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Quick Answer

Posted by eph21920 on May 14, 2015 in Answer, Friends, New, Prayer

My poor old dog is really having a hard time. It is difficult for her to go very far, so she stays home now for my daily walk to the mailbox, which is about 1/2 mile round trip. As I walked this evening, I enjoyed looking at the scenery and the interesting clouds in the sky. I rounded the corner to the boxes and thought how nice it would be to get to know a few people in the complex. I got the mail and noticed someone talking with a person in a car. They were right on my path back and as I passed them, the woman said good-bye to the people in the car and hello to me. We started chatting as we headed the same direction. We were the same age with our birthdays only a month apart. She was super nice and gave me her information with an invitation to give her a call at any time. God certainly can be quick with an answer sometimes!

I Found God today in meeting a new person and an immediately answered prayer.

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All About Physics

Posted by eph21920 on May 13, 2015 in Family, Humility, Knowledge

Recently my dad received a video course about Higgs boson, which according to Wikipedia is an “elementary particle in the Standard Model of particle physics.” My dad taught college physics for years. He has been watching the video course and reading the accompanying book and said that he needed to go back and review it to help him understand it better. Now – it is all mind boggling to me and I have a hard time wrapping my head around any of it. So, my dad gave me a lesson on electrons, protons, neutrons, and how scientists do experiments by colliding particles. It truly amazed me to realize the knowledge he has and that he still has the desire and ability to delve more deeply into these subjects. In our conversation, he said that really the ultimate goal of the scientist is to figure out how the world works. It seems to me that the more they learn, the more they realize that they don’t know. Discoveries in space reveal that our universe is much bigger than we can fathom. We talked about the dimensions that we are aware of and that perhaps there are more that we simply cannot understand. It could be possible that another dimension could actually be Heaven. It was a deep conversation that was humbling in many ways.

I Found God today in being reminded of the gift of knowledge that my dad has and thinking about the intricate way our world is formed.

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Music Appreciation

Posted by eph21920 on May 12, 2015 in Connected, Family, Teacher

I had a wonderful evening tonight. I started by meeting some of my siblings for dinner. Then we headed over to the high school where my nephew was playing in his last high school concert as he is graduating. There were several different instrumental groups – percussion, jazz band, orchestra, chamber orchestra, quartet, concert band…  Several of the kids were in 2 or even 3 of the different groups and they were all amazing. No, I am not just saying that because my nephew is in it. It was unlike any high school bands I have ever seen. These kids were not simply playing the instruments – they felt the music and those watching could feel it too. One of the teachers is leaving and a couple of the kids gave him gifts and said a few words. One of them was a young lady who was missing some fingers on one of her hands. She talked about how this teacher had brought some instruments into her class in elementary school and said that everyone should play an instrument. She told him she wished she could be part of the program, but that she was unable to. He told her that she could play whatever instrument she wanted. She chose the cello. I noticed that she was holding it backwards from the rest of the musicians and wondered how difficult it was for her to learn to play it opposite from what is usually taught. But she was a very good player. Towards the end of the concert, the lead music director was surprised by being presented with a national award of excellence. It was a very emotional evening, especially for my nephew’s mom who has been very involved with the band all 4 years of her son’s high school career.

I Found God today in an appreciation for the impact music has on the lives of youth and in the love of the teachers for the kids, the kids for the teachers, and the kids for one another.

