportunity to share the gospel withthem, to invite them to church where they're going to hear the gospel. Andour hope is that they receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, becausethat is the ultimate way that God has glorified.But if we're going to be influencers, we have to be salt and light both.Because you can read this passage and be like, isn't Jesus kind of saying thesame thing with the salt and the light? Like, why did He use two pictures? Whydidn't He just keep it short and use one? Because there's some keydifferences between salt and light. The one I want to focus on is this. We couldspend so much time on this, we don't have it. But I want to say this. Jesus issaying you have to have godly conduct, that's salt. And you have to have thegospel message that's light. You have to have both.Meaning this. You can't just walk away from this message and focus on one ofthese aspects, but not the other. Meaning, let's just say you're onlygoing to focus on being salt. Okay, you're like, you know what, he's rightabout the salt, you know what, I got to work on that. I'm just only going to focuson being salt. I'm just going to focus on my walk with Christ, but you neveractually share the gospel with anyone. Well, the question is how is anybodygoing to glorify the Father if you never tell them the gospel? Do you thinkpeople are going to see your good works and just automatically, somehow,miraculously understand the content of the gospel just because you're doinggood works? There was a saying that was thrown around years ago. You know thosesayings that sometimes creeps into the church that Christians use that sound,they sound so like magnanimously spiritual, but they're really, when youthink about it, really kind of empty. This is one that kind of drove me nuts.Years ago, people would say, preach the gospel and use words if necessary. Rememberthat one? Preach the gospel and use words if necessary. Look, words arenecessary. Words are necessary. No one hears the truth just by watchingsomebody's character, but on the other hand, if you're like, you know what,you're right, I'm not going to worry so much about the salt. I'm not going tomonitor my salt content so much. I'm going to focus on being light.But look, if you're just running around telling everyone John 3.16, but you'renot personally walking with Christ, there's no good works backing up thismessage that you're preaching, you're going to leave people asking, why should Ilisten to his message? Because he doesn't seem any different than me. You got tohave salt and light both. See, salt refers to your general conduct. Light is thespecific word. Salt talks about who you are. Light speaks to what you do. Salt isbeing the example. Light is carrying out the work of evangelism. Salt is living it.Light is telling it. See, that salt can't save anyone. Salt holds back thecorruption. You need the light of God's truth to lead the salvation, but thelight has to be backed up by the salt of God the character and good works. That'sJesus' point here. And the end game? The end game is the same end game forliterally everything in the universe. The glory of God.We get that definition of the influencer back up here. I looked at a fewdefinitions here, but I thought, wow, doesn't this definition really speakto the same kind of stuff Jesus was talking about here? Look, here's what Imean. Has our Lord built a sizable following?A little bit. You may have heard of him. He built a sizable following. Does he havea relevant topic? I would argue the most relevant topic ever, eternal life. Is ourLord interesting in influencing His followers to take action? That's whywe're here. Like, well, how does that happen? There's last two words jumped outto me then. Credibility and authority. What's credibility? That's salt. And what'sauthority? That's light. Look, God has given us a new mission field to reach atHarvest Bible Chapel. God has given us a community without a church where we canbe salt and light. So there's an exciting new chapter ahead for Harvest BibleChapel. And just now we're going to have our town hall meeting, getting an updateon how God is moving. And my friends, you were in the presence of a miracletoday because I got done early. We'll do the directors cut in the next service.So why don't you just want to take a couple minutes? We're gonna start at 10promptly, Pastor Rich. So once you take a couple minutes, if you need to check onlittle Joey or use the restroom and then at 10 o'clock sharply, Pastor Rich isgonna come up here and we have an amazing update for you on what the Lord'sdoing. So let me pray real quick and then we'll reconvene here at 10. Father inheaven, I just want to close this time in your word by asking you to empower us tobe what you've already pronounced us to be. You've said we're salt and light, God,we need the wisdom of your word and the power of your spirit so that we can carryout that function in a way that glorifies your name. Thank you Father for all that you've done.We're excited at what you're going to do. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Small Group DiscussionRead Matthew 5:13-16What was your big take-away from this passage / message?In what ways are disciples of Jesus like salt? Like light?How does salt lose flavor (the believer lose their influence)? In what ways do we put our lamps under a basket? Why does Jesus say someone in that state is “no longer good for anything”?Why is it important to both salt AND light? Why not just focus on one or the other?How do you really know if you are doing good works for other people's attention or God's glory?BreakoutPray for one another to be salty and bright.

Happy New Year! On this episode Thati dives into one of the biggest decisions she made in 2023, a breast reduction! This is something she went back and forth with for year and finally made the decision for herself. Find out what caused her to make this decision, does she regret it, how does she feel about plastic surgery, and more? We hope you enjoy this episode !Subscribe and Review:Enjoyed the show? Please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. Leave us a review to help others find our content and join our growing community! Connect With UsInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/goodlucksis_pod?igsh=eGNjZzBnYjY5Nmtz&utm_source=qr Youtube: https://youtube.com/@goodlucksispod?si=_j161Sd8VaHpezIMTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@goodlucksis_pod?_t=8pjHQ9LC1ol&_r=1

I'm also working on a song digitally so I will upload thatI'm thinking about a lore episode about the new update(s) --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scotland-foutz/support

Send us a textEarlier this week, I hit a huge milestone in my podcast!!! I am so grateful and I feel on top of the world right nowAnd talk about divine timing, not only are we finishing The Magic today, we are finishing it on Thanksgiving! It's like everything has come full circle and good vibes are all around for those involved. This week I'm reflecting on all thatI just want to take this opportunity to thank you all, however many episodes you have listened to, for being a part of my journey. My journal has finally been approved and is ready to buy from TODAY. Order your copy now Thanks so much for listening! Please don't forget to rate and review, and share with others. Tag me in your stories!Be sure to join my email list to hear more (but not too much) from me hereAlsoClick here to download my free subliminal for self confidenceClick here to download my free chakra guideCheck out my website if you want to know more about me and what I dohttps://lisadavidge.co.uk/Follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lisadavidge_lovinglifeJoin my Facebook group for regular inspirationSending so much loveLisa xx

チャーリー•プースの新曲が泣ける件。~解説した歌詞↓~Do you remember snow wasFallin' down on Christmas Day?Oh, baby, I thought forever was A gift that we gaveHolding you so tight by the fireplace, yeah----- The list of everything thatI could want written on my faceBut no, 'cause Santa didn'tBring me nothin' but painSo the holidays don't hit the same-----Now December 25th is the dayI always miss you the most, oh'Cause the music and the lightsIt reminds me of the nightThat you told me you had to go-----December 25th is the dayThat always hurts me the most, ohI still got no goodbyeSo I'd rather stay insideSpending Christmas here alone曲名：December 25th/Charlie Puth チャーリー・プース-----■LINEでStudyInと無料留学相談できます☟https://bit.ly/47redwx■Podcastの感想やリクエストはInstagramのDMまで！⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/studyin.jp/⁠

~解説した歌詞~ For all the times that you rained on my paradeAnd all the clubs you get in using my nameYou think you broke my heartOh, girl, for goodness sakeYou think I'm crying, on my own, well, I ain'tAnd I didn't wanna write a song Cause I didn't want anyone thinking I still careI don't, but you still hit my phone upAnd, baby, I be moving onAnd I think you should be somethingI don't wanna hold backMaybe you should know thatMy mama don't like you and she likes everyoneAnd I never like to admit that I was wrongAnd I've been so caught up in my jobDidn't see what's going onAnd now I know, I'm better sleeping on my ownCause if you like the way you look that muchOh, baby you should go and love yourselfAnd if you think thatI'm still holding on to somethingYou should go and love yourself 曲名：Love Yourself/Justin Bieber 新メンバー募集⬇️ https://herp.careers/v1/blued/2WMFNYUt66aY ■LINEでStudyInと無料留学相談できます☟ https://bit.ly/47redwx ■Podcastの感想やリクエストはInstagramのDMまで！ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/studyin.jp/⁠

Truth is, I wish we talked a lot more about making cities as kid-friendly as possible. The topic is often overlooked. That's why it was fascinating to see Derek Thompson's article, “The Urban Family Exodus Is a Warning For Progressives” get so much traction. He clearly touched a nerve.Today, I give my take in this solo podcast. As a father, as someone that loves cities, and someone that is in fact deeply concerned about the trendlines, I share my observations. This one gets a little personal. Ground I cover includes: 1. How parents really feel about their kids 2. What life in American cities is really like 3. How things are different now from the historic norm in the US 4. What parents really prioritize, not what we wish them to prioritize 5. What cities can do 6. How cities *could* be amazingFind more content on The Messy City on Kevin's Substack page.Music notes: all songs by low standards, ca. 2010. Videos here. If you'd like a CD for low standards, message me and you can have one for only $5.Intro: “Why Be Friends”Outro: “Fairweather Friend”Episode Transcript:Kevin K (00:01.824)Welcome back to the Messy City podcast. This is Kevin Klinkenberg flying solo today, doing an episode in a way that I've done occasionally in the past, but I haven't done a little while. I've had some amazing guests. I've got some more coming up and I love talking to people other than myself primarily in this gig, but it is fun once in a while to just riff on something that's in the news or on my mind.And that's what I'm going to do today. I do want to take a second and say thank you to all of you who are listening and following. The podcast has really grown a lot in audience the last six months. And I really appreciate everybody tuning in. And if you get a chance, please hit that like or follow button. Leave me a review on your podcast platform, especially if you're on Apple. Apple is the biggest podcast platform by far.So if you're listening through Apple podcasts, I'd really appreciate it if you gave the show a rating. All of that stuff helps get attraction and grow the audience. And the bigger the audience, the better I will be able to be at providing you all with really good programming and interesting guests and the ability to try to help us all out as we navigate how to improve our cities, how to improve our own situation.if you're a, a small developer or an aspiring small developer, try to become one. if you are someone who's just interested in cities and planning to do whatever you can do to make your community a better place to live and, and, help us, help us all out in our own little world. So that's the point. That's what I'm trying to do here. And, I hope you enjoy it judging by the numbers. A lot of you are enjoying it. So that's really cool. And, it's,It's definitely a lot of fun for me. So with that, I want to talk about an article that's made the rounds a lot lately and a topic that I've seen discussed in social media and elsewhere. And it really has to do with the subject of families and big cities. And a lot of this most, the most recent flurry of discussion happened atKevin K (02:25.002)as the result of an article in the Atlantic by Derek Thompson titled, The Urban Family Exodus is a Warning for Progressives. And I'm going to commit a cardinal sin here today where I'm going to talk about this topic without having read the actual article. So forgive me for that, but I will say I have read many, many articles on this topic.And what I really want to talk about today is just kind of my own experience as a father, as a parent, and my own interaction and evolution on this issue. Because I think there's an awful lot in the context of this subject that we just don't talk very much about. Especially those of us who are in this tiny, tiny niche ofpeople who call themselves urbanists, who care about cities, who care about development in cities. There's an awful lot tied into this issue that overlaps with others that we've talked about here before, but I think there's some that's really specific about having kids that I'd just like to dive into. So the context really in Derek's article, I did see some of the numbers. I don't have them in front of me. You can find them.out there, it's not hard to find. But the context was that people with children are continuing to move out of big cities. That this trend really started in the early COVID years, 2020, 2021, and has not really abated. so the article really was kind of a warning, especially to people in some of the largercities in the country, the places like New York, San Francisco, Chicago, et cetera, that people who have a choice, who have kids have continued to leave. And so that is why he says it's a warning. I guess I would say right off, right up front, I think this should be a concern for everybody. I don't think it should be a concern just for somebody who calls themselves a progressive. I've always had the opinion thatKevin K (04:42.818)Communities and cities are for everybody in every age group, every kind of background, every interest. The best kind of communities really embrace everybody. And it's a little strange to me when we say that, when we just kind of dial it down to like a political impulse. I understand why he's doing that. the reality is that most big cities are run by progressives.And so I think he's talking to progressive policymakers. But I think this issue really should concern everybody because honestly, when you don't have children living in your city, you have to ask yourself, like, what future does your city have? This is often talked about in relation to like places that are like retirement communities. And a lot of retirement communities also go through phases and fads.And if they don't evolve, since they're not replacing people themselves, there are no children in retirement communities. And so people aren't growing up there. What happens as people die off and those populations change? Well, the same is true of cities. If children are not growing up in cities and having, or if they're not growing up in your community and having a good feeling about it, it lowers the likelihood that they will want to be there as an adult.And if you're not going to be there as an adult, it's going to hurt your future population as well. everything in cities is a function of time. And there is that fourth dimension that we often neglect, that things change a lot over time. And we don't think about what might happen 10, 20, 30 years down the road. But if your community doesn't have children in it, that's a big red flashing warning sign.for what happens in the next generation. So I think this is an issue that should concern everybody. And again, I'd say right up front, I am terribly, terribly biased on this because I do have children. I have two young children, two daughters that are six and eight years old. And so I want to share, I think what might be useful for me, first of all, is to share a little bit of a personal perspective on having kids.Kevin K (07:09.09)And then I have some thoughts related to what's going on in terms of evaluating and understanding cities and the landscape of cities in the United States. And then also what we might do, what cities might be able to do to course correct. What can they do to turn this around so that cities can be attractive to people who do have kids and reverse that population loss. So let's just start off with the personal.not a young person anymore. I certainly don't feel old, but I can't deny the math, but I'm not somebody who's in my 20s or 30s. And I have kids, but I came to having kids pretty late in life compared to most people. So my oldest was born when I was 45 and then my youngest when I was 47. So I'm not in...What is it? Al Pacino world here? Is it Al Pacino that like that recently had a kid or something and he's about eight years old? I'm not in that world, but I am definitely in the category of people who had kids late in their adult life. And so I lived a long period of time without children in cities and now I'm living with children in a city environment.and I think the thing, you know, the thing, the way I would like to talk about this first and foremost, there's so much about this that changes. You know, there's a lot of cliches about the things that change. And when you have kids and I knew all those cliches, I heard them a million times. It's really hard to fully understand that until you go through it. And, having children completely rewires your brain.and your priorities in a lot of ways that have really surprised me as a person. And I have often found myself just like shocked at things that are different about me now that I am caring for and responsible for these two young people. Just, you know, one silly thing is just like...Kevin K (09:29.184)you know, my wife and I have talked about this, like anytime there is like a movie or a show on TV and there are children that are like at risk, they're abducted, they're being hurt or harmed in some way. It's like, you know, I just lose it now. And it, the emotion that that creates in me and us is, it's hard to describe. It really,It affects me in ways that are, they seem kind of silly, but I understand and I empathize much more with the families and people in those situations than I ever would have otherwise. And so it's really kind of bizarre, but it's like an incredible way to just like make me all of a sudden choke up, you know, watching a movie, having some harm come to a small child. But I mean, the reality is,I will tell you from my experience, you do become much more emotional when you have kids. At least in my experience, I have found a protective impulse, the desire to protect them from harm and from the world that I just wasn't sure that I had that. When I was younger, I didn't know about that, but when once you have those children in your care,It's incredible how protective you are of just every aspect of their life. so I get why we don't want to become helicopter parents. We are not like that. But I get why people have that reaction. I get the instinct that a lot of parents have to really deeply care for every aspect of what happens in their child's life. And I would say,If you don't have that kind of reaction, if having kids doesn't change you in some meaningful way, then you should probably take a long look in the mirror. I mean, you might be a sociopath, I'm just saying. And it should change you. because it's an incredible thing to have to care for another human being. It's an incredible joy. And there's definitely the part of me that says, God, I wishKevin K (11:54.036)I had done this when I was younger and even had more kids than just the two of them because they really bring you incredible joy into your life. I would say that probably the highest highs and lowest lows come from being a parent. The moments you have them with them that are really great or fun or memorable from a good standpoint, stand out above and beyond anything else thatyou I did for myself in the years before I have kids. So it really is very different and it does tend to make you think that the life you led before kids was very like self -centered and maybe selfish. And I'm not saying that as like an accusation to anybody because, I lived it. I lived it myself for a very long period of time, but it is just really different. Sohaving kids that you care for really does change your priorities in ways that you probably can't communicate perfectly in an article, especially if you're like a childless person and you're just trying to describe like statistics that are happening and analyze what's going on. If you can't understand the emotion of it, then you're really missing something really important. So one aspect of thatis that with small children especially, you spend an awful lot of your time and mental energy trying to come up with activities for them and trying to entertain them, trying to do these things in ways that you're not worried about their safety. mean, you're literally worried about them surviving every moment.And so we spend a lot of time like trying to chase down those different activities. And for a lot of small kids in particular, in American cities, a lot of those places are in the suburbs. And I'll talk more about that in a little bit and the evolution of all that. But that is part of the day to day that most parents deal with is, you know, maybe you're going to a kid's play area or a play date.Kevin K (14:21.192)or a daycare or a swimming pool or aquatic center or whatever it is. And in American cities, most of those are in suburban locations because that's where most of the kids are. so there is this kind of challenge that you have as somebody who lives in an urban area that there isn't as much just kid -focused amenities as you would have in a lot of suburban areas.So it's true that if you live in the suburbs, you're still driving a lot to all these places, but it is closer and there's just a lot more of it. And so, you know, as a parent, we do find ourselves getting in the car a lot and driving out to suburban locations for any number of activities. And frankly, the family oriented events and activities, there's just so much more of them that are in businesses and other things in the suburbs.And it's just, one of the things that I think you can't really describe very well is going to, when you have small children, going to a place where you can kind of just let the kids free and roam around and play with other kids and not worry that they're going to be harmed. there's a, there is like a stress reduction on your own life that happens there. And so you're kind of always looking for those opportunities and there's just not much of that in a lot of urban areas or.urban locations. Now I think cities have gotten better for families in my lifetime. And there are more things. So like in my city, there's something we call Science City, which is basically just like a kids play area that is in the Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, that's in the city. It's a really cool place. The kids love going there. That's an example of like a very family and kid focused activity.And there are some people working on creating more activities nearby and adjacent to it that I think will be really cool. We obviously have parks, we have playgrounds, we have a fantastic park that is a block away from our house that the kids walk down to and it's got a