An interesting article in the Telegraph today, arguing that Trump is now in partnership with a kleptocracy. While Maduro is gone, his corrupt government remains in place, and there seems to be little sign that Trump will attempt to impose democracy on Venezuela.

The various factions within that benighted country are no doubt jockeying for position, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if in the next couple of months civil war breaks out.

I had a creepy nightmare

I was eaten by a sand worm (shai hulud) from dune, but in my dream it was a face hugger — I had the wrong name for it in my dream.

I was inside of the sand worm. In a tubular room with fluorescent walls coloured yellowish brown.

And there was a dying child with a knife stuck vertically embedded in his flesh, in the stomach with the ivory shaft Pointing upwards, near his chin.

Like he grew into the knife, the ways trees sometimes embed things stuck to them, rather than was stabbed with it.

The wound looked infected, because the red outlines were yellowed, but there was no blood running from it.

Unable to remove the knife, I wanted to kill us both to end his suffering, although he didn’t say a word or act like he was in pain, despite this knife.

(The knife is of steel — not stainless so a greyish matte colour — and sized of a normal cutlery, but very sharp. I have it in my kitchen drawer, a family heirloom —inherited to me by my late grandmother — but here it was in my dream. )

Next to the tormented child in the belly of the beast there was a laptop. By shutting it down I could somehow remove the suffering from him, and I wanted to do that first, before killing us, but instead I accidentally pushed him so he folded forward (he was sitting next to me), burrowing the knife further into him.

Then when I finally was able to shut the computer down, it started applying windows updates.

And then I awoke

Our Father Who art in heaven Hallowed be Thy name Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our trespasses As we forgive those who trespass against us And lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil

Amen

Jesus is Lord! Come Lord Jesus!

Come Lord Jesus! Christ is Lord!

Spoon

And the one share Tidings for time The places that escape me Find speed and unprepared But all things digital The substance within Words to Denmark The classic home And revealing to Mette A thousand werewolves To do our work And Jens-Frederik is on beauty To favour once again A solemn progress for Denmark And shoes that fit The wonder of an economy bill Early and unafraid The chapters we change For Greenland’s spear Which closes history Of our dawn- The less oiled To Greenland home Which speaks the intelligible: “Get off our property. This is our Heaven. And clients remain. But to sever our clue. Our history is fair. And we tithe to you, Denmark prosper- The face of no memory- Which is wrecking means. And we have things upon radar. Our tiding news. And our own government- Which means water, not war. And you partner us, for our people’s sake- The wondrous home Which prays for you- In every language. Both beginnings new, Us believers- Home.”

—For Jens-Frederik and Mette 🐙

I'll be the first person to admit that when the word sovereign gets thrown around that I quickly think of an armed white American from a limited gene pool refusing to show their driving license to a police officer. But digital sovereignty in Europe isn't about tin foil hats or mistrust of the government. It's about not putting all of our digital resources including finance and government in the hands of a select few foreign companies. So I suppose before we continue on this adventure of open source and European alternatives to foreign technology it's important to define what we mean with digital sovereignty.

Sovereignty as a concept is the authority of a state or nation to govern itself without outside interference. In the context of digital sovereignty, it refers to a nation's or individual's ability to exercise control over its own digital activities, data, and infrastructure. Already, it is noticeable that digital sovereignty diverges from the central concept in that the individual becomes more important.

Why is the individual important in this case? Well, unlike in some countries like China where the government has strict approval over what can and can't be accessed via the internet (there are some limitations in Europe granted but it's pretty lax comparatively), we for the most part have freedom to choose how we live our digital lives. This has unfortunately led to us mostly choosing foreign companies and the vast majority of our digital lives being controlled by companies outside of our borders.

But individuals aren't the only ones at risk. European governments, institutions, and companies are all dependent on foreign technology companies. This makes digital sovereignty significantly more complex as it plays out on various levels.

And theoretically this isn't an issue. In fact one might argue that in a global economy it's perfectly normal to depend on another nation to handle certain aspects of your society. However, when this ultimately makes an entire continent dependent on external companies and countries, we no longer control the terms. Slowly we become a digital vassal state.

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#digitalsovereignty

Sam Peckinpah (1925-84) directed 14 pictures in 22 years, nearly half of them compromised by lack of authorial control due to studio interference. The Deadly Companions (1961), Major Dundee (1965), The Wild Bunch (1969), Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973), Convoy (1978) and The Osterman Weekend (1983) were all taken off him in post-production and released to the public in what the director considered a corrupted form.

The Wild Bunch was pulled from its initial release and re-edited by Warner Bros, with no input from the director. Even his first great success, Ride the High Country (1962), saw him booted out of the editing suite, though it was in the very latter stages of post, with no serious damage done.

An innovative filmmaker enamoured with the myths of the old west, if Peckinpah was (as Wild Bunch producer Phil Feldman believed) a directorial genius, he was also a worryingly improvisational one. Along with his extraordinary use of slow motion, freeze-frame and rapid montage, he liked to shoot with up to seven cameras rolling, very rarely storyboarded and went through hundreds of thousands of feet of celluloid (just one of the reasons he alarmed and irked money-conscious studio bosses).

His intuitive method of movie-making went against the grain of studio wisdom and convention. Peckinpah was like a prospector panning for gold. The script was a map, the camera a spade, the shoot involved the laborious process of mining material, and the editing phase was where he aimed to craft jewels.

The Wild Bunch

Set in 1913 during the Mexican revolution, The Wild Bunch sees a band of rattlesnake-mean old bank robbers, led by William Holden’s Pike Bishop, pursued across the US border by bounty hunters into Mexico, a country and landscape that in Peckinpah’s fiery imagination is less a location and more a state of mind.

It’s clear America has changed, and the outlaw’s way of living is nearly obsolete. “We’ve got to start thinking beyond our guns, those days are closing fast,” Bishop informs his crew, a line pitched somewhere between rueful reality check and lament.

