When I fall into a slump, I know the root cause is almost always spiritual. Part of the problem is that my Bible study and quiet time is prescriptive. Until I discovered journaling God’s Word.
Maybe you’re not even sure what that means. I know that I would have imagined something different than what I discovered by investing in a Write the Word journal from Cultivate What Matters.
At the end of 2020, I was struggling. Most people would agree that year lasted too long and took a toll on many things. I saw an advertisement for the Write the Word Journals. I clicked on it because I liked the pretty colors.
Looking back, I think God made sure the aquamarine and teal journals were front and center because he knows me. He wanted me to discover what I’ve found to be an enlightening and enriching practice for my quiet time.
Write the Word
Cultivate What Matters has at least a dozen Write the Word journals in a variety of eye-catching colors. When I found them, they were running a buy two, get one free special.
The journals are topical. I ordered the one on prayer for myself to start right away because I’d been convicted that my prayer life was in a mess. I also picked up the Refresh Your Mind journal and the Fruit of the Spirit journal. That’s the one I gifted to my sister.
The layout of these journals is the same. Each two page spread has a place for the date, listing something you’re grateful for and then the scripture with lines beneath it where you write out the verse(s).
The other page is a fully lined page for recording what’s on your heart that day. Most days, I wrote out a prayer based on what God brought to mind during the scripture writing. Other times, I wrote out thoughts about the verses and listed cross-references or made specific applications for my life.
Since I am a person who learns more through writing (big surprise given I’m called to write), I think meditating on scripture this way had a profound effect. Perhaps, it won’t affect someone less connected to the tactile sensation of writing as deeply. Although, everyone can benefit from process their thoughts through writing.
General Journaling
I’ve kept a journal since my teenage years. Back then, I filled spiral notebooks with my angst and melodramatic poetry.
Eventually, my mother and sister begin to gift me with beautiful bound journals, and I wrote in them before bed. Most of the time, I simply recorded my reaction to the events of the day. I never managed to write daily.
In the years since I became a published author, the practice of evening journaling became less appealing. After all, I wrote thousands of words every day.
During difficult seasons, I still journaled to process my thoughts and feelings. I started jotting down poems in those bound journals from time to time.
If you’re someone who enjoys journaling, I think you would probably like writing scripture, too.
How to Get Started
You don’t have to invest in a colorful Write the Word journal from Cultivate What Matters to begin journaling God’s Word.
Since finishing my second journal in June, I’ve continued the process in a spiral notebook. The biggest issue was the question of what scriptures I would write. I decided to write through the Bible. Each day, I pick a verse from the next consecutive book of the Bible. As I’m penning this post, I have gotten to the book of Isaiah.
Yes, it can take longer to find a verse. Generally, I pick out the next day’s verse before I pray at the end of my quiet time.
I think writing through Psalms (a verse or two from each Psalm which would provide 150 days of writing) would be profitable. Or even writing through one of Paul’s epistles. Since Philippians is my favorite book of the Bible, I’d probably start there.
Here’s what you’ll need to get started:
- A spiral notebook (I like using a 5-1/2 by 8 size)
- A pen you enjoy writing with (I have several different colors)
- A Bible
- A place where you can read, write and pray uninterrupted (I find using a set time of day also keeps me consistent)
- Stickers to embellish the pages are also fun
Fill out your page with two sentence starters:
- Today is…
- I’m grateful for…
The next line will have your scripture reference.
Now use as many lines as you need to write out the Bible verse(s), pen a prayer or journal the thoughts the verse brings to mind (and many days both the thoughts and the prayer).
Have you ever journaled God’s Word? What benefits did the process bring?
A Pew Perspective 