Podcasts about Lent

Today is day 295 and we are studying The Fourth Commandment. 295. How do you keep the Sabbath? I cease from all unnecessary work; rest physically, mentally, and spiritually; and join with my family and church in worship, fellowship, and works of love. (Psalm 92; Isaiah 58:13–14; Matthew 12:12; Colossians 2:16–23) We will conclude today by praying the Collect for the Third Sunday in Lent found on page 606 of the Book of Common Prayer (2019). If you would like to buy or download To Be a Christian, head to anglicanchurch.net/catechism. Produced by Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Madison, MS. Original music from Matthew Clark. Daily collects and Psalms are taken from Book of Common Prayer (2019), created by the Anglican Church in North America and published by the Anglican Liturgical Press. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Catechism readings are taken from To Be a Christian - An Anglican Catechism Approved Edition, copyright © 2020 by The Anglican Church in North America by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Joshua 13:32–33 (Listen) 32 These are the inheritances that Moses distributed in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan east of Jericho. 33 But to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance; the LORD God of Israel is their inheritance, just as he said to them. (ESV)Luke 12:22–32 (Listen) Do Not Be Anxious 22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?1 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his

Jesus took away the sins of the world...

It's one of the earliest lessons we learn in life...

Eski TBMM Başkanı Bülent Arınç, Sağduyu programında Tarık Çelenk'e Türkiye siyasetinin son 40 yılını ve kendi siyasi yolculuğunu anlattı. 60-70'li yıllardaki idealist gençlik dönemi, Milli Görüş hareketi, Avrupa Birliği süreci, AK Parti'nin kuruluşu ve başarıları ile son yıllardaki ekonomik ve toplumsal sorunları değerlendirdi. Arınç, hukukun üstünlüğü, toplumsal kapsayıcılık ve demokratik değerlerin önemine vurgu yaparken, Türkiye'nin siyasi tarihindeki kırılma noktalarını da yorumladı. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever cried out for help?...

Caitlin Tadlock, with Talent Plus, joins Megan Lynch explaining the process for submitting actors for roles in the 'Soul on Fire' movie that was entirely filmed in St Louis. She also discusses future productions coming to Missouri due to film incentives,

Isaiah 65:17–25 (Listen) New Heavens and a New Earth 17   “For behold, I create new heavens    and a new earth,  and the former things shall not be remembered    or come into mind.18   But be glad and rejoice forever    in that which I create;  for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,    and her people to be a gladness.19   I will rejoice in Jerusalem    and be glad in my people;  no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping    and the cry of distress.20   No more shall there be in it    an infant who lives but a few days,    or an old man who does not fill out his days,  for the young man shall die a hundred years old,    and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.21   They shall build houses and inhabit them;    they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.22   They shall not build and another inhabit;    they shall not plant and another eat;  for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,    and my chosen shall long enjoy1 the work of their hands.23   They shall not labor in vain    or bear children for calamity,2  for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD,    and their descendants with them.24   Before they call I will answer;    while they are yet speaking I will hear.25   The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;    the lion shall eat straw like the ox,    and dust shall be the serpent's food.  They shall not hurt or destroy    in all my holy mountain,”      says the LORD. Footnotes [1] 65:22 Hebrew shall wear out [2] 65:23 Or for sudden terror (ESV)

God never ceases to provide...

But God has rescued us...

Our love for one another grows as we follow Jesus...

We have endless opportunities to give back to the Lord...

In this episode I share my inspiration on committing to the Cloistress Way, a Lent-inspired challenge for artists. Write a 5 star review for this podcast, screenshot it and send it to jlibor@jessicalibor.com and get a FREE entry into The Secret Show open call at Era Contemporary, curated by Emma Hapner! Learn more about the show here: https://www.eracontemporary.com/callsRead & subscribe to my substack, Painting the Realm of Forms: ⁠⁠⁠https://jessicalibor.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠And join our Discord here: ⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/SB2YY5NrnF⁠⁠⁠Sign up for my free upcoming masterclass here: ⁠⁠⁠https://mailchi.mp/b95c65c94acc/manifesting-for-artists⁠⁠⁠Check out all of our courses and coaching: ⁠⁠⁠www.thecreativeheroines.com⁠⁠⁠You can explore my art here! ⁠⁠⁠www.jessicalibor.com⁠⁠⁠Thanks for listening!!

 If you want to learn what helps a marriage go the distance, it's good to ask a couple like Dennis and Barbara Rainey. They've been married since 1972, and they've learned a few lessons along the way.

Sometimes a simple compliment can make your entire day...

Today is day 281 and we are studying The Second Commandment. 281. How was Jesus tempted to break the first two commandments? Satan tempted Jesus to bow down and worship him, promising him an earthly kingdom without the pain of the Cross. Instead, Jesus served and worshiped God faithfully and perfectly all his life, and calls us to do the same. (Matthew 4:1–11; 16:24; Luke 22:41–44; Philippians 2:8) We will conclude today by praying The Collect for the First Sunday in Lent found on page 605 of the Book of Common Prayer (2019). If you would like to buy or download To Be a Christian, head to anglicanchurch.net/catechism. Produced by Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Madison, MS. Original music from Matthew Clark. Daily collects and Psalms are taken from Book of Common Prayer (2019), created by the Anglican Church in North America and published by the Anglican Liturgical Press. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Catechism readings are taken from To Be a Christian - An Anglican Catechism Approved Edition, copyright © 2020 by The Anglican Church in North America by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Strength of faith doesn't come from faith itself...

Today is day 280 and we are studying The Second Commandment. 280. What does the second commandment teach you about hope? It teaches me that my ultimate hope is in God alone, for he alone is God and he made me. I must not look for salvation and fulfillment in myself, another person, my wealth or occupation or status, or any created thing. Only in God will I find perfect love and fulfillment. (Psalm 62; Isaiah 45:20–25; Matthew 6:19–24; 1 Thessalonians 1:9–10) We will conclude today by praying the The Collect for the Fifth Sunday in Lent found on page 606 of the Book of Common Prayer (2019). If you would like to buy or download To Be a Christian, head to ⁠anglicanchurch.net/catechism⁠. Produced by Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Madison, MS. Original music from Matthew Clark. Daily collects and Psalms are taken from Book of Common Prayer (2019), created by the Anglican Church in North America and published by the Anglican Liturgical Press. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Catechism readings are taken from To Be a Christian - An Anglican Catechism Approved Edition, copyright © 2020 by The Anglican Church in North America by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Jesus tells us to forgive freely, fully, and immediately...

In this world, traps are constantly baited...

Isaiah 61–62:7 (Listen) The Year of the Lord's Favor 61:1   The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,    because the LORD has anointed me  to bring good news to the poor;1    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,  to proclaim liberty to the captives,    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;22   to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor,    and the day of vengeance of our God;    to comfort all who mourn;3   to grant to those who mourn in Zion—    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,  the oil of gladness instead of mourning,    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;  that they may be called oaks of righteousness,    the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.34   They shall build up the ancient ruins;    they shall raise up the former devastations;  they shall repair the ruined cities,    the devastations of many generations. 5   Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks;    foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;6   but you shall be called the priests of the LORD;    they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;  you shall eat the wealth of the nations,    and in their glory you shall boast.7   Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;    instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;  therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;    they shall have everlasting joy. 8   For I the LORD love justice;    I hate robbery and wrong;4  I will faithfully give them their recompense,    and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.9   Their offspring shall be known among the nations,    and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;  all who see them shall acknowledge them,    that they are an offspring the LORD has blessed. 10   I will greatly rejoice in the LORD;    my soul shall exult in my God,  for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,  as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.11   For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,    and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,  so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise    to sprout up before all the nations. Zion's Coming Salvation 62:1 

Isaiah 61–62:7 (Listen) The Year of the Lord's Favor 61:1   The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,    because the LORD has anointed me  to bring good news to the poor;1    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,  to proclaim liberty to the captives,    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;22   to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor,    and the day of vengeance of our God;    to comfort all who mourn;3   to grant to those who mourn in Zion—    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,  the oil of gladness instead of mourning,    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;  that they may be called oaks of righteousness,    the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.34   They shall build up the ancient ruins;    they shall raise up the former devastations;  they shall repair the ruined cities,    the devastations of many generations. 5   Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks;    foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;6   but you shall be called the priests of the LORD;    they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;  you shall eat the wealth of the nations,    and in their glory you shall boast.7   Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;    instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;  therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;    they shall have everlasting joy. 8   For I the LORD love justice;    I hate robbery and wrong;4  I will faithfully give them their recompense,    and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.9   Their offspring shall be known among the nations,    and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;  all who see them shall acknowledge them,    that they are an offspring the LORD has blessed. 10   I will greatly rejoice in the LORD;    my soul shall exult in my God,  for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,  as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.11   For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,    and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,  so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise    to sprout up before all the nations. Zion's Coming Salvation 62:1 

