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Holiday Party

Posted by eph21920 on January 11, 2026 in Friends, Grateful, Home, Tradition

Today was the annual holiday party in our little housing complex. I have been hesitant to go in the past, but planned on going today. I guess I have realized how much I enjoy and need to visit with other people – even those I don’t know very well. And everyone here is just so nice. One of the ladies even called to see if I was going. I talked with many people that I knew and some that I didn’t. Even though it’s a small community, one of the couples used their van to pick up people who had a hard time walking. That’s one of the advantages of a small community. Here, people look out for one another, check on each other, and help each other out. The food was good, the company was excellent and I was surprised how fast the time went by. I am grateful for my caring and generous neighbors.

I Found God today in my caring neighbors.

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Selling Things

Posted by eph21920 on January 10, 2026 in Answer, Connected, Family, Grateful, Healing, Life, Past

When my dad was putting together the family genealogy books, he sorted hundreds of extra photos into envelopes for friends and extended family. A couple weeks ago, I contacted 3 cousins who I have not kept in touch with and asked if I could mail them their packet. I heard from 2 of them who were very excited to connect. So, I put together their packages to mail. After a big snowstorm yesterday, I decided to go out today. When I left the house, some of the roads were still icy and some had that frozen slush. I figured there would be many people out since most people were snowed in yesterday. My first stop was the post office. I managed to get in and out before the line started to grow long. Then I went to the mall. I don’t go there too often, but it seemed like a good idea as I was looking for a couple different things. I stopped in an interesting flower shop that also had an eclectic mix of antiques and artisan handiwork. I spoke to the owner and found that she sold things on consignment. I told her about the collection of my dad’s photographs that we still have. She said to bring some in and see if they would sell. That was good news. After that, I went to an antique mall. I had put my name on the list to sell there over a year ago. They contacted me, letting me know there was a glass display case ready if I was interested. I located the case in the mall and tried to envision what kind of things from the estate I could put in there. It feels good to me to have places to take my parents’ treasures and hope that others will appreciate them. I also now enjoy talking about my parents and their museum. I think it is healing and makes me happy to share the wonderful life they had instead of feeling so sad.

I Found God today making headway on estate items.

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Community

Posted by eph21920 on January 9, 2026 in Begin, Connected, Family, Friends, Grateful, Life, Relationship

When I was talking with my sister today, she asked the same question that everyone is wondering – where am I going to move to when I leave my parents’ house. It actually is my house, but I continue to think of it as my parents’. The answer to that question is – – I don’t know. We talked about how I am so grateful to have a wonderful community here with family, friends, neighbors, and church. It would be hard to move to a place where I would have to start building that all over again. My sister did exactly that when she moved to the east coast. Not only that, but she got sick and was holed up in her house for months. But, now that she’s feeling better and has more time, she has been plugging into groups and getting to know more people in their community. It is so important for a person’s well-being to have people around you who you can count on and who accept you for who you are. I am glad she is building up a community in her new home now. And it gives me much to consider when the time comes for me to move. But that is not for today.

I Found God today realizing the importance of community.

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Spell “World”

Posted by eph21920 on January 8, 2026 in Connected, Friends, Generosity, Knowledge, Life, Opportunity, Patience, Relationship, Trust

I was visiting a friend today when she received a phone call. She answered and put it on speaker. As she was talking with the woman, she asked her if she could tell me about their relationship. The woman agreed and could hear everything she said. My friend was a special education teacher for many years. After she had retired, she came across a state program that helped adults with learning disabilities. They were looking for teachers and my friend volunteered. That is how she met the woman on the other end of the line. The woman had an accident when she was in first grade and was so debilitated that she was unable to attend school and never received any additional instruction. My friend was her tutor almost 20 years ago. She taught her some techniques to learn to read and she was still using them. My friend said she could now read at a fifth grade level. The woman was very proud of herself and corrected her by saying “sixth grade level”. They speak to each other several times a week and the woman tells her a new word that she learned to spell. Today’s word was “world”, which the woman spelled out correctly. The duo said their goodbyes and blessed each other. I felt honored to be part of their conversation. They had a beautiful relationship based on empathy, patience, and trust.

I Found God today in a beautiful relationship.

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God Knows

Posted by eph21920 on January 7, 2026 in Faith, Grateful, Life, Struggles

I was going through my photos today and found a quote by C.S. Lewis that I thought was very fitting as we start the New Year. Maybe we’re making resolutions or trying to overcome something we’re struggling with. For me, it is comforting to know that God knows all about our humanity in the person of Jesus Christ. And nothing we are going through surprises Him. I am grateful that He is still present, offering His love and comfort.

I Found God today comforted in His ability to know us and still love us.

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Great Neighbors

Posted by eph21920 on January 6, 2026 in Children, Faith, Friends, Generosity, Grateful

This afternoon one of my neighbors stopped over with her grandchildren. They had decorated some cookies and were sharing them. The woman and the 2 little girls came in while we visited for a bit. The girls were interested in the nativity set and we talked about how today is Epiphany. One of the girls questioned why the movies showed the 3 Kings arriving at the stable right after Jesus is born, if the celebration of the event is several days after Christmas. The grandmother did a pretty good job of explaining the difference between movies and what probably really happened. It was fun to have young visitors. As they were leaving, I heard some noise in my front garden area. We went outside and there was one of my other neighbors fixing my downspout. I had told him that it kept getting detached and was lying in the garden, getting blown around by the wind. He found some screws and got it all fixed up for me. He also helped me put all my Christmas boxes away. While we were all outside talking with the girls, the neighbor across the sidewalk came outside, not wanting to miss out on the neighborhood meeting. He is also a very nice man, but struggles with repercussions from a brain injury. Later I visited with his wife who told me about the big family trip they just returned from. She had rented a wheelchair so her husband wouldn’t have to try to walk to all the outings. She said he was not happy about it, but at the same time was grateful. She got teary eyed when shared how attentive her sons were to their father, pushing him in the wheelchair and helping him to get around. I am so grateful for my amazing neighbors who are helpful, faithful, generous, and encouraging.

