Have you ever wondered how to have a consistent Bible devotional and prayer time? I know, I know...I remember the “I’m going the minute my eyes open and my feet hit the floor busy-mama” season of life!

Let me tell you this...I’ve learned this one important truth.

I can’t survive this life without my quiet time with Jesus.

There was a woman that spoke at a Women’s conference 20 years ago, on how important a consistent devotional time spent with Jesus truly is.

She had a table stacked high, row upon row of journals. They were her devotional journals from over 20 years!

You can imagine how I felt as I watched them continue to stack journal upon journal on that table. First, I felt shame. I could barely get up at a decent time in the morning with my three little babies at home.

I thought about how tired I was- all the time. Then, my mind turned to the dishes piled high in the sink, the breast-feeding machines and bottles that needed to be sterilized.

I thought about the mountain of laundry that I couldn’t quite manage to eliminate, much less fold and put away.

I thought about things like friends I lost touch with. Time, just getting away from me.

As the speaker began, she said one thing that hit home with me. She said, “Me & Jesus- Consistent at last.”

I thought, “But she doesn’t have 3 little kids, a husband who works two jobs and a Youth Ministry that eats up most of our free time.

She began to talk about how it didn’t change for her overnight. She made small, incremental changes and realized she couldn’t put too much pressure on herself. She said she didn't want her family to be her excuse that she couldn't make time but her "Why" to spend time with Jesus.

She initially thought, as I did, that you needed at least a full hour at the crack of dawn before the kids were awake, pouring over devotionals, Bible Commentaries and dictionaries while reading 3 chapters of the Bible.

No. Here is what I took away from that conference:

1. “Start with 1 chapter. That’s it. Don’t read anymore than that or you’ll get overwhelmed.”

I thought to myself, “I can do that!”

2. She explained that you should put a timer on for 15 minutes and don’t go over it. Read, then write out 1 verse that jumps out at you.

3. Rewrite that verse in your own words and then write out a prayer for it. Hard stop.

Certainly, I could do that!

And that is exactly what I did. For years, I journaled in black and white composition books. I have kept them throughout the years and plan to leave them to my daughter as my legacy.

So, if you needed a push in the right direction on how to spend time with Jesus every morning…

You’ve got it!

Take the incremental steps. One at a time, and you’ll begin to see such growth. One day, you’ll look back and think, “Gee, I just spent 2 hours with Jesus!”