playground and everything. So we've used that a lot. We've got some of those types of things. And we have a neighborhood main street that is just up the block from our house.Kevin K (16:45.054)And if we walk a few blocks in one direction, you know, we can hit the ice cream place and there's a taco place and there's, there's, there's some places that are, that are fun to hang out. Now, I will say in our area, most of there are some, most of those businesses are not what we would call like kid friendly places. and maybe that's a, that might be an especially American way of looking at businesses. but they aren't.And they're generally focused on the demographic of people who live in the cities, which tends to be younger and just certain crowds of people that are not dragging their kids around. we have some of those things. It is better. But we also lack a lot. We don't have a swimming pool, for example, in our neighborhood or anywhere near us.By contrast, both of my sisters live in suburban subdivisions in our metro that both have neighborhood pools. And they can just walk over any time when they visit their aunts and uncles and they can just go swimming all day. Granted, they pay for that. It's part of your HOA dues if you live in one of those subdivisions. But we don't even have that option in our area at all.in our part of the city. Now, some cities are better than others. Our city is not particularly good at having those kinds of amenities. And that's really something that is very lacking, not to mention some of those kid play areas. And there's just also very little programming of events that are specifically for kids and families in the city.Parks department is doing a little bit more of that than they used to, but, it's great. We love, we do as much of that as we can. But when you compare it to the sort of routine events that happen in a lot of our suburban jurisdictions, it just doesn't compare. and, and it's frustrating. It's frustrating for us because we wish we had a lot more of that. Cause we don't want to get in the car and drive for 20 or 30 minutes to another location. But we often find that.Kevin K (19:07.116)that's just kind of what we have to do. So that, I mean, that's one aspect of all this is, you know, when you are in middle -class family and you are trying to balance, you know, a lot of these needs and really care for your kids and provide them with fun things to do and go to places where you can kind of relax too, it's really important to have those things nearby. So, you know, another aspect of thisI think if you're to step back a little bit, and that's all kind of like personal experience. If I were to look at like, are the things that most normal families really care about when it comes to choosing a place to live? And I've mentioned this before, but one thing that I think almost anybody listening to this podcast would have to understand is that like,Those of us who are in our little world here are not normal. If you are a quote unquote urbanist, you are probably not normal. You probably do not have like the same value system as the vast majority of people in your city or in our country. I'm not saying that's a good thing or a bad thing. It's just, it just is. It's just different. A lot of us put a high priority in our own life.in living somewhere where you can walk around to some things or ride a bike to some things. And I love all that. I put a high priority in that. I wish more people did. I wish that was normative in our culture that like the idea of using your body to get around to most things in your daily life was like normal. It used to be normal in our cities. And if I were to say a little sidebar here,one of the things that's really kind of unique about American cities and culture is that we conflate urban with big city. and by urban, mean like places where you might like walk around to things. so this is, this is different than most countries in the world where, where people small town, whether you're in a small town or a big city, most people walk around, to get around.Kevin K (21:36.69)And it's different from our historical legacy as well in the United States, because prior to the 1920s and the beginning of the suburban experiment or the revolution in city planning that happened at that time period, every community in our country was a walkable place. Everything that a lot of quote unquote urbanists would love was normative.And if you don't believe me, just look at pictures and postcards from literally any community in America prior to the 1930s. And you see that they are all what we would call urban today in terms of how people actually lived. So that was our legacy and that was how our country developed for a couple of hundred years.until we embarked on this experiment to basically destroy it all and destroy it all kind of on purpose with big money and big policy and for many decades of intentional destruction. And so we're left with this situation now where people tend to conflate like, if you mean walkable and urban, well, that's only in like the big city. And that's just not true.that's never really been true historically. But on the ground today, that is how a lot of it feels, that you have big cities that are kind of walkable and maybe people take public transit, maybe people ride bikes. And then you have suburbs where people drive cars. And very simplistically, that's how a lot of people look at the world. And I've always been frustrated by that.And it certainly doesn't have to be that way. But that is how a lot of people look at it. one substacker who I've talked about before here, Addison Delmastro, he does a really good job of writing about this. He kind of talks about this topic frequently on his substack, which I think is called the deleted scenes. Just the notion that small towns, as we think of them today, really are just big cities that haven't matured orKevin K (24:03.778)didn't mature or grow into being bigger places, but they all have the same DNA. The little town where I went to high school, Marshall, Missouri, has this lovely courthouse square and beautiful older neighborhoods from before the 1930s. And it has the exact same DNA as like the neighborhood that I live in now. It's just that Kansas City, Missouri grew to become a big city.Marshall, Missouri did not grow to become a big city. It kind of stagnated at a certain population and it's been more or less the same population for about a hundred years. So big cities grew and changed and a of small towns did not. And then we also had the growth of suburbia, which was a completely new way of living that was in many ways organized around needing a car to get to places. So.So anyway, I guess that's a bit of a sidebar. It's kind of thinking about how cities are in America today. But historically, they weren't that way. So anyway, setting that aside, for most normal people in our country today, they look at the landscape and don't really think about these issues. It's just like, it is what it is. You live in America, you have a house, you have a car, you drive to places. And that is baked in to the cake.that like that's part of the lifestyle. And so as a result, a lot of people, especially families with kids, they're not really like thinking about like urbanism or walkability as a thing necessarily for their children or for their family location. Some people do. I think there's more people that think about it now than used to. There's probably more people who think about it from the standpoint of like, it'd be cool to have like bike trails nearby.because a lot of suburbs have done a great job of building like bike trail networks. But not many people are thinking about, you know, I want to live in a place where they have like a neighborhood main street that we can walk to with the kids. Again, I wish they would, but it's just not in the minds of most people. What is in the minds of most people, especially people who have a choice in where they want to live, not everybody has a choice, not everybody can afford to move. But for people...Kevin K (26:29.996)For middle class people especially who have a choice, and if you have kids, this is the reality. You're thinking about crime and safety first and foremost because you're trying to protect your children from harm. That is first and foremost in the minds of nearly every parent that I know. How do I protect them from harm? And yes, that can include, you know, there are,can include walking and biking as a part of that, but what most people are thinking about is, I want to live somewhere where our house isn't likely to get broken into, where our car isn't likely to get stolen or carjacked, where it's less likely to run into violent crime, especially in public. Because violent crime is a reality in our society. We have a lot of it. My city is a particularly violent city.unfortunately, and we can't ignore how prominent that is in the minds of most people who have a choice. So I always put that up there, like that's number one. If people aren't thinking about that or factoring that into, you know, why people might be leaving cities, then they're completely missing the boat. The second thing that people think about really are the quality of the schools when you're thinking about your kids. Andsure that's a loaded topic. We all know the history of public schools is fraught with a lot of different issues. But there's just simply no question that every parent is trying to get their kids into the best possible school that they can, the best one that they can afford. And by afford meaning whether it's a private school that they want to pay for or it's a public school in the place with the house that they can most afford with the best public school.so that is a major consideration and, you know, frankly, most big cities fail in this area. Most of our big cities in the country, including my own have public school districts that are often at the bottom of the list in terms of rankings for schools in their Metro areas. you can argue with me whether you want, if you want to, about whether that's fair or not fair. It doesn't matter. All people know is.Kevin K (28:56.65)school, those schools bad, other schools better. And people are going to act on whatever they think is best for their kids. Because you're a really weird person, I think, if you want to experiment with your children by sending them to a school that is potentially subpar. So again, there are a lot of factors involved with why schools are better or not.You know, in our city, we happen to have a unique network of charter schools that was started 20, 25 years ago. And so charter schools are public schools, but they each operate as their own independent school district, essentially. And our kids go to a charter school in the city that is an excellent school with some of the best academic ratings in the state of Missouri.really great school. a foreign, it's a unique foreign language immersion school and we really like it. We're very, happy with it and we have many friends who have had their kids there and have their kids there and so it's kind of a unique situation. That was an incredible enticement. I will tell you before we had charter schools in the city as a choice, people as soon as they had it, as soon as their kids hit like elementary school age, they were out of here.they were moving to the suburbs. And now that we have a whole selection of charter schools as an option where people don't have to pay, we have many, many more families that are choosing to stay in the city and keeping their kids in those schools. So that's an encouraging thing. That's generally been a good thing. But a lot of cities don't have that choice. A lot of parents don't have that choice.When we lived in Savannah, Georgia, we didn't really have that choice. think there were two charter schools in the city of Savannah and they were both just unbelievably oversubscribed and very, very difficult to get into. And again, you have to ask yourself as a parent, you know, are you going to just like play a lottery game with your kid's future? And most parents are not. They're not going to if they have a choice. Again, many parents don't have a choice, but if you do have a choice,Kevin K (31:20.694)you're just not gonna play that game. And you'll make whatever sacrifice you need to for your kids, if it means moving, if it means moving to somewhere that's more expensive, whatever you have to do for your kids' future. So that's a big deal. The other aspect of schools, things we can't, the discussion we can't avoid, although I think a lot of people would love to avoid it, is that there is still a tremendous hangover from the COVID policies. And the schools that were closed,the longest during COVID were almost all schools in major cities and especially schools in large school districts in inner cities. And there are many, many parents who have just not forgotten that and have not let go of it and will not let go of it. I think obviously there was plenty of evidence thatpeople left, a lot of people left those districts during the COVID era so they could be somewhere where their kids could be in school. And I would suspect that there is a hangover from that for a lot of people still looking to get out who are still very angry about what happened during that era, kept keeping their kids out of school for a year, some places, two years. And they want to be somewhere where they know that's not going to happen.again or where they suspect that won't happen again. that's another aspect of the school situation that in the current era is a big deal. So again, top of the list when you have kids, crime and safety, and schools. I think the third thing after that is cost of living. And this is where the affordability discussion comes in.You know, this has everything to do with housing affordability primarily, but it also has a little bit to do with taxes and overall cost of living. You know, I live in a city where our city has an income tax, a 1 % income tax. It's the only city in our metro area that has that. And so I get it when people don't want to be part of that.Kevin K (33:41.068)when they say to themselves, well, I can live somewhere else in this Metro and not pay an income tax. I can be in a better rated school district and I'm going to have lower crime. I mean, honestly, that's the logical choice. Who wouldn't? You really have to be a weirdo or like me to say we want to like live in the city when those are your basic choices. And it's funny that any of these things get framed otherwise.Like that is the normal rational choice to make is to live somewhere that's less expensive where you get more for your money that is safer for you and your kids. So that's just the hard truth for how all these things work out that a lot of American big cities fail in those key areas compared to their suburbs. And then unfortunately what's happened over the yearsis that the primary political constituencies have adjusted to all this to kind of reflect their populations. big cities tend to focus on policies that are the people who are left in those cities who like them, wealthy people, childless people, and oftentimes people who don't have a choice to move somewhere else. And then suburban cities tend to keep reinforcing and focusing onlike families and kids, oftentimes to the exclusion of attracting younger people and single people and childless people too. So they have that blind spot in a lot of suburban areas. And so there's that issue as well. I think in the minds of a lot of city and urban policymakers, what's really great for kids is just not top of mind. And so it kind of becomes like a self -licking ice cream cone.in the policy world. And it's just an unfortunate side effect of where we are. So what can cities do? What can urban areas or major cities do about all this? Honestly, that's always a question. I've just never been the kind of person that I am satisfied with stating a problem and not trying to give.Kevin K (36:03.458)some concrete ideas on like what to do, what else could be done. And so I'll take a shot at a few things here. I mean, I think a lot of this is kind of going to logically follow from the other part of the conversation. But first and foremost, cities need to be serious, and I mean really, really serious about public safety and crime. And too many cities just are not. My city is not.just flat out not serious about it right now. We have one of the worst murder rates and crime rates in the country. There is no sense of urgency on this issue from our leadership at all. There are people who care. There are people who are trying to do things. But there's no sense of urgency related toHow do we deal with this immediately and today? It's mostly like about like longer term solutions. And I'm, you know, long, I'm all for the longer term solutions. Those are great. But if you don't deal with things immediately, then you lose people. People just leave and they get fed up and they're going to move on. So if your city is in that category that it's not really serious about crime and safety, you're going to lose people and you're especially lose middle -class families with kids. That's just part of the reality.Another thing that cities can do is try to find ways to support innovation in education. I'm going to write about this more at a future date here, but I've had long had some thoughts about ways that public school districts, especially really large ones, could be reformed. And I think there's a lot of reform needed in public school administration and education.And if you are a logical person, you would start with the ones that are the most underperforming. And we are fortunate here in Kansas City, Missouri, that we have more choices than most with charter schools, with private schools, and a public school district. But our public school district needs to be better. There's just no other way to say it. It's got to be better. And we've got to find ways to just innovate much more quickly.Kevin K (38:28.41)and in more thoughtful ways than what we're doing right now in education. Or again, people will leave. It's just that simple. If the schools suck, people are going to move somewhere else. So the third area, not really all that surprising, but when we talk about cost of living is cities need to get really serious about trying to be affordable with, and to try to make their housing as affordable as possible.I've stated this here before in this podcast, but as a refresher, I don't think that means like we need to build capital A affordable housing. That is just generally not as, that's not what I'm talking about. We're talking about housing for middle -class people generally that have kids. The path to affordability there is to do what a lot of cities have started to do, which is really reform their codes and processes.to actually make it easier to produce new housing and produce it at scale. So whether you're talking about single family houses, townhouses, duplexes, missing middle housing, whatever it is, most cities have become really, really difficult to work in to produce new housing. And their suburban counterparts are quite easy to work in.For somebody like me, I don't like the housing that is being produced in most of our suburbs. The standard suburban format, industrially spit out house in community. That doesn't appeal to me. But it sure would be nice if our city, if we could produce housing at the pace and ease at which it happens in a lot of suburban places. So that is something that we're seeing progress in.We're starting to see reform in a lot of cities, but we've got a long, long ways to go to get that better. And obviously the last thing, I think this is a little more challenging, it's probably more from an entrepreneurial standpoint, but we really need more amenities for kids and families in urban places. Like if you really care about having and retaining kids and families in urban places, they've got to have those.Kevin K (40:52.546)amenities that families come to expect nowadays. You know, this isn't this isn't 1950 anymore where a lot of places just didn't have amenities. Now there's an expectation and if people don't have it, they're going to go where where those expectations are being met. So, you know, neighborhoods should have pools. They should have swimming pools. They should have play areas and playgrounds and park spaces.It would be nice if there were more businesses that were more welcoming to families and kids and more like family focused businesses. So those can't be mandated. I'm not saying like those can be mandated from the top down, but it would be smart for people who care about those things to encourage them, try to create them. So I'll just like sum up here by saying thatI think the frustrating part here, and I think probably a lot of you may feel this way as well, is that a lot of our cities could be absolutely amazing for families and for kids. And they can be amazing in ways that our suburban communities cannot be and may never be able to be. By having the freedom of movementon foot or bicycle and the free, ability to explore and be independent in a really well functioning place that was historically available for kids to be able to like actually walk to a neighborhood school or a neighborhood park or a pool. And there's just an awful lot of suburban communities that will never ever have that.because of the built pattern that exists, which makes it virtually impossible without like radical change. The built, the physical DNA of a lot of cities is ideal for incorporating all that. But we have an awful lot of policy problems, administrative problems, and just intransigent thinking that is holdingKevin K (43:19.57)us back and holding our cities back. time marches on. If you are a parent and you live in a city and you haven't thought about like going somewhere else where a lot of that could be easier, then you're probably unique in that regard. I've thought about it. My wife and I have thought about it. We have had discussions about, know, we are city people. There's a lot we love about the city.But might it just make more sense for us to live in one of the suburbs in the area? And there's a list of things we just really wouldn't have to think about or worry about very much. And we have never pulled the trigger on that. I don't know if we ever will. We really love our neighbors and our community. And we love the school that our kids are in, which really helps. That's a major.major factor that would keep us in the city. But the other things are a real source of frustration. We absolutely worry about the crime and safety issues. They are real and extremely concerning for us. We do get frustrated with the cost of living. That is just, it's just more expensive to live in the city and we have fewer amenities.I mean, that's just the reality. you know, is that the end of the world? No, it's not the end of the world. And we're in a pretty fortunate position compared to a lot of people. But my point is that I think that many, families, the majority of families think about things this way. They're not thinking about, boy, it would be cool if our kids could walk somewhere, you walk down the street to the neighborhood ice cream shop.and live in sort of an urbanist paradise. You're not thinking about that. You're thinking about very basic things like the safety of your children, the education they're going to get, and how much things are costing you. And that's the part of the discussion that if we want to be honest and if we really want to make things better and fix things, we have to be aware of these and have real frank discussions about.Kevin K (45:48.332)That's what I have for you today. This is Kevin. Thanks again for listening to the Messy City Podcast. And please hit that like or follow button and leave me a review if you can. Send me a note. Let me know what you think. Leave a message on the Substack page. Thanks everybody. Talk to you later. Bye. Get full access to The Messy City at kevinklinkenberg.substack.com/subscribe

