There is no more exciting world than the world of children. Charles Schulz, in his Peanut cartoons, perceives and probes that world in a marvelous way. One year during the Christmas season, he put into drawing and dialogue one of those common exchanges between children that has deep and uncommon meaning. Sally asked Charlie Brown, “Is it Christmas yet?” “Four more days,” responds Charlie Brown. “How come it takes so long?” Sally wants to know. Without even looking up from the TV, Charlie Brown gets off one of those off-the-cuff philosophical statements that one can chew on all day. “Christmas is on the top of steep hill,” he said, “and the closer you get to it, the steeper the hill is.”
As I reflect, I conclude Charlie Brown is right. The birth of Jesus was on the top of steep hill, not literally, though Bethlehem is on a hill. Men had longed and prayed for the Messiah. The years of sorrow and suffering, darkness and death had dragged endlessly on. Through the prophets, God kept telling them that “in the fullness of time,” the Messiah would come.
That time came, and Jesus was born. He said he would come, and he did. He came to give us life, and he promised to come again to fully establish his Kingdom with his followers living with him eternally.
He will keep that promise. I want to solidly lodge two sentences in your mind for your reflection and action as you stay ready for his coming. Let this be the hill you climb as Christmas comes and your celebration will be as joyful as the children. First, we have plenty of everything, except what we need to make what we have worthwhile. Spend a few minutes pondering that before you read further…………..
The second word: The best we have without Christ is not enough for salvation, not enough to give us abundant life. We need a Messiah, a savior, a life giver. Christmas is on the top of a steep hill of acknowledging our need. When we acknowledge that all of our getting and spending, our accumulation of things, the way we excuse our selfishness and efforts at self-justification, the way we go about trying to rationalize our un-involvement with the needs of the world, the way we seek salvation in so many places.
When we realize that all this is futile, and wait and pray in expectation and openness, then we will see the salvation of the Lord. ‘Until he comes again, by his grace we can move from one degree of glory to another.
Describe yourself in five words: Determined, open-minded, trustworthy, patient and kind.
What do you do for fun: Vintage shopping.
Do you have any pets?: A 7 year old white shepherd named, Samson.
Do you have any hobbies: Quilting and crafting.
What is your favorite food: Fish.
What is your favorite thing about your job: Satisfaction in helping people.
What is your favorite song: Walking by Mary Mary.
What is something you are proud of: Becoming a nurse.
What would you like people to know about you:I have a twin and have been married 37 years.
Charlene Jones is the strength on the 11-7 shift. When there is a staffing issue, she takes the leading role and makes adjustments that are in the best interest of the residents. She is consistently part of the solution to voiced concerns. She has often stayed over, just to make sure our residents were taken care of. We are proud to have her on our team.
Is it possible to develop an addiction at Kirby Pines? “Yes,” admits JoAnn Ginn. “I have become addicted to having fun: playing games, and especially playing mahjong with such a fun-loving and intelligent group of Christian women.”
Fortunate enough to have had a happy and supportive life as a child and an adult, JoAnn was pre-conditioned to the life she now enjoys at Kirby Pines. This is her story in achieving the American dream.
JoAnn Godwin was born in the small, neighboring community of Fisherville, Tennessee. Her father was one of seven siblings who were given family land to build their homes. As a result, JoAnn acquired many cousins who were like siblings because of their proximity and time they spent together. “We all attended the Baptist church there,” according to JoAnn, “and many of our activities centered on church.” JoAnn was the oldest of three other children in her family: two sisters and one brother. As the oldest, JoAnn said she took charge, “But they didn’t always appreciate my ‘bossiness,’ ” she admits. “Like most country people, we always had plenty to eat, but sadly,” Joann remembers, “sometimes we had our ‘pets’ for dinner!”
Christmas was always an exciting time. According to JoAnn, “Christmas was much simpler then. We cut our tree from our land and searched Sears Roebuck catalogue for our wishes. We would have very few gifts under the tree, but we always had Santa because of the younger kids. Christmas was special because we only got gifts on birthdays and Christmas.”
For high school, JoAnn attended the one in Collierville. Once again, the class was small, and everyone enjoyed being together. JoAnn was involved in several clubs and was editor of the year book her senior year.
Graduating from high school in 1958, JoAnn enrolled in Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. She admits, “I was there for two years but traded my degree for a Mrs.” She married John Ginn whom she met when she was a freshman. John had enrolled at Union with a scholarship in Track.
