dual personalities

January 14, 2026

This and that

by chuckofish

We have been experiencing mild temps here–63 degrees yesterday–but we are told to expect them to “crash” today. Zut alors, I don’t like to hear that. But it is January so I guess we shouldn’t. be surprised.

I had lunch yesterday with the boy at another of our favorite diners, Uncle Bill’s, which is out near his store. I sure am grateful to be able to spend time with my adult children, because they are, after all, my favorite people.

If I were younger, I might try this!

This is an amazing video from the John 10:10 Project:

Praise the Lord!

And RIP Scott Adams…

2 Comments
January 13, 2026

Avoiding the myth

by chuckofish

Today we toast the great American writer A.B. Guthrie, Jr. on his birthday (1901-1991). He wrote the western series featuring Dick Summers, who I maintain is one of the great characters of fiction, winning the Pulitzer Prize for The Way West in 1950. ”I don’t write ‘gun-and-gallop’ jobs that promote the myth of the West,” Mr. Guthrie said in an interview. ”I avoid the myth. I have a sense of morality about it–I want to talk about real people in real times. For every Wyatt Earp or Billy the Kid, you see, there were thousands of people trying to get along–not ready with a gun or ready to spill blood. And that story has been obscured.” His books are well worth reading.

Last week John Piper celebrated his 80th birthday. As you know, he is considered quite the guy in reformed circles. He has been a wonderful help to me on my spiritual journey. He has taught me a lot. “In his second year as a pastor, Piper noted that the mercy of God and the sovereignty of God were the twin pillars of his life: ‘They are the hope of my future, the energy of my service, the center of my theology, the bond of my marriage, the best medicine in all my sickness, the remedy of all my discouragements. And when I come to die (whether soon or late) these two truths will stand by my bed and with infinitely strong and infinitely tender hands lift me up to God.’”

Here’s the audio transcript of his latest Ask Pastor John podcast. “[Public] faithfulness becomes public performance when we fail to hope that God will be glorified more than we will be glorified. We just fail to want that; we don’t want it. That’s a failure. Which brings us back to where we started: Is God real for us? Is he a precious Father to us? Is the promise of his reward far more desirable to us than the rewards of human admiration?”

Have a good Tuesday!

And remember: “If you do not worship God seven days a week, you do not worship Him on one day a week. There is no such thing known in heaven as Sunday worship unless it is accompanied by Monday worship and Tuesday worship and so on.” (A.W. Tozer)

1 Comment
January 12, 2026

Lay your worries down

by chuckofish

Well, I had quite a weekend, starting Friday night when the twins came over for dinner and a movie and spent the night. Daughter #1 and Mr. Smith joined us for pizza from Dewey’s and we watched one of our favorite movies, The Court Jester (1955).

After they went home, the twins and I went to bed. I have four bedrooms and plenty of beds, but unfortunately, as the night wore on, we all ended up in the same bed (mine) and it was like trying to sleep with squirrels. Hopefully we will do this again soon, but I will have to make sure everyone is prepared to stay in their assigned space–my life is not a Shirley Jackson story, after all! Right? Right?

The boy picked them up in the morning. I spent the rest of the day recovering from getting no sleep, but daughter #1 and I did manage to meet for margaritas and visit our favorite antique mall and re-sale shop where we got some DVDs and books.

It was 25 degrees when I left for church on Sunday morning, so I wore my vintage fur coat. The wee bud asked me what kind of fur it was–bear? I said, no, mink. He said, oh, like a ferret? I said, no like a mink. He said he would like to have a ferret for a pet…Anyway, church was good. We heard a great sermon on Rahab (Joshua 2:1-24), a story I’m happy to say I was familiar with. Rahab is one one of those great women of the Bible–a Canaanite prostitute who does the right thing and believes in God, the one God of the heavens above and the earth beneath. After church I went to the new adult ed class which is for everyone and is the Intro to Covenant class, in other words, the newly developed new members class. They want everyone to take it and I think that is a great idea. It is a wonderful reminder of what we believe and why we go to Covenant. It made me very happy.

In the evening I returned to church for our annual meeting. Once again I was very impressed. Our session has a strong grip on things and boy, those Presbyterians can handle money. We send 25% of our budget to missions! And no deficit!

Morning by morning new mercies I see:

all I have needed thy hand hath provided–

Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923

And now it is Monday. Onward and upward!

P.S. It was an amazing week for memes, but my favorites are still all the Marco Rubio ones.

3 Comments
January 9, 2026

Happy New Year!

by marycompton

Well, Daughter #1 here. I’ve had a busy week back at work. But, I can’t really complain. I had a full two weeks off. And my break was a pretty good blend of relaxing, some chores, and Sunday Murder She Wrote marathons. Too much furniture re-arranging, though. I sprained my back and it flared up while I was in Illinois. I could barely stand up–thankfully, it calmed down enough for me to go to work this week. I really am becoming the old lady emoji.

He got a new toy from his Illinois cousins and he loves it.

Anyway, I hope you had a wonderful holiday and have a relaxing weekend. I’ll leave you with a little Mr. Smith. He’s getting a bath and a groom today because, let’s be real, he’s getting kind of mangy.

3 Comments
January 8, 2026

“It took me a long, long time to learn my elbow from a hot rock.”*

by chuckofish

Things are starting to get back to “normal” here. But I have a lot of bins to take down to the basement. I am going over to church this morning to help take down the Christmas greenery. More bins. And my community group starts up again tonight, so it’s back to Matthew. I am slowly getting back into the swing of things.

I thought this Open Letter to Scott Adams in response to his possible deathbed conversion was interesting. “Hopefully you understand that no one means to discourage you. They only want you to know how good the good news actually is.”