Today is day 278 and we are studying The Second Commandment. 278. Are all images wrong? No. God forbade the making of idols and the worship of images, yet commanded carvings and pictures for the tabernacle depicting creation. Christians are free to make images—including images of Jesus and the saints—as long as they do not worship them or use them superstitiously. (Exodus 37:1–9; Numbers 21:4–9; 1 Kings 6:23–35; 7:23–26; John 3:9–15) We will conclude today by praying the The Collect for the Third Sunday in Lent found on page 606 of the Book of Common Prayer (2019). If you would like to buy or download To Be a Christian, head to ⁠anglicanchurch.net/catechism⁠. Produced by Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Madison, MS. Original music from Matthew Clark. Daily collects and Psalms are taken from Book of Common Prayer (2019), created by the Anglican Church in North America and published by the Anglican Liturgical Press. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Catechism readings are taken from To Be a Christian - An Anglican Catechism Approved Edition, copyright © 2020 by The Anglican Church in North America by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

“obey” tends to sound like a duty...

God's law is written on your heart...

Where does the bread on your table come from?...

Episode Summary: When we think of Christmas, we picture the manger scene, shepherds in the fields, angels singing, and a star guiding the way. But what if we’ve been missing one of the most important parts of the story all along? In her new book, The Spirit of Christmas, award-winning author Cynthia Ruchti invites us to rediscover the Holy Spirit’s presence woven throughout the Christmas narrative—from Genesis in the Garden of Eden to the cry of a baby in Bethlehem. This conversation will open your eyes to the power, presence, and promise of the Spirit of God in ways that may forever change how you experience Christmas. Quotables from the episode: Christmas often stirs our hearts with nostalgia—decorations, carols, and retelling the story of Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus. Yet, as beautiful as those traditions are, there’s more to the Christmas story than we typically notice. Before the babe was conceived, the Holy Spirit was already at work, setting the stage and preparing the hearts of the biblical characters we know and love. This season, let Him set the stage and prepare your heart too. In her book, The Spirit of Christmas, Cynthia Ruchti helps us uncover the often-overlooked role of the Holy Spirit in God’s plan of redemption, reminding us that the Spirit has been present from the beginning—guiding, comforting, and empowering. If you’ve ever longed to experience Christmas with fresh wonder and deeper meaning, this conversation will encourage you to see the season through new eyes. I have found it fascinating that over the course of my life and maybe others have been in the same boat, we might grow up understanding Jesus quite well, or, and we hear Jesus loves me from when we're newborns and aren't even aware, perhaps, of that. And then I personally had gone through some seasons of my life where I thought, "I think I understand Jesus pretty well. I'm getting a good handle on who is this Jesus. I'm not sure I'm as familiar with God the Father as I need to be." So, I had a season of my life that was in my early 20s where I dove in and thought, "I need to know you better, God, my Father," and took an approach as I looked at the Word and noticed that throughout the Old Testament, God described himself as a God of love, which I thought was a New Testament idea. I understood who he was as the majestic Creator, and I think probably it kept him a little distant from me because I saw just that. Then a relative of mine had a heart transplant and I took a fresh Bible, and I circled everywhere in the Bible where the word love or heart appeared because I wanted this person who wasn't close to the Lord at the time to know and understand that God has been talking about the subject of love for a very long time. He's all over the Bible, so page after page was filled with the circled or the little heart drawn around the word love or the word heart. Then there came a season in my life where I thought, "I think I better understand now. We will never fully understand, but I think I better understand. God the Father, God the Son. Do I really understand the Holy Spirit? I know he is. I believe what the Bible tells me about the Holy Spirit, but do I really understand his role or how the different roles of the Trinity make a complete God for us? So, I investigated that, and I watched for his presence, but not as deeply as I did after I was challenged to look for the Holy Spirit's presence in the Christmas story. There was an editor who challenged me with that at a writer's conference. I found it fascinating. I thought that would be a very interesting study. We assume, I think, in the back of our minds that maybe the Holy Spirit is that presence that comes upon Mary in that moment when she conceives Jesus, the baby Jesus, as an infant just minutes old. And then we're not sure where else he might actually show up in the Christmas story. So that was a challenge to me, and I thought it sounded fascinating, but I didn't take the invitation from that editor seriously until a couple of weeks later, when she wrote to me and said, "I want you to write that book." So, then I got very serious and started the deep dive research of where is he? And in some ways, it was kind of a where's Waldo of the Holy Spirit in the Christmas story. That's what began this adventure. And for me, it really did alter my view of how I approach Christmas now for many reasons. And that was one of the reasons that I wanted us to have this conversation because I don't think we're alone in that tendency to not really acknowledge the Holy Spirit as much as we acknowledge Jesus or God the Father. I grew up in a denomination that the only time the Holy Spirit got mentioned was when it was God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, period. So, I like that You took that editor up on the challenge to look for the Holy Spirit throughout the Christmas story. I wondered how far back I would have to trace to find the first evidence of the Holy Spirit and Christmas being linked together. And I realized it was in verse one. It was when the Spirit was hovering over the waters of a world that had yet to be created that was going to need a Redeemer. As we know, God has no beginning and no end, eternity past, eternity present farther than man can imagine. I realized that this in the formation with at creation, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, at creation forming a world that they knew was going to need a Redeemer and that that Redeemer was going to be thousands of years away from that moment. I saw the person of the Holy Spirit caring about what was going to happen all those centuries later, even in the creation process. How does that first crime connect to Christmas? There would have been no reason for Jesus to come as a human being if there were any way that we as humans could have behaved ourselves without him. And it wasn't very long into that early beginning creation story before that was so evident that without Christ present, without the Holy spirit present within us. We were never going to be able to satisfy what needed to be satisfied and keep us in a place where we could walk daily, in essence, walking by the Spirit like it talks about in the New Testament. When I began to put the pieces together of this incredible depth of story, this depth of even the communion of the Father and the Son and the Spirit, we saw the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament present in brief moments leading up to when Jesus would be born and then later on as we take that story even farther to his death and his resurrection and his intentional promise, “Hang in there people it's not only okay that I go back to heaven it's better for you that I do because then the Holy Spirit can come, reside inside you, and help you operate out of a place of knowing exactly my heart, knowing what God my Father,” Jesus said, “wants of you, and what will help you to live a life that will allow you to pillow your head every night in peace, no matter what's going on in the rest of your life.” The other thing that I really appreciate about Jesus knowing our every need is when he reminds us that he's got to send the Holy Spirit to remind us of all truth. As a neuropsychologist, that's one of the areas that I love to focus on the most because I have a short memory, and I need those reminders. I love how the spirit of Christmas is our reminder of the gift of the spirit. I didn't grow up in a denomination that had an actual practice of Advent, of intentional preparation for Christmas season. I knew the word, Advent. I knew it was a good word. I knew it was a healthy word and lovely, but we just didn't have that particular practice. We oftentimes, even with Lent, that was another, it seemed like it was for a denomination that was more liturgical, let's say, in thought. But I think more and more these days, we're realizing that every heart needs to be prepared. Every heart needs to “prepare him room” as the one Christmas carol says. It’s actually for any day, but when we think about Christmas in particular, it is so easy to get caught up in all the to -dos and all the menus and all the party planning and all the some-things we're very happy to participate in, some things that just seem like one more chore. And it's kind of this wild cacophony of noise and tension, and there may be relationships that are especially challenged at Christmastime, there may be work -related things that are especially difficult at Christmastime. That is not at all what this is supposed to be about. But we early church members apparently understood that we need time to get our hearts ready for this such, such a holy, holy season. And the Holy Spirit is part of that. As we take a look at what was the Holy Spirit's role in the original story that began way back at creation, but was threaded throughout Scripture as He was present in speaking to Isaiah about a virgin shall conceive way back then. And it didn't say shall conceive in the next day or two. Again, thousands of years from that prophecy, but the Holy Spirit was inspiring that prophet Isaiah to speak of that. And as we look at it in the time period in which those words were spoken, there was chaos. There was political chaos. There was trouble on every hand. There was the son of a king who was now the king, and he was being a lousy king. And this interesting thing: I think he wanted to do the right thing. King Ahaz, I think, wanted to do the right thing. He heard from God, but he didn't trust that what he heard from God was enough. He needed to find other voices that he would listen to. He was getting influenced by all kinds of other people. And Isaiah was trying to bring him back to, "No, there is one God, and you can trust him." And as the Spirit was inspiring Isaiah to speak the words, he was saying to King Ahaz, "Ask God, ask him for a sign, and he'll tell you.” Ahaz didn't have that kind of relationship with God. So, he said, "Oh, I don't want to test God in any way." And through the Holy Spirit's words, through Isaiah, we hear, and if we set it in modern language, we might say, "I'll give you a sign. A virgin is going to conceive and bear a son." And then, and we know some of the rest of that wording. How interesting that in a chaotic world, with a king who wasn't paying attention to the right voices, not unlike the worlds we might be operating in: maybe our boss isn't listening to the right voice, but we have to respond to the boss. Maybe our family members are all chaotic and confused and worrying about where are we going to set Uncle Ralph this Christmas, because he's going to torture these family members even with just teasing. That's the very world that a savior was promised to that world, promised by the Holy Spirit. And it's the same with us now. When I started to study, what was the Holy Spirit's