You’ve probably noticed that since I took a full-time teaching job in January things here have slowed down. And they have. I’ve spent the last 6 months getting my feet under me and figuring out what life looks like being a wife and mother while also working full time. As many of you know, it’s not for the feint of heart! You simply can’t do it all. And I don’t. I have my own little “cheats” to help take the burden of doing everything off my shoulders.

So what does this change mean for OverACup? Don’t worry we’re not going anywhere. But this change in my season of life has given me insight into many of your lives that I didn’t have before. One thing I have quickly learned is that week-to-week studies, especially long ones (ie. Search for Significance…Did anyone finish it? I still have a giveaway hanging out there if you did!) though very good, aren’t very doable for many of us. It simply isn’t the season of life we’re in right now.

However, the more I study about “Living in Relationship with God” (future study coming!) the more I see how very important it is for us to connect with God regularly. We are the heart of our families and where we go our families follow. However, we cannot live out the life God intends for us without knowing and connecting with him. This doesn’t mean we need to spend 30 minutes to 1 hour every day. That would be nice, but you can still grow in your relationship with God in 5-15 minutes a day, too.

My heart is to encourge you to spend time with God and grow in relationship with him by spending time regularly with him. My quiet time is in the morning before my kids get up. It’s just 15 min most days while seated at my kitchen table or out on my porch swing, but when I miss those few minutes, my family notices. And in those few minutes each morning, I grow and am changed.

I wish the same for you, too. This past week we’ve begun something new in our OverACup Facebook group. Instead of doing a full out study, we’re going to meet each week over just one verse. Just one. I’ll post the verse over the weekend, and then as we have time throughout the week, we can all share what thoughts God spoke to us during our quiet time and how it impacted our lives that week. This way if you’re doing another study but still want the accountability and encouragement our OverACup group gives, you can have it. Also, if you fall off the wagon for several weeks (or months), then you won’t be lost when you come back. You can just pick right up where we are.

Each week you can take the verse and journal over it, post it around your home or car where you can see it, spend time in prayer over it…Whatever is your best way to learn and meditate on God’s Word, do that! By memorizing and focusing on these verses we’ll be reminding ourselves of the inheritance we have in Christ and will be equipping the Spirit inside us with God’s Word to fight off the Devil’s darts when they come our way (Eph. 6: 14-18).

We would love to have you join us for this ongoing one verse per week study. No extra emails. All you need to do is request to join our OverACup closed Facebook group. Then just look for the verse I will post each week.

Thank you so much for being a part of our OverACup community. I hope this change in our study helps you connect with God and deepen your relationship with him. I’m praying for you all!

Grace and Peace,

Tara