A place to find Hope

Tag: Bible (Page 3 of 4)

Fear of Not Having the Virus Vaccine is Very hard on Us.

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Got some very good news this morning. I am eligible to have my second virus shot. I will be getting it on February 4th.

I know…there are many of you who haven’t had your first. My health condition is severe enough that I am able to get the shot.

In the state of Oregon, where I live, the governor has said that only teachers can get their shots right now, and that would be ahead of the seniors. Many people are furious about this decision.

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What has been your experience? Have you had your first shot yet? Do you fear the virus will spread very fast before everyone can get the vaccine?

I hear you! We need to have faith in God since He is in charge.

We also need to be patient. It will be God’s timing and not ours.

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Somethings to give you hope:

Prayer is vital in these times. Pray for the people making the virus so that there is an abundance.

Read the Bible every day. I have found such comfort in that.

Concentrate on only positive things. Kick those negative things out of your brain.

Be a comfort to those around you. I find this gives them hope and gives me joy.

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There will also be storms in our lives. Storms go away, but God doesn’t. He is always there with you.

Rely on Him to carry you through your storms. He has big shoulders.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!

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Failure Shouldn’t be Anything Bad in Our Lives, Move on

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The election is behind us, and we have a new president. I did not vote for him, but my prayers are with him each day.

President Biden is in a big hurry to wipe out everything the President Trump accomplished. On his first day he signed over 25 executive orders to change many things President Trump had done.

We will have to wait and see how the people respond to all this change.

There were massive rioting on inauguration day in Seattle, and Portland, Oregon. President Biden has his hands full.

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Have you every failed? Did you attempt something and it all went south? You certainly are not alone. Here is a quote by arguably the greatest basketball player of all time.

” I’ve missed over 9,000 shots in my career. I lost lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I failed over and over in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Michael Jordan.

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Her is an example of failure in the Bible. Peter, one of Jesus’ closest friends failed.

He told Jesus He would never betray him. Jesus, said, “This very night before the rooster crows you will deny me three times. Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you, and all the disciples said the same. Peter then denied knowing Jesus three times. Later, after the rooster crowed, Peter remembered what he had said and he wept bitterly.

Many people today point to Peter as an example of what not to do, such as, speaking before you think, having little faith, being impulsive, and shrinking back denying things.

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In our own lives this is what we need to do:

Admit it

Be open and admit when you fail. Trying to hide sin doesn’t work. God already knows what you have done.

Forget it

Once you have admitted it let it go. Stop thinking about it in your mind. God doesn’t give you a list of things He has forgive you for so neither should you.

Get Back in it

Once you are forgiven it is over. Don’t waste any time. Get back in the game! God wants you to live fully, without being weighed down by shame and guilt. Use your failure to fuel your future success. God has too much to accomplish through you to be burdened by past failures.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never foraken,

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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How Do We React to Someone Who Had done something Wrong to Us?

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Well…The inauguration is over and there was very little problems. That is a very good sign at the moment. However, we have to ask, “What is next?”

Such a divided nation. Split right down the middle. This causes lots of turmoil, and hardships. We have to let God be in charge, and hope He will get our country to where He wants it.

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What would you do? Coming face-to-face with someone who has caused you so much pain, how would you act? What would you decide in that moment? And maybe the more important question is to discover, is why?

We find an example of this type of situation in the Bible. The story of Joseph.

Genesis 50…

2 This is the account of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was seventeen years
old, he often tended his father’s flocks. He worked for his half brothers, the sons
of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of
the bad things his brothers were doing.
3 Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe. 4 But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.

1) Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers, who decided to profit off of him, rather than kill him.
2) Thrown into prison, after being falsely accused of attempted rape because he refused to sleep with his master’s wife. 3) For two years, alone and forgotten in prison by the man he witnessed to. I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a rough life. For anyone, this would give them ample reasons to turn to anything but God—to give themselves over to bitterness and anger—to turn inward—to turn to self-pity—or have a legitimate cry for JUSTICE and VENGEANCE! ALL THAT TIME IN PRISON TO STEW OVER THE WRONGS THAT HAD BEEN DONE!

