dual personalities

Tag: spirituality

April 7, 2025

Fill our hearts with thankfulness

by chuckofish

Rain, rain, go away! 🌧️🌧️🌧️ Well, it did finally stop on Sunday but then it was freezing cold! Not exactly perfect weather for watching lacrosse, but I braved the overcast skies and windy 40-degree temps to do so. The other grandparents were visiting from Florida and had to stop at Kohl’s on the way to the game to buy winter coats! The bud was great in goal! He played half the game there…

…and half in midfield…

…and part of the time, hanging with his lacrosse bros…

This was all, of course, after going to Sunday School and sitting through church and a sermon on Hebrews 12:18-29! Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire! The twins do so well now in church, sitting quietly and with a minimum of wiggling and squirming. I guess they want that thumbs up/A+ from Mamu, right?

Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth and followed Thee.

Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me!

–Charles Wesley

(One of these days I’ll make it to one of Lottie’s game, but she was rained out this weekend.)

Besides that excitement, I had a quiet weekend, mostly because of the weather. I went to our DAR meeting and I was the stand-in Chaplain so I had to open with a prayer before brunch. I gave them this:

Almighty God, who hast given us this good land for our
heritage: We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove
ourselves a people mindful of thy favor and glad to do thy will.
Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and
pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion;
from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend
our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes
brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue
with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in thy Name we entrust
the authority of government, that there may be justice and
peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we
may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth.
In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness,
and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail;
all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The old BCP (1979) is such a lifesaver. I always have to tell people, no, I didn’t come up with that myself–it’s from the BCP!

And now we have a new week! Have a good one.

As always, thanks to the boy for the cool pix!

5 Comments
April 3, 2025

Humble yourselves

by chuckofish

In my daily Bible reading, I am in the epistle of James. It is pretty great, so I thought I would just share chapter 4 with you. It seems very timely.

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

James, you recall, was the half-brother of Jesus. He became a leader in the Jerusalem church. I’m sorry to say I was not acquainted with James until I was well into middle age. But better late than never. Mark 3:21 tells us that Jesus’ brothers (James, Joses, Jude, and Simon) thought he was out of his mind. John 7:3-5 tells us that Jesus’ brothers mocked him and didn’t believe in him. This rings true to anyone who grew up with siblings. But all that changed for James after he witnessed the resurrected Christ (1 Corinthians 15:7). James was martyred for his beliefs around 62 A.D. Eusebius says he was beaten to death with a club after being thrown from the temple parapet; Hegesippus also records that he was thrown from the pinnacle of the temple.

Martyrdom of James the Just from a manuscript dating from late 10th or early 11th century.

Today I have my last womens’ bible study gathering of the term (Exodus) and also my last community group study of 1 Corinthians! Onward and upward! As Charles Spurgeon said, “Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens with our years.”

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March 27, 2025

Set your face like a flint

by chuckofish

JESUS IS APT TO COME, into the very midst of life at its most real and inescapable. Not in a blaze of unearthly light, not in the midst of a sermon, not in the throes of some kind of religious daydream, but . . . at supper time, or walking along a road. This is the element that all the stories about Christ’s return to life have in common: Mary waiting at the empty tomb and suddenly turning around to see somebody standing there—someone she thought at first was the gardener; all the disciples except Thomas hiding out in a locked house, and then his coming and standing in the midst; and later, when Thomas was there, his coming again and standing in the midst; Peter taking his boat back after a night at sea, and there on the shore, near a little fire of coals, a familiar figure asking, “Children, have you any fish?”; the two men at Emmaus who knew him in the breaking of the bread. He never approached from on high, but always in the midst, in the midst of people, in the midst of real life and the questions that real life asks.

–Frederick Buechner, The Magnificent Defeat

This is  a thought-provoking article about a group of ‘Jesus Geezers’ and the sad death of Gene Hackman. Everyone needs a church community!

–Evangelist tells Christian and Faithful in Pilgrim’s Progress

Don’t forget to look up today! Seek Him through a grateful heart.

2 Comments
March 26, 2025

Reasons to smile

by chuckofish

Yesterday morning I drove down to the city to pick up a table at the auction house, but the table wouldn’t fit in my new car! Despite much utching and maneuvering by the nice staff people, it just wouldn’t fit. So I had to go all the way home and eventually switch cars with the OM and drive back down. My second attempt was successful, so all is well. The boy came over later and helped get the table out of the car and into the house. Phew. Festina lente and take a deep breath and smile.

Well, as you can see by the view from Don’s garden, spring is here! The sun plus all that rain has done the job once again.

You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
    they flow between the hills;
11 they give drink to every beast of the field;
    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
    they sing among the branches.
13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
    the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock
    and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth
15     and wine to gladden the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine
    and bread to strengthen man’s heart.

(Psalm 104: 10-15)

It is lacrosse season again…look at that little gal go!

