dual personalities

Tag: spirituality

July 22, 2024

Let us love and sing and wonder

by chuckofish

I have had quite a busy 10 days and this week will be pretty busy too. I am home, but the laundry is piling up and I have a lot of furniture to rearrange following DN loading up a truck with stuff! (We drove back to our flyover city together on Saturday and he rented a truck.)

He did it all himself–a twin bed with mattress, a dresser, a large antique cradle, a wing chair, numerous bins, etc…and a dining room set from Facebook Marketplace, which he had to drive to Eureka to pick up! Then he drove it all back to Mahomet and unloaded it. It’s great to be young and fit. (The boy was in Kansas City so unavailable to help.) All this after spending 2 1/2 hours in the car with his mother-in-law! (We can talk for hours.)

I was pooped after all this, but got up and went to church and Sunday School. We had a guest teacher in Sunday School–Dr. Hans Madueme, professor of theological Studies at Covenant College in Georgia. He is an MD, MDiv and PhD. Quite a guy. It was a great class about science and faith, creation and original sin. We also had a good sermon on Psalm 7:

God is a righteous judge,
    and a God who feels indignation every day.

12 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword;
    he has bent and readied his bow;
13 he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,
    making his arrows fiery shafts.

(Psalm 7:11-12)

I felt intellectually renewed, stimulated and refreshed!

Well, I sure had fun over the past week with darling daughter #2 and the sweet prairie girls…

…who are learning the art of estate sale-ing (and waiting in line)…

…where the Hibiscus are the size of platters…and the water lilies bloom…

…and Happy Hour popsicles are standard…

But I am glad to be home and back to my old routine.

Our prayers are with the the congregation of the historic First Baptist Dallas which burned down over the weekend. But as their Pastor Robert Jeffress said after fire, “I’m grateful that the church is not bricks or mortar or wood, it’s people. And the people of God will endure. First Baptist Dallas will endure and we thank so many of our friends around the country who are praying for us right now.”

And this was great:

Let us love and sing and wonder,
Let us praise the Savior’s Name!
He has hushed the law’s loud thunder,
He has quenched Mount Sinai’s flame.
He has washed us with His blood,
He has brought us nigh to God.

–John Newton, 1774

3 Comments
July 17, 2024

The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly*

by chuckofish

We had quite the deluge of rain all day yesterday which curtailed our plans again. The twins and their parents came over in the morning, but there was no splash pad play. Sigh. At least it cooled off from Monday’s 97-degree high. We played inside.

We also did some laundry.

It’s all good.

Today we are traveling back to Illinois.

In the meantime, this article looks at a presidential assassination of long ago and asks how one of that era’s foremost theologians interpreted God’s providence in it. Very interesting!

And happy birthday to the OM!

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

*Psalm 104:16

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July 16, 2024

Grace and peace to you

by chuckofish

We had a pretty quiet Monday, because we had to change our plans when daughter #2 was afraid she had torn her retina. She had to go to my eye doctor (everything is okay) while I stayed home with the prairie girls. We had lunch and played a little and read some books…

…and watched part of Heidi (1937) with Shirley Temple, which was a big hit.

Both girls were riveted. And with good reason!

I am behind in my Bible reading and in general, but this by Carl Trueman is encouraging: “I went to Europe expecting to be somewhat discouraged by what I would see. I returned exhilarated. The LORD is not done with his people yet…”

And I guess Marilynne Robinson has a new book out: Reading Genesis. Like I said, I am behind, but this is good news to me. “In her essays, as she defends the philosophical frameworks that once made religious belief almost universal, she is impatient, even testy, with what she finds reductionistic in most descriptions of the world today. You get a sense that she just wants to write about grace but finds herself needing to argue for the idea that something like grace can even exist. Her defense of the grandeur not only of the world but of each human being, her defense of the testimony of “felt experience,” is everywhere in her essays.” Robinson has engaged with a pantheon of “older theological writers”, especially John Calvin and Jonathan Edwards. Of course she has! Good grief.

Well, may you take the truths you hopefully heard preached from the pulpit of your church on Sunday and may they sustain you through this week. (I wrote this blog post during “quiet time” with Katie while she “pretend-read” this book.)

2 Comments
July 11, 2024

Keep your eyes peeled

by chuckofish

Ah, but friends, it is never too late, right? Right. You must keep learning and it’s okay to change your mind about a lot of things. Some of us are very slow learners after all.

I am starting a new teaching series on the Puritans, To God’s Glory: Lessons on Puritanism.

Because, as you know, I love the Puritans. So far, I am very impressed; the DVD presentations are excellent. And it is a great distraction from the election season hell we find ourselves in. The Puritans knew how to handle trials and they knew we need affliction to humble us and to bring us to God. Many good lessons to be had.

Meanwhile I am looking forward to the added distraction of a visit with…

…and…

…when thy come for a visit tomorrow.

And the rain has left the area, at least for awhile. I am grateful that the flooding (so far) hasn’t been worse.

Time like an ever-rolling stream…the summer is nearly half over! So don’t forget:

“There is treasure buried in the field of every one of our days, even the bleakest or dullest, and it is our business, as we journey, to keep our eyes peeled for it.”

–Frederick Buechner, “The Longing for Home: Reflections on Mid-Life”

3 Comments
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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July 9, 2024

“Then the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins and outran Ahab to Jezreel.”*

by chuckofish

The Olympics are coming up and I really don’t care anymore since it is just a bunch of pumped up professionals competing.

However, July 11th marks the 100th anniversary of Eric Liddell winning gold in the 400 meter dash during the Paris Olympics. Here is a short interview with Eric’s daughter, Patricia Liddell Russell, and John MacMillan, Chief Executive of the Eric Liddell Community. I guess it’s time to watch Chariots of Fire (1981) again!

I am also re-reading Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. Louis Zamperini, the subject of the book, ran in the 1936 Olympics on the U.S. track team.

Zamperini is quite an interesting guy and the book is well-worth reading. Angelina Jolie made a pretty good movie about him in 2014, but she left out the “Redemption” part altogether, which is a shame.

Lt. Zamperini was a bombardier on B-24 Liberators in the Pacific. On a search and rescue mission, his plane experienced mechanical difficulties and crashed into the ocean. After drifting at sea on a life raft for 47 days, with two other crew mates, he landed on the then Japanese Marshall Islands and was captured. He was taken to a total of four different POW caps in Japan, where he was tortured and beaten by Japanese military personnel. Following the war, beset with terrible nightmares and afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder, he struggled with alcoholism. Then he happened to go to a Billy Graham revival and he turned his life over to Jesus. For the rest of his long life he was a devout Presbyterian who worked with youth and as a Christian evangelist. It is quite a story.

So watch an old movie, re-read a good book, run in such a way as you may obtain [the prize].

*I Kings 18:46

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July 8, 2024

Let all who take refuge in you rejoice

by chuckofish

We had a busy four-day weekend with way more socializing than we are used to. It was nice to get to church on Sunday and focus on the steadfast love of the Lord.

Be this, while life is mine,
My song of love divine:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Sing this eternal song
Through all the ages long:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

    Have a good week! I will be getting my house ready for daughter #2 and her family who are coming for a wee visit on Friday.

    Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen.

    –BCP

    3 Comments
    June 27, 2024

    That’ll preach

    by chuckofish

    Amen, brother.

    Read the Bible, find a church with good biblical preaching. And also this. “Let us fall before the majesty of our great God.”

    2 Comments
    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

    2 Comments
    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

    3 Comments