12 Best Things to Change Your Life in 2026
Four faith-shaping habits to focus on this year, including church, Bible study, community, and prayer, are shared in a warm and encouraging Sunday Scripture.
Today is a good day to talk about some of the best things to focus on as a new year begins. For some, this may feel like a simple reminder to stay steady and faithful. For others, it may feel like the beginning of a season that changes everything in the best possible way.
Today’s focus is on the first four habits worth building into everyday life. More will be added next week. These are not quick fixes or passing ideas. These are choices that shape the heart and carry eternal meaning.
Here are four of the best things to do as this new year unfolds.
Go To Church
Church matters deeply in the life of a believer, and finding the right church matters too. Being part of a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church is a gift. Regular attendance is important, but involvement is just as meaningful. Life shared with other believers strengthens faith in ways nothing else can.
Church is a place to praise God. It can be tempting to leave a service thinking about what was received, but it helps to pause and consider what you offered to God instead. Worship, attention, encouragement, and obedience all matter.
Church is not a building or a governing body overseeing lives. Church is people.
Church is made up of people who love the Lord Jesus Christ and desire to live life together while praising, obeying, and trusting God. It is a place where people support one another, grow in the Word, and reach beyond themselves to care for others.
A church family brings joy, support, and belonging. Like any family, it can be noisy, imperfect, and sometimes messy. Even so, it remains one of the greatest blessings God gives.
Church doors should always be open wide. Someone nearby may need to hear the truth, find hope, or simply be welcomed. An invitation can change a life. And if taking that first step feels hard, asking a friend to go along can make all the difference. Showing up may be the best decision made all year.
Study Your Bible
The God of eternity, the God of all power, the God of the universe, has given His Word in the form of the Bible. It contains His thoughts, His ways, and His instructions.
Why was it given? So He can be known, worshiped, and followed. Scripture offers a glimpse into who God is and provides guidance for how to live.
God has chosen to reveal Himself clearly and thoughtfully. The Bible contains sixty-six books, no more and no less. Everything needed to know Him and walk faithfully is found there.
A question I often asked my children to give them something to think about still rings true.
How can anyone serve a God they do not know?
God makes Himself known through His Word. Studying it matters.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says…
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Many people begin the year with a read-the-Bible-in-a-year plan. That is a good thing. Reading chronologically can also help Scripture make sense in context. Still, reading alone does not replace study.
Reading introduces the Word. Studying allows it to take root.
Join A Bible Study Group
Joining a Bible study can be life-shaping. For me, beyond personal faith, this step played a major role in growing a deep and steady relationship with God.
This is the year to become serious about knowing God and living out His Word. True transformation begins there. What matters most is not personal opinion about Scripture, but understanding what God is actually saying.
Bible studies vary greatly. Look for one that carefully studies Scripture by asking three important questions, in this order.
- What does God’s Word say
- What does God’s Word mean
- How should God’s Word be lived out
Growth takes time. Building a strong relationship with God does, too. Each day offers twenty-four hours. Setting aside time to study Scripture is worth every moment.
A local Bible study may be available nearby, and if guidance is needed, help is always available. Wherever someone lives, opportunities to study Scripture with others exist and are worth seeking out.
If you live in my neck of the woods, you are welcome to join THE BIG TABLE, a bible study I am a part of. There are women of all kinds and denominations. We are all seeking to know and abide in the word of God.
You can email me at [email protected] for more info. This is not a plug for my Bible study group. Our area has LOTS of extraordinary Bible Study groups. No matter where you are, find one and get involved.
If you are having a hard time finding a Bible Study, you can go HERE and click the pink “join a group.”
Pray
Prayer is often misunderstood.
Prayer is simply talking to God.
What an incredible privilege that is. Prayer does not require a special place or perfect words. It can happen while folding laundry, walking, driving, gardening, or standing under warm running water at the end of a long day.
Prayer acknowledges who God is. It reflects on His character, His works, and His presence. Prayer lifts others before Him and brings needs and gratitude openly to His throne.
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:17
Prayer also includes gratitude. Gratitude for large blessings and small ones alike. Thankfulness opens the eyes to see God at work in everyday life.
Prayer includes bringing requests to God. Requests never burden Him. Asking according to His will invites His purposes to unfold.
Prayer is meant to flow through the day, keeping hearts attentive and open. God speaks through Scripture and through circumstances, guiding us faithfully.
You might like to read about prayer HERE, HERE, HERE
It is my prayer that God meets each heart right where it is and draws it into a growing, loving, real relationship with Him and His people. Next week, we will talk about four more life-changing things to do in 2026.
