Last week was half term – that time in the school calendar when children are over-excited and working parents like me have a mixture of feelings to contend with. Yes I love spending time with my kids, but there is that growing sense of stress and panic at times when the work I'm trying to juggle alongside childcare overtakes my mind. If I'm honest, last week there were moments when I longed to go back to our usual routine so that I could just get on with some work in peace.

In all the craziness, I felt God whispering to me to slow down and enjoy the moments. Something in me fought against that, I felt that it was unfair of him to bring that up just at one of my busiest and most stressful moments. But the rest of me was longing for it. And now, with them back at school and me having already completed the particular piece of work that was stressing me out, I can look back and see how right he was.

In our fast-paced society, we can all be rushing from one thing to another. Going from job to home to church. All the activities we can be involved in as Christians can crowd our time considerably and we end up feeling exhausted and fed up.

I have just started up a women's book study group in our church, and the first title we are looking at, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, is all about finding those moments to simply sit at Jesus' feet. In our time-starved world that can feel like a huge pressure – but it is so vital and is offered to us not as an added pressure, but as a gift. Here are some reasons why...

"Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10)

The first reason is simple – God tells us to! He knows that he's the source of all our life, and it's in him that we get our energy renewed. If we simply stop and ponder that simple phrase "I am God", it can remind us that our God is the one ultimately in control of whatever happens. There is something so powerful in consciously stopping everything that we are doing and simply sitting and being with God. When we do this, our minds can become crowded with a million and one thoughts, but if we sit long enough for them to slow down and stop too then we can plug into God's rest.

"Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him... Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge." (Psalm 62:5,8)

This is such a great reminder of where our rest lies. But, if I'm honest, sometimes just reading that God is my rest can make me feel stressed, as I struggle with carving out that extended time to sit quietly before him. I know how good it is when I do, but I also know that God doesn't want me to feel condemned every time I don't manage it. What has really helped me is learning to involve God in all the small moments of every day. As verse 8 says, I take time to pour out my heart to him whatever I'm doing. Working from home gives me a great opportunity to simply chat to him regularly throughout my day, asking for his refreshment, inspiration, a sense of his closeness and help to honour him through what I'm doing. It's a great discipline – if you've never done so before, why not set an hourly reminder on your phone and check in with him every time it goes off?

"Slow down. Take a deep breath. What's the hurry? Why wear yourself out? Just what are you after anyway?" (Jeremiah 2:25, The Message)

In this chapter God is pointing out to Israel its sin – how the nation has become addicted to other gods. This verse in The Message really arrested me when I read it – we may not be worshipping foreign gods in the way Israel was, but how often do we say we are too busy, simply exhausted from our daily routines? It is worth asking ourselves why we are doing what we are doing? Earlier in the chapter, God talks about how "they have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." (v13, NIVUK). How easy is it, in the midst of the rush of life, to look elsewhere for our refreshment rather than remembering to check in with the one who is the source of it all?

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?... Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:25,34)

These may not be the most obvious verses about slowing down, but I think they say a lot about how to deal with the stresses and worries of our time. We can sometimes feel like we are stuck on the hamster wheel of life, working hard to provide for our families and ourselves. But here Jesus is reminding us of our heavenly Father's care.

I have been researching Christian mindfulness for a book I am co-writing and have been really struck by how it is all about being present in, and conscious of, the current moment, rather than thinking of the past or the future. This is what I think Jesus is saying here – be present in today rather than thinking ahead to what may or may not be coming. Learning to simply be in the moment helps us to stop feeling overwhelmed by the stresses we may face tomorrow.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

These are some of the most well known verses about rest. And yet how often do we actually do what they say? This passage is a great follow on from the Jeremiah one – Jesus is the one who is willing to carry our burdens and can provide us with the rest and refreshment that our souls crave. I am always challenged by the "learn from me" phrase – so often I run to him to 'dump' my stresses, but then run away again quickly to 'get on' with life, rather than slowing down long enough to listen to what he may be wanting to teach me.

"'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed – or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'" (Luke 10:41-42)

We often feel like we have to be doing all that we do, and that there aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done. We can get worked up by it all, but Jesus is teaching Martha that she's actually missing out on what is most important by being concerned with the house and the meal preparations. I sympathise with Martha, as, while I would say hospitality is one of my gifts, I do tend to get caught up in the practical details. So what Jesus says can sometimes jar with me – but that's also because it speaks deep into my soul. I'm one of those people that can't sit and relax until everything is finished and tidy. But how many moments do I miss with God because I ignore his whisperings to me while I'm focusing on my to do list?

As we were finishing our first book study get together I challenged the group of women in the room: how will you find a new way to sit at Jesus' feet this month? During the rest of Lent why not challenge yourself to do the same?