For the love of journaling

I love all things crafty and one thing has bridged my entire life: I have loved paper and pencils since I was old enough to hold a writing instrument.  Is it any wonder that I journal?

When I was a kid my favorite gift in the world was a new coloring book with an accompanying box of Crayola Crayons.  The more of those colorful sticks of wax in that crisp, clean box, the better.  Funny how the smell of  crayons can still take me back to those feelings of youthful joy.

For the love of journaling


Only five things are needed to journal.  The most obvious is paper and a writing instrument of some sort.  The other three things are a place, time and self discipline to put pen to paper.

It is usually the last three in most people's lives that are the most difficult.

Paper and writing instruments

I started journaling on inexpensive, lined spiral notebooks. When we were raising our four sons I tended toward smaller journals partly because larger ones seemed daunting...but mostly because the only time I had alone was in the bathroom so my journal stayed in the bathroom window with a pen tucked inside. 

Now, since our sons are grown I tend toward larger, lined journals.  Quality of the paper means more to me than the cover.  I really dislike gritty paper.

I keep a pen tucked in my journal at all times.  Yes, it damages the cover of the journal. No, I don't care.  I'd rather have a bent cover than have to get up and rummage around for a pen while my coffee gets cold during my morning prayer time. 

I love good, quality ink pens. I have a few expensive ones and I tend to use those until they run out of ink. Right now I am using some nice "gimme" pens.  As with paper, I dislike a pen that doesn't flow smoothly. I will throw away a journal that has pages which feel gritty, a pen with ink doesn't flow or dry well or leaves blotches on the paper.

Place, Time and Practice

For me, successful journaling is more about place, time and practice than it is about paper and pen.  That still surprises me.

For many years journaling typically looked like this: for a myriad of reasons I didn't write in the half dozen journals that ended up in the drawer of my night stand...so I would decide to purchase a NEW journal and some NEW pens.  THAT would fix the problem (remember my youthful joy at a new coloring book and Crayolas?). A few days or pages later, since journaling wasn't part of my daily routine,  that journal, too, would lie gathering dust on the bathroom window sill, opened once a week, once a month, or forgotten completely until I decided that a new journal might, again, "work better".

That was my life for so many years.  What happened to change that?  No, it wasn't a new journal that finally "worked".  It was the fact that during a particularly difficult time of my life, a daily time of reflection became a priority.

Eleven years ago I found myself an empty nester. That transition was one of the most difficult passages I've ever made.  Our oldest son had moved out on his own, our second son was going to college and working while living at home, but was almost never here. Then our two youngest sons went to the Marine Corps, one in September, the other in December of the same year. I found myself particularly unprepared and it was during that time of my life when I began to make a daily prayer time a priority.  Somehow, writing in a journal became part of the routine.  Thankfully, one day at a time, the habit has persisted. 

Most often my prayer time is first thing in the morning.  My usual place is in my favorite chair, and I keep my Bible, current journal complete with pen tucked in, and prayer book of some sort on a table next to it.  Cup of coffee in hand, I try to begin each day in this way, and I often journal during that time of reflection. I wish I could tell you that all this happened easily, but the truth is, my life just works better, one day at a time, when I practice incorporating this time into my day.


After all these years I still a big kid when it comes to paper and pens.  On the journey that is my life, I've learned that my days go smoother when I take time to reign in my mind and get thoughts out of my head and onto paper.  But, most important, it took creating a regular place and time and then learning to practice this habit daily.  I am still surprised to find that it is the daily repetition that is the most important aspect of my love of journaling.