Tickets for our Wellness Retreat on Sale Now!

SpirFit is proud to announce that we’re hosting a One-Day Wellness Retreat on Saturday, September 7, 2019 from 8a.m. to 3p.m. Tickets are on sale NOW!

Escape for a day to a nature lover's paradise that will nurture your mind, body and soul! Learn how your mental, physical and spiritual wellness are interconnected, and about the peace God wants you to discover.

Tailor your retreat experience to your own wants and needs. Choose two activities for the day. Options include a Guided Trail Hike through portion of the surrounding 100+ acres of woods & wetlands protected by the Campbell County Conservation District; a walking tour and history lesson of the property led by a Sister of the Congregation of Divine Providence; Art Lessons from a MFA Artist and Teacher; and Stretching Classes by SpirFit).

You’ll select your activities the morning of the Retreat during Registration. This will be your chance to make your experience as restorative or active as you'd like!

The day will also include two talks on the topics of "Living in the Present Moment" and "Prayerful Meditation".

A light breakfast and gourmet (perservative-free!) lunch will be provided.

Participants will also receive downtime to pray, visit the chapel, journal and explore the lush, picturesque grounds.

The retreat is limited to 70 participants, so don't delay on purchasing a ticket!

Click here to purchase your tickets!

Attendees are encouraged to bring a water bottle, and wear comfortable athletic clothing, shoes and a watch. The retreat will take place rain or shine. No refunds will be available once payment is made.

This Retreat is open to all adults. Children ages 16 and up may attend if they’re accompanied by an adult.

If you need a fresh outlook on life, time for self-care, or simply an opportunity to put life's craziness on hold ... this retreat is for you! We hope to see you there!

For more information or with questions, please contact Jessica at spirfit3@gmail.com

The Gratitude Project

The community you live in can have such an impact on your life. A neighbor who lends you their lawn tools, or gets your mail when you’re out of town, or calls at night to let you know your garage door is open, is the kind of neighbor we all want. In a good community, you’ll find these types of neighbors - looking out for each other - supporting each other in good times and bad.

Last week was another reminder of the good community I live in.

On July 2nd, SpirFit hosted the first Family SpirFit Night & Gratitude Project. People of all ages and backgrounds were invited to come together to stretch, pray for our country, and carry out a gratitude project for our local Veterans.

People brought their kids, their spouses, their neighbors. It was a delight to see so many faces of all ages.

We started the evening with some stretching exercises - such as standing tall like a Flag Pole and stretching like a Star.

Then, we all bowed our heads and said this beautiful prayer.

Next, it was time to get messy. The kids got to painting beautiful artwork for our Veterans, and the parents wrote thank you cards to residents at our local V.A. Medical Center.

There are 92 residents at our V.A. 60 are homeless. The other 32 are there to receive specialized medical attention for PTSD. They come from all over the country for this program. ... These are a few facts I learned shortly before hosting Family SpirFit Night. Which is such a shame, since these Veterans are my neighbors. My kids and I walk past the V.A. building all the time. It’s near our favorite park and ice cream shop. But I don’t think my kids, or even I, ever really saw the building. Saw it, that is, for what it truly is: the faces of American heroes, their caretakers, their stories, the surgeries, the therapy, the anguish and joy that is behind those red brick walls.

A small group of us delivered our gifts to the Veterans on July 3rd. That's when I realized how important this Gratitude Project truly was. The Veterans were so delighted to receive our modest gifts. They took selfies with the kids. Shook the adults hands. One Vet said, “It’s really nice to know that people care.” Their gratitude was so genuine.

I love Fourth of July as much, if not more, than the next person. (Just ask any of my closest friends.) I love the parade, the cookouts, the fireworks. But most of all, I am filled with gratitude on this day. I'm so thankful to God for creating this land, thankful for our freedom and rights, thankful for the brave souls that sacrifice their health and lives to protect us, and thankful to be able to celebrate life with my family and community.

To those who came to the Family SpirFit Night - THANK YOU. You filled my heart. But most importantly, you touched many Veterans' hearts. Your support and involvement was such a gift.

Lastly, to our Veterans, I am humbled by your gratitude and by you welcoming us into your “home”. THANK YOU for your service and sacrifice. May God always keep you in His loving care.

You Need a Wellness Retreat. Roger That.

Last night, I found myself alone in the family room. I picked up the remote to see if there was anything worthwhile on TV. Just before I was about to give up my search, I went to Movies On Demand and found, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, a biography about Mister Rogers. A wave of nostalgia pulled at my heart. (I watched this show as a kid.) Maybe I’ll fall asleep to it, I thought, assuming the film would be ... boring. I pushed “Play”.

So glad I did.

When 895 episodes are produced and aired over 31+ seasons, it’s safe to say that a show was a success. But how Rogers captivated his audiences is truly unique to television, then and now.

Watching the documentary, I was struck by Rogers’ use of silence and simplicity to make a statement. “I like the quiet,” he says on his program. Then, shows us how to use it by pausing in his conversation to allow himself and the audience to think.

Not only is his speech deliberate, his movements are too. Carefully examining the world with childlike curiosity and appreciation. Rogers makes even the simplest acts compelling, like feeding his fish. Always delighting in the present moment. Not a teaching moment wasted.

“I’d like to give you all an invisible gift. A gift of a silent minute to think about those who have helped you become who you are today... It’s not the honors and the prizes, and the fancy outsides of life which ultimately nourish our souls. It’s the knowing that we can be trusted. That we never have to fear the truth. That the bedrock of our lives, from which we make our choices, is very good stuff.”

With so much noise in the world today, silence is a gift. Yet, many of us are uncomfortable with it. We’d rather be doing than thinking. Busy than slow. Noisy than quiet. I’m often guilty of this. I allow the world to whisk me away far too often than I’d like. My mind becomes like that cartoon hamster on a running wheel. Constantly working but not producing. Even when I sit down to rest, I fidget with my I-phone.

Then comes the inevitable void. The spiritual neglect has caught up to me and created an absence of inner peace. My restlessness and agitation reflects in my actions and words. It’s not until I pull back from my undisciplined ways and turn inward, tending to my soul, that I start to gain back that peace again.

We all need time to pull back. To practice the ancient art of retreating and reflecting. Jesus did. He took time to be alone, pausing his earthly mission to pray and reflect. That’s why I want to invite you to be my neighbor.

On Saturday, September 7th, SpirFit will be hosting a Wellness Retreat on the beautiful grounds of St. Anne’s Retreat Center in Melbourne, Kentucky. The theme is “Living in the Present Moment”. Our speakers will include hosts of the “Catholic Soup” podcast, which you can listen to here.

As well, there will be a number of activities to choose from that are focused on nourishing the mind, body and spirit, including personal time for silence and reflection. Tickets will go on sale later this month. A link will be provided on the Spir-Fit website.

Okay. Oddly, I didn’t intend to write about the retreat in this post. I intended to talk more about Rogers. (But God takes us all sorts of places when we lean on him.) Anyway, let me end by circling back to a Rogers’ quote from the movie.

“The world needs a sense of worth, and it will achieve it only by its people feeling that they are worthwhile.”