Aging Matters: Finding Your Calling for the Rest of Your Life, by R. Paul Stevens

Book Summary and Reflection This is my second time reading Aging Matters. I first read it in 2020, but I don't remember reading it. After seeing a quote in another book, and checking it out on Amazon, I was surprised to find I owned it. My immediate reaction was I'd bought it and not read. Imagine my shock to find nearly 10% of the book was highlighted and I'd recorded it on my book blog—it had obviously struck a chord. As I reread, I found myself thinking more than a few times, "Ha, so this is where I got that idea!" The truths in these pages have quietly shaped my thinking, my teaching, and some decisions—without me realizing how deeply they'd taken root. I've read a few of Steven's books. He was a very early author in the Theology of Work space. As Cathy and I have downsized a few things, including my physical library, I've kept all of Stevens's books. The kids will have to decide what to do with them! I believe it was C.S. Lewis that said a book wasn't truly read until it'd been read twice. Reading it this time around was a bit of an echo, and it helped clarify. From the book…… R. Paul Stevens challenges the cultural script that aging equals retirement from meaning. Instead, he calls us to renewed vocation in later life. Work is not merely paid employment; it is creative, relational, and redemptive participation in God's world. At every age, our calling is to: Belong to God through communion and intimacy, Live righteously by becoming more like Christ, Serve others through presence, purpose, and faithfulness. Calling doesn't expire—it evolves. It deepens. It finds fresh forms. The invitation from God is ongoing: join Him in what He's doing. Aging itself becomes a spiritual discipline. Stevens describes three invitations: Intensification – a move toward inner stillness and depth. Simplification – a shedding of excess and a focus on what matters. Heavenly-mindedness – seeing life with eternal perspective. In this stage, we confront the vices of aging—like bitterness or resignation—and are invited to cultivate the virtues of late life: faith, hope, and love. These are not automatic. They are forged in the fires of surrender, perseverance, and grace. Stevens redefines legacy: it's not about leaving something behind, but about passing something forward. It's not just financial—it's spiritual, relational, and eternal. He encourages us to: Review life with honesty and grace. Practice progressive relinquishment of roles, control, and even identity. Prepare for death with peace, not fear. The real question isn't, What did you accomplish? It's, Did you live faithfully with what God gave you? Personal Takeaway A lot has happened since I first read Aging. I made it 19 miles in my first marathon attempt. I completed Goggins' 4x4x48 Challenge, finished the 75 Hard Challenge, and did 1,000 pushups in 18 hours. I had a quintuple bypass. And I turned 70. And, most importantly, I seem to have slowly discovered some things about myself and my calling in what Steven's calls the third-third of life. Reading Aging Matters again now, and especially in this discover stage I realize I've been in, doesn't feel like coincidence. It feels like divine timing—like this book showed up again because it still has work to do in me. It was strange laying in that hospital bed two years ago and realizing I'd been reading Gary Black's Preparing for Heaven. Black and Stevens has helped me see aging as more than survival, though that's what it feels like some days. Aging is a calling to try to live intentionally, to try to love deeply, and to try leave a decent legacy. But, finishing well isn't about being remembered—it's about being faithful. I'm afraid one of the hardest things I will have done is to be able to say "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7) and to hear "well done, good and faithful servant" (Luke 19:17). "Train hard, every day" isn't just for the physical part of our being. To that end….. Danny Entrepreneur's Journey Originally posted at  https://dannylsmith.substack.com/p/book-summary-and-reflection-aging

Let Your Life Speak - by Parker J. Palmer

https://dannylsmith.substack.com/p/let-your-life-speak

In Let Your Life Speak, Parker Palmer doesn't hand us a roadmap — he invites us into a journey and it's a process of self-discovery and authenticity that requires us to slow down and pay attention to what our life has already been saying.

What our life has already been saying

Palmer shares from his own story — including seasons of depression, career misalignment, and honest wrestling — and through that, he urges us to listen more closely to our own. He flips the script on vocation. It's not something we chase or achieve. It's something we receive — something that rises up from who we already are, not who we think we have to become.

Our calling isn't out there somewhere. It's embedded in our design — in our gifts, passions, patterns, and even in our pain. Palmer draws a powerful contrast between the true self and the false self — the false self being shaped by other people's expectations, cultural pressure, or our own ambition. But true calling comes from living out of who we really are, even when that means embracing limitations or letting go of certain paths.

Palmer reminds us that the best leadership doesn't come from knowing who you are and leading from that place.

What stood out to me:

• Vocation isn't a decision; it's a discovery. 

• The inner journey — even the hard parts — is where clarity often comes.

• Real leadership flows from wholeness, not performance.

• Your life is already speaking — the question is, are you listening?

"Vocation does not come from willfulness. It comes from listening." That one line sums up the heart of the book — and it's a timely reminder in a world that often demands more hustle than reflection. Sometimes the most courageous thing you can do is be still and listen to what God has already planted in you.

