Podcasts about your holiness

The late Pope Francis brought attention to the plight of refugees and immigrants around the world, as well as to the climate crisis. He also took a different view of the role of women in the church and a more inclusive approach to gay rights and many other social issues, compared with his predecessors. Nearly one and a half billion Catholics around the world revere the Pope, and address him as “Your Holiness” or “Holy Father,” but even among non-Catholic Christians and those of other faiths, the voice and role of the Pope is unique on the world stage.As we look to the start of the conclave next week to choose his successor, we’ll reflect on Pope Francis’s legacy and how it might influence the future of the Catholic Church. We’re joined by two different Catholic leaders in Oregon. Suzanne Thiel is a Bishop ordained by the Roman Catholic Womenpriests. Frank So, a lifelong Catholic,  is the executive director of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, which includes nearly 90 faith partners, including the Archdiocese of Portland, along with Protestant, Jewish, Muslim and Baha’i congregations.  

"I thank You, Father, knowing You will come to close each little gap that lies between the broken pieces of Your holy Son. ²Your Holiness, complete and perfect, lies in every one of them. ³And they are joined because what is in one is in them all. ⁴How holy is the smallest grain of sand, when it is recognized as being part of the completed picture of God's Son! ⁵The forms the broken pieces seem to take mean nothing. ⁶For the whole is in each one. ⁷And every aspect of the Son of God is just the same as every other part." (https://acim.org/acim/en/s/318#9:1-7 | T-28.IV.9:1-7)Visit the website for information on these meetings, the online community and information on paid private mentoring with Keith:https://www.acimwithkeith.com/You can watch manyolder meetings on the YouTube Channel here:https://www.youtube.com/@acimwithkeithOur meetings are organised in the Facebook group, "A Course In Miracles With Keith"Please ensure you read and agree to the group rules on application to have membership approved. This is the link:⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/384802770144828⁠If you'd like todonate, you can do so with paypal here:⁠https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/keithkav⁠Or you can donatewith credit card here:⁠https://www.mypos.com/@keith⁠

This is the first episode of “Songs In The Night.” Please make sure to subscribe so that you can be alerted when the next episode is available.This time of worship and prayer includes part of Kathleen's song “Your Holiness” along with some prayerful spontaneous verses. Scripture is taken from Psalm 40.For more information about Kathleen Fowle's music and ministry, please go to her website at KathleenFowle.com. Please share this episode on your social media and to your friends. Contributions can be made by "buying me a coffee" here. Many thanks!Your Holiness (c) Kathleen Fowle/Two by Two Express(ASCAP) All Rights Reserved. The chord chart and lyrics are available through CCLI.com #5214740. Sheet Music to download is available on SheetMusicPlus.com here: www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/product/your-holiness-20452762.html This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kathleenfowle.substack.com/subscribe

Included Music: Give Us Clean Hands, Calvary Covers It All, When I Look into Your Holiness, There Is a Fountain, Blessed Be Your Name, Same God, and Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus Message Title: Accountable  Text: Hebrews 4:12-13 Take Home Point: God's word exposes what is in your heart by confronting it with God's truth.  

What is a Miracle?A miracle is a correction. It does not create, nor really change at all. It merely looks on devastation, and reminds the mind that what it sees is false. It undoes error, but does not attempt to go beyond perception, nor exceed the function of forgiveness. Thus it stays within time's limits. Yet it paves the way for the return of timelessness and love's awakening, for fear must slip away under the gentle remedy it brings.A miracle contains the gift of grace, for it is given and received as one. And thus it illustrates the law of truth the world does not obey, because it fails entirely to understand its ways. A miracle inverts perception which was upside down before, and thus it ends the strange distortions that were manifest. Now is perception open to the truth. Now is forgiveness seen as justified.Forgiveness is the home of miracles. The eyes of Christ deliver them to all they look upon in mercy and in love. Perception stands corrected in His sight, and what was meant to curse has come to bless. Each lily of forgiveness offers all the world the silent miracle of love. And each is laid before the Word of God, upon the universal altar to Creator and creation in the light of perfect purity and endless joy.The miracle is taken first on faith, because to ask for it implies the mind has been made ready to conceive of what it cannot see and does not understand. Yet faith will bring its witnesses to show that what it rested on is really there. And thus the miracle will justify your faith in it, and show it rested on a world more real than what you saw before; a world redeemed from what you thought was there.Miracles fall like drops of healing rain from Heaven on a dry and dusty world, where starved and thirsty creatures come to die. Now they have water. Now the world is green. And everywhere the signs of life spring up, to show that what is born can never die, for what has life has immortality.LESSON 341I Can Attack But My Own Sinlessness,And It Is Only That Which Keeps Me Safe.Father, Your Son is holy. I am he on whom You smile in love and tenderness so dear and deep and still the universe smiles back on You, and shares Your Holiness. How pure, how safe, how holy, then, are we, abiding in Your Smile, with all Your Love bestowed upon us, living one with You, in brotherhood and Fatherhood complete; in sinlessness so perfect that the Lord of Sinlessness conceives us as His Son, a universe of Thought completing Him.Let us not, then, attack our sinlessness, for it contains the Word of God to us. And in its kind reflection we are saved.- Jesus Christ in ACIM

"I thank You, Father, knowing You will come to close each little gap that lies between the broken pieces of Your holy Son. ²Your Holiness, complete and perfect, lies in every one of them. ³And they are joined because what is in one is in them all. ⁴How holy is the smallest grain of sand, when it is recognized as being part of the completed picture of God's Son! ⁵The forms the broken pieces seem to take mean nothing. ⁶For the whole is in each one. ⁷And every aspect of the Son of God is just the same as every other part." (https://acim.org/acim/en/s/318#9:1-7 | T-28.IV.9:1-7)" Visit the website at: ⁠https://www.acimwithkeith.com/⁠ You can watch many older meetings on the YouTube Channel: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@acimwithkeith⁠ Our meetings are organised in the Facebook group, "A Course In Miracles With Keith" Please ensure you read and agree to the group rules on application to have membership approved. This is the link: ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/384802770144828⁠⁠ If you'd like to donate, you can do so with paypal here: ⁠⁠https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/keithkav⁠⁠ Or you can donate with credit card here: ⁠⁠https://www.mypos.com/@keith⁠

