Category Archives: Itsnotta farm

Spiritual Preparedness: The Role of John the Baptist

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Welcome back, beloveds, to our second week of this Advent study we’re doing this year! We’re going to look at “preparedness” this week… I suppose an Advent study is entirely about preparing, but this week is specifically about John the Baptist and his role in Jesus’ birth.

We’ve chatted about preparing numerous times here at mittonmusings.com, and I’m not ashamed to say it popped up again this week. We’ve had our first dumping of snow… and I am unprepared. School buses were cancelled again, and the pallets are still sitting on the driveway. I knew winter was coming, but somehow I was stuck in falling leaves and an extended fall season. I’m sure it is too early for a full few weeks of snow, so I am trying to ignore it. Nonetheless, I headed off to do morning chores including the dumping of ice and refreshing water with my trusty butter knife to hack away at the ice… but in Crocs and a sweater because I have no idea where my winter coat is.

We’ve had to go searching for shovels in the barn and the fretting for my bunnies has begun. It was literally only -4 degrees Celsius, but I worry they get cold. My new chick birds are unprepared for all this white stuff… and I am not sure they know they can go back in to the coop. So far, they seem all huddled in the corner (outside). I must show them the way — again!

My “bunny basket” now includes an “ice hacker” knife…

In addition to being physically prepared for things, I like to be prepared in other ways. The hubby and I were having a financial discussion the other day (as one does in marriage) and he asked me what I’d like to do with a little surplus cash flow we had. He did not like my answer. If (and when) we get goats in the spring, we need a new fence and a little shelter for them (so I don’t worry about them in the winter…) and so I need to save up for said fence. I’m also reading and talking to people who have goats… which all say they are fun — but escape… hence fence discussions. My mother thinks I’m crazy. The hubby thinks, well, never mind what he thinks. I’m mentally preparing for goats.

Preparation. It’s important. My winter tires were on early this year… which allowed me to get groceries in the middle of our first snow. We’re gonna need a fence for escape artist goats. Fresh water is important. Luke 1 gives us the preparation story of John the Baptist’s birth announcement. It outlines the other special delivery sent to Elizabeth and Zachariah. And although they were righteous and believers… real life had them doubting. Can you imagine meeting an angel from Heaven who tells you you’re gonna have a baby in the middle of the most important day of your career as priest in the temple? Poor Zachariah was already under pressure… no wonder he was dumbstruck. A little un-prepared, I’d say, for such an encounter.

Yet, this was a significant birth announcement. John had a very important role to play. He was set apart for special service from the very beginning. He was the forerunner to prepare for the coming Christ. He served a very unique role with major distinctions that set him apart. Like us, we should stand out as ones who are “pointers” to the second coming. Ones who prepare the way. Part of that, for me, is this little blog I do each week. It’s my way of highlighting my spiritual journey to (hopefully) walk along side of ya’ll in yours!

Photo by Vladimir Srajber on Pexels.com

And I don’t know if this “lesson” has had any coherent points. I’m feeling like it’s a little all over the place. So, let’s draw some conclusions. Advent reminds us to look forward, not only to Christmas time, but to the second coming of Christ, by looking backward to the Birth of Jesus. We have done that this week by looking at John the Baptist, his special birth announcement, and his role in “pointing the way” for Jesus and His ministry. We are instructed to do the same. Like getting new pets in spring, or winter’s arrival, we all must be prepared for what is to come. And that means, studying and sharing with others. That studying may mean sacrifice, repenting, preparation or a host of other things as we fulfill our role in God’s plan for us. Are you prepared? Are you preparing? Hopefully, this little advent focus has reminded you to get on that track once again. Me? I’m off to hack at some ice. Blessings!

A 6 Week Look at Advent: FREE!

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Greetings! Welcome back! Well… I hinted at it on my socials, but likely didn’t promote it as well as I should… but we have an exciting few weeks coming! It’s time for another collection of blogs centered around a single topic!! Yes, we are going to spend the next few weeks with a “theme”. We’re going to dive in together to another Advent Season with a slightly angled series of posts. Honestly, a purely selfish move on my part: one because I’m finding posts hard these days and need direction, and two, because we’re going to run the series in our small group and thought, “Hey, I’m doing the prep work anyway, why not follow the theme?”

