Category:
Living the Faith
Find Fun (A MiniMustard Devotional)
Today’s seed for thought: Find Fun. It was a little wet out tonight. Then I found this overflowing downspout that I couldn’t resist. The sound of the water drumming on my raincoat made me laugh out loud. Better than one of the massaging shower heads, I’d say. My dog decided she wanted in on the…
Multitasking? Multi-distracting!
Today’s thought to ponder: You think you’re multitasking. You’re actually multi-distracting. On a particular Sunday when sickness kept me home, I was sorting files while listening to church online. I was on my third sermon of the day from as many different preachers when the pastor said: “Multitasking is a way of life in the…
Mini-Mustard: Messy Progress
Today’s seed for thought… Progress is messy. Here, sit on the floor with me and ponder this mess I just unearthed from behind closed doors. Ever have one of those this-would-have-been-a-whole-lot-simpler-if-I-just-left-well-enough-alone moments? Yeah, me too. Unfortunately, that’s not how this works. Progress, my friends, is messy. It doesn’t follow a straight line, and it doesn’t…
Add Some Creative to your Christmas
I once took a baby pig to pet pictures with Santa. (Yes, a real piglet.) And I once landscaped a roommate’s bed with castaways from the university compost pile. The masterpiece was complete with past-bloom mums, dried corn stalks, and a carefully curated stone wall. (Don’t worry, I covered the bed with thick black plastic…
With Thanksgiving
Every once in a while I find myself ruminating on a piece of scripture in a curious sort of way. Not that ruminating on scripture is curious, rather I mean that I get curious about what I’m ruminating on. This happened recently with Philippians 4 and that oft-quoted passage: Do not be anxious about anything,…
The Haircut (a.k.a., Growing Pains)
As she was cutting fist-fulls of hair from my head, my hair stylist told me this story: “When I was younger, I always wanted to have short hair and my mom wouldn’t let me. Then when I was in beauty school, I asked one of the instructors to cut my hair and she wouldn’t either.…
The Spice of Life
A few weeks ago, we welcomed a family onto our side of the church. They weren’t new to our congregation; they had simply stepped across the aisle and sat in a new location. During the guest introductions, we introduced them as having moved from the other side of the aisle to visit our side of…
Fighting the Battle (or not)
I was listening to a song the other day on the radio: I’m fighting a battle You’ve already won. The song is a rallying cry to overcome whatever comes our way. Take courage! God has granted you the victory! We need only to persevere (the song seems to say) to the battle’s end. But in…
Love, Work, and Joy
My mother had read somewhere and often repeated: In order to be happy, you need something love, something to do, and something to look forward to. I used to quip that eating fulfills all three. (A stance I still maintain to this day.) Despite my flippant response, I always acknowledged the wisdom in the simple…
Scared and Unafraid: Video Presentation!
Back on December 3rd I had the opportunity to lead a presentation on fear. I promise something in here will make you think a bit differently about fear. I hope you take the time to watch. Click the image below to play. This link should start at 9:40 which is right before the start of…
Search the Blog
Categories
Join the email list to receive the latest post and occasional exclusives
Meet Janet!
Janet Beagle, PhD is the founder of The Mustard Patch. She divides her time between the Midwest and New England, and if she’s not writing, she’s probably out hiking with her 2-and 4-footed friends.