Sunday, March 6, 2022

Reflection - Number Our Days - Retirement

Source (book): "Teach Us to Number Our Days", Chapter 62, "Retirement", Page 288.
By David Roper, Pastor, and regular and popular writer for Our Daily Bread.


Hackney'd (dull and meaningless) in business, wearied at that oar,
PHOTO: Hackney'd (dull and meaningless) in business, wearied at that oar,
Which thousands, once fast chain'd to, quit no more,
But which, when life at ebb runs weak and low,
All with, or seem to wish, the could forego;
The statesman, lawyer, merchant, man of trade,
Pants for the refuge of some rural shade,
Where, all his long anxieties forgot
Amid the charms of a sequester'd
(secluded) spot . . .
- William Cowper

In Homer's Odyssey, battle-weary Odysseus sets sail for Ithaca, his island home off the coast of Greece, after long years of fighting at Troy. Along the way he encounters the goddess Circe who tells him he must go to the underworld to consult the ghost of an old prophet, Teiresias, from whom he would gain wisdom for his last years on earth.

Later, on the edge of Hades, Odysseus does indeed meet the seer who instructs him: "When you get home. . . you must take a well-made oar and carry it on and on, till you come to a country where the people have never heard of the sea and do not even mix salt with their food, nor do they know anything about ships, and oars that are as the wings of a ship. I will give you this certain token which cannot escape your notice. A wayfarer will meet you and will say it must be a winnowing shovel that you have got upon your shoulder; on this you must fix the oar in the ground."

Odysseus was to leave his oar - the sign of his lifelong vocation - in a far-off place where people had never heard of the sea or his sea-going exploits. Then, the prophet promised, "Your life shall ebb away gently when you are full of years and peace of mind, and your people will bless you."

Battle weary Odysseus had faced adventure after adventure for years as he tried to get home. Yet though "hackney'd [bored] in business, wearied at that oar," he was still striving to find meaning in his sea-going "work." Thus, "leaving his oar in that far-off place" becomes a vivid metaphor for leaving his work behind. Only then can he "ebb away gently, full of years and peace of mind." For most of us, however, leaving our work behind can be more difficult than it sounds.

I have a friend who, until this past summer, was a veteran pilot for a major airline. We happened to run into one another the day he reached mandatory retirement age. "Last night I made a very difficult landing in a snowstorm in Chicago with several hundred lives in my hands. To my crew and passengers I was a god!" he mused. "Today I'm no one at all."

Most retirees can identify. Retirement not only robs us of our work, it may also rob us of our self-worth, for so much of our sense of worth is tied up in what we do.

It's significant to me that one of the first things people say when they first meet is, "What do you do?" Which is another way of saying, "What are you?" and thus we define one another by our vocations. I wonder how we would respond if, on meeting us, people would ask, "Who are you?" I'm not sure many of us would know what to say, because without our work, we don't know who we are.

It's not surprising, then, that retirement frustrates our sense of self-regard. We're no longer needed; we're not in demand. We have no colleagues to impress and no one to command or control. We're left out of the circles of power. Our advice is no longer sought. We're nobodies. As J. R. R. Tolkien's hobbit Merry said to Treebeard, "We always seem to have got left out of the old lists and the old stories."

But what if we view all these losses as a good thing? For losses, properly understood, become the means by which we gain more of Christ and find rest in His love for us.

Paul, who was a man of great accomplishment and reputation, wrote, "Whatever things were gain to me [in the past], those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ." (Philippians 3:7-8 NASB)

There is really only one thing necessary: resting in the love of the One who is Love itself. Everything else is "rubbish," to use Paul's word - skuballa in Greek - a harsh word that literally means "excrement." This is Paul's measure of his losses when compared to his gain: the infinite love of Christ.

Truth be known, our vocations will never bring us complete satisfaction, no matter what we've achieved. While work is part of the created order, and God certainly does bless the work of our hands, our own efforts and anxious endeavors will never bring us the ultimate satisfaction we crave. Rest and peace come only from living in the love of God.

We should welcome retirement, for in it we're released . . .

From anxious thoughts how wealth may be increased,
How to secure, in some propitious
(promising) hour,
The point of interest or the post of power . . .
Safe from the clamors
(demands) of perverse dispute,
At least are friendly to the great pursuit
[of God].

