Wednesday, December 29, 2004

Overambitious New Years Goals

I seldom accomplish anywhere near close to all my goals, and those I do accomplish usually take a lot longer than I planned... but that never stops me from making them :)

1. I want to finish learning Aramaic this year. I've started several times but I found a great workbook this Fall that goes beyond OT Aramaic to the dialects of Jesus and the rabbis. It's very well done.

2. Every day I want to read some devotional material on the Bible, read a little more in the OT, or follow the morning or evening prayer of the Book of Common Prayer. The nature of my job leads me to study the Bible and pray daily, but I want to hear more from what others are saying and praying.

3. I want to finish reading the Qur'an. It's one of those things a person who teaches religion needs to have read at some point.

4. I'd like to read a little every day, maybe 20 pages, or at least once a week, something I don't have to read. I've got a whole list.

5. Ideally I'd like to write about an hour a day, although it usually turns out to be about an hour a week. The Corinthians commentary won't be done by semester beginning, but I'm cranking as best I can. The next contestant is my stuff on the afterlife, which I hope to pitch to Eerdmans before the semester begins. Kevin Wright is going to help me do some research, so I'll let him steer me in some direction with regard to an article unless he wants to work on some of this other stuff.

6. I have several other goals, but I'll be lucky to come anywhere close to the ones I've mentioned, so I'll leave it at that.


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