Happy Tuesday!

Yesterday was ALL ABOUT FOOD!

Had lunch with my bff (lol-personal joke) Jimmy Floyd… the very first time we ever shared a meal together without the families. And if you know anything about Jimmy, you can image how much JOY those two hours brought into my life! We ate at T-bone Jacks… both ordered a $6 lunch special-drink included!

We belly laughed about a million things under the sun… and hopefully, those few hours helped my dear friend Jimbo up out of his pit of despair following Sundays very emotional Washington Redskins loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Still praying for you good buddy! It’ll be ok, Chucky is always here for you in life’s darkest moments… please, don’t ever forget it! lol

Then last night, Emily and I went over to Ryan and Danae Huffer’s for dinner and a Christmas sermon series brainstorming session. Instead of the usual, “be here at 6 for dinner,” we decided to cook the meal together! And I think we may have created a NEW THING TO DO!

Maybe we should call it something like: A CooknChill Date! (cheesy right? lol)

Everyone should try this sometime! Create a fun menu, decide on which house to meet at, have everyone bring a few ingredients… and spend a few hours in the kitchen laughing your heads off and doing life together with another amazing family or two!

I realize, to all my mens-men buds out there (woooahhhh!), this idea might come of as an ultra feminine activity… but trust me: coming from a guy that specializes in pop-tarts, french toast, omelets, french bread pizzas, and ice cream sundays… I had the time of my life last night!

Of course, I was primarily acting as the photographer and the taste-test guy (smiling REAL big) and we were with a couple we ABSOLUTELY ADORE! (wiping a little tear from my right eye)

Ryan actually had the delicious Potato soup nearly finished when we arrived (his mom Debbie Huffer’s recipe)… so the date began with the making of a GORMET DESSERT: A Krispy Kreme Donut Bread Pudding!

Don’t worry, I’m including photos of the entire experience… too bad technology won’t allow me to post SAMPLES! That was maybe, the BEST dessert I’ve ever laid my tongue on! Really, I am salivating RIGHT NOW just thinking about it! (swallowing aggressively) lol

Ok… not a very spiritual blog today, but I’ve given you guys something NEW and EXCITING to do with your super duper lives! So pick up the phone and set up a few dates! Trust me, you will LOVE THIS EXPERIENCE just as much as we did!

For all my fellow Americans… don’t forget, this is Thanksgiving week! Refuse to let a single thing get you down all week long. Tis the season to be THANKFUL… to enjoy family and friends… and create a bunch of priceless memories! Please, let all the special people in your life know how much they mean to you.

For me… I want to end todays blog with a great big thank you to all the special people in my life! I’m so overwhelmed these past few days with feelings of deep gratitude… I’m blessed with the greatest circle of family and friends in all the earth! You all matter so much to me.

I hope todays blog warms your HEART… I pray it leads you all into the spirit of this great American holiday! God bless you all here in the USA and throughout the whole earth! Please leave a few loving comments and have a most triumphant day!

the Potato Soup

Ryans super duper krispy kreme bread pudding (photo 1)

Emily mixing Ryans krispy kreme bread pudding (photo 2)

Ryans krispy kreme bread pudding- ready for the oven (photo 3)

I know it looks nasty… but gooooaaaaaaa! (photo 4)

homeade ice cream for Ryans krispy kreme bread pudding (photo 5)

cre`me en glac`ee for Ryans krispy kreme bread pudding (photo 6)

walllaaaaaa! Ryans krispy kreme bread pudding (photo 7-completion!)

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Happy Sunday!

Good morning everyone… I’m working in my newly renovated office again today, still feeling quite invigorated! I’m tingly with anticipation for todays 10am church service at Destiny Family Center! Wow, I cant remember feeling this much excitement about a church service in a very long time.

Each week, I’m falling more and more in love with the people of this church family… more and more appreciative of the GREAT leaders we have surrounding this vision! Each week, I’m more and more captivated with what’s happening here. We’ve been riding on a new wave of momentum since around the middle of August… and amazingly, we’re still riding! I feel poised for the ride of our existence!

