Leave a comment

Holding My Hand

Posted by eph21920 on March 16, 2017 in Answer, Bible, Connected, Faith, Joy, Relationship, Struggles

Have you ever heard or read something and felt like God was speaking directly to you? This morning I read a reflection that really touched my heart. I will admit that sometimes I struggle with being lonely. I think we all have a desire to have that “special someone” who knows us intimately, is always there for us, and always has our best interest at heart. But the reality is that regardless of how many or how meaningful our relationships may be, they all fall short because we are all human. God knows me intimately because He created me to be who I am. The reading today talked about how He is always here with and for us. It quoted Isaiah 41:13 – “For I am the LORD, your God, who grasp your right hand; It is I who say to you, Do not fear, I will help you.” The author suggested that when you feel lonely, to close your right hand and imagine God holding onto it. I did think about it one time today and did the exercise. It filled me with joy and I just smiled.

I Found God today learning a way to remember I am not alone.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Noticeable Improvement

Posted by eph21920 on March 15, 2017 in Friends, Fun, Healing

Several weeks ago, I went to learn to play pickleball at a community center. The lessons were organized by the Parkinson’s support group for those with Parkinson’s and their caregivers. I went a couple of times, then things happened that prevented me from getting back there. Today I decided I was going to return. When I arrived, my new-found friends were happy to see me. I needed a refresher lesson as I had forgotten quite a bit. There was one woman in particular with Parkinson’s who had made sucah a noticeable improvement. When we all started, there was a lot of ball chasing and patience. Today we made it through an entire game. It was a fun time and I felt uplifted by seeing how beneficial this activity was for people.

I Found God today by seeing noticeable improvement in the health of others.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Angel of the Day

Posted by eph21920 on March 14, 2017 in Angel, Answer, Family, Hope, Struggles

My sister was feeling rather down today and missing her son who joined the Navy. Because he is in boot camp, she hasn’t talked with him in 2 weeks now. She went to the grocery store this evening and came upon a man who used to live in her neighborhood. She hadn’t seen him for a while and caught him up on the recent events. She shared with him that she was feeling a little sorrowful. He was very empathetic and talked about missing his kids when he did not have them at his house due to a divorce. He said not to worry though, that she will be able to see him and talk with him again. My sister felt much better after talking with him. He was like her angel showing up at the right place at the right time to talk things through.

I Found God today in a person who helped my sister at the right place and the right time.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Someone Moved

Posted by eph21920 on March 13, 2017 in Answer, Generosity, Problem, Stranger, Struggles, Tragedy

The other day, I saw a story on the news about a veteran who lost everything he owned in a house fire. He had a mobile home and while he was away, one of the propane heaters fell over and started the blaze. He thought one of his dogs may have knocked it over. In the fire, he lost all three of his dogs and everything he owned, including the medals he received from his service in the military. I was heart-broken when I heard the story and thought how wonderful it would be if someone would start raising money for him. Someone. Today I heard a follow-up to the story. A veterans group from the city rallied around their fellow soldier and raised a good amount of money for him. They visited him, gave him the money, and prayed with him. It was beautiful. I was so glad that someone moved and started the wheels turning to help the man.

I Found God today in a story of giving and caring.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Oldies But Goodies

Posted by eph21920 on March 12, 2017 in Connected, Faith, Life, Music, Past

Today at church, several of the music pieces were what I would call Oldies But Goodies. I could think of specific events where I learned each song. One was a retreat that I went to with people I hardly knew. During the years that followed, those people became my spiritual mentors and good friends. Since then, my life has changed and I have moved – twice. Unfortunately we didn’t keep in touch. I thought about them, wondered what they were doing now, and prayed for them. Another song is one I learned and then became a favorite during youth ministry. We sang it at gatherings and retreats. I thought about those great times, the young people, and the adults who were involved and prayed for them as well. It is amazing how a song can bring you back to specific times and places.

I Found God today in songs that brought back wonderful memories.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Christ in Me Arise

Posted by eph21920 on March 11, 2017 in Connected, Faith, Friends, Lent, Music

A friend of mine came over for a visit tonight and my sister was here too. We laughed and laughed, which we always do and is one of the things I look forward to when we get together. We can also have deep and meaningful conversations because we know each other so well. My friend told me that she went to church on Ash Wednesday and heard a song that brought tears to her eyes and stuck with her. The way the choir sang it was especially moving for her. She found the song on youtube – “Christ in Me Arise”– and shared it with us. My sister pointed out that the picture with the scrolling lyrics resembled the picture that we recently painted with the sun on the horizon. I hadn’t looked at it that way, but she was right. It was a beautiful song with a beautiful picture that made it even more meaningful.