And baseball season starts tomorrow, so I guess that means we’ll be watching Major League (1989)…

The Christmas Cactus is blooming again!

And it’s DN’s birthday today…

Good daddy and proud Mini driver…

We love you!

6 Comments
February 19, 2025

“Raise a glass to the King! For He has dealt most kindly with us; raise a glass to the King!”*

by chuckofish

We are in the deep freeze–it was around 10 degrees all day yesterday. We got some snow, but nothing compared to south of us. We hunkered down.

I read some more of Signal 32 by MacKinlay Kantor–I ordered a used copy online. It is a hard-boiled police procedural from 1950, probably written to make some money, but it is, as you can imagine, better than the average from that genre. It is about two uniform cops in NYC who go about their daily business, sort of like a post-WWII Adam-12. In 1948 the Acting Commissioner of Police authorized Kantor to proceed on all police activities, accompanying the patrolmen in their work. Kantor learned the life of a policeman through first-hand experience. It is pretty grim and stark and emphasizes (like the TV show) all the bad stuff policemen have to deal with on a daily basis.

I did my homework for my bible study–Exodus 4. It is a lot of work! But it is good to have challenging work to do. My brain needs the exercise!

This is a very cool video from the John 10:10 Project about penguins:

And I really liked this “drinking hymn”* which Anne posted in memory of her friend, a Reformed Episcopal Church (Anglican) priest, who died. I’m not quite sure what my PCA brothers would make of this–Would they do this at one of their men’s retreats?

Raise a glass to the King, boys! Raise a glass to the King!

For He has dealt most kindly with us; raise a glass to the King!

One more time!

6 Comments
February 17, 2025

Postcards from a busy weekend

by chuckofish

Well, I made it up to Champaign-Urbana and back again–through fog and mist–and my new car did great! The Countryman has been broken in! Although stressful, it was well worth it to see darling daughter #2 and the Prairie Girls, not to mention DN who gassed up my car and cooked a yummy dinner. And I can report that, although she was barely speaking at Christmas, Ida is talking a blue streak (and in full sentences) now. She has quite a vocabulary!

On Friday, while Katie went to her pre-school Valentine’s Day party, Daughter #2 and Ida and I went to Costco. Ida insisted on pushing the cart.

We also went to an estate sale in Monticello and daughter #2 found the one thing in the house worth buying. I was very proud of her. She and her sister have both developed a ‘good eye’. On Friday night I babysat while the lovebirds went out for a Valentine’s Day drink. Easy peasey. I went home on Saturday because of the threatening weather and I’m glad I did as it snowed some more and was very windy on Sunday.

Meanwhile daughter #1 went to her church’s women’s retreat and Mr. Smith had a sleepover with the twins. I hear it went very well and he was a good dog…

They watched Lady and the Tramp. Daughter #1 picked him up after her retreat, and they stopped by at our house for happy hour. Then they went home where Mr. Smith mellowed out and watched a Woody Allen movie.

The OM (who did not burn the house down while I was gone) and I watched Bullitt (1968) as is our Valentine’s Day tradition. I enjoyed it very much per usual. 😍😍😍

We braved the elements and went to church on Sunday, along with most of our stalwart fellow church members. We heard a good sermon on Hebrews 10:19-25 where we were reminded “to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some…” We had a ‘fold’ meeting during adult ed time which included a zoom meeting with some missionaries we support. It’s always good to be back in the fold!

My faith has found a resting place,
From guilt my soul is freed;
I trust the ever living One,
His wounds for me shall plead.
I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

–Eliza E. Hewitt [Lidie H. Edmunds] 1891

Have a good Monday–stay warm!

5 Comments
February 5, 2025

A scrolling world

by chuckofish

You may have noticed that I have been trying to read real books lately. I was shocked to realize that, indeed, I read very few entire books in 2024. Part of that is because most contemporary fiction is not worth the effort, and part of it is because I cannot read at bedtime because I fall asleep.

Well, I have given myself permission to read during the day–a silly thing, but it is something I struggle with. I am retired, I tell myself. I can do what I want. I do not have to be particularly “productive”.

But some of it, I must admit, is because I have a hard time focusing on reading. Obviously, this is not just my problem. This about reading in a scrolling world is pertinent to what a lot of us are feeling. Brain rot is real.

Well, I did read through the Bible for the third year in a row, so I can pat myself on the back for that. Right now, in my 5x5x5 NT reading plan, I am in the book of Acts, and Stephen–whose “face is like the face of an angel”–is about to be martyred. Sela.

The Grammy Awards are as out of touch as anything else these days, but the Americana genre keeps producing some interesting artists, including this year’s big winner, Sierra Ferrell…

So take heart, put your phone away, read a book!

“Why, what’s the matter,
That you have such a February face,
So full of frost, of storm and cloudiness?”

