A Buck Fifty

Celebrating 150 Substack Posts

There has been a breakthrough! I’m excited to have posted 150 Substack articles and am grateful for your journeying with me. I also have a fresh inspiration for the “empty-nester” life my wife and I are leading at this stage. It came unexpectedly when I met the Cheeryble brothers in Charles Dicken’s Nicholas Nickelby.

The Brothers Cheeryble (left) and Nicholas Nickelby (right)

It reminded me of the potential that characters in a serial novel have to inspire us to see life differently. I have decided to focus my Substack channel in 2025 on publishing my first serial novel to inspire you to see your life in a fresh way, which will make more good happen in your life, your relationships, and your community. So, as we celebrate 150 posts and move into our focus for the year, you can expect the following:

• Regular posts 1x/week on Thursdays.

• A serial novel, posted 1x/month starting in April.

• Special posts with insider insights and concrete applications for paid subscribers.

• Additional posts for everyone on occasion.

With this development, many things will stay the same. This site continues to be a resource for you on your journey with Jesus. As I highlighted in The Attic, this site is an opportunity to root around and find the posts most important for you today. But with more than 150 posts now, I wanted to offer you some guidance to get you started. First, I offer some overviews (like this one):

• The Attic: What We Will Do Together on Substack (August 27, 2023)

• What Do I Read Next: A Substack Chronology (Sept. 15, 2023)

• Cultivating Curiosity: What We Will Do Together on Substack (March 22, 2024)

• Celebrating 100 Posts! (July 25, 2024)

Second, the posts can be divided into three major sections:

• New Commentary equips us to apply the Scriptures to everyday life.

• Compendium introduces us to people, words, and phrases from the past that inform today’s spiritual journey.

• The Next Step focuses on practical ways to move forward in your journey with Jesus.

Finally, below is an updated table of contents of the posts thus far in the three major sections. Each has a link.

I can’t wait to share the serial novel I am writing now in just a few months.

In the meantime, enjoy digging around the site!

---

• I. New Commentary

  • 14 posts on reading the Bible well entitled “Essential Skills for the Journey with Jesus:” (May 30-July 13, 2024)

  • Posts on Particular Scriptures:

    • Old Testament

      • Ruth (Introduction) (Application)

      • Job 38

      • Psalm 19:1-4, Psalm 67, Psalm 106, Psalm 119:1-2, Psalm 131

      • Proverbs: The Fear of the Lord

      • Isaiah 1:1-9, Isaiah 5:1-7, Isaiah 7:5-14, Isaiah 11:1-10, Isaiah 66

      • Lamentations 3:22-23

      • Jonah (Overview) (Before you Read) (Application)

    • New Testament

      • Mark 9:10-11, Mark 9:38-39, Mark 11:12-25 (First of Seven posts), Mark 14:51-52

      • Matthew 5:43-44, Matthew 6:9-13: The Lord’s Prayer (Part One) (Part Two) (Part Three) (Part Four), Matthew 9:12, Matthew 22:11-13, Matthew 24:6-8

      • Luke 12:13-14, Luke 15:11-32 (The Prodigal Son), Luke 15:20, Luke 16:1-12, Luke 21:18-19, Luke 23:34a

      • John 21:25

      • Acts 16:6-10

      • I Peter 3:15, I Peter 4:8

        ---

• II. Compendium

  • Entries:

    • No. 1: “Compendium”, No. 2: “The Lord’s Prayer”, No. 3: “Duty”, No. 4: “Christmas”, No. 5: “Mirth”, No. 6: “Superstition”, No. 7: “Redeem”, No. 8: “The Promise Fulfilling”, No. 9: “The Nicene Creed” , No. 10: “Liberty”

  • Biographical Sketches

    • “Sarah Hale”, “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, (1) “Mary McLeod Bethune” (2) (Spiritual autobiography), “Bridget ‘Biddy’ Mason”, “J.L. ‘Sin Killer’ Griffin”, “Pao’o of Polynesia”

  • Quotes:

    • #1: “Christianity Opens the Enlightened Mind”, #2: “A Jew, An Arab and a Woman”, #3: “Fuel for the Journey”, #4: “Two for the Holiday Season”, #5: “Good Thinking”, #6: “A Christmas Quote”

      ---

• III. The Next Step in the Journey

  • Topics:

    • Life: Who Do You Want to Be? (Part 1) (Part 2), Responding to Life. (Beauty: Part 1) (A Brush with Death: Part 2), My Life: (No. 1) (No. 2) (No. 3) (No. 4)

    • Life’s Challenges:

      • The Church and Institutional Religions: Three Assumptions we make about the church, If You’re Struggling with the Church, You’re Not Alone, What is Christianity?, Now What? Ideas and Advice for Those Struggling with the Church.

      • Other Challenges: Charlatans: (Pt 1: People to Avoid) (Pt 2: Leaders to Avoid ) (Pt 3: Influencers to Avoid) (Pt 4: Saviors to Avoid), The Goblins Won’t Win, Is the World Falling Apart? (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

    • Everyday Life

      • Unexpected Graces: Serendipity, Uber Jesus, The Birthday Gift

      • Elections: A Pre-Election Reflection, Seeing Through Smoke and Mirrors, Somebody Tell A Joke!, The Electoral College

      • Christmas

        • The Mysterious Gathering on December 25, Advent (Part One) (Part Two) (Part Three), Christmas Carol Recommendations, Christmas Movie Recommendations

    • The Goal of Life

      • The Stages of Life (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3), A Christian’s Habits: (First of 15 posts from Oct. 20th to March 7, 2024), Essentials for Following Jesus (Pt. 1) (Pt. 2) (Pt. 3) (Pt. 4) (Pt. 5) (Pt. 6) (Pt. 7)

    • Recommended Reading:

      • “Summer Reading Recommendations” (2024), “The Lantern-Bearers” (Remembering the wonder of life with Robert Louis Stevenson) (Part One) (Part Two) (Part Three), Dicken’s “The Pickwick Papers”, Solzhenitsyn’s First Circle, Tolstoy: Where God Is, Love Is (Part One) (Part Two)

    • Under the Hood: Basic Assumptions of MakeGoodHappen

      • Claims of MakeGoodHappen (#1), 9 Claims We Will Test (#2), A Confession for Our Time (#3)

    • Other

      • Two Podcasts: Interviews of Randy

      • Journal Entries: Questions Worth Pursuing “Social Change” On Writing: Focus

        ---