Retirement? Eat my dust....

Beginning retirement.....

It arrived in the Mail--"Social Security--What You Need To Know. . . "
And, somewhat later--"Welcome to Medicare" and "Medicare Basics."

.... Well that was several years ago, and we're still figuring out  what we need to know about spending our retirement days.

.... Since retirement, I can't do much of anything without my glasses, my hair is more gray...we have moved off an acreage, adjusted to life in a small community, and last week, for the first time, we played cards at a senior citizen center. Oh my goodness, I thought I would wait until I was 80 to do this.... and there I was. 

At 48 years of age (over 20 years ago), I tore this full page advertisement out of a magazine and attached it to the refrigerator with a magnet.  I was still busy with my children's school activities and work, but I had visions of Father Time "eating my dust."

YOU WANTED TO SEE THE WORLD...
BUT AT 8, YOU COULD NOT LEAVE THE YARD...
AT 16, YOU HAD NO CAR...
AT 21, YOU HAD NO MONEY...
AT 34, YOU HAD NO BABYSITTER...
AT 54, FATHER TIME TELLS YOU IT'S TOO LATE....
AND YOU TELL HIM TO EAT YOUR DUST...
     1995 ad for GinkGold

 

Well, Father Time is not exactly eating my dust, as I'm not running anywhere-- because I don't want to hurt myself. Okay, I'll ride an exercise bike and swim, but don't ask me to run.



HOWEVER, Did you know....

 ... that Daniel was 90 years old when he was sent to the lion's den?

At 100, Grandma Moses was painting.

At 93, George Bernard Shaw wrote Farfetched Fables.

At 89, Albert Schweitzer headed a hospital in Africa.

At 82, Winston Churchill wrote a History of English Speaking People.

At 80, George Burns won an Academy Award for his performance in The Sunshine Boys.

Look around your community.  

Retirees are leading Bible studies, 

working for food banks,

volunteering at Habitat for Humanity, 

staying active with their grandchildren's lives 

and making a difference in many ways.

 

 


 Even though we are the generation who knew about Studebakers, wash tub ringers, metal ice trays with levers, 45 RPM records, Howdy Doody, and other odd and curious things, we have a lot to offer. You don't have to "run" when you tell Father Time to "eat your dust." Simply, figure out your passion and go for it. And, if you don't know what your passion is, just keep busy....there are others out there who need you.

 

Dear Lord, 
No matter what my age
or circumstances,
let me accept the grace and peace
that You offer on a daily basis.
Give me a renewed sense of energy
and help me not to be afraid of
trying new things.
You are the giver of all things good, and
You provide peace when I trust your promises.  

                                                 Amen  

 

 

     

    

Brownies, Black Beans and Brains--a good mix

Quite a while ago, I discovered a recipe for Black Bean Brownies and loving all things chocolate and  appreciating healthy food, I tried it and liked it. Nutritionists tells us that black beans, canola oil, dark cocoa, coffee, walnuts, cinnamon, wheat germ, and flax are healthy in a number of ways. And, what's good for the heart and body is good for the brain. It's all connected.

I have these on hand always. Yes, always.

I have to be honest, the reason they are always at hand

is that my husband refuses to eat them.

He's not into coffee, black beans, dark chocolate,

walnuts, wheat germ, and flax....

you get the picture.

BRAINY BROWNIES*

1 C black beans (pureed)

How could he resist these?

1/2 C canola oil

2 eggs

2 T molasses

1/4 C unsweetened dark cocoa powder

2/3 C sugar

1 1/2 tsp instant coffee, ground coffee or espresso

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 C dark chocolate chips

1/3 C whole wheat flour or white

1/2 C walnuts (chopped)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 T ground wheat germ

1 T ground flax

Mix all well.  Bake 325 degrees in 8 x 8 pan for 30-40 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

The best way to eat these is to warm them slightly in the microwave (10-15 seconds) and top with a small scoop of your favorite ice cream. (I didn't say the ice cream is good for you.) It is a melt-in-your-mouth experience.
           

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31

 

Enjoy your healthy brownie.

Enjoy your day.

Get Up; Get Out of Bed

3 a.m.

God’s telling me to get up, get out of bed. I stretch and check the tick-tock. Way too early.The neighbors will think something's wrong if I turn on my kitchen light.

3:30 a.m.

Surely not—even God has no reason for me to be up at this hour. I say a few prayers—for our children, grandchildren, my husband, others I love and think about so often, and the world.The world?  —how can I make a difference; so much seems to be so wrong.

I punch play on the CD player and hope for the drifting, dreamy music the CD Lifescapes promises to settle me.

4:15 a.m.

Giving up, I whip the covers back, do a few stretches, and head to the bathroom.

Slipping on work-out clothes, I set out the vacuum (to be done later in the day), assemble breakfast items (I’m a big breakfast eater), go through some mail while something nibbles at my mind. . . There’s more, there’s more.

5 a.m.

The patio chimes gently call. Come out. Come out. I pull a jacket from the closet and slip outside. The air is crisp cool. After a couple of ice-filled, shut-in days, it feels good to breathe morning air. I look up. Mr. Moon, a yellow banana hung in a still-night sky, is there just for me amongst the patches of fog. Big Dipper, Little Dipper, Venus. I drink it in.

 

 Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth...

Yes, He did...and His plan is still in place.

