dual personalities

Tag: spirituality

March 6, 2026

Let the children come

by chuckofish

It’s Friday again–another week has skied by and once again I did not accomplish everything on my To Do List. Some things, but not everything. As Grant famously said to Sherman after the first day of fighting at Shiloh did not go well, “Lick ’em tomorrow though.”

Daughter #1 and I (and Mr. Smith) are planning to drive up to the prairie tomorrow morning so that we can go to church with daughter #2 where the three kiddos are being baptized on Sunday–praise the Lord! (You will recall that we had planned to do this last weekend, but the flu delayed us.)

This is our first Presbyterian baptism! According to the Westminster Shorter Catechism:

Q. 94. What is Baptism?
A. Baptism is a Sacrament, wherein the washing with water, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, doth signify and seal our ingrafting into Christ, and partaking of the benefits of the covenant of grace, and our engagement to be the Lord’s.

“Consider the Apostle Peter’s striking admonition to his fellow Jews on the day of Pentecost, ‘For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself’ (Acts 2:39). In other words, those who follow Jesus Christ as His disciples are responsible by faith to entrust the spiritual awakening of their own children to God’s gracious work (John 3:3-5; Titus 3:5-7). We do this by presenting our “Covenant Children” for baptism and by instructing them in the truths of the Gospel as they mature.” (The Genevan Foundation)

So please pray that our travel is smooth and easy and rain-free!

Soli Deo Gloria!

3 Comments
March 4, 2026

How’s it goin’?

by chuckofish

We haven’t gotten anywhere near the rain I thought we were going to get, and while that’s a good thing for me, it doesn’t help the drought my state is experiencing. But I guess “wet and stormy ” are still the watch words of the week.

Recently Anne was waxing eloquently and coherently about the world we live in–“What a time we live in, when how many children a person does or doesn’t have is an invitation for other people to criticize them and existentially question their abilities and desires. That used to be the sort of thing one would do privately, after church, over the Roast and Pudding and a beautiful amber glass of sherry. Now somehow I—who know neither party—get to read it and then form my own opinion.”

Well, I think I’ve mentioned that we happen to be studying I Thessalonians in my women’s Bible study and I was reminded of what Paul had to say about just that thing–“We urge you…to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.” (I Thessalonians 4:11-12)

That’s the ticket: mind your own business. Or try to–I know it’s hard. But that’s what I’m going to try to do.

Yesterday I had lunch with my BFFs Becky and Carla and we discussed, among other things, our levels of Instagram addiction. It really is shocking and I excoriate myself for this daily. If I still recognized Lent as a thing, I might have tried to give it up for 40 days. But I am trying to leave my phone in another room for extended periods of time, although this is hard because I am worried that my daughters will request a welfare check for me if I don’t respond to text messages in a timely fashion. (jkjk.)

Don’t get me wrong–I’m not complaining. But life was simpler when we had three TV channels to choose from and a rotary phone. I’m not wrong, am I?

3 Comments
March 2, 2026

Don’t think twice

by chuckofish

I didn’t do a whole lot this weekend, but I did get the very large framed Asian watercolor that I picked up last week from Link Auction back into my car and took it over to daughter #1’s house where she successfully hung it on the wall. (Her father would be so proud.) Doesn’t it look great?

I went to church on Sunday with the boy and the twins. We heard a really good sermon on Joshua 6:1-27, all about walking and waiting, destruction and deliverance, trusting in God’s timing. Then we went to Sunday School and I chose the class on the Westminster Shorter Catechism, which I really enjoyed. What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!

After that we went to the Sunny Street Cafe for our usual brunch and talked about our different Sunday School classes. We had a good time and everyone ate heartily.

And here’s some exciting news–Don reports his first flower of the season!

And we see some buds in our yard…

Finally, here’s a great Bob Dylan cover I hope you will enjoy:

Wow. Here’s some more of Billy and his band if you’re interested.

Looking forward to a week full of rain–haha–not really, but c’est la vie.

4 Comments
February 25, 2026

Joy comes in the morning

by chuckofish

Yesterday’s psalm (in my Bible reading plan) was Psalm 30:

I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up
    and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
    and you have healed me.
3 O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;
    you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.[a]

4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
    and give thanks to his holy name.[b]
5 For his anger is but for a moment,
    and his favor is for a lifetime.[c]
Weeping may tarry for the night,
    but joy comes with the morning.

6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,
    “I shall never be moved.”
7 By your favor, O Lord,
    you made my mountain stand strong;
you hid your face;
    I was dismayed.

8 To you, O Lord, I cry,
    and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
9 “What profit is there in my death,[d]
    if I go down to the pit?[e]
Will the dust praise you?
    Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10 Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!
    O Lord, be my helper!”

11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
    you have loosed my sackcloth
    and clothed me with gladness,
12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
    O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

It is a psalm about answered prayer. Speaking for myself, I do not give enough time to contemplating answered prayer. It is good to remember the 10,000 things God is doing for you every day.

I’ve read quite a bit about former senator Ben Sasse and his terminal cancer recently. Here’s a good one.

Sad to see that actor Robert Carradine has died by his own hand. Kind of what Carl Trueman was talking about here.

And the boy came over and changed my lamp post light bulb! It’s real handy to be 6’2″ sometimes.

It’s okay to ask for help if you need it–from your own son or from God. Never grow weary of crying out, “Be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper!”

1 Comment
February 19, 2026

The obedient lock, the belated notes

by chuckofish

Yesterday it got up to 70 degrees in my flyover town and the sky was blue. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

Everyone was out walking their dogs.

