The Watchman Awards #5 – The Best of 2007

Another week…another winner, or rather another three winners! Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to another week of the almost world famous Watchman Awards. I have been getting calls from all the major news networks and a few local news networks requesting exclusive interviews which I have, of course, declined. Fox News, CNN, Rush Limbaugh, Larry King, and many others have requested me on their shows......

On a slightly more serious note, I would personally like to welcome you all to this exciting new year. I hope that you all find many blessings and that you all take time to draw yourselves closer to God. I know that I made a lot of mistakes in 2006 and I look forward to this wonderful opportunity to move forward in a better, more positive way. I hope to make the most of this year. I am planning to do some things that are totally outside the box. I just want to serve my awesome God in extraordinary days.

I had been planning on blogging my devotions throughout this year at another blog, but have since decided not to. It seems that that site didn't generate the attention that I had hoped it would whereas The Watchman has been growing in readership and subscribers. Thank you all for your loyal readership. In fact, I have been pleased to know that I have moved up into the top 100 blogs in my category at topblogsites as can be seen in my sidebar under the section entitled "Watchman Statistics." The rank is based on the number of my visitors compared to the number of visitors at the competing blogs. My rank has been holding between 80 and 100. Thank you to all of you for making that happen! I actually went to their site recently (which can be accessed by clicking the button in the sidebar) and began browsing through some of the blogs that are beating me. The blog positioned directly above my blog was a site covering Christian Gay issues. Friends, you have to help me. I can't let someone covering such a perverted topic in the name of Christianity beat me! Every time you visit my blog it is a vote in my direction. This other blog was ahead of mine by only three votes at the time I checked it last. How embarrassing!

Please continue to let your friends and readers know about my humble blog. You will see that I added some buttons on the sidebar under the section entitled "Watchman Links." These can be added to your website or blog.

Also on the sidebar, under the section entitled "The Watchman Speaks" you will find a list of the categories on which I have written. I have almost completed my goal of creating a category for every letter of the alphabet. I have completed all but the letter "X." This is where I need your help. If you know of a good Christian topic that starts with this letter, I beg you to let me know. Also, if you have any ideas for names of a category that I should change or adjust please let me know.

Thank you all for stopping by and checking out this week’s Watchman Awards. Don’t forget to leave some comments letting me know which posts you thought were the best. Comments are like the icing on the cake for me, so don't be shy. Remember also that you can always nominate blog posts for next weeks award. Anything posted on Sunday or later is eligible for this coming week’s Watchman Awards.

Well, let's get into it and open this year in the fine fashion of another set of awards. Let's recognize the best and the brightest bloggers. I certainly had more to choose from with everyone returning from their Christmas breaks and blogging again. Here are a few of the best that I have found this week.

1st. Pyromaniacs: The Bible and Our Decisions – “So there it is: arguably the most crucial decision a human being can make, and she's free to make up her own mind and do her own wise choosing — within the moral absolutes God has laid down. And so here we see two major and conflicting concepts of the will of God: the pin-prick concept, and Biblical concept.”

2nd. Josh Harris: Teach Us to Number Our Days – “Coming to a start of a new year is a reminder that we need wisdom. We’re given a fresh slate—a brand new span of time and the question we all face is "What will we do with it? How do we make the most of it?" We need wisdom. Wisdom is the ownership of insight. It’s seeing what is most important, and then living accordingly. Eugene Peterson defines wisdom as "the art of living skillfully in whatever actual conditions we find ourselves."

3rd. Kristina’s Keepsakes: For the Gospel’s Sake – “There are missionaries who today are in foreign jails because they preached the gospel of Jesus Christ. There are those that are not even allowed to own a Bible, but do anyway, and get caught and tortured. We on the other hand have the freedom to own a Bible and to tell others, yet most Christians are afraid of what people might think if they tell some one about Jesus.”