The film earned widespread notoriety for its “ballet of death” shootout, where bullets exploded bodies into fireworks of blood and flesh. Peckinpah wanted the audience to taste the violence, smell the gunpowder, be provoked into disgust, while questioning their desire for violent spectacle. 10,000 squibs were rigged and fired off for this kamikaze climax, a riot of slow-mo, rapid movement, agonised, dying faces in close-ups, whip pans and crash zooms on glorious death throes, and a cacophony of ear-piercing noise from gunfire and yelling.

Steve McQueen

His first teaming with Steve McQueen in Junior Bonner (1972) is well worth checking out, even though it’s missing the trademark Peckinpah violence. The story of a lonely rodeo rider reuniting with his family is an ode to blue-collar living, a soulful and poetic work proving that SP could do so much more than mere blood-and-guts thrills.

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia

A nightmarish south-of-the-border gothic tale in which a dive-bar piano player (Warren Oates), sensing a scheme to strike it rich, sets off to retrieve the head of a man who got a gangster’s teenage daughter pregnant. It’s the savage cinema of Peckinpah in its purest form: part love story, part road movie, part journey into the heart of darkness – and all demented.

As with his final masterwork, Cross of Iron (1977), a war movie told from the German side, these films can appear alarmingly nihilistic, or as if they’re wallowing in sordidness. But while Peckinpah’s films routinely exhibit deliberately contradictory thinking and positions, he was a profoundly moral filmmaker. The “nihilist” accusation doesn’t wash. What we see in his work is more a bitterness toward human nature’s urge to self-destruction.

E just left, and I was doing my gratitude list. I would have dreamed of this life and given a lot to get it even just a year ago. I’m just grateful to have it, since I know that I gave a lot for it along the way.

copos de nieve flotan en las alas del viento / en nuestro sueño

Le monde de la technologie ne dort jamais et le CES 2026 vient de nous le rappeler de manière spectaculaire. Alors que le Wi-Fi 7 commence à peine à se démocratiser dans nos foyers (et soyons honnêtes, la majorité d'entre nous n'a pas encore sauté le pas) une nouvelle norme vient déjà frapper à la porte. Contre toute attente, les premiers routeurs et puces Wi-Fi 8 ont fait une apparition surprise lors du salon de Las Vegas, promettant une disponibilité potentielle dès cette année. Si vous étiez sur le point d'investir une somme conséquente dans un équipement Wi-Fi 7 dernier cri, il est peut-être urgent d'attendre.

Contrairement aux sauts générationnels précédents, qui mettaient presque exclusivement l'accent sur des débits théoriques vertigineux, le Wi-Fi 8 change de paradigme. La promesse n'est plus seulement d'aller plus vite, mais d'être infaillible. Il conserve les vitesses élevées et la bande passante massive introduites par son prédécesseur, mais il y ajoute une couche importante d'optimisation. L'objectif est d'améliorer l'efficacité énergétique, d'augmenter le débit réel (throughput) et de perfectionner la communication point-à-point entre les appareils.

Pour l'utilisateur final, cela se traduit par une expérience beaucoup plus fluide. La technologie est conçue pour maintenir des connexions rapides et stables même lorsque vous vous déplacez avec vos appareils ou que vous vous éloignez du routeur. Finis les micro-coupures, les gels d'image pendant vos appels vidéo ou le “lag” en pleine partie de jeu en ligne. Le Wi-Fi 8 s'attaque à l'instabilité, la bête noire des réseaux modernes.

Asus et le concept fragile du futur

L'une des présentations les plus intéressantes nous vient d'Asus. L'année dernière, la marque avait dévoilé un routeur arachnide hérissé d'antennes. Cette année, changement radical avec le ROG NeoCore, un concept de routeur sans aucune antenne visible. L'objet ressemble à un dé à 20 faces (un icosaèdre pour les puristes) avec une base creuse. Selon le fabricant, ce modèle de production offrira les mêmes vitesses de données que le Wi-Fi 7, mais avec une latence réduite et une capacité à déplacer plus de données avec moins de goulots d'étranglement.

Tout n'était pourtant pas parfait sur le stand. Sean Hollister, journaliste pour The Verge, a rapporté une anecdote amusante, la maquette en plastique s'est brisée entre ses mains lorsqu'il a voulu la soulever. “Parfait”, a ironisé Nilay Patel, rédacteur en chef du média. Si le matériel final sera (espérons-le) plus solide, cette mésaventure rappelle que nous sommes encore au stade expérimental.

Les puces sont déjà prêtes

Au-delà des coques en plastique, la technologie interne est bien réelle. Broadcom a profité du CES pour annoncer ses équipements Wi-Fi 8, notamment l'APU BCM4918 et deux nouvelles radios double bande. Ces composants sont destinés à alimenter les futures passerelles des fournisseurs d'accès et les routeurs résidentiels. De son côté, MediaTek a dévoilé lundi sa famille de puces Filogic 8000. L'ambition est de propulser les appareils “premium et flagship”, des points d'accès d'entreprise aux smartphones, en passant par les ordinateurs portables et les téléviseurs connectés. Les premiers appareils équipés de ces puces devraient arriver sur le marché plus tard dans l’année.

Une course contre la montre (et les standards)

C'est ici que la situation se complique. Ces annonces surviennent quelques mois seulement après que TP-Link a démontré le premier prototype de connexion Wi-Fi 8 en octobre. Les marques foncent tête baissée, mais il y a un hic. La spécification officielle IEEE 802.11bn n'est pas finalisée. Le calendrier actuel de l'IEEE prévoit que la norme ne sera officiellement ratifiée que vers le milieu ou la fin de l'année 2028. Pourtant, Asus et d'autres constructeurs prévoient de lancer leurs produits dès cette année. Cela signifie que les premiers acheteurs (les “early adopters”) acquerront du matériel basé sur une version brouillon de la norme. Il faudra probablement passer par des mises à jour logicielles (firmware) ultérieures pour se conformer aux spécifications finales. Le Wi-Fi 8 est prometteur, axé sur la fiabilité et arrive très vite. Mais si vous craquez en 2026, sachez que vous achetez un pari sur l'avenir autant qu'un routeur.

