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God Won’t Forget

Posted by eph21920 on October 8, 2025 in Answer, Faith, Life, Past, Present, Struggles

Today I was talking with a young woman who is in college. At the end of the semester last Spring, she was having a very hard time trying to schedule the classes that she needed. At that time she was very upset and struggling. When I asked her about it today, it took her a couple of minutes to remember exactly what had transpired and made her so anxious. Now, everything was in place and was working out just fine. We talked about how it is interesting that when we are in the midst of difficulties we can be all consumed in our worries. It is easy to wonder how things will be resolved. But once they have passed, we freely move on to the next thing. To me, it is this way in my faith life. I can get caught up in the struggles and beg God to do something about it. Things do resolve, but I forget. I need to remember how God has taken care of me in the past and will continue to do so in the future. He will not forget me.

I Found God today remembering that He will not forget me.

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Faith or Fear

Posted by eph21920 on October 7, 2025 in Answer, Faith, Friends, Life, Prayer, Struggles

A friend of mine shared a quote that I thought was very profound, “Faith and fear both ask you to believe in something you can’t see. The one you choose writes your future”. I don’t know exactly who wrote or said the statement, but I find it to be absolutely true. I have personally been battling fear, particularly during this past year. There have been times when I have allowed fear to win, which leaves me basically stuck and unable to move forward. However, when I say the prayers that give me more courage, I have amazing experiences and joy. My 2 favorite prayers are the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, and Ephesians 6:10-18 which describes putting on the armor of God. That scripture has been popping up over and over again. So, I took God’s hint and pray it every morning. I do feel better equipped to face the day and choose faith to keep me on the right path.

I Found God today in a reminder to choose faith over fear.

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Gift of a Blanket

Posted by eph21920 on October 6, 2025 in Generosity, Grateful, Happiness, Life, New, Service

The other day I received a notice from my church that there were some handmade blankets available to give to the people who are homebound. They were knitted or crocheted by a ministry in the parish specifically for the purpose of sharing them with others. Since I visit a woman who has dementia weekly and bring her Holy Communion, I stopped in the church office and picked out a colorful blanket to bring to her. Today was the day I visit her, so I brought the blanket with me. After she received Communion, I gave her the blanket. We read the satin tag that was sewn in the corner that identified the group who made it. There was a plastic canvas cross stitched with purple ribbon and a laminated prayer for healing pinned to it. We looked at them, read the prayer, and felt the soft, warm blanket. I told the woman that the blanket was for her and spread it on her lap. She was surprised and so sweet when she said she didn’t think she deserved it. I assured her she did. Then she said, “I hope they can feel my thanks!” I guaranteed her that I would let them know. The blanket was a such a blessing to the woman. Her reaction and our interaction was a blessing to me.

I Found God today sharing a blanket made with loving hands.

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Parent’s Past

Posted by eph21920 on October 4, 2025 in Connected, Family, Life, Past

My sister came today for the weekend. She is helping to sort some of my parent’s memorabilia. She worked with both my mom and my dad as they each created a beautiful genealogy scrapbook. The books are an incredible resource of historical articles and photographs that date back even centuries. Today we looked through a box of keepsakes from my parent’s high school days. There were school yearbooks, autograph books, letters, and photographs. It’s hard to believe that they carried these things around for over 70 years, to all the different places we lived. And for us to look through them now, the feeling is priceless. Beyond any monetary value that they may or may not be worth. We were looking into another time and place that was part of our parents’ lives and trying to envision what it was like for them. Even though my sister had done so much work with them putting together their family history, she had still never seen most of the contents of the box. It was another day of discovering family treasures.

I Found God today remembering my parent’s past.

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Sneak Peeks

Posted by eph21920 on October 3, 2025 in Family, Happiness, Marriage

Over the past couple of days, my son and his new wife have been sharing sneak peeks of their wedding photos and a super sweet video. I’m crying all over again, feeling so blessed and happy for them.

I Found God today in the blessing of my son’s wedding.

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Stitches Out

Posted by eph21920 on October 2, 2025 in Doctor, Grateful, Happiness, Healing

It has been 2 weeks since I had the cancer spot removed from above my eye, in my eyebrow area. I had a lovely multicolored black eye, which still lingers. This afternoon I went back to the doctor’s office and had the stitches taken out. I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome. Typically I am very hesitant to have any kind of medical intervention, as the usual response from the doctor is, “well, I wasn’t expecting that …” But today all went well. The doctor and the young woman who took the stitches out were both impressed with how well the wound healed. When I examined the area, I was also very happy that it looked better than I had anticipated. It will be a while until it is completely healed, but I am well on my way.

I Found God today as I am healing well.

