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Wow!! This is impactful. You wrote,

“I do not know what I offer that others do not, but in seeing how my words have touched so many of you, and how your sharing has touched me, I have felt a connection to God, to the divine and to my own soul in the act of creation and of expression that I have not felt in a long time—perhaps ever.”

I think I’ve visualized this before, maybe God brought us, your BB Army, to YOU. So that you might realize your worth, your value, in your quest to brighten our dark world. We saw (see) you value, your worth, it has made us all stronger as a whole. You are our burning bright tiger, God knew we needed you, he knew you needed us. Devine.

Badlands media is a brilliant combined energy. We know it’s more or less a huge combined think tank, not telling us what is happening but rather trying to sort it all out WITH us, the Badlands media supporters, family, friends. It keeps us moving, working, thinking, sharing.

We will need each other going into 2023. We all stand to be crushed by the heavy burden of truth as it bears down on us, fast and furious. But as a group, a family, we can hold the weight and survive to see a new world.

We are blessed.

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Thanks so much, Lisa. We do need to stay together. And we will.

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Beautifully expressed Lisa.....and yes, we are blessed my friend...

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Jan 1, 2023·edited Jan 1, 2023Liked by Burning Bright

Many thanks for this; and for all you do Burning Bright. (Yes, anonymity is hard to let go of!)

My story is: I came here to Substack because my newsletter - mostly written for my peers, NPR/New Yorker type peeps, friends, colleagues - suffered an enormous attrition rate in 2020/2021.

And in the midst of all the turmoil in 2020/2021, I can remember sitting in an ambulance outside my townhouse in early January 2021. Why? Because I saw that "normies" were actually going to take the jab; it really was going to happen. I had also just seen the Tiffany Dover clip. I had been unable to sleep for days; and was having what appeared to be heart attacks. My wife had finally called the ambulance; and there I was. I'm in extremely good condition and young so it was hard to believe; and thankfully, it just turned out to be panic attacks. I'm probably going to write this up in early 2023...

Thank God for this community. It's the community here--and writers like you especially -- that has kept me going.

That and a number of certainties I have absorbed along the way that give me enormous hope.

_____

FOR EXAMPLE: that being awake is asymmetrical to being asleep.

Very often marxists/liberals become constitutional/conservatives; I have witnessed it myself many times; and as well, the aftermath: their almost inevitable anger/resentment. Very rarely—aside from a few high-profile celeb journalists who are rewarded by the media for their fake “conversion”—does it happen the other way.

Why? It’s because waking and sleeping are in an asymmetrical relation; they are not equal and opposites.

When asleep you’re not even aware that you are asleep, let alone what being “awake” means.

Conversely, when you are awake you know you are awake; and you understand and know what sleep is.

So all the people who are waking right now—even right at this very moment, and slow as it is—will be permanently awake. And as more and more people wake, we will eventually hit a critical mass.

We near that moment every day. And that gives me hope.

https://open.substack.com/pub/mistermicawber/p/breaking-the-spell-of-the-warlocks?r=110wl5&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

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Thanks a lot for this perspective, David.

Glad to have you here.

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Thank you for pointing that out, that we can't unsee what we've seen. It gives me hope too.

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God bless you! Keep reading our tiger’s posts. They will help. Know that God has you in His hand.

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Thank you, I will!

God Bless you as well!

I most certainly do!

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Happy New Year, David!

I'm very glad to hear your health is much improved! I will check out your substack!

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Many Thanks AmysBees and Happy New Year to you too! I had never experienced panic attacks before; and I hope I never do again! Haha. :)

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A panic attack is necessary at least once in your life. This is how (rather forcefully) you learn to quiet yourself. To turn off the fight or flight mechanism we each have. To let your body come to terms with your mind. Both body and mind are complex and once in a while they become out of step....something goes wrong, the body reacts like a blind man, it needs to get back into step with the mind. Breathing into a paper bag does help, I use to carry them around. Your mind will eventually coax the body out of the fight or flight mode. Most importantly you will learn to stop it before it gets that far. The next time.

