Proverbs 365 - July Review

December 17th, 2010

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Have you ever heard of stores and shopping centers who do a crazy "Christmas in July" sales blitz during the height of the summer?  Well, this is kind of like that except inverted:  "July in Christmas(time)."

Out of the eleven months in my Proverbs 365 project, I have reviewed ten of them.  But for whatever reason, I never got around to reviewing the month of July.  Now I'm down to my last two weeks of the project, and I feel like I want to complete the record.  So without further ado, here are what I consider to be my top three posts from the month of July:

The writing is perhaps a bit terse and timid, but P1413 - Gam Zeh Ya'Avor definitely represents one of my favorite bits of Solomonic wisdom -- even if it may be from extra biblical Jewish mythology.  In this piece, I explained that "Proverbs 14:13 may be about the closest we can get to a biblical confirmation of the extra-biblical legend of a ring... that would fulfill two specific criteria:  'If a happy man looks at it, he becomes sad, and if a sad man looks at it, he becomes happy.'  ...[To complete the assignment, one of the king's advisors] came back to Solomon with a gold ring... inscribed with this simple phrase:  "Gam zeh ya'avor." Translated:  'This, too, shall pass.'"  Perhaps you've heard the phrase before, too -- and if you're interested in learning more of the back story or the ways that this story from mythology ties in with the Proverbs, then you should check out the piece by following the link above.

P2521 - Confessions of a Sixth-Grade Stickboy is a very different kind of piece.  It's a short story about a 12-year-old kid who's been repeatedly plagued by the school bully.  At one point in the story, he wonders, "What else is a 'Stickboy' supposed to do against a monster like Tony Sanchez?  He's got to weigh, like, 200 pounds -- in the sixth grade!"  But at the end of the school year, the kid finally gets a chance to get even with the bully by means of a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Using the same wisdom that was uttered by King Solomon (in Proverbs 25:21) and later echoed and amplified by Jesus himself, the "Stickboy" comes to term with his nemesis in a way that restores his dignity and reduces the bully to tears.  But if you want to find out exactly what happened, you'll have to follow the link above and read it for yourself.

The third of my July favorites floats in a yet another, completely different stream from the two entries listed above:  it's about my lovely wife.  I'm reminded to reference this piece now because Marci and I have been spending most of this week nursing children while they vomit and moan and keep us up throughout the nights with their feverish agony... The lessons of Proverbs 31:25 are indeed good ones to remember for any parent dealing with small children.  In case you might need some reminding of your own, I recommend that you read P3125 - Clothed with Strength and Dignity... in the Midst of Scribbelty Ankle-Biters.

Finally, for a complete listing of July's content, here are the titles of all 31 entries, along with direct links to the rest of the content:

I'm really glad to be just two weeks away from the completion of this project.  Then, the process of selection, editing, and rewriting for broader publication will begin in earnest.  But for now, there will be fourteen more days of daily reflections.  So please feel free to join me for the concluding days of the project at Proverbs 365!

This entry is filed under God, The Bible, Reading the Bible, Proverbs 365.