I'm officially half-way through my Proverbs 365 project!  For the past six months, I've been taking a Proverb for each day of the year and then considering it and applying it for 21st Century living. Continuing my monthly tradition, I'm highlighting three of my personal favorites from the past month (and hopefully, in so doing, encourage some cross-over readership!):

I've been submitting a number of my Proverbs 365 entries to the fiction critique group to which I belong.  And up to this point, one of their favorites has been P2815 - Papa Bear, a short story about a powerful dictator, a secret agent, and exploration of the subtle motivations behind tyranny.  The story, of course, is inspired by one of the Proverbs -- Proverbs 28:15, to be specific -- in which it says, "Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked man ruling over a helpless people." The story ends with something of a twist, but you'll have to go and read it if you want to find out what it is...

On a more personal note, I deal with some of my own issues of gluttony, greed, and social awkwardness in P2301 - Chastised Over Cheesecake.  I was reflecting on Proverbs 23:1-3, where it says, "When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what (or who) is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.  Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive." And as I considered it, I was reminded of the time that I almost blew my relationship with the love of my life... over a piece of cheesecake.  Fortunately, we were able to recover from "The Cheesecake Incident" and even get to a point where we can laugh about it.  But it was definitely a learning experience...

Thirdly, I wonder:  How many of us have ever thought that we're never really ready to be "grown-ups?"  Personally, I can feel like this all the time!  It's hard to live with "grown-up" responsibilities.  It can feel really, really sad and lonely.  Not too long ago, I was reminded of this while watching the film "Mary Poppins" (of all things) -- and the film actually brought me to the point of tears!  But then, by God's grace, I found myself reading Proverbs 18:10 the very next day, where it says, "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." Meditating upon this Proverb, I came up with a post entitled P1810 - What to Do When You're Mr. Banks.  To me, it's brought a lot of comfort; maybe the same would be true for you, too...

For a more comprehensive listing of June's content, here are the titles of all 30 entries, along with direct links to the rest of the content.

• P108 - Family Heirlooms
• P209 - Righteousness, Justice, and Fairness
• P311 - Don't Resent the Rebuke
• P417 - Another Kind of Bread and Wine
• P518 - Hot, Passionate, Mind-Blowing, Biblical Sex
• P618 - Fabulous Fab and the Rest of Us
• P721 - Persuasive Words and Smooth Talk
• P802 - The Lady of Schiphol
• P906 - The Road out of Rijeka
• P1022 - All Yin, No Yang
• P1126 - Lessons from the Long Winter
• P1223 - Escaping the Aura of Egghead Eric
• P1313 - Considerations for Hiring, Appointing, and Enrolling
• P1404 - The Hard Work of Farming
• P1503 - Eyes Everywhere
• P1631 - Faith for the Middle-Aged
• P1728 - Internal Dialogue
• P1810 - What to Do When You're Mr. Banks
• P1902 - The Pace of the Proverbs
• P2018 - Seeking Advice
• P2104 - What's the Big Deal with Pride?
• P2207 - The Return to Indentured Servitude
• P2301 - Chastised Over Cheesecake
• P2427 - First Things First
• P2528 - Preventing Ourselves from Doing Things We Want to Do
• P2616 - The Problems of Haiti
• P2717 - Sharpening Experiences
• P2815 - Papa Bear
• P2915 - A Child Left to Himself
• P3015 - Insidious Insatiability

I've got to be honest:  at this point, the Proverbs 365 project is feeling kind of heavy.  Day after day of reading, meditating, and writing has started to catch up to me -- especially as other circumstances in my life become more time-consuming and stress-inducing.  But I am determined to press onward.  I'm half-way there!  Please know that your participation, feedback, and encouragement is greatly appreciated throughout the process.  I'm still working on July's posts -- but so far, it's looking like it'll be a pretty good month.  Check it out for yourself at http://proverbs365.ericasp.com. Please feel free to spread the word, too... One of the distinct advantages of the Proverbs is that it's easy to tune into them, whenever one might so choose. It's not like if you missed the first six months, then you're "behind" or anything like that. The Proverbs are just like these little power pellets that can be consumed and digested immediately. It's never too late to start enjoying them!