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poisonbooknerd · 5 years

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Only A Breath Apart by Katie McGarry Blog Tour Announcement!

Would you dare to defy destiny? Are our destinies written in stone? Do we become nothing more than the self-fulfilling prophesies of other people's opinions? Or can we dare to become who we believe we were born to be?

“A gorgeous, heartfelt journey of redemption and love” (Wendy Higgins), ONLY A BREATH APART is a young adult contemporary novel from critically acclaimed Katie McGarry. “Haunting, authentic, and ultimately hopeful” (Tammara Webber), order your copy of ONLY A BREATH APART now!

About ONLY A BREATH APART:

They say your destiny is carved in stone. But some destinies are meant to be broken.

The only curse Jesse Lachlin believes in is his grandmother’s will: in order to inherit his family farm he must win the approval of his childhood best friend, the girl he froze out his freshman year.

A fortuneteller tells Scarlett she's psychic, but what is real is Scarlett’s father’s controlling attitude and the dark secrets at home. She may be able to escape, but only if she can rely on the one boy who broke her heart.

Each midnight meeting pushes Jesse and Scarlett to confront their secrets and their feelings, but as love blooms, the curse rears its ugly head…

Amazon | Kobo | Google Play

B-A-M | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books

“Gritty and real, Only a Breath Apart is a story of hope conjured from pain, strength drawn from innocence, and love earned from self-respect. Beautiful, poignant, and fierce.” ―Kristen Simmons, critically acclaimed author of the Article 5 series

Add it to your Goodreads today!

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Katie McGarry’s ONLY A BREATH APART – Review & Excerpt Tour Schedule:

January 21st

@booksniffer7 – Review

Bickering Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Book Ballistic – Excerpt

Book Hoarder Mom – Review

Brittany and Elizabeth’s Book Boutique – Review & Excerpt

Celindareyesblog – Excerpt

Cinta Garcia de la Rosa – Excerpt

Crystal's Book World – Excerpt

Do You Dog-ear? – Review & Excerpt

Little Shop of Readers – Excerpt

Novel Addiction – Excerpt

Resch Reads & Reviews – Review

Sister Sister Book Blog – Excerpt

This Jabberwocky Eats Books – Excerpt

Writing My Own Fairy Tale – Review

January 22nd

A Book Lovers Playlist – Excerpt

Beware Of The Reader – Excerpt

Beyourselfbebhaltair – Review & Excerpt

Booknerd1107 – Review

CeliaMoontown – Review & Excerpt

Crazy Chaotic Book Babes – Review & Excerpt

Echoing Books – Excerpt

GataLeitora – Excerpt

Its a mun thing – Excerpt

Mean Girls Luv Books – Excerpt

Mythical Books – Excerpt

Read more sleep less – Review

Stellar Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

The Lovely Teacher Addictions – Excerpt

The Romance Reviews – Excerpt

Words Are Life – Review & Excerpt

January 23rd

A Novel Glimpse – Review

Bewitching bibliophile – Review & Excerpt

Book Freak – Review

Books Are My Life – Review & Excerpt

Bookworm Misfit – Excerpt

ClaryNathanWill – Excerpt

Craves the Angst Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

Latteandbook – Review & Excerpt

Once Upon a Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

Phishbowl's bookshelf – Review

Red Hot + Blue Reads – Review & Excerpt

Sascha Darlington's Microcosm Explored – Excerpt

The Book Hammock – Review & Excerpt

The Readdicts Book Blog – Excerpt

Velarisreads – Excerpt

January 24th

A Court of Coffee and Books – Review & Excerpt

Avid Reads – Excerpt

Book Boyfriend Reviews – Review

Bookishly Nerdy – Review & Excerpt

Collector of book boyfriends – Review

Dazzled by Books – Review & Excerpt

Kick Back & Review – Excerpt

Lisa Loves Literature – Excerpt

Milky Way of Books – Review

Star-Crossed Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

Sweet Red Reads – Excerpt

Tale Out Loud – Excerpt

The Cover Contessa – Excerpt

The Lovely Books – Excerpt

The Start of Something New – Review & Excerpt

January 25th

A Literary Perusal – Review & Excerpt

Abellafairytale – Excerpt

Book Bite Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Boundless Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Confessions of a Wordaholic – Review & Excerpt

Fandomly Bookish – Excerpt

Girl Plus Books – Review

I Heart Romance & YA – Review

Kaidans Seduction – Excerpt

Short and Sassy Book Blurbs – Excerpt

Tales of dreams and nightmares – Excerpt

The Book Branch – Excerpt

The Book Trollop – Review & Excerpt

VoxLibris – Review & Excerpt

Witchy Richey’s Booktastic Reviews – Excerpt

January 26th

Ali's Bookshelf – Review & Excerpt

Beauty and Lace – Excerpt

Blunt Book Blog – Excerpt

Book Angel Booktopia – Review & Excerpt

Bookish Intoxication Writes – Review & Excerpt

Confessions of 2 Book Lovers – Review & Excerpt

Crazii Bitches Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

Family, Books and Food – Excerpt

Jesssiereads – Excerpt

Little Read Riding Hood – Review & Excerpt

Lovelyreadspublishing – Excerpt

Madison’s Library – Review & Excerpt

Rainy Days and Pajamas – Excerpt

Reese's Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Southern Vixens Book Obsessions – Excerpt

