Testing My New App… Out Popped 100k Words! Oops!

My in-laws bought me Scrivener, a writing app for my Mac. I’m thankful, but I wasn’t expecting to have to mess with 2 full books’ worth of words!

Okay… so I imported 7 years’ worth of notes to my teens, sorted them by category and organized them into two 50k-word chunks (about the length of BIBS).

The SECOND CHUNK will be mostly for youth pastors (later). It’s how I promoted things to my teens–camp, new youth staff, sermon series, etc.

But the FIRST CHUNK is what I’m excited about right now. It’s the last 7 years of weekly notes we gave to our teens. Compiling by category, it has turned into a couple things:

Devotional. Although these notes were originally to MY teens, the truths are timeless. The categories cover anywhere from one week to 6 weeks (3-4 notes per week).
Journal. Youth ministry has taught me that teens can thrive with accountability. Articulating your thoughts (journaling) is self-accountability.

Sometimes, the BIBS Devotionals are too much, and something lighter is needed. Recent conversations with some of our teens prompted me to create this new journal format.

The Devotional Journal will include:

Date. Add your own each day you do it (better for beginners to not always feel like they’re falling behind if they miss a day).
Time. I prefer a time-based schedule rather than a chapter reading goal. Some days I journal. Some days I read. My days are not equal.
Note. Each day has a 250-ish word note on a topic. These were originally for teens, but are good for ALL Christians (loving God, giving, service, importance of church, etc.)
Passage. This journal is not a Bible reading schedule. You input your own passage in the blank.
Journal. The journal section encourages you to include thoughts from the day’s Bible reading.
Prompt. Last, a specific question prompts you from the day’s note.

I’m only in the proofing process, but wondered what YOU like in a journal? Let me know by commenting below!