19Go therefore andmake disciples ofall nations,baptizing themin[a]the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20teaching themto observe all thatI have commanded you. And behold,I am with you always, tothe end of the age.

19Go therefore andmake disciples ofall nations,baptizing themin[a]the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20teaching themto observe all thatI have commanded you. And behold,I am with you always, tothe end of the age.

On this episode Thati dives into her recent healthy journey and the reality of what actually got her to this point. Sometimes loving yourself means having some realizations that aren't always positive. For any body has always been the "big person", the one constantly body shamed, made to feel less than even though you are "more than" everyone else this episode is for you. Don't forget to like, follow, and subscribe.IG: goodlucksis_podYou Tube: Good Luck SisTik Tok: goodlucksis_pod

Welcome back to another episode of Good Luck Sis! In this episode, hosts Elly and Thati J catch up on the exciting events that kept them busy during March and April. They share behind-the-scenes stories from Elly's wedding and Thati's bridesmaid duties. Tune in for a fun and heartfelt recap of bachelorette adventures, wedding preparations, and Elly's transition from Miss to Mrs.Key Topics Discussed- Bachelorette Party: What happened and how it went.- Wedding Preparations:Elly's journey to becoming a bride.- Q&A Session:Answering listener questions about the wedding and bachelorette party.- Life Updates:Elly's transition to wifey era.Highlights- Elly's experience as a bride and Thati's role as a bridesmaid.- Memorable moments from the bachelorette party.- Reflections on their friendship and support for each other during this busy time.Quotes- “Yes, your girl is a whole wife in the wifey era, okay? Who would have thought we would be here right now? God, only God.”- “Toast to God. Toast to God.”- Subscribe: Don't miss out on future episodes.- Leave a Review:If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.- Follow Us: Stay updated by following us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/goodlucksis_pod?igsh=eGNjZzBnYjY5Nmtz&utm_source=qrContact Us- Email: goodlucksispod@gmail.com- Social Media: - https://www.instagram.com/goodlucksis_pod?igsh=eGNjZzBnYjY5Nmtz&utm_source=qrThank you for tuning in to Good Luck Sis. Join us next time for more fun, laughter, and heart-to-heart conversations!

LESSON 154I Am Among The Ministers Of God.Let us today be neither arrogant nor falsely humble. We have gone beyond such foolishness. We cannot judge ourselves, nor need we do so. These are but attempts to hold decision off, and to delay commitment to our function. It is not our part to judge our worth, nor can we know what role is best for us; what we can do within a larger plan we cannot see in its entirety. Our part is cast in Heaven, not in hell. And what we think is weakness can be strength; what we believe to be our strength is often arrogance.Whatever your appointed role may be, it was selected by the Voice for God, Whose function is to speak for you as well. Seeing your strengths exactly as they are, and equally aware of where they can be best applied, for what, to whom and when, He chooses and accepts your part for you. He does not work without your own consent. But He is not deceived in what you are, and listens only to His Voice in you.It is through His ability to hear one Voice Which is His Own that you become aware at last there is one Voice in you. And that one Voice appoints your function, and relays it to you, giving you the strength to understand it, do what it entails, and to succeed in everything you do that is related to it. God has joined His Son in this, and thus His Son becomes His messenger of unity with Him.It is this joining, through the Voice for God, of Father and of Son, that sets apart salvation from the world. It is this Voice Which speaks of laws the world does not obey; Which promises salvation from all sin, with guilt abolished in the mind that God created sinless. Now this mind becomes aware again of Who created it, and of His lasting union with itself. So is its Self the one reality in Which its will and that of God are joined.A messenger is not the one who writes the message he delivers. Nor does he question the right of him who does, nor ask why he has chosen those who will receive the message that he brings. It is enough that he accept it, give it to the ones for whom it is intended, and fulfill his role in its delivery. If he determines what the messages should be, or what their purpose is, or where they should be carried, he is failing to perform his proper part as bringer of the Word.There is one major difference in the role of Heaven's messengers, which sets them off from those the world appoints. The messages that they deliver are intended first for them. And it is only as they can accept them for themselves that they become able to bring them further, and to give them everywhere that they were meant to be. Like earthly messengers, they did not write the messages they bear, but they become their first receivers in the truest sense, receiving to prepare themselves to give.An earthly messenger fulfills his role by giving all his messages away. The messengers of God perform their part by their acceptance of His messages as for themselves, and show they understand the messages by giving them away. They choose no roles that are not given them by His authority. And so they gain by every message that they give away.Would you receive the messages of God? For thus do you become His messenger. You are appointed now. And yet you wait to give the messages you have received. And so you do not know that they are yours, and do not recognize them. No one can receive and understand he has received until he gives. For in the giving is his own acceptance of what he received.You who are now the messengers of God, receive His messages. For that is part of your appointed role. God has not failed to offer what you need, nor has it been left unaccepted. Yet another part of your appointed task is yet to be accomplished. He Who has received for you the messages of God would have them be received by you as well. For thus do you identify with Him and claim your own.It is this joining that we undertake to recognize today. We will not seek to keep our minds apart from Him Who speaks for us, for it is but our voice we hear as we attend Him. He alone can speak to us and for us, joining in one Voice the getting and the giving of God's Word; the giving and receiving of His Will.We practice giving Him what He would have, that we may recognize His gifts to us. He needs our voice that He may speak through us. He needs our hands to hold His messages, and carry them to those whom He appoints. He needs our feet to bring us where He wills, that those who wait in misery may be at last delivered. And He needs our will united with His Own, that we may be the true receivers of the gifts He gives.Let us but learn this lesson for today: We will not recognize what we receive until we give it. You have heard this said a hundred ways, a hundred times, and yet belief is lacking still. But this is sure; until belief is given it, you will receive a thousand miracles and then receive a thousand more, but will not know that God Himself has left no gift beyond what you already have; nor has denied the tiniest of blessings to His Son. What can this mean to you, until you have identified with Him and with His Own?Our lesson for today is stated thus:I am among the ministers of God, and I am grateful thatI have the means by which to recognize that I am free.The world recedes as we light up our minds, and realize these holy words are true. They are the message sent to us today from our Creator. Now we demonstrate how they have changed our minds about ourselves, and what our function is. For as we prove that we accept no will we do not share, our many gifts from our Creator will spring to our sight and leap into our hands, and we will recognize what we received.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

We meet people every day who really want to build their own business.Many of them do get excited at the beginning and get things started.However, the business never really gets off the ground.We hear people say all the time “I tried everything and it didn't work out”Come to find out they tried 2 things for a few days and quitThey get a couple no's and they quitThe problem is never “I WENT ALL OUT” and it just didn't work outWhat is really stopping people from building the business that they really want and earning the income they really want?We have discovered 6 reasons over the yearsYou might have 1 or more of theseLack of CertaintyIn yourself “I'm not sure if I can do this”Certainty is a STATE I am absolutely certain I can build this business!FearOf what others think about you.Because of our need for love & connection we fear anything that might make others not like usThe need to fit in David GogginsFear of the unknown The human need for security keeps us in our comfort zoneFear of failing again You can't fail at this business!FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real Faith vs Fear95% of the bad things you think might happen never happenYour StoryI'm not good enough to do thatI'm too oldI'm too youngI don't have enough timeThis isn't the right timeLack of StrategyA confused mind will do nothingYou don't rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems. - James ClearLack of SupportYou need a coach & a communityBattle BuddyPeople to celebrate your wins with youPeople to help you through the challengesConsistency & FocusFlowSmall daily winsDevelop a streakDeep Work Eliminate distractions Tell your family when you are building your businessGet into a private roomSTAY FOCUSED on your businessSet a timerIt's been a pleasure spending time with you today. Stay committed and stay consistent. Remember, you have the power to Elev8 Your Life and the lives of those around you . Can't wait to see you next time! Keep elevating!!

Thati Lopes, Gabriel o Pensador e Ernesto Paglia são os convidados de Fabio Porchat. Na plateia, uma história de investigação de deixar stalker boquiaberto.

download the notes here:https://esm.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/3.23.2024-Service-Notes-Cong-TM-2.pdfVayikra“And He Called”Leviticus 1:1-5:26Isaiah 43:21-44:23Matthew 5:23-30Exodus 40:1,2 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, On the first day of the firstmonth shall you set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.Jeremiah 9:23,24 Thus saith the LORD: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches,But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth, and knoweth Me, thatI am the LORD who exercise mercy, justice, and righteousness, in the earth, forin these things I delight, saith the LORD.Acts 14:15 Good people, why are you doing these things? We are men with the samefeelings as you, and we give you the good news so that you may be turned awayfrom these foolish things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth andthe sea and all things in them.

On this episode Thati shares how her relationship with alcohol has changed drastically, what lead to this change, and how alcohol became a part of her identity. "Alcohol became a big part of my identity, to the point where I would tell people that I'm not drinking they would literally laugh. That was when I started to question my relationship with alcohol". We hope that you guys enjoy this episode, and reflect on your own personal journey regarding growth, and making changes for the better. Don't forget to like, comment and subscribe!

