Peace Be With the Elders: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Care
Archaeologists in Israel just uncovered what might be the world’s oldest nursing home — a Christian care facility built 1,600 years ago near the Sea of Galilee.
At its entrance, a mosaic read: “Peace be with the elders.”
Sixteen centuries later, that message still echoes through time — a reminder that dignity, care, and love for our elders were never “new ideas.” They were sacred responsibilities.
In the ancient city of Hippos, researchers from the University of Haifa found a Byzantine-era building with cypress trees, fruit, and Egyptian geese decorating its floor.
Each symbol carried meaning: eternal life, abundance, and the blessedness of the soul.
Dr. Michael Eisenberg called it “living proof that care and concern for the elderly are not just modern ideas.”
It’s incredible, isn’t it?
Long before nursing homes or Medicare, people built spaces of peace — places where the elderly could live with dignity and community.
Today, families are still wrestling with the same questions:
Who will care for Mom when she can’t care for herself?
What will happen if I need care one day?
Can love alone hold up when caregiving becomes overwhelming?
Planning requires assumptions — and one of them is that someday, you may be the one needing care.
The best gift you can give your Loved Ones is the ability to care for you without losing themselves in the process.
Closing Thought:
Those ancient Christians carved their love into stone.
You can carve yours into a plan.
💜 Give your love, keep your life™.
Whatever happens to your parents or to your spouse, will you be able to give your love and keep your life?
Can you look your kids in the eyes and promise, "No matter what happens to me you’ll be able to give me your love and keep your life.”
👉 Take the 60-second quiz to start building your modern version of “Peace Be With the Elders.”
HOMESCHOOLING: Haven or Havoc?
Your child's school years are precious and fleeting.
Now could be your best time to step up where your school is letting your child down. Let this series of myth-busting short chapters encourage you.
2 Major Mistakes
Which one will you make?
Which of these 2 retirement mistakes are you making right now? It's impossible to entirely avoid both mistakes.
You won't know for sure which mistake will work out better for you until it's too late.
How to choose?
Finding the Will
(Part 1)
Part 1: Have the will to arrange for a smooth transition when you’re no longer around to answer questions
Have the will to arrange for a smooth transition when you’re no longer around to answer questions (Part 1)
Ensuring your children or other Loved Ones can readily access your important papers when you die entails a sound process versus one or two conversations. You must overcome aversion to the subject of death, procrastination of anything that is long-term, and the tendency to assume things will be fine. Family dynamics can be sweet, spicy, or dicey.
Finding the Will
(Part 2)
Part 2: Getting Organized
While the internet permits convenient access to accounts, policies, and stored documents, it presents a plethora of password management problems. which too many people avoid by succumbing to password laziness, such as:
- re-using passwords for multiple logins, or
- use simple, easy to remember passwords, or
- writing them on sticky notes placed on their monitor or under their keyboard, or
- keeping them in a spreadsheet on their computer, or
- letting their browser remember passwords for them
Embrace Your Clarence
Is Clarence your future?
Golden insight from a golden retriever.
Post-Pandemic W.E.L.L.ness
Working, Earning, Learning, and Launching to Thrive
Where life drastically changed forever two years ago, everyone adjusted to the best of their abilities.
Here are a few of the key adjustments--"pandemic pivots"--that sustained some and prospered others.
Prenuptial Adulting
Equip Them for Happily Ever After
“Mom, Dad, we’re getting married!"
“Wonderful, congratulations! Here’s what you both need to do first.”
Equipping newlyweds with essentials of responsibility leaves plenty of life yet to be discovered on their own. Adults understand that love isn’t oogly feelings; it’s a hard choice. It’s putting your commitments and your money where your mouth is.
Many of the following steps also apply to one’s turning 18 years old. Becoming engaged adds urgency and a deadline.
Rethinking Competing Funds for College and Retirement
We live in a time of skyrocketing inflation topping decades of unbridled higher education costs.
Is the tension between funding your retirement and funding (at least partially) your children’s college education keeping you up at night?
You’re not alone.
Married? Is Your Endgame 100% or Just 50%?
Are you single? That other 50% could be whoever is most important to you.
Multiple unforgiving players factor into your retirement and estate plans (collectively your “endgame”). Household names include the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration, and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Key decisions with these players are nearly impossible to reverse. Plus, if you qualify for a pension, how you activate it is another irreversible decision.
Are you more of a planner than your spouse? It’s all too common for one spouse to blindly trust the planning spouse. Countless endgame “plans” were created by 50% of a couple:
