JamesWatkins!com

We’ve moved . . . and moved . . . and moved
I’ve moved my blog back to JamesWatkins!com, but want to keep the RSS features of WordPress, so each week this post will let you know what’s new at my site. Or you can sign up for the RSS feed and be continually updated. Enjoy!

New this week:
• Appearing on “The Harvest Show” Tuesday June 9 at 9 am EST
• Transcript and pics from interview on Squeezing Good Out of Bad
• This week’s light touch for heavy times: Managing your time . . . and sanity

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Filed under Encouragement

February 9, 2009

‘A light touch for heavy times’

Okay, another major change here. The “magazine” format isn’t creating traffic. I had hoped for Chicago at rush hour—and got 3 am in Corn Borer, Indiana. So, I’m changing vehicles and driving against the economic “gloom and doom” flow with “A light touch for heavy times”. This brand new blog will provide weekly encouragement with a touch of humor.

You’ll still find the original “Heavy topics with a light touch” at jameswatkins!com with new content added regularly as always.

And sign up for “A light touch for heavy times” by putting LIGHT TOUCH in an
e-mail to me.

Have a great week!

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Tags: Gary Graham, love, Marriage, sex, Star Trek

February 2, 2009

• Top ten secrets for . . .

In this week’s issue . . .

Heavy topics
• Top ten secrets for squeezing good out of bad
• Dark knight at Academy Awards
• You may be clinically depressed if . . .
• Top ten pages at jameswatkins.com
• The weight adventure: week 4

Light touch
• My favorite Super Bowl commercials
• Alien lizards secretly rule world
• God tells man in pickup truck to “punish” sedan driver for “not driving like Christian”
• “Writing with Humor” at Taylor University
• Best late-night lines of the week
• Thought for the week

Top ten secrets for squeezing good out of bad

I’m doing my dance of joy! (And, yes, the curtains are closed.) Squeezing Good Out of Bad is finally in print. I originally started work on it nine years ago, but since then I’ve added all kinds of new lemon-fresh anecdotes including cancer. So it’s a much more personal book in 2009 than in 2000. (If it were any more personal, I’d have to take my clothes off—and nobody wants to see that!)

Squeezing Good Out of Bad provides ten practical strategies for dealing with the lemons of life:

10. Don’t confuse them with hand grenades (Identify the problem)
9. Check the delivery slip (Determine if it’s your problem)
8. Sell ‘em on eBay (Profit from the problem)
7. Paint smiley faces on them (Laugh at the problem)
6. Join a citrus support group (Share your problem)
5. Use as an all-natural, organic astringent (Grow from the problem)
4. Don’t shoot the delivery driver (Forgive the problem-maker)
3. Graft to a lime tree for a refreshing, low-calorie soft drink (Take the problem to a higher level)
2. Grow your own orchard (Live a fruitful life despite—or because of—the problem)
1. Give off a refreshing fragrance (Live a lemon-fresh life)

So . . .
• Read an excerpt
• Read endorsements
• Buy a copy Paperback $12.99; download $5
• If you’re currently unemployed, request a free electronic copy by
e-mail
• Share your story at the official Squeezing Good Out of Bad yahoo group

Dark knight at Academy Awards

I’m also just a bit depressed. The Indianapolis Colts weren’t in the Super Bowl last night and the latest Batman film, The Dark Knight, won’t be up for a “best picture” Oscar later this month. And it’s all my fault! Teams, TV shows, and movies I enjoy, never win awards. (I haven’t seen one of the “Best Picture” nominees!) I thought Heath Ledger was absolutely brilliant as “The Joker,” so that will probably eliminate him from the “Best Supporting Actor” category. Sigh. Anyway . . .
• My review of The Dark Knight

You may be clinically depressed if . . .

And, speaking of depression, while at a writer’s conference, five or six us started talking about the dark mood of writers. We went around the table. “I’m on Wellbutrin.” “I’m on Prozac.” “I’m on Zoloft.” “I’m on. . . .” Every single one of us was on antidepressants! One was on an anti-psychotic (obviously a fiction writer).

