Podcasts about Two sides

Two sides to every story - who to believe? regardless of how thin you slice it, there is ALWAYS two sides!! As a Leader; parent, teacher, boss or coach do we have a responsibility to always look at both sides, hear all of the story, never make a decision or create an opinion until we hear what everyone has to say?

"Two Sides of a Question" by May Sinclair delves into the complexities of human relationships and the moral dilemmas that arise from them. This thought-provoking work invites listeners to explore the dualities of belief and doubt, love and betrayal, highlighting the intricate nature of personal convictions. Sinclair's examination of these timeless themes resonates powerfully today, as individuals continue to grapple with questions of loyalty and integrity in an increasingly polarized world. The narrative's enduring relevance lies in its ability to provoke introspection and foster a deeper understanding of the human experience, making it a compelling listen for anyone seeking to reflect on their own values and choices.

In episode 506 of the Reformed Brotherhood, Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb wade deep into one of Luke's most arresting parables — the Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13–21). What begins as a story about a man with a bumper crop and an ambitious barn-building plan quickly unfolds into a penetrating diagnosis of the human heart. The hosts argue that this parable is not primarily about financial planning or the dangers of wealth per se, but about the fundamental theological posture of the creature before the Creator. Framed by two parallel warnings — against covetousness and against anxiety — the parable exposes what happens when a soul tries to find its ultimate rest in the abundance of earthly things rather than in God himself. Rich in biblical theology, literary analysis, and pastoral application, this episode rewards careful listening. Key Takeaways The parable is framed by an inclusio — the warning against covetousness (v. 15) and the command against anxiety (v. 22) are parallel statements that reveal the parable's true subject: the misplacement of ultimate trust, whether in abundance or in the lack of it. The man's sin is not his wealth or his planning — Scripture commends prudence and does not condemn the accumulation of resources. What condemns this man is his complete failure to acknowledge God as the giver of the harvest or to consider any obligation beyond self-satisfaction. The soul-talk is theologically and culturally shocking — In the ancient world, deliberating entirely within oneself, speaking to one's own soul, would have registered as a form of insanity. The Greek construction itself strains to articulate the concept, underscoring how deeply abnormal it is to reason about life without God. The repetition of first-person pronouns is not incidental — "My crops, my barns, my grain, my goods" — five times in three verses. This is not poor stewardship; it is the theological posture of self-ownership, a categorical denial of creaturely dependence on the Creator. God's interruption in verse 20 is itself a theological statement — No private counsel is truly private. God, the judge of all the earth, hears every deliberation of the heart. His use of the word "fool" invokes the full weight of biblical wisdom literature: the one who says in his heart, "There is no God." The contrast is not wealth versus poverty, but two objects of trust — To be rich toward God means holding earthly goods with an open hand, whether one is wealthy or poor. Both the covetous rich and the anxiety-ridden poor are addressed by this parable, and both are called to the same posture of dependence on God. True productivity, like true wealth, is impossible without God — Drawing a thread to Jesse's affirmation of Redeeming Your Time by Jordan Raynor, the hosts note that one cannot rightly use wealth, time, or any other gift without first knowing and trusting the Giver. Key Concepts The Inclusio: Covetousness and Anxiety Are the Same Disease One of the most illuminating structural observations in this episode is Tony's identification of the literary inclusio surrounding the parable. Before the parable, Christ warns: "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" (Luke 12:15). After the parable, he turns to his disciples and says: "Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing" (Luke 12:22–23). These are not two separate concerns — they are the same spiritual disease expressed at opposite ends of the economic spectrum. The man who grasps for more and the man who lies awake worrying about having enough are both making the same fundamental error: they are finding, or attempting to find, their life's ultimate security in the material rather than in God. Autonomous Inner Counsel: The Insanity of Reasoning Without God When the rich man in the parable "reasoned to himself" and then spoke directly to his own soul, Jesus was not simply describing a man thinking through a logistical problem. He was depicting, in vivid and culturally jarring terms, the posture of the natural man before God — a man who, in the moment of his greatest blessing, seals himself off from the Creator entirely. The hosts note that in the ancient world, this kind of internal, autonomous deliberation would have registered as strange, even mad. The man does not consult Scripture, neighbor, elder, or God. He speaks only to himself. This is, as Jesse frames it, "the soliloquy of a completely autonomous man" — the pattern of Adam and Eve in the garden, reasoning about the world as though they were its own final authority. The folly is not that he thought about what to do with his harvest. The folly is that God was nowhere in the deliberation. Rich Toward God: The Gospel Punchline of the Parable The parable's final line — "So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God" — is not merely a moral verdict. It is a gospel invitation. Tony is careful to point out that verse 21 does not condemn the act of storing up treasure in itself; it condemns storing up treasure for oneself and not being rich toward God. The contrast is between two orientations of the whole person. To be rich toward God is not primarily about giving money to the church, though generosity is surely implied. It is about recognizing that in Christ, the believer already possesses the only treasure that cannot corrode, be stolen, or be left behind at death. The soul that has been given Christ has been given everything. The soul that has only its barns has nothing — and one night, God will make that plain. Memorable Quotes He speaks to his own soul as though the soul — which is like the very seat of a person's relationship with God — could be satisfied by grain. — Jesse Schwamb Life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. That's the thesis statement of this parable. So the contrast is: what does life consist in? It consists in richness toward God. — Tony Arsenal This parable confronts every hearer, regardless of net worth, with a single diagnostic question: where has my soul quietly gone to find its rest? — Jesse Schwamb Full Transcript [00:00:57] Welcome to episode [00:01:00] 506 of the Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse.  [00:01:04] Tony Arsenal: And I'm Tony, and this is the podcast with ears to hear. Hey, brother.  [00:01:09] Jesse Schwamb: Hey, brother. So on this episode, we're diving right back into the parables. We're gonna be in Luke chapter 12, and it's the parable of the rich fool, which is the story basically of a guy who has a bumper harvest, looks at his overflowing barns, and then thinks, "You know what this situation calls for? [00:01:28] More barns." Not a single thought given to his neighbors, to worship, to God who sent the rain in the first place, just barns. Bigger, better, badder barns  [00:01:38] Tony Arsenal: Battlestar Galactica. That's a lot of Bs. That's some good alliteration, though.  [00:01:44] Jesse Schwamb: I thought you'd enjoy that. And Jesus has something to say about this. It's for all of us, actually, and it might not be the thing you expect, but we're gonna talk about all that stuff. [00:01:52] Affirmations and Denials Setup [00:01:52] Jesse Schwamb: But of course, first, here's what everybody needs to do. Gather your loved ones around, get your hearts and your snacks together, 'cause it's [00:02:00] once again time to set forth in an orderly and confessional manner our considered judgments on the things of this world. It's time for affirmations and denials, that part of our conversation where we either affirm something by saying we like it, we enjoy it, it's great, or in contrast, we deny against something that just isn't so good. [00:02:18] So Tony, it's time for your doctrinal statements. Are you affirming with something or denying against something on our episode?  [00:02:26] Tony Arsenal: I don't know about a, I don't know about a doctrinal statement, but I'm affirming with something.  [00:02:29] Jesse Schwamb: Okay.  [00:02:29] Tony's Baked Pasta Win [00:02:29] Tony Arsenal: So you and I have talked before about how much we love the slow cooker meals. [00:02:33] Yes. And, uh, this isn't a slow cooker meal, uh, affirmation, but it is a food recommendation. Um, I've been making this baked pasta, this baked spaghetti dish, that is just so delicious. And the reason it works really well for our family is first, the kids love it, which is, uh, r- rare these days. We- With a two and a, a two-year-old and a four-and-a-half-year-old, they can be very, very selective about what they eat. [00:02:57] This is a consistent winner. Um, but also, like, [00:03:00] the amount that the recipe makes will do lunches and leftover dinners for all four of us for several days. So it's a super simple recipe. I'm actually, this might be a Reformed Brotherhood first, but I'm gonna put it in the show notes. I'm gonna put the recipe in the show notes. [00:03:13] Mm-hmm. And, uh, it's super simple. You just cook up 16 ounces of, you know, pasta. I did, uh, it's calls for spaghetti, but with toddlers it's a little easier if you do something like, um, like elbow noodles or I did bow ties tonight 'cause it was kinda fun and I could be like, "Hey, look, it's bow ties." Uh, it's, it's just some sort of, uh, macaroni product, you know, like a, a spaghetti, angel hair pasta, whatever you wanna use. [00:03:40] You put in two 24-ounce jars of marinara sauce or a pasta sauce. Uh, it calls for a bunch of spices, but you can also just get a pasta sauce that is already spiced. If you want a pasta sauce that has, like, mushrooms or extra basil or something, like, you can buy, like, a more flavored style of pasta sauce, and that'll add [00:04:00] some, uh, some texture to it. [00:04:02] You do two pounds of ground beef, which will cost you, like, $1,000 these days- ... but it's, it's worth it. You could replace it with ground turkey if you wanted to do something- Nice ... uh, a little bit less expensive or maybe something a little bit healthier. Um- You put in like two eight-ounce things of sour cream. [00:04:18] I think it calls- Ooh ... for 12 ounces, but I did, uh, I did 16 ounces today and it was extra creamy. And then just a mess of mozzarella, and you know, a mess of... You, you top it with mozzarella cheese- Nice. Nice ... and, uh, Parmesan. And then you just cover it with foil and bake it for a half hour, and then take the foil off and bake that, uh, for another 15 minutes to make sure that surface cheese is nice and crisp and, like, gooey and perfect. [00:04:42] Mm-hmm. Uh, and it's just, it's just good. It's getting to be that time of year where things are a little colder. Right. And, uh, we... Our, our home is heated by propane, which is expensive, and this time of year, like, I don't actually wanna turn the furnace on, but cooking a nice meal in the, in the stove just sort of takes the, [00:05:00] takes the, uh, edge out of the air a little bit. [00:05:02] So every element of it is great. And like I said, I'll, I'll eat this dish for lunch for the next, like, four days and I'll love every bit of it. So I'll put the recipe in the show notes. It's very easy to make. It's very, very good. If you got kids, it's a winner 'cause it's cheesy and gooey and it's fun. Um, and then you put a side of veggies with it, mixed veggies or spinach or whatever you want. [00:05:25] Uh, and it's just, it's just delicious. It's so, so good, Jesse. I can't even describe how good it is. Um, but it's, it's just really, really delicious. I've made it twice now and, uh, it's just easy. I'm not a very good cook. Your wife is a phenomenal cook, so she's probably able to, like- This is true ... she could probably tweak this recipe and make it, like, a real culinary masterpiece. [00:05:43] But you don't have to be a great cook to put this together. Right. You just boil the pasta, brown the beef, and then mix it all together and bake it for a little while and it's, it's really, really easy and good.  [00:05:52] Jesse Schwamb: I can at least vouch for how delicious it looks. You sent us a picture and it's exactly what you'd expect. [00:05:58] Like, it, it's [00:06:00] a big casserole dish of pasta, which I didn't know the recipe, so I can see it's elevated pasta, really. Got some things that- Yeah ... kinda just take it from, like, just out of the box stuff to something that's a little bit more decadent, and that's what you want.  [00:06:12] Cheese Talk and Recipe Tweaks [00:06:12] Jesse Schwamb: But I was immediately overcome by just the beautiful cascading... [00:06:17] A- as if covered by covenant itself, this pasta was just smothered- ... in this delici- like, not... A- and I don't wanna say, like, not, not too much cheese, like just the right amount. And I could tell it had been baked so that it was not just melted but got the crispiness. Here's what, this is the reason why I make such a big deal about the picture is because my wife is lactose intolerant, and I've learned you can, you can fall into a kind of version of Romans 1 with lactose intolerance. [00:06:44] If there's somebody who's a loved one- ... in particular, and by that I mean I, because we haven't had real cheese in a while, I thought, "I don't need real cheese. Like, we can get this fake stuff. It's, it's really good. It's, it's so delicious." And then you see a picture like that and I immediately thought, "I've exchanged the truth for a lie.[00:07:00] [00:07:00] I want cheese." "I want it so bad."  [00:07:03] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, the cheese really is the... I mean, the, the secret to this is the sour cream. Um, I feel like that's really what, what sort of pushes it over the edge. Last time that I made it, the first time I made it, I didn't tell Ashley what was in it. She just knew it was like a baked p- pasta dish, and she was like, "This is so good and creamy, and I... [00:07:23] It's, like, it's really delicious." Um, the sour cream really kicks it over the edge. If, if anything, I would add a little more cheese than I used tonight. Um, it calls for a cup of cheese, which is a lot of cheese. That's eight ounces of cheese. A lot of cheese. Um, it's four ounces of cheese. Um, but I use a little bit more, and I actually think it could u- it could've used a little more mozzarella and make that inner, like, the in- middle gooey part a even more gooey and cohesive. [00:07:48] But it's good. It's really... It's a recipe that's hard to screw up. And even if you did it without cheese, if you just added sour cream or, um, even if you didn't do that, you just added something to sort of give it a little bit of an edge. You probably could do it with yogurt if you were [00:08:00] looking to save, uh, do something a little bit more healthy than sour cream. [00:08:03] Um, and it's one of those dishes, like, you can play with it. You can kinda mess around with it and change it up. Um- I saw one person online who was talking about this recipe who, uh, they, they sprinkled a little bit of cheddar cheese on top of it along with the mozzarella and it gave it a little bit of that sharpness. [00:08:17] So check it out. I'll post the recipe. It's very easy. Um, it was actually in a list of like easy meal plan. Ashley has this packet of like easy meals for busy moms kind of thing. Uh, and it, it takes a bit of time. This one is not one that you would wanna try to do, you know, after a work night trying to get the kids ready. [00:08:38] But again, it's one of those ones kind of like the slow cooker stuff we talk about. Like- Right ... once you get it set and you do it, then like you have leftovers for the week and it heats up real well. It reheats really well. Um, probably don't want to eat it cold because of the ground beef. Could, could get a, you know, get some food poisoning kind of stuff going on there, but it microwaves real well. [00:08:58] Uh, it's very delicious. [00:09:00] You, you know like sometimes when you microwave something, like it's, it dries out. Because this has like the sour cream and the, the marinara sauce, this doesn't really dry out. Um, and it, it stores really well in the refrigerator. You could probably freeze it if you really wanted to. [00:09:14] Uh, it's just really a versatile, easy to make dish. So I'll post the recipe.  [00:09:18] Telegram Tastings and Oreo Chaos [00:09:18] Tony Arsenal: Uh, this is one of those things we, we sometimes forget to talk about our Telegram chat until the very end of the episode, which is like the worst possible time to do a call to action- I know ... for a podcast. How dare we? Uh, we actually have a whole channel in our Telegram chat which you can access by going to t.me/reformedbrotherhood. [00:09:36] We have a whole channel just for tastings, and usually people will do things like hot wing tasting or this time of year sometimes like seasonal Oreos or seasonal candy bars come out or maybe someone gets a new beer or something like that. I would love to see some people make this recipe and do some tastings because maybe I'm overselling it. [00:09:53] Maybe I just love this and it's only so-so, but, uh, I'd love to see what the rest of the community thinks. So [00:10:00] t.me/reformedbrotherhood, make the baked pasta. Tell me what you think. I think it would be awesome.  [00:10:05] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, there you go. There's all kinds of great things taking place out there, and this is that time of year. [00:10:09] Oreo won't stop. I mean, this could be our, the whole topic- I know ... of our conversation tonight, so I'm just gonna avoid it for the most part, but somebody needs to stop Oreo. I tried the Chicken and Waffles Oreo, and It was not good. Uh, maybe that should be my denial- No ... but it's not my denial, but it's not great. [00:10:26] It, well, it's complicated, guys. It's, it's kind of good because it tastes mostly, at least when I ate it... Okay, somebody be the judge. Go, go get some. Grab them from a friend. Do not go buy them yourself unless, like, you think- No ... this is something you're really gonna love. But, uh, and I'm gonna warn you, you probably won't. [00:10:43] But it, it'll taste delicious 'cause you'll be like, "Oh, this is like maple syrupy, and it tastes waffle-y." And then there was, like, something that happened in the back of my throat that was unnatural. It was like a spiciness or a clinginess or, like, a weird spice that I think was supposed to be an analog for chicken.[00:11:00] [00:11:00] Instead, all it was making me do was kinda just make this weird, like, phlegm-like sound as I was at work trying to recover quickly in front of people after eating this Oreo that sniped me. So I don't know where I was going with that except, uh, come hang out at the Telegram chat, everybody, because we've got all kinds of fun tastings there. [00:11:16] Somebody should grab those Oreos. We know you, you got these Oreos out there somewhere, loved ones. Post a little- Yeah ... uh, s- video of, uh, us, or for us, of you trying them  [00:11:26] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, I, I find that anything that is trying to emulate a savory flavor that doesn't actually include that savory flavor is usually pretty gross. [00:11:38] And I think it's- Dangerous ... 'cause it's like, it's not like they're putting real chicken into the Oreos. Oh, please no. It's- Yes ... it's like they just have some sort of chemical that tricks your brain, tries to trick your brain into thinking it tastes like chicken. Which with as many things that taste like chicken as there are, you would think that'd be a pretty easy one to nail, but, uh, I'm not even gonna try the Oreo waffles- It's weird [00:11:57] or Chicken waffle. It's weird. May- maybe somebody will like it That sounds [00:12:00] disgusting and-  [00:12:01] Jesse Schwamb: Yes. Yes. I agree. I agree. All right, I'll take-  [00:12:04] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, it was actually, it was actually a, a Coke Oreo, uh, uh, partnership that originally spawned our tasting channel, wasn't it? Yes. I think it was like the... I don't remember what flavor it was, but it was like a Dr. [00:12:17] Pepper flavored Oreo or an Oreo flavored Coke or something like that- Yes ... that was just a, just a total outcome of the fall. It was just disgusting.  [00:12:26] Jesse Schwamb: It is.  [00:12:26] Tony Arsenal: So-  [00:12:26] Jesse Schwamb: Here, so- But ... I don't wanna be too conspiratorial, but I have a theory about this. My theory is that Oreo knows that all they have to do is entice people enough for every person to buy one package of these things, knowing that they may never buy them again, and they'll still make a, a, like bandits. [00:12:41] And maybe it's even better because everything is more expensive these days. So you can't just go with what's normal. So you've gotta like really say, "Well, I'll just, I'll get this one package of Chicken & Waffles Oreos 'cause I'll never get it again. I'm willing to splurge on it." And the joke's on us, loved ones. [00:12:55] Like, we're all out here just throwing Oreos into the trash because ... [00:13:00] that tastes so funky. Maybe not. Somebody go tell me if I'm wrong. Somebody s- go out there and say, "Yes. Listen, these, these are the best Oreos I've, I've ever had."  [00:13:11] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, this reminds me back, way back in my, my Reformed pub days, which I don't like to admit how long ago that was 'cause it makes me feel really old. [00:13:19] But, um, there was a, a long time when, uh, Not Your Father's Root Beer or Not Your Dad's Root Beer, whatever it was, I don't remember what the specific, uh, brand was, but there was a, like a brand of, um, of like alcohol root beer. I think it was like Not Your Father's Root Beer or Not Your Dad's Root Beer or something like that. [00:13:39] It was  [00:13:39] Jesse Schwamb: horrible.  [00:13:40] Tony Arsenal: And it was so awful that it was actually a trend for a while. Man, this, these were the good old days where people had enough money to do stupid stuff like this. But it was a trend for a while where people would buy it just to film themselves dumping it down the drain. And it's like, it's like, yeah, nobody has money for that anymore, but- Yeah [00:13:59] uh, some things are [00:14:00] just so terrible that it's almost... I think you might be right. Like, it's so bad that people buy it to just try it to see how bad it is. Yes. And Oreo s- someone has calculated that, like, they can get enough people to buy it just on the reputation of how terrible it is that they'll still turn a profit on this limited edition run, uh, terrible Oreo Fusion thing. [00:14:23] Um, yeah. Anyway, we could talk about terrible Oreo Fusions- Yeah ... all night, every night, 'cause there's a lot of them and they're gross. But we don't wanna do that, 'cause that's probably not great podcasting. So Jesse, what are you affirming or denying? And I'm gonna be really embarrassed if what you're denying is Oreo Fusion- [00:14:39] cookies. But, uh, what are you affirming or denying tonight?  [00:14:43] Jesse Schwamb: It's not.  [00:14:44] Jesse's Productivity Book Pick [00:14:44] Jesse Schwamb: I think you and I are somewhat, we're interested in productivity, are we not? Mm-hmm. We've actually talked about that a great deal on this podcast. And so I'm hesitant to bring this up because there are so many books, there are so many podcasts. [00:14:56] What more could possibly be said? And so when I came across this book called [00:15:00] Redeeming Your Time by Jordan Rainer with the subtitle Seven Biblical Principles for Being Purposeful, Present, and Wildly Productive, I thought, "Come on. Um, do we really need this book?" And I read it, and I'm really glad that I did. [00:15:13] And my affirmation is exactly his work here. Because it's a little bit like presuppositional apologetics meets Cal Newport and David Allen. He, in fact, one of the things I love is if you're interested in just being more productive or maybe you don't even know what that is, I do recommend you get this book because he basically has synthesized, and he says this, a lot of that writing into one place. [00:15:37] He gives you really practical things. But this is by far the most Christian perspective, I would say that the most Reformed perspective I have ever read on productivity, and I took way more from this book than I ever anticipated I would. To that end, just to give a taste, I wanna read just a couple sentences that are part of his introduction. [00:15:55] This is what Jordan Rainer writes, "Jesus offers you peace before you do anything." [00:16:00] Nearly every time management expert says that the path to peace and productivity is found in implementing his or her system. This is what we might call work space productivity, which claims that if you do exercises X, Y, and Z, then you'll find peace. [00:16:12] This book begins with the opposite premise in what we might call grace-based productivity, which says that through Jesus Christ, we already have peace, and we do time management exercises of X, Y, and Z as a response to worship. And basically, the whole premise of his book is that the most unproductive thing you can do in life is live it without God. [00:16:32] So this is missional. It's intensely practical. Like, he's gonna take you through his own strategy, which really he says, and he gives attribution to so many other authors and experts in the field, that he is synthesizing some of their ideas, but he's doing it under the auspice of the gospel. And this is the first book I've ever found that has this type of final chapter. [00:16:53] There's a whole section on being sure not to make productivity an idol. So this is, like, a really [00:17:00]lovely book. It's incredibly challenging. It's so thoughtful, but it's filled with doxological kind of content that leads me to want to be more productive, not because we have to do productive to, or pr- be productive to, of course, earn anything before God. [00:17:13] Not even that we should feel guilty if we're not, but out of God's grace, He gives us tools, and this feeds our desire to serve and then do so effectively. And so I think that if you have any interest in what it might look like for you, if you're feeling burned out, tired, distracted from things in life, uh, you really should read this. [00:17:32] It'll be worth your time. So wherever books are sold, we're not getting, uh, any kind of commission on this. Just go find Redeeming Your Time by Jordan Rainer. And again, go to the Telegram group. Let us know what you think about it.  [00:17:46] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:17:47] Grace Based Productivity Discussion [00:17:47] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, you know, I think, um, there was a time period where hustle culture or productivity culture was really, really in for Christians. [00:17:57] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:17:57] Tony Arsenal: And, um, I, I think even [00:18:00] in secular, secular domains, non-Christian domains where productivity, hustle culture is kind of, um, is a, a focus, even in those circles and even in those circumstances, the literature and the, the people who are doing blogs and, and YouTube channels, even those people are starting to recognize that we did put hustle culture and, like, being, like, hustling, we, we put that on a pedestal and made it, like, the goal- Right [00:18:31] instead of recognizing, like, the whole point behind, um, behind productivity is it's actually to keep your priorities straight. Right. It's, you know, it's, it's you, you work hard to get things done so that you have time to do the things you wanna do, or so that you are actually able to accomplish the goals you want to accomplish. [00:18:53] And a lot of people have commented, both in Christian circles and non-Christian circles, that we made getting a lot [00:19:00] of things done... And I, like, I don't wanna blame David Allen for this, but, like, this is the name of his book, right? Getting things done was the goal, not the vehicle to the goal. Right. I don't think David Allen would take that approach. [00:19:10] I think actually he's, he's much more grounded than a lot of his sorta, like, successors. But the, the, the switch to turn productivity into an end in itself has really just caused people to burn out. Like, you can only hustle for so long before you need a rest. So it's really refreshing to hear that there's a good Christian work out there that's latching onto that and is actually bringing God's truth and the gospel to bear on it. [00:19:34] That's, that's a book that I, um, I should definitely check out.  [00:19:37] Jesse Schwamb: I highly recommend it. I'm actually going to ... I'm grabbing a copy for a friend of mine who is, I would say, like a nominal Christian. We've had lots of conversations, and he's admitted that he grew up kind of in the Christian faith, has walked away from it, and just, he's one of these guys who knows so much about it, has all the head knowledge, and says things like, "I'll, you know, I'll come back to God eventually." [00:19:56] And it just so happens, he's big into productivity, and he's always [00:20:00] finding that whatever he's reading is really falling short. And so I'm just gonna get this as a gift for him and just say, "Here you go, man." 'Cause I, 'cause the one thing I can say about this book for anybody who's read a lot of productivity stuff, is this is something unlike you've read before when it comes to productivity. [00:20:13] Yeah. Because it is so gospel-centered. The first opening, the whole opening gambit is, like, you can't ... How can you be pr- productive if you don't know the, the or- the origin or, like, the father of time himself? And I'm like, wow. Yeah. Okay, here we go. Let's talk about it. And then you'll be halfway through, and he's given you all of this, uh, format, framework, and structure for how to set your calendar, how to modify your time. [00:20:34] Like, so it's the best of both worlds. You, you get a lot, but what I love is it's very presuppositional. It's like you cannot be productive in life, you cannot find your missional purpose, dist- to understand your calling, and then from there break down your quarterly goals and then your tasks. It's really a lovely way of tying everything back to the gospel, and he goes hard by saying, "Listen, you can, you have a say in directing your calling. [00:20:57] You do not have a say in your mission. That comes [00:21:00] from God himself, who defines who you are and what it means to be human and what it's like to relate to him." And I found that to be just overwhelmingly refreshing, like you said. So I hope that people will pick this up and read it for themselves, but I could see this being, like, a really lovely introduction to the gospel to many who are just interested in how to tackle life better. [00:21:20] And the beautiful thing about the, the Bible is it tells us the truth about the way things are. And so, like you and I have talked about before so many times, Tony, like, there's so much common grace that, of course, all these studies are just f- are kind of, are directly connected to this gospel truth of what it means to do good work and to do it as an act of worship before God. [00:21:38] That's where we find our fulfillment, of course, is in worshiping him, and part of our productivity is that part of worship. So there's a lot of good things to, that could be said there. But I think it's, this has, like, book club written all over it, guys. Get, just get it. Get a bunch of people together. Just book club this bad boy all over the place. [00:21:57] That's, that's my-  [00:21:58] Tony Arsenal: Yeah ...  [00:21:58] Jesse Schwamb: my full affirmation. [00:22:00] [00:22:01] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. And, and one last thing I'll say in response to that, I love the idea of giving this book to someone almost as, like, an evangelistic tool. Yeah. Because I think there are a lot of people who, um, life is so busy and everybody is trying to get things done that especially people who already kinda operate in productivity circles, productivity mindsets, they're always looking for the next system that can fix the problem. [00:22:27] Jesse Schwamb: Yes.  [00:22:28] Tony Arsenal: And, like, no system can fix the problem. That's probably part of the point of this book. But, like, everybody's looking for, like, the next system that will give them that, like, 2% efficiency boost or, like, that 5% efficiency boost or whatever it is. And so even though they may never pick up a book that is theological and it's about the gospel, if you give them this book and be like, "This guy's got a really unique perspective on it, man. [00:22:48] I really think it can help you really, you know, I think he- there's some useful insight for your productivity system"- Right ... they'll read that book. They'll put it in their calendar- Yes, I agree ... they'll time block it out. I agree. And they'll read it, and they'll [00:23:00] read it to completion, 'cause that's how people who operate in these circles tend to be. [00:23:04] Uh, so you'll get the gospel in there. So I think that's a really great, uh, a really great tool that people could think about using.  [00:23:10] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. It's like their productivity, or it's like the gospel Trojan horse through productivity. But it's, it's the truth. Yeah, yeah. This is the truth. And that's what I loved about it. [00:23:18] It was unashamed in that this is the way life works, and God is over all, and you've gotta understand these things if, if you wanna be productive. If you wanna know the truth, you've gotta understand the truth. It's gotta be presented to you. And in point of fact, I mean, that's what we're talking about in this whole conversation. [00:23:35] Luke 12 Rich Fool Reading [00:23:35] Jesse Schwamb: In fact, everybody- Yeah ... at Love Ones, drop what you're doing, come find us in Luke chapter 12. That's where we are. And we're getting this thing kicked off because Jesus tells this whole parable about a rich fool in response to a man in the crowd demanding that he settle an inheritance dispute. And as Jesus often does, he refuses to be a judge or an arbiter over earthly po- property, and instead he turns this whole thing to warn against [00:24:00]covetousness, the insatiable grasping after more. [00:24:03] Which, in some ways, is maybe more directly tied into this whole discussion about productivity than I thought. But the parable then follows... It's really not about money management, and that's, you... I've heard this talked about in various ways. Instead, it's about the human heart's naive trust in itself rather than in God. [00:24:22] So I'm going to read for us a couple verses in Luke chapter 12 to start us off, and I'm gonna start in, I'm gonna say verse 13. And, uh, this is from Luke's gospel. "And someone from the crowd said to him, 'Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.' But Jesus said to him, 'Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter over you?' [00:24:45] Then he said to them, 'Watch out and be on your guard against every form of greed. For not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.' And he told them a parable, saying, 'The land of a rich man was very productive. [00:25:00] And he began reasoning to himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?' [00:25:05] Then he said, 'This is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have so many goods laid up for so many years to come. Take your ease. Eat, drink, and be merry."' But God said to him, 'You fool. This very night your soul is required of you. [00:25:27] And now who will own what you prepared?' So is the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."  [00:25:38] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:25:39] How to Misread This Parable [00:25:41] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, this is, um, this is one of those parables, again, maybe we'll put this in the category of parable with quotation marks. Um, this doesn't always even appear on lists of parables because it doesn't necessarily follow the same format, although he calls it a parable in the, the text here itself. [00:25:58] But in so- some sort [00:26:00] of, like, lists of parables would even say this isn't even in the same category. But, um, this one here is, is another one of those parables that if we, um, w- we talked about this, uh, last week and I think a, a couple, or last time and a couple times before that. The, the parables of Matthew, or in Matthew, the, the parables that Matthew collects of Christ's overall parabolic, you know, figurative speech ministry, almost all of them are very much oriented towards explaining the nature of the Kingdom of God, explaining the nature of, of how the Kingdom of God functions, how the Kingdom of God is currently breaking into the world, how the Kingdom o- of God will definitively and finally break into the world in the, in the eschaton. [00:26:43] Um, w- we can sometimes fall into a dangerous interpretive error if we assume that because Matthew's parables, which the bulk of the parables are in Matthew, right? Matthew has more parables than the rest of the Gospels, um, especially if you're talking about [00:27:00] unique parables. Um- Luke's parables, as we've seen them so far, at least the ones that don't overlap with Matthew, they're not necessarily oriented towards that same Kingdom of God understanding in the strictest sense. [00:27:14] So this parable is not, um... I've heard some that, some people who interpret this in light of the same kind of like, "Stay awake you foolish virgins" kind of theology- Right ... that we saw in, in, in Matthew. Um, this parable is not teaching that same message, at least not in the same way, right? Th- And again, this is not a parable about money management necessarily. [00:27:37] It's not a parable about, um, you know, I think we could fall into error on one side that this is like, "You fool, how dare you ever be concerned about your wealth and your finances and advancing your own wealth?"  [00:27:48] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:27:48] Tony Arsenal: Versus the other side where it's like, uh, you know, people are like, "Well, the foolish part of this is A, B, or C." [00:27:56] This is really a parable about a lot of other things that we're [00:28:00] gonna unpack. But if we read it as a sort of like eschatological parable, which it sort of feels that way, it feels a little bit like it's a sort of final eschatology or a personal eschatology parable. Uh, again, it's not to say there's not elements that speak to that, but if we read this as like some sort of, um, if you don't give away all your resources, if you don't give away all your money, if you're not thinking in terms of a life of poverty, then you're condemned. [00:28:23] If we read it in light of that, that's not right. Right. If we read it in light of sort of like wealth planning strategies, which, you know, this is kind of like the financial version of the Daniel diet, like just taking it totally out of its context, we really can sort of run aground on some bad, some bad interpretive strategies. [00:28:41] Jesse Schwamb: I'm with you on that.  [00:28:42] First Observations and Themes [00:28:42] Jesse Schwamb: All those alternatives seem to really denigrate it, don't they? They cheapen what's here because it's not about what's on the face, and I think that's why it's worth talking about, because there's so much underneath. Which we always say, but I think it becomes more and more plain the more we really try to understand what's at stake, what the commentary is really being produced. [00:29:00] And this, I think, is maybe Jesus could have taken any number of situations or circumstances. He just happens to use this one of property in particular, especially 'cause he was given the entry point, to emphasize something about the sovereignty and responsibility of God, but also our relationship towards him. [00:29:17] I suppose what it means, of course, to be rich in God, which is the pun sign. What I notice like immediately in this is that Luke tells us something like before the man even ever speaks, and that is like the whole point of his wealth, everything he has, is because the ground produced- Like the increase is not attributed to this guy's skill or his labor or even his shrewdness. [00:29:39] And like you said, Tony, we've, we've been in other parables where there's been a lot more commentary about the characters involved, that's been a part of this. All of that- Yeah ... is, is just given.  [00:29:46] Providence And Ingratitude [00:29:46] Jesse Schwamb: Like everything he has is just gi- literally given to him. It's given in the t- passage, it's given to him in this circumstance. [00:29:52] And there is like, I think, a doctrine, even from the start here, I'm seeing like this flavor of like this doctrine of providence like in miniature. Like [00:30:00] every harvest, every dividend, every windfall is, in the biblical worldview, the fruit of God's sustaining and governing hand. And so I love that like that's how I think Jesus opens this up. [00:30:10] And so we're gonna see like the tragedy of the parable is that the man who receives this gift will never once acknowledge the giver. And there's all of this ingratitude, which I think often is like the root beneath every sin. And in this story we see the man enjoys God's bounty while essentially erasing God from the picture entirely, and that's how we start  [00:30:32] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. [00:30:32] Parable Framed By Warnings [00:30:32] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and there's this other... A- and, um, maybe to, not to bury the lead and maybe, I don't know, maybe this is a spoiler warning for the rest of our episode, but it's, if you read this parable, um, you know, what, what do we always say when a, when a passage is a little bit confusing or it's unclear? Read a little bit more, right? [00:30:48] Read a little in front, read a little after, and it usually is pretty clear what's getting said here. So when we look at in front of this, Christ tells you what the point of this parable is. Like, He's using this [00:31:00] parable to explain a previous statement, and that statement is, "Take care and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." [00:31:10] Right? Right. So the parable explains that statement in parable form. And if we read just a little bit after, and I'm sure we'll, we'll get to it more in depth, but He says to His disciples in verse 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, and what you will put on. [00:31:29] For life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.'" Right? So those two statements, right? Life does not consist in the abundance of possession, in the front, and life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Those are parallel statements. And usually we look at, this is a, a literary technique called an inclusio, right? [00:31:49] What an inclusio is, is you have a statement at the beginning of a passage or a beginning of a text, and then a similar or sometimes identical or parallel statement after the text [00:32:00] that sort of shows you, it's almost like a chapter break, right? Sometimes, um, that's used to show you where the chapter is. [00:32:07] Sometimes it actually helps us to clarify these statements by recognizing them as inclusios. We see that the pre- the statement before the parable and the statement after the parable are essentially the same statement because they're being used to form this inclusio. Uh-huh. So the fact that we need to be aware, be on guard against covetousness, and the fact that we should not be anxious about our possessions, about our life, about our material things, the not being anxious and the be- being aware of covetousness, those are the same thing. [00:32:36] Or they're s- they're largely similar, largely substantially the same things. Which we did an episode when we were going through our, like, five-year-long systematic theology, um, series. Um, we did a s- we did a, a handful of episodes on, um, on the Ten Commandments, and so I would encourage you to go back and listen to the episode on covetousness because we covered all this, [00:33:00] right? [00:33:00] Whether it's being anxious in terms of, um, being insecure in your material wealth, being insecure in what God has provided for you and not being thankful, you know, kind of almost resenting God because of your lack, that's a form of covetousness. Or whether- Right ... covetousness is taking more of a traditional format of wanting something that someone else has. [00:33:20] Um, both of those things represent a violation of the ninth commandment. And so this parable here is... And I think this will get to where you're, where you've been sort of leading us. This parable here is designed to help his listeners, and primarily hi- like, this guy, right? He's trying to teach this guy, but also he turns to his disciples after this and launches into another section and a further explanation of this concept. [00:33:47] It's here to help us understand not just, you know, the fact that, like, my material we- my material, uh, wealth doesn't really help me after I die. Like, yeah, you can't take it with you. Okay, [00:34:00] maybe that's part of this. Right. Maybe it's kind of the, you know, 1 Corinthians 6, "Don't build on s- don't build out of straw," you know, like, things are gonna burn away, just what you build on a s- on foundation will stay. [00:34:11] Not Wealth But Trust [00:34:11] Tony Arsenal: But more so this is about understanding satisfaction and contentment in whatever it is that God has blessed us with, right? That's right. So this is not a con- condemnation of those who are wealthy. This guy's not condemned because he had a bumper crop and because he's wealthy. Right. He's not even condemned explicitly because he's trying to plan for the future, right? [00:34:30] There's lots of things, to kind of go to the productivity thing. There's nothing wrong with planning for the future. Right. There's nothing wrong with saying, "I had a really good harvest year, and I'm gonna need bigger barns to store all this stuff, to, like, keep all this stuff." It's, it's as I think you're leading us to, it's this seemingly total unawareness that the, the bumper crop comes with certain kinds of, like, obligations and entailments- Right [00:34:56] beyond just I'm gonna celebrate and enjoy my [00:35:00] own wealth for wealth's sake.  [00:35:02] Jesse Schwamb: Right. It's what all of this circumstance reveals about this man, his heart, where he finds his assurance and confidence. So I like where we're going with this. So you're right, if you look at the passage immediately preceding and subsequent, what you'll find is that beautiful... [00:35:16] Well, this is an Oreo sandwich. Unfortunately, we're back to where we started, because we've got- ... w- one cookie is the warning, avoid covetousness. The other cookie is the don't be worried, and the cream in the filling here is assurance or confidence. That is, like, where does our true wealth lie? But more and bey- beyond that, like, where can we hang our hats, so to speak? [00:35:36] Like, what is it that we can be confident that we, we can rest secured in?  [00:35:41] Autonomous Inner Counsel [00:35:41] Jesse Schwamb: And so we get some of the betrayal of the fact that this man is looking at the wrong things, even from that first verse. And then by the time, like, this interesting, this whole internal mon- monologue begins, I think again, like, it's, it's telling to me that he deliberates, like, entirely by himself. [00:35:56] And I think, like, this is kind of this interesting posture of the [00:36:00] natural man that is described in Romans, like, 1, where there's, like, kind of functional, practical atheism. You know? He doesn't ask, like you were saying, Tony, like, "What does the Lord require of me with this abundance?" He doesn't consult scripture, neighbor, or God. [00:36:13] He consults only himself. Which honestly I think is a temptation for us all. Like, that can be our defa- default mode in situations similar to this, where we first start to reason among and with ourselves. And this is, like, the soliloquy of a completely autonomous man who thinks he has his own agency. It's like the very pattern of Adam and Eve in the garden reasoning about the world as though they were its final authority. [00:36:37] So here, you're right. We're, we're getting set up with it's not the circumstances that condemn this man. It's essentially how he behaves, where he puts his trust within those circumstances.  [00:36:48] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:36:49] Soul Talk As Insanity [00:36:49] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and, you know, I've, I've heard, um, and I, I have not validated this myself, so take it with a little bit of a grain of salt. [00:36:56] But there's, there's something, um... I've heard it from [00:37:00] multiple sources, multiple reliable resources that I trust, that this sort of phrase in the middle where it's like he says to his soul or he says to- Yes ... himself, there's something about that that is sort of almost like a form... Uh, I've heard it said, like, that would've been f- viewed as, like, a form of insanity- Mm [00:37:18] in the ancient world. And we've commented this, on this before. Like, um- A large portion of the population doesn't have an internal monologue. And I think, um, i- if I remember right, it's actually, like, a larger portion, it's like a majority portion of the world doesn't have an internal monologue. And what that means is... [00:37:39] A- and hopefully there's some people in our audience that are like, "Oh, yeah, I don't, I, I don't even know what you're talking about when you say an internal monologue." And it's hard for people who are in one side of this to even conceptualize what it would be like to be on the other side of this. But there are people who, um, when they think, they're essentially speaking to themselves. [00:37:59] And then there's people [00:38:00] who, when they think, a- and I, again, I don't even know how to describe this, they don't have an internal monologue. They're not, they're not speaking to themselves in their minds I think, um, probably part of the reason that this was so, is, was seen as so crazy in the ancient world is in the ancient world, uh, the... [00:38:18] I'm getting really far afield here. I'll try to bring it back. Um, in the ancient world, because people didn't read as much, they don't have that internal monologue. The prominence of people being able to read, and especially being able to read to themselves, which is something that even as early as 100, 200 years ago just wasn't common to be able to read to yourself. [00:38:37] If you wanted to read, you would have to read out loud. To be able to just read in your mind, because when we read in our mind, we're speaking words to ourselves, I think our, our, um, culture has trained itself where more, more and more people have this internal monologue. But in the ancient world, this idea that someone would say to themselves or, like, speak to their own selves or sort of [00:39:00] ponder this internally was, has... [00:39:03] Like I said, I haven't validated this independently. I haven't done the research myself, but enough resources that I've read that I trust to have done that have said this. That was itself seen as a little bit of a, of a anomaly and sort of almost a form of insanity. Right. And so I think we've commented that a lot of times the parables have this point in them or this turning point where somebody does something that is sorta crazy. [00:39:29] Like, it's a little bit- Right ... out there, right? You think of the parable of the prodigal son, prodigal father, whatever, however you wanna call it. The idea that, like, the father sort of debases himself and runs out to greet the son, or even the fact that, like, when this, when this selfish son asks for his inheritance, that his father just gave it to him before he died, that is uncharacteristic and would've been seen as a little bit weird or a lot a bit weird. [00:39:55] This idea that this guy stops to sort of self-reflect [00:40:00] by himself entirely internally, right? The little- Right ... literal Greek, and so some translations say this, "So I said to my soul." Even- Right ... um, even that language of, um, almost having to externalize your internal thoughts. He's not... It doesn't say, "So he thought about it himself." [00:40:21] He had to say to his soul. He had to speak to himself. Even the language shows you that the Greek language doesn't have good construction to even be able to articulate what it would be like to think to yourself or to just mull it over internally. That is a strange function here, and it gets at what you've been saying. [00:40:41] He doesn't pause to pray about it. He doesn't pause to go to the gates of the city and speak with the elders. He doesn't connect with his wife. He doesn't ask anybody. He doesn't consult anybody. He does this sort of insane thing that even the Greek language doesn't have words for and has to sort of create this new [00:41:00] construction. [00:41:00] Right. He just stops. He thinks to himself. He speaks to his own soul. And, and then it, like, sort of paints this picture of him saying it out loud. "I said to my soul, 'Soul-  [00:41:10] Jesse Schwamb: Right. ...  [00:41:11] Tony Arsenal: what should I do?'" Like, it's, it's this sort of, like, weird sort of- Weird ... insane, strange feature that we don't pause to think about because we have this internal monologue. [00:41:21] We have this internal dialogue with ourselves, and so we don't think that that's unusual. But that's actually probably one of the main points of the parable is there is this strange feature where this guy doesn't pause to consult with anyone or anything about what he should do with this bumper crop. [00:41:39] He just Acts on his own behalf, thinks through his own behalf. And that should be the key to us that like, hmm, we really should think about what is the point here.  [00:41:49] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. You, you stole what I was gonna say. The soul thing is the super weird thing. I'm glad you already brought it up because when I read this, you can get through most of it and say, "Okay, that's interesting. [00:41:58] Interesting story." And then you get to him [00:42:00] being like, "Hey, soul." And you're like, "Say what?" Yeah. Like, "Who are you talking to? Why are you talking that way? Why are you being so weird about this?"  [00:42:06] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:42:06] My Barns My Goods [00:42:06] Jesse Schwamb: So, like, there's the ju- the just sheer, like, selfishness, and then there's this... It gets escalated, elevated to this, like, soul self-talk, which is super weird, and deliberate, I think, in Jesus' telling of this. [00:42:18] So, like, you're right. You got this repetition of all these, in Greek, like, first person pronouns: my crops, my barns, my grain, my goods. I just counted here five times in three verses we've got either I or my. So it's not simply, like, poor stewardship. It's the theological posture of self-ownership. It's like t- complete denial of the creature's fundamental dependence on the creator. [00:42:38] And then, as if that's not enough, you get this whole verse 19, "Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, and be merry." And you wanna say, "Who are you talking to, man?" So, like, here I think this folly reaches a full and fatal expression to me because he speaks to his own, his own soul as though the soul, which is like the [00:43:00] very seat of a person's relationship with God, could be satisfied by grain. [00:43:05] And so I think this is, like, the fundamental conclusion that Reformers labored to expose. It's really like mistaking the gifts of common grace for the substance of ultimate security. He's trying to create this cookie with all this cream in the middle, but he has nothing there. There's, there's nothing to fill it. [00:43:20] It's like, it's like Augustine's dictum stands over this entire verse like a judgment. The heart is restless until it finds rest in God. And guess what? No barn, however large, can hold whatever only God can give. And so, like, the man's error is not that he planned for the future, like we've been saying. [00:43:36] Scripture commends some prudence. But that he planned as though there were no God to whom he must give account and no eternity beyond the granary, and then beyond that, he takes responsibility for his own soul and tries to self-soothe that soul. My word, I could barely say that. He tries to soothe his own soul in a way to give it confidence merely by the things he owns, separating himself from the [00:44:00] creator, the one who has given him all these things. [00:44:02] It is, I think, Tony, like you said, absolute insanity. It's certainly like insanity raised up against the spiritual man, and yet to the natural man, this seems like... Even in our modern day, in a contemporary context, this seems like the reasonable thing to do, the reasonable thing, to take charge of yourself and to be happy with yourself and to be content with what you provided and to have security in that, and yet this is the great- greatest kind of foolishness that possibly there ever is. [00:44:28] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:44:30] Enjoy Gifts Not Idols [00:44:30] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and I think too, um, you know, the, this, um This is sometimes taught as though, like we've alluded to and said a couple times, it's taught as though the act of saving or, like, investing or even in this case, like, sort of taking a strange risk to try to propel your wealth forward, this is sometimes taught as though the point of this is that you shouldn't do those things. [00:44:56] Right. Like, the act of saving your wealth is [00:45:00] somehow... Like, saving things up or investing or taking a risk is somehow contrary to biblical wisdom and biblical prudence, and I don't, I don't think that's at all the point of the parable, right? And we've, we've pointed out that this parable is sandwiched or Oreo cookied by, you know, beware of covetousness, life does not exist in your possessions, or the satisfaction of life does not exist in your possessions, and then do not be anxious, life is more than food, the body more than clothing. [00:45:28] And the, the, the key phrase here in terms of where this guy's mistake is, not only is the mistake in the idea that, like, he's not c- thinking about what should I do with this in reference to my neighbor or what should I do with this in reference to God. There seems to be no consideration of that at all. [00:45:44] But what he intends to do with it in relation to those statements is entirely self-focused. And it's not, it's not the case at all. Please don't hear me saying it's not okay to enjoy the [00:46:00] fruit of your labor, right? There's all sorts of things in the Bible, lots of teaching in the Bible, um, about the fact that when we work hard and we reap a financial benefit, whether it's in, in this sort of like ancient culture, it's a, you know, a concrete financial benefit, or whether it's in our more modern culture where, like, we just, we gather more money which is sort of like a, I don't know, it's like a social contract of m- evaluating our labor. [00:46:25] Whatever it is, w- it's okay to use your wealth in ways that drives satisfaction. It's okay to enjoy wealth. Like, go buy a nice steak. Go get a nice bottle of wine. Take your wife out for dinner. Go on vac- Like, those things are fine. Buy a nice car. Go on vacation. Those things are fine, provided you're not finding your enjoyment and your satisfaction and, and ultimately that you are not doing those things as the final end of existence. [00:46:53] Right. Right? The, the point that he's making to this young man who says, "Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me," [00:47:00] is, like, you are finding or trying to find your life's ultimate satisfaction in your wealth or in this, like in the wealth that you think you deserve. The flip side of the disciples is, like, your entire life seems to be driven by the fact that you feel like you don't have enough food or you don't have the right clothing. [00:47:21] So the idea that, like, our satisfaction or our security is found in the abundance of our possessions, that is what this parable is railing against Right With a little bit of, I think a little bit of a gospel call here, right? Yeah. There's, there's this element, and this is, maybe this is unique. I don't, I don't, I can't think off the top of my head another parable where God himself is actually in the parable. [00:47:49] I think this is somewhat unique, if not entirely unique- Right ... where God himself now is in the parable saying, "Fool, this night your soul is required of you, and the things you've [00:48:00] prepared, whose will they be?" So this idea that on the one side, those who have abundance are warned against finding their sat- their ultimate satisfaction in the abundance of their possessions, and on the flip side, those who lack abundance are warned against, uh, an utter sense of insecurity in the lack of their abundance. [00:48:22] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:48:23] Tony Arsenal: In the middle there is this chastisement for both of those groups, basically saying your life and your satisfaction and security should be found in the fact that you belong to God and that God is your God. I think that's probably the ultimate payout of this parable, is this idea that like, yeah, whether you have a lot, whether you have a little, whether you have enough, whether you don't have enough, whether you are able to be sort of like enjoying luxury items versus just scraping by or not even scraping by, those [00:49:00] are two realities, and there are Christians who exist in both of those realities. [00:49:04] And some people might push back on this a little bit, but those realities are, are neutral morally, right? You can be rich and, uh, and still be a faithful Christian. You can be poor and still be a faithful Christian. I guess we can probably have some conversation at some point about which of those states it's easier to be a faithful Christian in. [00:49:25] But the fact is, like, you can be in either of those states and still be a faithful follower of God.  [00:49:30] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:49:31] Tony Arsenal: As long as you're not finding your satisfaction or being overwhelmed by insecurity in either of those states, I think, uh, I think you, you, you, you can do both of them. And it's actually funny because... [00:49:44] Maybe not funny. It's interesting. Um, it's also possible to be satisfied in the lack of your possessions, if I can even put it that way, right? There are those who have sort of like placed their security and their ultimate satisfaction in sort of [00:50:00] their poverty or their minimalism, and there are those who are, like, anxious about the fact that they're wealthy. [00:50:06] This parable speaks to all of those things on every level saying, "No, no, no, no, no," like, your relationship to your possessions is not the point. Right. The point is your relation to God and whether you are his children and whether he is your God.  [00:50:21] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:50:21] God Interrupts The Fool [00:50:21] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, there's multi-factor foolishness at play here for sure. [00:50:24] It starts with this idea that he's not crediting, he's not giving attribution, he doesn't understand that he's actually a contingent being and that God provides all these things. Then, like we said, there's this elevation, like you've just talked about, where it moves. That would be- Really foolish enough. [00:50:41] But what's even more foolish is to say to one's own soul, "You know what? Sit back, chill, be confident because you've done all the things. You have all the right stuff. You don't need to worry about anything." Almost implying, like, you can live forever. Just hang out. You have everything that you need, and you did it all yourself. [00:50:58] And so in verse 20, where God [00:51:00] interrupts and speaks to him directly, is amazing because He goes right into, first of all, right into the man's private counsel. So it's a good reminder that no soliloquy is ever truly private. We have the judge of all the earth. He hears every deliberation of the heart, and then He addresses him by this word fool, which, of course, you and I have talked about. [00:51:18] Like, in the Bibl- vocabulary, it's not just, like, an insult abo

