FINISHING WELL

Send us Fan Mail As I think about the life of Naomi and how she lived her later years, I cannot help but think of a principle that we learn in the Advent story 3 you cannot tell the end from the beginning. Apart from the Old Testament promises of the Messiah ad the angelic announcements of Messiah's birth, the majestic destiny of Jesus might never be guessed from His humble beginnings and sur...

Send us Fan Mail Simeon and Anna, two biblical figures who exemplify living well in old age. Simeon, described as righteous and devout, was anticipating the Messiah and was assured by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he saw the Lord's Christ. Upon meeting Jesus, he blessed God and was ready to die in peace. Anna, a widow for 84 years, dedicated her life to fasting, praying, and ser...

Send us Fan Mail Hal Habecker discusses the biblical perspective on retirement, focusing on the Levites who retired at age 50 to serve in 48 cities across Israel. Despite the modern concept of retirement being less than a century old, Habecker emphasizes that the Bible addresses it implicitly. He highlights the Levites' post-retirement roles as pastors, judges, and teachers, stressing their c...

Send us Fan Mail This study explores the lives of several key biblical characters to examine how they finished their earthly journeys—whether in strength, struggle, or redemption. Hal Habecker introduces a series on aging and fulfilling God's purpose, emphasizing that aging is a meaningful part of God's plan. Hal argues that older people are a valuable resource often ignored by culture c...

Send us Fan Mail Randy Marshall and Hal Habecker discuss the importance of friendship, particularly in the aging years. They emphasize humility, adversity, and empathy as key traits of true friendship. Randy shares an analogy about finding one's life's purpose through the support of five close friends and the realization that life is brief, with an average of 30,000 days. They highlight...

Send us Fan Mail As we age, living with and influencing our adult children is a huge theme in life. In this podcast, listen to Hal as he interviews well-known psychologist, Dr. Ken Wilgus about life with adult children. Ken has written an exceptional book entitled, Feeding the Mouth That Bites You, and while Ken’s book focuses on the adolescent years, the principles he shares are timeless and crit...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Hal Habecker and Ken Wilgus discuss the importance of planned emancipation in parenting and grandparenting. They emphasize respecting adult children and grandchildren, avoiding overbearing advice, and fostering independent adulthood. Wilgus highlights the need for churches to involve older teenagers in mentoring and to support families with technology and discipline. He advise...

Send us Fan Mail How does being a Finalist sound to you? Would this role involve significant change for you? If so, are you willing to try it? It may seem challenging, but the ‘win,’ the true success in life – will bring incalculable rewards beyond any of our imaginations. Remember that these podcasts are transcribed should you wish to read the details. Support the show "Finishing Well Minist...

Send us Fan Mail Aging is a gift. Yet, many of us may not think that way. Typically, our culture speaks of aging in a negative way, and too often we ourselves think of aging in the same negative ways. God disagrees. Scripture speaks of aging positive ways. Listen to Randy thinking about aging as “A way journey to purpose, peace, and joy.” Support the show "Finishing Well Ministries aims to en...

Send us Fan Mail Vicki Habecker tells her story about how God is working in her life in a completely unexpected way a new friend, Anna. Listen to her story and let’s listen to God for the new ways He might be calling us to follow Him. Support the show "Finishing Well Ministries aims to encourage and inspire aging Christians to understand and embrace God’s calling in their later years, equippi...

Send us Fan Mail Rewarding friendships in our aging years are wonderful gifts from God. In this podcast we’ll explore this truth. I hope you will find it rewarding. Pass it on to others. Randy and I will follow with more friendship insights in future podcasts. When I think of rich friendships, my mind runs to a great quote from C.S. Lewis. Enjoy it. In friendship, we think we have chosen our peers...

Send us Fan Mail Is the 7 Essentials Curriculum Making a Difference?" Join Hal as he interviews David Windley about the impact the 7 Essentials is making in David's life and ministry  as he leads a 4th Quarter ministry with EastWest Ministries in Dallas. I believe God wants to make an impact through the 7 Essentials in every place. David illustrates this in his life. Support the show &qu...

