Well, today we're in chapter 10 here in 1 Corinthians. I'll read to you verses 14 and 15, and we'll get into our study. 1 Corinthians chapter 10, introducing it by looking at verses 14 and 15, and going on back and sharing a few things, and then moving into the passage. Paul writes, Therefore, my beloved, flee from my doletry. I speak as to wise men, judge for yourselves what I say. Now as we've been going through 1 Corinthians, our last installment as we are here looking at verses 1 through 13, Paul had just warned the Corinthian church against four particular sins. He had spoken to them and warned them concerning idolatry, sexual immorality, tempting Christ and murmuring. And he had spoken concerning the fact that those are sins that had been practiced by the nation of Israel and it had actually resulted in them being judged by God. Now as he's been writing, he made it clear as he says in verse 11, all these things happen to them as examples. And so these were warnings that God was given to the nation of Israel, warnings against overconfidence. That's why he moved into verse 12 and said, Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. Because if you enter into this overconfident attitude, you're right in the place where you're going to be humbled. You're in a place where you're going to stumble and fail. And that's what he was trying to communicate to the people. It's been said there's no greater weakness than an unguarded strength. And that's true because we can begin to place our trust in our own ability to resist evil and that makes us vulnerable. So somebody gets saved after they've been an alcoholic for many years.  They go out and they begin to do ministry. They're on the street sharing the gospel with people. And before you know it, they have a burden arise in their heart. And they want to speak to those who also had been or are in alcoholic, we'll say the clutches of alcoholism. And so what do they do? They go into a bar and they want to go in and share with the people, the patrons there in the bar. It's a very unwise thing to do because entering in there, that's your old stomping grounds. That's a place where your flesh found its greatest pleasure. And so you have to be careful that you don't go back to the area that you used to be simply because you think you have the strength now to resist that temptation. You have to be wise in these things because this unguarded strength is a great weakness. You have to be very careful. We can begin to place our own trust in ourselves and as a result, we're going to be vulnerable and we can fall. Proverbs 2826 says, he who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered. Proverbs 1318 says, poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction, but he who regards reproof will be honored. So we need to be careful not to trust in our own ability. We have to be careful to remember we don't stand in our own strength. We stand in the power of God. We stand in the strength of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're empowered by his Holy Spirit. That's what Paul was saying in Ephesians 610 when he said, finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. That's why it's so very important for us to begin and to conclude our days and every moment we can in between that it comes to our attention. That's why we need to say, God strengthen me.  God, give me wisdom. God, give me the ability to, to present your message to your people. You never want to walk up in your own strength and try and do spiritual work because you're doomed for failure if you do. The Bible tells us in Philippians 413, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And so we rely on him. So it's not our personal strength and it's not our intrinsic abilities that we possess, but it's God's power in us. Like it says in Zechariah 4-6, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, sayeth the Lord of hosts. And so God wants to do a work through us. Be very careful that you do not get into position of trying to do spiritual work in the attitude and strengths of your own flesh because you are doomed to failure. God in Jeremiah 9, 23 and 24 says this, he says, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches, but let him that glories, glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who exercise loving kindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth from these things I delight, sayeth the Lord. So without God, we are powerless against the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil. We need to remember that we're in a spiritual battle. We need to be armed with spiritual weapons and we have to be careful not to think that we're impervious to temptation because we can fail. Now in verse 13, he had said, no temptation has taken you or overtaken you except such as is common to man. But God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make a way of escape. That you may be able to bear it. And so this temptation he's speaking about is a trial or a moment of proving.  And he's saying that victory is available, but we have to humbly reach out to Christ in order to have it. There can be an enticement to sin and it can arise from within or it can be through outward circumstances. There can be adversity and affliction. And God can send these things into our life to allow us to be tested in order that we might demonstrate the reality of our character and our faithfulness to him. But the fact is no temptation has overtaken you except as is common to man. I can't tell you over the years how many people have thought of themselves as going through unique temptations and unique trials. And the fact is what you go through is not unique. It's what everybody goes through. In one form or another, there may be variations, but it's basically the same kinds of things.  But if you were in a group and you began to share and you asked the people the question, how many of you understand what I'm talking about?  Half of the people will raise their hands and they'll identify with you because they have been there. And those who don't raise their hand in a couple of years, they'll raise their hand because they will be there. Because that's what happens, guys. So there's no temptation taking you but such as is common to man. It is something that we all go through. And therefore, what we need to know is that with the temptation also comes a way of escape that God makes it possible for us to enter into, that we can go through and make it through to the other side and God will move. Now, we've been seeing that as we looked at those verses together. And so as we're gonna move on now, I'll develop a couple of more thoughts about that and then roll into verse 14. The thing that I'd like to say before we go into verse 14 is this. How do I respond to testings? When I go through testing, I can tell you what the normal response in my earlier days and it can still, I can still have this happen.  I can say, oh God, I'm so tired of this. When is this going to stop? And I can even blame the Lord. I wonder if any of you have ever gotten mad at the Lord and blamed him for anything. I had the habit of doing that for quite some time. I've mentioned this to you before, but it bears repetition at this moment. When the Lord began to try to teach me not to blame him for everything. And the reason I blamed him for everything is because I knew he's sovereign. I knew he knows everything and therefore if you're sovereign and know everything, then you know this is gonna be something I don't like. So why did you allow that in my life? There was a logic to it, a carnal logic, but logic nonetheless.   So I finally get out of the army and I start growing my hair and I started growing it for about a year, but I went to a Bible college that demanded that we cut our hair. And to be honest with you, I didn't like it, but everybody knows that Jesus had a very short haircut, I guess. And so Biola at that time had haircut regulations.   So I go to this place to get my hair cut where I had gotten my haircut before, about three or four years before.  And so he goes, oh, okay, no problem, man. So I, you know, I'm there. And then he turns me around after giving me a haircut and he had given me a pompadour.  And so I am not happy. He's cut all my hair off and now I've got this pompadour and I had a motorcycle. So I climb on my motorcycle. It was so sprayed so hard, I didn't need a helmet because if I'd have fallen off, it wouldn't have hurt my head at all. And I am angry and I'm driving from Whittier back to Norwalk where I lived. I still remember that.  I go into the bathroom, I put my head under the sink and I start washing my hair. After I wash my hair and it dries, it begins to shrink up on me.  And so I'm trying to comb it and it's just kind of standing just wherever it feels like it. I claim on my motorcycle and by that time I'm letting the Lord know how I feel about all of this.    How come you allowed this to take place in my life?  Why couldn't you have, and I started to drive. I get to a corner and I'm yelling at the Lord. Why couldn't you, and I hit some oil as I was power shifting from first to second, spun the bike completely around. If I flew off the bike in the intersection and I'm there and I heard the distinct voice of the Lord say, stop yelling at me. I have never forgotten that lesson. I picked the bike up and dragged it to the side. Nothing was in, the bike wasn't scratched up or bent up or anything. It was just, I know it was the Lord. So he says, oh you're so superstitious, so be it. I know it was the Lord and I heard his voice say, don't yell at me. I have never forgotten that lesson. Don't be getting so mad. It's just a haircut.   I said, you know what, Jesus? You are good. Thou art good, oh Lord, thou art good. How do you deal? How do you deal with problems? How do you deal with testings? Well, one, when you enter into temptation, how do you deal with it? One, pray. One of the first things that we need to learn to do is to pray. You know, pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, Jesus said, but the flesh is what? Is weak. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Pray, God give me strength as we're going through this. I want to remain faithful to you. Secondly, trust. As you're praying, have an attitude of trust. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Lean not into thine own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge him and he will direct your path. So one, I pray, God help me to go through this. Lord, I'm going to trust you through this. And then a third thing is make sure you keep your eyes on the Lord through the testing. Keep your eyes on Jesus Christ. The apostle Peter and the boys are in a boat. There's a storm and out of the mist in the darkness comes a figure and it's Jesus and they begin to freak out. Well, I would have freaked out today. They're freaking out. It's the Lord. Someone cries out. Thomas says, I doubt it. That'll take you a moment. And here comes the Lord Jesus. And Peter cries out to him.  Jesus says, come on, climb out. And then you see the boys, all these guys in the boat as the only one who had the willingness to climb out and trust was the apostle Peter. And I can envision him in my mind's eye because I've been on the Sea of Galilee and I've been there when there've been some storms, not huge storms like this, but storms. And how choppy the water is and how the boat is moving back and forth. And you can see this guy climbing out and he steps down on water and it's like concrete. It's like he's walking on a sidewalk. Can you imagine that for a minute? It's so beyond me. And he begins to walk on water and it's so cool. I mean, imagine that. I am doing the impossible. But the Bible tells us that he sees the waves, how boisterous it is, he hears the sound of the wind and he takes his eyes off the Lord and it only took a moment to take his eyes off Jesus and what happens? He begins to sink. And I have to be honest with you, I think it probably was rather humorous because as he's sinking, you have a picture of Jesus reaching down and grabbing this guy and pulling him back out. So he's going down into the water. He's beginning to sink.  