Put another way, retirement provides an opportunity to purify our hearts. A pure heart is an undivided heart in which there is but one desire: to be loved by our Lord Jesus and to love Him in return. (Psalm 86:11) In that love we possess the joy we sought but never found in all our work or play, and thus, like Homer's Odysseus, may ebb away gently, "full of years and peace of mind.


Hackney'd (dull and meaningless) in business, wearied at that oar,
Which thousands, once fast chain'd to, quit no more,
But which, when life at ebb runs weak and low,
All with, or seem to wish, the could forego;
The statesman, lawyer, merchant, man of trade,
Pants for the refuge of some rural shade,
Where, all his long anxieties forgot
Amid the charms of a sequester'd
(secluded) spot . . .

- William Cowper


Hackney'd in business
PHOTO: Hackney'd in business, wearied at that oar, . . . when life at ebb runs weak and low,
All with, or seem to wish, the could forego; Where, all his long anxieties forgot amid the charms of a sequester'd (secluded) spot . . . - William Cowper
Picture posted by Spencer Alley on Tuesday, 28 November 2017

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjymaJ29EamaXVlJTzWhZ83LtZdqW5dl59UXLO2uVPVigScYO-lOXCUw_a2aIhJXkktUb5NrdnPCGOHYMIMSrSp9uG50sLa91bKDcqxs7eBOU7YaeC924f8hSvSlMLurLCmi-c_jGDBWUs3drPVErVDJCQd9u6yWnHM48B3BazDRQ038VBdxjRYTn_c=s1600
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl1h7CvT4TQxIJFYve-smIKM8rVHOoFwtZtCnDCQaA0xItOezmP8qDNAftuU4Al3Od5HWDgr-v0KFfxxilS1YYX62kclvGcXQOhubqfkwvSCjqI52jHnLemCcl7b1eYCZBo7973rL9KTI/s1600/Goltzius-Hendrik-print-Oceanus-c1589-90-chiaroscuro-woodcut-Metropolitan-Museum-of-Art-New-York.jpg
http://spenceralley.blogspot.com/2017/11/classical-myths-as-chiaroscuro-woodcuts.html



In Homer's Odyssey, battle-weary Odysseus sets sail for Ithaca, his island home off the coast of Greece, after long years of fighting at Troy. Along the way he encounters the goddess Circe who tells him he must go to the underworld to consult the ghost of an old prophet, Teiresias, from whom he would gain wisdom for his last years on earth.


In Homer's Odyssey, battle-weary Odysseus sets sail for Ithaca, his island home off the coast of Greece, after long years of fighting at Troy.
PHOTO: In Homer's Odyssey, battle-weary Odysseus sets sail for Ithaca, his island home off the coast of Greece, after long years of fighting at Troy. Along the way he encounters the goddess Circe who tells him he must go to the underworld to consult the ghost of an old prophet, Teiresias, from whom he would gain wisdom for his last years on earth.
Picture posted by iMedia on 05 March 2022 at 20:11 HKT - Circe, the love of the goddess and the witch

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCDyUp8aqnFsariQXU6tUVQihrZZnAYPFPr3XYbwytYj6TX5Zj-rIT5RrnDgif9hIc22St3HyOKOD94lR4KYzTX4EKKhZ5-i51IHX47-STnuBZl_y6Mgge5H9fWxKxt12_YeSuerz7tkZpyHh3IZMEJOeSvs1zveTFafeoiC9-v_yMXJjZ3Zp9FM31=s1920
https://p1-tt.byteimg.com/origin/pgc-image/9674c81354b343eb90f733b3578cefd4.jpg
https://min.news/en/culture/e024fb67c4dd857c925a79ca0bc37675.html



Later, on the edge of Hades, Odysseus does indeed meet the seer who instructs him: "When you get home. . . you must take a well-made oar and carry it on and on, till you come to a country where the people have never heard of the sea and do not even mix salt with their food, nor do they know anything about ships, and oars that are as the wings of a ship. I will give you this certain token which cannot escape your notice. A wayfarer will meet you and will say it must be a winnowing shovel that you have got upon your shoulder; on this you must fix the oar in the ground."


