As busy moms, finding time with God can be challenging. In our hearts we long to make time to spend reading His Word and praying, but often the reality is that parenting young children and taking care of our marriages and our homes, seems to pretty much fill up our day.
It’s easy to push our spiritual life to the bottom of the priority list when our daily t0-dos seem out of control. As a result, we are even more stressed because we are trying to do things in our ownstrength, and aren’t taking time to seek His wisdom in our daily priorities.
Most of us are busy, and when life is jam-packed in the season of parenthood, it’s hard to know how to fit in time with God. But we CAN do it, and we NEED to do it!
Spending time with God probably won’t look the same as it did before you had children, so it’s important to recognize that, and be realistic in your expectations.
Realistically, you probably won’t have 30 minutes of uninterrupted time to spend in the Word, and more than likely your “quiet time” won’t be real quiet! But that’s okay! With a little creativity you can make it work in the midst of your busy family life.
Here is a busy mom’s guide to finding time with God in a variety of creative ways:
1. Listen to a Bible app while getting ready for the day.
This is great for those days that are busy, and you have to get ready and run out the door. You can also listen to your Bible app while driving so you start your day with God’s Word.
2. Pray while you are in the shower.
Shower time often was my ONLY alone time as a busy mom! Take advantage of that time and commit your day to God, while also seeking His strength, wisdom, and direction for the day. Be sure to praise Him during this time–nothing starts your day off better than a few minutes of praising God!
3. Sing a Scripture song with the kids before eating breakfast.
This is a great way to help you and your kids memorize God’s Word easily, and keep it in your mind then throughout the day. It will help your kids and YOU to have a better attitude as the Scripture song goes as you go about your daily activities.
4. Have a family Bible time after breakfast.
This doesn’t have to be long or complicated. Depending on the ages of your kids, it can be a short Bible story that you read and then talk about, or you can read a few verses from Proverbs and how to apply it to daily life. Keep it short and help them learn something from it.
Don’t believe that your kids will be BORED by the Bible. If you are excited about reading it, and get excited about what God is teaching you, your kids will pick up on that excitement.
Pray together afterwards asking God to help you to apply what you have learned, bless your day, etc.
5. Memorize Scripture with your kids.
Memorizing Scripture is the BEST way to keep God’s Word in your heart and mind even on the busiest of days. Kids have sharp little memories and are capable of memorizing more than you might think. We had our kids memorize passages, and they did great.
We started with short passages like:
- John 14:1-6
- Psalm 1
- Psalm 23
- Psalm 100
From there we moved on to some longer passages such as the Beatitudes, and I Corinthians 13.
The key to this is making it FUN with motions, lots of expression, pictures, etc.
6. Give your younger children a DVD with Bible stories to watch while you read your Bible and pray. Have the readers sit beside you and read their Bible (give them a plan) while you read yours.
This is teaching your kids that you value this time with God. They see that this is important to you — important enough that you make it part of your daily routine. Another benefit is that it will help your kids to develop the habit of spending time with God daily.
Encourage your readers to have a daily Bible reading time using one of the Bible reading planning your kids will enjoy.
7. Listen to good, uplifting music during the day.
Having hymns and Godly music playing does so much for your spirit, and will help you feel closer to God.
I also use a phone app called Abiding Radio. It has options for good Christian music, including kids songs. I usually choose the instrumental hymns, as it can be playing in the background, but isn’t too distracting.
8. Use Scripture for correction throughout the day.
Not only does this help you to focus on the child’s heart issue (rather than the wrong behavior), but it also gets God’s Word into your heart and mind.
If you happen to have been blessed with a difficult child, think how many times a day you will be able to get God’s Word in your mind daily!
Finding time with God is much harder once you become a mom, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible! Adjust your expectations, be creative, and then commit to it. Whether it’s reading the Bible to your kids, singing it, memorizing it, or listening to your Bible app, make finding time with God a daily priority!
Kathie, THANK YOU for reminding me that time in God’s word-WITH my kids- is still time that I have spent with the Lord. I needed that reminder today! It’s so easy to feel like you’re failing because you don’t have much separate quiet time. But like everything else, it’s often just one more thing moms have got to learn to do with kids alongside us!
Mandy, yes –things change with kids, and if it’s important enough to us, we will still make it happen even though it means doing it WITH them. And really, spending time together around God’s Word is a great thing to do with our kids! Don’t ever feel like you’re failing because you struggle to find that alone time –you can hear from Him all through the day as you share His Word with your kids.
Hi! Your website has been such a huge blessing and breath of fresh air! 😊 You have mentioned Scripture songs several times. Do you have specific artists, CDs, resources etc. that you recommend? Or do you make them up?
Crystal, I’m so glad that you have been blessed by my website! That’s encouraging to hear. I”m sending you an email about Scripture songs. 🙂