January 27th

3 degrees of fiction – Excerpt

All Things Dark & Dirty – Excerpt

As the Book Ends – Excerpt

Book Bitches Blog – Review

Books 4 Girls – Review & Excerpt

Bumbles and Fairy-Tales – Review & Excerpt

Chasing Faerytales – Review

Feed Your Fiction Addiction – Review

K&M Sultry Reads – Excerpt

K's Korner – Excerpt

Less Reality More Books – Review & Excerpt

My Fangirl Chronicles – Excerpt

Poetry law and something more – Review & Excerpt

Roxy's Reviews – Excerpt

Two Books in a Shelf – Excerpt

January 28th

Aaly and The Books – Review

A Book Fanatic Obsession – Review & Excerpt

BenderDreamerGirl: read.dream.escape – Excerpt

Book Reader Addicts – Review & Excerpt

Bookishly Slytherclaw – Review & Excerpt

Contagious Reads – Review & Excerpt

Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Escape 2 Fiction – Review & Excerpt

Midnight Book Girl – Excerpt

PBC – Excerpt

Rad Babes Read – Review & Excerpt

The Book Hookup – Review & Excerpt

Tween 2 Teen Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt

We Live and Breathe Books – Review & Excerpt

January 29th

A Gingerly Review – Review & Excerpt

A Lovely Book Affair – Excerpt

Bangor belle books – Excerpt

Becky on Books – Review & Excerpt

Books & Tea – Review & Excerpt

Chapter by Chapter – Review & Excerpt

Cupcakesandbookshelves – Excerpt

Desperately Seeking HEA’s Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

Echosreviews – Excerpt

GotToReadThoseBooks – Excerpt

Kindle and Me – Review & Excerpt

Lita's Book Blog – Excerpt

Margay Leah Justice – Excerpt

The Book Maven – Review & Excerpt

The Library of Belle – Excerpt

January 30th

Actin' Up with Books – Review

Book Reader Chronicles – Review & Excerpt

Bookistry_by_Ashleigh – Excerpt

Buttermybooks – Review

Ficwishes – Review & Excerpt

Geeky Reading – Excerpt

Little Bookworm Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Lo’s Lo-Down on Books – Review & Excerpt

Read. Eat. Love. – Review & Excerpt

Taylor Fenner’s Bookish World – Review

The Butterfly Reads – Excerpt

The Writing Finch – Excerpt

YA Bibliophile – Review & Excerpt

January 31st

Adventures in Writing – Review

Becca’s Bookish Life – Review

BookCrushin – Review & Excerpt

Here's to Happy Endings – Excerpt

Little Lovely Books – Review & Excerpt

Margaux – Excerpt

Ms. Me28 – Excerpt

Nerdy Soul – Review & Excerpt

Readers Live A Thousand Lives – Review

TBR Book Blog – Excerpt

The Bookish Introvert – Review & Excerpt

True Story Book Blog – Excerpt

February 1st

Alotabooks13 – Review & Excerpt

bad boys and bedtime stories book blog – Review

Caitlin's World – Review & Excerpt

CJR The Brit – Review

Court of Binge Reading – Excerpt

Hedwig Reads – Excerpt

Literary misfit – Excerpt

Moonlight Rendezvous – Excerpt

Readers Retreats – Excerpt

The Reading Faery – Review

Total Book Geek – Excerpt

Twirling Book Princess – Review & Excerpt

Vera is Reading – Excerpt

Whoo Gives A Hoot – Excerpt

YA/NA Book Divas – Excerpt

Katie McGarry Bio: Katie is the author of the PUSHING THE LIMITS series, THUNDER ROAD series, SAY YOU’LL REMEMBER ME, and the upcoming YA novel, ONLY A BREATH APART. Her novels have received starred reviews, critical acclaim and have won multiple awards including being a multiple Goodreads Choice Award Finalist for YA Fiction, multiple RT Magazine's Reviewer's Choice Award Finalist for Best YA Fiction, including a win in the category, and she was a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick.

#katiemcgarry #announcement #mine #look for my review and exclusive excerpt on Jan 24th!#oaba #onlyabreathapart

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captaindoubled · 6 years

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Long ass post but I’m in mobile so forgive me: Hella Black Panther spoilers below

It’s been long enough I think so Black Panther Hot Take (tm) that i haven’t seen yet (direct me to someone’s posts/article if they are on the same track) :

It was about terrorism. Or, more the making of terrorists. Sure they had criminals and thieves with Klaue (or however Becky Sue white way they spelled it) but Erik was basically Wakanda’s first terrorist.

