“For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:6

Wind chills in the teens. Slush and freezing rain. Did someone shovel Grandma’s driveway? Panic mode at the grocery store. Is there enough bread, milk and toilet paper? Salt trucks and school delays. Who is putting the kids on the bus?

Not to worry! Summer is (s-l-o-w-l-y) on its way.

But summer at our house involves its own set of strategic planning modules. Which camp is scheduled this week? how many days can a child survive on peanut butter and jelly? Whose turn is it to mow the lawn? How to keep the children’s brains from turning into video game vegetable-ness?

Each summer I start out with the plan to keep the boy’s school skills sharp with practice worksheets, reading assignments and math drills. We do pretty good……until about the first week of June! Last summer I thought it would be a great idea for the boys to pick a different Proverb each day – write it down – and then write – in their own words what they thought it meant. Needless to say, there were some pretty interesting translations. :-)

The book of Proverbs is filled with practical guidance and one liners of good advice. It is chocked full of good common sense. You can find instructions on everything from talking too much – to being too darn cheerful in the morning. Marriage and dating advice. Work ethics. Discipline. The book of Proverbs is all about learning.

Bottom line – obtain wisdom at all costs; search for ways to live wisely.

But here’s the rub. It isn’t enough just to learn it. You have to live it. Confession – most of my life I’ve been living “bassackwards”. I look back at some of the dumb mistakes I’ve made in my life and wish that instead of shrugging my shoulders and saying “live and learn” – I would have taken the time to LEARN AND LIVE.

“Teach me O Lord to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end.” Psalm 119:33