Send us Fan Mail In this podcast, Hal and his wife, Vicki, talk about the importance of FINDING SIGNIFICANCE AS WE AGE They address these four questions: 1. What happens when you’re no longer a big deal? 2. What happens when you’re no longer the king pin? 3. What happens when you’re no longer the big kahuna? 4. What happens if the world is not waiting with bated breath to know what I’m doing or wh...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Hal interviews Jerry Wiles on the topic of remarkable book just published entitled, Simple Relational Disciple Making: Ancient Ways for Modern Times. It is a fascinating book that relates to sharing the Gospel and disciple-making, and how that mission should be part of our lives more and more as we age. This conversation has relevance to everything we do, and it r...

Send us Fan Mail Leaning into a new year and all God has for us in it is a wonderful way to enter 2025. Listen to Hal as he shares his heart for God’s purposes in 2025 both personally for him and his family and for the work of Finishing Well Ministries. Support the show "Finishing Well Ministries aims to encourage and inspire aging Christians to understand and embrace God’s calling in their l...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the story of Hezekiah. God gave Hezekiah 15 more years to live. Wouldn’t you like to learn from him how to finish well or how not to finish well? Let’s learn from his fascinating story. It is recorded in 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29.1-33; and Isaiah 36-39. Support the show "Finishing Well Ministries aims to encourage and inspire aging Christians to understand and...

Send us Fan Mail A few weeks ago we met Jerry Wiles, a choice servant of God who is making a significant contribution for the cause of Christ in encouraging Christians to age well for the sake of the Gospel.  In today’s podcast Jerry will address the important of brain health and how it applies to us in living well and finishing well.  Listen well to his story today and take notes on his wisdom ab...

Send us Fan Mail Last month I had the privilege of being a guest on ‘Saving Grace Podcast,’ a regular podcast produced by Grace School of Theology, Houston, Texas. My interviewer was a good friend, Tracy Marshall, a fellow church member where we attend. It was a great opportunity to share the work of Finishing Well Ministries with their network and the radio network of Salem Radio Network. I hope...

Send us Fan Mail Hal Habecker interviews Tom Watson, a longtime friend, about his life journey and transition into retirement. Tom shares his upbringing in Pampa, Texas, his education in agriculture and biology, and his career as an anesthesiologist in Texarkana. He discusses the challenges of aging, the decision to retire, and the move back to Dallas to be closer to family. Tom emphasizes the imp...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s podcast, we will meet Jerry Wiles, a choice servant of God who is making a significant contribution to the cause of Christ in encouraging Christians to age well for the sake of the Gospel. Listen well to his story, learn through his life challenges, and take notes on his wisdom about finishing well. Learn more about him at Jerry Wiles at Jerry Wiles — James Houston Cent...

Send us Fan Mail Losing a loved one to dementia is an all-encompassing grief - it affects you physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.  Listen today as Hal’s wife Vicki interviews 2 of her closest friends, Dawn Pownell and Mary Yarbrough.  The 3 of them will share honest yet heart-warming stories (be prepared to laugh and maybe shed a tear or two).  They will offer encouraging suggestio...

Send us Fan Mail As Hal interviews John Sparks, John shares his story of how God is using him to encourage others in his neighborhood with a simple vison and a dog. It’s a fascinating story, and the journey continues. John’s story will encourage you and perhaps bring fresh insights as to how God wants to use each of us – with the simplest of ways becoming open doors for the work of the Spirit thro...

Send us Fan Mail By the year 2060, over 95 million people in America will be over 65. That’s an increase of over 30+ million in just 36 years – by then 1 in 4 people will be over 65. How is FWM making a difference? How does God call us and the church to prepare for this population change? Let’s make a difference by being older people committed to God’s purposes in our aging years. Let’s call the c...

Send us Fan Mail Life has lots of interruptions and uncertainties. They may be as simple as too many red lights when one is in a hurry, and they may be as profound and life-changing as an unexpected illness or even death. We can also expect that the longer we live these uncertainties of life may even become more frequent for ourselves or with family and friends. Can we prepare for them? How do we...

Send us Fan Mail The destructive fire of the historic sanctuary of First Baptist Church, Dallas, started Hal & Vicki thinking about their memories of churches that God used in their lives. This historic church is what God used to launch them into ministry. Perhaps this podcast will jog some thoughts in your heart about the churches that have been a part of your life and how God used them to st...