{"id":2395,"date":"2013-08-15T14:42:44","date_gmt":"2013-08-15T18:42:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/davidcprice.com\/?p=2395"},"modified":"2013-08-15T14:42:44","modified_gmt":"2013-08-15T18:42:44","slug":"5-reasons-you-should-keep-a-journal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/davidcprice.com\/5-reasons-you-should-keep-a-journal\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Reasons You Should Keep A Journal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/davidcprice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/moleskine.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-2404\" alt=\"moleskine\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/davidcprice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/moleskine.jpg?resize=300%2C200\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/davidcprice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/moleskine.jpg?resize=300%2C200 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/davidcprice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/moleskine.jpg?w=500 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>For more than twenty years, I have kept a journal&#8230;on and off. Yeah, probably more off than on, but I have journaled and think you should, too. As a matter of fact, I have just recently purchased a new journal (my favorite is a <a title=\"Moleskine\" href=\"http:\/\/www.moleskine.com\/us\/collections\/model\/product\/sketchbook-large\" target=\"_blank\">Moleskine sketchbook<\/a>, but use whatever works for you) and have enjoyed getting started on it more than at any other time in my life that I have engaged in the practice. I&#8217;ll tell you why in a minute. First I want to give you some reasons why you should do it:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Rarely do we stop long enough to think. If you doubt that, think of how many time people (including yourself!) have done things without thinking. That&#8217;s just in the small stuff. If we&#8217;re not careful, we can do our whole lives without thinking! Journaling gives you the opportunity and the means through which to stop and reflect on what is going on around you. Jot a thought. Write down an idea or a truth discovered. Any and all of these things prompt THINKING and that is a good thing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Along with failing to take the time to think, in general, we too often fail to think <em>about<\/em> ourselves&#8230;I mean in a reflective sort of way that doesn&#8217;t involve the bathroom mirror. Socrates said, &#8220;An unexamined life is not worth living.&#8221; There is a lot of truth to that. Through the practice of journaling, I can examine my thoughts and actions and, over time, I can look back through my journals and find patterns of thought, attitudes and practices that I&#8217;m unhappy with (and even more than that, things in my life that don&#8217;t line up with the Scripture I claim to live according to!) Once I&#8217;ve identified those things and prayed through them, I can journal as I work through the change. It&#8217;s an incredibly cool process.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Journaling helps me live on purpose. I am more aware of my surroundings. I think about what I&#8217;m doing and why, especially since I will want something to write about later. When I&#8217;m actively journaling, I notice little things more. I listen more intently to conversations I&#8217;m apart of and I examine what I&#8217;m doing more carefully. In some ways, journaling is personal accountability. If I&#8217;m doing something or thinking something I wouldn&#8217;t want to see down on paper, I&#8217;m more likely to refrain.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<ul>\n<li>I journal in order to see what God is doing in my life. Whenever I counsel someone, journaling is usually a part of the process. If someone asks for wisdom about direction for their lives, along with any hints I may provide, I encourage them to begin a journal, working out their thoughts on paper, writing out fears or hopes or dreams. If it&#8217;s marriage counseling, I will often encourage both spouse&#8217;s to journal in order to help identify the underlying issues. After a season of journaling, it often takes very little detective work to see areas of conviction, short-comings and attitudes. In my own life, I do this in order to see the results of God&#8217;s work in me as I change over time, often as a result of identifying those areas of conviction and molding.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Journaling is great for meditating. It&#8217;s a great time to grab a cup of coffee (though any time is a great time to grab a cup of coffee) sit for a while and be still. For the follower of Christ, it&#8217;s a great time to open the Word, read expectantly, being still and knowing He is God (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Psalm%2046:10&amp;version=ESV\" target=\"_blank\">Psalm 46:10<\/a>) and then writing down what you hear. Jot down your prayers, your confessions (if you&#8217;re so bold), your heartache and needs. Sometimes, the journaling process helps you clarify what really <em>is<\/em> a need. There are times I look back at my requests and ask, &#8220;Would I answer that?&#8221; The answer is often a humbling &#8220;NO.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are probably many other reasons to journal including the simple act of chronicling a life (hopefully, well lived!). If you have some that I&#8217;ve left out, tell me. I&#8217;d love to hear them. The most important thing is to do it. It&#8217;s an incredible discipline and practice that, with a little bit of consistency, you can turn it into a lifestyle.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/davidcprice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/journal.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-2405\" alt=\"journal\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/davidcprice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/journal.jpg?resize=300%2C224\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/davidcprice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/journal.jpg?resize=300%2C224 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/davidcprice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/journal.jpg?w=1024 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>OK, I promised to tell you why I&#8217;m having so much fun with my most recent journal.\u00a0 I love to travel.\u00a0 Always have.\u00a0 While traveling, I love to journal.\u00a0 Travel journals are the most fun because you collect stuff along the way, tell about what you saw and reflect on what it meant to you.