Spiritual Encouragement/Resources/Opinion
By Katie Stallings
Image: Deposit
Do you ever get tired of the New Year enthusiasm? Every January, we make big plans, bold goals, and ambitious resolutions, convinced that this will be the year everything changes. A fresh start feels exciting—until life settles back in. The older I get, the more I notice how predictable it all is. Like annual clockwork, we hype ourselves up, stay motivated for about two weeks, and then slowly call it quits. And if I’m being honest, I’ve been the queen of that pattern for years.
Most of the time, it is easy to run off the tracks when we simply add it to a list that we will stop thinking about around week four of the new year. In 2026, I challenge us to deeply reevaluate our desires and take them to heart. Change and growth cannot be expected until there is a willingness to be consistent and intentional about the habits we want to create and aspirations we want to accomplish.
Among Christians, it seems that reading the Bible more and having better prayer lives are staples for our resolutions. These are beautiful ambitions, but the vast majority sadly will become part of the static that does not keep momentum going for long. So what can we do to stay committed to God’s Word while also working toward the other goals in our lives? Below are a few simple, practical reminders you can carry with you through 2026 and beyond—especially for the seasons when life feels full, schedules get crowded, and it becomes easier to drift than to stay consistent.
Create a Sacred Time and Place
Even if it feels insignificant, your setting can quietly shape a daily habit. Create a space that aligns with your intention. If you’re like me and tend to be thorough with your resources, setting up a dedicated table or surface can be especially helpful.
I’m selective about the “romanticizing your life” trend—I think it can sometimes feel unrealistic or overdone. Still, there’s nothing wrong with going a little out of your way to make a space relaxing, cozy, and enjoyable. If a table works best for you, add simple touches like a vase of flowers or a framed quote you find inspiring. For my coffee and tea drinkers, choosing a mug that adds to the ambience can turn a simple moment into an inviting practice that draws you into God’s Word.
If your vision is cozying up with a warm drink and a devotion, a quiet corner with soft lighting and a comfortable chair can be just as effective. There’s no shortage of inspiration on Google or Pinterest, but the goal isn’t perfection; it’s creating a space you enjoy and feel excited to return to as you spend time with God.
Discipline strengthens when the environment supports it. Keep distractions out of reach and personalize the space to your preferences. Over time, your mind will begin to associate that setting with meeting God, and consistency will come more easily.
Choosing Presence Over Procedure
If there is one thing we’ve become accustomed to in the 21st century, it’s instant gratification. We want everything at once and we want it immediately. There’s an old adage that says, “Good things come to those who wait,” yet it often feels as though nothing is done at a steady or intentional pace anymore.
When it comes to incorporating Bible study into our daily lives, it’s important to understand this distinction: time with God isn’t meant to be treated as a routine, it’s a priority we intentionally make space for. That may sound subtle, so let’s look at it more closely.
Every day, we brush our teeth, wash our face, shower, and make coffee—the basic order of daily life. Merriam-Webster defines a routine as a regular, habitual, or even mechanical course of action. In many ways, routines are automatic. They’re necessary, but they’re often done without much thought.
And while God is a God of order and structure, He is also a God of relationship and intention.
When I spend time with my family, I don’t think of it as a routine. I make time for them because relationships are essential. We were created for connection. In the same way, we cannot truly thrive without intentionally setting aside time with God. Not because it’s a daily procedure to complete, but because we need Him as naturally as we need air and because we desire to be with Him.
Routine and ritual alone lead to religion, which can lead to disconnection. When time with God becomes something we do out of obligation, it can begin to feel like a chore rather than a space for connection, growth, and joy. Structure is helpful—we need it. But our time with God should come from a natural place of need and desire.
When you set your mind on implementing Bible study or devotion into your daily life, build your routine around it. You can sip your morning coffee but carve out that section of your morning to spend time with God. We choose to make space for God because He is a priority in our lives even if it is not at the same time every day.
