This weekend

To my faithful followers... I will likely be unable to post this weekend as I doubt I will have internet access.  However, that does not mean I will not be reading daily!

Stay tuned for a short key verse of the day, and any extended thoughts will be posted when I get back.

Being faithful

Key verse
Hebrews 7:25 - "Therefore he [Jesus] is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them."

Luke
I'd like to think that if someone accused me of being a follower of Jesus, I would say yes.  And I truly think I would, at least in today's society.  However, if I put myself in Peter's shoes, what would I do?  He clearly thought he would stay with Jesus to the end, and in once sense he did, after he got over this initial bout of fear.  But at this critical period of Jesus' life, Peter abandons him.  Perhaps Peter feared being caught and killed, or was it simply that he simply didn't want to be associated with someone who was no longer popular with the people.  Regardless, I think there are a few lessons here.  One is, while it is great to have second chances, as Peter did (we'll read about this later), it's so much more fulfilling to get things right the first time.  The second lesson is to not make rash promises.  We discussed this in Hebrews a couple days ago.  If we decide we'll do something, let's just do it, in spite of the costs.

Proverbs
A house is built through wisdom, and made full with knowledge (24:3-4).  This verse struck me, but now that I try to think about it more deeply, I'm at a loss for what to say.  I'm trying to picture this in my mind... To me, a house is built through love and made full with that same love.  Rooms are filled with memories of the relationships that took place in those rooms.  Wisdom helps in keeping those relationships strong, and so through that, wisdom builds the home.

Isaiah
Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress (33:2).  It's one thing to say that this verse is comforting, but it is another to actually accept the truth of it.  Do I think of God every morning and knowingly, willingly, place my trust in him, that he will be my strength for the day?  More often, I get up and decide how I will go about my day.  I need to take more time to place it in God's hands, because the only way I'll make it through the day with anything to show for it is through God.  Moreover, when I am worried, distressed, or anxious, I need to give this to God and allow him to be my salvation.  I need to let him come and wash over me with his peace.  I need to take hold of his gift of love and realize that he is indeed all I need.   When I ask for his strength and salvation, I need to truly accept it and live in that new reality.

A God of Love

Key verse
Isaiah 30:18 - "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion.  For the Lord is a God of justice.  Blessed are all who wait for him."

Hebrews
I guess I got carried away yesterday talking about Melchizedek, as we read about him again in chapter 7.  Here is an online article on who Melchizedek might be; the author suggests that Melchizedek was God himself.

Luke
I also got ahead of myself on the reading of Luke yesterday, as I already commented on today's passage yesterday.

Isaiah
Chapter 30 of Isaiah (at least the second half of the chapter) was like an oasis in the desert!  After reading about the terrible punishments that God was going to inflict upon his people, the blessings and joys they will receive are quite welcome indeed.  Its hard to read about punishment from God.  I like to read about all the good things God will do for the Israelites, like the stuff mentioned in today's chapters.  For example, 30:21 "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way; walk in it'."  God is really on their side, and it is so easy to see that when we hear about the good things.  But God is in the blessings and the curses.  How do we get a health view of God, knowing that he is above all a God of love, but also sends such harshness as well?

God is faithful

Proverbs
Possession of land was quite important in those days, as the writer warned against changing the boundary markers of your neighbour in this chapter and in chapter 22.

Luke
I hate doing things I don't want to do.  I go about them with a sense of dread, or slight animosity toward either the deed or those I'm doing it for.  And yet, look at Jesus - he sure doesn't want to have to die such a violent death, but he goes willingly.  He heals those who stand against him so that they can continue in their task (see 22:51).  I could certainly use more of this attitude in my life.