role? He often came to those in the biblical story, some of it in the New Testament now, he came to those who were fearful. They were in danger for their lives. And the Holy Spirit would come on the scene and bring peace or hope or comfort. He would bring guidance where there wasn't any guidance. He accompanied Mary on her journey to visit Elizabeth. Nobody else did. We're not told anybody else was there on that journey, which was a long journey for Mary, except the Holy Spirit, who had to have been whispering comfort and strength, and “you will get through this. I'm here for you. I am with you. I am always with you.” And then Mary and Elizabeth met one another and the baby in Elizabeth's womb knew the Savior was being carried by this woman who couldn't even feel kicks in her own body yet. It was too new, too soon. So, as I look at whether it's darkness or depression or anxiety or legitimate fear or relationship troubles, those scenes were the scenes where the Holy Spirit showed up in the Bible. Those are the scenes I need him to show up in my Christmas. He is there. I just may not have observed that he was there, is there, and was there in the original Christmas story too. The Spirit of Christmas reminds us and brings us back to that recognition that he always was there, and he is there today. To us, waiting often seems purposeless and painful, yet the cry of “how long?” appears throughout scripture. I think one of the things that is toughest about any waiting time is believing you are alone in the waiting. I think honestly, whether it's waiting for a diagnosis or it's waiting for the medicine to kick in, or it's waiting for family members to reconcile, or it's waiting for the job that we believe is out there somewhere that we haven't found yet, whatever the situation is, I believe that what intensifies that waiting experience and makes it full of tension in the natural is the belief that we're alone. Even if we have a loving spouse to share with or we have other family members or a good friend we can converse with, deep down in our soul, it's that misunderstanding that makes us believe that we are alone. And the Holy Spirit is saying, "Untrue. This is untrue. I am here in the waiting, and that's what will make everything change." Mary had a long wait after that moment when the angel said, "You will bear a Savior." She had waiting even from those early days of raising this little baby. Before Jesus' ultimate ministry began, there was another waiting time where she was by his side before the ultimate reason he came to earth was fulfilled. Mary got to witness much of that, even being at the foot of the cross as she watched that ultimate moment then that we relate to Easter but it's so much part of the Christmas story too. As we discover where the Holy Spirit is present, we mimic what he did or what he said. If we see him as comforter, who can we be a comforter for? If we see him as a provider, who can we be a provider for? One of the tips that was given in the book as an idea was, do you really need your Christmas meal more than you need to give your Christmas meal to a family that has none? Can I have turkey any time of the year? Absolutely I can. Would it be a better move for our family to take our meal and give it to someone who has none? I would be acting like the Holy Spirit did and like the heart of Jesus is to forego a need that I think is a need of my own to meet somebody else's need. I make a parallel of the idea of if I'm looking for the Holy Spirit, what I'm looking for is the kind of fruit that he provides: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self -control. So, if I'm going to give good gifts like the Holy Spirit gives, how can I be peace for someone who needs it? How can I be a presence? How can I be evidence of faithfulness? That might be in a visit to someone who is ignored or overlooked during the holiday. We think of those things as philanthropic sometimes or we think of them as just plain old kindness but on the other hand if we see it as the kind of thing the Holy Spirit does, then we realize this is far holier of an act than just a kind deed. When we look at it from that approach and we take that approach we're fueled to be able to and do it more and more and enjoy the process and not see it as an obligation. It has always bothered me the idea of anyone spending Christmas alone. When we discuss the idea of the Holy Spirit is always present, what a better way to show that presence and that love that Jesus came to offer us by reaching out to those who might be alone, who are wondering “where is God today? Does he even see me?” Those are the people who are the most grateful for the smallest of acts because they feel seen. And isn't that what we all want? It's such a gift to know that we are seen by the Holy Spirit. The day after Christmas we're often sitting in a pile of opened packages and empty boxes and toys that the batteries have run out already, and maybe disappointments for how we hoped it would go that it didn't. There are people who are taking ornaments out of the box and it might be baby's first Christmas. We may remember that special day and the ornament brings us pain because hanging it on the tree may be a reminder that that child is no longer here or is estranged from us. Someone will have a Christmas like that. We intentionally set up the devotional to be a short read, one a day, so that for day after day after day of December, including the day after Christmas, there's a reminder of places you might not have thought to look, until I wrote the book. And then we also include a list of helpful hints. We include a downloadable that has to do with how many of these different roles did the Holy Spirit play in this actual event? Part of the advice and the very practical advice is maybe do what I did and make it an actual adventure. Take time to intentionally watch for his presence or be his presence. Let his presence in you shine somehow throughout the holiday season. It can't help but change what your Christmas looks like. One of the outcomes of my own journey to take a better, stronger look at what is this all about is that it really helps us to understand where the meaning of Christmas is and where the meaning isn't. The meaning of Christmas isn't how many parties can I get on my calendar. The meaning is likely more in what can I remove and not lose anything but instead gain. I might gain time that I needed. I might gain a more peaceful attitude toward this season. I might see that some of the things I have worked so hard to do or thought they were so important to make Christmas perfect, aren’t that important. How can we make Christmas any more perfect? Something that God did, that God was all over and did. What we often call essential to Christmas, whether it's that meal or the certain decorations or the tradition that we had of cutting down our own tree or the special hot cocoa that grandma makes; If any of those things are removed from our traditions, is Christmas still going to happen? Absolutely. What's our heart going to be like if we miss the cocoa? Not much difference. What if we miss the Holy Spirit in Christmas? That will make a huge difference - For sure. The idea that the Trinity loved what they created together despite humanity's fall is so powerful. We are the ones He came to save. The Bible would call us Gentiles; we were not born into the original children of Israel. We all can trace our lineage way back to the beginning, but we weren't considered the original children of Israel to which much of the Bible was written. But we are the ones he came to save. There's a verse in Galatians that I don't have memorized yet, but I want to, where it talks about God sent the Son so that we could have the Holy Spirit. When I stumbled on that verse, I thought, He sent Jesus to save us, yes. Jesus had to come as a human, had to leave everything he knew that was so perfect and come into this imperfect world and tolerate us. So, I'm now just fascinated by that idea that God the Father sent the Son to save the world so that we could have the Holy Spirit. That makes the complete picture. And that makes the waiting easier. It makes the feelings of defeat easier. And it makes those times of joy richer. The Holy Spirit, like God the Father and Jesus the Son, is always true to Himself. But that truth shows up in his behavior, we might say, throughout the Christmas story. And it will always be related to something that is so completely positive, but also so completely meeting the needs of the human heart, which is the need for his presence, the need for his comfort, the need for his peace. Scripture References: Luke 1:49 “For the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is His name.” Recommended Resources: The Spirit of Christmas: Discovering His Presence Throughout the Advent Season by Cynthia Ruchti Sacred Scars: Resting in God’s Promise That Your Past Is Not Wasted by Dr. Michelle Bengtson The Hem of His Garment: Reaching Out To God When Pain Overwhelms by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner AWSA 2024 Golden Scroll Christian Living Book of the Year and the 2024 Christian Literary Awards Reader’s Choice Award in the Christian Living and Non-Fiction categories YouVersion 5-Day Devotional Reaching Out To God When Pain Overwhelms Today is Going to be a Good Day: 90 Promises from God to Start Your Day Off Right by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, AWSA Member of the Year, winner of the AWSA 2023 Inspirational Gift Book of the Year Award, the 2024 Christian Literary Awards Reader’s Choice Award in the Devotional category, the 2023 Christian Literary Awards Reader’s Choice Award in four categories, and the Christian Literary Awards Henri Award for Devotionals YouVersion Devotional, Today is Going to be a Good Day version 1 YouVersion Devotional, Today is Going to be a Good Day version 2 Revive & Thrive Women’s Online Conference Revive & Thrive Summit 2 Trusting God through Cancer Summit 1 Trusting God through Cancer Summit 2 Breaking Anxiety’s Grip: How to Reclaim the Peace God Promises by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner of the AWSA 2020 Best Christian Living Book First Place, the first place winner for the Best Christian Living Book, the 2020 Carolina Christian Writer’s Conference Contest winner for nonfiction, and winner of the 2021 Christian Literary Award’s Reader’s Choice Award in all four categories for which it was nominated (Non-Fiction Victorious Living, Christian Living Day By Day, Inspirational Breaking Free and Testimonial Justified by Grace categories.) YouVersion Bible Reading Plan for Breaking Anxiety’s Grip Breaking Anxiety’s Grip Free Study Guide Free PDF Resource: How to Fight Fearful/Anxious Thoughts and Win Hope Prevails: Insights from a Doctor’s Personal Journey Through Depression by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner of the Christian Literary Award Henri and Reader’s Choice Award Hope Prevails Bible Study by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner of the Christian Literary Award Reader’s Choice Award Free Webinar: Help for When You’re Feeling Blue Social Media Links for Host and Guest: Connect with Cynthia Ruchti: Website / Facebook / Instagram / X / LinkedIn For more hope, stay connected with Dr. Bengtson at: Order Book Sacred Scars / Order Book The Hem of His Garment / Order Book Today is Going to be a Good Day / Order Book Breaking Anxiety’s Grip / Order Book Hope Prevails / Website / Blog / Facebook / Twitter (@DrMBengtson) / LinkedIn / Instagram / Pinterest / YouTube / Podcast on Apple Guest: Cynthia Ruchti is an acclaimed writer and speaker. A former radio producer, she is a popular media guest and has been featured on numerous TV, radio, and online outlets. Her written work has received recognition with Publishers Weekly starred reviews, Christian Retailing's BEST Awards, Readers' Choice Awards, Reviewers' Choice Awards, The Carol Award, two Christy finalists, and more. Her tagline is, "I can't unravel. I'm hemmed in Hope." Hosted By: Dr. Michelle Bengtson Audio Technical Support: Bryce Bengtson Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

