Aloha kākou ("Greetings between us"). As you know, I've been training for months for this surfing trip to Oahu. I think I'm as fit as I'm ever going to be for my latest Hawaiian adventure. I can't believe how quickly summer got here. Mahalo nui for all the support you've shown me on my weight loss journey. While in Hawaii I'll try to bring peaceful, enjoyable, beautiful pictures and videos back home for you. We're expecting a nice swell to hit the South Shore this week. I'll be thinking about y'all on July 4. Remember, freedom is not free. Despite the attacks on the holiday as a symbol of colonization of native and indigenous lands, remember that Independence Day is about how the American colonists won their independence from British tyranny. As Christians, it's also a reminder how our Lord offers an Emancipation Proclamation to every slave of sin signed with his own blood. We are free from the daily power of our old nature as we live in constant dependence upon him for our every need. As we look to him to meet those needs, we enjoy a freedom from fear and worry that would enslave us. "If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). What a wonderful Savior!
I leave you with this beautiful rendition of "For all the saints who from their labours rest." I dedicate it to the memory of my wife Becky. We spent our honeymoon on Oahu in 1976. In 2013, after 37 wonderful years of marriage, the Lord took her by the hand and led her from earth to heaven to be with him face to face and to enjoy his presence forever. "Until we meet again, sweetheart."