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Sharing Her Childhood

Posted by eph21920 on October 23, 2024 in Baby, Children, Family, Grateful, Happiness, Life, Past

My daughter in law has been getting very bored as she continues to recover from her ankle surgery. She is still non-weight bearing and has her foot elevated the majority of the day. Yesterday we looked through a list of things to do and one of the suggestions was to make a photo album. My daughter in law remembered that she had a lot of loose photos in packages that she acquired after her mother died. Today I brought over some photo pages and found the packages of photos. The one we started with included pictures of her when she was a baby up to a teenager. She sorted the photos and shared her memories while I put them in the pages. I felt so blessed to spend the time with her as she shared her childhood stories.

I Found God today being with my daughter in law and hearing her life stories.

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Friend’s Success

Posted by eph21920 on October 22, 2024 in Friends, Grateful, Happiness, Opportunity

A friend of mine has been crocheting super cute hats and things and selling them at craft fairs. Recently, a store was interested in the hats, so she gave them some to sell. Not surprisingly, they have been selling very quickly and the store is ready for more. She texted me today to let me know the good news. She was so excited and so grateful. I was happy to hear that as she works so hard. Mostly, I was happy she told me so I could celebrate with her.

I Found God today in a friend’s success.

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Still Counting My Blessings

Posted by eph21920 on October 21, 2024 in Birthday, Children, Family, Grateful, Joy, Life, Music

Today was my oldest son’s birthday. Per his request I made chicken enchiladas and a fruit pizza which I haven’t made in a very long time. I spent the afternoon at his house helping to make sure my daughter in law was doing ok. She gets a little better every day since the ankle surgery 12 days ago. She’s tired of being laid up, which is good in a way as she gets moving around a little more. My granddaughter helped put all the fruit on the giant sugar cookie topped with cream cheese frosting. It was a feast for the eyes and the taste buds. My younger son whose birthday is in 3 days and his fiancee made a surprise visit to celebrate. My granddaughter sang us a couple of songs and demonstrated what she has been learning in her singing lessons. She has a truly amazing voice and sense of music. We had a nice little party. On my way home the song, “Counting My Blessings” came on. I sang along loudly, telling God how grateful I was.

I Found God today celebrating my sons’ birthdays.

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Counting My Blessings

Posted by eph21920 on October 20, 2024 in Faith, Grateful, Life, Music

I have had a song going through my head all day today. It was “Counting My Blessings” by Seph Schlueter. As it ran through my head, I did in fact reflect on all the blessings God has given me – family, friends, faith, home, food. Then I started looking closer and being even more grateful. My children live so close and I get to see them a lot. I have a wonderful relationship with all my siblings. I have many friends that I have met in very different ways. I could go through relationships and specific blessings in each one. That in itself would take forever. And that is the point of the song. If I truly ponder the blessings in my life, I would run out of numbers and out of time. I felt grateful and humbled. Here are some of the lyrics:

“God, I’m still counting my blessings
For all that You’ve done in my life
The more that I look in the details
The more of Your goodness I find
Father on this side of heaven
I know that I’ll run out of time
But I will keep counting my blessings
Knowing I can’t count that high”

I Found God today reminded of the constant blessings He gives me.

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Three For Tea

Posted by eph21920 on October 19, 2024 in Faith, Family, Food, Grateful, Opportunity, Relationship

A few weeks ago, my son’s fiancee invited me to tea with her and her mom. We went today. It was in a “castle” that belonged to one of the city’s founders. The property was 700 acres set back into the foothills with beautiful scenery. It had been acquired some years ago by a Christian organization. They host retreats, overnight guests, and teas as well as many other events. It was a very fancy setting in the dining room with fine china and antique artwork. We each chose a different tea from the dozens that were offered. Then we were served soup, salad, miniature sandwiches and pastries. Everything was unique and delicious. It was a wonderful opportunity to get to know my son’s fiancee’s mother. I had met her a couple of times, and had chatted just briefly. We talked about kids, travelling in the military life, holidays, and our Christian faith. It was a very easy and comfortable conversation. I thought about how blessed my son was to meet this young woman and to have the support of this family. I was blessed to spend this time with two lovely women.

