#whenever i use my actual journalling bible

[nothinggold13]

1, 10, 20?

Again. 3 years.

10. How do you read your Bible? Electronically? Physical Bible? Journaling Bible, or do you choose not to write in it at all?

Physical. I have a journalling bible which I got for my high school grad but I have not put anything into it yet. Instead I use my "wee college" (basically preschool bible study??) bible in which I highlight things in crayon. ��

[thecousinsdangereux]

if i'm falling wrong [1/1]

notes: over on Twitter, moonyriot has been working on a multi-part journal from Ava's POV covering her time in Switzerland and beyond. She asked me if I wanted to join in on the fun and write a short one-shot to cover some of the events in part 6. (If you haven't seen any of her posts, here's the first one. They are incredible so definitely check them out.)

—

“The integrity of the upright guides them,” Ava reads, taking care to enunciate each word, “but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them. That’s Proverbs 11:3, Beatrice.” 

Beatrice definitely knows, which is — Ava thinks — what makes it so funny. Or. Funny to her, at least. Maybe not so much for Beatrice, whose lips have flattened into a thin line that hides almost all of their pretty pink hue (a color Ava has taken a liking to in a way that definitely relates to how often she finds herself staring at Beatrice’s mouth). 

“It is better to promise nothing than to promise something and not be able to do it,” Ava continues, because she’s never been any good at knowing when to stop. “That’s Ecclesiastes. And — ooh, this is a good one — A person who promises a gift but doesn’t give it is like clouds and wind that bring no rain. That’s — ”

“Proverbs again, yes, thank you, Bible.com.” 

“It’s actually Biblereasons.com.” She shows off the screen of her phone, the one that she’s definitely supposed to be using sparingly (and never does). “But sure, I can go to your bible website of choice. Whatever you want. Pretty sure I’m still going to find the same answer, though. Honestly, I would’ve thought a nun would know that lying is bad. Not to brag, or anything, but I learned that one when I was like five, or something.” 

For reasons unknown, this pries Beatrice’s lips wide, dragging them out into a full smile, pink mouth and small indent at the corner appearing just as quickly as Ava’s pulse picks up, heart slamming up against the poor, battered walls of her chest. 

“How odd,” Beatrice begins, in a low drawl that means Ava’s in trouble (in so many ways). “Because I seem to recall you telling Hans, just yesterday morning, that you were allergic to apples. As a result, he traded pastries with you, leaving you with the chocolate eclair you’d been all but salivating over since you first noticed it in the break room. Given that I know that you were perfectly able to consume a slice of apple pie that the neighbors brought up last week, I am forced to conclude that — ”

“Okay, okay! Jesus. Pump the brakes, Miss Marple. I’m allowed to lie; I’m a dirty sinner or whatever. But you hold yourself to a higher standard, right?” (Unfortunately, Ava adds, but only mentally, because yeah.) “So when you said ‘Ava, if you’re able to best me in a mighty trial of combat, I will bequeath to you a single portrait wherein my lips are upturned in joyous felicitations’ or whatever, I took that as an oath, Bea. A serious, serious oath.” 

“One, I don’t sound like that. Two, no English person alive sounds like that. Why do you default to the Regency era when you’re trying to mock my accent?” 

By now, Beatrice’s smile has really started to crack open, showing off the slightest sliver of white behind those lips. It’d be unfair to say that this (the moment where Beatrice’s eyes crinkle with a laughter she most likely won’t release) is always Ava’s goal in any conversation she has with Beatrice, but maybe it is always an intended stop along the way, whatever the actual destination might be. 

(Other pitstops of note include: the cute scrunch of her nose whenever she’s focused on Ava alone, the half-tilt of her head whenever she’s considering something Ava’s said, the almost absentminded brush of her fingers along Ava’s forearm whenever she wants her to pay especially close attention. There’s a common theme here, but Ava’s well-aware of her own preoccupation, so it’s fine. Probably.)  

“Uh, because I’m paying you a huge compliment? Ungrateful much? Mr. Darcy is like… the hottest the British have ever been. Not that that’s hard because otherwise they kind of really suck, but I’m trying here, Bea, and you’re giving me nothing but attitude. And lies.”

Beatrice sighs. It’s cute enough that Ava nearly sighs too, longing bubbling up behind her lips.

“I told you I would smile for one of your pictures if you pinned me during training. It was implied you would do so without cheating.” 

With a tsk that doesn’t sound anything like the one Beatrice sometimes uses (a low sound from the back of her throat that always did very little to help Ava concentrate), Ava takes a half-step closer so that she might properly waggle a finger in Beatrice’s face. 

“I’m only doing what you taught me, Bea I thought I was supposed to use all the resources at my disposal?” 

Beatrice promptly bats the finger away. But that’s sort of the point. (Sometimes, it’s a little pathetic, the lengths Ava will go to make sure Beatrice is touching her at literally every possible opportunity, but Ava’s never really minded being a little pathetic for a good cause. And Beatrice is honestly never hard to bait, at least in this particular way.) 

“Ava, you bit me.” 

“Which was using all the resources at my disposal! Come on! If I’d been in a real fight, you would’ve called that innovative!” 

“Perhaps if you hadn’t used your — ” Delightfully, Beatrice takes a small, steadying breath before her next word, which, to Ava (who’s spent months studying Beatrice with the rigor of a staunch academic) is as much of a giveaway as one of her cute little blushes. “ — tongue.”

“I think the element of surprise would still work just fine,” she insists, but then Beatrice gives her a look, one that she knows won’t allow for any debate over the merits of licking her enemies, and she gives in nearly instantly. (Ava’s really only interested in using any part of her mouth on one person alone, anyway.) “But fine. Okay. Good note, teach.”

Winter has begun to fade from the air and, as they walk back towards their apartment in the meandering pace that has become their custom, Ava is pleased by this for two reasons. One: their neighbors — who bake enough that Ava’s convinced they’re working up to competing on one of those bafflingly polite baking shows — now leave their windows open, filling the air with the most delicious smells, noticeable even a block away from their home. And Two: Beatrice has taken to wearing short-sleeves again, which means that when she nudges Ava now (with a charmed little roll of her eyes), it’s bare skin against bare skin. 

In training, this is both a pleasure and a problem, because then it’s Beatrice’s shorts and Ava’s shirt being pushed up as Ava gets pinned to the ground and it’s the skin of Beatrice’s inner thigh against the skin of Ava’s hip and that’s a lot more than the casual brushes she’s gotten used to. Ava had long ago realized that any and all logical thought flies out the fucking window when faced with a muscular thigh, so really, it hadn’t been all that much of a surprise when it’d resulted in Ava doing something completely insane. 

Like taking Beatrice’s thumb into her mouth. And biting it. And maybe sucking a little. Honestly, it’s all a bit of a haze, because Beatrice had then made a noise that would most certainly be featured in Ava’s dreams for the next week or month or year, in the most mortifying (and sexy) way possible. 

And to be fair, it had worked in getting Ava out of the chokehold she otherwise would’ve probably happily died in. 

So there’s that.

“Something with chocolate today,” Beatrice comments, and Ava short-circuits for a second, thinking about chocolate and fingers and skin and the really incredible potential combination of the three, before she remembers the neighbors and the smell and the baking and feels her cheeks burn.

“Uh — yeah. Maybe they’ll have extra to share.” The windows on the first floor apartment are (of course) open as they approach, and Ava raises her voice just enough for it to carry through. She catches the intertwined laughter of the neighbors that results, and shoots Beatrice a wink that dispels some of the heat building within her, an emergency vent that she’s learned to rely on. 

“You’re shameless,” Beatrice says, in the exact way she always does whenever she doesn’t mean it (lips quirking at the corners). 

“And you’re welcome, when we end up getting brownies, or whatever they’re making.” 

The door to their building never unlocks easily, but it’s gotten worse as the temperatures have started to rise; Beatrice shoulders it open, muscles bunching in her back, and Ava does absolutely nothing to help, watching the flex of her shoulder blades under the tight, gray fabric. 

“You know me,” Beatrice says lightly, knocking the side of her sneakers against the bottom of the stairs before heading up (and Ava does know her, enough to wait patiently for her to complete this small ritual). “I’m always craving sweets.” 

“You are sometimes! Whenever you come home from a night shift, you break into my stash! And since you have a lot of those coming up, on account of you losing our bet…” 

Beatrice laughs, a soft huff that turns into an adorable little squeak when Ava shoves past her on the staircase and snatches the keys from her fingers, bursting through their apartment door with far less effort than Beatrice had needed below. 

“You’re not letting this one go, are you?” 

It’s probably response enough when she snatches her camera off of the kitchen table and points it at Beatrice as soon as she steps across the threshold, but even this (pretty impressive!) sneak attack fails. Beatrice is quick enough to throw a hand up before the snap, lowering it only when Ava does the same with the camera. She continues to eye her warily as she bends down to untie her shoes, only abating to cast a significant look in Ava’s direction, which persists until Ava kicks hers off far less elegantly.

“It’s one photo, Bea!” she grumbles, watching as Beatrice arranges their sneakers in a perfect little line. “Just… one smile. Let’s just get it out of the way, you know? Look up and … ”

Beatrice does look up. 

Ava has to give her that.

It’s the only warning she gets before Beatrice is standing and her fingers are wrapping around Ava’s wrist and she’s pressed flush against Ava’s front and well. Sure. That’s one way to get Ava to shut up. Probably the only way. Ava knows this about herself, but really can’t find any regret when it’s led her right here. 

“You cheated,” Beatrice murmurs lowly. “Why would I reward that?” 

Ava has a lot of thoughts around the concept of Beatrice rewarding her, and absolutely none of them are good. (Or, rather, they’re all extremely good. Very good. Far too good for her to be able to say out loud, those curling, irreverent thoughts that stick her tongue to the roof of her mouth and keep her up at night.) So it’s really out of mercy that she phases then — slipping out of Beatrice’s grip the only way she knows how that doesn’t involve cheap tricks — stepping back and lifting her camera again. 

What follows transpires a bit too quickly for Ava to track. 

She’s seen Beatrice fight in all sorts of situations — at full speed in back alley brawls and at half-tempo when leading her through a new form — but Ava’s pretty sure she’ll never see enough to lose the surprise that comes from being on the end of one of Beatrice’s first strikes. She’s in front of Ava and then she’s not; it’s really as simple (and terrifying) (and hot) as that. One moment, Ava has her camera ready, and then she’s facing a different direction entirely, her hand twisted behind her back, her camera falling from her grasp. Beatrice is fast here too, swooping down to catch it before it hits the floor, but this allows Ava to throw an elbow backwards, a hit that surely would have broken something in Beatrice’s face had it landed (but which Ava knows by now never will). 

“Double or nothing?” Ava pants, stumbling forward and twisting back around to face Beatrice, who’s gently placed the camera on the floor, carefully out of the way. 

“Two photos if you win and you take my night shifts for two weeks when you lose?” 

“Wait, I don’t like the if/when placement in that senten — ”

She barely ducks out of Beatrice’s grapple, cutting herself off mid-word to manage it, a little breathless already. It occurs to her that she’s definitely made a mistake here, looking up and finding Beatrice serious and focused, strands of her hair slipping out of the low bun that’s already started to loosen. Even in the warm light filtering through their apartment windows, Beatrice’s eyes look dark, and Ava spends a second too long suppressing a shiver at the sight. Which means, of course, she’s unable to avoid the next hit: a full tackle to the floor. Either Beatrice really doesn’t want Ava to take this photo or she really wants to get out of her night shifts, because she’s not going about this in the calm, measured way Ava is used to. (There’s a third option and it’s one Ava likes best; maybe Beatrice just really wants to pin Ava to the floor, to feel Ava underneath her, to feel Ava squirm against her front, fighting to get out of the hold. This is the option Ava relates to best and maybe it’s the one driving her now, putting her at a disadvantage just as significant as all the other ones.) 

Ava hits the ground hard, enough to knock air out of her lungs, but she’s saved, partially, by starting on a twist mid-air, mindful of how dangerous it’ll be if Beatrice gets her flat on her back. Not that Ava is opposed to this idea. Not on a normal day. Not even today, if only Beatrice would — 

“Good,” Beatrice says, breaking through Ava’s thoughts, though not in a way that is helpful at all. Beatrice most certainly notices the jerk of Ava’s hips the single word causes, but almost equally as certainly dismisses it as part of Ava’s attempts to break free. “But you over-rotated. Just slightly. See how I can use that to put you on your stomach?”

Always the instructor, Beatrice explains precisely how she’s going to best Ava before she actually does it; if Ava were better at this (if Beatrice were worse) this might actually be of some help in countering Beatrice’s efforts. Sadly, she’s not, so it isn’t. 

