{"id":13754,"date":"2025-01-24T08:51:28","date_gmt":"2025-01-24T13:51:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/?p=13754"},"modified":"2025-01-24T08:51:25","modified_gmt":"2025-01-24T13:51:25","slug":"not-strictly-spiritual-celebrates-16-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/notstrictlyspiritual.com\/writing\/not-strictly-spiritual-celebrates-16-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Not Strictly Spiritual celebrates 17 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was 17 years ago today \u2014 on the Feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of journalists \u2014 that I launched this blog. (You can read my original blog post from this date in 2008 HERE<\/a>.) So, happy anniversary to me! And thank you to all of you who have followed me over the years and who continue to show up here again and again. I am forever grateful. It\u2019s been an amazing journey, and, as you can see, what started as a little blog has grown into a much larger endeavor. It\u2019s been a labor of love, one I plan to continue for as many years as I\u2019m able.<\/p>\n

When I first launched Not Strictly Spiritual, I did so with a favorite prayer by St. Francis de Sales, whose writings are remarkably relevant to our world today despite his being a 17th century bishop. I used to have this prayer hanging on my bathroom mirror so it was the first thing I would see when I began my day:<\/p>\n

Do not look forward in fear to the changes of life;
\n<\/span>rather, look to them with full hope that as they arise,
\n<\/span>God, whose very own you are,
\n<\/span>will lead you safely through all things;
\n<\/span>and when you cannot stand it,
\n<\/span>God will carry you in His arms.
\n<\/span>Do not fear what may happen tomorrow;
\n<\/span>the same everlasting Father who cares for you today
\n<\/span>will take care of you then and every day.
\n<\/span>He will either shield you from suffering,
\n<\/span>or will give you unfailing strength to bear it.
\n<\/span>Be at peace,
\n<\/span>and put aside all anxious thoughts and imagination.
\n<\/span>\u2014 St. Francis de Sales<\/span><\/p>\n

So much has happened over these past 17 years, much of incredibly wonderful, some of it painfully awful. And yet through it all we carry on, trusting the path, trusting our story as it unfolds, trusting that God will carry us, enfold us, shield us, care for us.<\/p>\n

As I continue on the next leg of this journey, I hope to start doing more episodes of my Life Lines podcast,<\/a> which many of you tell me you listen to on repeat when I don’t record new episodes (Thank you! I love you.) I will continue posting my monthly Life Lines column<\/a>, which runs in The Evangelist, and I will post other spiritual writing as I am able. You\u2019ll also be able to find my upcoming events, which includes several weekend retreats in 2025, including my annual Stillpoint at Pyramid Life Center in September and two retreats at Bon Secours Retreat Center in Maryland in July and December. Continue to check the Events tab<\/a> at the top of the home page to see what\u2019s coming up. I also hope to offer some online and in-person yoga workshops and class, so check the Yoga tab<\/a>, if you have interest in those. I hope I see you along the way.<\/p>\n

Thank you again for joining me in this space and in my Tribe. If you haven\u2019t signed up for the Tribe, which includes receiving an occasional email newsletter from me, you can do so at the\u00a0Join the Tribe<\/a>\u00a0button in the top right corner of this page.<\/p>\n

Peace, Love, Blessings, and Every Good Thing,<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was 17 years ago today \u2014 on the Feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of journalists \u2014 that I launched this blog. (You can read my original […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13758,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[198,544,48,572,73],"class_list":["post-13754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-writing","tag-blog","tag-not-strictly-spiritual","tag-st-francis-de-sales","tag-tribe","tag-writer"],"yoast_head":"\nNot Strictly Spiritual celebrates 17 years – NSS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It was 16 years ago today that I launched what was then my little blog, Not Strictly Spiritual. 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