Praying for a warrior's death.A 5-part story By Blind_Justice & Loqui Sordida Ad Me. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.Debon, far to the north, was a land of harsh winters and mild summers, ice and snow yielding to fields of wildflower and rye. The dichotomous climate bred stout warriors who were quick to anger, but stalwart allies if you managed to befriend them. Their grudges were legendary, as were tales of their bravery.Joras moaned. All of this, Ambrose had taught him, along with a smattering of their language.The artist tapped his chest. It took him several tries until he managed to string coherent words together. “I am Joras. You are far from your shores, friend.”Aelric muttered something incoherent, then, louder: “You are, real?” On hands and knees, the stinking, blood-smeared man scrabbled closer, his almost-skeletal hand topped by cracked fingernails. He reached for Joras’ face. “You are real?”Joras stopped Aelric’s hand and clasped it with his own. “Yes. I am no ghost.” The limb seemed fragile, shaking in his loose grasp like a storm-tossed branch. “What are you doing here?”Aelric wheezed. It dawned on Joras that he had tried to laugh. "Dying.“Joras shook his head. "I mean, in this land. Why are you here?”Aelric groaned. His mouth moved, as if he was chewing on his words. Then he said. "Adventurer. Explorer.“"Did you come here alone?”Aelric shook his head. "Longship. My, longship. Storm blew us off-course. Reef damaged the ship. Needed repairs, so we-“ He coughed."You could land safely? Our ship was destroyed.”Aelric nodded. Behind the mask of grime and blood, Joras spotted a re-emerging intelligence in the other prisoner’s pale blue eyes. "While gathering material, met Unami.“ He hugged himself, his face distorted in a primeval mask of longing. "She saw our ship, wanted to leave island. Taught much about the jungle. One night, she came, my tent and, ” He sighed, then made a lewd gesture.“You love this Unami?”Another nod. "Very much. Kind, gentle. Wild!“ He gestured again, a lopsided smile on his face. "One day, Unami said, ‘need to go back to tribe’.” He sniffled. "Did not say why. When she went, I followed.“Joras began to understand. "You got caught?” He mimicked firing a blow dart.Aelric nodded.“They kept you here?”Another nod. "Elders came and asked questions. So many questions.“ Thick tears dribbled down his nose. "Questions and beatings. And suddenly, they did not come any more. They forgot about me.”“How long…” Joras began.Aelric shook his head. “Forgot to count,” he moaned. “My men never came. Told them to wait a month, then come looking every solstice. They never came.” A shuddering sob tore from his chest.“Perhaps they are wary of the jungle,” Joras said.Aelric didn’t listen. “They did not come!” he groaned, pounding the unyielding floor, tears and snot flying from his face as he cried, self-built bulwarks breaking in the presence of another living soul.The agony in Joras’ chest was a mere pinprick compared to the abyss Aelric wallowed in. The Debonite’s sobs and howls spoke of betrayal and loss, of the imminent spectre of death, icy claws reaching for Aelric’s soul, tied as it was to his feeble, broken frame.Joras cursed softly. His pack was still where he had dropped it, in the temple’s grand hall. He undid the tattered remains of his cloak and shuffled close to Aelric, pulling the weeping and shaking man into a gentle embrace, dabbing at his tear-streaked face. Like a drowning man, Aelric clung to his body as he wept.It took Aelric some time to find his composure. He used the sullied orange cloth to wipe snot off his nose. “They never came,” he whispered.“We will make it out of here,” Joras said with conviction.Aelric laughed. “You might. I won’t.”Joras shook his head. “You’ve survived this long. Hold out just a little longer. I have friends outside. They will come. Tsonia will come.”Aelric gazed at him. “They never come. And even if they did, I am already dead, Joras. I can feel the Reaper walking behind me. My body has suffered enough.”“Don’t you want to find your Unami?” Joras pleaded. “She has to be in the village somewhere!”“She probably does not even know I am here,” Aelric muttered. An idea lit up his face. “Now that you are here, please do me a favor.”“If I can,” Joras said, hugging the stinking man close.“Kill me.”As if slapped by a giant, Joras recoiled. “No!”Aelric’s hands dug into his shoulders like brittle claws. “Joras, I want a clean death. A warrior’s death. There is no honor in wasting away like this.”“Don’t talk like that!” Joras barked. “I have just killed one of the finest men I ever knew. I will not sully my conscience with another death, do you understand?” He shook the bleary-eyed prisoner. “You will hold out for a few more hours, then we will find your Unami and we all leave this thrice-cursed island together!”Death Inevitable had never known such sacrilege. The outsider claimed to be a god; perhaps he was. Death Inevitable knew the outsider could compel his people to obey. He recalled the orders and instructions now that the Sleeper had restored his memory of time lost to the outsider’s whims. He did not know how the outsider possessed such power, but he could not deny that he did. Perhaps the outsider was a god.But this was the Sleeper’s temple, and the Sleeper was a greater god than the outsider. The Sleeper had freed Death Inevitable from the outsider’s control, and Death Inevitable had repaid that miracle with this blasphemy. Death Inevitable had invited the outsider into this sanctum, because while the outsider still held his people in thrall, Death Inevitable did not see any other way.May the Sleeper forgive him.This sacred chamber was meant to be dark and quiet and still. But the outsider wanted light so that his bride could see, and music so that his bride could dance, and food so that his bride could feast. Never had so many crowded into this space, all at the outsider’s command and without question. Drummers played rhythms of revelry and celebration. The tribe’s most fertile women stood naked, bearing platters of fruit and roasted meats, or jars of fermented juice.The stone doors, normally sealed fast against the uninitiated, stood wide awaiting the arrival of their so-called god. In the dancing light of lamps and candles and braziers, shadows played along the ancient carvings on the wall, giving frowns and scowls of disapproval to the monstrous visages of the frieze. In the center of the floor a hasty altar of reeds and sinew had been erected, covered with the finest cloth the tribe could spin. Upon it sat a jug of blessed water and a dozen candles.And Death Inevitable was there too.A sudden commotion at the doors heralded the arrival of the outsider and his fire-haired bride, escorted by Serpent and followed by the two heaviest and clumsiest men of the tribe bearing long hunting spears. The outsider had decided they were intimidating.“You have done well, Skull-face,” the outsider said, looking around at the assemblage. “Your god is pleased.”Death Inevitable did not understand the words in the outsider’s language, but it was part of the outsider’s magic that all who saw his eyes understood his intent and desire innately. Thanks be to the Sleeper, Death Inevitable no longer felt compelled to act on those desires. He muttered a silent prayer that Serpent remained free as well.There was an almost imperceptible flinch in the bride. Death Inevitable recognized the sensation of waking from one of the outsider’s orders with no memory of what had transpired. The bride had his sympathy. The guards prodded her to walk forward.Serpent ushered the new arrivals to the center of the room and bid them kneel at the altar.“I do not kneel before anyone,” growled the outsider. “Others kneel before me. All of you, kneel before me.”The gathered host knelt, and Death Inevitable and Serpent knelt with them. Only the guards remained on their feet, spearpoints at the ready.“Now Tsonia, my dear, if I remove your bonds, will you behave?” the outsider asked his bride.“Of course, your grace,” the bride answered. This brought a smile to the outsider’s face.“You lie,” he said and the smile vanished. “Mere moments ago I compelled you for the truth. You told me then that you would punch me in the throat to silence my voice and then kill me slowly with my own blade, Of course you’ve already forgotten.”The bride struggled against the fetters that bound her wrists to her narrow waist and glared at the outsider. “If you must have my obedience in this travesty, why not just compel it from me?”“Because, my beloved.” The outsider took her chin in his hand and forced her to look into his eyes. “I want you to remember it. For all the days of your life, I want you to remember that you are mine completely, body, mind, and soul.”The bride relented. She closed her eyes and bowed her head.“Skull-face, Snake-face, let’s get on with it,” the outsider commanded, his mood brightening again. “Begin the ceremony. My marital bed awaits.”The elders stood and took their places at two of the three pillars. Condor’s pillar remained vacant, but the outsider did not seem to notice or care.Death Inevitable raised his arms in benediction, and in a strong voice called out “Let all those who here gathered bear witness to this,”“In real words, please,” sighed the outsider.Death Inevitable began again in the simple words shared by outsiders. “We see these two. Two flames become one flame. Two waters become one water. In the name of our god who is called Kelgore, these two become one. I have said this.”And with those final words, the couple were wed. Serpent turned and depressed the tongue of the effigy carved into the pillar at his back, and the outsider, his bride, and their altar tumbled into the darkness below.Down they fell with arms and legs flailing, reeds snapping, candles guttering as the mirror-smooth stone guided their twisted, careening path into the temple depths. Kelgore and Tsonia both were battered and winded by the time they finally came to rest in a warm chamber, the air heavy with an exotic fragrance.Tsonia found herself sprawled atop her new husband, the heat of his bare thigh between her legs. A desperate need had awakened, and even her revulsion for the man could not stop her hips from gyrating on their own, grinding her throbbing clitoris against his skin.“Is this what it is to be under your sway, Despoiler?” she asked. Her wrists still bound, she pushed her weight on her ample chest to find the leverage to satisfy her mad desire. “Do your women curse you and berate you even as they do your vile bidding?”“Enough, woman!" Kelgore protested, heaving Tsonia’s weight off of him and rising to his feet. "Can’t you see that we are betrayed?”Finding a single candle with its flame still asputter, Kelgore lit another and held it to the steeply pitched plane that dumped them so unceremoniously to the floor.“Skull-face!” he shouted up at the shadowed ceiling high above, “Can you hear me? Let us out of here now, Skull-face! Your god commands you!”Tsonia heard the odd timbre in Kelgore’s voice, knew he was exercising his foul power, and didn’t care. The heady perfume in her nose had her head swimming with lust. A lust that Kelgore seemed uninterested in satiating. She hiked her chainmail skirt to her waist and strained against her fibrous cuffs to stretch her fingers between her legs.“They can’t hear you, you great bombastic oaf!” she snarled. “We’ve fallen too far. Now open those robes and take me, dammit! If I can’t choke the life out of you, I’ll fuck you to death if I have to.”“Not now, damn you!" Kelgore snapped, panic rising in his voice. "Guards! Kill the shamans! Do you hear me? Kill the shamans and release me!”“Damn you, Kelgore!” Tsonia spat, rolling onto her stomach and tucking her knees beneath her to better reach her ravenous cunt. “Why do you compel such passion in me then? If you’re not going to fuck me, release me from this damned desire!”“This is not my doing!” Kelgore turned on Tsonia. “Whatever lascivious desire you, Oh, gods.”He dropped the candle and it rolled across the floor throwing flickering light into the darkness. Tsonia looked up and saw before her a mass of writhing, outstretched tendrils of flesh, as if dozens of great serpents had been flayed alive and bound at their tails. The thing was enormous, towering above them, half hidden in the shadows.“What hell released such a thing?” cried Kelgore, his terror all too clear.Tsonia’s mind reeled at the impossibility of what her eyes beheld. If the creature was one or a multitude together, she could not tell. The many arms wriggled and swayed in the most unnerving way as they drew nearer from every angle.The first foul tendril prodded Kelgore and he smacked it away, warning the alien monstrosity to stay back. A second tentacle began to curl around his arm. Tsonia saw him draw the knife at his belt and stab the horrid appendage.The grotesque abomination withdrew with a sudden spasm and a rapid clacking noise, as if pain was a concept it had rarely known. Seizing the moment of opportunity, Kelgore knelt by Tsonia’s side and sawed at her stout tethers with his blade.“We must escape, Tsonia!” he hissed. “We have to find a way out toge, Gchk!”Snapping the final fraying strands that bound her, Tsonia jabbed an elbow into Kelgore’s throat, silencing his infernal tongue for good.She disarmed him with a brutal twist of his wrist, letting his knife clatter to the stone floor. Even as her desire flowed down her thighs, Tsonia stood, took Kelgore by his broken throat, and stared into the abyss of his sable eyes.“I know you desire to live, Despoiler,” she fumed in a smoldering whisper. “I see it in your eyes as plainly as writing on a page. But I will not be compelled to save you.”Taking his belt in her other hand, Tsonia hefted the man who would be a god over her head and hurled him gasping and wheezing into the foul tangle of arms. Like a nest of vipers, they slithered over and around his arms and legs and body, tittering with squeals of expectation, tearing away his robes and raiment, holding him aloft even as he struggled and thrashed against their restraint.Kelgore’s legs were spread by the tendrils of flesh that bound him, allowing another tentacle to embed itself into his rectum, probing deeper as he tried to scream through a crushed larynx. Yet another of the fleshy things snaked into his open mouth and down his tortured throat.In the candle light, Tsonia saw the horror in his eyes, knew the terror he felt as his body was invaded and immobilized. She felt his helplessness, and in the warm air thick with alien fragrance, she masturbated furiously as he suffered.A bead of sweat fell from her forehead and Tsonia shed her short hauberk to free her swelling tits in the still and tepid air. It was madness, she knew, but some sorcery had unleashed within her a hunger that would not be denied. Her fingers worked with reckless frenzy between her weeping folds.The terror and pain in Kelgore’s demonic eyes redoubled, and Tsonia watched in growing horror as the villain’s chest and stomach began to convulse, sputter, and steam. Kelgore’s flesh melted away like fat dripping into a fire and his bones softened to putty as the tentacled beast ejaculated acid into his bowels. The doomed man screamed in ghastly silence as death took his body inch by horrible inch.With a shudder of divine ecstasy, Tsonia came as Kelgore’s face and skull dissolved away into a viscous treacle.Still her fingers worked fervently between her slick thighs and she unlaced the chainmail kilt that pinched her hips and waist. The tendrils of the fell creature continued to ooze its acid over what meat remained on Kelgore’s arms and legs, while other probosci slurped up the syrupy remains like a swarm of great insects. Despite her revulsion at the horror unfolding in front of her, her desperate lust remained unsated and she fought for her sanity with all her failing will.“Kelgore is dead!” Tsonia screamed up at the ceiling. "Skull-face? T'pek? Can anybody hear me?“In the dim candle’s light, she saw no way out of the chamber, but most of it was still hidden in shadow. Lighting another half dozen fallen candles cast more illumination on the grizzly feast, but did little to stretch the light beyond its original bounds.Dripping with arousal, Tsonia stood on wobbly legs, took up a candle, and followed the wall away from the great tentacled horror, hoping to find some exit while it ate.The copper haired vixen had gone no more than a dozen steps when she felt the touch of the alien being’s appendage on her back, caressing her spine and tracing down the curve of her ass with a gentle purr. The thing was warm and soft but firm, not the wormy sensation she dreaded, and it sent a shiver through her soul that poured from her reinvigorated loins.Tsonia dropped the candle and fell to her knees, sobbing with need as both hands cupped her swollen sex and ground against her yearning clit. The strange scent of the exotic fragrance grew more intense, and Tsonia found her need growing apace.Tendrils of the foul thing caressed her bare shoulders and thighs and she did not find it unpleasant. Indeed, she found herself taking one of the hot, sinuous organs in her hand and guiding it to her chest where it curled around her heavy breast in a way that made her moan with pleasure. It purred again, mimicking her in response."No, no, no, no, no…” Tsonia murmured in faint protest as a tentacle gently snaked around her throat and up to caress her cheek. Another probed into the gap between her feet and calves. She felt it moving through the cleft of her ass, against her wet and tumescent lips and curling up towards her belly.“Oh, gods, It’s going to eat me!” she gasped, as she rocked her hips back and forth over the meaty shaft between her knees, grinding her engorged clit against its heat. “And I’m going to let it…”Her body rebelled against reason and she leaned forward, exposing her ravenous nethers to the creature’s curling, slithering affection. With her own hand she guided a tendril to her waiting cunt and gasped with delight as it penetrated her.“Yes, yes! Fuck that cunt,” she moaned. “Fill me and make me cum before I die, please!”A trilling call answered her. The alien horror coiled a trio of tentacles around her thighs and ankles, spreading her wide, as a fourth pressed through her anus and probed her ass.Tsonia cried out in bliss at the way her body was stretched and filled. More and more tentacles found purchase, seizing her arms and spreading her wide, exposing all of her to the beast’s gentle exploration. The dexterous appendages fondled her hips and ribs, groped at her tits, caressed her face and shoulders.She was raised off the floor, suspended in the warm, fragrant air and despite being held so firmly in the weird thing’s clutches, Tsonia had never felt so free. No bed of feathers nor sheets of silk had ever left her so exposed to sensation from every angle. Every inch of her body tingled with the touch of this miraculous thing that would be her death.Tsonia wailed in orgasm again and her body shook and trembled as her brain tried to reconcile the terrifying euphoria that gripped her.“Again!” she cried out when her voice returned. She bucked her hips in desperation to push the remarkable tentacles deeper. “Don’t stop! Please, don’t stop! Kill me if you must. Consume me if you must. But by the gods, do not stop fucking me! I would die this death a thousand times!”She felt the weight of a soft appendage writhing its way up between her tits and Tsonia opened her mouth wide in invitation. The tendril accepted, filling her mouth, delving down her throat.Whether this creature was demon or angel or something else entirely, Tsonia could not guess, but it filled her and touched her in ways no lover ever had. Not even Q'alan, the great ram-headed demon, had known her so intimately.The phallic flesh that filled her expanded and contracted, it swelled and waned in delicious counterpoint to her own gasping breath and strangled cries of delirium. Deeper than any man, with a supple manipulation within her that was alien to anything mortal woman had ever known, the whorls of flesh aroused her desire to heights yet unreached. And still Tsonia craved more.The gentle purring intensified, lowering in pitch until it became an undulating thrum of a growl. It set her nerves aflame. Tsonia could feel the vibration of the humming flesh against her skin and deep within her body. The titillating and trembling sensation wracked her with mad convulsions the likes of which she’d never known. The orgasm ravished her to her soul as sanity fled and she tumbled into an impossible dream of infinite frenzied copulation.The horrid appearance of the tentacled thing, the fear of agonizing death, the shame of failure and loss, all of these were forgotten.In the void of her fervent mind, nothing at all existed beyond her body and the tumultuous chaos of carnal sensation that consumed her. There was no inch of her, no nerve of her body that did not spasm with ecstasy.Tsonia could not wish for the impossible euphoria to continue because she could not believe it would end, nor could she remember a time before. All of creation began with an eruption from the deepest, most intimate core of her being and expanded out in never ending waves to the tips of her fingers, the tips of her toes, the end of every glorious lock of hair.She became aware of her breathing first, deep, heaving gasps of air to fill her lungs. The gaping emptiness inside of her was next, and instinctively she rocked her hips to flex muscle and flesh back into a more comfortable shape. Then she realized she was laying on cold stone tiles, and pushed herself up to look around.The candles still burned. They were shorter than they had been, but she could not say by how much and she had no other way to judge how much time had passed. She was dripping with sweat, her hair hanging lank in wet tresses. Perhaps that was why she felt a growing chill in the room. The alien fragrance was fading as well, and the cold scent of volcanic stone filled each breath.Her strange and horrifying yet somehow exquisite lover was there, just at the edge of the candle light. The long tendrils that had given her such unknown pleasure were still now, wrapped tightly around each other in a great ball, thrice as tall as she.The whole, pale-skinned mass expanded and contracted in the slow and steady rhythm of slumber.“Well isn’t that just typical,” Tsonia groused, as she went in search of her clothes.The unfamiliar chamber was awash with chaos and confusion. Hunters demanded answers from the elders. The womenfolk worried about their whelps. None understood how they had come to this place, or even where this place was. T'pek shared in their confusion, but he knew that his fire-haired mate and the one she called Kelgore, were the keys to the mystery.Death Inevitable, grasping a ceremonial staff, rapped the wooden shaft on the tiles, once, twice, three times, the sharp cracks shocking all into silence.“All will be made clear,” the elder called out to the stilled crowd. “For now, know that you were sick, but the sickness has passed. Your friends and families outside are just as confused as you are. They too were sick, but their sickness has passed as well. I ask you all to go to them and spread that message to every ear. 'You were sick, but your sickness has passed.’ Calm their fears, restore order, and trust that all will be made clear very soon.”“Please,” he said, gesturing towards the great stone doors that stood open at the back of the room. “There is much work to be done. I beg of you, leave this place and have patience while we divine the whole story and all of the answers you seek.”The chamber was filled again with chatter, but a semblance of order fell over the throng and at last they began to filter out towards the temple above and the village beyond until only T'pek remained. He surveyed the strange chamber as if it were a hunting trail and the elders some particularly troublesome prey. (1)“There is nothing here for you, hunter,” Death Inevitable hissed. “Go back to the others. There is work to be done.”“I know of the outsider called Kelgore,” T'pek stated without preamble. “I know of the woman with hair the color of fire. She is my mate, and I will know what has happened to her.”“She shares the same fate the accursed, black-eyed outsider suffered,” Serpent whispered. “I’m sorry. You will not see her again. Now, go back to the others.”“What fate?” T'pek asked, his claws hissing from their sheaths. He found Serpent’s answer deliberately vague and dismissive. “There is more you are not telling me, but I will not be dismissed so easily.”Death Inevitable placed his paw on Serpent’s shoulder. “Brother. This might be an opportunity,” the elder clad in the golden skull mask whispered. “We have lost Condor after all.”“Ah,” Serpent hissed. “Your wisdom, as always, eclipses mine.” To T'pek, he said “There are secrets the elders must keep, hunter. To know those secrets is to know why they must be so. The fate of the outsiders is one such secret.”“Our brother Condor died while under the outsider’s spell,” Death Inevitable continued, laying a hand upon T'pek’s shoulder. “We find ourselves in need of another elder, and soon.”“You are eldest among the Hunters, are you not, T'pek?” Serpent asked. "Wisest and most skilled of your peers? You are certainly worthy of elevation.“"We offer you a great honor,” Death Inevitable said. “But know that it also is a great burden. Consider it carefully.”“You will never again leave the village to roam the hunting trail or the beaches,” Serpent added. “Your life, what remains of it, will be spent serving the tribe in ways they can never understand.”“Perhaps it is better to go back to the hunt in blissful ignorance,” Death Inevitable concluded. “You can rest assured that your mate’s sacrifice was for the good of the tribe.”The back and forth between the two elders seemed intentional to T'pek, as if they meant to muddle his thoughts and confuse his reason. But to what end, he did not know. Were they trying to convince him to accept their invitation or to reject it? Or perhaps neither, but only to test his resolve.“I will know Red Tsonia’s fate, regardless of consequence,” he growled. “If I must give up the hunt and take up the gilded mask of Condor to be satisfied, so be it, I accept, now tell me your secrets!”“Calm yourself, hunter,” Death Inevitable said, touching his neck. “The understanding you seek will be conveyed through the rituals of ascension.”“Begin the ritual and be quick about it then!” T'pek spat. His patience was wearing thin and he was beginning to suspect treachery.“Calm and patience will serve you well, T'pek,” Serpent soothed. “Prepare your mind for inconceivable knowledge beyond the world you know. The ritual begins.”Serpent locked gazes with Death Inevitable, and at his nod, a pale, writhing tendril appeared from behind each elder, as if they had squirmed out from under the feathered headdresses. T'pek recoiled at the serpentine things that slithered about the elder’s shoulders, his noble visage distorted in terror and disgust.“What vile abomination is this?” he roared. His hand flew to his hips, only to find no dagger there. Like all the others who had been under Kelgore’s spell, he had only his fur.“We are caretakers of the Sleeper, and guardians of the tribe,” Serpent said, his arm intertwined with the pale-skinned, wormy appendage. “We protect our people from the wrath of the Sleeper. In turn the Sleeper protects us from the magics of outsiders. To know the Sleeper is to know the truth.”“This, This 'Sleeper’ you call it, It has changed you?” T'pek’s voice was hoarse with revulsion.“It must be so,” Death Inevitable intoned. “A bargain was struck, centuries ago, when the Sleeper allowed our ancestors to harbor him in the temple. Through his touch he speaks to us, and we to him. Thus has it been for generations beyond count.”“And through his touch, the Sleeper threw off the outsider’s evil magics,” Serpent whispered. “Praise be to him, the ancient pact remains strong.”A grim realization dawned on T'pek’s face. “It’s too late to change my mind now, isn’t it?”“We cannot have these secrets known.” Death Inevitable said. “You would be sorely missed, T'pek.”“What choice do I have then? I will know Red Tsonia’s fate.” T'pek’s shoulders slumped in resignation and he bowed his head to the elders. “Perform your ritual. I am ready.”Tsonia had paced the whole of the Sleeper’s lair twice over. Most of her candles had burned away and yet she had not found a means to escape the chamber. The only obvious way out was the slope, but it offered almost no purchase to climb. She had tried. She dared not call for help. While she did not know what to call the sleeping abomination that had so aroused her desire, she knew better than to wake it. Who knew how it would react to being roused from its slumber by the kind of racket it would take to be heard in the temple high above?Once more Tsonia paced carefully along the walls. The candle’s tiny flame sputtered suddenly, buffeted by a barely perceptible wisp of air. Perhaps there was a hollow nearby, maybe even a way out.Careful, as not to douse her last flame, Tsonia scratched at the seams in the ancient stonework with her knife. It was a testament to the antediluvian workmanship that the Vizingian blade was too thick to even wedge into the fine crack.A low rumble, felt through the air and stone more than heard, caught her attention. If it was the volcano, the sleeping thing, or something else, she could not tell. Fetching the candle, Tsonia cast an anxious gaze about the chamber, only to find the sleeping thing still curled up and at peace. Another rumble came, this time much closer, with the sound of stone on stone.The wall before her suddenly ground ajar on a hidden mechanism, a narrow gap illuminated by flickering firelight. When the rumbling stopped, there was just space enough to squeeze through sideways and Tsonia did so without hesitation.She emerged in another stone chamber lit by two torches mounted in gilded sconces. Mountains of treasure had been carelessly piled up, gold and silver, gemstones and sculptures, enough to satisfy any mortal desire. The torchlight danced and gamboled across the glittering hoard like Tsonia’s own heart at the sight of such riches.Almost lost against the incomprehensible wealth stood a robed beastkin. He wore an elaborate golden mask in the shape of a great bird and his tall, broad-shouldered body was draped in richly embroidered fabrics. He took a step forward and Tsonia stifled a startled gasp when she realized he wasn’t merely another bauble in the vault.“Who are you?” she asked warily. The stranger appeared unarmed, nor did he seem be hostile. On the contrary, there was something oddly familiar about its posture.“I am Condor, an elder of the tribe,” the stranger said, the golden beak granting the words of the Trade Tongue a hollow, distant quality. He manipulated a heavy lever.Behind her, the opening she had passed through ground closed again. Tsonia eyed Condor curiously. “Do I know you?”Condor hesitated, then shook his head. “Our god sleeps because of you. You are honored by us. You are free.” Bowing stiffly, the elder indicated another narrow gateway. Fresh night air, along with the rhythm of distant drums, seeped into the chamber.“I had a friend.” Tsonia reminded Condor. “A hunter took him away. Where is he?”“I know where.” The elder removed a heavy torch from its sconce and headed for the exit. “Follow.”Tsonia cast a longing gaze at the mountains of treasure. One armful, maybe even one choice pick, would be equal to the riches the God-King had offered as bounty for Kelgore. Without any proof of the Despoiler’s demise, there was every chance Xhastria’s divine ruler would weasel out of the bargain and then all the effort, and Ambrose’s death, would have been for naught.Sighing, Tsonia hurried after Condor. Stealing from the tribe would likely cause more grief, and she’d had her fill for one day.Outside, Condor waited patiently. When she cleared the narrow passage, he gestured. Above her, she heard the grinding of heavy stone. Perched upon a ledge, she saw two more elders manipulating ancient engravings. The stones behind her rumbled shut, barring any way back to the unfathomable riches hidden beyond.The village was bustling with life and light as Condor led her through ancient streets. Hunters eyed her curiously, some leaned in to sniff her scent. The females openly stared at her curves or whispered, pointing at her hips and ass. Other beastkin offered bows of respect as Condor approached. He led her to the outskirts, where few fires burned and the hodgepodge of ancient stone and recent woodwork became more ramshackle and dilapidated.Condor stopped in front of a heavy, barred door. “Here,” he said.Tsonia tossed the heavy bar aside and pulled the door open. The stench from inside was horrible, speaking of death and sickness. From the blackness within, she heard a relieved gasp.“Tsonia!" The voice was thick with emotion, but unmistakably Joras. "Tsonia! You’ve come at last!” The artist erupted in brittle laughter. “I told you she would come! I never doubted.”Tsonia took the torch from Condor and entered the cell.Joras struggled to his feet, weighed down by what appeared to be the corpse of an emaciated Debonite hanging off his shoulder, hair and beard and clothing all yellowed with grime.“Aelric needs help,” the artist gasped. "Medicine and food and, gods willing, a bath!“Only then did Tsonia notice the Debonite’s shallow, ragged breathing. She hurried to Joras’ side and gently took Aelric from him. It seemed to her that the man weighed less than a child."Who is your friend, Joras?” she asked as she carried him from the cell.“He’s called Aelric, and he’s a Debon princeling, although I haven’t worked out from which family,” Joras said. “But he has a ship returning for him at the next solstice!” A melancholy smile settled on his face. “We may yet escape from this thrice-cursed land, after all.”The God-King’s palace sat in the middle of Xhastria, a many-spired monument built of green brick and gilded columns, adorned with gem-studded roofs. The iron pikes on its battlements were adorned with the rotting, sun-bleached heads of the God-King’s many enemies lending a sinister air to the otherwise ethereal architecture.Tsonia, carrying a wooden case under one arm, ascended the steep stairs leading to the heavily guarded front gate. Joras glanced nervously at the towering gate guards. The polished, featureless visors of their helmets hid their eyes and made for a complex perspective. He hoped they wouldn’t object to his hastily capturing their form in his new sketchbook.“I am Red Tsonia, bringing the head of Kelgore the Despoiler,” Tsonia said, when the guards moved to challenge her approach.“You are expected,” one of the guards rumbled. The gate ground ajar, opening the way into the God-King’s palace.They entered a massive hall, four times as tall as a man and held up by columns shaped to look like men and women, all richly ornamented, each doing their part to hold aloft the viridian firmament above their heads.A white-robed scribe came to meet them, his bald head glistening with sweat. “What in the Pits took you so long?” he hissed. “It was a simple enough bounty!”Tsonia glared at him with the weight of Ambrose’s loss on her soul.“Nothing is simple when demon-kissers are involved,” she spat. “We were nearly drowned in a witch-storm, marooned on a savage island, and left defenseless to face an egomaniac whose magics and cruelty may have someday rivaled your own king’s.”“Yes, yes,” the functionary placated her, “only please don’t say such things out loud. The walls have ears you know.”“Fetching the God-King’s new bauble has cost me dearly. I ought to ask for more coin.”“So, this is it?” the scribe asked, looking at the box. Tsonia opened the lid and a faint whiff of death escaped. The scribe hurriedly covered his nose with his sleeve. He coughed, then muttered. “Well done indeed. The God King shall be pleased.”“He better be,” Tsonia growled. “Lead on already.”As the scribe hurried away, Joras laid a hand on her arm. “It is not too late to turn back, Kaela,” he whispered.Tsonia stared at him, jaw set in defiance. “Joras, what difference is one skull to another?” she hissed. “I saw Kelgore die. I saw his remains consumed. There was nothing left of him to bring back!”“Still, do you think this the wise course of action?” He glanced from side to side nervously. “The God-King does not easily suffer trickery.”“There is no trickery,” Tsonia insisted. “Kelgore is dead. That is truth. The skull is merely a symbol of that truth. The God-King will understand.”Joras sighed and shook his head. “You are not taking this seriously enough.” He hurried after the scribe.Tsonia fell into step next to him as they breezed through titanic corridors and extravagant salons, past bejeweled courtiers casually tormenting naked slaves, past the God-Kings concubines offering their unearthly delights, across sun-flooded terraces awash with exotic plants and artificial waterfalls, until they finally reached the heart of the palace and the enormous throne room of the God-King.Garbed in a simple white robe, wearing an elaborate crown of woven gold, Xhastria’s divine ruler was impressive to behold. He towered over his courtiers as an adult towers over a child. His features were flawless, as if chiseled by an unrivaled sculptor. Bands of muscle rippled under ebony skin hinting at a prowess that waited to be unleashed. Emerald eyes burned with astute radiance, each glance delving into the onlooker’s soul.He sat upon a towering throne made from bones and skulls inlaid in gold. Hundreds of courtiers mingled around the many-tiered dais the throne stood upon, all waiting in eagerness to be recognized and granted a moment of his holy time.According to tavern gossip, the God-King’s might stretched far beyond the mortal realm. It was said that he knew about everything that transpired within the farthest reaches of his demesne and farther. Yet none had seen him anywhere but seated upon his throne, always holding court. Some speculated that the opulent orgies and grisly torture chambers sustained him with life extracted from donors, willing and unwilling alike. Others were convinced that the viridian court had taken on a life of its own, that the God-King himself was no more than a puppet of his courtiers or some hidden cabal of demon-kissers.Few were ever granted audience with the God-King, and those who were rarely divulged their conversations.The sea of courtiers parted. Jewels glinted from pierced nipples and beringed cocks in the golden light spilling from the domed ceiling above. Elaborate masks gleamed and garish robes rustled as the courtiers made room for Tsonia and Joras. Exotic scents tantalized their nostrils as they walked the carpeted approach to the throne.“The lair of the beastkin god smelled better than this,” Tsonia whispered. “I miss the stench of Xhastria’s streets already.”“Shh. No need to turn the court against us,” Joras hissed.“Red Tsonia." The voice was everywhere. It echoed from the green walls. It boomed from the domed ceiling. It was in the shafts of light burning on their backs. And it was in their heads."Your Holiness.” Tsonia took a knee and bent her head in a rare gesture of submission. Joras went to both knees, prostrating himself. He hoped his arms would hide his nervous glances.“At last you have returned. Is it done?”“Yes. Kelgore is dead. I bring you his skull as tribute.” She nudged the wooden case.“Open it.”Tsonia hesitated for just a moment, then she pulled the lid open. Inside, on a simple linen cushion, rested a skull, all of the flesh stripped away down to bare bone.A low, foreboding rumble echoed through the majestic throne room. A dark cloud seemed to pass the sun, for the golden rays subsided, leaving the throne room in dim twilight.“This is not Kelgore’s skull,” the God-King proclaimed. “I do not see his obsidian eyes.”There was a chorus of gasps as every courtier took a step back.“Kelgore is dead,” Tsonia said again, with all the conviction she could muster. “I saw him die.”The silence inside the throne room was deafening. Then, a soft rustle of cloth from the throne. The God-King had risen. Every courtier in the hall sank to their knees, holding their hands above their heads, to ward off some as-of-yet unseen calamity.“Red Tsonia, repeat what I said when first we met,” the God-King said in the patient tones a parent uses when admonishing an unruly child.“You said 'bring me the skull of Kelgore the Despoiler,’” Tsonia replied defiantly. “But his skull was destroyed after much hardship and loss of, ”“Silence!" The force of the God-King’s voice cracked a pillar. The bust of a golden woman tumbled to the floor, crushing a dozen courtiers beneath its weight. Even maimed and dying, they dared not to scream."My orders are precise, with no room for interpretation. Were it otherwise, my demesne would have fallen to enemies from within and without centuries ago.” He sat down again. “I know of your trials and tribulations. I know of your loss. I have seen the Despoiler die by your hand. And yet, despite your best efforts, you have failed in your given task.”Tsonia did not dare to speak, yet her brow was heavy with rage.The God-King went on. “Had you admitted your failure, I might have granted you a measure of recompense. You did see to the Despoiler’s end after all. Your deeds will grant welcome reprieve for my beleaguered fishermen and their families.”The God-King raised his hand and he shouted a single word no mortal tongue could pronounce. A mote of liquid fire flew from his palm, engulfing the wooden case and setting it ablaze. Tsonia gritted her teeth against the infernal heat but refused to move, her gaze locked with the inscrutable being on the dais.“You tried to deceive me, Red Tsonia. Such heresy is punished by death.” Again, the God-King’s palm erupted in fiery radiance. “But today you find me in a merciful mood. Your deeds saw the Despoiler brought low. Instead of death, there shall be exile. Leave the Green Cities by sundown and dare not return until you have done due penance. Now begone from my sight.”With this dismissal, the mass of courtiers swelled around them, obscuring the throne and the God-King from view. Tsonia came to her feet, gnashing her teeth.“That’s it? All the heartbreak, all the hardship for naught?” she yelled. Her voice was drowned out by the thundering clamor of the gossiping throng.Joras clawed into her arm. “Let’s go already,” he hissed, pulling her towards the exit. “Or do you want to risk outright execution? It was noon already when we arrived!”“You were not party to his judgment, Joras.” Tsonia said mildly, reaching for her purse. “Take what I have and make yourself a peaceful life.” She walked by his side, head bowed in defeat. “I’ve caused you more than enough grief. You deserve better than to walk the deserts with me.”“Deserts?" Joras laughed softly. "I’ve heard Debon is a beautiful place any time of year. Deep forests, snow-covered tundra, towering mountain peaks. Would that not make a suitable backdrop to paint my muse?” He gestured towards the exit. “If we hurry, we might even catch Aelric and ask for passage before he and his men get themselves killed in whatever watering hole they found.”Tsonia chuckled. They passed a gilded door frame. Wails of ecstatic anguish poured from it. “You’re more of a glutton for punishment than those deluded fools. But who would I be if I rebuked my beloved chronicler and artist?”“Much less well known,” Joras retorted. “Come, the sun sinks low. We should hurry.”In a forgotten vestibule under the beastkin’s temple, covered by dust and cobwebs, Shala seethed.The End

