Here’s a basic approach to reading through the Bible during the year.
[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of THE BIBLE ]
Read two passages a week for 50 weeks and in a year you’ll see the “big picture” of the Bible. Bookmark and return to this post weekly as a guide to help you study from your own Bible, or click the selected passage to open the reading online in a new window. Click the links below to read each passage.
The Texas Board of Education on June 26, 2026 approved a required reading list of around 200 wide-ranging texts for its K-12 English and literature curricula in public schools across the state—perhaps the first of its kind in the US. The titles are appropriate for people of all ages to read for a well-rounded education.
[ Read the SemperVerus article, Free Online Educational Resources to Grow Your Spiritual Knowledge ]
The list includes only 20 or so Bible passages and many more non-biblical and classical books such as Jack and the Beanstalk, The Life of Paul Revere, Winnie-the-Pooh, Aesop’s Fables, tales about Native Americans, a children’s version of Don Quixote, Stuart Little, Charlotte’s Web, Treasure Island, Declaration of Independence, A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution, The Gettysburg Address, The Man in the Arena, Great Expectations, Pride and Prejudice, Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, biographies of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, poems by Langston Hughes and Robert Frost, and many more classics. Multiple titles are mandated for each grade, and each one must be read in its entirety. The reading list will take effect during the 2030-31 school year.
“‘You win or you learn… You never lose,’ as the late Italian football player and manager Mr Gianluca Vialli once put it.” So begins the article on the MR PORTER website, 7 Lessons You Can Learn From Losing, According To Elite Athletes, by Ms. Helen Bazuaye.
[ Read the SemperVerus article, Small Decisions Matter: The 1% ‘Marginal Gains’ Rule ]
It continues, “There is always a choice in failure and few understand this better than athletes who play at sport’s elite levels. Day in, day out, they work towards goals framed by the desire to be the best – to succeed by outsprinting, outkicking, outjumping and outscoring. But there can only ever be one winner. So, what lessons can we learn from defeat from those well versed in it? Is there something in their mindset that keeps them on track and committed to their goal, even when they don’t cross the line first—or at all?”
[ Read the SemperVerus article, Kairos: The Wisdom of Knowing When to Act for Strategic Impact ]
Here are the 7 lessons she suggests:
Kairos (καιρός) is an ancient Greek word that refers to a decisive, appointed, or opportune “right time.” It appears over 80 times in the New Testament to describe a divine moment when God intervenes or when a crucial window of opportunity requires a specific, faithful response.
[ Read the SemperVerus article, Strive for Readiness ]
Kairos vs Carpe Diem: While both phrases encourage active engagement with the present, the Latin phrase Carpe Diem (“seize the day”) is about acting on any moment, whereas Kairos is about recognizing the right moment on which to act. One pushes you to create your own opportunity, while the other reminds you to wait for the opportune time.
[ Read the SemperVerus article, Understand the Times and Know What to Do ]
Carpe Diem is a proactive call to action rooted in the philosophy that time is fleeting. It encourages you to take control of your destiny, take risks, and maximize every single day—regardless of the external circumstances.
Kairos isn’t about rushing to force a moment; it’s about having the wisdom and intuition to spot the perfect, fleeting window of opportunity and acting decisively when the “time is ripe.” Kairos is the perfect, strategic moment.
The first principle of living a SemperVerus life is to intentionally prepare yourself for any and all conditions you face in your everyday living:
I. Prepare: Putting your life into proper condition and readiness to successfully handle material and spiritual foreseen and unforeseen circumstances.
[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of PREPARE ]
Notice that the word “readiness” is included in that concept. In his Homeland Security Today article, It is Time to Replace Preparedness With Readiness, retired Army officer and former External Affairs Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 3, Dan Stoneking, owner and principal at Stoneking Strategic Communications, encourages readers to go beyond merely being prepared, and focus their attention on being ready.
[ Read the SemperVerus article, Preparation Warnings from Former CIA Analyst, Sarah Adams ]
Here are excerpts from his opinion column: