dual personalities

Tag: spirituality

April 16, 2026

You wait for me

by chuckofish

There are buds on the Iris plants!

We got a lot of rain last night and the tornado sirens went off, but nothing dire.

I have been listening to Ligonier’s Renewing Your Mind series and highly recommend it. R.C. Sproul launched this outreach in 1994 to help people gain a deeper understanding of who God is as their minds are renewed according to His Word. Each episode is about 25 minutes long and is well worth your time.

And from the gee-whiz-that-was-inevitable department: Hampshire College is closing. When I went to Smith in the ’70s Hampshire was the newbie in the 5-college valley–opened in 1970–and it was kind of joke even then. I mean, Elliott Smith went there. (His undergrad senior thesis was titled “Toward a Post-Structuralist Feminist Jurisprudence”. After he graduated, he “worked in a bakery back in Portland with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and legal theory”.) The story of higher education in a nutshell.

Meanwhile I am getting ready for daughter #2 and the prairie entourage to arrive tomorrow. Super fun expected. Here’s Ida’s new favorite song:

I’m sorry it took so long
I was takin’ the long way home
But You wait for me (oh-oh)
Oh, You wait for me (oh-oh)

Praise God for his patience and kindness.

4 Comments
April 9, 2026

Look at the birds of the air: they do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them.*

by chuckofish

I made it to the prairie! A very windy trip indeed, but I am getting the hang of it.

We have had a productive few days…

…doing puzzles, taking walks…

…organizing the girls’ room which they are are now sharing with our antique twin beds…

Good times.

Today we have another day together with plans for more organizing fun. The weather has been great, but it will probably rain when I head home tomorrow. C’est la vie.

Embrace the simple pleasures in your life and be grateful for them. The blue sky, smart kids, good food, God’s beautiful creation, encouraging friends, faithful family.

*Matthew 6:26

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April 7, 2026

A little that a righteous man has/ Is better than the riches of many wicked*

by chuckofish

Everything is greening up nicely in flyover country. I am heading up to the prairie for a few days today for some hang-out time with the girls and the prairie prince. The speedwagon is loaded up and raring to go. But first I have to vote for city council members and school board members. It is my civic duty!

And this is one of the greatest things I’ve seen in a long time:


Who knew Bluegrass was a thing in Japan?!

Look up! Pray for the day ahead. Pray that you might bring glory to God, in thought, word and deed. Thank God that his mercies are new every morning. Thank God that his grace is sufficient for all situations that you may encounter.

*Psalm 37:16

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April 2, 2026

The full extent of His love

by chuckofish

It is Maundy Thursday. I watched Sinclair Ferguson’s lesson on the Foot Washing in Five Stages–physically and theologically, in which He reveals Himself as the One who served us in order that we might serve others.

I read Luke 22 and reformed commentary on the subject of the Last Supper. And I started watching the Hillsdale College online course on C.S. Lewis.

I also listened to a barred owl outside my window last night being very talkative.

All highly recommended.

And here’s a poem by George Herbert (1593-1632): “Love”

LOVE bade me welcome; yet my soul drew back,
            Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
    From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
            If I lack’d anything.

‘A guest,’ I answer’d, ‘worthy to be here:’
            Love said, ‘You shall be he.’
‘I, the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear,
            I cannot look on Thee.’
Love took my hand and smiling did reply,
            ‘Who made the eyes but I?’

‘Truth, Lord; but I have marr’d them: let my shame
            Go where it doth deserve.’
‘And know you not,’ says Love, ‘Who bore the blame?’
            ‘My dear, then I will serve.’
‘You must sit down,’ says Love, ‘and taste my meat.’
            So I did sit and eat.

(The photo of the grape hyacinths is from Don.)

2 Comments
April 1, 2026

How’s it goin’?

by chuckofish

I did some outside work yesterday and it wore me out in, like, 15 minutes. But it’s going to rain for the rest of the week and through Easter (typical) so I wanted to get out there.

Anyway, I thought it was really cool that Gatlin Didier @gatlin_didier and his grandmother Arleta Kay Didier @grannybibbins went to the White House last week.

I guess they had a great time:

I have bought their beef (shipped nationwide) and it is excellent!

This article in the NYTimes about the end of the free-range childhood made me think of my own childhood and how my friend Leah and I would walk all over downtown Clayton, eat lunch at a diner and walk home to her house. We would ride bikes down McKnight Road over to Delmar (before highway I-70 was built) to go to some drugstore to buy candy. We would be gone for hours. We were in fourth grade–9 or 10 years old in 1966. Leah was a free-range kid to be sure and I’m not sure my mother would have approved had she really known what was going on. But I survived and was probably the better for having been pushed out of my comfort zone. My children who grew up in the eighties and nineties did not do this and the twins who are that age now would never. And I’m not sure they could do that and find their way home! Different times.

And this is cool.

Have a great day!

4 Comments
March 31, 2026

Who do you say that I am?

by chuckofish

Well, it’s March 31! We are in Holy Week! What are you doing to mark that?

I am watching Franco Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth (1977) which I still think is really well done. You can skip the first hour and move on to the part with Jesus. Robert Powell as Jesus is impressive. But James Farentino as Peter and Ann Bancroft as Mary Magdalene were never better. Truly.