\u00a0 There are pictures and ticket stubs and sketches and all sorts of little memories.\u00a0 So I thought, you know, there is no greater journey than life itself.\u00a0 Why not, then, take the same approach in my everyday journal that I do when I hit the road?\u00a0 Now, that may not seem so radical of an approach, but it made the difference to me.<\/p>\n<p>Now, every day is an adventure!<\/p>\n<p>I look at it the same way I do when I&#8217;m traveling so that I have the same kind of fun which is the key.\u00a0 Make it fun!\u00a0 My journaling in the past has often been tedious and boring.\u00a0 It doesn&#8217;t have to be.\u00a0 It <em>shouldn&#8217;t<\/em> be. Make it what you want it to be, but give it a shot.\u00a0 I think you&#8217;ll find yourself growing in ways you never thought imaginable.<\/p>\n<p>If you decide to dive in, let me know.\u00a0 I&#8217;d love to hear of your progress.<\/p>\n<div class=\"twttr_buttons\"><div class=\"twttr_twitter\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/share?text=5+Reasons+You+Should+Keep+A+Journal\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-via=\"\" data-hashtags=\"\"  data-size=\"default\" data-url=\"http:\/\/davidcprice.com\/5-reasons-you-should-keep-a-journal\/\"  data-related=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Tweet<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For more than twenty years, I have kept a journal&#8230;on and off. Yeah, probably more off than on, but I have journaled and think you should, too. As a matter of fact, I have just recently purchased a new journal (my favorite is a Moleskine sketchbook, but use whatever works for you) and have enjoyed&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"5 Reasons You Should Keep A Journal http:\/\/wp.me\/p3jKZO-CD","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[16,19,24],"tags":[203,591,690,376,592],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3jKZO-CD","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2451,"url":"http:\/\/davidcprice.com\/a-new-approach-welcome-to-my-travelogue\/","url_meta":{"origin":2395,"position":0},"title":"A New Approach: Welcome to my Travelogue","date":"October 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"For sometime, I've been talking to people about the importance of keeping a journal.\u00a0 I even encourage it during some of my Sunday morning messages, as well, because I think it's a way for us to record what we're going through and be able to look back and see how\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Personal&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1351,"url":"http:\/\/davidcprice.com\/journible\/","url_meta":{"origin":2395,"position":1},"title":"I&#8217;m Journibling Romans","date":"December 13, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"No, I didn\u2019t misspell it. I\u2019m actually Journibling. \u00a0It\u2019s supposed to be a combination of \u201cjournal\u201d and \u201cBible\u201d in which you become a scribe, actually writing out the text of Scripture, giving you an opportunity to think through what you are writing and also, by writing, a greater shot at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Devotions\/Biblical Insights&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1485,"url":"http:\/\/davidcprice.com\/questions\/","url_meta":{"origin":2395,"position":2},"title":"Call for the Question","date":"July 20, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 OK, admittedly, this kind of post is dangerous and can be a set-up for a flop if nobody responds, but I\u2019m gonna do it anyway (so I hope you don\u2019t leave me hanging). Backstory: I used to have a very active and time-consuming blog called Espresso Roast.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Discipleship\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5,"url":"http:\/\/davidcprice.com\/a-new-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":2395,"position":3},"title":"A New Day","date":"January 26, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Welcome to my new journal. You perhaps know that I operated a blog called Espresso Roast for several years that is still up and running but put on ice, so to speak. All of the posts there will be preserved and accessible, but will not be added to anytime soon\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Miscellaneous&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1395,"url":"http:\/\/davidcprice.com\/humility\/","url_meta":{"origin":2395,"position":4},"title":"Bragging for Fun and Profit","date":"August 14, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"My message Sunday was on Humility where, among other things, I talked about a not-so-rare disease called \u201cTwitter-itis,\u201d the condition that causes one to retweet whatever flattering thing was said to or about them on Twitter to their own hundreds or thousands of loyal, adoring followers. The problem is that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christian Living&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4706,"url":"http:\/\/davidcprice.com\/against-the-the-equality-act\/","url_meta":{"origin":2395,"position":5},"title":"Against the \u201cThe Equality Act\u201d","date":"March 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The so-called \u201cEquality Act\u201d is one of the worst pieces of legislation proposed in my lifetime and must be defeated. Rather than provide equality, it assures equality among women (equal opportunities, especially in sports) will never be achieved and will make the world a much more dangerous place for all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Culture\/Pop-Culture)&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/davidcprice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/img_8653.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/davidcprice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2395"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/davidcprice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/davidcprice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/davidcprice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/davidcprice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2395"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/davidcprice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2409,"href":"http:\/\/davidcprice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2395\/revisions\/2409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/davidcprice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/davidcprice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/davidcprice.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}