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hermitroom · 8 months

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some info about the various organizations in coe, as seen from the artbook (please let me know if you see any errors, i was a bit careless with romanization as you can tell & this is very rough)

Otowa Detective Agency They do business as Otowa Search System, LLC (kk otowa search system). A privately-owned detective agency in Nagoya managed by Genshi Otowa. When they expanded and moved their main office to Tokyo, the Nagoya office became their country one. Because they've been trustworthy at handling their jobs, they've gotten more and more customers, and because they listen to the will of their employees, they've managed to recruit and keep a lot of talented people on staff. Despite the fact that they're a small-scale company now, the requests haven't stopped. They have six people at the Nagoya branch, and about 30 at the Tokyo one. Path to Empireo

It started as the self-improvement group 'People of Akasha', and became a new organization with a new religion based on Catholicism. It wasn't a very large-scale group- around 2015, there were only about 300 registered believers in the country. The incident where the Tokyo and Chuubu branches exploded claimed many of their lives, completely destroying the organization itself. It seemed like the remaining survivors died natural deaths around the same time as well. They said they're researching the path to 'guide humanity to Empireo'.

Ice Cooler

A pharmaceutical company founded by the son of a pharmacist, Rangiri Utsugi. The position of president is inherited, so Rangiri passed it down to his son Keiichi, and he passed it down to his son Uenari. The company grew rapidly after WW2, with their main product being OTC medications. They were very famous for how well their medicines worked, but gradually said medicines started to work less and less. At the same time, there started to be a lot of 'suspicious' things about their medicine, as well as 'incidents' related to it, leading to public loss of trust in them. Before long, they were bought out by a foreign investor, their leadership was completely changed, and in 2016 the Ice Cooler name was no more.

Tranzykid Institute

An integrated sciences institute based in the American state of Kentucky. It's produced many Nobel Prize winners and candidates, and has quite a bit of influence as a research institute. However, all the departments act extremely independently of each other, and there are some laboratories among them that haven't revealed what they're actually working on.

Theosophy University

It was originally founded as a Catholic institution, but currently the management (Theosophy Institute of the Arts and Sciences) runs it as a private university. The curriculum focuses on raising students to be talented and successful in a global environment, with a strong focus on linguistics. It's not limited to Catholic-only students, either. There are people from all over the world attending, and many graduates have become famous in their own right. It's well-known enough as a university that everyone's heard of it. Other than their Tokyo campus, they have a Nagano campus as well.

Fondazione Riddle

Founded by Beniamino Riddle. Based in Italy. The current heir is the president's son, Rodney Riddle. They mainly provide financial support to organizations doing R&D in the field of science. Tranzykid is one of them. Their aim is 'For the world, and for the peace we have now' (but...).

A/Z/MA

Founded by Shirou Azuma. Their base business was Azuma Bookstore, a publishing company, but they're a corporation that handles all sorts of things in the entertainment industry. They've expanded into publishing, animation, movies, and various content services. Currently, no one working at the company besides the president is from the Azuma family themselves, but the current president, Wadachi Azuma, is a direct descendant of Shirou.

Nanamidou Bookstore, LLC

A bookstore chain under the Igarashi group. They used to only sell books, but they've branched out into music, videos, various media sales, and rentals, too.

Gojo Corporation/Igarashi Group

They're a business group that's made a name for themselves by expanding into every area. Despite the Gojo Conglomerate breaking up during WW2, they reorganized afterwards, and succeeded greatly. A major contractor in Tokai, Gojo, is also part of their group. Their most recent large-scale construction work is the commercial building in front of the Nagoya station. They've also done remodelling for A/Z/MA (LLC)'s Chuubu Branch office.

PMSC/GrassRod

A PMSC based in America. It recruits personnel from all sorts of countries, and there's a rumor that they'll send mercenaries who 'aren't afraid of death' anywhere. They're currently active, but the only thing that can be confirmed about them is that there is someone actually managing and controlling them. No other details are known.

#cell of empireo #infopost

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bamboobrat · 1 year

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succession s4 e7 recap: tom, the one pepper menu item, gets spicy

sorry for the delayed recap this week, girlies. somehow i had a life to live and it was not very conducive to breaking down an episode where literally everyone is going through a breakup.

oh well.

we start the episode at tom and shiv's, where tom has made her breakfast after a long night of boning.

(this is an episode for the foodies, btw. did you guys notice?)

he gives shiv a scorpion as a present because she is toxic and can kill him.

hilarious joke, tommy. hilarious.

all is not well in this household. and none of the other significant relationships seem to be doing that well either:

this shot.... succession camera person, i see you.

i'm so happy we get to see rava, even if the writers are giving us crumbs at this point.

she tells ken to call her daughter. sophie is scared of the election and all the racist rhetoric which is spewed most prominantely by her father's news network.

ken pulls out his inner logan:

seems like most of the kids do this episode and it is certainly not a good thing for their personal relationships....

this goes for everyone except connor, who honestly seems to be having a great time this episode.

he's just happy his father is dead and that he is polling at 4 percent in alaska.

truly a power play by the writers to give con all the best lines in the episode. our girl is thriving!!

the tom/shiv saga continues, this time with sexting.

can't believe they are getting some of the best classically trained theater actors in the world to write this shit.

and make faces like this:

what time to be alive.

ATN is downsizing. greg is out for skulls.

shiv and tom host a tailgate party before the election which isn't really a tailgate party and all the finest people in the land are gathered, including a strange tv couple and a podcast god.

roman and ken are using the occasion to spread doubt about mattson and the gojo deal:

just two failsons/CE-bros working together for the good of the republic.

also, they've invited nate to go regulatory on mattson's ass, which tom is of course totally chill about.

it's the guest appearance nobody asked for and yet he has more screen time than gerri in this episode. the succession writers truly do not understand me.

con is offered a post as ambassador to somalia if he drops out of the race by mencken, but mogadishu isn't really his vibe.

he came to win this episode.

gerri arrives at the party and roman is like, phew, my girlfriend isn't mad at me for firing her and my guy frank probably worked it all out with her for me, right? right???

wrong.

it's giving high school drama.

let's all take a moment to imagine gerri, three martinis down, ranting about what a little shithead roman is.

the girlies stick together<3

mattson arrives at the tailgate party after shiv tells him about the regulatory route dumb and dumber over there are planning to go down.

he arrives during a moment of silence for logan, but not to worry, this swede knows how to behave and will not put his dick in the guac.

