In this issue.

What Will You Do With the Choices Before You?

Can memory be preserved despite the advancement of age?

A bit of wisdom.

One last thing.

What Will You Do With the Choices Before You?

The choices I made to become a better person.

Choices Made, Action Taken, Makes Us.​
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I once heard Pastor David Jeremiah say, “No one drifts toward holiness.”

That was over 20 years ago; it stayed with me.

It reminds me that the kind of person I become isn’t accidental. It's shaped by small, daily choices over time.

These choices made me become what I am today.

So these days, I try to live by five simple choices. It's not a checklist; it's the road I travel.

Here are my five choices.

1. Live life amazed

When I stop and look back over my life, I can’t help but feel a sense of wonder.

Jesus loves me.
My wife trusts me.
And I’ve been given a life that, truth be told, I didn’t earn.

This is the perspective I have, and it changes a man.

As Earl Nightingale said, “Success is the result of a great attitude.”

And Viktor Frankl reminded us that we always have the freedom to choose that attitude.

I wake up, throw back the covers, and once again, I'm amazed.

2. Practice generosity

Generosity has a way of loosening my grip on things that don’t really belong to me anyway.

Whether it’s giving to my church, supporting missions, or helping someone quietly. I’ve found there’s a deep joy in knowing what I've been given is helping someone else.

Karl Menninger once said generous people are rarely unhealthy in spirit.

And Colonel Sanders put it a bit more plainly—we can’t take it with us.

I might as well give it while I'm able.

3. Overflow with gratitude

It's a simple but powerful way to connect with people when I say, Thank you.

Saying, 'You're welcome' sure means a lot when I say it to my friend when he expresses thanks to me.

Gratitude has a way of settling my soul. Every so often it's the simple words we say that mean a lot.

“It is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

I’ve found that to be true. I tell people, I was born rich, I am rich, and I'll die rich. My name is Rich.

4. Befriend the disadvantaged

I try to keep one or two people in my life who can’t really repay me.

Not because I’m doing something special. It's because it keeps my heart where it belongs.

I'm not expecting a payback.

Just a visit. Or a meal. Maybe a little help when it’s needed.

It is the thought I convey to the person that they matter to me.

Hey, this morning a man took me out to breakfast just to tell me he's praying for me. That was so nice; it meant much to me.

Walter Winchell once said a real friend shows up when others walk away.

That’s the kind of man I want to become.

5. Build strong faith

Most mornings, I start quietly and slowly. I'm 83; I believe age has an effect. First thoughts when I open my eyes: I pray a simple prayer of thanks.

If I take a few minutes to read Scripture, the day tends to find its footing a little better.

Not perfect. Just better.

As Daniel Webster said, faith places God between us and what we’re facing.

And I’ve found that does make all the difference.

These five choices are part of the disciplines I've structured in my life. Do I hit it out of the park every day? Of course not. Yet, each choice points me to the man I want to be.

I'd like to know what disciplines you've put in your life that give you a better life. Email me.

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​Can memory be preserved despite the advancement of age?

Since I have the misfortune to watch my wife with less cognitive function, I'm researching ways at my age to keep sharp. Recently I came across this article in the Epoch Times. It gives me hope that growing older does not automatically mean growing dull.

Scientists are discovering that some people over 80 have brains that function like people decades younger. And they may have uncovered why.

Accordingly, those of us over eighty should value our social connections with family and friends. And not let anxiety be our constant companion.

The superagers referenced in this article keep active physically and socially. Their memory function is 20 or 30 years younger than their age. They read, play card games, and do puzzles. Volunteer and even have part-time jobs. In other words, they are actively engaged with the world around them. They do not withdraw; instead, they enter into whatever is available.

I want in that group! How about you?

Click on this to go to the article. Adults Who Don't Age: The Secrets of 'Superagers'.​

A bit of wisdom.

Hospice Nurse Julie has a YouTube channel. She is quite interesting in her take on end-of-life situations. Since my wife was diagnosed with mixed dementia over eight years ago, I have gained a lot of education needed from her.

My bit of wisdom is for us to get educated as we age. Of course, I read books on this subject as well. My point is, stop drifting through fear-filled days. Get educated on whatever is happening in your life.

Here's the link to Hospice Nurse Julie.

One last thing.

I consider this when sitting on my patio and viewing the farm fields that stretch to the horizon. Mine and your days, by the way, are changing. These words I wrote in my prayer journal a few days ago.

This verse in Matthew is read over quickly and without thought. Yet, I have an interesting take on this verse. Jesus was a busy man. He had a rather large following by this time in his ministry. He also had a team of 12 disciples he was building. Busy, yes, yet He took time to sit by the lake. Maybe for minutes, perhaps for hours, we don’t know. But it remains great instruction for me. Richard, take time to rest. Enjoy the beauty of nature around me.