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These are the words, these are the words, these are the words of life. Hey, welcome back to Words of Life. I pray that our Bible study roundtable series was a blessing to you throughout the Christmas season, but today we're starting a new series focused on writing. Each week, we'll be joined by a writer or writers of various forms and disciplines, and we're going to be asking them why the craft of writing is still so powerful in the kingdom of God today. To help me have these conversations, I'll be joined by the Territorial Publications editor, Kristen Munge.
So to kick off this series, I want you, our listeners, to get to know her first. Throughout this series, we'll have links to several resources and books mentioned in the show notes. Hey, you're listening to the Salvation Army's Words of Life. We're gonna take a quick ad break and we'll be right back. Faith shapes how we live, and it should shape how we steward our money, too.
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We really hope that this previous Bible study panel series has just really encouraged you to make this year a year that you dive even deeper into the Word of God than ever before. Um We wanted to have a series. Talking with writers of various kinds and people involved with distributing and publishing new Christian books through the Salvation Army. And to help us have those conversations, we're now being joined by my friend Kristen Mudge. Hello.
And first, before we dive into anything deeper, just tell us what you do with the Salvation Army right now. Sure. I am the Southern Territorial Publications Editor.
So most of my job Is the Southern Spirit, which is our monthly periodical. It's basically a newspaper where we talk about what's going on around the Southern Territory. We provide resources and program ideas. We tell testimonies and we put devotional thoughts and all sorts of articles out there. It's a great monthly resource.
You should definitely check it out. I'm also part of our literary council, which is in charge of determining books that we're putting out throughout the year. We usually try to put out two books a year, so I'm a part of that process as well. And in general, just encouraging writers and anybody who is interested in being a part of writing for the Salvation Army.
So, what about your background, your education, your experience, your passion led you to this position? It's all God. I never imagined that I could be doing what I'm doing today. It is my dream job that I never knew existed. I studied media communications with an emphasis in film studies at Asbury University.
I actually ended up leaning really heavily into creative writing as a part of that. I did film scripts and two-minute movies and things like that. That was a lot of what I did in school. And I never noticed that it was leaning towards writing until looking back, of course, I can see it. Shortly after graduating, I got a job doing live television production.
In a small town in Texas, and I did that for almost a year. And a lot of that was learning how to write for a different audience, for a live audience, which was a shift from my background of more creative writing.
So that was a really cool way to introduce me to different types of writing that I'm doing a lot more of now today. And then from there, I started working for the Salvation Army in Texas. I worked in the youth department doing Curriculum and graphic design, and then I transferred to the women's department where I did the same. I did curriculum and graphic design, and throughout it all, I always noticed that people would come to me to edit their work, to look over their briefs, and anything they were putting out in writing. And it's just always been something that I've done naturally, but never realized that it was something I could do as a career.
And then God led me here, and it's been absolutely incredible. I love every minute of it. I think that's such a good lesson to any college students, or even anyone just like starting to think about college: you might have your dream job. The actual calling and the way God is going to use your gifts in line with some type of career. You may not even know it exists yet, and it may take various shapes.
And that's very similar to my background. I've just always been in some type of creative space related to media in some way. I think it's just a good lesson to just be open to where the Spirit's leading, be open-minded too. But yeah, the Salvation Army is very lucky and blessed to have you.
So I'm glad you ended up here. I'm blessed to be able to do ministry and everything I do every day.
So, we are going to have some conversations during this series with people who've recently published a book, people that have had many books in the past as well. We're going to start off the series with someone who's going to have a conversation about journaling. And I just want to kind of chat with you because I know this is a passion of yours as well. What has journaling meant for you? What has it done to your spirit?
And, like, how would you just talk about that act for someone who's maybe never done this?
So, journaling for me, I was trying to think when I started journaling, and I think my First Journal that I remember getting, and I loved it. It was beautiful, it was gorgeous, and it was everything I wanted. I think I was seven or eight, and it was so precious that I almost didn't want to write in it. It was just so beautiful. But I I used journaling as a way to just put all my thoughts on paper because if you're like me, my brain gets so scrambled, there are so many things happening all at once that I just can't even start to process.
So the act of putting pen to paper and just Putting into words what's going on inside my head was my way to start processing the world around me. And I found very naturally that that lent itself to conversation with God.
So it wasn't just my thoughts to paper. It quickly turned into me talking to God about what was going on inside my head. One of my favorite journals, I don't have it here with me today, but one of my favorite journals I have is. Really special. I got two different color pens, and I decided to try writing my prayers and then waiting and listening for any responses and writing those responses in another color pen.
So now I can go back And see actual conversations I had with God and His words in response to me. And it's. Such a blessing to be able to go back and read God's words in that way. We can read the Bible and hear his words, but that's from somebody else's voice. These are God's words specifically for me, and it's just been so cool, such a blessing.
We pray that you're enjoying and being blessed by this conversation. We're going to take one more ad break and we'll be right back. Faith shapes how we live, and it should shape how we steward our money, too. That's why 316 Financial exists. We're an online bank created to help people align their finances with their faith and their values.