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Well, here is what happened next…

The brothers had come to Egypt because their families were starving and were asking for mercy. They didn’t recognize Joseph and bowed down before him seeking help. Then Joseph broke down and started weeping. He said,

3 “I am Joseph!” he said to his brothers. “Is my father still alive?” But his brothers
were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in
front of them. 4 “Please, come closer,” he said to them. So they came closer. And
he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in
Egypt. 5 But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to
this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. 6 This
famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there
will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 God has sent me ahead of you to keep
you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. 8 So it was God who
sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an adviser to Pharaoh—the
manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt.

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So how would you have handled this? What would you have done?

Can you forgive someone that had done so much wrong to you? Will you forget the past and open your arms to this person, or persons?

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I have to admit it would be very hard for me, but I would do it. We must think of Jesus hanging on the cross and had the complete right to be angry, bitter, and want revenge, but He said, Father, forgive them for the do not know what they are doing.

He was being killed and He ask God to forgive them!!

With that always stuck in my mind, I overcome any bitterness I may have and forgive.

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Think about this in the future. Think, what would Jesus do?

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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Does God Really Keep All of His Promises to us?

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I am reading about all the suspended accounts on Twitter and Facebook. It is really sounding like “Big brother,” is saying only write what I like.

The people are furious and moving on to other social networks. I do not blame them for one second. This is sounding more like a few controlling many.

I am on Facebook and Twitter. I haven’t said anything “awful” enough to be banned yet. I try to be positive as much as I can, but there are times when a person posts something that I can’t let slide.

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Have you had broken promises invade your heart? Those you expected to happen and then they didn’t? We have all had that embrace us and knock us down.

I got to thinking about that. I has someone ask me, “Does God really keep His promises. So I did some digging in the Bible and one glaring example happened to be Abraham.

First let me give some back history on Abraham. He wasn’t a follower of God. As a matter of fact his whole family worshipped other gods. He was a pagan. We see this happen through out the Bible where God selects someone who wasn’t always a wonderful person:

Paul

Peter

David

OK…I digress.

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Abraham wasn’t a bright star on God’s list at the time, but God chose Him to populate the world.

Then you see that God made Abraham wait, and wait, and wait, Before he could have his first son born from his wife. She was 90 when Isaac was born!!!

Abraham kept challenging God to follow through with his promises. God kept telling him it isn’t time yet.

Even after Isaac was born God tested Abraham by telling him to sacrifice Isaac. God of course stopped Abraham by provided a lamb for the sacrifice.

God kept telling Abraham he would keep His promises. He was just doing His promises on His time and not Abraham’s time.

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Do you wonder if God will keep His promises to you? Of course He will. It is just like Abraham. It will be on God’s timing not yours.

I trust God to guide me through this not so friendly world. He knows what is best for me. He cares for me and will do what I need. We just have to be patient.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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It’s Time to Set Goals for 2021 Choose Wisely

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It is now 2021. 2020 is gone. It is in the past. Let’s move on. Enjoy the new beginning. Enjoy the new hope.

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Today is a big day for football fans. You could watch bowl games all day. I have picked my favorite to win it all. Clemson has a tremendous quarterback, and they look pretty good.

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What is your goals for the new year? I suggest you do not do resolutions. They are too easy to break. You goals should be realistic and reachable.

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Here is my goals for 2021:

Finish my new book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

I have been spending over three years on this book. So much research and phone calling. I want this to be just what our military needs to win their inner battles.

If you want to know about the book, go to www.dougbolton.com. I have been sharing excerpts there.

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The next goal is to be healthy. I have been having issues, and I am tired of being tired. Need to find the ways to be stronger, and healthier.

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Then I want to be able to go where ever I want, when ever I want to. This pandemic has caused me to be on lock down since last March.

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Of course, I want to be closer to God. He is my heavenly Father. I need to read the Bible more. Pray more, and do more to glorify His name.

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I have many more goals in my head, but they can be added as I finish some of the others. Do not over load your goals.

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How about you? Have you thought of the new year and what you have for goals? Make a list right now. Most important goals first. Put them up somewhere to remind you to be doing them.

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God has plans for you. He will reveal those to you when He feels it is the right time. Listen to Him. Do not ignore His instructions. He wants the best for you.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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Are the walls closing in on you?

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I am having a bad hair day. Not feeling well. Got ache and pains, plus lack of energy. However, here I am.

I have these days from time to time. It is called old age!

It seems like the walls are closing in on me.

I am not afraid because I can see the light in the darkness, and I am walking towards it.

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I am locked up in my own home because of health issues.

How about you? Are you in lock down like me? Do you need to try to fill your day in with things you wouldn’t normally do? You certainly are not alone.

