Savor God’s Encounters
By Janet Lewis
I was excited to proofread Chris’s new book, The Power of Journaling. It led me to contemplate my own journey of journaling and all that I had learned from it over the years.
I started journaling in 2006 after a house and church move (my husband is a pastor). A couple handed me a book with the word Journal written on it. It was a leaving gift, and with that journal, I began the great adventure!
This was around the time that I also started taking notice of my dreams and writing them down.
The last 20 years have been a time of realising that dreams can be a significant way God speaks and that He wants me to be attentive. So I began the habit of recording my dreams and thoughts on paper to show God that I valued this medium of Him speaking to me.
It has been a game-changer.
I have found that I have a bad memory, and without the record, I’d have not retained dreams, conversations, or even encounters with God and those around me.
As I have been preparing to write this blog, I delved back into my very first journal. I was stunned by all the divine encounters and answers to prayers that I had completely forgotten about. Things that I simply could not have stored in my increasingly full ‘brain file’.
This discovery made my journal feel like a delightful box of chocolates, each page holding something new to savor; ‘Oh taste and see that the lord is good’.
After I proof read Chris’s book, it encouraged me to reread some more recent journals written around five years ago. I was reminded of a whole succession of dreams (around 7 in total ),which, because they were spread over a long time frame ( 4 or 5 years ),held a pattern I believe I would not have recognised if I had not recorded them and journaled alongside them.
I intentionally identified each dream, buried amongst thoughts, prayers, and feelings, and highlighted them, assigning each a number. I saw a very clear connecting pattern emerging.
Now, I can see that God was preparing my husband and me through these dreams for anew ministry which we have stepped into recently. The dreams that led us to this emerging ministry remain in my journal and in my heart as a means to encourage me on the path we have chosen.
Thank you, Chris, for writing a book dedicated to the power of journaling. It really is a wonderful tool!
