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Speaker 1: Life Audio. Well, Hey there, friends, I'm Jody Nisnick and

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Speaker 1: welcome to our Lent series. LND is a season that

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Speaker 1: helps us prepare our hearts for Easter. This year, we're

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Speaker 1: reflecting on the I Am statements of Jesus. When Jesus

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Speaker 1: uses this phrase, he is hearkening back to Exodus, where

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Speaker 1: God reveals himself as the I Am, And when Jesus

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Speaker 1: uses this phrase, he is declaring he is God and

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Speaker 1: revealing something about his character. My prayer is that these

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Speaker 1: moments of reflection and prayer will help you slow down

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Speaker 1: and draw closer to the heart of Jesus. Will get

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Speaker 1: started after a brief word from our sponsors. Before we

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Speaker 1: begin our meditation, I want to invite you to head

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Speaker 1: into the show notes, where you you will find a

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Speaker 1: link to download the free I Am Companion journal that

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Speaker 1: I've made for this series. It has each scripture that

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Speaker 1: we are meditating on, all of the reflection prompts, and

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Speaker 1: it gives you space to take notes on your prayers

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Speaker 1: and meditation time. I do hope you'll take advantage of

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Speaker 1: this free resource. Also, for the season of LND, I

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Speaker 1: will release a brief guided prayer every Wednesday to help

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Speaker 1: us prayer fleet reset our focus on Jesus. You'll find

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Speaker 1: that right here in this feed each Wednesday. Well, with that,

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Speaker 1: let's get started. Let's begin as we always begin here,

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Speaker 1: and that's by taking a few deep in and out breaths.

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Speaker 1: As you breathe deeply in, notice God's presence is with

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Speaker 1: you right here and right now. As you slowly exhale,

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Speaker 1: do a quick scan of your body. Is there any

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Speaker 1: place that you are holding tension? Release it, ask God

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Speaker 1: to hold it for you. Take another deep breath in

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Speaker 1: and slowly exhale again. Keep doing that, and let me

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Speaker 1: pray for you. Lord. Thank you so much that you

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Speaker 1: have brought us here today to be present with you

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Speaker 1: more intentionally, we ask now that your word would become

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Speaker 1: living and active in our lives. That your spirit would

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Speaker 1: guide and lead us to notice exactly what you have

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Speaker 1: for us. That you would reveal more of who you

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Speaker 1: are as the way, the truth, and the life. Thank

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Speaker 1: you Lord, that you are good and loving father, and

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Speaker 1: you want to invite us deeper into relationship with you,

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Speaker 1: so we asked that you would do that. Now we

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Speaker 1: pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen. Well, as

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Speaker 1: we enter this fifth week of our Lenten journey, we're

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Speaker 1: getting closer and closer to the cross. This I am

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Speaker 1: statement comes from the night before Jesus's arrest. The disciples

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Speaker 1: don't know what is coming that Jesus does, and so

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Speaker 1: Jesus in love is trying to prepare them. They've just

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Speaker 1: finished sharing their final meal. Jesus has washed their feet,

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Speaker 1: and he's predicted the betrayal by Judas. He's even told

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Speaker 1: Peter that he would deny him before the evening was over.

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Speaker 1: It was an intense, heavy, and confusing time for all

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Speaker 1: of them, and so Jesus speaks words of comfort and promise,

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Speaker 1: words that would help them in that moment, but words

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Speaker 1: that would also carry them forward in the days and

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Speaker 1: weeks that would come. So with this context and mind,

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Speaker 1: as I read the passage the first time, simply listen

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Speaker 1: to these words of Jesus, so you know where the

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Speaker 1: passage is headed. Our reading is John fourteen, verses one

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Speaker 1: through six. Today I'm reading from the New Living Translation.

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Speaker 1: Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and

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Speaker 1: trust also in me. There is more than enough room

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Speaker 1: in my father's home. If this were not so, would

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Speaker 1: I have told you that I am going to prepare

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Speaker 1: a place for you. When everything is ready, I will

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Speaker 1: come and get you so that you will always be

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Speaker 1: with me where I am. And you know the way

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Speaker 1: to where I am going. No we don't, Lord Thomas said,

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Speaker 1: we have no idea where you are going, So how

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Speaker 1: can we know the way? Jesus told him I am

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Speaker 1: the Way, the Truth, and the life. No one can

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Speaker 1: come to the Father except through me. Take a moment

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Speaker 1: to try to imagine what this must have been like

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Speaker 1: for the disciples. They were in this small upper room

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Speaker 1: feeling confusion and fear. They knew something was coming, but

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Speaker 1: they didn't know what. They were troubled. Now, holding this

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Speaker 1: scene in mind as I read a second time, ask

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Speaker 1: the Lord to guide you to a word or a

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Speaker 1: phrase that he has for you. Try not to overthink

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Speaker 1: or overanalyze this. Just see is there something your attention

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Speaker 1: is being pulled toward. Hold onto that and will reflect

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Speaker 1: on it after the reading. Don't let your hearts be troubled.

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Speaker 1: Trust in God, Trust also in me. There is more

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Speaker 1: than enough room in my Father's home. If this were

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Speaker 1: not so, would I have told you that I Am

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Speaker 1: going to prepare a place for you when everything is read.

