FOR THOSE WHO ARE 60 yrs OLD AND ABOVE PLEASE READ THIS.

 

FOR THOSE WHO ARE 60 yrs OLD AND ABOVE PLEASE READ THIS. This is for you. I really like what is said here and am going to try my best to follow it. Thank you to the person who wrote this. May God bless us all as we strive to be a blessing to others at this age, especially to our children. 

🚩Between 60 and death. It's time to use the money you saved up. Use it and enjoy it. Don't just keep it for those who may have no notion of the sacrifices you made to get it. Remember there is nothing more dangerous than a son or daughter-in-law with big ideas for your hard-earned capital. 

🚩Warning: This is also a bad time for investments, even if it seems wonderful or fool-proof. They only bring problems and worries. This is a time for you to enjoy some peace and quiet. 

🚩Stop worrying about the financial situation of your children and grandchildren, and don't feel bad spending your money on yourself. You've taken care of them for many years, and you've taught them what you could. You gave them an education, food, shelter, and support. The responsibility is now theirs to earn their own money. 

🚩Keep a healthy life, without great physical effort. Do moderate exercise (like walking every day), eat well, and get your sleep. It's easy to become sick, and it gets harder to remain healthy. That is why you need to keep yourself in good shape and be aware of your medical and physical needs. Keep in touch with your doctor, do tests even when you're feeling well. Stay informed. 

🚩Always buy the best, most beautiful items for your significant other. The key goal is to enjoy your money with your partner. One day one of you will miss the other, and the money will not provide any comfort then, enjoy it together. 

🚩Don't stress over the little things. You've already overcome so much in your life. You have good memories and bad ones, but the important thing is the present. Don't let the past drag you down and don't let the future frighten you. Feel good in the now. Small issues will soon be forgotten. 

🚩Regardless of age, always keep love alive. Love your partner, love life, love your family, love your neighbor and remember: "A man is not old as long as he has intelligence and affection." 

🚩Be proud, both inside and out. Don't stop going to your hair salon or barber, do your nails, go to the dermatologist and the dentist, keep your perfumes and creams well stocked. When you are well-maintained on the outside, it seeps in, making you feel proud and strong. 

🚩Don’t lose sight of fashion trends for your age, but keep your own sense of style. You’ve developed your own sense of what looks good on you – keep it and be proud of it. It’s part of who you are. 

🚩ALWAYS stay up-to-date. Read newspapers, watch the news. Go online and read what people are saying. Make sure you have an active email account and try to use some of those social networks. You'll be surprised at what old friends you'll meet. 

🚩Respect the younger generation and their opinions. They may not have the same ideas as you, but they are the future and will take the world in their direction. Give advice, not criticism, and try to remind them that yesterday's wisdom still applies today. Never use the phrase: “In my time.” Your time is now. As long as you’re alive, you are part of this time. 

🚩Some people embrace their golden years, while others become bitter and surly. Life is too short to waste your days on the latter. Spend your time with positive, cheerful people, it'll rub off on you and your days will seem that much better. Spending your time with bitter people will make you feel older and harder to be around. 

🚩Do not surrender to the temptation of living with your children or grandchildren (if you have a financial choice, that is). Sure, being surrounded by family sounds great, but we all need our privacy. They need theirs and you need yours. Even then, do so only if you feel you really need the help or do not want to live by yourself 

🚩Don't abandon your hobbies. If you don't have any, make new ones. You can travel, hike, cook, read, dance. You can adopt a cat or a dog, grow a kitchen garden, play cards, checkers, chess, dominoes, golf. 🚩Try to go. Get out of the house, meet people you haven't seen in a while, experience something new (or something old). The important thing is to leave the house from time to time. Go to museums, go walk through a park. Get out there. 

🚩Speak in courteous tones and try not to complain or criticize too much unless you really need to. Try to accept situations as they are. 

🚩Pains and discomfort go hand in hand with getting older. Try not to dwell on them but accept them as a part of life. 

