Finding Peace Among the Chaos: The Power of Daily Quiet Time for Mothers
Us stay-at-home mamas are B.U.S.Y.! There are days when I wake up running, run all day, and at the end of the day, run straight to bed and collapse. The day was a blur of laundry, dishes, homeschooling the kiddos, attempting to clean, watering the garden, and keeping my children alive. Days like those are often filled with anxiety for me. My personality prefers a peaceful atmosphere, but we all know that having kids at home frequently leads to chaos.
Then, there are other days; The days when I feel at peace in the chaos. (Good title, huh?) These days feel as if they flow much smoother. I still do the laundry, dishes, cook, clean, homeschool the kiddos, and keep both my children and garden alive. I may even get a few extra things done as well, such as writing for a few hours, working on my homestead in the making, sewing, art, or some other hobby that I have recently picked up.
So, what makes the days feel so much different? I have the same husband and kids as I did yesterday. I have the same household duties as I did yesterday. There has to be a reason that some days are filled with happiness and feelings of peace and accomplishment, while others feel like everything that was accomplished was done so while walking through thick mud up to my waist.
You most likely know the answer. Daily quiet time with God. I knew this answer as well, long before I put it into regular practice. I would hear about how important it is to get into the word daily. We hear this advice from our pastors, our Sunday School teachers, in books that we read, in podcasts that we listen to, and even our well-meaning friends tell us the importance of quiet time.
So, if we all know that quiet time is important, why aren’t we doing it? My guess is we either don’t know how to have quality time with God, our kids keep interrupting our attempts, or we feel like we are way too busy at this time to fit it into our already jam-packed days.
I got you, girl! I am going to help you out. In this blog post, I will share several tips for starting and keeping a quiet time routine that will hopefully bring you closer to God and bring more peace into your super full schedule. Daily quiet time is about more than checking off a box-it's an invitation to sit at the feet of Jesus. It's where we trade stress for peace, confusion for clarity, and weariness for strength. Quiet time with the Lord is vital for peace in your days, strength to meet our obligations, and a purpose to urge us on and keep us going.
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
-Psalm 46:10
Why Daily Quiet Time Matters
Reconnects us with God: Helps us focus on our relationship with Christ. God wants daily connection with us. He wants us to come to Him at the beginning of every day, before every big decision (and sometimes the small ones). He wants to be the main player in every role in our lives (as wives, mothers, teachers, homemakers, workers, etc.).
“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”
-James 4:8
Refuels our soul: Daily tasks are draining, but quiet time revives us spiritually. It gives us that spiritual refill we all need. Remember in order to pour into others, you have to be poured into. Have you ever heard someone who is exhausted say they are, “running on empty” or their “well runneth dry”? They are in some major need of a few minutes with God. I know that I have been there my share of times.
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast…”
-Isaiah 26:3
Modeling faith for our children: When kids see mom seeking God, it sets a powerful example. Just a hint for later, sometimes we will be interrupted during our quiet time. We may need to shift our mindset from interruptions being a hindrance, to interruptions being an opportunity to share faith-filled moments with our children.
“She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”
– Proverbs 31:26
Centers our day: Begins the day with peace, perspective, and purpose. Quiet time grounds you amid daily stress and noise. It helps us to put Him first, reminds us of what our purpose is, and keeps us focused on our ministry of motherhood.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…”
-Matthew 6:33
Fitting It In; A Guide on When Busy Moms Can Find a Few Minutes with the Lord
We should make daily time with Jesus a priority for sure, and some people will take issue with a section with "fitting it in" in the heading. These people either do not have kids, had extraordinarily well-behaved children, or that completely blocked that part of their lives out. This section is for all of us that hangs by a thread some days.
Every season of life is different. Some of us are nursing newborns, some of us have toddlers running a muck, some have one kid, some have 6 kids, some have no children, some have kids that are now adults and living outside of the home. We are all in different situations and phases of life, so our quiet time will look different depending on where we are currently. When you read these tips, please remember to have flexibility and give yourself grace. If you try one option and it doesn’t work, tweak it or scrap it and try another until your quiet time works for you.
A. Morning Routine (Even if brief!)
Start with prayer before your feet hit the floor.
Wake before your kids.
Read one Psalm or Proverb with coffee.
B. During Naptime
Use children’s nap time for a short study.
Journal prayers and praises.
Listen to worship music and read a devotional.
C. With Your Children
Involve your kids—read Bible stories together.
Pray together.
Practice scripture memory as a family.
D. In the Evening
Reflect on the day.
Confess, give thanks, and cast burdens on the Lord.
E. Audio Scripture While Doing Chores
Let the Word fill your heart as you fold laundry or cook.
Put on your favorite version of scripture, your favorite hymns, an audio devotion, or your favorite Christian podcast. (Quiet time should be mainly about meeting God in the word, so make sure that at least part of your audio has the Word, such as a sermon by a favorite pastor, and not just a self-help type of Christian book.)
A Quick Opinion on Early Morning Quiet Time with Children in the Home
Before you read this section, please know that this is my personal testimony related to morning quiet time and if it doesn’t work for you, please skip it. You do you, boo. Also, if you are a mom that is up all night with babies, this does not apply to you. You get that sleep when you can get it mama!
I am not a morning person, or at least I am not naturally a morning person. Up until maybe a year ago, my kids would wake me up because I wanted to sleep as late in the mornings as I possibly could. That morning sleep is prime sleep, am I right ladies?!?
Instead of getting up early for time with Jesus, I would plan to have my quiet time after the kids went to bed. This plan hardly ever worked for me because I would either be finishing up housework for the day, reading a book, or spending some one-on-one time with my husband.
I have always wanted to be a morning person. To get up before everyone else and get started on the day appealed to me, but I just didn’t make it a priority. Instead, reading novels late at night and sleeping in was my main objective. I made reading and sleep into idols and was letting the best time that I could have for some quiet time with God go because I wanted just a few more minutes under the warmth of my covers. I knew this was wrong, and would try to change, but ended up hitting snooze over and over until my kids would hear it and wake, and then wake me up. I wasn’t really sleeping in all day, but I would naturally get up around eight in the morning. I felt such guilt and really did not like that I could not change this about myself.
I prayed about this for a few years, and I did make some feeble attempts to change what I was doing, but to no avail. But one thing that I never stopped doing was praying for a heart change in this area. God is so faithful y’all! About a year ago, I started waking up around 7am instead of 8 without an alarm, and then a few months later I started occasionally waking up around 6am. When this happened, by God’s grace, I worked to go to bed a little earlier so that I would get a healthy amount of sleep. I started having daily morning quiet time and it made such a difference in the peace I felt during the day, and now I love waking before everyone else in the house stirs. I am still not a 5am riser, and I don’t want to be. Getting up between six and seven o’clock in the morning is perfect for me at this point in my life.
“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”
-Luke 5:16
All of this morning business comes naturally to some, but it never did to me. I stopped disliking the way I was and started relying on God, and then God transformed my mind. I know that this did not happen because of my own actions, God was definitely behind this change, so to Him, I give all the glory. Now, I usually get up before my kids and get some quality quiet time in before my day starts. I say “usually”, because there are still days that I sleep in, but I no longer feel guilty or beat myself up about it. Instead I try my best to read at least my verse of the day and pray before I start my day.
Think about this: In Mark 1:35, we read, "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed." If our Savior needed quiet time with the Father, how much more do we?
What Happens When Our Kids Interrupt?
Some days, my kids wake up extra early and come down while I am in the middle of my quiet time. You may have your quiet time while the kids are taking a nap, but the naps are getting shorter, or even almost nonexistent. If you are anything like me, I have trouble with focusing if there is any noise, and for sure get overstimulated when I am trying to concentrate with giggling, yelling, or crying in the background. This makes it almost impossible for me to continue quiet time while they are in the room with me.
When my kids would interrupt, I would get short with them. I let my aggravation get the better of me, and I would tell them to go into another part of the house so that I could be alone with God. This would in-turn upset my children. I was punishing my children for being children. There is nothing wrong with needing a few minutes alone, but it became a battle that was fought on a regular basis. Not only did my attitude decrease the effectiveness for me to listen to God during quiet time, but my attitude had my oldest asking me why I “had to read the Bible every single day?” When he said this and a few other negative statements regarding prayer and reading the Word, I knew that I had to make a change. My mission as a mother is to lead my children to God, not away from Him, and my bad attitude was creating a sour taste in my children’s mouths when it came to my relationship with Jesus.
After realizing the probable, and detrimental, consequences of my actions, when the kids came down during my quiet-time, I began opening my arms for a big “good morning” hug. I pull them in close and kiss them on their cute little heads. I ask them how they slept and then I tell them what I am studying. I may even read a passage to them. We talk about the topic that I was studying, what the Bible says about it, how we can apply it to our lives, and then we close by praying together and praising Jesus for another day.
I no longer think of the kids coming in while I am in the midst of quiet time as an interruption, but instead I am happy that my kids see me reading my Bible and praying. Braxton, who is 8 years old, has seen this and asked me if he could do the same and states that he can’t wait to get old enough to read the Bible on his own. Rose, who is 6 years old will open her Bible and leaf through the pages copying me. This is not an interruption as I once thought, it is an opportunity that is a big part of the ministry of motherhood.
Quiet Time Flow
Now that we have talked a little about when we can take time to build our relationship with God, we need to discuss how we can spend time with Him. I briefly covered some ideas in the section, Fitting It In, above. We can spend time with God by praising Him with song, by doing an in depth Bible study or devotion, and we can listen to other people's words by listening to a podcast. These are things that I love to do, and attempt to do daily, but they shouldn't take the place of sitting down with your Bible in-hand and digging into the Word.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.”
