Plus two gifts for you!
I am so hungry for more of God. This week I’ve been listening a lot to the song Spirit Move by Kalley Heiligenthal, just soaking in God’s presence, and experiencing a fresh touch of the Holy Spirit. It’s wonderful to feel God close.
I haven’t always felt close to God as a mum. I’ve been through long dry seasons of feeling far away from God, and feeling terrible about it; and I’ve experienced times of exhaustion when I just didn’t know how to make time for God. Through it all, I’ve come to realise that time with God as a mum does not have to look like time with God before being a mum (or even before getting married).
God knows we are mums. He knows all that comes with that! Even Jesus had the same problem of not being able to get away from it all (Matthew 14:13).
God must intend for us as mums and moms to still be able to be intimate with Him!
And, that’s why I’m so excited by this post!
I’ve asked 16 wonderful mums and moms to share how they stay close to God. The ideas and resources they share will help you connect with God in your day-to-day as a mum!
There is something for you if you are a mum with little kids who can’t even go to the bathroom by yourself.
There is something for you if you are a mum of older kids needing new desire to meet with God.
There is something for you if you are a mum who just honestly needs a fresh touch of God to see you through the day.
I highly recommend you bookmark or pin this post (by using the sharing buttons below). There are enough ideas and resources here to last you a lifetime! Don’t let them overwhelm you. Pick one for today, then come back again!
I also have two gifts for you!
I wish I could wrap them up and give them to you in person, but please know they come with my love, and prayers that they help you meet God in a deeper way.
Gift number 1:
3 Things You Never Knew About Eve is a 3-Day Devotional Bible Study, adapted from my new book Forever Loved: Eve’s Story. (Available now!)
God has amazed me recently with these insights into Eve’s life. Her story is one of preciousness and beauty. Through Eve, God reveals his Father heart for us, his daughters. He offers to take us deeper into his love than we’ve ever been before!
Click here to receive it for free
(It will be sent as a downloadable pdf.)
I’d be really interested to know if you knew any of these things about Eve before. I didn’t!
Gift number 2:
10 Days 10 Ways to Meet God in the Midst of Motherhood.
Sign up for free, and you’ll receive a short email each day for 10 days with an idea and resources to help you draw close to God. Each idea will be simple, practical and doable for busy mums!
Pick the gift that is most useful to you in this stage of motherhood, or choose both. You’re allowed to!
Enjoy!
Now, I’ll hand over to our 16 beautiful mums and moms:
(Just a little word about the lovely mum and mom bloggers who have contributed to this post: they are my favourite Christian bloggers, they are my online friends and support network. Visit their sites. Comment on their blog posts. Like their Facebook pages. Sign up for their resources. Give them some love and encouragement today. They are mums and moms just like you and me. You can put a smile on their face today!)
16 Mum and Mom Bloggers Share How They Stay Close to God (or not)
This post contains affiliate links.
Abby Lawson of Just A Girl and Her Blog
My husband Donnie and I blog full time at Just a Girl and Her Blog where we write about organization, home and DIY projects, and also teach about blogging. We have two sons, Connor and Caleb, who are 8 and 5. We live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
It is TOUGH as a mom to find that quiet alone time to really focus on our relationship with God! I use the First 5 app when I wake up in the morning, which has a short devotional and prayer. I also will read my Bible and write in a journal during this time. I try to use any alone time in the car as prayer time.
Great posts from Abby:
- Beauty in The Waiting for anyone in a waiting season.
- A Beautiful Mess Love this post! A snippet: “…just because we’re not perfect doesn’t mean we can’t be used by God—in our kids’ lives, in our husbands’ lives, in the lives of other mommies, or even in our day-to-day interactions with perfect strangers. Motherhood may be messy, but if we make ourselves available and let the Lord work through us, it is also so, so beautiful.”
- Find Real Love in the Month of February
Sidenote: Abby has some fantastic products: Simplify: 35+ Printables to Help You Organize Your Life; and Building a Framework: The Ultimate Blogging Handbook – this one was so helpful to me in starting and growing this site; and Book Boss – invaluable to me in writing and marketing my new book. (It’s a step-by-step course for anyone who wants to write an e-book. You can do it!)
Beth Anne Schwamberger of Brilliant Business Moms
I’m a military spouse and mom to Holden (6) with a baby boy on the way! I live in San Diego, and Holden attends kindergarten at our local public school. He’s an extroverted little guy on wheels, so being around other kids and learning independence is really important for him.
