Does journaling really work?

What I've learned, why I still journal, and how our journal came to be.

Blank Pages

I spent many years journaling on blank lined pages. And in a lot of ways, it was helpful.

It helped calm my anxieties as scribbled my jumbled thoughts onto paper. 

It brought clarity when my emotions where raging, clouding my heart and mind. 

It gave me a safe place to vent when I had nowhere else to go. 

But a few years in, I started noticing some patterns. 

Staying Stuck

I was staying stuck. Journal entries were largely repetitive, and the same problems kept surfacing.

I spent more time journaling about everything that was going wrong than what was good and right and true.

And worse than that, my journaling was only an inner dialog...with maybe a few desperate prayers interspersed. 

Even though journaling was providing relief in the short-term, I wasn't seeing long-term growth.

So it got me thinking. Have I been journaling all wrong? 

Was blank journaling helpful for in the moment-processing, but maybe not long-term health and growth?

Trying Journaling Prompts

I began using journaling prompts to start writing and processing with more intention. My processing became deeper. Writing felt more meaningful. And I began processing areas of my life beyond the crisis of here and now. 

But I still felt there was something missing. It felt off kilter. I wanted more than processing. Something proactive. Something holistic. 

Exploring Wellness Journals

So I started searching for guided journals. It wasn't long before I found wellness journals and I quickly fell in love - except that none of them incorporated faith. 

I knew I couldn't leave faith out of journaling if I truly was seeking healing and wellness from a holistic and God-honoring perspective. 

And a spark within me was lit. What does wellness and self-care look like from a Christian perspective? What does journaling and processing look like from a Christian perspective? What would happen if the two were combined? 

It was the combination that felt like the complete picture of true processing and growth. Faith and truth, wellness, and writing. 

Gospel-Centered Wellness Journal

I looked everywhere for any kind of journal that combined mental health, self-care, processing, and growth from a Christian perspective. I just couldn't find it. 

So I created my own spread. One that started off with time with God and gave me an eternal perspective. I added in a quick priorities & planning section to help me know how to spend my limited time and energy in a way that was impactful and honoring to God. But I also needed a way to keep up with my own wellness - because when I'm not well, it's difficult to live well and love others well. So I added in a wellness check-in to help me be intentional about taking care of myself and nurturing my heart, mind, and body. And the Weekly Spread was born. 

But some days were harder than others. Some days I just wanted to write. But not aimlessly, not without parameters to keep my mind fixed on truth as I processed. So before I began writing, I would reflect on Scripture or listen to a hymn or song grounded in truth. This significantly helped me approach what I was going through with not only Kingdom perspective but also hope! And so Hope for Hard days became a big part of this wellness journal. 

The wellness assessment and values and priorities exercises came a little later as I realized I needed more clarity on my strengths, areas I needed to focus on for growth, and to get really serious about what was truly important in my life in this season. Something to help cut through the noise, the busyness, the brain fog, and help me plan and go about each day with more peace, clarity, and purpose. 

And so our Gospel-Centered Wellness Journal was born. 

And now I am so incredibly excited to share it with you - and I pray that it brings you just as much clarity, healing, growth and joy as it has to me.