My Journaling Life: 2016

Monday, September 19, 2016

John 16:2: Is this a verse about terrorism today?

Lord, I started to look at cross-references on Matthew 24, a chapter on Bible prophecy. [In fact, check out the previous journal entries today on verses about Bible Prophecy.]

And, look at the one I just found:

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John 16:2 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
2 They will ban you from the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

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Today is the day where arrests have been made after three states were impacted by terror over the weekend (New Jersey, Minnesota, and New York).

John 16:2, in the second half, from "in fact" on, this describes what the terrorist Jihadists think. They think they are killing all infidels in the name of Allah, their god. Furthermore, they think they will be rewarded for doing so.

Did this verse talk about today's age?

Did Jesus Christ, in John 16:2, refer to the Islamic terrorists of today?

I am going to study this verse now.

Here is a place to read several commentaries on this verse:

http://biblehub.com/commentaries/john/16-2.htm

It's hard fining more information on this subject. Ugh.

I will continue to try to dive into this verse.

#BibleProphecy

This journaling blog: What more to expect

I will journal about every day life here in this journaling blog.

What else will I share on this blog? I'll share my reading, studying, journaling, and praying through the Word of God, the Holy Bible.

The prophecies of the Bible is another topic I will address. given everything going on in this world, it's a good idea to focus on one-quarter of the Bible a lot of us do not know much about, if we were to be honest (myself included).

Furthermore, I will capture my life on the page in this journaling, which I will publish on this blog.

So, stay tuned.

A new journaling entry series

I am going to start a new focus or theme within my journaling. It will be a series of journaling entries, which I turn into blog entries, which will one day be turned into my spiritual memoir. This is where it all starts.

The title of this series is:

"How Going Against the World Has Brought Me Great Joy and Blessing: A spiritual memoir written through journal entries"

It has been a while

It has been a while since I wrote specifically on this blog of, http://myjournalinglife.blogspot.com, which is My Journaling Life.

The truth is, I am not sure why I stopped writing in this blog. I know that I included it in my main writing blog, http://rypstories.blogspot.com, RYP Stories (RYP stands for: Remembering Your Present). Is that why I stopped writing here?

Well, I have decided to blog here mainly now. I will also put this blog on RYP Stories from time to time, but this will also be my new main blog.

I will journal more and add it here in a bit. Stay tuned.

Monday, July 4, 2016

Happy July 4th

Freedom does not come free.

Nor does it just happen.

You cannot just wish for freedom.

It takes sacrifice to be truly free.

Freedom costs.

Thank you for those who have truly sacrificed for my freedom. For our nation's freedom. May it never be in vain.

While this holiday has come to mean a time of parties, grilling, and fireworks, please take some time to remember that freedom costs. Take a few minutes today to take it as serious as it really is. It costs. It does not just happen. And for us to remain free, it costs. Until we remember this each day, we shall never be truly free again. Freedom is not a handout or wishful thinking. It takes intentionality. Be intentional in recognizing how freedom requires a cost. Remember this every day.

Saturday, July 2, 2016

When I take things for granted

WHEN I TAKE THINGS FOR GRANTED

Journaling helps me look seriously within.

I learned long ago that journaling can be quite uncomfortable at times and can hurt deeply at other times.

Goodness, that sounds awful. So, why in the world would anyone want to torment themselves and journal? And, who would be insane enough to do it for over thirty-three years?

I cannot help but get a smile on my face. You know, the smile you get when you know a secret others might not know. However, I will let you in on the secret.

I used to stop journaling when things got uncomfortable. I would wait a couple of hours and then try to journal again. I only wanted to journal what made me feel comfortable. This was a big mistake.

The biggest mistake, however, was how when life and journaling got too painful, I would stop journaling for days and sometimes weeks... and a few times for months. This was a major no-no. I know that now.

Here is what I know:

Life is never fair. It never has been and never will be.

Most of life is uncomfortable.

And, a great deal of life is painful.

If we are going to avoid thinking, discussing, or journaling through the challenges of life, the uncomfortable times, the seemingly unfair times, and certainly the painful times, then guess what? We will stop living. Moreover, our journaling would be a lie and only of the happy moments. We would live in denial and would live and journal a fake life... a untrue life... a rose-colored glasses life... and a lie...

The only way to deal with anything that brings us discomfort or pain is to deal with it so it does not deal with us.

Let me rephrase that.

We must deal with the yuck or life or it will deal with us.

Who has intelligence? The situation or us?

The answer is simple and obvious. We are the ones with intelligence. If this is true, and it is, why would we allow any situation to deal with us? Don't we have the capacity to deal with the yuck, with the stuff?

When we journal through and about everything, we become healthy individuals. Healthy physically, emotionally, mentally, socially, financially, and spiritually. This is the sweet nature of journaling.

When we deal with our stuff through journaling, we eliminate excess baggage in our lives. Then, without that extra weight, we free ourselves for more good in our lives. We free ourselves so we can hear God more clearly. We free ourselves so we can offer more to our family, friends, and work.

