1 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:08,840 S1: Are you going through a rough patch today? Are you 2 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:10,440 S1: in a place you don't want to be? Do you 3 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:13,640 S1: have feelings you wish you didn't have? And a story 4 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,920 S1: you don't want to be in? Have you tried writing 5 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:21,360 S1: it down? That's the question our guest asked someone. But 6 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:23,799 S1: as it turns out, our guest needed the connection with 7 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:27,320 S1: her own thoughts and feelings, the connection with her own heart, 8 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:32,320 S1: and the connection with God that journaling can bring. And 9 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:34,519 S1: we're going to talk about that straight ahead on the program, 10 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:36,919 S1: from the heart to the heart for the heart. Welcome 11 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:40,159 S1: to November, friend. Welcome to the time change. Are you 12 00:00:40,159 --> 00:00:43,159 S1: getting used to it yet? Welcome to Chris Fabry live 13 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:46,560 S1: online at Chris Fabry live.org. Let me thank our team. 14 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:49,839 S1: Ryan Mcconahay doing all things technical. Trish is our producer. 15 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:52,640 S1: Lisa is helping out. Josh will be answering your calls. 16 00:00:53,159 --> 00:00:56,520 S1: In June, we featured Allison Bixby on this program, and 17 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:58,880 S1: I knew then that I wanted to get her book 18 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:03,160 S1: into your hands. I think there's somebody listening today who 19 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:06,160 S1: wants to go deeper, not just splash in the shallow 20 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:09,600 S1: end of life's pool, but to launch out with God 21 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:12,320 S1: into the deep where the water might be over your 22 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:15,160 S1: head gets a little scary there, but where you will 23 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:18,080 S1: feel the hands of grace holding you up. So this 24 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:22,800 S1: month I've chosen journaling as a spiritual practice as our 25 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:24,679 S1: thank you. And this is my first day to tell 26 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:27,280 S1: you about that, and I really hope that as you 27 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,960 S1: get it and read through it, it might make 2027 28 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:33,360 S1: the year when you wake up to your own heart 29 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:37,080 S1: and to the way God is walking with you, instead 30 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:40,320 S1: of you seeing him as silent in the struggles that 31 00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:43,720 S1: you are facing. He is right there, though sometimes it's 32 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:47,240 S1: hard to see that. So if you go to chris.org 33 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:49,200 S1: and scroll down, you'll see the book on the very 34 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:51,280 S1: first page there. If you give a gift of any size, 35 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:53,560 S1: we'll send it to you here in November, go to 36 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:59,920 S1: chris.org or you can call our number 86695. Fabry. If 37 00:01:59,960 --> 00:02:03,040 S1: you want to do that. And parenthetically, let me thank 38 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:05,560 S1: those of you who gave at the end of last 39 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:09,640 S1: week because of your generosity. I kept saying, we're nearing 40 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:11,960 S1: our goal. We're nearing. We went over our goal for 41 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:15,639 S1: October because of your generosity. So many thanks for your 42 00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:21,320 S1: support of the Radio Backyard Fence. Her last name is BYXBE. 43 00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:25,160 S1: Alison Bixby holds an Ma in composition and rhetoric. She's 44 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:30,440 S1: a professional communication professor, a certified journal to the self instructor, 45 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:35,000 S1: and a certified journal facilitator at the Therapeutic Writing Institute, 46 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:39,520 S1: founder and host of Saturday Pages and the Inky Collective, 47 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:43,640 S1: two thriving journaling communities married to Ben. They have three children. 48 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:47,079 S1: They live in South Carolina and are featured. Resource is 49 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:51,080 S1: journaling as a spiritual practice. Alison. Welcome back. How are 50 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:51,880 S1: you doing today? 51 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:55,240 S2: Hey, Chris, I am doing great and just really excited 52 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:57,150 S2: to be back here on the show with you. Thanks 53 00:02:57,150 --> 00:02:57,910 S2: for having me. 54 00:02:58,270 --> 00:03:01,190 S1: So my heart for the person who's listening, who's going 55 00:03:01,190 --> 00:03:04,510 S1: through a deep patch is to do exactly that, not 56 00:03:04,510 --> 00:03:08,190 S1: to just splash in the pool of of life, but 57 00:03:08,190 --> 00:03:12,310 S1: to go into the deep area. That's what journaling can do, 58 00:03:12,510 --> 00:03:13,150 S1: isn't it? 59 00:03:13,550 --> 00:03:17,550 S2: Yeah, absolutely. And I know when we're in a hard place, 60 00:03:17,550 --> 00:03:20,149 S2: it's hard to see it as a gift. But one 61 00:03:20,150 --> 00:03:22,910 S2: of the things I know about hard places is that 62 00:03:22,910 --> 00:03:25,910 S2: often it's where we get really honest with God because 63 00:03:25,910 --> 00:03:28,390 S2: we just don't have, or at least I didn't, the 64 00:03:28,389 --> 00:03:32,350 S2: emotional bandwidth to be anything but really honest with my questions, 65 00:03:32,350 --> 00:03:36,070 S2: with my hurt, my frustrations and my disappointments. And there 66 00:03:36,110 --> 00:03:39,630 S2: is something about honesty with God that just opens up 67 00:03:39,870 --> 00:03:43,230 S2: a way into those deeper places where God really meets us. 68 00:03:43,870 --> 00:03:47,070 S1: Why do we hold back, though? Because we we know 69 00:03:47,070 --> 00:03:51,590 S1: in our head he knows everything anyway. Why aren't we 70 00:03:51,630 --> 00:03:55,390 S1: more open or. And maybe that it's. It's because we're 71 00:03:55,510 --> 00:03:58,270 S1: protecting ourselves a little bit. What do you think? 72 00:03:58,670 --> 00:04:03,670 S2: Yeah, absolutely. We're protecting ourselves. It's hard to feel hard feelings. 73 00:04:03,670 --> 00:04:07,590 S2: Maybe we've been taught somehow growing up that our feelings 74 00:04:07,590 --> 00:04:10,630 S2: aren't safe or okay. And so we tend to kind 75 00:04:10,630 --> 00:04:13,470 S2: of hide from them. And sometimes I know for me, 76 00:04:13,510 --> 00:04:15,590 S2: I would feel like, well, if I open that can 77 00:04:15,630 --> 00:04:17,950 S2: of worms, I may never get it closed again and 78 00:04:17,950 --> 00:04:21,070 S2: there's no coming back. And so there's just that sense of, well, 79 00:04:21,070 --> 00:04:23,029 S2: I'm just going to sweep it under the rug. I'm 80 00:04:23,029 --> 00:04:26,150 S2: not going to deal with this. But like you said, 81 00:04:26,150 --> 00:04:28,750 S2: God already knows it's in there, but it does take 82 00:04:28,750 --> 00:04:31,270 S2: us acknowledging it and kind of holding our hands open 83 00:04:31,270 --> 00:04:33,390 S2: to him and saying, all right, God, I'm in a 84 00:04:33,390 --> 00:04:35,390 S2: place I don't want to be. And there's lots happening 85 00:04:35,390 --> 00:04:37,710 S2: in me that I don't like. What do we do? 86 00:04:38,029 --> 00:04:41,670 S1: Yeah. And there's all this talk about deconstruction and people 87 00:04:41,670 --> 00:04:47,550 S1: are going through, and I think that maybe a journal 88 00:04:48,029 --> 00:04:51,349 S1: could help in this or the process that you lay 89 00:04:51,350 --> 00:04:53,669 S1: out in the book, because there are a lot of 90 00:04:53,670 --> 00:04:55,909 S1: people who would agree with you. You write the God 91 00:04:55,910 --> 00:05:01,229 S1: I thought I knew, understood and trusted had become strange, contradictory, 92 00:05:01,589 --> 00:05:06,710 S1: and untrustworthy. I turned inward to myself to make sense 93 00:05:06,710 --> 00:05:12,990 S1: of the unfathomable. Rather than being real and honest with him. Right? 