Happy New Year’s Eve! It’s hard to believe that we are closing the door on 2025, but maybe like some of you, I find myself sighing with some relief.
It was a tough year.
I started off filled with optimism, and found myself crashing and burning instead. Things did not go as expected.
And yet, I made it to the end. WE made it to the end!
New Year’s is yet another time during the year when we can reboot, so to speak. It’s a blank page before us, new chances and beginnings. And I’m looking forward to what’s ahead!
One way to better prepare for new beginnings is to reflect on what’s just ended. One way I like to do this is to look back at what I like to call my “seminary textbooks” from the past year. These are the Christian Living books that I’ve read during the past year.
Here is a list of them, including a couple that are not pictured:
What Your Soul Needs for Stressful Times by Holly Gerth Dream Big by Bob Goff Surrender Your Story by Tara Sun Reach Out, Gather In by Karen Ehman The Narcisstic Bride of Christ by Stephanie Jordan I Want to Trust You, But I Don’t by Lysa TerKeurst Wiser by Nicki Koziarz The 40-Day Feast by Wendy Speake Forgiving What You Can’t Forget by Lysa TerKeurst Every Woman a Theologian by Phylicia D. Masonheimer The Emotionally Healthy Leader by Peter Scazzero You Are Free by Rebekah Lyons How to Study Your Bible by Kay Arthur For These Tough Times by Max Lucado Rebuilding the Walls by Stuart Bell Becoming the Pastor’s Wife by Beth Allison Barr Before Amen by Max Lucado The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel (loaned out) You Were Made For This Moment by Max Lucado God Never Gives Up on You by Max Lucado When Change Finds You by Kristen Strong (loaned out) Faithful in Every Season by ME and 8 more (learn more here about this book!)
Reading isn’t always easy to fit into life. Sometimes I read a ton at once, and other times are very dry. But this year had some extra special moments beyond these amazing books I read… the very last one is the book that made me a published author! It is now available on our publisher’s bookshop and on Amazon.
I’m grateful to close 2025 on such a high note after months of despair. I’m still not exactly sure where I’m headed next, but I’m thankful to have left Potiphar’s House behind regardless. I pray 2026 continues my healing and reveals my next steps.
Another fun thing I accomplished in the book world this year, if you use Goodreads, is I became a verified author!
Is it terribly important? Probably not in the grand scheme of things. But it’s super fun to tell people.
As 2025 closes, I sit here in the quiet and I’m grateful. It’s not easy to be grateful for the hard things, but I am. I know I am stronger for what happened, like a tree that is tested by wind and digs its roots down deeper into the soil to anchor itself. No matter what comes in the new year, I know God has equipped me to face it.
I’m not as much a resolutions person, but I have my eye on some projects that I want to pursue next year (hopefully writing a new book!). I also have asked God for a word for the year to help my focus and what I got wasn’t what I expected, but I’m praying into it to see what He means by giving it to me. And I’m excited for what my future may hold!
I’m thankful for another year of writing this weekly blog and that you have come to read it. May we continue to grow together next year!
Finally, a verse I’ve written about several times came up as my Bible app’s verse of the day. It’s Proverbs 16:9 (NIV) which says, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.”
No matter how you approach the new year, remember that our steps are established by the Lord, not by us. When we are in control, we make a mess of things. Trusting God with our steps will never lead us astray.
May 2026 bear unexpected fruit in your life as a result of trusting our God! He is indeed faithful in every season of our lives.
Happy New Year!
Blessings,
~Lynne
PS–If you’re a reader, here are my stats for 2025 from Goodreads!
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