Does God ever speak to you through things you have got for your children? We’ve been listening to a new CD for very young children with this song on it – I don’t have to feel scared (No No No!) – and today it really spoke to me. This is how it happened:
This week I am going on a course for 3 days, leaving behind my 2 daughters with Daddy. They will be fine, in fact, they’re excited about Daddy picking them up from nursery, but I’m nervous. Anxious. Worried. I’ve done all the prep: bedrooms, clothes and food all prepared in advance. It’s just residual, irrational fear which is left. I’m also worried about a series of deadlines I have coming up, a long term project which needs some serious input, and keeping my Christmas products selling well.
The strange thing is that all of these things I’m worried about are gifts from God! And I’m sure He didn’t give them to me for me to worry about them! In fact, He said exactly the opposite.
Yesterday, a lady in church had been watching as my daughter had been winding a dancing ribbon around my legs during worship (!). She said to me that she felt I might sometimes let my thoughts get tangly and that I could instead focus on whatever is pure, right, holy, and so on (Philippians 4:8). I wasn’t feeling very tangly when she said that, but this morning is quite another matter. Those words seem to be spot on for the way I feel this morning! Thank you Jackie! And thank you, God, for knowing how I would be feeling this morning and sending an advance message 🙂
This morning, I was still humming a Bible verse song from a Seeds CD which I was listening to last week:
“Do not be anxious
about anything,
but in everything
by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.
And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
And of course, those verses are all part of the same passage:
6 Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. 7 Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.
8 Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don’t ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:6-8 CEV
I was just chatting about this Bible verse song with my daughters in the car this morning. My two year old, who seemed a little unsettled perhaps knowing I wouldn’t be picking her up, asked for the Scared song. It took a while for me to work out which one she meant, but it was this one from Olly Goldenbergs’ CD, I love Jesus:
“I don’t have to feel scared (No! No! No!)
‘cos God is always with me.
Sometimes I may feel scared
I ask and Jesus helps me.”
To me, it seems a very good, toddler-accessible, version of that verse. So when I dropped them off, I reminded them that they could always ask Jesus to help them. Then I went home, drew a picture of all the things I was worried about and asked Jesus to help me too.
And now, the PEACE of God, which I can’t understand, controls the way I think and feel. Wow! Thank you, God!
Title: I love Jesus (CD)
Author: Olly Goldenberg
Useful for: parents and group leaders of children under 5 years old looking for meaningful, Bible truth-filled, Christian songs which are accessible to very young children
Best bit: songs are really easy to learn (for children and adults) and are accessible to very young children, with a nice mix of worship songs and songs ‘about God’
Worst bit: the music is very appealing to toddlers, which may put off some adults. However, the content of the songs will allow adults to meet God too