On Eagles' Wings

Mom passed on Saturday February 20, 2010.   On Monday February 22nd, I was
driving from my house to Mom's place.   My brother David was staying at Mom's.

On the back road to Mom's it is not unusual to encounter semi-trucks.   There is a
food storage warehouse, so semis are quite common.   
The weather was overcast and a light snow was falling.   I come upon a truck
that is just about crawling in front of me.
I started to mumble and bitch to myself about it, when I looked up as saw a bible
quotation on the back of the truck.    I knew I did not have time, nor the ability to
write down the whole verse, so I grabbed my cell phone and took this photo.

I explained to David what had just happened.   I said to David...   "It's pretty
RARE to see a bible verse on the back of a truck.   Whatever that verse was,
I need to find out.  I think it's going to be of some importance." 

Upon looking up the verse......

‘They that hope in the Lord will renew
their strengths, they will soar as with
eagles wings.   They will run and not
grow weary, walk and will not grow faint’.

Isaiah 40:31

I knew exactly how important.   Mom had been discharged from the hospital
on 2-17.   On the evening of 2-18, she collapsed.  (fainted)   She was revived,
but on 2-20 following her wishes, she was removed from life support.

It was Mom letting US know she was soaring with those eagles.  
For those of you who don't know....   MOM LOVED BIRDS !!!!!

My sister in law, Rose created the program for Mom's funeral mass.
The closing song of her funeral mass was....

On Eagles' Wings 


Dedicated today to Christopher J. Twomey as he is laid to rest.
May God be with your family and friends now, and for a long
time to come.   Comforted by an Army of Angels and friends.  
CJ Twomey - July 3, 1989 ~ April 15, 2010

 

Giving in Mom's Name

There was an American Red Cross blood drive today at my son Kevin's school
today and I went to donate.

I have been a blood donor since I was 17.    This donation was meaningful for me.

When Mom Margaret fell back in January, she was given 3 units of plasma. 

Even though technically, I was not donating for Mom, I was in my mind
donating in her memory. 

I was checked in and then led to the donation area.   I slid up on the table
and the nurse said.......

Hi my name is Margaret. !!!!!!!



I miss you so much Mom, but it's these little "God Winks" that keep reminding me that you're not that far away. 

Love ya Ma !!!

Promise Yourself

 

Promise yourself .........

To be so strong that nothing
can disturb your peace of mind.      

To talk health, happiness   
and prosperity                  
to every person you meet.          

To make all your friends                    
feel that there is something in them.             

To look at the sunny side of everything                     
and make your optimism come true.                                

To think only of the best, to work only for the best                
and expect only the best.                                   

To be enthusiastic about the success of others                     
as you are about your own.                                           

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to   
greater achievements of the future.                   

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times       
and give every living creature you meet a smile. 

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself 
that you have no time to criticize others.              

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger,   
too strong for fear and too happy                     
to permit the presence of trouble.                                

 

Christian D Larson
"Your Forces and How to Use Them" 1912

Your Forces and How to Use Them -(online complete text)

http://www.sacred-texts.com/nth/yfhu/index.htm



 

Angels Around Us

My Dad passed back in November of last year.   My ex husband Mark asked me what he could do for my Mom.    Mark, his wife Pam and I have quite the unusual relationship considering he's my ex and she's his current wife.  

I said to Mark... why don't you send Mom an angel.   That would be a nice remembrance.
Mark and Pam picked out an angel and decided they would get together with Mom
and bring the angel over personally.    The holidays got in the way,
and then everything happened with Mom in early January.  (Her fall and brain injury)

After Mom's passing, Mark phoned me and said.......
"We have the angel, what should we do with it" ?    Instantly and without
hesitation I asked him to give it to our daughter Nicole.

After Mom's viewing - wake on the night of February 25th, we came home
to find a package by our front door.

The package was from a dear military Mom friend, Melanie.    I 'met' Melanie
online a few weeks before the 1st anniversary of her Marine son LCPL Lance M. Thompson's passing.    Lance was KIA in Iraq on November 15, 2004.