Depression is not simply a malady of writers and poets. It’s the most diagnosed mental illness in America, and at the same time, one of the least admitted to. After all people who are depressed sit in the dark all day eating their body weight in chocolate and writing really bad poetry. Right? Wrong! Check out a brand new artilce:
• Symptoms and solutions for depression
• Popular antidepressants: how they stack up [ABC News]

Top ten pages at jameswatkins.com

On a related note, articles on suicide and death have been top pages at jameswatkisn.com since 2007. So, I have in my right hand, direct from my home office, January’s top ten most popular pages [December's ranking]:

1. Blog [6]
2. “I just want to die” [3]
3. Women in ministry resources [8]
4. “One nation under generic supreme being” ; [4]
5. Top ten reasons I’m not divorcing my wife [5]
6. 2008 year in review [—]
7. The hidden habit: masturbation [7]
8. Dealing with death and grief [9]
9. Top 25 Christian Web sites [—]
10. Quips and quotations of encouragment [—]

The weight adventure

Inspired by The Biggest Loser, my daughter and I are competing with a group of Facebook friends to shed some weight, so to be accountable, I’ll be posting my percentages each week. This week—sound of scale beeping, dramatic pause—I lost 1 percent.

My favorite Super Bowl commercials

For once, the game was more exciting than most of the commercials. (Loved the 100-yard return!) But here are three of my favorites:
• Coke Zero’s Mean Troy
• Pedigree Crazy Pets
• Hulu: an Evil Plot to Destroy the World

And on the subject of evil plots to destroy the world . . .

Alien lizards secretly rule world

Queen Elizabeth and former president George Bush are actually shape-shifting alien reptiles who rule the world. Parts of the world not ruled by reptile aliens are run by a secret organization known as—please pick one—the Illuminati, Rosicrucians, Freemasons, the Trilateral Commission, the New World Order or Yale’s Skull and Bones society. Conspiracy theorists also argue that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were orchestrated by the United States government, the Apollo 11 moon landing was actually filmed in a sound stage on earth, and even more aliens creatures are alive and well in Roswell. And the list goes on . . .

“Conspiracy theories” have been around for most of history: the idea that some group is engaging in secret activities—usually world domination—that the rest of the world knows nothing about. Except, of course, a small group of people who know the truth but are viewed as delusional.

Here’s the prophet Isaiah’s take conspiracy theories. (Yep, the Bible actually addresses this issue!)

God tells man in pickup truck to “punish”
sedan driver for “not driving like Christian”

Michael E. Schwab of San Antonio, Texas, claims God told him that a woman driving a sedan “needed to be taken off the road.”

According to MySanAntonio.com, Schwab told first responders at the scene that “the other vehicle was not driving like a Christian and it was Jesus’ will for [me] to punish the car.” So, he rammed his speeding pickup truck into the sedan.

Fortunately, no one was injured and, apparently, God told police to arrest the man for endangering lives and blaming Him for the accident.

Here’s a better way to hear from God:
• God’s will is not lost—for those trying to find it

Writing with Humor at Taylor University

I’ll be teaching a course on “Writing with Humor” at Taylor University Fort Wayne Saturdays February 14, March 14, April 18 and May 9. Click for syllabus; call 800.233.3922 for details and registration.

Best late-night lines of the week

Craig Ferguson
• Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said today he was considering Oprah Winfrey for the Senate. That’s ridiculous—Oprah’s way too powerful to waste her time in the Senate. Although, she’s got enough money to buy it from that guy.

Jay Leno
• President Obama has signed an executive order closing Guantanamo Bay. The big problem is, How do you get all of these inmates back to their home countries? They’re all on the “Do Not Fly” list.
• Freezing weather this week. The roads were so icy, Al Gore almost didn’t make it to his global warming speech.

