A Study on Proverbs...

We were looking through scripture to find some verses to help the children in their speech, quarrelling, and obeying...how could we not come to Proverbs?  As we poured over the scripture looking for verses their small hearts might understand, we of course found a ton that apply to us and our daily living.  How can you not love Proverbs?  Talk about getting convicted and getting so excited!  I even found a verse on caring for animals-how many times have I read this book and never realized that verse before?? I am more in love with this book than I ever have been before.  I am thrilled to start studying this book more closely.  We wrote down a ton of verses to write on index cards-easy reference for the family.  I'm awful at remembering references which is where the index cards will come in handy.  As we were writing down verses and looking up different topics-I just kept saying I think we just need to memorize this whole book, every other verse applies exactly to what we are talking about.  I may not be able to memorize an entire book of the Bible-although I would love to try! I will start with just a study.  I have done a lot of studying before but none quite like this, and I'm so excited to begin and to see everything this book has to offer-and maybe in the process memorize some(all???) of the book! 

I am going to begin a study on Proverbs.  I'm going to start with reading through the book and making a list of everything it says a foolish man does and everything a wise man does.  This will give me a quick look into my life to see if I'm more like the foolish man or the wise man and will help to hopefully point out what I need to work on.  I will make sure to post my list on here when I'm done-for anyone who is curious, or you can do your own study with me and we can compare lists!!

I'm then hoping to read through it again and make lists of what everything applies to-again so I have something for a quick reference.  This will be more by topic-such as money, generosity, anger, patience.  I know some of the verses will overlap or cover a couple areas, again this is just so I have a couple of quick references to go to when I feel angry, or impatient or when I need to point my child in the right direction.

I also love a good word study(English was always my favorite subject in school-although admission here I never got commas! They say inserting them when you breathe is a good starting point.  I must not breathe.  I always forget to insert commas and am amazing at run on sentences so please don't judge me, just because it is my favorite doesn't mean I remember all the rules!) I would love to unpack the verse-maybe I will start with the ones that mean the most to me(not sure yet, will decide when I get there), and write down meanings of words and different words that can be substituted, this has always helped me really get to understand the verse and what it is saying on a deeper level.  I did this with James and absolutely loved it, and yes I rewrote out every verse in James this way(since it is a small book), and I had such an amazing time unpacking all that had to offer!  I would like to do it again.  It is time consuming yes-but it is worth it a thousand times over, and it is fun-if you like English!

I write this on here so that I may be held accountable.  This is not an area that I can slack in and I feel at this point in time in my life I need this book so much as it is chalked full of guidance and help! I know the whole Bible is full of advice and I hope to unpack some other books as well-but Proverbs is my chosen starting point.  Again if you would like to join me PLEASE DO!  We all need as much help as we can get, and a good partner is always crucial.  Feel free to comment, and feel free to ask me questions, and also PLEASE help to hold  me accountable!