Trying something a little different this year.
I have a daily discipline that includes listening to the DailyAudio Bible podcast (highly recommended), and for the past several years I have been micro-journaling each day, usually just a few words that stood out to me from the reading (or words that the reading evoked in me). At the end of the year, I pump the journal into a word-cloud maker (wordart.com) to show visually by size which words appeared most.
In 2025, my journaling was a little more free-form, didn't stick to a specific pattern other than keeping entries relatively short. So, rather than focusing just on repeated words, I used an AI to surface the recurring themes in my writing, and had it create a list of 2-4 word phrases that ranked those themes in a consistent way.
The shorter list of longer phrases didn't lend itself as well to the bible-book image that I've used as a wordart template in the past, so I went with a more abstract circle theme to represent the full-circle span of the year in scripture.
As we wrap up a year that's been marked with loss, uncertainty, and turmoil, it's comforting to reflect back on God's steadfast goodness and grace through it all. May 2026 continue to bring a deeper faith-walk for all of us.