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In the past, I've written about this in

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my weekly commentary. So if you subscribe, you

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may know it already. But my wife whitney

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me and I, have this quest that we're

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pursuing with our 2 sons. Our our goal

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is to visit all 50 states with them

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together as a family

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to actually have a meaningful experience in each

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state because ours

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is an amazing country, as you know,

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And it turns out that we're actually doing

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pretty well on this quest of ours. Now,

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I'm from Dallas.

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But we moved to Maryland when I was

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7 years old, and my mom's whole family

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was still in Dallas. My Step father's family

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was in Indiana,

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So pretty much all of our travel when

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I was a kid was to 1 of

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those 2 places to visit family, which was

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wonderful, of course.

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But when I got older,

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and then when I served an active duty

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in the navy, I had the chance to

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visit a bunch of interesting

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places, and I... I kind of became obsessed

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with travel.

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By the time, Whitney and I had kids

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of our own, we made it a goal

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to travel with him as much. As we

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can eventually turning it into this quest of

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visiting

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all 50 states. And,

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this summer, right after school ended

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But before it got super busy with all

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of our programming here at the church, we

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actually had a chance to check 5 states

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off the list.

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We started out in rhode Island,

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which

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no offense any native rhode islanders here. Let's

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just say, that we saw enough of it

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on our short overnight stay in providence, fancy

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yachts and big,

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New england mansions or just not not my

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thing.

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And then we spent a night in stove

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vermont, which was absolutely beautiful. It's on our

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list, to go back to someday if you've

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been to vermont, you know exactly what I'm

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talking about.

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And then it was off to

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Mount Washington in New Hampshire to Now Believe

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it or not, and I had to, like,

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double check this a few times when I

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heard it. But because of the geography,

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and the converging weather patterns, this is the

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location

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with the highest recorded wind speed ever by

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a human being on earth

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ever. It was back in 19 34, they

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recorded 231

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miles an hour at the top of Mount

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Washer

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while we were there. The sustained winds were

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66 miles an hour, with a set with

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a 77 mile an hour gust. That's the

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wind place Ever been. It literally

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blew over the guy who was taken our

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picture in front of the mount Washington sign,

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and he was a big guy I've and

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so,

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New Hampshire New Hampshire was was cool for

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sure.

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But the majority of our trip was spent

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in Maine and

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Massachusetts, both of which are really fantastic. I

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had been stationed in Maine when I was

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in, the navy right after college,

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and it's always been a place that I

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love. We spent a couple of nights in

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bar harbor. We explored a Aca National Park,

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which is absolutely gorgeous. We took a a

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lobster tour, and then a puff and lighthouse

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tour on the bay. The people were just

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just as kind and hospitable

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as I remember all these years. Later. And

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then we spent 3 nights in Boston,

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which did my my history nerd soul good

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with all the revolutionary war

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sites and memorabilia and all that.

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The most surprising thing believe it or not

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was how friendly everyone was.

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That's not exactly their reputation.

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This was right before the the Nba finals,

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and my boys were of course, proudly flying

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their m colors.

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I fully expected to get heck by the

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notoriously enthusiastic

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Celtic fans. We went to a Red sox.

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About game, and they had their

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mad gear on. I thought I would dear.

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But everyone we met was great.

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They were pretty confident

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accurately so as it turns out that their

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team is gonna do well.

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But the thing that that struck me most

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of all when we were in Boston, was

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this,

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display in the oldest park in the Us.

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Our... On Boston common,

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There was a a po and moving reminder,

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they put it up every year, memorial Day,

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about our common heritage.

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Our common humanity, are common values

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and sacrifices,

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emblem

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by a display of of American flags, our

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more than 37000

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of them. In fact,

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representing every

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Massachusetts citizen who has given their lives in

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defense of our country over the year. Years

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And the thing is

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it's not just destinations in the Us that

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bring out our common humanity in our common

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values.

