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Do you ever feel guilty about how much time you don’t spend in the scriptures? Do you beat yourself up when you can’t perfectly execute your plan for scripture study? Are you feeling overwhelmed just by opening the scriptures? Your are not alone! This is so common among faithful members of the church. 

What you might not realize is that the way in which you are approaching scripture study might be the reason you actually do not have time for it. I have come up with four reasons why that is true and what you can do to combat that and create a scripture study plan that works for you.

 1. Planning For Perfection

You think you need to be in the scriptures everyday. If this is your mindset then you’re probably right, you don’t have time to fit in scripture study. Shooting for perfection usually nets you a zero. 

What I mean by that, is when you plan your scripture study routine with the intent to be in the scriptures every single day, you will most often fail. What usually happens is that when you can’t fit it in every day, due to unexpected situations, you feel that you have failed. Those failures may cause you to think that since it didn’t work for you that day, the plan altogether is a failure and you quit.

This is such a common occurrence that there was a research study done that showed if you shot for 70-80% consistency then you are more likely to accomplish your goals. If you apply that logic to your scripture study plan and shoot for 70-80% of the days you will more likely stick with the routine and actually spend more time in the scriptures.

If your brain knows that you don’t have to be perfect or come up with the perfect routine, then you will lessen the overwhelm actually get started. Rest assured that you can make some incredible progress in 3-5 days of scripture study each week. Don’t let your brain trick you into thinking that those 3-5 days aren’t going to be enough! Remember, 3-5 days is much better than 0 days.

2. Unrealistic Time Frames

 Do you think you need to be in the scriptures for an hour for it to be effective? Though that is a common thought, there is no set time that makes scripture study count or not. You can receive some amazing revelation just by pondering one scripture. 

In addition to that, being in the scriptures doesn't mean you have to be in the actual book. It can be something you ponder while you drive or go for a walk. Something you talk about with a friend. Or perhaps something you see or post about on social media. There are many ways to "be in the scriptures."

Setting these rules about what your scripture study should look like will also cause you go into that all or nothing thinking. 

3. All The Resources, All The Time

 I get it, there are a bunch of different things we are asked to study right. The Church offers many resources for you to study the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Which is a wonderful blessing that can also feel overwhelming. We feel we need to read The Book of  Mormon daily. Study every conference talk. Do Come Follow Me, which right now is focusing on the Old Testament. Read The Liahona or the spiritual book you recently bought. The list could go on and on.

What I see a lot of women do when they get into this overwhelm is create a huge plan to fit it all in. They create this beautifully crafted schedule to make sure they study every resource ALL OF THE TIME. But you know what happens when they do that? LIFE!

Life happens and your plans are not always able to be executed to the beautiful perfection you set out to accomplish. Then that all or nothing thinking creeps in and you try to do it all again. Create yet another plan.

Now I don’t think the prophets who encouraged us to read these wonderful scriptures and messages intended for us to feel this way. But how do you do it then? How do you follow the prophetic counsel but not burn out?

It’s really about learning to hear the Spirit and know where your time is best spent. I have all of these resources available to me each day, but I don’t read them all. I pray to know where my time is best spent and I execute what I can with the time that I have.

Now, of course, that pesky natural man is going to wake up and cause you to feel like you aren’t doing enough. If that’s you, definitely check out my removing Roadblocks to Revelation Group Coaching Program because that’s where I teach you mental health skills through a spiritual lens to put that pesky natural man to sleep so you can receive the revelation that you need.

4. Your Time if Truly Limited

You might truly be in a season where time is extremely limited. Listen, there are just times in your life that are harder and busier than others. You aren’t going to have the same amount of time each day for every season of your life. Life changes, circumstances change, seasons come and go.

If you are in a particularly hard or busy season then making daily connections with God is what will give you the mental and physical endurance you need to survive spiritually in this season. But those connections do not always have to look the same or be executed in the same way. It is simply about making connections with God and finding a way to do that in whatever season of life you are in right now.

To help women do that I created a free mini course on this exact subject. It will help you find ways to have consistent spiritual habits without feeling guilt or adding more to your to-do list. At the end of this mini course you will have a plan that fits YOUR lifestyle so you can have those consistent spiritual habits and connect with God daily to receive the strength, confidence and healing you need.

When it comes right down to it, your Heavenly Parents have divine guidance to help you in your life. Spending time in the scripture is one of the ways They can speak to you. It opens the door to a stronger connection with Them and any amount of time you spend in the scriptures will benefit you and your family. Let me help you create an uplifting and encouraging plan that enhances your ability to receive personal revelation and connect with God daily.