After their marriage, JoAnn and John moved to Memphis which became their permanent home, although they would spend time in other cities when John was transferred. John had found employment with General Foods Corporation, starting in a minimal paying job. He would eventually become manager of the Memphis branch as well as other locations.
However, as JoAnn and John welcomed their four children- Donna, Bobby, David and Phillip- JoAnn became mostly a stay-at-home mom. “This was a wonderful time in my life. I loved being a mom”.
After the children were grown, JoAnn took the opportunity to travel with John and visit the various sights in the cities he visited. John’s last transfer was to Chicago, Illinois, where he retired after two years, and he and JoAnn returned to Memphis. “I was so glad to leave there,” says JoAnn. “I was afraid I was going to freeze to death!”
With retirement, JoAnn and John were able to spend time with family, which includes seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, and the opportunity to do the things they felt called to do. In addition to extensive travel and cruises, JoAnn and John were able to extend their missionary work to China and Turkey. According to JoAnn, “Our faith was at the center of our marriage. John and I had always been involved in church and community work wherever we lived and were needed.”
Retirement also allowed time for hobbies. JoAnn chose art work, and John loved restoring old cars. “As a matter of fact,” says JoAnn, “restoring cars became a family affair. It was not unusual to find both of us lying under a car pulling out a motor or putting on brake liners. Surprisingly, most of the time, we agreed on what we were doing.”
In 2017, JoAnn had heart by-pass surgery and was hospitalized for three months due to complications. In 2018, JoAnn and John began thinking of finding a place with few home responsibilities as well as a place where they would always be together. They had heard about Kirby Pines and made an appointment to learn about Life Care. “We had no intention of making a decision that day,” says JoAnn, “but after our visit, we signed a contract immediately. Unbelievably, we sold our house, had an estate sale, and moved to Kirby Pines in less than a month!”
The Ginn Family
JoAnn says that Kirby Pines felt like home immediately. “Everyone seems to truly care about and help each other,” says JoAnn, “and there are more activities than you can possibly participate in.” JoAnn had the opportunity to experience the caring at Kirby when John became ill and died in January 2021. “Those were difficult days,” remembers JoAnn. “I had my family, along with church and Kirby families, to support me. It is a comfort to my family to know that I am in a safe place doing the things I love to do.” Those things include an assortment of card games, working in Michael’s Gift Shop, and participating in Kirby Theater productions.
When asked about her favorite Christmas, JoAnn, without hesitation, relates the story of a grandchild born in 1999 with only one-half a heart. Unexpectedly, in the second week of his life, a heart transplant became available on December 23rd, which saved his life. “Another Christmas miracle,” says JoAnn.”
There are many benefits to healthy eating: stronger immune system, better sleep, more energy, improved mood, and a lower risk for disease. What you eat also has an important role in the health of your brain, your memory, as well as other aspects of mental and physical health. Higher levels of fatty acids and protein are associated with better memory and a healthier brain.
For better brain health, try to add these foods into your regular diet:
Nuts and Seeds – Protein is the second largest matter in the brain, second only to water, so it’s critical to nourish your brain with protein-rich foods; Amino acids are also found in protein, and they are packed with omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. Omega fatty acids aid in building cells to maintain normal brain function. Examples of brain healthy nuts include walnuts, almonds, peanuts, sunflower and/or pumpkin seeds.
Salmon – Oily fishes, such as salmon, are high in omega 3!
Beans – Rich in fiber, B vitamins, and omega fatty acids; fiber helps keep you fuller longer, and it also creates a slow release of sugar, which helps with concentration and memory.
Blueberries – as well as other dark berries – Rich in antioxidants, which protect against free radicals (unstable molecules that attack cells within our body).
Regularly consuming unhealthy foods, alcohol, and fish with mercury can negatively impact cognitive function.
You don’t have to avoid them all together, but moderation is key! These foods include:
Sugary Drinks – An excessive intake of sugary drinks increases the risk of dementia, obesity, high blood pressure, and arterial dysfunction.
Alcohol – Chronic excessive alcohol use can result in a reduction in brain volume, metabolic changes, and disruption of neurotransmitters, which are chemicals the brain uses to communicate.
Fish high in mercury – While oily fish has cognitive benefits, fish high in mercury can have the opposite effect. Mercury is a heavy metal contaminant and neurological poison that can be stored for a long time in animal tissues. After a person ingests mercury, it spreads all around their body, concentrating in the brain, liver, and kidneys. Examples include swordfish, tuna, and orange roughy.
Your diet has a big impact on your brain health! For more information on nutrition and your brain health, contact the Functional Pathways Therapy Team!
