Journey Through Journaling: Connect with God in New Ways

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I'm Angie Robertson and you're listening to the Spirit led Life podcast, episode 39.

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October is national Journal Writing Month, or what some people refer to as na jorimo.

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If you've been listening to this podcast for a minute, you know I am passionate about journaling.

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Our next series we will be diving into, as you might have guessed, journaling.

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However, we are going to have some twists and turns because I know not everyone is a journaler.

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In fact, I was talking with someone recently who hates journaling and fair enough, I get it.

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These episodes, though, will have something for everyone and all I ask is for you to have an open spirit.

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Who knows, you might just walk away with ideas on how to draw closer in your relationship with God.

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Let's go to the show.

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Welcome to the show.

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If you are new here, I am so glad you are joining us.

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On this podcast, we explore who God is so we can know who he has made us to be and learn to live our lives by the Holy Spirit.

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Before we get into today's topic, I want to invite you to become a part of our community.

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And how can you do that, you might ask?

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By joining our mailing list, you will receive weekly emails that let you know when a new episode releases, as well as I share behind the scenes in those emails.

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I'd love to communicate with you each week and you can always reply to those emails as I receive the responses directly.

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And I want to thank you for those who do reply because I read them and I love connecting with you.

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So thank you.

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Happy na Jorimo or National Journal writing month.

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I don't know why they've abbreviated that way, but they do.

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I've shared on more than one podcast that I am super passionate.

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Like I said about journaling and I used to even manufacture journals.

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It was a company called Chic Space.

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I sold the company many, many, many years ago, but the passion for journaling didn't go with it.

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Honestly, it is probably good.

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I sold the journal business because I actually use an iPad, an Apple pencil, and the Goodnotes app to Journal now and I would have really felt like a fraud selling journals when I didn't even use them I mean, hello, it's kind of like the cobbler's shoes.

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Kids with no shoes or something, I don't know.

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Anyway, I've become even more passionate about journaling within the last seven years, especially because I've started using my journal as a way to have a conversation with God that I can always document and refer back to.

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In fact, it is my number one way that I communicate with him personally.

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I shared more about this in a series we did a few months ago, two way communication with God.

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I'll be sure to link to it in the show notes to the episode where I actually share my journal process.

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It is also a practice I use in the virtual assistant school.

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In the homework I give, there are always journal questions.

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In each lesson I have the students contemplate with God.

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I don't have them turn the journal writings in as that's private between them and God.

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And I don't grade it because it's kind of a bonus activity for them to do and it's really based on kind of the honor system that they're doing it.

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But I have to say, at the end of each of the cohorts, I sent out an evaluation to gather feedback about the program, and one of the questions I ask on the evaluation is, what was your favorite part of the program?

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Almost all the students have comments about the journaling and assignments.

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Some of the students have said things like journaling allowed me to just sit with the Lord, open up and pour out my heart and listen to the Holy Spirit.

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It helped me to see the journey unfold, looking where I started, where I am, and where I'm going.

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Another student said, I liked being challenged with the journaling assignments.

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That's something I've never really done before, so I enjoyed being stretched that way and I see the benefits.

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And the last one I'll share is a student wrote, I loved the journaling.

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I have wanted to get into journaling for a long time but didn't know where to start.

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This will definitely be something I continue with going forward.

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Like I said at the beginning of the episode, we are entering a new series and it is exploring journaling as a way to deepen our relationships with God.

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I know journaling isn't for everyone, so like I said before, I want to extend an invitation to you to open your soul, to allow your spirit to speak to you about possibilities.

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We will have five episodes since there are five Thursdays in October, so give me just five episodes.

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Not for me to convert you, but for you to take this information and process it with the Holy Spirit to see if there is anything he is inviting you to expand on or include in your own worship process.

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Because journaling is a form of worship, you can take some of the ideas shared on these episodes and apply them in whatever way you use to communicate with God.

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Like we learned in the two way communication with God, there are so many ways to connect with him, and some of us are more naturally equipped to communicate with God in certain ways.

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And that's a beautiful thing.

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That means we're all unique, just like God designed us.

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Just like none of us have the same two thumbprints.

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Now that I have that disclaimer out of the way, let's dive into what you can expect over the next so this is the first episode, so now we have four more.

