Your 2026 Writing Reset: The 4-Step Kingdom Impact Roadmap

Welcome to our last episode of 2025!

This year has been a whirlwind, and I’m grateful beyond measure to have you here with me.

God has been doing wonders on this journey, and He’s just getting started. There’s so much to come that 2026 will feel like the Father is rolling out the red carpet to all that He’s been laboring intently on for the last several years.

I’m awed. A bit scared. But oh so grateful.

Truly witnessing the mighty hand of the Father at work never ceases to amaze me. It’s one of my favorite things.

But before we race full-speed into the new year, we want to close out this year well.

Which means deep conversations and courageous vulnerability before the Lord. It also means carving out intentional time for those big conversations.

December is a perfect time to slow down and sit with God to reflect, pray, and listen to His heart.

And in today’s episode, we’re diving into why your writing business needs this type of meeting with God and a 4-step roadmap to position your writing for kingdom impact in 2026.

Why Your Writing Business Needs an End-of-Year Meeting With God

Before we explore the practical tips and mindsets to conquer our end-of-year business eval, let’s break down why doing this with the Lord is vital.

Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”

The word for “vision” in this verse is ḥāzôn (khaw-zone’), meaning dream, vision, prophesy—essentially divine communication.

Hearing straight from God, hearing His heart for you and your writing, will give you clear direction, boundaries, provision, and His word will be a source of life and strength in your days.

Receiving divine communication is vital if you desire to make a kingdom impact with your writing.

Why Hearing God Cuts Through Creative Noise

There is a lot of knowledge and advice—both good and bad—that permeates the interweb. With so much noise crowding our headspace, only the voice of the Lord can effectively cut through the noise to usher in the type of revelation that will transform you and your writing. Then, through that transformation, you will be positioned to impact and bless your readers.

To truly make a difference in this world, we need to have our ears pressed to the heart of the Father.

We need His wisdom. And as creatives after God’s own heart, we do not want to establish goals or take on projects based on selfish ambitions.

Which means we need to intentionally carve out time to sit with Him, be with Him, and hear what He has to say.

To help with this, I have a 4-step impact roadmap that’s proven to bring clarity, focus, and direction.

Step 1: Sit With God (The Power of Sabbath Stillness)

Now, before you roll your eyes at me. Let me explain.

I’m not advising you to plop on the couch to veg out on a movie marathon or doom-scroll through social media until your eyes bleed.

That type of sitting will do you no good.

However, posturing your heart to sit with a sabbath mindset positions you in a stillness and rest that will help you remove the mental noise and declutter your mind.

And a clear, undistracted brain is key to not missing the downloads and revelations the Lord wants to give us.

I’m convinced of this! You won’t be able to get me off this soapbox. I’ve seen the Lord move in this more times than I can count.

There’s a reason Jesus says in Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

But why would a sabbath moment to sit and rest matter?

It goes back to intentionality.

The Heart Posture of a Christian Writer

In Psalm 23, we see that rest and renewal come after we’ve established trust in God.

In the first part of Psalm 23:1, there is a declaration that the Lord is our Shepherd, meaning that by choosing to submit ourselves under the Kingship of the Lord, we put ourselves under the governing hand of God.

And as our Good Shepherd, the Lord would then be responsible for our care and well-being. Making the second part of verse one much more meaningful.

But do we believe that God will meet all of our needs? And if we believed that, then why do we struggle so much to carve out the time to sit with the One who gave us life? Surrendering to His will and plans.

Something to ponder on.

And before we move on to the next step on our end-of-year road map, I want to share a quick confession.

What My Sabbath-Year Taught Me

A couple of summers ago, I read about an experience a particular author had at a conference they had attended. This author shared how they had sat outside in between classes, journaling and communing with God in a deep way.

The picture this author had painted was so beautiful, I couldn’t help but yearn for a similar experience. And I vividly remember the Holy Spirit nudging me as the Lord asked, “Why not?”

