My photo , called Autumns Fire...we still have fire in the Autumn of our days.
I was given a wonderful book titled " Coming
of Age Gracefully", I'd like to share some of the articles with you. I was surprised at the ages of some of the people in this book, their outlook on life and the gift of old age.
I enjoyed
the stories and articles and learned a lot about myself at the same time..This book was published in 1995, so the articles and who wrote or contributed to them may be long gone.
"By the grace of God I am what I am." 1 Corinthians 15:10 NIV
THIS CHANGING
HOUSE
You tell me I'm getting old,
You just don't understand.
The
dweller in my house
Is young and bright and gay,
Just starting on a life to last
Throughout eternal day.
You only see the outside
Which is all most folks see..
You tell me I'm getting old,
You've mixed my house with me!
Author Unknown
That sure makes sense to me...The body
may be aging, The mind is collecting more information and storing many memories.
The Autum of My Life, some excerpts by Polly Francis
What a baffling thing old age is ! It doesn't bring the peace we
were led to expect. I find it hard to drift with the stream; all along the way there are problems which obstruct the smooth flow of life. The area which lies between the "here" and the "hereafter" is a difficult passage to travel. One must make the journey
to fully understand it.
Old age is not all pain and limitations. It holds its own joys and satisfactions. The time has
come when musing replaces activities - when the sleepless hours are filled from the harvest of a well-stored mind.
The
common expression, "so-and-so is failing," is tossed around too freely. In aging we gain as well as lose. The autumn of human life, like the autumn of nature, can bring richness of beauty. It's a time when our spiritual forces seem to expand. A
life of the heart and of the mind takes over while our physical force ebbs away.
(these were just a few pragraphs from her article)
" You can take
no credit for beauty at
sixteen.
But if you are beautiful at
sixty, it will
be
your own
soul's doing."
by Marie Carmichael Stopes
AGE KNOWS NO LIMIT by James Cagney (1899-1986,
married 64 years to 'Willie',
1 son
He wrote...
Surely the vital thing in old age is to maitain an interest in and never stop planning for the future. I started painting
at sixty and am still intensely caught up in it. I am studying the classical guitar and I've also just taken up the bugle..For my phsical well-being, I still put on a record and do a choorus or two of buck dancing. It's a mistake to set limits
on yourself; life will do that whether you like it or not. A successful life must be determined by one's attitude. In a favorite phrase of my brother Ed, "We live between our ears." Sermon over.
I still enjoy watching many of his movies, from Yankee Doodle as a dancer to the gangster in later movies.
LETTING GO...MOVING ON
LIFE is a series of transitions.
Some easier than others. How we adjust to these changes goes a long way toward shaping who we are, what we get out of life and what we give to life.
Change challenges us to draw on an inner strength...a strength we become more acutely aware of as we age. For it is after we have lived...experienced...endured...that we realize that change is inevitable...and that sometime, letting go
is not an end, but rather, a beginning.
"Through many
dangers,
toils and
snares I have
already come.
'Tis
grace has
brought me safe
thus far, and
grace
will lead
me home."
John Newton, 1725-1807
Our Amazing Grace
WHERE THERE IS HUMOR,
THERE IS HOPE !
It's been said that laughter is the best medicine. Why? Because laughter not only helps us see the world in a positive light, but it actually inpacts
our physical health and well-being, as well.
As we age, we learn to enjoy and appreciate the little things in life. To see the humor in
things that surround us. Maybe it's that we come to realize that we can't afford to take life - or ourselves - too seriously. That life truly is too short.
For it is through humor and laughter that we can wash away loneliness...fear..pain. Through laughter, we see a beacon of light...a flicker of hope even as we endure the most difficult of life's situations.
It is through humor that we can accept the changes along life's journey...and truly live life to the fullest..
"Rejoice in the Lord always.
I will say it again; Rejoice !" Phillippians 4:4 NIV
This is the day the Lord has made I will rejoice and be glad in it..Psalm 118:24
HAVE A GOD BLESSED DAY .
This is a book written for Aid Association for Lutherans , if your interested in purchasing one, the web address is www.aal.org * email: aalmail@aal.org
phone 800 225-5225 The title of the book is "COMING OF AGE GRACEFULLY"