The Thriving Christian Artist
The Thriving Christian Artist
226 - 5-Minute Mentoring: Pondering with Purpose: A Primer on Journaling
Have you ever thought about starting a journal but didn’t know where to start or even if it's worth your time? Well, if there is one practice in my life that has made the biggest difference in my relationship with the Lord and my ability to grow artistically, it has been journaling.
In my blog and today’s episode of 5-Minute Mentoring, I’ll be cracking open my journals to help you get started as I reveal how this simple practice can revolutionize your creative and spiritual journey.
Please Note: The registration for the conference mentioned in this episode is closed. You can find all of our current resources at: https://www.matttommeymentoring.com/resources.html
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Have you been thinking about starting a journal but just don't know where to get started? A lot of people have that question. I'm going to answer that today and give you some real tips on how you can start journaling your thoughts, journaling your sketches, and really making that a huge part of your creative process here today on 5-Minute Mentoring.
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SPEAKER_01:Have you ever wanted to have someone in your life who you could ask real questions about your art, your business, and even your walk with the Lord? Well, that's exactly what we do every Friday here on Five Minute Mentoring, where I answer one question from one of my awesome podcast listeners in order to help you start really thriving as the artist you know God created you to be. Well, hey there, my friend. I'm so glad that you're with me today here on 5-Minute Mentoring. You know, one of the questions I get a lot from people is, Matt, you talk a lot about journaling like it's this big part of your life. What are you actually doing? Like, what are you actually putting in there? Actually, I got this question the other day from one of my podcast listeners, Myra. Here's how she asked the question.
SPEAKER_00:Good evening, Matt. In your five-part masterclass series, you talked about journaling, that you journal in the mornings. I've seen a lot of art journals, but mostly it's just sketching and drawing in journals. And other journals, it's just writing. I'm wondering, what exactly do you put in your journals?
SPEAKER_01:Hey, thanks a lot, Myra. I appreciate you listening. I appreciate you taking time to ask the question for me to answer here on the podcast. And so for all of you that are out there wondering, what do you put in a journal as an artist? The easy question is whatever you want. I don't know that there's a right or wrong way. Actually, years ago, I started journaling as a part of my spiritual processing with the Lord. And it really just kind of started as me writing prayers If I had a dream, I would write that down. Inspiration, quotes that meant a lot to me. Just really no rules, just kind of writing, allowing the creative flow of my brain and of the Holy Spirit to kind of flow through me in my quiet time with the Lord in the mornings primarily, and sometimes before I would go to bed. I know a lot of people carry journals with them, sketchbooks with them, and that sort of thing. For me, when I talk about journaling, I'm talking about a journal that I use primarily in my mornings and evenings with the Lord. So I would say primarily they've got prayers in there. They've got inspirations, things that I've come across during the day, things that the Lord's speaking to me, scripture verses. Sometimes I'll write dreams. If I have dreams, I'll actually write down the dream that I had. And of course, I date every entry so I can kind of follow that. If I have prophetic words, you know, that somebody like my wife and I, for example, just went for some prophetic ministry the other day, and they just really were a big encouragement to us. And so I came back and I journaled about that. And I wrote down some of the scriptures that they were talking about. And it just, you know, really encouraged me along the way. The other thing that I try to not be really, you know, too guarded with is my creative inspiration. And so if I'm in that time, in the mornings and I've got an idea that hits me for a new piece that I'm working on or a new concept creatively or whatever, I'll just tear off and start sketching right there on the page. It's not something that I'm trying to say, oh, no, this is my sketch journal, so I can't write in this. And this is my writing journal, so I can't sketch in that. It's my journal. I don't care. So I just sketch and I do whatever I want to in their kind of stream of consciousness. That seems to be most natural. for me and allows me to just kind of get the thought out initially. Because I think the thing that is so important for all of us artists is that when ideas come, when inspiration strikes, that we do something to record it. It may not be exactly in the place that you want, but you get it down. You can always transfer it somewhere else or continue working on the idea in a place that makes more sense for you. The other thing that I would say that's been really helpful for me over the years is that I have these sort of marker codes, if you will. And this is like lines and scratches and dots. This is not anything fancy, y'all. This is just very rudimentary. But for me, it's kind of a little language. I can go back and I can look at goals that I set in my journal. I can go back and look for specific markings that I mark. where I feel like the Lord was speaking directly to me. If there are prophetic words or promises that I feel like he's given me or things he's shown me, I mark those so that from time to time, I'll go back and I'll just say, wow, look at what God did. Or when did I get that idea about so-and-so? I can just kind of go back and flip and I can see easily through color or through line or through dots or through whatever it is. I know some people will in their journal, if they feel like God's given them something, and they'll write it in red, you know, like red letters in the Bible, or I write typically in blue. So if I want something to stand out, you know, I'll mark it in black or I'll put a dot or I'll draw a line down the side or something, anything just to get my attention on that. But again, the whole focus of a journal is not for anybody else to ever see it. It's for you. And so do what works for you. Now, I do have a, I will say this, I do have a sketch journal as well, kind of a sketchbook that stays with me in the studio that's more of a working sketchbook where I'm trying to work out ideas and that sort of thing. And that's more of your traditional artist sketchbook where you're kind of, again, working through ideas, working through concepts, colors, sizes, connections, the way things would work. But in general, my journal is my working prayer journal that sometimes I might sketch in, but it's mostly for prayer and for inspiration and for dreams and all that kind of thing. Listen, if there's one practice in my life that's made them I think one of the biggest differences in my relationship with the Lord and my ability to stay moving forward it's been journaling and I hope you'll go get you a great one you know go to Barnes and Noble go to wherever you go to get journals you know I actually have an artist here in town now that makes handmade journals and I buy a couple of them at a time from her they all match I love that they're all kind of luscious they're beautiful they are expensive you You know, they're like$60 or$70 a piece, but I use them for almost a year. And so, because they've got a lot of pages in them, beautiful covers. She lets me pick the covers and pick the colors and all that kind of stuff. And again, that's just kind of one of the things that I love to do to kind of treat myself and enjoy the process even more. All right. Hey, listen, if you're a journaler or you're going to start journaling, let me know. Be sure to subscribe and review the podcast. Let me know there. Also, if you love this episode, and you are a journaler, take a picture of your journal and put it on Instagram and tag me at the Thriving Christian Artist. I would love to see what your journal looks like and how you're using this practice in your spiritual and creative journey. All right. Until next time, my friend, I love you very much and I hope you have a great day. Remember, you were created to thrive. All right. Bye-bye. Hey, my friend, before we go, I wanted to let you know it's still not too late to get your ticket for the Thriving Christian Artist Conference. There's no other conference for Christian artists in the world that helps you thrive spiritually, artistically, and in the business world. Listen, we're talking about all the things that you want to talk about, how to find your clients, how to grow on social media, how to overcome that stinking thinking that you've been dealing with and really thrive as the artist that God's called you to be. We're going to be talking about how to do things like license your art, how to run Facebook ads, how to build wealth with God, how to overcome all the strides that you may feel like you're trying to work through in your life and actually flow with the grace of God as you grow your art business. Listen, this is going to be such a practical, incredible weekend together. It's virtual. No matter where you are in the world, you can join. It's going to be 11 to 6, Friday and Saturday, March 5th and 6th, 2021, online via Zoom. Anybody can join. And yes, when you register, you get the replays. You'll have access to the recording. So even if you can't make it live, you can still have the recordings. All right. Listen, don't put this off any longer. Join us for the Thriving Christian Artists Conference. Click the link that's in the show notes, get your ticket and make plans to join us now. All right. I hope to see you there. Bye.