"My heart has to have time with Jesus. It truly affects every aspect of my life when I spend time with Him. It can be hard with two littles but it’s so worth it to find the time. Even just a few moments with Him seems to ground me, I can literally feel His Spirit fill me up with His fruits to face the day ahead. Spending time with Jesus affects how I interact with my children throughout the day, my thinking as I walk through the house picking things up and tackling the same few chores over and over, my tone and my attitude towards my husband. His Spirit prompts me to reach out to friends and share the encouragement He has for them. It gives me peace in a world that feels so chaotic at times. It brings me back to the bigger picture, that God is using everything I face as an opportunity to make me more like Him and to point to Him. 

If I could share one thing God is teaching me, especially this year, it would be the importance of pursuing Him. I honestly feel a huge difference in my soul when He isn’t in His rightful place. 

And with that, I’m seeing the importance of showing my own children that He comes first. How good it is for our hearts to pursue Him and to be filled up by Him. To speak about Christ with our children throughout the day. My two-year-old now leaves His Bible in the sunroom by mine so he can read His Bible beside me in the mornings. I pray that through my time with Christ, God continues to draw me and my family to Him." - Lauren W.