“This is so hard. I don’t understand why is has to be this way.” These words are spoken by a particular resident who is struggling with the physical effects of aging, but they could be spoken by any number of residents, or staff, or families, or you who read this. We all face moments when we are overwhelmed by what one resident calls “vicissitudes.”

Jesus speaks so clearly about this issue in this passage from the gospel of John. No promises of good health or untold riches for his disciples. “In this world you will have trouble”, he says; and any of us who have lived any length of time understand what Jesus is talking about. The business of living is difficult, and there are times when even the strongest, most faithful among us experience a sense of despair.

These words of Jesus are given to those disciples who are in need of comfort and assurance. They are struggling to understand why Jesus is talking about suffering, dying, and going away. Why do these things have to happen? “In this world you will have trouble,” is Jesus’ answer, but that’s not the end of the story. “Take heart!” he says. When you meet hardships and trials which threaten to overwhelm you, “take heart”; when you feel as if you are alone, “take heart”; when so much of who and what you have loved is gone, “take heart!”

“I have overcome the world,” says Jesus. Not just a promise for some far off, final, reconciliation and restoration, but a promise to be with us today in the middle of all the “troubles of the world.” Not will overcome, but have. The work is done, the war is won, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

And this is the work we do here at Christian Living Communities, reminding one another that Jesus Christ is here, even when we don’t understand, even when our world is troubled.

Pray today for all those who need to take heart. Pray that perhaps in the kind words or gestures of a fellow resident, family member, volunteer, or staff person, they will know the presence of Jesus Christ.

Lyman Beecher says, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

Peace,

Chaplain Jim Kok

by Geralyn Magan

Christian Living Communities (CLC) got a lot of help from its friends when it decided to expand residential capacity at its Clermont Park retirement community in Denver. CLC’s constituents—including individuals whose parents live at Clermont Park—stepped forward last fall to invest 16.4 million in a project that will add 74 apartment homes, a new adult day program, a fitness center, fellowship hall and restaurant to the community.

“We were heavy on nursing capacity and thin on residential capacity,” says Russ DenBraber, chief executive of CLC, a LeadingAge member that operates 2 other retirement communities in the Denver area. “We have rebalanced.”

The Clermont Park bond offering was intentionally designed to attract individual investors. The bonds sold for 5,000 each, which the Denver Post characterized as “a much easier bite for individual investors than the 100,000 lots typical in nonrated offerings.”

The 6.14% interest rate represented a significant discount from what CLC would have paid if only institutional investors had participated, according to Dennis Jones, managing director for Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., which underwrote the offering along with Ziegler Capital Markets.

Individual investors bought almost half of the 36.5 million tax-exempt bond offering that financed the community upgrades. The remaining bonds were purchased by Guaranty Bank 12 million and institutional investors 8.1 million.

Clermont Park should finish construction in 2013.

via LeadingAge: How Friends Helped Increase Clermont Park’s Residential Capacity.

After three days of intense inspection, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Health Facilities Division has given The Suites at Holly Creek Retirement Community a PERFECT state survey. The health department annually inspects skilled nursing communities, reviewing 240 different categories of care and quality of life.

The state health department issued a deficiency free initial report, meaning The Suites at Holly Creek met each and every stringent standard set forth by the state of Colorado and the federal government. Typically Colorado skilled nursing communities receive between 12 and 16 citations.

The 24 skilled nursing care suites are part of Holly Creek Retirement Community located in Centennial near Holly and Arapahoe. Holly Creek is a continuing care retirement community, which offers seniors a full spectrum of living options, including residential, assisted, memory support and skilled care.

via Your Hub.

Centennial – Arnold “Pete” Peterson’s eyes twinkled as he lovingly clutched the tiny fingers of his great-grand babies, among the four generations of family members gathered Saturday to celebrate his 100 th birthday. The resident of The Johnson Center skilled nursing community in Centennial actually turned 100 on Jan. 3, but celebrated this past weekend when more family members, several of whom traveled from as far as Houston, Texas, were able to join him.

Visiting with family, many of whom he hadn’t seen in years, was the highlight of the afternoon for Pete as he graciously accepted well-wishes from more than two dozen guests. Among them was fellow resident Lille Magette, who joked with him about how she was set to join his “exclusive” centurion club later this year.

Pete sat intently watching a slide show of his life that brought back memories from his childhood in Nebraska, more than 60 years of marriage, travel and family gatherings. He laughed as he retold how his son, John, hooked a huge lake trout at Horsetooth Reservoir. Actually he admitted he hooked the fish, but upon doing so he knew he would have to let his son handle it. Sure enough, the huge catch, which weighed in well over 15 pounds, had John running quite a distance along the shore before they managed to snatch it up. “I didn’t think I could run fast enough. He kept running, and running and running,” recalled Pete.

Another favorite story is how while living in McCook, Neb., he would take his then pre-teen daughter, Jane, downtown every Saturday for coffee, donuts and a little shopping.

Besides his son and daughter, several grandchildren and great-grandchildren joined in the celebration as did a niece and nephew, who served as the flower girl and ring-bearer in his wedding.

Rather than a birthday cake, his grandchildren baked 100 cupcakes, which they assembled to depict a numeral “100.” They also served personalized M&M’s emblazoned with “Pete” and “100 years old.”

Pete was born on Jan. 3, 1912, on a farm near Aurora, Neb., between Grand Island and Lincoln, where his family raised corn and wheat. He put himself through the University of Nebraska and majored in horticulture before embarking on a long career that began as a county extension agent and later included retiring from the Bureau of Reclamation, which manages water in the Western United States. His job took him to various outposts in Nebraska before he moved to the Bureau’s Eastern Colorado Area Office in Loveland. He retired from the Bureau in the early 1970s.