🚩If you've been offended by someone – forgive them. If you've offended someone-apologize. Don't drag around resentment with you. It only serves to make you sad and bitter. It doesn't matter who was right. Someone once said: "Holding a grudge is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die." Don't take that poison. Forgive, forget, and move on with your life. 

🚩Laugh. Laugh away your worries Remember, you are one of the lucky ones. You managed to have a life, a long one. Many never get to this age, never get to experience a full life. My valued friends, enjoy peaceful life at this point in your life ... Don't worry... be happy.

Hollywood Squares Chuckles

Q . Paul, what is a good reason for pounding meat?  

A. Paul Lynde: Loneliness! (The audience laughed so long and so hard it took up almost 15 minutes of the show!) 

Q. It is the most abused and neglected part of your body, what is it? 

A. Paul Lynde: Mine may be abused, but it certainly isn’t neglected. 

Q. Do female frogs croak? 

A. Paul Lynde: If you hold their little heads under water long enough. 

Q. If you're going to make a parachute jump, at least how high should you be? 

A. Charley Weaver: Three days of steady drinking should do it. 

Q. True or False, a pea can last as long as 5,000 years? 

A. George Gobel: Boy, it sure seems that way sometimes. 

Q. You've been having trouble going to sleep. Are you probably a man or a woman? 

A. Don Knotts: That's what's been keeping me awake. 

Q. According to Cosmopolitan, if you meet a stranger at a party and you think that he is attractive, is it okay to come out and ask him if he's married? 

A. Rose Marie: No, wait until morning. 

Q. Which of your five senses tends to diminish as you get older? 

A. Charley Weaver: My sense of decency. 

Q. What are 'Do It,' 'I Can Help,' and 'I Can't Get Enough'? 

A. George Gobel: I don't know, but it's coming from the next apartment. 

Q. As you grow older, do you tend to gesture more or less with your hands while talking? 

A. Rose Marie: You ask me one more growing old question Peter, and I'll give you a gesture you'll never forget. 

Q. Paul, why do Hell's Angels wear leather? 

A. Paul Lynde: Because chiffon wrinkles too easily. 

Q. Charley, you've just decided to grow strawberries. Are you going to get any during the first year? 

A. Charley Weaver: Of course not, I'm too busy growing strawberries. 

Q. In bowling, what's a perfect score? 

A. Rose Marie: Ralph, the pin boy. 

Q. During a tornado, are you safer in the bedroom or in the closet? 

A. Rose Marie: Unfortunately Peter, I'm always safe in the bedroom. 

Q. Can boys join the Camp Fire Girls? 

A. Marty Allen: Only after lights out. 

Q. When you pat a dog on its head he will wag his tail. What will a goose do? 

A. Paul Lynde: Make him bark? 

Q. If you were pregnant for two years, what would you give birth to? 

A. Paul Lynde: Whatever it is, it would never be afraid of the dark. 

Q. According to Ann Landers, is there anything wrong with getting into the habit of kissing a lot of people? 

A. Charley Weaver: It got me out of the army. 

Q. Back in the old days, when Great Grandpa put horseradish on his head, what was he trying to do? 

A. George Gobel: Get it in his mouth. 

Q. Jackie Gleason recently revealed that he firmly believes in them and has actually seen them on at least two occasions. What are they? 

A. Charley Weaver: His feet. 

Q. According to Ann Landers, what are two things you should never do in bed? 

A. Paul Lynde: Point and laugh.

Mike Wilshire - My Friend - Church Pastor - 1949 to October 16, 2021

 

 

I was once told that when you remember someone that has died, the most important thing is that hyphen. They were born, and they died, but that hyphen - represents what they did with their life. Mike Wilshire had a wonderful hyphen!

Me at 19, on the left
 with the guitar

I became a Christian when I was 18 years old. I had played guitar for five years in high school bands. I studied music. So I decided I could write some songs, and I wrote at least a dozen or so pretty good songs. 

