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A Blessed Outing

Posted by eph21920 on May 4, 2015 in Connected, Family, Shopping

Today my mom and I had our first outing with her new walker. We went to the local Christian store to pick up a few gifts for upcoming occasions. She wheeled all around the store and when she got tired, she just sat down. It was so wonderful to be able to spend time like this together. While we were checking out, one of the ladies helping a customer asked the other worker if there was one of their stores in the state I just moved from. I told them that I had not seen one and had just moved from there. The customer said she lived there now and was just here on a visit. We had a great conversation about the Christian stores that we had visited there, the churches, the free movies available during Lent, the long hard winter and more. She was a lovely woman. We exchanged names, well wishes and prayers for one another. All in all it was a very pleasant day.

I Found God today in my mom’s ability to enjoy a shopping trip and in meeting someone from the place I used to live.

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Multicultural Worship

Posted by eph21920 on May 3, 2015 in Connected, Faith, Music

Today at church, the children’s group led the music along with some of the Spanish ministry in celebration of upcoming Cinco de Mayo. It reminded me of a summer mission trip that I attended with the high school youth group a couple of years ago. One of the evenings, the whole camp was invited to one of the local Hispanic church communities for a multicultural festival. We started by celebrating Mass together. Part of it was in English and part was in Spanish. It was a beautiful, vibrant, exciting time of prayer. One of the wonderful things about the Catholic Mass is that it is the same. No matter what language is being said, you can still follow along and know what is happening and the same scripture readings are being proclaimed each day. After Mass, the community had prepared a delicious meal. Their high school youth group put on some music and invited everyone to dance. The rest of the night was full of different types of Spanish and popular music, dancing, eating, and enjoying each other’s company. It was a great experience for the kids and adults alike. It helped me to remember that each culture has a unique and beautiful way of worshiping God and that enhances the faith of everyone.

I Found God today in a reminder of how He has revealed Himself to people of all cultures and that should bring us together.

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Derby Birthday

Posted by eph21920 on May 2, 2015 in Birthday, Family, Food, Happiness

Last week my mom was looking through a magazine and found a delectable recipe for a chocolate mint julep pie to celebrate the Kentucky Derby. She then realized that the race was on the same day as her birthday. I did not realize that she enjoyed watching it so much. So, we decided to plan a birthday party for her with a Kentucky Derby theme. We looked through the rest of the ideas in the magazine, then found the official Kentucky Derby website which was full of party ideas and recipes. Today was the big celebration. One of my brothers, my sisters, and nephew came over. We did our best to dress for the occasion. The racing field was divided up randomly and the names were handed out in little trophy cups so everyone had a couple of horses to root for. While we were awaiting the greatest 2 minutes of sports, we snacked on baked brie, crab dip, and iced mint tea. The winner of the race – one of my sisters – got to take home the beautiful bouquet of roses. Then it was time for presents including a Pandora charm of a little horse for my mom to mark the occasion. I found a funny card that had pictures of cute puppies on it and all the children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren picked one that represented them. It turned out just adorable. We finished the celebration with the chocolate mint julep pie. It turned out delicious. After everyone left, my mom said it was the most fun birthday she has had in years. That made it all worthwhile.

I Found God today in helping to provide a wonderful birthday celebration for my parents.

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Selfless Gift

Posted by eph21920 on May 1, 2015 in Birthday, Family, Relationship

It is tough to buy gifts for my parents. They have all they need and don’t really want any more things. Tomorrow is my mom’s birthday and my dad and I were trying to think of gift ideas. Really, the only thing my mom wants is to feel better – like 100%. We talked about this a little and then my dad headed off to the store. He came home with a walker. He figured the best gift would be something to help her feel better. She does not go out much because she tires and has a lot of pain after a little while. The hope is that the walker will allow her to get out a little more. It has a seat on it, so when she gets tired she has a place to sit and rest right away. I thought it was such a caring and thoughtful thing to do.

I Found God today in the compassionate, selfless gift my dad got for my mom.

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Homeless Helper

Posted by eph21920 on April 30, 2015 in Home, Life, Opportunity

There is so much chaos and disturbing stories in the media, sometimes I feel I want to just lock myself in the house. Or it can make me feel hopeless and/or depressed. I can also see the big problems and wonder how I can make any difference at all – the issues seem overwhelming. Today I saw a moving story about a young man who befriended an older homeless woman. He wanted to do something to help. So he took matters into his own hands and spent some of his own money to build her a little house. He even spoke with the authorities to make sure it was something that was going to work legally. She was presented with the keys to the little door and inside he had waiting for her some positive messages of hope and “Home Sweet Home”. Since his experience and all the publicity, he has started an endeavor for others to get involved and help more homeless people. This was such an inspiring story of a person who just wanted to help someone and did something. From that, bloomed a new venture that the man never anticipated. It reminded me of the fact that God is a God of order and harmony, not chaos and destruction. When we cooperated with God’s path for our lives, He blesses that and increases the ways we can bring love into the world. You can see the story and video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrzAHozt3fI

I Found God today in a beautiful story of one man who helped one woman because it is the right thing to do and from it grew a whole new effort of more people helping others.

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Faith Filled Messages

Posted by eph21920 on April 29, 2015 in Answer, Connected, Faith, Grateful

Recently, I felt like I should be giving my faith a little kick and commit to digging deeper in some way. In the past couple of days, I have received several unexpected emails from friends I have not seen in a while. It was an eclectic group  – a priest, former employer, spiritual mentor, and a young man contemplating his vocation. Each message was encouraging in it’s own way. Not only did they energize me, but each person inspired me. They shared faith filled stories and some struggles as well. And unknown to them, they all pointed me in the same direction. I love it when the Holy Spirit works and makes things very obvious. I know I need this kind of push to make me move. I contemplate pretty well, but moving in a specific direction is another story. I am grateful for these friends, for their faith, and that they share it with me.

