“How have you been doing with your devotions lately?”, my dad gently asked one day while we were chatting on Skype.
My throat closed up and I could barely get the words out as tears began to course down my cheeks.
I felt like such a failure!
Many days they just didn’t happen; and when they did, it seemed that they were rushed because there were so many things that required my attention.
I was a mom of an almost two year old and an infant. Getting up early was hard, and most days I simply didn’t have the energy after being up all night.
His response to me was like cold water on a parched land: “Just remember, God has grace for moms of small children! Read when you can, pray during the day as you do your chores, and don’t allow the enemy to pile on condemnation.” That was just what I needed to hear. And the freedom I found in those words helped me to find creative ways to invite God’s presence in our home.
5 Quiet Time Ideas for Moms of Littles
1. Find an accountability partner. This is probably the single most effective way to help get your quiet times back on track. And the possibilities to carry this out are endless: email, texting, Skype, Facebook, or phone calls. Simply check in with each other once a day to keep each other accountable for your quiet times.
2. Join a daily online Bible study group. Facebook is full of all kinds of daily Bible study groups or Bible reading programs to help you target a theme, book of the Bible or Bible reading method. I personally have been doing Good Morning Girls for the past 3 1/2 years and have found it to be very helpful for me. There are many others you can choose from, and are perfect for the mom of littles, because they do not require you to leave your home, which we all know is so hard to do as a mom!
3. YouVersion. Can I just say right now how much I love YouVersion? Not only can you download Bible Reading programs that help keep you on track, you can actually listen to the verses. If you’re a mom with multiple small children and are in a phase right now where sitting down for even 10 minutes is pushing it, download the YouVersion ap and you can listen to the Bible right on your cell phone. Sure, it’s not as ideal as reading your Bible, but it is the next best thing, and you are still feeding your spirit!
4. Assign areas of your home as prayer “launch pads”. I read about this idea in Courtney’s book Women Living Well and it has worked so well for me. What is a prayer launch pad? Well, I think of it as an area of my home that launches me into prayer for a certain need, family member or friend. Beds are an obvious one, as you change sheets and make beds, pray for the loved one who sleeps in that bed. As you wash your dishes, you can pray for your church or unsaved loved ones. Assign “launch pads” to your household chores and you will find your prayer life will be richer and your chores less wearisome!
5. Memorize and meditate. The Word tells us that when we hide God’s Word in our hearts it keeps us from sin. It also says that when we meditate on it day and night we will thrive spiritually and be successful. My suggestion always is to not just memorize isolated verses all over the Bible, but begin to slowly commit whole portions of God’s Word to memory. You can do this a verse at a time. Write out a verse on a 3×5 card and carry it around with you. Throughout the day, repeat it back to yourself and when you have committed it to memory, move on to the next one until you have memorized a whole chapter or book of the Bible. This helps to keep verses in their proper context, and target areas of our life where the Lord needs to work. Romans 6 for those who struggle with sin. Romans 8 for condemnation. Psalms 23 for fear.
Godly mediation is simply digging down into the verses more deeply, contemplating them and asking ourselves how they apply to our lives right now. Do this as you wake up or before you fall asleep and allow the truths of God’s Word to not only fill your heart, but transform your mind.
These are some ideas that have helped – and continue to help me stay consistent in my quiet times with the Lord.
Do you have ideas that have helped you? Please comment below and share with us methods you have found to help you stay consistent in your daily devotions.
Rosilind is an American girl married to a Bosnian guy who lives in a small village just outside of Zagreb. They have two crazy boys who are as opposite as boys can be. When Rosilind isn’t writing, she is dreaming up recipes and searching for ways to organize her home better. You can find her at A Little R & R where she encourages women to find contentment in what God created them to be and at Mission Call.