In this episode, the ladies discuss what age really means. They break down the societal pressures associated with age and reach the conclusion that Thati is only five years old, and what “accomplishments” define adulthood, and if you haven't reached them where does that leave you. Stay tuned to hear how they realized this. Don't forget to like, subscribe and comment. Follow us on IG @goodlucksis_pod

On today's episode, I'll be covering how recent research from HeartMath institute shows us what Chinese Medicine has been teaching for centuries, and that is that the heart houses the mind. I will also cover why that matters when it comes to fertility health! In this episode I will go over: -Why you can't control emotions directly (and what you can do to shift them over time). -How to use biofeedback on your heart brain coherence for free on an app. -The importance of your heart state and why it behaves like a little brain. For more information about Michelle, visitwww.michelleoravitz.com The Wholesome Fertility facebook group is where you can find free resources and support: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2149554308396504/ Instagram: @thewholesomelotusfertility Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewholesomelotus   Transcript: [00:00:00]Welcome to the Wholesome Fertility Podcast. On today's episode, I'm going to talk about something that I find really fascinating and I've actually gotten into something called heart math, but I'm going to discuss also the connection between the heart and the uterus and why the heart is something that often gets overlooked. Emotions often get overlooked when it comes to the fertility journey. Many times when somebody's undergoing fertility challenges, they'll go immediately to what foods they should eat, what kind of supplements they should take, etc. But so much in the, literally, no pun intended, the heart of it really needs to go to The emotional state of the person from a Chinese medicine perspective and from my perspective as a practitioner I see that because that's one of the things that I look at when I'm treating people So I'm gonna give you kind of my perspective as a practitioner and I'm also gonna give you some[00:01:00]data and research and science That's out there something called heart math Institute, which I'll be Explaining a little bitmore in a bit But it is really important not to miss the state of the heart because thestate of the heart impacts the uterus directly by a vessel called bowel my I've discussed this before as the heart uterus connection and basically the heart's role onthe uterus is to open the uterus and when the heart is imbalanced, it can impact the role. Cause just think about anything. If something has a role, anything, and it has otherthings that are stressing it, thenit's just not going to do its job as well as it wouldhave if it feels more balanced and whole. So, I'll explain exactly like really the energetics of the heart. So, when I talk about energetics of the[00:02:00]heart, I'mreally talking about a TCM perspective, a traditional Chinese medicine perspective. And it's different than if you went to a cardiologist and they said, Oh, something's wrong with your heart. Nothing necessarily is physically wrong with the heart. You could still have an energetic imbalance with the heart and that have nothing to do with. like a physical manifestation or something going on like physical that really needs to get treated emergently. So I want to throw that out there again. Also, this is not medical advice. This is not something that should be used as a medical diagnosis, but I thought that it was veryimportant to address. And then you can also look into some of the resources thatI'll be mentioning. So the heart in Chinese medicine is considered to be housing the mind. So the mental state of a person is very much connected and linked to the part. So[00:03:00]the heart immediately responds to any mental conditions. And if you've been in a situation where you've had anxiety, you may realize or feel that you have heart palpitations or you're nervous about something, you'll feel it immediately in your heart. What's interesting is, is that We've always been taught that as traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, that the heart houses the mind and that there is this connection. But new research from the heart math Institute, interestingly enough, is also showing that there is a connection. There's this connection and communication that happens between the heart and the mind.So what they're finding is that the heart actually sends signals to the brain. So what state your heart is in and your heart almost has like neurons the way it functions and it's almost like another brain really? So it's fascinating to just think about because[00:04:00]most of the time you don't really think of the heart as having that much of an impact, but it can actually similarly to the gut when they talk about the gut microbiome.If you have a lot of Candida, for example, if you have certain dysbiosis where there's an imbalance in the microbiome, whatever that microbiome wants, it will signal to the brain for you to eat. So say you have a lot of Candida, um, Which likes sugar, it's going to cause you to crave sugar. So it's kind of fascinating how we think we're in control.And then we have these organs that are actually communicating with our brain, telling the brain what it wants. And so it sort of overrides our own logic and our will in a sense. So there is this really strong connection between the two. And the non top of it, the heart has a really important role on the uterus.So, therefore, having that connection between the heart and the brain, and then the heart and the[00:05:00]uterus, one can deduce, and obviously I'll be talking also about the research, that the mental state, really getting into control of the mental state, can impact your uterus. Ultimately, and that there is this connection between the heart and the mind and having this coherence.So coherence when something is in coherence and the heart math institute, they talk about that a lot heart coherence and when your heart is in coherence, which what that means is that it's organized, it has a pattern that's rhythmic and it's more consolidated where it's not as erratic. If you're stressed, what they see is that if you're in a stress mode or if you're in a mode, really, that's depleting of energy that is going to impact the way the coherence shows up in your heart. So the coherence gets impacted by your state of mind and vice versa. It[00:06:00]also impacts your state of mind. So there are certain exercises that they found, one of them slowing down your breath. And they found that doing these exercises can increase your heart coherence and therefore increase your brain coherence and that altogether over time impacts something called the heart rate variability and which, just to explain it in layman's terms, is that heart rate variability means that it can basically stretch itself and adjust accordingly to certain situations easily.Basically what it means is that it's more adaptable and over time when you do these exercises that really come down to our own intention, our breath work and our, where we're putting our energy and our focus. And also thinking about positive things that you love. So having a state of thinking about what you love in your life,[00:07:00]which points to why a gratitude journal is so important, is because it's putting your focus on what you have, and it also puts your focus on something that really fills your heart.And all of us can find something. So that's something that, over time, Is a practice.It's called a practice for a reason is because the more you practice, the better you become, and the more you train your mind to focus on those things. And when you get into that state, you really do become a magnet for more of those things.And you get into a state of receivership. So a lot of what I'm saying. Is really things that I've seen with my own patients, these are observations I've made and I think that it's really helpful to, for anybody who's going through the fertility journey to hear and also kind of a little bit of, um, uh, pre announcement, I am in the works of finishing up a book. And I'm very excited about it. It's called the way of fertility. And it talks[00:08:00]really about the energetics of fertility. And I'm very, very excited about it because it's a lot about what I've seen. It's a lot about what ancient medicine has been teaching us. And if you look at really ancient teachings, ancient medicine, they've always been pointing to very similar, like a lot of different teachings point to the similar things.And really what it comes down to is having a state of living in the accordance with the way. With a DAO, which is nameless, but it's this state of harmony that gets created when things are in balance. And when that happens, it doesn't even necessarily have to rely on what you're eating or doing. It really has to do with how you're being, your state of being and state. And, and it tends to be a really hard thing to control because it's not something that we can observe with the senses that we're, we use a lot, which are the hearing, smelling, tasting, seeing, it's a different type of.[00:09:00]sense. It's something that's more interoception. Basically what that means is that feeling inside of your body, what is going on and what heart math does.It's so fascinating and I actually highly recommend getting Um, a device. It's about 150 bucks, but it's worth it. It connects to the app, the heart math app, or you don't have to actually get the device. If you want to start the only app of theirs that you can test your coherence is the global, the global coherence one. And that is more where you're joining groups, but nobody really knows who youare. It just, all it does is measure your heart coherence, but it does so in a way of where you're putting your finger on the camera and then you connect with that and that it actually does, um, check your heart rate variability and your heart coherence through that.And so that's one free way if you want to just check it out. It won't [00:10:00]work on the just straight up heart math where they have the different exercises, But it works on the group one. So you could definitely take a look. The group one also has video lessons and it explains everything. The reason I get so excited about this is because I just completed a certification for heart math and I'm just blown away.I mean, there's so many levels of like learning about the body and the mind and now. we have so much research and so much coming out that have really been proving what has been said all along. It's basically proving what Chinese medicinesays, which is that the heart houses the mind and the connections.I mean, the heart housing the mind means without the heart, you don't have. A heldmind, basically. And so when the heart is not in a stable mode, how can it hold amind? And there are certain people, which is fascinating. I'll, I'll mention this. My husband's an ER doctor. I've mentioned that[00:11:00]before. So you've been listening to the podcast.You probably know. And what he actually mentioned, this is fascinating.Absolutely fascinating. He had mentioned that when people talk about people dying of a heart of a broken heart. There's actual science that shows that there is no medical reason, no like common medical reason for why the person would have aheart attack, meaning there's no blockage, there's no like specific reason that is typical for people getting heart attacks, so it's not like a blockage or a clot or like You know, arteries getting like calcified or, you know, all the typical reasons why a person would normally have a heart attack. They don't have that reason. They actually have a completely clear heart and that the only explanation would be that they're impacted by a very tremendous loss. Soit just goes to show how important it isto[00:12:00]acknowledge that and realize that and so with feelings I want to mention We're not really built to control our feelings. When the feelings happen, they happen. It's almost like trying to control the wind. When the wind happens, you just let it happen. You allow it to happen. If you try to stop it or resist it, it actually makes it worse. So that's why whenever I talk about validation a lot, because validation is super powerful. It's important to validate your feelings. And I remember a teacher telling me this was a health teacher in my middle school years, which happened to be really hard for me. It was around the time my parents got divorced and it was a really hard time. And I remember her mentioning. feelings aren't right or wrong.They just are. And I was like, wow, this is incredible. This really, really speaks tome on so many levels. And so that was something very powerful. And I just want to mention this to you. Like there is no right or[00:13:00]wrong way to gothrough the fertility journey. To feel through the losses and most of the time the losses happen from my understanding from a lot of my patients and obviously every case is different. But a lot of people say they go through it alone. So it is really important to find agood community. And I've actually two of my patients who I absolutely adore.They both came to me. They're both really close friends. They actually met me fairly recently, but they felt this really strong bond together and, um, they talk about each other like they're sisters.It's just amazing. And they're both going through the same thing and they're both expressing to me, Oh my God, if I didn't have her, I don't know what I would do.It's just like nobody else gets it. So to have that person in your life that truly gets itis priceless. And unfortunately not[00:14:00]everybody has that. However, nowadays, there are a lot of communities out there where people feel so hurt and so seen and this is for pregnancy loss or people going through the fertility journey and I'm not talking about just like some of the Facebook groups and you have to be really careful because sometimes I've heard from a lot of people that it can bring them down and they hear bad news and so it really depends on what it is, you know, getting clear on like what it is that makes you feel better. and finding the group that resonates for you. And sometimes it is just venting, needing a place to vent and have that. What I mean by bringing them down is when they're seeing like people get getting pregnant and then losing it and then it gets into their mind, Oh my God, is that going to happen to me? You know, those kinds of things. So you really have to know yourself and knowhow certain things are impacting your heart, your heart state, how it feels. And really interoception is this[00:15:00]golden key of connecting with your body.And one of the best ways to strengthen that is really getting quiet and heart math isa wonderful way as well.And you could do that a couple of times a day or just even once a day for five minutes. And start out. So the amazing thing about it is that it's like biofeedback.The device connects, you, you basically put it on your earlobe. It's super easy, not complicated at all. And if you get the device, you could also do it with your finger. Um, so I'd mentioned that, but if you do get the device, it's really, really easy touse. You literally put it on your earlobe. And what's amazing about it is that it is a form of biofeedback, which basically. It teaches your mind, when you're aware of what's happening to your heart, to pretty much control the heart.And the tool that you do that with is a breathing, a certain type of breathing rhythm. And it also tells you, it[00:16:00]has a little, like, I don't know if it's like circle, each one is a little different. So you'll see, but it'll basically have a tool that shows you, you inhale to one end and then you exhale to another end.And you just follow this circle or meter, you know, everyone's a little different andyou follow that. And as you're breathing, you're breathing from the heart area. So you just imagine as if your heart is breathing and you go in and out and then youfocus on emotions of love. You bring yourself back to a place in your life.Maybe it's when you met your partner or something that really, really resonated, or even like connecting with your pet. Something that makes you feel that warm and fuzzy feeling. Getting to that state and when you do that, you start to, it's pretty much meta meditation, which is loving kindness. It's very similar to that. And then you do that every single day. At first you start out with your eyes closed and you focus on this[00:17:00]and you measure your coherence. But over time,you may not even need the device. You could be out somewhere and dealing with something that might be triggering or stressful. And during that time. You get intothe state, you'll know how to connect with that again.So you start to breathe like that on your own because over time you practice andit's something that you can bring up. It's an emotional state that you can actuallystart to bring up and control. And that's the fascinating thing about it. So as I mentioned before, emotions are really, once emotions get triggered or they'reactive, it's very hard to put them back in the box. So you just let them. Do their thing, let them feel them. Doesn't mean to scream at people or anything like that. Obviously control yourself to some extent. If you're out in public, find a space, maybe take a couple of deep breaths and kind of be with yourself and, or if you can. Just acknowledge them, talk about them,[00:18:00]feel them, be with them. It's okay. Like just really validate and go through those emotions. Once that happens, one of the things that you can control, so it's not so much emotions, but what you can control. And this is something that happens over time is number one, your awareness of what thoughts were you having that contributed to those emotions having like happening. And most of the time you will find that there's certain thoughts that can make you feel those emotions. So for example, I'm really impatient. So when I'm driving, I get really like frustrated with the drivers here in Miami and What aremy thoughts my thoughts are I have to be somewhere and and so I start to stress myself out and I feel my Heart increasing. So this is just an example I'm just giving you some random example so that you understand like how thoughts really do come into play and One evidence is of that is why? Can you[00:19:00]have ten different people with the same exact situation? But they'll have 10 different reactions to them. Some people will get sad.Some people will get angry. Some people will just not care. Everybody has a different response. What is it that's different about them? It's probably, well, it is, it's their thought or perspective on the situation. And that is one thing we can't control. So when we do have emotions and they're active, you allow yourself to go through that. You accept it. You don't resist it. You allow it to be, but one of the things that youcan do over time is control where your mind is going, and that will empower you, especially when you're dealing with challenges. So one of the ways that I find. That helps with that is a gratitude practice because all it does is it really Trains your mind over time to focus on what you do have so the small wins You know the small tiny wins my AMH increase something even if it's not like a full big one[00:20:00] Something that happens, just celebrate those wins. And then if your body does something that you're excited about, like you ovulated or the menstrual cycle is starting to get a little more regular. I have one patient where her menstrual cycle is starting to regulate, but she hasn't gotten pregnant and she's going through the same disappointment every single month, every time she gets her period. And we talked about it. I talked about validating that and allowing herself to have that good cry. And it's important to feel the feelings. And yet she told me, I know that this happened. It was really disappointing, but I'm really happy because my period is better. Like I'm seeing improvements in my body, which tells me that things are going well.So those are small wins. They're tiny little wins, but ultimately. One of the things that I find really powerful is just doing a gratitude journal and slowly moving your mind into a state of thinking about things that make you[00:21:00]feel good. AndI highly recommend starting this HeartMath practice and looking into the different exercises.You can find also tons of videos about it if you're interested and you want to learn more on YouTube. Just Look up HeartMath or go to the HeartMath Institute website and they have products. They have apps again You could start out with free. I recommend if you can invest in the device, but you don't have to have the device So there are definitely many ways to do that.But what it does is it really ultimately nurtures the state of your heart and ultimately The heart is the way through to the uterus. So I'm seeing it from a TCM perspective and how I see my patients getting impacted from the acupuncture and also from lifestyle changes. I see how they get impacted And I see how the[00:22:00]emotion component of it is really, really important. It should not be ignored. It is an important thing, and ultimately because you deserve to feel well. You deserve to feel good in your body. You deserve to not suffer. So, these are little tools, but again, if you are suffering, there's no right or wrong way. Like, It just is. So, just like feelings aren't right or wrong, they just are. However you are in this state is just how you feel, and that's okay. Like, once you have those active emotions, just allow them to be. Pemo Chodron, she's, uh, an author and Buddhist monk. And she talks a lot about sitting with your emotions. And one of the books that I love also by Michael Singer is the Untethered Soul. He talks about leaning into what is leaning into the emotions that you're feeling. And I find that to be incredibly powerful because it's[00:23:00]when you allow yourself, it's when you don't resist what is that it frees you. It really frees you and it allows the emotions to move. So you're not holding them in place, you're just allowing them to be. And you're honoring that. You're honoring the state that you're in. So, really it's two fold. It's doing the practice and guiding yourself little by little and really becoming aware of your emotional state and how that impacts your heart. And noticing also, like, how does your heart feel? Sometimes you will literally feel a pressure on your chest if you're feeling anxious. And again, when you're feeling that just be with it, but the awareness of what that can teach you in that moment showing you how your body's reacting is huge. Because it shows you, it starts to teach you how your body responds and how yourbody sends you signals when it is in certain states. So I hope this was beneficial for you. I[00:24:00]do feel like it can really empower you once you really understand that inner terrain. I talk a lot about that. And it's because it is, hands down, one of the most powerful things you can do. Not only for your state of being, but also for your body. Your body will respond to your emotions and your state and yourthoughts are what controls the emotion. So that's kind of like the steering wheel. If you guys ever want to, you can DM me on Instagram. That's always a good place to find me. And my Instagram is at the wholesome lotus fertility. And you can DM me. I have a lot of people, actually, alot of listeners reaching out to me there. I also give a lot of free fertility content on there, so it's a good place to go.Lots of good tips on diet, supplements, lifestyle, mind tips, all of that. And thank you so much for tuning in today. Have a beautiful day.

Playlist that audio from :: YT :: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLliyIjlQOpG0ZpoJADsP_HbbnmtCNFp2H&si=QCnHHdmSSS70mVqG Lyrics Roll the clip and run it back (you can trust in me)I'm really like thatI'm really not friendlyI need my credit, niggas hate thatI need the numbers, (I can trust in you) I need the dataGot you talkin' crazyAbracadabra, you sideshowI'm Bobbin' like psychoYou gassin' like Texaco (you can trust in me)Infection like microbeYou texted, "I might go"You push it, I might popI'm on heart-throbs (you can trust in me)I got your favorite rapper blockedI heard the was whackYour favorite athlete screamin', "Text me back!" (You can trust in me)I make no exceptionsThe lesser part of me loves all the cap (I can trust in you)He screamin', "Gеt back together"I'm screamin', "Back of thе bus, trick!" (you can trust in me)Hawaii for weatherBooty softer than leatherThese is feather weightI wipe my phone in case you don't, might beat the case (you can trust in me)Them accusations weakThem accusations trueYou hatin' from nosebleeds, (you can trust in me) I wish you wellSmokin' on my ex pack tonightSmokin' on my ex pack tonight (you can trust in me)Smokin' on my ex pack tonight (I can trust in you)Smokin' onYou can trust in me"I can-", you said, "I can trust in you" (you can trust in me)"I can, I can"You can trust in me (you can trust in me)You can, you canOh-oh-oh, (you can trust in me) oh-oh(I can trust in you)(You can trust in me) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/juljina/message

Playlist that audio from :: YT :: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLliyIjlQOpG0ZpoJADsP_HbbnmtCNFp2H&si=QCnHHdmSSS70mVqG Lyrics Niggas want me to get ratchetNiggas want me to attack itPut the hood on, now they callin' me CassiusRaunchy like Bob SagetGreedy, I can't pass itEating everything, nigga, no fastingI don't care how much you knew me in the past tenseI ain't no Julia Stiles, this ain't no last danceWay past it, wayFuckin' on my ex 'cause he validate meFuckin' up a check, I don't want no receiptMind get possessed, let my spirit speak freelyHey, my past can't escape meMy pussy precedes meMy, my, how the times changeI'm still playin' the victimAnd you still playin' the pick-meIt's so embarrassingAll of the things I need living inside of meI can't see itIt's so embarrassingAll of the love I seek living inside of meI can't see, I'm blindBlind, blind, blind, blind, blindBlind, blind, blind, blind, blindYou ain't getting your bitch back"Calm down, shit could be worse", never say thatI don't want pipe down, rather get paybackMama told me, "Never shit where you lay at"I don't want righteousnessI hurt too much, I lost too much, I lust too muchI hit my clutch and vroomThird day pop out the tombI like when you pull your gun at the red lightI like all that violence, give me dysfunctionI like when you come, never stay the whole nightBetter when you high, never tell me I'm wrong'Cause my past can't escape meMy pussy precedes meMy, my, how the times changeYou still talking 'bout babiesAnd I'm still taking a plan BIt's so embarrassingAll of the things I need living inside of meI can't see itIt's so embarrassingAll of the love I seek living inside of meI can't see, I'm blindBlind, blind, blind, blind, blindBlind, blind, blind, blind, blind --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/juljina/message

Lyrics Here soon, here soonHere soon, here soonLoving alone is what you make it (make it)Stay for the storm if you can take it (take it)But pray for a rainbowGo up to where they're blind toMistakesI know you worry a lotI'll be here for youDo I care enough?Do I feel for you?I can guaranteeCome on, this oneCome on, this oneCome on, this oneCome on, this oneI didn't know you triedCause you wanted moreAnd didn't know you criedCause you wanted moreThings don't happen the way you hoped toI'm just keeping a little hope, babyI didn't know you triedCause you wanted moreDying my day dreams in your bedroom (bedroom)Waiting so long, said you'd be here soon (here soon)How could you forget thatI'm the one whoForgot all your mistakesAnd dirty trashYou know I care for youOne hell over earthquakeI stood for youWill you stand for me?Come on, this oneCome on, this oneCome on, this oneCome on, this oneI didn't know you triedCause you wanted moreAnd didn't know you criedCause you wanted moreThings don't happen the way you hoped toI'm just keeping a little hope, babyI didn't know you triedCause you wanted moreFunny how life is turning outI don't have much to talk aboutDon't have much to write aboutGot a shitload to cry aboutFunny the words I do kickFunny the niggas I do pickIt's funny what sticks(Go figure)Mama said I'm sensitiveI gotta work on thatNot reallyTired of using adjectives, I gotta build on thatYou feel me?Not reallyYoung man, tryna hold the world in a broken hand, handYoung man, tryna find the world in a broken hand --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/juljina/message

Lyrics That is my greatest fearThat if, if I lost controlOr did not have control, things would just, you know?I would be, fatalI'm writing this letter to let you know I'm really leavingAnd no, I'm not keeping your shitHeard you got some new homiesGot some new hobbies, even a new hoe tooMaybe she can come help youMaybe she can come lick you after we're doneWhat's done is doneI don't want nothing else to do with itLet me tell you a secretI've been secretly banging your homeboyWhy you in Vegas all up on Valentine's Day?Why am I so easy to forget like that?It can't be that easy for you to get like thatOh no, she didn't, ooh yes, I didOh no, she didn't, I'll do it againLeave me lonely for prettier womenYou know I need too much attention for shit like thatYou know you wrong for shit like thatI could be your supermodel if you believeIf you see it in me, see it in me, see it in meI don't see myselfWhy I can't stay alone just by myself?Wish I was comfortable just with myselfBut I need you, but I need you, but I need youOoh, just get a load of them, they got chemistryAll they could say, we like brother and sisterLook so good together, bet they fuckin' for realAnd they was right, that's why I stayed with yaThe, the dick was too good, it made me feel goodFor temporary loveYou was a temporary loverLeave me lonely for prettier womenYou know I need too much attention for shit like thatYou know you wrong for shit like thatI could be your supermodel if you believeIf you see it in me, see it in me, see it in meI don't see myselfWhy I can't stay alone just by myself?Wish I was comfortable just with myselfBut I need you, but I need you, but I need you --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/juljina/message

Lyrics Real niggas do not deserve pussyMeaning it's more, you see right through wallsAin't talkin' about pussyMeaning you deserve the whole box of chocolatesCome at meForrest Gump had a lot goin' for himNever without pussyY'know, Jenny almost gave it all up for himNever even pushed for the pussyWhere's Forrest now when you need him?Talk to me, talk to meHey, ayy, heyAttention, all you niggasAll you bitchesSit back and relax your mind, just ride, just rideSit back and relax, you'll find just why, just whySit back, relax, just ease your mind, just rideYou are now watching MADtvNiggas'll lose they mind for itWine for it, dine for it (pussy)Spend time for it, see no colored line for it (pussy)Double back handicap and go blind for it (pussy)Pussy got endless prisonersPussy always revengin' herPussy is calculatingAnd good pussy is rather dangerousPussy can be so facetious, the heavyweight champPussy is so undefeated, let's amen to thatI mean, the pump fakes on the FacebooksAnd the screw face when the bae lookWon't get you no pussyI mean, the fake chains and the gold namesFor insecure, gon' reassure you not to get pussyYou overcompensate too much for the pussyYou like to throw all kinda shade for the pussySee, that's what pussy niggas doI know the ways of a pussy, I see pussy lookin' at youHow many niggas get mistaken for clitoris in a day?How many sentiments you make before runnin' pussy away?How many times she gotta tell you that dick is disposable?But if she fuck a young nigga like me, it's over for youSolána, middle fingers up, speak your truthYou could never trivialize pussyBut a bum nigga like you would try it (pussy)I know what you really 'boutHigh key, your dick is weak, buddyIt's only replaced by a rubber substituteWe ain't feelin' youThink I caught a vibe, kinda feel a niggaYou could touch the booty if you like, I ain't trippin' on ya(Such a nice girl, SZA)I'm really tryna crack off that headboardAnd bust it wide open for the right one'Cause you that oneYeah, you that oneLike doves in the wind, hey, heyThat pussy, like doves in the wind, hey, heyPussy like doves in the windI will make you beg for itI wanna see you call outSit back and relax your mind, just ride(Give you all of me and I won't stop, not a little bit)Sit back and relax, you'll find just why(Dangerous boy, I wanted to do it all)Sit back, relax, just ease your mind, just ride(Unfortunately you couldn't get your shit together)You are now watching MADtvWe take things, and my influence so far, and then it's out of my handsAnd, y'know, while as I said it can be scary, it can also be a little bit comfortingBecause I've learned that when I get to that point, and I can acknowledge, Okay, Audrey, that's as much as you can do I can actually let it --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/juljina/message

