Welcome to Proverbs 31 Wannabe where Alexis Heaslip, a stay at home mother of two and follower of Jesus, shares her personal walk with Christ. Her goal is to help women explore the Bible and walk with Jesus by being a Proverbs 31 Wannabe. Today we are exploring how you can find quiet time in a busy life. 

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Episode Transcript

1. PODCAST INTRO (1-2 MINUTES)

Start with podcast music to set the stage (appx. 15 seconds before speaking.)

1. Voice Introduction
   1. Hi there and welcome to Proverbs31 Wannabe where we discuss biblical womanhood in our constantly busy and sometimes crazy daily life. I’m Alexis Heaslip and as a wife and mother of two, I am always striving and praying to be a Proverbs 31 woman of faith. Today is going to be a good one but also a tricky one because I am going to be talking about something that most of us struggle with: finding quiet time. Yep I know what I just said: the ultimate dream that a mom can have- uninterrupted quiet time to read the Bible, pray, and prepare your heart for the day. How is something like that even possible? Don’t you know how busy we as moms are? I feel like no matter what I try to do, it just falls through , my kids somehow know and disrupt it, or this quiet time just gets pushed back to the side. These are all different things that I have heard from other moms when this topic is brought up. But I’m here to tell you that finding the quiet time you need is possible. It is something that we as moms can do. So let’s dive on in and explore how you can find and maintain and thrive in quiet time.           
2. PRIORITIZE YOUR TIME
   1. Why Wake Up Earlier 
      1. Now this first way to find quiet time is going to be a hot take, and not everyone will agree at first but I want y’all to hear me out on this. The first thing you can do to find quiet time in your busy day is to wake up thirty minutes earlier than you already do and use that time to connect with the Lord. OH yeah, I can feel and hear the gasps, sighs, and eye rolls through my phone already. I can feel the cringe and the thoughts of- “girl you’re crazy, don’t you know that I already get up early anyway and now you want me to get up even earlier?” But hear me out: when we start off our day with the Lord, the rest of our day can be filled with joy. Psalm 5:3 says “listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.” Lamentations 3:23 says “Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”  Another verse that points towards morning time with the Lord is how Luke describes the coming of Jesus when Zechariah got his speech back and prophesied about John, saying in verses 78-79 “Because of God’s tenter mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.” My friends, these are just a few passages of scripture that demonstrate us the importance of connecting to God in the morning. It sets our day for a day that belongs to Him. It centers our focus for the rest of the day on His will for our lives, and it allows us to bring any concerns that came to us in the night and lay them at the feet of Jesus. Most importantly, when we set our sight on the morning light of heaven, we can find peace in Jesus. I think I have shared this with y’all before, but my word for the year is actually peace. As a mom of two little ones, its so easy to get swept up into the chaos of the daily ick of life. But we are so fortunate that we have a creator who does not want us to go through the trenches of life alone. Jesus tells us in Matthew 11: 28-30 ““Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”” When I read verses like this, I feel as if it my duty to remind all of you ladies that God wants us to rest in Him, He wants us to rely on Him, and that when we do, and only when we we do can e fine peace in our souls. That is why I take quiet time so seriously- without rest we cannot be restored. 
      1. Transition music
      1. Segue: All of this sounds amazing and great but how can I do this when I just have so much to do in the morning and my children wake up when they hear me? 
   1. How to Prioritize Your Time
      1. Those are some great questions and genuine concerns so lets first address the thought of having so much to do.There are some things that you can do ahead of time the evening before so that your morning flows better and you feel like you can do this successfully without worrying about what you have to do next. Before you go to bed, pick out the outfit you and your children are going to wear the next day. This eliminates the stress of figuring it out in the morning before caffeine. Another trick you can do is check the weather the night before. Will I need a rain jacket in the morning or boots? If you do, pull them out then instead of the morning when you are trying to get out of the door. Another thing you can do is prep your kids meals for lunch the evening before if they go to school. It only takes a couple of minutes but boy does it help. Instead of rushing and shoving food in their lunchboxes in the morning, take the time in the evening to pack the lunches and then put it in the fridge. That way all you need to do is grab it in the morning and put it in their backpacks. These two activities alone only take about 5 minutes but boy does it have a positive impact in the morning. Another idea to consider is writing out each week what breakfast and lunch will be. By doing that each week, you aren’t trying to pull stuff together without any direction and you can even lay out some breakfast items out on the table the night before such as a cup, bowl, and spoon. At the core of this problem lays this question- what do you prioritize? I know that in the evenings I am tired and just want to zone out in front of the tv, BUT I have noticed that when I take these small steps to get organized and consistent, my relationship with God, my relationship with my husband, and my relationship with my children are better off. When I am able to have my quiet time with a cup of tea, read scripture, and pray I feel more in tune with the will of God and I’m less likely to get mad over the small silly things throughout the day. 
      1. Ok so we now see how we can prioritize our time so that we can do this, but what about our children? Every time I try to do something for myself it’s like they know. I feel like when I wake up in the morning and open my door, they have their ears to their own doors and are just waiting for me to get up so that they can come out of their rooms and start the day. Sound familiar to anyone? That was literally me two weeks ago. I have been frustrated because, even though I get up at six in the morning, my son is usually already up and waiting to hear me up so he can play. I was frustrated because I didn’t have any time to myself in the morning. Even though we had talked to my son about waiting in his room in the morning, he needed some help remembering that. My sister had a great idea to help with this and for my son’s birthday she got him the best gift ever- she got him a clock for his room. Now this isn’t just any clock- its one that you can set so that when it’s too early for them to be awake it stays red but when you set it to go off, the alarm goes off as well as the color changes from red to green. This was absolutely perfect because my son loves the game red light green light. He now knows that when his clock is red during bed time and sleep time that he is not allowed out of his room unless he really has to potty bad. Once it turns green and the alarm goes off, then he can come out of his room. So far this has been an absolute blessing and I’ll put the link in the description box below if you want to get one for your own children. I’ve been able to get up at six each morning, read my bible, pray, and have a cup of tea without my children disrupting the time. And I have definitely noticed a change. I feel more energized after praying. I am more motivated throughout the day, and the Word of the Lord fills my soul during the difficult moments throughout the day. I hope you try out these different ways to make quiet time a priority, because when you do your life can and will be impacted. 

• OUTRO (2-3 MINUTES)
  • Recap:   I am just so thankful for the ability to talk to the Lord and have quiet time. Lord, I come to you and pray that the people who are listening come to see the importance of starting the day with You, coming to you with praise, so that they can find rest in the light of the morning. I pray that those ladies who do not have a routine of quiet time make changes in their schedule so that they can try a morning quiet time. Lord I pray that through this new routine, people are able to draw closer to you and find shalom shalom- the ultimate peace. Thank You lord. Amen. 
    • Music segue 
  • Call to action:  Thanks to listening to Proverbs31 Wannabe. We hope you enjoyed the program. If you enjoy our show, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, find us on Instagram and Facebook, and check out our website at http://www.proverbs31wannabe.com—and be sure to come back next week as we discuss how you can pray with your little ones. Until then, this is Alexis Heaslip, and I hope you have a great rest of your day. God bless. 
  • Closing theme