Happy New Year and welcome to 2026!

Wow, 2025 was a great year. It was great because I experienced a range of things on an emotional, physical and spiritual level. 2025 was a landmark year of travel, oh the places I went! If I had to use one word to sum up 2025, it would be travel. 

From city to city, state to state, God brought all my dreams to life. But let me tell you the best and highlight of all my travels. For 52 weeks, 365 days, I traveled through the pages, stories, testimonies, lessons and letters of the bible. For the first time in 29 years, I read the bible in its entirety and I can only give God the glory for placing the hunger for his word in me and for his guiding spirit that kept me going. 

Okay, I know what you’re thinking. It’s 2026 but here I am talking about what I did in 2025, but that’s because 2026 will be a continuation of the good work God started in me. So if I had to classify it as a new year resolution, this would be it: 2025 I read but in 2026 I will study.

How do you want to grow in 2026?

I encourage you to not only reflect (reflection creates thankfulness and produces joy!) on 2025, but to consider 3 things you can do for personal growth. As a reminder that we don’t live according to the standards and systems of this world, don’t succumb to the pressure of new year self-improvement “help”.The bible encourages personal growth, but reframes “self-improvement” as spiritual transformation through God’s power, focusing on renewal by the Spirit, dying to self, imitating Christ, and serving others, rather than worldly self-fulfillment. 

Maybe you don’t know what areas of growth you want to explore in 2026. Here are some scriptures and practical application you can start with or use as a foundation for larger areas:

Scriptures

• Renew the mind: Don’t conform to the world; be transformed by renewing your mind to discern God’s will (Romans 12:2).
• Imitating Christ: Follow Jesus’ example of love and service (John 13:13-17).
• Old vs new self: Shed corrupt habits and desires, putting on the new self created in God’s likeness (Ephesians 4:22-24).

Practical Application

• Show Hospitality: Be actively generous and hospitable by reflecting Christ’s love (Romans 12:13).
• Be Honest: Allow God to discipline you and reveal hidden sin (Revelation 3:19).
• Use Self-Help Wisely: Incorporate skills like time management, but view them through a biblical lens, relying on the Holy Spirit, not just worldly techniques (1 Corinthians 11:1).

If you feel moved, I would love to hear what God did for you in 2025 and/or how you want to grow in 2026 in the comments below. 

With that, I’ll be taking a short sabbatical to refresh and hear from God because the goal is to always prioritize him, align with him, glorify him and bless others. Although we won’t be meeting weekly for a while, I encourage you to write your own inspirations down. Continue to pray, worship, give, love and pursue God. 

Remember to keep your mind on things above.

Until next time, peace and blessings!