Almost everyone, regardless of age or physical condition, can benefit from aquatic exercise – even if you don’t know how to swim! Just being in the water has inherent benefits. From improvements in circulation to relieving joint pain, the rewards of aquatic exercise are numerous. Many physicians and therapists recommend aquatic therapy because it can advance individuals to a higher level of muscle fitness and mobility offering quicker advantages over land-based exercise and therapy:
Buoyancy provided by the water allows you to move more easily with decreased stress on muscles, joints, and bones while increasing flexibility and balance. In chest-deep water, you take 70% of your body weight off your joints. The “support” your body receives makes exercising easier and less painful, allowing you to exercise longer without increased effort or joint or muscle pain.
Exercises performed in the water allow the heart to work more efficiently, making it a great cardiovascular workout.
The pressure of the water on your joints and muscles comforts your body while you exercise, leaving you feeling less fatigued.
Support provided by the water reduces the fear of falling.
Resistance of the water allows for higher workout intensities with less impact on your body.
Warm water therapy has even greater benefits. Our pool in the Oasis is usually at 90º and the spa is at 100º. Besides the comfort of the temperature, immersing in warm water raises your body temperature and relaxes your muscles benefitting individuals with disabilities and conditions such as arthritis, fibromyalgia, Parkinson’s disease, and many others. Participating in a warm water exercise class provides many physical benefits:
Improved endurance, flexibility, and range of motion
Improved pulmonary function
Increased circulation
Muscle relaxation and pain relief
Strengthened muscles
Decreased joint and soft tissue inflammation
Improved bone density
Additionally, warm water exercise can have other benefits including reduced anxiety and stress, improved mood, and fun with friends.
O.K….Turkey gobbled up – Check. Pumpkin Pie gone – Check. Christmas music on – Check.
It’s Christmas time! My favorite time of the year! Always has been; always will be. As I’ve gotten a little bit older, and a bit wiser, the meaning of Christmas has changed, yet stayed the same. Let me take a moment to explain…
I grew up in a great family. My four sisters and I were blessed with a very loving and hard-working mom and dad. Yes, you read that correctly; four younger sisters. And yes, Christmas meant presents and wish lists to Santa, but what really stands out to me are the trips to my grandparents’ house, decorating the tree, and smelling my mom’s fresh-baked cookies, candies, and treats! These were things that came alive at Christmastime, with the family coming together, our home filled with conversation and laughter, as we watched the sky for snow, dreaming, of course, of course, for a white Christmas.
Christmas Eve for our family meant going off to the evening church service together, the Brown family taking up an entire pew. Gathering afterwards, we always had great fun, conversation, and board games. Naturally, we got to open up one gift at this time: our present from Grandma.
Back to present day, I woke up this morning thinking about Kirby Pines and the most-wonderful-time-of-the-year traditions held here. Our community feels like one huge extended family! Everywhere I look, I see folks engaged in meaningful conversation, and if you- or I- walk by, we will be asked to join in!
Chef Mark and his team just demonstrated what a homemade Thanksgiving dinner is all about! The sights, sounds, and tastes were all so good; I just can’t decide which was better: Pumpkin or Pecan!
Not to mention the decorations! I am still so amazed at how beautiful it looks. I keep going to the lobby and gazing at the beautiful, live Christmas tree. Stunning!
Fun, family, food, and spirited fellowship in the air: I loved it all as a child, and I am so happy to have found it here at Kirby Pines Estates!
Let us all join together to celebrate on Tuesday, December 12th. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we came together as a community family to pray, reflect, and remember the TRUE meaning of Christmas in the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ!
I hope you have a memorable and blessed holiday season with your loved ones and your friends and family right here at Kirby Pines Estates!
We hear it often, especially from the “music community, ”He who sings, prays twice. Saint Augustine added a word to that expression;, “he who sings his prayers prays twice.
My wife and I share a morning time of devotion and prayer, in which we often sing. A few weeks ago, I was going through a season of studying, teaching, and writing about revival. One morning, during our devotion/prayer time, we were singing the old gospel song, Revive us again. As we sang, it struck me, We are praying.
The first three stanzas of the hymn are expressions of praise, then the fourth stanza is an earnest petition,
Revive us again, fill each heart with thy love May each soul be rekindled with fire from above.
The chorus is praise and petition combined,
Hal-le-lu-jah! Thine the glo-ry. Hal-le-lu-jah! A-men. Hal-le-lu-jah! Thine the glo-ry. Re-vive us a-gain.
I believe we are experiencing revival, and we may be just at the beginning edge of it. I urge you, now and then, sing Revive Us Again as your prayer for it.