WHAT. IS. THIS. JACKET.

lukas is, of course, his normal charming self:

my face exactly when i'm caught between my potential future boss and the guy i've been boning nonstop for the past 12 hours.

the roman/con negotiations continue. it's a no on the slos, con wants to take berlin by christmas and contemplates opening up north korea like nixon did china.

it's giving napoleon, it's giving girlboss.

if you can believe it, you can achieve it, con con.

but alas, he is offered oman.

shiv asks mattson this:

if i was mattson i would eat her out right then and there.

i'm having perfectly normal feelings about it.

nate continues to.... be there.

luckily he doesn't stay for long. bye bye, nate. see you never!!!

con tries to sell willa on the whole oman thing:

the pros are: no lines at the airport and you can hit people with your car. bonus: you actually DON'T have to live under ground.

this is perhaps the first time in succession history that we see a couple have a truly genuine discussion about what their next move should be - together.

sticking up for your man's delusions really works out, i guess.

oscar is great.

he doesn't like greg. i like oscar.

ebba wants to murder everybody:

communications people with social anxiety, unite!

greg is a try-hard and joins in on the hazing of ebba.

i don't think i've ever liked him less.

anyway, turns out it helps the failbros, who come to ebba's rescue, smoke a cig with her, figure out lukas is basically not the coder from gothenburg he says he is, but instead some swedish elon musk type who took some tech to marked.

bravo.

oh, and his numbers in india are completely wack.

rome and ken are ecstatic!

lets run down a list of mattson's flaws so far: - fudged the numbers - sent weird items to his employee - potentially has a little drug problem? - calls things he doesn't like gay

totally inappropriate for a company like waystar, in other words.....

roman does the best gerri impression i've ever heard.

i know j. said she thinks the impression is stupid but i had to watch that moment three times to figure out if it was actually her saying the line or not, so..... sorry j. <3

gerri is done.

i feel unwell. someone please convince me this isn't their last ever scene together.

j. said there'd be ups and downs. WHERE ARE THE UPS?

roman is upset and takes it out on connor in his best logan impression to date:

con is like nah, i'm good on oman and willa is like everyone hates your fascist candidate, roman.

good for them.

ken and mattson fight over who has the fakest numbers.

mattson shits on new york like a true swede.

anyone doing the "drink every time someone fights" game this episode is dead by now.

speaking of, we get the best hbo balcony scene since the wire season 3 episode 11.

at the risk of mixing my hbo references, this is my red wedding.

the fight goes something like this:

shiv: you are a social climber tom: you are broken, you never got your dads approval and you shouldn't have kids because you are horrible

at least now tom can get some sleep, i guess, because the bonefest is certainly over.

ken talks to frank about taking doing a reverse viking, meaning waystar buys gojo, not the other way around.

OH MY GOD THESE KIDS. they can't even fucking pull off ONE deal before they are on to the next. c'mon.

oh and he wants the CEO position for himself. shocker.

imagine being frank in this scenario. just imagine.

tom is tired from all the sex and all the talk about him getting fired and acts exactly like me whenever i have people over:

tired girlies need representation too.

the era of wambsgans ire is here.

shiv is like oh fuck.

the episode ends with everyone pretty much being alone. there are no teams anymore. there are zero hugs except for one very disturbing one between mattson and ken, and i'm having a hard time remembering if i like any of these characters at all.

oh no, wait, i like connor.

it's all good. i still like connor.

ps: WHERE IS KARL?!

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grimmmviewing · 1 month

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S1E13: “Three Coins in a Fuchsbau”—C+ (Watched 3/12/24)

“Damn, I know this place. Bought my second engagement ring from this guy.” – Hank (just in case we ever forgot he’s been married multiple times)

While the title of this episode has some heist-y, Coen-brothers-film-like energy, most of what we get here is much more lore/series plot related. It’s not that this stuff isn’t also interesting—or that there aren’t some fun standalone moments in the mix—but just that this is a less whimsical or charming episode than the title suggests and that feels serious in ways that even previous episodes with darker subject matter didn’t.

I haven’t really talked performances too much in these reviews, but Titus Welliver as Farley Kolt does a great job handling some of the more critical elements of this episode’s plot. He has a lot of information that he needs to convey with gravitas—about the seductive ancient coins at the heart of the story and about Nick’s background, which is closely tied to the pursuit of the coins. Welliver manages to make it all feel important and believable while coming across as someone with a lot of confidence and secrets. He really sells this character who’s meant to dance on a knife’s edge between trustworthy and untrustworthy. Among the other details, we learn a smidge more about the power Grimms wield (resistance to the coins), which is nice, given that so far it’s been kind of a question mark, apart from seeing Wesen as they are and maybe some nebulous sense of extra strength.

Using the coins to explain historical events like the disasters that befell Roman emperors is a fun, ultimately harmless bit of fantastical worldbuilding, but the reveal that Adolf Hitler was A) in possession of the coins and B) a Wesen creates… complications. It’s a lot harder to accept this bit of history being dressed up with Grimm fantasy than the stuff about Rome, in part because it just feels closer/more modern and also because it offers what amounts to an excuse for Hitler’s actions: He was under the influence of the coins, which makes him not entirely responsible.

Making Hitler a literal monster further undermines the reality—that he was a man (a human), aided and abetted by still other men, who did horrible things. “Evil” is perpetrated by humans, and the way in which Hitler has already been as good as mythologized as some sort of unique case is part of why more contemporary instances of authoritarian or genocidal behavior aren’t taken seriously, I think (I’ve heard other people say in the past). We’ve been conditioned to see that sort of evil as something titanic and aberrant to the point that it could only ever be recognizable as what it is, but it starts somewhere, sown from perfectly unremarkable human actions, and by the time it’s in full flower, that’s when the problem has gone on too long.

I think 2012 was a different time, though, when white nationalism and conspiracies were still seen as fringe elements of American culture—the former being powerless and the latter maybe just fun(ny) and not to be taken seriously. Over time, of course, the climate has changed. White nationalism is on the rise, and both it and conspiratorial thinking feel more mainstream and dangerous than they have in my lifetime. I never thought I’d see anti-vax sentiment be such a widely-held conviction, for example, but here we are! Obviously, Grimm is, at most, being kind of problematic here. I don’t want to oversell it as some sort of affront in and of itself. It’s just a lot harder to indulge in the “what ifs” these days. When I first started this project, I was actually shocked at the reminder of how long Grimm had run. It was only six years, but between 2011 and 2017, it feels like so much changed about the American political and cultural landscape. It started during the Obama years and ended under Trump, what feels like a titanic shift in what constituted our “normal.”

Leaving aside any real-world discomfort, though, I still think the full Hitler reveal on the old film at the end of the episode feels like too much. It’s meant to be this ominous image—perhaps a look at where Renard could have ended up if they didn’t get the coins away from him, or even just a generally chilling thing. Instead, it feels a bit too goofy. Leaving it as a brief mention from Kolt probably would have worked better. I think the far more emotionally impactful moments come before this: Nick with the dying Soledad Marquesa (more on that below), Nick seeing just how rattled and desperate Renard is when he finds out he’s lost the coins, and Nick confronting Kolt one last time to take the coins back into a Grimm’s protection. This sequence of character- and coin-related moments was perfectly strong enough to end the episode on.

Back to Marquesa: Nick grabs the mortally wounded man—this individual he’s only just learned was responsible for the deaths of his parents—and demands more information, but Marquesa doesn’t even seem to be aware of who Nick is or what he’s suggesting about the way their lives have intersected before. Instead, he just pleads with Nick to let him hold the coins one last time as he dies. It’s emotionally impactful for how it denies Nick information about his past and for how it shows the power the coins hold. (It’s also narratively convenient for delaying further reveals for the time being.)