On the edge of Hades, Odysseus does indeed meet the seer who instructs him
PHOTO: On the edge of Hades, Odysseus does indeed meet the seer who instructs him: "When you get home. . . you must take a well-made oar and carry it on and on, till you come to a country where the people have never heard of the sea and do not even mix salt with their food, nor do they know anything about ships, and oars that are as the wings of a ship. I will give you this certain token which cannot escape your notice. A wayfarer will meet you and will say it must be a winnowing shovel that you have got upon your shoulder; on this you must fix the oar in the ground."
Picture posted by Joe Fassler on 19 May 2015

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiK3t9H8_q35TaPxJ-KVIV3i2LYD6FzcqAHj_Oli4RTZS7ExhxhQgo5dWxw_zoFsI44BulgMl1Dqh0X9csD9AK6N8jKwAWe7NXJaXa0UQjet1PSVQOUnDLmpG8pDJmB-L5ZsCwSncTjf8Z1drICOJZhMcMKWoxVz6fJq5M7i22ldmID43UNp5yVcL2s=s996
https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/2BgxYOG3YiSNLFog5mCLfH-YmGM=/86x46:1114x1610/655x997/media/img/posts/2015/05/North2/original.jpg
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/05/by-heart-writing-means-wandering-into-the-unknown/393602/



Odysseus was to leave his oar - the sign of his lifelong vocation - in a far-off place where people had never heard of the sea or his sea-going exploits. Then, the prophet promised, "Your life shall ebb away gently when you are full of years and peace of mind, and your people will bless you."

Battle weary Odysseus had faced adventure after adventure for years as he tried to get home. Yet though "hackney'd [bored] in business, wearied at that oar," he was still striving to find meaning in his sea-going "work." Thus, "leaving his oar in that far-off place" becomes a vivid metaphor for leaving his work behind. Only then can he "ebb away gently, full of years and peace of mind." For most of us, however, leaving our work behind can be more difficult than it sounds.


Odysseus was to leave his oar - the sign of his lifelong vocation - in a far-off place where people had never heard of the sea or his sea-going exploits.
PHOTO: Odysseus was to leave his oar - the sign of his lifelong vocation - in a far-off place where people had never heard of the sea or his sea-going exploits. Then, the prophet promised, "Your life shall ebb away gently when you are full of years and peace of mind, and your people will bless you."
For most of us, however, leaving our work behind can be more difficult than it sounds.
Picture posted by Artlamp - Circe

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIhMWFv-j0dCiFXV2FIIGKYGDOX9jEsPfCVQoKbrfteByeAUuSelQhyu46hIruGv9tNpGbpvhhQVxo9KUKx94MaL_VVn3ewgB2eyJxW4-z8J2JKa8wa7P6EDzK0bgsDHPvBJcLubkcVdlvlSWae-Lk1Zpcrw0XWsrR922IkygxjlD8KT819QT4W60s=s2048
https://s3.ap-northeast-2.amazonaws.com/img.stibee.com/24677_1626927922.jpg
https://artlamp.org/artletter/?q=YToxOntzOjEyOiJrZXl3b3JkX3R5cGUiO3M6MzoiYWxsIjt9&bmode=view&idx=7332116&t=board



I have a friend who, until this past summer, was a veteran pilot for a major airline. We happened to run into one another the day he reached mandatory retirement age. "Last night I made a very difficult landing in a snowstorm in Chicago with several hundred lives in my hands. To my crew and passengers I was a god!" he mused. "Today I'm no one at all."

Most retirees can identify. Retirement not only robs us of our work, it may also rob us of our self-worth, for so much of our sense of worth is tied up in what we do.


Most retirees can identify.
PHOTO: Most retirees can identify. Retirement not only robs us of our work, it may also rob us of our self-worth, for so much of our sense of worth is tied up in what we do.
MarketWatch photo illustration/iStockphoto
Picture posted by Alessandra Malito on 14 January 2022 at 6:00 a.m. ET

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDqTZpTb46NnUchxoK0pj7_TMWOQhSebJd0hJpbr_GUkrzoeeGL4QBvtSIttMMSCbxkjGv1EDfj285-fLlCsPKp1iCf-UqiGdHkWnpsDvJdMIiUoo1ZKJFZ0Yfl5ysAiVifsvOuXaibvIYMSR2qS_WupDm4DVL--rZt9NgwTjVJVQash0xB7u5gfue=s1280
https://images.mktw.net/im-467536
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/i-retired-at-50-went-back-to-work-at-53-then-had-a-major-medical-issue-that-left-me-unemployed-theres-no-such-thing-as-a-safe-amount-of-money-for-retirement-11642133454



It's significant to me that one of the first things people say when they first meet is, "What do you do?" Which is another way of saying, "What are you?" and thus we define one another by our vocations. I wonder how we would respond if, on meeting us, people would ask, "Who are you?" I'm not sure many of us would know what to say, because without our work, we don't know who we are.