“Fuck,” Ava grunts, face pressed directly into the carpet of their bedroom. It’s honestly painful, the way Beatrice’s knee presses into the center of her back, but it’s a sort of pain that Ava’s come to find — over their months together — that she doesn’t especially mind or maybe even likes and maybe gets a fair amount of pleasure from and maybe thinks about it from time to time whenever she gets a moment alone and — yeah. Fuck is really the only word for it. 

“What now, Ava?” Finally, there’s a hint of the breathlessness in Beatrice’s voice: when she locks one of Ava’s arms behind her back, and Ava attempts to land some kind of backwards headbutt, pushing herself up off the floor with her free hand. “What’s your best option?” 

Beg you to have your way with me, doesn’t really seem like the response Beatrice is looking for, but Christ a girl can only take so much. And right about then, Ava knows she’s going to cheat (because it’s either cheat or blurt out something that will inevitably be extremely horny) but is it really cheating if there hadn’t been any rules put forth in the first place? 

She’s gotten better about controlling the Halo, so it barely gives off any light before she lifts onto one knee and throws herself backwards, phasing neatly through Beatrice’s front. The effort Beatrice had been using to hold her down works against her now, effectively swapping their positions as she falls forward, and Ava’s quick to use that momentum, reaching around to grab the front of Beatrice’s shirt so she’s flipped with the motion. Another (gentle) Halo blast lands Beatrice on her back, Ava straddling her hips and pinning both of her hands on either side of her head. 

“You didn’t say no Halo,” Ava says in a rush, as though the victory will be taken away instantly, as though she cares at all about some stupid bet instead of being on top of Beatrice whose eyes are wide and lovely, whose lips are parted and pink, whose chest is — not something Ava is looking at, thank you very much. Because she’s respectful, she can be respectful, she has to try to be respectful. 

“I didn’t,” Beatrice says finally and then fucking licks her lips, like God Himself has decided that Ava needs to be punched directly in the face with attractiveness or whatever and holy shit. 

Holy shit. 

“Then I — that means — uh — ” She releases one of Beatrice’s wrists like it’s burning, very much aware of the intensity of the gaze resting on her, and blindly roots around on the floor behind her until she finds the camera, resting just where Beatrice had left it. “I get to do this.” 

Her fumbling with the camera is hardly graceful, but honestly, the fact that she’s able to produce words at all is nothing short of a miracle, so she’ll take it. Her right hand is still wrapped around Beatrice’s left, fingers circling her wrist as she pins it to the floor, and she takes a picture of this first, holding her breath all the while. 

“For — uh — proof?” she offers, a little weakly, and Beatrice’s stare finally breaks, intensity replaced by something much softer, something that seeps into the corner of her eyes and mouth in equal measure. Ava’s struck by the sight as much as she is by anything else, and her grip relaxes enough that Beatrice can slip out of the hold, both hands drifting down until they come to rest just alongside either one of Ava’s knees. 

“Proof for who?” 

“What do you — proof for literally everyone, Bea; Hans, Camila, Lilith, Mother Superion, Jillian, the regulars at the bar, our neighbors, the lady who runs the bakery down the street, any random person I walk past for the next month. Hell, I might take out an ad in The Guardian, or something, are you kidding?” 

Beatrice laughs and it’s like a crack in the universe, or something equally and unequivocally earth-shattering. Lungs empty, air knocked fully out, Ava lifts her camera almost instinctively, only to find her view devastatingly obstructed, Beatrice’s arms flung over her face (the grin, still wide with laughter, barely peeking out from underneath). 

“Beatrice,” she groans (or maybe pouts).

“I’m sorry!” And she sounds it too, even through the smile, the half-giggles now petering out. “Truly. I’m not used to being photographed. I can’t think of a time it happened before you took up this hobby, not outside of unpleasant family photoshoots and the like.”

Ava’s heart flips painfully in her chest, but Beatrice is quick to soothe, fingers falling back down to brush against the outside of Ava’s leg, as though Ava’s the one in need of comfort.

“I’m not protesting, Ava. Just tell me what to do.” 

Photographs are meant to reproduce moments, memories, emotions, but Ava’s not sure the best photographer in the world, with hundreds of thousands of euros in equipment, would ever be able to fully capture Beatrice as she is now, fondness bleeding from the tips of her fingers, affection lighting the brown of her eyes, and love — or something an awful lot like it — bending her mouth, a bow pulled taut with an arrow that might be Ava herself, as inconceivable as the notion is. 

“Pretend the camera isn’t here,” Ava rasps, her breath hot (heated by all the things boiling inside of her now). “Just look at me.” 

Beatrice looks at her. 

Ava stops breathing. 

She takes the picture. The camera lowers. And Ava forgets about it entirely, object permanence completely obliterated by a force far stronger than something as trivial as human development.

Underneath her, seemingly content to be straddled, Beatrice looks calm, which isn’t unusual, because she almost always looks calm, so maybe it’s that she feels calm too. Like all the things Ava can always sense running through her at speeds only known to light have slowed down or disappeared entirely. The mission, her duties, her vows, her expectations, these things have washed away (temporarily but completely) until it’s only Beatrice left, staring at her lips. And Ava had thought she’d experienced wanting Beatrice in every way, but this one is new.

(She wants Beatrice like this: exactly herself, without anything else getting in the way.)

“Beatrice,” she says, a hitch in her voice breaking the name into three, distinct syllables. “I’m — ”

Cursed. Saved. Ruined. Blessed. Fucked. 

Ava’s not sure which word applies when the smoke alarm goes off downstairs.

It is not especially loud, or piercing, but it goes off and all of the easy calm flees from Beatrice’s eyes as she jerks upwards, back lifting off the floor until she’s close, closer than before, so close and it’s too much, maybe, or maybe Ava’s instincts are working against her (or for her?) because she falls back as soon as Beatrice completes the motion, balance disastrously (helpfully?) disrupted. 

Oh well, Ava thinks, as she lets herself fall back. Maybe a bit of brain damage would do her some good. 

Except that, of course, Beatrice catches her, a simple slip of her hand around Ava’s back, palm pressing to the middle of the Halo, shocks spreading out from the point of impact. 

“You’re what?” Beatrice asks, terribly quiet, as though she feels the air rearranging around them, molecules shifting back and forth between possibilities and outcomes. 

And if Beatrice were still calm, if everything else were still pushed away, if Beatrice was just Beatrice in that moment — just as she’d been so briefly before — it would not be a choice, what Ava did next. And maybe it isn’t one now either, but it’s in the opposite direction: pulling away rather than pushing forward (creating space rather than closing it). 

“I’m — just — I’m done. With the photos.” Decision made, breath returning, she shrugs, a little bashful now, the steady beep of the alarm and the laughter of their neighbors drifting up from below. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Beatrice’s head tilts, a small crease forming in between her eyebrows. Some people want money or power or peace or the answers to the universe, but Ava thinks she would be content, if only she could know what Beatrice is thinking right now.

“No,” she murmurs. “Not so bad at all.”

[wttcsms]

WTTCSMS EGOIST BIBLE !!

while i'm gone on hiatus, i thought now would be a good time for you all to get to know me! i thought the egoist bible questions were so silly but so good at getting some insight into how a person is, so here are my answers <3 i did change up some questions pertaining to soccer, but for the most part, these are all the questions asked from the egoist bible 🤭

BIRTHDAY ► april 21

AGE ► 21

ZODIAC SIGN ► taurus

BIRTHPLACE ► houston, tx

HOUSEHOLD ► dad, mom, older sister, me, younger brother

HEIGHT ► 5'2

SHOE SIZE ► us women's 6.5, eu 37

BLOOD TYPE ► o negative (i actually really enjoy donating blood)

DOMINANT HAND ► right

AGE YOU STARTED WRITING FANFICTION ► 11

MOTTO ► it's cheesy, but i really like nike's "just do it"

WHAT YOU THINK IS YOUR STRENGTH ► my personality must be pretty agreeable because no matter the setting (different workplaces, school, concerts, waiting in a long line, etc.) people always seem happy to talk to me. i'm happy about that because i love listening to people yap and encourage it.

WHAT YOU THINK IS YOUR WEAKNESS ► i get scammed easily. i don't like saying no when i see people asking for money, even if i know they're feeding me a lie. usually, there's a thought in the back of my mind that goes "what if they're not lying and they really do need the money??" it'll all come back to me, anyway.

FAVORITE FOOD ► a ny strip, cooked rare.

LEAST FAVORITE FOOD ► salmon. i hate it; i dislike most fish, but i gag every time i eat salmon. it doesn't matter how high quality it is, how it's prepared, what dish it is — i can't stand the taste. which is a total bummer because salmon has hella omega-3s, and i #needthat (i buy fish oil vitamins because of this)

BEST SIDE DISH WITH RICE ► not a traditional side dish, but i really like bacon and rice. my uncle opened my eyes to this

HOBBY ► playing nitrotype (my average wpm is 127, with a personal best of 144 wpm)

FAVORITE SEASON ► winter, i love cold weather because i live down south & it's christmas season!!!

FAVORITE SONG ► changes all the time, but my current fixation is "packing it up" by gracie abrams.

FAVORITE MOVIE ► 1917; i watched it once a day for two weeks straight.

FAVORITE MANGA ► blue lock, with haikyuu a close second

CHARACTER COLOR ► baby blue

FAVORITE ANIMAL ► labrador retrievers <3 growing up, we had one

FAVORITE BRAND ► new balance, i swear by their shoes

BEST SUBJECT ► english + history; i was on a full ride scholarship during undergrad and wanted to take advantage, so i maxed out my schedule's credit limit by taking a "history of english language" class. it combined my favorite subjects together & apparently it was a required course for all english majors at my uni. funnily enough, i was the only business major in the course but after silently stalking the groupme & looking at the canvas lowest v highest score scale, it turns out i was doing better than all of them. business majors 1, eng majors 0 😋

WORST SUBJECT ► math. i like it and always made A's. sometimes i regret not majoring in math, but it's one of those subjects that didn't automatically click for me.

MAGAZINES YOU READ OFTEN ► national geographic. i can't help but buy the newest issue whenever i'm in the checkout line of barnes and noble. wall street journal

SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOU HAPPY ► when strangers compliment me

SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOU SAD ► seeing people mock neurodivergent people for their mannerisms.

FETISH ► hands. specifically, guys with big hands. you know when athletes grip the ball with one hand? wooooooow. or when a guy is reversing and has one hand on the steering wheel

YOUR TYPE ► someone driven & disciplined who also makes me laugh (whether it's unintentionally or because he really is just that funny)

FIRST TIME YOU RECEIVED A CONFESSION ► when i was 14. he admitted to liking me since middle school, and suddenly i was aware that i am capable of being perceived which is scary

HOURS OF SLEEP ► 4-5 hours (i stay up late but wake up very early)

WHERE DO YOU WASH FIRST IN THE SHOWER ► my face. i heard you're not supposed to wash your face in the shower, but idc. it's easier that way.

WHAT YOU UNINTENTIONALLY ALWAYS END UP BUYING AT THE CONVENIENCE STORE ► it used to be an energy drink, but now it's those bottled smoothies.

MOST USED APP ► tiktok. im working on that NOT being my top app.

MUSHROOMS OR BAMBOO SHOOTS ► mushrooms

LAST TIME YOU CRIED ► last night, i was watching sad tiktoks

HOW OLD WHEN YOU STOPPED RECEIVING PRESENTS FROM SANTA ► maybe 8? my parents never did the "from santa" schtick, but i stopped believing in him at around 8 years old

WHAT DID YOU ASK FOR AS A CHRISTMAS PRESENT FROM SANTA ► probably dolls. i liked playing with barbies and polly pockets and bratz

WHAT WILL YOU DO ON THE LAST DAY ON EARTH ► spend it with my family

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU RECEIVED $650,000 ► 10% to my church, 50% in savings, 25% to my brokerage accounts + roth ira, 15% to spending!!!!

HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR DAY OFF ► play nitrotype, color, clean

WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING IF YOU HADN'T STARTED WRITING FANFICTION ► probably (definitely) study more, but i feel like i wouldn't be as happy. writing fanfiction makes me more connected to a fandom, and it adds to my overall enjoyment of media. i met really cool people online because of my fanfiction

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE HISTORICAL FIGURE ► Jesus

IF YOU COULD TAKE ONLY ONE THNG TO A DESERTED ISLAND, WHAT WOULD YOU BRING ► my dad, he'd know what to do. if i can't bring a person, an expensive emergency survival kit (loophole logic; an emergency survival kit is usually sold as one unit).

