dual personalities

October 24, 2023

Things that go bump in the night

by chuckofish

We find ourselves in the last full week of October–zut alors! Have you watched any of your favorite spooky/scary movies? As you know, I am not a fan of the “horror” genre–I saw The Shining (1980) once and that was enough–but I do have my list of Halloween-appropriate gems. Last week I watched Ghostbusters (1984), The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) and The Birds (1963).

All three were highly satisfactory and not really very scary. Yes, we do not recommend watching The Birds if you are 10 years old and by yourself. If you are an adult and watching with friends/family, you mostly chuckle at Rod Taylor’s bulging cargo pants and Tippi Hendren’s Edith Head-designed green suit, which she wears for three days straight. You can easily avert your eyes when there is a shot of someone with their eyes pecked out. You can also do a lot of talking to the screen: “Don’t leave the phone booth!”; “Don’t go upstairs, you fool!”; “Take the children to the basement, not outside, you morons!”

Indeed, there is plenty to chatter about during this movie. Why is Rod’s mother such a weirdo? “I’m not very strong.” Please! What about those townspeople in the diner voicing their idiotic opinions? Especially that blowhard old lady in the beret, smoking her cigarette. And that mother of two traumatized children who wants a ride out of town from the drunk traveling salesman, what? And let’s not forget the kook who keeps saying, “It’s the end of the world!” (Spoiler alert: it is.)

Anyway, it is that time of year when we indulge in this kind of off-brand movie viewing. Next on the docket are The Uninvited (1944), Signs (2002) and The Sixth Sense (1999) and maybe another Hitchcock classic like Rear Window (1954) just because we like it.

Frankly the world is a scary enough place without watching modern horror movies. Read some history for real horror.

What will you be watching?

5 Comments
October 23, 2023

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder*

by chuckofish

We enjoyed another really beautiful fall flyover weekend. We went to the pumpkin patch at the Methodist Church…

…and Mr. Smith proudly wore his pumpkin suit…

We went to 19North and officially switched back to our red blend for the fall. We asked if we could order french fries off-menu and were told, of course, that was no problem, because “we know someone.” I felt so seen.

On Sunday our church service was held outside on the lawn in front of the youth house.

It was our usual service with music, sermon and communion–I was a doubter, but I really enjoyed sitting in lawn chairs in the beautiful sunshine.

We sang my favorite new hymn, “Come Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy”, and I cried from start to finish. I cannot help myself. Here’s your weekly reminder to repent.

Come, ye weary, heavy laden,
lost and ruined by the fall;
if you tarry till you’re better,
you will never come at all.

After church we had Episcopal Calvinist Souffle, which daughter #1 suggests we call Total Depravity Souffle, and later we went to the wee laddie’s soccer game.

The bud’s team is still undefeated and once again made the opposing team’s goalie cry (he made it to the third quarter at least). This is not due to anything the bud contributes, but at least he can act like Messi after each goal. This time I remembered to take a picture of our favorite coach/photographer.

In addition to all this, I also went to a funeral on Saturday–the 95-year old father of a high school friend. He was like a lot of the fathers I knew growing up. He was the captain of his high school baseball team and the president of his class. He went to Amherst and was the president of his fraternity. He was president of his company. He liked history and singing. He was an all-around good guy, a happy guy who knew that “Every day is the best day” and that God is the author of all things. He was a conservative man whose outspoken daughter must have taxed his soul, but he loved her and they got along despite their differences. He ended up happily living with her the last few years of his life. I mean, that is the ultimate reward–to have children who want you around.

Of course, the ultimate, ultimate reward is to be in heaven with Jesus, and my guess is he is there, having laid down his trophies at last.

His family went to church with me growing up, but I guess after his daughters graduated from high school and the Episcopal Church alienated a goodly portion of their members in the 1970s, he moved to the PCA and was a pillar of the church in which the funeral was held. He figured things out much sooner than I, but we ended up in the same place.

We sang “How Great Thou Art,” “The Old Rugged Cross” and “It Is Well With My Soul” and a bagpipe band piped us out with “Amazing Grace”. He had planned the whole service, scriptures and all. You guessed it; I cried through a lot of it and was undone by the pipers. You can bet I was taking notes!

Well done, good and faithful servant.

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
“Jesus died my soul to save,”
My lips shall still repeat.

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

(Elvina Hall, 1865)

*How Great Thou Art, 1885

4 Comments
October 20, 2023

The content you need for Friday.

by chuckofish

The other day, Mr. Smith found an A+ big stick on our walk.

