John Stanko

In 1997, I wrote a daily devotional entitled A Daily Dose of Proverbs.  It is still my most popular book.  I wrote a one-page devotional for every day of the year, choosing one verse from the Proverb for that day.  Proverbs has 31 chapters, so on the eighth day of every month, I chose and wrote about a different verse from the eighth chapter.  So there are 12 verses from each chapter that are featured in the book.

I tell a lot of stories about myself in A Daily Dose, some of which aren't flattering.  As a writer, I try to be honest and tell stories that be relevant to the reader.  Judging by the feedback from readers, I think I was able to do that.

As I have reconnected with Proverbs, I am taken by how many verses have to do with the mouth and speech.  Of course, there are lots of other topics in the 951 verses found in Proverbs, and at one time, I had identified seven major topic headings that almost every verse comes under.  I'm not so sure those seven headings are relevant any more.

The thing about Proverbs is that there are so many topics in each chapter that I can reach the end of a chapter and not remember anything I read!  That is why I tried to find categories and read the verses not by chapter but by topic.  It did help to retain what Proverbs teaches.

I used to teach that we need Proverbs for it's the only book that tells parents that they can and should spank their children!  But there's so much more -- finances, leadership, relationships, reaping and sowing and, as I already said, the tongue.

I had a seminary professor tell us that we should read the whole Bible but have one book that is "ours."  We should study that book inside and out.  We should take it apart, so to speak, and then put it back together, only to take it apart again.  Proverbs is that book for me. What's yours?

I will try to share insights from time to time as I read through the chapters.  If you have any, feel free to share them with the readers.