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10 Ways to Make Every Day This Year Feel Like New Year’s Day

10 Ways to Make Every Day This Year Feel Like New Year’s Day

New Year’s Day is a favorite in every culture. Fireworks, celebrations, parades, and all manner of celebrating ushers in the New Year around the world. Looking towards a new season brings fresh hope, anticipation, and possibilities.

Personally, I love Christmas, but when all the decorations are taken down there is fresh hope and anticipation as I look to the New Year. Every year, between Christmas and New Year’s Day, I spend time with the Lord in prayer, asking Him what He has for me in the new year and how He might want me to change. As I read scripture and spend time in prayer and worship, I ask Him for a promise or verse to cling to as I step into the brand-new season. 

Many, at least here in the West, make New Year’s resolutions or set goals for themselves about how they will improve their lives. Having said that, only about 9% of people keep those resolutions. Many resolutions are forgotten one month into the year. Most of the goals seem to revolve around fitness, health, finances, or personal success, which demonstrates that at the core of our humanity, we crave life transformation. 

G. K Chesterton has been quoted as saying, “The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul.” One of the reasons that the New Year holds such joy for us is the anticipation of new blessings and opportunities, but more than that, each new year holds the promise of life transformation. 

The great truth for those of us who follow Jesus is that God promises life transformation. Jesus came to transform our lives and bring us wholeness. When we are reborn, our transformation begins, and it culminates when we meet Christ face to face. In the meantime, each new day brings anticipation and hope. We see this all throughout the scriptures. 

The Old Testament book of Isaiah is filled with the anticipation of transformation. The prophet reminds us that we have a God who redeems and restores. He gives us hope as we look to the future, “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom” (Isaiah 35:1). He continues with other promises like, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:19). 

In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul assures us, “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). He goes on to write, “Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are becoming new” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NAS). 

“New” just the sound of it brings hope. New implies a transformation and brings a sense of anticipation. God is in the business of creating new things. New growth. New attitudes, New peace. New joy. God brings new seasons of beauty out of old seasons of chaos. He transforms our broken lives into lives that shine for his glory. 

How can we, as believers, internalize the sense of anticipation and the hope of life transformation every day? Beyond throwing confetti or setting off fireworks, here are ten ways you can make every day feel like New Year’s Day:

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  • Woman waking to the morning sun

    1. Start each morning thanking God for His unfailing love.

    Before you even get out of bed in the morning, pause and tell God how thankful you are for his extraordinary, unfailing love. Scripture tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39). Think about it. You are completely and categorically loved! Waking up with the anticipation of spending the day with the One who loves you unconditionally and unreservedly will fill your heart with joy and excitement. Each new morning becomes an opportunity to experience God’s love in deeper ways. 

    2. Rejoice that every day opens a brand new chapter in your life story.

    God is transforming you, and each new day brings another chapter in your story. The Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:10 that “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” That work “handiwork” is from the Greek word poiema (Strong’s Concordance #4161), from which we get our English word poem. God is writing a beautiful poetic story with your life. 

    I am an author, so it’s always exciting to finish one chapter and then turn the page, realizing a brand new chapter awaits my words. In many ways, it’s the same. Each new day, I get to cooperate with God in writing my story. As you face each new day, you also have the opportunity to partner with God in writing the poetic masterpiece of your life story. Consider each new day, “How do I want to show up as the main character in my story?”

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  • Open Bible with yellow coffee mug and notebook and pen on a table.

    3. Read one promise from God every morning and meditate on it as you fall asleep that evening.

    By focusing your attention on one of God’s promises each day, your ability to trust God will grow, and you’ll have reason to celebrate. Promises like, “I will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5) or “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19) will bring daily encouragement to your soul. When you begin internalizing the promises of God, you are filled with wonder and awe. A sense of anticipation will grow in you as you begin each new day with a promise. As you fall asleep meditating on the promise at night, you’ll have peace knowing you can wake with joy in the morning. 

