• Respect: Joseph respected God’s authority.
• Wisdom: Joseph was wise and knew his wisdom came from God.
• Grace: Joseph practiced grace in his relationships.
• Destiny: Joseph had a great sense of destiny and purpose that came from God.
• Perspective: Joseph’s perspective of life started with the sovereignty of God.

Josh Hamilton, a Texas Rangers outfielder and author of Beyond Belief (FaithWords), has made a believer out of ESPN The Magazine.

In the Dec. 15 issue of the sports publication, Hamilton was spotlighted as “possibly the most inspirational story of 2008.”

Week ending Dec. 19

Christian romance novelist Kristy Dykes helped write a last, real-life love story before her death—involving her husband Milton.

Having journaled movingly about Kristy’s battle with brain cancer at her Web site—she died in July, aged 56—Milton has recently posted about his unexpectedly falling in love again… with someone Kristy had said would be a perfect match for him, during her illness.

Yes, Dr. Phil, there is a Santa Claus.

Dressed up as St. Nick, Ed Butchart—author of More Pages From the Red Suit Diaries (Revell/Baker Publishing Group)—recently gave away 300 copies of the book on Dr. Phil.

Christian Retail Offers For the week of Dec. 14

Bible offers were a focus, with Mardel Christian Education & Supply tagging Zondervan’s New International Version of the Life Application Study Bible at $29.99--$40 less than the regular price. The chain also cut the price of Zondervan’s complete Inspired By… The Bible Experience Bible by $65, to $59.99.

Parable stores were offering 20% or more off selected study Bibles, while also reminding shoppers that “Fiction makes a great gift.” Karen Kingsbury’s Every Now & Then (Zondervan) headlined the titles on offer at discount, priced at $9.97 (list price $14.99)

Mardel also promoted a 25% saving on all nativity sets, excluding Willow Tree editions, through Dec. 20.

Jon & Kate Plus 8—the hit reality TV series on TLC about the Gosselin family, consisting of parents Jon and Kate, their fraternal twin girls and sextuplets—had an addition in a recent episode, but it's not what you're thinking.

In the Dec. 1 episode titled “It’s a Book,” Zondervan publicist Karen Campbell tagged along with the family as the show’s crew followed them to New York City for the Multiple Blessings media tour, with stops at the studios of Good Morning America and Fox & Friends as well as a taping with The 700 Club.

Multiple Blessings: Surviving to Thriving With Twins and Sextuplets—by Jon and Kate Gosselin and co-written by Beth Carson—was released by Zondervan Oct. 14. The book already has nearly 300,000 copies in print, and was in its seventh printing.

“Planning the tour was more time consuming than it seemed on the show,” said Campbell, noting that she was “too busy to stop and take pictures” with the famous family. “It’s a lot of work to make sure 10 people get to where they need to be on time. But it all went smoothly—not a single hiccup.”

Campbell was acknowledged on-camera during the episode, although she didn’t have any speaking parts. “I actually did tell one of the (Gosselin) girls that one of the books Kate signed was for my mom while I was on camera,” Campbell said. “It’s a show about the Gosselins, so I wasn’t expecting to talk on camera. I was happy there was an entire episode dedicated to Multiple Blessings. ”

Campbell was the lone Zondervan representative during the Oct. 16 taping. “They were great,” she said. “Jon and Kate were very friendly. It was nice to finally meet them after all the e-mails and phone calls, and the kids were just adorable.”

Get ready to set your DVRs for the upcoming 2008 Billy Graham Christmas Special With Franklin Graham. The 60-minute special starts airing on seven national networks and in 150 markets in the U.S. and Canada Dec. 6 and will be airing through Dec. 14th.

A host of musical guests will be debuting world premieres of their Christmas music videos, including Steven Curtis Chapman ("Miracle of Christmas"), Ricky Skaggs ("Go Thee Down"), Nicole C. Mullen ("Lamb of God") and Erin O'Donnell ("Mary, Did You Know?"). And in a blast from 1977 Billy Graham Christmas Special past, June and Johnny Cash perform "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day."

Also featured are inspirational messages and testimonies from Franklin Graham, evangelist RV Brown and Steven Curtis Chapman, as well as footage from vintage Billy Graham Christmas TV specials.

For more information on TV stations and air times, or to order a copy of the Jan. 5 DVD release of the Christmas special, visit www.billygraham.org/TV.

Christian Retail Offers For the week of Dec. 7

Online specials led the way, with Standard Publishing offering 20% savings on any Bible at its Web site. The promotion  spotlighted the Standard Full Color Bible, with its 12 different color-coded themes including Love, Salvation and Discipleship.

Christian Book Distributors offered 10% orders of $50 or more through Dec. 11, while its “Midweek Markdowns” ranged from a faux wood musical holy family for $19.99 instead of the usual $31.99, to a mini gingerbread house kit cut from $5.99 to 99 cents.

CVC Christian Bookcenters focused on guys, promoting “Gifts For Him” suggestions that included the three-part “Left Behind” DVD set for $14.98 as the Deal of the Week and Dicksons’ sage green/honey gold diagonal  crosses tie for $7.99 instead of $18.99.

The CLC email also included a 20% discount coupon--the same reduction offered in select Bibles for children, tweens and teens at Parable. Its promotion focused on “Christ-centered gifts for little hearts,” including The Berenstain Bears and the Golden Rule, one of the new Zondervan releases, for $2.97 rather than $3.99.

Mardel was promoting free Youth Pastor Plus kits, available in-store only. New Christmas music priced at $9.99 included Casting Crowns’ Peace on Earth and Barlow Girl’s Home for Christmas. Select framed art was on offer with savings of more than $200.

Not surprisingly, the latest DVD release in the “Narnia” series led the way, offered for $19.99 by Mardel Christian & Education Supply and CLC Christian Bookcenter, while Parable stores took a further two cents off its sticker price. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is regularly priced at $29.99.

It’s the season for list making, so no surprise that there’s a variety to ponder in the Christian products world.

CBA Training and Consulting Manager Mike Hockett suggests ways that retailers can make the most of coupons in a piece about “The Shift to Thrift.”

The growing importance of digital content isn’t a surprise to anyone, by now, but that trend is shaking up the publishing world in more ways than one. It’s challenging the traditional partnership between publishers and retailers, according to one observer.