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You're listening to See Beyond

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Where You Are . With C

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. Bond . I had

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a lot to do this past week so

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I was in the car a lot . I

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don't know if you are familiar with Atlanta traffic

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, but it is hectic to

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say the least , especially

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when there are road closures , partial

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road closures and or

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construction . It adds

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to traffic that is already congested

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, it makes the commute longer

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and sometimes tempers

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shorter . But let

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me remind you to please

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be mindful of the workers , that

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you do not speed around them or

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driving the lanes they are working on , or

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even pass the person who is holding

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the stop-slow sign . But

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it's not the traffic that I want to talk

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about , it's the construction

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. Well , a very

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specific part of the construction I'm

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talking about the foundation . A

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good foundation can support

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the weight of the rest of the house or building

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. A good foundation

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must be well-built or

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solid , level and

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can't have any major cracks . That

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is how you and I should be Well-built

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and solidly honest in

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dealing with people Having

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a stable character , level

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or level-headed , thinking

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clearly , someone who doesn't

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allow anger to dictate

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their life , and you can't

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have major cracks , which are

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major character flaws , the

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kind of flaws that cause unscrupulous

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behavior like lying to

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and stealing from people or gossiping

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and manipulating them . So

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let's talk about what it means to

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have a foundation that is well-built

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, level and without

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any major cracks , number

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one being well-built or

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solid . I

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love seeing new construction and

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enjoy open houses of old and new

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homes . It is an opportunity

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for me to see the potential

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of the neighborhood . New

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homes have potential , and so do older

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homes . Now , this new and old

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is a metaphor for younger people

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and more mature people . But

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what I cannot stand is to see

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a home that has been hurriedly

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crafted and is not well-built

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. I have been

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to open houses in newly constructed

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homes and have seen the railings

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not firmly attached , doors

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hung with one longer than the other , sloping

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floors or backsplash with

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the tiles falling off . When

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I see those things , i begin to

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think about the problems that will

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be waiting for the homeowner years

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later . Now

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, those issues I just described

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can be avoided or repaired

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, especially if the foundation

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is good . They can be avoided

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if the builder or artisans

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take their time and does the job

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properly . And that applies

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to you When it comes to your

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character . There are character flaws

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or issues that can

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be avoided if you take the

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time to work on you . Do

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your best . Don't be in such a hurry

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that you miss or overlook

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character flaws because you don't

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want to acknowledge them or

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because you don't know how to deal with them

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. Preventing

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character flaws is like a new

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construction home that has a good foundation

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. That foundation

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must be able to support the materials

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needed for whatever that state

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, region or area

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deals with seasonally , like

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tornadoes , earthquakes

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, floods , high wind

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speeds and hurricanes . For

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instance , in Florida , it

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is common to see homes built

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with concrete blocks , but in

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other states , the primary structure

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is wood . Builders

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use wood to frame the house

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from the foundation to the roof

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. However

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, regardless of what state , region

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or area the home is built in

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, the foundation must

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be well built . This

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is applicable to us and the issues

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that we have to deal with , whether

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they are regional or seasonal , from

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family or friends , home

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or work related , personal

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or something that is common knowledge

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. We need

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a well built foundation

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to handle what life gives us

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When things are hard

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. That well- built or

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solid foundation will keep you

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honest . It keeps you

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honest when no one is looking , preserving

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your character and integrity Your

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character , because it is the foundation

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of who you are . Your

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integrity , because it is the thing

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that external factors . Pressure

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. It is the thing that people

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use to see if they can make you mad

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or jealous , but

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if you are level , those kind

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of external pressures don't get

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to you . Number

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two being level . What

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happens if a house is not level

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? It can have a slope

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. That slope could

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be the house settling or

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it could be an indication that

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the foundation of the home is no

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longer able to support the weight of

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the house . First

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, the house settling . That's

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considered normal . But

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what does it mean when a house settles ? I