The language they used to describe his father was very much in line with they way folks describe terrorists, being “radicalized”. It’s always used in news to mean “when they they turned crazy” when it’s always been “when the straw finally broke and they demand change by any means, even violent ones”

Black Panther didn’t treat terrorist as faceless bad guys to pop off like in other movies and something they “””tried””” to do a bit in the other marvel movies to an extent but failed. Erik was a terrorist with a face. Erik was family. He was rightfully part of that community, Wakandan royalty really (the only way he could be closer to new King T’Challa was to be his brother but that woulda been corny) and through isolation and loss funneled his hurt into anger into violence. Sure he hated Wakanda for what it did (or didn’t do) to help black people around the world but he deep down hated what it did to him. He was left an orphan without guidance. Many terrorist learn what they do from “””legitimate””” state militaries, and so did Erik. Old Tolkien White even seemed slightly proud when he announced that Erik was “one of there” as far as a military person and the skills they trained into him. Being in the military only radicalized him more, like many other terrorist.

People were hot brink mad over “Killmonger was right” because Nakia was right and they felt it ignored her and i get that buuuut, I’ll throw in that Nakia would have never been listened to, even with T’Challa head over foot for her, without Erik. He was Wakanda’s mistake. Their near fatal flaw. It took one person, first his dad, then him, to break Wakanda down to the ground. Poor oppressed people around the world are sad to look at sure, but by Wakanda isolationist principles, they are not their problem and so they only have to worry about their own country (America first anyone??) They were fine with the rest of the world thinking it was a dirty dust bowl because it kept them safe. But all it took was for one person to know about Wakanda, it’s wealth and it’s ability to help the rest of the black people they just let, suffer by hands of the rest of the world and people within Africa.

Nakia was radicalized in her own way because she just did not live in Wakanda the same way people just give their shit away and live on nothing and devote their entire life, body and soul to helping. They are helping people but Nakia was putting herself in unbelievable danger to fight the entire world alone and that’s not good for her. But because she lived in Wakanda, her actions were on aid because she had the means.

Erik had nothin, was shooting hoops in a milk crate and the higher he climbed, the harder it was for anyone bring him back down.

All it took for T’Chaka to decide that Erik wasn’t worthy was for him to be born outside of Wakanda. Isolation is a major contributor to people becoming terrorist. And yes, even white boy terrorist as awful as their are, people pray on their isolation. First generation, second gen, American born immigrants deal with the isolation of their family original homes as well as isolation and oppression from their communities and turn to people that promise that the people that hurt them will pay.

I saw a post a day or so back criticizing the idea that Erik was a product of toxic masculinity and I’d have to agree and disagree with them. When you see just looking at Erik as a dude, sure, that’s not all enough to say the reason he’s the way he is was just toxic masculinity, but when you look at him as a terrorist then yes! He’s absolutely the product of toxic masculinity.

Just breaking it down in girl/boy binary, girls tend to talk through their problems (which can leads to rumination [[which is probably the word lots of folks are looking for when they critique “”tumblr’s”” anti recovery culture]] which is bad and prevents recovery but gives them a chance to vent out some stress) or they internalize which leads them to just hurt themselves (Nakia putting her self in straight danger on the regular to help people [[The fact that T’Challa made her the head of the Wakanda outreach center basically in my opinion will save her life because she’d end up dead at a young age in the way she was going]])

While dudes external, which everyone knows, but also they internalize as well, which starts the whole thing in the first place. Toxic masculinity says don’t reach out for help, or talk to anyone and internet conversations that are basically anonymous give them a place to vent without feeling judged and that’s where a lot of radicalization happens now a days. Erik didn’t talk to nor really trust anyone with his plans and even at the end, he was still in so much pain that and anger and fear to do better or that it could be better, he decided to die instead.

But my biggest biggest support for the idea that it was about terrorism was M’Kabi. He was, as the movie progressed, being radicalized into being a terrorist. All he needed was for someone, anyone, to give him some justice for what was done to him (again framed around the criminal Klawfoot and what he did to Wakanda but really, what he did to my family). M’Kabi wasn’t so far gone because he had people that loved him, and he still loved Wakanda and so he was able to stand down, and even with the people not liking his character I found him just as sympathetic as Erik or another other character because he was hurting, and redirected his energy into someone he thought would change things. (Why we have trump tbh. So many Bernie voters when he lost the primary switched to Trump because they wanted changed, stupid but I understand).

Hell, even if Civil War hadn’t intended it, they got half right the plot line that set up for Black Panther with him and the dude that set in motion the movie ( like I said earlier with MCU tried but failed). He understood WHY he did it, they framed his conversation in a weird way, but I think that showed before he was going to be able to understand Erik in Black Panther because that’s old dude was another terrorist, Erik this time was just very close to home and family.

Before the NSA or FBI come knocking st my door, I’m writing this last part as a analysis of Black Panther in comparison to the US, leave me be please:

