July | 2012 | itsawonderfilledlife

Archive for July, 2012

An Endless Horizon

Posted in GOD, life, WONDER, tagged an endless horizon, baptism, Beach, Church, Matthew 3, Summer, Sunday, Tears on July 18, 2012| 2 Comments »

Woohoo! It was a summer Sunday and I got to skip church, and go to the beach! Could life get better? Sun, sand, surf, and an endless horizon.Okay, so maybe it wasn’t quite like that. As a matter of fact there was no sun, not even blue sky. It looked like it might rain at any moment. It was cool, and breezy, and the forecast even had thunder and lightening in it.

I also did not get to skip church.

A twelve-year old friend of my son had invited us to a church service and to his baptism. We arrived, late, but thankfully the service had not yet begun. So, donning our flip flops and opening our camp chairs, we settled in to an outdoor sanctuary (my person favorite).

I cannot remember the songs that were sung. I do remember that the pastor talked about John the Baptist, baptizing Jesus, then his time of being tempted in the desert.

Matthew 3 tells this story.

John the Baptist wore clothes made of camel hair, and he ate locusts and honey … and I am pretty sure there was no chocolate to make the locusts go down easier! He also had just emerged from quite a while in the wilderness, so he probably was quite … naturally scented. If he were here today, he would probably go by ‘Johnny’, and most would see him as the equivalent of a hippie.

His message was, “repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (v.2)

Then his cousin Jesus, who once set his feet to dancing while in-utero (John Lept), came to the river, and asked John to baptize him too. John was not so cool with that, as he felt way to under-qualified to do the deed. But, since Jesus is Jesus, John consented.

Now, back at MY beach: each of the three who chose to be baptized stood, spoke about why they wanted to be baptized, then whoever wanted to could go up, lay hands on them, and pray for them. It was pretty meaningful as friends, grandparents, and mentors spoke words of thanks, words of affirmation and words of blessing to God, on their behalf.

My son’s friend shared of how a close family tragedy made him look more seriously at his life. His words, though those of a twelve year old, were ones that reflected insight, awareness and desire for what he was choosing to do.

I am sure there were tears in every eye … I just couldn’t see them through my own.

Then people were invited to come and pray for him. His grandfather prayed, another youth prayed, then a familiar voice … that of my son. He spoke to our God as one who knows Him, intimately. He spoke as one who knows his friend, and who wants the very best for his buddy.

… and more tears were shed.

Then we all made our way to the water, where one by one, the three completed their public profession of a life committed to living with Christ, with an endless horizon as their backdrop.

… and more tears were shed.

As my son’s friend came to the edge of the water his mother hugged him, as did his father, who said, “I am proud of you, son” (or something very similar).

Oh, and the rest of the story from Matthew 3 …

“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (v. 16-17)

An endless horizon.

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The Road Trip and The Chartreuse Moose

Posted in The Hubby, WONDER, tagged bored, cafe, desert, disgusting bathrooms, driving, gluten-free, pee break, road trip, The Chartreuse Moose Cafe, undiagnosed ADD, valley, Wedding on July 17, 2012| Leave a Comment »

A road trip was the goal for hubby and I.

Well … not really. The goal was for hubby to officiate the marriage of a wonderful lady, and her knight in shining armor.

This lady has been through quite a life so far. Her marriage being over forty years after her birth, and just over eleven years after her life was almost ended in a tragic accident.

But, enough of THEIR story, let me tell you about the road trip of hubby and I.

First you have to know how very much hubby loves road trips. There are days that we will be driving to a destination near our home when he will say, “it would be so great to just keep going.” He lives with a strong sense of wanderlust when it comes to road trips.

He also has a bit of a need for speed, and that is all I will say on that subject (or my laptop might get taken away 😉 ).

The drive included a ‘pee break’ at one of the very few places to stop (okay, there were a number, but there were few that I would choose to sit my derriere down at). It was … interesting. Okay, wretched might be more the accurate description. It was interesting though, as reading the wall of the bathroom provided for me a biography of someone named Pam, and her yearly loves encapsulated by a heart.

