2026: Mid-Year Review
June 29, 2026
By Raistlin van Spronsen
It’s crazy to think that we’re already past the halfway point of 2026, to reflect this I thought to put together this mid-year review of everything that’s happened in my personal life and my business life. I am writing this from my home office in beautiful Dawson Creek, BC
Big Themes
3 main themes from the past 6 months (January through June)
Faith – Letting God be in control of this year. This doesn’t mean I stop putting in the effort, but I make those efforts and leave it to God to guide me
Family – Spending more time with my people (parents, grandparents, siblings and other loved ones) and fine tuned my network of friends
Community – being more active in the community from volunteering, attending local events and being present when people need it
Winter Snapshots
A few concrete moments that capture how 2026 started. January through March
Work/Projects: helped close down Simply Used (a used Furniture store that was in the Dawson Mall for nearly a year) assisted in opening of Toon Town
Community: Hosted our first ever New Years Eve Teen Drop In at the Ark, attended a few hockey games and watched a couple friends compete in the Olympics (on TV of course, would’ve loved to been there in person)
Faith: when it wasn’t extremely cold or had a ride, Bethel was my choice for attending church
Spring snapshots: April–June
Community: Coy Cup 2026 – Dawson Creek captured another Coy Cup Championship, however it was the first time the tournament was hosted in Dawson Creek.
My friend Wendy came to town for a couple weeks me (tipped off by Debbie), we attended Grad together and hung out a few times
Work/Personal Projects; redesigned my personal/travel website and integrated an online booking system to my photography business website
Work, projects, and creative experiments (H1 2026)
- Blog Website: revamped the entire website and slowly rebuilding the blog site. Transferred both sites to a new hosting platform
- Photography: integrated online booking to our website
People and relationships (H1 highlight reel)
Mid-year through the lens of my people.
- Family: birthday dinner with friends (courtesy of my bus driver Tammy), parents and Mothers/Fathers day dinner with parents
- Youth and kids: Drop In, Nerf Nights and hang outs at The Ark
- Friends: a couple of anchor friendships and memories (Frozen night, coffee walks, trail days, etc.)
Places, walks, and small-town travel (H1 map)
The physical spaces that shaped the first six months of 2026.
- Dawson Creek: Dawson Creek Mall where I worked, visited with a close friend, the arena for hockey games
- Fort St. John: While BCLT 2026 was in the plans for this year, due to prior commitments I never completed the trip
- Reflection on February 10, 2026 (Tumbler Ridge)
Home base and daily life (mid-year snapshot)
A little picture of what 304 and everyday living looked like in the first half of the year.
- Routines that kept me grounded (Breakfast Le’s (sometimes McDonald’s ) on Saturdays with Randy, morning visits before work with friends, nightly video calls with the gang (Michael, Britni, Edith, Ken, Amber (Seth/Jess and Peter sometimes)
- Monthly phone calls with Peter from college
- Food and hospitality experiments that became part of the lore; tried new recipes, twists to current ones as well
What I’m learning at halfway
A handful of honest takeaways from January–June 2026.
- One thing I’m learning about God right now; We should praise Him and thank Him no matter if He opens or closes doors
- One thing I’m learning about myself: slowed down and soaking in more moments over trying to rush through life.
- One thing I’m learning about friendship / family / community; my people are gifts from God, cherish each one of them
- One thing I’m learning about work, calling, and creativity; God closes and opens doors according to His purpose
Hopes for the second half of 2026
Not a pressure list—just a few hopeful next steps for July–December.
- I’d like to keep at reading the Scriptures, and thanking God for every opportunity He presents me, and even every door he closes (we have the fair share of those)
- One or two experiments I want to try (serving in church, branching out exploring the opportunity of opening my own business in the future)
- A line about how I hope to show up for my people in the rest of 2026: genuine, practical, caring and encouraging