dual personalities

Tag: family

March 11, 2026

This and that

by chuckofish

When we were driving back from the prairie, we were really struck by how everything is greening up in our neck of the woods. It has warmed up into the seventies…but storms, not surprisingly, are on the way.

Yesterday I did laundry, caught up on ‘desk work’ and ran a few errands. I feel like I accomplished a lot. Meanwhile I am working on editing a piece for the Kirkwood Historical Review which was sent in by a man whose parents grew up in Kirkwood. He was going through old boxes (as we are all wont to do) and found photos and letters etc and decided to write something up about them and his grandfather who was a state senator. This man, by the way, went off into the wide world from our flyover state and became a well known artist and illustrator with several New Yorker covers to his credit. As usual, I am surprised by what a small world it is.

Last week I watched the movie The Apostle (1997) which was written and directed by Robert Duvall, who also stars in it as Euliss F. “Sonny” Dewey, a charismatic Pentecostal preacher. He was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar.

I saw it when it came out and I have the DVD, but had not seen it in ages. It is a very interesting movie about a denomination I know little about. The soundtrack won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album. I remember that too–we listened to it a lot back in the day.

It also occurred to daughter #1and me that Euliss Dewey would be a great name for another Westie, with “Sonny” as his nickname. Weeeelllll (as Ida frequently starts a sentence), if you are looking for something good to watch, you might try The Apostle.

This is a good article about Three Reminders for Christian Parents. I was struck by her description of a child drawing pictures in church and that “love for the church is often absorbed more than it is instructed. Children learn to cherish the people of God not only through teaching but through presence.” It really reminded me of the twins who draw in their special church notebooks, seemingly not paying attention, but absorbing what they hear.

And I enjoyed this article about Tim Challies. I start every day with his blog and have for many years.

Have a good Wednesday!

4 Comments
March 10, 2026

We shall gather at the river

by chuckofish

We made it back from the prairie–a very blustery drive! (Par for the course.) The speedwagon did great though.

The weekend was delightful. The grandkids are so entertaining and DN served up gourmet meals–a real step up from my usual egg salad sandwiches! And at dinner Saturday night three-year old Ida, unprompted, broke into shout singing this song (She knows all the words.)

Devil get behind me, run on home
Back to the grave where you belong
In case you forgot, let me tell you the truth
You’re stuck under my blood bought boots
Devil get behind me, you got no hold
I’ve been changed by the Holy Ghost
Try all you want, but it ain’t no use
You’re stuck under my blood bought boots

Get behind me (oh-oh)
Get behind me (oh-oh)
Devil get behind me (oh-oh)

It was one of the greatest things ever. Can you even?

The triple baptisms went off without a hitch on Sunday. Pastor Luke gave a very nice introduction to covenant baptism and why it is entirely appropriate and biblical to baptize a household.

We also heard a fine sermon on revelation 1:9-20 about how God reigns now even as we wait until He comes again–the already and the not yet overlap in the present. So let your light shine, even as we long for the fullness of the kingdom to come!

Afterwards we drove to Bloomington for a lovely lunch at the home of DN’s parents, who have moved there from Maryland.

Mr. Smith was a good boy, although he had to stay home and miss the festivities. He got along great with the baby.

Praise the Lord!

And I love this so much.  It takes a minute and a half.

Now Go out there and kick it!

3 Comments
March 2, 2026

Don’t think twice

by chuckofish

I didn’t do a whole lot this weekend, but I did get the very large framed Asian watercolor that I picked up last week from Link Auction back into my car and took it over to daughter #1’s house where she successfully hung it on the wall. (Her father would be so proud.) Doesn’t it look great?

I went to church on Sunday with the boy and the twins. We heard a really good sermon on Joshua 6:1-27, all about walking and waiting, destruction and deliverance, trusting in God’s timing. Then we went to Sunday School and I chose the class on the Westminster Shorter Catechism, which I really enjoyed. What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!

After that we went to the Sunny Street Cafe for our usual brunch and talked about our different Sunday School classes. We had a good time and everyone ate heartily.

And here’s some exciting news–Don reports his first flower of the season!

And we see some buds in our yard…

Finally, here’s a great Bob Dylan cover I hope you will enjoy:

Wow. Here’s some more of Billy and his band if you’re interested.

