Life Journal Workshop: The Power of “I am” statements

Welcome to the Life Journal workshop, a weekly art and journaling project to get your creative juices flowing! I have to share today that I am so excited! In just a few hours, we will be appearing in juvenile court to support my brother and sister-in-law as they adopt a wonderful 3 year old boy that they have been fostering for the past 6 months. It’s been a long and sometimes stressful process and took a lot of prayer and positive thinking to make it through all the hurdles. As I share today’s life journal lesson with you, I am reminded of the power of “I am” statements. If you missed last week’s life journal lesson on using inspirational quotes, be sure to read it here. I recently took a wonderful Meditation and Markers class with Allison Crow (allisoncrow.com) that is super fun and very insightful. In our final lecture, she was talking about creating “I am … ” statements and I felt like I needed to share my version of this concept with you. I often have notecards floating around the house with “I am…” statements, my daughter and I made “power plaques” with “I am” statements on them so it’s not a new concept for me but there was something about creating one page with all of those positive statements that I found so rewarding. Here are my friend Mym’s images from the positive and negative. I love the feeling she created with color! Here are some simple instructions:

• Make sure you have at least 15 to 20 minutes of quiet time to do this.
• Find a quiet, uncluttered spot – inside or outside.
• Collect your journal or some blank pieces of paper. Find some crayons or markers.
• Sit quietly for a moment and take a few deep breaths. Maybe light a candle or play some soothing music.
• Open your journal and write I AM in the center of the page. I want you to fill the page with positive I am statements. Some suggestions might be: I am safe, I am happy, I am divine, I am powerful, I am enough, I am abundant, I am healthy… you get the picture.
• If negative “I am: thoughts arise, scribble them on a DIFFERENT PIECE of paper or page in your journal. Don’t judge them, just write them down. For each negative thought that arises, create a positive I Am statement and add it to your other page.
• Use whatever colors, images or doodles you want to fill your page. I used watercolors and watercolor pencils plus a Sharpie. If you are crafty, feel free to paint, use pencils or chalk but it’s also perfectly okay to take one crayon or marker and just write.
• Once you have filled the page to your satisfaction and feel complete with this exercise, I want you to make at least 3 I AM notecards or slips of paper. Cardstock would work well for this activity but any paper will do. It’s more important to get this done than to have perfect supplies!
• Write one I AM statement per card, pick the 3 or more that you resonate with the most.
• I want you to keep these cards on your desk or beside your bed and commit to reading them out loud at least once a day for the next 21 days. Let’s see what shift happens when you commit to embracing your positive and powerful I AM statement.

P.S. Got kids and a busy weekend? Have them do this with you! They will love it and it’s fun to see what powerful statements they come up! If you feel like your negative thoughts are overwhelming you and you are struggling to find the positive I AM statements, consider joining my HeartWise Sister Circle – a safe, supportive group where women come together to share, grow, collaborate and remember who they are.