Leave a comment

Friends and Family

Posted by eph21920 on April 2, 2023 in Family, Friends, Generosity, Grateful

Our neighbors invited us over for lunch today. They are such kind, generous people and we enjoy getting together with them. They have family in the area, but not too close by. During the course of our conversation, they said they had wanted to get together with their family, but things didn’t work out. Then they thought, “There is family right next door,” and said how we do feel like family to them. We said the feeling was mutual. We have truly been blessed to have them as our “roofmates”.

I Found God today in friends that feel like family.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Easter Prep Fun

Posted by eph21920 on April 1, 2023 in Family, Food, Fun

Palm Sunday weekend means getting ready for Easter. For years at our house that has meant candy making weekend, so today we started the process. This afternoon my son, his wife and kids came over to get in on the fun. And fun it was. My sister was the chocolatier extraordinare and tempered all the chocolate perfectly. My daughter in law mixed up the peanut butter and coconut filling and we made the egg shaped mounds to go into the chocolate molds. My older grandson’s had ideas of their own for their creations and we were happy to indulge. My granddaughter sat with my mom for a long time as my mom taught her the solitaire game on her iPad. Then she came and added sprinkles to the big egg molds before filling them with white chocolate. In the evening my other son came over with his girlfriend. They visited the rest of the clan for a while before the grandkids had to head home. They tagged in and we started the second shift which included a lot of finishing and wrapping. When all was done, the kitchen was a disaster with chocolate in every nook and cranny. But no matter, it was a day of great fun and many goodies to share.

I Found God today in a fun day making candy with family.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Giving Up

Posted by eph21920 on March 31, 2023 in Answer, Faith, Hope, Life, Plan, Prayer, Problem, Struggles

There are things I do and think that are not at all positive or life-giving. I feel like I try so hard to change them to no avail. I pray and pray that God would change them. I’m sure He wants me to be a better person, so why doesn’t He just fix me? The whole thing can be incredibly frustrating and I can feel like I’m failing. This morning in prayer, I had a thought. Of course God knows my struggles. But instead of being in a constant state of tug of war with myself, I should simply give it to God. Give Him my thoughts, both good and bad. Give Him my actions and reactions, no matter what they are. Give them to God and allow Him to fight my inner battle. I tried to do this during the day, and it was effective in the moment. It reminded me of Exodus 14:14, “The Lord will fight for you, you need only to keep still.” I need to practice more surrendering by keeping still. My hope is that as I do, God will in fact have the victory.

I Found God today giving up to Him.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Sweet Girls

Posted by eph21920 on March 30, 2023 in Children, Generosity, Happiness, Joy

I had a chance to go to the mall today. It has been quite a long time since I walked around there, so I meandered to see what had changed – which was a lot. At one end of the mall was a small play place for kids. There were structures to climb on, slide down, and crawl through. As I passed by, I noticed two older girls helping a very tiny younger child. They each had a hold of one hand on either side of him as they helped him climb up a big boulder and slide down the other side. The child was very happy to have the attention. It just struck me as simple, joyful kindness that made me smile.

I Found God today in kind, joyful children.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Arts and Crafts Day

Posted by eph21920 on March 29, 2023 in Family, Fun

My grandchildren are on their school break this week, so today they came over for arts and crafts day. I had seen an activity that uses egg cartons to make cute flowers and thought that was a fun, easy idea. We cut apart the egg carton and cut each cup to resemble a flower. Then my mom, granddaughter, and I painted them and added a little bling. Then I inserted pipe cleaners for stems. My sister found some adorable chicks in eggs figures that she donated to the cause. My daughter-in-law and older grandsons painted those. They were super cute and each one had it’s own personality. It was a blessing to have such a fun day with everyone.

I Found God today in fun family activities.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Cabin Cuteness

Posted by eph21920 on March 28, 2023 in Creation, Family, Grateful, Happiness

My mom and I made an impromptu trip to the cabin today to check on a couple of things. The air was crisp and the sky was blue – perfect for a drive. The new car was amazing. It was comfortable for my mom, able to hold everything we needed, and handled beautifully on the windy and dirt covered roads. We didn’t stay long. Just enough to make sure all was well and clean up a bit. While Mom was closing her eyes before the ride back to town, I spotted a couple of deer. One was so small and fuzzy. I think the other was it’s mother. It was cuteness overload when they were both nibbling a small pine branch. They made the day that much better. I was grateful for all the blessings.

I Found God today in a good drive to the mountains.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Survivor Tree

Posted by eph21920 on March 27, 2023 in Connected, Creation, Death, Grief, Healing, Hope, Tragedy

My sister went to New York to visit a friend and returned today. While she was there, they went into New York City and visited the site of 911 among other things. She showed pictures and talked about the “Survivor Tree”, which I had never heard of. Amongst the rubble of the aftermath of the 911 bombing, a mostly burned pear tree was discovered. At the same time, the tree showed signs of life. They dug it out and sent it to a nursery who brought it back to life. The tree was replanted in the 911 Memorial Plaza. “Today, the tree stands as a living reminder of resilience, survival, and rebirth.” What’s more, there is a seedling program. Several of the pear tree’s babies are now in places around the world where tragedy has struck to help those left remember and have hope. I loved the story, the intention, and the continued connectivity to share love around the world.

I Found God today in the story of the Survivor Tree.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Newly Confirmed

Posted by eph21920 on March 26, 2023 in Eucharist, Faith, Grace, Prayer, Priest

At Mass today, there were 6 people who entered into the Church. They had all been Baptized in the past, so today they received the Sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Eucharist to complete their initiation. When they were Confirmed, the priest literally poured the chrism oil onto their heads. Then he rubbed it into their head and hair. It was a sight to behold. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like for those newly Confirmed. I could smell the fragrant scent of the oil clear back where my mom and I were sitting. It took me back to all those Confirmations I witnessed as a Youth Minister. I’m sure I was privileged to see hundreds of young people receive the Sacrament. I prayed for them then, that they would allow this extraordinary grace of God to become part of who they were. And I prayed for them all today.

I Found God today in the beautiful Sacrament of Confirmation.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Feeling Better

Posted by eph21920 on March 25, 2023 in Grateful, Healing, Sick

I had a bit of a stomach bug for a couple of days and didn’t have much energy. I was grateful to be feeling better and able to get some things accomplished today.

I Found God feeling better.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Visiting Hawaii

Posted by eph21920 on March 23, 2023 in Creation, Joy

Virtually. After dinner, mom wanted to watch a little TV. We love beautiful nature shows and when I searched, Aerial America popped up so we gave it a go. The first location in the series was Hawaii. The episode showed each major island from above and highlighted some specific stories. The different terrains and colors were spectacular and the waterfalls were endless. It was interesting to learn how the volcanos formed and effected each island. It was gorgeous and we were very satisfied with our program choice. Having never visited Hawaii, this was the next best thing.

I Found God today in experiencing beautiful nature from afar.

Permalink