Journalling

I've been keeping a journal for as long as I can remember. I think it started back in junior high school as a class requirement. I still have a spiral notebook stashed away somewhere that contains my "required" thoughts from 7th grade.

I've always got an empty journal nearby and ready to start once I fill up the current one with my thoughts, feelings and prayers.

My kids have even taken to giving me journals for presents because they know I often fill them up quickly and need a new one, at least two times a year. I love the different colors and how pretty they are. This is all I could find, but I'm sure I've got more full journals packed away somewhere.

This one's still empty but currently it's my favorite because I love Mary Engelbreit.

This is my current journal - it's almost full.

Here's one my mom gave me for Valentine's this year. She's not a crafty person at all but she covered a standard composition notebook with pictures and clippings of things I like and also things she associates with me...I think the little girl picking flowers in the upper right must've reminded her of me as a little girl. She also included the nicknames both she and my dad call me...she calls me "Furry" (improvising on the "fer" in Jennifer) and Dad calls me "Bo" because we used to dance to the song "Mr. Bojangles".

As a child eagerly opens a greeting card in hopes of finding a few dollars inside, I eagerly opened this journal looking for a note from her...this is what I found:

"Awwww..." you say..."how sappy." Well, I wanted to share it because I am so thankful for my mother!! She has always been an inspiration and an encouragement to me! She has taught me so much, from "poverty-training" to sewing; cooking and baking to child-rearing - you name it and she helped impress it on me! I see her loving touch in all she does and in all her relations with her family members - natural born and extended! Most importantly of all, as you read above, she has consistently reminded me of God's unending and unconditional love for me...reminding me that God has "plans to prosper you and not harm you; plans to give you hope and a future" ~ Jeremiah 29:11 (my favorite Bible verse)

I say all this because my favorite thing about journalling is looking back at years past - "what was I doing this time last year?" Just yesterday, I asked myself that question and grabbed the closest old journal near me and it led me to September 9, 2007 (2 years ago). I wrote about how my husband and I had gone to a big arts and crafts show in Aiken and how I was scared to start my new little business idea (Quillows & more) and he was encouraging me and promising he'd help me all the way. What's really great about this is that I am going to be a vendor in that same arts and crafts show this weekend for the first time! It's a pretty big show - 2 days - and I really hope to have some good sales and get my product noticed.

A couple of weeks ago, my husband asked the question of how this quillow business even got started and I couldn't really remember the details. So, while I was looking back in my journal yesterday, I turned from September 2007 back to July 2007 and read where I wrote about making my first quillow and feeling inspired to make more and try to sell them!

It's nice to look back and remember! Especially for me because I have a very bad memory, but if I can read about it, it all comes rushing back! I don't write in it every day, but sometimes I push myself to write if it has been a long time, because those memories are so precious and even sometimes helpful when you feel like nothing is going your way and all around you is falling down. It helps to look back at some of the good memories and be reminded that good things DO happen to you!!

>^..^<~
Jenn