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Imagine a world where your investments work smarter, not harder. Keith reveals the truth about why real estate trumps stocks, and how the current economic landscape is creating a once-in-a-generation wealth opportunity. Discover: Why traditional investing wisdom is leaving younger generations behind Why owning assets is the ultimate key to breaking free from economic uncertainty From the dying middle class to the rise of strategic real estate investing, Keith exposes the game-changing insights that most investors never see. Inflation is reshaping the economic landscape - and you can either ride the wave or get swept away Generation Z faces unprecedented economic challenges  Want to learn more? Your financial transformation starts here. Resources: Text FAMILY to 66866 Call 844-877-0888 Visit FreedomFamilyInvestments.com/GRE Show Notes: GetRichEducation.com/573 For access to properties or free help with a GRE Investment Coach, start here: GREmarketplace.com GRE Free Investment Coaching: GREinvestmentcoach.com Get mortgage loans for investment property: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE  or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Invest with Freedom Family Investments.  You get paid first: Text FAMILY to 66866 Will you please leave a review for the show? I'd be grateful. Search “how to leave an Apple Podcasts review”  For advertising inquiries, visit: GetRichEducation.com/ad Best Financial Education: GetRichEducation.com Get our wealth-building newsletter free— text ‘GRE' to 66866 Our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/GetRichEducation Follow us on Instagram: @getricheducation Complete episode transcript:   Keith Weinhold  0:01   Welcome to GR, I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, talking about real estate versus stocks, how housing has been in a recession that could now be thawing. Then why the war on the young and the vanishing middle class threatens to get even worse today on get rich Education.    Keith Weinhold  0:19   You It's crazy that most people think they're playing it safe with their liquid money when they're actually losing savings accounts and bonds don't keep up when true inflation can eat six to 7% of your wealth. Every single year, I invest my liquidity with FFI freedom family investments and their flagship program with fixed 10 to 12% returns that have been predictable and paid quarterly. There's real world security. It's backed by needs based real estate like affordable housing, Senior Living and healthcare. Ask about the freedom flagship program when you speak to a freedom coach there. And here's what's cool. That's just one part of FF eyes family of products. They include workshops and special webinars, educational seminars designed to educate before you invest start with as little as 25k and finally, get your money working as hard as you do. It's easy to get started. Just grab your phone and text family. 266866, text the word family. 266866, that's family. 266866,   Corey Coates  1:37   you're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is get rich education.   Keith Weinhold  1:47   Welcome to GRE from Rocky Mount North Carolina to Mount Shasta, California and across 188 nations worldwide. I'm your host, Keith Weinhold, and you are inside for another wealth building week of get rich education. A lot of people have been building wealth lately. Do you even understand all the markets that are either at or near all time highs, real estate, stocks, gold, all recently hit those levels, also nested home equity positions of American property owners are at all time highs. Silver is also near an all time high, and so are FICO credit scores. All this means that the haves are in really good shape, and the have nots aren't more on that later. Let's then you and I talk about real estate versus stocks. I've invested in both for decades, and it's not something that I do on the side. This is the core of what I do and talk about with you every week. And I've never felt more inclined toward investing in real estate ever the resilience of residential real estate, a major reason is that I've always found real estate investing easier to understand than the s and p5 100, and it comes down to the mechanics of each one in The stock market, a company can be well run, it can be profitable, and it can even be growing, yet its stock price might fall anyway. Why? Because expectations weren't met for a quarterly earnings report, or investor sentiment just happened to shift for a while, people just tended to focus on the bad stuff instead of the good stuff, even though it was always there, and that's why the stock price went down. So what makes a stock move more often than not, is kind of laughable. It isn't a word sentiment, emotions. It's how investors collectively feel about a stock and that can change on a dime. One quarter's earnings miss an interest rate hike, geopolitical news or even a single social media comment from a CEO that can move billions of dollars of market value in an instant real estate, on the other hand, that strips away a lot of that noise and that ability for other people's emotions to ruin the price of your apartment building that cannot happen at its core, the value of a property is tied to its income stream and the market that It sits in, that makes it far more direct and way more controllable. If I buy a property, I can see the levers in front of me and ask my property manager to push or pull them or even do it myself. For example, I just asked them to replace flooring in three of my apartment units. With pricier luxury vinyl plank rather than new carpet, and that's because I plan to hold that building for another five years or more. I'll attract a better quality tenant that can afford to pay me more rent. So I know that if I improve operations and increase occupancy, reduce expenses or reposition the asset down the road. I mean, that is directly going to increase net operating income, and that increase will directly affect my valuation. So there's a logic to this that's almost mechanical, and that is not to say that real estate is without nuance or risk. The risk lies in execution. You have to underwrite carefully. Is the location of your property sustainable long term? Are the demographics supportive of Lent growth? What capital improvements are truly lucrative to you and provide the tenants with value, and what kind of improvements are only cosmetic? So real estate isn't just tangible, it's also something that you can interact with. You can walk a property, you can even speak to tenants, study the neighborhood and know exactly what you're dealing with. It's not a ticker symbol reacting to opaque forces that you'll never see or control, and for me, that tactile nature creates clarity. When you buy the right property in the right market with the right strategy, then the path forward is not mysterious. It isn't whimsical, it's deliberate. Real Estate is easier to understand than the S p5, 100. And that also doesn't mean that real estate is simple, because there is that due diligence and strategy, but it's the cause and effect relationship between what you do and the outcome that you get that's far more direct with stocks. You can be completely right about the fundamentals. I mean, you can nail it. You can Bullseye that stock target, and after all that, yet still lose with real estate. If you execute well, the fundamentals eventually do show up in the returns and see because of that direct cause and effect relationship, you can improve yourself as a real estate investor faster than a stock investor can, and that's because you can learn about how your upgrade drove your properties, noi, that information, that feedback that you got, that's something that you can either replicate again or improve upon in your own investor career. So between real estate and stocks, execution is the real differentiator, and control is a key one as well. To me, that sweet spot is control that I have. But through a property manager that way, control doesn't mean that you're losing your quality of life, your standard of living. Now, some people, they do, have the right handyman skills to maintain the property and the right people skills to maintain the tenants. So self managing it can work for just a few people. I sure don't have the handyman skills myself. Sheesh, if I even try to hang a picture on a wall, there's a 50% chance that it's going to end in a drywall patch job. When you can see the cause and effect between your decisions and the property's performance, it creates that level of control that stocks and bonds just don't offer. And I'm also being somewhat kind to stocks by discussing a benchmark like the s, p5, 100, even harder to control and understand are the Wall Street derivatives and financial mutations that the people invested in them don't even understand. Unlike stocks, you own, the levers you own, the operations, the expenses and the occupancy, both have risks, but real estate's risks are more perceptible, more knowable. You won't have to cringe when a company's CEO posts a tweet that's either pro Israel or pro Gaza. Billions of market cap is wiped out, and your investment goes down 12% in one hour. This is why we talk about real estate on the show. There is less speculation and conjecture. It is concrete stuff, and that's all besides how real estate pays you five ways at the same time, as if that wasn't enough.    Keith Weinhold  9:38   Now, when we talk about real estate investing in this decade, do you realize that we have been in a housing recession for two years? A recession in real estate? I mean, it might not feel like it with those home prices at erstwhile mentioned all time highs. We don't need to have falling prices to have a recession. Investors are obviously. Making money in this housing recession. The recession I'm talking about is the slowdown in housing activity stemming from less affordability, lower sales volume and less available inventory. But we do now have signs that we are breaking out of these housing doldrums. As far as affordability, national home prices are staying firm. But what's helping there is that mortgage rates have fallen, and we've also had wages that are rising faster than rents and wages that are rising faster than mortgage payments. In fact, wages have been rising faster than both of those for most of the last year now, and that's sourced by Freddie Mac Federal Reserve stats and rental listings on Redfin. Yes, year over year, American wages are up 4.1% rents are up 2.6% and mortgage payments are basically unchanged over the past year, up just two tenths of 1% and of course, these facts, combined with lower mortgage rates, all supports more real estate price growth. Now to kick off the show, I mentioned how real estate stocks and gold all recently hit all time highs. Well, that's denominated in perpetually based dollars, of course. However, one thing that affects you that certainly has not reached all time highs is the level of available homes, the number of homes for sale, that inventory is up off the recent bottom in 2022 yet it is still below pre pandemic levels. We have had quite a recovery here. National active listings definitely on the rise. They are up 21% between today and this time last year. Well, that means that buyers have gained leverage, mostly across the south, where lots of new building has occurred, and some areas of the West as well. Yet today, we are still, overall here 11% below 2019 inventory level. So nationally, we're basically still 11% below pre pandemic housing inventory levels. And in the Midwest and Northeast, the cupboard looks even more bare than that, since new construction totally hasn't kept up there, we will see what happens. But with the recent drop in mortgage rates, buyers might take more of that available inventory off the shelf. But here's the twist that I've heard practically no one else talk about no media source, no one in conversation. Nobody. It is the paucity of available starter homes. It's the entry level home segment that has the great scarcity, and it's these low cost properties that are the ones that make the best rental properties. Their paucity is jaw dropping, as sourced by the Census Bureau and Freddie Mac starter home construction in the US. I mean, it is just fallen precipitously. Are you even aware of the trend? All right, defined as a home of 1400 square feet or less, all right, that's what we're calling a starter home. Their share of new construction that was 40% back in 1982 Yeah, 40% of new built homes were starter homes. Then by the year 2000 it fell to just a 14% share, and today, only 9% of new built homes are starter homes, fewer than one in 10, and yet, that's exactly what America needs more of. So although overall housing inventory is still low, it's that entry level segment that is really chronically underserved, and that won't change anytime soon, we remain mired in a starter home slump because builders find it more profitable to build higher end homes and luxury homes. Yet for anyone that owns this workforce rental property, which is the same thing we've been focused on doing here on this show, from day one, you are sitting in an asset class that's going to remain stubbornly in demand over the long term. And when it comes to starter homes, the ones Investors love most, they are more scarce than bipartisan agreement in Congress, really. That is the takeaway here.    Keith Weinhold  14:39   So last week, I had an interesting in person meet up at a coffee shop with a 19 year old college student because he's a real estate enthusiast, rapping Gen Z there. He's an athlete too, an 800 meter runner. Well, his dad read Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and his dad has 60 rental properties. Where they're from in Wisconsin, and maybe you're wondering, oh, come on, what could I learn from this 19 year old? I don't think that way. Now, I told him about some foundational GRE principles like financially free, beats debt free and things like that. It was also insightful to get his take on how he sees the world, and for me to learn what his professors are teaching him about real estate investing in his classes, he talked about how his professors show them, for example, what affects apartment cap rates. Also about how, whenever they run the numbers on a property, it always works out better to get the debt, get that mortgage, and how that leverage increases total rates of return. I was really happy that he's learning that over there at the university, but I was really impressed how at age 19, he's responsible and understands so much about society, politics, investing, athletics and even diet. I mean, this guy is rare, talking about his preference for avoiding food cooked in seed oils and choosing beef tallow instead. He also lamented on how Generation Z is so screwed up, saying that no one reads, no one's having kids, no one can buy a home, no one's going to be able to buy a home, and that people his age are so used to looking at screens that they're anxious about in person interactions, even in person, food ordering from a waiter at a restaurant gives them anxiety. He and I are planning to go running together next week. We'll see how that goes. As a college 800 meter runner, he's going to have the speed advantage on me, but we're running up a steep, 40 minute long trail where I've got a shot at an endurance advantage. So it was rather interesting to get his take and see what college professors are teaching on real estate. I mean, this generation that's coming of age now, Gen Z is the worst generation since George Washington to have it worse off than their parents. I'm going to talk about that today, shortly. next week, on the show here, I plan to help you learn about what's going on with some real estate niches and what their future looks to be over the next 10 to 20 years, including mobile home park real estate and parking lot real estate, one of these asset classes I really don't like the future of That's all next week on the future of some certain real estate niches. Straight ahead today, I want to tell you about mortgage rates in a way that you've never thought about before and more about the war on the young and the vanishing middle class. I'm Keith Weinhold. There will only ever be one. Get rich education podcast episode 573, and you are listening to it.    