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googled that question . It's

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when different parts of a house the

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foundation , the wood and

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even the saw underneath shifts

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due to environmental changes , such

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as wood or concrete losing small

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amounts of moisture over time , or

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the weight of the house is compressing

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the saw that it sits on

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Again . That

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is just like us . When change

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is taking place in us , we

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shift due to settling . When

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we settle in our minds that

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we want to behave a certain way , we

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shift our thinking and our behavior

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. We lose the

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steam of anger and jealousy or

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any other character flaw , just

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as a new home loses moisture . But

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if the house is not level due to structural

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issues , there will be some damage

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to the home like cracking walls or

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windows and even collapse

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in extreme cases . Imagine

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having guests in your home with crack walls

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and windows . They are

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going to see those cracks and instantly

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know that something is wrong . That

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is how you present yourself to people when you

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are not level . They

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see the cracks in your character because

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your foundation is not well- built . Your

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foundation was never meant to support

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jealousy , gossiping , manipulation

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, lying , deceit , stealing

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, mistreatment of others , etc

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. These character

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flaws in your foundation will

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cause structural damage . Which

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leads me to my third point cracks

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. Is it

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normal to have cracks in the foundation

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of new construction ? Yes

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, if they are hairline foundation

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cracks . Hairline

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cracks are typically harmless and

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can form days or weeks after

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a new foundation is laid . This

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can happen because the concrete or

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mortar is drying out as it cures

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. In older homes

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, hairline cracks can appear

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as a sign of concrete aging . But

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how do you know if the crack

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is structural ? Structural

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foundation cracks are generally

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larger than hairline cracks and

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come in different shapes and sizes . When

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I googled this , it said that structural

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cracks are larger than 3 millimeters

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. One end of the

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crack may be wider than the other end . The

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concrete on one side of the crack may be flushed

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or it could be uneven . This

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can potentially lead to a home

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collapsing if the foundation is

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not repaired . If

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your character , your

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foundation , has structural damage

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, you can hypothetically collapse

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. This is an indication

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that there is a problem with your

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character , which is your foundation

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, and your integrity , which

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is everything else , like the wood framing

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or concrete blocks that

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started the foundation and goes to the roof

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. You may have

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structural damage because at some point

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in life you allow traits like

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being a hypocrite , being

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self-righteous , womanizing

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man , stealing , being untrustworthy

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and others to shift your

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foundation , but

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it's fixable . Work on repairing

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your character . If

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you possess better characteristics

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, your foundation will become

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stronger , but

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if you are unwilling to

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change that , structural

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damage may cause you to collapse

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. When another storm comes in your life

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, when you have a financial situation

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, when someone passes in your family

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, when a relationship goes sour

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, There's a possibility

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that you may collapse due to

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structural damage . Maybe

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your cracks will get bigger . Then

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, instead of talking about others , others

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will start talking about you , because

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they see your cracks . They see the cracks

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in your attitude , they see the cracks

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in your personality , they see cracks

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in your relationships . But

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what can you do ? I encourage

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you to repair all the cracks

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in your character . If

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you're not known for telling the truth

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, decide to be truthful to

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at least one person . Make

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it a habit to be honest with that

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person . This can help

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you be honest with others

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. If you find this

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too difficult to do on your own

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, seek help . But

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don't go around broadcasting your character

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flaws . It will interfere

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with the work you are doing to improve your

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integrity and restore or

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build your character . You

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need and deserve to

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have a well-built level foundation

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with no major cracks . You've

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been listening to See Beyond Where

11:29

You Are with C . C-Bond . Until

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next time . Remember , construction

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can cause people to be impatient

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and upset because it slows

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them down . You're being

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under construction . While repairing

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your foundation , we'll

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cause others to be impatient

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, complain and become

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upset too . But keep

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working on your foundation because

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one day someone will drive

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back and admire the beautiful

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you that has been built on

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such a solid , well-built

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foundation .