This morning, I’m preaching a message I’ve titled: Have You Been Defeated Long Enough, Yet? Believe me, this message is going to be transformational for ANY person who’s had ENOUGH and you’re ready to turn things around! I’m going to teach about the secret power of praise and worship… and this place is going to be UPSIDE down by lunchtime today! Hope you can make it in person or on the live broadcast… if of course, you don’t already have a church of your own!

.

Oops I Forgot to Share!

Here’s a funny thread taken from yesterdays facebook wall:

Status Update: Chuck Balsamo Just ate some delicious watermelon slices!

Yesterday at 3:41pm via Twitter · Comment · Like

Nicole Fitzgerald, Jennifer Gibson and 2 others like this.

Donneta Whitford

mmm chuck that sounds good

Yesterday at 5:36pm · Delete

Chuck Balsamo

It WAS good!!!

Yesterday at 5:44pm · Delete

Joseph Balsamo

Watermelon!?! Its not July.

Yesterday at 6:18pm · Delete

Emily Wall Balsamo

I didnt see any watermelon!!! Thanks for sharing!!! LOL I would have loved to have had some of that!!!!

10 hours ago · Delete

Chuck Balsamo

Ate it right in front of you… while you were eating your ramen noodles.

10 hours ago · Delete

Emily Wall Balsamo

no sir!!! I never saw watermelon you had it all to yourself !!!! Never even offered me any!! So I see how it is!!! I am getting ready to have a candy apple ALONE!!!!

10 hours ago · Delete

Chuck Balsamo

I shared it with heaven, you had breakfast and lunch before I got home… and I stopped at food lion to pick up groceries AFTER working all day… And I COOKED your ramen noodles. I just felt like a little ME treat… So I bought a $2.80 container of watermelon. You’re right, I should have offered some to you… I’m just a selfish pig today… I’m really sorry. =)

10 hours ago · Delete

David Harman

Swinish behavior? I notice that overall the amount of swine puns has diminished lately. I wonder if there’s an internet resource for piggy puns or swiney sources of humor?

8 hours ago · Delete

Emily Wall Balsamo

WOW Chuck-a-luck !! Welcome to my world!!!! LOL I hope you enjoyed that watermelon!!! Dave that was true swine character!!!!! I guess he is still recovering , once a pig always a pig!!! LOL And after owning Lilly the worst part of a pig is that they are pig headed!!!!! And I shared my apple with Heaven also!! She is the real winner of the day, apple and watermelon!!!! LOL

8 hours ago · Delete

Chuck Balsamo

Ok Emily, I raise my white flag of surrender. You really did deserve some of that watermelon and I was selfish to eat it without sharing. But that APPLE episode… that was revengeful baby! I thought you were joking… but you really did it!! And… I’M THE ONE WHO BOUGHT YOU THE APPLE as a SURPRISE GIFT! Not cool Emily… this is WAR! Maybe I took the shampoo with me when I left for the office this morning… HA-HA-HA-HAAAAAAAAA! Grrrrrr… you wait, I’ll be back! lol

18 minutes ago · Delete

The moral to this story: SHARE EVERYTHING WITH YOUR WIFE! This is a very valuable tip husbands and boyfriends… don’t shrug this off! lol

Have a super day everyone… make a difference all day long! Love you all!

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Happy Friday!

My cousin Katie’s surgery seems to have been a great success… so thanks for praying everyone!

This Sunday at Destiny Family Center, I’m preaching a Sunday before THANKSGIVING service: “Have You Been Defeated Long Enough, Yet?”

I’m going to present my theory about why so many people are stuck in a rut… and how so many people can CLIMB OUT IMMEDIATELY!

Most of the time, victory and defeat is merely a manifestation of BELIEF!

Beliefs establish posture… they manifest in corresponding actions. Our lives eventually become whatever we believe they have been, they are, and they ought to be!