The mind is powerful, your best friend and at times your enemy. If you’re paying attention to your breathing (not the meditation type breathing) and it’s becoming rapid, quickly busy yourself with something, a physical action, something that keeps you busy enough to not pay attention to your breathing. Once you notice you’re not paying attention to your breathing you will be fine, you will have stopped the attack. The physical (body) action busying your mind, returns your breathing to normal. Body and mind back in step.

I don’t have panic attacks anymore. I’m glad I did and learned how to quiet them. This may be something learned which may be useful somewhere down the road.

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David,

Sadly, I have as well, although not to the extent to where they could be mistaken for a heart attack. Take care of yourself in '23!

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The thing is, my brother has been plagued with panic attacks most of his adult life; and I'm ashamed to say that I half thought they were some hypochondriac thing. Well, I was obviously very very wrong. And it turns out that they can manifest in many different ways, including how mine did. I now have a profound sympathy for anyone who suffers from them. Be well!

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Regarding your panic attacks, I too was experiencing weird breathing patterns when I laid in bed in March/April this year. Like, I could not seem to slow my heart rate and catch my breath, but eventually would fall asleep. This was about 3 months after my J&J booster, and I was worried about vax side effects so made a doctors appointment to get my heart checked. Everything checked out normal and the doctor believed it was panic attacks and said to check back if they continued, which they did only once after. So I guess I was having panic attacks (first time ever) about receiving the vaccine. Just shows we are living in harrowing times and to make sure to prioritize our wellness!

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So true. So glad you're well GabeReal! Harrowing times indeed.

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Btw "gender" refers to language (masculine, feminine, neuter). Sex describes biology.

All in all, a very interesting and informative essay, "Something Wicked This Way Comes" (why didn't you attribute the quote to Shakespeare from "Macbeth"?)

I subscribed! Is there any way to comment?

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Jan 2, 2023·edited Jan 2, 2023Liked by Burning Bright

Many thanks for your immensely perceptive and thoughtful comment. And for your support!

The Shakespeare line is so well known that I thought it unnecessary? But perhaps you're right; I will reference him.

Regarding the word "gender": Well, on the one hand, I agree with you: strictly speaking what you say about gender is true. (I studied classical languages at boarding school and majored in classics in college, so am well aware of what you're pointing out..)

On the other hand, I am shadow-arguing against the cultural marxists who argue -- as you prolly know -- that "gender" is "socially constructed." And in this, and other ways, the word has accumulated meanings over the past century; and one might say that is has thereby become nearly incoherent.

Perhaps by using it as I do, I am giving ground that I shouldn't be? That is a fair point. T.S. Eliot used to talk about rescuing words; I had a mentor who used to say that we must rescue words from what he called the "misologists."

Anyhoo, I may revisit the essay to see about changing it; particularly if it's a source of confusion.

As far as the comments section, I am so pressed for time that I'm afraid I've kept putting off opening the comments, fearing that I might not have time to monitor and or respond, and generally give my commenters the time they deserve. Instead I have settled into long/in-depth discussions with my readers via email; which has worked up until know.

However, I am overhauling the substack in March and I will be returning to that issue. Actually, I am thinking I may expand on my ambulance story (above) in my next post; and since it's so personal perhaps I might open the comments on that one.

Thanks so very much for your support; it means so much to me. Be well!

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Love seeing these conversations among the Bright Army.

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My pleasure!

By all means, do not take my comment in any way as a command. Please, do what you feel is best. Each of us has a role to pay in this 5th Generation Warfare, and we each have to decide upon how that role is played.

Btw, I would have really liked your mentor! My husband studied Latin in Catholic high school and college, and through him I've become quite the linguistic "Karen," if I can apply that term. Lol! He's taught me quite a bit I didn't learn in either public school or Catholic college. One of his current pet peeves is the use of "prolly" in place of probably. Forgive me if I appear petty!

Take care and stay bright, as our feline friend would say!

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I had the opportunity to work with 2 men my age, 1 from Russia and 1 from China. We shared our experiences in school - the propaganda served to us was all the same - only the character names were different.

