Aging 101

 Most of us seniors don't like to talk about aging.  We want to think that we are in fine physical shape and don't need need help.  But the truth is in the natural progression of our bodies we do slowly decay.  Shocking, isn't it?  Instead of ignoring the aging of our bodies, we must accept the fact that we humans do become weaker and eventually die. Is that what we must think about?  Dying?  Since that is the end result of our living let's think of the positives of how we should live during those wonderful days of living.

God put us here on this earth for a purpose.  Each one of us has a different purpose so it is to our advantage to discover what that purpose is.  Then when we realize why we are living here, let us be intent on fulfilling that purpose.  I am 86 years old and as I look back on my busy life I discover how grateful I am that I accomplished so much in my life for others.

Yes, in this stage of my life I have 'aged'.  BUT is my life over?  No, so I keep producing tasks that God approves of.  Even in our senior years keep working and keep producing.  As I admit I am aging I realize this is a natural part of living.  We don't like to admit, "I can't run, I can't climb a ladder, I can't get out of bed easily, I can't make my bed, I can't drive my car, I can't walk outside by myself, I can't paint the house, I can't sweep the sidewalk, I can't cook my supper"........BUT look what I can do.  I can write, I can give Bible studies, I can study the Bible and give presentations, I can use my brain to solve problems.  I am thankful for what I can do and I don't let my 'can nots' become my 'I wish I coulds'.

In the meantime you choose how you want those last days to be.  I am a Christian and believe that Jesus is my Lord and Savior and believe that I will be in Heaven with Jesus when I die.  I have no fear of death.  I believe that the moment I die angels will escort me to Heaven.  What joy and beauty await me!  No one knows when they will die but trusting in Jesus gives me complete assurance I will be with Him.

So many seniors today won't even talk about 'dying'.  They are basically scared of a natural process as our physical lives end.  But why be scared?  We should be rejoicing and looking forward to Heaven.

Let's face the fact that we are aging and rejoice in what that brings.  Now many seniors will say, "Rejoice in aging?  You are crazy."  But think about this.  We have all lived productive lives, especially if we are now in our 80s and 90s,  We may think we've done nothing but we have all contributed to God's wonderful plan.  Years ago I totally gave my life to Jesus and even though I thought it was difficult i sought His will and obeyed Him.  Now in my 80s I am so glad I veered away from temptation and obeyed Jesus.  I'm sure many of us will admit, "Thank goodness, I didn't do...........because now I realize I would have ruined my life and placed my family in pain.  Thank you, Lord, I obeyed you and dd not yield to temptation."

Of course , we are confronted every day with our culture constantly repeating via the media and advertisements........"Only the young are beautiful are important, pay no attention to those 'old' people." I have decided I have to mentally and emotionally reject that philosophy.  As we all look in the mirror every day, don't think about the wrinkles and sagging skin but look yourself in the eye and proclaim,  "Wow, I'm still beautiful, my smile is intoxicating, my eyes sparkle with intensity, and my lipstick paints my lips with joy."  That philosophy will brighten your day and fill your life with praise to Almighty God.

Remembering Daddy

 IF you missed my post last month, I admit I did not write.  I had a bad fall, was in the hospital 2 weeks BUT I am healed and back with you.  HALLELUJAH!

"Remembering Daddy"

I remember when I was a little girl and I wondered why they called it "Father's Day".  I called my father Daddy, and loved that!  To me, Daddy meant someone who loved me, hugged me, read the Sunday comics to me while sitting on the sofa with me on one side and my brother, Donald, on the other side with Daddy in the middle. Father's Day sounded so formal to me .  Slowly as I grew up I began to realize that was the typical way a lot of fathers and sons and daughters thought of each other.  I am so glad in our family we were warm and cuddly!

I'll admit I accepted the formal mention of "Father's Day" in our culture but never accepted it personally.  I was fortunate to have a Daddy who was so proud of me when I was singing professionally as a mezzo-soprano soloist all over the US and Canada that he told his friends buttons popped off his shirt.  Yes, Daddy was very proud of me and I'll never forget that.

As we celebrate "Father's Day" this week, How do we think about Dads?  Have you had a healthy, warm relationship with your father?  Dads are so important to us.  When you think about it, when we were growing up, Dads supplied our household money to live on.  Most of us, at that time were not working mothers. We stayed home and raised our children and Daddy was the one who commuted to work every day.  Remember that time?  Of course I remember not just sitting in the house all day, but getting my own projects done.  Yes, mothers were very busy, actively contributing to improvements in the way we lived.

