I'm frequently asked, So what kind of words can we write in each other’s journals? With that question in mind I offer the following suggestions to you.   

Words About Everyday Moments

    I often write in my journal or the children’s journals about things they have said or experiences we have shared together. When you’re with the kids all day long (like many of us homeschool moms are), every hour can be filled with someone's life story just begging to be written down. Oh, for the time to capture them all!

Words of Encouragement

    Life is busy and the demands that are placed upon family members can be overwhelming at times. When I’m really tired, just hearing “Thank you, Mom!” can lift my spirits and give me the strength I need to carry on. There are many opportunities to encourage one another with Scripture or words from our hearts on a regular basis. Let's not turn back from giving them freely to our loved ones. When we sustain the weary one with a word we also are sustained. “The Lord God has given me the tongue of disciples that I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple. The Lord was opened My ear; and I was not disobedient, Nor did I turn back.” (Isaiah 50:4-5 NASB)                                                                                                     

Words of Blessing

    When you record the hand of the Lord in your children’s lives you show them how real and personal He is - the God who is intimately acquainted with all their ways. You can impart this blessing to your children frequently and give them a living record of God’s faithfulness, and in doing so you will enable them to remember what God has done and preserve their spiritual heritage now and for future generations.

Words of Healing

    At the heart of relationships are words - words expressed or waiting to be expressed. The words that give life, love, and encouragement are the words we give without regret, but sometimes our words are anything but life-giving. When we say the wrong thing and our child’s countenance falls, how can we restore the relationship? Besides saying “I’m sorry,” a written apology can heal deep wounds and be a powerful reminder of God’s grace.

    Lately, as I've been transcribing one of my children's life stories or entering a word of encouragement in their journal, I’ve wondered how I can convey the joy I feel when I know that I am connecting with each one of them in such a profound way. I used to think journaling was an option, but I'm not so sure anymore. If there’s no record of your family’s walk with the Lord, what do your children have when they leave home to start families of their own? Memories only! What does the next generation have? A few impressions of their godly  heritage, that’s all! When I pondered this question these words came to me in the form of a poem.

No Words −By Jill Novak
I had a family but I kept no words

To describe the way their faces looked

Or the way they used to call my name.

I try to remember but it’s all so vague

My mind is old and cannot see

Beyond the veiled tapestry

The life I know I must have lived

Beyond recall and ever dim.

I ask myself, how can this be?
Oh, memory, how you fail me.