In Proverbs 2, we’re called to look for wisdom as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure.

But the truth is, most years, my New Year’s resolutions wouldn’t pass the “silver test.”

Even in years when I had a long, ambitious list, I’m not sure I’d say I was actively, aggressively looking for wisdom. So that got me thinking:

What would it look like for us to be treasure hunters this year? How would the year look differently?

A number of you asked if I was going to make a new SCL calendar for 2013. You’re in luck. I did make one! With a sharpie. And it’s free. Here’s January 1. Enjoy.

I hope you start your new year with as much confidence as this gentleman riding the roller coaster.

For the next 31 days, I’m going to write about Proverbs. Once a morning, I’ll share an idea about each chapter. They will be short and simple. And they start today.

Proverbs 1.

This will sound weird, but the best things I’ve ever written I don’t remember writing.

Reading through some post or page, the words jumbled into sentences don’t feel like me. There’s not a gingerbread trail of memory that leads me back to a moment when I thought something and committed it to paper.

Even if you’re not a writer, you’ve had a moment like that. Something has happened that you reacted to in an unusual way. Someone hurt you and you were swift to forgive. Someone wronged you and you looked the other way. Some opportunity presented itself and you grabbed it without fear.

You did the unexpected.

For years I didn’t have a name for it, but reading through Proverbs 1, the answer seems clear.

Wisdom.

It’s overwhelming how available it is.

In Proverbs 1:20-23 we are told.

20Wisdom calls aloud in the street,

she raises her voice in the public squares;

21at the head of the noisy streets she cries out,

in the gateways of the city she makes her speech:

22“How long will you simple ones love your simple ways?

How long will mockers delight in mockery

and fools hate knowledge?

23If you had responded to my rebuke,

I would have poured out my heart to you

and made my thoughts known to you.

Wisdom does not whisper.

She calls aloud.

She raises her voice.

She cries out.

She makes her speech.

And wisdom is not doled out.

Wisdom is poured out.

In volumes we cannot fathom, with generosity we can barely grasp.

Her heart and thoughts are available.

May the year 2013 be one in which you stop and listen in the noisy streets to a voice crying out.

It’s easy to be honest when your blog has 14 readers.

It’s easy to write with teeth and say funny things that actually touch on a delicate situation when you have 10 followers on Twitter.

It’s easy to roll conversational hand grenades across the floor when you’re just writing for fun.

But something weird happens when people start reading.

You get tempted to play it safe.

You get tempted to play it careful.

You get tempted to soften your words in order not to offend. Even if they were the right words.

Fear sets in. Complacency sets in. What could be extraordinary gives in to ordinary. You lose your teeth.

That’s what happened to me.

To be honest, it was easier to write SCL when only a handful of strangers was reading it. When my picture wasn’t on it. When I was just shooting from the hip.

But then it grew. Then it got big and I started to protect it. I started to worry about things like brand and consistency.

So what now?

As we face 2013 down and our fifth year of this blog, what do we do going forward?

That’s the question I’ve been wrestling with for the last three months.

And I think the answer is we get messy again.

We let go of the sanitized ideas, the safe ideas, the easily digestible ideas.

And we open the gates and seize the day. (Newsies!)

We post more. We let go of the narrow definition of an SCL topic. I’m a Christian and like Lord of the Rings. Therefore, I will post funny photos from Lord of the Rings. I will withhold the temptation to find something deep and meaningful to blog about them.

I will post videos.

And guest posts.

And randomness.

And the truth.

When we do something whack, we’ll talk about it.

And laugh about it.

And start so many sentences with the word “And.”

Maybe you won’t even notice a difference. Maybe a post about how you’re going to change the way you post is the silliest thing ever.

But I wanted to give you a heads up that SCL is going to be different in 2013.

It’s going to be messy.

And I think that’s a good thing.

It’s easy to poke fun at some of the things churches say on their welcome sign. It’s easy to question some of the things that make it inside a church bulletin.

It’s easy to say “this is bad,” but it’s a lot harder to say “this is good.” Anyone can critique, but creating is a lot more difficult.

So what does a great welcome message look like? What does an awesome welcome message look like?

It looks exactly like what “Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Community” has in their church.

My friend attended there recently, and I got a copy of what they hand out. I posted a photo of it below so you could see what it looks like, but the image got cut off so here’s what it says:

We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, gay, filthy rich, dirt poor, yo no habla Ingles. We extend a special welcome to those who are crying new-borns, skinny as a rail or could afford to lose a few pounds.

We welcome you if you can sing like Andrea Bocelli or like our pastor who can’t carry a note in a bucket. You’re welcome here if you’re “just browsing,” just woke up or just got out of jail. We don’t care if you’re more Catholic than the Pope, or haven’t been in church since little Joey’s Baptism.

