Category

Mind/Body

In this category you can find all the blogs that focus on mind/body matters, separately or intertwined. As people age, this aspect of life can be the most worrisome or worse. In these blogs, “fullness” suggests otherwise.

M

Internal derangement?

As the result of some recent medical tests, I have come to find out that part of one knee is “internally deranged.”  Always curious about anything medical, I wondered where else this diagnosis might apply. What other thoughts it might eventually generate. If deranged denotes the generic misplacement or inappropriateness of something, I’m willing to accept that diagnosis as generally true about meMORE...

Reformers and prophets live on

A Reformation Day thought: We might carry the same passions as prophets or reformers in the past. Those Christ-following people noticed something that needed correcting. Perhaps it seemed small, but it was connected to larger matters. By calling attention to and resolving a perhaps-minor problem, these believers hoped eventually to affect wider change. They started simply, marshalling theirMORE...

For pastors (only)

I’ve known lots of pastors like you over my life. Your work has always been difficult, but recently it may have become tougher to fulfill your sense of purpose. Maybe you and I can step back here, and remember together what God offers to the world because of your vocation. That calling may be hard to describe, but it’s work that’s vital to fulfilling God’s will right now. You bring God’s wisdomMORE...

Visiting hopeless places

  Over the past few months, I’ve felt like my troubled outlook about the world may be gradually eroding the rest of my life. Others have shared similar feelings: That we’re wandering through the darkness of our vulnerabilities. That we’ve lost our sense of emotional buoyancy. That the confining skin of these thought patterns is hard to shed. To help sort out those feelings, I’ve reread theMORE...

The inertia of an object at rest

After our early morning exercise class, Chris and I take time for rest before going about our day. The hour of physical effort tires us out just enough to require some down time. But if we rest too long, 1inertia sets in, sometimes making it difficult to gather energy and will for what’s next. We live a fairly unscheduled calendar, so that’s not usually a problem. I’m a bit bothered, though, byMORE...

Homemade cognitive exercises

Experts in cognitive health tell us that we can strengthen mental acuity by exercising our mental functions. The maxim, “Use it or lose it”, applies quite well to puzzles, board games, reading, writing and conversation. This gets me thinking about the possibility of inventing my own mental exercises. Here are some word-related brain calisthenics I engage in regularly: ANAGRAMS – Playing with theMORE...

Dementiated conversations

For about twelve years, I’ve visited a resident—let’s call her Gladys—at the same assisted living facility where my mother spent her last years. We used to talk about current events, revived memories, family circumstances and wisdom of all kinds. Now, with Gladys’s dementia working its will, the back-and-forth of a satisfying conversation might seem impossible. That’s not true, thoughMORE...

“Nice sermon, Pastor….”

In these days of high stress and anxiety, most of us are eager for any kind of positive regard. With hate and anger ricocheting all around us, we long for something appreciative, thankful or encouraging to come our way. “Nice sermon, Pastor” seems like one way to voice our appreciation after worship on a Sunday morning. But tepid affirmations don’t work. The lack of specificity in this phraseMORE...

(Dis)oriented?

Trying to find words to express what many of us may experience during these troubled times, I keep coming back to the idea of “disorientation.” When things seem especially out-of-whack—right now?—that descriptor feels useful. These few thoughts…. Our 1 sense of place and direction is an essential part of our neurobiology. Most of us possess adequate proprioception skills—awareness of the locationMORE...

Relentless regeneration

I have no desire to be a starfish. (What would I do with five arms?) But this wonderful sea creature does possess one trait that might be just a bit enviable. Like a number of other astounding organisms—e.g., lizards, salamanders, sea cucumbers—starfish can grow back limbs and other parts of their bodies that have been damaged or severed.  The process is called *regeneration and it’s alwaysMORE...

Bob Sitze

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.

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