Category Archives: Inspiration

Weather Reflections: Lessons from Jesus Calming the Storm

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Greetings! The next few days are supposed to be wet, wet, wet! So, as a good Canadian, I’m going to start this week’s post with small talk about the weather. If the weather does what it says it’s going to, our piles of snow are going to melt away to puddles – with flooding, mud and general chaos of spring. I’m okay with that, as long as the temperature stays above freezing and it doesn’t turn into a slick ice rink on the roads! I’m done with that type of country driving (see here for my great winter driving story! HeHe!)

Speaking of the weather… it was the topic of my Sunday school lesson this past week. (They don’t call it “Sunday school” anymore; who wants school on Sundays? Showing my age here -but whatever… you get it – lessons for a bunch of little kids from the Bible). I’m loving getting back to hanging out with 3 year olds. They are brutally honest. They won’t let you rest for a moment… nor do they let you get away with faking it. They’ve got to trust you or it won’t fly. Which makes it difficult if they are a little shy and don’t want to hang out with a newbie who they only see once a month on the kids ministry schedule instead of mom or dad. We had eight blessings this week. One handsome young man melted my heart when he wanted only me to play with him. Alas, I digress… back to the weather.

Our lesson was Jesus calming the storm. In case you are not familiar… the gospels tell the story of Jesus and the disciples out in a boat when a storm arises. Jesus is asleep, and the men become afraid and wake him up. Bottom line: Jesus tells them He’s got it all under control and proceeds to “rebuke the winds and the rain” and calms the storm back to a gentle breeze. Yada Yada… disciples are again amazed at God’s power, Promote to kids that Jesus has the power like Superman and all is good in the world. The kids and I have a snowball fight with cotton balls, we laugh and run around with blue streamers being wind and crazy rain and I roll play Jesus and make them all STOP and be calm again.

And so, I muse. This story has been on my radar three different times this week in three different contexts. And I always say…”if you don’t listen to God’s still, small voice, then He’ll hit you with a 2×4 until you get it”. Jesus calming the storm. What am I to learn? Do I need reassurance that God, is in fact, always in control? Especially right now when Canada and the USA are battling out tariff wars and the news is all a buzz about what’s going to happen next? Am I to share it here, in my little corner of the internet, to encourage you, my beloved readers, that yes, God has the power to rebuke even the wind and rain and make the earth stop shaking? Or am I to reflect on how I can teach the next generation about the simplicity of the Gospel miracles… through play and fun?

Perhaps it’s all of the above. Weather is one of the simplest, and yet complex observances we can make on a daily basis. We have apps that keep us up to date hour by hour. Driving conditions and school bus cancellations… flight delays, weather watches and our outfit of the day. We are so influenced by something so seemingly simple as what ever is happening in the sky. Perhaps this is why it’s hitting me threefold this week. Something’s about to come down the tubes that will prompt me to remember that Yup, God’s got this one too… and a snowball fight with 3 year olds will be triggered in my memory.

Photo credit Etsy

And so, I pass it on to you, this week, my beloveds… so that we can be encouraged together that no matter what, the Creator of the universe and all the crazy weather that comes with it, still has you and I in the palm of His hand. We can peacefully sleep in the bottom of the ship (on a pillow says only one of the gospels… which is a weird observation in itself, but I digress again) as the storm rages on around us, knowing that Jesus “got power”! Take it to heart… and bring your umbrella just in case.

Is the Gospel Too Complicated? Simplifying Faith from the Dentist’s Chair

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Welcome back! I trust ya’ll excepted my little break for family day weekend… and digging out from all this snow we’ve been having! I was a little neglectful in writing, but we’re back with another muse or two for you this week. It’s finally getting warmer here and the chickens have started to venture out again: hurray! I also started some seeds indoors… so spring must be coming. Here’s hoping!

Yet for now, the snow is still piled up on the ground and we are still doing indoor things… most recently visiting the dentist for the first time since moving here. I know – the dentist isn’t first on my list of cozy things to do on a winter’s day, either… but it’s gotta be done and so we went. And, of course, I had a cavity or two that needed to be filled. And so a second visit (and likely a third) will be warranted.

Which is where my muse for this week comes from. There I was, sitting in the dentist chair with my mouth gaped open, my head back upon the headrest, blankly flipping my views from the ceiling tile to the masked Doctor’s blinding headlamp to the hygienist’s most perfectly tailored eyebrows, thinking to myself: “How on earth do I know that what these people are doing in my mouth, to my body, is necessary or needed?” (As I said, it’s a new dentist office for me, and they didn’t seem to be very forthcoming with explanations…)

Now, don’t come at me, I went to the dentist, after all. I was sitting there in their chair, allowing whatever chaos was happening in my mouth to occur. I got poked and prodded by the metal scrap-ey things and glowed and cured under the light that the doctor’s hide from but don’t protect you from. I listened to the conversation from the experts on yes, ring 3 clamp and this number 3 tooth or whatever…. but again, it was a language I didn’t really understand. I have no expertise in dental care. And so I simply went along with whatever they suggested and kept my mouth – open – in this case.