The US and other “first world counties” are just going to have more terrorist, either home grown ones are from abroad because they have the means to fix the root cause of problems, but choose not to. And that’s way creates terrorist. Like, even if they brought Erik to Wakanda, what if Nakia never came back to Wakanda and had a child outside of the country, what would happen to her child? What about another Wakandan? The problem was Wakanda’s isolation, not who the person was. The problem was the have the means as ability to help all of Africa for one, but chose not to for their own protection. People that either need help in the way of resources, mental health care, or just respect and assurance that they have the right to exist and not have these ideal capitalist life styles shoved in their face and are failures when they can’t change it. (America creates a shit ton of white cishet male terrorist, they know it, they just redirect their anger to brown and black and lgbt folk and disabled folk and Jewish or Muslim folk in hopes their guns won’t turn back in them. They tell white cishet men that they see infallibly right and all they have to do is achieve this goal post in life to also be the masters of the universe but even they are subjected to goal post moving or literally no ball to get into the goal and they are told as men that it’s because they are failures and not a strategic plan to make more white terrorist to terrorize “other” into submission and do their dirty work of policing “others” for them without legal consequences. Basically how white people got doped as sharecroppers to not side with free blacks against the people who were oppressing them both! That’s why white terrorist groups don’t go anyway, and even with gun violence they should 2nd amendment, because they are a low key state sponsored milita)

Like, again, I get why people were pissed at “Killmonger was right” 1) because Nakia existed and 2) they just probably weren’t in on the joke lol 3) it feels weird to sympathize with a terrorist. But that was the point. And B Jordan acted his ass off to make Erik an unironiclly sympathetic villain. His last line when he died still brings me to tears because that’s such a unique African Slave Trade Dysphoria pain that other people don’t understand. (Which I will rant on that at the bottom because Im pissed at someone’s comment on it)

It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard.

MLk, Jr quote on riots that in sure most folk know but I wanted it here in relation to Erik. He did what he knew and you cans abhor the violence but also you have to condemn the conditions that made him Killmonger.

Cause, like I understood Erik’s reasons, his actions were wrong and innocent people suffered. So he’s wrong in that way. But just like in movies and real life, you can sympathize and understand what brought people to those actions. It doesn’t make you wrong or weak or a bad person to want to change what caused a criminal to be a criminal. If anything, the vilifying and pathologizing of criminals prevents real reforms in society that could have prevented their crime. And we are all guilty as fuck of that. (And no, I’m not saying you have to be nice and forgiving and never be angry at criminals because they still did the crime [[most of the time, bias in the law make this hard to deal with sometimes]] but immediately distancing them from “normal people” makes it so the reason they are they way they are never get fixed. We all are the attack dogs against state reform and prision reform because we throw away criminals instead of fixing the world that made them because “I loved a hard life and I turned out fine, what’s their excuse”, different biology for one and modeling of how to deal with stress from family or peers but another rant for another day). But thats why I brought up white Boy terrorist, probably too much for anyone’s liking; there is an underlying reason to their actions and it isn’t just, toxic masculinity or them being entitled or mental illness or whatever other buzz word, but a country that mass produced them and trains them like dogs and sends them off on anyone they think is in their way of their goal. Republicans are always trying to do that by building a divide between Black Americans and Latinx (American or Immigrants) as a way to sick Black people on Latinx if that’s easy to swallow. They do the same with Asian Americans against Black and Latinx people. Give a crumb and say that person is why you don’t have a full cake, the cake they are fucking eating!

That’s how we get respectably politics because it keeps black people from uniting against the folks that are the ones disrespecting them and making black fight fight for scraps of respect. Or African shitting in AfAms or other way around or throw in some Afro Carribaians into the mix and you’ve got three groups pointing fingers at each other while someone robs them all blind

Like Erik may not be dealing with some of those intra group politics going on since his beef was with Wakanda and not the US but he learned how to hate like that, and learned how to external and divide and conquer from the best in the business at that, living in the US. So it’s still relevant on the creation of terrorist.

At the end, T’Challa made a speech that all nations should make, to commit to helping, really helping, because for him, one Killmonger was enough. He would have loved to welcome him into the family as a cousin and not an enemy.

So Dee’s Hot Fresh Take (Tm): Black Panther was about terrorism and what creates terrorist and I think that umbrella covers shit like toxic masculinity and isolationism and Trans Atlantic dysphoira and racial injustice and the like. Don’t gotta agree, all my sources are in my head because I’m on an adderall fuled typing fest on my phone but it’s solid enough. I like this interpretation anyway lol.

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Side rant in Erik’s words, a Household name activist took offense to it (won’t say who they are because I’m not that messy) but suffice it to say, they said something along the lines of celebrating the slaves that made it snd made change and their resilience. Which, you know, dope, but it doesn’t work for Erik nor his story. And I think it takes away a big part of the strength of slaves who ended their lives or the lives of their children rather than suffer they way they did. There is a reason that many black people cant swim, we all know that! It’s because slave owners beat the fear of water into them and the tradition just kept up, more switching to prevent black peoples from enjoying the bounties of nature (and as more research on nature and mental health, a way of preventing black folk healing) but it was to stop slaves from trying to escape AND dying as a form of resistance. When hoteps say the Bible was used to oppression black people and it being the white man’s religion they are only like, part right, like 3% on the mark, because using the Bible, suicide was something punishable in the after life as well and so that prevented a lot of suicides. Abortions fucking crippled plantations sometimes because when the trading stopped, they needed more slaves but women were just not having children as a form of resistance. Death and life has always been a part of resistance and it’s so disengenous to ignore all the slaves that died for the freedom of others, or their faith said that the water would take them back home Igbo Landing Story). People in extreme conditions like they have to always be prepared to die because there lives are always on the line either way. If there Death is meaningful or a mother has to abort every child they have, consentual or not, it’s part of the resistance. And the trauma of it all. We still feel echos of the past in the present but we are so far removed from that very specific pain sometimes that it’s easy to focus on the ones that lived, the heroes, because it gives us hope that it will get better, or we can mobilize for folks that had their life stolen from them because they had more life to live but we sweep the ones that took their own life as if it was the cowards way when we never walked in their shows. And for the writers of black Panther to acknowledge them in the creation of a character like Erik makes me cry. I know when I was younger u tried to separate myself from slavery because it was painful and I heard the Igbo Landing in elementary school and it hurt me so badly I was the only person in my class just uncontrollably balling but I’m older and I respect those people, myth or real, so much. Tbh! In reference to what Erik said, and why slaves drowned themselves to go home, Erik wanted to be burred at sea to return home, to the dead land area, with his dad in their little apartment because Wakanda was nice but he’d never see it as home.

