Joseph F. Radosevich

When I have a choice of several things to read, I often choose the shortest book first. I adapted this idea from Dave Ramsey's debt snowball. The reading snowball means that you choose the shortest book in your list first and then move on to the next shortest book until you go through the whole stack, shelf, or list. This is a psychological trick that I use to help me feel like I'm making good progress through a list or shelf of books. This keeps me from feeling overwhelmed which the books that I plan to read.  I read a 700 page commentary and realized that I had neglected a lot of other reading while I was going through that one. I had a list of three commentaries that I wanted to read next, and started with the short one. I don't always use this approach. Sometimes, you should read the most relevant or important book. For example, I'm starting a 700 page biography of Abraham Lincoln tonight. I'm also reading The Lord of the Rings right now. Those books are import...

I keep lists of books that I want to read. I have lists on my phone, an album of pictures of books that I want to read, and pages in my pocket notebook for books to read. I constantly look forward to what I get to read next.  Here are screen shots of the lists that I keep on my phone. Maybe this will give up ideas for what to read next.

I've noticed something in the news every time I see a politician. They wear a suit and a tie but no pocket square. I think that is a big mistake. Politicians are the main people wearing suits these days. I wear blazers and sport coats regularly as pastor. You can wear a suit, a blazer, or a sport coat with or without a tie. Without a pocket square, though, it looks like something is off. I've heard someone say that a suit is incomplete without a square. You probably shouldn't be too fancy with a pocket square. There are rules so that you don't draw too much attention to it. Wearing a pocket square should bring your outfit together and finish it. I much prefer a pocket square to a lapel pin or a flower. Three presidents who wore pocket squares are Truman, Kennedy, and Reagan. To make it easy, you can do one of two things. Wear a simple white pocket square with a basic square fold. Wear a pocket square that complements but doesn't exactly match your tie or shirt. Grab...

If you are looking for a study bible, here are my thoughts on the ones that I have and use. I ranked them in order of preference. NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible (formerly the NIV Zondervan Study Bible) This is the best study bible that I have. It is so big, though, that you wouldn't want to carry it. The design is really good and the notes are really excellent. It focuses on the themes of the bible and the articles are supposed to be a big feature. I haven't read any of them, though. ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible This is a different kind of study bible. I heard it described on the Room for Nuance podcast interview with Jonathan Carswell as the Jesus Storybook Bible for adults. That fits. It has just a few notes per chapter, but it shows how every passage in the Bible points to Jesus. This is great for teachers and for those who struggle to understand the full storyline of the Bible. CSB Study Bible This was my favorite study bible before I bought the NIV Biblical The...