dual personalities

Tag: spirituality

February 7, 2022

“Though great our sins and sore our woes/ His grace much more aboundeth”*

by chuckofish

Well, we got about 6-7 inches of snow last week in our neck of the woods. It took us awhile to dig out–we had to get our driveway plowed–and so I was home until Saturday.

In the meantime I managed to shovel the front walk and felt pretty darn good about it.

No one lost their electricity and we had plenty of food and the house wine, so I kind of enjoyed it. Here’s a couple of pictures my friend Don took of the Frank Lloyd Wright house in his neighborhood in our flyover town.

Look at that unbroken stretch of white–just some deer tracks. So beautiful.

On Sunday the OM and I officially joined our new church along with fifteen or so other new members. We attended both morning services so people could get a look at us as we said our “I do’s” in response to the five vows in front of the church body (Do you acknowledge yourselves to be sinners in the sight of God, justly deserving His displeasure, and without hope save in His sovereign mercy?…). I like this old hymn by Martin Luther we sang (even with piano, guitar and drums), but the boy was offended that someone had turned it into a “praise song” with a new tune.

Well, you can’t please all the people all the time. Anyway, we are Presbyterians now! Our Scottish ancestors were all non-conforming Baptists, but our Irish ancestors were Presbyterians (until one married my namesake Catherine Rand, an Episcopalian.) We are back in the fold.

Recently I was reading something written by James Muilenburg, who taught at Union Theological Seminary back when Frederick Buechner was a student there in the 1950s (and back when it was a seminary worth going to.) It seems rather apropos to today and the misdirection of so many to the self.

This is a good interview with the Very Rev. Dr. Paul Zahl about the last third of life. “Where it becomes deeply Christian is, you get to a point when you realize that engagement with the world is sort of a joke, in that the world really is passing away. You can’t tell someone who’s in the midst of life at 35 years old, or 45 years old, that that’s true, because at that time it doesn’t feel like it is. This is why I’m speaking empirically, not prescriptively. But then they’ll get to a stage when they’ll see that a tremendous amount of what felt important simply is passing away.” Amen, brother.

I also liked this article, especially because I, too, am reading Job. “The thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me.” (Job 3:25) We all deal with this one. “If atomic bombs or Chaldeans or tornados or illness or accidents or injury or our worst-case scenario finds us, let it find us living — not curled up in a ball in the corner.”

Amen, brother. Grace aboundeth.

*Martin Luther, Psalm 130

5 Comments
February 3, 2022

Be that as it may

by chuckofish

I was contemplating daughter #1’s thought-provoking post from yesterday and I was struck by something George Meyer said in the New Yorker article: “I say this to people and they think I’m kidding, but I didn’t realize that ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show’ was supposed to be funny. I thought you just watched it.”

I remembered how I use to watch syndicated episodes of “I Love Lucy” back in the 1960s when I was in elementary school. I thought it was kind of a sad show about poor people who lived in a tiny apartment. Lucy and her friend Ethel did really stupid things and their eye-rolling husbands were constantly exasperated. I had no clue it was supposed to be funny.

Well, I guess George and I figured out what was funny along the way. But I think it is safe to say, since the mid-20th century, parents have allowed their children to watch way too much television without much supervision and the cost to civilization has been great.

This reminded me that I did watch Greyfriars Bobby (1961) last week and was, once again, very touched by it. This Disney movie is child-appropriate and teaches some valuable lessons about kindness. It also shows what real poverty is in a very subtle way. Most twenty-first century Americans have little idea what real poverty is–when tenement-dwelling children can be shocked that the wee dog is fed chicken broth. “Chicken for the dog? I’ve never tasted it.” Only one of the children can read and write. But their hearts are warmed by the wee dog and the tavern keeper learns kindness and generosity. This lovely story led me to watch The Little Kidnappers (1953), a J. Arthur Rank production, about two wee Scottish-Canadian boys who go to live with their strict Calvinist grandparents in Nova Scotia when their parents die. The five and eight-year old actors who portray these boys are wonderful (the five-year old later appears in Greyfriars Bobby and Thomasina) and it is a wonderful story about forgiveness and learning to love one’s neighbor. It is available to watch on Youtube:

Anyway, as you may have heard, we are in the middle of a winter snowpocalypse which, in reality, affects me very little as I am retired and was not planning to travel anywhere. My bible study group is meeting via Zoom today–my first Zoom meeting since retiring last year. Well, the whole region is on hold again, which just goes to prove, if it’s not one thing, it’s another.

