Over the past few years I have felt an increasing need to slow myself down, to remove the RUSH from my life. For me, that has involved keeping a journal. I used to write in the spiralbound notebooks that I had leftover from college. Then found one of those Composition books. The next step in the progression was a leather-like bound journal from the Christian bookstore. That too me a while to finish–like 3 years. But I wasn’t writing every day. When I started to realize the benefits of tracking my thoughts, hopes, dreams, and prayers I bought a leather journal that I could refill. I try to write every day.

Another growing development is my fascination with pens. I have been writing with some type of black inked roller for about 5 years. I’ve liked the Uni-Ball Vision, Pilot’s P-500, and Pentel’s Hybrid Gel Roller. I’ve been contemplating the purchase of a fountain pen for a few years.

But today, I am excited to say that I will soon be the proud owner of 5 antique fountain pens. 4 belonged to my Paw Paw (that’s Southern talk for grandfather), and the other belonged to his father. My mom found the last one while cleaning out a farm house that was part of the family farm. I told her that I had been thinking about buying a fountain pen, and that I thought there were some in a desk drawer from when I was a kid. She’s rounding them up and sending them to me! I’ll tell you more about stuff I have from my Paw Paw that I absolutely love…

Scot McKnight broke out 3 posts about fountain pens this week, and it got me thinking about fountain pens. Soon I’ll be trying my hand at writing with one–slowing down, thinking, breathing, simply being still…I’ll let you know how it goes.