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Music Day

We have been wondering what to do with the filing cabinet full of music that my mom had. The other day, my mom’s piano duet playing friend came over and looked through the music. She paired up the duet pieces and took quite a stack with her. Today my sisters and I got together on Zoom and meticulously went through the rest. Each of us pulled out a stack that we would like to keep and work on ourselves. Most of the pieces were way beyond our capabilities. The other day I received a mailing from the music teacher’s society that my mom belonged to. I contacted the president of the organization and asked if he had ideas of what to do with the music. He said he will take a donation to the college that my dad used to teach for. That seems like a win win.  Going through the music and reminiscing helped me to remember and appreciate what an amazing musician she was.

As a bonus, tonight my sons took me to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert for my birthday. I do love the music and the concert. The singer who performed “For the Sake of Our Brother” had an unbelievably beautiful voice. The song ends with the lyrics of “O Come let us adore Him”. By the end of the song I was in tears. I felt blessed to experience the concert with my two boys.

I Found God today appreciating beautiful music.

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Persistence

I read a reflection from the Word Among Us this morning about persistence. It reminded me of my friend so I shared it with her. It said in part:

“Our Heavenly Father treasures persistence because He knows what it can produce in His children. Persistence keeps our eyes fixed on Him, and it helps us to open our hearts to His will.”

To sum it up, when we are persistent in prayer, we keep our eyes on our Father and we open our hearts to His gifts. We may not receive exactly what we want how we want it, but God will gift us with what we need. For example, if we pray for healing, we may not be healed, but we may receive peace. It is an act of faith and trust that God loves us and always has our best interest in His heart. He is always with us and we can always be with Him.

I Found God today reminded to be persistent.

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Sharing Good News

I heard from a friend today who has been caring for her mother for many years. She has been consistently going to agencies seeking help and praying for it as well. Today she was thrilled to share the good news that she was finally able to get some financial relief. I was so happy that her perseverance finally paid off and pray that this assistance will lighten their burden.

I Found God today in assistance for a friend.

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The Mustard Seed

My brother spoils me. I was surprised to receive an additional gift from him tonight. It was another beautiful, delicate necklace. There was a mountain scene in the pendant. When I told my brother thank you, he told me that there was a mustard seed in it. He said he learned more about the scripture Matthew 17:20, “Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” My brother said it reminded him of me. I looked closer at the necklace and saw the seed. I pray for faith like that. I felt humbled, blessed, and loved.

I Found God today in my generous and thoughtful brother.

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Another Year

Today was my birthday. I spent much of the day reading and responding to birthday wishes. I received flowers and a balloon from my sister and a beautiful, delicate necklace from my brother. I was blessed to celebrate in the evening with my sons, daughter in law and grandkids. We got Mexican food and mini Bundt cakes so no one had to cook. My sons got tickets to a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert on Sunday. This is one of my favorites and we haven’t been for a couple of years, so I’m really looking forward to that. Everyone was so kind and thoughtful. I felt very loved.

I Found God today in loving family and friends.

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Pet Detected

A couple weeks ago, I put a new outdoor camera at the cabin and have been figuring out how it all works. The camera sends me an alert when there is motion. So far, I have seen a lot of snow, blowing trees, and a couple of birds. Earlier today I received a notification with the description of “Pet Detected”. I was so excited to see what the camera may have thought was a pet. It was actually 3 deer milling about and making their way down the hill. It is so fun to have this new device and see things going on up at the cabin in real time.

I Found God today seeing wildlife at the cabin.

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Busy Lunch

I went to lunch with a friend today, not really thinking about the fact that it was Veteran’s Day. When we arrived at the restaurant, there was a 30 minute wait. We figured it would take us that long to decide where else to go and to get there and such, so we put our name on the list. I was grateful it was a nice day, and we spent the time visiting outside. People were coming and going the whole time – most of them were wearing military attire of some kind. I assumed the restaurant was offering a Veteran’s Day special. I later learned that they were indeed giving a free full meal to all active and retired military. That is the majority of our city. It is no wonder there were so many people there. By the time we were called, there was a 1 hour waiting time. As we were seated, we walked by a fully set, decorated empty table which symbolized the military personnel who died in duty. The mood in the packed diner was celebratory. Everyone was chatting, thanking people for their service. The servers were super friendly. A man who may have been a manager was constantly walking the area asking if anyone needed anything, thanking people for coming in, and handing out coupons for a free dessert. My friend and I decided it was worth our wait to be in such a positive atmosphere. I felt even more grateful for our military men and women.

I Found God today being with celebrated military.

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Got Some Help

A friend has been on my mind, so I gave her a call this afternoon. She has been struggle with some pain issues, but doesn’t trust traditional doctors. I have been worried about her living alone and trying to function when it is so hard for her to get around. I was so glad to hear that she had made some calls and was getting help in her home. She already had 2 appointments and was feeling very positive and hopeful about the treatments. That in itself was a huge relief. I’m so glad she’s making strides to help herself and praying that she starts to improve.

I Found God today as my friend is starting to get some of the help she needs.

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Finally Out

The past 3 days I have been hunkering down at home with most of the state as we have experienced a rare 3 day snowstorm. In the time that I have lived here, I have never seen anything like it – especially in November. The kids didn’t have school and some roads were closed  during the worst of it. There were white out conditions at times. At home, I cleaned, cooked, exercised, went through paperwork, watched movies, and chatted with family. In all we received about 2 feet of snow. Today the weather broke and the sun came out. I enjoyed going outside and shoveling, even though it was wet and heavy. Luckily, the community here has contracted a company who plows the road and driveways. They also have a shoveling crew who does the sidewalks. The residents are responsible for porches and such. The neighbors were out cleaning up as well, so I was able to visit with them. Then, I went to the grocery store with the rest of the city. I thought waiting til the afternoon would be a good idea. It was still very busy. I felt bad for the employees trying to keep up with stocking while the aisles were super crowded. I was happy I didn’t have too much to get. I did self checkout. The man next to me was trying to wrestle 2 enthusiastic children while scanning his items and getting them into bags. I chatted a little with him and the little girl who had a lot to say and a lot to ask. I could see the man’s tension ease just a bit as I tried to joyfully distract. In general, people were pretty patient and pleasant. Perhaps they, like me, were just happy to be out of the house.

I Found God today getting out of the house.

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Music of the Past

It was pretty quiet today as I was doing things around the house, so I decided to put some music on. First I looked through some records and found one from my brother’s middle school band and choir. I had to listen to that. The songs and arrangements were as I remembered from the 1970’s and it made me smile. I pictured myself in some of the places I was when I heard the music. After I went through both sides, I perused other options and saw some CD’s that my dad had recorded. They were of my mom and her friend playing their duets. As I listened, I remembered them playing most of them when I first arrived 10 years ago. I pictured them both sitting at the piano and playing up a storm. Slowly over time, my mom was able to play less and less. It had been so long since I heard them playing the pieces, I almost forgot how good they were. I smiled, hummed along, directed, and cried. Listening to my mom’s playing was definitely a blessing.

I Found God today enjoying music of the past.