“There is a delight in the hardy life of the open. There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm. The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased; and not impaired in value. Conservation means development as much as it does protection.” – Theodore Roosevelt
Eyes Opened To See
by Michael Doyle
There's an art to living gratitude.
It is transformative of our attitude.
The habits you adopt as your own,
As if nothing can bother the life you own.
So much around us easily shatters.
It comes down to what really matters.
In a world of anger that is filled with fear,
We must remember gratitude is the only true power here.
However much the world knows darkness;
And however much life treats us with harshness,
We can always rebuild what we truly know,
And in this rebuilding, we flourish and grow.
Shawneetown picked up from the 1937 flood,
And it left its past in the decrepit mud,
Choosing to make the most of its opportunity
Shawneetown rebuilt and outgrew its history.
Everything around us constantly rearranges.
Nothing stays the same; everything changes.
Slivers of beauty and hope are all around.
If you look for it, you'll find that it openly abounds.
For this, we live best by taking on gratitude,
And deciding that life becomes ours in our attitude.
Every situation has something that is bountiful.
In recognizing this, we reach for what is wonderful.
It is by taking this on that we see without concealing
The Lord's joy that waits and is openly revealing.
It is waiting to enrich us for all our seeing.
This is the joyous complexity of being a human being.
Everyday's gift is the sun we see shine
And knowing it's shared and not yours or mine.
Tomorrow is here for us by providence and not design.
That is the distinction brought to its fine line.
Seeing this provides us all with the living key.
We are no longer imprisoned but have been set free.
This and finding our way in our Father's kingdom
Are the qualities that combine to give us our freedom.
(c) November 2, 2026 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.” – George Bernard Shaw
“War should never be entered upon until every agency of peace has failed.” – William McKinley
Paul and the Way
by Michael Doyle
Saul became Paul and was intensive.
In his appearance, though, he was unimpressive.
He wrote thirteen letters in his testimony,
Saving the world for the rest of history.
Early, he persecuted the followers of The Way,
He even caused Stephen's death that fateful day.
But just one encounter with Jesus can change a soul.
After all, it is ultimately God who is in control.
On the road to Damascus, one late dark night,
Jesus reduced Paul to blindness to show him right.
In finding value in God's path, we receive sight,
And that divides for us, wrong from right.
We find when we know each other's name,
We find the Way to heal from any blame.
Jesus knows everything about us each,
And from this familiarity, He draws to teach.
Leading all Christians into our family.
This is the Way we grow our community.
God chooses us all directly and on purpose,
To do His good works as instruments of service.
All of us fall short of God's rich glory,
But whatever our past, we are part of His story.
None of us are qualified as lacking sin,
But the God of second chances lets us try again.
With his encounter, Paul readily embraced the Way
Knowing that while we are sinners every day,
We are responsible to follow God's holy will,
And this becomes active as time reveals.
Every one of us is charged with the Great Commission.
If we fail to share this, it is a tragic omission.
The clarion call is for us to go and evangelize
And by this, remove the scales from unbelieving eyes.
When we have our moments of sterling opportunity,
We must take these moments to grow the Christian family.
Though we know nothing else but the love of God above,
While we have our chance, let us spread God's love.
(c) November 1, 2026 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
“As a Christian, instead of concentrating on how you feel, focus on what you know to be truth from the Word of God.” – Joyce Meyer
“And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” – 1 Corinthians 2:1-2 NIV
We Do, Or We Die
by Michael Doyle
Hunting monsters is never in vain.
But to think it will be easy is inane.
Chomp by chomp, up the known food chain,
Surely beats letting victory slip down the drain.
And so it was in the waste of Afghanistan,
Where we never quite reached the tribal man.
Sometimes you need to leave to appreciate
What it is and how familiarity comes to hate.
When you've had to be a fighter, you know
Where your reactions begin to come too slow.
Sometimes there's a time to say enough is enough.
Other times, you just have to blow through the bluff.
On point, leading the charge into the square,
Stalked into the kill zone, this life isn't fair.
Pinned to position by the enemy's suppression fire,
Conditions like this are enough to make a man tire.
The things we do lead to who we are,
Either we stay close or go amazingly far.
These are the reasons that we do or we die.
We lean into the charge without saying goodbye.
When you've had to be a fighter, you know
Where your reactions begin to come too slow.
Sometimes there's a time to say enough is enough.
Other times, you just have to blow through the bluff.
(c) October 31, 2026 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
“I have studied many religions, many different persuasions of thought in Christian belief, and I have come, in this experience to this: the most important question in anyone’s life is the question asked by poor Pilate in Matthew 27:22: ‘What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?’ No Other question in the whole sweep of human experience is as important as this. It is the choice between life and death, between meaningless existence and life abundant. What will you do with Christ? Accept Him and life, or reject Him and die? What else is there?” – Dale Evans
“By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination.” – Christopher Columbus
Happy Birthday, Columbus!!
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