dual personalities

Category: gratitude

April 10, 2019

“You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.”*

by chuckofish

Well, today is Siblings Day. Yes, that is a thing. Ever since 1997. “The holiday is intended to be a celebration of the relationship of brothers and sisters.”

Funnily enough, it is not easy to find pictures of my three siblings together.

Here we are circa 1967 when madras was all the rage…

sibs1967.jpeg…and here we are at sib #3’s graduation from Smith College in 1981. It must have been a late night…

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Well, okay, I’ll toast my wonderful sibs! That’s a no-brainer. But I don’t need a special day to do that, right? While I’m at it, I’ll throw these sibs in as well…

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And here’s to spring which has arrived in flyover country.

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Huzzah!

*Archbishop Desmond Tutu

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February 12, 2019

“Like gold stitches in a piece of embroidery.”*

by chuckofish

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A Valentine picture from the past!

“You think you will never forget any of this, you will remember it always just the way it was. But you can’t remember it the way it was. To know it, you have to be living in the presence of it right as it is happening. It can return only by surprise. Speaking of these things tells you that there are no words for them that are equal to them or that can restore them to your mind. And so you have a life that you are living only now, now and now and now, gone before you can speak of it, and you must be thankful for living day by day, moment by moment, in this presence. But you have a life too that you remember. It stays with you. You have lived a life in the breath and pulse and living light of the present, and your memories of it, remember now, are of a different life in a different world and time. When you remember the past, you are not remembering it as it was. You are remembering it as it is. It is a vision or a dream, present with you in the present, alive with you in the only time you are alive.”

― Wendell Berry, Hannah Coulter

*Wendell Berry

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February 11, 2019

“Lookin’ out my back door”*

by chuckofish

Doo doo doo…How was your weekend? Mine was quite pleasant, despite some bad weather. Sometimes bad weather causes us to slow down and settle in at home for some quiet time, and that is not a bad thing.

I took daughter #1 to the airport early on Saturday morning and she headed off to the east coast.

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She and daughter #2 and DN had so much fun, but I wasn’t jealous or anything.

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Indeed, the OM and I had our own good time at the Elegant Italian Dinner–so good, in fact, that we all forgot to take any pictures. Just one:

IMG_4755.jpegThe wee babes, despite being tired and a bit cranky when they arrived, took right to the nursery and had a fine time playing and eating pizza with the other kids.

I read a lot of A Light in August by William Faulkner. Besides learning some new words (morganatic: “relating to or denoting a marriage in which neither the spouse of lower rank, nor any children, have any claim to the possessions or title of the spouse of higher rank”), I can see how this book published in 1932, added several stereotypes to our culture, evidenced profusely in other people’s books and movies ever after.

I worked on organizing our CDs and DVDs.  I hemmed some pants.

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I cleaned and puttered and tidied.

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All in all, not an unproductive weekend.

I must also add my high fives for our she-ro Dolly Parton, who was honored as 2019 MusiCares Person Of The Year. The eight-time Grammy winner is the first artist from “the Nashville music community” (please) to be honored at the annual Grammy Week gala benefiting music people in need. Well, it’s about time those snobs did so, I’d say.

Have a great week!

*John Fogerty

4 Comments
February 5, 2019

Deep thoughts

by chuckofish

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I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual. It is surprising how contented one can be with nothing definite — only a sense of existence. Well, anything for variety. I am ready to try this for the next 1000 years, and exhaust it. How sweet to think of! My extremities well charred, and my intellectual part too, so that there is no danger of worm or rot for a long while. My breath is sweet to me. O how I laugh when I think of my vague indefinite riches. No run on my bank can drain it — for my wealth is not possession but enjoyment.

–Henry David Thoreau, Letter to Harrison Gray Otis Blake (December 1856), as published in The Correspondence of Henry David Thoreau (1958)

Thankfulness is an essential guardian of the soul, and therefore we should guard ourselves with gratitude. Evidently we are fair game for the devil when we don’t abound with thanksgiving. Unless the song of thanksgiving is being sung in our hearts the enemy outside will deceive his way into the city of our soul, and the enemy sympathizers within will make his job easy. So for the sake of your own safety, strive to fill your heart with thanksgiving! Guard yourselves with gratitude!

–John Piper

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we, thine unworthy servants, do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving-kindness to us, and to all men. We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful; and that we show forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honor and glory, world without end. Amen.

–A General Thanksgiving, BCP

(The painting is J. Alden Weir, 1859-1919, American Impressionist painter)

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January 10, 2019

Walking the walk

by chuckofish

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Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Matthew 7:13-14)

It has been a very busy week at work, so I only have a few things to share today:

News from the Duh Department. Science-approved!

She makes a good point.

I was so happy about this–not because Alabama lost, but because Coach Dabo Swinney won. He stood firm when The FFRF demanded that Clemson — a public university — not only require Swinney to “cease” his allegedly unconstitutional religious activities but also that it “train” the coaching staff and “monitor their conduct going forwards.” As it turned out, Clemson backed their coach, and at the end of the College Football Playoff National Championship game he was able to say (as reported to me by the boy), “all the credit, alllll the glory goes to the good Lord number one, and number two to this great group of guys.”

Have a good Thursday. Tomorrow is Friday and then on to the weekend! It is supposed to snow here in flyover country. Do I have enough milk, eggs and bread, peanut butter and guitar strings?

6 Comments
December 24, 2018

Christmas postcards

by chuckofish

Everyone arrived home and we threw a party!

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Just the basics…

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The wee laddie found the knife drawer…

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These two dudes are on the same wave length…

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The hero worship begins…

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This fashion maven is all about the books…

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This little chair was just right…

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After everyone went home and we cleaned up, we got in our jammies and watched White Christmas. 

