Write it Down
keep a record
Give yourself 5 minutes. Give it a week. Give it a try? Either way, allow some time to introduce yourself to it.
Consider using the notes app on your phone or if you’re a pen & paper gal like myself, grab a pretty notebook & start with number 1.
Find what works for you. Keep it simple. A list will do.
Write what you like
Write to remember
Write to experience gratitude
Write to document
WRITE FOR YOU
WRITE TO WORK IT OUT
Write to grow
Write to name it
Write to own it
Write for THE PLEASURE OF HAVING WRITTEN IT
WRITE TO EXPLORE
WRITE TO LEARN
WRITE THE STEPS YOU’RE TAKING
WRITE WHAT YOU’RE THINKING
WRITE WHAT YOU’RE FEELING
the big. the small. the silly. & the alike.
Consider me an avid note taker of sorts. I’m not the journaling type, but it’s been a daily practice of mine for nearly 8 years to write down what I learn. Over time, my attention to notice & reasons to record have transformed. Each month or season of life reveals a new theme. A new way to follow after Him. A new way of practicing what I learn. He’s still bringing me through the process. & In-between, I find there is grace & love. It’s mine for the taking & the giving.
I invite you to read the back story below — how the practice of writing down what I learn began.
the back story
Nearly 7 years ago, I felt numb. Little things like a cherry limeade no longer made me happy. I felt lonely & yet I still wanted to hide in my small, single bedroom apartment. I felt lost & I felt confused.
I prayed, yet there were no words. I remember opening a spiral notebook my mother had given me as a gift back in my young & glorious middle school days. I never wrote in it. But had kept it. I wanted to use it for something good. Something special. Something worth writing.
It was pretty in its maroon, vintage way & inside the front cover were the lyrics to the classic Lee Ann Womack song, "I hope you dance". I certainly wasn't choosing to dance, but you can bet your bottom dollar I was giving faith a fighting chance.
While I sat in bed most nights eating mint chocolate chip ice cream & watching movies like Princess Diaries to make myself laugh & P.S. I Love You to make myself cry, I immersed myself into songs from Bethel & Hillsong. I surrounded myself with people who helped me look up & Jesus who lifted my head.
God brought me into a healing journey. He began a movement on my heart to start writing down the things I learn. The Big. The Small. The silly. & alike.
It was a practical, do-able, life-shifting step I could take to move “forward”. & so, the journal I had saved was put to use. I began to collect quotes, lyrics, questions, thoughts, bits, & moments. As a whole, it was something good. Something special. Certainly something worth writing.
I believe it was out of His kindness, God brought me through the process of writing down what I learn to see that in-between the bullet points He undoubtedly is wonderfully woven into my life. (Yours too.) He's there. He cares. & He will, in His perfect timing & knowledge, show up.
A sweet & deep layer of faith was renewed in the midst of doubt. Hope was strengthened in a way only He could have grown.
In time, when given the choice to sit it out — I danced.