Our driving from the Lower Mainland towards 100 Mile House provided for us sites like the amazing canyon of the Fraser Valley, then desert, then enough conifers to make ‘environmentally responsible’ artificial Christmas trees, seem ridiculous. We did get to see a group of Mountain Goats, but, much to my disappointment there were no bears or moose to see. After a couple of hours of driving with no wildlife to gawk at, my undiagnosed ADD was running rampant.

We stopped at a tourist booth that provided a map of the area, including advertisements of local businesses. This occupied my pea-sized brain for a good … five minutes (I did try to drag my interest out longer, to no avail).

The business that made me giggle, and gave me something to focus on for the remainder of the drive (about one more hour … minus the five minutes I had spent reading those advertisements), was called the Chartreuse Moose Cafe.

I thought it was simply such a funny name for a cafe, that I just had to go there.

Chartreuse is a color where a bit of yellow is added to green, or a bit of green added to yellow. But, Chartreuse is also a French made liqueur, of that same color, so I will stick with the color being the background to the cafe’s name. And a moose, of course is an enormous, wild animal, that you do not want to meet while on foot or while speeding along the highway (unless, of course, you are like me and desire some visual stimulation).

Whatever unexplainable reason for my interest, I could not wait to get there!

We did finally get there, and what a diamond in the rough it was! In a town with more Ski-Doo and boat selling businesses than grocery stores, this place was a real find.

It’s mango smoothie was delightfully refreshing, and it’s menu included a vast assortment of gluten-free eats and treats for those with more tender tummies. They also had amish oatmeal bars that were a meal in themselves, and delicious London Fogs (yes, we returned the next day).

The couple did get married, completed by a roosters crowing, and it was a spectacular day for them, their family and friends (plus they had a very hot pastor officiate 😉 ).

Our drive back home through the canyon was quick and, thankfully, mostly by the light of day. And if we ever get back to 100 Mile House, we will definitely be stopping by the Chartreuse Moose Cafe again.

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Old to New: The Weight Loss DiaBLOG – Week 2

Posted in Weight Loss DiaBLOG, women, WONDER, tagged 5-minute southwest layered salad, accountability, brain, Change, diaBLOG, diet, losing weight, Old to New, pounds, salads, Struggle, weight, Weight Loss on July 16, 2012| 5 Comments »

I think the greatest asset that I have right now is summer. The weather, and the sense of relaxation simply work in my favor when it comes to eating. I am not nibbling, and have been trying some great meal-sized salad recipes (I’m including one at the end).

So, as week number two closed to an end I hopped on the torture device in my bathroom, and saw that I had lost two more pounds!

How exciting, right? I have to admit I was expecting more. Two pounds just did not seem like much outcome for all the work I had put into it. Visions of the chips hubby brought home, that I only had three of, and of the beautiful cinnamon buns I did not try last weekend, and the chocolate I did not purchase at the store, but SO wanted were floating like sugarplums in my head.

All that sacrifice, and I ONLY lost two pounds!

Then I went back to thinking of my losses as pounds of butter, and added the two to last weeks three and voila, I was feeling so much better about my loss. Down is better than up!

Week number one has now come and gone, and so have three pounds of unnecessary blubber (equal to three pounds of butter)!

I did find that this week I was not so preoccupied with thoughts of food. I was keeping busy with other things, and reveling in the warm summer sun.

So girls, how are you doing? What has been working? What have you been struggling with?

I thought I would share one of those yummy salad recipes that I mentioned. It is so filling, really delicious, quick and my twelve year old son loves it (especially for a small dinner before football practice).

