dual personalities

July 13, 2026

Songs of thy salvation my heart with rapture thrill*

by chuckofish

Well, we all made it home to our particular homes after a wonderful holiday.

Daughter #1 and I arrived at 11:00 pm (12 hours after leaving Grand Haven), just as the electricity came back on after an outage at my house! Praise the Lord. On Saturday I did laundry and watched several episodes of The Mentalist (on Hulu) in between naps.

On Sunday I felt adequately refreshed to get up early and head to church for the early service. How wonderful to be back! I was rewarded with great music, an excellent sermon on Psalm 32 (on sin!–blessed are the forgiven)…

You are a hiding place for me;
    you preserve me from trouble;
    you surround me with shouts of deliverance. 

…and an inspiring adult ed class on prayer. Our teacher this week was a professor at Covenant Seminary and, I tell you, I wanted to shout “Woohoo!” at the end. I have learned so much in this series based on Tim Keller’s book. It is not often one feels that way these days.

As Anne always says, “Go to church!”

Don’t drift away. The devil is smart. “I want to keep going. I don’t want to waste the years. I don’t want to drift. I want to be constantly paddling upstream, against the pull of the flesh, the world, and the devil.”

“And Nothing is very strong: strong enough to steal away a man’s best years not in sweet sins but in a dreary flickering of the mind over it knows not what and knows not why, in the gratification of curiosities so feeble that the man is only half aware of them, in drumming of fingers and kicking of heels, in whistling tunes that he does not like, or in the long, dim labyrinth of reveries that have not even lust or ambition to give them a relish, but which, once chance association has started them, the creature is too weak and fuddled to shake off… Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed, the safest road to Hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”

–C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

Stay vigilant. Pray hard.

*Trinity Hymnal #551

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July 10, 2026

Home again, home again jiggety jig

by chuckofish

We are heading home later today, so pray for smooth travel with minimal delays and friendly skies. Meanwhile, I will say, a Lake Michigan getaway–highly recommended for what ails you!

Here are a few more postcards to inspire you…

But I have to say, these stairs down to our beach nearly killed me.

And, hey, while we were gone, daughter #3 finished her radiation treatments!

Huzzah!

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July 8, 2026

A few more postcards

by chuckofish

So far the weather has been beautiful here in Michigan and we have enjoyed many hours on the beach and in the sun. The girls love the water and don’t want to come out of it even if their lips are blue and their teeth are chattering.

So far the only downside is the persistence of sand flies in the afternoon.

Thankfully daughter #1 has taken a few photos, because I have been mostly phone free for days. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

We are having such a good time! We went to Holland for dinner last night.

So fun.

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July 8, 2026

A few more postcards

by chuckofish

So far the weather has been beautiful here in Michigan and we have enjoyed many hours on the beach and in the sun. The girls love the water and don’t want to come out of it even if their lips are blue and their teeth are chattering.

So far the only downside is the persistence of sand flies in the afternoon.

Thankfully daughter #1 has taken a few photos, because I have been mostly phone free for days. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

We are having such a good time! We went to Holland for dinner last night.

So fun.

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July 6, 2026

Postcards from Michigan

by chuckofish

Daughter #1 and I had a fabulous time with my brother and sister-in-law at their lake cottage over the Fourth of July weekend!

On Sunday we made it to beautiful Grand Haven and we are settling in with daughter #2 and the prairie fam.

Hope you had a great 4th!

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July 3, 2026

America, why I love her

by chuckofish

I’m traveling to Michigan today with daughter #1 to spend the 4th with my brother and his wife at their lake cottage. It’s his 75th birthday as well.

Then we’ll drive across the state to Lake Michigan to spend the week with daughter #2 and her prairie family. Pray that our travel is smooth and uneventful and that the weather is courteous.

Here’s a patriotic blast from the past. We had this LP back in 1972…did you? Daughter #1 had it framed and it hung in her office down in Jefferson City.

Happy 250th birthday, America! Celebrate appropriately.

And hat’s off to the boy and his spectacular home decor:

Viva, America!

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July 2, 2026

Steaming down the Mississippi

by chuckofish

In the summer of 1870 a celebrated race took place between two steamboats, the Robert E. Lee and the Natchez. Leaving New Orleans on June 30, the Robert E. Lee reached St. Louis, a distance of 1,154 miles (1,857 km), in 3 days, 18 hours and 14 minutes. Indeed, it was one of the most thrilling events in the history of the Mississippi River. For days newspapers had been full of predictions, and bets were placed all over the world on the result. A crowd of thousands lined the levee to cheer the boat and its crew when it landed on July 4 several hours ahead of the Natchez.

