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From My Friend

by | Oct 19, 2020 | Mom Blog, Guest Posts, Have a Daily Quiet Time, Posts

Stephanie is a wife and mother of three daughters. We first met at a homeschool convention! Her daughters attended a workshop our daughters were giving on the Quiet Time. Later, Stephanie and I enjoyed talking at the Daughters of Decision booth. I am blessed by her friendship and am grateful for her willingness to share how the Quiet Time impacts her life.

Stephanie Shares:

“Having a daily Quiet Time has been the single most important and impactful decision of my life, second only to receiving the gift of salvation.

All of the growth I have experienced in my life has been a result of knowing Christ more intimately, which only came through the commitment to spend time alone with Him in conversation. The reality of His presence during this time transcends any demand or pressure I have faced.

It is also the single most important and impactful skill/habit/knowledge I could impart to my daughters, as it is where victory begins. God uses this time to strengthen, forgive, provide peace and perspective, encourage, teach, correct my thinking, create love, and much more. It is our daily bread and it is where both rest and victory begin.

As a result, I am a far better and wiser wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend. It would be a huge mistake to make anything a priority over this time – GUARD it in your life and the lives of your children, if you want the absolute best most prosperous (living within the blessing of God’s will) life for them imaginable.”

Thank-you for sharing Stephanie!

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Marian Thomsen

Marian Thomsen

Wife, Mother, Mentor

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
Isaiah 41:10

From My Mother

by | Oct 19, 2020 | Mom Blog, Guest Posts, Have a Daily Quiet Time, Posts

My mother was the person who influenced me to have a Quiet Time by her personal example. One day when I was about ten years old I saw my mother sitting on the couch in our family room. I asked her what she was doing and she told me she was having a Quiet Time. This led to our talking about what a Quiet Time is and how to have a Quiet Time. I quickly decided that I wanted to have a Quiet Time too!

My mother turns 91 in December and she still enjoys her daily time alone with God. May your heart be encouraged as you read answers she gave to questions I asked  about her Quiet Time journey.

Who first told you about having a Quiet Time?

“It was Dad. (Note from Marian: Mom is referring here to my Dad and her husband.)  He helped me to read the Bible with him. He didn’t call it a Quiet Time, but we just read our Bible together, found a verse we liked, discussed it, then prayed together.” 

Who helped you know how to have a Quiet Time?

“Again it was Dad. He helped me to ‘see’ and ‘do’ more after I read with him. The Bible reading became more personal as I started to read it by myself.  I would read and try to find a verse that I liked and think about that verse throughout the day. I used the ‘Who are you Lord?’ and ‘What will You have me to do?’ questions. It helped to have a journal that I could write my thoughts from my reading the Bible and praying.”

What impact has having a daily Quiet Time had in your life?

“It has helped me a lot …  finding a special verse from time to time in my Quiet Times has helped me to have …

  1. Assurance of Salvation – John 1:12
  2. Assurance of Answered Prayer – John 16:24,
  3. Assurance of Forgiveness of My Sins – Hosea 14:2

Why would you encourage others to have a Quiet Time?

“It is the best thing to do to meet Jesus in the Bible, see who Jesus is as I read the Bible,  hear what Jesus said as I read the Bible. Reading about Jesus makes it so personal to me. It also helps me to praise the Lord more.   So, I want to help others know Jesus better.  I can pass on what I learn about Jesus in the Bible.” 

Thank-you for sharing Mom!

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Marian Thomsen

Marian Thomsen

Wife, Mother, Mentor

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
Isaiah 41:10

Life Changer

by | Oct 19, 2020 | Mom Blog, Have a Daily Quiet Time, Posts

Have you heard people talk about a Quiet Time and yet wonder what they’re talking about?

Or perhaps you know what a Quiet Time is but really don’t know what to do in a Quiet Time.

Or maybe you wonder if a having a daily Quiet Time is really all that important or if you should keep taking the time to have one.

I am excited to let you know that we are going to take a look at the Quiet Time on this and upcoming posts! After this post, my mother, our three daughters and two friends will be sharing some thoughts about the Quiet Time as well. You won’t want to miss what they have to share!

Let’s start by clarifying what we are talking about. We are not referring to a time when everyone in the house is quiet, or to a time to just be silent and have a cup of coffee or tea. What we are talking about is time alone with God.

Time alone with God reading the Bible and talking to Him in prayer.

And oh, how precious this time is! Think about it. Time alone with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Time with the Shepherd and Savior of our souls. Time to listen to Him through His Word and to talk to Him in prayer. Wow! We can actually come into His presence and personally spend time with God Himself! It can’t get any better than that!

And I have found that having a daily Quiet Time has been and is the single most important thing I do to help me grow in my personal walk with Christ. 

God uses this time to teach me about Himself and about who I am and who He wants me to be. He uses our time together in His Word and prayer to help prepare me for the day ahead. Sometimes a Bible verse I read provides an answer to a question I have been asking. Sometimes I am comforted by God’s love or encouraged by His greatness. Sometimes God shares one of His promises with me and comforts my heart. Sometimes I read a verse that tells me how to be an encouragement to someone else. And sometimes I’m confronted with the need to deal with a sin in my life.

From personal experience I can say with confidence that having a daily Quiet Time helps to draw me closer to God and helps me to grow in my personal relationship with Him. Having a daily Quiet Time has truly changed my life!

How has having a Quiet Time impacted your life? I look forward to hearing from you!

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Marian Thomsen

Marian Thomsen

Wife, Mother, Mentor

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
Isaiah 41:10

Bible Time with Baby

by | Oct 8, 2020 | Mom Blog, Baby Too, First Place, First Place Overview, Posts

Baby can enjoy Bible Time too.