5-Minute Southwest Layered Salad
(from http://www.kraftcanada.com)

Get out a salad bowl and measure into it:

8 C torn romaine lettuce (the recipe says 6C, but I add more)

1-19 fl oz/ 540 ml can of black beans, drained, rinsed

1-12 fl oz/341 mL can corn, drained
OR
1-1/2 C frozen corn, de-frosted in a bowl of warm water, drained

1/2 C salsa (I prefer Mango salsa)

1/2 C Kraft Tex Mex Shredded Cheese

1/2 C cheddar cheese

1/4 C Kraft Rancher’s Choice Dressing (could use lite/low fat)

The recipe also has 1C of broken tortilla chips … add if you like, but I find adding chips to my salad kind of diminishes the purpose of having the salad (plus you would be adding about 140 cal., 18g. carbs., and 7g. fat).

This recipe easy serves four people (that’s including a hungry hubby, and a growing adolescent male). The following is the nutritional ‘stuff’:

309 calories

43g. carbs.

11g. fat

15g. protein

13g. fiber

Not a bad meal, when you are feeling a rumbly in your tumbly, but feel the pressure of the ‘scales of doom’ on your back.

Have a great, active and healthy week!

Week 3

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I love Summer … really!

Posted in canada, life, Nature/Creation, WONDER, tagged Break, Calvin and Hobbes, happy, Life, monsoons, no schedule, no school, Prozac, Refreshment, renew, Summer, summer break on July 13, 2012| Leave a Comment »

After about nine months of complaining about monsoons, and living on the Wet Coast, Mother Nature has finally given birth to the best season of the year … summer.

I love summer! The sun and the break from work, school, after-school activities, and … SCHEDULE make me smile every day. I awake each day ready smiling, and lay my head on my pillow at night muttering (with a smile across my face), “hubby, have I told you that I love summer?”

I feel refreshed by the change of pace. I feel energized by the solar rays casting down from heaven, just for me! I feel unhurried, unencumbered (by dreadful head to toe covering clothing), and uninhibited by anything. Heck, most days I do not even remember what day it is!

Even our pool (aka the Cesspool) seems to be happier since the sun awoke from it’s L O N G winter’s (and spring’s and fall’s) nap.

I am so content with this season, that I could even have been heard humming while cleaning the loo just the other day, while saying to no one, “I love summer!” And you know that the season has gotten to my head when I can clean the porcelain god with a smile on my face.

My son and I have gone for sushi. My eldest daughter and I have had lunch together. I have had coffee with a couple of friends, and even played in our pool a few times. We have had one pool party, a couple of dinner dates in our backyard with friends, and children of all ages over for a dip … complete with the making of many, many, many s’mores (and if you are looking for a good s’more variation, try Nutella instead of chocolate).

Hubby and I cleaned up the garage a bit, and got one of the gates hanging. I started one renovation project, which, as usual, will turn into three, or four, or … But all is well, because summer does not have the same pressures of winter. And really, just having the sun shine makes everything better.

My summer has not even been exciting yet! And yet, every day is fresh, and revitalizing and life-giving. I just hope it doesn’t go too quickly.

See, I can write a post on the weather, and make you wonder if I should get a prescription for Prozac 😉 .

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A Blurred Image in a Mirror

Posted in life, WONDER, tagged 1 Corinthians 13:12, blurred, communication, image, incomplete, Life, Listen, Love, mirror, Mom, Mother, Teens, unclear on July 12, 2012| 3 Comments »

There is a verse from 1 Corinthians 13 that has been (partially) marinating in my brain cells this week, and it has nothing, and everything, to do with love (as 1 Corinthians 13 is known as the “Love Chapter” of the Bible).

The verse that I have been pondering (and taking out of context) is verse 12; “now we see a blurred image in a mirror. Then we will see very clearly. Now my knowledge is incomplete.”

I found myself thinking of my mom, back when I was a single adult (barely an adult, since hubby stole me away so young 😉 ), and she was … about the age that I am now. I found myself trying to remember what I was like as a young adult, and what she was like as a VERY YOUNG woman (remember, I was remembering her when she was the age that I am now).

Then out of the blue the verse above came to mind, and I thought of our relationship back then.

My mom and I had a great relationship when I was a child, and even when I tortured her through my teen years. Many times when my friends came over, they were as eager to sit and chat with her, as with me. My mom had a fantastic gift for listening, and what more could a teenage girl want than to have an adult actually listen to them when they speak?!

