Mindful Mondays--Encouragement in Your Bible Study Time

I am a little late in posting this. I was struggling to decide what I wanted to talk about for this first day. I came across a YouTube video on Bible study that I thought I'd talk about and share with you today. 

Elyssa Nalani has a great YouTube video on what to do when you are having trouble studying your Bible and spending time in God's Word.  I am actually following her Club 119 Scripture writing plan and I love it. It is writing each stanza in Psalm 119. 

Her video discusses ways we can help ourselves to be in God's word everyday. I really feel like this is one of those things that once you make it a habit you will want more and more. I myself have gone through several seasons of lags in my Bible study. Most times when this is happening to me, I really don't have a "good" reason for not studying as in a major life event or issue that has turned me off to studying. I think my bigger problem is just being lazy and getting out of the habit. So I'm gonna list some ideas for keeping up your Bible study each day.

My first tip is your time. Make time for it. I know a lot of people say they just don't have tie for this. I would encourage you to set a specific time to study each day and if it really looks like your day is all filled up, keep track of how much tv or netflix you are watching or how often you are scrolling through your phone (this is a big one for me!) Take 5 minutes of that time and try reading a few verses and praying. I think you will be surprised how much you enjoy it and how much more time you will end up spending in your quiet time. If it really is a crazy day and sitting in the bible is really difficult, I would suggest podcasts. There are several fantastic apps that are spiritually encouraging and rejuvenating. I will leave links to my favorites at the bottom of this post.

My second tip is to make sure you have a good guideline to get started. Whether it's a new study or just a reading plan you follow, have something you can follow to help you stay on track and give you guidance. I highly recommend any study by Jen Wilkin. Having something as a guide is a great way to stay on track.

My last tip for today is to stick with it. Even in the days when it seems hard, get in God's word any way you can. Any time is good.  5 minutes or an hour, any time you spend with the Lord is a good thing. Try not to let yourself get discouraged. Find a friend to study with and help keep you accountable. 

Bonus tip* Pray, Pray, Pray! This really should be in the main tips but don't forget this core step. Ask the Lord to help you study His word and give you guidance. This is something that is the hardest for me. I feel very inadequate when it comes to prayer. So if prayer time feels awkward know you are not alone. Just keep at it.

Thank y'all so much for reading the post today and feel free to message me or comment below if you have any questions about Bible study or prayer. I will be happy to answer any questions you have and if I can't answer y myself, I will do my best to find the answer for you. I hope next week to have even more advice and great content for our next 

Mindful Monday

Here are the links to the things I mentioned today:

Jen Wilkin click on resources and downloads and you will find several free Bible studies you can print off and the audio lessons to listen to.

Community Bible Church is an excellent church to listen to/watch for great Bible teaching on the go. 

Check out Podbean or other podcast apps and search for Community Bible church in San Antonio to be able to listen on the go.

Thankful Homemaker I highly recommend this podcast for any mom/ woman out there. Marci is such a sweet spirit with lots of practical advice for the Christian woman. Also check out her blog for lots of great info.

Last but not least for today the Homemaking Foundations this podcast is also fabulous for spiritual advice for women. She does have a lot of episodes on mothering but she also has several on all aspects of life. Highly recommend.