The following two quotes were found at a website that I discovered today: http://firstimportance.org/

“The Law is for the proud and the Gospel for the brokenhearted.”
- Martin Luther, quoted on monergism.com

God requires two things of us: punishment for our sins and perfection in our lives. Our sins must be punished, and our lives must be righteous. But we cannot bear our own punishment, and we cannot provide our own righteousness. Therefore, God, out of His immeasurable love for us, provided his own Son to do both. Christ bears our punishment, and Christ performs our righteousness. And When we receive Christ, all of his punishment and all of his righteousness is counted as ours.”
- John Piper, This Momentary Marriage (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2009), 46.

Here is Jeff and Tracey Kasten's new website: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jeffkasten
They are keeping everyone posted about Jeff's progress through this website. Tracey recently added photos of their family to the website. Jeff's brain surgery is on Monday at Stanford. Our prayers are with you, Jeff!

Well, summer is winding down and Dave's football schedule is ramping up. He officiated at scrimmages last night and tonight, and is evaluating some officials tomorrow afternoon. While he was gone I got caught up on watching some DVDs. I am still enjoying the series "House of Eliott" that I mentioned before. It's about two sisters who open a clothing design business in London in the early 20th century. Very interesting to see the clothing and hairstyles from that time period, as well as the change from horse and buggies to automobiles, etc.

I have been exercising inside during the last week, so I haven't gone for any more interesting bike rides. We were hoping to take our bikes to the beach next weekend, but the forecast is for rain, so that plan may not work.

I am reading an excellent new fiction book, The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton. It is an interesting saga about a young girl who was abandoned on a ship headed for Austrailia in 1913. By using back flashes and forward flashes through the years, her story is told in a style that reminds me of some of the Dickens books. I have read 1/4 of the book, so I hope the rest of the book is a satisfying read.

Another 10 miles on my bike! I've ridden more than 75 miles on my bike since the odometer was installed two months ago. Today's ride was the easiest since I don't kow when...probably about 3 or 4 years ago. Even the small inclines didn't bother me at all and I used to huff and puff up those little hills. It's been almost four months since my surgery and I feel way better than I did even a month ago. The chest discomfort that I used to feel at night has almost totally disappeared. Now if the neighbor's dog would just stop barking!

I would like to request prayers for our friend, Jeff Kasten, who was just diagnosed with two malignant stage 4 brain tumors. He has a wife, Tracey, and 3 young children. He will be travelling to Stanford for a consult on August 28 and surgery is scheduled for August 31.

The weather today was absolutely fabulous! After we exercised, Dave and I drove to Battle Ground to visit the new library there. As always with libraries, I found books to borrow, including a More-With-Less cookbook that I read this afternoon. It's a Mennonite cookbook and was interesting to read, whether or not I ever try out any of the recipes. We also went to the Battle Ground Farmer's Market which was being held next to the library.

This afternoon we went to Oregon on a search for Diet Code Red soda pop. For some reason, it's not available in Washington, except at Jonathan's Fred Meyer store in Bellingham. We had good luck and found a few cases at the Target store on Glisan. It was even on sale.

Dave helped out a couple of clients today and found a quick fix for their fiscal reporting woes. Now before it gets dark he's doing some yard work.

Are you ready for another earring story? Today was six weeks after I had my ears pierced. That meant that I could take out the original earrings that I have been wearing day and night. I was looking forward to wearing one of the 3 new pairs that I had purchased at Crater Lake. First, I had trouble getting the nuts off the posts of the new ones. Then I couldn't get the old earrings out of my ears. I tried to get Dave to help me but he said his fingers were too big. So I waited until I was having coffee with my friends, Jackie and Diane, at Barnes and Noble this afternoon. Diane was able to get my old earrings out, and I was able to put one of the new pairs in. I still have to keep earrings in, even at night, for six months total. What an ordeal! But it's totally worth it, because the new earrings (emerald-colored blue) look very snazzy.

I had CASA court this afternoon. At first I didn't get a chance to speak, but then our case was called back in and I got to put in my two cents worth. The outcome of both sessions was good. Now I remember why I signed up to do this kind of work!