{"id":14103,"date":"2025-12-28T16:34:45","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T16:34:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/?p=14103"},"modified":"2025-12-28T16:34:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T16:34:45","slug":"how-do-you-prepare-your-mind-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/?p=14103","title":{"rendered":"How do you prepare your mind for 2026?"},"content":{"rendered":"


By Chuck Bentley<\/span><\/span>, CP Guest Contributor Friday, December 26, 2025<\/span>iStock\/ThomasVogel<\/span><\/p>\n

My wife, Ann, provides the research and support for every article we publish on The Christian Post.\u00a0 She is a priceless resource to me, and to those of you who enjoy these weekly articles. Like a disciplined soldier or athlete who keeps their body fit, she is vigilant about what she puts into her mind. Today, in our last article of 2025, she shares her thoughts and practices that will help us have a better New Year. I know you will be blessed.<\/p>\n

Think about what you think about<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the days following Christmas, it\u2019s easy to let travel, fatigue, bills, and more rob us of the joy surrounding the celebration of Christ\u2019s birth. The tyranny of the urgent, for young and old, can steal the peace from our hearts and minds. To avoid letting Satan have his way, we must vigilantly guard what we allow into our minds. Think about what you\u2019re thinking about!<\/p>\n

Remember what the Apostle Paul told the Philippians:<\/p>\n

\u201cFinally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things\u201d (Philippians 4:8 ESV, emphasis mine).<\/p>\n

Another way to renew your mind is to contemplate the blessings you have in Christ. To personalize the impact, I reframed Ephesians 1:3\u201314 (ESV) using \u201cI\u201d, \u201cme\u201d, and \u201cmy\u201d instead of \u201cwe\u201d and \u201cour.\u201d Read it slowly, focusing on the truth of your real identity:<\/p>\n

\u201cBlessed be\u00a0the God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed me in Christ with every spiritual blessing\u00a0in the heavenly places,\u00a0even as he\u00a0chose me in him\u00a0before the foundation of the world, that I should be\u00a0holy and blameless before him. <\/em><\/p>\n

In love\u00a0he predestined me\u00a0for\u00a0adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,\u00a0according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed me in\u00a0the Beloved.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

In him I have\u00a0redemption\u00a0through his blood,\u00a0the forgiveness of my trespasses,\u00a0according to the riches of his grace,\u00a0which he lavished upon me, in all wisdom and insight\u00a0making known to me the mystery of his will,\u00a0according to his purpose, which he\u00a0set forth in Christ\u00a0as a plan for\u00a0the fullness of time,\u00a0to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth in him. <\/em><\/p>\n

In him I have obtained\u00a0an inheritance,\u00a0having been predestined\u00a0according to the purpose of him who works all things according to\u00a0the counsel of his will. <\/em><\/p>\n

In him I also, when I heard the word of truth, the gospel of my salvation, and believed in him, was sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of my inheritance until I acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Allow God\u2019s Word to saturate your mind at the beginning and end of every day. In addition, here are some practical ways to help avoid the after-Christmas blues and prepare for the New Year ahead:<\/p>\n