    4. Consider the wonderful gift of time and how you will steward the 24 hours of that day.

    The Psalmist wrote, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). Just as you plan for the New Year, by creating goals or writing down dreams, you can create a plan for each day. Learn to live intentionally. Even on days when you plan to rest and relax, that can be a part of your intentionality. After all, God has ordained rest for His people. On other days, you will need to be productive. In both our rest and our work, we are to live an intentional life of worship. Our lives are to be an offering to God, so it is good to consider how to be intentional with that offering. When we live with intentionality, life will feel more rewarding and purposeful.

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  • Woman joyfully enjoying her coffee on her couch.

    5. Praise God that His grace and mercy are new every morning.

    The prophet Jeremiah wrote, “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23). When we internalize God’s mercy and grace day by day, fear diminishes because we begin to realize that even when we fail, His grace is greater. Even when life is unkind, His mercy is enough. Praising Him daily for His grace and mercy will remind you that whatever the new day holds, He’s got you! 

    6. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you each morning.

    Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would give us the Holy Spirit, who would advocate for us and teach us everything we need to know (John 14:26). Learning to live in sync with the Holy Spirit makes life a grand adventure. He continually invites us to take new risks but empowers us for the journey. As a result, life never feels boring. Instead, our lives become exciting and filled with joy.

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  • Woman helping elderly man

    7. Evaluate your day by how well you loved others.

    Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). We tend to evaluate our days by how much we accomplished or by how well we fulfilled our goals. What if, instead, we evaluated our time by how well we loved one another? How might the trajectory of our lives change? How might our loneliness be transformed? I believe we would feel more connected and loved. Every day would be an opportunity to experience the richness of a close community! 

    8. Celebrate the blessings of each day.

    The Psalmist wrote all throughout the book of Psalms that we are to give thanks to the Lord. Psalm 136 is a great example of this, where the Psalmist continually goes back to the refrain, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good” (Psalm 136:1). The Psalmist writes about those who, from generation to generation, celebrate the Lord’s abundant goodness and joyfully sing of his righteousness” (Psalm 145:7). When we make gratitude and celebration a regular pattern in our lives, every day feels like New Year’s Day. 

    My husband and I have started doing this each night at dinner. We reflect back on the day, and each share our top 3 blessings of the past day. We celebrate by giving thanks. This practice keeps gratitude alive in our hearts. And, as we give thanks, the Holy Spirit transforms us into more contented people. This year, why not make this your practice? Celebrate the goodness of the Lord by reflecting back and writing down your top 3 blessings of the day every night at dinner.

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  • Man looking up

    9. Look for God-sightings each day.

    In other words, keep your eyes open and your ears tuned to how you will experience God each day. Luke recounts the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Two of them were talking about everything that had happened as far as the crucifixion of Jesus and His resurrection. As they were talking, Jesus Himself, came up and joined them. However, the disciples did not recognize Him until He broke bread, gave thanks, and gave it to them. Then scripture says, “their eyes were opened” (Luke 24:13-35). I often think back to this story, and my prayer becomes, Lord, open my eyes today to see you at work. Help me to recognize what you are doing both in my life and in the lives of those around me. As I train my spiritual eyes to see Jesus at work, the Holy Spirit fills my heart with hope. The same will be true for you. 

    10. Thank God for His faithfulness at the end of every day.

    The Psalmist instructs us to proclaim God’s love in the morning and God’s faithfulness at night (Psalm 92:2). By opening and closing your day with a celebration of who God is and the transformation He is bringing to your life, every day will feel like a New Year’s celebration. 

    Friend, New Year’s is a celebration that brings anticipation and hope for life transformation. However, anticipation, hope, and life transformation don’t just have to be limited to the New Year. By putting some of these intentional practices in place in your life, every day can feel like New Year’s Day.

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    headshot of author Becky HarlingAuthentic. Passionate. Funny and Biblical all describe Becky Harling. A best-selling author, Becky is a popular speaker at conferences, retreats, and other events. She is the author of 11 books, including Our Father, Psalms for the Anxious Heart, How to Listen so Your Kids Will Talk, The Extraordinary Power of Praise, and her newest book, Cultivating Deeper Connections in a Lonely World. cultivating deeper connections in a lonely world Becky is a certified coach with the John Maxwell Team and a seasoned Bible teacher. You can connect with Becky at www.beckyharling.com, www.harlingleadership.com, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/beckyharlingministries, Twitter, @beckyharling, or on Instagram at Becky Harling