If you're all I care for Franklin matters Franklin public radio anywhere on the internet Wfpr.fm and in the local Franklin mass FM radio dial one oh two dot nine in the car at home Had a another making sense of climate session with my guide Ted McIntyre Ted. How are you doing today? I'm just doing peachy keen Steve. So good to be here. Oh good and we've got a guest today Dave written house Dave. How are you doing? I'm doing very well. Thank you so much for having me This is good. You're going to help us energize Franklin or we're going to help you energize Franklin, something like that. There's a collaborative piece there, right? Yes, that's what we're trying for so walk us through energize Franklin is effectively part of a bigger website. Yes, energize Franklin is a subset of massenergize.org and that is a nonprofit organization designed just for the state of Massachusetts and We proposed back in April of 2022 to the town council that we have this site added for the town of Franklin and I found out that funding can be a little tough to get quickly. So we went on a Campaign to raise funds and we got trained. It was pretty arduous raising funds, but we got trained in November of last year and the site went live March 28th via Franklin matters newsletter Oh So this is just to be just I got to jump in just to be clear So energize Franklin is a website that people can go to on the web and we will of course we will mention the link but you go to this website and Basically do stuff that we'll hear about right Dave. Yes, and in the not so Distant future you should be able to go to energize franklin.org and get there That link hasn't quite been set up yet But should be set up in the next couple of weeks and the current path is community dot massenergize.org slash Franklin MA, which is a certainly a mouthful, but If you just go to massenergize.org and you look for the communities page, you can find Franklin listed there and that might be You know, that's a Nicely good way to get there. Yeah, and for the listeners in the show notes will include the link so you don't have to scramble with pen and paper now For the regular listeners and don't subscribe us to Franklin matters You could also go to Franklin matters.org a little bit easier quicky You know that one and then scroll along down on the right column under other resources and In the alphabetic order and like energize Franklin should be in that list as well. Click on that link and you'll come to the page Yes, all good ways to get there Yes, so Dave getting there is half the fun, right? Once you get there. What's up? What goes on? right well We have you know, we may have a version of this on YouTube That's the hope with the video and we're showing us sharing a screen right now, which is the home page for us and The way it's set up is there's a little more stuff if you scroll down, but the main action is under the three photographs Where you have four buttons one is take action One is join us one is testimonials and one is events So those are the things but the basic idea here is you know, Dave Can I jump in Dave before you before you go on? Let me just let me just describe the page right for our people listening on the podcast We're looking at a web page But it is beautiful web page across the top across the top banner of the energized Franklin web page is a picture of the Ray library with of course the statue of Benjamin Franklin shrouded in snow on the left-hand side on the right hand side is One of the schools I think not parm enter, but it is parm enter With solo panels on top of it Okay In smack in the middle is a picture of Franklin common on a what looks to be a blustery winter day Right, so there's these three pictures across the top that let you know You are very much in Franklin and this is a local a local thing, right? And below that of the four sort of buttons that you just mentioned that people can jump to right and the idea the whole idea of this is to Allow people to think about ways that they can help with the climate and and taking personal responsibility for you know emitting less carbon and going into the decarbonization area and You know, there's the green communities which there's 351 towns in Massachusetts and I think they're all green communities in one way or another But there's only 21 cities and towns right now that are part of mass energized So this is a very kind of a leap thing for Franklin to be a part of And and and this network is Basically a nonprofit network. It's not a government-funded thing at all, right? This is this is people getting ready to taking action on their own Right the mass energized sort of umbrella that this website sits under. Is that true? Yes, the whole thing is nonprofit currently there is an Interest in getting the town of Franklin to help with the annual funding. It's just a $950 a year at this point So pretty modest cost for a town like Franklin, but we'll see how that plays out that was presented to the town council earlier this month for their consideration But yeah, that's far all the money that's been raised has been through private donations, although two of the town counselors have actually Donated to help bring the site to where it is today And Dave when I don't mean to grieve you here, but there's all interesting questions You said a word that always makes my ears perk up and it is It may be for people that are just coming to this issue Can be intimidating. So can you tell me when you say to decarbonize that sounds like I don't know what right? It sounds like a medical procedure. Tell me what when you say decarbonize. What do you what do you mean by that? Well, there's there's many different ways Choosing, you know the transportation that you take there's a lot of incentives right now for people to get Vehicles that either use less gasoline or no gasoline And Then there's also things that you can do for your home to use electric Fire devices to heat your home rather than burning oil and gas which has been the traditional way of heating I mean, it sounds like decarbonization means basically stopping the Stopping the production of carbon dioxide from your house and the way you drive and the way you live so to decarbonize is to Get rid of the co2 emissions that was result from you burning Burning stuff, right? Yes, the the safe carbon dioxide level was 350 parts per per billion and we're well over 400 right now So we need to find ways to burn less stuff. That's kind of the the simple story on this matter Right So on that point the 350 so that's where the 350.org comes from. It's the 350 parts per billion per million per million Okay, thank you Ted. I wasn't sure which one it was No, it's so Steve. There's a whole there's a whole subtext of that So 350 is of course the famous the famous Bill McKibben organization. Yes, right and there has spawned Other organizations like almost every state now has a 350 with the state initial So there's a 350 mass, right? In fact, there are we can put up links. There's a 350 mass Organization node right here in Franklin Franklin. Yeah, the Franklin node of 350 MA, but the 350 comes from the fact that Science in quotation marks the scientists have have sort of Come to the conclusion that 350 parts per million is the level at which you do not melt the ice caps and you don't ruin the world and in particular That kind of level is something that would tend to preserve Coral reefs and islands and all kinds of good stuff, right? So 350 is minimization of the damage from climate change, right and It's a political number in a sense that I mean who's deciding how much damage is acceptable, right? That's a very thorny issue, right? But the 350 number is where they think we could be Stably and the scary part is that as of today or as of earlier this week the actual carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere were 424.8 parts per million in the air. So we're pretty much 75 Parts per million above where scientists think it's safe So it's a screaming house on fire kind of emergency. I mean, we're already overshot what we thought we is safe but that's where the 350 comes from and that's where the The call for decarbonization, which is a fancy way of saying stop burning stuff Yeah, so I think that helps us to the extent that for the listeners if you're new here Thank you for joining us if you're regulars. This is a Continuation series of helping me make sense of climate and to the extent that the IPCC the International In the government intergovernmental panel on climate change. Thank you for helping me out now and I started going into that I said no, that's not right But it's an organization of the United Nations and they've been producing reports of which then The state of Massachusetts in particular has produced a roadmap upon which the state at that level should be able to you know Mitigate and start changing the way so that we can come back to 350 over some period of time and our Discussions the series of discussion says if I've been how do we do that Dave? I think this is giving us a key piece to the puzzle. It's like okay We talk about internet we talk about you and we talk about mass But this is you and I and others our neighbors in Franklin, this is things that we individually and take action with right and maybe this is a good chance to talk about one of those four buttons that we have is the called take action and Currently we have 21 things that you can do One of the early things to do is we're asking people to register on the site basically giving us your email address and