dual personalities

Tag: scripture

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”

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June 19, 2024

I press on

by chuckofish

Well, I made it through another day of VBS. Thankfully it was not as hot as they predicted and it was windy so not really unpleasant at all.

Yes, it is hot work for this old lady, but I salute myself for getting out of my comfort zone. And I do enjoy interacting with the kids and the teenage helpers. It makes me feel better and more hopeful about the world in general. Every year the guy in charge of Games is pretty special and this year is no exception. It is our friend who just graduated from WashU Law School and is headed into the JAG Corps. Ridge is like 6″4″, handsome, a Marine, hilarious, and a fine young man. Of course, the kids love him.

He can make them do anything in the 95-degree weather, including jumping jacks, and think it’s fun. (Don’t worry, most the games involve being doused with water.) He has a whistle.

I loved how when the boys doused him at the end of Game Time today, one of them said, “We are baptizing you!”

Meanwhile here are some worthwhile things to read:

What You Read Builds Who You Are–so true!

Anne has many good thoughts here, well expressed as usual. “This is the point in late-stage decadence where the progressives who created a perfect world for themselves look around and hate what they have made. They are Frankenstein, recoiling from their fancy-liberal-utopia Monster. They are the proverbial I-Didn’t-Leave-the-Left-the-Left-left-Me.” Haha–so true.

Well, onward and upward.

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

–Philippians 3:12-14

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June 11, 2024

A handful of quietness*

by chuckofish

I am currently reading Ecclesiastes in my daily Bible reading and it is a wonderful reminder that earthly treasures are precarious and can cause a lot of anxiety. For those who know, however, that God is the source of the richness of life, there are many pleasures in life and the ability to enjoy them.

What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man. (Ecclesiastes 3:9-13)

It’s really pretty simple. Work hard, do good, worship God and enjoy Him forever.

Here are three things you should know about Ecclesiastes.

Here’s an interesting article about Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon (1707–1791) who was an English Christian and religious leader who played a prominent part in the religious revival of the 18th century and the Methodist movement in England and Wales. She did a lot of good in her life.

“The Sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which the child of God rests his head.” –Charles Spurgeon

*Ecclesiastes 4:8

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June 4, 2024

“the wonderfulness of insects in the air”*

by chuckofish

Like baby Ida, it is taking me some time to recover from my busy weekend.

This week I will be catching up on a lot of things and working on an article for the Kirkwood Review. Besides the usual laundry and tidying up, I have quite a bit of Bible reading to catch up on. In my chronological Bible I am still in I Kings/I Chronicles and Psalms. I can’t help chuckling that I am such a movie nerd that when I read the verses Psalm 46: 10-11, I heard the voices of the Colour Sergeant and the missionary in a famous scene from Zulu (1964)!

I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

I’m sure some of you can relate.

Here’s a good reminder that you do not need to be perfect for God to use you. And as the line from my favorite hymn says, “if you tarry till you’re better, you will never come at all.”

And by the way, I volunteered to do VBS again this year, so I am preparing myself mentally for some good times to come in two weeks.

Onward and upward.

*I’m trying to appreciate this along with Walt Whitman (Miracles)–as our cicada invasion continues…

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May 29, 2024

In the twinkling of an eye

by chuckofish

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

–I Corinthians 15:52-53

Yesterday I went to the funeral of a lady in my Bible Study class. She was quite a gal who had lived a long and meaningful life. She was a teacher, a missionary, a college professor, and an author. By all accounts she was ready to meet her maker. Anyway, it was the first funeral I had attended at my new church and I was not disappointed.

We sang four hymns enthusiastically, con brio.

Her three adult children read various things. One read the Heidelberg Catechism Q & A #1:

QUESTION:

What is your only comfort in life and death?

ANSWER:

That I am not my own, 1 but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, 2 to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ. 3 He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, 4 and has set me free from all the power of the devil. 5 He also preserves me in such a way 6 that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; 7 indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. 8 Therefore, by his Holy Spirit he also assures me of eternal life 9 and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for him. 

One read part of her mother’s testimony and one read from C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity. A soloist sang Handel’s I Know That My Redeemer Liveth. The Senior Pastor preached on Romans 8:18-25.

I might have added one or two more scripture readings, but I thought it was pretty close to perfect as is. No pomp, no circumstance. No smells and bells. Just the community faithful gathering at the proverbial river.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

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May 23, 2024

Tidying up

by chuckofish

At my granddaughter’s pre-school, they worked on a questionnaire on the last day. In the section “When I grow up”, the 3-4 year olds were asked the question, “What will you do for fun?” Katie answered, “Tidy up.”

I laughed out loud. I’m sure her lovely mother (and probably the pre-school teachers) makes everything fun, à la Mary Poppins, even tidying up, but oh my goodness. She is a girl after my own heart.

I spent the morning tidying up. It is what I do. That and “desk work” as my Aunt Susanne used to say. I have never been one for deep cleaning, but tidying up, yes.

Life is seemingly full of chaos, so tidying up gives us the illusion of some control. We need that illusion. That is why we make our beds in the morning and hang up our clothes. Indeed, studies show that children thrive when there is order, routine and, yes, rules.

For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.

