One Whole Year! Anniversary Edition plus free download 🎉

Celebrating what's gone before, what's happening now and what's to come! A review of the journey so far and where we're headed together 🔥

Wow! One whole year since I first tentatively wrote an article on mercy and pushed it out into the internet-sphere via Substack! Thank you for being here today with me, for being part of this Strengthen journey together. I’m excited to share a little of behind the scenes, and what’s coming up next for us as a community.

I remember it was a nerve wracking moment and came a few months after I’d finished the manuscript for my first book It’s still not published by the way, but was like an apprenticeship for writing about so many of the heart to heart topics we’ve covered here over the last year.

Why did I start writing here?

For a long time, creating a community had been on my heart and I’d had conversations with many of you about that. The aim was to eventually have a Strengthen app, and I remember that most people I spoke with asked for live, online groups for that personal connection as well as community comment features.

Is the app vision dead? Actually, no. I’m getting more courageous about this. And I think I’m more ready than I have ever been for it in terms of what it would offer and having a catalogue of content to house on it. It’s mostly a question of finance now.

In this modern world, having a private Strengthen community app becomes more and more affordable each year. We already have over 300 pieces of devotional and wellbeing content created here, so it would make it fairly simple to populate an app immediately with devotionals, wellbeing audios and article topics that are really helpful. Plus, with gatekeeping who joins, creating a community space where people are confident to share would be much easier.

So no. The idea is not dead. It’s brewing. I think once we get there with it, it will be way better than if I’d run with this a year ago.

So why not just go for it now?

Because I am the entire team at Strengthen and I’m also the breadwinner for my family, the app was put on the back burner for “one day”. Although apps are cheaper each year to create, they still have ongoing costs I’m not currently able to carry. When I found Substack I realised we could start the community here for now. It was less overwhelming for me and affordable.

It’s always interesting to start and have a trial run at things! So it turns out that lots of people don’t have time for live groups after all and also do feel shy to use chat features. Good to know now! It’s made me rethink expectations and provision for the app when we eventually start it.

So I think this last year has been helpful because the concept is still refining for the app. In truth, I’m glad to have had this year to keep mulling it over!

What has helped people though, is one to one conversations with me. These have often happened as some of you have reached out after specific content has spoken into what’s happening in your life at the moment. Also, we have a beautiful, small Sanctuary Group that meets on Zoom each week.

It’s also becoming really apparent, that whilst I have conversations with individuals about their walk with God, there is a particular strength in supporting people through the longer process of re-exploring faith after rupture and disruption of beliefs or relationships in church communities. So much so that I am strongly considering creating a 10session small group coaching programme called Strengthen Explore for those who are feeling vulnerable in this and want a safe place to process. If this is something that interests you, please let me know. There would be a charge for this and a commitment to the whole programme which would include topics like rupture, recoil, restoration of relationships and our inner beliefs and stories.

What’s it like for me to show up and share every week?

Every week, I’ve created original content for Strengthen. Even on some holiday weeks when I’ve shared buffet posts of previously published devotionals or Living Well wellbeing audios, there’s still usually been an original Weekending Well article. I’ve learnt too, that the Strengthen Insiders enjoy Buffet Posts. They give the opportunity to go back over content they enjoyed or catch up on things they may have missed.

At first, I felt like I was letting people down creating them, but they’ve become a much loved part of the Strengthen experience. A buffet post contains links to the full archive and specific links to suggested posts so that community members can choose what they want to listen to that day.

Because we’re still a fairly small Strengthen Insider community, creating for you all is still really a passion project for me. The relatively small amount of subscription payments go some way towards helping to cover costs, and I’m very grateful for them. But the time I spend preparing everything is really a gift from me to you and I rely on other work to provide our family income. I’m really grateful to those of you who do subscribe and who pop gifts into the business.

It’s hard for me to charge for Strengthen Insider membership because in my upbringing, there has very much been an approach of sharing and teaching without charge and relying on gifts. I’ve also learnt though, that this doesn’t work very well!

Again, in truth, once members see the amount of content they can access or they receive, they’ve also said that the subscription is really very reasonable. So the whole financial side and accessibility for people is something I continually reassess! I’m certainly not growing rich through Strengthen but I am committed to continuing and growing this work. In fact, whatever else changes with what I’m working on, Strengthen is the one consistent piece of work that everything else has to fit around!

