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Loving Acceptance

Posted by eph21920 on December 8, 2019 in Children, Love, Patience, Relationship, Struggles

This morning in church, we sat in our “usual spot”. There were 5 multi generational women sitting in front of us. They seemed to be a mom with her 2 daughters in the middle and 2 grandmothers as the bookends. One daughter had special needs. She would occasionally speak out and was constantly tapping her mom or trying to get her attention in some way. She had some blue clay that she would manipulate in her hands from time to time. And she was glued to the grandmother next to her. Her mother seemed annoyed with her, never smiled, and spent most of the time trying to correct her. The grandmother allowed the child to be who she was and tried to guide her continual movements. She had enough patience for both of them. At one point, I heard her say to the little girl, “We’ll take care of each other.” While I felt bad for the child – and the mom, I was blessed to have seen the beautiful, loving interaction between the girl and her grandmother. I have kept them all in prayer today.

I Found God today in an example of loving acceptance.

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Knowing Moment

Posted by eph21920 on December 7, 2019 in Children, Connected, Love, Stranger

I had to stop in the grocery story today as did probably half the city. Most people were being kind and patient. Some were in a hurry as they tried to pass others when they had an opportunity down the narrow aisles. At one point, I was making the big turn from one aisle to the next. I stopped to make sure no one was whizzing by, when I saw what I am assuming was a mom with her 2 daughters. She was pushing the shopping cart slowly with the older girl walking beside her. The younger girl was sitting in the seat of the carriage. The older sibling had a children’s book in her hands that she was reading to the younger girl who was completely enthralled. As I admired the sweet scene, my eyes met those of the mother. She was watching me watch them. We gave each other a smile that relayed the message of how caring the older daughter was. It was a knowing moment exchanged by strangers.

I Found God today in a knowing moment with a stranger.

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Antics

Posted by eph21920 on December 6, 2019 in Birthday, Children, Family, Joy

Today is my grandson’s birthday. We gave him a video call this evening. After we sang Happy birthday to him, we were completely entertained for about half an hour. My granddaughter had to make sure she got her share of air time. We saw the rest of the family too, but the majority of the time we simply watched the antics of my grandchildren. They bring me so much joy.

I Found God today watching the antics of my grandchildren.

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Needing Help

Posted by eph21920 on December 5, 2019 in Family, Life, Love, Marriage, Struggles

Today my mom needed some help getting into a website. Then she needed help plugging her tablet into the charger. She was getting a little frustrated asking for help and complained about it. My dad reassured her that she helped all of us for years and now it is ok for us to help her. I just thought it was really sweet of him. He showed me again the importance of long lasting love.

I Found God today in my parents continuing mutual love.

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Lights Up

Posted by eph21920 on December 4, 2019 in Advent, Family, Fun, Joy

It was a pretty mild day today just before more cold weather. So, my dad and I got outside and did some Christmas decorating. We put the lights on the bushes. We put a little Charlie Brown tree on the porch from the cuttings we collected from the cabin. And we got a few other decorations out. I enjoy preparing for Christmas and enjoy how others adorn their homes. Today I most of all enjoyed decorating with my dad.

I Found God today working with my dad to make the house look festive.

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What is Christmas

Posted by eph21920 on December 3, 2019 in Advent, Answer, Faith, Life, Relationship

I watched an Advent video reflection from Dynamic Catholic hosted by Matthew Kelly. He had a definition for Christmas that to me was very profound and worth pondering,

“Christmas is the most astounding collaboration between God and humanity. That’s what happens at Christmas. And God invites you and me to partake in that collaboration every single day of our lives.”

I Found God today in a beautiful description of Christmas.

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Hypocrisy

Posted by eph21920 on December 2, 2019 in Answer, Bible, Faith, Forgiveness, Humility, Life

In my Bible class, we have been reading about the life of Jesus Christ. Most recently, we have looked at the hypocrisy of the majority of the Pharisees. They were intent on making rules upon rules for the Jewish people to follow. Yet, when God was present among them, they couldn’t wait to be rid of Him. In reality, they were most concerned about their own power than the were for the salvation of the souls they were leading. The discussion in my small group tonight led to our own personal hypocrisy. I am not a perfect person – it is impossible. Yet, I try to follow God because I know that He loves me most and has my best interest always in His heart. My relationship with Him is the key to peace, love, and joy. I tell people about Him. I write a blog about Him. Yet, my own actions don’t always reflect Him. Again – that is because I am merely an imperfect human. We talked about this problem in my small group and came up with basically one solution – humility. We need to face our downfalls honestly and openly. It is important to apologize or make things right if we can. And we should take the issue to the Sacrament of Confession to get it out, be forgiven, and move on. It was a great conversation and reminded me how important it is to be humble.

I Found Got today in a lesson on how to deal with hypocrisy.

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Recipe for Advent

Posted by eph21920 on December 1, 2019 in Advent, Answer, Begin, Faith

Today is the beginning of Advent. At church, the priest talked about all the baking we have probably started to do and will continue over the next few weeks. Many people have secret recipes that they pull out this time of year to share those special goodies with their loved ones. This caught my attention right away because that is exactly what I will be doing. He then gave us his own recipe of 3 ways to celebrate Advent well – meditation, preparation, and orientation. He expanded on each, adding his own “special seasoning” to each. The one that struck me most was preparation. In getting ready for all the Christmas festivities, I can’t forget to make the time to prepare my heart. I hope to pray each day before I start to bake away so I can be ready to share Christmas with the One who loves me most.

I Found God in the recipe to celebrate Advent well.

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Wreaths With Friends

Posted by eph21920 on November 30, 2019 in Family, Food, Friends, Fun, Laughter

Last year, my sisters and I got together with some friends and made Christmas wreaths. We had such a good time, we decided to do it again this year. My sisters and some friends came over with cut boughs, decorations, ribbons and lights. We had some snacks, put on Christmas music, and got to work. We visited, ate, and laughed a lot. Just like any artsy project, all the wreaths turned out different and all were beautiful. It was a full day of fun, food, and friends.

I Found God today enjoying my creative side with friends.

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Back to Stylist

Posted by eph21920 on November 29, 2019 in Friends, Healing, Life, Struggles

It has been 3 months since my mother has been to her hair stylist. The woman fell and hurt her arm a while back. It turns out she tore her rotator cuff and had to have surgery. My mom had her hair cut with my person while she was recovering and we were happy to have an appointment with her today. We could tell she was tired, but looked pretty well. She was moving a little slower than usual but had the same attitude and sense of humor. It turns out she was also celebrating her 5th year anniversary of being cancer free. She is a very headstrong, independent woman and her perseverance is inspiring.

I Found God today in a persevering woman.

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