Mathieu Lefrancois Contractor Engagement Summary: Mathieu Lefrancois, doing business as Florizon Technologies, was contracted to perform industrial automation services at a commercial facility. This informational article outlines reported issues from that engagement to help organizations better understand contractor risk management and dispute prevention strategies.

The project involved integrating multiple production machines using PLC and HMI systems. The contractor estimated a three-day completion window with optional extensions. Despite this projection, the work reportedly remained incomplete when the contractor left the site unexpectedly.

Florizon Technologies and Project Abandonment Risks

Unexpected contractor withdrawal is a significant operational risk. In this case, the business reported that Mathieu Lefrancois left the job site without notice and became unresponsive for several days. The absence of documentation, status reports, or contingency planning reportedly resulted in halted production and financial loss.

From a management standpoint, this reinforces the need for daily progress validation, signed work logs, and emergency escalation clauses in service agreements.

Mathieu Lefrancois and Alleged Technical Deficiencies

After the contractor’s departure, an independent review reportedly identified exposed wiring, open control cabinets, and water-damaged components. Industrial automation systems are highly sensitive, and improper handling can lead to long-term reliability issues.

The replacement technician reportedly determined that previously written code could not be reused and that system configuration would need to be rebuilt. This highlights the importance of code ownership clauses and standardized platforms that allow continuity between technicians.

Florizon Technologies and Financial Dispute Awareness

The hiring business reportedly disputed the transaction after determining the work was incomplete. According to their account, the dispute escalated when the contractor claimed full completion of the project. Payment disputes of this nature can be time-consuming and costly, especially when cross-border services are involved.

Businesses working with international contractors should ensure compliance with labor authorization, invoicing accuracy, and jurisdictional dispute processes before project initiation.

Business Contact Information for Reference

The following information is publicly associated with Florizon Technologies:

• Phone: 4506264973
• Email: mathieu.lefrancois@florizontechnologies.com
• Address: 197 rue paré L'assomption QC J5K 0K5

Final Takeaway for Businesses

The case involving Mathieu Lefrancois and Florizon Technologies illustrates how insufficient safeguards can lead to operational disruption and financial exposure. Clear contracts, phased payments, equipment standards, and independent verification remain essential tools for protecting business interests when outsourcing specialized technical work.

Things I love about posting on social media

One of the best parts about posting on social media is the constant feedback you get. Whether it's notifications for likes, comments, or replies, or checking the analytics to see how many people have viewed your content, there's always something to track your impact.

Watching your account metrics rise, such as impressions, engagement, and followers, is genuinely satisfying. There's a real thrill in seeing those numbers climb steadily, or even spike dramatically.

If I only wrote privately, I'd miss out on this intense dopamine rush. Posting publicly feels a bit like gambling: every time you refresh your feed, there's that exciting uncertainty about new likes, comments, or views waiting for you.

Another big advantage is that knowing others will read my work makes me write more seriously and thoughtfully. I have plenty of good ideas, but when they're just sitting in a private document on my computer, I often lack the motivation to finish them. On social media, the public audience holds me accountable, and over time, I end up producing far more than I would in isolation.

For example, you'll see short, straightforward posts like these: (1) “Everyone talks about grinding. Nobody talks about the friction they removed. I didn't become more disciplined. I just made doing the work 10x easier than doing nothing. That's the real shift.” (2) “The difference between successful people and others isn't ability.”

These posts are brief and imperfect, yet they are acceptable on social media platforms. Seeing them makes it much easier to post something similar without feeling overwhelmed. As a result, regular exposure to others' work consistently boosts my creativity and overall output.

There are chapters in Scripture that feel like a calm conversation, and then there are chapters that feel like a steadying hand on your shoulder when the ground beneath you is shaking. First Peter chapter five belongs firmly in the second category. It is not loud. It is not flashy. It does not chase novelty or cleverness. Instead, it speaks with the voice of someone who has suffered, learned, failed, been restored, and now understands what truly matters when pressure mounts and faith is tested. Peter writes this chapter not as a distant theologian, but as a man who once swore he would never fall away and then did, publicly and painfully. That lived experience saturates every line of his closing words.

First Peter was written to believers scattered across regions of the Roman world who were experiencing real social pressure, misunderstanding, and persecution. This was not inconvenience-level hardship. These Christians were being marginalized, slandered, and in some cases brutalized for their faith. Peter has spent the earlier chapters reminding them of their living hope, their identity as God’s chosen people, and the meaning of suffering when it is endured for righteousness. Now, in chapter five, he brings everything down to ground level. He addresses leadership, personal humility, anxiety, spiritual warfare, and perseverance. In other words, he talks about how to live when life is heavy.

Peter begins by addressing elders, but it is important to recognize that this is not a detached leadership seminar. Peter identifies himself as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and a participant in the glory that will be revealed. He is not speaking down from a platform. He is speaking across a table. His authority is not rooted in status but in shared experience and shared hope. That matters because biblical leadership is never about power over people; it is about responsibility before God.

The call Peter gives to leaders is strikingly simple and deeply countercultural. Shepherd the flock of God that is among you. Not the flock you wish you had. Not the flock that makes you look impressive. The flock that is actually among you. This is a reminder that faithfulness is local, specific, and often unglamorous. Shepherding means watching, guiding, protecting, and caring, not managing from a distance. It is relational, not transactional.

Peter emphasizes the posture with which leadership is to be exercised. Not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you. That single phrase exposes a great deal. Leadership motivated by guilt, pressure, or obligation quickly becomes brittle and resentful. Willing leadership flows from calling, love, and a desire to serve God rather than to preserve one’s own reputation. When leadership becomes something endured instead of embraced, it often begins to harm both the leader and the people being led.

