Our “Fifty-Plus” group meets this week, and we’ll be exploring “Growing Older Gracefully.” I found a wonderful list of “50 Helpful Tips for Aging Gracefully,” and want to share some of my favorites.
l. Do something you enjoy every day.
2. Work at friendships.
3. Embrace change.
4. Learn.
5. Make your home your very special place.
6. Eat with friends and family.
7. Get sufficient rest.
8. Each morning before you get out of bed thank the Lord for 5 things for which you are grateful.
9. Smile a lot.
10. Pray daily.
11. Travel.
12. Exercise.
13. Spend time with other generations.
14. Simplify.
15. Practice acceptance. Know that there’s a very good chance that our mobility will lessen as we age. We must think about how we will deal with that so that when that time comes, we can still live fully.
16. Treat others with respect and dignity, and you’ll find respect and dignity come back to you.
17. Cut down or eliminate multi-tasking. As we age, we don’t do it very well, and it often just causes undue stress.
18. Grow til your very last breath!
19. Create milestones and work toward them.
20. Have someone you can tell anything.
For thirty more tips for aging gracefully, join us at Fifty-plus on Wednesday!
“An Old Farmer’s Advice” is humorous and helpful! Here’s a few of my favorites:
l. If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.
2. Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
3. The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with watches you from the mirror every morning.
4. Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.
Of all the tips for growing older gracefully, this is my very favorite:
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God.
This special verse has much to say to us. “I will be your God throughout your lifetime – until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you. (Isaiah 46:4, NRSV)
May we all be about growing older gracefully!
Elizabeth
A Service of Remembrance
On the 22nd anniversary of 9/11, we remember O Lord, all whose lives were changed on September 11. Bless our remembrance and bless our prayers as we come before you,
We pray to you, O Lord.
For all victims who went to work or boarded planes that morning, never guessing what the day would bring, and for all who were caught in the attacks and lost their lives.
We pray to you, O Lord.
For those who resisted terror at the price of their own lives,
We pray to you, O Lord.
For all who worked valiantly and selflessly to help others,
We pray to you, O Lord.
For the firefighters and police officers who rushed in as others rushed out,
We pray to you, O Lord.
For houses of worship that opened their doors in the midst of chaos to provide places of rest and solace, prayer and hope,
We pray to you, O Lord.
For innocent people who were treated with hatred or suspicion because of their religion or nationality,
We pray to you, O Lord.
For this citizenry of many nationalities, races and religions,
We pray to you, O Lord.
For ourselves, as we remember that day as if it were only yesterday,
We pray to you, O Lord.
From all that threatens to divide us in the wake of 9/11,
Lord, deliver us.
From prejudice, hatred and a desire for revenge,
Lord, deliver us.
In all times of sorrow; in all times of fear; in the hour of our death and at the day of judgment,
Lord deliver us.
By your ministry in word and work; by your mighty acts of power; by the preaching of your reign,
Lord, deliver us.
Let us pray, saying together:
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. .
Let us sing together:
God bless America,
land that I love.
Stand beside her and guide her
through the night with a light from above;
from the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans white with foam.
God bless America,
My home, sweet home.
God bless America,
My home, sweet home.
Let us remember 9/11.
Elizabeth Forester
Updated: Sep 6, 2023
Anne Lamott’s book, Stitches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope and Repair, asks important questions and moves the reader to make a journey in search of answer.
As the journey begins, she poses this question: “Where is meaning in the meteoric passage of time, that speed in which our lives are spent? Where is meaning in the pits? In the suffering? I think these questions are worth asking.” She begins the journey by sharing these thoughts:
“Christians would say the answer is simple. Life’s meaning is to seek union with God and be Jesus’ hands and eyes for the people who need help and companionship. AA might also say it is simple: to stay sober one day at a time and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety. For Buddhists, the answer is mindfulness, kindness and trying to remember to breathe every so often. Environmentalists want to save the planet for all species– or at least a number of them … Ram Dass, who described himself as a Hin-Jew, said that ultimately, we’re all just walking each other home. I love that. I try to live by it.”
She speaks of the importance of doing what we can as well and shares her experience in showing up to teach Sunday School. “I always end up telling the kids the same things: that they are loved and chosen, that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it: and to keep trusting God, no matter what things looks like and no matter how long an upswing takes.”
I smiled when she referred to Capri Sun as the “living water “ of most Sunday Schools! I ponder the truth of this statement: “Sometime love doesn’t look like you thought.”
Lamott’s writings help me to think new thoughts and to explore new possibilities. She breathes new life into old ways of being and doing. So grateful for her life experiences that gave her such rich gifts to share.
Elizabeth