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Making Changes

Posted by eph21920 on April 18, 2016 in Joy, Life, New, Opportunity

Yesterday as I talked to my sister, she said that she was determined to change the way she is doing some of her work to make it more productive and less stressful. I thought of the advice I heard a while ago from a priest friend who was helping me through a difficult time. He said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That is the first time I heard that quote and it really stuck with me. This morning the daily meditation from Dynamic Catholic that I received read:

“There are times in each of our lives when we have to decide: change or more of the same? Perhaps you are there now. What will you choose?” From Matthew Kelly’s forthcoming book The Narrow Path

This morning my dad got up with a song stuck in his head and he had to find the lyrics. The name of the song was, “There’ll Be Some Changes Made”. He said he woke up and decided that he needed to do something different and the song came to him. He did find the lyrics and an older version of the song and sang along. He remembered almost the whole thing. Then he started his day full of energy and went out and about taking care of things. It was good to see him so lively and joyful.

I Found God today in encouragement to make positive changes.

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Shepherding

Posted by eph21920 on April 17, 2016 in Answer, Bible, Connected, Eternity, Faith, Jesus, Life, Movie

Today in church, this was one of the readings from the Bible:

JOHN 10:27-30     Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

This reminded me of a couple of the scenes in the movie Jesus Christ Superstar that we watched yesterday. The first one was a shepherd walking in front of a herd of sheep. He was leading and they were following. As they passed by a pond, you could see their reflection in the water. The reflection then changed to that of Jesus’ apostles. The men were walking to the place where they would celebrate the Last Supper. During the meal, Judas had a heated conversation with Jesus as they both knew that he was about to turn Jesus over to those who would kill Him. Judas ran off and into the herd of sheep. The sheep panicked and scattered, eventually heading the same direction as Judas. At the very end of the movie, we see a very faint silhouette of a shepherd once again at the front of the herd, leading the sheep. It was interesting, as I was pondering these scenes and took note of them out of everything else that was happening in the movie. When I heard the above scripture, I thought about them some more. To me it means that Jesus is, of course, THE shepherd. He has led the way we are to go – ultimately into eternity – and it is our choice to follow Him. There are plenty of people in the world who will confuse us and scatter us and we also have the choice of following them. Also, not only do we have the choice of who to follow, we also have the capability of influencing those around us.

I Found God today in the meanings of shepherding.

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Jesus Christ Superstar

Posted by eph21920 on April 16, 2016 in Connected, Faith, Family, Jesus, Music

Today was a good day to stay indoors as we are having another spring snowstorm. Since Easter my mom has had the music from Jesus Christ Superstar going through her head. My sister had brought the movie over, but we didn’t get a chance to watch it. Today we took the time and popped in the DVD. As I watched, I remembered having the music playing in the family house over and over again when I was younger. We listened to it a lot and even played the songs on the piano as we sang along. Many years later, I had the opportunity to take my older son to see the performance live. Ted Neeley himself played Jesus and I was in awe of his powerful voice. A few years later, my son was in a presentation at our church and sang one of the songs. After several more years passed, I introduced the music to my younger son who loved it. We actually wore out one of the CD’s. And today I got to share it with my parents. It truly is a moving and influential piece of work.

I Found God today watching Jesus Christ Superstar and realizing what an impact it has made on me and my family.

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Inside A Mountain

Posted by eph21920 on April 15, 2016 in Children, Family, Grateful, Travel

Today my sister found that it is the 50th anniversary of NORAD – the military station inside of Cheyenne Mountain. Our dad worked there many, many years ago. At one time we were able to go inside and have Thanksgiving dinner there. I was a young child, so I remember only bits and pieces of the event. But I do remember that it was pretty darn cool. It was one of the many interesting and exciting things we were able to do as children. We traveled a lot during my dad’s military career. While it was challenging, I was always grateful for the excursions we would take as a family.

I Found God today in remembering one of the exciting places our family visited.

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Mother’s Faith in Divine Mercy

Posted by eph21920 on April 14, 2016 in Eternity, Faith, Grief, Jesus, Mercy, Sacrifice

Today my mom read a heart wrenching, yet faith filled, story. It was written by a mother who was praying one year on Divine Mercy Sunday especially for her son in college. She said she left the church filled with profound peace even as the events of the next day followed. The next day was April 16, 2007. Her son was a student and belonged to ROTC at Virginia Tech. He was in a classroom at the time when the shooting occurred. According to witnesses, while the teacher yelled for everyone to get under desks, her son – Matthew La Porte – headed towards the door to try to block it. Unfortunately, he did not stop the gunman and was killed. While the mother was heartbroken, she believed in God’s promise to defend a soul for whom the Divine Mercy was prayed. Later, she felt that her son encountered Jesus at the time of his death. He did, in fact, die with a smile on his face. She said that her son’s love will continue through her and to others through her acts of mercy and kindness.

http://www.airforcetimes.com/story/military/2015/04/14/virginia-tech-cadet-honored-for-saving-lives-in-massacre/25761401/

I Found God today in a sacrificing young man and his faithful mother.

