Living life with steps of faith

I just want to go Christmas shopping to purchase gifts for our nonexistent child. My love language is gifts.  I love giving gifts. Tonight we gathered with our large in quantity extended family to celebrate Christmas. We watched as everyone else opened gifts.  It was quite depressing for the two of us.  The generation ahead of us exchanges gifts with each other.  The generation below us receive gifts from several people.  Our generation exchanges gifts, except those assigned to us in the name exchange live out of town. Gift giving/receiving is my love language. I shopped for gifts for some of the kids in our church.  It was nice.  But I didn't allow myself to dream about the gifts we would purchase our kids if we had them.  I had to turn off my emotions to some degree in order to shop. This is a difficult Christmas.  God has been gracious in providing others to lead worship.  This morning I had a break through for the message fo...

Chapter 2 - "Don't Retire from Life" 1. What are/were you most looking forward to about retirement? How were you or someone you know surprised by retirement? 2. "Old is authentic. Old is genuine. Old is valuable." (p. 18-19)  How did reading this make you feel? 3. What new biblical perspective did this chapter shed light on? 4. On page 20 Billy writes, "The generations that follow are learning about growing old from us."  What are we teaching them? 5. How can we as a church help people prepare for retirement and use retirement years well? 6. How can those who are retired support those who are working? 7. How can we as a church better minister to both groups of people?

Chapter 1 - "Running Toward Home" 1. What did Billy Graham say in this chapter? 2. How is the life you have lived different than the life you had planned? (Billy Graham's baseball story) 3. When Billy talks about "remembrance" on pages 4 and 5, what does he say we are to remember? 4. Billy shares several Biblical stories of ordinary men and women in their old age acting with great faith.  He then says (p. 14), "old age may have its limitations and challenges, but in spite of them our later years can be the most rewarding and fulfilling of our lives.  It was for them, and it can be for us." What was your reaction to these biblical examples and this statement by Billy? 5.  Is there a message in this chapter for us at this church?