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Finally Elk

Posted by eph21920 on October 6, 2017 in Uncategorized

One of the wonderful things about living here is going to the mountains and seeing the wildlife. Not too long ago, a friend of mine told me that despite living here for almost her entire life, she has never seen a live elk. We had even been camping and in the mountains together, so it was very surprising to me. Today she shared photos of elk. She was able to spend time in one of the mountain communities that boasts of elk this time of year. And they didn’t disappoint. The picture were great. Mostly, I was so happy that she finally got to see her elk.

I Found God today sharing in my friend’s joy.

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So Many Butterflies

Posted by eph21920 on October 5, 2017 in Creation, Happiness

The other day, my mom and I noticed several butterflies flitting about. We found out that there is an unusually large number of butterflies migrating through the area this year. As I was out and about today, I saw them everywhere. They were in the bushes, trees, even weaving in and out of traffic. I stopped for a while and just watched them flying here and there. I wondered exactly where they were going and how many of them would make it to their destination. I wondered what circumstances made this year so unique to have so many of them. It was beautiful to watch the butterflies and made for an amazing sight.

I Found God today in the wonders of nature.

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The Pool Family

Posted by eph21920 on October 4, 2017 in Uncategorized

Today I went to the pool aerobics class that I really enjoy. The people are just so caring about each other. One of the ladies went on a trip and fell and broke her arm in another state. One of the other ladies talked to her and relayed it to the group at the last class. Today she told us that the woman’s brother has gone to pick her up and made arrangements to get the car. Come to find out, several of the others were talking about making the trip. But they were happy that the brother had done so. The other day one of the ladies told me that they are like family. This is a good example of how that’s true.

I Found God today in a caring group of people.

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Non-violence

Posted by eph21920 on October 3, 2017 in Answer, Faith, Hope, Life, Opportunity, Peace

I read the scripture readings for Mass today and thought it was interesting and timely that the Gospel was about the apostles asking for vengeance. Then I read the reflection by Bishop Robert Barron, which I always find insightful. These are the words that struck me most:

“James and John (the sons of thunder) cry out: “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Can you hear echoes of this cry up and down the ages? . . . But Jesus turns only to rebuke them. Why? Because following him and his way of non-violence is more important . . . Our feelings for him have to go beyond even our justified feelings . . .”

I, like most others, have the horrific Las Vegas shooting in my mind. I hold the countless victims and their families in my prayers. I think we all cry out for vengeance and want an answer to curb the escalating violence we see around us. If we were to all come together and vow non-violence, it would be a perfect situation – heavenly. But, the fact is, we live in a fallen world. The only one we have control over is ourselves. And we can choose every day to be non-violent, to be kind. That is what I will strive for.

I Found God today in a reflection about non-violence.

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Key to Heaven

Posted by eph21920 on October 2, 2017 in Children, Faith, Prayer

A friend of mine who teaches in a Catholic school shared a beautiful story today that I would like to share as well. It shows how children really “get it”.

At Mass, I sit next to a 1st grader who, let’s say, has a busy demeanor.
I asked for him to hold my decade rosary during Mass to keep it safe.
He was wonderful, and he was listening and paying attention. At one point he began to fidgit a bit. I whispered ”please don’t play with it.. that is not a toy..”
He began to motion with it like a key and I said “ please don’t play, it is not a key.”
He looked at me and whispered “Yes it is a key!… The key to heaven!”

I Found God today in a child’s insight.