I Found God today in faith filled messages from friends.

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Turning 85

Posted by eph21920 on April 28, 2015 in Birthday, Family, Life

Today is my dad’s 85th birthday. He always talks about when he was younger, he never thought he would live to be this age. At that time, not very many people did. At the same time, he says his goal is to live to 100. It was a great day to celebrate him. I made a frosting for the angel food cake that I had never done before and was very happy that it turned out. My dad and mom went to lunch with friends, then came back to the house to enjoy the cake and ice cream. They were proud of their age and ability to continue enjoying life. One man was 90 years old. He and his wife brought pictures from their recent trip to Hawaii. I was in awe. Later in the afternoon my brother stopped by for a visit and brought his dog with him. She is young and full of energy – a huge contrast to my poor old ailing dog. My dog often looked at her as if to say, “What is wrong with you – calm down.” While she looked at my old dog as if to say, “What is wrong with you – get up and play with me.” They were entertaining to watch. My other brother called in the evening to wish my dad a happy birthday. I thought about all the lives my dad has touched, either directly or indirectly. He was in the Air Force for 25 years and researched and studied things that make a difference to us all in some way. After retiring from the military, he taught at the college level – even writing a text book. So he shared his zeal for learning with countless others. I asked my dad what words of wisdom he had to impart on this momentous occasion. He answered quickly and simply, “Live, Love, Laugh, and Be Happy.”

I Found God today in celebrating my dad’s 85 years of living and I am grateful to be here to celebrate it with him.

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Angel Food

Posted by eph21920 on April 27, 2015 in Birthday, Family, Food

Tomorrow is my dad’s birthday. His favorite cake is my mom’s homemade angel food cake. Now, this is a tricky cake to make and I have never even attempted it. It is especially challenging in the climate and altitude here. But – I was up for the challenge and knew my mom could walk me through it. The recipe called for 10 egg whites, so my mom got out her handy dandy egg separator and showed me how to use it. She did the first two and they came out perfect. Then it was my turn. I cracked the egg with confidence – too much, evidently, as I broke the yolk. I’ll make a scramble out of that one tomorrow. I was more careful with the rest, but did add one more to the scramble container. The rest of the preparation went very similar. My mom showed me how to carefully do things and I made a mess. I got the cake in the oven and it was looking pretty good, but seemed to be baking too quickly. I opened the door a bit to take a peek and show my mom, which I now understand you’re not supposed to do. A few minutes later, the cake started to shrink. Yes, it fell, but not completely. After cooling, removing it from the pan, and getting it onto the plate, it doesn’t look too bad. I am sure it will taste delicious! Some of my parents’ friends will be coming over tomorrow to share the treat, so I better figure out a way to make it look appealing! My mom and I had a great afternoon as she taught me and we laughed a lot together.

I Found God today in an afternoon spent with my mom as my teacher and it gave me continued admiration and respect for her.

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Good Shepherd

Posted by eph21920 on April 26, 2015 in Connected, Faith, Jesus, Priest

This morning at breakfast, my mom read a meditation from a book we received at church. It was about those who live their lives fully for God. We talked about the different “orders” in the Catholic faith. They follow a different focus, different lifestyles, and different ways of acting out their faith. Yet, they all have the same goal and purpose – to bring themselves and others into a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. My mom wasn’t feeling too good, so she decided to stay home instead of going to church. We turned on the TV so she could participate from home and on the channel was Pope Francis celebrating Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. The Mass included the ordination of 19 priests to work in the Diocese of Rome. You could see the awe on the expressions of the faces of the men as they went through the ritual. The Pope reminded them to please God and not themselves and to follow the Good Shepherd – Jesus. When I went to Mass, one of the scripture readings was Jesus talking about how He is the Good Shepherd and He lays His life down for His flock so that none of them will be lost. In the homily the priest connected this with the way specific people in our lives give of themselves so that we can benefit. He encouraged us to think of those people and pray for them. I thought of my parents, siblings, close friends, people I worked with, priests and religious who have made such a huge difference in my life. This evening I watched the latest episode of AD The Bible on TV. It highlighted Peter and the beginning of the Christian community. Those people literally gave everything they had to benefit one another. I thought it was interesting that the topic for the whole day was how to give up your life to benefit others – thus bringing you and those around into a closer relationship with God. I need to ponder that and figure out what God may be saying specifically to me.

I Found God today in a reminder that each of us is asked to give of ourselves to other people and that it looks different for each individual.

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Typewriter Artist

Posted by eph21920 on April 25, 2015 in Faith, Humility

Today I saw a video that has been around for a year already, but this is the first time I have watched it. It is about Paul Smith, a man who has cerebral palsy. He also has an incredible gift – he is a “typewriter artist”. He uses only 10 keys on a typewriter and creates masterpieces on paper. I had to watch the video a couple of times to see if I could figure out how he does it. He makes a few keystrokes, then moves the paper a little and makes a few more. He has replicated artwork such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. I thought about how quick we are to judge people as soon as we see them. I know I would never think that these beautiful pieces of art come from this man. He said his faith keeps him going – his faith, and his finger. I encourage you to take a look at the video. I hope it is as inspirational to you as it was to me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svzPm8lT36o

I Found God today in an inspiring story of a man who taught me a lot about humility and being judgmental just by being who he is and using the gifts he has.

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