In the season three finale of The Inner Edge, Janet Ioli tackles the last of the seven leadership traps, the one high-substance leaders resist hardest because it sounds superficial: the image trap.She names the uncomfortable truth underneath this trap: humans and organizations make fast judgments on first impressions, and wishing that weren't true doesn't make it so. She draws a sharp distinction between the two ways this trap catches people: over-polishing until the substance underneath goes hollow, or dismissing image altogether and letting real substance go unseen.This episode closes the arc of the whole season. Janet connects the image trap back to all six traps that came before it, arguing that unexamined inner work eventually leaks outward, and that the real work was never substance versus image, but integrating the two.This is the finale of an eight-part series on the seven leadership traps, based on Janet's upcoming book, Escape the Traps (releasing October 2026).Chapters:00:00:00 Why Talented People Get Passed Over00:01:28 The High Potential CFO Who Couldn't Get Promoted00:04:27 Why Care About Image00:05:53 The Two Sides of the Image Trap00:08:34 Why This Leadership Trap Was Saved For Last00:10:06 The Mirror Question and Season CloseRead the first chapter of Escape The Traps (available October 2026): https://mailchi.mp/5d2dbf42009c/escape-the-traps-chapterWhich trap is running you? Take the quiz and find out: http://janetioli.com/quizConnect with Janet Ioli:Website: janetioli.comLinkedIn: Janet IoliInstagram: @janetioliYouTube: @janetioliIf you want to become more grounded, confident, and aligned with your deeper values in just 21 days, check out Janet Ioli's book Less Ego, More Soul: A Modern Reinvention Guide for Women.If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts.  Select “Listen in Apple Podcasts,” then choose the “Ratings & Reviews” tab to share what you think.  Produced by Ideablossoms 

