In my last post I shared a quote regarding our quiet times with Christ. The quote focused on the importance of having a daily time devoted to connecting with Jesus. What exactly does that look like?
Through the years I've felt bad at times about not being able to devote the same time; both length of time and time of day, to a daily devotional. Certain seasons, when my kids were little and still napping for a couple of hours, I've had a larger amount of time to sit, study and pray. Other seasons have brought sleepless nights and days and that time has been shortened. As I've gotten older and passed through these seasons multiple times I've learned that Jesus does truly meet us where we are. Would it be great to spend an hour, even a half hour, every day truly being able to focus and study? Yes! But what do you do when life just doesn't allow for that?
Right now we have teens, tweens, kids and a toddler in our house; which means our days are filled straight through. We also are now dealing with this pandemic and not just having everyone home but Matt's working from home, the kids are schooling at home, and I'm still trying to keep up with regular household tasks while chasing a very busy toddler. There are many blessings but also challenges during this very busy time of life. Below are a few ways I've found helpful to still get time in with Jesus and also to keep my focus on Him and meditate on His Truths throughout the day. Some days I do better with this than others but pretty much every day I'm able to do at least one of these.
Ways to stay connected to God when life is busy:
- Pray, you don't have to have a special prayer corner, journal, etc (although it's GREAT if you can and do have those). Pray when running errands, while cleaning, folding laundry...the great thing about prayer is that it's a conversation that can be ongoing throughout the day. I love the times when I can take time to completely dedicate all my thoughts to prayer but right now most days it looks like the former.
- Bible apps. These are great! I use the YouVersion Bible app which has many different reading plans and devotional plans. One thing I've learned in using this app is that listening to Scripture often helps me to focus more and I catch things I may have missed in the past. I use my shower time to listen as it's a time when I'm not distracted. The daily readings for the current plan I'm using average 15 minutes so listening in the shower works perfectly.
- Podcasts. I love listening to great teaching and have learned so much through listening to podcasts. I listen when I'm folding laundry, cooking dinner or doing other tasks. There are so many to choose from.
- Music. Music is found throughout the Bible; from Miriam's song, to the Psalms, to Mary's Magnificat and many more. I love music. Thanks to Pandora, Spotify and other music apps you can tailor the stations to your preferences and enjoy great Godly music all day.
Instead of feeling guilty when seasons change and my quiet times change; I've come to realize that this is the life Jesus has given me and I can choose to be with Him at every step; He knows my desires and He is not bound by Earthly times or schedules. There can be a freedom in setting aside those rigid timelines that we often make for ourselves and being open to doing things differently. Another thing I've also found is that by finding creative ways to stay connected I often spend more time throughout the day in communication with Jesus than if I had sat down at a specific time each day and just saw it as something to check off and get on with my day.
Before I close this post I wanted to share the current reading plan I am using. Last year our pastor challenged us to read through the Bible in a year. While I had read most of the Bible there were a couple of books I had never fully read (hello, major prophets) and I had never read the Bible straight through from Genesis to Revelation. Matt, Ethan and I took on the challenge and read through the entire Bible. It was great and I learned a ton...but...I did get bogged down in some of the old testament books where things are repeated from earlier events or how the prophets fit into the timeline. So, I decided this year I wanted to read through the Bible again but using a different plan. I initially looked at the chronological plans but, while it was set to read the books in chronological order it didn't quite fit what I was looking for. As I was looking through the chronological plans I found one from Wycliffe Bible Translators called the Bible in Historical Sequence. I am loving this plan. The readings are grouped by the historical timeline so all passages pertaining to one event are grouped together. The Psalms are split up and placed during the time in David's reign when he wrote them, the Proverbs into Solomon's reign, etc. I'm finding that this is giving me a fuller picture and understanding of the events I'm reading about. I recently told Ethan it's like having David's journal to be reading what he was thinking and feeling during specific events.
While this is what is working for me right now there are countless ways that Jesus meets us where we are. There is no right or wrong way; we are designed with unique journeys and relationships with our Savior. The most important thing is that we have a relationship with Jesus; both through initially accepting Him as our Savior and also; as with any relationship, putting in the time to grow closer to Him. I very much believe that "iron sharpens iron" and love hearing the thoughts and ideas of others so...
What Bible reading plans or Bible studies are you currently using?
What are some ways you find to connect to the Savior throughout your day?
What do you find as barriers to spending time with Jesus?
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