I’m excited that my kids have taken an interest in reading the Bible. Anders wrapped up Leviticus several weeks ago and recently finished the Psalms. I was certainly not reading the Bible that much at age seven. Elena is also doing some challenging reading and just completed Revelation. To help with their reading, Tracey suggested a tracking tool. I put together a quick Excel template for them to check off chapters as they go. I printed one for myself as well.
Reading through the Bible can be a daunting task. Here are some suggestions on different ways to approach it, from Justin Taylor’s blog.
In college, my wife had a journal that she passed around to everyone. Each person would write down their likes and dislikes. It was fun to read because some considered it a serious effort, others merely fun. Every day I run across things that I like and dislike. Here are some of my likes from the past week:
- Lifetime Fitness
- Lightroom for most of my photo needs
- My wife, my kids
- Google Reader - love it but I wouldn’t call it efficient. Don’t forget to add iotaoflife.com as a subscription
- Delta tools are hand for building pinewood derby cars for cub scouts
- Home Depot - paint for the girls’ room this week. something else every other week
- Chai tea - my daily indulgence
- Podcasts - see my previous blog entry
- Our neighbors
- Open Door
- Living in America
- Lost - 11 days to go
My dislikes:
- Really cold weather without snow. How many snowstorms have been promised but missed our house this year?
- The pile - every house has one and it grows until it must be destroyed (or sorted)
- Forgetting why I went upstairs…or downstairs
- Verbing of the English language. Have you noticed how often people use words as verbs when they’re not meant for that?
- Phrases like, “It is what it is”
- Long blog entries
- Anything Hershey’s, except mint kisses
- Recycling bins that are too small
If you haven’t explored podcasts, but you like the spoken word, you need to get connected. I started by listening to them on my computer but soon found a better way to do it, through a piece of software, Newsbreak, on my Samsung 8525 cell phone. The challenge for me is finding time to listen. My best opportunities are while working out, traveling for business, or certain projects around the house.
Here are some that I listen to with some frequency:
Here are some others that I listen to with less frequency:
I certainly don’t agree with everything I hear, but I like to hear multiple perspectives. It’s also easy to fast forward or move on to the next thing. I’m always looking for new programs so pass along your favorites.
We all see it. Those that are younger than us, and for me, that’s about half the population, seem to think they are invincible. Does the idea come from their limited life experiences? Maybe so. Check out this Wii Bowl 300 score from my little friend Watson. Way to go Watson!
Do you have an elevator speech for the most common question asked on Jan 1st, “What are your new year’s resolutions?” If you get tired of the question, consider that the anything that has been around for more than 2000 years may never go away.
It’s never been a struggle for me to come up with resolutions. The more ubiquitous goals like losing weight, reading more, praying more and improving time management are easy to share, albeit ordinary. Others don’t make the final cut because they are either too personal, too difficult or poorly defined. I have learned that objectives or goals need to be SMART - specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. In addition to SMART goals, choosing the right number is just as important for me. To avoid any possible diagnosis of renaissance man syndrome in 2009, my top level list is short.
- Skill - learn guitar beyond the few chords I keep relearning every few months. It may mean taking some lessons.
- Behavior - more regular workout, beyond weekends. I receive a lot of motivation from my wife. A second behavior is to break the habit of vending machines and soda. It’s costly in health and dollars.
- Heart - more compassion and deeper love toward my children, my wife and those around me.
- Mind -be a better conversationalist
- Soul - more consistent prayer and Bible reading
Perhaps I can extend I Thessalonians 5:11 to how we think about our New Year’s resolutions, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”