It's not surprising, then, that retirement frustrates our sense of self-regard. We're no longer needed; we're not in demand. We have no colleagues to impress and no one to command or control. We're left out of the circles of power. Our advice is no longer sought. We're nobodies. As J. R. R. Tolkien's hobbit Merry said to Treebeard, "We always seem to have got left out of the old lists and the old stories."


It's not surprising that retirement frustrates our sense of self-regard.
PHOTO: It's not surprising that retirement frustrates our sense of self-regard. We're no longer needed; we're not in demand. We have no colleagues to impress and no one to command or control. We're left out of the circles of power. Our advice is no longer sought. We're nobodies.
MarketWatch photo illustration/iStockphoto
Picture posted by Alessandra Malito on 24 June 2021 at 7:05 a.m. ET

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgC62LpCKp2FZRNjiQt9kbxO8nPb8GXE7nEzG-D1QU4OUfwuGWsMYZDdpDt5OQ6k8SQDQIJZapc4Dr1xhHCuztRduzsLjI6wNKJ0k6q41U7I9kRWvpvNacTYngNxSZAYS3cQZQZOj0bX0s2GJZFO-4V4XyjuRAsKBk1kANGzzqOOrQpXlyIvGRSsEyK=s1280
https://images.mktw.net/im-343674?width=1280&size=1.33333333
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/we-have-7-million-for-retirement-but-i-feel-bad-about-not-working-should-i-retire-anyway-11624314423



But what if we view all these losses as a good thing? For losses, properly understood, become the means by which we gain more of Christ and find rest in His love for us.

Paul, who was a man of great accomplishment and reputation, wrote, "Whatever things were gain to me [in the past], those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ." (Philippians 3:7-8 NASB) [326]


Paul, who was a man of great accomplishment and reputation
PHOTO: Paul, who was a man of great accomplishment and reputation, wrote, "Whatever things were gain to me [in the past], those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ." (Philippians 3:7-8 NASB)
Picture posted by SlidePllayer, Slide 32
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYyjMf9vGDjiVREQLcCV3ltv-ethI9LKI8AirLxtQhPYpNRJVfcva5qZSdeqJx4RSn7E2NNcyBVegOHbBERinbhYvBZUydBIcXYT81qNfE8I8TodW0tOJrZTS4iAAHV7Xjr-KLhCJq1iYBj4U27Iw9LcuyjPf9IwJ8NNc_Ck7UiNM91D94RdiLCTCy=s960
https://images.slideplayer.com/15/4769151/slides/slide_32.jpg
https://slideplayer.com/slide/4769151/



There is really only one thing necessary: resting in the love of the One who is Love itself. Everything else is "rubbish," to use Paul's word - skuballa in Greek - a harsh word that literally means "excrement." This is Paul's measure of his losses when compared to his gain: the infinite love of Christ.

Truth be known, our vocations will never bring us complete satisfaction, no matter what we've achieved. While work is part of the created order, and God certainly does bless the work of our hands, our own efforts and anxious endeavors will never bring us the ultimate satisfaction we crave. Rest and peace come only from living in the love of God.


There is really only one thing necessary: resting in the love of the One who is Love itself.
PHOTO: There is really only one thing necessary: resting in the love of the One who is Love itself. Everything else is "rubbish," to use Paul's word - skuballa in Greek - a harsh word that literally means "excrement." This is Paul's measure of his losses when compared to his gain: the infinite love of Christ.
Rest and peace come only from living in the love of God.
Picture posted by Michelle Cox, Bible Verses About Faith on 06 June 2018

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2VgxKHlYjHl0B1P3IGsPU2U9qZkSNhOSvTWDVmUL3ntkQJswMkMNOZ61LueSQk80CUa8_jNEQKbyP0y3cIiV2qK2otyz7s-obRpZOjkQB5XYbs3LZuRj2V0bBsRcrE-_MdhJ2c_gnnvLa-lVFOmEVqYGYOtf3dvVBoPB2B8UhOtIyijOJlLBT6BR_=s1540
https://www.guideposts.org/sites/default/files/styles/hero_box_left_lg/public/blog_post/field_of_flowers.jpg
https://www.guideposts.org/bible-verses/bible-verses-about-faith/3-bible-verses-about-gods-presence



We should welcome retirement, for in it we're released . . .

