I'm not a farmer. Truth be told, I'm not much of a gardener, either. I've kept very few plants alive in my life. But though I've never cultivated a crop, I do know this one simple truth about gathering a good harvest: very few things will ever grow on a mountaintop. The soil is not deep or rich enough on a peak. Growth happens in the valley. The valley is where the best fruit grows.
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2025 was a year marked by many highs, namely the launch of my third book, Overwhelmed Mom, but also a few significant lows, like the death of my mother-in-law, only two days later. And though I wouldn't want to repeat some of the painful parts of the last twelve months, I know that God used all the valley days this year to grow me in ways I never would have grown otherwise.
I have no doubt that I'll experience both mountaintop and valley days in the coming months. I've been in God's hands long enough to know that I can trust Him to care for me through both.
But before I move forward, I think it's important to look back — to take inventory of how I did or did not keep the commitments I made to myself at the start of 2025. Like always, I set a handful of goals for myself. They are as follows:
But before I move forward, I think it's important to look back — to take inventory of how I did or did not keep the commitments I made to myself at the start of 2025. Like always, I set a handful of goals for myself. They are as follows:
- Attend a writer's retreat or conference as a form of continuing education for my craft. (I had the privilege of spending a few days with my sister in Colorado last spring for the Daughters' First Retreat. It was just the refreshment I needed.)
- Crochet something without using a pattern. (I made a book sleeve to keep in my purse. It holds whatever book I'm currently reading so that the pages don't get bent or ripped by other things in my bag.)
- After a 6-year hiatus, return to making goat's milk soap each summer. (I used this recipe and a few different oils to make six batches. My favorite was a coconut patchouli blend that I gifted to friends for Christmas.)
- Read a stack of perimenopause books. (As of this writing, I've read half of The New Menopause, which is fantastic and highly informative. Unfortunately, I didn't get around to reading the other titles.)
- Take a one-month social media sabbatical. (I enjoyed this quiet pause of digital noise. It confirmed my desire to analog more of my life.)
- Participate in an 8-week Practicing the Way Course. (I completed this alongside a small community of friends from my church. While I thought the content was solid, it was definitely geared to new believers and at times, smacked of Christian "rebranding." That said, I would recommend it to anyone new in the faith or who would like to grow more committed to spiritual disciplines.)
- Launch Overwhelmed Mom and work on two digital eBooks that I have been drafting for the past five years. (I sent my book out into the world. Instead of finishing those drafts, however, I started writing a new traditionally published book that will hit shelves in 2027. Stay tuned.)
Now that I've looked back. It's time to look forward. As always, when plotting out a couple of year-long goals for myself, I've braced all of my good intentions on Luke 2:52--my litmus test for personal growth.
"And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man."After mentally sifting through some trouble spots of my last 365 days, I've prayerfully landed on the following ways I hope to analog more of my life, turning my face to others instead of a screen:
In Wisdom
I plan to visit and purchase a book from a different independent bookstore each month. It saddens me to see more and more brick-and-mortar shops closing. I want to do my part by shopping local and investing in Mom-and-Pop-owned places. There are only three in my city, so I will have to intentionally seek them out whenever I am traveling.
Since books are both mirrors and windows to the world, I am confident that I will learn much as I crack open each title throughout the year. Additionally, I hope to build stronger relationships. I plan to invite different folks — my husband, my kids, and friends — to join me on short trips to neighboring towns to check out their bookshop offerings, giving me a few hours of undivided time each trip with the people I love most.
Since books are both mirrors and windows to the world, I am confident that I will learn much as I crack open each title throughout the year. Additionally, I hope to build stronger relationships. I plan to invite different folks — my husband, my kids, and friends — to join me on short trips to neighboring towns to check out their bookshop offerings, giving me a few hours of undivided time each trip with the people I love most.
In Stature
In 2022, I set a goal for myself to cook my way through Magnolia Table, Volume 2. I had so much fun trying a year's worth of new recipes and then writing about the results that I wanted to revisit the idea in 2026. Only this time, I'm linking arms with a few friends. I've asked three other couples to join my husband and me in a Cookbook Club. Here's how it will work...
