Journaling
At one time or another most of us have had a diary or a journal, where we wrote down the events of our day or the dreams of our future. Much of the written history we have has come from journals. From William Bradford’s journal we experience what it was like to make the long voyage to America from England and the struggles with establishing the Plymouth Colony. From the Journal of John Wesley’s we see the joys and struggles of a man desperate to fulfill his calling from God to spread the gospel of Jesus. And from the Diary of Anne Frank we see what it was like for a young Jewish girl and her family to hide from the Nazis during WWII.
Journals help to tell the stories of our past but also they can unlock the door to ourselves and our future. When we use journaling as a Spiritual Discipline it becomes a tool to reveal who we really are. Along the way we also discover more fully who God is and build a relationship with Him, which is the true goal for any Spiritual Discipline.
Journaling differs from keeping just a diary. Diaries usually just record events of the day, though those events may be described in great detail. A journal, however, goes beyond that to comment on how those events touched our lives and how relationships were affected through those events. We ask questions like: How do I see God working in that experience ? How did I respond to that person, place, event or reading. How do I wish I responded. Who am I? How did I get to where I am? What is next? What is my purpose in life. All the big questions of life!
Over the next 2 months we will be given different subjects to journal about. Some include journaling about your daily events and how you responded to them and where you saw God in those events and experiences. We will also take Scriptures and journal about our insights and ask questions of God. We will also journal about the things we read, the movies we watch or the songs we hear. We may even journal about the dreams we have.
August and September Focus
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.
Ideas for Journaling
Journaling response to my daily events.
Briefly record your daily events then consider one or more of the following points to journal.
1. How was I affected by today’s activities or the people I encountered today.
2. How do I wish I had responded to the day’s activities and people?
3. Where did I see or experience God today?
4. How do I wish God had intervened today?
5. What insight did I come away with from today.
6. What blessings did I encounter today.
Journal in response to Scripture
As you are doing your daily Bible reading, you may come across a passage or verse that really jumps out at you or is challenges you. This is fertile soil for journaling. Don’t try and journal a large chunk of Scripture. Instead choose a verse or small passage. Read your selection at least three times, preferably one being out loud. Then choose one or more of the journaling starters.
1. What stands out to me?
2. What emotions did I feel?
3. What about this passage challenges me?
4. What questions do I wish the passage answered?
5. What questions do I want to ask God?
6. What changes do I feel God is asking me to make in light of this passage?
After choosing a conversation to journal, quiet yourself asking the Holy Spirit to be a participant in your journaling. Be open and honest about your thoughts and feelings. Remember only you are going to read the jounaling. Journal one our more questions below.
1. What were the important points of the conversation?
2. How did I respond during the conversation?
3. What feelings came to the surface during the conversation?
4. What do I wish I had said/could say during the conversation?
5. What do I wish the other person would say or respond?
Journaling Media
Our media rich culture often pulls us away from God, however we can use media to see God’s hand, to see needs of our world where He wants us to be his feet and hands and to seek out God’s truths and wisdom. When you encounter a news article, a movie, lyrics of a songs, even a blog that stands out to you or brings up questions for you... journal it.
1. Choose your media, rereading, watching or listening to it.
2. What concepts or questions stand out to me?
3. Where do I see God’s hand?
4. Do I feel that God is not present? Why?
5. In what way do I feel that God might me asking me to be his feet and hands.?
6. What Scriptures either support or confront the concepts in the media?
Journaling Dreams
Abram, Jacob, Daniel, Mary, Joseph, Peter and Paul where all ordinary people experienced extraordinary communication with God in dreams and visions. Through dreams and visions we can receive guidance, warnings, commands and reassurance. We must look at dreams as our friends. They come to help not harm us and need to be welcome them into our lives even when at first they seem to be difficult or disturbing at first.
Before going to bed, pray to be receptive to God’s messages. Put a pad of paper and a pen by the bedside for quick way to record your dream as soon as you awake. You might want a flashlight on the night stand to if you awake during the night, want to record and don’t want to disturb your spouse.
When you awake immediately record as much of your dream as you can remember. Write down as many details as you can no matter how small they can be. Don’t try to analysis the dreams until later. During the day other details may come to mind. Record these details on whatever scraps of paper available through the day remembering to compile them at a later time. When you feel you have remembered as much of your dreams as possible then consider journaling using the following questions as journaling points.
1. Am I an actor or a spectator in my dream or vision?
2. Who are the characters in my dream?
3. What emotions did I feel in the midst of the dream?
4. How did I feel upon waking?
5. How do I feel about my dream now?
6. What was familiar about the dream? Is this a recurring dream
7. Is there any obvious meanings that pop out to you?
8. Coming back to your entry a week, month or year later, how did/did not my dream come to fruition?