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Guest Post by Lindsey Bell

Let’s be honest. Quiet is something that’s hard to come by as a mom.

I have two boys, and they are on the go from the moment they wake up until the moment they crash in their beds at night. So for me, finding quiet time with God has been…how should I word it…challenging.

But there are a few things that have helped.

1. Change your expectations.

I had great (and long) quiet times with God BC (before children). That all changed the day I brought home our first child from the hospital.

My quiet time does not look the same as it did before I had kids. And neither will yours.

Instead of trying to recreate the magic you had before, change your expectations. Stop expecting to have 30 minutes of uninterrupted time with Jesus, and stop expecting the entire house to be quiet as you study (unless of course you plan to do this in the middle of the night).

Instead, learn to commune with God in the midst of the craziness.

2. Get creative.

Because your time with God is going to look different than it did before, you might have to get creative as you think of ways to make it happen in your household.

Here are a few possible ways to find time with God throughout your day:

Get up early and spend time with God before your family awakens.

Have quiet time with God right when your husband gets home from work. (You get a break from the kids and time with God!)

Use the first few minutes of nap time to commune with God.

Read your Bible as you dry your hair. The hairdryer will block out the sounds of little ones in the other room. (Just make sure your kids are safe and can’t break anything before you begin!)

Pray as you wash the dishes, do the laundry, or run errands.

Listen to praise music throughout the day.

Turn your car into a prayer closet (but keep your eyes open!)

Have family devotions with your children every night before bed.

Make Bible reading a part of your bedtime routine. (Better yet, read the Bible and pray with your husband each night.)

Put your multi-tasking ability to good use as you talk to the Lord in the midst of your daily chores.

3. Do what works for you.

My days go much smoother if I spend time with the Lord in the morning. My attitude is much better. And most days, this works for us. I’m able to get up before the rest of the family and read my Bible.

But this might not work for you. And that’s okay. If you’re not able to read your Bible in the morning, don’t beat yourself up about it. Instead, find a time that works well with your family.

God doesn’t require us to read our Bibles at certain times of day, so we shouldn’t put that burden on ourselves either.

4. Look at your time-wasters.

How many of us say we don’t have time for God, but then find time for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, television, or reading? (Ouch, huh?)

If you have time for your phone, you have time for God.

5. Get accountability.

One great way to make quiet times happen is to have an accountability partner or group. Check in with each other once a week to hold each other accountable. Ask each other these questions or ones that are similar:

How many days this week have you read your Bible?
How many days this week have you spent time in prayer?
What is God teaching you this week?

Our time with God before kids was quiet, long, and peaceful. Now, it’s probably not quiet (at least not for long), probably pretty short, and most-likely not super-peaceful.

But you know what? It can still be just as life-changing.

Let’s Talk: How do you find time for God in your busiest seasons as a mother? Leave a comment to be entered to win a gift card from Lindsey for her blog tour contest!

This post is part of a Lindsey’s blog tour for Searching for Sanity, her new parenting devotional. You can read other posts in this tour by going to her blog.

About Lindsey Bell:

Lindsey Bell is the author of Searching for Sanity, a new parenting devotional. She’s also a stay-at-home mother of two, minister’s wife, avid reader, and chocolate lover. You can find Lindsey online at any of the following locations: Her blog, Her website, Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest.

About Searching for Sanity:

Have you ever looked at your beloved children and wondered, what in the world am I doing? Why did God trust me—of all people—to raise them?

Motherhood is the most difficult job many of us will ever take. Searching for Sanity offers moms an opportunity to take a breath, dig into the Word, and learn from parents of the past. In short devotions designed for busy moms, this book uses the parents of the Bible—both the good and the bad—to inspire today’s mothers.

A Guest Post by Wendy Paine Miller

In my debut novella, The Disappearing Key several characters wrestle with experiences of surrender. We all identify with the convoluted feelings associated with letting go. I know I’ve given up so much in my life already. I’ve let go of expectations, abandoned my will, and anyone married longer than a day will testify to the daily opportunities to demonstrate sacrifice.

Today I want to examine not the act of sacrifice itself, but more who we are in the instance of letting go.

In order to do that, we’re going rock climbing.

I agreed to go on an eight day outdoor trip the summer after my senior year of high school. I had no clue rock climbing was in the mix. To say it terrified me would be an understatement. Scaling a flat surface had never been on my bucket list, not to mention something I ever wanted to do. But I was a trooper. I paid attention. I got hooked in to my carabineer. Then I set out. At some point, about halfway up the massive rock, I recalled a lesson our guide had bestowed upon us. He’d informed us there might come a time when we’ll have to make “a commitment move.” This is when you cannot see the next logical place to lodge your foot or hand, but you’re at a crossroads to make a decision. Time to make a commitment move.

It’s in this moment spiritual change is ripe to occur. Risk. Doing what could cost.

I flung my arm up in a way that would put zoo monkeys to shame and located a crevice. I continued up the rock. I’ll admit I’m still not a huge fan of rock climbing, but the lesson stuck. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made commitment moves in my life since, thinking back to my time scaling that beastly rock.

Now for another rock climbing story. A parable I once heard.

Enter a climber, almost at the peak of a glorious mountain. He begins to slip and struggles to keep his footing as he tumbles downward. Suddenly he’s caught by a rope he’d secured to the mountainside. The man screams out to God for help. God asks if the man really believes that he can save him. The man says of course. Then God asks the man to cut the rope. The man tightens the rope around his waist and days later a rescue team finds the man frozen with his hands clenched around the rope…dangling only a few feet from the ground.

We are defined in the letting go. Anyone can exude joy when life is coasting along. But only some allow themselves to be refined in the heat of the fire, in moments when we can’t see the next step and we’re called to trust. Or in the more harrowing times when we’re hanging on for dear life overcome with doubt.

I’ve been all over the map when called to sacrifice. There are times I’ve marched up a mountain like Abraham carrying Isaac. Other instances I’ve acted more like the rich man, Nicodemus in my resistance. My hope is that I mature and resist less—that I trust more when letting go.

Have you ever stopped to think about how you’ve changed in the midst of letting go? Who have you been in the surrendering?

Wendy is a native New Englander who feels most alive when she’s laughing, reading, writing or taking risks. She’s authored nine novels and is currently writing what she hopes will be your future book club pick. Her work has been published in numerous anthologies and online sites. Wendy lives with her husband and their three girls in a home bursting with imagination and hilarity.

She’s represented by Rachelle Gardner of Books & Such Literary Agency.

Katie here! Just wanted to chime in and say that not only is Wendy a dear friend, but a fabulous writer too! I found her novella thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommend it, especially to book clubs!

Category: guest post

A Busy Mom’s Guide to Finding Time with God

Who We Are in the Surrendering