Today we toast George Gordon, Lord Byron, who was born on this day in 1788. As you know, he is one of the major figures of the Romantic Movement in English literature. He wrote lengthy narratives as well as shorter lyrics, and died at the age of 36. So for those of you who are feeling world-weary and disillusioned (a quintessential theme of Byron’s poetry) here’s “So, we’ll go no more a-roving”:
So, we’ll go no more a roving
So late into the night,
Though the heart be still as loving,
And the moon be still as bright.
For the sword outwears its sheath,
And the soul wears out the breast,
And the heart must pause to breathe,
And love itself have rest.
Though the night was made for loving,
And the day returns too soon,
Yet we’ll go no more a roving
By the light of the moon.
And here’s the poem read by John Gielgud.
I will also say that I thought Rev. Franklin Graham did a masterful job praying at the Inauguration on Monday. And I have to admit, I also liked Archbishop Dolan remembering Gen. George Patton’s instructions to his soldiers as they began the Battle of the Bulge eight decades ago:
“Pray! Pray when fighting. Pray alone. Pray with others. Pray by night. Pray by day.”
Today we toast the Broadway star Ethel Merman on her birthday (1908-84). I bet you didn’t know that she was a lifelong Episcopalian (Her funeral was held in a chapel at St. Bartholomew’s in NYC)–which is hilarious (or perhaps not) since she was notorious for her brash demeanor and for telling vulgar stories in public. She was truly a force of nature and very famous in her time, indeed a cultural icon. I’m sure no one under the age of 60 today even knows who she is. Que sera, sera.
It is also the birthday of the English poet Robert Service, about whom I have blogged before. As you toast him, you might read one of his poems or watch The Spoilers (1942) in which he shared a brief scene with Marlene Dietrich. (Service appeared unbilled as a Yukon poet patterned after Service himself.) The Spoilers, which takes place in Alaska, is a good choice for a cold January night.
On a more serious note, this is a good article by Jen Wilkin about the chiastic pattern of life she discovered at her mother’s deathbed. “Remembering that seasons of life follow a patterned order helps us inhabit the season we are in and prioritize how to use the time we are given. Since death announced its presence in Genesis 3, our days have been numbered. Perhaps God, in his infinite kindness, gave us a chiasm, a patterned measuring rod, to number those days rightly.” (A chiasmus is a literary device in which ideas are presented and then subsequently repeated or inverted in a symmetrical mirror-like structure. A modern example of a short chiasm would be If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. “Jesus makes a pithy chiastic statement in Mark 2:27: ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.'”)
This is one of several articles I have read about the inappropriateness of singing ‘Imagine’–“a strange and indeed hopeless song for any funeral, let alone one that is meant to be Christian in nature”–at Jimmy Carter’s funeral. “John Lennon’s song collapses in on its own irrationality. He imagines ‘living life in peace’, and there being no “greed or hunger”, but such talk demands a form and purpose, but atheism and naturalism cannot provide such a definition.” Indeed.
Have a good day. Sing a song loudly and brazenly, read a poem, watch an old movie, think about the arc of your life, thank God for his mercies which are new every morning.
*A line from “Anything Goes” by Cole Porter; Ethel Merman starred in the original Broadway production in 1934.
We are experiencing blue skies (and freezing temps) here in flyover country and the best part for me is that the sun on the snow is the perfect natural light by which to needlepoint. I sit by my large living room window and sew–easily discerning the changing colors in the intricate pattern–and listen to Sinclair Ferguson expound on scripture. What could be nicer?
Well, it’s a good way to spend an hour in between chores.
Why make so much of fragmentary blue
In here and there a bird, or butterfly,
Or flower, or wearing-stone, or open eye,
When heaven presents in sheets the solid hue?
Since earth is earth, perhaps, not heaven (as yet)—
Though some savants make earth include the sky;
And blue so far above us comes so high,
It only gives our wish for blue a whet.
–Robert Frost
Lottie is back in her dancing class routine so the boy and the wee bud were back at my house yesterday afternoon. The boy manhandled the trash bin over the ice mound left by the snow plow so I can take it down the driveway for pickup tomorrow. Much appreciated. It’s the little things, right?
And, hey, did you hear that band members of the music group Village People announced on Monday that they have accepted an invitation from President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign to be part of the Inauguration activities? Well, they did. You will recall that Village People founding member Victor Willis gave permission for President-elect Trump to use the band’s classic hit “Y.M.C.A.” at his rallies during his campaign because of its “bringing so much joy to the American people”. (The song charted again and went to #1 and stayed there for some time. The videos went viral.)
