--- title: A Look Back date: 2025-12-30T07:00:00-06:00 author: Jennifer Vermeer canonical_url: "https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/a-look-back" section: In All Things --- [ View All Articles](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things) [Essays](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things?category=essays) Dec 30, 2025 # A Look Back By [Jennifer Vermeer](https://www.dordt.edu/people/jennifer-vermeer) A note from the editor of In All Things, reflecting on 2025 ![](https://d3evso2dxyohou.cloudfront.net/generalUploads/InAllThingsCollage-1.webp?mode=crop&pos=center-center&w=66&h=57&f=webp&c=ce78abf9&v=d7f3c33b00f63b8cfd986973eca4c8f76cc9af21f67721979b4e04d310ea4a2c) ![]()As 2025 draws to a close, I’m thankful for another year marked by thoughtful reflections on what it means to live faithfully and fearlessly in every area of life. Throughout the year, our writers offered conviction and encouragement, demonstrating how a Reformed Christian worldview shapes the way we engage in all things. As I consider the wide range of themes explored, I am grateful for the bold voices and real stories of 2025, all deeply rooted in faith. Join me as we take a quick look back at some of this year’s most popular series and posts. **The year opened with a call to live faithfully and steward well, even in the margins of our lives.** To start the year, a number of series invited readers to reflect on how we care for God’s creation, steward our resources, and contribute to the communities to which we are called. These conversations ranged from cultivating [true financial peace](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/the-psychology-of-money-achieving-financial-peace) and contentment, to pursuing life-affirming care amid [growing cultural acceptance of euthanasia,](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/the-cautionary-tale-of-euthanasia-in-canada) and deepening the participation of all [generations in worship](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/raising-worshippers-cultivating-a-life-of-praise). Together, these stories remind us that faithful living touches every season and calling in life. ![](https://d3evso2dxyohou.cloudfront.net/generalUploads/InAllThingsCollage-1.webp?mode=fit&pos=center-center&w=57&h=65&c=ce78abf9&v=a27025459975b826db6f8629079c93e82aa4e88be9b8f36546ebc6b3c03d2866) **Through the spring and summer months, we reflected on what it looks like to practice justice, embrace imagination, and discern what captures our attention and shapes our hearts.** These conversations invited us to consider both the needs of others and the personal habits that form our relationship with God and His creation. Articles reflected on how simple practices—such as [pausing to see another point of view](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/on-the-other-hand-the-unity-of-contraries-in-a-world-of-conflict)—can shape our hearts, [how our desires and passions can either serve or distract from the worship of the one, true God](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/modern-idols), [teaching as covenantal care](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/more-than-a-framework-a-vision-for-mtss-and-imaginative-collective-support), and how a [living tradition](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/a-living-tradition-faithfully-inhabiting-and-engaging-the-world) equips us to engage faithfully with modern culture. In all, these stories guide us toward lives that reflect our Creator and point others toward His goodness, righteousness, and unwavering love. **Throughout the year, our writers also responded thoughtfully to current events.** Writers reflected on how to interpret [constitutional crises](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/on-constitutional-crises), respond to [tragic deaths](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/a-time-for-reckoning-with-kirks-assassination), recognize [the humanity behind public policies](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/beyond-politics-the-human-side-of-snap), and how the [election of a new pope](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/the-election-of-pope-leo-xiv-a-reformed-perspective) invites thoughtful engagement with the church universal. These reflections invite us to face the world’s events with discernment, courage, and compassion shaped by the gospel. I am grateful for the insight, care, and faithful engagement our contributors brought to these conversations throughout the year. **As the seasons changed yet again, our attention also shifted to stories of belonging.** We know our lives as Christians are both temporary and eternal: our days on earth are fleeting, but our hope and identity are firmly rooted in Christ. With this in mind, our writers closed the year reflecting on how to [cultivate meaningful connection to place](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/where-rivers-meet-cultivating-connection-to-place), the [role of family](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/more-than-a-house)in shaping our sense of home and belonging, navigating [life’s mix of joy and grief](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/life-is-full-of-joy-and-grief), and [delighting in God’s good gifts](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/christmas-calories-and-hallmark-movies) without losing sight of our call to engage faithfully with a complex and broken world. ## Get the Newsletter Subscribe to the In All Things newsletter to receive biweekly updates with the latest content. ![](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==) ![](https://d3evso2dxyohou.cloudfront.net/generalUploads/i-pGGqLGs-X3_2024-11-13-195007.jpg?mode=fit&pos=center-center&w=50&h=50&c=bc00656c&v=e62248e5eafc8148fb71cd9e499265bf439690ef7d9aed43b8b6fbdad8b7d04a) ![](https://d3evso2dxyohou.cloudfront.net/generalUploads/people/68a816359cf82eadce5.jpg?mode=crop&pos=top-center&w=25&h=25&f=webp&c=672a219b&v=029ecc376e1057350b63e43bd17d0bd6d9b3055b5089a176da2958df8bd352e7) ### About the Author Jennifer Vermeer Jennifer Vermeer serves as editor of *In All Things* and a writer at Dordt University. She graduated from Dordt in 2013 with a degree in secondary education. Following her time in the classroom, she turned her attention to writing for online publications. [Learn More ](https://www.dordt.edu/people/jennifer-vermeer) --- [Previous Article ![](https://d3evso2dxyohou.cloudfront.net/generalUploads/iat-new-year-celebrations.jpg?mode=crop&pos=center-center&w=56&h=33&f=webp&c=5c1f9aed&v=5e7086bc08ede171151cdafa42301f35b36b377a6b7fa980a51ed8cae3c6586e) Essays Jan 02, 2026 ## New Year’s Celebrations for Holiday Skeptics By Leah Zuidema How do our celebrations invite us to rightly order our loves, shaping our hope so that even moments like the New Year train our hearts to look forward to the day when Christ makes all things new? Read More ](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/new-years-celebrations-for-holiday-skeptics) [Next Article ![](https://d3evso2dxyohou.cloudfront.net/generalUploads/iat-chasing-light.jpg?mode=crop&pos=center-center&w=56&h=33&f=webp&c=a3dd125c&v=587c7adfe462412d90612611c0bdd8ca61c78a4d84d05d70b9236bcfe2308b98) Essays Dec 23, 2025 ## Chasing Light By Jason Ho In the short, dark days of winter, light becomes a gift—a quiet reminder of hope. How does the scarcity of light sharpen our eyes to its beauty and meaning, and how might we tune our hearts to practice this attentiveness daily? Read More ](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/chasing-light) [ ![]() ## In All Things View Articles ](https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things)