“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”     2 Corinthians 5:17

How many of us come up with New Year’s resolutions each year? How many of us fail to complete them? I definitely have.

So this year, I have decided to call them New Goals instead. Maybe giving them a new name will help me stay committed throughout the year. My New Goal is going to be writing a blog post every week. Each month I will be choosing a new topic to write about. My hope and prayer is that these blog posts encourage others, and help them grow in all aspects of their lives.

For the month of January, I am going to write about journaling. I want to encourage others to take the journey of journaling. It has helped me so much in my life, and I will talk more about that over the next couple weeks.

There are many different ways to journal, and each one can help you grow in some way. A prayer journal will help you grow closer to God. Some people find writing easier than speaking, so a prayer journal could really help them communicate better with God. Good communication is crucial for a strong relationship. A gratitude journal will help you to count your blessings. If you are having a hard time seeing the positives in life, challenge yourself to write down at least one way God blesses you each day. Before long, you will notice a change in your attitude towards life. Maybe you are dealing with past issues; a healing journal is a great way to start moving forward. Sometimes you just need to write things down in order to get them out of your head and hand them over to God. When we turn our past over to Him, He can heal us and make us new.

Next week I will write about my experiences from journaling, and how it has helped me to overcome issues in my life. I challenge you to start your own journal. Perhaps you don’t know what kind you need? Just pick up a journal and start writing whatever comes to mind. You will figure it out. There is no right or wrong way to journal. It is all about exploring your feelings in a safe place where you can write down your thoughts in order to better process them.