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Happy Dance

Posted by eph21920 on September 27, 2025 in Creation, Family, Grateful, Happiness

I was blessed to spend another beautiful day in nature at the cabin. It seemed like every time I went outside there were more and more  aspen leaves turning from their summer green to their autumn yellow. My brother, his dog, and I took a long walk. He showed me a quiet little spot off the main road that he liked to explore, saying there was always something new there. Not too far into the area we were greeted by a deer who trotted into the thicker stand of trees where it stood and watched us watch it for a while. The trees were so tall and the contrast between the dark evergreens and the white trunks of the changing aspens was stark. When the wind blew, the leaves shivered and some of the yellow ones rained down upon us. The fallen leaves were interspersed in the dark brown soil and bright green ground cover. There was beauty all around. My brother’s dog was so happy that she did her “happy dance”, which is basically running around in circles until she gets out of breath. She is getting old, so to see her acting like a puppy again was pretty joyful. My brother spent a good part of the day packing up his camper and getting it all ready as he will start his travelling season tomorrow. I was grateful to spend this time with him.

I Found God today spending time in nature with my brother.

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Aunt’s Recovery

Posted by eph21920 on September 26, 2025 in Connected, Family, Grateful, Healing, Life

Today I called my aunt as I haven’t spoken to her for a while. The first thing she said was that she was thinking about me as she was falling asleep last night. She told me that she had a stroke at the end of June. She was in the hospital for about a week, then had in-home nurses for several weeks. My aunt has always been a very head strong woman, and she was very happy when she was freed from the care as she said they were too strict. As she approaches her 90th birthday, she reminded me of a conversation she had with my mom – her sister – when she turned 90. Neither of them could believe that they were so old. Both of them spoke of how time goes so fast. Good food for thought. We caught up on events and I told her about my son’s wedding. She sounded great and was remembering things from specific years that I didn’t remember. The only residual effect from the stroke was that she was physically weak. She knew she had to walk more, but her house is on a hill so she can’t walk outside and inside the space is too small to actually get some distance. But, she said she would try to do more. I was grateful for her recovery from the stroke and thought it was pretty amazing. It was so good to talk with her and our chat left us both uplifted. I told her I would do my best to visit her soon.

I Found God today connecting with my aunt and hearing her recovery.

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Safety, Trust, and Beauty

Posted by eph21920 on September 26, 2025 in Creation, Faith, Family, Grateful, Life, Trust

Yesterday I took a drive up to the cabin. The weather was just perfect – sunshine, blue skies, and some of the leaves on the Aspen trees were just starting to change. I took my time getting things ready as I planned on staying a couple of days. By the time I left, it was late afternoon. The lighting made the scenery even more beautiful. I stopped along the way at a hiking spot that I had been curious about. It was very peaceful and serene as I walked along the rolling meadows surrounded by evergreens with just a hint of yellow here and there. Before I left, my family urged me to “drive safe!!” I did, but also made the trip having a new sense of trust that God has my life in His hands. When I arrived, my brother made dinner and we chatted as we watched the sunset. It was a beautiful day.

I Found God today trusting more in His Divine Providence.

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God Spared Me

Posted by eph21920 on September 24, 2025 in Car, Grateful, Life, Miracle

After my son got married and now has the support of an amazing wife and her wonderful Christian family, I have been telling my siblings that God could take me home with Him any time now. Today, instead of doing that, He spared me. I was out driving this morning and had come to a stop light. I was in the left most lane of a double left turn. When our left arrow turned green, I looked to see exactly where the lane went across the busy street I was turning onto and accelerated. Just before I made it through the intersection, over my left shoulder I saw the front grill of a giant white pickup truck heading straight for my door. He had blown the red light and was coming right through the intersection. Somehow, I don’t know how, he didn’t hit me. I heard him slam on his brakes and saw him hit the back end of the truck next to me also turning left, which spun around. He also hit the front end of the car directly behind me. Then I saw people getting out of their vehicles. It took me a few minutes to collect myself, breathe, and realize the scope of the situation. I spoke to the police department and gave them my information. My destination was actually the Newman Center where I would be volunteering for a couple of hours. When I arrived, I told them my story and promptly went into the chapel where I spent a good amount of time thanking and praising God. I was so aware that my life could have been taken, or at the very least greatly altered, in that split second. It was a scary, miraculous, humbling reality check. Instead of thinking that I am ready to go, I vowed to simply leave that up to God and live each day doing what I feel He is asking me to do.

I Found God today as He spared my life.

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Home From Honeymoon

Posted by eph21920 on September 23, 2025 in Family, Fun, Grateful, Happiness, Home, Life, Love, Marriage, Travel

This evening I made the drive to the airport and back to pick up my son and his new wife. They spent several days in Germany seeing the sights and attending Oktoberfest in Munich. They shared some photos in an online album during that time. They fit right in with their German attire and were obviously enjoying the festivities. By the time I picked them up, they had spent about 12 hours travelling. They were exhausted and hungry. We stopped so they could eat something and they told me about some of their adventures. Then they slept for the rest of the hour drive home. I went in for a moment when we got to their house. It was full of wedding things and gifts to sort through as a reminder that they begin a new life together. They brought me back a little music box that plays “Edelweiss” and a magnet from one of the castles that they toured. It was so thoughtful. They had a great time and were happy to be home.