Season 5 Episode 88 Two Sides to Every Story: The Adoption Paradox by Jean WidnerClosing the Gap of the Adoption Paradox1: 3:38 — What is the Adoption Paradox? 2: 19:03 — The Primal Wound & Birth Trauma 3: 37:16 — Adoption Hope Jean Widner website: https://adoptionparadox.com/Free Resources: https://adoptionparadox.com/information-resources/Season 5 is upon us, and we are kicking off video episodes on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠. Would you rather read this transcript? Find the full episode in article form on ⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠. Thank you to our sponsor for the fall, JDE Creations. ⁠⁠JDE Creations⁠⁠ is based in Michigan. They do creative and inspiring wood wall art and design. They have been on Etsy for 11 years, and they have 1,600 sales. They do amazing woodworking, all handmade — trees, flowers, hanging art, huge art, custom pieces, anything you could want. Use the code BOOKTHERAPY at checkout for a discount. ~If you enjoy this podcast, leave an honest review on Spotify or Apple. We value your feedback!Text this episode to a foster or adoptive family to encourage them as they care for vulnerable youth.Foster Mama Journal is here! More details on IG ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@Fostermamafriend⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and the website:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ www.kimpatton.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠~Get to know the host:Kim Patton's book- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Nothing Wasted: Struggling Well through Difficult Seasons⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is for those struggling through hard times. View the book in paperback, ebook, and audiobook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Books | Mysite (kimpatton.com)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Enter email address on Substack for free sample chapters and downloadable PDF Mama Check-In:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Author Kim Patton | Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.kimpatton.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Author Kim Patton | Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Latest Stories on Her View from Home⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- Book Therapy episodes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Stay in Touch with Author Kim Patton⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and get your first freebie!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Goodreads ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Book reviews galore

