Last week my family took a trip to Ft. Lauderdale for our family vacation. Through a week of relaxation and plenty of beach time, I had a reoccurring thought, “God never takes a vacation.” Each and everyday our Heavenly Father speaks to us and reveals His presence in our lives whether it be through an encouraging word or a ray of sunshine.
This thought has fueled my relationship with Father this past year and I have a few books to prove it. The first is of course my Bible. The second is my devotional, Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, and the third is my journal, but I will get to that later.
He is always teaching, always encouraging, always guiding, and, of course, always loving. Even though His efforts are everlasting, we, as humans with our short attention span, find a way to be disconnected from Him and fail to notice.
Now we come to the inspiration behind this blog! Just under a year ago my friend and I were standing at a book shelf at Barnes and Noble. The books in front of us were not to read, but instead they were to write in. Journals of all sizes and colors lined the shelves.
My friend and I, we’ll call her Sally, we liked to reminisce about the times when we were adolescents ranting away to our best friend named, “Dear Diary.” Looking back through those best friends I realized how young and shallow I sounded. Talking about every guy that said “Hello” to me like he was Mr. Right, what I ate for dinner, how many times I went on a diet, how many fights I had with my brother and so on. Each entry was pointless and it was almost embarrassing to read again. There was no depth, no growth involved, it just reminded me of how odd I was as a child.
As a result, Sally came up with an idea that I will now forever carry with me and pass on to others. Instead of complaining about everything wrong in our lives in a diary, why don’t we journal about the blessings that God gives us. So there we were ready to pick out a journal whose purpose was to record all the good that God does in our lives. I picked out the small purple notebook featured in the picture above. Little did I know about the wonderful step I was to take with God.
In under a year I have filled up that entire journal with life lessons, answered prayers, and healed heartaches. Each entry proves that if you are open to hearing The Lord’s voice, you will hear it. This journal is a tool that helps me channel my thoughts and prayers with Father. It reminds me of His eternal presence through his blessings which often follow tough lessons. As a result, my faith grows stronger every day.
This blog is a way for me to share what I have learned from God by keeping this journal. It is a way for me, as a writer, to show you how God is faithful and if you have eyes to see, you will see His beautiful work in you.
Let me give this late disclaimer. Keeping a journal is not what is going to get you a relationship with Father. The first step to a relationship is to pray, the second is to read His word. How else are you going to know when He is talking to you? Keeping a journal is simply a tool in this relationship. I look forward to sharing my experiences and thoughts with you and I hope that this will encourage you in entries to come.
-LJM
Revelation 2:7, Proverbs 20:12
Leah Jordan Meahl 