Missy Buchanan
@missybuchanan.bsky.social
Author-speaker on topics of faithful aging. I have penned 11 books for Upper Room Books.
If you want to honor the memory of Rob and Michele Reiner, watch the documentary he helped produce in 2024– God & Country. We can do better. We can be better.
December 15, 2025 at 10:54 PM
If you want to honor the memory of Rob and Michele Reiner, watch the documentary he helped produce in 2024– God & Country. We can do better. We can be better.
Australia, Brown University, Rob Reiner and wife… just the most recent reminders of our broken world. From yesterday’s Advent reading: “Let us pray for the world God so loves…for those who walk in darkness & the shadow of death….”
December 15, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Australia, Brown University, Rob Reiner and wife… just the most recent reminders of our broken world. From yesterday’s Advent reading: “Let us pray for the world God so loves…for those who walk in darkness & the shadow of death….”
An older couple using walkers joined our church yesterday. They moved from DFW to be near their son. It was hard, she said, leaving community. She brightened when I told her I had moved from DFW too. She got excited to learn that we know some of the same people. We all need encouragement as we age.
December 15, 2025 at 12:28 PM
An older couple using walkers joined our church yesterday. They moved from DFW to be near their son. It was hard, she said, leaving community. She brightened when I told her I had moved from DFW too. She got excited to learn that we know some of the same people. We all need encouragement as we age.
Churches, we can change this. But it won’t happen if we are not intentional in our efforts. Older adults need continued spiritual formation!
December 14, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Churches, we can change this. But it won’t happen if we are not intentional in our efforts. Older adults need continued spiritual formation!
“It seems to me that a lot of Christians are so busy yapping, they fail to sit in solitude and open themselves to the voice of God.” - my older friend in her weekly e-letter
December 13, 2025 at 12:56 PM
“It seems to me that a lot of Christians are so busy yapping, they fail to sit in solitude and open themselves to the voice of God.” - my older friend in her weekly e-letter
One way to use grandmother’s china, create a mini-arrangement in a tea cup. #MerryChristmas
December 13, 2025 at 11:53 AM
One way to use grandmother’s china, create a mini-arrangement in a tea cup. #MerryChristmas
Ask an older loved one to share their happiest or funniest Christmas memories with the whole family this year. Encourage younger family members to listen and learn. Honor them by using family recipes or dishes. Ask older loved ones to tell how they celebrated Christmas when they were young.
December 13, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Ask an older loved one to share their happiest or funniest Christmas memories with the whole family this year. Encourage younger family members to listen and learn. Honor them by using family recipes or dishes. Ask older loved ones to tell how they celebrated Christmas when they were young.
Listen carefully to the demonizing rhetoric you hear about different groups of people... and ponder these words carefully. Skye Jethani ends the podcast with a great question: When have you felt this temptation to remain silent for the sake of acceptance?
December 12, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Listen carefully to the demonizing rhetoric you hear about different groups of people... and ponder these words carefully. Skye Jethani ends the podcast with a great question: When have you felt this temptation to remain silent for the sake of acceptance?
Reach out to an older adult today and let them know that they are important to you! Take them for a drive to look at Christmas lights. Let them know they belong!
December 11, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Reach out to an older adult today and let them know that they are important to you! Take them for a drive to look at Christmas lights. Let them know they belong!
Pastor, when is the last time you went to a nursing home or assisted living for more than a “drive by” visit? If you are spending more time on social media or creating podcasts than talking about deep questions of faith with those in late life, let me ask you to reconsider.
December 10, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Pastor, when is the last time you went to a nursing home or assisted living for more than a “drive by” visit? If you are spending more time on social media or creating podcasts than talking about deep questions of faith with those in late life, let me ask you to reconsider.
“Jesus keeps calling us back to the basics:
Love your neighbor.
Care for the vulnerable.
Tell the truth.
Forgive generously.
Show up fully.”
—Pastor Beau Stringer
Love your neighbor.
Care for the vulnerable.
Tell the truth.
Forgive generously.
Show up fully.”
—Pastor Beau Stringer
December 10, 2025 at 11:43 AM
“Jesus keeps calling us back to the basics:
Love your neighbor.
Care for the vulnerable.
Tell the truth.
Forgive generously.
Show up fully.”
—Pastor Beau Stringer
Love your neighbor.
Care for the vulnerable.
Tell the truth.
Forgive generously.
Show up fully.”
—Pastor Beau Stringer
Aging brings unexpected changes, but each one is an invitation to grow.
December 10, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Aging brings unexpected changes, but each one is an invitation to grow.
If you are 70+, you might enjoy a stroll down Memory Lane with The Perry Como Christmas Show from 1957 on YouTube. The McGuire Sisters… fabulous, and the old commercials are priceless.
December 9, 2025 at 6:18 PM
If you are 70+, you might enjoy a stroll down Memory Lane with The Perry Como Christmas Show from 1957 on YouTube. The McGuire Sisters… fabulous, and the old commercials are priceless.
On the journey of aging, there's a temptation to become more rigid as you face loss and change. Practice these four words each day-- "I might be wrong." Make room for God to bring you new insight and understanding as you grow older! !
December 9, 2025 at 11:59 AM
On the journey of aging, there's a temptation to become more rigid as you face loss and change. Practice these four words each day-- "I might be wrong." Make room for God to bring you new insight and understanding as you grow older! !
Wow oh wow! Just learned of a church that’s hosting a #BlueChristmas service (#grief support) and is giving away copies of my book, Feeling Your Way Through Grief. How very generous and thoughtful!
December 8, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Wow oh wow! Just learned of a church that’s hosting a #BlueChristmas service (#grief support) and is giving away copies of my book, Feeling Your Way Through Grief. How very generous and thoughtful!
"If we die in guilt, anger, and bitterness, not fully reconciled with those around us, our memory will not bring warmth, and our spirit will burden our families and those who knew us." (Ronald Rolheiser)
December 8, 2025 at 11:57 AM
"If we die in guilt, anger, and bitterness, not fully reconciled with those around us, our memory will not bring warmth, and our spirit will burden our families and those who knew us." (Ronald Rolheiser)
"The process of maturing, aging and eventually dying is designed to teach us... that we are not in charge, that self-sufficiency is an illusion." -Ronald Rolheiser, Insane for the Light
December 7, 2025 at 11:34 AM
"The process of maturing, aging and eventually dying is designed to teach us... that we are not in charge, that self-sufficiency is an illusion." -Ronald Rolheiser, Insane for the Light
So encouraging to meet a church librarian today who thanked me for writing books on faithful aging.
December 7, 2025 at 12:51 AM
So encouraging to meet a church librarian today who thanked me for writing books on faithful aging.
On this beautiful December morning, I got to hear my friend and fellow Upper Room Books author Beth A. Richardson speak at St. John’s United Methodist Church in Austin TX. The topic: Staying Grounded in the Wilderness. ‘Twas balm for the soul!
December 6, 2025 at 8:51 PM
On this beautiful December morning, I got to hear my friend and fellow Upper Room Books author Beth A. Richardson speak at St. John’s United Methodist Church in Austin TX. The topic: Staying Grounded in the Wilderness. ‘Twas balm for the soul!