For too long, the audience has determined "truth" by who the messenger is, if the source is "authoritative" or not. Thus, the messenger has, in a way, become the message. This is not how it should be. A message of Truth must stand on its' own, independent of the messenger. Content must over-rule personality. So, it is beneficial not to reveal too much about who is generating the content.

Tired? You don't have to be. You speak of the "burden of truth" that we all carry. Become stronger with the understanding that messengers are NOT responsible to convince anyone of anything. Our responsibility is only to speak. The work becomes burdensome when we engage in the work of convincing people of the Truth. As God inspires your content, let Him take care of opening peoples hearts. He is better at that job than we are.

Keep up the good work!

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Well said. I appreciate your perspective, Keith!

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So true, we speak, we don’t convince.

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Jan 1, 2023Liked by Burning Bright

Thank you for this very moving statement, as well as the gift you have given us all, not just of your stories, but also of sharing something about your journey to this intellectual oasis.

In the same way that Bocaccio was moved to write the Decameron in 1353 AD, in the midst of the worst outbreak of the bubonic plague ever suffered to that date in recorded humanity - the Black Death - great minds and imaginations are throughout human history summoned by the Almighty to provide comfort and hope to the world.

You are such a mind.

Happy new year and may it bring success and happiness and peace to us all.

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Very much appreciated, Pluribus.

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How perfectly stated! Got bless you, Pluribus, for your insight and encouragement!

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Thank you so much and happy new year!

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Jan 1, 2023Liked by Burning Bright

Thank You Burning Bright for all your WORK. "We The People" are with You

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Thanks a lot, Paul!

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Truth begets truth, and it IS better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.

Thank you for your candid self, it's refreshing to say the least!

We have become the new Paul Revere and Nathan Hale.

I've written a bit of rhyme for you to read.

My penchant is usually comedy but I've penned fiction and serious fact in the past.

I believe there is a writer in all of us although I've been told I'm a better story teller than a writer. Could be my lack of editing skills... 😉

I also hope that you don't mind me crossposting your writing,if you do please let me know.

New Year

Said the crow to the tiger

Did you not hear?

A new age is coming

But it's not the one that we fear

The usurpers of freedom

Have gone to their caves

In hiding and desperate for one last war to rage

The time of the people is now pushing forth...

Just remember the star in the north

The tiger replied with a yellow eyed wink

Ah,yes they truly are worse off than they think....

So raise up your glass in honour of proof

That our flag and our hearts have become bullet proof!

Happy blessed new year to the Bright Army

Valkyrie777

🇺🇸🙏🎉🎊🇺🇸❤️✝️🍾🕊️🥂💥🌟🕯️😘

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Thank you for sharing!

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Jan 1, 2023Liked by Burning Bright

Yes, my friend, we as a collective,of people of goodwill, have a strong desire for the goodness, to surround us again.

You and many other fascinating writers I have met since I discovered Jon’s Devolution Theory.

When I mentally shut down post, Brett Barr, declaring Arizona for Biden. I dismissed my party of friends who filled out my parlay sheets.

We had a parlay bet on who would guess the correct outcome of the electoral college vote.

I was shellshocked and in disbelief. My research did not go to Devolution or the wonderful Q my research begin with a question.  I ask myself, what was so evil on earth, that God ask Noah to build an ark.

 This research let me down mini rabbit holes. I may write about it someday, but I do woodworking instead for my art.

Because you and so many other people that Patrick Gunnels has led me to have been able to pull me out of my dark space.

 I recently sent Patrick, a wood crafted badlands media marquee sign. I have also included my business cards.

I told Patrick, along with John and Kate, that I will dedicate my woodshop to make things, for fundraising events, that may help Badlands Media in your mission to educate the many.

I thank you for igniting and lighting a spark of hope in this world of information chaos!

Nobody777

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This community is built on and by people like you. Very much appreciate you sharing your gift and your creations with this community.

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Jan 1, 2023Liked by Burning Bright

Wonderful talent and skill. I remember Patrick and Jon talking about your generous gift. Very inspiring.

