Mums and Quiet Times!

As a Mum and wife, you are on call 24/7! Right?
You don't have the same time that you had when you were single.
It can sometimes seem impossible to have the same quality time with God that you had before when you were single.
It's easy to get discouraged and feel guilty.
When you wake up early, the children either wake up earlier too, you are tired for the rest of the day or you are had it by the evening.
When you set time aside in the day when they are asleep, the phone will ring, someone will turn up or there are so many jobs that need doing that you can't concentrate properly.
In the evening your husband either needs you, wants someone to chat to or you are just worn out!
Are these ever your struggles?
They have been mine!
I would like to share a few ways I get around this challenge.
1. The Daily Light
I highly recommend this book for every mother. It's all Bible, but it's divided into morning and evening  readings. There's around 10-12 verses in each reading. The verses are from all throughout the Bible and each reading is on a theme. For example, one reading might be on prayer or love etc.
It's so short, easy to read and often seems to give encouragement for whatever your going through. (This morning's reading gave me exactly what I needed!)

2. Devotionals by Mrs. C.H.Cowman

Mrs. C.H. Cowman put together a few devotionals. A lot of what's in them is not written by herself. They are filled with stories, devotions, poems etc.  from other books by people such as C.H. Spurgeon, George Mueller, Amy Carmichael and many more. Each devotional is based on a verse. These are short and reasonably easy to read before you get out of bed, at a mealtime or before you go to sleep.

3. Bible Verses where you can see them!

I love the ornaments with the little clips! They're perfect for clipping  verses, you can turn the verses around and you can change them as often as you like!

I put them in my kitchen where I am in a lot during the day!

I find it helpful to put verses on visiting cards which you can buy at most stationary shops. On one side I write an encouraging verse such as "My grace is sufficient for thee..." On the other side I write a more challenging verse such as "Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving..."

I like to put a new card up every day or every few days. And put one of the old ones away. That way they stay fresh. Then whenever I want, I swap the cards around so I get the other sides of them.

 When I write verses on my visiting cards I write them down in notebooks at the same time. So I have 2 little notebooks, one for encouraging verses and one for challenging verses.
They are great to look back on. If your feeling down, you can read through the encouraging verses. Also, if your sending some a card or writing an email and would like to put an encouraging verse, it's quick and easy to pull out your notebook and find a good one.



Challenging verses



Encouraging Verses



 

 4. Bible Verses on your 'to do list'

Writing one verse on your to do list for the day is another way of keeping it in your mind. You will see it every time you look at your list.

5. Praying at mealtimes
Since at breakfast and lunch, it's just me and the girls I often grab the prayer time as a chance to pray for particular things. Particular people or particular requests, rather than just sticking to 'saying grace.' As long as I keep it short!

6. Reading at mealtimes
Some people have the habit of reading the Bible at mealtimes, but lots do not. It's a good habit to have as there are three meals a day! Something short to read can just keep your mind focused for a few more hours. We give our 2 year old a miniture Bible and she has learnt to play with that while we read. Our 8 month old is a bit more of a challenge, but I either give her food or a few toys. Children can be trained!

7. Learn to pray while you work, walk, play with your children or work on your hobby.
I was frustrated the other day about not having the quality quiet time for praying that I would like.
The thought came to me, 'That's the good thing about prayer. You can pray anywhere. You can pray silently and God hears you. You don't have to hold a telephone, so you can do it when your hands are full. You can pray at any time of the day-- God never sleeps!'
Really God has made it very easy for mothers!
Although is it nice and good for us to have time alone to pray.

If there are any particular things or ways that you've found helpful, I'd love to hear them!