"The Word became flesh and dwelled among us.  We have seen his
        glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father, full
        of grace and truth. ... For out of his fullness we have all
        received grace upon grace." John 1:14,16 (EHV)

		       	    	    	 	 December 25, 2019

Dear Friends and Family,

It's been a quiet year for me.  I'm about 3/4 of the way through a
year-long course of medication for my follicular lymphoma that tires me out
a great deal.  I'm still working full-time at VMware, but taking days off
now and then to rest when I need to, and I've cut back on some of the other
things I usually do.  The good news is that the treatment is working rather
well.  It may not cure, but hopefully at least it will be several years
before I need treatment again.

I was doubtful about doing my usual week at Tree of Life Lutheran Bible
Camp in the summer, but I did go and was glad I did.  The meds have caused
me to lose most of my singing voice, but I did find the energy to play
guitar and lead the singalongs, with much help from Laura Pluckhan and
Jordan Hochmuth.  I am still serving as camp treasurer too.

At church, I was reelected as treasurer at our annual meeting in June.  In
a few weeks we will have to make a hard decision about whether to continue
our grade school, and if not, what to do instead.  For various reasons our
enrollment has dwindled to single digits over the years, and the prospects
for attracting more students in our area don't look good.  We could use
prayers for wise guidance.

After camp I didn't touch my guitar for several months, but then played and
led the singing at the outdoor worship before our church picnic.  All the
hymns we used were familiar, so it worked well for me to sing only enough
to get everyone started in the right key, then drop out and just play
guitar.  This coming weekend all our organists are traveling or ill, so I
will be playing guitar at church for the Saturday evening and Sunday
morning services.  I'm hoping that will go well too.

I'm up for reelection to the homeowner's association board for the small
townhouse complex that I live in.  It's a pretty easy job; most of the real
work is handled by a management company, with our board chairman making
sure things keep happening.  My job has really just been to give my opinion
on things and to sign checks once a month or so.

One thing I've continued to do for fun is attend Stanford sports events.
The football team had a rough year, but women's volleyball just won the
national championship for the 2nd year in a row and 3rd in the past 4
years.  Women's basketball has a young, top-5 team with a lot of potential,
and even men's basketball is looking up this year -- they are playing well
and have hopes to make the NCAA tournament this year, for the first time in
a while.

I'm taking this week and next week off to rest up and catch up on things
around the house.  But my cat Katinka thinks that I am here in order to
spend 100% of my time making her happy, and definitely not to watch sports
on TV when she wants to play!  Right now she is exiled to the bedroom for
excessive meowing in my ear, but I'll let her out now that the Warriors'
game and this letter are finished.

In closing, despite the health issues I too often complain about, I surely
have an uncountable abundance of blessings this Christmas and throughout my
life -- truly grace upon grace!

					Christmas and New Year blessings,

  					Tim Mann