Once you do that, you know in the future if we have a newsletter, we might send you that once you say you don't want it, but Mainly we're not going to bother you but being registered on the site gives you the chance to check off the 21 different actions as you complete them so This is actually a View of the site with me being registered on it myself and I happen to have solar panels on my house and I have a plug-in hybrid vehicle It's not a full electric vehicle, but it's one of the things you can do I used to get 20 miles per gallon now by plugging in I'm getting Close to 90 miles per gallon in a Prius Prime So that's you know more than four times reduction in the amount of gasoline that I am using per mile anyway and So it's it's a nice Way to see what kind of options you have and they're not all big-ticket items like cars and solar panels There's plenty of other smaller things you can do using LED light bulbs Massave since Franklin is a national grid Community and and ever source for gas now Will Subsidize the cost of insulating your home and I've taken advantage of that and that's a really nice service and I Just actually on Tuesday had a heat pump installed to replace my central air conditioning and that Is going to be partially funded by the Massave program so Money out there to help you Become more climate friendly Yeah, and that's a good point. I think to help reinforce because Ted and I I think have talked about this a couple of times where Massave will and I think it's every three years do an energy audit of Your house your abode and if you haven't done in your case a insulation Etc. They'll come in do an assessment and give you some options in many cases with either grant and or you know Advantages pricing in order to take those steps yeah one of the action items that we haven't added here yet is a Lawnmowers they actually for $300 last year anyway, you could get a push lawnmower with battery by Ryobi that I bought one and been very happy with it It goes for almost an hour on a single charge and then a recharge in like an hour or so You're not down for long once the battery wears out So, um, you know instead of David, I can't I can't move from more than an hour anyway An hour is a nice time limit. Yes nice to give yourself a break So yeah, there's you know little things that you can do to you know, $300 is It's it's more manageable for a lot of folks than You know a very you know like a solar system. I was guys Dave I mean, can you you said there are there are small items? I'd be interested because yeah I mean on this list all of a sudden we talked we're talking about you know money I but there are things besides money. I think if you back up to the top of the list There's something as simple as there's an earth day festival coming up Saturday you could join You could join 350 ma or at least register with them you could eat a plant-based There's one of the actions is to eat a plant-based diet I think but you could That sounds like asking people to become vegan, but all basically you if you eat less meat You're taking a climate action. So there's lots of stuff here on this list that is Regrets right zero investment and you've actually started to do things Absolutely. Yep, the yes the earth day festivities right now will be the usual Trash cleanup at beaver pond and I suspect this podcast will be coming out after earth day so probably not going to Change anybody's path with this announcement, but they do a real nice job the DPW has no one's Someone hasn't participated in it before they give you a t-shirt if you're one of the early people arriving there They give you some trash bags and you you go out and pick up trash for you know An hour or however long you have the energy for Leave the trash bags on the side of the road and the DPW comes and picks them up later because you went to a designated area So they know where to look for the trash bags later and really does a great job of Getting the the town looking ship shape And it's coordinated also with recreation department and Ryan Jetty So we'll give them a plug because they annually have been running this event And clearly while it's one day realistically, it should almost be any day But then if you do pick up trash and I've seen there's even I think a Facebook page You know one bag where people along different trails whether the SNAT or Delcart or whatever just along the street Pick up some of the bottles the nips whatever you see pick it up put it in a bag And you've done your piece and if you don't have that particular button on the page Then at some point in time that might be a suggestion that you know You help reinforce that kind of cleanup action on you know any day as opposed to just Earth Day Yeah, there's another event that's going to take place. It's been scheduled. It looks like it's going to be there may 6th or 20th An event on the town common called the environmental extravaganza hosted by the Franklin area moms Will be you know a first-time event but energized Franklin plans on participating at that and hopes to see people from the town there so we can Tell them a little bit more about our site and get to meet people and Enjoy the beautiful day. Hopefully we'll have I mean, I think this guy this I am big on these low threshold kind of actions, right because I just think People can be intimidated by the idea that they have to go go buy an electric vehicle Right and you want to emphasize that that's not where you want to start right you start with the simple things Which is just like going to an Earth Day festival and sort of admitting to yourself that you care And then things would flow from that Absolutely So so David I Related question means suppose I go to this go to an Earth Day Festival so I sign up on the website. I register on the website. I take an action What happens? I mean, do I get it? Do I get a score?  What what's the consequence of that? Well, a couple of things you you can mark off an action as completed as I showed earlier You know and the other thing that you can do is that that action will be tallied in our goals for you know Cleaner environment less carbon and so forth So every action has its consequences and we are keeping track and as the sites gets more action It's going to really add up Does that imply that so that in a way, you know, there's the famous saying about you you don't You can't change what you don't measure right here in some sense you are now tallying actions to see how How active Franklin is right Yes, yes, we we have goals We go down a little bit below the action buttons we talk about individual actions completed and Number of households participating and so forth and some of these things because the site is so new are actually come from statewide databases as far as how many homes in town already have solar panels installed So they may not be registered events that happened on the website here but they are registered in kind of the big statewide picture of People taking positive actions either through buying EVs or solar panels. Those are things that the state is aware of and that but the the message is that by taking action by By taking an action by putting you you basically sort of concretize So we say reify the good thing that you did it goes on a list and it shows that that Franklin is a leader right is that fair to say Yes, and you know, I think that people, you know feel once they Start acting they feel like, you know, they're participating and they're gonna feel better about just progress and that You know, they're they're participating Yeah, we spent some time in one of our earlier podcast episodes talking about kind of the climate grief and that it can be overwhelming and demeaning and you know disturbing but Action is a great antidote by doing something you get that Self-reinforcement and if it's just the one little step just clicking in to sign in That's one good thing participating in an earth they participating and just picking up some trash on the street any one of those little things do add up and here you're able to we're able to Acknowledge that and participate so that yeah, there may be some, you know A little competitive friendly competition if you will over time as to which community is doing more etc But the more people in there, I think the better off we're going to be anyway Yeah, some of the communities have Events planned like EV test drive things and you know, we hope to bring some of those kinds of things To the event page hopefully in franklin or maybe in a nearby town So that people can explore You know options that are climate friendly So the SNET trail the franklin belligham rail trail Committee has a fundraising race in may Would since they're a rail trail as an outdoor activity It's somewhat related to this would that be an event you'd consider? We're happy to You know, there's there's a team several volunteers Kate marissa and I and and ted as well are out trying to you know get the word out about the site and Yeah, we'd be very happy to participate in that And I think I steve I think that's a good point because the The breadth of things that we should be thinking about as climate related are huge and that the The entree the thresholds for people to To begin to see themselves as people that care Is pretty low and so going there you go. There's the franklin belligham franklin rail trail committee is on the site No, it does less than monthly meetings, which coincidentally are at 67 degrees a good local Watering hole and you can certainly have some good conversations there