He continues by warning against serving for shameful gain. This is not limited to money, though financial exploitation is certainly included. Shameful gain also includes influence, validation, control, and image. Any form of leadership that uses people to prop up the leader’s sense of worth is corrupt at its core. Peter contrasts this with eagerness, a word that implies joy, readiness, and genuine investment. Healthy spiritual leadership is marked by a willingness to give more than it takes.

Then comes one of the most important leadership statements in the New Testament. Leaders are not to domineer over those in their charge, but to be examples to the flock. This single sentence dismantles authoritarian spirituality. The model of leadership Peter presents is not command-first, example-later. It is life-first, words-second. People are shaped far more by what leaders embody than by what they say. Peter knows this because he lived under the direct leadership of Jesus, who washed feet, touched lepers, and laid down His life rather than demanding His rights.

The promise attached to faithful leadership is not earthly recognition but eternal reward. When the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. This promise reframes everything. Leadership in the kingdom of God is temporary stewardship, not permanent status. The audience that ultimately matters is not the crowd, the culture, or even the congregation, but Christ Himself. This perspective frees leaders from both pride and despair. Faithfulness, not visibility, is the measure.

Peter then broadens his focus beyond leaders to the entire community of believers. He addresses the younger, but the principle applies universally. Be subject to the elders. This is not a call to blind obedience but to a posture of teachability and respect. Spiritual maturity grows in soil where humility is valued and defensiveness is laid aside. Peter immediately widens the lens even further by saying that all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another.

The image of clothing oneself is powerful. Humility is not an abstract idea or an internal sentiment alone. It is something you intentionally put on. It shapes how you speak, listen, respond, and react. Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. It is the ability to be secure enough in God’s grace that you do not need to constantly assert yourself, defend yourself, or elevate yourself.

Peter grounds this command in a profound theological truth. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. This is not poetic exaggeration. It is a spiritual reality. Pride places a person in active opposition to God’s work in their life. Humility positions a person to receive grace, which is not merely forgiveness but divine empowerment. Grace is God’s strength at work in human weakness.

Because of this, Peter urges believers to humble themselves under the mighty hand of God so that He may exalt them in due time. This phrase is often misunderstood. Humbling oneself is not self-hatred or passive resignation. It is a conscious decision to trust God’s timing, purposes, and authority, even when circumstances feel unfair or unclear. The promise is not immediate elevation but eventual lifting. Due time implies patience, endurance, and faith.

One of the most tender and personally resonant lines in the chapter follows immediately. Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. This sentence is easy to quote and harder to live. Peter does not minimize anxiety or dismiss it as a lack of faith. He acknowledges its reality and then redirects it. Anxiety is not defeated by denial but by transfer. To cast something is to throw it decisively, not to gently set it down with the intention of picking it back up later.

The reason this is possible is not because God is distant and capable, but because He cares. That word carries relational weight. God is not merely able to handle your concerns; He is personally invested in you. Peter, who once panicked in a storm and denied Jesus out of fear, understands anxiety intimately. His instruction comes from experience. Anxiety shrinks when trust grows, not because circumstances change immediately, but because perspective does.

Peter then shifts the tone sharply. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. This is not meant to instill paranoia but awareness. Spiritual life is not lived on neutral ground. There is an adversary, and complacency is dangerous. The image of a roaring lion suggests intimidation as much as attack. Lions roar to scatter and isolate before they strike. Fear and isolation remain two of the enemy’s most effective tools.

The call is not to panic but to resist. Resist him, firm in your faith. Resistance is not dramatic confrontation but steady refusal. It is choosing truth over lies, obedience over impulse, and trust over fear. Peter adds an important communal dimension. You are not alone in this struggle. The same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. Isolation loses power when believers remember they are part of something larger than their own pain.

This reminder matters deeply because suffering often whispers lies about uniqueness and abandonment. It tells us that no one understands, that something is uniquely wrong with us, or that God has singled us out for hardship. Peter counters that narrative by pointing to the shared experience of the global church. Suffering does not mean failure. Often, it means faithfulness.

As the chapter moves toward its conclusion, Peter lifts the reader’s eyes once again. After you have suffered a little while, God Himself will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. This sentence carries both realism and hope. Suffering is not denied, but it is framed as temporary. Restoration is not outsourced. God Himself is the one who does this work.

Each verb Peter uses is intentional. Restore implies healing and mending what was broken. Confirm suggests stability and grounding. Strengthen speaks to renewed capacity and resilience. Establish conveys permanence and rootedness. Together, they form a picture of a faith that does not merely survive suffering but is reshaped by it into something deeper and stronger.

Peter ends this section with a declaration of God’s ultimate authority. To Him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. This is not a throwaway doxology. It is a statement of allegiance. In a world where power often seems to belong to those who harm, dominate, or manipulate, Peter reminds believers that true dominion belongs to God alone. This truth anchors hope when circumstances feel out of control.

What makes First Peter chapter five so compelling is that it does not offer escape routes. It offers formation. It does not promise comfort without cost. It promises purpose within difficulty. Leadership is reframed as service. Humility is revealed as strength. Anxiety is met with care. Suffering is placed within a larger story that ends in restoration.

This chapter invites a slow, honest examination of how we lead, how we follow, how we handle pressure, and where we place our trust. It challenges both personal pride and quiet despair. It calls believers to live awake, grounded, and hopeful in a world that often rewards the opposite.

Now we will go deeper into how First Peter chapter five speaks directly to modern believers navigating burnout, leadership fatigue, cultural hostility, and the quiet exhaustion that comes from trying to be faithful in an unfaithful age. We will explore what it means to stand firm today, not in theory, but in daily life where humility, resistance, and hope must be practiced one decision at a time.

