dual personalities

Tag: spirituality

September 21, 2026

Come ye weary, heavy laden

by chuckofish

We had another very hot weekend, but they say we’re in for cooler temps this week. Let’s hope so. Today is the first day of fall, after all!

The gutter guys (moonlighting firemen) came on Friday to wash my windows and I had an interesting conversation with the head dude prompted by the picture of John Wayne in my kitchen.

This happens not infrequently. Kindred souls, you know. It periodically restores my faith in humanity.

I went to Mudd’s Grove in the afternoon to do a little research and then I enjoyed wine time with daughter #1 at our favorite local watering hole. I also enjoyed therapy time with Mr. Smith who was newly shampooed.

On Saturday I decided not to attend the Greentree Festival parade in my flyover town, instead planning to go to the bud’s soccer game, but I was foiled in my efforts when there was absolutely no place to park in all of Shaw Park. (There was also some art fair going on and half of Clayton was blocked off.) So I headed over to daughter #1’s house and we went to two estate sales in her neighborhood. They were both in old houses where the people had obviously lived for many years. This is the kind of estate sale we like best. Fascinating. We found a few things and spent less than $20. Afterwards we went to the new hip restaurant in her neighborhood–Cibo–the one in a renovated gas station, for a yummy lunch. Then I went home to recover from walking around in the 95+ degree sunshine.

Later she came over to my house and we went to the Greentree Festival for wine time and live music. We parked in my friend Carla’s driveway and walked over–again very hot! It was fun to people watch, but we didn’t stay too long. We hoofed it back to Carla’s where she and her husband gave us glasses of ice water and a cool house to cool off in. I did not go to the Pig Pickin’ dinner at church that night, opting to stay home and watch A Mighty Wind (2003). Having just watched No Direction Home (22005) documentary, it was doubly hilarious.

On Sunday I met the boy and the twins at church. As usual, the music was wonderful and the entire congregation sang with gusto. The choir was in great form as was our resident violinist. We sang my favorite hymn (Come Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy) and Lottie’s favorite (Yet Not I, But Through Christ in Me). The sermon on I Corinthians 1:10-17 about Christian unity was very good, as was our Sunday School class, continuing on the Union with Christ theme. We were all energized when we left church. Imagine that.

I went home and worked on my blogpost and did the homework for my Monday afternoon Bible Study. I went back to church Sunday night for a presentation about our mission work in Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, and around the world. Amazing work being done by God! When I got home, it started to rain and the temperature dropped.

Stay positive. Choose joy.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:31-32) 

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September 14, 2026

Morning by morning new mercies I see*

by chuckofish

My weekends seem busy, I think, because my weekdays are so quiet. But the lazy days of summer are coming to an end. My calendar is filling up (relatively speaking).

I went to a double funeral on Friday at my old church–for a devoted married couple who had died within weeks of each other. I mostly knew Ron who was 93 years old, a retired army major who had served in Korea, Germany and two tours in Vietnam. He was awarded two Bronze Stars and many other commendations and badges. He was also a devoted churchman who served as our Senior Warden more than once. He gave the blessing at the boy’s Eagle Scout court of honor and also before dinner at his wedding reception. He was a fixture in our life for 25 years at Grace Church. I thought it was great that all three scripture readings contained a military reference: Exodus 17:8b-11; Ephesians 6:10-17; Matthew 8: 5-10, 13.

Later in the day I celebrated daughter #1’s birthday with the boy and his family at her house.

Mr. Smith kind of lost his mind over the excitement of having everyone in his house…

…but we all had fun and Dewey’s pizza!

Saturday morning I went to a DAR meeting–my first as the chapter chaplain! Daughter #1 and I went to our favorite winery in Hillsboro afterwards (as is our tradish) for a much-needed refreshment.

It was lovely to sit in the sunshine and listen to live music and drink the local wine.

On Sunday I got up and met the boy and the twins at church. We are back on the fall schedule. We had a baptism–the Assistant Pastor’s son, Asa Keller (named after guess who)–and that was fun. I love when the whole congregation sings “Jesus Loves Me” as the pastor carries the baby up and down the middle aisle. The Assistant Pastor got a little weepy quoting I Kings 15:9-24: “The heart of Asa was wholly true to the Lord all his days.”

