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.
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...
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 a Sunday’s appointed lessons with sensitivity to the realities faced by those who are older. November Background It seems appropriate to look at biblical texts from the viewpoint of older adults, who were among the originalMORE...
After years of life-experiences and advanced education, I know a lot. One of the most valuable things I know is that there are a lot of things I don’t know. At this time in my life, I’m finding more occasions where I lack knowledge. This truism became apparent during a recent trip Chris and I took to Costa Rica. Over and over again, we found out that much of what we were experiencing was totallyMORE...
Ever experience total darkness? The kind where you literally can’t see your hand in front of your face? I’ve had experiences like that—in remote settings in another country, the inside of a cave and in my own home during a widespread power outage. I remember realizing that I couldn’t rely on my otherwise dependable eyes to help me determine where I was. Until the momentary panic dissolved, I feltMORE...
For a few weeks now, this phrase has been like a non-musical brain worm, stuck in the part of me that wonders about the state of the world, and my place in it. You know the legend—Nero playing music while the city burned around him, and later blaming Christians for the fire. Obviously, Nero could be analogous to any fatally flawed leader. That would be an easy bit of mental gymnastics, as inMORE...
I offer today’s entry as a small cornucopia for matters about which you and I might fuss. (Yes, I count myself as a sometimes-unrepentant sweater-about-small-stuff.) As with all of my blogs, this material is totally (1)legitimate and (2)authoritative, providing you the authority and legitimacy you need to pursue your own apprehension and complaining in new directions. (No, do not thank me—it onlyMORE...
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.