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Posts tagged ‘maturity’

Embrace Aging

I could have called this “Embrace Maturity,”
but that would have been pussyfooting around the issue.
Not everyone matures as they age,
but aging is not an option.

You do it or you die.

However, I embraced this meme when I saw it:

Aging is a privilege only given to the lucky ones, you know.
So, yes, I will count this year …
but at 81, I sometimes forget if it is 80 or 81
and if I try to get by with the lesser number,
I have an 82 year old husband who is quick to remind me.

Hah! Can’t fool him…
He keeps a check on me – – –
but he’s not big on donuts.
Darn!

My daughter
(most of you have met her on this blog in the past –
DeDe – lives in Switzerland)
sent me this a little while back.
She particularly liked it
because one of Bob’s nicknames for me
is “Rocky”

Most of you also know that I have a sanctuary
where I spend the first hour most every morning…
and in it I have three antique rockers.
Ah, yes, it’s the perfect image of me!

But the chair that brings us
mutual joy
is the one we put in the back of our ATV
and pull out when we stop for a break.
The best way to embrace aging
is to find a hobby that you can enjoy
with someone you love.

For Bob and me, it is joining friends
and going four-wheeling
on these wonderful Rocky Mountain trails. ..
stopping to fish the mountain lakes.
Ah, that’s livin’!!

What hobbies
make your aging process more enjoyable?
One of our mutual hobbies
(besides four-wheeling)
is teaching Sunday School.

Here are darling Ruby & Cord.

COVID got in the way
of being able to meet each Sunday morning
with these two darlings and one other…
and then these two moved away.
As they age, their mom sends us pictures.

Getting picture from family and friends
is a great way to welcome the new day
and look forward to the next time you can visit.

Aging is easier to embrace if you have dreams –
something to look forward to, right?

We dream of next October –
when COVID-19
will be controlled
and it will be safe
to travel to see our daughter,
De, and her husband, Andre’ –
and stay in one of the hotel rooms above the restaurant.

As we age,
some of the benefits
outweigh the struggles
that come with aching joints
and lowered energy levels.

One of them is,
when your grandkids act up
and get on your nerves,
you can just send ’em back to their folks!

Couldn’t do that when you were younger
and they were your own kids!

Gotta look for the perks in this aging process!

Oh my!
Take ’em home!!

Another advantage of aging
is that we have time to reminisce
about the “Good Ole Days”
and the songs we used to sing
that these youngsters with their guitars and drums
don’t seem to understand anymore.

And if those songs
and the memories they bring
aren’t enough to make you feel good
about still being on this earth,
try singing this one:

Another way to “Embrace Aging”
is to relish the extra time
you have to just find a good book,
pour yourself a hot chocolate or a glass of wine,
curl up in front of a warm fire,
and spend some uninterrupted quality time.

When you were younger, that luxury was seldom yours, right?

Now, if you are a youngster (under retirement age)
reading this blog,
you are probably thinking that I am a dreamer.
You’re right. I am!
And each day I dream up all kinds of things
to keep me exuberant about life.

Yesterday it was effervescence.
The day before it was … oh, do I have to go back that far?

Nope!
A trick to aging gracefully is to remain playful.
Keep your hobbies,
and make up ways to keep the sparkle alive.
Take those boots that were left at the front door
and get creative!

If you can’t get out because you’re snowed in –
and you’re longing for sushi,
but the nearest place is an hour away,
send money to your kids
and tell them to go out for sushi on you.
But make sure they send you a picture…
and drool all over the computer screen
when they send it!

Ask your friends to send you a picture
of the table they decorated for some recent holiday –
and then marvel at their creativity
as you sit down for the 10th night in a row at your kitchen counter…
thanking God for your life,
your food, your kids, and your kitchen counter.

A trick to embracing aging
is to always remain thankful for your blessings…
even if they aren’t at a yacht club!!

Now, here’s a couple who knows how to live it up:
My friends, the Rosens.

Embrace Aging
by feeding your mind
Hope, Truth and Love
on a daily basis.

Don’t let your mind tell you you’re OLD.
That’s a state of mind for the senile.
It’s not for you!

Tell your mind
that aging just adds to your story…
and you’re not finished telling it yet!

Have fun, my friend.
Make room for sunsets.