94 00:05:13,230 --> 00:05:16,510 S2: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. You know, and I think what it 95 00:05:16,550 --> 00:05:21,030 S2: really boils down to is I had expectations that I 96 00:05:21,029 --> 00:05:23,990 S2: maybe didn't even realize I had until they weren't met. 97 00:05:23,990 --> 00:05:27,150 S2: And so my expectation was, I'm going to have this 98 00:05:27,150 --> 00:05:30,150 S2: normal life with typical kids and everything is kind of 99 00:05:30,190 --> 00:05:32,710 S2: going to be storybook. And when I all of a 100 00:05:32,710 --> 00:05:36,270 S2: sudden bump into a life that's not storybook at all, 101 00:05:36,550 --> 00:05:38,029 S2: you know, I want to kind of throw it back 102 00:05:38,029 --> 00:05:39,550 S2: on God and be like, well, this is all your 103 00:05:39,550 --> 00:05:42,310 S2: fault and what are you doing? Um, and that's just 104 00:05:42,310 --> 00:05:44,990 S2: a hard place to be. Um, because for me and 105 00:05:44,990 --> 00:05:46,910 S2: my story in that part of my life, that was 106 00:05:46,910 --> 00:05:49,510 S2: the first time I think my faith really had to 107 00:05:49,550 --> 00:05:53,150 S2: grow some deeper roots where all along I'd been saying, 108 00:05:53,150 --> 00:05:55,589 S2: oh yeah, I trust God, I trust God. But then 109 00:05:55,589 --> 00:05:57,989 S2: the hard stuff came and the question was, I don't know. 110 00:05:57,990 --> 00:06:00,550 S2: Do I trust him? Can I trust him? How do 111 00:06:00,550 --> 00:06:02,710 S2: I move forward in this in this season? 112 00:06:03,390 --> 00:06:07,150 S1: And you went through some really, really difficult things. We 113 00:06:07,150 --> 00:06:11,350 S1: talked in June about Reed and his diagnosis. Your your 114 00:06:11,390 --> 00:06:15,910 S1: first child, your son, and then the loss of your 115 00:06:15,910 --> 00:06:19,750 S1: sister's baby. That had happened a few like three years 116 00:06:19,750 --> 00:06:23,109 S1: earlier than that. And this kind of it felt like 117 00:06:23,110 --> 00:06:27,789 S1: one thing after another after another, just kind of compiling. Right? 118 00:06:28,350 --> 00:06:31,110 S2: Yeah. It just all started piling up on each other. 119 00:06:31,110 --> 00:06:35,190 S2: And I think because I was just kind of steamrolled 120 00:06:35,350 --> 00:06:37,870 S2: by some of this grief and didn't know what to 121 00:06:37,910 --> 00:06:41,510 S2: do with it. It sat unprocessed. So then any time 122 00:06:41,510 --> 00:06:45,910 S2: any other difficulty came along, large or small, it just 123 00:06:45,910 --> 00:06:51,230 S2: continued to compound that unprocessed grief. And, you know, it 124 00:06:51,310 --> 00:06:55,070 S2: just it it took a long time, honestly, for me 125 00:06:55,070 --> 00:06:59,030 S2: to be willing to start peeling back those layers, to 126 00:06:59,070 --> 00:07:03,110 S2: understand where I was, where God was, and how I 127 00:07:03,110 --> 00:07:06,669 S2: was going to connect with him. Um, when things felt 128 00:07:06,670 --> 00:07:07,550 S2: really hard. 129 00:07:08,270 --> 00:07:10,870 S1: You may be listening today and that is exactly where 130 00:07:10,870 --> 00:07:15,190 S1: you are. You cannot see what in the world God 131 00:07:15,190 --> 00:07:18,070 S1: is doing. How in the world can he allow this 132 00:07:18,110 --> 00:07:21,390 S1: in my life, this, this deep trough of my life? 133 00:07:21,910 --> 00:07:25,310 S1: And you're, you're, you're really struggling with that. Uh, Allison 134 00:07:25,310 --> 00:07:28,030 S1: says journaling can be a way to hold up the 135 00:07:28,030 --> 00:07:32,510 S1: mirror of God's love, a mirror that helps us trace 136 00:07:32,510 --> 00:07:35,950 S1: the lines of God's good grace in our lives. That's 137 00:07:35,950 --> 00:07:40,150 S1: part of the the subtitle tracing the lines of grace 138 00:07:40,150 --> 00:07:45,710 S1: to God's presence. But it doesn't it's not an overnight thing. 139 00:07:45,710 --> 00:07:49,350 S1: It is a process. And it's. That's part of the 140 00:07:49,350 --> 00:07:52,550 S1: A part of the hard part is how long it 141 00:07:52,550 --> 00:07:55,550 S1: often takes for us to be able to wake up. 142 00:07:56,990 --> 00:08:00,510 S2: Yeah, it absolutely is. And I don't know if this 143 00:08:00,510 --> 00:08:03,670 S2: will sound discouraging, but, you know, it took me it 144 00:08:03,670 --> 00:08:08,870 S2: took me a decade to really fully unpack the grief 145 00:08:08,870 --> 00:08:11,550 S2: that I had been walking through. I'm not saying it 146 00:08:11,550 --> 00:08:14,190 S2: always takes that long, but it usually takes longer than 147 00:08:14,190 --> 00:08:19,990 S2: we want it to. And grief is not a linear process, right? 148 00:08:20,030 --> 00:08:22,390 S2: It ebbs and it flows. And some days we think, okay, 149 00:08:22,430 --> 00:08:24,230 S2: I've got my head above water, and then a huge 150 00:08:24,230 --> 00:08:27,150 S2: wave comes and knocks us back down. And so we 151 00:08:27,150 --> 00:08:30,150 S2: just have to be kind of in tune with and 152 00:08:30,150 --> 00:08:34,270 S2: willing to walk through those ebbs and those flows as 153 00:08:34,270 --> 00:08:37,910 S2: they come, and trust that God's got our hand as 154 00:08:37,910 --> 00:08:39,070 S2: we walk through it. 155 00:08:39,190 --> 00:08:43,630 S1: Yes. Okay, so on Facebook, I asked this question, how 156 00:08:43,630 --> 00:08:47,390 S1: has journaling enriched your life? And I'm going to ask 157 00:08:47,390 --> 00:08:51,110 S1: you that same question here today, and maybe what you 158 00:08:51,150 --> 00:08:55,030 S1: share with somebody else who's going through a really deep 159 00:08:55,030 --> 00:08:59,950 S1: valley or just feels numb on the outside. Something you 160 00:08:59,950 --> 00:09:04,990 S1: share about journaling will help get them over the hump of, 161 00:09:05,030 --> 00:09:06,950 S1: I'm not a writer and I don't know if I 162 00:09:06,950 --> 00:09:10,670 S1: can do that. Uh, if you're saying that, don't worry 163 00:09:10,670 --> 00:09:15,150 S1: about it. You will become. You will become one. Uh, 164 00:09:15,150 --> 00:09:17,510 S1: because that's why Allison is here. But let me give 165 00:09:17,510 --> 00:09:25,550 S1: you our phone number. (877) 548-3675. How has journaling enriched your life? 166 00:09:25,590 --> 00:09:29,110 S1: I want to hear your answer to that. Uh, Jackie 167 00:09:29,110 --> 00:09:34,750 S1: says journaling gets the pain worry questions outside of you 168 00:09:34,750 --> 00:09:38,830 S1: and onto a piece of paper. Somehow. Then the problems 169 00:09:38,830 --> 00:09:43,989 S1: seem more manageable or less of a weight on your shoulders. Plus, 170 00:09:43,990 --> 00:09:46,990 S1: you can look back months or years later and see 171 00:09:46,990 --> 00:09:51,100 S1: how much you've grown. Do you agree with Jackie Allison? 172 00:09:51,660 --> 00:09:55,980 S2: Absolutely. It's a way of getting on the outside. What's 173 00:09:56,020 --> 00:09:59,380 S2: on the inside? And that stuff really does need a 174 00:09:59,380 --> 00:10:02,459 S2: place to live. Otherwise it just it can start to 175 00:10:02,500 --> 00:10:07,260 S2: run amok in our minds. And there's something incredibly powerful 176 00:10:07,460 --> 00:10:10,300 S2: about being able to name whatever the pain is or 177 00:10:10,300 --> 00:10:14,260 S2: the worry or the question to put actual language to it. 178 00:10:14,260 --> 00:10:17,540 S2: Because then just like Jackie said, we can start making 179 00:10:17,540 --> 00:10:20,020 S2: some sense out of it. We can pray about it. 180 00:10:20,059 --> 00:10:22,300 S2: We have a name to it to say, hey, God, this, 181 00:10:22,300 --> 00:10:24,740 S2: this is what I'm feeling. This is what I'm dealing with. 182 00:10:24,780 --> 00:10:27,380 S2: What do I do? What does this mean? So that 183 00:10:27,380 --> 00:10:29,460 S2: that naming piece of it and giving it a place 184 00:10:29,460 --> 00:10:32,180 S2: to live that's not my own head and heart is 185 00:10:32,179 --> 00:10:33,339 S2: really powerful. 186 00:10:33,780 --> 00:10:36,580 S1: What you just said is exactly what I think is 187 00:10:36,580 --> 00:10:42,460 S1: happening that we these thoughts that are running amok. What 188 00:10:42,460 --> 00:10:46,979 S1: happens when you journal is you begin to see grace 189 00:10:46,980 --> 00:10:52,220 S1: run amok, and it doesn't look all nice and tidy. Um, 190 00:10:52,220 --> 00:10:55,500 S1: so answer that question. How has journaling enriched your life? 191 00:10:55,540 --> 00:11:01,380 S1: You can go on Facebook. You can call us (877) 548-3675. 