IF THERE WAS A TIME MACHINE, WOULD YOU WANT TO GO TO THE PAST OR THE FUTURE ► the future. somehow, i don't think i'd get treated right if i went to the past, and besides, i can read a textbook. i can't see into the future.

[witchcraftingboop]

Hello, I love your blog!

May I bother you ever so much and ask: were there times, at the beginning of your spiritual journey (or however you call it, I really didn't find a better way to express it), where you started to question your path and beliefs? That you wondered if it even made any sense what you were doing and that maybe you were only talking to the air?

I've been in and out of my own path for long as I can remember, bc it never felt like there was something there with me (if that makes sense). I do know how to read tarot and, whenever possible, I try to read Agrippa's book and every other book I have (tho I still find The Witches Bible a little off for me, but still a cool source of knowledge)

But it feels like I miss something, like a spark or whatever. So sometimes I can't help but question myself on "why am I even doing this?" or "why do I light this candle and make offerings if I don't even know if whoever I lit this candle for is actually here?" and so on and so forth.

I don't have a anyone irl I could ask this for so I hope you don't mind you ended up being the one to read my rumbling (⁠╥⁠﹏⁠╥⁠)

Have a wonderful day/evening/night (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)

Hey, anon, thanks for the love and the intriguing ask!

My path might be a bit different from yours, as I grew up in a family that was openly spiritual on either side and was taught a fair bit by my mother, aunts, and great grandmother. That being said, I think doubt and skepticism is extremely healthy to have in your craft. Rather than look at your doubtful thoughts as impediments, it may help to view them more as reason to further your research and self-reflection.

When you doubt your books or actions and treat it as a challenge or prompt to deepen/investigate your investment and thought process involved, I think you'll find yourself engaging with your path and motivations in greater depth.

Ask yourself: why am I performing these actions? And then turn to your spirits, spells, or books for an answer. If you change that action, will there be a change or difference in what occurs after? Or you could turn instead to yourself and interrogate why witchcraft at all. Not in a derogatory way, but with the genuine intent to be more introspective and thereby connect to your own motivations and drive.

Personally, I haven't read "The Witches Bible," but Agrippa can at least help build the foundations of why magic works. It may help to expand your research and look into other traditions and ways of practicing, even if not applicable to your own. By looking outward and exploring how others engage with spirit, you can often be inspired by new connections and odd instances of familiarity that you weren't expecting. Sometimes our mind can understand a concept and not necessarily know how to express it in concrete words until we view a broader picture or are exposed to something that gives us the words, or pieces of them, we didn't know we were looking for.

Imposter syndrome in spiritual circles isn't unheard of. How you deal with and face those instances matters more, in my opinion, than the fact that you experience them.

Another way to reconnect yourself to the occult and witchcraft in general is to perform anyways. Perform spells and rituals and set a deadline by which you expect to see results. If you keep a record or journal of what goes on around you thereafter, it may be easier to discern whether what you were going for actually occurred or if something barely related changed/reacted instead. As an example, when I find myself doubting whether a spirit ally is still with me, I'll sometimes call on them for divination and, if that goes moderately well, follow it up with a money working - money is pretty easily tracked. In the end, having concrete results that you can look at and know without a doubt came from your efforts is sometimes the best way to quell doubtful thoughts.

On the opposite end, it's a good idea to check in with yourself if you start thinking that what you're doing isn't real or "in your head." Have there been any external influences (negative or positive) in your life recently that relate to the spiritual or religious aspects of your craft? Have you started tuning in to a creator that posts derogatory comments about the things you believe in? Have you done any personal protection/cleansing work recently? Reviewing the external factors around doubtful times in your life can be especially helpful if the thoughts become overwhelming, repetitive, etc.

Hope this helps! Also, just so you know, y'all don't bother me by asking things, so feel free!

[lemememeringue]

dreamt for whatever reason we were back in base housing. all our stuff was still there but we were visiting church friends who'd moved in after we left. the range of emotion I felt was weirdly intense.

[gloooowingggg]

♱💕New Year’s Resolutions💕♱

Hello there everyone! It’s been a while since I made a formal (using the term very loosely, lol) post on this blog! I know it’s cliché, but I wanted to make a list of some New Year’s resolutions to have some extra accountability, because that is always helpful.

I don’t mean to brag or anything, but I actually met every single one of the resolutions I made last year! To provide some encouragement, I’ll list them out here:

1) Read the Bible more often-- I started a reading plan (the M’Cheyne plan, if I remember correctly) at the beginning of 2021. I actually did not finish the plan in one year, but I made it through the entire New Testament, and actually picked up my Bible again following periods of inconsistency.

2) Pray more often-- At the beginning of 2021, I didn’t pray at all. I always felt embarrassed being vulnerable in front of God. I slowly realized that God, in His omnipotence, could actually already see all of the things I was embarrassed about. I started adding a simple prayer to the beginning of my Bible reading time, and asked for more consistency. Now, I pray formally at least three times a day (like writing it down) and basically pray all throughout the day, whenever it comes up.

3) Sharing my faith with others-- I hesitated at first when I said that all of my resolutions were completed, as I have always had a really difficult time with evangelization. I realized, however, that as I grew in my faith, I naturally shared it with others. My friends would come into my room, see my Bible, and ask about my religion and what I was reading. I actually sparked interest in some of them!

4) Eat healthier-- Yes, I know this one is a cliché as well. Through a lot of discipline, though, I cut my sugar consumption in half (or maybe even more than that!). 

5) Become stronger-- I’ve always been rather fit, but being a very petite 5′3″ (like my 10 year old cousin’s wrists are bigger than mine), I have always had a difficult time with certain exercises. Through a lot of practice, I can actually do a few *normal* push-ups. It’s slow progress, but progress nonetheless!!

6) Lose extra fat-- Like I mentioned in the food one, I cut my sugar consumption down a lot! Because of it, I lost about 5 pounds. That isn’t a ton of weight, I realize, but I have always been rather thin (size 0), and 5 pounds was all I needed to lose. I feel so toned now!

7) Become flexible-- I have always struggled with flexibility. I was a ballerina for 6 years, but was never able to touch my toes, let alone get anywhere near a split. My whole family always blamed their own lack of flexibility for my issues, and basically told me that I would never be flexible. Through a lot of stretching (and crying!) I can now touch my toes, even if I go a little while without stretching. My knees nearly touch the ground when I do a butterfly stretch now!

Now, on to this year’s resolutions...

1) Complete an entire Bible plan in one year-- I’m using the plan found in the 2022 Prayer Planner by the Daily Grace Co. It’s just a straight-through plan of the Bible. You can probably find one on the YouVersion app that is exactly the same.

2) Journal every single day

3) Publish at least one original post on Tumblr per month-- You guys can keep me accountable on this one 😊

4) Start a faith-based podcast-- I’ve had some ideas for a while, I just need to actually work on them now that college apps are over

5) Lift weights at least 2 times a week-- I used to be in a weight lifting class, but now I’m in one that mostly does body weight exercises. Last year, I had a super strong deadlift (I think it was 170 lbs?), but I’ve totally lost that now 

6) Do cardio at least once a week-- my endurance is nonexistent. oops.

7) Complete all assignments the moment I get them. No excuses. Also, study for tests sooner than the night before-- Somehow I’ve managed to get through high school procrastinating like crazy while still maintaining an A+ average. That is not going to fly in college, so I should probably work on that sooner rather than later.

Obviously, all of this is in addition to the stuff I already implemented last year. I learned a lot in the past year about discipline, but also self-love. I was really only able to succeed in my goals this past year because of how open they were. In the past, I have failed with super strict goals because if I missed one day, I would fall off track and never even try again. Keeping things general for a year allowed me to realize that I can always pick myself up again, even if I fail. In the past year, I absolutely went weeks at a time without reading the Bible. And you know what? One day, I just picked it up again and kept reading. Slowly, I became more consistent, and I realized that the quality of my day was a million times better after Bible reading. It does get better.

If you struggle with reaching your goals, as I did, I would recommend being kind to yourself and setting some general goals this year. They won’t work forever, but if you are a perfectionist like me, they are good at teaching you that it is okay to be inconsistently consistent, because building habits takes time. I’m now at a place where I can set daily goals and feel confident that I won’t completely abandon them, even if I have a rough stretch. 

I hope everyone grows closer to God in the coming year. Have a blessed 2022, and remember that every moment of it belongs to Him!

[dailyaudiobiblechronological]

10/6/2022 DAB Chronological Transcription

John 2 - 4

Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible Chronological, I'm China. Today is the 6th day of October, welcome. What a pleasure and honor to be reading the word of the Lord with you here today. I'm kind of in disbelief that we're already six days into this month, but it's been a great start of the month so far, and very thankful that it's October and that we are well on our way into crisp, beautiful air. And hopefully wherever you are, it is beautiful and either warm, if you like it, or cool if that's how you like it. May the desires of your heart be met regardless of what they are today. We are just in the book of John. We are in chapters two through four continuing on with the New International Version for this week.

Commentary

I think everyone has a soft spot in their heart for the story with Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. And I believe we all know this story and if not, we just read it. So now you really know it. But this part that really gets me is not the fact that it is part, partially a 2 parter. Part the part one that really gets me is the fact that Jesus is a Jew and he's talking to a Samaritan. And Jews and Samaritans did not associate, let alone talk to each other or really be in the same area civilly. And so that's one part. But then also Jesus, who is a man, is associating himself with a woman. He's a rabbi. And this is a woman who would have most likely been an outcast. She is drawing water in the afternoon and women would have been very communal and so they would have drawn water together, they would have drawn water in the morning. This woman is by herself. This shows us that she's probably excommunicated, probably gossiped about, probably looked at sideways whenever she's walking and probably really mistreated. And we see what has probably been the case of that is the fact that she has had five husbands and the man that she's living with now is not her husband. And this story I love for so many different reasons, but also it really trips us up because I feel like in today's culture if we were to have met someone and we were like, oh my gosh, like you come to this well too. No way. What are you doing here by yourself? Oh, this is your story. Wow. You're an overcomer, you are victorious. And all of these things that I feel like you're going to have to really hear my heart here, I think these things can be well meant, but they're also not gospel centered. Or it could have been a completely different approach where we are like how do I get you in a ten step program on how to be a better person or let me tell you my story or let me check you into rehab of some addiction sort. There's like so many different ways that this story could have gone, but actually, Jesus just tells her, and it didn't say it in today's translation and many popular translations, it is go and sin no more. And that really stumped me in a lot of different ways because like I was saying, there can be this almost toxic positivity of, you got this, girl, you can do this. Just pray more or journal more or go to this conference and you'll come back saved and changed and those things don't work. I think there's value in all of them. But I also think that this story just shows me that believers can really water the gospel down or we can over saturate it and we can really add to it when Jesus is basically saying. No, I knew that you were going to be here. And it doesn't bother me that you're here in the middle of the day when I know that the culture norm is for women to be together and to be here in the morning. And yet this tells me something's going on. But yet Jesus was approaching her and he asks for a drink and he's like, this is a great time for me to tell her that there's something available to her beyond what she is trying to find, that she can't. What she is trying to find time and time after again, she's not able to find. But what will really capture her heart is knowing that, hey, there's actually a source of life that you can taste from and never want anything else again. Jesus knew that that's what was going to capture her heart. Not a ridiculing message, not a pushing her down the well, not picking up the stones and stoning her, not shaming her, but literally pointing out, yes, you are right when you say you don't have a husband, you've had five, and the man that you're living with isn't your husband. We don't see that. There's not a ton of context here. Jesus isn't seeing with an attitude. Jesus isn't saying it in a way of like, God, don't make me say this to her. This is so awkward. But he says it from a place of like, yeah, that's what's been happening. And there is something here, a new source of water, a new living water. And she's like, Great, where can I get this from? Do you have a cup? Because this must be a deep place to get this water. And Jesus is revealing himself as, I'm he, I'm the Messiah. And it's just so crazy to me, though, because we see where Jesus is trying to keep what he's doing very hush when it's healings or when it is releasing people from demons. You have to be quiet. We're not going to talk about this right now, even with the demons, because they know who Jesus is. And yet Jesus is going and revealing himself in the fullness to women, and so he is doing things that are slightly scandalous. And I'm here for it, and I love it. And I love how Jesus handles himself with outcasts, and I love how he handles himself around women. And it draws me into the heart of God and it draws me into the heart of Jesus time and time again.