Photo by Trung Nguyen on Pexels.com

Look forward to sunrises.


And believe in miracles…
Because you are one!

Thanks for visiting JanBeek today.
See ya tomorrow.

Category:

Aging Gracefully, blessings, children, Family, food, friendship, Gratitude, happiness, humor, life, Life and Death, Life's Challenges, Living in Harmony, Love, mental health, Montana, relationships, self-acceptance

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Faith and Questioning

From Simple to Complex

I take notes as I listen to the sermon each Sunday. Reverend Jean Johnson at our Madison Valley Presbyterian Church never fails to give me food for thought. Here are my sermon notes from Sunday, October 14, 2012. Perhaps they will cause you to pause and think – and question, too. She started with the scripture in Mark 10: 17-31. She titled her sermon, “Big Questions and Unexpected Answers.”

Are faith and questioning oxymorons?
The truly faithful live by faith;
they don’t question.
Right?
Wrong!

The questions of faith and of life change.
They become more complicated
as we become older.
They range from simple to complex.
The answers to our questions
can be found in the Bible –
– according to some people’s thinking.
But the Bible contains
some of the most daunting questions!

“What must I do to obtain eternal life?”
the questioning man asked Jesus.
Jesus’ answer was filled with imperatives
such as, “Go, Sell, Give, Follow.”
Is that it?

It’s part of the mystery of life.
Life has many mysteries.
That’s why faith and questioning are partners.
The joy of following is that it requires
Faith, not complete comprehension.
Questioning leads to  more faithful following
and a life worth living.

Jesus didn’t scoff at the man who asked.
God expects us to be drawn deeper –
– deeper into following and faithfulness.
Thinking, questioning, pursuing
the living, dynamic, expansive God
Is a sign of an active, living faith.

The questions of life change.
The answers become more complicated
as we become older.
They mature as we do.
Keep asking.
Keep listening.

Jesus – simple yet complex

Category:

Faith

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The Color of Faith

“Under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.” James 1:3 (The Message)

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I have a small, leather-bound book titled, “Daily Inspiration for our Purpose Driven Life.” Have you read The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren? I have read it several times – and I highly recommend it. This little book I have now is an extension of Warren’s original book. It is a chance to reflect on the five purposes Warren defines – to reflect and internalize. Today the reading is related to topic three: Created to Become Like Christ. The challenge is to continue to grow more Christ-like even in the midst of trouble. The question is, how do I respond when I am under pressure? James 1:3 says that’s when my “true colors” show. What are my true colors? What is the color of my faith?

When I asked my prayer partner who comes to my house each week so we can have time in Bible Study, fellowship, prayer, and reflection together, she told me she thinks my faith is green. Interesting – not red and glowing, or yellow and shining, not blue and crystal clear. No, green –  –  –  green and growing. Before she came I had asked myself that same question – and my answer was the same as hers. Green! That’s reassuring.

What color is YOUR faith? Has it been truly tested recently? Have you been thrown into the fires of trouble, temptation and pain? Did you emerge with greater spiritual muscle and moral fiber which produces greater character?

Romans 5:3-4 says “We know that these troubles produce patience. And patience produces character.” 

However, Rick Warren wrote this cautionary statement, “Problems don’t automatically produce what God intends. Many people become bitter rather than better, and never grow up. You have to respond the way Jesus would.”

What color was Jesus’ faith? Fully mature, full blown, fully bloomed, a kaleidoscope of colors! Will I ever get there?

To deal with life as Jesus did, I must keep on growing! Keep on studying His Word, praying for His discernment, learning His Will for my life. James 1:3-4 says, “Let the process go on until your endurance is fully developed, and you will find that you have become a person of mature character… with no weak spots.”

No weak spots. No brown on my green leaves. No insect holes in my petals! Wouldn’t that be grand? But, life is not a bed of perfect roses, all sweet and beautiful. Look carefully! There are insects. There are thorns. Those represent the trials, temptations, pains of life. We are promised thorns! Trouble is part of living. It’s not the suffering that defines us, though; it’s our response to the suffering, our attitude toward the pain, how we deal with the bugs! 

Isaiah 38:17 “It was for my own good that I had such hard times.”

What color is your faith?

Category:

Love

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