A day like today is one that makes me reflect about life. I like Michael’s mention on the other thread about being a footnote in the life of others — however, most of the time I feel like a footnote in the Kansas song Dust in the Wind.
In 2 weeks I will be 69 – Jan 2019 I will be married 50 years – where does the time go? I bring this up as today my wife and I are retiring – and although a good thing – in fact a great thing it still brings up where does the time go?
The good news is that yesterday I signed up for MLB.TV and can watch all the baseball games all day, everyday full time. 🙂
Congratulations! Not there yet… but not far behind. I look back over the decades and I’m astounded at how time passes, without us really noticing that it’s gone…
MLD… This summer i will turn 82… Looking back to when i was 69, my advice to Mr. & Mrs. MLD would be to be selfish with these years – make sure they belong to the two of you and God… dont apologize for being retired to anyone
God speed to you both
Scooter, amen to #9… My mother saved every single piece of mail she received (if it came in an envelope ). But it was all neatly, if randomly, stacked in every shelf and drawer not otherwise occupied. It took my husband and myself a full summer to sort thru it, of necessity, one piece at a time and i lost count of the number of garbage bags we filled.
“When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.”
Scooter, no I did not wait for full SS but I did wait so I could collect and still work without losing any.
It’s good to reach this point, as I look back to what was it 10 yrs ago when both of us were losing our businesses?
Over the past couple of yrs we worked to pay off our bills, relocate and cut our living expenses in half and now we will make a go of it on our SS.
Congratulations on the long marriage and retirement!
I put off doing the living trust. I had the docs then paused 4 years ago when my family was broken. I’ll pay the house of within ten years but it would be a hassle if I kicked the bucket soon and my ex had to step in to save it for the kids. I’ll make it so she could move in, but couldn’t touch the principal since she once told me “your home is your bank!” *gah*
I’m making my BFF my executor to handle things. Like someone would need to file my taxes the last year. I also recently found out that an inherited 401 (k) requires RMDs (required minimum distributions) based upon my projected age, not the inheiritors.
I’d like to retire at 60 into a frugal life, when the kids reach college age. If I don’t, no biggie. I’m not going to worry about 14 years from now, but plan just the same.
My mom mismanaged everything and lost her 5 acres. I rescued it once on ’99 (imminent foreclosure), then again 4 years ago due to unpaid property taxes. I found out others had rescued her as well. It was really enabling. That’s ok in retrospect. It was the right thing to do at the time. My mom meets the criteria of “the poor” in spirit as well, even if the former was due mostly to her hoarding and get rich quick mentality. If you can’t manage a little, you can’t manage a lot. So those that had little, even that was taken away… so sad and avoidable, but it is what it is. Depression, PTSD, Borderline Personality Disorder… I could have saved the property, but the mess was the worst of hoarders and the house needs to be torn down. Is literally caving in on itself. It’s in legal limbo anyway, in her dead husband’s name which she did in about ’02 to put off property taxes. About $120/ month! I could have saved it for me eventually, minus how many thousands for clean up, but I just didn’t want to deal with it. It likely just sold at auction.
We didn’t part on the best of terms 2 years ago due to her accusations of criminal elder abuse. I did see her finally a month ago after the county kicked her off of her property and the place she was staying, she wasn’t of sound mental capacity to live on her own. She was happy to see me, so was I. They called me last night to say she had been admitted to the hospital ICU due to an infection. They told me over the phone that she was stable. She slept all day. They couldn’t tell me more due to HIIPA, but told me enough. I’m 130 miles away, anD have my kids this weekend. I’ll call again in the morning she hopefully she’ll give permission for them to confirm I’m who I say I am. I should be free to drive up there next weekend if things remain stable.
Sorry to turn maudlin :^p
I hope one day to see her in heaven, healed of all that tormented her in this life.
“Scooter, no I did not wait for full SS but I did wait so I could collect and still work without losing any.
It’s good to reach this point, as I look back to what was it 10 yrs ago when both of us were losing our businesses?
Over the past couple of yrs we worked to pay off our bills, relocate and cut our living expenses in half and now we will make a go of it on our SS.”
Good for you! Yes, I remember well the events of 10 years ago. Strangely enough, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. God has proven himself faithful over and over, even when I haven’t and don’t.
