The Winter Sun

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Ghia here.

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Welcome to the second season of the

creative, spiritual journey podcast.

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Where Judy and I talk about

those things that bring us joy.

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For me.

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I find joy connecting with nature.

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Connecting with Jesus Christ

and our heavenly parents.

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Seasonal living and all the bits of magic

and wonder I come across while navigating

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this remarkable journey we call life.

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Here in the Northern hemisphere, we

are in the deep, dark heart of winter.

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Do you love it?

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I do.

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I love to wear sweaters and scarves.

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I love sleeping under thick blankets.

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I love it.

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When I think it's really late and

realize it's only six 30 in the evening.

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Okay.

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I don't love driving in the snow and

I hate it when I'm in a hurry and I

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have to stop and scrape the windshield.

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But here's, what's crazy.

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I know it's dark and cold, but

what else is happening outside?

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Every day, it's getting a

little bit lighter and lighter.

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The winter sun is hanging in

the sky for just another minute.

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That is something everyone has got

to love about this time of year.

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The winter sun.

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Did you know that there is a name

for the son in the book of Abraham?

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It's shine.

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Ha.

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I love that.

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I love having a name for the sun.

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I tried to look up the correct

pronunciation, but the ones I found

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all sounded a little different.

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So I'm going with the one I like best.

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If I understand this correctly,

the Egyptian cartouche for Shinhan.

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Is the symbol of the sun's orbit.

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And a correlates with the

words forever or eternity.

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This reminds me of doctrine and covenants

88, which says referring to Jesus Christ.

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He is in the sun and the light

of the sun and the power there

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of, by which it was made.

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Jesus Christ is my shine.

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Huh?

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My son, my light, my eternity.

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And third Nifae referring to Jesus Christ.

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It says his countenance

did smile upon them.

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I think of this scripture

when I get a chance to sit for

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a moment in the winter sun.

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It feels to me like a smile from God.

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It's warm.

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It's safe.

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It's loving.

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Contrast this with the summer sun, which

I think is often trying to kill me.

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Oh, the winter sun.

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It's my smile from God.

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My Jesus Christ.

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I love to feel that he

is smiling down on me.

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It's just like Alma said, All

things to note, there is a God.

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The winter sun denotes.

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There is a God.

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Do you think I'm crazy?

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Or can you see this idea?

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Of course we can see God in any season,

but it really rings true to me in winter.

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Because in the fall we drop into

this time of death and decay.

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But what happens right after death?

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The light returns, life returns.

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Sounds almost like resurrection.

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Don't you think?

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And of course, as I've talked

about, the moon does the same thing.

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It's getting smaller and smaller

until all the light is gone.

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And then what?

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Of course it gets lighter again.

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Do you think this is a coincidence?

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Did God just happened to

design our earth this way.

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That the light diminishes to

nothing and then comes back.

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I believe all things to

note, there is a God.

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Our earth was designed

this way for a reason.

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Over and over again, throughout

our lives, the same idea of death

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and rebirth is taught to us.

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Why is this important?

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here's an idea.

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In Isaiah 30, it says in returning

and rest, ye shall be saved.

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In quietness and in confidence

shall be your strength.

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So there is this time for returning

and resting in him in Jesus Christ.

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A time that will save us and fill

us with confidence and strength.

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Is that what winter and the dark

of night and the new moon, and

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even the circular nature of our

breath are here to remind us about.

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Do these cycles teach us to look for and

find strength, quietness, and rest in him.

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I don't know about you,

but I believe they do.

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And that is part of their purpose.

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So all this said, I want to talk about

the sun and light for a few minutes.

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Mostly in our society these

days, we have been taught to

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think of sun as a bad thing.

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We are told over and over to

cover up, put on sunscreen.

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So the sun doesn't give us cancer.

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What if I told you this

idea, isn't completely true.

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What if I told you the sun is good for us?

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And that more than that, it is

actually necessary for our health, our

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sleep and our overall body function.

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Would you freak out and get upset?

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I wouldn't blame you.

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I listened to an episode of the

natural state podcast by Dr.

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Anthony Gustin, where he said that

of all the things he has ever posted.

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This topic of the sun being

good for us, brought up more

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controversial than anything else.

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His listeners got truly

upset with this idea.

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So if this concept is new to you,

if it goes against everything

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you ever been taught that's okay.

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Just hear me out, file it in your memory.

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And if you ever hear anything more

about it in the future, you can

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say, yeah, I heard something about

that once before, and maybe at that

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time you will be more interested.

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Now don't get me wrong.

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I don't want anyone to go out in the

sun and let their skin get burned.

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Burning is bad.

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Burning will cause cancer.

