Tag Archives: faith

Navigating Life’s Pathways: Lessons from a Spider

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Greetings, friends! It’s been a hot moment, hasn’t it? We’re back though, with another thought of the day to enlighten you. I was finally taking a moment to relax in the bath, when a teenie little daddy long legged spider decided to meander its way along the side of my tub. Now, I don’t have any fear of spiders, especially one so small, but I didn’t want this little guy to fall into my bath, or worse, disappear from view, so I gently scooped him up and placed him along the edge of my dangling English ivy (which I am so proud of… it’s growing well on my bathroom window ledge…long and sprawling… I am hoping to weave it all through the mirror). Anyway, I placed the little guy along the edge of the vine, hoping he would follow the path into the heart of the plant and live happily eating the fruit flies or whatever little gnat things live in soils. He did not. He made a quick veer to the right, grasping at the smooth painted bathroom wall to start his ascent. Once he slipped and slid along the wall, he had to spot check a few pieces of web to swing over the window ledge. I didn’t watch him after that. I don’t know if he every made it to the plant, or the sunny window, or simply slid down the other side under the sink and whatever lurks under there.

Which pathway to choose?

And so… you guessed it… I mused about that little spider and wondered why on earth did he choose the more treacherous path when I clearly had shown him the easiest route? The quickest definition of a pathway is “a way that constitutes or serves as a path” — it says nothing of the difficulty of the pathway, nor the length of the route, nor the dangers along it. It is simply a “way” from point A to point B. Plenty of us have traveled along many a pathway — both easy and hard routes in our lifetimes. They are worth a thought and a look back to see how far we have come.

Most of you know, it has been a hard, long, cold, snowy winter here at Itsnotta Farm. The snow is still deep on the ground, the days are still bitterly cold, and my farm chores are tough. Gates are frozen open, two feet deep in snow. Entry ways to the barn are icy because when it did warm up for a few brief days, the snow melted. The barn is a skating rink. I need to clean out my stall bound bunnies, but everything is frozen to the ground. One day, the wind created huge drifts enroute to the coop, I was waste deep and shoveling my way along. I bump my head on the top of the chicken run because the snow has lifted me up a foot or so taller. Goat fencing can’t be started because the ground is solid and still buried. Needless to say, I think we are quite sick of it all! Spring could not come sooner.

Photo by Anurag Jamwal on Pexels.com

Metaphorically speaking, we’ve been on a few pathways since moving out here. Adjusting to the weather was just one. We’ve had new schools, church, made new friends in a new community. I’ve been given several job opportunities and navigated that trajectory for awhile. Life is a seemingly endless pathway. And then you die. My faith would tell me that that isn’t the final checkpoint, though. The Bible tells us the pathway to Heaven is narrow and tough going. It’s a hard one to choose. Like my little spider, the challenges are real and sluggish. Choices we make now, will determine our fate. Is it worth the slow, arduous route to arrive in Heaven and eternal life? You bet it is!

I don’t know where you are, friend, on your pathway through life. I don’t know who reads my little public posts, or who shares them and why. I do know, God is faithful. He’s proven it time and time again. People around us try and set us on the path that is easy… one with few obstacles, an easy climb through the ivy. Sometimes, the sacrifice is worth the harder route. Sometimes, we need to plant ourselves and haul up over the ledge. It’ll be a bit more difficult for sure. Oh, we’ll have a few blessings along the way… someone will surely scoop us up every now and then and keep us from drowning; but it will all be worth it in the end. Trust me. Spring thaw is coming, and the pathways will soon be green again! And there will be plenty more spiders to watch.

New Year Reflections: The Year of Being Gracious

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Well, Well, Well. 2026 Has certainly started off with a bang. I am already late for the first post of the year, and we are working on our 3rd snow day in a row off school and there is not a cloud in the sky. My chickens have not left the coop in weeks. They hate the snow. The rabbits and rats need cleaning. We have been hosting most of the holidays, and although we maintained throughout the season, for some reason our house fell apart in the last few days. There are empty boxes and doo dads and whatzits galore. Clean up has started, but it’s going to take a hot second.