Hebrews
God swore by his own name, thereby invoking the power of that name.  If we swear by something, we are taking on the qualities of whatever or whoever we swear by.  Lest the person or object lose its special qualities, Jesus warned his followers to simply let their 'yes' be 'yes'.  If we swear by God that we will do something, and then we don't do it, we taint the name of God.  But when God swears by his own name, he is doubly showing us that he will do what he says.  First, he will do it regardless because he is God and what he says, he does.  Second, he will do it because he swore by himself, thereby calling on his qualities, one of which is that he always does what he says.  Thus, we have a firm hope that Christ will intervene on our behalf, because he has promised us.
*This section is based off an article in the Archaeological Study Bible.

Here is Psalm 110 again, quoted in Hebrews.  Since we now know that Psalm 110 is a conversation between God and Jesus, we can see that Jesus was definitely the one being referred to as a priest in the order of Melchizedek.  And who was Melchizedek?  There is much conjecture, but I am satisfied with saying he was a foreign king that no one knew much about, so therefore 'has no beginning and no end', just like Christ, and so Melchizedek is a handy symbol from the Old Testament to use as a Christ-like figure.

Deliverance for Israel

Isaiah
25:9 - In that day they will say, "Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation."
Deliverance is coming for Israel!


Luke
I'm surprised that Jesus asked his disciples to get swords because later on when one of them uses a sword to cut off the ear of the enemy, Jesus says that whoever will live by the sword will die by the sword.  Wouldn't it be better to not have any swords at all?

Salvation: what needs to happen?

I've already posted on the reading for Hebrews for today, but the more I read this passage, the more a discussion ensued in my own mind.
I kept reading some online commentaries, and lo and behold, there was a phrase in Hebrews 5:9 that I skipped over without any thought.  "He [Jesus] became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him".
Clarke's commentary states that "he is the author and cause of eternal salvation only to them who obey him. It is not merely believers, but obedient believers, that shall be finally saved."  This commentary is saying that we are ultimately only saved by being obedient to God and following his commands to go out into the world and preach the good news, grow in faith, and enlarge the kingdom of God here on earth.  Does this mean that we must do more than just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved?  Does believing in Christ encompass all these good works, or does it necessarily lead to these actions if you do truly believe in Christ?  What does obedience to Christ mean?   I believe this passage is saying that Christ has become the perfect Saviour for us and to receive this salvation, we must obey him.  Obedience means to follow his commands, and he has commanded us to believe in him as Saviour for us to be saved.  He has also commanded us to repent, and confess his name, and preach the good news.
There is a short little compilation of verses on this topic that can be found at this location.  Let me know what you think about salvation and what it entails or requires.  Jesus Christ did say to the thief on the cross that on that day, he would be with him in paradise.  Does that mean the thief believed in Christ and obeyed his commands?

Excuses, excuses

Proverbs 

Proverbs 22:13 - The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside!" or, "I will be murdered in the streets!"

How sad is it when we get to such a state that the excuses we make up are hardly plausible?  And yet, we have the ability and oftentimes the desire to make up such excuses to avoid something we really don't want to do, whether or not we are lazy.  Matthew Henry made an insightful comment on this verse:

          "The slothful man talks of a lion without, but considers not his real danger from the devil, that roaring lion within, and from his own slothfulness, which kills him."

Luke

Jesus' speech on benefactors may not have caught my eye if I had not read a sidebar in my bible that discussed the cultural trend of benefactors in Ancient Roman society.  Apparently, there was a cultural role that some wealthy individuals could pursue - that of benefactor.  These benefactors would use their wealth to gain the popularity of the common people so that they could remain in public office.  They were generous only to serve their own ends.  Jesus is calling us to be generous and kind to others to bring glory to God.  We are not to draw attention to ourselves, and if we do, we should pass the glory on to God, with whom it rightfully belongs in the first place.

 

Hebrews

The phrase used in 5:9 "once made perfect", which is in reference to Jesus, caught me off-guard because I thought, wasn't Jesus always perfect?  After looking into this phrase even further, I realized that what this meant was that after Jesus died and came back to life, he was the perfect Saviour in that he conquered death for us and now we no longer have to die for our sin.  Hallelujah!

