dual personalities

July 18, 2024

Making someone’s day

by chuckofish

When daughter #2 was visiting earlier this week, coincidentally her childhood friend was also visiting her parents. She came over to chat and go out with the prairie girls for ice cream. When they returned, she mentioned that her husband was renovating the bathroom in their house and that she had been looking for a vintage brass swan fixture for the sink. It seems that since she was a little girl, she had loved been obsessed with the swan fixture in our downstairs powder room.

She had been searching high and low for one on Ebay and Etsy, etc. but to no avail.

Well, I said, when we renovated our bathroom a few years ago, I saved the swan fixture because my friend Eleanor had commented on it back in the day and said it was quite rare and valuable. I said if I can find it, it’s yours.

For once, the OM actually knew where it was and I found it in the garage. Julia came over the next day and picked it up. Voila!

Yay! Everyone is happy! She made my day.

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Hebrews 13:16)

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July 17, 2024

The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly*

by chuckofish

We had quite the deluge of rain all day yesterday which curtailed our plans again. The twins and their parents came over in the morning, but there was no splash pad play. Sigh. At least it cooled off from Monday’s 97-degree high. We played inside.

We also did some laundry.

It’s all good.

Today we are traveling back to Illinois.

In the meantime, this article looks at a presidential assassination of long ago and asks how one of that era’s foremost theologians interpreted God’s providence in it. Very interesting!

And happy birthday to the OM!

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

*Psalm 104:16

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July 16, 2024

Grace and peace to you

by chuckofish

We had a pretty quiet Monday, because we had to change our plans when daughter #2 was afraid she had torn her retina. She had to go to my eye doctor (everything is okay) while I stayed home with the prairie girls. We had lunch and played a little and read some books…

…and watched part of Heidi (1937) with Shirley Temple, which was a big hit.

Both girls were riveted. And with good reason!

I am behind in my Bible reading and in general, but this by Carl Trueman is encouraging: “I went to Europe expecting to be somewhat discouraged by what I would see. I returned exhilarated. The LORD is not done with his people yet…”

And I guess Marilynne Robinson has a new book out: Reading Genesis. Like I said, I am behind, but this is good news to me. “In her essays, as she defends the philosophical frameworks that once made religious belief almost universal, she is impatient, even testy, with what she finds reductionistic in most descriptions of the world today. You get a sense that she just wants to write about grace but finds herself needing to argue for the idea that something like grace can even exist. Her defense of the grandeur not only of the world but of each human being, her defense of the testimony of “felt experience,” is everywhere in her essays.” Robinson has engaged with a pantheon of “older theological writers”, especially John Calvin and Jonathan Edwards. Of course she has! Good grief.

Well, may you take the truths you hopefully heard preached from the pulpit of your church on Sunday and may they sustain you through this week. (I wrote this blog post during “quiet time” with Katie while she “pretend-read” this book.)

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July 15, 2024

Postcards from the weekend

by chuckofish

The Prairie Girls arrived on Friday and we proceeded to have flyover fun despite the heat…

We even went to Grant’s Farm…

…and the cousins came over after church on Sunday for a BBQ…

We even managed to celebrate the OM’s birthday!

It is exhausting having so much FUN, but I persevere. DN went home on Sunday, but the girls are still here. We have plans. Then I’ll drive them back on Wednesday and stay a few days. Then I’ll drive back with DN who is renting a UHaul to pack up some stuff to take back.

And here’s Dr. Kevin DeYoung praying for our nation on Sunday:

Convict us of our sin, Lord. Lead us to Christ.

4 Comments
July 12, 2024

New phone wallpaper just dropped.

by chuckofish

Happy Friday, dear readers. I have had an unusually busy week. But that’s what happens when you belong to such exciting groups as historical societies and the DAR. No, the busyness didn’t come from popularity. It came from meetings. And tonight I had a church event that kept me out until 9 p.m! Poor Mr. Smith has been neglected this week but hopefully he’ll get to have some fun this weekend (reader, he will). He did get a bath today and he smells so fresh and clean.

Well, I am off to Indiana bright and early in the morning for work (I’ll be back in the evening) so I’m going to keep this short and sweet. Enjoy the new wallpaper photo and trust that God is in control. xo.

3 Comments
July 11, 2024

Keep your eyes peeled

by chuckofish

Ah, but friends, it is never too late, right? Right. You must keep learning and it’s okay to change your mind about a lot of things. Some of us are very slow learners after all.

I am starting a new teaching series on the Puritans, To God’s Glory: Lessons on Puritanism.

