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Thankful Day

Posted by eph21920 on February 4, 2016 in Faith, Grateful, Prayer

I talk to God a lot about needs. I ask Him to help me with this or that, I ask His protection over friends and family, I lift up people and situations to Him that are in need of particular help at the present time, etc. And all this is good. We should pray about all our cares and concerns and trust that God will take care of us and those we love according to His perfect plan. But part way through, I realized that I don’t thank God enough for all that He provides for me and my friends and family every day. Years ago, a very wise woman taught me how to be more grateful. She said to thank God for everything during the day. Instead of feeling burdened with doing the dishes, for example, thank Him for the food we have to eat, the dishes to put the food on, the people to eat with, and a place to share a meal together. I decided that I need to work on a more grateful attitude, so today I would try to remember that and thank God during the day. I thanked Him for breakfast food. I thanked Him that my parents both were up and functioning. I thanked Him for the morning prayer, which by the way said to have an attitude of gratitude. And so it went. When it was difficult to push the shopping cart through the non-snowplowed parking lot, I thanked God for the food, the money to purchase it, the people who provided the food, for the vehicle to drive to the store, and for the snow that made nature look more beautiful and provided necessary water. Doing this throughout the day helped to keep my mind on God’s goodness.

I Found God today in realizing His goodness more fully and being grateful for it.

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Unexpected Encouragement

Posted by eph21920 on February 3, 2016 in Faith, Friends, Joy, Mercy

Today I received an encouraging note from a beautiful soul that I haven’t seen in over a year. We would see each other in church meetings and such and talk about how best to reach out to other people. She was always a kind face that reflected her loving heart. It meant so much to me that she would take the time to write. Her words were unexpected, uplifting, and supportive. I got choked up when I read it. To me, it was God in her heart touching my heart.

I Found God today in unexpected words of encouragement.

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Quiet Snowy Day

Posted by eph21920 on February 2, 2016 in Family, Weather

I got up this morning and just like a kid ran to the window to see the result of the snowstorm that came through. As I suspected, the world was covered in a blanket of white. It snowed on and off the whole day. My mom cancelled her therapy appointment, so there were no worries about having to travel. I had stocked up at the store a couple of days ago in preparation, so no worries about needing anything. We just stayed in and stayed warm and dry. I enjoyed watching the weather go from windy and blowing snow, to moments of sun peeking through, to snow showers with large flakes, to pieces of blue sky. My parents and I worked on an upcoming birthday party for my sister. We also worked on a puzzle that we got out a couple days ago. We watched the news about how the homeless are being taken care of and how people are helping those around them. That made me happy. It was really just a quiet day at home – thankfully.

I Found God today in a quiet day staying in and watching the beautiful weather.

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It’s Not About Me

Posted by eph21920 on February 1, 2016 in Answer, Faith, Family, Prayer, Service

This morning in prayer I was thinking about what it takes to best serve others with love. The words that came to my mind were, “It’s not about you.” It is truly freeing when I think about things in this way. If someone says something that hurts my feelings – It’s not about me. More often than not, it is about the other person being insecure, or in a bad situation, or just plain cranky. That doesn’t mean I have to take it to heart. If I can think of hundreds of things to do other than helping someone out – It’s not about me. I should be able to put my selfishness aside and think of the other person instead. If I think God isn’t listening to my prayers and requests – It’s not about me. God is God and I am not. Faith is about trusting that God loves me and those around me and will direct all things for my – and His – greater good. I decided to try to keep those words in my mind. When I opened my email later in the morning, the first words I saw were, “It’s not about you.” Not once, but twice! I chuckled. It was the title of a blog I follow that I somehow received twice. Interesting. Then at breakfast with my mom, I read a daily inspiration that I also receive. It said, “I know this for certain. God is at work in your life. Look for him in people, events, and circumstances and you will find him beckoning you.” My mom said that is exactly what she was thinking about when she woke up and she was going to try to keep that in her mind. Funny.

I Found God today in affirming words.

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Love is Patient . . .

Posted by eph21920 on January 31, 2016 in Faith, Life, Love

One of my favorite scriptures was read at church today – 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. It includes “Love is patient, love is kind . . . ” These words remind me of how I should be conducting myself. It also reminds me of how I should be treated and not to allow myself to be run over or abused. The deacon at church said we can replace “God” for the word “Love”. This makes sense, since God = Love. “God is patient, God is kind . . .” I thought about that and realized how true it is. In my own experience I have found that God has always been gentle with me. Things do not always turn out the way I want, however God has been there with me and for me lovingly guiding me along. Whenever I have felt in turmoil, anguish, or fear, I have cried out to God and He has brought me peace – either immediately, or a little at a time as I continued to go to Him.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

I Found God today in a description of Love.

