“In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” – Thomas Jefferson (1798)
There it is, that slow mist in my eyes It's not so hard to see and recognize Please don't mistake these tears It's just this time of the year
It's a slow roll of processional days As we live through unhurried holidays We sing our songs of blessed salvation As we live for Christ in our celebration
Most of us find rest and loving hope A few of us find difficulty as we cope This, indeed, can be a bustling season When we forget that love is the reason
Let's hold hands to make a connection And maybe forget thoughts of perfection The only perfection needed is love The same love given to us from above
Salvation is needed from the weight of sin Let's renew our faith again and again As we soak in the wonder and majesty Let's sprinkle appreciation in our tapestry
Keeping our eyes focused on Bethlehem's star Remembering how the wise men traveled far Not to see what gifts would be given to them But to greet the baby who would free us from sin
This isn't the time for any double-talk But instead, let's engage in a cross-walk This is the time to share in love and purity As the snow falls down, we feel the serenity
All unholy sin is washed away in our salvation We live in love and live our king's celebration A gift has been given to live in all of eternity It's given to us by God's loving, full authority
(c) December 2, 2024 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
“How could a state be governed, or protected in its foreign relations if every individual remained free to obey or not to obey the law according to his private opinion.” – Thomas Hobbes
Our eyes are open wide in adoration Today marks the start of the Advent season Joined hands pray for our blessing Assured as we are without need for guessing
The pancakes made and served Tasted better than we deserved We find Jesus walking with us today Immanuel came to teach us the way
In the weight of last words said With Jesus fully aware he would soon be dead There was a lot to know and teach Loving one another was its total reach
Through God's eyes, His disciples walked Listening to every word as He talked Love was and is the sum of His theology The cardinal virtue of His divinity
There are no strangers where love exists Instead, there is God's joy that persists Unafraid to follow the paths of servanthood Kindness and love are the highest good
We show this in our lives of sacrifice Giving our all when a little won't suffice Daily, we take up our cross to pay the cost The lessons in loving God will not be lost
Crucified flesh leads us to the holy ground This is how our Lord will come to be found No longer blinded by the temptations of the night We faithfully follow what is known and right
It's on this path that we find our purpose Knowing that we are born for a life of service We are meant to live as our love overflows With humility and uncaring of who else knows
We all know the Rebbe's story We all fall short of our Father's glory Yet still, we live our lives filled with love Born to give in all ways as is Heaven above
We must surrender to God every bit of our all Heeding as we do our Lord God's beckoning call With arms wide open, we receive our commission Knowing our best lives in our total submission
As we live our lives with blessed right intention We focus our words on their correct connections It's an amazing grace that we know abounds It's the love of our God that freedom is truly found
One heart leads and touches another As our lives entwine with our sisters and brothers This is the way that love is always found there As we reach out to God in our most solemn prayers
True faith is as contagious as a wildfire It fills our hearts with its righteous desire Our heavenly Father gives us His loving embrace To pass it on within our own loving traces
(c) December 1, 2024 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
“A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes – and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God Is In the Manger
It's said that place forms voice Even when it's not of our choice In my life, I've traveled around And this is what I, too, have found
This is especially true of poetry Each of us is formed by our country It's that first step of our journey That allows us to make our destiny
Our time is limited by our years Let's not be clogged in our fears But instead, finding our own space That is formed by every lingering trace
Happiness is the success we need More often lived than found in what we read We only need to believe and we can This is what we need to understand
In our life's journey, we live our dreams Finding ourselves under sun and moonbeams But each place that our feet have found We are touched by this as our moving ground
We embrace the limits of the possible By going further than we once thought impossible Hearing words that we've never heard And thinking thoughts that have never occurred
Changes are the constants that shape who we are Whether we stay at home or travel near or far We need only plunge in and join life's dance Being our own masters over the traps of circumstance
(c) November 30, 2024 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
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
ALOHA PROMISES FOREVER 