Why did I doubt? I'm walking on water.  There was no argument. Why did you doubt?  And the answer is, to that would be absolutely it's not possible unless God holds you up. And if God holds you up, then anything is possible with him.  God will anchor you solidly because of your trust in him. So you pray and you trust and you keep your eyes on the Lord. This too shall pass and we go through trials. We don't stay in trials. The only way you stay in trials is if you have children. That's another story I'll talk to you about some other time. How do I respond to testings? I wanna pray, I wanna trust, I wanna keep my eyes fastened on the Lord. I will make it through. Why? He says here, that God will make a way of escape that I am able to bear it. Now, moving into verse 14 into 15, he says, my beloved flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men. So he's continuing his admonition against idolatry. Now some, we've already seen this in chapter eight, some were stumbled. Some were stumbled by meat that was offered to idols and then there are others in their group who were not. So this led to some not only having liberty to eat certain foods, but it also had led some to begin to engage once again in idolatry. You see, they were free to be around those who were pagans but they were not free to be involved in idol worship. They were there amongst those who practiced it but they themselves had been set free from it but now they're beginning to become entangled. You see, there's a prohibition against idolatry here that is found not only in the new but especially as we know it's beginning. We see this prohibition in the old. The Old Testament is very clear in other words that we should not be involved in idolatry. Leviticus 19 verse four, do not turn to idols nor make for yourselves molded gods. I am the Lord your God. But in first John chapter five verse 21, little children keep yourself from idols. So Old Testament, New Testament prohibition against idolatry and so he's saying flee idolatry. Now how do I flee idolatry? I make sure that I don't put myself in immediate danger of its influence. Idolatry is something that produces death in our lives. Turn with me for a moment to Psalm 115. I wanna show you something in that passage. Psalm 115, you say where is Psalm 115? I'm just starting to open the Bible. Psalm 115 is right next to Psalm 114 just before Psalm 116, that'll help. Psalm 115 verses two through eight. Why do the nations say where is their God? Our God is in heaven. He does whatever pleases him. But their idols are silver and gold made by the hands of men. They have mouths but they cannot speak. Eyes but they cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear. Noses but they cannot smell. They have hands but cannot feel. Feet but they cannot walk. Nor can they utter a sound with their throats. But listen to what he says. Those who make them will be like them and so will all who trust in them. There's a principle.   Idolatry, he says you carve these things out from wood you'll place something over them. Silver or gold. And you basically with one portion of a tree, cut it up Isaiah says and you use the wood as the wood that you use to cook your meals. And then the other portion you fashion into a God and you say you are my God. And the Psalmist is saying how useless it is for us to have graven images, for us to have false gods, idols, because there's no life in them. They have no ability to save.  Hands but can't reach and touch your feet and they can't walk to deliver you.  Because there's no life in idolatry. There's no way that you can be saved through your idols. There's no way that a statue is gonna be there to save you. It's an interesting thing but I've had people in our fellowship even after getting saved asked me questions related to the little statues that they at one time used to have all around the house and they say what should I do with those statues? What should I do with them? And I said it's a matter of conscience. You need to determine what you're gonna do with them. I've told you this before when Marie and I started dating just before we dated and just before she gave her heart to the Lord Marie had a little statue of her favorite patron saint, St. Joseph. And she had that little statue on the dashboard of her car.  And the sun had melted him so he looked more like Saint Hunchback of Notre Dame. Marie used to carry in her wallet a little brown scapular because in the Catholic church, how many of you know what scapulars are? Raise your hand. She had a little brown, was it brown or green? Well, they're different colors. I mean, she had a rainbow. It was brown, right? It was a little brown scapular, you know? And I've told you the story before. I was going through her wallet looking for money and also looking at, I wanted to take her to a real nice place. I wanted to make sure she had enough to pay for it. And as we were, I was looking through her wallet, I said, I thought you were my girl. And she said, I am. I said, no, you're not. You've got a boyfriend. And she says, yeah, it's you. I said, no, it's not. You're going out with Joe. And she said, Joe, what are you talking about? And I pulled out this little picture of St. Joseph. I said, you're still carrying Joe around with you? And so early in her Christian walk, she still had these little items from her past religious faith. She felt that that scapular, the bearer of the scapular, if you die, you go straight to heaven. She thought that there was truth to that. The little statues, she thought that there was a benefit of her blessing to have that. When she grew up, her mother would walk in. Her mom would go to church and bring home holy water. And Marie would be in bed and she'd feel water sprinkling all over her.  And that's what she grew up in.  And so I knew the little prayers, you know, related to various things where blessings would come if you recited these prayers. I knew those prayers and I did those things. And I didn't have any problem with little statues and little reminders of heaven, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But the Bible says to us, stay away from those things. Stay away from those things. God says he would not have us to have graven images. Nothing representing heaven. Why? Because he's the invisible God.  And not only that, but you begin to trust in those things. They become your good luck charm. That's why some people will wear their little rosaries. You know, if they're afraid that there's a demon at the house, they will bless all the doorways with holy water. I mean, there's an awful lot. You guys who come from the Catholic tradition understand what I'm talking about. There are so many things. Little, little statues with candles that you light and you name it. And it all takes away from the Lord. It all does. It takes your eyes from God. And it puts it on candles. It puts it on rosaries. It puts it on holy water. It puts on everything but Jesus Christ. Stay away from idols. Stay away from anything that keeps you away from Jesus Christ. What idolatry does, it actually gives rise to compromise. And Paul wanted the Corinthians to be free from the sin of compromise. You cannot have Jesus and the world at the same time. In Luke 16, 13, we read no servant can serve two masters. He either will hate the one and love the other or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Now, as he's speaking about this, he uses as an illustration what we call communion. Notice what he says in verse 16. The cup of communion or rather the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread and one body for we all partake of that one bread. And so the cup of blessing, this cup that he's speaking of the cup of blessing is the last cup drunk at the end of a meal as a final thanksgiving for God's blessings. But it is also what is called the third cup of the Passover celebration. And this was the cup that became part of the communion service that is done in remembrance of Jesus Christ. And I was reading on this and I wrote this down. The third cup is taken after the meal. It is called the cup of redemption which reminds us of the shed blood of the innocent lamb that brought our redemption from Egypt. This was not just any cup. It was the cup of redemption from slavery into freedom. This is our communion cup. And now we do that in remembrance of Jesus Christ. So he begins to speak concerning this, this cup of blessing. And he goes on to develop this. And by the way, when we get to chapter 11 I'll give you a full teaching on communion. But he says in verse 17, we be in many are one bread and one body. We all partake of that one bread. This to me is one of the most important scriptures. I have certain things that I take to. I know that I should take to the whole Bible and it should make me into a whole Christian. I realize that. But there are certain things that matter to me. This is one of those things. And what it is is this. And I want you to see this. For we be in many are one bread and one body. We all partake of that one bread. In the body of Christ, there's neither Jew nor is there Gentile. There's neither slave nor free. There's neither male nor female. We are all one in him. That I honestly believe is a message that a lot of people have forgotten. And maybe some have never, never even, even learned. It means an awful lot to me without going into a lot of detail as to why. I believe that the church needs to live this out. We belong together.  We have to. We have to put those things away. Because when we get caught up with our ethnic identity, we're dividing the body of Christ up. And those who are not part of that identity feel left out. And we have to be sensitive to that. And sometimes people aren't. In my experience, people very often are not sensitive to that. Prejudice is an evil thing. And it should not be in the body of Christ. And prejudice isn't just white people not liking people of other colors. Every ethnicity has their own prejudices. Everyone does. And when we exalt one over the other, we're dividing the body of Christ up. That's why you hear me say as often as you do, we are one in him. We are one, not Juan, we are one in him. We are one in Jesus Christ. Please, and I know I'm speaking to people understand this. I know that. But in case somebody may not, this will go over the air. In case somebody's listening right now, this isn't true to you. It is true in the Bible. We are by one spirit baptized into one body. And that one body is to manifest God to the world. But when we get caught up saying, no, I've got to go to the Hispanic church, or I've got to go to the Anglo church, or I have to go to the African American church, or the Native American church, I understand the cultural realities of that. I do understand that. And I'm not knocking it either way. I understand that. But at the same time, there isn't a Mexican church. There isn't a black church. There's just the church, the body of Christ. We belong together. We need to understand that. And when people walk in to the room, they ought to feel like they're part of the family, regardless of what their ethnic background may be. We have to understand that. It's something important for us. We really need to understand that. And so we, being many, are one bread and one body. We are the one body. Unity is visibly expressed through our participation in the communion service. And the body of Christ is that one body. It is not to be marked by division. It is not to be marked by schism. What keeps us together? What keeps us together is not the name of the church. What