At 316 Financial, 10% of our profits are given back to faith-based ministries, supporting work that makes a lasting difference. It's a simple idea. Everyday banking can be a powerful way to live generously, and you don't have to sacrifice quality to bank with purpose. 316 Financial offers modern online banking, no-monthly fees, free ATM access nationwide, and competitive interest rates designed to help your money grow responsibly. Whether you're saving for the future, managing everyday expenses, or looking for a bank that reflects what matters most to you, 316 Financial makes it easy to bank with intention.
Learn more and open an account today at bank316.com. Banking services are provided by 316 Financial, a division of Premise Bank, member FDIC. I think too, and I know we're going to bring this up later in the series too, but the act of handwriting as you're journaling. Forces you to slow down. I'm not the fastest typer in the world, but I'm pretty fast.
And so I kind of get frustrated because I'm used to typing and I can type almost as fast as I can think. But then when you're handwriting, you have to slow down your thoughts that you have to like wait for your hand to catch up. And I think there's something to that, that you have to slow down. And when you're slowing down, you're being more intentional about what am I actually feeling? And therefore, you're already kind of set up to slow down and wait to hear from God.
Can you talk about some of the journals that you have brought and sort of what they've meant in your walk? Sure. So I have. Three with me today. I have many, many more at home in boxes.
I haven't quite unpacked everything. I've been here for three years, but I haven't unpacked everything yet. Um I have these ones in particular. I have one that is just. Yeah.
Uh processing difficult things that have happened. in the past couple of years. Not any sort of specifics, but just thoughts that I needed to get to paper. I have another one that I bought when I found out I was pregnant, and it's special. I any time I ha I find I have something I want My son to know someday, or special things that I've noticed, or Just anything that I want.
him to be able to see someday. I've been writing in that for him, and that's really special. Um and then I have another little one that His Very specific to after my mom passed away. This was where I processed my grief.
So it's a very special one too. I have more at home. Like I said, I have the conversation one that was mainly in my teenage years. I have this special one from when I was seven or eight that is still just so beautiful. And then several, several others, but everyone is either for a purpose or it's from a special time.
And I would say that if you don't have a journal And or if you don't feel comfortable necessarily with your handwriting, for some reason, some people struggle with that, and that's okay. You should definitely type because for some people, that's the way that they process things. And I. I also have a document that I have entitled Practice, and it has over 10,000 words of me just processing things in that way, too. There are many, many different ways to journal.
There are many different reasons to journal, but If it's something that you feel like it could be helpful for you, Either in processing what's going on in your head, or having a record of things that you want to look back on, or maybe a special way to start talking to God, I would suggest you just try it. The one that you're writing that you're someday going to hand to your son. I got someone into journaling recently that anyone who knows him would have never thought that he would have been into this. But my dad, who's 72, kind of just a grumpy New Yorker, and I, you know, as far as His own emotions and how he's processed some very traumatic things in his life. I don't know because he just doesn't open up like that.
And for Father's Day last year, he is getting older, and I don't mean that to, you know, I'm not already sending him on his way. But, you know, while he's still sharp and with it, there were a lot of questions that I had. And so I bought in this book for Father's Day that he just kind of has to fill in things or just like specific questions, like, you know. How did you feel when you found out that you were going to become a dad and all of this? And I didn't know how he would react.
And my mom has told me that she finds him like every morning, like writing in this thing. I have like no idea what's in there, but through offering someone the opportunity to start journaling, I feel like I'm going to see another side of him that I've never known. I can say from my experience, my mom passed away six years ago now, and she was a big journaler.
So it has been an incredible blessing to be able to go back and see the way that she processed things and messages that she left for each of us. And it's it's That's the main reason I wanted to go out and buy a journal when I found out that I was pregnant, because I want to have that for my son as well. It's because it's been such a gift. The Salvation Army's mission, doing the most good, means helping people with material and spiritual needs. You become a part of this mission every time you give to the Salvation Army.
Visit SalvationArmyUSA.org to offer your support. You can subscribe to Words of Life on your favorite podcast store or visit SalvationArmysoundcast.org. Join us next time for the Salvation Army's Words of Life. These are the words, these are the words of life. These are the words, these are the words, these are the words of life.
These are the words of life. These are the words of life. Thanks so much for listening to Words of Life. We want to thank the team at Life Audio for their partnership with us on the show. Visit lifeaudio.com, where you'll find dozens of other faith-centered podcasts in their network.
They have shows about prayer, Bible studying, parenting, and more. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you next time. You know, everybody talks about life after death, but what about life during life? Hey everybody, Greg Laurie here, and on the Greg Laurie Show, we're tackling life's biggest questions like, why am I here?
what really matters and what happens when I die. I'll discuss cultural topics with friends and experts and examine the biblical truth behind everyday issues and even share stories about my own personal spiritual journey. Listen now to the Greg Lori Show on LifeAudio.com or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Mark Vinette, host of the Historical Jesus Podcast, which presents the new series, Miracles, focusing on biblical miracles from the Old and New Testament. Join me on the Historical Jesus podcast as I explore the interesting, compelling, intriguing, and wonderful miracle stories of the Bible and the many great miraculous events inspired by the words and deeds of Jesus Christ.
