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Many Celebrations

Posted by eph21920 on August 3, 2025 in Birthday, Family, Friends, Grateful, Joy, Priest

Yesterday marked the 28th anniversary of a friend’s ordination to the priesthood and there was a little celebration after Mass today. He reminded me that 28 years ago today was when he celebrated his first Mass. I remembered going to his ordination and receiving his blessing. After church I headed home to celebrate my brother’s birthday. My sister came with a friend from high school who was visiting from out of state. It made me happy to see my sister so joyful. Later we got on family Zoom. My other sister described how they celebrated her husband’s birthday today. I was grateful to have many things to celebrate and be happy about today.

I Found God today in many celebrations.

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More Music

Posted by eph21920 on August 2, 2025 in Children, Connected, Family, Grateful, Healing, Life, Music, Past

My brother is here going through the last few cassette tapes that we found. Years ago, he spent time with my dad digitizing the tapes of my mom playing piano and singing in different venues, and of family recordings. However, as I was sorting out things, I came across a handful of cassettes that my brother didn’t recognize. He listened to some of them today and transferred those worth keeping. He found more recordings of our mother’s musical talents and another family travelog. We were living in Germany at that time. My brother had learned to play the guitar, so he was playing while my sister kept beat on the sofa and we all sang. Those were some wonderful memories. I am so grateful that my mother instilled her appreciation for music into us all and that my father used his technology skills to make recordings. And they allowed us kids to run the show. Furthermore, my dad and brothers had (and still have) the ability to digitize the music so my mom can always be with us, and my dad’s photos so we will always have them. What a blessing.

I Found God today remembering good childhood experiences and grateful to still have them.

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Marching Band

Posted by eph21920 on August 1, 2025 in Fun, Happiness, Music, Past, Present, Youth

Laat year I learned that a friend’s daughter was attending the same high school that I graduated from and that most of my siblings went to. The teenager was also in the marching band. My friend shared lots of photos and videos on social media. And I saw her at their annual craft fair/fundraiser. My brother was also in the marching band many years ago. They won several competitions at that time and still are top in the state. It turned out that the same drum leader that my brother had was still teaching the current band. My friend is very involved with the band and has invited people to their events. Today a friend and I went to the high school where the marching band did a short performance. They were very good, even for just beginning a new year. The kids were clearly enjoying themselves. Family members watching were making sure their student saw them and were taking videos. It brought back many good memories of the school and of my brother.

I Found God today enjoying a band performance.

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Morning Hike

Posted by eph21920 on July 31, 2025 in Creation, Friends, Fun, New, Opportunity, Weather

I have been doing a few things with a singles social group from the church. There is a lot of going out to lunch, which is not really a favorite thing of mine to do. I enjoy chatting with the people who go, but it costs money, and I would rather do something more active. The other day, one of the ladies invited me to go on a hike through one of the local parks. She and some others were going to explore and see if it might be something that the rest of the group would enjoy. That sounded much more exciting to me, so I met them at the park at 7:30 am. The weather was partly cloudy and cool, which made for interesting scenery and great for walking. All 4 of us seemed to be at about the same physical level. The pace was a little slower than my usual with a lot of chatting. But a slower pace meant we went further than my usual and were out for a couple hours without me even noticing. What I did notice was the beautiful scenery, the comfortable weather, the good company, and the fawn that crossed the road when I was driving out of the park. It was a beautiful morning.

I Found God today in a beautiful morning.

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Sewing

Posted by eph21920 on July 30, 2025 in Answer, Connected, Happiness, Past

A couple weeks ago, I went shopping and bought a couple of new shirts. I have put on a few pounds over the past year and needed clothes that fit a little better. However, I am very frugal and don’t like to spend a lot of money. I did find a couple cute blouses on “last chance” clearance. When I put them on at home, they looked huge, and I wondered what I was thinking when I got them. Of course, “last chance” meant no returns. I decided instead of donating them, I would try to fix them, even though I haven’t sewn in years. I think the last thing I did was to sew ties on a mask during COVID. The clothes just needed to be taken in a bit and I figured it was worth a try. I went into my mom’s room, asked her for help, and set up her sewing machine. Luckily, the thread was already in place. I tried on the first shirt and did my best pinning. I got it in place at the machine and started. It was like I knew what I was doing. I altered 3 shirts and I think they turned out just fine. I was surprised as to how easily I took to the machine and remembered some of those handy sewing tips. I thanked my mom for her help.

I Found God today remembering how to use my mom’s sewing machine and salvaging some clothes.

