Tag Archives: journaling life

Faithful Journaling: Genesis 6-9

How did it go last month?  I hope you’re enjoying this slow, low-key journey through Genesis.  Here’s the next installment:

Sixth Week: Read Genesis 6.  Here are some prompts to consider for your journal (do any, all or none!):

  • What do you think was going on in the world in the beginning of chapter 6 that grieved God so?  How are things similar today? How are they different?
  • What do you believe Noah did to find such favor with God?  What changes will you make in your life to find similar favor?
  • Describe how Noah must have felt to know he was chosen for such a job.  What work is God choosing you to do?  How will you respond?

Seventh Week: Read Genesis 7.  Consider these prompts for your journal:

  • What surprises you about this account? Did you discover anything you didn’t already know?
  • Many cultures around the world have a Flood story similar to this one.  The names of the main characters vary, as do the number of people selected for salvation.  Why do you believe this is so?
  • God saved His natural world for a reason. What will you do this week to show your appreciation of the many gifts He blesses you with?

Eighth Week: Read Genesis 8.  Give some thought to these questions in your journal:

  • There have been several incidents where archaeologists believed they had found physical remains of the Ark.  What difference would it make in your life (if any) if this turned out to be the case?  Why?
  • Describe Noah’s response when God dried the Earth and released them all from the Ark.  How did he show his gratitude?  How will you show your gratitude this coming week for God’s salvation in your life?
  • What does God’s promise in verse 22 mean to you?  Write a prayer of thanksgiving for this promise.

Ninth Week: Read Genesis 9.  Respond to these prompts in your journal:

  • What rainbows does God place into your life?  How do you respond?
  • In this chapter, God restates man’s dominion over the animals and plants.  How does this relate to stewardship and ecology?
  • Some find the end of this chapter to be troubling.  How do you feel about it?  Why is this story included?  What warning or admonition can you take away from it?

Watch for the next installment on the first Sunday of March!

Looking for God-Incidences

Life is full of them-those moments when things happen and you think, “Wow…No way that just happened that way! It was just what was needed!”  Some people call them coincidences-things work out exactly right apparently on random chance.  But you and I both know there’s a higher power at work.  There’s no such thing as random chance when God is involved.

This week (and longer if you wish!), watch for these “God-incidences.”  Where can you see God’s hand in your life and in the lives of those around you?  If you’re like me, these things happen daily and even more often.  Try making a note of them in your journal.  Write down exactly what happened and express why you believe God was behind it.  Then write a prayer of thanksgiving!

Weekly Topic Ideas-Week of January 18, 2016

I don’t know how it is where you are, but around here it’s COLD!  Thermometer was reading zero degrees this morning and is struggling to climb into the single digit range.  It’s a good morning to snuggle up under a warm blanket or afghan and write in your journal!

Starting a new journal this week?  Here are some theme ideas:

  • A weather extremes journal.  Reminisce or give live updates when the weather is doing unusual things.  These can be your own stories or your thoughts on unusual weather from other times and places.
  • A poetry journal.  Find and read a poem and then respond to it for your entry.
  • A descriptive writing journal.  Write down your best descriptions of everyday items that engage all five senses.  How vivid can you make your writing?

And if your creativity is frozen to the floor, here are some prompts that you can write about this week:

  • When was the last time you saw a face in some inanimate object?  Does that happen to you a lot?  Does it have any special meaning for you?
  • Choose a knickknack that you have in your home, and write the story of how you came into possession of it and why it’s special enough that you keep it around.
  • What type of weather do you find most soothing?  Most exciting? Most interesting? Most frightening?  How often do you experience it where you live now?
  • What was the last television show that you watched all the way through?  Why did it keep your interest? Will you watch the next in the series?
  • Look around your home and find a pile of clutter (c’mon, we all have them somewhere even if they are hidden in a little-used drawer).  What’s in the pile?  Why is it there?
  • Choose a memory from your school days and write it down.  Did this experience impact your life or was it a mundane sort of an event?  Why did the memory stick with you?
  • Describe your favorite physical sensation in the whole wide world.  How often do you get to experience it?

Enjoy!

Weekly Topic Ideas- Jan. 11, 2016

How are you coming with that resolution to write more in your journal?  We’re heading into the second full week of the New Year, so I hope you’re still writing.  And don’t panic if you’ve missed a day.  Just pick it up again next time that you can, and keep going from there.  Your “resolution” is really a “goal,” and those can’t be “broken,” just postponed a little bit.

Starting a new journal?  Here are some ideas for themes:

  • Things you learn each day
  • Things you wish you had learned earlier
  • Consumerism-what did you buy today?

And here are some prompts for the week if you need them:

  • What connection do you feel to the natural world?
  • Choose an appliance or machine that you use regularly. What would your life be like without it?
  • Where do you like to go for peace and quiet? How often do you get to do that?
  • What is your favorite plant? Why do you like it?
  • How have you changed in the past ten years? The past twenty?
  • Where do you see yourself ten years from now?
  • What is your favorite day of the week? Why do you choose that one?

journaling the hymns

For many people, music is very, very meaningful.  This especially holds true for sacred music.  Music holds such a special place in some people’s lives that they recall music long after dementia robs them of every other conscious memory.

