Customer Reviews

Journal Keeping: Writing for Spiritual Growth

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you are looking for a book to provide guidelines for Christian journaling, your search will end with reading this work by Luann Budd. This devout Christian and minister's wife shares valuable insights gleaned from years of journaling. Her book is an easy, enjoyable read.

Budd begins by making a case for effective journaling. She covers organization, direction, and preparation. After having made her case for the necessity of journaling, she moves to the bulk of her work, the process of journaling itself. She elaborates on various methods, one of which will surely appeal to every reader. She closes with some practical tips on putting all the knowledge presented into practice. She also adds three helpful appendices: fifty journaling possibilities, a brief list of Bible studies, and a substantial bibliography of books on journaling and other closely related issues.

I recommend this book enthusiastically to anyone wanting a practical guide for Christian journaling. My sole complaint is that the volume is not available in a hardback edition. Before you start your journaling, read this book and benefit from a wealth of training!

I'm amazed at the number of women in my church whom I consider role models who are also women who journal.

But I was hesitant to start my own personal journal: how to organize, what to write, what do I write to make it "work", how does it contribute to the personal and spiritual growth of these strong, faithful, active and peaceful women?

Luann Budd answers these questions and more. There are so MANY ways to journal!! She gives ideas for how to organize my journal but no pressure to do it "her" way. She actually has a few different ways she organizes her own journal. Incentives to journal are clear and easy-to-understand and addressed right in the beginning of the book. There are many journal styles also.

My girlfriend and I are reading this book together. She has been keeping journals for quite a while. So she dwells on the chapters of "types of journaling" for a few weeks at a time -- to try new and different things. I'm new to this so I read it through quickly and marked the things that appealed to me, inspired me, etc. On this second time through I'm actually trying one of Luann's methods! I'm writing quotes from the books to the pages of my journal; then I add my thoughts on why I like them or the thoughts they bring to my mind. She's right; it's a great way to take any book (Bible, spiritual growth, secular) to a deeper level, to make the reading more rich.

I see a few other styles I would also like to try. Thank you Luann! I consider this book a must-have for a one's personal/spiritual growth library and should be a book in every church's library. There are women who like to write that need a book to get them started and women who journal that need some fresh new ways to journal!!

I bought this book not knowing for sure what its content would be like. After the first page I knew that I was going to love this one. I have journaled for 6 years yet this book inspired me to try journaling in different ways. It showed me how specifically to journal to help myself learn more about myself and draw closer to God. This is an absolute read for anyone interested in writing in a more meaningful way.

I know Luann Budd. I have received her guidance and wisdom in retreats with NEWIM. She truly walks her talk. Her book is inspiritng, deeply personal, generous. If you do as she suggests, you will explore your relationship to the Lord and yourself in ways that are both inspiriting and healing. This is a book not to be missed. Read it. Journal.

I got this book hoping to use it to supplement the journaling part of a workshop I was teaching. I was just looking for some good tips and techniques for creating and maintaining a spiritually-oriented journal. I was sadly disappointed to find that the entire book was focused solely on deepening one's love for God. I'm not even Christian. I tried to glean some tidbits out of it anyway, but page after page was loaded with references to God and Jesus and the Bible. If you're looking for a book about exploring your religion, this is the book for you. If you're looking for a book on spiritual journaling, this is not it.

"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train." - Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest [1895], Act I.

According to author and journal writing enthusiast Luann Budd, the main purpose of keeping a diary is not to have handy an escape from the boredom of a long commute. Budd believes "writing is one of the most powerful tools for thinking" (126) and, even more importantly, "journaling can help us to see our own heart as God sees it and repent" (58). And if those reasons do not convince you how valuable keeping a written record of your thought life is, writing teacher (San Jose State University) Budd has included several dozen more in her second book-length effort, Journal Keeping. In fact so powerfully does Budd argue the case for a Christian keeping a written record of her spiritual journey that in the end the reader is left to wonder why preachers throughout literate Christendom are not similarly extolling the virtues of journal keeping from their pulpits every other Sunday.

Part one of Journal Keeping, "Exploring the Possibilities," concerns the why and how of journaling. Here Budd offers several more good reasons to create a written record of our earthly sojourn, noting that "men and women who are considered our spiritual heroes were private writers--letter writers, journal keepers, diarists" (21). Budd goes on to list some very familiar names--Abigail Adams, St. Augustine, Martin Luther, Jonathon Edwards, John Wesley and C. S. Lewis--but does not tell us who were the diarists and who were the letter writers, nor does she offer a sample of any of their private writings. She also cites the most famous writings of Moses (the Pentateuch) and David (the Psalms), although the comparison, particularly in the case of the Pentateuch, seems a bit strained. She concludes the first chapter with more high praise for journal keeping, averring it "can help us to embrace wisdom, respond to the Lord and grow deeper in relationship with Christ" (28).

