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Loving Family

Posted by eph21920 on June 15, 2025 in Faith, Family, Food, Friends, Grateful

I was blessed to spend Father’s Day with close friends and their family today. The group included the mom and dad, 3 of the 4 kids, a son in law, 2 young grandchildren, and a dog. Everyone pitched in to help cook and prepare the meal of all the dad’s favorites. Of course, everything was delicious. The almost 3 year old boy kept things exciting and entertaining. And the dog who was only a few months old was figuring out ways to get as much food as it could. My friend said that the get together was similar to their normal family dinner Sundays. Whoever can come is welcome, including parents and in laws. Some meals are more hectic than others, but it is all good noise. My friend and her husband said they wouldn’t change it and felt very blessed to enjoy their extended family as much as possible. I was very grateful to be included.

I Found God today in a loving family.

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Mixed Messages

Posted by eph21920 on June 14, 2025 in Answer, Connected, Grateful, Life, Struggles

Today I went to meet some friends for lunch downtown. I didn’t even give thought to encountering protests and counter protests. The place was buzzing with activity. People were walking all the streets in all directions carrying signs with all different messages and flags of all different sorts. Later this evening, I saw parts of the President’s military parade honoring the 250th anniversary of the United States Army. It was actually more of a history lesson, which was unexpected. And then I saw that Pope Leo XIV addressed a crowd gathered at Rate Field, the home of the Chicago White Sox baseball team. He wasn’t there in person, but spoke on the big screen. He spoke to young people saying, “The world looks to you…We need you, we need you to come together to share with us in this common mission, as Church and in society, of announcing a message of true hope and of promoting peace, promoting harmony, among all peoples.” “And in that service to others we find that coming together in friendship, building up community, we too can find true meaning in our lives,” the pope said. “To share that message of hope with one another — in outreach, in service, in looking for ways to make our world a better place — gives true life to all of us, and is a sign of hope for the whole world.” It seemed to me that he was fully aware of everything that was happening in our country and continued to carry his message of peace. It was a very interesting day with so many mixed messages, and I was grateful to find the one that made the most sense.

I Found God today in His one true, loving, peaceful message.

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Strawberry Picking

Posted by eph21920 on June 13, 2025 in Creation, Food, Friends, Grateful, Happiness

One of the things I missed most about the east coast was the fresh produce. I used to go to farms and pick strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, apples, and pumpkins. It was always fun and delicious. Today a friend was going strawberry picking and invited me to go. I was thrilled. It has been so rainy, people were concerned about how good the picking would be. But when we arrived, one of the farmers told us the strawberries were in great condition. We went to the fields that we were directed to and saw for ourselves how right she was. We didn’t have to go far in the rows that we chose. It didn’t take long to fill our boxes. It was actually hard to stop – they were so beautiful and ripe. My friend picked over 9 pounds and I came home with about 6 1/2.  I tasted some and they were even better than I imagined. I snacked on them all day and put the rest in the fridge. They likely won’t be there too long.

I Found God today in wonderful food.

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Fun in the Sun

Posted by eph21920 on June 12, 2025 in Children, Creation, Friends, Fun, Grateful, Happiness

I was blessed with another beach day today. This one was with a friend and her granddaughter. Since it was a warm sunny day, there were a lot of people who had the same idea. Thankfully, the beach itself didn’t really feel crowded. It was fun to watch the little girl run in and out of the waves, play with the beach toys, and collect seashells. The town was having their annual sand sculpting competition, so at one point we made our way to the boardwalk and saw some amazing works of art. There was a whole scene of the Lion King characters and animals. We watched one person sculpting the hair of what looked like the old man of the sea. After that, the granddaughter decided she wanted to make a sand castle of her own. I took a side trip and looked in some shops. When I met back up with my friend and the  granddaughter, they had built an amazing sand castle complete with a bordering wall and sea creatures. I got a little more sun on my skin than I anticipated, but it felt so good. I was grateful for another day to enjoy the beach.

I Found God today enjoying fun in the sun.

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Generations

Posted by eph21920 on June 11, 2025 in Children, Connected, Friends, Fun, Life

It has been very wet here in New England. I was told this weekend will be the 13th in a row that it has rained. It was nice today, however, so I took a short hike with a friend, her daughter, and her daughter’s daughter. I loved walking and talking and listening to everything the 2 1/2 year old had to say. Her mom would point out everything along the way and used it all as teachable moments. We walked along the river that was running high and fast from all the rain. Evidently at one spot there was typically a beach that was uncovered for people to get close to and play in the water. Today it was covered over. The young mom talked with her daughter about how dangerous it is to go near water without an adult. She talked with her about birds and butterflies and mosquitos and plants and trees. The little girl soaked it all in and repeated most of what she heard. Later, my friend recalled that I met her daughter when she was not too much older than her granddaughter. And now she was the mom. That was hard to believe. I did love seeing the interaction between them. It was such a fun time.