Prayer

So, Father, I thank you so much for your word, and I thank you that your heart is good towards us and that you care for us and you love us and you know us. And I just thank you for stories like today that just show us that the gospel is simple and the gospel is true. And I thank you that it doesn't require as people who are your followers, as we are claiming to be disciples of Christ. I thank you that it doesn't require us to try to come up with great responses in our own strength or to come up with a ten step program for how to get people's sin eradicated, but actually to humble ourselves, to die to ourselves and ask, holy Spirit, how do you want to speak in this situation? How do you want to move in this situation? And God, I pray that we would be people who are willing to hear your voice, willing to ask you to stand guard over our mouths, that we would be people who are willing to just share silence and to enter into a time of prayer and thanksgiving and knowing that you are God, we are not, and you are not asking us to be. And Father, I just thank you so much for who you are, and it is in Your name we pray. Amen.

Community Prayer Line

Hey, guys, this is Greg from Washington, aka clown for Christ. So I want to pray for three people. First, China and Jill, that they get better. Thank you, Lord, for them, be with them, that their bodies will heal and things will be good with them. Thank you. And the third is for a woman who another woman called and asked for prayer for her. She's been sexually assaulted by someone on a prayer team, a fellow Christian, I assume a male. But either way, convict that person in every way and get them out of the way so that she may heal. Most of all, give her comfort and blessing and healing that she can move forward. Take care of this woman. Thank you for her faithfulness and her service. Help her to know how much you love her and to feel it. Thank you for the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, amen.

Hey, everybody, it's Whitney. First, I want to say thank you, Simone, for calling in to share that story with me. I could imagine my dad doing something like that because he was the prankster out of our family, too. He loves to make jokes and make everyone laugh. And that really touched my heart and I wanted to pay it forward to Roy. I understand about watching certain episodes and watching a show with your mom, because my mom was diagnosed with COPD and she was on oxygen and she kept getting weaker and weaker in 2016. And the only thing she really was able to do is to watch TV. And there was two shows that me and her connected with. And if it wouldn't have been those shows the last year of my mom's loss, we wouldn't have had the laughing and the memories that we did have watching the show and talking about the show and conversations about where it was going to go and how it was going to work and how it's going to end and all of this. God sends everything in his own time, even if it's a show to bring you closer together. And I thank God for those memories, for those television shows with my mom in her last year of life. So you just hold on tight and you watch those shows with your mom because those are the members that you will always keep in your heart. And I'm praying for China and Jill and China's family for healing. Thank you all. Love y'all. Be blessed.

Good evening, DABC. This is Tawny calling from Suffolk. Today is Saturday, October 1. I want to lift up Don from Illinois. Dear Heavenly Father, I come to the throne once again. I want to lift up Don from Illinois, father, heavenly Father, is such a tragic accident, father, that has taken place, lord God, and I say accident, Father, because no one actually intentionally wants to kill or harm those sales, father. It's the enemy, Father, that has tricked their mind up, lord God, and just have allowed them to think, lord God, that's the only way, lord God, that they can deal with their problems, father. So again, Father, I'm just bringing Don to the throne along with her family. Having a father, I'm asking, Lord, Father, you just have complete control of the situation, father, I'm asking, Lord God, that you just comfort her and comfort her family in her time of loss, father. Dear Lord, just be there, Lord God, be that God, that strength, lord God, just, lord God, just once again, just to have your way, father, I just want to thank you right now, Father, I'm just believing in you, lord God, the Lord God, that you, lord God, going to work this thing out for her. Lord God, you're going to just love on her, Lord God, and just until she can just come back, lord God, to you for a circle, Lord God. And I don't know, father, this is going to take some time, Lord, because this is nothing. Lord God, that is easy bounce back from, but I say again, Father, asking lord God, that you just be in the midst of it, Lord. And I just want to thank you right now, Lord God for being that comfort of father for being there here God in the mighty name of Jesus. And don once again just let your friend don know, Lord God, that he is there with her and for her and she will be able to bounce back in her time that's might have name of Jesus. I love you guys. And once again, just continue to have your way Father. Be encouraged you guys.

[nanowrimo]

How to Plan a Novel (By Not Planning It)

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. Novlr, a 2020 NaNo sponsor, is the smart writers’ choice for novel writing software. Today, Novlr Community Manager Crystal Lynn Kamm shares some tips for all the pantsers out there who want to get ready to write their NaNoWriMo novel without actually planning it:

NaNoWriMo 2020 is fast approaching and writers everywhere are working hard on their novel ideas. Some of you have already meticulously planned everything you're going to write next month, while others have decided it wing it by sliding into their computer chairs on November 1st without a single plan. And probably most people are somewhere between these two polar opposites. Which type of writer are you?

I’ll be honest, I’m the kind of writer who likes to plan for success. I’ve done NaNoWriMo (and Camp NaNoWriMo) quite a few times, but I find that the years where I come in with a plan, I do better. 

Before you get too worried, “a plan” doesn’t have to be as big of a deal as you might think. Many writers thrive off the understanding that the novel unfolds as it will, making pre-planning difficult. As a self-proclaimed “organized pantser,” I would completely agree with that sentiment. (Side note, have you heard about the difference between planners and pantsers, a.k.a. one who “flies by the seat of their pants”?) 

Here are some methods of writing planning that I love to employ before I get started on a big writing project:

Outline 

When people talk about planning, they almost always mean outlining. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like outlines at all. They are very restrictive! But, that being said, they can be helpful at times. If possible, I recommend at least planning out the main plot points of your novel. Identifying what the characters’ goals are, what big things happen, and how they’re ultimately resolved can save you from a lot of aimless wandering at the drafting stage!

Brainstorm

What if you don’t know what your main plot points are? That’s a completely valid issue, especially if you’re a pantser like me. I sometimes like to brainstorm ideas for what those plot points might be so that I can play with a few scenarios during the drafting process and see which ones work best for my characters. 

Writing exercise

Getting to know your characters is one of the best ways to figure out what they would or wouldn’t do. Once you know that, a whole new assortment of possibilities will show up for your novel’s plot. Follow @novlrtweets on Twitter to get some great interaction and writing prompts for helping you dig deeper into your fiction!

Freewrite or journal

Sometimes prompts take your writing a direction that you weren’t intending on going with your novel and freewriting is a better choice. Freewriting or journaling about your novel can really help you to clear away the cobwebs and dig into your writing process. I like to free write about my novel almost every day, even if it’s just for a few minutes. I write about my struggles, my plot holes, my character frustrations, anything that’s on my mind. Sometimes I get life-changing epiphanies, but let’s be honest, that’s not the norm. Just working through the questions will often give you a change of perspective and the added bit of motivation you need just to keep going. 

Story bible

If you’ve really got some time on your hands or want to make sense of a very complicated world that you’re building for your story, creating a “bible” can be an incredible exercise in organization. The idea of creating a “bible” for a story is a system used in TV show writing. A bible will contain a bio and picture for every character, plus a breakdown of what motivates them and how they fit into the plot, every setting, and every unique system in the story. This can be an essential element in high-concept stories where characters are using magic, fighting powerful enemies, engaging in extremely technical science, or moving around in a complex world with lots of unusual settings. 

The best part about all of these preparatory exercises is that they don’t actually have to be done first. You can “prepare” for your novel at any stage of the writing process, whether you’ve only written a page or you’re in your third full draft. Be sure to let me know if you’ve tried any of these methods before and whether they’ve worked for you! What methods of novel prep do you swear by? I can’t wait to hear from you in the comments!

Try Novlr

Novlr has chapter organization and separate note organization so you can write your thoughts down whenever they come to you and manage it all in one place. Sign up for a free two-week trial of Novlr and use the 40% off promo code when you decide to subscribe: gMR3xpnR. 

Crystal Lynn Kamm is Community Manager for Novlr, the leading online writing tool. She is a professional writer and novelist; passionate storyteller and prolific NaNoWriMo participant (and winner!). She’ll be working on her novel right alongside all of you this year. Follow her progress and more Novlr advice and resources on NaNoWriMo, Twitter (@novlrtweets), and Instagram (@novlrofficial).

Top photo by Ferenc Horvath on Unsplash.

[raz-b-rose]

We don't know what God intended ever though. People have their own opinions and religious texts get changed and removed whenever aome powerful figure sees fit, and they than cover it up by saying they have talked to god. Do you believe that every person to have written or omitted text from the Bible actually heard those words directly from God or his people?

If the Bible gives you comfort than I am happy for you. But to use that to weaponize other people and identities? I've seen multiple therapist before and after coming out. And I can tell you when I believe myself cis I was more suicidal, more hating of my body, more sick than I ever will be after coming out. And from actually talking with my psychiatrist and psychologist about this?? They are literally trained in mental illness and they genuinely do not believe that my identity has any negative impact on my mental health.

Me being threatened and told to kill myself because I'm trans? Me getting told that maybe, and I quote, "if someone shoved their cock in your pussy you'd be straightened out", me being told that a part of me that has made me the happiest I have ever been in my entire life? Those have been huge negative impacts on my life and mental health.

But let's switch this around, shall we? Not out of malice but out of example. You believe that God is real. You have no evidence. Other than the evidence that proves against his existence. You follow blindly because you have this feeling, this deep engrained feeling, that he has to be out there. And what might just be some form of desperate need to feel some kind of importance, you believe that, in this entire huge universe that God has made, where God has probably made billions of other life forms, that we, humans, are his favorite. You believe. And you practicing and following your religion makes you feel fulfilled. Happy.

There are numerous bit of evidence to prove that God isn't real. But you've actively chosen to believe in God anyways.

There is thousands of years of evidence to conclude that transgender people exist. Compared to the few actual medical journals out there that try to disagree, it's a pretty assured fact that people are transgender and not sick. And being trans? That part of our identity? Makes us happy and fulfilled and finally whole. Like we belong and aren't just loved by some man in the sky, but by ourselves. Which is far more important any love anyone else can give you.

I'm tempted to believe that, in the end, what matters to you is your own opinions. You own beliefs. And that to me just proves your own hubris. Your own belief that your word of God is superior to others (even priests who've studied Christianity far more than you), and that you believe yourself so knowledgeable about God's beliefs and views that you can tell other people what those are.

Also, while I respect your religion, please do not pray for me. Christians burned my people alive in the past and stole our traditions and holidays, and I don't think you'd much care to waste time praying on a Pagan anyways.

1. Of course I'll pray for you and will gladly always take the time to pray for you. No matter who you are. No questions asked.

This goes for anybody.

You say "my people" like I'm automatically attached to the people of the past just because they claimed Christianity to justify their hate and violence. (also please provide sources to these events I want to learn)

Gods commands us to love God first and our neighbor as ourselves second 8 times in the bible using those words exactly "love your neighbor as yourself". And that's what I'm trying to do. I'm still human.

2. I can understand finding a peace in yourself after fighting against darkness for so long, and I'm absolutely disgusted by whoever told you those things. Thats all levels of wrong and I do not believe that.

Rape is never the answer.

Suicide-baiting is never the answer.

3. As for knowing Gods intentions its directly stated not just in Genesis but the entire bible. The OT is a love letter of foreshadowing to Gods promised salvation for us and the NT is the fulfillment of that and the collection of letters reflecting Gods heart.

If I believe that God is always in control then I can believe He has the power to keep His word together for us now. Yes people will and still are twisting it today, but that is where our personal dedication to seeking truth with a willing heart will give the Holy Spirit the opportunity to open our eyes to lies.

I believe in the supernatural and miracles and God power and the beautiful transformation that is salvation. He used this power to speak verbally to Moses through a burning bush. He used this power to speak into a persons heart via the conscience. I've experienced it.

Time is irrelevant to God and I honestly truly pray for you to find Him someday too. Not so I can say "I changed you" but so you can see how truly wonderful God is.

Yes God calls us to be examples of Him but if your image of God comes through the actions of sinful man then you haven't truly seen God. Seek His character in His word, see Him for who He is.

And as an added note, the church today likes to act like marriage is the be all end all for a Christian. It isn't. I hope you know that I, and others like me, understand and would never force that on you.

The church also likes to ignore the OT so yes I'm still learning about that portion of my bible. I am in a church now that is heavily focused on history and original texts and context and cross referencing.

But truth is truth and I don't need extensive knowledge to know that. Genesis states it clearly. Evidence of His existence is all around us and we ourselves are that evidence.

I love you just as I love all my other LGBTQ friends and co-workers and acquaintances. But this love isn't the one you want, blind acceptance. I love you as God loves you but I do not accept your sin. You root your entire identity in that, while I root mine in God.

So yes. I'll continue to pray for you. Pray for your health, and safety. Pray for your salvation. Pray for you to see God. Pray for your mental and emotional health. Pray for good to come to you. I'll pray for you.

