Things I Love, January 2025

Januaries, new journals, contemplation, naming the inconsolable secret

Gathering: The older I get, the more I realize that gathering for holidays is not like the glowing, happy memories of my childhood. But there is something truly beautiful about people with real needs and frailties gathering around a table to celebrate Christmas. There is a love that reaches beyond our own fears and insecurities, a gathering of strength and hope, and a grasping of the threads of truth that can feel worn and threadbare at times when we are walking in our own stories, detached from one another. Jesus came, and he still comes.

I love Januaries. A rush of joy comes over me when the holidays, as wonderful as they always are, end, and I give myself permission to use all of my free time (which isn’t honestly much!) to plan and pray, to organize and piece together a vision for the new year. For me, this usually looks like starting a new journal, because I just can’t think about a new year in an old journal.

I made this one, and will carry it around with me all year long every time I leave the house. It is made out of an old bread-making cookbook, and is full of snippets of storybooks we accidentally ripped and little scraps of papers that make me happy.

I made sections for all the different compartments of my mind—calendar, goals, family vision, homeschool, my writing, this house, creative work, quotes, things my kids say, etc. I am aware that this is a weird thing to say, but having a book like this makes me feel at ease. I feel like I have a place to keep my thoughts, my dreams and ideals, and my prayers for the year ahead. This helps me walk into a new year feeling hopeful and grounded.

A few family fun things:

Memory Match—I confess, I have always thought this the most boring game ever. But my 3-year old got a cars and trucks memory match game for Christmas (Thanks, Melanie!!!), and he is absolutely unbeatable. He loves it and asks to play (“membry-match”) all day long. I realized that it is fun to play, because he loves it so much. And I realized it is a great way to learn vocabulary. (Just ask me how many different types of trucks I can name…) I ordered an ABC matching memory match game, and I am thinking this would be a really fun way to introduce spanish vocab words to the little ones as well. (Lightbulb moment.)

Wallace and Gromit—I am always surprised how many people have never heard of these amazing stop-motion animated films about an eccentric, cheese-and-crackers-loving inventor and his dog. They are the best kind of British humor, and great movies for the whole family. (I had full confidence that we could all sit there together and watch it without having previewed it, which seriously never happens.) Their newest film, Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl just came out this month, and we loved it. Make sure you start with the short film The Wrong Trousers. It’s my favorite, and it is also the story that the new movie continues.

10,000 Hours Outside Podcast—Especially this episode about really thinking how we spend our years after high school and what kind of options are truly available. I bought the workbook.

Legos—We bought a ton of generic bricks, with some fun doors and windows, garden pieces, little people, gears and wheels, etc., and this has been a great family gift. Perfect for story time. I have been surprised how many of the kids have really enjoyed playing with them. And I love that they can all be put in a couple of bins and stored away.

And I have been reading wonderful books.

This Beautiful Truth by

Sarah Clarkson

—Sarah writes like a friend, taking her arm around your shoulder. It is a book about her struggles with mental illness, and how God’s beauty breaks into the darkness of our lives. I felt such a kindred connection to her story—seeing myself in so much of it. My own life of fear and anxiety, and the touch points of God’s beauty all throughout my life. I feel like this book is one I will keep coming back to in dark times. It is so good, so true, so beautiful. Highly recommend it.

The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis— Rereading this short sermon (available in pdf format here) and once again struck by the way Lewis is able to articulate how beauty affects us. How it is not enough for us to see beauty, but that we want to be caught up in it. And how every true encounter with beauty is a shadow and a hint of the true beauty of our real life hidden with God in Christ.

“In speaking of this desire for our own far-off country, which we find in ourselves even now, I feel a certain shyness. I am almost committing an indecency. I am trying to rip open the inconsolable secret in each one of you—the secret which hurts so much that you take your revenge on it by calling it names like Nostalgia and Romanticism and Adolescence; the secret also which pierces with such sweetness that when, in very intimate conversation, the mention of it becomes imminent, we grow awkward and affect to laugh at ourselves; the secret we cannot hide and cannot tell, though we desire to do both. We cannot tell it because it is a desire for something that has never actually appeared in our experience. We cannot hide it because our experience is constantly suggesting it, and we betray ourselves like lovers at the mention of a name.

I also love this video by my Rosie, a quick violin sketch on a snow day. Rosie’s songs move me deeply. You can follow her music on her substack HERE.

Quiet Contemplation—I love sitting at this desk, letting the quiet settle over me, listening to Bach’s Unaccompanied Cello Suites, drinking tea and thinking about God’s goodness and faithfulness. I love writing these letters. Thank you for reading. I hope that you can find a few minutes in your day to sit and think about the things you are currently loving in your life. This is a simple rhythm that tunes my heart to gratitude. I hope it can do the same for you. God’s grace is found in every moment, his presence in the most mundane circumstances and the smallest, most hidden places of our lives. He is here with us.

May you sense His presence with you today.

Love,

Mackenzie

From the Family Archive:

This song (written by my husband, Randy) echoes many of the things that I have been thinking/reading—about God’s love breaking into the darkness.

God with us, O the wonderful thought
That the author of history would enter the plot
For the story’s thread was written in red
On the cross, God with us.

From the Podcast:

Today’s episode is for anyone who wakes up in the middle of the night with questions that don’t have answers. If you are struggling with fears of what might happen, or wrestling with thoughts of if only things had happened differently, pull up a chair and let’s talk about finding God in this moment, the discipline of trust, and how we can truly cast our cares upon Christ. (Nov. 6, 2023)

From Paloma’s Sketchbook:

We just shipped our first batch of journals out into the world. Thanks to everyone who has supported Paloma’s art. We hope you will enjoy filling these pages! Journals are now available for purchase in our family shop.

My Book

Upcoming Events:

Januray 24-25, Burnt Hickory Baptist Church, Marietta, Ga

February 7, Due West Methodist Church, Marietta, Ga

If you would like to inquire about me speaking at your women’s/family event, please send me an email, direct message, or fill out this speaking inquiry on my website. My family and I are also available to lead worship and/or for concerts. If you have a brainstorm, run it by me and let’s see if we can work it out.