I Found God today in a toddler, her mom and grandma.

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Foggy Beauty

Posted by eph21920 on June 10, 2025 in Creation, Friends, Grateful

Today I was at a friend’s house in the cool, rainy, and foggy weather. They live in a pretty secluded area at the top of a hill, overlooking a pond in the distance. While it is nice to have warm sunny weather, I found a certain kind of beauty in the dampness. The garden in the foreground had spring flowers that were in bloom, such as the giant white and pink peonies and purple iris. Past that, an American flag and a flag with the Sacred Heart were high on their poles and would occasionally wave in the breeze. Beyond the flags were thick woods which opened around the driveway enough to see the pond. The fog came and went and changed the view. It was a peaceful place to be.

I Found God today in the beauty of fog.

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Close Family

Posted by eph21920 on June 9, 2025 in Connected, Death, Friends, Life, Love, Relationship

This evening I visited a family I hadn’t seen in years, but we had kept in touch on and off. I had seen the 3 kids through the years of youth ministry and had known somewhat of their college days. Now, of course, all of them are young adults living their own lives. But they were all there for the visit, as well as my friend’s sister and husband. What struck me the most was how tight their family relationship was. It was funny to see the “kids” antagonizing each other and laughing at/with each other as I had seen them do over the years. But, there was also a deep love, consideration, and respect for each other. They lost their beloved father/husband only 2 years ago who died unexpectedly after a family trip. Naturally it was a difficult time for them all. During our visit, the kids were very attentive to their mother who is having a routine procedure tomorrow. They continually asked how she was feeling, making sure she was doing ok with the prep she had to do. One of the kids is living with her and she has told me what a blessing it is to have her there. It was beautiful to see how the 3 kids I knew had grown into such compassionate, attentive, caring young adults. I was blessed to spend time with them all.

I Found God today in a close family relationship.

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Pentecost Blessings

Posted by eph21920 on June 8, 2025 in Connected, Faith, Friends, Grateful, Life, Past, Relationship, Youth

I was so blessed this Pentecost Sunday. I went to Mass at my old parish and realized how much I missed the priest. I loved his message in the homily and his beautiful singing voice. The church had been renovated and was just beautiful. I decided to grab my camera and go back for the next Mass to see if I could get some photos from the choir loft. It just so happened that I knew the young man playing the organ from youth ministry days, so I asked him about it. He said it would be fine. When I went back and up to choir loft, I realized I knew the 3 women singing. It was like the old days with a new young keyboard player. It was a blessing to sit with them, hear the music up close, and see the view from up there. I visited with several people after Mass, then headed to a friend’s house. Some of the old youth ministry people joined and we talked and laughed. We reminisced about events we did, about great times, sad times, struggles, and God Sightings. We shared photos and stories of how our “kids” are doing now and agreed that our days were the best days. I felt incredibly blessed to be in a place and with friends that mean so much to me.

I Found God in a meaningful place with great friendships.

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Body and Soul

Posted by eph21920 on June 7, 2025 in Answer, Connected, Creation, Death, Eternity, Faith, Life

I was talking with a friend tonight about growing older. My friend said he can’t believe he is only a few years away from turning 70. I remembered my mom saying that, while she felt her body failing, she was still surprised to look in the mirror and see such an old woman. She said that she still felt the same on the inside – like who she was when she was in her 30s or so. That really helped me to understand the concept of the soul and the body. I feel that our soul is really the essence of who we are, who God created us to be. And our body is what houses our soul at this particular time – in life. When we die, our body is finished, but our soul is released to move on to the next phase – the afterlife. So, while I spend much time and effort taking care of my body – which is good and necessary – I should also be spending much time caring for my soul because it will continue on. And the result of that care will be made very clear at the end. It all seems very simple, and yet very complex.

I Found God today contemplating the body and soul.

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Another Beach Day

Posted by eph21920 on June 6, 2025 in Creation, Family, Fun, Grateful, Opportunity, Weather

Yesterday my grandson said he wanted to see the lighthouse at sunrise. So, we set the alarm for 4:30 am and headed out. It was overcast and drizzling, but that didn’t put a damper on our enthusiasm. We stayed in the car for a bit waiting and watching. We took a few photos and then saw the sun peeking over the water. It was bright pink, I guess due to the clouds and haze. My grandson took some pictures with his phone, then played with my camera. We were very happy with the experience. We were able to get in some more beach time and another helping of lobster before we headed back. I was happy we beat the stormy weather in the evening. I told my grandson that God has been so good to us so far in the timing and weather. So far our plans have worked out really well and I am so grateful for that.

I Found God today in beautiful scenery and cooperative weather.

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