#black panther spoilers #bp spoilers #suicide mention

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southernbelle24 · 7 years

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Battles: Chapter 7

A Finn Balor fan fiction.

Taglist: @mylittlepartofthegalaxy @igobypoet. @nickysmum1909 @nickie-amore @thebadchic

I was so excited but hoped Fergal didn't think this would be because of me. After the meeting Hunter asked me to hang back. "You must be very proud of him. He deserves all the best. I feel this is the best move, the right move. Do you agree?" Hunter asked while signing the final plans for the promotion. "Definitely, I couldn't imagine anyone else making such an impact, he will be so pleased!" I said, attempting not to seem too excited and give myself away. "Madeline, may I ask you something not as your boss, but as someone that's known you your entire life?" I nodded in anticipation. "Will you two ever become official? I've never seen two more stubborn people. Life is too short, if you love him...tell him. I think he would reciprocate. We wrestlers aren't all that terrible, I promise. Oh and you deliver the news to him. It would mean more coming from you." Hunter said as he packed up his briefcase and walked out the door before I could think of a snappy comeback. The truth is I didn't have an answer. I was scared. Scared of more, scared of what it would mean to belong to someone in that way. Maybe I would bring it up one day, but for now I wouldn't distract him. His world was about to change and he didn't even know it. That night while lying in bed, a familiar ringtone filled the room. Looking down at my phone I couldn't help but smile. Accepting the FaceTime, I greeted Fergal and asked about his day. After hearing all about his lay over at airport, bus ride to the venue, and lack of hot shower at his hotel, he eagerly asked about my mine. Unable to contain my excitement any more, I carefully disclosed the plan for the upcoming promotion. "Are you kidding me? I'm getting the belt, in Japan, in less than a month?" He asked digesting the information he had just received. "Holy smokes, I've wanted this for so long. I've gotta call my folks and family back home. I want them to be there!" He said slowly calming down from the excitement. "Love, I've got to have you there with me. Say you will be there? It would mean more than you know." He asked cautiously but matter of factly. "Of course I'll be there, I wouldn't miss it. You know that!" I said while my conscience did back flips.

#finn balor #finn bálor #fergal devitt #prince devitt #fanfic #fiction

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dailyaudiobiblechronological · 5 years

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07/24/2019 DAB Chronological Transcription

Isaiah 35 - 36

Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible Chronological. I'm China. Today is the 24th day of July, welcome. It is so great to be here with you guys today. Today as we hit the middle of our week, we are continuing the book of Isaiah we're in chapters 35 - 36. And we continue with the English Standard Version for today. Commentary

What a hot mess that we read about today. This man comes to undermine King Hezekiah, undermine what he is doing with these people. And then if that isn't enough, he's mocking the Lord and just with all of these different phrases and he just has malicious and evil intent in his heart. And so even just reading that and thinking, "man, look what happens when we turn away from the Lord. Look what happens when we truly forget what the Lord has done for us". To where we no longer remember who he is or what he has done. We've become bitter and we try to undermine him. We tried to rebuke who he is and say, "look, I did this on my own. I did this for myself, or this is going to come through from me, or I'm just going to do this". And so I think we have a quite literal reference today of, "Hey, be careful what's in your heart. Don't forget who the Lord God is and certainly don't undermine the Lord God. Prayer

And so father, I thank you for who you are. I thank you that no one can take away from who you are. Not even someone just being rude, that doesn't take away from who you are. And so lord, I just pray that we would be people of honor. That we'd be a people who, don't give in to deceit, that we don't give into mockery, or that we would be planted firm in your word. That we would know your word as truth and goodness and as justice. And I thank you that you didn't need people to defend your name or your honor, but you and your infinite wisdom and glory and power and might, are all consuming. And Lord, I thank you that in place of that you actually come to our rescue that you fight for us. And Lord, we are so grateful. I just thank you for your word. It's in your son's name we pray, Amen. Announcements

Dailyaudiobible.com is our website, that is the home base here in this community. It's where you can check out what is going on in the community. So be sure to check out there. And as always we have our prayer requests line and this is where you can call in and ask for prayer. This is where you can call in when you've heard someone's prayer requests and pray over them. And to call in and give an update, a praise report, and sometimes even just, hey, there hasn't really been any change and I'm feeling discouraged that I need prayer, because that is real life too. And so if that's you and you're needing that, we have that number available and it's (800) 583-2164. Those get played at the end of every day's podcast. But that is all for today. I'm China, I love you. And I'll be waiting for you here, tomorrow. Community Prayer Requests

