Journaling

I had an opportunity to spend a little time talking to Sherry Pittman late this afternoon.  She called me yesterday to see if she could interview me about the jail ministry on her TV show, "Survive and Thrive with Sherry".  I have known Sherry for a number of years as a fellow Christian and Realtor but I did not know that she had a TV show.  Of course, I was thrilled to be able to share the blessings God has poured out on me through the jail ministry.

I was just as excited to get to know Sherry a little bit better and learn some of the interesting things she was doing with her life!  Sherry is a remarkable woman who has accomplished a lot.  One of the things she is doing now is life coaching.  As we talked she shared that she is planning an upcoming seminar and one of the things she wanted to include was a segment on journaling.  She asked if I might think about sharing some of the ways writing has been good for me.

Little did she know that not only is writing a wonderful way for me to deal with losing Mom and Dad in such a horrific way but their journals have been a great comfort to me in the months since they were so abruptly taken from us.  I literally have boxes of notebooks and journals that Mom and Dad both wrote in on a fairly regular basis.  In their writings, they each shared daily events and spiritual awakenings.  How powerful to see how God worked in their lives!

I am truly grateful to have this rich resource.  It was a big part of what inspired me to begin this blog.  I now realize the importance of recording my own journey.  Not only is it healing to me but it helps me to keep a handle on reality.  I trust it will also help my children and grandchildren as they grow in the Lord.

If you don't journal (or the old fashioned term - write in a diary), please consider regularly writing down just one or two things that speak to you.  It does not have to be lengthy and it does not have to be daily.  Just a sentence or two every few days can help you a great deal.  If nothing else, at least keep a prayer journal.  Jot down the things you are praying for and when you see an answer to that prayer make a quick note of how it was answered.  Not only will it help you to remember everything you want to pray about, it will increase your faith as you see answers to prayer.

Psalm 102:18-22 (The Message)

Write this down for the next generation
    so people not yet born will praise God:
“God looked out from his high holy place;
    from heaven he surveyed the earth.
He listened to the groans of the doomed,
    he opened the doors of their death cells.”
Write it so the story can be told in Zion,
    so God’s praise will be sung in Jerusalem’s streets
And wherever people gather together
    along with their rulers to worship him.