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Apollo 11 Anniversary

Posted by eph21920 on July 20, 2019 in Connected, Creation, Family, Knowledge, Life, Past, Teacher, Weather

Today is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Mission when the first men walked on the moon. It is also my grandson’s 12th birthday. We decided to celebrate both. My mom thought it was a good idea to visit our local Space Discover Center to find space things to send my grandson. We went the other day and found a t-shirt, some “Lunar Landing Thinking Putty” that glows in the dark and has moon dust in it, and the ever popular astronaut ice cream. My dad has always been interested and involved in space. He even wrote a textbook called, “Introduction to Space”. I knew he had some interesting keepsakes and searched around until I found them. I discovered a book written about the Apollo missions. He would take the book with him when he traveled to different conferences. Inside the cover, there are about a dozen signatures of different Apollo astronauts – including Buzz Aldrin. I also found a flyer from one symposium that had the autographs of both Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. My dad said the only time he saw Neil Armstrong was at a conference he attended in Russia. But the most exciting and important memento I found was a certificate made out to my dad recognizing the support he provided as a meteorologist in the Air Force during the Apollo 11 mission. I copied the certificate and some of the autographs and sent them along in the box to my grandson for his birthday. We video chatted yesterday so we could see him open the package. My son was perhaps more excited about the memorabilia than my grandson was. My dad explained to the family that when he was in the Air Force, his group was responsible for keeping an eye on the sun during the Apollo missions. They monitored the solar activity because if there would be a solar flare, it would have killed an astronaut walking on the moon. If that were to occur, they would need to warn the astronauts so they could take evasive action. Luckily, that never happened. To my dad, it was his job. To all of us, it was incredible that he was a part of this historical mission. Even my granddaughter chimed in with, “That’s amazing! I love it!”

I Found God today in remembering the accomplishment of humans and the role my dad played in that.

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God Broke My Hip

Posted by eph21920 on July 19, 2019 in Answer, Hurt, Knowledge, Opportunity, Stranger

My mother had physical therapy today. It was super hot out again, so I dropped her at the door and parked out under a tree that would provide at least a little shade. After her appointment, I went to retrieve the car while she sat on a bench just inside the door next to another woman waiting for her ride. My mom got to chatting with the woman who said she recently broke her hip. This was the first broken bone she ever had. She said she doesn’t tell people, “I broke my hip,” but rather, “God broke my hip.” Strange. But she went on to explain that she has learned so much about God since the incident. God allowed it to happen so she could know Him better. My mom said she probably would have heard more of the story, but I drove up. To me, the woman had a pretty incredible outlook and understanding of her circumstances.

I Found God today in a positive outlook.

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Reading Outside

Posted by eph21920 on July 18, 2019 in Joy, Weather

It was super hot today, so we spent most of the day in the air conditioned house. I went outside every now and again just to test it, but didn’t stay out long. Usually on a hot day, we would be able to go downstairs and watch TV, but the TV quit working a couple of days ago. I kept myself busy as usual in the kitchen. But when the sun moved around the other side of the house, I sat outside on the porch and read some of my book from my bible class. That is a big deal for me, as I’m not a very good reader. But I really enjoyed it – it was cool and there was good reading light. And I liked just being outside without being sweltering. Perhaps I can make this a habit.

I Found God today enjoying being outside and reading.

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Signed Up for the Trip

Posted by eph21920 on July 17, 2019 in Answer, Family, Life, Travel

For the past month or so, my brother has been talking about potentially going to Mexico for part of the winter. A couple of weeks ago, he found that a group of RV people were planning a caravan type trip in the same area that he wanted to go and about the same time. He excitedly waited for the day to sign up for the trip. He wasn’t sure exactly what time the sign up opened online, so that morning he called the contact person. She told him that it would open at noon, but that he had to have a membership in order to register. She said she could take care of that over the phone, otherwise it could take a couple of days to have it completed. My brother subscribed to the group and as he finished, the online registration opened up for the trip. He was able to get right on and sign up. He found out later that the trip was completely booked in 1 hour. I told him that it seemed God had really stepped up and worked it all out for him. He agreed.

I Found God today in perfect timing for my brother to sign up for a trip.

