Moms know the power of a bit, right? We see it all the time. Your tiny children have small “bits” of clothing, but somehow those little clothes pile up to make a full load… EVERY DAY! Or the small crumbs or “bits” from your four-year old’s cookie fall to the floor all over the living room while you nurse the baby. Those are just small bits, but they seem to multiply as they hit the floor. Bits… small things… fragments… parts…. leftovers. They can add up to something big!

The same is true with little actions we take over time. Little bits done consistently over a period of time can produce big results. That thought has been on my heart lately because I can see their power in our family’s life! I have been blown away by the reality that even though there is something good to be said for completing a large project or teaching a long history lesson, God uses our bits of time, the little things that we do with consistency to make incredible changes in our lives. This comforts me as a mom of six children! I have seen this in the lives of our family and am here to challenge you today to use your bits to make incredible changes over time in your family. What can you start doing with faithful repetition that will produce great results? Here are some examples of areas it has been transformative in the Lightner Family:

Time-Saving Bits

1. A Powerful Way to Load the Dishwasher

What small bit can you add to your daily routine that will make a big difference in your home? Several years ago when my kids were all very small, the small bit that I changed was making sure the dishwasher was empty before dinner. This way I was able to take the dirty dishes from our evening meal and load the dishwasher after dinner. As I was making dinner, I had one of the older children empty it and put the clean dishes away. This little bit made a huge difference for me because this tired mom didn’t have to wash all of the dishes by hand or have them sitting on the counter all night. They seemed to be staring at me in the morning. It was not a calming way for me to begin each day.

2. A Powerful Way to Wash the Clothes

Another small action that I instituted was starting the day with putting a load of laundry in the washer. This helped me to feel very productive because I knew that I would at least have one load of wash done every day. It also helped the pile to never become too overwhelming. One load of laundry has been easy for me to complete — from washing to drying to sorting to putting away. But five loads seem nearly impossible! One load every day is a small thing with great rewards!

3. A Powerful Way to Get Odd Jobs Done Regularly

Last year implementing “Friday Jobs” was a bigger blessing to me than I had ever anticipated. Looking around the house there were several chores that I knew I needed to get to, but I just never made the time to regularly get to them. That’s when I had an idea: every Friday, I would have our kids sweep their rooms, tidy their rooms really well, and have a house chore. These house chores included things like deep cleaning a bathroom (and restocking the toilet paper), washing the large windows in the main living areas, wiping out the microwave, sweeping the front and back porches, and more!

What a difference this has made! If I tried to tackle those all myself, it would take me a couple of hours, not including the interruptions during my efforts. But now, each child has learned my expectations for their jobs, and they execute them every week on Friday before lunch. These chores are not burdensome to my kids. It is just their way of helping out in our family. But for me it has been incredible. Each child putting their bits together has added up to huge gains in our home.

Spiritual Growth Bits

1. The Power of Devotions

Whether you like to get up early in the morning or prefer to stay up late, we all have a little bit of time throughout our days that we can invest in our spiritual lives. I used to think that you have to have a thirty-minute quiet time for it to really count. But I now believe that God desires our bits. You may only have 10 minutes in the morning to read your Bible, but that bit is contributing to your spiritual growth in a tremendous way! Help those minutes to be most productive by putting distractions like your phone away. Ask God to take that small time and multiply its impact it in your heart.

God uses these small amounts of time to add up to great spiritual growth. We all wish we could spend more time in the Word or more time in prayer. But for certain seasons of life, I have only had these bits throughout the day. But God has used these precious times to speak Truth into my heart and draw me to Him. It is through these bits of time I have memorized Scripture, prayed for my husband, read a short devotional, or listened to worship music. There is power in a bit!

2. The Power of Podcasts

Podcasts have truly been my friend when it comes to using little times throughout the day for spiritual growth. Whether listening to something in van on the way to the store, while washing dishes, or while folding laundry, even ten minutes of a podcast can have huge impact. It leaves me with a nugget of truth that I am able to dwell on and be encouraged by for the rest of the day. This helps me to mediate on the Word of God day and night like Joshua 1 and Psalm 1 encourage us to do.