Somehow, my #wordoftheyear seems grossly appropriate in light of the first week of January. We’ve had some strong feelings circulating around — things just seemed so “heavy” for a few family members. Let’s back track for a minute, though. Last year, 2025 was the year of “growth”. I failed again. I think. I couldn’t even remember what my word was… had to look it up. Our garden failed again. We made it through some milestones, but did we grow? I’m not sure. Realistically, I’m sure we did… but in a way that we focused on and purposed? Who knows anymore. So, it’s time for a new start.

Which brings us around to this year. 2026. I have reached the stage in my life where I am old enough to no longer be cool, yet old enough to not care if I am. We are grandparents. We are now “grandma’s house” where you go to visit rather than live. We will likely be empty nesters this year, as the youngest goes off to post secondary education. We are seeking to step aside a little and let the next generation begin to shine. I’m not as tech savvy as I used to be. I can’t keep up like I used to. My eyes are a little weaker and I am moving a little slower. Things are quieter. And that’s okay.

I have discovered that the next generation is so in tune with their mental health… and yet are struggling still. There is a fragility among them. And I am not sure if it is a good or a bad thing. I’ve noticed that, especially since Covid years, people are more apt to say “no”. Rules of etiquette are wavering in the light of self preservation. Again, I can’t decide if this is good or bad. I’m caught in the world between “tsk tsking” the worship leader for wearing his baseball cap up front, and smiling at the little kid dancing down the aisles during candlelight service. I’m struggling to be kind at the grocery store to the young cashier, and fighting with online services who don’t have real people to call when there is a mix up — and there is always a mix up!

They are coming…don’t you worry!

In a world of A.I. and Amazon, I’m stuck with only a few tabs open — where others can flit between screens faster than I can Google how. I’m struggling, too, in the sandwich generation of keeping the peace. Although I see that according to the internet… I am even too old for that definition! And yes, I still use three dots to declare a break in thought! Yet, it’s not all doom and gloom. We’re not dead yet! We are going to try the garden — again. The spring chick orders have just come out… and you know I’ve looked at it! We are figuring out if we want to add goats and meat birds to Itsnotta farm. There are still pallets sitting in my (albeit snow covered) driveway. I want to learn how to refinish furniture this year. I need to clean and purge. I need to start doing Yoga again. Thirty years of marriage in 2026! That deserves a getaway, doesn’t it?

The grandbabies will come to the house and make us smile at all their new discoveries. We’ll have to ask for help now for things. We might do less while still doing more. Most of all, we will have to learn to be kind. Not to be stick-in-the-muds. To still try. To do it with wisdom, instead of narrow mindedness. To try and understand where the young moms are at in this fast paced society of constant change. Where the men who don’t know how to be men are at when the world is giving them conflicting views. Where the generation who has had everything handed to them still don’t know how to “adult”. And do it with a whole lot of grace. Originally, that was my word: grace. Although, with a bit of time, it’s merged from grace to gracious. That’s what I need to be in 2026. I love the internet’s overview:

“Gracious” means kind,courteous,and pleasant,showing politeness and good manners, often extending to others in a generous way, like a gracious host or a gracious acceptance of a compliment;

It can also describe a life of comfort and elegance (“gracious living”) *YES* or be used as an old-fashioned exclamation of surprise (e.g., “Good gracious!”).

Essentially, it implies charm, generosity of spirit, and thoughtful consideration, especially towards those in a lower position or in difficult situations.

Key Meanings:

  • Kind & Courteous: Friendly, polite, and showing good manners, even in tough spots.
  • Elegant & Comfortable: Suggests a lifestyle of luxury, ease, and good taste (e.g., “a gracious home”). *GOALS*
  • Merciful & Benevolent: Showing compassion or favour, often used for divine beings (“our gracious King”).
  • Exclamation: “Good gracious!” expresses surprise or mild shock.

So, there ya have it. 2026’s # wordoftheyear is “Gracious”… with the goal of embodying all of the above! Will you keep me accountable? Will you comment when posts come out that are not so gracious?! Focus. Focus. For now, though, I have to clean up my house! (lifestyle of luxury and ease, remember?) And hope that the family will be a little gracious to me for letting it get this way! Happy New Year, beloveds! See you soon…

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! 🙂