Since it is “open” here…. i read today where Richard Dawkins is warning against celebrating the demise of Christianity in Europe (as reported in the Manchester Guardiian)… He calls our Faith “relatively benign” and he predicts that the world is poised to replace it with something worse… Hmmm… ?
being pandered to, as Dawkins is obviously doing, grates on me, but
A heroic frenchman died today in a noble act of sacrifice… at the hands of an adherent to “something worse.”
A Short Reading in Preparation for Maundy Thursday:
By Martin Franzmann:
“ ‘And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” ’ (Matt 26:26-28)….
Covenant and Messiah, covenant and the Righteous Ruler who rises up from David’s house like bright sun on a cloudless day (2 Sam 23:4) — these two belong together. The Lord’s Supper is a Messianic act, centered wholly in the person of Jesus the Christ. When Jesus called His disciples, He called them, Messianically, to Himself simply. He gave them nothing but Himself, but He gave them no less. At His farewell Jesus stands before His disciples as One wholly poor; He can give them only Himself, His body and His blood, and He gives them no less; He gives them His whole self in the full historical reality of His Messiahship, His given body, His outpoured blood. And He gives Himself to the whole man and by His redemptive act lays claim to the whole, bodily man: ‘Take, eat … drink.’ (Matt 26:26-28)
This is not yet the Messiah of royal splendor but the Servant-Messiah. ‘Covenant’ and ‘Servant’ belong together, too. ‘For many’ recalls the ‘many’ for whom and in whose stead the Servant suffered and died; and ‘poured out’ recalls the prophetic words concerning the Servant: ‘He poured out His soul to death, and was numbered among the transgressors.’ (Isa 53:12) The new covenant of the promise is included too, as is the new people of God which that covenant shall create. ‘For the forgiveness of sins’ recalls the new covenant which the LORD had promised through Jeremiah: ‘This is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days … I will be their God, and they shall be My people … they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more’ (Jer 31:33, 34). The promise given in the naming of Jesus, ‘He will save His people from their sins’ (Matt 1:21), is moving toward its ultimate fulfillment on the cross.
The course which Jesus had begun at His baptism with the words, ‘Thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness’ (Matt 3:15) is drawing to its terrible and triumphant close. The covenant sacrifice of atonement is anticipated in the bread and the cup; the ransom for many is being paid. In the forgiveness of sins thus wrought man is set free for God and for His fellow man. The real fellowship in Christ is becoming a reality, and the new people of God is being constituted: ‘Drink of it, all of you’ (Matt 26:27).
In interpreting His death in terms of the covenant Jesus was evoking in the minds and hearts of His disciples the whole history of God’s redemptive dealings with His people. Their minds were open to this evocation and attuned to this suggestion, for the words were spoken in the Passover season and at a Passover meal, which commemorated the establishment of the old, the first covenant with Israel. ‘Covenant’ marks the death of Jesus as God’s will for man, God’s grace toward man, God’s deed for man, God’s gift to man; for ‘covenant’ means God taking the initiative to create a new order of things which shall govern the relationship between Himself and man according to His redemptive intent. As we have seen, covenant and Kingdom are but two aspects of one and the same divine action and reality. In the sacrificial, atoning death of the Anointed of God, God’s kingdom comes and His will is done. And His name is hallowed: Men shall see His judgment and His grace in the cross and shall know that He and He alone is God.”
1Franzmann, Martin H. (1961). Follow Me: Discipleship According to St. Matthew. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House.
It’s all yours today…
Haven’t seen surfer51 lately. ..still praying for you!
A day like today is one that makes me reflect about life. I like Michael’s mention on the other thread about being a footnote in the life of others — however, most of the time I feel like a footnote in the Kansas song Dust in the Wind.
In 2 weeks I will be 69 – Jan 2019 I will be married 50 years – where does the time go? I bring this up as today my wife and I are retiring – and although a good thing – in fact a great thing it still brings up where does the time go?
The good news is that yesterday I signed up for MLB.TV and can watch all the baseball games all day, everyday full time. 🙂
MLD,
Congratulations…sounds like a life while lived with much more to come.
Woohoo MLD! Congratulations!