Marie coming back into story via Kolt, this heavy focus on Nick’s parents—“Three Coins in a Fuchsbau” doesn’t feel like a continuation of the previous episode like I thought it might (given that Nick and Juliette seem fine here), but it is a very direct continuation of the earliest episodes of the season. What does feel like an extension of “Last Grimm Standing” is Renard’s story, where his mysterious leadership status plays into the allure of the coins. I kind of love that he is so affected by them given that he’s been characterized so far as this secretive, powerful, calm mastermind sort of figure. His dream of power after he takes the coins home is very striking and a very BIG visual for the show—He advances through his darkened apartment as we hear the roars of a crowd, and when he looks out onto the city streets below we see them completely filled with people waving flags, all loyal to him. The scale is surprising.

The medical examiner Dr. Harper also gets a surprising little plot of her own too. She’s the first one on the team to be attracted to the coins after finding them in the old shop owner’s stomach, and her somewhat more subtly “off” behavior is foreshadowing for the more extreme stuff from Hank and Renard. She also gets targeted and interrogated by Marquesa, giving her a more active role than usual. It’s always nice to see the other character do their own thing away from Nick.

#nbc grimm #tv series #review #rewatch

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dent-de-leon · 8 months

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Leo ur tags on the horror/erotica post, I am FERAL

Oh thanks! That post more so got me thinking of horror and romance, but yeah the fact that Taliesin built Mollymauk around the concept of being a Romantic and how so many aspects of that are reflected in this dark mirror as Lucien…

Molly the romantic, the dreamer, worshipping the goddess of love under the moonlight—singing songs of romance and tragedy and holding onto stories of a king so beloved by his people he returned to them from the dead.

Lucien who dreams so deeply he built an entire cult around the manifestation of dreams—so lost in the pretty ideal of a family living happily ever after that he’s willing to throw away everything else that matters. Clinging desperately to childhood stories, to the promise of, “once upon a time.” And it’s Mollymauk who calls him out on it, who recognizes where he lost his way. “Killing for a dream. Are you too dense to see the irony?”

Lucien romanizes the life he used to know, the precious few happy memories of putting on a performance, a play, pretending their little life of songs and stories could go on in the caravan forever, “…we children would put on little plays. Little to others, I suppose, but grand to us. Yes, grand.” Trying so hard to believe that that if he could do it all over again, make things “right,” that this time he and his siblings could have the life they always wanted. That his parents would truly love them. Thinking of how Lucien fixates on Elric being the “favorite,” unable to come to terms with the fact that his parents abused him as well, that even the “good” times are colored by his parents’ manipulation and violence. That there’s no reality where they wouldn’t sell out Lucien to a hag at the first chance—

Lucien believing so much, in dreams and fate, in false gods and love. In a family that would never welcome him home.

And he believes, in the very end, in the Mighty Nein—just for a moment. Just enough to let Molly take his hand. He was genuinely so lonely, so desperate to connect, and I think the Somnovum fed on that. Their hunger to devour everyone and everything—the way Lucien keeps trying to take control of the Nein, to become “one” with them.“If you’re certain, make contact and talk all you like…Come, it’s far prettier up here.” “We welcome you. I welcome you. This is so incredible.” “I wish I could share it, but there’s…Well, you’d need to be with us.”

Molly’s love for the Nein and his loneliness, the longing ache to not be alone or Empty anymore—how it manifests as Lucien trying to possess the Nein and become a part of him, still craving love and connection and tearing himself apart as this fallen god who could have the world at his feet and is still just the lonely child holding onto fairytales. Becoming one with a city of other caged, lost souls.

The way Lucien dismisses Molly as someone who could never understand him, who has never seen all the ugliness of the world like him. But he does, he feels it more than Lucien could ever know. “I know what the others think, but the truth is…how do I put this…The world is harsh and cruel, and I don’t seem to be able to just walk on by. You see a wrong? You fix it.”

Molly is a romantic because he fell in love with the world and found joy in spite of all that—because he believes there are people like the Nein worth loving and protecting, worth bleeding out his own heart for. Lucien is a romantic because he believes he’s fated to “fix” the whole “broken” world, even as he destroys everything about it him and Molly always loved—

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masquenoire · 1 year

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“Dead?! What the fuck do you mean they’re dead?!?” Roman snarled, apoplectic with rage at the news he’d just received. The piles of paperwork littering his desk scattered like leaves in the wind as he slammed his fists down heavily upon solid wood, the gesture doing nothing to appease his foul mood and only fuelling it further when Horsehead’s suspicions had been proven true. Business on the streets had been sinking like a corpse in Gotham Bay for some weeks now. Naturally there were slow periods from time to time, so Roman hadn’t been overly concerned after the first week but then profits only continued to decline, with today turning up less than a few hundred measly dollars. A few hundred fucking measly dollars! His profits had never been that bad, not even when he was a fresh-faced rookie for crying out loud, so where had all his customers disappeared to? Turned out they hadn’t just disappeared, they’d been turning up dead all over the city, many of them familiar names who’d bought from him for years. Now all of a sudden they were dropping like flies in just a few weeks? It didn’t make any sense and because of that, Roman was pissed. "So what the hell happened then?? And don’t tell me, they all decided to join a doomsday cult? The crap we sell is clean so it can’t have been that killing them all!” The muscle, those slack-jawed idiots shuffled on their feet uncomfortably, not one brave soul amongst them daring to lift his gaze for fear of getting a punch to the jaw for his trouble. Even Ms. Li didn’t have a smart quip for once which didn’t make him feel any better. Rocco was merely a dog, blissly unaware and uncaring of the situation that had befallen his master and Roman envied the mutt for the briefest of moments, wishing life could only be so simple. Horsehead was the only one who seemed composed, but the rubbery white equine mask he always wore concealed any and all expressions from others. ”Word on the streets is that bad drugs have gotten into Gotham and they’re coming from your territory. No idea what they are or where they came from just yet, but it’s bad stuff. Real bad. The GCPD claim twenty victims have turned up dead this week and they’re finding more and more bodies every day. Buyers are getting nervous so they’re staying away, you know... just in case they’re next.” ”No fucking shit. This is bad for business!” Roman snapped, running a hand over his blackened scalp. Today was turning out to be an absolute disaster. Roman didn’t give a rat’s ass about some random dropheads too stupid to know not to OD themselves but he did care about his reputation and how badly profits would be hit should people believe these lies being spread about him being the one distributing whatever the fuck was killing his regulars. Ever since the fiasco that caused him to lose Janus Cosmetics, Roman always double-checked his deals and made sure he’d gotten exactly what he’d been promised. Poisoned drugs were not what he desired - the dead didn’t come back for another fix and now he was out of pocket and liable to end up in serious shit if he didn’t get a handle on this situation quickly. It was only a matter of time before the bat brigade came snooping, if they hadn’t been doing so already, and tossed his ass in Arkham. Worse still, Red Hood might believe he was responsible for these killer drugs snuffing out people all over the city and would do a hell of a lot more than just breaking his bones and dragging him back to the slammer. And Roman really didn’t feel like dealing with that asshole today. Unfortunately, Horsehead seemed to read his mind and commented further before he could say anything against it. ”Why not contact Red Hood? He can’t be worse than the Joker, plus you might find out what the hell’s going on around here.” ”Have you lost your fucking mind, Horsehead??? The last time we dealt with that asshole, he nearly blew our previous building to Kingdom Come with a goddamn ROCKET LAUNCHER!!! Or did you miss that newsflash somehow??” ”That’s because he wanted to make a good first impression. Next time we might not be so fortunate, especially if he thinks these rumors are true. Shoot first, think later and all that.” Roman gritted his teeth, seething at what he was hearing but knew he didn’t have any better suggestions. For all his issues, Red Hood didn’t target civilians so he couldn’t be the one responsible for the killer drugs either. He would not poison a bunch of random people just to make up an excuse to come after his enemies, he did so anyway regardless so there weren’t many other options avaliable and like hell was he running to the Bat.

