Journaling: Why Do I Do It, and Should You, Too?

When Lisa and Emily were young, we planned various experiences and homeschool field trips (outings, in Mary Poppins lingo), geared towards expanding their universe. Whether it was a circus, a trip on the CityBus to the library, a drive to Mrs. Pilotte’s goat farm, or tagging along with Dad to one of the various college campuses, I always required them to write a story afterwards, and they often illustrated those experiences. 

This tradition was continued when other kids attained writing age, and some of the kids used up much more of the paper with pictures than with words, but they got their messages across. We laughed, though, because Lisa’s stories always ended with the phrase: “It was fun!” 

Checking out a goat.

Lisa’s story writing led to the creation of many diaries, in which she recorded her private thoughts, but then she wanted everyone to read them, which we thought undermined the purpose of recording private thoughts! I know she wishes she still had some of those books as they accomplished several things. First, they helped her organize her thoughts, and second, diary writing gave her some hindsight on how she felt back then. It also gave her a jump-start in communicating, and what did she go and do when she grew up? Lisa earned a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Indiana University! She also has a blog, though she hasn’t contributed to it in awhile. And oh look! Here’s her portfolio! 

Now, Chris’s daughter Rori is writing a blog of her own, with 21st Century thoughts about Covid cancelations and dancing. Good start, Rori!

Why do people journal? And why tell our stories ‒ what good does it do? You should know that I really don’t “have time” to write this blog. Sometimes I am still writing at 3:00 in the morning and yes, I miss my sleep. But here are some insights I can give you from writing it seriously for about six months.

So why do I journal?

1. When I journal, I am recording history.

Much of what we know of the past is gleaned from people’s personal journals, personal letters, and such. Some people are blessed to know their own family’s history because another family member has taken an interest in the subject. So the History of the Chinchilla Family may be a prized possession for the descendants. But if you don’t have such a book already written, do you know who your ancestors are? Can you find out? My first (real) post was about God speaking to me, and saying, “I am the God of your fathers.” And I was floored, because I didn’t know them. I had to find out.

When Eric and I lived in Hawaii, we saw holes in bridges and even the outside of the PACAF Headquarters on Hickam AFB, where I worked. 

I know, this picture I took doesn’t show the holes. 

 I guess they fixed most of the holes because it would make a better bridge that way.

We learned that that was from Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor which plunged the U.S. into World War II. But I was born in 1956, and the war was ancient history to me. I regret now, never stopping by the Arizona Memorial while we lived on Oahu. I did not know what it was, and did not take the time to find out about the heroes who were interred there. I cried when I watched the movie Pearl Harbor a couple of years ago. The people’s stories made the event real to me.

Today, it seems impossible to people like me that there should be so many people living who were not yet born in 2001, and the event we call “9/11” was only a chapter in their history book. But if the stories are not told, the next generation will forget. Most of my story is already history. And someday, what I’m thinking and feeling today will also be history.

In the weeks to come, I will chronicle as much as I can glean from my father about his military experience, and from his brother. If not now, it may never be done, because these two are in their 80s and when they are gone to be with Jesus, who can ask them about what they did in the war? Since I never have, I can’t pass that information on yet, but when it is recorded, it’s there for my posterity, and for anyone else who wants to know more about our family heroes and that period of time.

2. When I journal, I am able to think more clearly and record my thoughts in an organized way.

It’s no secret that I like to talk. In fact, I love to tell stories in great detail. But I hardly ever get to tell a detailed story from start to finish because, over the years, I’ve learned that most people would rather have conversation than hear a long story. Conversation often takes you somewhere else before your story is finished, especially if you take too long trying to organize your thoughts on the fly. You’ll notice you’re losing your audience when their eyes glaze over, when they glance at the clock or wave at a friend, or worse, when they just walk away.

But when I’m blogging, I can organize my thoughts and ideas so that they make sense and they’re readable. I can use the new Word of the Day that comes to my in-box and smooth out the rough edges of my writing. In this way, my thoughts become clearer even to myself. And, as I reflect upon my own freshly-written life and thoughts in hindsight, I notice time and time again, the hand of the Author of my life dotting His i’s and crossing His t’s. Then, I can point to those events in my life as perfect examples of just how much God loves me and how He has never failed me.