Such a simple question. Why couldn’t I have a peaceful, revelatory experience like that where I sat, talked, and journaled?

What was holding me back from enjoying time in the Father’s presence?

Me. I was the problem.

Because at the time, I was so focused on proving my value through productive output that I wouldn’t have let myself rest long enough to enjoy the beauty of being with God for myself and my business.

Anything I did in that season was for others.

Until the Lord sat me down and made me have a Sabbath year, teaching me that resting doesn’t make me lazy or inactive. If anything, a true Sabbath rest can make us more fruitful because we’re tending to our hearts, minds, and spirits while sitting in God’s presence.

The Lord is good, and I’m so grateful for Him.

From that Sabbath experience, I can confidently state that a rested, clear mind is the best place to start when seeking clarity, wisdom, and divine revelation for your business.

Then, with that clear, refreshed mind, we can reflect more effectively.

Step 2: Reflect on Your Year With Hope and Honesty

Reflecting on the past year in business can be as deep as we need it to be. The depth of evaluation might depend on where you are in your writing career and even the maturity of your business.

I recently printed out a beast of a workbook with 45 reflection questions and worksheets to plot out quarterly goals for 2026.

Old Desiree would’ve been daunted by this workbook, and it would’ve overwhelmed me to the point I’d have been crippled by anxiety and a sense of failure.

Thanks to the deeply redeeming work of the Lord, this New Desiree is eager and thrilled by this 60-page workbook.

However, you don’t need that level of reflection if you don’t want it. There is beauty in simplicity.

Three Powerful Questions to Guide Your Reflection

To have an impactful and effective reflection session, ask these 3 questions:

Question One: Where did I see God this year?

Focusing on His fingerprints pulls your eyes off yourself and back onto Him.

Journal all the things God accomplished and all the ways you saw God show up in your business in 2025.

Question Two: Was I obedient to what God asked of me?

If yes, then girl, sit and have a praise session with the Lord because that is a huge victory.

Although if you didn’t feel as though you were as obedient as you could’ve been, pull back the layers to assess why. What were the problem areas? What were the triggers or snares that kept tripping you up?

Quick FYI: Reflecting on these types of questions does not give us the license to beat ourselves up over perceived failures. This self-assessment is to problem-solve, learn, and mature to establish proper checks and balances for the year to come.

These questions are designed to help us see areas for growth and development. Not opportunities to belittle ourselves and break our confidence.

Some common areas I see people get tripped up in are time and finances. Having unhealthy mindsets around time and finances causes us to take on things that aren’t for our good and don’t connect to our kingdom assignments.

This might look like saying yes to every opportunity to expand our reach instead of the assignments God specifically gave you. Or this could even show up by investing in tools or programs out of fear rather than obedience.

Not every open door is opened by God. We need the discernment that comes through those divine communications to know what’s best for our writing business.

Those unhealthy mindsets around time and finances bring bondage and distractions and cause us to not be as diligent as we should be regarding completing what God has asked of us.

Question Three: What is God asking you to build?

I am the queen of overthinking. So I have to be careful with questions like this, because I will have the bad habit of hearing what God wants to do and then thinking it’s all up to me to bring monumental things to pass.

Remember: we are not the miracle workers. We are vessels of God’s glory for His glory. He does the impossible. We get to participate.

And the perfect accompaniment to this type of deep reflection is prayer.

Step 3: Pray and Listen for God’s Direction

We’re all familiar with the power of prayer. So, here are a few reminders regarding this stage of the roadmap.

Prayer is a two-way conversation. Not a quick dump of petitions.

And it’s okay if this roadmap or business meeting spans across a few days—or even a few weeks. There’s nothing wrong with letting ideas and thoughts percolate. Don’t rush this conversation with the Lord.