”Fine. Send a message to Red Hood, tell that prick we need to talk. Where and when, I don’t give a damn - somebody’s trying to set up shop or cause trouble between us, one or both and I ain’t interesting in taking the blame for this mess.” The muscle, who had been watching this exchange nearly breathed out a collective sigh of relief as Roman signalled for them to go, clearly wanting to formulate a plan with Horsehead in private. They did so quickly, coming up with the idea that the equine-masked man would instruct a new underling, one of the most harmless members they had on hand to get the vigilante’s attention and let him know Black Mask needed to discuss a delicate matter at a time and place of his choosing, preferably sooner than later. Roman sighed once Horsehead also left, collapsing back in his seat and pouring himself a shot of whiskey which he downed fiercely. What a way to start the week. At least he’d caught wind of this situation early, and would soon root out the little rat bastard who’d poisoned half his regulars and scared off the rest. Horsehead’s words rang in his mind, that Red Hood couldn’t be worse than the Joker. Roman had a hard time believing it but what options did he have at this point? He had to make his move before anybody else did and stop this from getting any worse than it already had. @jp-todd-rp

#jp-todd-rp #I am so sorry it took so long #Chip: Yeah I'll have that starter done for you tomorrow #Two weeks later:#And I'm sorry it went on for so LONG #I don't mind shorter responses if that works better for you #Let me know if anything needs changing!#And if this doesn't work we can try something else!#I wrote this once before and the draft got deleted asdfghj #Fingers crossed this goes through okay #drugs tw #drugs cw #death mention tw #death mention cw #overdose mention tw #overdose mention cw

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greatbritishsimchallenge · 2 years

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Later that night, as they prepared to go to bed, Kennedi and Adrianus discussed the success of Darlene’s wedding.

“This is going to be an absolute game-changer for us,” enthused Kennedi, “Access to their forests? Being able to cut through the kingdom to get to Windenburg faster? The ability to buy and sell at their markets? This is going to transform things for us!”

Adrianus smiled to see his wife so happy after such an extended period of stress. “I know, it’s bloody amazing. I can’t believe how easily he just agreed to everything you requested.”

“Rowena’s death must have really shaken him; he was probably thinking we would kill him right then and there if he didn’t agree...” Kennedi mused, “It sounds horrible to say, but Rowena’s death was actually the best political move we’ve made in a while.”

“Do you mean that?” Adrianus asked seriously.

“I do. If Aife hadn’t run off, I might have even forgiven her for going behind my back to kill her. After all, if Rowena was really committing treason, then Aife was only doing what was right,” said Kennedi.

“I’m so glad you said that,” replied Adrianus, sitting up and visibly relieved, “Because I’ve got something to tell you and it has been killing me keeping it hidden from you.”

Kennedi now looked concerned, “What?”

“I’m the one who killed Rowena, not Aife. Aife wasn’t even there when it happened, she just arrived later and helped me... clean up.”

“Wait, what?” Kennedi’s demeanour changed, “You lied to me?”

“Technically, I never told you Aife did it...”

“Are you seriously trying to play a game of technicalities right now?”

“No, sorry, that was a stupid thing to say -” Adrianus began, but Kennedi cut him off.

“I don’t believe this. I don’t believe you. How long were you going to keep this secret from me? Were you just going to lie to me and let me believe Aife did it for the rest of our lives?”

“I wanted to tell you, Ken, but I was afraid of destroying our marriage for a second time if you felt I’d gone behind your back.”

“So you decided that lying to me was better for our marriage? And, what, now you think I won’t be angry you’ve told me the truth? That is seriously fucked up.”

Kennedi stood up and began walking towards the door. Adrianus stood to follow after her.

“Ken, wait, please -”

“Don’t. Just... don’t say anything else. I can’t bare to hear any more words come out of your mouth because suddenly I can trust a single fuckin’ one of them. And I hate that. Stay here. I’m going to sleep in the twins’ room tonight.”

Start (Iron Age) | Start (Roman Britain) | Start (Anglo Saxon) | Previous | Next

#ts4 historical #ts4 history challenge #s4 history challenge #s4 historical #sims 4 historical #sims 4 history challenge #ts4 legacy #s4 legacy #sims 4 legacy

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androgynousblackbox · 1 month

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Dude, I keep seeing The Succession, but it's like, do people binge watch this thing?? Because I just have to take it in little by little because it's just so fucking good, my brain feels so fucking full and satisfied that I HAVE to masticate on the debauchery I just saw for a while before I can submit myself for more. Like, Roman is my favorite fucked up little guy. The way that he is literally the scapegoat of the family and the ONLY ONE who anyone ever speaks about receiving the worst punishments, but they were brainwashed by their father to believe that he liked it as a child despite he insisting otherwise? The way that he is the ONLY ONE that Roy ever puts his hands on and that makes Kendall to immediately jump on his defense, yelling at his father despite the whole entire season being literally a puppet at his hands? Masterful, beautiful. This is the good drama that I wish I could ever write. Ah, man, I could literally write an entire essay on how the writing on Kendall is. As a character I don't care too much for him, he is not fun for me, but it's so well constructed and so fundamentally pathetic that I have to admire that. The whole submitting to Roy feeling so much like selling your soul to the devil and then, immediately after that, his sibling all talk about how fucking dead he looks. Like a fucking corpse that is just moving around. The way that the house they go to have a meeting for I don't care what is literally reeking of dead because a fucking animal was stuck on the chimney and meanwhile Kendall tries to pretend nothing happens. How he keeps repeating "dad's plan was better" and fucking no one believes him. The petty ass thieving that is his literal only way to rebel because it's the only thing he can control, the only thing that Roy can't touch. I am still on the fence about Shev. On one hand, I understand that she wants to believe that she has principles and she probably thinks that she is in fact a good person, but still falls into childish fighting with Roman, still disrespect the shit out of Tom because she believe herself with the right to do anything she wants and literally all it took for her to abandon a perfectly good political career was the promise of more power that she actually has no fucking clue what to do with. Like I get that she is a pampered queen, but like, compared with her two brothers, she is really getting the short end of the stick in terms of character depht.