The hymns or other Christian songs focus on distinct aspects of our faith, and you can derive a lot of comfort from them.  They also succinctly express many of the feelings that we associate with our Christian walk.  No wonder they are so important to us!

Now put the power of hymns and sacred music behind the power of journaling, and you have an energetic combination for self-discovery.  You also have a nearly endless source of writing inspiration.  Sacred music will speak to you in different ways at different points in your life.  There is an endless supply of different songs to consider, and they are as close as your church’s hymnal or your favorite Christian radio station.

Here are some prompts that will get you started journaling the hymns:

  • What is this song saying to you today?
  • How has the meaning of this song changed for you over the years?
  • Does this song tell a story? How does the story relate to your life today?
  • Can you find a Scripture reference to go with this song? What is it? How does it expand or clarify the meaning?
  • Put the message of this song into your own words.
  • How does this song bring you closer to God?
  • Which song would you choose to share with a nonChristian friend to help him or her understand your faith?

Journaling on the Go

If your life is like mine, it’s usually pretty hectic.  Sometimes it’s hard to find the time to sit down and write in my journal like I want to.  I rush through my days, and then in a few weeks I realized that I haven’t cracked my journal in far too long.  Who knows what insights I’ve lost, what tips and tricks I will never think of again, or what memories did not get recorded?

‘One solution is to set yourself up for journaling on the go, so to speak.  We all have little corners of time when we COULD write something down, but we just don’t have the resources or tools right then.  Handle that hurdle by equipping yourself to jot down notes, thoughts or entire entries, no matter where you may be.

The old-fashioned way to accomplish this is by tucking a small notepad or a miniature journal book into your pocket, purse, tote bag or glove box of your car.  Keep a few pens there, too, so you’re not caught without a writing implement.

If you’re feeling high-tech, for most of us the answer is in our cell phones or tablets.  We almost always have these within reach, and there are some great journaling-friendly apps out there.  In fact, I did a post a while back on free iOS apps that you might want to check out (you can find it HERE).  Android and Google have similar tools, and if you’re willing to invest a little cash, all of the platforms have some pretty fancy apps that will definitely suit your needs.

Are you one who likes prompts for journaling?  Be sure to pack a few or add them to the Notes feature on your device.  That way, if your muse is having trouble keeping up with your schedule, you can still jot down a few ideas.

However you choose to outfit yourself, the next trick is to be mindful of the small corners of time that happen when you’re out and about, then choose to use some of them for journaling.

Are you a parent? Do you ever find yourself waiting to pick up a kid?  There’s a corner of time!  Got an appointment today? I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel like I’m the only one who knows how to keep to a schedule.  Take advantage of that wait time and do a quick note to your journal.  Sometimes there are lags while you’re waiting for programs to begin, and sometimes you have a few free moments at work over your lunch or break time.  These can be worthwhile chunks of time to consider.

There are so many benefits to journaling!  Don’t let your busy schedule get in the way of taking advantage of them!

Weekly Topic Ideas-Jan. 4, 2016

Welcome to a brand new year!  Here are some ideas to keep you writing in the next few days:

If you’re starting a new journal or creating a new section, try:

  • Writing down places you go each day and how that impacted your life, sort of a “journey journal”
  • Make a doodle journal. Instead of writing, create a doodle that expresses your mood, your day or anything else you wish.

And here are some prompts if you want something to get you started on any particular day this week.

  • How is the weather affecting your mood today?
  • If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would it be and why?
  • What was the first thing you learned to cook? Do you still make it?
  • Tell about the last book you read, or the one you are reading right now.
  • What do candles make you think of?
  • Describe the taste of the water from the tap at your house.
  • What kind of animal is the best to pet? Why?

Keep writing!

Weekly Topic Ideas-Dec. 28, 2015

The very last week of 2015!  Many of us are still on vacation, but don’t let that stop you from writing in your journal.  Some of the most precious memories are made during this time of the year, and many people have some of their most profound thoughts and greatest creativity.  Keep your pen handy, your pencil sharpened, and your notebook or tablet by your side for moments when inspiration strikes and be sure to set aside some time for intentional writing each day, as well.

If you’re starting a new journal or a new section, here are a few themes you might want to consider:

Write about your daily progress on New Year’s Resolutions.

Make a journal of recipes or craft ideas you want to try and how they turned out.

Record your activities each day, like you did when you were younger in your diary.

And here are some daily prompts in case your muse is nowhere to be found in the hustle and bustle of the week:

  • Choose a current event from today’s news and write about your thoughts on the situation.
  • Write about how you believe a person should spend the time between Christmas and New Years in an ideal world.
  • What was the most useful present you found under the tree this year? Why?
  • Which was the most thoughtful present you found under the tree this year? Why?
  • Which present are you the proudest about giving to a loved one? Why?
  • What did you (or can you) do to help someone between Christmas and New Year’s?
  • What is your most treasured memory from the week between Christmas and New Year’s this year? Describe it in detail.