But I remember well also living close to our monthly budget.  One day, our son Glenn, came to me and reported how he desperately needed a new pair of sneakers.  I checked in the 'clothing' envelope......EMPTY.  So I told Glenn he would have to wait for Dad's next paycheck.  After I left Glenn checked other budget envelopes.  "Mom, there's money in the church envelope!"  An interesting conversation developed over "tithing".....what a great opportunity to teach!

How did Father's Day start? The idea first appeared in the early 1900s but never caught on until Lyndon Baines Johnson's presidential term. Amazing how long it took for the USA to realize fathers were important like mothers.  I do remember that first Father's Day.  No particular excitement but it seemed people were glad to see 'fathers' were at last recognized.

Now maybe you did not have a loving father like I did and you find it difficult in these days of loving fathers to love your father. Unfortunately there are many people who walk around with bad feelings about their dads.  In fact as I talk deeply to friends I'm amazed how many instances of bad feelings there are in families.  What do we do with those feelings?  Just push them aside and try to forget them, which  we never seem able to do?  Or do we reach out and forgive?

Forgiveness is difficult because it causes us to accept the 'words' that were spoken to us in jealousy or meanness and that hursts us. But forgiveness is vitally important to us.  If we don't forgive, the bitterness stays with us.  Many times we seek to forgive but receive ugly words and no forgiveness and understanding from the other side.  I have found forgiveness is so important to me because when I forgive, my bitterness disappears. Several years ago I reached out to a relative who had been mean to me.  The man was dying but I knew I had to say something of forgiveness.  So there he was on his deathbed and I told him I forgave him.  I told him with loving words that he was forgiven.  The relief that engulfed me was overwhelming.  Don't hesitate to forgive.  You will be doing the Lord's work and discover what forgiveness really means.

The battle between Love and Evil

We just celebrated God's message of love on Palm Sunday and Easter.  And what a life  changing message that is.  God sent His only Son to earth as a baby who grew to be our Savior, half human and half spiritually grown man.  And then He voluntarily let Himself be crucified to wipe away our sins.  A crucial, painful, horrible death.  Hands and feet nailed to a tree, body stretched so that breathing was excruciating and death coming slowly over terrorizing agony.  Because of God's incredible love, Jesus died for us.  He took our sin upon Him and fully forgave us so that we will live with God in Heaven. All we need to do is surrender our lives to Jesus, believe in Him and follow Him.  God is Love. 

Last weekend we witnessed results of purposeful evil, slaughtering thousands of innocent civilians in the city of Mariupol, Ukraine.  As we watched the TV reports we were horrified to see bodies strewn on the streets, bodies thrown into trenches, hearing reports of beheadings, civilians shot with their hands tied behind their backs.....and we wonder.  If God brought all this love to us through Jesus, why are people acting in evil ways?  When you look at history, when have we known perfect peace in our world?  Why is war, strife and evil in our world today?  When we hear details of Russia's Putin, and how he indiscriminately makes war decisions to purposely kill thousands of innocent Ukrainians, we wonder how can a man be so evil.  Putin is Evil.

That is the battle between love and evil.  The battle has been going on for years...from the moment Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, continuing even now.  Our hearts cry out for love but evil tries to silence us.  In the meantime, we should help those in need, those who suffer from ruthless, evil warfare and help them to return to their country which they treasure and honor.

Yes, I'm talking about the Ukraine and its people.  Are we doing everything to help them in their fight against Russia?  All the pictures I have seen of Ukraine before the horrible bombings show a country with attractive buildings, classical architecture, well cared for property and homes.  The Russian bombings have devastated Ukraine, cities and homes must be rebuilt.  People have lost all they have and they need financial assistance.  Who is going to help them?   Not only is much of Ukraine already devastated, but Russia, under Putin's leadership, has placed an evil general to continue the devastation, so Ukraine will be suffering even more.  But if we honor our Lord by reaching out to people with love we have obeyed God.  Unfortunately, we are unable to make detailed decisions on a global nature but we can certainly send our messages to people in government.  Since the United States is the most powerful nation in the world, we can let our government know we need to help the small country of Ukraine with love.

Remember how we watched thousands of citizens of Ukraine gathering at train stations and bus stations, with their families of innocent babies and frightened young children pushing their belongings in small suitcases?  I remember thinking, why don't they take more clothes with them?  And then, a week or so later, their homes and apartments bombed out of existence.  Just think how those innocents felt about not only losing their life long possessions, but losing their tangible memories too.

