I know I am not alone. This week between Christmas and New Year’s is a blur. Each day easily eases into the next. No routine. No expectations. No schedule. What’s the date? What’s the day? What time is it? Does it matter?

There is a big part of me that is starting to miss the structure of a “normal” week, however, there is another part of me that really appreciates this down time. I’ve spent time with family. I’ve seen friends. I have eaten whatever I’ve wanted, pretty much whenever I wanted to eat it. The pace is slow and I am here for it.

I wrote earlier this week about how I spent time reflecting on the day after Christmas of the things God was teaching me the last few weeks of this holiday season. (You can read those thoughts here) Now, as this year ends and 2025 begins, I am finding my thoughts turning to resolutions.

I don’t like that word, resolutions. But I do like the idea of beginning again. My God is all about new beginnings. He gives us new sunrises each mornings to celebrate the faithfulness of His character as each new day dawns with opportunities to start over. He forgives my sins. He renews my spirit. He beckons my soul. Over and over again. Day by day morphs into year by year as I learn to walk in His ways

Not only does He mark days and seasons, He also provides other calendar markers. In His word, He gives His people festivals to celebrate and sacraments to consider. He knows we need reminders and bigger opportunities to consider our ways, confess our sins and to commence deeper dedication. While NYE is not a Biblical holiday, it does afford His people a time to embrace new beginnings with Him.

Yes, I want to eat better, get more exercise and lose some pounds in the new year. Maybe I will make a resolution or set a goal or two in an effort to make those things happen in the new year. Yes, I see value in picking a word or phrase to motivate me on to bigger and better things in the new year. Maybe I will even select a Bible verse or passage to pursue through memorization and meditation in the new year.

However, as I have prayed and been prompted by the Holy Spirit, there are some definite disciplines I want to deepen in 2025. I want these things to be more than a resolution, a goal, a word, a phrase, or a motivation. In the new year, I want to go deeper in His word and in my relationship with Him. I know I need to pursue Him better and that means I need to do new things, or at least old things in new ways.

Recently, a good friend and I agreed to hold each other accountable to undertake the commitment of The Bible Recap, chronological Bible reading plan. I had heard about it for a few years now, but, in all honesty, scoffed at needing the structure and insights it promised. I did read the Bible through last year without it, but the Spirit prompted me to reach out to my friend who had attempted it before. I also put a post on FaceBook and found a wealth of information from my friends there.

– I have already subscribed to the plan on YouVersion on my phone and have completed the first two days’ readings/video devotions. I also began a new journal, nothing fancy, but a place for me to take notes and write my insights from this read through. My friend and I will be meeting once a week, to check in and share what we are learning. God’s word is amazing and I know that I need it. I think this is the way that I can get the most out of my reading it this year.

Over a decade ago, before I became a mom of three, I kept a hand written prayer journal. I started in pretty, floral, small, lined, blank books – but graduated to large, college-ruled, spiral, multi-subject notebooks when my prayers just couldn’t fit in the smaller, prettier versions. It used to be an integral, intimate, place where I could interact with Jesus. But, at some point, in keeping up with little girls and their hair bows, I fell out of practice and my prayer life changed.

– I have purchased a new, blue-covered, college-ruled, spiral notebook similar to ones I have employed before. I will use it differently this time. I will probably not journal everyday or everything, but interspersed between my prayerful pleas, I will also jot sermon notes, and quotes, and song lyrics and anything else from anywhere else that God so prompts my heart. I will be honest in its pages, confessing my short-comings, asking my questions, voicing my doubts and creating a record of His faithfulness to me.

To be honest, I am not sure I can do these two things. The Bible Recap is a commitment, a 365 day commitment. I am still not sure how much time each day I should allot for it. The prayer journal will also require more intentionality than I have been willing to give it in over 10 years. I am not sure how either will fit into my old routine OR if I should try to finagle a new routine. Should I get up earlier? Go to bed earlier? Stay up later? Change when I drink my decaf coffee? Switch to caffeinated coffee? My mind easily spirals into various layers of what ifs and how can I-s.

– So I am praying and trusting. There is a lot when it comes to the new year that I am holding with open hands, that I don’t know how to anticipate or what to expect. Yet, I know that the God who has called me to this season, will the God who helps me make a way through this season. He never brings me to anything He won’t see me through. These are the truths that I will continue to intentionally press into – whether it comes to the uncertainty of my husband’s job situation or how I will manage these deepening disciplines. Where God guides, He provides.(Isaiah 58:11)

I am sharing these things for accountability purposes. I don’t want an “atta-girl,” nor do I desire a cheering section rooting me on. I don’t believe anyone should think any more or less of me based on what I am doing. Also, I am not insinuating that anyone should undertake what I am. This is where I believe the Spirit has led me. I am only seeking a place to specifically articulate the steps I am taking into this new year to try and walk more humbly with my God. (Micah 6:8)