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New every morning is your love, great God of light, and all day long you are working for good in the world. Stir up in us desire to serve you, to live peacefully with our neighbors and all your creation, and to devote each day to your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

"A Liturgy for Morning Prayer," Upper Room Worshipbook

Used by permission from the Book of Common Worship, © 2018 Westminster John Knox Press. All rights reserved. This prayer appears in “A Liturgy for Morning Prayer” in Upper Room Worshipbook.

Living with Purpose in a Worn-Out Body

Spiritual Encouragement for Older Adults

Missy Buchanan • May 2008

BUY Print $11.99

BUY eBook (Available in ePub or Kindle) $9.99

"Why am I still here? Why is God letting me suffer so long?"

Frailty, dependence, and constant pain can lead to spiritual hopelessness in older adults. While we're inspired by occasional news about an extraordinary centenarian who swims every day, it's more common to grieve and wonder as loved ones grow feeble.

With compassion and honesty, Buchanan gives voice to the those who have to depend on others for assistance with daily tasks. She leads caregivers and those in their care to see that living with purpose in old age is an extension of the challenges lived all along:

  • learning to offer our will to God's
  • trusting God's grace
  • continuing to respond with the joy and fortitude of faith

Buchanan fosters empathy for the frail elderly and expresses their deepest concerns without tap-dancing around the tough issues. Forty-two short, comforting devotions offer spiritual encouragement to those who now cope with daily limitations and failing health.

The devotions are written in the first person, allowing readers to speak directly to God about their concerns. Supporting scriptures from the New Testament and Psalms are included with each meditation. Buchanan writes to the experiences of lifelong Christians as well as elderly non-believers who are thinking anew about God.

Help someone you love find a reason and way to live out God's purpose in spite of their limitations.


Categories: Older Adults
An advocate for older adults, Missy Buchanan is an internationally recognized author and speaker on issues of aging faithfully, drawing from her personal experience as a caregiver for her own aging parents. She has appeared twice on Good Morning America with coanchor Robin Roberts, who describes Missy as “the rare soul that understands, truly understands, older adults: their fears, struggles, and hopes.” With thousands of followers on Twitter and Facebook, Missy provides daily insight and encouragement for the journey of aging. Her first book, Living with Purpose in a Worn-Out Body, remains a top seller in addition to seven other titles that are often found on bedside tables in senior living communities and in church libraries. Her newest book, Beach Calling: A Devotional Journal for the Middle Years and Beyond, will release in summer 2019. Missy has been a speaker at hundreds of churches, senior living communities, and aging conferences including the National Boomer Ministry Conference, the Festival of Wisdom and Grace, and the Presbyterian Older Adult Ministries Network National Conference. She has delivered messages about caregiving and faithful aging to churches of many denominations, including the largest United Methodist Church in the United States—Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas. She has also been a featured speaker aboard cruises for Educational Opportunities Tours. A resident of Rockwall, Texas, Missy enjoys regular visits to senior living communities in her area to see her older adult friends, being a greeter at her local church, and basking in her favorite role of all: grandmother.

ISBN: 978-0-8358-9942-0

Kindle ISBN: 978-0-8358-1205-4

EPub ISBN: 978-0-8358-1203-0

Imprint: Upper Room

Pub Date: May 2008

Trim Size: 6 in (w) x 9 in (h) x 0.199 in (d)

Page Count: 96

BISAC Categories: FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS / Life Stages / Later Years

BISAC1: FAM005000

BISAC2: REL012120

BISAC3: REL012020

"These are meditations of the heart — full of faith and hope. Though we may experience fear and discouragement, this book invites us to remember that God's energies are at work silently but powerfully throughout all of life. Living with Purpose in a Worn-out Body is a perfect gift for frail elderly and the people who care for them."
— Rev. Dr. Richard H. Gentzler Jr. Director, Center on Aging & Older Adult Ministries (GBOD)

"Living with Purpose in a Worn-out Body is a wonderful collection of devotions that speaks to the issues and concerns faced by the frail in their everyday lives. In simple yet powerful language, this book offers hope and encouragement for the frail as they seek the reassurance that God is always with them."
— Karla Woodward Program Director, Silver Link Ministries The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Lenwood, Kansas

"I think this book should be a staple — the Gideon's Bible of the nursing homes. What comfort a family who is trying so desperately to copy could take from just opening "Living with Purpose in a Worn-Out Body." It will turn itself through the Lord's hand to the right page." --Maroba Zoeller, Ed.D

"Missy has a new "fan" in East Tennessee. My mom, Katherine Henninger, is 91. After reading library copy of Living with Purpose in a Worn Out Body, Mother wanted her own copy. In fact she ordered two. She has kept one and has given one to her pastor. She asked me to send her appreciation for such a perfect book. She has really benefitted from the topics spoken about by you and Scripture." --Barbara Watson