Daily Devotions for Moms for the Busy Holiday Season
St. Francis de Sales is claimed to have said, “Every one of us needs half an hour of prayer a day, except when we are busy – then we need an hour.” As busy moms, sometimes quotes like that hit hard. We wonder how we could possibly fit more, if any, prayer time into our already packed schedules.
Honestly, that’s probably how you got here. You want to know if there are any truly practical daily devotions for moms out there! …especially as your days are about to get even busier as you prepare for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Before we can get into specific devotions that are great for the holidays, we must first gain a few perspective shifts that will help make implementing the new devotions just a tad bit easier.
Before you choose your daily devotions
Make God the priority instead of the afterthought
Ouch! Yeah, I know – that one can hit hard. You may even think that you are making God the priority. Yet, if you are coming up with excuses for why you can’t do the devotions that you set out to do, then He really hasn’t been made the priority.
I cover this a bit more in Productive Morning Routine for a Stay at Home Mom, so I’m not going to get into all of the the logistics here. However, there is one thing that you need to shift as you work on making God the priority. Instead of trying to figure out where He fits best into your day, “schedule” Him in first (just as you would a doctor appointment), then you can plan out the rest of your day.
Use your chores and activities as opportunities for praise
While I do believe that having a dedicated time to actually sit with our Lord in prayer is important, that doesn’t mean that you have to think about it as, “it’s prayer time or bust!” You can use your busy-ness as an opportunity to praise God.
As you bake cookies or wrap gifts, pray for the recipients. When you are out shopping, praise God for His generosity in providing for your family. With each shining Christmas light, reflect on the humility of Our Lord in coming down to earth as a helpless infant.
You can even use our modern technology to guide you in your prayer. Find a podcast with devotions to listen to as you go about your day. Open up YouTube and pray the Rosary. Whatever it is that you choose to do, don’t give up. There is always a way to make prayer a bigger part of your day.
God isn’t counting
While we might be keeping track of our failings to adhere to a perfect devotion schedule, God isn’t. He sees your heart. He knows your efforts. Give those efforts to Him and He will continue to bless them.
3 daily devotions for moms for the busy holiday season
1. Keeping God as our motivation during the busy holiday season
Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others… Corinthians 3:23
There I was, newly postpartum with the baby on my chest, staring at the meal train that someone had created for me. While I was very thankful for all of the loving support, there was one name in particular that I was looking for and never found.
I had a friend who I desperately wanted to rekindle a friendship with. Months before, I had attempted to reach out in various ways, from texts to bringing them meals after having a baby and during a sickness. I so wanted to see her name on that meal train, almost as proof that she cared as much about renewing our friendship as I did.
Well, she never did sign up to bring a meal, and I started to resent her for it. I went to a lot of trouble doing things for her and her family with no return.
How often do we do that? How often do we do “acts of kindness” with some ulterior motive – even subconsciously? “If I do this, then that person will like me.” “If I act this way, then that person will think ‘x’ about me.” Yet, that is not what we are called to do. We are to give without expecting anything in return.
As we work on preparing gifts for others this holiday season, let us remember to focus on our Lord and how He calls us to serve vs. on how we might be perceived or treated by others because of our gifts.
Where might you need to check your heart as you prepare gifts this year?
2. Be Transformed in the Reflection of God Made Man
...and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7
As a homeschooling family, religion is one of our subjects. One of my sons just had a lesson on the significance of Our Lord coming to earth. It has been mulling around in my mind ever since. I don’t have a good story about how this changed my world or my perspective, but it has been quietly playing in the background.
But that’s how God likes to come to us, isn’t it? He finds us in the quiet. He speaks to us in the stillness. He himself came to earth in the stillness – away from the noise of those in the inns of Bethlehem. While a stable is by no means completely quiet, anyone who has sought out the silence of a stable knows that there is a difference.
Not only did He come in the stillness, but He allowed Himself to be humbled. He came, not only as a human being, but as an infant. God, in all His power and glory and knowledge, came to us in the person of Jesus Christ, so that we may one day get to be fully reunited with Him forever in heaven.
Today, let’s reflect on just how much Our Father must love us in order to be humbled in this way. How can we reflect this love to the world around us this holiday season?
3. Don’t Be Overcome in your Hurry to get everything done
“Be still and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.” Psalm 46:11
How often do we worry about making sure all of the tasks are complete and all of the boxes are checked? Why do we think that we know better than God?
He commands us to be still. He wants us to trust in Him. This doesn’t mean that we shirk our duties, but that we approach them differently. We approach them by doing the best that we can, but then leaving the rest to Him.
We can be still, by re-working our schedule so that we can form meaningful connections with God and others. We can be still by knowing that it will be okay when our plans fail. We can be still when tragedy rocks our world. It is when we are still and allow the anxiety to leave our mind, that we can then see clearly the next step that God has ready for us to take.
How might you be rushing around this holiday season? What can you do to be still and rest more in Our Lord?
Other devotions to incorporate as you go about this busy holiday season
Below you will find a few more of my favorite daily devotions for moms.
A Gratitude Journal
What better way to approach the holidays then in the posture of Thanksgiving?! It can be as simple as grabbing a pen and a notebook (or pretty journal) and writing down everything that you are thankful for each day.
The Advent Wreath
This is a beautiful way to reflect on the coming of our savior. You can find Advent Wreath prayers through a quick Google search or get a book of Advent Wreath Prayers. It doesn’t take much time, but get your mind in the right place. It’s also a great thing to do as a whole family!
The Magnificat
My husband asked for a subscription to the Magnificat last Christmas, but I have also taken advantage of it. I love that it has the Bible readings for every day of the week, plus a meditation for each day!
The St. Andrew Novena
Typically, novenas last for about 9 days. This novena is a bit different in that it lasts for about 25 days. But don’t let that scare you. The St. Andrew Novena starts on the Feast of St. Andrew, one of Jesus’ Apostles, and is a beautiful way to prepare for the coming of our Savior! Traditionally, you would include a specific intention that you pray for through the novena. The novena itself is one short prayer said 15 times per day. I have found a really handy app that helps keep track of how many times you say the prayer. You can look up “St. Andrew Novena” on your app store to find it!
Daily Mass
As moms, sometimes just making it Mass on Sundays is hard enough. However, if you can make it to at least one more Mass during the week through Advent, I highly encourage you to do so. If you are able to go alone, then you will have that time to sit quietly in the presence of our Lord. Even if you can’t go alone and find yourself exhausted from wrangling active little humans the whole time, know that our Lord sees your efforts. The grace from Mass is still there, even if you can’t feel it right away.
This doesn’t have to be complicated
As you choose your new daily devotions, know that it can be simple. If you haven’t really developed much of a prayer life lately, then don’t try to do too much. Pick one or two devotions to focus on and let the process of incorporating them into your day be part of your prayer.
Even if you are a seasoned prayer warrior, it can still be a temptation to take on more than we can truly bear. Be careful not to let pride seep in, as so often it likes to do when we are trying to do better. Let us look to our Lord sleeping peacefully in the manger and let us stay humble.
What devotion or devotions will you be incorporating this holiday season? Tell me how it’s going in the comments!