Time with God looks like daily prayer time as a family and on my own, and daily devotional time in the mornings before my family is up! (This one can be hit or miss though. Sometimes… I sleep in and I don’t have the right start to my morning.)
I prefer shorter devotional and scripture readings at the moment – like the content that She Reads Truth puts out – because it takes the pressure off, and allows me to spend time with God without it feeling like a chore or that it takes up my entire morning. Someday I do hope to get back to more intense kinds of Bible studies that dig a little deeper!
My best strategy for being the kind of Mom I believe God wants me to be is… stop and pray! If I’m angry or frustrated, or if I send Holden to timeout, and take some time to pray and talk to God about the situation, my choices and reactions are way more honoring to Him. Plus, He’s the one who’s entrusted me with this incredible role – I should be turning to Him for constant guidance.
I also take the time to stop and pray with my child about issues he might be facing. Again, I can show him by example that taking our worries to the Lord in prayer is the best first action we can take.
Resources Beth Anne recommends:
- She Reads Truth – she loves their Bible Studies AND their Instagram account for daily reminders to stay in God’s word.
- The Influence Podcast for learning about other Christian women and how they’re growing their businesses/influence online while making a difference for God.
- Sermons by David Platt from the Church at Brook Hills podcast.
Sidenote: Any business mums or moms reading this? Beth Anne’s site Brilliant Business Moms is my go-to-site for business brilliance. I also use her fantastic courses: Brilliant Pin Promotion (step-by-step Pinterest strategy) and FB Brilliance (step-by-step Facebook Ad strategy).
Brittany Ann of Equipping Godly Women
I am married to a wonderful husband, and we have three children age seven and under. We live in the United States, where we are fortunate enough to be able to send our children to a private Christian school.
I stay close to God both by making Him a priority in my schedule and by doing my best to tune in to His presence in my day-to-day life. Christianity definitely isn’t something that I “do” on Sunday mornings and call it a day. Throughout the week, I’m also trying to keep up that constant conversation to hear what He would have me do and how. Listening isn’t always easy, but it’s always worth it.
I’d like to encourage moms not to think of God as an extra “thing” they have to put on an already full to-do list. God isn’t a check mark in a box. He should be the driving force and motivation behind everything we do. So we aren’t adding more – we’re looking at the things we do and choosing the things we do through a completely different lens or perspective.
Resources by Brittany:
- Putting God First – an encouraging book to help busy moms find practical ways to make God their #1 priority.
- Ignite Your Faith – a free 5-day challenge to help Christian women identify and overcome obstacles to their faith, and walk closer with God.
- Lots of great parenting, marriage and blogging resources.
Sidenote: Do you have a Facebook page? Brittany is the Queen of Facebook Likes, and has written an amazing resource called Strategies Worth Sharing: How I Grew My Facebook Page From 2000 To 100,000 In Five Months. Well worth a read!
Cathy Thomson of Gospel Centred Parenting
(Cathy blogs together with her husband Scott)
My hubby and I live in Hartlepool in the North East of England. There’s plenty of sea, sand and occasionally sun here! Scott is from Hartlepool, but we just moved back here a year and a half ago to plant Grace Church. Scott’s a mobile optometrist; I’m a stay-at-home-mummy and we’ve got two gorgeous boys: Reuben who’s 2 1/2 years old and Boaz who’s 5 months. Life is hectic, sleep is short, and we’re very very blessed!
Honestly, in this season of life my personal devotional life is a bit hit and miss. Some days I do set an alarm to read something and pray, and sometimes I don’t (usually depending on how many night feeds I’ve done!)
Sometimes I manage to sit up and physically read the Bible, but my foggy brain and sleepy eyes don’t necessarily compute what I’ve just read! Other days I feel refreshed and energised after my quiet time. It’s worth persevering with as the quality of my relationship with God is at stake!
I suppose what really keeps me close to God in this season is other Christians. I’m really blessed that our church life group meets in our home every Wednesday. This means that I get to study the Bible and pray with other Christians consistently, whether or not the baby is in bed! Christian community is a lifeline.
We have a kids group on Sundays which is also a huge blessing to me. It means that the vast majority of Sundays I can have a bit of child-free time to hear a talk about Jesus.