Strength in Support
This suggestion may feel overused, but that doesn’t make it any less true. If you struggle with consistency, don’t try to do it alone. Reach out to a trusted friend or seek guidance from a mentor who can encourage and support you along the way. You can also make use of available resources, whether that’s searching for a local church, connecting with a coach, or even using tools like AI to help you create a simple, realistic plan.
We have more opportunities and resources at our fingertips than ever before. Don’t hesitate to use them to strengthen your walk with God.
Allowing Your Time With God to Shift With the Seasons
We live in a world marked by seasons—four of them, unless you’re like me and live somewhere like North Carolina, where it often feels like two or three. Just as the weather shifts, so do the seasons of our lives, and each one carries different rhythms, responsibilities, and demands.
My sister and I are only fifteen months apart in age, yet we’re in completely different seasons. She’s a wife, a mom, and a full-time employee. I’m single and currently restructuring my career path. These seasons don’t look the same, and they aren’t meant to. In time, both of us will move into new chapters, just as you will too.
Maybe you’re single, navigating a quieter season. Maybe you’re approaching marriage, raising young children, or managing a household full of activities. Perhaps your year is shaped by school schedules, sports seasons, or work demands that ebb and flow. Whatever your current season looks like, one thing is certain: life is rarely consistent and that’s okay. We were created for growth, change, and restructuring.
When it comes to maintaining time with God, just like any meaningful priority, the goal isn’t perfection or sameness. It’s presence. Consistency doesn’t always look the same in every season. Some seasons are quiet and slow; others are full and imperfect. What matters most is that we adjust our expectations without abandoning the practice altogether.
This is where purpose becomes essential. When we remember why time with God matters—spiritual growth, peace, obedience, and long-term fruit—it becomes easier to stay anchored even as our routines shift. Purpose fuels perseverance, especially when life feels full or unpredictable.
The goal isn’t to force your time with God into a rigid mold, but to allow it to adapt alongside your life. Still, there are seasons when the pressures of life begin to crowd that time out altogether. When we notice ourselves drifting or neglecting time with God, how can we gently and intentionally find our way back?
Grace Over Guilt: Returning Without Shame
Let’s be honest with ourselves. How long have we neglected something that needed to be done? The clean laundry sitting on the chair waiting to be folded. The dishes that are piling up in the sink. Most of us can think of moments, if not many, when responsibilities were set aside for a time. That doesn’t make you careless or unfaithful; it makes you human.
We often try to carry everything at once, but sometimes we simply can’t and that, too, is part of being human.
Scripture tells us that the world was once perfect, until sin entered through human disobedience (Genesis). From that moment on, humanity has lived in a state of imperfection—learning, growing, stumbling, and beginning again. Because of this, there will be seasons when consistency falters and priorities slip. While neglecting time with God is never the goal, it does happen and God is not surprised by it. His grace far exceeds our understanding. No matter how long or how far we drift, He receives us again with open arms.
Because of His grace toward us, we must learn to extend grace to ourselves.
Missing a day doesn’t mean you’ve failed. You don’t need to cram several missed devotionals into one sitting or punish yourself to “catch up.” Simply return. Pick up where you left off and keep going. The Christian life isn’t a sprint—it’s a long race marked by endurance, humility, and perseverance. Discipline isn’t built through guilt, but through grace.
Scripture reminds us of this truth: “His mercies are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:23). We are not sustained by perfect discipline, but by a faithful God. Each day is an invitation to begin again.
The opinions in this article are specific to its author, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the entire Counter Culture Mom team.
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As a proud North Carolina girl, Katie Stallings follows her love for writing at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Her other passions include Jesus, Bible Theology and Eschatology, singing, acting, and uncovering the truth about secret societies, the elite, and things hidden in plain sight. Katie discovered the deceit of the entertainment industry in her early 20s, which led her down a path of exposing the darkness that Hollywood promotes and the evil in the political world.
When she is not working, doing school work, or trying to pack her mind full of information, you will find her with her family or friends, spending time with her nephew, and working in her home church, all with a coffee in her hand.
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