Finding a good stick makes Mr. Smith quelle happy. He gets a little strut and walks home with his head held high, like “Hello, I am King of the neighborhood with my big stick!”

We then sat on the porch so he could play with his stick for a bit. Today, he wanted to carry the stick on our walk and I allowed him. Well, the sight of this cute little dog carrying a big stick down the sidewalk STOPPED TRAFFIC. A lady literally stopped her car and was like, “He sure loves that stick!!” Yes, ma’am, he sure does.

We continue struggling with the idea that while it is okay to chew on a stick, the furniture is not okay to chew. He is also working on understanding that he does not need to bark at the neighbors who have the audacity to walk by our house.

In other news, if, like me, the continued unravelling of the world is stressing you out, I recommend listening to a little Chris Stapleton. His new album comes out November 10 and I, for one, am excited. We haven’t had a new album from Chris since November of 2020!

If Chris Stapleton isn’t your bag (but how could he not be??), whose music is like a balm for your weary soul? Tell us in the comments.

2 Comments
October 19, 2023

My mind is a bucket without a bottom

by chuckofish

This prayer from The Valley of Vision really convicts:

O CHANGELESS GOD,

Under the conviction of thy Spirit I learn that
      the more I do, the worse I am,
  the more I know, the less I know,
  the more holiness I have, the more sinful I am,
  the more I love, the more there is to love.
    O wretched man that I am!
O Lord,
  I have a wild heart,
    and cannot stand before thee;
I am like a bird before a man.
How little I love thy truth and ways!
I neglect prayer,
  by thinking I have prayed enough and earnestly,
  by knowing thou hast saved my soul.
Of all hypocrites, grant that I may not be
    an evangelical hypocrite,
  who sins more safely because grace abounds,
  who tells his lusts that Christ’s blood
    cleanseth them,
  who reasons that God cannot cast him into hell,
    for he is saved,
  who loves evangelical preaching, churches,
    Christians, but lives unholily.
My mind is a bucket without a bottom,
  with no spiritual understanding,
  no desire for the Lord’s Day,
  ever learning but never reaching the truth,
  always at the gospel-well but never holding water.
My conscience is without conviction or contrition,
  with nothing to repent of.
My will is without power of decision or resolution.
My heart is without affection, and full of leaks.
My memory has no retention,
  so I forget easily the lessons learned,
  and thy truths seep away.
Give me a broken heart that yet carries home
  the water of grace.

You can listen to the prayer read by Max McLean:

4 Comments
October 18, 2023

Stand by me

by chuckofish

Time marches on and it is once again the OM’s and my anniversary. As usual, we will be playing it cool and watching Shane (1953).

I feel no need to spend hundreds of dollars on a gourmet meal at a trendy restaurant. Take out from Chick-fil-a or an omelet will be just fine. I may open a bottle of wine that is fancier than our house wine, but maybe not. À chacun le sien.

O gracious and everliving God, you have created us male and female in your image: Look mercifully upon this man and this woman who come to you seeking your blessing, and assist them with your grace, that with true fidelity and steadfast love they may honor and keep the promises and vows they make; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

–BCP, The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage, 1979

Well, I’m an old lady now and this is with whom I identify these days. “Morals over Hussies.”

Granny: “A vegan and a vegetarian are jumping off a cliff to see who hits the bottom first.”

Boys: “Uh huh.”

Granny: “Who wins?”

Boys shrug.

Granny: “Society.”

Read more about the Didiers here.

And here’s a little something in honor of marriage.

5 Comments
October 17, 2023

Grace abounds even in Babylon

by chuckofish

There is always a lot to do after traveling in regards to catching up on laundry, putting things back where they belong, re-stocking the refrigerator, and generally re-establishing order. I also had a lot of reading to catch up with since I was (intentionally) without a computer for four days. Zut alors!

This is a great rant from Blair Sobel on “fashion”: “However, if you want to see real poor taste schlubbery go to any airport. Remember when it meant something to dress up to go travel? Last week a woman appeared naked from the waist down exposing more than her ass cheeks while waiting in a ticket line at Spirit Airlines in Florida. Is it time to get real Fashion Police in to do some clean up now!?! Forget decorum. Basic decency is at risk here. But this is how far things have sunk in our collective. And it is kinda serious. I refuse to travel because the airport experience alone permanently repulses me — no matter how great the place I plan to go is.” She is not wrong about the airport!

Carl Trueman explains that “There is a lesson here for us all in this current political climate: The enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend, and, as soon as I start thinking he is, I might find myself on the way to excusing or even justifying evil.”

