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Karaoke

Posted by eph21920 on May 17, 2026 in Family, Fun, Music

My granddaughter has been taking voice lessons for several years now. She has perfect pitch, an amazing vocal range, and a beautiful voice. When it comes time for the recitals though, she is too nervous to sing in front of others. The school’s Spring Recital is coming up soon, but again my granddaughter had stage fright. Her teacher, who is a young woman, suggested going to Karaoke at a local boba tea place that she knew. They could sing together and it wouldn’t be as formal. My granddaughter agreed and the whole family went to the venue this afternoon. My granddaughter started by singing a duet with her teacher. Then, she sang by herself. I was very impressed at how quickly she became comfortable with the whole thing. Perhaps part of it was the fact that when she was singing, she wasn’t facing the people, but the wall with the lyrics. My sons sang, my daughter-in-law sang, the teacher sang with her fiancée, and even my grandson sang. People came and went from the seating area, and one young woman even joined in the fun. Unfortunately, my singing voice doesn’t cooperate anymore, but I did sing from the sidelines. We all had such a great time. It was wonderful to see my granddaughter being courageous and coming out of her shell.

I Found God today in my courageous granddaughter.

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Happier

Posted by eph21920 on May 16, 2026 in Family, Happiness

I talked to my sister for a while today as she was traveling. She had been visiting her son and a good friend of hers for a week. Even though it was tiring, she sounded so happy and energetic. It seems like it has been a while since I heard her feeling so happy. Talking with her made me happy too.

I Found God today in my sister’s happiness.

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Garden Beauty

Posted by eph21920 on May 15, 2026 in Creation, Friends, Happiness, Joy

I have been spending a little time working in the garden each day. I figure if I do a little work every day, I won’t get too worn out and it will get cleaned up eventually. Because it was such a warm winter, many of the plants came up early and the bushes greened up. Then we had a couple days of freezing weather and much of the new growth died off. I have been cleaning away all the dead branches and pruning the bushes back to where there is new growth. Luckily, one of the gardener ladies in the neighborhood has been guiding me, as I don’t really feel like I know what I’m doing. My neighbor and I went for a walk this evening. On the way back we walked through our complex and looked at all the gardens. My neighbor likes plants that are self sufficient and easy to maintain, like me. We loved seeing all the flowers and beautiful areas that other people had put together. As we looked at all the different spaces, we got some ideas of how we could decoratively edge our gardens. We share a sidewalk, so if we used the same materials to edge our areas it would look really nice. I enjoyed the beauty of Spring, working in my little piece of land, and planning how I can make it look nice.

I Found God today enjoying the beauty of gardens.

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Talking Stocks

Posted by eph21920 on May 14, 2026 in Answer, Connected, Family, Friends, Generosity, Knowledge

When I help the older couple that I know, we get to chatting about all kinds of things. The husband told me about some of the stocks that he has bought and sold. I told him about my brother who had been able to make a living in his retirement by working the stock market. I went between the two of them with questions and information until my brother thought it would be nice to talk with him in person. The man agreed. My brother came over to their house with me today. As we were chatting in the office, I showed my brother the world map that had pins in all the places the couple had visited. They started talking about traveling and eventually the stock market as I spent time helping the woman. When my brother left, both of the men said they enjoyed the company and conversation. I was glad they met and grateful that my brother had the desire to spend time with the elderly gentleman.

I Found God today in my considerate brother.

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Pork Chops

Posted by eph21920 on May 13, 2026 in Family, Food, Generosity, Grateful

My brother has been working hard at the cabin to get it ready to sell. It was finally ready for the photos yesterday. Today he came to the city to pick up his camper that was having some annual maintenance done. After he got the camper to it’s summer storage unit, he came to my house. When he was in Arizona, he kept bragging about a particular butcher that he had found. Evidently the pork chops were amazing. He brought some with him and cooked them for our dinner tonight. It has been years since I cooked pork chops. It is not my favorite thing as they are always dry and tough. I was in awe when I tasted those that my brother made. They were so thick and tender and juicy and delicious. I felt like I had been treated to a fancy dinner. I was grateful for my brother and that he shared his favorite food with me.

I Found God today in my generous brother who is a great cook.

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At Peace

Posted by eph21920 on May 12, 2026 in Death, Faith, Friends, Peace, Struggles

Today I went to a friend’s mom’s funeral. I met her several years ago after both our dad’s died. We were both attending the grief support group at the church. Her mom was going as well. During the session, the mom was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, which she vehemently denied in her strong New York accent. Eventually she accepted the fact and they attended the Parkinson’s support group with me and my mom. I visited her a couple of times during the past few months and saw her decline. Her tremor at that time was so bad and uncontrollable, almost painful to watch. When I saw her at the church lying in her coffin, what struck me immediately was how peaceful her body was. No tremor, no oxygen, no suffering. Her faithful and stoic battle was over. She was freed. She won the race.