Finally, I’m loving Christian podcasts at the moment. Since free-time is at an all-time low, I really struggle to get motivated to do housework; I’d much rather eat chocolate and have a coffee! I find that listening to a podcast while I work helps me to feel refreshed and refocused on the Lord, even if I haven’t been able to physically rest.
Great posts from Cathy and Scott:
- Gospel in the Everyday – how the everyday things point us (and our children) to the gospel.
- 5 Parenting Mistakes to Avoid: #1 The Comparison Game – first post in a series exploring how the gospel liberates us from the mistakes of parenthood. Good news for parents!
- Five Minutes That Ruined My Day (And 5 Words That Redeem It) – one of the best posts I’ve read in a long time: funny, real (we’ve all been there as mums), and tear-jerkingly moving.
Claire Musters of ClaireMusters.com
I have been married for 23 years and have an 11-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old son. My husband was just starting out as a record producer when we got married – he is now the pastor of our church! We live in Sutton, England and thoroughly enjoy our busy lifestyle! I am passionate about seeing people reach their potential in God, and so head up the worship team and women’s ministry at church.
To be honest, I found becoming a parent exceedingly difficult. Part of this was due to experiencing postnatal depression after both births, but a lot of it was down to the sense of losing control. I loved planning and being organised – having babies completely threw all that out of the window to begin with and I really struggled! However God taught me a lot through that about leaning more on Him – and lightening up!
I remember pacing around downstairs, trying to get my daughter to sleep and feeling so far from God. I’d always been a worshiper, but in my tiredness and simply because I felt out of sync with life, I had literally forgotten to worship. Our then pastor’s wife gently suggested I play worship music in the background whenever I was at home alone with my baby – and it did wonders for me reconnecting with God!
I have found over the years that God has graciously taught me things through my children. I used to get impatient when my daughter wanted to stop and look in wonder at every pavement crack, and every little bug – even touching dirty things like lampposts! Then one day, God really spoke to me through that, and told me He wanted me to recapture my wonder of the world, and of Him, by seeing it all afresh through the eyes of a child.
God has also used my children as spotlights onto my soul! My deepest moments of intimacy with my daughter have often been when I have seen her struggling with something, and have been honest about where I’m at with that same issue and we have prayed and worked through it together.
Some of Claire’s posts on meeting God in motherhood:
- Taking the Time to be Grateful
- Cooking with a Toddler in Tow
- 5 Simple Ways to Connect with God (Even as a Busy Mum)
Some of Claire’s books:
- David: A Man After God’s Own Heart – a CWR Cover to Cover Bible Study
- Insight Into Self-Acceptance – a CWR Insight Guide that covers issues that many mums can struggle with.
- ‘Taking Off The Mask: Learning To Live Authentically’ Coming soon!
Elisa Pulliam of More To Be
Elisa is also owner of Kaleo Agency, a life coaching and leadership development company that helps women unlock their purpose and potential.
It’s my privilege and joy to be wife to Stephen for more than 20 years, and mom to four amazing children, who I lovingly refer to as the littles (son and daughter in 6th grade, yes twins) and the bigs (10th and 12th grade daughters). My favorite times of the week included sitting around the dinner table with my brood sharing their highs and lows, or watching a movie together.
I am passionate about equipping women to embrace authentic life transformation through a fresh encounter with God, as well as equipping women to go forth to impact the next generation through biblical mentoring relationships.
Having spent the first twenty years of my life without Christ as my Lord, I know what it is like to live each day without hope and perspective. I never want to be in that place or mindset again, which is what drives me to make time to be with the Lord and in the Word daily.
As a mompreneur, morning time with God is critical. He’s my boss and I need to get my marching orders from Him daily. I also know I can’t face my responsibilities, or be the mom I want to be, without a filling from God and a heart check up. I need the Word to reshape my thinking (2 Corinthians 10:5, Romans 12:2), so that my living reflects His ways and purposes.
Sometimes I need to simply sit still before God, and leave the sink piled up with dishes, so that I can hear His still small voice and heed the Spirit’s leading in the attitude of my heart and my purposes for the day.
Resources by Elisa:
- Meet the New You: A 21-Day Plan for Embracing Fresh Attitudes and Focused Habits for Real Life Change
- Infuse Course: A Soul-Strengthening, Life-Changing Encounter with God I’ve just started this course. Elisa has such a lovely personable style. You’ll enjoy it and experience life change!
