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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Tonight on the news, there was a story about the annual “Turkey Trot” race at the nearby YMCA. I knew a couple of people running the race, so paid close attention to see if I could spot any of them. To my surprise, the news station interviewed a family that I thought I recognized. They were all in matching red sweatshirts. One of the men said they were running for their father who was suffering from bladder cancer. When one of the children turned around, they showed the back of the shirt that revealed the family name. It was the children, in-laws, and grandchildren of a friend of mine. I am sure that meant so much to him and his wife.
I Found God today in a family honoring a friend and sharing it with many others.
We had a beautiful snow storm here that started overnight last night. According to the forecasts, it should have stopped snowing early this afternoon. We had at least 8″ of snow stacked up on the porch railing. In the housing complex, there is a contract to have the snow shoveled off the sidewalks and in front of the garages if there is a certain amount of snow. The homeowner has been responsible for clearing their own porch and steps. But I have yet to figure out exactly what the measurable amount is and where exactly they may shovel. Sometimes I will shovel just to see them coming in right behind me. Other times I have put it off and end up having to do it later because no one came. Today I decided there had to be enough snow for them to come and I refused to go out. Besides, the snow kept coming in flurries even after sunset. Late in the afternoon, I saw our neighbor shoveling our shared sidewalk. I was surprised he didn’t wait. Only an hour or so later, I heard shoveling on the porch. My dad opened the door and chatted with the couple of guys who were there clearing the snow away. He thanked them and came inside. I was just super happy that my defiance actually worked out.
I Found God today not having to go outside in the frigid cold to shovel.
The schools in my area have Thanksgiving break all week long. So, this morning at my mom’s exercise class, one of the interns who is an older man brought his 3 children with him. Also, a couple brought their granddaughter. During the class, all 4 kids sat on the floor while the other caregiver who was there with her granddaughter and I sat in the chairs. Needless to say, the children kept us entertained the whole time. They weren’t still for one second. They showed off their flexible little bodies by doing back bends, the splits, and making bridges. They did magic tricks, told jokes, and talked about their music lessons. They climbed on each other, danced, and did the stretches with the class. It was simply joyful to experience their uninhibited activity.
I Found God today enjoying children.
