Welcome back, beloved! It’s a new month and it’s time to get back to musing with you! Perhaps we’ll try to be a bit more active… perhaps less! I’ve still got lots to share with you: so we are going to push forward… starting with another movie review! So buckle up and enjoy the ride!! We’ll be back next week with a full post – until then don’t forget to check out and follow along our socials!!
Happy New Year! Welcome back! Thanks for being patient with my little break and can we say: Thank the Lord 2020 is over! It’s a new year and new beginnings. I know 2020 was trying for many of you … and the pollutants of Covid-19 and the great pandemic are still oozing into the beginnings of 2021. I know we are not out of the woods yet, but I am hoping things will be “recuperating” and heading in the right direction in the next few months. Perhaps you’ve been out of work, or juggling work at home with school online, and you’ve been social distanced from the ones you love. This Holiday Season was different for so many, and yet positivity rained in with family bonds, Zoom socials and making a difference in the best way we knew how. Blessings on all of you who tried and survived! And hugs for those who struggled and still survived!
Life has a way of inching along in spite of our best efforts… pandemic or not. And that’s just where I’m feeling it this week… my house is a disaster, it’s been crazy busy at work, and the blog has been put on the back burner once again. I had big plans to organize content and research topics, and make your reading experience enlightening and thought-provoking — yet here I am again just thinking about stuff. Where does the time go?? So, here’s to still catching up…
In my thoughts this week: resolutions. Why not, it’s a New Year, right? Yet, in my “aimless” scrolling during what “chill time” I did manage, the great internet had me pondering posts of a new idea for me… all under the #OneWord. Several very smart people in my small circle of influence have embraced the idea of a “theme word” for the year if you will, a focus, rather than a resolution. Digging a little deeper, I discovered I’m behind in the game; the one word for a year idea has been around for awhile. There are several websites, blogs and pins dedicated to helping one focus on your “word for the year” (Check out this “quiz” on DaySpring.com or #OneWord365 for inspiration). I’m in for the ride. I might not be all life coach, journal gung ho…but One big word for the year sounds like it is worth a try.
I suppose the idea is to help you narrow down your aspirations. To carry a simple phrase, rather than specific goals. This way, your “theme” can carry over to various aspects of your life: health, spiritual, your work world, or your home world. So, how does one pick a word? They tell me to pray, asking God to focus my thoughts on what He wants me to accomplish. They suggest list a few words, then refine and refocus. Reflecting on the year that has past and what God’s leading you towards in the future, what is He saying? It’s tough to listen, though. I find that when I am awakened in the middle of the night, it’s God’s way of getting my attention, so that’s usually when we “chat” (I’m a pretty sound sleeper, so if I am up, there must be a reason, right? Like Samuel and Eli, my response is “Okay, I’m awake, God… what’s up?”). Once all that “musing” is done, commit to the “Word”… use it as a monthly, weekly, daily focus and see where it leads you!
Alright-y then… are you dying to know what my #OneWord is? My introvert self is cringing at being vulnerable with ya’ll… which explains the word and all its connotations. Will you hold me accountable? Will you remind me to Trust in the Almighty when I fail my word? Will you encourage me through your comments and posts when I write about my adventures with said word this year? Okay then: my word for 2021 is to be:
I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments… do you have a word for 2021? Have I inspired you to think of one? Share with me! And join me at mittonmusings.com each week as I “muse” about something new, and share in the adventure!
Happy Victoria day! Happy Belated Mother’s day! Happy Beginning of Summer! Happy who-knows-how-many day of Lockdown! I don’t know about you, but I am feeling the need to wish you a happy something. To celebrate. To move forward. To move on. Things are slowly, slowly starting to open up around us, but we are still being cautious, and many of our “normal” summer events have already been cancelled. Covid-19 and the pandemic of 2020 will cause us to question how we do things for sometime. Life will go on, but we need to be prepared for changes going forward. We usually spend this first long weekend of summer at our trailer, opening up, dusting off the winter, and looking forward to sunny days and slower times. Instead, we are still home. We’ve been doing slower days for three months already! Home — but still keeping ourselves busy. We are ahead of schedule this year with our little urban garden, and the youngest has been itching to get our seedlings in the ground. This weekend was spent in preparation!
We expanded our growing space this year by purchasing two raised beds… and 3 cubic yards of soil! (which is a whack load of dirt, lemme tell ya!) I guess if I can’t have the farm, we are going to bring it to me, by golly! Now, let me premise the rest of the story by saying we are not great at building projects. We have limited experience and even more limited tools. But where there is a will, there is a way, right? And, so, we spent the entire day building, levelling, shovelling and soon — planting! I thought, great — I will blog about the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5. Seemed like a gardening-type verse to focus on. Yet, as I read the passage over this week and meditated on it, the context, and what I might muse about, I was convicted by the following verse:
“Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”
Galatians 5:26 (NIV)
So much of my isolation has been spent scrolling through news feeds, searching for ideas, plans, gathering information. This is not inherently wrong, of course, and it has become part of our lives — especially now, when everything has “moved online”. And so I muse: How much have I envied others as I scrolled? Have I become conceited in my own posts as I “brag” about what I am doing at home? I’ve found myself looking at the newscaster’s artwork on the walls as I listen to the news. I wonder about the kitchen gadgets and the furniture and lack of dirty dishes as I look up new recipes. I see the actors and actresses without their camera crews and wonder how they pull off their great looks without help. What about those Zoom Meetings? Perhaps you’ve been seeking out worship and devotions and watched churches who can put on heavenly displays. Or maybe you’ve been like me — totally jealous of the Instagram stories of vast acres in the hills, with perfect rows of green growth… and chickens.
The Mitton crew has had a good weekend. Our garden beds turned out great, and we worked together as a family. We spent time outdoors and got a lot accomplished. I am proud and feel good about the things we did. We have reason to celebrate those things. Still, I am reminded to be humble and remember that God has blessed us with the means and the abilities. As He has blessed those I see online. I must remember not to listen to the voices that remind me of the doubts and insecurities I have. The ones that tell me what I have is “not good enough” . The envious thoughts of “if only…”
Oh my friends, I hope and pray that as I post each week and share my pictures and muses with you, that you understand that we are on the journey together. Our lives are far from perfect, and those on the screens are far from perfect too. We all need a Saviour and the fruit of the Spirit. It’s hard to balance dreams and reality, isn’t it? To curb our envy, and still pursue lofty goals. Galatians 5 reminds us that we were called to be free as we walk in the Spirit, and not be burdened by the desires of the flesh. It is my prayer for us on this long weekend. Here’s to celebrating that kind of freedom!
mittonmusings 