My Life-Changing Gratitude Journal: How It Transformed My Life

Hello everyone!

I've always been inspired by movies and TV shows where characters keep personal journals that somehow help them or serve as a good luck charm.

I tried following their example, but it was a total snooze fest. I mean, what's the point of writing stuff like '12.05.1999. Today, me and my friends ran into the bookstore after school and bought some cool coloring books. We spent the whole evening coloring to the tunes of this awesome band. What a blast!'? Honestly, I just didn't care. I'd rip out the pages and use the notebook for school. I even tried making my own journals - I'd make the cover, sew the pages together by hand... but it all ended up getting abandoned.

I'd go back to keeping a personal journal in my youth and even as an adult (after 20), but... I'd always burn out.

Solid coverAnd then, at 39, I stumbled upon the Personal Journal by 'Free Wanderer' on Valdberis.

I'd seen reviews of this gratitude journal without the pretty white paper insert, and it seemed like a letdown compared to other psychological journals. But this one's special - it's a Christian journal. Here, you're thankful to God for the good stuff and the not-so-good stuff, for the lessons learned. In other words, gratitude isn't just empty words or imaginary friends and acquaintances you can thank out loud. I'm not trying to offend anyone, but I've come to realize that if you're going to be thankful, you should be sincere and heartfelt, not just going through the motions.

There are plenty of pagesThis journal is designed to last a long time. At first, I used it sporadically. I started writing in it around Nikola Zimny's time, and then I made a few more entries closer to New Year's. And you know what? I already started feeling a positive change. It's not a magic book, of course - it's just about being thankful to God. For example, my husband and I have a rocky relationship, and we're always blaming each other for everything. But if you take the time to find the good in him, you can be thankful for that. Like, 'I'm grateful for the husband God has given me. Yes, we fight a lot, and we don't always understand each other. But he's a good person, he brings home the groceries, pays the bills, and works really hard.' And then you can pray for wisdom and kindness.

That's the kind of thing I mean. Writing in this journal helps me see every problem from a different angle, find common ground, and calm my soul.

This is what my daily pages look like - the next page might be a coloring page, or a space for writing and drawing I've got plenty of room for text. Sometimes I jot down thoughts, sometimes I make plans. And if I'm stuck, I can always draw or add some stickers.

There are two types of coloring pages:

1. My favorite doodle-style coloring pages

I love coloring with pencils 2. Modern 'torn paper' style coloring pages. To be honest, these ones can be a bit exhausting.

My 'Free Spirit Traveler' diary - I've found that markers don't work too well, they show through I've found that pencils are the way to go. I'd avoid using markers or felt-tips if I were you - they're just too messy. Acrylic paints or watercolors could work too, as long as the paper isn't too wet!

This is what the back of the page looks like after using markers - not great I didn't even color the whole thing in, and I wrote some text with a ballpoint pen afterwards. It's readable, but it still doesn't look great.

There are prayers of thanksgiving and quotes from saintsI wanted to mention the prayers and quotes separately. Honestly, they didn't quite resonate with me, but maybe I'll come around to reading them by the end or after finishing the journal. So far, I've filled about 1/10 of the journal, and I'm writing almost every day when I get a useful idea or situation.

If you really want to write something beneficial to the max, I'd say thank the Lord for everything – not just the good stuff! – and take some time to reflect before writing in the journal. You can use the quotes in the journal, or come up with your own words. I pray in my own words, and thankfully, I get some really useful ideas. For instance, I couldn't forgive someone for a single bad deed, but they're amazing in other ways. It's time to list all their good qualities or just cover up their flaws (excuse them): they were beaten by their parents as a kid, so they turned out that way. They need our help and patience – just like God patiently waits for us!

That's basically it. Not just a generic 'thanks for the coffee' or 'thanks for the snowflake outside' – that doesn't work for me personally.

