One of my resolutions this year is, of course, to grow closer to God. I have loved journaling; I have been doing it for years now. Lately though I’ve become forgetful and it has taken a back seat. I realized that I just needed to tweak the routine for me. There are a lot of different techniques, styles and advice. Ironically, I am giving you one more. The idea though is to create something for you making you more successful, joyful and closer to God.

Above is picture of what I have begun to do. It has a few different sections that work for me. Lately, my attitudes have been frustrated, lost and often feeling stuck. I have added a few things in there to help shift those thoughts and bring about something more positive. I can lay awake at night thinking of all the things that should’ve been done, or worried about how something turned out. To help this I added a section to make my mind rest at night. My journal has become two parts, the bible reading and summarization in the morning. Then, I work on everything else before I head to bed in the evening.

Morning

Date:

This should be a no brainer but I put the date on this so that I can be accountable to my journaling. It helps me to keep organized and I can look back to see growth and what God has been doing for me lately.

Verse:

I need to be in the Word of God daily. I would find myself reading verses but only for work and not for maturation. My routine is to read a short section in my Bible (currently in Philippians). I will read it twice then pick one verse that has stood out to me. That is the verse that I will write down in my journal and reflect on throughout my day.

Summarization:

When I write this verse down I will attempt to summarize and put it in my own words. This helps make this verse personal to me. It will help me to memorize the verse better and get the theme behind the passage.

Evening

Free Space:

I love free space. It is space to doodle and to think. I can do whatever I want there. I use this to think about people that have helped me that day or a situation that I could’ve handled better. It helps me just be creative. Sometimes, I just doodle monsters. It makes me happy.

Reasons I’m grateful:

I have had an attitude of frustration at times in my faith. I read a book called One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. It struck a cord with me and I began to write down one reason a day I was grateful. I lost that habit and realized it helped my attitude greatly. I have created a space for me to write down 5 reasons that I am grateful to God that day. They can be anything. They can be something you saw, an interaction with a friend, something beautiful. Anything that you are grateful to God for that day can be written here.

God’s love:

From doing a step study with Celebrate Recovery I have realized one of my major heart issues is that, at times, I believe God doesn’t love me. I know that He does, but in certain moments that is the default of my heart. Everyday I want to be on the lookout for ways that God loves me. It aligns my heart to know the God is at the center of everything and that He loves me.

The cool thing is that in the past few days I have been doing this my mood has be a lot better than before. It has taken some adjustment but I do look forward to it each day.  This is just an idea. Do something that works for you, but just do something. Grow closer to God this year. Be more productive with goals and get in your Bible daily. Happy New Year and lets make 2016 the best year yet.