Because, as you know, I love the Puritans. So far, I am very impressed; the DVD presentations are excellent. And it is a great distraction from the election season hell we find ourselves in. The Puritans knew how to handle trials and they knew we need affliction to humble us and to bring us to God. Many good lessons to be had.

Meanwhile I am looking forward to the added distraction of a visit with…

…and…

…when thy come for a visit tomorrow.

And the rain has left the area, at least for awhile. I am grateful that the flooding (so far) hasn’t been worse.

Time like an ever-rolling stream…the summer is nearly half over! So don’t forget:

“There is treasure buried in the field of every one of our days, even the bleakest or dullest, and it is our business, as we journey, to keep our eyes peeled for it.”

–Frederick Buechner, “The Longing for Home: Reflections on Mid-Life”

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July 10, 2024

“Just the echo of a sigh, goodbye.”*

by chuckofish

Last week my Aunt Donna died. She was 91 and the last of her generation in my family; now all three Cameron sisters are gone.

I have written about my lovely aunt before. Everyone loved her–she was the President of her high school senior class and the President of the Student Council at her college–but I’m sure if you had asked her she’d have said she wasn’t popular and she didn’t quite fit in. As I’ve said before, she was like someone in the Bible–Ruth or Priscilla or Mary, who “kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

There is a lot more I could say about my Aunt Donna, but I am feeling too sad to do so. I will miss knowing that she is there in New Hampshire, but it is a comfort to think of the three sisters reunited in the presence of their King.

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

–I Corinthians 15:57-58

*Sir Noel Coward, “I’ll See You Again”

5 Comments
July 9, 2024

“Then the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins and outran Ahab to Jezreel.”*

by chuckofish

The Olympics are coming up and I really don’t care anymore since it is just a bunch of pumped up professionals competing.

However, July 11th marks the 100th anniversary of Eric Liddell winning gold in the 400 meter dash during the Paris Olympics. Here is a short interview with Eric’s daughter, Patricia Liddell Russell, and John MacMillan, Chief Executive of the Eric Liddell Community. I guess it’s time to watch Chariots of Fire (1981) again!

I am also re-reading Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. Louis Zamperini, the subject of the book, ran in the 1936 Olympics on the U.S. track team.

Zamperini is quite an interesting guy and the book is well-worth reading. Angelina Jolie made a pretty good movie about him in 2014, but she left out the “Redemption” part altogether, which is a shame.

Lt. Zamperini was a bombardier on B-24 Liberators in the Pacific. On a search and rescue mission, his plane experienced mechanical difficulties and crashed into the ocean. After drifting at sea on a life raft for 47 days, with two other crew mates, he landed on the then Japanese Marshall Islands and was captured. He was taken to a total of four different POW caps in Japan, where he was tortured and beaten by Japanese military personnel. Following the war, beset with terrible nightmares and afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder, he struggled with alcoholism. Then he happened to go to a Billy Graham revival and he turned his life over to Jesus. For the rest of his long life he was a devout Presbyterian who worked with youth and as a Christian evangelist. It is quite a story.

So watch an old movie, re-read a good book, run in such a way as you may obtain [the prize].

*I Kings 18:46

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July 8, 2024

Let all who take refuge in you rejoice

by chuckofish

We had a busy four-day weekend with way more socializing than we are used to. It was nice to get to church on Sunday and focus on the steadfast love of the Lord.

Be this, while life is mine,
My song of love divine:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Sing this eternal song
Through all the ages long:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

    Have a good week! I will be getting my house ready for daughter #2 and her family who are coming for a wee visit on Friday.

    Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen.

    –BCP

    3 Comments
    July 5, 2024

    Let freedom ring

    by chuckofish

    We had a lot of rain early on July 4th, but the sun came out and “America’s Birthday Parade” went forward although there were not a whole lot of people in downtown St. Louis. I watched from home.

    Daughter #1 and Mr. Smith and the boy and his family came over in the afternoon and we celebrated in our traditional way.

    Why mess with a good thing? Daughter #2 and her family celebrated with their own backyard BBQ along with some new friends. The prairie girls were dressed appropriately!

    The local town fireworks display was postponed until tonight because of dire weather predictions (note the blue, nearly cloudless sky in above photos), so we’ll probably go over to our usual spot in the high school parking lot to watch. But I have to say there were a lot of local, unofficial firework displays in our own neighborhood last night. More than I remember in previous years.

    Well, I’ll wrap up with some wise words from Calvin Coolidge:

    About the Declaration [of Independence] there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers.

    –President Calvin Coolidge, from a speech given on the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1926

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