“Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.” – George Washington (1748)
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First Principles: Labor To Keep Alive In Your Breast That Little Spark of Celestial Fire Called Conscience
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Alive, Celestial Fire, Conscience, First Principles, George Washington, Labor, Spark
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As Every Child Knows
As Every Child Knows
by Michael Doyle
There is a lot that isn't known
And still yet, the legend has grown
Was he real, or was he not
Or maybe, as with many, much has been forgot
St. Nicholas of Myra is one of the few
St. Francis of Assisi makes it two
Of saints who, to me, truly do inspire
And of whom, I seemingly never tire
Seen as a champion and Christian Poseidon
Nicholas was a Bishop who could be relied on
Accustomed to giving gifts, he did so in secret
He asked of his followers to never forget
To protect the children from the savage ways
That led from good to Krampus and his evil ways
From humble beginnings, his legend grew and grows
This is the truth, as every child knows...
(c) December 6, 2024 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Biship, Champion, Children, Christian, Every Child, Evil, Forgot, Gifts, Good, Humble Beginnings, Inspire, Known, Knows, Krampus, Legend, Myra, Nicholas, Not, Poetry and Poems, Poseidon, Real, Saint, Secret, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Nicholas of Myra, Tire, Truth
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Thought For the Day: We Make A Living By What We Get, But We Make A Life By What We Give
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Get, Give, Life, Living, Thought For the Day, We, Winston Churchill
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First Principles: The Give of Every Good and Perfect Gift Has Called Upon Us To Mimic God’s Giving, By Grace, Through Faith, and This Is Not of Ourselves
“The giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to mimic Gods giving, by grace, through faith, and this is not of ourselves.” – St. Nicholas of Myra
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Faith, First Principles, Gift, Giver, God's Giving, Good, Grace, Mimic, Perfect, St. Nicholas of Myra
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On Gifts and Gifting
On Gifts and Gifting
by Michael Doyle
Much of our lives come down to chance
That small part that God gives us to dance
Each of us is gifted as we are and will be
This raises the question delicately
Hasn't God given us all and asked us to do
What we can do to be and remain faithfully true
Not to be overboard into the edges of the sublime
But what are we to do with our God-given time
After all, God gave His only son to humanity
What can we give back with all our due humility?
The Wisemen gave gold, frankincense, and myrrh
I sit here with my chilling coffee and stir
Wondering at passersby and the missed opportunity
To find the good and give the good without vanity
As a steward aware that it's hitting my nerve
That we are to live love and find our chances to serve
Everything is a gift to steward wisely every day
Being fully aware this is our charge in every way
Perhaps these opportunities aren't wrapped as we'd expect
But we would be the worst fools if we choose to neglect
It takes our open hands and hearts to receive grace
Once we've reached this decision, it's ours to embrace
That each given gift to us is to be used for His glory
This, then, is the truth of every Christian story
(c) December 5, 2024 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Dance, Faith, Gift, Give, Poetry and Poems, Steward, Wisemen
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Thought For the Day: Government Spending Is Taxation…I’ve Never Heard of A Poor Person Taxing Himself Into Prosperity
“Government spending is taxation. When you look at this, I’ve never heard of a poor person spending himself into prosperity; let alone I’ve never heard of a poor person taxing himself into prosperity.” – Arthur Laffer
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Arthur Laffer, Government Spending, Poor Person, Prosperity, Spend, Tax, Taxation, Thought For the Day
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First Principles: I Cannot Undertake To Lay My Finger On That Article of the Constitution Which Granted A Right To Congress of Expending, On Objects of Benevolence, the Money of Their Constituents
“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.” – James Madison
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Article, Benevolence, Congress, Constituents, Constitution, Expend, First Principles, Grant, James Madison, Money, Right
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What’s the Horror?
What's the Horror?
by Michael Doyle
What's the horror, you might ask.
It seems my life is an endless task
It seems what I take off the list
It only points to things that I've missed
In this rush toward year's end
It seems I've not been my friend
So much is left completely undone
Aren't the holidays supposed to be fun?
There are so many significant deadlines
They all rush at me like exploding landmines
I wish I were a pearl of a changing shell
I need someplace else to hide and dwell
What I'd give for streamlined productivity
When I focused instead of living at liberty
There's a reluctance to do anything at all
When you've hit the edge of your resistance wall
My guess is that it's not really something to repress
There's something to be said for the human mess
Let's all hail the blessed power of entropy
Can I get an amen? Or at least a little empathy?
Living is for the living gained from what we learn
All the happy little sorrows that we come to earn
But let's not ruin this time of blessed holidays
The new year will bring its own share of these days
(c) December 4, 2024 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Amen, Ask, Deadlines, Earn, Edge, Empahty, Endless Tasks, Entropy, Focus, Fun, Gain, Guess, Hall, Happy, Hide, Holidays, Horror, Human Mess, I, Impress, Landimes, Learn, Liberty, List, Missed, My Friend, My Life, New Year, Pearl, Poetry and Poems, Point, Productivity, Reluctance, Ruin, Rush, Share, Shell, Sorrow, These Days, Undone, Wall, Year's End
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First Principle: The Importance of Piety and Religion; of Industry and Frugality; of Prudence, Economy, Regularity and An Even Government; All…Are Essential To the Well-Being of A Family
“The importance of piety and religion; of industry and frugality; of prudence, economy, regularity and an even government; all … are essential to the well-being of a family.” – Samuel Adams (1780)
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Economy, Essential, Even Government, Family, First Principles, Frugality, Importance, Industry, Piety, Prudence, Regularity, Religion, Samuel Adams, Well-Being
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Thought For the Day: Without Music, Life Would Be A Mistake
“Without music, life would be a mistake.” – Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Friedrich Nietzche, Life, Mistake, Music, Thought For the Day, Twilight of the Idols
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ALOHA PROMISES FOREVER 