One of my absolute favorite things is waking up early, pouring a hot cup of coffee, grabbing my bible, and diving into God's word before I start the rest of the day. This rhythm has been so life giving for me the past few years. It began back in college when I was in a season where I had a lot on my plate and I quickly learned I couldn't do it on my own. I needed Jesus every single day. So I began setting my alarm for 30 minutes earlier to get up, read my bible and pray before starting the day. Sitting at that little dorm room desk, I surrendered my life to Jesus, and have been implementing this little routine ever since. Not because I have to, but because I get to! I look forward to this every single morning. It has become such a sweet start to the day & when I fill my cup first, I am able to give my best to everyone around me.

This topic of having a quiet time, is also one of the questions I get asked the most. "How do I start a quiet time?" or "How do you make that happen in the mornings?" are questions I get asked frequently, so I thought I'd do a blogpost sharing a few quick tips for making a quiet time happen.

Before we dive in, I just want you to know that this is meant to be LIFE GIVING, not another added stress to life. Your quiet time doesn't have to look like mine. If you're in a season of raising babies, you're quiet time might look like a few minutes during nap time or while nursing a little one and that is great! So feel free to do whatever works best for you and serves you in your current season of life. :) These are just ideas to get you started!

1. MAKE A PLAN

This can be as simple as choosing a book of the bible to read through and reading a chapter each day or a few verses each morning. This could be choosing a devotional or bible study and following along in that. I find that when I have a plan, it makes it so much easier to dive in each morning without distractions. Otherwise I end up sitting there for 10 minutes wondering, "where should I start?" ;)

Right now I am going through the Colossians bible study by Well Watered Women. I love that their studies break down specific verses to read each day, with questions and prompts to really get the most out of scripture. If you're feeling overwhelmed with where to start, these studies are a great place to start, because it tells you exactly what to read each day, and gives you questions to think through.

2. SET YOUR BIBLE OUT

I try to set my bible, journal, and book out ahead of time, so it's one less thing to think about when I wake up. I go start the coffee maker, grab a cup of coffee, and sit down with my bible and journal ready to go. I still do this to this day, but this was also helpful in the beginning when I was just starting to make this a habit. I also love having my bible out in our home, as a reminder to open up God's word and soak it up!

3. SET YOUR ALARM

Life is crazy for so many of us, and it's so easy to let the excuses take over and say "I don't have time to read my bible". But really friends, it's about where our priorities are. I challenge you to set your alarm just 15 minutes earlier in the morning and spend that time in His Word and see how He changes you during that time. For me, I found that mornings worked best. I start my day in scripture no matter what, before the craziness of life sets in. I found this also helped me to feel so encouraged starting the day too. Win win! Maybe mornings don't work for you in this season, but I encourage you to set an alarm on your phone for a certain time each day to pause and soak up scripture.

4. MARK IT UP

One of the things that's made the biggest difference for me in studying God's Word, is marking it up. Sometimes this looks like taking notes in the margins of my bible during the message on Sunday mornings, sometimes this looks like jotting down a prayer by a certain bible verse. It's been so neat to flip back through my bible and see how God has answered prayers and taught me so many lessons through His word.

5. POUR INTO YOU

A typical morning in this season looks like waking up around 5:30 and starting the coffee maker. After grabbing a cup of coffee, I'll head to my favorite chair and curl up with my journal. I usually start my quiet time by writing down prayers through journaling. I try to start with three things I'm thankful for and then jot down whatever is on my heart. Then I'll spend some time going through the verses and questions in my Colossians Study. After studying scripture I like to spend a 10 minutes or so reading a personal development book. I love love LOVE to read, and this few minutes of filling my cup goes so far throughout the day! Try to incorporate little life giving rhythms into your morning quiet time - it could be pouring yourself your favorite blend of coffee, or sitting in your favorite spot, or listening to worship music, whatever fills your soul!

I hope that was helpful friends. I'd love to hear if you have a morning quiet time and what that looks like for you. :)