Looking forward to a week full of rain–haha–not really, but c’est la vie.

4 Comments
February 26, 2026

Plans change

by chuckofish

Everybody has had the flu and now daughter #2 is sick, so our plan to go to the prairie this weekend is cancelled. The three kids were scheduled to be baptized on Sunday, but that will have to be re-scheduled. C’est la vie.

Well, I am nothing if not flexible, so we’ll see how things go.

Here’s a poem about “Disappointment” by Jane Taylor (1783-1824):

(Jane Taylor was an English poet and novelist best known for the lyrics of the widely known “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”. )

Meanwhile daughter #1 returned from her successful business strip to Arizona and I picked up Mr. Smith from the kennel where he had a wonderful time and ate all his food like a champ. All is well.

3 Comments
February 23, 2026

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble

by chuckofish

How was your weekend? Mine was full of missions and missionaries. It got cold again, but the sun was shining most of the time. Hopefully the daffodils will pull through. I mean, this happens every year, so chances are, all will be well.

There were no good estate sales on Saturday but daughter #1 and I did hit an antique mall and found a couple of odds ‘n ends. I was more successful at the Link online auction on Thursday and Friday. Auctions are fascinating to me. One can usually find a few good bargains (I did) but occasionally there is a real surprise. One such surprise was when a geltone reproduction of Grant Wood’s Midnight Ride of Paul Revere came up.

It was estimated at $50-$100. I was interested in it as I have always liked it and I thought I might get it for $15 or so, but a bidding war took off and it eventually sold for over $800!

Another watercolor painting, estimated at $75-$100…

…went for $1800! Fantastic. Now that’s entertainment!

I hadn’t seen the twins in over a month, so I was glad they were able to make it to church with their Dad on Sunday morning. We heard a good sermon from a visiting missionary to Norway. They couldn’t stay for Sunday School (their Papaw was leaving to go back to Florida) so that meant no Sunny Side diner either. C’est la vie. Life is full of disappointments, right? But we are steadfast.

Daughter #1 came over later in the afternoon in order to bring Mr. Smith who spent the night with me. (I am taking him to the kennel this morning while she heads to Arizona for work.)

Later I will head down to the Link Auction House to pick up my winnings. It’s a new week! Have a good one.

(And here’s a new song I like.)

1 Comment
February 16, 2026

Time starts now

by chuckofish

How was your weekend? Mine was very pleasant, although it rained all day Saturday.

Between traveling and work, I had seen very little of daughter #1 over the last few weeks, so it was great to catch up with her…wine time at Glen Echo on Friday, estate sale-ing on Saturday and a late lunch at the Village Bar. All our favorite things. We took Mr. Smith for his weekly shampoo and then had wine time at my house.

We watched Bullitt (1968), which you will recall was the movie the OM and I always watched on Valentine’s Day.

Wasn’t that nice of her?

Of course, the movie was great as always, really cutting edge for 1968. We LOL’d as always during the chase through San Francisco as the Charger and the Mustang race past the slow-moving green VW four times. (Frank Keller won the editing Oscar for this movie!) Another of my favorite scenes is when Bullitt, Bennett, Chalmers, and Baker gather around the telecopier as the passport applications arrive. Only Steve can make watching the fax machine riveting cinema. This time we noticed that frequently during the course of the film Lt. Bullitt is asked a direct question and he gives no response. As daughter #1 commented, “He speaks with his eyeballs.” His lack of response has great effect. When he does respond, major impact–especially when he says, “Bulls–t” to Robert Vaughn’s face toward the denouement of the film. Perhaps this is a good lesson for us all.

I went to church by myself on Sunday (the boy has the flu now) and heard a good sermon on Joshua 5:13-15. Are you for the Lord? Our goal is not to conform God to us, but for us to conform to God. It reminded me of that time during the Civil War President Lincoln was reportedly asked whether God was on the side of the Union. He replied, “My concern is not whether God is on our side,” Lincoln responded. “My greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” Touché. He was probably thinking of Joshua, because he knew his Bible backwards and forwards.

We finished up our Intro to Covenant class, which I really enjoyed. It never ceases to amaze me how whenever I am sitting alone before class, someone always comes and sits next to me. When I first went to that church I didn’t know a single person there. Now I know lots of people. Praise the Lord.

