The first meeting of the Retirement Reformation Roundtable is history. Fifteen key thought leaders gathered in Colorado Springs to explore the many facets of the Retirement Reformation. Each insightful participant contributed to the exchange of information and participated in the accompanying dialogue.

We are no strangers to hearing these words: “God will provide”. Yes, that is true: The Lord will provide and afford you the opportunities for you to make decisions that will impact your future.

'Twas battered and scarred,
And the auctioneer thought it
hardly worth his while
To waste his time on the old violin,
but he held it up with a smile.

Preparing for retirement is not hard, but it must be intentional. Advancing age is automatic. Good preparation for advancing age is not. There is the old adage, “When you aim at nothing, you are sure to hit it.” Unfortunately, many of us don’t think of retirement as something to plan for unless we feel guilty for not saving or not saving enough.

We verbally fantasize about doing nothing. Our thoughts about retirement are the "big" deception and our dreams of retirement have neutered the opportunity of a lifetime.

Here is what our culture teaches about retirement: it is one homogeneous stage of life marked by physical and mental decline ending in death.

John Wesley said: "Give me one hundred men who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I will shake the world."

I remember hearing Tony Campello preach his now famous message entitled, "It's Friday and Sunday's Coming." He tells the story of a "preach-off" and being totally overwhelmed by the message about the challenges of Friday, and the anticipation of the answer coming on Sunday. I've thought of the significance and the meaning of this message often. Each year during Easter season is a likely time to examine the pains of Friday and sunrise of Sunday.

Purpose is often obscure and hard to describe. It is one of those things that we are able to identify once we see it, yet we often view it through a glass darkly. When our actions are lined up for our purpose, it’s like a hot knife through warm butter. When these two don’t align, it’s like looking for butter in a pig's pen.

Help I need to see me through the day
Help I need to give wisdom to my actions
Help I need to guide my steps
Help I need to love the unlovable