Morning Pages

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23-24 ESV)

When I heard about the spiritual exercise of Morning Pages, I immediately sensed that it could be an open door to give God space in my inner world. GEM’s Jonathan Bourbeau shared about setting a timer for 10 minutes and writing in longhand whatever comes to mind. He explained that it helps clear the mind of mental clutter.

(I liked the word, “clutter”. And anything that helped me with my mental clutter was worth a try!)

He led us through a “Morning Pages” exercise last year during a Spiritual Renewal Day. I wrote. And wrote. With no thought of goals or impressing the person who would find my journal after I was long gone.  

It was like doing a quick spring cleaning of my mind and heart. After the ten minutes, he instructed us to look back over our words and highlight what God brought to our attention. After looking over the highlighted words or phrases, we were encouraged to ask three questions: 

What does God reveal about Himself? 
What does God reveal about me? 
What do I need from God today?

And then – and this is very important – we are to release our mental clutter to Him! And begin the day.

After doing the exercise, I felt led to grab my guitar and write this song. My mind was less cluttered. My spirit relaxed. And somehow, I felt His invitation to honor Him by writing about what happened in my heart.

Morning Pages 
By Lisa D. Meyers 

When the sun begins to rise 
And the morning dew falls 
I grab my pen to write 
Without a thought at all. 
And somewhere in the writing I can see 
The mental clutter that clutters me. 
But the Spirit whispers like a gentle friend: 
“Always, always we begin again.”

When my inner voice is harsh 
And distraction starts to rage. 
I can see within my words 
My heart is on the page. 
And things once hidden now are clear 
He highlights things like loss and fear. 
But the Spirit whispers like a gentle friend: 
“Always, always we begin again.”

And I release, I release 
My morning pages to Him. 
And I won’t quit. Just re-start. 
Always we begin again. 

Lisa Meyers

For Reflection

• What stands out to you as you listen to the song? How does it relate to interactions you’ve had with God (or would like to have?)

• Try writing out your own “morning pages” and reviewing them with the questions above.  

“Morning Pages” is a journaling practice from Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way, that involves writing three pages of longhand, stream-of-consciousness thoughts each morning. The goal is to clear your mind of mental clutter by getting thoughts, worries, and anxieties onto the page, which can help improve focus, creativity, and clarity for the day ahead.