The Benefits of Life Journaling

By Eric Schuetz

I began Life Journaling during Lent in 2003. I was new to Central, and joined a weekly Life Journaling group with my daughter, Kirsten, that was being led by Phyllis DeSmit. Having come from another church in the area and "burning out" from always working, working, working, without developing a relationship with God, I wasn't sure what to expect. I had never read the Bible before, and to be totally honest, was not sure I believed a lot of the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith.

God met me right where I was, and used that class to open my eyes to what he wanted of me. It was during that time that I became ill with brain cancer, and ten days after having my surgery, while doing my daily Life Journaling, had a great realization: it is hard to describe, but I suddenly realized that there is a bigger story than my own, small story, and that God, through his Word, was inviting me into this bigger life, and I said, "Yes!" It may be called "surrender" or "giving up," but to me it felt like "freedom!" I was hooked!

I have continued to use the technique of Life Journaling to this day, having gone through different translations and even the paraphrase, "The Message." There may have been days when life overwhelmed my ability to journal or even just read, but I have been blessed to have never felt guilty or ashamed, have always felt welcomed back the next day when I sat down with my Bible and my journal and asked God to show me something in his Word that I can take into my heart and apply to my life.

I believe that is what discipleship is: learning how to follow God, and the Bible is a great way to hear directly from him how he wants you to go about doing it. Through this discipline, along with others such as meeting with my small group, going to adult discipleship classes at Central, and hearing the Word spoken from the pulpit, I have come to a greater understanding of my place in God's story.

I invite you to try Life Journaling. My own technique is to follow the instructions at the beginning of the Life Journal, but I know several people that don't like to feel constrained in their study, and prefer a more free-form approach. Any way you think will work, I encourage you to give it a try. You won't be sorry you did.