So I don’t consider myself a “mommy blogger” even though I write a lot about my experiences with my family which includes my two children. I’m happy to know that I’m reaching lots of people who are not parents as well as fellow parents who may understand some of the specifically toddler or baby centered posts more acutely. In that same way, I don’t consider this a faith blog or specifically Catholic blog, but I will never shy away from the fact that I am a person of faith and that my whole lens of how I view the world is through the perspective of faith. But today’s post is going to be a little more direct than usual.
Today, in celebration of the Write the Word journals being back in stock at the Cultivate Shop, I’m going to share one of my favorite daily goals I’ve worked on the last few months- Coffee & Jesus. I try to set aside 10-15 minutes each day (a task harder than you might think with two littles that won’t nap at the same time… or at all…) to savor a cup of coffee and spend some time in the Bible. I do this one of two ways. I subscribe to devotionals from Blessed is She which delivers daily readings and reflections to my inbox and bonus- all the devotions are written by women because we can use more of that perspective, right? On days I don’t read the devotionals I save the email and then read a few together. I also use my Write the Word journal. This is a little less traditional than using a devotional but in some ways it is even simpler.
Since delight is one of my words of focus for the blog I always notice when it comes up elsewhere! Had to highlight it in this scripture verse…
The journals contain verses of scripture to look up and then you literally just write those pieces out into the journal so that the muscle memory and physical act of writing helps the verse sink in more deeply than it might otherwise. I love that I can use whatever translation of the Bible I want and sometimes vary it up but most often use the USCCB readings online so that it is the same translation I read with my daily Blessed is She devotionals. The back of each page has a journaling section for you to reflect in some way. I actually break up each journal entry into two days. I writethe passage on the first day and then the next day I go in and underline or highlight or add arrows and hearts and stickers to places that particularly stand out and speak to me in this moment, at this time, after I’ve had a day to think about those verses. I then use the “on my heart” page to journal about prayers or how the verses speak to where I am or even to just write how I’m feeling that day. The journal is very flexible though and I recently saw a fabulous idea about using the journaling page as a place to write letters for their children and I am definitely debating doing that in a different volume (there are five, all themed differently- hope, gratitude, joy, faith, and renewal which is the one I am currently working through!)
I also love that write the word is undated so while I put “friday” as this “today is…” other times I’ve written “my birthday” or “the start to a great week” or “the day my daughter started sitting up on her own” etc.
It has truly made a difference when I keep my coffee and Jesus time as a central part of my morning and while I sometimes try to steal away for some quiet time during this coffee date, what I love about the two ways I mentioned above is that they don’t need to be done in quiet solitude to be effective. Oftentimes, I just don’t get to have any quiet time so I have to find ways to connect amidst the noise and chaos and imperfection. This habit has been even more important during times of distress or anxiety and studying verse on renewal has refreshed my resolve when I want to throw my hands in the air and ignore the world and my teething baby instead of engaging and doing my best each day to examine my life and live my faith the best I can, knowing I will need grace every step of the way. There are still days I miss, there are still days where I find it hard to hold onto the feelings I have in the morning as the day progresses and I get tired, but overall I can see a change in how I deal with my family and myself since I started this practice and it is something I plan to continue. I have loved working my way through the Renewal volume especially with all the life changes this year has brought and how exhausting 2017 has been so far.
I’d love to hear the little ways you sneak in time to practice your faith day by day, and I’d love to answer any questions about my coffee and Jesus time if you have them!
Alphabet Resolutions 
10 thoughts on “Coffee & Jesus”