What is a Miracle?A miracle is a correction. It does not create, nor really change at all. It merely looks on devastation, and reminds the mind that what it sees is false. It undoes error, but does not attempt to go beyond perception, nor exceed the function of forgiveness. Thus it stays within time's limits. Yet it paves the way for the return of timelessness and love's awakening, for fear must slip away under the gentle remedy it brings. A miracle contains the gift of grace, for it is given and received as one. And thus it illustrates the law of truth the world does not obey, because it fails entirely to understand its ways. A miracle inverts perception which was upside down before, and thus it ends the strange distortions that were manifest. Now is perception open to the truth. Now is forgiveness seen as justified. Forgiveness is the home of miracles. The eyes of Christ deliver them to all they look upon in mercy and in love. Perception stands corrected in His sight, and what was meant to curse has come to bless. Each lily of forgiveness offers all the world the silent miracle of love. And each is laid before the Word of God, upon the universal altar to Creator and creation in the light of perfect purity and endless joy. The miracle is taken first on faith, because to ask for it implies the mind has been made ready to conceive of what it cannot see and does not understand. Yet faith will bring its witnesses to show that what it rested on is really there. And thus the miracle will justify your faith in it, and show it rested on a world more real than what you saw before; a world redeemed from what you thought was there. Miracles fall like drops of healing rain from Heaven on a dry and dusty world, where starved and thirsty creatures come to die. Now they have water. Now the world is green. And everywhere the signs of life spring up, to show that what is born can never die, for what has life has immortality. I can attack but my own sinlessness, And it is only that which keeps me safe.Father, Your Son is holy. I am he on whom You smile in love and tenderness so dear and deep and still the universe smiles back on You, and shares Your Holiness. How pure, how safe, how holy, then, are we, abiding in Your Smile, with all Your Love bestowed upon us, living one with You, in brotherhood and Fatherhood complete; in sinlessness so perfect that the Lord of Sinlessness conceives us as His Son, a universe of Thought completing Him. Let us not, then, attack our sinlessness, for it contains the Word of God to us. And in its kind reflection we are saved.Jesus Christ in A Course in MiraclesWorkbook Part II, What is a Miracle?Lesson 341

