Journal Your Growing Faith

Do you journal? Just in case you have never heard of that term, a journal is a private collection of a person’s thoughts, ideas, and even prayers. Journals can be kept in a small notebook or a special blank-page book created just for that person. Some people journal their daily activities and write down things that happened and how they made them feel. Others write their prayers and prayer lists in journals. You can even use your journal as a scrapbook of art, which can include photographs, drawings, and doodles. Or you can use a journal for a combination of all those things and more.

For this activity you will need:

• a special notebook/or specific journal book

• pen or pencil

• colored pencils and stickers (optional)

• Bible

WHAT YOU WILL DO:

This is a great thing to start as you head into the new year, so you may choose to start it on January 1. But you can start it anytime you like. The goal is to try to journal every day. If you skip or day or two, that’s OK, but try to keep it consistent.

Start with prayer, then pick a Bible verse for that day. You can have your parents choose one for you, you can randomly select one, or you can use the verses that come with your Sabbath School lessons or a devotional book.

Write the date at the top of the first page and then write down your Bible verse. After reading your verse, take a moment to think about it and then write down what thoughts come to mind. Did you like that verse? What do you think it meant? Did you learn something new, or was this verse one you were familiar with? How did this verse make you feel? And most important, did that verse help you understand Jesus better? Feel free to draw your thoughts and ideas and add a sticker or two if you wish.

Try to get into this habit of exploring the Bible this way and let it be completely your own. There is no right or wrong way to do it! At the end of the year, go back and read what you wrote and make your last entry a recollection of the previous year and what you learned. You will see just how much your faith has grown and that a journal can serve as an encouragement for you for a long time to come.

Happy journaling!

Bible Treasure

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).