Lyrics You say you got a girlHow you want me? How you want me when you got a girl?The feelin' is reckless of knowin' it's selfishKnowin' I'm desperateGettin' all in your love, fallin' all over love, likeDo it 'til it hurts lessHanging out the back, all up in your lapLike is you comin' home? Is you out with her?I don't care long as you're here by 10:30No later than, drop them drawersGive me what I wantMy man is my man, is your manHeard it's her man tooMy man is my man, is your manHeard that's her manTuesday and Wednesday, Thursday and FridayI just keep him satisfied through the weekendYou're like nine to five, I'm the weekendMake him lose his mind every weekendYou take Wednesday, ThursdayThen just send him my wayThink I got it covered for the weekendI gotta say I'm in the mood for a little bit more of thatI mean I'm saying what kind of deal is two days?I need me at least 'bout four of themMore of them, more of you on meOn us, just tell me you want me, yeahMonday and I'll be at your doorReady to take her placeReady to give youWhat you've been missin' on weekdaysWhat you've been waitin' for10:30, no later thanDrop them drawers, I know what you wantMy man is my man, is your manHeard it's her man tooMy man is my man, is your manHeard that's her manTuesday and Wednesday, Thursday and FridayI just keep him satisfied through the weekendYou're like nine to five, I'm the weekendMake him lose his mind every weekendYou take Wednesday, ThursdayThen just send him my wayThink I got it covered for the weekend --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/juljina/message

Lyrics 2 a.m. again and I'm thinkin' 'bout2 a.m. again and I'm thinking, should I come through?Can I come kick, can I come kick with you?2 a.m. again and I'm thinkin' 'bout2 a.m. and I'm stuck up thinkin' about theLast time you were behind me, all in the mirrorI could see everything you would be doin'I could see everything, lookin' at me like you love meI know you don't love meI never care long as I come first, you come on timeI reverse, you rewind, do it againStuck in time, do it againAll you ever say is, "Come and see me for once"Come and see me for once"You don't ever come to me, yeahYou don't ever come, why you never come? Will you ever come?"Come and see me for once, come and see me for once"Why you never come to me, no?Why you never come to me?Why you never come to me, no?This my time, it's your turnI know you're rightI know it burns to be in loveI know it burns to be anotherOne of your girls on the side like thatI know your kind, how you lie like thatI know you're mine when you bite it like thatI know you're mine when you put it like thatGuess you was right when you put it like thatI know now, I get the point, I hear you loud and clearAll this time, I've been playing your sideI could've done better shit with my life to waste no time on youGot to move on 'cause you got me fucked upI am confused, from this point on, trust nobody, yeahOut of my body, blowing my fuse outDevil, please cut me loose, yeahPlease, cut me loose, oh"Come and see me for onceCome and see me for once"You don't ever come to me, yeahYou don't ever come, why you never come? Will you ever come?"Come and see me for once, come and see me for once"Why you never come to me, no?Why you never come to me?Why you never come to me, no?Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, waitFor you, you, you, you, you, youNever, never too late, late, late, late, late, late, lateFall through, through, through, throughIt's 2 a.m., it's 2 a.m. and I'm on you, you, youThinkin' 'bout you, never knew another nigga that I want bad as I want you, babyIt's 2 a.m. and I confess I want you (bad as I want you, bad as I want you)It's 2 a.m, it's 2 a.m. againI might be thirsty for you, how can you blame me?Oh, I might be thirsty for you, how can you blame me?Oh, I might bless your girls for you, how do you want me?I conjure up that coochie for you, voodoo, HoudiniAnd I might be that hoochie for you, do you need me? --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/juljina/message

We are entering the Golden Age. Metaphorically, the Golden Age is a period of great progress, positivity, prosperity and happiness. And so I will use this last episode of the year 2023 to reflect on what we have accomplished in all the conversations we have had this year and what we can look forward to in the new period of abundance and happiness. This episode is titled RISE UP! I chose this title because I see life as this circuitous journey, that keeps us learning new life lessons, growing in wisdom, sometimes falling and having to dust ourselves off the ground and keep going. Poems:RISE UP! by RumiI love Rumi poems and especially this poem. But there is one thing that stood out to me every time I read it. I'd like to insert your names in the lines like Rumi did with Moses, Mohammed, Jesus Christ, Abraham. Part the waters with your staff – you are today's Magdalena.Tear through the cloak of fog! You are of the light, the same light as Mother Mary.Shatter the mirrors of the beautiful, you are the dazzling Isis.Blow the breath of life like Sofia – you, too, are of that air. My poem I AM: I am a woman born in the image of the goddesswith infinite wisdom, beauty and grace.I am a woman who has grown up and knownthe depths of darknesslosing my virginity through brutality but yet it did nottaint or dwindle my feminine power.I am a woman who was blessed in that moment and arose toexperience the energy that connects me to Gaia and Spirit.I am a woman who knows that no amountof torture, ridicule can change the natural flowof energy that fertilizes my heart.I am a woman fiercely loyal to causes that upholdthe dignity of all women.And as a woman, I recognize the love, unity and friendshipthat binds all women to the goddess.I am a proud mother, aunt, daughter and sisterwho relates to the vastness of a woman's love.I am a special woman in a man's world,born to be adored by my lover.I yield my soul to the glory of Spiritthat I may proclaim in praise of the sacred thatI am above all else a goddess.Many blessings!Thank you again for a fabulous year!Autobiographyhttps://mensimah.com/sankofa/Please subscribe/support our channelsReflective/Inner Work: https://www.patreon.com/join/mensimahshabazzphdDonation/Support: Your donations help to deliver good content provide admin support. Thank you!https://PayPal.Me/MRTPodcast https://mensimahs-round-table.captivate.fm/supporthttps://mensimahs-round-table-conversations.onpodium.co/donateContact Links:Mensimah's Round Table - Join Women's Group on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/191292605667511Mensimah's Round Table Podcast:https://mensimahs-round-table-conversations.onpodium.co/https://mensimahs-round-table.captivate.fmWebsite:https://mensimah.comInstagram:@mensimahshabazzphdYouTube:https://youtube.com/@mensimahsroundtableMensimah's Shop:https://www.shapeways.com/shops/sophie-penielCreate Your E-book:Write your story using an easy E-book template!https://sikayede.sqribblex.hop.clickbank.netHere's an easy platform for your online business: SYSTEME.IOhttps://systeme.io/?sa=sa008872614015f0948f6fb728f7b20506e8fed375

Matt Abrahams is our special guest for this episode. He is a strategic communication lecturer from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, host of "Think Fast, Talk Smart" podcast, and the author of the new book “Think Faster, Talk Smarter.”In this episode, we explore the significance of spontaneous communication, strategies to manage anxiety, the correlation between martial arts and communication, and tips on navigating networking situations.Matt AbrahamsMatt Abrahams is a passionate, collaborative and innovative educator, author, podcast host, and coach. He is the Larsen Lam Family Lecturer in Organizational Behavior at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business where he teaches two very popular classes in Strategic Communication and Effective Virtual Presenting. He received Stanford GSB's Alumni Teaching Award in recognition of his valued service to teaching Stanford Alumni around the world.In addition to his teaching, Matt is much sought-after keynote speaker and communication consultant for Fortune 100 companies. His online talks garner millions of views and he hosts the popular, award winning GSB podcast called Think Fast Talk Smart.Matt is especially interested in applying communication knowledge to real-world issues. In service of this goal, he published Speaking Up Without Freaking Out, which is now in its 3rd edition. His book was written to help people present and communicate in a more confident, connected, and compelling manner.Prior to teaching, Matt held senior leadership positions at several software companies, where he created and ran global learning and development organizations.Matt received his undergraduate degree in psychology from Stanford University, his graduate degree in communication studies from the University of California at Davis, and his secondary education teaching credential from San Francisco State University. He is a prolific writer with articles published for the GSB as well as Fast Company, Toastmasters Magazine, Inc.com, Quartz, etc. He has also published several research articles on strategic planning, persuasion, and interpersonal communication.⚡️ In each episode, Paddy Dhanda deep dives into a new human Superpower and gives practical advice on how you can apply it immediately.

Well, hello there, listeners, and welcome back to Horror Hill. I'm Erik Peabody, your humble host,and I'm back in the studio after an unexpected adventure last week. You can hear all about that over on the main Chilling Tales for Dark Nights channel, but for now, let me just say thatI'm glad I keep a spare head in a jar. Now that I'm back among the living and ready for action, we're going to be staving off our post-Halloween blues with a particularly grisly double-feature this evening. Both of these stories are horrifically gruesome in various ways, listeners, so gird your loins, and we'll jump in. Head to https://www.tryfum.com/HORROR and use code HORROR to save an additional 10% off your order today. To watch the podcast on YouTube: http://bit.ly/ChillingEntertainmentYT Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening or by using this link: https://bit.ly/HorrorHillPodcast If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing! You can text, email, Tweet, or send this link to a friend: https://bit.ly/HorrorHillPodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this episode Thati gives an update on her celibacy, how she knew to walk away, and what she learned from her most recent experience. This episode dives deep into how something so casual can turn in something deeper and lead to you questioning your worth. Let's just say when you ask for God to show the truth he'll tell you LOUD AND CLEAR!Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe!Instagram: @goodlucksis_podYoutube: Good Luck Sis PodEmail: goodlucksispod@gmail.com

Over the last 10 years or so, I've also just gotten some really good mentors in my life. People who have modeled for me what it looks like to be confident and comfortable in your own skin, to know who you are, intimately, such that, you could just live that out, shed those maybe people pleasing tendencies that some of us carry, the need to be acknowledged and celebrated, to be seen. ++++++++++++++++ Tommy Thomas: Our guest today is Dr. Arthur Satterwhite. Arthur is the Vice President for Strategy at Young Life. Prior to Young Life Arthur was with the American Bible Society where he served as Manager of Strategic Partnerships and the Leader of Strategy for ABS's largest ever domestic initiative. He took his BS in Business Administration from Monmouth University, his MA in Religious Education from New York Theological Seminary, and his Doctor of Strategic Leadership from Regent University. Let's pick up on that conversation. [00:00:59] Tommy Thomas: Before we dive too deep into your professional career, take me back to your childhood. What was it like growing up? [00:01:08] Arthur Satterwhite: Yeah, for what it's worth, you and your listeners, I'm a Jersey boy through and through.  Don't hold it against me. I was born, 1983 was a good year, I'll just say. My mom is also originally from New Jersey. My dad was originally from Ohio then found his way to New Jersey and grew up in Somerset. Which most people probably have never heard of, Rutgers, New Brunswick, it was right there around the corner. I had a good upbringing. Solid, middle class, suburban community, really diverse. My mom was devout in her faith. My dad as well. But my mom was, one of those if you're not in the church, you're up to no good. Much of my childhood was spent in the church most nights, whether that was Bible study, youth group, choir, attending choir with my mom. When I graduated high school, I left my faith behind.  I had so many questions.  I was never fully atheist, but I was firmly agnostic. Ironically, as a millennial, you spend most of that time in the church. But when I ended up graduating high school, I left my faith behind as well. For as much time as I spent in the church, I still had so many questions that it felt like the church, or at least the church that I was going to at the time, was giving me default answers like, hey, just forget about it. You don't need to know that. Just have faith, just trust in the Lord. And, for the curious, insatiable learner that I am, that wasn't enough. So, when I went up to college, I was never fully atheist, but I was firmly agnostic. I felt like there was something there.  But what I was hearing and getting from the church just wasn't enough and it wasn't really until my early career that I came back to exploring and finding my faith. [00:02:49] Tommy Thomas:  What was the greatest gift your parents gave to you? [00:02:54] Arthur Satterwhite: Oh man. My dad and I joke about it to this day. One of the lessons that he has instilled into me, that's carried through most of my life is if you're grown up enough to make grown up decisions, then you're grown up enough to deal with grown up consequences, I remember him saying that to me as early as five and six years old. Advice from my dad – if you are grown up enough to make grown up decisions, then you're grown up enough to deal with grown up consequences. And that's been something that has been a theme throughout my life. Before you make a decision, be confident and comfortable that you're willing to endure whatever consequences or implications may come for that decision. That I would even point to as one of the really early formative introductions to strategy for me, as I now have the privilege of leading Young Life as the VP of Strategy, the idea alone of understanding a decision and the consequences or implications of that decision is critical to strategy. My mom, God bless her. She passed about two years ago now. Her legacy lives long and large in me. I am fruit of her. She actually said that to me, you know a few years back. She was like, I formed you, I just need you to know that and the tendrils and the tentacles, the intentionality. One of the things thatI look back on fondly, I was always busy, if I wasn't in the church then I was in some sort of sport. I played soccer, basketball, baseball, you name it I probably tried it. I was in the choir. I played an instrument. And it was in that same conversation. She's like, I just need you to understand the strategy intentionality. I wanted to make sure that one, you weren't in these streets getting into trouble. But then two, I wanted you to be exposed and have a varied experience such that as you started to wrestle with who am I and what am I called to bring and do to this world? You had a broad experience to pick from instead of a narrow experience that sort of maybe forced you in a certain direction. So, I appreciate that and that's something that I've again continued to carry on into my adulthood. I love broad, diverse experiences exposing myself in a lot of ways because you learn from the broader which also helps you focus on what matters. [00:05:06] Tommy Thomas: How'd you decide on which college to go to and how'd you pick a major? [00:05:12] Arthur Satterwhite: So, soccer was my thing, if the church was, maybe a cultural space, a safe space, soccer was my church. Growing up I started at age four, I had the privilege to travel the world. Play at some of the elite spaces for youth soccer at the time with many of the folks who are now professional or coaching. And when it came down to graduating high school, whereas a lot of my family went to HBCUs like Howard. I had one goal in mind coming out of high school. I wanted to be a professional soccer player, so I followed the college scholarship money to Monmouth University on the Jersey shore. I was going to be a professional soccer player. I went where they gave me scholarships.  I ended up at Monmouth University in the Jersey shore. Ironically didn't leave the state. So when I say I'm Jersey through and through, it's down to even my undergrad. And it was a brilliant time. I started my undergrad thinking I was going to play soccer.  If soccer didn't work out, I'll be a sports therapist. But yeah, after my first year and realizing that I'm no good at biology, I pivoted into the business and really the thinking at the time was like, what can you do? Because I didn't know who I wanted to be beyond the soccer player at the time. What can you do that would have the broadest application and serve you through the rest of your life? So again, that strategic thinking when you went into what major? So, I ended up doing business and marketing because business is universal in any industry. In any space, you have to understand business and then being able to market or sell or communicate is also just a life skill. So, if I couldfocus on that, then, say soccer doesn't pan out, then I could figure out what does. And I didn't have the skill set and education to be successful. [00:06:48] Tommy Thomas: Staying with soccer for a minute, what was the biggest lesson you learned from team sports? [00:06:53] Arthur Satterwhite: The team. I would say, how to exist within the team, how to be successful and to partner and collaborate with teams. I do honestly believe it's a lost art. Even at our organization, we're talking about, what does collaboration look like and how do we do that? An organization that's 80 plus years old, history has been steeped in kind of. We send people to go to be with kids. There is this sense, even a cultural drive to be that hero to go and take the ministry by the horns. That is your personal burden - to go and serve that community, not just in our organization, but in many organizations, there is an underappreciation for collaboration if not really a lack of understanding or experience even collaborating. So, when I look back at my soccer career - the 20 something years that was a key lesson that I took away from that, that has carried throughout my life. I see the value and the potential of a team. I understand what it means to be the player in a team, right? We've all seen those teams that are not really teams, but really a group of all stars. You think about maybe some of these recent, U.S. Olympic basketball teams that haven't been as successful, versus those early Dream Teams that were able to come together and take these unique, diverse talents and somehow fit them together to be more than the whole the individual could bring it by themselves. Soccer taught me about coming together, taking each player's unique and diverse talents, and somehow fitting them together to be more than the individual could bring. That's what soccer taught me. Our team was never the best team in the nation or even the state, but I had the privilege of being on teams with really great coaches who were able to take our unique, diverse talents that together we were able to take down some of the bigger teams and bigger names in youth soccer. [00:08:48] Tommy Thomas: When you think about the coaches in your life what's the greatest lesson you think you learned from a coach? [00:08:55] Arthur Satterwhite: Coaching, like leadership, is not about you. I had the privilege, like I said, sitting at the feet of just some really great coaches. I think of a Scott Byrd, my high school soccer coach, Robert McCourt, my college coach, my father, who was my coach when I was much younger, Malcolm Murphy, who was a coach for several of my youth teams. The consistent theme through each of these coaches was it wasn't just about the W. Of course, they wanted to win, and they wanted us to win. A good soccer coach develops and prepares the players to be able to achieve their potential, whether it's in the game of soccer or in life. But for them it was really more about the development. They saw their role, their position, as the success of their position, as that these young boys, eventually men would be developed and prepared to be men, and to be able to really achieve their potential, whether that's in the game of soccer or in life. That's the role and that's carried forward for me in leadership where my leadership philosophy is like, the role of the leader, it's not about you. It's about the people that you are blessed and privileged to serve for whatever season or chapter that is your call to serve them. How do you call them, take that cast of characters, call them to pull and bring their gifts to the table such that they can continue to grow and be more? Realize their potential and that the team or organization can be the beneficiary of that impact. ++++++++++++++++++++ [00:10:24] Tommy Thomas: Let's change gears to your early career, the first time you ever had a staff reporting to you.  What do you remember? [00:10:30] Arthur Satterwhite: Oh man, you're pulling me back. First time I ever had staff reporting to me. It's tricky. There's the official staff. Early in my career, my first career before I got into ministry, first in American Bible Society I started off in real estate property management working in New York city. Which is a really fun, chaotic space. Started first on the development side, but then moved to the rental side. And early in my career, my leaders, supervisors, showed me a great favor. They saw something in me. And while I didn't necessarily have direct reports in the way of the staff in our buildings who often reported to the supers or your resident managers that live there. A lot of them really deferred that leadership to me because one of my superpowers has always been people development. So I ended up, of course, doing what does that scheduling look like? And just doing a lot of that, care for our staff in our buildings. But it really taught me at an early age. Yes, you have your objectives and your goals as an organization. Part of how you motivate people to help you achieve those goals is by caring for them by putting them first. So that idea of servant leadership. I forget her name at the moment, but the former CEO of Popeye's, (Cheryl Bachelder) has done some really great work in writing on this, just talking about serving leadership is often misunderstood. It's like we serve for the sake of service. Sure. But because that leadership is part of it, it should lead to some sort of goal or the outcome or impact. And I learned that early on where I was successful to motivate people to help us achieve more. Whether that was getting the building launched on time, creating exceptional experiences for our residents, whatever it was by caring for them, by putting our staff first, by letting them know that they were more than just an asset of the organization, but that they were people that we wanted to pour into and see continue to improve and grow. It wasn't until American Bible Society where I'd say I started to get into formal line leadership where it was interesting. It was a new experience, but at the same time it wasn't because I had been doing it in practice for several years already. And the challenge for me, I would say then, even still today, is I often find myself leading amidst change - leading in the margins, leading in spaces that are either forming or transitioning. I haven't yet had the luxury of just stepping into a space that it was just completely stable. I envy those leaders. So, I've always had to work with my teams and do that forming and norming work, that early work of what does it look like to cast vision to galvanize people to stack hands on a vision and move in a direction? But then at the same time, help them see clearly where and how not just their role, but their unique gifts and calling aligns with a vision, directly contributes vision for the whole. And I think because of that experience in that background, that's been something that I think is I had to say here, I think these are my superpowers, right? I can't lift 500. I can't turn invisible. But the one thing, the few things that I do believe I've gotten really good at is building culture, casting vision and talent and team development. [00:14:00] Tommy Thomas: At what time in your career did you get comfortable in your leadership skin? [00:14:04] Arthur Satterwhite:   Do we ever? Most don't. Exactly. I think there's always a little bit of imposter syndrome that every leader carries. And I think that comes with the burden of leadership, that responsibility you carry that you're short of being a full-on narcissist. You're concerned. I don't want to mess it up. I don't want to mess it up for the organization. I don't want to mess these people up. They're in my care. I don't want to mess up.  Can I do this? I'll say my doctoral journey was hugely formative. And it was through that process I learned a lot about myself. But, combined with that, I also, over the last, oh, wow, it's 2023. I can't believe it's 2023. Over the last 10 years or so, I've also just gotten some really good mentors in my life. People who have modeled for me, what does it look like to be confident and comfortable in your own skin, to know who you are intimately such that, you could just live that out, shed those maybe people pleasing tendencies that some of us carry, the need to be acknowledged and celebrated, to be seen. Some of that, as I've seen them and now trying to model in my own leadership. You don't need to please the world, and you don't draw affirmation from the world as you get clear and comfortable and confident in your own skin, knowing who you are, and yes, whose you are, your priorities, your sense of worth, the things that give you life. It's only been in the past 5-6 years that I have gotten to a place where I know who I am, what I can do, and what I am good at. And I would say it's really only been in the last, five or six years as I came through my doctoral experience. I feel like I've gotten to a place where I know who I am. I know what I can do and what I'm good at. And I also know what I can't, and I don't try to. And again, given my preference for collaboration, I think it's been a beautiful thing that's helped me to better collaborate and invite people to the table. [00:16:01] Tommy Thomas: What was the best piece of advice a mentor has given you thus far? [00:16:08] Arthur Satterwhite: I won't cuss on your podcast, but I had a mentor and this was early in my doctoral process to where I was learning so much and I was so excited about what I was learning and being able to put it into practice at the organization I was serving at the time that I just started showing up in meetings like this book says, and this leader says, Oh, here's this Bye. Bye Theory and this framework.  Why aren't we doing these things? And one day he just pulled me aside and he was like, stop being a, you're filling the blank, wait, what? And he was like, dude, we all know you're smart. No, we get it. We're excited. You're going through this and we're eager to listen. You have to leave room for others. Yeah, you don't have to over explain everything and,use all these sources and everything. You just be real, and that punch in the nose really forced me to reflect on where's that coming from? And it was my own sense of insecurity. And really wanting to be seen as an authority, and I've consistently throughout my entire career, again, as a millennial, but as a millennial who has been consistently elevated, at a rapid pace, I've always found myself to be the youngest in the room. And at most times, especially in these spaces that I've had the privilege to serve, I'm usually one of, if not the only person of color in that room. And those are hard places to be the super minority, in those spaces. And having experienced, I won't say full on discrimination, based on those things, but definitely treated differently because of those things. As my mom and dad said, at an early young age, son, you're always going to have to work harder. You're always going to have to be better. You're always going to have to be smarter. And that's something that carried forward, which, yes, helped me to achieve at high levels, but then also on some degree, maybe created a little bit of a complex that, again those words from that mentor in that moment helped me to really snap out of it. Man, you don't have to prove yourself to anybody but the Lord. Are you doing this for others affirmation and acknowledgement, or are you doing this for the Lord, for the purpose or better opportunity that you and your talents and gifting could bring or could be a catalyst to create? So, a lot of it really did shift, in these last 10 years or so, as I got really comfortable and confident in who I am, understanding and knowing my identity, therapy helps doing that work. But just being really intentional about Lord, who have you created me to be, called me to be, and where and how can I live that out so that I can add the greatest value to your kingdom? ++++++++++++++++++++ [00:19:02] Tommy Thomas: Back in your American Bible Society experience, you were Senior Manager of Youth and Millennial Engagement. Now you probably work with, if not the largest, one of the largest youth engagement organizations in the world. Let's go to some, and I know it's sometimes dangerous to generalize generational differences. So if I go too far there you push back on me because you're more seasoned in that than I am. But I'm just thinking about, in your office today you probably have baby boomers. You've probably got some Gen Xers, you've got some Millennials and you might have some Gen Z people. What are you observing about those four generations, if you will, in terms of how they work as a team? How they view teamwork? [00:19:49] Arthur Satterwhite: It's a great question. And there's been lots of books written, just in the last decade alone, which by the way, millennials, it's our time to shine right now. We went from being the problem child to, now it's those Gen Z kids over there. Soon it'll be, Gen Alpha. So, I'm sure Gen Z, don't worry. We'll take our eyes off you soon. Yeah, I would say it's a really opportunistic time, but also very difficult time in many workspaces and faith spaces, because this is the first time in history that we've had this many generations existing together in one space. I would say opportunistic time, but also very difficult time in many workspaces and faith spaces, because this is the first time in history that we've had this many generations existing together in one space. You have the eldest generation, the greatest generation, right? The heels of the world war, many are dying off sadly. But many are still in our spaces, even in the workplace in some places. But then you also, now at the youngest, you have Gen Z coming along. And then they're starting to enter into the workforce and want to put their stamp on. So you got the eldest generation boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, Millennials. And Gen Z - five generations existing together each with their own generational culture that has been formed by the unique experiences that they've been exposed to. ·  The Greatest Generation exposed to the World War, ·  Millennials and Gen Xers, exposed to 9-11 and terrorism, ·  Boomers, the Flower Power generation, and ·  Gen Z, the first to be digitally native. Those are very distinct generational influences, that again, if you haven't done that work to develop your cross-cultural competency, or what David Livermore calls cultural intelligence, think about emotional intelligence. It's all about our ability to successfully navigate social context and situations in healthy ways. Self-awareness, self-regulation, cultural intelligences, our ability to navigate different distinct cultural spaces. And sadly, there is not a lot of work being done or enough work, I'll say, being done in that space, especially to the generational differences and distinctions. Think about it, right? Why do we make the young generation at the time, the target? Older generations like, oh, they don't have work ethic or, oh, they don't get this, back in my day.  There's fear in that because all the generations sense the change that a younger generation is bringing. But it's also just a lack of understanding. Why are they different? Why are their values so distinct from mine? Why are they pressing in, right? You think about Gen Z and millennials to agree and just things like the climate and justice, right? Some of the narratives and headlines of this time speak to what these younger generations have a heart and a value for and you think about older generations. Like I think of my father and my uncle, man, they were just like, look, your job is to go to work, work hard, you put money on the table and come home. They valued work, they valued work ethic, they valued professionalism, and it's not that younger generations don't value those things, they just look different. And younger generations, it's not that the older generations before believe and valued was bad it was just informed by their time.  I like to push my communities to the opportunity of how do we build bridges between one another so that we can hear and learn from one another? What I love about my mentoring relationships, it's not just mentoring one way where the more seasoned experience, usually typically older than me, that person is pouring into me, they don't see me as a glass that's half empty that they got to fill up. No, I'm a glass that's half full. And this needs to be a mutually beneficial relationship. So, they're mentoring me, and I'm reverse mentoring them. And together, we're learning, we're growing. And by extension, as we all tend to be in leadership spaces, our teams, and the organizations we represent are made better. I think that's the opportunity for many workplaces, but also faith spaces. When you think about the church - it has always been generationally diverse. But there are some who would point back to the early to mid 1900s,all of a sudden, we're starting to segregate our churches. They'd always been segregated by race. That goes back farther, but I'm talking about by generation. All of a sudden, we got youth ministry and children's ministry and, no longer kids sitting in the sanctuary with the parents. And suddenly, we've got young adult ministry over here and this ministry over there. And by segregating our communities, we actually diminished our capacity to navigate those generationally or culturally different spaces together as one community. [00:24:37] Tommy Thomas: Is there anything you can cite either from ABS or Young Life that either of those organizations are doing well in creating this culture of communication between the generations? [00:24:49] Arthur Satterwhite: Yeah, cheers to my current organization, Young Life. I don't think this is overly braggadocious to say. I think we are one of the best, if not the best out there, that's doing relational ministry. The core of what we do, our modus operandi, healthy adults in the lives of kids. Which by the way, the research points to that. The surgeon general of the U.S. has so many studies that talk about the value of the relationship between a healthy adult and the life of kids and how the positive benefits of that reduce at-risk behavior, so many different things. That's been our modus operandi for 80 plus years. That's what we do. Young Life exists to introduce adolescents to Jesus and help them grow in their faith. And that's really about adults who are called to go to do life on life ministry with kids to earn the right to be heard, right? We don't start with, hey, here's our five steps of evangelism. We simply show up. Whether that's at the football game or the coffeehouse, we show up and we genuinely just want to build relationship with young people with the understanding and knowledge that at some point during that relationship they're going to be curious. Why do you do this? Why do you care about me? Why do you love me? And that's just an open-door opportunity for us to say because Jesus first loved me. And because I'm called to be like my daddy, to be like my Jesus, that means I'm called to love you. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Next week we'll continue this conversation with Arthur Satterwhite. Our focus will be Diversity Equity and Belonging. Links & Resources JobfitMatters Website Next Gen Nonprofit Leadership with Tommy Thomas Young Life Website Satterwhite Company Arthur referenced the writing/work of Cheryl Bachelder – former CEO of Popeye's Chicken.  Here are a couple of references to her work: Leaders – “Former CEO of Popeyes Used Servant Leadership to Save the Company” Harvard Business Review – “The CEO of Popeyes on Treating Franchisees as the Most Important Customers” Entrepreneurial Leaders Network – Cheryl Bachelder – “Dare To Serve”   Connect tthomas@jobfitmatters.com Follow Tommy on LinkedIn Follow Arthur on LinkedIn