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts. www.catholicnewsagency.com - During a meeting in Rome Wednesday morning, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic synod of bishops told Pope Francis some of his gestures and statements have been “painful and difficult for the Ukrainian people.” According to a September 6 statement, the bishops said misunderstandings between the Vatican and Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war are used as propaganda by Russia, and so “the faithful of our Church are sensitive to every word of Your Holiness as the universal voice of truth and justice.” The meeting between the pope and 45 bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church lasted nearly two hours in a room off of the Paul VI Hall. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255290/ukrainian-greek-catholic-synod-tells-pope-francis-he-has-made-painful-statements The trial of three pro-life activists who staged a sit-in protest at a Washington DC abortion clinic in October 2020 began today, just about one week after five of their peers who also participated in the protest were convicted under a controversial federal statute and a civil rights violation. If convicted the defendants could face up to 11 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $350,000 maximum fine. The FACE Act, which is the same law that pro-life father of seven Mark Houck was charged and acquitted under earlier this year, prohibits “violent, threatening, damaging, and obstructive conduct intended to injure, intimidate, or interfere with the right to seek, obtain, or provide reproductive health services.” Pro-life leaders across the nation condemned the conviction of the five in August. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255294/second-trial-of-dc-pro-life-activists-who-staged-protest-begins The Archdiocese of Baltimore will consider filing for bankruptcy as it awaits the implementation of a new law that will end the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits for negligence in relation to child sexual abuse. Effective October 1, the law will allow a victim of child sex abuse to sue private entities for up to $1.5 million if he or she can show the organization failed to properly respond to sexual abuse that occurred under its watch. Previously, the statute of limitations was seven years after the victim's 18th birthday. Because the new law will apply retroactively, victims whose statute of limitations had already passed will be able to file lawsuits against private entities. An attorney's general report from April accused the archdiocese of covering up child sex abuse for decades, and the archbishop believes this law could lead to multiple lawsuits that could have “devastating financial consequences” for the archdiocese. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255295/baltimore-archdiocese-considers-bankruptcy-amid-possible-sex-abuse-lawsuits Today, the Church celebrates Saint Clodoald, popularly known as Saint Cloud, who escaped from violent political intrigue to pursue holiness as a monk and priest. In 554, Clodoald founded and led a community of monks in the village of Nogent near Paris. There, he was known for his generosity toward the poor, and his attention to the work of religious instruction among the people. He died on September 7, 560, at the age of 38. Under the name of “St. Cloud,” Clodoald became the namesake of several cities and towns. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-cloud-708

We just want the real thing * ungestimmte Gitarre *.

Dear Dalai Lama, I hope you will read this letter I hope you will hear our cry I hope you will try to do better Before we all say goodbye Underneath your flowing robes You're just a human being Like all of us regular folks And all the souls preceding Dear Dalai Lama Please don't kiss our children Don't push their hand into your lap Those are not holy functions Please don't do that Underneath your divine title Your Holiness is just a man Living out your carbon cycle Like everyone since time began In closing, may I ask a favor? To remind yourself every day We cannot escape our nature We can only choose a different way I hope you will read this letter I hope you will hear our cry I hope you will try to do better Before we all say goodbye Dear Dalai Lama Dear Dalai Lama Dear Dalai Lama Goodnight

“Dear President Russell M. Nelson, For centuries, the pope has been addressed as Your Holiness, and they call the Dalai Lama the Enlightened One, and that Hindu Bhagwan fellow is the Fortunate One, and I have it on… The post Dialogue Out Loud #33: Dispatches from Kolob appeared first on Dialogue Journal.

The Triune God is holy and we are not. Truth is found in Christ's life, death, and resurrection and He gives us His holiness by His Word. By His Holy Spirit, He helps us to live holy lives here and in eternity. His kingdom is not our work, but His reign over the world. In faith, we pray for more faith. “I believe, help my unbelief” we pray for the Holy Spirit and we pray that other may believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. “Lord help us to receive Your Holiness by the Word and protect us from evil and false teachings to cling to the promises we have in Christ. Amen”  Rev. Matthew Moss, pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Corcoran, MN joins Rev. Brady Finnern to study the 1st and 2nd Petitions of the Lord's Prayer.  Find your copy of the Book of Concord - Concordia Reader's Edition at cph.org or read online at bookofconcord.org. Study the Lutheran Confession of Faith found in the Book of Concord with lively discussions led by host Rev. Brady Finnern, President of the LCMS Minnesota North District, and guest LCMS pastors. Join us as these Christ-confessing Concordians read through and discuss our Lutheran doctrine in the Book of Concord in order to gain a deeper understanding of our Lutheran faith and practical application for our vocations.

What is a Miracle? A miracle is a correction. It does not create, nor really change at all. It merely looks on devastation, and reminds the mind that what it sees is false. It undoes error, but does not attempt to go beyond perception, nor exceed the function of forgiveness. Thus it stays within time's limits. Yet it paves the way for the return of timelessness and love's awakening, for fear must slip away under the gentle remedy it brings. A miracle contains the gift of grace, for it is given and received as one. And thus it illustrates the law of truth the world does not obey, because it fails entirely to understand its ways. A miracle inverts perception which was upside down before, and thus it ends the strange distortions that were manifest. Now is perception open to the truth. Now is forgiveness seen as justified. Forgiveness is the home of miracles. The eyes of Christ deliver them to all they look upon in mercy and in love. Perception stands corrected in His sight, and what was meant to curse has come to bless. Each lily of forgiveness offers all the world the silent miracle of love. And each is laid before the Word of God, upon the universal altar to Creator and creation in the light of perfect purity and endless joy. The miracle is taken first on faith, because to ask for it implies the mind has been made ready to conceive of what it cannot see and does not understand. Yet faith will bring its witnesses to show that what it rested on is really there. And thus the miracle will justify your faith in it, and show it rested on a world more real than what you saw before; a world redeemed from what you thought was there. Miracles fall like drops of healing rain from Heaven on a dry and dusty world, where starved and thirsty creatures come to die. Now they have water. Now the world is green. And everywhere the signs of life spring up, to show that what is born can never die, for what has life has immortality. I can attack but my own sinlessness, And it is only that which keeps me safe. Father, Your Son is holy. I am he on whom You smile in love and tenderness so dear and deep and still the universe smiles back on You, and shares Your Holiness. How pure, how safe, how holy, then, are we, abiding in Your Smile, with all Your Love bestowed upon us, living one with You, in brotherhood and Fatherhood complete; in sinlessness so perfect that the Lord of Sinlessness conceives us as His Son, a universe of Thought completing Him. Let us not, then, attack our sinlessness, for it contains the Word of God to us. And in its kind reflection we are saved.- Jesus Christ in A Course in Miracles- Workbook Part II, What is a miracle? - Lesson 341

This week Student Pastor Caleb teaches on 2 Peter 2 where we see the theme - Your Holiness in the face of heresy matters, and is possible, in Christ. He ends with the call to be watchful that you are not deceived. Consider what is being said and what is implied by what is said. Don't be lulled to sleep with articulate communication. Be weary of those you listen to that they are not false teachers. Stand aware and study to know that the truth you believe in is the truth that saves.

In this interview series, Ellen B [(Leave) Nelson B] interviews artists about their recently released albums, covering information that would have been (or is) included in the liner notes of their physical releases that have been lost to the streaming age. This week's guest is Superdestroyer here to discuss "In Your Loneliness, Your Holiness" and special guest Mars from Holy Kerouac For more information about Superdestroyer: Website: https://www.lonelyghostrecords.com/artists/superdestroyer IG: Superdestroyed Twitter: @Superdestroyed Streaming: https://superdestroyer.fanlink.to/ILuvHams ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Video Credits: Interview conducted on February 27 Concept by Ellen B Intro music and outro music by (Leave) Nelson B Edited by Leave Nelson B

What is a Miracle? A miracle is a correction. It does not create, nor really change at all. It merely looks on devastation, and reminds the mind that what it sees is false. It undoes error, but does not attempt to go beyond perception, nor exceed the function of forgiveness. Thus it stays within time's limits. Yet it paves the way for the return of timelessness and love's awakening, for fear must slip away under the gentle remedy it brings. A miracle contains the gift of grace, for it is given and received as one. And thus it illustrates the law of truth the world does not obey, because it fails entirely to understand its ways. A miracle inverts perception which was upside down before, and thus it ends the strange distortions that were manifest. Now is perception open to the truth. Now is forgiveness seen as justified. Forgiveness is the home of miracles. The eyes of Christ deliver them to all they look upon in mercy and in love. Perception stands corrected in His sight, and what was meant to curse has come to bless. Each lily of forgiveness offers all the world the silent miracle of love. And each is laid before the Word of God, upon the universal altar to Creator and creation in the light of perfect purity and endless joy. The miracle is taken first on faith, because to ask for it implies the mind has been made ready to conceive of what it cannot see and does not understand. Yet faith will bring its witnesses to show that what it rested on is really there. And thus the miracle will justify your faith in it, and show it rested on a world more real than what you saw before; a world redeemed from what you thought was there. Miracles fall like drops of healing rain from Heaven on a dry and dusty world, where starved and thirsty creatures come to die. Now they have water. Now the world is green. And everywhere the signs of life spring up, to show that what is born can never die, for what has life has immortality.. LESSON 341 I can attack but my own sinlessness, And it is only that which keeps me safe. Father, Your Son is holy. I am he on whom You smile in love and tenderness so dear and deep and still the universe smiles back on You, and shares Your Holiness. How pure, how safe, how holy, then, are we, abiding in Your Smile, with all Your Love bestowed upon us, living one with You, in brotherhood and Fatherhood complete; in sinlessness so perfect that the Lord of Sinlessness conceives us as His Son, a universe of Thought completing Him. Let us not, then, attack our sinlessness, for it contains the Word of God to us. And in its kind reflection we are saved.- Jesus Christ in A Course in Miracles- Workbook Part II, What is a Miracle?- Lesson 341

The post 2 Timothy 2:20–26 – Your Usefulness is Your Holiness appeared first on Grace Bible Church.

Join our community of Go(o)d Friends to deep dive into today's practice with me!Today's Quote:"Trust in the Lord with all thy heart and lean not on thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy path." -Proverbs 3: 5-6"There is nothing My Holiness cannot do.  Your Holiness reverses all the laws of the world.   It is beyond every restriction of time, space, distance and limits of any kind.  Through your Holiness the power of God is made manifest. Through your Holiness the power of God is made available.  And there is nothing the power of God cannot do.  We will apply the power of your Holiness to all problems, difficulties or suffering in any form that you happen to think of, in yourself or in someone else." - A Course In Miracles, Ch 38Today's Practice (inspired by ACIM, Ch 38):1. Bring up a pressing or otherwise bothersome issue.  2. Feel into the following prompt, and replace the blank with your seeming issue.  "In the situation involving _________ , there is nothing that My Love, this Love, cannot do."3.  Allow the words to point you back to the Love, the Truth, inside.  Feel this Love.  This is the most important step.  THE ONLY STEP.  Trust in this Love with all of your heart.  You trust It by FEELING It.  You feel Love inside, and then trust that It will move you to say and do the right things.  You trust that It will take the form of the solution.  Your ability to feel It, is the miracle you've been waiting for.  Feel It and don't stop feeling It.   4. Know that there is nothing that this Love cannot do. 5. Rest. Abide. Smile. Love's got you. I love you and I'm with you, Nik nikki@curlynikki.com

We are recording our in-person worship service (10:45 AM on Sunday) each week for folks who can't join us in person. This is the Audio-only version recorded for Sunday, January 31, 2021. It is also available in Video format through our YouTube channel. Click on the "Notes Icon" (the little image of a notepad) to get the sermon study notes for this week. ORDER OF SERVICE: Sing our opening songs, "Immortal, Invisible” and “Amazing Grace" (on-screen lyrics in the video recording). Listen to the message "The Coming World Leaders (part 3a)” preached by Pastor Dave Marksbury from Revelation 13:11-13. This message is part of the multi-week sermon series "Revelation: God's Final Call." (Prior messages in the series are available in both video and audio-only recordings). Sing: "Hide Me in Your Holiness" and "Grace Greater Than Our Sin.” Join us in prayer, listen to the church announcements and a "One Year Bible Reading" update. Our closing song is "I Surrender All."