Good morning Daily Audio Bible Chronological family. This is Becky in Orlando. And I just want to give thanks to China for hanging in there. And for reading to us, I love you. I'm a little bit behind, like maybe a week and a half, but I am catching up. So today's my Friday and hopefully over my little weekend I'll be able to catch up on the Daily Audio Bible Chronological. Um, so anyway, I love you. And, um, if you guys could keep on praying for me, I still am uh, in need of sales. I just need to get some qualified clients in front of me. Um, so if you can uh, pray for me on that. And then today, my friend Angela is, uh, she's in labor right now. She's got one more centimeter to go before she can start pushing. So, um, if you guys could pray for her and pray for her healthy baby, um, I would greatly appreciate it. And I hope that it'll be as easy child birth. So I love you guys and I will look forward to my, uh, my, uh, binge weekend of Chronological Bible. All right, guys. Love you lots. Bye.

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readingfordummies · 7 years

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Witches of East End - Chapter Four

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

Before hiring a certain curly-haired bartender last fall, the North Inn bar was a sleepy little place, the kind of run-down pub that locals liked to gather in to trade gossip and visit one another without having to fight scores of drunk preppies for a table. Memorial Day meant that summer had officially arrived, and even if the town was hidden and unknown, the seasonal wave of tourists to East End brought a good number of visitors who found themselves within the city limits, and several new establishments had begun to provide to this crowd. But not the North Inn. The well drinks were strong and cheap, and other than a decent view of the water, that was pretty much all it had going for it.

How things had changed. It was still a local place but it was no longer quiet or calm. The joint, as they said, was jumpin', and did it ever. There was a loud, throbbing jukebox that played only the good stuff, when rock 'n' roll was performed by real rock stars. Men in tight pants who sang lustily about women, drugs, and wickedness had been put to celluloid parody or reality-TV rehabilitation. The old rock swagger was the exclusive territory of rap music now, the only genre that still celebrated satisfaction in all its forms. The boys with guitars had turned to writing moody little songs, safe little emotional songs that no one could dance to.

Freya liked rap just fine, and was known to blast the latest gangster throw-downs now and then, but at the North Inn she preferred the classics. The Brits: The Sex Pistols. The Clash. The '70s rock-opera - stylists: Queen. Yes. Early Genesis (this was crucial - Peter Gabriel - led Genesis, not the earsore it became under Phil Collins). Metal: Led Zeppelin. Deep Purple. Metallica. Party Rock: AC/DC. Def Leppard. Motley Crüe if she was feeling a tad ironic. Since she'd arrived to work at the North Inn, the place was always blasting with the screech of guitars and the fist-pumping dance-floor anthems that drove the crowd to its feet. But next to the drinks she poured, the music was almost irrelevant.

The redheaded bartender had a way of making the cocktails just right: the gin and tonics tart and fresh, the dark and stormies luscious with bite. It was a party every night, and every evening ended with customers dancing on the bar, losing their shyness and occasionally their clothing. If you came into the North Inn alone and feeling blue, you left with either a new friend or a hangover, sometimes both.

However, a week after her engagement party, the bar, like Freya, was a bit quiet. While the music was still loud and strong, it had an underlying mournful echo. The Rolling Stones sang "Waiting on a Friend": I'm not waiting on a lady, I'm just waiting on a friend . . . , the cocktails were soft and sweet, the gin fizz didn't fizz, the champagne was flat, the beer turned lukewarm after only a few minutes. It was just like the engagement party, but worse. She was glad Ingrid wasn't around to notice; she didn't want her sister any more suspicious than she already was. What happened with Killian that evening had been an impulsive act, but it was over now and everything would be all right. There was no need to panic. So what if all she could dream about was Killian? So what if he had invaded her consciousness, had become the subject of her every waking thought? When she closed her eyes, she could still see his beautiful face, hovering above hers. She would make it go away. She would make him go away. If only it was Killian who was halfway around the world and not her love.

Bran called earlier: he had arrived safely in Denmark and was on his way to his meeting. She knew she had to get used to it; from the beginning he had explained that his life and his work involved a great amount of travel and that he was rarely home, but he was planning to slow down after the wedding. Hearing his voice had cheered her up a little, but her dark mood continued to build as she leaned back on the bar, watching customers arrive. Dan Jerrods and his new girlfriend, Amanda Turner, walked in, and an image flashed in Freya's mind: Dan had Amanda up against a wall, the two of them gasping and grabbing at each other, Amanda's blouse unbuttoned, Dan's jeans at his knees. That was just a few minutes before they'd set off for the bar. It was early in their relationship, and sex was still their way of saying hello. Freya certainly spoke that language.

