“It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.” – Romans 4:13 (NIV)
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First Principles: It Was Not Through the Law That Abraham and His Offspring Received the Promise That He Would Be Heir of the World, But Through the Righteousness That Comes By Faith
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Abraham, Faith, First Principles, Heir, Offspring, Righteousness, Romans 4:13 (NiV), The Law, The Promise, World
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Slipstream of History
Slipstream of History
by Michael Doyle
Seven cycles in a stream of errors
The collaboration of history might be seen
In terms of a series of eras
As these are experienced by human beings
It feels like a long time in the coming
As we waited in place as others came running
History cannot be told in an echo chamber's frame
Just when is a game more than simply a game?
There's a pensive mood stuck between the ages
Like something oddly familiar on the pages
We are hanging tough but going almost nowhere
Two coins as tokens pay civilization's fare
Dull anxiety defines the feelings of a deeper flaw
Felt in the rational sense of reason's law
That we are fixated on the call of the rise and fall
The mourning of yesterday captures the hearts of us all
We stare into tomorrow, and soon, that, too, is past
The only thing we're sure of is that humanity will last
It's funny how the cycles of time build legacies
While we all hold onto what passes for our agency
From the present back to our ages of antiquity
Each era is a tale of discoveries and technology
That wave after wave brings war and diplomacy
And through these came our arts and our industry
Until our persistence gets us unstuck between the ages
Casting about in the shadows, reading the pages
We know we must hang tough if we're to get anywhere
This is the magic that pays our civilization's fare
Despite life's complexity and probability of flaws
We rest assured that here in the rationality of law
We find we can measure the patterns of rise and fall
In studying our yesterdays, we find the future of us all
Modern culture rests on the spirit of past exploration
Built step-by-step until we reached our living nation
The shared lineage of our people is what came to nurture
There in our self-interest are the seeds of our cultivated future
All of this is built in the layers that make up history
In a system of choices, there is something to this mystery
Revolutions lead to reformation that shapes our possibility
One by one, we live to see this testament to man's capability
(c) February 15, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Ages, Civilization, Collaboration of History, Cycles, Echo Chamber, Eras, Errors, Experience, Flaw, Frame, Game, History, Mourning of Yesterday, Nowhere, Pages, Pensive Mood, Poetry and Poems, Reason, Rise and Fall, Slipstream, Two Coins
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Thought For the Day: Bad Officials Are The Ones Elected By Good Citizens Who Do Not Vote
“Bad officials are the ones elected by good citizens who do not vote.” – George Jean Nathan
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Bad Officials, Elected, George Jean Nathan, Good Citizens, Thought For the Day, Vote
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First Principles: Peace, Commerce, and Honest Friendship With All Nations, Entangling Alliances With None
“Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.” – Thomas Jefferson (1801)
Posted in First Principles
Tagged All Nations, Commerce, Entangling Alliances, First Principles, Honest Friendship, None, Peace, Thomas Jefferson
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It’s There In A Song Somewhere
It's There In A Song Somewhere
by Michael Doyle
You can find it in the record-spinning round
There in the melody is where it is found
Listen carefully to the words of the song
You'll find the truth of our love where it belongs
Where this is love, there is the best life
Embraced in peace and working against strife
Expressed by the roses that turn this world sweet
I found my best friend when we came to meet
It's there in a song somewhere
You can hear it floating in the air
The melody completes me now
As it makes me think of you, and somehow
Let's me dream of every time I've thought of you
These dreams have become a garden for us to walk through
You with flowers in your hair and a smile on your face
Your sweet fragrance has left its lasting trace
Time has passed, and we have made our connection
To the point where we are looking in the same direction
As we walk side-by-side, our two hearts find love
As the silvery moon comes to shine on us from above
It's there in a song somewhere
You can hear it floating in the air
The melody completes me now
As it makes me think of you, and somehow
We come to know the cure for love is to love more
On bended knee, I come to lovingly implore
Let's live this life in the together of happiness
Finding our dreams in the each other of our bliss
Never above you, never below, but always beside
We have come to walk together, stride matching stride
This love is the beauty of two souls becoming one
As our eyes meet, promising to never become undone
It's there in a song somewhere
You can hear it floating in the air
The melody completes me now
As it makes me think of you, and somehow...
(c) February 14, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Above, Beauty, Become One, Belongs, Below, Bended Knee, Beside, Best Friend, Best Life, Bliss, Complete, Connection, Cure, Dream, Dreams, Expressed, Eyes Meet, Face, Floating In the Air, Flowers, Found, Garden, Hair, Implore, Lasting Trace, Love, Matching Stride, Meet, Melody, More, Never Become Undone, Peace, Poetry and Poems, Record, Roses, Same Direction, Shine, Side-By-Side, Silvery Moon, Smile, Somehow, Somewhere, Song, Strife, Sweet, Sweet Fragance, The Together of Happiness, Think, Thought, Time, Truth of Our Love, Two Hearts, Two Souls, Walk Through, Walk Together, Words, World
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First Principles: Love Is Patient, Love Is Kind…It Always Protects, Always Trusts, Always Hopes, Always Perseveres
“4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV)
Thought For the Day: You Know You’re In Love When You Can’t Fall Asleep Because Reality Is Finally Better Than Your Dreams
“You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” – Dr. Seuss
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Better, Dr. Seuss, Dreams, Know, Love, Reality, Thought For the Day
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No Victim of My Circumstances
No Victim of My Circumstances
by Michael Doyle
On the mountains, in the sun rays
It's your name that I praise
In the green valley far below
It is all your creation, and I know
Sharing what I know of your grace
These are you living ways I embrace
I was born to live all my days
Holding your love up in my praise
From you, it is clear and I know
That you are the source of all blessings that flow
Wherever you decide to lead
I will follow with my heart and in my deeds
I am no victim of my circumstances
I claim the victory of the God of second chances
Whatever the world may show of harshness
Your light will remove the darkness
Holding my heart in good cheer
There is literally nothing that I fear
The blood of Jesus Christ runs in my veins
The mighty Lord of my life holds the reins
(c) February 13, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Blessings, Blood of Jesus Christ, Born, Cheer, Circumstances, Clear, Creation, Darkness, Days, Deeds, Embrace, Fear, Flow, Follow, Grace, Green Valley, Heart, Know, Lead, Light, Living Ways, Lord of My Life, Mountains, Poetry and Poems, Praise, Reins, Share, Source, Sun Rays, The God of Second Chances, Veins, Victim, Victory, World, Your Love, Your Name
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First Principles: Liberty Is Meaningless Where the Right To Utter One’s Thoughts and Opinions Has Ceased To Exist. That, of All Rights, Is the Dread of Tyrants
“Liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one’s thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist. That, of all rights, is the dread of tyrants. It is the right which they first of all strike down. They know its power. Thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, founded in injustice and wrong, are sure to tremble, if men are allowed to reason… Equally clear is the right to hear. To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker.” – Frederick Douglass
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Dread, Exist, First Principles, Frederick Douglass, Liberty, Meaningless, Right, Thoughts and Opinions, Tyrants
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Thought For the Day: The Kind of Beauty I Want Most Is the Hard-To-Get Kind That Comes From Within – Strength, Courage, Dignity
“The kind of beauty I want most is the hard-to-get kind that comes from within – strength, courage, dignity.” – Ruby Dee
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Beauty, Courage, Dignity, Hard-To-Get, Kind, Ruby Dee, Strength, Thought For the Day, Within
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