As you embark on a journey for spiritual growth, an invaluable tool would be a spiritual journal. A journal helps you keep important information close at hand. You can make one out of a blank book available for purchase at most bookstores, a three-ring binder which lets you add or delete as necessary, or keep it on computer.   How to "Journal"   If you aren't used to writing, it's best to start out slow. Put a date at the top of the page and list whatever is concerning you that day. It can be simple things like the dishwasher breaking, getting a flat tire, or more serious things like visiting a dying relative or losing your job. Whatever is of concern or a burden that day. After listing all your concerns, go back and write in as few words as possible how each makes you feel. You should do this for about a week.   The next week you are ready to expand your journaling. After completing the above instructions, at the bottom of each page write a short prayer concerning the items you have listed. In this prayer you should spell out what it is you need from God to help you through these situations. It may be as simple as asking God to just give you the strength to make it through each day, give you wisdom or guidance in a decision you are faced with, or just telling Him how much at a loss you are.   For the third week continue writing down your concerns, then list at least five things you have to be thankful for. Sometimes you may have the same things to list several days in a row, but that doesn't mean you should be any less thankful for them. At the bottom of these two lists include your prayer. It should reflect your needs and concerns, as well as thanking Him for the blessings you have in your life. By keeping these two lists it helps you keep things in perspective. Although you may have many burdens, you also have many things to be grateful for; you may just discover you have more to be thankful for than you do to be burdened about!   By the fourth week you should be ready to make the next step toward free writing. Instead of just listing your concerns, make each one into a complete sentence--just one per each concern. Do the same for the feelings related to each concern and each blessing. Conclude the day with your written prayer.   As you get better at journaling, you should include how God answers your prayers and how you see Him working in your life to keep a rounded and accurate portrait of your growing relationship.   You may also wish to keep a prayer journal. There are many ways it could be set up, but this is a simple way that I've found; it is the acrostic ACTS.   1. A = adoration. Always begin with adoration. Praise and worship the Heavenly Father for who He is. In our scriptures there are enough illustrations, names, metaphors and titles for the Heavenly Father to keep us going for a lifetime and more! I have started a list in the adoration section of my journal where I put all the illustrations, names, metaphors, titles and descriptions I find in scripture. When it is prayer time, I pick one and begin meditating on it. I wrap my mind around the concept. I let it envelope me. Adoration deals strictly with WHO the Heavenly Father is.   2. C = confession. As I spend time in adoration, concentrating on the character of the Heavenly Father, my shortcomings and imperfections will begin standing out. I confess these things as I become aware of them and repent of them. I don't dwell on them or get pulled down by guilt. I clean them from my life and continue to prostrate myself in adoration. This "spiritual housecleaning" helps me become free to draw even closer in prayer. I put scriptures in this section that deals with the things I am confessing, the characteristics I should be striving to live up to and the promises I have from scripture about how the Heavenly Father will help me with them, or the promises that when I repent I am brought in right standing.   3. T = thanksgiving. This is where I spend time praising and worshipping the Heavenly Father for what He has done. This is where I count my blessings and help bring my perspective of what is going on in my life in line with how He sees it. This section is where I keep a list of blessings, and the things I have to be thankful for each day.   4. S = supplication. After spending time praising and worshipping, and getting my life right, I then come to Heavenly Father with the burdens and requests resting upon my heart. In my supplication section I keep an ongoing prayer list for friends, family, church, community, country and personal concerns. Long-term requests I have broken down into daily lists. I have a list for each day of the week, and one for daily requests. I make a list of all the people I want to pray for on a regular and ongoing basis, then I divide the list up among the days. Personal and family requests I pray for daily. The other requests I have laid out so that I remember them in prayer twice a week. I also have a special request chart. This is where I keep short-term special requests that others share with me. I put the date beside it. Then, when it is answered and I can remove it from the list, I put that date down. This gives me a record to look back on and remind myself of Heavenly Father's faithfulness.