Choosing Formation In 2026: February 2026
by Natalie Holmyard
Choosing Formation in 2026: February 2026
Dearest SRT Family,
Welcome to 2026!
Can you believe it is February already?
We hope and pray that you have had a blessed Christmas and New Year season. For our family in Singapore and Malaysia, we hope and pray that your preparations for the Chinese New Year are well underway, and we send our love and prayers as you travel to be with loved ones this year.
In preparing this first Bulletin of 2026 during our summer break, we had many ideas for what we would like to share to start the year well for our community. However, it wasn’t until we read an article from Maddy and Jolan’s homeschooling community (written by Kale Kneale) that we landed upon the language for our hope and vision for 2026.
The power of formation over activity.
Our hope and prayer, demonstrated by the last fifteen years of work in particular, but certainly at the heart of what everything Bruce and Dennis have always instructed us in, is the power of formation over activity.
Romans 12:1-2 – “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this ]world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Biblical Worldview is not formed by completing tasks, showing up or doing to be seen as doing, but through the renewing work of the mind and the power of the Holy Spirit. As disciples reflect, engage in prayerful conversation, and seek understanding together, they learn to discern God’s truth, seek the wisdom and counsel of others, and slowly but surely, mature into the call of God on their lives.
Worldview is not shaped simply by finishing chapters of books or lessons in our schools, but by the slow, formative work of wrestling things together in family and community. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we wrestle with questions, listen carefully, ask for and receive feedback and have the Scriptures opened to us, learning to see the world in light of God’s redemptive story.
Bruce has always been about the formation of our hearts and the transformation of our minds, from one degree of glory to another. He is always diligent in his care of us, that we are not doing too much (activity) and that we are taking the time to grow and mature in our relationship with the Trinity, our marriage, and that we are taking the time to disciple our children.
His ways with us (the ways of the Lord) have helped us to stand firm in formation and to resist the seductive pull of activity.
When I look at so many of our lives today, what strikes David and I (grievously) is that activity (and by inference chaos) is the God of most households. The curse of busyness is a curse indeed.
Late January, in Australia, we had a long weekend to celebrate our National Day. To our delight, all of our kids (with the exception of Ash, who volunteered to work over this break to help out her employer) chose to stay at home with their families, sabbath rest and be in good “form” for the commencement of the school year the following week. It honestly brought tears of joy to our hearts that they were not rushing from activity to activity or overcommitting themselves to make the most of the summer long weekend. In fact, they all just stopped and made sure they were in good “formation” for what lies ahead this year.
We sadly saw thousands of holidaymakers arriving at the last minute with their kids over this weekend, and we were really grieved for these families as they sat in holiday traffic right up until Monday night (school started Tuesday morning). There appeared to be no wisdom in their desire for activity and one last grab of summer, and we heard many bemoan the week ahead and how unorganised they were as families for school starting the next day.
Our question for you is this. As you start 2026, where is your heart and indeed your actions aligned?
Is it in the surrendered and peaceful ways of the biblical formation of your hearts and minds first and foremost? Or are you trapped in activity, scared to look too far ahead in case you become overwhelmed with all that is before you?
Do you righteously, peacefully and accountably self-govern your time, your energy, your activities, your work, and your sabbath? Or are you on the hamster wheel of running from one activity to another?
If you are unsure where you stand, ask someone who knows you well for their feedback. However, even without the feedback of others, the fruits of a “formation-centred life” are very different from the fruits of an “activity-centred life”, and I am sure are convicting you as you read this article.
When David and I sit with people, we have never, and I mean never, had to say, “you guys need to do more”. Never. In fact, our most common conversation is constantly centred around, “what is it that you are going to drop, lay down, stop doing, this year?”
When our kids were younger, (which seems like a life time ago), one of the sagest counsel’ we were given at the time was, “just pick one activity outside of school time that you can all participate in and commit to it – but the most important part of this activity is the drive to and the drive from this activity – as this will be the time you can prepare their hearts and character and the time you can give feedback on how they went at this activity”.
This went against all the worldly examples we were seeing around us, including other families in the church, where parents spent many if not most evenings and indeed most weekends, driving their kids from one sport or music activity to another and then rushing to church on Sundays, many times, going to different church sessions. They looked exhausted, their kids looked exhausted and often entitled, it was not attractive and did not glorify God.
We courageously decided on a sports activity and prayed we would find a group that would accept us all, from 4 years old to 38! God provided, and for the next decade, this was the training ground of formation for all of our kids. Our kids were not perfect during this time, but they were being perfected by the instruction and discipline we administered to them, and their hearts, minds, and character were being formed. To this day, they will all talk about this time and the impact that it had on their journey with the Lord.
It was sacrificial – firstly for David and I as we could not offload the responsibility of our kids to others! It was sacrificial for our kids as not only did they have to learn to get along with each other during schooling, but they also now had to do so in public! It wasn’t always pretty, but it was deliberate and intentional, and Father was with us, and we can still see His fruit to this day in their “formation”. I am so grateful to Father that we had the grace to obey and yield to this counsel. It is so wonderful seeing the Bowtell-Harris and Schloss families doing this same with their kids!
Whatever we choose to do this side of Heaven, it is important, God does have a plan, and it is our mission to seek Him and discover what He would have us do as we form our hearts and minds for His glory and His service.
May the Holy Spirit direct you, all of you and all that you do in the process of formation.
God bless you and keep you,
David and Natalie.