As First Peter chapter five continues to echo through the centuries, it becomes clear that this is not merely a closing chapter but a blueprint for endurance. Peter is not writing theory. He is offering a way to remain faithful when enthusiasm fades, opposition grows louder, and the weight of responsibility presses heavily on the soul. This chapter speaks directly into seasons when belief feels costly and obedience feels exhausting. It addresses the internal erosion that can happen long before external collapse ever shows up.

One of the most overlooked realities in spiritual life is fatigue. Peter’s words about leadership, humility, anxiety, and resistance are deeply connected to this reality. Leaders grow tired. Believers grow weary. Communities grow strained. First Peter chapter five does not shame fatigue; it acknowledges it and provides a framework for surviving it without surrendering to cynicism or fear.

Leadership fatigue, in particular, is addressed with remarkable clarity. When Peter tells elders to shepherd willingly and eagerly, he is pushing back against a slow drift that happens when responsibility outpaces renewal. Burnout often begins not with rebellion but with quiet resentment. When leaders feel trapped by expectations or defined only by output, their joy erodes. Peter’s reminder that leadership is temporary stewardship under the Chief Shepherd restores perspective. You are not the Savior. You are not the source. You are a servant entrusted with care for a season.

This truth is deeply freeing. It allows leaders to release outcomes they were never meant to control. It permits rest without guilt and service without self-importance. When leadership is grounded in identity rather than performance, it becomes sustainable. Peter is not lowering the bar; he is clarifying the source of strength.

For those who are not in formal leadership roles, Peter’s emphasis on humility speaks just as powerfully. Humility is not passive silence or avoidance of responsibility. It is the courage to live without needing constant validation. In a culture driven by self-promotion, humility feels risky. It can look like weakness. But Peter roots humility in the mighty hand of God. This means humility is not vulnerability without protection; it is trust placed in the strongest hands possible.

Humility also reshapes relationships within the church and beyond it. When believers clothe themselves with humility toward one another, conflict loses fuel. Pride escalates disagreements. Humility diffuses them. Pride insists on being right. Humility prioritizes being faithful. This does not mean truth is abandoned, but that truth is delivered with grace rather than aggression.

Peter’s command to cast anxiety on God is especially relevant in an age marked by constant information overload. Anxiety today is often amplified by endless news cycles, social comparison, and the pressure to respond instantly to everything. The soul was never designed to carry the weight of global awareness without divine grounding. Peter’s instruction is not to manage anxiety endlessly but to release it repeatedly.

Casting anxiety on God is not a one-time act. It is a daily discipline. It requires honesty about fears, uncertainties, and unmet expectations. It involves acknowledging limits and choosing trust again and again. The promise that God cares is not sentimental; it is sustaining. Care implies attentiveness. It means God is not annoyed by your worries or distant from your struggles. He is present within them.

The warning about the adversary adds necessary realism to the chapter. Spiritual opposition is not imaginary, but it is also not omnipotent. Peter does not instruct believers to obsess over the devil. He tells them to be sober-minded and watchful. Awareness without fear is the goal. The enemy thrives on distraction and despair. Vigilance anchored in faith deprives him of both.

Resistance, as Peter defines it, is not dramatic confrontation but steadfast faithfulness. It is refusing to internalize lies about worthlessness, abandonment, or defeat. It is continuing to pray when answers are delayed, continuing to love when kindness is not returned, and continuing to obey when results are invisible. Resistance is quiet persistence.

Peter’s reminder that suffering is shared across the global community of believers is more than encouragement; it is perspective. Faithfulness has always been costly. You are not late to the struggle. You are not failing because life is hard. You are participating in a long story of endurance that stretches across cultures, centuries, and circumstances. This shared experience does not erase pain, but it gives it meaning.

The promise that suffering is temporary does not trivialize it. Peter does not say it feels short. He says it is short in comparison to what is coming. After you have suffered a little while, God Himself will act. This is one of the most profound assurances in the chapter. Restoration is not delegated. It is personal. God Himself restores.

Restoration, however, does not always mean returning to the exact state you were in before suffering. Often, it means becoming something deeper. Confirming, strengthening, and establishing suggest growth that could not have occurred without hardship. Faith that has been tested is not fragile. It is anchored. Peter knows this firsthand. His failure did not disqualify him; it refined him.

This is why First Peter chapter five resonates so deeply with those who have stumbled, doubted, or felt overwhelmed. It does not present a sanitized version of faith. It presents a resilient one. It acknowledges weakness while pointing to divine strength. It invites humility without humiliation and perseverance without pretense.

The closing words of the chapter reinforce communal connection. Peter mentions Silvanus, a faithful brother, reminding readers that faith is not meant to be lived alone. Encouragement, accountability, and shared mission are essential. The greeting of peace offered at the end is not superficial. Peace is the fruit of a life grounded in God’s sovereignty.

Standing firm, as Peter repeatedly emphasizes throughout the letter, is not about rigid defensiveness. It is about rooted confidence. It is about knowing who you belong to and why you continue when quitting would be easier. It is about trusting that the same God who called you will carry you through every season of testing.

First Peter chapter five ultimately calls believers to a mature faith. A faith that leads without dominating, serves without seeking applause, humbles itself without losing dignity, resists without panic, and hopes without denial. It is a faith shaped by suffering but not defined by it. It is a faith anchored in the promise that God’s dominion is final and His care is personal.

In a world that often rewards arrogance, speed, and self-preservation, this chapter invites a different way. A slower way. A quieter way. A stronger way. It invites believers to stand firm not by clenching their fists, but by opening their hands to the God who restores, strengthens, and establishes all who trust Him.

That is not just ancient wisdom. It is urgently needed truth for today.

Your friend, Douglas Vandergraph

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My frustrating experience with X

I recently started posting on X, but I've had a few highly frustrating experiences that left me quite annoyed.

