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Power Lifter

Posted by eph21920 on April 30, 2023 in Grateful, Happiness, Life

My son competed in a power lifting competition today. We watched his dog for the day and watched him compete via live stream. When it was my son’s turn, the commentator gave a little biography and goals for the meet and such as provided by my son. He even gave us a personal shout-out, which made me and my mom pretty happy. Watching it live felt just as intense as if we were there in person. I clenched my jaw and tightened my shoulders up to my ears as I helped him move the heavy weights. I was amazed as always at the amount that he can deadlift, squat, and bench press. But God gave him this strong body. At this competition, he came in first place. He was of course pretty happy and pretty wired when he came to pick up his dog. And I was pretty proud of him.

I Found God today watching my son succeed.

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Big Birthday Bash

Posted by eph21920 on April 29, 2023 in Birthday, Family, Food, Fun, Grateful, Music

Today we were able to get together with most of the family to celebrate my mom’s upcoming 91st birthday. We gathered at the house for a bit for snacks and gifts. My mom received a box of hand dipped and decorated cookies, a puzzle made with family photos, and a tumbler that my daughter-in-law made with pictures of mom’s orchids. Then we went to my mom’s favorite German restaurant and had a great time. When we talked about it and made the reservations, she said she was sad she hadn’t seen the German musicians there for such a long time. So, we got it set up for the accordion player to come. She was amazing and truly made the party special. She played songs that my mother knew and encouraged her to sing along. Everyone had fun with the Chicken Dance and singing Edelweiss. The food was a delicious treat with black forest cake for dessert. On the way home she said it was the best birthday party she ever had. With tears in her eyes, she remembered how wonderful it was when she was young and would bring her accordion to friends’ houses for sing alongs. It was a blessing that this celebration went so well and that it was such a good day for my mom.

I Found God today celebrating my mom’s upcoming birthday.

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Encouraging Prayers

Posted by eph21920 on April 28, 2023 in Connected, Death, Family, Grateful, Struggles

A couple of months ago, I scheduled to have a Mass celebrated for my dad this morning on his birthday. Unfortunately, I was up with my  mom all night last night and didn’t make it to church. This morning, however, I received a text from a friend that she and her husband attended. I so much appreciated that they remembered and went. A few minutes later, I received a text from a cousin who said she will be remembering my dad at Mass tomorrow as well as her mother who died last year. After a really rough night, it was encouraging and a blessing to receive these two texts.

I Found God today in encouraging prayer people.

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Don’t Fear For Your Kids

Posted by eph21920 on April 27, 2023 in Answer, Baby, Children, Faith, Family, Hope, Life

A friend of mine shared a reflection today that really touched my heart as I think about the future of my grandchildren. I will just share the full post here.

JULIE GREEN MINISTRIES – Shellie-Sullivan Clark

Don’t feel sorry for or fear for your kids because the world they are going to grow up in is not what it used to be.

God created them and called them for the exact moment in time that they’re in. Their life wasn’t a coincidence or an accident.

Raise them up to know the power they walk in as children of God.

Train them up in the authority of His Word.

Teach them to walk in faith knowing that God is in control.

Empower them to know they can change the world.
Don’t teach them to be fearful and disheartened by the state of the world but hopeful that they can do something about it.

Every person in all of history has been placed in the time that they were in because of God’s sovereign plan.

He knew Daniel could handle the lions den.
He knew David could handle Goliath.
He knew Esther could handle Haman.
He knew Peter could handle persecution.
He knows that your child can handle whatever challenge they face in their life. He created them specifically for it!

Don’t be scared for your children, but be honored that God chose YOU to parent the generation that is facing the biggest challenges of our lifetime.
Rise up to the challenge.

Raise Daniels, Davids, Esthers and Peters!

God isn’t scratching His head wondering what He’s going to do with this mess of a world.

He has an army He’s raising up to drive back the darkness and make Him known all over the earth.

Don’t let your fear steal the greatness God placed in them. I know it’s hard to imagine them as anything besides our sweet little babies, and we just want to protect them from anything that could ever be hard on them, but they were born for such a time as this.

I Found God today in a beautiful reflection of God’s divine love and plan for our lives.