The singing of our sacred hymns, written by the servants of God, has a powerful effect in converting people to the principles of the Gospel, and in promoting peace and spiritual growth.”
Describe your family: We enjoy the small things in life, like a simple movie night.
Describe yourself in five words: Ambitious, sincere, confident, spontaneous and passionate.
What do you do for fun: I enjoy cooking, video games, photography and technology.
Do you have any hobbies: I collect Pops and play sports.
What is your favorite thing about your job: One of my favorite things is helping others.
What is your favorite food: Seafood.
What is your favorite song: Les Fleurs by Minnie Riperton.
Do you have any pets?: I have a dog named Almow.
What is something you are proud of: Starting my production company.
What would you like people to know about you:I live life to the fullest and love meeting new people.
Caleb Petty is a respectful security officer at Kirby Pines. While performing his outside rounds Caleb observed a man and woman (who had fallen into Lake Latimer). Caleb quickly jumped into the lake and rescued them, including her wheelcair. When the paramedics arrived Officer Petty had pulled both residents safely out of the water.
Kirby Pines has been voted Best Retirement Community for 17 consecutive years by the Commercial Appeal’s Memphis Most. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we want to say thank you to the Kirby Pines residents and staff. Schedule a tour today to see why Kirby Pines is the best retirement community in the Memphis market. Thank you, Memphis!
In 1921, an unknown World War I American soldier was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. This site, on a hillside overlooking the Potomac River and the city of Washington, D.C., became the focal point of reverence for America’s veterans.
Similar ceremonies occurred earlier in England and France, where an unknown soldier was buried in each nation’s highest place of honor (in England, Westminster Abbey; in France, the Arc de Triomphe). These memorial gestures all took place on November 11, giving universal recognition to the celebrated ending of World War I fighting at 11 a.m., November 11, 1918 (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month). The day became known as “Armistice Day.”
Armistice Day officially received its name in America in 1926 through a Congressional resolution. It became a national holiday 12 years later by similar Congressional action. If the idealistic hope had been realized that World War I was “the War to end all wars,” November 11 might still be called Armistice Day. But only a few years after the holiday was proclaimed, war broke out in Europe. Sixteen and one-half million Americans took part. Four hundred seven thousand of them died in service, more than 292,000 in battle.
Armistice Day Changed To Honor All Veterans
The first celebration using the term Veterans Day occurred in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1947. Raymond Weeks, a World War II veteran, organized “National Veterans Day,” which included a parade and other festivities, to honor all veterans. The event was held on November 11, then designated Armistice Day. Later, U.S. Representative Edward Rees of Kansas proposed a bill that would change Armistice Day to Veterans Day. In 1954, Congress passed the bill that President Eisenhower signed proclaiming November 11 as Veterans Day. Raymond Weeks received the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Reagan in November 1982. Weeks’ local parade and ceremonies are now an annual event celebrated nationwide.
On Memorial Day 1958, two more unidentified American war dead were brought from overseas and interred in the plaza beside the unknown soldier of World War I. One was killed in World War II, the other in the Korean War. In 1984, an unknown serviceman from the Vietnam War was placed alongside the others. The remains from Vietnam were exhumed May 14, 1998, identified as Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie, and removed for burial. To honor these men, symbolic of all Americans who gave their lives in all wars, an Army honor guard, the 3rd U.S. Infantry (The Old Guard), keeps day and night vigil.
A law passed in 1968 changed the national commemoration of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. It soon became apparent, however, that November 11 was a date of historic significance to many Americans. Therefore, in 1978 Congress returned the observance to its traditional date.
National Ceremonies Held at Arlington National Cemetery
The focal point for official, national ceremonies for Veterans Day continues to be the memorial amphitheater built around the Tomb of the Unknowns. At 11 a.m. on November 11, a combined color guard representing all military services executes “Present Arms” at the tomb. The nation’s tribute to its war dead is symbolized by the laying of a presidential wreath. The bugler plays “taps.” The rest of the ceremony takes place in the amphitheater.
Veterans Day ceremonies at Arlington and elsewhere are coordinated by the President’s Veterans Day National Committee. Chaired by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the committee represents national veterans organizations.
Governors of many states and U.S. territories appoint Veterans Day chairpersons who, in cooperation with the National Committee and the Department of Defense, arrange and promote local ceremonies.
Kirby Pines, a sister community of The Farms at Bailey Station, is part of the family of LifeCare Communities of Retirement Companies of America. For more information, visit retirementcompanies.com
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