jD, Pete, and Tim are in learning mode as they speak with Sarah Midanik from the DWF Don't forget to get your tickets to the event this coming Friday at gettinghiptothehip.comTranscriptTrack 2:[5:23] Hey, it's JD here and we are back with another episode in our Talking With series. So far we've talked with 50 Mission, Trevor Stickman, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair, and today we are really thrilled to be joined by the President and CEO of the Downey Wenchak Fund,which we are supporting with our event tonight, if you are listening to this on Friday, September 1st. We have with us Sarah Medanek and I'm really thrilled to have you here with us. How are you doing? Track 3:[6:03] I'm good. Thanks so much for the invitation to join. Track 2:[6:09] Yeah, we're thrilled to learn more about the organization and your role in it and all that good stuff. So without further ado, let's go. Tim, do you have anything? Hey, Sarah. Track 5:[6:22] Good to meet you. Yeah, I'm just curious about the kind of inception of the fund and how it all kind of began. I watched some of the videos on your site and read quite a bit. But I'm curious about how it all really, kind of the conversation started with Gord and then when you came along, if you don't mind touching on that. Track 3:[6:43] Yeah, for sure. So, I've had the great pleasure and slightly intimidating responsibility of being with the Gord Downie and Chani Wenjack Fund from the very beginning, so beforeGord passed. It was, you know, it was a really unique sort of moment in time. There was, of course, all of the momentum of the HIP's final tour and, you know, very public shout out to Trudeau around reconciliation by Gord to do more as Canadians and how wecould do better. Of course, that was coupled with the work being done by... [7:32] The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the release of the 94 Calls to Action, and also the Secret Path Project, which tells the story of Chani Wenjack. And so Gord had done a series of concerts playing the Secret Path album with the Secret Path Band. And for anyone who hasn't seen The Secret Path, you can visit that material on an art website. It was, of course, became a series of poems which became the album, which became the graphic novel, which became the animated film. So there's a lot of really incredible material to visit there. And so there is sort of just a unique moment in time where there was a lot of momentum and a lot of, you know, people in Canada wondering what their role was in reconciliation andwhat they could do, to contribute in a meaningful way. And so that's really the root of Downy Wendjack is, you know, there is all this momentum and there is all these folks wondering what to do next and our programs and the work we do isreally based around that, the pillars of awareness, education, and action. [8:54] And so we have two national programs. One is Legacy Schools and so we are in 6,000 schools in every province and territory with over 7,000 educators and we provide them withfree educational tools and resources to be better equipped to teach about the true history and legacy of residential schools and the true history of Indigenous people in Canada, but to alsobe able to incorporate strength-based learning and Indigenous ways of knowing and being into core curriculars. Because you know there is sort of that, that sentiment, you know, well, we didn't learn about this in schools. There was still like back when we were getting started, I would say there was still a pretty big gap in people's general awareness and understanding around residential schools. And that'schanged a lot in the past five years. But curriculum doesn't necessarily get reformed that quickly. Track 5:[9:53] Right, right, yeah. Track 3:[9:57] So we still see the need, and of course we do lots of really cool stuff in the Legacy Schools program. We have the Artist Ambassador program, which brings Indigenous and non-Indigenous musicians, artists, role models into classrooms. And the Youth Ambassador program, which is a four-week leadership program that we run and every summer, we had 105 youth go through it this summer where they learn how to bechampions for reconciliation within their schools and communities. And we do a lot of programming in which we bring Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples together. We had a big music festival here in Toronto this spring called Siguan, which featured incredible Indigenous artists, and we always do a ton of programming for June, for NationalIndigenous History Month, and for Secret Path Week, which is coming up here right around the corner from October 17th till the 22nd, and of course, the National Day for Truth andReconciliation on September 30th. Track 2:[11:08] Wow, that is a lot. Track 3:[11:10] Well, that's just one program. We also have the Legacy Space Program. So when I talk about what we do at Downey Bunjack, I call it the sandwich, which maybe I should find something a bit more. Track 4:[11:24] Everybody likes sandwiches. What is wrong with a sandwich? Track 5:[11:28] We've had many food analogies on our show. Right? Track 3:[11:33] So it's through Legacy Schools, we educate the littles, the young people, so that the next generation of people in Canada understand the true history. But for those folks that are not in school, where do you learn? And that's often through your workplace and professional development opportunities. So the Legacy Space Program really leverages the concept of indigenous placemaking to create physical space within an organization, a corporation, a community that is representative ofthe internal commitment to do the work further reconciliation. And, you know, from a corporate standpoint, is that, you know, equity, diversity and inclusion, hiring and retention practices for Indigenous employees, you know, reconciliation plans,procurement, right, working with Indigenous businesses, so. I always say, you know, we educate the littles and we try and educate the bigs. And in the middle is all the, you know, fun stuff that we get to do in terms of, you know, amplifying Indigenous voices. Like we're taking over almost every radio station in Canada again this year on a day to listen, which will be September 30th. [12:52] Yeah, if you haven't checked it out, this will be our third year, which is very exciting. And we do a series of interviews that amplify indigenous voices each year. And they're, they're really powerful, powerful stuff. So I'd, I'd encourage everyone to check it out. Track 5:[13:12] Do you have any kind of standout examples? I don't know, in the past, you know, summer or this year of working with specific businesses, small businesses or specific schools, justto kind to give our listeners like an example of like anything that really pulled on your heartstrings of seeing action in work and just, you know, when you when you do volunteer time,you spend so much time on your own. And then when you kind of finally get out in the field and away from the computer, you get to experience some things. I'm just curious if you can give us like some standout example ofsomething that happened. Track 4:[13:48] Oh, gosh. Track 5:[13:48] Could you put you as many as him is my my questions are going to be super softball, so don't worry I was I was watching the the, the film last night the graphic novel film and youknow some of the interviewing at the end I think it was with Pearl, you know Pearl said Channy's sister right she said you know we need schools in all of our communities, not just publicschools like outside our own communities. We need schools within our own communities. She said a few things that just really made me, you know, kind of more realize what's been going on up there. And even from the U.S., you know, we never had heard of any of this stuff. Track 3:[14:36] Well, and it still happens, right? Like a lot of youth have to leave their communities to go to high school still in their village. The model, the experience that indigenous children experience in residential schools, that model still exists, but it's perpetuated in different systems, whether it's child welfare or justice, ormissing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. Residential schools don't operate anymore technically, but how are there still those systems of oppression, right? And I think that's something that, you know, we try and help to unpack and, you know, the content that we share because, you know, when you look at, you know, the social indicators ofhealth for indigenous peoples compared to non-indigenous and the disparity is so great, you need to dig a little deeper and ask why, right? Track 5:[15:45] Sure, sure. Track 3:[15:46] Yeah. Track 4:[15:51] I... Oh, go ahead. Track 3:[15:51] Go ahead, I was going to say, but to answer your question about heartwarming examples, Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's tough, I think, for me to answer that question because literally every single day there's something that is just really beautiful. But maybe I'll just say it Because I flew back from summer vacation, my family lives in northern Alberta, and taking the UP Express from Pearson Airport. We have a partnership with Union Station, and we have a Legacy space there. [16:31] They're featuring an installation by one of our artist ambassadors, Blake Angeknyb. These incredible panels featured in Union until the end of October. The art is so beautiful and so powerful. There's actually a piece that he did of Gord in the series. Just seeing tourists, people not from Canada, but there's such high volume of traffic through Union Station, you know, interacting and learning and literally like tens of. [17:26] Thousands of impressions the opportunity to work with a partner like Union Station in a space like that. Because reconciliation isn't going to happen overnight. I always make the sort of joke that it's slow pressure applied over time, right? Like we're talking about systemic change. So, you know, creating these learning opportunities in our everyday existence. So it's not a question of are we contributing to reconciliation in a meaningful way? It's just a part of our practice. Track 5:[18:04] Yeah, that's great. Track 3:[18:05] That's great. Track 4:[18:09] I want to, I feel like I should break up some of the things I was gonna say to you and some of the things I wrote down, because I feel like it's just gonna be too much of a mouthful.And you'd be like, what was your question again? But I, so I haven't had time to watch the film yet. Because these jokers know I've been traveling all weekend. And I, I just, I'm going to probably watch it if I get a chance to download it on the plane when I'm on my way over to Toronto. But I've done a fair amount of research and I watched the ceremony where Gord was, I don't know how to properly say it, but invited into the community. Track 3:[18:51] Given a traditional name. Track 4:[18:57] Which like was a, you know, whatever. It was like a super, super duper emotional to even watch it. And a friend of mine had sent it to me. She's from, she's from Canada as well. And she, we talk about her on the show a lot. She's a huge hit fan. Sent it to me after the fact. And I was like, Barb, I've watched it. It's, it's just, and one of the things, sorry, this is a side note. Not related about what I was going to ask you but one of the things I loved about Gord's response in that video or when he spoke afterward he didn't say much and I think he was verycognizant of the situation in that a lot of people would go up there and kind of pontificate and make comparisons and say yeah this is like this and like but he kind of got the The fact that,like... He's like, there's nothing I can say. Like, in a sense of like, like, I can't even relate to some of the suffering, the things that have gone on. I'm just, you know, grateful to be invited into this community and to be a part of it and to do whatever he can. That was one of the cool things, side note. But what I, I guess what I was going to ask you was was because we've talked about it a lot on the pod. I don't know if you've ever, you're aware of at least the concept of this podcast and like, how it came about. Track 3:[20:23] I was creeping you guys this morning. All right, I got to listen to a couple. I got to listen to a couple. Track 4:[20:33] Well, because of JD, like, yeah, this is about the tragically hit, but like, you know, take the snowball effect over time. Like, I had no idea. I mean, honestly, I had heard mutterings on political podcasts and things that I listened to about reconciliation in Canada. But other than that, it's like a of the surface of what your average American would even know. It's like you hear something in passing at a coffee shop, and that's it. Other than that, I would have never known about the Downey Wendzik fund and all this story of Chani Wendzik, Nothing. I don't know, because I feel like Gord, especially when he called out Trudeau, at the concert, he looked right dead at him. [21:26] I took some guts, man. and you know, the call to action, which I love the education aspect of it, but I feel like that call to action is such an important factor when it comes to thework that you guys do. And like, you know, I guess my question is like, is, do you think, is there anything that you would think if like there's Americans listening to this right now we can do other than just talkto people and be like, Hey, do you know this story about this kid? Do you know, and like share it? Because we learned about it by listening to the tragically hip. That's the only other, there's no other reason we would have, we would have figured this out. Track 3:[22:10] And I mean, the experience of Native Americans, uh, is mirrored closely to to that of Indigenous people in Canada too, right? I would say, yeah, I find that in our work. So we have some of our legacy space partners, you know, have offices in the U.S. and, you know, our, you know, North American companies, I guess. And, you know, what's been expressed to us is just like how far behind work around reconciliation and even just any awareness at all of like the true history of indigenous or NativeAmerican people in Canada and the US. And I think, you know, there's really important work being done in the US too that I think will come to the forefront. It just it takes time, right? Like it's, you know, it's by design in terms of how that's been set up. That's right. But, you know, as Indigenous people, you know, as we become lawyers and doctors and politicians and you know, learn how to fight for, you know, rights and restitution,these things has come up. Track 2:[27:30] I really like, you know, you're talking about the call to action a minute ago, Pete, and I like the messaging around your current call to action, Sarah, the do something. The do something hashtag is like, I've used that in an email just that I sent out today, you know, reminding people of this event, that that's one way you can do something, You can come toour event or you can donate directly to Downey Wenchak Fund through a link that we have. What was the genesis of that sort of campaign and idea? Because it's very bold. Do something can be very bold, I think. I'm just interested in learning. Track 4:[28:21] It's sort of aggressive, which is maybe it's not by design, but it's good. I like it. Track 2:[28:26] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Track 4:[28:28] It's almost aggressive. Track 3:[28:31] I think there was sort of this feeling of like, well, you know, that happened a long time ago and you know, I was, I, I was not responsible for the creation of residential schools. So like, what is, what is my role or responsibility? And to that, I would argue, if you live in Canada, if you are part of this society, then you have something that you can do, and that social contract of what we all agree to live here together,that's part of it. And whether it's just learning so that you're a little less racist, a little less ignorant, it's not a bad thing. It's not harmful to you and it only creates a more just and equitable and safe society for indigenous peoples in this country. So, you know, the do something was A. Don't be immobilized by this sort of deferral of responsibility. Don't feel like you don't have a role to play or something to contribute. And seriously, do something because those small actions, we call them reconcili-actions or meaningful acts that drive... Track 4:[29:58] That's a cool, cool word, man. Reconcili-action. Track 3:[30:03] And it's, you know, it makes a difference, right? Even if it's just, you know, talking to your kids and finding out what they're learning in schools, or, you know, going, looking atwhat's happening in the company that you work for, or, you know, maybe just one of your buddies is, makes a slightly offside joke, and you're just like, dude, that's not okay, right? It's, you know, taking that step to, you know, lean into the discomfort and just do something that creates meaningful and positive change. Track 2:[30:38] Yeah, that's beautiful. Track 3:[30:42] And it's an excellent hashtag. Track 2:[30:43] It is an excellent hashtag. Yeah. Track 5:[30:47] That's good. I'm finding kind of a lot of what you're talking about being being executed the smartest way by younger people. You know, my son is basically studying sociology and social issues in university right now and he schools us all all the time. You know, it's just he born and raised in Portland, Oregon, probably the most progressive city in the US really. And it's just so reassuring to hear things from him. He had no idea about the indigenous struggles in Canada, but it wasn't necessarily news to him. He was kind of half expecting what I was talking about as I was talking about it. And it's just so good to share these ideas and share these issues, especially with the younger folks, because they're the ones who have to continue living it. Like you said, all of these things become pandemic across all these other issues. Even though the system may have ended, it's still alive. So it's so good to tap into the younger folks with all this stuff. It's just really. Track 2:[32:02] I've done all my learning through my oldest daughter. She's 13. So I'm one of those people, Sarah, who was like, my eyes were widened. And it was like, we didn't learn this in school, Riley. Like, we didn't, like, you're talking to me so matter of fact right now, and I'm so happy to hear you talking matter of fact, but it's like, Ididn't know any of this, you know? Track 4:[32:31] Sarah, I wanted to ask you something too, And this is more, and I don't know if this is like a. Opinion of like Donnie Wendjick or your opinion, or feel free to like, be like, this is Sarah speaking and not Donnie Wendjick's being or whatever, however, but I feel like, because youmentioned earlier about the, the kind of this, the same sort of dynamic in terms of the United States and indigenous Native Americans in the United States and, and kind of that struggle. But in terms of the call to action, and I'm sorry if this sounds like a very complex question, but I'll try to be articulate. [33:17] I think when it, because a lot of conversation that I see and occurs in the United States in terms of indigenous people, minority and underrepresented groups in the United States. A lot of times there's the education of it and I feel like the United States is more or less good at educating people and that awareness is there. But in terms of connecting the dots, there's not a really good way that we do it in in the United States. And one of the things that always comes to mind when I think about this issue is a speech that Martin Luther King gave at the Riverside Church one year to the day before he died, right? And you know who Martin Luther King is. You're not living under a rock, but I don't know how much you guys study him in your schools and who he was and what he was really actuallyabout, because they've got statues of him in Washington DC now, but during the time where he was most powerful, people hated him. [34:30] And this particular speech at Riverside Church, he talked about the relationship between the imperialist power of the United States and the military, and how that relationshipdirectly affected the oppression of minority and indigenous groups and civil rights in the United States. He made that connection. Whereas I don't think people, meaning that like, okay, yeah, we can be all for it here, but when we're doing it in other countries, it's like, what's... [35:05] How does that change? And as you know, Canada is very supportive of the United States in many of its overseas conquests, so to speak, as we say here in Spain. So I guess the question I'm asking is, do you even personally, and again, you don't have to speak from Danny Wenjack perspective, but do you, because that's something I talk about withpeople. Do you guys have that connection? Do you guys see that? Is that something that you hear whispers of within this conversation? Because I think it's important. I feel like it's important. I feel like there's value in drawing that connection between oppression and past crimes of a country and what the country's doing atthe moment. And it helps speed along that process of the call to action, as we said. I don't know, does that make any remote sense of what I'm trying to say to you? Track 3:[36:03] Yeah, well, I would say, I would say yes. And I can say that is Sarah or as Downey Wenjack. I think, you know, I think that connection is really what allows an organization like the Gord Downey and Chani Wenjack Fund toexist, right? If you think about, you know, What is the true role of rock stars, right? Typically, like political activists, right? Or, you know, poets, but they've always pushed, right? You think of all the greats, there's a social commentary there that's, you know, reflecting on the choices we make and how we live. And sometimes they explicitly call out the Prime Minister, right? You know? And I think. You know, there's been so much work done by incredible Indigenous leaders to ensure that, you know, this didn't stay hidden, like the injustices inflicted upon Indigenous peoples in thiscountry, you know, came to the forefront of, you know, the general understanding of our history in this country and our identity as Canadians, and what that means, and how do you workthrough it, and what does that mean really from a policy perspective. [37:32] I honestly, I've seen so much change in the last five years even, where people actually want to know what the platforms are of politicians with regards to indigenous relations andreconciliation, whereas I would say ten years ago, you wouldn't even be able to find anything. [37:57] On their web pages or whatever around that. That speaks to how far we've come, but there's still a long ways to go. It's just continuing to look at the systems themselves and saying, does this still serve us? Does this still make the most sense? How can we continue to evolve and grow as we evolve and grow as humans and societies? And, you know, it's important for us to be intentional and reflective and sometimes critical, right? We've, you know, I, my sister and my niece came to visit and we were talking about, like, you know, the show Friends and how, like, it has not held up to, like, the test of time, like, it'sextremely homophobic and it's, you know, like, you see a show like Seinfeld, and those jokes are still, they're still funny, right. But, you know, some of the that content that you know, the big hit show, and you're just like, this is so cringy. I can't even like watch this stuff anymore. Right. Track 4:[39:18] And I think sitcoms are the lowest common denominator, right of the day when it comes to comedy. So yeah, For sure. Track 3:[39:26] But I think, you know, to wrap it all up, I think those connections are pretty prominent in Canada, but I think that's also a byproduct of the fact that Indigenous Peoples have rightsand are, you know, title holder to treaties and also land, right? And getting land back after being displaced, or having the land back. The terms of the treaty is not honoured, right? And, you know, as we become more sophisticated and become fancy lawyers, you know, these things work their way through the justice system and you see Indigenous peoples andcommunities winning those cases. And so it kind of also comes to the point of, like, we have to care about this, right? Track 4:[40:28] Yeah, you, I mean, you, you summed it up and I think the, the, the thing that I, that I like about, like you guys, you said sometimes even being critical, which is really cool because alot of, I feel like not, I wouldn't even say a lot, but I, I, sometimes there are examples of organizations that it's weird, like, you know, they, they, they get a win or they get a big win. And then after that, it's kind of like, yeah, we got to win, win for the day. Like, let's, let's pack it up, go home for let's take a vacation or something. No, no. And, and when you talked about like, having the indigenous and non indigenous events, like that's the that's this, that's the again, the call to action, because what you're doing is you'rebringing people together. You know, when you hear people's stories. Everybody can relate. You know, it's easy to say you're so different than me because you're this, you're that, you speak this language, you're born to here, your skin colors that whatever.But like everybody's the same dude. We all try coming out of our mama. We all poop when we're kids. And we all cry the day the moment before we die. You know, everybody's the same. Everybody wants the same. I feel like when you have those, you make those connections with people through those events is really important. Track 3:[41:52] When you create cross cultural understanding, it's really hard to other each other, right? Track 4:[41:59] Totally. Track 3:[41:59] Because there's an appreciation and a respect and an understanding for the strength and beauty and resilience of Indigenous peoples and cultures, right? So, yeah, it's... Track 4:[42:11] You recognize the human being in front of you and you're like, Oh, we're literally the same thing. Track 2:[42:16] Yeah. Track 4:[42:17] Where are we? Where are we? Yeah, dude, that's, that's cool. Track 2:[42:23] Is there anything else that you want to add, Sarah, about Truth and Reconciliation Day or the Secret Path Week? Oh, yeah. Track 3:[42:34] Well, I guess sort of the thing I always say is if you don't know where to start on your own reconciliation journey, or you know, you haven't really engaged in the conversation thatI'll always say, that's okay. You can always do something, right? And Downey-Wenjack makes that pretty easy, for people to have a place to start. You know, we have the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation coming up on September 30th. So we have a bunch of different webinars and learning opportunities that we're doing ourselves. [43:12] You know, whether it's like for parents about teaching your kids about residential schools. We have one of our team members at Downey-Von Jack, his whole family is talking about intergenerational resilience and sharing stories from families of residential school survivors. So, you know, we have a whole bunch of different opportunities to learn and engage and so I just really encourage everyone to follow us on socials if you don't know where to start. Start. And, you know, when you're doom scrolling, you'll see some content in between, you know, the recipe for next week and some push notifications for waterproof shoes. And maybe that that one that one post will be the one to inspire you to to join us in this path towards reconciliation. Track 2:[44:07] That's great. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. It's, It's really nice to get a better understanding of both the Downey Wenjack Fund and your story, to hear your story. We're grateful that you made some time to join us today. So thank you very much. Track 3:[44:29] Well, and thank you for supporting our work at the Downey Wenjack Fund through the event. I think it's happening tonight. Yes. Track 2:[44:37] Yes. Track 3:[44:38] And thank you. Thank you for everyone who's listening and coming out. We really appreciate the support. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/gettinghiptothehip/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The Future Glory of Israel 60Arise, shine, for your light has come,andthe glory of theLordhas risen upon you.2For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,and thick darkness the peoples;but theLordwill arise upon you,and his glory will be seen upon you.3And nations shall come to your light,and kings to the brightness of your rising. 4Lift up your eyes all around, and see;they all gather together, they come to you;your sons shall come from afar,and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.5Then you shall see andbe radiant;your heart shall thrill and exult,[a]because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,the wealth of the nations shall come to you.6A multitude of camels shall cover you,the young camels ofMidian andEphah;all those fromSheba shall come.They shall bring gold and frankincense,and shall bring good news, the praises of theLord.7All the flocks ofKedar shall be gathered to you;the rams ofNebaioth shall minister to you;they shall come up with acceptance on my altar,and I will beautify my beautiful house. 8Who are these that fly like a cloud,andlike doves to their windows?9Forthe coastlands shall hope for me,the ships of Tarshish first,to bring your children from afar,their silver and gold with them,for the name of theLordyour God,and for the Holy One of Israel,becausehe has made you beautiful. 10Foreigners shall build up your walls,andtheir kings shall minister to you;for in my wrath I struck you,but in my favor I have had mercy on you.11Your gates shall be open continually;day and night they shall not be shut,that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations,with their kings led in procession.12For the nation and kingdomthat will not serve you shall perish;those nations shall be utterly laid waste.13The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,the cypress, the plane, andthe pine,to beautify the place of my sanctuary,and I will make the place of my feet glorious.14The sons of those who afflicted youshall come bending low to you,and all who despised youshall bow down at your feet;they shall call you the City of theLord,the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 15Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,with no one passing through,I will make you majestic forever,a joy from age to age.16You shall suck the milk of nations;you shall nurse at the breast of kings;and you shall know thatI, theLord, am your Saviorand your Redeemer,the Mighty One of Jacob. 17Instead of bronze I will bring gold,and instead of iron I will bring silver;instead of wood, bronze,instead of stones, iron.I will make your overseers peaceand your taskmasters righteousness.18Violence shall no more be heard in your land,devastation or destruction within your borders;you shall call your walls Salvation,and your gates Praise. 19The sun shall be no moreyour light by day,nor for brightness shall the moongive you light;[b]but theLordwill be your everlasting light,and your God will be your glory.[c]20Your sun shall no more go down,nor your moon withdraw itself;for theLordwill be your everlasting light,andyour days of mourning shall be ended.21Your people shall all be righteous;they shall possess the land forever,the branch of my planting, the work of my hands,that I might be glorified.[d]22The least one shall become a clan,and the smallest one a mighty nation;I am theLord;in its time I will hasten it.

