By Emily Wierenga

EVER SINCE his high school sweetheart agreed to marry him, award-winning author and speaker Phil Callaway says nothing can surprise him.

Yet he was nearly forced to eat his words after finding out the U.S. military is devouring his latest children’s book, Be Kind, Be Friendly, Be Thankful.

“This was much less of a surprise, but a nice one too,” says the Alberta-based author.

The book, written for a California company which markets to 4H Clubs and the military, is about two best friends who are forced to say goodbye, and the lessons they subsequently learn.

“Military families are taxed to the max when it comes to saying goodbye, so a book like this is geared to help them through,” says Callaway.

While he can’t write “Jesus loves you! If you need to know more, call my home number” in large letters across the pages as he wishes to, Callaway still hopes to breathe faith into his young readers.

“I wrote about three things children need to do when tough times come, and the final one is to be thankful for what you have.

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“A prerequisite to being thankful is to have someone to thank, and I pray the kids will find [Christ].”

Some would assume making people laugh for a living is easy. And Callaway, for the most part, would agree.

“I’ve been blessed beyond belief to be able to do something I got in trouble for back in school: making others laugh. If I can be doing that 70 years from now, I will be very happy – and very, very old.”

Yet life has definitely thrown the author some hard-balls, and in such moments Callaway says he leans on his faith to get him by.

“I do what I do because I see the joy it brings to others and because I believe it is the call of God on my life,” he says.

“That’s why I speak 100 times a year. I get tired, and much of my writing has been about things I’m trying to practice: like slowing down, and learning to trust when your wife has epilepsy and your parents have Alzheimer’s.”

Callaway ultimately credits his faith to the life of his mother.

“No atheist has ever been able to explain my mother’s life, so I’ll stick by my mother’s God. I’m so thankful that a holy God loves the likes of me. It’s the greatest punchline in all of history.”

Winter/Spring 2008