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Hope, Strength, Courage

Posted by eph21920 on December 7, 2022 in Answer, Connected, Faith, Healing, Hope

A friend of mine pointed out that the Mass readings for today were very fitting for the anniversary of Pearl Harbor. I enjoyed the readings before I realized the day and that made them even more meaningful. They talked about the necessity of allowing God to be a part of our lives. We can try very hard to do things on our own, but eventually come to recognize that we are capable of very little without His help. Tonight was also the last session of the grief support group I have been attending. Going along the same line of thinking, we talked about what a blessing it was to get to know one another’s story. Each person goes through their own grieving process, but they do not have to do it alone. When we lean on God, He can help us through our difficulties and give us a renewed sense of hope, strength, and courage.

I Found God today in His promise of help.

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Birthday Saint

Posted by eph21920 on December 6, 2022 in Birthday, Generosity, Life, Saint

Today is St. Nicholas Day and my grandson’s actual birthday. I have always thought it fun that they are the same day. And I have noted how generous he is with his time and ready to help out. It’s just part of who he is – the way God created him. I saw a quote attributed to St. Nicholas that I thought was very fitting:

“The giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to mimic His giving, by grace, through faith, and this is not of ourselves.”

I Found God today seeing similarities between my grandson and his birthday saint.

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Caring Friendship

Posted by eph21920 on December 5, 2022 in Connected, Friends, Grace, Life, Struggles

My mom’s friend came over today. We had not seen her in weeks because of illnesses and Thanksgiving. She caught us up on the latest news of family and friends. She told us that one of their mutual friends of 50 years had a stroke recently and was currently in a rehab facility. She was worried that their friend wasn’t getting the proper care and may not be in the right kind of facility. She and another friend were visiting her and trying to remain in contact with her son. It was sad to hear of her struggles. At the same time, I thought it was quite a blessing that the friends were supporting and present to help their friend best they could.

I Found God today in caring friendships.

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Reclaiming Sunday

Posted by eph21920 on December 4, 2022 in Faith, Grace, Life, Prayer, Rest, Tradition

During the season of Advent, we can just get busier and busier. Yet, the church describes this as a period of waiting and preparing our hearts for Jesus. Our pastor has said multiple times that one way to try to slow down and put our focus on God is to “reclaim Sunday” and make it a day of church, prayer, and rest. I try to do this, and when I can successfully, I find myself with renewed energy on Monday. Today I read a great article that explains more about why it’s so important for Christians to rest on Sunday.

https://www.diocs.org/Herald/ArtMID/627/ArticleID/56/Reclaiming-Sunday

I Found God today in a reminder of the importance of resting on Sunday.

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Belly Laughs

Posted by eph21920 on December 3, 2022 in Birthday, Family, Laughter, Life

Today we celebrated my oldest grandson who will be 20 in a couple of days. He had just returned from getting his hair cut and was looking very fresh. He played along well with the family birthday traditions. The guys were in rare form and I laughed until my stomach hurt. It has been a very long time since that has happened. Even though my mom has a hard time hearing and following the conversation, she had a few good laughs as well. It was a blessing to get together with family and laugh.

I Found God today celebrating my grandson.

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Sign of Strength

Posted by eph21920 on December 2, 2022 in Answer, Faith, Healing, Sick

I received an update today about the young man who was in a car accident that we have been praying for. He is improving and finally ready to be transferred out of the ICU after almost 3 weeks. That was such good news and a testament of the power of prayer. When some visitors left the hospital, they saw a large sign in the shape of a heart painted red with the word, “STRENGTH” painted in white. Another blessing.

I Found God today in a sign of strength.

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Most Energy

Posted by eph21920 on December 1, 2022 in Family, Grateful, Life, Opportunity, Plan

I had a list of errands to run today, however, our friend who usually comes to stay with mom wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t make it. There was a time when this would have really thrown me off. I am glad that I have learned that everything happens in God’s time, in God’s plan. My mom had a lot of energy this morning – more than she has had in weeks as she hasn’t been feeling well with a UTI among other things. After breakfast, she did an exercise video. Then a home therapist came earlier than planned and did another workout with her. After lunch I took her out to get some supplies for her hearing aids and get them cleaned and checked. Now we should be all set for the upcoming holidays. I decided to order groceries and later in the afternoon, mom came for another car ride to pick them up. She was pretty tired by bedtime, but from being active instead of not feeling well. While the day didn’t turn out as I had planned, it turned out as God had planned.

I Found God today in His day.

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Hope In Him

Posted by eph21920 on November 30, 2022 in Bible, Connected, Death, Faith, Hope, Life, Prayer

Today a friend shared her reflection on 2 Corinthians 5:8 “Yet we are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord.” She wrote about how the scripture gave her hope after her grandmother died. I thought it was beautiful. Tonight I went to a grief support group. Part of the session was about hope. I was reminded of the verse and was again in awe of God’s providential nudges. In the video that we watched, a man shared how he tried to rebuild his life on his own after his loved one passed away. Until he no longer could. He then surrendered to God. He described the experience as if he had been walking around with blinders on and they were suddenly removed. He became aware of all God’s promptings and interventions and care.

I Found God today reminded to put my hope in Him.

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Virtual Visit

Posted by eph21920 on November 29, 2022 in Answer, Doctor, Grateful

My mom had a doctor’s appointment today, but we woke up to below freezing temperatures and snowy roads. I called the office and thankfully they said we could have a virtual appointment. The doctor was super nice and we got all our questions answered. When I thanked him profusely for meeting with us virtually, he said simply, “Of course! It’s our job!” It may be his job, but it was quite a blessing to us.

I Found God today in the blessing of a virtual visit.

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Praying For Healing

Posted by eph21920 on November 28, 2022 in Answer, Faith, Healing, Prayer

We have a list of people we pray for every day to Our Lady of Lourdes for healing. A friend of mine had a serious infection and was hospitalized even over Thanksgiving. It was such great news to hear that she went home today. Another friend has a nephew who was in a car accident 2 weeks ago and is in the hospital in very serious condition. He has been struggling with ups and downs. My friend has been sharing updates and prayer requests. Today the prayer request was for the young man to be safely extubated tomorrow. Today we read the meditation from The Word Among Us, and it was specifically about praying for healing. It said in part:

“… We believe in Jesus’ power and authority to heal, but sometimes our own misconceptions can act as obstacles as well. … God wants to heal and wants to use us as instruments to heal other people. It’s that simple. So let’s clear away any misconceptions or assumptions that tempt us to question that reality. Keep believing and keep praying, and the Lord will praise your faith, just as he did for this Roman centurion.”

Bold words asking for bold faith. I encourage you to boldly pray for this young man and for your own healing intercessions.

I Found God today in a reminder of His healing power.

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