A perfect ending to a perfect day.

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November 22, 2018

“Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices”*

by chuckofish

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Here’s something good to read about the “First Thanksgiving,” which reminds us that the Pilgrims were “people of remarkable faith and fortitude—common folk of average abilities and below-average means who risked everything in the interest of their families and their community of faith.” Americans tend to forget that and most may not even value those qualities anymore. Well, I do.

Last night we had the whole gang plus Tim and Abbie, who drove in from Indiana, over for gluten-free chili. Today we will be a smaller gathering for turkey and trimmings–the wee babes and their parents are coming later for pie and our annual viewing of Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987).

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We do love our traditions.

Let’s all take a moment.

*Martin Rinkart

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November 21, 2018

Open for business

by chuckofish

“Gorgeous, amazing things come into our lives when we are paying attention: mangoes, grandnieces, Bach, ponds. This happens more often when we have as little expectation as possible. If you say, “Well, that’s pretty much what I thought I’d see,” you are in trouble. At that point you have to ask yourself why you are even here. […] Astonishing material and revelation appear in our lives all the time. Let it be. Unto us, so much is given. We just have to be open for business.”
― Anne Lamott, Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers 

We Americans as a whole have high expectations. We expect a lot, because we have so much and are not especially grateful for what we do have. But I have learned over the years that contentment comes with lowering my expectations and being grateful for what I have.

I am grateful for: Text threads with my children…

Screen Shot 2018-11-20 at 9.58.29 AM.pngI am grateful that my children appreciate re-upholstered furniture and estate-sale finds…

Screen Shot 2018-11-20 at 9.57.45 AM.png…and hand-me-down holiday decor…

Screen Shot 2018-11-20 at 9.59.31 AM.pngI am grateful for these two guys*…

Screen Shot 2018-11-14 at 2.00.39 PM.pngand these two guys**…

Screen Shot 2018-11-20 at 10.12.20 AM.pngI am grateful for old friends and new friends, old books and new books,

Unknown.jpegold vintage clothes and new clothes, Friday night take-out, grocery-store flowers, an aging but fit body, and a  mind that is still curious.

IMG_8665.jpegI am grateful for my family–past, present and future.

Hallelujah, life is good. “If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.” (Master Eckhart)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. (Galatians 5: 22-23)

Lots of people are driving today–so take it easy out there!

 

*C’mon…John Wayne and Steve McQueen/**John Piper and Tim Keller

5 Comments
November 14, 2018

“Wherever you turn your eyes the world can shine like transfiguration.”*

by chuckofish

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The Christmas cactus is on the verge of blooming–right on schedule.Unknown-3.jpeg

I am pretty impressed, considering the abuse it has taken from the wee babes, who are fascinated by it.

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We had a little snow, which came before most people had an opportunity to rake/vacuum up the leaves that have fallen. So there is kind of a mess out there. As you can see, there are still a lot of leaves on the trees. C’est la vie.

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Every year is different, and that’s what makes living in flyover country interesting.

Yesterday, after a busy day at work, I raced over to Umrath Lounge at my flyover university to find a seat to hear Marilynne Robinson speak. I found a single seat in the second row and sat right behind her. I could have reached out and touched her, but I restrained myself. A member of the English department made an incoherent and self-serving introduction and then Marilynne read her essay on “Holy Moses: An appreciation of Genesis and Exodus as literature and theology” in dim light which frequently caused her to stumble over her words. It was an academic talk and I am no scholar and she is way over my head anyway, but I enjoyed listening to her. In the Q&A section at the end we got a chance to see Marilynne the person and not the scholar and that was good.

Well, I am thankful that I have a job where I am in a position to come in contact with one of my heroes from time to time. To be in the same room with Marilynne Robinson was really something–a Christian in that den of academia, quoting 17th century puritans unironically!

“The Lord is more constant and far more extravagant than it seems to imply. Wherever you turn your eyes the world can shine like transfiguration. You don’t have to bring a thing to it except a little willingness to see. Only, who could have the courage to see it?”
― Marilynne Robinson, Gilead

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November 13, 2018

“Enlarge these hearts of ours”

by chuckofish

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[This Arthur Rackham illustration is perfect for our flyover weather recently–just add snow!]

Today Episcopalians remember Charles Simeon with a Lesser Feast.  Simeon was a leader among English evangelical churchmen and was one of the founders of the Church Missionary Society in 1799. According to the historian Thomas Macaulay, Simeon’s “authority and influence… extended from Cambridge to the most remote corners of England … his real sway in the Church was far greater than that of any primate.”

Blessed Lord, the only living and true God,
the Creator and Preserver of all things,
We live by you;
and our whole dependence is upon you,
for all the good that we either have or hope for.
We now desire to bless your name for those mercies,
which in so large a measure
you have generously given us.

Worthy are you, O Lord our God,
to receive all honor and glory,
all thanks and praise,
and love and obedience,
as in the courts of heaven,
so in all the assemblies of your servants upon earth;
for you are great, and you do wondrous things;
you are God alone.

You have looked favorably on your land,
and you have dealt graciously with us.
Instead of giving us over to all the calamities that we feared,
you have multiplied your mercies towards us,
for which we are now called to solemnize a day of thanksgiving.

How sweet and wonderful is it
to recount all the instances of your patience with us, and your blessings to us!

O what shall we render to the Lord for all his benefits!
O let not our hearts be stingy towards you,
whose hand has been so open and generous unto us.
But do enlarge these hearts of ours,
and fill them with more love and thankfulness to the gracious Giver of all our good things.

– Charles Simeon, 1850

It is good (and necessary) to take time to thank God for our blessings.

What are you thankful for?

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