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So let's talk a little bit about journaling overall from a worldly, scientific perspective.

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According to the Najorimo website, which I'll link to in the show notes because that's actually the website name, the benefits of journaling include it enhances your writing skills.

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Journal writing builds writing fluency and helps you learn to express your thoughts and ideas.

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It relieves stress when you write honestly and pour out your worries.

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The act of writing can help you process your emotions and what's on your mind.

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It boosts your memory.

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Journal writing is a great way to keep track of your experiences, ideas, and daily reactions to what's happening in your world.

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It helps you to set and attain goals.

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When you write something down, you become more committed to action.

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Writing helps you plan and figure out how to reach your goals, explore thoughts and ideas.

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Journal writing is a dialogue with yourself and with God.

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This is again, this isn't a necessarily christian influenced website.

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I don't know what their faith belief is, but for me, I'm saying that journal writing is not only a way for you to process your thoughts, but to also have a dialogue with goddess, and it's without being judged or censored.

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And you can explore your thoughts and ideas about anything.

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God doesn't judge you.

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God isn't condemning you.

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He wants all of your feelings and emotions.

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We've talked about this before.

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He's a big enough God.

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He can handle all of it.

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Now.

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I could go on and on with all the benefits and the stats on journal writing.

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What I love about journaling is there's no right or wrong way.

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No one is going to grade you or tell you what you are doing and that you're a terrible journaler.

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Nobody's going to do that.

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In fact, most people aren't even going to read your journal.

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Most people aren't even going to see your journal.

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I also love that there are so many ways to journal.

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Everything from one line a day to bullet journaling to art journaling to just your typical writing on a daily basis.

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Journaling really can be tailored for you and your lifestyle and your communication style.

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There are even journals out there that you can write in and destroy later.

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In fact, when I had the journal business, I created a guide called twelve Ways to use your journal and I am going to include a link to it in the newsletter and I'll also put it here in the show notes as well.

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For me, journaling started when I was young and it was a way for me to have somewhere safe to write down my thoughts.

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And I had big thoughts when I was young and watching my parents go through a divorce.

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I needed a place to go.

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I've journaled off and on since throughout my life.

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But when I got saved at 17, journaling shifted a little bit for me.

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My journal entries began with dear Jesus instead of just nothing.

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The ethos I would write to him each time I cracked open my journal and my journal became my prayers, my pleads, my frustrations, my joys.

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It would be several decades later when journaling would become a two way communication with God.

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And my journaling has evolved over the decades of my life and I can say it only gets better and better.

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I thought I would share with you what is coming up this month.

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Now I will share a disclaimer in that I'm still in the process of scheduling some of these interviews and some of these guests.

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So I hope everything goes well, that we don't lose recordings or people have to back out.

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But if for some reason something goes defunct, this lineup is subject to change.

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So I'm going to put that disclaimer out there now.

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I have met a friend on social media, Jessica Bormann, who is just as passionate as I am about journaling.

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And in fact, she has created some amazing journal prompt cards which if you follow me on Instagram, you've seen that I've shared a reel of me using those cards.

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You can always go find me on there if you want.

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AngiewRobertson and look at that reel if you wanted to see what I'm talking about.

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Jessica and I are going to come together and have a virtual coffee conversation, if you will, about journaling.

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I thought it would be great to have another perspective from someone who is equally as passionate as I am.

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And what I love about Jessica is the work she does is helping people navigate their emotions, from suppressing to feeling, from tethered to freedom, from isolation to connection, from old ways to new ways, from control to flow, from dwelling to resilience.

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And I don't know about you, but I can use all of that.

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And especially, like I've talked about before, my immediate instinct on anything is to go to my head, and I don't feel so to make it so interesting to me that God connected me with Jessica.

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And I feel.

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I feel like it's, you know, it's absolutely godly divine that we met because she is so tapped into her emotions and I am someone that still needs to learn how to tap into my emotions.

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Next, I'm going to have an in real life guest on the show.

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Unfortunately, we won't be meeting in person, even though she lives in the same city.

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To record because your girl doesn't have any type of equipment to record two people on a mic.

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But that's coming soon.

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One day we'll get there anyway.

