What's New

December 22, 2021.  Noted humorist and storyteller Garrison Keillor has started a new column, which we are able to publish during its opening trial period. The cost of an ongoing subscription has not yet been determined, so we are not certain if we will be able to continue on a paid basis. If you would be interested in sponsoring the column by helping cover the cost of the subscription, please use the Contact Form and we will stay in touch.

Some of you may question using Keillor's material while he remains under a cloud of scandal from allegations of sexual harrasment in 2017-18 that forced him out of Prairier Home Companion (which did not survive). We will continue to monitor the situation.

April 2, 2021.  We added the following postscript to an article by Jim Watkins ("They Don't Make Them Like They Used To)

Editor's Postscript: On Jim's website is an important note:

Churches and organizations with a biblical worldview are being banned from social media platforms for their “hateful” and “un-woke” speech—which is simply sharing what they believe the Bible says about moral issues. Many of us are sensing the need for alternative avenues to continue speaking truth. That [is] why private email lists are so important. [He then goes on to invite readers to his email newsletter.]

While SeniorLifestyle is not intended specifically as a Christian website, some of our authors are Christ-followers who express a biblical worldlview, which sees the Gospel as a loving expression of God's grace through Jesus Christ—who became one of us on earth to become Savior, Lord and Redeemer through his life, death and the resurrection we celebrate this weekend.

We, therefore, do not present or endorse those who claim allegiance to Christ but express it in hateful ways, (not just to unbelievers, but even with other believers with whom they disagree on the details of their religious convictions). To be genuinely "woke" requires tolerance and empathy—on all sides—with a desire to have conversation and be able to develop deep friendship despite disagreements. In America, we have the added opportunity to embrace the wisdom expressed in the First Amendment of our Constitution, with its assurance of the freedom of assembly, religion, and speech. These are too precious to squander, though it takes commitment and hard work. It is our desire that SeniorLifestyle be part of that effort.

March 25, 2021.  SeniorLifestyle Store. We have started to add books mentioned in articles to the list of books by our contibuting authors. Links are also being added to the articles. (Most go to Amazon, a few to other sources).

January 16, 2021.  Article search links have been refined to be more precise, consistent and accurate. Some search links had been producing inaccurate and confusing results. After doing this, we did notice that a few links being used from old newsletters or perhaps passed on to others outside the site were producing errors, so that has also been corrected. If a search link continues to produce inaccurate results, you can always modify the search form at the top of the results page. (If this involves a coding error, we should get an error message and be able to address the issue, otherwise let us know by using the Contact Us form.)

October 6, 2020.  Several recent improvements to the site:

• Store—since a number of our regular contributors have authored books, we have added a Store page, utilizing Amazon and other sellers. Look for the Store option on the main menu and in links around the site. In coming weeks we will start to add links to other books and materials referenced in articles.
• A Trending option has been added to the Top 20 Articles on the home page (scroll down past the opening banner of new articles). We also recently added a "Past Year" option since "All" includes everything since 2006. The Trending list may change somewhat as we refine the algorithm to focus on popularity and recency (the other options are based strictly on popularity).
• Author links—when you access an article, if the author's name is linked, it will take you to the search page for all of that author's articles. A link has also been added at the bottom of most articles, in the Store, and other places on the site. ("Special" authors, who are not in our list of regular contributors, can be searched by keyword).

August 15, 2020.  Welcome Barbara Greenleaf as our newest contributor. Barbara is the author of eight books, two of which are of particular interest to seniors, Parents of Adult Children: You Are Not Alone and THIS OLD BODY: And 99 Other Reasons to Laugh at Life.  Parents of Adult Children is intended to comfort, enlighten, and give practical advice from the experts on how to have a better relationship with your grown children. A graduate of Vassar College and a former staff writer at The New York Times, Barbara is the mother of two and grandmother of four. When she’s not writing, she can be found in her studio working on mixed media art.

April 20, 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic is an extraordinary historic event. From its origins in China, the virus spread rapidly through Asia, Europe, and now has reached every state in the United States. The first article on SeniorLifestyle related to the pandemic was Greg Asimakoupoulos' short poem "Corona Virus Fear" that appeared on February 29. The pace of pandemic-related articles picked up through March. That focus is likely to continue well into the future until the world is protected from this virus and we see a return to what may well be a "new normal." See a list of all COVID-19 related articles.