David Letterman
• In “Top ten ways Rod Blagojevich can improve his image,” 7. Offer a senate seat with no money down, zero percent interest

Conan O’Brien
• Blagojevich is being criticized because he recently compared his experience to that of Nelson Mandela. Which may be a stretch—but at least he got the prison part right.
• Earlier today, the world’s top economic advisors gathered at a luxury ski resort in Switzerland to find a solution to the global financial crisis. So far the best idea is to stop traveling to luxury ski resorts in Switzerland.

Final touches

Thought for the week
Failure is the foundation of truth. It teaches us what isn’t true, and that is a great beginning. To fear failure is to fear the possibility of truth. Joan Chittister
• Click for more encouraging quips and quotes.

More light touches
• Church humor from Rev.
• The Dredge Report (Humor page)
• Top ten lists

Thanks for stopping by! And please leave a comment below.

2 Comments

Filed under 10 top pages, Bizarre, Encouragement, Humor, Writing

Tags: Academy Awards, Dark Knight, God told me to, Squeezing Good out of Bad, Super Bowl commercials

January 26, 2009

• Everybody loves Raymond—and Barack

Inside this week’s issue

Heavy topics
• Everybody loves Raymond—and Barack
• Bible banned at school during “Religious Freedom Day”
• Keith Drury: What’s wrong with the church?
• The weight adventure: week 3

Light touch
• Barbie turns big 5-0: exclusive interview
• Do guys really think about sex every seven seconds?
• Top ten Super Bowl commercials
• “Writing with Humor” at Taylor University
• Best late-night lines of the week

Everybody loves Raymond—and Barack

To paraphrase the hit CBS sitcom from a few seasons back, “Everybody Loves Barack.” (According to Gallup polls, the brand-new president has a 68 percent approval rating his first week in office. Only John F. Kennedy has had higher.) And that concerns me!

1. The media loves Barack
A late-night comic quipped that MSNBC was the “Obama for President Headquarters.” The media is supposed to be a suspicious, cynical group of curmudgeons—and it performed its role with great enthusiasm during the George Bush administration. The media has traditionally been the fourth “checks and balances” component in government, but the unabashed gushing over the new president concerns me.

2. Congress loves Barack
I can’t believe that Obama’s choice for Treasury Secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, failed to pay more than $34,000 in federal taxes over several years while facing questions about the employment papers of a former household employee—and is still being considered by the Senate panel! Whether it was intentional or an honest oversight, it still seems grounds for disqualification, and that concerns me.

3. Pro-abortionists love Barack
The new president is probably the most anti-life president with his support for abortion, partial-birth-abortion and embryonic stem cell research. Here are my grave concerns.

4. Gay rights activists love Barack
And the new president apparently loves them. On the official White House Web site (www.whitehouse.gov), there are several items listed under “Support for the GLBT Community” including adding sexual orientaton as employment discrimination and expansion of hate-crime legislation. Conservative church gorups and Christian organizations are concerned that they would a) have to hire openly gay people for ministry positions and b) that speaking out against what they believe is immoral behavior would be considered a hate crime. (Click for my thoughts on hate crimes.)

5. Church leaders love Barack
It’s not suprising that so-called “liberal” church leaders love Barack, but “conservative” Rick Warren has walked through the moral mine field of hosting both Obama and John McCain at his church, inviting Obama to his AIDS summit, and praying at the inauguration, while still voicing disagreement with Obama’s pro-abortion stance. The suspicious, cynical journalist in me suspects Rick Warren is being used by Obama simply to appeal to Christian conservatives, just as Republicans have used them in the past.

6. The world loves Barack
I do appreciate Obama’s less confrontational and combative tone when it comes to international relations. Christians are taught to pray for peace. But in my darker moments—God forgive me—I think He’d make a great anti-Christ.

7. I love Barack
Barack Obama is charming, witty, gracious, thoughtful and articulate. I really love him as a person. But I’m deeply concerned when anyone is so likable. (Okay, there’s that cynical, suspicious curmudgeon journalist in me coming out again.) I’ve met too many likable people who turned into monsters when they finally married the girl, took over power, or some crisis revealed the real person beneath the facade. (I hope his recent snub of Republican legislators with, “I won,” doesn’t confirm my concerns.)

