Have you been watching the Olympics? Me neither. Every night I try, but it is just so uninspiring, and, I’m sorry, I do not want to watch women’s curling! No one does, outside Canada. Ugh. If they showed a replay of the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, I would watch that…or the ones in Lillehammer–they were great! I have no doubt that the ratings would be much better. Well, I’ll just keep watching Lonesome Dove from back in 1989.
Meanwhile I am reading this biography of William Tecumseh Sherman…
It is “popular” history and therefore quite readable, and I am enjoying it. The author understands context and does not judge his subject by 21st century standards. I have always liked Sherman. He hated politicians and journalists and he was fiercely loyal. I can relate to that.
I am also reading this…
…which is also very interesting. The emphasis is on Sarah Edwards, the “godly wife”. By all evidence, Jonathan and Sarah Edwards had a very happy marriage and 11 children, all of whom lived to at least young adulthood–an amazing thing in the early 18th century. Noel Piper wrote this long article about the book and the impressive couple.
I couldn’t have said this better: “The church has always lived in changing times, even if today’s changes might feel more aggressive and chaotic than before. But our hope has never rested in the stability of society. It rests in the stability of God: ‘I the Lord do not change'(Mal. 3:6). The world may reinvent itself every decade, but God does not evolve, and His truth does not expire. It does not need updating. It does not need rebranding. Truth that shifts with the culture isn’t truth at all—it’s marketing.”
And here’s a new rendition of one of my favorite hymns:
Today we toast the great American writer A.B. Guthrie, Jr. on his birthday (1901-1991). He wrote the western series featuring Dick Summers, who I maintain is one of the great characters of fiction, winning the Pulitzer Prize for The WayWest in 1950. ”I don’t write ‘gun-and-gallop’ jobs that promote the myth of the West,” Mr. Guthrie said in an interview. ”I avoid the myth. I have a sense of morality about it–I want to talk about real people in real times. For every Wyatt Earp or Billy the Kid, you see, there were thousands of people trying to get along–not ready with a gun or ready to spill blood. And that story has been obscured.” His books are well worth reading.
Last week John Piper celebrated his 80th birthday. As you know, he is considered quite the guy in reformed circles. He has been a wonderful help to me on my spiritual journey. He has taught me a lot. “In his second year as a pastor, Piper noted that the mercy of God and the sovereignty of God were the twin pillars of his life: ‘They are the hope of my future, the energy of my service, the center of my theology, the bond of my marriage, the best medicine in all my sickness, the remedy of all my discouragements. And when I come to die (whether soon or late) these two truths will stand by my bed and with infinitely strong and infinitely tender hands lift me up to God.’”
Here’s the audio transcript of his latest Ask Pastor John podcast. “[Public] faithfulness becomes public performance when we fail to hope that God will be glorified more than we will be glorified. We just fail to want that; we don’t want it. That’s a failure. Which brings us back to where we started: Is God real for us? Is he a precious Father to us? Is the promise of his reward far more desirable to us than the rewards of human admiration?”
Have a good Tuesday!
And remember: “If you do not worship God seven days a week, you do not worship Him on one day a week. There is no such thing known in heaven as Sunday worship unless it is accompanied by Monday worship and Tuesday worship and so on.” (A.W. Tozer)
Since I did not need to go to the County Courthouse for another day of Jury Duty yesterday, it felt like a free day. Wonderful. I mailed a couple of packages. I went to the grocery store. I organized all my Christmas presents and wrapped many of them. I was cookin’ with gas. I didn’t finish, but I made a good dent.
I had a second cup of coffee and caught up on my reading.
This is good advice for anyone going through something hard. “Do the next thing.”
Well, whoduh thunk? “I took our six kids overseas — and saw a ‘family-friendly’ nation in joyous action”. Indeed, children are not carbon-emitting inconveniences, but the clearest sign that a society believes in its future. (I will say that there are great swaths of our country that are still family-friendly, including the great Midwest.)
