Daily Signs of Hope

A place to find Hope

Month: January 2021

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

January 29, 2021 / / 0 Comments

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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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Battling Illnesses Can be Very Hard to Handle

January 27, 2021 / / 0 Comments

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I am not usually negative about anything, but lately I have seen some alarming things happening with our government.

President Biden, has signed a massive amount of executive orders. I think some of them a very wrong.

He stopped building the border wall, which means thousands of people who are up to no good can still cross.

He ended the construction of a huge pipeline that caused over 11,000 people to be suddenly employed. I thought the democrats were union supports.

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I am OK now since I was allowed to let off some steam. 🙂

I have not been feeling all that good the last week. Had blood tests that do not look to good. Got a doctor’s appointment coming up.

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Have you battled with problems with your health? You can tell I understand. It is hard, at best, to face illnesses. They seem to come knocking at our door like a long lost relative and don’t want to leave.

What can we do to overcome those type of troubling times:

God is always with you. He knows your hurts and will hold your hand.

95% of what we worry about never happens. I my first book, Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World, I had a chapter title that said, “Worry is the Dark Room Where Negatives Develop.

It stresses us to rely on God, and let him have to other 05% of our worries. He has big shoulders.

Be strong and face the storms head on.

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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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99% of What We Worry About Never happens

January 25, 2021 / / 0 Comments

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President Biden has been in office less than a week, and he has signed many executive orders. Executive orders do not need the approval of congress.

Much of what he has signed has wiped out many of the accomplishments of Donald trump. We will see how the people react to that.

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My doctor sent me to do blood testing. I got to the lab and the lab technician proceeded to draw blood. She drew and drew!! I looked on the counter where she was placing the vials of blood. There were eight vials filled.

I jokingly asked, “Am I going to need a transfusion.” The person didn’t like my remark, and said there is only eight ounces SO FAR! That’s right, she wasn’t finished yet. She pulled out two more vials that were huge. About the size of a small baby bottle. She filled both of those up.

I got up very slowly knowing I was going to be dizzy, and I was right.

I was able to make it home, and the results are already back. They have me very concerned. Eight of the results were abnormal. I see my doctor again in a month, or sooner if he looks at my tests early.

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Have you had this happen to you? Have you had a sudden surprise come upon you? The pandemic has you locked up in your home. The bills are piling up because you can’t work.

We all face unexpected happenings in our lives. It is how we handle them that defines our character.

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I have learned that 99% of what we worry about never happens. We worry way too much. We just need to rely on God for the other one percent.

I realize that it is not easy to accept this, but God is in charge.

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Never let the dark side overcome you. Go to the light of Jesus.

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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

January 22, 2021 / / 0 Comments

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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?

January 20, 2021 / / 0 Comments

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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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Vaccines Are Being Given. Be Patient and Your Time Will Come

January 15, 2021 / / 0 Comments

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Had a very interesting day and I was blessed much beyond what I deserve.

They are now doing vaccine shots for the COVID-19 virus. They had a list of who gets the shot and when. I was a ways down the list. My wife and I decided we would attempt to get one anyway. They have a huge vaccination center at our State Fairgrounds.

We went a different route to get there faster. That was a very wise choice. (God directed us) The lines of cars to get into the grounds was at least a mile long coming towards us, but our line was very short.

The light changed to green, but the the traffic from the other way attempted to keep turning in. My wife became a race track driver at that time and forced her way ahead of a car that had no business trying to cut us off. Of course that person gave a friendly salute with her hand. 🙂

The line from there was tremendous. About another mile long, but we were moving forward pretty fast.

W got to the correct parking lot, and saw people scurrying towards the building where the shots were being given out.

I knew a wouldn’t be able to move fast, so I used my walker to guide me. That turned out to be a blessing from God.

We got to the end of the line, and I sat down on my walker exhausted. We were very slowly moving up when a Private First Class National Guards man came up and told us to follow him. We went through a side door. He talked to the directing nurse and she waved us through.

The PFC took us to a side room that was set up for handicapped people. Only those who were struggling could go in that area.

We were in there 20 minutes, and was done. We had to wait one half hour in an area to make sure we didn’t have any reactions.

We got there at 8:00am and was done at 9:04am. We saw the same people who was in line when we came up to the building still waiting to get in.

