Faith & Insight: On journaling: Try it, you’ll like it — it works!

How many of us can even remember what we had for lunch last Saturday, let alone recall something God may have spoken or revealed to us through his word we read two weeks ago?

Do you know the most successful weight loss programs require you to keep a food and exercise diary to show you what you’ve eaten as well as the calories and values of each food item and the time you exercised to condition your body? Everything is recorded! When you keep a record of it, you become mindful of what’s going into your body and the exercise you;re doing — all for better results! It works!

What about our spiritual health and growth? If we want to take to heart the things God speaks to us in his word, we read it and then write down what he says to us! Keeping a journal helps us to pay better attention to what we’re reading and to listen more closely to what God may want to say.

I, for one, want to remember the blessings as well as the life lessons I’m learning. Be proactive in the health of your body, your mind, and your spirit. May God be glorified in us!

How do I journal? I use the S.O.A.P. method.

S = Scripture

O = Observation

A = Application

P = Prayer

SCRIPTURE — Write out the verse that most stands out to you.

OBSERVATION — What is the verse saying?

APPLICATION — How can I apply it to my life?

PRAYER — Write a prayer to God to work his word into my life.

Journaling is good, very good. Try it, you’ll like it. It works!

Ezekiel 3:5-6: “Take unto your heart all my words which I will speak to you and listen closely.”

Isaiah 30:8: “Now go, write it on a tablets before them and inscribe it on a scroll, that it may serve in the time to come as a witness forever.”

Jeremiah 30:2: “Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book.”

Along with her husband Louie, Peggy J. Locke is pastor of Fountainhead Foursquare Church in Carson City.