Whatever we FOCUS on and monitor GROWS aggressively! Focus empowers an outcome just like water and sunlight turn a SEED into a TREE!

If we believe our world is crappy and we rivet all our focus on all the undesirable outcomes of our past… we empower the crap to multiply itself into our present and future.

If instead, we rivet our FOCUS on the GOD of our universe… if we add TREMENDOUS MAGNIFICATION to his GREATNESS and we FOCUS on his matchless potential IN US… if we FOCUS on and monitor HIS MOVEMENTS in our lives… HIS EFFECTS WILL GROW AND GROW AND GROW!

This is because, whatever we PRAISE gets bigger… and bigger… and bigger! What a phenomenal theme to cover less than one week away from Thanksgiving!

12 great questions for every person to answer:

1. What do you BELIEVE about your past, present, and future?
2. Have you been victimized OR have you been EDUCATED?
3. Do you believe yourself a person doomed to meaninglessness or destined for a life of untold favor and blessing and meaning-fullness!
4. Can God actually perform a real miracle in your life?
5. How FAST can God turn your situation(s) around?
6. How BIG is God in your world?
7. Is your concept of a Great Big God hilariously contrasted with your concept of a teeny tiny devil?
8. Do you spend your days complaining about the painful past or ANTICIPATING a fantastic future?
9. Is your FAITH leading the way… or… are your FEARS eroding away at the lead you once had?
10. What are you super-sizing with FOCUS… in your world, these days?
11. If your life hinged on the magnitude of your praise, which direction is your life going right now?
12. If PRAISE really was the most epic weapon of warfare in the entire universe, how extravagantly would you be willing to PRAISE God, and… how frequently would you do this?

Answer these 12 questions and you will be READY for this Sundays message!

2 Chronicles 20:22-26 NLT At the very moment they BEGAN to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. 23 The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other. 24 So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped. 25 King Jehoshaphat and his men went out to gather the plunder. They found vast amounts of equipment, clothing,[e] and other valuables-more than they could carry. There was so much plunder that it took them three days just to collect it all! 26 On the fourth day they gathered in the Valley of Blessing,[f] which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the Lord there. It is still called the Valley of Blessing today.

This is the perfect blog for you guys to leave a few great comments! I’m on the edge of my seat… waiting for someone to dazzle me! Dream big, live bold, and make a great big difference with your amazing lives today! Love you all so very much.

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Happy Wednesday!

So how are you great guys n gals doing these days? For me, the favorite part of blogging is interaction!

Inter.action: is a kind of action that occurs as two or more objects have an effect upon one another. The idea of a two-way effect is essential in the concept of interaction, as opposed to a one-way causal effect. Inter.action is a relationship between parts of the environment.

Environment: That which environs or surrounds; surrounding conditions, influences, or forces, by which living forms are influenced and modified in their growth and development.

From time to time, a person hears me use the term “tribe” and it makes them very nervous. One man sent me a three page letter about how he felt like I was in danger of building my own kingdom. He stated very definitively how there is only one tribe (the family of God) and that I should not be trying to build my own special little “tribe.”

Whether we like it or not… EVERY ONE OF US LIVES IN TRIBES.

Every person INTERACTS with other persons in such a way that ENVIRONMENTS are formed by their interactions.

We are LIVING FORMS… influenced and modified in our growth and development by THAT WHICH ENVIRONS or SURROUNDS… we are what we are so much due to our SURROUNDING CONDITIONS, INFLUENCES, and FORCES.

1 Corinthians 11:1 KJV Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. NIV Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. NLT And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.

• Be followers OF ME… FOLLOW my example… IMITATE ME! (BOLD SUGGESTIONS)
• AS I am of Christ… AS I follow the example of Christ… AS I Imitate Christ!

Paul realized that EVERY PERSON follows other persons… and EVERY PERSON has followers. He suggested in so many places, the concept of TRIBES.

Romans 1:10-12 NLT One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.

