The World and Everything in It: December 21, 2023

PREROLL: Merry Christmas. I’m WORLD writer and legal correspondent Jenny Rough. When I first switched careers from law to writing, it took me years to find a place to publish the stories I knew needed to be told. I finally found a home with WORLD. I hope you too have found a home to listen to news, features, reviews, profiles, and long-form narratives about the world and everything in it. Please join me in its December giving drive, and make a gift at WNG.org/donate.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning! Shipping through the Red Sea is risky as Houthi rebels attack. What is the U.S. doing to counter them?

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Also, many families caring for elderly parents face rising financial and emotional costs.

EDWARDS: Even though I had done this stuff for 25 years, when it's your own family, you still don't feel prepared.

Plus, a church plans an outdoor live Nativity, but the elements put the annual tradition at risk.

AUDIO: It’s really rainy. It’s really cold. It’s really windy. I’m really soaked.

And George Grant on a Christmas interjection on this month’s Word Play.

REICHARD: It’s Thursday, December 21st. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

BROWN: And I’m Myrna Brown. Good morning!

REICHARD: Time now for news with Kent Covington.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Republican reaction to CO ruling » Donald Trump’s top Republican rivals are blasting a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that would strike his name from presidential primary ballots in the state.

Former South Carolina governor and ambassador Nikki Haley:

HALEY: I think the people of Colorado should be furious. I am going to defeat Donald Trump on my own.

The state’s highest court invoked the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. They said Trump’s actions surrounding the 2021 Capitol riot disqualified him from running for president again.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the Colorado court afforded Trump no real due process.

DESANTIS: They basically just said, what, you can’t be on the ballot? Could we just say that Biden can’t be on the ballot because he let in 8 million illegals into the country and violated the Constitution, which he has?

Biden/Trump reaction » Even within the court itself, the decision was controversial. All seven members of Colorado’s high court were appointed by Democratic governors, but three of the justices felt the court overstepped its authority with Tuesday’s ruling.

For his part, Donald Trump called the ruling shameful.

President Biden also weighed in, telling reporters:

BIDEN: Now whether the 14th Amendment applies, I’ll let the court make that decision. But he certainly supported an insurrection. There’s no question about it. None, zero.

So will Donald Trump’s name appear on state presidential primary ballots? Colorado Secretary of State Jenna Griswold said the U.S. Supreme Court will likely make that call.

GRISWORLD: I think there is a higher likelihood that that happens in this case. And I’ll just follow whatever court decision in place by the time ballot certification comes around.

The Colorado court has put its ruling on hold for now to allow time for an appeal.

Israel offensive » In the Gaza Strip Israeli Defense Forces continue to hammer Hamas targets, both from the air.

SOUND: [Air strike]

And on the ground …

SOUND: [Ground war]

And the IDF says it has dealt a serious blow to Hamas in exposing the command center of the terror group’s vast underground network of tunnels and facilities.

Military leaders released video footage showing the tunnels and buried facilities, including apartments and meeting rooms, as well as weapons caches.

U.S. holds off U.N. resolution » Meantime, the United States continues to hold up a possible U.N. Security Council resolution that would call for an end to the war. Secretary of State Tony Blinken:

BLINKEN: There seems to be silence on what Hamas could do, should do, must do, if we want to end the suffering of innocent men, women, and children.

U.S. officials feel United Nations leaders are aiming criticism almost entirely at Israel.

Though, the Biden administration is pressuring Israel to do more to protect and aid civilians amid a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

U.S. border » As talks continue in Washington over border and immigration policy, the crisis at the southern border continues.

GOP Congressman Tony Gonzelez represents a district that covers more than half of the Texas border.

GONZALEZ: In my district, local communities have no further resources to continue sustaining this migrant crisis.

Fox News, citing border officials, reports so far, just in the month of December, authorities have already recorded nearly 200,000 migrant encounters.