[a-a-a-anon]

I like. Need 2 see more of us IASIP HCs bc they pog

skfdjafelkekalf thank you VERY much. ask and ye shall receive (though I already listed all my good ones in the other post):

Charlie is everyone’s best friend in 1-on-1 situations. He’s just always seen as dirtgrub-y and stupid and thus 2nd lowest in the pecking order (just behind Dee) in group situations. Basically every time he and someone in the Gang break off they’re more affectionate to him. Examples: Misses The Boat (obviously) or Manhunters for him and Dee. Mac’s Banging The Waitress or The Gang Gets Stranded in the Woods for him and Dennis. Pop-Pop: The Final Solution (Mac even compliments Charlie’s improving literacy! Normally the Gang would use that moment to make fun of Charlie) or A Very Sunny Christmas for him and Mac. Dee, Dennis, and Mac all feel the need to make fun of the illiterate smelly janitor when in front of others. Frank is the only one who’s PROUD to call Charlie his amazing best buddy alone or in front of the Gang because he gives 0% of a shit about his reputation or expectations in society to only associate with respectable people.

Contrary to his own beliefs and the people who call him a psychopath, Dennis has BIG emotions/feelings and he just has BPD. Dee knows/has known for years that Dennis has BPD (maybe learned the name of the disorder while studying psychology) and when she heard that Dennis described himself as having no feelings [like he did in Charlie's Mom Has Cancer] she thought that that was absolute bullshit. Before meeting and becoming best friends with Ronnie and Dirtgrub in high school, Dennis would always share everything about his life with Dee (for example, he totally told her the entire story when he had his first kiss at the Jersey Shore). Also, when Maureen broke up with him, Dennis broke down and held onto Dee and cried (he was an EMOTIONAL and dramatic kid) much in the same way he did when seeing skeleton Barbara. Yeah, Dee definitely knows Dennis has emotions, but she doesn’t care to help him with any of them or correct him when he tells Mac he’s emotion-less (she just rolled her eyes).

Charlie has never used the embarrassing information he has on Dee that he learned in her middle school diary [Dennis and Dee's Mom Is Dead] nor has he repeated the “worst is first” line to her (which would very much be another “Dee is a bird” insult thing to bring up if Dennis remembered it or if Mac knew). That means that Charlie actually has a shred of humanity in him that when Dee is being a bitch (like in Charlie Work) he holds back because he genuinely empathizes with her and knows that that might be a bit far or something.

Charlie always kinda knew Mac was gay (Mac sheepishly but curiously asked “can I kiss you bro” once when they were young and Charlie obliged. They were each other’s first kiss) but he knew Mac would get suuuper defensive if it was brought up and Charlie didn’t really see the point in the drama so he just lived with it. What DID get on his nerves was when Mac used to gloat about his super straight sexual exploits or how evil the Bible says it is to be gay or whenever Mac would go I’M STRAIGHT at any little accusation. Instead of calling him out, Charlie would just roll his eyes. It was extra annoying when Mac would call him dumb because Charlie would think “yeah well at least I can notice you’re gay” aka he was more observational than he let on.

Stolen from somewhere but the original post I read it from is deleted: bird with teeth in Charlie’s dream journal = Dee

Dee and Charlie both secretly think each other’s hair is pretty nice. In Charlie Has Cancer, Dee looks genuinely forlorn when she says “He’s gonna look so bad without that hair”. Charlie just thinks Dee’s hair makes her look like a sunny bird, in a good way.

Silly one: Charlie started smoking with Dee because he stepped in dogshit (and wanted to smell better since last time he went around to the Waitress’ place with shit on his shoes she peppersprayed him again or something). The dumbass figured that the smell of smoke would overpower the smell of dogshit so he went in the alley with Dee since he knew about her smoking breaks. But as he was smoking he realized he enjoys this quiet company with Dee so he would continue smoking with her, dogshit or no. Eventually the embarrassment of regularly smoking with Dee overpowered the initial embarrassment of smelling like dogshit so he, yknow, began the system he explained in Hero or Hate Crime?

Charlie used to compliment Dee (sometimes, in little ways, not in big declarations of admiration or anything) but gradually learned to stop since Dee was so defensive and insecure and afraid of being made fun of/being told a fake compliment/being vulnerable she didn’t know how to respond so she’d go “shut up” or brush it off or exploit that moment of honesty to reflexively shoot an insult at him instead of going “thanks”

Frank will shut down if he consciously has to realize he supported two bastards for their entire childhood (well, in his mind it was “support”) meanwhile his ACTUAL son, Charlie, had no dad and is obviously messed up from it. We saw that he had a literal stroke in Dennis And Dee Get A New Dad when the Mathis revelation comes up. So he refuses to seriously confront the fact that Charlie’s his son. I mean, he knows there’s a STRONG possibility but he’d really rather just keep on pretending that the man he sleeps with every night and has seen him fuck [The Gang Gets Romantic] is NOT his emotionally stunted son. Also, if there’s some weird possibly sexual thing with him (wasn’t it implied in Mac And Charlie Die that Frank wanted to fuck the Charlie mannequin. What is it with this show and ppl getting sex dolls when their best bro leaves) it would be best not to bring the son element into light

Dennis is so short with Charlie and thinks so lowly of him partly because of petty anger since Charlie is the least mean to Dee. Dennis would prefer it if everyone in the Gang at all times treated Dee the way he treats her (so that she’s never happy or successful)

I’m gonna expand on this one a bit and post it later but basically Dee, being a similarly-aged regular female presence in his life, was a constant reminder for Teen Mac that he’s gay. He wasn’t attracted to this woman at ALL (this female Reynolds - perfect contrast to the male Reynoles which he WAS attracted to) and every time he saw her he was confused as to why he wasn’t - as to why his sexuality was “malfunctioning”. Mac, HATING this reminder, used Dee to vent his frustrations about being not attracted to women (as he thought he was “supposed” to be) by regularly insulting her appearance and generally belittling her. This sorta set the tone for their whole incredibly strained relationship.

Stealing this one from @chacmar​ : “mac’s pretty controlling and obsessive about certain things... and what if he picked that up from watching Charlie’s mom?”

Stealing this one from @pineal-blinks

Stealing this one from @whatsupbitches​ : “Charlie composed the “Moms Stink” song for his secret best friend Dee, at her request”

[izzyspussy]

Do you have any advice on planning for an aspiring fiction writer? I used to write fiction when I was younger but never actually finished much of what I started because I'm useless at planning. I'm looking to get back into it and have some ideas, but I want to try to organize my thoughts first. I know you're quite organized and do a lot of bullet journaling and figured I'd see if you had some tips for beginners like me.

Good question! I do have some tips, and they are indeed related to bullet journaling.

I have three separate bullet journals and two note-taking and/or “brain dump” spiral notebooks. My first bullet journal is my financial tracker, and the second is my planner, which has minimal writing info in it. I do use it to schedule my days as a freelancer, including which projects I need to be working on each day. That helps a lot.

My second bullet journal is my “Book Bible”. A Book Bible is basically like a sourcebook for D&D, or a place to collect all of your “lore” or what-have-you. They are especially helpful for series so that you can keep track of all of your story’s details, like powersets if relevant, characters ages and eye colors and middle names, et cetera.

For my Book Bible bullet journal though, I also included motivational pages, an ideal publishing timeline, wordcount trackers, research notes (like a few pages on what the day-to-day is like for a Private Investigator, or what climates wisteria typically grows in), and scene-by-scene outlines. So I have all of my book planning in one book, with the added bonus of it being pretty to make sure I don’t get tired of looking at it lol.

Then the notebooks! One is for notes taken from classes I’m taking or for non-novel research. The other one is where I keep track of non-novel content, story, or workbook ideas, as well as the details and progress of my short story commissions (requested scenario, paid for length, squicks, etc). And both of these are color-coded.

All of this shit might be a little bit much for someone who is just getting into it again though. So my tip would be to have a journal or a notebook that you’ve dedicated specifically to your fiction writing and nothing else and that can travel well. Don’t let yourself get too caught up in keeping things in order or doing spreads at first, unless you think that would make the work more fun for you! Write down ideas, research, outlining, character minutiae, or whatever else your story needs whenever it comes to you.

It can be inspiring to have something that you can hold in your hand that has your ideas in it, and in my experience it’s a lot easier to reference something that is not on your computer if you’re using a word processor to draft.

If you think this kind of method could be helpful for you, I have a Book Bibling series on my YouTube channel. If not... Well in that case, sorry that this answer got so long lmao.

Thank you for asking, I hope this helps!

♥ Jack

ask me anything!

[seeds-and-sins]

The Seeds accepting you, a young kid, into their family would be like...

• To the surprise of others, cult members and sinners alike, your acceptance into the family happened the moment you met them.

• Your drunk father was being the abusive piece of shit he was at one of Joseph's Sermons and Jacob Seed intervened without hesitation.

• Within weeks John Seed found a way to legally remove you from your father's custody and assign the family as your permanent guardians.

• John pulled some strings even further and your father was sent to prison for child abuse. Needless to say, you won't see him for a while.

• The Seed siblings, at first, had a hard time figuring out who you would live with.

• So you had a room at each of their abodes, free to live with any one of them, whenever you so chose.

• John would spoil you with an endless array of gifts and excessive affectionate hugs and forehead kisses. He would take you flying in his plane whenever you stayed over at his ranch. He even let you fly it one time, but don't tell Joseph.

• Family dinners every friday night were your favorite.

• John would make the meal and it would suck, but nobody wanted to hurt his feelings, so he never would know.

• Jacob would secretly pass his food down to his wolf sitting under the table, motioning for you to be quiet about it with a wink.

• Family conversations sometimes turning into bickering...

• "Unicorns are real! Okay?! The Bible says so!"

• Joseph and you had a garden together that the both of you would work on when you were at his compound. He would read scripture to you, teach you lessons about the world, and talk to you about the collapse.

• Jacob was more about tough love. He had high expectations of you in terms of being efficient when it came to protecting yourself, surviving in the wilderness, and acknowledging your surroundings. (But every now and again, he would allow you to sleep in his arms if you had a nightmare about your abuse, or were afraid).

• Faith, you went to when you had emotional issues, or questions, or when you wanted female company. You both would have sleepovers and she would give you all the sweets you could imagine.

• Family photos where they all are extra and try to get single photos with you. (There might be a fight over who is the favorite parent, but Jacob doesn't call himself parent as much he does guardian).

• Joseph has one really cute photo of John, Jacob and you, that he hides in his journal. It was the day you got officially baptized and as Jacob was trying to help you out of the river, John and you yanked him in.

• You started playing basketball at your highschool, now that your father was gone you had more confidence to explore your interests. And the Seeds were more than enthusiastic about you being more active and social.

• At home games, they would be the ones cheering for you in the stands, the loudest spectators, even Jacob would participate in the madness (mainly to threaten the referee for calling fouls on you).

• Jacob and John worked with you often to make sure that you were the best player on the team. Jacob more so, would force you to train as much as possible.

• The coach let Jacob take over practice one time, since he usually watched on the sidelines. No one made it to the end of pratice, except for you.

• One of your fellow team mates going, "I hope your dad never runs practice ever again."

• Jacob yelling, "Cull the herd!", aggressively, anytime you got the ball.

• Joseph pulling you aside at half time and explaining, "My child, remember when I said violence wasn't the answer? Yes, well, this might be the one time where I am wrong."

• John bragging about you to the opposing team's parents, "Oh look! There they go again! Out running all of your children and scoring on them."

• Your sophmore year you almost failed math, you had good grades in your other classes, but the teacher wouldn't budge. It was your worst subject.

• At away games, it was almost like the whole cult was there to cheer you on. They would take two massive buses of members who would come see you play.

• Your math teacher never called for a parent-teacher conference ever again. Your grade became a C shortly after that meeting.

• John calling your math teacher and saying, "It would be a shame if (insert random blackmail information) became public."

• You being the best in PE class, with none of the kids being able to catch up, because Jacob Seed trained you every early morning. You were a force to be reckoned with.

• When you started dating, the whole family was very protective of you.

• Jacob and John were more direct when it came to threatening your boyfriend/girlfriend about being good to you.

• "If you try anything, I will carve the sin from your flesh myself. No one will be able to save you, and when I am done with you, well..." John's words fading into a deep chuckle, with that leering smile on his expression.

• Jacob crossed arms, stern posture, "Hmm, I hope you know where you belong, you pathetic weak little-" He stopped at Joseph's glare, "Especially where your hands belong, or else you'll lose'em."

• Your first ex ended up finding snakes in their pillow case before they went to bed one night. Jacob swore 'he had nothing to do with it' and John couldn't stop smiling.

• Faith and Joseph were sweet and kind, but their words had a warning lurking beneath them.