Scripture To Ponder This Week
Set a guard, O Lor, over my mouth;Keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not incline my heart to do any evil thing. Ps 141:3-4
MORE RELATED POSTS
Here are more Sunday Scripture Posts for you to read.
Happy Sunday, Friends!
Thank you for posting. After seeing the reaction to the football game accident this past week, it was wonderful to see people react with prayer. Prayer is powerful and something that cannot be forgotten or only used in emergencies!
I so agree, Anna! God bless you!
The religious group doesn’t have Buildings but meets in members’ homes. I don’t drive so I don’t get to actually go to church but my Sabbath is filled with religious music, reading the bible, study, and Bible journaling. and regular journaling about my day with God. We do have a way for homebound members to take the sacrament on their own, and I do that each sabbath. That, to me, is so helpful to my spiritual up lifting for my next week!
How wonderful, Robynn! God bless you!
Blessings for sharing this today! We need to hear more people say these things.
Thank you for sharing this important and uplifting post. Bless you!
Wow—what an inspirational post! Thanks for following the Lord’s leading and sharing from your heart, Yvonne! This is one I need to read over and over again; and, also share with others!
You are so right, Cathy!
Thank you for this witness to the Truth and character of God, which we can easily miss if we are focused on ourselves and this temporal world. There is so much more richness of life if we consider what He wants to do in us and through us.
Amen!
Thanks so much for encouraging your audience to memorize scripture. I had been considering it lately, and your article helped me begin the New Year doing so. I appreciate your sharing a new scripture weekly. Memorizing at age 72 is not as easy as it once was, but it can be done!
Hi Susan, Ask God to help you and He will honor your effort! Hiding God’s word in our hearts is important at any age.
Hi Margie, I’m thrilled you want to memorize scripture with us!
I so, so, agree with You…truly enriches your life. Bible study..daily Bible reading….church ..Yes ..thank you for saying these good start the year with God ….words. ?Lisa
I’ve learned this from experience. I lived too many years not doing these and I would not go back for anything.
These are the very things I would have listed if I had written this. Truly you know what the most beautiful things in life are!
Blessings in 2024.
Happy New Year, Dawn.
Thank you for opening my eyes to God.
Praise God! It’s all Him and not me!
Thank you Yvonne❤️. Means more than you know.
Awww, you are so welcom, June. God bless you in 2024!
you are spot on with the message we all need first, salvation. Then…we get to enjoying this earthly experience from a different lens, full of blessings.
Happy New Year, Terri! May God richly bless you.
Such a wonderful post, Yvonne! You always explain everything so well. How we need to know the Lord and live for Him in these troubled times. How, too, we need to pray for those who have not accepted Him as their Lord and Savior. It is my prayer that many of your readers will put their trust in Him if they have not done so. People need the Lord! Thanks, Yvonne, for your wonderful Sunday posts. May God continue to bless you!
That is my fervent prayer too, Mary Ann! Thank you so much for praying for StoneGable readers.
Yvonne, Thankyou on your thoughts on reading God’s word. I am a believer, but need to read my Bible more. So Thankyou for the motivation. I really like Sara Young Devotionals.
Gratidão pelo post!
Maravilhoso, suave e cheio de palavras, msgs instingante e acolhedora!
Um grande abraço
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Miriam! I translated it and am very touched. Happy New Year.
“We go to church to praise God. It pains me to hear people say things like, I just didn’t get much out of church today. I’d love to know how much they put into church today!” Excellent question and a good reminder. Thank you for this!
AMEN ! Sister….thank you for sharing your faith and insights. God’s children need to speak up more in this world.
Thank you for sharing this post, Yvonne. My mom recently passed and I have leaned heavily on my faith and community throughout this process. Your ideas are great reminders of the importance of faith as we begin the new year. I am happy to feature your post at this week’s Tuesday Turn About Link Party. Thank you so much for sharing!
Wonderful post and 100% agree with you. <3 Blessings for 2025!
Thank you Mar! God bless you too.
Amen! Wonderful post, thank you. I try to start each day with Psalm 141: 3-4. It has been written in the front of my Bible for years. So thankful for your passion to share the Word of God every Sunday. Blessings!
Oh, that is the perfect scripture to start the day. I repeat this often!
Thanks for the encouragement and reminder. I want to get back to my daily Bible reading. Vivianne
How wonderful, Vivaine! Happy New Year.
Absolutely beautifully said.♥️????️
Aww, thank you Ginny. Happy New Year!
Happy new year Yvonne. Thank you for sharing your faith and the importance of church, Fellowship, and spending time in God’s word and at his feet in prayer. My desire for this new is to draw closer to the Lord. Wishing you and your family a blessed new year. – Gloria
Happy New Year, Gloria.