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Worship With Music

Posted by eph21920 on February 25, 2015 in Music, Prayer, Youth

Today my dad found an old cassette tape that my brother was looking for. It was a recording of my brother many years ago when he performed with a music group called the “Revelation Generation”. The group was made up mostly of Christian young adults and the focus was to stand up for Christianity and rebel against the culture that will let you down. My dad wondered if he had a device to play the old cassette. A few minutes later, I heard the music of “Godspell” playing through the speakers. He called my brother and they listened to some of it together. I thought about when one of my kids was a teenager. He was involved in a youth group in our church and I was helping in whatever way I could. The group performed “Godspell” for the church a couple of times. I remembered what an impact it made on my brother to be a part of that group. I thought of the kids in the church youth group and what a powerful experience they had. I prayed that my brother, my son, and the youth I once worked with continue to deepen the relationship with God who they portrayed and encountered.

I Found God today in memories of being part of an experience to worship God.

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Praying the Day

Posted by eph21920 on February 24, 2015 in Answer, Faith, Happiness, Lent, Prayer, Priest

This morning I read my daily devotion that continued on the theme of happiness. It was a quote:

“You pray, you love—that is the happiness of man upon the earth.” ST. JEAN MARIE BAPTIST VIANNEY, THE CURE OF ARS

Quite honestly, my prayer life has been lacking. I don’t like feeling far away from God and I always need help to be more loving. So, today I prayed the day. Before I took my dog on her morning walk I said some basic prayers and asked God to watch over me and my family. As we were returning to the house, the paramedics had come to one of the homes in the neighborhood. I prayed for the person who was having the problem and those who were helping him/her. I prayed before meals. At breakfast my mother read from one of her Lent booklets and the daily action was to say the “Our Father”, so she, my dad, and I prayed it together. When I was on social media I prayed for the people I was communicating with. I prayed especially for 2 friends who are having funerals for loved ones in the next couple days. I noticed that when I pray for specific people, I grow in compassion for them, thus growing in love. During my afternoon walk, it was beautiful outside and I thanked God for the place I am and the sunshine. I had planned on going to the Reconciliation Service at the church tonight, so I prayed to prepare my heart, to examine my conscience, and to connect me with a priest who I would feel comfortable with. As I was waiting and preparing to go to Confession I used the app on my phone and accidentally started the Pandora music app. The song, “I’m Not Who I Was” by Brandon Heath came on. I quickly turned it off, but thought how incredibly appropriate it was as after Confession, I always feel like I am starting anew. I thanked God for the reminder and chuckled to myself. During Confession, one of the suggestions the priest had for me was to pray and ask God to show me how I should be praying at this time in my life. Perfect. After Confession, I prayed a long time as I felt God’s cleansing presence. I thanked Him for the beautiful Sacrament of Reconciliation, for faithful priests who allow themselves to be channels of grace, and for speaking through the priest I talked with. I am praying right now for all those who read this blog – that you may feel God’s love and peace right this moment. As I drift off to slumber, I will continue to thank God for the day and all that He provides me with and ask for the faith to continue praying the days.

I Found God today in communicating with Him – specifically in praying the day and I hope to continue this trend.

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Happy Children

Posted by eph21920 on February 23, 2015 in Children, Happiness, Weather

Today the schools were closed due to a snow storm that we had. As the day progressed, the snow stopped falling and the sun came out. So did the kids. First I saw several of them helping to shovel their driveways. There were many children sledding down the hill at the school not too far from here. I also watched some teenagers pulling each other around on sleds and other things behind vehicles. Dangerous – I know – but they were having a blast. In the afternoon I made my way to the grocery store, as did a lot of people, and the kids were everywhere. I noticed one young girl picking out fresh produce as her dad pushed the cart and gave moral support. As I went around a corner, there was a boy bending down and tying the shoe of another boy. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits. It reminded me of the devotion I read this morning. It was about happiness. The basic message is that we all desire to be happy – really happy – forever. And God wants us to be happy as well. He gave us a life to live to the fullest and we are happiest when we are following His plan for that life. The kids I saw today were enjoying friendship, family, and nature – the things you cannot put a price on. They were not worried about what they would be eating for dinner, or if they would still have a warm house to return to. (While I do understand that there are children who do have these concerns.) The children were enjoying their day, happily, and in complete trust that all would be well. I thought about how much – or little – trust I have in God. Do I trust Him completely with all of my life and have faith that at the end, all will be well?