What is a Miracle?A miracle is a correction. It does not create, nor really change at all. It merely looks on devastation, and reminds the mind that what it sees is false. It undoes error, but does not attempt to go beyond perception, nor exceed the function of forgiveness. Thus it stays within time’s limits. Yet it paves the way for the return of timelessness and love’s awakening, for fear must slip away under the gentle remedy it brings.A miracle contains the gift of grace, for it is given and received as one. And thus it illustrates the law of truth the world does not obey, because it fails entirely to understand its ways. A miracle inverts perception which was upside down before, and thus it ends the strange distortions that were manifest. Now is perception open to the truth. Now is forgiveness seen as justified.Forgiveness is the home of miracles. The eyes of Christ deliver them to all they look upon in mercy and in love. Perception stands corrected in His sight, and what was meant to curse has come to bless. Each lily of forgiveness offers all the world the silent miracle of love. And each is laid before the Word of God, upon the universal altar to Creator and creation in the light of perfect purity and endless joy.The miracle is taken first on faith, because to ask for it implies the mind has been made ready to conceive of what it cannot see and does not understand. Yet faith will bring its witnesses to show that what it rested on is really there. And thus the miracle will justify your faith in it, and show it rested on a world more real than what you saw before; a world redeemed from what you thought was there.Miracles fall like drops of healing rain from Heaven on a dry and dusty world, where starved and thirsty creatures come to die. Now they have water. Now the world is green. And everywhere the signs of life spring up, to show that what is born can never die, for what has life has immortality.I Can Attack But My Own Sinlessness,And It Is Only That Which Keeps Me Safe.Father, Your Son is holy. I am he on whom You smile in love and tenderness so dear and deep and still the universe smiles back on You, and shares Your Holiness. How pure, how safe, how holy, then, are we, abiding in Your Smile, with all Your Love bestowed upon us, living one with You, in brotherhood and Fatherhood complete; in sinlessness so perfect that the Lord of Sinlessness conceives us as His Son, a universe of Thought completing Him.Let us not, then, attack our sinlessness, for it contains the Word of God to us. And in its kind reflection we are saved.- Jesus Christ in A Course in Miracles, Workbook Part II - What is a miracle?- Lesson 341

Australian iconic rock band The Screaming Jets refused to let COVID impact their plans to put out new music this year, with the band deciding instead to rework and re-record five of their classic tunes and assemble them on one E.P. Favourites “Helping Hand”, “Shivers” “Sad Song”, “Friend of Mine” and “October Grey” have all received special treatment and are out now neatly packaged under the moniker Bitter Pill.HEAVY sat down with enigmatic frontman Dave Gleeson for the lowdown on all things Screaming Jets and couldn’t resist asking straight up where and how the title Bitter Pill comes into play.“I came up with it,” he laughed, setting the tone for the chat, “but it came from when I was in Year 12 and we did a review, like a school concert at the end of the year, and I'm just so glad people don’t have pictures of me dressing like the Pointed Sisters and everything that entailed (laughs), because you know I'd be getting hunted on social media for sure... but I also played the Pope - I played a Pointed Sister and the Pope because I went to a Catholic school - so the question from the interviewer was 'and Your Holiness, what do you think of contraception?’ and I said (in his best Transylvanian accent) 'well, it's a bitter pill to swallow, you know'. That's always stayed with me so when we were doing this the Bitter Pill...it’s been a bitter pill to swallow the 2020 season…”With all five songs taken from three consecutive records – Tear of Thought, World Gone Crazy and the self-titled (Gorilla) album – I pose the question of favouritism but Gleeson quickly shrugs that off."It’s just coincidence, really,” he offered. “We thought we'd give "Better" a rest because we've probably recorded about 400 different versions over the years (laughs) and picked songs that we love playing live. Songs like “October Grey” take on a whole new life when they're played live. They're much heavier than on the record so that was good fun to do and "Friend of Mine" is the highlight for me because we got to put Pauly's vocals out the front. He's got an amazing powerhouse voice and probably the last 4 or 5 years he's been singing "Friend of Mine" in the encore on his own - we like to give him his moment in the sun - plus, we like to have a smoke before we have to go back on (laughs). Pauly's voice is unreal and I'm glad we've got it out there up the front for everyone to hear."It is also interesting to note that all five songs are amongst the slower songs put out by The Screaming Jets, with Gleeson admitting that was more a matter of being the right fit for the situation the band found themselves in.“It was a matter of... we were gonna do a new album and we were supposed to be booked in to get into a studio and when you're all in the studio together that's where you nut songs out and hammer them into shape. Because we couldn’t get in there together we decided we would see about this new technology that children have been using, because obviously people record like this and have been for the last ten years or so with pro tools, and we've always been purists and go into the studio to record but we thought we'd give it a try and see how it worked out for us and see if we could get a good sound out of isolated recordings and low and behold we did. I think the more mellow songs weren't gonna be that difficult for us to get in on our own. That's the hard part, not hanging out with your mates while you're singing and going 'hey, listen to this, I'm amazing' (laughs). I think some songs kind of fell into place but it is strange they all come from that period”.In the full interview, Dave discusses the changes made to the original versions and why they made them, if he prefers the originals or new versions better, the video for "Helping Hand" and differences between making a video in isolation, the possible release of all five of the songs, next years tour that was postponed from this year, the upcoming 30th anniversary of debut album All For One and what The Screaming Jets have planned to celebrate it, new music and more.

Jesus Prays for Your Holiness

Although Debbie Ford passed away seven years ago, this beloved spiritual teacher left a powerful legacy, not just with her classic books The Dark Side of the Light Chasers and The Shadow Effect, but also with her newest book, Your Holiness. Kelly talks with Debbie’s sister Arielle Ford about how she was able to bring Debbie’s story to the world after her passing.

Title: Sunday Worship Service: Sunday Worship Service 8-02-20 (audio only) We have resumed our in-person worship service (10:45 AM on Sunday) and are recording them each week for folks who can't join us in person. This is the Audio-only version recorded for Sunday, August 2, 2020. It is also available in Video format through our YouTube channel. Click on the "Notes Icon" (the little image of a notepad) to get the sermon study notes. ORDER OF SERVICE: Sing along with our opening songs, "Holy, Holy, Holy" and “Hide Me in Your Holiness” (on-screen lyrics in the video recording). Listen to the message "The Little Church with a Big God” preached by Pastor Dave Marksbury from Revelation 3:7-13 (Part 1 with part 2 next Sunday). This message continues the multi-week sermon series "Revelation: God's Final Call." (Prior messages in the series are available in both video and audio-only recordings). Sing along with our worship team: "My Faith Has Found a Resting Place" and "Faith is the Victory." Listen to the church announcements and a "One Year Bible Reading" update. Join us in prayer, and then sing our closing song: "Victory in Jesus."

I can attack but my own sinlessness, And it is only that which keeps me safe. Father, Your Son is holy. I am he on whom You smile in love and tenderness so dear and deep and still the universe smiles back on You, and shares Your Holiness. How pure, how safe, how holy, then, are we, abiding in Your Smile, with all Your Love bestowed upon us, living one with You, in brotherhood and Fatherhood complete; in sinlessness so perfect that the Lord of Sinlessness conceives us as His Son, a universe of Thought completing Him. Let us not, then, attack our sinlessness, for it contains the Word of God to us. And in its kind reflection we are saved.- Jesus Christ in A Course in Miracles, Lesson 341

Kerri Konik is a leading expert in maximizing the ROI of emotional connection in customer experiences. She is a consultant and speaker on how to catalyze the emotional bonds between customers, brands, and companies, to increase revenue, value, retention and advocacy. Kerri has launched and managed six businesses, and is currently the CEO of InspireFire, a women-owned brand marketing advisory firm, as well as the CEO of Equality Communications Group. Kerri’s book choice Your Holiness by Debbie Ford https://www.amazon.com/Your-Holiness-Discover-Light-Within/dp/1788171446/ Kerri’s song Playing With Fire, Jennifer Nettles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOljxMMlxxs For information regarding your data privacy, visit Acast.com/privacy

Michelle continues her quest to discover keys to Revival in Psalm 119 reading verses 113-120  in the Passion Translation. Today, as we discover the keys of living from presence and trusting God in our passionate pursuit toward obedience from the heart.  When we come into a right understanding of Who God is as we pursue Him through His Word - the keys of trust and living from His presence bring us into a place of reverence for His Holiness and Righteousness.  Show Transcript: Blooming Inspired Podcast equipping and empowering the voices of women who live their lives blooming alive. Good morning! This is Michelle Bentham, host of Blooming Inspired Podcast. Introduction We're continuing to read from Psalm 119 with our Revival Series. We are reading in The Passion Translation today, beginning in verse 113. Let’s take a moment to go back and review what we talked about last Thursday. Review First, we uncovered the keys of gratitude, joy and being refreshed, we also began to see how obedience brings us to a place of freedom in Christ. Then we learned that stepping out by faith, trusting God’s revelation-light, helps us to walk a path that will lead to obedience, joy, rest and righteousness which brings us right into today’s topic. Today’s Reading Before I get to that, I want to share a brief story from last week with you. My husband is an anytime-anykind of sports fan and more than two decades ago he spent time working with a sheet metal company that helped with the building of what is now Globe Life Park in Arlington, TX. If that sounds familiar to you, it should because it is where our home team, The Texas Rangers, have played major league baseball, since the early 90s. My husband remembers fondly working on a portion of the center field Coca-Cola visual screen board and watching the first games played in the stadium from that lofty perch. A couple of weeks ago I called into a radio station and won tickets to last Wednesday night’s game. There are only 29 home games left in the regular season and that 29th game will be the last at Globe Life Park if the Rangers don’t make the playoffs. Though the Rangers were handily defeated by the Arizona Diamondbacks last week, we enjoyed the atmosphere and the cool breeze blowing through the stadium even on a very hot Texas summer day. As the night wore on and each time Elvis Andrus, veteran Short Stop, came to the plate to bat they played his intro song… “The Baby Shark Song” If you have kids or grandkids you may be familiar with this song. Elvis picked it actually to honor his own child each time he comes up to bat… You may recognize it… Little kids singing, Baby Shark! Doot-Doo-Ta-Doo-Doo-Doo… Baby Shark… And off to our right in a neighboring section is a middle aged man standing up and doing the Baby Shark dance. Every. Single. Time. The next day, I was moving through my day and found myself singing, “Baby Shark!...” Yep. It was a catchy little tune of very few words. Which brings me to today’s reading. The heading over this Psalm 119:113-120 is “Trust & Obey!” I don’t know about you, but as soon as I read those words my mind began to sing the chorus of an old hymnal standard: [Singing] “Trust and Obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey.” Anybody else have that response to hearing those words. I even looked up the lyrics to read through them and there is no doubt in my mind that though those words do not officially appear in the text of this reading… They totally apply and that song must have been inspired by Psalm 119. As I sang the song and considered the lyrics, I began to consider that word Trust in the Hebrew. The definitions I’m about to share came from The Complete Word Study Dictionary (OT) (Copyright © 2003 by AMG Publishers. Database © 2007 WORDsearch Corp.) I found that in the KJV of the Bible, the word trust appears 163 times (134 OT, 29 NT). So let’s take a look at a few Hebrew words and their context to better understand this idea of trust from a Biblical perspective. Taking a Detour Put a marker in your Bible at Psalm 119 and turn over to Judges 11:20: Judges 11:20 (NKJV) “But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people together, encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.” In this verse, the Hebrew word translated TRUST is Strong’s H539ʾāman which is defined as “be firm, to build up, to support, to nurture, to establish.” It carries the idea of “providing stability and confidence.” This same word is translated BELIEVE in Deuteronomy 9:23: Deuteronomy 9:23: (NKJV) “Likewise, when the Lord sent you from Kadesh Barnea, saying, ‘Go up and possess the land which I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God, and you did not believe Him nor obey His voice.” In the Hebrew, there is this intrinsic connection between belief and trust, without belief we will not trust God, and if we don’t trust God our obedience will not please Him. I want to establish this up front today because I believe God is going to highlight these truths for us in detail as we complete our reading today. The next Hebrew Word that is translated trust can be found in Psalm 2:12: Psalm 2:12 NKJV “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.” In this verse the Hebrew word is H2620 ḥāsāh. This word is defined as, “take refuge, literally seeking a tree’s shade… Of Yahweh (God), He is a shield providing refuge, and refuge is sought under His wings.” A safe place, a place of refuge and shelter where one can be secure and certain they will not be harmed. God is your safe place, a hiding place of refuge for you when the enemy and the world presses in. To trust Him is to seek shelter from Him, and find our residence in His presence. The next Hebrew Word that is translated trust can be found in Psalm 4:5: Psalm 4:5 NKJV “Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord.” This word is the Hebrew word H982 bāṭaḥ. It is defined as “to trust, to be confident in, expressed as feelings of safety and security that is felt when one can rely on someone or something. Also to be confident, secure and without fear.” Love Casts Out Fear In the book of 1 John, we read that God is Love. It is not just a feeling, it’s who He is. Not just a character trait, but in fact, you cannot know God unless you first know His Love. And in Chapter 4 we read that His perfect love casts out fear. God is perfect love, agapeo, in the Greek. A love that moves beyond mere expression and lives within us, becomes our being. When we trust in Him, believe in Him - we must also know Him as love. And in that love - there is no fear. Let’s look at a couple of other verses that carry special meaning to me where trust is translated from the Hebrew word, bāṭaḥ: Proverbs 3:5 NKJV “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;” This verse resonates so loudly with me, especially in light of the definition which is to be confident in, with feelings of safety and security when one can rely on someone or something. If you listened to this podcast for any length of time you’ve heard me talk about losing my oldest child. As the 14th anniversary of his passing will be upon us in the next month, I feel it is an appropriate time to share how God used this verse to comfort my son in a dark season of his life, just a few months before his death, and then turned my heart to it again and again as I grieved His passing. Trusting the Lord Trusting God took on a whole new meaning when I began to walk out the days following my worst confessed fear: The death of my child. I had to trust Him for my next breath, that He would take care of my family when I wasn’t even able to think or feel anything but the most unimaginable pain. I had to trust God’s goodness and love, choosing to lean not to my own understanding because there was no way I could reconcile that a Good God would allow my family to suffer such a painful reality apart from faith in His truth and His promises. A few months before Justin passed away, he became angry as we had grown used to in our house. He often expressed his anger in a fit of rage that would come to blows with my husband or I, or he would destroy our property. That day he went outside, bent a golf club into a pretzel and then kicked a huge dent into the side of my car. My husband, his step-father, called the police as we’d been advised to do by our leaders at church. My son was handcuffed in my front yard and hauled off to the county jail. And, the one thing Scott and I had agreed on when they left was that we would not provide the bail to get him out of jail. A Promise To Keep We’d been thwarting consequences as things escalated in his life that year before and it was time for Justin to face the reality of his choices. He spent seven days in jail before striking a plea deal with the county prosecutor to come home on probation. While in jail, Justin met with the chaplain who gave him a Bible. The day he returned home he came in and thanked me for sending him letters with Scripture in them and encouraging him to seek spiritual counsel from the chaplain when we spoke on the phone. He asked me for my Bible. I handed him my favorite book and sat across the room. I watched as my son who struggled to read turned easily to the passage. Used his finger to find the exact scripture on the page and then read it aloud to me without missing a word. Proverbs 3:5-6 became his life verse. I had no idea, in that moment, how it would minister to me and carry me in the days following his death. A Birthday Blessing A few years later, I gave each member of our family a special gift. A framed birthday blessing with a Scripture that contained their birthday month and year. I also included their name meaning and a personal note of encouragement based on the information in the scripture and name definition. As the year closed, I thought to myself, I probably should do one of those for Justin. I began to look up verses of Scripture with the verse reference 3:11 since his birthday was March 11th. As I did, I didn’t really find anything that resonated until one day I sat praying as I usually did when the girls were at school and Scott was at work. I stood to clean house and a small card I had framed with Proverbs 3:5-6 printed on it caught my eye. I walked over and read the familiar words. Tears filled my eye and it was like my eyes were drawn to the numbers in the reference. It felt as if God whispered a sweet word in my ear, Justin already had a birthday blessing - God gave it to Him. Proverbs 3:5+6 is 11. In that moment, I could feel my Poppa God holding me as I wept bittersweet tears of both grief and joy mingled in the same moment. Each time God brought me to a place of revelation in that season. A small piece of healing took root in my heart as I learned to trust Him more. Which leads me to this next verse: Psalm 52:8 HCSB “But I am like a flourishing olive tree in the house the Lord;I trust in God’s faithful love forever and ever.” (My memory) This verse became life to me the year following the Birthday Blessings. My husband and I went into a rough season in our marriage. It was truly a storm of life that could have destroyed us. But, God. We were walking out our healing in marriage when Scott took an opportunity to work out of town. I was completely uncertain about the idea of him working several states away from home while we were overcoming trust issues in our relationship. I agreed to him going out of town on one condition, if I needed him to return home that he would - no questions asked. He agreed and left on a warm fall day to work out of town for several months. You Don’t Trust Me That weekend I was preparing to go to church when I felt like God tapped me on the shoulder and said, “You don’t trust Me.” By this time in my life, I knew a prompting from the Lord when it landed on me. I stopped what I was doing and argued a bit. “Of course I trust you. I know almost every verse in the Bible about trusting you.” And as quickly as I quipped those words out loud to Him in response, I heard. “No you don’t. If you trusted Me, you wouldn’t worry about people.” Those next few months were filled with index cards covered in Scriptures about trusting God. Psalm 52:8 became a life verse for me. I wanted to know how to trust God in a certain sort of way. Not just from my head - knowing His promises and believing the were true. But, from my heart even when my circumstances couldn’t see Him --- that my heart would know and trust Him. Today, I can boldly say I am like a flourishing olive tree in the house of MY GOD; I trust in His unfailing love forever and ever! Psalm 119 Now let’s get to today’s reading, why don’t we, and see how all this comes together? Turn back to Psalm 119:113 and let’s begin. Verse 113: I despise those who can’t keep commitments, for I passionately love your revelation-light! Have you ever found yourself in a place where you didn’t feel like you could trust anyone around you? Brokenness brought on by betrayal can be a very lonely place. A time when we have to passionately pursue God and His Light of Truth, Jesus, as our safe place of refuge. Verse 114-115:You’re my place of quiet retreat, and your wrap-around presence becomes my shield as I wrap myself in your word! Go away! Leave me, all you workers of wickedness, for you can’t stop me from following every command of my God. Unless we are willing to seek refuge in God during those seasons when people wound or betray us - we will find ourselves like a ship lost in a sea of wickedness. But, when we trust in God, and obey His commands. Seeking Him as our hiding place and living from His very presence in our daily lives. The world will not seem so tempting a place and we will not be snared by the enemy’s schemes. Nothing will be able to stop us from obeying God’s Word - not even the reality of pain could stop us from offering mercy and grace to those who hurt us. Verse 116-117: Lord, strengthen my inner being by the promises of your word so that I may live faithful and unashamed for you. Lift me up and I will be safe. (do you hear that trust?) Empower me to live every moment in the light of your ways. Do you see how the Keys of Trusting in Who God is, and Living from His Presence will bring us to a place of confident obedience as we walk in trust, living from beneath the shelter of His wings? When we live from confidence and belief in God’s Word, trusting His presence we will walk empowered by His grace and love to live every moment of our lives in obedience to who He is. His perfect love will not only cast out fear, but it will cover all shame as we live faithfully before Him. From Foolishness to Holy Fear… Verse 118-119: Lord, you reject those who reject your laws, for they fool no one but themselves! The wicked are thrown away, discarded and valueless.That’s why I will keep loving all of your laws! These two verses feel like the psalmist is reminding himself that he would be foolish to choose to disobey God - no matter how significant the temporary gain or pleasure might seem. He is committing himself to walk in God’s ways and to find the true value of life - that is only found in a deeply intimate relationship with God. He finds that loving God through His Word keeps Him from straying into foolish disobedience to God. In coaching one of the things we focus on is helping our clients seek self-awareness. Not self-focus, but self-awareness. To be aware of what they are doing, who they are being. and what they may need to learn in order to move forward in their lives. I feel like this is what God is highlighting for me in this passage of verses. That a key to understanding, growing and living from His presence is this idea of understanding exactly what is at stake when I do and when I don’t -- that this key is Awareness. The more we become aware of how we are showing up in our lives and the lives of others alongside, awareness of His presence in our lives and how we respond to His Presence becomes a pathway to not only freedom, but living from the awareness of His holiness… That righteousness of God we could never hope to attain - no matter how moral or right we feel - unless, we come into intimacy and revelation of the person of Jesus who takes away our sin and offers us His robe of righteousness in exchange. Obedience Pursues Holiness Verse 120: My body trembles in holy awe of you, leaving me speechless,for I’m frightened of your righteous judgments. As we conclude today, I am reminded of the awe-inspiring moment Isaiah had before the throne of God when he cried out, “Woe to me for I am a man of unclean lips…” And God’s generous response was to purify Isaiah from that unrighteousness so that He could be a prophet to the nation of Israel and foretell the coming Messiah who would indeed put an end to our sin and suffering apart from God. (See Isaiah 6) I don’t know about you--- But I want to live this way! When we come into the revelation-light of God’s truth and His Word. When the person of Jesus Christ, His Father in Heaven and the Holy Spirit who dwells inside of us become more real to us than the world around us - we cannot help but want to live from their presence in our lives. To pursue their holiness, their truth and their transforming power in our lives. We will begin to abide in their presence and holiness and the imputed righteousness of Christ! His righteousness will empower us to walk in victory through obedience every step of the way. When Revelation brings Revival, it will transform us with Righteousness and that should RE-FORM the way the think, live, act and respond to both God and the world around us. It’s a lofty challenge but a promising one, when we walk in light, truth and victory we find the words of Christ are true, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled.” (See Matthew 5) What is it you are hungering and thirsting for today? And, by extension how is God filling you in this season? Lord, God, we ask you to empower us to live our lives aware of Your presence and Your Holiness in our lives. That as we seek You, we would hunger and thirst after righteousness, trusting and believing that Your promise is that we will be filled by You as we do. I pray these things in Jesus’ Name, Amen. I’d love to hear from you. Visit us on Facebook: @bloominginspired and drop a comment on this podcast post or send us a direct message. You can also visit our website BloomingInspiredNetwork.com and learn more about how we equip and empower women to walk in their role and reign in God’s Kingdom. You can fill out our contact form there on the website and let us know what’s resonating, or share any questions we might be able to answer for you about the podcast or ministry of Blooming Inspired Network. A few weeks ago I shared about an upcoming online Prophetic Conference I would be doing in August with Michele Turman, and wanted to let you know that we have had to postpone that event due to scheduling conflicts that have arisen, but we are looking for a new date and will let you know when we reschedule and how you can register and join us in seeking to hear God’s voice through the prophetic gift of the Holy Spirit. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for our next episode of Accidental Hope Podcast with Jennifer Eikenhorst. She is our Ambassador of Hope who continually seeks hope and builds community from a faith perspective with those who have suffered loss through accidents or trauma. Her show airs right here on the Blooming Inspired Podcast network at 2pm (CT). You can find more about Jennifer and her show at facebook.com/accidentalhope Close Again, we’d love to connect with you through our website and social media. Be sure to like, share and subscribe to our website and social media posts. You can find us at facebook.com/bloominginspired, on instagram @bloominginspired and on Twitter @bloominspirenet as well as by subscribing to our website: BloomingInspiredNetowrk.com. That’s all the time we have for today, please join us for Accidental Hope tomorrow and our next episode of Blooming Inspired Podcast each Tuesday and Thursday at 11am (CT)! And remember, Blooming Where You’re Planted Is The First Step To Living Your Wildest Dreams, So Live Your Life Blooming Alive!

