Are you EXPECTING?? Do you have children?

If you are pregnant or if you are a fairly new mom (or even an older one) you might like this journaling idea. Start a journal of your thoughts about your pregnancy and about your hopes and dreams for your new baby. This goes beyond an official baby book but you could use a pre-printed one and add pages in if you like. Include the ultrasound photos of course! Each month you can take photos of your baby bump and then write about your thoughts and preparations for the arrival of your new special someone. As your child grows up, you will be able to recall with them how you anticipated their birth. (I can promise you that you will forget a lot of things about your pregnancy and early childhood memories - especially if you have many children - it all starts to run together! LOL)

If you continue throughout the years to catch up this journal every month, or even a few times each year it will become a family treasure! Review and retell the stories of each child's life to them on their birthday as they grow up. Not only will it remind you of forgotten memories over the years, but it will impress on your children their uniqueness and their importance in your family's history.

Here's a quote by a friend from a journaling list;
"Once after cleaning out a cabinet in my study, I came upon a baby book of my first child, Morgan. In this book there were lists of firsts for her. Her first tooth, first Christmas, first crawl, first walk and even her first haircut were included! Morgan and I sat down and went through the book, and it was a thrill to reminisce about her early childhood. As  we talked about all the highlights of her life until now, she enjoyed seeing and hearing about the journey of her life."

It's a VERY good idea to do this for each child - even though it does get harder as you add more to your family. You will never regret taking the time to jot down things to add to the book - and taking time to sit down with a coffee for a few minutes once a month to write down a few thoughts in each book.
If you forgot to do this and you would like to - there is NO time like the present to start. You will be surprised how many things will come back to your mind as you start to write the story of your child's birth and early years! And it could be a wonderful present for them in the future.

Have you kept a journal like this for your children? Share how you record thoughts in your family journals and stories of how you have shared them with your children.

Happy journaling
Debbie

A sense of possibility...

"In the private spaces of your journal, a genuine sense of possibility is renewed with every blank page."
Stephanie Dowrick p 2 Creative  Journal Writing

Do you remember September school days? The new blank books that still smelled like printer's ink? The new pens with fresh blue ink? Decorating a new cover - writing your name and the subject on the front? Stacking them all very, very neatly in your new desk?

There's something inspiring and exciting about a new book - or a new white page.

Anne of Green Gables said "Tomorrow is a blank slate with nothing written on it yet."
Each new day can be the same in your journal. Some people are put off and intimidated by a blank page...Learn to savour it! Look forward to filling every page in your book.

Do you come to your journal excited to write on every new blank page?
Sometimes all it takes is a new perspective to make it enjoyable again...

What do you think about when you see a new blank page to write on in your journal?

Intensify your pleasure in life's journey...

Journaling gives you the opportunity to experience a moment more than once. The first time in real time and the second time on the page.

What's so cool about keeping a journal is that you get to enjoy the moment as you live it. If it's a great moment, you will enjoy it again as you write all the details, and capture the dialogue, all the things that led up to the moment you SO enjoyed.

I find this when I write about babysitting my grandkids. They say and do the funniest, cutest and most spectacular things! Like the visit last week with my grandson. He came up to me and gave me a big hug and said "I missed you Grandma!" Ah, the words a Grandma lives for! I rubbed the top of his brush cut head and told him "I missed you more! You guys have been sick - are you feeling better? He said yes...and my grandaughter was right there so I included her and asked " Did you lose those loose teeth yet?"  Nope but I have more than one that's wiggly now - and I got a demonstration....

Yep - living it all over again - a little slower as I write it - and I get to enjoy the moment AND hold onto it for as long as the writing lasts on the page.

"The faintest ink lasts longer than the memory"

When I plan an event and write about all the things that actually worked out!! Surprise! I feel a greater sense of accomplishment and appreciation for all the parts that worked together.

I will remember these things much longer because I noticed the moment and wrote the words down. And when I read it again down the road, it will bring back that memory just as if it were yesterday. Because you know, as you get older, that memory will not fade away...

Focus on the good things in life.
Appreciate the little things in life
Cherish the people in your life.

What about YOU?  What are you going to write about today?

An enjoyable form of writing

Journal writing is the most enjoyable form of writing.