keeps us together is the love of the Lord. You wouldn't have hung around with me in the world because you wouldn't have liked me. I wouldn't have hung around with you unless I could take advantage of you some way. In the world, you chose friends and those you hung around with based on the value that you got from being with them. That's not the church. The church isn't that way. We are united together by the spirit of God and we operate together through the love of God. And when people walk in to groups like this, those who don't know Jesus, if they walk into a group like this, they ought to say, there's something different about these people here. There's something different about these people. Now what is it? Because guys, when I first went to Calvary Chapel as a 20-year-old kid, and I was raised, and sometimes I get people mad at me, oh, you're knocking the Catholic Church. I could have been raised a Baptist. I could have been raised a Presbyterian. I wasn't. I was raised a Catholic. So that's my testimony. Being raised in the Catholic Church, I would go to church and there would be people there giving the greeting to one another and all of that who couldn't stand one another. I mean, if they walked out of the church, they wouldn't even look at each other and they didn't like each other. So when I grew up, I was in a group of people, and I don't want to sound like I'm judging them because God knows that human beings being human beings. We can do that here too. It's just my experience. When I walked out of the church, it was like I went to visit God for a while and then I left. But it wasn't as if he was in me and the church was gathering together. I was going to a location so that we could all go to church together. I didn't have a clue what it meant to be a Christian. I didn't have a clue what it meant to be part of a church. And so it was just for me just the place where there was it just wasn't otherworldly. It wasn't a taste of heaven for me. It was just a group of people gathering in a building. So the first time I went into Calvary Chapel, there was something different there. I had a feeling when I walked in. And it was all packed and all these kids were seated on the floor and filling the pews and up there in the stage area. And I remember walking in for the first time in the summer of 1970. I was 19, 20 years old. And I walked into that room and I had I drank some beer and I smoked some pot before I went to church. I went in barefooted fully expecting to get kicked out of the church, fully expecting to. Looking forward to it so that I could say you're all hypocrites. All of you are the same. What's the difference? They had to kick me out of the Catholic church. They kicked me out of your church. What's the difference? And they accepted me there, which freaked me out. And I remember seeing Lonnie Frisbee, who was the youth minister there walking out there and he was a freaky looking hippie and I thought well this place is different. This place is different. Something different about this place. Well it's like that phrase looking past the hair and straight into the eyes. I was talking to one of the members of Love Song the drummer, his name is John and he said when he met Pastor Chuck Smith he was a brand new Christian. He had shoulder length there and I met Pastor Chuck and he said and he looked past my hair straight into my eyes and I remembered that song. It's one of the lyrics in Love Song one of their songs Little Country Church and I remembered that and I said yeah but this is something else I remembered when I was speaking to him. It's been almost 42 years since I gave my heart to the Lord and so I remember when we first got saved I would walk into a Bible study and you would walk up to somebody the first thing you did is you hug them the first thing you did you would walk into the house and you would hug them then you would say what's your name? because we didn't even know them we would walk in and we would hug them what's your name bro and then the next thing we would do is we would look in their eyes and when John was telling me that I said you know I forgot that's right we would look in their eyes because a brother in the Lord would look back at you and there would be just a recognition you would look back at you and you'd say this guy doesn't know God yet you would know it because there was no connection and so there's something very mystical in the body of Christ that we're forgetting that we're forgetting when you come in here well you know most of these people they come in you see them you know whatever but it hit me and I told John that because when he was talking to me he was staring in my eyes and I was just smiling looking back and he hit me this is the kind of connection we used to have at the age of 20 when we would walk in and that's how we knew if someone was a brother that's why when Jehovah's Witnesses came to my door and I looked at them I said these people aren't for real because the Holy Spirit was speaking in me there was no kinship there was no sense of belonging to one another see I don't want this church to become just a group of people hanging around in the same location now I'm not saying please turn and look into that person's eyes next to you I'm not saying that or take out a mirror because you're sitting by yourself oh I'm not saying that I'm just saying there's something deeper to be in the body of Christ than we allow ourselves to see and communion when you take communion it's a unity of heart over the essential reality of Jesus dying on a cross for us and we together enjoy this communion because we're one in him what keeps us together the name of the church the location the times that we go to church no the love of God that's what keeps us together now I've gone a long time and I still have a few verses to go verse 18 observe Israel after the flesh are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar what am I saying then that an idol is anything or what is offered to idols is anything but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons you cannot drink the cup of the Lord in the cup of demons you cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy are we stronger than he and so when Israel made their offerings some of that offering would be offered to the Lord but some of the offering would be eaten by the priests and some of the offering would be eaten by those who are making the offering the point he's making is everyone was involved and everyone identified with that which was being offered when he says in verse 19 what am I saying then that an idol is anything or what is offered to idols is anything he's simply saying I'm not giving credibility to idolatry an idol is made of wood and rock and an idol has no life what I am saying is when you involve yourself in this kind of service you are identifying with all that it symbolizes and therefore do not identify with what is offered to demons in verse 21 you cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons you cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy are we stronger than he this isn't a piece of advice it's a simple fact we all know this you can't love Jesus and you can't love Satan you can't choose which one you're going to love which one you're going to serve no man can serve two masters I've been thinking about the claims of Christ recently in a new way in a new fashion perhaps not so much new but in a renewed fashion and the more I read Jesus' words the more radical he becomes to me because he didn't say follow me part time did he he didn't say love me with a little bit of your heart that's cool if that's as much as you can then I'm fine with that did he he said I want you to die daily I want you to pick up your cross daily and follow me he said you've got to make a choice who is it that you're going to serve you know one of the greatest problems I see in the church today is people trying to serve two masters you can't you can't it's going to be one or the other but it can't be both it can't be both it has to be one or the other either it's the Lord or it's his enemy but you can't serve both of them you have to make a choice you cannot partake of the things that killed Jesus you can't partake of those things with pleasure and still love Jesus you can't do that it's either all Jesus or it's nothing now when it becomes all Jesus what that simply means is today it's all Jesus I go to bed tomorrow morning I wake up and I say Lord today it's all you and then I wake up the next day and I say Lord it's all you today see sometimes people think oh if I say it's all Jesus and the first thing he's going to do is he's going to send me to Saudi Arabia to be a missionary I don't want to do that I'm afraid what he's going to do because we think his will for us is bad but when you're in the center of the will of God that's the safest and best place to be when you're in the center of the will of God it's running from the will of God that causes you all the problems and you want to know something about the hound of heaven he doesn't stop hounding you he pursues you until he obtains you so the best thing you can do is give up now why fight him for a week a month a year ten years give up now it is safer to do that it's better to do that just give up Lord here I am what do you want to do with me today if you'd have told me years ago when I first got saved and I've been thinking a lot about this lately and I've come out in other studies forgive me for repeating myself but if you'd have told me years ago that what I'd be ending up doing is what I'm doing right now I'd have thought you're crazy I'd have thought you're nuts I'd have thought are you kidding me you're saying that one day I'm going to stop drinking stop doing the drugs stop running around and I'm going to become a man who tells the truth and doesn't steal and is faithful to a woman and I'm going to raise children and be a pastor are you kidding me what kind of plans I have for you or beyond any imagination you might have when you let go when you let go you will be amazed at what God will do in your life when you let go you can't plan your life better than he's planned for you you can't come up with a better scheme for yourself when you float in the will of the Lord and allow God to move you according to his will every day is an adventure it's really an amazing life following Jesus Christ but when we get caught up saying oh no I've got a plan my own life out no so what I learned to do and I'm learning to do is to love the Lord today with as much as is within me and then tomorrow I'm going to love him with as much as is within me and guess what tomorrow I'm going to be able to love him more when I first married my wife the day we got married I said to her I love you but over the years I have come to realize that I did love her then but I didn't even know what love is until now until now I love her more today than I did yesterday and I will love her more tomorrow than I do today that's how it works and she well she has every reason to love me look how wonderful I am what a deal for her God is good if you love the Lord tomorrow you're going to love him more because he gives you more to love him for it's so easy yet it requires death it requires me dying to myself so I die daily and I ask the Lord help me to live for you I will not try to worship God and worship an idol simultaneously I will be one with Jesus Christ and that communion represents that oneness I have with him I will pursue him and him alone