How do we read the bible? - part 2

I thought I would revisit this topic briefly, since we've been at this reading plan for a week now.  I just picked up a book by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart called "How to Read the Bible for all Its Worth".  What a great book!  I've just barely started into the chapter on the prophets, but it is very useful already and I would recommend reading it.

Fee and Stuart say that the prophetic books are so hard to understand for us now because we tend to want to read them in light of the coming of Christ.  However, we must remember to keep these books in context, as I mentioned in an earlier post.  These prophets were speaking God's word to his people at a particular point in history, so for us to fully understand the importance of that message, we have to put ourselves in the shoes of the audience of the prophet.  For them, they had an idea of what the prophet was talking about because the prophet was speaking into their lives about their actions.  Here we are trying to make sense of a message that was delivered to a people we have very little information about.  That's why it is so important to read a bit about the history of the people in the bible, so that we can understand how these words applied to them.

This approach of researching about the text that we are reading can be a lot of work, but in the end, it will be worth it, so that we can get the most out of God's word, which is just as applicable to us now in the 21st century as it was to the people who first heard it so many years ago.

Are we ready to be used of God?

Key verse

Luke 22:19 - “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

 

Proverbs

"The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD." (21:31).  God is in control!  However, we have to see both sides of this verse.  On the one hand, we can't do anything because it is God who wins the battle for us.  On the other hand, we have to make sure we're ready for God to use us.

Isaiah

20:3 - "Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush, . . . ."  Is this insanity or devotion?  I certainly wouldn't want to be such a sign for God, walking around stripped and barefoot for three years.  Does God really require such obedience from us?

Hebrews

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." (Heb 4:12-13)

As I work my way through the bible, I hope to experience the "activeness" of God's word.  Through his word, I hope that I can understand God better and also understand myself and my motivations so that I can better serve him.

Key verses

The key verses may have nothing to do with the main points of my blog, as you may have noticed.  What I'm using these key verses for is to highlight a verse that I liked or thought was important but didn't end up discussing at length.

Prayer works

Key verses

Hebrews 4:7 (b) - Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."

Proverbs 21:16 - "A man who strays from the path of understanding comes to rest in the company of the dead." (A call to keep reading and thinking!)

Isaiah

Isaiah 14:27 says "For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?"  To that, I say, the prayers of his people can turn it back.  For example, see Abraham's conversation with God concerning Sodom and Gomorrah, where Lot, Abraham's nephew, lived.  Abraham managed to get God to agree to not destroy the cities if there were 10 righteous people present, and he whittled that down from 50.  So our persistent cries to God can change his mind.  Prayer is powerful!

Hebrews

If life seems to be too much for you, take heart.  Jesus will provide us with a rest greater than Sunday (or the weekend), or even of entering into a paradise here on earth as the Israelites did under Joshua.  Is this truly what this passage is talking about, or is it just talking about how, even though Christ has come, we still have the observance of the "Sabbath"?  I think it does seem to speak to more than just the one day a week, but the language structure to me is a little convoluted.

Luke

Isnt' it amazing?  Jesus knows exactly what you need!  Don't be afraid to ask for it.

Stick with it

Late post tonight!

Key verse

Isaiah 12:2 - "Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.  The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation."

Proverbs

"Blows and wounds cleanse away evil and beatings purge the inmost being." (Proverbs 20:30)  Is this true or is this figurative?  I'm leaning toward the latter because I can't see it being true.

Luke/Hebrews

It's understandable that Jesus' followers thought the end was near.  He kept talking about how the kingdom of God was at hand, and the signs of the end of the age would come.  "... this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened." (Luke 21:32)  If they were to be on guard, how much more should we, two thousand years later!  And yet we continually make plans as though we have our entire lives ahead of us.  We've got one foot here in the earthly kingdom and one in God's kingdom.  A great way to apply at least part of today's reading to our lives would be to make sure we are staying true to God, and making sure we don't fall away, like both Luke and Hebrews were saying.

