A little book review or two!

So I grew up in a non-christian family.  Up until I was 17 I had been in a Church about five times, once for a family funeral, once for Remembrance Day as a Girl Guide and three times during my short lived career as a choir girl!  I could have told you the general gist of what happen to Jesus and I could have told you a “Christian” point of view on abortion or euthanasia as taught to me in Religious Studies.  But I had no idea of the wealth of stories that lies within the pages of the Bible.  Last week I felt really prompted to read the book of Esther.  I’ve read it before but this time I really read it…and I couldn’t put it down, it’s like an olden day Eastenders! There are parties where everyone gets drunk, there’s sex and affairs, people going around telling lies behind each others’ backs, murder and betrayal, to name just a few of the exciting storylines that so beautifully adorn our TV screens these days and the book of Esther!  

Anyway my point is this: If only I had known earlier in life that the Bible wasn’t boring!  It’s full of everyday heroes, heroines and villains, successes and failures, life and death…but not in a Robin Hood or a Batman kind of way.  As a Christian I grieve for my non-christian up-bringing! I could have hidden under my duvet and had adventures with Jonah in the belly of the Whale, I could have put on my mum’s clothes and makeup and paraded around as Queen Esther and I would have loved to gather two of every soft toy and make an ark under the dining table!  But childhood games aside what I really missed out on was learning from all these people and their real life stories that Jesus is Lord of everything.

So what this blog is really about is recommending a couple of children’s books.  There are two in particular which I think have hit the theological nail on the head and retell the stories of the Bible not only in an adventurous manner to capture our little one’s imaginations but also pull out the strands of God that  run through every story.

The first is “The Jesus Story Book Bible” not only is it beautifully illustrated but I can honestly say that I learnt a lot from reading it. It has brought me to tears because the author allows God’s face to shine so brightly in every story and it has made me so thankful to have a living relationship with Jesus that my jaw aches through smiling so much.  It is a book that I know will faithfully teach my baby girl time and again that  God and Jesus work in all kinds of situations and that they promise to work in ours.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Jesus-Storybook-Bible-Whispers/dp/0310708257/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1334867901&sr=8-2

The second is “Stories Jesus Told”.  This book is great because it demonstrates that Jesus’ stories aren’t designed to teach us to follow the rules in order to get into heaven but to trust in God’s gracious provision of Jesus himself as the only way.  Each story ends by telling us a truth about God and about ourselves found in the story and leaves it open for us to respond to God’s grace.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stories-Jesus-Told-Favorite-Bible/dp/1859855881/ref=pd_sim_b_2

Both books are unique in that they do more than regular children’s bible story books.  They begin by assuming that a child can understand that they are a sinner in need of rescue. Both books set out to take children on a journey which can help them to respond to God who offers forgiveness and freedom from sin and its guilt and shame.  They are refreshing and imaginative and dare to go beyond the face of the story and delve into its everyday application for children.

To feel guilty or not...that is the question!

The past week has been interesting.  It was my first week back at work!  A part of me would like to say that I wandered the corridors moping for my baby girl, that I spent every minute of my working day thinking about what she was doing and every half hour I had to sneak into the locker room to draw strength from the pile of photos of her I had stashed away in my hand bag...however... I did none of those things and I will admit that I actually forgot about the little lady for several hours at a time. Shock, horror! 

 

I guess my main worry as I have anticipate my return to work is that I would feel uber guilty, that I would feel less of a mum for not being with my baby every day, that I would in fact become a part time mum!  

But what I have found in my few days back at work is that I feel like a more rounded person.  I am more than the title “mother” allows me, don’t get me wrong it gives me  great joy to be a mother and I know how privileged I am to be one, but when I am at work I find I am just Holly.  I am me in the singular! And I can be myself without constant regard for the little lady and I must confess that I find it re-energising...I come home physically tired but mentally re-energised, ready for playing and reading stories, making dinners, doing laundry and breaking up baby vs cat round 5 with new enthusiasm.   

For a few hours each week I get to put my mind to other tasks and be with other people and make an impact in other people's lives outside of those in my immediate family.  For me personally I have realised this is essential and even though I cried for many a night before returning to work I realise now it was because I wasn’t prepared to deal with NOT feeling guilty! I was crying because I was feeling guilty about the possibility that I might not feel guilty for returning to work... I hope you're still following my logic.

So far I have looked forward to my days at work almost as equally as I have looked forward to those spent at home with my baby girly...

...almost.

Joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart...

Sorry I’ve not been able to blog for a while! Life has been so busy, with a little trip to catch up with all the fam and then there was sunshine which of course means lazy days but here’s a little thought…I promise to blog more regularly in the next few weeks!!!

Anyways…here we go: There’s nothing worse than feeling like a bad mother.  Today has been one of those days where I’ve slowly devolved into a grizzling grouchy monster.  With greasy hair, a jumper covered in baby snot, jeans pasted with mashed up sweet corn crisps, no milk in the fridge and two giant piles of washing I want nothing more than to curl up into a ball and cry it all away.  It’s not just today either my feelings are all over the place at the moment, some days I’m really bored of playing peek-a-boo and some days I find it really exciting to see my little ones face light up as I reappear from behind the blanket. Some days I’m ridiculously tired because I’ve been up several times in one night to deal with a teething baby and on other days I have bags of enthusiasm for swimming and walks to the park despite a lack of sleep.  The other night I was in tears about having to return to work and yet today as I’ve picked bits of Courgette and Butternutsquash up from around the high chair I’m pleased to think that someone else will be dealing with the mess for a few days a week instead of me!

Last night I got up at 3am to change a nappy and put some teething gel on a rather unhappy little lady and once I’d settled her back down and got myself into bed  I began worrying about going back to work again.  Silly stuff like when would I have time to go and buy resources, who will I be working with this time, how quickly will I be expected to get back to a full timetable…?  The panic set in as I also thought about when I was going to fit in the washing up, the weekly shop, laundry,  plus all the fun stuff like swimming, trips to the library, knitting and baking and up until this moment I haven’t even thought about what will happen to my (currently not so regular) regular quiet time with God and I’m even thinking the last thing I want to do is speak to God about all the stuff that’s stressing me out because it’s just one more thing to add to my huge “to do” list.

I think this whole thought process reveals a lot about my attitude towards all the things that are on my mind at the moment.  I’ve realised that there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of joy.  Ok there’s the occasional peek-a-boo moment but overall I think I’m missing a bit of joy.  This seems somewhat ironic since I claim to worship a God who says “I will make your joy complete” (John 16: 24) Looking more closely at the verse I see what it is that will make my joy complete… “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”  I have forgotten that I serve a generous God who sees all my needs (Luke 12:22-24) and will happily provide for me and in fact it is his good pleasure to do so (Luke 12:32) and if I ask he will not give me a bad gift (Luke 11:11-13)!  I can take joy from my job and from my time spent at home equally as long as I ask God to provide all that I need to do each task well and for his glory!

So really rather than worrying about what and when and how I'm gonna talk to God and ask him to take care of the nitty gritty so I can get on with seeking the joy that is mine in Christ.