On Capitol Hill, Republicans are withholding funds the White House requested for aid to Ukraine, among other things until Democrats agree to major shifts in border policy. That would include changes to asylum rules.

E.U. border measures » Meantime, European Union leaders have announced changes to asylum rules there as the E.U. tightens its immigration policies.

European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas says migrants unlikely to be granted asylum will be entered into a fast-tracked border process.

SCHINAS: With streamlined procedures for quickly dealing with asylum claims and efficiently processing returns of those who have no legal reason to be under the European Union’s protection.

The changes will also limit the numbers of people who can immigrate to E.U. countries.

And Schinas says they’ll also more evenly spread out the costs of hosting those migrants among the various member nations.

Some refugee rights groups blasted the new rules, claiming they’ll create what amounts to prison camps at the E.U.’s borders.

Venezuela prisoners » Venezuela’s ruling Maduro regime released dozens of prisoners on Wednesday, including 10 Americans as part of a prisoner exchange.

And with that, the White House says Venezuela is no longer detaining any Americans. President Biden told reporters:

Biden: We have no higher priority than the release of detained and-or Americans being held hostage.

The U.S. gave only one prisoner in the exchange, a Colombian businessman and Maduro ally who was facing money laundering and bribery charges in the United States.

Maduro’s government also freed 20 Venezuelans, including political opposition leader Roberto Abdul.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Terror in the Red Sea. Plus, storms in Bethlehem.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Thursday the 21st of December, 2023.

Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Up first: mayhem in the Middle East.

SOUND: [Voices shouting in Arabic]

That’s the sound of Houthi rebels from Yemen hijacking a ship near the Red Sea. The Iran-backed terrorist group released the video back in November, and since then they’ve launched missile and drone attacks against about a dozen commercial and military vessels in a region called Bab el-Mandeb. That’s “the gate of tears” in English.

REICHARD: On Monday this week, the U.S. military announced it would lead a multi-national taskforce to protect commercial shipping through the Suez Canal…But some shipping companies have decided to take the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa to avoid the risk of rebel attacks.

Joining us now to talk about these attacks is Benham Ben Taleblu. He’s a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where he specializes in Iranian security and political issues.

BROWN: Benham, good morning to you.

TALEBLU: Good morning, great to be with you.

BROWN: Well let’s start with some context. Who are the Houthis, and what distinguishes them from other terrorist groups supported by Iran in the region?

TALEBLU: The Houthis are the latest or newest member, I should say, to this axis of resistance, you know, the Houthis have been around as as a people and as a movement, long before there ever was an Islamic Republic. But this represents one of those successful instances, kind of like Hamas as well, which is a terrorist group, a Palestinian rejectionist group, an Islamist group that through sustained political and material support, the Islamic Republic of Iran was able to co-opt towards its side. And through relatively low cost investments, the Islamic Republic was able to get a foothold on the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula. The Houthis overtook the capital there in 2014-2015, contested and ultimately, in my view, sadly, beat Saudi and UAE and Arab state-led coalition, and through Iran's provision of the key long range strike capabilities like ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and suicide drones have been able to punch well above their weight, both on land against the Saudis and the Emiratis, as well as increasingly at sea. And just because the Houthis are the latest elements of this act of resistance doesn't mean they're anywhere as less lethal. In fact, the capabilities that the Houthis have today are capabilities that Iran's oldest proxy, the Badr Group in Iraq, or its most successfully styled-proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon, they do not have the capabilities that the Houthis have today. And that's important to keep in mind.

BROWN: Yeah, given that context, it’s kind of surprising that global trade hasn’t been more affected before now. For a bit of geography…the Indian Ocean connects to the Mediterranean via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. But to get to the Red Sea, ships have to go through a stretch of water between Yemen and Djibouti [Jih-BOO-dee] that’s just 16 miles across at its narrowest point.