 

Sing

When you are singing to the Lord, sing in your baby’s hearing. This could be while you are washing dishes, feeding or rocking your baby, or enjoying Bible Time with older children in your home.

 

The Bible

When you are reading the Bible or reviewing your Bible memory verses do so out loud in your baby’s hearing.

 

Pray

Talk to God out loud in your baby’s hearing. Praise God and give Him thanks.

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Marian Thomsen

Marian Thomsen

Wife, Mother, Mentor

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
Isaiah 41:10

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As Baby Grows

by | Oct 8, 2020 | Mom Blog, Baby Too, Posts

It is exciting to watch babies grow, isn’t it? So much happens during their first years of life. They learn to lift their heads, turn over, sit up, crawl, stand and eventually walk and talk. And as they grow, we continue to have a wonderful opportunity as mothers to spiritually nurture our little ones at home.

On a previous blog post, “Bible Time with Baby” we looked at the most important thing a mom can do to spiritually nurture her new born baby. What is the most important thing a mom can choose to do? She can choose to personally spend time with Jesus every day to spiritually nurture herself.

She can also choose to read the Bible out loud for baby to hear, she can pray in baby’s hearing, she can review her memory verses and can sing praises to the Lord in baby’s presence.

As baby grows, mom can also begin to develop an intentional time of day that is set aside specifically for Bible Time with baby.

Time that we spend with our little one, singing to the Lord, spending time in God’s Word the Bible, and talking to the Lord in prayer. Let’s take a look at each of these areas with “growing babies” in mind.

I will share some simple ideas that will be appropriate for a variety of abilities as baby grows.

If you are a mom with a little one, and you are interested in having intentional Bible Time with your baby, I would encourage you to pick just one new thing from the list below to do with your baby this week.

Then, next week, you may like to add another idea as you continue to do the idea from last week, and so on. Over time, you may want to purpose to do one idea from each of the three key elements of Bible Time with baby each day.

These ideas will be listed under the three key elements of Bible Time, singing, the Bible, and prayer.

1. Encourage baby to shake a rattle, nod the head, tap the table, clap, or march while you sing.

2. If possible, purchase a children’s hymnbook. With baby on your lap, open the songbook and point to the pictures or words as you sing.

3. Use a family hymnbook of your choice, and sing, sing, sing! When baby is able, encourage them to sing along with you.

1. Read short sections of Scripture out loud in baby’s hearing. When baby is old enough to sit up, give them something to do with their hands as you read. Perhaps a few blocks to play with, or some beads, or a crayon and paper if appropriate.

2. Invest in some simple books for baby that share the truth of God’s Word. Look for books with pictures that honor the Lord. Read them to your baby. Talk simply about the Bible truths that are shared.

3. Write a Bible memory verse on a card to share with baby. Decorate it with a sticker. Cover it with contact plastic or laminate it for durability. Let baby handle it and look at it while you read it out loud. Over time, you can add more cards to read to baby each day. As you consistently do this, the exciting day will come when baby will begin to say these Bible memory verses out loud with you. (If you would like some suggestions of memory verses for your little ones, see the download provided with this post.)

1. Purpose to pray with baby each day. Keep your prayer time with baby simple. Speak clearly and slowly so that baby can hear clearly what you are saying.

2. When baby can say a few words, give your baby the opportunity to talk to God as well. For example if they can say “daddy,” you could pray, “Thank-you, God, for Daddy. In Jesus name, Amen,” encouraging baby to say “daddy” with you when you pray this.

3. Begin simple “Thank-you” prayers with baby. Collect photos of your family, and pictures of things to be thankful for. Look at one picture at a time with baby. You could begin like this using three pictures: “Dear Heavenly Father, (show the picture of Daddy) Thank-you for Daddy, (show the picture of Mommy) thank-you for Mommy, (show the picture of your baby) and thank-you for baby (using your child’s name). In Jesus name, Amen.” The photos and pictures you collect could be glued onto paper and collated into a simple picture book to be used over and over again. If you collate them into a three ring binder, you can add more pages of pictures as baby grows!

Click Here for Memory Verse List
Thanks for joining me! Have you seen something from the list above that you would like to do with your baby this week? I’d love to hear about it! Feel free to send a comment anytime.
 
May you sense the Lord’s love for you as you love your precious little one today.
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Marian Thomsen

Marian Thomsen

Wife, Mother, Mentor

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
Isaiah 41:10

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Baby Too!

by | Oct 8, 2020 | Mom Blog, Baby Too, Posts

How does a new and busy mother spiritually nurture her baby during her already full days and possibly sleep deprived nights? How does she have Bible Time with her baby?

First, she needs to nurture her own personal relationship with the Lord. To do this, she can choose to have a daily Quiet Time. A time to read the Bible and to talk to God in prayer. Even five minutes each day with the Lord in the Word and prayer is a great beginning. When she is reading her Bible, if baby is nearby, she can read it out loud for baby to hear.
She can talk to the Lord in prayer. When she is praying in the baby’s presence, she can pray out loud.
 

She can sing to the Lord during various moments of her day, perhaps while she is washing dishes, or while feeding or rocking baby.

She can review her Bible memory verses too. I heard of one mother who decided that she would quote her memorized Bible verses while she was changing her baby’s diapers. What a great and consistent way to keep reviewing and sharing memory verses with baby even as a busy mom! I wish I had thought of that!

Bible Time with Baby?

Simply put, it is mother sharing her walk with the Lord with her baby. Daily singing to the Lord, reading the Bible, quoting memorized verses, and praying. And baby will be blessed.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

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Marian Thomsen

Marian Thomsen

Wife, Mother, Mentor

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
Isaiah 41:10

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