“Journaling is the LEAD DOMINO for my life and my finances!” – Dr. Randy Peck

“SEEK, and you will find” (Matthew 7:7b)

What did Jesus mean when he told his disciples to SEEK?
What is Jesus’ promising you will find when you SEEK?
What type of coaching will help you SEEK more deeply to experience breakthroughs?

Journaling is the LEAD DOMINO for my life and my finances. I first began keeping a written diary on February 26, 2001, 7 weeks after committing my life to Jesus Christ. On January 1, 2002, I began keeping a daily spiritual journal using a blank “My Utmost for His Highest” journal that I bought in the Family Christian Store in Fredericksburg Virginia.

During all of 2002 and 2003, I faithfully journaled every day using the P-R-E-S-S (Pray, Read, Examine, Summarize, Share) method I had learned about in my FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) Bible. Each morning I read the Bible and wrote down at least one scripture in my journal before reading Oswald Chambers’ message for that day. There were several days that the scripture I wrote down was the exact same one Oswald referred to in his message for that corresponding day. Clearly, the Holy Spirit was leading me on His path to a life of abundance.

As I journaled, wrote down my prayers, and reviewed these regularly, I began noticing many answers to my prayers. As I reviewed journal entries from previous days and weeks, I remembered what God had done. As this happened, my faith grew.

In the Fall of 2003, I listened to an 11 CD set by Rick Warren titled “Preaching for Life Change.” On one of the CD’s, Rick briefly (15-30 seconds) mentioned that he did online journaling. At that time, online journaling and “Quiet Time” seemed a contradiction to me. However, because I deeply respected the heart and accomplishments of Pastor Rick, I decided to give it a 30 day trial.

So on January 1, 2004, I officially bumped up my daily quiet time from 2 to 4 hours and began online journaling (using a wordprocessor). Boy was I surprised to discover that online journaling increased the effectiveness of journaling at least 10 fold. I now was able to cut and paste and do searches. I was able to take prayers, scriptures, life lessons, highlights, low points etc for each day and easily copy those to a page summarizing the month and another document for the year. 

This past week I began reading “The President Diaries: Ronald Reagan,” a book edited by Douglas Brinkley. I learned that President Reagan is one of only 5 U.S. presidents to keep a diary during his presidency. President Reagan first began keeping his diary on his Inauguration Day – January 20, 1981. He never missed a day journaling after that during his entire 8 year presidency except while he was in the hospital after being shot. In my opinion, President Reagan was our nation’s greatest President during my lifetime.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, thank You for my daily habit of journaling. Thank You for the reflection and revelation that comes from that. I pray that you will bless my readers with the habit of journaling to experience the wonder of You. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

Link of the Day
Red’s Story – a true and inspiring story about a dog  [see below]

Blessings to seek and find!

——————–

Lara Moody  (Red’s Story)
City Sun Newspaper

“Lay hands on that dog and pray,” I heard God tell me.

The German Shepherd, almost entirely hairless, malnourished beyond belief, with sad, sad eyes, certainly needed prayer.

I squished my hand through the pen at the shelter, touched the poor old guy, and prayed.

“Go inside the pen and lay hands on the dog,” God interrupted me.

Although reluctant to get too close to this dog that was scheduled for euthanization, I obeyed God anyway.

The dog hunkered down for prayer and petting as soon as I entered the pen, and I immediately sensed in him a desire to live, not die.

“I’m taking him with me,” I told the shelter staff. “I’ll find somewhere for him to go.”

Since I already had plans for the day, I took my new friend with me. As I stood on a sidewalk in Savannah hours later with the dog in tow, I noticed the shock, and disbelief, of those who walked by and saw him.

“I took him from a shelter so he wouldn’t be euthanized,” I told the strangers who stopped to ask about the horrible condition of the dog.

One stranger stood out above the others. Like the dog, he, too, was homeless. Dressed in dirty clothes, with a scraggly beard and a tiny knapsack with his life’s possessions, he stopped to talk to me.

“I used to raise dogs myself,” he told me. I noticed his eyes, clear as could be. I focused on those eyes, full of something I could not at the time name. “I’ve rescued dogs, too,” he said.

“Do you know about the church I go to?” I asked the man, who was more concerned with the dog’s homelessness than his own. “I’m going to church tonight, and the homeless are very welcome. This church, my pastor says, isn’t for the elite. It’s for the streets. We’d love to have you.”

Never in a million years did I expect to ever see the man again, nor was I sure why I invited him to church.

“My name is Red,” he shared with me, and after he left I knew my homeless four-legged companion had a new name. Red.

I realized when I drove to church that night that I had not thought to arrange a ride for the homeless man. The church was a long ways from the sidewalk where I had met the man.

But Red the man, who had been so moved by Red the dog, knew where he wanted to be that night. When I saw him arrive at church that night in his dirty clothes, with his scraggly beard, those clear as day eyes, and all his life’s possessions, I was moved to tears. I gave him a hug.

“Red, I named the dog after you,” I told him.

Red took out a harmonica and played with the choir while Red the dog sat in my truck and waited for me.

“I have to leave now,” Red said half-way through the service. “I’m going down to stay at the river.”

“Do you have something warm to wear?” I asked.

“This,” he said, pointing to his sweatshirt.

“Come to my truck,” I said. “I have a jacket for you.”

Outside the church, Red shared his story.

“I was shot in Vietnam,” he said, “But God saved my life so I could see my wife again. Then one morning, my wife was drunk and got in the car with my kids. I never saw them again.”

I was speechless, and I thank God for what followed.

“I have so much sorrow, and so much sadness,” Red confessed. “Today, I thought I might jump in the river and kill myself.”

“When I was walking down the street, God told me to turn around and come and talk to you,” he revealed.

God never ceases to amaze me.

“And never did I think the answer to my sorrow would come in the form of a mangy dog,” Red finished.

“I love you,” I told Red the homeless man.

“I love you, too,” he replied simply. He had hope again.

I cannot imagine the last time Red must have heard the words, nor did I realize until later that night the whole of what God had done.

Years ago, living a life of sin and destruction, I had decided to take my own life. God had saved it.

A decision had been made to take the life of Red the dog. God had saved it.

The homeless man had thought to take his life the day I met Red the dog. God had saved it.

Three lives saved, and I pray that God would use our story to save even more. 

PUBLISHED ORIGINALLY IN THE CITY SUN, SOUTH CAROLINA, march 2006, please call 843-757-9507 for copyright information.