So here we go! Now, you will know that mittonmusings.com has done several Advent posts in the past (go ahead, search ’em up if you wish!) and I promise not to deviate from the style you know and love from me, but hold on to your hats as we dive in to a little study together. As I said, I take no credit. Since you know I am {ahem} frugal, I needed to find the cheapest study to plan from. And free is the cheapest, so it’s the one I searched for and found. However, I don’t want to be accused of not giving credit, so I’m going to link the full online book HERE so that I can give the credit where credit is do. Of course, it will be my own musings about what I learn, so take what you will from it all! Happy studying!

Now. Normally, I would not be thinking about Christmas yet. Good grief, we’ve just had a time change, leaves are still on the ground, and we’ve barely hit November… but I’m taking the bull by the horns and jumping in early. So, let’s prepare for the Christmas season together, shall we?!

As many of you know, creatures are my thing. They have been for years and years. I am sure my mother went out of her mind every time I brought home another “pet”. The newly hatched ducklings I brought home from school for the weekend (without her permission), the injured birds and frog collections every summer. The caterpillars I tried to raise into moths. The ant farm in my top dresser drawer (which was just a pickle jar where I threw random ants in in hopes they would survive). Then came the various aquariums. Cats were also on the list. Then as my own family grew, we started with the attempts at breeding show cats (it didn’t work). Then the youngest became quite successful at her side hustle breeding domestic rats. (Yes, they are a thing, yes people keep rats as pets, yes, we did well at it). And now, here we are at Itsnottafarm with a flock of chickens and the hopes of pet goats.

Along the way, I’ve learned a little about genetics. Genealogies are important when you are breeding livestock… or show quality pets. Colour links, pedigrees, family trees, behaviour, “stock”. Now that we’re out here among the farmers, I see auctions and cow shows and goat shows and qualities of eggs and meat and all that agricultural stuff. Believe me, it’s a whole other world with its own learning curve!

This little guy looks just like his dad!

And then, of course, I am at the age where my own brood is growing. Our grand baby is going to be one year old soon! Time flies! That, too, is a whole other world — when your kids have kids. Or start talking at you late at night about their worlds. About real world issues and family dynamics and friends and parties and “adulting”. In some sense, I’m not ready for it. Yet, time has a way of thrusting such things upon you, and you get pushed into it ready or not.

So. What on earth did that little rant have to do with our Advent Study? Well. Lesson one begins with the genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1. A long list of names showing baby Jesus’ “pedigree” if you will. His earthly genetic make up. Proof of His existence. Our first lesson draws us to look to the past before we can look at the future. Like a good working border collie, a puppy’s history will give us a glimpse into what his future will look like. A fast runner? A smart, obedient dog from good bloodlines? A fancy rat with black eyes and a curly coat? Those genetics are the ones you want to carry on.

But here’s the kicker. Matthew includes some interesting details in baby Jesus’ genetic analysis. Our book breaks it up into: Title, descendants and structure. For time sake, we’ll simply make a few conclusions. The title of Jesus’ name, His claim as Messiah, the Chosen one, indicates that He has fulfilled the Promise of the ancient covenants. He was not just a lowly baby: He was the promised King. Then, unlike our prized pedigrees in agriculture, Jesus’ line of descendants includes a mixed bag of people. Some “black sheep”, shall we say? Respected Jewish prophets, yes, but shady characters, Gentiles and Heaven forbid, women! And what does that show us? He came at Christmas for all of us! Even if you think you don’t make the cut… you are worthy!! And His family tree is evidence of that. Finally, the structure adds an interesting twist. Did you notice it was split into 14, 14, 14 generations? No, me neither. Thanks to studying, this unique inclusion of certain name drops, helps us see how Jesus came for a purpose, and what His work was here on earth. He came to save us. The ultimate task.

So there you have it. I know we only scratched the surface, but perhaps it will spark you to further study, or simply a “muse” for the week. A glimpse into the future by looking a little bit at the past. Start that conversation about it with someone. Is it too early to talk about Christmas? The big box stores don’t think so, so why should we? Check back in with us here again, my friend (or sign up and get it in your inbox!) for next week’s look at Advent – with a twist! 🙂

Emotional Lessons on Faith from Chicken Keeping

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Another beautiful Tuesday here in sunny Ontario, Canada, and another thought for you from my little piece of the Internet. We’ve just celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving, and all the fall activities and sights and sounds are upon us. They say the colours are a bit muted this year, so I don’t know how to feel about that. I’m not so sure. Around here, the golden fields are rich in the sunlight, and I am reminded to be thankful. There’s lots of fall thanksgiving, gratitude, and blessings posts here at mittonmusings.com, so if you’re looking for one of those, do a simple search and I am sure it’ll pop up for you. This week, however, was not one of those gratitude musings… well at least not in the beginning. I had a bit of an emotional roller coaster of a night the other night, so I’ll share:

As you all know, the chickens here are the main attraction. They are the reason I dragged my family to the sticks to make a living. You’ll also know that we’ve lost a few to predators. I think the risk is worth it, so I continue to free range my girlies. It’s fun to watch them chase the bugs (and frogs and mice…). It brings me joy. However, the last time we were away we lost three to (what we suspect is) a coyote. Three is pretty devastating when you have a small flock, so a few weeks back we went about replacing those hens. Now, I am new to this chicken tending thing and have only ever raised day old chicks. Only this close to winter, chicks are harder to find and keep. The big companies don’t sell them and they will go outside too close to colder temperatures, so “teenager” chickens were the ticket. “Pullets” in the chicken keeping world. So, several weeks ago we brought home three new girls (hopefully girls!).

Travelling home with three new teenagers who are all wet because they dumped their water!

Then came the process of quarantining, integrating with the existing flock (the pecking order is a real thing!) and getting them to trust me and bond and all that good stuff. The bonding is a little harder with pullets because they are already fully feathered and didn’t spend any time with me in the house. They were able to go straight outside. Which means they don’t know my voice yet. They haven’t fully learned all the routines yet. They don’t trust me yet. Which is where my story begins.

A few nights ago I went out to put everyone to bed. The older girls were safely tucked up on the roosts already. The nights are getting darker earlier and I missed “dusk”. It was already dark… and the new girls were no where to be found. The hubby and I checked every bush and brush. I called and climbed. The new girls have been wandering a bit farther and farther from their coop as they gain confidence … but they did not recognize my voice.

I second guessed my whereabouts. I was home all night. Did I hear anything? I didn’t see anything. Did the dog bark unusually during the evening? I should have gone out before dark. I should have spent more time with them before letting them free range. I don’t deserve pets. I’m not worthy of animals, I’m no farmer. I dragged the whole family here for nothing… And the emotional spiral down begins. Then the tears. The hubby says “They are just stupid chickens” — not worth crying over. Yet, us girls go there in the middle of the night when we are upset. They don’t know me yet, and it was my fault!

My emotional breakdown was real, but unnecessary, and totally unwarranted, not only because it isn’t totally true, but because the next morning when I went out, three fluffy, buff coloured heads poked out from behind the bushes and looked at me. We had looked there. Twice. Even that morning they didn’t come running to greet me. I only noticed them after I heard the bushes rustle. Then, of course, I called and offered treats and goo goo voiced at them as prayers of thankfulness flowed and the begging of forgiveness for taking my lack of pullet training for granted. I’m such a basket case some days.

Safe and sound and learning to come when called!

In John 10, there is a strikingly similar story that Jesus tells about sheep. It was such a vivid parallel to me! It tells us that the sheep only recognize the voice of the good shepherd. They don’t recognize the voice of the thief that comes in the night. The one who comes from the back door only to prey on them with doubt. Only the voice that they trust (and recognize) to keep them safe will lead them to the rich green pastures. Or in my case, the warm and shielded chicken coop. Needless to say, I am working on my pullet bonding these days.

Are you there, my friend? Do you recognize the voice of the good shepherd? It takes time. It takes work. It requires trust to be built. You must learn the routines. Go back and read the story. It’s a good one. I’ll be back again next week with more thoughts on this faith journey and how God is showing me through crazy chicken keeping how our faith gets lived out on the daily. We’ll catch up soon.