Coloring with a pencilHonestly, I'm not a fan of coloring, especially not this kind. But I got distracted while coloring, and my husband walked in and was laughing. But I hid the text – maybe I'll show it to you someday)

I'm not a fan of modern coloring books - I prefer the classic, kid-friendly ones I've found that coloring with 36-color pencils works way better than trying to create a masterpiece with just a few colors. But hey, if you're an art or design major, maybe you can create a work of genius with just five colors! My hand, on the other hand, just wants to get the job done quickly

I was coloring for myself, but somehow it ended up being for you guys too :) Check out this example. The forest was a blank slate - I just wanted to bring it to life like this. I love it when coloring books come with blank pages like this

Each day's content looks something like this. Sometimes there's a picture, sometimes not - it's up to the publisher

Next up, you'll see gratitude to God, followed by any challenges you faced. That's super important, because you can always learn something from a tough situation

The final point is just as crucial: no challenges, no growth. Often, it's through those tough times that we become stronger, wiser, and... happier. Trust me, I know from experience

Turning the page without coloringI was initially worried about the blank pages, but I've found myself filling them up with all the things I've been wanting to write down. It's not just about recent events – I've even written about things that happened 10 or 20 years ago. It's amazing how reflecting on the past can bring so much joy and gratitude. I've even started writing thank-you notes to my kids, and it's become a daily habit. In fact, I've been writing in my journal every day, and it's been a game-changer for my mental health and relationships.

I have to say, I've never gotten so much joy from keeping a journal before. And it's not just about me – my family has noticed the positive changes in me, too. So, stay tuned to hear more about how my gratitude journal has transformed my life.

My story about how my gratitude journal changed my life

Before we even had our first kid, my husband and I were starting to drift apart. I won't go into all the drama with his mom, but let's just say she was a bit of a control freak. After the baby was born, things only got worse. My husband and I grew even further apart. It wasn't until I realized that things couldn't keep going like this that I started to make a change. Plus, I still wanted to have more kids. My husband was hesitant, he was scared of the medical risks, but eventually, after we had a heart-to-heart, we started to reconnect and live in harmony again. With the baby, it's a bit of a love-hate relationship, like a cat and dog. But over time, even they've learned to get along, even if they still fight a lot. And that's been our life for years... stuck in this vicious cycle of illness. I'd get sick for weeks on end, sometimes even ending up in the hospital.

I prayed to God to help us escape this never-ending nightmare, to give us the strength and patience to get through it. And if it was all a mistake, to help us see it and correct it. Luckily, I met with my homeopathic doctor a few times and he explained to me the root cause of my illnesses and my child's. It wasn't a direct cause, but a indirect consequence. He gave us some great advice and recommended we see some other specialists.

We started taking action right away. Around this time, I got my daily gratitude journal, 'The Free Wanderer'. I've been using it to write down my prayers and slowly started to bring back my morning prayer routine. I've also been adding some extra prayers from my prayer book.

I'm still pinching myself - it's like the universe decided to smile on us. We took our kid to a physical therapist for a massage, and we finally found someone who could help us in our small town, which has been in a state of disrepair for years. We'd been struggling with our kid's adenoids for 11 months, and it seemed like we'd hit a dead end. But then, out of the blue, we found a visiting ear, nose, and throat specialist who just happened to be in our town. And to make matters even better, we've got a great team - the ENT specialist, the physical therapist, and even our family doctor, who's been giving us amazing advice that's helped me personally. I've even got my blood pressure under control now, which was a major concern for me. I was averaging 110/85 or 118/85, but now it's a stable 115/75. And to top it all off, I found an amazing OB-GYN who's also a blogger and practitioner of Eastern medicine, and it turns out our physical therapist is a fan of her work too. We've been discussing all sorts of things, from acupuncture to meditation, during our kid's massage sessions. He's even been teaching me some basic massage techniques, which I'm still struggling to master.

Before the New Year, I was still dealing with frequent colds, sore throats, and nerve pain in my jaw. But after the New Year, everything changed. We finally figured out the root causes of all my issues, and now we're working on addressing them. I've never received so many helpful tips and recommendations in my life - not in 5 years, not in 10 years. It's like a weight has been lifted off our shoulders.

I don't think it's just a coincidence. We'd been living in a state of constant stress and anxiety for almost 5 years, with constant arguments and health issues. But since December 2025, things have turned around for us. It's like a new chapter in our lives has begun. I'm just grateful for everything that's happened.

I've only just started writing in this journal, but I'm already feeling more at peace. If I ever hit a rough patch and start to doubt myself, I know where to find the encouragement I need – in my faith, in prayer, and with God by my side.

Wishing you the same peace and strength on your own journey!