 

 

Season's Greetings and An Un-needed Time Machine

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
Although the time to send "Season's Greetings" is past, let's take a look at Ecclesiastes 3. There is talk of being born, death, planting, harvesting, crying, laughing, mourning, dancing, speaking, keeping silent, loving and hating. And, ends with I have seen the business that God has given to the sons of men to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time . . . Ecclesiastes 3: 1 - 11

My parents are both gone; I've lost a friend or two; I know about dying. I grew up on a farm and live in a rural area; I know about planting and harvesting. I like to dance when I feel happy; I cried this morning.... I like quiet; sometimes I say too much. Unfortunately, I've experienced hate, although I try not to. And I feel incredibly blessed and loved when the grace of God flows through me. Seasons? We don't have to wait for spring, summer, fall, and winter to experience "seasons," sometimes, they all occur in one day.

When our children were little, there were the joys and sorrows that come from raising children and the stresses of going to work each day and keeping a household running as smoothly as possible. I don't want to do it over again. It was challenging and rewarding the first time. However, every once in a while, I want to go back for part of a day and watch the children get off the bus at the end of the lane and run to the house, go to one more ballgame, give each a goodnight kiss, attend one more graduation. But, we have no time machines.

If we had a time-machine at our disposal, we could also go forward. The political arena, social changes, technology, space travel, family changes. What seemed so foreign yesterday, becomes real life in our futures. Some scary, some incredible.

Much changes. Seasons come and go. We don't understand much of it.

There is only one unchangeable: God's love for us and the fact that he sent his son as a baby to earth to make redemption possible. We don't need a time machine. We have Scripture to tell us what God did for us and what He wants us to do for Him. So, we don't need to go back.... We also don't need a time machine to go forward--we're already headed there because of God's eternal promises. Just, hang in there.

Whatever your stage or place in life is at this moment,

 stay strong,

believe in God's purpose and then, continue. 

Endure.

...Everything will be beautiful in it's time.

 

Season's greetings.

What gain has the worker from his toil?  I have seen the business that god has given to the sons of men to be busy with.  He has made everything beautiful in its time . . . Ecclesiastes 3: 11

https://youtu.be/1llIIhBMCjU

What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?

Growing up in a Christian family, I heard the story of Jesus birth at Christmas time every year and that God sent Him because He loved us. Surely, there are persons out there who did not have the same experience. Cassandra Walwyn, protagonist in DO NOT BE DECEIVED, was one of them. Growing up in poverty, abandoned by her mother and older sister, abused by her father, falling into an unhealthy relationship with a boy... talk about life not being fair?

And, yet, she was a "nice" girl...she was compassionate, she was courageous, she chose to seek what was good. Baptized as a child by her then present mother, her life soon fell into despair, but God provided her with circumstances and reasons to go forward and separate truth from evil.

God worked at her heart before she even knew about God.

One may wonder why they were placed in their particular family, their marriage, their neighborhood, their job, but there is a reason. “What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?” God gives us people in our lives, a place to be, and His presence. And, then tells us to live in Him, trust in Him, and find joy in His everlasting promises.

God is always there no matter where you are.

Ever felt­­­­­ like the "nice girl" in the middle of your circumstances and wonder how you got there? Boredom, despair, numbness, trouble, danger, shame--it happens. It’s usually in those down times that we experience the love of God—if we’re willing to get on our knees and say, “I can’t do this on my own anymore.”

The only one who can truly satisfy the human heart is the One who made it.

 Lois Evans 

Why Do I Blog?

A good friend of mine asked, "Why do you do it? The blog, why?" And, then--

"What is it really?"

She knew me well; she could ask me anything.  We had been best friends since second grade, celebrated birthdays at each other's house, washed eggs together in their farmhouse basement, and shared each others' deepest secrets.

She wanted to know, "Why?"

I had to think about it.

I finally mumbled, "My publisher encouraged me to do it." As if I needed an excuse to do it. 

It got me to thinking about blogging and what I did not know about it.  Knowing it would not be in my Webster's 7th New Collegiate Dictionary, 1965 edition--the one that got me through college--I went to Merriam-Webster, on-line. Learning it was a personal journal with comments, opinions and reflections, I was relieved; I was apparently on the right path.

Walt Wangerin, Jr. in his last article in The Lutheran was asked a similar question from a friend.  "Isn't writing a lonely craft? . . . You sit alone in your room, staring at a blank computer screen."



Lonely?  Not really.

"By writing," Walt answered, "I am asking for companionship. By reading, the reader is answering, 'Yes.'"

Through my writing, I share my thoughts and perceptions and hopefully give you something to think about. You may agree or disagree.

When you read, I am connecting with you. And, your thoughts are connecting with others--someone in California, Minnesota, Iowa, Alaska, Canada, Germany, or Spain is reading also.  It's the way of the Web.

I used to think I would run out of things to write about, but everywhere I turn, there are new ideas...

 

But more significantly, 

I will tie everything 

I write about into 

God.

Catherine Marshall in 365 Devotions for Women writes, "Recently, I've been learning that life comes down to this:  God is in everything.  Regardless of what difficulties I am experiencing at the moment, or what things are not as I would like them to be, I look at the circumstances and say, "Lord what are you trying to teach me?"  

My blogs are intended to be inspirational and reflective. 

 Thank you for reading them.
*****