the trade off...

i've had some mom's ask me lately if i have any good tips for getting into the Word daily.  As a mommy this can be more difficult than anything else you do in your day.  it often feels like every time you try to crack the cover on this precious book there is something or someone practically screaming for your attention.  even now as i have sat down to write of spiritual things, my boys are yelling my name from the basement. 

i have had to admit to these mommies that i have been floundering with this for quite a while.  feels like you are making ground until life happens and before you know it, it's been a week and you I suddenly realized i've missed my devo's again.  and why?  i can't remember what was so important that it stole all my time. 

i know there are things i must do.  i must cook if we want to eat.  and that takes prep work, planning, etc.  i must do laundry if we want to go out without smelling funny.  that takes effort, many trips up and down the stairs, and oh, the folding...  and i must spend time with my boys!  i want to make many memories and have lots of smiles & loves on a daily basis with them.  and that takes more time than any of the others!  in fact, godly women in the Bible are commended for working hard.  look at the Proverbs 31 woman.  she is constantly working & providing the things that her family needs & in verse 29 it says "Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all."

but i also know that i will not grow, in fact, i might indeed regress in my spiritual walk if i continue to neglect time in the Word.  i know from personal experience that when i neglect the scripture, i have less patience, i forget the wisdom i knew & i find it so much work to show love to others, just to name a few things that make living life less joyful.  and like "they" say "if momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy."  oh, there is more truth to that than "they" realized!  Proverbs 17:22 says, "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones." 

so now i come back to the question i have been hearing... how do you make time for the Word?  i've been praying and thinking about this a lot lately.  and when it all comes down to it, it's a trade off.

i wish i could say i just add it in there, like a multivitamin that i can pop in the morning and will just fill in the gaps though out the day.  but it's not.  it's so much more than that.  the Word of God needs to be my sustenance, not just a multivitamin!  i have to plan to eat and take the time to do it, so it should be with the Word.  i'm not going to tell you how much, but only that it needs to be daily, just as you eat daily! 

so what do i give up?  what will i be trading to afford time spent learning of eternal things?  well i can tell you, for the sake of my family, it can't be cooking or laundry.  and i cannot ignore my children as they are my charge from the Lord.  it's got to be something else, so what's it going to be? 

this can at start to feel like a painful question.  but then i'm reminded of the lesson i have been hearing over and over again for months, and for some reason, not absorbing until these past couple days.  remember your salvation! (Romans 10:9-11) remember that Christ gave up everything to save you.  remember the eternal hell you have been saved from, and the life of wickedness & evil that you have been saved out of. 

now, think again about the trade off.  what are you willing to deny yourself in order to spend time in the letter from the One who did all that for you? 

are you willing to trade tv time?  are you willing to trade sleep?  are you willing to trade a hobby?  are you willing to trade time with other people? 

i know that we have more time than we think, if only we remember our salvation and look for time in the Word in light of that beautiful blessing.  and i know that if you pray & ask, He will show you where the trade off is in your life.  so look carefully.  pray hard.  this will still be hard.  but more than just worth it, can i assure you!

Proverbs 16:20 
"He who gives attention to
the word shall find good,
And blessed is he who
trusts the Lord."




i usually ask for no comments (as i've wanted this to be a place to start you thinking and talking to the Lord, rather than men) but today i need help with this as well.  when do you find time in the Word?  what have you had to trade in order to have that time?  tell me what has worked for you.  perhaps we all might find some encouragement and help in this area through the sharing of thoughts here.