• "My child, you are so full of life. I would be very disappointed should something happen that would require that life to be slowly taken from you. I will pray for you." And Joseph traced a cross onto their forehead, which they couldn't have know that that meant they were marked.

• "It's so nice to know that they think you deserve them." Faith placing a hand on her chest, mockingly being kind to your date. "They are so giving and genuine aren't they? Let's hope they are right... for your sake."

• Your boyfriend/girlfriend had to ask permission before taking you to the local drive in.

• Jacob and John stopping you before you leave, "Don't forget that one neck breaking move that I showed you" and "Do you have that knife that I gave you last Christmas".

• When they give you the talk, Jacob was completely absent from the conversation, John wouldn't stop nervously pacing, and Faith and Joseph were mainly doing the talking.

• Jacob piping in at the end, to Joseph's aggravation, "Just make sure you wrap it up, kid."

• "Only when married can two partners share eachother in such an intimate and loving embrace," Joseph explains.

• Jacob admitting, "Ya'know kid, I actually don't mind having you around, and I don't like having anybody around."

• Joseph always saying, "After I lost my daughter, I never thought the Lord would gift me with another child, and then... and then we found you."

• Take your kid to work day, where John takes you to one of the Project's many court hearings at the Missoula courthouse.

• "My daughter/son would be a better lawyer than you ever could be and they haven't even become a lawyer yet."

• All the other cult members practically babysitting you, or watching your back while the Seeds did the Lord's work.

• Jacob giving you your very own Judge, that follows you around the Veteran's Center and elsewhere when he is busy.

• John Seed tried to cook for you one time and it came out horrible, so you both just started get pre-made meals in the mail.

• Prom night at the Hope County Highschool was a night to remember because John, Joseph, Jacob, and Faith all chaperoned.

• When no one wanted to dance with you in fear of your four parents, the Seeds each had one dance with you.

• John, Faith, and you pranked Jacob into beating up your PE teacher, with a disapproving Joseph on the sidelines.

• You all ended up back at the ranch anyways, for a family dinner.

• When you graduated high school, John Seed revealed his secret stash of wine to you, "You are old enough in my book."

• You having trouble figuring out what you want to do in life.

• "Whatever you do, whether its here with us, or not, we will support you."

• Jacob swelling with pride when you join the Army (but secretly afraid because he doesn't want you to go through what he went through), John nearly crying when you explain you want to become a JAG, and be a lawyer like him.

• John calling you to talk about the family and complain, Jacob rarely calling or accepting your phone calls (he doesn't like phones so much, but you know he cares), Joseph and you communicate through letters, and Faith always FaceTimes or Skypes you.

• When the first seal is broken, the Family urges you to return home to help prepare for the collapse.

• Even as you rushed to get back, there was not enough time.

• You don't make it back before the collapse and end up stuck in someone else's bunker, an individual that you soon come to be friends with.

• Joseph gives you a frantic welcome, crying and holding you in his vice grasp. He explains what happened, how Jacob, John and Faith were killed.

• When the seven years ends, you head straight to Hope County, your bunk mate and you head your separate ways. You look for your family with all of the energy you have, and you find them. There is only one left.

• And then you cry and feel guilty, because you blame yourself for not getting back in time. But Joseph talks you out of that guilt and explains to you that what we do now will be in their honor.

• Ethan being slightly jealous when Joseph shows you more love and affection than him.

• Joseph and you talk about them often.

• And he introduces you to the man you would call your brother, Ethan.

• Together, the three of you try to build what your family had always wanted.

• Joseph stating with so much appreciation and gratefulness in his voice, "You came back safe to me, you came back home. I am proud of you, and John, Jacob, and Faith would be so proud of you too."

• And you never once realized that the Judge was, in fact, the murderer of your beloved parents.

• At least you had Joseph and Ethan...

• Since the day Jacob punched your dad across the jaw in the church, "I know what it's like. No one will ever touch you like that ever again", he promised.

• The day that John stood in a court room and fought for you, "You are one of us now, and we Seeds protect eachother."

• The day that Joseph wrapped a blanket around you, "I knew you would come to us, to be part of our family."

• And the day that Faith held you in her loving embrace, "Everything happens for a reason, my little flower."

• That was the day you became a Seed.

[dailyaudiobible]

10/05/2021 DAB Transcript

Jeremiah 4:19-6:15, Colossians 1:18-2:7, Psalms 77:1-20, Proverbs 24:23-25

Today is the 5th day of October, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is wonderful to be here with you today just like it is wonderful to be here with you every day. We’re fortunate. We’re fortunate to have the Global Campfire. We’re fortunate to have this place to come to each and every day. And, so, I'm grateful. And let's dive in. We are in the book of Jeremiah, kinda just getting moved into that. We are also in the book of…the book, but the letter to the Colossians, which we just began yesterday. So, we’re just getting into that so it's kind of new territory for us. We’re reading from the Common English Bible this week. Jeremiah chapter 4 verse 19 through 6 verse 15 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, there are days when we come to our reading from the Psalms that what we read is so raw, so honest, and we find that as a bit of a trademark in the Psalms. And we find that actually in music, right? We can find certainly pretentious music, sometimes that heart cry, or that person singing about heartbreak or some other thing that has happened and it just comes through because of the music, the feeling the emotion of the words is exponentially amped up, more on display. And, so, when we find music, a song, a lyric from the Psalms in the Bible saying what we feel, then we identify with it. And we may be…we may take a step back and go, “why is that in the Bible? The Bible’s supposed to be full of encouragement, all positivity.” But actually, the Bible is something that's there to reach our hearts and to lead us to God. And honesty is a place to start. And, so, we see that in the 77th psalm today that Asaph wrote. And he cries out in this Psalm with like…like a barrage of questions…maybe not a barrage…six questions in particular, but one after the other after the other. And if we pay attention to those questions, we find…we find ourselves in different seasons in our…in our lives having asked the same things. So, Asaph asks, “will my Lord reject me forever. Will He never be pleased again? Has His faithful love come to a complete end? Is His promise over for future generations? Has God forgotten how to be gracious? Has He angrily stopped up His compassion?” Those are some intensely honest questions. And maybe we haven’t used these exact words, but we've had these sentiments, we've had these thoughts, they've been in our hearts. Many of them we've spoken aloud and typically this is happening when we are not happy about something, right, when we have a crisis to deal with or we have to endure something or we’re suffering in some way. We usually don’t ask where has His…His compassion gone if everything is awesome and were having a great day. It’s usually when we’re in a season of challenge that these kinds of things begin to bubble up out of our heart. And it's not like they weren't there. They just emerge. They reveal themselves and all the sudden we check in with our own hearts and see that we’re not doing all that great. And at this point in the Psalm Asaph isn't doing that great. So, he asks these six questions that we just asked or read ourselves. His response after those six questions is, “it's my misfortune I thought that the strong hand of the most-high is different now.” That is so honest. That…that…that rings true. This is how he is actually experiencing life at the moment. And it…it's so ancient. These words are thousands of years old and so relevant. And, so, we can see again, permission to be honest, it's just what do we do once we reach that place…point…point that we stuffed things down inside enough till they kind of emerge, whether they blow up or they just seep out. What's going on in our heart is going to seep out into our lives. So, what we do with it. Well…the first thing is to be honest about it. We’re seeing this modeled in the Bible, to be honest about it, but there are still choices to be made, because we can get really honest about how were feeling and we can cry tears and weep and plead and yell and spin around in circles and jump up and down and do whatever we need to do to release some of the energy, but we can get stuck there as if nothing will ever change and we can…we can turn toward bitterness and that will only make it worse. That will only lead us into further depths. It's…it's as if Asaph caught himself and then gives another path. And, so, Asaph says, “I will remember the Lord’s deeds. Yes, I will remember your wondrous acts from times long past. I will meditate on all your works. I will ponder your deeds. God, your way is holiness. Who is as great a God as you, God? You are the God who works wonders. You have demonstrated your strength among all peoples.” So I don't know that Asaph was a journal-er, but what he’s saying is he will remember what God has done and let that inform how he's feeling now. And, so, often when we have kind of journaled our way through a year or through the Bible we’ll always have that so that when we can't remember we have an epistle to ourselves, a letter to ourselves, essentially, that reminds us so that we might remember God's faithfulness toward us, that yes, how we feel, what we’re enduring, what we’re facing, that's real, it's formidable, maybe it's terrifying, maybe scary, maybe it brings anxiety. It’s life. It can be anything. The problem isn't being honest about it, right, so that we fake, like it's not happening, which is so really prevalent in our faith culture. It's…it’s not the honesty that's an issue. It's what we do with it. If we use our honesty to dig a pit that we might wallow in it, we can certainly do that and we’ll stay in the pit, we'll be in the pit until we get out of the pit. What Asaph is modeling is recognizing through honesty that you are at a precipice in making a choice to remember, we’ve been this way before, suffered things before, endured things before, and scared before. God is faithful, and I will remember that. And, so, let's take that into our day. I mean, that right there, I know…I know lots of you are going through stuff and need that today. And, so, thank God, I totally understand. And, so, let's carry it today, that honesty is necessary and important, but it's not the end. It's the beginning. Let's be honest, and then let's remember that God is and has always been faithful.

Prayer:

Father, and we acknowledge that. You are always faithful. We have no examples of a time where You double-crossed anybody. You have always been true. You've always according to the Scriptures had a desire to be in fellowship to draw us to Yourself. We see this on every page of the Bible, Your relentless unwillingness to surrender us and Your continual willingness to pursue our hearts over the course of thousands of years and that hasn't changed. You are faithful and we remember. And come Holy Spirit and bring to mind throughout the course of this day all kinds of time maybe we’ve forgotten that You’ve been faithful and have rescued us. This encourages us. This gives us confidence. This develops our faith. And, so come, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Commentary:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it's the website, it’s where you find out what's going on around here. And as I say often you can find out what's going on around here using the Daily Audio Bible app as well by pushing the Drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner.

And actually, let’s take a second to talk about that because a number of you, thousands of you have had some problems over the last several days, especially…specifically accessing the Daily Audio Bible through the app or through web. And I could probably sit here and talk for several hours…and I mean…probably hours just about what it's like in the technology world and developing etc. etc. and the way in which it is a nonstop, constant…constant move forward. Just like we do at the Daily Audio Bible, a step forward together every day. But some of the stuff that's happened in the last couple of days that have been frustrating have been frustrating to us too because it's been beyond our control. Essentially, there…not to get too far in the weeds, but there's a way that security is done on the Internet and encrypting things so that data can’t be intercepted or passed along, and we don't have any of that kind of data at the Daily Audio Bible but we follow those protocols. And a major Internet security certificate issuer let their own certificate expire, which ended up affecting hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people, including stores that, you know, couldn’t do transactions, not just Internet stores, but store stores and the Daily Audio Bible was affected as well. So, we've done what we do whenever an issue like this arises or when we see something more widespread. We get together and start dissecting the problem and identifying and figuring out the solution. Sometimes a problem requires a long-term solution. And, so, we have to look long term and short term, but this is the nature of it. And, so, we have been working pretty feverishly to not be relying on those specific certificates or rather, getting them in our own control. And that will make us responsible for them, but it’ll also give us control over them so that if they expire it's our fault. And, so, that is what we are in the process of doing and this should all straighten itself out. This particular issue, almost across the board has affected people who are android users who have an android type device and we were in contact and we were given the same information everybody else is being given, to be sure to advise anyone using an android device to make sure that their operating system is the most current because apparently there are some fixes for issues like this in the most current iteration of…of android. So, I'm passing that information along. And I'll just say like even yesterday, places that are…places that have billions of users, like places way, way, way beyond the Daily Audio Bible like Facebook or Instagram, they were out yesterday or messenger our WhatsApp. They were out yesterday. Totally different issues, but issues. And they have an army of developers. So, just know, it can get crazy out there. And we are, in a way, aloof. Every…well…there’s a team that works on this every day at Daily Audio Bible. And also know that we have developed two different players. One is the Daily Audio Bible app, of course, but we also have an online player that you can access from the Daily Audio Bible website, at dailyaudiobible.com. We've built those two things separately so that we have at least inside of our community here a little bit of redundancy. So, know that if you are ever having an issue with the app just got to player.dailyaudiobible.com and you’ll have a player that is connected to the system and works the same as the app. And a widespread issue like the one we experienced over the weekend and into yesterday, that kinda stuff affects everything. It was affecting hundreds of thousands of people but we work really, really diligently to serve the community here and we always will. And we’re working on some…some longer-term projects that will invariably be incorporated over the next year to stabilize and help us serve even better. And, so, if you experience difficulties, pray for us. Pray for us. It’s so much more effective than hate mail. Pray for us as we pray for you every day. We’re in this together. Also know that we’re experiencing an uptick right now. And, so, I live in the central time zone here in the rolling hills of Tennessee. So, like 5AM to 11AM is when we’re geetin’ hammered. That’s when so many people are accessing the system. Beautiful. Love it. We’re increasing resources in that direction. But if you’re experience sluggishness, just wait. It's that so many people are trying to access the same content that you are. So, be patient for like even a minute, which is…I know that’s pretty hard to do on the internet. We expect super high-speed super quick response. Boom boom boom I push the button and the thing happens. But sometimes when you have…when you push the button you are sending a message out that says to the server, I'm requesting this bit of information then the server computes and collects the information that you want and sends it back. And when a lot of people are asking for the same things at the same times then it cues up. So, just be patient for just a minute. Typically, everything can…can sort itself out. But anyway, I don’t want to get into the weeds here. Just pray for us as we pray for you as we continue to take the next step forward together because it is the deepest passion to bring the spoken word fresh every single day and brought to you excellently. When that has to happen seven days a week without fail invariably, sooner or later there are challenges. The team that works on all of this technology are also a part of who we are and listen to the Daily Audio Bible every day as well. So, pray for us. We’re in this together.

