I try to stay away from making New Years resolutions. They largely go unfulfilled and serve to only add to a life-long sense of frustration. So, I've resolved to not make resolutions.
However, I am setting goals, goals which can be measured and achieved (or so I keep telling myself). My goals, for the sake of this post, involve reading and books. They are going to be pretty vigorous, but they will also be achievable.
I'll be starting the first of two, two-volume biographies today. First up will be C.H. Spurgeon's autobiography, The Early Years. By reading just eight pages per day, Monday-Friday, I'll finish Volume 1 in the first six months of 2012. It's been years since I've read this amazing work and I'm greatly looking forward to it. No doubt, you'll read some of my findings as the weeks roll along.
I'll also be spending the first six months of 2012 reading volume one of Martyn Lloyd-Jones' biography, authored by Iain Murray, The First Forty Years: 1899–1939. To accomplish this goal, I'll be reading nine pages per day, Monday-Friday over six months. I've started this two-volume set, but never completed it, so through 2012, I'll read both volumes at this pace. This will be a treat for me, since I consider Lloyd-Jones to be one of the greatest preachers of the 20th century.
A few years ago, at the celebration of John Calvin's 500th birthday, many people took up an interest (or a renewed interest) in The Institutes of the Christian Religion. There was a plan of reading the Institutes set up; even a podcast of the Institutes being read. I followed for about six months, fell behind and never caught up. So, I'll be re-trying this again this year. I'll follow the same schedule, reading five days each week (leaving Saturday to catch up, if necessary and Sunday's off, as the Lord's Day, which Calvin would have liked).
Lest I neglect to mention the Word of God itself, I will be working my way through the Scriptures at quite a pace, following Prof. Grant Horner's Bible Reading Plan. As I mentioned last Friday, at the close of 2011, reading at a somewhat grueling pace isn't anything new. I read the entire Bible in 100 days. So, reading 10 chapters per day won't be too much different than that. I'll also be joining quite a crowd of others, following this plan, who've formed their own group on Facebook.
I'll be attempting to post updates on my progress over the next many weeks. And I'll ask you, dear reader, to hold me accountable. Ask me how I'm doing. Inquire as to my progress and findings. Make sure to hold me to this. It's how I'll manage it.