See how God took a typical nonchalant girl and matured her into a young woman who does not take the word "whatever" lightly. Get a realistic view on the life of a Christian. Her journal is now your journal.
Excerpt
Sometimes, I find myself using the nonchalant expression, “Whatever!”
I say it when I am frustrated, upset, or when I feel like just giving up on life.
I realize that this expression reflects my negative thinking, and it has an impact on some of my actions. I want to keep my mind positive so that my actions will be positive. I prayed and asked God to help me accomplish this.
So, I found a bible verse that would motivate me to think good thoughts.
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“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.”
~Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
This bible verse helps me to focus on excellence so that my mind stays positive. Not to mention, the word whatever appears more than once to put infuses on the things that God wants me to focus on. Whatever is a very important word, and it should not be used as a nonchalant (careless) expression.
There may be times when you feel like giving up on yourself. There may be times when you
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believe that your life is not important. Think about the things that are mentioned in Philippians 4:8. You will begin to see how good life is and how lovely you are, because that is how God intends for it to be. He loves you so much, and He wants nothing but excellence for you. So, instead of saying, “I don’t care anymore! Whatever!” Start saying, “God, it’s all about you; whatever you want!”
Whatever I felt like writing, I wrote about it. When I was excited, I wrote about it. When I was in a bad mood, I wrote about it. For me, writing was most creative way for me to express myself whenever I did not want to talk.
I began to keep a journal at ten years old when I was homeschooled. My mom made me
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keep a journal to record all of my daily activities. I had to keep record of all of the subjects I was studying for each day.
I had to write down the time and duration in which I studied. I even went as far as writing about what I had for lunch each day and my least favorite thing about it. Sounds silly? Keeping a journal was important to me.
When I turned twenty-one, I continued to write journal entries. At this age, writing a journal was more than just recording my daily activities. I began writing long-term and short-term goals for myself. I did not just write simple phrases like get married or write a book. I was very specific about my goals and what I wanted to accomplish.
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I got married when I turned twenty-five. This was one of the long-term goals I had written in my journal. Another one of my goals was to write a book of life scenarios about everyday people and decision making. I am proud to announce that I have co-authored my first book of life scenarios titled You Decide.
Do you see why keeping a journal is so important to me? I have learned so much about myself just by keeping a journal. Aside from recording all of my daily activities and goals, I also kept a personal journal of my prayers to God. That was our relationship; intimate and interesting.
After writing down all of my prayers, weeks later, I would browse through my journal entries
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