As I’ve come to understand how my life is BEING INFLUENCED by surrounding conditions, influences, and forces… and ALL MY DAILY INTERACTIONS have some positive or negative effect on my development…

I’ve chosen to CREATE MY ENVIRONMENT ON PURPOSE!

Instead of stumbling through life by DEFAULT, in and out of weak and debilitating tribes… instead of living as a FRACTION of my amazing potential, all because I am the product of a bad environment… I chose to ADD TREMENDOUS VALUE in all my tribal interactions! I chose to BLESS the tribes I’m in and out of… positively influencing every great person and people groups I have the privilege of connecting with.

Additionally, I am more passionate than anyone can know about building the MOST LEGENDARY TRIBE the earth has known in a HUNDRED years or more!

I’m creating a place where DREAMS are EMPOWERED! I’m inviting the BEST of the BEST of the BEST of the BEST people I can find from all over this planet. I want to WALK WITH LEGENDS… I want to INSPIRE them… I want to make history with them!

This is why it seems like I’m trying to BEFRIEND my followers… this is why it seems like I’m trying to create a FAMILY… because I am! I want this blog to be so much MORE than a one way trickle of information from ME to YOU.

So thanks for being here… and thanks for POSITIVELY INFLUENCING and MODIFYING my growth and development… you really have made a gigantic difference in my life and in the lives of so many other great people! God bless you all today!

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Happy Monday!

We had SO MUCH FUN at the DFC Thanksgiving dinner last night! Delicious food, tremendous turn out, lots of laughter, karaoke… Heaven and I even SANG-We Will Rock You by Queen! Everyone seemed to have the time of their lives. Thanks to Caroline Law for overseeing the event and for everyone who helped make it a great success! I can’t wait for the Christmas dinner!

Yesterday morning, I finished out the CHARACTER sermon series: You’re Better Than This! Everyone seemed to benefit from the message: ONE Can Make a Difference… So Do Something With YOUR Life! I really enjoyed that series… wrote more than 80 pages of notes for that 7-week series. Really, it was transformational. For anyone who WANTS to read the HIGHLIGHTS… I’ve listed them below!

Part 1: We Can Make You Better

• We marked the beginning of a significant spiritual, character, and personality transformation. We agreed to discover who we are, admit where we are flawed and commit to change. We bid farewell to the old us and we anticipated how good we would look in seven short weeks!
• We used Hebrews 5:14 Solid food is for those who are MATURE, who have trained themselves to recognize the difference between RIGHT and WRONG and then DO WHAT IS RIGHT!

Part 2: Just Be Yourself

• We talked about how many Christians are oppressed with false humility… how they simply CANNOT say anything positive about themselves without feeling dirty and arrogant and humanistic.
• Galatians 3:26 For you are ALL children of God by faith in Jesus Christ!
• Ephesians 1:4-5 Even before he made the world, God LOVED US and CHOSE US in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what HE WANTED TO DO, and it GAVE HIM GREAT PLEASURE!
• Went over signs of insecurity:
  • Defensiveness
  • The Inability to Enjoy Silence
  • Excessive joking- being obnoxious
  • Self-Promoting
  • Bullying
  • Overly Authoritative
  • Overly Competitive
  • Materialistic
  • Jealously in Relationships
• We confessed that we were accepting Gods love and his mercy for all our past sins… that we are forgiven… and loved… and that we CHOOSE to love ourselves. We announced that we no longer need acceptance from another human to FEEL COMPLETE! We chose to appreciate the UNIQUE PERSON God has made each of us!
• We prayed for deliverance from the spirit of REJECTION and NEGLECT and GUILT… and we cut ourselves from the spirit of our PAST!

Part 3: How Would THAT Make YOU Feel?