–1 Corinthians 14:33

So relax. Keep tidying up.

And in weather news…

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April 24, 2024

And like Goliath they’ll be conquered

by chuckofish

In my daily Bible reading I have been working through 1 and 2 Samuel and the story of David who I don’t have to tell you is pretty great. Everyone knows the story of David, the shepherd boy who fought the giant Philistine, Goliath, who had been ridiculing the Israelites for forty days, daring one of them to fight him. Everyone thinks David is crazy when he says he’ll fight Goliath. But do you remember what David said to Saul?

But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

–I Samuel 17: 34-37

This is David’s attitude throughout his life and it is a good attitude. Later in II Samuel 22 he spoke to the Lord the words of a song he wrote when the Lord delivered him from the hand of his enemies. He also wrote a Psalm about it: Psalm 18.

The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation. (II Samuel 22:47)

I’m not sure where I was going with this except to say that daily Bible reading is quite an encouragement to me and I highly recommend it.

Along these same lines, this is a good article about Jesus as our shepherd and why he carries a rod. “Numbered by Jesus, we’re led by Jesus; led by Jesus, we’re protected by Jesus; and protected by Jesus, we’re comforted by Jesus.”

And God love him, here’s Bob:

And they’ll raise their hands
Sayin’, “We’ll meet all your demands”
But we’ll shout from the bow, “Your days are numbered”
And like Pharoah’s tribe
They’ll be drowned in the tide
And like Goliath, they’ll be conquered

P.S. I always liked the Bernini David best (see above).

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April 23, 2024

Meditate on these things

by chuckofish

I received some good books for my birthday–I mean does my family know me or what?

I got some other nice things as well, including archival boxes to aid me in my quest to be organized. However, the twins quickly became bored with my presents as I opened my pile of goodies and returned to playing with Mr. Smith. But I will have no excuse for being bored for some time.

Just a reminder that yesterday was the 62nd Anniversary of the release of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). ​​​​​​​​​

In its review, The New York Times heralded Duke as a paragon of the Western genre, writing, “Mr. Wayne again proves, if it is necessary at this late date, that he can sit a horse well, shoot from the hip and throw a haymaker with the best of them.” Well, he could do a lot more than that and he did in this great film, which is a lot more than your everyday, run-of-the-mill western. But you know that. Anyway, if you are looking for something good to watch, I suggest Liberty Valance.

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

–Philippians 4:8-9

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April 9, 2024

The sun will be dark when it rises*

by chuckofish

So for weeks flyover country has been quite sidetracked with all the eclipse hype. People traveled from all over the country to places like Farmington and Cape Girardeau just to get a view.

If you waited til Monday to head to the direct path, you were out of luck, because I-55 was a parking lot basically. I sat on my patio, content to experience the 99% view. The OM had bought a large supply of the special glasses (why buy one, when you can buy dozens?) so I was prepared.

The bumble bees were intense, but I hung in there.

The birds seemed very confused–is that an eclipse thing? As John Quincy Adams noted after the June 1806 eclipse: “The cattle, and poultry discovered the symptoms of Night, and followed their usual habits on its approach—the swallows appeared surprised and flew with that wild irregularity, which is described as betokening the approach of an Earthquake.” Yes, it was like that.

We had fun texting on the family thread…

…but it wasn’t terribly exciting. It seemed like dusk and it made me think of Happy Hour, but it was only 2 o’clock, so I restrained myself and went back to work.

“The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood
Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.”

–Joel 2:31

Still waiting.

*Isaiah 13:10

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March 19, 2024

Awake my soul and with the sun*

by chuckofish

In my daily Bible reading I have been sojourning in the book of Joshua. I am always impressed with Joshua. He is a real role-model, a mighty man of Israel: steadfast, obedient and brave. Funnily enough, over at desiringGod.com someone was thinking the same thing and wrote this about the humble young leader.

Yes, Joshua learned to trust God’s word, and it guided his life. We all have a lot to learn from him. “Today we know that the LORD is in our midst, because you have not committed this breach of faith against the LORD. Now you have delivered the people of Israel from the hand of the LORD.” (Joshua 22:31)

Speaking of humble young men, I was pleased to see that Scottie Scheffler won the Players Championship, the first professional golfer ever to repeat, a back-to-back winner!

Today we remember Thomas Ken (July 1637 – 19 March 1711), English Anglican cleric, who died on this day in 1711. He wrote many hymns and was one of the seven non-juring bishops when James II reissued his Declaration of Indulgence. Along with his six brethren, Ken was committed to the Tower on June 8, 1688, on a charge of high misdemeanour. Ken was put on trial with the others, which resulted in a verdict of acquittal. He is commemorated on the Episcopal Church liturgical calendar on March 21. I always think of him when we sing the doxology.

Here’s a good word from Randy Alcorn about being a Christian in today’s hostile world. “Jesus is the Audience of One. We will stand before His judgment seat, no one else’s. We should long to hear Him say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’ What other people think won’t matter.”

And in nutball news…

It was cold but sunny here in flyover country yesterday. (Note the down coats.) Today should be warmer. Hopefully I’ll get some more work done on the Florida room and we can open it for business soon.

*Thomas Ken

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