Unleash your authentic self in this thought-provoking episode that explores the transformative power of sexual expression. Lesley Logan with Dr. Celeste Holbrook guides you through candid conversations about overcoming shame, cultivating self-acceptance, and navigating the path towards a deeply fulfilling and liberated sex life.If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co . And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.In this episode you will learn about:How to embrace sensuality and body acceptance.How to become aware of what you want your sex life to feel like emotionally.How to have an experience that feels fully embodied, pleasurable, and present.Why Dr. Holbrook loves the idea of body neutrality.How to nurture sexual resiliency and redefine intimacy as you grow. Sexual liberation and overcoming societal shame over sex. Episode References/Links:Follow Dr. Celeste Holbrook on InstagramDr. Celeste Holbrook's Inspiring Your Worth WebsiteCaged Lion by John SteelGuest Bio:Dr. Celeste Holbrook is a sex educator, speaker and a small town Texas horse girl who helps people achieve pleasurable, connective sex through mental and behavioral changes. She speaks to audiences of all ages, diffusing the sensitive topic of sex through direct language and a knack for making the awkward approachable. She has a Ph.D. in Health Education from Texas Woman's University and a virtual practice where she delivers sex education and coaching to couples and individuals. Celeste believes everyone deserves to define pleasure for themselves, inside and outside of their bedroom.  If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox.Get your 15% discount for Toe Sox – use coupon code LESLEY15Be It Till You See It Podcast SurveyBe in the know with all the workshops at OPCBe a part of Lesley's Pilates MentorshipResourcesWatch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube!Lesley Logan websiteBe It Till You See It PodcastOnline Pilates Classes by Lesley LoganOnline Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTubeProfitable PilatesSocial MediaInstagramFacebookLinkedInEpisode Transcript:Lesley Logan00:56All right, Be It babe, I am so thrilled to have this guest back. So if you haven't listened to our firstepisode,you are going to want to check out the show notes and make sure you listen to that one nextor pause this one. Listen that one, come back to this one because Dr. Celeste Hallberg is back. Andjust an amazing way I've been following her since we had her onthe show. And first of all, I just wannasay, one of our top downloaded shows, so people are definitely interested in this topic. So I had to haveyou back Dr. Celeste can you tell everyone who you are and what you do, just in case they don't knowyet.Celeste Holbrook01:31Hi, Lesley. Well, thanks so much for having me back. My name is Celeste, I'm a sex educator, I helppeople find pleasure in the areas of their bedroom and their life. And I'm excited to chat today andextend our conversation from lasttime.Lesley Logan01:46Yeah, so me too. So Okay. Um, one of the things that I think we talked about kind of like, at the end ofour last episode, when we got off of the recording was like, just even bodies, like our bot, how we feelabout our bodies,how we feel in our bodies, what even society makes us feel about our bodies canhave that it can affect us in having sex be in the bedroom, be in the world. And so I kind of wanted tostart off with that and kind of hear what your thoughts are, and how you've kind of worked with peoplein that way.Celeste Holbrook02:15Yeah, for sure. And I think we both, you know, have this interesting perspective about body, you'reworking so much helping people be within their body. And so I'm really excited to havethisconversation in this dialogue, because I think it's so important. So as a sex educator, I'm working with-2-Transcribed byhttps://otter.aipeople one on one, I'm working with couples, and something that comes up so so often is, I don't feelcomfortable in my body, or I don't feel comfortable getting naked, or I don't want to have sex with thelights on, it's a really common one. Or if I just, you know, fill in the blank, then sex would be better. Andso that's probably where I want to start is that in terms of, in terms of sex, the waythat your body looksis such a tiny, tiny, tiny part of your sensual experience. So we think of sensuality as the use of yoursenses. You're talking about the way your partner tastes and the way your skin feels, and the way yourclitoris feels, and what you're hearing the the noise of your partner breathing. And so you're having thisbeautiful big sensory experience that has, and your vision or your partner's vision is such a small part ofthat experience, right? And it's so clouded by culture and societyand what we deem as appropriatelysexy. And so you can have the most beautiful, orgasmic erotic, wild, lovely sexual experience inwhatever body that you have. It's like it's not required to look a certain way in order to have great sex.Lesley Logan03:56Okay, love everything I'm like, like, that's just like, please like rewind, save that. Because I don't thinkpeople even think about that way, the way you just, like laid out what our sexual experience can be hasvery little to do with how we look because it's that's not even where we're feeling. And it's so funnybecause like, it sounds so simple. And yet that none of us are thinking about that like you said, we'relike, oh, if I if I look a different way, or if I lose some weight, or if like all thesedifferent pressures we puton ourselves as if that's what's going to make the sex better. But that's not it at all. What you just said islike not at all.Celeste Holbrook04:35And to be fair, you you might feel better if you put on a piece of laundry that you feel really great in,right. But I think as we're going to dig in today, that's more about actually feeling safe in your body thanit is about looking a certain way. And maybe we just don't right in here, so I haven't yet...(Lesley: Yeah,yeah, yeah. Let's go there.) Okay, so I have this theory. about the way that we interact with our ownbodies. And I have been calling it the harm reduction theory. I don't know if that's a great use of thatterm. But basically, I feel like the things that we do, I'm gonna say as women, but this applies foranybody. But women have more pressure from society to appear a certain way, right? The things thatwe do to manipulate our appearance, we do them to help reduce the negative messaging that actuallygets through. So think about it like armor. And that's why I call it the harm reduction approach. So myeyelashes that I put on, my nails or whatever it is that you're doing makeup, boob job, it doesn't matter,whatever it is that you're doing to alter your appearance, is in an effort to feel safe from the negativemessages we continue to get, right? So putting on eyelashes, putting on makeup is kind of the price Ipay to be heard. Sometimes, like, I want people to pay attention to me. So I'm going to look like theywantme to look a lot of the times. And so I think that helps give us some compassion. Both directionslike compassion for the woman who has a BBL, right, we want to like sometimes tear her downcompassion for though woman who doesn't do anything. (...) So. Soit's a way to give compassion to allends of the spectrum, really, of how we interact with our own appearance in the world.Lesley Logan06:32Yeah. Yeah, all that. And I, I, it's so, it's so true. You said feeling safe in our body. And one of the thingslike that attracted me to doing Pilates was actually felt like I was in my body for the first time. Like, I waslike, Oh, I'm, what am I feeling I've never felt before. Oh, this is this is me being in my body. Right? So-3-Transcribed byhttps://otter.ailike, yeah, I can so relate to whatyou're saying and understand it. Because I think so many people aredisassociated from their body from feeling things that when they don't feel safe inside it, because it'snot familiar to them. And then we are doing all these things. We think we do all these things to be likefeel, to feel seen and feel heard. And all of that keeps you from actually just being feeling like all thatstuff, feeling safe. Unless you are consciously making the choice. I'm doing this because it makes mefeel a certain way. Sowhat are your steps for helping women? Or everyone listening, but like, How dowe start to feel safe, safe in our body? Like, like, is it, Do we need to like, touch ourselves more? Do weneed to like be with ourselves more? Like, what are those steps thatmay be like, baby steps to like, thenext level?Celeste Holbrook07:45Yeah, yeah, well, since we, since I am usually viewing the lens of sex, let's talk about it in terms of sex,right. So, I think, the first step really, for feeling great in your ownsex life and safe in your own body isto just to become aware of what you want your sex life to feel like emotionally, because then you canstart to build in. These are the behaviors that helped me feel the way I want to feel. So let's say you andI are partners, and we do this activity together. So I sit down and I say okay, my dream sexualexperience would feel, I really get down to like, what do I want to experience emotionally when I'm withyou in a sexual experience? I want to feel erotic, wild, connected and loved. Okay, so those are myfeelings. And then you write it down. I want to feel intimate and close and connected and safe, right?And so then we look at both of our lists and say, like, Oh, we're both looking for connection. We're bothlooking for some fun. And I have some words over here that maybe you don't have, and you have somewords over here that I don't have. But at least we know what we're both kind of going for. Right? Yeah,yeah. So we know emotionally what we want. And then you can start building behaviors. And so if thebehaviors I'm coming around to body in a second, so then the behaviors might be like, Okay, we bothwant to feel connected in sex. What if we spend a little bit more time talking before sex? What if we hadmore sex where we are looking at each other instead of you're looking at the back of my neck orsomething like that? And so then when you get down to the behaviors, then is where you start to saylike, Oh, I feel uncomfortable when you're looking at me straight on. Right? then then you can start tounderstand or feel like, oh, that's this place where I feel a little something. Something's coming up, youknow, and I really don't love the word insecure because I think a lot of women aren't necessarilyinsecure. I think they are driven by culture to tell you like you don't look okay. Right? When deep downI'm pretty secure. But everybody's telling me I shouldn't be because of the way that my body works, orlooks.Lesley Logan10:05Right. Okay. Yes. So I love that you work backwards. That's a great way to think about it. Like, it's like,okay, where do we want? Where does it work? The end result is how we want to feel at this stage. Andthen what are the behaviors that will get us there, and then seeing which behaviors feel good or feellike I would like to run away from that right now. And then going inward on those things. And that canbe stuff we have to do around our bodies, or it could be other things we have to explore with our partneror with ourselves. And so that is really interesting. And I also have never heard anyone talk aboutinsecure in that way. I think you're completely correct. And you should do a TEDx on this. Because weare walking around thinking we're just insecure, when really, we actually know what wewant. But it'sthe outside world, it's telling us that we're wrong. Yeah, yeah. Cuz Would you feel that way about your-4-Transcribed byhttps://otter.aibody if you were alone on a fucking Island? You would not. So it's not about you. It's about everybodyelse. Oh, my goodness, how do we?Where do we start with that? We'd like to start with our children(...) we would start with ourselves, I think, yeah, you know, because actions are not caught on top. Butokay, so, so okay, we, we've gone through the steps of like, how we could figure outwhere our workneeds to be. What have you found in working with couples and people on bodies that they haveenabled,l ike we've heard some steps or some tips or some tools that have helped them kind of getaround that? Because I do. I hate saying, okay, just turn the lights off. Because that'd be a terrible like,your partner wants to see you. I'm sure they are with you. So where are we? Is it that we've gotta workwith a therapist, like, is it outside of your scope? Like what do we, what do you do?Celeste Holbrook11:55Yeah, so some things that, let's start here. Most people feel a little weird on some level on some thingsin sex, like, oh, like, my, the way that I feel right now is not right, or whatever. So this is not, you know, ifyou're listening,I don't want you to feel like you're out of the ordinary. If you feel, you know, this feelingsof insecurity or discomfort around your appearance or your body in sex, that's most people. You're notalone. Right? And so I think the next step for once you have identified the behaviors that you want toengage in that help you feel what you want to feel, then is where you do the work where you are sobeautiful at emulating is embodiment is really, okay, when we're in this behavior that we both agree onbringsus connection. How do I continue to get back into my body because a lot of times insects, we willspectator, which is where we look, we feel like we're watching the event, instead of being inside theevent or like, Oh, should I be louder? Should I be softer? Should I, you know, pull my sheets up overmy butt or whatever. And so, noticing that, oh, you know what, I'm not in my body right now. I'm goingto come back into my body. What does my clitoris feel like? What do my boobs feel like? What is thefeelingof my partner's hand on my butt? Like getting back into your actual body using your senses, andwe call that anchoring. And Pilates and yoga and all kinds of different movement activities are reallyhelpful for a lot of people in that practice. Okay, return, return, return back into my body, so that I canhave an experience with you that feels fully embodied, and pleasurable and present. So the process ofanchoring is the answer that question I think.Lesley Logan13:53Yeah, yeah. And also like, Thanksfor bringing up (...) shout out to Pilates. Because I always say likehow we do one thing is to do everything. So if you're distracted in your movement practice, you'regonna be distracted while you're driving, be distracted while you're having sex, like your need to straplike, like, we have to have these moments. We practice how we want to feel and be so that we candraw upon them when it's needed, like a strength and a muscle. I'm gonna totally sidetrack ourconversation. Just want you to know that Joseph Pilates definitely created Pilates for sex. He actually,that's awesome. He told there's a book called The Caged Lion. John Steele wrote it. And JosephPilates took John on a walk and he's like, You need to have more sex. And John was like, thrown off bythis 80 year old man telling what do you need to do. And he said, all of the exercises I created are sopeople can have better sex.Celeste Holbrook14:41I love that. I really need to know more about this. I need all the information here.-5-Transcribed byhttps://otter.aiLesley Logan14:49I think like, you know, I mean, not our society so harsh on our bodies and what we're supposed to looklike and even as a body positivity movement, unfortunately as women who are bigger bodies, if they dogo on a journey of weight loss for whateverreason, personally, professionally, whatever that is, they're,they're attacked for it. So on both spectrums, like you said earlier, we cannot win, you cannot, it doesn'treally matter, someone's going to hate on you from any side. And so, you know, whathave you found?You have your daughters, you work with a lot of women, what have you found to help women whomaybe have not realized that they're not insecure that they just that they just haven't owned what theyknow about themselves how they want to feel?Celeste Holbrook15:31Yeah, you know, I really love, I was on board for body positivity until I realized it was still about thebody. And so I, I love the idea of actually just neutrality, I don't have to love my body, but I don't have tohate her. And so body neutrality is just like, Yeah, this is my body. And this is what how she functions isthat she doesn't function. And this is how we're going to work together to get through life. Andsometimes that does mean not shaming yourself for engaging in those harm reduction activities ofmaybe it is weight loss, right? Maybe it is surgery, right? Maybe it is something that helps you movethrough the world in a safer way. And that's okay, like, we have to be okay with that for women to dothat. And continueto march towards the idea that my body, I am more than my body, right? I'm somuch more. And so, you know, it is interesting. I do have, as you say twin daughters who are 11. Andthere are no two humans on Earth that are compared more than identical twingirls. Oh, she's the blankone. Oh, she's the blank one. And it's always around appearance versus boys that get a little bit morelike, Oh, he's the athletic one, or he's the smart one or whatever. Identical twin girls are compared morethan any other to humans on Earth, their bodies, right? People talk about their bodies all the time.Lesley Logan17:14That has to be so hard to, like, observe.Celeste Holbrook17:17Oh, I call it out now actually. So so much. You know, people want to say like, Oh, she's the bigger oneor she's the taller one or she's the littler one or she's the whatever one she has a frog or she has shorthair. She has brown hair, like actually Zoey really loves art and Ella really loves theater. And you know,I will like redirect the conversation so, so hard just to try and change the way that we automaticallymake comments about women's bodies from the get go. To the point where I think I almost went toofar. My my, one of my daughters asked me the other day she she asked me like Mom, do you think thatI am pretty? Because I never ever say anything about their appearance, right? And I was like, Oh,maybe I maybe I maybe I went too far.Lesley Logan18:05The pendulum swung. Yeah, I mean, I guess like that. I first of all, I thinkit's amazing that she evencame to you. So like, kudos to like you've obviously taught her a lot. But also like you're trying to protecther so much from that and she's going to be there are both going to be inundated with it in all of lifeoutside of thehousehold. So it's kind of hard. That's a hard, hard thing to walk. But I have not thoughtabout that about like, just, it's okay to like, like, like it's almost like the word whelmed. It's okay to be-6-Transcribed byhttps://otter.aiwhelmed about your body, you can just like it's like, it doesn't have to be this thing that I love or I hate Ican actually be very neutral about it. We can all be neutral about everybody's bodies. And then maybewe'll see even some of those harm reduction things even reduced because people won't be needing toseek certain ones out or more most of many out just for feeling seen.Celeste Holbrook18:58Yeah, I love that you are getting where I'm trying to go. I feel like I'm like all over the place right now.But like, that's where I would love, I would love us to do just as much harm reduction as we need inorder to continue to move forward in diversity of body and where we can see, and I think and I and Iwould love to hear your view on this. I think we've done a lot in the last I would say five years. I thinkwe've really like you're seeing so much more diversity online and you're seeing all these differentbodies, right?Lesley Logan19:30Every mailer I get I like will look at I'm like, Oh, they kept her stretch marks and oh, they have this andand so like, I noticed that in a way that like excites me because it becomes more makeups it becomesmore than norm like you're just seeing that. I'll actually so where I started. So I grew up in a householdwhere my grandmother was over 300 pounds you lose 100 gain100. Thin Finn was like the best thingshe was so sad was taken off the market. So I've definitely like I was in a diet culture household. I justthought you were on die. it Are you off the diet, but likeCeleste Holbrook20:03There's only two choicesLesley Logan20:04Yeah, that's it, you don't just like enjoy your food that you're eating. Shout out to like the snack wells.Right? So we'll be at three different types of milk (...) Skim milk, 2%, home. Yeah, my brother had togain weight, I should belosing weight, like the whole thing. That's not my parents fault. I was doing amodeling thing. So anyway, I do get you're going with this. And I, the reason those I noticed thosethings in a positive way is because when I was a first Pilates instructor,this woman came into thestudio, and I was running the studio, and she went to the teacher, and the teacher was like, okay, sowhat are your goals? Like, what, what? Why are you seeking out Pilates, which is like a typical thing,you'd ask people for any reason they're trying to hire you, right? And the girl goes, well, I want to looklike her. And she puts an ad of a woman in lingerie in front of us. And, you know, the teacher was like,well, you're very beautiful. I don't like why do we need to look likeher. She's like, because that's me.She like this is I'm the model. And they have airbrushed her. So she's the model for this line. And theyairbrush her. So everything that's put out is not her real body that we're looking at right now. So like shehad ababy, and she's trying to get back to who she was no, like, she's trying to be something that doesnot exist in physical form. And I remember going, Holy fuck, what are we all doing here? Like, what arewe doing here? How am I contributing to this? I did not have the tools at the time. But like, I've definitelyin the last five years have seen like, how there are tools out there that we can no matter what sizebusiness you have, like tap into, and also just being kind of like changing different words. But if that wasnot the first model that I ever saw, do that another girl, I was at a pool event for a bunch of fitnessinfluencers. And she's like, Yeah, I'm just trying to look like this again, I'll just like like this. And I said, I-7-Transcribed byhttps://otter.aidon't really understand.She's like, well, I use IU, she used her own app to remove her ribs to like, looka certain way. And I really was just like, having such a hard time because I was also looking to all thesepeople who, because of what society was doing to them, or they're doing to themselves, that wasactually not reducing harm, it was actually causing more. And so I, I really liked the where you're going.And I feel like we have come so far in five years, in the last five years, I think we have a lot more workto do on people, not judging people wherever they are on their journey in their own bodies. And that's,that's where I get like really frustrated, cuz I get frustrated for the girls that that one of them works for usin another capacity. And she's sharing her journey.And she was trying to lose weight. She's trying tohave a baby, she's type one diabetic. And people were just either criticizing her for trying to be ateacher or criticizing her for trying to lose weight. I was like, Oh my gosh, this poor girl, like it'snot ourplace to decide what she wants to look like. So I really appreciate you bringing that up in this episode.Because I think we can all think about how are we, first of all, forgiving ourselves for doing harmreduction acts that we might be participating in or want to. And then also, maybe being kinder, as yousaid earlier to people who are. Yeah, yeah. And I think you hit the nail on the head is that we're all like,we're all trying to feel better. We're all trying to like, move in this way towards something that feels likevitality for our own life. Right? And probably a year from now, I'll think back to this conversation. But Iwould have said something different, right? Because I think about that on a year ago is podcast and I'mon a journey too, but I think that us as a whole. And maybe I'm talking about women as a whole movingtowards the idea that all our bodies are Okay. And yeah, you know, they're all welcome here. Yeah.Yeah. It's funny, I was listening to another podcast, and it's a comedian.And she, somebody criticizedhow she like, did a 90 second thing on a holiday. And she said, You know, when you're a professionalspeaker, and you like speak for living just (...) it's just a numbers game, you're going to say things like, Ishould have said that a little bit differently, or I should have been a little bit more clear or, or this or that.She's like, soundbites or clips like or reels only have 90 seconds like you're reduced to hoping peoplecan read between the lines. And of course, somebodysomewhere is going to take somethingespecially anything we say even today or any episode I've ever had out of context. And hopefully it isfor conversation and not an accusation. I think there's a difference there like and I think also, you know,being kind to ourselves about the intent we had at the time we set it at and as we as we get older welearn more, the more information, the more people you coach, I'm sure like, you'll even maybe it's notharm reduction theory, it's a, you change the words, whatever. And I think like, that's part of, if we can'teven start to be kind to each other for being in process of figuring out the theories are working on.That's even one maybe step towards being kind to each other about how we look.Celeste Holbrook25:23Yeah, well, I mean, for sure, for sure. And like I recently have been really working on being called in,like, you know, being being called in for whatever some, you know, this probably happens to you too,happens to everybody, somebody DM me the other day, like, you know, what you said on this reel, or,or what was a webinar I was doing about menopause was really harmful to me. And I felt like it was notgreat. Not great suggestion. And I went and got some help from a different provider. And this is whatthey said, and this was really helpful. And I thought you should know. And I just wanted you to knowthat this was, this was my experience with your content. I was like, All right, though. Okay. Like, I wentback and listened to her. And I was like, I couldsee where she was coming from. Right? And so the,what I have been working on is creating thickness around being called in so that I can be better. Youknow, and sometimes people call you and you're like, meh, I don't, I don't know. But a lot of times there-8-Transcribed byhttps://otter.aiis a little bit of a grain of opportunity to learn in there. And so I think it goes both ways, calling in kindlyand also being too fragile about when it happens, you know?Lesley Logan26:44I think that calling and kindly is like, is the thingthere, though. Like, I actually love that she caredenough about you. Yeah. And the content that you're putting out there to share that what yousuggested, or what she heard, was not helpful. But here's what was. And I that kind of feedback is, itdoes feel like a kick to the stomach. Sure. But also it's like, wow, had this person not told me (...) I maynot know that this I could reward I could rephrase this, or I could qualify this or, or, you know, whatever.And I think so that's really cool because so few people actually take the time to share that. Otherpeople will take no time at all to be kind and they will, and for that it's like hard, because it's like, there'sno, there's no actual back and forth, there's no way to actually lean into that and, andengage in aconversation. So I think it's like, Yes, I have had to as well. And sometimes like, you know, we've I'velooked at it, and I'm like, okay, can see what you're saying that is really not at all the intent of that. Andlike, how can we keep goingforward without having that intent? Like, what do we do to change thewords, we need to change this thing? Like, and, and so I think, and then also who is saying it alsomatters to me like, I'm like, this is, I might, have I always been creating this foryou, or are you actuallybetter suited like for this over here? And that's like, so, you know, it's hard to know. But it's like, it'sbetter to even like, evaluate and go, where does this feel? Where did I make like, what can I learn fromthis? And, and then also, like, we're always learning I think it's really hard for, as people who arespeakers of a topic. Of course, we're considered experts. And so we are held to a higher standard, butat the same time, like we're still human beings, there's still moreto learn. There's still types of situationsyou may have not encountered yet in your expertise.Celeste Holbrook28:43Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And I think what you said earlier, about, like, what was my intent?And what was the impact? like,impact always, to me, means more than my intent, like, I didn't mean to,you know, give this kind of what felt like hard advice about menopause. But the impact was that she feltunseen and unheard. And so the impact was always more important than the intent for sure.Lesley Logan29:13Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, I think it's also something to talk about with this topic is like, you know,there's people who are, you know, in monogamous relationships, where their bodies are gonna changeas we get older, notjust menopause, but like, you know, we're gonna get older, both parties are gonnaget older unless you keep trading him for a younger model. (...) ladies, go ahead. The men have beenthere for a long time, by all means. No judgment on that harm reduction,if that works for you. But, whatare your suggest, like, I'm obviously, you mentioned, like having that conversation with your partner. Itfeels like that conversation is going to change over time, maybe even constantly. Or maybe even in amonth, but alsolike over the course of our of our relationship. How have you seen people approachthat as human? As we get older, our bodies are gonna change, like, how have you seen peopleapproach that?Celeste Holbrook30:12-9-Transcribed byhttps://otter.aiYeah, well, I think it's if we can thinkabout it as a beautiful thing, meaning you're not having sex withthe same person for 40-50 years. You, I mean, it's the same person in your bedroom, but you aretotally new people. Because of your experiences, and because of what you've been through and whatyou're, what you're currently going through. And so in a way, it's kind of like it brings that novelty, whichwe thrive off of insects, we want things to be novel all the time in sex. And so what I like to teachcouples is that your best bet for a longterm sexually pleasurable relationship is sexual resiliency. Andwhat I mean by that is the ability to look at your sex life and go, Okay, where can we pivot? Where canwe do something different? Okay, you're having trouble with erectile, you're having erectile issues,right? Where can we pivot to where we still experience some really beautiful pleasure and connection,but maybe an erection isn't always required? Right? So how do we define sex more broadly? If wedefine sex based on what we want to feel instead of what we do, right? then sex becomes like veryopen. And maybe sex when we first got together was penis and vagina you know, so heteronormative,right? But maybe as we age sex is both laying down and touching each other. Or maybe sex as we ageis you giving me some looks across the table from waffles when we're 70. You know, and I feel all ofthose fun, beautiful things again. I used to go and teach courses for the early onset on Alzheimer's unit,where you have a partner without Alzheimer's and a partner who has just been diagnosed, and we'regoing to talk about, okay, as the disease progresses, how do you still connect intimately when possiblysome consent is going to come off the table eventually? Because consent is not there anymore, offeredanymore, right? What's your sex gonna look like? Is it, you know, holding hands on the porch while youwatch the sunrise? Is that you're going to be your sex eventually. Right? And so being able to redefineit over time is the key to sexual resiliency.LesleyLogan32:42Yeah. It's almost like you have to like put through like, every year you're checking your insurance thingsevery year, you're checking, you're making sure you've updated all these things. Maybe you're like,Hey, where's our consent on? Yeah,exactly. You know? Yeah. I don't know if we talked about this onthe last episode, we might have. So forgive me, everyone. But when you talked about the Alzheimer'sthing, this is there was a New York Times article on elderly sexually active adults. And how muchcriticism there was a judge who, whose husband has Alzheimer's and like, he had a partner in thehospital that he was with, and she was like, so like, there was a there was a picture of someone whereshe was this judge was famous judge in the Supreme Court was sitting with her husband, who hasAlzheimer's, who was also sitting with his partner from the hospital. And people are like, how could shedo that? It's like, everything is on her. Like, she's just being like, rude. But it's like, her husband hasAlzheimer's. He's in a hospital. And we're judging that these two people who are like on a different roadin their brain than the rest of us are having some sort of consensual relationship.Celeste Holbrook33:54Non monogamous. Yeah.Lesley Logan33:55Yeah. And so I just felt so bad for her, but the whole article kind of went into, like, where we, as adultshave, have, like, adult children have got to let their parents sexual behaviors be what they want them tobe. And it's not our choice.-10-Transcribed byhttps://otter.aiCeleste Holbrook34:13Yes. Yeah. You can't regulate that. Yeah.Lesley Logan34:16Yeah. They try to regulate you, but you don't get to do it.Celeste Holbrook34:20You don't get to do it. You don't get to do it. And it's part of like, if you thinkabout, you know, part ofthriving for a parent might be their sexuality and their ability to feel pleasure in that way. And, youknow? how if we can just move past the the puritanical shame around sex, and if we can just look at itlike, Oh, what a beautiful thing that they can still engage in that helps them feel human, right? Sex justhumanizes us. Pleasure just humanizes us and so if we can just move past our own stuff, you know,then it's like, oh, yeah, that's actually a really beautiful thing.Lesley Logan35:00Yeah, the movie pass the puritanical shame. I feel like that might be your other book...(Celeste: Yeah,for sure.) I feel like it's a series.Celeste Holbrook35:13I think you are totally right.Lesley Logan35:15Oh my gosh, oh mygosh, Dr. Celeste, I just adore our conversations. I love exploring this topic withyou, I know that it affects so many people. And so just being able to bring you into their world into theirear so they can explore more with you. Because, you know, beinguntil we see it is really hard to do ifyou're not feeling seen, and if you are not experiencing all parts of yourself. And it can be really difficultto go out there in the world if like, you also don't feel super strong, and your sex life or how you feel inyour body and all that stuff. So this is just a really wonderful topic. This will not be the last time we hadyou on the show, just because I fucking love you. Let's have at least an annual if not semi annual. I loveit. We'll do a whole series. That's my podcast, I can do what I want. You can do whatever you want.Before I let you go, we're gonna take a brief break. And then we're gonna find out where people canfind you, follow you, work with you. And then you'll Be It action items. // All right, Dr. Celeste. Where doyou like to hang out? What's your favorite social places? Which website? Where can people work withyou?Celeste Holbrook36:17Well, I'm on Instagram at Dr. Celeste Holbrook. That's Dr. Celeste Holbrook, where we have a lot offun, and we sling a lot of dildos. And you can find me on my website at Drcelesteholbrook.com Wherewe can work together one on one, or I can work with you and your partner to create a sex life that feelspleasurable for for both of you. And I just love to hearfrom you. I love hearing what you got to say. Ican learn a little bit from you.Lesley Logan36:45-11-Transcribed byhttps://otter.aiYeah, so yeah, you have a deemer, if you aren't, I hope that you feel safe and secure to share whatyou took away from this episode, because it would bepart of that taking away the shame of the topic.Celeste Holbrook37:17I am trying to get on a TEDx stage to talk about pleasure. And so I am using the idea of discipline to doand submit applications even when I don't want to like not waiting for motivation. So that wouldprobably be what I have to offer today is, discipline used to scare me, because I thought it took awayfreedom. But in in reality, discipline has opened me up to lots of opportunities. So discipline, even whenyou don't feel motivated.Lesley Logan37:49What a great reframe of that word. Right. You know?...(Dr. Celeste: I hated that word before) Yeah.Well, because it sounds like you need to be disciplined. (...) But you're, you're actually taking this like, ifI'm disciplined on this thing that I want, even if I don't want to do it right now, it's gonna open up thedoors for the things I want. I love that. And you must let us know when you get a TEDx because we willhave we have to share it. We'll have to put it in the show and haveto have you back. We'll put it in theFYFs. A new segment on on the Be It pod on Friday. That's Fuck Yeah Friday, so you must share awin. So we'll have to share yours when that happens. Yeah. I love you. You're amazing. You're doingsuch amazing work forpeople everywhere and especially women. So thank you for being here,everyone. Thank you for listening. You know, please, I'd love for you to share this publicly. It'd beamazing. It'd be a step and a thing of you and look at me. I'm helping get rid of shame around this topic.However, at the very least, maybe text it to a friend. Let us, get us a review and let Dr. CelesteHolbrook know what your takeaways were. I would love to hear them and until next time, Be It Till YouSee It.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