192 00:11:01,620 --> 00:11:06,300 S1: This book by Alison Bixby Journaling as a spiritual practice 193 00:11:06,340 --> 00:11:10,940 S1: is our thank you all month. If you go to chris.org, 194 00:11:10,980 --> 00:11:12,660 S1: you can see how you can pick up a copy 195 00:11:12,660 --> 00:11:14,660 S1: of it, give a gift of any size to support 196 00:11:14,660 --> 00:11:17,540 S1: the program and we will send it to you. Chris 197 00:11:17,580 --> 00:11:32,380 S1: Fabry live.org. Alison Bixby is back. She was with us 198 00:11:32,380 --> 00:11:35,179 S1: back in June when I told you about her book, 199 00:11:35,179 --> 00:11:39,219 S1: journaling as a Spiritual practice. She's back here in November 200 00:11:39,220 --> 00:11:42,540 S1: because I want everybody to have a copy of this, 201 00:11:42,820 --> 00:11:45,060 S1: and we're doing that through the website. If you go 202 00:11:45,059 --> 00:11:48,420 S1: to Chris Fabry live.org. Support the program with a gift 203 00:11:48,420 --> 00:11:51,780 S1: of any size. We'll send this to you. Journaling as 204 00:11:51,780 --> 00:11:56,660 S1: a spiritual practice. Tracing the lines of grace to God's presence. 205 00:11:56,980 --> 00:12:00,180 S1: The question that I asked on Facebook, and I'm asking 206 00:12:00,179 --> 00:12:03,660 S1: you to answer here today, is how is journaling enriched 207 00:12:03,660 --> 00:12:07,300 S1: your life? And there's a person who responded back in 208 00:12:07,300 --> 00:12:12,100 S1: June who said, journaling allows me to say genuine, quote unquote. 209 00:12:12,140 --> 00:12:17,860 S1: Say genuine feelings that I otherwise find too distasteful or 210 00:12:17,900 --> 00:12:20,740 S1: even heretical to say to another person, or even to 211 00:12:20,780 --> 00:12:24,300 S1: say to God out loud in prayer. Journaling in regard 212 00:12:24,300 --> 00:12:28,060 S1: to difficult spiritual battles and doubts. Kind of feels like 213 00:12:28,059 --> 00:12:33,819 S1: a David in the Psalms experience. That's it. You got it. Exactly. 214 00:12:34,340 --> 00:12:37,140 S1: And God knows those, you know, those things that those 215 00:12:37,140 --> 00:12:40,620 S1: distasteful things that you want to say that you're thinking anyway. 216 00:12:40,620 --> 00:12:43,300 S1: So why not get them out and let's, let's hash 217 00:12:43,420 --> 00:12:47,380 S1: them through. So my question to you, Allison, as we 218 00:12:47,420 --> 00:12:54,579 S1: start this and we'll take your calls at (877) 548-3675. What 219 00:12:54,580 --> 00:12:58,300 S1: happens when we do this? What happens when we write? 220 00:12:59,020 --> 00:13:02,620 S2: Yeah. I love this question because it's why I do 221 00:13:02,660 --> 00:13:05,740 S2: what I do because I wanted to understand. I know 222 00:13:05,740 --> 00:13:09,260 S2: journaling helps what's happening in my brain that's making this 223 00:13:09,260 --> 00:13:13,020 S2: so helpful. Um, I think the first thing is that 224 00:13:13,420 --> 00:13:16,980 S2: when we write, it slows us down. I have to 225 00:13:17,020 --> 00:13:19,540 S2: pick one thought, one word at a time to actually 226 00:13:19,540 --> 00:13:22,819 S2: put down on paper. So that helps slow the swirl 227 00:13:22,820 --> 00:13:26,140 S2: and every, all those thoughts running amok a little bit. Um, 228 00:13:26,140 --> 00:13:30,219 S2: just that slowing down piece. But then writing itself involves 229 00:13:30,220 --> 00:13:34,179 S2: multiple parts of our brain. And when multiple parts of 230 00:13:34,179 --> 00:13:37,740 S2: our brain have to work together to accomplish a task 231 00:13:37,740 --> 00:13:42,580 S2: like writing, it's actually very healing for our minds. And 232 00:13:42,580 --> 00:13:46,820 S2: that's where what neuroscientists would call integration happens, when all 233 00:13:46,820 --> 00:13:49,860 S2: those different parts of the brain start working together. Because 234 00:13:50,059 --> 00:13:54,939 S2: especially when we're talking about, um, strong, maybe negative feelings, 235 00:13:55,179 --> 00:13:58,140 S2: our mind often perceives that as a threat and like, oh, 236 00:13:58,140 --> 00:13:59,300 S2: I don't want to deal with that. I don't want 237 00:13:59,300 --> 00:14:01,220 S2: to talk about it. And it just starts shutting down. 238 00:14:01,220 --> 00:14:03,100 S2: But if we can kind of open the brain up 239 00:14:03,100 --> 00:14:06,940 S2: to actually process those emotions and those thoughts in a 240 00:14:06,940 --> 00:14:10,620 S2: healthy way by calling on the creativity we have, the logic, 241 00:14:10,660 --> 00:14:13,500 S2: the reason, the language, and putting it all together, which 242 00:14:13,500 --> 00:14:16,460 S2: is what writing enables us to do. That's the first 243 00:14:16,460 --> 00:14:19,620 S2: step toward our minds actually being able to process those 244 00:14:19,620 --> 00:14:21,100 S2: really difficult things. 245 00:14:21,420 --> 00:14:24,540 S1: That's really interesting. And I may have said this to 246 00:14:24,580 --> 00:14:28,260 S1: you when you explained that in June, but I think 247 00:14:28,260 --> 00:14:33,540 S1: of Eugene Peterson, who talks about congruence and you talk 248 00:14:33,580 --> 00:14:38,780 S1: about integration, it's like becoming whole. You know, we focus 249 00:14:38,780 --> 00:14:41,130 S1: so much on healing. I want to be healed. What 250 00:14:41,130 --> 00:14:43,850 S1: does that mean? And how do I get there? You know, 251 00:14:44,090 --> 00:14:47,170 S1: but when you think of a whole person, you can 252 00:14:47,170 --> 00:14:53,250 S1: still be broken and and be whole and integrated. Um, 253 00:14:54,570 --> 00:14:55,570 S1: talk about that. 254 00:14:56,130 --> 00:14:58,490 S2: Yeah. I mean, what came the visual that came to 255 00:14:58,530 --> 00:15:02,010 S2: mind because I love a good image is kintsugi, which 256 00:15:02,010 --> 00:15:06,690 S2: is that Japanese art form of filling broken cracks with gold. Um, 257 00:15:06,690 --> 00:15:08,970 S2: and maybe that's a really good image for to think 258 00:15:08,970 --> 00:15:12,010 S2: about your mind when it experiences integration as you're kind 259 00:15:12,010 --> 00:15:16,530 S2: of filling these, um, these broken, disjointed parts of your 260 00:15:16,530 --> 00:15:20,650 S2: emotions and thought processes with, with the gold of God, 261 00:15:20,650 --> 00:15:23,290 S2: with that grace of God to kind of bring things 262 00:15:23,290 --> 00:15:26,330 S2: together and say, you know, this is, this is hard, 263 00:15:26,330 --> 00:15:28,570 S2: but you know what? This feeling, this thought, it's actually 264 00:15:28,570 --> 00:15:30,570 S2: not going to kill you. You're not going to die. 265 00:15:30,570 --> 00:15:33,850 S2: If we have to process this thought and to make 266 00:15:33,850 --> 00:15:36,050 S2: sense out of it. And that's what God designed our 267 00:15:36,050 --> 00:15:38,970 S2: brains to do, is actually to make sense, to make 268 00:15:39,090 --> 00:15:41,490 S2: meaning out of things. And that's what your brain wants 269 00:15:41,490 --> 00:15:44,810 S2: to do with these really hard things that you're walking through. 270 00:15:45,290 --> 00:15:48,330 S2: And we may not always know the full this side 271 00:15:48,330 --> 00:15:52,610 S2: of eternity, the full picture, or understand every nuance in 272 00:15:52,610 --> 00:15:54,490 S2: and out. But there is a way that we can 273 00:15:54,850 --> 00:15:57,410 S2: allow God to take us by the hand and walk 274 00:15:57,410 --> 00:16:00,930 S2: us through the process of helping our minds make sense 275 00:16:00,930 --> 00:16:03,530 S2: out of what we're what we're experiencing. 276 00:16:03,570 --> 00:16:06,690 S1: Yeah, that's Alison Bixby. She's been through, you know, some 277 00:16:06,690 --> 00:16:09,770 S1: deep waters. We all go through deep waters, but she 278 00:16:09,770 --> 00:16:14,050 S1: has found this journaling to be as a spiritual practice 279 00:16:14,250 --> 00:16:18,810 S1: to really help her. I wonder if there's people in 280 00:16:18,810 --> 00:16:21,850 S1: my own life. You know, I have a friend who's 281 00:16:21,850 --> 00:16:27,090 S1: dealing with medical issues, sleep issues, because of the medicine 282 00:16:27,090 --> 00:16:30,810 S1: that she takes and, and the hard things. What a journal. 283 00:16:30,810 --> 00:16:33,690 S1: And maybe she already does, but what journaling might do 284 00:16:33,690 --> 00:16:37,210 S1: for her. This is our featured resource. It's our. Thank you. 285 00:16:37,210 --> 00:16:40,330 S1: This month. we've got it linked at Chris Fabry live.com. 286 00:16:41,290 --> 00:16:45,570 S1: Have a question or comment. Here's Tony who's on the line. Hi, Tony. 287 00:16:45,610 --> 00:16:46,370 S1: Go right ahead. 288 00:16:48,010 --> 00:16:56,450 S3: I am diabetic and I journal, but I, I don't 289 00:16:56,570 --> 00:16:59,810 S3: feel close to God. I'm a writer. 290 00:17:02,290 --> 00:17:04,330 S1: When you say you don't feel close to God, what 291 00:17:04,330 --> 00:17:05,410 S1: do you mean, Tony? 292 00:17:06,570 --> 00:17:14,290 S3: Well, I listened to Christian radio all the time, and 293 00:17:14,290 --> 00:17:16,170 S3: I don't feel close. 294 00:17:17,250 --> 00:17:21,090 S1: Yeah. And when you read the Bible, does it feel 295 00:17:21,090 --> 00:17:23,690 S1: the same way? It just got words on the page. 296 00:17:24,450 --> 00:17:28,330 S3: Yes. Okay. I read my Bible every day. 297 00:17:30,250 --> 00:17:32,570 S1: All right. So, Allison, what do you say to somebody 298 00:17:32,570 --> 00:17:35,570 S1: who says. I'm writing this stuff out for my heart, 299 00:17:35,570 --> 00:17:38,730 S1: but I still feel numb and I still feel God's 300 00:17:38,730 --> 00:17:39,690 S1: very far away. 301 00:17:40,210 --> 00:17:44,690 S2: Yeah, I think that's where integrating scripture into my journaling 302 00:17:44,690 --> 00:17:49,330 S2: became really important because I started to say, okay, I 303 00:17:49,369 --> 00:17:53,330 S2: don't feel close to God. I'm not experiencing his presence. 