"With God's Grace Our Worst Past
Becomes Our Best Future"
Becomes Our Best Future"
I couldn’t understand it. I had mimicked her stance to perfection. Yet, when I swung at the golf ball, it sailed far to the right or far to the left. Rarely did the ball land in the fairway, unlike my mother-in-law, who hit a straight drive every time. Why wouldn’t the ball behave for me as it did for her?
After a season of frustration and being ready to give up the game entirely, I finally realized that Kathryn’s swing worked well for a petite golfer. However, I stood a half-foot taller. No wonder her swing failed me. I spent the next season studying the game, trying to develop a swing that matched my build, age, and club length. With diligence and adaptability, I began to see more and more drives land in the fairway.
One woman’s successful approach to golf was a disaster for another.
I also found this to be an important truth in my writing. When I first started, I wanted to be the next great novelist, so I began modeling my favorite authors. There is much to learn in studying the techniques of legends. However, when I tried to mimic their approach to the craft, my writing fell flat. I wasn’t genuine. I was a parrot without a limb to roost upon.
More than professionally, this truth applied to my personal life. I forced myself into habits that were alien to my personality and lost myself in the process. We are created differently for a reason.
As a wise person told me, “Only you can be you.”
I find it easier to be myself in these golden years. Yet there is still outside pressure to conform to how an older person should behave, wear, or look. Sometimes, I want to dye my hair purple just to rebel!
God loves us for who we are, created in His image, given talents, dreams, and traits to be used to glorify Him. We don’t glorify our Creator when we try to be something He had not designed us to be.
All too often, we put heroic Christians on a pedestal and think we have to emulate them. We feel we’re failures if we don’t walk in precisely the same way as those who teach us. God does not desire carbon copy Christians. He wants our unique hearts. He will take the composite of ourselves and perfect us from the blueprint of our individuality.
Nature itself attests to the value God places on distinctiveness, for no two snowflakes are the same.
There is great freedom in this knowledge. Be yourself.
TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE
Linda Wood Rondeau
10/14/2026
Aging Gracefully or Grossfully
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TEXTING WOES OF THE ANCIENT MIND
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GRANDMA CAMP
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8/19/2026
The Unexpected Adventure
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8/5/2026
CELEBRITIES ATTITUDES TOWARD AGING
Linda Wood Rondeau
7/22/2026
LAUGHING THROUGH OLD AGE
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7/8/2026
Waring Against Aging
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
6/24/2026
GOOGLE, WHERE'S MY PHONE
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6/10/2026
HOW AI CAN HELP SENIORS COMMUNICATE BETTER WITH THEIR DOCTORS
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
5/20/2026
THINKING TRAIN
FRANK BALL
5/7/2026
THE CHORDS THAT BIND MY MEMORIES
Linda Wood Rondeau
4/23/2026
A PERFECT WIN-WIN
LAURA B. EDGE
4/8/2026
A FRAGILE FREEDOM
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
3/25/2026
RE-MARKABLE QUESTIONS
FRANK BALL
3/11/2026
Benefits of Vacationing for Seniors
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2/25/2026
REVOLVING COUPLES ROLES AS WE AGE
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1/28/2026
PIEROGIS: CHRISTMAS TRADITION REFLECTIONS
STEVE WYZGA
1/14/2026
WHERE DID PRINCE CHARMING GO
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12/10/2025
OLD WOMAN ON A BUS
DEBORAH RUTHERFORD
11/26/2025
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE MOOSE KIND
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11/11/2025
Hilltop Reunion
Kathleen D. Bailey
10/29/2025
Dynamic Debbie
Linda Wood Rondeau
10/15/2025
IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM, JOIN 'EM
Linda Wood Rondeau
10/1/2025
WHEN WORDS BITE YOU
STEVE WYZGA
9/17/2025
THE WONDER YEARS REVISITED
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
9/3/2025
REPURPOSED NOT RETIRED
PEG ARNOLD
8/21/2025
MOMMY, I CAN'T TAKE A BATH THERE'S A FISH IN THE TUB
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
7/23/2025
MY NEXT GREAT NOVEL ADVENTURE
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
7/9/2025
ADAPT OR DIE
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
6/25/2025
A BETTER VIEW
SALLY JO PITTS
5/27/2025
A CASE OF TOO MUCH CONCENTRATION
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
5/14/2025
A CASE OF TOO MUCH CONCENTRATION
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
5/14/2025
A CASE OF TOO MUCH CONCENTRATION
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
5/14/2025
MY CELL PHONE MY NEMESIS
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
4/16/2025
ARE THERE BENFITS TO TALKING TO ONESELF?
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
4/2/2025
What Would You Pay to Get Your Soul Back Today?
Brian Mayer
3/19/2025
A New Adventure: Therapy Dog Work Anyone?
GAIL SCOATES
3/5/2025
THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGIN'
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
2/19/2025
STAYING POSITIVE WHEN YOU MOVE TO A SENIOR FACILITY
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
2/5/2025
Seeing the Positives
Claire O'Sullivan
1/22/2025
Up-Country Gecko Tale Jungle Trekking
Brian Maher
1/8/2025
WHAT GRANDPARENTS DO
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
8/21/2024
SATURDAYS AT THE DOLLAR STORE
ANN CAVERA
7/24/2024
SAY WHAT?
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
7/10/2024
WE ARE PROFESSIONALS
ANN CAVERA
6/26/2024
RETIREMENT FIGURED OUT
DALE LANGLOIS
6/12/2024
GREED AND GEESE
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
5/29/2024
Surprise…Surprise…Surprise
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
5/15/2024
IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM, JOIN 'EM
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
5/9/2024
MAMA I CAN'T TAKE A BATH THERE'S A FISH IN THE TUB
Linda Wood Rondeau
3/27/2024
WONDER OF LIFE
JOAN C. BENSON & MARJORIE L. WINGERT
3/13/2024
WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW
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2/28/2024
THE NOT SO GOOD GOOD OLD DAYS
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2/14/2024
Passing the Batan
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1/31/2024
SHARING FAMILY MEMORIES
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1/17/2024
LOOKING UP OR LOOKING AWAY
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1/3/2024
EVEN WHEN I'M OLD AND GRAY
Linda Wood Rondeau
12/28/2023
PRINCE CHARMING, SPIDERS, AND CHEMO
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12/22/2023
MOTHERLY WISDOM
CAROLINE CROCKER
12/6/2023
THE CAT WHO CAME FOR CHRISTMAS
Linda Wood Rondeau
11/29/2023
NEVER TOO LATE TO START OVER
Linda Wood Rondeau
11/22/2023
Healthy Aging: Tips for Maintaining Wellness in Your Senior Years
Ashley Nielson
11/15/2023
IS YOUR PHONE ASKING YOU, "WHICH DOCTOR ARE WE GOING TO NOW?"
kATHY COLLARD MILLER
11/13/2023
OUR ACT II ADVENTURE
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11/10/2023
Money Matters: Financial Wellness Tips for Seniors
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STAYING POSITIVE
Linda Wood Rondeau
11/8/2023
