Journal

The HolyJot Blog

Reflections on faith, Scripture, and the deeper life.

Education Faith & Spirituality For Church Staff For Parishioners Self Development

YouTube Shorts vs. TikTok - Good or Bad for Our Attention Span?

Matthew Fisher, a doctorate candidate at Yale, and colleagues Mariel Goddu and Frank Keil posed a series of seemingly simple yet challenging questions to participants. The inquiries were on topics people typically take for granted but don't, such as moon phases' origins and the glass manufacturing process. Some people were permitted to search for the solutions online, while others were not. The researchers then posed a new round of inquiries on unrelated subjects. The subjects who were perm...

Jul 7, 2022

How to Run a Virtual Book Club

The origins of book clubs can be traced back to people like you and me who read something and then felt compelled to tell someone else about it. Human beings are sociable animals. We enjoy sharing our knowledge and experiences with others. It's no surprise; when a book inspires, haunts, comforts, consumes, or transforms us, we want to tell others about it. People with similar identities frequently form book clubs. Some groups only read books by a single author, while others only read books ...

Jun 29, 2022

Bible Study Plan

The Book of Leviticus – An Online Bible Study Group

Today, let’s look at Leviticus. The third book of the Old Testament in the Holy Bible. Did you know that Leviticus has 27 distinct chapters? The Book of Leviticus is the third book in the Old Testament which is 929 chapters in total. That’s a lot of reading!

Jun 24, 2022

5 Reasons Traditional Education Failed America's Youth

Once upon a time, enthusiasts in the United States built an educational system to fit the industrial revolution's economic needs. Fast forward to today, and it appears that the current educational system can't satisfy the needs of our hyper-connected society — an ever-evolving society. Half-measures, often hilarious misdiagnoses of academic problems, blame-shifting, and humbug abound in the history of reform initiatives in American public education. Everyone is an expert in some way (most h...

Jun 15, 2022

Bible Study Plan

The Book of Exodus – An Online Bible Study Group

Does reading the Bible feel daunting? With 66 books and over 1,200 chapters, anyone would feel overwhelmed. According to statistics, 1 in 8 (12%) of Christians admit they rarely or never read the Bible. While another study by Lifeway Research in 2016 purports that 1 in 5 (20%) Americans said they have read all the Bible at least once. At HolyJot, we’d like to believe the statistic by Lifeway Research in that 1 out of 5 people in America have read the Bible at least once front to back.

Jun 15, 2022

Writing

A 5-Step Process to Determine Whether a News Article is Trustworthy

According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, Americans consider a range of variables when determining whether or not a news article is trustworthy. Still, their views differ by party affiliation, demographic traits, and news consumption habits. Overall, a large majority of adults in the United States believe it is at least somewhat important to consider each of the five surveyed factors when determining whether a news story is true or not: the news company that publishes it (88%); the ...

Jun 11, 2022

Bible Study Plan

Online Bible Study Group – the Book of Genesis

The name itself means ‘beginning’ or ‘birth’ – did you know that? This first book of the Bible is designed to teach you about the beginnings of Earth and what God’s plan is for his people. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (1:1). We know from this opening that God is the creator of the Heavens and Earth, which he made for a plan and purpose.

Jun 1, 2022

Featured

The Lost Art of Skeptical Validation

Imagine that you are walking on your way to work, wishing that you had a car so you wouldn't have to make the hour commute on foot every single day. Suddenly, a man appears, rather poshly dressed, and says he will give you a magic chicken. "What does the chicken do?" you ask. "It grants wishes!" says the man, stroking his beard. Already tired from the half-hour walk on your way to work, asking a magic chicken for a car doesn't seem bad. So you take the chicken, say goodbye to the man, and p...

Jun 1, 2022

14 Ways To Engage Your Faith Community with Active Learning Techniques

According to a survey from Pew, although many places of worship are resuming normal operations after COVID-19. However, in-person attendance has remained unchanged since the fall. In the United States, 43 percent of adults who attend religious services currently report their place of worship is open and hosting services, up 14 percentage points in the last six months and 31 points since March, similar to before the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, 47% say their congregation is open, but with l...

May 22, 2022

7 Techniques Educators can Use to Increase Student Engagement

Education leaders and observers are often concerned about American students' performance on assessments. How do American kids compare to students throughout the world? Data from recent international math and science examinations show that American kids remain in the middle of the pack, trailing many other advanced industrial nations.

May 19, 2022

5 Strategies to Improve Your Students Video [Online] Education Comprehension

In November of 2020, researchers from Northern Michigan University published a study centered on the impact of COVID-19 on education and the response from a rural midwestern university. This study aimed to determine what instructors thought and felt when their classes were switched to online/distance delivery due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers devised survey questions further to investigate these notions during a moment of turmoil, building on this group's earlier research, which...

May 16, 2022

Christianity

10 Ways for Pastors to Grow Church Attendance and Drive Engagement

The pandemic brought chaos, illness, and death to our doorsteps at the beginning of 2020. It also brought along uncertainty, fear, and isolation for people everywhere in the world. Some turned to wreak havoc, spreading mindless rumors about apocalypse or Armageddon or just stocking up on toilet paper projecting the world's end. For many of us, the pandemic was a great way to assess our lives and work on ourselves for the better, myself included. I committed myself to becoming closer to my r...

May 12, 2022

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