Welcome to the relaunched site of mittonmusings!

I’ve been playing around with the style and site theme a bit, and hoping to focus in on what and where I see the blog going.  I was so encouraged that we hit 100 followers by the time the blog reached six months old!  Shocking!  Thanks so much for the support!  Originally, the blog was my way of “learning technology” — a way to branch out and try my hand at procuring a new skill… a never ending, constantly changing skill… and I have, and still continue to learn!! (You can read about the beginning here). Yet, I have also been discovering that the blog is beginning to merge into something deeper than just me.  This great internet expanse, and its subculture of bloggers, vloggers, influencers, writers, advertisers and whatever else you can think of… is so much bigger than my little corner… it influences THE WORLD…

God is teaching me that this little wallflower has the potential to reach the world, with my little light, my little ministry, my little musings… and it is both scary and exciting!

So, I have had to reflect a little on what I may want the world to see… how do I want to “brand” myself?! That’s what they call it… your “branding”… like the hot poker stuck in cattle… scarred for life by the heat of whatever sign you have stabbed at you… okay, maybe it’s not that bad… but it is still a thought you must consider.  I am not a market influencer and I don’t know anything about branding… but I like to learn, and have some creativity in me, so I played around with a few things… and tada!  The new logo arrived!

Our new logo!

It’s my own, I created it from its beginnings… so no one can accuse me of copywriting (I hope!)  The colour is probably wrong… I should have chosen purple… but it works.  I like the whimsical-ness of the font.  The lettering is a little child-like and portrays my hope to be always learning and growing.  The butterfly has lots of meaning for me, personally, much of which, I wish to share in future posts… but suffice it to say that butterflies mean new life — metamorphosis, if you will, from an old, ugly life, transformed and reborn to a fresh, new, yet delicate life with wings, to fly and soar and see new and exciting things. And so it becomes my new symbol.

Did you know that the word logo comes from the greek word logos… meaning word?  Logos can be expanded to include in its definition, God’s word… and references to John one and Jesus being “the Word”.  Thus, I am going to focus on some “words” at mittonmusings… whether they be books I’ve read, puns, new words, or simply what God has been teaching me in His word.  I love words.  Words are such an integral part of our lives — and so my “lifestyle” blog should include this aspect, I think.  How can you not include them in a blog about things you do?!  I’ve created a new board on my Pinterest site to include “logos” or cool words… just for fun.  I thought about words when I picked our blog name… “to muse” is to think about, to contemplate, and so I include that definition as one of our designing features.  It’s just me, thinking about some stuff… and then sharing it with the big wide world, with hopes to change how you think, how I think, and about how we can grow together.

Which brings me to legos.  We are big lego fans here at our house.  We have huge stashes of them in great plastic containers… and it was one of the plans this summer to organize and sort through the bins.  Alas, here we are halfway through August and the bins have not been touched yet.  In case you haven’t heard of lego (first — what planet are you from?!) let me enlighten you to the wonders of the brick.  “Lego” started by Ole Kirk Christiansen (1891–1958), a carpenter from Denmark, who began making wooden toys in 1932.  The classic lego brick was patented in January of 1958.  The simplicity of the block makes it one of the most successful toys of all times.  You just need to add imagination.  Legos, to me, represent some control… all the bricks look pretty much the same… hollow, with little peg things on top… and yet they all fit together so beautifully… to make some fascinating structures… trust me… look it up sometime.  Grown men and women make lego masterpieces their life’s work… so cool.

Photo by Rick Mason via unsplash

Interesting enough, though… the motto of Lego is “only the best is the best”… a motto that reflected Christiansen’s strong belief in superior quality, one that is still held in highest standard at Lego today.  As I worked away at the blog’s title banner,  I was disappointed that it was not up to the standard of quality that I wanted… it’s too pixelated still and doesn’t quite fit.  I’m a little frustrated that the site of mittonmusings is not as beautifully tailored as some of the others I’ve seen… I haven’t learned enough about marketing to gather more followers, to “influence” yet, to go viral… it’s a human flaw we have… this need for control.  The desire to fit perfectly together like lego bricks.  I am certainly no exception.  I want things a certain way.  I crave and flourish on routine and having all my ducks in a row.  I “need” that in order to feel secure.

Did you even notice that there was not a normal post on Tuesday?  That this one is late?  That I “failed” my readers by not posting as promised every Tuesday?  More than likely, I was the only one that fretted over this fact.  My beloved said I am supposed to take a holiday.  That it doesn’t have to be perfect.  Yet I aim for perfection.  And struggle when it doesn’t come.   And so… I am learning to Let Go… let go of some control.  I strive to be the best… because only the best is the best… but it is not.  Humans fail.  We are allowed.  If we put our trust in people, we will be disappointed.  Only through God’s eyes, are we always the best.  Our perfect little lego bricks are just the way He designed… hollow on the inside to fill and connect with other little bricks… to become a great and colourful masterpiece.  I am learning that through His Logos, I will continue to learn and grow and change and morph like the butterfly into what the designer creates. I am not perfect.  And neither is this site.  And gosh, darn it… that’s okay.  It, like me, is a work in progress.