Okay sweet friend, let's have a heart-to-heart about something you and I both face - those moments when your quiet time feels more like a checklist than just spending time with God. I've been there, and I want to share some insights I've learned along the way. ❤️
When Your Quiet Time Needs a Reset: 5 Common Struggles (and How to Move Forward with Grace)
Can I be completely honest with you? Sometimes I still hit those seasons where my quiet time feels disconnected or routine. Maybe you're in one right now and if you are, I want you to know you're normal.
There's so much grace for wherever you are in your journey. And if you're feeling that gentle nudge to deepen your time with God, I want to walk through that with you.
Here are five challenges I've faced in my own walk (and I'm sure you can relate to most of these!):
The Devotional Dependency
Oh friend, I lived here for years! While devotionals and pre-written Bible studies by biblically sound teachers can be beautiful companions to your quiet time (and there's nothing wrong with loving them!), I discovered that relying solely on them was the problem - that was keeping me from experiencing the full richness of God's Word.
Try this instead: Start with just you and your Bible. Pick a passage, even a short one, and ask God what He wants to show you personally. It's like moving from reading someone else's opinions about THEIR Father to receiving your own direct message from your Father.
The Distraction Dance
I'm sure you've been there - trying to read while simultaneously answering texts, making mental to-do lists (or literally putting your Bible down to add to your to-do list!), or getting pulled into family needs. Although it can be frustrating, it's also normal.
Try this instead: I've found that creating what I call a "sanctuary moment" makes such a difference. Find your quiet corner (mine's the couch before anyone wakes up), put your phone in another room (yes, really!), and give yourself permission (or better yet, admonition) to be fully present with God. Even if it's just for 15 minutes, make them focused minutes.
TIP: Don't allow the guilt! Guilt is one way the enemy (or even your own brain) will try to keep you from strengthening your faith. It's EASY to feel like you're ignoring your family or neglecting your "duties", especially if you can't do this before anyone else is awake. Consider this truth: when you make time with the Lord a priority, and your children and husband SEE how important it is to you, they will also see the amazing fruit that results from it, and through your example they will be more inclined to cultivate their own habit of time with God. How incredible is it that you can have that influence over your family, simply by committing to your own quiet time with the Lord?!
The Prayer Skip
Can I share something vulnerable? I used to jump straight into Bible reading because prayer felt... awkward at times. Maybe even (dare I say) boring. I mean, you don't even hear Him audibly respond. But here's what changed everything: thinking of prayer as simply sharing my heart with the One who cares the most to hear it!
Try this instead: Start with "God, please open my eyes and mind to hear and understand what You want to teach me today" and let the conversation flow naturally. It's not about perfect words - it's about showing up with an open heart.
FREE RESOURCE: What helps me stay focused when I pray is having a guided journal, where I can use bullet points (or paragraphs, whatever I'm feeling at the time) to write down my praises, prayers, and requests for various areas of my life. I created this FREE 31-Day Guided Prayer Journal with prompts originally for myself, because I couldn't find one I was looking for, and then I decided to make a version that you could use too! It has 31 different prompts for your husband, your children, and other areas of focused prayer like church leaders or struggling families. It also has space for praises to God, a section for prayers over yourself, and an area for any additional miscellaneous prayers (which is helpful when you're praying daily for something specific like a friend's health or marriage crisis). CLICK HERE to download your FREE copy!
The Rush and Run
In your busy mom/wife life, it's so tempting to speed through your quiet time like you're racing through a drive-thru. But sweet friend, quality is so much more important than quantity.
Try this instead: I've learned that sitting with just a few verses and really letting them sink into your heart can be more transformative than racing through an entire chapter. Give yourself permission to slow down and savor. Don't get me wrong, reading several chapters in order to understand the context of what's happening or being written about is hugely important. But taking a few minutes to savor just a few verses is better than reading an entire chapter and not remembering anything that you read.
The Duty Mindset
This one hits close to home. As a "good Christian wife and mom", it's easy to feel like quiet time and Bible study are things you're just supposed to do. They talk about it on Sunday mornings, you hear about it on social media, and you know that as a Christian, you're expected to fit into that mold of the woman who regularly reads her verse-of-the-day or participates in her women's ministry's Bible study.
Try this instead: When quiet time starts feeling like another task on your to-do list, pause and remember - this is an invitation to spend time with Someone who delights in you. When you feel disconnected, be gentle with yourself. Know that your feelings aren't necessarily truth. Take just a few minutes to linger over one verse, one paragraph, one passage, or one chapter of God's Word. Breathe this prayer: "Lord, help me see this time with fresh eyes. Remind me of your love." Sometimes just shifting your perspective from having to do quiet time to getting to spend time with the One who loves you the most, changes everything. It's part of taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
Remember, sweet friend - this isn't about perfection. It's about progress and presence. Every time you show up to meet with God, whether it's for 5 minutes or 50, whether you're fully focused or fighting distractions, it matters. You're building a relationship, and like any relationship, it has seasons and rhythms.
