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Contagious Happiness

Posted by eph21920 on January 10, 2020 in Happiness, Laughter

This morning after my aqua aerobics class, I sat in the hot tub for a few minutes. When I arrived, a couple of other people were already there. One of the men was talking about a Santa Claus Convention. He wasn’t a participant of the convention itself, but was able to see some of it in action. He said the men there were so happy and joyful. When it came time for lunch, they all made sure they stopped at the right time because clearly they were not going to skip a meal. As the man recounted his experience, he chuckled himself. That led to a full on guffaw. Everyone there was laughing because he was laughing. He had a contagious positive attitude.

I Found God today in contagious happiness.

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Not Alone

Posted by eph21920 on January 9, 2020 in Answer, Begin, Connected, Faith, Family, Life, Relationship

Today I finished reading Fulton Sheen’s “Life of Christ” for my Bible class. It ended predictably with the Ascension. Sheen talked about Christ’s glorified Body that He promised would continue on, which is the Church. Of course, I had heard this before and it had made sense. However, when I read Fulton Sheen’s words of explanation, I started to have a much deeper understanding. As a Baptized person, I am already a part of the Body of Christ. All other Baptized believers – living and deceased – are also a part of the same Body. I belong to a family – a world – much bigger than what I can see or participate in on this earth. And they are all on my side – rooting for me, praying for me. It is more than I can comprehend, but it suddenly became clearer to me and is worth spending time contemplating.

I Found God today realizing the extent of the Body of Christ that I am a part of.

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Love Hurts

Posted by eph21920 on January 8, 2020 in Answer, Life, Love, Saint

Today I read a quote from St. Mother Teresa that really caused me to contemplate:

“Love is full of paradoxes. I have found that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”

I Found God today in a new way of thinking about love.

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Miracle Baby

Posted by eph21920 on January 7, 2020 in Angel, Answer, Baby, Sick, Stranger

My mom, her friend and I went to lunch today. When we arrived, we noticed that it seemed to be “ladies day”. We were seated by the drink machine so we saw pretty much everyone who came in. There was one man in the whole place and a steady stream of women kept coming – old, young, teens, and kids. Next to us was a mom with her daughter. My mom noticed that the little girl had one brown eye and one blue eye. When it was time for them to leave, the little girl went back and forth up the aisle and back to mom as we watched. I told the mom how cute her little girl was, and how tiny she was. The mom said that she was 4 years old which was hard to believe as she resembled a 2 year old. She saw my surprise and explained that the little girl was born with only half a heart and so she was doing pretty good. She said she was her miracle baby. We agreed that she was quite a blessing indeed.

I Found God today in a miracle baby.

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Moms and Kids

Posted by eph21920 on January 6, 2020 in Children, Happiness, Joy

My mom participated in an exercise class at the YMCA today. I decided to sit out in the hall and continue reading. The hall also connected to 2 rooms of child care for those moms who were using the facility. During my time there, several moms came and picked up their children. All of them were upbeat, energetic, and happy as they gathered up the kids. They had conversations with the children about what to eat for lunch, what kind of snack they wanted, and what art project they had made. It was just a joyful experience.

I Found God today watching happy moms with happy kids.

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Reading In Comfort

Posted by eph21920 on January 5, 2020 in Answer, Family, Joy

I am not a very good reader. I can easily get distracted, fall asleep, or get uncomfortable ending up with a neck or back ache. But since I have been taking my Bible class, I need to read a lot. I do enjoy what I am reading as I delve deeper into scripture and have been getting better about it. For Christmas, my son got me a book rest. I used it today and read for a couple of hours this afternoon. It was very comfortable and made it even more of a joy to sit and read for a while.

I Found God today being able to read comfortably for a while.

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Loving My Nephew

Posted by eph21920 on January 4, 2020 in Family, Happiness, Life

My nephew in the Navy was here for a visit. He and my son came over for the afternoon. I love being with them together as they carry on and on and laugh hysterical about whatever. When my nephew joined the Navy a couple years ago, he wasn’t really sure where it would take him or what his commitment would be. Today he talked about his next assignment and potential future in the Navy. It is such a joy to see him doing well and how he grows and matures with each visit.

I Found God today in my growing nephew.

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What Is Prayer

Posted by eph21920 on January 3, 2020 in Answer, Connected, Faith, Prayer

After watching the movie yesterday, I spent some time reading the article that was written about Mr. Rogers in Esquire magazine by the real life author, Tom Junod. I also read a recent interview with Tom Junod regarding the movie and his relationship with Fred Rogers. During the interview, the topic of prayer came up. Mr. Rogers encouraged others to pray on some level. In the discussion, both Tom Junod and the person he was speaking to struggled with the concept and the action of praying. They talked about how trying to make God do things for them seemed wrong some how. Today I read a beautiful quote from St. Mother Teresa, “Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.” It was very timely.

I Found God today understanding more about prayer.

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Mr. Rogers

Posted by eph21920 on January 2, 2020 in Children, Connected, Faith, Life, Love, Patience, Relationship

My mom has been wanting to see the new movie, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”, and today we were able to make it happen. The movie itself was – in my opinion – very well done. It has been a long time since I have seen such a positive story of loving kindness. Without giving too many details, I loved how it transitioned from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood to real life until you could not tell where one started and the other left off. I heard from other people that they were teary eyed at certain points, and sure enough, my mom and I passed the tissues. Mr. Rogers lived in the present moment, giving all his attention to who was right in front of him. He “lived intentionally” before it became a thing we are supposed to strive for. Another theme that came to light was Mr. Rogers’ faith and prayer life. I left that movie not only wanting to be a better, kinder, and more gentle person, but believing that I actually can be.

I Found God today in a story of unprecedented kindness.

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New Year Humor

Posted by eph21920 on January 1, 2020 in Begin, Family, Fun, Humor, New

We had a good – and a little humorous – start to the new year. When my dad got up, he was wearing his fancy socks with the planets on them so he could start the new year “on the right foot”. The morning was sunny and warm. My mom went out to the porch and exclaimed, “This is the nicest day so far this year!” We were very happy that we got a little walk in and some sunshine before the clouds and wind kicked in. Later we talked to my brother. He said that he has noticed a pattern that whatever he does most on new year’s day is what he seems to do most during the year. For that reason, he decided not to do his laundry. We were just full of laughs today.

I Found God today in humor.

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