Category Archives: Inspiration

Should we get a Puppy?

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We have become a statistic. A Covid-19 statistic. No, there’s been no virus here, but we have entered a crazy stage along with almost half of the population right now. We are looking into getting a puppy. Apparently, everyone else is getting a “Covid canine” too! If you’ve been following mittonmusings for any amount of time you will have heard me mention our zoo before… creatures abound at our house and are a vital part of our lives. Although there has never been a dog. I love dogs and we have done our fair share of dog sitting — I just happen to be a cat person and know that dogs are a bigger commitment of time, work and money. And yet, here we are on the brink of dog ownership.

Now before you go all judgey on me and think we are just looking to fill the gap during the pandemic, don’t. I certainly do not wish people to get a dog and then abandon it in six months when the world goes back to normal and there is no longer “time”. Please don’t do this! We were thinking about it before we all went into lockdown — but since then, the search has been increasingly difficult! Obviously, we were not alone in our quest! The pandemic has forced people to clear their schedules and fuelled the fire for furry companionship: adoption inquires jumped 122% in the first month of lockdown (petfinder.com), fostering increased 500% (wow! 500%) as shelters began to shut down and people wanted to “do good” with the time on their hands (ASPCA). In Canada, humane societies saw a 30-70% increase in adoption and fostering applications, and registered breeders were very quickly sold out of puppies and added to waiting lists up to two years ahead! Kijiji has been flooded with “backyard breeders” asking astronomical prices for cross breeds and scams are abundant. People are looking for companionship.

All of this has had me thinking and comparing. We’ve been debating between a few “high energy/high maintenance” breeds and slower, more “family oriented” dogs. I have some definite “no’s” on my list… and some confusion about a few ads I’ve seen (what on earth is a doganoodle?!)… add an honest budget to the list and finding a pup has not been easy… much to the youngest’s dismay and discouragement. So many choices. So much diversity. So many pros and so many cons.

At first, I was going to compare these thoughts to the faith profiles of Mary and Martha in the gospel of Luke. Each of the sisters had unique priorities and personalities … a high working drive and a calmer, more relaxed approach to life. Jesus points out many valuable points in both approaches and reminds us that companionship is the goal. As I considered the sisters, I discovered that we can expand those thoughts to each of us and our churches at large. God’s kingdom, like the available dog breed list, is HUGE. Pedigree people are just as valuable as the street “mutt” in God’s eyes — He made us all and has placed us right where He wants us to be in order to do great things for Him. He wants us to be loving companions even (or especially) during a quarantine.

I was reminded of it during Sunday service today. We are to be kind, to hate sin, but to be radical in our love for others — especially during this “new normal” we are living in. Some of us are struggling to keep it together as fear and anxiety take over. Some of us are craving a good game of fetch and are dying to be social again. Some of us need a challenge to get up and out of the doghouse. Others need strict and constant training. We all need love. Now please don’t think that I am comparing humans to dogs. I’m simply using the analogy, that like dogs, we each have different needs and are uniquely gifted for specific purposes. It’s not our job to compare — we don’t have to pick people like we pick puppies. Our churches should encourage one another to serve and be served.

The Mary and Martha story reminds us to examine our priorities in addition to sharing our gifts. Our new puppy will be welcomed into our “zoo” and will change our routines for sure. It will be fun, but require effort. We are hoping it all will work out as a balanced leap of faith. I found a blog while researching for this little post with a great prayer that focuses on that balance. It makes me think that we are kind of like a new puppy in Jesus’ great big new house. I hope the author doesn’t mind that I am borrowing it:

Heavenly Father we open the doors of our heart to you.  We long to spend time sitting at your feet and learning all that you have to teach us.  We long to lay our heads on your lap and have you comfort us.  We long to know you as well as you know us.  We pray for wisdom in making our priorities in our day; we pray that you would guard us against the bossiness of our feelings and emotions that sometimes stand in our way.  Like Martha, we offer our hospitality, and like Mary, we choose to sit at your feet. Thanks to God who wrote our story and made it unique and beautiful.  Amen

From: https://lauriehampton.com/2018/11/18/three-lessons-learned-from-the-mary-and-martha-battle/