There’s so much that I’m thankful for about the last year on Strengthen. We’ve grown. The open rate is pretty high for email newsletters. This is something newsletter writers can obsess over but I’ve learnt to not worry about those metrics and just keep creating and posting consistently. There is a steady group of Strengthen Insiders who it’s my honour to send out devotionals and wellbeing content to throughout the week and their feedback is always encouraging. Thank you to those of you who take the time to comment, message or email - your communication with me always speaks straight to my heart and encourages me to keep going.

That’s an understatement really!

I’m actually very humbled and blown away by what some of the Strengthen Insiders share with me about what God has done and is doing in their life through Strengthen. Things like the content being what keeps them going through the challenges they’re living with, or their whole outlook on life being transformed, and the really beautiful knowledge that their relationship with Jesus is just on a completely different level than it had been for so many years.

In truth, creating for Strengthen consistently also strengthens me. The self-discipline of digging into the word to share with others, the perseverance even if I’m having one of those difficult weeks we all have, and that humbling joy when others reach out to say that what I’ve shared has touched them deeply.

Writing and creating is a vulnerable thing to do. I don’t feel on top of the world every day. Let’s be honest, none of us do! I’ve learnt so much as I’ve grown more confident to share my professional knowledge in an accessible way and to also share from my heart here.

So today, I really want to say thank you to you. Thank you for being here - however long your journey with Strengthen has been. Thank you for your time, your support and your encouragement. I appreciate you.

So what’s next for Strengthen?

That’s a great question! Part way through the year, I began to add VoiceOver to the articles. This has been a huge hit with many of you who find it easier to listen on the go. At first, I really struggled with the recording and transcripts and the time it took. I always said that the audio would have a rough and ready, friendly chat vibe because I would never have the time to produce flawlessly edited content. Gradually, I got more confident and over recent months, I’ve invested in a VoiceOver coach and am now professionally trained to do all types of voiceovers. I’m still working on the editing part though!

It turns out that although I’m not the loudest person in a crowd, there’s an inner actor in me when it comes to character and narrative work. There is no-one this has surprised more than me! What this means for Strengthen is that I’ve been getting ready to do something that I’ve long wanted to create really, really well: A Strengthen Live podcast that is available on all podcast channels.

I’ve been investing in the equipment needed to record to a really high standard and I’m looking into collaborating on the podcast so that it will be quite unique and hopefully hit the spot for listeners! This is going to take time - including production time. There is plenty of content here that I’ve shared over the last year that will be used as themes for the podcast. So expect the gritty, honest and encouraging soul and spirit themes you’re used to here!

So on our way to creating the Strengthen app, we’re going to launch a podcast!

To carve some time out for me to work on this, I’ve made the decision to only send out this free newsletter once a month for a while. Once the podcast is launched next year, then this newsletter will become more regular again to share episodes and behind the scenes. What you can expect from the monthly version though is for it to be one of the bumper versions that I send out that include a free download.

If you’re not a Strengthen Insider and you’re going to miss this free audio and message brightening up your inbox weekly, then I invite you to consider getting access to the whole archive so that you can dig into the treasure trove of content there and enjoy the devotionals I send out each week. You’ll be able to access all the previous Weekending Well articles too.

To help with this, we have a special 1st Anniversary offer for you: The annual price is just £36.75 for the next two weeks. Grab this here. Also, did you know that there is a group subscription. You can subscribe yourself and a friend for the same price as you would just for you. In fact, bring along your group of friends on that payment and it’s half price for each of you! Insiders receive 4 bite sized, themed devotionals a week and usually receive a Living Well wellbeing audio too.

Back to Strengthen news:

I’m upping my game with the Living Well audios too. I’ve always shared my professional knowledge in them, with a little of how our Christian faith relates to the topic as well. As I step up into more private coaching work again, I’m also doing more professional development. This means that what I bring to the Living Well audios will be even sharper on the latest research and understanding of wellbeing and inner story topics and application. I do love a bit of research and I’m committed to sharing research backed knowledge.

I’m excited too that I’ll be working with a new coaching supervisor who specialises in creativity. With the support of my VoiceOver coach and my new supervisor, there is something very special in terms of creative spoken word about our inner story that I’m developing. This is requiring courage from me but I’m really excited about it. Expect to be the first to know about this as scripts are written and recorded early next year!

Are the devotionals changing? No, I’m still committed to creating and sending out the Mini Deep Dive and three devotionals each week. What I will do though, is take one week each month to prepare buffet posts instead of original material. I know that Strengthen Insiders enjoy the buffet posts, and we have such a wealth of devotionals in the archive that this will give everyone a chance to catch up and revisit earlier devotionals. That buffet week will give me another few hours extra that I can put into creating the new podcast and working on the spoken word inner story content.

