For the Hinge Seasons: Three Ways to Transition Better

Maybe January feels like a hinge month. Like what happens the rest of the year rests on what you do with this one month.

You feel all kinds of pressure to pick the right New Year’s resolutions, the perfect word of the year, the habits that will stack up to lifestyle change. You write and rewrite your measurable goals, your keep and let-go list, your personal mission statement.

Perhaps you’re fed up with merely existing. You long for depth, clarity, connection. And January, you determine, is the tone-setter for the remaining months. The mark of your maximum braveness. The hinge-point for 2026.

Or it might be time to step into something that has been a long time coming. You feel more inadequate than excited, here on the precipice of a brand new season.

First, a confession: I’m here with you–both hopeful for this year and overthinking how to best embrace January. I’m doing the thing I’ve been preparing years for, but it feels lonelier than I expected. I’m writing more slowly than ever. Looking forward to actual up-comings–a finished manuscript, rounds of editing, choosing a cover, sharing with you what I’ve been co-creating with God–is entirely different than anticipating the possibility of it all.

Second, an invitation: step back into ancient, soon-to-be Israel with me as we simplify how to transition well. I find uncanny relevance in the book of Joshua. It’s a significant season in Israel’s history as they leave the wilderness and step into God’s promise. Inside Joshua’s story are powerful yet simple tools to take with us into 2026.

Three Tips for Hinge Seasons

Whatever hinges on the next few weeks for you–breakthrough in a particular area of your life, traction towards your goals, the shift into what next’s in God’s best for you–you don’t have to figure it all out today. January is the time to set your direction for the year, not cross the finish line.

January is the time to set your direction for the year, not cross the finish line. (Twyla Franz quote)

More important than what you accomplish right now is where your face is pointed. We move towards what catches the eye because feet follow eyes.

So let’s look at where the eyes rest in Joshua’s story for clues on where to set our attention.

1. Gaze on God’s Word.

Shortly after God reminds Joshua that He will “not fail or abandon” him (Joshua 1:5), He guides him with this:

Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.

(Joshua 1:7-8 NLT)

Like Joshua, you and I deeply need to get God’s Word inside us. It’s pivotal to growing in Christlikeness in 2026. How are we to recognize the sound of God’s voice unless we hear it often, through Scripture? How better to acquire the wisdom we need for this next year?

2. Glue your eyes on God.

In Joshua’s days, the Ark of the Covenant was the visible resting place of God’s presence. It signified that God was right there with them. They could trust His covenant with them, trust His power to protect them, trust that He would lead them into the promised land.

The ark was lifted high and carried ahead of the rest of the people, a moving landmark to follow. It had led the way through the wilderness, and now, in the book of Joshua, it guides the Israelites across the Jordan river and around the city of Jericho.

When we keep our eyes glued to God, wild things can happen. Miraculous things. Like a flooded river drying up in an instant and shouts of joy collapsing a city.

As we settle into 2026, let’s endeavor to keep our eyes open to where God is at work. Let’s look to Him as leader and provider. Let’s trust that He is powerful enough to do what we could never do on our own.

3. Fixate on the faithfulness of God.

The part of the story where Joshua instructs the leaders to build a memorial to help the people always remember what God had done undoes something inside me. I know how quickly I forget the past faithfulness of God. How few of the moments I felt overwhelmed by the kindness of God I remember unless I write them down. Joshua knows this tendency, so he acts preemptively.

So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel. He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. We will use these stones to build a memorial.

In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’

Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”

(Joshua 4:4-7 NLT)

We can apply the same principle of looking with gratitude on the ways God’s already come through for us as we move into 2026. Grab a simple notebook or lined journal and begin a gratitude list. Or, if you’d like a fresh approach, try the stunning Gifts and Gratitudes journal from Ann Voskamp so you can see what you listed every day for each of the other months.

To help you begin a year-round gratitude practice, sign up HERE to get a gratitude story in your inbox each week.

A Blessing as You Transition

What strikes me in reading Joshua’s story is that Joshua wasn’t automatically brave. He felt the weight of responsibility, and he must have been afraid or God wouldn’t have to repeatedly remind him to “be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:6 NLT).

Joshua shows us how we can be scared and still not shy away from the transition before us. When we keep our eyes on God, His Word, and His faithfulness, God picks up the slack.