I Found God today in a beautiful song with a meaningful picture.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Meeting a Mountain Man

Posted by eph21920 on March 10, 2017 in Creation, Stranger

Today we took a little trip up to the cabin in the mountains. On the way, we kept an eye out for wildlife as usual. We spotted a herd of bighorn sheep near the rocks we usually see them. Before I could slow down, we were past them, so I found a place to turn around. I figured I would pull into the dirt driveway that was close to the herd. When I got to it, there was another car there. I thought they had probably stopped to watch the sheep as well. I pulled behind the car and saw that the driver was out of the vehicle and closing the gate at the end of the driveway. He was the owner of the property. I figured it was only proper to explain why we stopped in his driveway. So, I got out and told him we had just pulled in to see the herd of bighorn sheep. He came on over and waved to my parents. He was your typical old mountain man with rough skin, long gray hair, a tattered hat, and a slow western drawl. I told him we hadn’t seen the sheep for a while. He said they wintered on his land. Right now they were eating the bailed hay he had for his horses as there wasn’t enough greenery for them since it has been so dry. He was concerned about that, as they don’t usually eat the hay. He went on to say that the herd would stay around until May or June and then would head to the other side of the mountain with their new lambs. He was a wealth of information and was happy to chat. I thanked him and we went on our way. You never know how people are going to react to you – especially if you are on their property. It was a great experience to meet this man and have a conversation with him.

I Found God today in a friendly old man.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Fatima Rosary

Posted by eph21920 on March 9, 2017 in Faith, Family, Mary, Prayer

When we saw the Fatima statue the other night, we received a little booklet that gave details about the apparitions and some prayers. My mom read some of the booklet this afternoon and we talked about how if everyone felt their prayers could actually make a difference in this world, more people would be committed to doing it. One thing Our Lady of Fatima asked people to do is to pray the rosary every day for world peace. This evening, my dad picked up the mail and came back with a large envelope in his hand for my mom. It was a rosary from a Fatima organization. That seemed like a pretty big hint.

I Found God today in encouragement to pray the rosary daily.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Letters From Women

Posted by eph21920 on March 8, 2017 in Answer, Connected, Faith, Friends, Life, New, Prayer, Relationship

A few years ago, I was blessed to begin a faith journey with 6 other women – some I knew, some I did not. The new prayer group was organized by a good friend who takes God’s promptings seriously. We met about once a month, visited, ate, prayed, laughed, and cried together. When I moved away, this was one of the things I missed the most. I formed a very close relationship with all the women and missed the fellowship tremendously. In the past, I have been able to connect via video chat, which really fed my soul. Recently, a letter writing strategy was suggested. Each person would write a letter about what is going on in their life including prayer requests and send it along to the next person. Then that person reads the letter, prays for the intentions, writes her own letter, and includes it in the envelope to pass along to the next person. This sounded like a great idea and I was hoping it would happen. The group has been heavy on my mind lately and I was so excited when I received an envelope with some letters in it. I sat down in a quiet place with the fireplace on and read them, pausing to pray for each request. The letters were written from the heart – no “fake news”, no holding back. It was beautiful to read each person’s joys, sorrows, struggles, and faith journey. Tomorrow I will pen my own letter and mail the packet along to the next person. There are many women to celebrate on this International Women’s Day, but today these women top my list. They (We) are all just normal women, each walking a different path, each with our own specific struggles, yet each supporting one another, praying for one another, deepening our relationship with one another.

I Found God today in thoughtful letters from my prayer group.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Our Lady of Fatima

Posted by eph21920 on March 7, 2017 in Answer, Children, Faith, Hope, Mary, Peace

I have been hearing about the 100 year anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima – when Mary the Mother of Jesus appeared to 3 children in Fatima, Portugal. The other day, my mom found information in the bulletin that one of the travelling statues of Our Lady of Fatima would be in our church today. We had a busy day, but my parents and I were able to go to the church, say some prayers, see the statue, and listen to a presentation about it. My parents had heard about the apparitions when they were children and my mom was always curious about it. We learned a little about the statue and the requests that Mary made to the children to pray for conversion, for world peace, and to make reparation. She taught them several prayers and said to pray the rosary every day to make a real difference in the world. After the presentation, we were able to take a closer look at the beautiful statue. The original statue was created with the help of one of the children who said that it was not beautiful enough. I imagine it is impossible for us humans to try to replicate something that is heavenly. We were very happy that we were able to go and experience the event.

I Found God today learning more about Our Lady of Fatima.

Permalink