Hi, Glad you’re Here!

My name is Maya Mackey Dean. I’m a reader, writer, and educator.  I enjoy helping people feel empowered in applying knowledge from books and research so they can experience transformational change in their lives. I received my Bachelors in Psychology at Pacific Union College and a Masters degree in Community Psychology at Michigan State University. But the education I value most, is the kind I received from my personal experiences.

The discipline of reading, researching, and applying knowledge to real-world settings is a major tenet of my field. So, right now I enjoy applying the knowledge I gather to my lived experience as a full-time educator of my inquisitive daughters and as an influencer in creating a healthy and loving environment in my faith community.

Aside from pouring over books and research, I love spending quiet time with God, performing music with my husband, having hilarious conversations with my loved ones, and trekking outdoors with my daughters.  Those activities bring me the greatest joy! Read down below if you want to know more about me and get a feel for what you may experience here…

Why did I start this blog?

I started this blog as a way to collect some of the things I’ve learned through researching topics related to personal development, parenting, and spiritual growth. I really enjoy reading, learning, and sharing what I learn. Bringing this all together in a blog is one way to be able to do this freely.

I also started this blog to share my personal stories of what’s happened to me when I’ve applied the principles I’ve learned. So in turn, I want to inspire, motivate, and compel you to act on the ideas you learn and to share your stories as well.

Who is this blog for?

Parents wanting to learn how to parent better

Spiritual-seekers desiring deeper spiritual growth

Life-long students committed to personal development

Loved ones struggling with mental health challenges (this may include you)

Basically, anyone who loves to learn, grow, and get busy with living a fulfilling life by applying what’s been learned. If that’s you, you are in the right place!

What can you expect here?

In general you can expect to learn some things on a variety of topics. You could also expect to laugh or cry a little as I share my personal stories. I don’t claim to be an expert at anything except for owning my stories and testing out the ideas I’ve learned. I encourage you experiment and do the same. Here are some topics I love to talk about:

Spiritual Growth. Cultivating a prayer life, nurturing quiet time with God, transforming your mind through the power of Scripture, clarifying personal meaning and purpose, and strategies on cultivating gratitude.

Parenting. We’ll discuss core research findings in the parenting literature and insights from parenting experts as well as my personal stories. I’ll cover a considerable amount of time on parenting with emotional intelligence

Personal development. Self-care, mental health, suicide prevention, habit formation, addictions, personality theory, positive psychology insights, and health/fitness.

Clearly, I’m interested in so much! But ultimately, I desire is to write pieces that:

1) Draw on stories from my personal experiences

2) Are grounded in research

3) Draw on wisdom from the Bible

4) Are immediately actionable

Anything else?

Well besides other random facts like I’m a health nut, a nature-lover, and a big time empath, I occasionally, give presentations on some of these topics I mentioned above. You can check out details on the presentations I’ve done in the past by going here.

If, you’d like to get regular updates to new posts, subscribe to my email list!