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It never ceases to amaze me how God uses some of the most unlikely ways to encourage me.
The other day I was searching the internet for something. I clicked one of the link results, and ended up at a blog post titled “Encouragement for mothers of young children”.
God’s timing was perfect. That’s not remotely what I was searching for, but was a nice reminder for me anyway.
My quiet time lately has been a struggle. For a long time, my favorite time of day to spend with the Lord has been first thing in the morning. It still is. Now that Caleb is getting older though, he is becoming more and more of an early riser. It’s been a struggle for me to get up early enough to be able to have my quiet time before either of the boys get out of bed. It is definitely motivation to get in bed at a reasonable time at night though!
What really stood out to me though was a comment the author made about how we can still have our quiet time, even if it’s at odd hours. My quiet time never seems to be the same if it’s not first thing in the morning, but it doesn’t have to be any less sweet at another time of day.
I’m still going to aim to be up before the kids, though I’m wondering how that’s going to work once Little Miss makes her appearance. Either way though, the reminders in that blog post were wonderful.
If you’d like to read the post, it is here. I don’t know anything about the blog author and haven’t read any of her other posts, but that particular post really spoke to me.
I still get twisted around in my day if I don’t get my time with the Lord in the morning, and I don’t have small children! I think the Lord honors your efforts and knows your heart, that you want to put Him first, and He will meet with you and bless you whenever you are able to meet with Him.
I “know” Barbara – I’ve been reading her blog for a long time. She has a lot of wisdom, and she’s been a huge blessing to me. You should follow her blog!
This has definitely been an area I’ve struggled with lately, too. DH gets up at 5 & leaves around 6:15. DD wakes up between 6:15 & 6:45. And I’m not a morning person!
My pastor’s wife told me her quiet time is at 3pm. Her 8 kids know not to disturb her unless it’s a life-threatening situation or someone’s bleeding (lol). She says it’s the “family” quiet time, b/c the kids read their books, too.
Sandra, you’re right. It makes a huge difference! My husband is very good at sending me to another room while he watches the kids so I can have my quiet time. . .but I know by far my favorite time is first thing in the morning. What was so encouraging to me was that it can still be as sweet, even when it’s at a different time of day. It is definitely my goal to spend time with Him every day, and I do my absolute best to meet that goal too. It’s just hard sometimes to get out of the “It’s not first thing in the morning so it won’t be as good” mindset.
My husband gets up at 6:00 and my children by 7:00. I know how hard it can be to have that quiet time. But I too have to take it in bits and pieces. The thing is, to have that time though, no matter what. I have 30 minutes between my husband leaving and the kids getting up. I also take another 30 minutes in the afternoon and put my ‘Don’t Bug Me’ sign on my door. That means no phone calls, no kids knocking unless it’s an emergency! God wants us to spend time with him and it really makes a difference in our lives when we do.
Barbara, thanks so much for stopping by! I think sometimes the learning to adjust is the hard part. I’d like to think it’s easy, but most of the time it’s not as easy as I think it will be. Thanks so much for your post too!!
Thanks for the mention! I’m so glad the Lord used that post to minister and encourage you.
Morning is still my favorite time, and I still get a bit disoriented if something happens to rearrange the schedule (though my children aren’t small any more, I guess schedule disruption is a way of life 🙂 ). But the Lord is continually teaching me to adjust and make time with Him a priority.