Meanwhile, I am reading this classic of Puritan writing by Stephen Charnock: Discourses upon the Existence and Attributes of God.

You can read more about him here.

Here is comfort in afflictions. As a sovereign, he is the author of afflictions, as a sovereign, he is the remover of them; he can command the waters of affliction to go so far, and no farther. If he speaks the word, a disease shall depart, as soon as a servant shall from your presence with a nod. If we are banished from one place, he can command a shelter for us from another. If he orders Moab, a nation that had no great kindness for his people, to let his outcasts dwell with them, they shall entertain them, and afford them sanctuary. (Is. 16:4) Again, God chasteneth as a sovereign, but teacheth as a father (Ps 90:12).

I think this antique wooden model that I rescued at the auction last weekend is so my ascetic:

And there’s this:

I am definitely going to start wearing sunglasses more often.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

– Philippians 4:8

4 Comments
January 19, 2022

In him we live and move and have our being

by chuckofish

Yesterday I caught up on all the stuff I do to keep the home fires burning. However, I also caught up on a new puzzle I was working on before I left and that took up an alarming amount of time.

Zut alors!

Tonight we will toast per usual our January 19th birthday girls–our mother…

and Dolly Parton,

who share a birthday with the fictional character Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Our three favorite role models.

This was an interesting article about the problem with leaving the Church. “We can’t comprehend the love of Christ individually. There may be a time to leave the local congregation but never a time to leave the church.”

Genesis 1.21: like I always say about elephants, evolution cannot begin to explain whales.

This is wonderful. (Thank you, Anne.)

And I loved this scene from the book of Acts (17: 22-31) which I read in my daily reading:

So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.  For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.  The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.  And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for

“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;

as even some of your own poets have said,

“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

When I was going through an old file, I found this New Yorker cartoon, torn out of a magazine in 1979.

Don’t forget to stop and look out the window today (but brush your hair first). There is a lot of Life going on out there: squirrels and birds and weather and the UPS man stopping by.

5 Comments
January 11, 2022

“My thanksgiving is perpetual”*

by chuckofish

Today is the feast day in the Anglican Church of Mary Mitchell Slessor (1848-1915), a Scottish Presbyterian missionary in Nigeria. She is most famous for having stopped the common practice of infanticide of twins in Okoyong, an area of Cross River State, Nigeria. She was 27 and had been a factory worker for 14 years when she heard that David Livingstone, the famous missionary and explorer, had died. She decided she wanted to follow in his footsteps. Her’s is quite the story. More here.

Today is the 76th birthday of John Piper, theologian, pastor, and chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis, MN. I have quoted him quite a bit on this blog and he has been quite influential in my spiritual walk. He does not mince words. Here are his 10 reasons to read the Bible every day. And here’s a clip from his famous “Don’t Waste Your Life” sermon.

I would toast him, but he’s a Baptist and might not approve of that. He would probably not approve of me making that little joke either. I confess I am always fighting my “allergy to seriousness.” But I am serious about my admiration for John Piper.

In other news, I did another puzzle over the weekend.

This was a fun one for obvious reasons. It inspired me to watch Errol Flynn in San Antonio (1945), a Warner Brothers technicolor western, but it was disappointing.

Although still in his prime at 36, Flynn is giving about a 50% effort and that is not enough. Plus, I never thought Flynn and Alexis Smith had much chemistry and the supporting cast is the WB B team. I expected more from the Alan LeMay/W.S. Burnett screenplay. Well, you win some, you lose some. C’est la vie.

Finally, here’s a positive story about good things actually happening in Chicago. “We understand that God is sovereign in all things, including the trials we went through during our leadership transition, COVID, and the individual trials in the lives of our members. We understand that ultimately it is in God that we live and move and have our existence (Acts 17:28), and that he is sovereign over every human heart, head, and hands (Prov. 16:9; Isa. 46:9–10).”

