New Habits for 2025
The year, I would like to begin highlighting books that have shaped and formed me in the past year. In January, I will be discussing a few from 2024 that I would like to recommend.
Most influential book for me in 2024—
Drum roll . . .
Probably the book of 2024 that has challenged and influenced me the most is Justin Earley’s The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction.
As we begin 2025, many of us are paying attention to our habits. What habits are unhealthy? What new habits might we adopt that will help us thrive in 2025?
Earley’s book is all about habits. He likens habits to liturgies—” pattern(s) of words or actions repeated regularly as a way of worship” that “form our hearts.” (7-8)
Earley challenges us to decide what we are worshiping—what we are making as idols through our habits: “Worship is formation, and formation is worship. As the psalmist put it, those who make and trust in idols will become like them (Psalm 31:6). So we become our habits.” (9)
Earley transparently reflects on his own habits before making a rule of life, saying, “I’m not even halfway through my day, and you can see how by not having a program of habits I was submitting to a rigorous regimen of liturgies simply by assimilating to the usual way of life in America. My life was an ode of worship to omniscience, omnipresence, and limitlessness. No wonder my body rebelled.” (10)
Earley emphasizes his key learning that by implementing limits, he actually experienced freedom. (10-12) He compared developing a rule of life to a trellis in a garden that helps plants thrive and grow. We need a common rule to help us set limits in order to experience spiritual freedom and growth.
Earley does not shy away from technology, but offers up his personal experience and ideas for forming intentional habits that encompass technology in our busy lives. Some of the habits he focuses on are prayer, meals with others, turning off the phone for an hour, Scripture before the phone, an hour talking with a friend, curation of media, fasting from something for twenty-four hours, and Sabbath.
If you have not already read this book, I would like to challenge you to consider reading it for the following reasons:
1. Relevance. First, Earley’s writing in The Common Rule is relevant. Earley, who is a lawyer, father, husband, and someone desiring to follow Christ shares practical, everyday faith that we can all grab a hold of for everyday life. Earley transparently shares how he struggled with an addiction to busyness, and his discovery about how his habits were unintentionally contributing to a lifestyle of stress and distraction. He also shares his journey toward forming a plan—a “rule”—to make habits life-giving and formational to how he lives out his faith every day.
2. Well-Written. Second, Earley’s book is well-written. As a writer, I marvel at how Earley takes complex ideas and makes them simple, but profound. His writing style will appeal to the most well-read person on this subject, but also for person just setting out to learn about spiritual practices or disciplines. Earley’s concise explanations wrapped in non-churcheze help me and you, longtime church people, people new to the faith –everyone—to track with him.
3. Practical. In addition to Earley’s book being relevant and powerfully written, my favorite and most important reason that you should read this book is that it is practical. I am not fond of books that talk merely in theoretical terms, without any practical applications. This book gives feet to the theoretical providing Daily and Weekly Habits with charts and ideas for how to implement these habits into daily life. Earley suggests that people not follow them in book order, but work on them as the Spirit leads. The book is full of graphics and charts that invite people to lean into what Earley is writing about.
4. Tranformational. Finally, I love Earley’s book because it is transformational. I know it has already profoundly shaped how I will be leaning into spiritual practice of faith in 2025. I have shared this book with friends, and they have also said the same. I was surprised to hear of iterations of Earley’s ideas in a youth Bible study that my daughter was invited to, and I saw another variation of these ideas being carried out in a church small group.
I love that this book is for all ages. In fact a Youth Edition is coming out in 2025: The Common Rule Youth Edition - InterVarsity Press
I also stumbled upon this book because of something else that Earley had written which is great for Family Habits: Habits of the Household: Practicing the Story of God in Everyday Family Rhythms: Earley, Justin Whitmel, Troy and Ruth Simons
Earley emphasizes that habits are best formed in community. Perhaps you might consider forming a book club or utilize this book in your small group? If you are interested in joining me, I am planning to form a short-term study on this book via Zoom. Let me know if you are interested.
I believe if we were to take to heart the ideas of Earley’s book, that it would be highly transformative—not only because Earley is an excellent writer and teacher—but because the practices he lays out here help us lean into how we can be formed by God. I hope you will check out this amazing resource.
Blessings as you lean into powerful, formational habits in 2025!
Valerie