When I begin journaling in primary school, my typical entry often read like this:

Today it was very sunny. I played outside with my friends. Then I came home and ate dinner. I watched the New York Yankees play. Derek Jeter is so handsome! Well, I have to sleep now. I will write tomorrow. Goodnight!

Weather, food, and Derek Jeter. Those were the three magic ingredients to a comprehensive entry. While the contents of my entries now are a far cry from those of 18 years ago, I'm just as dedicated to continuing the habit of writing/journaling and I'd like to give you a glimpse of some of my past and current notebooks.

The go-to notebook

This Moleskine is my current go-to notebook. It is the first thing I turn to for writing down monthly/quarterly goals, the knowledge I've gleaned from studying the Bible, prayers (and recording God's faithfulness when He answers them!), significant dreams, conversations with people, Morning Pages, lyrics, and meeting notes. These pages also hold flower petals, leaves, tickets, and even the saltiest of teardrops. This Moleskine has my back.

The notebook of phrases

Though small in dimension (3.5-by-4.5-inches), this notebook holds words of immense insight, challenge, and conviction. During my sophomore year in college, I collected phrases from My Utmost for His Highest, a daily devotional by Oswald Chambers.

The testament notebook

This notebook has lived alongside my fight for joy that seemed out of reach, malicious nightmares, countless trips to urgent care and the emergency room, grief for deaths in the community, and an unexpected diagnosis for my knee. Yet this notebook is a testament to God's faithful presence and the new meaning that Habakkuk 3:17-19 now has for me. "...yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength..." (v. 18-19).

The notebook of quotes

For years I used to write quotes in go-to notebooks but later learned this modus operandi proved to be inefficient when I would sometimes go through two or three notebooks to find a quote. I keep quotes in stitched notebooks now. Their lay flat binding and illustrations on canvas-textured covers easily win my heart!