A New Plan: Exciting News about Journaling Books

I have started to use these three books again in my own personal journaling, but realize they are woefully inadequate for my journaling needs. Although, they are fabulous for days I do not have the time, or the inclination to journal on multiple pages. I just have too much to say and there is not enough room in all three combined for my daily journaling. I will continue to use them, but I also want another resource--and that is where my story and explanation begin.

What's that saying? We make plans, God laughs.Well, this is no exception. 

Pardon me while I babble. I am so excited that words are hard to come by; consequently, I do not think I will be able to fully convey what I am really trying to say at the moment. I will try to explain this more tomorrow. Here goes nothing as I try to explain and tell you the exciting news.

I realized something yesterday and that was how I wanted paper copies of my journaling, bound in a book, so it's easier to carry and for review. I want to look on my bookcases and see my journaling there. Furthermore, I want to carry around four months of journaling with me. I want the feeling of a book in my hands, but not a hardcover book. I want it like a regular softcover paper book. It's less bulky and heavy that way. Moreover, I want a journaling template or form to use. Hence, this is another case of I am going to write and publish what I want and I bet you'll discover it is something you want as well. 

Also, I want to be able to keep my to do list and daily plans in my journal as well, so I need more, and am expecting more, out of my journaling. 

I started yesterday to write: "The 4-Month, 3-Pages Per Day Remembering Your Present Journal" and it is my goal to write it and publish it by Christmas so I/we can start using it at the beginning of the year (or any time we want since the pages/days are not dated). 

THE 3 BOOKS IN THE PHOTO AT THE TOP 

The 3 books in the photo at the beginning of this blog post are of my journaling books for you to use for 1-year, 5-years, and 10-years. Their titles are:

1 "The 1-Year Remembering Your Present Journal"
2 "The 5-Year Remembering Your Present Journal"

3 "The 10-Year Remembering Your Present Journal"

I use all three at once, but you can also use just one.

They are a wonderful way to journal. You'll get a great deal out of them if you want more of a guided journal. (Although, you can also ignore what it says and journal anything you want, which is what I do sometimes.) They are a wonderful way to capture your life on the page. 

You can find these three books here:
http://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=stacy+duplease+&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Astacy+duplease+ 

I will write more of an explanation tomorrow.

38 Days of Counting Our Blessings: A Thanksgiving Journaling Challenge and Journaling Prompt

Thanksgiving 2015 is in 38 days and I cannot help but think how it's that time. It's time to start counting our blessings. What do you think?
What are you grateful for and do you appreciate?
Why don't you list some blessings right now in your journal? Write anything that pops into your mind. There is nothing silly to count as a blessing, and it's okay to count the same blessings each day, provided you are truly thankful for them again, of course.
Count as many as you possibly can and list them in your journal.

LET'S PUSH OURSELVES IN OUR GIVING THANKS
I think it's important to push past our comfort zone when it comes to counting our blessings. In other words, it's important to count more of them than you think you could or should. The truth is every simple moment we have several things to be thankful for and we will never run out of blessings to count. This is true and we should always strive to live a life of gratitude, even during times of challenge.
Therefore, I suggest on a normal basis to count a bare minimum of three blessings per day in your journal. I recommend this for those who have never journaled before.
For those of us who have journaled, I recommend counting at least ten blessings per day.
Now, for novice journal keepers and for experienced journal keepers, since we are approaching Thanksgiving, let's do this challenge.

THE THANKSGIVING BLESSINGS COUNTED JOURNALING CHALLENGE
Let's count at least 34 blessings a day between now and Thanksgiving.
No. I am not kidding.
34 blessings. Let's count at least that many between now and Thanksgiving.
34 blessings counted per day x 38 days = 1,292 blessings counted at least.
Shall we?
Care to join me?
Please note that the reason for counting 34 blessings per day is that's approximately 1,020 blessings counted per month.
Just imagine counting 1,020 blessings per month per year. That's 365 x 34 = 12,410 blessings counted per year or 124,100 per decade.
I will share my daily list with you, or at least parts of it each day, with the hopes it inspires you in case you get stuck and don't know what to count as a blessing. It's okay to count the same blessings I do, by the way. Again, just make sure to count them only if you are truly thankful for them.

HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO COUNT 34 BLESSINGS PER DAY?
Thirty-four blessings each day seems like a lot of blessings to count. Maybe even too many. However, if you do the suggestions I mention, you will easily count thirty-four as a bare minimum each day. Now, let me give you some suggestions on how to count that many blessings:
Again... if you are truly grateful for some one or something, it's okay to count them as a blessing multiple times.
Do not forget to think of your present, past, and future and what people, places, things, and events you are grateful for count as a blessing. Make sure to ask yourself a lot of who, what, where, when, why, and how questions, and think of memories, and you'll find blessings to count. Also from where you sit as you journal your blessings counted list, look around. I guarantee you'll find things to be thankful for from the past and present and maybe even the future. Be grateful for every memory you have; they sure count as a blessing.
Also, when you count your blessings, look at each blessing individually and see if there are more blessings you can think of to count from that blessing. I find that with every blessing I list in my journal, and thank the Lord for, I can find multiple blessings to count from the one.

Here is a template you can copy and paste and use for yourself for the next 38 days

34 DAILY BLESSINGS COUNTED LIST TEMPLATE
I am thankful for...
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
And more...

MY PERSONAL BLESSINGS COUNTED LIST AND A JOURNALING PROMPT FOR YOU
Here is my Thanksgiving and Blessings Counted List for Monday, October 26, 2015 (and don't worry... I will not share my entire list each day and what I do share is just meant to be a journaling prompt to help you find blessings to count in your own life):
1 This day
2 Yesterday
3 The weekend
4 The weather
5 The memories made this weekend
6 The sun
7 The stars
8 Fall/Autumn
9 Each of my pets
10 My neighbors
11 The block I live on and all of the people
12 The neighbor I live in
13 The city I live in
14 My state
15 My country
16 My continent
17 What I eat
18 What I drink
19 My technological gadgets (cell, tablet, laptop, PC)
20 My husband
21 My family
22 My friends
23 Email
24 The things I can look up and learn on the internet
25 My home
26 My car
27 My belongings
28 A good laugh
29 A good book
30 A good movie
31 A good television show
32 Anniversaries
33 Birthdays
34 This moment
What else can you count as a blessing?

MORE THAN ENOUGH
I am thankful for who and what I have today. If I am not grateful for them, then I will not find anyone or anything else a blessing. Who and what I have now is more than enough and I do not want to take any of them for granted or overlook them.
If what I have now isn't more than enough, I will never find or get what or who is more than enough. Who and what I have now are far more than I deserve and that's what makes them such a blessing in this, and in every, moment.
I want to count my blessings, not my gripes and complaints.
I want to count my blessings, not the would've could've should'ves.
I want to count my blessings and not miss or overlook one.
I want to count my blessings of each and every moment. They are more than enough.