The Fountain, by James Russell Lowell, read for LibriVox.org by Anna Roberts. The Fountain Into the sunshine, full of the light, leaping and flashing, from morn till night, into the moonlight, wider than snow, waving so flower-like when the winds blow, into the starlight, rushing in spray, happy at midnight, happy by day, ever in motion, bliesome and cheery, still climbing heavenward, never a weary, glad of all weathers, still seeming best, upward or downward, motion thy rest, full of a nature nothing can tame, changed every moment, ever the same, ceaseless aspiring, ceaseless content, darkness or sunshine thy element, glorious fountain, let my heart be fresh, changeful, constant, upward like thee. End of Poem The Fountain, by James Russell Lowell, read for LibriVox.org by Albatross. The Fountain Into the sunshine, full of the light, leaping and flashing, from morn till night, into the moonlight, wider than snow, waving so flower-like when the winds blow, into the starlight, rushing in spray, happy at midnight, happy by day, ever in motion, bliesome and cheery, still climbing heavenward, never a weary, glad of all weathers, still seeming best, upward or downward, motion thy rest, full of a nature nothing can tame, changed every moment, ever the same, ceaseless aspiring, ceaseless content, darkness or sunshine thy element, glorious fountain, let my heart be fresh, changeful, constant, upward like thee. End of Poem The Fountain, by James Russell Lowell, read for LibriVox.org by Craig Campbell in Appleton, Wisconsin, in 2008, into the sunshine, full of the light, leaping and flashing from morn till night, into the moonlight, wider than snow, waving so flower-like when the winds blow, into the starlight, rushing in spray, happy at midnight, happy by day, ever in motion, bliesome and cheery, still climbing heavenward, never a weary, glad of all weathers, still seeming best, upward or downward, motion thy rest, full of a nature nothing can tame, changed every moment, ever the same, ceaseless aspiring, ceaseless content, darkness or sunshine thy element, glorious fountain, let my heart be fresh, changeful, constant, upward like thee. End of Poem The Fountain, by James Russell Lowell, read for LibriVox.org by Carol Stripling, into the sunshine, full of the light, leaping and flashing from morn till night, into the moonlight, wider than snow, waving so flower-like when the winds blow, into the starlight, rushing in spray, happy at midnight, happy by day, ever in motion, bliesome and cheery, still climbing heavenward, never a weary, glad of all weathers, still seeming best, upward or downward, motion thy rest, full of a nature nothing can tame, changed every moment, ever the same, ceaseless aspiring, ceaseless content, darkness or sunshine thy element, glorious fountain, let my heart be fresh, changeful, constant, upward like thee. End of Poem The Fountain, by James Russell Lowell, read for LibriVox.org by Clara Snyder, The Fountain, into the sunshine, full of the light, leaping and flashing from morn till night, into the moonlight, wider than snow, waving so flower-like when the winds blow, into the starlight, rushing in spray, happy at midnight, happy by day, ever in motion, bliesome and cheery, still climbing heavenward, never a weary, glad of all weathers, still seeming best, upward or downward, motion thy rest, full of a nature nothing can tame, changed every moment, ever the same, ceaseless aspiring, ceaseless content, darkness or sunshine thy element, glorious fountain, let my heart be fresh, changeful, constant, upward like thee. End of Poem The Fountain, by James Russell Lowell, read for LibriVox.org by David Fetterman. The Fountain, into the sunshine, full of light, leaping and flashing from morn till night, into the moonlight, wider than snow, waving so flower-like when the winds blow, into the starlight, rushing in spray, happy at midnight, happy by day, ever in motion, bliesome and cheery, still climbing heavenward, never a weary, glad of all weathers, still seeming best, upward or downward, motion thy rest, full of a nature nothing can tame, changed every moment, ever the same, ceaseless aspiring, ceaseless content, darkness or sunshine, thy element, glorious fountain, let my heart be fresh, changeful, constant, upward like thee. End of Poem This recording is in the public domain. The Fountain, by James Russell Lowell, read for LibriVox.org by David Glorance. In Brampton, Ontario, December 2008, the Fountain, into the sunshine, full of the light, leaping and flashing from morn till night, into the moonlight, whiter than snow, waving so flower-like when the winds blow, into the starlight, rushing in spray, happy at midnight, happy by day, ever in motion, bliesome and cheery, still climbing heavenward, never a weary, glad of all weathers, still seeming best, upward or downward, motion thy rest, full of a nature nothing can tame, changed every moment, ever the same, ceaseless aspiring, ceaseless content, darkness or sunshine, thy element, glorious fountain, let my heart be fresh, changeful, constant, upward like thee. End of Poem This recording is in the public domain. The Fountain, by James Russell Lowell, read for LibriVox.org by JC Guan, Montreal, December 2008. The Fountain, into the sunshine, full of the light, leaping and flashing from morn till night, into the moonlight, whiter than snow, waving so flower-like when the winds blow, into the starlight, rushing in spray, happy at midnight, happy by day, ever in motion, bliesome and cheery, still climbing heavenward, never a weary, glad of all weathers, still seeming best, upward or downward, motion thy rest, full of a nature, nothing can tame, changed every moment, ever the same, ceaseless aspiring, ceaseless content, darkness or sunshine, thy element, glorious fountain, let my heart be fresh, changeful, constant, upward like thee. End of Poem This recording is in the public domain. The Fountain, by James Russell Lowell, read for LibriVox.org by Leanne Howlett. The Fountain, into the sunshine, full of the light, leaping and flashing from morn till night, into the moonlight, whiter than snow, waving so flower-like when the winds blow, into the starlight, rushing in spray, happy at midnight, happy by day, ever in motion, bliesome and cheery, still climbing heavenward, never a weary, glad of all weathers, still seeming best, upward or downward, motion thy rest, full of a nature, nothing can tame, changed every moment, ever the same, ceaseless aspiring, ceaseless content, darkness or sunshine, thy element, glorious fountain, let my heart be fresh, changeful constant, upward like thee. End of Poem This recording is in the public domain. The Fountain, by James Russell Lowell, read for LibriVox.org by Evan Barnes. The Fountain, into the sunshine, full of the light, leaping and flashing from morn till night, into the moonlight, whiter than snow, waving so flower-like when the winds blow, into the starlight, rushing in spray, happy at midnight, happy by day, ever in motion, bliesome and cheery, still climbing heavenward, never a weary, glad of all weathers, still seeming best, upward or downward, motion thy rest, full of a nature, nothing can tame, changed every moment, ever the same, ceaseless aspiring, ceaseless content, darkness or sunshine, thy element, glorious fountain, let my heart be fresh, changeful, constant, upward like thee. End of Poem This recording is in the public domain. The Fountain, by James Russell Lowell, read for LibriVox.org by Rachel Linton, Bristol, UK, The Fountain, into the sunshine, full of the light, leaping and flashing from morn till night, into the moonlight, whiter than snow, waving so flower-like when the winds blow, into the starlight, rushing in spray, happy at midnight, happy by day, ever in motion, bliesome and cheery, still climbing heavenward, never a weary, glad of all weathers, still seeming best, upward or downward, motion thy rest, full of a nature, nothing can tame, changed every moment, ever the same, ceaseless aspiring, ceaseless content, darkness or sunshine, thy element, glorious fountain, let my heart be fresh, changeful, constant, upward like thee. End of Poem This recording is in the public domain. The Fountain, by James Russell Lowell, read for LibriVox.org by Secrets. The Fountain, into the sunshine, full of the light, leaping and flashing from morn to night, into the moonlight, whiter than snow, waving so flower-like when the winds blow, into the starlight, rushing in spray, happy at midnight, happy by day, ever in motion, bliesome and cheery, still climbing heavenward, never a weary, glad of all weathers, still seeming best, upward or downward, motion thy rest, full of a nature, nothing can tame, changed every moment, ever the same, ceaseless aspiring, ceaseless content, darkness or sunshine, thy element, glorious fountain, let my heart be fresh, changeful, constant, upward like thee. End of Poem


I think they're intended to be used this way. So these are the monopods from iFootage. I could probably even use it as a ski stick, you know? Now I know how it is, guys. Creating content takes time. And as a busy creator myself, I've come to appreciate the value of having a reliable equipment. For me, it helps produce high quality videos efficiently without wasting time on a setup. And I'm always seeking out to enhance my content creation workflow by, you know, doing my research, seeing what other creators are using. And recently I stumbled upon the iFootage Cobra 3 monopod that I wish I'd found earlier. Now this monopod is compact, lightweight, versatile, and affordable. And if you're creating content on the go, like I am and value convenience, you have to check this monopod out. It's really excellent for capturing steady shots on the fly. And in this video, I'll dive into some of the awesome features of the iFootage Cobra 3 and show you some cool ways to capture amazing footage with it. Now, if you haven't heard of iFootage, they're a fantastic brand that makes camera support system and professional video lights. As a creator, I was super excited when iFootage approached me to test their Cobra 3 monopod series. And also they've kindly sponsored this video and provided the monopods that I'll showcase today. But as always, I will give you my honest thoughts based on my experience using these monopods. So I'm also here with George, who's actually filming the behind the scenes and helping me out. If you don't know who George is, you clearly haven't watched all of my videos. I'll make sure to link his bio in the video description below, but be sure to be over 18. Anyway, we're... And also my buddy, Gabriel, on the very back, you probably can't see him. Yeah, he's taking some FPV shots. Maybe we can use also in this video to make it look cinematic. Anyway, we're out here at the alleged Glitcher area to capture some stunning shots. And why not bring the iFootage Cobra 3 monopod with us? I think it's a perfect opportunity to use it to shoot on the go. So let's now check out the awesome features of these monopods. There are actually four different versions, each with unique qualities and we'll discuss the differences shortly. One of the coolest features they all have in common is the quick release mechanism. You can pull the part down that locks it in place, allowing to remove the camera for handheld shooting. And once I'm done, I can press it in to put it back on and it will securely lock it into place. The same goes for the feet at the bottom and I can even take the monopod apart and use the base as a smaller tripod. And what is convenient is that I only have to use one hand to push it in and it will lock it in place. And just by having that feature, it already sets the monopod apart from others in the market. Let's take a quick look at the four models of the iFootage Cobra 3 monopods and what sets them apart. First up, we've got the C180F. It's made out of carbon fiber and stands tall at 180 centimeters. Perfect for those who like a lightweight setup. Next, we have the A180F. It's also 180 centimeters tall but made out of aluminum instead of carbon fiber. Moving on, we have the A180T, another aluminum monopod at 180 centimeters. This is the only one with a twist lock design which some of you might prefer over the