Keith Weinhold  17:53   If you're scrolling for quality real estate and finance info today, yeah, it can be a mess. You hit paywalls, pop ups, push alerts, Cookie banners. It's like the internet is playing defense against you. Not so fun. That's why it matters to get clean, free content that actually adds no hype value to your life. This is the golden age of quality email newsletters, and I write every word of ours myself. It's got a dash of humor. It's direct, and it gets to the point, because even the word abbreviation is too long, my letter takes less than three minutes to read, and it leaves you feeling sharp. And in the know about real estate investing, this is paradigm shifting material, and when you start the letter, you'll also get my one hour fast real estate video course, completely free as well. It's called the Don't quit your Daydream letter. It wires your mind for wealth, and it couldn't be simpler to get visit gre letter.com while it's fresh in your head, take a moment to do it now at gre letter.com Visit gre letter.com    Keith Weinhold  19:06   the same place where I get my own mortgage loans is where you can get yours. Ridge lending group and MLS, 42056, they provided our listeners with more loans than anyone because they specialize in income properties. They help you build a long term plan for growing your real estate empire with leverage. Start your prequel and even chat with President Chale Ridge personally. While it's on your mind, start at Ridge lendinggroup.com that's Ridge lendinggroup.com   Todd Drowlette  19:38   this is the star of the A E show the real estate commission, I'd roll that. Listen to get rich education with my friend Keith Weinhold, and don't quit your Daydream.   Speaker 1  19:49   Welcome back to. Get Rich Education. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, as a reminder that show the real estate commission starring our friend Todd Drolet, who is a guest on the show here with us at the beginning of this month, it starts October 10, on A and E, that's that reality based commercial real estate show. Late last year, the Fed lowered interest rates, and they're doing the same thing again this year, when interest rates rise and fall, think of it like a wall that's being raised and lowered. Cutting rates is like lowering the height of a wall or a dam. That's because it allows for the free flow of capital. Savings rate accounts. Well, since they'll now pay at a lower rate with this rate cut, they're more likely to get shifted out and invested somewhere and flow into something else, driving up that other asset's value. Mortgages are more likely to originate because you pay less interest. Lowering rates lowers the impediment to the flow of money. It eases that flow. Oppositely, raising rates is like increasing the height of a wall or a dam, because if your savings account rate goes from 4% up to 5% oh well, you more likely to keep it parked there a higher wall or dam around your money, and raising rates makes your mortgage costs higher, so you're more likely to stay put and not move money around, constrained by the higher wall, that's how interest rates are like walls and lower walls also increase inflation, since they increase The flow of money, and hence the demand for goods and services. Well, then why did the Fed cut rates, lowering the wall opening the door for inflation this last time? Well, I think you know that was due to the evidence of a sputtering job market. You know that, if you follow this stuff, a slowing job market slows the flow of money, hence why they lowered the wall to increase the flow. Now this might translate to even lower mortgage rates. It does have that loose correlation anyway, and this should lift the housing market. But here's the real problem. Inflation is higher than the Fed wants already, and it's still rising, and they cut rates, making it more likely to rise further. This is like pouring gasoline on a campfire while yelling, don't worry. I got this sure the fire burns brighter, all right, but you might lose your eyebrows. The risk here is that these rate cuts will make inflation spike, since lower rates makes everyone less likely to save and more likely to borrow and spend, this pushes up prices even farther and faster, and this is the Fed's dangerous game. This is the crux about why the Fed is between a rock and a hard place. Ideally, the Fed only cuts of inflation is at or below their 2% target, but understand it hasn't even been there one time in nearly five years. Now, year over year, inflation was 2.7% last month and rose to 2.9% this month. The price of almost everything is up even faster than it usually goes up, beef, housing, haircuts, flamin hot, Cheetos, everything as we know this inflation that's now positioned to pick up again. However, for us, this is the long term engine that makes our real estate profitable. It makes it easier to raise rents, all while your principal and interest payment stays fixed. Inflation cannot touch that like a mosquito buzzing against a window, and let's be real, official inflation numbers are like Instagram filters. They are shaved down, touched up and airbrushed. The government massages them with tricks like hedonics, the wave of inflation that peaked at 9% in 2022 that has already widened the distance between the haves and the have nots, like the Grand Canyon, eviscerating so much of the middle class. And now the powers that be are setting up a scenario for another wave of elevated, long term inflation. This could get dire. Look like I was saying earlier the generation coming of age today is the first one since George Washington to have it worse off than their parents. Do You understand the profundity of this? They had the lowest home ownership rate, and they're the poorest, often leaving them directionless, anxious, depressed, drug addicted and even suicidal for. The first time in US history, Americans are on track to be poorer, sicker and lonelier than their parents. They will make even less than their parents did at the same age, and that's despite having a college degree. Inflation is a big reason for that, and that's what I help you solve here. I can't really help you with the depression stuff. That's not really my role with what I do here in the show. But inflation, in getting behind is one contributor to all these things. Understand, in 1989 those under age 40, they held 12% of household wealth. Today it's just 7% older Americans got rich, and they basically locked the gates behind them. Those over age 70 only held 19% of US wealth in 1989 now it's 30% Harvard's endowment has grown 500% since 1980 that's adjusting for inflation, but yet their class size hasn't grown. I mean, this is just more evidence that old money wins and young people are losing and cannot get ahead in 2019 the federal government spent eight times more per capita on seniors than they did kids. We all know that Gen Z is delaying marriage, home ownership and family formation in 1993 60% of 30 to 34 year olds had at least one child. Today, it's gone all the way down to 27% in about 30 years, that's fallen from 60% down to 27% this is not a resource problem. It's a values problem and an inflation problem, and also the tax code, values owning assets which older people have over labor, which younger people have. This is the crux of the war on the young and the war on those that don't own assets. You've got to wonder, is it even fixable? Some of it is, but no one really wants to fix inflation, and now they're lowering rates to open the door for even more of that widening that canyon, yes, the wave of inflation that started four to five years ago that broke down the middle class, and now it's set up to widen even more. I want to tell you what you can do about that shortly. But first, have you ever wondered, why do we even stratify upper, middle and lower class based on somebody's income? Why the income criterion, if you say that someone's upper class, everyone knows what that means. It means that you have a lot of wealth or income. But why is that the basis? Why do we classify it based on income? Well, it really started forming during the Industrial Revolution of the 1700s and 1800s that began in Great Britain. Before that, class distinctions were usually based on land ownership or nobility or occupation, for example, aristocrats versus peasants. But as industrial capitalism spread out of the UK, wages became the dominant way that people made a living. So tracking income, it sort of became this natural way to map out class. And then this notion spread in the 1800s and 1900s that was propelled through both economics and social science. You had thinkers like Karl Marx and Max Weber that were deeply concerned with class. Marx emphasized ownership of the means of production. You've probably heard that before, capitalists versus workers. But as societies modernized people in the world of both Economics and Psychology, they agreed that income was an easier dividing line than ownership alone. And then, starting last century, in the US, the 1900s income statistics, they became rather central in all of these policies that we make, like our tax system and poverty thresholds and qualifying for housing programs and even welfare benefits. See, they all rely on income bands. And over time, this normalized in our vernacular, these strata of upper middle and lower class sort of this income based shorthand that we use, throwing these terms around. So whether we like it or not, classes are based on your income level, and that's how it came into being. Well, with. A quick history lesson with the eroding of the middle class, with the war on the young. What can you actually do to make sure that you find yourself on the upper income side of it without falling to the lower side the lower class? Well, we know who the future financial losers are going to be. It is anyone not owning assets, and it's also savers clutching their dollars as those dollars quietly melt like ice cubes in July, right in their hand. Those are who the financial losers are going to be. Who are the winners going to be? It is asset owners riding the inflation wave, and the winners are also debtors who get to pay back tomorrow with cheaper dollars today, especially with that debt that you have outsourced to tenants. Here's the big takeaway, if you did not grab enough real assets during the last wave of inflation don't get left behind this time, because the longer you wait, the harder it is to jump aboard this moving train that keeps getting momentum and moving faster. The bottom line here is that at GRE we advocate for simply doing it all at once. Use debt to own real assets while inflation pushes up your rents. That's it, right. There it is. That's really the most concise way to orate the formula. Look in your mortgage loan documents. It does not say that you have to repay the mortgage loan in dollars or their equivalent. It only says you have to repay in dollars. That's your advantage. As dollars keep trending closer to worthless. To review what you've learned so far today, real estate is easier to understand and has more control than stocks. Housing has been in a recession, but there's more evidence that it is thawing, and a setup for more inflation has America poised to exacerbate the war on the young and widen the canyon between the haves and the have nots, and it threatens to get even wider as the middle class keeps vanishing and struggling.   Keith Weinhold  32:23   Now, if you like good free information, like with what I've been sharing with you today, and you find yourself doing a bit too much scrolling for quality written real estate and finance info. I mean, yeah, it can be a mess. It can be tough. If you want to get the good stuff, you hit paywalls and pop ups, and you get these push alerts and cookie banners. It's a little annoying. It's like the internet is playing defense against you. Not so fun, and that's why it matters to get good, clean, free content that actually adds no hype value to your life. This is the golden age of quality email newsletters. I've got one. I write every word of ours myself, and it's got a dash of humor, yet it's direct. And it gets to the point because, as I like to say, even the word abbreviation is too long. My letter takes less than three minutes to read, and it leaves you feeling sharp and in the know about real estate investing, this is the good stuff, the paradigm shifting material, the life changing material, you can get my letter free at gre letter.com Where else would you get the GRE letter? Greletter.com and along with the letter, you'll also get my one hour fast real estate video. Course, it's completely free as well, and it's not to try to upsell you to some paid course, there is no paid course, there's just nothing for sale, no strings attached, free value. It's called the Don't quit your Daydream letter. It wires your mind for wealth, and it couldn't be simpler to get as you know, I often like to part ways with something actionable for you, visit gre letter.com while it's fresh in your head, take a moment to do it now one last time it's gre letter.com until next week. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, don't quit your Daydream.   Speaker 2  34:24   nothing on this show should be considered specific, personal or professional advice. Please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of get rich Education LLC, exclusively.   Keith Weinhold  34:52   The preceding program was brought to you by your home for wealth building. Get richeducation.com

