November 2019

November 29, 2019

BONUS FEATURE: Elderly exegetics

By Bob Sitze

In Current Events, Soul Searchings

November 29, 2019

7 Min Read

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29November

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...

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November 27, 2019

Doing thanks

By Bob Sitze

In Arcania, Lifestyle, Personal Power, Soul Searchings, Words

November 27, 2019

3 Min Read

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27November

  It’s good to be thankful—the so-called attitude of gratitude. I’m not sure that’s all there is to thankfulness, though. As I write this, Thanksgiving Day is upon the land, so it seems appropriate to reflect on this aspect of faithful living. Thankful thoughts can fill my spirits with other positive feelings—they come with the attitudinal territory. Two possible problems, though: FirstMORE...

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November 25, 2019

Yawning for health

By Bob Sitze

In Arcania, Lifestyle, Mind/Body

November 25, 2019

3 Min Read

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25November

These days I yawn a lot more than I used to. Not because retirement bores me, but because I’m at that point in my physical maturity—that sounds better than “decrepit duffer”—when I get up way too many times a night to visit the bathroom. My yawning comes from what some sleep scientists call “sleep deprivation,” in my case a long night’s sleep broken up into four or five segments. My sleep hygieneMORE...

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November 22, 2019

May it be so

By Bob Sitze

In Current Events, Personal Power, Words

November 22, 2019

3 Min Read

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22November

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...

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November 19, 2019

Not in polite company

By Bob Sitze

In For Caregivers, Relationships, Soul Searchings

November 19, 2019

4 Min Read

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19November

As she grew older, I may have failed *Mabel. Although I tried to keep in touch, visiting and calling her with some regularity, I still let her down in one aspect of older adulthood: I wasn’t honest with her about difficult matters. Instead, I chose always to be positive and helpful, building up what eventually turned into only a façade of normalcy. To be direct: Mabel and I didn’t talk candidlyMORE...

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November 15, 2019

Powering through

By Bob Sitze

In Mind/Body, Personal Power, Soul Searchings, Words

November 15, 2019

3 Min Read

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15November

I do not consider myself a macho man—the kind of guy whose physical and mental characteristics are rugged, independent, strong and manly in every way. That’s important to know as I lay out the rest of this story…. I am in the middle of treatment for another illness, and trying to figure out whether powering through the ailment and its treatments is a good idea. I know about power in its manyMORE...

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November 12, 2019

My new bristle bath brush

By Bob Sitze

In Arcania, Current Events, Lifestyle

November 12, 2019

3 Min Read

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12November

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...

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November 7, 2019

“Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen”

By Bob Sitze

In Current Events, Death/Dying, For Caregivers, Personal Power, Pleasure/Pain, Relationships, Soul Searchings

November 7, 2019

3 Min Read

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07November

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...

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November 4, 2019

The Hymn Sing

By Bob Sitze

In Arcania, Current Events, Lifework, Relationships

November 4, 2019

3 Min Read

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04November

(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...

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November 1, 2019

A smiling ministry?

By Bob Sitze

In Arcania, Lifework, Personal Power

November 1, 2019

3 Min Read

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01November

Looking for a personal ministry that’s simple and effective? How about one that involves smiling? Other people’s smiles! First, a quick review about the nature and effect of smiles. Click on this link– recall what I wrote a few years back, and then come back here to continue reading. Yes, it’s always a pleasant experience to smile—and be smiled at—but there may be more to this simple actMORE...

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