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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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Tolkien Poem to Mary

Posted by eph21920 on December 31, 2019 in Uncategorized

Today a friend shared a poem that JRR Tolkien wrote about the Blessed Virgin Mary and the birth of Jesus Christ. I read it and thought it was beautiful. This evening, my parents and I went to church to celebrate the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. To my surprise, the priest read the same poem as part of his homily.

I Found God today in a poem honoring His Mother.

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Skydiver

Posted by eph21920 on December 30, 2019 in Friends, Fun, Life, Opportunity

Yesterday I saw a post from a friend who said she was going to get an activity checked off her bucket list today – skydiving. She’s around 75 years old. I was looking forward to hearing how things went today. This afternoon, there were almost 100 photos and videos that captured the occasion. She didn’t even look too nervous as she prepared. Once on the ground, she said in a video that it was great, but she was dizzy. She still had a smile on her face. I thought she was courageous and was in awe of how she is living life to the fullest.

I Found God today in a friend’s example of living life to the full.

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Blue Notes

Posted by eph21920 on December 29, 2019 in Family, Life, Music, Past

My mom told a great story this evening that I don’t think I’ve ever heard before. When she was in high school, she and 2 of her friends sang as a trio and called themselves the “Blue Notes”. At one point they connected with a band led by “America’s Polka King” Frank Yankovic and made a record. Later, my mom, her friends, and my dad’s parents went on a little getaway. My dad’s father owned the record and brought it with him. He knew the owner of a certain restaurant. He gave the record to the owner who put it in the jukebox and fixed it so that whenever anyone put a coin in the jukebox, it would play the “Blue Notes”. It was quite a surprise to my mom and her friends. The details of the story were amazing. My parents still own one of the records. When my dad sets up the new turntable he got for Christmas, we will take a listen.

I Found God today in my mom’s great story from her past.

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Food Processor

Posted by eph21920 on December 28, 2019 in Family, Food, Joy, Present

It was a snowy day, so seemed like a good time to try out the new food processor my son got me for Christmas. I had already unboxed it, read all the instructions, run all the parts through the dishwasher, and even watched a couple of videos on how to work it. For lunch, I used it on the leftover ham to make ham salad. Later on I made some homemade applesauce. Each of the dishes took literally seconds to put together in the new machine. For all my preparation, it made short work out of the meal preparation, and it was great.

I Found God today enjoying a new appliance that will make cooking easier.

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No Christmas Cards

Posted by eph21920 on December 27, 2019 in Friends, Grateful, Life, Sick

Over the past couple of days, I have received some hand written notes, letters, and phone calls from friends. It is great to hear from them and catch up on what is going on. But at the same time, I feel somewhat contrite because I never mailed out any Christmas cards. I started to get them together, but never was able to follow through with the whole project. Not to make excuses, but my dad was sick in the weeks leading up to Christmas. That meant a little more disinfecting the house, a little less sleep, and a little more attention to keeping myself from getting sick. In any case, I have really enjoyed touching base with friends. Perhaps I will get out a New Year’s letter…

I Found God today touching base with friends.

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After Christmas Observations

Posted by eph21920 on December 26, 2019 in Life, Stranger

I took a little walk this afternoon in the brisk air. It was interesting to see what was happening the day after Christmas. There were several people out walking as well. Some were alone, some were with others, some were walking dogs. I noticed the mostly deflated Christmas decorations lying on the ground awaiting another chance to stand back up again. Some houses had their Christmas lights still on. I saw several nativity scenes that I had not noticed when I was driving. A young man and woman came out to their front yard with some snow shoes and found a small patch of snow to try them out on. Two young boys ran from one house to the other. Three cars pulled away from a house, two of them had out of state license plates. I imagined where they might be headed – out to dinner, perhaps to a show, maybe to movie. There were children playing on the school playground. I enjoyed just being outside, walking, taking notice of what was going on around me.

I Found God today noticing those around me.

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