From anxious thoughts how wealth may be increased,
How to secure, in some propitious
(promising) hour,
The point of interest or the post of power . . .
Safe from the clamors
(demands) of perverse dispute,
At least are friendly to the great pursuit
[of God].
[327]


We should welcome retirement
PHOTO: We should welcome retirement, for in it we're released from anxious thoughts on how wealth may be increased, how to secure, in some propitious hour, the point of interest or the post of power. We can be safe from the clamours of perverse dispute, and at least are friendly to the great pursuit of God.
Picture posted by Passionfortheword on 17 January 2018
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiR_1NcVe05QDlBOuJuOktjvcsYx1pdKRoJfX3xXs0SgtR26dDh_fwjY8bVXpUwqBeSt1qr2oMo5H5JMh6x9-YJMCmQFIGnUE1a6qWXAPkEjyeW2VPHc2XVSHnM8_TJvE8_HpwcZf2NEGL47x5m1fYaOUTG2VnCfGln45rFMbTFIMXYXNFd6A8YXAyD=s1536
https://i0.wp.com/pasionporlapalabra.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Dios-ilumina-nuestras-vidas.jpg?resize=768%2C562&ssl=1
http://pasionporlapalabra.com/las-tinieblas-la-luz/



Put another way, retirement provides an opportunity to purify our hearts. A pure heart is an undivided heart in which there is but one desire: to be loved by our Lord Jesus and to love Him in return. (Psalm 86:11) [328] In that love we possess the joy we sought but never found in all our work or play, and thus, like Homer's Odysseus, may ebb away gently, "full of years and peace of mind."


Our retirement provides an opportunity to purify our hearts.
PHOTO: Our retirement provides an opportunity to purify our hearts. A pure heart is an undivided heart in which there is but one desire: to be loved by our Lord Jesus and to love Him in return.
In that love we possess the joy we sought but never found in all our work or play, and thus may ebb away gently,
‘full of years and peace of mind.
Picture posted by Peter Lundell - Engaging the Supernatural
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHuXX5L9VEaaYNryyMpqhemV3StH59MgpN9opnt-74mH8Q1uRpKedPTgYNgXVNCdIB7HVTHr7TPpYFS-Gt2woOBC6n2vjYIJ-p_-pf04fU9zHFMw8EDbKdXDMsfslL4-IpU5_zT7xg33c/s640/supernatural-power-bible_si.jpg
https://www1.cbn.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_xl_640x480/public/supernatural-power-bible_si.jpg?itok=_HBkYahp
https://www1.cbn.com/engaging-the-supernatural-part-2
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2021/01/reflection-health-and-frailties_26.html



Dear Lord
PHOTO: "Dear Lord, we learn from the story of Odyssey that we need to leave our lifelong vocation so that our life can ebb away gently when we are full of years and peace of mind, and our people will bless us.

But Lord, for most of us leaving our work behind can be more difficult than it sounds. Most retirees can identify. Retirement not only robs us of our work, it may also rob us of our self-worth, for so much of our sense of worth is tied up in what we do.

We define one another by our vocations Many of us without our work don't know who we are.

Retirement frustrates our sense of self-regard. We're no longer needed; we're not in demand. We have no colleagues to impress and no one to command or control. We're left out of the circles of power. Our advice is no longer sought. We're nobodies.

Lord, we learn that we can view all these losses as a good thing. For losses, properly understood, become the means by which we gain more of Christ and find rest in His love for us.

We learn from Paul that all things are counted to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. He suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish so that he may gain Christ. There is really only one thing necessary: resting in the love of the One who is Love itself. Everything else is ‘rubbish,’ to use Paul's word.

We learn that our vocations will never bring us complete satisfaction, no matter what we've achieved. While work is part of the created order, and God certainly does bless the work of our hands, our own efforts and anxious endeavours will never bring us the ultimate satisfaction we crave. Rest and peace come only from living in the love of God.

Lord, may we welcome retirement, for in it we're released from anxious thoughts on how wealth may be increased, how to secure, in some propitious hour, the point of interest or the post of power. We can be safe from the clamours of perverse dispute, and at least are friendly to the great pursuit of God.