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Seeing Old Friends

Posted by eph21920 on July 16, 2019 in Connected, Family, Friends, Grateful, Happiness, Life, Past

This evening, my mom and I went to the annual picnic for the housing complex. At first, my mom said she didn’t see anyone she knew. As time went on, she found several people she knew and was able to have a conversation with each. On the way home, she said she sometimes misses the camaraderie she had with the neighbors, which I completely understand. So, she really enjoyed the evening and the visiting.

I Found God today as my mom enjoyed visiting with old friends.

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The Swimsuit

Posted by eph21920 on July 15, 2019 in Answer, Family, Grateful, Knowledge, Opportunity, Problem

I have been going to an aqua aerobics class at the YMCA pretty regularly for a while now. I also have been going through swimsuits way too fast. A couple months ago I had to buy another new one and I decided to splurge on a Speedo, hoping it would have a long life. The other day, I realized too late that I had a split in one of my fingernails, which got caught and snagged the lining of the suit. I tried to tie it off, but pulled too tight resulting in a small hole. I was devastated. Yesterday I talked to my mom about the problem and told her I was going to try to sew it up. My mom used to sew everything – including swimsuits – and recently got her old sewing machine back up and running. She said she would take care of it for me. I helped by threading the needle and tying off the loose ends. Other than that, she did sew it quite nicely. She said it felt really good to sit down and use the machine again. I wore the swimsuit today and it held up great. Another job well done by my mom.

I Found God today in my mom’s handiwork.

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Who Is Your Neighbor

Posted by eph21920 on July 14, 2019 in Answer, Bible, Connected, Faith, Grateful, Life, Youth

This morning on my phone, photos popped up from 5 years ago. They were from the last Workcamp I attended before I moved. I remember it well when I told the youth I was leaving and we all cried. Those were the best of times, best of people, best of experiences that forever changed me. As I thought about those mission trips, I became more grateful for God sightings, incredible selfless youth and adults, road trips, rainy Wednesdays, “Get Down”, daily devotions, paint fights, work accomplished, lives touched, and mostly to be a part of something MUCH bigger than myself. At Mass this morning, the Gospel reading was the parable of the Good Samaritan who helped a robbery victim when no one else would. Jesus laid out for us that people in need are our “neighbor”. I, along with thousands of others each summer, served our neighbors. It was interesting how this all tied together.

I Found God today realizing how I and thousands others served out neighbors.

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The Rodeo

Posted by eph21920 on July 13, 2019 in Prayer

It had been years since I went to the rodeo and was excited to take my son and a couple of his friends tonight. To start the evening, the president of the organization – who also happens to be an ordained minister – led the crowd in a meaningful prayer. It was just as exciting as I remembered. It is hard to believe the human body can take the kind of abuse that the bronco riders and bull riders endure. However, tonight one rider got bucked off the horse and after he was on the ground, the horse kicked him in the head. The cowboy was still on the ground while the medical team rushed to help. As they strapped him on the backboard, the MC encouraged everyone there to pray for the young man and led a short prayer himself. It seemed that the cowboy was conscious, so hopefully that was a good sign. I had a good time and it was nice to have prayer just honestly and comfortably interjected.

I Found God today in public prayer.

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Prayer on the News

Posted by eph21920 on July 12, 2019 in Prayer, Weather

My mom makes a point to listen to the local news station first thing in the morning. This morning the meteorologist was talking about the warnings and risks for the communities that will be affected by the latest tropical storm. He said to make sure to keep those people in your prayers. That comment really made an impact on my mom as she made sure that she shared it with each of us. We were surprised to hear “prayer” mentioned and encouraged on the news.

I Found God today in a public encouragement for prayer.

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Yes Ma’am

Posted by eph21920 on July 11, 2019 in Humility, Life, Stranger

My mom had physical therapy today. As her therapist was walking us out, a young man was walking in with another therapist. She asked him a question and he responded, “Yes, Ma’am.” A man said hello to him and he responded, “Hello, Sir.” My mom’s therapist said that the young man told them that his father ingrained it in him that it was proper and respectful to address others in this manner. She told him at one time that it was ok for him to call her by her first name. He responded, “Yes, Ma’am,” but really couldn’t do it. There are a lot of military people around here, and it is common to hear them use the same salutation. But it is not very often that a young person greets people in this way. I thought it was refreshing and respectful.

I Found God today in a respectful young man.

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