But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:14–16, NKJV)

For me, 2025 was a rough year. I wrote about that elsewhere, so I don’t want to dwell on that here. After a rough year, it’s difficult to dream about what God might have in store for the upcoming year. But dwelling on past struggles is a sure way to stay stuck in life. So, I’m prayerfully dreaming about 2026 by setting some goals that I’m sharing here.

Last year I set goals for the 7 domains of stewardship from Reagan Rose at Redeeming Productivity. I find his focus on stewardship and the centrality of the spiritual life helpful, so I am going to use the seven domains of stewardship again this year.

Christmas 2025 was the first Christmas since 2018 that my family wasn’t either facing a crisis or expecting to move within the next year. When I mentioned this to a friend as our families shared lunch, she said, “maybe your theme this year is peace.” After some prayerful reflection, I think this is God’s way of telling me His theme for me this year is to find my peace in Him.

Here are my goals for 2026:

Spiritual. The spiritual domain is stewardship of the soul. I believe the spiritual domain is the fountainhead from which the rest of our life flows. I would like my life to be filled with “streams of Living Water” (John 4:13–14; 7:37–39). I have two goals to cultivate such a Spirit-filled lifestyle: I will read through the whole Bible and I will develop a life-rhythm of prayer.

Relational. The relational domain is stewardship of the heart. God created us to live in faithful, honest, Spirit-filled relationships with others (Genesis 2:18–25; Col 3:12–16). I have two goals for growth in this domain: I will go on a monthly date night with Megan and I will work at expressing myself in more patient, loving, grace-filled ways.

Physical. The physical domain is stewardship of the body. God created us as embodied souls for the purpose of stewarding the physical world for His glory (Genesis 1:26–31; Colossians 3:17). Caring for our bodies enhances and prolongs our capacities to do that. I have two goals in this domain: I will walk/jog/run at least 600 miles this year and I will lose at least 60 pounds.

Intellectual and Vocational. The intellectual domain is stewardship of the mind. The vocational domain is stewardship of work. God gave us minds to think and study for ourselves and He created work for us to do in service to Him (2 Corinthians 10:3–6; Colossians 2:4–10). I have combined these domains into one category this year to focus my efforts pursuing a lifelong dream: I’m going to finish writing, record, produce, and release at least four original songs.

Economical. The economical domain is stewardship of the household, including not only finances, but also time, energy, resources, and relationships. Stewardship includes pursuing freedom to serve God according to His calling in each of our lives and blessing others in our giving, sharing, and serving (Proverbs 22:7–9; Ephesians 2:10). I have two goals: we will continue pursuing financial freedom by paying off our remaining car loan and saving up a six-month emergency fund.

Recreational. The recreational domain is stewardship of rest. God created us to live in rhythms of work in service to Him and rest that helps us finds our joy and peace in Him (Exodus 31:12–17; 2 Thessalonians 3:6–12). I have one goal for this domain: we will take at least three out-of-town trips as a family.

What is your sense of theme for your 2026? Do you have any New Year’s goals? Let’s chat in the comments below!