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On Task

Posted by eph21920 on September 20, 2020 in Bible, Faith, Grateful, Happiness, Knowledge, Mercy

I had a difficult time during my last semester of Bible class. When my dad had the stroke, I fell way behind. It was a marathon to get the reading and homework completed. But, with the encouragement of my teacher, I got it done. The new school year started last week. I was able to complete all the reading and the homework that I emailed to my instructor tonight. I enjoyed the lesson about the prophets Jonah and Nahum, as I reflected on God’s mercy. And it felt great to be right on task. So far, so good.

I Found God today enjoying and completing a Bible lesson.

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Fun Afar

Posted by eph21920 on September 19, 2020 in Children, Connected, Family, Fun, Grateful, Happiness, Life, Relationship

My son came over for a visit today. It is always good to see him, to talk and laugh. He told me about some games that he plays online with his brother and nephews. I thought about the effort it took to stay in touch with my brothers, sisters, and my parents when we all lived in different states. I am so glad that my sons and grandchildren are able to not only stay in touch so easily, but also be able to play games and have fun together from afar.

I Found God today knowing the excellent relationships my children and grandchildren have.

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The Best Medicine

Posted by eph21920 on September 18, 2020 in Family, Healing, Laughter, Life

I found a couple of shows on TV tonight that were just plain fun entertainment. One was “Masters of Illusion”. We watched the amazing acts including a hilarious pick-pocket. My mom and dad recounted how my grandfather who was a magician also had a pick-pocket routine. They laughed as they explained how his “patter” – constant talking and distraction – got the person so confused they didn’t even know what they had or what they were missing. He was quite a character. After that show, we watched funny animal videos. We were again amused and laughed quite a bit. Ironically, after that my mom felt stronger than she had all day as she mastered going up the stairs. It did feel very therapeutic.

I Found God today in a therapeutic evening of laughter.

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Dinner for Dessert

Posted by eph21920 on September 17, 2020 in Family, Food, Fun

My brother provides a fruit of the month subscription from Harry&David for my mom’s birthday. The other day, my mom received a beautiful box of large plums. She always made an amazing pflaumenkuchen, so I made my version of the recipe today. It turned out amazing. For dinner, I made a turkey tenderloin and stuffing. It took way longer than I anticipated. As it got later and later, I was afraid it was going to get too late to enjoy our dessert. So, I asked my mom and dad if they wanted to start our meal with dessert while we were waiting. The answer was a resounding YES! So, we had the plum cake with vanilla ice cream for dinner. By the time we finished, the turkey was finally done. We each had a small portion of turkey dinner for dessert. Having dessert for our first course made things interesting and it was well worth it.

I Found God today enjoying good food in a different way.

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Courage Defined

Posted by eph21920 on September 16, 2020 in Bible, Connected, Faith, Hope, Life, New

Today I received a newsletter from the monastery that I visit on occasion. It was full of articles and reflections from the sisters that touched my heart. One was about courage. It stated that the definition of courage is “the ability to do something that frightens you.” That grabbed my attention right there. I feel there have been many times that I have been afraid of what is going to happen, but I somehow push through. The article written by Sister Mary Colleen Schwarz, OSB, Vocations Director continued:

God says to “fear not,” “to be of good cheer,” and to “have courage” in our lives. Living in this pandemic takes COURAGE! We make daily decisions that influence our levels of anxiety, stress, danger, pain, anger, depression, doubts, loneliness, and fear. Employing courage helps us face these decisions and the consequences. In our Christian faith, do we open our hearts to seek God amid this pandemic?

To me, the sisters are very down to earth, relevant, and hope-filled. Thinking about this word, courage, I realized that I have been courageous in many circumstances and thanked God for the ability to do so. It was a good reminder that I am not walking through this life alone.

I Found God today reflecting on how courageous I have been.

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Divine Love Endures

Posted by eph21920 on September 15, 2020 in Answer, Connected, Creation, Death, Eternity, Faith, Life, Love

I saw a quote today from Fr. John Waiss that touched my heart.
“In heaven, we will see God face-to-face, with a love that’s deeper and greater in intensity than anything we have ever experienced before. Divine love is what endures.”
I also heard that people are now so consumed with living a long time, we have forgotten that this life is part of our journey with the biological part of us naturally coming to an end. Infinity begins after that. These two thoughts to me were full of hope and joy.

I Found God today in a reminder of His infinite overwhelming love.

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Biblical School Year 3

Posted by eph21920 on September 14, 2020 in Answer, Bible, Faith

I had my first Biblical School class tonight. This year will be completely virtual. It was somewhat distracting to begin with as people figured out how to get into the class and how to make the application work for more than 50 people. But once we got past that and I was able to focus on just the teaching, it was pretty good. This lesson was on Jonah and Nahum – both who God sent to Ninevah. Jonah warned that the city would be destroyed if the people didn’t repent. To his surprise, the whole city did repent and were spared. However, after years went by, they reverted back to their evil ways. Then Nahum went back to them and reminded them of their imminent demise if they didn’t follow God. The crux of the lesson was that God is merciful when we repent. However, if we choose to continue doing what is wrong, we will have to face the consequences. It was good to delve back into the Bible in this class.

I Found God today starting another year of Bible Class.

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Jeremiah’s Voice

Posted by eph21920 on September 13, 2020 in Answer, Bible, Connected, Faith, Plan

I am excited to start another year of Biblical School tomorrow. The classes will be all online, so that will make it helpful for me anyways. Today I listened to a pre-class lecture introducing the prophets. The woman who gave the talk will be my teacher this year. She said that Jeremiah is her favorite prophet and that while much of the prophets talk about doom and gloom, they also give us hope. She quoted Jeremiah 29:11, which has been one of my favorites, “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you—oracle of the LORD—plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.” Words from Jeremiah have come up often lately – in unexpected messages from friends, in caregiver’s devotional readings and such. I am looking forward to learning more about him and his messages.

I Found God today hearing from the prophet Jeremiah.

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Re-Fresh

Posted by eph21920 on September 12, 2020 in Answer, Home, Life, New, Opportunity

The weather outside today was just about perfect. The temperature was in the mid 70’s, there was a slight breeze, and the sky was clear and blue. About a week ago, we scheduled to have the carpets cleaned today. So, we opened all the windows and let the air flow through. The whole house feels and smells refreshed. I was also able to get out and take a nice long walk. Enjoying the air and the exercise did wonders for my mind and mood.

I Found God today feeling refreshed.

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Amusing Astronomical Birthday

Posted by eph21920 on September 11, 2020 in Birthday, Creation, Family, Fun, Joy

Today was my brother’s birthday. It’s always hard to celebrate now after the attack on 9-11, but we try to make it cheery. My brother recently bought a telescope and has been tracking and photographing the events in the sky. When we were trying to decide what to get him for his birthday, we came across some astronomy socks. Seemed like the perfect gift. We got 3 pair – constellations that glow in the dark, a representation of the solar satellite, and whales in space. He opened the package and admired the socks while we were on Facetime. I wrote a birthday message to be included on the gift receipt. He showed it to us and explained that the large whale that was pictured on the receipt was hand drawn. The package also included bonus stickers. It was very fun and joyful watching my brother open his gift and seeing the little extras that the company added. That was more than any of us expected.

I Found God today watching my brother open a fun package for his birthday.

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