My heart was profoundly moved when I met Jim at a men's retreat not long ago. He had a ready smile and seemed about my age. He was never without his baseball cap for a reason I found out later. During the course of the retreat I had several conversations with Jim. He...
Feeling Inspired or Expired?
Feeling inspired or expired? Which word best describes how you feel about your midlife and beyond years? We're used to everything having an expiration date these days. Even a sealed bottle of pure water has a date when it expires! A close friend told me recently his...
Living to 90!
Have you thought about what it would be like to live until you're 90 years old? That time may be so far into the future it's hard to imagine. You may feel somewhat daunted by having another 30-40 years to go. Or you may welcome the idea of the new adventures and...
5 Things to Hold Onto When Worry Grips You
As a kid, I grew up in Southern California. One of the things I looked forward to was taking a trip to my grandparent’s cabin located in the San Bernardino Mountains about three hours outside of Los Angeles. One trip in particular is seared in my memory. I was sitting...
What Do You See In Your Future?
What do you see in your future? This question implies that you are looking forward into your future, not in the past through the rear view mirror. That's an important distinction. The rear view mirror often distorts what took place. Regrets and disappointments can...
Stuck on the Dock of Life
My sister and her husband are boat captains. They are in charge of a 100' racing yacht that has taken them and the boat's wealthy owners all over the world. One of the pictures I received was their boat flying downwind riding the swells in 30 knot storm winds. It was...
Staying Hopeful In Spite of Life’s Challenges
Ever have days when you can't seem to shake off feeling discouraged by life's unrelenting problems? For some reason they seem to really crowd in during the midlife and beyond years. It's very common for marriage dissatisfaction to surface. Regrets and disappointments...
3 Life Commitments From a 102-Year-Old Christian Leader
One of the most remarkable individuals I know is Jim Downing. He turned 102 years old in August 2015. He is also the oldest living survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack at the beginning of WWII. If you were to speak with him, it would be quickly apparent he has a keen...
A Key Mindset For Midlife
I’ve loved to play baseball my whole life. When I was around twelve years old, I wanted to join Little League. My friends were talking about it, but I wasn’t sure how you could get on a team. I found out that the city was holding tryouts and got permission from my...
A Different Kind of Prayer
How frequently do you pray for God's protection and provision in your life? I think there is good biblical support for doing this. But what caught me off guard recently was a comment a friend made about a different kind of prayer he was praying. He asked, "How often...