10 Ways to Get Into the Word, Even as a Busy Mom
The kids wake up before sunrise. They are wonderfully wild and demanding all day long. They take shorter naps than we might prefer.
And so, despite our best intentions, our desire to spend quality time with God by reading His Word gets postponed and delayed and forgotten. We might want to study the Bible, but we also often feel that this is a losing battle. Fighting for time in the Word can leave us feeling frustrated and defeated.
So how can we actually make this happen? How can we get into the Word when so many children and chores and commitments clamor for our attention?
I’ve rounded up ten ideas that just might work for you, even in this busy season of motherhood. Some of these I’ve tried personally; some of them have worked for others. Don’t by any means feel that you need to do all of these! Just choose one or two of these ideas to try. The point is to proactively and intentionally prioritize connecting with God through His Word. Let His light shine into your heart. Which of these ideas could you try this week?
1. Listen to the Bible read aloud through an app as you wash dishes or vacuum.
2. Have an older child read the Bible aloud to you and the family at breakfast or in the car.
3. Keep your Bible open on the kitchen counter so you can read a few verses at a time as you go through your day.
4. Post verse cards all around your house, especially in places you spend a lot of time working, such as the kitchen sink or the laundry room. As you work, memorize and meditate on these verses.
5. Devote the first 20 minutes of naptime to reading the Word, and don’t let anything derail your commitment. The laundry can wait, and so can social media.
6. Make a commitment not to open any other app on your phone before you have read the Bible each day. It is too easy to waste precious quiet morning moments on things that demand our attention but that don’t really matter. Set your mind on Christ first each morning.
7. Become accountable to a friend or mentor. Often, just knowing that someone is going to ask you each day or each week about how your Bible reading is going will be enough to motivate you to use the chunks of time you actually do have to get into the Word.
8. Put on a movie or show for your kids to watch for 30 minutes so that you can use that time to read the Bible and pray.
9. Trade quiet times with a friend. Once or twice a week, bring your kids to her house for an hour so you can get some time alone with God. Then, watch her kids and yours for the next hour so she can do the same.
10. Have devotions along with your kids for a season. Give them their own Bibles or Bible storybooks to look at and read while you read yours. Read the Word to them. Pray with them. Let them hear you confess sin and thank God for His blessings. Invite them to ask questions. Model a quiet time for them, even if it isn’t all that quiet.
Let me know in the comments below which of these ideas you plan to try! And if you have other creative ideas for reading the Bible even when motherhood is overwhelming, post those here too. We are all here to help each other walk in the light of His Word.
