Fellow travelers,

It will be 2026 in two days, so here’s an early Happy New Year! In this post, I’m sharing a variation on New Year’s Resolutions (and Lent) I’ve been trying to do personally for a while. It’s been helpful to me and might be to you. There’s probably already a book out there with a similar idea, but here’s mine, starting with some background:

A while back I realized two problems I had with New Year’s resolutions: 1) I get frustrated by failing at them, and 2) they aren’t permanent. So, they go nowhere.  About the same time, I realized similar things about giving up something for Lent, a temporary 40-day period.

So, what if, instead of making temporary changes at New Year’s or Lent, a person could make smaller, but permanent changes every 40 days? In any year, there are approximately 40 multiplied by 9 days. What if, even if we failed at half (or more) of the changes, the successful ones still added up to a massive shift in habits over a multi-year period or even a lifetime? The changes don’t need to be “spiritual” or major, they just need to be something you think will make your life better, permanently.

For example, these have been some of my attempted changes:

• Drink at least 32 oz of water a day (success!)
• Blog regularly (success!)
• Host a regular board game night at my house (temporary success), and
• Open Bible or a devotional before checking my phone in the morning (generally a failure).

There were more – some I failed at and some I’ve kept, but in total they are significant enough to have a cumulative effect without being too hard to keep them all.

Are there small things you are doing that are harmful to you? Are there small changes you can make to improve your life? Can each of us build a better “liturgy” for our lives over time, step by step? Can we accumulate victories in small battles that help us fight bigger ones?  Over time can we better love God, ourselves, and others?  If you choose to participate, keep a record of what you’re changing. In years, hopefully the cumulative change is enormous.

I keep a list of the 40-day periods each year and the changes I’ve made or want to make. Sometimes I do nothing until later – I don’t criticize myself for missing a deadline or going back on something.  This is all voluntary.

My change for 1/1/26 is to attend church more regularly.  Unfortunately, I’ve recently been too good at coming up with excuses to stay home or to do other things.

The next date on the schedule (40 days later) is 2/10/26, and I have a couple of things under consideration for then.  I’ll be posting a reminder at about that time; if you want to participate, start making a list of things you might want to do more or less of, and let’s see what we can accomplish!

What do you think, and what do you have planned for 2026?