Reviewer Conny Withay:Operating her own business in office management since 1991, Conny is an avid reader and volunteers with the elderly playing her designed The Write Word Game. A cum laude graduate with a degree in art living in the Pacific Northwest, she is married with two sons, two daughters-in-law, and three grandchildren.
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Authors: J. John & Mark Stibbe
Publisher:
Monarch Books
ISBN: 978-1-8542-4547-2
“Dear Lord, so far today
I’ve done all right. I haven’t gossiped, lost my temper, been
nasty, greedy, overbearing, selfish or obnoxious. I’m really glad
I’ve accomplished all these things on my own. But in a few minutes,
Lord, I’m going to have to get out of bed – “ J. John and Mark
Stibbe write in their book, A Box of Delights: An A-Z of the
Funniest, Wisest and Most Poignant Stories, Proverbs, Jokes and
One-Liners.
This two hundred and twenty-four page
paperback targets preachers and pastors who seek comic, light-hearted
short stories or sayings to use in sermons. However, with no
profanity, sexual innuendos, or extreme violence, the book written by
two Christians in England would be appropriate for teenager to adult
age groups. The New International Version of the Bible and quotes
from famous politicians, preachers, and people are referenced. This
reader wishes all pronouns of God were capitalized for reverence.
With no table of contents or topical index, the book is set up like a dictionary sorted from A to Z. Over four-hundred entries are listed based on the letter of the alphabet, such as Age, Children, and Howlers to Legacy, Negativity, and Sin. Each letter may include a joke, story, pun, cartoon, list, or quick quip, highlighted in various formats of designs, shaded areas, bold typesets, or different fonts. Quotes are from a plethora of individuals ranging from Churchill, Earl of Rochester, Einstein, Fitzgerald, and Frost to Kennedy, King, Lincoln, Rooney, Tozer, and Wesley, along with television shows, publications, and newspapers.
Here are samples of some
of the short sayings:
Intercession is love on its knees working
with God.
Sometimes the best helping hand you can give is a good
firm push.
Our bikinis are exciting. They are simply the
tops.
Adolescence is when children start bringing up the
parents.
If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come
from?
Statistics are like witnesses – they will testify for
either side.
Some people who think they are dreamers are just
sleepers.
Although one has to dig through to look the contents for a specific joke or saying. The alphabetical format helps but having no index makes it hard to look up a quoted line or story. Some of the more lengthy tales are funny while shorter inserts would be helpful for one-liners in speeches, ice-breakers, and sermons.