Compassion

 After a few days of completely ignoring my household duties, I figured I should get a handle on those.  So, today's post will be a little bit shorter.

Key verses

Hebrews 2:14-15 - "Since the children have flesh and blood, he [Jesus] too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death."

The passage in Isaiah was still on the theme of destruction.  I was surprised to see how badly everyone was getting destroyed and beaten down, and still God's anger was not turned away.  Isaiah really has me confused and I am itching to get my hands on a hard copy commentary.  On top of the Isaiah reading, we read about more destruction in Luke, coming as signs of the end of the age.  I think one of the age-old questions when reading the Old Testament in light of the new is, where is the compassionate God who is slow to anger and rich in love?  I don't have an answer at the moment, but perhaps you do.  Let me know!

Also in Isaiah - only a small remnant returned to Jerusalem.  At first I thought, wow, these guys don't get it!  They had to experience such discipline until only a small group of them remained, and then they finally relied on God.  They had the law with them the whole time, why was it so tough to follow it?

After thinking those thoughts, I quickly came to the conclusion that, guess what?  I have God's word right in front of me, too, and I still don't get it sometimes!  I have God's law with me, and I make it tough to follow it.  It doesn't have to be so hard, but as we'll read later on in a letter from Paul the Apostle, the good I want to do, I don't do, but the evil I don't want to do, that I do.  So I guess the Israelites were in the same boat as me, more or less.

What's the key take-away for today?  I would focus on Hebrews.  I realize I need to spend far more time than I do now thanking God for sending his Son to die for us.  Jesus became like us in every way in order to save us from our own sin.  Here is ultimately where God's abounding compassion and love come into play.  He freed us from death and from enslavement to fear and temptation.  Let's walk in that amazing truth, knowing that we have to do nothing but rely on God.

Generosity, among other things

Key verses:

Isaiah 6:3 "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

Luke 21:4 "All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."

Hebrews
Let me begin with the Hebrews passage, although that is the last one I read.  I think what the author is saying here is that, in the past, God spoke to us through angels, and that message was important. BUT, he has now spoken to us through Jesus Christ and, since Christ is higher than the angels (as the author just argued in the previous chapter), we should listen to this greater message (hence, the great salvation in v. 3).

Luke
Note on Luke 21:6 - the destruction of the temple did come about in AD 70 when the Romans came and completely destroyed it.

Isaiah
Isaiah 8:12-13 showed me that there are always people around who want to distract you from the truth and get you to join their bandwagon.
For further investigation: who is Immanuel in Isaiah 7:14?  The footnote in my bible suggests that it was a young boy living in the 700s BC.  From our point of view, in the year of our Lord 2010, it's so easy to look through all of the Old Testament with the New Testament lens.  I would have assumed that Immanuel in Isaiah 7 was referring to Jesus, but I will look into this further.

Proverbs
Proverbs 19:20 - a reminder to keep an open mind.  Criticism or advice is sometimes hard to swallow, but it keeps us on the right track if we have the right attitude.
These proverbs have such good lessons for living life well!  For instance, here's another one: "A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty; if you rescue him, you will have to do it again."  Be prudent about what you do (think before you act).  How many times does a phrase like that get drilled into us, and yet how many hot-tempered people do you know (answer - perhaps too many?)?  We have to actually live out what we're reading!

Life Application
What's one practice that I can take on today or in the days to come that will help drill into me what I have learned from today's reading?  Greater generosity.

Yesterday's Reading

My apologies to anyone who was following the Daily Reading announcement of the blog (top right corner).  Yesterday's posting contained a typo: it said Proverbs 19:1-4, when it should have been Proverbs 19:1-14.

Outward Appearance or the Heart?

Key Verses:

Proverbs 19:11 - A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.

Hebrews 1:12 - You [God] will roll them [the heavens and the earth] up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed.  But you remain the same, and your years will never end.

Isaiah 3-5

Destruction is coming for those living in Judah!  That was my thought as I finished reading Isaiah 3-5.  The nations are coming to destroy the land and the people in it.

Proverbs 19:1-14

Some friends come and go, based on one's standing in life, but the poor friendships mentioned in this chapter made me think of Proverbs 18:24 from yesterday, where we are reminded that there is one sort of friend who will stay by us no matter what.  These latter friends are hard to find, but when we do have them, let's treasure them and not take them for granted!

Hebrews 1:10-14/Luke 20:41-47

The Hebrews verses spoke on more of the same topic as yesterday, that of Christ's superiority over the angels.  It was interesting to note the same reference to Psalm 110:1 in both the Hebrews and Luke passages for today, but used for slightly different purposes.  The use of this passage in Hebrews directly suggests that God was speaking to Jesus when he said "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."  The passage in Luke used this phrase to also assert Jesus' authority as God's Son, but I have always found that passage to be super confusing with the "The Lord said to my Lord" bit.   Is David talking to God and calling him the Lord, and then calling himself my Lord?  Based on a little bit of research, that's not what is happening.  God is telling Jesus, and somehow David is privy to the conversation, that God will make Jesus' enemies a footstool.  So both of these passages use the Psalm 110:1 reference to support the authority of Jesus Christ as God's Son.

Life Application

The outward appearance is of no account; the inner heart of a person is what matters.  The verses in Proverbs and Isaiah spoke to this idea.  For example, the women of Zion mentioned in Isaiah 3 certainly received what they deserved, since they only put confidence in the outward appearance, which will one day fail everyone.  I enjoyed the description of these women: "The women of Zion are haughty, walking along with outstretched necks, flirting with their eyes, tripping along with mincing steps, with ornaments jingling on their ankles."   Don't be like these women, or you might turn bald!

Old Testament theology

Reading the Old Testament can be difficult sometimes because we are more familiar with the New Testament.  An easy approach to identifying key ideas in Old Testament passages and books is called the kerygmatic/confession approach, which was described most in depth by the theologian Gerhard von Rad.  This approach uses a list of confessions used by the Jewish people on a regular basis.  Use this approach by identifying which items, or confessions, are present in the particular OT passage you are looking at.
The confessions are as follows:
-creation
-ancestors/patriarchs
-Egypt/Exodus
-Sinai
-wilderness
-conquest
-Mt. Zion
-David
-the prophets
-exile
-restoration

You may see me use some of these terms when providing some thoughts on the OT passages.  Not all of these confessions will be present in every book of the OT, but they work together to tie the entire OT together as one great work.

Humble yourself

This is it!  What have I discovered on day one of reading the entire bible?  A lot, so it would seem.  It's going to be difficult to keep my thoughts to a manageable length.  There's so much to be learned from God's word!  It's helpful to have a study bible to work through that will give you some context as to what a particular passage is talking about, or even provide cross-references that can point you to other passages in the bible that talk about the same issue.  I am using the Archaeological Study Bible (I am a history nerd), which uses the NIV (New International Version) translation.  Even if your bible does not contain these handy tools, you can find them online in a number of places.  My favourite bible website is bible.cc.  This website has numerous translations - even ones in different languages - as well as commentaries, maps, articles, and superb cross-referencing.

Key verses:
Luke 20:38 - He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.

Isaiah 2:22 - Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils.  Of what account is he?

Luke 20:27-40
One of the first things I wondered about when reading this passage was why have this crazy law making this woman marry a bunch of different men??  I found out that the levirate law originated from the patriarchal period and was fairly common among a variety of cultures in that day.  This law was so important because the need to procreate and continue the family line was necessary when a nation's population was so small.  Israel was in such a situation in Genesis and Exodus because it was still a young nation.  Thus, if a woman didn't produce offspring through one man before he died, then another man (usually the husband's brother) would take his place.  Moreover, a childless widow was basically a write-off in the ancient days because no one was around to care for her.

Jesus' answer to the Sadducees required a bit of thinking.  Here is my conclusion: "that age" in verse 35 seems to be referencing God's kingdom to come.  When that time comes, we'll know what the marriage relationship is trying to portray and we won't need to take part in that relationship with one specific person.  Rather, we'll all be in intimate relationship with each other.  Each of our love relationships here on earth represent one facet of the love God feels for each one of us.  Parent-child, husband-wife, brother-sister, they all mirror some part of the larger whole that God has planned for us.

In the face of the Sadducees' non-belief in life after death, Jesus stressed the importance and truth about eternal life through him.

Hebrews 1:1-9
This passage clearly asserted Christ's authority over the angels.  Many Jews in the New Testament age and before then believed in the supremacy and importance of angels.  The author needed to debunk this myth by illustrating, through the Old Testament scriptures, that Jesus was God's Son, and as such, was on God's level in terms of authority.
A note here on the use of OT scriptures:
Apparently, the most common Old Testament translation these days is based off the Masoretic text, but the New Testament writers were most familiar with the early Greek translation called the Septuagint, and therefore quoted passages from that version.  Thus, when we see an OT passage quoted in the NT, and then look back and find it worded differently, this is because our OT is based on a different translation than the NT references.  I was curious about this because Hebrews 1:7 says "He makes his angels winds and his servants flames of fire".  The passage that this comes from is Psalm 104:4 which says "He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants".  The emphasis is placed on opposing parts of the phrases.

Proverbs 18
I resonated with nearly every proverb in this chapter.  I will make note of just one.  Verse 17: "The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him."  Keep me humble, people, and make your comments!

Isaiah 1-2
Isaiah, the prophet, gave his message to the people of Judah when it was about to be destroyed.  Everyone was doomed because of their sin.  Isaiah seems to focus on the people's sin and imminent destruction.  However, he also brings a message of hope and restoration by focusing on the coming of the renewed Mt. Zion, God's holy hill.

Life application
From today's reading, I have learned some things that I can apply to my own life.  The main lesson is, don't get too proud, because eventually you'll be brought down!  God is ultimately the one who will be exalted so we should really just honour and glorify him now and get the most out of our relationship by doing so.  We were made to worship God.  We just fight that sometimes.

How do we read the bible?

Before we delve into the bible, we should understand how to approach it.  The goal of reading should be spiritual growth, gained by a better understanding of God's message to His people throughout history.  The words contained in the bible can speak to us even though they are thousands of years old.  We just have to have the right mindset.

We should keep in mind that the bible was written at specific points in history, in a specific culture, for specific people.  To get the most out of the message, we need to understand what was going on at that point in time, what the people were thinking and feeling, what the writer was thinking when he was composing his text.  The scriptures were not addressed specifically to us in our time period, but the wonder of God's message is that if we look at it appropriately, we can see what He said and did for those people in their time.  From that, we can understand how He will work for us in our time, because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Our God and His promises do not change.

As we progress through the reading plan, we'll all get some great practice at reading the bible critically.  I look forward to doing this with you!

9 Month Bible Reading Plan

The reading plan that I will be following is now published.  See the 9 Month Bible Reading Plan tab at the top of the page.  This way, you can all follow along with me as we discover the bible together!

Two days to go

I'm clearly being tested here - only now am I beginning to realize what I've gotten myself into....  One post a day regarding my thoughts on five chapters of the bible?  Bear with me while I pull up my socks, settle into a comfy chair, and start reading.  Two days to go!

The best laid plans...

After a full day of staying on the couch due to illness, I am realizing that the best laid plans of men sometimes aren't always the plans that get carried out.  Not that I didn't know this before, but I am now reminded of this fact.  Somehow reality dampens our dreams a little bit.  On the other hand, reality is so full of both good and bad things that the badness just makes the good stuff all that much better.  All that to say, I'm thankful to be alive and well, and am still raring to go for the 19th!

The real reason for this blog.

As we know, I wanted to write.  What to write about?  It's a burdensome question, and one that I didn't have an answer for for the longest time.  About a week ago or so, it came to me!  I was hoping to lead a small group this year at the church I go to, but decided I would really be too busy if I took that on, along with all the other responsibilities I have.  I have some great ideas about what I would have done, and I didn't want to give them up.  One idea was leading a group that was focused on reading through the entire Christian bible (I am a Christian) in nine months (the basic duration of the ministry year at our church).  Instead of leading an entire group of people who would be doing this, I thought I would give my reading plan a trial run on my own.  Thus, for the next nine months, starting September 19, 2010, I will be reading through the entire bible and blogging about this experience.  I figured I should start the blog up a few days early to familiarize myself with the process.

One of my friends mentioned the other day that the question he always asks before becoming involved in anything long term is "How will this look in February?"  For example, he said, if his girls wanted to get a dog, he wondered "How would that work in February, when it is freezing out and the ground is covered in snow and I have to go out and walk the dog?"

I find myself asking that very question about this endeavour: "How will this work out in February, when I'm swamped with school work, trying to maintain full time hours, volunteering at my church, skiing every weekend, and running a household?"  I must admit that the outlook doesn't look too bright at that time, but I believe that any time spent reading God's word is time well invested.  I hope you'll follow me on this journey through the bible and perhaps offer some insights of your own.  I'll post the reading plan in a few days.

Changing templates

Stay tuned for new themes to the website.  I still haven't decided what I like best, so for the first few days, the site may constantly look different.  Change isn't always easy, but bear with me and I'm sure it'll all work out in the end.

Up and running

Well, this blog is my first real attempt into the internet world of sharing your thoughts with anyone who stumbles across your page out of the billions that are out there. However, since I want to prove to myself and anyone else who cares to follow me that I can write and want to write, I have decided to start up this blog. Before delving into this new adventure and further, I will give a bit of history about what I intend to do with this blog and why the URL is what it is.

First off, I am interested in writing and have been since I can remember. Right now I'm recalling my days as a child in grade school, writing stories about my imaginary pet dinosaur, or stories based on stories that I'd read, or new mysteries that I made up and thought were cool, but probably weren't so genius after all. I haven't written much in the past while, however, what with university, marriage, working full time, and volunteering. Life tends to get a little busy here and there. Lately I have been thinking about what's important to me, and I realized that writing really is something I care about. I like trying to think up the best way to craft a sentence, even if it isn't always grammatical correct, though grammar and spelling are two things I am keen on getting right. If you're reading this and find a mistake, let me know and I may make corrections! Anyway, I digress. I like writing, so I thought that starting a blog would ensure that I stay on top of writing.

The funny thing is, I was always against people blogging when this new practice first came out. Typically, I'm one to avoid jumping on bandwagons. As a matter of fact, I'm still not on facebook. My thoughts are, Why bother posting thoughts on the internet for all to see? Who even cares about what I have to say? If they do care, why don't they take the time to come and talk to me? I couldn't see anybody who doesn't know me care about what I have to say. Even now I'm a little skeptical, but perhaps I'll be proven wrong. Consider this an experiment.

Now, as for why the URL is anemoi15: there are too many people in this world! One of the downfalls in not creating a blog as soon as possible is that now any cool URL is taken. Nonetheless, anemoi15 still somewhat captures what I'm hoping to do with this site. Anemoi is the Ancient Greek word for winds. This word is specifically used for the wind gods, but I'm going just for winds in general, as I don't believe that there are gods over the wind. In fact, I believe there is just one God and he's in control of the wind and everything else, but more on that at a later date. I see wind as similar to my thoughts. You can see the effects of the wind but you can't see the wind. In the same way, I and others can see the effects of what I am thinking, particularly if I end up posting about it, but you can't see into my brain and actually view my thoughts. The 15 comes in as being my favourite number, and anemoi on its own wasn't available. So there you have it, anemoi15.blogspot.com.

That's that! I hope you've enjoyed the first post!