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Today’s Field Trip

Posted by eph21920 on July 7, 2021 in Creation, Family, Fun, Opportunity

Today we had no one coming over, no appointments, and no plans. At breakfast we talked about what we should do since it was going to be a lovely day. My mom said she wanted to go for a drive and a little walk. I thought it would be nice to travel in a different direction from the usual and remembered a place we all wanted to visit. It was a state park with an interesting valley of rock formations and it wasn’t too far away. I looked up the information and warned my parents that it did not look handicapped accessible as I saw only dirt trails. But, everyone was up for an adventure so we headed out after lunch. We parked in the lot that had the shortest trail to the overlook. It was in fact a dirt trail, but we could see the overlook wasn’t that far away. My mom was hesitant, but my dad was ready to go. I unloaded the walkers and off we went. It was somewhat of a challenge, but not really too bad. Once we reached the fence, the view below really opened up. The old creek bed was lined with rocks that had been worn and weathered, revealing the layers of yellows, oranges, pinks, and white. There were also formations of spires throughout the shallow canyon. We found a picnic table not too far away and sat for a while just taking in the view. The walk back to the car went easier as it was mostly down hill and we knew what to expect. When we got back home, I had to clean the wheels of the walkers as they were covered in white and tan dust from the trail. I figured it was simply evidence of our most recent adventure.

I Found God today enjoying a beautiful place with my parents.

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Call To Connect

Posted by eph21920 on July 6, 2021 in Answer, Connected, Faith, Family, Home, Life, New, Opportunity, Relationship

I awoke this morning with a text from a far away friend. She shared a blog post with me that she had read. The words that popped up were, “God’s beloved daughters are exactly what the world needs right now.” Just looking at those words first thing in the morning brought tears to my eyes as it reminded me that I am God’s beloved daughter. It certainly started my day off right. Later I was able to read the post. It described how difficult the past year has been and how we are all starving for connections and community. It went on to encourage women to be builders of those connections and communities – because truth be told, we know how to do it. The words penetrated my heart as I thought about the people who are coming and going from our house. It may not be exactly what the article was referring to, but it made me ponder how I may be better at nurturing the connections that are being made. I was glad my friend did her part to connect with me.

I Found God today taking to heart the call to build connections and community.

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Hearing God

Posted by eph21920 on July 5, 2021 in Answer, Faith, Life, Prayer

A friend of mine shared a quote by Toby Mac that my parents and I found meaningful. “It’s hard to hear God’s voice when you’ve already decided what you want Him to say.”

I Found God today in a meaning quote.

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BBQ Now and Then

Posted by eph21920 on July 4, 2021 in Children, Connected, Family, Food, Past, Present

Today for 4th of July, we had a faux BBQ complete with beer bratwurst on toasted buns, corn on the cob, and all the sides. My dad was beyond thrilled that we were able to recreate the meal he would have when he celebrated the 4th of July as a child. That made it all worthwhile.

I Found God today seeing my dad enjoy a happy memory.

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Remaining Faithful

Posted by eph21920 on July 3, 2021 in Answer, Connected, Faith, Friends, Grateful, Life, Struggles

I have been missing my friends, so I was grateful to have lunch with one today. I hadn’t talked with her in months. Both of us have had our own struggles and challenges which we talked about. But we also had a lot to laugh about. Before we left we encouraged each other, vowed to remain faithful no matter the hardships, and to do our best to keep on the right path. It was so good to see her.

I Found God today connecting with a friend.

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The Race Around

Posted by eph21920 on July 2, 2021 in Family, Fun, Laughter

We decided to go out for a walk after dinner tonight. My sister was here, so the 4 of us headed out. At the end of our sidewalk the familiar question arose – which way should we go? I suggested we start out going different directions and see who makes it around the circle first. My dad and I went to the left and my mom and sister went to the right. We met as my dad and I were past the half way mark. We proclaimed victory and each continued around the circle. My dad and I arrived first to the house as expected and took the flag down from it’s perch. Just as we finished, my mom and sister arrived. Mom was heading towards the sidewalk. I warned my dad that she was trying to take away his victory. He started toward the sidewalk. My mom’s competitive side kicked in and she actually ran a few steps to beat him. I haven’t seen her move that fast in years. When we were settled back in the house, she was still huffing and puffing. It was pretty humorous.

I Found God today in my parents’ fun.

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I Lava You

Posted by eph21920 on July 1, 2021 in Family, Happiness, Music

Tonight we watched a little TV on the Disney channel. We usually like to watch a “short” to kind of wrap it up. Tonight we came across “Lava”. It was just a little story of 2 volcanoes in love put to a catchy tune. My mom sang it and now it is in my head, but it made me smile. “I Lava You!”

I Found God today in a cute video with a sweet catchy tune.

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Photographing Fourteeners

Posted by eph21920 on June 30, 2021 in Creation, Family, Joy, Opportunity

Today my sister told us about a presentation that was going to be online this evening. It highlighted a book that featured the mountains in the state that are over 14,000 feet. The book tells stories about how the peaks got their names and it includes photographs and other artwork. We got online after dinner to check it out. The author told a couple of the stories. The photographer put together lovely slide shows of his pictures and other works of art all with a classical musical accompaniment. Some of the photos he took were set up exactly the same as photos that were taken over 100 years ago. The stories were interesting and the photographs were beautiful. We were glad to be able to see the presentation.

I Found God today learning about mountain names and enjoying their beauty.

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Bishop’s Ordination

Posted by eph21920 on June 29, 2021 in Faith, New, Priest

The bishop in our Diocese recently retired. The new bishop was announced a few weeks ago and we learned all about him. He came from a parish in Nebraska and is one of 10 children. He worked as a volunteer for Native American Missions before deciding to become a priest. His ordination was today and we were able to watch the livestream. The celebration was beautiful with probably a hundred deacons, priests, and bishops in attendance. A friend of mine was one of the priests who escorted the new bishop. It was good to see him and I thought about what an honor it must have been for him. The Apostolic Nuncio representing Pope Francis read a letter confirming the appointment. The letter was then handed to the new bishop who walked around the church and showed it to everyone in attendance. One of the things I love about the Catholic faith is the traditions such as that. Also, the day chosen for the ordination was the Solemnity of the Apostles Peter and Paul. St. Peter was given the commission to build the church and the new bishop was being commissioned into a higher level of that same responsibility. At the end of the celebration, the new bishop asked the members of his family to stand. Needless to say, it was a large number of people. Then he asked those visiting from his previous Diocese to stand. Again, it was quite a bit. Then he asked all those from our Diocese to stand. That was still the vast majority of the people in the church. He noted that his family just grew exponentially. I thought that was a beautiful way of thinking. The whole celebration was just beautiful and we were glad we were able to see it.

I Found God today in the new bishop’s ordination.

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EDM

Posted by eph21920 on June 28, 2021 in Family, Happiness, Music, New

I had a good opportunity today to listen to some music, so I put on my Pandora app. I listened to a couple of fun songs, but they were not the contemporary Christian that I was expecting and I wondered how they popped up. Then I realized I was still on the EDM channel that my grandson put on while we were doing some painting together. It made me smile as I remembered spending that time with him.

I Found God today remembering a fun time with my grandson.

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