Yes, and they're opening a place over at rent them out. Let's say here too. Yes. They are yep I haven't heard the official open day yet, but they did say they were going to be open in april So stay tuned they'll be open there soon And you'll be able to at least get instead of the normal 67 degree hours across on their grocery location From what I understand when the rent some village place opens They'll be open during the rent and village hours, which that gives us much more access For those who need a little piece of libation from here and there Pick up our force park IPAs. Yes By local Yes, so but yeah, we're we're already have the the franklin belligham rail trail committee Thing on our so they're on our sites some of our participants our our team like to use the trail and It's a it's a great thing And I would note the the franklin garden club Do a listener if you're not watching this on a youtube video is a bee pollinating a plant and of course the survival of bees is a pretty important Sustainability climate related issue. So again, all these things fold into each other Yeah, that's been one of our common threads is where do we draw the line as what's not climate? We start going down an end. It's like, oh, wait a minute. Yes, it is in some cases, well, maybe not so much but More often than not there's something climate related So so david back in the homepage. There's a the Testimonials tell me what that means Yes, I was just thinking it would be a good time to go to that. Uh, so here's some you know, marissa's testimonial about joining the website and Then my testimonial on solar I mean the solar system has been great. I I I find you know, my quick math on this is After eight years, I'm going to be getting free electricity for 17 years. So Solar it is an expensive investment, but if you can swing it it really You know, it makes financial sense And that's the kind of thing that You know people might be thinking about it. There's a lot of Things with solar people say well, if my roof doesn't point due south, you know, it doesn't make financial sense to have solar That's not true at all. It might have been true when the panels were less efficient. Nowadays You know, my my panels face mostly east You certainly don't want to put them on the side that faces north other than that. It's all good Um, we have, um Mark put in a testimonial about his, uh Heat pump hot water heater. So that is a a way to Heat your water with electricity, which you've always been able to do But this is like uses like a third the electricity that a regular electric hot water heater uses.  Um We have helbo with this solar journey. We have paul with his solar journey. I talk about the little prius prime um and windows and food waste recycling One of the things that i'm thinking more and more. I probably want to join is there's a Is it black earth composting ted that does the the pickup? I am not sure I think it's something close to that and I know it's also been with as we're getting into kind of may In the budget hearings on the town side I know there had been a proposal that between dpw for their trash and solid waste plan They were considering At least a pilot of that. I know the company does at least visit franklin But the town was looking at um, and I don't know what the current status is So people can check through the normal channels through solid waste the beaver street recycling center, etc And at least advocate for because I think that's a a key step, especially with The new regulations that mass is introduced. So the food waste should not be part of trash It gives us an opportunity to do some composting Yeah, I think the the statistics are that by weight in your trash Compostable materials at least 25 percent if not a third of the volume by weight In most homes. So that you know, essentially is turned into really great dirt That's organic and can be used to grow vegetables and Just a real great way. Otherwise, if it ends up in a landfill, it's just going to generate methane Which is going to hurt the atmosphere Is way worse than carbon dioxide does so and you're paying 25 percent of your trash removal fees to get rid of it I mean it's just yeah, I mean it's like sort of an all-around Wind to do composting. Yeah, you can you know, it's not just Like uh, banana peels it's things like Chicken bones and any kind of bones and anything really organic they can take so Egg shells coffee grinds and all that's good stuff. Yep. Yep So, uh, yeah, that that's our testimonies. We only have 10 testimonials at this time, but uh We're expanding rapidly on those so So David, I have a couple a couple questions one is if someone were to join The energy energize franklin website They would be able to post a testimonial about what they did And why they did it. Is that true? That is correct. They are um checked over by uh, someone on you know on our team just to make sure that it's uh All PG and stuff and and uh, we're not getting But I mean Someone write something a good yes It would go up and yeah, and usually it goes up, you know the same day that they submit it So and I guess the other point I would make is that if people are the reason these testimonials are so great Is that if someone is wondering about Taking an action any one of these actions they can go read someone else's experience right and again You have this sense of connection and a little foretaste of what you're trying to do. So it simplifies the The path that people are on when they start thinking about doing stuff. Is that would you agree with that? Absolutely, and what what I wanted to do To is show you that under each of these areas You know solar is a big one, but let's let's start there because uh, you know, it can't have such a positive impact on the climate each of the actions has a Four tabs to it. Um a general description and then steps to take Uh, if there's testimonials for that That is also listed and then a deep dive. So there's a wealth of information there And there's uh, there's various links When I was doing my solar journey This site called energy sage, which is pretty much based in the northeast if not in England itself Is a tremendous resource for evaluating solar bids And getting information on the different Companies who make solar panels and the inverters that convert the dc power from the roof to the ac power that you use in your home Um really great stuff. So there's a lot of you know Knowledge base that we're trying to accumulate here and then it's already here actually right Yeah, I mean that sense you could the site is educational in that you can go learn about how to do These things that seem overwhelming right if for someone who hasn't thought about it to say I want to put pv on my roof is uh, you know Without some further guidance, uh, that's not going to happen and here you can go and learn about What it takes and actually see people that have done it right absolutely and if we go back to the one about, uh Cars uh, they're You know people Don't have to take the full thing and buy an electric car right away.  You just get way better mileage because there's a battery there and uh, so if you go to a stoplight the the engine turns off all that stuff leads to better mileage and uh you know, it'll I think that people I think you're right, david I think that this kind of information allows people to educate their intuition because Buying a new car is a pretty big decision right you only do that once in a while So the more that you've thought about your options beforehand the better off you are and people that are approaching the time when they got to buy a car Couldn't read this and figure out what all the the the greener options are and what the vocabulary is and how to approach the question right And uh, you know some some new terminology. I'm I'm an engineering person by education and background. So This comes more naturally to me perhaps but the you know PHEV if you've never heard of that that just stands for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle This stuff is all explained ice. What's ice? Well, you don't know frozen water But also it's an acronym for internal combustion engine. So that's essentially what cars have been working on um Until the the electric electrification that we see going on right now That's great stuff. That's great stuff very useful Yeah, and like the energy sage with the uh Solar panel install There's a couple of great websites here one's called drive green And it kind of lays out some of the financial incentives that you can get for different buying cars and programs before another one's called plug star and There are buying options and there are leasing options. I have a brother who Leased an all electric car and he just totally fell in love with it And uh, it was he leased it, you know before the really car the crunch came on new car values skyrocketed So when he leased it he locked in a great buyout price Uh, and so when he came to the end of his lease it just Would have made no sense at all not to buy it out the lease and you know He also had the three years to decide that, you know, this was a livable solution for him. So It really worked out great leasing first So i'm sure you've leaned on him to write a testimonial Well, he does not live in franklin. He actually lives in california. So We're trying to keep it local here Yes, yeah With the resources at least available on this page if somebody else has another question or Is there kind of a help function or a search function to say hey, I'm looking for something more