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Best of Both

Posted by eph21920 on April 26, 2023 in Children, Connected, Family, Love, Music

My granddaughter joined the “Music Club” at her elementary school. They practiced their singing after school and had a concert this evening. Since the weather was decent, I walked over to the school pushing my mom in the wheelchair. We met my son and his family there who had a place for us to sit. The man in front of us was pretty funny with my mom. At first, she was parked next to him as I got situated. He told her he thought I was trying to set them up. After we got settled, he asked her if he was in her way. She said no. He asked if she wanted him to move so he would be. It took a couple seconds, but my mom got the joke and laughed. It is good for her to get out. My granddaughter was all smiles as she sang. It was a cute, appropriate, short concert. There were occasional hand gestures, but one of the girls near my granddaughter was full of movement. She was quite fun to watch as well. After the concert, we talked with my granddaughter. My mom told her what a good job she did and asked if she liked to sing. She replied, “I LOVE to sing!” Then she showed us a picture that was on the wall that she made. It was a UFO. I asked why she chose a UFO. She said because she loves space. I think she’s got the best of my mom and my dad.

I Found God today in the talents of my granddaughter.

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Perspective Lifter

Posted by eph21920 on April 25, 2023 in Answer, Knowledge, Opportunity, Patience, Peace, Plan, Problem

The meditation for today in “Jesus Calling” was very interesting. The first sentence was, “Welcome problems as perspective-lifters.” The idea was that we so easily and happily live in the mundane and hum-drum of every day life, but we are made for more. As much as we balk at “problems” or anything that challenges our routines or ideas, they give us an opportunity to see life from a different angle. But, we must be open to that. If we don’t simply react to a potential problem, we have choices. We can get angry, frustrated, feel victimized, slip into self-pity, bringing ourselves down. Or we can find ways to improve our situation and work around the issue, lifting our sense of being. This requires patience and the ability to listen. Ultimately, we should listen to God through prayer who can lead us by the Holy Spirit to the ultimate outcome which He has already planned for us. Even working through small problems can leave us feeling more accomplished, joyful, and peaceful.

I Found God today in a perspective lifter.

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Good Friends

Posted by eph21920 on April 24, 2023 in Birthday, Family, Friends, Grateful, Relationship

My mom’s friend came over today and brought her a gift for her birthday. It was a statue of the Holy Family carved from wood from the Holy Land. She said she thought it was fitting since most of our family will be together to celebrate her birthday. She is such a good and thoughtful friend.

I Found God today in mom’s good friend.

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Always With Us

Posted by eph21920 on April 23, 2023 in Answer, Bible, Family, Hope, Jesus, Life

Today’s Gospel reading was the story of the disciples who were walking to Emmaus. They were walking away from Jerusalem where Jesus had been crucified. Basically, they thought the story was over and they were leaving. However, they met a man along the way who gave them insight into the scriptures. They didn’t recognize him at first, but this person later revealed himself as Jesus. Then the disciples went back to report to, give hope to, and join the others. In his homily, the priest reminded us that Jesus is always with us. We may think that our situation has become tragic, but that isn’t the case. Jesus can enter into our circumstances and create new life and hope. Our part is to trust, have faith, encourage and bring hope to others. The message was a blessing.

I Found God today in a reminder that He is always with us.

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Daughter Day

Posted by eph21920 on April 22, 2023 in Family, Grateful, Happiness, Life, Relationship

I was happy to be able to spend time with my daughter in law today. We went to a craft fair and perused the hand made items. There was a vendor there with the stick on nail polish that we had done before, so we got some fun designs and will have a manicure night with my mom and granddaughter too. We went to lunch and laughed and talked. I feel truly blessed for our relationship.

I Found God today in my relationship with my daughter in law.

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To the Cemetery

Posted by eph21920 on April 21, 2023 in Connected, Death, Family, Grateful, Grief, Love, Marriage

My mom has been wanting to get out to the cemetery for the past couple of days, but she hasn’t felt good and the weather has not cooperated. Today, it was chilly, but the wind was not blowing. Mom felt ok after lunch, so we decided to go. I bought her some flowers the other day for their wedding anniversary. We divided them in half, knowing that they would likely be getting snowed upon tonight. But the little bouquet looked beautiful by my dad’s headstone. On the way in, there were people and cars gathering in the welcome center. Then they all made their way to the pavilion for the burial ceremony. Mom and I remembered that day and the freezing wind. We also remembered the person who looked so intently at my mom when she was handed the flag. It was a bittersweet visit, but we were glad we finally went.

I Found God today helping my mom place flowers for my dad.

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