304 00:17:53,690 --> 00:17:57,010 S2: How was he showing up in Scripture to people? And 305 00:17:57,010 --> 00:18:00,330 S2: I started to really catalog what I was seeing. So 306 00:18:00,369 --> 00:18:03,250 S2: to Elijah, right, he shows up as a gentle whisper, 307 00:18:03,369 --> 00:18:06,170 S2: and my prayers in my journal would become, all right, Lord, 308 00:18:06,170 --> 00:18:09,210 S2: what what might you be whispering to me? And so 309 00:18:09,490 --> 00:18:13,330 S2: journaling for me is as much a posture of listening 310 00:18:13,369 --> 00:18:17,370 S2: as it is for writing my own thoughts down, if 311 00:18:17,369 --> 00:18:19,850 S2: that makes sense. And so I think for me in 312 00:18:19,890 --> 00:18:22,850 S2: my journal, I make space for both. Like, all right, God, here, 313 00:18:22,970 --> 00:18:26,689 S2: here's what's on my heart. But then also listening for 314 00:18:26,690 --> 00:18:29,490 S2: him and what he might say back. And sometimes that 315 00:18:29,490 --> 00:18:32,410 S2: might be something I remember a friend encouraging me with. 316 00:18:32,450 --> 00:18:35,370 S2: It's something maybe I've read in Scripture a song that 317 00:18:35,369 --> 00:18:38,970 S2: came on Christian radio. There's just something, a phrase or 318 00:18:39,010 --> 00:18:41,770 S2: a line that stands out. And I think, oh, that's 319 00:18:42,290 --> 00:18:45,609 S2: that's God whispering to me. That's God's. That's God's presence 320 00:18:45,609 --> 00:18:46,610 S2: made tangible. 321 00:18:46,850 --> 00:18:50,810 S1: MM. Well, what she's experienced, as the person said on, 322 00:18:50,810 --> 00:18:53,850 S1: on Facebook a little bit ago, is that it feels 323 00:18:53,850 --> 00:18:57,050 S1: like David and the Psalms. David felt this way. The 324 00:18:57,050 --> 00:19:01,209 S1: Psalmists felt this way. Why? How long, O Lord? You 325 00:19:01,210 --> 00:19:04,530 S1: know that, that kind of thing. So what Tony could 326 00:19:04,530 --> 00:19:08,970 S1: do in changing and incorporating Scripture in. She could just 327 00:19:08,970 --> 00:19:12,250 S1: say what she said to us. I feel like you're 328 00:19:12,450 --> 00:19:16,449 S1: a million miles away. I don't feel you're close. I, 329 00:19:16,570 --> 00:19:19,210 S1: when I read, the words are just on the page 330 00:19:19,210 --> 00:19:22,129 S1: or whatever it is that's going on in her heart. Right? 331 00:19:22,609 --> 00:19:26,530 S2: Yeah, absolutely. And I try to think about places where 332 00:19:27,130 --> 00:19:32,010 S2: I have experienced or sensed that nearness of God. And 333 00:19:32,010 --> 00:19:36,609 S2: sometimes for me, that's that's being outside and enjoying the 334 00:19:36,609 --> 00:19:39,210 S2: beauty of God's creation. And so I try to find the. 335 00:19:39,250 --> 00:19:41,530 S2: I'll take my journal with me outside and find those 336 00:19:41,530 --> 00:19:45,490 S2: places where I feel like I have encountered God before. Um, 337 00:19:45,490 --> 00:19:49,090 S2: and that's another way to kind of help facilitate that 338 00:19:49,090 --> 00:19:51,889 S2: closeness and that interaction with God that I think we're, 339 00:19:52,130 --> 00:19:53,530 S2: a lot of us are looking for. 340 00:19:53,690 --> 00:19:56,570 S1: Yeah. Tony. Hang on. I want Tricia to get your information, 341 00:19:56,570 --> 00:20:00,050 S1: and we'll send you a copy of Alison's book, journaling 342 00:20:00,090 --> 00:20:03,650 S1: as a Spiritual Practice. Uh, it's our thank you at 343 00:20:03,650 --> 00:20:07,689 S1: Chris Fabry live.org. So hang on, Tony, we'll get your information. 344 00:20:08,130 --> 00:20:12,850 S1: But what about the expectations? You know, if I am 345 00:20:13,090 --> 00:20:15,449 S1: and I'm not saying that this is what Tony's doing, 346 00:20:15,890 --> 00:20:19,490 S1: but if I am listening to people say, you know, 347 00:20:19,530 --> 00:20:22,090 S1: God spoke to me and he said this, and then 348 00:20:22,090 --> 00:20:25,609 S1: I felt this just it was an ecstatic experience. And. 349 00:20:25,650 --> 00:20:30,570 S1: ET cetera. ET cetera. If I compare my experience, even 350 00:20:30,570 --> 00:20:33,679 S1: with people in the Bible, you know who Paul and 351 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:36,680 S1: Silas prayed and prayed all night long? Well, I you know, Lord, 352 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:39,119 S1: I can't I don't even know the the words to 353 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:41,400 S1: those songs to pray. And I can't keep it, you know, 354 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:44,440 S1: those types of things. What what do you what happens 355 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:48,080 S1: when you compare your experience with somebody else's. 356 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:52,000 S2: Yeah. I think comparison is, is what do they say? 357 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:54,840 S2: It's the thief of joy, right? And we're like, all right, well, 358 00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:56,879 S2: I see you showing up this way for this person, 359 00:20:56,880 --> 00:21:00,200 S2: but that's not my experience. And I had a mentor 360 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:02,600 S2: tell me once and I thought this was so beautiful. 361 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:08,359 S2: She said, Allison, what if nothing is the gift? We 362 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:11,600 S2: we consume so much. We're so busy. We have so 363 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:14,119 S2: much coming at us all the time. I think sometimes 364 00:21:14,119 --> 00:21:18,159 S2: God just wants to gift us with quiet and stillness, 365 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:20,560 S2: and that that in and of itself can be a 366 00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:24,320 S2: beautiful mark of his presence in our lives. Um, and 367 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:28,960 S2: I know that doesn't answer all of the, um, desire of, 368 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:31,400 S2: but I want, I do want the The experience, but 369 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:33,960 S2: it did help me just realize that sometimes it's okay 370 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:36,480 S2: to just take that deep breath and go, you know what? 371 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:39,600 S2: This gift of quiet stillness is just as much God's 372 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:43,040 S2: presence as the gentle whisper or the up all night 373 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:46,119 S2: praying or whatever that experience is. 374 00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:51,040 S1: Yes. Okay. So when you started to journal about read, 375 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:54,719 S1: when you finally got the pediatrician called and gave you 376 00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:59,840 S1: the information about the genetic abnormality, and you realized that 377 00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:02,400 S1: this is going to be a lifelong thing. When you 378 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:04,639 S1: started a journal about that, what did it look like? 379 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:06,680 S1: Was it kind of ugly journaling? 380 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:10,280 S2: Yeah for sure. It was, um, it was a lot 381 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:15,040 S2: of tear filled journaling. It was a lot of questions. Um, 382 00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:18,320 S2: it was a lot of God, why us? I don't, 383 00:22:18,359 --> 00:22:20,560 S2: you know, I didn't know anybody else at the time 384 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:24,040 S2: whose child had that. Our son's diagnosis. And so just 385 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:26,120 S2: a lot of like I said, I went real in 386 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:29,000 S2: real inward and real me focused and asked a lot 387 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:32,680 S2: of those kinds of questions. Um, and God, I thought 388 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:35,160 S2: kids were supposed to be a gift. And this, this 389 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:38,360 S2: diagnosis doesn't feel like a gift. Um, and it was 390 00:22:38,359 --> 00:22:40,440 S2: so interesting because I felt like what God was so 391 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:43,320 S2: gracious to do is as I would ask those questions, like, 392 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:46,520 S2: this doesn't feel like a gift. He would remind me 393 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:50,360 S2: of other times where I had talked about gifts or 394 00:22:50,359 --> 00:22:53,000 S2: really enjoyed a certain gift, and he would kind of 395 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:56,040 S2: bring those up to mind as a can you, if 396 00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:58,520 S2: you think about that gift, can you see it all 397 00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:02,320 S2: how this might be my gift to you? Um, that 398 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:05,399 S2: you are drawing closer to me, that you get a 399 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:08,000 S2: different experience of my grace than if you guys weren't 400 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:12,040 S2: walking this road. And so it was messy. It was real. 401 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:15,879 S2: It wasn't organized or pretty. It was just that place 402 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,120 S2: where I went to, to really very much like you said, 403 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:22,399 S2: like David does in the Psalms or the Psalmists do 404 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:27,600 S2: and just lament the brokenness that our world is and, 405 00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:30,000 S2: and the And the difficulty we were experiencing. 