We heard a good sermon by our Senior Pastor on I Corinthians1:1-9–wonderful exegesis on the “Who do you think you are?” theme. The congregation sang with verve and vigor and I felt joyful. Then we all went to Sunday School. I chose the “Union with Christ” class taught by a Covenant Seminary professor. It was so good! I love being in a class where the teacher assumes an intelligent audience who is there to learn. Woohoo! What a treat.

Have a great Monday!

Great is thy faithfulness,
Great is thy faithfulness,
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed thy hand hast provided;
Great is thy faithfulness,
Lord unto me.

*Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923

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September 4, 2026

In the dust and smoke of the arena*

by chuckofish

I’m heading up to the prairie today with daughter #1 and Mr. Smith to see the prairie fam–so much more fun than imaginary talking on the phone!

Enjoy your long weekend and let’s all toast the hardworking American men and women out there! And a special call out to those men who do the important jobs women don’t want to do: who pick up your trash, and fix the roads, who are plumbers and electricians, who mine the coal and fix our cars and fight the wars and protect the streets. The ones who stop on the highway and pull people out of burning cars. I salute you and I thank you.

Work and love, using each in its broadest sense – work, the quality which makes a man ashamed not to be able to pull his own weight, not to do for himself as well as for others without being beholden to anyone for what he is doing; work, no man is happy if he does not work.

–Theodore Roosevelt speaking to the railroad branch of the YMCA in Topeka, Kansas, on “decent living and high ideals”, 1903

This little picture essay offers one of the best reminders of the wonders all around us, even in a simple small apartment. We are blessed beyond measure.

And this is a really good article about Wendell Berry. “Berry’s poetic imagination shapes us to love the limits and simplicity of the real life we have, even if it’s not the perfect life.’

I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man. (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13)

P.S. Prayers for travel mercies are much appreciated!

*Theodore Roosevelt

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September 2, 2026

“I been eating peaches/off some mighty fine trees.”*

by chuckofish

Kentucky poet, novelist and essayist Wendell Berry died on Monday. He was 92.

He was right about a lot of things and wrong about others (as are we all) but I always liked him.

I like his poetry and I like his novels.

“You mustn’t wish for another life. You mustn’t want to be somebody else. What you must do is this:
‘Rejoice evermore.
Pray without ceasing.
In everything give thanks.’
I am not all the way capable of so much, but those are the right instructions.”

–Wendell Berry, Hannah Coulter

I am re-reading Hannah Coulter; it is pretty great.

Enjoy your Tuesday! Read some poetry, re-read an old book, take a walk, be thankful, do not be ashamed.

* Wendell Berry, read the whole poem here.

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September 1, 2026

It is life that is going on

by chuckofish

It a new month–a good time to start observing…(if you are not already)…

A RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE can be a wedding, a christening, a Memorial Day service, a bar mitzvah, or anything like that you might be apt to think of. There are lots of things going on at them. There are lots of things you can learn from them if you’re in a receptive state of mind. The word observance itself suggests what is perhaps the most important thing about them.

A man and a woman are getting married. A child is being given a name. A war is being remembered and many deaths. A youngster is coming of age.

It is life that is going on. It is always going on, and it is always precious. It is God that is going on. It is you who are there that is going on.

As Henry James advised writers, be one on whom nothing is lost. Observe!! There are few things as important, as religious, as that.

–Frederick Buechner, Whistling in the Dark

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August 28, 2026

Unfaded, yet prepared to fade*

by chuckofish

Well, here we are–it’s the last Friday in August. One more weekend and then it’s September! It was a good summer. Good weather. A little travel. I watched all seven seasons of The Mentalist (2008-2015). Now I am ready to get back into the fall swing of things.

Departing summer hath assumed

An aspect tenderly illumed,

The gentlest look of spring;

That calls from yonder leafy shade

Unfaded, yet prepared to fade,

A timely carolling.

In the meantime, here are some good things to read:

I agree with this. “There is a difference between possessing the information contained in a book and possessing a book.”

Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death? A. That I am not my own, but belong, body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. This is important: What the Heidelberg Catechism Says to the Age of Self.

R.C. Sproul’s entire teaching series library is now free forever. You can find them all on Ligonier’s Teaching Series page.

The Book of Common Prayer (1662) as printed by John Baskerville is available online.

Have a good weekend!

P.S. This made me LOL:

*William Wordsworth, September, 1819…read the whole poem here.

