Here’s where the roving eye of Bob Sitze lands on interesting or important events, trends, discoveries, opinions or research that are part of contemporary life. Sometimes missed in spiritually oriented utterances, the stuff of life consists of all the places where God’s hand stirs, supports or motivates. These blogs may also include links for further information or action.
I don’t always sleep well at night. Some of that comes from the ordinary physical realities of getting older, and I probably take too many snoozes and naps during the day. Medical matters sometimes swirl around in my head. Unnecessarily, I take onto myself part of our nation’s generalized anxiety about surreal political machinations and bizarre leaders. All of those become reasons why myMORE...
At this time in my life, I think about work differently than when I was working in a specific profession. Several of those musings took place during worship at our church the day before Labor Day, which prompts the following quiltwork of thoughts. At my age, I am rewarded for the various personal and volunteer roles I am immersed in—the pay is just different. In a way, I’m still being paid—IMORE...
I’ve been a *homeless shelter volunteer for years, so am familiar with the scope of that work on a normal evening. Last weekend was different—a few of the residents were severely agitated, a disturbance that required more than our usual responses. Usually I come home from those late-night shifts with the usual mixture of emotions—admiration, sorrow, guilt, frustration, gratitude and resolve. FromMORE...
One of the new books on top of my work desk is a Roman Catholic *hagiography that walks readers through a year of celebration of the lives and witness of acknowledged saints. These stories of historical heroes whose lives have given hope and courage to Christians for years. You might want to consider how reading about saints could inform your own spiritual well-being. That’s what happens for meMORE...
Perhaps one of your family members serves in the United States military. In the preceding blog, we considered what *“best soldiering” includes and how **Luther’s thoughts help add spiritual focus to military service. Today I share reflections about how I might honor soldiers—while they are deployed and when they return. In our church—yours, too?—we include armed services personnel in our weeklyMORE...
Perhaps one of your dear family members serves in the United States military. In this and the following blog I hope to strengthen your appreciation of that service as a spiritually connected matter, in fact a calling! The older son of our good friends recently participated in the *U.S. Army Reserve’s 2019 Best Warrior competition. Presently a law enforcement officer, he was nominated by fellowMORE...
A question from high school geometry: How many diameters are there in a circle? One answer might be “an infinite number”. Another might be “only one”. In the first answer, you’re thinking that any two directly opposite points around the perimeter of a circle could be a diameter. In the second answer, you’re responding that because any diameter is the same as all others, there is actually only oneMORE...
(In the preceding entry I shared my continuing vexation about our nation’s leader. Today I want to explore the possibility that there might something useful embedded in that too-frequent fretting.) Today I want to explore with you some ways in which being deeply worried could also compel me towards a life that’s practical and purposeful. See if any of these ideas match what’s inside in your ownMORE...
(Today’s topic requires more than one entry. First some observations about the matter of anxiety, and next time an exploration of what might be useful embedded in what appears to be a problem.) You’ve probably noticed the recent flurry of my anxiety-related thoughts. You deserve an explanation and perhaps some encouragement if this phenomenon is digging at the foundations of your well-beingMORE...
If yesterday was Easter special, this week may return to post-Easter ordinary. Or not? I take my cues from the likelihood that the first disciples dealt with the same choice. “He is risen” had not yet reached the ears of many of them—some may not have known anything except the desolate sadness of Jesus’ death. And those for whom resurrection was as tangible as an evening meal may still haveMORE...
BOB SITZE has filled the many years of his lifework in diverse settings around the United States. His calling has included careers as a teacher/principal, church musician, writer/author, denominational executive staff member and meat worker. Bob lives in Wheaton, IL.