Isaiah 58:1–12 (Listen) True and False Fasting 58:1   “Cry aloud; do not hold back;    lift up your voice like a trumpet;  declare to my people their transgression,    to the house of Jacob their sins.2   Yet they seek me daily    and delight to know my ways,  as if they were a nation that did righteousness    and did not forsake the judgment of their God;  they ask of me righteous judgments;    they delight to draw near to God.3   ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?    Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?'  Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,1    and oppress all your workers.4   Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight    and to hit with a wicked fist.  Fasting like yours this day    will not make your voice to be heard on high.5   Is such the fast that I choose,    a day for a person to humble himself?  Is it to bow down his head like a reed,    and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?  Will you call this a fast,    and a day acceptable to the LORD? 6   “Is not this the fast that I choose:    to loose the bonds of wickedness,    to undo the straps of the yoke,  to let the oppressed2 go free,    and to break every yoke?7   Is it not to share your bread with the hungry    and bring the homeless poor into your house;  when you see the naked, to cover him,    and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?8   Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,    and your healing shall spring up speedily;  your righteousness shall go before you;    the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.9   Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;    you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.'  If you take away the yoke from your midst,    the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,10   if you pour yourself out for the hungry    and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,  then shall your light rise in the darkness    and your gloom be as the noonday.11   And the LORD will guide you continually    and satisfy your desire in scorched places    and make your bones strong;  and you shall be like a watered garden,    like a spring of water,    whose waters do not fail.12   And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;    you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;  you shall be called the repairer of the breach,    the restorer of streets to dwell in. Footnotes [1] 58:3 Or pursue your own business [2] 58:6

