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Unexpected Connection

Posted by eph21920 on April 15, 2015 in Connected, Faith, Friends, Opportunity, Prayer

Tonight I had dinner with some friends. One of them shared the following great story. The other day she was headed to an auto repair shop to drop off some items for the company she works for. She was daydreaming as she was driving and missed the main entrance. She had to turn in the next entrance and ended up parking in a different place than the usual drop off area. Because of this, she ended up parking next to a man who was waiting for his car to be serviced. He helped her get the items out of her car and bring them into the shop. She chatted with him and told him how much she enjoyed seeing the springtime flowers and trees blooming. He told her that she had really brightened his day. She told him that he did the same for her. He asked if she would pray for him. She said she did indeed pray daily and always for specific people. He said he knew that God told him to ask her and told her just a little about his situation. She promised to pray for him, they hugged and went their separate ways. If she had not missed the first turn, she never would have seen the man. She found it amazing that he would ask her to pray for him as she does not show any indication that she is faithful in any way. I think it is truly incredible how we each are given opportunities to participate in the spiritual lives of one another.

I Found God today in a connection that He made between two people and Himself.

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Recognizing Jesus

Posted by eph21920 on April 14, 2015 in Faith, Jesus, Struggles

My parents and I have been reading a scripture reflection every morning at breakfast. We continue to go through the Resurrection story as the Easter season goes through Pentecost – 50 days after Easter. This morning we read a little more about when Mary Magdalene went to the tomb of Jesus only to find that He was not there. She thought someone had taken His body away and was crying just at the opening. Jesus was there and asked why she was weeping, but she didn’t recognize Him. She thought He was the gardener. The question for reflection was, “Are there times when Jesus is especially present and I miss it?” I answered, “Yes – often!” and left it at that. But as I thought about this more, specific moments came to my mind – when I was a child, suffering with a disease and feeling all alone; when I was going through my divorce and in so much pain that I could hardly function; when I had to help my son make a college decision and didn’t know the first thing about it; when I went through a particularly dry period in my prayer life and could not feel God’s presence. I think it is easier to recognize God in wonderful events. But in those times when I struggle, I can fall into despair and self pity. In hindsight, though, I can see how Jesus has been there too – keeping me safe and encouraging me through others.

I Found God today in a reminder of how Jesus is always present to us, but we are the ones who sometimes need to open our eyes to recognize Him.

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For the Love of Dogs

Posted by eph21920 on April 13, 2015 in Dog, Humor

One of the windows in the house has a view of the intersection of two streets, so we can see about a dozen houses and all the activity. The corner house has two dogs that are very well trained and behaved – a big black lab and a smaller black and white whippet type. It is rather entertaining to watch the antics. The dogs are often outside with no fence and no leash and will not leave the yard unless the owners allow them to. I have watched one of the neighbor dogs come over and play and then go home again across the street. One day, the husband was walking the dogs with no leash while his friend who was with him had his boxer on a leash. The other day my mom reported that a stray dog had wandered into the area and was causing trouble. The owner told the dogs to chase him away and then return back to the yard. Today the man was outside with both dogs and called the lab over. He reluctantly went over and allowed the man to brush his teeth. The small black and white dog knew he was next and you could see his nervousness as he tried not to watch what was happening. Once the lab was done, it was time. The man called the little dog who made his way over with his tail between his legs. At one point he tried to leave and it took one correction from the man for him to listen. Both dogs spent quite a bit of time licking and licking their freshly cleaned teeth. My parents and I laughed and enjoyed the show.

I Found God today in the way a family cares for their dogs.

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Brother Comes Home

Posted by eph21920 on April 12, 2015 in Family, Home

A few months ago, one of my brothers decided he was going to move back to be closer to family. He is at a point in his life now where he is able to make these kind of decisions. He is single and not working, so is a pretty free bird! He packed up his truck, a small trailer, his dog, and headed in our direction. He will be staying with my sister for a while and arrived late yesterday. My parents and I took a drive to my sister’s today. They had not seen the place since my sister and her husband bought it a couple of months ago. I was glad they were finally up to the trip and that the weather cooperated. It was great to sit around the dinner table and see the places fill up. In less than 1 year, 3 of my parent’s children (including me) moved back to the area, which makes my parents pretty happy. One other sibling was already here and one is still a couple states away. We are all a little older and a little calmer, but also a little more accepting and a little wiser.

I Found God today in my parents able to make a short trip, safe travel for my brother, and the joy of getting together with family.

