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Sugar Plum Loaves

Posted by eph21920 on December 23, 2023 in Advent, Family, Food, Grateful, Past

Today my mom and I made the Sugar Plum Loaves that she bakes and shares every year. It is a recipe from her 1976 “New Better Homes and Gardens” cookbook. I remembered the first year I helped her with them I was afraid, as I am not a bread baker and had no idea what a “soft dough” is. But over the years, I have made copious notes and learned a lot. This year, mom read the recipe and directions to me as I put it together. I recognized the texture of the soft dough and got Mom’s approval. The breads baked up perfectly. Mom enjoyed slathering on the icing to top them off. She taught me well and I felt very blessed to enjoy this time with her today.

I Found God baking with my mom.

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Making Christmas Spirit

Posted by eph21920 on December 22, 2023 in Advent, Connected, Generosity, Life, Service

I saw a quote today from TobyMac that I loved.

“Want to keep Christ in Christmas? Feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Forgive the guilty. Welcome the stranger and the unwanted child. Care for the ill. Love your enemies.”

It occurred to me that no matter what is going on in our lives, or how this particular year’s celebrations are coming together, if we make the time and effort to do even one of these suggestions, we will be a blessing to others. We would be connecting with Christ, bringing Him out to the world, which is exactly what we are celebrating.

I Found God today in concrete ways to bring Christmas to others.

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Watching Out

Posted by eph21920 on December 21, 2023 in Eucharist, Friends, Shopping, Sick, Stranger, Struggles

I went to the extremely busy grocery store today and was determined to keep a good attitude. While there were a lot of people there, most seemed to be pleasant and patient. On the way out, I noticed that directly in front of me was a woman I knew who husband is currently dying of cancer. I used to see them in church, but he is no longer able to make it. I followed her to her car and helped her load up the cases of soda and overflowing bags of food for the family members who were coming in. She shared that her husband is receiving more pain medication, but that he tries hard not to let his suffering show. I was glad to hear that they have a Eucharistic Minister visiting them every week to bring them Holy Communion. My friend has said many times that her husband’s faith is what’s helping her to hold up. As we emptied her cart, an elderly man who was walking with a cane said he would take it as he was heading into the store. My friend turned it around for him so it would be heading the right direction. He said thank you and that we have to watch out for each other. Then he wished us a good afternoon. My friend and I hugged before we parted ways, but not too hard as we were both on the verge of tears. It was a blessing to see her.

I Found God today in a faithful friend and a kindly gentleman.

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House Cleaner

Posted by eph21920 on December 20, 2023 in Answer, Grateful, Home, Struggles

During the last few months, it has been impossible to keep up with the house work. And it had become another item on my long, overwhelming to do list. I knew that several people in our complex had housekeepers, so I started asking around. I connected with a woman who cleans for many of the “old-timers” who my parents were friends with. She came over today, got a brief overview, and went to work. Four hours later there was a remarkable difference. It was such a blessing to have some things taken care of that I knew I couldn’t do.

I Found God today in a wonderful house cleaner.

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Enjoying the Lights

Posted by eph21920 on December 19, 2023 in Advent, Angel, Family, Fun, Happiness

My neighbor put Christmas lights on our shared pine tree. My mom loves looking at them when she sits at the dinner table. Tonight she decided she wanted to drive around to see the Christmas lights in the neighborhood. Our first stop was Starbucks for hot chocolate. Then we went to our two favorite places. One had a religious theme with a huge nativity scene in the middle and dozens of angels all around the perimeter of the corner house. The other house hosted a light show that went along with music. They were different from one another but both wonderful. Mom very much enjoyed her time out.

I Found God today enjoying Christmas lights with my mom.

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Piano Poem

Posted by eph21920 on December 18, 2023 in Uncategorized

My mom and I were straightening up a bit today and came across a book called, “What Music Means to Me”, by Richard Rejino. It was written by a friend’s former boss when she worked at a music store. It is really a compilation of reflections by various ordinary musicians, young and old. As we paged through, we stopped at a photo of an older woman standing by her piano. She had written a poem of sorts. My mom became teary eyed as we read it, particularly the last line: No one knows my piano has a life of her own and is my secret, always reliable friend. Even though my mom struggled playing today, those words resonated with her. She has that special relationship with the piano that few understand, but the poem captured it perfectly for my mom.

I Found God today in a musical connection that my mom experienced.

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Serving the Poor

Posted by eph21920 on December 17, 2023 in Generosity, Homeless, Love, Stranger, Struggles

The parish I worked for several years ago was located in the capitol city of the state, although it still had a small town feel. As with most large cities, there were many homeless people. Although that wasn’t my field of expertise, I encountered many in that situation. I learned that there are many reasons why people find themselves without a home, and many reasons why they remain in that state. The government put in place many laws and programs to try to punish and/or help people, depending on the circumstances. But the call of the church is to serve. I witnessed that first hand when I was working at the parish. Today I saw pictures of a Christmas Party the parish had for the homeless. They provided food, clothing, haircuts, music, a meal, and needed supplies. No questions. No judgement. Just people loving and serving other people. I thought it was a beautiful thing.

I Found God today seeing people lovingly serving others.

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Christmas Things

Posted by eph21920 on December 16, 2023 in Uncategorized

I knew it was going to be a mild day today, so I planned on trying to get a few Christmas decorations out. When my mom and I talked about it, she was pleasantly surprised to learn that we had already mailed her Christmas cards and wrapped the gifts. First thing this morning, our neighbor contacted me to see if they could stop by. I was happy that mom woke up feeling pretty good so it would be a good visit. They told us about their upcoming trip and brought over a gift of homemade bread and cute ornament. It was a really nice visit and mom reminisced a little looking through a scrapbook. Before they left, they helped me get the Christmas trunks unstacked in the garage. I brought a few things into the house, then mom and I went outside. Mom enjoyed the sunshine on the porch while I put up some garland and such. After lunch and nap, we decorated a wreath and hung it on the front door. Then after dinner, we colored some Christmas pictures. I put some Christmas music on and encouraged my mom to see if she could recognize the melody. She usually did when I started singing. Then she sang along. It was such a blessing of a day and I am very grateful for this time.

I Found God today doing Christmas things with my mom.

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Unexpected Show

Posted by eph21920 on December 15, 2023 in Faith, Life, Love, Movie

Tonight I put on the TV for my mom for a few minutes while I cleaned up the kitchen. There was a plethora of Christmas shows to choose from. As we looked through them one at a time, there were reasons why my mom would not enjoy them. Then we came across Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors. My mom said she liked Dolly Parton, so we left it on. It was the story about a song that Dolly wrote describing one particular event in her life when she was 9 years old. My mom couldn’t understand what people were saying or what was going on so she only lasted about 15 minutes. By that time, I was hooked. After I got mom to bed, I went back and watched the rest. It was a beautiful story of life, death, love, and faith. I found myself in tears several times. It has been a very long time since I had seen a show that was so touching to me.

I Found God in a story about Him.

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Orion Appeared

Posted by eph21920 on December 14, 2023 in Connected, Creation, Death, Eternity, Family

I went out briefly tonight and on my way home the sky was dark and clear. As I was driving down the street by the house, I noticed a couple of stars. I looked more intently and gradually the constellation Orion appeared. I will forever be reminded of my father when I see that constellation. The night he died, Orion was right up above us when we returned home. I felt my dad was finally able to view the heavens as he had always longed for. Seeing it tonight reminded me of that and I felt him near.

I Found God today in a more spiritual thought about my dad.

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