Michelle continues her quest to discover keys to Revival in Psalm 119 reading verses 113-120  in the Passion Translation. Today, as we discover the keys of living from presence and trusting God in our passionate pursuit toward obedience from the heart.  When we come into a right understanding of Who God is as we pursue Him through His Word - the keys of trust and living from His presence bring us into a place of reverence for His Holiness and Righteousness.  Show Transcript: Blooming Inspired Podcast equipping and empowering the voices of women who live their lives blooming alive. Good morning! This is Michelle Bentham, host of Blooming Inspired Podcast. Introduction We're continuing to read from Psalm 119 with our Revival Series. We are reading in The Passion Translation today, beginning in verse 113. Let’s take a moment to go back and review what we talked about last Thursday. Review First, we uncovered the keys of gratitude, joy and being refreshed, we also began to see how obedience brings us to a place of freedom in Christ. Then we learned that stepping out by faith, trusting God’s revelation-light, helps us to walk a path that will lead to obedience, joy, rest and righteousness which brings us right into today’s topic. Today’s Reading Before I get to that, I want to share a brief story from last week with you. My husband is an anytime-anykind of sports fan and more than two decades ago he spent time working with a sheet metal company that helped with the building of what is now Globe Life Park in Arlington, TX. If that sounds familiar to you, it should because it is where our home team, The Texas Rangers, have played major league baseball, since the early 90s. My husband remembers fondly working on a portion of the center field Coca-Cola visual screen board and watching the first games played in the stadium from that lofty perch. A couple of weeks ago I called into a radio station and won tickets to last Wednesday night’s game. There are only 29 home games left in the regular season and that 29th game will be the last at Globe Life Park if the Rangers don’t make the playoffs. Though the Rangers were handily defeated by the Arizona Diamondbacks last week, we enjoyed the atmosphere and the cool breeze blowing through the stadium even on a very hot Texas summer day. As the night wore on and each time Elvis Andrus, veteran Short Stop, came to the plate to bat they played his intro song… “The Baby Shark Song” If you have kids or grandkids you may be familiar with this song. Elvis picked it actually to honor his own child each time he comes up to bat… You may recognize it… Little kids singing, Baby Shark! Doot-Doo-Ta-Doo-Doo-Doo… Baby Shark… And off to our right in a neighboring section is a middle aged man standing up and doing the Baby Shark dance. Every. Single. Time. The next day, I was moving through my day and found myself singing, “Baby Shark!...” Yep. It was a catchy little tune of very few words. Which brings me to today’s reading. The heading over this Psalm 119:113-120 is “Trust & Obey!” I don’t know about you, but as soon as I read those words my mind began to sing the chorus of an old hymnal standard: [Singing] “Trust and Obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey.” Anybody else have that response to hearing those words. I even looked up the lyrics to read through them and there is no doubt in my mind that though those words do not officially appear in the text of this reading… They totally apply and that song must have been inspired by Psalm 119. As I sang the song and considered the lyrics, I began to consider that word Trust in the Hebrew. The definitions I’m about to share came from The Complete Word Study Dictionary (OT) (Copyright © 2003 by AMG Publishers. Database © 2007 WORDsearch Corp.) I found that in the KJV of the Bible, the word trust appears 163 times (134 OT, 29 NT). So let’s take a look at a few Hebrew words and their context to better understand this idea of trust from a Biblical perspective. Taking a Detour Put a marker in your Bible at Psalm 119 and turn over to Judges 11:20: Judges 11:20 (NKJV) “But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people together, encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.” In this verse, the Hebrew word translated TRUST is Strong’s H539ʾāman which is defined as “be firm, to build up, to support, to nurture, to establish.” It carries the idea of “providing stability and confidence.” This same word is translated BELIEVE in Deuteronomy 9:23: Deuteronomy 9:23: (NKJV) “Likewise, when the Lord sent you from Kadesh Barnea, saying, ‘Go up and possess the land which I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God, and you did not believe Him nor obey His voice.” In the Hebrew, there is this intrinsic connection between belief and trust, without belief we will not trust God, and if we don’t trust God our obedience will not please Him. I want to establish this up front today because I believe God is going to highlight these truths for us in detail as we complete our reading today. The next Hebrew Word that is translated trust can be found in Psalm 2:12: Psalm 2:12 NKJV “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.” In this verse the Hebrew word is H2620 ḥāsāh. This word is defined as, “take refuge, literally seeking a tree’s shade… Of Yahweh (God), He is a shield providing refuge, and refuge is sought under His wings.” A safe place, a place of refuge and shelter where one can be secure and certain they will not be harmed. God is your safe place, a hiding place of refuge for you when the enemy and the world presses in. To trust Him is to seek shelter from Him, and find our residence in His presence. The next Hebrew Word that is translated trust can be found in Psalm 4:5: Psalm 4:5 NKJV “Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord.” This word is the Hebrew word H982 bāṭaḥ. It is defined as “to trust, to be confident in, expressed as feelings of safety and security that is felt when one can rely on someone or something. Also to be confident, secure and without fear.” Love Casts Out Fear In the book of 1 John, we read that God is Love. It is not just a feeling, it’s who He is. Not just a character trait, but in fact, you cannot know God unless you first know His Love. And in Chapter 4 we read that His perfect love casts out fear. God is perfect love, agapeo, in the Greek. A love that moves beyond mere expression and lives within us, becomes our being. When we trust in Him, believe in Him - we must also know Him as love. And in that love - there is no fear. Let’s look at a couple of other verses that carry special meaning to me where trust is translated from the Hebrew word, bāṭaḥ: Proverbs 3:5 NKJV “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;” This verse resonates so loudly with me, especially in light of the definition which is to be confident in, with feelings of safety and security when one can rely on someone or something. If you listened to this podcast for any length of time you’ve heard me talk about losing my oldest child. As the 14th anniversary of his passing will be upon us in the next month, I feel it is an appropriate time to share how God used this verse to comfort my son in a dark season of his life, just a few months before his death, and then turned my heart to it again and again as I grieved His passing. Trusting the Lord Trusting God took on a whole new meaning when I began to walk out the days following my worst confessed fear: The death of my child. I had to trust Him for my next breath, that He would take care of my family when I wasn’t even able to think or feel anything but the most unimaginable pain. I had to trust God’s goodness and love, choosing to lean not to my own understanding because there was no way I could reconcile that a Good God would allow my family to suffer such a painful reality apart from faith in His truth and His promises. A few months before Justin passed away, he became angry as we had grown used to in our house. He often expressed his anger in a fit of rage that would come to blows with my husband or I, or he would destroy our property. That day he went outside, bent a golf club into a pretzel and then kicked a huge dent into the side of my car. My husband, his step-father, called the police as we’d been advised to do by our leaders at church. My son was handcuffed in my front yard and hauled off to the county jail. And, the one thing Scott and I had agreed on when they left was that we would not provide the bail to get him out of jail. A Promise To Keep We’d been thwarting consequences as things escalated in his life that year before and it was time for Justin to face the reality of his choices. He spent seven days in jail before striking a plea deal with the county prosecutor to come home on probation. While in jail, Justin met with the chaplain who gave him a Bible. The day he returned home he came in and thanked me for sending him letters with Scripture in them and encouraging him to seek spiritual counsel from the chaplain when we spoke on the phone. He asked me for my Bible. I handed him my favorite book and sat across the room. I watched as my son who struggled to read turned easily to the passage. Used his finger to find the exact scripture on the page and then read it aloud to me without missing a word. Proverbs 3:5-6 became his life verse. I had no idea, in that moment, how it would minister to me and carry me in the days following his death. A Birthday Blessing A few years later, I gave each member of our family a special gift. A framed birthday blessing with a Scripture that contained their birthday month and year. I also included their name meaning and a personal note of encouragement based on the information in the scripture and name definition. As the year closed, I thought to myself, I probably should do one of those for Justin. I began to look up verses of Scripture with the verse reference 3:11 since his birthday was March 11th. As I did, I didn’t really find anything that resonated until one day I sat praying as I usually did when the girls were at school and Scott was at work. I stood to clean house and a small card I had framed with Proverbs 3:5-6 printed on it caught my eye. I walked over and read the familiar words. Tears filled my eye and it was like my eyes were drawn to the numbers in the reference. It felt as if God whispered a sweet word in my ear, Justin already had a birthday blessing - God gave it to Him. Proverbs 3:5+6 is 11. In that moment, I could feel my Poppa God holding me as I wept bittersweet tears of both grief and joy mingled in the same moment. Each time God brought me to a place of revelation in that season. A small piece of healing took root in my heart as I learned to trust Him more. Which leads me to this next verse: Psalm 52:8 HCSB “But I am like a flourishing olive tree in the house the Lord;I trust in God’s faithful love forever and ever.” (My memory) This verse became life to me the year following the Birthday Blessings. My husband and I went into a rough season in our marriage. It was truly a storm of life that could have destroyed us. But, God. We were walking out our healing in marriage when Scott took an opportunity to work out of town. I was completely uncertain about the idea of him working several states away from home while we were overcoming trust issues in our relationship. I agreed to him going out of town on one condition, if I needed him to return home that he would - no questions asked. He agreed and left on a warm fall day to work out of town for several months. You Don’t Trust Me That weekend I was preparing to go to church when I felt like God tapped me on the shoulder and said, “You don’t trust Me.” By this time in my life, I knew a prompting from the Lord when it landed on me. I stopped what I was doing and argued a bit. “Of course I trust you. I know almost every verse in the Bible about trusting you.” And as quickly as I quipped those words out loud to Him in response, I heard. “No you don’t. If you trusted Me, you wouldn’t worry about people.” Those next few months were filled with index cards covered in Scriptures about trusting God. Psalm 52:8 became a life verse for me. I wanted to know how to trust God in a certain sort of way. Not just from my head - knowing His promises and believing the were true. But, from my heart even when my circumstances couldn’t see Him --- that my heart would know and trust Him. Today, I can boldly say I am like a flourishing olive tree in the house of MY GOD; I trust in His unfailing love forever and ever! Psalm 119 Now let’s get to today’s reading, why don’t we, and see how all this comes together? Turn back to Psalm 119:113 and let’s begin. Verse 113: I despise those who can’t keep commitments, for I passionately love your revelation-light! Have you ever found yourself in a place where you didn’t feel like you could trust anyone around you? Brokenness brought on by betrayal can be a very lonely place. A time when we have to passionately pursue God and His Light of Truth, Jesus, as our safe place of refuge. Verse 114-115:You’re my place of quiet retreat, and your wrap-around presence becomes my shield as I wrap myself in your word! Go away! Leave me, all you workers of wickedness, for you can’t stop me from following every command of my God. Unless we are willing to seek refuge in God during those seasons when people wound or betray us - we will find ourselves like a ship lost in a sea of wickedness. But, when we trust in God, and obey His commands. Seeking Him as our hiding place and living from His very presence in our daily lives. The world will not seem so tempting a place and we will not be snared by the enemy’s schemes. Nothing will be able to stop us from obeying God’s Word - not even the reality of pain could stop us from offering mercy and grace to those who hurt us. Verse 116-117: Lord, strengthen my inner being by the promises of your word so that I may live faithful and unashamed for you. Lift me up and I will be safe. (do you hear that trust?) Empower me to live every moment in the light of your ways. Do you see how the Keys of Trusting in Who God is, and Living from His Presence will bring us to a place of confident obedience as we walk in trust, living from beneath the shelter of His wings? When we live from confidence and belief in God’s Word, trusting His presence we will walk empowered by His grace and love to live every moment of our lives in obedience to who He is. His perfect love will not only cast out fear, but it will cover all shame as we live faithfully before Him. From Foolishness to Holy Fear… Verse 118-119: Lord, you reject those who reject your laws, for they fool no one but themselves! The wicked are thrown away, discarded and valueless.That’s why I will keep loving all of your laws! These two verses feel like the psalmist is reminding himself that he would be foolish to choose to disobey God - no matter how significant the temporary gain or pleasure might seem. He is committing himself to walk in God’s ways and to find the true value of life - that is only found in a deeply intimate relationship with God. He finds that loving God through His Word keeps Him from straying into foolish disobedience to God. In coaching one of the things we focus on is helping our clients seek self-awareness. Not self-focus, but self-awareness. To be aware of what they are doing, who they are being. and what they may need to learn in order to move forward in their lives. I feel like this is what God is highlighting for me in this passage of verses. That a key to understanding, growing and living from His presence is this idea of understanding exactly what is at stake when I do and when I don’t -- that this key is Awareness. The more we become aware of how we are showing up in our lives and the lives of others alongside, awareness of His presence in our lives and how we respond to His Presence becomes a pathway to not only freedom, but living from the awareness of His holiness… That righteousness of God we could never hope to attain - no matter how moral or right we feel - unless, we come into intimacy and revelation of the person of Jesus who takes away our sin and offers us His robe of righteousness in exchange. Obedience Pursues Holiness Verse 120: My body trembles in holy awe of you, leaving me speechless,for I’m frightened of your righteous judgments. As we conclude today, I am reminded of the awe-inspiring moment Isaiah had before the throne of God when he cried out, “Woe to me for I am a man of unclean lips…” And God’s generous response was to purify Isaiah from that unrighteousness so that He could be a prophet to the nation of Israel and foretell the coming Messiah who would indeed put an end to our sin and suffering apart from God. (See Isaiah 6) I don’t know about you--- But I want to live this way! When we come into the revelation-light of God’s truth and His Word. When the person of Jesus Christ, His Father in Heaven and the Holy Spirit who dwells inside of us become more real to us than the world around us - we cannot help but want to live from their presence in our lives. To pursue their holiness, their truth and their transforming power in our lives. We will begin to abide in their presence and holiness and the imputed righteousness of Christ! His righteousness will empower us to walk in victory through obedience every step of the way. When Revelation brings Revival, it will transform us with Righteousness and that should RE-FORM the way the think, live, act and respond to both God and the world around us. It’s a lofty challenge but a promising one, when we walk in light, truth and victory we find the words of Christ are true, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled.” (See Matthew 5) What is it you are hungering and thirsting for today? And, by extension how is God filling you in this season? Lord, God, we ask you to empower us to live our lives aware of Your presence and Your Holiness in our lives. That as we seek You, we would hunger and thirst after righteousness, trusting and believing that Your promise is that we will be filled by You as we do. I pray these things in Jesus’ Name, Amen. I’d love to hear from you. Visit us on Facebook: @bloominginspired and drop a comment on this podcast post or send us a direct message. You can also visit our website BloomingInspiredNetwork.com and learn more about how we equip and empower women to walk in their role and reign in God’s Kingdom. You can fill out our contact form there on the website and let us know what’s resonating, or share any questions we might be able to answer for you about the podcast or ministry of Blooming Inspired Network. A few weeks ago I shared about an upcoming online Prophetic Conference I would be doing in August with Michele Turman, and wanted to let you know that we have had to postpone that event due to scheduling conflicts that have arisen, but we are looking for a new date and will let you know when we reschedule and how you can register and join us in seeking to hear God’s voice through the prophetic gift of the Holy Spirit. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for our next episode of Accidental Hope Podcast with Jennifer Eikenhorst. She is our Ambassador of Hope who continually seeks hope and builds community from a faith perspective with those who have suffered loss through accidents or trauma. Her show airs right here on the Blooming Inspired Podcast network at 2pm (CT). You can find more about Jennifer and her show at facebook.com/accidentalhope Close Again, we’d love to connect with you through our website and social media. Be sure to like, share and subscribe to our website and social media posts. You can find us at facebook.com/bloominginspired, on instagram @bloominginspired and on Twitter @bloominspirenet as well as by subscribing to our website: BloomingInspiredNetowrk.com. That’s all the time we have for today, please join us for Accidental Hope tomorrow and our next episode of Blooming Inspired Podcast each Tuesday and Thursday at 11am (CT)! And remember, Blooming Where You’re Planted Is The First Step To Living Your Wildest Dreams, So Live Your Life Blooming Alive!

