A primer on Quiet Time Journaling

We are still exploring the benefit’s, how-to’s, nitty-gritty of Quiet Times ’round these parts.  The 1st post in the series covered the evolution of my personal times with the Lord & why I think you should put some effort towards it.  Today, I’m happy to welcome an e-friend on the use of journaling in Quiet Time.  My next post will cover QT nitty-gritty.  Let’s roll…

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I remember when I was in high school and my best friend and I always wrote notes to each other. After a while, we wrote so much we decided to get a notebook, decorate the front, and exchange the notebook whenever there was a new entry. I would usually write during study hall or sometimes class (I can admit that now) and just write about everything. We would write about our hopes, our dreams, our fears, our doubts, the cute football player in our English class & every goofball thought that came into our head. We held nothing back and I loved that. Being a writer, it was my way of releasing my thoughts.  Having someone actually respond back to what I was feeling was amazing.

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Almost a year ago, a blogger posed a challenge to her readers. Her challenge? To journal to God everyday. When you’re having quiet time with God, just journal to him about what’s going on making sure to start each entry with a day number. I am now on Day 313.

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There’s no prize for this challenge, just to encouragement to have consistent time with God. There are times still, when I don’t put time aside to spend time with God and sit at his feet. It wasn’t until I really got deep into the challenge that I realized I can tell when I haven’t spent time with God in a couple of days.  My emotions start getting the best of me and I’mnot myself.  I try to fight for that time with God when I know I will have a busy day or week ahead of me.

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Journaling to God is one of my favorite parts of my quiet time. Sometimes, I find myself anxious to get through reading the word just so I can pour out to God about what new drama that is going on in my life. Crazy thing is, he already knows, but I just need to get it out. The best thing about all of that is that he wants to listen.

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What’s beautiful about journaling is when you see God reply back in his own way to what you wrote. It may have been something from the day before or days ago and you realize that God was reading while you were writing.

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You may be thinking, “I’m not a writer; I can’t do this.” and that’s alright. I am not asking you to journal to God everyday like I do, but I’m definitely encouraging you to try it.  It doesn’t matter if you had an eventful day or not, just write with abandonment. Write like you’re talking to your best friend about that embarrassing moment or that incredibly joyous moment.

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Trust me, God wants to hear all about it.

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Songine’ Clarke is a recent graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a Bachelors of Art in Journalism. Songine’ is currently a volunteer with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and is the blogger of Fashion, Fros & Life. Songine’ currently resides on the south side of Chicago. Things she loves: Jesus, writing, reading a really good book, fashion, hanging with friends, art, and on occasion, the outdoors.  You can follow Songine’s blog Fashion, Fros & Life & on Twitter.