A life free from the love of money...

Healthy living is a mantra these days...

Imagine a life that's content...

6 He spoke also this parable: A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none.Dicebat autem et hanc similitudinem : Arborem fici habebat quidam plantatam in vinea sua, et venit quaerens fructum in illa, et non invenit. 7 And he said to the dresser of the vineyard: Behold, for these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down therefore: why cumbereth it the ground?Dixit autem ad cultorem vineae : Ecce anni tres sunt ex quo venio quaerens fructum in ficulnea hac, et non invenio : succide ergo illam : ut quid etiam terram occupat? 8 But he answering, said to him: Lord, let it alone this year also, until I dig about it, and dung it.At ille respondens, dicit illi : Domine dimitte illam et hoc anno, usque dum fodiam circa illam, et mittam stercora, 9 And if happily it bear fruit: but if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.et siquidem fecerit fructum : sin autem, in futurum succides eam. 10 And he was teaching in their synagogue on their sabbath.Erat autem docens in synagoga eorum sabbatis. 11 And behold there was a woman, who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years: and she was bowed together, neither could she look upwards at all.Et ecce mulier, quae habebat spiritum infirmitatis annis decem et octo : et erat inclinata, nec omnino poterat sursum respicere. 12 Whom when Jesus saw, he called her unto him, and said to her: Woman, thou art delivered from thy infirmity.Quam cum videret Jesus, vocavit eam ad se, et ait illi : Mulier, dimissa es ab infirmitate tua. 13 And he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.Et imposuit illi manus, et confestim erecta est, et glorificabat Deum. 14 And the ruler of the synagogue (being angry that Jesus had healed on the sabbath) answering, said to the multitude: Six days there are wherein you ought to work. In them therefore come, and be healed; and not on the sabbath day.Respondens autem archisynagogus, indignans quia sabbato curasset Jesus, dicebat turbae : Sex dies sunt in quibus oportet operari : in his ergo venite, et curamini, et non in die sabbati. 15 And the Lord answering him, said: Ye hypocrites, doth not every one of you, on the sabbath day, loose his ox or his ass from the manger, and lead them to water?Respondens autem ad illum Dominus, dixit : Hypocritae, unusquisque vestrum sabbato non solvit bovem suum, aut asinum a praesepio, et ducit adaquare? 16 And ought not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?Hanc autem filiam Abrahae, quam alligavit Satanas, ecce decem et octo annis, non oportuit solvi a vinculo isto die sabbati? 17 And when he said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the things that were gloriously done by him.Et cum haec diceret, erubescant omnes adversarii ejus : et omnis populus gaudebat in universis, quae gloriosae fiebant ab eo.At the beginning of the four seasons of the Ecclesial Year, the Ember Days have been instituted by the Church to thank God for blessings obtained during the past year and to implore further graces for the new season. Their importance in the Church was formerly very great. They are fixed on the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday ; after the first Sunday of Lent for Spring after Whitsunday for Summer, after the Feast of the Elevation of the Cross (14th September) for Autumn, and after the Third Sunday of Advent for Winter. They are intended also to consecrate to God the various seasons in nature, and to prepare by penance those who are about to be ordained. Ordinations generally take place on the Ember Days. The faithful ought to pray on these days for good Priests. The Ember Days were once fastdays of obligation.

God takes care of all our needs...

Brent Billings and Reed Dent gorge themselves on gluttony and its many forms.“Living Lent” by Barbara Cawthorne Crafton in Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and EasterGlittering Vices by Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoungThe Screwtape Letters by C. S. LewisWhen Harry Met Sally (1989 film) — JustWatchThe Cardinal and the Deadly by Karl Clifton-Soderstrom“Hungry Mungry” by Shel Silverstein in Where the Sidewalk Ends“The Satisfactions of the Mad Farmer” by Wendell Berry in The Mad Farmer Poems

There is daily warfare going on inside every believer...

“Your speech must always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.” Colossians 4:6    Submit a Podcast Listener Question HERE!    Podcasts by Series  Level One Book Study  Level Two Book Study    Stephanie and Maris dive into the huge subject of communication and how we can see it's importance deep in our CGS roots, the value of good communication among the catechists and assistants in the atrium, as well as between different CGS church communities.    Maris Wimberly began the work of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in 2008 and is a Nationally Recognized Formation Leader in Levels I, II, & III. She has a BS in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Birmingham-Southern College and is a former preschool teacher. Maris is the coordinator of CGS at Our Lady of Sorrows Church and School in Homewood, AL, and a catechist in all 3 atrium levels throughout the week.  She also works with 7th and 8th graders in preparation for Confirmation.    Stephanie Diethelm has been a catechist since 1998. She completed her Level 1 training with Tina Lillig, Barbara Searle and Carol Nyberg in Chicago in 1999 and says that it changed her life.  She has been a formation leader for the National Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd since 2005. She has worked extensively with children and adults in a variety of settings and now works with children in an atrium both at Red Mountain Community School and All Saints Episcopal Church in Birmingham, AL. She also completed the Education for Ministry (EfM) Seminar course through Sewanee: University of the South School of Theology in 2019 and has been a trained mentor for EfM Groups since 2020. She resides in Birmingham, AL and has two children, Catherine (33) and Christopher (30).       Facets of Joy  The Religious Potential of the Child  CGSUSA Store        BECOME AN ORGANIZATION MEMBER!  Organization Members are any entity (church/parish, school, regional group, diocese, etc.) that either offers CGS and/or supports those who serve the children as catechists, aides, or formation leaders) Organization Members also receive the following each month:  Bulletin Items - 4 bulletin articles for each month. We have a library of 4 years of bulletin items available on the CGSUSA Website.  Catechist In-Services to download TODAY and offer your catechists. We have six in-services available on the website.  Assistant Formation - prayer service, agenda, talking points, and handouts.  Seed Planting Workshop - prayer service, agenda, and talking points.  Family Events: downloadable, 1/2 day events for Advent, Christmas/Epiphany, and Lent.  Catechist Prayers and prayer services  and so much more!  Click Here to create your Organizational Membership!      AUDIOBOOK:    Audiobook – Now Available on Audible  CGSUSA is excited to offer you the audio version of The Religious Potential of the Child – 3rd Edition by Sofia Cavalletti, read by Rebekah Rojcewicz!  The Religious Potential of the Child is not a “how-to” book, complete with lesson plans and material ideas. Instead it offers a glimpse into the religious life of the atrium, a specially prepared place for children to live out their silent request: “Help me come closer to God by myself.” Here we can see the child's spiritual capabilities and perhaps even find in our own souls the child long burdened with religious information. This book serves as a companion to the second volume, The Religious Potential of the Child 6 to 12 Years Old. The desire to have this essential text available in audio has been a long-held goal for many. The work of many hands has combined to bring this release to life as an audiobook.    Find out more about CGS:       Learn more about the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd     Follow us on Social Media-  Facebook at “The United States Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd”  Instagram-  cgsusa  Twitter- @cgsusa  Pinterest- Natl Assoc of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd USA  YouTube- catechesisofthegoodshepherd 

One of the saddest stories in the Bible is that of Judas Iscariot...