Spiritual Revolution Day,
March 6th, 1971 

I once went to an event called Spiritual Revolution Day that occurred in March of 1971 and met a lot of like minded Christians. At the time they were called, “Jesus Freaks”. They had a similar experience as I did. They were searching for answers and found them in God’s Word; 

The Bible.

The Jesus Movement

The media called this The Jesus Movement. Looking back, it was the Fourth Great Awakening of The Holy Spirit. In my opinion in this diverse age where everything is tied up in politics, racial divides, and justification of sexual identity we could sure use a Fifth Great Awakening.  I have no doubt it will come.

I was able to travel around to churches, coffee houses, and events and share my songs and thoughts and listen to those of other Christians. One afternoon I went to a local park that had a band shell where outdoor concerts were occasionally held. Two guys were playing music there and that is where I met Mike Wilshire and Blainey Shepherd. 

Mike Wilshire -
Photo by Paul Niehaus 

Here were two young guys, each playing a Martin guitar and singing the most marvelous Christian songs that I have ever heard. Their two part harmonies were unlike nothing I had heard before. So I had to go meet them when they were done. They were so nice. Blaine was relatively shy, but Mike was very outspoken. 

I later saw them at prayer meetings, and some other places where local Christian artists could perform. I pretty much have learned to play guitar by watching and listening to other players, so I was able to learn some of Mike's songs and added them to my repertoire. One song called "Make Me Over" had the most interesting chord changes. It started in D major, the went to D# major, and resolved back to D major in just a few short bars. 

I shared it once in a song writing class and the teacher brought his teacher in just to hear it.

Sally and Mike Wilshire

I eventually got to meet Mike’s wife, Sally Wilshire. Sally grew up in Virginia, and you could sure tell by her lovely Southern draw. It just radiated from them that both Mike and Sally were very special souls. Their love of God and sweet spirits just shown through. And they were both hungry to learn more too. 

I was invited to their home. They were living in an upstairs bedroom at Mike’s mother’s house.  His mother and sisters occupied the lower floor.

The Denems

I learned that Mike had been in a band in high school called The Denems. They had to misspell the band's name since there was another group with a similar name. Mike sang and played bass guitar in this band. 

The band's drummer was a guy named Steve Belew. One summer Steve became very ill and his father bought him a guitar that he could noodle around on while he was bedridden. Steve became VERY GOOD on the guitar. 

Belew then joined a band named Adrian. That band didn’t last long, but Steve liked the name so much that he changed his own name to Adrian Belew. He became so good that he was hired by a few artists and got his break by touring with Frank Zappa and David Bowie. You might have heard of him. But I digress. 

Another friend’s brother eventually replaced Mike Wilshire in the Denems as the bass guitarist after Mike left.

Little Richard - Hendrix on the left

Mike had left high school at age 15 and ran away from home to start playing in bands in NYC that were managed by the mob. He played in bands that toured with little Richard and Jimi Hendrix, before Jimi was “Jimi Hendrix” and not yet famous. Jimi was just little Richard’s guitar player on the road. 

1970 Hippy Commune

Mike Wilshire eventually became the leader of a hippie commune in Virginia Beach in the late 60’s early 70’s where he relentlessly searched for truth in any and all eastern religions and new age Edgar Cayce teachings. 

He met and married Sally during the time at that commune. But nothing he did ever rang true until he encountered the God of the Bible, and that changed his trajectory forever. 

After he and Sally dedicated their lives to God they attended a large congregation in Virginia Beach called Rock Church. 

A friend of mine who has pastored a few churches and was the drummer for the Christian band, Prodigal tells his story about Mike. 

Dave Workman

Pastor Dave Workman recalled that when he was in the 11th grade he rehearsed with Mike Wilshire and Blainey Shepherd. He said they were trying to work out Honky Tonk Woman, and Don’t Let Me down. (I know that Wilshire was fond of Beatles songs. Mike had once told me he taught his son Beatle songs and their chord changes).  However this young trio broke up before it ever got started. 

