When you’re already super busy, how can we prioritize God’s Word?
At different seasons in my life, it seemed either time was short or my ability to focus was short! When you have the desire but don’t know what to do, how do you get more of God’s Word into your heart, and into the hearts of your children?
I have some ideas that have served me well along the years.
- Keep it simple! Prioritize God’s word over materials about God’s Word. I sometimes need to remind myself that I’m putting on myself a greater burden than is biblical and right. Puritan theologians might be fun for you to read, but in survival mode you may need to save those things for later and just stick to the actual words in the Bible! Especially when my children were young, I read precious little outside of children’s literature and the Bible. In those days, I sometimes did my own Bible reading outloud while they were eating breakfast (captive audience!)
- If your friends are chatting about theology and spiritual resources, or sharing good Christian books, don’t feel guilty if you don’t want to or aren’t up to reading all of those things. Sometimes those things take the place of Bible reading, and that’s like eating highly processed food when you’ve got garden fresh in abundance! Meditating on spiritual resources is not the same thing as meditating on the word of God, is it? Give yourself space not to be like everyone else. You’re not going to get “behind” spiritually by eating the good stuff. Our problem is when we forget what the good stuff actually is. Resources that are most helpful will be the ones that lead you to a GREATER dependence and confidence in the word of God.
- Find Scripture Songs. While my children played, while we drove in the car, when we cleaned up, I played Scripture songs for them. Truth be told, I needed those Scripture songs as much as they did, and even though my children aren’t playing legos on the living room floor anymore, I sometimes sit on my bed and put on those same Scripture songs when I need something true and beautiful to lasso and corral my thoughts. Songs about God are good, but when my time is tight, scripture songs or songs that are scripture put to poetry are better for my mind. It’s a way that I can meditate on God’s word. I love beautiful poetry about God, but only God’s Words are living. (Over the years, I liked recordings by the Cedarmont Kids choir, Hidden in My Heart Lullabies, Steve Green’s Hide Em In Your Heart albums. A few weeks ago, my teenagers showed me how to search for Scripture songs on Spotify!)
- I sometimes overlook the value of sharing Scripture with our friends and children. What does meditation look like for a mommy with a toddler? Sometimes it’s sharing out loud with my children the same simple phrases that God has laid on my heart repeatedly. O taste and see that the Lord is good! The Lord is MY shepherd. Phrases like these are valuable for us both! I’m also not limited to sharing Scripture with my children. Whether I’m sitting on the beach with my friends, at the dinner table with guests, or texting someone from church, sharing God’s word is one way to meditate on it– talking about ways we have found God to be faithful, ways to help us and our children to be more thankful each day. What are the Scriptures that you’ve been thinking about this week? What is God teaching you?
- When you find passages from God’s Word that are helpful and challenging, write them out and put them where you can see them often. What Scripture do you need this week to remember?
That’s all I can think of for now. What ways have you found to add more Scripture to your life?
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