On the practical side, journaling is cheap and easily done anywhere. All you need is a pad of paper and a writing utensil. Plus, you don’t have to be formally educated to reap the benefits.
To start journaling as a practice, you choose the time of day that works best for you. Some moms like to do it first thing in the morning to help set the tone for the day. Some moms like to do it before bed to put an end to the day. There is no right or wrong time!
I found that my journal is a great place to store prayer requests and thoughts that I have turning about in my mind. I especially like reading back over my journal to see the prayer requests that the Lord has answered. It’s also a great place to write a scripture of the day and mull over it.
Other writing prompts can include: writing about what you did today, writing about what’s making you feel stressed or down, writing about homeschooling issues, or writing about decisions you need to make.
When stress comes, journaling helps to get the thoughts out of your head and onto paper. The insights you have on one day may be the key to unlock a problem on another day! You just never know how valuable journaling is until you start to feel relief from stress or answer to a problem you never considered before!
Your children can also get involved with journaling. Just encourage them to sit down at an appointed time of the day to work on their own journals. You can give them a scripture for the day, a topic for them to write down their feelings or just allow them to write whatever is on their minds. In this way, you are teaching them a valuable skill for when life is overwhelming or they need to be reminded of the way God answered their prayers!
