H A P P Y N E W Y E A R!
I would say that, out of all the country singers I grew up listening to with Mom and Dad and later with Kevin, there are about 10 to 15 who rise to the top as my favorites. One of those is Dan Seals. I absolutely love singing harmony with his voice, and one of my favorite songs by him is a deeply sad ballad called "All That Glitters," written by Dan Seals and Bob McDill.
In the last part of the bridge, two lines say,
"But someday I'm sure you're gonna know the cost,
'Cause for everything you win, there's something lost."
That thought has always had a very deep impact on me, in no other area of my life more so than time. For every choice we make concerning how we will spend our time, we lose out on something else.
We are only given a certain number of years, months, days, hours, and minutes to live. If God spares time and our lives until midnight of December 31, 2026, we will have lived through one year, 12 months, 365 days, 2008 hours, and 525,600 minutes. No more. No less. That's it.
How will we have spent it? What will rise to the top as the winner of how we spent the biggest part of the time we were so graciously given by our loving, merciful heavenly Father in 2026? What will we have lost out on by making the choices we made?
The year is young. Just a few days old. There's still opportunity to change course and begin doing what will produce zero regrets as we, Lord willing, self-reflect at the end of 2026.
The older I get, the more conscious I am of the fact that I have already lived longer than the amount of time I have left to live. That is very sobering to me, and it makes me determined to be extremely mindful of how I spend the remaining time I have left on earth. We've all lived long enough to learn that there are no do-overs, and we are now reaping the harvest of what we sowed in the past. One day, at the end of each of our lives, we will stand before the Lord and give an account of how we stewarded all that He entrusted to us in this life, including the time He filled our lungs with breath and enabled us to live.
"For in Him we live, and move, and have our being." Acts 17:28
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." 2 Corinthians 5:10
With the weight of these realities on my mind, I stepped across the threshold that bridged 2025 to 2026, and it is in light of the same that I carefully sought the Lord for my word of the year. Over the past several days, He made it crystal clear. It is a word that encapsulates something He has been weaving as a pressing theme in my life through steady repetition and also through a very profound longing deep inside of me.
H O L I N E S S
Just hearing the word or seeing it spelled out on my screen calls to me. Very compellingly.
In "Biblical Minimalism," I spoke about the various times throughout my life that God has brought me to distinct calls to a renewed dedication and a deeper level of consecration. Some of these experiences have not included a "why" ahead of time. Sometimes I did not know exactly what I was consecrating to. I just knew He was calling me, and the call was so compelling, I could not refuse.
Each of those times, the enemy tried his utmost to prevent me from answering God's call to a deeper consecration. He would terrify my mind with questions like, "What if God asks you to go through something hard? How can you consecrate yourself deeper to Him without knowing exactly what He is going to ask you to do or allow to happen in your life? What if it is something bad?"
As I think about those multiple distinct, compelling calls, do you know what I find? The times God asked me to consecrate deeper, and I followed Him into that place, never—not even one time—did something bad happen. God didn't pour out His wrath on me or allow something awful to happen to me or anyone I love. This proves to me time and time again that satan is a liar.
Speaking of the devil, Jesus said, "He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." John 8:44
What did happen during those special times of God calling me from my comfort zone was that there were two specific things required of me. 1. Hard work. 2. Change. But it was never an injurious, bad thing. Each time, I came out better, deeper, closer to Jesus than ever before. Each time, it took a lot out of me, but that was ultimately a very good thing because at the end of the day, it meant more of Him and less of me. As I analyze those distinct calls from the Lord, the common thread that emerges is that a deeper level of holiness was wrought in me.
I wonder what God may want to do in and through and for us on the other side of His call to a deeper consecration to Him and what it truly means to live a holy life? What will we miss out on if we refuse His call? We could live the remainder of our lives in a sub-par Christian experience and never completely fulfill God's purpose for having us here, all because we were afraid of what might happen or what He might ask us to do if we consecrated ourselves to Him more entirely.
When Jesus calls you to follow Him closer, to consecrate deeper, to press into His will more intimately, it is a call like none other. It is a call that cannot be ignored. It can't be misunderstood. There is a deep sense of knowing it is Him, and it compels you to stop whatever you are doing and run to Him, fall on your knees, and surrender to anything and everything He asks of you.
