Posted Sept 2, 2023

Do you remember what you had for dinner two nights ago? Do you remember what you did last Friday night? Life is slipping by, often out of our grasp. We lived it, but have we captured it? Maybe it wasn’t worth capturing, but that’s another story.

How about starting a new passion? Try to capture the moments of our life before they flee away. Grab a rope and let’s go after them. As the day winds down, a quiet time helps your body slow and prepare for sleep. Turn off the mindless screens and take the time to reflect on your day. Start a journal. Grab a tablet that has no lines. Don’t use a computer. Your eyes need a rest from screens.

You will need two writing instruments, a good ball point pen and an old fashioned pencil that will make a clear line or maybe even a drawing pencil. You probably don’t even own a pencil sharpener any more, so grab a simple, pocket size sharpener. The ball point is important because if your paper gets wet, the ink won’t run or smear. Here we go....

Print, it’s faster than script. Write whatever is flowing into your mind. Don’t worry about the organization, spelling or punctuation. You are capturing your thoughts. In the quiet stillness before bed, start thinking about the day. The schedule doesn’t matter. We are not making a list of what happened. We are going to reflect on what moved us, the funny things we all laughed at, what made us sad or angry. What insights happened? Did my child do something profound or disturbing? Why do I think that happened? How did it change my expectations, understanding or direction?

We’re pushing ourselves deeper to explore how life is moving us, how the subtle changes in my family are developing. How am I changing and reacting? What interaction did I have with my partner? Did it help us grow closer or farther? This is where you can start actually seeing the story of your life unfold. Don’t spend much time looking back at what you already wrote, focus on the now. Write down those emotions – put them in your journal so you don’t have to carry them around in your head.

Can’t I just use the pictures on my phone as a journal of my life? Does your phone reflect your thoughts and feelings? Using your phone helps, but it is not a substitute for a real journal. Stopping long enough to write your thoughts helps you to examine your life and where it is going.

Don’t force yourself to write everyday, especially if you’re exhausted. This is to help you stay focused, not become another chore. Your head needs a fresh slate each day, not a basket of burdens from previous days. Writing today’s journey down helps you let go and start fresh the next day.

What about the pencil? Sometimes words don’t work. Try sketching. It will probably feel awkward or silly at first, but as you sketch more and more, it will force you to really look at the world. That’s the real goal. We look, but don’t see. When you sketch, you really have to look. How many petals does that flower have? How are they arranged with each other? Are they identical or varying? What you sketch doesn’t matter. Maybe it’s a landscape, or the look on your child’s face. Maybe you’re drawing from your imagination.

This is your treasure box to store the memories that are important and the dreams of what you want to see. Write down your goals, short and long term. But don’t write them as instructions or steps, write the values you are trying to move towards in your life and how this idea will move you one step closer. If you get too focused on specifics, it pushes out the unexpected, which may be even better than what you were thinking.

I have so many ideas that I am almost overwhelmed. I have to force myself to stop! This isn’t a race. Life isn’t about money, popularity or achievements. Life is about learning to love more deeply. Am I doing that? How did I grow in my giving of love today? How have I gone beyond me? Have I quieted myself down enough for God to give me insights? This is the most important part of writing a journal. God needs you to slow down, reflect and ponder. That’s the time he will quietly inject His love into your life.

Your journal will deeply affect your life.

It’s your choice – float thru life or experience its greatness.

That’s what good play is all about.

No directions, nobody telling you that
“you can’t do it that way”.

It’s pure discovery!