I have found myself on a common theme lately of singing the praises of journaling. While it has been the go-to recommendation in a number of counseling contexts, I realize it’s just plain been helpful to me, as a leader, and as a follower of Christ. I thought that information might be useful to share with you, so here goes!

What I journal –

1. Reflections on the happenings of the prior day. I use this time to thank God for what He did around me, giving honor to Him, and to pray over future actions I might need to take, based on those.
2. Principles and nuggets of wisdom I gain through my day’s experience and revelation from God.
3. While reading my Bible, I record additional insights I gain from my daily Scripture readings.

Why I journal –

1. Over the course of my life, I have found that regularly journaling about these three things has increased the amount I recall. Thanking God for the good things that happened the prior day increases the likelihood of my remembering them. The same is true with wisdom and insights gained in experience and Scripture.
2. I have also found that journaling increases the amount of revelation I receive, or at least the amount which I acknowledge receiving. A pastor one time counseled that if I wanted God to speak during my times of prayer and in His word, why would I not have paper to take note of things He said? Coming with no journal was like not coming prepared to listen. I have found in life that having a journal, on the other hand, increases my ability to focus on Him and tune out the distractions of the world.
3. I am not certain of it, but I believe there may come a day when I decide that my life experiences warrant the writing of a book. If (or when) that day comes, I believe it will be useful to have notebooks full of wisdom and life experience which can provide content for that.