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Do For the Least Ones

Posted by eph21920 on January 30, 2016 in Begin, Bible, Love, New, Opportunity, Youth

Today I went to a meeting to find out about a new program at my church that is geared toward helping teens who are in foster care. A mom who fostered teen boys spoke to us about her experience and what might be expected behavior. She has fostered over 70 young men. She talked about the government system and resources that are or are not available to her family and the youth. I could tell how much the kids meant to her. I heard the love in her voice as she told stories about how she stood up for the kids and how she was committed to each and every one. I was so impressed and humbled at her undertaking and vow to help the teens as much as she could to be prepared to go into the world. At the same meeting, we read the scripture Matthew 25:31-46. The passage outlines how we are to take care of those in need – thirsty, hungry, imprisoned, etc… The program coordinator compared each need to those of the teens. She said the goal of foster families and those who support them is to help each youth be the vision that God intended for them. I thought that was beautiful.

I Found God today in a very committed foster mom and words of encouragement from the Bible.

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Ask Siri

Posted by eph21920 on January 29, 2016 in Answer, Family, Problem

So last night while I was at dinner with my friend, I kept my phone out . . . just in case my parents had to contact me. I checked it from time to time and was pleased that there were no emergency calls. Later, my parents told me what happened while I was gone. My dad occasionally has trouble getting food stuck in the lower part of his esophagus, just before his stomach. He had this trouble as he and my mom were eating dinner. I will not go into details, but it was very unpleasant and painful. As my parents were trying to figure out what to do, they had an idea that is usually my first try at a solution – ask the computer. So they did. There were several ideas and my dad found one that sounded do-able. He drank small portions of ginger ale and coughed some. After doing this a couple of times, the food was broken up and went down to his stomach. Now – I was somewhat concerned that my parents did this without back up as things could have gone badly. On the other hand, it was very resourceful of them – and it worked – and they are fine.

I Found God today in the resourcefulness and safety of my parents.

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What is Success

Posted by eph21920 on January 28, 2016 in Answer, Friends, Happiness

A good friend and I went to dinner tonight to celebrate her birthday. We have been friends for about 25 years now and have always had a great time when we get together. She is one of those people that attract and/or intrigue other people. The hostess in the restaurant sat us at a booth in the bar. There were two older gentleman sitting in the booth behind my friend and I knew that at some point there would be a conversation. Sure enough, after a while the man sitting right behind my friend asked if he could ask her a question. He said  they were having a discussion and needed another opinion. He asked her how she defined success. Without missing a beat she replied, “Success has nothing to do with how much money you have. It is about being happy in your own small world and doing the right thing.” She explained her stand a little more by telling the men that she didn’t have a lot of money or things, but she had her family and that meant everything. The guys talked about how much fame and wealth they had. I was hopeful that she gave them a different perspective.

I Found God today in words of wisdom from a good friend.

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Transcending Time

Posted by eph21920 on January 27, 2016 in Faith, Jesus

I continued the “retreat” again tonight. The topic we discussed most was the “Divine Eternity” of God. In our life on this earth, we have time. The natural rotations of the Earth give us days, months, and years. However, with God, there is no “time” as we know it. A few weeks ago, my dad read a quote that I cannot put my fingers on right now, but it said something about God interrupting time when He came into the world as an infant. I thought that was profound. Our discussion tonight went much deeper. We talked about how God – being eternal – sees all things at once. We talked about how Christ – being God, therefore also eternal – knew you and I, each person, when he was crucified. As he died on the cross, He did so for the sake of every person. Jesus rose from the dead and is still alive today. Even though these events happened 2000 years ago, through faith we have the opportunity to get to know Jesus right now – as a father, a mentor, a friend. He is truly present during each Mass, just as He said. As a wonderful priest friend said to me at one time, “It is a lot to ponder, but worth pondering.” These mysteries that we cannot fully grasp really get me thinking and through it, I find myself getting closer to God, getting more caught up in Him. One woman may have the best response. Jesus said we must be like children to enter the Kingdom of God. We must learn what we can comprehend, but bottom line is we need to trust.

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Good Friend Connection

Posted by eph21920 on January 26, 2016 in Answer, Connected, Faith, Friends, Youth

Many years ago I moved to a new location and found a new church. I met a woman who became one of my best friends. Together we worked with the teenagers in the parish, trying to start up some type of youth ministry. Neither of us knew exactly what we were doing, but exposed the kids to a lot of great things with the guidance of more experienced people. In later years we attended theology courses together. As I moved to another city, we both ended up working in ministry in different churches. Even though we didn’t see each other very often, when we did, we caught up on everything. She is one that I can tell anything to. Now since I have moved very far away, unfortunately we talk even less. I was excited to get a text from her today. She was trying to remember the name of a video that we showed the teens so many years ago. I called her as I honestly didn’t recall what she was talking about. As she described the video, she thought of the name. I thought that was pretty funny. I have been reading about Christ being the “head” of the church and we are all parts of the “body”. I find this explains the many connections that I feel I experience.

I Found God today in a connection with a good friend.

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