In November of 2005, I was putting together a condolence book for the
family of Fallen Marine LCPL Daniel M. McVicker.     Danny was from Ohio and I knew
that I could personally deliver the condolence book.   I was collecting email
messages to include in Danny's book.   Danny was KIA in Iraq on October 6, 2005.

Melanie sent me the most beautiful message.   I came to the bottom and
it was there I learned she was a Gold Star Mom.   Her note listed the date
of her son Lance's passing.

I saw that it was just almost 2 weeks until the 1st anniversary of his death.
The day stuck with me, as November 15th is my hubby Michael and my
wedding anniversary.

I had some poems that I thought I would like to email back to Melanie.
Something stopped me....   I was fearful that I might upset her.

Then out of the BLUE.... in a booming sort of voice to my thought.....

'Should I send these' ?      I heard .........  "YES - YES - YES".

Never before had something come to me so plainly. !!!!!!    I really did not have
a clue, at that time, that it was LANCE communicating to me. 
Later on I realized it.   :)))

Melanie emailed me back rather quickly asking......'Who are you, and
how do I know you' ????      I responded that we were on the same Marine
Family Condolence group, and that she had sent me messages for a book
I was putting together.
Mel told me that the messages were such a gift to her.    She was
contemplating a weekend trip that she was not looking forward to,
and the messages uplifted her ~Spirit~.     
JUST as LANCE KNEW IT WOULD !!!!!

Melanie had sent me a gorgeous memorial bell after my Dad passed.
I knew the package was not heavy enough to be a similar bell. 

I opened it up to find this amazing angel.....







 




I phoned Melanie to thank her.   She had no clue at all that my Mom
LOVED birds.     In talking to Mel she said that she was at a store and
had purchased something different.    After it was all paid for she asked
the clerk to please credit her the purchase, because she changed her
mind.    She proceeded to tell me that she was drawn to this angel.
The clerk came out with it and said....'You are lucky, it's our last one'. !!!!

I phone my daughter Nicole to tell her all about the angel and how
Melanie followed her intuition in returning the first item and picking
out this angel.

After Mom's funeral the next day, we gathered at their church for
a luncheon.    All the immediate family was going to gather at Mom and Dad's
house for the afternoon.    Michael and I had to run home to let the dog out.
I happened to glance and see Nicole's Dad hand her a gift bag. 
Since her birthday had just passed, I thought it must have been a
birthday gift. 

Michael and I went home, let Drake out and we were about to leave our
house to head back to Mom and Dad's.    At the last minute, I thought I would
take the Angel to show everyone.   I had the box on the table and I went to
pick up the angel.    Michael saw me do this as he was attempting to HURRY
me out the door.    I reached up and had my hand around the base of the
angel.......    Just then I heard a voice.....








"You don't have to bring that."     


It was not big and booming but it was very direct.    I pulled my hand
back and said to Michael.     "Ohhh I changed my mind".
I did not question the message....  I just thought okay, another time.

When we arrived at Mom's house, Nicole met me in the garage.
She said........... OMG --- you have to come in here and see something. !!!!

As soon as I saw the square Styrofoam packing, I knew INSTANTLY,
that her Dad and Pam had picked out the very same angel that Melanie
had sent me.



AND.... for all that I thought I was okay with my ex Mark....
at first I kept thinking.......   WHY MARK ??????
Why him to have this special moment. 

Then it came to me...  LET IT GO !!!   It's ALL GOOD !!!
It's been over 15 years since my divorce,
I needed that moment to have full closure.

I related the story to Mark.    I think it helped him with his upset
at himself for not getting the angel to Mom sooner. 

THANKS Melanie, Mark and Pam.   

With Love Always,
Deb

"NO DOUBT" .... 'the universe is unfolding as it should.'   
Desiderata - Max Ehrmann









Marine Corporal Lance M. Thompson




Marine Lance Corporal Daniel M. McVicker

After Mom's Passing - An Encounter at the Same Store

Mom passed February 20, 2010.   She was 77 years old.   Three and a half months after Dad died.  So many folks said to me.........   It happens like that, one goes and then the other goes quickly.  
Let me be VERY clear on this, Mom had no intention of joining Dad this quickly.   She purchased a brand new car in early January.   She had a bus trip booked with some of her bingo lady friends to a casino for sometime here in March.    She was grieving Dad's passing in her own way, but she also felt a new found freedom being a widow.  She had even ordered some new furniture for her living room.

