Seek First the Kingdom Planner - Free Resource
"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." - Matthew 6:33
I love planners. But recently when I was on the hunt for a new one, I realized that every single planner I looked at was geared towards ME—planning my dreams, my visions, my goals, and planning the steps it will take to get me where I want to go in life. The Happy Planner, the Erin Condren planner, the Passion planner—all great and inspiring options, but all about me.
And I thought to myself,
As Christians, we are commanded to “love God,” “love one another,” “consider others more important that yourself,” “seek first the kingdom,” and to “deny yourself.” Surely we spend much of our time seeking to embody these commands and become more like Christ. Yet we open our me-centered planners and how do they influence our view of our priorities? They are fun, but ultimately they aren’t helping us a biblical God-and-others-centered mindset. Instead, they cater to our sinful tendency to naval gaze and build our own kingdoms.
I wanted a planner that would reinforce the mind of Christ and help me plan my days according to the priorities his Word tells me are important—not the self-glorifying priorities the world (and seemingly every planner) tells me to pursue.
That’s why I am in the process of creating the Seek First the Kingdom Planner & Journal.
I wanted to begin by releasing this 2-page daily planner template as a free download for any of my sisters who feel the same way!
Designed Around Scripture
Each element of this planner is inspired by scripture and meant to help you meditate on and plan for how you can love God and love your neighbor as yourself; it is designed to help you “seek first the kingdom of God.”
Today’s Kingdom Priorities
“Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.”
- Ephesians 5:19-6:18
This block is meant to help you brainstorm the ways you can build the kingdom of God today in the many roles you’ve been entrusted with. (This version does not include responsibilities as an employer/employee.)
I have often struggled to 1) define what it means to seek and build the kingdom of God in my daily life, 2) put those priorities into action in practical ways, and 3) look back over my day and feel like anything I’ve done counts as “kingdom work.” That’s why we are always running around telling each other “Wives, mothers! Doing those dishes is kingdom work!” We need a constant reminder cause it just doesn’t feel like we are advancing the kingdom if we aren’t out planting churches!
Petitions for Prayer
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
- Philippians 4:6
This block is a place for you to decide what petitions to God you want to prioritize in light of the kingdom priorities that will fill your day. With those petitions written down, you can revisit them throughout the day and you can go back and check them off when your petition has been answered!
To Do List
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
- Colossians 3:23-24
This block is designed to help you make a reasonable to do list for your day based on the minutiae we have to deal with every day as wives and mothers. Things like laundry, cooking, and making a dentist appointment don’t always feel like kingdom work (hence the reason we are always having to remind each other that these things matter to God!). But with the right attitude and with our eyes fixed on Christ, everything can be a task done “as for the Lord!”
Today’s Plan
“The heart of man plans his way,
but the Lord establishes his steps.”
- Proverbs 16:9
This block is broken up into sections that allow for flexibility. This is for two reasons: 1) Our days as wives and mothers can be extremely hard to plan with any specificity and 2) it allows room for God direct our steps and to change our plans by not keeping so tight a schedule that we miss sudden opportunities He may bring to our attention.
Secondary Things
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”
- Philippians 2:3
Even though we are commanded to love God and our neighbors and count them as more significant than ourselves, there usually are some things we need to do for ourselves. Maybe you are keeping track of some good habits, working on a new fitness routine, or would just like to paint your nails if there’s some time left over. Here’s your block to plan for those personal moments.
And, finally, I tacked a little block on the end for your meal plan. Because every woman needs space to remind her what she’s making for dinner so she will remember to thaw the meat out ahead of time. :)
How To Use This Daily Template
Another problem I had with planners and journals as a Christian: I could never find a planner that adequately combined my biblical priorities and my desire to plan a typical day. I would end up carrying around a planner for all my appointments and tasks and keeping separate book for prayer petitions, scripture memory, and anything else faith related.
And the planners I could find that did cater to Christians had lots of spaces I didn’t use that felt very segregated from my daily life—huge blocks for sermon notes, Bible study notes, things I didn’t need to carry around or be reminded of on a daily basis. But also parts that I did want to be reminded of—like prayer petitions and the verse I was working on memorizing! The end result using these “Christian planners” was a lot of wasted space and disorganization. Not to mention they were just overkill and not practical for daily life.
This is why I had such a hard time figuring out how to incorporate my faith into my day! It felt like if I didn’t have an appointment on my calendar that was categorized as “serving” then I wasn’t doing “kingdom work.” And I ended up forgetting so many prayer requests since I didn’t carry them in my daily planner.
Aside from designing this planner as a way to keep my eyes on seeking and building the kingdom of God rather than on myself, I am also creating it to better incorporate things of the faith into my normal day.
Morning Planning
I designed this portion of the planner to be used as part of a morning quiet time.
First, I left it undated so it could be used any time without wasting space. (In the case of this free download, you can print or use them on your device over and over!)
Sit down with your planner and your Bible. I would recommend doing your normal devotional reading or Bible study and then meditating on how what you have studied can be applied to your service to others that day. Keep these and your own ideas in mind as you write down your plans under “Today’s Kingdom Priorities.”
After brainstorming your biblical priorities, fill out the main petitions you want to present to God and keep at the forefront of your mind, whether they are personal petitions or requests on behalf of others.
Fill your to do list with your normal daily tasks, things that need to be done that aren’t necessarily a direct service to someone.
At the top of the next page, beside “Scripture to meditate on,” write down a verse you are working on memorizing or something from your quiet time/Bible study that you want to meditate on throughout the day.
Next, take the kingdom priorities you wrote down on the previous page and plug them (along with your other obligations) into the time blocks of your day when you think they will be most achievable or appropriate. (For example, if you have determined to serve your husband by ironing his clothes today, decide if that is a kingdom priority that you will focus on first thing in the early morning or during the afternoon while the baby is napping.) This helps you put those priorities into action by incorporating them into your day as actual tasks or appointments.
Finally, fill out your secondary and personal priorities (or use this space for anything else you need to keep track of). And don’t forget your meal plan!
Evening Reflections
Although there isn’t a page for journaling and reflection included in this free download, I recommend sitting down with your plans at the end of the day and reviewing what you accomplished for the kingdom of God. Not so that you can boast in your works, but so you can be encouraged seeing that you did in fact work with his glory and kingdom in mind.
You can also revisit your prayer petitions, mark things off your to do list, take note of anything you did not accomplish, and also meditate one last time on the scripture you wrote down from your morning time in the Word.
From there, you can reflect and journal on whether your day was spent “seeking first the kingdom” and rejoice if you did! And make adjustments for tomorrow if you didn’t.
Free Download of the ‘Seek First the Kingdom’ Daily Planner Template
(If you want to support the work I do for free, click the button above to make a donation!)
My prayer is that this resource will equip you as you seek first the Kingdom of God by trusting in the righteousness of Christ and resting in his finished work on your behalf. And from there, may you joyfully strive to walk daily as Christ walked by loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:37-40).
With love for the saints,
Huntress
This is wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing!
Yes! 🙌🏻 this one of the things that has always been a struggle for me when I attend business conferences with my husband. There’s great information, lots of truth, but it is rarely untainted by the “all about you/me” theme.