latches. And lastly, we have the C180FP, the FP standing for foot pedal. It's made out of carbon fiber and stands at 180 centimeters tall. The standout feature is the foot pedal which allows for a 360 degree fluid head by simply pressing down on it. And when you release the pedal and pull the monopod back towards the center, it will lock into the perfect center every time. Now, my favorite one is the foot pedal because it allows me to adjust the position much quicker. I can also tighten the fluid tension to set it to a specific angle or loosen it to achieve that smooth camera movement. However, keep in mind that with the foot pedal, the angle is limited compared to the others without. But this works perfectly for what I do. Now, I myself prefer the latches over the twist lock mechanism because they are quicker to secure and adjust the monopod height. Now, as for the carbon fiber, it does feel slightly lighter in weight, but not by much. I would say the aluminum monopods still feel pretty light. Ultimately, it comes down to personal preference and what features you prioritize in your monopod. But rest assured, all monopods are reliable and are high quality options for on the go filming. So let's see how to get creative B-roll shots using a monopod. So first up, we have the extender shot. I can use the monopod as an extender to capture overhead shots. I extend the monopod to my preferred height and use my legs and both heads to stabilize the shot. I can either create a static shot or even include a camera movement. Adding a touch of stabilization in the edit will also help make the shots look smoother. Next is the steady cam shot to achieve better control. I extend the base of the monopod. I use the handle as a third point of contact, pressing it slightly against my chest while walking. I grip the monopod under the head for a smoother footage. Alternatively, you can achieve gimbal-like shots from a lower angle by flipping the monopod upside down and holding it under the feet. Next up is to use the monopod to film static shots, especially as a solo creator where you might need a B-roll of yourself instead of dealing with a regular tripod and adjusting each leg individually, a monopod makes the process just much faster and easier. Plus, the monopod feet provide stability, giving me a peace of mind when leaving the camera on it. Next up, this is not necessarily a shot, but instead using the monopod as a light stand and what better way to use it than with the AnglaFish SL-160BNA, a portable yet powerful 60 watt light from iFootage. This light is powerful enough, not only for interior, but also for exterior shots using it with a diffuser. You can see mostly transition between color temperatures ranging from 2,700 Kelvin up to 6,500 Kelvin. They also sell this handy pistol grip, which is great for taking it off the monopod and using it as a portable light. Best of all, it's really portable as it's only the size of my palm and it doesn't take up much space so I can easily bring it along with my other gear for any shoot. Next up is the slide shot. I make sure to tilt the fluid head 90 degree and hold the monopod with two hands and then slowly walk heel to toe to create a shot like this. Next up is to use the monopod as a shoulder rig. To achieve this, I rotate the monopod 90 degree and collapse the legs. Then I place the monopod over my shoulder to create a stable setup. This allows me to track my subject with a more stable, smoother and natural movement than when done handheld. Next up is creating a dolly shot where I want to draw the viewer's attention to a specific detail in a scene. To make that shot, I first adjust the monopod's height and change the fluid tension so that I can move forward and backwards with ease. I then set and lock the focus on the subject and then push the monopod forwards while tilting the camera to keep the subject in the frame. This method is a great way to add a smooth movement in your video. All right folks, so hopefully you found some new ways to use the monopod. As you can see, it can be used in various ways and a monopod is really an excellent tool for beginners and professionals who need a lightweight, compact and versatile piece of equipment for various shooting scenarios. I find it especially great for capturing smooth footage on the go or when you need to move around quickly. With that said, if you guys have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. And as always, I hope you liked this video. I appreciate it. Thank you so much for watching and see you guys in the next one.


Let's talk about how to solve trig equations. An equation is a trig equation. If the variable you're solving for is located within a trig function. For instance, in my first example, part A here, I have two sine theta plus square root of three equals zero. I wanna find the solutions between zero and two pi because there's infinitely many solutions, so to speak. Only do the ones between zero and two pi. So first thing I wanna do is I want to isolate the trig function. So subtract square root of three from both sides, then divide by two on both sides. I'm trying to find out sine of what angle is negative square root of three over two. First off, what quadrants is sine negative? That would be quadrants three and four. So all right, sine of sine is negative theta is in. Quadrant three and four. So the quadrant three and four.  This is going to be my reference angle, my gamma, or as I like to put a question mark. Sine of this angle is square root of three over two. Opposite is square root of three, hypotenuse is two, meaning my other side has to be one. So what angle is always across from square root of three? What angle is always across from square root of three? That's 60 degrees, that's pi over three. That's my reference angle and I have to move this angle to quadrant three and move this angle to quadrant four. Those will be my solutions data to this equation. So I use my formulas I previously learned to move an angle to quadrant three. You take the reference angle and you add pi to it. Pi over three plus pi is four pi over three. To move an angle to quadrant four, and in this case, I want positive quadrant four. I take two pi and I subtract my reference angle pi over three. So that is six pi over three minus pi over three, which is pi pi over three. So I have two solutions to this trig equation, four pi over three and five pi over three. Those are my two solutions in the interval zero to pi. Next, this one looks a little bit different because instead of just having theta on the inside of the trig equation, we have three theta over two. So one way to get around this is, okay, well, let me pretend like I just have one given variable value inside of my trig function. So three theta over two, let's just call it data. So everything's going to be in terms of data right now. Then we'll convert back to three theta over two. In this example, I'm trying to figure out where secant is two over one. First of all, the secant is negative. My inside of my trig function beta, which is three theta over two is in quadrants two and three. Because that is where secant and cosine are both negative. Guess we can go ahead and draw our triangle. We have our mystery angle. This represents my reference angle. Secant is two over one. So if cosine's adjacent over hypotenuse, this is hypotenuse over adjacent. And lucky here, we're trying to figure out who is always across from square root of three. Well, that would be pi over three. Now I need to move this guy to quadrants two and three. So first off, let's move to quadrant two. So my quadrant two angle, which remember we're using beta here instead of all this theta mess that's inside the trig function. Beta is pi minus pi over three, which is two pi over three. And then moving to quadrant three, beta is pi over three plus pi. So beta is four pi over three. But remember this original question was not in terms of beta. It was in terms of theta, theta, three theta over two. I need to find out what theta equals. Well, beta is three theta over two. So substitute three theta over two back in for beta. I like to cross multiply three theta times three is nine theta, two times two pi is four pi. Dividing both sides by nine gives you theta is equal to four pi over nine. And lastly, over on the right-hand side, we have three theta over two because that's what beta is equal to. Three theta over two equals four pi over three. Cross multiply nine theta equals eight pi. Theta equals eight pi over nine. Now these are two of my solutions, but we have a trick here. And the trick is the period of my secant function is normally two pi. So if I had a normal secant function here with just theta on the inside, adding two pi would clearly get me out of the interval zero to two pi. But this trig function has a little bit different period. So the period is actually going to be two pi over whatever's inside the trig function, three halves in this case. So two pi over three halves, which is actually going to give you four pi over three. This is the period of my trig function here, four pi over three. It has been shrunk down from two pi. So what I should do since the trig function repeats itself every period, I need to add four pi over three to each of my angles theta, to each of my initial solutions and see if I'm still within the interval zero to two pi. So we add this to each value theta. So first off, I take four pi over nine and I'm going to add four pi over three to it. This would be four pi over nine plus 12 pi over nine, which gives you 16 pi over nine. This is less than two pi. It is, because 18 pi over nine would represent two pi. So this is less. So that we have found yet another solution, 16 pi over nine. If you were to add another four pi over three to this, you would definitely get over two pi. Let's consider the other solution, eight pi over nine. Let's add four pi over three to it. So I have eight pi over nine plus 12 pi over nine, gives me 20 pi over nine, which does exceed two pi. So this does not work. So it turns out we have a total of three solutions. I'll write them in order four pi over nine, eight pi over nine and 16 pi over nine. These are the solutions that are in the interval zero to two pi. So be careful on this one. You do need to make sure you add your period of your given trig function to each of your initial solutions because there could be a third solution lurking. So make sure you do that as if that one wasn't enough fun. Let's do yet another one. Step one, isolate the trig function. So add square root of three to both sides. And once again, rather than having just data inside the trig function, we have data over two. So if you want, replace data over two with a different Greek letter, we oftentimes like to just use something like beta. So theta over two is equal to beta. Now I'm gonna write square root of three over one because often like to have ratios. I guess we're ready to make us a triangle. So my original reference angle, which I represent with the question mark is here. So opposite over adjacent, square root of three, one, two, who is always across from square root of three? Well, if you haven't picked up on it yet, that would be your 60 degree angle here, pi over three. Now I gotta figure out what quadrant these solutions are allowed to be in. Well, since tangent is positive, since tangent is positive, where is tangent positive? Theta over two or beta would be in quadrants one or three. So this pi over three, this reference angle here, I need to move it to one. Well, guess what? It's already in one. So that's less work we have to do. But I do also need to move to three. I need to move to quadrant three. So my solutions include beta is pi over three, or replace it with theta over two in just a minute. Or beta is take your reference angle and add pi to it. This is how we move an angle to quadrant three. We add