“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obrtain it. And every one who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subejection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Warm Christian greetings to you today. My heart rejoices in the goodness of the Lord. He is great and greatly to be praised. As Jennifer and I were watching the Opening Ceremonies of the XXXth Olympiad Summer Games in London, she commented, “I wonder if this is the first time that every nation in the world is being represented at the Olympic Games?” The answer is a little complex, but simply put, the answer is “Yes!” Then, as we watched the Parade of Nations ...

You know the saying, “When it rains it pours.” Well, just a week before Hannah’s wedding, my (Mark’s) mother fell and broke her hip. This is always a bad thing to happen to anyone, but her case is complicated by the fact that she suffers from multiple life threatening diseases, and is a dialysis patient. She was not able to be treated here in Juneau, Alaska, where we all live, so she had to be medi-vac’d to Seatlle for evaluation and care. Sadly, this meant that she and my father were not able to attend Hannah’s wedding. It is still not known what her outcome will be. For a while, it was thought she would bed bedfast for the rest of her life. However, she is now now able to sit up some. Her medical problems prevented the doctors from performing surgery on her hip, but the break is healing a bit on its own. This unfortunate event has resulted in problems of catastrophic proportions. Needless to say, this is my only contribution to this month’s newsletter as Julie and I are overco...