*Henry David Thoreau

4 Comments
December 2, 2021

“Here, there and elsewhere”*

by chuckofish

December is here and Advent with it. Katiebelle is playing with her new nativity set which was handmade by daughter #3. I have always contended (like my mother before me) that children should have their own creche and unbreakable nativity figurines to play with. When they are a little older, they can have their own little tree and their own ornaments. Start those collections early!

Paul Zahl is back with a roundup of good movies to watch on TCM in December. He is, as always, right on target and this made me laugh regarding The Bishop’s Wife: “Nathan’s novel is more detached than the film, and perhaps a little cynical concerning the long-term spiritual prospects of the bishop. But, hey, when it comes to most bishops, I’ve come to feel about the same way Nathan did. Wish I didn’t.”

If you have an hour to spare, this is a great conversation with Ben Johnson and Harry Carey, Jr., filmed back in 1995, about a year before Ben died. Those two old-timers have some wonderful stories to tell from their movie-making days.

As I mentioned earlier, I have been catching up on Michael Caine movies and the other night I watched Alfie (1966). It was quite risqué for its day and the amoral womanizing of the anti-hero Alfie was considered rather scandalous even by swinging ’60s sophisticates. “Live for yourself, like I do” is Alfie’s motto. “I never want to hurt anybody,” he says, but, of course, he does. Ultimately, he hurts no one so much as himself.

I couldn’t help thinking as I watched the movie that what has obviously changed in our society in the 55 years since its debut is that today everyone (and specifically women) is encouraged to “live for yourself.” In fact, since the feminist “revolution,” woman feel free, even entitled, to act just like Alfie. Such bad behavior as Alfie demonstrates is no longer judged to be “wicked”–at least when women act that way. And the climactic abortion scene would be considered no big deal today. In the film, the seriousness of the event even shocks selfish Alfie into realizing that a perfect little life has been ended without its having had a say in the matter. Gosh, what old-fashioned thinking!

While I didn’t find this “comedy” to be very funny, I will say that the movie is a must-see as social commentary and Michael Caine is sensational. It was a break-through part indeed.

I also will note that I watched Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz (1979) which I had not seen since 1979. It seemed very dated–all those jazz hands.

Well, watching such movies is a good reminder of what Sinclair Ferguson says: “The mortification of sin is indeed vital. [John] Owen was right: if we are not killing sin, it will be killing us. His memorable one-liner comes as a shock to much modern Christianity: ‘Let not that man think he makes any progress in holiness who walks not over the bellies of his lusts.'” I mean, sin literally kills the Bob Fosse character in All That Jazz–not that this thought is ever actually expressed overtly. But c’mon.

“God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other.” — CS Lewis

Amen, brother.

*Billy Collins–read the poem here.

4 Comments
November 16, 2021

Who makes much of miracles?

by chuckofish

In yesterday’s blog post I described a fun overnight visit to my daughter in Jefferson City. I was thinking more about it and it occurred to me that there was nothing particularly “Instagrammable” or blog-worthy about it. It was very ordinary indeed. But isn’t it in the ordinary that we see the beauty and blessings of God’s world?

Sure, it would have been great to eat dinner at the Gasparilla Inn in Boca Grande or sit on a patio overlooking Lake Como sipping a cocktail. But for me, eating lunch at the Grand on High Street in our state capitol is really just as pleasant. Driving around that small midwestern town and seeing the park and the local university was just as fun as sightseeing in Washington D.C. My point being that wherever you are, there you are, and your glass is either half full or half empty.

My glass is half full. I wake up every morning and thank God that His mercies are new every morning. (Some days it takes me a moment or two to remember what day it is or what month, but I get there eventually.) And there is usually a pot of coffee going that the OM made before I got up. And I know that nothing extraordinary will happen to me today–at least I hope not–but the memory of holding my grandchildren’s tiny hands as we crossed the church parking lot on Sunday will keep me going all week.

