March's Goal: Scripture Study

I've heard from most mom's of 4+ kids that 3 was the major adjustment!
3 kids has been an adjustment and a 1/2.  I think it's been made especially so with Silver being so lively and energetic.  I love her energy - it is tiring though trying to keep up with her.  I can't put things back as quickly as she pulls them out.   She is also very clingy and wants to be with Mom, preferrably on her lap instead of baby!
It's been an adjustment for Silver too, and I'm trying to respect that and give her extra time.
Silver and I went out and had a Mommy/daughter outing with just her me and Summer.  This time she got to be the big helper and the big sister.  I think she felt really special - we went out to eat at Wendys - and she got to carry the tray to the table and get the "Pop!"  We rarely get pop and hamburgers, so this was a special treat.  We then went shopping - first to Family Dollar and then to the Grocery Store.  At Family Dollar she tells me "Hungry!!"  Sigh.  She won't eat at the table and then whenever we go anywhere complains of a tummy ache from being hungry.
Lately - for about the last month I've been extremely tired, and when fatigued I get easily overwhelmed.  I wonder why it's just hit now?  Maybe 7 months of 3, 4, 5 and 6 times interrupted sleep every night.....something's catching up to me now and I feel......blah!

So, what does this have to do with March's Goal? 
Because I can't get myself out of bed before my kids wake me up.  That used to be my time for prayer and scripture study, first thing before the day starts.  I was finding that I got going, running actually, and didn't stop until I fell into bed at night and realized that I had gotten out of the habit of scripture study.  I realized that I needed to read and get that spirit back in my life that had been lacking.  Me being perfectionistic about this told myself that I needed to do at least 15 minutes of uninterrupted study.......well, needless to say my first 1/2 of the month didn't go like I had envisioned:  On my mission I would Crave scripture study.  I seriously couldn't get enough of it.  We were required to memorize all 6 discussions (that had 6 sections each).   This was a huge amount of material to memorize, and until they were all passed off, we only had 15 minutes of scripture study each day.  Only 15 minutes!!  Once those were passed off a whole new world of study opened up to me where I delighted in the scriptures.  Quiet Long Mornings of Scripture Study.   
The 1st half of March I felt so guilty that I wouldn't get that direction from Heaven, I thought of it throughout the day, but usually did not get to it until bed-time and then read while trying not to fall asleep. 
We had Ward Conference during the middle of the month.  The Stake President encouraged us to read for 5 minutes a day.  That was a place to start.  5 minutes, and I tried to look on what I did do instead of what I didn't do.  Even 5 minutes can bring the spirit and inspiration.  Sometimes I found if I did 5, then I was on a roll and 15 wasn't a problem.  Now, I do believe that scripture study done in the morning sets a tone for the rest of the day, and I'd like to get back into that, but I've noticed an increased spirit in my life and an increased thinking of spiritual things throughout the day since I've started reading every day again. 
Even done at night, it blesses my life. 
Start.  And Keep Going!
Have you seen the versions of the Book of Mormon that are written in Paragraph Format?  I got a copy, and I've enjoyed the different perspective this gives me to reading the scriptures.  It is in the format of the first edition.  The poetry parts are written in poem-form.  It's been interesting reading it this way. 

This is from the fabulous blog Asking Jane:  http://askingjane.blogspot.com/2010/11/letter-from-jane-house-of-order.html  She is a mother of 11 children and gives great advise.  here is one of her blog entries on scripture study:
__________________________________________
I’d like to start out by issuing you a challenge. This challenge is going to sound impossible. So you know I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important and if I didn’t know how much it would bless your life. I want you to begin every day with 15 minutes or more of scripture study, followed by a really good prayer. I’m not sure how you’re going to do it…how you’ll need to juggle, but I want you to commit to try.

And it really matters that you do it before everything else. Here’s why.

1. It clearly tells the Lord that he comes first with you—that everything else in your life is built upon this relationship. You know that wonderful scripture in Ether (5:12) …it is upon the rock of your Redeemer that you must build your foundation… Picture that your days are like structures that you are building. When you place the Lord first, he becomes the foundation of your work. Like paying tithing first, there is power in everything else that follows and confidence that your efforts will be magnified, blessed and that the windows of heaven will be opened. When we launch into our day without that help, we are flying alone. Our Heavenly Father becomes an afterthought…even an obligation.

2. You will experience an increase of peace. I love this quote by Merrill Bateman: “As faith grows, our vision of eternity expands, which increases our capacity to meet life’s challenges.” There is no more challenging life than yours. You need wisdom. You need ideas and plans and blueprints to go on as you raise these little children. Why wouldn’t we enlist the Lord’s help and depend on his direction? There is no more satisfying experience than to receive a flash of inspiration about one of your children—knowing that it came from outside of yourself. It’s usually something so simple but when implemented it turns the tide. It’s always loving. And peace comes because you recognize that you are not alone. You remember that you are not the only parent here. You are really just an instrument. As I’ve mentioned before, these flashes of light do not usually come during the prayer or even during the scripture study, but later in the day.

3. It is the way to truly teach your children the gospel of Jesus Christ. It becomes written in the “fleshy tablets of your heart.” You teach them from your own experience. When you tell them of the reality of God, they know that you know. Otherwise, it’s only words. The accumulated days of study and prayer, produce in you, core strength. There is no substitute for that. There is no shortcut. Our world is darkening. In the past few weeks, I have watched some of my most precious friends struggle with their faith, lose their testimony and let go. We’re going to see this more and more as we move into these final days. Our children need more than visual aids. They need to know because their mothers taught them.

There are other reasons. But unless you really commit to this and create this pattern in your life, you will not experience the blessings. Give place for this expansion to happen. It will give perspective and often solutions to every single problem in your life. I know this from my own experience.

“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her tent shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.” Jeremiah 17: 7-8
All my love,
Jane
______________________________

While I have not been able to do this everyday, I know that it does make a difference on the days I can do it.  I never thought I would ever fall into not reading my scriptures - I knew the blessings that came, I knew the spirit in my life.....I knew the spiritual guidance I received.  I was there...for a long time, but I'm back, 5 minutes at a time.....I'm so glad this was my March Goal. 
Moving Forward, One Step at a Time!