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Speaker 1: I will come and get you so that you will

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Speaker 1: always be with me where I am, and you know

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Speaker 1: the way to where I am going. No, we don't,

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Speaker 1: Lord Thomas said, we have no idea where you are going,

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Speaker 1: So how can we know? The way? Jesus told him

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Speaker 1: I am the Way, the Truth, and the life. No

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Speaker 1: one can come to the Father except through me. Take

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Speaker 1: a moment to reflect on the word or phrase that

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Speaker 1: you noticed and ask God, how does this connect to

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Speaker 1: my life? Right now? As I read this third time,

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Speaker 1: notice again when you noticed in the second reading, and

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Speaker 1: ask God to help you know how He's inviting you

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Speaker 1: to take a step forward with him. There may be

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Speaker 1: a sin to confess, a truth to remember, a step

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Speaker 1: of trust to take, or something else. I'll give you

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Speaker 1: space after the reading to talk to God. Don't let

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Speaker 1: your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me.

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Speaker 1: There is more than enough room in my Father's home.

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Speaker 1: If this were not so, would I have told you

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Speaker 1: that I Am going to prepare a place for you.

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Speaker 1: When everything is ready, I will come and get you

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Speaker 1: so that you will always be with me where I am,

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Speaker 1: and you know the way to where I am going. No,

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Speaker 1: we don't Lord Thomas said, we have no idea where

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Speaker 1: you are going, so how can we know the way?

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Speaker 1: Jesus told him I am the Way, the Truth, and

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Speaker 1: the life. No one can come to the Father except

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Speaker 1: through me. Talk to God about what you believe he

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Speaker 1: is leading you toward, and be open and honest about

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Speaker 1: any fears, hesitations, or resistance you feel. Allow God to

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Speaker 1: speak back to you and love, reminding you that He

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Speaker 1: is preparing a place for you. You and He will

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Speaker 1: return for you. And now, as we move into the

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Speaker 1: final reading, I want to invite you rest in the

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Speaker 1: truth of God's goodness and his love for you. Rest

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Speaker 1: in the truth that Jesus is the Way, the Truth,

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Speaker 1: and the life. Rest in knowing that He is preparing

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Speaker 1: a place for you, that there will come a day

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Speaker 1: when you will be with him, a day where there

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Speaker 1: will be no more mourning or crying, or death or pain,

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Speaker 1: a day when we will be filled with joy in

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Speaker 1: His presence. For our final reading, I'm going to read

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Speaker 1: the passage from the message translation, don't let this throw you.

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Speaker 1: You trust God, don't you trust me? There is plenty

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Speaker 1: of room for you in my Father's home. If that

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Speaker 1: weren't so, would I have told you that I'm on

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Speaker 1: my way to get a room ready for you. And

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Speaker 1: if I'm on my way to get your room ready,

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Speaker 1: I'll come back and get you so that you can

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Speaker 1: live where I live. And you already know the road

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Speaker 1: I'm taking, Thomas said, Master, we have no idea where

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Speaker 1: you're going. How do you expect us to know the road?

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Speaker 1: Jesus said, I am the road, also the truth, also

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Speaker 1: the life. No one gets to the father apart from me.

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Speaker 1: If you really knew me, you would know my father

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Speaker 1: as well. From now on, you do know him, You've

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Speaker 1: even seen him. Lord, thank you that you are the way,

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Speaker 1: that you are, the truth, that you are, the life. Lord.

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Speaker 1: We ask that whatever it is that you revealed to

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Speaker 1: us in your word, whatever you helped us notice, would

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Speaker 1: you now help us carry that forward today and this week. Lord,

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Speaker 1: thank you for so many beautiful truths in this passage,

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Speaker 1: for the reminder that you are preparing a place for us,

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Speaker 1: and that when everything is ready, you will come and

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Speaker 1: you will get us. Lord. We do you ask, Come, Lord, Jesus, Come.

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Speaker 1: May everything be ready soon? Lord. We are longing for

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Speaker 1: your return, But until that day, help us to rest

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Speaker 1: in you as the Way, the Truth and the Life.

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Speaker 1: We ask this in the name of Jesus, The Way,

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Speaker 1: the Truth, and the Life. Amen. Well friends, if you

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Speaker 1: are new to the So Much More podcast or if

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Speaker 1: you're new to the season of LNT, I want to

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Speaker 1: invite you head into the show notes and grab the

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Speaker 1: free I AM Meditation journal. I unpack a little bit

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Speaker 1: more about what LNT is and why Christians have been

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Speaker 1: practicing it for a very long time. You'll also see

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Speaker 1: in the notes my partner Life Audio, and I encourage

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Speaker 1: you to check them out at lifeaudio dot com. Finally,

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Speaker 1: if you are enjoying these meditations, one of the greatest

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Speaker 1: things you can do for me is either share these

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Speaker 1: with a friend or follow on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

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Speaker 1: and if you're able, leave a review. All of those things,

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Speaker 1: they just go a really long way and spreading the

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Speaker 1: word and in how helping get these meditations into the

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Speaker 1: hands of those who might need them. As always, my friend,

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Speaker 1: thanks for joining me on So Much More, because we

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Speaker 1: really do believe Jesus has so much more to say

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Speaker 1: to us, and this is one way we are creating

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Speaker 1: space to listen