A New Year, a New Way of Doing Things

In line with my decision to live a more purposeful 2011, I've decided to make a major change in my blogging this year.

I don't know if you've noticed, but I feel like I've lost my way a little on my blog in recent months. I've lost my passion, my direction, my commitment level, ... my voice. I hear that one of the keys to good blogging is to be somewhat predictable, to deliver day after day the same type of posts so that your readers know what to expect. I've done just the opposite of that. Some days you get recipes here, sometimes you read deep theological treatises, occasionally you get humor and sometimes you get the dredges that I scrounge up from the bottom of my brain.

No more.

I'm starting out on a new path today. New because it's not the one I've meandered onto somehow, but old because it's the one I meant to be on to begin with. I'm starting back where I intended to be about a year and a half ago when I began this blog -- on the narrow path, the one less traveled, the one that gets lonely and hard and challenging at times. I'm going back to the ancient path, where the good way is. And I'm going back to encouraging my readers (and myself) to walk that path with courage, conviction, and joy.

And here's how I'm going to navigate this path...

With the directions that are clearly given over and over for how to walk the ancient path...

By walking through the Bible.

For years I tried to read through the Bible with no success, but a few years ago I finally managed to succeed at it. That was a pivotal accomplishment for me. It truly transformed the way I read the Bible, how I appreciate its breadth and its depth, how I handle it, how I breathe it in and out. I love reading the Bible through. It has become a yearly journey and I have no plans of giving it up...ever.

I didn't make it all the way this past year. Truthfully I'm still back in November's readings. But I'm going to finish it up while I start it all over again too. And this time, I'm taking you with me. If you'll go.

You don't have to read your Bible through, too, but that's what you'll be getting here:

I'll simply be blogging my reflections on a portion of my daily readings as I read through the Bible in 2011.

(This is the Bible I'll be using this year. It's a new one for me. 
Click on it to get ordering information if you're interested.)

Each day (Monday through Friday) I'll post a short (another goal for this year!) meditation on a portion of scripture that I read in my daily Bible reading. I'll be reading from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs each day, so you could get something from any of those areas of scripture. It may still have a different flavor each day too: sometimes thoughtful, sometimes questioning, sometimes humorous, and other times more somber. I could write a poem, link you to a video that coincides with the scripture, play you a song, or write a prayer. I prefer to keep a little creative license. But have no doubt, we'll be walking through the scriptures on this blog. That's what 2011 will be all about.

This may not be your cup of tea. If not, I hope I'll still see you around occasionally. You might at least give it a try. Or this may sound just like what you were looking for to begin with. I hope so. I think it's a good path to take for this year. Hopefully it will keep me focused and heading in the right direction anyhow. I'd love your feedback as we go. And I'd love some company on this trail!

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