If the Houthis decide to make these attacks part of their long-term strategy, what will the consequences likely be? And I’m talking both economically and militarily.

TALEBLU: It depends how long the Houthis decide to make this an element of their strategy, which is ultimately going to be brought to you by both political factors. Again, this is something that they've threatened to do in the past, but they've been able to actually execute because of a certain capability, meaning that they have these anti-ship ballistic missiles, they have these anti ship cruise missiles, as well as the desired political aim to use them towards. So the Houthis, as you may remember, in 2016, if I'm not mistaken, did fire anti-ship cruise missiles that a U.S. warship, but the U.S. responded and there was basically a downturn in the willingness of the Houthis to continue to be that robust, you know, maritime threat. But what we're seeing in real time, and that's really the time horizon that you you mentioned, is the Islamic Republic is exporting its anti-access/area denial capabilities, as well as its maritime harassment capabilities from the Persian Gulf and strait of Hormuz, where Iran has long been able to threaten commercial traffic, and much more oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf than does the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb. But nonetheless, both are critical choke points in the global trade. And in the very, very short term, even some of these more sporadic attacks are designed to increase insurance premiums for ships that do end up traversing the Red Sea. And for those that don't and take more time, well, they'll need more fuel because they'll be going around the Cape of Good Hope to get into the Mediterranean or to go into the Atlantic. And in either way, time and more fuel equals more money. Greater insurance premiums mean more money, which means these costs are transposed onto the consumer, which increases the cause of continued global trade. And the Islamic Republic is doing this to activate economic fronts against Israel and against America even for continuing to support Israel, and in this way, tried to effectuate a blockade. So this stuff that is sporadic is even having an economic effect. The question is in the face of this new US maritime security construct that is multinational, thankfully in the Red Sea, that is designed to help defend freedom of navigation in the global commons and global trade, how resolute Will these be when they see more assets, engaging in detection and deterrence by denial? My personal view is so long as there is no deterrence by punishment from the ships from these vessels from this more robust military infrastructure in the region, these threats are likely to continue and we're likely going to see more follow on economic effects of these threats being implemented.

BROWN: How has the US responded to these new attacks so far, alright, and what else might we see in the days ahead?

TALEBLU: The latest spate of interceptions have not just been U.S. alone, I think this weekend or last weekend, even a French vessel intercepted a Houthi suicide drone. So even prior to the creation of this new multinational task force, there are foreign vessels engaging in these kinds of deterrence by denial, meaning they're firing capabilities at aerial threats Iran's proxies are firing that are going towards ships. So there's been lots of deterrence by denial, you may see more chases, you may potentially see some escorting you saw this at the end of the Iran-Iraq war in a period that we call the tanker war. The real outsized question of this entire maritime security construct is, will they engage in deterrence by punishment? Will they respond militarily to the point of origin of these drone strikes of these missile strikes? Will they do something to erode the anti-ship capabilities of the Houthis, so even if the Houthis have an intent to continue to impede global shipping, they may not have the capability to carry that out beyond the short term?

BROWN: Benham Ben Taleblu is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Thank you for your time and expertise, Benham!

TALEBLU: Thank you.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: caring for aging relatives.

Alongside death and taxes, long-term care is a near certainty for many older Americans. The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 70 percent of people who make it to 65 will need some kind of long-term care as they age, costs not typically covered by insurance. So, many people are managing to age at home with help from family, friends…and consultants.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: WORLD Radio Reporting Producer Mary Muncy has the story.

ANN EDWARDS: So we'll see if there's another dot in our folder.

MARY MUNCY: Ann Edwards pulls out a big yellow folder in Ginny and Ted Hartshorn’s room. She’s a care consultant visiting her clients in an assisted living facility. She’s looking for a rubber dot to fix Ted’s bingo card.

EDWARDS: There are dots, we’ll get a new dot on his thing.

Ted is mostly blind, but he still wants to participate in all of the social activities.

