By Missy Buchanan
Paperback
$10.00; Ten or More, $8.50 each 96 Pages
ISBN# 978-0-8358-9942-0

Living With Purpose in a Worn-Out Body is an exploration of the inner life shared by many people in nursing homes and retirement centers. With compassion and honesty, Missy Buchanan gives voice to mingled feelings of loss, gratitude, resignation, courage, loneliness, and love. Each meditation moves from a particular challenge of the worn-out body to the larger perspective and the faithful response. Well-chosen passages from the Psalms mirror the speaker's feelings, and exhortations from the New Testament stir hope. It becomes clear that "living withpurpose" in old age is an extension of the challenges lived all along one's years -- learning to offer one's will to God's, trusting God's grace to open up seemingly closed situations, and continuing to respond with the joy and fortitude of faith.

She also mines the joys of living: laughter among friends, seeing grandchildren grow up, sifting through happy memories. Living With Purpose is a comfort for those who are living out their last long years and a help for those who love and care for them.

Living with Purpose in a Worn-Out Body is perfect for:

• Residents of nursing homes and retirement centers
• Caregivers, family, and pastors who minister to the aged
• Communities amongst an aging community

These are meditations of the heart -- full of faith and hope. Even though we may experience fear and discouragement, this book invites us to remember that God's energies are at work silently but powerfully throughout all of life. This devotional resource is engaging and uplifting, filled with love and generous in spirit -- a perfect gift for frail elderly and the people who care for them.

Reviewd by the Rev. Dr. Richard H. Gentzler, Jr., Director, Center on Aging & Older Adult Ministries, GBOD, Nashville, TN

Abide with Me: Prayers for Life's Eventide
by Carlee L Hallman
Dimensions for Living
Available from Cokesbury

Lord, every day of growing older is an adventure . . . I will follow you, even when I don't know what will happen next.

This thoughtful and insightful book by Carlee Hallman contains over 100 brief prayers that deal with life's later years. As the author indicates, these prayers are offered to point the way to faith in the varying circumstances of aging, to highlight real issues and challenges older adults face in daily living, and to give voice to the readers' deepest feelings and concerns.

Written in the first-person voice, the prayers appear in large-print text and are grouped into sections, including Trust, Asking, Lament, Confession, Thank You, and Presence. Each prayer is accompanied by a brief Scripture quotation, making the book ideal for use as a devotional.

Return to Spring 2008 Center Sage "Contents" page.

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