Tim Keller, Gospel in Life Podcasts

I've been listening to and learning from Tim Keller for at least 18 years. Dave Moore, my executive coach at the time, once told me he knew people who went to Columbia University (in New York) so they could go to Tim's church. 

For years, the sermons were only available by purchase to support the Gospel in Life ministries, but are now available free. 

Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life features sermons by Tim Keller, founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City and author of "The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism." The podcast covers a wide range of topics, including faith, theology, and practical Christian living. 

I honestly think I've listen to all 1,000+ at least once. A few dozens of times.

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The Discerning Leader Podcast

The Discerning Leader Podcast is designed for Christian leaders seeking to integrate spiritual discernment into all facets of their lives, relationships, leadership, and service. Hosted by Steve Macchia, founder and president of Leadership Transformations, Inc. (LTI), the podcast features discussions with members of the LTI community, each focusing on different aspects of spiritual discernment as a way of life. 

Leadership Transformations

As of December 2024, the podcast has released 33 seasons, each delving into unique themes related to spiritual growth and leadership. Recent seasons include:

• Season 33: Discerning God With Us – This season invites listeners to explore the Advent season by considering the prophetic promise of Emmanuel, God with us. Episodes address topics such as finding hope in times of despair and seeking healing through faith. 

  Leadership Transformations

• Season 32: Discerning God in the Garden of the Soul – This season uses gardening as a metaphor to explore spiritual growth, discussing how tending to one's soul can lead to a deeper relationship with God. 

  Leadership Transformations

The podcast is available on multiple platforms, including 

Apple Podcasts and Spotify

Listeners have praised the podcast for its thoughtful and reflective content, noting that it provides an opportunity for leaders to pause and be reminded of the importance of spiritual discernment in their personal and professional lives. 

Apple Podcasts

For more information and access to episodes, visit the Leadership Transformations website. 

Leadership Transformations

Rising to the Call, by Os Guinness

The importance of "calling" is a timeless idea that's been central to people of faith for generations. 

In a world that often measures success by titles, promotions, and material gain, Guinness reminds us that there's a deeper, more meaningful way to live. For him, calling isn't just about finding a job or building a career; it's about understanding why you're here, who you're meant to serve, and what you're ultimately called to contribute to the world.

Guinness draws a clear line between two kinds of calling. First, there's our primary calling—to follow God, to let faith be the foundation that guides our choices and shapes our lives. 

Our secondary callings are, well, secondary — the roles we take on in our work, family, and communities. Guinness insists that the real purpose in life comes from this primary calling. Everything else, he says, should flow from that, not the other way around.

The book is full of insights that cut through the noise of modern culture, where the pace and pressure to succeed often drown out the quieter voice calling us to a life of real substance. Guinness speaks to those of us who feel that something vital has been lost in the hurry and hustle of modern life. He challenges readers to remember what really matters and to live with integrity and a sense of duty, as our parents and grandparents might have urged.

Rising to the Call is a call to action that resonates deeply with those who understand that true success isn't just about reaching the top; it's about staying true to who you are and what you're meant to do. It's a book for anyone looking to reconnect with values that last, reminding us that answering the call on our lives is about leaving a legacy of faith, service, and purpose. Guinness taps into that older, enduring wisdom—a reminder that real fulfillment comes not from what we get, but from what we give back, as we respond to a higher purpose.

Pain + Performance, by Matt Fitzgerald

The Other Talent, by Matt Fitzgerald

Finish Line Leadership, by Dave Kraft

The Life of Saint Antony, by Anthanasius of Alexandria

Book #3 in Celebration of Discipline post reading assignment. 

The Practice of the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence

Book #2 in Celebration of Discipline post reading assignment. 

Letters by a Modern Mystic, by Frank C. Laubach

Book 1 of 12, Celebrate of Discipline's "Starter Kit"

Celebration of Discipline, by Richard J. Foster

The Lies We Believe, by Dr. Chris Thurman

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The Gift of Thorns, by A. J. Swoboda

I heard about this book on James Bryan Smith's "Things Above podcast."

Things Above Apprentice Institute

Smith claimed he emptied a highlighter while reading the book. 

I emptied two. 

Something's changed inside me. Lots to reflect on, and a few reread to come. 

Rising to the Call, by Os Guinness

Choose Strong, by Sally McRae

Carrying these three over to 2024.

These three I'm carrying into 2024. So much in each of these. 

I've started Divine Conspiracy a few times the past 20 years and have never finished. I'm slowly going through it again, reading Willard's Theology as I go, along with a Willard Dictionary. 

As to "A Different Way," it's been a slow read the past 4 months. 

Hall, Willard, Richard Foster, Steve Macchia and James Bryan Smith are cut from the same cloth.