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Windy Weather

Posted by eph21920 on April 23, 2016 in Creation, Weather

I was awake unexpectedly early this morning and thought about going out to see if I could find any meteors from the shower that is happening right now. But then I heard the wind. I don’t like the wind at all. But I do like the sound of the trees blowing. So, I laid there listening for a while. When I noticed it getting light, I got up and watched the sunrise. It was truly breathtaking. I went outside briefly in the chilly wind and took some pictures. The brisk wind lasted all day, so other than a quick walk when the sun was peeking out, we spent most of the time inside looking out. Even the birds did not visit the feeders until much later in the evening. One of my favorite smells is pine trees in the mountains. Combine that with rain and it is a double bonus. The wind brought showers through here and there and at one time it was little balls of snow. We could see the little storms flow over the hills and wondered which would make it to our house. While it was not a good day to spend outside, I still enjoyed being surrounded by nature.

I Found God today as I continued to enjoy the beauty of nature.

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Beautiful Earth Day

Posted by eph21920 on April 22, 2016 in Creation, Happiness

My parents and I made our way up to the mountains today. It was such a gorgeous day. On the way we stopped for lunch at a place where we could watch the water rushing down a stream. We always enjoy searching for wildlife along the way and were happy that we got to see some deer. There were signs of other wildlife near the cabin, but we didn’t catch any on the “game cam” that we have set up. My dad and I meandered a bit, just taking in the scenery. I spent a lot of time just hanging out on the deck, listening to the wind in the trees and the chirping of the birds. The evening brought a magnificent sunset. All in all, it was a beautiful way to spend Earth Day.

I Found God today in the beauty of the Earth He created and all that is in it.

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Continued Progress

Posted by eph21920 on April 21, 2016 in Family, Healing, Shopping

My mom and I went out shopping today. This does not happen very often and I was glad she was able to go. We got one of those motorized carts for her to drive around. It has been a few months since last time she used one, but she remembered how to work it. As we went up and down aisles, I could tell that she was feeling much more comfortable. She had a more relaxed demeanor and even spoke to people along the way. Everyone was super nice to her. Once I went down an aisle to grab something while she waited down at the end. A woman walked by and saw her seemingly alone and asked if she was doing OK. A couple of little girls with their mom said hello. People were patient as she was maneuvering the big cart around. My mom even had enough energy to look at some clothing she needed and tried things on. I am amazed at the continued progress she seems to make.

I Found God today realizing that my mom can continue to improve.

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Faith Filled Gift

Posted by eph21920 on April 20, 2016 in Faith, Family, Hope, Prayer, Sick

Today in the mail my mom received a rosary that has some holy water from Lourdes in it. She ordered it from a religious organization with the intent of sending it to her brother and his wife who seem to have an unending amount of medical issues. My mom wants them to know she is praying for them and offering hope as well. She called her brother tonight to get his new address as they recently moved. He was glad to hear from her and told her about his latest episode in the hospital. His wife was at the hospital at one of her regular dialysis appointments. He was trying to be upbeat as always, but you could tell he was having a very rough time of it. After they hung up, my mom got the package ready to send. It included a card that explained how the organization would be praying for them as well. I thought it was very thoughtful and timely.

I Found God today in the thoughtfulness and faith of my mother.

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Another Anniversary

Posted by eph21920 on April 19, 2016 in Family, Grateful, Love, Marriage, Relationship

Today my parents celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary. I started the day hearing my mom making a phone call to her doctor, so I went upstairs to see what was happening. My mother has a history of diverticulitis – an infection in the lower intestine. Evidently she woke up early this morning with sever pains that felt just like the infection. She called her doctor and was able to get an appointment. Fortunately, by the time we got there, she was feeling much better. He advised her to wait, watch, eat a bland diet, and call him if she felt it again. So we spent a quiet day at home. My parents typically go to their favorite German restaurant for their anniversary and had planned on going for lunch, but decided this would not be a good day to do so. I felt bad about that, so I made the fanciest bland meal I could think of and set the dinner table for 2 with candles so they could perhaps have a nice dinner by themselves. Throughout the day, they received flowers and a food gift box from family as well as phone calls from all their children. My mom felt pretty good and we were grateful for that. All in all, it was a quiet day, but still full of love.

I Found God today in my parents continued loving relationship.

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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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