This document provides an overview of Immanuel Journaling, a type of spiritual journaling that incorporates writing from God's perspective. The key aspects are: - It involves a 7-step process to have a conversational dialogue with God through writing, including expressing gratitude, having God describe what He sees/hears, understanding one's situation, and having God provide help. - The goal is to strengthen one's "iSight" - the recognition of God's presence and goodness. This can help rewire one's brain if past experiences have made it hard to trust God. - Each step is described in detail using examples of how to write from God's perspective in response to life experiences, struggles,

1. Lesson: Immanuel Journaling - What is it and how can we incorporate
it into our regular journaling time?
Introduction:
An important aspect of the Sync with God app is our journaling feature. We believe it is
important to write out our thoughts to ourselves and God as we progress in spiritual
maturity. In doing so, we like to utilize a 7-step sequential process called Immanuel
Journaling from the book, Joyful Journey, by Jim Wilder, Anna Kang, John Loppnow,
and Sungshim Loppnow. This lesson is meant to give you a brief explanation of the
process.
What is Immanuel Journaling?
Immanuel Journaling is a type of journaling that invites us to not only write down our
thoughts, but also listen to God speaks He speaks to us. As the authors state, it is
method of journaling meant to teach you how to improve your awareness of God’s
mutual-mind state with you.
There is a major difference between traditional journaling and Immanuel Journaling. In
general, in regular journaling we describe what we are going through or our experiences
to God in a “me speaking to God” type of approach. This approach is how we often treat
prayer as well, it’s us talking to God as He listens to us. However, Immanuel Journaling
expects that God not only listens to our prayers but also initiates conversations with us.
Throughout the book, the authors refer to a concept that they have termed: iSight. This
is having the recognition that God is present, is truly good and perseveres in doing good
for us. In fact, the word, Immanuel, literally means “God with us.” The authors go on to
state that we can develop, strengthen, and even correct our iSight through interactions
with God. If our painful past experiences make it challenging to trust in the goodness of
God, positive interactions with Him will help rewire our brains to restore our iSight.
There are seven steps to this process that are listed below. We will go through each of
them in more detail.
1. Gratitude. Write anything you appreciate and then write God’s response to your
gratitude: “Dear God, I’m thankful for…” and “Dear child of mine…”
2. I can see you.
Write from God’s perspective what He observes in you right now, including your physical
sensations.
3. I can hear you.
Write from God’s perspectives what He hears you saying to yourself.
4. I understand how big this is for you.
How does God see your dreams, blessings or upsets and troubles?

2. 5. I am glad to be with you and treat your weakness tenderly.
How does God express His desire to participate with your life?
6. I can do something about what you are going through.
What does God give you for this time?
7. Read what you have written aloud (preferably to someone else)
Descriptions of the Seven Steps of Immanuel Journaling:
1. Gratitude: Write anything you appreciate and then write God’s response to your
gratitude.
The authors note that gratitude opens us up to the presence of God, as it is the
easiest and fastest path to connection. Throughout Scripture, God has always
encouraged us to give thanks. For example, 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to give
thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Sometimes
we can get bogged down by life’s circumstances, but no matter what we are facing,
we can still be grateful before God. The authors add that displaying gratitude in the
middle of difficulties allows us to have iSight.
There are two parts to this first step in Immanuel Journaling. First, we voice our
appreciation to God. Then we think about and write down how God responds to our
gratitude. This is what is called interactive gratitude, as it’s a conversation with God.
So many Christians only engage in a monologue with God instead of a conversation.
They let God know what they are thinking, but they don’t give any room for Him to
respond. When this happens, they miss an opportunity for intimacy with Christ.
When it comes to writing down how God is responding to us, the authors note that
this involves more of our impression of what God is thinking and saying to us. This
can be difficult because we might feel like we are putting words in God’s mouth. That
is why it is important to check our impressions against God’s Word afterword’s.
Every human is flawed and capable of misunderstanding what God might be saying
to us, but as the authors note, the greater danger arises from never attempting or
desiring to understand what God might be saying to us to guide us. We can be
wrong in our impressions of God, just as we can be wrong about our impressions of
what our spouse or family members might be communicating to us. This fallibility
does not stop us from seeking to understand what our loved ones are saying.
Part 1: Gratitude from me to God
Take a moment to remember a moment of gratitude. This memory can be anything
that comes to mind. It can be something simple that happened during the day or a
theme you have encountered many times. Write it down in a conversational manner.
Thank God for those things or events that you appreciate. You may want to focus on
appreciating Him for who He is and what He has done.