Well, I am going to tidy up and get ready for a houseful of family at Thanksgiving. I am thankful for a sweet son-in-law who is driving his family 700 miles to be here. I am thankful for a sweet daughter-in-law who is making special matching holiday pajamas for the cousins–a family tradition on her side of the family. We’ll have cheesy potato casserole and green beans and crescent rolls and Dierberg’s will prepare the turkey breast. And even if there is no canned jellied cranberry this year because of the sorry state of commerce in our country (I noted the absence of this staple today at Dierberg’s), we’ll survive. If the whole meal implodes, we’ll be fine. Because it’s not just about the yummy food and the perfect table settings. We have plenty to be thankful for.

Yes, it is November and we like to count our blessings extra hard in the run-up to Thanksgiving. I encourage you to do this as well. But keep in mind that being grateful means little if you do not know and acknowledge to whom you are grateful. So praise God from whom all blessings flow/Praise Him, all creatures here below/Praise Him above, ye heavenly host/Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

And take note of all the miracles in your life!

Why, who makes much of a miracle?
As to me I know of nothing else but miracles,
Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,
Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,
Or wade with naked feet along the beach just in the edge of the water,
Or stand under trees in the woods,
Or talk by day with any one I love, or sleep in the bed at night with any one I love,
Or sit at table at dinner with the rest,
Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,
Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive of a summer forenoon,
Or animals feeding in the fields,
Or birds, or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,
Or the wonderfulness of the sundown, or of stars shining so quiet and bright,
Or the exquisite delicate thin curve of the new moon in spring;
These with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,
The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place.

To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,
Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same,
Every foot of the interior swarms with the same.

To me the sea is a continual miracle,
The fishes that swim—the rocks—the motion of the waves—the
        ships with men in them,
What stranger miracles are there?

–Walt Whitman

6 Comments
November 4, 2021

And like a thunderbolt he falls

by chuckofish

Well, here we are in November and the end of the year approaches. Yikes. Thanksgiving is in three weeks! Advent starts on November 28!

However, Advent is not a Presbyterian tradition, and our senior pastor reminded us last Sunday that the Semper Reformanda (always Reforming) does not mean that we’re always adding to the Reformation, or modifying it to fit the world’s trends. No, it means the exact opposite, a return to Reformed confessional standards. So I don’t think Advent will be a thing at our new church.

I am okay with that. Advent has gone commercial anyway–anything to make a buck.

I agree with Anne as usual.

Happy November movie viewing on TCM–check out Laura’s detailed rundown of what’s showing. Sydney Greenstreet is the Star of the Month. I watched The Maltese Falcon (1941) last night for the first time in a very long time, and Sydney was truly one-of-a-kind. They knew about character actors back in the day.

I was happy to see the Atlanta Braves win the World’s Series, although I have pretty much opted out of MLB. But it did my heart good to hear shortstop Dansby Swanson give the glory to God: “God’s always got a plan and having faith in that plan will never fail you.” Amen.

Are we living in the last days? (You know you’ve asked yourself that question.) Here’s the answer:

But don’t allow yourself to get down in the dumps. Here is my favorite three-year old poetry aficionado reciting The Eagle: A Fragment by Aldred, Lord Tennyson. He makes me smile every time!

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;

Close to the sun in lonely lands,

Ring’d with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;

He watches from his mountain walls,

And like a thunderbolt he falls.

Wish me luck on Saturday when I am giving a talk on the Santa Fe Trail to a group of DAR ladies here in town. You can bet I will work in a way to mention ol’ John Simpson Hough. It should be fun, right?

4 Comments
October 11, 2021

Come ye weary, heavy laden

by chuckofish

How was your weekend? The weather here is still balmy and summery and I have no complaints. Daughter #1 came home on Friday and we had a lovely time sitting outside at Club Taco listening to the musical stylings of Dusty Rhoades. On Saturday we got the OM to drive us to Hillsboro where we hung out at our favorite winery. Lots of people had the same idea and the line for wine was very long and slow, but once we got our bottle and spread out our picnic, we relaxed and enjoyed the musical stylings of Brian Tobin, whose playlist was all our favorite 1970s tunes. Among the others enjoying the beautiful day and rolling hills of Jefferson County was a 60th birthday party, a gathering of overweight ‘witches’ in black pointy hats and suggestive outfits and a group of rainbow-attired Megan Rapinoe lookalikes. Everyone had fun.