on this How else can I get some help? Well, that's a great question and um When i'm meeting people i'm giving them my email address so that they can you know get a hold of me with questions and so forth I think we might have uh Go to about us contact us So, uh, yeah, so there's a contact form. So yeah, that would be set that could be used for if you got a question Or you found a problem on the website, etc Then you could utilize that. So at least you have a methodology of yeah, that that goes right to my email and hopefully I picked that up and get right back to you. Sure Well, that's I so so so I guess Dave tell me your thoughts about um Should I say I mean I'm always sort of interested in the the meta Things that surround stuff like energize franklin website I see this as encouraging um Encouraging people to act encouraging people to recognize that there are other people in franklin who care and it In a sense begins to make discussions about these things part of everyday conversation Do you think that's happening is that part of what you hope happens? I sure do. I you know, I think um We need to feel good and and feel like this is Not the aberration but the norm to Learn how to create a you know a better world for for our kids and to You know stop burning stuff By using electricity using renewable power I mean the solar panels on my roof that makes all the electricity that I use in the course of a year So because of net metering Um, I don't have to have a battery. It's just part of the deal with the electric company. I uh Don't pay an electric bill anymore And uh, they're my battery the the grid is my battery as it were so It's uh, it's it's a great deal for residential customers for sure and Yeah, but the the norm You know can be a future where we're using renewable energy. We're using wind and we're using solar electricity And uh, there's there's more than enough wind and solar out there to Power everything we do from transportation Heating and grueling our homes, etc. So we don't have to burn stuff the I guess the other the other thing that is A topic that I spend time Thinking about is the and Is the distinction between personal action personal virtue as uh, dick cheney once said right Saving the earth is maybe a personal virtue Uh versus the systemic things, you know, the things that have to happen on beacon hill the things that have to happen in washington How do you how do you see david? How do you see these things into playing? right the idea that people Would want to take a small Action in their own home, right? Probably something that doesn't cost any money, but they do it Does that influence the debate at a larger? scale or do you think that the sort of personal action and public action are separate Well, there's a lot of interplay, you know, really that has made the progress possible you know, for instance You know under current tax law When you buy solar panels put them on your roof You can deduct 30 of the cost of that from your federal taxes And with with mass save in massachusetts So there's state and federal programs, but the first one was on the federal level mass massachusetts also gives you $1,000 off For solar panel install a one-time tax deduction. So that doesn't hurt either but for doing You know like heat pumps, uh, you can get a little bit of a federal thing, but the the statewide program is up to a $10,000 Funding for your heat pump renovation for your home And it's actually if you do geothermal, which is a much more expensive investment, but that is a $15,000 investment or Pay it back from mass save. So There the money that is available to you know help, uh, you know, there's a $7,500 potentially Federal tax credit for the purchase of an eb. I mean, that's real money. I mean eb's are not inexpensive, but those uh state and federal programs really help a lot I I agree through those are good things I guess what I was What I am feeling is that the the local action that people do that eat one less one less, uh Meat meal a week does not Does not mean that we don't need to take systemic action and do much bigger things I do think that the the action of people Eating one less meat meal a week is a very positive thing because it's synergistic with the idea that We begin to recognize that at a collective level. We all need to do more things We all need to be more involved. So for my money the this website is a great thing in the sense of allowing people a path to become aware of What the issues are what they can do? but also at another level a sort of uh, I don't know what the right I mean it it enables the the political or the the Atmospheric to develop among voters that this is an important thing that we all need to think about collectively I think the two sides are the same coins. And that's why I think this website is a addresses both sort of personal Personally doing good things that make you feel better, but also supports the larger things that we need to do yeah Uh on a little bit of a different note The one of the testimonials that the other 21 Cities and towns I don't think I found one other town that had one on new and replacement windows and a couple of people who had been Uh helped fund the creation of the site said that's what I really want to do to um, you know the first thing on my checklist and I think for a lot of people, you know, they may have been in their home for a long time and um, they they want to do that and uh um Those can be expensive to replace But there was a homeowner Under that section of the new and replacement windows who not only did he Fix his windows, but he more or less did a whole home energy makeover of a 50 year old house for under $30,000 so Um, he did the windows and it was very creative with windows He actually did storm interior storm windows. So rather than replacing the windows He put in a quarter inch thick plexiglass Pain on the inside To make sure there was no wind and to create an extra air gap to provide insulation and he also it was a an electric heat home with electric baseboard, which is very expensive and and uh, he put in several mini split heat pumps and Really, uh did an awful lot with a short amount of money that's great I think in some of our conversations with our state rep Jeff Roy Who leads one of the key committees and has worked on the legislation last year and we'll have him again in a future podcast episode to talk about what's on the table for future Uh legislation There are significant efforts underway in order to help frank franklin in particular, but in helping mass overall So additional programs on mass save whether they're you know credits or subsidies or things of that sort as well as training for individuals to One of the key pieces is as we make this entire changeover from fossil fuel to More of an electric based weather solar wind geothermal power We need a lot more technicians electricians and otherwise To do that. So there'll be some additional job training job transition efforts underway And all of that that I think Is one of the key places that the government funding can incent our behavior according And I think that's that's part of the good thing and then having this place to Oh, I can come here and then find out what I need to do and how to do this step or that step That I think will be a good thing One of the things that uh, you know, if you if you're a homeowner and you have a central Compressor that's running central air conditioning goes out Chances are it's going to make more sense to replace that Air conditioner with a heat pump When it goes because of the rebates on the heat pumps I just had the rodent hyzer of a local contractor install My heat pump and very happy with that job they did And they were very accommodating when I said, you know, I really need a bigger circuit breaker box in my garage because I I need to Have the capacity to change out my gas range to an inductive cooktop And charge an electric car From the sub panel. So they took care of that and they ran a huge 100 amp wire from the far end of the house to the other end of the house You know, there was an adder for that but it was all You try to work all these things together in tandem when you have the opportunity You're gonna be running cable anyway.  Well, I think that's one of the things that I'm intrigued by this kind of work is because This is sort of the connection between the micro and the macro in that things like that where you say I want to Put the pvm I roof but oh then you realize that the electrical system in the house isn't quite adequate Well, that presents a problem to be solved that can be solved as you just did David but also suggest that at the Policy level at the state level There needs to be easier ways to address that and more help to do that kind of thing Right because we just we're on a learning curve here of trying to get I think it's we need to Upgrade 500,000 houses by the end of the decade Right, that's a tall order and finding out ways to do that Uh I guess the energize franklin website puts us on that learning curve to figure out how best to do those things That's right. There's uh, there's a lot of good tools there and uh, You know, it's all stuff that you you can't get it all done at once, but you uh, I think we need an elephant one bite at a time Good Yeah, I think that's a good overview. Uh, we can kind of take it a break at this point I think um and for the listeners will include in the show notes as I mentioned before the link to the energize franklin page As we've discussed you've got some actions you can take You've got some uh feedback and testimonials to be able to provide. There's a contact linked as well so Dave and or others on the team can Help you as you navigate through this, you know road to a new climate world And if you want to support our work, we even have a donate page We are looking for a couple more hundred dollar checks to round out our list of founders. So Please don't be shy if you can support us. We certainly appreciate it Oh Well, thank you for sharing today and Ted. Thanks for helping us with some of the questions. I think uh This has been beneficial and I think as we we continue and then the listeners continue to use this This will come back to this potentially in the future and check on how many more people are there and how many more testimonials are there and Yeah, and if you have any other significant enhancements, Dave, then let us know and uh, we can bring you back in a future episode as well Really appreciate this opportunity at great spending time with you, Steve and Ted and uh Ted maybe I'll talk to you tonight at the 350 mass meeting Maybe yes indeed multiple connection points So the listeners, thank you and a quick reminder. We do this because Franklin matters


