“Without music, life would be a mistake.” – Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols
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Thought For the Day: Without Music, Life Would Be A Mistake
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Friedrich Nietzche, Life, Mistake, Music, Thought For the Day, Twilight of the Idols
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As I Speak This
As I Speak This
by Michael Doyle
A lighthouse guides my way
In the darkness, I will pray
A thousand generations find victory
In the Lamb's sweet majesty
The most excellent name on high
Is written across a wounded sky
Crying holy across all creation
It gives the strength and fascination
All of the righteousness of His name
Gives us grace without blame
We are lifted high from all loss
In the forgiveness of the cross
His name above them all
I hear His Holiness call
How could I not respond with love
Giving my all to the kingdom above
I'll sing this holy song
And I know where I belong
Take away my weakness
Given love and glory as I speak this
(c) December 3, 2024 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged As I Speak This, Belong, Creation, Crying Holy, Darkness, Forgiveness, Grace, Guide, High, Holy Song, Kingdom, Lighthouse, Loss, Love, Love and Glory, Poetry and Poems, Pray, Respond, Righteousness, Speak This, Strength, Sweet Majesty, The Lamb, Thousand Generations, Victory, Weakness, Wounded Sky
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First Principles: 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
“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)
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Bind, Chians, Confidence, Constitution, First Principles, Man, Mischief, Power, Question, Thomas Jefferson
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Thought For the Day: Education Without Values, As Useful As It Is, Seems Rather To Make Man A More Clever Devil
“Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.” – C.S. Lewis
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged C.S. Lewis, Clever, Devil, Education, Man, Thought For the Day, Useful, Value
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This Time of Year
This Time of the Year
by Michael Doyle
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
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Above, Appreciation, Authority, Behelhem, Bustling Season, Celebration, Christ, Connection, Cope, Cross-Walk, Difficulty, Double-Talk, Eternity, Eyes, Faight, Forget, Gifts, God, Hold Hands, Love, Loving Hope, Majesty, Mistake, Perfection, Poetry and Poems, Processional Days, Purity, Reason, Recognize, Renew, Rest, Salvation, See, Serenity, Sin, Slow Mist, Snow, Song, Star, Tapestry, Tears, Time of Year, Unhurried Holidays, Weight of Sin, Wise Men, Wonder
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First Principles: How Could A State Be Governed, Or Protected In Its Foreign Relations If Every Individual Remained Free To Obey Or Not Obey the Law According To His Private Opinion
“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
Posted in First Principles
Tagged First Principles, Foreign Relations, Free, Govern, Individual, Law, Not Obey, Obey, Private Opinion, Protect, State, Thomas Hobbes
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Thought For the Day: Count Your Age By Friends, Not Years. Count Your Life By Smiles, Not Tears
“Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.” – John Lennon
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Age, Count, Friends, John Lennon, Life, Smiles, Tears, Thought For the Day, Years
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Advent’s Adoration
Advent's Adoration
by Michael Doyle
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
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Adoration, Advent, Advent Season, Assured, Aware, Blessing, Christmas, Dead, Deserved, Eyes, Faith, Guessing, Hope, Immanuel, Jesus, Know, Last Words, Loving One Another, Pancakes, Poetry and Poems, Pray, Served, Taste, Teach, Treach, Weight
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Thought For the Day: A Prison Cell, In Which One Waits, Hopes – and Is Completely Dependent On the Fact That the Door of Freedom Has To Opened From the Outside, Is Not A Bad Picture of Advent
“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
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Advent, Bad Picture, Dependent, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Door of Freedom, God Is In the Manger, Hope, Open, Outside, Prison Cell, Thought For the Day, Wait
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First Principles: Trust In the Lord With All Your Heart and Lean Not On Your Own Understanding
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding”– Proverbs 3:5
Posted in First Principles
Tagged First Principles, Heart, Lean Not, Lord, Proverbs 3:5, Trust, Understanding
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ALOHA PROMISES FOREVER 