Ruth Lake Wilkison

I've just had a phone call from the Wilkisons' daughter June. She said that Ruth Lake had to be taken to the emergency room last night. She is back home after a number of possible diagnoses were ruled out, but continues to have some problems. Please remember her in your prayers. Also remember Jim and Steve, who are in Alaska on a fishing trip.

Martha Juntenen

Sister Martha Juntenen experienced a fall Friday which left her hospitalized. She does not have broken bones, but may have to undergo therapy. As of Sunday evening, she remained hospitalized at Skagit Valley Hospital. Please keep Martha and her husband Elmer in your prayers as they struggle with a variety of health problems.

Wednesday

Remember this is 4th Wednesday, so we will have our potluck at 6 p.m. followed at 6:45 by a very brief devotional, then we'll have WORK NIGHT. Several work projects will be underway so come prepared (and dressed appropriately) to do whatever you can.

Our Daytimers' class will not meet tomorrow nor next Thursday. We will resume at 10 AM on Thursday, August 7th. We'll continue watching more of the Ray Van der Laan videos.

Have you noticed soap bars getting smaller? Read my somewhat humorous, but down-deep serious, comments about this on my personal blog -- Seeking the Light.

Welcome Dick & Jody

Richard (a/k/a Dick) and Jody Brown placed their membership with us Sunday. Dick is Sky's brother. They have been attending often with us since they moved to Mount Vernon several years ago, although sometimes they went back to worship with the Northwest church in Shoreline where they had been members for a long time. We're delighted they have decided they want to be a full-time part of the Skagit Valley church family. Their address and other contact information will be published in next Sunday's bulletin. Their mailing address, however, is P. O. Box 1959, Mount Vernon, WA 98273 if anyone wants to send them a welcoming note.

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Sunday Prayer Requests:

From Rodney Blunt: "My aunt, Karen Loomer, had open heart surgery on Thursday and is recovering in the hospital. Please pray for her to recover quickly."

Rentz Gullick requests our prayers for a painful condition he continues to have with his knee. A MRI is scheduled for Tuesday.

Jeannie Young requests our prayers for her and her husband Roger as they travel to Scandanavia in the next few days.

Ferndale

About ten of our young people and five adults went to the Portal Way Church of Christ in Ferndale, Washington for a youth get-together Friday night. The Bible Bowl competition was won by a young man from Ferndale. Congratulations, Ian!

Thanks to Jud & Candi Hobbs for agreeing to spend the night and be chaperones during the lock-in.

Turning 30

"Don't trust anyone over thirty!" was the mantra of my generation when we were teenagers. Even today, thirty is the first milestone that says "I'm not as young as I used to be." You don't get over sore muscles quite as quickly and sometimes joints are known to be a little creaky. For most thirty-year-olds, these complaints are still minor irritants rather than serious problems. But it is the start of the downhill slide . . . and you know where it will lead eventually. So for many young adults, turning thirty is an accomplishment that does not leave them particularly happy.

But it's not me who's turning thirty. As much as it pains me to admit it, that happened in my life twenty-five long years ago. My oldest son, Daniel was born July 16, 1978 in Owensboro, Kentucky. I've already called him this morning to wish him a happy day and he seems to be handling things pretty well. Perhaps he still has a little life left in his creaky old bones :-)

Happy birthday, Son!

Daniel preaches for the Pleasant Valley Church of Christ near Killen, Alabama (in the Florence area of Northwest Alabama). Daniel, his wife Tiffany,and daughter Abby, are coming to visit Trish and me in two weeks. He will be speaking for us at Skagit Valley Wednesday night, July 30.

Saint Opalene and Saint Flostine

I've written a post this morning on my other blog -- Seeking the Light -- talking about some real-life saints like Opalene and Flostine. I'm sure they didn't make the calendar of saints' days, but they are godly women who have lived saintly lives. The article helps you understand the New Testament meaning of being a saint. The link is http://lightseeking.blogspot.com/2008/07/saints.html

Sunday Recap

We had 78 present Sunday morning -- pretty fair attendance considering all the people who were out of town.

The "End Times" series continued this morning. I appreciate the positive comments about the sermon and Power Point today. The full-content sermon outline (more detailed than the handout notes) is already posted online at www.johnfgaines.info I'll get the Power Point files uploaded as well if anyone is interested in viewing those again.

I expected some one to ask about the Seattle traffic signs. There are several "sign generator" web sites which allow users to design and copy signs of all sorts for uses like that. I'm sure you all knew that there are no signs across the road like that between here and Seattle on I-5 . . . it's amazing how easy fake stuff can be made to look real with computers. It's really true that you can't believe your eyes any more.

Next Sunday morning, we continue the theme studying about "The Rapture and the Great Tribulation." You can expect to learn that what a great many people think is going to happen isn't actually taught in the Bible.

Remember the Youth get-together at Ferndale Friday evening. The Bible Bowl features questions on Acts 13-28.

Looking Ahead to Sunday

We're expecting quite a few of our regulars to be out-of-town Sunday, so every friendly face is needed to make up our attendance. Make an extra effort to get to church by 9:30 Sunday morning and get some of that "nine-thirty nourishment" that comes from feasting on God's word.

Patti Hill starts Sunday as teacher for the elementary girls' class. Thanks to Trish Gaines for teaching this class for the last year. She is ready for a little break and Patti volunteered to step in, at least for the next quarter.

Remember the baby shower for Amber Brown & Samantha Sunday afternoon at the building.

Dropping the Ball

Dropped balls are common in football. Of course, it's embarrassing when the pigskin goes right through the receiver's fingers and bounces off the numbers of his chest to the ground. Still, it's a fact of life in football and even the best receivers occasionally come down with a case of fumbly fingers.

Same is true in baseball. Have you ever seen a catcher setting himself to catch a popup for a sure out? Every once in a while, something goes wrong and the ball pops out of his glove.

Even in basketball, there are cases of dropped balls in every game. Passes go awry and end up going out of bounds, thus turning the ball over to the other team. In basketball every turnover is a lost opportunity for a basket.

What do dropped balls have to do with this blog? Well, just maybe, it might be that I've dropped the ball in keeping the blog updated the last few weeks. I was out-of-town in Denver two weeks ago so that gave me an excellent excuse. Unfortunately, though, I've been back home thirteen days and this is the first blog update since June 22nd. Happy 4th of July, everyone!

Oh, I'm a little late for that, huh? Oh, well, all I can say is "I dropped the ball." I'll try to do better next time, coach. Don't sit me on the bench, please!