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Table of Contents
Read Books
First and Foremost: More than a quarter–26 percent–of American adults admit to not having read even part of a book within the last year.
- Reading fiction can help you be more open-minded and creative.
- People who read books live longer.
- Reading 50 books a year is something you can actually accomplish.
Read the Bible
J. Sidlow Baxter (1903-1999) said:
What is our right approach to [the Gospel according to Matthew]? Ought we first to browse over the latest discussions on its authorship, or gather the available data concerning Matthew himself?
No; the first thing, as with all the other New Testament oracles, is to read it just as it lies before us, and read it until we are thoroughly familiar with its contents. Even at first reading, especially if read right through at one sitting, it will yield much; but if we read it three or four, or seven or eight, or a dozen times, it becomes more revealing and rewarding each time.
So is it with all parts of the Holy Writ, for behind the human penmen is the directive activity of the Divine Spirit.
After reading so many books and articles written by unbelieving “Christian” scholars, it's refreshing to go back to a solid, classic: J. Sidlow Baxter's Explore the Book.
The Christian who wants a solid grasp on the content of the Bible would do well to buy a good, wide-margin (or note-takers) Bible, a set of good pens, and Baxter's Explore the Book.
- Work through Baxter's book while following his teaching and doing the “homework.”
- Transfer everything into the margins of your Bible.
I guarantee you'll learn more Bible from him than you ever would in seminary (and I've been to seminary… three of them, as a matter of fact…).
Marginalia
Reading books is great. Reading and MARKING your books is even better. Like Mom always said, “Practice makes okay.” So, grab a pencil and a book worth reading (not a brain-candy novel) and start working out a system of marginalia.
Notecard System
The Key to remembering, organizing, and using everything you read.
References for using 4×6 notecards as a didactic tool. Ryan Holiday seems to have the easiest system to grasp at first and put into practice. The following is from him (tweaked only a little by me).
- If I have a thought, I write it down on a 4×6 notecard and identify it with a theme – or if I am working on a specific project, where it would fit in the project.
- Most of the time, what I write down are quotes. Or sentences in my own writing, words I like, questions I have, or examples I think might fit somewhere and want to learn more about.
- The key to this system is the ritual: Read a book or an article and diligently mark the passages and portions that stand out at you. If you have a thought, write it down on the page (this is called marginalia). A few weeks after finishing the book, return to it and transfer those notes/thoughts on to the appropriate note cards (waiting helps you separate the wheat from the chaff).
- In the top left hand corner of each card, put a theme or category that this card belongs to.
- Helpful tip: If you end up using the back of the card (I do it fairly often), note that on the front of the card.
- Periodically go back through the cards.
**Reference:
- Index Card Example: image
Notes
Notes and quotes from books I'm reading… maybe. Might not… I might just ditch this and focus on notecards… dunno. But here it is if we want it.