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Eggs Benedict

Posted by eph21920 on June 23, 2015 in Family, Food, Happiness, Joy

The other day I asked my dad if he could have any breakfast he wanted, what would it be. I intended on making it for him for Father’s Day. He thought for a moment and answered, “Eggs Benedict.” I was deflated. I apologized to him and said that I thought that one was out of my league. I have never attempted to make Eggs Benedict – never even poached an egg. But I have made a pretty good hollandaise sauce. My brother, on the other hand, has made the dish before. He stayed a couple of days here with us, so we planned on making it this morning. I made the sauce, and he made everything else. I basically stood there and stirred and watched the canadian bacon cook while he organized the egg poaching and english muffin toasting. Together we plated and served them up. They were delicious and my dad was very surprised.

I Found God today in the joy of cooking with my brother and making my dad happy.

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The New Dentist

Posted by eph21920 on June 22, 2015 in Grateful, Hurt, New

One thing that is difficult about moving is having to get new medical insurance and new doctors. After doing as much research as I could stand, I finally said a prayer and chose a doctor and dentist that I thought made the most sense. Now, I am not a very big person and have had arthritis since I was 3 years old, so everything about me is small and crooked. Whenever I have had to have any kind of procedure done, the doctor or dentist says, “I wasn’t expecting that . . . ” Not words of comfort for sure. I met with my new dentist a couple of weeks ago and explained my issues. He seemed patient and nice enough. Today I was in the chair to have 2 old silver fillings removed and replaced with composites. I am very self conscious of my smile as my teeth are crooked and one in the front was so discolored from the silver filling. The new dentist was in fact very patient and gentle. It was still difficult for me, but when I left I did not feel too bad. As the numbness wore off, I could even eat which isn’t usually the case. This evening, there is very little pain at all and I am so happy with the way he fixed the teeth. Perhaps I will smile a little bit more.

I Found God today in a positive outcome from my dental work.

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Here For Father’s Day

Posted by eph21920 on June 21, 2015 in Family, Grateful

Happy Father’s Day! It has been probably 18 years since I have spent this day with my own father. And this year, 4 of the 5 children in my family were here to celebrate the day. I don’t even know how long it has been since that has happened. My dad was up early, came out of his room ready for the day and announced he was going to church, which surprised us all. I was in the middle of cooking breakfast and grateful that one of my sisters got ready quickly and took him. He made it about half way through the service and started having a dizzy spell, so they returned. But it was encouraging that he made the effort and recognized when it was too much. The day was filled with laughter, stories, picture taking and sharing, gifts, and lots of love. When my nephew graduated from high school a few weeks back, we were unable to celebrate as a family since he was sick. So we used the decorations that I had purchased to celebrate him as well. We had a wonderful lunch all together. The other day, my dad mentioned that he had not had the delicious chili soup that my mom makes in a really long time. So, my mom taught my sister how to make it. It tasted just like I remembered. For dessert, I made a chocolate heart shaped cake. When it came time to serve it, me, my sisters and brother-in-law all gathered around it and scooped six different flavors of ice cream on top. We finished it off by drizzling chocolate sauce, marshmallow topping, and caramel. It was amazing. My dad took a nap during the day, but was feeling pretty good for the majority of the time. Having everyone there really lifted his spirits – and mine as well. I touched base with my son and am proud of the wonderful man and father that he has become. I thought about and prayed for all the incredible men who have been father figures in the lives of my sons and nephew. I also prayed for all the men who are responsible for parishes and congregations and are fathers in their own rights. I prayed for those who do not have a father to celebrate with on this day and those who are in pain from their relationships with their fathers. And I thought about God – Our Father – who guides and leads us all with a loving, encouraging hand.

I Found God today in being able to celebrate this Father’s Day with my dad.