Off on The Right Foot

The new year is just around the corner, and many of us are setting goals.  Does your list include a goal for your walk with God?  I hope so!  Are you set up for success, though?

I’m sure you can recall making New Year’s resolutions, and then  realizing in about March that they have sort of gone by the wayside.  We’ve all done that.  Often, the problem lies in the way that we’ve worded our intentions.

This year, try writing goals instead of resolutions. There is a difference, you know. Resolutions are a bit vague for our purposes. Usually, they express a desire to improve some aspect of your world. In this case, your resolutions might say something like, “Read my Bible more” or “Get closer to God” or even “Pray every day.”  Do your resolutions sound like these?

Goals, on the other hand, are measureable and specific. It’s easy to tell if you’re on the right track (and it’s harder to fudge!).  A goal might be worded like this:  “Read my Bible for at least 10 minutes each weekday.”  Other examples include “Try 2 new types of prayer by June” or “Write in my prayer journal at least three times a week.”  You will find that writing goals in this way gives you a clear idea of whether or not you succeeded today, and exactly where you stand. They also leave a lot more room to improve. A resolution, once broken, feels like a lost cause. A goal, on the other hand, leaves room to try again.

So try setting a few goals for the coming new year.  Here are a few ideas related to journaling:

  • Record at least three thoughts about my relationship with God each day.
  • Write down my supplications, and note the answers when they come.
  • Read a chapter from Scripture each day and write down at least one way to apply it to my life.
  • read a daily devotional passage and write a response at least four times weekly.

Happy New Year!!

But, Save It All!

A big, hearty welcome to my good friend, Sonja Carlo, who provided this guest post.  Please visit her website at Brown Rabbit Books.com

Too many boxes of papers and notebooks

I was downsizing a few years back and hunted for room to stash my ever-growing stack of journals which at that time comprised several good-sized boxes. Boxes full of my writing since 1973, a few of the years from 1973-1988 were already in a 3 ring  binder that I had made before I left Alaska but the majority were not and in fact I had to spend a day sorting them all out in yearly piles in my living room,  like dealing a deck of cards. Many of the entries, pages and poems had duplicates; hundreds of pages and entries that I had copied several times to get edited poems for poetry contests which I used to enter in the 1990’s. A lot of my muse comes out as poetry material. I ended up burning stacks and more stacks of duplicate copies and useless notes and scraps in my driveway that summer. I ended up with several beautiful 3 ring binders of the years of journaling lined up in a special shelf I bought for that purpose.

Problem of too many notebooks

They stayed that way for several more years also moved about and investigated a bit. Finally I had to come to terms with the problem as it took shape. I knew I needed to sort again to downsize the stacks of journals.

Problem of notebooks: a mess of unorganized papers.

About 2011 I began to realize I was not getting any younger and if I wanted to downsize to perhaps move,  I had better get down to business, and do something about those journals. I collected the years 1973-1989 and scanned, edited, cleaned most of the copies and stuck in some pictures taken in Alaska and had it all bound at a local office store that does such things. I loved the finished product and was encouraged and anxious to get on with the rest of the years. 1990 took a longer time to complete and I did not get it done until the following year. I had written a lot in 1990 and other life events put it on the back burner. Never the less it reached the binder too, and I was again thrilled. I surprised myself with the accomplishment and was spurred on to the next one. This collection of 1991 to 1994 took only a few weeks; there were less bad soiled copies, and a deadline, as  I hurried to get it done before my trip to California to see my daughter.

If you have old copies of stuff you wrote, letters, cards, autographs, awards, scrapbook stuff saved in boxes, you can do the same thing because my boxes had all that stuff in them, including some school papers written when I decided to go back to college.

Problem of paper vs computer solved

During all of this collecting, stashing, storing, sorting, and burning, I realized I was using that my computer more and more to write. A down side of that was that I was using 5-subject college lined notebook of choice to write in every year and had a growing problem of transferring it to Microsoft word. It was a chore for me at times when doing so.

But, Save It All!
After retiring in 2009 I discovered self-publishing sites and published 3 years of my journal entries in a book about being an AIDS caregiver.  Still, transcribing from paper to Microsoft word, I was slowly mixing paper and computer entries; that helped but did not solve the problem until last winter when I was sick and spent a lot of time meditating on my couch in the morning and throughout the day. I started to interrupt prayers and or meditation or TV shows to type my thoughts into a notes program on my iPad. Problem solved! Now it’s my iPad notes that comprise the majority of my journal writing outside of my purse journal which I carry with me everywhere.

Expensive binding problem solved

Looking at the problem of paper stacks from 1995 to 2009 and I now hope to scan them all to Microsoft this winter avoiding the expensive bound copies at the office stores. In conclusion, I advise

when in doubt, save it all!

************************

You can find Sonja’s books on Amazon. Many come straight from her journals.  Check them out!