Introducing: Swell Saturday!

I love alliteration (or should I say, adore alliteration.) Thus Wesley Wednesdays now has a new sibling: Swell Saturdays. Each Saturday I’ll attempt to write about different things that I found particularly swell that week. Here are this week's winners:

The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones: This might be the best children’s Bible I’ve ever seen. Lloyd Jones begins by explaining that the Bible tells one big story and that Jesus is the hero of that story. She then artfully connects each individual story to the overall plot of the Bible, so kids begin to see God's Word as a cohesive whole rather than a book of random tales. Her storytelling skills are fantastic, her theology is solid, and the illustrations are gorgeous (the forbidden fruit looks nothing like an apple and the people look like they could actually be from the Middle East!)

Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats”: This is an unlikely choice for Swell Saturday. Not only do I generally dislike country music, but I was a huge Bo Bice fan during the fourth season of American Idol and was crushed by his defeat at the hands of Carrie Underwood. Yet I absolutely love her new single. I’ve never been cheated on, been involved in an even remotely tragic relationship, or harbored any resentment towards men, but for some reason I’m always drawn to bitter songs about ill fated love affairs (“The Man That Got Away,” “I Wish I Could Forget You,” “But Not For Me,” etc.) and Underwood’s sassy ode to revenge on an unfaithful boyfriend is no exception. Whenever it comes on the radio, I’ll always turn the volume way up and belt out the lyrics, “I took a Louisville Slugger to both headlights and slashed a hole in all four tires and maybe next time he’ll think before he cheats” at the top of my lungs.

PBS Late Night Documentaries: I’ve had a difficult time getting to bed at a decent hour and I blame PBS for airing such fascinating documentaries at 11:00 p.m. I’ll be just about ready to head to bed when I flip through the channels and see, “Once considered to be the Mediterranean of California, the Salton Sea is now one of the greatest ecological disasters of our generation. Discover this beautifully awful and awfully beautiful place tonight on Truly California.” How can I resist that? These documentaries are short, snappy, and absolutely gripping. So far I’ve learned all about the development of organic farming in the United States and the saga of the Imperial Valley’s Salton Sea. Leave it to the network that taught me how to count in Spanish when I was in preschool to now teach me about the benefits of community agriculture.

The Zondervan Guide to Cults and Religious Movements Series: I have a love/hate relationship with the stairmaster in my apartment building’s workout room. I love that I can burn a ton of calories in only thirty minutes and that I don’t have to pay for a gym. I hate that it involves thirty minutes of painful and boring exercise in a tiny stuffy room with no television or music. I’m tempted to quit about every five minutes, but reading the Zondervan Guide to Cults and Religious Movements while I’m exercising helps me persevere and finish my workout. This awesome series features short books about various cults such as Mormonism, Mind Sciences, and “Jesus Only” churches. Each book is written completely in outline form, perfect for someone who is trying to simultaneously read and gasp for air. The books do a great job of explaining the differences between each cult and Christianity and provide good scriptural and philosophical arguments against the cults’ claims. I highly recommend the series, even to people who choose not to read it on the Stairmaster 3000.

Tuscan Three Cheese Kettle Chips: In my opinion, Kettle Chips are to potato chips what Haagen Dazs is to ice cream. And my new favorite variety is the Tuscan Three Cheese. As the bag says, it’s a “Mediterranean Vacation In A Bag.” Plus, the very chic celery colored bag coordinates perfectly with my kitchen. A Mediterranean vacation and color coordination – who could ask for more?