I Found God today seeing peace.

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Don’t Panic

Posted by eph21920 on May 11, 2026 in Answer, Creation, Faith, Life, Trust

When I arrived to help at my friend’s house today, the wife was in her room watching TV. She likes to watch YouTube. I went in and sat with her. She was watching a video about how Yellowstone will be exploding sometime in the near future. Unfortunately, she does get caught in the click bait snippets and shocking headlines. The other day she told me that North Carolina is falling into the ocean. After the Yellowstone video, I told her about my brother working there for the summer and how much he loved it. He also acknowledged that it is an active geothermal site and that anything really could blow at any time. I said that also, California has been “going to fall into the ocean” for decades now, probably longer. And the San Andreas fault could swallow us all up – that was another video that was about to come up. I told that we know at some point or another God is going to take us all of the face of the Earth, and that it’s a good thing we have faith. We can go about our day trusting that God has got His universe under control and we don’t have to worry, or panic, or be afraid. We laughed and I could see her relaxing. Then we prayed the rosary.

I Found God today trusting that He has His universe under control.

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Grateful For Family

Posted by eph21920 on May 10, 2026 in Children, Family, Grateful, Relationship

This morning at Mass before the usual Mother’s Day blessing, the priest announced that a very special woman was about to celebrate her 98th birthday. Her son led her out of the pew by the arm and together they walked up the stairs to the altar. When they reached the priest, the woman gave him a big hug and patted his shoulder. She hugged the deacon too. She face the congregation and we all prayed for her. Then she hugged the priest and deacon again before returning to her seat. She was so sweet. And I was impressed as to how well she moved. Then all the mothers received their blessing. Just when I got home, my son and family stopped by unexpectedly. We visited for a while and they went to take my daughter in law out shopping and to pick up dinner. It’s a difficult time of year for her as it is when her mother died, but she seemed to be doing ok. I was missing my mom too, so I wore her silky “piano pants” that I had been hanging on to. They are white with large black notes and musical symbols all over them. I also wore her musical note charm necklace. It made me happy. In the afternoon I went over to my other son’s house and congratulated his wife on her first Mother’s Day. Even though the baby hasn’t been born yet, my daughter in law is doing all she can to be a good mother to her. They are so excited. We each made a pizza and watched a movie. We both bought each other the same bouquet of flowers, which was pretty funny. In all, it was a really nice day. In church I was reminded of how blessed I am to have my sons and the relationships I have with them and their families. Very grateful indeed.

I Found God today grateful for my family.

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Pre Mother’s Day

Posted by eph21920 on May 9, 2026 in Family, Grateful, Grief, Healing, Life, Music

This morning I was thinking about my mother as some photos from last year popped up. They were bittersweet memories. I decided to listen to some music and found a couple of CD’S that my dad recorded of my mom and her friend playing the pianos. I thought it would be a good way to spend pre-Mother’s Day with my mom. Every time I listen to her, I am more amazed at how talented she was. I am so grateful we have the recordings, especially since it is hard for me to remember the wonderful moments. One of my brothers has been digitizing the old home videos we have and asked if I had any more. I checked the old camcorder bag, and sure enough there were a couple in there. One of them was titled “Horowitz”. I was actually able to get the camcorder working and viewed the tape. It was a video of my mom playing the piano. When my other brother came to the house today, he was able to get the camcorder connected to the TV and we both watched. According to the sign at the venue, the piano she was playing was “The Horowitz Steinway”. It was beautiful to see and hear my mom as her fingers trickled over the keys. Afterwards, she and her friends discussed the sound of the piano. It was a blessing to me to experience and remember my mom in such a meaningful way today.

I Found God today remembering my mom on Mother’s Day Eve.

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Service

Posted by eph21920 on May 8, 2026 in Death, Faith, Grateful, Life, Service

When I got the job at the church that I worked for, I was introduced to the maintenance man. I quickly learned that he was much more than that. He and his crew took care of everything needed on the property – inside and out, scheduled all the facilities, and made sure everything was ready for every event that happened. As time went on, I realized he also took care of whatever the Sisters needed at the nearby Monestary. Then I found that he helped care for his sister who had special needs. As a single mother, he came to my rescue several times when I faced situations that were too much for me. I know he did the same for countless others. He never boasted of any of the things he did, nor did he complain of personal struggles, but quietly and humbly went about his life. This generous man passed away a couple of weeks ago after battling a long illness. To some he was rough around the edges, but to me his love for his family, his faith, and his humble service to others defined who he was. I am grateful that I knew him.

I Found God today remembering a man dedicated to serving others.

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