Even if resolutions aren’t your thing, the New Year still offers an opportunity to reorient our lives toward the Kingdom of God.

Some folks find it to be a good time to create or tweak a rule of life — a set of practices and rhythms to help us become more like Jesus.

When creating a rule of life, it’s tempting to pack in all the things we think an ideal Christian should do. But in doing so, our rule, meant to be a guide to freedom, can become a harsh ruler in both senses of the word — a joyless dictator, and a measuring stick against which we fall short. It’s better to create something simple and sustainable than an impossible ideal that leaves us defeated. 

Chris Webb provides practical tips for forming a life-giving and realistic rule of lifebased on the six streams from Richard Foster’s Streams of Living Water.

Living into healthy rhythms with Jesus may not change the complexity of circumstances around us, but it can help us to live better in the midst of them.

“Living in the tension” is a concept that came up a few times in this week’s Friends in Formation. In the episode, James, Richella, and Nate gracefully dive into some difficult questions on what Paul meant to ​“beat our body,” and how Christians should handle political issues. Their podcast is like pulling up a chair to a conversation with friends who are actually listening to one another — something quite refreshing in this day and age!

Peace of Christ to you in the New Year,