406 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:33,440 S1: So you're talking really about getting honest with God on 407 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:37,400 S1: honest to to God from your own heart. What does 408 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:42,640 S1: that then do to the anxiety, the depression? I know 409 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:47,520 S1: that that was a severe bout that you went through. Uh, 410 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:51,320 S1: at some point, what is getting on us do for 411 00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:52,840 S1: the inner turmoil? 412 00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:57,240 S2: Yeah, I think until we acknowledge something, we can't really 413 00:23:57,240 --> 00:23:59,520 S2: begin to process it, right? We have to own it 414 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:03,080 S2: and say, I am really depressed, I am really angry. 415 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:06,640 S2: I am really fill in the blank. And that honesty 416 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:10,240 S2: is the door that opens up into, okay, well, let's 417 00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:13,000 S2: explore that. Let's think about that. Let's journal and write 418 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:15,720 S2: about it and ask the questions and pray the prayers. 419 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:19,600 S2: And look at what Scripture says about anger and hurt 420 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:23,560 S2: and disappointment and grief. And, you know, um, how does 421 00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:27,720 S2: what you expected, how does it line up or not 422 00:24:27,720 --> 00:24:30,040 S2: line up with what Scripture says? And I think what 423 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:33,439 S2: God exposed in me, that kind of it was hard 424 00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:35,800 S2: to hear and to receive at first, but it was 425 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:39,000 S2: this idea that I thought I was going to have a, quote, 426 00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:43,280 S2: easy life. And that was my expectation. And there was 427 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:46,600 S2: a lot about Reid's diagnosis that was not and continues 428 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:49,680 S2: to not be easy. But I really had to realize 429 00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:53,440 S2: that's never what God promised us. But he did promise 430 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:56,520 S2: his goodness and his love and his mercy would follow 431 00:24:56,520 --> 00:24:59,399 S2: me all the days of my life. And it's really 432 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:03,120 S2: about where I choose to put my attention right, and 433 00:25:03,119 --> 00:25:06,200 S2: putting it on that reality that his goodness and mercy 434 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:09,080 S2: continues to follow me day in and day out is 435 00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:12,439 S2: just important and beautiful and life changing. 436 00:25:13,359 --> 00:25:16,879 S1: And that's why I really wanted to feature Allison's book 437 00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:19,440 S1: here today and to send you a copy. We're going 438 00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:21,040 S1: to send Tony a copy. I'd love to send you 439 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:23,680 S1: a copy as well. It's titled journaling as a Spiritual 440 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:28,960 S1: Practice Tracing the lines of grace to God's presence. And 441 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:31,840 S1: that's what it's all about the presence of God in 442 00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:36,440 S1: your life. That is the prize. That is the. The 443 00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:41,280 S1: process leads to his presence, not necessarily the outcome that 444 00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:43,760 S1: we want. So love to send it to you. Go 445 00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:46,760 S1: to Chris Fabry live.org. Scroll down. You'll see. I can 446 00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:49,479 S1: get a copy. And there's more with Alison coming up 447 00:25:49,480 --> 00:26:05,679 S1: straight ahead on Moody Radio. And Voskamp says this book 448 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:09,280 S1: is a gift to anyone walking through sorrow, anxiety, or 449 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:14,240 S1: spiritual disorientation. You got any of that in your life? 450 00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:19,280 S1: Allison Bixby has written journaling as a spiritual practice. We 451 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:22,640 S1: have it linked at Chris fabry.org. Give a gift of 452 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:25,190 S1: any size to the program this month and we will 453 00:26:25,190 --> 00:26:27,830 S1: send it your way. I think it would be really 454 00:26:27,830 --> 00:26:31,990 S1: good to go through this. And then in 2027, that 455 00:26:31,990 --> 00:26:36,950 S1: could be the year that you get back into journaling. Uh, 456 00:26:36,950 --> 00:26:42,750 S1: Dawn says, I am horrible. Capital HORRIBLE. I'm horrible at journaling, 457 00:26:42,950 --> 00:26:45,109 S1: but the times I have it allowed me to reflect 458 00:26:45,109 --> 00:26:48,390 S1: on memorable or devastating events. I find my solace and 459 00:26:48,390 --> 00:26:52,230 S1: expression in painting. That is my journal and that's good. 460 00:26:52,310 --> 00:26:56,790 S1: The art of any form helps, but I also see 461 00:26:56,790 --> 00:27:00,550 S1: that there is. There are people who are. They feel 462 00:27:00,550 --> 00:27:04,149 S1: like I'm not good at that or I'm too busy. 463 00:27:04,190 --> 00:27:06,190 S1: I'd love to be able to sit down and spend 464 00:27:06,190 --> 00:27:10,470 S1: an hour just, you know, journaling or I've started and 465 00:27:10,470 --> 00:27:13,630 S1: I've stopped and I've got this and I and kind 466 00:27:13,670 --> 00:27:15,869 S1: of beaten themselves up. What do you say to the 467 00:27:15,869 --> 00:27:18,949 S1: person who has some of those thoughts, Alison. 468 00:27:19,350 --> 00:27:24,470 S2: Yeah, absolutely. Well, you know, it's like any, practice or habit. 469 00:27:24,510 --> 00:27:28,109 S2: If it's not something we're accustomed to being a part 470 00:27:28,109 --> 00:27:30,149 S2: of our routine, it's going to be hard. And I 471 00:27:30,150 --> 00:27:34,270 S2: think just acknowledging that there will be times and days 472 00:27:34,270 --> 00:27:37,150 S2: when you don't do it or you'll fall off the bandwagon, 473 00:27:37,150 --> 00:27:39,950 S2: so to speak, is a really healthy thing to remember 474 00:27:39,950 --> 00:27:42,750 S2: that that's a normal part of the process as you 475 00:27:42,790 --> 00:27:46,190 S2: kind of work on integrating it as a spiritual practice 476 00:27:46,190 --> 00:27:50,590 S2: that you return to regularly. And I always like to 477 00:27:50,630 --> 00:27:54,470 S2: tell people to, if you're going from no journaling to 478 00:27:54,670 --> 00:27:59,950 S2: wanting to journal, you know, maybe set realistic expectations. So 479 00:27:59,950 --> 00:28:02,510 S2: I'll give you an example. Outside of journaling, I recently 480 00:28:02,510 --> 00:28:05,430 S2: decided I wanted to start strength training while I was 481 00:28:05,430 --> 00:28:09,030 S2: going from no strength training to something. And so rather 482 00:28:09,030 --> 00:28:10,229 S2: than say, you know what, I'm going to do it 483 00:28:10,230 --> 00:28:12,350 S2: five days a week, I was like, um, I'm probably 484 00:28:12,350 --> 00:28:13,830 S2: going to do it two days a week. And that's 485 00:28:13,830 --> 00:28:16,869 S2: probably not enough, but it's enough to get me started. 