Do you keep a diary/journal? What do you write?

matthew11v25 · #1 (**permalink**) 08-16-2008, 02:46 PM

Prompted by Andrew's thread: "How to write a spiritual..."

I have always struggled to write a spiritual diary or a diary of any type. People always say that they are blessed them. I would like to get better at it but the discipline has been hard to maintain.

FOR THOSE THAT HAVE A DIARY:

what do you write?

what format do you use?

how are you blessed by it?

(i.e. tell us about it, how you incorporate it into your journey)

FOR THOSE THAT DONT:

why dont you use one?

Pilgrim72 · #2 (**permalink**) 08-16-2008, 03:24 PM

I've been keeping a journal, (sadly, not regularly), since I was 14 years old. I'm not very profound, so I've mainly written about things I did that day or week. Both things of significance and not.

I wish I could write a journal like that of Brainerd or Edwards... but my entries are more in the line of, "Today I flew to San Antonio, TX. Thankfully, the flight was mostly smooth, but unfortunately I had to sit next to this extremely large man, who not only took up the whole armrest and half of my seat, he also smelled of spoiled cabbage and a faint hint of old salami. And looks of annoyance and concern from myself, didn't discourage him from continually clearing his throat and sinuses and pushing the flight attendant call button throughout the whole flight."

Anyway, perhaps if I somehow get this book Andrew mentioned I can discover good ideas on keeping a more rewarding journal.

VirginiaHuguenot · #3 (**permalink**) 08-16-2008, 03:25 PM

Some call it a "remembrance book" (viz-a-viz, Little House on the Prairie), some call it a "gratitude book," some call it a diary or journal, but as I mentioned in the post below, the Puritans considered it a duty of Christians to record their experiences for their own benefit or others. Besides Beadle's guide on how to write a spiritual diary, many Puritans (see the link below) wrote about this duty and its benefits. Wilhelmus a'Brakel has a whole chapter on this duty and how to go about it in The Christian's Reasonable Service, Vol. 4, Chap. 81, "Concerning Experience." It helps to set consistent, regular quiet times aside for this purpose, tie this process in with the duty of meditation on God's works of providence in your life, and the time you spend in your prayer closet, and write about what is meaningful, whether it may seem mundane or profound, if it is a lesson learned, a prayer answered, a Bible verse meditated upon or a work of creation that caused you to glorify the Creator, a blessing received or desired, a sermon pondered, a friend that you met, something that gave you pause to consider the ways of God in his dealings with you or others, and so forth. Some might keep an ongoing Word document, some might prefer paper and pen. Some may wish to keep it between themselves and God, or some might wish to share it with the family or others, if not at certain times, then for their posterity. In any event, it is a good thing to do, and you will be blessed by it.

Equipping Others to Help You

matthew11v25 · #4 (**permalink**) 08-16-2008, 06:26 PM

I used to try and keep a "Matt's commentary on the Bible" for all my readings. But to no avail...I didnt keep it up

moral necessity · #5 (**permalink**) 08-16-2008, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by matthew11v25

[b]FOR THOSE THAT HAVE A DIARY:

what do you write?

what format do you use?

how are you blessed by it?

(i.e. tell us about it, how you incorporate it into your journey)

Well, I am not consistent, but, I do keep track of my thoughts on paper frequently. Writing mostly comes when times are rough, and I have a lot of sorting out of thougths to do. So, I keep a 5 subject spiral notebook. Each section is used for different thoughts. One is usually for personal thoughts of the day/week; thoughts that piece together different scriptures perhaps, or thoughts pertaining to life in general. The others are for particular important circumstances I am going through, and thoughts that pertain to it; and for books that I am reading and notes/thoughts that go along with that. So, my format is more paragraph form, with a date accompaning each new entry. For me, it is a true blessing, for I find that I think better when I write things down. It slows down my brain, and allows me to process things better. I also am able to therefore have a collection of my thought processes throughout the year that led me to certain actions or behaviors that later occurred. I think one day I'll compile a biography, or an account of my experiences with certain religious sects or false teachings, or the processes that led me from one doctrinal conclusion to another, or something worthwhile out of it all, perhaps. I don't know. But, anyway, it will be there for somebody, someday. And, for now, it is of benefit to me, for it allows me to sort through things much better.

Blessings!

BJClark · #6 (**permalink**) 08-17-2008, 01:11 AM

matthew;

Quote:

[b]FOR THOSE THAT HAVE A DIARY:

what do you write?

what format do you use?

how are you blessed by it?

(i.e. tell us about it, how you incorporate it into your journey)

I have many diaries, they have changed in format and content over the years..and most of them have never been written in on a daily basis, but more over time.

I can look back at my diaries as a teen and see how foolish I was, the things I did, said, and wanted.

In my youth, I wrote..Dear Diary..as I've gotten older, it has changed to Dear Lord..and I begin writing whatever is on my heart that I desire to talk to God about..

