Welcome to 2026, Friends!
The new year is upon us, and while I know that as Torah people, we celebrate the new year at Rosh Hashanah, I have always appreciated any moment to have some self reflection and readjustment.
The ending of a year is a really nice prompt to reflect. Our fellowship group in Central Texas hosted a men’s and women’s Bible study through Joshua last summer, and one of the biggest themes that struck me was how often the people of Israel set up memorial stones throughout the book. These are tangible things for Israel to look back on as reminders of God’s faithfulness to them and to his promises. Several members of our group began to keep their own versions of “memorial stones.” One member keeps an ongoing “answered prayers” list on his phone to reference back to in difficult moments. Another member was a little more literal and started writing down these moments on river stones and keeping them in a jar. What this has done, through whichever method, is made our fellowship prayer time full of praise and depth and gratitude at the goodness of God. As a fellowship, we have grown closer in community, as we share these memorials with each other. And several members of our community have testified at how much stronger and deeper their relationship with God has grown since starting the habit. I encourage you, as we begin a new year, to take a moment to reflect on God’s faithfulness in your life in 2025. Further, I encourage you to start keeping a record of God’s faithfulness in 2026, however you choose to do that (as long as it is Torah acceptable)!
Reflection over the past year is a beautiful part of the new year, but we also want to cast a vision for the year to come! Yes, this is the time of year when everyone makes weight loss goals, and while that is indeed noble, and I say GO FOR IT, I am suggesting that we look deeper. The new year is an opportunity for a new beginning. A lot of people shy away from making “New Year’s Resolutions,” and statistics suggest that by the end of February, 90% -ish of people will have fallen off of whichever bandwagon they chose to get on. So I am NOT suggesting “resolutions” per se. I am suggesting re-evaluation, in light of God’s word, of your family values and your personal vision. This is an opportunity to ask HARD questions and realign yourself, your marriage, your family, and your home with God’s design and will for your life. It is an opportunity to create new habits (not whole, overnight lifestyle changes) to help you achieve that realignment.
Here are some questions you can ask as you set your vision for 2026:
- What are your family values? My husband and I like to keep this limited to 5-7 overarching values, and we order them by priority. These provide a filter for opportunities that come our way, including opportunities to spend money or engage in ministry. Creating a hierarchical list also helps us to make a decision when two values are competing.
- What does your ideal day and week look like? How closely do your ACTUAL days and weeks measure up? What changes need to be made? (This may also be a change in perspective).
- How have you incorporated time with God into the daily rhythms of the home? What changes need to be made here?
- What spirit resides in your home (Peace, calm, and safety or chaos, busyness, and irritation)? What changes need to be made here?
- Are there any habits that are not healthy, not aligned with your vision for yourself, your family, and your home that need to go? How can you set up accountability here?
- Does your actual schedule reflect your family values? For example, if strong, healthy friendships is a value for your family, how often are you getting together with friends? Are your friendships healthy? If friendships are getting choked out by busyness, is there anything you could say “no” to in 2026 to make space for those friendships?
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but these are some of our go-to’s that help us to be really intentional with our time, money, energy, and other resources. It creates a framework for good stewardship that we use to guide our practical, everyday life. It is truly in the mundane that the masterpiece is created. It doesn’t happen by accident.
Habit Stacking:
I love a good practical tip! There is a reason that so many people fall off of the “resolution” bandwagon, and it is because they are trying to make massive shifts toward a “goal” that is so far off that it is not motivating. Instead, my husband and I set our goals but then break them down into small habits that once implemented will inevitably lead to achieving the big-picture goal.
So, let’s say you want to set a goal in 2026 to read your Bible every day. Atomic Habits (one of my all-time FAVORITE books), suggests a practice called habit stacking. It’s brilliant, and it has helped my husband and I to implement so many wonderful habits. The basic concept is to find something in your day that is a hard and fast habit, like getting your cup of coffee in the morning, and stack a new habit on top of that. This would look like Wake up >> coffee >> pick up my Bible and read for 5 minutes. It even suggests setting your home up so that the habits naturally flow from one to the other. If you always sit on your couch with your coffee, set your Bible on your end table the night before. And if your goal is to read your Bible every day, don’t compound that goal by making it too difficult at first. Read for a couple minutes or for 10 verses. Over time, the habit becomes a natural part of your rhythm, and you will ACTUALLY succeed at reading your Bible every day. The most beautiful thing about this practice of habit stacking is that you can do it with ANYTHING!
So, as we enter 2026, I encourage you to sit down and reflect on 2025 as well as prepare for 2026. Center yourself around God’s faithfulness in your life. Cast your personal and family vision for the new year. Implement habits and accountability practices to build those goals, and be intentional in the mundane. Peace be with you in this new year!
