“14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
“20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” – Ephesians 3:14-21
The High Water of Monumental Delineation by Michael Doyle
I know I'm not the only one who confesses A life filled with crashes and messes Happening as you wait for the snapper in the last frame To laugh a little and not feel so lame
All the sudden, the smile is just there To fill your heart with a little taste of cheer The language speaks clearly without needing a second glance Reality jumps its curb without any need for second chance
It's there knocking loudly with its bold opportunity Errors repeated become a design presented capably A short distance is traveled in setting up the punchlines And it gets us through our near daily emotional landmines
An unerring instinct codes the visual art of its impact It's a gut level appeal given straightforward in its act A universal laugh only needs a few deft strokes of pen As we wait for the next comic and the next day's again
Bushmiller offered nothing that could possibly shock, Just the right number of rocks to become the town's talk It was a laugh at familiar matter and conservatism That took a light-hearted jab at abstract expressionism
Three rocks were all that was needed to tell the story And a wry sense of humor brought it up with simple glory The semiotics of comics breaks down uncomplicated That a simple gut laugh will never become faded
While we still live in an age of rampant consumerism Those who are horrified by this in their pessimism Find a little hope in the simple visual economy Offered in the precision of monumental delineation
(c) September 30, 2023 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
Self-expression has become democratized In an era where everyone is traumatized The Asian experience is best understood By taking in the feelings, both bad and good
However minor these seem in their unfolding There's nothing said that requires scolding It needs a historical legacy of infinite marginalization And does require in-depth truths to be told through analyzation
The trauma of exclusion passes down generations Requiring a transparent sort of conversation It's the burden of a painful sort of inheritance Where balanced devotion lives in the passed-through experience
A policy of deliberate exclusion was a tragedy That still inflicts damage on Chinese families Telling the truth right is a storyteller's delusion It's one mired in the questions and then confusion
It may well be that it is an impossible task Still, truth-telling is always worth that ask Paper Sons came to America seeking its promise The old sojourners suffered to find their purpose
Exclusion is the bloodless crime, well-worn By these four generations who lived as if unborn Reverberating as it does the limits of inclusion In which conflicting American ideals are an intrusion
Orphan bachelors knew loneliness and alienation As they sought after dreams and built this nation It was a Chinese-American song of lasting sorrow As these men gave their all for their tomorrows
Eyes look back to the old country for their inspiration Still, each step taken was taken in dedication As they took in the hard facts clothed in lore And fought to make a place that might offer more
Arguments and resentment do not lead to real assimilation However much this story is sewn into the fabric of this nation The aches and dramas in tension lend the special quality That is too often part of the story of American family
The lives of which are often fraught with adversity And would not be complete without overcoming difficulty The language of which reveals identity in its formation It's the immigrant's song to be stuck between generations
(c) September 29, 2023 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
“There are two possible outcomes: If the result confirms the hypothesis, then you’ve made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you’ve made a discovery.” – Enrico Fermi, physicist and Nobel laureate (29 Sep 1901-1954)
Conversion Then Immersion: Faith Required by Michael Doyle
It is said firmly, and I believe it Baptism is not a matter of take it or leave it Immersion, conversion: Faith is required To take on the Holy Spirit, it's acquired
It's a living truth for this generation To be applied with the strongest veneration The eternal word of God will never change However much society itself might rearrange
God's inspired Word is given that we may live Within His principles, the best life can give Baptism's conversion is not a pick and choose Without immersion in your path, you simply lose
As Matthew teaches, and it must be understood The necessity of baptism is for our own good Discipleship is part of the Great Commission All authority holds that lack of baptism is an omission
That cannot be missed as a first principle observed It is the will of God, and right of all deserved Baptism is only for believers as a sign of trust It is the work of Christ at Calvary, making it a must
It isn't just a physical act, but the belief in salvation Delivered by Jesus as savior to the Christian nation This is a matter that is a completely personal experience Deeply meaningful with significance beyond any preference
Sprinkling a child is only a matter of dedication It is no guarantor of the much-needed salvation But this is a parental decision, not their own And this sort of decision is that person's alone
The dedication, though well-meant, won't save a soul However much the love, only the child has the control Revival meeting baptisms made in a rushed moment Will not save a person from Hell's fiery torments
Getting right with God can be had in only this sort of way It comes to understanding regardless of what they say The only scriptural way to salvation is through immersion Symbolic as it is, immersion speaks to a soul's conversion
The timing of baptism may sometimes seem demanding But it comes down to receiving the truest understanding That the cost is to the soul in not fulfilling God's will It takes the immersion following conversion to distill
One's faith acted on in the spirt of the Great Commission To do otherwise becomes a matter of purposeful omission Which counteracts a life lived otherwise in full obedience And can never be excused away as a matter of expedience
A lack of being baptized stands as a grievous sort of sin That is in contravention of the Lord's three-fold commission We are to follow the Lord's path as set out on the page By baptizing the disciples, God will be with us in every age
There is no half-way gospel, salvation precedes baptism Immersive baptism is really an act of contrite symbolism But this then goes beyond some simple sort of expression It is, indeed, the set example of a very public confession
To be born of the water and the spirit, begins our days In which we, to our best, live out our lives in Godly ways As children of God, we are called out to live under grace Becoming our best within the Holy Father's loving embrace
(c) September 28, 2023 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
“The freedom of speech is a principal Pillar in a free Government: when this support is taken away the Constitution is dissolved, and Tyranny is erected on its Ruins.” – Benjamin Franklin, Pennsylvania Gazette (November 17, 1737)
“There is always more goodness in the world than there appears to be, because goodness is of its very nature modest and retiring.” -Evelyn Beatrice Hall, biographer (28 Sep 1868-1956)
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