Right behind the postsex couple was Mayor Todd Hutchinson (fervent masturbation last night in front of a computer), with his friend, flashy developer Blake Aland (a tangle of some sort in his car the other week: it was blurry and the vision wouldn't focus, but Freya sensed some kind of sexual frustration here), then the good reverend and his wife (a flash of leather whips and masks over the holiday weekend). Sometimes Freya felt a bit dizzy from all the information. She should be used to it by now, her talent - she refused to call it a "gift" - but it still came as a surprise.

This was just another display of her nature, the ability to see intense emotion - and it wasn't just sexual passion or romantic love that she was able to see. Freya could also read intense anger and hatred, the opposite of love as it were: murderous rage, overwhelming anxiety. Over the centuries, her talent had been very useful. Although there was very little of it, North Hampton was not immune from crime. When it did happen, it was usually scandalous and spectacular, like the chilling murder of a socialite who had been poisoned at her own dinner party, or sad and unusual, like what had happened to Bill and Maura Thatcher. Their bodies had been found on the beach just last winter, both of them bleeding from the head. Bill died from his injuries but Maura was still in intensive care, comatose at the hospital.

Freya had been helpful in bringing the socialite's murderer to justice. An angry housekeeper who was an occasional customer was behind the heiress's death. Freya saw exactly how she did it, putting a small amount of poison into the champagne, expertly popping back the cork. She had pointed the police in the right direction so that they were able to build their case. The detectives had found a bottle of the toxic substance among the housekeeper's possessions, which led to the conviction, a thrilling conclusion all around.

She served Dan and Amanda their drinks. She smiled at the honeymooning couple - the first two weeks of any relationship was a honeymoon as far as Freya was concerned. Couples waited so long to marry these days, or had been living together for years before, that most honeymoons had very little mooning or honey. The sex, if there was any, was usually of the garden variety, missionary style. Most couples were much more excited about their luxurious hotel rooms than about seeing each other naked. The days of trembling virginal brides slipping in between cold sheets were long past. Which was why Freya looked on new couples with affection. These were her people, worshipers at her temple. She blessed them with her smile and numerous free drinks.

The reverend and his wife ordered a decent bottle of wine, and Blake wanted a beer. She set the orders on the bar and turned to her final customer. "What can I get you, sir?" she asked the mayor.

"Whiskey, straight, thanks Freya."

"Sure thing, Mayor," she said. Todd Hutchinson was young, slick, and ambitious. He had big plans for North Hampton and had swept into office on the campaign donations of people like Blake Aland. The young mayor was popular around town, although Freya knew her sister, Ingrid, was not a fan ever since she'd gotten wind of his proposal to sell the library. Poor Ingrid, there was nothing she would be able to do if the proposal was approved.

Unlike Ingrid, Freya had nothing against Todd, who was polite and tipped well. He was married to a local news anchor rumored to be in line for a national spot on the network. Maybe that was the reason he'd had to resort to online porn. Two huge careers meant couples rarely had time for each other. It was too bad. Freya handed him his whiskey and turned back to the bar.

"What's up tonight? So quiet for a Friday," said her boss, Sal McLaughlin, who'd inherited the North Inn and its bar from his brother, who'd retired. Sal was a cheerful man of seventy, with wiggly eyebrows and a belly laugh. He had hired Freya on the spot and acted as her honorary grandfather. Sal coughed noisily into his handkerchief and wheezed.

"You all right? That sounded pretty gross," she teased as Sal blew his nose again with a big honk.

"Allergies." He shrugged. "Must be the change of weather." He wiped his nose and sighed, his eyes tearing. "Always hits right about June." It had been an unusually sudden change from a rainy spring to a humid summer; the air was thick and heavy, even more so than usual. And the heat was not usually quite this hot so early in the season.

"It's like a funeral in here. Who died?" Sal joked, as he cranked up the AC.

Freya shrugged. She knew it was her energy that was causing the gloom, but she couldn't help it. So it was an off day. She couldn't be expected to keep the party going forever, could she? A hand waved and she walked over to the opposite counter of the U-shaped bar where Becky Bauman was downing dirty martinis like candy. "Another one?" Freya asked.

"Oh, why not." Becky sighed as she stared at her husband, flirting with his date, across the bar. Becky and Ross had recently separated. They had not been married long, but they were the parents of a six-month-old; and Freya saw that a darkness had clouded the love that had once held them together, as exhaustion and sleep deprivation led to nonstop arguments that left both of them even more unhappy and unsatisfied, until Ross had finally had enough and moved out.

Ross was currently deep in conversation with Natasha Mayles, a former model who was one of the town's too-too-toos: too rich, too pretty, too picky. Too good for any man to come near when it came down to it. The Natasha Mayleses of the world certainly thought too much of themselves to settle down with just anyone. It was a wonder what she was doing with Ross Bauman, who was not even divorced yet.

"What happened to us?" Becky asked, as she watched Freya make her cocktail. "I hate him. I really do. I don't know what I'm going to do."

Freya caught a flash of an image: another argument, this one vivid and gut-wrenching, ending in a violence that had not been there before - arms flailing, the baby crying, a push down the stairs. . . . She turned away and paused. Regardless of what her mother or sister believed, truly she did not do very much to the drinks except make them taste better, a by-product of the fact that she made them. Everything Freya made or cooked tasted delicious, a consequence of her magical heritage.

