15 Year Blog Anniversary

15 years ago. What were you doing? Can you recall February 2009?

One memory from that month and year stands out for me. I attended the Florida Christian Writers Conference for a second year and remet my new writing buddies that formed a great friendship the year before. We called ourselves the Kindred Heart Writers.

Well they were all into blogging, especially as a venue for writing. I said, “No way was I going to start a blog.”  I was too overwhelmed by everything else to start something new. And especially something with that type of commitment.

My good friends persisted and as we sat together in the gathering place, all of us started blogging. They dragged me into this practice and now 15 years later, I am so grateful they persevered.

15 years ago this month, Healthy Spirituality was born. Happy Birthday to my blog.

Here are links to the first few posts, one to introduce the blog and the next one on my core word Nurture. Both are still relevant today.

The spiritual practice of celebrating is not one discipline I put into practice very often, but I do dig deep into reflection as a rhythm of life, so anniversaries offer a great time to stop, savor and remember.  I guess celebration does that too, doesn’t it?

First a few numbers

Since February 2009 I have shared almost 1800 posts. Written/contributed to 11 books. This blog has received more than 10,500 comments.  Some posts included a “freebie” to download with extra, more in-depth material. The most popular ones are about writing a rule of life, journaling, and prayer.

What have I learned?  

Blogging helped me grow as a writer, to be creative, and to discover my writer’s voice. This space allowed me to explore/express the ups and downs of life, experiment with spiritual practices, and share how God is working in my life. Healthy Spirituality has nourished my faith and I hope others too. I have been stretched, especially in learning tech skills I never had and realizing my limitations with that side of blogging. Knowing when to ask for help in life is a vital skill, isn’t it?  And I have learned so much from you all – the readers of this blog as you shared comments, emails, challenges, and joys. 

What’s coming next? 

God keeps telling me to keep writing. So here’s to more blog posts!  I hope to publish later this year a simple guidebook on writing a rule of life and to write the first draft of a new book exploring “WWW: Connecting with God. Wonder, Wisdom and Whimsey.” Nurture continues to be a core word for me now as in 2009 – explore and share spiritual practices that nurture me and others closer to God and to follow His will. To lean into and stay with what is life-giving, not life-draining. To be the person God called us to be and become.

Thank you for coming along with me on this adventure. Let’s keep exploring together!