I also remember the post high school years, and how there was more distance between us. I remember that I started to notice flaws in mom. I started to watch her more, and I started to see that she did not do things as I might have thought the ‘right way’ to do them. It was in this stage that I no longer agreed with all that she said.

This was the stage of me growing away from my mom. It is normal, it is predictable and it is good. It is a stage where a young adult begins to become more independent of their parents, in actions and in thoughts.

I also now know that it must have been hellish for her. To go from such closeness to growing distance must have eaten at her mother heart.

“Now we see (like) a blurred image in a mirror …”

I remember that stage of life. I remember the independence that I was feeling. I remember how very eager I was to grow away from my parents. I remember feeling wise and worldly.

What I know now, that I did not know then was that I was seeing the life before me as a blurred image in a mirror. As clear as life and the future seemed to me then, now I know, looking back, that what I saw was often not reality. I saw things as I wanted to see them.

I was living in the idealism of youth. Now idealism is not a bad thing, as a matter of fact, I wish that I could get some of that idealism of youth back in my mind and heart, but idealism is often not seeing things as they are, but as we wish to see them … it is blurred reality.

I judged my mom, based on my blurred vision. I guess it is a common happening in most young adults lives, with their parents, but now I “see very clearly” how blurred that vision was, way back then. I can not say that “my knowledge is incomplete” quite yet, but I am now at the stage of life of seeing my mom as a whole, not just the parts that I thought I understood as a young adult.

I now understand that some of my mother’s actions and inaction, things she said, and refrained from saying, were responses to the decisions she had been making since she was a young adult herself. I now see that she did the best with what life had thrown at her, and with the consequences (good and bad) of her young adult decisions, when her vision was still blurred.

I do look forward to the day when “my knowledge is incomplete.”

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The Valley and the Hilltop

Posted in GOD, life, WONDER, tagged dark, dwell in the house of the Lord forever, for you are with me, GOD, green, Jill Briscoe, makes me lie down, Psalm 23, Refreshment, scarey, the valley, the valley of the shadow, though I walk, valley, yea, you anoint my head on July 11, 2012| Leave a Comment »

One of the best lessons I ever learned was from a woman speaking about the Twenty-Third Psalm.

The visuals that she created in my imagination are with me still, and there is not a time when I hear or read that Psalm that the pictures do not resurface in my mind’s eye.

The main point that I took from her beautiful speaking had to do with “the shadow of the valley of death.” Doesn’t that simply sound dreadful? Frightening? Foreboding? Dark? That is what I had always thought … until I heard her speak on this passage.

She described:
– the beautiful coolness, and protection that walking through a shadow on a hot day can provide
– the lush green, and refreshment that come from spending time in a valley

From her description, I am certainly not left with images that are dreadful, frightening, foreboding or dark. I am instead left with images of solace, rest, refreshment, and wonder.

“He makes me lie down …”

We mere humans are not often very wise. We push through the business of life. We equally push through the difficult of life, putting our nose to the grind, working only to get it finished (whatever ‘it’ might be). At times, God needs to force us to lie down. Not as an abusive figure who pushes us to our bed, but as a loving Father who sees our blurry-eyed stare, our inability to think straight, our fatigue that encompasses us from the inside out. And he gently takes our child-like hand, and leads us to a place of perfect rest, where He can watch over and care for our personal needs that we have denied.

“Yea, though I walk …”

It says nothing of running, yet, when we are going through a dark and difficult valley, our greatest desire is to run, so that we can get this season over! This was another of the points of the speaker I had heard, Jill Briscoe. Her point was that if God has allowed us time in the valley of the shadow, then there must be purpose in our placement there. There must be a message, a lesson, a maturing that He desires us to learn. It is not a place to race through, but instead a place in which to have our souls restored, while we are being taken care of by the refreshment, and protection in that valley.