MLD
Congratulations! Not there yet… but not far behind. I look back over the decades and I’m astounded at how time passes, without us really noticing that it’s gone…
MLD, did you wait to file for full S.S. benefits? 😉
MLD… This summer i will turn 82… Looking back to when i was 69, my advice to Mr. & Mrs. MLD would be to be selfish with these years – make sure they belong to the two of you and God… dont apologize for being retired to anyone
God speed to you both
Oh, and, MLD, be careful to not fall off that boat of yours (we sailors used to call your style of watercraft, “stinkpots”. LOL )
I finally finished up all my end of life directives, last will & testament, etc. Talk about somber reflections and where did the time go?
My life seems like it was summed up with a page full of sign-on(s) and passwords placed in a safety deposit box at the bank.
In all seriousness, it’s important not to leave our loved one’s with a mess to sort and clean up when we croak.
Scooter, amen to #9… My mother saved every single piece of mail she received (if it came in an envelope ). But it was all neatly, if randomly, stacked in every shelf and drawer not otherwise occupied. It took my husband and myself a full summer to sort thru it, of necessity, one piece at a time and i lost count of the number of garbage bags we filled.
#9 Scooter
As clergy, might I add, make your intentions known concerning you funeral/memorial service… it really helps the survivors and the clergy person.
“When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.”
#12…. Wouldnt it be great if God dealt with all rulers as He did with Nebuchadnezzar?
Duane, yes, I did that too. Right down to the scripture I want engraved on my tombstone 😉
Scooter, no I did not wait for full SS but I did wait so I could collect and still work without losing any.
It’s good to reach this point, as I look back to what was it 10 yrs ago when both of us were losing our businesses?
Over the past couple of yrs we worked to pay off our bills, relocate and cut our living expenses in half and now we will make a go of it on our SS.
MLD, Wishing you and your bride much joy in the years to come
Here is an article about my niece and some of the work she does at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC
http://kios.org/post/uno-united-states-holocaust-memorial-museum-present-vectors-violence
This may not fit in…
But go, Loyola of Chicago! Giantslayers!
(at least so far) 🙂
Congratulations on the long marriage and retirement!
I put off doing the living trust. I had the docs then paused 4 years ago when my family was broken. I’ll pay the house of within ten years but it would be a hassle if I kicked the bucket soon and my ex had to step in to save it for the kids. I’ll make it so she could move in, but couldn’t touch the principal since she once told me “your home is your bank!” *gah*
I’m making my BFF my executor to handle things. Like someone would need to file my taxes the last year. I also recently found out that an inherited 401 (k) requires RMDs (required minimum distributions) based upon my projected age, not the inheiritors.
I’d like to retire at 60 into a frugal life, when the kids reach college age. If I don’t, no biggie. I’m not going to worry about 14 years from now, but plan just the same.
My mom mismanaged everything and lost her 5 acres. I rescued it once on ’99 (imminent foreclosure), then again 4 years ago due to unpaid property taxes. I found out others had rescued her as well. It was really enabling. That’s ok in retrospect. It was the right thing to do at the time. My mom meets the criteria of “the poor” in spirit as well, even if the former was due mostly to her hoarding and get rich quick mentality. If you can’t manage a little, you can’t manage a lot. So those that had little, even that was taken away… so sad and avoidable, but it is what it is. Depression, PTSD, Borderline Personality Disorder… I could have saved the property, but the mess was the worst of hoarders and the house needs to be torn down. Is literally caving in on itself. It’s in legal limbo anyway, in her dead husband’s name which she did in about ’02 to put off property taxes. About $120/ month! I could have saved it for me eventually, minus how many thousands for clean up, but I just didn’t want to deal with it. It likely just sold at auction.
We didn’t part on the best of terms 2 years ago due to her accusations of criminal elder abuse. I did see her finally a month ago after the county kicked her off of her property and the place she was staying, she wasn’t of sound mental capacity to live on her own. She was happy to see me, so was I. They called me last night to say she had been admitted to the hospital ICU due to an infection. They told me over the phone that she was stable. She slept all day. They couldn’t tell me more due to HIIPA, but told me enough. I’m 130 miles away, anD have my kids this weekend. I’ll call again in the morning she hopefully she’ll give permission for them to confirm I’m who I say I am. I should be free to drive up there next weekend if things remain stable.
