Phil Callaway - Laugh like a Kid Again: Live Without Regret and Leave Footsteps Worth Following

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For me, joy in hard times is great evidence for God and a key ingredient in living a contagious life. Through the years Phils stories have helped me laugh like a kid and deeply ponder things that really matter. His new book is a masterpiece of joy!

Lee Strobel, New York Times bestselling author

Phil Callaway is a steward of stories, humor, and pain. He seasons our lives with joy and laughter drawn from the deep well of living. Splash through this book and see if youre not refreshed. I double-dog dare you.

Chris Fabry, New York Times bestselling author and host of Chris Fabry Live

If Phil Callaway was just another old funny guy, he wouldnt be so cool. The fact that he combines humor and relevant spiritual truth in a winsome way makes reading him a pleasure, kind of like consuming a great vitamin hidden inside a raspberry Gummi Bear.

Ellen Vaughn, New York Times bestselling author

Phil Callaway can find something to laugh about almost anywherehe could probably make hitting your own funny bone funny. But hes no mere jokester. Hes wise more than wisecracking. Yes, he sees the comedy of errors that makes up much of life, but heres the best part: he sees it, not with scorn or sarcasm, but with love. A comedian can make you laugh. Only a true humorist can make you cry as well, and for all the right reasons. Phil is a true humorist, andfranklyone of the best.

Mark Buchanan, author of GodSpeed and The Rest of God

Laugh Like a Kid Again will make you do exactly that. Better yet, Phils genius in writing is that he makes you laugh while you swallow a compelling chunk of otherwise difficult truth. Youll love this read.

Carl Medearis, author of Muslims, Christians, and Jesus

I once got one of Callaways jokes an hour after I heard him speak. I was on an elevator. I laughed so hard people thought I was crazy. It wont take you an hour to get his humor. This book crackles with insight and wit. It sizzles with the wisdom of one who has faced pain and discovered contagious joy. This should be called Have a New Laugh by Friday .

Dr. Kevin Leman, New York Times bestselling author of Have a New Kid by Friday

Reading Phil Callaways fantastic new book, I kept thinking of a quote attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.: I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity. Substitute the word laughter for the word simplicity and youll get what I mean. Phil offers the kind of deep, cleansing laughter you can only find on the far side of real-life complexitylaughter tenderized by tragedy, seasoned by experience, and grounded in faith. I cant recommend Laugh Like a Kid Again more highly. I give it five out of five figs!

Carolyn Arends, recording artist, speaker, author, and Renovar director of education

Loved it! I couldnt stop laughing. My wife asked what was so funny. I read a single paragraph. She laughed so hard her sides hurt, but her headaches gone. Results may vary. Youre duly warned!

David Sanford, author, fan since 1989 (Phils first Servant article), addict since 1993 (Phils first book)

I couldnt put this book down. Phil has an uncanny way of finding whats funny in life and using it to get talking about things that matter most. Read it and be inspired!

Carmen Imes, author of Bearing Gods Name , New Testament professor at Prairie College

Phil Callaway is one of the funniest guys I know, and once again, he doesnt disappoint. His Hawaii story alone is worth the price of admission. Laugh Like a Kid Again doesnt just serve up laughs but also a much-needed dish of poignancy.

Mike Yorkey, coauthor of The Shot Caller and one of Phils golf buddies

While I was reading this book, geese tromped up and down my arms and waddled across the back of my neck leaving proverbial bumps in their wake. We learn best when our minds are open, our hearts are wide and our lungs are filled with uproarious delight. Phil says, May we spend more time looking up than looking back. Im definitely up for that.

B.J. Taylor, author of Charlie Bear, Guideposts writer, and prolific Chicken Soup for the Soul contributor

Phil Callaway understands something about Jesus that few others doHes really, really funny, because He invented that whole humor thing. Phil is a master at whisking together the water-and-oil of grief and laughter. These stories are vivid, visceral, and unforgettable. You will taste and see the raw beauty of Gods heart when you least expect it.

Rick Lawrence, editor of the Jesus-Centered Bible and author of The God Who Fights for You

A lifeline of happiness! Humor is the towrope that raises us out of the waves onto the wakeboard of lifeand Phil Callaway is a high-powered motor boat of hilarity that will help you giggle, chuckleeven laugh out loud for joy.

Pam and Bill Farrel, authors of Men Are Like Waffles, Women Are Like Spaghetti and Red-Hot Monogamy

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HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE , OREGON

W hen I was four, I told my mother, I wanna grow up and be a comedian.

She thought about that and said, Well, Son, you cant do both.

She was right. You cant grow up and do what I do. Each day I go looking for something that will deliver a shot of hope and a smidge of joy to those who read my books and tune in to the radio show Laugh Again .

I couldnt know how badly Mom would need that hope. Abused as a child, she spent an excessive amount of my boyhood sick. Thats what they called it back then. Im told I would bounce into her bedroom, Tigger-like, and say funny things and make funny facesanything to coax a smile. If I got it right, she would giggle, crawl out of bed, and make me lunch. It was my first paying gig, I suppose.

Laughter is good medicine for the depressed and anxious. The science on this is airtight. But in time I discovered firsthand that as great a gift as laughter is, the more we age, the more elusive it becomes.

I sometimes ask audiences, How many of you have been doing too much laughing lately? In a crowd of three hundred, just one or two hands go up. If kids are present, most put both hands in the air, then look at their parents to see if theyll be sentenced to a timeout. Of course, they dont have jobs yet, or spouses, or deadlines, or in-laws, or mortgages, or Facebook, or dead skunks in their trunks (long story). We all love to find laughter, but life has a way of hiding it from us.

When our kids were small, my wife, Ramona, was tested for Huntingtons disease, a fatal hereditary disorder. Three of her siblings had been diagnosed with it. Grand mal seizures were taking hold of her. Every half hour. I was a comedian, but laughter vanished from our home. Bitterness arrived. This lethal companion yanked us into a downward spiral. The journey back was a long one. Were still on it.

One night after I spoke somewhere, a young woman came to me and lifted her denim sleeve. Crisscrossing her wrist were scars, some of them fresh. I wouldnt be alive if it werent for the message God has given you, she said. Would you put it in a book? Please? For her, laughter was a windshield wiper. It hadnt stopped the rain, but it allowed her to keep going.

More than anything, my relationship with Jesus of Nazareth has kept me going. Im not a preacher like my dad, but youll likely hear him whispering in these pages.

Folks call me a humorist, which means, I suppose, that certain paragraphs may make you laugh, and others may cause your eyes to leak a little. I hope thats okay. Ive prefaced each chapter with a stand-up joke. Some should make you laugh. The puns should make you wince.