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Treated With Respect

Posted by eph21920 on May 11, 2015 in Family, Happiness

My mom and I had a “big day out” today. First I took her to a doctor’s appointment only to find out that there was a scheduling error, so she could not be seen. But the girls there were nice and told us what needed to be done to get it corrected. We were close to the place where my mom got her hearing aids and she has been wanting to get them checked, so we headed over there instead. The ladies there were super nice and made some adjustments to the devices. My mom said she could hear great. Ironically, as we headed out the door the battery died in one of them. So, we went right back in and were given some new batteries. Then we went to lunch at Panera – one of my favorite places. On our way in, one of the employees came right over and held the door for us. My mom had not been there in a long time and we both enjoyed it. As we finished eating, the same employee took our dishes so we did not even have to clear our table. Last, we wanted to shop for a new range. We knew that this one would take a lot of walking, so we brought the new walker that my dad bought. It was great. My mom was able to wheel around to look at all the options and just sit down when she needed it. When we settled on a stove, we called and talked to my dad to get his input and he looked up some reviews in a Consumer Reports magazine for us. One of the sales guys came over several times and also looked up online reviews for us. As we went to make the purchase, I told the salesman that we had a coupon from the repair men who came the other day to look at the broken stove, but we did not have it with us. He called over another person who said that they would be able to honor the coupon. My mom wrote a check, but it was rejected. Needless to say, this really upset my mom. She called her bank who said that everything was fine and they tried it again to no avail. So she put the the purchase on her charge card instead. The sales person apologized and gave my mom a credit for the coupon, plus an additional “I am sorry for the problems” credit. It seemed that every place we went there were people who treated my mom with the care and respect she deserves.

I Found God today in the people we encountered who treated my mom so well, especially when not everything went exactly according to OUR plan.

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Mother’s Day Love

Posted by eph21920 on May 10, 2015 in Children, Family, Love

Happy Mother’s Day! One of my son’s called me first thing this morning and we talked for a long time. When he is in a chatty mood, we can go on and on! At church, all the women received a special blessing – whether they were mothers or not – and received a carnation. I thought that was very thoughtful. I thought about all the moms I know and their different situations. Some are mourning a loss, some are far from their children, some were able to spend the day surrounded by their family. I  prayed for all that I could think of. In the afternoon, my mom and I made one of her old favorite desserts – Blueberry Marshmallow Crumble Pie. Then we spoke to my siblings and my other son and family. After dinner my mom watched one of her movies as we feasted on our dessert. It was ALMOST as good as when she used to make it. At church this morning, the scripture readings included one of my favorites,     1John 4:9,10 “In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.”     It is so comforting to know that no matter how much I fall short of loving God and others, God loves me. He has always loved me first.

I Found God today in celebrating Mother’s Day with my mom, being able to talk with family even though we were not physically together, and in the reminder of God’s infinite love.

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First Holy Communion

Posted by eph21920 on May 9, 2015 in Children, Connected, Eucharist, Family

Today my grandson received his first Holy Communion. It was hard for me not to be there, but it was great to see the pictures. He looked so big and handsome, but still has his signature smile. There were serious pictures of him standing straight and tall, and of him with the priest who is a friend of mine. There were silly pictures, funny faces, and the priest photo bombing. He posed with both his godparents who were present. The family pictures included my daughter-in-law showing off her baby bump. I saw many of the gifts he received and the cake with his photo on it. Later in the evening they went to the carnival where my grandson went on a big spinning ride for the first time. I also took a few minutes texting my son and older grandson. I spent much of the day thinking of the whole family and praying for them. I went on to include the rest of the kids receiving their first Holy Communion, their families, and the priests. Connecting this way helped me to feel less sad about not being present and more able to realize what a blessing the day was for them.

I Found God today in an exciting celebration of first Holy Communion for my grandson.

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Cooked Oven

Posted by eph21920 on May 8, 2015 in Faith, Family, Food, Grateful

A few weeks ago, I pushed a button to select a burner on the stove and it made a loud POP. I was terrified. We tested it after it cooled down and it seemed to be OK, so I continued to use it. The other day I turned on one of the other burners and it also made a loud POP. At the same time, the clock reset to 12:00 and the light came on in the oven. My dad turned off the breaker and turned it back on. Now 2 burners were out and the oven light was on and would not go off. Yeah – there was definitely a problem. The repair guys came over yesterday, pulled the oven out, and took a look. They said that several of the circuit boards would need to be replaced at a cost of nearly enough to buy a new one. My parents decided not to fix it and we would try using the other 2 burners for a while and watch for sales. So, I turned on the oven to pre-heat for dinner. The repair guys unscrewed the light bulb so that would not be an issue. I opened the door and felt that it was heating up, so I felt confident that it was going to work. After a few minutes, the unit started beeping and an error message displayed. I wanted to check what was going on in the oven, but now the door was locked – like it was on a cleaning cycle – and started heating up even more. I tried several things to make it stop, but it would not. My dad flipped the breaker switch. Even then, the door remained locked. I cooked the meal in the microwave and it turned out pretty good. It has been an additional challenge, but between the rice steamer, griddle, and microwave, I have managed to cook some decent meals. I was getting frustrated, but remembered to ask God to take away my demons and allow me to just do what needed to be done. I was then grateful for the food, additional appliances, and the capability of simply feeding myself and my parents.