And, of course, as always if you have a prayer request or you have an encouragement you can hit the Hotline button in the app, which is the little red button up at the top or you can dial…you see the redundancy here…you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that is it for today. I'm Brian. I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Good morning my name is Z and I'd like to thank everyone in the DAB community for supporting each other. This is a beautiful beautiful forum. And the purpose of my call is to ask for prayer for myself as I undergo some challenges and uneasiness at work at present. I'm feeling unfulfilled, unappreciated and have been in my position for four years. It's…it pays the bills and I have a wonderful team of people under me, but my issue is leadership. I feel that it could be better and it's frustrating at present to the point where I feel like I…I want to leave. I’m just hoping to find wisdom to make the right decision. I hope to…to get a sign from God as to what I should do in this situation. I can't continue to be frustrated day in and day out in that environment in which I spend most of my…my day. So, I pray brothers and sisters, I ask for your prayer that I find the wisdom to make the right decision and get through this. Thank you.

Daily Audio Bible this…this prayer is for Alicia from Colorado who used to live in Montana. Alicia is blind and she just is recovering from COVID and she doesn't have her sense of taste or smell back and she's going through lots of fear and unsteadiness and…and lots of crying in depression and so understandable especially if you're blind and…and…and, you know, and possibly alone. Father we lift up Alicia to you right now in the name of Jesus. We pray that you give her a hope and a faith that surpasses all this fear because opposite of fear…opposite of faith is fear. And Alicia the scripture says hope deferred makeith the heart sick but long and fulfilled is the tree of life. We pray that you will have this hope that you will get your…your taste back and the smell of food back so that you can eat and get your body strong again. Alicia, I…I know from just being here in Florida and the people that I know they still it takes months sometimes it takes up to 6 to 12 months to get…to get your taste and smell back. But we know God honor's prayer and God is healing you and we claim that right now in the name of Jesus, that you will get it back quickly. So, we claim that right now. DABbers please agree with me in Jesus’ name for Alicia and we lift her up to you in Jesus’ name we pray that you give her the peace that's surpasses all understanding and…and a vast amount of faith and we come against depression and we pray that you fill her up with your joy and your peace in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hi this is Just as I am Sam in Northern California my first-time calling in. I started listening to Daily Audio Bible in 2019 and I'm totally hooked. I love how Brian just can make sense out of the Bible and put it in such understandable terms. So, thank you so much for that. And I would like to ask for prayer for myself. I'm having an MRI tomorrow. That's on Friday. And I have chronic pain in my spine and back and I'm just praying that Jesus will light it up and…and show the doctors what's going on. I've struggled with this pain for over 15 years, and we would like to get help and answers. So, I'd appreciate your prayers. And I’m praying for all of you as well. And it's been a wonderful group and help in times of loneliness and I love you all. Thank you. God bless you.

Hello this is Ruth __. I'm calling to thank you Brian, Jill, China for devoting your life to this __. I have in my heart there was a call that came in last week with a mother who was talking about her children. She had many. I think she might have mentioned she had nine children. And they were molested by their father and the father has been put in jail. And I lift the children up to you Lord and their mother. I just…my heart breaks just knowing that they've gone through such horrible situation. I know that You can rectify this. I know that she can bring them back and make them whole, so they don't spend their lives worrying about this all the time. Lord and I also I want to ask for prayer for my family. I have a daughter who's stepped away from me for reasons I never understand, and I need to have her back again. I also have a grandson who is not doing well, and he has stepped away from the family. I lift them all up to You Lord. You can…You can heal this family and bring them back. I thank you. Thank you all I love each one of you and I try to remember to pray for you each and every day. Thank you.

Hey this is Jerry calling from Duluth Minnesota. So appreciated the words this morning of Brian Friday October the first…actually Saturday October the second. It's a day 890 of my renewed journey in the Daily Audio Bible. Some of you have been here many years know me as Jerry the Paper Carrier from Duluth MN. Back in April 26th of 2019 I renewed my commitment to the Daily Audio Bible. Now it's been 890 days without a miss getting up early in the morning starting my day with the Daily Audio Bible. Appreciate your prayers through the years and wanted to particularly today pray for Brian…Byron sorry in Florida. You've been such a blessing to me over the many years. Pray for your wife who's dealing with so many health issues and have for so many years. And Charlie from Houston who's been wife has been dealing with lupus and now has found out that there is difficulty with the heart and lungs. And Byron thank you so much to for sharing that…that little story as far as the bus stop is concerned and for taking time even through really difficult times to look at the little things and remember what God has done for us. Also thank you Brian again for reminding us as far as the journal. I remember when you told the story of the black wing pen…pencil's when your mom was had…was passing away. I've journaled now I've for many…many many months and years since…

Good morning, everybody I’m Ms. Jomiah God is Coming and I want to pray for Byron from Florida. I wanted to pray for his wife and that his wife becomes healthy, and that God is always helping you and He'll be on your side no matter what. So, thank you Byron for sharing your story because that means a lot to people and thank you so much. So, as we pray in Jesus’ name Amen.

[jennawynn]

ADHD Task List Setup

I know I only pop in like once a month now... but I was sharing this on Twitter and thought it would be helpful to a bunch of people here too. 

As someone with unmedicated ADHD, new shiny productivity apps and hacks and aids are both the only way I get anything done and the bane of my existence as I try to make each one work for me... but I seem to have hit on a good system (for now) and figure maybe I'd share...

Step One: Unbound Planner

Part of my ADHD is needing structure, but at the same time, novelty is what excites me and gets me to do things. I tend to try out every productivity app, aide, and journal method I can find because the new thing works... until it doesn’t and I need a new new thing. 

That said, I just bought my THIRD Unbound Planner. Even though I tend to have a couple months blank in the middle when I get off track, I always circle back around to it. It has good prompts and dedicated space for all sorts of planning tools, but it's also easy enough to adjust for what you need. I've changed lots of sections to better suit my needs, like the meal planning section into the homeschool curriculum reminder for each subject.

This is what it looks like blank (though you can see previews on the website itself too!) 

Step Two: Notion

The second part is digital- the Notion website and app. Notion took a minute to get used to, but it has the most extreme flexibility of anything I've used before. I can build anything and arrange things whenever I want which means the novelty level stays high and my ADHD can be calmed without having to do something ENTIRELY new each time. Extra bonus points- it makes a really great system for knowledge storage.

I've been working on a TTRPG 'bible' that I can use across campaigns, systems, etc. and once I get it settled, if there's any interest, I might set some templates up to share.

Step Three: Life’s An RPG

The third is the newest aspect of the trio. I had tried out Conrad's system but it was too complex. There were too many interlocking pieces and I just ended up spending all my time in the structure instead of getting things done. I had made my own theme based on TTRPGs where my to-do list was a quest board and I reflavored everything to a more fantasy style- anti-racism learning was renamed Paladin Devotions, working on storytelling became Bardic Inspirations, etc.

Some of that has stuck around, but then I found Life's An RPG. It's just $15 and has a great scaffold for turning your task list into something that will trigger your fun brain into working-- and it's actually helped focus me. Of course the key is finding what works for YOU.

In my case, not everything in every book, site, or guide is useful... but let me share what I've been doing: I sat down and filled out the character sheet (my stats, skills, and backstory) and the world builder (where i want to be in 3 years). Then I started in on the Quest Board which I can use to list my biggest goals from the world builder. Each week when I think about what big things I want to do, I can pull from the Quest Board and figure out what the next step is in each quest.

I have all the documentation and all my notes saved in my Notion homepage so it's easy to pull up when needed. On Notion, I have toggles with my 'routines' in them- what I do every morning, every evening, every Sunday night, and at the end of each month so I never forget. 

Each night, I follow the Life's An RPG advice to pick my quests for the next day and I mark them in my Unbound Planner. I have the big space separated for my big goals, a couple side quests if needed, and the traps I foresee (though those never change for me so I might X them.) This is what this week’s planner looks like for now:

I use the top section for important dates and the gratitude section to do my Long Rest. My XP Log is stored in Notion so it's easier to see in one place. I realized this system is great for me because I always find excuses not to do things... But by planning my day the night before, that's when I'm optimistic and motivated... plus whatever I'm writing down is future me's problem so it's easier to say yes, future me will clean the bathroom even though current me doesn't want to.

The key is doing the tasks in order. No take-backs. Past me plans, current me does. Then at night, current me plans and future me deals with it. It's a silly trick, but for me it works.

For now, it's time to get started on that task list, but if there's interest, maybe I can share a little more about my Notion setup that looks like this a little further down:

In the meantime, again, this is UnboundPlanner.com, notion.so, and lifesanrpg.com. Bonus points, if you use this link or the discount code 6FBA5659169, you get a discount and I get a bonus. Of course, I wouldn't share it if I didn't enjoy it and find it useful. Thanks for reading and if you have questions, let me know!

[fundielicious-simblr]

💕 Love Day Love Story Series 💕

Tanner & Tabitha

How did you guys meet?

[Tanner] “I’m the youngest of 3 and I’m the only boy, so I looked to my father and my (many) older male cousins for advice on things in life. As a guy they didn’t really speak to us much about relationships other than to teach us that we’ll eventually need to provide for a family, so I didn’t spend much time thinking about the future spouse in the way that my sisters were taught to. I finished highschool, went to college, and started medical school without people asking me about marriage much. It was when my older sister got married and my other sister started seeing a guy that my parents turned on me and made me the focus of their attention, they told me that I should start praying to be led to my wife so that I didn’t wait too long to get married. At that same time I’d make trips into Willowcreek with my cousin Alan to visit his brother Carter who lives there, and one sunday we attended church with them at Willowcreek Baptist and met the Hobson family, who are friends with some of my family members so we had some connections. I’m going to be honest here, my parents  weren’t as ‘traditional’ with some of the ways that they raised us, my sisters wear pants (my mother does whenever necessary like gardening), we were homeschooled until highschool where we went to a private Christian school, we all went to college (albeit a private Christian one) and all have degrees - which are things that my cousins did not do. All those things in mind, I guess I ended up on the less ‘fundamentalist’ end of the scale so I didn’t think that I’d end up interested in someone who grew up in the exact same way my cousins did. But as we spent more time getting to know each other in a group setting, I realised that i wanted to pursue the relationship further but as she was still a teenager things would probably be quite strict with her parents. Her parents agreed to the courtship and everything was great, her twin Tessa began courting Alan so it was great for us to double date. I proposed at a restaurant when we were out with both our parents, as she had mentioned previously that she would want them to be there when she got engaged. Alan and Tessa got engaged soon after we did, and the girls came up with the idea of a double wedding and it was decided to be the best idea so that all of our guests don’t have to travel in close succession to the same location.”

[Tabitha] “For a while growing up it was just me and my twin Tessa, our mother got pregnant with the triplets when we were 5 years old, so it was us for quite a bit. We were homeschooled by our mother, and were at church often like most other people we knew. We eventually met the many different members of the extended Collins family after we attended Family Bible Camp one year, and we stayed in touch as they travelled in and out of the area, and in some cases moved into the neighbourhood. My mother always said that our purpose was to be a wife and mother, so that was what we were ‘trained’ for as kids including praying for our future husbands. One sunday, Tanner and his cousin visited our church with Carter and Madelynn Paulson, and we all hung out as a group every time they’d visit after that. I developed a crush, but I took it to my prayer journal as a personal challenge to pray for my future husband (though I’d slip Tanners name into my prayers quite often) and when he asked my parents to court me it definitely felt like an answer to prayer! It was great getting to court at the same time as my twin, when we were young we’d play weddings together, so it was great that we actually did get married on the same day! I can’t wait to do life with my very own prince charming, I’m so happy that I saved the all the pieces of my heart just for him!”