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Our youth group experienced some of that, some

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of that sense of unity

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in Costa Rica a couple of years, a

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couple of weeks ago or rather, our mission

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trips, as fellow children

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of God, whatever differences we may have with

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with with others,

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we have our a lot more in common

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than we think.

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That sense of of connectedness that we can

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that we can can find through travel

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is our subject for today.

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This is the final week of our and

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series summer vibes in which we've been exploring

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the diversion of summer.

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So far, in June, we talked about summer

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musical, summer movies, summer camps.

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So and some are reading. Now we've talked

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about how these these pop culture references can

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reveal important matters of theology

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and faith.

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Today, we're wrapping up a series with the

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summer diversion that is for me 1 of

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the great blessings of life.

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Summer are travel can can give us a

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perspective on God's world that we might otherwise

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miss.

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So with all that by way of direction,

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turn to our text for today. We're gonna

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read the first 6 verses of Psalm 19.

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I'm gonna read the first 4 now. And

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we'll come back to the rest later. So

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listen for. Lord of God as it is

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proclaimed by God servant, the psalm.

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The Heavens are telling the glory of God,

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but

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and the firm pro proclaimed his hand work.

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Day to day, pours forth speech and night

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to tonight

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declares knowledge.

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There is no speech nor are their words.

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Their voice is not heard yet Their voice

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goes out through all the earth.

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And their words to the ends of the

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world.

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This is the word of God for the

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people of God.

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Thanks, Peter God.

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Psalm 19 is 1 of those interesting psalms

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because it's

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divided into 2 distinct reflections on God's work

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in the world. So the second half of

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Psalm 19

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in versus 07:14

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is about the law. It's on about the

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torah,

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which is certainly an essential part of our

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salvation history, but we're not reading that part

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because that's not our subject for today. The

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first part of the song saw versus 1

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to 6

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is about the creation of God, the majesty

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of God.

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The the majesty of God's wonders in the

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in the world, the glory of God displayed

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in the incredible creation of God.

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God's God's wonders is all around us really,

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our task is to look for it. Sometimes

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we overlook it. And the more I've been

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blessed

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to travel the more I'm in awe

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of the God who made it all.

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Now I need to say I have never

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been on a trip.

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When I've not been happy to return home.

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I'm always happy to get home. I'm always

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ready to come home because I love where

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we live. I love the incredible opportunities. My

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children have growing up here. I love my

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church family and my friends. I I couldn't

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be more grateful to call

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our community home,

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but my goodness.

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God is an artist

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in the midst of this incredible world

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that God created.

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This is looking out over bryce Canyon in

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Utah a few years ago, it's Bryce Canyon,

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you may know is 1 of 5 incredible

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national parks

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in a state full of this a unique

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kind of beauty.

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This is office the off the

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a sunset off the coast of Me, an

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Island in Greece from the church trip that

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we took in the spring of 20 23.

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Here we're looking out over the Ag g,

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which is 1 of the blues and most

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beautiful bodies of water you will ever see.

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20

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this is a top mend hall glacier in

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Alaska, a truly incredible natural wonder which has

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up a color and clarity of ice

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that I'd never seen before.

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This is sunset from the top of Monica

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on the island of Hawaii. When you measure

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M from its base at the bottom of

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the ocean to the the peak here where

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I took this picture, the it's a tallest

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mountain on earth.

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It's taller even than than mount everest.

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Meanwhile, on the other side of the United

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States, this is... From the top of Cadillac

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Mountain in Aca National Park in Maine, not

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nearly as high. It's actually the the biggest

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peak on the Us East coast from looking

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it out over bar harbor towards Canada.

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And this 1,

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well, this is a picture of our youth

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group in Costa Rica a couple weeks ago

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at La fort Waterfall.

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After a a full week of really challenging

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missions work in the name of our congregation,

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our group

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had the chance to visit this incredibly beautiful

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place,

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which is near the base of a volcano.

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The first time that I truly fell in

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love with God's creation, and I mean truly

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fell in love that was during my navy

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year.

