There are secrets in every story. What we show the world is a carefully curated set of words and images to represent an entire life. Most often, the details we leave out are of greater importance than the ones that we can speak out in a coherent sentence. We are so much more than our bios or the links to our names on the internet.

These are the covers of my some of my journals. They are simple images–drawings by my children, old photographs, images from books I cut up… The cover does not begin to show the innermost longings of my heart, the way I wrestle with my identity and my purpose in this world, the way I search for meaning and beauty within the limited structure of my everyday life. How I cry out to God inside these pages. How I try, over and over again, to surrender to the story He is telling with my life. I work out my fears, let go of my regrets, and I end up with words I can hold onto. I write them. I speak them out loud.

This little post is just a thank you for listening. My deep desire is that when you visit this blog, you find words that give you hope and courage to live a life of faith.

With love and gratitude,

Mackenzie

ps. If you want to learn more about how to have a life-giving journaling practice, I’d love to teach you how in my online course: Innermost Journaling, Mining the Depths of Your Sacred Everyday Life. This is a 6 week course that you can take at your own pace, available exclusively on my Patreon. Join at any level for complete access. And know that in the process, you are supporting my writing in the most tangible way possible.