Journaling 101
I love journaling. I’ve been journaling since I was thirteen years old. There have been a year here or there that I stopped for a time. But I’ve always picked back up. I have a storage tote filled with all my old journals. I love going back to read them from time to time. Sometimes I laugh. (I was very dramatic with my writing in high school. ” I just know so and so and I are meant to be together!!!”) Sometimes I cry. Certain things I wrote about bring back strong emotions and almost transport me back to that time. I’ve recorded the time leading up to my wedding, the day I found I was pregnant with both girls, and my feelings the night before their births. I’ve written about hurtful things or confrontations I’ve had with people. I’ve vented and written in huge letters to show that I was angry and yelling at God. My journal is where I write my deepest thoughts. Do you journal? If not, I’d like to give you some reasons and tips to start!
How To Start
1. Buy a journal you enjoy writing in.
It can a plain old notebook but I suggest a nice hardback journal. Something that feels special to write in. I also have a specific size I like as well. I want the journal to be pretty because I’m going to spend several months looking at it and putting my thoughts down on paper. Use whatever works for you and makes you happy. It may even be your computer. I still prefer the pleasure of writing by hand.
2. Start writing once or twice a week.
If this is your first time journaling you may even feel a little silly writing random thoughts and feelings on a paper. Start purposefully putting something in your journal once a week. Write about your day. Write your thoughts on something. Write WHY you’re starting this journal. Write a poem. Whatever you feel like writing, write it. No matter what it is. Once you start doing that you’ll find that you look forward to it and want to write more as time allows.
3. Write about anything.
And I mean about anything. It’s your personal journal. For your eyes only. You can write any way you want. It may seem like everything has to be formal and proper when you first sit down to write.
It doesn’t.
Since it’s your journal you can be as random and disjointed as you want. Or as proper and put together as you want. Remember this is for you. It’s supposed to be fun. If sitting down to write a formal and proper entry makes you dread it- don’t do it that way! I write in my journal like I’m talking to a friend. I even start every page with “Dear Diary” still! I use my own short hand for some stuff. Sometimes my handwriting is sloppy. Sometimes it’s neat. Some days I write slowly. Others I’m writing so fast that I have to read my writing a couple of times to understand what I wrote. Some days I put my thoughts in bullet format. Some days I write in large paragraphs. I write about my week. I write about my kids. I write about how I feel about something. I’m not formal at all. My purpose is to get my thoughts, feelings and memories on paper. I find writing in my journal liberating, therapeutic and freeing.
4. Use highlighters, markers and stickers.
Yes! Let out your inner teen-aged girl. Write a Bible verse that is special to you in purple marker. Highlight it. Write your husband’s and your name inside a heart. Be silly and have fun. If something great has happened to you write it in big letters with a marker and put stickers around it! That’s what I do! You may feel silly shouting it to your neighbor but you can shout it out on paper. With sparkly stickers!!
Why Journal:
5. Journaling is a great way to record memories, special events and special dates.
Yes, scrap books and baby books are great. But sometimes there’s little things that you may not be able to put in a scrap book or baby book. Maybe their are little things that are just for you to remember.
In the back of my journals I keep a running list of special dates that happened during the time I used that journal. For some reason, I’m a stickler about remembering and knowing the right date for certain events and occasions. So I record it. The day we went to the beach last summer. The days I had my girls’ birthday parties. The week we went to Texas in October and the list goes on.
I also use my journal as a scrap book and baby book of sorts. I glue pictures that are special to me in the pages. Movie ticket stubs to a movie I found particularly enjoyable. Programs, invitations and any other miscellaneous thing that I find special. Whatever little thing that holds some special memory or thought I glue in those pages. In one of my journals I have pressed some rose petals from the bouquet of roses Mike brought home to me the night we found out I was pregnant with Katelyn. I have notes and letters from friends from highschool in my high school journals. Again, you can put whatever little scraps you want in your journal! I recommend that you do just that. It may sound silly and juvenile but you will find that those little bits and pieces of your life you put in there become little treasures later on.
6. You can record how far you’ve come.
Since I write very personal things in my journal I’ve been able to see how far I’ve come in certain areas of my life. Whether it’s weight loss, an exercise program, something you’re asking God to change in you…write about it! Then see how far you’ve gone in six months. It’s encouraging and eye opening.
Remember the list of dates I wrote about above? Some dates are special only to you. The day you feel a certain prayer request was answered. The day you had a special “epiphany” about something. The Bible talks about how important it is to remember what God has done. I find this a great way for myself to record and remember what God has done in my life and how He is stretching and increasing my faith. And it’s all in baby steps. Those steps need to be recorded.
7. It’s therapeutic.
Sometimes we just need to get our emotions out there. We disagreed with someone at work. We can’t stand this person at church but don’t feel right talking about it. We feel betrayed by a loved one. We’re feeling a little depressed and lonely and don’t know why. As women, there are certain emotions, thoughts and feelings we have that our husbands may not understand. Or, that they may not want to talk about over and over again! There’s also a certain amount of guilt we feel about even feeling a certain way about something. We have issues we need to work through. You can write that in your journal. Get those feelings on paper! You will feel a lot better. I’ve filled up a few pages with big , angry handwriting. I’ve written things like WHY, LORD????? Or SO AND SO IS SUCH A JERK!!! I’ve even just written I’M SO MAD RIGHT NOW!!!! “UGH!!!” and “GRRRR”. Yes, I’ve written those things. As petty as it sounds I’ve written it. It enables me to calm down, get some perspective and move on.
You can learn a lot about yourself when being completely honest in your journaling.
8. Record prayer requests and Bible verses that are close to your heart.
I LOVE reading a journal from the year before when it seemed like God wasn’t going to answer a certain prayer. Only to see recorded in my journal how God did answer that prayer the following year.
It’s still fun ( and heartbreaking at the same time) to read my thoughts and feelings on when I was trying to get pregnant for the first time. How upset I was. How angry. How jealous. And then to read in the very next entry that I found out I was! It was great to read my thoughts from one week to the next. To say how God changed my life in an instant. Those are great reminders of how God is working in our life. When you need some reminding go back and read what you wrote in a previous journal. On many occasions I’ve also taken a whole page to write “GOD IS GREAT!!!” AND “THANK YOU, LORD!!!” (Lest you think I only write in big letters when I’m upset)
9. Write a journal for your children.
If you so choose, you could write a journal dedicated to your children for them to read in the future. You could journal your thoughts and feelings on them as they grow. Write words of encouragement. Then give it to them at their highschool graduation.
10. Record poems and words to songs that touch you.
There are many songs that are meaningful to me. I’ll write them in my journal to help remember the words and further impress them in my mind and heart.
I hope that if you have never journaled before that this post will help encourage you to do so.
If you do journal, do you have any other thoughts on it?
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