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I was on that that brand new destroyer

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that had been built in Maine, and we

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were on the Atlantic. We were headed

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to our Home port in Norfolk, Virginia

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Now the rules on an navy ship are

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pretty strict as you might imagine, if you

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wanna get some fresh air after sunset, the

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exterior of the ship must remain

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dark.

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You can't let any enemy that's out there

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see exactly where you are. And so 1

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night,

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after a particularly

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super stressful day,

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I went tops side after sunset

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to clear my head.

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Now, on this particular night, it was a

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quarter moon.

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There were clear skies.

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There were no other ships

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anywhere on the horizon. I mean, it's like

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we were the only people on earth that

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night.

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The stars were as bright as you could

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imagine.

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With no light pollution, no air pollution, nothing

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to obscure the the work of the heavens

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and the vast of the see, I was

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the only 1 top side.

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It was me,

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the ocean,

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the sky.

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And God.

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And in that moment,

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I felt a connection with God,

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unlike any I'd ever had before.

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I mean, I I personally do not understand

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how anyone can think

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or believe that God does not exist. I

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don't. I don't get that. For me, all

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it takes is standing in the dark.

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I'm a ship at sea with just you,

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the moon, the stars,

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and the ocean.

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And in that in that moment, I became

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entirely captivated

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by the handy of God, which has enchanted

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me ever since.

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This is a magnificent

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creation with a diversity of people and a

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diversity

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of natural beauty that, for me, anyway, is

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just impossible to wrap my head around.

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And since that evening 30 years ago now

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every time I I have the blessing

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to to see a new part of God's

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korea. Something that I haven't seen before. I

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am.

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I'm just moved

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in the deepest parts of my soul, whether

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that's issue on a mountain or looking out

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over a canyon or, being out on the

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sea or standing on an iceberg or at

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the base of a waterfall on in the

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shadow of the canyon.

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All of it

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all of it is a reminder of the

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brilliance

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and the grace of god. All of it

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is worth the effort and the resources and

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the time that it takes

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to see it. I am so grateful every

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time

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that I get the chance to.

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And so is this all? Lost.

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Here's the rest of that

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part of the text on 19.

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In the heavens, he has set a tent

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for the sun,

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which comes out like a bride groom from

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his wedding canopy and like a strong man

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runs its course with joy.

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Its rising is from the end of the

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heavens and its circuit

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to the end of them.

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And nothing

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is hid from its heat.

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The heavens

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are telling the glory of god and the

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firm

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pro claims his hand work.

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In my Wesley Study Bible, these 6 verses

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of Psalm 19 are called called God's glory

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in

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creation

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to that, I say, amen.

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And what better time of the year to

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to discover some of it.

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Than in the summer,

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when when many of us have some time

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off

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Last spring, as our family

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prepared to check off another state from our

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list from our quest.

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I decided to read

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some some of John Mu. I I knew

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who John Mir was historically speaking, but I

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never read anything by him. And he was

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a great natural list. He was a very

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prolific rider. He came to be known as

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the father of the National parks, and I

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love the national parks.

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Over the decade, he wrote

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16 books.

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1 of them chronic his thousand mile walk

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to the Gulf of next go. I mean,

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this is a guy who seriously loved being

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outside. Then he also wrote more than 20

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essays, many of them being about some of

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the most beautiful places

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in the Us. Now he was not

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a theologian like the Psalm,

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but he shared some of that same discerning

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eye for the work of the glory of

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God, and if you like that kind of

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writing, it's well worth your time

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Mere

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once wrote,

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the world is big,

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and I wanna have a good look at

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it

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before it gets dark.

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I love that. The world is big, and

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I wanna have a good look at it

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before it gets dark.

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As the the people of God whose faith

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and hope and trust

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is in the God who made all of

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this for us

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we should have a good look at it

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too.

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Friends,

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however, we spend our time,

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this season, whatever may be our our most

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00:15:04,829 --> 00:15:06,127
favorite diversion

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00:15:06,823 --> 00:15:08,339
in the lazy days of summer.

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Maybe we look for God there.

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Because god surely is.

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I'm amen.