I Found God today spending time with my son’s fiancee and her mom.

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The 3 P’s

Posted by eph21920 on October 18, 2024 in Faith, Friends, Grateful, Prayer

I talked with my friend today who is a Stephens Minister. We have been meeting together, talking, and praying for many months. We chatted for a while and she asked me some pointed, reflective questions. She helps me to think about where I’ve been, where I’m going, and my relationship with God. When it came time for prayer, I asked for the 3 P’s – peace, patience, and perseverance – for myself and for my son and his family as his wife recovers from her ankle surgery. We prayed for complete healing for my daughter in law and for my friend as she is recovering from knee surgery. I was grateful to spend the time with her.

I Found God today talking and praying with a friend.

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Baking With Grammy

Posted by eph21920 on October 17, 2024 in Children, Family, Food, Fun

My granddaughter didn’t have school today, so we planned a baking day. She has a Harry Potter baking book with recipes for foods that mimic those in the movies. I told her we could make one of them today. She looked through the book and chose one named Honeydukes Haul Cake. The recipe was for a basic sweet bread dough made into small balls, baked in the oven, and filled with jelly. The finished product resembled jelly doughnuts. Since the recipe used a yeast dough, the whole process took the entire afternoon. She wanted to try filling some with chocolate too, so instead of making a hole and squeezing in strawberry jelly, she put chocolate chips in the hole. Then the chips melted. After dinner, she chose one of those to try. I was thoroughly enjoying my jelly filled pastry, which was more like a sweet roll than a doughnut, when I noticed she had a strange look on her face. I asked her what was wrong. She said, “I’m sorry. I know you worked so hard on these, but I don’t like it.” She was so sweet. I think she was expecting them to be more doughnut-like than they actually were. I assured her it was ok if she didn’t want to eat them and that we had a lot of fun together. Also, her mom, dad, brother, and I liked them so it was still a great treat. We’ll try a different recipe next time, but we really did have fun.

I Found God today baking with my granddaughter.

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Relating to this Reflection

Posted by eph21920 on October 16, 2024 in Connected, Death, Faith, Family, Past

I woke up this morning thinking about my father and my sister’s dream. When I turned on the daily reflection that I listen to most mornings, the speaker, Jeff Cavins, talked about his father. He recently died and today would be his funeral. I cried through most of it. Here are a couple of thoughts that were shared that really tugged at my heart.

“After my dad died, his life seemed as though it is amplified, and all that he said and did enveloped me as I move forward to live my life as he had hoped.”

As Jeff shared details about his father’s life to others, he realized they didn’t know him that well and  “… it took a son to reveal the father.”

“As I get older…I grow in appreciation for all that he has done in our family.”

These words and more had me starting out my day thinking of my dad’s death, but also the blessings of thean that he was.

I Found God today remembering my father.

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Sister’s Dream

Posted by eph21920 on October 15, 2024 in Connected, Death, Family, Joy

My sister told me about a dream she had. She was with my dad. He put his hands on her shoulders and just looked at her with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. What a beautiful dream – or was it? This is how I like to remember my dad. Smiling, happy, whole. With the twinkle in his eye that says he’s got a little something deep down that he knows and needs to share.

I Found God today in a beautiful  dream of my dad.

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Doing Well So Far

Posted by eph21920 on October 14, 2024 in Doctor, Family, Grateful, Healing

My daughter in law had surgery on her ankle last week. Today I took her to her doctor’s appointment. After carefully getting her out of the house and into the car, we packed up her knee scooter and off we went. She initially had fun on her scooter as it rolled much easier on the sidewalk than on the carpet in her house. In the office, the medical assistant removed and replaced the bandage that went up to the knee. She said everything looked good and sent us on our way. By that time, my daughter in law was starting to feel some pain. Getting back to the car was not quite as fun as going in. When we arrived back at her house, she couldn’t wait to lie back down. I was glad I was able to help, grateful that my daughter in law is doing well, and happy she got up and out safely.

I Found God today helping my daughter in law.

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