1.31.2022

I first got the inspiration to start journaling from my sister, Annie. She created a blog for her trip to Europe when she studied abroad in college. I remember reading the blog and feeling like I was meeting her for the first time. I’ve known her since the day she was born and it was through her writing that I felt like I understood her the best. So I started writing stuff down in hopes that through writing I just might discover myself and maybe meet myself for the first time.

There is a lot I don’t know. There is so much I want to learn about life. But God chooses when He will reveal the wisdom on His timeline. Sometimes He smacks me in the face with it, sometimes he whispers or taps me on the shoulder, and sometimes He has a messenger like Joe Coffey let me in on the secret. Nontheless, this blog contains all the different and random things God has chosen to teach me about Him, about coaching, or about life in general. Since I don’t have a great memory and want to remember all that I learn, it’s usually best for me to write it down.

These journal entries have been written in moments of joy, victory, clarity, and with a full cup. They also have been written in moments of despair, lonliness, and grief, when my cup felt empty. God is present on the hills and in the valleys, and will teach through both.

I’ve written entries in my little black 8×5 inch moleskin journal, I’ve pulled over at rest stops on the turnpike to write somethig down in the notes app on my phone (it’s funny how some of the most clear thoughts the Lord has ever given to me have come while driving – I don’t know why that is – if I figure it out, I’ll write it down), I’ve recorded myself talking out loud and written the thought down later, I’ve writen things down on the back of practice plans in staff meetings, and I’ve written them in the corner of the white board in my office. Whenever the Lord chooses to open my eyes to something – I have to write it down before I forget. I wonder if the Lord gave me a poor memory on purpose to make sure I learned to write stuff down. Who knows.

I never planned on making any of my journal entries public, but I feel like I’ve learned a lot in the past couple years and figured someone else might be able to benefit from what God has taught me so far. And if you don’t learn anything from this blog, that’s okay, but learn this – the smiles and tears of life are just words which need to be written down. At a minimum, it’s good for the soul. Also, I’m afraid of getting my backpack where I keep my journal stolen one day, so I wanted a digital copy.

Toni Morrison, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature, once said, “If there’s a book you want to read, and it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” … so I am.