Creating The Habit of Quiet Time

I rise before dawn and cry for help; I wait for Your words. – Psalm 119:147

                I have always been a morning person. Up until I had kids and didn’t sleep through the night did I realize that I cant always wake up before my children.  If you have littles who aren’t not sleeping through the night, this post is not meant for you to add to your  mom guilt of not waking up early. Quiet time does not have to be in the morning. I know some folks will say otherwise but I stand firm in my statement. I will say that I think it’s easier to obtain first thing in the morning but we Mamas have to do what we can do, right?

My goals for waking up before my kids are: to enjoy the quiet, to start the coffee so it is ready for Mister and I, to read my Bible, and to exercise. Anything more, such as a load of laundry or dishes away, to that list is icing on the cake. If you don’t share the same faith as I do, that’s OK, I sure hope you’ll stick around. We can certainly all drink coffee at the same table. If you have any questions about my faith, I’d love to chat! Here are my ways of ensuring a quiet time that leaves me refreshed and ready to start the day.

Have a plan- 

Write your to do list the night before. Find a Bible reading plan to follow. (see my suggestions below)  You don’t want to successfully wake up early and find yourself standing in your kitchen saying “where do I start?” 

Set yourself up-

Prep the coffee, put your Bible and journal on the table, lay out your workout clothes.  These are precious moments saved when you do it the day prior. 

Go to bed early – 

I once heard a sermon that said “It’s not hard to wake up early, it’s hard to go to bed early”  I have to agree. Make it a team effort with your spouse to help each other get to bed earlier, together. Have a book on your nightstand or favorite pod cast designated for bedtime. Ask for help with those looming end of the day chores like laundry and the dishes. 

Teach your children-

If you hear pitter patters of little feet when you just barely cracked open your Bible, I urge you to not sigh in frustration.  Let those kids see you reading and spending time in Gods word. If they wake up, get them a sippy cup of milk and a couple of stories for them to read. Encourage them that it’s quiet time and the day will begin after mommy is done. Tell them what you are doing, it’ll help them create those habits of seeing mom take care of herself with time in Scripture.

Stick with it-

It wont be a habit after 2-3 days. Once you practice this habit for a while you’ll begin to crave it and then it’ll only be easier to keep the habit up.

Bible Studies I currently use:

Good Morning Girls- I love their Bible coloring plan and SOAK Bible Study Method. Both are very streamlined for busy moms and allow flexibility and structure to glean more out of your reading than just reading by itself.

Firmly Planted Family Devotional-We currently use this in our home school. It has questions for various ages and helps us all to ask ourselves deeper questions about our walk in our faith. I’m a big fan of Heidi St. John, if you haven’t checked out her books, podcast or other materials I highly suggest it!

Check out my post, Fitness at Home, for ways to implement workouts without going to the gym.

Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.— Joel 2:13