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Mary, Martha, Lazarus

Posted by eph21920 on July 29, 2025 in Answer, Bible, Death, Eternity, Faith, Grateful, Healing, Love, Miracle

Today the church celebrates the Memorial of Saints Mary, Martha and Lazarus. I read the scripture story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead and watched a reflection about it. There were 2 things that struck me. The first was the shortest passage in the Bible, which is “Jesus wept”, John 11:35. The reflection explained this as Jesus entering into our pain. In the story, Jesus could have in fact stopped Lazarus from dying at all. Yet, he didn’t. Instead, he joined his friends in their sorrow and felt their anguish. To me, it brought me comfort and explained more the feelings I had when my parents were nearing death. God wouldn’t fix it, cure them, stop my grief, but at the same time I knew He was there. The second thing that stood out to me is something I have heard over and over again. Yet today it was more meaningful for whatever reason. In the same story, Jesus is having a conversation with Martha about the death of her brother. He tells her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” We will never die. Our soul – the essence of who we are – will live forever. Our life in this world is short. We can do all the things to try to live a long, healthy, happy life, but no matter what, it will end. This old yet new revelation is something that I have been thinking about. It has helped me to try to be more conscious of living my life for the things that are most important, loving those around me the best I can.

I Found God today remembering His interactions with us and grateful that He has promised eternal life.

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Back to Massage

Posted by eph21920 on July 28, 2025 in Family, Grateful, Healing

In the middle of December last year, I started physical therapy for my back. I finished in May, just before taking the road trip. Before then I had been seeing my soon to be daughter in law for massages. I have been doing my best to keep myself active and stretched for the past month. At the same time, I looked forward to getting another massage. Today was the day. My son’s fiancée had moved to a new space since last time I had seen her. It was a very nice place that held several self-care businesses all connected to a large, soothing waiting area. So, the relaxation started right away. We chatted a little before to decide where I needed most attention, then I got comfortable on the table. Like magic she found all the spots on my back that were giving me trouble. Even so, I found myself falling asleep. I felt wonderful in all ways when she was finished. I also felt blessed to have her in my life.

I Found God today in a wonderful massage by a wonderful young woman.

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Out of Comfort Zone

Posted by eph21920 on July 27, 2025 in Faith, Family, Fun, Grateful, Life, Travel

Today I went to lunch with some new friends from the church. They remembered that I was going on a road trip last time I saw them and were excited to hear all about it. Once again, as I recounted the experience, I found myself very grateful and somewhat in awe of the whole undertaking. The other day I picked up my grandson to run some errands. He said that I looked much more comfortable now driving around town. He said I didn’t have the 10:00 and 2:00 death grip on the steering wheel. I did realize that at times while I was driving on the trip – particularly on a busy highway – I was very tense. When I became aware of that, I would intentionally try to relax. I was somewhat surprised that my grandson noticed that right away and mentioned it. We talked about how great the road trip was, and I also explained that it really took me out of my comfort zone. At the same time we both said, “but that is good.” And it was definitely worth it. I was able to work through a lot of fear, guilt, loneliness, sorrow, and grief during the travels. And I would not have wanted to miss all the unexpected blessings that God bestowed upon us during our adventure.

I Found God today reflecting on what a blessing it was to get out of my comfort zone.

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Entertaining Dog

Posted by eph21920 on July 26, 2025 in Dog, Grateful, Joy, Life, Music, Opportunity

My son and his fiancee had tickets to spend the day at the local Renaissance Festival today. I was happy to take care of his dog for the day. They brought her to my house this morning so I got to see their Renaissance attire which looked very festive. It was fun having the dog around for the day. The weather was sunny and hot, so we took a morning walk hoping we would beat the heat. There were some shady spots, but it was still pretty warm. When we got back home, the dog was huffing and puffing, so I gave her some ice cubes at my son’s recommendation. She loved them. Later in the afternoon, we took a much shorter walk. Since I’m usually alone, it was nice to talk to her instead of to myself. She was politely attentive. I think she was waiting for a key word such as “treat” or “walk”. She followed me up and down the stairs as I went about my day and explained everything that was happening to her. She chewed on her toys and played roll the ball with a new ball I introduced. And she just did some funny things like jump around when  I was “dancing” to music. She kept me very entertained.

I Found God today spending the day with a dog.

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Caring Couple

Posted by eph21920 on July 25, 2025 in Friends, Generosity, Relationship

My neighbor cares for her husband who has a traumatic brain injury. He is pretty high functioning but declining. I was happy to learn that she was able to get away for a few days. Her husband can’t be left alone, and a generous couple that they know well offered to come and stay with him. He has a recumbent bike and goes riding often with a friend of his. Today I saw him across the street with the couple that is staying with him. The husband was also on a recumbent bike and his wife was on a regular bike. They were sitting still waiting to cross the road. I could hear them talking, but unable to make out every word. I did hear the man say, “Well, let’s get you home,” and they crossed the street. A little while later, the man was walking with my neighbor on his walker. They reached the man’s truck where he packed up the walker, got in, and left for a while. I don’t know where they went, and it doesn’t really matter. I was just so impressed that this couple was spending such caring, quality time with my neighbor. It was a beautiful sight.

I Found God today in a couple caring for my neighbor.

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