Overwhelmed by My Blessings: Encouragement for Moms (Part 10)Sample

Finding time to spend with Jesus can be a really tough thing to do for moms. We are either sleep-deprived from getting up with littles in the night, or are running all over town taking kids to school and other activities. There doesn’t seem to be a spare moment left in our day for anything! I think this is why so much of God’s word talks about meeting with Him in morning. It compels us to seek Him first before our day is filled with all the other necessary and important things we do. Without that strong beginning with Him every morning, our day is quickly filled with meltdowns, work, laundry, grocery shopping, the social media we all love, or those addictive podcasts. There came a time in my parenting when I discovered that beginning with Jesus set the tone for the remainder of my day. It reminded me where to put my hope and trust, and gave me opportunity to align my thoughts with His.  Aligning with Him is vital when your morning may include cranky kiddos, a husband who misplaced his keys, or a sullen teen.  As we open our Bibles and come before Jesus with open, hungry hearts, His powerful, living words help us choose our own words and attitudes when we need them most.  We will be armed with the Sword of the Spirit, and gain wisdom to respond to every conflict we will encounter, even before breakfast. We will usher peace into our hearts and homes, because He is Peace. And what mom couldn’t use a little more Peace? I get that you may be a night person and may enjoy reading your Bible before you go to sleep. I encourage you to also begin your day early with Jesus, before your kids get up.  It’s one of the best choices I ever made and still make today. Is He calling you to be a daughter of the day? Try it. It may be difficult to begin, but you may be wonderfully surprised at what missing thirty minutes of precious sleep may mean for you and your family. Father, I want to make meeting with You a priority to begin my day. I’m asking You to give me  courage to wake up earlier and to be consistent in this practice long enough to see if this really adds value to me and my family. I’m setting my phone alarm for tomorrow morning right this minute. Help me fight back all the excuses that come to mind and instead think about all the goodness You will bring as I choose to consistently begin my day with You.