Quiet Times for Busy Moms
Quiet times for busy moms are hard to come by. This post has simple ideas to refresh and encourage your heart!
There’s nothing wrong with having your “quiet time” in the afternoon or before bed. The key is to do what works for you in this season.
Quiet Times for Busy Moms
In this post, I’m going to share some of the creative ideas that worked for me when all of my children were little.
What matters is that you make nurturing your heart and soul a priority. Your whole family will benefit when you do!
It Doesn’t Have to Be in the Morning
So often, mothers of young children aren’t able to get enough sleep. Many times we’re up in the middle of the night with a sick child or a nursing baby.
In times like these, I think the next best thing is to have a quiet time in the afternoon, when the little ones are down for a nap.
There have been times when I needed a nap myself, so I took my Bible to bed with me and at least read a few verses or a chapter before resting.
Include Your Children
That way, you’re getting in some Bible reading and the kids are benefiting as well!
Get Creative
Sometimes, when I wasn’t able to carve out time to read, I would listen to the Bible on CD while I was resting or washing dishes.
I remember many years ago reading an article in Above Rubies about Bible reading for mothers with little ones. Â Nancy suggested leaving Bibles open all over the place.
For instance, leave one in the bathroom so you can grab a few verses of encouragement while you’re in there. Â Leave a Bible propped open by the kitchen sink (mine would get soaked by little dish washers if I did this!).
Create a Quiet Time Basket
Create a basket of devotional tools by your nursing chair, so you can grab your Bible or an edifying book while you nurse your baby.
Or, you could print off a verse or passage of Scripture and tape it to the wall by your rocking chair (you could even have a picture frame with a verse in it, and you could change the verse every so often).
There have been times when I printed out a chapter or passage of Scripture and tacked it to the cabinets at the kitchen sink so I could memorize and meditate on it while I worked.
I’ve also taped a Bible chapter to the bathroom wall by the sink, so I could read it while I was getting dressed or brushing my teeth in the morning. Â I would also be able to glance at it every time I happened to be in there.
Favorite Encouraging Resources
Here are a few of my favorite resources for my daily quiet time:
Bible Verse Cards
You can write your own verses on 3 x 5 cards, or you can print a set of cards below.
Free Printable Bible Verse Cards
I have a set of free printable Bible verse cards for moms available here.
They’re in the King James version because it’s in the public domain.
Go here to get your free Bible verse cards!
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Usually it's at night. I have a stack of books by my bed and I pick up whatever suits my fancy. Be it the bible, a spiritual book, a good biography and sometimes…it may be a book "just for fun" to help refresh me. I used to be in the habit of keeping a "spiritual diary", but as of late I have not written much (just too tired nowadays.)
Usually our morning devotions (if we haven't gone to daily Mass) are at the breakfast table. We pray our morning prayers together. The bible is read, if it's a particular feastday we may talk about that, and then catechism is reviewed.
I think to build a family's spiritual life, it is wise to build it around the cornerstones of your life (for us that is mealtimes). These are things in your life that are always going to happen…how easy is it to add a bit to that.?
At dinner I read outloud to the children (I eat my dinner later..).
In the car you can play inspirational talks or music.
that's all I have for now…yawn!
Thank you so much, Josette, for adding all your creative ideas! It's a great idea to use meal times as times for spiritual conversation and Bible reading. In addition to being a natural time in the day for it, it seems to add an element of peacefulness and also happy memories!
Thank you so much, Joy, for sharing this. It was a blessing and encouragement to me! The ideas are wonderful, and some I hope to implement into my own life. When life gets busy, it can become easy to begin to slip away from spending time with the Lord in His Word and in prayer (as I shared some about in my e-mail to you. 🙂 Yet, how vital it is for us! I find that getting up early in the morning and spending the first part of the day with Him works very well for me. I love starting my day out this way!
Thank you again for sharing!
Oh, I agree with you about the early morning, Sarah! It's my favorite time of day, too (when I have a choice, and little ones aren't keeping me up in the night!)
Thanks so much for your sweet comment!
Dear Joy,
My favourite time is in the morning but we have so mnay wakeful children during the nights that as the years have gone on I am not as able to do those early mornings
I too have a basket like this and love above Rubies for these ideas. my other favourite inspirational lady is Edith Schaeffer for great motherly ideas.
Thanks for sharing this
Blessings
Gae
BTW. How do you make those lovely links for your pinterest and facebook pages etc? I would love to have some pretty ones like that
Gae, I do know what you mean about wakeful children…we have one right now who is causing us quite a lot of sleep-deprivation. It can be so hard. It's nice to know that God will meet us where we are and that he knows what we're going through.
Above Rubies and Edith Schaeffer have been such great encouragements to me, too, throughout the years!
I made the links in Photoshop. You can get a free trial of Adobe Photoshop Elements on the Adobe website (that's all I have is the free trial…so I need to use it while I can!). 🙂
I love how you said that sometimes you just try to read a couple verses before resting or as you work throughout the day! I do this, too, on many days….and even though it isn't an in-depth study time (as I would like to do!), it is always *enough.* God's provision for me that day.
I like to pray & read very early, too – before the children are up & our day begins…I always feel more prepared for the day when I am able to do this. 🙂
Thanks for sharing…this was very encouraging!
♥Collette
ps…I love your new header & graphics! :0) Very lovely & inspiring!!
Thank you so much for your encouraging comment, Collette! You're so right that God gives us what we need for each day, even if it wasn't the in-depth study time we long to have.
Blessings to you today!
I do these as well, and many nights up nursing the baby turn out to be prayer time too. We also have some of those scripture memorization song CDs for the kids that we listen to while driving. There are days when that COUNTS! 🙂
Oh, I know what you mean about praying in the night with a nursing baby, Valerie! Sometimes I have had some really inspiring prayer times in the middle of the night.
Thank you for mentioning the scripture memorization CDs–you're right, that counts, too! 🙂
Wonderful ideas! Thank you for sharing! I find I am the strongest too, when I am taking time to pray and listen to the Lord. Blessings for a beautiful week ~
Thank you, Emily Fay! I hope the rest of your week is blessed as well!
I have given up the idea of having it at the same time every day. I have done many of the ideas you have suggested. I read whenever I get a chance. Sometimes it is once a day and sometimes it is more!
Sometimes it just isn't possible to have it at the same time every day (or at the "ideal" time). I have done that, too, where I have had a quiet time more than once, or here and there through out the day. Thanks for sharing, Adrienne!
Oh yes, I need my quiet time in the morning-or else I am not the same person. It gives me a calm and peace through out my day.
I agree, Danielle! The seasons when I haven't had that time in the morning are more challenging for me.
I am an early riser, I never used to be, I used to be a night owl. Then I had kids, and I was exhausted when they went to bed, so I started going to bed much earlier 🙂 They are still young, almost 4 and 21 months. We are finally getting past the waking up a lot in the night, it still happens, just not as frequently 🙂 Last fall I heard about the Hello Mornings challenge, and started doing that, I failed miserably. Then they started a winter one at the beginning of February, and I made it my goal to get up super early in the morning. My days have gone smoother, I am happier, my relationship with God is stronger. I needed the time, and just had to bite the bullet to take it. I also try to sit down in the afternoon while the kids are having rest time, however, I find that I am at my best in the early morning, when the house is still. In the afternoon, I often feel like I need to fit as much into that two hour window (laundry, dishes, planning dinner) that I can't relax enough to pray. Great post!
That is wonderful that you've been able to get up early, Heather! It does seem to make the day go more smoothly.
I have the same feeling in the afternoon, of wanting to get as much done as possible while the little ones are napping or resting. 🙂