Let’s Start This Year Differently

My dear grace friend,
Before we go any further into this new year, I want you to pause with me for just a moment. Not to plan. Not to fix. Not to figure anything out. Just to sit here—heart open, shoulders relaxed—and remember that you are deeply known and intentionally held by God. These words are written to you the way I would write to someone I love: slowly, thoughtfully, and with care. Take what you need, and let the rest rest.

Let’s start this year differently.

Not louder.
Not faster.
Not with a longer list of goals demanding more of you than last year did.

Let’s begin settled.

So many voices will tell you January is about reinvention—about becoming someone new, doing more, reaching higher, fixing what didn’t work before. But grace invites us into something far more grounded: settling. Not striving to create a new version of yourself, but resting in who God has already called you to be.

Before you made plans, God made purpose.
Before you set intentions, God set direction.

There is a predetermined will over your life that does not require frantic effort or perfect execution. God is not surprised by where you are standing today. He is not waiting for you to “catch up.” He is inviting you to walk with Him—steadily, faithfully, and without fear.

If you feel the pressure to rush into this year with answers, let this be your permission to resist it. You don’t need clarity on everything to be obedient. You only need to remain willing, available, and anchored in trust.

This is the kind of beginning grace loves.

A beginning where we listen more than we announce.
Where we surrender more than we strategize.
Where we remember that God’s pace is purposeful, not slow.

This year does not need you anxious.
It needs you settled.

And settling begins here—right where you are—resting in the assurance that God’s plan is already unfolding, even when you can’t see the full picture yet.

A Prayer to Begin the Year

Lord, settle my heart in what You have already decided.
Keep me from striving where You’ve called me to rest.
Quiet the noise that tells me I must rush, prove, or perform.
Help me trust that Your purpose for my life is sure, intentional, and good.
As I step into this year, let me walk settled, unafraid, and anchored in You—
confident that what You have written for me will unfold in Your perfect time.
Amen.

As you move through the days ahead, I hope you carry this truth gently with you: you are not held together by your own effort, but by grace—steady, intentional, and sufficient. May you walk forward this week settled in God’s purpose, unbothered by comparison, and anchored in trust. I’m so grateful to share this space with you, and I’ll meet you right back here next Thursday for another moment of grace.

With love and faith,
Grace Amara