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.
No way…! Not you. Not me. Recently I was part of a meeting about gun violence—the discussion aimed at what we can do about this vexing reality. After outlining the specifics of this dire situation, the group came to admit that we felt powerless…. (Well, most of the group except for this writer, the older fellow who was not in synch with the group’s zeitgeist.) It struck me that feelings ofMORE...
Every so often, I am struck by how fragile our lives can be. So many of life’s difficult times begin with a startling moment that changes everything. With sometimes little warning, the exquisitely intricate facets of daily living can disappear suddenly. Lines that have bound us tightly to others fray and snap. Normal health dissipates in the face of sobering test results. An accident snuffs outMORE...
As you read this note, you and I will be standing astride two separate years. Like the mythological Janus, we will be looking at the passing of time in two directions—forward and backward. (Unlike Janus, though, we are not mythological gods in charge of beginnings and endings, nor do we guard the gates of Heaven.) This is a good thing—looking at time as more than just this moment—because bothMORE...
Today’s entry continues a series of short musings about lectionary texts that may soon appear in your line-of-sight. These entries may prove helpful in interpreting the appointed lessons with sensitivity to the realities faced by those who are older. December Background It seems appropriate to look at biblical texts from the viewpoint of older adults, who were among the original writers, hearersMORE...
Recently I had the opportunity to worship in an African Methodist Episcopal Church (AMEC) congregation. Part of the worship style of this church includes frequent voicing of AMEN, something I thought I understood until that day’s experience. Follow my thoughts into what may also be new for you—about AMEN as a feature of the worship of God. The literal meaning of AMEN hearkens back to the Hebrew:MORE...
Today I invite you to join me in exultation about my new body-hygiene tool, an *ECOTOOLS Bristle Bath Brush! My first reason for delight: The old brush was starting to injure me—it kept coming apart in pieces large enough to dent my toes. Like autumn leaves, its bristles kept falling out of the handle, making it hard for my rubber ducky to swim. And it may have been secretly harboring dangerousMORE...
First it was Ken who entered hospice. Then Kent. And just yesterday, the news came that Bill has been placed under the care of a local hospice program. In each case, this later stage in personal and medical care has followed years of the quiet agonies that come when dealing with disease. What has struck me in each of these cases is how family members have worked out of sight of most of ourMORE...
(Today’s entry is a personal story that may not hold any deep or lasting lesson-for-life. Still, you might find some resonance in this experience that comes my way once a month.) For years now, “Hymn Sing With Bob” has gathered together a sturdy group of assisted living residents for an hour with old favorites. Some observations from a recent visit…. As usual, these good folks walk and wheelMORE...
(Today’s entry finds its inspiration in the *October 20, 2019 column by Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago Times columnist Mary Schmich, “What if this time of chaos is the beginning of something better?” .) It’s not news that we live in more-than-interesting times—they’re downright difficult, actually. All around us—sometimes inside of us—fear, confusion, anger and depression seem stronger than weMORE...
In case you missed it, this announcement: The University of California at Los Angeles has recently announced the establishment of the **UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute. The institute will be devoted to the study and promotion of kindness as a personal and civic virtue. The donors are especially interested in how kindness connects with other social sciences, and with the practice of mindfulnessMORE...
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.