3. The Power of Praise

Music elevates our mood. Throughout the day I love to crank up the Praise and Worship music. Not only does this help to turn my heart to the Lord, but it also brings my children with me in a chorus of praise. Pick songs that lift up the name of Jesus and remind you of Who is in control of all things. These bits of worship and dancing usher you into the presence of the Lord and draw You to Him in a powerful way!

Homeschooling Bits

The Power of Fifteen-Minute Bits

One of the misconceptions about Homeschooling is that Moms have to make large lessons for each child in every subject. This is simply not true. Rather, I have seen great results when I focus on small daily lessons on a subject for all of our kids together at the same time. For example, our children were deficient in world geography. Living in Zambia they knew some African geography and had been to several countries on our pilgrimages back and forth to the States. But did they know where England was? Was I certain that they could name and label the continents or oceans?

With some geography goals in mind, we started off the new school year studying geography each day. With a large world map before us, these simple lessons about the continents and oceans, evolved into memorizing locations of several countries per week. The children started asking questions about Biblical geography and where current events were happening. Each child was hooked. They encouraged each other and became curious. There were no large lessons or complicated lesson plans… just a map, some geography terms, and consistent lessons that added up to a lot of learning! Just 10 minutes per day gave us nearly an hour a week. And we knew the locations of over 30 countries in a matter of a few weeks. That’s better than nothing!

Mealtime Bits

Lunch time is not my favorite meal of the day. I will happily make eggs and bacon for breakfast and plan for a balanced dinner. But lunch? I struggle to make lunch each day. So, one day I opened the pantry to try to pull something together for lunch. That is when I had an idea that transformed lunch time. Take out all of the little bits and call it a snacky lunch. (This was before charcuterie was so popular.) I grabbed half a sleeve of crackers, a partial box of raisins, peanuts, and some pepperoni. The fridge gave me a several cucumber slices, a small block of cheese, some carrots, grapes, and a few other items. Pulling all of these things together, I put them on a cookie sheet and presented it to my kids for lunch. They were THRILLED. We actually didn’t even dirty the plates because I let them eat right from the tray in the middle of the table.

This is the power of a bit. Taking bits from several sources, I was able to create a lunch and use the things that may not have been used for a while. We happily ate that lunch…made from the bits that I had laying around. Together they produced something wonderful.

Recharging Yourself in the Bits of Time

“I definitely do not have time for hobbies.” This is something that I repeated to myself more times than I can count. I thought I had to make a whole quilt to be a quilter or crochet a large blanket for it to count. But this isn’t true. Taking 20 minutes before bed to cross stitch a section of my newest project or 10 minutes at naptime to conquer another Sudoku puzzle is worth it. These little parts of my day helped me to relax and enjoy time as “Sarah” and not just “Mommy”.

When was the last time you read a book? No, I am not talking about a picture book. When was the last time you read a book with chapters, created for a Christian woman? You may not think you have time to read an actual book, but what about taking a bit each day to dive into one? Can you finish a chapter per day? Can you read for 15 minutes before bed instead of scrolling on the internet? You will be amazed at how much you can fit into your day when you gather up your bits!

Biblical Insights

The idea of small things being quite powerful did not originate with me. It is a Biblical concept that we can see running through the pages of Scripture. Jesus uses these illustrations to show us that even the small things matter.

• SHOWING FAITHFULNESS IN SMALL THINGS IN GOD’S ECONOMY “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” – Luke 16:10
• SMALL FAITH IN A GREAT GOD PRODUCES GREAT RESULTS “If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” – Matthew 17:20
• OUR SMALL SINCERE SACRIFICES TO GOD ARE VALUABLE IN HIS KINGDOM The widow’s two small coins were praised by Jesus as more valuable than large sums given by the wealthy, showing that sincerity matters more than size. – Mark 12:41-44

Conclusion

So… have you been challenged or inspired? There certainly can be power in the little bits that we have — whether it is our time, our money, our resources, or our faith. How have you been challenged to take your bits or fragments and put them together to make something fabulous? What practical ways are you going to try to use your bits in a powerful way? Would you share your answers with us in the comments below?

To continue being encouraged in your family and home life, click on one of the pictures below!