A Blog of Faith

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Well… I’m just going to start typing this post and see where it ends up. It’s hard to write a “lifestyle blog” when there has been very little “life” happening. Do you really want to hear another thought about my laundry? Who knows? Maybe you do. Maybe you want to hear that I have been sleeping in, eating whatever, whenever. Maybe you want to hear how the teenagers are running amuck and personal hygiene is going out the window during this pandemic. Would it bring you comfort to know that I, too, have been falling apart some days and letting the day pass with very (and I mean very) little accomplished? Do you want to see more of my baking, craft fails or urban gardening? Perhaps pet pics? Cat videos are popular, right? I can do those. Or #momlife woes of teenage messy rooms and lost socks?

What should I blog about??

I feel like I have been stuck in this time warp — I know things in my head — but have been stuck in the valley of “unmotivation”. I’ve classified mittonmusings.com as a “Canadian, lifestyle blog with an inspirational twist”…. but how do you inspire others when there is little left to feel inspired about? Truth be told, I know that’s not accurate. I know that if I honestly took a good look around, the natural world would inspire me to smile. Our urban garden is slowly starting to produce, my family is safe and generally happy. We have been blessed with a stable income and good food on the table. We face very little persecution based on race, religion or culture.

I’m so very, very lucky in a plethora of ways. I tried looking back at some other faith based blogs… fabulous writers who have book lists and bible studies and printables. Their instagram pages are flooded with tailored shots of dogeared, leather bound Bibles and cups of coffee in handmade pottery cups from local, sustainable shops. What’s their secret? I work hard at my social media… but it doesn’t come naturally to me. I worry about showing off my kids “in public” or exposing personal information only to be used in some sad meme. Or hacked into and all my life savings stolen. Not that I’d ever be on that top priority list, I’m sure. It’s a funny paradox as a blogger — wanting to go viral but not to be exposed to the world at large.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

Yet, I am encouraged when I get little notes and comments (sometimes privately) from other wallflower readers that they liked this week’s post; or that some professional photographer liked my photo. The blog blossomed as my way to learn technology. I’ve learned some. I need to improve my skills, though. Perhaps that should be on my goal list. Anyone have suggestions? Free classes ‘cuz I’m cheap, though. Partnerships, perhaps? Maybe I should write a book? Should I curb my internet fears and make YouTube videos of family adventures? They would be interesting — trust me.

I’ve been thinking about our pastors and church leaders who have been forced into this internet world during the lockdown of 2020. They were called to serve people. And although the world wide web is a valuable tool, I am sure many preachers wish they didn’t have to share their sermons to a camera screen. I suspect it’s really hard to shepherd while self isolating. No one thought church would have to move online. Ministry is hard to do via Zoom. Or is it? God is bigger than my little world and He has given me an outlet to reach folks I would never (and may never) meet. And He has called us to be disciples — to put ourselves out there. Even if it’s only in my own comfortable little box right now. Even if it’s not to 1K followers. I’m here to bless the few that are are gathered — google analytics can just eat cake. And if I get up the courage to throw caution to the wind and step out of my box, I suspect He will bless that, too.

First Thessalonians 5 is rich with instruction, and reminds us to “hold on to what is good”. To test and encourage one another. Perhaps this whole world pandemic has given us a chance to see the good and make it the essential service. Things that you can’t buy or sell. Personal touches that you feel and experience. The things we miss by not being together… and the the frustrations we feel by being together just a little too much. We are such complex creatures, aren’t we? Which means there should be no end to musing about life and the great, big God that gives it to us each day. Keep on, keeping on, oh faith bloggers and loyal readers, as will I.