I could hear the woodpeckers drilling, but I never saw one.

I went to my local park and walked around the pond, where the water was very low. There were men there fishing however. I saw some big hawks and also my friend Chris, who was walking into the park with his fishing rod (and one granddaughter).

I read this about Jonathan Edwards’ most (in)famous sermon by the much loved former pastor of my church. “God is angry at the lost condition of the world. He is angry at the sin that ruins you. But He is not angry because He is insecure or easily offended. He is angry because He loves you.” Amen.

And a poem by Jorge Luis Borges.

2 Comments
February 10, 2026

Gracious God my heart renew; make my spirit right and true*

by chuckofish

Well, I had a swell time visiting the prairie girls (and boy). We stayed inside except for a quick walk around the block and a trip to church on Sunday. But I got to hold the bud a lot…

We read a lot of books…

…and we played with a lot of Magna Tiles (which can be very frustrating)…

We watched some of the Olympics and Katie and Ida think they would be good at snowboarding…

I was impressed that she included those slalom flags in her drawing.

I enjoyed visiting their church on Sunday which was packed. It is a very different vibe than my church–lots of U of I students. (They have an active RUF chapter.) We heard a good sermon:

(Katie’s sermon notes)

I drove home in the speedwagon on Monday morning after DN gassed it up and procured a Polar Pop for me. I listened to the Springfield country station and was a little shocked by the current songs–all whiskey, bars and loose women–but this one by Morgan Wallen had a clever twist.

Yeah, the night I said, “I’m leavin’,” I turned into Richard Petty
Broke my heart, so I got even in my ’97 Chevy
Now I’m walkin’ on this water mixed with Johnnie Walker Black
There’s a lotta reasons I ain’t Jesus, but the main one is that

I ain’t comin’ back
Oh, no, no, I ain’t comin’ back

When I got closer to STL I switched to Joy99.

Now it is Tuesday and I am discombobulated about what day it is. C’est la vie. Have a good one!

*Scottish Psalter (after Psalm 51)

3 Comments
February 6, 2026

Red sky at morning

by chuckofish

The sunrise yesterday was amazing! There is still a lot of snow on the ground from our big storm two weeks ago, but it is warming up and that’s a good thing.

I am heading up to Mahomet tomorrow to spend a few days with the prairie girls.

Hopefully I will get a chance to hold the baby.

Have a good weekend. Pray for travel mercies for me!

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)

And, hey, you go, Tim Allen!

4 Comments
February 3, 2026

Thought for the day

by chuckofish

I found this clipping in a box of my parent’s things. It seems like something my Boston grandmother would have cut out and shared with ANC III.

There is, of course, no Choister Cathedral in England. It must be a typo–Chester Cathedral? When you google ‘choister’ it defaults to Chorister. According to the Urban Dictionary choisters are “Asian women who follow the popular influencer, Michelle Choi. Most commonly, they follow her fashion style, habits, and dogs.” Well, who knew?

The world is more than we know.

And this was the moon on Sunday night…

P.S. Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter after seeing his shadow on Groundhog Day 2026. Oh goodie.

1 Comment
January 28, 2026

At a humble window see

by chuckofish

Yesterday was a beautiful day–cold, but beautiful. Blue sky, untouched white snow reflecting the sunlight. Very nice. I sat in my office and watched a huge red-tailed hawk cruise around.

Here’s a poem, “Shovelling Snow” by Harry Edward Mills, written around 1901:

And Don shared this lovely Dan Fogelberg piece with me:

More cold weather coming up, so I’ll be sitting by my window for the foreseeable future.

“Every bit we eat, and every drop we drink is mercy; every step we take, and every breath we draw, mercy. [These are] what we have reason to acknowledge with thankfulness to God’s praise.” (Matthew Henry, 1662-1713)

3 Comments
January 26, 2026

Once upon a storm

by chuckofish

Well, I got a few things done on Friday before the storm hit–like everyone else who was out and about buying bread and milk and salt/ice melt. I went to Trader Joe’s early and bought flowers and then went to church where I arranged them for Sunday, which I knew might be cancelled, but what the heck, I did my duty.

I will note that as I drove around and made my various stops, people were very nice and polite, even cheerful. Part of this is because I have gray hair and look like an old lady, so people are usually quick to assist me when they think I need help. I am always a little taken aback by this because I feel like a completely capable woman, but again, what the heck–if someone wants to take my grocery cart back to the cart corral for me in the single digit weather, have at it.

The boy came over in the afternoon to pick up some stuff and to have wine time with me since daughter #1 had many errands to run after work. Everyone was in a tizzy about whether various events would be cancelled. Well, I had no plans to worry about so I just concentrated on hunkering down…

Church was cancelled after all–I certainly couldn’t get out of my driveway. And this was the scene in Wildwood…

While admittedly there is no substitute for worshiping together in person, we were encouraged to watch a previously recorded service on our YouTube channel or watch the recorded adult ed classes.

Daughter #1’s church was also closed as was daughter #2’s. Central had already recorded their sermon to be viewed…

So Mr. Smith heard the word of God on Sunday morning.

All Souls suggested reading a book of the Bible and praying or watching a previous sermon. So many options. I listened to an old sermon given at Central by Dr. Dan Doriani last October on James 3:1-12, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

In the afternoon the twins had fun frolicking in the snow…

And so did the prairie girls…

Now it is Monday and I am waiting for the yard guys to come plow my driveway.

All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well…

3 Comments