Sunday morning we headed to church. Even the OM came along and so did the boy and the wee twins. It made me so happy to be all together, that I’m afraid I cried through all the hymns. C’est la vie.

We sang this hymn which I was unacquainted with and I really like it.

Words: Joseph Hart, 1759; chorus, Walker’s Southern Harmony, 1835
Music: Walker’s Southern Harmony, 1835

The wee twins and their parents came over Sunday night for one more October barbecue. We had more fun. They went on a hunt for my newest estate sale find yard ornament.

The wee laddie also asked me to go dig around a bit for cool stuff (i.e. bugs) and we found this guy, which he identified correctly as a praying mantis.

I was impressed. He pays attention.

Meanwhile I have been reading The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles, which my DP has previously reported is excellent. (I concur.) I also remembered that a year ago when I advised my students at my flyover institute to read A Gentleman in Moscow, one of them emailed me to tell me he had gone to school with Amor’s father, right here in St. Louis at the same school my brother attended. He was, indeed, his best friend.

The world is more than we know.

4 Comments
September 13, 2021

“Crown him as your Captain”*

by chuckofish

We celebrated daughter #1’s birthday by going to our favorite winery in Hillsboro. Now that we are experts, we know what to bring and how to set up for a picnic.

Accommodations were made for the small fry.

Pappy and the wee laddie went for a walk to check out the excavator down the hill and the pond around the bend.

When we had enough lovely sunshine and live music (and wine)…

…we packed up…

…and headed back to our flyover hometown where we ate “donut cake” and Aunt Mary opened presents.

It was a fun day.

I went to church in the morning after daughter #1 headed back to mid-MO. I was reminded once again that worship is a restorative act. It really is. Our clergy team is starting a new sermon series on the Letter to the Romans and I am looking forward to it. No one does exegesis like the Presbyterians.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Romans 1:16-17

In closing I encourage you to watch this video about a fine young man who lost his life on 9/11 helping to save people in the south tower. He reminds me of the boy, a lacrosse player who had an eerily similar name and the same initials. (Kleenex essential)

Have a good week. Pray that you might bring glory to God in thought, word and deed.

In your hearts enthrone him; there let him subdue

All that is not holy, all that is not true;

Crown him as your Captain in temptation’s hour:

Let his will enfold you in its light and pow’r.

–Hymn #163, Caroline M. Noel, 1870
3 Comments
August 23, 2021

“In the tempests of life, on its wide heaving sea, thou blest Rock of Ages, I’m hiding in thee”*

by chuckofish

How was your weekend? It was blazing hot here (well, not that hot) but at least there were no damaging storms to wreck havoc and make a big mess.

On Friday, the boy brought the twins over for a visit. Lottie complained about being hot…

while the wee laddie got busy emptying out the garage.

After a couple of hours, we did go inside where we ate some pretzels and cooled off.

Daughter #1 drove home that late afternoon after a busy week in JC for some downtime in our flyover town. On Saturday we were very successful at an estate sale and I bought a classic Forshaw wrought iron table and chairs for our patio. I have been on the lookout for a nice set for a couple of years, so I was very pleased. And what a bargain! The boy picked them up on Sunday morning before he opened his store and we went to church. How nice to have a son with a truck who so cheerfully pitches in!

Later on Sunday the boy came back for tacos with the wee babes. (Daughter #3 was getting ready for the first day of school today.)

Lottie still balked at playing outside, but Aunt Mary was there this time to make it all okay.

Fun times.

But it occurred to me the other day that I was way behind in pre-Christmas planning/present stockpiling. For some reason, I feel very unmotivated this year. I’m not sure why. Uncertainty about the world order? Feeling anxious about the end times? Wondering what God is requiring of me today?

When as the grass the wicked grow,

when sinners flourish here below,

then is there endless ruin nigh,

but you, O  Lord, are throned on high;

Your foes shall fall before your might, the wicked shall be put to flight.

Hymn #635

Yes, I remind myself constantly, our Lord is throned on high.

Cheer up, Christian! Things are not left to chance: no blind fate rules the world. God hath purposes, and those purposes are fulfilled. God hath plans, and those plans are wise, and never can be dislocated.

Charles Spurgeon

*William O. Cushing, 1876

4 Comments