MAN! But the way that the wife of Roy just reads her for filth and feels weirdly misogynistic because she literally never says anything like that about ANYONE ELSE? Like, what the actual fuck is up with that? Cool moment though. Anyway, I am just now around season 2 and I will be definitely reading the scripts the first chance I have, but I love this shit so much. Even the fact that sometimes the camera is handheld feels intentional in some way? I don't know if it actually is, but to me it always feels like we are merely guests on something that has clearly nothing to do with us. Not just like a play, but also a intruder that neither of these people want, a third person they can't escape from no matter how much they would like to. It's maybe a testament to how realistic all these characters feel, but every time the camera moves slightly while persueing a character I remember that someone was there, someone else was watching this happen. I don't know how to explain it, but something about it just feels cool to me. I like that aesthetic because it immediately remind me to The Office, but while the Office was intentionally set up like a documentary thing where people sometimes interacted with the camera man, this crew goes completely unrecognizable for these characters. Like we, the audience, was really never supposed to be there or we were so far removed from the status of these people that they couldn't give less of a crap about us. Like they were the gods of this world as they thought themselves to be and we mere mortals.

I love this show so much. I can't believe that it took me this long to discover it.

#the succession #andro is talking

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steveezekiel · 2 months

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GOD PACKAGED IT IN YOU

"BUT we have this TREASURE in EARTHEN VESSELS, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us."

2 Corinthians 4:7 (NKJV)

• What you need to Excel, or fulfil in life, is packaged in you. However, you would have to discover it.

- What God gave to you might look insignificant Today, but your future is in it. Esau trivialized, despised, or looked down on the birthright given to him by God:

32 “LOOK, I’M DYING OF STARVATION!” SAID ESAU. “WHAT GOOD IS MY BIRTHRIGHT TO ME NOW?” 33 BUT JACOB SAID, “FIRST YOU MUST SWEAR that YOUR BIRTHRIGHT IS MINE.” SO Esau SWORE an OATH, THEREBY SELLING ALL HIS RIGHTS AS THE FIRSTBORN TO HIS BROTHER, JACOB" (Genesis 25:32,33 (NLT).

- What you had that looks insignificant to you, is important to another person, and they are longing to take it from you. - You need to value whatever God has given you, treasure it and keep it from whoever may want to take or hijack it from you.

• Note: the birthright could be the special skills you have in the Fields of your Operation. Or whatever you are Divinely blessed with.

- The ABILITY to do something well or excellently, is given by God. Whatever you had the ability to do well is given you by God: "IN HIS GRACE, GOD HAS GIVEN US DIFFERENT GIFTS FOR DOING CERTAIN THINGS WELL. SO if God has given you the ABILITY to prophesy, SPEAK OUT with as much faith as GOD HAS GIVEN YOU" (Romans 12:6 NLT).

- Use the ability given to you purposefully. The truth is: your future is in that which you know to do well, which If you despised, Fulfilment might be a mirage.

- What would make you, every individual Believer, has been created and deposited in you by God. What would bring, or result in, your fulfilment in life is on the inside of you.

- Many wanted what other people had, While what God has given to them to prosper through, is being neglected.

- Stop looking somewhere else, look up to God in order to know what He has put or deposited in you that is meant to make you.

- Your way out of predicaments, lacks and wants in life, is the discovery of your birthright—what has been given you to proper with in life.

• Esau later realized the need and importance of the birthright which he sold cheaply because food, to his brother—Jacob (Genesis 25:32,33).

- He sought the birthright with tears afterwards, But it was too late:

16 LEST THERE be any fornicator or PROFANE PERSON LIKE ESAU, who FOR one morsel of food SOLD HIS BIRTHRIGHT. 17 FOR you know that AFTERWARD, WHEN he wanted to INHERIT THE BLESSING, HE WAS REJECTED, FOR HE FOUND NO PLACE FOR REPENTANCE, THOUGH HE SOUGHT IT DILIGENTLY WITH TEARS" (Hebrews 12:16,17 (NKJV).

- What is that thing that you had, which God deposited in you to work with and be what He wanted you to be in life?

- Beloved, If you got to know it, then your realization and fulfilment in life start.

- A lot of people are wasting away because they failed to realize what God has deposited in them.

- You have the Ability, passion and power, given you by God to do something well (Romans 12:6).

• Walk with God, in close communion or fellowship with God to discover It.

- In your walk with God, you discover what is it that He has deposited in You:

9 THAT is what the SCRIPTURES mean when they say, “NO EYE HAS SEEN, NO EAR HAS HEARD, AND NO MIND HAS IMAGINED WHAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.” 10 BUT IT WAS TO US THAT GOD REVEALED THESE THINGS BY HIS SPIRIT. FOR HIS SPIRIT SEARCHES OUT EVERYTHING AND SHOWS US GOD'S DEEP SECRETS" (1 Corinthians 2:9,10 NLT).

- Those who reign or rule in the Kingdom are those who discover early what God has deposited in them.

- Without genuine relationship and fellowship with God, It may be difficult to discover God's plan for your life.

- Discovery is the mother of invention says someone. Until you discover you cannot recover.

• Discovery of Purpose comes via fellowship or communion.

- Fellowshipping with God gives you an access to hidden things of the Kingdom.

- If you are not serving God in Spirit and truth, you might not Access the things that God has in plan for you:

"GOD is Spirit, AND THOSE WHO WORSHIP HIM MUST WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH" (John 4:24 (NKJV).

- Regeneration connects you with God. Someone who is unregenerated cannot walk with God:

"BUT THE NATURAL [unbelieving] MAN does not accept the things [the teachings and revelations] OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD, FOR THEY ARE FOOLISHNESS [absurd and illogical] TO HIM; AND he is INCAPABLE of understanding THEM, BECAUSE THEY ARE SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED AND APPRECIATED, [and he is unqualified to judge spiritual matters]" (1 Corinthians 2:14 Amps.).

- Things given to us by God are known or revealed to us by the Spirit of God:

10 BUT WE KNOW ABOUT THESE THINGS BECAUSE GOD HAS SENT HIS SPIRIT TO TELL US, AND His Spirit SEARCHES out and SHOWS us all of GOD'S DEEPEST SECRETS. 11 NO one can really know what anyone else is thinking or what he is really like except that person himself. AND NO ONE CAN KNOW GOD'S THOUGHTS EXCEPT GOD'S OWN SPIRIT. 12 AND God has actually given us HIS SPIRIT (not the world’s spirit) TO TELL US ABOUT THE WONDERFUL FREE GIFTS OF GRACE AND BLESSING THAT GOD HAS GIVEN US" (1 Corinthians 2:10-12 the Living Bible).

• You have to be born of the Spirit to relate with God (John 3:5,6).

- Someone who is not born of the Spirit cannot relate and fellowship with God, as said earlier, thus, such cannot discover what, He, God, has in plan for him or her.

- You enter into or establish a relationship with God through rebirth, that is, being born-again through the Holy Spirit (John 3:3).

- As you relate and fellowship with God, His Spirit would begin to unfold or reveal to you, His plans concerning your life.

- Life becomes a burden when it is void of results and progress.

- Note: You would have to call on Him to let you know what He has in plan for you (Jeremiah 29:12-14).

- He Promises to listen to you. When you seek Him and you are willing to know; He would be found by you. If you searched and sought with all your heart, He would surely be found by you.

- Know that there is no cheap success in life. Faith walk is not cheap, you have to labour to enter into God's rest which He prepares for you. God's rest is the inheritance that he has for you, which you have to labour to enter (Hebrews 4:9-11).

• When you discovered purpose, God's plan for your life, and pursued it; you have entered the rest He prepared for you.

