601: Birthday Thoughts

Since I turned 63 last Friday, it's time to produce some birthday thoughts on this special occasion. Here they are:

1. My father retired from his work at 62. I have never even thought of retiring now or at any time in the future.
2. My father lived to be 79, my mother 92.  If I follow in either of their steps, I have 16 or 29 years left on earth.
3. For all I know, I may only have one day left. I want to make the most of it, or of the next 29 years, or anything in between - whichever it is.
4. I have never felt better than I do today.
5. I will be walking 40 years with the Lord next month.
6. In case you didn't notice, this is the 601st Monday Memo since I started in March, 2001.  I have never, not once, ever sat down and not had something to write. Writer's block is an unknown phenomenon to me.
7. I miss traveling as much as I once did, but I love being home and doing what I am doing. Am I schizophrenic?  Don't answer that.
8. When you are old, people buy you food for your birthday, which you eat, which causes you to gain weight, which could cause you to have health problems and die early.
9. I used to hear people respond "I got up this morning" when asked, "How are you doing?". I thought that was silly.  Not any longer.
10. When my grandparents were my age, I thought they were ancient. Now when someone dies at 70, I think, "She died young."
11. I am now eligible for all kinds of discounts, when I finally have money to pay full price.
12. I understand why some people go to the mall wearing stripes and plaids, with nothing matching.  When you get older, you care less about things that you were passionate about when younger.
13. This year I have had a growth removed from my eye, may have two wisdom teeth pulled, and will have some minor growths taken off my cheek. Some stuff just stops working, malfunctions, or breaks when you get older.
14. People tell me I don't look my age. I don't want to act my age either.
15. I play games on my smartphone to help keep my mind active - that's really my reason.
    
16. I had a great birthday thanks to my family and so many friends and readers.
17. I am not satisfied with what I have acccomplished to this point in my life. I want more, but that is in God's hands.

I could probably go on and on, but I'll stop there. I had a nice birthday, but didn't get nearly enough underwear for the children in Kenya, so I will accept belated gifts whenever you get around to it (this year I have received about 500 pair and $300 to date; in 2010 I got 2500 pair and $4,000). If you can give, do so through my website or by sending a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882.

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KENYA UPDATE: I heard from Pastor Francis concerning our little Mary, whose boarding school tuition we paid to help her move on with her education. (Mary is pictured at right reciting a poem with a friend on one of my visits.) Please read and then act to provide her tuition for next term and undergarments for young girls like her. You can give through my website or by sending a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882.

A NEW PAGE: I have added a new page to my website that contains many of my spoken messages from the past along with my archived Saturday morning radio shows. This is my gift to you, made possible in large part by my son's untiring efforts to convert many of my old messages from cassette to MP3 files. Thank you J3!  I hope you find things on this page that are helpful to you. I will update it from time to time as we convert other messages and as the radio show continues to gain momentum here locally.