January 2026 - Matthew 1-23

Happy New Year!

Does the New Year fill you with a sense of dread or does it energize and excite you? I have always had mixed feelings about the New Year. As I said last year, I gave up resolutions a long time ago but I do love the idea of planning for the coming year. Resolutions, to me, are rooted in giving something up, subtraction rather than addition, and frankly, most of us don’t like giving things up. Because of this, I loved it when our pastor spoke last Sunday about looking at what we could add to make 2026 a better year than this last one. In terms of what to add, I can think of nothing better than regular bible reading.

One repeated conversation between my husband and I is, “how are you going to engage with/read the Bible in the coming year?” We both are very dedicated to being in the word but we approach it in very different ways. He’s been part of a group of guys who have been reading through the entire bible for so long now I can’t even remember how many times they’ve done it. I, on the other hand, have moved through the word via scripture journaling by topic and liturgical season.

Of all the benefits I’ve found for taking pen to paper when reading the Bible, I’ve only discovered one down side. For the past 8 years I haven’t read the Bible in its entirety. Don’t worry, I’m not about to announce that we’re going to journal the entire bible in 2026, but we are going to read and journal through the New Testament, and I’m really excited about it!

This is going to be different than any of the other plans we’ve done. For starters it’s going to be slower.  This is intentional. My goal is meditative reading that leads to greater engagement with each chapter. One struggle I’ve had in the past with one-year bible reading plans is the pace. All it takes is a couple of missed days and you’re in big trouble, which leads to feeling overwhelmed and often to quitting. I really want to avoid any sense of overwhelm for all of us so I have spaced out the weeks with 2 days off instead of just one (it also works out better mathematically to do it this way). By reading one chapter a day, five days a week we will finish the entire New Testament before New Years Eve of 2026. But we won’t have just read it, we will have immersed ourselves in it.

Think of all the tips and tricks I’ve mentioned over the years, things like reading the text twice, once out loud and once to yourself, using the dictionary, your bible footnotes, commentaries; online and those big old dusty books some of us have, using the S.O.A.P method (details of this at the end), reading in more than one translation, and most of all, prayerfully asking the Holy Spirit to search your heart and speak to you personally. I bet you have some of your own too, feel free to share them with the rest of us.

Another great idea would be to grab a friend or a buddy to do this with you. Accountability is one of the greatest factors in whether or not we succeed when forming a new habit. Plus, you’ll have someone to talk to about all the amazing things you’ll be reading. I would even challenge you to reach out to an unbelieving friend or one who has expressed interest in the Bible or church, but doesn’t know where to start. Think of how you can use this plan to share the gospel. Prayerfully consider what Bible you will use. I know for me, when we journaled the Epistles last summer, I purposely chose a Bible with no footnotes so that I would listen more to the Holy Spirit rather than just dropping me eyes to see how the footnotes explained the text. That one change made a huge difference in how I encountered Christ in His word.

You will also notice that there are no designated verses for you to journal, this is also intentional. When you read, what stands out to you? What verses stop you in your tracks, what feels deeply convicting, or personally encouraging? What brings up questions for you, or leads you to repentance? Make this plan your own. The only requirement is that you write something down. I so deeply believe in the power of engaging more than one of our senses when reading God’s word, that it’s the only non-negotiable! Another little tip, look for a big fat journal, one that you can hopefully use for the entire year. I think it would be so cool to have this entire journey contained in one place, but that’s just me. Choose what’s best for you.

As always, thank you for following along and please, please feel free to contact me with any questions or suggestions.

January 2026.pdf

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