I Found God today in His help to turn away from frustration and turn toward gratefulness.

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Ask the Lord to Cast Out Your Demons

Posted by eph21920 on May 7, 2015 in Answer, Faith, Healing, Life, New, Prayer, Struggles

Ah, a new day begins. When I got out of bed this morning, I was ready to start fresh. One of the daily words of wisdom I get in my email simply stated, “Ask the Lord to cast out your demons.” I chuckled a bit as it was so fitting to what was going on. I try so hard by myself to work through difficulties, bad moods, anxiety, depression, etc. that can be brought on by feeling like things are going wrong. I don’t necessarily attribute them to being my demons, but that is in fact what they are. The things that occupy my time, thoughts, and energy are either bringing me closer to God or pulling me away from him. And of course God does not want us to get further away from Him. While I think I have faith and enjoy the time I spend in prayer, I don’t usually think about simply asking the Lord to cast out my demons. Jesus did this time and time again in the scriptures. And He can still do it now for us if we run to Him. I will try to remember this as I go about my day.

I Found God today in words of wisdom that really spoke to my heart and I am grateful for the reminder.

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Blessings Among Trials

Posted by eph21920 on May 6, 2015 in Faith, Family, Life, Problem, Struggles

Yesterday, I turned a burner on the flat stove top and it made a big POP, which terrified me. Then it stopped working. A few minutes later as I was trying to finish dinner, a big bee buzzed by me. My mom is allergic to bees, so I encouraged her to stay in her room for a few minutes while my dad and I figured out what to do about it. It went way up in the window just under the blind so we couldn’t get to it. My mom found a can of spray, so we sprayed it and then whacked it. This morning my mom was very tired and did not feel well. Evidently neither her or my dad slept very well. I cooked breakfast in the microwave while my dad called to make an appointment to service the stove. After breakfast, my dad said he was struggling trying to get the new camera that we got him for his birthday to work. We took the SD card downstairs to check it on my computer and found that my dog had peed on the carpet. My dad made the comment, “What else is going to go wrong?” I decided to think of the blessings that I had. We have a house to live in, I was able to go to the store and buy the food we need, no one is in the hospital… Some things did continue to go wrong during the day, which made for some frustration. But later I talked to my kids and they are in a good place right now and looking forward to specific things, my grandchildren are safe and well taken care of. When things start to go wrong, we are so quick to get on board the “why me” wagon and can loose sight of the goodness that is all around us.

I Found God today in acknowledging the blessings of the day even in the midst of things not going right.

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Encouragement From a Stranger

Posted by eph21920 on May 5, 2015 in Family, Grateful, Stranger

Today a friend of my parents came over and we went out to lunch. They told her the story of an experience they had at the store. My dad took my mom and her new walker to the place where he purchased it to make sure he had set it up correctly and if there was anything else my mom should know about using it. The woman there remembered my dad and checked out his work. He did have the walker adjusted properly. The woman had my mom walk around in it a little while and gave her a few additional tips. While they were there, they found a few other things that they had been talking about that would be helpful for my mom. They also bought a stool for the shower and a handy dandy sock-putter-onner (as we call it). The woman asked my mom if there was anything else that she needed. Before she could answer, the woman said that since she had my dad, she didn’t really need anything more. That made my dad feel pretty good.

I Found God today in the care my dad gave to my mom and the encouraging words from a stranger.

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