This is the beauty of journaling.

This is what makes journaling so sacred.

This is why everyone should journal. And, this is the reason why I should journal full-time. I want o keep my life free, and leave more room, for blessings in my life. I do not want to be weighted down with my stuff. I want to live a sacred life, not one that is bogged down by excess baggage. I want to live a life of blessing, not of stuff I have not dealt with fully.

(Photo and image credit: Stacy Duplease and Remembering Your Present, LLC 2016.)

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Morning journaling: Bible verses to contemplate, pray, and journal each day

Thursday, June 30, 2016, 554 a.m.

MY LIFE VERSES

Psalm 9:1-2 (MSG)

1 I'm thanking you, God, from a full heart,

I'm writing the book on your wonders.

2 I'm whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy;

I'm singing your song, High God.

The Message (MSG)

MORNING VERSES

Philippians 4:6-14 The Message (MSG)

6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

8-9 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

10-14 I’m glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess—happy that you’re again showing such strong concern for me. Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me. You just had no chance to show it. Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. I don’t mean that your help didn’t mean a lot to me—it did. It was a beautiful thing that you came alongside me in my troubles.

The Message (MSG)

Psalm 5:3 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

3 At daybreak, Lord, You hear my voice;

at daybreak I plead my case to You and watch expectantly.

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Psalm 63:1 New Living Translation (NLT)

1 O God, you are my God;

I earnestly search for you.

My soul thirsts for you;

my whole body longs for you

in this parched and weary land

where there is no water.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Philippians 4:13 New King James Version (NKJV)

13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

New King James Version (NKJV)

Psalm 19:14 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

Be acceptable in Your sight,

O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

(Photo and image credit: Stacy Duplease and Remembering Your Present, LLC 2016.)

Journaling the small stuff to the big stuff: Journal about everything and as much as possible

JOURNAL ABOUT EVERYTHING AND JOURNAL AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE

2016-06-29 09:39:19

I learned long ago how important it is not to censor my journaling. What I mean here is how it is important to journal everything: the small stuff, the big stuff, and everything in-between. After all, I have noticed through the years that it is in the seemingly small, petty, insignificant stuff that I find the most meaning. At the time, it might seem all those things, but later, they mean the most, in other words.

Also, it is the small stuff that most often leads to the big A-HA! moments.

Yes. In the grocery and to do lists. In the rattling off what I did that day. In the silly moments. In the small details... It is in these things that great meaning often comes to the foreground.

It is also the smaller parts that lead to great meaning later (as I said a moment ago).

A rule of thumb I learned long ago is to journal everything. What has meaning now will not have much meaning later and the things that do not mean much will mean a great deal later. Everything has its season. And, that constantly changes.

I journal about everything and I journal as much as possible. The more I journal, the more material I have for later to review and see the beauty of life. I can see God's work in my life, through my life, and around my life, when I review my journaling later. I can also see patterns in my life later. I also can see more blessings later when I read my journaling again.

God does not waste anything. Every moment and every detail counts. They are sacred.

This is why I journal. This is also why I journal about everything and I journal as much as possible. It adds color to my life--now and later.

(Photo and image credit: Stacy Duplease and Remembering Your Present, LLC 2009-2016.)

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Wednesday journaling: Morning prayer, failure, my journaling delight, and my appreciation for times of storm

Wednesday, June 28, 2016, 740 a.m.

MORNING PRAYER AND JOURNALING

Lord, again, I say good morning and thank you for this day. Please help me use it to draw ever closer to you. I just want to bring you the glory. Use me. May every word I think, say, and journal be pleasing to you and be of you. Abba, help me not waste one moment. Not one second. I want to intentionally be with You and focus on you and your Word. Help me stay focused and not get sidetracked. I want to bring you glory. Help me, Father, to look all around and see all of the blessings of each moment today. Help me not miss one blessing. I want to enjoy you and life to the fullest today because it is you who created me and gave me my life. You are amazing and are wonderful. You make me full of wonder. To You, my Creator, be all the glory, honor, and praise today and in every moment today.

HAVE I FAILED?

Just because what I have done has not worked out, it does not mean I have failed. I am referring to my writing and journaling here, by the way. It has been seven years and my writing has been all over the map. I have tried writing hundreds of projects. Literally. I have tried most genres of writing. I have spent all sorts of time not committing. But, have I failed?

No. I have not failed. I have given it my all. I have tried my hardest. For the most part, that is. Of course, I could have always tried even harder. Things just have not worked out with my writing.

But, it has not been in vain. I have been honing my skills, which is not lost. This is critical. It has helped me form my voice.

Moreover, my all over the place writing has helped me figure out what I really should write. Also, of my writing, I have several blog posts and journaling entries that could lead to something one day. Who knows.

I do not regret any writing I have done. I just wished I would have stayed committed to writing one style, one genre, one piece.

