50 Questions for the New Year
Natalie and I have a New Year’s Eve tradition of reflecting on the past and dreaming about the future. We use these “Questions For The New Year” (also copied below) as a starting point for our conversation. Hopefully, they can be helpful to you as well.
If you’re tired of making and breaking new year’s resolutions, consider making a “Rule of Life” instead.
Check out this Rule of Life from missionary, Adoniram Judson:
- Be diligent in secret prayer, every morning and evening.
- Never spend a moment in mere idleness.
- Restrain natural appetites within the bounds of temperance and purity. ‘Keep thyself pure.’
- Suppress every emotion of unjust anger and ill will.
- Undertake nothing from motives of ambition, or love of fame.
- Never do that which, at the moment, appears to be displeasing to God.
- Seek opportunities of making some sacrifice for the good of others, especially of believers, provided the sacrifice is not inconsistent with some duty.
- Endeavor to rejoice in every loss and suffering incurred for Christ’s sake and the Gospel’s, remembering that though, like death, they are not to be willfully incurred, yet, like death, they are great gain.
You can read more here: Spiritual Disciplines for the New Year.
Happy New Year!
Drew and the crew
Questions From Last Year:
- The most fun times you can remember
- Terms you would use to describe yourself over the past year
- Memorable things you heard people say
- Times when the Gospel came alive
- People you came to appreciate in a new way
- Music that touched you deeply
- Ways that you changed
- Sermons/talks that rocked your world
- Movies that impacted you
- Things that books taught you
- The most compelling philosophical insights you encountered
- Times when you entered a place of mystery
- People who came through for you
- Ways you messed up
- Ways that you were magic
- Times that God took you by surprise
- The most stimulating discussions
- Things you remember that you’d rather forget
- The most difficult times
- People who poured out their souls to you
- People you poured your soul into
- Ways you were challenged
- Times when everything was going wrong and suddenly turned out right
- Your most significant accomplishments
- What spiritual practices generated the greatest benefit to your soul
- Was there any anger, guilt, greed or jealousy that needs to be resolved?
- How did you do with your finances? To whom did you give generously?
- Did you cultivate your prayer life?
- How did you do as a
- father/mother?
- As a husband/wife?
- As a son/daughter?
- As a grandson/granddaughter?
- As a brother/sister?
- As a friend?
- If you were to give this past year a title, it would be:
Questions For The Upcoming Year
- What hopes do you have for the coming year?
- What apprehensions do you have?
- What one change could you make in your behavior in this coming year that would help you to live in greater alignment with your values?
- What daring/thrilling things will you try?
- What would you like to change about yourself?
- If this new year is to have a title, what do you want it to be?
- If you knew now that this coming year would be your last year on earth, what would you do more/less of?
- What major things do you want to accomplish this coming year?
- Who do you want to get to know better this coming year?
- Any wild predictions about what will happen throughout this nation and the world?
- Who are the top ten relationships you intend to influence this year?
- How will you be more intentional with these people than in the past year?
- What has to happen in this coming year for you to label it “your best year yet?”
- What is the wildest, most unconventional thing you could do this next year to live with more passion?
- What out of the box thinking could you do in your job/ministry?
- How will you honor God with your finances this next year?
- In what specific areas will you give more generously?
- Who will hold you accountable to be at your best this next year?
- What are the most purposeful daily habits you could develop/upgrade over next 12 months?
- Identify specific messes or clutter projects you’d like to clean up in the next 12 months.
- Proverbs 22:1 says “A good name is more desirable than great riches.” Identify 3 qualities you’d like to see associated with your name as well as how you’d define each quality.
- How will you take better care of your health in this next year?
- What will you do to daily renew your mind?