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Be Love

Posted by eph21920 on October 1, 2025 in Answer, Faith, Love, Sacrifice, Saint

Today is the Memorial of St. Therese of Lisieux – the “Little Flower”. I watched a movie about her a couple of months ago and learned more about her today. She was only 15 years old when she convinced the authorities to allow her to enter the convent. She was incredibly humble and knew that she couldn’t do great things as compared to the saints. However, she wanted to be a saint, so offered up every sacrifice and act of charity as a scattering of flowers of love. Being so young and small, she worried about her vocation within the cloistered life and wrote: ” I feel in me the vocation of the Priest. I have the vocation of the Apostle. Martyrdom was the dream of my youth and this dream has grown with me. Considering the mystical body of the Church, I desired to see myself in them all. Charity gave me the key to my vocation. I understood that the Church had a Heart and that this Heart was burning with love. I understood that Love comprised all vocations, that Love was everything, that it embraced all times and places…in a word, that it was eternal! Then in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: O Jesus, my Love…my vocation, at last I have found it…My vocation is Love!” Pondering her statement, I thought about how discouraging it can be to be immersed in the current state of world. I often feel that the politics of the day and decisions made are far above me and there is little I can do to make a difference. However, if I take St. Therese’s words to heart, I can also love. That may look different depending on who you are, but for me loving is being fully present to those around me, to offer what I can to those who need help, to touch base with friends, family, and those who are struggling, and to be kind to myself. I think each person can find a way to love and the world would be a much better place.

I Found God today in encouragement to love.

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Be Kind

Posted by eph21920 on September 30, 2025 in Answer, Life, Love

I saw a quote from one of my favorite Christian artists, TobyMac, that read “There’s a stranger out there who still thinks of you because you were kind to them when they really needed it. Never stop being that person.” I thought those were beautiful words to live by. It reminded me of a t-shirt that I bought myself a few years ago that says, “BE KIND” in big, bold letters. I actually got it to remind myself. I figured when I walked by a mirror, I would remember and change my attitude if necessary. I think I should have lots of shirts with different messages of encouragement to wear every day.

I Found God today in a reminder to be kind.

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Michaelmas

Posted by eph21920 on September 29, 2025 in Angel, Faith, Grateful, Prayer

During the past several weeks, I have been listening to and praying with Hallow’s St. Michael the Archangel series. The last 9 days have been dedicated to a novena to St. Michael led by Fr. Ambrose Criste from the St. Michael’s Abbey in Silverado, CA. He often mentioned how the church was built and oriented in such a way that the altar would be glowing with the sunlight streaming through a window. It was perfectly aligned on this day – the Feast of St. Michael and the Archangels. The resources in the Hallow app included a link to the Abbey’s website to watch the livestream of the event. I wished I could see it in person, but watching the video of the celebration was stunning. At the beginning, the sun streaming through the multicolored window was on the floor and congregation. It gradually moved to the center and then directly onto the altar, which seemed to be almost too bright to look at. The prayers led by the priests and seminarians were beautifully chanted. With the back doors open for the procession, it was equally spectacular. I was glad I had thought of taking screenshots to look back and remember the event. As with all Catholic celebrations, the entire goal was to lift up our attention, our senses, and our souls to the beauty and love of God. This particular experience also called upon the intercession of St. Michael the Archangel to help us do so. I felt a sense of completion and peace and was glad I was able to see the awesome celebration of Michaelmas.

I Found God today in the beautiful celebration of Michaelmas.

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Speed of God

Posted by eph21920 on September 28, 2025 in Car, Connected, Creation, Faith, Happiness, Life, Miracle, Priest

This morning after breakfast, my brother hitched up his camper, fastened his dog in his truck, and left for the winter. He is heading to Arizona but will stop at beautiful sites on his way. After he left, I cleaned up the cabin a bit and enjoyed the fresh mountain air and scenery before I packed up. I was happy that it was just the right timing for me to attend Mass in the little mountain town not too far away. The priest there is so friendly, relevant, and down to earth. He talked about being able to recognize miracles. I agreed when he said that we are so busy going from this event to that commitment, that we aren’t even paying attention to what is going on around us. He suggested we slow down to the “speed of God”. Evidently, he introduced the concept last week as the regular congregants were able to finish the sentence. He explained that when we live our lives at the speed of God, we become more aware of everything that is happening. We notice nature, the flowers, birds, weather, as well as other people. We can have compassion, see their needs and perhaps act on it. At the same time, we will recognize God’s movements in our own lives and in the lives of others. Answered prayers, healings, safety, relationships, care when we needed it. This requires us to slow down and pay attention. He also said it took him a very long time to drive to the church this morning as he was amongst the traffic of people going up to the mountains to see the changing aspen leaves. He said they were all moving at the “speed of aspen”. I enjoyed his remarks and remembered them as I drove home in the line of leaf-peepers. It did take quite a long time, but I didn’t mind as it gave more opportunity to view the beauty of the season.

I Found God today in the idea of slowing down to the speed of God.

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