The hardest part about Mom's passing was that the day she fell back in
January, she was at
the VA taking care of the last of Dad's paper work from
his death.   The sidewalk was clear, no ice or snow, but it was raised and
she caught her foot on a crack.   The law in Ohio is such that a
raised sidewalk has to be I believe the lawyer said 3 inches before you have
any case.  
Her fall caused a brain injury and then in Feb she had 2 brain
surgeries.    She was home for a little over 24 hours and she had a cardiac
event.   Then it was 3 days later we removed her from the life support when
we knew the extent of her brain damage.

Mom was buried on February 26th.     On Monday March 1st I called my friend Tanya and said.......                  
'I need some Tanya time, are you available' ?     She was and said ....  'What do you want to do' ?

I said.....  'I'm not sure, I'll just be by to pick you up at such and such a time'. 

On the drive to Tanya's I had an ..... URGE to go to that same religious store that I had visited after Dad's passing in November.
Let me give you just a little background before I get on to the story. 
Tanya is my close dear friend who I have known for well over 11 years.   We met when she started watching our youngest Kevin.    Tanya's oldest granddaughter Abbey is coming on 5 years old next month.  
Ever since I was a very small child our parents took us to a Catholic Shrine in Carey Ohio.   The shrine is called ....   Our Lady of Consolation.    My last visit there was in the summer of 2008 when I took Mom and Dad there.    Google Maps says it's 128 miles from my house, but just to give you an idea that it's not a place that is in our neighborhood.   :)

So after I picked up Tanya, I said....  I would really like to stop at this store and it's not all that far from your place here. 

We pulled up to the store and parked.   As we started towards the door, we could see a very tiny black dog inside waiting at the door to greet us.    I said.... OMG, look it's a tiny dog.We walked in the door and just to our left was the owner Patrick.    He was sitting at a table
and he appeared to be doing some sort of paper work.     The dog followed us over to Patrick and I said to him..... 'OMG, I have never seen this little dog here before'.    I guess I asked him where did you get him.   

Patrick proceeded to say..........'She came from Carey Ohio'.    I stopped him and said....'The Shrine there in Carey" ?     He said yes.    'I have a friend there named 'DEB'.
She had bought the dog as a gift for her friend Tanya.     Tanya did not realize exactly how much work a tiny puppy was going to be.    With her work schedule it was just too much to keep the little dog.    Patrick proceeded to say that he and his wife adopted her from Tanya, over 2 years ago.    Patrick said that Tanya's young daughter was SO VERY upset at having to lose the dog, they decided to name the puppy after the daughter.....  'Her name is Abbey'.  

WOW........... WOW.......................   All the connections were just WAY too much to be some sort of a coincidence.      I explained to Patrick how very special the shrine at Carey was to my family.     We told him of the name connections.    He said he was definitely going to related the story to DEB, the next time he visited there.  AND.............. the morning I headed out with Tanya, I had a NUDGE to grab my camera and take it with me.    Now, I do frequently take my camera, but it's not like I grab it every time I walk out my door. 

Here is a photo of Tanya and Abbey from that morning:

Sometime after our visit there on March 1st.     I came across this photo of my Dad, my older bro David and myself.    It was taken in September of 1959.     David was almost 3 and I would have been about 18 months old.    Dad would have been 29.   Obviously Mom was taking the photo.
Our youngest bro, Mike was born in June of 1960.   
HE MIGHT have been there too depending on the exact time of conception.   LOL

Our Lady of Consolation Shrine - LINK


My bro David was hugging me THEN.... As he has been now after Mom's death.  ;)
 

For me.............   Just a few more of the GOD WINKS from the other side.

So VERY comforting indeed. 