How have you changed since marriage?

[Tanner] “It’s great having someone who’s always there to be a support, working at the hospital is stressful and full of ups and downs, so coming home to dinner on the table and a listening ear is always appreciated. Being married has made me appreciate my parents even more and I’ve been seeing their relationship through a new lens now that I’m also married. If there’s anything that I had to learn to do, it’s to share my space with someone else; My sisters travelled a lot for college and now for their work so I had the whole house to myself, having to think about another person - who I am now married to - is something that my mother calls me to remind me to do. Now that we’re expanding our family, this is a great time for us to bond as a couple before welcoming our child.”

[Tabitha] “ For me it was trying to get used to being married I guess, my parents encouraged us to avoid physical intimacy until we got married, so when we were married it felt like a crash course in how to be a wife - I do have to say that getting to kiss him any time I want is my favourite [laughs] I also definitely got better at cooking once we got married, back at home my sister was the better cook while I did the laundry. We grew up in a single wide trailer, so we split up the housework and focused on what we could do with the space we had, so I spent loads of time outside hanging laundry on the washing line. Tanner’s mum Lea was so gracious and spent her time teaching me how to make Tanner’s favourite meals whenever I’d be at their house, and for that I’m grateful, our neighbours had a kitchen fire the other day and I would not like that to be me anytime soon. Finding out that we were expecting was a surprise, right before we got married my mother talked to my sister and i individually on what would be expected of us as married women, and I knew the basics of my cycle, but I had no idea that the Lord would see it fitting to bless us with a baby this early - but then again who am I to question. Finding out that my sister was also pregnant made me so happy that we could go through this season of life together, even though we live apart now we take advantage of the free time we have to chat to each other about our babies - our due dates are even the same day! So she and I have been planning loads of things together, me and Tanner found out that we’re having a girl the other day, so I’ve been looking at loads bows, cute dresses, onesies and the like that babies need. I’m so excited to dress her up in her cute little outfits everyday, growing up Tessa and I would dress up the triplets like they were our dolls until they grew too old to do so. Looking to the future, I’m excited to do life with this guy and our baby (and future babies hopefully)”

[giftofshewbread]

HERE IT COMES !

 By Daymond DuckPublished on: January 30, 2021

It is my desire to stop writing about the election and direct more of my time to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy, but the election has major prophetic implications, and the two issues cannot be separated.

Pres. Trump promised a peaceful transition of power, and he and Melania left the White House with grace and humility.

Here are some quotes that may interest you:

“The purpose of the New World Order is to bring the world into a world government” (Winston Churchill).

“Out of these troubled times [out of the Persian Gulf War], our [America’s] fifth objective—a new world order—can emerge” (Geo. H. W. Bush, 1990).

“I learned to love the New World Order” (Joe Biden, Apr. 23, 1992).

“The hierarchy [of the U.N.], among other things, had called for world government to be achieved in STAGES through the forming of world administrative REGIONS. This was in accordance with the U.N. charter, which encourages the implementation and administration of world government on a REGIONAL basis” (Edmund J. Osmanneczyk, 1995).

“What I am trying to do [to build a global system] is to promote a process of reorganization of the world” (Bill Clinton, 1997).

“Within four years, we will see the beginning of a new international order” (Henry Kissinger 2008).

“The burdens of global citizenship bind us together” (Barack Obama, July 24, 2008).

“To bring about the New World Order, we have to have a new consciousness” [a new spiritual ethic, or new world religion] (Henry Kissinger, Jan. 12, 2009).

Concerning who will head up the New World Order, “We’re trusting that he will be President Obama” (Henry Kissinger, 2009).

“The affirmative task we have now is to actually create a new world order” (Then Vice-Pres. Joe Biden, Apr. 5, 2013).

“I believe we and mainly you [the U.S. Air Force Academy graduating class] have an incredible opportunity to lead in shaping a new world order for the 21st century…” (Joe Biden, May 28, 2014).

“You are about to graduate into a complex and borderless world” (Biden’s new Climate Change Czar, John Kerry, May 6, 2016).

Globalists have big plans, but they are not in control; they just think they are.

The more they reject God; and the more they turn against His people; and the closer they move toward world government; the more they stir His wrath, and the closer God’s people are to the Rapture.

Here are some of my thoughts on current events:

On Jan. 20, 2021, the “America First” president was replaced with a “Fundamentally Transform America” president.

This “fundamental transformation” of America involves the submission of America to a godless world government (the New World Order, The Great Reset, the U.N. 2030 Sustainable Development goals, etc.).

Biden has already announced his intent to undo Trump’s America First policies, rejoin the Paris Climate Accords, rejoin the World Health Organization, halt America’s departure from the World Trade Organization, halt construction on the Keystone Pipeline and border wall, review and reverse more than 100 Trump policies on the environment, stop immigration enforcement in the U.S., and more.

Biden announced support for things (other than world government) that go against the Scriptures: taxpayer-funded abortions for everyone up to the moment of birth (murder of babies), nominate judges that support abortion, allow gays to serve openly in the military, reinstate Title IX that lets transgenders use bathrooms according to their gender identity (men use women’s bathrooms, etc.), etc. Think about this. Through a Political Action Committee (PAC), Planned Parenthood gave more than 27 million dollars to Biden’s election, and now Biden is going to give Planned Parenthood millions and millions of taxpayer dollars to kill babies.

Biden has already cut America’s defense budget, cut the Space Force budget, transformed money budgeted for America’s nuclear arsenal to FEMA, and threatened to fire at least two Generals (one in the Army and another in the Air Force) that questioned these cuts. There is speculation that a military purge is coming to replace patriot-minded officers with officers that will pledge allegiance to the U.N. Here is a link to an article about this: https://beforeitsnews.com/blogging-citizen-journalism/2021/01/generals-tell-trump-we-got-your-back-2649650.html

Biden dissolved the 1776 Commission designed to teach patriotism in public schools and replaced it with a group “to assist agencies in assessing equity with respect to race, ethnicity, religion, income, geography, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability.”

Simply put, “Here It Comes” means that I believe the Biden administration intends to support policies that will lead to the rise of the Ten Kings, world government, the Antichrist, the False Prophet, tracking everyone, godlessness, the Tribulation Period, etc.

The shadow government controls every branch of the U.S. government, and, as I see it, there will be a surge forward with no going back. In his first six days in office, Biden signed more executive orders than the last four presidents combined (and one of his officials said there are more to come).

How long it will take to bring in the world government is unknown, but I expect the shadow government to push Biden to accomplish as much as he can before the next election two years from now.

No one knows the day or hour of the Rapture, but whenever it happens, the Restrainer will be removed, and godless world government will go into overdrive.

Here are several stories that made the news:

One, Biden asked a “Christian” preacher friend to offer the benediction at his inauguration, and the preacher closed his prayer, not in the name of Jesus, but “in the strong name of our collective faith.”

Praying in “the strong name of our collective faith” is the kind of reprobate thinking that left God out of the Democrat Party Platform.

Their total one-party control of the U.S. government will cause them to fully support a godless one-world religion and government.

The Bible clearly teaches that God will put up with this godless world government nonsense for 7 years, but if He did not bring it to an end, no flesh would be saved.

The pastor’s prayer is also evidence of a sick, lukewarm Church that tickles people’s ears instead of proclaiming the truth.

Two, on Jan. 23, 2021, a bomb exploded at First Works Baptist Church in El Monte, Cal.

Hate messages were painted on the inside walls of the church.

Several news organizations ignored the bombing and blamed the church for preaching against same-sex marriage.

These people appear to believe it is okay to blow up a church if the preacher preaches the Scriptures.

Three, on Jan. 20, 2021, an unidentified person in the U.S. State Dept. decided that the U.S. Ambassador to Israel will now be called the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.

The person that made that decision posted it on the State Dept. website, and it appears that whoever did it does not believe that the West Bank and Gaza should be part of Israel.

Some say the Biden administration also plans to change the U.S. recognition of the Golan Heights as part of Israel.

Two weeks ago, I wrote that God had a reason for putting Trump in office, He has a reason for removing Trump, and He has a reason for putting Biden in office.

I tend to believe God is ready to let world government advance, and He removed Trump because Trump would have been in the way.

I also tend to believe that God put Biden in office because He wants Israel to trust Him, not Trump or the U.S., for protection.

Unfortunately, most Christians do not know enough Bible prophecy to recognize the danger that dividing Israel poses to America.

According to the Bible, those that try to cut Israel into pieces at the end of the age will be cut into pieces.

(Note: Before this article was sent to the editor, the State Dept. reversed itself on the issue and went back to calling the U.S. Ambassador the Ambassador to Israel.)

Four, concerning pestilences, my last week’s article noted that a group of U.S. doctors believe Ivermectin is safe and effective for preventing Covid in most people.

The article also noted that India has developed an inexpensive, effective, and safe Covid Ivermectin treatment kit.

On Jan. 19, 2021, it was reported that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has upgraded Ivermectin from “against the drug” to “not for or against the drug.”

According to the article, this opens the door for doctors to feel safe in prescribing it and for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve it for emergency use if they choose to do so.

I found Ivermectin searching “Ivermectin for humans” at amazon.com.

There is also an apple-flavored paste, and a reader told me about a nurse that puts it in peanut butter.

I am just passing this information on for people to make their own decision.

Five, concerning persecution, much of the hatred that has been dumped on Trump over the last 4 years is now being directed toward those that voted for him.

Since Jan. 15, 2021, more than 22,000 people have signed a petition to have Franklin Graham fired from Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Assoc. for supporting Pres. Trump.

On Jan. 20, 2021, the Daily Beast published an article calling for a new “secret police” force to spy on Trump supporters because the FBI and NSA will not sufficiently punish these Americans.

Many Christians and conservatives are expressing concern that Biden’s support for the LGBTQ agenda (biological males in women’s bathrooms, etc.), and Pelosi’s rule that people in Congress are not allowed to say man, woman, etc., will lead to people being denounced as homophobes, etc. One reader e-mailed me to say there will be a tremendous effort to pervert the children that are not killed by abortion.

It has been reported that Katie Couric is calling for Trump supporters to be deprogrammed in re-education camps and for members of Congress that question the accuracy of the election to be punished. This could pit brother against brother just like Jesus said because the left wants to silence and shame those that disagree with them.

On Jan. 20, 2021, it was reported that former FBI Director James Comey said the Republican Party “needs to be burned down or changed.” He asked, “Who would want to be part of an organization that at its core is built on lies and racism and know-nothingism?” Comey is a proven liar, and there is evidence that he used false evidence to protect Hillary Clinton when she destroyed thousands of e-mails.

On Jan. 21, 2021, it was reported that a columnist for the Washington Post is calling for Fox News to be kicked off the air for “radicalizing people and setting them on the path of violence and sedition.”

I pray that Jesus will Rapture the Church off the earth before the persecution gets too bad, but judgment must begin at the house of God (I Pet. 4:17).

It falls on believers first, and it falls harder on unbelievers second (persecution of the Church signifies a greater persecution is coming on the lost).

Six, after constantly condemning Trump’s handling of Covid and claiming that he (Biden) will vaccinate a million people a day, concerning Covid, on Jan. 23, 2021, Biden said there is “nothing we can do about the trajectory.”

He added, “In the next few months, masks, not vaccinations, are the single best defense against Covid.”

Seven, concerning the Battle of Gog and Magog in the latter years and latter days, on Jan. 20 it was reported that a senior Israeli official said if Biden returns to the same terms of Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, Israel will have nothing to discuss with him.

Biden is clearly interested in returning to the deal but said Iran must start complying first.

To summarize this article, concerning world government, I am not like Chicken Little, who claimed the sky is falling (world government indicates many good things such as the approaching rapture; reign of Jesus; peace, justice, and righteousness on earth; etc.), but I am saying get prepared because here it comes.

Some are saying a police state and persecution are coming.

U.S. Josh Hawley recently said, “You can go to church now, but you may not be allowed to go to the church of your choice in two years.”

As far as many of you are concerned, your pastor will never tell you about these things, so I suggest that a good place to get started is hischannel.com.

Finally, if you want to go to heaven, you must be born again (John 3:3). God loves you, and if you have not done so, sincerely admit that you are a sinner; believe that Jesus is the virgin-born, sinless Son of God who died for the sins of the world, was buried, and raised from the dead; ask Him to forgive your sins, cleanse you, come into your heart and be your Saviour; then tell someone that you have done this.