Finding time....

As a mom of three, sometimes I find it very difficult to just sit down and relax. I would love to sit down and read an entire book or watch a movie during the day, but I am having trouble finding time to do that. Having kids is a lot of work. Keeping up the house is a lot of work. Making sure everything around here is in order is a lot of work. I like to get out and do things with the kids during the day and then try to play catch up when we get home.

My goal, however is to every day read the Bible at the minimum of 15 minutes. Sometimes it is longer, but I try for at least the minimum. It is kind of like the exercising excuse that we hear all of the time—yes you hear it from me…when do I have time to do that..I am so busy!

The Bible is such an important book that can help guide us in our decisions of our everyday life. It can help you with how your family should function or your relationship with your husband. It can give you peace about how you are living your life or give you something to pray about if it is something you need to work on. It gives you guidance on how to raise and discipline your kids. It tells you how you can have eternal life in heaven.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

I know so many people who are avid readers…reading several books every week…but when is the last time they picked up the Bible and read it?

^{John 14:23} Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. ²⁴He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me."

Finding a time that is good for you:

If you don't currently read or feel you don't have the time, find just 15 minutes. Maybe it is when you wake up and are eating breakfast or right before you go to bed. Maybe you can buy a Bible on CD and listen to it in the car. Maybe it could be during your kid's nap times- if you have kids and they nap. My ideal time is in the evenings right after Easton gets up from his nap. I make him practice his quiet time during that time.

Where to begin?

(these are just my opinions…there are many ways to begin)

If you have never read the Bible outside of church or on own your, it can be difficult to figure out where to begin. First of all, buy a Bible if you don't have one.

• If at church, the person who speaks is focusing on a certain area of scripture, start off by reading more into what they talked about.
• Join a bible study. There are many churches that have Bible studies on weeknights. I caution you against booklet studies (if they don’t relate to the Bible). Make sure they are actually focusing on the bible and not the opinion of an author. Anyone can write a book.
• Find a devotional book. Sometimes devotional books give stories about real life situations and then point you in the direction of where to read.
• Consider “Our Daily Bread”. Currently that is what I read. It gives a little story—like a devotion—and then points you to a piece of scripture that relates to the story. Sometimes it is only a few verses, but it is always nice to just keep reading! Then if I have time I read what we talked about in church, to just review.
• Find a Bible study blog if you don’t have time to go to an actual Bible study. There are many people that write blogs that give you direction of where to read on a daily or weekly basis.
• If you have kids, read to them each day before they go bed or if you have a designated story time..or during a meal…who doesn’t eat faster than their kids? Mine sometimes eat like snails!
• Just pick up the Bible and read it front to back like a normal book.
• Pray that you can church that focuses on the Bible if you are not attending one.
• Just pray in general that the Lord will give you guidance as you start to read it.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Any other ideas on where to begin?

(Picture below—Easton—I do his mat time during my quiet time. He is required to sit there quietly and play with toys. This is supposed to translate to being quite at church, however he hasn’t translated that it is the same thing at church. He is usually hungry, tired, or cranky during church, which makes it kind of hard. One of these days he will get the point)