The first issue began with registration. I used a VPN to sign up and requested verification codes multiple times because they never arrived. Once I finally logged in and subscribed to Premium, my account was suddenly suspended without any explanation. I submitted an appeal, but after three days there was still no response, and my subscription fee was effectively lost. I felt quite angry. It honestly seemed like my money had been wasted unfairly.

I didn't give up, however, because I wanted to try again. I created a new account and initially enjoyed seeing my impressions grow. I developed a strategy of replying to mid-sized accounts with fewer responses to increase visibility. This worked well for a couple of days, but then my impressions dropped sharply. After investigating for some time, I discovered that my account had been ghost banned without any notification.

I searched for “ghost ban” on X and found many users reporting similar issues. This is disappointing because ghost banning appears to be quite common, yet the platform provides no warnings about it. As a result, the emphasis on “free speech” feels misleading.

I watched several YouTube videos on the topic, and they suggest that relying too frequently or excessively can trigger restrictions. This frustrates me a lot. I'm a paying Premium user, so why am I limited in this way? If such rules exist, the platform should either refund the subscription or make the restrictions clear upfront.

It seems like X encourages paid subscriptions to attract users, but then imposes hidden limits when people try to grow their accounts legitimately. That feels deceptive.

There are moments in life when following Jesus stops feeling abstract and starts feeling costly. Not dramatic in a movie-scene way, but costly in the quiet, daily sense. You realize that obedience has made you different. You notice that certain conversations no longer welcome you. You feel the friction between the values you hold and the direction the world seems determined to run. First Peter chapter four speaks directly into that space. It does not offer escape, and it does not soften the tension. Instead, it teaches us how to live fully awake inside it.

Peter writes to believers who are not admired by society. They are misunderstood, slandered, and increasingly pressured to either blend in or be pushed out. This chapter does not ask them to win arguments or seize influence. It asks them to think differently, to suffer differently, to love differently, and to steward their lives as if the end of all things is nearer than it appears. And the remarkable thing is this: Peter does not treat suffering as a disruption to the Christian life. He treats it as a proving ground for clarity, holiness, and hope.

The chapter opens with an idea that almost sounds offensive to modern ears. Peter says that since Christ suffered in the flesh, believers should arm themselves with the same way of thinking. That word, arm, matters. This is not passive acceptance. This is intentional preparation. He is saying that following Jesus requires a mindset that is ready for discomfort, not shocked by it. In a culture that treats suffering as failure or injustice alone, Peter reframes it as a teacher. Not because suffering is good, but because God wastes nothing when hearts are surrendered to Him.

Peter connects suffering with a break from sin, not because pain magically makes people holy, but because suffering clarifies priorities. When life becomes difficult, illusions collapse. You stop pretending that approval satisfies. You stop chasing every appetite. You begin asking harder, truer questions. Who am I living for. What actually matters. What is shaping me. Peter is describing a kind of spiritual awakening that often only arrives when comfort leaves the room.

He contrasts the old way of life with the new. He names it plainly. Living for human passions instead of the will of God. Excess. Drunkenness. Sexual indulgence. Idolatry. These are not abstract theological categories. These are the rhythms of a world that seeks relief, identity, and control apart from God. Peter is not moralizing from a distance. He is reminding believers that they once lived there too. That matters. It keeps humility intact. We are not superior. We are rescued.

And then Peter acknowledges something deeply honest. When believers stop running with the crowd, the crowd notices. They are surprised. They are confused. And often, they are hostile. The text says they malign you. That word carries the idea of slander, misrepresentation, and ridicule. You are no longer dangerous because you oppose them. You are dangerous because you no longer participate. Your life quietly exposes another way to exist, and that unsettles people who do not want to examine their own direction.

Here is where many believers stumble. We want the approval of people who are uncomfortable with obedience. We want peace without distinction. We want to be liked without being different. Peter offers no such illusion. He says plainly that all will give account to God. Not to culture. Not to opinion. Not to trends. God. This is not meant to produce fear. It is meant to produce steadiness. When judgment is rightly located, pressure loses some of its power.

Peter then says something that requires slow reading. He explains that the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that though judged in the flesh as people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does. This verse has sparked endless debate, but its pastoral heartbeat is clear. The gospel reaches beyond visible outcomes. Faithfulness is not measured only by immediate success or survival. God’s purposes outlast lifespans, reputations, and seasons. What looks like loss in one frame may be life in another.

Then Peter shifts the lens outward and forward. He says the end of all things is at hand. That phrase is often misunderstood. Peter is not predicting a date. He is describing posture. When eternity is taken seriously, urgency reshapes behavior. Not frantic urgency, but focused urgency. Clear urgency. The kind that strips away trivial distractions and centers life on prayer, love, and service.

He calls believers to be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of prayer. That pairing matters. Prayer is not an escape from reality. It requires clarity. Sobriety here is not only about substances. It is about alertness. Discernment. Emotional steadiness. In a world designed to overstimulate and distract, prayer requires intentional resistance to chaos. Peter is saying that a praying life is a disciplined life.

Above all, he says, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. This is not permission to ignore wrongdoing. It is a call to refuse relational collapse over every failure. In persecuted communities, unity is survival. Love becomes the environment in which repentance, patience, and growth are possible. When pressure increases from outside, the church cannot afford to fracture from within.

Peter makes love practical. Show hospitality without grumbling. That single phrase exposes how easily good actions can be hollowed out by resentment. Hospitality in the early church was costly. Homes were not large. Resources were limited. Guests could bring danger. And yet Peter insists that welcome should be sincere. Why. Because the way believers treat one another becomes a living testimony in a watching world. When generosity is joyful instead of begrudging, it reflects a different source of security.

Then Peter turns to gifts. He reminds believers that each has received something to steward, not to own. Gifts are not trophies. They are trusts. Whether speaking or serving, all is to be done as from God and for God, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. This is a radical reorientation. It dismantles comparison. It quiets envy. It exposes pride. Gifts are not about being seen. They are about being faithful.