And this is great–watch this two and a half minute clip of John Piper Asking ChatGPT to Write a Prayer:
Brilliant. What are you feeling this Christmas season? The universe is created for people made in the image of God who feel the worth of Grace…I hope you are feeling what Scrooge feels at the end of A Christmas Carol. This is why the 1951 version with Alistair Sim is the best version–because the actor gets it. He feels the joy in his heart and he is giddy with happiness. There are many other versions featuring great actors, but nobody gets it like Alistair Sim.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
How was your weekend? Mine was pleasantly uneventful. Daughter #1 and I were moderately successful at an estate sale run by our favorite company–and by that I mean we got quite a few books and DVDs for an amazing Lamar discount.
The highlight of the weekend was going to church and seeing the boy and his family stand up in front of the congregation and be welcomed as new members. When the wee bud returned to our pew he said, “That was the best moment I’ve ever had!” They have been attending for four years, so I don’t think the twins really understood what was happening, but something clicked. We sang good hymns and, I must say, it melts my heart to hear little Lottie singing in her sweet falsetto “Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe; sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow” from memory beside me.
We also had a great sermon on the final verses of Philippians–4:10-23–and an in-context explanation of I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Ah, the secret of Christian contentment: you may not get what you want, but you will get what you need.
My adult ed class was a panel of elders talking about various topics, including stewardship, and it was very instructive and so incredibly different from my experience in the various Episcopal churches I have attended over the years. At Covenant the session sets a budget and trusts the Lord will provide. There is no lengthy Every Member Canvas, no fund-raising, no talk of gross vs. net pay. This continues to blow my mind. When there is an opportunity to preach about giving from the Gospel lesson, as there was on Sunday, the pastor talks about giving: And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
We went to the Sunny Street Cafe after church to celebrate and daughter #1 met us there. We gobbled down our food and talked about her business trip to Wyoming and Devil’s Tower and giant coal-mining equipment much to the twins’ amazement. The bud already knew all about Devil’s Tower and the legend of the two Indian sisters and the bear, because he is a whiz on landmarks. Speaking of bears, did you know they are wrecking havoc in Japan? Neither twin knew there were bears in Japan and were skeptical when I told them.
I am re-reading Shane by Jack Schaefer and enjoying it. It is interesting to see how it is different from the movie and how the screenplay (in the hands of the great A.B. Guthrie) changes some things and emphasizes others to make a truly great film. I can’t wait to watch it again soon.
Have a great week–be thankful for your many blessings! Be content, give generously, rejoice. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus.
(And pet a nice dog.)
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven; to his feet your tribute bring. Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, evermore his praises sing. Alleluia, alleluia! Praise the everlasting King!
My copy of Jan Karon’s 15th Mitford novel arrived on Tuesday and I jumped right in.
Jan Karon is 88 years old and when I heard that a new book was coming out, I was a little surprised. I mean it’s been eight years since To Be Where You Are was published. I thought she was retiring at that point–at 80 years old! But, my goodness, on she goes. Having just finished a vaguely Christian novel with a cutesy title (The Bitter End Birding Society) written in that grating style we see so much in modern fiction–the type seemingly aiming to impress someone’s 8th grade English teacher–I can say Karon’s novel is a welcome relief.
Yesterday Robert Redford died in his sleep at his home in Sundance, Utah at the age of 89. He was never a particular favorite of mine, but it is always sad to see a Hollywood icon from the olden days die. He was undeniably handsome, but he had a cold, cynical look in his eye that made him less attractive to me than, say, Paul Newman. But I really liked him in The Sting (1973) and The Natural (1984)–two of my favorite movies.
Maybe I’ll watch The Natural. Sigh.
It’s been a sad week.
This is a good one about reading as the best way to rebel in a world that can glance at everything and gaze at nothing. “In our world today, many voices seek our attention. Influencers everywhere hawk their wares. How tragic if we develop the capacity to attune to everything but the Word of the Lord. The most radical, countercultural practice we can cultivate today is an intensity in reading and listening to the Scriptures.”
So watch an old movie, read an old book, read the Bible!
103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.
105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
You know I am a great believer in re-reading books (and re-watching movies) and so is the writer of this article. “Love is the starting place of repeated rereading. And because of that beginning, the gifts of reading are amplified within its practice. Let me make a case to you: rereading is a rich, moral craft that forms us as people.”