Barack Obama took office in what resembled a Woodstock love-in, but love can be blind! So, I pray for the new president—and the media, the congress, the church and ordinary citizens.

Bible banned at school during “Religious Freedom
Day”

Can you say ironic?

According to ChristianPost.com, “A Southwest Florida man who in past years has been allowed to distribute free Bibles to high school students on Religious Freedom Day was turned down this year by the district’s superintendent.” The article didn’t say if Korans or other religious material were banned as well.

Keith Drury: What’s wrong with the church?

The always insightful—and occasionally inciteful—Keith Drury lists nine things he feels are wrong with today’s church. I’ve got to agree with all nine! Plus, he asks, “Might Barak Obama help deliver Evangelicals from a tendency toward civil religion?”
• What’s wrong with the church?
• The blessing of Barack

The weight adventure: week 3

Barbie turns big 5-0

Fifty years ago this coming March, Barbie Millicent Roberts emerged from her bright pink box to become the most popular—and at times controversial—doll in the civilized world.

But this investigative humor columnist has discovered gloom beneath the glamour of Mattel’s money-making miss.

Wearing faded jeans and a T-shirt, Barbie confided, “I’m just so tired of being dolled up all the time. The whole Barbie image is just so plastic.”

More of exclusive interview

Cindy Crawford downs a Diet Pepsi in classic Super Bowl ad

Do guys really think about sex every seven seconds?

Where do women get these ideas?! Probably the same source that tells them if they turn the thermostat to 90 the room will heat faster. Or maybe it’s from watching Super Bowl ads. (See pic above and text below.)

According to the folks at snopes.com, the “seven-second rule is pure fiction.” Alfred Kinsey’s research revealed 97% of men thought about sex between a few times a day and a few times per month, with 54% falling into the daily category.
• The scoop at snopes
• Love, marriage and incredible sex (my “adult” site for adults)

Top ten Super Bowl commercials

Guys probably think about sports more than sex—if you believe the Super Bowl hype. Me? I watch it for the commercials. So, if you’re like me—and that’s a frightening prospect—here are . . .
• ESPN’s top ten picks
• Metromix’s top ten
• MSNBC’s top ten

Writing with Humor at Taylor University

Best late-night lines of the week

Craig Ferguson
• Oscar nominations came out today. “Benjamin Button” got 13. That’s as many as people who have actually seen the movie.

Jimmy Kimmel
• After 10 inaugural balls, Obama was up and in the office at 8:30 this morning, and then he went to church. Is it a good sign that after one hour of being president he decided the best thing he could do for the country was pray?

Jay Leno
• Barack Obama said his first act as president will be to pardon Aretha Franklin’s hat.

David Letterman
• In “Top Ten Signs Obama’s Getting Nervous,” 4. Offered Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, $100,000 to buy his old Senate seat back.

John Stewart
• ChangeFest 2009: There’s no change! video

Final touches

Thought for the week
If people are kicking you in the behind, at least you’re in front of them. Billy Graham
• Click for more encouraging quips and quotes.

More light touches
• Church humor from Rev.
• The Dredge Report (Humor page)
• Top ten lists

Have a great weekl! (And come back next Monday for more “heavy topics with a light touch.”)

5 Comments

Filed under Encouragement, Humor, Issues, Media, Politics, Sexuality, Spirituality, Writing

Tags: Barack Obama, Barbie doll turns 50, guys think about sex every . . ., late-night comics, Religious Freedom Day, Super Bowl ads

January 19, 2009

• Hi, I’m Jim. I’m prejudiced

The “dream” passed on!

Inside this week’s issue

Breaking news: Tuesday 3:30 pm
• Lois and I just received word that our $40,000+ hospital bill was forgiven! (This summer, she had an unexpected hysterectomy and I had radiation treatments for cancer.) “Thank you, Father!”