January 6, 2016.  Welcome Bill Nichols as our newest contributor. Dr. Nichols has been active in health education and ethics, and blogs regularly on HealthyFaith.net, where he says "When life gets hard, people don't need more faith, they need a healthy faith. Then they can thrive, no matter what." Most of Bill's articles will appear in the Faith section, though he covers enough terriroty to make valuable contributions to other sections as well.

December 26, 2015. Welcome Wes Wick as our newest contributor. Wes and his wife Judy are founders and directors of YES! (Young Enough to Serve), with a focus on the "serving and disciple-making potential of adults—from fifty to a hundred-plus." Wes was introduced to me by David Noreen, the founding editor of SeniorLifestyle who continues as a valued contributor. 

December 19, 2015. Welcome Howard Whitaker as our newest contribtuor.  I know Howard from my time at Wheaton College (IL), where he was a faculty member in the Conservatory of Music.  What brings him to SeniorLifestyle is his passion for photography, expressed through a series of phoro essay videos, some of which include his own musical compositions. I hope you will enjoy these creative expressions!

December 15, 2015.  When you use the SHARE option, the article title and description will be used in the social media link instead of the generic information for the article's "home" page. This makes a much more meaningful link, which should help attract more interest in particular articles. Thanks for helping to spread the word about the articles on the site! (This change also affects the label for the browser tab).

November 20, 2015.  Our newest contributor is Barbara Miklos, whose experience as a social worker and human behavior specialist will bring wise counsel on a number of topics. She begins with an article on "Redesigning Your Holiday Feelings," especially helpful to those who have suffered loss or significant change in the past year. Barbara and I have worked together for many years, are currently finishing a book, The Psychology of Living Longer, Living Better and I will be redesigning the companion website to accommodate some new ideas we have been working on. 

After several years in "maintenance mode" SeniorLifestyle came back in early summer 2015, ready to bring you a variety of helpful, interesting and inspiring material. 

Where We Are Coming From

SeniorLifestyle began in 2006 as the web presence of a partnership of several organizations and individuals active in ministry to seniors (more broadly, to those 50+, in the "second half" of life). Dave Noreen, a former denominational administrator and pastor, was the founding editor. He gathered a number of people as contributors and the site was making good progress. Then came the Great Recession, one of the sponsoring organizations hit tough times, and support for the websites disappeared.

I had been serving as web consultant, designing and maintaining SeniorLifestyle.org and SeniorEvangelism.org, a site designed for those working in senior ministries. When the funding ended, SeniorEvangelism was taken offline, but I decided to keep SeniorLifestyle active, with new material continuing in two of the most popular features, "Senior Moments" with lead contributor Dan Seagren, and "Rhymes & Reasons," with lead contributor Greg Asimakoupolos.

What You Will Find on the New Site—and What We Need

The upgraded site contains all of the entries from "Senior Moments" and "Rhymes & Reasons" on the original site, more than a thousand in all. Both of these provide an interesting perspective on the events that have occured since 2006. Rather than delay the launch of the site upgrade, it was decided to go ahead, even though many categories were still empty. Other content will be developed as quickly as possible as we identify sources and add contributors for fresh material. In particular, I'm looking for people who can provide good advice; tell stories that inspire, motivate, teach, and make us laugh; and motivate us to become better people and serve others in the process. If you would like to be able to submit material, use the Contact form.

Navigating and Searching the Site

See the bottom of the Home page for a simple guide to navigating the site, including how to search articles. Once you are in the Search Filter form there is a "search hints" link with more details about searching. 

The Journey Ahead

I invite you to join us on the journey we are embarking upon, to revive and expand the SeniorLifestyle website. I hope it will help make the second half the best half of your life!

Stu Johnson, editor

Stu Johnson is principal of Stuart Johnson & Associates, a communications consultancy based in Wheaton, Illinois. Before starting his own business, Stu was a faculty member and administrator at Wheaton College (Illinois). In addition to contributing to SeniorLifestyle, Stu also blogs regularly on his company website (sjassociates.com).