1. Throw-up Approach: just let go of all your emotions + don’t try to make anything pretty + packaged.
2. Mindful Approach: write out everything you’re thankful for.
3. Prayer Approach: make what you’re writing be a prayer + talk to God + tell Him what’s going on inside that heart + head of yours.
4. Recap Approach: make a bullet point list of everything from your day or week or trip etc.
5. Student Approach: write down cool things you’ve learned + experienced.
Why journal? I’ve always enjoyed writing and used journaling as one extension of that passion. The more I have done it and heard from others who do it as well, I have begun to piece together why it is so beneficial for living a mindful and intimate life with Christ.
P R O C E S S
The act of journaling is one way to process things. In other words, it allows you to visualize your thoughts, pinpoint lies you’re believing, truths to cling to, memories to store, and helps you summarize life.
M I N D F U L N E S S
It also serves as a remarkable tool for mindfulness. Our minds can be extremely cluttered and restless, so journaling forces us out of that state and into a state of calmness and deeper thought. I notice that when I don’t journal I feel more frantic and very overwhelmed. It’s like my head becomes the storehouse for a million restless thoughts and those thoughts aren’t always gentle. Putting those thoughts on paper is how I put those thoughts to rest, so that I can have my mind back.
I N T I M A C Y
Another benefit of journaling is the intimacy it can provide between you and God. Prayer and journaling go hand in hand. They serve each other by allowing you to write out what you want to say to God. The neat thing about writing out prayers is that you can go back later and see what God answered that you might have missed! In our earthly relationships, we value conversation and it should be the same with our Heavenly Father. We are in relationship with Him, so naturally we should desire to share our experiences, worries, and difficulties with Him.
P R A I S E
As you journal, you are creating a record of life’s happenings. I remember sitting on my bed one day trying hard to remember the details of something that had happened a few months back. I searched. And searched. But nothing. I just couldn’t remember. That’s when I realized that I had journaled that day, so I got up off my bed and walked over to my closet. In the back corner of the top shelf in my closet, I have a box filled with special notes, cards, pictures, and all of my completed journals. I reached up and over all my clothes and pulled down my box of memories. Underneath a few birthday cards, I found my most recently completed journal. I sat down with it on the edge of my bed and started flipping through months of writing. The good. The bad. The ugly. I laughed and cried and eventually stumbled upon the particular day I was looking for. Quite frankly, I can’t remember the exact memory I had been looking for, but I just remember being so relieved to find it. Then, I rejoiced because that memory reminded me how much I had grown and how God truly did meet me and answer me in my prayers. It gave me another reason to sing. Another reason to praise.
C R E A T I V I T Y
The last benefit I want to mention is the way that journaling provides a space and opportunity to be creative. Markers. Crayons. Pencils. Sharpies. Pens. Red. Orange. Green. Blue. Black. Silver. Pictures. Collages. Calligraphy. Cursive. All caps. Lowercase. Upside down. Sideways. Your journal can look however you want it to look. Although that seems like a small thing, it’s been one of the most freeing ways that I have been able to silence my pursuit of perfection through random bouts of creativity and change. I love asking friends to share their ideas for layout, style, and color in their journals. Everyone has a particular place in life where their passions and ideas thrive. For me, it’s been between the covers of my journal.
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