I also keep journals for the kids. I don’t do it nearly as often as I would like (a common phrase when discussing journalling) but I’ve resolved myself to that fact that SOMEDAY a few days of journaling will be more important to someone than if I had NEVER written anything…

I’ve also thrown away my fair share of pages that I didn’t want anyone else to see…but mostly because I didn’t want to see them anymore. They were parts of me I didn’t like…hateful, dark thoughts that came in what I thought then were awful times in my life.

I do keep my own journal, but I like writing poetry more. My thoughts always come out that way it seems. When I sit down to write paragraphs I freeze…but when I think in lyrics and phrases, it comes easier. I have notebooks and napkins and scraps tucked away in an old leather attache case, each with a bit of me on them…

A day will come when I can drag all of them out and do something with them…

And them, became the Bohons.
*sigh*

“it’s a love story, baby just say yessssss”
=)

But then my mom passed away and I found her journals. What a treasure of her walk with God! They reveal her struggle with her faith in God and in the latter years, her battle with her desire to be healthy and not be a burden. At times when I miss her, I turn to her writing — even her handwriting comforts me — and her words somehow soothe my heart.

So, I’m sure I will keep writing in my journals, and they’ll keep collecting dust; but one day maybe they’ll comfort my children too.

I did throw some journals away at one time. They were journals from a time period in my life where I was really hurt and very angry a majority of the time. I threw them away because I felt that was a way of completely putting away the past and forgiving those I was angry with. I knew in that moment it was God telling me to “let go” of the anger and the pain and in that gesture… healing in my heart began. I know I’m not the same person I was back then and I am SO thankful for that!

I love all these comments. I loved Felicity’s list… I LOVE reading the writing blogs of my friends, Felicity, Serenity, Kathy & Cheri… they are amazing and speak words of truth. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and words with the rest of us!

4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”

The things I write are my “memorial stones.” They are the “mental pictures” along the way, the markers, that testify where I’ve been. Too, they can be the signposts that point the way forward in the midst of difficult times.

When I pick up my writings and re-read them later, I am reminded of where I was at the time, what was happening, what I was thinking, what God was saying/challenging/doing, what incite was provided, what lesson was learned. Some day, when others ask “What do these mean?” I will have an opportunity to explain, to challenge, to encourage, to satisfy, to provoke – or simply smile and remember how good my God has been to me.

I like the character quote, but I would alter it slightly before using it myself. If character is “who we are when only God is watching,” and we think anyone has good character, I would suggest we are being less than honest. I would change it from “who we are,” which to me includes things like emotions and impulses, to “what we do.” Someone who never wants to beat the living tar out of someone (Living tar? What is that exactly?) is either lying or not human. What we do with those feelings is something else entirely.

I don’t want to imitate the person who never gets mad until they’ve finally boiled over and do things they regret (although I do imitate them too often). I want to imitate the person who gets mad but channels that anger appropriately. I don’t want my kids to be impressed by the person who never wants to swipe a candy bar, but by the person who wants to but doesn’t.

Or maybe it’s just me who has rotten character; that’s another possibility!

Wish I could find a little more time and figure out how to balance it with the rest of my life! I spend a lot of time thinking of pages I would like to journal and not getting around to it. My best creative hours are 10- midnight and I don’t always feel up for that. When I get supplies out with the girls I always end up trying to keep the mess from getting too out of control, but they have some great journals and I hope they will keep it up as they get older; and someday I can imagine creative time together that doesn’t get too crazy…someday!