• Empathy: the capability to share and understand another’s emotions and feelings. It is often characterized as the ability to walk in someone else’s shoes!
• This is where we talked about walking in other people’s shoes!
• I held up a few pairs of shoes, including the shoes of a man who served two gruesome tours in Vietnam… was shot two times… lived as an alcoholic for 29 years… was in jail 3 times… went through PTSD programs, electronic shot treatments to the brain several times… 4 or 5 drug and alcohol programs in Salem Va, and crossroads two times!
• Luke 10:33-35 NLT “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins,[a] telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
• We talked about the difference between this out-casted Samaritan verses all the other people who walked on the past this wounded man on the other side of the road!
• HE FELT compassion… HE FELT!
• I asked that audience:
  • When YOU see hurting people… are you moved?
  • When you see angry people… are you moved?
  • When you see obnoxious people… are you MOVED?
• Talked about how mankind is LONGING for someone to UNDERSTAND… for someone to CARE! This is one of the deepest needs we have… to know someone really sees and FEELS our pain!
• I mentioned how Jesus WEPT at the tomb of Lazarus… and how the whole world was SHOCKED. For they had encountered a LEADER that CARED… a man that FELT THE PAIN of his friends SO MUCH THAT HE WEPT!

Part 4: Dry it Up

• This is where we learned the phrase: “I am not offendable!”
• Luke 7:22-28 where John the Baptist sent messengers to Jesus asking if he was the promised one or should we wait for another… and Jesus responded: tell John what you have seen… and tell him, “Blessed is the man who does NOT (get offended or take offense or) fall away on account of me!
• Jesus was saying… John, you’ve come too far to turn back now… you’ve seen too much… you’ve been so effective… John, you’re blessed IF you do NOT get offended during this time! I know this doesn’t make sense to you… I know it seems like I have let you down… AND JOHN, YOU HAVE TO GUARD YOUR HEART!
• We talked about how EVERYONE has MANY good reasons to FALL AWAY because of OTHER PEOPLE!
• I asked my fellow church members not to ever fall away because of something YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND about me!
• We talked about responsibilities of the person offending AND of the offendable person!
• I explained that LEADING OFFENDABLE people is a TORMENT for CARING LEADERS!
• How this is not fair to Pastors… not fair to husbands… or wives… or parents or children or bosses or employees… that we need to FREE PEOPLE FROM THE TERROR of always feeling like they may offend us!

Part 5: If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say… Don’t Say Anything

• Ephesians 4:29-30 KJV Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
• Talked about how the tongue… is restless and evil, full of DEADLY POISON! (James 3:8)
• How people FAIL with their MOUTH more than in anything else!
• In that message we sought to RECLAIM our mouths!
• Especially when I read to you Proverbs 6:16-19

There are six things the Lord hates-
no, seven things he detests:
17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that kill the innocent,
18 a heart that plots evil,
feet that race to do wrong,
19 a false witness who pours out lies,
a person who sows discord in a family.

• I taught about the four different types of a gossiper
  • The prayer request gossiper
  • The “I feel so bad for them” gossiper
  • The “news flash” gossiper
  • The “I’m just speaking the truth” gossiper
• How this is the CHRISTIANS’ SIN… and that all followers of Christ should beware that we do not judge the world and categorize their sins while failing to see that we too will be judged… and that we will give an account for every idol word… and that we cause more DEATH with our tongues that the drug lord or the pimp!
• I said that IF God were using today’s language to describe gossip… he would say something like, “The tongue is like a suicide bomber walking into a mall full of thousands of people and innocent children!” or “The tongue is like a kid that is on the verge of a lunatic fringe that walks into a cafeteria at school one day and begins to spread bullets all over the place.”
• We ended that service by playing the telephone game and we realized how WRONG a message can become as it passes through 10-15 people!

Part 6: Ryan Huffer gave us the message of the series: Keep Your Chin Up!

