Table of contents for August 2019 in Guideposts

I just returned from a trip to Israel with a group of Guideposts readers. (Hi, guys! Hope everyone got home safe.) We had a wonderful time visiting the iconic sites of the Holy Land. Just as enriching were the conversations we shared. There were several people on the trip in recovery who praised our series of articles on overcoming addiction. A number were veterans who liked our pieces focusing on the challenges of military families. But the one thing everyone had in common was caregiving. Whether for a parent, a child, a spouse or even a pet, we all had something personal to share about the demands and rewards of caregiving. It was a universal point of reference and a place where we all leaned into our faith the most.…

I WALKED INTO MY MOTHER-IN-law’s house, as always, without knocking. My father-in-law, Larry, had died months earlier, but part of me still expected to find him in his recliner in the living room, watching The Waltons on TV. “Hello,” I called out. “I didn’t hear you come in,” Judy said, coming down the hallway from her bedroom. Not her real bedroom. Just the spare room she’d been sleeping in since Larry’s passing. Larry and Judy had been married for 51 years. They’d had nine children; seven were still living. My husband, Eric, and I lived about a quarter mile away, so it was easy to pop in. But the past two years, ever since Larry had had several strokes, either Eric or I had been with Judy nearly constantly, helping…

ARE YOU OKAY?” I ASKED MY friend Sara as we walked to our table in Great China, our favorite restaurant. “I’m just a little out of breath,” she said, sitting slowly. Eight years older than me, at 78, Sara suffered from congestive heart failure. Rheumatic fever had damaged her heart as a child, and her symptoms seemed worse lately. We’d started as neighbors 20 years earlier, in 1994, when I moved into a house on her cul de sac. Sara was long divorced, while my husband had his work to keep him busy. With our children grown, Sara and I had time to indulge ourselves. We bonded over home-baked goods—her favorite was my lemon cake—and international cuisine. We had been there for each other, steadfast, through good times and bad.…

For Only $199 99 “This is truly a miracle…I don’t even know how to begin thanking you for giving me my life back!”— Sherri H., Granville, NY How can a hearing aid that costs only $19999 be every bit as good as one that sells for $2,400 or more? The answer: Although tremendous strides have been made in Advanced Hearing Aid Technology, those cost reductions have not been passed on to you. Until now… MDHearingAid® uses the same kind of Advanced Hearing Aid Technology incorporated into hearing aids that cost thousands more at a small fraction of the price. Over 350,000 satisfied MDHearingAid customers agree: High-quality, FDA-registered hearing aids don’t have to cost a fortune. The fact is, you don’t need to spend thousands for a hearing aid. MDHearingAid is a…

YEARS OF VISUALIZATION Mitch Horowitz’s story The Power of Visualization, in the February 2019 issue of Guideposts, caught my attention. I’ve been practicing visualization for years. I learned about it when I read The Power of Positive Thinking, written by Guideposts co-founder Dr. Norman Vincent Peale. I got a chance to test it out a few weeks later, when a friend of mine, Iris, asked me to give a demonstration at the Wausau Fair on making gum-paste flowers for decorating cakes. At the end of the day, Iris said that the head of a homemakers’ group had enjoyed my lesson. I visualized my teaching going further: I pictured this person calling me up and asking me to lead a class on how to make gum-paste flowers. Months passed, but the…

Finish Strong Join Carol Zemola Garsee (page 14) as she completes her cross-country cycling journey. guideposts.org/carolz Your Greatest You! Tune in for the top faith and wellness tips from our cover star, Trent Shelton (page 28). guideposts.org/trentshelton Count Your Blessings In this exclusive video, monk turned money manager Doug Lynam (page 16) shares his best financial advice. guideposts.org/dougl Back-to-School Prayers Send your kids or grandkids off to school with extra protection. guideposts.org/schoolprayers Keep Your GUIDEPOSTS Coming We make it easy to renew your magazine or manage book series shipments. guideposts.org/ecares…

who she is Carol Zemola Garsee is a 77-year-old cyclist. Though biking since childhood, Carol went on her first long-distance ride (500 miles!) in 1994 for the American Lung Association, after her mother—an avid cyclist—died of lung cancer. She loves that biking keeps her in shape, physically and spiritually. Carol started meditating and praying 12 years ago, after joining Alcoholics Anonymous, and distance cycling helps her focus: “I’m praying while riding. I talk to God.” what she does Carol joined a group of 13 seniors for a cross-country trip from Florida to California. She was the oldest female member to complete the journey; an 81-year-old man biked partway, and a 75-year-old man completed the ride. “There was one young man,” Carol says. “He was 59.” The group biked 50 to…

Diane Stark was right to worry about her widowed mother-in-law. Research shows that social isolation takes a toll on health, well-being and quality of life, especially as we get older. That’s why the Good Samaritan Society developed Kin Ministry, an innovative program that coordinates in-person, phone and video-chat connections between isolated seniors and volunteers from their faith community. Even though “technology can be an important part of the solution for loneliness,” says Denice Dengler, Kin Ministry’s manager, “people still want and need human connection.” Active listening is the key, according to Dengler and Barb Schwery, executive director of BeFriender Ministry, which trains the volunteers. Here are their tips for becoming a better, more active listener: Do some self-reflection. We each have our own communication style, Schwery says. How have your…

