New Year... New Journal!

I love journals.  I go through at least half a dozen in a year.  I use them for notes at church, prayer meetings and bible studies.  I use them to keep track of my dreams. I use them to write prayers when I can't think straight to speak.  I use them for all kinds of things, and I always start a new one in January. Are you surprised?
This past December I was in a slump spiritually and feeling like God just wasn't speaking to me. I shared with my husband... who of course pointed out that I was wrong and God speaks to me all the time.  Mainly through His Word when I read my bible, but in all kinds of other ways too.  I started looking through texts and seeing the bible verses friends would share with me.  I looked through emails and the different devotionals I am subscribed to and how often the themes in them would be the same.  How my bible app verse of the day would often be the exact thing God showed me in my personal reading.  I realized the problem wasn't with God speaking to me... the problem was me remembering what God had said to me.
The bible tells us over and over to remember. Remember the sabbath, remember His name, Remember where you came from, Remember to keep the fire burning on the alter, Remember certain festivals, the list goes on and on.  In Psalm 105:5 it says... Remember the wonders he has performed, his miracles, and the rulings he has given,
So I began praying... what would be a good way for me to remember.  Sometimes with all the journals I go through it's hard to look back and read things He has said to me, because bible notes are mixed in with grocery lists and random doodles... So I have come up with one journal for the year to put it all in.

It's not really a journal, it's a calendar.  Each day as I have my bible time, I jot down the verses that stood out to me, just the reference.  If a friend sends me a verse, or I read one somewhere that stands out to me I write it down.  In the few weeks I did this before January and the start in my new calendar... I began to see patterns, and God confirming things He had said to me.  It was so cool to see how He really is faithful to speak to me... I just need to remember.  I am excited to at the end of next year look back in my calendar and see all the ways God spoke to me.  I also carry a small pocket size calendar that I got in the dollar spot at target to keep track of the verses shared at church or when talking with friends.  It doesn't take any time at all to jot down a quick reference.
The calendar I bought also lets me pop papers in and out, so I have added blank note pages to the "Journal" as well, because I have found God has much more to say to me than these small spaces can hold. :-)  Happy Journaling!