Happy new year! We hope you’re experiencing a peaceful and joyful start to 2025. As we wrap up the Christmas season (it’s the tenth day of Christmas, if you’re still counting), there is still plenty of license for festivity and celebration — including Epiphany, the feast that marks the arrival of the magi as they worship baby Jesus. Anna Moseley Gissing reflects on her experience of observing Epiphany — What does it mean? How does one celebrate? — and shares some accessible traditions that you might like to incorporate into your own life this coming Monday.

“One way to begin to celebrate Epiphany if you haven’t before is to recognize January 6 as a day to celebrate the arrival of the magi. If you have a nativity scene, try waiting to place the magi there until then. Read their story in Matthew 2. Sing “We Three Kings” or the last verse of “What Child Is This?” on that day. Thank Jesus especially on January 6 that he came for all people.”

How are you feeling about new year’s resolutions? There can be a lot of angst over this topic at the beginning of a new calendar year. We’re reminded of an essay from a few years back by Michelle Van Loon about her practice of holding her visions for the future lightly. Michelle’s reflections give permission to dream about our plans while laying them before God, acknowledging our own finite natures. We’re entering another new year with an unknown future, and as we walk forward together, we pray that 2025 brings wisdom and beauty and joy for each of you.

“My shorthand for these verses: write plans in pencil. Pencils have erasers. This is more than a statement that flexibility can be an asset, though it can. Writing plans in pencil is an acknowledgment that my time is not my own, but a gift from God.”

You’re Invited!

Pray with us in the future! Prayer meetings will resume January 17. You can join our online, 30-minute guided prayer meetings on Fridays at 8 am, 9 am, and 12 pm (Eastern). Can’t come? Send your prayer requests anyway by emailing us at wsap@intervarsity.org. Ready to pray? Join the Zoom meeting here for those Friday meetings.

Get your copy of the Spring 2025 Book Club selection! Join Women Scholars and Professionals this spring for a discussion of Habits of Hope: Educational Practices for a Weary World. Register now to receive your 40% discount for a copy of the book and prepare for online discussions about a Christian understanding of hope in academia. We hope you can join us!

IVP Faculty exam copies. Professors can request a free exam or desk copy for InterVarsity Press titles adopted for classroom use up to three times a year. Your free exam or desk copy will be sent to you within four weeks. Register for a professional account to access this benefit!

Are you an InterVarsity alum? Use promo code IVCFALUMNI to get a 25% discount at ivpress.com.

Downloadable Pocket Prayer Card from Graduate Healthcare Ministries. Medical students at Brown asked for a small resource that would prompt them to pray throughout the day. Colleague Renee Nicholas created this card with psalms and short prayers to support them — and you’re invited to use it too! Thanks, Renee!

Calling All Scientists! The American Scientific Affiliation is hosting their Winter Symposium on Saturday, January 25, 2025 at 1:00 pm ET/10:00 am PT. The topic is "AI & Christianity" and features speakers Joanna Ng and Rosalind Picard. Register for this online event here.

Save the Date: February 21-22, 2025 for Believers in Business. As the largest Christian MBA gathering in the country, the 2025 Believers in Business Conference is a key intersection of the Christian MBA and Christian professional communities. Mark your calendars to join them in New York this February!

Are you a new graduate student? We invite you to subscribe to a unique newsletter from InterVarsity’s Graduate and Faculty Ministries designed to support and encourage first-year grad students as they embark on the next step of their academic journey. If you’re a first-year graduate student, click here to subscribe.

Four More Things We Loved This Week

1. Good news for those who resist “new year, new you” — You don’t have to be someone new.

2. Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes recommends starting the new year by getting clear on values instead of focusing on resolutions.

3. The 24 Best Books of 2024 (BBC)

4. My Home Is Messy, and I Don’t Feel Bad About It. (NYTimes, unlocked)