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A Good Team

Posted by eph21920 on December 28, 2020 in Family, Happiness, Life

For Christmas, I bought my son some window coverings for his new house. Today my sister came over, so I was able to steal away for a little while and headed over to my son’s to help get some of them put up. As we installed the curtain rods and hung the draperies, I was reminded of how well we work together. It didn’t take long for us to get into a rhythm, each one doing a specific task and moving at the same pace. When we were finished, everything looked great. We make a good team.

I Found God today reminded that my son and I make a pretty good team.

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Holy Families

Posted by eph21920 on December 27, 2020 in Bible, Faith, Family, Home, Life, Love, Patience

I must admit, I didn’t feel much like a holy part of a family this morning. Things broke left and right and messes were made. I tried to help fix things and clean up messes, but I admit it was frustrating. Then we “went to church”. The priest reminded us that we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family today. He acknowledged that families are struggling now in so many ways. Loved ones have passed away, people are isolated, and others are having a little too much family time. It isn’t easy. But then again, none of the people in the scriptures had it easy either. While Mary gave her “yes” to God, she had to see her only son be mocked, tortured, and killed. Joseph agreed to take care of Mary and Jesus and in doing so struggled to even find a place for Jesus to be born. Abraham longed for a child and when his son Isaac was young, he thought he would have to sacrifice him. The examples go on and on. The point that the priest made is that family life isn’t easy, but we are still called to holiness. We must make a conscious decision to be patient, kind, and tolerant. In order to acquire and live these virtues, we must stay close to God and allow Him to fill us with His Mercy. The message really hit home.

I Found God today in encouragement to be a holy part of my family.

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Grammy Blanket

Posted by eph21920 on December 26, 2020 in Children, Connected, Family, Love

Tonight I wrapped up in the super soft blanket I got from my grandkids. When I opened it on Zoom, I tried to read the poem on it to everyone, but was too choked up. My mom tried too and also was teary. Between the two of us, we were able to get through it. Then we all sniffled and had to recover. This is the poem:

Grammy,
We hugged this blanket
We squeezed it really tight
We filled it with our wishes,
Hope, and Love, and Light.
So when you’re feeling low
Just hold it really tight
You’ll feel our love within it
Morning, Noon, and Night.

It was signed with their names on the bottom. I did feel their love when I wrapped up in it.

I Found God today in love passed through a blanket.

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Simply Different Christmas

Posted by eph21920 on December 25, 2020 in Connected, Family, Food, Happiness, Jesus, Joy, Life, Music, Tradition

When I came up the stairs this Christmas morning, the sunlight was shining directly on the manger of the nativity set. Both my parents were able to see it before it moved away. We felt like it was God’s gift to us and reminder that He is truly with us. We started the morning like most Christmases for the past decades – with my mom’s Christmas bread. It wasn’t exactly like she makes it, but I did my best with her directing, and it was still a delicious treat. What we did after that was very different. After breakfast, we headed downstairs, started up the big computer, logged into the family Zoom session, and brought down gifts from under the tree. The whole family draws names for gift giving and we saved them for our get together. We started the unwrapping with the 4th generation – my grandchildren – and worked our way up to my dad. After that, my mom found her Christmas music and played the piano. Later in the day, my son and one sister came over for dinner. The weather was just gorgeous, so we were able to spend almost the entire time outside. We did end with another tradition. My mom’s friend shared a chocolate peppermint roll as she has done for years. So, I guess food and music can be a pretty stable part of life when everything else seems uncertain. We had a somewhat quieter, low-key Christmas day, but it was just the right amount of activity, laughter, and interaction for my parents to enjoy the holiday.

I Found God today in a simpler Christmas Day.

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Low Key Christmas Eve

Posted by eph21920 on December 24, 2020 in Advent, Faith, Family, Friends, Joy, Prayer, Present

This Christmas Eve was very low-key, which I expect will continue into tomorrow. Our neighbors came by with treats and sang “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” from across the porch. Another friend had her son deliver a gift to the porch. We went for a little walk and enjoyed the sunshine. After dinner we “went to church” downstairs using the big TV and YouTube. As usual, the priest gave a beautiful sermon. I appreciated his emphasis on how God is just as present in our home worship as He is in the church, that God uses the priest’s words and prayers no matter where we are. After Mass, we wrapped a couple presents, ate our goodies, and wished each other a Merry Christmas. We are finding that keeping things simple makes for an overall relaxing, enjoyable experience.

