We are over a month into 2025, and I know there are many feelings about resolutions, goals, intentions, or words for the year. You can hate them, love them, or whatever. I don't want to focus so much on that but the type of people we are—what kind of followers of Jesus are we?
Let's start by thinking back to 2024:
To begin something new you have to stop something else. We have to finish something before we start something. We have to "take off" before we can "put on."
“...put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24 ESV
Let's take some things "off" or leave some things behind from last year…
First, think through any transitions you've experienced:
Loss (a person--death/divorce, job, home, money, dream, etc.)
Additions (spouse, baby, friend, boyfriend, foster child, grandkids, etc.)
Diagnosis (life adjustments, treatment, surgery, medication)
Job change (promotion, changed departments, quit, retired, job description, etc.)
Moving (houses, suburbs, cities, states)
Finished/started school
Transitions affect more than our daily routines. You've got to grieve losses, make room for additions, mentally accept bad news, physically prepare for change, all the while emotionally navigating all of it in different waves.
Next, assign the emotions you dealt with for each transition. This is hard for me. I'm a cognitive processor, so it takes time to name the emotions. But it might be easy for you to do. Good emotions, bad, whatever—acknowledge those.
Second, the transitions and emotions probably uncovered some parts of 2024 that you want to leave behind. Whether it was behaviors, attitudes, or sins…
"...put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires..."
Think what those might be and name them:
Hitting the snooze too many times
Neglecting the gym
Skimming your bible instead of studying it
Bad-mouthing your boss
Gossipping with your friends
Overspending to numb the pain
Drinking to numb the pain
Eating to numb the pain
The list could go on. You know what those things are for you. Put those things off. If you haven't already had a marked moment in the past month to leave 2024 behind. You can do that today.
Now, look ahead to your goals for 2025.
You've either already busted some of your goals, or you didn't care to start any. That's okay! Every day is a fresh start, it doesn't have to be the new year. But I love the idea of a whole year already prepared for you in advance just waiting for you to take hold of it.
Think through those areas…
Considering what you've left behind, you'll need some boundaries to ensure you move forward.
Boundaries:
Sabbath (calendaring/scheduling, communicating to those in your life, determining your fills/drains, turning off your email, slamming your laptop shut until Monday)
Work/life (taking advantage of the "focus" tool on your iPhone, talking to your boss about your burnout, physically leaving your work at work, not answering your phone on weekends, saying "no")
Friendships (declining invites, shutting down gossip, not rescuing them from their emergencies or mistakes, telling them the truth about how you feel when they hurt you)
Romantic relationships (physical boundaries-you know what those are, sending him home before 10 p.m., protecting your heart by not fantasizing about the future before it's here)
Family (Not being at every family gathering, not rescuing your kids from life's consequences, asking your sister to stop sharing your private information with your parents)
Next, as you think about your resolutions or intentions or goals:
What's the goal behind the goal?
When we just have black and white goals, we beat ourselves up or drop them when we don't nail it. But if we know what's behind that goal, why we picked it, what kind of person do I want to be—we are more likely to keep moving forward.
Goals:
Read 50 books — be well-read, read more, to never stop learning
Eat healthy/Drink Water/Workout — play with my grandkids, protect my body so I can do what I'm called to do, be strong
Say "Yes" more — grow my community, be someone people can rely on, be consistent
Say "No" more — be present for my family, protect my mental health, be more intentional
What are your goals? But more importantly, what do these goals say about the kind of person you want to be this year?
I’m expectant that God will continue to open doors in my ministry. He will do the same for you! Keep moving forward.
