Last week we talked about having intentions instead of resolutions. Our church has moved away from doing our yearly fasting at the beginning of the year so that we can separate spiritual discipline from resolutions as well.

Were you surprised by any of your 2 Things answers? On today’s episode we are going to talk about an answer that surprised me.

I shared last week that I was surprised by how many things the Lord did in and through me last year. I went back and looked at pictures from 2025, and I had even more surprises. One of which was that my husband and youngest son both achieved their black belts in Taekwondo this year. I am now surrounded by black belts, so don’t mess with me because I’m literally protected on every side!

One of my highlights from 2025 was the story of myself and my mentee. Normally, as believers we can look back on our lives and see how God was working. This year He gave me a unique seat to see how He was working as the words of His story were hitting the page, metaphorically speaking.

Happy New Year my friends. New year resolutions are all around us, but I disagree that a new year should equal a new you, no matter what messages you are seeing on social media or in your email because you are fearfully and wonderfully made. Jesus already made you new when you received Him as your Savior.

While God is big into offering fresh starts, in fact, Lamentations 3:22 reminds us that His mercies are new every day, His gift of turning to a new calendar year doesn’t need to be met with the harsh criticisms and standards we inflict upon ourselves. Whether it’s losing weight, starting an overambitious Bible reading plan, 10 habits we are going to drop or pickup- all of that is too much to handle. Instead of seeing a positive change in our lives, our “resolutions” usually end up as a weight of shame around our necks come February.

On today’s episode we are going to take stock of 2025, rejoice in the things we accomplished, and start the year on a high note. We don’t always give ourselves enough credit, looking only at the things we didn’t accomplish or didn’t do up to our high standards and then comes the new year where we stack even more expectations upon ourselves.

What if, instead of putting more weight and pressure on ourselves to fix each of our flaws and the world at the same time, we set “new intentions” for the new year?

I was listening to the song “Christmas This Year,” by Tobi Mac. It’s a fun upbeat Christmas song that my boys and I like. In the song, the lyrics say, “It’s all love. The season is a gift when love came down to let us live. Let’s open up and let our hearts embrace this moment. For Christmas this year.”

On today’s episode, we’re going to talk about waiting and when Jesus came down to let us live. We are currently in the Advent season. Advent simply means arrival. In different church traditions, advent is usually celebrated on the 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas by lighting another candle each Sunday. When all four are lit on the 4th Sunday that means the celebration of Jesus’ arrival is imminent.