- Rest is found or discovered in the doing, or the pursuit, of whatever He wanted you to do.

- The labour and striving to enter that Rest, which is the aspect which many do not want to do, and that makes them victims and slaves of the false Prophets.

- You labour in God's Word and Prayer to discover God's plan and purpose for your life. In it you find Rest.

- In walking with God, you call; seek and search, before you find (Luke 11:9,10).

- Getting to know God, and be deeper in Him, and the knowing of His plans for your life, and other things that can enhance your spiritual growth are not cheap.

- You labour to get God, and to enter His REST.

• It is my prayer that you will discover Purpose and fulfil It in Jesus' name.

- Should there be any ailment in your body, receive your healing now in Jesus' name.

Peace!

#christianity #gospel #christian blog #devotion #the bible #my writing #prayer #jesus #christian living #faith

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creativewaygrace · 3 months

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Bible Verses for Putting God First

Matthew 6:33- But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

Matthew 15:8- This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

Romans 1:16- For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also the Greek.

Philippians 4:13- I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Luke 12:31- But seek his kingdom, and these things will be provided for you.

Matthew 10:38-39- And whoever doesn't take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Anyone who finds his life will lose it, and anyone who loses his life because of me will find it.

Revelation 2:4- But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first.

Matthew 6:31-33- So don't worry, saying, "What will we eat?' or "What will we drink?' or "What will we wear?" For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

1 Corinthians 15:27- For God has put everything under his feet. Now when it says "everything" is put under him, it is obvious that he who puts everything under him is the exception.

Matthew 10:44-46- The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy, he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field. Again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one priceless pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it.

1 Corinthians 10:31- So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.

Matthew 22:37- He said to him, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

Proverbs 16:3- Commit your activities to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

Matthew 6:2- No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Colossians 3:17- And whatever you do in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Matthew 22:37-40- He said to him. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the laws and prophets depend on these two commands.

Mark 12:30- Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

Galatians 2:20- I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body. I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Matthew 6:19-21- Don't store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don't break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

1 Corinthians 3:23- And you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God.

Proverbs 3:5-6- Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding, in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.

Romans 11:36- For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.

Colossians 3:1-4- So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears then you also will appear with him in glory.

1 Peter 2:15- For it is God's will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.

Exodus 20:3- Do not have other gods besides me.

Colossians 1:16- For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rules or authorities all things have been created through him and for him.

1 Corinthians 10:13- Don't you know that those who perform the temple services eat the food from the temple and those who serve the altar share in the offering of the altar?

#christianity #bible verses #jesus christ #faith #priorities #God first

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wolint · 4 months

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FRESH MANNA

IMAGINE

1 Corinthians 8:2

There is power in our imagination! Imagination is something everyone has but doesn't use, either because they don't know how, or they use it wrongly. Imagination is the first step to becoming whatever! Our mind sees, hears, feels and achieves before we ever do physically or naturally.

Imagination is the formation of ideas or pictures in the mind of a vision, it is to form a mental image of someone or thing or to conceive it in the mind.

Imagination is also to scheme or to devise plans and purposes says Psalm 62:3.

Imagination is a powerful tool that can create what we wish to see. The Bible is literal writing, but the power of our imagination mixed with faith brings it alive through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Word Himself is alive and made flesh to dwell in us but He must become flesh in both our hearts and minds to give expression to our imagination declares John 1:14. We can imagine good or bad things and whatever image we draw in our imagination is what is manifested in the natural.

Holy imagination helps us grow spiritually stronger in faith, God reminded us in Isahai 51:1-3 that Abraham and Sarah were infertile, but He gave them a child from whom came the great nation God promised. Cultivating a “holy imagination” means letting God’s promised hope of new and eternal life come alive in our minds.

Imagine!

If Noah had refused to build the Ark Genesis 6:14-17.

If God had left the tower of Babel to be finished. Genesis 11.

If Abram had not migrated as God instructed. Genesis 12:1-4.

Instead of selling Joseph, his brothers killed him in Genesis 37:12-31.

If Jacob didn’t believe that Joseph was alive and went to join him in Egypt in Genesis 46.

If Moses had the ceremony to dedicate him as pharaoh- the most powerful man in his world in Hebrews 11:24.

If Saul had carried on being king of Israel instead of David in 1 Samuel 16.

If Ruth had gone back to Moab as Orpah did in Ruth 1:14.

If Jonah was left to reach Tarshish and not turned to warn the Nineveh people in Jonah 1.

Imagine!

If Mary thought Angel Gabriel’s visit was a hoax and had ignored him or chose not to be chosen in Luke 1:26-38.

If Joseph had jilted Mary in Matthew 1:18-24.

If Jesus had fallen into temptation at the hands of Satan in Matthew 4:1-11.

If John the Baptist’s birth foretold in Isaiah 40:3 didn’t happen.

Zechariah was allowed to speak after the Angel’s visit in Luke 1:5-24.

The disciples refused the call to follow Jesus in Matthew 10:1-4.

If Judas Iscariot had been a good friend and not betrayed his “friend” in Luke 22:47-48.

If Jesus was not betrayed, tried, beaten, denied and finally crucified and buried in Matthew 27.

If Jesus did not resurrect in Matthew 28:1-8.

If Jesus had not ascended to heaven in Luke 24:50-52.

If we didn’t need to be born again to go to heaven in John 3:4-5.

If we didn’t have the power and the name of Jesus for our use. John 14:13-15.

If the Holy Spirit hadn’t come as promised. Acts 2:1-13.

If Paul had not encountered the Lord and been converted in Acts 19:5-6.

If there was no need for salvation in Romans 10:5-21.

If we didn’t have the word of God in 2 Timothy 3:16.

If faith was irrelevant see Hebrew 11:6.

If there wasn’t death and judgment in Hebrews 9:11.

Imagine that Hell is real and that even fallen angels cannot escape it says 2 Peter 2:4.

Imagine that heaven is real as described in the scriptures and only for believers. Can you afford to miss it? Imagine that all you think you know is not the truth there is, that even if you choose not to believe, accept and follow Jesus, can you imagine eternity without Him?

Imagine!

PRAYER: Help me Lord to have clear-cut vision and imagination, so that I don’t wander without direction and purpose in Jesus’s name. Amen.

Shalom

WOMEN OF LIGHT INT PRAYER MIN.