But the ugly scene she had just witnessed - and she did not know who exactly was in danger, Becky, Ross, or their baby; the image did not reveal that much - made her think. Maybe if there hadn't been a bit of love between them Freya would never have considered doing what she was about to do. But there was. She saw the two of them sneaking glances at each other when they thought the other was not looking. Besides, Natasha Mayles was all wrong for Ross. She wandered into the North Inn with her arrogant accent and bored, quasi-European attitude.

Truly, it was a ridiculous rule anyway, why couldn't they use magic? Why not? Just because of a few silly girls who told a few lies? So a couple of lying bitches were allowed to ruin their lives forever? Freya would never forget the way those awful girls had spun their clever story, their crazy histrionics in the courtroom, the growing list of suspects, the carriages that took the condemned down to Gallows Hill. How stubborn and blind she had been! She had assumed no one would believe their accusers, that no one in their right mind would think that she and Ingrid were capable of such evil. To add insult to injury, her own kind, their own Council, took away their powers after everything they had been through - hard punishment indeed. Well. She had had enough. She was tired of feeling afraid. Tired of feeling useless. Tired of trying to pretend she was something she wasn't. Tired of hiding her light in a corner. Under a lampshade, behind a curtain, in a dark room. Tired.

Freya Beauchamp was made of magic. Without magic she was just someone who poured drinks. She had been so good for so long, all of them had, and for what? What was the point of it all, really? It was a waste of their talents; were they really supposed to just live in the shadows and fade away? Act as if they were ordinary for the rest of their immortal lives?

Freya thought of everything they had given up: flying, for one; she still remembered how it felt, moving through the skies, the wind in her hair. She missed the midnight capers in the woods as well, the powerful rituals that were taboo now that pagan was a bad word. The world had moved on, of course, that was to be expected; maybe it would have happened even without the restriction, but now they would never know. Like the rest of her family, she was stuck on this side of the bridge, with no way to return home.

She made up her mind. She touched Ross's beer glass and added just a drop of gingerroot and lemon zest. Then she stirred it with the red straw from Becky's cocktail. The pint of beer turned a bright shade of pink for a split second. Now, this was definitely against the rules, this little mixture she had made, this little love potion. Sure, she had practiced a little magic before, here and there - that boy back in New York, that vampire's familiar she had healed, for instance. But that was in the East Village, where she had been fairly certain what little, insignificant, magic she had performed had been cleverly hidden and absorbed by the city's own kinetic energy.

This was something quite different, different even from the little nudges she gave the police to help solve crimes. This was the first real love potion she had created in . . . well, when the number of years was so big, who was counting? Besides, it was a shame to let such a good couple go to waste, and she shivered at the thought of what might be if she did not: that terrible argument, a child growing up without parents, one dead, the other in jail. Freya increased the power of the drinks she was about to serve. It didn't have to happen. All they needed was a little help to get over the bump. They just needed a little reminder of why they had been together in the first place. She set the martini in front of Becky and the beer in front of Ross. "Cheers!" she told them, holding up her own glass.

"To our health," Becky mumbled. She was probably embarrassed to have revealed so much to Freya earlier.

"Bottoms up," Ross called to Becky from across the bar. He took a huge pull from his glass; and for a moment his face turned gray and it looked as if he were going to be sick, or throw up. Freya felt a wave of nerves - what if she had forgotten to mix it just right? What if she had poisoned him somehow - what if she had forgotten the correct amount to put in the mixture? She rushed to his side, hoping there was still time to serve him an antidote, when the color returned to his cheeks and he took a deep breath. "What's in that?" he asked Freya.

"Why? Is there something wrong with it?" she asked, trying not to feel too frightened.

"There's nothing wrong with it! It's awesome!" he declared, and downed the whole thing in one huge gulp. When he was done, his eyes seemed to light up, and he looked across the bar at his wife with a face full of wonder, falling in love with her all over again. Becky returned the smile tentatively, and in a few minutes the two of them were giggling, then howling with laughter, while Natasha looked confused and unfriendly. Then Ross excused himself from his date, walked over to his wife, and gave her a back-dipping "Times Square - World War Two has ended" victory kiss. Natasha stomped off in a bad mood.

Freya sighed in relief. A few minutes later, she was smiling like a Cheshire cat. Her potion had worked. She still knew exactly how to make them. In an instant, the music on the jukebox suddenly pumped to life: Axl Rose screeching a love song: "Sweet Child o' Mine." She's got a smile that it seems to me, Reminds me of childhood memories . . . The music began to fill up the night, lustful and passionate, making girls grab their boys' hands to lead them to the ad hoc dance floor in front of the jukebox. Dan and Amanda began to dirty-dance, and even the reverend and his wife took a spin. In the corner, the Baumans were making out so heavily - was that Ross's hand up Becky's shirt? - They should really think of leaving; it was getting a tad too heated. Even the mayor sat at the counter with a dreamy look on his face.

Freya drummed her fingers on the counter, swaying to the music. Sal had been right. It had felt like winter in there for a moment. But the frost had melted now. Of course, she still felt terrible about what happened with Killian. But a little magic went a long way.

#woee

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