Dig Deep into Your Spiritual Life

Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur reviews the Awaken My Heart Prayer Journal by Emily Wilson Hussem, new from Ave Maria Press.

Has your spiritual life become stale? Do you feel like you are simply going through the motions of your prayer time or that your relationship with God has become distant? Does life seem to lack meaning? If the answers to any of those questions are “yes,” the Awaken My Heart Prayer Journal by Emily Wilson Hussem can help you.

The first thing one notices about this journal is that it is beautiful. It features soft, soothing colors and gentle watercolor designs. There are many pages with inspiring quotes rendered in a lovely font. But the design is just the beginning. The content of this journal is what truly matters, and the most important content will be written by you.

Hussem offers journaling prompts on a variety of important topics. These are not superficial questions, but rather queries that will have you digging deep into your spiritual life. Some of your answers may surprise you. Some of them will no doubt make you feel a bit uncomfortable as you probe painful parts of your past or face the ways that you may be coming up short in your love of God and neighbor. Others may inspire you to keep going when you feel like giving up. At all times, readers are prompted to invite Jesus into their lives, into their reflections, and into their futures.

The Awaken My Heart Prayer Journal is designed to help you live more abundantly. As Hussem states in her opening letter to the reader:

My prayer is that this journal will be a means by which God wakes you up to see his glory, as well as a way by which prayer can become an accessible and do-able practice for you.

When I really boil down my hopes for you in your journey through this journal, I come to two things: peace and awe. I hope that you find an unexplainable, holy sense of peace cultivated in your heart, as well as a deep, abiding sense of awe of who God is and his astonishing love for you.

This journal would be great to use as part of a morning or evening prayer routine. The questions need not be tackled in order. Instead, I would suggest readers ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and then turn to the topic that speaks most to their heart that day.

The Awaken My Heart Prayer Journal is a companion to the Awaken My Heart book, which is wonderful in itself, but the two can be used independently. The combined set would make a lovely gift for any Catholic woman in your life.

Copyright 2022 Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur
Images: Canva
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