Hello there, my lovely Virgos. This is Kelly from House of Virgo. Getting ready to do your love reading. Hopefully we will not have any spirits blacking out this reading today. So this reading is for Virgos. This is a Virgo channel, welcome. And if you're new, please do hit like, share, and subscribe. And welcome back to everyone. If you wanna get personal readings, there's a link in the description box below this video. Also, I posted in my community section that I will be doing live paid mini readings here every Friday, starting October 1st. So if you would like to join in and get a one card reading, all the information is in my community tab. I'm also seeking moderator. So go on over, click the community tab here on my profile and you can get all the information. All right, Virgo, let's take a look and see what the love messages are here for you. For the month of September, Virgos, sun, moon, rising, or Venus. All right, past position, page of pentacles, the ace of cups, and the chariot. Present is six of swords, 10, I'm sorry, eight of pentacles and the knight of pentacles. The outcome, you're going forward in the future, four of wands, five of swords, and the seven of swords. Oh wait, I said, look at the bottom of the deck. Okay, decision being made here, waiting for an answer. Somebody might be waiting to hear from you or you're waiting to hear from somebody else or just expecting some type of result. You might be waiting for results of some sort or someone close to you. There is an energy here of being at a crossroads though. And I kind of feel like that played out yesterday as well. You also have the ace of pentacles. So waiting for maybe some money or a payout or an opportunity to present itself so that you can make some kind of a decision or somebody close to you. Okay, three of swords is here. So there may have been some type of heartbreak or a third party situation. Doesn't have to be romantic, but an interference. Some words that were said or an argument maybe waiting to see if there's a kiss and make up. I feel there was some type of communication or something you found out in the past that caused some pain in the heart. There could be surgery. Some of you might be waiting for results on some surgery or something to do with an organ or your heart or something along those lines. Okay, and there's a star. So this is about healing. Okay, healing from a surgery. For some waiting for money of some sort or something to be able to know if whether or not a surgery is approved or to have something move forward. But there's also like renewal of the heart as well. Aquarian energy there.  This is really what I feel like is going on here. All right, so Virgo, the past energy and page of pentacles. Some type of ideas or concepts, communication that was had in the past about plans, about building something, making something happen. Ace of cups as well. This again is renewal. Potential for a love star in the past may have occurred. The chariot could have been about travel as well. There might have been tentative plans or something to meet up with someone. Could have been long distance. Chariot is about taking action, making change. It's also about, it feels like kind of like putting plans into place, knowing the destination and moving forward with that to have a new opportunity and love. Okay, let's see. Page of pentacles. Okay, a ton of pentacles. Conversation about leaving some kind of a legacy, passing down traditions, information about moving or relocating or buying a home or somebody made an offer on a home or an offer on a new job of some sort and waiting to hear back about that. Okay, there's a new beginning, although at least in the past there was a new beginning happening here for you. Something in the past that came along that made you feel like it gave you really good feelings in the past. It affected you emotionally, like a blessing of some sort. That chariot for a lot of you, moving to a new home, relocating, beginning a new job, it's a ton of pentacles. This feels like there was some type of communication with someone about coming to their home or vice versa, however the energy might have played out, starting a family, also business, starting a business. So as far as your person goes, I feel like there were some plans to be made about having like starting life together. Let's take a look at the Ace of Cups, okay. All right, so your person, I feel like had communication with you about this, but with that Ace of Cups kind of resisted for some reason or on the nine of ones, holding back, being very persistent with boundaries, but also, okay, they just told me, I wasn't asking, but the devil cards, the shadow side. The person has great, had great fear about moving something forward with you or having a potential new start. It's like the love came down from the sky. It was like, yes, we're gonna do this. Yes, I want this, I want this love, I want this connection and I wanna get it moving, but I feel like this person may have been in the past holding back some type of addictions or something that they were dealing with, a lot of anxiety and fear. Feels like it's the same as yesterday's. Reading, okay, Five of Pentacles. So it feels like there might have been a financial issue that somebody was not ready financially to move something to the next level in the past. So there was a lot of delays, a lot of restrictions holding back. That Five of Pentacles kind of feels like a struggle, love kind of situation. Somebody didn't have enough money to move forward or was not financially stable. The person you were connecting with in the past, perhaps telling you that they're trying to get financially stable, buy a new home, get a better job, have a 401k. Financial stability leaves some kind of legacy. The opportunity presented itself in the past for love to come and I feel like this person saw it very much, wanted it, but also feel like they held back a lot because if they have dark side, things in the dark that they were hiding from you, they didn't want to show you, there might have been a bit of fear for you to see some shadow side of them, okay? That can be Capricorn energy, we have cancer, but that Five of Pentacles feels like somebody who's broke, financially had a setback, financial setback and wasn't able to move forward. Wanted to, definitely wanted to, but it feels like it feels like the desire was there. There was a desire to do something here with you to have something move forward. So the present energy is the Six of Swords, Eight of Pentacles and the Night of Pentacles. I feel like presently for, I almost said March and I don't know why I almost said March, but presently for the month of September, I feel like this person is going to, maybe they got a job or they now have consistent income, but I feel like they're gonna really make these changes here, that Six of Swords energy is facing their fears as well, whatever fears they might have had or was holding them back and overcoming them. This is also travel. I feel like there's an offer coming in here from this person, maybe they owe you money or they wanna bring a gift to you, it's your birthday, happy birthday, in the month up until like the 21st of course, but this Eight of Pentacles energy, I see consistency. Now let's take a look at the Six of Swords. Why is this, what's causing this person to overcome their fears and move towards you? Okay, got the King of Cups here. So somebody might be connecting with a water sign, Cancer Scorpio Pisces and Energy. Why is this King of Cups here? The Lovers, this person is ready to take these next steps, ready to make this move here with you. This Lovers energy, this Twin Flame energy, this person is crazy in love with you. I do feel there is some kind of a kiss and makeup thing happening here. I feel like there is consistency. This person really making an effort and putting in the work. This person loves you, doesn't have to be a water sign Virgo, it could be any sign, but they have very deep feelings for you and it is love, they do, they see themselves with you. They want to come into union or come into some contracts or if you've been waiting on a contract or something or both of you have been, I feel like this energy, like it's coming together, contracts are signed, the deal gets sealed.  