Here is what I try to do to help pass the time each day:

  1. I try to go on walks, but the weather is changing and it rains often.
  2. I am blessed to be able to do two blogs. That takes about three hours. It is very rewarding.
  3. My wife and I go driving to no where. We just go and decide where we are going as we drive. We see lots of places near us that we have never seen before.
  4. To get groceries we order online and then have the grocery store put our groceries in our car.
  5. I love to read, so my kindle is running all the time. Great way to escape.
  6. We connect with our family often by using Zoom. We just did that yesterday. It was very uplifting for all of us.
  7. I pray every day. It is so refreshing to be able to talk to God every day.

You need to make your list of what to do to pass time. Idleness are the tools of the Devil is what it says in the Bible.

Do not let the dark side overcome you. God is by your side 24/7. He will not let face more than you can handle.

I am convinced all these storms will pass in our lives. The pandemic, rioting, wild fires, etc. They will be gone, but our heavenly Father will still be there by our side.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!

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Idols Will Fade Away, But Not God

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What is an idol? It is something you love more than God. It is taking the place of God. Do your idols control you?

We all have idols. They could be something material, or it could be someone in your life. Here are some examples of both:

  1. A fancy car.
  2. That great boat of yours.
  3. Joe Biden, or President Trump.
  4. A huge mansion.
  5. That Harley Davidson.

There are many more that I can think of, but this gives you an idea.

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In Biblical times the Egyptians had hundreds of idols. One came back to haunt them. The frogs came into their homes and everywhere else, as one of the plagues. (There are only so many frog legs you can eat.) However, the most important one for them seemed to be the sun.

The worshipped the sun everyday. They offered sacrifices to it. Idols can destroy you like it did the Egyptians back then.

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Do you have idols? Are they more important to you than God? What do you need to do to put God first in your life? I suggest spending time in the Bible every day. The Word is wisdom. It can’t be destroyed like some idols.

I have learned that I need to use my time wisely. I am not sure how many breaths I have left. I want to use them to worship God and to share His love. I can’t say that I don’t have time for God. He should be first, and I should be spending most of my time with Him.

Do you feel more atoned to your I-Phone, or your Fit Bit watch than to God? They can become idols. My wife tells me that I spend far too much time on my I-Phone. I checked and I have to agree. I average 7 hours a day on the phone. Ridiculous!

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Put together your priorities. My I-Phone should be near the bottom of the list.

Here is some of my priorities:

  1. God
  2. Family
  3. Church
  4. Reach out to help
  5. Always have a positive attitude.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!

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There Are Benefits to Facing Trials

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There are very trying times right now, with the pandemic, rioting, and wild fires. There are some things I have seen while facing trials:

  1. We draw closer to God and others.
  2. We see things more clearly.
  3. We become more compassionate.

It happens time after time.

I am from Oregon and we have been devasted with wild fires. People have died and over 600 homes destroyed. This would normaly cause widespread depression, and panic.

It is not happening.

The people who lost their homes are out helping others to sift through the rubble to try to find some memories for them. People in my neighborhood have opened their doors for those displayed. People have volunteered to hand out water, food, and masks.

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People are very tired of the rioting, and have bonded together to confront the rioters. It is not pretty, but the rioters are gettng the message.

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Here are some more thoughts I love to share. You also seem to like them. (Let me know)

  1. Forget what others think you are.
  2. God is love, so we sshould love one another.
  3. Perfect love casts out fear.
  4. Praying is not just for praying. It is to speak to God.
  5. Reading the Bible is not the goal. The goal is to grow spiritually while reading the Bible.
  6. Only through death can we find life.
  7. Every pain, every disappointment, is covered by Jesus’s love.
  8. Live life like you are expecting Jesus to come.
  9. Be joyful; be prayful, and be grateful. (Always without ceasing)
  10. Through affliction, we know that God will do something greater.
  11. We need to be more concerned about God’s glory.
  12. We should obey God even if we are in pain.
  13. If one suffers all of us suffer. If one is honored, all of us are glad.
  14. Envy: Painful or resentful of some one’s possession. Leads to dissatisfacton, discontentment.
  15. Always look at the cross. It reminds you to trust.
  16. Are we just living, or are we living life well?
  17. Are we trusting the Lord to lead us, or are we wanting the Lord to do things our way?
  18. Are we mangaing our time to serve the Lord; our responsiblities, or our relationships?
  19. Do we need to be desparate to read the Bible? Are we willing to let God give us the desire to do so?
  20. You come to a crossroad. There only two directions to go. Left is wisdom, and the right is folly. Which way will you go?