- Abide: Because It’s the Secret to Thriving – I read this devotional book during a most difficult mothering season. It helped me connect with God, and his word, in a way I hadn’t for years. I found a new depth of relationship with God, a new joy and freshness in life. I recommend it!
- ENGAGE Bible Studies for Tween & Teen Girls
Emma Kizlauskas of Faith Food Family
I am 40 and have two boys of 12 and 10. We live in the North West of England in Lancashire. I love to sing and play the piano, and I read avidly. Craft is the thing I am greedy about. I can’t settle on a favourite, so I try and do them all! My craft room looks like an explosion has taken place, with all the equipment and bits and bobs I have collected to make things with. The thing I am most passionate about though, is sharing my relationship with Jesus in a way that people can understand and relate to.
Staying close to God has been a major challenge ever since my first baby came along 12 years ago. I was so tired and busy all the time, I just couldn’t keep up a routine with reading my Bible. I eventually managed to develop strategies to cope, like having conversations with God whilst cleaning or washing up; listening to teaching CDs or podcasts during the day; and singing to worship music. One thing that helped me when the children were little, was having a good network of other Christian mums I was in touch with.
Things are different now the boys are older – I do find I have to get up earlier to read my Bible, otherwise it just doesn’t happen. I read whatever Bible plan I am doing at the time on You Version (usually a few different ones at once for variety!). I bought myself a DAB radio for my 40th birthday, and I tend to have UCB playing throughout the day. It helps if I put this on first thing too, because if the TV gets switched on, I’m in trouble!
My kids and I also have daily devotions. We all sit together in my bed, read Young People’s Every Day with Jesus and pray. It might seem like we have it all together and it’s a lovely thing to do: the reality is that most nights one or other of the boys start being silly and provoke each other, and start giggling, and interrupt. It’s really frustrating! But I press on hoping that some of it is going in.
It is good to have flexibility in our relationship with God. There’s no point feeling guilty or embarrassed that we have let a habit of spending time with God slip. The important thing is to start again with something that works for you in the season you’re in, something you’ll enjoy and will therefore look forward to doing.
Here’s an idea – ask God for inspiration! He may surprise you by putting an idea in your heart that very much appeals to you. Enjoy your time with Father-God. x
Emma has some brilliant posts and sermons:
- Staying Close to God as a Parent
- The Best is Yet To Come – the best talk I’ve ever heard on Jesus turning the water into wine!
- In The Middle of The Storm
Other resources Emma recommends:
- Inspire Bible NLT- The Bible for Creative Journaling
- The Time Warp Wife – loads of resources for Bible study and prayer journals.
- Bible Journaling Community (Darlene Schacht)
Jean Nweke of Life By Design
I enjoy serving at my home church and helping people grow in their callings. I’m also a wife, mother and lawyer. I live in the UK with my husband and our daughter.
I usually find a quiet spot at home to “meet with God” and either pray or worship. I like to wake up before the rest of my family and spend time with God whenever possible. I often find myself going to bed late trying to organize the house, so disciplining myself to wake up early isn’t always appealing! I really recommend using a planner to organize your thoughts and prioritize the most important tasks each day.
Jean has some wonderful faith-based resources and posts for personal development and business:
- The Life By Design Planner – the current edition is sold out but you can subscribe in the sidebar to be notified of the new one.
- 50 Faith Affirmations for Business and Personal Development – sign up in the sidebar.
- 5 Ways to Grow Spiritually
- The Goal-Getter Course
Jennie Brandon of Laundry In The Temple
I live in Cambridge, UK, with my husband, my 7-year-old daughter and my 5-year-old son. I was at home with the kids until they went to school. Now I work part-time for a local vicar, so I can still be at the school gate each day. My passions are cooking, encouraging parents, reading (including to the kids) and creatively using the seasons and the liturgical year to disciple my kids in fun ways.
I used to have time with God during my kids’ nap time, but that changed when a friend encouraged me to join the Hello Mornings online community, and I became part of a Facebook group which ‘met’ for Bible study each weekday morning. That accountability, from a group of about 15 women all over Western Europe, got me really grounded in the habit of morning time with God. I only stopped being part of the group, when I realised this was the best time to do daily Bible study with my daughter, which was a very fruitful decision!
Now, I have time with God during the working week for about 15 minutes before I get my early-rising daughter up. We then do a short Bible time together using XTB Notes (which I really rate and she loves).