#spotify #devotional #christianpost #women's ministry #biblestudy #biblestudy christianpost women's ministry #biblestudy christianpost 'women's ministry #conference #family #prayer meeting

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lesfeldickbiblestudy · 7 months

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When did God lose the human race? [convertplayer id="ukoilNkBO" width="700" height="525"] "Being justified...." Justification is that judicial act of God. Now, when I use the word `judicial,' I mean like a judge on the bench hands down a decree. Justification is when God, The Judge, judicially declares the sinner (that person who recognizes that they are undone and are under the control of old Adam) to be just as if he had never sinned. That's beyond our comprehension. Even after we've been justified, we still are prone to fall and sin, yet what does God tell us? He says we are justified! He sees us as if we had never sinned! We'll never have to come before the judgment seat of Christ, as believers, and have to answer for our sins. Never! Our sins are forgiven. They are under the Blood. Christ took care of it and we will never have to stand before Him with sin on our back. Our sins are buried in the deepest sea and God has put up a sign which says, "No Fishing!" He has completely removed them. They are not going to come back and plague us. That's being justified. Let's continue in verse 24: "...freely (without a cause...and how did God do it?) by his grace (unmerited favor) through the redemption...." I think you all know what the word `redemption' refers to: losing something and buying it back. And it's a Scriptural term. When did God lose the human race? When Adam sinned. We're all in Adam, remember? It was there God lost us. So now, what does He have to do? Buy us back with a price. Satan is a hard task master; he won't let go of us easily. And this is the whole idea of redemption -- that God has to buy us back for Himself because He lost us in Adam. The word redemption here, especially in Romans, goes back to the Roman slave market in particular, for a beautiful illustration. The Greek word is Agorazo. We're not going to be concerned with that word so much, but we're talking about a slave market. Just like in today's stock market, there were certain terms back then that applied only to the slave market. And these were the three that were usually exercised by wealthy Romans who would go down to the slave market and just spend the day. It was a good past-time for them to go down and buy a slave and leave it in the market. And, when they left that slave in the market (much like a stock trader today can buy stocks in the morning on the board of trade or stock exchange and, if at one o'clock in the afternoon, the market has jumped a couple of points, he can resell that same stock), if the price went up, they could sell the same slave that same day. Well, the Romans could actually do that with slaves. But, the one we're most concerned with here in Scripture is the term Exagorazo. Now the term 'ex' always means out. So, in this case, they could buy a slave, take it out of the market and take it home, thereby becoming that slave's owner. Then, they could exercise the third part with regard to slaves -- they could 'Lutroo' him, or set him free. So, with that background, let's look at this verse. Here, the Roman legions have just come down from barbarian Gaul in Northern Europe. And they've got this teenage lad who has probably been beaten and dragged several hundred miles - and here he is in the slave market. But this rich, benevolent Roman sees this young man and sees something in him of worth. So, what does he do? He buys him; and instead of leaving him in the market to trade again, he takes him home, cleans him up and gives him light duty. This young man has never lived so sumptuously, although he is a slave. And then, one day, this Roman master calls this young man into his office and says, "You've been an ideal slave and I'm going to now give you your freedom. I have paid for your citizenship. You are free to go wherever you want to go. You are a Roman citizen." What do you suppose that young man would say considering the fact that slaves who were not fortunate enough to be bought, w

ere thrown to the lions in the coliseum? He would probably say, "Master, there's no way that I could do that after all that you have done for me. You bought me out of that awful slave market. You've put me in new clothes, you've cleaned me up and you've given me the best of duty. Master, I love you, and I will never leave you. I'm going to serve you all the rest of my life." Now, doesn't that say it all? That is what God rightfully expects from every child that He has saved. He has taken us out of the slave market of Satan; He has broken the bonds of sin. He has cleaned us up and given us a whole new outlook on life. He has given us the Holy Spirit and all the promises of eternity to come. So, what should be our logical reaction? "Lord, you've done so much for me. The least I can do is serve you and be your faithful bond-slave." Editor's Note: Later in this book, under the question, "How was Lord Jesus Christ born without sin?", Les explains why the human race did not come under sin by virtue of Eve, even though she had eaten the forbidden fruit first. Sin came upon the whole human race by way of Adam's sin.

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shiashythai · 8 months

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GREETINGS, MY NAME IS SHIA, I'M A GREATFUL BELIEVER IN JESUS CHRIST, WHO STRUGGLES WITH ADDICTION, ANGER, AND ANXIETY.

I'M GOING TO PRAY US IN WITH SCRIPTURE Psalm 19:14 - "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of [OUR] heart[S] be pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." IN JESUS' NAME, AMEN.

Lesson 1: Denial

Principle 1: Realize I’m not God. I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is unmanageable.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 5:3

Step 1: We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives had become unmanageable.

I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. - Romans 7:18

For this lesson I invite you to dwell in Hebrews 11:40-12:3. I am going to start with two verse, and I will end with two verse.

"God had planned something better for us, so that together with us they would be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us." - Hebrews 11:40 & Hebrews 12:1

I have two questions:

POINT AT SELF

What past failure am I letting prevent recovery sucess?

Mark 10:17-25 "As Jesus started on His way, a man ran up and knelt before Him. Good Teacher, he asked, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Why do you call Me good? Jesus replied. No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not cheat others, honor your father and mother. Teacher, he replied, all these I have kept from my youth. Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said to him, There is one thing you lack: Go, sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me. But the man was saddened by these words and went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus said to them again, Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

I don't know about y'all, but I am not a monitarily rich man. But what I am rich in is bitterness, guilt, mistakes, pain, hate, anger, loathing, anxiety, depression, fear, unforgiveness, my plans, my identity, resentment, my history, bagage, denial, regrets -

The apostle Paul had his share of regrets, he martyred Stephen. Yet, in Philippians 3:13-14, he reminds us, "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God's heavenly calling in Christ Jesus." Isaiah 43:18-19 puts the same thought this way, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert."

This is what Jesus says: "There is one thing you lack: Go, sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me." Get rid of EVERYTHING and FOLLOW ME is ONE THING.

In essence, if you desire to break free from the prison of the past, freedom is FORWARD, in CHRIST. God has a better plan for us. A promise of an abundant life in Jesus Christ.(John 10:10) But as it says in Matthew 7:13, this path is narrow. All of us are holding onto things that wont fit down that path, yet, we try to push the camel through the needle.

Many of us are held back by the pain of our past, often nursing bitterness over past wrongs, making it challenging to forgive those who deeply hurt us. You might have endured significant pain, such as childhood abuse [like I have] or marital infidelity, and I want you to know I sympathize & empathize with your suffering and am genuinely sorry for what you've endured. Yet, holding onto this pain and refusing to forgive those who've wronged you allows their actions to continue hurting you today.

A Pastor once told me "the person who has the most influince over you, is the one you won't forgive."

With the strength of God, you'll discover the courage to forgive at your own pace; there's no need to rush. As you progress, God will lead you toward a willingness to forgive and break free from their hold on your life.

Some of you may carry the heavy burden of guilt, relentlessly punishing yourselves for past mistakes. You may feel trapped, believing you're beyond redemption and love, and that no one could ever forgive your errors. But you're mistaken. God can and does forgive; that's why Jesus willingly went to death on the cross. He understands every detail of your past and everything you've experienced. You're not alone in your struggles; many have faced similar trials and found solace in Christ's forgiveness.

Second Question. Am I afraid to change? Or, am I afraid of the future?

You might find yourself worrying about the future, hesitant to embrace change. We all have concerns about things beyond our control, and often, these worries stem from a lack of trust in God. "[BUT] we say with confidence: The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" - Hebrews 13:6

Perhaps you've been entangled for so long in your hurts, habits, or hang-ups that they've become your identity. You might be pondering, "What will happen if I truly commit? Will I change? Who will I become if I let go?" Maybe you've been struggling with substance abuse, and you're apprehensive about life without your crutch of choice. Or you've been enabling someone in a dysfunctional relationship for years, and you wonder, "What if I change, and my spouse becomes angry with me?"

