Little Jack Horner (from the old nursery rhyme) managed to get a plum out from a pie which reminds me of a fantastic nursery rhyme book that has been updated and reworded to make the rhymes more relevant to children (see website of Above Rubies and in the shop find ‘Nanny’s Nursery Rhymes‘) – a treat indeed!
I’m aware that in the metaphoric sense, I have so many fingers in so many pies. Being a female, I can multi-task really well. My brother has helped me to get more concrete about these tasks by suggesting I have one piece of paper a week on which I write down the various tasks I need to do, including people I need to phone/text, what I need to find out from the Internet and who to email etc. It works very well and it means I have just one one bit of paper with all the connections I need to put my fingers in lots of pies!

However, it seems to me that, as Christians, we are getting busier and busier so that we don’t stop much to find out what God wants. Non-Christians seem to fill their time with watching this competition or that show or get heavily involved in sport. In moderation, all these things are fine but if they squeeze God out of our lives, I think there is a big danger.

This past year, I have only worked part-time, since the passing of my dear hubbie, Mike, in order to try to declutter, sort and deal with necessary paperwork etc. I had time for extra times with the Lord during the day that I found invaluable and it was then that God often gave me direction and clarity on various issues. Now that I am back into full-time work, it will be interesting to see how it all pans out.

I think we get too busy as Christians (and I am speaking to myself as well) so that we’re not listening easily to the One who knows us so well and has a plan for each day. I sense that I/we don’t have time for people around us and barely any time to relax and do fun things that are so necessary to our well-being. I have to have a laugh each day and if by the end of the day I find that I haven’t done this, then I find something on google to laugh about!

Children need to laugh as we adults lighten up around them. I know when bringing up our children that I got far too serious when they needed to have fun and be children. Jesus talked about how we need to be childlike (see Matthew 19:14) and I think this can take us into balance. As we become more relaxed with life and provide the right environment for them so that they feel loved and accepted, so our children can become who God intended them to be. ‘The Creation Series’ can help facilitate their well-being as we adults spend time with little ones on our knee reading to them the wonderful foundational truths of how God made everything and has an order for our and their lives.