As usual, I agree with Anne about Halloween. “What this means is that there are no holidays in America. By the time you get to the special day, you are sick of it and just want it to go away. Through no fault of anyone except Satan, all the actual feasting has been transformed into a strange fast, an always Halloween but never All Saints Day, always Christmas and never Advent—or something like that.”

And I love sermons like this from John Piper:

Not grace to bar what is not bliss,
     Nor flight from all distress, but this:
The grace that orders our trouble and pain,
     And then, in the darkness, is there to sustain.

Also, when I left for Maryland I was in the middle of moving all my houseplants inside from the Florida Room and trying to find them winter homes in the limited confines of my house. Some of my plants have grown so much over the toasty summer!

This is quite a job, but I am making progress.

Enjoy your Tuesday!

5 Comments
October 16, 2023

Postcards from Maryland

by chuckofish

Well, I had a wonderful visit with daughter #2’s little family–the weather was perfect and we had quite an extended gabfest. We went to all the parks: green, red and blue. We went to the pumpkin patch.

I had a wonderful time.

My travel, though stressful (heightened security!) and exhausting, was incident-free and (relatively) easy-peasy. Daughter #1 was waiting for me at the airport when I returned and the OM did not burn the house down while I was gone. ☑️

On Sunday everything was back to normal and we went to church and watched the wee bud play soccer. But it was a lot colder this weekend and we had to dig out some hats and gloves!

Are we having fun yet?

Even so, it is good to be back in flyover country!

Lead me, Lord, lead me in thy righteousness,
make thy way plain before my face.
For it is thou, Lord, thou, Lord only,
that makest me dwell in safety.

Teach me, Lord, teach me truly how to live,
that I may come to know thee,
and in thy presence serve thee with gladness,
and sing songs of praise to thy glory.

(Samuel S. Wesley, 1810-1876)

6 Comments
October 13, 2023

TGIF.

by chuckofish

Dutiful Daughter #1 here. Reports from Maryland indicate a fun time being had by all.

Big smiles,

vintage dresses, and party hats.

Meanwhile, back at home, Mr. Smith continues to push the boundaries.

Have a great weekend!

1 Comment
October 10, 2023

Let no man take your crown

by chuckofish

I am traveling today to see darling daughter #2 and her sweet family, so I will be mostly off the internet for the rest of the week. Prayers for traveling mercies are much appreciated!

In the meantime, here are some good reads to keep you occupied.

This was fascinating about the humble chickadee.

Dear friends, we know that souls are not to be won by music. Heh heh.

10 things to know about the most famous blessing in the Bible.

The OM and I have joined a group at church that is reading The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. I have not read it in awhile, so I am really enjoying re-visiting it.

The Crown is before you, and it is an incorruptible one; so run that you may obtain it. Some there be that set out for this Crown, and after they have gone far for it, another comes in, and takes it from them; hold fast therefore that you have, let no man take your Crown; you are not yet out of reach of the gunshot of the Devil. You have not yet resisted unto death in your striving against sin. Let the Kingdom be always before you, and believe with certainty and consistency the things that are yet unseen. Let nothing that is on this side of eternal life get inside you. Above all, take care of your own hearts, and resist the lusts that tempt you, for your hearts are deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Set your faces like a flint; you have all the power of Heaven and earth on your side.

(Evangelist to Christian and Faithful)

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

(Numbers 6:24-16)

2 Comments
October 9, 2023

Tune my heart to sing thy grace

by chuckofish

How was your weekend? Ours was a perfect flyover fall weekend–gorgeous blue sky weather with temperatures in the 60s. It doesn’t get much better than that.

We did all the things–1st grade soccer on Saturday… the boy(s) are getting better!

…and church on Sunday. We had a good guest preacher and an excellent adult ed class. Lots of good hymns.

I made Episcopal Presbyterian soufflé with all the trimmings for after church and it was very good if I don’t say so myself. The twins discovered that they really like garlic cheese breadsticks from Trader Joes. We sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful day and the twins covered the driveway in chalk drawings. Super fun fall frolics.

Later that afternoon, after everyone had gone home, our electricity went out so the OM and I entertained ourselves by driving through Lone Elk Park where we saw some buffs.

Daughter #1 also sent me this from Instagram…

This is perfect because it is my contention that Westies are the Mini Cooper of dogs, bringing joy to everyone who sees them.

And here’s a bear story for the week. Pretty gruesome. Lesson learned: don’t go into the woods armed only with bear spray. Bring a battle-ax.

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
And Your faithfulness every night,
On an instrument of ten strings,
On the lute,
And on the harp,
With harmonious sound.
For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work;
I will triumph in the works of Your hands.

(Psalm 92: 1-4) 

4 Comments