Journal Hoarder

Journal Hoarder

photo by imgkid.com

I love office supplies almost as much as I love chocolate.

There is a certain smell when you walk into a book store or an office supply store that makes me pause and smile.

I don't know if it's paper, ink or the glue that binds books, but there is no smell like it. It move my joy meter from 0 to 100 in seconds.

I feel joy when I open a blank journal or a brand new pen. 

If you were to go to the right shelf in my office you would find a large stack of partially used journals, various shapes and sizes, prints and colors, they are padded, leather, paper back and soft back., some have lined paper, some with blank pages. 

I love them all!

One of my favorite journaling past times

Those blank pages hold unlimited possibilities. What will I fill these pages with? I think of themes, topics, people, lists……It all makes me feel inspired. 

Then there is the perfect pen. People get cranky if you take their favorite pen. They tape flowers to them and place them in coffee cups full of marbles, tie them to the desk and track them down when they go missing. The right pen is hard to find. 

I don't need a journal and I don't need a pen. Why don't I just walk on by? Why do I spend money thinking that one more journal or one more pen is going to meet a need? One more, is a theme in my life. One more bite, one more word, one more journal, none of which I need. 

A line that sticks with me each time I buy or eat something I don't need is; habits only die by being starved to death, one bite at a time. Not only would it help my pocket book and waistline, but the truth is, I want to grow and be content with buying only what I NEED, eating only when I am hungry and speaking only when it benefits others. 

When I FEEL like buying, eating or speaking, I am learning that real joy comes when I obey, walk away and remember, that "feelings matter, but they are not the truth." Feeling lie, and bad habits that promise joy only let me down later.

I choose truth, freedom and real joy! One choice at a time.  

1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

Ephesians 4:29 Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.

Hope Wirta