One powerful result of watching the Ukraine tragedy is that it made me so thankful that I was born in this great free country of ours.  Born here, raised here, living here where I and my family are safe and secure makes me thank God.  How can we live in such safety and ignore the evil?  Let us conquer evil by reaching out in love.

Ukraine is not the only place that needs our love.  Unfortunately, our world has continually been in the throes of evil governments and evil rulers.  The United States of America built our country on freedom.  Let us never forget the liberty we have and pour love on those who are suffering from evil.

Stages of life.........

As we seniors look back over our long lives we are amazed at what we have experienced.   In our 70, 80, 90 years much has changed and we have matured and grown through it.  Every generation experiences growth and change.  We realize that is life.  Nothing stands the same.  We grow through stages of life, totally different from one generation to the next.  Just think about it.  We start as tiny babies newly born totally dependent on maternal love to care for us since as babies we are helpless.  Then our bodies begin to change and grow pushing ourselves to do more walking, standing laughing, and talking.  Toddler stage then moves to more independence as we begin to demonstrate our ability to care for ourselves, even at times becoming demanding, wanting our own way.  Then our lives become more serious as we realize we are here to learn and mature our minds as we work our way through school.

At high school graduation we experience victory holding our diplomas though many of us realize we must continue our education to find a job in this competitive world.  Finally, in our 20s we experience big adult decisions as we meet and marry our loved one, settle in on our adult employment and start our family.  Life goes on as we raise our children, continue to love them wherever they are, and we realize how important parenting is.  Then suddenly our families become smaller as our children marry and leave to build their own lives and families.  At that point we begin to contemplate retirement.  Where will we live?  What will we do?  Big decisions are made as we might sell our family home and move across the country. We carefully read the retirement ads and picture ourselves living carefree without worries.

By the time we are in our late 60s or 70s surprises pop up, usually health.  Oh sure, we have read about our friends whose health is deteriorating but we are convinced that won't happen to us.  And then one day the heart breaks down, the legs have difficulty holding us up, we have trouble breathing, and our mental thinking becomes confused.  What we are then experiencing is normal aging process.  As we all grow older we must understand that our bodies are in the process of aging.  Aging is normal and we must be prepared.  By denying aging we cause problems.  For one thing we must recognize that we all 'age'.  Let's face it!  We can't run around the block, we can't do push-ups, we can't stand in the kitchen and bake pies all day.  But there are always some jobs that we will always do......help our neighbor by visiting, write a poem full of cheer, tell jokes and hear the laughter.

One of the problems we have as we 'age', we deny we are growing older.  We state, "Oh, I'm fine", denying our inability to swallow successfully or denying our inability to remember what day it is.  When we have 'aging' problems, get help.  Our senior population is multiplying and many doctors are available to help.

Look at me!  Here I am, a woman who turns 86 in April of this year.  I am living alone in an Assisted Living facility because my husband died in May of 2020 from Covid.  I have trouble walking because of nerve damage following cancer of the brain in 2010.  Also that nerve damage causes me to type on the computer with my left hand (born right-handed).  But it doesn't stop me from writing my monthly column and blog, giving Bible studies, and communicating with friends all over the US and Canada.

You can do anything if you are determined!  As we grow older we must remember our physical lives don't last forever.  Death is part of living.  I am surprised many seniors refuse to even talk about death, won't even use the word 'death' but rather say 'passed away'.  We will all die, so let's prepare for death.  Read the Bible, read books about Heaven, know where you are going.  God has prepared a beautiful eternal home for us.  Study it, seriously, KNOW where you are going.  You plan and research vacation trips.  Why not research your heavenly home so that you will be comforted and not be afraid when you die.

"And God will wipe every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.  There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."  Revelation 21: 4.

"Attention Seniors: Always keep learning!"

As the years pass by we must always be open to learn something new.  Many of us have lived into our 80s and 90s and we have learned a lot.  We remember primary grades reading "Dick and Jane" books.  I was always thrilled to read about 'Jane' who was close to being 'Janet' and then I married a man named Dick.  In second, third, fourth and fifth grades came arithmetic with division and multiplication.....such fun and maybe a little difficult.  Remember 'penmanship'? That was a course we all took. There were words written above the blackboards in the classroom with perfect handwriting.  We were taught to emulate that handwriting.  Look at the penmanship of many seniors today.....beautiful!  Yet penmanship in our present school rooms is not taught because of computers.  Why write with your hand and fingers if you can quickly push letter keys and get your thoughts out?

Yes, learning is always challenging.  But we feel so good when we accomplish something difficult.  Now that we are older we should never think we can stop learning.  Learning is education and every age needs to keep learning.