What does it mean to call something sacred in a world that feels increasingly chaotic? Emily Austin sits down with writer and theologian Femi Olutade—a Nigerian-American Millennial, husband, father, hip-hop head, and follower of Jesus in the Eastern Orthodox tradition—to wrestle with the idea of holiness. Femi is best known as the lead writer for the acclaimed Dissect Podcast season on Kendrick Lamar's DAMN. and for his thoughtful essays on spirituality, culture, and history on Medium.Their conversation starts with a reflection on power, using The Lord of the Rings as a jumping-off point: who should hold the ring, and what happens when they do? From there, Emily and Femi trace the ways holiness has been understood across different traditions—evangelical, charismatic, liturgical, and Orthodox—and how each has shaped their lives. They talk about fasting and Lent as tools for clarity, why the Desert Mothers and Fathers still speak to us today, and what it means to see God's presence not only in church but also in the ordinary rhythms of life.In Memphis? Don't miss Femi's Barth House Theological Society Fall Lecture: Sacred, Secular, Syncopated: Theology & the Music of Kendrick Lamar on Thursday, November 6, 2025, at 7 p.m. in Memphis. Free tickets are available at tinyurl.com/BHTS2025.

Godliness with contentment is great gain...

Today is day 265 and we are studying The Ten Commandments. 265. How do the Ten Commandments help you to resist evil? They teach me that God judges the corrupt affections of this fallen world, the cruel strategies of the devil, and the sinful desires of my own heart; and they teach me to renounce them. (Deuteronomy 8; Psalm 19:7–14; John 16:7–15; Romans 2:1–16) We will conclude today by praying the Collect for the Third Sunday in Lent found on page 606 of the Book of Common Prayer (2019). If you would like to buy or download To Be a Christian, head to ⁠anglicanchurch.net/catechism⁠. Produced by Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Madison, MS. Original music from Matthew Clark. Daily collects and Psalms are taken from Book of Common Prayer (2019), created by the Anglican Church in North America and published by the Anglican Liturgical Press. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Catechism readings are taken from To Be a Christian - An Anglican Catechism Approved Edition, copyright © 2020 by The Anglican Church in North America by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Isaiah 55 (Listen) The Compassion of the Lord 55:1   “Come, everyone who thirsts,    come to the waters;  and he who has no money,    come, buy and eat!  Come, buy wine and milk    without money and without price.2   Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?  Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,    and delight yourselves in rich food.3   Incline your ear, and come to me;    hear, that your soul may live;  and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,    my steadfast, sure love for David.4   Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,    a leader and commander for the peoples.5   Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,    and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,  because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,    for he has glorified you. 6   “Seek the LORD while he may be found;    call upon him while he is near;7   let the wicked forsake his way,    and the unrighteous man his thoughts;  let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,    and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.8   For my thoughts are not your thoughts,    neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.9   For as the heavens are higher than the earth,    so are my ways higher than your ways    and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10   “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven    and do not return there but water the earth,  making it bring forth and sprout,    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,11   so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;    it shall not return to me empty,  but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. 12   “For you shall go out in joy    and be led forth in peace;  the mountains and the hills before you    shall break forth into singing,    and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.13   Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;    instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;  and it shall make a name for the LORD,    an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” (ESV)

Isaiah 55 (Listen) The Compassion of the Lord 55:1   “Come, everyone who thirsts,    come to the waters;  and he who has no money,    come, buy and eat!  Come, buy wine and milk    without money and without price.2   Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?  Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,    and delight yourselves in rich food.3   Incline your ear, and come to me;    hear, that your soul may live;  and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,    my steadfast, sure love for David.4   Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,    a leader and commander for the peoples.5   Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,    and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,  because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,    for he has glorified you. 6   “Seek the LORD while he may be found;    call upon him while he is near;7   let the wicked forsake his way,    and the unrighteous man his thoughts;  let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,    and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.8   For my thoughts are not your thoughts,    neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.9   For as the heavens are higher than the earth,    so are my ways higher than your ways    and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10   “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven    and do not return there but water the earth,  making it bring forth and sprout,    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,11   so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;    it shall not return to me empty,  but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. 12   “For you shall go out in joy    and be led forth in peace;  the mountains and the hills before you    shall break forth into singing,    and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.13   Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;    instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;  and it shall make a name for the LORD,    an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” (ESV)

Today we have Ty. She is 76 years old, lives in Bozeman, MT and she took her last drink on March 8th, 2008.   This episode brought to you by: Better Help – 10% off of your first month #sponsored Café RE – THE social app for sober people.   [04:21] Thoughts from Paul:   Paul tells us that every time he goes into a retreat or event with RE, he asks the universe to send us a (safe) wildlife encounter. This past retreat in Bozeman was no different.  This time, it showed up in the form of a bald eagle while we were spending time at the lake pavilion. After it flew in, it perched on a lone pine tree branch about 50 yards away from us where we admired it's beauty and Ty, an avid birder, shared some facts about the bald eagle with the group.     Paul shared that while editing the interview he did with Ty, he noticed some background noise. Normally, he does his best to avoid this, but this time he welcomed it. You will hear in the background the sound of birds. He says it was if the universe sent the birds to support Ty.   [08:45] Paul introduces Ty:   Ty lives in Bozeman, MT with her husband Dan. She likes to hike (gently), watch birds and enjoys reading. She is technically retired but has been editing the RE podcast since episode 25.   Ty grew up with an alcoholic father in Fort Worth, TX. Her mother did not allow alcohol in the house, so her father was gone a lot. Ty didn't drink much during high school due to the fear of her mother detecting it on her.   After she graduated, Ty got married to her boyfriend. That marriage didn't last long because her husband was an alcoholic and became abusive. They divorced when she was 21. During that time Ty would go out with friends she worked with where they would drink together. She says her rebellion against her father came out in that time – it was the early 70's filled with drugs and rock and roll.   Ty said she spiraled shortly after her dad died and went through a dark time. She sought help from the county health board and after they placed her on mood stabilizers, she started drinking less.   At age 26, Ty went to university where she chose doing well in school over drinking and partying. A month after graduating college, Ty had a baby. Her daughter had a lot of health and developmental issues, so she became a full-time caregiver for her throughout her 30s.   In her 40s, Ty met her current husband Dan, who does not drink. They moved to Bar Harbor, where Ty worked in the restaurant industry. This exposed her to fine wine, which she would enjoy at home after work, while her husband was sleeping. Ty says red flags began to show when she switched to vodka because it has less calories. She began to hide her bottles and drink in secret.   Moderation for Ty was when she would quit drinking for Lent. One year she found that she wasn't able to which got her thinking more about her drinking. She was attending Al-Anon meetings but was interested in the literature for AA. After taking some quizzes to determine if she was an alcoholic, she started to believe she might be.   The next morning while in church, Ty says she prayed: “I can't do this will you help me”. That evening she went to her first AA meeting where she introduced herself as an alcoholic. It was the first time she had said it to herself or anyone else.   Ty says she burned the ships early on. Honesty and openness became very important to her. She knew she had to do the work and became comfortable asking her husband for support in various ways. AA has been a big part of Ty's recovery story since the beginning. She has witnessed a lot of growth and change in the recovery world since quitting. Joining RE opened up so much for her and she says her toolbox expanded in terms of resources and learning different things.   Ty's parting piece of guidance: it's harder to get sober than it is to stay sober.   Recovery Elevator You took the elevator down, you gotta take the stairs back up. We can do this.       RE on Instagram Recovery Elevator YouTube Sobriety Tracker iTunes