Heavy topics
• Hi, I’m Jim. I’m prejudiced
• Jesus on racial, gender, religious and social prejudices
• Top ten signs you might be prejudiced
• Life is a civil right
• Top ten things President Bush is doing on his last day in office
• Is President-elect Obama a Christian?
• Ala carte Christianity
• The weight adventure: week 2
• Twenty worst foods in America

Light touch
• HTML humor
• Mr. Manners on . . .
• “Writing with Humor” at Taylor University
• Best late-night lines of the week

Hi, I’m Jim. I’m prejudiced.

Like members of Alcholics Anonymous, we all need to be incredibly honest and announce, “Hi, I’m [fill in your name]. I’m prejudiced.”

Me? I’m prejudice against people who are prejudiced. I’m prejudiced against people who don’t view women as equals. And I’m prejudiced against Pepsi. (If I ask for a Diet Coke in a restaurant, no tip for you if you try to subsitute a Diet Pepsi!)

But the most intolerant people I’ve ever met are members of the PC police who, while claiming to be tolerant, are totally intolerant against anyone they view as not tolerant. (And, as I’ve written, intolerance is not always a bad thing.) The important thing is to be honest, admit there are areas in which we’re prejudiced, discern if they are good, bad or neutral, and then deal with them.

So . . .
• Jesus on racial, gender, religious and social prejudices
• Top ten signs you might be prejudice
• Life is a civil rights issue

Top ten things President Bush is doing on last day in office

10. Making last free long-distance calls on the hot line
9. Packing up new $492,798 china set (actually it stays with the House)
8. Filling out all those change of address cards
7. Making prank calls to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Kim Jong Il and Nancy Pelosi
6. Working on his “Funniest Bloopers” compilation (click for clip)
5. Packing up Iraqi shoe collection
4. Sicking Barney on reporters
3. Joy-riding in Air Force One
2. Having one last romp in Lincoln Bedroom
1. Leaving legacy at the curb

No matter what your political persuasion, you’ve got to feel some amount of compassion for a president whose name will forever be synonymous with the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina and the economic recession. As The Onion reported the day after the election, “Black man gets worst job in America.”

So, my thoughts and prayers are with the human being who is probably having a tough day. I hate moving!

And my thoughts and prayers are with Barack Obama as he does assume the “worst job in America.” “Father, give him wisdom and courage to do what is pleasing to You.” Which brings us to . . .

Is President-elect Obama a Christian?

During the US presidential campaign, I ran excerpts from a 2004 interview in which, then Senate-candidate, Barack Obama discussed his faith. (Plus, I’ll throw in a freebie which was one of my top ten pages in 2008.)
• Are presidential candidates “Christian”?
• Were Founding Fathers Christian?

Ala carte Christianity

And, speaking of America’s faith, a new report from The Barna Group reveals “Americans are increasingly comfortable picking and choosing what they deem to be helpful and accurate theological views and have become comfortable discarding the rest of the teachings in the Bible.”

The survery of 1,004 adults reveals “people who consider themselves to be Christian now believe that the Bible is totally accurate in all of the lessons it teaches at the same time that they believe Jesus Christ sinned. Millions also contend that they will experience eternal salvation because they confessed their sins and accepted Christ as their savior, but also believe that a person can do enough good works to earn eternal salvation.”

According to the findings, Americans no longer accept the doctrines and beliefs of their church or denomination, but “serve as their own theologian-in-residence . . . embracing an unpredictable and contradictory body of beliefs.” And speaking of unhealthy eating . . .

The weight adventure: week 2

Inspired by The Biggest Loser, my daughter and I are competing with a group of Facebook friends to shed some weight, so to be accountable, I’ll be posting my pounds lost each week. This week—sound of scale beeping, dramatic pause—two pounds! (That despite a weekend getaway to Essenhaus!)