Blogging is like scraping the snow and ice off your windows while the car is running and there’s a passenger inside waiting on you. You can’t even see the passenger until enough of the snow has been cleared away. Then, suddenly, you’re looking deep inside the car ‒ and you smile and wave at them!

Yes! There you are, Lord! I can see you now! You’ve been with me all along, but I couldn’t see you.

3. When I journal, I can share my thoughts and opinions freely and others may get something out of them.

Sometimes my life story is useful for showing people this is the way to go ‒ it worked for me! Other times, my tales are useful for showing people why this is NOT the way to go. My personal story can serve as a roadblock with flashing lights to warn unsuspecting travelers that there’s a sinkhole ahead. And if someone is already traveling along the same road I did, even if life seems like a living hell right now, I can assure them that this too is survivable because I survived, and that Jesus is there with them, never fear:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

~Psalm 23:4

Especially if my thoughts and opinions, like this one, are based on the Scriptures, this part of journaling can be very beneficial. Luke did that. St. Paul and St. John did that. Ezra and Nehemiah did that. Writing letters and life stories was an encouragement to people who needed hope, as well as doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness.

Paul recorded for readers of his letters a couple thousand years into the future, that someone had been sleeping with his father’s wife in Corinth. This was raw, bare truth. Authors of the other books did the same. Nothing was glossed over. But Paul also provided the church with his reaction and what to do about it. By the time the next letter was written, the Corinthian church had solved the problem.

Sometimes my writing has not been G rated. I’ll be the first to admit that, at times, it is hard to read. It was really hard to write. But there was a purpose, and I hope and pray that the purpose of my difficult writing was realized, right along with all the easy posts. The fact is, people can identify with your story – maybe not all of it, but usually at least, with parts of it. So, when I share my story, it is my testimony. Others can identify with that testimony and say, “If God helped Margie, though her childhood was difficult, He can help me too.” Or, “If God can use Margie in ministry, as flawed as she may be, maybe He can use me too.”

4. When I journal, I am fulfilling Titus 2.

“… the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things, that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.” ~Titus 2:3-5

When I tell my story, I can be an encouragement, maybe even an inspiration, to younger women, and even younger men if they want to read it! Hey, even older men and women might get something out of it! But basically, God, through Paul, has given a job to us older women, and that’s to mentor younger women. This way is efficient (as long as it doesn’t get canceled by the owner of the server), because you don’t have to attend a Bible study. You just read my posts at your leisure, and hopefully, put into practice the good things you will find there.

5. When I journal, I can look back at my own history.

This is actually important because I can learn something and then forget it. 

If you read Psalm 88, you realize the whole thing is about the author having a no-good, very-bad, really-terrible day. In fact, he was likely suffering from clinical depression. The wording says he’s been suffering like that from his youth, as if he has never had a good day all his life. But if you move on to other psalms that he wrote, it is clear that even if that was a low point, there were many other high points. Like in Psalm 89, for instance. 

We need to have those memories, in writing, at our fingertips in order to see God’s interventions, answered prayers, progress made, blessings in disguise, and so much more. When you begin blogging / journaling, you will remember much more about your past. It keeps those gears turning and well greased. Otherwise, the memories grow stale. Did you ever see the movie Inside Out? The memory dump? That’s what I’m talking about.

Will you start a blog now? My goal is to transfer all these posts you’ve been reading to a regular Wordpress website and get off Blogspot. If you are one of my descendants, I’ve also toyed with the idea of giving you a corner of my blog so we can record our family history… as a family. But if you don’t want to be part of something open to the public, write a diary or a prayer journal. Use a pen if you are adept at legible communication. (You’ll want to read it later.)

“You turn man to destruction, and say, ‘Return, O children of men.’"

For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night. You carry them away like a flood; they are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up: in the morning it flourishes and grows up; in the evening it is cut down and withers.

~Ps. 90:3-6

“Father, several months ago, I likened my life to that of a morning glory, one of the flowers that bloom in the field, reaching upward towards the sun. Life on earth is brief for the small, simple flower and the grass in the field where it grows, which are both here today and gone tomorrow. But especially in a field overflowing with the small flowers, the glory goes to You, their Creator. We pray that our lives, and our stories, would be a testimony of beauty in the place where we are planted, that will direct others Your way.

“In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”