God doesn't intend for you to remain frozen in an unhealthy situation or a harmful habit. He encourages you to take an active role in your journey toward health. Even if your past has been marked by extreme pain, you might still resist change and the freedom that comes with fully engaging in this program. Fear of the unknown or a sense of unworthiness may lead you to close your mind to the possibility of improvement.

As you work through the program's principles and steps, remember 1 John 4:18: "There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love."

Are you concealing your true feelings behind a mask of denial? To make progress, you must shed the facade. Regardless of whether this is day one, or day one thousand, denial can resurface at any time. We are all one bad day away from a another blue chip.

But what is denial, exactly?

Denial can be described as "a false set of beliefs that lack a basis in reality" and "a self-protective behavior that prevents us from honestly confronting the truth."

As children, we all developed coping mechanisms that helped us deal with unmet needs for attention and to shield ourselves from pain and fear. These coping strategies served a purpose at the time, but as we grew older, they clouded our perception of reality and distorted our understanding of our lives.

As we matured, our self-perception and expectations of those around us evolved, yet we clung to these childhood coping mechanisms, leading to increasingly unrealistic and distorted views of reality. These coping mechanisms eventually morphed into denial, damaging many of our relationships and leaving them unfulfilled.

Have you ever denied that your parents had problems? Have you ever denied your own struggles? Chances are, to some degree, we've all answered "yes" to these questions. However, for some, denial gave way to feelings of shame and guilt.

Denial is like the elephant in the room that no one acknowledges or discusses within the family. You might recognize these familiar comments:

"Can't we just stop talking about it? Talking only makes it worse." "If we don't talk about it, it'll disappear on its own." "I'm afraid they'll leave me if I tell them that their words hurt me." "They don't really drink that much." "It doesn't really hurt when they do that; I'm fine!" "They drinks more than I do!" "I eat because you make me so sad." "If you didn't nag me all the time, I wouldn't…"

Before taking this first step, we must confront and admit our denial. GREETINGS, MY NAME IS SHIA, I'M A GRATEFUL BELIEVER IN JESUS CHRIST, WHO STRUGGLES WITH ADDICTION, ANGER, AND ANXIETY.

I'M GOING TO PRAY US IN WITH SCRIPTURE Psalm 19:14 - "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of [OUR] heart[S] be pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." IN JESUS' NAME, AMEN.

Lesson 1: Denial

Principle 1: Realize I’m not God. I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is unmanageable.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 5:3

Step 1: We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, and that our lives had become unmanageable.

I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. - Romans 7:18

For this lesson I invite you to dwell in Hebrews 11:40-12:3. I am going to start with two verses, and I will end with two verses.

I have two questions:

POINT AT SELF

What past failure am I letting prevent recovery success?

I don't know about y'all, but I am not a monetarily rich man. But what I am rich in is bitterness, guilt, mistakes, pain, hate, anger, loathing, anxiety, depression, fear, unforgiveness, my plans, my identity, resentment, my history, baggage, denial, regrets -

In essence, if you desire to break free from the prison of the past, freedom is FORWARD, in CHRIST. God has a better plan for us. A promise of an abundant life in Jesus Christ. (John 10:10) But as it says in Matthew 7:13, this path is narrow. All of us are holding onto things that won't fit down that path, yet, we try to push the camel through the needle.

A Pastor once told me "The person who has the most influence over you, is the one you won't forgive."

Second Question. Am I afraid to change? Or, am I afraid of the future?

But what is denial, exactly?

Denial can be described as "a false set of beliefs that lack a basis in reality" and "a self-protective behavior that prevents us from honestly confronting the truth."

As children, we all developed coping mechanisms that helped us deal with unmet needs for attention and shield ourselves from pain and fear. These coping strategies served a purpose at the time, but as we grew older, they clouded our perception of reality and distorted our understanding of our lives.

As we matured, our self-perceptions and expectations of those around us evolved, yet we clung to these childhood coping mechanisms, leading to increasingly unrealistic and distorted views of reality. These coping mechanisms eventually morphed into denial, damaging many of our relationships and leaving them unfulfilled.

Have you ever denied that your parents had problems? Have you ever denied your struggles? Chances are, to some degree, we've all answered "yes" to these questions. However, for some, denial gave way to feelings of shame and guilt.

Denial is like the elephant in the room that no one acknowledges or discusses within the family. You might recognize these familiar comments:

"Can't we just stop talking about it? Talking only makes it worse." "If we don't talk about it, it'll disappear on its own." "I'm afraid they'll leave me if I tell them that their words hurt me." "They don't drink that much." "It doesn't hurt when they do that; I'm fine!" "They drink more than I do!" "I eat because you make me so sad." "If you didn't nag me all the time, I wouldn't…"

Before taking this first step, we must confront and admit our denial.

Let’s look at our acrostic:

D: Disables our feelings

Denial suppresses emotions, keeping us as prisoners unable to embrace the freedom Christ has purchased for us.

"They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves to depravity. For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him." - 2 Peter 2:19

Denial offers freedom, and delivers bondage, every time.

E: Energy lost

Fixating on the past, and fearing the future, leads to anxiety, which consumes the energy we ought to spend on positive change in the present.

Matthew 6:33-34 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own."

Matthew 11:29-30 - "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

N: Negates growth

This journey can not begin until we step out of denial. so God can lead us as Lord.

1 John 1:8 - "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."

The truth can not live in a lie.

Like Peter in Matthew 14, we are sinking into a sea, and desperately need to call out "Lord save me!" admitting we need help.

Psalm 107:13-14 "Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke away their chains."

I: Isolates us from God

When Eve took the apple and ate, and then Adam took that apple and ate, suddenly their eyes were opened, and awakening to the knowledge of good and evil their first instinct was to cover their vulnerability, because they knew how good God is, how badly they messed up, and the distance they had driven between them. And just like Adam and Eve, God knows all your secrets. You are withholding nothing from Him. But you are withholding forgiveness & healing from yourself by choosing to live in darkness.

"And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." - 1 John 1:5-7

A: Alienates us from our relationships

"Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another." Ephesians 4:25

Friends, family, and community are gifts from God. And by hiding in denial you rob yourself of the opportunity to be ministered to.

L: Lengthens the pain

As God says in Jeremiah 6:14 "They dress the wound of My people with very little care, saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace at all." You can't heal a wound by saying it's not there, and the longer we ignore the pain, the worse the wound will get, and our problems multiplies.

"But I will restore your health and heal your wounds, declares the LORD, because they call you an outcast, Zion, for whom no one cares." - Jeremiah 30:17

I will now read our other 2 verses from Hebrews, 12:2-3:

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

To those who love their prison, freedom looks like punishment. If Jesus looks like a punishment, you are in prison, and I pray these words have revealed that to you. No, you are not here by chance. Yes, you are in the right place. God has pushed, shoved, and dragged you here so that He can love you through us. This is not just a 12-step program. It is a family. Take a courageous step out of denial and into the loving and supportive community of Celebrate Recovery, where truth and healing are embraced.

John 8:32 "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

I now close us in prayer with the words of Psalm 61:

Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call out to You whenever my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been my refuge, a tower of strength against the enemy. Let me dwell in Your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. IN JESUS' NAME, AMEN.

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