Seton Magazine Catholic Homeschool Articles, Advice & Resources
I’m sitting here holed up in my study, which smells of hot chocolate and the Coach Poppy perfume which I’ve just sprayed myself with. I’ve even got smooth jazz playing very softly in the background. For me, it just doesn’t get much better than this. Now, I’m in the mood to write.
As many of you know, we started a Let’s Journal! Club here at Seton in October. Those who join the club receive a Daily Journal Prompt in their inbox every day, which, hopefully, will get the journaling juices flowing and inspire them to write!
The purpose of the journaling club is to provide a kick start to get those who are new to journaling on their way! I wrote an earlier article on what I believe to be the many benefits of journaling, so I won’t rehash everything that I wrote here. Hopefully, after you have read it, I will have succeeded in making a believer out of you!
“Online” with Advent
To help get our club members “online” with Advent, I went to the USCCB website, selected a Mass reading for each day of Advent, and then penned a mini devotion and journaling prompt that relates to it. Even for those who cannot attend daily Mass, this is a great way to stay connected with the Church and to get our thoughts and hearts lined up with the themes of this holy season.
Because Advent is a penitential season in which we are attempting to prepare our hearts for the coming of Our Savior, all of the journaling prompts will be based on a penitential theme. Club members will be instructed to read the Scripture referenced at the top of the prompt. They will then read the devotion/prompt which I have typed, and then think about how that particular reading applies to their lives. And then… they will scribble away!
If you are not “big” on journaling, I want to encourage you to give it a try.
A lot of people think that journaling is for writers, and this simply is not true. Journaling is for everyone! Journaling is not art, and it is not professional writing. It is a tool. I stress this point to reassure any “nonwriters” reading this article.
Journaling is meant to be, simply, the act of moving the hand across the page and writing down whatever comes to mind after reading and reflecting on the journaling prompt.
There’s no right way or wrong way to journal. These are your thoughts, and you are free to write them out however way you feel. Nobody is going to see your journal. Nobody is going to grade your journal. Nobody is going to check for grammar and spelling.
Sometimes, when I want to write in a journal, whole thoughts don’t come to me. So I just write down words. I make what I call a Brainstorm Page. By simply writing down words and phrases, ideas and thoughts come to me. Truths are communicated to me.
If My Husband Can Do It… You Can!
When my husband decided to go back to school in order to get his degree in Electronics Engineering Technology, he had to take an English class. On the very first day of class, the teacher instructed all of the students to keep a daily journal. He taught them about the importance of writing down one’s thoughts. My husband is an electronics technician, with big meaty, hairy, calloused hands, not a writer, but he did it, and he benefited greatly from it! If he can do it, anyone can!
Journaling is for technicians, janitors, gardeners, nurses, moms, dads, students, and starving artists! It’s not just for writers. If you can pick up a pencil and write your ABCs, then you can journal.
Journaling forces us to slow down and take a good hard look at our own reflection on paper. It helps us to discover who we are, what we want, where we are going, and what changes God may wish to make in our lives. It helps us to grow. It is anything but fruitless. And if you’re writing about yourself and your life, how can it be boring?
If you haven’t already signed up to receive the Seton Daily Journal Prompt, do so today and give journaling a try!
The Let’s Journal Through Advent! series will help you to grow and get the most out of many of the Scriptures that will be taught by the Church during the holy season of Advent.
Sign up to receive your prompts, buy yourself a journal and a few pens, and do so today!
You just might be pleasantly surprised at where your journaling journey will take you!
Subscribers!
If you’re already subscribed, and would like to continue receiving these journaling prompts, you will automatically receive these Advent meditations.
If you would like to stop, feel free to edit your preferences and unsubscribe.