The story is told of the time that the Pope and the Prime Minister of Israel decided to deepen the relationship between the Vatican and the Jewish state by co-cohosting a friendly golf game that would be played by premier Catholic and Jewish golfers. The Pope invited Jack Nicklaus to be the Vatican representative. Jack Nicklaus is a devout Catholic and a great golfer. After the golf game, Jack Nicklaus goes to the Vatican to report. Your Holiness, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I played the best golf I have ever played. God was with me like never before. My play was inspired from above. Then what is the bad news? The bad news is that I lost by three strokes to Rabbi Tiger Woods. Unfortunately, today, relations between Jews and the non-Jewish world are no laughing matter. Follow this link to view the sermon and watch the live streaming version on our website https://www.templeemanuel.com/rabbi/rabbi-wes-gardenswartz/linden-tree/

In 2013, I chose to focus on my personal growth. It was during that time that I heard about The Ford Institute. (An option for personal growth and becoming a certified life coach.) Five years later, a book called “Your Holiness,” by world renowned author, teacher, and humanitarian, Debbie Ford, found its way into my life. Debbie ascended in 2013 but she left one last treasure, found four years after she left this earth… her final book! I am grateful that her sister, Arielle Ford, will remind us of Debbie’s legacy and share how this book was ordained by a higher power.

In this episode, Devi chats with Arielle Ford about Finding Love & Keeping Love. Arielle is a love and relationship expert and a leading personality in the personal growth and contemporary spirituality movement. For the past 25 years she has been living, teaching, and promoting consciousness through all forms of media. She is a speaker and the producer and host of Evolving Wisdom’s Art of Love series. Her mission is to help people find love, keep love and most importantly, be love. Devi and Arielle discuss: the amazing story of how Debbie Ford's new book came to be Arielle's definition of a soulmate identifying your soulmate partner how to properly create your "Soulmate Wishlist" the story of how Arielle found her soulmate “living as if” the important characteristics of a soulmate relationship what to do when we change over the years inside of a soulmate relationship creative solutions vs. compromises a surprising statistic about how many irreconcilable differences exist in every couple’s relationship the different kinds of chemistry "Fast food sex" vs. "Gourmet sex" how to ask for what you need in a relationship what to do when your husband leaves the toilet seat up the purpose of taking the sacred vows of marriage whether soulmates are predestined or just chance encounters "Soul Tribes" & "Recognition School" raising your "Love Frequency" the best way to maintain good communication over time “Purefiction” Wabi Sabi taking personal responsibility in your relationship what to do if the chemistry is gone in your relationship how to get someone to commit to you in a relationship the surprising statistics of divorce and more… Connect with Arielle on her website @ www.soulmatesecret.com  (Click on the tab at the top that reads: “Free Stuff”)  If you are single get access to her FREE webinar for you @ SoulmatePassion44.com More about Arielle: Arielle is a gifted writer and the author of 11 books including the international bestseller, THE SOULMATE SECRET: Manifest The Love of Your Life With The Law of Attraction. She has just created the world’s first transformational coloring book based upon The Soulmate Secret, entitled, Inkspirations Love by Design: Coloring the Divine Path to Manifest Your Soulmate. This book blends Arielle’s step-by-step method for manifesting love with the romantic, original artwork of artist Manja Burton.  It’s a fun, creative and powerful process! She is also the author Turn Your Mate Into Your Soulmate devoted to exploring a simple, fun and effective way to attain groundbreaking shifts in perception so that you can embrace and find the beauty and perfection in yourself and your mate.  She calls this “going from annoyed to enjoyed!” She has been called “The Cupid of Consciousness” and “The Fairy Godmother of Love.” She lives in La Jolla, CA with her husband/soulmate, Brian Hilliard, and their feline friends. More about Arielle’s sister, Debbie Ford: Debbie Ford was an internationally recognized expert in the field of personal transformation and a pioneering force in incorporating the study and integration of the human shadow into modern psychological and spiritual practices. A transformational coach, speaker, and teacher for more than 20 years, she was the creator of The Shadow Process Workshop, the executive producer of The Shadow Effect movie, and founder of The Ford Institute, a premier transformational training company. Debbie was the New York Times bestselling author of nine books including The Dark Side of the Light Chasers, Spiritual Divorce, and The Best Year of Your Life. Your Holiness is her tenth book and was discovered after her passing through a mind-blowing session with world-renowned medium James Van Praagh. Debbie died of cancer on February 17, 2013, but her legendary work lives on. www.DebbieFord.com    Resources Mentioned: Your Holiness Discover the Light Within by Debbie Ford: DebbieFord.com  (bonuses with the books) James Van Praagh:  http://www.vanpraagh.com/ &  https://www.jvpschoolofmysticalarts.com/ Dr. John Gottman: https://www.gottman.com/ Alison Armstrong: http://www.understandmen.com/ John Gray: http://johngrayworld.com/ Harvel Hendricks (The Marriage Whisperer): https://harvilleandhelen.com/ Gay Hendricks: https://www.heartsintrueharmony.com/     

A recently discovered unpublished work by the beloved spiritual teacher and #1 New York Times bestselling author in which she reflects on the astonishing holiness that resides in each of us.On the fifth anniversary of her death and written during her long battle with cancer, Your Holiness is a thoughtful and poignant exploration of the godliness that resides in all of us. Infused with her trademark frank honesty and keen insight, it is a blueprint for recognizing and accepting our latent spirituality. Debbie combines motivational prayers with deeply personal stories about her own spiritual journey—how she struggled and eventually found her internal faith—and translates her experience into a practical path for transformation. http://debbieford.com

In the first half, Patricia interviews Arielle Ford, sister of Debbie Ford who is the author of Your Holiness: Discover the Light Within. On the 5th anniversary of Debbie Ford's death and written during her long battle with cancer, Your Holiness is a thoughtful and poignant exploration of the godliness that resides in us all. Arielle discusses how Debbie combined motivational prayers with deeply personal stories about her own spiritual journey- how she struggled and eventually found her internal faith- and translates her experience into a path for transformation. In the second half, Patricia interviews Uri Nir, Dean, Associate Professor, and Chairman at Bar-Ilan University. He will discuss how they identified the cancerous enzyme that supports the spread of metastatic cancer, the advanced chemical and robotic approches his team used to develop a synthetic compound that kills cancer cells, how it works, the tests conducted on mice as well as other recent findings in cancer research.

In the first half, Patricia interviews Arielle Ford, sister of Debbie Ford who is the author of Your Holiness: Discover the Light Within. On the 5th anniversary of Debbie Ford's death and written during her long battle with cancer, Your Holiness is a thoughtful and poignant exploration of the godliness that resides in us all. Arielle discusses how Debbie combined motivational prayers with deeply personal stories about her own spiritual journey- how she struggled and eventually found her internal faith- and translates her experience into a path for transformation. In the second half, Patricia interviews Uri Nir, Dean, Associate Professor, and Chairman at Bar-Ilan University. He will discuss how they identified the cancerous enzyme that supports the spread of metastatic cancer, the advanced chemical and robotic approches his team used to develop a synthetic compound that kills cancer cells, how it works, the tests conducted on mice as well as other recent findings in cancer research.

In the first half, Patricia interviews Arielle Ford, sister of Debbie Ford who is the author of Your Holiness: Discover the Light Within. On the 5th anniversary of Debbie Ford's death and written during her long battle with cancer, Your Holiness is a thoughtful and poignant exploration of the godliness that resides in us all. Arielle discusses how Debbie combined motivational prayers with deeply personal stories about her own spiritual journey- how she struggled and eventually found her internal faith- and translates her experience into a path for transformation. In the second half, Patricia interviews Uri Nir, Dean, Associate Professor, and Chairman at Bar-Ilan University. He will discuss how they identified the cancerous enzyme that supports the spread of metastatic cancer, the advanced chemical and robotic approches his team used to develop a synthetic compound that kills cancer cells, how it works, the tests conducted on mice as well as other recent findings in cancer research.

