Notes & Observations: Plans for 2013

Greetings to all, and happy new year!

In the new year, the material posted here will be a little different than the previous year. In 2012, I posted a short article each day based upon a portion of the text from my daily Bible reading. Occasionally – actually, just four times last year – I posted a brief note about something I learned in studying about the history of the Restoration Movement. In 2013, I’m going to change this schedule a little bit.

Before getting to the plans for the new year, let me first say something about the previous year. When I made the decision to read through the Bible in a year and post daily articles about what I was reading, I knew I was being a bit ambitious. But after finishing it, I am very glad I kept up with it and finished. If I could offer a suggestion for you in your reading and study of the Bible it would be this: develop a regular habit of reading, and then don’t just read – write something down. It doesn’t have to be an article like what I posted here. You could take notes as you read. You could keep a journal and write down something that stood out to you in the text. You could keep a list of questions you have about what you read. There are other possibilities as well. But I have seen in my reading, and I believe it would be true for most others as well, that reading and writing helps in absorbing the Scriptures more than just reading alone. So my suggestion for you is to develop a regular habit of reading the Scriptures (you can use a Bible reading schedule or not, just as long as it’s regular) and then write down your own notes and observations from the text.

Now, here’s what I have planned for this blog in 2013. First of all, instead of posting daily, I plan to post new articles twice a week (most likely on Monday and Thursday). To begin the year, I’m going to focus on two things:

1. A study of the book of Proverbs
2. More Restoration history

I plan to post some of the interesting things I find about Restoration history twice a month (the second and fourth Thursdays). Every Monday and the remaining Thursdays will be devoted to Proverbs. This study will be based upon outlines I put together for an adult Bible class I finished teaching about a year ago. This study should last until sometime in June.

For the second half of the year, I’m mulling over some options:

1. A study of the gospel of John
2. A study of the Pharisees
3. Examples of courage in the Bible
4. Raising godly children
5. Making wise investments (spiritually, not financially)

If any of these look particularly interesting to you, let me know, as that may help me decide what direction to take. Or if you have other suggestions, I would be open to those as well.

Thank you for your interest in the material here. I hope you’ll follow along with the new studies.