A New Devotional Space

The 6am buzzing alarm is an incredibly annoying sound.  It's set at an screeching volume and our particular alarm sounds like a school fire alarm.  It is seated far across the room so that my husband has to actually get out of bed to turn it off.

The problem is he never hears it.

In our 14 years of marriage my husband has slept through every alarm we have ever purchased.  He has slept through screaming kids...even when they approach his side of the bed.  He has slept through puking kids...even when they vomit in our bed.  He has slept through tornado warnings...even when I made him get up and lay down in our closet where the entire family was huddled.  And once, while vacationing at a beach front hotel he slept through a tropical storm...the wind force was only 1 mile less than that of hurricane status and we were on the 11th floor in a corner condo.

So needless to say, the 6am alarm buzzes on until I, with the mad force of a raging, hormonal woman who desperately needs her sleep, I mean, ever so gently shake him awake.  And for the next 30 minutes he roams through our bedroom and adjoining bathroom showering, shaving, and getting dressed while I am tossing and turning.  He kisses my goodbye and reminds me that he will call me at 7am and wake me as I have asked him to.  I realize I have very few precious remaining minutes of sleep.  I close my eyes and two seconds later open them to the sound of my phone humming.

"Hey beautiful, it's 7:00.  You awake?" he says.

"Mmm-hmm."

"Okay, I'll call you after my meeting.  I love you."

"Mmm-hmm." 

I'll admit, this is nicer than the fire alarm.

Then my struggle begins.  I really don't want to get out of bed and face this day.  It's chock full of things that I don't want to do.  As a matter of fact, at this moment, I can't think of one thing that I would actually like to do today other than lay in this bed.  But I can already hear my early risers starting to stir and I know that the chaos of this day is going to hit me directly in the face very soon.  I can either take it lying down (literally) or get a head start by rising and heading to my devotional space.

Recently though I have been letting my exhaustion get the better of me.  I don't just have a desire to spend time in God's word and prayer before my day begins, but I know my soul desperately needs it.  Instead of waking up gently while I read and God speaks his promises to me, I have been waking up to needy children standing next to my bed and making demands of me.  This has been a serious problem and I needed a remedy.

The answer actually came to me while reading a book called Desperate: Hope for the Mom Who Need to Breathe by Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson.  In the book, which I can't recommend enough, Sally suggests setting out fresh flowers and lighting a candle in the morning to add a pretty space to motivate and refresh you.  I knew this was exactly what I needed.  A simple, inviting space...and maybe a cup of hot tea... to entice me out of my warm, cozy bed.

And so, without further ado...my new devotional space...

I've actually added a small candle and a simple ceramic tile just big enough for my tea mug.  Also, a small basket under the table will hold my prayer journal, pens, additional devotional books, and scripture memory box without cluttering the table space.

This space is actually in my living room which is perfect, because before I would have my quiet time in a big, comfy chair in my bedroom.  The problem was that after my devotions, I would often open my computer, check my emails, check facebook, do a little searching on pinterest...you know procrastinate and linger a little longer and longer because I didn't want to leave the safe haven of my room.  Surely, I'm not the only one who has this much trouble getting started with my day??  But now that I start my day by going directly to the living room, I can see the things that need my attention as soon as my quiet time is over.  I'm not as tempted to sit and hide.  I'm motivated to move.

How about you?  Do you start your day with a quiet time?  What works to motivate you to get out of bed?
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Bible for little ones

We start our homeschool day by reading a bible story/devotional using a Bible curriculum that I bought at a homeschool convention last year. I haven't been totally satisfied with it mostly because there are no pictures. It really doesn't engage the littlest ones and overall, our Bible time has just seemed bland and boring.

I recently bought the Read with Me Bible for E5's birthday and I love, love, LOVE the illustrations in it. They are so expressive. So I have decided to read a story from it each day and have an activity.

On Monday we will read a story and copy our memory verse for that day on an index card to put in our memory verse box. Find out how to make a memory verse box here.

On Tuesday, we will read a story and draw what we read that day in a bible notebook.

On Wednesday, we will read a story and make a craft.

We are at a co-op on Thursday, but when we are home we will just add to our bible notebook.

On Friday, I will let the kids act out any of the stories we read that week.

In addition to our memory verses, the kids are also memorizing a verse a week of a hymn or worship song. They have already learned Tis So Sweet to Trust In Jesus and this week we will begin learning Holy is the Lord. Pin It Now!