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One Step at a Time

Posted by eph21920 on February 22, 2018 in Angel, Connected, Family, Job, Life

My sister has had to begin the excruciating process of looking for a new job. I have heard that it is a full time job looking for a full time job. She confirmed that. She spends hours a day on the computer searching and completing forms and applications. Naturally it can be incredibly overwhelming. When I talked with her today, she said she read a meditation this morning that really spoke to her. It said, “I am building my life, one step at a time.” I thought it was a great way to look at things. Really, we are always in the process of building our lives. Unexpected changes occur all the time and it can throw us off. But if we can just focus on living one day at a time, doing the best we can just for that day, we can live more joyful, peaceful, and productive.

I Found God today in a timely and touching meditation.

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Little Speaker

Posted by eph21920 on February 21, 2018 in Answer, Connected, Family, Music

My mom has an old iPad that she uses for her games, email, and such. She has always struggled to hear it, even when the volume is all the way up. At one point, my brother made a way for her to hook it into the stereo speakers, but that seemed to be too complicated. The other day I found some exercise videos that she can do when she doesn’t get to her class. Today was one of those days, so we tried it out. She again had a very hard time hearing it, especially since she had to be a distance away from the pad. I suddenly thought of those little speakers that you can buy and connect to the pad. I’m not sure why I didn’t think of it before. I went to the store this afternoon and looked at the speaker options. I wasn’t even sure if the old pad had Bluetooth capability. A very nice sales person helped me figure out what to get for a very cheap price. When I got home, we charged the little speaker and tried it out. Turns out the pad was able to connect without a wire. We put on a video and walked around with the little speaker. It worked great and will be so helpful for my mom.

I Found God today in device that will help my mom tremendously.

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New Hopeful Doc

Posted by eph21920 on February 20, 2018 in Uncategorized

When my mom was in the hospital about a year and a half ago, we had a terrible time connecting with her neurologist for help. Since then, we have been trying to find a new doctor and have not had much luck. Many of the people we know go to the next big city over, but that is a long haul for us. There is a neurologist who specializes in Parkinson’s and has spoken at several of the support groups. He recently made some changes in his practice and will start seeing new patients here in our city. My mom and I figured he would book up immediately, but thought it was worth a try. I called this afternoon and surprisingly we were able to get in with him and will see him in only a couple of weeks. We were so happy and now hopeful that my mom will be guided through this disease by an expert.

I Found God today being successful and hopeful in finding a good doctor for my mom.

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God In Many Strangers

Posted by eph21920 on February 19, 2018 in Doctor, Faith, Prayer, Stranger

My mom had her first cataract surgery today. It was a very, very long day with more waiting than anything. But all went well and we were finally home resting after 6 hours. We read our Lent meditation at dinner about seeing God in others and reviewed the day. There were several instances that we thought of.

When we arrived in the surgery clinic, the place was packed. There were two spaces available on a sofa with a gentleman wearing an eye patch sitting on one end. My parents sat down and I pulled up a chair. The old man started chatting right away. He was very humorous, saying how it was so cold that his teeth were chattering which was interesting as he left them at home and how he hoped his eye surgery would improve his looks. We wished him good luck as he did to us when he left. It was an uplifting way to begin the day.

When I was waiting for my mom in the restroom, a woman was telling her friend about how she witnesses to strangers about Jesus. One time she met a woman who was new to the area and suggested a church to her that was nearby. The stranger then told her she had been praying to find a good church near her. The woman was humbled that God used her to answer the stranger’s prayers.

A dad had brought in his young son for an eye procedure. The boy was in surgery the same time as my mom. While we were in the waiting room, a friend of the dad brought him some lunch. Small but a beautiful act of kindness.

I Found God today in many strangers around me.

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No More Hen-Pecking

Posted by eph21920 on February 18, 2018 in Answer, Creation, Family, Life

My sister who lives on a farm has had chickens for a year and we have been lucky to get fresh eggs. However, recently they have stopped producing and there has been a lot of hen-pecking going on. So, they decided to introduce a rooster into the mix. My sister reported that the young rooster was ruling the roost and the hens had calmed down considerably. They even started laying more eggs again. We went to the farm for a visit today and got to see the action for ourselves. The chickens were out free ranging and there was the rooster standing tall in the midst of them. As the hens were scratching, feeding, and dust bathing, he walked around and made sure everyone was behaving. At one point, one of the chickens started wandering off. The rooster ran over, fluffed himself up, made a few sounds and motions, and the hen made her way back to the rest of the flock. Then a couple of the hens started a commotion. He ran over to them and broke up the fight. When he saw something of concern in the distance, he made himself big and sounded off a couple of “cock-a-doodle-doos”. My sister said that he would feed himself later on, but now he was on watch taking care of his flock.  Evidently, it only took a couple of days for the young rooster to get acclimated and start doing his job as a rooster. It was amazing to me that all this was done instinctively. To me, the order of things in nature is remarkable.

I Found God today witnessing the amazing order of nature.

