In every story that's told About the cards that fold There is also the breakthrough Of holding strong in all that we do
Loving the blessed life that's given And keeping the promises of being forgiven This is the hope that we live in Spoken into our hearts as we're forgiven
With my fading eyes, I see Jesus And I keep my faith just because I've leaned into faith in my ways And I will live it through my end days
Holding onto the light in the darkness His love dispels the world's harshness I am thankful He provides the same Satisfaction is given as I call upon His name
(c) March 19, 2024 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
“You fight your superficiality, your shallowness, so as to try to come at people without unreal expectations, without an overload of bias or hope or arrogance, as untanklike as you can be, sans cannon and machine guns and steel plating half a foot thick; you come at them unmenacingly on your own ten toes instead of tearing up the turf with your caterpillar treads, take them on with an open mind, as equals, man to man, as we used to say, and yet you never fail to get them wrong. You might as well have the brain of a tank. You get them wrong before you meet them, while you’re anticipating meeting them; you get them wrong while you’re with them; and then you go home to tell somebody else about the meeting and you get them all wrong again. Since the same generally goes for them with you, the whole thing is really a dazzling illusion. … The fact remains that getting people right is not what living is all about anyway. It’s getting them wrong that is living, getting them wrong and wrong and wrong and then, on careful reconsideration, getting them wrong again. That’s how we know we’re alive: we’re wrong. Maybe the best thing would be to forget being right or wrong about people and just go along for the ride. But if you can do that — well, lucky you.” ― Philip Roth, in American Pastoral
Together, we learn to live out What our sermons are about Day by day, we learn the talk And put it into practice in our walk
Spiritual growth brings our skills Like Saul to Paul, we serve God's will All the legalism cannot make us so pure As to make our salvation secure
Saul persecuted the Christians with zeal Seeking to destroy the Church before it was revealed That the proof of the past does not define the future It all comes down to what we nurture
On the road to Damascus came Paul's conversion Blinded by the divine light that healed his corruption And removed the scales on his eyes and let him see That our holiness is only restored by God's divinity
We, ourselves, can turn this into our intention To give everything our very best sense of attention Walking the straight line of lessons lived and learned Each of these leading to truths needed to be discerned
The physical heart belongs to each of us, as is fine But our spiritual hearts must come to fall in line Through God's will, we find that we can do all things And take on the world and everything the world brings
No longer the victims, we become the victory This is a priceless lesson that God has brought to me Paul had his come to Jesus moment on that old road Through it, he became a servant to God as has been told
Excuses do not stop us from needing to walk our walk And in our spiritual growth, we learn to live our talk These are the fundamentals we realize we need to know Gatherings, groups, and practice help us to spiritually grow
All the runners are at the starting line of the race But if we're to win, we must hold the victor's pace It is ours to take the steps we know are necessary And fulfill God's will without becoming wary
It's a miracle prayer sort of Sunday To be lived out in God's holy ways As Saint Patrick has blessed the shamrock All us Christians have left is to walk this blessed walk
(c) March 18, 2024 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
“History by apprising [citizens] of the past will enable them to judge of the future; it will avail them of the experience of other times and other nations; it will qualify them as judges of the actions and designs of men; it will enable them to know ambition under every disguise it may assume; and knowing it, to defeat its views.” – Thomas Jefferson (1781)
It's really not so frightening To see Satan fall like lightning Cast down from the Heavens above All in the name of God's sacred love
Living life as a personal testimony The world sometimes crashes down on me And I'll remain safe in God's care Protected as I am from Satan's snares
Living life from my birth to my death I proclaim Jesus's holiness to my last breath Be it a house of worship or on the street I remain God's servant for everyone I meet
My victory will not fall to or know defeat God's love pours through me on the street As I serve my purposes in Jesus's precious name Though I'm crippled, I am not lame
Instead, I walk my walk in truth and love Keeping my eyes fixed on God above All things for good is what believe It gives us the power to steadily conceive
That we can live the miracles needed Keeping fresh and alive, we've pleaded And received the blessings of God's power Spoken in His name in this holy hour
(c) March 17, 2024 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
Aloha Promises Forever wishes all its readers a very happy and if a believer, holy Saint Patrick’s Day!
The Feast of Saint Patrick (Lá Fhéile Pádraig) is a religious and cultural holiday observed since the 17th century on March 17th as the traditional day on which Saint Patrick is believed to have died. Patrick is considered by many to be the foremost patron saint of Ireland. When not a matter of cultural fun, it is a day to commemorate the arrival of Christianity to Ireland. It is widely observed among the Irish diaspora and also fun lovers with no particular national or religious affiliation. May your St. Patrick’s Day be one of meaning and fun for each of you!
“We open our mouths and out flow words whose ancestries we do not even know. We are walking lexicons. In a single sentence of idle chatter we preserve Latin, Anglo-Saxon, Norse: we carry a museum inside our heads, each day we commemorate peoples of whom we have never heard.” – Penelope Lively, writer (b. 17 Mar 1933)
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” – 1 Corinthians 9:24-25
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
