Enthusiastically, Dawn

Here we are for our Random Journal Day for May and I am happy to announce our Featured Journal Keeper, Barbara London! Barbara has joined in with us here and I have so enjoyed getting to know her through her writing shared at her blog and through her journal sharing. Barbara has a beautiful heart for Him and will surely bless and inspire you to get writing and enjoying your own journaling journey! You can find Barbara blogging and sharing regularly at Barbara’s Blog…Journey with Dementia’s Demands and Other Life Stories. In the meantime you can read her words here and then be sure to link your own Journal share at the end of the post! See you out on the blog trail, friends.

What an honor that I “get to” share with everyone for Random Journal Day this month…since Dawn has invited me to share my “journey in journaling” – as I said on my blog today, “that’s a tongue-twister if I ever heard one!”

For as long as I can remember, I have had a pen in hand – writing letters (to my grandmother and a pen pal), poetry, short stories, even speeches and reports for school or church.

Actually, it all started when I was a teenager, with “cutesy” poems like “Thoughts about Life”, “Silence”, and “Everlasting Love”.  I even wrote all of my poems into a notebook with a Table of Contents and a title, “And the Greatest of These Is Love…”

Needless to say, the “book” has never been published; but I have written many more poems throughout the years.  Since those days as a teenager, learning about love and salvation and what God has planned for me, God has continued to teach me!

Yet, it wasn’t until I became an adult that my pen sped across the pages of a notebook to journal, mostly in a plain composition or notebook or even on sheets of paper.  What mattered most was that I had paper with lines to jot down my thoughts and a quote or two.

While putting together information on my “journey in journaling”, I came across this entry in August 2003 where I quoted from a magazine article on journaling:  “…many people only write in them (diaries, journals) when they’re depressed.  When journal keepers are happy, they go out with their friends and have fun.  When they’re immersed in sadness or anxiety, they take refuge in writing.”

My comment to this entry was, “I’d say this is pretty true; but I do try to write regular and about whatever is on my mind – good and bad”.

Throughout the years, my journaling content has gone from daily happenings to feelings and quotes and conversations with God.  I have gone from using composition or notebooks – some I decorated, others I just kept plain – to buying the beautiful already-decorated journals.  Lately, I have preferred the spiral journals for ease of writing.  But, still I continued to journal…

Then in April 2004, I found The Blue Day Notebook, a (yes, it is blue!) notebook with a cute frog on the cover, created by Bradley Trevor Greive.  He says in the Forward to the book:

“True inspiration is everywhere, all the time.  It’s in the objects on your desk, it’s in the flashing lights of an ambulance, it’s in the lyrics of your favorite song, it’s the way a dog turns around twice before lying down to sleep.  In other words, inspiration is seeing ordinary things in an extraordinary way – imagining what things would be like if they were somehow…different.”

My first entry in this Blue Day Notebook was on April 29, 2004:

“So, what do I need a ‘Blue Day Notebook’ for?  I guess for those ‘Blue’ days; the ones that have me depressed, disillusioned, upset, or whatever –

“A ‘Day’ book could be something entirely different; maybe a planner or a look back at how the day went…

“{even then I was not that into keeping up with a planner – sorry Dawn!!}…

“or maybe a ‘day’ly prayer list or guide –

“Actually, this ‘Blue Day Notebook’ is a place for thoughts, goals, dreams, ideas – maybe even a sketch or two for scrapbooking, or an idea or two for a poem.  We’ll see what happens!”

I continued to write more entries in the Blue Day Notebook off and on until June 2013.  Most of my journaling was done in other notebooks; and whenever I would come across the Blue Day Notebook, I’d jot down a little something…

But, my Blue Day Notebook has become a place for doodling and zentangles (my way!); and for my “Random Story-line” entries.

Using the words that are included at the top of each page in the Blue Day Book, I started creating a story that continues from page to page.  The first entry for the story was done on April 29, 2004, just after purchasing the book; the latest was written just a few days ago.

My “random” story has become quite a mystery – one which I plan to start sharing on my blog…

In fact, the first three “entries” of the story (chapters?) were shared on January 25, 2015 during the “21 Days of Journaling in January” for RJD!  Find it here (http://scrapper123.blogspot.com/2015/01/rjd-day-19-random-story-lines.html).

The Blue Day Notebook is only one of many “journals” I have, each used for a different purpose:  a “regular” journal; a “blessings” notebook’ a “gratitude” book; a book of my poetry…you get the picture?!  I just love to have a new notebook to write in; so I find reasons to do so!

And, this is my “journey in journaling”!  Hope you are encouraged to write – something!  But, just write; don’t hold it inside…share your words – somebody out there may need to read them!

Thank you, Dawn, for the opportunity to share my thoughts!

Here is your Link up :