Confession: I’ve always found New Year’s Eve a bit bittersweet. Most people love the celebrations, the dropping of the ball, clinking champagne glasses and kissing their sweetheart at midnight, but somehow, it strikes me as a sad time. As “Auld Lang Syne” plays in the background, I muse about the might-have-beens—things I didn’t accomplish, words I wish hadn’t left my mouth, broken hearts, and unrealized dreams. The New Year feels daunting, daring me to do better than the year at close.

Like me, you are likely surrounded by messages about self-improvement and new challenges. There’s nothing wrong with a New Year’s resolution, but I would like to look at things through a different lens this year. What if instead of saying yes to the usual suspects, we said yes to less?

Psalm 16:11 tells us, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

This New Year, I invite you to step into January by saying yes to less regret and yes to the fullness of joy that is found in the presence of the LORD. Let’s live this year in a way that means when New Year’s Eve of 2025 rolls around, we have less regret. Life is not just a list of exciting moments. Let’s give ourselves room to live our days with intentionality and presence in each moment. What if instead of striving for a list of big accomplishments or accolades, we focus our hearts on the beauty of the mundane?

Say Yes to Joy

How can you find fullness of joy? It’s in His presence. Are you watching for it? Are you listening? What does it sound like for you? I hear Him in the whisper of leaves in the wind, the delight of a baby’s belly laugh, and in a solemn hymn. I see Him in the beauty of the sunset, the sight of food on my table, in the glance shared between the couple married for 50 years. He is all around us.

His presence is available to us—and this is a gift, this is the thing we don’t want to miss. We can live without regret when we abide with Him. He is there with us—on the mountaintops and in the valleys. God is with us in waiting rooms and ambulances, grocery store lines and preschool carpools. Are you remembering to draw near to Him?

It’s easy to overlook our most basic need when we are distracted, busy, stressed, or worried. He is still there, waiting for us to turn our eyes toward Him.

The LORD is with the joyful bride as much as He is with the grief-stricken widow. The healed and the newly diagnosed. The new believer and the life-long Christian. This is good news, friend. He is with you, and He is with me.

As we step forward into this new year, let us do so with the fullness of joy that comes from His presence. The real regret would be missing your life as you live it. The everyday ordinary holy moments—this is the gold. Not crossing the tape at the end of a marathon. Not becoming Instagram famous. Not making millions of dollars or winning prestigious awards. Grab hold of the life in front of you. Be present with those around you. Wipe away the tears, laugh at the joke, hug someone. Look them in the eye like they are the most important person in your world—because at that moment, they are.

Say yes to less regret and lean into the fullness of joy that the LORD wants for you. Let’s live so that when our day comes, we will hear, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

This post is just the beginning of our new series this year, “Saying Yes to Less.”

Over the weeks and months to come, I’ll share more about how we can strip back the unnecessary and focus on what truly fills our cups. Let’s journey together into simplifying our lives and deepening our faith, finding greater peace, joy, and fulfillment along the way. I’m excited to dive deeper with you each month and uncover the profound beauty in choosing less.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the blessing of a new year. Help us to live as You call us to live. Help us to care for Your precious children with compassion. Open our eyes, our ears, and our hearts to Your loving presence. Amen.