Journaling Workshop

Intro (15 minutes)

• Wendy McFarland

• At Heritage 18 yrs

• Two girls, 13 and 9

• Elementary, turned Preschool Teacher

• Avid Journaler for a lot of years—will tell more of my story in a minute

My Story (10 minutes)

Zoe asked me to lead this workshop because she knows I journal a lot. I've never really been

taught how to journal, so all I can share is what works for me, and some information I found

online when I started looking around for resources. I started keeping a diary when I was in sixth

grade. I kept one off and on through high school and college. When I really started growing

with the Lord, after college, I journaled much more frequently, writing my prayers, praises,

questions, what I was learning in scripture, and so forth. It became an important tool for me in

my communication with God. I'm quiet and don't talk a lot, but can process in my journal more

quickly and effectively sometimes even than talking to Him, because I can pour my heart out on

are told to remember and not forget what the Lord has done, but there were just way too many

to list! But there are a few listed there on your paper….

We all have memories. Some make us laugh. Others make us cry. However, it’s nice to recall

the past, especially with someone who was present when the memories happened. After the

Israelites crossed the Jordan River, the Lord told Joshua to choose 12 men, one from each tribe,

to take 12 stones from the Jordan where the priests were standing. They were to place them in

a pile as a memorial at their campsite that night. Gathering another 12 stones, Joshua piled

them in the Jordan where the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant were standing. Later,

Joshua tells the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’

to us. And to share with others our testimony of His faithfulness. It helps build others’ faith as

well when we share our own stories. There is an article I’m giving you about “Six Ways to Fight

Spiritual Amnesia,” to help us not to forget. There are several ways listed, but journaling is one

way to do that. I don’t know about you, but I have trouble remembering I did yesterday, let

alone what happened two weeks, or two months, or two years ago! We are human. We are

forgetful. But when you journal, you can look back and remember what He has done. This

builds our faith and helps us in our hard places.

Some of you may have heard me tell this story before, but it’s worth repeating. Four years ago I

was laying in an ultrasound room because they had seen something suspicious on my

and keeps my way secure.” So I was diagnosed with cancer two days later, and walked through

the hardest summer of my life, but Jesus was by my side, and I journaled a LOT during that

season. I even have sent a digital version of that journal to people who have walked through

cancer or other difficult circumstances. But that verse continued to run through my mind over

and over through every scary procedure or at night when I would lay in bed with “what ifs” trying

to derail me. “It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.” That verse, and

After treatment was over, and things calmed down, I was looking through some old journals, as I

me to walk the hardest journey He’d had me on, and because of my journal, I could look back

and see that. I could remember His faithfulness.

According to the psalmist in Psalm 111:2, (written at the top of your paper,) those who “delight”

To delight in something requires stopping and noticing it; attending to it, treasuring it—as you

would a photograph of your young child. Indeed, a good description of what you do with that

photograph in your hand is to ponder it.

Although “ponder” can sound passive or abstract to us, the original Hebrew word is active,

eager, and brimming with life. It means to seek out with care, to search after, to inquire, to

and opportunities we’ve had for success and service. Acknowledging who we are and whose we

are.

Remembering is deliberate attention.

Forgetting doesn’t take special effort. It just happens, it’s our gravitational pull.

If we don’t attend to God’s words and works we lose our delight in them. We lose our way, we

We need to remember.

Remember to remember.

What’s the difference between a diary and a journal?

• A diary is about "what"--events that happened.

Maybe that Scripture applies to something you’ve been praying for such as a job or a financial

need. Write the prayer request next to the verse. Over time, go back over your journal and

continue to claim those verses in prayer. When the answer comes, go back and record the date.

Go Through Handout (20 minutes)

Why journal?

• Build our faith

-we see God's faithfulness in our past

-Psalm 77:11--find other verse about remembering,

-how far we've come, growth, trust that God will do it again

with Him. I write, I stop, I listen….I write some more.

• Track prayer requests

-helps us remember to actually pray, and to see God's answers--builds faith, invitation to

praise

• Slow down to take time with God

-when? Early morning, lunchtime, before bed--even just short snippets--start small

(observations, questions, short prayers, etc)

-journaling helps me stay focused—if I’m just sitting, praying, my mind wanders. Writing

keeps my mind focused on Him.

• Release stress, anger, pain, worry, etc.

-safe place to process hard or hurtful things

-records spiritual thoughts and realizations so they're not forgotten

-"I want to write down what I learn, so I don't have to relearn it later."

-Sometimes I’ll write something, how I feel, and seeing it in black and white reminds me,

“Wait a minute, Wendy, that’s not true.” I see that it’s a lie, or that I have some sort of

expectation I shouldn’t have, or see that my thinking is flawed and doesn’t line up with what

God says about me.

• Gain understanding about yourself

-like an "archeological dig," discover what's beneath the surface—looking under the hood of

• Prayer journal

-list with two columns or sections (see printable one-- mothersniche.com, also see bookmark)

• Quotes journal

-always good to include your own reactions, thoughts to what you're reading

Online Resources to help get started

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/course/journaling/#course-introduction

Time to Practice…..(30 Minutes)

-10 minutes each