They Do Speak, Just Be Open to Listen

Dad passed November 5, 2009.    Up until the Spring of last year, at 78 years old, Dad had been working as a WalMart greeter.   A position he held for 14 years since his retirement from grocery store retail management. He worked approximately 35-38 hours a week.    In April Dad had some ischemic strokes, other wise referred to as mini strokes.    He was hospitalized, but released.    He was doing out patient therapy.   He was not majorly impaired from the strokes.    In July he fell and broke 5 ribs.    He never returned home after that fall.The day after Dad's burial on November 11th, I just felt the need to go to the cemetery.    I don't particularly have an attachment to cemeteries, as I feel the soul-spirit does not reside there, still something drew me to plan to go there that day.    My drive to the cemetery is under 20 minutes.   On the way there, I had intended to stop at a local religious store.    The morning had gotten away from me and time was running short for Kevin to be home from school.    I knew he had not taken his house key that morning, so I had  a specific time to be home.    As I back out of my drive, I decided to nix the religious store and just go on to his grave site.While driving down the street where I would pass by the religious store I had a BOOMING message.....

'YOU NEED TO STOP THERE' !!!!!!!

Not being one to ignore biggie messages like that, I figured ... OKAY, I better stop.   :)I walked into the store intending to walk back to the area where some pocket coins are kept.   As soon as I walked in the door, from my peripheral vision on my right side, I saw a woman at the cashier's desk.    I did not actually turn to view her, but instantly I heard her voice and then stopped.     As I stopped to look her way, she also looked towards me.    It was Lynn, a RN who had taken care of Dad at a local hospital during one of his many stays that past year.    Lynn was no ordinary RN.   She really bonded with Dad.    Even so much as coming to the nursing home to visit him there.    In the last few weeks of Dad's life, the frustration of his bodily limitations had taken a great toll on him.    He was not really up for some visitors.   Lynn had sensed that on her last trip to see Dad, and she had decided it was best not to drop in on him.   
Still, Mom had kept in touch with her by phone.    After Dad's passing we had not gotten Lynn notified.    She walked up to me with a huge smile and arms extended for a hug.  

She then said........  'How's your Dad doing' ?     I informed her that we had just buried him the day before.   She was visibly shaken and upset to tears at the news.   Lynn and Dad had shared their faith with one another, and after his months of suffering, I explained we were at peace with his passing.      

These pocket coins that I was there to pick up that day are ones that I keep giving away to folks I meet who seem to be in need of something to uplift them. 

I knew exactly WHY I was led to the store that day.     The timing is out of this world.  

The key is listening and acting on the messages that come to you.   :)

NOW.......... I have a story about the same religious store after Mom passed in February.  
I'm going to make a second post about that one.  

'Christmas Remembrance'

I'm sharing this with permission from my friend... Charles Quick ;)





A very strange thing happened the other day. I was doing a
Google search attempting to look up the words to a sermon that I

thought I shared on my site. The results brought me to an online

friend's blog.

Turns out I had shared the sermon in a comment to Charles under a post he

made called:

Christmas Remembrance - December 14, 2007



I just now went and searched through Charles AKA - Ceeque's blog

to see when it was I first met him. That was back in June of 2007.

I landed at his site from a link I had found on someone else's blog. :)



As with so many of my online friends, I will most likely never meet them
in person.

You see Charles lives across the POND over in the UK. Still, he's become like

a back yard neighbor and a special part of my life.



In his post of Christmas Remembrance Ceeque was facing his 6th
Christmas holiday without his son James. Charles shares his thoughts
of the upcoming holiday

along with 'an inspiring piece' that his son James wrote.



James was born the same year as my Vinny, he would have

turned 25 this year. If I were reading someone's message like this,
I'm certain I would wonder what happened that this young man
passed at the age of 17.

Let me say that Charles has a post on his site right up on plain view......

'Memo to Suicidal Young People'.





I would like to share James' words with you............







” Prose No.1 version 1



comment: This is inspired by several people, writers and someone I think is a writer! Its not very good …..


“STOP, yes, STOP! I`d just like you to take a moment and reflect.
Right now you`re sat somewhere reading this. Are you eating or drinking
something you normally eat or drink? If so, have some slowly, feel the
textures,smell the aromas, let your taste buds get a good taste.
Something you don`t normally do … you eat and run. I think its about
time we all sat back and realised what we have.