We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome soccer moms, NASCAR dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, junk-food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you’re having problems or you’re down in the dumps or if you don’t like “organized religion,” we’ve been there too.

If you blew all your offering money at the dog track, you’re welcome here. We offer a special welcome to those who think the earth is flat, work too hard, don’t work, can’t spell, or because grandma is in town and wanted to go to church.

We welcome those who are inked, pierced or both. We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down your throat as a kid or got lost in traffic and wound up here by mistake. We welcome tourists, seekers and doubters, bleeding hearts … and you!

Bravo to Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Community! That should be made into a poster and hung in church offices around the world.

I love the thought that a few members of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Community getting together and saying, “Let’s invite everyone to come meet Jesus!” And then they started writing their list.

And it got long. Why?

Because everyone needs Jesus.

Everyone changes when they meet Jesus.

And they wanted to make sure everyone knew they were invited to meet him.

Ever heard of the game “God or Girlfriend?”

Of course not, I just invented it!

Don’t worry, though, it’s easy to play. All you do is take the lyrics of a popular song and ask yourself, “Is this singer talking about God or Girlfriend?” (You can play “God or Boyfriend” with Florence + The Machine.)

Today’s song? “I Will Wait” by Mumford & Sons.

This one is a little tricky because they’re clearly not a worship band, so you’d think, “This song is about lead singer Marcus’ girlfriend who he recently married.” But, not so fast, his parents are the national directors of the Vineyard Church in Great Britain.” As far as I’m concerned, he’s a pastor’s kid.

But don’t listen to me. Let’s look at the lyrics.

God or Girlfriend? Mumford & Sons Edition

“Well I came home”
Clearly this is a Prodigal Son reference.

“Like a stone”
Probably referring to the stone that was rolled away from the tomb.

And I fell heavy into your arms
Not sure, could be a girlfriend or God. Although it’d have to be a strong girlfriend to catch you if you fell that heavy. Probably does P90X. Or it could be about doing a trust fall during a youth group retreat. Too close to call.

“These days of dust”
This is about God and Adam, we all come from the dirt.

“Which we have known
Will blow away with this new sun”
Psalm 68:2 As smoke is blown away by the wind, may you blow them away. I’d feel better if the word “sun” was in that Bible verse, but close enough.

“But I’ll kneel down”
What do you do when you pray? You kneel! This song is about God!

“Wait for now”
Next to journaling, “waiting” is Christianity’s favorite verb.

And I’ll kneel down
Know my ground
And I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you

“So break my step”
God is our shepherd. One of the things shepherds sometimes do with a wayward sheep is break his leg and then mend it. It helps the sheep stay close and learn. Don’t make me quote Isaiah 19:22, “The LORD will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the LORD, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.” Plus, this has to be about God. If you told a girlfriend, “So break my step,” she would sweep your leg and yell, “There is no pain in this dojo!” That relationship would be horrible. 

“And relent
Well you forgave and I won’t forget”
Seriously, do I have to explain this one to you? This clue is 7 times 70 easy! Who is all about forgiveness? God!

“Know what we’ve seen
And him with less
Now in some ways
Shake the excess”
Not going to lie, this one is tricky. I think he’s saying. “You know what we’ve seen, we’ve been to the Grammy’s. I wore pants made of gold and unicorn manes.” And the him in “him with less” is referring to all of mankind, those of us who do not have access to pants woven from unicorns. He is asking God to shake the excess lifestyle from him, but saying “I don’t want to wear golden pants” would make for a really dumb lyric.

cause I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you

“Now I’ll be bold
As well as strong”
Deuteronomy 31:6. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (This is practically a VBS song at this point!)

“And use my head alongside my heart”
So obvious, this is Marcus Mumford singing about taking something from your head to your heart, the hardest 12 inches to travel.

“So tame my flesh
And fix my eyes”
2 Corinthians 4:18. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

“A tethered mind freed from the lies”
You say tomato. I say tomato. You say “tethered.” I say “yoked.”

“And I’ll kneel down
Wait for now
And I’ll kneel down
Know my ground
Raise my hands”
A subtle reference to singing with your hands raised during church.

“Paint my spirit gold”
Wow, I should practically get seminary credit for listening to this song. Here we go with Job 23: 9-10
When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;
when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.
But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

“Bow my head”
Bow my head? Could this song be more about God?

Keep my heart slow
’cause I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you

This one feels pretty easy. Roughly 82% of the Bible was referenced in this one song. But what do you think?

Question:
God or Girlfriend?

I like the Lord of the Rings. If you do too, you need to follow me on Pinterest.

Why?

Because I’ve created a board called “Tom Bombadil’s Fridge.” On it are all the great LOTR images I can imagine Bombadil taping up on his fridge.

Here’s the link to follow the board. If you’ve got an image that should be on the fridge, email me at jon at jonacuff.com.

Here are a few samples from the board: