Hurray! mittonmusings.com has been online for a full year now! We launched in February 2018 and are celebrating our first birthday! How exciting! Thank you, dear readers, for being a huge part of the adventure! After all, what’s a blog without followers?!
Come join me on this adventure! (Photo: Pexels)
What a year it has been… we have learned so much about the big, bad world of blogging and all that the great internet highway has to offer. We have navigated the social media world and connected with the techno wizards. It has been a fun (and yes, sometimes frustrating) experience as we learned editing, media building and even launched an email course!
We’ve met some friends. We have shared some posts as guest bloggers to others and others have shared with us. We’ve narrowed our niche and shared our faith journeys. And just as any other one year old, we have learned and grown!
This past week was Random Acts of Kindness day, and what better way to celebrate your anniversary than sharing with others… so we are happy to announce that mittonmusings.com will be launching another exciting e-course!! But before that… we will be opening up for asecond round of 30 days of Blessings!!
If you missed this e-course the first time through, then be sure to sign up this time!! Or maybe you enjoyed it so much the first time, you are ready to do it again!! It’s the perfect way to feel blessed and bless others! 30 days of daily email prompts to help you do just that! And it is our absolutely free gift to you! Simply sign up at the 30 days of blessings page and await your first email! (We launch Monday… so sign up today!)
Thank you again for being a part of our blog-a-versary!! Enjoy our gift to you!!
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a fun and easy gift for an encouraging Valentine’s Day!
I was preparing to work in a kindergarten class not too long ago when I discovered a fabulous tool for positive reinforcement and encouragement! I was all set up and meandering around the room, waiting for the students to arrive. This moment is like the calm before the storm for educators. All is serene and peaceful and you think you can handle anything the day will bring. Then the bell rings and they descend upon you in a pile of puffy snowsuits and rosy cheeks, all demanding you help find their lost, frozen mitten that they just flung across the coat room two seconds previous. Nothing like thirty, five-year-olds to make you sleep real well at night! But I digress… back in the classroom, I noticed a large display of “brag tags” hanging from a bulletin board brightly displayed under the same name. They hung on small chains… one for each member of the class. Upon closer examination, I discovered each one contained a few tags for various accomplishments: “I can tie my shoes”, “I can print my name”, “I was a good listener”, etc.
What a brilliant idea, I thought! Such a creative teacher! Such incentive for positive behaviours, self learning and motivation! Upon further research, I discovered that it is not a new concept among teachers… there are a great many teacher/schooling sites that have all kinds of “brag tag” ideas and places to buy your own or edit and print. This teacher was not alone in her ideas! There is a whole classroom incentive entity out there about these fab tabs or spirit sticks (as they are sometimes called)! There was even one teacher who decided teachers themselves should have their own brag tags! A little tongue in cheek, I suppose, but fun! A human resource project for your next motivational meeting perhaps? 🙂 If you are an educator and have come looking for more brag tag ideas, please check out my Pinterest boards for lots of fabulous resources posted there!
Now… even though I work with children and have my own beloveds at home, I will be the first to admit I am not very encouraging. I try. I really do. But more often than not, my task oriented, in the box, do it this way brain takes over, and I am more apt to focus on what you should do instead of what you are doing great already!! It is so much easier to correct then to encourage, isn’t it? The Bible is full of verses about encouragement. Jesus had a time and place for correction, no doubts about it, but usually, He teaches us to be gently encouraging — even in our corrections.
Our family brag tags!
Which brings me to my Valentine’s Day project. My kids are older now… far beyond their kindergarten years… but no matter what the age, we are are always in need of some encouragement, aren’t we?! So I made each of my family members some brag tags… even the hubby! I gave them 5 different ones each, and included some things I love about each of them. Things I want them to know that I have noticed they are doing, and doing wonderfully! Things they have accomplished or are working diligently on. Some of the tags were ready made ones in my gift wrapping collection. Others I punched or cut out and wrote on. Each were ringed on some old shower rings we had hanging around. Simple, but meaningful. I don’t expect them to wear them around their necks the way a five year old might. It’s a small token. But one I hope they treasure. I’m not a good encourager with my spoken word. I have a hard time saying those things I should. This is one way I can make my thoughts tangible to the people I love. Maybe you are not a good verbal encourager either… so, go ahead, steal my idea… I encourage you to ! Make your own “brag tags” for your crew… and let me know how they turn out!!
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This week has been frigid — I’m talking record breaking low temperatures and epic snowfalls that made even us, winter-hardened Canadians, quiver. Twitter was all a buzz with hashtags like #snowmageddon2019. It’s supposed to warm up again by the weekend, but the past week had me dreaming of warmer places, and so I thought I would muse a bit about our trip to Arizona and the Grand Canyon from last year! The week deserves some desert reminiscing!
Looking for a spiritual revelation at the Grand Canyon?
We don’t travel much, so when we do, we drive, we trek, we search, and we plan to fit as much in as our meager budgets will allow! Our trip to the Grand Canyon was no exception. We booked tours and saw as many parts of the world wonder (and surrounding places) as we could. I stopped at the burrow ride to the bottom, though… those winding paths on the canyon edge was just a bit too narrow for my liking! Let alone on the back of a teetering donkey! Sedona was one of our favourite places. The Red Rocks and the views were spectacular!! You simply cannot describe the colours.
If you do any research on Sedona, or Arizona in general, you will inevitably discover that it is a hub for “spiritual awakenings”. There is just something about our spirits that are drawn to a timeless place, full of organic mixes of earth and nature, that provokes within us a yearning to find some deeper meaning to our lives — you can call it a spiritual awakening if you want, but — it’s totally a God thing. He put it deep within us when He breathed life into our souls. Many people search for great revelations. Enlightenment. We inherently know there is something bigger than us. Something more powerful than our frail existence. We often feel the need to be challenged, to be driven, to somehow be more Holy. That’s why so many religious pursuits are just that: pursuits. It’s nice to know that we are saved by a free gift of grace and not our own pursuits and merit. Nonetheless, our faith journeys should drive us towards sanctification. I wrote this in my journal on the plane ride to Vegas:
“… Will be super cool to see the Grand Canyon — I ‘m actually hoping to have a bit of spiritual journey there — to see God’s great handiwork and know that this Great Big God loves me — and cares about my parenting and my kids. To be able to trust Him whole-heartedly and see where He takes my dreams: WHAT ARE MY DREAMS?!
Maybe that will be the awakening. That’d be cool. To have a great revelation of some “dream” I should take on. Hmmmn… will have to see what that takes me to….”
March 2017
I’m sorry to report that there was no great revelation the day our eyes beheld the glory of the Cavern. There was no voice from Heaven, no burning bush experience, no tongues of fire. Not for lack of trying. Our tour guide made sure we didn’t peek as we drove along. We were expected to see the grandeur of the Grand Canyon in all it’s finest in one great unearthing. To have that awe inspiring first view. To be honest, it is just too huge to fathom. It almost seems fake. Our minds cannot grasp how wide and vast the expanse is. You can see for miles and miles. Perhaps that is the point. When you first lay eyes on the vastness of a cavern carved out of rock and behold the raging Colorado River from the upper rim… you cannot help but be reminded of how fragile we tiny humans are. How insignificant we are compared to our great big God who flung stars into space! Yet, He has us right where He wants us to be. He is in control — always. This, my friend, is the daily encouragement we need. Not always a grand spiritual awakening. Not always a full revelation of our dreams to pursue, not always visions, dreams or flashes of light. Sometimes it is a still, small whisper that simply says: keep going. I’ve got you right where you need to be today, and tomorrow will be just one more step on the journey. You’ve got this — because God’s got you.
You’ve got this — because God’s got you!
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