Which had me thinking about a few things. Number one: How do we feel about being left in the dark about things? No one but God knows our futures. Are we okay with that? Do we speak up, inquire, advocate for the unknown? Or do we trust that whatever God has planned for us is for the best and we should just book the appointment and sit in the chair? As per usual, I don’t have the answer, I am simply pondering my thoughts. For me, I have been assured through past experiences that God’s got whatever may be ailing me, and so, I am pretty confident trusting that He’ll pull me through whatever lies ahead. For others, it may be a little harder. Either way, it doesn’t hurt to inquire and ask questions to help us decipher His plan for our lives. The Bible, prayer and discussion with believers help. Mittonmusings has chatted about these things before, and likely will muse about them in the future. Still, it was a contemplative thought as I sat there gagged by the crazy spit suctioning thing those dentists flash at you.

My number two thought, as I counted dots in ceiling tiles, was do we “talk over” people? The doctor and assistant chit-chatted about their work – and there I was sitting, listening, having no clue as to their goings on. Like the mechanic saying it was a “thingamabob” attached to the “whatchamacallit” making a noise from the “fenderbenderwhosit”. I have no idea… just make the car run again and don’t charge me a crazy amount to do it! Do you and I talk in riddles and parables? We use words like “sanctified” “righteousness” and even things like “worship” and holy “thees” and “thous”. Have you ever caught yourself speaking a whole new language when it comes to “spiritual things”? Can we make following Jesus more “user friendly”? Should we? Are there traditions that we hold dear just for the sake of tradition? Is it hindering someone else from drawing closer to God and His will? I’m guilty as charged. Try teaching kids about Bible stories… they’ll tell you what they think they know because someone told them once using big words. “Hark the Harold Angel sing”: who’s Harold and why is he singing? They’ll say.

The ornate altar of Santa Prisca and San Sebastián in Taxco, Guerrero, Mexico… Have we made the Gospel too complicated?!

Words are hard. Unknown futures can be harder. I think our job, therefore, is to listen and trust and communicate wisely and simply. The gospel isn’t hard… but we make it that way. We add in man-made rules, and traditions, and words, and pie-in-the-sky quotes that don’t make sense or are difficult to follow through. The truth is God loves you, I need to love you, and that’s all there is. The rest we’ll work out later. As for me, I gotta go brush my teeth and make another appointment for a chair and another look at some well groomed eye-brows! Happy musing, my beloveds!

Why We Need to Count: Exploring Numbers in Faith and Life

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According to the initial counts, 113.06 million people watched the Super Bowl game this week. That’s a lot of people. Our family was among them. Well… the television was on at least. It is estimated that 500 people are killed by hippos each year. It’s an estimated number because nobody wants to be picking fights with hippos. The number of chickens in the world has more than doubled since 1990. I’m not surprised. Chickens are great. Statistics. The numbers are everywhere… for every thing. A quick Google search can find you the numbers for just about anything you want to know about. I wonder who counts. We have a friend who’s job it is to present sport’s stats to the television hosts. Where do his numbers come from? Is there some kid out on the field who has a marker and a whiteboard and tally marks every play? Or who counts every malaria carrying mosquito out in the jungle? How on earth? It’s where my brain is going this week… who ? Why? Why do we need to know?

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.com

Markets rise and fall. Corporations have departments full of bean counters just to tell them how their businesses are doing. It seems like everyone needs to know “the numbers” these days. And if the numbers don’t add up? We change, we brainstorm for better programs, better means to an end, better “stats”. We all like to see the numbers add up to our efforts. Unfortunately… churches do the same. And I am not sure it is all good. Now, I appreciate numbers. I understand the reasoning behind gathering statistics… why put effort into something if you get poor results? My scientific brain (and my lazy work ethic and pessimistic outlook) says why work harder than you need to for little or no result? Yet, I can’t help but wonder…. is it right?

Ethically, I suppose there is nothing morally wrong with working towards a program (at church or otherwise) that only generates positive results. Why else would there be marketers who study these things? Is it for dollar signs only? Do churches have a saved soul account? I just found out my favourite farm store is going out of business. A numbers game has forced them to declare bankruptcy. Online shopping strikes again. I’m showing my age here, but what about the little guy who works behind the counter? Yeah, I still go to the check out lady. People over points. I think each person is important to God. He loves us all : uniquely.

Still, I recently read an article that said God does, in fact, care about numbers. Why else would He give the Great commission? “Go into All the world”… we are to tell anyone and everyone. I get that. There are an elect few that will choose the narrow way… but that part is not our job. Our job is to tell our story. On the other hand, the Bible talks about how the shepherd leaves behind the 99 sheep in search for the one (single) sheep who has gone astray. I guess you could say numbers count… but God sees the numbers in individual people. Does that make sense?

Perhaps that doesn’t make sense. Perhaps, the numbers don’t add up, shall we say. Does God care about quality of life? Or quantity? I don’t have an answer. I now have more questions than when I started this post. And I am more confused by my own questions. Good grief! I suppose that’s how it goes sometimes in our spiritual journeys. Sometimes there are more questions than answers. And that’s okay. I’m sure there are statistics about that, too.

I guess the point is this: the Super Bowl is going to get played. People are going to watch. Others are not going to care about anything besides the half time show. Others will care about the coin toss or the colour of Gatorade. The players on their teams are simply going to do the best job they can at playing the game hard to win points. That’s all we can ask of ourselves. Do what you can. Share your story. Help others share their story. Support the community who is trying to serve. Play the game. Let the angel with the whiteboard and tally marks take care of the numbers. I’m pretty sure we can check the score boards later.