Old Guy's Guide to Living Young

Bob Barnes

Description

Bestselling author Bob Barnes shares the secrets to a vibrant and faith-filled life with readers of all ages. Drawing from his experience as a husband--married more than 57 years to Emilie Barnes--and a respected patriarch, businessman, author, and man of faith, Barnes provides brief, inspiring chapters about how to be young at heart by strengthening a heart for God let hope influence trials and daily routine live out devotion to God with discipline and commitment model compassion and generosity in practical ways build an influential foundation with humor and wisdom Readers will be encouraged by these life-transforming attitudes, actions, and priorities that will make an eternal impression on their quality of life and on those they love.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Harvest House Publishers, Inc.
• Date de parution: 01 octobre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780736952767
• Langue: English

Extrait

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible , 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. ( www.Lockman.org )
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
Verses marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Verses marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Verses marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Cover illustration Cedric Hohnstadt: www.cedricstudio.com
Cover by Dugan Design Group, Bloomington, Minnesota
Harvest House Publishers has made every effort to trace the ownership of all poems and quotes. In the event of a question arising from the use of a poem or quote, we regret any error made and will be pleased to make the necessary correction in future editions of this book.
AN OLD GUY S GUIDE TO LIVING YOUNG
Copyright 2013 by Bob Barnes
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Barnes, Bob, 1933-
An old guy s guide to living young / Bob Barnes.
pages cm
ISBN 978-0-7369-5275-0 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-5276-7 (eBook)
1. Conduct of life. 2. Success. I. Title.
BJ1589.B37 2013
248.4-dc23
2013020200
All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author s and publisher s rights is strictly prohibited.
Dedication
I dedicate this book to all of you who want to make an impact on the next generation. By picking up this book, you ve already affirmed that you want to continue to influence your children, your grandchildren, and the people around you. Your offspring will remember you long after you re no longer here on earth in your present form. They will think back and ask, What would Grandpa do in this situation?
Attitude is so important in staying young in thoughts and actions as we get older. I ve been blessed with good health. I ve learned to laugh often. And I ve remained moderate in my behavior. At an early age I established my faith in God, and I ve used His principles and the teachings of His Son, Jesus, as my lighthouse. I hope the thoughts in this book will help you draw closer to God, your family, your friends, and the next generation.
I encourage you to continue to stay informed regarding your family members lives. You have a great classroom to teach those who follow after you.

By wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established; And by knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches.
P ROVERBS 24:3-4 NASB
Acknowledgments
The writer of a book gets much of the credit for creating the content, but it takes the competent staff of the publisher to make a total package of the actual end product-the book.
I would like to give credit to all of those at Harvest House Publishers who made this book possible.
There is one person in particular who deserves special recognition-Hope Lyda, my editor. Without her creativity in arranging the text and forming cohesive chapters, it wouldn t have come together as it has. Hope, thank you for your belief in and dedication to this project. I appreciate your many hours dedicated to this book. My hat is off to you for your insightful contributions.
Contents
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Ace the Test of Time!
1
Laugh Lines Are Free, but Wisdom Is Earned
2
A Good Man Loves Thanksgiving-Unless He s a Turkey
3
Now s the Time for a Modeling Career
4
I Married a Good Woman; She Married a Work-in-Progress
5
When It Comes to Family, Everything Is Relative!
6
Sometimes We Have to Lose Our Grip to Gain Our Balance
7
Get into Movies Cheap, but Don t Forget to Live Rich
8
Even Old Bones Can Take a Leap of Faith
9
Legacies Are Hand-Me-Downs People Actually Want
10
Aim to Connect by Shooting the Breeze
11
Keep On Keeping On
Notes
About the Author
Ace the Test of Time!
T oday I face two big events in my life. I m mentally preparing to take my driver s license renewal test for the state of California, and I m emotionally preparing to celebrate my eightieth birthday this weekend. In both cases, I m ready. I m even glad to welcome the achievements of the small and big milestones they represent. To prepare for a driver s test, we know what to do: study the manual and learn the laws. But how can we prepare for our later years? Is there any grade, such as pass or no pass, when it comes to the test of time?
Yes, there is! How can we make sure we ll pass? We can ace the test of time by continuing to be young at heart. Yes, there will be a time when we quit having birthdays. At that point, God will hopefully say to each of us, Well done, good and faithful servant! That will be the ultimate thumbs up! We get an A+, so we get to go to the head of the class.
I don t know about you, but I look forward to the day the Lord reviews my life and my heart and sees that I ve worked hard to be faithful, loyal, and compassionate. Oh what a day that will be! But until that day comes, I will continue to prepare by being an old guy who lives young by staying active; loving my family; caring deeply and sharing openly with the people I encounter, especially when it comes to younger folks; and looking forward to the new adventures God has in store. I hope that s what you want to do too!
Time Is on Our Side
Time moves along quickly and takes us with it, whether we want that or not. Sometimes we turn around and barely recall all that has happened in our wake. But ready or not here we are. We have arrived at this stage in life that gives us the high calling of being seniors. We ve been fortunate to endure the ups and downs of life to arrive at this sacred throne of honor.
Many people think time is the enemy, but I say time is on our side when we live each moment with gratitude and a willingness to keep growing into the men of God we were born to be. Time is on our side when we look at the clock and, instead of mourning its forward motion, acknowledge the gift of another wonderful hour to spend with a loved one or gazing in awe at the sunset.
I want to encourage you and me to celebrate the honor of being in this place in our lives. No matter what our ages, I pray we ll glean some great lessons along this journey we re embarking on. Through inspirational stories, bits of wisdom, and some godly principles, we ll discover how we can best help those who are younger than we are.
Let s jump right in and enjoy this season. It can be the most exciting and blessed of all our seasons so far. I love the sentiment in this quote: Today is the oldest you ve been, yet the youngest you ll ever be, so enjoy it while it lasts (author unknown).
Earning an A+
When we view our lives as gifts from God and the way we live our lives as gifts to those who come after us (and to God), we will ace the test of time. Even though our bodies tell us-even shout at us- We re getting old! we can still let those around us know we re young in heart, thought, and spirit. We can model a vibrant, open to learning, loving attitude for every person we encounter.
Will Rogers, the great American humorist, said, Eventually you will reach a point in life when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it. He also said, When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to your youth, just think about Algebra. What good reminders! Our test is not to relive and redo our younger years, complete with its trials and triumphs. No, our goal is to walk with integrity and joy through right now. God said through Moses,
I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live (Deuteronomy 30:19 NIV ).
For those of us still in the first half of life, may the thoughts in this book give us encouragement to nurture and model godly character. For those of us living in the second half of life, may we continue to press on in shining splendor to please God. While we are all seeking to shine brightly as examples of living young, let us also take time to notice the bright aspects of living long-and there are many! Here are some pluses to whet a positive mindset:
We receive senior discounts on food, lodging, and prescription drugs.
We have less peer pressure.
We don t have to pay a penalty when we withdraw from retirement accounts.
We forget names, but it s okay because other people forget they even know us.
Our old faces still reflect our loving hearts.
I hope to encourage you as we explore a wide variety of topics and special sections that include God s Living Young Wisdom and Your Guide to Living Young. While I m going