pi to it. So beta is four pi over three. Now remember, our answer needs to be given in terms of theta. So we write theta over two equals pi over three. We have three theta equals two pi. We have theta equals two pi over three. Now we also have theta over two equals four pi over three. We have three theta equals eight pi. We have theta equals eight pi over three. So our solutions so far are theta equals two pi over three, eight pi over three. But please be aware that because we had theta over two inside our trig function, we could have additional solutions between zero and two pi if we add the period of our trig function to our initial solutions for theta. Only way we're going to do that though is take our period and find it. Well, the period of tangent is pi divided by whatever is inside the trig function, which is one half in this case. So that would mean our period would be two pi, which gets us out of the interval, zero to two pi if added to any of the given trig solutions. So we only have two solutions here, two pi over three, eight pi over three. So far we've only been looking at trig solutions in the interval zero to two pi. But what if we want to find all the solutions, infinitely many solutions for our trig functions? So in this example, we're going to give the general form of the solution and then we're going to list six solutions. So sine of theta equals square root of two over two. I don't have any side relationship of a triangle that has square root of two and two in it. So this is something we need to reverse rationalize here and we get one over square root of two. Sine of theta equals one over square root of two. And a quick little note here, we write since sine is positive, the inside of our trig function theta is in quadrants one and two. So we're in quadrants one and two. So let's build us a triangle with our mystery reference angle inside here in the corner. Sine is one over square root of two, opposite over hypotenuse, which I mean the other side would have to be one. This is a 45, 45, 90 triangle. Yes, my reference angle is 45 degrees or pi over four. We're wanting to move it to one and four, one and two. It's already in one. So I just need to move to two. So theta is pi over four because that is the quadrant one angle and theta is, how do you move an angle to quadrant two, where you take pi and you subtract the reference angle, the angle that we found. So theta is three pi over four. So I received pi over four and three pi over four. Remember previously we had to take the period of the trig function and add it to these initial values found to find given solutions. And that's how we find the general form of the solutions for this trig equation. The period of sine theta is two pi. So to find general solutions, we take each solution of theta and add multiples of two pi. So we add multiples of two pi. So my first general solution for theta, I'll represent it as theta sub one would be pi over four plus two k pi. We know where the two pi came from and k is just a reference and integer. So for instance, when it's k is zero, you get the solution pi over four. When k is one, you add two pi to pi over four. When k is two, you add four pi to pi over four, all multiples of two pi. So this is plus two k pi where k is an integer. Then our second solution for theta is three pi over four plus two k pi. k is an integer. Now they want us to list six exact solutions. So, okay, first we got our general solutions here. Done, check. To find our six solutions, we'll plug in k equals zero, one, two. Cause this will give me, zero will give me two solutions. One gives me two solutions, two gives me two solutions. All right, so when k equals zero, we'll start off easy here. Theta one is just pi over four. Theta two is three pi over four. And k equals one, comma. Theta one is pi over four plus two pi, which is nine pi over four. And then theta two would be three pi over four plus two pi, which is 11 pi over four. Then k equals two. Theta one is pi over four plus four pi. Four pi, that's going to give you 17 pi over four. Theta two is three pi over four plus four pi, which is going to give you 19 pi over four. You may notice a pattern here, which results to patterns and trig. And k is zero, you had one pi over four, three pi over four. And k is one, you had nine pi over four, 11 pi over four. And k was two, you have 17 pi over four plus 19 pi over four. They all, all the numerators differed by just two for each of the values of k, which is a pattern that does happen here. So we had our solutions here. Six solutions will be three pi over four, pi over four, nine pi over four, 11 pi over four, 17 pi over four, and 19 pi over four. And these are six solutions that we obtained from the general solutions. And of course, there's infinitely many more, but these were the easiest six for us to find. So hopefully you learned a little bit about solving trig equations and I appreciate you watching.


I got a little tan since the last time you guys saw me, but I'm starting off a new vlog. So welcome to my channel if you guys are new, definitely stick around and subscribe. Monday, Ryan has the day off today, so we are going to head to Teal House to get cinnamon rolls. We tried to go last Sunday, I believe, and they were closed. And so you know what? I should probably check if they're even open today because I'm really craving their cinnamon rolls. They're so freaking good. Also, if you guys are new here, I live in Austin, Texas, and we just have some of the best food, so it's really hard not to eat out, but this week I'm gonna try to make a meal plan and really, really stick to it. So let's see what we can do. Best freaking cinnamon roll ever. And where'd you get, Ryan? Ham and cheese croissant. So it's 10 a.m. and we didn't really have much to do today. I was like, we should just go to Nordstrom Rack because I have a brand deal to film and I already have makeup on and we can kind of make it quick, hopefully. So we're gonna go in there. Basically, I'm just trying to find the best sale items and really good brand names. Like I'm actually kind of shocked. Like obviously this is not sponsored by Nordstrom Rack, but I was shocked because I hadn't been in one in so long and they had frame made well. Like why are we buying full priced made well shorts when there's a full on rack in Nordstrom Rack? So I'm excited to see what they have today. Ryan found some cute new swimsuits. I love the orange ones, the best, but probably the pink one. If you had to get two, then the orange and the pink one. What? Okay, then get the orange one. This orange one? Yeah, no, like the oranges. Those are cute. Look at those dress, do you like it? Well, can you help me? Yeah, I already checked the free people rack though. It's cute. Ryan found his first linen shirt of the summer guys. And it was so cute, it's like 25 bucks. What brand is it, babe? It looks like the new one. Well, it looks good. I don't know that brand, but it looks really good. Yay. Hello, Mr. First. We're lucky. I do have your confirmation number. Okay, awesome. Literally in two days. It all happened so fast, but basically my dad has a beach house in well between like Rosemary and Alice Beach, right? Is it 38? Yeah, 38. And he was like, the beach house is free this weekend. And I was like, interesting. I didn't have too much plan for like work. I did have one shoot that I had to reschedule. Shout outs to my friend, Nagin, for being so, so freaking nice and understanding. And we're gonna try to reschedule it for the next week because I'll be here like the next Monday. He said the beach house was free Thursday to Monday, but then I was like, wait, you guys are like there right now, right? So I could come earlier. He was like, yeah, you can come earlier, but we decided like Tuesday is literally tomorrow. So we're just like, okay, we'll just try to leave on Wednesday. So I'm really excited to be like just texted Sophie's dog sitter. Really, really hoping that he's available because it definitely would be cheaper to get a pet sitter for her than to take her with us, even though that would be more fun, but it's like 100 there and 100 back for her to come with us. So that's an extra $200. But I'm not sure if I ever told you guys, but I do have a companion pass with Southwest because I had the business card and my sister actually told me to get it. So I use that for my business. So basically I went through her referral link and was able to get so many points just for like signing on to the credit card. And then that whole year I was using as my business card. So I racked up a lot of points and we got the companion pass. So basically the flight for just me because it was so last minute was $600. And technically it's $300 for both of us because we just like kind of split it if we're doing the companion pass. So that is amazing. So everything worked out. We just probably have to get an Uber to the place, which is like about 30 minutes away from or like the airport's 30 minutes away, right? 30 minutes or something for my dad's house. But I've been winning a beach vacation so bad and we've been seeing everyone like post about Alice Beach on their stories and like the water and everything Ryan always sends to him. And then we're just like, we wanna go so bad. So this worked out very, very nicely, very spontaneous of us. Cause usually I'm just like, ah, that's so last minute. We can't do it, but honestly, we were lucky enough to move things around but Ryan's still gonna have to work. I'm still gonna have to work, so. But we're gonna be able to work at the beach. So I'm excited. Next up, we need to maybe see about reservations there. I mean, luckily we're not going on like Memorial Day weekend. So hopefully the crowds will be a little bit less. Everyone's just kind of out of school. Got out of school, shoot. True. We need to book our ticket for June. Yeah. We have lots of summer travel coming up and we need to book everything. So credit card's gonna be a little high this month but it's okay, it'll be worth it. Ryan got that one shirt at Nordstrom Rack and he was like, I don't know where I'm gonna be able to wear this. Step up. Ryan! Oh my gosh guys. I don't know. I'm stressed. I'm not spontaneous. It's so funny cause I'm just as serious and that's like the number one word that's kind of associated with it. I mean, maybe not number, what am I saying? You guys know what I mean. That's a word that is associated with Sagittarius but I am not spontaneous like one bit. I have to plan everything.  