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There's a question that comes more frequently as the days pass by - “so when are you going to retire ?” My stock answer is - I've got the TIRED part already … but not the RE part.
So, how can I tell the questioners that I don't really intend to re-tire at all.
That as long as health lets me, I aim to continue on. (wait till my wife finds out about this!) Adapt - Yes, change of pace – Yes, but stop working entirely – not my intention at all ( God, clients and health willing )

As someone observed - 'work is its own reward' ... how very true

In studying the Bible for half a century now, I haven't find the word retire within its pages at all (in its contemporary meaning, not the military meaning) not even once.

It would seem to be that the notion of retirement is a modern and recent invention concocted by political experts for basically social / economic reasons to give younger people more work opportunities. The ancients essentially kept themselves active, useful and involved as long as they were able to.
Someone once said – 'Enjoy what you're doing and you'll never work a day in your life'. And that sums it up - I've been paid to do what I enjoy - my career has been more than that – an enjoyable pursuit (apart from chasing debtors!)
And along the way I've watched many acquaintances stop work, put their feet up (so to speak) then die quite soon after that momentous occasion.
And, considering a different meaning, usually in Military circles … where 'retire' means to retreat, to fall back, … and that's not exactly what anyone would want to have happen to them … for health or finances or activity to retreat, to fall away, to take a backward step !

Someone has said - 'There are different ways to die, and having nothing to do is one of them!'

Of course, we are a triune being – Body, Soul, and Spirit, as the common order goes …. or rather, in the order the Bible gives …. SPIRIT, Soul and Body … get the difference?
But older age reveals the sum of the zillion big and small choices that we have made along the way. The passing years merely show the resultant sum total of those myriad of choices - for good, or not so good.
Diet, lifestyle, priorities and pursuits, exercise, family, career, pleasure, travel, spiritual beliefs, community involvement, etc etc have all played their part in weaving what we are and what older age merely reveals in us.
The Principle seems to be (as the principle of 'mauling' in rugby, when the Referee calls it out … )
USE IT OR LOSE IT
which applies to …. the mind, the intellect, the Spirit, and the physical !
Indeed with all of our individual gifts, talents and abilities ..….
USE THEM OR LOSE THEM

BOB GASS WORD FOR TODAY has some comments
12.09.11
Have you noticed that no matter how old certain people get, they never lose their attractiveness? It just moves from their face to their heart. Today, you get the impression that a person's usefulness ends at 65 or 70. What nonsense! What a waste of potential!
Picasso produced some of his greatest works at 90. Rubinstein gave one of his greatest recitals at 89. Marjorie Stoneham Douglas, who's credited with saving the Florida Everglades, was still fighting for the cause at 100.
Read your Bible: 'Moses was 120 years old when he died; his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated' (Deuteronomy 34:7 KJV). '...the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning...' (Job 42:12 NKJV).
Noah built the ark when he was 500, went into it for a while, then came out and started the world all over again. 'It ain't over till God says it's over', and if He 'ain't said so' live every moment He gives you to the fullest! 'The older the violin, the sweeter the tune', so pick up your bow and make some music. When someone told the 89-year-old poet Dorothy Duncan that she had lived a 'full life' she replied sharply, 'Don't "past tense" me!'
If you're not too old to learn and you haven't outlived your enthusiasm, you can 'still bear fruit in old age'. It's up to you. If you can breathe, pray! If you can speak, encourage others! If you can recall, share your wisdom. Remember creation? It's wonderful what God can do in just one day.
So give Him all the days you have left.

16.08.11
Ralph Waldo Emerson usually greeted Henry David Thoreau by asking, 'What has become clearer since last we met?' The late Fred Smith liked to ask that question too. A lifelong friend of Billy Graham and Zig Ziglar, Smith mentored a generation of leaders. But, more importantly, he was the real deal at home. He believed the words: 'Tell your children and grandchildren...the incredible things I am doing' (Exodus 10:2 TLB).
Fred's daughter Brenda shares some Scriptures she learned from her dad.
Let's look at them: 'Love never fails...' (1 Corinthians 13:8 NAS).
When Fred's doctors said he was dying, Brenda said, 'No, I'll take him home and he'll live.' She did, and he did. Many older people who die of 'natural causes' actually die of loneliness. Love is still our healthiest environment; it's God's greatest gift to us, and ours to one another. '...tribulation produces perseverance' (Romans 5:3 NKJV). Don't miss the good in the bad. Trials can be negative or positive, depending on how you use them. Type A people expect life to run on their schedule, but tribulation has its own agenda and pace, and patience is the only antidote. 'Don't be lazy in showing your devotion. Use your energy to serve the Lord' (Romans 12:11 GWT). The director of a big company confirms that engineers who retire without a plan to stay busy often die within 16 months. By not staying involved in life you are subconsciously giving yourself permission to die. Fred Smith's philosophy was: you can't let up, and keep up. Paul said, 'If I continue to live...my work will produce more results' (Philippians 1:22 GWT). And the same is true for you too.

25.03.11
The secret of ageing well is staying young at heart, staying close to God, and staying fully engaged with life. The mirror isn't your problem; how you see yourself is. Have you noticed how 'young' some older people are, and how 'old' their peers seem? Seeking the elusive fountain of youth isn't the answer, nor is surrendering to time and fate.
Rather, do these two things.
First, be realistic! Nothing is sillier than a woman made up to recreate what she hasn't been for decades - except an older man in an unbuttoned shirt flashing jewellery intended to recreate the macho image of a lost youth. When you are comfortable with your age and stage of life, others will be too. Solomon points out that age decreases vigour, dims vision, slackens muscles, stiffens joints, whitens hair, and so on (Ecclesiastes 12:1-5). Vitamins, exercise and a good attitude help, but you must be realistic in order to handle ageing with dignity.
Second, keep giving. 'Give generously, for your gifts will return to you later. Divide your gifts among many, for you do not know what risks lie ahead' (Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 NLT). Don't stop investing your energy and resources into God's Kingdom because you think it's time for younger folk to take over. If you do, loneliness and depression will set in, and illness and death soon follow. When you shut the door, draw the curtains and isolate yourself, you're old at any age. But when you stay in the mainstream, give yourself to God and others, you'll stay young all your life!

again …...... USE IT OR LOSE IT

and remember Samuel who judged Israel all the days of his life 1 Samuel 7:15