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So what does this mean:

If I hadn’t decided to use the walker I have still been there waiting my turn. I think God pocked me and said take the walker.

I decided? God, decided that I needed to wear a hat in case it was chilly. The hat I wore was a military hat for the Army.

The PFC was able to see the hat through all the people and came out to help me.

+ A side note is that the vaccine center closed two hours after we were done, because they switched to only giving care givers the shots. Another blessing from God.

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God was completely in charge yesterday and I thank Him for His guidance and love.

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We have no side effects from the shot. Another blessing from God.

How are you doing? Have the burdens of this world been weighting you down like a huge magnate? You certainly are not alone. There is wide spread chaos throughout the world. (The end times?)

Be strong. Face the storm, and cling to God’s promises. He loves you. He made you in His image, and God never makes mistakes. He has a plan 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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Does God Really Keep All of His Promises to us?

January 11, 2021 / / 0 Comments

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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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We Must Remain Strong in This Not so Friendly World

January 8, 2021 / / 0 Comments

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What happened on Wednesday was horrific. I was ashamed I was an American when I sat and watched rioters break into our National Capital, and even to the house and senate floor.

I 100% condemn their efforts. Nothing was accomplished, and other countries were appalled at what was going on.

This type of terror has to stop and stop now.

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It is hard for me to do the things I need to do to stay strong and healthy. I try to work out twice a week, but it is getting more difficult.

I did a doctor’s appointment, I also did some shopping today, and that got my step count up. Mostly though I am grounded, because of health issues.

I will have to come with some “In house,” exercises. Will share what I came up with in a future post.

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I was able to watch my home church online last Sunday. I wrote down three notes that mean a lot to me.

Our relationship with God can thrive regardless of what is going on around us.

We should listen, trust and obey, as far as our walk with God.

The Pastor asked this question: Do you stand out as a righteous person?

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Each of those statements hit me between the eyes. Not in pain, but reality. The first statement was so very reassuring. We all need to remember that God is with us through the good and bad of our lives.

The second statement woke me up big time. We should always listen, trust and obey God, because He knows what is best for us.

The last statement, I am still working on each day. We should all strive to be righteous people.

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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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Being a Senior Citizen Has Good Points and Bad Points

January 4, 2021 / / 0 Comments

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It has been a rocky start to 2021 for me. I was helping my wife put some boxes up on a shelve in our storage closet. I slipped off of the ladder and feel onto the vacuum cleaner.

I thought I only had a smashed finger that will cause the nail to fall off eventually. However, I woke up the next morning with pain on my upper leg, and on the left side of my upper back. I took clothes off to checked.

I was shocked to see a huge eight inch by two inch bruise running done my leg, and then found a deep bruise on the left side of my upper back.

The pain followed closely behind. I had a very bad day. Not enough to go to the ER, and taking Tylenol seemed to keep me feeling OK.

I decided I am grounded from any type of ladder, and my wife agreed. I apparently hit her with my feet and gave her a big bruise on her arm, plus something big landed on her foot causing much pain. We both grounded ourselves. My son lives close and he can do those kind of chores for us.

It is a huge sign of old age. I can’t do many things I could ten years ago. It hurts me to tell my wife I can’t do something.

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Have you been there? Is the daily chores seem to be getting harder to do? I use to think being called a senior citizen was a good thing. Not so sure now.

I have, since my fall, come up with some thoughts on how to slow down gracefully:

Only plan things that will not need physical help.

Try to help yourself, by exercising even if it only walking. I try to do that now at least twice a week.

Do not be ashamed to ask for help. I called my son and he said he will be there when ever I need him. He is such a caring person.

Do not climb ANYWHERE. Ladders can ruin your life.

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I just started working on my third book called, Signs of Hope for Seniors: The Alligators that Chase us.

It will cover getting older with grace and dignity. The Alligators are:

Loneliness

Rejection

Death

health

Losing a loved one

And a few more I haven’t come up with yet.

I will let you know the progress I make with this.

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My second book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life, is ready to be published. I am close to choosing the right publisher.

I have worked on this book for over three years. There was much research, and many calls for interviews of soldiers.

I have found that many veterans are excited about this book and I need to get it going so they can have it.

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How are you doing? We have a new beginning, and new hope in 2021. Forget the past and move on to new challenges.

God has planned a new path for you in 2021. Be open to His calling.

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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

January 1, 2021 / / 0 Comments

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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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