I always suggest you go through those thoughts one at a time and ponder them. Much wisdom could come from them.

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What is your life like?

Are you happy? Do you think life is great, or are you depressed with what is going on around you? Never let the dark side overcome you!! Reach for the light. Yes, there are many painful things happening right now, but always remember God is in charge. Stay strong and alway lean on Him for His love.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unlloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!!

Thoughts for Survival inThis Not so Friendly World

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I really loved just putting positive thoughts on my last post. That’s what this site is all about.

With all the turmoil we have been going through for months, I saw some lyrics from a song that fits perfectly:

To God:

  1. Let the rain of your love soak our souls.
  2. Let it come as a flood.
  3. (for the West Coast people facing wild fires.) You bring beauty from the ashes.

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Some of my own thoughts:

  1. 34% of all quotes from the founding fathers came from the Bible.
  2. Our #1 prioity is read the gospel of Jesus Christ, and not some politicians words.
  3. You have read in the Bible, “Give onto Ceasers what is Ceasers, and give onto to God what is God’s.” That means go ahead and pay your taxes to the government, but obey God. (Matthew 4:8-10)
  4. you ahve heard the new term of “Canceled culture.” That means to eliminate a culture that doesn’t agree with you. That is what is happening in the rioting. They are trying to destroy our way of life to fit theirs.
  5. Forgiveness:

A. Pray for those who pursecute you. Do not dwell on the incident.

B. Do not bring the rpoblem up again.

C. Do not talk to others about it.

D. Do not let it hinder the relationship.

Remember, Jesus always has and atitude of forgiveness.

If we don’t forgive others, we are turning our back on God’s forgiveness.

We aren’t sinless, but we can sin less.

Without god as your centerpiece, you will fail.

To fear the Lord is to take God seriously.

A Christian life is never boring.

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To survive:

  1. Be on guard.
  2. Stand firm in the faith.
  3. Be courageous.
  4. Be strong.
  5. Do everything in love.

Much of what is written above will give you peace and hope. Reread each of the words and let them guide you.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!

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Do You Hate Being Told What to do?

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We struggle with criticism. It is hard to be told what to do.

Proverbs says, “Timely advice is like gold and apples in a silver basket.” Another verse from Proverbs says, “The ones who listen to advice is like a gold earring. “

Why is it so hard to accept criticism? I know that we all hope we never receive criticism. It hurts, and make us feel unworthy.

At this time we need to realize that others opinions does not define us.

Now that I have said all of that, let me say that most criticism is good for us. The wise listen to others. We need to receive and assess.

So, why am I harping on criticism and being told what to do.?

If I am truly listening and assessing, it helps me growing. I filter out the negative and thrive on the good ideas.

Proverbs once again tells us, “Iron sharpens iron.” Meaning that to have someone criticise me, means I am getting sharper at what I need to do in life.

Words have power. They can help you, or they can hurt you.

Through all of this we often get down and depressed. It is can be easy to be broken and hurting. We need healing. That’s where God comes in. He is always there to soften the blows of criticism, and anger. He will be there to hold your hand, and help you to face the storm.

Have you been criticised? Were you felt knocked down and find it hard to get back up? I certainly have been there. When it happens to me is when I need to closest to God. I need to lean on Him for His love and compassion. My fear of criticism doesn’t stand a chance when I stand in God’s love.

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I have been battling lately because of the Pandemic. I have been on lock down, because I have several underlying problems. Thankfully I am able to get out and walk, but that is about it. I never thought that going on walks would be so precious to me.

My wife and I often just get in the car and drive to nowhere in particular. We have seen some places we have never been before right in our city. It has been a fresh air feeling.

There are other things that can drag you down. The rioting, shootings, looting, etc. It is very hard for me to watch the news anymore. Most of it is very negative. I have to find other things to do. I came up with a novel idea. READ THE BIBLE! (creative right?)

I make 10:00am my reading time. There are times when I learn something new every time I read. I have the Bible through several times, and yet each time I read again, I find something that I learned that was new.

Stay strong!

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit for the site, please let them know about it. Your comments will not be seen by other people, just me, and I will connect with you to see if you are OK to share it.

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