BACK IN THE SADDLE When I founded Raise Your Dreams Farms, I thought I was following God’s plan, providing equine therapy for people of all ages and physical situations. People with epilepsy, catastrophic injuries, autism—anyone could benefit from interacting with the horses, who are gentle, sensitive creatures. Then everything went wrong. God, I need a miracle, I thought one morning as I cleaned the stables. The stalls were nearly empty. One horse was at a horse hospital, fighting a catastrophic illness. A sick horse would be terrible anytime, but right now it was a disaster. I’d already lost one horse to heart failure. Another had been struck down by lightning. Only one animal remained for all my classes: a pony not big enough to carry my larger students. Without at…

“No story sits by itself. Our lives connect like threads on a loom, interwoven in ways we never realize.”author MITCH ALBOM “Trees are the only things from our childhood that are bigger when we go back and visit them as adults. Our faith should be like that.”MATTHEW SLEETH, author of Reforesting Faith: What Trees Teach Us About the Nature of God and His Love for Us “You are loved by a God who delights in you and calls you good not because of what you’ve done but because of who you are.”LISA-JO BAKER, from her book The Middle Matters “When life puts you in tough situations, don’t say ‘Why me?’ say ‘Try me.’”from the site Your Daily Bread “I cheer for people. I was raised to believe there’s enough sun…

FROM MONK TO MONEY MANAGER. Not only is that the title of a book I’ve written, but it’s pretty much my résumé. For 20 years, I was a monk, and now I’m a partner at a wealth management company. Sound like two completely different callings? The irony of my life is that I joined a monastery in part to escape the world of finance. I ended up spending more time worrying about money than anyone. Right after graduating from college with a math and philosophy degree, I decided to enter a Benedictine monastery. I was searching for meaning in my life. I thought that if I was ever going to find it, a monastery would be the place. I’d replace the material things in my life with the spiritual. In…

It was a beautiful July evening, the sky still bright. I had all the windows down as I drove home from work, the smell of mowed grass drifting in on the breeze. I rolled to a stop at a red light. I found myself not wanting it to change. I didn’t relish going home to an empty house. My life had been in a tailspin ever since my wife told me that our marriage was over, that she’d met someone else. She filed for divorce soon after that. Two years later, I was still struggling. The traffic light turned green. I eased my foot on the gas. Just as I drove through the intersection, a thought popped into my head, so clear it was almost a command: Pray for your…

Healthy relationships are one of the primary casualties of substance abuse. Addiction above all is a disease of isolation. Friends and family are hurt and bewildered by their addicted loved one’s self-focused and self-destructive behavior. A major task for people in recovery—and their loved ones—is forging relationships built on trust, integrity and love. Why does addiction damage relationships? And can that damage be healed? Alcohol and other drugs cause changes in the brain that severely impair a person’s ability to relate to others. The addicted brain is preoccupied with avoiding withdrawal and maintaining an altered chemical state. A person with a substance use disorder will lie, manipulate and even break off contact with someone who stands in the way of maintaining that chemical equilibrium. Many addicts either are unaware they…

MY HUSBAND SPRANG THE IDEA on me at the last minute that Saturday evening, July 8, 2017. I didn’t even have a chance to go into mission mode. That’s our name for how I like to tackle things, from big projects like moving to everyday stuff like grocery shopping. I go into mission mode—I assess the situation, figure out what needs to be done, then do it. “Let’s have dinner on the beach,” Derek said. He must have seen me hesitate, because he added, “A farewell picnic.” It was his family’s last day with us before they went home to Alabama—his mom and dad, three teenage nieces and a teenage boyfriend. Derek and I don’t have kids, and we loved playing parents for several weeks every summer. I worked at…

Edwina Perkins, Donna deNobriga Winningham and Monica Morris found that their family pets brought their senior loved ones comfort, companionship and joy. Research on the websites of the Human Animal Bond Research Institute and the therapy animal organization Pet Partners supports that spending time with animals gives older adults a physical, emotional and mental boost—reducing depression and pain, enhancing mobility and decreasing dementia-related agitation. In a survey conducted by Home Instead, Inc., franchisor of the Home Instead Senior Care network, people 65 and older who regularly interacted with a pet—their own or someone else’s—scored highest on happiness scales and lowest on loneliness scales. Here’s how seniors can enjoy the benefits of pet interaction without the responsibility of ownership: Hang out at the dog park. You don’t have to own a…

Trent Shelton (Your Greatest You, page 28) doesn’t claim to have all the answers. But in reminding people of simple truths, he has attracted millions on social media. Twitter and Instagram followers of @trentshelton (as well as his Facebook fans) get a steady dose of impactful videos and memes—all part of RehabTime. Trent sees rehab as an acronym: Renewing Every Heart And Body. In his book The Greatest You, he leads readers through forgiving themselves and others, as well as shaping their legacy. Trent has noticed his own young kids like his work. “Maya saw the book at Target and handed it to me,” he says. “Tristan wears RehabTime gear, and I hear him talk about me a lot. That makes me proud.” For more info, go to trentshelton.com. “I…

The thing we value most is your trust. We’re concerned whenever we hear that you’ve been approached by scam artists claiming to represent Guideposts. It can be hard to tell if a sales call or offer in the mail is legitimate because scam artists sound believable. Here are some tips for identifying these deceptive practices. * If you hear from a company saying they represent Guideposts: • Verify the return address and web address. The address for Guideposts’ customer service is P.O. Box 5814, Harlan, IA 51593-1314. The web address is guideposts.org/customerservice. Be skeptical about any offer coming from another address. • Are they offering a renewal or a new subscription? While Guideposts has authorized some third parties to offer subscriptions to benefit schools or local charities, they are for…