Are you ready to dive deeper into creating meaningful and transformational quiet time?
I'd love for you to check out my FREE Quieting Your Mind Guide - it's filled with gentle prompts and practical tools I've gathered along my own journey. No pressure, just support for wherever you are in your walk - and you only need a few minutes.
What struggles have you faced in your quiet time? I'd love to hear your story and walk alongside you. Drop a comment below - let's encourage each other in this journey. ❤️
How in the world does clutter have an effect on being a godly wife? We're wrapping up our series on the Daily Habits of a Godly Wife with today's post!
Some might say that as a godly wife, your role is a keeper at home, so that's the only reason you should keep your home well. That's not what we're talking about today.
In this post, we'll explore how clutter in our homes - and in our souls - can affect our behavior as godly wives.
Not only does a clean and organized home create a sense of calm, but it also frees up space in our minds and schedules.
In addition to physical clutter, we also have a need to address mental clutter. Negative thoughts and anxious concerns can wreak havoc on our emotions, but we have the power to choose what thoughts to entertain and what to reject.
Be sure to read the whole post for some tips and a FREE resource I use and love!
Read more...
How well are you sleeping?
Not only does inadequate sleep affect your mood and emotions, but it also has long-term damaging effects on your heart and circulatory system, metabolic system, immune system, nervous system, brain function, and mental health.
Taking care of your body by ensuring you get enough sleep is vital in order to effectively care for your family, manage your emotions, and respond biblically to challenging situations.
Prioritizing sleep is an essential aspect of self-care that is often overlooked.
Check out the full post for tips and to download your FREE Sleep Checklist!
Worship. What's your first thought?
Most likely you thought of your favorite song from Sunday morning, or your local Christian radio station.
How can you cultivate a lifestyle of worship?
Check out the full blog post as we talk through what it would look like to live out a lifestyle of worship, and to grab your free printable of the Daily Habits of a Godly Wife to help you develop your own rhythm and routine.
Read more...
Last week we talked about making daily Bible study a habit in order to grow as a godly wife.
Today, let's talk about prayer.
Most of us would say that we pray regularly. We tell friends and family and co-workers that we'll pray for them.
Sometimes we even do pray for them, right there on the spot, or we have our handy prayer journal where we write them down and pray over those requests.
This is important, and such a good routine to get into!
But...do you regularly pray for your husband, for your children, and for yourself?
For your husband
I know many wives I support are praying for their husband to be delivered, to find Jesus, or to be convicted of certain sins.
While this is well and good, I want to offer some additional prayer points that we need to be covering for our men.
- His physical health
- His protection from the enemy's tactics over his body, mind, and spirit
- Favor at work, that he would do his job with efficiency and be well-respected
- Ministry opportunities
- Mentor relationships (that he would find an older, godly mentor and also someone younger to be a mentor himself)
- Growth in wisdom and discernment
- A deeper desire to know and follow God's will
- That he would fall more deeply in love with Jesus, and with you, his wife
- That he would love you as Christ loves the Church
For your children
It can become habit to pray for our children to grow closer to the Lord. This is a necessary prayer and we should always ask God to draw them closer to Himself. Here are several more prayer points to consider:
- Their physical health
- Their hearts to be soft towards God, and towards others
- Protection from the enemy, especially over their minds in light of how our current society is trying to deceive them
- Godly friendships
- Wisdom in making decisions
- Discernment in choosing friends, and choosing their future spouse
- Their future spouse, that they are growing in godliness and spiritual strength and wisdom
- They would desire to glorify God each day of their lives, from the most mundane act of picking up something a person dropped, to the most heroic in serving and saving others
- Joy would abound in their hearts as they rest in Jesus as their sufficiency
- That they would honor you and their father, as God commands
For yourself
This is an area we often find imbalanced. Either we're praying for God to bless us and neglecting to pray for growth, or we're praying for conviction and neglecting to ask for things we simply want. Consider adding these prayer points to your daily prayers over yourself.
That God would reveal to you His instructions for godly wives, and equip you to follow them.
That God would cultivate a deeper desire to obey Him, and to please and serve your husband.
For more joy in motherhood, and strength to intentionally cast off self-pity
Blessings over your home, those who enter it, and grace as you pursue hospitality
Your physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental health
Protection from the enemy's tactics - wisdom and discernment to recognize them when they come
That God would equip you to submit to, respect, honor, and obey your husband
AND...
Birth Mom or Birth Dad
If you're part of a blended family where the birth mom and/or birth dad are still involved, pray over them as well:
They would come to know, or grow in the knowledge of, Christ as their Lord and Savior
Their relationship with their child(ren) would be healthy, thriving, and close
God's blessing over their families and marriage, if applicable
Protection over their physical, spiritual, and mental health
I would love to hear: are these already part of your daily prayers, or are these some points that are often forgotten or overlooked?
What would you add to these daily requests?
To grab your free printable with ALL the daily habits of a godly wife, click here!
