A Word from Bob
I’ve adapted today’s post from The Annual Guide to Biblical Counseling Resources: 2022 Edition. The Biblical Counseling Coalition now oversees and distributes The Annual Guide. For 2022 (as for 2018-2021), I provided the collation and content for The Annual Guide.
Empty Nest
Fitzpatrick, Elyse. The Empty Nest: Finding Hope in Your Changing Job Description
Your children are growing up and leaving home. You know this is a good thing, but at the same time, you’re wondering who you are when you’re not busy being your children’s mother. You know this is a new season of life, but it’s hard not to look back with longing and sometimes regret. In The Empty Nest, Elyse Fitzpatrick helps you see that Christ sympathizes with you in this vulnerable time. Unpacking the opportunities and challenges, she offers encouragement that this can be a season of fruitfulness in your life as you draw near to God and see new opportunities to love those around you.
Midlife
Fitzpatrick, Elyse. The Afternoon of Life: Finding Purpose and Joy in Midlife
The Afternoon of Life is written for women in the middle years of their lives. As we age, we wonder at the many changes occurring in our lives. How do we make the necessary adjustments? How do we handle all this? Elyse Fitzpatrick shows us how our faith can be at the center of how we respond to these life changes.
Tripp, Paul. Lost in the Middle: Mid-Life and the Grace of God
The Bible never discusses midlife, just like it never discusses teenagers. Yet the Bible is able to address any of life’s experiences because it was written by the One who made them all. You will face things in midlife that beat at the borders of your faith, but you do not have to be lost in the middle of your story. You do not have to be paralyzed by regret, defeated by aging, and discouraged by the passing of your dreams. This middle period of life, which can seem like the end of many things, can welcome you to a brand new way of living. As is so often the case in your walk with the Lord, this moment of pain is also a moment of grace.
Retirement
Brown, Steve. Life After Retirement
Steve Brown walks through the questions of significance and opportunity and reveals a vision for life after retirement that is both realistic and revitalizing.
Haanen, Jeff. An Uncommon Guide to Retirement: Finding God’s Purpose for the Next Season of Life
People talk about retirement like it’s supposed to be an endless vacation. But what if, like the majority of those facing retirement, you can’t afford such a luxury? Or, what if you just want something more from retirement? Some advocate for no retirement at all. But you’ve worked for decades and a rest and reprieve do sound appealing. What should you do? Does God have a purpose for your retirement? Yes, He does. Learn how to discern what it is by taking an uncommon approach. Jeff Haanen looks biblically and practically at the need for rest and purpose in retirement. Planning retirement doesn’t have to be distressing. Retire in a way that’s God-honoring, purpose-filled, restful, and truly biblical.
Piper, John. Rethinking Retirement: Finishing Life for the Glory of Christ
John Piper challenges us to forego the American dream of retirement and live out our golden years with a far greater purpose. They say it’s a person’s reward for all those years of labor. But is retirement really the ideal? Or is it a series of poor options that ignore a greater purpose—and will kill a person more quickly than old age? Piper responds: “Lord, spare me this curse” His resounding message is for anyone who believes there’s more to the golden years than accumulating comforts. It’s for readers who long to finish better than they started, persevere for the right reasons (without fear), experience true security, value what lies beyond their cravings, and live for the One who gave His life in His prime.
Aging
Adams, Jay. Wrinkled but Not Ruined: Counsel for the Elderly
Most books that seek to help elderly persons major on sociological or psychological studies. Here is something different. Jay Adams sets forth biblical commands and principles that will help pastors, families, and churches minister to elderly believers in a godly manner. Adams applies Scripture to the problems and opportunities of old age, dealing with the issues before they become problems.
Eyrich, Howard. The Art of Aging: Preparing and Caring
This is a comprehensive and practical resource for answering questions such as: How is God involved in aging? How do I prepare to grow old? How do I care for aging parents?
Packer, J.I. Finishing Our Course with Joy: Guidance from God for Engaging with Our Aging
Thinning hair, failing eyesight, and arthritic hands reveal an inescapable truth: we’re getting older. But that doesn’t mean we should simply sit back and take it easy. In Finishing Our Course with Joy, J.I. Packer challenges us to embrace old age as an opportunity for continued learning, careful planning, and heartfelt discipleship.
Alzheimer’s Disease
Dunlap, John. Finding Grace in the Face of Dementia
Experienced geriatrician, Dr. John Dunlop, wants to transform the way we view dementia, showing us how God can be honored through such a tragedy as we respect the inherent dignity of all humans made in the image of God. Sharing stories from decades of experience with dementia patients, Dunlop provides readers, particularly caregivers, with a biblical lens through which to understand the experience and challenge of this life-altering disease. Finding Grace in the Face of Dementia will help you see God’s purposes as you love and care for those with dementia.
Howard, Deborah. HELP! Someone I Love Has Alzheimer’s
A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease for someone we love can fill us with fear. Alzheimer’s robs people of their lives and dignity, and leaves grief and agony in its wake. How can we honor God when faced with this? This booklet will help you understand Alzheimer’s, learn about its practical implications, and, by meditating upon God’s Word, submit to God’s perfect will and find peace and joy along the journey.
Mast, Ben. Second Forgetting: Remembering the Power of the Gospel During Alzheimer’s Disease
If you are a Christian who knows or loves someone with Alzheimer’s Disease, have recently been diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s Disease, or are a pastor or ministry leader seeking to better understand and minister to people with Alzheimer’s Disease, this book will encourage you with the good news of God’s faithfulness and the future hope He calls us to.
Peters, Bryon. Caring for an Aging Parent: Honoring as You Serve
Caring for aging parents is complex and challenging even under the best of circumstances. How do we help them and remain sane when distance, dementia, depression, disaster, divorce, disintegrated relationships, deteriorating health, and discouragement set in? Thankfully, God’s Word guides us in this important work, starting with the all-important truth that our parents, like us, are image bearers of God. Pastor Byron Peters shares that God’s Word calls us to compassionate care for our parents as they age, and that God will be helping us as we seek to honor and help them. He also shares practical principles that can guide us while we seek to honor our parents as they transition from independence to dependence. In addition to financial planning and health care concerns, we are ultimately reminded that God is near to the brokenhearted and will provide a rich supply of grace to parents and caregivers alike in this challenging season.
Smith, Robert. Alzheimer’s Disease: Help for Families in Crisis
It starts out as small moments of forgetfulness that can be chalked up to simply getting older. But as time passes and symptoms accumulate, you’re forced to face the fact that your loved one has Alzheimer’s Disease. Now you’re wondering how the course of the disease will run and how you’ll provide for their care. How do you help your loved one when you feel overwhelmed by the diagnosis yourself? Drawing from his years of experience as a physician, Dr. Robert Smith takes you through the various stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. Pointing you to Christ for strength and encouragement, he offers many practical suggestions to help you care for your loved one, both physically and spiritually.
Join the Conversation
What additional biblical counseling resources would you add for counseling regarding the empty nest, midlife, retirement, aging, and Alzheimer’s Disease?
