I’m here to check in.

If you’ve ever flown, you know check-in is a big deal. These days, you can do it online long before you reach the airport. You can even load your boarding pass onto your smartphone and breeze through security.

But let me confess something. Even though I can check in online and have used a mobile boarding pass, I still ask for a printed one at the counter.

Why? Because more than once, the boarding pass I printed at home or pulled up on my phone wasn’t recognized. The very technology designed to make life easier ended up complicating it.

How is it going?

I’m here to check in about my walk with the Lord this year and my ever-changing relationship with Him. Back in January, I invited those of you who were reading to go on a walk with me in 2025, a journey to grow closer to the Lord.

So how is it going?

Just like checking in at the airport, we have many choices when it comes to spiritual growth. There are online Bible reading plans, Bible study groups, self-study manuals, and so much more. The list is long, and there is no single right or wrong way to move forward.

Some people are very particular about which Bible translation they prefer. Others have strong opinions about whether they should use a physical Bible or read Scripture on a tablet, smartphone, or laptop. Some feel they must hold a printed Bible in their hands, while others are perfectly comfortable using digital tools.

There’s no right or wrong way. What is important is that you do something, lest you do nothing.

I’m here to check in and look back

Now that we are nearing the end of the year, I am taking time to look back and consider how my relationship with the Lord has grown. I am also thinking about where I want to go from here.

But I am grateful for all that 2025 has held, but I also know that the place I have reached this year is not where I want to be at the end of 2026. There is always more to learn about God, always more to study, and always a deeper relationship waiting to be discovered. So I am choosing to go on a walk again in the coming year.

I do not want to rewrite last year’s post. You can click here to read it if you like, but repeating it now would feel lazy. This year, I want to experience my relationship with God in a fresh way, one that fits 2026 and all the challenges it will bring. I have lived long enough to know that every year brings its own battles to face. The victory in each one will depend on where I am in my relationship with the Lord.

What I mean is this. The closer I walk with Him, the easier it is to hear what He is saying. When I begin to drift or let distance grow, I risk missing His instructions. I never want to be so far away that His voice becomes faint.

Peter followed at a distance

A message my husband Jamie has preached comes to mind as I write this. It centers on our need to stay close to the Lord. Do you remember the moment when Jesus was with His disciples and told them that they all would forsake Him?

Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” But Peter replied to Him, “Even if they all fall away because of You, I will never fall away!” Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” All the disciples said the same thing as well.

Matthew 26:31-35 (NASB)

Every one of the disciples declared that they would never deny Him. Yet when the moment of testing came, they all fled. What is interesting is the way the story unfolds, especially in the case of Peter. Let’s pick up at the point in the story where Peter follows Jesus after He was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane.

As the events leading up to the crucifixion unfolded, Peter allowed the distance between him and Jesus to grow. He was eventually so far from Jesus that he cursed and denied Him.

Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the Man!” And immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the statement that Jesus had made: “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

Matthew 26:74-75 (NASB)

From devoted disciple to curious observer

As I think on Peter’s denial, I realize how easily I could lose the ground I have gained in my walk with the Lord if I allow even a small distance to come between Him and me.

Peter had been in Jesus’ presence for three full years. He had witnessed miracle after miracle and even walked on water. Yes, he sank, but only after he walked. But when the pressure came, he reverted to his old nature. He became a curious observer instead of a devoted disciple.

All this happened because, instead of following Jesus closely as he had for the past three years, he followed at a distance.

Close any distance

I want to keep walking this coming year and close any distance that may have grown between Jesus and me. There is nothing He cannot lead me through in the year ahead, but I must stay close so I can follow where He is going.

Practically speaking, this means:

What will this look like practically? I will continue with daily Bible reading and journaling. This has been a years-long discipline that has kept me on track. It is too valuable to abandon.

In January, my husband and I, together with our churches and leaders, have made it a habit to set aside 21 days as a season of fasting. It is always challenging but also refreshing. The method of fasting is personal, based on each individual’s choice. What matters most is to fast something and set aside time to shake off the residue of life’s struggles. It is a powerful practice, and I’m looking forward to it.

Finally, I feel especially drawn to prayer this year. I want to discover prayer in a new and fresh way. As with most discoveries, this will require effort. When gold was discovered in California during the Gold Rush, it took a lot of effort to extract it. I want to discover the gold of God’s presence and am willing to move a lot of dirt to find Him.

I hope you’ll join me. Let’s keep walking.

You can receive new articles like this by joining the newsletter. I send occasional updates and new writing directly to subscribers.

If this post encouraged you, you’re welcome to partner with me on A Cultural Shift through Buy Me a Coffee. Your support helps keep A Cultural Shift’s outreach going. I’m truly grateful for you.