Before her passing eight years ago, Pete and his wife, Clarice, had traveled together to the South Pacific, Europe and China and throughout the United States.

His daughter Jane, who helped organize the celebration, said her father was thrilled with the party. “It was real special for him to celebrate with family, some of whom he hadn’t seen in quite some time. He was still talking about it the next day.”

YourHub (online)

Written by Chris Vanderveen, 9News

CENTENNIAL – If idle hands are indeed the devil’s tools, then consider the work of their hands practically worthy of sainthood.

“We do this every Wednesday at 10,” a smiling Daphne Lovelace said. “We’re cutting coupons.”

Nearly a dozen of her fellow residents at the Holly Creek Retirement Community are sitting in chairs at various spots around a room that doubles as the Wednesday-night Bunco headquarters.

How many coupons?

“Oh, I’d hate to say. It must be in the thousands,” Lovelace said.

All of the clipping and snipping taking place around her would make the owner of a hair salon envious.

“This is one way we thought we could help,” Holly Creek volunteer coordinator Kitty Dobbs said.

The clipped coupons are destined to go to military bases in Belgium and Italy as part of a program known as the “Overseas Coupon Program.” You can learn more at http://www.ocpnet.org.

“You just have to volunteer,” added clipper James Burghardt, a World War II-era veteran himself. “You have to help these guys out. Every little bit helps.”

Dobbs figures the group has helped ship

via Clipping and shipping 100 pounds of coupons overseas | 9news.com.

Evelyn Lefferding shops at a new convenience store inside Clermont Park in University Hills. One factor that sets the retirement community’s expansion financing apart is the large number of individuals who bought bonds in the offering. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)Finding money to refurbish and expand aging retirement communities hasn’t been an easy task in this economy.

via Individuals buy chunk of financing to revamp an aging Denver retirement community – The Denver Post.

Cookie decorators take a break to pose for a picture. Front row from left: Residents Bob, Rem, Cathy, Shirl and Wilma. Back row: Staff member Barb, Stephanie, her brother, Robbie, sister, Jenna and staff Carol and Linda.

For many, the holidays are about traditions. This year, The Village in Centennial may have landed on a new custom by paying homage to an old one.

It began on Dec. 15 when The Village residents were invited to go on an evening Christmas light tour of area neighborhoods. The night was cold and everyone was bundled up to see the sights! The tour itself , which concluded with drive down brightly lit Main Street in Littleton, was magnificent with many festive decorations—some simple and others over the top.

Upon returning to The Village, mothers and daughters from the National Charity League greeted residents and staff with various Christmas treats that ranged from small gingerbread houses to colorfully decorated sugar cookies.

Those holiday goodies struck a chord with Village resident Bob Palme, who mentioned that one of his favorite Christmas traditions was decorating cookies. Cherry Creek High School student Stephanie Sullan, who was there as part of the entourage from the National Charity League, decided to take it upon herself to make his dream come true.

A week later, Stephanie, her sister, Jenna, brother, Robbie, and mother, Jessica, returned to The Village armed with sugar cookies and various sprinkles and adornments for a decorating party. With Christmas music playing softly in the background, the room was abuzz with excitement as 20 residents gathered around the table to decorate cookies and share stories of some of their favorite holiday traditions from their childhoods.

Story by Barb Brown, Life Enrichment Associate

It is normal to feel overwhelmed during the holiday season. The pressure to have the perfect holiday can be extraordinary, says Dr. Katherine Nordal, executive director for professional practice at APA.

Beginning Friday, January 6, the Holly Creek Retirement Community in Centennial is offering a free, four-week stress management course specifically designed for seniors.  My Stress Solutions is one of several courses offered through Holly Creeks Masterpiece Living program, which promotes physical, social, intellectual and spiritual well-being for seniors.

My Stress Solutions is a program developed by Mayo Clinic health experts to help individuals identify and manage their stress, said Masterpiece Living lifestyle coordinator Melissa Fisk. This program teaches seniors new stress management strategies and how to develop a plan for managing stress in the future.

Although free, space is limited. For more information or to RSVP, call (720) 226-5611.

Located at 5500 E. Peakview Ave. in Centennial, Colorado, seniors have been calling the Holly Creek Retirement Community home for more than six years.  For more information on the community or Masterpiece Living, visit www.hollycreekretirementcommunity.com.

Yourhub

Second, I think she explained her experience in a really delightful way. I believe that all of us, along our own spiritual journeys, accumulate a lot of excess ‘stuff’ in our souls. That ‘stuff’ might be guilt, grief, regret, doubt, anxiety, or any number of things that cause us to feel like we’re carrying around a heavy load.

It reminds me of my children’s school backpacks, jammed full, weighing what feels like thirty or forty pounds. My question to them is, “Do you really need to carry all this stuff?” Maybe I need to ask myself that question once in a while. I guess we could all use a little “soul-cleaning” now and then, to get rid of some of our excess baggage.

The season of Advent and Christmas calls us to sort through our lives, get rid of the things that aren’t important, and focus on what is really, truly precious in our lives. The prophet Isaiah says,

Make the road straight and smooth, a highway fit for our God.
Fill in the valleys, level off the hills,
Smooth out the ruts, clear out the rocks.

May you find time this Advent/Christmas for clearing out your soul, lightening your load, and truly enjoying the gifts that God has brought into your life.

Chaplain Jim Kok – Executive Director of Chaplain Services

Holly Creek residents clip coupons for families on bases in Europe to help them save. Read the stories here:

YourHub
The Villager Newspaper