Here is where you can find the blogs that gather together the matters of purpose and meaning — essential features of a full life at any age. “Lifework” denotes an intense and long-lived sense of usefulness–something that’s prevalent among older people.
’ve regularly invoked “seeking the greater good” as a guiding life principle. But discernment seems especially challenging during this time of headline-grabbing news and unprecedented emotions. Here’s how I might fine-tune this “greater good” thing…. Measure carefully. “What’s good” might not be easily calculated, especially when I’m wary about what’s true. Nowadays I look at hoped-for outcomesMORE...
You may have wondered why lifework or life purpose keeps showing up in these entries. Have I become a fierce workaholic who’s blind to other parts of life? Am I stuck on this one matter to the exclusion of others? Could be…. Years ago, I regularly visited residents at a local assisted living facility. I saw a good share of these elderly folks tilted back in their recliners, napping in front ofMORE...
The loud, boisterous alleluias have quieted down now, our Easter family gatherings have finished and the routines of normal life lie ahead of us. But Easter—as season, attitude and truth—isn’t done yet. In the coming weeks, we’re going to discover again how to recognize and live out our new-lives-in-Christ. One way to look at the coming Easter season? Something like a track athletes’MORE...
Easter’s joy waits on the horizon, and we can hardly wait. We need the reminders of new life—resurrection—that are possible because of Jesus. It also seems appropriate that we remember how death—Jesus’ and our own—may precede whatever we hope will come to pass because of Easter. Death looms large in news stories and in our national psyche. As these words find their way onto this screenMORE...
My climate anxiety peaks periodically. When that happens, Luke 9:23b (KJV) pops into my memory—“Deny yourself and take up your cross”—as one possible part of the solution to global warming. I wonder if a society-wide ascetic mindset—although not easily engaged—might tamp down the factors that are causing our planet’s ecosystems to unravel. That theology feels hard to put into practice. If I’mMORE...
Reformation Day (or Sunday) has always been a big deal for me. I’m a Lutheran by birth, and carry with me high emotion about all the cultural trappings that come with this day’s observances. As I’ve grown older, though, something else has tugged at my heartstrings: This isn’t just an ecclesiastical celebration—it’s personal, too. I’ve inherited some of a reformer’s calling, certainly, butMORE...
Today’s entry might serve as a kind of prequel for your Reformation Day (Sunday) celebration. My spouse Chris’s observation: You can’t “re” anything that doesn’t already exist, so it makes sense that there must have been some kind of valuable formation before the Protestant Reformation. When Creation was nearing completion, Adam and Even came into existence as God-formed creatures. Unlike theMORE...
You may have encountered institutional memory loss when a workplace leader retires, resigns or dies. (Or you may be one of those people whose history and personal expertise are critical to the well-being of your organization—dependably bridging the past, present and future.) In these cases, the major question emerges: “Who will carry forward the essential character of this business?” ThisMORE...
The favorite season of my retired years is still Autumn. Why’s that? Maybe because these final days of summer feel like this hemisphere’s climatological invitation to remember. (Although I’m not exactly sure how “remembering” feels alongside “autumn”, let me try to explain….) As Fall approaches, I recall how, during my working years, these would be the days when I strapped back on myMORE...
Lately, my dreams are forming a pattern: I’m back at work again, but have no function. I wander around the building, looking for my office—in one dream variation, it’s now a storeroom. In other versions, I don’t know anyone, and they don’t know me. Most disturbing: Although I’m still employed, I don’t have any work to do! In my post-retirement way of thinking, this qualifies as a nightmare. IMORE...
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.