Dave went on to play drums in the band I have mentioned, "Adrian", and recorded a few songs at The Fifth Floor Studios in downtown Cincinnati. The bass player later left to play in a Pittsburgh band called Borrowed Thyme. The group members moved to Kentucky. 

Dave Workman said he was invited to audition for Borrowed Thyme. Their main guitar player at the time was Sid McGinnis, who went on to be a session guitarist in NYC and play in the Dave Letterman Show band.  The other guitarist was J.P. Pennington who went to Nashville and became a record producer. One of his big hits was with the band Exile. It was called Kiss You All Over. 

Dave was passed over at the audition.

So Workman found himself one day in Kentucky hitch hiking when Mike Wilshire stopped and picked him up and started sharing his faith. Workman said he thought this was sort of cute and totally weird, but it bothered him. He continued to think about Mike's words.

Prodigal (band) 1975 

Dave Workman said he found a job playing drums with a Cincinnati bar band and living in a house with the guys in the band. After a series of events that included getting high and then seeing The Exorcist, Dave turned to The Lord. The band didn’t want a Jesus Freak living with them and split up. 

Workman got a job at a local department store called Swallen's, and it was there he bumped into Mike Wilshire again. Mike asked him what Bible he was reading. Dave, not knowing there was more than one translation or version simply said, “A white one.” Mike suggested he get The Living Bible, which was quite popular at the time. It was conveniently available at Swallen's. 

Since those days Dave Workman has been a Christian drummer and a pastor for at least 50 years now at a few churches and now has his own ministry called Elemental Churches. He is married to a wonderful lady. 

After Mike Wilshire and his wife Sally had a baby they decided to move back to Virginia Beach. This was around 1974. 

Rock Church Virginia Beach

By then Rock Church had started a Bible College. Mike and Sally both attended and graduated. I believe Mike was an associate pastor for awhile at this church.

Cornerstone Church

In 1976 Mike and Sally started their own church called Cornerstone Church in Roanoke, Virginia.

Sally and Mike Wilshire

They were co-pastors at the church for over 30 years. During that time Mike’s health deteriorated. I believe he had contracted a terrible disease called histoplasmosis, which is a severe fungal infection that can have adverse effects on a person’s lungs, and sometimes even result in blindness. It was so bad for Mike that he underwent a double-lung transplant some time in 1995.  It is truly a miracle that he recovered and was able to go back to preaching and pastoring his church. 

Mike Wilshire

Over the years, Mike was a wonderful pastor and truly beloved by his congregation. He loved The Lord and it showed. 

Mike Wilshire passed away this past October 16th at the age of 72. He leaves behind his wife Sally, and son Micah. 

Sally is the pastor emeritus of the congregation, and son Micah went on to a career in music. Micah did some recording and then started a band called Wilshire, and later became a record producer in Nashville. 

I have to say that during my brief time spent, during my youth, with Mike and Sally, I truly learned so much about being a Christian, a guitarist (I started to learn finger style guitar from him), and later on about being a married man. Both Mike and Sally were such an inspiration and I doubt they ever realized the impact they had on this man's life.

Micah Wilshire

Recently his son Micah wrote, “My dad was called home to heaven Saturday night at the age of 72. (Michael Wesley Wilshire). But I didn’t lose him. He was just upgraded. I know God smiled when he entered heaven and told him “well done thou good and faithful servant”. 

"The last 26 years of his 72 were wrapped in physical struggle after his double lung transplant... then later congestive heart failure, loss of one kidney and functioning on 30% of the last one. He was the toughest man I’ve known. 

He was a pastor for 33 years. He positively affected thousands of lives directly and indirectly. He shepherded with humility, grace and with an intellect I’ve only seen once. But before that he was a drugged out hippie musician.

He taught me everything I know about music. How to sing, play drums, guitar and bass, and how to write. And most importantly how to navigate through this world and know the one true God. I’m beyond thankful. I love you dad."

Mike Wilshire's Celebration - His Favorite Song by Don Moen

"When It's All Been Said and Done"

Well done thou good and faithful servant.