It took the Lord God Almighty, In all His mercy to save me. I was lost in the wrath of my sin, Losing my way, time and again.
I suppose a lesser soul could have tried. I laughed to myself as I cried. You see, that's just another joke on me, Yet it's best taken positively.
There I was, lifted up into the Holy, By a stranger God that I didn't think knew me. I prayed about my sins in confession, Holding my heart humbly, seeking redemption.
You see, this Holy God, He owed me nothing, Especially if He had listened to songs I'd sing. But the day that I nearly paid for being lost, That was really quite close to being the cost.
I had felt my soul sinking into Satan's power, But the victory was God's in that midnight hour. I stood as a new man rising from the frozen mud, Still alive, at the sacrifice of the Lamb's blood.
Looking up into the twinkling of midnight stars, I knew that there would be plenty of new scars. And that only through the love of undeserved grace, I would have let go to death instead of His embrace.
Now, I make my promises to bind my healing soul, Forever in debt and free from evil's control. Gratitude is the address. Of where I had stood Knowing that God is understood for being great and good.
(c) May 10, 2025 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
“Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.” -Joseph Addison, writer (1 May 1672-1719)
I stand triumphant in my dedication To the belief in God as a cause for celebration. Death has, indeed, lost its unholy sting. In words of praise, I will continue to sing.
The first Adam brought us sin's death. Christ, as new Adam, gave us new breath. As we look at the wonders of holy creation, We meet God as our path to our redemption.
Life to its fullness is lived in the grace Needed by us and received in God's good embrace. Walking God's path requires a balance of true worth. All eyes will remain on salvation's true North.
Holding strong faith requires room for much mystery. Belief in this need is evidenced throughout history. Mechanically mystical; at moments, we approach understanding Best through obedience: we need to be flexible, not demanding.
Disagreements are to be seen as something fascinating. Better this than to be lost in the tangential and frustrating. There is more than one way to see through any questions. None of these should hang us on lingering hesitations.
We are but lumps of clay shaped by the potter's hand. We should be the last to argue based on what we understand. It is our part to listen to the answers we wait for. This is our destiny; we can hope for very little more.
God has not failed to keep His promises He has made. God is not unfair in His ways; we shouldn't be afraid. It's not wrong that God holds us accountable; Our choices give us the fates of which we're capable.
“The Constitution … is a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary which they may twist and shape into any form they please.” – Thomas Jefferson (1819)
The Rockies abruptly pull upward. Away from drifting downward, Not toward the prairie grass Surprisingly, found in this mountain pass
An insect flutters blade to blade, Sipping at flowered nectar to persuade Life to go on as it rearranges Despite all the inbreeding and climate changes.
40,000 years of splendid isolation And still to science's fascination It's coloration was something close to drab Significant without a distinctive grab
Alone for ages on its evolutionary trajectory This butterfly had no need for math or history Its number was tiny, and its story a mystery But its name was necessary for its identity
A wildfire blazed through, causing calamity, For this small numbered species in its vulnerability. Genetics met victory for the curiously isolated hairstreak, Sustaining as it did between Rocky Mountain peaks.
It hangs on as it does there on the river's edge, Hovering and sipping on nectar well below the ledge. It strives without knowing that its kind must go on; It's that, or each of this kind will be drably gone.
“The more people who own little businesses of their own, the safer our country will be, and the better off its cities and towns; for the people who have a stake in their country and their community are its best citizens.” – John Hancock
The Guilt and Monstrosity of Luigi Mangione by Michael Doyle
News wars say if it bleeds, it leads In this nation of monstrous misdeeds, It is really not all that deep, To focus on murder and death is cheap.
It's become symptomatic of modern society, To focus our fanfare on fanciful brutality. Don't name the dead in your thanatology, Say the prophets of modern sociology.
Luigi Mangione laughs as he pleads not guilty In his indictment of the healthcare industry. The unrepentant murderer's action against greed Has been lionized into some sort of noble deed.
The mean world syndrome presses the anxiety Of those tired of life's seeming complexity. The media takes a bow in shaping our attitude, As it hardens hearts and removes all gratitude.
He is no Robin Hood, regardless of the system's flaws. Murder by number does not reform any needed laws. Social media has provided a halo effect to a criminal Who in his murdering has surpassed wrong into purely evil.
Luigi Mangione laughed as he pled he was not guilty In his over-the-top indictment of the healthcare industry. The unrepentant killer was action not just against greed And it cannot be lionized into some sort of noble deed.
"Deny, defend, depose" may have caused innocent death, But you cannot defend a murder with the same breath. It is a societal vandalism that frays the norms of society. It is a pop culture spectacle based on social anxiety.
A living, breathing meme exceeding its substantive meaning, The absurdity only demeans the worth of actual human beings. Idolizing this punk is only a symptom of the social nihilism That has erupted to replace our world's hope and optimism.
Luigi Mangione laughs as he mocks us that he is not guilty In his over-the-top indictment of the healthcare industry. This unrepentant killer sought fame and did so with greed This action cannot be lionized into some sort of noble deed.
Trivializing Mangione's crime turns murder into a commodity. I cannot be alone in believing this is more than odd to me. We do not resolve inequities through acts of sheer violence. This is true regardless of real or pretended coincidence.
The adoration of a murderer will not bring about our salvation. But it might lower the standards needed in our good nation. Disillusionment does not justify America losing it's way. Instead, we must think together about finding our better day.
Luigi Mangione might laugh but he is surely guilty It is just to indict the wrongs of the healthcare industry. But an unremorseful murderer's actions, it must be agreed, Cannot be lionized into any sort of good or noble deed.
Heading out of Australia to escape this Aussie winter. First stop Japan, then UK/Ireland and if work doesn't call me back, onto Chicago. I will make it up as I go along