We pray that our retirement provides an opportunity to purify our hearts. A pure heart is an undivided heart in which there is but one desire: to be loved by our Lord Jesus and to love Him in return.

May in that love we possess the joy we sought but never found in all our work or play, and thus may ebb away gently, ‘full of years and peace of mind.’

Through Lord Jesus Christ we pray. Amen!
"
Picture posted by Zari
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj46fu3NSTCVhIvTWsvY0VQo2w9sxfg6jMCNhbqAKh4CFqAFyNfDfpaPS-dGjVXTQ66iU14J6-nDqZpAP9kTrWajrBnVoCPMp3664ywDpTPxeIcUw13D6BqVMTpzFpDREIFDcRKpz4G0SZdRxerwJ4Du3nprjlgynZrm_PBC0rB4N-cq1bQ2R8gHqCV=s1024
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/47/6a/e0/476ae09ecb98b0bde451721d6229bdf7.jpg
https://ar.pinterest.com/pin/6403624460955754/


Reflection - Number Our Days - Retirement
Source (book): "Teach Us to Number Our Days", Chapter 62, "Retirement", Page 288.
By David Roper, Pastor, and regular and popular writer for Our Daily Bread.



Other Books

"Faithful to the end", A Preacher's Exposition of 2 Timothy, @ 2014 by Robert M. Solomon

'Faithful to the end', A Preacher's Exposition of 2 Timothy, @ 2014 by Robert M. Solomon<br>
Reflection - Faithful to the end (Links)
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2017/06/reflection-faithful-to-end-links.html


"Finding rest for the soul" Responding to Jesus' Invitation in Matthew 11:28-29, ©
2016 by Robert M. Solomon

Reflection - Finding rest for the soul (Links)
Reflection - Finding rest for the soul (Links)
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2018/10/reflection-finding-rest-for-soul-links.html


"God in Pursuit" Lessons from the Book of Jonah, ©
2016 by Robert M. Solomon

'Reflection - God in Pursuit (Links) - PART I-III, posted on Saturday, 10 August 2019
Reflection - God in Pursuit (Links) - PART I-III, posted on Saturday, 10 August 2019
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2019/08/reflection-god-in-pursuit-links-part-i.html


"God in Pursuit" Lessons from the Book of Jonah, ©
2016 by Robert M. Solomon

'Reflection - God in Pursuit (Links) - PART IV, posted on Saturday, 10 August 2019
Reflection - God in Pursuit (Links) - PART IV, posted on Saturday, 10 August 2019
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2019/08/reflection-god-in-pursuit-links-part-iv.html
 


"Songs of Christmas", The Stories and Significance of 20 Well-Loved Carols, ©
2018 by Robert M. Solomon

Reflection - Songs of Christmas (Links), posted on Friday, 24 April 2020
Reflection - Songs of Christmas (Links), posted on Friday, 24 April 2020

https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2020/04/reflection-songs-of-christmas-links.html
 

"Growing Old Gracefully", Following Jesus to the End, © 2019 by Robert M. Solomon

Reflection - Growing Old Gracefully, Part I - III (Links), posted on Wednesday, 09 December 2020
Reflection - Growing Old Gracefully, Part I - III (Links), posted on Wednesday, 09 December 2020
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2020/12/reflection-growing-old-gracefully-part.html
 

Reflection - Growing Old Gracefully, Part IV - V (Links), posted on Thursday, 22 April 2021
Reflection - Growing Old Gracefully, Part IV - V (Links), posted on Thursday, 22 April 2021
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2020/12/reflection-growing-old-gracefully-part_9.html
 

"Teach Us to Number Our Days", © 2008 by David Roper

Reflection - Number Our Days, Chapter 1 - 40 (Links), posted on Tuesday, 16 November 2021
Reflection - Number Our Days, Chapter 1 - 40 (Links), posted on Tuesday, 16 November 2021
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2021/11/reflection-number-our-days-chapter-1-40.html
 


Reference
[1] From "Teach Us to Number Our Days", Copyright © 2008 by David Roper, ISBN 978-981-11-7184-0, Chapter 62, "Retirement", Page 288-292.

[326] Philippians 3:7-8 NASB

[327] William Cowper, "Retirement."

[328] See David's prayer in Psalm 86:11.


Links


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