In fact, I am so over-complicating this post that I can't even spit out easily what I mean by things. You know. THINGS.
All the things.
Menu planning. Crafting for kids. Blogging. My schedule. Reading my Bible.
You've heard me talk time and time again about picking the few best things, and giving up the rest. And if you are a fellow sister (or brother) in Christ, spending time in the word is something that is on that list of the best things.
But after talking to the ladies in my Monday morning bible study, it is clear that this is something that is hard for us busy, in the trenches of toddler-and-a-baby-hood-Mamas. It is hard to devote the kind of time we want to getting in the word. To being still before the Lord. Listening. Finding rest in Him.
And we need rest, Lord.
But why is it hard?
For me, it is mostly because I tend over-complicate what my time with the Lord should look like. As much as I do love really getting into an inductive study of the word, there are some seasons in which that is just hard. You might only have 15 minutes, if that, before the little one wakes up or the big one starts jumping off couches. Sometimes, I get it so worked up in my mind that I need at least 30 minutes for an adequate devotional time, and since that seems impossible, I don't do it. But 30 minute devotionals every day aren't asked of us.
My Monday morning Mamas and I all agreed that the key is to just do it. Just get in the word. Fill your heart and mind with truth. You will not walk away with time wasted.
Lately, I end up reading just 10 verses a day. I am loving the daily she reads truth study. Those gals get it and have broken down the chapters into Mommy-sized bites, just packed full of truth. If I only have a little bit of time, I simply list truths found in the scripture and then pray it into my life. If I have more time, I also list promises and commands.
And then some days, I don't even open my bible and am simply praying for patience to get through the day. Yes, those days happen.
And there is grace.
Keep it simple friends. If the task is too daunting, keep it simple, and don't let it get in the way of it happening at all. The Lord asks us to draw near, NOT to add yet another thing to our to-do list. But he wants to fill us. He desperately wants to know us, and for us to know him. He wants is to rest in Him. The only way to get this is to be in the living Word of God. I too often let excuses get in the way of that happening.
If there is anything I'm learning as a Mama of a 19-month-old it is that sometimes the simplest things bring the most joy.
Today, my son spent nearly two hours painting with water and then coloring.
You heard me. Two hours sitting at the table playing while I cleaned up and cooked dinner. If you know my son, this is unheard of.
It was just water and paper. But he LOVED it.
Simple times can still be fruitful. Don't overcomplicate to the point of inaction (what I tend to do). Keep it simple. Exercise a bit of creativity. Know what is important to you and make it happen somehow. In all the things.
Is there a thing you tend to overcomplicate? How do you keep things simple?
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