Ryan, Ryan, come, come, come, come. Look, look, look, come here, come here. Okay guys. Do you remember when we got this plan for these awesome succulents? I think I've logged it. We got a bougainvillea. There's pink petals on it. I just noticed. Guys, what the frickin heck? These all just popped out of nowhere. I swear. Oh my goodness. Yay! This is so exciting. And it's weird because I didn't realize these weren't like flowers or they're not flowers. They're actually just leaves that are turned pink. Wow, these are so pretty. We should probably get like more soil number one because it's like barely in there but we also should get like a stick and try to like have this climb up the stick so that it just has something to rest on but I'm so happy with these. It's 4.38. I got a pimple patch on. I don't know why that's coming up but we need to prevent it from going any further. Well, the last time I talked to you guys we booked our flights to go to the beach. It still hasn't hit me but I just edited a TikTok and it kind of took me a while. It was day one of my sister being here. I didn't vlog it for YouTube because whenever I'm with my family I just feel like, okay, I can take a breath. I can put down my phone. I can put down my camera and I can just like hang out with them and be present but then I'm also like, this is really great content. Like why am I not vlogging this? I did do some TikTok vlogs so I'll try to link all of them in the description if you guys are interested. It's gonna be like a local's guide to Austin. My sister came to visit me after four years of me living here. She's never come to visit. This is her first time in Austin and so of course I had to show her my all-time favorite places. She was here for I think four days but honestly we had really shitty weather so I couldn't do some of the things that I really wanted to do with her which was mainly swimming. We did go to this one area of Martin Springs and it was on a day that it was kind of rainy but when we got there the rain had like completely stopped. There was no one in sight and so like the whole thing was just me and my sister and it was so fun. Like it's definitely going to be a core memory for me. So that's in day two which I have not posted yet but I'm gonna post it on TikTok and Instagram URLs because I posted it on my stories I think last week. I was like, what do you guys follow me for? A lot of people said Austin Rex which I feel like I've been definitely out of the loop and just off my game with all my Austin content which I know that's what a lot of you guys follow me for and I really want to get back into it because just editing that vlog made me so freaking happy but I do get imposter syndrome. I have been here for four years. I literally just Googled it because I didn't want to like title my stuff like a local's guide and then people would hate on me but I said it depends but some places you can be there for 30 days, 60 days or a year and be called a local. I've been here for four years so I feel like I've earned my badge and I just need to like get over the imposter syndrome because I feel like I eat at cool places and I want to share them with you guys. So more Austin content to come but if you guys have any specific videos that you want to see, let me know but I am going to start editing my video that I probably should have posted yesterday but I think I'm just gonna try to like simplify my editing because one of the main things I dread is just like adding the music and like synchronizing it together and honestly I feel like vlogs do better if they're less edited. I don't know if you guys like that style like let me know in the comments down below but it does take a little bit of time to find like the perfect music to go over the perfect scene and I don't know, I'm just like kind of over it. I want my vlogs to be a little bit less edited and I stutter a lot so maybe you guys will be seeing me stutter more. It's funny because whenever I vlog with someone else and maybe I don't stutter in that moment they're like, what the heck, how did you do that? I feel like I'm not good on camera and I'm like, you don't see like nine times out of 10 where I'm just like stuttering and can't even start like click. So I definitely edit a lot of that out because you do not want to get me stuttered so funny because whenever I edit, Ryan like overhears it I don't really use headphones a lot of the time and I don't know how he doesn't get annoyed at me because it's like really bad and just like hearing my voice over and over again like I think he's just so used to it but I'm going to try to edit this as fast as I can because I want to get it up tonight. It is currently 4.40 so like almost five but let's see, I have like an hour, a little over an hour of footage that I have to edit so let's see how long it takes me. I'm actually very curious and curious to see if I can like do it in one sitting because usually I'm just like so distracted. I feel so weird because I haven't like talked to a human in a little bit and my mouth was like hurting. I was like, oh my God, I need to like talk to someone. But Ryan is golfing like usual. Honestly, it's kind of nice because he'll ask like, oh, do you want to hang out or do you want me to go golfing? And nine times out of 10, like go ahead and go golfing because then I can work a little bit. So I got that video edited and it wasn't that bad. I kind of love how that video turned out with like not really any music. I mean, there was one part where I was like editing for a good 10 minutes and I just like fast forwarded it and I just put like music over that but other than that, I didn't really pump music over it and I kind of liked it that way. But I just posted a TikTok and a reel and I'm feeling productive and now I want to go shower and like take off my makeup and get cozy for the night. We got Chipotle for lunch and have a little bit left over. So I think I'm just gonna eat that for dinner and what else, what else? I kind of forgot that I'm going to the beach. So I definitely want to start pulling outfits and like start packing because tomorrow we have a triple date planned which I'm very excited about. It's with two of my content creator friends, Amelia and Catherine and then their boyfriends and one's a husband, but they're mans and then we're gonna probably cook steak. So I think I'm gonna go get the steak tomorrow from H.E.V. and I'm also catching up with another friend that I haven't like caught up with in so long. We saw each other at South by just like in passing and she DM'd me this like matcha at Merrick Coffee. It's like a new flavor, I guess. And I was like, wait, we're definitely due for a catch up. Like let's go try it together. So we're gonna go at noon tomorrow, but I feel like I have a lot to do. I think I need to just like make a to-do list tonight and we'll get everything done tomorrow. Our flight on Wednesday is very early. So Sophie will probably be going to the dog sitter tomorrow, which is sad, but I'm going to the beach. So it can be that sad. The morning at its Tuesday, our house is a freaking mess. I have been trying to pack kind of a little bit, but basically I just pulled out a bunch of clothes for my closet, which was kind of a lot. Like everything is neutral, which is so funny because I think I made the switch like during COVID to just start wearing oldie neutrals. Now I kind of wear color, but I feel like a lot of my basics are neutral, which I still love. Like I love that I can re-wear all the time. It was just funny though because all of the clothes that I brought out, they're all neutral. So I guess it's just what I gravitate towards. But when I was in my closet pulling stuff out, I kind of started to like organize and kind of get rid of stuff. So that took like a long time, which I feel so good about doing that because my floor in my closet is completely clear. I don't think I've ever seen that in the time that I've like lived in this apartment. My last closet, I don't know if you guys have been following me since my last apartment, but holy crap, it was like a room.  Like it's not a room that I transformed into closet, if that makes sense. It was large. So I definitely missed that.  I haven't like caught up with this friend in so long. So I'm excited to see her. Life just gets so busy and I've been meeting the contact like literally so many of my content creator friends, especially cause I feel like I like to hang out with them outside of just the influencer events. And this happens every year after God season. I'm like, okay, we're going to be chill and we can like get back into the groove of things. And then summer travel hits and it's not very chill. And especially cause this trip was so last minute, but in my room, I'll show you guys what I have pulled out so far. This is the first outfit I thought of my denim skirt from Stradivarius. And this vest from Z-Supply. And then this top I got from Nordstrom Rack actually. And it's so freaking cute. And it's actually free people.  My God.  Somebody's gotta change. Oh God, this is embarrassing. How are you? Good. Good to see you. Oh my gosh. Can't wait to try this. Great. I know. Matcha limeade. Yum. And I asked for it a little bit sweeter. We'll give you guys a taste test review. Oh. Yeah. Really good. I like it. Not very sweet though. Oh mine? Yeah. Perfect. Do you want to try mine? Wait, I really like it. It's like so refreshing. And you can really taste the passion fruit. Is mine sweeter? Yeah, yours is pretty good. Mine's pretty good though. Okay. I want one more limey. That's a really good summer drink. We're 30 now and I am finally getting my suitcase out. I was kind of like trying to wait as long as possible because when I bring the suitcase out, Sophie starts whining so bad, like she knows what's happening. So I tried to wait as long as I can but I really just want to get it done and ready. But look at me representing where we're going tomorrow. I'm so excited guys. It doesn't even feel real. I'll be swimming in crystal blue water tomorrow. Our flight is so early. This morning we had to check in at like 5.55 AM because that's when our flight departs tomorrow. So that's going to be super fun but honestly not complaining as long as I'm at the beach. And I have this like weird thing where if I go to a new place that's like not my home, even if I've been there before, I don't like arriving when it's dark or just like later in the day because then the whole vacation does not feel real. Like I'm kind of like disconnected if it's dark and I get there when it's dark cause I can't really see my surroundings. Does anyone else feel this way? I told this to Ryan and he definitely understands it too but I hate that I'm this way. But like luckily, I think probably the cheapest to fly when we are flying like really early in the morning. That way he can do his work when we get there and we'll have like the whole day ahead of us. So I'm just really, really excited. Okay, let me get to packing. I'm going to try to do this like pack with me TikTok. I've always said I'm going to do this. And today is the day. Hopefully it turns out good. Crossing my fingers. I just ran out of storage. I hate when this happens right before a trip. Oh, I love being a woman. Ah! Still a disaster but I feel like I've made a lot of progress. You got a lot of things packed and packing cubes so I'm very happy about that. But now we are headed to drop Sophie off at our pet sitter's house and then we're actually having a triple day tonight. Grilling out, making steaks.  So I'm also really excited to see her house because she kind of did like a fixer upper and I saw like pictures briefly and it looks so good. So I'm very excited to see it in person. There. Just crossing, crossing. Yeah. Cover girl, concealers. Can you tell me which one I should have? Cause you know better than I do. Yes. Powder. Yeah. I don't know. Well, you can get like a dark one for like a bronzer and then a light one for like a normal concealer. I would say that's about it. But they sent me every single shade in the range. That's amazing. Yeah. I didn't need all of that. I told Catherine, give me all your dark makeup. Is that right? I love it. Thank you. Yeah. Risotto. Oh my God. This 9.30 just got back from Amelia's and Ryan is just now starting to pack. We're finishing up packing.  I scheduled a car for 4.30 AM. So we will be up bright and early. But I'm going to end the vlog here. I don't know if this is a short one. It probably will be to be honest, but I just want to post more and try to be more consistent. Like I said in the last vlog, but get ready for some beach content. 3.30 is like my favorite place on the earth. So I'm very, very excited to be my mermaid self and finally get some swimming in. We went on a boat this past Sunday for Memorial Day weekend. That was like my first time swimming this whole spring summer, which it gets hot here really early. So I feel like there was definitely times I could have been swimming, but I don't know what was going on. If you guys want to see more in real time content, go follow me on Instagram and TikTok. I'm going to be posting a lot of my stories and definitely TikTok. So go follow me over there and I'll see you guys in my next video. Bye.


