Happy New Year! It’s time once again for New Year’s resolutions, so I’m sharing today a super simple form I’ve used with my kids to help them set simple, actionable, yet spiritually-focused New Year’s goals.
Kids are kids – so we don’t want to overwhelm them with too many goals that are difficult to achieve. Instead, using a simple Bible verse about Jesus, we can help them self-reflect and set their own New Year’s resolutions.
“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”
Luke 2:52
Read this scripture aloud with your kids and engage them in conversation about Jesus. What do they know about his childhood? What can they remember about what Jesus was like as a 12-year old? Go back and read the story together. Then ask your kids what the scriptures mean that Jesus grew in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God and man.
Before you gather the kids, though, take a minute to download and print the Luke 2:52 Goals Form. It’s free! Print one for each child in the family.
Let’s break the scripture down into the four areas and help your kids apply it to their own lives.
New Year’s Goal #1: Grow in Wisdom
This first goal is all about mental, intellectual growth towards God. As Christian parents, more than anything we want our children to learn that wisdom comes from scripture because scripture is the mind of God. We want to guide our kids to make it their aim to grow in wisdom – rather than growing in worldliness. When my kids are first learning to read, I always stress that the main function and advantage to reading is so that we can read the Word of God. We are people of the book, after all. So, how can we be better about being in the Word this year?
Throw out some of these ideas and see what your kids can come up with on their own:
- Read the Bible daily
- Pray for wisdom
- Study the book of Proverbs
- Make wise decisions
- Think before I act
- Study my Bible lesson for church each week
- Complete a daily Bible reading challenge or calendar
- Listen to at least 1 sermon or Biblical podcast each week
- Have family Bible devos at least 3 times a week
- Read my Bible the same number of minutes daily that I read other books or watch video games or TV
- Memorize one Bible verse each week
READ: ABC Bible Memory Verse Cards – Memorize a Scripture Each Week!
New Year’s Goal #2: Grow in Stature
Okay, let’s be real – chances are your kids probably have no idea what the word “stature” means. So, this is an awesome time to break it down into more familiar language. When I googled it, the Oxford dictionary says the definition is, “a person’s natural height”. Hmmm…what can we do with that?
Well, obviously, this goal is all about physical growth and health. Kids grow like weeds, right? Engage your kids in conversation about their goals for their own physical growth. How can you be healthy and take care of the body God gave you? What good choices can you make physically to make sure you are growing up to be the kind of person God requires?
- Eat my vegetables
- Brush my teeth twice a day
- Drink more water
- Start each day with a healthy breakfast
- Exercise daily
- Go on a walk each day
- Wash hands after using the bathroom & playing with pets
- Eat less sugar
- Stop biting my nails
- Take my vitamins daily
New Year’s Goal #3: Grow in Favor with God
Is growing in favor with God the same thing as growing in wisdom? I don’t think so. There are nuances here that we can challenge our children to find. Ask questions like, “how can you personally please God? What kinds of things can you do (actions) to please God? How can you grow closer to God and love him more?”. Take this one even further by reading about Bible characters such as Mary the mother of Jesus or King David. How were they full of favor or pleasing to the Lord?
In other words, how can you change your character to be a more godly person this year? There are probably many ways – but choose ONE! If possible, make it specific and actionable. This goal is all about spiritual growth in pleasing our Lord. Here are some ideas:
- Be more gentle
- Learn patience
- Be humble
- Take no for an answer
- Be kind to others, even when people are unkind to me
- Be truthful and honest in every situation
- Obey my parents right away the 1st time
- Control my hands/ don’t hit or fight (self-control)
- Control my mouth (self-control)
- Have a joyful attitude
- Grow in trusting God
- Tell God I love him every day in prayer
- Be courteous and mannerly
READ: Making Kids Bible Study Happen Everyday
New Year’s Goal #4: Grow in Favor with Man
The greatest command is to love the Lord our God with all our heart (New Year’s Goal #3), but the second is to love others as our self. So, not surprisingly, the last goal we see from our Luke 2:52 verse about Jesus is to grow in favor with man. That means learning to bless others by our words, actions, and thoughts. Engage your kids in conversation about how they treat the people around them. Are they showing love? How can they improve this year in the way they treat others?
- Don’t be a pest or annoying
- Think of others as more important than myself
- Let others go first (Take a back seat)
- Pray daily for others, even those who are mean or unkind
- Get along with my siblings
- Be loving even when it is hard
- Visit the elderly or widows at least once a month
- Don’t talk back to my parents
- Clean out and donate my toys and clothes to the needy
- Hold the door open for others every time I can
- Don’t argue
It will be tempting for your kids to pick MANY goals for each section, but don’t let them! While it is great to have the conversation to stir up good works, ask them to focus on only one thing for each of the four sections. They might brainstorm many ideas initially but settle on one big goal for each of the four areas: wisdom, stature, favor with God, and favor with man.
READ: New Year, New Rules: 10 Simple Screen Time Rules for Kids
Hang it where you can see it
Download your free Luke 2:52 worksheet and start setting those new year’s goals!
Finally – write their goals down, or help your kids to write it down or draw a picture, then hang their goal sheet in a visible place you all will see frequently. A good place might be the bathroom mirror, a picture frame on their nightstand, or the kitchen refrigerator.
Help the kids to re-read and re-visit their goal sheet at least once a week over the coming weeks. Have honest conversations about how they are coming along! Help each other to meet your goals and urge siblings to be encouraging to each other as you try to grow in the same ways as Jesus.
That’s what it’s all about! We want to become more like Jesus and grow in the same ways he did.
>>> Oh! And try out this adorable Luke 2:52 song to help everyone memorize the verse!
Happy New Year!