• He taught us that REAL is not easy! In fact it is complicated… disastrous… challenging… discouraging… even impossible… REAL LIFE is about OVERCOMING THINGS!
• We learned that there are FOUR ways people react to REAL LIFE:
  • Some people WHINE!
  • Other people QUIT!
  • Others SNAP!
  • And still others PRETEND nothing is ever wrong!
  • And a FEW OF US… have a different response to difficulties and trials and afflictions… WE RESPOND WITH JOY! Because we KNOW that this is OUR TIME TO GROW AND SHOW OUR WORLD THAT WE ARE BETTER THAN THIS!
• He showed is a video clip about Tiger Woods and taught us that in REAL LIFE the gallery is not always cooperative… not always SUPPORTIVE!
  • He taught us how SOMETIMES, God gives us controlled portions of adversity AS HE KNOWS WE ARE WELL ABLE TO OVERCOME whatever it is!
  • Tiger’s dad would throw his clubs at tiger just when he was getting ready to swing… “and Tiger would stop… and he would look at me… and GRIT HIS TEETHE… and he would STRIKE THE BALL… and turn around… and look at me… and never say a word… but that LOOK SAID, NOW TAKE THAT!”
  • Ryan asked if YOU HAVE THAT LOOK… Because FAITH generates GRIT!
• Ryan taught us the difference between mental toughness and spiritual toughness and he talked about HOW to GET FAITH.
  • The Bible
  • Fellowship with other believers
  • Prayer
  • By obeying Gods written word!
• He rallied us to become people of FAITH… people that MOVE THEIR MOUNTAINS!

Yesterday-Part 7: ONE Can Make a Difference… So Do Something With YOUR Life!

• Matthew 25:29 NLT To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.
• I talked about the importance of MAXIMIZING whatever we are BORN WITH… whether it is LITTLE or MUCH. And when we max that out… and we feel as if we’re never going to be able to grow beyond certain CEILINGS of achievment, we must understand: TO THOSE WHO USE WELL WHAT THEY ARE GIVEN… EVEN MORE WILL BE GIVEN… and THEY WILL HAVE AN ABUNDANCE!
• I talked about the diligence and excellence.
• Quote: “People who soar are those who refuse to sit back, sigh and wish things would change. They neither complain of their lot nor passively dream of some distant ship coming in. Rather, they visualize in their minds that they are not quitters; they will not allow life’s circumstances to push them down and hold them under.”
• I quoted from my book, chapter 6-Earn Your Keep:

Throughout my three decades in the work force I have discovered a very exciting little secret to success. I used this secret to become a top selling insurance agent within months of starting in sales. This secret awarded me the very top salary for a tree climber within months of putting on the spikes! I definitely used this secret to become one of the top producing real estate agents in the nation! It is this same secret that has made me so triumphant at speaking and leading… and now in my new writing career.

Ok, here’s the secret: “Be outstanding everyday- no exceptions!” Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it? While almost every other person in your circle ranges from incompetent to average, you are “outstanding everyday- no exceptions!” Now notice the two simple commands given in this statement.

1. Be Outstanding… meaning that your performance is never ever deemed typical! You are always far better than great… you are OUTSTANDING!
2. Everyday- No Exceptions… meaning that you can be counted on every single day no matter what!

I sincerely believe that in today’s painfully incompetent society, it is almost not fair how easily a person can dominate any field of employment. Anyone who sets out to be outstanding everyday without exceptions will very easily ascend each and every career ladder her or she sets out to climb. Life is so much fun for these kinds of folks… they spend their lives climbing… every step is upward and onward. They live from promotion to promotion until the very day they are promoted to eternity.

If you’re working at Burger King, make the finest and fastest burger your lunch crowd has ever tasted! On days when you are not feeling well, keep your pain to yourself… suck it up and with great devotion; put out no less than one hundred and ten percent! On those days when you are a basket case because of some great big emotional crisis… one hundred and ten percent! Throw away all the excuses for not performing… and for the rest of your life, refuse to be like the rest of the crowd! Remember, you are a legend, so live up to your commendable title!

Thats it! The longest blog yet… hope it doesn’t burn you guys out! I just figured you might want in on some of this good teaching! I pray you all a most triumphant day!

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