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NASA Overload

Posted by eph21920 on May 31, 2020 in Creation, Knowledge, Life, Opportunity, Teacher

In 1989, my dad published the first edition of his text book, “Introduction to Space: The Science of Space Flight”. At that time he was teaching at the local college and was unable to find an adequate text book on the topic. So he wrote his own and taught the course. He updated the book often, completing the 4th and final edition in 2011. Needless to say, he was an expert on the subject. When we learned that Spacex and NASA were sending astronauts to the Space Station, we found the NASA channel on the big TV and got comfortable. When the rocket launched, my dad and mom remembered the time when they witnessed a space shuttle launch at the Kennedy Space Center. The event was still as exciting as before. Over the next 2 days, we watched the launch and the docking of the Dragon with International Space Station. Then, after discussing it with during the family ZOOM session, we watched more rocket launches by Spacex. We were in awe of the radical development of technology, particularly the ability of the launch rockets to come back and land to be reused. Over the past couple days, we have seen amazing technology at work, safety for astronauts, world wide wishes of good will, and overwhelming views of our planet Earth. We are small indeed in the scope of the infinite universe.

I Found God today in the talents of those who create ways to explore our universe and give us a different vision for our world.

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Loving Marriage

Posted by eph21920 on May 30, 2020 in Begin, Connected, Family, Happiness, Joy, Life, Love, Marriage

My nephew and his girlfriend announced a while back that they were engaged to be married. They wanted to have the wedding this Spring and had been thinking about what that might look like. Due to the current circumstances, they decided to have the marriage ceremony in a park with only their parents in attendance. The wedding was this afternoon. I thought of them often during the day and chatted with my sister a little. She was of course a bundle of conflicting emotions as parent’s (especially mother’s) are at times like this. She shared a couple of pictures after the wedding. It was very low key, simple, and sweet. The love my nephew and his now wife have for each other was visible. In one photo, they are standing on a hill overlooking a beautiful scene. My dad remarked, “There they are looking into their future.” I am so happy for them as they begin a new life together and pray their love deepens over the years. They are planning on a big wedding next year for all their friends and family to celebrate together with them. We are all looking forward to that.

I Found God today as my nephew and his love got married.

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Neighbors Helping Neighbors

Posted by eph21920 on May 29, 2020 in Friends, Generosity, Grateful

Today was “mulch day” at the housing complex where we live. Large mounds of mulch were dropped off in the parking lots and residents were able to get what they needed to beautify their garden areas. However, there are many elderly and/or people who are unable to do that kind of work. So, several neighbors volunteered to help. Our “roofmate” who lives in the other half of the duplex put new mulch in his garden area. Then, he filled containers and brought it to our neighbor across the sidewalk. He then delivered piles of the mulch to our yard and spread much of it. And he plans to be back at it tomorrow, helping even more neighbors. He is just one example of neighborly care. We are truly blessed with the generous and thoughtful people who live in this complex.

I Found God today in generous and caring neighbors.

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Faithfulness

Posted by eph21920 on May 28, 2020 in Answer, Faith, Life

All this week I have been reading prayers and listening to meditations all geared toward preparing for Pentecost and becoming more aware of the availability of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Today I read,

“It can be so difficult to follow Jesus every single day in every little way. Keeping His commandments does not always come naturally for most of us. God calls us to be heroic in our virtue and selfless with others. This is not easy. In fact, it is impossible on our own! But, with God all things are possible!”

That was a very comforting reminder of the need to be faithful and God’s faithfulness to me.

I Found God today in a reminder of His faithfulness to me.

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Retaining Sins

Posted by eph21920 on May 27, 2020 in Answer, Bible, Connected, Faith, Forgiveness, Friends

I met with my prayer group tonight via Zoom. We read the Gospel for the upcoming Sunday which is Pentecost. It included the famous words from Jesus, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them and whose sins you retain are retained.” We had a lively and spirit led discussion about those words. First of all, Jesus gives the disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit – His Spirit. They were filled with all they needed to accomplish the mission God had for them. Being Catholic, we had heard these words before as the institution of the Sacrament of Confession. But what about retaining sins? From the conversations we have had with different priests, we discussed that when the priest is listening to Confessions and acting in persona Christi – as the person of Jesus Christ – he would not be able to purposefully “retain” someone’s sins as in not forgive them. When a person came to Jesus asking for forgiveness, it was always granted to them. So it would be for a person in the Confessional. On another level, the priest does have the ability to “retain” the sins he has heard sharing the burden with the person. He may offer additional penance for that person. And then on a personal level, if someone has deeply hurt me, I need the help of the Holy Spirit to forgive them. But, if I “retain” those sins and not forgive, I am easily filled with anger, frustration, and perhaps even the desire for revenge. I am hurting myself more and not living in God’s will. So, perhaps Jesus’ words are a warning to us as well. It was an animated and enlightening discussion. Everyone walked away thinking about things just a little differently than before.

