Journaling

 

Recently I got into a discussion about my journaling. Someone asked me where do I find the time? What do I say? Is it part of my Bible Study? I had plenty to say and lots of opinion on the topic. I am a journalist at heart and when I say that I don’t mean I make $$ off my writing. I truly am the real deal. I scribble, scratch and make up words. Incomplete sentences and anger management? I am the queen of it! It is my therapy. I love it.

Something changed my seventh grade year…I moved. I was lonely and in the most awkward part of growing up. Being the oldest of five and having my parents also in transition I was left to handle myself and even help with siblings. It’s amazing how the Lord brings you to a new and closer place during those seasons of life. It’s when your need for Him is great that you finally start to cultivate something new.

And so out of the need to write down my thoughts and fears and joys and just share about life, I began to keep a journal. It was and is still one of the best things I have every done. I am almost 31 years old and have over 32 volumes of my life. It has become my prayer-book, my health plan, my place to cry out to God and to pour out my anger or frustration. It’s a place to write my new years goals and the boring things of life. More than anything it has become a dialog with “Dear Friend”.

I first started in my teens thinking that my “husband or daughter” would one day read them and that was “Dear Friend”. But as I got more raw and real I realized that I was writing to someone far more knowledgeable about myself.

I can not even begin to explain to you how beneficial this exercise and discipline has been . All I would say is, Do It…

I have friends who only do it for sermon and spiritual things…Great! I have a husband who puts notes and verses and prayer requests in bullet points…Great! I write like a conversation. Whatever you decide I know that it will enrich your  life in ways that you can not even fathom.

Do yourself a favor and go buy a really nice journal and pen (I have found that personally I love blue ink and lined paper). There are many books out there on the topic of journaling. Grabbing one for inspiration is also highly recommended if you feel stuck or overwhelmed. I am reading one called Let it Out  By Katie Dalebout. The book talks about how a journal can literally be your own personal method of coaching.

A journal is a simple little book of your life and experiences. It is an asset to anyone who uses it. I heard someone say “It is the little dots and t’s of life”. Its your joy, emotions, struggles, and adventures. It is the mark of God’s creative hand in us.

 

Your spiritual and emotional health will be better off from taking to heart this discipline. Your action plan for life will benefit in ways you never could imagine! Mine was forever changed. Happy Journaling!