Twenty worst foods in America

A great list of the best and worst entrees at restaurants. For instance, Blimpie’s Veggie Supreme (12″) packs on 1,106 calories, 56 g fat (33 g saturated fat), 2,831 mg sodium and 96 g carbohydrates! You’d be better off eating two Big Macs.
• Eat this, not this

HTML humor

Photo from neatorama.com

Don’t get it? Well, most Web sites are programmed with hyper text markup language (HTML) and the top of each page is called a “head” and. . . . It’s a geek thing.

Mr. Manners on . . .

Mr. Manners makes gentle suggestions for driving, emailing, being a good neighbor, shopping and polite conversation.
• Click here

Writing with Humor at Taylor University

Best late-night lines of the week

Craig Ferguson
• There’s a new study out that says too much caffeine can cause hallucinations. I think it’s true because I was at Starbucks today, and I hallucinated that a cup of coffee cost $4.

Jay Leno
• All across the country, unemployment offices are swamped with people waiting to file for unemployment insurance. It’s gotten so bad, the offices are overwhelmed and they can’t even function. I have an idea: Why don’t you hire more people?
• Obama says that he wants to bring a “sense of accountability” to Washington. I have a better idea — why not bring some accountants to Washington?

David Letterman
• Freezing cold today. So cold, Bernie Madoff had his hands in his own pockets. So cold, people were throwing shoes at Al Gore.

Final touches

Thought for the week
He is a [sane] man who can have tragedy in his heart and comedy in his head.
G. K. Chesterton
• Click for more encouraging quips and quotes.

More light touches
• Church humor from Rev.
• The Dredge Report (Humor page)
• Top ten lists

Have a great weekl! (And come back next Monday for more “heavy topics with a light touch.”)

4 Comments

Filed under Encouragement, Humor, Issues, Politics, Spirituality, Uncategorized

Tags: Mr. Manners, prejudice, top ten list

January 12, 2009

• When plans don’t succeed

Inside this week’s issue

Heavy topics
• When plans don’t succeed
• The plight of Palestinian Christians
• Church growth in tough times
• Breaking habits before they break you
• The weight adventure

Light touch
• “Writing with Humor” at Taylor University
• Five next big things in church
• How to be creative
• A bear of a bookcase
• Best late-night lines of the week

When plans don’t succeed

A show of hands, please. How many of you have claimed this biblical promise?

Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and your plans will succeed (Proverbs 16:3).

It’s a promise that if we’re “totally committed” to God, our plans will succeed, right?! Well, not if you look at the Hebrew word translated by the New International Version as “succeed.”

Kuwn can be translated “to be firm, be stable, be established; be enduring; to be directed aright, be fixed aright, be steadfast (moral sense); to prepare, be ready.”

Success—particularly in the worldly sense of fame and fortune—is not implied. You can be firm, stable, morally steadfast and still not “succeed.” Last year was disastrous for me as far as worldly success: three books going out of print, cancer, losing a big contract because of “radiation retardation,” huge medical bills and all five lottery tickets I received as a Christmas gag gift being losers. Sigh. But I think my “purpose” (to communicate the gospel of Christ in as effective and creative manner as possible with as many as possible) remained “firm, stable and morally steadfast.”

And, if all your plans are succeeding, you’re not being innovative. The president of Honda Motors claims its research and development department’s failure rate is 90 percent! (See “How to be creative” below.)

So, all our plans are not promised to “succeed.” I’m launching a new venture today, so this post is personal. (There’s a growing need to have an accrediting organization for Christian literary agents—a lot of posers and piranhas out there—so I’ve created CLeAR: Christian Literary Agent Registry. You can visit the BETA site. Thanks for your prayers! I’m currently recruiting members, then the site goes live February 1.)

And be very careful to “correctly handle the Word of God” (2 Timothy 2:15). That often means checking the original language rather than depending on translations.

If you’re not experiencing success . . .
• The rest of the Bible story (There’s a lot of “failure” in Scripture!)

If you’re wondering what a Hebrew/Greek word means . . .
• Interlinear Study Bible from StudyLight.org
• What does the Bible really say?
• What was Paul thinking when He wrote 2 Timothy 2:12?

