Comments on: Journaling as a Spiritual Discipline (Part 1)

By: Journaling as a Spiritual Discipline (Part 4) « A Place For The God-Hungry

Journaling as a Spiritual Discipline (Part 4) « A Place For The God-Hungry — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 09:33:10 +0000

[...] might enjoy reading part 1 here, part 2 here and part 3 here.) How Does a Person Keep a Journal? Having a definite time [...]

By: Journaling as a Spiritual Discipline (Part 3) « A Place For The God-Hungry

Journaling as a Spiritual Discipline (Part 3) « A Place For The God-Hungry — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 09:00:54 +0000

[...] can read part 1 here and part 2 here.) Journaling can be very helpful to a believer’s walk with God. I [...]

By: Jim Martin

Jim Martin — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 21:43:31 +0000

Connie,I identify with what you said. I too have identified negative thought patterns or certain negative themes through journaling. Thanks.

By: Jim Martin

Jim Martin — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 21:42:06 +0000

Matt–Thanks so much for your comment.

By: Jim Martin

Jim Martin — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 21:41:31 +0000

Rusty,Good comment. There have been a number of times when I really wasn’t aware of what I was feeling or thinking about until I began to write in my journal.

By: Jim Martin

Jim Martin — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 21:22:33 +0000

Gail,You comment is interesting. I have had a similar experience as I thought about conversations I’ve had and then thought, "That’s not how I really feel about that."Thanks.

By: Matt

Matt — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 01:54:56 +0000

I really enjoyed this post. I have kept a journal for 26 years, but it hasn’t — until recently — actually started to approach the realm of "journaling." Being such a detail person, my journal up to this point has been more of a record of the day’s activities; I’ve begun to express more deeper thoughts lately — and I find that I do an even better job of writing as a result. There have been points during these two-plus decades where I’ve written lengthy entries on very deep subjects, but nothing consistent.
Looking forward to further comments on this from you.

By: Connie Lard

Connie Lard — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 12:08:17 +0000

Journaling has served a very useful purpose in my life. Like many people, sometimes I don’t even know what I’m thinking until I start writing. I mean, I’ll have vague unpleasant feelings and not know where they’re coming from or why. I’ll start writing about the feelings and eventually the thought processes will show up in the writing and I’ll realize that’s where the feelings originated. It helps me to see it there in black and white. Once I’m able to correct that faulty thinking my feelings improve immeasurably. By doing this over the years, I have begun to be able recognize some of the negative thought patterns and stop them before I start that downward spiral that used to be more common for me. That’s just one way that journaling has been helpful.

By: gail

gail — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 19:04:42 +0000

When I first started writing I worried about everyone’s thoughts if they read my journal: my kids, husband, family and I wrote very stiffly and when I re-read the pages later I thought, "that’s not how I really felt at that time" so I had to learn to be honest and sincere to see what a blessing it has become. Some events and problems are still hard to put into words but it helps me pray more clearly for what I need help with when I write them down.

By: Rusty Gates

Rusty Gates — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:31:16 +0000

I love what Lindberg writes in saying that she thinks best with a pencil in hand. And I think it’s very true that many of us are more honest within our journals. That’s not to say that we’re always honest about how we feel, because i think if we were honest, a lot of the time we would find that we don’t really know how we feel. But in the end when it comes down to my daily journey with God, I find that I am much more honest with my struggles and downfalls in my journal. It may sound strange, but I find it is a lot easier to communicate my frustrations in my relationship with God, and through that often find it much easier to work through them.