I so often think of the disciples and how quickly they dropped everything to follow Jesus the minute He called them.
"And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And He saith unto them, 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.' And they straightway left their nets, and followed Him. And going on from thence, He saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed Him." Matthew 4:18-22
Their whole lives were turned upside down, and they were never the same after Jesus called them. We won't be either. The thought of this can be terrifying if we look at it through the eyes of our flesh. But deep in our hearts, we know that having Jesus call us is the most powerful experience we could ever have in this life.
Right now, I'm feeling this. Again. With renewed, refreshed intensity. Today, I answered that call, fell to my knees, and surrendered all to Him once again. Do I know exactly what He is calling me to? Not exactly. But, I feel an overwhelming fresh call to HOLINESS. I am hungering and thirsting after His righteousness more than ever before, and this year, my desire is to be more holy.
"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." Matthew 5:6
"But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, 'Be ye holy; for I am holy.'" I Peter 1:15,16
"Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God." Leviticus 20:7
I pray we all live more holy in 2026. That we lay aside every single thing that is not like Him. That we search our hearts and seek His face to know if we are displeasing Him in any way, and if we find that we are, that we make a firm decision to let go of whatever is hindering us in being more holy.
"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1,2
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
Romans 12:1, 2
***********************************************************************************A New Year Giveaway!
To celebrate the new year, we would like to offer you the opportunity to win a package of all three of my dear friend Marilyn Moseley's books, along with one of her beautiful calendars! If you aren't already following her blog, I would highly recommend you visit her at Mountain Top Spice and subscribe! She is an amazingly gifted photographer, writer, wife, mother, and grandmother, and has been a precious friend to me for many years. You can read more about her products by clicking here. Marilyn also has a lovely YouTube channel where she pairs music with her stunning photos. You can find it here.
To enter, just leave us a comment below. The giveaway will be open for entries for two weeks. Lord willing, we will draw the winner's name sometime on Friday, January 30, 2026. Due to postage costs, this offer is only available to residents of the United States. Please do not comment anonymously if you want to be included in the giveaway. Anonymous comments will not be entered since we have no way of knowing who you are or how to contact you.
Please continue to pray for Marilyn's husband, Dan, who recently suffered a massive heart attack. Dan has not been able to work, and at this time, they have no income at all. If you feel led, please consider making a donation to them at their GoFundMe page here. Any and all donations are deeply appreciated!
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As I approach this new year with my focus on holiness, I want to tell you all about an exciting new project I am working on that involves a whole lot about holiness and drawing closer to Jesus. I NEED YOUR HELP, though, before I can go forward with it! Let me explain.
A short time after I published the book "Biblical Minimalism," the Lord began to lay it on my heart to write an accompaniment Bible study guide to the book, so readers could internalize and personalize the spiritual lessons in their everyday lives. It has been on my heart, but never more so than the past few months. I am about 75% or so finished with the project and am in the throes of the editing process.
What I need from you is the answer to two questions—
1. What size do you prefer your Bible study books to be? Do you like them to be the size of a regular book, which is about 9"x6"? Or do you prefer them to be larger, the size of a piece of notebook paper, 8.5"x11"?
2. When you write in a Bible study book, do you prefer the lines to be single-spaced, so you have more lines? Or do you prefer the lines to be double-spaced, so you have more room to write on each line?
I would absolutely be so grateful to you if you could take the time to drop your answers in the comments below. Or if you feel more comfortable sending us your answers via email, please do so at homespundevotions@gmail.com.
I know that Homespun Devotions readers are fervent prayer warriors and ardent Bible studyers, so your prayers, input, and suggestions would be invaluable to me. I hope to hear from you soon!
May the Lord richly bless all of you in this brand new year! May you hear His call to a closer walk with Him and to a deeper level of consecration to His holiness, and may you answer that call with all your heart. May your reply be the same as Isaiah's.
"Also, I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then said I, 'Here am I; send me.'"
Isaiah 6:8
Speaking of that Scripture, this song means so much to me right now. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I was deeply moved to learn that the group was inspired to release it right after Charlie Kirk's death.
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