NSS Blog

Discovering the Divine in the Everyday

Not Strictly Spiritual celebrates 18 years

January 24, 2026 • Cravings Tribe

It was 18 years ago today — on the Feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of journalists — that I launched this blog. (You can read my original blog post from this date in 2008 HERE.) So, happy anniversary to me! And thank you to all of you who have ...

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Claiming the Easter joy that is our birthright

April 19, 2025 • Life Lines

Every Easter brings me back to my teenage years, when I was a leader of my parish’s high school youth group. For several years running, we planned outdoor ...

You can’t fail Lent! Begin again.

March 26, 2025 • Life Lines

We find ourselves now at the midway point of our Lenten desert experience. Ash Wednesday is far behind us, and Easter not yet in sight. Although we walk this ...

Lent podcast: New ways to approach old traditions

March 3, 2025 • podcasts

As we prepare to begin our Lenten journey, join me for a conversation about ways we can expand our experience of the traditional pillars of Lent: prayer, ...

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The Risk of Christmas

December 22, 2023 • Advent

A Christmas poem written by Madeleine L'Engle in 1973 but sounding incredibly timely for all of us living in a troubled world today: This is no time for a ...

The uncomfortable reality of the Advent message

December 12, 2023 • Life Lines

The Advent season — with its message to “Be watchful! Be alert!” — felt uncomfortably timely for me this year. Coming off a recent health scare, I have been ...

Not called to be the GOAT

November 25, 2023 • Give Us This Day

My latest reflection from Give Us This Day, based on the readings for the day: Jesus doles out some tough love in today’s Gospel, which echoes the equally ...

Giving thanks, even on difficult days

November 13, 2023 • Life in My 60s

I had a bit of a health scare this week. A major blockage (80 percent) in a major artery required a stent. But I am feeling great — and grateful. It all ...

La Dolce Vita: An Italian pilgrimage with Mary and Fr. Matt

November 1, 2023 • Pilgrimage

From the moment my plane touched down in Italy years ago, I was in love. Visiting the country where my grandfather was born was the fulfillment of a promise ...

Is it okay to feel joy in a world of misery? It’s necessary.

October 27, 2023 • Life Lines

During these tumultuous and terrible times in our world, it can be easy to spiral down into the rabbit hole of despair, thinking we have no right to be ...

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NSS Blog

Discovering the Divine in the Everyday

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