Saturday, July 31, 2010

Something I Love--Journal Keeping


Perhaps it is because I love to read.
Perhaps it's because I have always felt
orphaned
without stories to read
to connect the past
that has made me this way:
I am a journal keeper.

I have always kept a journal.
Ever since I can remember...
back to my twelfth birthday
when my cousin, Coleen
gave me a diary with a lock and a sacred key.
I was a shy young girl
and kept my thoughts to myself.
Having a place to keep them safe,
was truly the best gift my cousin could've
given to me.

My journals look odd together,
some are all fancy-looking
with my name embossed in gold lettering,
others just a three-ring binder,
while others are a simple spiral notebook.
It has never mattered to me
what they looked like,
I just needed those
clean
white
empty pages.

I have always
always
always
kept a journal.

I recently won a giveaway from Cocoa--
a handmade leather journal from England.
I love it!
After alot of thoughts on how to use it,
I decided to fill it with
"love letters"--
notes to my family and friends.

I even keep journals for my yahoos...
baby books just didn't provide the space
I needed to share my thoughts
about a growing child
and my enthusiasm and love for their milestones.
I needed more pages and less
fill-in-the-blanks.

Nana gave me a gift recently.
A lovely brown leather journal
with a gold nameplate too.
I'll fill in an average sized journal
in about a year and half.
My last one completed,
I nearly ached for a new one
and my sweet Nana supplied my
yearning.

I had the idea to ask my family
to write their testimonies
in my journal
before I began my own entries.

I asked Nana to start
since she is my benefactor of sorts.
She had it for a few weeks,
and just this morning handed it to me.

When I was alone,
I cracked it open
for the first time to read
what she wrote:

"Fear not little children, for you are mine, and I have overcome the world, and you are of them that my Father hath given me; and none of them that my Father hath given me shall be lost." ~Doctrine and Covenants50:41,42
I feel like this scripture not only applies to our relationship with the Savior, but our relationship with you Mom.
Heavenly Father gave all of us to you knowing full well that you would lead and guide us in the right direction, and that under your care none of us would be lost."

I read it once.
Twice.
A full heart followed
by full tear-ducts...
wet cheeks
grateful heart.
Oh that I live up to her words.

Have you heard of LDSJournal.com ?
It's a FREE, Private, Online Journal site
that you can sign up for FREE!
"Now you have the easiest, most efficient way
to keep a personal journal!"
And they have an awesome section called
"All About Me"--
full of great questions for you!
And get this--
they'll even print it into a book for you
at budget-friendly prices!
And
And
And
You don't have to be LDS
to join!!
Nope.
Journal keeping is alot like blogging, right?
But you can make it more personal,
and make it to last forever.
I have a friend who kept her journal
on her PC--
and when it crashed,
there went several years of journaling.
This is a safer way to journal,
because you aren't saving the information
on your PC!
So pop over, take a look around
and see if it's for you!


Do you keep a journal?
Do you have journals from ancestors that move you?
I'd love to hear about them.

14 comments:

  1. My husband and children faithfully keep journals. I have tried over and over again but fail miserably - until I realize my blogging is a sort of journal, then I don't feel so bad.

    I love reading journals from my ancestors. They were just like me! They felt and thought similar things though they went through different trials.

    Glad you like the journal!

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  2. I am like you. I've kept a journal since I was about 9. My brother gave me a diary with a lock and key and I kept it faithfully. It was fun to see how things change. Then I just kept going. Sometimes when I can't do anything else I can write.
    Love a clean sheet of paper and a pen.

    You are inspiring.

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  3. Linked here from Segullah, and so glad I did. Thanks.

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  4. My journal writing has ironically taken a hit since I started blogging for real. I need to get better at it.

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  5. I've never really been a Journaler per se..
    I am the keeper of the stories and photos of our family..the researcher,pseudo geneologist..
    until blogging, I never really wrote..other than kept notes and memos as club secretary, wrote newspaper articeles promoting eventscauses and fundraisers in small town america..
    i feel there are several "BOOKS" in me waiting to be told..perhaps this LDS site can get me started on that route.
    thanks for visiting earlier..
    and also for being a personal inspiration to me!
    warm sandy hugs..
    Loui♥

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  6. That message from your Nana was not only for you! Tell her thanks from me! {tears}

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  7. This message from your daughter got me all teary this morning. And the music didn't hurt, either.

    I love journaling, as you already know. And part of my motivation is the fact that we have very little in writing from any of my grandparents. I want to do better.

    Wonderful post, Momza. I hope you are having your blog printed regularly, too. Those books will be treasures for your progeny.

    =)

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  8. What a great post - there have been sometimes in my life where journaling was very significant and important in my life, I wish now I was more inspired to continue as my memory truly is failing me! Although I do keep a little in my purse journal where I make little notes about all my tender mercies in life, inspiration from temple experiences, miraculous occasions and a few other things. I treasure them, but their poorly written, just meant to remind me of the occasion.

    Once upon a time, I thought I wanted to write more, but I guess I'll follow one dream at a time for now. . . .

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  9. I journaled in junior high and high school and a bit in college and then it faded out. Upon entering the stage of life that included marriage and making babies, I started keeping written track of our pregnancy progress- online via a message board since a lot of our family was spread out across the States. That eventually grew into my blog.

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  10. And I adore what your daughter wrote. What an absolute honor...

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  11. Oh, what she wrote is just too sweet. Wow! How blessed are you? I used to be a journal keeper and then blogging kinda took over, but there's a lot I can't put on a blog so I'm totally going to go check out that site. Thanks!

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  12. What a great reminder for me.

    I keep a journal. I think that there are so many great ways to keep a journal (on-line, handwritten, etc). I am a "texture" kind of person. I like to see the handwriting and touch the paper.

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  13. Thanks for the entry. I also love to journal. I fill one up pretty fast, but then I write big!

    My very favorite is a 3-ring view binder with quality paper because the pages turn easily and I can put a picture of the Savior in the front of it. Then I tuck pictures of my kids into the back, and it has inside pockets for birthday cards and such.

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  14. I have kept a journal since I was 11. I was a daily writer until 21 and since then it's been much more random. I'll do weekly for a while and then just a month or so before going back to weekly.

    My blog is for my "large plates" and my impersonal thoughts. But my journal is for those things that are sacred to me. My blog is nice, but my journal is what I can't do without.

    I've tried keeping an electronic journal but it just doesn't feel real to me. I need the physical aspect of a pen and paper. I loved using sketch books for a while. The freedom of not having any lines really inspired me.

    I love the idea of asking others to put their testimonies in your journal. I'm already thinking of how I could do that some day.

    Found you on MMB.

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