The Power of Journaling...

Today has been a busy day, and given my recent struggles to stay focused in my work, it's been a productive day. During a brief 'after lunch' break, I wanted to take a moment to write down some thoughts I have about the subject of journaling.

When I was 16 years old, I read The Shadow of the Almighty, a biography of the life of Jim Elliott, written by his wife Elizabeth Elliott. Jim and Elizabeth were both missionaries to the Aucan Indians during the 1950s, living in the Amazon for several years until Jim was killed by the Indians. His story, and hers, made a big impression on me at the age of 16, and most notably, introduced me to the idea of keeping a spiritual journal. For many years I faithfully kept a journal, almost to the point of becoming legalistic about it, because I began to see it as an external way to demonstrate my spirituality.

For many and various reasons, I stopped journaling in recent years, and have only just now started to journal again on a regular basis. It has been 33 years since I read Jim Elliott's story, and I've come to understand that keeping a journal doesn't say much at all about my spirituality, but it does help me to connect to my life...to express what I'm feeling and experiencing each day, to make note of important events and lessons, and to commit myself in writing to the vision of the future that I want to live.

A couple of things this week have excited me about my journaling - first, I am finding that writing down even the shortest of notes about what I'm reading (whether it's a book, or scripture, or a magazine article...) is helping me to crystalize and apply the valuable lessons of whatever the material might be.

Second, I'm learning that there is a connection between making a written commitment to something, and the doing of the thing. Just one example...I wrote in my journal yesterday morning that I would make a conscious effort to reach out and develop friendships in my new workplace. Today, I was invited to lunch with 5 of my co-workers, and went.

Going to lunch with 5 co-workers might not seem like a big deal, and the timing might seem like coincidence to you, but I don't think so. I think there is a lesson to be learned from making intentional commitments...in writing...so that we can better fashion our lives to be what we want them to be.