In the first half, Patricia interviews Arielle Ford, sister of Debbie Ford who is the author of Your Holiness: Discover the Light Within. On the 5th anniversary of Debbie Ford's death and written during her long battle with cancer, Your Holiness is a thoughtful and poignant exploration of the godliness that resides in us all. Arielle discusses how Debbie combined motivational prayers with deeply personal stories about her own spiritual journey- how she struggled and eventually found her internal faith- and translates her experience into a path for transformation. In the second half, Patricia interviews Uri Nir, Dean, Associate Professor, and Chairman at Bar-Ilan University. He will discuss how they identified the cancerous enzyme that supports the spread of metastatic cancer, the advanced chemical and robotic approches his team used to develop a synthetic compound that kills cancer cells, how it works, the tests conducted on mice as well as other recent findings in cancer research.

If you've ever wanted to heal your heart and discover your greatness, then do we have the YOUR HOLINESS show for you! Today I'll be talking with Arielle Ford, best-selling author and the sister of Debbie Ford, a brilliant beacon of light, light-post for all, and the author of many beautiful books including a true master-piece on prayer and a new favorite of mine, Your Holiness. And that's just what I want to talk with Arielle about, about the power of prayer, and discovering the light within. Your Holiness Self Improvement and Self-Help Topics Include: How did James Van Pragh help your sister Debbie Ford reach you after her passing? What did she initially ask you? How did you eventually say yes? How did Debbie Ford transform from a lifetime of hard drugs? What has the power of prayer meant for Debbie Ford? What does it mean that Debbie Ford Chose holiness? How do we see beyond our current situation? What's a shift and how does one come about? What's the importance of being humble for a shift? What does it mean to take the time each day to nourish our faith? How do we tune into God? How do we vibrate in harmony with our positive emotions? What in the world's a pleasure puppy? How do we cleanse our consciousness? What do we do if we're internally at war with ourselves? What does it mean to surrender to powerlessness? How do we heal our hearts? How do we find the right love in our lives? Why is self-forgiveness the ultimate act of self-love? What does it take to step into and reclaim our holiness? How do we reclaim our light? For More Info visit: DebbieFord.com, www.soulmatepassion44.com, www.soulmatesecret.com Arielle Ford on the Last Book of Debbie Ford, Your Holiness & The Power of Prayer To Light Your Life!!! Inspiration | Motivation | Relationships | Spiritual | Spirituality | Meditation | Inspirational | Motivational | Self-Improvement | Self-Help   For More Info Visit: www.InspireNationShow.com

Interview with Arielle Ford about her sisters new book "Your Holiness"

A very special show today as we speak with Author Arielle Ford as she introduces her sister, Debbie Ford post mortem book, "Your Holiness" . We talk about this poignant book in these trying times.We also have Randy Thomas, 9th year announcer of the Oscars and also the narrator of the book YOUR HOLINESS written by Debbie Ford before she died.

Regardless of your vocation, the Little Way of St. Therese of Lisieux can help you in your spiritual life. But what exactly is this Little Way and how does it work on a practical level? This is what we wanted to discuss and we knew just the right person to invite to share her wisdom … Continue reading FoC 077: What The Little Way Means for Your Holiness with Nancy Bandzuch →

In this episode, we dis the The Pope as he expresses his ignorance (you deserve it Your Holiness), a Rabbi straightens The Pope's ass out, then we talk about how to read the news. Cause you all need to learn.

SONG OF THE BRIDE & THE BRIDEGROOM: “RUN TO ME, MY BELOVED” Song of the Lord given through Barbara Williams (Bridegroom) & Brenda Zedlitz (Bride), January 31, 2004 Bride: At the sound of Your voice, I will run to You When You call to me, I will answer Oh, I know Your voice, I know Your voice Just call to me, Lord, I know Your voice I will turn my face, to the sound of Your voice And I will run to You, I will run to You My filthy rags, I will cast aside My angriness, and my foolish pride When You call to me, call to me, call to me, I will answer I am a part of that Brand-New Breed, I am a part of that Brand-New Breed And if You call to me, Oh, my Lord, I will answer Bridegroom: Come to Me Beloved, Oh, come to Me, your Lord is calling you Come to Me Beloved, Oh, come to Me, your Lord is calling you Come as you are, I’ll adorn you with what you need Come as you are, I’ll adorn you with what you need You need My Peace and you need My Joy New, you need the New Wine unto you I give you New Wine, a Joy in your soul, you are mine Come and taste of the Wedding Cake, I have made a tasty bake Just come as you are, I’ll accept you that way, My beloved Bride: Oh, I hear Your voice, and I’m running to You I’m flinging myself at You, Oh, my Lord I hear Your voice, my Lord, my Bridegroom Adorned in Your Holiness, Righteousness and Truth Here I am, Oh, I love you My Lord, I hear Your voice And I’m running, I’m running, I’m running to You, Oh, I’m running, I’m running, I’m running to You Oh, I’m running to You Bridegroom: You are My Beloved I love you the way you are You are My Beloved I love you the way you are Put on no makeup, Just come as you are Don’t fuss with your hair, I love it that way You come as you are, My lovely girl You come as you are, you are My world You are My Beloved and I am your Groom, just come as you are You are My Beloved and I am your Groom, just come as you are Bride: How can You love me when I am like this? I’ve made my life such an awful mess But I’ve heard Your voice, and I’m running, I’m running to You I’ve heard Your voice, and I’m running, I’m running, I’m running, I’m running I’m running to You, Make my feet like the deer I am running, I’m running to You Bridegroom: I’ll perfect you with the kisses of My mouth, I must adorn you first I’ll perfect you with the kisses of My mouth, but I must adorn you first Bridegroom: Run to Me, My Beloved Bride: Oh, I’m running, I’m running, I’m running, I’m running to You Bridegroom: Run to Me, My Beloved Bride: I’m running, I’m running, I’m running to You Bridegroom : Well, you are here in the presence of the Lord I promised you, you won’t be ignored Just come to Me and worship at My feet Bride (congregation’s Response): I worship You, I worship You, I worship You, My King I worship You, I worship You, I worship You, My King I adore You, I adore You, I adore You, My King I love You, I love You, I love You, My King I love You, I love You, I love You, My King I adore You, I adore You, I adore You, My King All the angels cry “Holy!” All the angels cry “Holy!” But I, as Your Bride, I simply say “I adore You” All the angels cry “Holy!” All the angels cry “Holy!” But we are Your Bride, And we simply say “We adore You!” We adore You, we adore You We as Your Bride simply say we adore You We adore You, we adore You, we adore You We are Your Bride and we say we adore You All the angels cry “Holy! Holy!” All the angels cry “Holy! Holy!” But I am Your Bride and I simply say “I love You” “I love you, I love You” I am Your Bride and I say “I love You” Hoh, hoh, hoh, hoh, Hoh, hoh, hoh, hoh I am Your Bride and I say “I adore You” Hoh, hoh, hoh, Hoh, hoh, hoh I am Your Bride and I say “Oh, Jesus, I adore You” I adore You, I adore You, I am Your Bride and I say I adore You I adore You, I adore You, I adore You, I adore You, I adore You, I adore You… >> This prophecy and song were recorded live on CD at the 2004 Gathering of Eagles Conference, night two >> Prophetic Music on CD from each night of our conferences is available for purchase in our bookstore or online.

SONG OF THE BRIDE & THE BRIDEGROOM: “RUN TO ME, MY BELOVED” Song of the Lord given through Barbara Williams (Bridegroom) & Brenda Zedlitz (Bride), January 31, 2004 Bride: At the sound of Your voice, I will run to You When You call to me, I will answer Oh, I know Your voice, I know Your voice Just call to me, Lord, I know Your voice I will turn my face, to the sound of Your voice And I will run to You, I will run to You My filthy rags, I will cast aside My angriness, and my foolish pride When You call to me, call to me, call to me, I will answer I am a part of that Brand-New Breed, I am a part of that Brand-New Breed And if You call to me, Oh, my Lord, I will answer Bridegroom: Come to Me Beloved, Oh, come to Me, your Lord is calling you Come to Me Beloved, Oh, come to Me, your Lord is calling you Come as you are, I’ll adorn you with what you need Come as you are, I’ll adorn you with what you need You need My Peace and you need My Joy New, you need the New Wine unto you I give you New Wine, a Joy in your soul, you are mine Come and taste of the Wedding Cake, I have made a tasty bake Just come as you are, I’ll accept you that way, My beloved Bride: Oh, I hear Your voice, and I’m running to You I’m flinging myself at You, Oh, my Lord I hear Your voice, my Lord, my Bridegroom Adorned in Your Holiness, Righteousness and Truth Here I am, Oh, I love you My Lord, I hear Your voice And I’m running, I’m running, I’m running to You, Oh, I’m running, I’m running, I’m running to You Oh, I’m running to You Bridegroom: You are My Beloved I love you the way you are You are My Beloved I love you the way you are Put on no makeup, Just come as you are Don’t fuss with your hair, I love it that way You come as you are, My lovely girl You come as you are, you are My world You are My Beloved and I am your Groom, just come as you are You are My Beloved and I am your Groom, just come as you are Bride: How can You love me when I am like this? I’ve made my life such an awful mess But I’ve heard Your voice, and I’m running, I’m running to You I’ve heard Your voice, and I’m running, I’m running, I’m running, I’m running I’m running to You, Make my feet like the deer I am running, I’m running to You Bridegroom: I’ll perfect you with the kisses of My mouth, I must adorn you first I’ll perfect you with the kisses of My mouth, but I must adorn you first Bridegroom: Run to Me, My Beloved Bride: Oh, I’m running, I’m running, I’m running, I’m running to You Bridegroom: Run to Me, My Beloved Bride: I’m running, I’m running, I’m running to You Bridegroom : Well, you are here in the presence of the Lord I promised you, you won’t be ignored Just come to Me and worship at My feet Bride (congregation’s Response): I worship You, I worship You, I worship You, My King I worship You, I worship You, I worship You, My King I adore You, I adore You, I adore You, My King I love You, I love You, I love You, My King I love You, I love You, I love You, My King I adore You, I adore You, I adore You, My King All the angels cry “Holy!” All the angels cry “Holy!” But I, as Your Bride, I simply say “I adore You” All the angels cry “Holy!” All the angels cry “Holy!” But we are Your Bride, And we simply say “We adore You!” We adore You, we adore You We as Your Bride simply say we adore You We adore You, we adore You, we adore You We are Your Bride and we say we adore You All the angels cry “Holy! Holy!” All the angels cry “Holy! Holy!” But I am Your Bride and I simply say “I love You” “I love you, I love You” I am Your Bride and I say “I love You” Hoh, hoh, hoh, hoh, Hoh, hoh, hoh, hoh I am Your Bride and I say “I adore You” Hoh, hoh, hoh, Hoh, hoh, hoh I am Your Bride and I say “Oh, Jesus, I adore You” I adore You, I adore You, I am Your Bride and I say I adore You I adore You, I adore You, I adore You, I adore You, I adore You, I adore You… >> This prophecy and song were recorded live on CD at the 2004 Gathering of Eagles Conference, night two >> Prophetic Music on CD from each night of our conferences is available for purchase in our bookstore or online.

SONG OF THE BRIDE & THE BRIDEGROOM: “RUN TO ME, MY BELOVED” Song of the Lord given through Barbara Williams (Bridegroom) & Brenda Zedlitz (Bride), January 31, 2004 Bride: At the sound of Your voice, I will run to You When You call to me, I will answer Oh, I know Your voice, I know Your voice Just call to me, Lord, I know Your voice I will turn my face, to the sound of Your voice And I will run to You, I will run to You My filthy rags, I will cast aside My angriness, and my foolish pride When You call to me, call to me, call to me, I will answer I am a part of that Brand-New Breed, I am a part of that Brand-New Breed And if You call to me, Oh, my Lord, I will answer Bridegroom: Come to Me Beloved, Oh, come to Me, your Lord is calling you Come to Me Beloved, Oh, come to Me, your Lord is calling you Come as you are, I’ll adorn you with what you need Come as you are, I’ll adorn you with what you need You need My Peace and you need My Joy New, you need the New Wine unto you I give you New Wine, a Joy in your soul, you are mine Come and taste of the Wedding Cake, I have made a tasty bake Just come as you are, I’ll accept you that way, My beloved Bride: Oh, I hear Your voice, and I’m running to You I’m flinging myself at You, Oh, my Lord I hear Your voice, my Lord, my Bridegroom Adorned in Your Holiness, Righteousness and Truth Here I am, Oh, I love you My Lord, I hear Your voice And I’m running, I’m running, I’m running to You, Oh, I’m running, I’m running, I’m running to You Oh, I’m running to You Bridegroom: You are My Beloved I love you the way you are You are My Beloved I love you the way you are Put on no makeup, Just come as you are Don’t fuss with your hair, I love it that way You come as you are, My lovely girl You come as you are, you are My world You are My Beloved and I am your Groom, just come as you are You are My Beloved and I am your Groom, just come as you are Bride: How can You love me when I am like this? I’ve made my life such an awful mess But I’ve heard Your voice, and I’m running, I’m running to You I’ve heard Your voice, and I’m running, I’m running, I’m running, I’m running I’m running to You, Make my feet like the deer I am running, I’m running to You Bridegroom: I’ll perfect you with the kisses of My mouth, I must adorn you first I’ll perfect you with the kisses of My mouth, but I must adorn you first Bridegroom: Run to Me, My Beloved Bride: Oh, I’m running, I’m running, I’m running, I’m running to You Bridegroom: Run to Me, My Beloved Bride: I’m running, I’m running, I’m running to You Bridegroom : Well, you are here in the presence of the Lord I promised you, you won’t be ignored Just come to Me and worship at My feet Bride (congregation’s Response): I worship You, I worship You, I worship You, My King I worship You, I worship You, I worship You, My King I adore You, I adore You, I adore You, My King I love You, I love You, I love You, My King I love You, I love You, I love You, My King I adore You, I adore You, I adore You, My King All the angels cry “Holy!” All the angels cry “Holy!” But I, as Your Bride, I simply say “I adore You” All the angels cry “Holy!” All the angels cry “Holy!” But we are Your Bride, And we simply say “We adore You!” We adore You, we adore You We as Your Bride simply say we adore You We adore You, we adore You, we adore You We are Your Bride and we say we adore You All the angels cry “Holy! Holy!” All the angels cry “Holy! Holy!” But I am Your Bride and I simply say “I love You” “I love you, I love You” I am Your Bride and I say “I love You” Hoh, hoh, hoh, hoh, Hoh, hoh, hoh, hoh I am Your Bride and I say “I adore You” Hoh, hoh, hoh, Hoh, hoh, hoh I am Your Bride and I say “Oh, Jesus, I adore You” I adore You, I adore You, I am Your Bride and I say I adore You I adore You, I adore You, I adore You, I adore You, I adore You, I adore You… >> This prophecy and song were recorded live on CD at the 2004 Gathering of Eagles Conference, night two >> Prophetic Music on CD from each night of our conferences is available for purchase in our bookstore or online.