We`re cruising along in life not realising the potential we all
have, each day. We fear whats to come tomorrow, we regret what was
yesterday but we ignore today. And today you`ll go through what you
felt yesterday and tomorrow.


Appreciate whats today, the potential you have. Make a change,
stand up, and shout. Shout anything you like. Express yourself, tell
people you love them, like friends and family. Step back from that
computer, turn the tv off. Talk and appreciate people.


We take SO MUCH for granted, the air we breathe, food we eat, bus
drivers, that sexy blonde at the local shop .. and family and friends.
Over this Christmas spend as much time as possible with the things you
love (or should love) as you just don`t know when its gonna get taken
away from you….



And remember what the great John and Paul said …



“ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE”



in remembrance of George Harrison. “



..........................................................................................................................................



LINK TO CEEQUE'S BLOG ARTICLE - CHRISTMAS REMEMBRANCE



PLEASE JOIN ME IN PRAYER FOR CHARLES AND ALL WHO HAVE BURIED A CHILD.





Christmas Remembrance

James Wallace Quick
September 29, 1984 ~ March 21, 2002

Midnight Mass Sermon

They come……. often uninvited but not wholly unwelcome…..

But they will surely come…..

As soon as the Christmas tree is lit this evening….

As soon as the Christmas dinner is served tomorrow….

As soon as the presents are unwrapped…. They will come….

Who are they? They are the ghosts of our Christmases past.

Not some scary spooks from out of a Steven King movie,

nor some dour figment of Charles Dickens imagination….

No…. these ghosts are neighbors, who have moved away,

grandchildren, too busy to come home,

childhood friends, long since lost touch with,

and all our beloved dead.

These ghosts come to us at the holy time, tinged with

sadness, but so much a part of our Christmas memories

we could not banish them if we would want to….

but who could wish something so dreadful!

Our memories, and the ghosts they conjure, are as much

a part of today’s celebration as the packages sitting under

the tree this very minute or as the lights that beautify our

church this very night.

They are a part of us and they are holy.!

They come back to us….. served up in special Christmas

recipes they hand down….. unique Christmas ornaments that

were theirs, and those special songs of the season that they

loved to sing. They are our special holiday friends.

Aunts smelling like lavender, Grandmother’s who baked the

best bread in the world, small friends who shared their newly
arrived
red wagons, and brothers and sisters who wrapped their
Santa’s workshop
gifts with all the love their small hands could muster.

They are our special holiday friends,

these ghosts of Christmas.

For you see…. they are part of our history, and our history

is holy. For if this Christmas celebration means anything at all, it

means that when God became a part of our human story, our lives
took on
a part of the divine story.

The moments of our lives, each one of them, bears the mark
of the divine life. And therefore, the people of our lives,

all of them, are holy images of God among us.

These ghosts who visit us, trimmed in evergreen and glowing in

Christmas lights, these ghosts remind us that our story is a
part of
God’s story…. For God touched our lives on this holy night.

We need not fear them, these ghosts of love and laughter,

these ghosts of family and friendship……

We need not fear them, for they are our own history,

coming back to reminisce in this holy season.

Our history, made holy, by God becoming one of us.

And so, as I drive down the turnpike tomorrow to celebrate

with my family, they will come back to me,

the ghosts of my own Christmases.

My Grandfather fussing to make sure the house is spotless,

my Grandmother standing in her apron in front of the stove

cooking macaroni.

I hope yours visit you, and when they do, when those
memories of people not with us this day come to reminisce,

remember, they are signs to us of how holy our history is….

Our own history that is made holy by God who took on

our history when he came to Earth this very night.

Greet those ghosts with love for they are signs of God’s love….

Greet them with love…. welcome them home…..

and Merry Christmas to you and to all who are with you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By Father Patrick Ferraro

St Joan of Arc – Streetsboro Ohio

December 2003

This sermon was given at

my parent’s Church.

I thought it was so touching I had my Dad ask

Fr. Patrick for a copy to send to my son Vinny who was

serving in Iraq at that time.

