Tell Your Heart to Beat Again by Danny Gokey
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You’re “Never Too Young to Rock ‘N’ Roll”
On October 7th, legendary rockers Mick Jagger (73) with the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan (75) kicked off a three-day music festival, The Desert Trip, in California. Saturday featured Paul McCartney (74) and Neil Young (70). Roger Waters (73) from Pink Floyd and The Who (Roger Daltrey, 72 and Pete Townsend, 71) played on Sunday. Rolling Stone magazine writer Steve Appleford reported the “festival’s unprecedented musical summit…is a gathering of historic headliners with rich catalogs of hits and groundbreaking work that has influenced several generations of music-makers. All the players at Desert Trip remain among the top live acts, despite time and age that have left many of their contemporaries behind.” Read more
“‘Tonight we’re not going to do any age jokes or anything, OK? Welcome to the Palm Springs retirement home for gentle English musicians,’ Jagger joked early on of the fest that has been called ‘Oldchella’ and worse. He was prepared to prove otherwise.”
While these rockers may be getting older just like we are, they are not too old to contribute and make a difference in the world. For instance, Bob Dylan was recently awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. On October 29th, Edna Gundersen, from The Telegraph, wrote after a recent interview with Dylan that, “Yes, he is planning to turn up to the awards ceremony in Stockholm. ‘Absolutely,’ he says. ‘If it’s at all possible.’” In addition to winning this prestigious award his watercolours and acrylics will be newly exhibited at the opening at London’s Halcyon Gallery of The Beaten Path, – his fourth at the Mayfair venue since 2008. Read more
Paul McCartney debuted a new song, “In the Blink of An Eye,” on October 28th. The song is part of the forthcoming Ethel & Ernest animated movie.
According to The Who’s website, “Since (the year) 2000 (Roger Daltrey) has been a patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust, a charity that builds specialised wards for teenagers with cancer in the UK. Ever pursuing his mission to give something back to teenagers, ‘without whom,’ as he said, ‘we would have no career.’ In November 2010, Roger, with Pete Townshend at his side, launched Teen Cancer America.” Read more
As you can see, we are never too old to contribute and make a difference in the world. Keep on rockin’! And I don’t mean in your chair!
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A new purpose: life after caregiving
by Joene Nelson Werner, Healthy Living Made Simple
September/October 2016
“With one last breath, my life changed. I had been a 24/7 caregiver to my husband of over 48 years, and in a moment, I became a person without a cause. While my days had been consumed, leaving no time for myself, suddenly there was no responsibility or accountability to anyone or anything. A gradual beginning, an abrupt end. What does one do with the freedom that comes from losing one’s purpose?
The Aftermath
He passed November 17 from complications due to Alzheimer’s disease; the last three weeks moved like a train wreck. It happened so quickly I was left trying to wrap my mind around it. The holidays were a blur. I felt so alone and misunderstood. After several months, my mind still spiraled–no longer a caregiver, no longer a wife.
A year earlier, I tearfully shared with my Alzheimer’s caregiver support group: I’d lost me. Would I ever find the real me again? I wasn’t sure who I was, where I was or if I’d reclaim my past life. The years of caregiving with Alzheimer’s were like an out-of-body experience and upon my husband’s death, I was jolted back to reality. Caregiving consumes your identity. Unconditionally putting another first, I had become programmed. Being able to put myself first was strange. It was difficult to accept that I had my ‘me time’ back.”
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Have you ever been uninvited?
I stopped by Barnes and Noble (B&N) the other day. I wanted to see what new books they had on retirement or senior issues that I could read and then pass on to you.
Barnes and Noble has changed. I noticed that the usual rows of beautiful wooden shelves were nearly bare. Many of the books were facing cover out, as opposed to binding out, just to take up space. It appears that many shelves now hold home school curriculum and toys. Back in the late 80’s when I worked as a community business development manager at a B&N in Lewisville, TX, I loved going through the rows of shelves to see what just arrived. At that time, the shelves held so many books that there was little room to face a book cover out. I often went home with a stack of books I’d purchased because I couldn’t select just one or two.
These days most people buy books online or download them to their digital readers. Lately, with my income being on the low side, compared to when I worked full-time, I either buy them online or check out the book from the local library. However, I have already read all the local library’s books on retirement. So there I was, looking through rows of nearly empty shelves at B&N trying to find books on retirement.
As I was browsing, I was stopped by a book which was faced cover out right at my eye-level. It was called Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely by Lysa TerKeurst. I was familiar with Lysa from her daily uplifting message on K-LOVE radio and Proverbs 31 Ministry. 
I picked up the paperback book and read the back: “Rejection steals the best of who I am by reinforcing the worst of what’s been said to me. The enemy wants us to feel rejected…left out, lonely, and less than.” Wow! I needed this book as I have dealt with rejection my entire life and haven’t handled it well.
I didn’t buy the book that day as it was $16.99. I thought maybe I could get it at the library. Nope. They didn’t have it. I went to the Proverbs 31 Ministry website where it was on sale for $13.99. A quick check on Amazon–I could get it for $10.01, so I ordered it and received it two days later without paying more than the standard shipping costs.
I began reading Uninvited yesterday. Yep, this is what I need to deal with my past and recent feelings of rejection from my immediate family, my ex-husband and recent relationships including some former work colleagues.
Today, I went back to the Proverbs 31 Ministry website and discovered an online Bible study. It had started last week but it wasn’t too late. I joined! Now I will read the book and follow the online group to go deeper into God’s word and how to begin to conquer my feelings of rejection. How great is that? And for only $10!
If you also suffer from feelings of rejection, either from the past or present, you might want to get a copy of the book and join the free online Bible study. The first three chapters of the book are free to download from the Proverbs 31 Ministry website. Let me know if you join the online group and what you think of Uninvited.
Again, from the back of the book: “Uninvited reminds us we are destined for a love that can never be diminished, tarnished, shaken, or taken–a love that does not reject or uninvite.” If you enjoy reading and would like to read one which will help you grow stronger and feel loved, then I urge you to pick up this book and “live loved!”
If you’re wondering if I ever found the retirement books at B&N…yes, I did. They had several but they all dealt with financial issues which I already had a lot of information on. So I drove to a nearby town’s public library, updated my card and picked up a stack of books about retirement there. Oh, how I love library cards!
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“Choose Life!”
#84-01
Presented on The Lutheran Hour on September 4, 2016
By Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz, Lutheran Hour Speaker
“Sometimes there are moments in your life when you feel tempted to think that your best days are behind you and your purpose in life has faded.
Dear friends, I especially want you to know, right now, you don’t need to despair. Whatever your situation in life might be, you have a very important job to do. You have an incredible purpose. Embedded in your day-to-day life at this very moment is an important calling.
You heard me correctly. Whether you are a CEO of a corporation, or a mom taking care of her kids at home, a farmer, a laborer, a retiree, or a person struggling with illness or loneliness, you have an incredible purpose; a very important job.
A wise salesman once said that his purpose was not to sell products but to befriend people. That salesman touched on the ultimate purpose that you and I have in life, our calling, job number one. It is to show love to other people.”