“Now faith is confidence in things we hope for, and evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

Often when we experience tragedies, such as the loss of a loved one, it’s difficult to process those feelings into words. Even more, it’s a challenge to place those words onto paper. For Anneka Goodman, she turned the pain of her losses into an assignment that has impacted so many lives.

Earlier this year, her grandmother Grace and aunt Faith had transitioned, and as she was going through the grieving process, she recalls a conversation that she had with the Lord.

“I remember HIm saying to me during my prayer time,” she said to the PW Perspective, “I have an assignment for you to do prayer journals.” A natural journalist at heart, she was always writing down her prayers, and from it she began “With Grace & Faith,” to honor the women who had such a profound influence on her life.

From there, she remembers saying back, “I had no expertise in how to do this, so I said, “Well Lord, if this is what you ask of me, then I’m going to need some help [laughs].” As she stared to design the journals, suddenly, “there were all of these people I started talking to who were grieving as well. It showed me that there was a real need for people to find an outlet where they could express what they were going through.”

What makes these journals so different was that each of them are designed for up to 31 days. “I did that because it becomes easier for people to write in a limited amount of time, especially if they’re new to writing.” There are also journals with different themes to it, such as one for mothers, fathers and for families.

“As a matter of fact,” she says,” I had one husband and wife couple who purchased 12 journals. The wife couldn’t speak English, so she used them to understand the language and communicate more effectively. It strengthened their relationship.”

So, what has the feedback been for Anneka since starting the journals? “It’s been so positive,” she says. “At my job we had to do an “About Me” presentation, and I was sharing my faith. Afterwards, I met a young lady who said that she recently gave her life to God, and was encouraged by what I was doing, so I was able to talk with her about it as well. I’ve seen so many opportunities to do that since starting the assignment, and that is what I believe is our purpose, to draw people closer to Him.”

Also, she has created sermon notes for people who attend worship services. “Often, when we go to church, we’re either using a scrap piece of paper, the bulletin, or the back of an envelope to write down the notes,” she says. “This way, we can use the sermon notes journal to have an organized writing system, so we don’t miss anything when going back to study the message during the week.”

The sermon journals also contain a section called “The Homework,” so people can write down important takeaways that they learned and keep it with them.

Anneka shares a message for those who are still grieving but struggle to write down their feelings on the matter. “Be honest with God,” she says, “because He already knows what you’re going through. Whether you’re angry, sad, or frustrated, it’s okay. His Son also dealt with those same emotions, and He’s always near the broken-hearted.”

As for future plans of “With Grace & Faith,” Anneka plans on releasing a children’s edition, as well as create journals written in other languages, starting with Spanish. For more information on “With Grace & Faith,” visit her website or follow her on Instagram.