Happy Wednesday friends!

Today, I am linking up with Shay and Erika for another round of the Let’s Look Monthly Link Up and this month we are talking all about our daily quiet and prayer time. I have shared about this topic many times before on the blog but like Shay, I truly believe that you can never share too much on this subject so I am excited to link up and share what I am currently using and studying during my quiet time.

If you are new here, I used to be in full time ministry for six years when we lived in New Jersey. I was the Campus Coordinator at a non-denominal church overseeing our hospitality and outreach departments on campus and also for a while oversaw all of our small group as well. All that to say, I have been exposed to many different types of quiet time and Bible studies and the one thing that I learned that was the most important was that everyone has their own quiet time and what works for one person doesn’t work for the next.

I share that because as you read this post and if you are linking up or reading others with the link up it can be easy to play the comparison game. When my kids were younger, when I worked outside of the home (I work from home now and my kids are 11, 12 and 20) my quiet time didn’t look the way it looks today. There have been seasons when my quiet time was merely 10 minutes and times like now where I have intentional and long amount of times to spend in the word and no time is better than the other. They are all great and I firmly believe that spending any time with Jesus and any time quiet alone with your thoughts is time well spent, no matter the length.

So I encourage you to read as inspiration, try what stands out to you that you think could work, tuck away what you would like to try in the future and throw out the rest…and remember that what you are doing is enough!!!

Okay now that we talked about that let’s talk about what my quiet times look like on an ideal morning knowing that this doesn’t happen everyday but this is what I aim for. Well, Monday-Friday that is, on Saturday I like to sleep in a bit and Sunday I usually spend time with Joe before church and brunch with the family.

My alarm goes off at 5:15 AM and then my goal is to be out of bed at 5:30 AM. I have learned that I need to give myself a little snooze time and time to “wake up” before I actually get out of bed so I set it a little earlier than I want to be up and out.

I always start with turning on the lamps and making a hot cup of coffee. Usually I also start my diffusers and grab a cozy blanket and then make my way to the couch to settle in.

I always start with my gratitude and prayer journal. I will write down 5 things I am grateful for from the little to the big but really challenge myself to think of the things the day before that brought me joy and that I am thankful for. I find it easy to be thankful for the big moments but I am really working on chasing joy in the day to day everyday small moments too so I really challenge myself to focus on those. And then I write down any prayer requests that I have and pray.

Next I read a day from my devotional, currently I am going through Strong by Lisa Bevere and really enjoying the nuggets of truth and encouragement a devotional like this gives me. They are short and sweet and just what I need to open my heart and mind to my Bible study.

Next I jump into my Bible study. I use a study Bible and then just put a cute carrying case/cover on it to protect it and right now I am working my way through this Bible study, Courageous Simplicity. I really am working on slowing down and taking things off my plate as I focus on the things that really matter to me in this season of life and being okay with saying no to the things that don’t align. This study has been so so good, highly recommend.

After I do my Bible study I read one chapter of a leadership development book. Right now I just started this one, Profit First which I heard about on a few podcasts and I am excited to dig in. I go back and forth between parenting books, personal development, business development, etc and really value this time. I absolutely love learning and growing when I did 75 hard this was on of the habits I picked up to add to my quiet time and I just love it so much.

Usually by this time about 45-60 minutes or so has passed. The girls get up for school at 6:30 AM and Joe usually wakes them up as he is leaving for work and about 10 minutes later I finish up my quiet time and make sure the girls are getting up and starting to get ready. Some days I finish sooner than 45 minutes and some days, I need to wrap up and get ready myself so I cute short my time but this is typically what I aim for in my quiet time.

It really does start my day off on the right foot, puts me in a better mood throughout the day and helps me feel centered and ready to tackle what the day brings. I also think having this time to myself before our busy days get started makes me a better mom and wife and I can always always tell the difference in the days when I have this time and when I don’t.

Before we go I wanted to also share that this time is separate when what I do with my small group. I belong to two small groups/Bible studies at church and my moms group is going through this study above, Jesus and Women which is a video and study. It is so good and such a rich and deep study. My other group doesn’t have a guide, we watch a video together and then discuss the study questions and that is also such a great women’s study.

I know this may seem like a lot but again, this is because of the season I am in working from home (and for myself) and with my kids in school all day and pretty independent/craving their own time at home. I could not have pulled this off when they are littler and I also know I can’t pull off 2 Bible study groups forever but I am really grateful that I can right now!