Ever have a sour day? James N. Watkins wrote the book on it! With his characteristic pun-filled humor, Jim Watkins has somehow managed to put a lemony twist on the serious side of life and called it, Squeezing Good Out of Bad.

Jim is an author and speaker, with over 2,000 articles published. His editorial work and lecturing have opened many doors, but his biggest qualifier for writing this book? “He’s felt the squeeze of cancer, unemployment, family crises, and chronic nose hair.”

The book promises to squeeze good out of those life-puckering problems and delivers with seasoned advice, the benefits of laughter and great perspective (“Is this truly a hand grenade or is it more in the category of a hangnail?”). I love the reminders (“We don’t need to take responsibility for the things that we had no control over.”) and action steps for working through topics of forgiveness, suffering and learning to let God have complete control.

“Squeezing Good Out of Bad” is an important addition to my library, because Jim has added so many seeds of truth. It is a reference book on those days when nothing is going right, and provides insight into the issue of pain. He says Romans 8:28-29 offers a clue: the Lord works all things for good, so that Jesus may be revealed in us.

Make time for this book and receive a dose of inspiration. It includes quotes from Flannery O’Connor, G.K. Chesterton, Cecil Murphy, Henri Nouwen, Philip Yancey, Brother Lawrence, Saint John of the Cross, Watchman Nee, Brennan Manning, and many more. It highlights the servanthood of Francine Rivers and recommends works of other authors. It is not some fluff piece of work, but one with depth and courage.

Need a recipe for those lemons? You’ve come to the right place!

Sally