I Found God today enjoying Christmas Eve.

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Music By Memory

Posted by eph21920 on December 23, 2020 in Advent, Family, Happiness, Music

My parents had their favorite classical radio station on for a while this evening. But after a while my mom was done listening. Music doesn’t sound the same to her through her hearing aides and she was disappointed that they weren’t playing any Christmas songs. So, she turned it off and decided to play the piano. My dad and I always appreciate that. Her Christmas piano music was not easily accessible, so she decided to play by memory starting with “Silent Night”. It was perfect. She went on to “Jingle Bells”, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, and a couple others. She enjoyed playing and we loved listening.

I Found God today in my mom’s Christmas music by memory.

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Delivering Goodies

Posted by eph21920 on December 22, 2020 in Connected, Family, Friends, Grateful, Happiness, Joy

It was a mild day today, so I was able to get my parents out and about. It has been a couple months since we have seen our family friend/respite provider, so we made up a Christmas goodie bag and headed out to deliver. My parents stayed comfortable in the car with the windows rolled down while our friends stood outside to visit. We have known both she and her husband for about 35 years through my sister. But, her husband was friends with my younger brother in high school, which I forgot about. He told a funny story about coming over to have a jam session with my younger brother and packing things up quickly when my parents got home. Later, I met with other friends to deliver treats. I met family members of a friend who was celebrating Christmas dinner socially distanced in the garage. It was so nice to get out and talk with people that we know and it did our hearts well.

I Found God today getting my parents out to visit friends.

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Spiritual and Astronomical Connection

Posted by eph21920 on December 21, 2020 in Connected, Creation, Faith, Family, Friends, Grateful, Joy, Relationship

Today a far away friend called unexpectedly. I grinned when I saw her name pop up on my phone. It has been quite a long time since we have talked. She has always been somewhat of a spiritual mentor to me as she shares her strong faith unapologetically. As we spoke, my heart was filled with joy and I got teary eyed. Just then she said she was welling up with tears and that’s how you know when your connecting with someone on a spiritual level. I was grateful that God reminded me that I have this kind of a friendship.

TWO-FER!
This evening, I offered to take my parents out to see the “Christmas Star” as I didn’t think we would be able to see it from our house. I thought my dad would really enjoy it based on his sky watching background, but he was too tired to go out anywhere. So after dinner I went out on the porch, looked to the Southwest as instructed, and there it was. I got out the binoculars and we all stood on the porch for a while observing the phenomenon. My dad thought that my brother would likely be viewing it with his fancy telescope set up. He was. And he made the time to facetime to show us all about it. His viewing screen displayed Saturn and Jupiter at their nearest point. We didn’t even leave the house and got more viewing and information that we had anticipated. I was so glad my brother made the time for us.

I Found God today in a spiritual and astronomical connection.

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Sharing Joy

Posted by eph21920 on December 20, 2020 in Family, Happiness, Joy, Life

Today I brought my parents over to my son’s new house. They took the tour in 2 segments, resting between staircases. My son explained all the technicalities to my dad while my mom commented on some of the extra niceties she noticed. It warmed my heart to see my son so happy and proudly sharing his accomplishment with his grandparents.

I Found God today in my son’s and parents’ joy.

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Comfort of Christmas

Posted by eph21920 on December 19, 2020 in Advent, Family, Fun, Peace

We have been preparing for Christmas a little at a time for the past couple weeks. Got the outside lights up earlier, Christmas cards in the mail, gifts purchased, packages shipped, and nativity set on the piano. Whew! My sister came over today and helped us put up the Christmas tree. We sang a little to the Christmas music that was playing. I even baked some cookies while it was being decorated. We had fun and it is so nice to have the tree up. Looking at it tonight with the twinkling lights, my dad described it as comforting. He is right. There is just a certain feeling at Christmas time unlike any other time of the year.

I Found God today in the comfort of Christmas.

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