I write about things I struggle with internally..I write down scriptures, that God brings to mind that cause me to reflect sometimes on a situation I'm going through, an emotion I'm feeling, or thought that I am having.

it is a blessing in that I can look back and see how much I've grown in my faith and walk, and the things God has brought me through that at the time I didn't see how I could ever survive the pain. It is a blessing to be able to look back and see prayers I wrote down and had no idea how God would bring certain things to pass, and I realized that many of the heartaches and pains I was struggling through..were in fact an answer to some of the prayers..all of which brought about growth, either in myself or someone dear to me..

I also write down things I am thankful for..

There are times I sit down and start writing about nothing in particular and end up writing about things I am understanding more about God..and begin to write His Praises for allowing me to know Him a little better..

I've also started journals for my kids, though I don't keep up with those very much either, I've written things down about their lives, a little letter to them if you will..and share Scripture verses and things God has taught me that I'd like for them to know one day..some things they know already, like how much I love them, but I still write those things down too, and then one day when I'm gone..they will be able to pick them up and read my words to them.and who knows maybe one day the pages I don't fill up they will fill up with their own thoughts and such for their own children..and pass them down to them..
Or maybe I will start one for all my grandkids one day and my kids can write in those...and they can pass those down to their own children..

VirginiaHuguenot · #7 (**permalink**) 08-17-2008, 02:28 PM

There are many godly examples of spiritual diaries handed down to us through history. One favorite of mine is by Willem Teellinck, published just after his death in 1629 under the title Tydt-winninghe, and republished by Zoar Publications as Redeeming the Time.

Redeeming the Time

VirginiaHuguenot · #8 (**permalink**) 09-02-2008, 10:45 PM

More examples of spiritual diaries:

Seeking A Settled Heart: The 16th Century Diary Of Puritan Richard Rogers by John W. Cowart (Book) in Biographies & Memoirs

See extracts here:

Richard Rogers

D. Bruce Hindmarsh, The Evangelical Conversion Narrative, pp. 92-93:

Quote:

The spiritual diary of the seventeenth century is the first and most important precedent for the evangelical diaries. As observed in Ch. 1, self-examination and related forms of introspection emerged as significant devotional practices among English Protestants about the middle of the reign of Elizabeth in the context of new forms of personal discipline associated with experimental Calvinism.[13] Devotional manuals such as Richard Rogers's, Seven Treatises (1603) devoted a great deal of attention to the examen of conscience as 'a reckoning to the Lord at the end of the day', and he himself kept a detailed spiritual diary.[14] In the middle of the seventeenth century, Isaac Ambrose, a leading Puritan divine, likewise advocated self-examination in Media: the Middle Things (1649) as one of the 'means, duties, ordinances, both secret, private and publike, for continuance and increase of a godly life', and he explicitly added directions for the practice of keeping a diary or day-book or register (he uses all three terms) as a useful way to do this. In the diary the Christian was able to observe 'something of God to his soul, and of his soul to God'. Ambrose began keeping such a diary in 1641 and provided several excerpts for the reader from January 1641 to May 1649.[15] A few years later John Beadle introduced his Journal or Diary of a Thankful Christian (16560 by explaining that his practice of diary-keeping was something more like a treasury of praise. Just as Israel recorded the mighty acts of God, so might a Christian keep 'a rich treasury of experience'. And for this, one must needs 'keep a constant Diary...of all Gods gracious dealings with them'. There were in fact three leaves that one ought to read daily to make up this diary: 'the black leaf of thy own and other sins...the white leaf of Gods goodnesse..the red leaf of Gods judgments felt'.[16]

[13] See further, Tom Webster, 'Writing to Redundancy: Approaches to Spiritual Journals and Early Modern Spirituality', The Historical Journal 39 (1996), 33-56.
[14] Richard Rogers, Seven Treatises (1603), 399-404; M.M. Knappen (ed.), Two Elizabethan Diaries (Gloucester, Mass., 1966).
[15] Isaac Ambrose, Media: the Middle Things (1649), 69-85.
[16] John Beadle, The Journal or Diary of a Thankful Christian (1656), from the unpaginated Epistle Dedicatory by Beadle and the essay 'To the Reader' by John Fuller.

Theogenes · #9 (**permalink**) 09-04-2008, 12:57 PM

The journal I keep is less a compilation of my thoughts, although I do some of that as well as just jotting down events, etc. that I want to remember down the road. But the majority of what I write down in my journal books are quotes from the books that I'm reading. I'm on my 6th or 7th book now and they're chocked full of the "cream of the crop" quotes. Its really a blessing to go back and just scan the quotes. I try to write the name of the author, the book title and page number so I can go back and read more of the quote in context. I've been using these quotes in my Reformed Treasures blog - see below(wordpress). I think its a great practice and I plan to keep at it.
Jim