“Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought.” – Matsuo Basho
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Thought For the Day: Do Not Seek To Follow In the Footsteps of the Wise. Seek What They Sought
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Tagged Footsteps, Matsuo Basho, Seek, Thought For the Day, Wisdom, Wise
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First Principles: It’s Not What We Profess, But What We Practice That Gives Us Integrity
“It’s not what we profess but what we practice that gives us integrity.” – Francis Bacon
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Tagged First Principles, Francis Bacon, Integrity, Practice, Profess
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Stepped Into the Light
Stepped Into the Light
by Michael Doyle
When God is for me,
I live a life of victory.
I am walking from the shadow,
And armed with the assurance I know.
Singing songs of praise in the night,
I live my life in the light.
In my darkest hour,
I remain witness to God's power.
Though I am faulty in my own eyes,
The closer I walk, the more that I realize,
Jesus as God is the source of life and life.
Aligned with Him, I live what is right.
Though there are times that I'll fear,
And there will be times that I tear.
God has always been, as understood,
The very essence of all that is good.
All the good things are understood,
As we know and just as we would,
That I recognize my creator,
Knowing that there is no greater.
Though I am faulty in my own eyes,
The closer I walk, the more that I realize,
Jesus as God is the source of life and life.
Aligned with Him, I live in His sight.
I have given my testimony,
About all the good He's done for me.
And I have bowed down before His feet,
Knowing that I will never know defeat.
Once broken as an earthbound vagabond lifted up,
I live in grace, sipping from a heavenly cup.
I give my all to the Lord, knowing I am His,
And that He is king of all that truly is.
Though I am faulty in my own eyes,
The closer I walk, the more that I realize,
Jesus as God is the source of life and life.
Aligned with Him, I live what is right.
(c) May 19, 2026 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Assurance, Darkest Hour, God, Jesus, Light, Poetry and Poems, Power, Praise, Shadow, Song, Step, Victory, Wtness
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Thought For the Day: Dream Your Dreams With Open Eyes and Make Them Come True
“Dream your dreams with open eyes and make them come true.” – T.E. Lawrence
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Tagged Dream, Dreams, Open Eyes, T.E. Lawrence, Thought For the Day, True
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First Principles: We Are Too Much Engrossed By the Story of the Present To Think of the Character and Anecdotes That Gave Interest To the Past
“How idle a boast, after all, is the immortality of a name! Time is ever silently turning over his pages; we are too much engrossed by the story of the present to think of the character and anecdotes that gave interest to the past; and each age is a volume thrown aside and forgotten.” – Washington Irving
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Tagged Age, Anecdotes, Boast, Character, First Principles, Forgotten, Immortllty, Interest, Name, Pages, Past, Present, Story, Time, Volume, Washington Irving
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The Crux of Immortal Folly
The Crux of Immortal Folly
by Michael Doyle
From where we come
To where we might go,
Each belief has its kingdom
Within the universal flow.
Memories have their persistence
Forming the nucleus of all we know.
Sometimes it forms the resistance
That causes even shadows to glow.
Galaxies move forward and shift
Becoming something shiny and new.
The cosmos continues to change and drift.
It forges what might yet be true.
Some might call this out for its glory,
But we know that destruction frames loss.
What comes next might be a new story,
But it comes with its cost.
Out of what seems many, there is truly one.
We hide from the dark in places of light.
Ever since the universe had first begun,
We've known there are things hidden from sight.
Claims made make even the gods fear.
What is seen is not as it appears.
But alliances made are unstoppable,
Only if they are truly unconquerable.
New gods replace old gods as time goes on.
Righteousness, ill-defined, gives man free will.
The experiment fails into a godless oblivion,
Knowing that gives the old god a sense of chill.
Yet little is what it seems to be,
And tricks of illusion are more common than truth.
Deception is the crux of immortality.
We have known this since our youth.
(c)May 18, 2026 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
First Principles: Bad Men Cannot Make Good Citizens. It Is When A People Forget God That Tyrants Forge Their Chains
“Bad men cannot make good citizens. It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, is incompatible with freedom. No free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue; and by a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles.” – Patrick Henry
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Tagged Bad Men, First Principles, God, Good Citizens, Patrick Henry, Tyrants
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Thought For the Day: Prayer Can Truly Change Your Life. For It Turns Your Attention Away From Yourself and Directs Your Mind and Your Heart Toward the Lord
“Prayer can truly change your life. For it turns your attention away from yourself and directs your mind and your heart toward the Lord. If we look only at ourselves, with our own limitations and sins, we quickly give way to sadness and discouragement. But if we keep our eyes fixed on the Lord, then our hearts are filled with hope, our minds are washed n the light of truth, and we come to know the fullness of the Gospel with all is promise and life.” – Pope John Paul II (A real Christian pope)
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Attentoonn, Change, Discouragemet, Gospel, Hope, Lfe, Life, Light of Truth, Limitaton, Prayer, Promise, Sad, Sellf, Sn, The Lorrd, Thought For the Day
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Esther
Esther
by Michael Doyle
Sacrificial in obedience to purity,
Dedicated to giving back for all God has given me.
Giving comfort and love to the stranger,
We put ourselves in meaningful danger.
Full throttle in life to set others free,
There's maybe no better place to be.
To live life's love setting others free.
It's worth the sacrifice to end slavery.
Free people live to free people lost.
To believers in God, it's worth the cost.
Esther did this in freeing her people,
Who lived in Persia without a temple.
In the king's palace, Esther lived as his wife,
To the king, being a favorite can cause strife.
And likewise, we find that life can bring difficulty,
From this, we can learn patience and humility.
Crisis, compassion, community, and honest care
Are the keywords lived by those who dare.
Investing in the turning points peppering our days.
We must face these in pure and godly ways.
Giving up comfort so we may yet thrive
Is often a lesson in staying alive.
Giving up some comfort to give it to another,
Is how we can live in love for each other.
The changes needed require moving past the pain,
To make the changes needed in life's refrain.
These are often times we move to the community,
All that is needed is prayer for our human family.
When you are going through a situation,
Life sometimes takes some circumspection.
Walking boldly into life's loud cacophony,
We may fear, but we obey with true humility.
Risk comes to build by walking through fear,
Taking care to heed signs that will not disappear.
Courageous steps are taken when we are afraid.
It often arrives at the best plans made.
God sees us wherever we are,
And he extends an invitation to change from far.
We grow in this holy family as God leads,
Knowing that He always knows all of our needs.
(c)May 17, 2026 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Bible, Christianity, Esther, Faith, Full Throttle, God, Obedience, Persiia, Poetry and Poems, Purity, Sacrifice
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Thought For the Day: Life Is Not A Straight Line Leading From One Blessing To the Next and Then Finally To Heaven. Life Is A Winding and Troubled Road
“Life is not a straight line leading from one blessing to the next and then finally to heaven. Life is a winding and troubled road. Switchback after switchback. And the point of biblical stories like Joseph and Job and Esther and Ruth is to help us feel in our bones (not just know in our heads) that God is for us in all these strange turns. God is not just showing up after the trouble and cleaning it up. He is plotting the course and managing the troubles with far-reaching purposes for our good and for the glory of Jesus Christ.” – John Piper
ALOHA PROMISES FOREVER 