full of years

November 3, 2021

The church, reformed? (Back story)

By Bob Sitze

In Arcania, Lifework, Soul Searchings

November 3, 2021

2 Min Read

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03November

The previous entry by the same title didn’t include some of the reasons why I would have the temerity to write about such a subject. These personal thoughts may help explain the coming blogs that are dedicated to the thesis that the people of God in the post-COVID church can (or should) engage in self-examination—with the audacity of reformers burnt into our souls by the flame of the Spirit. TheMORE...

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November 2, 2021

The church, reformed?

By Bob Sitze

In Current Events, Soul Searchings, Time

November 2, 2021

2 Min Read

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02November

Reformation Day’s lessons, prayers, hymns and sermons have receded into the online vaults where past worship services are stored. Now it’s time to move onward, maybe even forward. In the next few months, congregations like yours and mine will be fashioning the future as we imagine the coming year’s programs and budgets. We hope to instill the spirit of reformation into the coming year. That workMORE...

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October 29, 2021

All (reformed) saints and souls

By Bob Sitze

In Arcania, Current Events, Soul Searchings, Time, Words

October 29, 2021

2 Min Read

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29October

Right now the church year calendar is stacked with feasts and festivals: Reformation Day, All Saints Day, All Souls Day. What might these holidays tell us if we combined them into one celebration? One possibility occurs to me: We can rejoice that there are so many saints and souls whose lives have changed for the better. Another way of saying that: Repentance, conversion and transformation areMORE...

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October 26, 2021

Lost souls

By Bob Sitze

In Relationships, Soul Searchings, Time

October 26, 2021

2 Min Read

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26October

One continuing lament about growing older: The lost souls that continue in my memory without continuing in my current relationships. To be clear, these are not people I have consigned to perdition on account of their persistent perfidies. Instead, they are all the saints with whom I’m no longer in touch. Their state of well-being is unknown to me, their contact information lapsed or lost. TheMORE...

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October 21, 2021

In praise of letter-writing

By Bob Sitze

In Arcania, Lifestyle, Personal Power, Relationships

October 21, 2021

2 Min Read

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21October

Years ago I wrote about *pen-pal clubs as a hopeful feature of older adult lifestyles. Today I want to encourage you again to consider letter-writing as a powerful antidote to diminished social contact—a satisfying ministry that you can undertake right now! As you might guess, I like corresponding with others–mostly via e-mail, but sometimes printed or handwritten notes. (That kind ofMORE...

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October 18, 2021

Lapse strategies

By Bob Sitze

In Lifestyle, Mind/Body, Soul Searchings

October 18, 2021

3 Min Read

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18October

The number of *lapses in my life seems to be increasing: Breaks in attention, small mistakes, bumpy intuition, sometimes-faulty logic or slightly flawed decision-making. Perhaps this is the stuff of age-related cognitive decline, but more likely it’s the result of the stress and anxiety I have experienced these past few years. Whatever the causes, the effects require attention. So I’ve revisitedMORE...

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October 15, 2021

A social media metaphor?

By Bob Sitze

In Arcania, Current Events, Lifestyle, Soul Searchings

October 15, 2021

2 Min Read

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15October

COVID cave-dwelling has offered me opportunities to observe facets of daily life that might serve as useful metaphors or analogies. Today this example: Social media may be like *digital ant poison. See if my ant trap comparisons make sense…. Ant traps/baits contain deadly substances that don’t kill immediately. Scout ants smell and taste the traps’ wonderful flavor, and then head back to theMORE...

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October 7, 2021

He that hath ears…

By Bob Sitze

In Arcania, Personal Power

October 7, 2021

2 Min Read

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07October

I think I may have discovered another unique advantage of growing older: Bigger, longer ears! The results of gravity’s pull, larger ears—and *noses, too—elongate because their underlying elasticity decreases over time. Aging cartilage, collagen and skin allow both women’s and men’s ears to get longer at the rate of .22 millimeters per year. The result: The longer you live, the longer your earsMORE...

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October 4, 2021

Seeing grammar

By Bob Sitze

In Arcania, Lifework, Time, Words

October 4, 2021

2 Min Read

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04October

Remember learning how to diagram sentences? That happened for me in 7th and 8th grade. During those years I figured out how to translate spoken or written language into exquisite charts that showed the relationships of words and clauses within the shape of an entire sentence. A speaker or writer could chart the size, complexity and inner-relationships of language. In this way, word structuresMORE...

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October 1, 2021

Cursed be the binds that tie

By Bob Sitze

In Lifework, Personal Power, Soul Searchings, Words

October 1, 2021

2 Min Read

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01October

If the centuries-old hymn is right—there are blessed ties that bind me to others —I wonder if there are also cursed binds that tie or obstruct me. Another way to consider the matter: What enwraps or impedes me so thoroughly that I can’t escape, and what can I do about these shackles or blockages? A first step: Name the bonds that entrap me or stop me cold. I can examine my unhealthy habits orMORE...

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