Unfortunately there are some seniors who have decided they have had enough of 'education'.  And consequently they lose contact with our culture.  Just think of all the abbreviations we now see in news articles.  For example....SCOTUS.....a familiar title you see in capital letters abbreviating for 'supreme court of the United States'.  Knowing what SCOTUS is, then you should know who POTUS is...'President of ---'.  Makes sense when you know what it means but you could certainly be confused.  When you consider how vital our participation is as citizens of the USA, we need to be continually updated to terminology.  If we don't we will lose meaning and content of what is going on.

I have often thought of our journey through our earth-bound life as constant education.  We learn about God, we learn about the positive thoughts of believing in God and Jesus, we learn about health and how we keep physically strong, we learn about how other people in different countries live, we learn about life in general and how we choose to live, we learn about evil and how to avoid it, we learn about love and living.  The test is when we finish our lives are we rejoicing in our wonderful lives or are we regretful of bad decisions we made.

I have heard elderly seniors say, "Oh, don't bother me with more education.  I've had enough!"They laugh and turn away.  But then you talk to them about what is going on in the news and they have no idea.  Who wants to live uninformed?  How do you know how to vote in any election?

How do I stay informed?  First of all, read!  Yes, read books that you trust, read books written years ago but filled with truth.  Read news articles, but then use your brain and interpret if it is truth.  We have the inner ability to know what is right and what is wrong.  And we are given that gift of discernment via the Holy Spirit.  Many times I will read something and know in my heart that it is wrong, thanks to the Holy Spirit.

Second, develop intelligent conversations with your friends.  Why spend time gossiping about your neighbors which produces nothing worthy?  Instead talk government policies, local rulings, certain community rulings that will affect our lives.  Keep informed and stretch your mind.

Third, be aware of your neighbors' weak points and try to help them.  We all need help from time to time.  By thinking outwardly and not on ourselves we feel better and we are happier because we are unselfishly helping others.

Proverbs 4: 7-8...."Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom.  And in your getting, get understanding.  Exalt her, and she will promote you; she will bring you honor when you embrace her." Proverbs 3:  5-8......."Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."

Who is the source of all knowledge and who is the One who leads us into all understanding?  Almighty God, of course!  Proverbs 3:  19-20  "The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens; by His knowledge the depths were broken up, and clouds drop down the dew."

Let us continue to learn about our world, about all peoples and about our God.  We will rejoice in God awakening our minds.

Birthing a baby is God's Miracle

Have you ever wondered how your baby grows before birth?  It is a fascinating and miraculous story.  I had seven pregnancies and birthed four live babies.  When you see pictures of that developing life in the womb you are overwhelmed with God's design.   Life begins at the moment of fertilization.  But a woman doesn't know she is pregnant until she misses that menstrual cycle.  By that time she feels queasy and knows something is going on in her body.  After reading Dr. David Menton's book, "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made", I knew I had to write about the birthing process.

I remember my first two pregnancies.  First was a miscarriage, no reason.  Second was a full term stillborn which was a dreaded moment in time and left me in grief and depression.  There seemed to be no reason for that death.  In the second stage of labor the heartbeat stopped suddenly and my OB quickly brought the baby to birth.  I never saw the baby nor held her.  I know it was a girl because the nurse said, "Oh, she's beautiful!"  That's the way things were done in the 60's.  Don't let her hold her baby.  'Let her forget'.  Well, I did not forget.  I suffered heavy grief for a year.  And then, one year and 4 days later, our son Glenn was born, healthy and normal.  Ecstasy filled my heart as Glenn's baby room was decorated with over 100 congratulatory cards plastering the walls.  At last, Dick and I were parents of a delightful male child.

Then, soon after Glenn's first birthday, I suddenly suffered intense abdominal pain which lasted one afternoon.  Upon my OB's examination during surgery, I had endured a tubal pregnancy which burst into my abdomen.  However, miraculously peritonitis never occurred because my body built a wall around the open wound.  What a blessing!  Then followed 3 more normal pregnancies with the subsequent births of Beth, Carin and Diana.  How I rejoiced!

