I love planning projects, making lists, and deciding on reading and study themes for a new year or semester. I used to satisfy this urge by making up homeschool plans and imposing them upon my unsuspecting and mostly unprotesting progeny. Now, I only have one homeschool student, and lest she bear the brunt of all my schemes and dreams, I will make this list for myself and for whomever would like to join me in these projects for 2017.

1. My spiritual and intellectual mentor for 2017 is Jonathan Edwards, a fascinating philosopher and pastor in Colonial America. Most people who know of Mr. Edwards have read nothing of his other than his sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” However, he was a much more prolific writer and thinker than that one sermon could embody. In fact, he wrote more about the love of God than about His anger, although he would have insisted that both were compatible aspects of the One God. Anyway, I plan to read about Edwards, and I hope to read some of Edwards’ own writings, at least those that I can understand and assimilate, for myself.

2. In keeping with my Jonathan Edwards (b.1703, d.1758) project and with my and my children’s current fascination with all things Alexander Hamilton, I plan to read a lot of books (and maybe watch some movies) set in the 18th and early 19th centuries (more in a separate post). I hope to post here at Semicolon on Thursdays about something, probably a book, eighteenth or early nineteenth century related.

3. 2017 Friday Night Film Club. Films on Fridays, reviews and afterthoughts here at Semicolon on Monday mornings. I’ll write more about this project in a separate post.

4. Meriadoc Homeschool Library, of course. I have story time every other Wednesday morning, and then there’s just the project of keeping the books organized and checked in and out—and adding to the collection from time to time.

5. As far as Bible study is concerned, my Bible study group will be studying the book of Hebrews for the first six months of 2017. I hope to post about Hebrews and what God teaches me there once a week or so, maybe on Sundays. I also plan to continue Bible journaling, which for me involves notes written in one of my Bibles, not drawings, and the copy work I have been doing from the Psalms. I have been copying one Psalm or part of a Psalm two or three times a week to enclose in a letter to my son. He seems to appreciate it, and it does my soul good to write the Scriptures out.

6. Texas Tuesday. I plan to read a Texas-related book each Sunday or Monday, mostly children’s books, and then post about it on Tuesday mornings.

7. My word for 2017 is TRUST. I want to learn to trust God above all, but also how and when to trust others, how to rebuild trust when it has been betrayed, and how to regain the trust of others when I have failed them. I want to trust more and worry less, even when things look dark.

8. I’d like to try out at least one new recipe each week, but I’m usually more ambitious in the thinking than in the doing when it comes to cooking. If you have an excellent (easy and tasty) recipe for me to try this year, please leave a comment with link to the recipe or with the recipe itself. Bonus points if the dish is also healthy. We don’t do healthy around here much.

9. Daily exercise project. I need it, and I’m abysmally bad at it. Enough said.

10. I have several boxes of books to sell, mostly duplicates of books in my library, older children’s titles, ex-library, Landmark histories, Childhood of Famous Americans, and others. I hope to get those posted online, sold, and shipped in January or February. If anyone here at the blog is interested in seeing the list of books for sale when I get it made, leave me a comment or email me privately. (sherryDOTearlyATgmailDOTcom)

That plus family and church and reading wildly and widely ought to keep me busy and out of trouble, as my mother would say. What are you doing to stay out of trouble in 2017?