Hi guys! Welcome to a new vlog! I just got out of a spin class and went to Starbucks obviously. I actually ordered inside because I needed to get a little gift card for my friend Kyra. Today's like her birthday party so yeah I just wanted to get her a little something. I already got her a belt bag which that was like her main gift but this is for her like birthday just so I can like bring something I guess. And I know she loves Starbucks and we'll definitely use it. I also wanted to try this new drink and I was watching this girl named Sophia's like her vlogs about iPhones because it's iPhone season and I watched like some one of her Starbucks vlogs or something and she said to order this. It's the it's a grande cold brew with two pumps of vanilla and soy milk so I'm hoping this is good. It has everything that I like so I don't know why I wouldn't like it. I haven't really had soy milk though so fingers crossed this is good. Okay the best way I can describe it is like chocolate coffee. I don't know why it has like that taste of like chocolate even though it says vanilla. It's not bad I'm glad I tried it. It's been a while since I've tried like Starbucks drinks. Now I have some errands to run and the first errand I have to run. I have to go to the pharmacy to pick up some medications for a mother. The guy is I sold my Canon G7X. It's only because I want the Mark II but yeah this baby finally sold and I'm gonna go to the post office today because the person who bought it wanted it as a birthday present and she was like well I get it before Thursday or like on Thursday because she needs it for like a birthday gift and I was like well I can't guarantee that man but like yeah and then she asked if like I would negotiate with Bryce and I was like no because I want to put the money that I get from this one towards the Mark II because honestly I just wanted upgraded camera because the G7X is a lot more popular now and I've just been carrying this one a lot more recently to vlog because it's just easier than the M50. Like the M50's huge like I like it but it's just I love the wide angle but it's just a little too much and then when I want to take pictures with friends too the G7X works out so I just kind of use it as like a double a double way to use things I don't know yeah I just want the new camera so for how much this sold I only had to pay like 200 and that's really good for like a camera I'll have to pay a little bit more than that because eBay took more than I expected like they take 13% of the item costs so I was like not really playing on that but it's not that much but still I raised the prices on some of my other items because I'm like okay now I know now I know it's been a hot minute since I've actually sold a big item on eBay so at least I know that now so I'll just like mark up the item 13% so I like make what I want to make on it but anyway yeah I have to drop this bad boy off at the post office now okay so to go along with my friend's gift Kyra loves these cheddar chips so I got her a big bag of those and a Starbucks gift card so that goes along with her already belt bag because I know she'll love both I finished up the pharmacy run and I did my grocery shopping now I'm gonna head home well hello there all right so I'm planning my outfit to wear to my friend Kyra's birthday I will have to share with you guys a conversation that actually transpired but I think I'm gonna try to do like one of these bounding ideas because I really don't have any like SpongeBob costume I was gonna do Mr. Krabs but I was like I don't know about all that because I could wear jeans with like red underneath I might do that one but since she said to bring the bathing suits and stuff I'm thinking I'll just do Squidward this was my SpongeBob idea but I had nothing red for the top I mean I have some red beads but that just doesn't make any sense but I was gonna wear the black belt with this because like that's the color of his pants I don't have anything yellow honestly nothing yellow lives in this closet so that was a no go but I'll show you guys this was the inspiration for Squidward this girl right here so I think that pretty much matches I think I'm satisfied with it because honestly I didn't really realize it was gonna be dressed up and now I want to share with you guys like what the conversation I had with my friends so basically I don't know why I find this so funny but when I read it out loud I'm probably gonna laugh even more so she said oh it's dress up and I was like dressing up as in fancy or like a costume because it's a SpongeBob theme party so I didn't really think about that at all when I was like thinking costume I thought I could just wear whatever because Halloween is like you dress up and whatever and I'm like I'm probably just gonna reuse one of the costumes I have so she said costume uh because I said fancier costume and then mother friend Jamie says okay sweet and then I say you'll love it Kyra because I was talking about her present that Jamie's getting her and then Kyra said oh I'm excited and then I say okay I guess I'll just wear some devil horns or a Mario hat because that's what I've just worn in the past I think I got this whole devil costume um because I thought I was gonna be a devil for Halloween and then I changed at the last minute because I wanted to be a alien yeah I never ended up wearing the devil costume so I still have it Kyra said I think I might just make something Mario hat with like skull emojis and then she said it's SpongeBob Laffy face Laffy face and before I got those messages I said yeah lol and then I said oh shit I have nothing and then they're like both laughing and I was like I thought it was a little early for Halloween because again costume me thinking that the party is just like you dress up as whatever and then she's like girl no and I was like sigh and then she's like it's my SpongeBob birthday party lol I said this and I said well that's embarrassing and then Kyra said you're funny I said I know but like when I hear it dress up I think fancy or Halloween and then she's like yeah it makes sense so basically I laughed for a good probably half an hour at that conversation because that like went right over my head and I think my costume is good for what it is I was like I'll just do like a bound and wear like some similar colors that a character wears so I think this will be really good I was gonna shower but she's like bring your bathing suit so I don't know what I'm gonna do honestly I think I'll just shower because I want to be comfortable and then I just won't get my hair wet if I do go in the pool I just had to share that with you I thought it was so funny also to sold my camera and the lady was so nice she was like good luck with your new camera I already miss it I've had that camera since 2016 and I was doing the math I've had that camera nearly seven years even more so than the big camera I'm selling the 70d like I don't know there's just something about the Canon G7x we've had so many memories together I mean I had my first boyfriend with that camera and I would like vlog I don't know there's just like so much sentiment and that's probably why I've kept it for that long and like when me and one of my friends like she's an ex youtuber now like we had vlog and she has the same camera and it's just like so sad that I got rid of it but just knowing I'm going to get like a new camera just like it's gonna be the same camera just upgraded to the mark two like I have to just keep telling myself it's just the newer version because again like I've had that one for so long and it still is like a perfect camera I just want an upgrade because I'm now using it a lot more and I used it a lot in the past so I just wanted an upgrade I think it makes sense just because I am using the camera a lot more now it was kind of just like a backup for a couple of years and then now I'm like starting to really use it like when I go out I'm going to take that and just vlog on that rather than take this camera because you guys believe it I'm not going to be carrying this big thing around I'm like going out and about so and then when I get my iPhone like I'll vlog on that when I get my new one and or this one I'll just vlog with this like once I'm stable and a job and I want to save up for the Sony one like I will I don't need it you know there's no need for that camera I'm very happy with my decision to just get the g7x mark 2 so I can have it for photo and video and yeah I'm gonna stop talking now I'm definitely going to take this camera though to vlog at my friend's party I don't know how much footage I'm gonna get it's at someone's house that's not her house or like where she lives so I don't want to be like uh but I think I will like ask the owners like hey is it okay if like I just show like the decorations because I really want to I'm gonna go shower now and take it easy before the party I was thinking too I also could be plankton I don't know if my friend would want me to be her character though maybe she doesn't care but um we have a two tone we have an all green set that I could wear but I like the contrast with the greens yeah I might go with this too because honestly this looks really bad when I wear bra but sometimes I just wear a bra because because that's just really uncomfortable with like a strapless bra so yeah I don't know haven't decided yet but at least I have some options okay so decided on this outfit because it's definitely just a lot more cooler temperature wise than the other outfit I'm just gonna like put my hair over you know if we take pictures or whatever Squidward inspired outfit all right so I made it and I'm allowed to vlog in here I asked the owner of the house and yeah this is Kyra the birthday girl you've seen her a million times I got her wait show what I got so she likes the chips she's already opened them and then her little Starbucks get fired but she's just showing me around oh food okay pork chickpea solid mac and peas and mac and peas under this okay potato salad wow this is like Filipino noodles is really good okay and then we got ribs nice and then we got I forget what this is called but it's like cheeseballs with um tomatoes with like Italian dressing and stuff okay and we got coleslaw now this coleslaw is kind of weird it's like spicy and sweet at the same time but it's okay it makes sense and then we got I'm pretty sure it's like retry beans okay and we got the king's Hawaiian and then we also got like the the different dipping sauce and stuff like that okay I think this is barbecue sauce but this looks like barbecue sauce I don't know if the other ones are but cool but yeah and then we also have these brownies over here oh gotta have a show of dessert yeah look at these plates this one's all all right so the grand entrance is actually pretty grand because look at the little decor here and then they have like a whole happy birthday thing this is a view like look how cool it's a grand entrance and I got this parting gift it's a pencil what did you call this a doodle bop pencil a doodle bop pencil we got some more decor over here this is kind of like their living room area but I wanted to show you look at the sponge bop wait obviously because it's a sponge bop theme party we got sponge bop here the decor is like great it's like I'm impressed pity stop look how cute this hat is so cute also want to show you guys they have a whole entire pool table that'd be really fun to play not gonna lie say hello okay tell them what your costume is and look there's the cat again heart sorry distraction here okay hey guys I'm mr crab I'm also chowing down on mac and cheese and potatoes don't judge this is my second helping but it's fine she's living her best life brought my own wine and actually I taught Jamie how to play cars against humanity adult game but I think she would really like it I just wanted to include Jamie yeah sound significant birthday party so I decided to pass on