I’m using a year-long Bible study, based on the liturgical year, which my Mum gave me. We’ll see how it goes. I’ve also often used the Pray As You Go App which I love. It gives you a 10 minute Bible meditation and thought with some lovely reflective music.
We also listen to a lot of music scripture CDs in the car like Steve Green and Slugs and Bugs (yes, really!). They’re aimed at the kids but they have really helped me learn a lot of Bible verses which then pop into my head at other times.
This last year I’ve experienced a new freedom in prayer. I’ve discovered the beauty of the Anglican liturgy and lectionary. As a teenager, I would have seen them as shackles. Now, they are enriching my spiritual life with wisdom, beauty and Biblical truth in seriously high doses!
Great posts by Jennie:
- 10 Tips On Praying When Exhausted – Jennie’s son didn’t sleep through the night until he was five, so she can claim some expertise on this one!
- No Cringe Family Prayer Time
- Hello Mornings: How This Night Owl Cracked Morning Time With God
Podcasts Jennie recommends:
- God Centered Mom by Heather MacFadyen
- Inspired to Action by Kat Lee
- At Home with Sally by Sally Clarkson
Kate Bellingham of Making Space
I’m a stay at home mum of two children, my son who is 4.5 years going on 13, and my daughter who has just turned one. Since having our son, we have shared our home with a lodger and international students. Life is never dull in our house! I love making my house a home, love shopping, love spending time with friends and have also found a passion for writing.
Over the last few years life has been the most challenging it’s ever been. My husband and I have been exhausted. We’ve needed wisdom in bucket loads, strategies in situations we’d never encountered before, and comfort in difficulties. But isn’t it in our weakness that His strength is made perfect? Over these last few years, I can honestly say I have felt closer to my Father than ever before.
Only this week I was feeling overwhelmed by all there was to do around the house. As I told God about it, He reminded me of Luke 10: 38-42, the story of Mary & Martha:
But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her”.
Mary sat at Jesus’ feet whilst Martha was busy doing all those important jobs, things that needed doing and yet Jesus said Mary had chosen the better thing. Somehow, in our incredibly full lives, we need to make time to just be with our Father.This doesn’t need to hours, not even 10 minutes if you don’t have that time. Bring Him into every area, pray in the shower, worship as you wash up, declare God’s promises over your children while you put them to bed.
I believe with all my heart that if we seek Him first, we will see more situations resolved within our families, and we will feel more on top of all our tasks, than we ever would doing it without Him.
Fantastic posts by Kate:
- Toddler Tantrums: Lessons Learned (How God quiets us in His love.)
- Promises You and Your Children Need to Know!
- How Busy Mums Make Time For God – a wonderful list of practical ways to stay close to God
Other resources that Kate recommends:
- Christine Caine’s ‘First Things First’ Daily Emails – a fantastic one minute daily email with a Bible verse and encouragement.
- Lisa Bevere – fantastic teaching on being a mum.
Lee Felix of Like Minded Musings
I am a wife of 17 years, Mom to 5 treasures (11, 9, 8, 6, 2 years), an unexpected homeschooler, an avoider of small talk and coffee’s best friend! I live in the US, and love to encourage and equip Christian women and tween and teen girls to embrace the imperfect and shine for Christ!
The only way for me to spend time with God as a Mom is to remain flexible. Flexible in the “way” I spend time with Him, and the “when” I spend time with Him.
I’ll pray, listen to podcasts or worship music, read Christian books, do some Bible art journaling (and I’m not an artist!), and even just talk about God to other like minded friends, or my kids. This helps get me excited about spending more time with God.
I also love to make the Bible really simple by taking just one verse and narrowing in on key words – it is truly amazing how one verse and one word can be so impactful and less overwhelming! Yes, I’m a word nerd 🙂
A few years ago, we had four littles, age five and under, and it was when I was nursing or waiting for them to go to sleep at night that I fit time with God in, nothing elaborate. We have had shift schedules, me working outside of and inside the home – all requiring different times to work in my time with God. It is not always the morning.
Right now with homeschooling, much of my time with God is learning about God WITH my kids. I love to see Him work in their lives, have their understanding grow and I always learn or re-learn too!
It can be really hard to stay close to God as a busy Mom/Mum, but He always remains close to us. We need to make the effort somehow and not let everything else crowd it out (believe me I have done that too often!)
To sum up, I have two tips to share with my fellow Moms and Mums. Be flexible and don’t expect that your time with God will look the same as someone else’s! Stick with it sister, it IS worth it !! Thanks so much for letting me share.