MY JOURNALING DELIGHT: APPRECIATING EVERY MOMENT, INCLUDING TIMES OF CHALLENGE AND STORM

I have written a great deal about journaling. I have done far more journaling. So, why not journal full-time and share the story of my journaling life and my life of faith? Isn't this the very best I can do? Isn't this what would bring me the most delight?

I have gone through a great deal in my life. I have had my share of storms and challenges. I may only be in my early forties, but when I was in my early thirties, my eighty year old grandmother said that I had gone through then what few people go through in their entire lifetime. Do I bemoan my storms? No. Do I regret them? No. Do I wish things were different? No. Truly. They have made me who I am. They have given me a strong faith. They have blessed me beyond belief.

Hence, I realize I should journal about this and share these stories and how I can say, "Thank God for every moment of my life, past, present, and future..." and I truly mean it.

I can count an infinite number of blessings in every moment, particularly during times of storm and challenge. I should journal and share how I got to this point.

Journaling is my delight because it has helped me appreciate every moment I have lived, am living, and will live. This is what I will share.

(Photo and image credit: Stacy Duplease and Remembering Your Present, LLC 2016.)

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Starting over: Finding my way

I'm starting over.

Written: 2016-06-28 12:31:53

STARTING OVER: WHO I AM

I have decided to start over with several facets in my life. Between my journaling, writing, and life of faith, I have decided to hit the reset button and reboot those three facets. The old way worked for a while, but it is time to try again.

The truth is, the old way might work for a day or two, or even a week or two, and if I was lucky, a month or two. But, it did not work beyond that for whatever reason.

I have tried to find my way with my writing for over seven years now and I keep crashing and burning. It seems my journaling, writing, and life of faith each have multiple lives, much like a cat. This has been a great benefit to me, but maybe it is time to pull on my big girl pants and write what I am meant to write.

I was created to be a journal keeper. I have no doubt about that. Journaling is far more than a hobby to me. It is a way of life. It's also more than that. It is who I am. After all, I have been a journal keeper since I was 8 years old. Hence, let me do the math, I have been journaling for over thirty-three years now.

I have journaled every day since 2001 and have journaled at least five pages a day since 2009.

So, you see, journaling is written into the code of my DNA at this point. It is written on the tablet of my mind and heart as well. Needless to say, I said it a moment ago and I will say it again. I AM a journal keeper. It is what defines me. It gives my life meaning and is I think why I live. (Of course, I'm saying all of this apart from my life of faith. I am talking life as a whole. My worldly life.)

Now, with taking my life of faith into account, I must say that I have no doubt whatsoever that the Creator made me to be a journal keeper. Nothing brings me more pleasure, more joy, more peace, more serenity, more rest, more contentment, more purpose than a life of journaling. The Lord made me a journal keeper pure and simple.

If there was one activity I HAD to do each day, apart from the normal life functions (eating, sleeping, breathing, etc.), journaling is it. If I do not journal in a day, or fail to journal enough, I start to feel restless inside and like something is missing, then I become stressed, then I become flat-dab cranky until I journal again. As a matter of fact, I have even felt sick because I did not journal. (Huh. That almost sounds like withdrawal symptoms.)

Is it fair to say I depend on my journaling?

You bet it is fair to say that. It is absolutely true.

YOU

Now, before I continue, let me share who "You" is (pardon the horrendous grammar there).

I journal to a three-part audience:

1) The one who dares read this journal (I say dare because I certainly do not want to bore you to death),

2) My Creator, and

3) My future self.

That's who "you" is for the most part when I journal.

I AM GOING TO TRY TO STOP FIGHTING IT

I am going to try to stop fighting it and stop trying to write everything that sounds good to me. In attempting to write everything I feel passionate about, or curious about, or drawn to, I have not gotten much writing done at all. I might spend at least sixty hours a week writing for the last seven years, but I really do not have much to show for it. Notice how well you know my name, Stacy Duplease. You don't, so that proves that I may have written a lot, but it sure has not been very productive at all.

Sigh.

Therefore, I am going to stop trying to fight it, and do what I was made to do. I'm going to journal about my life of faith.

Yes. This a blog called, "My Journaling Life," after all--and that's precisely what I intend on doing. I will share the story of my life as a journal keeper and as a woman of faith.

I will talk about my life as a journal keeper and as a woman of faith in the past, present, and future points-of-view since I have thirty-three years to draw from of my journaling life and the over four decades of my life of faith.

I will share how I spend time with my Maker each day and share our love story.

I will also share about life in general and might even get into a discussion about politics from time to time.

No. This blog is not for wimps. (Wink.)

I am a Child of God, journal keeper, writer, blogger, wife, mom of two cats and two RES turtles, daughter, patriot, supporter of the U.S. military, gun supporter, Bible reading, prayer warrior, follower of the news, coffee lover, reader, walker, and whose family has been in the U.S. since 1607. Also, I can trace my family to Charlemagne, Nero, Joseph of Arimathea, and Adam.

And, this is my journaling life.

(Photo and Image Credit: Stacy Duplease and Remembering Your Present, LLC 2009-2016.)