“For You are with me …”

This valley is not a place where God plunks us down, and says, “I’ll be back when you have gotten a sufficient amount of sleep, and learned your lesson.” Instead it is a place where his presence, his comfort accompany us. We do not wander through the valley alone, we are walking through it, while our hand is held by our heavenly Father. Or, like the author of the famous Footprints poem, we are cradled in His arms.

“You anoint my head with oil …”

God is giving us His blessing. This blessing is the inheritance of the eternal valley of refreshment, an eternal Garden of Eden, where we can walk and talk with our Creator.

It is here, in the valley, that we will “dwell in the house of the Lord, forever.”

And that does not sound so dreadful.

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Abundance

Posted in GOD, life, WONDER, tagged 2 Corinthians 8:8-15, abundance, abundant life, abundant living, equality, give, John 10:10, Poverty, Praying, sharing the wealth, wealth on July 10, 2012| 1 Comment »

We live in abundance!

The reality of North American life is that we live lives of abundance.

The way we often see it, abundance is about personal prosperity, wealth, and power, and we can credit where we live, resourcefulness, and opportunities.

We can, of course, also credit the God who breathed life into our lungs, and gave us our existence. In John 10:10, Jesus said, “I came that they (that means all people) may have life and have it abundantly.”

There is a dichotomy among Christians regarding abundance. There are those who pray for abundance, and there are those who pray for only their needs to be met.

I recently heard someone speak of abundance, and what he said was, “God calls us to abundant living, not just sufficient. Sufficient says we are expecting (praying) only enough for our needs, but not the abundance that allows us to be God’s hands and feet in providing blessing for others.”

I believe that 2 Corinthians 8:8-15 speaks clearly to God’s intent in proving for us abundantly:

“I am not commanding you to do this (God does not ever force himself, or his ways on us).
But I am testing how genuine your love is (God is always wanting our hearts to be in a place where we do make the best choices) by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches.
You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor,
so that by his poverty he could make you rich (God does not ever ask of us more than He has done, He is the example).
Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it. Now you should finish what you started
(This speaks to those of us who start good things with great intentions but never fulfilling those intentions).
Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have
(He’s not saying give beyond your means, or to the point of having nothing left). Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly (that doesn’t mean to give out of guilt, or duty, but out of your open heart).
And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have (reinforcing what He already said).
Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves.
I only mean that there should be some equality (our God is the only god who speaks of equality). Right now you have plenty (“right now” … things can change … we can all go from plenty to want, there are no guarantees that what we have today will always be here for us) and can help those who are in need (share our abundance with those who have need). Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it (not if you need it, but when).
In this way, things will be equal. As the Scriptures say,
“Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over,
and those who gathered only a little had enough.”

We DO live in abundance, but it is an abundance from the hand of God, to be shared, so that things might be equal for all.

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Old to New: The Weight Loss DiaBLOG – Week 1

Posted in Weight Loss DiaBLOG, women, WONDER, tagged accountability, brain, Change, diaBLOG, diet, Exercise, My Fitness Pal, Old to New, Struggle, thinking, walking, weight, Weight Loss on July 9, 2012| 3 Comments »

Week number one has now come and gone, and so have three pounds of unnecessary blubber (equal to three pounds of butter)!

It is really near miraculous that I lost anything, as I did not do so well with my goals, but maybe that speaks more to how poorly my eating habits were before this week.

My first two days went very well, as I was busily preparing for our delightful guests, who came to visit. It rained miserably, during their visit, and I failed to be motivated to go outside to walk … sigh! We ate far too well and too often, but exercised our abdominal muscles significantly with joyous laughter.

As anyone who has tried to change any bad habit, the first few days are killer! Not because it is so difficult, but because the habit that you are trying to eliminate, or get a handle on, is all that you seem to be able to think of! I awake and think of food, I eat and think of my next meal. I go to bed, and think about what I want to eat tomorrow!

Habit changing is like an immediate and overwhelming case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder descending upon your brain!

And really, that is the key component of habit changing, the brain. If we can change how we think about food (or cigarettes, or shopping, or whatever our vise may be), we can be victorious over it, rather than it being in control over us.