And what do you know, science proves it! It says so here.
I definitely think this is true! I have my go-to bonafide stress-reducer movies that I like to watch when I need a lift. Don’t you? It might be time to watch Hatari (1962).
Speaking of John Wayne, this is super cool! “Many Americans of Generation X and older will recall the red, white, and blue American Freedom Train that was a centerpiece of America’s glorious Bicentennial celebration. But few know that the Freedom Train, pulled by a steam locomotive and filled with American historical artifacts, was the brainchild of none other than John Wayne.” Let’s bring back John Wayne’s rolling tribute to America’s finest.
And a bear was spotted playing in a Connecticut back yard…watch the video–priceless!
I am reading Matthew again in my daily Bible reading. I have just read through the beatitudes and the similitudes and a lot of talk about the law. Following after that, chapter six is all about how to do things right and not like the hypocrites and reminders that “your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Humility is the watchword of the day. We can never read about that too much, can we?
I am also reading several other books…
…and I actually finished one: The Pale Horse written by Agatha Christie and published in 1961. I have never been much of a Christie fan, but I ran across a mention of this book and I thought, I’ll give it a whirl.
The plot involves a dying woman, Mrs Davis, who gives her last confession to Father Gorman, a Roman Catholic priest, but along with her confession she gives him a list of names and a terrible secret. Before he can take action, however, he is struck dead in the fog. As the police begin to investigate, the main character begins to piece together evidence which points to a dark, occult group. I was pleasantly surprised by the book–it is well written, moves right along and is peopled with likable characters who are well developed and realistic. I enjoyed it so perhaps I will attempt to read another Christie mystery.
I am also reading Tim Keller on the Christian Life by Matt Smethurst for my Community Group. We are going through it chapter by chapter, starting tomorrow. You may recall that Tim Keller has been very influential to me on my spiritual walk. I credit him, along with R.C. Sproul and John Piper, with explaining the gospel to me, with showing me that the Bible is the foundation of the Christian life and with urging me to find a new church.
Boy, am I grateful for his guidance.
Today we also remember Henry Mancini who was born on this day in 1924. Let’s all have a cocktail and toast him tonight.
Daughter #2 is back today! I am happy to report that my daily reading habits have persisted, and while there are always misses among the hits, I have several good things to share.
Quick notes: I failed to finish Charlotte Brontë’s Villette (1853) — there is a reason Jane Eyre (1847) is the better known work — but while I trudged through the first half, I also read and thoroughly enjoyed two Fred Vargas mysteries. My mother had mailed them to me, which I appreciated, since I do not think my local prairie library carries French mysteries in translation. My mother has blogged about Vargas many times, but I’ll link to this post, which — bonus — mostly discusses her reading of The House of the Seven Gables (1851), a novel I love dearly and re-read at the beginning of the year.
My local prairie library does carry two shelves of “General Fiction,” which feature a funny mix of contemporary “chick lit” and classic canonical works. Something compelled me to grab John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath (1939), and I found it surprisingly easy to read. It is one of those epic long novels that, because the chapters are so short, allows you to leisurely chug along with great and frequent reward. Steinbeck alternates between naturalist descriptions of the American landscape, mini treatises on the American economy, and what I found to be the gripping plot of the Joad family’s Dust Bowl journey from Oklahoma to California. I was very happy to read in context the passage quoted in one of my favorite blog posts.
When Katie assembled this Duplo truck with trailer and a multitude of passengers, I couldn’t help but think, “It’s giving me Joad family jalopy vibes.”
Finally, I recently finished Muriel Barbery’s The Elegance of the Hedgehog (2006). The novel’s dual protagonists are wise in different ways: Paloma beyond her 12 years, and Renée beyond her station (which she believes precludes the intellectual life she keeps a secret). When a Japanese man moves into the apartment building where they both live, the three forge an unlikely friendship. Interestingly, Kakura Ozu is able to intuit the rich inner lives of Paloma and Renée, and draws them out of their shells despite the social structures in which they find themselves stuck. While it was all a little far-fetched, I did appreciate the idea that we can recognize a kindred intellectual spirit when we encounter it, even briefly.