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Courageous Hope

Posted by eph21920 on February 17, 2018 in Grateful, Hope, Struggles

A woman I know had a very rough time of it during Christmas. She had appendicitis, then her husband suddenly got very ill. He was in the hospital for weeks with a form of sepsis and they ended up having to amputate several of his toes. He then spent more time in rehab and finally was able to go home this week. While he has a long road of recovery ahead of him, they were so happy that he made it through and is home. Tonight I read a story from a woman who sounded like she had the same illness as the man. Unfortunately, the woman lost not only several toes, but both her hands as well. But, she was also grateful for surviving. She was now trying to figure out how she was to live this next chapter in her life. I found such courage and hope in both of these ironically similar stories.

I Found God today in the courageous hope of two suffering people.

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Now Is The Time

Posted by eph21920 on February 15, 2018 in Faith, Hope, Lent, Opportunity, Prayer, Struggles, Trust

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday so my parents and I went to church in the afternoon. The deacon gave a short, but powerful reflection. He started by reminding us that we are in a spiritual battle. Every day we see evidence of a struggling world. We face our own challenges and decisions as well. We need help to stand firm, make the right decisions, and not get pulled into the angst of the troubles surrounding us. The opening prayer for Mass started with, “Father in Heaven, Protect us in our struggle against evil.” The scripture readings and music repeated the message, “Now is the time.” The deacon continued by saying that Lent is a time to put on our spiritual armor to strengthen us, help us to gain resolve, and to build our relationship with God. That armor consists of prayer, fasting, and alms-giving or charity. His message – which I unfortunately can’t capture here – was so powerful that the congregation clapped when he was finished speaking. I vowed to do my best during the Lent season.

I woke up this morning to the news and details of another tragic school shooting. The law enforcement officers, the school administrators, and others in leadership positions repeated the message, “Now is the time.” Our society must do something, must do more to protect innocent people. Of course, the actions they suggested were varied. But in my opinion, bottom line, our society is turning away from God. But, there is always hope. I thought again about the message from yesterday and wondered what would happen if everyone celebrating Lent would do so with firm resolve. What if we all came together in faith, determined to make a difference in our lives and in our world. What if we put on the armor we need and shared that with others. What if we took God at His Word as told in today’s scripture reading from Deuteronomy, chapter 30, “I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.” How much of a difference would it make in us, in our families, in our schools, workplaces, and in our world? I reaffirmed my determination to live Lent well and to expect abundant blessings. Now is the time.

I Found God today in powerful words that stirred my soul.

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Amazing Athletes

Posted by eph21920 on February 13, 2018 in Answer, Faith

I have been staying up too late watching the Olympics. But the stories of the athletes are inspiring. And their performances are mesmerizing. I was talking with a friend about it today and we decided that they are made of different stuff than we are. They do, of course, have many of the same qualities – determination, courage, perseverance, confidence. So many of them have had to overcome many difficult obstacles to be able to compete in the Olympics. On Sunday, we read the story of the man with leprosy who came to Jesus. Despite his awful affliction and the fact that he was considered “unclean”, he was confident that Jesus would be able to help him. The priest encouraged each of us to come to Jesus with the same perseverance – with confidence that He can help us. I think I can do that. I guess the spiritual life takes a lot of practice and commitment also. I may not have the stuff to perform as an athlete, but I can use the same kind of discipline in my spiritual life to form a closer relationship with God.

I Found God today being inspired by amazing athletes.

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Real Snow Scene

Posted by eph21920 on February 11, 2018 in Birthday, Family, Humor

Yesterday, we had a birthday party for my sister. She had been wanting a karaoke machine for quite some time, so we all pitched in and got her one. She was ecstatic as she got it all cued up and started singing, reliving some of her glory days when she was in a band. Her voice still sounded great. When we were on a cruise many years ago, my siblings and I sang a song together that we recorded. We listen to it every now and again and laugh hysterically. Of course, we did our best to perform that song with my son standing in for my brothers. Later in the evening, we went to a painting party. A friend’s brother was also celebrating his birthday, so their family was there too. Even though there was a snow storm, no one let the weather stop them. The picture we painted was a snow scene with a curved road and snow-covered trees. At the end of the night, we compared the paintings as usual. It is always interesting since we are all doing the same picture, but they end up so unique. I wasn’t real happy with my picture – just couldn’t get it to look the way I had envisioned it in my head. This morning, I put my painting with the others that I had done previously. Although it still didn’t meet my expectations, I could see a definite improvement over time. People stayed over last night due to the weather, so we were able to visit a little more and have breakfast before the party officially broke up. When I went outside, I saw a snow scene with a curved road and snow-covered trees. It was very similar to our painting. I thought that was pretty funny. I could see even more how my painting did capture some of the reality and things I would do different for next time.

I Found God today celebrating my sister and enjoying a snow scene.

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Olympic Peace

Posted by eph21920 on February 9, 2018 in Connected, Hope, Peace

My sister and I watched the Olympic opening ceremony together tonight. We noticed much of the symbolism for peace that we know is international. That was the overarching theme, and for good reasons. We talked about how only a couple of months ago, the media covered a man escaping North Korea and making it over the border to South Korea. He was pursued and shot at when he made his break for freedom. As the competitors from both of these countries entered the stadium together under a unified flag, it was striking. These young people have worked hard to compete and even have a unified women’s hockey team. The speeches and songs all spoke of the hope for peace. My sister and I noted that everyone really does want to live in peace and harmony. And we questioned why that is so difficult. In any case, this opening ceremony was beautiful, moving, peaceful, and hopeful.

I Found God today in the messages and desires for peace.

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