I Found God today in the happiness and trust of children.

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Get Prepared and Equipped

Posted by eph21920 on February 22, 2015 in Faith, Lent, Prayer, Priest

My parents and I had planned to go to church yesterday evening, but the storm that blew in changed that. So, despite the frigid cold and snow which shut down most of the Sunday activities, I made my way to church this morning. I knew I needed to be there and was so glad I went. The homily that the priest gave was a great reality check and spiritual boost. He first asked how people were doing with their Lenten devotions, whether that is giving something up or adding a spiritual practice. Of course, the beginning of Lent was only a few short days ago. I typically give up chocolate or junk food in general, and try to add some type of prayer. I have not had any junk yet, and have been reading the 2 different devotions that are going right to my inbox. So far, so good. The priest continued saying that we are probably doing pretty good right now, but as time goes on it gets harder. I have known this to be true myself and was grateful for him speaking about the topic. He talked about how to best keep ourselves from giving into temptation. The first thing to do is to avoid the thing or situation that is going to tempt you. If you are trying to give up candy and cookies, get them out of your house. If you are trying to lead a chaste lifestyle, stay away from books, movies, or relationships that will cause you to stray. But sometimes we are faced with a temptation regardless of how much we try to stay away from it. That is where our spiritual life comes into play. If we have a relationship with Christ, we can call upon Him for help and trust that He will hear and help us. The more we trust Him, the more we see Him help us, we become more faithful and courageous. That leads to us making better decisions and standing firm when we need to. But having a relationship with Jesus Christ takes time and practice and prayer. It is like spiritual boot camp – we must be prepared and equipped for the enemy is at hand and trying to bring us down. I hung on every word he said. It was so true, yes, and so what I needed to hear today.

I Found God Today in a reminder of the importance of spiritual practice so I can be prepared and equipped for the battle of temptation that I face every day.

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Unexpected Prayer Request

Posted by eph21920 on February 21, 2015 in Opportunity, Prayer, Sick

This morning I thought of many of my friends living in another state who would be attending a funeral. So I sent out some texts to let them know I was praying for them. I received a text back from someone unexpected who was not part of the group. Evidently I sent her a text as well. We chatted back and forth a bit and I told her I would pray in a special way for her today as well. Perhaps it was not an “accident” at all. She recently found out she has cancer and has been undergoing treatments. She appreciated the prayers.

I Found God today in an unexpected prompting to pray for a certain person.

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Rewarded Persistence

Posted by eph21920 on February 20, 2015 in Family, Joy

A few weeks back, my sister and her husband literally “bought the farm”. They purchased a house complete with a barn and corral on a piece of land. It was a “fixer-upper” and they have been working diligently on getting it move in ready. They spent each weekend and some evenings after work scraping, painting, pulling up rotting carpet and floors. It seemed like each step of the renovation uncovered some unexpected issue. My brother in law was reflecting on the whole process. He talked about the different things that happened that seemed like set backs. He said he wondered if he was getting warning signs, or welcoming arms. But as they persisted and worked through each problem, they ended up in a better situation than they had started with.  Today was the day they were finally able to move in. The move went very smooth and did not cost as much as they had anticipated. It also took less time than they thought and the moving truck pulled away just before the snow flew to usher in a weekend snow storm. After all is said and done, they are very happy to be spending their first night in their new home.

I Found God today in the rewarded persistence and happiness of my sister and her husband.

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Together For Eternity

Posted by eph21920 on February 19, 2015 in Connected, Death, Eternity

My aunt’s burial was today. My parents were physically unable to make a trip out of state, so they have been staying in contact with the family there. A few years ago my uncle passed away. Ironically, he and my father went to the hospital at the same time – many states apart. My father had heart surgery that corrected the blockage that he had. Unfortunately, my uncle’s heart stopped. They were able to revive him, but he died a few days later. After his passing, he was cremated. We received a beautiful email from my cousin today who spoke of the burial of her mother. She said that her father’s urn and remains were placed in the arms of her mother before the burial. They are together again as they will be for all eternity.