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Thanks 🙏

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Jan 1, 2023Liked by Burning Bright

This strikes so close to my heart, I can't even describe it. I am an artist, I know very well that resistance you speak of, and I know exactly what it means to have the inspiration come after beginning work, not before. I've been going through my own starts and stops - a long stretch of years pushing to "make something happen" between 2012-2018 (and I did!), but then realizing I needed to change direction. Then came interruptions, other's needs, the world going crazy, so much to learn - all have necessarily delayed that new direction. I've also been struggling with "knowing what I offer that others do not". I am beginning to see that this in-between-time is necessary - there is no rush, what matters is that I change, not how fast. What matters is that I learn to recognize my own brightness, to value it, to feel the fullness of it. We are the ones changing our energy, our light, and this exact process is what is raising the vibration across the world. This is why we are attracted to each other, why it's important to know our own authentic voices. It makes me cry sometimes, how incredible and beautiful it all really is.

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Well said, Sarah. You'll get back to it when the muse strikes you, and we'll all be better off.

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Happy New Year, Sarah!🎉

I know our old friend Resistance very well. As a matter of fact, I've conceded to it completely. Now, all I need to do is get rid of all my art supplies/materials. Don't be like me!

Stand firm in the conviction of you gift to the world. We need it!

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Happy New Year to you too AmysBees! (I keep some Saskatraz bees in a single Top Bar hive myself, they swarmed this summer and I hope there are enough remaining make it through winter.)

I really hope you DON'T get rid of your art supplies! Even if you don't have conviction (as I often don't either) so what? Art is fun, it heals the soul, it's important all by itself as an expression. I've lately been expanding my own expression, trying different things - oil paint, gold leaf, painting birds on my walls, refinishing furniture even. Even as I do, I keep falling into some kind of mental trap: "Is this what I should focus on? Is this the direction I should go in?" It's some kind of conditioned thinking that I have to have only one direction and "promote" it as a "niche" in the "market." I have to stop that crap. I'm trying to keep bringing myself back to, "It's ALL me, so why not just do whatever is fun at the moment?" instead. It's our energy that matters in the end, right?

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I’m an artist and apparently also feel/understand the creative gifts God gave mankind. What gifts God has given! Explains why the enemy is so intent!

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One of the defining moments for me in this awakening journey was when I learned that making art ugly and meaningless was one of the foremost steps of implementing Communism. I see the connection to the art the cabal likes, too - it's not just stupid and banal and ugly like "modern art", but they take it to another level and make it dark and meaningless too. It made me realize how powerful art is, how powerful artistic, creative energy is. The Enemy cannot create, only twist, pervert, and destroy. I am beginning to see what a weak position they are really in.

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The exact same thing applies to all the arts; music, architecture, etc. anything discordant created is not good for mankind!

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Very much so, exactly. Even buildings are ugly now, and music just keeps getting worse. That was another revelation: finding out that all the popular music for the last several decades - especially beginning in the early 60's - was written by the CIA, the musicians were handled by the CIA, most of them didn't even sing their own songs. The frequencies used are damaging to us too. The CIA cultivated and promoted the entire sex-drugs-rocknroll-hippie culture as part of the destroying-the-family agenda. What a mess. I feel so fortunate to have learned these things so I can at least try to protect myself now.

"If you want to know the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration." - N. Tesla

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I learned something here Sarah, didn't know the CIA wrote music .....and when you mentioned my hero Nikola Tesla...well, my heart skipped a beat!

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It turned my insides out to read about the music industry - there are books about it, one of the most helpful is "Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon" by David Mcgowan

The topic is also intimately tied to the Manson murders and MKUltra programming: turns out even serial killers aren't actually real - the people are dead and mutilated of course, but the concept of 'serial killer" was invented to cover for satanic cabal killings. Another book to blow your mind, if you haven't read it:

"Programmed to Kill" also by David Mcgowan

The CIA is far, far more involved in lying to us, hiding from us, killing us, trafficking us, than I ever imagined previously. They have also been hiding everything Tesla knew!