Yes, how. a woman rejoices at giving birth to her baby.  When you study the progression of the baby in utero, you realize God has a plan of development for each baby and you are amazed when you realize no chemist, scientist, or doctor orchestrated the step by step of the baby's development.  You learn the egg of the female lies in wait in the fallopian tube for a sperm cell to pass through the egg's outer layer and touch the cell membrane.  Then fertilization occurs when the father's DNA from the sperm combines with the mother's DNA within the egg.  Life has begun!  Cell division continues as the placenta is formed and the tiny baby is implanted in the uterus.  By day 22 the heart begins to beat, by day 24 the eyes and ears start to form, by day 40 hands, arms, feet and legs are recognized and by week 8 you know whether the baby is a boy or a girl.  By week 10 the baby weighs less than an ounce, by week 12 the baby is able to suck his thumb, by week 19 he kicks and stretches and by week 37 - 40 he is ready to be born.

The placenta has an interesting function.  The mother's blood and the baby's blood never mix even though both flow through the placenta.  The placenta is very important because it functions as the baby's lungs, liver, kidneys, digestive system and immune system.  After birth the placenta is no longer needed and thus is discarded.  All this happens because God planned every detail.

Then upon delivery, the baby takes his first breath.  The baby spent nine months in fluid so how did he breathe?  In utero, blood bypassed the lungs, but then flowed through the heart and the body.  After birth the blood does not flow through the right and left atria, which closes, but flows through the lungs and then the baby can take his first breath.  No wonder that 'first breath' is so important.

As you can see, no human governs the birthing process.  Only Almighty God planned and created our own individual lives.  As Psalm 139: 13-14 says, "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me together in my mother's womb.  I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well."  Thank you Lord, for creating and loving even me.

What does Christmas mean to you?

Ah, Christmas!  Sleigh bells, snow covered trees and houses, lighted decorations all over town, Christmas carols singing and playing, Jolly St Nick, Christmas trees lighted with silver and decorated with fancy balls and homemade ornaments, little toddlers lined up to sit on Santa's lap, shoppers rushing to purchase the latest gifts, parties in every neighborhood.  December is a busy, frantic month as we all plan and schedule Christmas festivities.

What is Christmas?  Is it just a time for extravagance or does it have meaning?  How did Christmas become such a huge event when we spend too much money, eat too much fattening food, create a busy frantic schedule, collapse on December 26 and then wish we hadn't bought and baked so many goodies.  

I love Christmas.  I always have.  And I'm guilty of all the above.  But I know why we celebrate Christmas.  Luke 1: 26 "the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.  And he (the angel Gabriel) came to her and said, 'Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!'.....'do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.'"  Luke 2: 7  And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn."

Yes, God brought forth His Son as a tiny baby, born not in a palace like a prince, but in a humble stable so that all would know that Jesus, our Savior, was God's gift to every one of us.

Isn't it amazing that we have added so much more to Christmas with lavish spending, traditions, and entertainment that we squeeze in the celebration of Jesus' birth.  When you study the Scripture rendition of the birth of Jesus you have to be astonished at what God accomplished.  As Mary said, Luke 1: 37 "For with God nothing will be impossible."

First of all, Mary conceived in her womb a baby without any male contact.  Science today would say that's impossible and Mary must have been lying.  But when you study the Scripture you see that Joseph himself states, Luke 2: 5 "to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child."  Joseph was an honorable man and when he said 'betrothed' he meant, engaged, with no sexual activity, until a formal marriage.  In our modern day we forget or ignore Good's incredible presence and power.  God created our world and is still present with us today.

Mary was only about 14 years old and had probably just experienced one menstrual cycle which made her physically able to become pregnant.  Just think......14 years old and here she was unwed and pregnant in the small town of Nazareth bursting with gossip about this 'naughty Mary who must have had sex with someone in the neighborhood'.  A lot to put on her shoulders, but she believed and trusted God to care for her.

And then, the census or 'registration' initiated by Caesar Augustus, the new god-king of Rome, which required Mary and Joseph to travel 90 miles, avoiding Samaria, over dusty, hilly roads with no mass transit or interstates.  Imagine how Mary felt sitting on a donkey for over a week and nearing her due date.

Think of young Mary, birthing a baby on hay surrounded by animals and filth, her first delivery, possibly  alone.  And then the sudden arrival of simple shepherds, lowest class of people, but first to hear the news by heavenly angels, Luke 2: 11 "For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."  Mary was a simple girl, not wealthy, not a princess, not from a prestigious family, but a young girl who loved, believed and trusted God.

Christmas means one thing.  Jesus Christ is born!  Let us hear thousands of angels praising God and saying Luke 2: 14 "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased."  This is why we celebrate Christmas.  This is why, no matter how much commercialism and fanciful tradition swirl around our Christmas celebrations, God is here pouring out His love on us with His gift of a tiny baby who is our Savior.  AMEN!

Merry Christmas to everyone and a Happy New Year!

LOVE, Janet