486 00:28:16,869 --> 00:28:20,030 S2: And so that's one of my biggest pieces of advice 487 00:28:20,030 --> 00:28:23,190 S2: for people when they are trying to integrate this as 488 00:28:23,190 --> 00:28:26,600 S2: a habit is, you know, just pick pick 1 or 489 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:28,670 S2: 2 days a week where you're like, where you set 490 00:28:28,670 --> 00:28:31,510 S2: aside a few minutes. It doesn't have to be this 491 00:28:31,550 --> 00:28:35,870 S2: hours long marathon and only you really know your life 492 00:28:35,869 --> 00:28:38,670 S2: and your rhythm and your responsibilities. And so it'll look 493 00:28:38,670 --> 00:28:42,810 S2: different for everybody. Um, but even I, I, even five 494 00:28:42,810 --> 00:28:46,830 S2: minutes of journaling can be profoundly powerful. Um, and so 495 00:28:46,870 --> 00:28:49,150 S2: I think we can get stuck in thinking that says, well, 496 00:28:49,150 --> 00:28:52,150 S2: if I don't have 30 minutes, then it's not worth doing. Um, 497 00:28:52,150 --> 00:28:55,310 S2: but I would say that's absolutely not true. I have, 498 00:28:55,830 --> 00:29:00,570 S2: I've had really, um, insightful journaling sessions that were five 499 00:29:00,570 --> 00:29:04,350 S2: minutes or less. Um, and that's because God can take, right, our, 500 00:29:04,350 --> 00:29:08,310 S2: our small little offerings and do exponentially more of them 501 00:29:08,310 --> 00:29:09,790 S2: than we can even imagine. 502 00:29:09,990 --> 00:29:13,870 S1: Do you find yourself writing like conversations that you've had 503 00:29:13,910 --> 00:29:16,550 S1: or things that you've heard other people say, or a 504 00:29:16,550 --> 00:29:20,709 S1: poem or a, a quote, a quote that spoke to 505 00:29:20,750 --> 00:29:22,830 S1: you that day. Do you journal those. 506 00:29:23,230 --> 00:29:26,390 S2: I. It's my favorite way to journal, just to be 507 00:29:26,390 --> 00:29:29,630 S2: really honest with you. And because it's what makes the 508 00:29:29,630 --> 00:29:33,510 S2: blank page less intimidating. Um, so when I, if I'm 509 00:29:33,550 --> 00:29:37,590 S2: online and I see something somebody posted, that's just really inspiring, 510 00:29:37,590 --> 00:29:39,910 S2: I'll jot it down in my journal. I have a 511 00:29:39,910 --> 00:29:42,670 S2: page in the back of my journal that's exactly for 512 00:29:42,710 --> 00:29:45,350 S2: that purpose, because I may not have time right in 513 00:29:45,350 --> 00:29:50,110 S2: that moment to process that quote or idea in my journal, 514 00:29:50,110 --> 00:29:52,470 S2: but I put it on that page at the back. 515 00:29:52,470 --> 00:29:54,750 S2: And then when I do have time to journal, I 516 00:29:54,750 --> 00:29:57,910 S2: already have something I can pull from and start with. 517 00:29:58,150 --> 00:30:03,110 S1: Yes. Same here because I've been reading Charles Spurgeon and 518 00:30:03,110 --> 00:30:05,710 S1: that makes me sound real spiritual, but I really want 519 00:30:05,710 --> 00:30:08,350 S1: to know, you know, this guy in the 1800s, why 520 00:30:08,390 --> 00:30:11,830 S1: are we still reading books about him and, and the 521 00:30:11,830 --> 00:30:16,830 S1: messages that he that he gave and his commentaries. And 522 00:30:16,830 --> 00:30:19,910 S1: I just find a nugget just about every day of something. 523 00:30:19,910 --> 00:30:22,510 S1: That boy, I wish I'd have said that I've got 524 00:30:22,550 --> 00:30:26,990 S1: to think more deeply about this. The thing about integration 525 00:30:26,990 --> 00:30:31,110 S1: that you mentioned, though, we had this happen just last 526 00:30:31,110 --> 00:30:34,630 S1: Friday on on the program and at the beginning, the 527 00:30:34,630 --> 00:30:37,750 S1: very first call that we had and the very last 528 00:30:37,750 --> 00:30:43,190 S1: call that we had was about these situations in people's lives. 529 00:30:43,190 --> 00:30:48,550 S1: One who had a a fellow coworker who had spoken 530 00:30:48,910 --> 00:30:55,790 S1: unkindly and then later that weekend died by suicide. And 531 00:30:55,790 --> 00:30:58,870 S1: then at the end, the very last call was a 532 00:30:58,870 --> 00:31:03,510 S1: father who was dealing with a son who had died 533 00:31:03,510 --> 00:31:07,190 S1: in a motorcycle accident a couple of years ago. And 534 00:31:07,190 --> 00:31:12,670 S1: both of them, as they spoke their stories, both of them, 535 00:31:12,670 --> 00:31:15,150 S1: you could just tell there was something and there was 536 00:31:15,150 --> 00:31:20,070 S1: emotion there, but there was something about sharing these stories 537 00:31:20,630 --> 00:31:25,070 S1: that gave the the deaths of those two people purpose 538 00:31:25,350 --> 00:31:27,870 S1: so that they could share them with others. You know, 539 00:31:27,910 --> 00:31:30,630 S1: to to say, I love you to the person you 540 00:31:30,630 --> 00:31:34,030 S1: know that that you haven't said I love you to. 541 00:31:34,270 --> 00:31:37,950 S1: And you could just tell as they were sharing those 542 00:31:37,950 --> 00:31:42,990 S1: stories that there was something happening inside of them that 543 00:31:42,990 --> 00:31:46,870 S1: was really good, which was akin to what I think 544 00:31:46,910 --> 00:31:48,470 S1: you're talking about with journaling. 545 00:31:49,270 --> 00:31:54,310 S2: Yeah. Oh, absolutely. When, uh, when I think it's Ann 546 00:31:54,310 --> 00:31:58,270 S2: Voskamp actually who has said before, um, shame dies when 547 00:31:58,270 --> 00:32:01,070 S2: our stories are told in safe places. And I think 548 00:32:01,070 --> 00:32:04,310 S2: in that context, she was specifically talking about, um, maybe 549 00:32:04,310 --> 00:32:06,830 S2: in a small group of people that you might share 550 00:32:06,830 --> 00:32:09,630 S2: life with, but I think our journals can also be 551 00:32:09,630 --> 00:32:13,430 S2: that safe place where we get to process those raw, 552 00:32:13,470 --> 00:32:19,219 S2: incredibly difficult, um, sometimes traumatizing things that that life asks 553 00:32:19,220 --> 00:32:23,860 S2: us to walk through. Um, because the truth is there may, 554 00:32:23,900 --> 00:32:26,820 S2: we may not always have people in our lives who 555 00:32:26,820 --> 00:32:30,260 S2: can handle that raw, ugly truth, but the journal is 556 00:32:30,260 --> 00:32:33,980 S2: always a willing participant in those, in those thoughts. Um, 557 00:32:33,980 --> 00:32:36,140 S2: and it's your journal isn't going to judge you for 558 00:32:36,140 --> 00:32:38,540 S2: those things, but it gives you that space to put 559 00:32:38,540 --> 00:32:43,220 S2: language to, um, what you've experienced and for it to 560 00:32:43,260 --> 00:32:46,300 S2: begin to, to make some meaning from it and to, 561 00:32:46,340 --> 00:32:49,940 S2: and to begin to see where there are small lines 562 00:32:49,940 --> 00:32:53,860 S2: of grace that God's written into even the really hard stories. 563 00:32:53,900 --> 00:32:58,380 S1: Yeah. And shame has such a, a strong grip on 564 00:32:58,380 --> 00:33:01,460 S1: so many people. And it holds so many people back. 565 00:33:02,180 --> 00:33:04,900 S1: If you can get that out on the page, if 566 00:33:04,940 --> 00:33:08,140 S1: you can be honest with yourself and honest with God 567 00:33:08,140 --> 00:33:12,980 S1: about how this has controlled you and actually start to 568 00:33:13,020 --> 00:33:17,060 S1: see the way that you've lived under that weight of 569 00:33:17,060 --> 00:33:19,260 S1: of shame and guilt. Right? 570 00:33:19,460 --> 00:33:22,500 S2: Oh for sure. Um, I think it's in chapter six 571 00:33:22,500 --> 00:33:26,900 S2: of the, of my book where I talk about, um, shame, 572 00:33:27,300 --> 00:33:30,420 S2: it wants to convince you that your whole story is 573 00:33:30,420 --> 00:33:35,340 S2: written and there's nothing new redemptive or transformative that's happening. 574 00:33:35,660 --> 00:33:39,460 S2: But that's an absolute lie because in Jesus, our stories 575 00:33:39,460 --> 00:33:43,260 S2: are full of possibility and redemption. Um, and it's in 576 00:33:43,260 --> 00:33:46,740 S2: his presence where shame really dies because he says in 577 00:33:46,740 --> 00:33:50,900 S2: him we, we are redeemed, no matter what may have 578 00:33:50,900 --> 00:33:53,100 S2: happened or how we may have messed up or the 579 00:33:53,100 --> 00:33:56,300 S2: decisions we've made in the past. There's always, always redemption 580 00:33:56,300 --> 00:33:59,220 S2: and new life in him. And, um, and I think 581 00:33:59,220 --> 00:34:01,740 S2: it's why it's so important to acknowledge that shame because 582 00:34:01,740 --> 00:34:04,420 S2: it's kind of like a wound, uh, that if you 583 00:34:04,420 --> 00:34:07,460 S2: don't acknowledge it and give it air, um, it's going 584 00:34:07,500 --> 00:34:09,500 S2: to fester, it's going to fester. And that's not going 585 00:34:09,500 --> 00:34:10,420 S2: to be really pretty. 586 00:34:10,739 --> 00:34:13,300 S1: Well in that chapter is the woman at the well. 587 00:34:13,380 --> 00:34:15,820 S1: You know, you talk about somebody who had shame and 588 00:34:15,900 --> 00:34:18,780 S1: who had a past. You know, and here she comes. 