I Found God today in a beautiful gesture that symbolizes the eternal bond that people share – in life and in death.

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Lent Begins

Posted by eph21920 on February 18, 2015 in Faith, Lent, Plan

So, today is Ash Wednesday. I started the day by reading my first email from a series:  http://dynamiccatholic.com/bestlentever/  I was challenged right away to think about what is holding me back from taking the next step in my life that God is calling me to. I closed my eyes to ponder the question and realized that fear is the thing that keeps me resisting God’s next step. I opened my eyes and read the prayer:

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself… But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost… I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”   –  Thomas Merton

This prayer summed up exactly what was in my heart. As I thought about this more, I had to remember all the times that I was afraid of what my future held, afraid of taking the next step. And so many times, I took that step out in faith – remembering that God is always with me. He has never let me down. While things don’t always go the way I want them to, if I can push through the fear and move forward, I can see his plan unfold. And His plan and path is always better than mine.

I Found God today in remembering how He is always with me, and I look forward to this Lent.

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God In Death

Posted by eph21920 on February 17, 2015 in Death, Faith, Love

In the past couple of days, I feel like I have heard of so much death. My aunt passed away the other night as did a good friend’s husband and recently another friend’s father. On TV and internet, the sight of the Egyptian Christians led to their murder is everywhere. And there was the young American girl who was also killed. While I don’t want to dwell on death, it is difficult not to think about when it seems to be so prevalent. One can easily wonder where God is in all of this.

There were moving tributes written for the loved ones that I knew. And people come together to support one another, to cry with one another. In the case of the American girl, I have read articles of her bravery, honesty, and faith. She stayed in constant prayer. There was the story of the Christian men praying until the end and at least one of them saying the name, “Jesus”. Pope Francis responded by saying, “the blood of Christians is a testimony that cries out to be heard. It makes no difference whether they be Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant. They are Christians! Their blood is one and the same. Their blood confesses Christ.”

I came across a beautiful blog written by a young woman I know who recently buried her grandmother. “Nature has a way of allowing us to feel closer to those we love and miss. It’s as if the natural surroundings are so beautiful that we believe they must be shared between the two worlds. It feels natural to turn to when there is no clearer answer, it’s unexplainable, physically beautiful, and calming.” http://livehowyoulovetolive.blogspot.com/2015/02/sunsets-clear-skies.html     I think this is a wonderful way of trying to capture the tangible love of God reaching out to us.

I Found God today in the way He reaches out to us through death – in showing of our own love for people, in the examples of faith and bravery that we observe, in the ways He tries to reach out to us and can fill us with peace if only we reach back.

 

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Prayer For Boston

Posted by eph21920 on February 17, 2015 in Humor, Prayer, Weather

I have several friends on the east coast and just cannot believe all the snow they have been getting. The news coverage of Boston is amazing. I wonder what the mood is like there in the city and how people are holding up. Tonight I read an awesome prayer for Boston by Fr. James Martin that I would like to share with you:

Fr. James Martin, SJ
A Prayer for Boston:

Almighty God, who made the green grass on the Fenway, the blue waters of Dorchester Bay and the tan sands on the Cape, we have a simple prayer: Enough with the snow already. Whatever mysterious point you’re making about endurance, or patience or your own awesome power, we get it: we’ve endured, we’re plenty patient and we get that you can do the snow thing. And we know that you know the old joke (since you know everything) about how if the Pilgrims landed in Florida first this part of the country would never have been settled, ha ha, but we love it here. We love the spring, especially on Boston Common. We love the Fall, especially in the suburbs. And we love the summer, especially on Cape Cod, on Cape Anne and on the South Shore. We love all those beautiful parts of your world. But we’ve had it with the snow. I mean, have you looked out my window? So we’d like to ask you to stop sending us the snow. And, just to be clear, when we say snow we also mean freezing rain, sleet, black ice, any kind of flurries and that new creation of yours thundersnow, We promise we’ll be good during Lent, we’ll be kind to one another, and won’t ask for another thing, at least until the Red Sox start to play. Amen.

I Found God today in the serious humor of a prayer for some of those having an extremely difficult winter.

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