–William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing

4 Comments
February 3, 2025

Well may we rejoice and sing

by chuckofish

It has warmed up quite a bit (thank goodness) and I got out and about this weekend. I did the flowers at church first thing on Saturday morning and then ventured down to the city to go to an estate sale. Daughter #1 and I were so adventurous! It was a nice house in Compton Heights down by St. Louis University, the same vintage (c. 1903) as the house I grew up in with three stories and lots of dark wood. We got a couple of books and a tassel curtain tieback for the window in my office. We said hey to our friend Lamar (who gave us our Lamar discount). We stopped at Straub’s on the way home and treated ourselves to lunch which we ate back at her house.

On Sunday, church was wonderful, as usual, but the communion hymn just broke me down to tears. They streamed down my face and I was such a mess at the end of the service. My son laughed at me a little, but with love.

William Cowper wrote this hymn in 1771 and it still packs a punch. The old Anglican hymns are pretty much all we have left of the Episcopal denomination, which is really sad. And I doubt if they sing this hymn anymore.

In our adult ed class we continued to learn about Francis and Edith Schaeffer and the founding of L’Abri, the French word for “shelter,” because they sought to provide a shelter from the pressures of a relentlessly secular 20th century. As time went by, so many people came that others were called to join the Schaeffers in their work, and more branches were established. Even Bob Dylan spent time there.

I had plans for after church, but everything fell apart, as sometimes happens. But it was a nice afternoon so I went over later to daughter #1’s house and enjoyed having Mr. Smith balance on my lap for some Mamu scritch-scratches until too many people had the nerve to walk by the house and he lost his doggie mind doing his Westie duty (i.e. barking).

This strikes me as very true. “Our phone has given us a constant stream of information. One thing it hasn’t given us is boredom. What if that was a costly bargain? A priceless forfeiture? What if it turns out that downtime from the fire hose of infinite data is necessary for good thinking, and for good life?”

By the way, don’t miss 31 Days of Oscar on TCM this month. The next ’31 days’ are dedicated to celebrating Academy Award-winning and nominated films leading up to the 97th annual Academy Awards, which air on March 2. I couldn’t care less about the Oscars in 2025–I haven’t seen a new movie at the movies since 2006–but there is a treasure trove to DVR this month on TCM. For instance, The Sting (1973) and Double Indemnity (1944) are on tonight!

So sing an old hymn, watch an old movie, pet a nice dog. Enjoy your Monday!

“On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.” (Zechariah 13:1)

3 Comments
January 27, 2025

And the Lord will be my portion/ In the empty wilderness*

by chuckofish

Is it still January? This month seems endless, doesn’t it? I stayed home most of last week and there was no happy hour on Friday because daughter #1 was sick (and no shampoo for Mr. Smith!) The OM and I did have a social event on Saturday night which entailed getting dressed up and driving at night, but we went and I had a very good time. We had cocktails and dinner and listened to a talk by the daughter of Vincent Price about her father who grew up in St. Louis. He was quite a character. I talked to more people and socialized more than I had all week (maybe all month).

Sunday I went to church with the boy and the twins and then we had brunch at the Sunny Side Diner, which is a favorite of ours. They had dinosaur-shaped pancakes and bacon and were ready to go to lacrosse in the afternoon, sated and full of the Holy Spirit.

I liked this article about the ministry of small things: “The ‘ministry of small things’ is consistent with how the Bible teaches us to think about God’s kingdom. In His parable of the yeast, Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven starts with something as modest as a dash of leaven. Yeast is practically invisible, and you don’t see it working, yet as it slowly permeates the dough, it has a formidable impact (Matt. 13:22). Our little works, patiently and consistently done, can bring about something big.”

I sure. like to think so.

And here’s a new song I like:

Tomorrow there will be a guest post from daughter #2, so don’t miss it!

*Wendell Kimbrough & Paul Zach

4 Comments
January 22, 2025

Some poetry (and a prayer)

by chuckofish

Today we toast George Gordon, Lord Byron, who was born on this day in 1788. As you know, he is one of the major figures of the Romantic Movement in English literature. He wrote lengthy narratives as well as shorter lyrics, and died at the age of 36. So for those of you who are feeling world-weary and disillusioned (a quintessential theme of Byron’s poetry) here’s “So, we’ll go no more a-roving”:

So, we’ll go no more a roving

   So late into the night,

Though the heart be still as loving,

   And the moon be still as bright.

For the sword outwears its sheath,

   And the soul wears out the breast,

And the heart must pause to breathe,

   And love itself have rest.

Though the night was made for loving,

   And the day returns too soon,

Yet we’ll go no more a roving

   By the light of the moon.

And here’s the poem read by John Gielgud.

I will also say that I thought Rev. Franklin Graham did a masterful job praying at the Inauguration on Monday. And I have to admit, I also liked Archbishop Dolan remembering Gen. George Patton’s instructions to his soldiers as they began the Battle of the Bulge eight decades ago:

“Pray! Pray when fighting. Pray alone. Pray with others. Pray by night. Pray by day.”

Pray.

2 Comments