“If only my words were written in a book- better yet, chiseled in a stone!”
JOB 19:23
John naturally over thinks. He reads meaning into any and every thing and is very good at taking things personally. He owned a diary since he was 8 years old because of this. He wrote in it his feelings and thoughts on a daily basis. At some point, he felt like he was not doing it rightly so, he gave up on it . . .
Tori has a beautiful relationship with GOD. She spent quality time with Him everyday and was enjoying every bit of it. There were days she sank deep into sad oceans though. Whenever that happened, she found it hard to talk to GOD or anyone about it . . .
Who do you relate with more? John or Tori? Whichever one you relate with the most, you’re in the right place.
Journaling entails writing down your experiences, dreams, thoughts and feelings down in a book. A journal could be used to record your daily experiences with GOD too.
Journaling is a very useful tool in building intimacy with GOD. Just like every other relationship, communication with GOD is very key. Journaling allows you do that. You write down His instructions and personalized words to you and are able to go back to them anytime.
The world is a very busy place. At some point in my life, I thought it was going to slow down but, far from it. It only gets busier by the day. As a result of the busy world we live in, we tend to get carried away by various activities that we don’t recognize GOD in them. Sometimes, GOD literally intervenes in a situation during the course of your day. I like to call those events GOD-incidences.
Let me tell you a little about how I go about journaling. I started my journey to journaling in 2020. Before I go to sleep which is mostly when I journal, I take some time to reflect on my day. With my pen and journal in hand, I reflect on the day’s events and let the Holy Spirit point out the GOD-incidences I missed simply because I was busy.
“Reflect on your day. When you do this, you will often see in retrospect how GOD spoke to you and guided you through the day. You may realize that something you thought to be a coincidence or a lucky break was actually GOD speaking.”
JOYCE MEYER
You’re most likely getting interested already asking, “How do I go about Journaling?”
Starting the Journey to Journaling
Whether you are new to Journaling or you’ve been about it before but stopped due to one reason or another or you are just clueless, here are few tips:
- Get an attractive Journal: well, this is a pretty obvious one. “You need a journal to journal.” You do not just need a journal though, you need one that is pretty attractive. This will encourage to want to write in it at all times.
- Keep it in an accessible place: you don’t want to pile it in a heap of other books. To be very honest, journaling can be hard sometimes. You may even feel lazy to write on some days. So, you feel some kind of way and really have to let it out. You can’t tell anyone probably because you don’t want to be judged or don’t know how they will react. You know you should write out how you feel but you feel lazy about it. Your head tells you something like this, “Just wallow in your feelings honey! No one will understand.” Keeping your journal somewhere you’ll easily see it will help get rid of laziness. Keep it somewhere it will constantly be in your face. You can keep it on your bedside, reading table, bed or anywhere you know you won’t miss it.
- Be expressive and sincere: Your journal is a safe place between you and GOD so why don’t you just express yourself? There’s no need to sugarcoat your feelings when GOD knows how you are at that moment. Plus when you sincerely express your feelings, you feel a lot better after. If you’re bothered about someone else reading it, you might want to hide it in a safe place each time you’re done journaling. Keep in mind though that you may end up forgetting to journal if you hide it. Hiding your journal will require you to be highly disciplined. You could set a reminder on your phone or get someone to keep you accountable.
- Personalize it: I love doodling a lot. I haven’t doodled in my journal a lot this year but I love to do it. It beautifies my journal. You might like to doodle, draw, add stickers, glitter or whatever it is that makes your journal yours. Just do it! It adds spice and fun to journaling.
- Just have fun: Like I said, have fun! No need to be uptight about it. No one is in a competition with you. Don’t try to sound mystical in your journal or even write 20 pages. Just go with the flow and have fun!
P.S: It’s not so much fun when you feel down though but I hope you get my point.
If you are like me, wondering what the benefits of journaling are, I’ve got you covered. There are tons of benefits of journaling and you will find out in my next blog post. If you haven’t subscribed, now is a good time to. Click here, scroll to the bottom of the page and hit the subscribe button.
Conclusion
So, what are you waiting for? In the mean time, get a journal if you don’t have one already. If you do, go back to it, get that pen to your paper and write!
Do you journal? How’s it going for you? Do let me know in the comment section as I always love to hear from you. Please share this post to that person on your mind.
Gloryinspires 