TED HARTSHORN: I memorized the card and use the same card over and over again. And so you know, I really can't cheat [laughter]

Bingo is serious business in the facility.

EDWARDS: We use these little rubber dots, these markers, so that based on where we have them located, he knows what column he's in, so that he knows you know, how to find B, and, and all that kind of stuff.

All of Edwards’ clients have yellow binders. The binders have everything she needs to know about them along with some extra supplies.

EDWARDS: I think to do my job, you have to love puzzles. Because it is it's all about figuring out how can you make this work? What can we do?

Edwards helps clients and their families with everything from labeling the pills in dad’s tackle box, to watching parents deal with dementia, to navigating Medicare and Medicaid.

Most of her clients start by needing help with personal care, and that gets expensive.

A lot of Americans are asking, how does one get quality care without breaking the bank?

Michael Guerrero is a certified Medicaid planner and runs a business called eldercare resource planning. He says the not-breaking-the-bank part is only getting harder.

MICHAEL GUERRERO: We're looking at an extended expansion in need, because of kind of three different things kind of all happening at once: one, we're living longer. Two, the baby boom generation is reaching that age where they're needing more care. And number three, we tend to need more long term care in our later years than we have before.

That long-term care is often not covered by insurance. It’s the kind of care where someone doesn’t really need a nurse or a doctor, but they still have trouble performing some basic tasks on their own. If someone’s insurance doesn’t cover it, they generally have to almost deplete their savings before they qualify for Medicaid.

GUERRERO: Few people are lucky enough to be able to save for a real true Long Term Care event, two or three years. And then even fewer are lucky enough to save for both spouses.

Guerrero says long-term care prices are rising faster than inflation rates… not only because more people need care, but there’s also been a chronic staffing shortage in long-term care facilities.

Nursing homes rely on a fixed government budget, and many residents rely on Medicaid. But Medicaid typically doesn’t cover the actual cost of providing care.

So as prices rise, more people are trying to stay in their homes for as long as possible.

Last year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that employment of home health and personal care aides will grow by 22 percent over the next nine years, faster than any other industry in the same period.

In other words, people like Edwards are in high demand.

EDWARDS: There is no orientation manual. There's nobody there to guide and direct you through this. So you feel like you keep running in different directions, trying to get information and pull things together. And it's just very overwhelming.

Edwards used to work as an agent for larger companies, but then her parents began to need care. Edwards walked with them through dementia and falls and eventually a nursing home.

She says it was overwhelming for her, even though she’d been doing it for 25 years. It made her wonder, what happens to people who have never navigated the healthcare system before?

She eventually quit her job to care for her parents, and after they died, she became a private care consultant.

The puzzle of trying to get cost-effective, quality care can be difficult—but Edwards says it’s worth it, even if you have to make sacrifices.

EDWARDS: I always comment to families, you need to do what you need to do so that when you get to the end of this journey with your parents, you can feel good about the journey that you were on, and you know that you did the best that you can.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Mary Muncy in Batesville, Indiana.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: You’re never too old to learn! Just ask 90-year-old Minnie Payne. Audio from NewsNation:

PAYNE: When I retired at 68, I wasn’t doing anything constructive. 

At that time, the Texas grandma hadn’t stepped inside a classroom since graduating high school in 1950. No matter. She enrolled at the University of North Texas and earned an undergraduate degree at age 73.

PAYNE: I worked for about 16 years, writing and copyediting.

And during that time, she decided to pursue her master's degree in interdisciplinary studies.

PAYNE: [Applause]

And that’s the standing ovation she got last weekend when she walked across the stage, accompanied by her grandson, and became the oldest graduate to complete her coursework and earn her degree. She says when you find something you like…

PAYNE: Study it, practice it, go with it and perform to perfection.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, December 21st. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: stormy weather.

