Standing at the edge of a new year carries a familiar pressure.
Set goals.
Choose a word.
Make resolutions.
Fix what’s broken.
At our house we feel that pressure most clearly in the evenings after a long day when Terri and I finally get to sit down together and exhale. More often than not, that exhale looks like a simple routine: dinner, dim lights, one of our cat crew in our laps, and an episode of whatever whodunit we’re currently binging playing on our TV.
It’s not necessarily deep television. It’s comfort television. It’s a puzzle to take our mind of things. A gentle sacredness surrounds the routine of it all. There’s no place I’d rather be than with her.
If you’ve ever watched NCIS for any length of time, you know about Gibbs’ Rules. They’ve become part legend, part running joke, part hard-earned wisdom. Rules like:
- Never screw over your partner.
- Don’t waste good.
- Sometimes you’re wrong.
Some are questionable.
Some are incomplete.
A few contradict each other.
But here’s the thing: Gibbs doesn’t follow them because they’re clever.
He follows them because they were forged through his lived experience. Mostly, they were learned through pain, failure, and loss.
And that got me thinking as we head into 2026. What are my personal rules? I’ve come to believe everyone has them. What are yours?
What are personal rules?
Simply put, personal rules are the internal commitments we choose to live by. They aren’t laws imposed on us and they aren’t resolutions announced to impress others. They’re decisions we’ve made about who we are when life gets complicated.
Personal rules sound like this:
- I don’t rush what is sacred.
- I tell the truth, even when it costs me.
- I rest before I’m empty.
- I create before I consume.
- I do what the Lord puts in front of me.
Most of us already have personal rules.
Like Gibbs’, they’ve been shaped over time, sometimes very intentionally, other times out of sheer survival.
The difference is whether we’ve ever named them. You live by them even though if you haven’t acknowledged them. Do you know what your personal rules are?
Why personal rules matter
Life rarely falls apart in one dramatic moment. It usually erodes through small, repeated decisions made when we’re tired, distracted, or afraid.
Personal rules reduce decision fatigue.
They answer the question “Who will I be right now?” before the moment demands an answer. Even when you’re not your best self.
Personal rules aren’t restrictive. They’re stabilizing. They anchor us when life drops the unexpected at our front door.
Gibbs doesn’t pause in a crisis to decide whether loyalty matters. He already knows. He’s already decided.
Personal rules and faith
Scripture is full of people who lived by holy constraints. Jesus withdrew to lonely places to pray. Daniel prayed even when it became dangerous. The early church devoted themselves to prayer, fellowship, and the breaking of bread.
These weren’t rigid checklists. They were rhythms that protected what mattered most.
Personal rules, at their best, do the same thing. They don’t earn grace.
They make space for it.
As we enter 2026
You don’t need a long list. You don’t need a perfectly articulated life plan. Honestly, you may only need one rule that steadies you.
One rule that protects your marriage.
One rule that guards your faith.
One rule that reminds you who you are when the noise gets too loud.
People need anchors.
Teams need trust.
Life works better when you’ve decided ahead of time what matters most.
What I’ve learned over my sixty years on Planet Earth is that if you wait until the storm hits, it’s too late.
A gentle invitation
As the calendar turns, take a moment to honestly reflect on your life.
Ask yourself:
- What rules have I been living by without naming them?
- Which rules were formed in pain and what did I learn?
- What rule would help me walk more faithfully into the new year ahead?
Write it down.
Grace will still be necessary.
Mercy will still meet you when you fall.
But a few well-chosen personal rules might help you stand when it counts the most.
Until my next post…
Be salty, stay lit.
Rainer Bantau —The Devotional Guy™
You can now find my articles in The Christian Grandfather Magazine.
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The Devotional Guy™ 
Thank you, Rosie. I am glad my words are helpful.
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“But a few well-chosen personal rules might help you stand when it counts the most.” Ah, great words of hard won pespective ~ Rosie
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