Quiet Time


Some days I struggle to just stop & have a time of quiet in my day. To take time for myself, to feed my soul & spend time in the Word. That's just the honest truth. I find this to be true especially since becoming a mom. I know I can't be the only one. You too?

There's always something to clean. There's laundry. Dishes. Meals to make. Groceries to get. Errands to run. And then, most importantly there's the sweet little one, who calls me mama, to care for, spend time with, play with, and teach things to (well, at least I hope she's absorbing the things I'm trying to teach her).



























I'm learning to take advantage of moments throughout my day while E's playing for a few minutes or napping. Sometimes I'll even nab some time while she's watching a show and she'll sit up beside me as I read. I do take time in the evenings some days, but I try my best to have my quiet time earlier in the day.

I'm not a morning person, but in some ways I do like the idea of waking up before E to have a time of quiet and get myself ready for the day. However, at this point it's not exactly ideal because E isn't consistent with wake-up times. With that idea, some mornings I'd be getting up at 4:30am just to be up an hour before her; and really there's no way to tell what time she's going to wake. No thanks. So, for now, I'll tuck that idea away until she's a bit older, waking up a bit later, and a little more consistently.


I always love to know what resources & books people are reading for their quiet times, so I thought I'd share mine with you. For my daily Bible readings (and when any of the following books reference scripture) I go back and forth between the New Living Translation (NLT) & the Message version. For the most part, I use the NLT. 

Lately, these are some of my favourite go-to resources. And to be honest, I skip around from book to book. It's just how I roll. 

1 | Treasuring Christ When Your Hands are Full - Gloria Furman
2 | Jesus Calling - Sarah Young
3 | Savor - Shauna Niequist 
4 | She Reads Truth - I really love this website. They provide great reading plans and go through different books of the Bible & themes.
5 | Pressing Pause - Karen Ehman & Ruth Schwenk
6 | Armor of God - I've been doing this one lately & it's a group Bible study that has daily readings etc. I've really been enjoying it. It's nice to go through something with a group of women.



Some other things I'm trying to do and/or like the idea of, especially on those days where I feel like I don't have time to sit:

- Have a Bible or small devotional book on the kitchen counter. That way I can flip it open when I'm getting meals, or doing whatever task beckons. 

- Write out a weekly scripture & put it on our fridge. That way I (we) have something to see/read/meditate on whenever I (we) grab something from the fridge. Which happens to be a lot. Ha.

- I also love the idea of a morning basket (I heard about the idea on a podcast, and I'm probably butchering it & putting my own spin on it a little). So, gathering the things you're reading for your quiet times etc. in a basket & having your child create something similar. Then every morning, at a set time, you and your kids take some time and do the things that are in your morning basket. This is definitely an idea I'm going to save for when E gets a little older. It teaches kids the concept of quiet time as well, which I love!

- Another thing I do when I go to sit & have my quiet time is grab a cup of coffee. Or a tea. This is my favourite lately. And in the summer, I'm a big fan of this cold brew coffee.

I've come to realize that my "quiet time" doesn't have to follow a certain schedule or be confined to a certain set of rules. Some days I have 10 minutes and some days I have 30 minutes. It just depends, and that's OK. It's a season of life right now.


I'm also really working on not feeling bad about taking the time to sit. To feed my soul. To rest when I need to. To do something I enjoy & need. Some days the dishes may need to be washed, the laundry may be piled up, and the house might be completely wrote off (you know it happens!). And while those things are important, having a time of quiet is also important to me. Those other things will get done, eventually. 

I'd love to hear what you like to read/do during your quiet time. And if you have kids, how do you incorporate this into your day?
SaveSaveSaveSave
SaveSaveSaveSave
SaveSave
Save

Comments