First Time

I don't usually do this, but today, the blog = journal. Not some wacky post trying to be clever and analyze a little part of life, not a snapshot of some wild adventure, not a complaint, not an opinion poll, a journal.

This is how most of my journal entries run -

Mon July 27, 2009

Was going to go to work, but slept in. (big surprise....) Mom upset I didn't ask to borrow truck.

Took Brent to orthopedist, has to get surgery. Tomorrow. Lazy rest of day, sock shopping in the mall and chicken enchiladas. Life is good. - Sandra Dawson P-J-S-

The PJS has been going on for a couple years now, it's an idea I stole from seminary and started using when I wanted to make sure I wouldn't miss a day of scripture reading. P is for prayer, J is for journal, and S is for scripture, and I try to mark these every day. Confession: I almost always mark off the P (95% of the time) but I don't almost always pray (closer to 70%). I don't know why. I'm embarrassed to admit, even to myself, that I forget or am too lazy to say my prayers.

I can say, though, that in the past 25 months, I have only missed one day of opening my Book of Mormon, and that day I was pretty darn sick, I fell asleep before I could even think about it. My dad's stake president once challenged the stake to read in the Book of Mormon every day for the rest of their lives, even if just a verse. My dad missed 3 days in the first 18 months, another day in the year after that, and then, to the best of my knowledge, hasn't missed since.

In Spain, there was Faustino. And he has one of the most fervent testimonies of journaling (two l's?) I've ever felt. "This is your STORY," he would say, "this is your HISTORY!" What does it mean if the days go by and we forget them; if we don't record the experiences, what will we learn? Your life is interesting, your life is important, and no one knows the events, feelings, ponderings and musings of your life like you do. Write it down, if for no one's benefit but yourself. (yourselves?)