The Little Brown Book

It was a slim brown booklet.  Pretty dull by most counts. No flowers, glitter, or embossments. Not the kind of thing most women would pick out. Serviceable, yes. Inexpensive, most definitely.

Nonetheless, it would have to do. I'd decided to start a prayer journal, and I was ready to do it today. God called, and I wouldn't delay.

That was two summers ago. The little brown book has evolved from a ledger of sorts (with a laundry list of rote prayer concerns) to more of the kind of journal I used to keep--my thoughts, things that are happening in my life, and, always, my prayers, my confessions, my spiritual hopes and dreams.

When I do take the time to write in it--which isn't nearly as often as it should be--I feel, by turns, cleansed, inspired, at peace. And I always feel loved, communing with a God who wants more to hear from me, than to judge me.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4: 6-7