Tag Archives: spiritual journeys

Hmmmn… Musings

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Happy Easter, my friends! I hope that you and yours celebrated the resurrection of the King with joy and laughter! The Mitton crew ate well, laughed much, and worshiped together as a family. It was a busy, but enjoyable, few days. An interesting side note: This is the first weekend in a long time where the holy month of Ramadan, Jewish Passover and Christian Easter all fell on the same weekend. I don’t know why that matters, but it’s an interesting little tidbit of information.

And that’s where my musings have taken me this weekend… little tidbits of information that I noticed. Gleanings, some would say. And so, instead of a full-on post this week, I thought I’d throw out a few of those tidbits for you to ponder. Perhaps you’ve noticed them too. Perhaps you are seeing them for the first time. Perhaps you are celebrating Easter itself for the first time as a follower of Christ and eating up all the fine details. Maybe you need to see a familiar story in a fresh light. Maybe, like me, you just like to imagine. Remember back in the day? The phrase “things that make you go ‘hmmm'”. Was it late-night television? Anyway, doesn’t matter.

Here is my list of ponderings for your week! Enjoy!

  • Why did Peter have a dagger in his pocket? Was this common practice? (see this post for the answer to this one!)
  • Did Jesus’ arrest in the garden cause a fight among all the men? or did He just walk away with them? Wouldn’t you have loved to be up in a tree watching it all?
  • Where were the high priests who secretly believed in Jesus’ teachings during his questioning? Wouldn’t Nicodemus and the like stood up for Him if they could? Perhaps they were not invited to the secret meeting called at night?
  • Isn’t it interesting that Pilate’s wife warned him against getting involved with Jesus’ fate? Listen to your wives, you guys (we know stuff)!!
  • Did Barabbas go on another killing spree when he was released? Or did the piercing stare of Jesus convict him of his wrongdoings once he was released?
  • How brave was Mary to witness the torture and death of her special son…she was one tough cookie! I don’t know that my momma bear heart could handle it …
  • Did you know that Jesus’ body was buried with about 25 pounds of sugar and spice to keep Him smelling sweet? How come they didn’t mention all that stuff strewn on the ground when they discovered the empty tomb? What was it like to pack a body in those days?
  • Wouldn’t it be great to have media accounts of the weather that day? Or the strange after effects? All these dead people walking back home to greet long, lost relatives? Crazy. Facebook and Twitter would have crashed!
  • There is power in a name. “Mary” was all Jesus had to say. Choose wisely, parents.
  • Jesus made the disciples fish for breakfast. I wonder if He ate. I also wonder if He was a good cook.

If you’d like to go back and review this Holy week and wonder and muse about what it would have been really like, may I suggest you read through John 18 through 21 and try and pick out some “new-to-you” details of a familiar story. Discuss it with others and see what you find out anew! Then come back and visit me again next week, where we will muse again!!

Sheltering Mercy

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Short but sweet this week! I figured ya’ll are like me and up to your eyeballs in Easter Preparations, so another thought from me is just adding to your list… but I did want to share a little something that I have been dying to get my hands on since it arrived in my mailbox. Besides, it’s been a while since my last book review and I figured it was about time.

Let’s dive in. “Sheltering Mercy” by Ryan Whitaker Smith and Dan Wilt is described as “prayers inspired by the Psalms”… and it is exactly that! A little purse-sized hardcover containing a collection of poems or writings based on the first 75 Psalms. The writings are not exactly scripture, nor paraphrases, but, as the writers put it, “free-verse prayer renderings”. For me, they are perfect for quiet meditation, and I have been dying to do some journalling, artistic illustrations to go along with each collection! (If only there were more time in the day, right?). I think this little book would be perfect for that type of meditation as the paper is heavy and the margins spacious. There are a few black and white illustrations scattered through the book, but a splash of coloured pencils would be perfect!

If you’ve been reading mittonmusings for any length of time, you know that I have a love-hate relationship with David and the psalms, not to mention my own practical versus artsy personality. I’m just not sure where I fit in. This little collection hits home when I need to foster the creative side of my devotions. In case you didn’t pick it up, Ryan Whitaker Smith is the son of worship singer-songwriter Michael W. Smith. That collaboration is a lesson in itself for worship, reflection and artistry in the contemporary Christian world. Why wouldn’t these potential song lyrics be just right?

So, if you are itching for some traditional written prayer meditation for your Easter Season, or maybe you are looking to branch out with your artistic side, give “Sheltering Mercy” a gander. Published by Brazos Press and lovingly donated to mittonmusings by Nuts About Books, I’m looking forward to marking it all up over the holiday weekend!

Happy Easter, my beloveds, until next time!

Life is Messy

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Oh, my friends! What a world we have come to live in! Not only have we only just begun to crawl out from under a global pandemic, our own country has faced huge discord among its people in recent weeks, resulting in freezing assets, misguided information, and rally cries for dissension. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, Europe has gone to war. Power-hungry men are puffing up their chests in attempts to gain … something. And the innocent are suffering. I have no words. In fact, I skipped a week or two of posts because I am beginning to question it all. Do words have value anymore?

Is it worth my two cents if I choose not to post my personal views and take sides? Is it worth it to “remain neutral” and bring some light-hearted script to encourage when the world is in such darkness? Last week I received a new book on the Psalms (check out my Instagram reel here) and I am looking forward to doing some doodling as I delve into it. The Psalms were never my go-to book. I think King David was a bit bipolar. His words always seemed far too “up and down” for me. One minute praises — the next, deep laments and evil wishes to dash his enemies. Recently I heard this about the Psalms: that you don’t truly know the light until you’ve been in the dark places. I suspect that is a very true statement. And the Psalms hit it on the head.

A couple weeks ago was my eldest daughter’s birthday. Now, she will be the first to admit that her culinary skills are not top-notch. She has a few basic recipes under her belt and she is happy to repeat them week by week. However, she wanted to try a few new things for her birthday dinner. Fine. No problem, sweetie, I will help you shop for ingredients and make a few suggestions, but the work is yours. The food was great. Everything tasted wonderful. The problem with amateur chefs? My kitchen was a disaster! Every dish, every appliance, every spoon and platter was well used and left for dead on every counter space left available. Sigh. These are memories. We can clean up later.

Life, like cooking, is sometimes messy. Challenges abound. Sometimes we have to be under fire to grow, change and “glow”. Life is not meant to be perfect and predictable.

“Governments make plans, but the Lord checks them. He does not let people do everything that they want to do. The plans that the Lord makes will always happen. His ideas will always be with us.”

Psalms‬ ‭33:10-11‬ ‭(EEB)

It’s pretty clear — God doesn’t let people do everything they want. The governments — and the common people, make plans; plans they think are best, but only God has the last say. None of us have been through this life before. We cannot predict the outcome or guarantee that our methods for living will be the most ideal ones. We are like my daughter… following the recipe hoping we interpret the instructions well, and that our efforts will somehow resemble the glossy picture in the book. More often than not, we create a fairly good tasting, but messy delectable delight. This world is full of sin and it’s going to get messy. Life with God will require patience. But God is infinite and promises to bring good out of the mess. 

Photo Credit: Do it yourself from Scratch on WordPress

Perhaps you are like me, tired and at a loss for words about all the things that have been weighing on the world lately. Maybe it has lit a fire under you and your faith has been made stronger in the face of opposition. Maybe you are just trying to eat some good-tasting stuff and will deal with the clean-up later. Take heart to the assurance that “the plans that the Lord makes will always happen” and I don’t think He’s done with us just yet. Be blessed with the journey, friends.