Each month, one of the four women will volunteer to host. She will pick a main dish to make from the cookbook and post the name and page number in a communal text thread. The other three women will then select a side dish they think will pair well with the first woman's choice. We'll come together to enjoy an adults-only dinner.
Because two of the four women have food allergies and because we wanted a cookbook that prioritized dinner menus, we decided to all buy copies of Dinner Tonight by Alex Snodgrass, a new-to-us, gluten-free cookbook that came highly recommended by my Facebook community and was on sale this past December. Since we know it will be tricky at times to coordinate the schedules of eight different people, we decided to meet on the same day each month, even if, for whatever reason, one couple is unable to join us.
In Favor with God
Last fall, my husband and I, along with the small group we co-host each week, began Deep Discipleship, a video-based course by J.T. English, Jen Wilkin, and Kyle Worley. We are about 1/3 of the way through it and will continue on until summer. It is a very intensive program designed to disciple and make disciplers.
Additionally, I'm excited to learn more about a few particular people in Scripture during my personal devotions each morning. I've gathered my commentaries, a handful of Bible translations, and some trusted apps. I will spend 2026 studying the stories of a pre-selected list of Biblical characters and their relationships with one another.
Additionally, I'm excited to learn more about a few particular people in Scripture during my personal devotions each morning. I've gathered my commentaries, a handful of Bible translations, and some trusted apps. I will spend 2026 studying the stories of a pre-selected list of Biblical characters and their relationships with one another.
In Favor with Man
While our teens are all at youth group one night a week, my husband and I have the house all to ourselves. We often go out to dinner, grab dessert or coffee somewhere, or meet another couple for a double date, but we also enjoy low-key nights in watching a movie, playing board games, and of course, doing what married couples do.
About a month ago, I saw a video about a new-to-me card game called Casino and decided to learn-teach myself and my husband how to play on date night. We loved it so much that I slipped a double deck of cards into his Christmas stocking and invited him to join me in what I am officially calling The Year of the Card Game. With the helpful suggestions from @tabletopfamily on Instagram and the 70+ tutorials on the Bicycle Card website, I hope to add one new card game to our lineup each month.
A Final Word
If you, too, have a desire to grow in the four-fold model of Jesus as seen in Luke 2:52, or to analog more of your life, now's a great time to start. I realize that your goals will need to be as unique as you are. But since I also know how helpful it can be to see a nebulous idea fleshed out with a real-life example, here are some examples to inspire you.
In Wisdom
These are goals that serve as continuing education for yourself. Determine to learn a new skill or refine a skill you're already doing to better tackle the responsibilities of home, work, or school. "In wisdom" goals could include the following:
- Read a chapter of a book a day.
- Sign up for a community education class.
- Pick a topic of interest and determine to take a deep dive and learn all you can about it.
- Subscribe to and read a newspaper or magazine each week.
- Watch one documentary each week.
- Make a list of books that "shaped" the 12 most important people in your life and determine to read them all.
In Stature
These are goals that help you care for yourself physically and emotionally so that you can be more fully able to steward whatever "talents" God hands you this year. "In stature" goals could include the following:
- Drink one glass of water the moment you wake up and at every meal.
- Spend 15 minutes outside each day.
- Move your body in some way for 20 minutes each day.
- Try two or three new recipes each month.
- Start a gratitude journal. Add 3 things to it each day.
- Make a meal from scratch 3 times a week.
In Favor with God
These are goals that help develop the spiritual disciplines of the faith so that you can know God more and worship Him more fully.
- Read one chapter of the Bible each day.
- Memorize one verse a week.
- Join a Bible study with other believers.
- Do a deep dive on a particular topic (names of God, love, obedience, friendship, marriage, forgiveness, etc.)
- Start a prayer journal.
- Support a missionary or Compassion Child through a monthly financial gift and prayer.
In Favor with Mankind
These are goals to help foster good relationships and build community in order to better see others and be seen by them.
- Write and mail one "thinking of you" card to a different person each week.
- Plan a date night with your husband once a month.
- Host a potluck for a handful of friends once a month.
- Fast from social media one day a week.
- Plan a coffee date with a friend once a month.
- Become a "regular" at a local business. Learn the employees' names. Look them in the eye. Strike up a conversation.
If you have any goals for 2026, I'd love to hear about them. Tell me in the comments what commitments you are making to yourself.
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