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A Little R&R

Posted by eph21920 on October 1, 2017 in Creation, Family, Friends, Fun, Grateful, Joy, Life

My sister came to spend the weekend with my parents, so I made plans to visit a friend and headed to the mountains. On the way, I stopped at an apple orchard that was somewhat disappointing – especially compared to those I explored on the east coast. But I did buy some apples from their store and a small pumpkin. From there, the drive was beautiful, following a river. I wanted to have some alone private time, so my friend made a reservation for me at a hotel that was owned by a friend of his. It was a quaint cross between a bed & breakfast and a large hotel. It was decorated in western style and even had murals painted on the walls in the rooms. The view from my window was just gorgeous. I did some walking around on my own, and my friend and I did some things together too. It was a good mix of solitude, privacy, and visiting. I spied some bighorn sheep, several deer, antelope, and a 3-legged dog. I played and sang to loud music in the car, ate great food, slept late, watched tv, met interesting people, and saw beautiful scenery. I was so grateful for a weekend of rest and relaxation.

I Found God today in a time of rest and relaxation.

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The Big Mailing

Posted by eph21920 on September 29, 2017 in Family

One of the ladies in my small church group works for the parish as a ministry leader. Recently I offered to help her with some tasks that I might be able to do at home. So, I have been helping her with some mailings. My mom and dad have been helping to stuff envelopes as well. Today I went to the church and picked up a very large mailing that needed to be put into envelopes with a letter, church bulletin, and a flyer. The woman from the office and I counted out approximately how many bulletins I would need and I headed home where my mom and I got to stuffing. The amount of bulletins I brought home was the exact amount we needed – perfect. But, I did run out of the flyers. I headed back to the church and scoured the places where there were more. I did find just enough to finish putting the mailing together. Maybe this doesn’t sound miraculous, but I have done enough mailings to realize how frustrating it can be to run out of things. It just pushes the project back further. I was happy to get it all done and to have my mom’s help.

I Found God today being able to complete a large task and having my mom’s help.

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Meeting People

Posted by eph21920 on September 28, 2017 in Connected, Family, Friends, Joy, Life, New

It is difficult to meet people and make friends when you move to a new place. Since my son moved here a few months ago, he has gotten to know a couple of people he works with, and met a couple people at the gym. A friend of mine’s granddaughter is part of a young professionals group that she really enjoys, so I passed along the information to my son. He attended one of the events tonight and had a great time meeting new people. He told me all about it. He even met someone else that works in his company that he didn’t know before. Most of all, he was excited that he now had a foundation of people to do things with. I knew it would take some time to get a group of friends together and glad that the evening worked out so well for him.

I Found God today in my son’s joy.

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Their New Ramp

Posted by eph21920 on September 27, 2017 in Answer, Generosity

When my mom is at her Parkinson’s exercise class, I chat with some caregivers of the other participants. Today, one of the ladies whose husband has Parkinson’s showed us a picture of the new ramp in her garage. Her nephew came to visit for a few days with the purpose of constructing a ramp for them. She said he has spent a lot of time on mission trips where he built many ramps and other structures for people who needed them. He also accompanied youth on some of the trips. She said she was grateful for that, as she did her best to help him and he was very patient with her. They were going to see some sites while he was here, but the rainy weather made that less appealing. Instead, he did some work on the landscaping in between raindrops. He sounded like such a caring, giving individual, and the ramp he built was truly a work of art. I thought the woman and her husband are very blessed to have such a nephew.

I Found God today in a loving, talented individual who brought much joy to his family.

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More Than You Think

Posted by eph21920 on September 26, 2017 in Family, Life

Last week, my dad and brother worked hard at replacing some siding on the cabin. Today, a friend was over and my dad was telling her about the labor intensive task. He said he was pleasantly surprised as to how much physical work he was able to do for several days in a row. The friend replied that we are really able to do a lot more than we think we can. So true. Yesterday, my mom went to her Parkinson’s exercise class and had a very difficult workout. When she was done, her back was hurting and she groaned just getting into the car. She said she didn’t think she was even going to be able to move by the afternoon. However, today she didn’t have any more pain than usual and was zipping around the house. She and my dad went for a walk and she went all the way around the circle of the complex – 1/2 mile. She hasn’t done that in a very long time.

I Found God today in both my parents being able to do more than they thought they could.

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