Tired of Failed Resolutions? Let God Lead This Year
Do you know that invisible pressure of the new year? You've just packed away Christmas, and the pressure to set new year goals is screaming at you from every corner. Do more! Be better. Fix yourself. Reinvent your life! New planners, new gym memberships, new chore charts and new 'This year, I will finally...' lists.
And, if we're honest with ourselves — and even the stats show us — these well-meaning resolutions often crumble after a couple of weeks. Gym attendance decreases, your chore charts are still hanging, but no one seems to notice them. The atmosphere in your home hasn't changed. And your resolution to be more patient with your child went out of the window after your three-year-old's next temper tantrum.
We call them “goals,” but be honest: are they God’s heart for our family, or just our own ambition on paper?
As Christian parents, we need to stand out. We are a royal priesthood, a holy nation and God’s chosen people. We are called to declare the praises of God, who has brought us out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9)
So, let us not be led by the darkness of the culture and the voices around us. Instead, we want to follow our Saviour who knows everything.
So, the question is not:
“What do I want to change this year?”
The question is:
“Father, what do You want to do in our family this year?”
That changes everything. This might seem like a little adjustment, but it has transformative power on you, your family and your year ahead, we are not dependent on our hopes and wishes, but His voice.
Why Our Resolutions Keep Failing
Be honest for a moment.
How many times have you said, 'This year, we'll finally have regular family devotions', only for it to last three days?
How often have you vowed, 'No more yelling, no more rushing', only to find yourself right back where you started by the second week of school?
How many chore charts have ended up gathering dust on your fridge?
This isn't just a discipline problem. It's an alignment problem.
We try to build a year based on our own ideas and strength, but God never promised to bless our vanity, fear or comparison with other families.
He promised to bless obedience:
'Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain.' (Psalm 127:1).
If God is not the architect of your family's goals, you're just rearranging furniture in a house with bad foundations.
Step 1: Slow Down and Remember
Before you write one single resolution, stop.
Take an evening with your spouse, or a quiet hour with a notebook, and ask three honest questions:
What did God do in our family last year?
Where did we see His faithfulness?
What prayers were answered, even in small ways?
Where did we struggle the most?
What felt heavy, constant, or chaotic?
Where did we keep stumbling in the same place?
What kind of atmosphere ruled our home most of the time?
Peace or pressure?
Encouragement or criticism?
Conversation or constant screens?
Write it down. No filters, no pretending. God already knows.
Gratitude and truth-telling are the doorway to hearing Him clearly.
Step 2: Ask God Together
Now, actually ask Him and wait. This is not a time, where you talk but where you listen. We have lost the art of listening and listening to our creator let’s get that back, because we want to hear what He has to say about our year and our family. Make sure your children are in bed or at school so that you won't be distracted or interrupted.
You can pray something as simple as:
“Father, this is Your house. These are Your children. We don’t want a year built on our ego, fear or guilt. Show us what is on Your heart for our family this year.”
Then, as already mentioned wait.
Be quiet. No worship music, phones or talking. Wait in expectation and in connection. Sometimes, while waiting, we become so focused on the answer that we forget to enjoy His presence and communion.
Listen.
What comes to mind? A word, a picture, a verse, a big theme?
Often, God will speak in simple phrases like:
“Peace over hurry.”
“Connection before correction.”
“Healing between father and son.”
“Teach them to pray.”
“Rest.”
Write it down.
If you’re married, let each of you listen separately and then share what you got.
We do this at the end of the year to take time away to hear what God is saying for the new year, where He is leading us, personally it’s about location for us, but also spiritually and naturally in parenting or in our marriage.
If you are single, you could ask a trusted family member to accompany you. Often, we think we have to do it alone, but we don't. If you don't feel you have anyone you can trust or feel close to, start praying for that family.
If you have older children, you can later include them and ask, “What do you sense God wants to do in our family this year?”
Step 3: From Resolutions to God-Led Priorities
Now it’s time to trade in the long list for a few clear priorities.
Resolutions usually sound like this:
“We’ll have family Bible time every day.”
“I’ll never yell again.”
“We’ll be on time every Sunday.”
God-led priorities sound more like this:
“We want the atmosphere of our home to be peace, not hurry.”
“We want to grow in real connection with each child.”
“We want our kids to know God personally, not just know about Him.”
These will be your guiding principles for the year.
From there, you can ask:
“What is one simple habit that supports this priority?”
“What is one thing we need to stop doing, because it’s fighting against what God wants?”