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August 17, 2026

He will hold me fast

by chuckofish

How was your weekend? Mine was pretty quiet, mostly due to the weather, which was not particularly condusive to activity.

I did take the speedwagon in for an oil change and 6-month check-up on Friday morning. I was given a loaner, so I got to drive around a 2026 4-door Mini Cooper which was fun. I still love my Countryman though.

That evening daughter #1 and I braved the heat and went to see our friend Gary and his band, Colonel Ford, play, which was very enjoyable!

On Saturday, after my night out, I had to get up early and go to Trader Joe’s to buy some flowers and then go to church to arrange them for Sunday,

After that, I went home and took it easy. I watched The Searchers (1956) on TCM in the afternoon. It is a flawed but great film–John Wayne is awesome. It was amazing watching it again having been to Monument Valley recently.

Amazing.

I took those chairs over to daughter #1’s house after that and had a glass of wine

That night I watched 28 Days (2000)–the one where Sandra Bullock is in rehab with Viggo Mortensen. I had not seen it in a long time and enjoyed it a lot. (Not to be confused with 28 Days Later (2002) about the apocalypse.)

On Sunday I went to the 11:00 service, because the boy and the twins could come to that service. However, they had a car accident on the way there, so they didn’t make it. They are fine, but quelle pain in the neck. Anyway, I saw a lot of people at the later service that I hadn’t seen all summer because I went to the 8:30 and that was nice.

We sang a hymn which seemed appropriate to the circumstances…

When I fear my faith will fail,
Christ will hold me fast;
When the tempter would prevail,
He can hold me fast!

Refrain:
He will hold me fast,
He will hold me fast;
For my Savior loves me so,
He will hold me fast.

(Ada Ruth Habershon, 1861-1918)

Our pastor gave a good sermon on Psalm 37 (Trust in the Lord’s timing!) I went to the adult ed class on prayer–another great one led by another seminary student who was learned and funny. He got a couple of good laughs from this serious Presbyterian audience, which is saying something.

Trust in the Lord, and do good;
    dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

–Psalm 37:2-4

We went to the boy’s house later where he grilled smashbergers–an excellent end to a lovely weekend. Life is good.

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August 7, 2026

Life barrels on like a runaway train

by chuckofish

Another week has come to an end–it’s Friday! I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday to get some Aida cloth and they have everything out for Thanksgiving and Christmas! The year is barreling by as usual. Time to take a deep breathe and consider…

This is the day the Lord has made; 

We will rejoice and be glad in it.

–Psalm 118:2

I am catching up after my wonderful interlude with the prairie fam. It has been dark and rainy, but I am crossing things off my to-do list. I am looking forward to a quiet weekend.

And I am always in the mood for this hymn. Here’s another terrific version:

Pray for the day ahead and that I might bring Glory to God, in word, thought and deed. I thank God that his mercies are new to me every morning. I thank God that his grace is sufficient for all situations that I may encounter.

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July 30, 2026

Breathe in, my friend

by chuckofish

I was very productive and ran a lot of errands yesterday. I voted early!

July 11, 2026 was the 100th birthday of Frederick Buechner, who has been very important to me over the long years of my spiritual journey. I actually met him back in the day when he preached at Christ Church Cathedral some time in the 1990s. I shook his hand. He meant a lot to me and I was not alone in that. Here are reflections on the following prompt: “What Buechner means to me” from the Buechner Review.

I have long wondered how anyone could not believe in a creator-God when one looked at birds–their incredible beauty and detail and diversity. This is a good read about ornitheology. “My point: Lessons are everywhere. When God filled the skies on day five (Gen. 1:20–22), he didn’t just make a bird, call it “bird,” and be done with it. He made at least 11,000 different bird species. Doesn’t it seem like he wanted us to notice?”

And here’s a great Billy Strings cover of one of my favorite Bob Dylan songs:

And every one of them words rang true
And glowed like burning coal
Pouring off of every page
Like it was written in my soul
From me to you
Tangled up in blue

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July 28, 2026

This and that and some good advice

by chuckofish

It’s the last week in July and it’s going to be a hot one! But the show must go on and there is plenty to be done.

I was doing ‘desk work’ yesterday and I found these in my phone photos:

Funnily enough, daughter #1’s electricity went out yesterday (!) and so she came over after work and brought Mr. Smith to cool off and to hug. All will be well.

Keep cool and keep the faith.

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