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But staying out of the sun or

smothering ourselves in sunscreen

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is not the best way to live either.

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Ideally, we would be outside

every day, getting a little bit

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of sun at a time until what is

called a sun callus develops.

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Have you ever heard of a sun callous?

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It's what experts are calling a suntan.

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When we slowly get out into the sun, our

skin is adapted to sun exposure and we can

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take more and more sun without burning.

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Here are a few things that getting

sunlight on our skin can do for us.

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It helps with daytime alertness and focus.

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It regulates our circadian rhythm,

which plays a role in physiological

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function, including hormone regulation.

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sunlight helps us develop a consistent

sleep wake cycle, leading to better rest.

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And sunlight enhances the

health of our mitochondria.

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Which may reduce the

risk of chronic disease.

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Without getting sun.

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All of these natural health

benefits are inhibited.

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That's why the sun is so important.

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And then there's another thing.

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Have you ever heard of red light therapy?

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It's very popular in

alternative medicine circles.

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Red light therapy is said to help

with skin conditions, pain management,

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joint mobility, brain function,

weight loss, and the list goes on.

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I've never tried red light

therapy myself, but I have friends

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that have, and they love it.

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The bummer is that red light

devices run from $150 for a device.

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The size of a hairbrush.

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All the way up to $18,000

for a red light bed.

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But here's, what's really cool.

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The red glow of sunlight that

occurs at sunrise and sunset is

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a free form of red light therapy.

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All you have to do is go outside.

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Even if it's cloudy.

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The evenings are great.

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And I've heard that if your

shadow is longer than you, it's

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the right time to be outside.

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But sunrise seems to

be the most impactful.

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It has said that this morning light

starts a beneficial hormone cascade.

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Do you like getting a burly?

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It's not my favorite thing, but I

have to admit this idea of getting

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free red light therapy is giving

me a little extra motivation.

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Either way sunrise or sunset.

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Aim for getting a minimum of 10 minutes

outside during these golden hours.

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Unfortunately, you can't be behind

glass or even have contacts in.

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'cause it's your eyes that

take in this red light.

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Isn't that cool eyes aren't just

for seeing they take in light,

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which can literally keep us healthy.

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Eyes are so amazing.

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I remember hearing once that Darwin

had trouble rectifying his theory

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of evolution when it came to eyes.

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He couldn't come up with an obvious

explanation for why eyes would develop.

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Hmm.

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Interesting.

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But listen to this scripture.

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This has doctrine and covenants 88, 11.

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And the light, which shyness.

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Which give it you light is through

him who enlightened with your eyes.

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Which is the same light that

quickened with your understanding.

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Isn't that interesting.

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Jesus Christ enlightens our eyes.

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I know this could just be a metaphor.

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But when you realize the part eyes

play in taking in light and keeping

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our bodies healthy, it's hard

not to take the scripture more.

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Literally.

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It's like God planned it.

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He designed our bodies to

take in and absorb light.

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Now I need to tell you one more

thing about light and our bodies

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that I think is fascinating.

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Scientists developing biophoton

research have been able to

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detect that after we die.

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And before rigor, mortis sets in.

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During this time.

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Uh, our cells actually leak

extremely low frequency, ultraviolet

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light, which can being measured.

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What.

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Ourselves leak light.

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That is so cool.

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Okay, not cool that we die, but that

there is light in ourselves in the

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first place that they can even leak it.

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Right.

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That's the wonder and splendor of light.

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That's our son.

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That's the light of Christ,

the light that given life.

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I want to end with one more thought.

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I have a friend who is a photographer.

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And she was explaining how one of the

best times for a photo shoot is right

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at sunset because of how beautiful

the light is during this time of day.

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And she went on to talk about

how so many people believe we are

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living in an ever darkening world.

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But she pointed out that before

it gets truly dark, there

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is this magical golden hour.

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I assert that we are

living in that golden hour.

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And just like, I need to have my

eyes open and unobscured to absorb

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the infrared light of the sunset.

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If I am watching, if my eyes are open.

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I will see the light of

Christ, even as the rest of

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the world, sinks into darkness.

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Elder Who said.

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The Lord sends us a Ray of light

and then another and another, those

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rays of light are continuously

being poured down on us and quote.

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So there you go.

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Well, I'm enjoying a

few more months of cold.

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I plan to bask in the smiling

light of the winter sun.

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And I hope you will as well.

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Judy, and I know your time is precious.

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And that you have many choices.

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We love that you have chosen to

walk with us for a few minutes.

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As we talk about the joy we've experienced

while navigating this journey of life.

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If you like this podcast, the

biggest things you can offer

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is to share it with a friend.

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And remember.

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To bask in the winter sun is

to bask in the light of Christ.

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Nama stay.