589 00:34:18,820 --> 00:34:21,820 S1: And and then the disciples come and he's talking to her. 590 00:34:21,860 --> 00:34:24,580 S1: So why is he talking with her? You know, and, and, 591 00:34:24,580 --> 00:34:30,380 S1: and it's the, the, uh, receptivity, the, the, the presence 592 00:34:30,380 --> 00:34:35,859 S1: of Jesus draws her out and shows her something that 593 00:34:35,860 --> 00:34:42,260 S1: she had no expectation of receiving. But then she, she 594 00:34:42,260 --> 00:34:47,220 S1: sees herself and that she's accepted and, and received by him. 595 00:34:47,219 --> 00:34:49,660 S1: And there is grace and there is mercy. I think 596 00:34:49,660 --> 00:34:51,500 S1: the same thing can happen on the page. 597 00:34:52,260 --> 00:34:56,460 S2: Yes, absolutely. And, you know, the the reality with her 598 00:34:56,460 --> 00:34:59,259 S2: story is Jesus told her the truth about herself. He 599 00:34:59,260 --> 00:35:02,739 S2: didn't try and sugarcoat it or not acknowledge it or 600 00:35:02,739 --> 00:35:05,380 S2: make it better than it was. He was truthful with her. 601 00:35:05,620 --> 00:35:08,339 S2: And yet, because of his great love for her, she 602 00:35:08,340 --> 00:35:11,739 S2: could receive that. And, and I think it's it's one 603 00:35:11,739 --> 00:35:13,580 S2: of the reasons I think of my journal as a 604 00:35:13,580 --> 00:35:15,780 S2: place where I am meeting with God and I am 605 00:35:15,940 --> 00:35:19,780 S2: experiencing his presence because in that presence, his great love. 606 00:35:19,780 --> 00:35:22,420 S2: So it doesn't it doesn't matter what, what, what I 607 00:35:22,420 --> 00:35:24,460 S2: say or how I say it, or, you know, how 608 00:35:24,460 --> 00:35:27,780 S2: many questions or how much anger or frustration there is. Um, 609 00:35:28,020 --> 00:35:30,980 S2: his great love drives out fear, drives out shame, and 610 00:35:30,980 --> 00:35:32,299 S2: it redeems our stories. 611 00:35:33,060 --> 00:35:36,540 S1: I just read that the other day, again with trying 612 00:35:36,580 --> 00:35:39,060 S1: to read it with fresh eyes. And the thing that 613 00:35:39,060 --> 00:35:41,820 S1: stuck out to me was what she said when she 614 00:35:41,820 --> 00:35:45,580 S1: left her jar and ran back to town. She did. 615 00:35:45,620 --> 00:35:49,620 S1: Because the thing that has always struck me is she 616 00:35:49,620 --> 00:35:54,259 S1: tells this Samaritan woman that he's the Messiah. You know, 617 00:35:54,340 --> 00:35:56,700 S1: I who am speaking to you, am he? You know, 618 00:35:56,739 --> 00:36:00,300 S1: isn't this supposed to come here? Here I am. I'm here. 619 00:36:00,780 --> 00:36:03,740 S1: And he reveals this thing to her, and she runs 620 00:36:03,739 --> 00:36:08,060 S1: down to town and and doesn't immediately say, hey, I've 621 00:36:08,060 --> 00:36:10,580 S1: found the Messiah. He told me that's who he was. 622 00:36:10,900 --> 00:36:13,739 S1: She says, come see a man who told me everything 623 00:36:13,739 --> 00:36:18,500 S1: that I ever did. Can this be the Christ? And 624 00:36:18,500 --> 00:36:23,620 S1: it's a it's an invitation for a question. Look, something's 625 00:36:23,620 --> 00:36:26,940 S1: going on here. And I think it was in the question. 626 00:36:26,940 --> 00:36:30,819 S1: She didn't tell them definitively. This is the Messiah. He 627 00:36:30,820 --> 00:36:34,220 S1: told me he was. She asked the question that made 628 00:36:34,219 --> 00:36:38,259 S1: them inquisitive. And then when they came, you know, later 629 00:36:38,260 --> 00:36:41,899 S1: on it says, we don't believe because you told us 630 00:36:41,900 --> 00:36:46,580 S1: we believe because we see have seen this ourselves. So in, 631 00:36:46,620 --> 00:36:51,020 S1: in the in the journal that you do this can 632 00:36:51,020 --> 00:36:53,660 S1: open up some of the questions that you have about 633 00:36:53,660 --> 00:36:58,860 S1: your own life and, and make you flourish rather than, 634 00:36:59,060 --> 00:37:00,700 S1: you know, just put it on the page. What do 635 00:37:00,700 --> 00:37:01,380 S1: you think of that? 636 00:37:01,739 --> 00:37:06,100 S2: Absolutely. And I think the idea of vulnerability can be 637 00:37:06,100 --> 00:37:08,540 S2: scary for a lot of us to open ourselves up 638 00:37:08,540 --> 00:37:11,620 S2: to fully be seen. But I think that's exactly what 639 00:37:11,620 --> 00:37:14,100 S2: the Samaritan woman was getting at when she goes into 640 00:37:14,100 --> 00:37:17,940 S2: town to tell everybody. What just happened is this this 641 00:37:17,940 --> 00:37:21,860 S2: man knows everything about me, and he still loves me, 642 00:37:21,860 --> 00:37:23,779 S2: and he still accepts me, and I still have a 643 00:37:23,780 --> 00:37:27,660 S2: place with him. And so there is in Jesus's presence 644 00:37:27,660 --> 00:37:29,859 S2: we can be fully seen. And I think that's some 645 00:37:29,860 --> 00:37:32,700 S2: of why it's so important in our journals, to be honest, 646 00:37:32,700 --> 00:37:34,779 S2: and to put all of the really raw, messy, hard 647 00:37:34,780 --> 00:37:37,500 S2: stuff down on paper, because it is an act. It's 648 00:37:37,500 --> 00:37:40,340 S2: a confession. It's a way of saying, this is me, Lord, 649 00:37:40,380 --> 00:37:43,779 S2: what now? What? What will you do with that? And I, 650 00:37:43,780 --> 00:37:45,980 S2: and we know because of the promises of Scripture, that 651 00:37:45,980 --> 00:37:50,140 S2: he will meet the truest version of ourselves with the 652 00:37:50,140 --> 00:37:51,020 S2: greatest love. 653 00:37:52,020 --> 00:37:56,620 S1: Could this be the very thing that you're looking for 654 00:37:56,620 --> 00:38:00,980 S1: to set your heart free? Uh, Allison Bixby writes, what 655 00:38:00,980 --> 00:38:04,939 S1: makes journaling satisfying for me? It's finding a place for 656 00:38:04,940 --> 00:38:10,370 S1: the misplaced, mismatched thoughts I'm ruminating on building a refuge 657 00:38:10,370 --> 00:38:16,250 S1: for my tenderest emotions. Stitching grace over weariness. It's seeing 658 00:38:16,250 --> 00:38:19,770 S1: in plain sight how God is working in my life. 659 00:38:20,010 --> 00:38:23,089 S1: But I also find satisfaction in finding just the right 660 00:38:23,130 --> 00:38:26,050 S1: type of journal to write in. The pages must be lined. 661 00:38:26,090 --> 00:38:29,049 S1: The paper must be thick enough that ink won't bleed through. 662 00:38:29,050 --> 00:38:32,530 S1: So there you are, getting into the how and along 663 00:38:32,530 --> 00:38:36,489 S1: with the why and how the pen is gliding smoothly 664 00:38:36,489 --> 00:38:40,129 S1: across the page. That's what this book will do to you. 665 00:38:40,170 --> 00:38:43,370 S1: It will set you free to really tell God the 666 00:38:43,370 --> 00:38:48,370 S1: truth and tell yourself the truth. Journaling as a spiritual practice. 667 00:38:48,770 --> 00:38:52,130 S1: Tracing the lines of grace to God's presence is our 668 00:38:52,130 --> 00:38:55,250 S1: featured resource. Actually, it's our gift to you this month, 669 00:38:55,450 --> 00:38:57,730 S1: and there's a way that you can receive it if 670 00:38:57,730 --> 00:39:03,130 S1: you go to the website. Chris Fabry live.org. Chris Fabry live.org. 671 00:39:04,050 --> 00:39:15,890 S1: More straight ahead on Moody Radio. This is just gold 672 00:39:15,890 --> 00:39:19,049 S1: from Sean, who writes on Facebook. I've been hit and 673 00:39:19,050 --> 00:39:21,850 S1: miss with my journaling practice over the years since I've 674 00:39:21,850 --> 00:39:25,450 S1: retired from full time employment, I'm doing better. I found 675 00:39:25,450 --> 00:39:28,050 S1: that the best practice for me is keeping a prayer 676 00:39:28,050 --> 00:39:31,930 S1: journal based on my daily devotional reading of scripture. When 677 00:39:31,930 --> 00:39:35,690 S1: something in a Bible reading connects with me, I respond 678 00:39:35,690 --> 00:39:39,130 S1: by writing out a prayer. Going back to read these 679 00:39:39,130 --> 00:39:42,689 S1: prayers is like, listen to this is like looking at 680 00:39:42,690 --> 00:39:46,810 S1: a snapshot of my soul. Oh, Sean, thank you for. 681 00:39:46,850 --> 00:39:49,890 S1: And that. That is what Allison is getting at in 682 00:39:49,890 --> 00:39:53,410 S1: journaling as a spiritual practice. Find out more at the 683 00:39:53,410 --> 00:40:01,210 S1: website kris.org. kris.org. Ginger is in Vermont. Ginger, why did 684 00:40:01,210 --> 00:40:02,050 S1: you call today? 685 00:40:03,570 --> 00:40:08,569 S4: Um, I called because it just seemed like you were 686 00:40:08,570 --> 00:40:13,490 S4: talking to me. Um, I got in the car on 687 00:40:13,489 --> 00:40:19,930 S4: my way, actually, to a bereavement support appointment. And you 688 00:40:19,930 --> 00:40:23,049 S4: started out the program saying, are you in a hard place? 689 00:40:23,090 --> 00:40:27,490 S4: There were a few other questions and you said, um, 690 00:40:27,650 --> 00:40:30,890 S4: have you ever tried writing it down? And at my 691 00:40:30,930 --> 00:40:35,810 S4: last appointment, I'm just in the process of starting journaling. Um, 692 00:40:35,850 --> 00:40:38,969 S4: because at my last, this will be my second to 693 00:40:39,010 --> 00:40:44,529 S4: last appointment with bereavement support. And the woman I've been 694 00:40:44,530 --> 00:40:50,050 S4: working with was recommending, um, that I start writing things 695 00:40:50,050 --> 00:40:54,730 S4: down kind of as a way to continue my process 696 00:40:54,730 --> 00:41:02,210 S4: on my own. Um, and so several things that other 697 00:41:02,210 --> 00:41:05,930 S4: people who have held in have said, and Allison talking 698 00:41:05,930 --> 00:41:10,730 S4: about the whispers of through the songs on the radio. Um, 699 00:41:11,650 --> 00:41:14,689 S4: and several other things are just truly resonating with me. 700 00:41:14,730 --> 00:41:16,450 S5: Yeah. I'm so glad. Okay, so. 701 00:41:16,730 --> 00:41:18,609 S1: You make sure you hang on. We're going to get 702 00:41:18,610 --> 00:41:21,530 S1: your information and send you a copy of the book. 703 00:41:21,530 --> 00:41:24,850 S1: But Allison, this is she's right in the crosshairs of 704 00:41:24,850 --> 00:41:26,290 S1: what you're talking about, isn't she? 705 00:41:26,650 --> 00:41:31,009 S2: Oh, absolutely. 