My daughter made breakfast for me. It was a long week and I was running out the door, running late to the office.

Lil Mac D had made waffles for me with a lovely note. The waffle was cold because she likes toast barely warm. Very thoughtful an timely.

I got to work on time and had breakfast to boot!

John Piper recently interviewed Time Keller on the brilliance of C.S. Lewis.

Keller identifies C.S. Lewis as the "king of illustration" as opposed to Jonathan Edwards, whom he labels the "king of imagery."  Lewis has the  ability to craft a "sparkling" illustration of Christian truth.  Keller explains how Lewis takes the abstract truth and clarify with the concrete illustration.

On the importance of building illustrations, Keller shares a humorous anecdote when Flannery O'Conner was asked if she could put her story into a nutshell using one sentence.  Her response was, "if I could put it in one sentence, I would not have to write the story!"

Tim Keller recommends starting with the following C.S. Lewis works:

• Mere Christianity - Why you should believe
• Screwtape Letters - Illustration of how Christians believe
  
• The Great Divorce - Way of getting the Christian truth across
• Chronicles of Narnia - Myth and Storytelling
• Abolition of Man -  Lewis saw what was coming in Western Civilization

Many pastors wonder if their sermons are too long.  My friend Dr. Gary Miller recalls when the sermon gets near lunch time, members of the congregation lift their arms and look at their watches practicing the tradition he humorously calls the Southern Baptist salute!

Spurgeon had advice for pastors on the length of their message.  He used the illustration of bread.
Do not overload a sermon with too much matter. All truth is not to be comprised in one discourse. Sermons are not to be bodies of divinity. There is such a thing as having too much to say, and saying it till hearers are sent home loathing rather than longing. An old minister walking with a young preacher, pointed to a cornfield, and observed, “Your last sermon had too much in it, and it was not clear enough, or sufficiently well-arranged; it was like that field of wheat, it contained much crude food, but none fit for use. You should make your sermons like a loaf of bread, fit for eating, and in convenient form.”
-C.H. Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, p. 77

At the state fairgrounds in St. Paul

Taken off I-35 south of St. Paul

Cambrie and her dog Beetle Bailey on the front porch. Jenn & I bought those rockers in Oviedo, FL around 2000.

This magnificent cross is in Moore, Oklahoma on Route 66 at church life.tv.

It is visible from I-35

Beautiful summer evening in Fort Worth. Small breeze, under the lights, and a crack of the bat. We cheer cheer cheer for the home team!

There are two players from FLA - one from Rollins College and the other from Seminole State College (formerly Seminple Community College).

Pretty sure heaven will be filled with the sound of beautiful voices singing. My daughters are up there praising God and the eldest even had a solo!

I have wanted them to sing in church for so many years and God led us to a wonderful church with an emphasis on children's programs. It was a beautiful production!

My friend Terri brings us the most delicious cookies when she visits. I finally asked her where these fantastic cookies came from and she shared her source: The Swiss Pastry Shop off Vickery in Fort Worth.

Terri used to live near the bakery in te 1980's. If you look at the sign in the front window, the are celebrating 40 years of business.

The venue has changed little in all those years, but the pastries are as delicious as ever!