It was very exciting, as you can imagine, because such racing involved major risks. Steamboats were inherently dangerous. The steam boilers were prone to exploding and igniting fires. The boats were wooden and much of their cargo could be highly flammable. These hazards came in addition to the snags and submerged bars that could rip a hull open. Between 1816 and 1848, boiler explosions alone killed more than 1,800 passengers and crew and injured another 1,000. Racing added significantly to the chance for an explosion.

Mark Twain described steamboat racing thusly:

“Two red-hot steamboats raging along, neck-and-neck, straining every nerve—that is to say, every rivet in the boilers—quaking and shaking and groaning from stem to stern, spouting white steam from the pipes, pouring black smoke from the chimneys, raining down sparks, parting the river into long breaks of hissing foam—this is sport that makes a body’s very liver curl with enjoyment.”

And, gee, nobody seemed to be overly offended by the name of Robert E. Lee, so soon after the Civil War. Interesting, n’est-ce pas?

Fun fact: The song “Steamboat Bill”, written in 1910, is an extended reference to the 1870 race. Mickey Mouse whistling a verse from “Steamboat Bill” in Steamboat Willie has been used as the production logo of Walt Disney Animation Studios since 2007.

Have a good day! Relax.

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July 1, 2026

My help comes from the Lord

by chuckofish

Well, June is gone and half the year has flown by with it. We are under an extreme heat warning here–it reached 98 degrees on Monday. Par for the course, as we like to say in flyover country. Thank goodness we have air conditioning and know how to use it so our senior citizens don’t die in droves. Personally, I get my chores done and run my errands early so I can stay home when it’s really hot. I can’t complain.

I found this essay to be insightful and rich in food for thought. “We cannot follow Jesus if our eyes follow everyone else. Chances are, if we spend significant time dwelling on our neighbors’ irksome habits and measuring their blessings against our own, we see little of God. Jesus redirects our gaze. If we study God’s infinite beauties, then when Jesus says, “Follow me!” no one will be able to stop us.” I dealt with envy early on, but I have suffered with a critical spirit most of my life. Seriously, I learned to be critical in kindergarten. I regret to say, I still wrestle with this particular sin. It is an ongoing battle…

Here’s good news! Scotland is not entirely lost. “First, the idea of buying and renovating an old granite Presbyterian church in downtown Aberdeen was impossible, then it was difficult, then it was done.” And thank God for Sinclair Ferguson!

Check out the beautiful plains coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria) in Don’s yard!

And here’s a new song from Jon Reddick:

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June 30, 2026

Songs to sing and tales to tell

by chuckofish

Tonight the wee family will gather to toast the OM on the first anniversary of his passing into glory. We’ll play some tunes, including this one which Gary and Don sang at his funeral.

Well meet again on some bright highway
Songs to sing and tales to tell
But I am just a pilgrim on this road, boys
I am just a pilgrim on this road, boys
I am just a pilgrim on this road, boys
Until I see you fare thee well

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June 29, 2026

Mama knows the highway by the songs

by chuckofish

Another busy, but rainy, weekend flew by. The twins came over on Friday morning and we had fun hanging out.

Eventually we went down to the basement to poke around–a favorite activity of theirs. We brought up a box of ANCIII’s painted soldiers which the bud set up. He ended up taking them home with him and I was glad.

Lottie and I went through some old doll clothes and I promised her I would look for my old Chatty Cathy doll.

Later, after Mr. Smith got his shampoo, he and daughter #1 came over for wine time and music…

mostly 90s country classics…

On Saturday I crashed daughter #1’s date with the twins and we had breakfast/lunch at the Sunny Street diner in Wildwood…

…and then introduced them to the joys of going to an antique mall. (Not that different from going down to Mamu’s basement.)

Don’t worry, they found something to buy (and so did I)…

On Sunday the sun shone brightly and I enjoyed a good sermon on Psalm 30.

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
    and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment,
    and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
    but joy comes with the morning.

–Psalm 30: 4-5

Then we had a terrific adult ed class on Prayer–this time focusing on Augustine, Luther and Calvin and what they had to say about it. Disordered loves, etc. You will recall that Augustine believed that unhappiness stems from loving things in the wrong order, prioritizing less important things over more important ones, particularly in relation to God and others. True fulfillment comes from aligning our loves correctly, placing God first and higher virtues above lesser desires. All you have to do is look around the world today to see how right he was! This week the class was led by a young man who is not a seminary student–he works for a software company–but what a good teacher!

Sunday afternoon I went to an outdoor concert featuring my friend Gary and his band Colonel Ford…

Nothing is better than wine and dips for dinner outside in the sunshine. Seriously, live music! What are you waiting for?

Happy Monday!

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