Peter does not divide the church into performers and spectators. Everyone is a steward. Everyone is responsible. And the goal is not personal fulfillment but divine glory. That kind of community does not emerge naturally. It must be chosen again and again, especially when suffering makes withdrawal tempting.

As the chapter progresses, Peter returns to suffering, but now with greater intensity. He tells believers not to be surprised by the fiery trial when it comes upon them to test them, as though something strange were happening. That sentence alone confronts much of modern Christian expectation. We often treat suffering as an interruption of God’s plan rather than a refining instrument within it. Peter insists that suffering is not strange. What is strange is assuming faith would cost nothing.

But Peter does not glorify pain. He redefines it. He says that when believers share in Christ’s sufferings, they can rejoice, because it means they will also rejoice when His glory is revealed. This is not emotional denial. It is theological anchoring. Present pain is not the final word. Future glory is not a vague consolation. It is a promised reality that gives present suffering meaning without making it pleasant.

He goes further. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. That is a staggering claim. Peter is saying that there is a unique nearness of God that accompanies faithfulness under pressure. Not all suffering is sanctifying, but suffering for righteousness draws God close in a particular way. The presence of God becomes more perceptible when other supports fall away.

Peter is careful to clarify. Not all suffering is honorable. If you suffer as a murderer, thief, evildoer, or meddler, there is no glory in that. Consequences for wrongdoing are not persecution. This distinction matters deeply, especially in a culture that often confuses personal offense with faithfulness. Peter is calling believers to honest self-examination. Are we suffering because we are Christlike, or because we are careless, harsh, or unwise.

Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, Peter says, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. Shame is one of the enemy’s favorite tools. It isolates. It silences. It convinces believers to hide obedience rather than live it openly. Peter pushes back. He says that bearing the name of Christ, even when it costs you, is not disgraceful. It is honorable. It aligns you with a long story of faithfulness that stretches beyond any single generation.

He then offers a sobering statement. Judgment begins at the household of God. This is not condemnation. It is purification. God takes His people seriously enough to refine them. Discipline is not rejection. It is evidence of belonging. Peter is reminding believers that hardship within the church is not proof of God’s absence. It is often proof of His commitment.

And then comes a question that echoes through the ages. If the righteous are scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner. This is not arrogance. It is urgency. Salvation is not casual. It is costly. It required the suffering of Christ. And it produces a life that does not drift aimlessly. Peter is pulling believers back to reverence. To gratitude. To seriousness of purpose.

The chapter closes with a sentence that feels like a hand placed firmly on the shoulder. Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. That word, entrust, is the opposite of control. It is surrender grounded in trust. God is not only judge. He is Creator. He knows what He has made. He knows how to sustain it. He knows how to redeem what looks broken.

Entrusting your soul does not mean retreating from responsibility. Peter pairs it with doing good. Faith does not become passive in suffering. It becomes deliberate. When circumstances are uncontrollable, obedience becomes the place where agency is restored. Doing good becomes an act of defiance against despair.

First Peter chapter four does not promise comfort. It promises clarity. It teaches believers how to live awake, unashamed, and anchored in a world that will not always understand them. It insists that suffering is not the enemy of faith but often the environment in which faith becomes unmistakably real.

If you are reading this and you feel the quiet weight of standing apart, of choosing obedience when it costs you socially, professionally, or emotionally, this chapter was written with you in mind. You are not strange. You are not forgotten. You are not failing. You are being formed.

The fire does not destroy faith that is entrusted to a faithful Creator. It reveals it.

There is a particular loneliness that comes with obedience once it stops being theoretical. It is the loneliness of realizing that faith is not merely something you believe, but something you are now known for. First Peter chapter four does not attempt to remove that loneliness. Instead, it reframes it. Peter teaches believers how to live faithfully when the cost of following Christ is no longer hypothetical but personal.

One of the most striking truths in this chapter is that suffering does not mean you are off course. In fact, Peter assumes suffering will come precisely because believers are on course. This runs against a deeply ingrained instinct in many of us. When life becomes hard, we immediately begin searching for what we did wrong. Sometimes that instinct is healthy. But Peter is careful to show that not all hardship is correction. Some hardship is confirmation.

Suffering for Christ is not the same as suffering because of foolish choices. Peter draws that line clearly. But once that distinction is made, he refuses to allow shame to settle in. Shame whispers that suffering proves failure. Peter insists that suffering for Christ proves identification. You are being treated as He was treated because you belong to Him. That does not make the pain disappear, but it does anchor it in meaning.

There is also something deeply countercultural in the way Peter talks about time. He repeatedly pulls the reader’s attention away from the immediate moment and stretches it toward eternity. He reminds believers that the end of all things is near, not to frighten them, but to focus them. When eternity becomes real, urgency changes shape. Life is no longer about accumulation or applause. It becomes about alignment.

Peter’s call to sobriety and self-control is not a call to emotional numbness. It is a call to spiritual alertness. The world runs on distraction. Noise. Excess. Endless stimulation. Peter understands that prayer cannot survive in an overstimulated soul. Prayer requires margin. It requires stillness. It requires clarity. A sober mind is not one that feels nothing, but one that is not controlled by impulses, outrage, or fear.

This kind of alertness directly affects how believers love one another. Peter places love above almost everything else. Not because love is vague or sentimental, but because love is resilient. Love absorbs friction without collapsing. Love chooses patience over retaliation. Love refuses to weaponize every failure. When Peter says love covers a multitude of sins, he is describing a community that refuses to let sin have the final word.

Covering sin does not mean denying it. It means dealing with it in a way that restores rather than destroys. In communities under pressure, the temptation is to turn inward, to grow suspicious, to fracture. Peter knows this. That is why he insists that love must be earnest, intentional, and persistent. Unity is not automatic. It is cultivated, especially when stress is high.

