• 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 [...]

• 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
• [...]

• Celebrating Christmas 365 days a year

I trust you had a meaningful Christmas! But it’s not simply a one-day event. Click for Celebrating Christmas 365 days a year.
And come back New Years Day for a whole new look and attitude here.

• ‘What do you want from me?’

A classic Pink Floyd song (yep, I grew up in paisley shirts and bellbottoms) asks:
Do you think that I know something you don’t know
What do you want from me?
If I don’t promise you the answers would you go
What do you want from me?
So, I’ve been thinking, what do you want from this blog? How can [...]

• Presenting Paul’s portfolio

Our favorite son, Paul, is developing a graphics design business, so proud Dad is pleased to show you what he can do with a scruffy faced little girl through the magic of PhotoShop.

Visit Paul’s portfolio for more examples of photo retouching, gradphic design and flash animation.

• Have a tree-mendous Christmas

(Photo from Free Christmas Tree Pictures)
Emily Dickinson never sent her poetry to publishers. Her friends did—often against her wishes. So, in that tradition—but with permission—I’m posting my cousin’s annual Christmas offering.
As you gather around your tree,
Look at the trunk as God strength to uphold you,
See the branches as your family reaching out with love.
Let the [...]

• Christmas shopping made easy

If you don’t want to be at the mall at 5 am “Black Friday,” visit the JamesWatkins.Commissary for my latest books, T-shirts, totes and coasters. All proceeds go to XarisCom: Communicating Grace. (And you won’t have to fight the mob at the mall!)
And visit the all new, tenth annual Twelve Sites of Christmas with Ho! [...]

• Indian massacre extends beyond Mumbai

Indian school children mourn deaths in Mumbai terrorist attacks (Reuters)
Today, while Americans celebrate the Pilgrims sitting down with American Indians on the first Thanksgiving, Indians in Mumbai are mourning over 100 deaths, 300 injuries and numerous hostages in Wednesday’s terrorist attacks. The Associated Press reports terrorists targeted ten locations tied to India’s financial district [...]

• Waiting

I just finished a week of devos for the Upper Room’s 2010 Disciplines book. Here’s a sample of what I wrote:
Read Psalm 4
Waiting is hard work!
Sitting in a “waiting” room mindlessly thumbing through old magazines as you wait for the nurse to call out the name of your sick child. The numbness of waiting for [...]

• Ten benefits of a recession

Michael Hyatt is the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, and his From Where I Sit blog always has something of interest to writers—and normal people. I especially appreciated his Ten Benefits of a Recession:
1. It causes you to get more creative.
2. It forces you to make the tough decisions.
3. It thins out the [...]