I Found God in fun and safe travels for my son and his wife.

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Race Team Dream

Posted by eph21920 on September 22, 2025 in Answer, Family, Grateful, Happiness, Joy, Life, Opportunity

I printed some photos of the wedding and put them in a little book to show them to people. I figured it was easier than passing my phone around. As I was showing them to some friends today, we talked about my grandchildren and what they were doing. I shared that my older grandson had been wanting to work on race cars pretty much since he was born. He has been pursuing that dream for a couple years now, applying for positions and meeting race teams face to face. And he has been travelling so he can watch races in person. Right now he is in NH. After I got home from my friend’s, my son told me I needed to talk to my grandson, so I gave him a call. I could tell in my grandson’s voice that he had some exciting news. He was overjoyed to tell me that he had received a job offer from a race team owner that he had been in contact with. They had been communicating back and forth a little until things when quiet. My grandson was not at all expecting this offer. He had already accepted it and is now figuring out how he can make the move. I was so happy for him and elated that this dream of his may actually come to fruition.

I Found God today in my grandson’s lifetime opportunity becoming reality.

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Many in Church

Posted by eph21920 on September 21, 2025 in Connected, Prayer

The other day I saw an advertisement encouraging people to get back to church this Sunday. It included a map with several of the churches around the city and links to their websites. It was interesting, though, that when I look at that time I didn’t find any Catholic churches. I researched a little further, but couldn’t find an organizer, so I don’t know who was heading the movement. In any case, I thought it was a good idea, especially with all the volatility at this time. This morning I put a big bandage over the stitches on my face and went to church. I tried to sneak in and sit in the back. I was surprised to see that the church was so full. The ushers actually had to ask people to move in to make room for everyone. I personally saw a few people I recognized and many that I did not. I don’t know the exact reason for the crowd, but I enjoyed all the people singing together and praying together. I wondered what it was like in other places.

I Found God today with many people in church.

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Generous Neighbors

Posted by eph21920 on September 20, 2025 in Connected, Friends, Generosity, Grateful, Life

I snuck outside today to water my plants and flowers. With my black eye and stitches, I didn’t want to scare anyone. But, my neighbor across the sidewalk came out at the same time. She had dropped me off at the doctor’s office on the day of the surgery and had checked in via text, but I had not seen her. She expressed her concern and was trying to figure out what she could do for me. I thanked her, assured her that I looked worse than I felt, and had everything I needed. When my whole family was here for the wedding, there were a couple days that we needed another bed. My neighbor generously offered a room in her house, which worked out perfectly. As we were talking, she said she was heading over to another neighbor’s house to meet a family who also had many siblings coming into town for a wedding. She was offering them the 2 extra rooms in her house as well. And some of the visitors would be staying at the other neighbor’s house. I feel so blessed to live in this community with such caring and generous people.

I Found God today in generous neighbors.

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Teamwork

Posted by eph21920 on September 19, 2025 in Answer, Car, Connected, Family, Grateful, Life

I had to have a basal cell skin cancer spot removed from above my eyebrow yesterday. Actually, while the dermatologist was performing the outpatient surgery, he found that it had grown into my eyebrow as well. I was glad that my son picked me up after the procedure, so I didn’t have to try driving home with a swollen eye. I took off the bandage today to find a pretty nasty looking incision that was, of course, all stitched up. And I have a black eye as well. The whole thing took a little more out of me than I had anticipated. When I dropped my car off the other day, they kept it overnight to do some more checking on a noise that it was making. They were able to get it all fixed up and I was supposed to pick it up today. My daughter in law came over to give me a ride, however, I was pretty tired after only taking a shower. I decided it was probably not best to try driving the distance. I spoke to the people at the auto shop several times in the past 2 days about when I could pick up the car. They were very flexible and kind. The shop would be closed over the weekend, and I thought I may need the car, so my son picked it up for me after he got off work. I was so grateful for their help over the past couple of days. My daughter in law talked about teamwork. That reminded me of today’s Gospel, which was short and to the point. It described those who accompanied Jesus and supported his ministry. The reflection that I listened to also used the word, “teamwork”. It is so true that we cannot live our life all on our own. We all need others to support us, help us, and just be in our corner. I am grateful for the team that showed up for me the past couple days – the doctor who removed the cancer spot, the mechanic who fixed my car, the shop who was so accommodating, and of course my family.

I Found God today in teamwork.

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Encouraging Words

Posted by eph21920 on September 18, 2025 in Answer, Connected, Hope, Life, Struggles

Today I read an article that quoted Arnold Schwarzenegger. There was a line that reminded of what I was thinking yesterday. “If you find yourself falling for the anger, go out in the real world and make yourself human again.” Then I saw an encouraging post by TobyMac that speaks to our spirituality. “Focus on Jesus, not the storm. Focus on Jesus, not the struggle. Focus on Jesus, not the pain. Focus on Jesus, not the worry. Focus on Jesus, not the stress. Focus on Jesus, not the past. Focus on Jesus, not the world. Focus on Jesus, not the distraction.” Not to say we remove ourselves completely from the world, but to focus on Jesus who can change our hearts and bring peace and love. “Give honor to all, love the community, fear God…” 1Peter 2:17

I Found God today in encouragement.

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