You're getting some kind of an offer. You might even be receiving an engagement ring, maybe somebody's gonna propose to you. If you're male and you're dealing with a female, it's very possible. But I feel like whatever was talked about in the past that was put on delay or for whatever reason, it feels like it's flowing forward. Five of wands here. This person, I forgot to pull the romance angel's card, you guys, hold on a second, hold your horses. What's wrong with me today? I have to tell you, I think yesterday is like off and on light show, really had me spooked. Okay, getting to know each other as you reveal your innermost cells to each other, your bond evens, so I do feel like that is something that's happening here. Maybe this is somebody, this person doesn't have to be, this is just something that happened in the past, doesn't have to be your past person. It's just energy in the past with someone you are connecting with. And I feel like this energy is playing out now, getting to know each other, opening up, getting closer is what's happening here. Okay, make the effort, that's what I said. Great love is worth taking, this steps your God to take.  You might have been kind of opening up to this person. There might have been like an abandonment or an energy where there was plans made and somebody just stopped it or canceled it or delayed it or for whatever reason, maybe it was you, for some of you it could have been you, but I feel like since this is your reading with this person, there's definitely effort going to be made very soon. Somebody's making a decision here, very soon this is coming to you and I feel like in the month of September, whatever was holding back at this person, I feel like they're coming forward now. Let's take a look, this Knight of Pentacles. Yeah, so with the five of wands, you know, the five always represents some type of conflict or struggle can represent competition or chaos. I feel like this, the reason for the struggle is that there was lack of consistency in this relationship from your person's side, okay? Now that doesn't mean you guys, yourselves were inconsistent, it very well could be, but I feel like that's what the struggle is and I feel like this person realizes that they need to show up for you in order for something to move forward. If they were half showing up in the past, you guys were getting half the love, half of the commitment and I feel like this person overcoming these struggles by actually making the effort day in and day out every day. That's what builds, one brick at a time builds a house each day, okay? So the Knight of Pentacles is here. Look for the 10 of cups, yep, there's definitely like a bona fide true blue offer coming in, it's not a cup of love. Love is here, this person has deep feelings. Will they offer love? Yes, but they wanna bring stability either to a marriage or to this relationship. They want that support that you give. They wanna offer that as well to you with the 10 of cups. So I do see marriage in the future here. Definitely a reunion of some sort, reconciliation of some sort, getting together. Five of swords energy is here. This person is shutting out or shutting down those, clearing away the cobwebs, snipping the sandbags. So this balloon can soar, okay? And I feel like a running away with you with the seven of swords, like they're leaving town, go to be leaving town in the near future. Let's take a look at this. Okay, four of wands with the three of wands, yeah, this person, you know, there might be some travel as well, expanding their horizons. This person in the future, it feels like, it feels like almost like waiting to hear back from you about coming together. There might be plans made. This person may be making plans to come see you or to visit you or to secure a date with you or to connect with you in some way, but their intention is to have a sacred union, is to be together with you, okay? So I feel like for some of you, this might be this person is at a distance to you. It could be, all right? And for others, it's kind of like, this person's aware and will be aware going forward that to have this connection with you or to come home, I'm hearing, they're gonna have to expand their horizons, right? And I feel like they're aware. They may be inviting you to their home or you're inviting them. So it's kind of like waiting for someone to show up. The offer gets put out there, definitely in September. The offer gets put out. Okay, the hangman, yeah. This person has a new perspective. Whomever they were dealing with and whatever caused that three of swords energy, that's over, that's over.  They've made up their mind. They want Virgo. They wanna connect with you. Pisces and energy here with the hangman. So new perspective, seeing things differently, okay? Opening up the mind is what I feel like. They've been stagnant for a long time. And I feel like this person realizes that they don't have the love, they don't have your love or the love of their life, whomever is you, Virgo, because they were just spreading themselves then or they were connecting with other people. Like they weren't zeroing in and focusing on you. They might've been focusing on you and in terms of like it being attracted to you and getting to know you. But I feel like going forward, this person realizes that they were getting to know you and getting to know every Tom, Dick and Harry, Sally, Betty and Mary, just kind of like spreading themselves then. I feel like they're choosing you though because the lovers is a choice. So if this person was, if you were dating them and they were dating other people, it kind of feels like they've narrowed down that you truly are the love of their life. They may have had fear of accepting that. If you've been with this person for a long time or fear of showing themselves to you, but I feel like there's an opening up happening here. Okay, Seven of Swords, right? With the Ace of Pentacles. So that's what we saw in the beginning of the reading. You're the opportunity. You're the golden egg. You're the one that they wanna be with Fergo, okay? And I kind of feel that this person, it feels like running away to be with you, sneaking away. Okay, release your ex. So this person, they're either releasing an ex or releasing all their exes or releasing all the energy, whatever baggage they were carrying and holding on to in this relationship of other people. You know, it feels like this person came in with a lot of baggage or a lot of other people still attached to them. And it feels to me like the time is here, the time is now they're letting go of these past situations or this past energy of someone that they've been, I don't feel like they really could express to you the depth of what they experienced with someone from their past. It could have been some childhood trauma, could have something to do with family or a mother or a father who, or what they saw in their past, past relationships or just some issue with a mother, I feel. Some issue with a mother. Let me see here. What are their love messages? I wanna feel that way again. You came closer than anyone, Virgo. So this person, definitely. You came closer than their own mother. Maybe they were comparing you to their mother or father. But whatever the issue is, whatever was going on in the past, when you guys got really, really, really, really close, they loved the way that felt that they were able to be open and expressive with you. And the energy is still on the table about getting to know each other and strengthening the bond. Deepening the bond. I hope that you can forgive me one day. So this person, they must have done something, I think, delaying or withholding or withdrawing, caused a lot of friction. Virgo, you might have left the connection in the past and left this person out in the cold and started your life over. But I feel like this person is aware because it couldn't give you what you needed at the time, I feel there's regret about that. And it's enough that's motivating them to actually come through this time for you. I wish things could be different. Yeah, they definitely struggled with some internal stuff. I hid who I really am from you. Yeah, they didn't want you to see. They had a lot of great fear that you would judge them or you would look at their weaknesses and use it against them. This person has a fear of opening up because when we open up and become vulnerable, then we give other people the power to hurt us and whomever you were dealing with in the past recognized that as being, they were very overprotective of themselves and they kept things real surface with you or with other people. Well, they just threw out a couple of cards here. I hide behind material things. So this person worked first or people who don't wanna face the depth of their feelings or their fears and anxieties will have a tendency to obsess about really strange things or other things to take their place. Like so they could be hiding in addictions, gambling or putting obstacles in front of a relationship or in front of having, because when you get involved with someone, that person you're involved with reflects back to you who you are. And I feel like this person had a fear of looking into your eyes and seeing themselves, the worst part of themselves. They had a hard time seeing the glorious loving parts of themselves. So they would run away to other relationships so they would hide or get busy and work or any kind of addictions, okay? Okay, yep, I took the easy way out. So for this person, the easy way out was either replacing you or putting