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My friend Sulay is an art therapist who uses therapeutic art making techniques to help people overcome fears, redefine who they are, and reignite your passion for life.

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And I'm excited to talk with Sulai so that you can get a perspective on a different way to journal that doesn't necessarily involve writing but can still have the same benefits.

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Our final guest, which if you've been following along on this episode back in, I think it was episode 37, I made a little mention of this.

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I told a little secret, but our final guest would be Jennifer camp of gathered ministries.

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Again, if you've been following this podcast, you know, I quote Jennifer a lot on this podcast.

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And side note, when I started this podcast, I made a dream list of people I would like to have a conversation with.

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And Jennifer was at the top of that list.

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And when I reached out to her and she said, yes, you can bet I was over the moon.

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Jennifer and I will have a conversation as two friends having coffee, and I'm going to talk to her about her communication style with God.

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And as you know, she writes prophetic messages for us.

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And I'm going to talk to her more about her process.

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And if you have any questions you would like me to ask her, or any of the guests for that matter, feel free to email me@adrngerobertson.com.

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and remember, Angie is spelled a n g e e.

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So adrangierobertson.com.

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i'll also put this in the show notes as well, or you can private message me on Instagram gwrobertson and you can also reply.

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If you're a subscriber, you can reply to the one of the emails and I'll be sure to watch for those as well.

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We'll end the series with me closing out in a wrap up episode and answering any questions you might have of all these previous episodes or anything about journaling that comes up during this series.

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So again, I want your questions always feel free to reach out to me, either on Instagram, replying to the newsletter, or just going to adrnjroberson.com dot now, before I wrap up, I want to take a moment to thank all my dedicated listeners, those of you who download each episode each week and leave kind reviews like this one from KL Layard.

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In a world bombarded with information and constant noise, Angies podcast acts as a comforting refuge.

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She reminds me that amidst the chaos of this world, we have a source of peace and comfort within ourselves through the Holy Spirit.

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If you are looking for a podcast that uplifts, inspires and guides you towards a deeper relationship with the Holy Spirit, this is it.

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Thank you.

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I really appreciate that and I couldn't have said it better than myself.

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And the way that you all experience this podcast, that right there means so much to me.

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It also means so much to me that you take the time to listen and leave a review.

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And I want to let you know that we are a part of a community and I appreciate you.

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I also want to invite those who maybe this is your first episode you are listening to, or maybe you've been listening off and on.

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I want to invite you to click and follow this podcast on your favorite podcast platform and really become an official part of this community.

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It would mean so much to me.

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Now, I'm looking forward to sharing this series with you, and I can't wait to hear what God does with it to draw you closer to him.

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One of my favorite things to do is reflect back on past journal entries and see how God has been faithful and to see how much I've grown.

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And it can also show me patterns I tend to hold on to and alert me when change needs to happen.

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Journaling is a powerful tool that God has given us.

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And I mean, think about the Bible.

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It's compiled of letters and notes and I stories that women have held, men and women have held of their experience of the Trinity.

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Now for this week's heavenly position system challenge, take out your journal and find a quiet place if possible.

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And I even encourage those who don't currently journal to maybe consider it.

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Spend some time reflecting on your own journal practice.

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If you don't journal what keeps you from journaling?

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Write it all out.

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Don't censor yourself.

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For those who are seasoned journalers, what has your journaling process been like lately?

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Is it thriving?

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Is it falling short?

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Is it stale?

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Write down thoughts as to what might be contributing to any of these outcomes.

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As I close, I am going to leave you with a poem titled surprise by Timothy Edward the power of journaling to keep your goals aligned and life fulfilling.

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Our creator knows us inside out and in our prayers we can find this route quiet time with the Lord pen and paper in hand, jot down the thoughts and goals make a stand.

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Observe the percentage how prayers are answered, God's faithfulness shone as life's path is traversed.

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Journaling holds us accountable to live to the vision.

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It's truly reliable.

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Over years the success rate is high.

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Best practices learned never to die.

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Surprise.

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The power of journaling a tool for life, big goals and small things.

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To God be the glory.

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Thank you for joining me on today's episode.

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This episode was produced, recorded, and edited by me, Angie Robertson.

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I look forward to joining you each Thursday for a new episode as we explore together how to have a spirit led life.