100%. And, um, I talk with a lot 706 00:41:31,010 --> 00:41:34,610 S2: of people who will say either their counselor or somebody 707 00:41:34,610 --> 00:41:36,810 S2: they're meeting with, you know, like in her case with 708 00:41:36,850 --> 00:41:40,890 S2: a bereavement group will say, you really ought to journal. Um, 709 00:41:40,930 --> 00:41:43,089 S2: and then they go home and they're like, uh, but 710 00:41:43,090 --> 00:41:45,530 S2: what do I write down? I'm not sure what to do. 711 00:41:45,570 --> 00:41:48,290 S2: And that that's exactly why I wrote this book. So 712 00:41:48,290 --> 00:41:52,250 S2: that that blank page is a little less intimidating. Um, 713 00:41:52,290 --> 00:41:54,250 S2: and that you've got a little bit of guidance to, 714 00:41:54,290 --> 00:41:57,650 S2: to start taking, uh, to start filling that journal up 715 00:41:57,650 --> 00:42:01,290 S2: and to watch really, I mean, God is always at 716 00:42:01,290 --> 00:42:03,129 S2: work and there's so much I think we're just not 717 00:42:03,130 --> 00:42:05,770 S2: even aware of. And journaling is one way to get that. 718 00:42:05,810 --> 00:42:08,810 S2: Like the Facebook comment said, that snapshot of your soul 719 00:42:09,050 --> 00:42:12,450 S2: that otherwise we may not see or feels really intangible, 720 00:42:12,450 --> 00:42:14,370 S2: but you start writing it down and all of a 721 00:42:14,370 --> 00:42:18,370 S2: sudden you have this beautiful Technicolor picture of what's happening 722 00:42:18,370 --> 00:42:19,650 S2: on the inside of you. 723 00:42:20,489 --> 00:42:25,930 S1: That could be another tagline or another subtitle. Snapshots of 724 00:42:25,930 --> 00:42:28,049 S1: your soul on the page. You know that. That kind 725 00:42:28,050 --> 00:42:30,450 S1: of thing. Yeah. Although tracing the lines of grace to 726 00:42:30,489 --> 00:42:33,930 S1: God's presence is, you know, is fantastic. Okay. Uh, hang 727 00:42:33,930 --> 00:42:36,810 S1: on there, Ginger. We're going to get your information. Um, 728 00:42:36,850 --> 00:42:40,770 S1: what do you say to the person who says this is. 729 00:42:40,770 --> 00:42:44,530 S1: This is just so hard for me to do? I'm 730 00:42:44,770 --> 00:42:48,089 S1: not a writer. I'm not like you were just saying, 731 00:42:48,090 --> 00:42:50,890 S1: I don't know what to put down here on the page. 732 00:42:50,890 --> 00:42:54,610 S1: And it and I seize up and I'm really, really 733 00:42:54,610 --> 00:42:56,690 S1: busy and I can't, you know, what do you say 734 00:42:56,690 --> 00:42:57,570 S1: to that person? 735 00:42:57,930 --> 00:43:01,450 S2: Yeah. So I think that one of the things that 736 00:43:01,450 --> 00:43:05,330 S2: has helped some people that I've worked with is freeing 737 00:43:05,330 --> 00:43:07,730 S2: up what we think of as journaling. So for a 738 00:43:07,770 --> 00:43:10,930 S2: lot of us, we think of it as sentence upon sentence, 739 00:43:10,930 --> 00:43:14,210 S2: paragraph after paragraph of blank pages that we're filling up. 740 00:43:14,210 --> 00:43:16,530 S2: And it can be that, but it can also be 741 00:43:16,530 --> 00:43:20,610 S2: a list. It could be a sentence. It could be 742 00:43:20,810 --> 00:43:24,930 S2: something that you literally draw that has significance to you. 743 00:43:24,969 --> 00:43:26,490 S2: Not that you have to be an artist, but something 744 00:43:26,489 --> 00:43:29,410 S2: you doodle on a piece of paper that has significance 745 00:43:29,410 --> 00:43:33,009 S2: to you. There's so, so many ways to journal to 746 00:43:33,050 --> 00:43:35,490 S2: get your thoughts down. That doesn't just have to be, 747 00:43:35,730 --> 00:43:38,290 S2: you know, sentence after sentence. It can be short. It 748 00:43:38,290 --> 00:43:41,690 S2: can be simple. Um, one of my favorite ways to 749 00:43:41,730 --> 00:43:45,129 S2: journal is what, what you might be familiar with as a, 750 00:43:45,130 --> 00:43:47,969 S2: as a mind map. It's where you put one word 751 00:43:47,969 --> 00:43:49,529 S2: in the middle of the page, and then you just 752 00:43:49,530 --> 00:43:52,130 S2: write down all over the page around it, other words 753 00:43:52,130 --> 00:43:54,529 S2: that come to mind when you think of it, it's 754 00:43:54,530 --> 00:43:56,529 S2: kind of the way of turning the purse upside down 755 00:43:56,530 --> 00:43:59,800 S2: and seeing what's in your brain associated with that idea. 756 00:43:59,800 --> 00:44:03,560 S2: So there's so many creative ways to, to journal that 757 00:44:03,560 --> 00:44:07,359 S2: don't have to be the traditional way that a lot 758 00:44:07,400 --> 00:44:10,560 S2: of people think. Think of journaling as well. 759 00:44:10,560 --> 00:44:13,880 S1: And there's a, there's one letter in, in one of 760 00:44:13,880 --> 00:44:17,000 S1: the chapters that you wrote to your children. And my 761 00:44:17,080 --> 00:44:20,240 S1: guess is this started in your journal to my dear, 762 00:44:20,280 --> 00:44:25,040 S1: wildly precious children. This made it into the book, which 763 00:44:25,040 --> 00:44:27,759 S1: you don't. You didn't put everything that you that you 764 00:44:27,760 --> 00:44:30,120 S1: had in your journals in the book, but this did. 765 00:44:30,400 --> 00:44:32,800 S1: This can be another thing, you know, if you, you 766 00:44:32,840 --> 00:44:36,000 S1: send a letter to the people that who have hurt 767 00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:39,360 S1: you or you have hurt or confessions. Right? 768 00:44:39,400 --> 00:44:43,280 S2: Yeah, absolutely. And it's sometimes that is a really helpful 769 00:44:43,280 --> 00:44:47,200 S2: way to, um, journal is to think about it from 770 00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:49,960 S2: somebody else's perspective. And so as I was walking through 771 00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:53,240 S2: healing in that season, um, I thought I was thinking 772 00:44:53,239 --> 00:44:55,680 S2: a lot about my kids and how they experienced the 773 00:44:55,680 --> 00:44:58,480 S2: things that we were walking through and, um, and the 774 00:44:58,480 --> 00:45:01,120 S2: difficulty I'd had with my own mental health and how 775 00:45:01,120 --> 00:45:03,920 S2: that might have affected them. And um, and so writing 776 00:45:03,920 --> 00:45:08,200 S2: them that letter was both healing to, to kind of 777 00:45:08,239 --> 00:45:11,600 S2: make that confession to them that I was aware of, 778 00:45:11,600 --> 00:45:14,640 S2: of how it was affecting our family. Um, but it 779 00:45:14,640 --> 00:45:16,640 S2: also helped me not just think about it from my 780 00:45:16,640 --> 00:45:19,880 S2: own perspective, but to think about it from other people's too. Um, 781 00:45:19,880 --> 00:45:21,880 S2: which is, which was really healing for me. 782 00:45:22,840 --> 00:45:25,279 S1: Yeah. And when you go through that depression, it's so 783 00:45:25,280 --> 00:45:28,600 S1: easy just to, to see yourself and not be able 784 00:45:28,600 --> 00:45:32,640 S1: to open up like that. Um, you write journaling has 785 00:45:32,640 --> 00:45:35,200 S1: taught me that life is not a crisis to white 786 00:45:35,239 --> 00:45:39,040 S1: knuckle my way through, but is a gift to be 787 00:45:39,040 --> 00:45:43,120 S1: lived in God's good grip. As long as I viewed 788 00:45:43,120 --> 00:45:48,160 S1: life as a crisis, my circumstances would merely be obstacles 789 00:45:48,160 --> 00:45:51,759 S1: to the good life I wanted. And that's where you 790 00:45:51,800 --> 00:45:54,319 S1: got back to the place where you. God was kind 791 00:45:54,360 --> 00:45:58,000 S1: of whispering to you that read, even with his diagnosis. 792 00:45:58,000 --> 00:46:00,160 S1: And even though the hard road that you've had to 793 00:46:00,200 --> 00:46:03,520 S1: walk as a as a family, that it is hard. 794 00:46:04,040 --> 00:46:08,040 S1: It's still a gift. And I wanted Allison, I really 795 00:46:08,040 --> 00:46:10,680 S1: wanted to have you back on today. I'm so excited 796 00:46:10,880 --> 00:46:13,160 S1: that we can give this to listeners and make it 797 00:46:13,160 --> 00:46:16,360 S1: available to them. If you go to the website, Chris 798 00:46:16,400 --> 00:46:21,399 S1: Fabry live.org, you'll see journaling as a spiritual practice down 799 00:46:21,400 --> 00:46:24,640 S1: there at the beginning of the of the website, on 800 00:46:24,800 --> 00:46:30,600 S1: the home page. Chris fabry.org. Allison, you keep doing the 801 00:46:30,600 --> 00:46:33,080 S1: journal and come back and see us real soon, okay? 802 00:46:33,320 --> 00:46:34,800 S2: I'd love it. Thanks, Chris. 803 00:46:35,520 --> 00:46:41,200 S1: Allison Bixby BYXBE. Journaling is a spiritual practice featured resource 804 00:46:41,200 --> 00:46:45,839 S1: at Chris fabry.org. Our program is a production of Moody Radio, 805 00:46:45,880 --> 00:46:48,480 S1: a Ministry of Moody Bible Institute.