Robert Womac Sunday PM, September 13, 2026

We need to hear God’s message and respond to it. How are you responding and sharing God’s Word?

We need to hear God’s message and respond to it. How are you responding and sharing God’s Word?

We need to hear God’s message and respond to it. How are you responding and sharing God’s Word?

“I don't care about being nice anymore. Nice girls die in situations like this.”   In this episode of Fictional Hangover, Amanda and Claire talk about being pro-bread, how oatmeal is not sexy, reminiscing about Snake on our Nokias, bear-trapping your unlucky leg off, and an extra bonus murder in our discussion of Two Sides to Every Murder by Danielle Valentine.

Two Sides Of The Sports Coin bonus 721 Wed, 09 Sep 2026 13:12:02 +0000 sZqFQllye4NLvOL3LWyT44kJL78pXm1f sports Sports Daily sports Two Sides Of The Sports Coin Wichita's popular morning local sports talk radio show is Sports Daily with Jacob Albracht and Tommy Castor. Listen live M-F 8a-11a on KFH! © 2026 Audacy, Inc. Sports https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?feed-link=https%3A%2F%2Frss

Have you ever struggled to transition from the noise and distraction of daily life into a quiet, sacred space with God?With Psalms 100-106, discover how stepping through symbolic gates with praise can shift your focus away from life's anxieties and straight into God's heart. It's a powerful reminder that God's eternal throne gives us a steady place to anchor our hearts. As we wrap up Book 4 of Psalms, we get practical leadership lessons from David's early reign and explore what it looks like to live with undivided integrity, our souls anchored in God's enduring love when life feels completely overwhelming.In our Psalm 100-106 Bible study, we cover:[3:02] Entering the Gates: How shifting our focus to gratitude and praise moves us out of everyday noise and into God's presence.[6:27] Leading with Integrity: What King David's means by a “blameless heart” and how we can pursue it.[10:05] Suffering and Faith: How Psalm 102 transforms deep personal affliction into unshakable trust in an eternal God.[12:38] Understanding Diptychs: Why Psalms 103/104 and 105/106 are paired together like matching pieces of art.[23:26] As Far as the East is from the West: Why Jesus fulfilling the law transforms a conditional covenant into unconditional forgiveness.[26:05] The Creation Light: How Psalm 104 serves as a bridge connecting the light of Genesis 1 to the light of Christ in John 1.[37:16] Two Sides of History: How Psalms 105 and 106 tell the exact same story through two completely different lenses: God's ultimate faithfulness and Israel's failure.Psalms Show NotesPsalms RoadmapPsalms Prayer ListPsalms Playlist - Listen on Apple MusicPsalms Playlist - Listen on SpotifyPhil Wickham - Psalm 8 (Hallé) [Official Music Video]ACTS Prayer GuideFeasts and FestivalsScene from The ChosenGroup Discussion Questions for Psalms 100-106[3:02] In Psalm 100, we learn about entering God's gates with thanksgiving as a way to transition out of the noise and distractions of daily life. What is one distraction that consistently pulls your focus away from God, and what is one small routine that helps you reset your heart and enter God's presence with reverence and thanksgiving?[10:23] Psalm 102 shows how an afflicted person turns their distress toward God's eternal promises. When you are going through a heavy or uncertain season, do you tend to pull away from God or draw closer to Him? What helps you hold onto faith during those times?[38:31] Psalms 105 and 106 remind us that remembering God's past goodness helps build present faith. Looking back on your life journey, what is one specific story or moment where God proved His faithfulness to you in a way you'll never forget?Contact Bible Book Club!Social: Instagram or FacebookWebsite: Bible Book ClubReview Us: Apple Podcast or SpotifyJoin the Fun: DONATE or Buy merchThis episode is part of our ongoing Bible Book Club series, starting with Genesis and journeying all the way through the Bible. Thanks for listening!

Bible Bard podcast BB-176_Wisdom has Two Sides

There Are Two Sides to Everything: Who Is Sitting on the Throne?There are two sides to everything—the way you see yourself and the way others experience you. But there is also another battle happening within: the Spirit versus the flesh.In this episode of Empower Connect Conversations, Carolyn McClain, the Warrior of Forgiveness, challenges you to stop looking at everyone else and pray one powerful prayer:“God, show me ME.”Through a real-life father-and-son conflict, we explore how quickly disagreements can escalate when anger, pride, control, fear, and the need to be right take over.And we confront an important truth:You can be right about the situation and still be wrong in your response.So ask yourself:

Molly Pieroni turns to two very different stocks that she sees having lots of value in the current stock market. For U-Haul (UHAL), she believes the company's services and staple name gives it enough of a moat to withstand inflation concerns. On Alphabet (GOOGL), Molly sees something similar with the Mag 7 giant's suite of tech products and potential to accelerate off AI innovation.

Let Us Know What You Think of the Show!SHOW SUMMARY:Date: August 26th, 2026Name of Podcast: Backstage Pass RadioS11: E5: Max Rios (Max Rios & The Waysiders) - Los Vatos Del Barrio)SHOW SUMMARY:A lot of artists talk about “being real,” but Max Rios has actually built his whole musical life around it, even when the easier move was to chase someone else's plan. We sit down face-to-face in the studio and follow the trail back to South Houston, Wayside Drive, and those formative years where rock and roll, Spanish-language records, and country radio all quietly wired themselves into his sound.Max breaks down how his Tex Americana style is really a lived blend of roots rock, Americana songwriting, country DNA, and Mexican-American influence, not a genre trend. We dig into the lost art of deep listening, why vinyl records and liner notes trained a generation to hear details, and how that kind of attention shows up in songs like “Record Store Days.” If you've ever missed the feeling of getting lost in an album, this conversation will hit hard in the best way.We also get practical about craft and career: how Max writes when inspiration strikes instead of on a schedule, how he knows when a song is “done,” and why space in an arrangement can say more than another overdub. He performs “Angelina” and shares the story behind it, connecting grief, memory, and songwriting in a way that changes how you hear the track. Plus, we talk band realities, solo gigs, redefining success with age, and what to expect from his upcoming full-length release, Two Sides to a Story.If you enjoy songwriter interviews, Americana and Tex-Mex textures, and honest talk about making music in today's industry, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave us a review. What's one song you'd keep alive 100 years from now?Sponsor Link:WWW.ECOTRIC.COMWWW.SIGNAD.COMWWW.RUNWAYAUDIO.COMWWW.BROADLEAFGROUP.COMArtist Website:www.maxrios.comBackstage Pass Radio Social Media Handles:Facebook - @backstagepassradiopodcast @randyhulseymusicInstagram - @Backstagepassradio @randyhulseymusicTwitter - @backstagepassPC @rhulseymusicWebsite - www.backstagepassradio.com & www.randyhulsey.comYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@backstagepassradiopodcastCall to actionWe ask our listeners to like, share, and subscribe to the show and the artist's social media pages. This enables us to continue pushing great content to the consumer. Support Backstage Pass Radio - https://www.buzzsprout.com/1628902/support Thank you for being a part of Backstage Pass Radio Your Host,Randy Hulsey Support the show

In this episode, Nick talks with Oliver Hartwich about how the 2026 election could break MMP from two sides. Oliver's latest research note traces Te Pāti Māori's call for supporters to split their votes, why current polling could leave National with an overhang, and how the absence of compensation for overhang seats in New Zealand, unlike the German system it copied, could produce a Parliament that does not match the popular vote.

This week, we explore two sides of white Burgundy through two very different expressions of Chardonnay from Louis Jadot.First, we taste the bright and unoaked 2024 Mâcon-Villages. Then we move to the warmer and fuller 2024 Pouilly-Fuissé, aged for six months in French oak. Tasting them side by side gives us a clear look at how oak, place, and appellation shape what ends up in the glass.We also explore why the Mâconnais offers some of Burgundy's best value, debate which style we prefer, and close with a Chardonnay edition of Grape Guesses.Two wines. One grape. Two completely different sides of white Burgundy.Wines Reviewed2024 Louis Jadot Mâcon-Villages ChardonnayRegion: Mâconnais, Burgundy, FranceGrape: 100% ChardonnayStyle: UnoakedABV: 12.5%Price: Approximately $162024 Louis Jadot Pouilly-FuisséRegion: Pouilly-Fuissé, Mâconnais, Burgundy, FranceGrape: 100% ChardonnayStyle: Aged six months in French oakABV: 13.5%Price: Approximately $30Buy us a glass!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/cheers3⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with the show. We would love to hear from you!Stop Wasting Your Wine on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/stopwastingyourwine/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Stop Wasting Your Wine on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@StopWastingYourWineChapters00:00 Intro02:39 Meet the Two Louis Jadot Chardonnays05:59 First Sips07:13 Tasting the Unoaked Mâcon-Villages12:02 Tasting the Oaked Pouilly-Fuissé18:29 What Does Oak Actually Change?21:52 Is the Mâconnais Burgundy's Value Region?25:05 Mâcon-Villages vs. Pouilly-Fuissé27:03 Rating the Two Wines34:04 Our Final Verdict on Louis Jadot36:10 Grape Guesses: Chardonnay Edition42:52 The Judgment of Paris Tiebreaker46:10 Outro

“Am I my brother's keeper?” — Genesis 4:9 Sometimes we recognize that two things are closely related or even the same, although they appear to be different— and we describe them by saying they are like two sides of the same coin.God's command “You shall not murder” is an example of this. While he orders that we may not harm or kill anyone, God is also calling us to care for and protect our neighbor's life. Although we might think these are two different things, they are very closely related.In Jesus' parable of the good Samaritan, two Jewish religious leaders ignore a man who has been left beaten and half dead on a deserted road. Out of fear, indifference, or a sense that it's not timely or convenient to help, they pass by the bleeding man. Then a Samaritan, someone despised by the Jews in that day, comes along, and he stops to help the man. He binds up the man's wounds and takes him to an inn to be cared for.The flip side of the command “You shall not kill” involves loving our neighbor, just as the Samaritan in this parable did. The Bible is full of calls to and examples of loving and protecting life: feeding the hungry, housing the vulnerable, welcoming strangers, shielding the weak from the powerful, ensuring justice for all, and even loving our enemies.If we fail to love and care for the people around us, we are breaking the sixth commandment. Lord Jesus, just as you have shown love to all, even your enemies, help us to love and care for all the people around us. In your name, Amen.

Only Two Sides; Judges 5; March 29, 2026; Robert Gardner

Greg Hart Builds His Dream 1976 Album – 10 Tracks, Two Sides, No FillersWhat would be on your perfect ten-track album from 1976?In this special episode of the Now Spinning Magazine podcast, I am joined by Greg Hart, guitarist and songwriter with Cats in Space, to create his dream vinyl compilation from one of the most extraordinary years in music.This is not a conventional countdown. Greg has selected five tracks for side one and five for side two, carefully choosing the opening song, the final track and several unexpected deep cuts along the way.His choices move from Rainbow, Thin Lizzy and Status Quo to classic pop, soul and disco—and there are absolutely no guilty pleasures. Greg explains what these records meant to him as a young music fan and reveals how artists including 10cc, the Four Seasons, John Miles and Phil Lynott helped shape the writing, harmonies and production of Cats in Space.We also discuss the forthcoming Cats in Space album, the first from the new line-up featuring Chris Childs and Sam Wood. Greg reveals why side one will rock harder than ever, why side two contains five epics, how Thin Lizzy influenced the new guitar arrangements and why the album will receive a refreshingly straightforward physical release on classic black vinyl and CD.Which ten songs would make your own 1976 compilation? What would open side one—and which song would bring the album to a close? Please share your track listing in the comments.Phil Aston | Now Spinning Magazine

The Sound Chaser Progressive Rock Podcast is on the air. On a packed show this time I have new music from Enigmatic Sound Machines, cHoclat FRoG, and David Boothby, and In Memoriam feature for Loren Nerell, Patrick Gleeson, and Ray Gomez, the Symphonic Zone, and a full-length concert performance by RPWL. All that, plus news of tours and releases on Sound Chaser. Playlist1. Nik Turner - Spiritual Machines, from Space Fusion OdysseyIN MEMORIAM2. Loren Nerell - Impressions of Africa, from Dali: The Endless Enigma [compilation]3. Patrick Gleeson - Star Wars - Luke's Theme, from Patrick Gleeson's Star Wars4. Stanley Clarke [Ray Gomez] - School Days, from School DaysEND IN MEMORIAM5. David Boothby - Cadence, from We Pretend We Are Birds6. David Boothby - Bell's Theme, from We Pretend We Are Birds7. David Boothby - Baby Ava, from We Pretend We Are Birds8. Enigmatic Sound Machines - Screaming Sound Machines, from Divided by One9. cHoclat FRoG - Stampin' and Toilin', from What's Next10. Ian Anderson - The Stormont Shuffle, from The Secret Language of Birds11. Walter Holland - The Good-Bye Theme, from Transience of Love12. Enchant - Once a Week, from Break13. Peter Banks - Beyond the Loneliest Sea, from Two Sides of Peter Banks14. Annette Peacock - The Succubus, from The Perfect Release15. Terje Rypdal - Stenskoven, from WavesTHE SYMPHONIC ZONE16. Ark - Hagley, from Wild Untamed Imaginings17. Big Big Train - Miramare, from The Likes of Us18. District 97 - Mindscan, from Hybrid ChildLEAVING THE SYMPHONIC ZONE19. RPWL - Daybreak Part 1, from RPWL Plays Pink Floyd's The Man and the Journey20. RPWL - Work, from RPWL Plays Pink Floyd's The Man and the Journey21. RPWL - Afternoon, from RPWL Plays Pink Floyd's The Man and the Journey22. RPWL - Doing It, from RPWL Plays Pink Floyd's The Man and the Journey23. RPWL - Sleep, from RPWL Plays Pink Floyd's The Man and the Journey24. RPWL - Nightmare, from RPWL Plays Pink Floyd's The Man and the Journey25. RPWL - Daybreak Part 2, from RPWL Plays Pink Floyd's The Man and the Journey26. RPWL - The Beginning, from RPWL Plays Pink Floyd's The Man and the Journey27. RPWL - Beset by Creatures from the Deep, from RPWL Plays Pink Floyd's The Man and the Journey28. RPWL - The Narrow Way, from RPWL Plays Pink Floyd's The Man and the Journey29. RPWL - The Pink Jungle, from RPWL Plays Pink Floyd's The Man and the Journey30. RPWL - The Labyrinths of Auximines, from RPWL Plays Pink Floyd's The Man and the Journey31. RPWL - Behold the Temple of Light, from RPWL Plays Pink Floyd's The Man and the Journey32. RPWL - The End of the Beginning, from RPWL Plays Pink Floyd's The Man and the Journey