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Prayer of Napping

Posted by eph21920 on June 20, 2015 in Faith, Family, Prayer

Tomorrow will be a busy day from the beginning as siblings come to spend the day with my dad, so I decided to go to Mass this afternoon. My parents were not up to it, so they stayed home. One of the scripture readings was Mark 4:35-41. It is the story of Jesus and the Apostles out in a boat when the weather got rough. The Apostles were terrified as their boat started to fill with water and thought this might be the end of them. Jesus, on the other hand, was asleep. When someone woke Him up, He calmed the wind and the waves with a simple command from His voice. He then asked why the Apostles were so scared and if they did not have faith. One of the deacons talked about this scripture. He called it the “Prayer of Napping”. He said that when we sleep, we are giving our lives over to God. He even said it is an act of humility when we give all our troubles to God to handle as we sleep, as we are not able to do anything at that time. We can say that we have done all we can for the time being and ask God now to intervene and take control. Jesus gives us the demonstration. God is of peace and calm. Even though things around us can be chaotic, scary, and seemingly out of control, we can rest assured that God has everything under control. We can be calm – and nap in peace – trusting and having faith that God’s holy and perfect will be done. When I got home from church, my parents had just finished reading the scriptures. I shared the words of the deacon with them. They were very happy to have this extra permission to take a nap and will feel very productive now doing so.

I Found God today in the way Jesus showed us to trust in God, even when things seem chaotic and desperate.

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Speaking Up

Posted by eph21920 on June 19, 2015 in Family, Hope, Sick

My mom is an amazing musician. She has been from an early age – it is just part of who she is. She had a wonderful singing voice as well. She even won a college scholarship after competing and performing. However, her Parkinson’s disease makes it difficult to even speak in a loud voice, much less use her vocal chords to sing. She also has a difficult time articulating words. The last time my mom saw her Parkinson’s doctor, she recommended speech therapy. Today we had a meeting with the therapist. She was a lovely young woman who, ironically, came from a town less than 100 miles from where my parents grew up. Her specialty was working with Parkinson’s patients. She sat my mom down in front of a voice monitor and had her go through a lot of vocal exercises. At the end of the session, she recommended that my mom go through an intensive therapy series and that would help not only her voice, but her facial muscles and throat muscles that control swallowing. In the years that my mom has been treated for the disease, this is the first she has heard of such a thing, though it could be a new option. The therapist said that they should have the goal of my mom singing along at church. That sounded pretty good. You could see my mom perk up by the end of the time, and she was even speaking louder. When we got home, we greeted my dad loudly. For the rest of the night, we all tried to remember to talk loudly. It was comical, but productive at the same time.

I Found God today in hope for improvement for my mom’s voice. It would be great to hear her sing again.

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Good Night Sleep

Posted by eph21920 on June 18, 2015 in Family, Grateful, Sick

Since my dad got out of the hospital almost 2 weeks ago, he has still not been feeling very well. He is now wearing a heart monitor and will continue to have it on for a few more weeks. The doctors have been changing his medication in an effort to control his blood pressure and relieve some other symptoms. He has not been sleeping well at night which just exacerbates everything that is going on with him and leaves him exhausted during the day. Last night he started taking an additional medication, even though he was a bit leery after reading the possible side effects. He got up this morning a little later than usual, but said he slept so much better. His eyes were more clear than they have been for quite a while. He took 2 long walks during the day and did some work on his computer. It was encouraging to see him feeling so much better. I hope it continues.

I Found God today in a day of my dad feeling better.

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A Gentle Fall

Posted by eph21920 on June 17, 2015 in Family, Grateful, Hurt

This morning when my mom got up, she said those words you don’t want to hear – “I fell down last night”. I tried not to panic as she was walking fine and listened patiently to her story. Evidently she got up in the middle of the night and headed to the bathroom. Her cane was not right at hand and she was in a hurry, so off she went. She said she suddenly felt like she was loosing her balance and that her arms were waving in the air as she tried to stabilize herself. Before she knew it, she was on the ground. She said she felt as if she just folded up and went down very gently. My dad heard the sound and got up to see what happened. She kept saying, “I’m Ok.” so that he would not worry and was almost up by the time he reached her. I asked if she hurt anywhere. She said no – she felt just fine. I was so grateful that she did not get hurt in any way. She said she will make sure that the cane is right where she can reach it at night from now on.

I Found God today in keeping my mom from being hurt when she fell down.