Why Fasting Can Strengthen Your Discernment

Also, don’t discredit the power of fasting. Fasting can be a touchy subject for some individuals. So be assured, I’m not saying you have to fast in order to receive divine downloads. I’m also not advising you to throw the concept out the window either.

In Mark 9, we see Jesus instructing His disciples that certain victories come only by prayer and fasting. What we don’t see in Mark 9 is Jesus telling the father of the afflicted son, “Hang on a sec while I spend a week fasting, and then I’ll come back and heal your son.”

No, Jesus had a lifestyle of denying his flesh. And because He had that lifestyle of denying His flesh, He was able to meet a big need in the moment it was needed.

The Hardest Part Isn’t Hearing God — It’s Trusting Him

Prayer, submission, and intimacy with God will position your heart to receive the strategies, blueprints, and divine communication needed for casting impactful business visions and establishing sustainable goals for the year to come.

The hardest part won’t be receiving the understanding for how to accomplish the tasks God is giving to you. The hardest part will be to walk it out in faith, believing and trusting that God will do all He said He would do.

Step 4: Trust, Obey, and Apply What God Gives You

This is a meaningful segment for me. There have been so many lessons from the Father’s heart this year. So many victories and breakthroughs over fear, doubt, and intimidation that the act of trusting and obeying means we’re actively applying the faith that Christ has established within us.

This feels weighty because for many, this will be a crossroads moment. A moment of decision regarding which path to take and which promises to pursue.

When Israel was in the wilderness, they had to choose for themselves who they would serve. Would they return to the false gods of Egypt? Or would they trust and obey the One True God, taking Him by the hand to conquer the promised land?

There is a choice that we will always face when growing a kingdom business, and that is: will we remain in the comforts of the familiar, or will we step forward into the unknown that God is calling us into, believing and trusting that He is with us wherever we go.

Faith Moves Even When the Path Isn’t Clear

Hebrews 11:8 says, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”

Faith is stepping out. Even if you don’t see the full picture.

Take the first step and trust that God will show you the next.

Trust, believe, obey. And put it all into action, walking out and applying all that God has entrusted to your hands to steward.

With God, you can conquer 2026 for His glory and position your writing for kingdom impact.

When we get back together in January, we’ll dive more into tips and mindsets around structuring your quarterly goals to help you walk out and apply what God is leading you into with grace and joy.

Recap: The 4-Step Kingdom Impact Roadmap for Writers

As we come to a close for this chat, let’s do a quick recap of our end-of-year impact roadmap.

• Step one: sit—sabbath rest produces clear, clutter-free minds.
• Step two: reflect—again, not a license to beat yourself up over perceived failures, but an opportunity to reflect on where God showed up and how He’s governing your next steps.
• Step three: pray and listen. Prayer is a two-way conversation that brings amazing insight and revelation. Also, don’t discredit the benefit of fasting if you feel led to do so.
• Step four: Trust, obey, and girl, walk out those heavenly assignments in faith. Take what God is entrusting to your hands and complete His will for your life.

I’ll leave you with one more scripture. One that I’m personally carrying with me into the new year.

Encouragement for Christian Writers in 2026

In John 4:34, Jesus says to His disciples, “… My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.”

This is a two-fold process. To do the will of the Father and to finish the work entrusted to us.

Christ bore the cross and finished the work. Let us apply this to our projects and goals for the coming year.

No more will fear, doubt, insecurities, anxieties, etc., rob you of your time, peace, and confidence.

Your confidence is in God. Your trust is in God. And He will see you through.

Want To Continue The Conversation?

I pray you were blessed by this message today. If you know of a fellow writer who’d be encouraged by this heart chat, feel free to send them a link to this post.

You, my friend, are a gem, and I treasure our time together. Feel free to hit up my inbox if you have any questions or would like to continue this conversation.

And if you’d enjoy biweekly encouragement, here’s your invite to join the newsletter community.

I can’t wait to see what 2026 has in store. In the meantime, happy writing, and enjoy the journey.