Prioritizing the Lord as a Homeschool Mom of 5
Honestly, some days it feels challenging to carve out time for God. There was a season where I was barely reading His Word at all because I never got to sit for more than 5 minutes, and when I did I couldn’t focus or absorb anything I was reading.
It felt useless. Hopeless. And Lonely. I was frustrated that I wanted to grow in knowledge, yet unable to study because motherhood alone was taking everything I had, and more.
But God has endless grace to offer, and it was those busiest years when I learned to work on my prayer life instead. I was encouraged to pray even prayers that took just one minute. 10 seconds. Sometimes even just one breath. I was reminded that prayer is just talking to God and so I could simply narrate my day to Him – tell him what I was doing and how I felt about it. Tell Him who I was thinking about and ask His blessings over that person. Reading the Word, sadly, was on hold for just a little while. But prayer is different.
I couldn’t read and wash dishes, but I could wash and pray!
I couldn’t read and do laundry, but I could fold and pray!
I couldn’t read and change diapers, clean the house, cook dinner, breastfeed a bouncy toddler… but I *could* do all that and pray.
God doesn’t care if your prayers are disjointed. He knows your heart. Just keep reaching out to Him . Keep seeking Him. Let Him minister to you in your few and far between quiet moments. Know that He is there, even in your loudest, messiest hours.
But on to the practical (and probably why you came here)!
Here are 4 ways I prioritize, and make time for the Lord:
Start My Morning in the Word, With God, Every Day
Each morning I get up and make my coffee. If my husband is still asleep, I sit outside and pray, but once he is awake and out of bed, I climb back in (with my coffee) and settle in to read the Word. I don’t set any alarms, but I do find this to be easier when my children are still asleep. For years, I wasn’t able to get up before them. I was beyond exhausted, and losing even 5 minutes of sleep was going to drive me over the edge. But today I am in a place where sometimes I am up before the little guys and can read in peace. Other days, I still read but with less peace and far more interruptions. Regardless, it’s important to me that my boys know that first thing in the morning, mommy is spending time with God.
Use Additional Resources for Learning
Apps, studies, devotionals,… they’re all great! Right now I’m using The Bible Recap podcast, which goes through the Bible in a year, chronologically. I love TLC’s insights and wisdom as she walks listeners through what they’ve read each day. This has been especially helpful for me in books that I simply don’t understand, and am not getting much revelation from the Holy Spirit.
Hang a Prayer Board and Use It Daily
“Daily” is the key here. Have you ever used a prayer board? It’s basically a board where you hang or write the prayer requests of friends and prayer reminders for yourself. Mine is a DIY out of an old picture frame, and I glued on a bunch of corks into the center, and use push pins to hang little notes for myself. Hang your prayer board in a place you’re sure to see it every day, and carve out time (even if all you have is one minute!) to pray specifically for each and every thing and person on there. Pray for your family. Your friends. Your schools. Your politicians. Your country. For a new job. For peace. For joy… Whatever it is, add it to your board and pray over it DAILY!
Start Homeschool Mornings in the Word and Prayer
What better way to prioritize God than to begin our homeschool days with Him. We gather for “morning time” and read the Word and an accompanying book for historical/cultural references, and we pray together and for one another. When I’m really on top of it, I even keep a prayer journal so that we can look back over all that we’ve prayed for, and see how God has answered our prayers. It’s also so beautiful to watch my boys praying over each other. And the reason I especially love this tip, is because I get to learn and grow right along side of my children. It’s an easy way to prioritize the Lord because it’s of utmost importance for them to learn about Him and get to know Him. How amazing that we get to make time for the Lord, together.
Mama, I know that in the throws of motherhood it can be HARD to make time for God. It’s not that He isn’t the most important thing – it’s just that there are so many other things (and small, ragey humans) that demand our attention at a moment’s notice. I get it! But if you can find a minute here… three minutes there… and incorporate it into your life with your children, you’ll find that you truly are able to grow your connection with God.
I pray that you’re able to make that time and grow in your love of Him this week.
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