dual personalities

Month: January, 2024

January 3, 2024

The years roll by

by chuckofish

And so we embark on a new year: 2024! I think it is a good habit to pray along with Jonathan Edwards at this time:

I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year,
with Thee, O Father as my harbour,
Thee, O Son, at my helm,
Thee O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.
Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,
my lamp burning,
my ear open to Thy calls,
my heart full of love,
my soul free.

Give me They grace to sanctify me,
Thy comforts to cheer,
Thy wisdom to teach,
Thy right hand to guide,
Thy counsel to instruct,
Thy law to judge,
Thy presence to stabilize.
May Thy fear be my awe,
Thy triumphs my joy.

It is also worth re-reading Kevin DeYoung on the subject of not trying to be “with it” in the new year. “Give up trying to keep up. Let the pop culture whirlwind pass you by. Be wonderfully ignorant of the world of what’s happening now. Don’t worry, the important news will still get to you. But hopefully most of the other “news” won’t.”

Good grief, I couldn’t agree more.

And remember, If you’re still alive and breathing, Praise the Lord.

3 Comments
January 2, 2024

Overture, curtain, lights/This is it, we’ll hit the heights*

by chuckofish

Our New Year’s Eve party was a very low-key family get-together. We never even got the 45s out for a dance party. The boy and his family were pretty tired from their early morning trip home from Sarasota, but they were game and joined us for pizza and assorted dips.

We managed to do our ‘movie clip night’ and I thought you might be interested in what we all chose to share. (It’s all a plot where I am trying to whet the younguns’ desire to watch these great movies in their entirety when they are a little older.)

I opened things up with the car chase scene from Bullitt (1968).

The wee bud was, of course, enthralled and recognized the bad guy’s car as a Dodge Charger. He also knew who “McQueen” was. I told him I thought he kind of looked like him and he was pleased. (I will note that Lottie thought this car chase was not quite as good as the car chase in The Gnome-Mobile.)

Daughter #1 chose the musical interlude from Rio Bravo (1959)…

…which led to the boy’s choice of another musical interlude from Hatari (1962)…

For daughter #3 we played the classic intro to Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1962)…

The bud chose the Genie-is-released scene from Aladdin (1990)…10,000 years and such a crick in the neck!

Then I chose a famous scene from The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)…

Daughter #1 chose another classic musical interlude from Pillow Talk (1959)…

And then we finished up with Lottie’s choice of a song from Frozen II…

By this time the little bud was falling sleep and we wound things up so that they could hit the road and go to bed. Daughter #1 stayed and we watched Last Holiday (2006) with Queen Latifah and L.L. Cool J. which is our New Year’s tradish.

We will definitely do this again!

*Bugs Bunny theme song

8 Comments
January 1, 2024

Fulfill your ministry

by chuckofish

I have been saving this meme to use on New Year’s Eve…but oh well. I am a day late and a dollar short.

Yesterday we had a great sermon by our guest preacher, Dr. Dan Doriani, who has been filling in some until our new senior pastor starts next month. He preached on 2 Timothy 4:1-8, which certainly speaks to us in the 21st century, and gave us some advice for welcoming our new pastor.

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

I thanked Dr. Doriani and shook his hand, but what I wanted to say was, “I am reminded of the time the truck driver approached John MacArthur in a diner along some highway and said, “Are you John MacArthur?” and Rev. MacArthur said, “well, yes, I am.” And the truck driver said, “Can I hug you?”

Happy New Year! Thanks for reading the blog!

3 Comments