The other night, my wife and I work driving our daughter and three of her friends to a girls only event at our church. As we picked up each girl, it was funny how the car became more noisy. As we made our way to our destination, my wife and I listened as the four girls laughed, giggled, and discussed things from hair to birthday parties to the school play. We couldn’t help but eavesdrop when one of our daughter’s friends started sharing about The Black Notebook and The White Notebook. I didn’t catch all the “rules” about these two notebooks, but I did catch the general idea.
Each year, you start with two notebooks – one is white, and the other is black. In the white book, you write all the good things – things that happened to you that were good, good thoughts or ideas, and things you want to remember. And in the black book, you write all the bad things – things that didn’t go your way, bad thoughts or ideas, and things you don’t necessarily want to remember. As the year goes on, the pages of each notebook fills up with good and bad stuff. Throughout the year, you refer to the white notebook when you’re having a bad day – when you need a lift. And you generally keep the black notebook closed unless you’re adding something to it. At the end of the year, you burn the black notebook, and you keep the white notebook for future reference. And of course, you get two new notebooks to start the next year!
Seems kind of interesting. I think this is part of the reason that I blog and journal. I want to record my thoughts and ideas – especially the good ones. I think it’s helpful to see how God is working in my life. I think it’s an interesting exercise to burn the “black” books in our lives. I think it can be very healthy to put aside the things that drag us down and to focus on the future and the things that uplift us.
It’s amazing what you pick up when you listen to your kids and their friends!
What you have your kids taught you? How do you handle your thoughts and ideas? Do you journal or blog about the good and the bad?