Have you ever been in a moment and thought, “I’ll never forget this.” Or, “I will always remember when my toddler said that.” And now you have no idea what you even wanted to cherish as a memory?
Been there! But I try to be very intentional in my journaling practice to take note when something happens that I don’t want to forget.
In this post, I will explain 3 important sections of my guided Morning Pages Journal.
I also offer 366 FREE journal prompts that you can snag here.
Daily Discovery
Here, make a note of something that you’ve learned in the last 24 hours. It could be something about yourself, like ‘I enjoy riding a motorcycle with my husband,’ or a new recipe you’ve learned. Maybe you’ve taught yourself how to bake bread. Here is where you put the thing you learned. Or maybe it’s just a story you don’t want to forget. There is so much value in continuing to learn for the rest of your life.
So often, we forget that there is always something we can be learning. There is always something we want to remember. Writing something down is an external memory strategy to help keep those moments and information accessible.
I use this space in my journal to write down things the kids have said, a really good point or quote I’ve read or heard in a podcast, a new take on an old thought process or even just a random thought.
I hope that one day, my kids will look back and see that I’ve always wanted to remember everything. I’ve always wanted to cherish the smallest of moments.
I am grateful
That leads me to the gratitude section of my journal. I have so many amazing things in my life to be grateful for. Sometimes, it can be easy to forget that you still have something to be thankful for when you’re in a tough season.
Every day, I intentionally write down three things and WHY I am grateful for them. I used to make a simple bulleted list in a planner, but I found myself looking back and wondering why I was so thankful for a person or thing at different times in my life.
Joy and gratitude can be found in the smallest things or in things we take for granted. Today, I am so grateful for a warm house to be writing this in. I am so grateful that I have clean water to drink. I am so grateful that I can throw a load of laundry in at 4:30 am.
A grateful heart is so fulfilling.
Joy and gratitude can be found in the smallest things or in things we take for granted.
Brain Dump
Whatever’s in your brain gets dumped onto the paper. It’s that simple. There are no rules. There’s no right way or wrong way. Sometimes, I write things that are just heavy on my heart or floating into my brain. Often, it’s scattered in flow. It’s not edited; what comes into my brain… comes out on the paper. Sometimes, I use it as a launchpad for my to-do list for the day.
This is often where I search out what is happening in my life that I need to process or dig deeper into. It’s a place that holds my worries and unfiltered state of mind.
I love this section of my journal because it is versatile. If my mind is hovering around the list of things that need to be done today, It’s a great place for that. If I am replaying a conversation with one of the kids, I can hash it out here.
I am so much better at writing my feelings than speaking them, so I often use this space to process how I feel about something before I can talk about it.
These 3 sections allow me to take note and create a hand-written account of the beautiful life I’ve been blessed with. Here’s the complete list of sections in the Morning Pages Journal:
- My intention today
- Bible Time
- Prayer
- I am grateful
- How’s my heart today
- Daily Discovery
- Journal Prompt
- Brain Dump
Now that you’ve had a peek into a few journal sections, what about how to get a physical journal with this format? I’ve got them right here to help you with that.
