Leave a comment

Done with Antibiotics

Posted by eph21920 on February 11, 2017 in Answer, Family, Grateful, Healing, Prayer

Today was my mom’s last day of taking the antibiotics for the recent bout of diverticulitis. She has done so well, she hasn’t even been as nauseous as in the past. She even felt good enough to go to the Parkinson’s support and to church. Today is also the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. My mom, dad, and I have said a novena for the past nine days especially that my mom would get better and not have to go to the hospital. We are grateful that has happened.

I Found God today in answered prayers for my mom’s wellness.

Permalink
2 Comments

Moments in Church

Posted by eph21920 on February 10, 2017 in Faith, Peace, Prayer

I ran a few errands today that took me by the church. I made my way inside the chapel and exhaled. I spent a few quiet minutes there breathing, praying, listening, being. Sometimes I am so busy being busy that I forget I need to stop. There is so much distraction in the world, but when I stop, quiet myself and talk with God, I truly feel His presence. It was so peaceful – literally a few minutes of Heaven.

I Found God today in church.

Permalink
Leave a comment

A Similar Story

Posted by eph21920 on February 9, 2017 in Connected, Faith, Friends, Life, Opportunity

A friend who works at a church read my blog yesterday and replied. She told about how she is also going to physical therapy and she also told her therapist about her job in the church. He responded by telling her about his conversion story. It is truly amazing to me what similar paths so many of us are on as we travel through life. We each have so much to share with and learn from one another. And when we open up with people about our faith and relationship with God, we encourage others who then in turn encourage us. Who knows where that will lead. You can read her full comment and story here.

I Found God today in a similar story about sharing faith friend far away.

Permalink
3 Comments

Brave Conversation

Posted by eph21920 on February 8, 2017 in Connected, Faith

Last year I hurt my hip and was in physical therapy for a couple of months. I made a pretty good run of it on my own since then exercising, stretching, and walking as much as I can. However, recently the hip started hurting again including sciatica. I did what I knew to try to relieve it with no progress, so I started back in physical therapy again. I went to a different place from the first and was somewhat surprised at the differences. The previous place was huge and had lots of different people who would work on me. The new place is very small so you are only working with a couple of people. At the previous place, they had lots of contraptions to torture  – I mean rehabilitate you. This place seems to be a little more personal and hands on. Most good therapists get you talking while they proceed to manipulate the affected area to get your mind off what they are doing to you. The same held true for the new people. The other day, I was talking with a guy and told him I used to work in youth ministry. He remembered that and brought it up today. He asked what church I went to now and I told him. He knew of the church and said his sister used to attend when she lived in the area. Then he told me all about the church that he and his wife go to that was started by a group of nuns. They built a chapel on the grounds of their community and when people started attending Mass there, it expanded and became a parish. There is also a nursing home on the site. The young man told me how he loves going there and seeing the nuns. He has a 1 1/2 year old daughter and they all love seeing her too. It was such an uplifting conversation right there in the middle of this little place. I thought it was fairly brave of him.

I Found God today in an uplifting conversation about the value of church.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Missed the Wind

Posted by eph21920 on February 7, 2017 in Family, Weather

The weather forecast for today was unusually warm with strong winds. I went out and about this morning and when I returned home, the sun was shining warm and the wind was only a breeze. My mom had sat outside for a while, but had not taken a walk. We try to get out every day that the weather permits, but we both hate the wind. I told my mom that we needed to get out quickly before the wind picked up. I put a pot of soup on the stove for lunch and we headed outside for a walk. It was gorgeous. We enjoyed the feeling of the warm sun shining on us. My mom even had enough energy to take the “long route”. Once we reached the front stairs to go back inside, the wind was starting to blow. Moments after we shut the door back in the house, the trees started leaning and we could hear the wind whistling through the screen. My mom and I cheered our victory over the elements. Both my parents were quite impressed with my weather forecasting ability.