Update: Wednesday January 14 The launch of ClearAgents.org nearly went “Challenger.” Thanks for praying that it will attain orbit soon.

The plight of Palestinian Christians

Missions Network News reports, “The Baptist church in Gaza was located right across the street from a police station that was targeted by the Israelis for bombing. The church is now destroyed, with its windows blown out as well as other damage.” So, please don’t paint this conflict as God’s people (Israelites) against His enemies (Palestinians). Most modern Israelis are atheists and there are between 40,000 and 90,000 Christians living in Palestinian terrorities.
• Details from Mission Network News
• Know your Palestinian players

Church growth in tough times

Prison Fellowship’s Mark Earley has an interesting U.S. history lesson on now tough economic times lead to church growth. (Curiously, the 9/11 terrorist attacks produced only a short-lived blip in U.S. church attendance.)
• Mark Earley’s Breakpoint commentary

Breaking habits before they break you

If you’re having trouble giving up smoking—or Free Cell—here are some tips I learned in Journalism 101. And speaking of habits . . .

The weight adventure

Inspired by The Biggest Loser, my daughter and I are competing with a group of Facebook friends to shed some weight, so to be accountable, I’ll be posting my results each week. This week—sound of scale beeping, dramatic pause—1 pound. (That’s pretty remarkable since my plan to rid the house of junk food was to eat half a dozen chocolate chip cookies and a bag of Doritos.)

Writing with Humor at Taylor University

Five next big things in church

The mysterious Url Scaramanga over at “Out of Ur” predicts five “next big things in church.” Hilarious unless ministerial lemmings actually put these things into practice—which I predict many will.
• Click for Out of Ur

How to be creative

Hugh MacLeod has 38 great tips on being creative. (Well, actually 36 great tips and one or two that are a bit bizarre. Warning: occasional crude language!)
• Click here

A bear of a bookcase

Photo from MadeInDesign.com.uk

And speaking of creative, is this not the most creative bookcase you’ve ever seen? It does have a bear of a price (over $3,000 US dollars), but I’m tempted to buy a few sheets of plywood and attempt to make one myself.

Best late-night lines of the week

Jay Leno
• Congress says they’re looking into the Bernie Madoff scandal. So the guy who made $50 billion disappear, is being investigated by the people who made $750 billion disappear.
• In an interview with The Washington Times, Vice President Dick Cheney said he is not a big fan of rap music. I was stunned by that. He gets driven around in a limo; he’s surrounded by bodyguards; he shot a guy in the face . . . he is a rap star!

Conan O’Brien
• On Inauguration Day, Obama will be riding in a brand new presidential limousine made by General Motors. The parade route is only five miles long, so GM says that Obama should only have to stop for gas twice.

Final touches

Thought for the week
It seems to us that the most important work in the world is the work which is visible, which we can see: building a house, plowing the land, feeding cattle, gathering fruits; and that the work which is invisible, the work done by our soul, is not important. But our invisible work at the improvement of our soul is the most important work in the world, and all other visible kinds of work are useful only when we do this major work. Leo Tolstoy
• Click for more encouraging quips and quotes.

More light touches
• Church humor from Rev.
• The Dredge Report (Humor page)
• Top ten lists

Have a great week—no matter if you succeed or fail! (And come back next Monday for more “heavy topics with a light touch.”)

Leave a Comment

Filed under Encouragement, Humor, Issues, Spirituality

Tags: Bible, Church trends, Encouragement, hermaneutics, Humor, late-night comics

JamesWatkins!com

July 3, 2009

New this month: July 2009

June 29, 2009

New this week: June 29, 2009

June 22, 2009

New this week: June 22, 2009

June 14, 2009

New this week: June 15, 2009

June 13, 2009

New this week: June 8, 2009

February 9, 2009

‘A light touch for heavy times’

February 2, 2009

• Top ten secrets for . . .

January 26, 2009

• Everybody loves Raymond—and Barack

January 19, 2009

• Hi, I’m Jim. I’m prejudiced

January 12, 2009

• When plans don’t succeed

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