You probably know whether you're a morning or night person. Science has some good news for you early risers: Apparently, the early bird really does get the worm.In a study of early risers versus night owls, researchers at the University of Birmingham discovered strong connections in the regions of the brain that can predict better performance and lower sleepiness; these areas were significantly stronger in study participants who identified themselves as early birds.Whether you burn the midnight oil and sleep the day away or rise before the sun, there is power in beginning your day by connecting with God in prayer — whether that happens before dawn or at the crack of noon.Psalm 5:3 says, “In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.”Any time is a great time to reach out to the Lord in prayer, and one of the best ways to build a consistent prayer habit is to schedule your prayer time.Try setting your alarm a few minutes early to give yourself a spiritual head start on the day. Thank God for the people and circumstances you're grateful for, ask Him to bless the ones you love, and to guide your footsteps.Let's pray.Lord, thank you for wiring us uniquely to be night owls, early birds, or something in between. Your timing is always right. Keep us in tune with you through regular prayer. In Jesus' name, amen. Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15.

Anthony Donkoh might be known as “Giggles” around the Penn State locker room, but there's nothing funny about the way he approaches football.The Penn State offensive lineman opens up about the aggressive, physical style of play that makes him feel most at home in the trenches — and the switch that turns him from a laid-back, constantly laughing teammate into a completely different person once he steps onto the field.Donkoh also shares the family foundation behind his work ethic, including the example set by his father working two jobs and the support of his mother growing up. He looks back on his rise from freshman football to varsity and the eye-opening jump to the college level.He also explains his close friendship with Tony Rojas, the story behind his “Giggles” nickname, his faith, and what he hopes to accomplish with the Nittany Lions in 2026.Presented by PAM Health: https://pamhealth.com/

If you've researched whole life insurance for Infinite Banking, you've probably seen whole life insurance dividend rates advertised. 5.76%. 6.5%. And you've probably wondered: is higher better, and how do I compare policies using this number? Here's the answer, stated plainly: a higher dividend rate does not mean a better policy. Chasing it, without understanding the bigger picture, leads people to make poor decisions about which policy to choose. That instinct to find one comparable number isn't foolish. But the dividend rate is one of the most misunderstood figures in whole life insurance, and treating it as the answer skips past everything that actually determines how a policy performs. https://youtu.be/JSVn8bnHy1g This isn't an argument that dividends don't matter. They do, and you want them. It's an argument that the rate by itself is one data point in a much bigger picture, and using it as your primary basis for comparison will mislead you. Time to peel back the layers and look at what's really going on underneath that number. The core ideas:Base Premium Versus Paid-Up AdditionsParticipating Versus Non-ParticipatingDirect Recognition Versus Non-Direct RecognitionDoes a higher dividend rate mean a better whole life insurance policy?What does a whole life insurance dividend rate actually tell you?Are whole life insurance dividends guaranteed?Are whole life insurance dividends taxable?Why doesn't a 6% dividend rate mean my cash value grows 6%?What is a participating whole life insurance policy?How should I actually compare whole life insurance companies? The core ideas: A 6% dividend rate does not mean your cash value grows 6% that year There's no industry standard for how dividends are calculated or reported, so comparing rates across companies isn't apples-to-apples Policy design (how much goes to base premium versus paid-up additions) affects dividend crediting more than the rate itself A 10 to 15-year dividend history tells you more than this year's number Direct recognition versus non-direct recognition makes illustrated comparisons unreliable The real comparison criteria: financial strength, dividend history, company friendliness toward policy loans, and your own funding behavior What a Whole Life Insurance Dividend Actually Is A stock dividend is a board of directors deciding to distribute company profit per share. A whole life insurance dividend from a mutual company is classified as a return of premium instead, which is also why it isn't taxable. Mutual companies price policies conservatively, especially around mortality cost, the biggest expense they can't fully control. When actual experience comes in better than projected, the surplus gets returned to policyholders as a dividend. The "they're just giving your money back" objection misses something. If you paid a million in cumulative premiums over forty years and end up with two million in cash value, that's growth that was conservatively deferred, not a refund. In some years, the dividend paid can exceed that year's entire premium. For a fuller breakdown of how dividends are calculated, taxed, and what your options are for using them, we have a dedicated dividends article worth reading, along with a closer look at what dividends are and aren't. The rest of this piece focuses specifically on the rate itself and why it's so often misread. Why a 6% Dividend Rate Doesn't Mean Your Cash Value Grows 6% Here's the single most damaging misconception in this conversation. Social media commentary loves the math of "6% dividend minus your loan rate equals your spread." That math is wrong, because the declared rate and your actual crediting aren't the same thing. The declared rate is largely a gross figure applied across the whole pool of policyholders. What reaches your individual contract is net of mortality costs and other expenses, and depends heavily on your age and where you sit in the life of the policy. You can think of it this way: the cash value is chasing the death benefit. Actuarially, a policy's cash value has to rise enough to equal the death benefit by around age 121. A 70-year-old has far less time left to compound toward that than a 10-year-old, so their cash value has to climb proportionally more, even under the exact same declared rate. That's also why two people holding the same company's policy, with the same declared rate, see different increases in their own cash value. The rate is an input into a calculation, not the outcome of one. Erase "dividend rate equals my growth rate" from how you think about this. The better question is: what's actually driving my policy's performance? The Two Sides of Your Illustration: Guaranteed and Non-Guaranteed Every whole life policy grows through two combined mechanisms: guaranteed interest and non-guaranteed dividends. An illustration shows both sides separately. The guaranteed side shows zero dividends, the contractual minimum the company is obligated to deliver regardless of performance.  The non-guaranteed side shows what happens if today's declared dividend rate continues unchanged every year, reinvested into paid-up additions. That's a big assumption stacked on another. A projection showing a large cash value at age 92 isn't a prediction; it's what today's number would produce if nothing about it ever changed, which it will. Dividend rates move in line with the company's actual performance over time. The number on page one of an illustration is a snapshot, not a forecast. There's a meaningful upside, though. Once a dividend is actually declared and paid, it locks in. It becomes part of the guaranteed side of your contract and is never removed, even if future rates decline. This is exactly why comparing two illustrations on dividend rate alone falls apart. Two different companies can show the identical declared rate and still project completely different cash values twenty or thirty years out, because the rate gets applied differently depending on contract design, your age, and the specific year. The rate isn't the variable that explains the gap. Design is. Why Policy Design Drives Performance More Than the Dividend Rate This is the part that surprises most people, and it's worth slowing down for. Base Premium Versus Paid-Up Additions Dividend crediting isn't applied evenly across every dollar in your policy. The base policy receives a noticeably larger proportion of dividend crediting than paid-up additions, or PUAs, do, and there's a clear mechanical reason why. The company knows your base premium will be funded for the life of the contract, one way or another. Because of that certainty, they spread the base policy's mortality cost across the entire contract term and attach a proportionally larger death benefit to it.  A bigger death benefit means more cash value has to "chase" it, which translates into a bigger dividend on that portion of the policy. PUAs work differently. They're optional, purchased year by year, priced at one-year-renewable-term cost in the year you buy them. A PUA purchased at 40 buys substantially more death benefit than the same dollar amount purchased at 60, sometimes around 10 times the premium early on, versus closer to 1.5 times later in the contract. Less death benefit to chase means a smaller dividend. Some carriers make this visible. Lafayette Life, mentioned here only as an illustrative example, breaks out the base-versus-PUA dividend split on annual statements. Early in a policy, around 90% of the total dividend commonly flows to the base. The practical takeaway: if dividend capture is what you're optimizing for, the proportion of base premium in your policy design predicts performance far better than the headline rate ever will. One caution, though. It's not as simple as "always maximize base." Higher PUA funding lowers a policy's overall mortality cost too, which also lifts crediting elsewhere. Design involves real trade-offs, not a single lever to max out. And beyond design entirely, the biggest variable left is you. How consistently you fund the policy and how you use it over decades shapes performance more than any number on an illustration. What Actually Drives Whole Life Insurance Dividend Rates The real engine behind a dividend rate is company performance: actual mortality experience and expenses compared against what the company projected. Beat the projections, and there's more surplus to return. That's why a ten to fifteen-year look-back at a company's dividend history tells you more than this year's headline figure. A company whose dividends trended steadily or upward through real downturns is showing fiscal discipline likely to continue. A company judged on a single year's number gives you very little to go on. Recent history offers a case study here. The COVID years were a real-world blip: some carriers had loosened underwriting standards to bring in more premium volume, leaving them exposed to higher mortality costs when conditions shifted. Others held tight, conservative underwriting the whole way through.  That frustrates some applicants in the short term, but it lets those companies forecast their future dividend capacity with far more confidence. The next time two companies are separated by a tenth of a percentage point this year, recognize that comparison for what it is: short-range thinking applied to a long-range product. Participating Policies and the Recognition Question Two structural distinctions decide whether dividends exist at all for a given policy, and whether comparing rates across companies even makes sense in the first place. Participating Versus Non-Participating Only participating policies are eligible for dividends. The company's charter spells out that policyholders share in profits. A non-participating policy still carries guaranteed interest,...

123. The Two Sides of the World CupWe're joined by Chris Lee and Matt Walker to talk about the two sides of the World Cup - the overcommercialisation, corruption and boundaries pushed by FIFA every year, and the cultural exchanges, joy and celebrations from supporters of all backgrounds which acts as a counter.⁠Subscribe to The Footbal Heritage Extra on Patreon for £3 per month and get an additional podcast every Thursday.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (formerly Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠For enquiries, feedback or suggestions please email hello@footballheritage.co.uk.Our GuestsChris Lee'Glory Days' by Chris LeeMatt Walker'Europe United' by Matt Walker

The deity of Jesus Christ and the humanity of Jesus Christ are difficult to comprehend, especially when speaking of one individual. Yet these two concepts, when combined, present a beautiful picture of Jesus. 

At Indiana Comic Convention - Bryan Young hosted a discussion about Star Wars and Star Trek being two sides of the same coin, both helpful mythologies for folks looking to craft better inner-lives and better societies around them.

Bernstein Analyst Stacy Rasgon discusses the rebound in chip stocks today ahead of SK Hynik's debut on the Nasdaq tomorrow. Then, we break down PepsiCo's latest earnings and discuss how they're showing two different stories in the U.S. and abroad. Plus, we reveal the top state for AI from CNBC's list of top states for business this year. Squawk on the Street Disclaimer Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello and welcome to Lionheart Church in Austell, GA. Thank you for joining our Sunday morning service. Today's teaching, on this Fourth of July weekend is entitled “The Two Sides of America”

Virginia has gone full Lincolnian, except Lincolnian "conservatives" don't want to hear that.https://mcclanahanacademy.comhttps://patreon.com/thebrionmcclanahanshowhttps://brionmcclanahan.com/supporthttp://learntruehistory.com

In true bipartisan fashion, socialist Bernie Sanders and fascist Donald Trump want government to take ownership of AI and the tech sector.