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Shroud of Turin

Posted by eph21920 on April 13, 2016 in Faith, Family, Jesus

Tonight my mom and I went to the church for a presentation on the Shroud of Turin. The Shroud is a 14 ft piece of cloth that bears an image of a man. The man has the same wounds that Jesus Christ suffered as described in the Bible. The Shroud is thought to be the burial cloth of Jesus. The gentleman who gave the presentation was part of the team of scientists who were allowed to study the Shroud in 1978. He also went back to Turin this past summer and was able to get more information. His talk was full of science and went over my head at times, but I followed pretty well. The team did extensive testing on the Shroud and continue to do so. There was so much information that complicates the question of where exactly did the image come from. What I found most fascinating was that there is no explanation for the origin of the image. It is not paint or anything added to the fabric. The markings are actually part of the fibers. The only explanation the scientists have at this point is that the image is burned on to the cloth through something similar to radiation. As I listened, I thought about Jesus actually being wrapped in that cloth (we saw pictures and a copy, not the real thing). And I thought about all the signs and wonders that God gives us to help us believe in Him. Of course there are those who will refuse to believe, but as a friend of mine always said, “What more is God to do?”

I Found God today in a presentation on what could be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ.

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Loving Words

Posted by eph21920 on April 12, 2016 in Faith, Friends, Love

The other day a friend who lives far away gave me a call. I was unable to talk at the time, so I told her I would call her back. But when I tried, her phone was busy. She called again another day and I missed the call. Today as I was getting ready to make dinner, I thought of her and planned on calling her after we ate. About a minute later, she called. It was great to catch up and hear her voice. The best thing was to hear the words, ” I miss you, I love you, and I am praying for you. ” That meant the world to me.

I Found God today in loving words from a far away friend.

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Blessing Through Suffering

Posted by eph21920 on April 11, 2016 in Children, Connected, Faith, Sick

Today out of the blue I received an email that a “Care Page” that I subscribed to had been updated. I recognized the name as that of a family from the church I used to work for. The family had a little girl who was born with a heart defect. She went through multiple open heart surgeries as well as other procedures. The Care Page was a way to let people know how she was doing – especially during operations. The family has other children as well and I was always amazed at how they were able to juggle everything while spending so much time in the hospital. I was also in awe of their faith. The mom even volunteered for events and such as she could. She shared her faith, strength, and loving heart with so many and I am sure she continues to do so. The kids were very sweet, respectful, and joyful. The Care Page was updated as the little girl – much bigger now – was undergoing yet another surgery. I prayed for her and her family and thanked God for the blessing they are.

I Found God today in an unexpected notice that helped me to remember how people can be a blessing to others even though they are going through a rough time of it.

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Recovering Chick

Posted by eph21920 on April 10, 2016 in Faith, Family, Healing, Prayer

My sister and her husband have been spending extra time caring for one of their new chicks. When she arrived and was in the brooder with the rest, she was not eating or drinking and would cry and peep loudly when another chick would bump into her. So they put her in her own box to see if they could help her improve. They nicknamed her “Little Ms. Peeps.” When we saw her yesterday, she would mostly lie in a heap in the box and it was hard to tell if she was even breathing or not. My sister would pick her up now and again and put her beak in the water to make sure she was getting in some liquid. We didn’t think she would make it through the night. I didn’t hear any news about her this morning, so I called my sister this afternoon. To my surprise, my sister said that the little chick was doing much better. She started eating on her own and was even preening herself. After spending 3 full days with the chicks, my sister and her husband will be going back to work tomorrow, so they will have to put Little Ms. Peeps back into the brooder with the rest of flock. My sister was still so worried as the chick was still not drinking on her own, so she started praying that this would happen. Within the hour, Little Ms. Peeps started drinking by herself. My sister and her husband now feel better about leaving the chick with the others and are hopeful that she will make it through.

I Found God today in a quickly answered prayer and renewed hope for a little chick.

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The Chicks Arrived

Posted by eph21920 on April 9, 2016 in Creation, Family, Joy, Life

My sister who lives on a “mini-ranch” got a chicken coop a few weeks ago and has been working on getting it ready. She ordered some baby chicks to be delivered and waited in anticipation. I had no idea that you could mail order chicks, but that is how it worked. The chicks arrived yesterday morning. My sister and her husband picked up the box of 30 newly hatched chicks, brought them home, and placed them in their special “brooder” box with plenty of food and water. We got a few pictures and updates during the day. I really wanted to see them in person and teased my mom and dad that we needed to go visit their new “grand-chicks”. So we headed out to their house today. When we arrived, I commented that my sister and her husband had that new parent look about them. My sister said that they spent the morning taking care of some issues with the little ones. They are keeping the brooder in their basement and I could hear lots of little cheeping before we went down the stairs. My sister got several different kinds of chicks, so they were different colors. She figured some were a day older than others and you could see they were a little bit bigger and more lively. They were so cute. My sister picked one up so my parents could see it up close and pet it’s little head. I picked one up too and held it, but not for long as they are so delicate right now and I didn’t want to hurt it. They grow very fast at this stage and my mom noticed that even in the time we visited it seemed that their wing feathers were growing in right before our eyes. It was fun to meet the new little creatures that are going to bring so much joy into my sister’s life.

I Found God today in cute, fuzzy, entertaining little chicks.

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