My favorite section of the novel, “On Grammar,” centered on the trio’s shared appreciation of language and disdain for those who misuse it. When Renée and Ozu meet, they both flinch when another — supposedly refined — tenant makes a glaring grammatical error. Their friendship is forged in this moment. And at one point, Paloma snaps when her literature teacher makes an asinine comment about grammar. Later, Paloma reflects in her journal,
“Personally, I think that grammar is a way to attain beauty. When you speak, or read, or write, you can tell if you’ve said or read or written a fine sentence. You can recognize a well-turned phrase or an elegant style. But when you are applying the rules of grammar skillfully, you ascend to another level of the beauty of language. When you use grammar you peel back the layers, to see how it is all put together, see it quite naked, in a way. And that’s where it becomes wonderful, because you say to yourself, ‘Look how well-made this is, how well-constructed it is! How solid and ingenious, rich and subtle!’ I get completely carried away just knowing there are words of all different natures, and that you have to know them in order to be able to infer their potential usage and compatibility. I find there is nothing more beautiful, for example, than the very basic components of language, nouns and verbs. When you’ve grasped this, you’ve grasped the core of any statement. It’s magnificent, don’t you think? Nouns, verbs…
“Perhaps, to gain access to all the beauty of the language that grammar unveils, you have to place yourself in a special state of awareness. I have the impression that I do that anyway without any special effort. I think that it was at the age of two, when I first heard grown-ups speak, that I understood once and for all how language is made. Grammar lessons have always seemed to me a sort of synthesis after the fact and, perhaps, a source of supplemental details concerning terminology.”
Paloma is a little overdone as a precocious tween, but I can’t help but relate to much of this. It’s very obvious to me that toddlers intuit grammar from the language around them, and yes, as their mother, I believe that Ida and Katie have an “elegant style” of speech. Ida once looked at the rainy back deck and said, “I wish we could go outside today.” (For reference, at her age, “go outside” would be typical.) Solid and ingenious, rich and subtle indeed!
Up next, I am testing my endurance with Wolf Hall. So far, so good!
Monday I successfully dropped off Mr. Smith at Silver Maple kennel after an early morning belly-scratch session. He never looked back, so happy was he to be there. He definitely is a ‘no regrets’ kind of dog. I’m sure there is a lesson there for all of us.
The weather has been lovely–blue skies and temperatures in the 60s–I even went to the park and walked around the pond. Hard to believe it was so cold and snowy last week!
I talked to my sister who is a grandmother as of last Friday. Congratulations to all! The baby boy weighed over 10 pounds!
The boy brought the bud over yesterday afternoon while Lottie went to dance class. The bud wanted to do some driveway sittin’ (the first of the year!) and I can’t say no to him. He broke up some ice on the driveway and made friends with the cat next door (named Messi after his hero) and patted a dog walking by. There were a lot of people, in fact, passing by and cars with whom he raced (a Honda! a Fiat! an Audi!)–good grief. He wiped out racing a UPS truck and we went inside to get a bandaid and watched some Wild Kratts until his dad returned. All in a boy’s day…
Daughter #1 returns today from work adventures in Indiana and I am looking forward to a glass of wine and hearing about her exploits.
I talked to daughter #2 and she told me she had just read Home by Marilyn Robinson, which was quite a delight after all the bad contemporary “literature” she has read recently. This warmed my heart. She had many good insights with which I concurred. I started re-reading Gilead after our conversation. Wonderful.
“I’m writing this in part to tell you that if you ever wonder what you’ve done in your life, and everyone does wonder sooner or later, you have been God’s grace to me, a miracle, something more than a miracle. You may not remember me very well at all, and it may seem to you to be no great thing to have been the good child of an old man in a shabby little town you will no doubt leave behind. If only I had the words to tell you.”
So praise God from whom all blessings flow, pet a nice dog, watch a boy play in the yard, read an old book, reach out to the ones you love. They are God’s grace to you.
dual personalities 