I was so nervous and excited to interview Angelina Duplisea, aka @AnActingAngel from IG. Her art nudes on instagram had drawn me to her social media page, particularly her work with Sylvie Blum. It wasn't until I was preparing to do our call thatI discovered Angelina had been featured in MANY mainstream platforms with celebrities like Dr. Phil & Miley Cyrus (and many more, look her up!) Our conversation progressed from the superficial - body shapes and sizes - to more niche in depth rabbit trails, like the atmosphere of modeling in LA, how she came from a troubled past and made her way to the Hollywood scene, and the crazy things she has endured, and the wild art scenarios with celebrities and known artists she has been a part of (including bondage suspension, getting waterboarded with milk and cherries, and more!)  I truly enjoyed my conversation with Angelina and I hope we can be connected in the future as well.  Check her out on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/anactingangel/ and her wordpress: https://anactingangel.wordpress.com/2021/11/17/the-past-few-years-2/  Cover image by Corwin Prescott 

Note: the podcast recording was improvised based on this script and therefore has additional material.This 127th episode of the conscient podcast marks the halfway point of season 4, which, as you might recall, is called Sounding Modernity and explores what modernity might sound like, how it affects us and what we can do about it.. Maybe…A heads up that this episode is 57 minutes in duration because it is part of the ‘afield' series of framework radio in Estonia. The season began on January 1 with e101 tension:(Beginning of e101)I was thinking about the tensions in our lives and the art of finding balance points… So I went for a sound walk in Vancouver and came upon a piece of fishing line. I brought it home, strung it up and recorded myself plucking it…(cross fade to the end of e101)Listeners might recall that each episode this season ends with a question:How do you feel now?‘How do you feel now' is actually at the heart of this project. How do one perceive the sounds of our modern world? What does it feel like to absorb these sounds into our bodies? How can we change the way we listen?  How can we move away from the madness of modernity? And if, tragically, we are unable to step away, at the very least, how can we help prepare future generations for what is coming? How can art help? How can listening help? Are we helpless?(Silence then ocean sounds) I've received some interesting responses and reactions to the first 26 episodes and 6 blogs of the project so far, in various forms and channels, for example, this poem from artist and educator Carolina Duque (also known as Azul), submitted on January 3, 2023, about her experience with e101 tension :I walked down the sea line of San Andrés Island, in the Caribbean, as I listened.ListenedFelt the tensiontensIonI grew up on this island. I notice the shoreline getting smaller.I notice the corals turning grey. I notice the buildings growing taller. The overlapping reggaeton and vallenato music from competing speakers.I notice everything getting louder.I notice theTens – ion.I notice the menus saying fish is scarce.I noticeIn my lungs the tension. In my eyes the tension.In my waves, in my feet.The tension.(Ocean sound fade out)My response : I was reading Jenny Odell's ‘How To Do Nothing' book today and came upon this sentence that relates to your response. I quote: ‘I hold up bioregionalism as a model for how we might begin to think again about place' (end of quote), which to me means that we need to be stewards of the land, wherever we are, in collaboration with all living beings. I documented almost all of the feedback I received from listeners in my monthly conscient blog on conscient.ca. I am grateful for these gifts of knowledge and insight. (e102 aesthetics)Most episodes in this podcast are about the relationship between art and the ecological crisis. For example, in e102 aesthetics:The problem with beauty is that it can distract us from reality. Sit with me, please, take a moment. Sit and listen…I've also integrated soundscape compositions in and around the narrative, for example, from e103 heat:(end of e103)This thing is smart. Everything talks to each other. I would just leave it on auto and let it choose what it wants to do.  What does decarbonization sound like to you?How do we decarbonize our lifestyles? One way is to rethink the way we use energy in day to day life, for example, in e110 - drain, I talk about water : (beginning of e110)It goes down the drain (again) and into the sewer system to be processed and dumped into the Ottawa river, then it evaporates into the sky and it rains back into our lakes and rivers, bringing with it with many pollutants, and then is pumped into our homes, in our bodies and heated until… A friend, artist Maria Gomez, shared this response to e110 on March 6:Only the water doesn't stay in the Ottawa region, as it travels south in the moist of the clouds all the way to the Patagonia glaciers, and in ocean currents to Asia and its skies and then it travels up the Arctic… the water I bathe in contains my cells that are distributed around the world, and particles from the world touch me in the water.I responded:It's true that water travels in us, through us and beyond. The sound of water can be either pleasant or a signal of danger but either way we need to listen and understand the language of water…Some episodes call upon quotes from previous episode such as photographer Joan Sullivan in e96 from season 3 which I used in e106 fire : (near the end of e106)And it suddenly dawned on me that I, my hands, weren't shaking up because of the cold, but because of an anger, you know, this deep, profound anger about our collective indifference in the face of climate breakdown. Wait, we're just carrying on with our lives as if you know, la la la and nothing, nothing bad happening. So there was this sense of rage. I mean, like, honestly, it's surprising how strong it'd be in a violent rage just sort of coming outta me. I wanted to scream, and I just, you know, took my camera and just moved it violently, right? Left up, down the, and almost, I suppose, it was almost like I was drowning in the water. You know, my arms are just doing everything. And I was holding down the shutter the whole time, you know, 20, 30, 40 photos at a time. And I did it over. And oh, I was just, I was just, I was just beside myself. And you know, you at some point, you just stop and you're staring out at the river. And I just felt helpless. I just didn't know what to do…I hear you dear Joan. I also do not know what to do.I also called upon climate activist and politician Anjali Appadurai from e23 in season 2 in e114 :(middle section of e114 privilege)Privilege can go back as far as you wanted to go back, right? And of course it's so nuanced. It's not every white guy has this much privilege, but you do have a privilege that goes back hundreds of years and I think one aspect of privilege, one that a lot of people leave out, is this economic aspect, right, of class and resources. And that is not often talked about in the climate conversation, but it's a huge piece of it. Because when we talk about the extinction of our species, this extinction doesn't happen overnight. It happens in a spectrum. Who are the last ones standing? Those with the most resources and who are the first ones to go? It's those with the least, the most disenfranchised. So I don't think you can talk about climate without talking about privilege ultimately. And I think it's on each of us to unpack that for ourselves and to bring that into the conversation.(field recording of natural soundscape from Florida)The most ambitious episode so far has been e112 listening, which I presented as my keynote speech at the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE) conference Listening Pasts - Listening Futures, in Florida. It actually runs for over 10 minutes so I broke my own rule here of having only 5 minute episodes but I decided to go with the flow when an episode needed more time. Why not? Here the final sequence from e112: (from the end of e112)Conclusion 5 :  connect our effortsTodd Dufresne, e19: ‘Whoever survives these experiences will have a renewed appreciation for nature, for the external world, and for the necessity of collectivism in the face of mass extinction.'Asad Rehman, Green Dreamer podcast (e378) : ‘Our goal is to keep our ideas and policies alive for when the politically impossible becomes the politically inevitable'. George Monbiot, tweet November 13, 2021 :  ‘We have no choice but to raise the scale of civil disobedience until we have built the greatest mass movement in history.'My question to you is ‘how can listening help'?During the performance I walked out of the room at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach around the building asking that same question :How can listening help?(Recording from live performance of my keynote) Each episode of this season has a different aesthetic, a different style, depending on my inspiration, mood and what I am learning or unlearning on any given week. For example, some episodes feature unedited field recordings, such as the subway in Montreal in e120 metro where I invite you, the listener, to sit with the sound and let it speak to you, as if the sound were a living entity, which, I think, it is.(beginning of e120)Sometimes we just have to stop and listen. Without passing judgement. Just listen…. Sometimes we just have to stop and listen.Another example is the sound of freezing rain on a canopy of hard snow in a frozen forest in e122 quiet:(middle of e122)I suspect this one might seem a bit boring for some listeners because not much happens, but I enjoy listening to quiet spaces and tuning into more subtle sonic patterns and layers of sound and silence.(end of e122)When I launched Sounding Modernity in December 2022 I wrote that my intention was to :Address some of the causes of this massive and violent overreach of planetary boundaries but also to explore how we can preserve some of modernity's benefits, without the destruction.In retrospect I realise this was a very ambitious goal but also pretentious and sometimes naive. I soon realized that failure was not only inevitable but necessary in order to experience boundaries and limitations.Here's a quote from the Gift of Failure teaching by the Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures collective in my February blog :We chose the word “gesture” for the title of our collective to underscore the fact that decolonization is impossible when our livelihoods are underwritten by colonial violence and unsustainability. The food we eat, the clothes we wear, our health systems and social security, and the technologies that allow us to write about this are all subsidized by expropriation, dispossession, destitution, genocides and ecocides. There is no way around it: we cannot bypass it, the only way is through. How we fail is important. It is actually in the moments when we fail that the deepest learning becomes possible and that is usually where we stumble upon something unexpected and extremely useful. Failing generatively requires both intellectual and relational rigour.One of my favorite failures is e121 rumble where I impersonate a superhero, Dr Decibel, in Stanley Park in Vancouver.  It's pretty hokey and raw but I like the way it explores storytelling and fantasy.This is Dr. Decibel. Your sonic superhero on the unseated ancestral territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations otherwise known as…  Well, I think you know where I am. (plane passing by). You have a problem here people. The low frequencies are excessive : traffic, industry, ventilation. Layers and layers of rumble and I hate rumble. Rumbleeeee is not something that I enjoy, so I'm going to use my superpowers today to reduce the amount of rumble in your city. Ruuuuumble… (imitation of rumbling sounds)(middle section of e118)Another failed episode was e118 toilet about shit. My intention here was to comment upon composting, both literally and figuratively. Vanessa Andreotti talks eloquently about shit in her book Hospicing Modernity but instead of addressing the issue head on, I took the easy way out and produced an episode with the statement ‘where does your shit go' accompanied by four recordings of toilets flushing, which does not directly address the issue, but it's a start. And, to be honest, I was attracted by the rich sound of the toilet refilling and the silence that follows when it is full, waiting to flush, again and again, precious water in a wasteful cycle of flushing away our issues…(beginning of e118 toilet)(bell and breath) where does your shit go? (toilet flush 1)On April 25 my dear father in law Robin Mathews passed away of pancreatic cancer. His illness was on mind throughout the first half of the project. I had the privilege of recording him reading his last poem, deeper into the forest, in February 2023, at his home in Vancouver, in one take. I published it 2 days before his passing in both audio and video format. Here is how e117 deeper into the forest ends: (end of e117)You know the voicesAnd you know they cannot shape wordsthat will break the surface over your head.Lights flash in the skies above, Dart through the water. But words do not form.The surface above you,Which you cannot break through.Closes….In the darkness that moves toward youAs if a living creatureThe voices fade away … or seem to fade away,And you know the surface above your headWill not break.The voices beyond the surface Will grow distant and imperfectAnd you, quite alone, will move deeper into the forest.(sound of forest from Kitchener, Ontario) I received this comment from listener Cathie Poynter, a former student and friend of Robin's, on May 8 about this episode:This is so wonderful to hear, see, feel and read. Beautifully done, the poem, the paintings, the voice, all of the sounds. It is like reaching from beyond, to tell us where, and how to move through further into the depth of the forest: of reality, life, and death. I think it is very profound. It gives me hope that we all must go on this journey. He has captured the experience I feel of time and eternity.I also wrote a one person play during this time called e111 traps, which explores some of the traps in our live :(beginning of e111)(bell, breath and occasional balloon sounds)Me : Have you ever had the feeling that you were being observed?Observer : I'm observing you. Me: Who are you and what are you observing? Observer: Ah, well, I'm a part of you and  I'm observing the traps that you tend to fall into.Me:  Traps?Observer : Do you remember the Facing Human Wrongs course you took during the summer of 2022?Me: Ya.Observer: The one about navigating paradoxes and complexities of social and global change and all those trappings along the way?Me: Ya, I remember. Easier said than done, though.Observer: YaMe: So. What are you observing? Observer : Well, what can I say? I notice that you've fallen into a trap called ‘exit fixation' which is where people feel a strong urge to walk out on an existing commitment. For example, when someone realises that the path they are on is full of paradoxes, contradictions, and complicities. Often their first response is to find an immediate exit in hopes of a more fulfilling and/or more innocent alternative or maybe even  an ideal community with whom to continue this work. Me: Like an escape?Observer: Ya, something like thatI've also had the privilege of receiving insightful feedback from listeners about the conscient podcast as a whole, such as this email on May 16 from a friend who asked to remain anonymous:So grateful to have been able to listen and stay close to your work. It's wonderful to witness, feel and sense into the different layers and movements over the course of the episode and throughout the arc of the season so far. It's almost as if the story of Sounding Modernity is being stitched by the sounds, walks and episodes and shape-shifting it into this surprising creature (sometimes scary, sometimes funny, sometimes visible, sometimes fictional…). I wonder how else the story of Sounding Modernity will further weave itself (both in/out of control) as you continue to loosen even more of your grips on it, slowly and gently. I like how humor mixes with pain and poetry mixes with interviews, and ocean mixes with toilet shitty waters. The playful and surprising diversity is fun. It's even clear that you are both struggling and having so much fun, which adds honesty and trust in wanting to go with you on the inquiry. As you approach the middle of your journey, what might be needed at this time to invite further and what might be ready to be released into new soils? May more sounds reveal/be revealed.I responded:Your point about how Sounding Modernity might unfold in/out of control is a good one as I approach the midpoint in the project on July 1. I'm coming to terms with its failings, surprises and unanticipated unlearnings. The isolation in particular has been bewildering.  I think I have already ‘lost my grip on it', in a good way. I have essentially given up on it being a ‘exploration of the sounds of modernity' - which was quite pretentious anyway - but rather, as you suggest, has become a portrait of my struggles and discoveries through the sounds of modernity.Let me expand a bit on that idea of isolation. I hoped this project might engage the arts community in dialogue with me and each other about these existential issues, which is why each episode ends with a question. It's meant to be a prompt or an invitation but not a rhetorical enquiry. My expectation was that it might interest artists and others who are in a similar frame of mind as I am, you know, dealing with eco anxiety and eco grief and so on.For example, on June 7, Jean-Marc Lamoureux wrote about episode e123 maps: When it comes to unknown possibilities for humanity, it is important to acknowledge that our knowledge and understanding of the world are limited. There are areas in science, technology, philosophy, and exploration that remain largely uncharted. New discoveries, innovations, and breakthroughs are possible in these domains and could unveil unforeseen possibilities. It is also important to note that the future is uncertain, and it is challenging to accurately predict what will unfold. Technological advancements, social and political changes, as well as unforeseen events, can all shape the future of humanity in unexpected ways. To address the uncertainty of the future and the challenges of the ecological crisis, it is crucial to foster an open, inclusive, and collaborative approach. Encouraging research, innovation, and exploration across relevant fields, as well as promoting sustainability, environmental conservation, and social justice, are essential. We must also recognize that the future of humanity is closely intertwined with our relationship with the Earth and the other living beings that inhabit it. Taking care of our planet and living in harmony with nature are vital. … Thank you for your attention and for engaging in deep reflection on these important questions.I responded:I agree that we need to keep a positive attitude and that there is much we do not know. I quote writer Rebecca Solnit in episode 19, who said ‘hope locates itself in the premises that we don't know what will happen and that in the spaciousness of uncertainty is room to act'. My point in e123 was to share my stress (and distress?) about where we are at and where we might be going. … What concerns me most is our deep disconnection with nature, which has been in the works for centuries and is killing us all. … So, Jean-Marc, I don't think innovation will help if it is built on a self-destructive model. … Certainly doomism does not help, but neither does naïve hope. …So, it's July 1st 2023 and I'm at the halfway point in this project. 26 episodes done with 25 to go.What's next?Well, to be honest, and I admitted as much in e123 maps, I really don't know. (e123 maps section of scrunching piece of paper)So these are the five elements on my map: mitigation, adaptation, tipping point line, survival and recovery, but the problem is that I'm wrong. The map is wrong.  The truth is that I don't know.  There are endless possibilities and dimensions that I'm not yet able to conceive or understand and yet sometimes, somehow, I can feel them. So I'm done with drawing maps and speculating with thoughts and ideas. Instead, I'm going to listen to the intelligence of my body, to the intelligence of non-human beings around me, to other forms of knowledge and beings that are emerging, and see where that takes me. I thought of erasing it all and returning the funds to the Canada Council and becoming a monk or a hermit.I expressed this sadness and grief at the end of my June blog as follows: I was reminded today of the Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures collective's SMDA Compass teaching about how to walk a tightrope between desperate hope and reckless hopelessness. It's a fine line … but these days I've fallen into a deep cavern of hopelessness but not (yet) recklessly.Speaking of erasure, I notice recently that Catherine Ingram, the brilliant buddhist scholar and philosopher who has deeply influenced my learning journey, wrote on her website, in reference to her seminal essay, Facing Extinction, that:I wrote the long-form essay ‘Facing Extinction' in early 2019.  Over these past years I have occasionally been able to update the information and perspectives contained therein. However, I am finding that the speed with which the data is changing and the pressing issues that we are immediately facing, such as the exponential rise of artificial intelligence and transhumanism, have made some of this essay obsolete.  I have thus decided to remove it.Her statement reminded of this prescient quote from Facing Extinction that I used in episode 19 :(middle of e19 reality)Love, what else is there to do now?  Here we are, some of the last humans who will experience this beautiful planet since Homo sapiens began their journey some 200,000 years ago. Now, in facing extinction of our species, you may wonder if there is any point in going on.  Catherine, you're right that love is what we must do, and be. It might be all we can do, and be. So where do we go from here? Is there any point going on?(long silence)What do you think? More importantly…(end of e101 tension)How do you feel now?After quite a bit of thought, I decided to finish what I started, every Sunday, through to episode 153 on December 31st and see what happens. What can I learn and unlearn? What can I slow down or undo? I'm actually quite excited about part 2 of this project. In particular I want to explore the idea of inviting listeners differently and releasing materials into new soils.Thankfully, I don't have to do this work alone. I have the privilege of working with a number of great collaborators, including content advisors Azul Carolina Duque and Flora Aldridge, translator Carole Beaulieu, communications advisor Jessica Ruano,  web designer Ayesha Barmania and countless friends and colleagues who provide feedback and support. Thank you for your input and trust. I'll leave you with an excerpt from an episode in development. Thanks for listening and take care.(crows in city with rumble + various nature field recordings)*I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this episode. (including all the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation and infrastructure that make this podcast possible).My gesture of reciprocity for this episode is to Living Dharma. *END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODESHere is a link for more information on season 5. Please note that, in parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays for those frightened by the ecological crisis'. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.Also. please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.Your feedback is always welcome at claude@conscient.ca and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin. I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible. Claude SchryerLatest update on April 2, 2024

Putari Teri Bidh Kar Thati, ਪੁਤਰੀ ਤੇਰੀ ਬਿਧਿ ਕਰਿ ਥਾਟੀ (Sri Guru Granth Sahib Page 374 Sabad 963)

The last two weeks, I visited my middle son Dave, his wife Meredith and my two grandsons Henry and Jack at their home in Dartmouth MA.Dave is a good sport.  He agreed to be interviewed for my podcast.  After we were finished, he told me that it was now my turn and that he was going to interview ME for a podcast episode!I was surprised at what I was feeling at first.  I guess I was afraid of what he might ask.  After all, he IS an attorney and he's be putting me on the stand, so to speak.  LOL.But as I thought about it and mentioned to my friend and energy guru Mark Hollenstein, he encouraged me to do it.  He thought it would be good for both of us.Before this interview, I had a little time to reflect and one of the things thatI realized was that I knew virtually nothing about my own father (or his father).  What a gift it would have been to have been able to sit my own "Pop" down and ask him a bunch of questions.    So we did the interview.  I kind of figured that it would be a gift to each of us.I had no idea what Dave would ask me.  There were some interesting questions and I'm pretty sure that he got some interesting answers.  Like:  "Whoa.  No, I did not know that grandma used to be an underwear model before she met your Dad and then she became a radio preacher"!It's a light-hearted interview with a lot of interesting questions.  I appreciate the time Dave took in preparing to participate.Listen in to our bantering, interspersed with some great dialogue.  Photo copyright Wilkinson/2022Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.comNOTE:  This interview was recorded earlier, when my podcast was new.  I've enhanced the audio, upgraded the artwork and re-issued it now that more listeners will get to enjoy it.

Season 10 of WOE.BEGONE continues next week.LYRICS:Naïve soulYou fell for itI was worrying thatYou would takeMe seriouslyI'll have to inventAn alibi.What did it find in you?What did it find in youThat I couldn't find in you?What did it find in you?C'mon, tell me.What did it find in you?What did it find in you?Why was it trying to find you?Did it confide in you?C'mon, tell me.Mythical beastFound in the waterwaysClogging your arteriesYou're a machine to itThere was a time thatI thought that I could trust youBut now I see it ripple through your ribcage.What did it find in you?What did it find in youThat I couldn't find in you?What did it find in you?C'mon, tell me.What did it find in you?What did it find in you?Why was it trying to find you?Did it confide in you?C'mon, tell me.Delicate thingIn this blistering heatYou'll burn up.Don't mistake me for a mockingbird,I created this sound and you were innocent,Don't mistake me for a mockingbirdDon't hold me so delicately in your hands.You showed up to be a conduitI can tell you are aware of itThey've been praying to youAbout praying to youI'll admit that I've grown fond of itIt's not without it benefitsI have been praying to youI have been praying for youDon't let it get to your headif it hasn't already yetI don't think that you can stand much morePraise for things you're just a vessel for.Because stronger men than meHave done the very thingYou're doing nowAnd it was hard when we found out.Don't mistake me for a mockingbird,I created this sound and you were innocent,Don't mistake me for a mockingbirdDon't hold me so delicately in your hands.Lost and foundAnd duty boundWhat did you findWhen you went digging?(The outline of a memoryA song to sing, an elegyA palm to hold against my chestThe whole world's over, what is left?The outline of a memoryA figment of some dignityA finger tracing distant tracksI felt the world end, what is left?That's what I found when I went digging.)There's a mouth of a caveThat you showed meWhere they surrounded andThen renamed youThere's a place inThe back of your throatThat resonates nowI rememberIt didn't used to.Don't mistake me for a mockingbird,I created this sound and you were innocent,Don't mistake me for a mockingbirdDon't hold me so delicately in your hands.Don't mistake me for a mockingbird.(The outline of a memoryA song to sing, an elegyA palm to hold against my chestThe whole world's over, what is left?That's what I found when I went digging)TWITCH: http://twitch.tv/woebegonepodPATREON: http://patreon.com/woe_begoneALIZA SCHULTZ: http://anchor.fm/alizaschultzTRANSCRIPTS: http://WOEBEGONEPOD.comTWITTER: @WOEBEGONEPODREDDIT: /r/DOGCATCHER and /r/WOEBEGONEMUSIC: http://woebegonepod.bandcamp.comDISCORD: https://discord.gg/pn9kjTBYPD Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John 15:16 16You did not choose me, butI chose you and appointed you that you should go andbear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so thatwhatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. John 17:20 20I do notask for these only, but also for thosewho will believe in me through their word, Matthew 28 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene andthe other Mary went to see the tomb.2And behold, there was a great earthquake, foran angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.3His appearance was like lightning, andhis clothing white as snow.4And for fear of him the guards trembled andbecame like dead men.5But the angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.6He is not here, for he has risen,as he said. Come, see the place where he[a]lay.7Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold,he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.8So they departed quickly from the tombwith fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.9And behold, Jesusmet them and said,Greetings!And they came up andtook hold of his feet andworshiped him.10Then Jesus said to them,Do not be afraid;go and tellmy brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me. 11While they were going, behold, some ofthe guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place.12And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers13and said, Tell people,His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.14And if this comes tothe governor's ears, we willsatisfy him and keep you out of trouble.15So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jewsto this day. 16Now the eleven discipleswent to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.17And when they saw him theyworshiped him, but some doubted.18And Jesus came and said to them,All authorityin heaven and on earth has been given to me.19Go therefore andmake disciples ofall nations,baptizing themin[b]the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20teaching themto observe all thatI have commanded you. And behold,I am with you always, tothe end of the age.

Concert FridayMUSICThe ClimbSongwriters: Jessi Leigh Alexander / Jon Clifton MabePerformed by: BYU Vocal Point ft. Peter Hollens I can almost see itThat dream I'm dreamingBut there's a voice inside my head sayingYou'll never reach itEvery step I'm takingEvery move I make feelsLost with no directionMy faith is shakingBut I, I gotta keep tryingGotta keep my head held highThere's always gonna be another mountainI'm always gonna wanna make it moveAlways gonna be an uphill battleSometimes I'm gonna have to loseAin't about how fast I get thereAin't about what's waiting on the other sideIt's the climbThe struggles I'm facingThe chances I'm takingSometimes might knock me down, butNo, I'm not breakingI may not know itBut these are the moments, thatI'm gonna remember most, yeahJust gotta keep goingAnd I, I gotta be strongJust keep pushing on, 'causeThere's always gonna be another mountainI'm always gonna wanna make it moveAlways gonna be an uphill battleSometimes I'm gonna have to loseAin't about how fast I get thereAin't about what's waiting on the other sideIt's the climbThere's always gonna be another mountainI'm always gonna wanna make it moveAlways gonna be an uphill battleSometimes you're gonna have to loseAin't about how fast I get thereAin't about what's waiting on the other sideIt's the climbYeah, yeahKeep on moving, keep climbingKeep the faith, babyIt's all about, it's all about the climb What A Beautiful NameSongwriters: Ben Fielding, Brooke Ligertwood Performed by: BYU Vocal Point ft. David ArchuletaYou were the Word at the beginningOne with God the Lord Most HighYour hidden glory in creationNow revealed in You our ChristWhat a beautiful Name it isWhat a beautiful Name it isThe Name of Jesus Christ my KingWhat a beautiful Name it isNothing compares to thisWhat a beautiful Name it isThe Name of JesusYou didn't want Heaven without usSo Jesus, You brought heaven downMy sin was great, Your love was greaterWhat could separate us nowWhat a wonderful Name it isWhat a wonderful Name it isThe Name of Jesus Christ my KingWhat a wonderful Name it isNothing compares to thisWhat a wonderful Name it isThe Name of JesusWhat a wonderful Name it isThe Name of JesusHow sweet is Your name, LordHow good You areLove to sing in the name of the LordLove to sing of who You areDeath could not hold You, the veil tore before YouYou silenced the boast of sin and graveThe heavens are roaring the praise of Your gloryFor You are raised to life againYou have no rival, You have no equalNow and forever, God, You reignYours is the Kingdom, Yours is the gloryYours is the Name above all namesWhat a powerful Name it isWhat a powerful Name it isThe Name of Jesus Christ my KingWhat a powerful Name it isNothing can stand againstWhat a powerful Name it isThe Name of JesusYou have no rival, You have no equalNow and forever, God, You reignYours is the Kingdom, Yours is the gloryYours is the Name above all namesWhat a powerful Name it isWhat a powerful Name it isThe Name of Jesus Christ my KingWhat a powerful Name it isNothing can stand againstWhat a powerful Name it isThe Name of JesusWhat a powerful Name it isThe Name of JesusWhat a powerful Name it isThe Name of Jesus

On todays episode we discuss a variety of things including Thati's 28th birthday coming up. The conversation touches on what birthdays mean now that the girls on getting older, are they dreading birthdays now, how is Thati going to celebrate the big 28? Also they randomly/surprisingly dive into some financial advice they wish they would've known earlier on. As always thank you guys for listening and don't forget to follow on girlfriends guide_podcast. Youtube video comes out this Wednesday.

In this week's episode Dan sits down with Benny once more for a deep and meaningful conversation about emotions in music and Benny sings a few songs in Norwegian.--------------------------------------------------------------------------Song 1: A World Of RuinsI cultivated my defeatsI licked my woundsTill I understoodThat the path is created as we walkThere are no lossesEverything can be a new startWhen the night is at its darkestThe morning is coming soonIn a world of ruinscan we build ourselves a castleBy laying stone upon stoneOf what has passedOf a world in ruinsCan we create something greatWe can build something newWhere the old one has stoodI needed a fallTo get up and standI needed to stopTo start to walkI felt crushedPut the pieces togetherThe picture is newIn the same frameIn a world of ruinscan we build ourselves a castleBy laying stone upon stoneOf what has passedOf a world in ruinsCan we create something greatWe can build something newWhere the old one has stoodSong 2: I Mirror In The WaterI mirror in the waterSometimes with a smileOther times there is more doubtWhen my thoughts are darkLike a winter nightThen it´s hard to standEven when I give my bestI can fail with brillianceBut it's part of the dance of lifeAll the choices I´ve madeThey have brought me hereTo this place on the path of lifeI'm not better than othersNot at allBut I probably once thought soYes, I probably once thought soIf I feel lonelyI get company fromAll the errors of yesterdayWhen I go in depthThey look likeLarge scars and open woundsIf this is the hour of accountingIt doesn't look too goodBut I'll make up as good as I canWhen it storms at the seaThe bottom is calmAnd I strive to be like thatI strive to live like thatI'm not better than othersNot at allBut I probably once thought soI'm not better than othersNot at allBut I think that I once thought soYes I see that I once thought soI see that I once thought soSee that I once thought soI see I once thought so-------------------------------------------------------------------------Check out Benny's Bandcamp here:https://folketbortafornordavinden.bandcamp.com/album/ett-liv-uten-ende-2?fbclid=IwAR1ofH7Atjnii3qCdQZGjjsEA4945w68x9m_27yABkSP5p43M8R6Nn3wlOQCheck out Benny's Instagram at:https://www.instagram.com/folketbortafor/Check us out on Instagram at:https://www.instagram.com/nordicmythologypodcastIf you like what we do, and would like to be in the audience for live streams of new episodes to ask questions please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NordicMythologypodcastCheck out Dan's company, Horns of Odin, and the wide range of handmade items inspired by Nordic Mythology and the Viking Age. Visit: https://www.hornsofodin.comSupport the show

PRESAVE MUSTARD SEEDRelease date: January 11, 2023Today we break down my upcoming single release MUSTARD SEED!! I LOVE this song and the feeling I had when I wrote it.  ENJOY this breakdown, loves! As always, let me know what resonates most with you. LYRICS:Everyone starts out the same Little cell of DNAThen we're born and we feel painStart lookin for who's to blameWhere am I supposed to go? Who am I supposed to be?Just start where you are with a mustard seedWe're all made of stars I heardBut we can only breathe on earthWhen you're spinning round the sunDon't forget to have some funThere's no where else to goThere's no one else to be Just start where you are with a mustard seedbridge/You don't have to feelWhat you think is realIt's your hand to dealAnd if you change then so will I Just relax and you might find thatI was right the pain is goneNow I'm right where I belongEverything is infiniteAnd we're all a part of itThere's nothin else to knowThere's nothing else to feelJust start where you are with a mustard seedInspired by Oprah and Gabby Bernstein, this is about the parable of the mustard seed. Grab your Playlist Power Hour PDF (FREE December only, then 11euros) and create all of the playlists you need for your wedding day!! #2023bride vibes! Support the showMy WebsiteSpotify & other SpotifyInstagramMusic YoutubeFacebookWork with meSongwriting coachingCelebration Songs Free ResourcesCome to my next free monthly Zoom concert!Get my Free songwriting Worksheet!