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Persist in Prayer

Posted by eph21920 on June 16, 2015 in Faith, Prayer

It seemed that everything I read today had the message of being persistent in prayer. Sometimes I wonder why it is so hard to pray. Even this morning, I “had a lot to do” but knew how necessary it is for me to start my day in prayer. I need to take the quiet time with God, pray for my concerns and people, and realize His presence within me. And once I begin, I enjoy being with Him so much that it can be difficult to stop! It is a strange thing. I was glad for the messages and hope to re-commit and be strong in perseverance.

I Found God today in the reminder to be persistent in prayer.

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Celebrating 18

Posted by eph21920 on June 15, 2015 in Birthday, Family, Life

Yesterday was my nephew’s 18th birthday. We were unable to celebrate it together because of the distance and the fact that he had his day all planned out. I sent him a text message first thing in the morning. Then my mom, dad, and I called and sang Happy Birthday to him. He was out the door early to spend time with his girlfriend and family. I saw some pictures today. He, his girlfriend, her brother and father all went to the spa and got a pedicure and went to a movie. His girlfriend made a red velvet cake which is his favorite. Back at home, he had sushi with his mom and swisher sweets. He also opened a time capsule that he put together 11 years ago when he was in boy scouts. It included some newspaper articles, comics, a picture of him and a piece of string that showed how tall he was at the time. I did not remember him being in boy scouts, but do remember him at that age. He was a sensitive kid, cared deeply about others, and had a contagious smile. He has had his share of struggles through the years, but looking at the pictures of him turning 18, he is still sensitive, cares deeply about others, and has a beautiful contagious smile – there is just a little more hair around it now. I love him dearly.

I Found God today in realizing the growth and life of my nephew.

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Silent Initiation Goes Beyond Words

Posted by eph21920 on June 14, 2015 in Eucharist, Faith, Intimacy, New, Prayer, Tradition

At the beginning of Mass this evening, the priest said that there were two young men being initiated into the church during the service. I always love being a witness to such an event – it invigorates my faith. I noticed a woman at the front who was interpreting in sign language. I took a look at the first few pews where the young men and their friends and family were sitting. There were several young people and many children. It was clear that the majority of the group was deaf. Some of the adults were praying along in sign language. In the congregation, I noticed many of the young children fascinated by this new demonstration at the front of the church and tried to mimic the movements. The priest is also able to communicate with sign language and when he spoke, he used it as well. When it came time to baptize the young men, the whole group made their way to the church entrance where the Baptismal font is located. The young men appeared to be twins – or at least brothers. They were each wearing a brown garment. The priest entered and stood in the large font. The two young men removed their brown robes signifying the removal of sin and entered the font as well. They knelt as the priest baptized them and poured the water over their heads. Then came time for Confirmation. They remained in the font as the priest anointed each of them with the sweet smelling Chrism oil; sealing them with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The newly Baptized then went to dry off and returned wearing a new white robe, symbolizing how Christ has made them clean and new. They came to the front of the congregation and the priest explained that the two were in fact deaf and showed us all how to applaud in sign language. The young men beamed as they saw the support and happiness from all those around them. It was very moving. The priest continued with the prayers in both audible words and sign. Then it came time for the two young men to receive their first Holy Communion. I could see the joy on their faces as they returned to their seats and knelt to pray. At the end of Mass, there was one more round of applause for the new Catholics. It was hard for me not to clap, but again a thing of beauty to be a part of everyone cheering in sign language and seeing the happiness it brought to the young men. I thought about the senses that we have and the tradition of celebrating the Sacraments in the church. Even though these young men could not hear, they were able to experience the fullness of the initiation with the rest of their senses – they felt the water rushing over their body, they could smell the sweet fragrance of the oil, they could see the transition from brown to white as well as see the words used, they could understand what was happening with their minds, and they received Christ through the taste and consumption of Holy Communion. And even more than these, there is our spirit. That encounter they had today goes way beyond human senses, words, body and mind. It brought tears to my eyes as I felt the excitement right along with them.

I Found God today in sharing an experience of two unique young men being initiated into the Faith.

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