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Cooking Day

Posted by eph21920 on April 11, 2015 in Family, Food, Love

A long time ago, I learned that it is important to do what I can when I can. I have had physical restrictions almost my entire life. There have been several times when I wondered how much I would be capable of doing. For example, a few years ago I had a terrible time with vertigo. I was so dizzy that I could not lay down to sleep and I could not drive. It was pretty debilitating. I underwent several tests to see if we could figure out the cause. As I went through each one, I thought about what would happen if there was something horribly wrong with me, or if I would not get better. And the thought came back to me again that it was necessary to lovingly do what I could do when I could do it. As I changed my lifestyle, helping my parents now is my full time job. It is a slower pace than I am used to and at times I wonder if I should be doing more. The biggest thing I do is “chief cook and bottle washer” as they lovingly call me. I have never thought of myself as a particularly good cook, so I have decided that since this is my biggest responsibility, I will try to do my best. Today I spent a solid 12 hours in the kitchen. I made a new breakfast dish that I thought my dad would particularly enjoy. I called it “Almond Joy Oatmeal”. Then I got to the business of cooking the rest of the day. My mom put on the tv in the kitchen and a cooking show came on. I left it there for several different shows to help inspire me. After I cleaned up from breakfast, I made a spice rub and stuffing and put a chicken in the crock pot. Then made lunch and cleaned up from that. Then I grated some carrots and made carrot muffins. Once they were done, I baked a lasagna to take to my sister’s tomorrow. I made some smoothies for our afternoon snack. Then I went back to finish the dinner with wild rice and mushrooms, gravy, and grilled veggies. After dinner I got all the chicken off the bones and cleaned up the kitchen one last time. Ahhhh! Everything turned out pretty good and I felt pretty accomplished at the end of the day.

I Found God today in sharing my love through my work in the kitchen.

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God’s Diet

Posted by eph21920 on April 10, 2015 in Creation, Faith, Food

Today I saw a short video clip about people in areas who have a great percentage of people living to be 100 years old or more. It highlighted a couple of those areas. One was a small city in Italy. Their diet was mostly vegetarian. They only had meat a couple of times during the month. They did eat a lot of beans. The reporter said that this was one thing that was the same in all the areas. He then talked about a community in California who eat the diet plan that God lays out in Genesis 1:29. So, I had to look it up. God says, “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant on all the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food;” So, basically, this is a vegan diet. Then I remembered that some of my friends participated in the “Daniel Fast”. It was based on Daniel’s experiences with fasting – in scripture, Daniel chapter 1 and 10. My friends had a great experience doing the fast. I think it is amazing that God loves us so much He even laid out a diet plan for us!

I Found God today in the diet plan that He revealed to us through scripture.

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Who’s To Blame?

Posted by eph21920 on April 9, 2015 in Faith, Jesus, Youth

I Found God today in reading this post that reminded me of the joy of working with youth.

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A Close Relationship

Posted by eph21920 on April 8, 2015 in Connected, Friends, Happiness, Humor, Relationship

I am super blessed to have a friend who knows me well and has for the past 23 years or so. When we lived far apart, we only spoke a couple times a year. But when I went back for a visit, we would always get together. I was so happy that we would be able to re-connect once I moved closer to her. She came over for dinner tonight and it was an amusing evening to say the least. We always laugh so much. My parents were happy to have her over too as she brings a lot of joy and energy. She lives with her mother, so we were able to exchange stories and challenges of being present to parents as they age. And we caught up on the latest happenings of friends and family. Changing subjects, my brother is in the process of moving here. He left today and started his journey in his truck with his dog. It will take him a couple of days travel. He called tonight to check in. The name of the city he stopped in is the same name as my friend. That was pretty funny.

I Found God today in a close relationship and the humorous irony of my brother being in a place with her name.

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A Card

Posted by eph21920 on April 7, 2015 in Faith, Friends, Healing

I think that card writing is becoming a lost art. It is so easy to text or send off an email. Many times I say I will get around to it, then by the time I do it seems like an afterthought, so I don’t do it at all. But there is something special about receiving a card in the mail and reading the hand written note. There seems to be more feeling somehow. My mom received a card recently with beautiful words and thoughts for a speedy recovery. It was full of encouragement and faith. Today my mom called the woman who sent it and thanked her for her consideration. She told me about their conversation and about what a wonderful, thoughtful woman she is. Speaking to her really soothes my mom.

I Found God today in a thoughtful, faithful woman.

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DWTS – Stories of Suffering

Posted by eph21920 on April 6, 2015 in Jesus, New, Struggles, Tragedy

One of the things my mom and I enjoy is watching “Dancing With the Stars” together. Tonight the contestant’s dance was a representation of the most pivotal year of their life. Granted, a couple of them are pretty young and the most important year to them were those when they actually became stars. I understand. But, I would say most of the rest chose a time when a tragedy occurred. There is the millionaire from “Shark Tank” who talked about the time when his mother died. The football player talked about his broken relationship with his father – particularly after he disclosed that he is gay. The actress from “Three’s Company” dedicated her dance to a co-star who passed away. Another actress talked about her battle with low self esteem. The last dance was the soldier who lost an arm and a leg and succumbed to depression and alcohol. Why would people choose “tragedy” as a decisive moment in their life? Exactly because it was “decisive”. They each talked about the unbelievable pain they felt during the difficult time in their life. But then, they decided to work their way through the agony and found themselves in a much better place on the other side. They learned things about themselves and in effect started anew. I thought it was interesting that this came on the day after Easter. I think one of the big questions people struggle with is -“If there is a God, why is there so much suffering?” I ponder this as well. But when I take a look at what we just celebrated, it is clear that God allowed Jesus to suffer and die on the cross knowing that through those actions, His resurrection – and our redemption – were made real. But can my little suffering have any effect? I know for sure that when people come through a difficult time, they can walk with someone else who is suffering and offer compassion and understanding. We all go through pain and need a loving person by our side to help us make it through.

I Found God today in stories of suffering that resulted in new life.

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