Context: Moses was living in the house of Pharaoh. He had survived being killed as a newborn baby, thanks to his mother and the daughter of Pharaoh. As he grows up, he seems to have a sense that he doesn't belong in the house of Pharaoh and that the Hebrews are actually his people. One day he goes out and sees an Egyptian attacking a Hebrew. Moses slays the Egyptian and buries him in the sand. Shortly after that, Moses witnesses two Hebrews fighting with one another. He goes to mediate the fight, but when one calls him out for killing the Egyptian, he flees into the desert to a well. There he meets his wife, a Midianite, and protects her and her sisters from thuggish shepherds. Shortly after this, he encounters God on Mount Horeb in the burning bush. Analysis: Defending your Brother, Home, Faith, Tradition. In this story, Moses is a Hebrew disguised as an Egyptian. He dresses like them, lives with them, eats with them. By all appearances, He is an Egyptian. However, we know his true heritage is with Hebrews. Moses also seems to have an inclination of that as well. Moses being confronted with the Egyptian attacking the Hebrew is a decision point for him. Does he choose to sit back and watch his true brother get attacked and even killed? Or does he make his decision to identify with the Hebrew and defend him? We face challenges like this all the time. When your tradition, your home, your beliefs are attacked by an outsider seeking to destroy, how do you respond? Some people choose to respond by ignoring it. Others choose to respond by assuming they deserve it. The way Moses responds is to defend. Healing Conflict inside the tradition, home, mind. The second situation is a little different. In the second fight Moses comes across, it is not between an Egyptian and a Hebrew, but between two Hebrews. How do you respond when there is fighting inside the home? One way to think about the difference between the two is to think about the difference between your home and your work. At work, if there is someone attacking (verbally or physically) another co-worker, the boss is warranted in cutting them off from the company and kicking them to the curb. However, if the same situation is happening between your kids or another family member, it is not wise to banish them into exile or death. (No matter how bad you may want to sometimes)

What are your alls current fitness goals? Doesn’t have to be anything crazy or specific. I’m just curious what results you’re looking to get from going to the gym and working out.

What’s up fellas! I’m I’ve been thinking about the danger of telling lies, even small ones. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that it’s only the big lies that matter, but I don’t think that’s true. It is my experience that it is the white lie that is most dangerous. Not because of the consequence of being found out, but because of the consequence of getting away with it. The white lie is subtle. It feels inconsequential and it is, at first. If you get found out, no big deal. If you don’t get find out, even better. It is precisely this illusion that makes them so dangerous. Why? Because it makes it all that much easier to do it. One of my favorite quotes is by a man named Saint Gregory of Nyssa. He says in his book The life of Moses; “We give birth to ourselves everyday, either by virtue or by vice.” You think you can get away with the white lie, so you do it more and more. Each lie on its own is harmless but it slowly poisons your tongue and clouds your vision. At a certain point, you look up and realize your life has been built on tiny lies, brick by brick. What are your alls thoughts? Do you all have any experience with this?