Budd then moves on to discuss some of the more practical issues associated with journal keeping, such as choosing what form of private writing to use (e.g., diary or autobiography). She talks about traditional ways of organizing a journal, and gives the reader a few of her own strategies. She concludes by saying the correct format is not the issue. "[T]he most important principle is just to begin" (33).

Budd next discusses the necessity of planning to keep one's journal completely private. "If no one is going to read your journal, then you are free, free to be bare-naked honest" (35). This is very important, since Budd agrees with journal keeper Ralph Fletcher that journals are for giving you "a roomy space to record and explore what amazes, delights, disgusts, or appalls you" (36). Budd gives Fletcher an amen by adding, "Because our journals are private, we are free to be absolutely candid. No one's looking over your shoulder." (36).

Budd further underscores the importance of keeping an honest journal in chapter seven. There she again exhorts us to "[W]rite candidly, even if you are not proud of the attitudes or lack of character that are revealed on the page (57). She goes on to say we should "[C]onsider taking half an hour to write down all the reasons why the Lord would not be pleased with you" (58), adding, "[I]n our journals we have the opportunity to get real before God" (59).

Part two of Journal Keeping, "Uncovering the Process," begins with Budd personifying her journal as her "best friend" (67). "I was safe with my journal" recalls Budd, certain that what she "wrote would never be seen by anyone else; it wouldn't make the circuit and come back to be used against me, or be twisted and misunderstood" (67). Budd goes on to say "[I]f you need a trustworthy best friend, a place where you can speak your mind ... a place where you can pour out your heart ... a place where you can be honest ... your journal can be a wonderful, listening, safe, best friend" (69)

Budd then departs from a narrow discussion of journal keeping and begins preaching on a number of other issues. She discusses the media God uses to speak to people (Scripture, the Holy Spirit, other human beings). She tells us how she has joyously discovered aspects of God in nature and unusual events. She talks about the importance of forgiveness, commemorating special events in our lives, making the most of opportunities, seeing "the beauty of the Lord" (104), and the benefits that can be obtained paraphrasing "scripture into a more contemporary voice" (107). Budd then suggests we take advantage of "[S]tories, both true and fictional," because they "often illustrate spiritual truths" (109). Afterwards she encourages us to try our hand at creative forms of poetry, write short responses to the works of Godly authors, including biblical ones. The far-ranging homily that is Part two concludes by urging the reader to "[O]pen the door of your heart and invite the Holy Spirit in to transform you to be more like Christ" (146).

Part three, "Venturing Out," begins by commending the virtues of letter writing. Budd asserts letters written to or "from the Lord" can bring insight and encouragement. She goes on to discuss the difficulty and the importance of maintaining a journal during spiritual "cold spells" (167). And Budd concludes her book with an interesting list of "fifty journaling possibilities" (172-75).

For author Luann Budd, journal keeping is an absolutely wonderful tool for spiritual growth, a way "we can seek to see Jesus and assess our attempts to live like him" (14), and it would certainly seem this device has greatly aided Budd and many others make major progress toward worthy spiritual goals. But in the end, this reviewer was left with some deeply troubling questions unanswered. They include:

What unnecessary risks are Christians assuming when they give their worst enemies a "bare-naked honest" look at their souls? And make no mistake about it, unless innumerable testimonies accumulated over centuries from countless missionaries serving in devil-worshiping countries throughout the world are to be entirely disbelieved, demons can see and read. Given this unfortunate reality, a reasonable person can fairly ask: What military commander at war would send to his enemy an "absolutely candid" written copy of his highest hopes, worst fears, and immediate and long-term plans for the future? Common sense would strongly suggest that his enemy would be absolutely delighted to receive, without having expended any time or effort, a detailed daily intelligence report with such a high degree of accuracy. This being the case, would it be reasonable to assume that when God in His great wisdom created human beings with the ability to meditate on important spiritual issues without making their thoughts audible or visual, He did so for a very important reason?

Unfortunately, Journal Keeping does not in any way address these important questions, causing the reader to wonder if they have ever occurred to Mrs. Budd. But whether or not these questions have occurred to the author of Journal Keeping is not nearly as important as competently answering them. Only then can we make an informed judgement as to whether the obvious benefits of journal keeping outweigh the less obvious dangers.

This book is definately for Christians. I am not sure someone who practices another faith would enjoy it but for those of us who are passionate about the things of Christ, this book is for you. It has been used to strengthen my Christian walk through journaling.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to grown in Christ. It is a great tool!

This is a great guide to use to learn to journal. Sometimes we need help putting our ideas, feelings, interest.... on paper. I feel that everyone who purchases it, will find it very helpful.