Great resources and posts From Lee:
- Free eCourse for Tween Spiritual Growth: Inductive Bible Study and Bible Art Journaling – a fantastic resource to help you and your tween grow closer to God together.
- A Key To Growing Your Faith – Knowing Your ‘Yet’!
- Warning! 4 Signs You Are Spiritually Struggling (and what to do about it)
Lee’s absolute favourite, tried and tested recommendations:
Lizzy Ainsworth of Lizzy Ainsworth Books
I live in south-east QLD Australia, with my husband and two daughters who are three and six months. My days involve a lot of glue, sticky tape, glitter and The Wiggles.
I stay close to God by playing worship music throughout the house. At times this has involved dancing with the tambourine and ribbons. (I used to teach dance.) I find this is a great way to involve Miss 3. In other seasons, it looks like me reading a Proverb at breakfast, listening to a chapter of the Bible whilst breast feeding and listening to worship music at bed time, and praying. We also like to regularly share communion as a family.
Great Posts by Lizzy:
Lizzy also offers 6 FREE printables for overcoming fear, pain, doubt, anxiety, negativity and weariness. You can sign up in the sidebar of her site. They’ve been a really positive reminder of God’s word to me.
Michelle Pannell of Mummy From The Heart and Progress Not Perfection
I’m a 43-year-old mum of three (aged 13, 9 and 9 years) from East Sussex, UK. I moved to the sleepy countryside 3 years ago and retired from corporate life. Now I can be found volunteering, writing and having fun with my family. We live as part of an international Christian community and I have never been happier.
Living as part of a Christian community, there are always events I can join in with. Opportunities for corporate worship and prayer are readily available. I just need to remember to take them! It is far too easy to fill my life and forget to take time for the Lord. The best strategy for me is to get out of the house. Any time I’m home, I spot cleaning and other tasks that need doing. So I either go for a walk or sit in the prayer centre opposite my house. I have learned in the last year to just sit and wait on God. I don’t need to read a particular passage or get through a book in a certain time frame. It is just important to make room for Him and then I can hear what He has to say.
I also love Joyce Meyer podcasts. They are only 15 minutes long and whilst I take some of what she says with a pinch of salt, she always challenges me to think about new topics and to investigate more. I love to listen to podcasts as I do the housework and clean the church hall. The Power of A Praying Wife and The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie O’Martian have been invaluable to me as well. I also have a Max Lucado Daily Bible which has some amazing devotionals each day.
Wonderful posts by Michelle:
- Wake Up Sleepyhead A beautiful encouragement to hunger for more of God.
- The Boots We Wear God has given us new boots! We no longer need to walk in fear and unbelief.
Naomi Lynas of Life By Naomi
I’m a married mum of two small boys (aged 4 and 1), living in the North West UK. I’m also an English teacher, blogger and I write the small group study notes for our church.
I’ve really struggled with staying close to God since becoming a mum. I now try to sit down for half an hour each week (which should be easy but it’s not), to really study my Bible and pray. I also meet up with people and commit to things, so I know I’ve got worship time at church etc. I do think it’s so difficult.
Posts and Resources from Naomi:
- Naomi writes Mummy Meditations (with Rachel from Rachel Ridler: Mum on a Mission) which gives weekly verses and thoughts around them.
- Work Life Balance For Christian Women – wonderfully honest and helpful thoughts on balancing work, life as a mum, and God.
- Mummy Meditations: Seeking Peace: Pursuing God’s peace throughout the day.
Rachel Ridler of Rachel Ridler: Mum on a Mission
I am a mummy of two boys aged one and three (yes it is toddler crazy in our house!), and we live near Doncaster in the UK. My passion in life is hospitality, whether that is feeding people in my home or making people feel welcome in our local community. I want to shine the love of Jesus even just a little bit in this world. My blog is all about inspiring others to do just that, by sharing my stories of success (and failure)!
I have really struggled with finding regular daily time to be quiet and close to God since having kids. This year I changed my view on it all and stopped making myself feel guilty. Life with kids is chaotic and rather than fighting it I am embracing it by doing Mummy Meditation instead. All this means is choosing one verse for a whole week and soaking it up, thinking about it throughout my daily tasks, writing it on my hand/whiteboard/anywhere I’ll see it, and praying through it. This has been eye opening and I have gained much more from each verse and connected with God in the usual normal stuff of life rather than deciding I have to carve time out everyday.
