This is my journal and it is open to my words that as of now, I want to remember most. It says, "I'm pretty sure I should have kept a journal all my life. I've forgotten more than I remember and most of it was worth remembering... Sad". This is my reminder. I'm a wanna be journaler. Forever I've dreamt of being disciplined enough to keep a journal. They always seemed to turn into a 'Dear Diary" or a to-do list. My kids will tell you I'm the queen of the to-do lists. I once created a binder based on the wisdom and guidance of the Fly Lady, www.flylady.net, I love her stuff by the way. She titled hers the Control Journal so of course that is what I called ours. It's a week long list of daily stuff to do in order to keep everything in your life under control. One of my kids snatched it and changed it's name to "Mind Control" Journal. I'm not naming any names but I have a pretty good idea who it was! I think said unnamed child spoke for all of them.
Recently I ran across a website called emilypfreeman.com. Emily keeps a fantastic journal and I have adopted some of her ideas into my own. I instantly fell in love with the way she categorizes things and what she feels is important to record including the words of others, not just her own. Keeping track of new things learned has been particularly fun for me since I am a learner. Here is a link to her article on keeping track of what you learned. http://emilypfreeman.com/keep-track-im-learning/.
My journal doesn't look exactly like Emily's journal. It's my journal and I am learning to shape it so it fits me, so it doesn't turn into a Dear Diary or a to-do list. I still have a to do list on almost every day in my journal because that's me. I want to be able to look back and see why my life was so crazy most of the time. I want to be able to look back and see what was unnecessary so that when I go into the next day, week, month and year I can make better choices. I feel compelled to use lots of color in my journal and I have given myself the freedom to do that. The process of recording my life should make me joyous.
The last weekend of September was spent at a retreat at Pleasant Valley Bible Camp pleasantvalleybiblecamp.com
Some girlfriends and I had a lovely time relaxing, laughing, painting and learning more about God. That's me right there on your left, back row holding my painting above my head. I think I did a pretty good job on it!
We had a wonderful speaker named Laura Distler and let me tell you, that woman is the queen of journaling! WOW, she even brought colored pencils and washi tape for us to play with. What a wealth of knowledge this woman is on the Lord and on how to keep a journal. She calls it her journey, not her journal. I find it so amazing that God puts people in your life who speak into just the exact areas you are seeking to learn more about. God's got the best journal of all and He shares it willingly with all of us.
What keeps you from keeping a journal? Do you think your life is too ordinary? Do you think you don't write well enough? Most of us can relate to ordinary because most of us are ordinary. Most of us don't write really well. You are worthy of a story.
Oh and by the way, my links aren't really links because I don't know how to create links, but you've figured that out haven't you! Another project for another day...
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