And I’m with the Madcaps:

Have a good week! There are definite signs of spring if you look!

Daughter #1 has a big DAR event today–our annual George Washington Commemoration Event on President’s Day at Lafayette Park–so keep her in your prayers. I am serving as the chapter chaplain, so I’ll be giving the benediction–there’s a first time for everything!

3 Comments
February 10, 2026

Gracious God my heart renew; make my spirit right and true*

by chuckofish

Well, I had a swell time visiting the prairie girls (and boy). We stayed inside except for a quick walk around the block and a trip to church on Sunday. But I got to hold the bud a lot…

We read a lot of books…

…and we played with a lot of Magna Tiles (which can be very frustrating)…

We watched some of the Olympics and Katie and Ida think they would be good at snowboarding…

I was impressed that she included those slalom flags in her drawing.

I enjoyed visiting their church on Sunday which was packed. It is a very different vibe than my church–lots of U of I students. (They have an active RUF chapter.) We heard a good sermon:

(Katie’s sermon notes)

I drove home in the speedwagon on Monday morning after DN gassed it up and procured a Polar Pop for me. I listened to the Springfield country station and was a little shocked by the current songs–all whiskey, bars and loose women–but this one by Morgan Wallen had a clever twist.

Yeah, the night I said, “I’m leavin’,” I turned into Richard Petty
Broke my heart, so I got even in my ’97 Chevy
Now I’m walkin’ on this water mixed with Johnnie Walker Black
There’s a lotta reasons I ain’t Jesus, but the main one is that

I ain’t comin’ back
Oh, no, no, I ain’t comin’ back

When I got closer to STL I switched to Joy99.

Now it is Tuesday and I am discombobulated about what day it is. C’est la vie. Have a good one!

*Scottish Psalter (after Psalm 51)

3 Comments
February 6, 2026

Red sky at morning

by chuckofish

The sunrise yesterday was amazing! There is still a lot of snow on the ground from our big storm two weeks ago, but it is warming up and that’s a good thing.

I am heading up to Mahomet tomorrow to spend a few days with the prairie girls.

Hopefully I will get a chance to hold the baby.

Have a good weekend. Pray for travel mercies for me!

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)

And, hey, you go, Tim Allen!

4 Comments
February 2, 2026

Another weekend: postcards from the frozen midwest

by chuckofish

February is here, so can spring be (too) far behind?

How was your weekend? Mine was very quiet. Daughter #1 was out of town, laughing it up with the prairie girls…

…and the boy and his family were all down with the flu.

I had lunch with a friend on Friday, but otherwise I was on my own. So I was extra glad to go to church on Sunday–even when it was 8 degrees outside. I donned my vintage fur coat for the third week in a row and braved the elements. We had a hardy band of believers at the 8:30 service. I noted that there were more men than women in the choir! We also ordained and installed new elders and deacons.

But my reading glasses were not in my purse, so I had a challenging time. I managed, but I was definitely playing the trombone. Getting older is not for sissies.

This is a thoughtful post about doom-scrolling: “The internet gives us a false omniscience, presenting everything from everywhere to everyone at any time. But we are not God. We were not designed for omniscience. Not even the digital imitation. Yet here it is. Everything. All the time.”

And in memory of Catherine O’Hara, who died last week, here’s a classic scene from Best In Show (2000):

God does love a terrier.

5 Comments
January 29, 2026

A good name

by chuckofish

Today my women’s Bible Study group starts up again. We are reading I and II Thessalonians. Our study guide was written by Kathleen Buswell Nielson, with whom I went to school 50+ years ago. I am looking forward to it! (Not to mention the prospect of human interaction which I have missed over the last 5 days!)

It is also the birthday of one of my favorite ancestors, John Wesley Prowers, the cattle king of southern Colorado.

I was very pleased when I heard that daughter #2 and DN had decided to name their baby after him.

“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.” — Proverbs: 22:1

Usually I watch Red River (1948) or another cowboy movie in honor of JWP’s birthday. We’ll see how I feel tonight. It is a whole new world not having the OM to watch certain movies with.

Well, onward and upward. This article about how the two ‘wills’ of God profoundly shape how we should pray was quite thought-provoking. “May we all pray more and may the Lord bless our prayers.”

Happy Thursday! The weekend is just around the corner.

3 Comments