Bible Quiet Time has become a habit, even when we are not homeschooling!
Bible Quiet Time is not just a part of homeschooling with Heart of Dakota (HOD) for us. Rather, it is something we do even when we are not homeschooling! In fact, even my two graduated sons have their own Bible Quiet Times still. Just as Charlotte Mason emphasized the importance of creating good habits, so do we! In a past blog post, I described HOD’s Bible Quiet Time plans in the younger guides. Then, in another blog post I described HOD’s Bible Quiet Time plans in the high school guides. Today, I want to show how HOD helps students make their Bible Quiet Time a lifelong habit – even when they are not homeschooling!
Wyatt’s Bible Quiet Time Habit
My oldest son, Wyatt, just finished his junior year of college online with Liberty University. When he graduated high school, he started reading through his Life Application Bible using a 365 Day Plan. He did this during the week, as on the weekend he attended his Bible College Career Class. He missed some days, and it took longer than a year to finish. But, he finished! He liked it so well, he decided to start back at the beginning of his 365 Day Plan. He also prays during his Bible Quiet Time each day. Bible Quiet Time has become a habit for Wyatt – praise God!
Riley’s Bible Quiet Time Habit
My middle son, Riley, just finished his senior year of high school with HOD. Last summer, he began reading through Genesis. This summer, he’s moving on and reading a chapter each day of Exodus. His plan is to just read straight through the Bible, a chapter a day until he finishes. He also prays during his Bible Quiet Time each day. Bible Quiet Time has become a habit for Riley – praise God!
Emmett’s Bible Quiet Time Habit
My youngest son, Emmett, just finished his eighth grade year with HOD. Last summer, he began reading the Sonrise Bible. This summer, he wanted to set his Sonrise Bible aside. Instead of this, he is reading a chapter each day of the Book of John. His plan is to just read straight through John, a chapter a day until he finishes. Then, he is going to make a plan of what he’d like to do next. He also prays during his Bible Quiet Time each day. When we are homeschooling for high school, he will do the Bible Quiet Times planned in the HOD high school guides. Whether he is homeschooling or whether he is on break, Bible Quiet Time has become a habit for Emmett – praise God!
My Bible Quiet Time Habit
I have a Bible Quiet Time habit year-round, except for Sundays since we leave early for church. I’ve read through the Bible using many different plans and resources. First, I just read the Bible from start to finish as time allowed. After that, I read through the Life Application Bible and really enjoyed the notes at the bottom of each page. The Sonrise Bible was my next trip through, and the devotions alongside it were wonderful! About then, I heard about Joyce Meyers. My Mom had seen her at a women’s conference, and she had enjoyed the conference so much. I was done with my Sonrise Bible, so I decided to go to our Christian book store to choose what I wanted to do next.
Well, Joyce Meyer’s Everyday Living Bible just fit what I was needing so well! Using our church’s 365 Day Plan, I read my way through the Everyday Living Bible and absolutely loved it! Now, I am using a 3-year Bible Reading Plan to read my way through Joyce Meyer’s Battlefield of the Mind Bible. I decided to use the 3-year plan because I have bought so many Joyce Meyer’s devotionals and books I want to read too! Her writing is saturated with the Word, and it just speaks to my current stage of life so well. I also keep a Prayer Journal and update it once a month or so. Sometimes I pray my way through my journal, and other times I just pray what comes to mind. I don’t have ‘rules’ for my prayer time talking with the Lord.
Other Habits We Have Together
We have other habits that stem from our Bible Quiet Times. Most weekdays, I turn on Christian praise music to start our chores’ time before breakfast. I don’t always remember, but I try. We switch it up! Sometimes I just turn on Christian radio. Other times I put on one of our Christian playlists. Still other times, I put on a quartet CD. My Dad was in a quartet most his life, and my parents took our sons to quartet concerts many times. My Dad’s quartet even made a record, and my mom had it made into a CD. I love our family can still hear my Dad’s voice singing in my kitchen, even though he is now singing in heaven. How amazing that must be now that his whole quartet is singing there together!
Finally, my sons and I are meeting once a week to go through Battlefield of the Mind. We are reading two chapters a week and then discussing them. I bought the Study Guide to go with it, but I’m paring the questions down and will just give a handful of them to my sons ahead of time. We are treating this like a Bible Study group. I am really looking forward to it! I’ve read most of it before, and the discussions are going to be great alongside it! Since my husband travels and has a very unpredictable schedule, he has his own Bible app he does instead. Anyway, I hope this post shows how Bible Quiet Times can look outside of homeschooling with HOD!
In Christ,
Julie
