For the last 30 days, I've been using the Thriving in Motherhood Journal. Before this personal challenge, I would use it about once a week when things were hard and noticed a nice lift to my week. But as this year has continued to surprise us I started to flounder and wanted to see what impact the journal would have in my life. 

In this week's episode, I'll share some of the logistics and tips for using the journal, the impact it had on my life, and my invitation for you to give it a try for yourself. 

You may be wondering what it actually took for me to stick to my 30-day challenge. Here are some things that I found helpful:

• Have a pen ready

• Have multiple windows of when you will use the journal and put it in the next likely spot (next to your bed, office, kitchen, etc.)

• Be flexible with morning or night (or both).

• Pick it back up when you miss a day.

• Don’t pressure yourself to answer every question. Pick the relevant ones for that day and leave the rest.

• Don’t worry about keeping the daily and weekly pages perfectly ordered.

When I started this challenge, I was floundering. We’ve had a hard year on lots of levels - health, jobs, lots of things going on, kids struggling with different things (including surgery), and the unexpected keeps popping up. I have felt exhausted.

Here are some of the positive impacts I noticed during my 30-day challenge:

• Using the journal has empowered me through this season. I’ve been surprised at how much joy I have felt in the last 30 days.

• I’ve been able to parent better, more consistently, and more confidently instead of pulling into myself and surviving through the hard days. 

• I’ve processed some hard emotions/situations so I could truly find peace and let go.

• I did a lot more service outside of my home in 30 days than I did all year. Small ways, like helping return a grocery cart and carry food out to the car, and bigger things too. 

• I captured many magic moments during the last 30 days and now my days are full of them.

• My health wasn’t great during this window but when I did my monthly review I discovered a miraculous amount of things got accomplished. I attribute this to the power of having the vision in my Thriving in Motherhood Planner and asking the daily questions in the journal about the next three steps for my priorities that week.

• I got rid of mom guilt which normally rears its ugly head during hard survival times with the question, “What would help me feel successful today?” This question allowed me to pivot to what mattered most each day.

• I have struggled with anxiety about facing the next day in the past and fret at night about what is to come, especially when I’m sleep-deprived. But this journaling process helped me live more in the moment each day and ending the day with magic moments, gratitude, big wins, and God’s involvement in my life made a big difference.

• This process led me to naturally have a better routine before bed and get rid of tech when I was journaling.

I’d like to extend an invitation to you to pull out your Thriving in Motherhood Journal (or get yours today) and commit to 30 days of journaling. Watch and see the difference it makes in your life.

If you've already been using the journal, I would really appreciate it if you left a review on Amazon to help other moms find it and see if it would be a good fit for them. And as a special bonus, if you leave a review on Amazon, you’ll be entered to win a 2024 coil-bound Thriving in Motherhood Planner! 

There are some amazing bonuses you can claim when you purchase the journal to help you get the most out of it so don’t wait to get yours!