Fish Care 101

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We accomplished a big task this week… we cleaned the fish tank. Aquarium enthusiasts be warned, I have had fish for years and know that tanks need regular maintenance… but I am not the person to follow if you need good fish advice on how to clean an aquarium. But, let’s back up a bit shall we? We have a tall tank that sits in our living room — I’d say it’s about 35 gallons or so. We’ve had it for years and have done goldfish, tropical community fish and slightly more aggressive ones. My brother kept cichlids for years, but I am too “frugal” for that hobby favourite. Which brings me back to this week. A few years back we picked up some cheap show guppies — an easy-to-care-for community fish that is pretty enough to look at. Check out my facebook page if you wanna see the video of our fancy guppies! Fun fact about show guppies is that they are also live bearers (which means they breed well and have live babies). So, needless to say, our stock grew from 6 fish to about 80. Yes, 80. We also had some living duckweed and some other live aquatic plant in there… and an aggressive green algae that soon took over. ( I told you I wasn’t someone you should take advice from). Alas, here we are in the tail end of a global pandemic with nowhere else to go, so we decided to take the beast on!

You see, cleaning a green monster is no easy task when you still have about 80 fish… many of which are teeny tiny babies. You can’t just dump and pour. Fish tanks have delicate balances of good bacteria and things that fish need — not to mention our city water has a lot of bad chemicals that fish don’t need! And so we began the task of categorizing fish and separating them out to other balanced tanks. We even saved the littlest one which is about the size of “l” with eyeballs. We “traded in” quite a few to our local pet store (which was an ordeal in itself — self distancing with our bucket after sloshing the original container around in the car. Sorry about the seats, darling.) We knew we might lose a few to stress. Overall, though… a fairly successful fish move after their small tank “vacation” as the youngest referred to it as.

The tank itself wasn’t too hard to scrub out… and years of thrifting and pet ownership provided a nice selection of accessories to choose from, but we needed a new background. Did I mention I am “frugal”? Which means I wasn’t about to pay for a new fancy piece of glossy paper when I could print, laminate and creatively tape together my own… let’s just call it crafty, okay? So… after a week or so of scrubbing, fishing, waiting and bucket patrol… Volia! Happy fish and a clean tank!

The “After”

The week long task had me musing about fish, of course. And there are lots of examples of fish references in the Bible: the fishers of men miracle, Jonah and the giant fish, five loaves and two fish etc. Margaret Feinburg’s “Taste and See” book has some good thoughts on the “fishy” parts of scripture, so I encourage you to see my review about that here. However, my internet travels took me to another fish that I found interesting to read about: The Jesus Fish or ichthys. I’m sure you’ve seen it on jewellery, bookmarks or the back of someone’s bumper.

What I didn’t know was that the ancient Greek symbol was an acrostic of ΙΧΘΥΣ (ichthys), which translates into ‘Jesus Christ, Son of God, [Our] Saviour’.

Iota (i) is the first letter of Iēsous (Ἰησοῦς), Greek for “Jesus”.

Chi (ch) is the first letter of Christos (Χριστός), Greek for “anointed” (of the Lord).

Theta (th) is the first letter of Theou (Θεοῦ), Greek for “God’s”, the genitive case of Θεóς, Theos, Greek for “God”.

Upsilon (y) is the first letter of (h)yios (Yἱός), Greek for “Son”.

Sigma (s) is the first letter of sōtēr (Σωτήρ), Greek for “Saviour”.

Pretty cool, eh?

Apparently the symbol was used by the early church as a “secret” symbol during the Roman persecution of early Christians. It helped to identify whether a stranger was a fellow follower or an enemy. As the story goes, the greeter would draw the first half of the fish, and a friend would complete the reciprocal line if they understood the initial drawer’s reference. If not, the stranger would just appear to be drawing arches in the sand. The symbol was also spotted on secret meeting places or worship gatherings. It made a comeback in the 1960’s as Christians began to use it as a “logo” for Christian merchandising. Do you have it somewhere?

I hope you liked that little tidbit of information on such a simple idea. In these strange times of identities and isolations, I’m reminded that I too, have conversations to start about my identity as a “fisher of men (and women)”. That I belong to a bigger world of people who follow Christ, and that by doing so I may be persecuted for my own beliefs. Like our aquarium, I can get overcrowded, choked out and clouded up without regular maintenance. And it can be a big job to clean it up and get our lives back to looking sparkling again.

So, next time you see an ichthys on the back of someone’s car, send me off an email to remind me to change my fish tank’s filters okay? Be blessed, my friends!