The Cloud Connection

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Hooray.

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Ghia here.

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I'm this week's host of the

creative, spiritual journey podcast.

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Where I talk about connecting with

nature, connecting with Jesus Christ and

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our heavenly parents seasonal living.

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And anything else I've been learning about

on this remarkable journey we call life.

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My question today is have you ever

spent time contemplating the clouds?

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And by quest to connect with God

through the natural world, they

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have been on my mind a lot lately.

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Here's why.

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It's summer and where I live, it's hot.

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And I spend a lot of time

outside, which makes me hot.

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And when I think I can't possibly

get any hotter, I have a hot flash

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and absolutely blow the stacks.

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To top that in the winter.

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My husband who is bald,

wears a beanie to bed.

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And I don't, you know, why.

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Because I have a lot of

hair, which keeps me warm.

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Which means in my mind that

in the summer I'm wearing the

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equivalent of a beanie all the time.

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It's hot.

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I have a hot flash.

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And I'm wearing a beanie.

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Oh, heaven.

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Help me.

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And, you know, what.

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On occasion heaven does.

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Help me that is.

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In the form of clouds.

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The relief when clouds drift in

front of the sun is brilliant.

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Perfect.

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Heavenly.

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I really think you have to live in

the desert to fully appreciate clouds.

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When God led the Israelites through the

wilderness, it says in Psalms 1 0 5.

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He spread a cloud for a

covering during the day.

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And fire to give light at night.

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I like this first because the clouds

didn't just lead them as we hear

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in other verses it covered them.

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To me, that's exactly what they needed

while they were wandering in the desert.

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It reminds me of second knee, FY

eight, where it says I have covered

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the, and the shadow of mine hand.

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Hmm.

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Does that make you think of

clouds as the hands of God?

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It does me.

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I've mentioned another podcast that

when possible, I love to sleep outside.

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Now, during the heat of July

and August, it's just too hot.

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But I can manage it during

the spring and early summer.

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The only problem is that as soon as

the sun rises above the Mesa, It's

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like a hot laser beam in the face.

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And that is the end of my sleep.

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Which is great if I need motivation

to get out of bed, but if I

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like to sleep in it's miserable.

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Unless there are a few clouds

on the Eastern horizon.

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I have wondered if that's what

Hosea five means, where it says

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your goodness is as a morning cloud.

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Uh, morning cloud.

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Oh, I love morning clouds.

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I honestly, can't say for sure what Hosea

had in mind when he wrote those words.

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But to me it sounds like an

extra 20 minutes of sleep.

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Oh, clouds, how I love them.

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I bet any teenager would roll

their eyes at me for those words.

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But I think they are an acquired taste.

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Something you appreciate more as

you learn not to take the world for

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granted, but see it as a gift or

temple or a reminder of our God.

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Some say revelations as well as

divinity are found in the clouds.

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The Nebraska and Pani believe clouds

are the clothing of the gods and

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that as a God spreads out its arms.

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Uh, cloud span the sky.

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Psalms declares clouds are gods chariot.

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Proverbs says his favor is like

a cloud with the spring rain.

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Winnie the Pooh proclaims, how sweet it

is to be a cloud floating in the blue.

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Did you know, there is a

cloud appreciation society.

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Yep.

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It's true.

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They teach about clouds,

write poems about clouds.

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They post pictures of clouds.

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They collect clouds by seeing if they

can witness every category or type.

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It's a thing.

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This cloud watching.

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While I haven't officially

joined the society.

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I have begun to turn a keen

eye towards the heavens.

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What are the clouds doing today?

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I ask myself.

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When I walk outside, I

pause to take a look.

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When in the past I would have

hardly given them a second thought.

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It only takes a moment, just

a snippet of time to notice,

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appreciate and admire clouds.

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I might even talk to the clouds now.

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And again.

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Hmm, you're high and wispy today.

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Oh, Cumulus, Nimbus your, my favorite.

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Does it give you a headache to

bounce against that mountain?

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You're looking mighty grade today.

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Are you thinking about rain?

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Oh Vega.