There was more snow on Friday than I anticipated, so no Friday happy hour, but we caught up on Saturday. Everybody was out and about. Daughter #1 and I went to our local antique mall after Mr. Smith had his shampoo, and it was hopping! Then we went to the Presbyterian re-sale shop where we stocked up on $1.50 dvd’s. I found Here Comes the Boom (2012) and embarrassed her by saying loudly, “Here comes the boom!” Sorry. Good to know I can still embarrass my non-teenage daughter in a public setting.
It was great to be back in church on Sunday after a few weeks away. We had a good sermon and an excellent adult ed class on the life and times of Francis and Edith Schaeffer. Francis Schaeffer was a leading 20th century Christian scholar and the author of How Should We Then Live?, but one with whom I was not acquainted before I became a Presbyterian. He was once actually the pastor of my church back in the 1940s. I have a lot to learn.
After church the fam came over to our house and we celebrated daughter #3’s belated birthday. We had tacos and the OM did all the cooking. Plus there was birthday cake and daughter #1 brough macaroons. I had not seen the twins since Christmas Eve and they seemed older and more mature. Funny how that works.
Now we are starting a new week and hopefully we will all get back on track after a week of working at home and snow days.
Suppose we did our work like the snow, quietly, quietly. leaving nothing out.
Well, I finally ventured out into the world in my car to the grocery store! All went well. More snow today, though–fingers crossed for Friday happy hour!
Meanwhile, with Anne, “I am utterly astonished by the devastation from the fires [in California]. The best word to describe it is ‘dystopian hellscape.’ …Then to see the clips of interviews with the Mayor and the Chief of Police, and the footage of the LA Fire Department in a Pride Parade, and then to see the staggering news that the Mayor had cut the fire department budget by millions of dollars—the list of terrible revelations just goes on and on. But mostly the thing that sticks in the mind is the great wall of fire devouring everything. Some people—and I think it’s appropriate—have flung around the phrase ‘biblical proportions’.” …I mean, the level of governmental incompetence leading up to this disaster is mind-blowing.
As one pundit said, “In a very real sense, California in 2025 is the wilderness again, with nature and mankind returning to their feral states”, as assembled in this recent Babylon Bee video:
Anyway, our prayers are with the poor souls in California.
And this is interesting–about another surprise from Joe Rogan. You don’t have to watch the whole 3-hour interview with Christian apologist Wesley Huff, but check out the short 4-minute clip which will give you an idea of what went on in the conversation. As Denny Burk says, “It is so encouraging to hear the gospel so faithfully presented and defended. It’s also encouraging to encounter such a presentation on a program that reaches millions of people across the world. Let’s pray for the word to bear fruit.”
And here’s a poem by America’s first published poet, the Puritan Anne Bradstreet. “Here Follows Some Verses Upon the Burningof Our house, July 10th. 1666. Copied Out ofa Loose Paper.“
Have a good weekend! Thank God for a warm, dry, safe home!
Another day of staying home with not much going on. I am grateful for my nice, snug house and a furnace that is fully functional. We all remember what it was like back in 2006 when the electricity was out for three days and we had no heat. No fun. In fact, really terrible.
I am not being overly productive, but I am getting odds ‘n ends taken care of and the Kirkwood Historical Review ready to send to the printer. And I am reading, actual books! I got several new ones for Christmas…Print the Legend: the Life and Times of John Ford by Scott Eyman (from my brother) and Drums Along the Mohawk by Walter D. Edmonds (from my sister). The latter was a huge bestseller back in 1936, staying on the bestseller list for two years. The Bantam Books edition went through no less than 48 printings between July 1936 and August 1956; the novel is still in print after eight decades.
Daughter #1 gave me the TCM film guide to the 50 Most Unforgettable Actresses of the Studio Era, wherein I found the nugget of information that Judy Garland was 4’11”–no wonder she was perfect with Mickey Rooney! Well, you learn something new every day.
I also bought the The New and Collected Poems of Richard Wilbur at an estate sale last weekend and so I have been dipping into it. Here’s one* of his poems to read.
And don’t forget to toast Elvis Presley today on what would have been his 90th birthday.
So as long as the holiday treats and the wine hold out, I’ll be fine.
