**Just a quick note! Some of the links in this article are affiliate links. So, if you click through a link and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission that helps to fund this ministry. To see our full disclosure policy, click here.**
A few years ago, I decided to try an experiment: What would it be like to live seasonally? This experiment started one winter when I was craving solitude and distance. I wanted to get quiet. But I didn’t know what to do with that desire.
My approach to life up to that point was to always be moving forward and making progress toward some goal. Withdrawing and getting quiet didn’t seem to match up with that kind of lifestyle. And yet, it was what I craved.
In my small group, we were exploring together what it meant to rest, to trust God’s provision and care for us, to sabbath. I’d been learning to listen to what my body and heart needed. If what I was craving was the quiet, slowness of winter, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to press into it.
I’m three or four years into that experiment of pressing into and embracing the seasons as they come, and I have found it so life-giving. It’s gotten harder to answer the question of what my favorite season is because summer, fall, winter, and spring all give us different gifts.
Embracing the seasons themselves is a gift. It gives us the chance to slow down, reevaluate, and acknowledge that it’s okay to change things up. It’s okay if we need or want different things in different seasons.
I have learned the value of seasons, and with fall upon us, it has me reflecting on the season we’re leaving and the one we’re entering. So I thought I’d share some of the resources I’ve found helpful during this experiment of living seasonally, as well as a few prompts I like to use to reflect as the seasons change.
Resources for a new season
I love a good resource, and here are a few I keep returning to no matter what season I’m in:
90 Day Powersheets Goal Planner
This year I started using a new resource that I’ve been loving. I’ve been a long-time fan of the Powersheets Goal Planner and have used it for many years. It’s a great resource to help you figure out what matters and make little by little progress toward your goals all year long.
However, I’ve learned that, for me, sometimes a year is too big of a chunk to work with. Sometimes I just need to go one season at a time. Which is why I love their 90 Day Goal Planner. As each new calendar season begins, I open a new 90 Day Goal Planner to determine intentions going forward.
This resource beautifully pairs together reflection, processing, goal-setting.
If you’re looking to approach life a little more seasonally, this might be a great resource to pick up.
Caroline Williams, Yoga + Journaling Practice for a New Season
Caroline Williams has been a helpful voice for meditating and moving my body. I love how she pairs her gentle yoga practices with thoughtful meditations on Scripture and the devoted life.
This particular practice is one I’ve done before as seasons changed. I love how she pairs a simple flow with time to reflect and look ahead.
If you’re interested in yoga, if moving your body helps you think and process, or if you’re looking for a different way to approach a new season, Caroline is a great resource.
Next Right Thing Journal
Emily P. Freeman is another voice I’ve found extremely helpful and gracious when approaching the seasons. To help with discerning our next right thing, Emily has created a wonderful journal for observing the season we’re in, The Next Right Thing Journal. Her book The Next Right Thing, and The Next Right Thing Podcast are also helpful resources if you’re looking to grow in the practice of discernment.
Devoted Scripture Journal
Sometimes a change in season also means a change in how we approach or what we are studying in Scripture. I like to sit in a particular passage, book, or theme for a time, then when I feel my spiritual season shift, I move on to something different.
The Devoted Scripture Journal is a Bible study journal I created to help ordinary people not only read, but meditate on and study Scripture. It is a 13 week journal with space for prayer, gratitude, and reflection on what you’re reading in your devoted time. This is a great resource to use on your own, or in your Bible study group.
Learn more about the Devoted Scripture Journal here.
Find Your Word Workbook
My first step into living seasonally was taking time at the beginning of a new year to ask God for a word. This practice helped me set my year before God, learn to listen for His voice and guidance, and gave me a particular focus to pray over and move through my year.
I found this practice so helpful in my relationship with God that I created a guided workbook to help you uncover your word for a new season.
It is available for free in my resource library. You can sign up for access here!
8 questions for a new season
Taking time to reflect at the end of the year has been a long-held practice of mine. But I have also found that these questions of reflection can be helpful as we navigate different seasons.
Whether you are preparing to walk into the next season on the calendar, or there is a new season of the soul blowing in, here are 8 questions to ask and reflect on as you enter a new season.
It might be a good idea to save these and work through them slowly. Grab a journal or a trusted friend and take the time to reflect.
- How’s your heart?
- How are you and Jesus doing?
- How did you see or experience God at work in this past season? Where did you want to see God?
- What practices did you participate in? How did those go for you? What practices do you want to adapt, adopt, or remove in this new season?
- How are you hoping, wanting, or needing to experience God in this season?
- What words or images are you leaning into this season?
- What are you carrying with you into this new season? What are you leaving behind?
- What are you saying yes to? What are you saying no to?
Enter a new season with grace
Whatever this season holds, I hope you take some time to sit in the beginning of this new season with the Lord, to reflect on the things He has already done, the ways He has made Himself known, and to look ahead with hope, joy, and confidence in God’s ever-present presence.