3. Example: Dear God, I am thankful that my friend Susan offered to help me by
picking up my kids at school when she found out I was home sick.
Part 2: God’s response to our gratitude
As you reflect on what you are thankful for, ask God what He wants to say to you in
that moment. Don’t try to filter your thoughts at this time, just start writing and allow
the Spirit of God to lead you.
Example: My child, I’m glad that you recognized my love and care for you through
Susan. Always remember, that I will never leave you, nor forsake you.
In Exodus 3:7-8, God speaks to Moses and says that He had seen the misery of His
people in Egypt. He heard them crying and was concerned about their suffering. So, He
came to rescue them from the Egyptians. In other words, God tells Moses that He sees,
hears, cares, and is with the Israelites. And He will do something for them. This gives us
a template for the next five steps of the Immanuel Journaling process.
From this, we can use the following sequence:
1.) I can see you
2.) I can hear you
3.) I can understand how hard this is for you
4.) I am glad to be with you
5.) I can do something about what you are going through
2. I can see you: Write from God’s perspective what he observes in you right now.
The way we respond to the question, “How does God see me?” is key in
determining if we will move toward or away from God in times of distress. In this
part of your journal, write from God’s perspective and describe how God watches
over you with love. Describe what is happening around you and inside you. For
this, go beyond surface level observations, and talk about what is really going on
with you.
Example: My child, I see your struggles and your pain. I know that you were
cheated at work and were passed over for the promotion. But always remember
that I am with you. Stay humble and trust that if you remain so, I will lift you up in
due time.
3. I can hear you: Write from God’s perspectives what he hears you saying to
yourself.
This part of the journal asks us to write what God is hearing us say out loud as
well as what we are thinking internally. We need to listen as God as He describes
back to us what He hears. Write down that description. At this point we are just
allowing God to describe and help us bring our thoughts to the surface,
regardless of whether we judge them as good or bad. This step is focused on the
fact that God hears all our thoughts. He is allowing us to experience being truly
listened to instead of having us experience correction or teaching.

4. Example: My child, I hear your cries in distress. I know how much you hurt.
Know that I am with you always. I will stick closer to you than a brother.
4. I understand how big (hard) this is for you: How does God see your dreams,
blessings or upsets and troubles?
As the authors state, no matter how insightful a therapist may be or wise a friend
is, only God can ultimately know the intricacies of our lives and experiences. His
eyes never leave us, and He know us better than we know ourselves.
When we realize that God understands how hard our situations are for us, it
gives us a sense of validation. Without validation we will not feel the comfort our
hearts desire. Comfort follows validation and gives us peace. When we validate
how big or hard our experiences were, we can them calm our brain.
In this step, we put in words our impression of God’s accurate understanding of
how important something is to us.
Example: My child, I know the loss of your job looks overwhelming to you but
know that I am in control. Remember what my Word says, that I will work all
things together for the good of those who love me and are called according to my
purpose. That’s you!
5. I am glad to be with you and treat your weakness tenderly: How does God
express his desire to participate with your life?
Sometimes we think that our sin or weaknesses keep God away from us. We might
even think that God does not associate with sinners. However, God is glad to be
with us just as we are. Whether we feel connected to God or not, none of our
weaknesses will keep Him away. He will never leave us, nor forsake us.
Here, you will write God’s confirmation of His love for you by hearing Him say, “I am
glad to be with you child.” Write what you perceive God might be saying to you in a
kind, tender, and loving way.
Example: My child, I am always glad to be with you anytime including this moment
of frustration over losing your job. You might doubt my goodness, but my love for
you will never fade. Trust in me, your loving Savior.
6. I can do something about what you are going through: What does God give you
for this time?
Here, we want to write down what God might be saying to us about how He will be
with us and help us. We may be reminded of God’s faithfulness in the past and given
hope of His continuing work in, around, and through us. We can look to Scripture
verses and stories we remember during this time. Sometimes we find God asking us
to do the difficult task of obedience as an answer to what we are going through. We

5. may have to repent and turn from what we were doing, so we can be healed. While
God reminds us of who we are, He invites us to live according to our true heart. The
promise of His constant present, His unfailing love, and His pure goodness will
sustain us. So, write down your impression of what God is offering you.
Example: My child, I will help you. I will help you to continue to see more clearly who
I am and what I have been doing in your life. My Spirit will uphold you. Look up, my
child, in your despair and see through the eyes of heaven. My love for you is greater
than you even know.
7. Read what you have written aloud (preferably to someone else)