So, is it all change then?

No, not so much for you. It’s just me creating a little more space for the next step - the public podcast and the spoken word inner story content. There’ll still be a bumper free Weekending Well each month and occasional other emails. Strengthen Insiders will still get all the goodies regularly in their inbox!

What about a retreat or in person meet up?

I’ve been asked a few times about in-person events. I’m very open to running a Strengthen day or a retreat but - and it’s a big but - most people don’t realise the admin and the up front finance commitment to making a day like that happen. I’ve been stung financially by this before in the early days of my business and I currently just don’t have the financial buffer to instigate and run one. As my personal business grows and develops, this may become more possible.

That said, I’m happy to come and facilitate or speak at an event that you might host if you have the capacity to do that.

There is a strong possibility of collaboration on a retreat in Spain late next year that I am really excited about. No details are available about this yet though. Again, you’ll be the first to know!

A note about the music links I share:

At some point during the year, it became a regular feature to add links to Christian worship songs to this free article and on the devotionals. I’ve enjoyed this and I know that many of you have too. Many of the links are from the US, although I try to share UK and other national worship bands too. What I hadn’t realised until recently is just how entangled the worship scene and some worship leaders are in the US with the MAGA (Make America Great Again) ideology and leaders who have a history of coercion, control and abuse. I am doing my best to understand which worship leaders and artists are caught up in this and will try not to include links to their music or churches embroiled in this.

I don’t usually speak out on political things, especially in other countries. However, having lived in South Africa (shortly after Apartheid fell) and in the East of Germany (where they had previously lived under Hitler and communist rule), I have some major concerns at the misogyny, racism and frankly, cult-like rhetoric and attitudes that are being spoken out from church platforms. I believe that women are equal to men, made in the image of God and I will do my very best to not promote worship content linked to communities and leaders who are caught up in the racist and dangerously patriarchal ideology that has no place in the Gospel and healthy church community or national life.

Wow! Content creation is so full of things to be careful of nowadays! Whilst I don’t want to get caught up in political arguments, do expect some content from me over the coming year that speaks into constructively raising women up and especially on those deeper issues when coercion, control and abuse are seeking to silence them. This is an insidious thing that is creeping back into some church rhetoric and ideology. We have a voice, so we need to raise it wisely. I can feel an invitation to sisterhood rising within me!

Again, I appreciate your prayers and support for wisdom and courage for me.

So let’s get to the download! I was asked how we would celebrate the 1st anniversary of Strengthen, and I really wasn’t sure. True, learning to celebrate is something I write about. So today, we’re marking this milestone with some changes that prepare for growth, and, in true Strengthen style, with leaning into God 🔥

I’ve prepared a prayer to share together. You might expect it to be about celebration and thanksgiving. Well, it is, but from the starting place of running to Jesus. Everything at Strengthen comes back to that beautiful, invitational relationship with God that living with Jesus brings us. For me, it’s so fitting then, that the celebration prayer today is a celebration of running to and with Him.

This year, as Strengthen members have run to him, they’ve experienced comfort, inner healing, joy, insight and the deep compassion that Jesus has for them. As we’ve run alongside each other, we’ve encouraged and spurred each other on. As we’ve dug into the scriptures together and shared honestly, we’ve run into his arms, lifted our heads and discovered more acceptance and strengthening than we had previously known. That’s the real celebration here today! ❤️

So let’s run to him together now:

There’s a pdf link below the image for you to download, save and print to keep and use:

I Run With You Celebration Prayer Strengthen

2.69MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Thank you so much for joining me today. I do hope and pray that you are as excited as I am about our 1st year anniversary and all that is to come! Thank you for your encouragement, support and prayers for me. Thank you for every share and every invitation you’ve given to a friend to join us here. I see you and appreciate you.

A special thank you to all Strengthen Insiders for honouring me with the privilege of meeting you in your email inbox each day and sharing devotional time virtually together. I pray that you will continue to be strengthened.

To the Sanctuary Group members - I love our time together each week. Your courageous honesty, your compassion for one another and your earnest hearts to make your way through life with Jesus is a delight to share in.

Most of all, I’m grateful to Jesus. For being with me and my family everyday. And for those moments when I wonder “Can I really do this?” whispers straight to my heart: “Yes my child, I’m with you. Let’s do it together.”

Have a wonderful week. If you’re a free subscriber, expect your next Strengthen email in early December. Otherwise, hit that subscription button and we’ll welcome you on the inside!