Simple Living: Part Eleven

This morning, Stephanie, at Keeper of the Home, is talking about how busy moms can spend time in devotion to God. I must admit this has, and continues to be, a huge change for me. Since Big Boy was born three years ago, I've struggled with how to spend time with the Lord and balance the demands of being a mother and a wife. While knowing that this is a season in my life, there are a few things I've learned:

1. Post Scripture everywhere in your home. No, it's not the same as having a concentrated amount of time in the Word, I find that those quick nuggets of truth give me something to meditate on as I'm making another peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And often times, they just happen to be the exact words I need to hear in that moment.

2. Memorize Scripture with your children. Big Boy turned 3 this year and we've been memorizing small chunks of Scripture here and there. At first, it was motivated by my desire to instill small bits of foundational truth in him from a young age. However, I've come to find that it's just as important for my own spiritual growth. So we memorize together and if I'm ready to move on before he is, I add an additional Scripture for my own memorization.

3. Prayer with your kids in the evening. I climb in bed with Big Boy every evening and we say our prayers together. I love to hear about his day in his own words and model for him what prayer looks like. Recently we were able to thank God for an answered prayer and I'm so glad to model that for him as well. That testimony can be found here .

4. Enjoy Sunday morning fellowship and small groups. I often hear moms talk about how they can't make the time during the week to truly engage in a small group. However, I wonder how they could possibly NOT make time. We've found our small group time to be invaluable. They encourage us, support us, and grow us as parents and human beings. Plugging into a small group has transformed all of us in ways we never thought possible.

5. Pray without ceasing. My challenge this year has been to learn to Pray without ceasing. Pray when my kids' volume level exceeds my threshold. Pray with the kids as we're leaving town and traveling. Our last adventure can be found here. Praying without ceasing has provided me with more patience, more love, and more community.

These are just a few ways I've found to spend time with the Lord through out my day in the land of "littles." I'm thankful for this season in my mothering as it has brought me many joys and challenges. And grown me in ways I never though possible, including this are of my spiritual growth. I continue to embrace where I am and hope to one day look back on it as a time of great revelation. Hope this challenges and enlightens you in this season of your life as well.