“Resistance To Tyranny Is Obedience To God.” – John Knox

“Resistance To Tyranny Is Obedience To God.” – John Knox

“Resistance to tyranny becomes the Christian and social duty of each individual. … Continue steadfast and, with a proper sense of your dependence on God, nobly defend those rights which heaven gave, and no man ought to take from us.”– John Hancock, —History of the United States of America, Vol. II, p. 229.

Searching For Reasons Why
by Michael Doyle
Searching for words
That just won't come
Hoping for a pocketful of miracles
But finding none
This is no way to spend
The moments leading to Christmas Day
Just hoping for them to end
Cause they make no difference anyway
Take another sip knocked back
Thinking on what you lack
Standing in the pouring rain
Getting drenched with life's pain
They say only the good die
Long before their time
As a father watching his daughters cry
I sit here just searching for a rhyme
It's hard to keep their hearts
Hoping on their stars and dreams
It keeps me reading my cards
Watching sadness pull at their seams
I have no comfort that I can give
But a strong pair of shoulders to cry on
Nudging them on to dream and maybe believe
At least until Christmas time is gone
I'm so happy that I could cry
Only the snowman knows half the why
We're all here for as long as we're able
Until our chair is pulled away from the table
David gave life all that he could
When it came to the blues, he lived them good
And now this father watches his daughters cry
It feels like Christmas is coming without a reason why
(c) December 22, 2023 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever…” – Thomas Jefferson
—Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVIII, p. 237.

“It may sound trite, but using the weapons of the enemy, no matter how good one’s intentions, makes one the enemy.” – Charles de Lint, writer and folk musician (b. 22 Dec 1951

“The more humble and obedient to God a man is, the more wise and at peace he will be in all that he does.” – Thomas A. Kempis

“No man can well doubt the propriety of placing a president of the United States under the most solemn obligations to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution. It is a suitable pledge of his fidelity and responsibility to his country.” – Joseph Story (1833)

Rewarming Miracles On the Street
by Michael Doyle
I don't want to seem to be too contrary
Or an old-fashioned grump who is ornery
But does it seem creativity is stuck on repeat
Is anyone questioning the miracle of any street
Hollywood's latest contributions seem derivative
Or is this observation the angst of a conservative
It seems past the formulas repeated today
That more than lingers on the crumbs of yesterday
Somehow, we ended up with a contest between streets
When the truth is that either is a nice treat
From this world that seems abusive and out to harm
There is a story that has never lost its charm
The remake of Miracle brought an unbeatable parade
That has made for a sometimes incomparable trade
And there is something Jurassic in this warmed-up festival
The scenes that warm the heart prove more than capable
This leaves us then at some sort of acceptance
The kind of acceptance that doesn't require repentance
But does leave us wondering what lessons to discern
Is there anything much we were meant to learn?
The heartbreaks of this world do not destroy the good
But does teach the paths of teaching that are understood
That care must be taken in believing in the fairy tales
But the intangibles like kindness, love, and joy swell
Into a story that reveals the human heart cannot be limited
From daring to dream the things that cannot be prohibited
Life, it seems, is often a matter of the focus of our eyes
And our minds create unreasonable expectations in the skies
In which Santa's sled may yet be spied somewhere flying across
Without being counted a loss, when goodness calms our thoughts
And we find our way into tomorrow from the hurts of yesterday
There are blessings yet to be perceived that are complementary
Things like daring to believe the more of what it is we conceive
When we look past the attempts by others to wickedly deceive
The first of these being that people mean much more than money
Caring for others is the special sauce that creates loyalty
It is a hallmark of the season that we need our creativity
Pretending our fantasies might become real brings possibility
In a time just past an epidemic of masks we must not forget
That we cannot be stuffed away in our pessimism and regrets
It is the dream of Kris Kringle and Christmas's special magic
That makes us able to crawl past the dissatisfaction so tragic
Bursting into the season that knows its way to bring us joy
It comes in our music, our pleasures, our treasures, and toys
But most of all it comes in our learning that we must share
And in doing so it is with the greatest magic that we care
There in Kringle we learn a secret in his many traces and faces
Life is immense with layers of complexity that we must embrace
.. But never forget the love behind Christmas
(c) December 20, 2023 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
“It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.” – Saint Augustine

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