I really love them both.

And watching brings back my trip to the Holy Land in 2018 and I am so glad I went. It was the trip of a lifetime. I stood in the Jordan River. Wow.

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?[a] 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

–Matthew 6:26-34


Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

3 Comments
March 24, 2026

It’s a brand new morning

by chuckofish

Since next week is Holy Week, I started watching Peter and Paul, the mini series from 1981 starring Anthony Hopkins. It is a faithful adaption of the book of Acts. I remember watching it on my little black and white TV back in 1981 and being quite moved by it and also struck by how little I actually knew about either Peter or Paul. Robert Foxworth, who played Peter, was okay, but Anthony Hopkins, who played Paul, is indelibly inscribed on my memory.

I think I subsequently read the book of Acts as a result of my initial viewing and that I was amazed by the things in it. (Also the things that were not in the Bible, i.e. Peter being crucified upside down.) Anyway, I recommend the mini series as part of your Lenten viewing.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. (II Timothy 4:7-8)

Now I have to catch up on my II Thessalonians reading for my women’s Bible study. But first, here is a new Bluegrass rendition of a favorite hymn by William Cowper:

And I love this:

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March 23, 2026

Postcards from the weekend

by chuckofish

Spring is officially here–how did that happen? The year is zooming by per usual. I moved some of my plants into the Florida Room over the weekend. Some of them have gotten really big! I exhausted myself.

I got through my hospital visits and a list of other pressing to-do list items. The terrible week ended and I survived. Also, the twins came over to spend the night and we all survived that. I didn’t sleep much, but c’est la vie. We went through some boxes full of their Dad’s old stuff and that is always fascinating to them. Our Dad had baseball cards?! We found some cool matchbox cars for the bud to take home and some 30-year old candy which we threw away. I got permission to throw away some old Lego kit boxes (empty). I am making progress.

The bud was up to his old tricks…

Those bags of Beanie Babies never cease to amuse.

On Saturday I caught up on things at home and then daughter #1 came over and helped with some lingering computer issues. Then we went to Glen Echo and sat on the patio and drank a bottle of wine. (I deserved it.)

At church we heard a sermon on the “Crumbly Bread Covenant” in Joshua 9:1-27–rich ground for reflection on the nature of truth, discernment, and the dangers of falling prey to deception. We sang good hymns. Our adult ed class continued on the Westminster Catechism–#s 39-82, basically breaking down the 10 Commandments. The boy and twins came over to my house after church and Sunday School and we had bagels and fruit salad. I enjoyed our mealtime conversation about Calvinist doctrine and the fact that God is both a just God and a merciful God, but that we all deserve his wrath.

Then we sat outside for awhile…

…but they were very disappointed because the Raptor wasn’t sufficiently charged for them to drive. They fooled around with some old favorites, but…

Heavy sigh. Well, hopefully the next time they come over I’ll be better prepared. We went inside and they spent an eventful hour playing with Lego while I talked to the boy.

Well, I am sorry to see old Chuck Norris go, but the memes and tweets have been (not surprisingly) hilarious.

And I really liked this.

This morning I have one more trip to the hospital for semi-annual tests. Onward and upward.

3 Comments
March 16, 2026

Sometimes a light surprises

by chuckofish

How was your weekend? Mine was springlike until it was not. The magnolia trees are in full bloom and everyone is worried that the cold snap will kill/damage everything. But this literally happens every year. At least it didn’t snow as initially predicted! (But we did have a tornado watch!)

Daughter #1 came over on Friday afternoon and set up my new printer for me. I am good to go after months of frustration with my old printer. We celebrated with wine time and Chik-fil-a for dinner.

Our DAR meeting on Saturday was skillfully run, as usual, by daughter #1. We had a wonderful lecture by our friend Esley Hamilton about all the architectural jewels of St. Louis that were torn down before 1904.

For instance, this house–the “Cracker Castle”–built in 1868 for Jonathan Pierce who produced hardtack during the Civil War, was heavily damaged by a tornado in 1896 and as a result was demolished soon afterwards. It is sad that so little actually remains from the nineteenth century (although the above monstrosity was no great loss).

Saturday night I watched The Quiet Man (1952) in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.

Mr. Smith harumphed a bit at the Irish accents, but he still thought it was pretty great.

Sunday I went to church and heard a fine sermon on Joshua 8:1-35–I have really enjoyed Joshua. It seems very timely. Our final hymn was…

…and I cried…and my mascara ran.

Is this what William Cowper meant when he wrote:

Sometimes a light surprises
The Christian while he sings;
It is the Lord, who rises
With healing in His wings:
When comforts are declining,
He grants the soul again
A season of clear shining,
to cheer it after rain.

I went to the Westminster Catechism class afterwards and it was terrific. We went through #22-38, led by a ruling elder (who is also an attorney). It all makes so much sense! I think I finally understand what effectual calling is!

Effectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit, whereby convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel.

This morning I go in for my annual bone density exam, kicking off two weeks of doctor visits and tests. “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. 25 Brothers, pray for us.” (I Thess. 5:23-25)

5 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!

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