Don’t fill your year with 20 goals.
Choose 3–5 clear, God-given priorities, and let your decisions flow from them.
A New Year, A New Atmosphere: Resetting the Spiritual Climate of Your Home
Now we go deeper.
New Year is not just about what you do. It’s about what kind of spirit fills your house.
Every home has an atmosphere.
You can feel it when you walk in the door:
Some homes feel tense and sharp, like everyone’s walking on eggshells.
Others feel chaotic and loud, like no one is really in charge.
Others feel cold and disconnected: everyone behind a screen, no eye contact.
And then there are homes that feel… safe. Warm. Clean on the inside
You can’t fake atmosphere. It leaks out of what’s really happening in hearts.
The good news?
By God’s grace, it can be changed.
Take Inventory: What Atmosphere Ruled Last Year?
Ask yourself (and your spouse if you have one):
When the kids think of “home,” what do they feel inside?
If someone recorded our tone of voice for a week, what would dominate: sarcasm, anger, indifference, or gentleness?
What do we talk about most at the table: complaints, worries, or testimonies and gratitude?
Is it normal in our home to pray… or is that only for Sunday?
Don’t beat yourself up. Just be honest.
God doesn’t transform what we hide. He heals what we bring into the light.
Repentance and Blessing: Changing the Atmosphere at the Root
Changing atmosphere is not just about new rules. It starts in the spirit.
Take time (ideally together as a couple, or with a friend, if you are a single parent) to repent out loud before God for the atmosphere you’ve allowed:
“Lord, we repent for the way anger has ruled our house.”
“We repent for letting screens disciple our children more than we have.”
“We repent for constant rushing and pressure instead of peace.”
Then, begin to bless your home out loud:
“In the name of Jesus, we bless this house with peace.”
“We bless this home as a place of laughter, truth, and safety.”
“We declare that our living room will be a place of worship and connection.”
You can even walk from room to room, quietly blessing each one.
This is spiritual leadership.
Build Rhythms That Match the Atmosphere You Want
Now, match practice to prayer.
If you say, “We want peace instead of hurry,” but you keep every afternoon overbooked, nothing will change.
Some practical shifts might look like:
Daily:
10 minutes of no phone connection with each child.
A short prayer before school that is honest, not religious performance.
One moment in the day where the whole house goes quiet (no screens, no noise) and you simply breathe and invite God’s presence.
Weekly:
One tech-free family night (games, worship, walks, conversation).
A “marriage check-in” where you talk heart-to-heart, not just logistics.
Regular Sunday reset: after church, you speak blessings over the week.
Monthly or Quarterly:
A simple family day of rest: no obligations, lots of presence.
A “family meeting with God” where you ask: How are we doing? What needs adjusting?
Atmosphere is not changed by one big emotional weekend.
It shifts through small, faithful choices, over and over again.
A Simple New Year Ritual for Your Family
Here’s a practical evening you can do this week:
Gather at the table or in the living room.
Light a candle if you want to mark it as “set apart.”Look back with gratitude.
Go around and share:One thing you thank God for from last year.
One way you saw God’s faithfulness.
Tell the truth about the hard parts.
As parents, go first.“Last year was hard because…”
“I’m sorry for the times I ___.” (Yelled, overworked, checked out, etc.)
Ask God together.
Pray simply:“Jesus, what is on Your heart for our family this year?”
Then sit quiet for a minute. Let kids share if they sense anything.Name 3–5 God-given priorities.
Write them big on a paper and put it somewhere visible.Bless your home and one another.
Lay a hand on each child and speak a short blessing for the year.
Declare, in simple words, what you believe God wants to grow in them.
This is about being intentional.
A Prayer You Can Use
You can pray something like this over your home:
Father, this house is Yours.
Forgive us for the ways we have allowed fear, anger, hurry, and distraction to rule.
Today we choose to come back under Your leadership.
Show us what is on Your heart for our family this year.
Teach us to build our days around Your presence, not around pressure.
We bless our home with peace, joy, honesty, and deep connection.
Let this year be a year where our children encounter You in our living room,
and where our marriage becomes a safe place again (for single parents: I becomes a safe place)
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Don’t Chase the Perfect Year.
You will not do this perfectly.
You will still mess up, shout sometimes, rush sometimes, cry in the bathroom sometimes.
That’s not failure. That’s family.
The point is not to create a flawless year.
The point is to follow a faithful God — as a family — day by day.
Before you let the world shout its resolutions at you, take your stand:
“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord — this year, and every year.”
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