As Colombians head to elect a new president, shadows of the past weigh heavily on voters minds. The AP's Jennifer King reports.

By now we're well used to World Cups build-ups being overshadowed by controversies in the host country, or in this case countries. Usually, those issues begin to fade from the headlines once the football starts, but is that really going to be the case this year?Nicky Bandini joins Dotun and Andy to discuss the plethora of issues affecting this year's World Cup. Meanwhile, of course, there is still a tournament to be played. How are Europe's sides shaping up ahead of kick-off at the Azteca tonight?Ask us a question on X, Instagram and TikTok, and email us here: otc@footballramble.com.For ad-free shows, head over to our Patreon and subscribe: patreon.com/footballramble.***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** On The Continent is your definitive podcast for European football. Subscribe for new podcasts every single week and throughout the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Abraham is considered one of the forefathers of our faith, and yet in one chapter, he goes from faithful obedience to fearful foolishness. What happened? In this sermon, Pastor Tim explains how all of us are like a coin: one side is faithful and the other is fearful. Nevertheless, God remains the God who will fulfill His promises, regardless of how we react. 

The CEO of Boeing joins us exclusively to discuss the company ramping up its 737 Max aircraft production. Then, we look at the billionaires expected to come out of the SpaceX IPO and the restrictions retail investors could face. Plus, we discuss what to expect from Apple WWDC next week with AI announcements in the spotlight. We also break down this morning's stronger-than-expected jobs number and the sell-off in the Nasdaq.   Squawk on the Street Disclaimer Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Most of us were never taught how to manage and control our emotions without suppressing them.Instead, many of us learned that some emotions are "good" and should be encouraged, while others are "bad" and should be avoided, pushed away, or are problems to be solved. But what if emotional regulation isn't about getting rid of difficult feelings at all?In this episode, I'm sharing the powerful lesson in managing emotions that comes from an old parable. I dive into what true emotional regulation looks like, why fighting certain emotions often makes them stronger, and how learning to make room for all of your emotions can create more peace, resilience, and self-compassion.

James Czerniawski breaks down Broadcom (AVGO) and CrowdStrike (CRWD) earnings to highlight the hardware and software angles of the AI trade. On Broadcom, he says the company posted good earnings but couldn't meet sky-high guidance expectations. It's a similar story in CrowdStrike for software. James highlights the path ahead he sees for both companies following the negative reaction to earnings. ======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day.Subscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – https://twitter.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/schwab-network/ About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

If you've ever felt like being fully yourself would make you harder to love, this episode is for you. Vanessa Bennett explores how the too much wound and the not enough wound are often the same core fear: that authentic selfhood threatens belonging. We talk about the way self-editing becomes a survival strategy—somatically, relationally, culturally—and how “being good” can masquerade as maturity while actually costing you your aliveness. The work isn't “just be yourself”—it's staying connected to yourself even when your full humanity makes other people uncomfortable.For educational purposes only. This isn't therapy.If you want to go deeper, check out the written companion on Substack and explore community + training at https://www.vanessaBennett.com.Additional ResourcesExplore: VanessaBennett.comBook: The Motherhood MythCommunity: Inner Compass CollectiveTraining: Inner Compass AcademyConnect with Inner CompassFollow on InstagramConnect with Vanessa Bennett:Follow on InstagramFollow on TikTokLearn more on SubstackConnect with Vanessa Bennett on LinkedInSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Israel is escalating their military offensive in southern Lebanon. The AP's Jennifer King reports.

Demonstrating Dr. Barnhouse's acute understanding of Romans and his heart for effective preaching, these messages skillful and reverently expound even the most difficult passages in a clear way. Dr. Barnhouse's concern for a universal appreciation of the epistle fuels this series and invites all listeners into a deeper understanding of the life-changing message of Romans. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/791/29?v=20251111

Christian Thordal: The Jazz Duo Effect and The Absent PO — Two Sides of Agile Product Ownership The Great Product Owner: Clarity, Accountability, and a Partnership That Fills in the Blanks Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.   "We kind of filled in the blanks for each other, and it felt very natural — it's grown organically into this partnership where we're extremely aligned on how we see and do things." - Christian Thordal   Christian describes his best Product Owner as someone he currently works with — a person who combines deep product clarity with genuine leadership. This PO is fully accountable for the backlog, sets clear expectations toward the teams, and isn't afraid to push them. What makes this PO stand out is how they use reporting as a communication tool: alongside the backlog, they proactively communicate to the product leader whether things are within or outside scope, always with a plan ready. Christian and this PO hold weekly follow-ups to discuss the team, the backlog, and the product direction. Over time, their alignment has become so strong that during facilitation sessions they naturally fill in blanks for each other — one picks up where the other leaves off. Vasco compared it to a jazz duo, where each musician picks up on the other's leads in real time. This kind of organic partnership in leadership direction reflects positively on the entire team, creating a sense of coherence and momentum that everyone can feel.   Self-reflection Question: How aligned are you with your Product Owner on leadership direction, and what would it take to build the kind of partnership where you naturally fill in the blanks for each other? The Bad Product Owner: When the PO Disappears and the Scrum Master Becomes the Glue Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.   "You can inspire, you can motivate, but you can't really do the work for them." - Christian Thordal   Christian shares an experience from a larger logistics company in Denmark where the Product Owner was a great, likable person — but didn't understand the role. The backlog was high-level, consisting primarily of Epics with no acceptance criteria. Then the warning signs started: the PO became increasingly hard to get a hold of, started canceling refinement meetings (sometimes on the same day), began working more from home, and became physically more distant from the team. Christian and the team were left to navigate on their own, breaking down epics into stories and tasks without knowing if they were building the right product. Christian tried setting up weekly one-hour sessions to help the PO work through the backlog, but the fundamental problem remained — you cannot do the PO's work for them. Eventually, Christian found himself filling in for the PO, which is itself an anti-pattern: the Scrum Master becoming the glue that holds the product together. The symptoms to watch for are clear: a PO who starts missing meetings, backlog items that remain unrefined, a PO who becomes physically or remotely distant, and — the biggest red flag — a Scrum Master who feels compelled to step in and do the PO's job.   Self-reflection Question: Are there signs that your Product Owner is drifting away from the team, and have you caught yourself filling in gaps that aren't yours to fill?   [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

Colin Symons discusses the current state of software versus semiconductor stocks, saying his team trimmed some chip holdings after the sector's massive run up. While he's cautious on buying semiconductors right now, he believes patient investors could still see new highs later this year as the AI growth story remains firmly intact. Colin offers more insight into software names like Intuit (INTU) and Workday (WDAY) to explain how companies have struggled during the SaaS-pocalypse. ======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day.Subscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – https://twitter.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/schwab-network/About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

When we hear people talking about boundaries, we're usually hearing the idea of verbally setting a limit in a relationship - this is important, but misses the foundation. If we don't have an energetic boundary, if our sense of self never developed, if our field has been compromised by trauma/abuse, we don't have a sense of self/not self. Any setting of boundary from this state is unstable, and tends to either be soft or rigid.  Flower essences help change our boundary patterns by establishing a new template for our energetic and emotional fields.  In this episode, Kathleen and Rochana chat about the polarity of boundaries and some key flower essences that can help us come into energetic balance.    Sign up for our new live workshop, Reclaim Your Energy on May 30, and stay tuned for the Energy Boundaries Reset course. ----

With the ceasefire between Iran and the US extended at the last minute, we assess what comes next, with former diplomat Carne Ross. Plus: Why Nato chief Mark Rutte is visiting Turkey and the latest from Pope Leo’s Africa trip.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join us in this rewind episode of Earn & Invest as we sit down with Jason from the Two Sides of FI podcast to explore the uncharted waters of life after early retirement. Together, we delve into the fascinating journey of financial independence and the vital question of how one fills their time, and whether boredom lurks in the shadows. Jason candidly shares his personal experiences, revealing the transformative impact of early retirement on his life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Efe Gümüs: The People-Pleasing Product Owner and the PO Who Understood User Value — Two Sides of Product Ownership In this episode, we refer to the SPIDR slicing method. The Great Product Owner: The PO Who Understood User Value Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.   "If your product owner can phrase what the user wants to do — not what the button should look like — it is going to be a night and day difference." - Efe Gümüs   Efe describes the great product owner as someone who creates focus and a clear product vision, so the team knows what they're building and why. The foundation is simple but powerful: describe what the user will be able to do, not what the interface should look like. Instead of specifying a red subscribe button with exact text in three languages, say "as a user, I want to subscribe to my favorite channel." That shift unlocks the team's ability to contribute design insights, architecture decisions, and user journey thinking — the kind of expertise no product owner could anticipate alone. Efe highlights the SPIDR slicing method as one of his favorite tools for breaking product backlog items into consumable pieces — by interface (iOS, Android, web), by data, by rules. When the PO frames work around user value and slices it effectively, the team delivers visible value in iterations, and sprint goals become meaningful. Without this, the team becomes a ticket delivery machine.   Self-reflection Question: When you look at your product backlog right now, are items described in terms of what users can do — or in terms of what the interface should look like? The Bad Product Owner: The People-Pleasing PO Who Says Yes to Everything Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.   "If you are doing everything your customer says, then you are not managing your product. That's the foundation." - Efe Gümüs   Efe names people-pleasing as the worst product owner anti-pattern — the "customer is always right" mentality applied to product management. When a PO says yes to every request, the consequences cascade quickly: multiple priorities competing simultaneously, everything marked urgent, no meaningful sprint goal, constant context switching, and new items injected mid-sprint. The team loses focus entirely. Efe has seen this in startups where the CEO walks in with urgent customer requests, and in larger organizations where multiple customers each demand customizations. In both cases, the PO becomes a pass-through instead of a decision-maker. The customer might be happy today, but will they be satisfied in six months when nothing is coherent? As Vasco notes, when you're serving multiple customers and saying yes to one, you're saying no to all the others — you just haven't told them yet. The result is chaos: steering blindfolded without navigational tools, trying to go everywhere at the same time. A product owner's most important skill is coherent, aligned decision-making — and that means learning to say no.   Self-reflection Question: How often does your product owner say no to stakeholder requests — and when they do say yes, is it because the request aligns with the product vision or because they want to avoid conflict?   [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

The real estate market is traditionally at its height in the spring. This year, AI is factoring into home sales in two distinct ways. While AI slop infests listings, AI is improving the mortgage approval process. Know what to look out for as a homebuyer.  Also, is studying abroad worth the cost? At a time when grads' job prospects are jumbled by market upheaval, a new study shows that a semester overseas can boost a graduate's starting salary by thousands. And the advantages don't end there. Clark explains how some students are taking the idea a step further. AI In Real Estate: Segment 1 Ask Clark: Segment 2 Study Abroad - OUI!: Segment 3 Ask Clark: Segment 4 Mentioned on the show: Why You Can No Longer Trust Real Estate Photos⁠ The Unsettling Rise of AI Real-Estate Slop 3 Places You Should Never Invest Your Money - Clark Howard What Is Umbrella Insurance and Do You Need It? - Clark Howard Why Study Abroad Can Lead To Higher Starting Salaries For U.S. Graduates - Forbes Preparing to study abroad requires knowing what might go wrong during and after the trip NYTimes: How to Prepare for Your First River Cruise When Do You Need a Travel Agent? - Clark Howard Clark.com resources: Episode transcripts Community.Clark.com  /  Ask Clark Clark.com daily money newsletter Consumer Action Center Free Helpline: 636-492-5275 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices