Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Summer 2018 Goals

Sunday Naps. Every Sunday I listen to my Andrew Peterson playlist. My playlist has all three Resurrection albums: Resurrection Letters: Prologue, Resurrection Letters: Volume 1, Resurrection Letters: Volume 2. In total, the playlist is almost an hour and forty minutes. A good Sunday nap will see the list start over again.

  • Question: Which of the Ten Commandments can you keep in your sleep? Answer: The sixth commandment, because, as the following statistics demonstrate, getting enough sleep is an act of loving your neighbor. David Murray.
  • Few things are as theological as sleep. Show me your sleep pattern and I’ll show you your theology, because we all preach a sermon in and by our sleep. David Murray.
  • Ultimately, sleep, like everything else, should lead us to the gospel and the Savior. First, it prompts us to think about death, that we shall all close our eyes as in sleep, and wake up in another world (1 Thess. 4:14). It also teaches about our Savior. The fact that Jesus slept (Mark 4:38) is as profound as “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). It reminds us of Christ’s full humanity, that the Son of God became so frail, so weak, so human that he needed to sleep. What humility! What love! What an example! What a comfort! What a sleeping pill! It illustrates salvation. How much are we doing when we sleep? Nothing! That’s why Jesus used rest as an illustration of his salvation. “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). It points us toward heaven. There remains a rest for the people of God (Heb. 4:9). That doesn’t mean heaven is going to be one long lie-in. It means it will be a place of renewal, refreshment, comfort, and perfect peace. David Murray.

Coloring Pages. One of the groups I am on in Facebook has a coloring sheet for each week. I believe there are ten left of this sixteen week creative project. Coloring isn't always super-relaxing, but, it is super-humbling. It involves a certain amount of risk: what if I color outside the lines, what if my colors bleed into one another, what if my colors clash horribly, what if I mistake a flower leaf for a flower petal. It involves a certain amount of commitment. Even if I color outside the lines, I will finish the picture. Even if my colors bleed into one another--yellow has a way of doing this with the black edges--I will finish the picture. Even if my colors clash horribly, even if I regret that color choice, I will finish the picture. Even if I make a mistake and misidentify what something is, I will finish the picture. It does not have to be perfect. It does not have to be just so. It can just be. Flaws are not to be brooded over and pointed out.

Reading the Bible chronologically. I finished the NLT Beyond Suffering Bible on May 31. My summer goal will be to read the Bible chronologically. I have several Bibles that I could choose to read. I have a Daily Chronological Bible in the King James Version, the HCSB version, the NKJV, and the NIV. The newest one to come into my hands is the KJV Daily Chronological Bible. Lifeway is/was giving away free paperbacks this week in June. (4th through 9th). I will probably, probably, probably go with the KJV.

Tackling three books from my TBR Reading Pile challenge. My remaining nine choices are:

_ 4. Dear and Glorious Physician. Taylor Caldwell. 1958.
_ 5. Great Lion of God. Taylor Caldwell. 1970. 
_ 6. Heaven by Randy Alcorn. 2004.
_ 7. The Joyful Christian. C.S. Lewis. 1977.
_ 8. God's Word Alone by Matthew Barrett. 2016.
_ 10. God's Glory Alone. David VanDrunen. 2015.
_ 12. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas
alternates
_ 13. John Newton by Jonathan Aitken
_ 14. Living Insights Study Bible, NIV (1984)

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

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