“Leadership starts with the soul – aligning values, vision, and results” Tom Smilovitis

Preparing for a new season in 2026.

This past week, I did something decisive, I deleted every one of my blogs from the last ten years. Hundreds of posts. A full decade of writing, learning, wrestling, praying, and growing, all gone with one intentional choice.

Not out of anger. Not out of regret. But because it’s time for a fresh start.

It reminded me of something I did years ago. I had years of old handwritten diaries, years of entries capturing my thoughts, struggles, prayers, and reflections. One day I carried them all into the backyard, placed them in a fire pit, and burned the lot. I sat there watching each page curl, blacken, and lift into the air as ash. It wasn’t destruction — it was release. A way of honouring a season by letting it go.

And this moment felt exactly the same: a release, a holy nudge, a recognition that what’s ahead requires empty hands and a clean slate.

Everything that needed to shape me already has.

Everything worth carrying forward is already inside me.

It completed its purpose. As this year draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on more than ten years of blogging, ten years of sharing stories, convictions, insights, and moments where faith intersected with everyday life. I began with a business model called Templar12, transitioned to writing under my own name, and eventually stepped into the identity now known as Roaming Chaplain.

Across that journey, I wrote through seasons of growth, conflict, vision, brokenness, restoration, and hope. They were stones of remembrance, marking my walk with God.

But just like in life, you can’t carry everything into a new season.

Sometimes rebirth requires clearing the ground. Sometimes revival begins with release.

Letting go of ten years of writing felt like closing a chapter that had faithfully run its course, not erasing it, but honouring it by allowing it to rest.

To everyone who has ever read a single blog or followed this journey—thank you.

Your time, your encouragement, your prayers, and your presence have meant more than you know.

As I look toward 2026, I feel a new direction forming, a completely fresh approach to Christ-centred leadership, influence, and spiritual growth.

A new business.

A new voice.

A new teaching model.

A new style of writing.

A new way of serving.

This new venture will begin in March or April 2026, built from the ground up without the weight of the past ten years.

A clean page.

A new framework.

A different type of impact.

This post marks the end of a long road and the beginning of a new one.

Thank you for walking with me. This is my last blog for 2025.

Be encouraged, our best days are ahead. A fresh start awaits.

Roaming Chaplain

Tom Smilovitis