Tag Archives: faith

Advent Reflections: Peace in the Midst of Life’s Messiness

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Welcome to week two of Advent: Peace. Except today’s post will most likely be later than normal, because this week at Itsnotta Farm, was anything but peaceful! We are on day four off school due to weather issues: had our first major snowfall, freezing rain and now fog! Winter has arrived. Then we had a bunny escape. The snow created a little gap that kept the door of the rabbit run from closing completely. I thought it was small enough, but little Pineapple squeezed out and (luckily) was hiding in the woodpile. I must give credit to the hubby, who not only found him, but was quick enough to capture him again, too. (Now, don’t say I don’t acknowledge the fine efforts of my begrudging farm help!) This was all before we had to turn back from a birthday dinner due to snowy highways. I guess it didn’t matter that we were already late at that point. Then came the freezing rain and now soggy fields. The rabbits and chickens are miserable and restricted to small spaces to avoid muddy feet.

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The Chickens don’t like getting their feet wet…

The most exciting event that has taken up my time, though, and certainly disrupted the peace, was the early arrival of our first grandson! He came sooner than expected, but a welcome disruption to our weekend plans! I was able to witness his birth and give kudos to his brave mom who delivered the 8lb 4oz bundle of joy in a super quick and drug free labour! Luckily, the weather was great at 3 o’clock in the morning and so was the traffic. We are beyond proud of our new addition and the crew that loves him. Alas, as the youngest auntie recently said: “There is no peace without first experiencing chaos”. Chaos indeed.

But let’s muse for a moment on the opposite, which is supposed to be the theme of our week. Peace. What does it conjure up for your mind’s eye? White doves and silent gunfire? United nations talks? Hot cocoas and roaring fires? A good book and a cozy blanket? Sunlit summers on the beach? This week, I captured a little video of tiny songbirds flitting to and from our bird feeder. They come when the snow piles up. (I’ll post the video on my socials later for you.) As I watched them for a little while through the window with my morning coffee, a gentle peace filled my soul and I took a moment to thank God for my many blessings. And then our grand baby made one more for the list!

Perfect little toes of our new Grand baby!

I’m sure your blessings list is as long as mine, and so, I remind you to take a minute to be thankful for it. Step back for a moment and see the bigger picture of Christmas. Reflect on its beauty and the quiet moments. Even in the chaos. These days of commercialism and black Friday sales has me often wondering why am I buying more gifts for people who already have so much? I get overwhelmed with “too much stuff” and yet, I feel I must get “something” for this or that occasion. That’s a topic for another day, though.

Back to Peace. I’ve reflected several times on Mary as a main character in the Christmas story, and our new baby had me thinking about her again this week. Can you imagine an inexperienced teenager giving birth to a baby after travelling all night? And to do it in a stinky feed shed out back in the cold and dark with some guy she doesn’t really know yet? I wonder if chickens were there to peck curiously at, ummm, “birthing stuff”. Sorry, maybe that was a little graphic, but after living on a semi-farm, I know that animals stink, and bringing life into the world is messy and brutally raw and real and anything but the peaceful Christmas card scenes we see in the pretty boxes doused in glitter.

Life is messy. As much as I’d like to have my days scheduled and planned and filled with productive work, something often gets in the way. I don’t like to be spontaneous, and I am not good at “dropping everything” to go visit a sick friend or tend to a need that arises. My extrovert hubby says I need to work on that. Perhaps. Maybe that’s why Peace is a part of the preparation, or advent, period. A fruit of the Spirit to focus on during the craziness that has become December. A symbolic candle lit for a brief moment of reflection to muse on “shalom”. A deeper meaning than just the absence of conflict, but rather a wholeness or completeness. It’s a feeling that only God can give. A peace that passes understanding. One that goes beyond, or perhaps, in the middle of, our circumstances. It’s taking the moment – in the middle of the moment – because you have the well being, or “shalom” enough to do it. And that feeling wasn’t generated by you, it was given to you.

An Unlikely “clean” Nativity scene…that rooster would wake the baby who was probably just sneezed on by the cow!

Mary had it in the middle of her “silent night” when a bunch of sheep and burly shepherds with bad B.O. showed up to worship her newborn wrapped up in swaddling clothes who was lying in a manger. A manger likely covered in cow saliva and a chicken dropping or two. Daniel had it in the middle of a lion’s den smelling the breath of giant cats who wished to make him their next meal. Abraham had it as he bound his son and prepared to offer him as a sacrifice, even though Issac was given to him as his promised miracle baby. Esther had it as she went before a fickle king to save her people from mass destruction. And she was “just a pretty face”.

Beloved, God gives it to you and I as well! Jesus said: ” Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27 NKJV) Even in the middle of Christmas chaos. Even when life is messy. Hope. And now Peace. Join us next week for another round of advent reflections! Or sign up for a weekly email so you never miss a blog post, because, well, sometimes I need to drop my plan and fill a different need…

Hope: A Strong Foundation

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Welcome back, my friends. It has come. The Christmas season is upon us again and Sunday past was the first Sunday of Advent. Traditionally, here at mittonmusings.com we celebrate the advent season with muses each week based on the theme of advent. And so, we are here again. As we mark the first week of preparation for the Christmas season, we look at HOPE. “I hope this… ” “I hope that….” “Hoping you do this or that…” Common phrases we hear all the time. Hope is familiar to us. Personally, I think hope is one of those emotions that has quite a wide range. Tiny, insignificant hopes to big life and death hopes. We “hope” for a good parking spot. Some “hope” for medical miracles. Others “hope” for a meal to fill their bellies. Hope is based on circumstance. Or is it?