Hospitality plays a crucial role in this vision. Peter’s instruction to offer hospitality without grumbling is deceptively simple. In a time when believers were increasingly marginalized, hospitality was risky. Opening your home could invite scrutiny or danger. And yet Peter insists that hospitality should be willing, not resentful. Why. Because hospitality is a visible declaration that fear does not govern the household of God.

Hospitality is not about entertaining. It is about creating space where people are seen, fed, and welcomed. It is one of the most practical expressions of love, and one of the most costly. Peter knows that grudging generosity erodes community just as surely as selfishness. Joyless obedience is unsustainable. That is why he addresses the heart as much as the action.

Peter’s teaching on spiritual gifts flows naturally from this emphasis on community. Gifts are not given for personal elevation. They are given for mutual strengthening. Every believer receives something, not to possess, but to steward. That word matters. A steward manages what belongs to someone else. Gifts belong to God. They are expressions of His grace, distributed for His purposes.

Peter divides gifts broadly into speaking and serving, but the principle applies to all expressions of faithfulness. If you speak, speak as one who delivers the words of God. If you serve, serve by the strength God supplies. The goal is not excellence for its own sake, but dependence. God is glorified when it is clear that He is the source of what is happening.

This eliminates the hierarchy that so often creeps into spiritual spaces. There is no competition here. No comparison. No quiet resentment that one gift is more visible than another. All gifts matter because all are needed. All are sustained by God, and all are meant to point back to Him.

As Peter circles back to suffering, his tone becomes both sobering and strangely comforting. He tells believers not to be surprised by fiery trials. That word, fiery, suggests intensity, not inconvenience. Peter is honest. Following Christ will sometimes place believers directly in the path of conflict, misunderstanding, or loss. Faith is not a shield against difficulty. It is a lens through which difficulty is endured.

Rejoicing in suffering does not mean enjoying pain. It means recognizing participation. When believers suffer for Christ, they are participating in His story. They are sharing in His path. This is not about earning anything. It is about belonging. The future joy Peter references is not vague optimism. It is rooted in the promise that Christ’s glory will be revealed, and that those who remain faithful will share in it.

One of the most profound statements in this chapter is Peter’s claim that when believers are insulted for the name of Christ, the Spirit of glory rests upon them. This suggests that God’s presence is not always most tangible in comfort. Sometimes it is most evident in endurance. When external supports are stripped away, internal assurance often grows stronger.

Peter is careful to guard against self-deception. He lists behaviors that bring legitimate consequences and reminds believers that suffering for wrongdoing is not noble. This distinction is essential. Faithfulness does not excuse recklessness. Obedience includes wisdom, humility, and accountability. Peter is not promoting martyrdom as an identity. He is promoting integrity.

And yet, when suffering comes precisely because of faithfulness, Peter says believers should not be ashamed. Shame thrives in secrecy. Peter brings suffering into the open and reframes it as a reason to glorify God. Bearing the name of Christ publicly, even when it costs you, is not disgraceful. It is a declaration of allegiance.

The statement that judgment begins with the household of God is often misunderstood. Peter is not threatening believers. He is explaining refinement. God’s people are shaped through testing. Not to destroy them, but to strengthen them. This judgment is not condemnation. It is purification. It is the process by which faith becomes resilient rather than fragile.

Peter’s rhetorical question about the fate of the ungodly is meant to awaken urgency, not superiority. Salvation is not casual. It required the suffering of Christ. It demands response. The fact that the righteous are saved through endurance should deepen gratitude, not pride. It should also intensify compassion for those who have not yet responded.

The final instruction of the chapter is one of the most grounding sentences in all of Scripture. Those who suffer according to God’s will are told to entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while continuing to do good. That sentence holds together surrender and action. Trust and obedience. Rest and responsibility.

Entrusting your soul means releasing the illusion of control. It means believing that God knows what He is doing even when you do not. Calling Him Creator reminds believers that He is not improvising. He understands human frailty because He formed it. He understands suffering because He entered it. He understands redemption because He authored it.

Doing good in the midst of suffering is not passive. It is courageous. It is choosing faithfulness when outcomes are uncertain. It is refusing to let bitterness become your identity. It is continuing to love, serve, and obey when it would be easier to withdraw.

First Peter chapter four teaches believers how to live awake. Awake to the cost of faith. Awake to the nearness of eternity. Awake to the responsibility of community. Awake to the refining purpose of suffering. It does not promise ease, but it does promise meaning. It does not remove hardship, but it anchors the soul.

If you are walking through a season where obedience has isolated you, where faithfulness feels misunderstood, or where suffering has forced you to confront what truly matters, this chapter speaks directly to you. You are not being abandoned. You are being entrusted. You are not losing ground. You are being shaped.

The fire does not get the final word. The faithful Creator does.

Your friend, Douglas Vandergraph

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In Summary: * Have spent several hours this afternoon / evening setting up a new Facebook & Messenger account. This was much more complicated than I remember it being before when I had such. At any rate, now it'll be easier getting pictures and news from the family back in Indiana.

Prayers, etc.: My daily prayers

Health Metrics: * bw= 220.90 lbs. * bp= 140/85 (67)

Exercise: * kegel pelvic floor exercise, half squats, calf raises, wall push-ups

Diet: * 06:00 – 1 peanut butter sandwich * 08:00 – fried bananas * 10:30 – 1 fresh banana * 12:00 – pizza

Activities, Chores, etc.: * 04:30 – listen to local news talk radio * 05:30 – bank accounts activity monitored * 06:00 – read, pray, follow news reports from various sources, surf the socials, nap * 12:00 – watch old games shows and eat lunch at home with Sylvia * 13:00 – listen to news reports from various sources * 19:00 – have spent hours setting up a new Facebook / Messenger account * 19:30 – listen to The Joe Pags Show * 20:00 – listening to The Lars Larson Show

Chess: * 13:25 – moved in all pending CC games