Use A Journal This Year

It was quiet in the house and I was sitting in my favorite chair, reading and reflecting. The little, leather books around me were not published volumes. No one else has ever read them, but they are books that mean a great deal to me.

Perhaps someday my children will read them and find some encouragement. For now it is enough that they help me to remember. They are private journals of my journey with the Lord over the past decade.

As I turned page after page the Lord brought so many things to my mind – things I do not want to forget.

There are levels of journal writing:

1. Activity – This is the most basic form of journaling. It is simply recording what was done on a particular day.
2. Thoughts/Emotions – The journal grows much more personal when you begin to write down the “inner workings” of your life.
3. Ideas – This type of journaling helps you to look beyond the past and present to the future. It is the writing down of hopes, goals, and plans.
4. Lessons learned – This has been one of the most helpful things for my devotional life. Write down specific Scriptures that minister to you and spiritual lessons the Lord is teaching you.
5. Prayers – I believe this is the deepest level of writing because it makes the journal a letter between you and God. David very often wrote down His intimate conversations with God. Sometimes it is easier to write it than to say it aloud!

We all start somewhere and, in time, discover the type of journaling that is most beneficial to us. I have written more about Why I Write In A Journal and Why You Should Keep A Journal. Perhaps those thoughts will be helpful.

As we begin a new year I would like to encourage you to do what I should have done much earlier: begin to make a record of how God is working in your life each day. You may not be much of a “writer” but you will be very glad to read these thoughts some day. Use a journal this year.

ETJ Journal