Droid Eris Cell Phone Manual PDF

 

This message is for anyone searching for
manual for the NEW Droid Eris Cell Phone from Verizon.

Click on this PDF link and you can then save the manual to your
desktop for future reference. 

I'm getting the hang of mine .... THANKS to the manual.   

http://vzw.com/multimedia/mim/htc_droid_eris/eris.pdf

*  January 16, 2010 -  A SPECIAL THANKS to Rick for correcting my link !

~ * ~ GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO ~ * ~

My posting this message was inspired by Deb Call over at

Spirit in Gear.  

She wrote a post yesterday........  Early Christmas Visitor Brings Joy

Unlike any Christmas season preceding this one, I face my first holiday
celebration without either of my parents.  We lost Mom less than 2
years ago, and Dad passed away 3 months ago.  My siblings and I attempt
to put on a brave face, while feeling trepidation at
facing Christmas with the empty spaces left by our parents.      Jump over to Deb's site to read the rest............

   Early Christmas Visitor Brings Joy

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

~ * ~     GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO    ~ * ~

Dad always knew that Mother was the ROCK and she continues
to be a source of inspiration to all of us.    Mom made the transition to being alone
in their home when Dad fell on July 9th and broke those 5 ribs.  

Dad suffered so greatly in the last months of his life, his passing was a blessing for him and us.    I know, one does not often think of a death as a blessing, but considering how limited his life was, it really was a comfort to us knowing he is …….. AT PEACE.

On Thursday November 5th he passed at 2:10pm.     He was at Anna Maria
nursing home in Aurora.   All the family gathered there on the 4th.   
Grandchildren too.
My Mom and brother Mike spent Wednesday night there.   

On November 5th my Mother and  bro Michael and his wife BethAnn were there.  
Along with my Dad’s brother, Rollin… and myself were there when he passed.

Above Dad’s bed, I had hung a picture of an Angel.    This was a photograph of an
angel that hangs on the wall in my parent’s home.  
The angel is about 24 inches tall.   It was a gift many years ago from my Dad’s brother,
Wayne who died in 1971 at the age of 37.   
 
Above the angel on the banner it reads…   Gloria in Excelsis Deo

It was about 10 or 15 minutes after Dad had died when I looked up at the angel.
I HEARD…………. 

GLORIA in EXCELSIS DEO     …….

  I not only heard it once, but I heard it at least
4 times.    Each time the words just boomed in my mind louder and louder and so totally
FULL OF JOY. 

~ * ~     GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO    ~ * ~


~ * ~     GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO    ~ * ~


~ * ~     GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO    ~ * ~

I can hardly begin to describe the joy.     I know it was a message from my Dad.
His SPIRIT SINGING as he met with Jesus and his dearest family and his dearest angels. 

The peace that this brought me then, and throughout the wake and funeral and  even now I can only explain as a great blessing. !!!

As this holiday season approaches to all of you who have lost dear loved ones…..


Although we grieve because they are not with us, we must
remember their JOY  at being in total peace.

~ * ~     GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO    ~ * ~

(Glory to God in the Highest)

 

A Quote and a Prayer

A Quote and a Prayer....


----------------------------------------------------------


"In order to be irreplaceable one

must always be different."


- Coco Chanel -



-------------------------------------------------------------


A DIFFERENT KIND OF PRAYER


Heavenly Father,


Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic

last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that

day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework,

do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with

her children.


Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed,

disinterested young man who can't make change correctly

is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing

his apprehension over final exams with his fear of

not getting his student loans for next semester.


Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging

for money in the same spot every day

(who really ought to get a job!) is a slave to

mental illness or addictions that we can only

imagine in our worst nightmares.


Help us to remember that the old couple walking

annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking

our shopping progress are savoring this moment,

knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got

back last week, this will be the last year that

they go shopping together.


Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all

the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love.

It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear.

Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us,

but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick

to forgive, show patience, empathy and love.


If you send this to 5 people then you have a chance to

make 5 people smile. You won't get any wish for

material things however you might just find a piece

of serenity and the warmth of God's touch.

(author not known)