I've now officially completed the first full week of my Proverbs 365 project (and am already a couple of days into the second week).  Already, I'm feeling quite enriched by the study, and I thought that maybe I'd mention it again in the hopes that it might enrich your life as well...

Here's the basic idea of how it's working:  for every day of 2010, I'm committing to reading one chapter of Proverbs.  On the 1st day of the month, I'm reading from the 1st chapter of Proverbs; on the 9th day of the month, I'm reading from the 9th chapter; the 11th on the 11th, the 26th on the 26th, and so on.  Thus, by the end of 2010, I will have read through the book of Proverbs 12 times.  In addition to the general reading of a chapter each day, I go into each reading with a sense of prayer -- asking God to draw my attention to one specific Proverb (usually a single verse or two) for further and deeper consideration, meditation, and application for that day.  After choosing one particular Proverb for that particular day, I write up my reflections on that Proverb -- relating the core themes of the Proverb to personal anecdotes, cross-referencing other parts of the Bible, or posing questions on points that perplex me.  Just three or four paragraphs -- 500 words or so -- trying to blend the wisdom of the Proverbs into a contemporary context.  And in so doing, I should be able to finish the year not just with 12 general read-throughs but with 365 in-depth reflections on 365 individual Proverbs.

I decided to undertake the project for my own benefit.  But I'm also publishing the results on-line -- both for personal accountability and for extending the opportunity for others to join me in this pursuit.  You kind of have to see it for yourself, to really get a good idea of what it's all about.  But here's a brief synopsis of what I've covered over the course of the first week of the project:

In looking at the first chapter of Proverbs, I decided to focus on the first seven verses with my post P117 - The Antidote to Idiocy and talked about how the Proverbs played a critical role in my life during some very difficult years, just after moving to Amsterdam -- and how the Proverbs offer all of us a very valuable ticket on the train heading out of Cluelessness...

In my second post, P245 - Questing Repurposed, I mused on the bizarre cultural phenomenon of "Reality Television" and the ways that, for all its absurdity and its vices, it teaches us something critical about the human heart...

When I got to the third chapter of Proverbs, I was hit squarely between the eyes -- personally convicted by some old (ungodly) "pastor's tricks" that I've picked up on throughout the years.  I talk about these experiences in P327 - The Power of a Moment (and please accept my apologies if you've ever been the victim of the ol' "Wait and See" technique)...

Proverbs chapter 4, the inspiration for P401 - Father Knows Best, helped me to realize all of the ways that my father has blessed me with his wisdom throughout the years.  I talk about how our culture is no longer a traditional, patriarchal culture -- but that we need to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater...

As bold as it sounds, I now believe that every man needs to read the 5th, 6th, and 7th chapters of Proverbs once a month.  It's good for women, too, of course.  But it's a matter of life or death for men.  I talk about it in P534 - Death in Your Pants.

In P668 - Ants Are Awesome, I join in King Solomon's reverie for the natural wonder of ants.  I also found a very cool video clip that shows just how incredible ant society can be.  There also seem to be a lot of lessons for the church (and businesses, and governments, and all forms of social organization) today.

And on the final day of the first week of Proverbs 365, my reaction to the text is captured in the title, P718 - Whatcha Gonna Do When They Come for You? I think about all the dangers of life and love and fidelity -- and realize that it's actually a surprisingly healthy exercise to imagine what might happen, if ever confronted by a seductress in some back alleyway.

And that's just the first week.  Further information about the project and about how to subscribe to the project and follow along on your own is included in my Introduction to Proverbs 365 and in my previous posting to this space, 3 Days from 365 -- so give it a look.  And let me know if you're following along.  We had some technical issues with the commenting feature of the new blog at the beginning -- but those seem to be resolved now.   It looks like it's going to be a great year of growing wiser.