5 ways to build time with Jesus into your daily routine…

2023 has begun (happy new year). Our Christmas decorations are down and away. The visiting family have gone and we start back at our home school tomorrow. In this phase of newness, I want to strongly encourage you to build time with Jesus into your daily routine. Make it part of a new rhythm, or get back on the old habit that you used to enjoy so much! Either way, spending time with Jesus is crucial. Let me quickly explain why this is so important right now and give you a few tips for making this part of your new daily routine.

Why spend time with Jesus?

Just like spending time with a friend, spouse, or other family member, spending time with God is the only way to get to know him and knowing God is eternal life!

And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. John 17 v 3

Many non-Christians know of God, many Christians know a lot about him, but actually knowing God is what we are invited to do. What an invite! We are asked into an eternal conversation with the father, through Jesus living inside us as spirit. It is a conversation, a relationship, that will never be interrupted, not even by death!

How to build time with Jesus into your daily routine.

There are many ways to spend time with Jesus, the main thing is to add it in where it will be easy enough to continue with it. We don’t want to start a great routine that only lasts a couple of weeks because it is just not doable for us. Having said that, it is ok to set a routine, do it well for a couple of weeks, forget for a few days but then get back on it!

1. Early in the morning…

I am an early riser. My alarm goes off at 5am and my kids don’t get up till about 7am. This is not something that happened naturally but I had to train myself to get up early and I had to train the kids to stay quietly in bed till 7. I went through months of doing this well, then somebody would be ill and we would not make our usual routine. However, after years of aiming for this, my body now often wakes 10 mins before my alarm. These habits do get easier, I promise!

So, like me, you could aim to get up before the kids. I love this option as I am a morning person! I grab my coffee, turn my fairy lights on and spend time reading Gods word, praying, journaling and reading other Christian books. I absolutely love my home educating job and completely adore my days with my kids but this is by far a favourite moment of my day and something I always look forward to.

2. In the evening…

If you are more of a night owl, why not build God time into your evening. Be clear with yourself and your spouse about what time this would be, shut your self away and get out your bible. Try to be consistent with this.

Sometimes we have to say no to some of the extra things in order to make time for Jesus. This can be hard but just remember even Jesus, sometimes took himself away by himself, rather then ministering and healing!

3. Sabbath…

Another option is to sabbath as a family, once a week. This gives you a full day, every week, to more fully spend time with God. We have found this to be a time of rest and celebration that has breathed new life into our family time! I would highly recommend starting your own Sabbath. Read more about how this might work here.

4. Alarms throughout the day…

Another way to spend time with Jesus that I have tried for a while is to set alarms throughout the day to then stop, pray and refocus on God. This can be powerful and helpful but I have only ever found this to last for a few days at a time. This might be helpful on a fast and pray day or other retreat time.

5. With others…

Lastly, I want to encourage you all to spend regular time with Jesus with other Christians. Find people who are true brothers and sisters that will study and pray with you regularly. This can be so beautiful and challenging and fun when done well!

I have a group of ladies that I meet with once a week and they have become more and more my sisters as we continue to meet together. This can be a challenging time as you are inviting people to get to know your walk with Jesus and to have a say in how you get closer to him. This is a time to put pride to one side and be open to what other believers are saying.

So however you choose to add Jesus-time into your routine, I pray that you would get to know your maker in a deeper and more profound way this year and I pray that you would thoroughly enjoy the journey!