Photo by Saad Chaudhry on Unsplash

Our circumstance is fleeting. Basing our hopes on dreams and desires can lead to disappointment and discouragement. Perhaps, hope needs to be concrete. Substantial. Tangible. Who gives us that tangible gift to cling to? Napoleon Bonaparte once said that “Leaders are dealers in hope.” Let’s muse there for awhile. What does a good leader give us? Motivation? A cause to rally for? We recently watched the first Gladiator movie with Russell Crowe. One of its themes is a leader is valuable and can woo the masses. I was struck by the similarities between the colosseum’s crowd and the mob at Jesus’ crucifixion. How we are easily swayed by group mentality and can be roused by others. Hope or destruction: it doesn’t matter. A good leader filters hope through his or her crew. An evil one breeds destruction and chaos.

The hope a leader feeds, however, must have a genuine substance. It must have a firm foundation. A solid belief that will propel the follower forward no matter what the circumstance. This is the advent Hope we celebrate. It is not a theory or philosophy or dream. It is a person. This is a vital and very distinct difference we see between believers and non-believers. Our hope is not based on circumstance or adaptable. It is a constant… through any circumstance, because we believe in God who is secure and stable through the uncertainty. He is faithful through it all. Certainly, we grieve. We travel through hills and valleys. Yet, our journey can be surrounded with hope because of the One who knows the future.

“The hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil.”

Hebrews 6:19

The Hebrew word for Hope is tikvah meaning “expectation” or “cord”. The root word meaning “to wait for” or “bind”. We are awaiting the birth of our first grand baby. We ponder about will it be a boy or a girl? Will the baby be big or little? Will he or she have a full head of hair? How will the parents survive? (How did we get old enough to be grandparents?!) Most of us understand the concept of expectation as it relates to babies. We see where that hope is related. We hope in a bright future for our little one. Still, what about “bind” and the idea of cordage? To bind tight means stability. A hope, that when tested in circumstance, is unwavering. A necessary foundation to cling to when the going gets tough. An anchor in times of uncertainty. This is our Hope in Christ.

And so, my friends, as we enter another season of Christmas, I encourage you to put your Hope in the One who counts. The One who anchors our valleys and circumstances with a strong cordage. May the next few weeks of advent reflection start with Hope because it needs to be our foundation for the season. See you next week, my beloveds!

Want some more Hope? Here’s a few previous posts to put you in the advent mood:

The Ultimate Toolbox

The Advent Candle of Hope

How to Predict the Future

The Lessons of Psalm 1

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I was prompted this week to write a post on Psalm 1. I have no idea why. Perhaps somewhere out there someone needs to hear my rantings. This is not the usual way I begin musing about something. Often, an event happens here at the farm, or I hear or watch a video or talk about a verse or passage and it makes me think of something. Writers tend to have a plan… or at least a little inspiration. A creative venue for ideas to be born and flourish. A connection. Something to make you say…”Hmmnnn, I wonder”. For some reason, this week didn’t turn out that way… but I am going with it anyway.

In case you need a refresher, here is Psalm 1 in it’s entirety:

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.

4 Not so the wicked!
    They are like chaff
    that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

At first, I tried to find something within the verses to comment on. A thought, a “word from the Lord”, a deeper meaning. I’m stuck as to how to do this. Is it political? An election is happening in the USA… lots of controversy there. Do I make a comment on “sitting in the ways of the wicked?” Not my thing… nor my place. Do I take instruction from the “meditate day and night” part? True and encouraging statement. Still not where I am feeling it.

Obviously, out here in the rural Ontario rolling hills, there are a lot of trees. And at this time of year, the trees are withering. Fruit has been harvested, the season is over, and all the leaves have died and fallen to the ground. The hills are alive with the colour of not fruit, but death. Even the ones planted by the water! The chaff that the wind dries and blows away is all that’s left. I don’t get it either. The streams are getting ready to freeze over. My world right now is not the picturesque stream with weeping willows full of leaves and a sanctuary for all who find shelter underneath it’s full branches. All I see is dried up crunchy leaves and cold water surrounded by parched branches.

So, I’m sorry. Perhaps this was not one of my better posts. It’s not funny, or informative, or enlightening. It simply is. I have put it out there. Wrote it in black and white with every intention of being obedient to a prompting. And maybe that’s the point. Maybe we have been instructed to take a moment of “stillness”. There is plenty to unpack in these few verses. Many a preacher would spend an entire series of messages on council, meditation, being planted, fruit, prosperity, judgement, righteousness, and delighting in the Lord. And yet, I am not.

Maybe my role for this week is simply to post the words. Let the chips fall where they may. Remind you (and me) that the words are there. The leaves are there. They have piled up in wait for a new season of growth later. The streams of living water still has trees planted nearby. The wicked are still out there – in droves. We still need to meditate and understand that judgement is coming. And so, I have done my part. I posted it.

It’s your job to read it and muse in your own way this week, my friend. Gather your own thoughts and inspiration. Why not comment and let me know… what do you think?