For many people living near Crestwood, Kentucky, one Christmas tradition is driving through the live Nativity at Ballardsville Baptist Church. But this year, the weather threatens to interfere with all those animals. WORLD Reporter Travis Kircher has the story.

SOUND: [Rain on ground and gutter] 

TRAVIS KIRCHER, REPORTER: If church volunteers were hoping for starry skies and a light covering of Christmas snow for their outdoor living nativity…well…let’s just say this is no Normal Rockwell painting. This is “Noah-go-build-an-ark” kind of weather. Dark clouds. Thunder. Torrential downpours. Many in the congregation are wondering if the show must – or even can – go on.

SANDY WILLIAMS: We do it in rain. We do it in the snow.

Sandy Williams is the organizer of the annual event – or as many know her…the Manger Manager. She says it started in 2008.

SANDY: The first year we did it, it was below zero.

In 15 years, it’s only been canceled twice.

SANDY: One year during COVID. And then the following year, we had some really high winds come through here and knock everything down.

SOUND: [Participants eating before the nativity]

Those winds are the concern. As the volunteers gather in the fellowship hall over chili, hot dogs and cookies, weather is the topic of conversation.

TIM WHITWORTH: Is it still pouring down rain? I don’t know. Is it still pouring down rain?

LLOYD FOE: Yeah, it was just a minute ago.

JIMMY WILLIAMS: It will pass. We’ll be all right tonight.

The signs are good for now. The rain has tapered off. Weather radar appears to show a small window – a break in the storms for the next couple of hours. Hopefully, long enough to pull off tonight’s event.

SANDY: Angels, Morgan Jones, Danny Giffin.

Sandy Williams wrangles the cats and distributes costumes.

SANDY: Jessica Young, B. O’Dell, Autumn Krauth, and Megan and Melody. You need to go get in costume.

CHILD: That’s a camel!

WISE MAN: It is a camel!

Outside, three men dressed in crowns and regal robes are coraling camels. Real camels.

CHILD: I’ve never seen a camel!

WISE MAN: You wanna touch it? You can come up here and pet it.

WALLIN: Welcome – and thank you all for coming out. If you’ll tune your radio to 88.1 on the FM dial – 88.1 – you’ll be able to listen to the broadcast from inside the church as you drive through the Nativity!

AUDIO: Broadcast - Merry Christmas, and welcome to the living nativity at Ballardsville…

At last, it’s time. Night has fallen and the first cars begin driving through. Jason Wallin…the church’s youth pastor greets them as they pull in, dressed as a Roman soldier.

AUDIO: Tonight, the pages of scripture will come alive…

That broadcast outlines the story of Christ’s birth. As drivers slowly proceed through the Nativity, they pass a shepherd with a live sheep, the three wise men with their camels. And then they reach the busiest part of the Nativity: the Bethlehem marketplace featuring booths, dozens of villagers, even a blacksmith.

SOUND: [Bethlehem market]

SHOPKEEPER: Come to the best shop in town where the fish are frying and the bread is rising!

So far the weather has been cooperating, but that’s about to change. Without warning, the sky opens up and it starts to rain. And rain. And rain.

SHOPKEEPER: Come taste the best bread in towwwn!! OH THIS IS RAINING!

SOUND: [Rain in Bethlehem marketplace] 

Little Kendall McGrew is being quite the trooper trying to stay in character as a little girl who came to the Bethlehem market to buy grapes.

KENDALL: I have to feed my sick grandma. She loves grapes.

But even this aspiring actress admits she’s drenched.

KENDALL: It’s really rainy. It’s really cold. It’s really windy. I walked in a puddle!

Further down, Jeff Giffen is playing the part of a waterlogged innkeeper.

INNKEEPER: Sorry! There’s no vacancy here at the inn. Sorry. 

Around the corner, off by itself, is a small shed made to look like a stable. David and Sophia Giffin are portraying Mary and Joseph. As cars pass by, the couple kneels over a fake baby Jesus in a makeshift manger. It can be a tedious role, but they’ve found a way to pass the time.

