• Wild weather in KC. The big news in these parts in recent weeks has been the record number of tornadoes. As you've heard, early in May there were nearly 400 tornados in one week in the Midwest and south, more than twice the previous record. I was on a flight from Chicago attempting to land on Sunday the 4th, but due to bad weather we began circle the Kansas City area. Not the best flight I've been on recently. We weren't told how serious things were on the ground, but when the pilot got word that the tower had been evacuated, he said we needed to go to Wichita while we still had enough fuel. Following a two-and-a-half hour delay, we finally landed in KC only to hear reports that multiple tornados had struck the metropolitan area. Seven F4 twisters (only 2% of all tornados reach that strength) came down in our vicinity, including one about five minutes' drive from our house, and another less than half-a-mile from the seminary. Mercifully, the only damage we sustained was by hail to the roof, and we're still waiting on an assessment for that.

  The day before, while in Kenosha, WI for a conference, I'd unexpectedly had the opportunity to go down near O'Hare Airport and spend two very fast hours at the Chicago Pen Show. This next part is only for the readers who share my interest in fountain pens. Okay, for the six of you still reading, I had a great time. The Chicago Pen Show is the world's oldest and largest. Tens of thousands of pens, vintage and new, as well all other pen-related things filled dozens of booths, not to mention the seminars, auctions, and other show activities. I could have easily spent an entire day enjoying this four-day show, but I'm grateful to Matthew Henry (the Kenosha pastor, not the Bible commentator from the 1600s) who was willing to make the hour-long drive to Chicago for only two hours at the event. Matthew, I still say that of the hundreds who attended, you probably got the best deal of the entire show. Hope you're enjoying the Bexley. Pretty good for a rookie!

  Speaking of rookies, that reminds me of baseball. After many miserable seasons, Kansas City has had a baseball awakening this year with the surprising start of the Royals.

  I commend John Piper's book, Brothers, We Are NOT Professionals to all ministers. Many of you would also want to know that his well-known books Desiring God and Let the Nations Be Glad have also been released in revised editions.

  Plans are for the www.SpiritualDisciplines.org Newsletter to continue to include two chapters from Simplify Your Spiritual Life in each edition (as is the case in this issue). The book is scheduled for release on July 3.

Caffy expects this week to complete her work painting several murals in a nearby home. Late in April she spoke at a women's retreat for a church in Lawrence and sensed the Lord's blessing in that. We honored her on Mother's Day on the first day of a week and on her birthday on the last day of the same week. She's spending as much time in the yard as possible, gardening and planting flowers. And yes, as I'm sure you've all been wondering throughout the winter, the new flower boxes actually work and are filled with brightly colored something-or-others even as I type.

Here is dramatic proof that the new window boxes actually work. The long winter of anticipation is over!

Hooray for Laurelen! She's the fourth grade Missouri regional homeschool spelling bee champion. Last week we started practice for her girls' ten-and-under softball team. This is the first year for the girls to play in a league where the girls pitch instead of the coaches. I've been helping out with the practices, and if the girls on the other teams are anything like ours, I've got a feeling we're in for some looooong games.