“Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit'—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that'” (James 4:13-15). This advice from James is applicable every year, but the sentiment that “you do not know what [this year] will bring” rings particularly true as I reflect on 2025. This was not the year I expected. It was a bittersweet year. It was a year for plucking up what was planted and then tilling the soil to prepare for new things. It was a year of waiting. It was a year that strengthened my faith. Here is a synthesis of my reflections on the year that is now behind me. THINGS THAT WORKED FOR ME Developing personal guiding principles. I got this from Matt Perman in his book What’s Best Next . I have eight principles: be g...