Sacrament Of The Ordinary Life

What do you need to journal?


First and foremost you need a willing and open spirit.
Writing has never come easy to me.  I usually drew the H.S. English teacher who preferred teaching English literature over writing.  Yet when I journal I know no one will be correcting my writing.  I can misspell words, if I don’t know where to put a comma, who cares, and if I want to dangle a participle I can.  (FYI- I have my hubby who edits my blog, checking for writing mistakes). 


Since this is your journal,  you are free to express you deepest thoughts, feelings and dreams.  Your journal is between you, your journal and God.  It comes under the confessional or attorney/client privilege. You may share entries if you desire, however it is for “your eyes only”.


Next you need to choose a journal and a writing instrument.
Some people prefer pencils, while others use blue, black or a rainbow of color pens.  The journals themselves are as varied as the people who use them.  Some have blank pages, some have lines.  Some journals are bound while others are spiraled.  You can choose a plain or very decorative journal, a store bought or handmade journal.   Of course you may want to give up the portability of the journal for the ease of a computer.   If you use a computer, you can encrypt your journal to keep it secret, or you can put it on a password protected online directory, like Google Docs. 


Finally you need to make an appointment with your journal just as you would make a lunch date with a good friend.  Find a quiet time, a quiet space and quiet your spirit down.  Keep a scratch piece of paper close at hand to jot down any distractions that may come your way.  


This first week we want to concentrate on journaling about our day and where we see God’s hand in our life.  This will be a good start to get into the practice of Journaling.