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Making Candy

Posted by eph21920 on March 13, 2016 in Family, Food, Laughter

A couple of years ago, a friend and I spent an evening making Easter candy out of chocolate melts. She also taught me how to make a homemade version of Cadbury Eggs. They were fun to make and delicious to eat. Last year I missed doing anything like that. This year I decided I wanted to give it a try. I live far from that friend now, but we spent a lot of time this week talking and texting about recipes and the best way to go about making the candy. I invited my sisters to come for the day and found out that one of them had some candy molds with bunnies, chicks, and crosses. I had a good time purchasing the rest of the supplies and ingredients. Although I could not find the exact recipe that my friend used for the Cadbury Eggs – and neither could she – I did find one that looked pretty close. Yesterday I mixed up the sticky white filling and colored some yellow. My mom rolled the yellow pieces into balls to make the “yolk” and I covered it with the white. Those got placed in some partially filled egg molds, then melted chocolate was poured over the top. We tried one after they had hardened and it was yummy. My sisters came over last night and we got an early start on the candy this morning. We caught up on the latest happenings as we painted the details in the molds with pastel blue, pink, and yellow melted candy. One of my sisters is an artist, so her’s were particularly impressive. We had so much fun trying different techniques, chatting, and laughing. I love it when we are together. We made quite a bit of candy to sent out in care packages to family members who we won’t see for Easter.

I Found God today being with my sisters and having a creative and fun day.

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Singing Voice

Posted by eph21920 on March 12, 2016 in Family, Grateful, Happiness, Music

My mom, dad, and I went to church this evening instead of tomorrow. It will be helpful for us especially with the time change. We sat in the “usual” spot. A woman and her son always sit a few rows back. The young man struggles with some type of mental disability and his mom kept him talking until the service began. As soon as the opening song started, she joined in with her strong and beautiful singing voice. This was the first time I heard the boy singing as well. Then I heard another lovely voice. It was my mom. With her Parkinson’s, it is difficult for her to speak loudly, much less actually sing. What makes it more burdensome is the fact that she used to sing in competitions and in choirs. I wondered if she felt she was in a competition with the woman a few rows back. Tonight I asked her how she found God today. She said that she was able to sing at church and wondered if I had noticed. I said I definitely did. She was so happy that her voice was even placed correctly. It was great to hear her and to see her so happy with her ability.

I Found God today in my mom’s happiness and being able to hear her sing.

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Old Legs

Posted by eph21920 on March 11, 2016 in Children, Connected, Death, Eternity, Faith, Humor

This morning I went to a physical therapy session where the therapist pushed on my lower back as we continue trying to resolve my hip issue. It was pretty darn painful at the time. I had some errands to run and shopping to do after I was done. I arrived at one store and got out of the car. A woman and small boy were also getting out of their car not too far from me. The little boy said that his legs were getting old. The woman said, “You’re legs are getting old? That’s too bad since you are only 6!” I chuckled. The boy went on to explain why his legs were tired. Evidently, that meant they were getting old. I thought about what a long life this child has ahead of him – God willing. I thought about my own legs that I feel really are getting pretty old. I thought about my parents and especially how my mother struggles every single day. I am sure she thinks her whole body has gotten very old. This led me to think about our lives in general and how our bodies make up only a part of who we are. We can put them through quite a lot and they will go on best as they can. But I thank God for giving me the faith to know that there is so much more. We also have a soul that is made for eternity – and for God. And when this body cannot go any more, I look forward to being with Him.

I Found God today in a boy’s funny comment that led to a reminder that we are more than just our body.

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An Inspirational Message

Posted by eph21920 on March 10, 2016 in Faith, Friends, Prayer

As I was going about my day today, I got an inspiring text out of the blue from a friend. It read, “Happy moments, praise God. Difficult moments, seek God. Quiet moments, worship God. Painful moments, trust God. Every moment, thank God.” I did thank God for this beautiful woman and the message she shared.

I Found God today in an inspirational message.

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Manning Tribute 2

Posted by eph21920 on March 9, 2016 in Answer, Children, Family, Music

Yesterday after I wrote my blog, I watched the original video of the song “I Lived” by OneRepublic. This was the song that my grandson used in making his Peyton Manning tribute video. The video is a very powerful story of a teenage boy with Cystic Fibrosis. You can see the video here. Since it was late, I emailed my grandson and asked how he chose the song. This morning I received a very detailed answer. While he had never watched the video before (I sent him the link so he could see it), he had the song in his head. He said as he watched Peyton Manning’s retirement speech, he understood just how much Manning loved the game of football. Then, as he listened to the words of the song, he thought about where the different video clips would fit in best – the old, the new, victories, and struggles. He didn’t just put some videos to a song, he thought about how Peyton must have felt during different points in his career – in his life. He matched that with the words to the song. I was even more impressed after reading the explanation.

I Found God today in the empathetic heart of my grandson.

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Manning Tribute

Posted by eph21920 on March 8, 2016 in Children, Family, Movie, Music

I chatted with my just barely a teenager grandson this afternoon via text on his own phone. It was great fun talking with him independently from his parents. He is a Broncos fan, even though he lives in the Northeast. Well, he doesn’t really have much choice as his dad is a Broncos fan. I asked him what he thought about Peyton Manning’s retirement. He said he was working on making a video tribute to him. He is really good at putting together videos. He has actually been doing still frame animation for years already. Once the video was completed, he uploaded it to the internet and sent me the link. The video is set to the song, “I Lived” by OneRepublic. Like any good tribute, it shows clips of Manning in various settings. The ending includes lists of records that the quarterback set during his career and my grandson’s own words of heartfelt appreciation. I was impressed not only by the video itself, but by the sincerity and thoughtfulness that went into the project.

I Found God today in the talent and heart of my grandson.

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Response From Beyond

Posted by eph21920 on March 7, 2016 in Answer, Connected, Death, Grief

Today I read a story about a young police officer cadet who was unfortunately killed in the line of duty. The grief stricken mother continued to send text messages to his phone number, especially when she was having a difficult time. One day, after pouring out her heart in one of the texts, she received a response. Someone else was given the son’s phone number after a period of time and was getting the texts. At first, he ignored them. But after the heartfelt message, he responded that he was receiving them. He was a police officer in the same state, but a different city. The mother told him the story of her son. The officer offered to change the number, but the mom asked him not to if it was ok to text now and again. They continue to stay in touch. They feel that there is a special angel who connected them and is watching over them. Here is the full story:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/humankind/2015/11/20/mom-texts-dead-son-cope-grief-gets-text-back/76097532/

I Found God today in a story of a how a grieving mother and police officer got connected.

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A Gentle Father

Posted by eph21920 on March 6, 2016 in Life, Love, Relationship

When you go to church, it can seem as if there is “assigned seating”. Everyone gravitates to the same spot week after week. It is the same for me and my parents. We sit in the back area, deemed the “handicapped” areas. It is just inside the entrance, so you don’t have to walk far. There are chairs instead of pews, which is more comfortable for my mom. And they have people bring Communion back to those who have difficulty walking to the front when it is time. Of course, we find that the same people usually sit in the same area as well. There is one family that consists of 4 generations – though not all attend every week. One young woman and her husband have 2 children and just had a baby a few weeks ago. Quite a while back, I realized that the mother only has one arm. She typically wears a sweater draped over her shoulder so it is not too obvious. The family and kids are usually sitting behind us. Today the section was pretty full when we arrived, so we sat a couple rows further back – behind the family. I have always admired the care that the husband shows to his wife and kids. Sitting behind them, this showed through even more. I tried to focus on what was happening on the altar, but caught glimpses of his loving touch every now and again. He carefully folded the blanket for the baby and helped his wife wrap him up while she held him. At one point the matriarch of the family – she would be the great-grandmother of the infant – took the little one so she could have her turn. The dad gentle guided and corrected the kids during Mass and quick glances at his wife showed her approval. As the celebration came to a close, he gently took the baby and got him ready to go. To me, it was just beautiful to see a husband and father who was so lovingly attentive to his family.

I Found God today in a wonderful example of a husband and father.

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Power of Prayer

Posted by eph21920 on March 5, 2016 in Answer, Faith, Food, Lent, Prayer, Youth

Tonight I talked with a friend who told me a story of how a group of kids learned about the power of prayer. Every year the youth group participates in a 30-hour Fast during Lent. They have nothing but bread and water for 30 hours and at the same time raise money for the local food pantry. It incorporates Lenten practices, hunger awareness, social justice, and prayer all together. The group meets in the church and stays overnight in the facilities. During the evening, they participate in activities and prayer. My friend had made them some bread to help keep up their strength and stay within the Fast. She made her way over to the church to deliver it. When she met up with the group, the leader said that they had just finished praying for some bread – and then she showed up with some. What a great lesson.

I Found God today in a lesson on the power of prayer.

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Processions

Posted by eph21920 on March 4, 2016 in Faith, Joy

I felt blessed that my parents and I were able to go to Mass this afternoon. It was a good thing to do especially on the first Friday of the month during Lent. The priest talked about how when God is part of our lives, we have such joy that we want to share that with others. He said that a few weeks ago, he was in Mexico for a conference. To wrap up the event, the group had a procession in the small town that hosted them. It was a typical Catholic procession as they said prayers and sang along the way. The priest said that people driving by would honk and/or wave. People along the path would talk with them and some would even join in the journey. He shared how great it was to celebrate the faith in such a public way. I was reminded of the processions that I participated in with my previous parish. There were 3 churches that made up the parish and we would walk from one church to the other via the downtown area. We received different reactions, but when people talked to others that were watching, you could see the joy spreading. Processing down main street was somewhat out of my comfort zone, but it was a powerful way to share the faith.

I Found God today in a way of publicly acknowledging and sharing the joy of knowing Him.

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