1,000 Days of Journaling
A few years ago I had a lot of pressure on me so I started journaling at night before bed as a way to navigate through that time. My goal was to journal for 40 days in a row, because prior to that time I had always struggled to journal consistently. I found that journaling before bed was what worked best for me, and since I was shooting for 40 days I kept a record of what day I was on in each journal entry. When the 40 days were over I kept going and recently I crossed 1,000 days of journaling. Here are a few things I have learned about journaling and the approach that I use in my journals.
I always start my journal with filters at the top. These filters are short phrases that help us to remember and to navigate. Something I haven't talked about or taught yet is that I use 4 layers of filters at the top of each journal entry... A 10 year vision filter, a yearly filter, a monthly filter, and a weekly filter(this one comes from our yearly cycle updates)
Here are the filters I am currently writing at the top of my journal this week(this is something we may talk more about sometime soon)...
10 Year Filter - Abundant Life Training Centers all over the world.
1 Year Filter - 2022 The Year of the Beautiful Land
Monthly Filter - More Gets Done in Compressed Time
Weekly Filter - Defend Your Position
After the filters I record the date and what scriptures I was reading that day ( I also record how many days in a row I have been journaling)
Then I start my journal entries with gratitude. And almost all of my 1,000 journal entries start with this sentence... Heavenly Father, thank you for releasing us from darkness and transferring us into the light. This is one of the most powerful lessons God has ever taught me and I want to make sure I remember it every day.
After some more gratitude I move into magnifying the light by thinking back on what went well that day and all the ways I saw God show up.
Then I practice tuning into God. I like to ask God what he was trying to show me that day and then get still and listen/reflect back on the day. Whatever comes into my mind I write it down. I have learned it is very important to write down the things we learn/hear from God because it helps us to remember and not forget. During this time it seems like I am also writing out a lot of prayers, asking for clarification on what he is showing me.
The final thing I like to do in the journal serves as a Daily Filter. I always write the following... Today I want to be doing what is right and best in God's eyes with peace, joy, and confidence in him. Then I plan out the upcoming day with God by listing out what I know to do.
Today's communion is a time of gratitude that journaling can be such a powerful way to record our journey with God and our steps of faith. And we are asking for help to be consistent with our journaling and for him to show us ways we can take our journaling to a higher level.
Today's Health/Fitness Tip
Keeping a workout journal is also very valuable. It tracks our progress over time and can be a great source of encouragement when we look back at our progress. It's also good to keep notes in our workout journal of how we feel during workouts.
I am praying for you.
Daniel