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Your rain's not quite making

it to the ground again.

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Or Hm.

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Not a single cloud insight.

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Guess I'll check later.

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One thing that's glorious about

cloud watching is that it's

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available to everyone anywhere.

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You can live in suburbia or

the heart of a metropolis.

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And this little slice of the

natural world is available to you.

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Clouds are defined as a visible mass of

condensed vapor, such as water or ice.

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Floating in the troposphere.

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The troposphere is the lowest layer of

the atmosphere and extends from the earth.

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Two to seven miles into the sky and

is where most of the weather occurs.

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All water droplets within clouds

have tiny particles of dust,

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dirt, or salt in the center, which

the water particles form around.

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And while we might think

of clouds as being light.

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As in lightweight.

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The notion couldn't be

further from the truth.

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One reference that I found said that

the average Cumulus Nimbus cloud.

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Which are the big fluffy

ones way over 400 tons.

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And as a reference, an African

elephant weighs somewhere

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between two and seven tons.

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Wow.

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I had no idea they were that heavy.

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Although I probably should have, because

I recently had one fall on my head.

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Uh, causing a lot of flooding

and damage in my little valley.

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Why clouds don't fall out

of the sky all the time.

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Is something we could talk about,

But I think I'll let you look

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that up for yourself because

I want to talk about light.

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I would have said that light

from the sun is yellow.

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Turns out sunlight or what we

call visible light is white.

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And when this light hits

particles in the atmosphere.

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The LightWave scatter.

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Blue being the shortest LightWave

is scattered the most, which

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is why the sky appears blue.

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When the visible light hits the cloud.

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The larger water droplets deflect,

all color light waves equally.

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Making a cloud appear white.

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Isn't that cool.

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This world is so amazing.

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Of course clouds.

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Aren't always white when dense

and heavy, they appear gray.

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And during the sunrise or sunset, they

are often a fabulous pink or orange.

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We get colors in sundogs and rainbows.

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Hayes and the atmosphere can cause

them to be yellow, red, or orange.

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Clouds add texture and shape to the sky.

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They enliven our senses.

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I find them to be incredibly moody.

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They can be happy, bouncy, bright.

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Or dark heavy, cold and

everything in between.

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But isn't that the way of it?

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The world, this life is

rife with contradiction.

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How can clouds reflect sunlight

back into space, providing shade?

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Yet trap the heat to keep us warm.

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Or religion.

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Why were Eve and Adam forbidden to eat

the fruit that they were required to eat.

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In order to progress.

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Contradictions abound.

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The sooner we accept them.

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Even learn to expect and love them.

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The sooner we will be happy.

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Cloud's can help us learn this lesson.

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I recently discovered

a movie called clouds.

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It's based on the true story of a teenage

boy diagnosed with terminal cancer.

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Instead of writing goodbye

letters to his friends and family,

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he began writing them songs.

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His heartfelt catchy song.

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Clouds went viral on YouTube giving

this young boy the thrill of a lifetime.

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I love that.

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Going up, up, up into the clouds is

how he chose to share his emotions.

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I will include a link to his

recording in the show notes.

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The saying goes that the world

is full of magical things.

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Patiently waiting for our

census to grow sharper.

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I believe clouds are one

of those magical things.

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I believe we can sharpen our

senses by connecting with the

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natural world through clouds.

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The wonderful God given clouds.

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It's my desire to deliberately associate

with these celestial creations.

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To learn about them, to watch

them, to admire them and even

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on occasion to talk to them.

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Martin Luther king said, God writes

the gospel, not in the Bible alone.

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But also in the trees and in the flowers.

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And did the clouds.

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Oh, thank heavens for clouds.

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They are becoming my

friends and I love them.

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And as I love them, I learned

to love my God all the more.

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Thank you for spending your

valuable time with me today.

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And if you enjoy this podcast, thank

you for sharing it with a friend.

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Duty, and I truly appreciate your

help inviting others to join us.

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And remember if you are

looking to connect with God.

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The heavens declare his glory and the

sky above proclaims, his handiwork.

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Nama stay.