Journaling 101

Journal Exercise:

Sometimes there are days when it seems the sky is literally falling. Or at least your world. Everything is going bad. Some chemical got on your favorite shirt and ate the color. Your cat just threw up all over your bed. You lost that important phone number you were supposed to call before the weekend. One of your friends posted an embarrassing story about you on MySpace. That difficult customer is at your job and once again they are perfectly unreasonable and your boss has just scheduled you for the days you had off on vacation.

Hmm…does that sound familiar? Usually by the end of one of those days, I find myself exhausted and struggling to cope. And usually, about fifteen minutes after the confrontation or bad situation happens, I realize what I should have done or should have said. Or, in some cases, what I wish I had done or said. I almost always find myself venting about it on paper, yet I only focus on what did happen or the failures.

It’s easy to let those “failures” mount up. And, like me, you might notice that there is a pattern in how you respond. But instead of just leaving yourself with frustrated groans and gritted teeth, try writing about what happened and then what you wanted to do or say. And be serious. Don’t just write about how you screamed at your boss, slapped her around and then walked out the door. That can be an exercise. But write what you wish you had said and what you wish had happened to create positive results.

When you write out the things that you want to say or how you want to react, it will help you later on to do that. It’s when you’re calm that you see the things you should do and as you put these out on paper, they’ll stick with you later. And for me personally, it also helped me look at the situation in a reasonable light. Try it out and see if maybe it helps you work out your frustration and get a good game plan for the next time a bad day turns around the corner.

Random Prompt:

To use this, just choose one of these two phrases and write whatever comes to your mind. Maybe it ties into something that has happened to you, something you learned, a dream you had, or something you hope will happen. Or maybe it’s totally made up. If possible, try to spend at least five minutes with each phrase and have fun.

Suspicious denial or the little brown brick house

Bible Verse:

I’ll give you a Bible verse and now I want you to write what you think about this verse in your journal. Simple and a great way to dig deeper in God’s word.

My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the utterance from my heart will give understanding. Psalms 49:3