I'm Writing a New Book! (Sneak Peek)

Couple of firsts for me this week to let you know about:

1. I started learning how to use InDesign, Adobe's desktop publishing software, which (shocker!) is too complicated for its own good...but also fun, and

2. I took my first fumbling steps toward laying out my latest book project, which I'm tentatively calling Mike Meets God 2021: A Journal of Exploration. It's a collection of select entries from my private journals along with some of my favorite photos from 2021. You can see a test page in the image above.

Wait a sec. Private journals? As in private private? Yes.

Why am I doing this? Here's the explainer:

I've been journaling regularly since I was 12. In more recent years, I've been using this daily practice to explore some of the big questions we're all facing these days, and the nuanced and often confusing interplay between culture, leadership, truth, and Christian spirituality. I've wondered for a long time whether I should share some of my thoughts on these subjects with others—and if so, how? I've tried sharing some of my journal entries on Facebook or Instagram from time to time. A few have even made it onto my blog. All that is good, but I've wondered if there might be a more meaningful, cohesive way to share these writings?

Enter the annual journal book—a collection of my best thoughts, reflections and photographs from the year that's now passing. I'm really excited about this idea, and equally nervous about it. Nothing gets your heart racing like deciding to publish your private thoughts for the world to read. :) But, honestly, I believe I might have something useful to say about these strange times we're living, and an insight or two on how to navigate them in a way that is both brutally honest and stubbornly hopeful. And, of course, I share my own struggle to walk through all of it in deep partnership with God.

That's why I'm calling it Mike Meets God—because, for me, that what my daily writing practice is all about. (I even created a course about it.)

Beyond picking my favorite photos and journal writings from the year, I want this to be a beautiful book—well designed and a pleasure to read. And I want it to be all my own creation.

That's why I'm learning Adobe InDesign. Whether the book is great or awful will be yours to decide. But even if you don't agree with my perspectives or like the questions I'm asking, at least you'll know it's my own honest exploration of life over the past year, and that everything about it is 100 percent my own.

Because of printing costs, I'm going to have to make it a fairly high-dollar item, and I'll only produce a limited number each year. So if you're interested, let me know, and I'll add you to a list of people I will notify first when the book is ready.

I plan to have the book available for purchase on December 1st, so you can enjoy it over the holidays—and get a copy for your friends and loved ones.

Thanks, everyone. I'll keep you posted.