I Found God today discussing the deeper meaning of His words.

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First Field Day

Posted by eph21920 on May 26, 2020 in Children, Family, Fun, Happiness, Opportunity

My daughter-in-law hosted a field day today for her daughter going into Kindergarten (hopefully) in the Fall. I saw videos and photos of her doing jumping jacks, weight lifting with water bottles, stretches and planks. There was sprinkler fun to round out the event. Later she had a celebratory milk shake for the first time. It was fun to see her having fun. My daughter-in-law was so creative and enthusiastic.

I Found God today seeing my daughter-in-law providing a fun day for her daughter.

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Virtual Memorial Day

Posted by eph21920 on May 25, 2020 in Family, Food, Home, Sacrifice

As with everything else these days, Memorial Day was different. We heard that bugler’s were encouraged to play Taps at 3:00 in the afternoon. There was also a flyover to honor the fallen heroes and the current heroes such as first responders and medical workers. Of course many people went out and about and had the traditional BBQ. My son usually has a get together and my other son has made it a practice to fly out and visit. That didn’t happen, but my son was able to enjoy social distancing time with his wife’s family and have most of the usual activities. Here, we had a pretend BBQ as we don’t own an outdoor grill. I made shish-kabobs on the electric grill, faux-tato salad made with cauliflower, a beautiful salad with fresh veggies from my sister’s garden, and s’mores made in the microwave. We did our best to celebrate yet another virtual holiday.

I Found God today still celebrating Memorial Day.

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New Normal Sunday

Posted by eph21920 on May 24, 2020 in Faith, Family, Home, Hope, Joy, Life, Present

My sister and son came over this morning and we all visited on the front porch with coffee and treats while social distancing. The weather was perfect before the rainstorm moved in – not too hot or too cold. It was nice to see them face to face. In the afternoon, we went to Mass – downstairs in front of the TV. We watched the priest that I know from the east coast. He is our go-to at this point as we all can hear and understand him and we always appreciate his message. Today one of the things he talked about is our place in the liturgical year. We have been celebrating the Easter season and now the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. Now we look forward to Pentecost next weekend. Even though we may have already been Confirmed in the Catholic faith, Pentecost is an opportunity to be open to receive a much needed “boost” from the Holy Spirit. I liked that there is always hope for me, always a way I can become closer to God. In the evening, my brother called Facetime from Yellowstone. He arrived there today and is excited about starting his job there for the summer. We basically had a “new normal” Sunday – visiting on the porch and via Facetime and going to church downstairs. And it was all good.

I Found God today living a “normal” Sunday.

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Back to Bartering

Posted by eph21920 on May 23, 2020 in Answer, Family, Food, Generosity, Humor, Opportunity, Problem

The other day I ordered groceries and went to pick them up in lieu of shopping in a crowded store, likely with people not respecting boundaries – particularly in preparation for the long weekend. I had planned on trying a new recipe for a cauliflower salad. However, in my groceries, there were 2 ingredients omitted – cucumber and mint. I asked my son if he would be going to the store in the next couple of days. He said he was debating as he would be in need of bananas. We carried on about how awful it is to be so stressed trying to decide whether or not to go to the grocery store for a couple of items and agreed to let each other know if we would venture out. Today I decided to look up other recipes to see if I could find an alternative. I did find one that sounded good and I had everything I needed – except bacon. I thought my son might have some and he did. I told him I would trade him some bananas that I had for some bacon. It was a deal. Our burden had been lifted, decision had been made. We both got what we needed through creative problem solving and had a good laugh.

I Found God today creatively and somewhat humorously solving a problem.

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Joyful Innocence

Posted by eph21920 on May 22, 2020 in Children, Joy

I saw the sweetest video today of a friend’s toddler. She was simply singing and playing. That’s all. But I thought it was the most joyful thing I had seen. The little girl didn’t have a care in the world. She was secure and safe and uninhibited. It was a welcome change from the worries and concerns of the adult world.

I Found God today in an innocent, joyful child.

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