April 24, 2012
The fourth Discipline we will deal with is Journaling
JOURNALING:
Letting the Soul out to Dry
On the second to last day of the Denver Urban
Semester we had a time when we exchange gifts that we had been challenged to
make out of things we found around the apartments or the city. I made a bird
out of macaroni and cheese (my meal for the summer) and wrote scripture on it,
I was surprised it made it home. The gift I received was a small journal with a
passage from 2 Corinthians 12 and a very encouraging letter from a the young
woman who had drawn my name for the gift exchange. The first morning I wrote in
that journal was the morning after I received it, I didn’t write in it again
for two weeks.
At that point
Journaling was still a very new concept for me, I always thought that
journaling was like keeping a diary. To me that meant keeping secrets from people
and as my sisters probably did in their diaries “talk about boys.” On the other
side of the coin it seemed that journaling was just too time consuming and I
thought I was doing good enough just by getting into regularity with my quiet
time schedule. Why should I add journaling, didn’t I write enough on this blog
enough, why add another discipline.
Discovering God’s Vulnerability…
Christian George starts
off his chapter on journaling by reminding us of a very simple and easily
forgotten truth, that Jesus stepped out of the glory of heaven and took on the
skin of mankind (Godology Christian
George, 52). That the Son of God in His infinite wisdom decided to set aside
the riches and glory of heaven and step into man’s skin to discover what it was
like just to be like us.
When you look at it
this way it’s easy to see how Jesus was vulnerable during his earthly ministry.
For anyone of power to step down into the trenches with the people who they
call workers or brothers opens the door for a lot of trouble. Look at the CBS
show “Undercover Boss” where CEO’s and Executive’s from large corporation like
NASCAR and White Castle disguise themselves as employees so they can better
serve their employees.
In a more perfect and
better way this is what Christ did when He came down from heaven. He walked
alongside us, hung out with the less desirable members of society and ticked
off the richer upper echelon who thought they had it all figured out. Then,
because of what Jesus taught a change came to that system, but for that change
to happen Christ had to be stripped of all glory and crucified, be buried and
raised to life. He had to become vulnerable and submissive, even to death on a
cross (Phil 2:11).
…And Encountering Our Own
How often do we
actually want to admit that we are vulnerable? Think about it, we live in a
culture that teaches us to be strong and to build walls on independence. Then
when we think we have it figured out someone comes along and tells us we need
to tone it down. These mixed messages often just make us angry and so we slip
into a deadly apathy thinking we are not allowed to be anything.
But then we hide that
feeling too.
I have discovered
though, that journaling provides us a way to be vulnerable as well as a way to
celebrate God’s vulnerability. We show our vulnerability by pouring out our
hearts and our souls to Christ and writing down prayers. I often use Journaling as a chance to write
down what God is revealing to me in scripture, hardly to record the day’s
events, but mostly to praise my creator. Journaling becomes a way of getting
our emotions out, but it’s also good practice for actually showing that
vulnerability within our friendships and other relationships as well.
Celebrating the Incarnation
George has the
following to say concerning this discipline
Journaling is an inward
practice that reminds us of an upward reality-that God glued Himself to our
planet. By inscribing our thoughts and prayers on paper, we appreciate Christ’s
condescension, journaling is a celebration of the incarnation (55)
So journaling isn’t just therapeutic, it is, like Art, a way to
celebrate the incarnation and bring glory to God. When we acknowledge God in our private lives
it becomes easier to acknowledge Him in our public lives. It gives us a chance
to reflect on who God is and what exactly it is that He’s doing.
If we are to seek out
God on this level we may find that we will fall deeper and deeper in love with
who He is and have a clearer view of who we are.
-
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So why is Journalism a Discipline? Well we’ve
seen how prayer, obedience and Art allow us to focus on God, and that’s what
the discipline of Journalism does. It allows us to pray, write out what God is
asking us to do, or even draw something. It also becomes a very good tool for
looking back on what we were struggling with or what we were rejoicing in two
or three days, weeks or months earlier.
So go and grab a notebook and pick up a pen
and take the time to write down what you are starting to work through
spiritually. Write out your prayers, or a scripture you are trying to memorize
or an experience or whatever might be on your heart at the given time. Then sit
back and reflect on what you’ve just written and see how deeply you start to
fall in love with a God who is madly in love with you.
LET
YOUR SOUL OUT TO DRY, GO, WRITE & REFLECT!
God Bless You
Jonathan David Faulkner
Also Available from the Good Discipline Series
Also Available from Jonathan Faulkner
The Truth (10:31 Life Ministries Blog)
Available titles from the 10:31 Life Ministries Writing Team
A Chosen Generation (1 Peter 2:9): Mediocre Christianity by Angel Edwards
College Commitment: Those Puzzled Athenians-and Us. by Rev. David Faulkner
Confessions of a College Freshmen: On Buying Your Own Groceries by Amy Faulkner
To contact or support 10:31 Life Ministries email us at: hi1031.ministries@yahoo.com
To contact Jonathan Faulkner email him at: Jonathan@altrocklive.com
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