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I'd venture to guess this audience appreciated "Grandpa's wisdom" a bit more than most and have made a habit of seeking it in all things. The insights achieved through the experience-reflection-analysis-change cycle and the associated life-skills are honed only through frequent, rigorous exercise.

Through sloth and indolence, too many in our recent past have cast the burden and responsibility of self-enlightenment upon Media that is neither honest nor trustworthy. To live a life informed by headlines and sound bites is to willingly swim in a cesspool of deceit with a sense of credulity and no life jacket.

It's not difficult to see why we're here and the earnest appreciation we all have for your hard work. As a fellow 'different kind of cat' and a stalwart reader, I thank you and encourage you to feed the muse.

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Absolutely. Very much appreciated. The muse comes and goes as she pleases, it seems. But every time I think she's gone for good, I get another spark.

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Wonderfully stated!

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Aw, hell, BB, what's in a name? "A cactus by any other name would be just as prickly"

I enjoy all of your work and look forward to the future with you lighting the way for all of us.

Thanks.

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Thanks Jud!

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Jan 1, 2023Liked by Burning Bright

Brilliant - as usual 👍

BB there is no need to “declare” yourself. It is your work that speaks for you - your inner thinking- your measured reasoning - your authenticity and honesty and your “stories within stories” . It is the doors inside your work that you open yourself up to the rest of us and give us all a renewed viewpoint to consider and evaluate.

They say it is always darkest before the dawn but many of us travel the dark to find the light and get to an understanding of that journey hopefully

This morning - the first day of a new year I was blessed with a beautiful and rare red and yellow glorious dawn here in the mountains in a 2000 year old French village where only 400 villagers reside. I take this as a sign from the Devine and feel strangely safe in the knowledge that we really are embarking on the new dawn of the awakening.

And on that note I will go right back to your beginnings as Burning Bright and reread all of your work in preparation for your continued brilliance in new work for 2023. Stay true and stay bright! 😎

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Oh, I can picture this! Thank you for sharing the vision!

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Much appreciated, Kathy. That sounds like quite the way to start the new year.

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Jan 1, 2023Liked by Burning Bright

Excellent and thoughtful piece! Happy New Year. I think 2023 holds many good things for you and for Badlands.

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Thanks Randy!

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Thank you for a Year of encouraging words and keeping us on the light side! A very Happy New Year filled with brightness!!

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Thanks Judy!

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Jan 1, 2023Liked by Burning Bright

I commend you for admitting that you are tired. I am tired, too. Even so, although I tend to take short breaks from the excruciating noise now and then, I'm always back at it within a day or so. It's just too important not to be involved in what potentially will determine the fate of our children and grandchildren. Also, I'm curious. Although I understand that tigers are solitary creatures and do not form packs, might there be any Bright cubs around your parts?

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Haha there are no Bright cubs yet. But hopefully in the future.

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Jan 1, 2023Liked by Burning Bright

❤️🙏🏻🇺🇸

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Thanks for reading!

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Jan 1, 2023Liked by Burning Bright

“For each of us may just be one small light in the darkness, but together, we form a mighty thing, and one that doesn’t just threaten the surrounding dark, but scatters it.” That might just be the best description of the relationship between you, our gifted writer, and we, your readers. Together we can win this battle. God’s using all of us and if our words encourage you, we are thrilled!

I knew the first article I read the end of September that you would be my first subscription. I, too, am a fan of Tolkien (and the wisdom in his stories). I also operate in the macro space and that helped, too.

You have taught us so many ways to manage our thoughts and emotions during the day-to -day information battle and I’m sure that has been difficult at times as you balance family and battle time, but you have made a difference in so many ways! Please convey our appreciation to your family for understanding your compelling creative desires as you have helped move an army to action...one person at a time! God bless you and I pray we, your readers, continue to support you and sustain your strength! You truly are a gift!

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Jan 1, 2023Liked by Burning Bright

The pen is mightier than the sword indeed!

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I appreciate your appreciation! Haha.

Thank you for your continued support.

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