DAVID: We play the Alphabet Game very secretly. 

Under the shelter of the stable, David and Sophia may be the only actors staying dry tonight.

AUDIO: [Choir singing]

Even the choir is soaked and had to step off metal bleachers due to lightning.

With all the wind, rain, and cold, you might be asking, “Why do it? Why not just throw up a static display in the church parking lot and call it a night?”

Brian Young…who also plays a Roman soldier…says it’s about winning hearts.

YOUNG: I believe if one person gets saved as a result of what we do here tonight, it’s worth it. 

In past years, the event has drawn new members to Ballardsville Baptist, some of them saying they want to be a part of a church that does events like this.

SOUND: [People enjoying hot chocolate and cookies]

At the end of the Nativity…drivers are directed under the church portico, where they are given hot chocolate and cookies.

Jerome and Jennifer VanGaalen drove through the living Nativity this year for the first time.

JEROME: I mean, to be able to put yourself out there and the dedication for doing this to show people what the season is all about and to show people Christ’s love in all circumstances…you know, it’s pouring rain and they’re still doing what they’re doing and enjoying it.

JENNIFER: It’s beautiful.

But is it all that surprising that they would leave the warmth of their homes…just to give drivers a little taste of Bethlehem? Christ left the comfort of His throne in Heaven for 33 years to redeem us here on Earth. As these volunteers will tell you…they can stand out in bad weather for two hours. After all…it’s just rain.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Travis Kircher. In Bethlehe -- sorry. In Crestwood, Kentucky. Merry Christmas.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is December 21st. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Up next, a Christmas edition of Word Play with WORLD commentator George Grant

GEORGE GRANT: The word “Oh” is what grammarians call an interjection. It is used to express a wide range of emotions including surprise and joy, fear and pain, invocation and admiration. It entered the English lexicon from Old Norman French—which had inherited it from Latin, Greek, and Indo-European proclitic roots.

It can serve as an expression of alarm or dismay: “Oh, no!” “Oh, my!” or “Uh, oh!” It can be used to accentuate a declaration—sort of like a verbal exclamation mark: “Oh, man!” “Oh, boy!” or “Oh, yes!” It can also emphasize an affirmation: “Oh, right!” “Oh, sure!” or “Oh, OK!” It can even strengthen a query or express dubious sarcasm: “Oh, yeah?” “Oh, really?” or just “Ohhh?”

The word appears more than a thousand times in the Bible, nearly four hundred times in the Psalms. Usually, it is a poetic or honorific exclamation: “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!” “O Absalom, Absalom, my son, Absalom!” “I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High!” “Why are you cast down, O my soul? Hope in God!” “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me!” “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” “O you of little faith!” and “O you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers; for out of you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”

The medieval Advent Antiphons are sometimes also known as the O Antiphons because they all begin with the word “O.” An antiphon is a call-and-response chant traditionally sung just before a psalm or a Scripture canticle. The O Antiphons were reserved for vespers services during the last week before Christmas and they introduced the singing of Mary’s song of praise, The Magnificat.

They exult in the mystery and the glory of the incarnation of Christ declaring, “O Wisdom!” “O Adonai!” “O Root of Jesse!” “O Key of David!” “O Dayspring!” “O King of the Nations” and “O Emmanuel!” The familiar and haunting carol, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, was composed by John Mason Neale, a gifted translator and hymn writer. He based the 1851 text on these O Antiphons:

O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Oh, Lord! Oh, my! Oh, yes! Blessed Christmas, everyone!

I’m George Grant.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Tomorrow: Culture Friday with John Stonestreet.

And, two movies intended for families, but are Wonka and Migration worth the price of movie tickets? That and more tomorrow.

I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio. WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Bible says: But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless! Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me and from the snares of evildoers! —Psalm 141, verses 8 and 9.

Go now in grace and peace.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.