You don't have to write for anyone else in the world - only for yourself !
You can write with no deadlines - no rules - anyplace you want to write.
It's solitary...
You can totally be who you are on the pages of your journal...
No pretending - no masks.
It's relaxing and very therapeutic. If you felt anxious before you sat down to write, you will feel less anxious when you are done - usually!
If you felt overwhelmed, you will notice that as you write, issues start sorting themselves out and you find a plan of action...
Journal writing brings peace to your soul...


How to make it more enjoyable

Find a place

A quiet comfy place at home
A restaurant with the sound of chatter in the background
A park surrounded by the sounds of nature or children at play
At the beach with the sound of waves lapping on the sand
At the kitchen table with the smell of supper cooking.

It's portable! You can write in your very favourite places in the world.

Treat yourself to comfort

A lovely book and a pen exclusively for writing
Add soft music and a scented candle
Hot tea or coffee or hot chocolate with whipped cream made at home or by your favourite barista
Curled up on the couch or in your favourite chair close to the window with a cozy afghan, and favourite snack - light instrumental music in the background to draw you into the flow...
Instant atmosphere

Do it your way
An exclusive leather binding with creamy silky pages and a fountain pen
A composition book with blue lines and a ball point pen
An artist's sketchbook with blank pages, coloured pens and calligraphy markers
Paints, stencils and stamps
Instant creative outlet

Pick a writing prompt if you need it or just write whatever you are thinking about in this moment. Let your innermost thoughts pour out onto the page
Describe your setting
Write it as a letter to yourself - your spouse or as a prayer to God.
Free yourself from perfectionism - from spelling and grammar rules.

Share how you make your journal writing time more enjoyable than it already is...

Instant reflective time
Instant alone time

And write...

What are YOU thinking about?

Cultivate wonder...

Cultivate your sense of wonder
Are you learning about new things? A lot of people recently learned tons about giraffes as they watched the web cam birth of April's baby giraffe! Sooo interesting!

Maybe its a new hobby or maybe you're gardening and you're learning about companion planting. Take some time to add a photo or a table of information or scribble out your ideas and facts about what you're going to do in your garden this summer. Draw out your ideal garden plan and put it in a gardener's journal.

What are you going to DO with that stuff you're learning about? I've been learning to identify lots of birds lately. Start a birding journal. Put a photo of a loon in your journal and all you have learned about their nesting habits. Birds and Blooms magazines are great for this and then you don't have to keep the whole magazine - only the parts you're interested in.

There is LOTS to "wonder" about in this world. Lots to learn, to notice and to study about. Cultivate that curiosity and use your journal to capture the new, exciting and very interesting info you found today.

What are you learning about lately?  Create a section in your journal or a whole new journal dedicated to your specific interests. Maybe you'll become an EXPERT! You never know where your interests will take you ...

What are YOU interested in? Share some interesting facts below! Tell us all about the things you Wonder about....

Capture the moments of beauty...

Oh Look!!! The first crocuses are up!

Look at these gorgeous flowers <3 <3
and my hubby is all about
cute little critters for Valentines

This rainbow is so beautiful after a day of rain...

Capture moments of beauty in your journal.

The internet these days is all about photos - visual beauty portrayed through digital photography. Even if you're not a bonafide photographer - if you have a smart phone you have a camera on you all.the.time! Use your photos to beautify your journal. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Some things cannot be described adequately in words. A photo will instantly bring back the astounding moments of beauty in the everyday-ness of life. As an artist, I find these beautiful moments move me emotionally and trigger creativity in my soul.
There's nothing I like more than to go out with my camera or my sketchbook and try to capture the beauty all around me. It inspires me creatively and enriches my memories of moments in my day when I come upon something so pretty I have to get my phone out and snap a pic.

I keep a journal in handwriting but I also keep a computer journal. Either way, you can add photos of beauty into your journal. Some people will sketch the scene - some people might take a photo and print it out to paste in their book - and some will copy the photo into their journal and then use words to describe the situation or the place or the event that captured their imagination.

What's in your home? Your yard? Your neighbourhood? Your city? What can you find that inspires you, that you admire? Photograph it and keep it in your journal to make pages you love to look at again and again.

Post some photos that have inspired you this week on our FB groups
Journal Keepers
Christian Journal Keepers