This week was not a stellar one, for my goals, but, I do believe that I started this process of changing my eating habits in the part of my body that needs to change first and the most, my brain. Although I am dealing with OCD like traits, I am thinking about what I am eating, and that means that I am making conscious choices, and not just letting food ‘happen’.

The goals I had set for myself were:

* get weighed every Friday, and only on Friday
I did it! But oh, how tempting that torture tool (scales) is when I feel like I lost an ounce or two.

* use the “My Fitness Pal” app on my phone (or website My Fitness Pal)
I did use it, but only four of the first seven days … at least two of the days I didn’t use it, it was due to guilt … sigh

* walking
I did not go for one walk … nothing short or long … although I did walk for hours around thrift stores (my friend, who was visiting, loves thrift stores, so we hit just about everyone we could find)

* abdominal exercise
I actually forgot about this goal … but there is always this coming week to get this one rolling!

* accountability
Here I am, letting it all hang out for you to read … you are my accountability partner!

And speaking of accountability partners, let me tell you I was shocked with how many people (women) who have expressed interest in walking this uphill road with me. May our walk be more down than up!

Week 2

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The Ache

Posted in WONDER, tagged Darkness, Light, nothingness, Pain, poetry, Sadness, Sorrow, stagnancy, The Ache on July 6, 2012| 2 Comments »

As I watch the dark push away the light,

The sun is being swallowed by the horizon

Gone forever

My soul longs for the it’s final small slivers still in the sky,

The remnants of what is passing,

Of what will also soon be gone forever,

Never to be exactly the same as in this present moment.

My head lays down at night with the hope of light arising again in morning,

When darkness falls upon this world it is a reflection of my heart,

My heart whose life evidence was in it’s soundless beat in my ears,

But whose rhythm I felt in the whole of my body,

Now, it too is gone.

The ache settles in my soul, filling every part, forcing the last rays of light away,

Until there is nothing but darkness,

There is no light in view,

There is only nothingness,

In the dark there is no light to keep me warm,

To make me feel alive.

In the dark there is no growth

There is an absence of all things that light allow to grow,

And more dire than a severed vein,

There is only the stagnancy from the absence of anything,

Nothingness is all that is left,

The light is gone,

The dark has come,

The ache is all that remains,

To torture my soul,

Forced into believing

I am still alive.

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Thunder and Lightening

Posted in life, Nature/Creation, WONDER, tagged Alive, cleansing, humidity, Life, Lightening, miss, rain, refreshing, Storms, Thunder, Thunder and Lightening on July 4, 2012| 1 Comment »

I miss the thunder and lightening storms that I grew up with on the East Coast.

I miss them from our life in Ottawa as well.

Where I live, on the west coast, we do not get many thunder and lightening storms, and when they happen, they are short lived, and not terribly dramatic.

For many, there would be no ‘missing’ of thunder and lightening storms, but I truly do.

I miss how they made my heart pound.

I miss how they made the house shake. I miss the rumbling of the Earth, the shaking of the pictures on the walls, as the lightening hit nearby.

I miss counting from one clap of thunder until the next … counting how close it might be.

I miss the power going out, and darkness only being distinguished by the eye-blinding flashes of unpredictable lightening.

I miss the way such a storm would draw the whole family together in one room, as if we were together to play a game, or watch a flick, or share a meal.

I miss the story-telling that would come of the togetherness. Stories of storms past. Stories of how we, how other responded to the storms. Stories of those we knew, stories of those we had only heard of. Stories of fear, of bravery, of loss and of delight.

I miss the air cleansing rains that come after the storm. The rains that push the heaviness in the air away, far away. And replace it with a newness that breathing is intentional, so as to cleanse our lungs as well. All that was heavy, all that was life-hindering, all that was suffocating, was changed by the ear-pounding thunder, the earth shaking lightening that scared us to the point of alertness.

And the rains came, and washed all evidence of all that had been stealing our breath, so that we could take joy in the gift of living, the gift of every breath.

I miss it, I miss them, because the shock and fear that they produced reminded me that I am alive.

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