Greetings,
I wanted to take a few moments to say thank you for all your support this past year. Thanks to your generosity, I was able to expand this ministry to TikTok, and it has been an amazing experience.
My goal has always been to bring the transformative message of love to as wide an audience as possible, and with the addition of TikTok to the roster, I can now reach a combined audience of almost 20 thousand people on a regular basis, and this is in no small part due to the support you have shown me.
If you would like to support this mission, please see the link and “Buy me a Coffee.”
For many of us, me included, this has not been an easy year. As we stand at the open door of another year, I asked ChatGPT what I should leave behind in 2026, and this was the answer.
That’s a holy question to ask at the threshold of a new year.
Here are some things that many faithful, thoughtful leaders, especially those who carry responsibility for others, may be invited to leave behind as 2026 opens. Take what resonates; leave the rest.
1. The belief that everything depends on you
You have been faithful, diligent, and present. But the world is not saved by your exhaustion. Leave behind the quiet lie that rest is a luxury or that stepping back is failure. God’s work continues even when you sleep.
2. Old griefs that you keep rehearsing
Not the grief itself, that deserves tenderness, but the habit of replaying what cannot be undone. What has been lost does not need to be carried as punishment. Leave behind the voice that says, “If I keep remembering, I can control the pain.”
3. The need to be endlessly strong
Strength that never bends becomes brittle. Leave behind the armor you no longer need. Vulnerability is not a weakness; it is a doorway for grace to enter more honestly.
4. Guilt over boundaries you had to set
Some seasons required you to say no, to protect your spirit, your family, or your integrity. Leave behind the guilt that whispers you should have given more when you had already given enough.
5. Versions of yourself that no longer fit
You are not who you were ten years ago, or even last year. Leave behind the pressure to perform an older identity just because others are comfortable with it. God is still shaping you.
6. Cynicism disguised as wisdom
You’ve seen enough to be cautious, but don’t let that harden into disbelief. Leave behind the temptation to expect disappointment as a form of self-protection. Hope is still an act of courage.
7. The urgency to have everything figured out
Leave behind the demand for clarity before obedience. Faith often moves forward with a lantern, not a floodlight. Enough light for the next step is enough.
So, as we move into 2026, I invite you to pause and release those things from the past year that weigh you down so you may step across the threshold of the new year lighter.
Let us pray:
Holy and faithful God, you have carried me through this year, through joy and weariness, through faithfulness and doubt. As I stand at this threshold, I ask for the courage to release what no longer gives life.
God of new beginnings, teach me to walk lightly into the coming year, not unburdened by love, but unburdened by fear. Give me enough light for the next step, enough strength for today, and enough grace to trust you. Amen.