I Found God today in the blessing of my neighbors.

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God’s Waiting Room

Posted by eph21920 on January 5, 2026 in Eucharist, Family, Friends, Life, Love

Today I heard from a faraway friend. She and her husband and I actually spoke to each other on the phone for about an hour and a half, which was really pretty easy to do. Of course, we caught up on what is happening with our kids and grandkids. Which brought us to the fact that we are getting older. We may be living in the “last quarter” of our life – time to punt! It’s funny, or maybe not, that my siblings and I were talking about aging in our weekly Zoom conversation yesterday. People we know even younger than us are having physical issues or catastrophic medical events. My brother said living our age and above is “God’s Waiting Room”. I kind of liked the analogy – waiting to meet God. At the same time, we don’t really know how long our lives here will be, no matter what our age is. Talking with my friends who are very active, we agreed that it is important and necessary to do the things we can do while we are able to do them. In the whole big scheme of the universe and eternity, our lives on Earth can seem insignificant. Which gives all the more reason to live best we can being present, loving and caring for one another, remembering that we are all waiting to meet God.

I Found God today realizing I am getting older and the importance of living loving.

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Lake Powell

Posted by eph21920 on January 4, 2026 in Connected, Faith, Family, Fun, Happiness, Hope, Priest, Struggles, Weather

This morning at church, the priest started talking about a trip he and his family took to Lake Powell when he was 13 years old. They rented a houseboat to live and travel on during the vacation. I was immediately taken back about 35 or so years ago when me, my husband at the time, my sister and her husband at the time, and our brother did the same thing. It was one of the best adventures we had ever experienced. Houseboats don’t go very fast, so we spent a week just meandering the waterways, taking in the scenery, and basking in the summer sunshine. We joked that we had to make notches in the side of the boat so we could keep track of what day it was. I smiled as the priest described the layout of the land with the high cliffs, narrow crevices, and occasional sandy beaches. He recounted how they had to locate a good-sized beach and pull the houseboat up onto it to anchor there for the night. I knew exactly what he was talking about and envisioned the guys getting the boat up to a decent speed to land it on the beach. We were very fortunate to have good weather almost the entire time. The priest, on the other hand, had a very harrowing experience one evening and continued with his story. As they were headed toward a cove to beach for the night, an unexpected storm arrived. It was blowing and raining against them, coming from the direction they were heading. The boat was making headway, but very slowly. Finally, after dark, the beach was in front of them. The priest, at 13 years old, was handed the rope for the boat. His father said that he was going to get up as much speed as he could and when the boat was on land, the boy was to jump off the front and tie the rope around a large rock. The boat got up speed, the front end reached the sand, and the boy jumped off as instructed. But the wind and rain were pushing the boat, and he was unable to get it tied down before the boat was back in the water. The boy watched as the houseboat with his family on it drifted further and further away. At one point it disappeared behind a stand of rocks and he could no longer see the lights. The boy was alone in the dark in a storm. After what seemed to be an eternity, the lights reappeared as his father got the houseboat up to speed once again and headed toward the beach. This time, his mother was given the wheel and his father jumped off the front of the boat and was able to tie it down. The point of the story was that when the priest as a boy was left alone in the dark, he felt helpless and even hopeless as he thought about what to do if his family didn’t make it back to him. But when he saw the light of the boat, he knew his family was coming back and that he would be ok. So it is with our faith life. We can feel like we are trapped in the darkness, afraid, alone, hopeless. But if we allow ourselves to encounter the light of Jesus, we will be assured that He will care for us.

I Found God today in memories of a wonderful time in my life, and a great story with a faith connection.

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Weekly Flowers

Posted by eph21920 on January 3, 2026 in Connected, Death, Eternity, Friends, Love

I went to lunch with some friends today and one of the older ladies talked about visiting her husband’s grave at the National Cemetery where my parents are also buried. We agreed that it was heartwarming to see all the Christmas wreaths laid on each site. She also talked about the camaraderie felt with others visiting the cemetery with the common military experience. She said that she met a man there who lays flowers on his wife’s grave site every week. The 92 year old man in the group said he does the same thing. He said he also brought her flowers every week when she was alive. He thought it was “normal”. All the ladies “awwwwed”. What a sweet example of everlasting love.

I Found God today in an example of everlasting love.

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Syrup

Posted by eph21920 on January 2, 2026 in Connected, Family, Food, Generosity, Love

I am trying to get back to more healthy eating, so today I made some tuna salad with an apple cider vinegar “de-tox” dressing. While I was at it, I decided to make some granola. I had some pecans and some coconut flakes and found a recipe that sounded good. It called for maple syrup. I remembered I recently finished the yummy syrup I got from New Hampshire. And I was excited as I had a jar of syrup made by my cousin that I brought back from Wisconsin. Now was the perfect time to crack it open. I gave it a little taste before adding it to the granola ingredients. It was delicious. The granola smelled amazing while it toasted in the oven. I thought about the big party that my cousin hosted and how wonderful it was to see everyone. They were gracious, generous, and compassionate. The loving connection with family is so powerful, in person and in memories. I will think of my visit with my cousins every time I have the granola and the syrup.

I Found God today thinking of loving family connections.

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