Psalm 119:105
Atwww.hopeanchoredlife.comministries, we came up with a way to have daily devotions that requires nothing but a Bible, a pen, and some paper. We call it the 5 R’s of Scripture. This method was what I finally settled on after years of trying to do too much during my quiet time. I adapt it to the time I have available, so I use this same method when I have a quick 5 minutes or a long 45 minutes to spend with the Lord. Because of my super high expectations and my all-or-nothing attitude, my previous attempts at quiet time led me to look at it as a chore instead of a life-giving, relationship building act. Until I changed over to the 5 R’s method, I was just trying to check off one more box on my to-do list, but now I am finding rest in Jesus during my quiet time. Jesus takes me as I am and works with me on days that I have 5 minutes before my kids come in, as well as the days I can spend an hour in scripture and prayer. By being consistent instead of striving for perfection, my relationship with Christ has grown so much.
The 5 R’s of Scripture include:
Request: Pray that God will open your eyes and heart to the scripture.
Read: Read the scripture. This should be only one to three verses. (I like to use my scripture of the day printable so that I have a place to start. We have a free verse of the day printables available on our website.)
wRite: Write down the scripture. (I write it down in my planner each day.)
Read: Read the scripture again, this time meditating on it. What does it mean? Who was the audience? What were the circumstances surrounding the verse? This R can take as little or as much time as you would like, making it easily adaptable to your needs and or time restraints.
Respond: Apply the scripture to your life. Take a minute or two to think about in what ways the scripture is talking to you. What things can you change to follow God’s word? Think about how you can apply the scripture in specific areas and times.
The 5 R’s of Scripture can take as little as a quick 5 minutes, or you can dig deep on the 4th and 5th Rs and make it take as long as you would like. You can add cross referencing the Old and New Testament, writing meditation notes, or writing down how you plan to apply it to your life. I like to end with a prayer for assistance with application of the Word and a request for God to look out for the day, my husband, my children, and my home. (Time permitting, I write my prayer down in my planner as well.)
After I complete my morning quiet-time devotion, I like to start my day by quietly playing some Christian music, so that when my children come downstairs stretching their cute little arms and yawning, the first thing that they do is get to praise God with me.
All of the above is just a suggestion, please take what you like and leave the rest. Make your quiet time your own, and do what helps you grow in Christ.
“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”
-James 4:8
Encouragement for the Worn-Out Mamas Out There
Quiet time isn’t about doing it "right" but meeting with Jesus.
Even a few intentional minutes with Him can shape your entire day.
God honors you, even in the short moments of surrender.
God isn’t asking for perfection—He desires your heart.
Grace over guilt: It’s not about checking a box but building a relationship.
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
-Matthew 11:28
What’s Next?
Next steps for those who want to start a consistent quiet time in order to deepen your relationship with Jesus is to start. I challenge you for the rest of this week to set aside 5-10 minutes a day to go through one scripture each sitting, starting today. Quiet time is a lifeline and should not be seen as a duty. Don’t wait until tomorrow to start, instead start today with a quick devotion. In the time it took you to read this blog, you could have picked a verse and went through the 5 R’s of Scripture. Head on over to our website atwww.hopeanchoredlife.comto grab a free daily scripture printable, but for now, here are five scriptures to get you started:
Philippians 4:6–7 – Peace through prayer
Psalm 23 – The Lord is our Shepherd
Hebrews 4:16 – Boldly approach the throne of grace
Romans 12:2 – Renewing your mind
Galatians 5:22–23 -Fruits of the Spirit
Closing Thoughts
Mama, you’re doing holy work. But you cannot pour out what you have not received. Let Jesus fill you so you can faithfully pour into your family. Let His Word be your guide, His Spirit your strength, and His presence your peace.
You are never alone. God is with you in the laundry, the lesson plans, and the bedtime stories. And He meets you in the stillness.
A Prayer for You, Dear Mama
Heavenly Father,
I lift up every mother who reads this today. You see her heart, her hopes, her struggles, and her weariness. You know the endless tasks before her and the weight she carries as she teaches, nurtures, and serves her family.
Lord, would You meet her in the quiet moments — and even in the noisy ones? Remind her that she is not alone. Strengthen her in the areas where she feels weak. Fill her with Your peace where there is stress, Your wisdom where there is uncertainty, and Your joy where there is exhaustion.
Let her quiet time with You be a source of daily renewal. Help her to seek You first, to listen for Your voice, and to trust in Your perfect timing and plans for her home.
Bless her hands as she works, her mouth as she teaches, and her heart as she loves. May Your presence dwell richly in her home.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
Let’s Connect!
What does your quiet time look like right now? Do you have a favorite Bible verse that encourages you as a mom? Share in the comments below — let’s build each other up in Christ!