Well, we are firmly encased under a blanket of snow. And it is quiet–so quiet–in my neighborhood. No cars, practically no one walking by. No leaf blowers. Very nice.
I suppose I should bundle up and go outside, “But for now I am a willing prisoner in this house, a sympathizer with the anarchic cause of snow.” (I really like this poem by Billy Collins about snow.)
And here’s an old song which uses the phrase “We bundled up”.
Our driveway is going to be plowed on Wednesday, so until then, we are stuck at home. I can dig it. Hang in there and I will too.
As Barnabas Piper says, “There is nothing magical or super spiritual about reading the Bible in a year. But there is something super wise and spiritual about prioritizing the reading of the Bible. And every Christian should read the entire Bible.”
Here is a list of some different Bible Reading plans for 2025.
Yesterday I caught up with my Bible reading plan (the Chronological Bible Reading Plan) and finished Revelation. Tomorrow I start a new plan–the 5x5x5 Bible Reading Plan–which I have done before and liked. Having a plan and following through with it has been an anchor in my spiritual life now for three years. I highly recommend it.
Try it or don’t–it’s up to you–but you might like it!
“A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.”
–Theodore Roosevelt
*From “Year’s End” by Richard Wilbur; read the whole poem here.
Today we toast my darling sister on her birthday. We have been together through thick and thin. Now we are both old retired ladies, trying to stay healthy and keep out of trouble.
I enjoy watching Katie and Ida as they navigate the rocky road of sisterhood. (And watching them watching Betty and Judy singing about “Sisters”!)
I pray that they will stay as devoted to each other as my sister and I, and though the miles may divide them, they will stay in close touch.
*“For there is no friend like a sister
In calm or stormy weather;
To cheer one on the tedious way,
To fetch one if one goes astray,
To lift one if one totters down,
To strengthen whilst one stands.”
(“Goblin Market” by Christina Rossetti; read the poem here.)
And I thought this post by Ann, wherein she links to another post on X, is excellent on the subject of keeping the Christmas feast in a wayward and dark world. Read the whole thing.
We’re nearing the home stretch…but it rained all day Saturday which dampened everyone’s holiday spirits. We were grateful, however, that it was rain and not ice or snow. And we got the tree up!
It was a group effort. The boy came over Thursday evening to carry the tree in from the garage and put it in the stand. The OM and I strung the lights on Saturday morning. And daughter #1 came over after her DAR luncheon to help decorate it. Ain’t it lovely?
I missed the DAR luncheon because I had to go to our Historical Society Christmas party and membership meeting. It was actually quite fun. The house looked beautiful and festive. Of course, I didn’t take any pictures. C’est la vie.
The boy and his famille were in Kansas City this weekend, so the OM and I sat alone in church. They missed a good sermon on the Mosaic Covenant, some great hymns and solos, and a fantastic adult ed class, continuing on the angels and demons theme. The teacher even referenced Hermann Bavinck (see Friday’s post). I am learning a lot. My Bible Study leader made a really good and astute comment during the class and I told her so afterwards, and she said, “It was the Holy Spirit, not me”. Once again, I am humbled and grateful to be among these people.
We watched three Christmas movies: Home Alone (1992), The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)…
and White Christmas (1954), the latter on the big screen! We enjoyed them all.
What an absolute treat to see White Christmas on the big screen! In recliners! Can’t believe it wasn’t sold out! For the 50th time, it was great. And I had to laugh thinking of little Ida watching it for the first time at home on her TV and running to get her tambourine during the “Mandy” number! Perfect!
Have a good Monday, watch an old movie, feel the joy, read some poetry:
Let all mortal flesh keep silence, And with fear and trembling stand; Ponder nothing earthly-minded, For with blessing in His hand, Christ our God to earth descendeth, Our full homage to demand.
King of kings, yet born of Mary, As of old on earth He stood, Lord of lords, in human vesture, In the body and the blood; He will give to all the faithful His own self for heav’nly food.
Rank on rank the host of heaven Spreads its vanguard on the way, As the Light of light descendeth From the realms of endless day, That the pow’rs of hell may vanish As the darkness clears away.
At His feet the six-winged seraph, Cherubim with sleepless eye, Veil their faces to the presence, As with ceaseless voice they cry: “Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Lord Most High!”
Liturgy of St. James, 5th century (adapted by Gerard Moultrie, 1864)
dual personalities 