And I liked this answer to the question “What are your plans for the new year?”

I like the idea of “Pray more. Pray better.” Beyond that, my plans for the new year are pretty vague.

But I’ll keep reading, keep watching old movies, keep showing up. You do the same. And pay attention. “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” (Hebrews 2:1)

Thanks for keeping me company.

*Vin (Steve McQueen) in The Magnificent Seven

4 Comments
January 7, 2026

The sky is low/The wind is gray/The radiator/Purrs all day.*

by chuckofish

I continue to take down my Christmas decorations and to tidy up my house. I am also working on the Kirkwood Historical Review and getting it ready to send off to the printer. But I like to take a break on the yellow antique loveseat in my office and read the internet or poetry and listen to the woodpecker outside in the tree by my window.

Sometimes I catch a glimpse of him and it is very exciting.

(I wish I had taken this photo, but, of course, I did not. Thank you @audubonsociety.)

Anyway, the pace of January is much slower than December and that is okay with me.

And, hey, my new sweet grandson Wes is a month old (four weeks) today!

*John Updike, “January”

2 Comments
January 6, 2026

The poem is inexhaustible

by chuckofish

Our week is turning out to be fair and mild–what a relief! Love those upper 50s temperatures. Isn’t it so much more pleasant to run errands around town when you don’t have to get all bundled up to go out?

In other news, my son-in-law gave me a book for Christmas, Jorge Luis Borges: Conversations, which I have been reading. It is from the Literary Conversation Series. It prompted me to read this poem by Borges: Another Poem of Gifts

We should all be writing our own poem on this subject every day.

(By the way, Frances Haslam was Borges’s English grandmother.)

1 Comment
January 5, 2026

Postcards from the new year

by chuckofish

Well, here we go in a new year! We have reflected on the last year and look forward with hope to the new one. In church we are starting a new sermon series on the book of Joshua. It startes bluntly with God saying in verse two, Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.

He tells Joshua four times in the next few verses to be strong and courageous. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.

Those are good verses to start the new year with!

Daughter #1 and I had a good time with the prairie girls and their new brother, who is “a perfect boy,” according to them.

The boy seems to be handling all the attention quite well.

He is the bigger than a Bitty Baby already!

We had a second Christmas and celebrated the new year. We watched the rain-soaked Rose Bowl Parade (or “Pie-yaid” as Ida says). We saw the Clydesdales–always heartwarming for this old St. Louisan.

The twins and their parents made it back from Florida and they came over with their dad on Sunday to help me take down my big Christmas tree. I still have a lot to do, but they were a big help.

Today I am beginning a new Bible reading plan, I have read through the Bible twice and the New Testament 5x5x5 plan twice in the last four years. This year daughter #1 devised a plan to read through all of Psalms and Proverbs in 52 weeks, so I am following that plan. The boy is starting the Robert Murray M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan, which is how I started back in 2022. Here is a list of many different plans. There are lots of good ones out there. As New Year’s resolutions go, reading the Bible every day is an excellent place to start!

This is good (old) advice for a new year. “Instead of relying on your willpower, strength, and planning this year, humble yourself before the throne of grace. You’ll find all you need, even if you don’t get everything you want.”

And, of course, If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

(Romans 12:18)

5 Comments
December 31, 2025

Happy new year!

by chuckofish

Today daughter #1 and I are heading up to the prairie to spend New Year’s Eve with daughter #2’s Fam and open the Christmas presents from last week. Hopefully all will be in fine fettle and we can celebrate accordingly. I have been cooped up inside for nearly two weeks, so I am looking forward to a road trip!

We will toast the end of one year and the beginning of a new one. 2025 was quite a year. We said farewell to our husband and father and we welcomed a fine new baby grandson. Indeed, it is good to remember that the The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end…

…but it is good to remember it in context: Lamentations 3.

As always, I have much to be grateful for: my God, my family, my country, my church, my friends, and my freedom to say so.

God bless America!

2 Comments
December 30, 2025

The scent of a tangerine

by chuckofish

It got very cold indeed here in flyover country. From 78 degrees on Sunday it dropped over 50 degrees! (A 70 degree change if you count the wind chill!) Yikes. We missed a new record by one degree! (Set in 1911.) I’m feeling a little jealous of the twins down in Florida!

Well, anyway, I am starting to get back on my feet, getting some things done around the house. And that’s a good thing.

Today we toast country singer Suzy Bogguss on her birthday. She was born in 1956 and grew up in Aledo, Illinois. We always liked Suzy back in the day–what a voice–and we are happy that she is finally being inducted as the next new member of the Grand Ole Opry on January 16, 2026.

Way to go, Suzy!

And here’s a poem by James Crews, “Winter Morning”:

When I can no longer say thank you

for this new day and the waking into it,

for the cold scrape of the kitchen chair

and the ticking of the space heater glowing

orange as it warms the floor near my feet,

I know it’s because I’ve been fooled again

by the selfish, unruly man who lives in me

and believes he deserves only safety

and comfort. But if I pause as I do now,

and watch the streetlights outside flashing

off one by one like old men blinking their

cloudy eyes, if I listen to my tired neighbors

slamming car doors hard against the morning

and see the steaming coffee in their mugs

kissing chapped lips as they sip and

exhale each of their worries white into

the icy air around their faces—then I can

remember this one life is a gift each of us

was handed and told to open: Untie the bow

and tear off the paper, look inside

and be grateful for whatever you find

even if it is only the scent of a tangerine

that lingers on the fingers long after

you’ve finished peeling it.

1 Comment