I Found God today being able to take my mom out for a beautiful walk with perfect timing.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Loving Reminder

Posted by eph21920 on February 6, 2017 in Answer, Faith, Grateful, Love

This morning I read a brief article that included the words of Jesus in John 15:5, “…without me you can do nothing.” During the day I thought of the many times I have relied on God to get me through a rough time, to keep me from doing the wrong thing, to restrain my not so nice tendencies, to move forward with scary decisions. Thinking about these things reminded me how much God loves me and cares for me. It was a welcomed reminder.

I Found God today being reminded of His loving care for me.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Can We Be So Bold

Posted by eph21920 on February 5, 2017 in Answer, Bible, Connected, Faith, Homeless, Poor

Today at church, one of the Scripture readings was from the prophet Isaiah 58:7-10. These words struck my heart, likely due to the friction in the world at this particular point in time. The passage says in part, “…sharing your bread with the hungry, bringing the afflicted and the homeless into your house; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own flesh. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn…Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: “Here I am!”  I thought about what might happen if we took just this passage seriously? Would it be too bold of us to take God at His Word? What if we took the actions that are told to us here? Would God really be there for us when we need help? Wouldn’t it be a very different world if we put our energy into caring for others rather than being hateful or fearful of them? What if we acted on faith in doing so, allowing God to do His work through us and for us? The words of Isaiah were likely written about 2700 years ago in a land halfway around the world from us. It is interesting that they seemed to be in a similar state as we are right now. But as Scripture continues, there are countless stories of those who took God at His Word, and God did not disappoint. Can we be so bold now?

I Found God today contemplating His Words and promises.

Permalink
Leave a comment

More Artistic Expression

Posted by eph21920 on February 4, 2017 in Birthday, Family, Fun

Today my sisters, brother-in-law, and nephew all came over to celebrate my younger sister’s birthday. She is obsessed with her chickens, so it was a chicken themed party. My older sister and I collaborated to make the birthday cake. I baked the cake and put together a chicken coop out of rice crispie treats. My sister molded little chickens out of fondant. It was adorable. Having people over always lifts my parents’ spirits and we were all happy to see that my mom was feeling better. After lunch and cake, we all went to our new favorite place to celebrate where we paint a work of art. A few of my friends and two couples that my sister has known since high school met us there. When we were able to take a little break, I took a look to see how everyone’s pictures were coming along, which is half the fun. Two of the guys were doing an amazing job and putting their own twist on things. Come to find out, they both had painting experience. I loved to see personalities and individual flair show through the artwork. This picture was more colorful from the others I have done and was full of meadow flowers, so it was easier to take creative liberty. People mixed different colors and added different brushstrokes. My nephew even put a smiley face in the sun. It was a great day of fun, friends, and family.

I Found God today in artistic expression, being with family and friends, and seeing my mom feeling better.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Answered the Call

Posted by eph21920 on February 3, 2017 in Answer, Doctor, Family, Sick

We are always very careful about answering the land line. If you answer and it is a soicitation – or worse a scam – that triples the amount of calls that come in. Luckily we have caller ID to help figure out if the caller is someone we know or not. Tonight when the phone rang, it simply read, “Private Caller”. I thought about not answering, but my mom had a catscan late this afternoon and I thought perhaps it was a doctor telling us the results. I answered with a finger on the button ready to hang up if it was a solicitor or scam. It was in fact the doctor. He confirmed what we had been concerned about – my mother has diverticulitis again. She has had it too many times in the past and knows what it feels like, so hopefully this time she caught it early enough that we can knock it out here at home without her having to be hospitalized. I was so grateful that I picked up that phone and was able to talk with the doctor about test results and what to do so we wouldn’t be wondering and worrying all weekend.

I Found God today being able to talk with a doctor for answers and advice.

Permalink
Leave a comment

Napping Weather

Posted by eph21920 on February 2, 2017 in Family, Grateful, Sick

It was an icy, snowy, foggy, cold, dark day today. I was so glad I got all my errands done yesterday. It was the perfect weather for napping. My mom was not feeling very well today so she napped quite a bit. It just seemed to work out fine. I was glad she was able to get a lot of rest.

I Found God today in napping weather.

Permalink