Bible Time for Busy Moms
00:00:00.000 | Pastor John, here's a common question we hear on Bible reading, and it comes from
00:00:07.680 | a mom who asks, "Pastor John, I'm a busy mom with three kids at home. How am I
00:00:12.560 | supposed to find time to read the Bible alone?" What would you say, Pastor John?
00:00:16.880 | Here's the way I want to approach this. If you're a wife in this situation, and
00:00:24.720 | not a single mom, that's another challenge. I'll mention that in a minute
00:00:27.760 | maybe, but a wife who has a husband living with her at home. Would you turn
00:00:33.840 | this podcast off and go get your husband? Because I'm gonna ask him to take
00:00:40.920 | responsibility for this question. You do have some responsibility. Yes, yes, you do.
00:00:45.040 | And maybe I'll say a word about that in just a minute, but God's idea for
00:00:49.760 | marriage and parenting is two parents. That's His ideal. And one of the reasons
00:00:55.360 | for this is so that one can cover for the other and make sure that both are
00:01:04.440 | connecting with God through Jesus in the Word every day. Okay, good. So is he there?
00:01:12.360 | Like, is he there? I'm talking to the husband. Hello, husband. Your wife wants to
00:01:18.760 | know how she's supposed to find time to read the Bible alone when these kids are
00:01:25.880 | needing her attention all the time. So here's how I think you, Mr. Husband, can
00:01:31.720 | help her. Number one, set a tone of discipline and order in the home so that
00:01:39.000 | children are not running wild, but are submissive and obedient and self-control.
00:01:43.600 | Partner with her in getting these kids under control. This calls for serious,
00:01:50.520 | close attention from the time they can bite her nipple. It is possible to show
00:01:56.760 | them, "Don't do that. That's not allowed here." So naps and bedtimes and mealtimes
00:02:03.680 | are ordered times around which days can be built. My impression is way too many
00:02:10.040 | parents today think their children should be allowed to control the
00:02:14.200 | atmosphere of the house. That's a big mistake at lots of levels, I think. So,
00:02:20.320 | Dad, step up, partner with your wife in establishing routines, and expect
00:02:26.280 | obedience, expect submission to her and to your authority. That's number one. The
00:02:31.880 | whole atmosphere of the house has to be brought under the parental order. Number
00:02:36.520 | two, Dad, establish a playtime with the kids every day. It'll obviously change
00:02:43.720 | with the ages and so on, but give your whole attention to these kids every day
00:02:49.920 | at some point during which time she's free. For us, that was right after supper
00:02:57.160 | for about an hour for a long, many, many years. So from we ate at 530, we're done
00:03:03.120 | by 6, from 6 to 7, I'm playing with all the kids, managing it myself. She's done
00:03:08.680 | it all day. I can do it for an hour, and she can do whatever she wants, and if
00:03:13.880 | it's time to read the Bible, there she has it. Number three, build retreats into
00:03:20.040 | your and your wife's life so that she gets a half a day or a day every now and
00:03:25.120 | then. You figure out how often. When you arrange for the children, either you take
00:03:30.400 | them on Saturday morning, all morning, or you pay someone to do it, but she and you
00:03:36.080 | are getting these periodic extended retreat times where they can really
00:03:40.440 | kick back and deal with the living God. Number four, lead your wife in the Word
00:03:47.280 | so that her desire never wavers because of your example of pursuing treasure and
00:03:54.680 | sweetness in the Word with her. Number five, give her adult conversation about
00:04:03.640 | important things, including things from the Scripture, so that she doesn't lose
00:04:07.560 | perspective what all this kid time is for. And finally, pray for her, for her
00:04:16.960 | motivation and her discipline and her enjoyment of the Word. And a closing word
00:04:23.360 | maybe to mom, because I said I might get back to it, so here I am trying to get
00:04:27.400 | back to it. You may not have a husband with that kind of a heart. Well then, you
00:04:33.920 | must do it yourself, and God will help you. Yes, he will. No temptation or trial
00:04:40.040 | is going to fall on you that God won't give you the grace to endure. So you
00:04:46.120 | might try reading the story of Susanna Wesley, the mother of Charles and John
00:04:51.800 | Wesley. She had 19 children, nine of them died in infancy, that left ten. She
00:04:58.440 | promised the Lord she would spend time in prayer and the Word every day, and at
00:05:03.360 | one point her strategy was this, she taught the older children and the
00:05:07.620 | younger, that the younger ones were responsible to them, and when you see
00:05:12.200 | mom with an apron over her head at the table, don't bother her. Keep the kids
00:05:18.860 | quiet. That is my time with God. So train your children with that kind of rigor,
00:05:25.560 | expect obedience, find your apron or your closet, but dad, I'm looking to you for
00:05:34.040 | the major support. Thank you, Pastor John, and it's a big week for us at DG. Tomorrow
00:05:39.520 | we kick off our 2014 National Conference at the Minneapolis Convention Center. It
00:05:44.200 | will be our 12th National Conference, and it will also be our final National
00:05:48.240 | Conference. It's titled, "Look at the Book, Reading the Bible for Yourself," and it
00:05:52.400 | all begins Friday afternoon with seminars from Jerry Bridges, Nancy
00:05:55.520 | Guthrie, Ben Stewart, John Bloom, Jason Meyer, and others. Friday evening, you,
00:06:00.560 | Pastor John, will be delivering your first of five sessions titled, "Scripture,
00:06:03.940 | the Kindling of Christian Hedonism." And if you can't be there, you can watch the
00:06:08.040 | conference online at DesiringGod.org/live. Well, a podcast listener
00:06:13.200 | writes in to ask, "What do you do when much of the Bible simply doesn't make
00:06:16.640 | any sense?" We'll hear Pastor John tomorrow. I'm your host Tony Rehnke. Thanks for
00:06:20.680 | listening to the Ask Pastor John podcast.
00:06:24.240 | [BLANK_AUDIO]