somebody else in the picture because so instead of going deep with you because of their fears, it was much easier to have other relationships and keep things surface. As soon as things start to get deep for this person with a particular person, they run, okay? Or they just back out, but with you for some reason, something happened here, you were able to get so close and they know this. They know that you were able to see behind any kind of mask. And did you judge them for it? No, I don't feel like you did. I feel like you related to it in a lot of ways and tried to be understanding and patient, okay? Healing family issues, definitely something to do here with the parents or a parent and then honeymoon. So you guys are gonna be getting together around the holidays, that's for sure. There's a lot of healing energy there with the star and it feels really promising. Now, is this the person from your past that was like very abusive? Well, you know, it could be. And I just want you to know that if this person is going in and getting recovery and healing from trauma and stuff, that's wonderful. But you still have to protect your heart because if they're coming back in, you still gotta make sure that you're not gonna be at the brunt, face the full brunt of any kind of abuse or issues that weren't resolved. I feel like this person, whatever they had going on in the past, some underlying hostility or addictions or things like that, I feel like they projected that stuff onto you in the past and that's why they're hoping that you can forgive them because I feel like they realized that they were resolving their conflicts and past issues with you through you, which you had nothing to do with. You may have triggered them at times. Okay, decision, this person is making a decision about this relationship right here very soon. Clearly decide what you want so that it comes to you now. I feel like you bring a very healing energy to this person, Virgo. I don't feel like they felt like you were critical in the past, maybe at some point or maybe they were extremely sensitive and took your truths as criticisms. But I feel like now they kind of see that you really didn't mean well for them, Virgo. Your heart was in the right place. You had good intentions and you just wanted to love this person and to be loved by them. And they had a lot of struggles, definitely a lot of struggles, but they're different now, okay? And this is what they want you to know. There was awakening up here and there is going to be more awakenings happening for this person. So yeah, they say that they're different now, but of course you need to be able to see that and they want to show you with that consistency and moving forward constantly, every day, protected. Virgo, you are protected. You are safe and divinely guided, okay? And they do, they wonder if you're happy without them. And I think you're happy, period, Virgo. I just think you are. I don't know that you're happy or without them. Some of you might be, but I kind of feel like overall, like you have a good positive outlook at this time in your life. I don't know if you're communicating with this person at this time. If you're not, they are wondering how you were feeling and what's going on with you. And if you are happy, I do feel like they care. But we also have the page of Earth here for your advice. Your advice right now, Virgo, if you just do some studying, if you like to study, be dependable, try to stay as cheerful as you can. This is also a card of mischievous energy. So you might need to like not let on every detail of your day, every single thing you're doing on social media, like putting that, you know, what you're having for dinner or what all your new stuff is. I feel like you need to really just start thinking more about your plans and concepts and also time to get to work, Virgo. There's an excellent opportunity presenting itself to you in the month of September. Okay, there will be some happy news about your career, promotions, maybe even scholarship comes through for someone. There's also a new area of studies. You might be doing something new or have ideas and plans for your career, things that you wanna, you know, concepts and plans. So stay focused on that really, because, you know, career and, you know, our creative side and things that we like to do are also very important. You know, it's not just about love all the time, but maybe for right now, that's what you've been doing and keep doing that. And the chariots here again, rewards that come from hard work. You will see the results and rewards from hard work you put in. You'll be able to successfully balance all of your priorities, which is very positive. You have determination and willpower and some of you will be receiving public recognition for your work and for the plans and the things that you go after and try to accomplish in your life during this month. Okay. You also have another page, Page of Fire. Okay. There is definitely somebody in your periphery might get a message that someone tells you when you were in school with them that they've had a crush on you for the longest time or it could be this person communicates and expresses this to you. Okay. So this card is about enthusiasm, being optimistic, creative and also being impatient. This is like no longer waiting and wanting to go forward. Okay. And being excited about what's coming up new and there's some news of exciting opportunities as I was saying, I see you allowing your creativity to soar and doing things that fuel your passions, your advice here Virgo is to finish what you start, whatever it is. Okay. In your life. Let's get a couple of charms. Okay. Oh. Okay. Some of you do work on social media. There's a little bird, little bird here. Okay. That little Twitter bird. So there might be communications or something in your DMs on Twitter if you use Twitter. But there's also about communication here, I feel. And I just heard canary in a coal mine. I feel like that was an old song. But there's definitely a message coming to you for at least for those of you who are currently feeling like you're in a dark place or from someone who is in a dark place. Okay. You might see something on Twitter. I feel like Twitter, I know I don't use Twitter and I actually don't even have social media anymore. I get rid of my social media. But I kind of feel like if you haven't, whatever the communication is or you're gonna see something it's gonna be very positive. Okay. The hanger is here. That popped out. Well, I picked that up twice here. So what does this mean? Some of you have a boutique or you're gonna start work or you're creating or working in a boutique. A specialty. Something here about specialty and you being special. You're very special this person, Virgo. But the hanger as well makes me feel like I'm hearing hang on. Just hang on, Virgo. Don't give up. Don't give up on love.  It's very positive. What's this? Okay. There's a horse here. So some of you could have a Chinese sign. The horse. Some of you might be the horse. Okay. And if that's the case, this is a message for you. Some of you have work on farms or you work with horses or have a connection to horses. Oh, wow. That's interesting. We have a skull with a top hat. A skull with a top hat. There's definitely, I don't know what that means. Please leave me comments below. If you know what a skull with a top hat represents, but there is something here also. Oh, I just heard nightmare before Christmas. For some of you, this person coming back before around the holidays might be nothing but a nightmare for you. Expect it though. I do feel like, whomever you were dealing with in the past, this person's like, oh great. Now my nightmare is happening during the day. You're getting some kind of text message or phone call or somebody wants to move towards you or come visit or travel or something along those lines. I'm also feeling, October 31st will be a very significant day. Oh look, now you have the skull and crossbones. All right, for some of you, this is just nothing but poison. Your poisonous nightmare, beware. Some of you need to beware. I know there's some of you who are like, I am not dealing with this person anymore. Again, I'm happy that they've had awakening. I'm happy that they realize now, but for some it might be too late. And for others, this is just a warning here. Be careful. Medicines that you're taking, things that you're drinking. Make sure you're, where you keep your cleaners for some reason, I need to tell you is to put locks on those doors or keep things out of reach or label things. Look at things around you that are toxic and poisonous. Whatever they are, put labels on that. Okay, toxicity and poison. That is unless somebody goes and gets some Reiki cleaning or something along those lines that you need to be wary of.  Many toxicity or poisonous people in your life that you need to steer clear from or eat for some of you. It could be this person. So you need to make sure that you are safe. Okay, Virgo, make sure you're safe. All right. So that's going to be your reading. At least we didn't have a light show today. And again, if you want to get a personal review, make sure you're safe. All right. Again, if you want to get a personal reading, link in the description box below. Do go over to my community tab here on my channel and look at the post about the live streams paid many readings. And if you would like to be part of my channel as a moderator. All right, you guys love you very much. I'll see you soon. Take care.


Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to Unfiltered. Pastor David, welcome. Good to be here. Pastor, just a brief question. Why is it so important to you to teach God's Word? You know, that's been an issue that we have, not so much an issue. That's been something that has been part of our conversation every time we speak, really, and one form or another isn't it, John? I mean, as a pastor and as a Calvary Chapel pastor especially, I have a great deal of belief that it's the Word of God that transforms lives. You know, I believe that we as pastors ought to be aware of our days and obviously we should, as pastors, be able to provide biblical direction in terms of how to deal with the issues that we find ourselves facing and even to the part where we should speak sometimes on the national issues, not as political experts, but as people who are capable of communicating things that relate to the everyday experiences of the average American in our state and city and all of that. So all of that is a given, but the bottom line is, I am thoroughly convinced that it's only the power of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit that transforms lives. And I've seen that over and over again over the years. And just yesterday, I received a message from a young lady who at one time had been in our church and had been in our church for many years until she got married and moved to another area and began attending another fellowship, even though she told me in her message that she still will turn on our radio program, not so much a radio, our programs like this and our teaching program from our web page. And she still does listen.  She was involved in women's ministry. She was involved in various things. But here's why. And I thought it would be sweet to be able to share a little bit about this with our listeners today. She wrote and she said that she wanted to let me know her testimony. And she shared how that she had been born to a 16 year old young girl.  And that at an early age she began to get involved in drugs. And when she was around 19 or so, she had been strung out for eight months. She had been doing meth every day several times a day. She said she had gotten to the point in her addiction and usage that a doctor had said to her, if you try and quit completely all at once, it can shock you. You can even die. So she said, well, what's using continuing life? It doesn't matter. And she just continued to habitually use and she did several times a day for eight straight months. She said I lost my lost weight. I lost everything. And then one day she says I was driving and I saw on a billboard 107.9 and I thought, what is that? I turned it on and I was listening to a pastor and the pastor was beginning to speak on some things and see if I can find it. She says one night I saw a sign that said 107.9. I was curious. So I checked it out. I heard a sermon about vessels of honor and dishonor. It was 3 a.m. I'd been drinking and getting high all night. Having accepted that, that's how I was going to die. I knew I couldn't quit. I just partied hard. The doctor told me it would be impossible to quit on my own. I would seizure, go into cardiac arrest. I heard that pastor talk about being, about having to be smashed and put in a fire to become pliable. I instantly felt a warm like honey, wax like substance. It seemed to be oozing from my head, my fingertips, toes. I was instantly sober. A few hours later I drove to Calvary Chapel Chino Valley. I'd been invited there. You see, I was raised in darkness but as I was listening to you speak, I was sure someone called you, told you about my life. She said, I've tried to find that sermon many times but she said I was so, so overwhelmed that I was crying. As crying so hard, strangers were reaching over from the pew and touching me to try and encourage me. She said, when you gave the invitation, I went forward. I got on my knees and I gave my life to Jesus. He changed my life. I knew God loved me. I prayed that day for withdrawals to be so horrible that I'd never go back to drugs. But he took away my addiction. I didn't feel not one thing, no shakes, no sweat, no temptation, desire to return to that drug or any any other drug for that matter. I used to get high multiple times a day. I couldn't go a few hours without a hit. I had a miracle. I attended your church for years. I had to, I moved from the Inland Empire.   I served there, did women's retreats, conferences, celebrated holidays. She's now married. She has three children and she's serving the Lord. John, you understand that? You went through that. I understand it to a degree. I went through something similar where there's an emptiness that only Christ can fill. There's a loneliness that only he can fill. There's just a need that only God can fill and it comes through the gospel. That's why I get upset at people who are going to churches that proclaim the sounds to be Christian churches who aren't really teaching, who are caught up with whatever the mood of the day is, whether it be politics or whether it would be, you name it, issues of some sort. That's why I get upset at that, John, because it's the gospel that set you free. It was Jesus Christ who set the apostle Paul free on that road to Damascus. It was Jesus Christ who set that Ethiopian free as he was returning from Jerusalem, empty from worship. It was Jesus Christ who reached the Samaritans. It was Jesus Christ who reached the household of Cornelius and Cornelius. It's the gospel that changes lives. Why do I insist on that? Because it's the only thing that changes lives when you see by faith and embraced and God transforms and forgives people of their sins. Nothing else does that. That's why I do this. Amen. Well, thank you, Pastor, for sharing that. We see many instances like you talked about in the Bible, the maniac, a lot of the different people that give their life to Christ are at an encounter with Christ. That's touching. That's where the gospel is being taught. Well, Pastor, thank you again so much for sharing that. God blessed this young lady who's written that and now has a family and serving the Lord. We do want to invite you guys to come join us on our Wednesday evening service at 7 p.m. Pastor, you're taking us through Romans 14. We'll go through the chapter tomorrow. So invite your friends and family to come and join us. We do look forward to seeing you. We'll see you again on Thursday for Unfiltered. Thank you for tuning in and God bless you.


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