Sorry to turn maudlin :^p
I hope one day to see her in heaven, healed of all that tormented her in this life.
“Scooter, no I did not wait for full SS but I did wait so I could collect and still work without losing any.
It’s good to reach this point, as I look back to what was it 10 yrs ago when both of us were losing our businesses?
Over the past couple of yrs we worked to pay off our bills, relocate and cut our living expenses in half and now we will make a go of it on our SS.”
Good for you! Yes, I remember well the events of 10 years ago. Strangely enough, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. God has proven himself faithful over and over, even when I haven’t and don’t.
Lord bless you in this season of your life.
Since it is “open” here…. i read today where Richard Dawkins is warning against celebrating the demise of Christianity in Europe (as reported in the Manchester Guardiian)… He calls our Faith “relatively benign” and he predicts that the world is poised to replace it with something worse… Hmmm… ?
being pandered to, as Dawkins is obviously doing, grates on me, but
A heroic frenchman died today in a noble act of sacrifice… at the hands of an adherent to “something worse.”
A Short Reading in Preparation for Maundy Thursday:
By Martin Franzmann:
“ ‘And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” ’ (Matt 26:26-28)….
Covenant and Messiah, covenant and the Righteous Ruler who rises up from David’s house like bright sun on a cloudless day (2 Sam 23:4) — these two belong together. The Lord’s Supper is a Messianic act, centered wholly in the person of Jesus the Christ. When Jesus called His disciples, He called them, Messianically, to Himself simply. He gave them nothing but Himself, but He gave them no less. At His farewell Jesus stands before His disciples as One wholly poor; He can give them only Himself, His body and His blood, and He gives them no less; He gives them His whole self in the full historical reality of His Messiahship, His given body, His outpoured blood. And He gives Himself to the whole man and by His redemptive act lays claim to the whole, bodily man: ‘Take, eat … drink.’ (Matt 26:26-28)
This is not yet the Messiah of royal splendor but the Servant-Messiah. ‘Covenant’ and ‘Servant’ belong together, too. ‘For many’ recalls the ‘many’ for whom and in whose stead the Servant suffered and died; and ‘poured out’ recalls the prophetic words concerning the Servant: ‘He poured out His soul to death, and was numbered among the transgressors.’ (Isa 53:12) The new covenant of the promise is included too, as is the new people of God which that covenant shall create. ‘For the forgiveness of sins’ recalls the new covenant which the LORD had promised through Jeremiah: ‘This is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days … I will be their God, and they shall be My people … they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more’ (Jer 31:33, 34). The promise given in the naming of Jesus, ‘He will save His people from their sins’ (Matt 1:21), is moving toward its ultimate fulfillment on the cross.
The course which Jesus had begun at His baptism with the words, ‘Thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness’ (Matt 3:15) is drawing to its terrible and triumphant close. The covenant sacrifice of atonement is anticipated in the bread and the cup; the ransom for many is being paid. In the forgiveness of sins thus wrought man is set free for God and for His fellow man. The real fellowship in Christ is becoming a reality, and the new people of God is being constituted: ‘Drink of it, all of you’ (Matt 26:27).
In interpreting His death in terms of the covenant Jesus was evoking in the minds and hearts of His disciples the whole history of God’s redemptive dealings with His people. Their minds were open to this evocation and attuned to this suggestion, for the words were spoken in the Passover season and at a Passover meal, which commemorated the establishment of the old, the first covenant with Israel. ‘Covenant’ marks the death of Jesus as God’s will for man, God’s grace toward man, God’s deed for man, God’s gift to man; for ‘covenant’ means God taking the initiative to create a new order of things which shall govern the relationship between Himself and man according to His redemptive intent. As we have seen, covenant and Kingdom are but two aspects of one and the same divine action and reality. In the sacrificial, atoning death of the Anointed of God, God’s kingdom comes and His will is done. And His name is hallowed: Men shall see His judgment and His grace in the cross and shall know that He and He alone is God.”
1Franzmann, Martin H. (1961). Follow Me: Discipleship According to St. Matthew. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House.