Bob Barnes - An Old Guys Guide to Living Young: A Common-Sense Collection of Wit and Wisdom

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

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Cover by Dugan Design Group, Bloomington, Minnesota

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AN OLD GUYS 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 guys 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

248.4dc23

2013020200

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I dedicate this book to all of you who want to make an impact on the next generation. By picking up this book, youve 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 youre 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. Ive been blessed with good health. Ive learned to laugh often. And Ive remained moderate in my behavior. At an early age I established my faith in God, and Ive 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

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 productthe 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 recognitionHope Lyda, my editor. Without her creativity in arranging the text and forming cohesive chapters, it wouldnt 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.

T oday I face two big events in my life. Im mentally preparing to take my drivers license renewal test for the state of California, and Im emotionally preparing to celebrate my eightieth birthday this weekend. In both cases, Im ready. Im even glad to welcome the achievements of the small and big milestones they represent. To prepare for a drivers 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 well 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 dont know about you, but I look forward to the day the Lord reviews my life and my heart and sees that Ive 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 thats what you want to do too!

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. Weve 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 well glean some great lessons along this journey were embarking on. Through inspirational stories, bits of wisdom, and some godly principles, well discover how we can best help those who are younger than we are.

Lets 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 youve been, yet the youngest youll ever be, so enjoy it while it lasts (author unknown).

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 useven shout at usWere getting old! we can still let those around us know were young in heart, thought, and spirit. We can model a vibrant, open to learning, loving attitude for every person we encounter.