This year I also bought myself a journaling bible and tried my hand at bible art journaling to try to express my worship in a more creative way.
Join the Mummy Meditation Community:
You can join Rachel’s lovely Mummy Meditations Community here, and share with other mums in the Mummy Meditation Facebook group what each week’s verse means to you. I’ll see you there – I’m part of it too!
Rachel’s posts and resources on Bible journaling:
Suzi Whitford of Start a Mom Blog
I’m a mom to two beautiful little girls, 10 months and 30 months old. I am married to a wonderful husband. We live in sunny Florida, USA and I am originally from South Africa. My passions in life are our church ministires, our kids and my online business.
It’s hard to stay close to God as a busy mom with little kids. There are things constantly pulling me away from my prayer life. Before getting married I had all the time in the world to attend daily mass and read wonderful theological books. Now I barely have time to read a few Scripture passages.
Instead of feeling discouraged, I’m embracing this busy time in my life. My prayers aren’t elaborate and long and quiet – they are short and desperate, made in the middle of a chaotic home when the baby is sick and doesn’t sleep and the toddler is running around. In the moments of pure desperation I ask God for help. My prayers aren’t beautiful, but they are very real. They also remind me daily that I can’t do this alone. I constantly need help and grace from above.
Resources Suzi uses:
- I love anything by CS Lewis – especially the Screwtape Letters.
- My rosary – which I need to pray more. 🙂
- The Laudate app on my iPhone to get the daily scripture readings.
Sidenote: Suzi has created an amazing step-by-step how to blog resource for mom and mum bloggers, and want-to-be bloggers. If that’s you, check out her book Blog by Number. It’s awesome!
***
Your turn now!
Why don’t you choose one idea or resource to help you meet God afresh today?
And remember to get your free gifts:
3 Things You Never Knew About Eve, a 3-Day Devotional Bible Study, adapted from my new book Forever Loved: Eve’s Story (Available now!)
Discover Eve’s story anew. It’s one of preciousness and beauty!
Click here to receive it for free
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And…
10 Days 10 Ways to Meet God in the Midst of Motherhood
Sign up for free, by clicking the image below, and you’ll receive a short email each day for 10 days with an idea and resources to help you draw close to God. Each idea will be simple, practical and doable for busy mums!
God loves to meet with you. You are precious to Him. Come to Him today.
This post is part of The Mums With Jesus Series. Thanks for reading!
This post is featured as favourite post at Literacy Musing Mondays and is linked up with Encouraging Hearts & Homes.
50+ Ideas & Resources to Help Your Family Grow in Love
Lee says
This post is an amazing blessing! It displays such a beautiful picture of how God meets each of us in ALL areas of life, in different and personal ways! Thank you so much for including me in this and putting together such a great resource!
Joanna Chee says
Yes, it’s amazing isn’t it how each mum/mom shared different ways of meeting with God. Our relationship with God is personal and wonderful! It’s my privilege to have you contribute!
Amy Hagerup says
Wow! So awesome to meet all these Christian women bloggers. Thanks for putting this together for us.
Joanna Chee says
You’re welcome Amy. Thanks for dropping by!
Brandi Raae says
What a great resource! I will have to come back to this to read more. 🙂 I’ve read Abby’s posts about blogging before, but I didn’t know she is a Christian – neat!
Thank you for taking the time to link up at Literacy Musing Mondays!
Pinning so I can come back later and soak this in.
Joanna Chee says
Hi Brandi. Great to have you visit. Amazing isn’t it all the resources we have these days to help us meet with God!
Brandi Raae says
Featuring your post as my favorite for this week’s Literacy Musing Mondays!! Stop by tomorrow and grab the featured button if you’d like. 🙂 brandiraae.com
Joanna Chee says
Thank you so much Brandi! That’s a lovely surprise. Blessings on you this week 🙂
Elisa Pulliam says
Thank you so much for the privilege of being a part of this round up. I pray it encourages many!
Joanna Chee says
You’re welcome Lisa! It’s my privilege to have you. Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Michelle Twin Mum says
Oh my word, so much in this post. Thanks JO. I’m going to work my way round everyone over the next week or so. Mich x
Joanna Chee says
Yes, I’m going to keep coming back to it again and again. At the moment I am so enjoying just soaking in worship as a way to connect with God.