October

Checking In

Photo by Freddy Castro on Unsplash

Hello Friends, I hope your October is spectacular! October is my favorite month. It brings the cooler weather, the colored leaves, and it ushers us into the celebrations of the holiday season. When I asked in a chat what we like most about October, Lee Ann wrote “Migrating geese, lower temps and, at the very end, wee little goblins carrying buckets full of candy :-).” I agree.

Letter writing is a lost art, I surmise. I like to send cards, but the problem is my handwriting is like a third grader (sorry, third graders, no offense). Even when I take my time and determine not to write so terribly, it turns out bad. I start with print and then it’s just too slow so I move to script and it’s ugly. I could type my letters, but no one uses a typewriter anymore either. So then it became an email - which was fun at first but now it’s just a source of a thousand ads, phishing schemes, and sorting the spam. Texting is the evolution of staying in touch. Shorthand and emojis, LOL, IYKYK. None of it is the same as receiving a handwritten letter.

Aside from the Christmas newsletter (also mostly a faded memory), when have you written a letter lately? When have you received a letter lately? I’m not sure the postal service will know what to do with it. I will say that I’m likely to hang on to a personal letter and read it later. Your email to me? Not so much.

The end of September was memorable. My last three posts are eulogies of three friends who all had funerals on three consecutive days. In my almost 40 years of ministry, that is a first. What made it difficult was the simple logistics of three funerals in our church building and ensuring we fed each family. The ladies in our church were simply exceptional as they made this happen. Speaking at each funeral was easier on my heart because I loved each of them and knew each of them had faith in King Jesus. I’ll miss my friends, but will honor them by loving those left behind.

Our life is a short opportunity to say yes to God’s love. - Henri Nouwen

The last day of September is the birth date of my mother-in-law, Ollie Sue Willingham. Coincidentally we had Maggy’s family reunion on that day, this past Saturday in Cleveland, Mississippi. We enjoyed a meal at The Warehouse restaurant, which interestingly enough is housed in an old warehouse. Along with conversations and catching up, we enjoyed excellent food and service. Of my mother-in-law’s siblings, only Maudine is left. The rest of the Chandler sisters and brothers are with the Lord. It’s a three-hour drive from Monroe, some time visiting, then a three-hour drive back. So Saturday was a long but good day. Of course, in these busy times, it’s impossible to pick a time when everyone will plan to be there. But it was good to see those we did get to see. We are of the age that the time we mostly see the family is at a reunion or a funeral.

Since we were that close to Ruleville, we did manage to visit Lehrton Cemetery and place some new flowers on John Robert’s grave site. We know too many people laid to rest in that cemetery and visited with several of them.

That’s a lot of reflection about death and dying, but we should all spend serious time thinking about our own demise. In case you didn’t get the memo, human beings have a 100% mortality rate. I don’t think you have to be old or sick to make your plans for the time when you transition from this life to the next.

I was thinking about writing my own obituary. It sounds vain, I guess, but someone will have to do it and I want to be sure that it tells the truth, and embellishes in all the right places. When I used to listen regularly to the Tony Kornheiser show, I noted that he often read well-written obituaries. Obituary writeups are not as common today, as they once were. For one, the newspapers (where the obits are often found) are struggling to stay in business. For another, the newspapers are charging a lot to post them, but in my mind, they should be free. I expect there are people buying extra copies for that well-written obituary of that Dobbs fellow. But I don’t run a newspaper and it’s possible I don’t know what I’m talking about (that part probably won’t make my obit). A few years ago I read Ann Hood’s book, The Obituary Writer. I was hoping for more obituary-related stories, but it was still interesting.

Link: A poem about a cemetery- Quiet, Among Friends.

I didn’t set out to write so much about death and dying, but given the past few weeks, it’s been on my mind a lot. I have faith in Christ, the Savior, and so I am not afraid of death (I’d like the dying part to be quick and painless, but wouldn’t we all?). Until then, I want to enjoy my life, be a good husband, dad, poppy, and love Jesus.

WHAT I’M READING. I’m basically reading the same things I was reading in my last check-in. I’m almost through with A Year With C. S. Lewis. It was a gift from my friend David. He proposed we read it through the year. When I told him I was almost through with it, he got a panicky look on his face and I surmised he had not kept up his part of the bargain (his bargain, by the way!). I may be about halfway through Mere Christianity, also by C. S. Lewis. I wish I had read this 30 years ago. Another year-long devotional by Henri Nouwen is You Are The Beloved. I’m almost through with it as well. J. R. Ellis’ The Brewery Murders is newly out and I have it on my Kindle just waiting for me. It is the 9th of his Yorkshire murder mysteries featuring DCI Oldroyd. I’ve enjoyed all of those. On my desk, I have Dr. Samuel Mitcham’s newest book, Confederate Patton: Richard Taylor and the Red River Campaign. He has a multitude of historical books and knows so much more than I ever will in that area. And his wife is our church secretary, so I always know when a new book is coming soon!

WHAT I’M WATCHING. I don’t see much I want to watch, and with the season comes all the horror shows. I’m just not interested in them. I am watching Wheel of Time on Prime Video and the first season of Mary Tyler Moore on Hulu. MTM has stood the test of time. Well, most episodes.

Here are a few pictures I’ve taken recently.

Every day is supposedly some kind of day, and I am seeing some like-minded posts about that. I mean, can there be a day that has nothing attached to it? I laughed at my friend Andrew’s post:

I tried to make this one go viral, but no such luck:

I don’t know what day it is as you read this, but I hope it is a day that contains many blessings for you. Donuts too, but mainly blessings. I appreciate your reading this post. I’ll check in again later. Take care of yourselves, friends.