Thought For the Day: I Shall Live Badly If I Do Not Write, and I Shall Write Badly If I Do Not Live

“I shall live badly if I do not write, and I shall write badly if I do not live.” – Francoise Sagan, playwright and novelist (21 Jun 1935-2004)

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Thought For the Day: The First Principle of Society Consists In the Marriage Tie, the Next In Children, the Next In A Family Within One Roof

“The first principle of society consists in the marriage tie, the next in children, the next in a family within one roof, where everything is in common. This society gives rise to the city, and is, as it were, the nursery of the commonwealth.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero

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Thought For the Day: Lying On A Federal Firearm Background Check Form Carries Up To 10 Years In Prison and Is A Felony. Not For Hunter Biden

“Lying on a federal firearm background check form carries up to 10 years in prison and is a felony. Not for Hunter Biden.” – Katie Pavlich

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First Principles: Of All the Dispositions and Habits Which Lead To Political Prosperity, Religion and Morality Are Indispensable Supports

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism who should labor to subvert these great Pillars of human happiness.” – George Washington (1796)

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First Principles: Peace, Commerce, and Honest Friendship With All Nations, Entangling Alliances With None

“….(P)eace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none” – Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Speech

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Thought For the Day: Since When Do We Have To Agree With People To Defend Them From Injustice?

“Since when do we have to agree with people to defend them from injustice?” – Lillian Hellman, playwright (20 Jun 1905-1984)

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Thought For the Day: There Are Only Two Kinds of Men: the Righteous Who Believe Themselves Sinners; the Sinners Who Believe Themselves Righteous

“There are only two kinds of men: the righteous who believe themselves sinners; the sinners who believe themselves righteous.” – Blaise Pascal, philosopher and mathematician (19 Jun 1623-1662)

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First Principles: To Render Us Again One People Acting As One Nation Should Be the Object of Every Man Really A Patriot

“To render us again one people acting as one nation should be the object of every man really a patriot.” – Thomas Jefferson (1801)

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Justified By God

DayDream Believer - Abandoned Church

Romans 5:1-8

Justified By God
by Michael Doyle

We pray to God to continue to learn
All these things we must do to discern
All these things of greatness we observe
Blessed in each moment that we serve

Justified by God we find our true peace
As in hope we from sin have our release
Through the sacrifice of Jesus and His love
So that we might yet find Heaven above

All our efforts made to get it right
Too often get it wronger than the night
Is blacker then we find by our own sight
But if we follow scripture, we just might

The thing is that salvation can’t be earned
This is a lesson that we have often learned
It comes with faith and the goodness of grace
Given to us solely by God’s divine embrace

The rewards we find are not given as reward
But through the gifts of God and learning toward
All those things that we know are Godly ways
That will take us to the very best of our holy days

Apart from Christ, it’s as if we remain nameless
But with His love, we are forgiven and blameless
Through His blood we finally come to our trust
That of the faithfulness by which it is that we must

The challenges of life come to be faced fully bold
By listening to the calling and doing as we are told
To follow the Lord out of our safe comfort zones
We come to rely on God and hope on Jesus alone

All the bad that happens is according to God’s plan
To make each of us into a better woman or man
From salvation we can never be subject to separation
However tragic we might find our immediate situation

Though at times we might feel weak, lost, and tire
And it might feel as though we’re walking through fire
We know that God will remain who He is unto end of time
And from this we can grow deep and sublime

There is much to be learned from times of adversity
Regardless of the suffering in all of its tragic immensity
God’s love pours out into the beats of our very hearts
By which we have known very best of our starts

From the very cross, Jesus chose to humbly forgive
Giving His own life that we might sufficiently live
Moving past the punishment of our deserved consequence
To earn instead, like children given, radical recompense

(c) June 18, 2023 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved

Le Cirque De La Nuit  - Lion Tamer

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The Restraint of Humility

La Isla de Belleza Locas - We Keep Looking For That Gold
The Restraint of Humility
by Michael Doyle

There is no doubt about where I place my treasure
This truth is notable beyond all measure
Introduced into a life of loving sacrifice
And this Father's Day is filled with peace, not strife

It is said that snow melts on the edges first
The church must serve to quench this thirst
It's a curious matter of the best of theology
That we must learn to grapple with mystery

In living out this separated sense of story
It is right to live not for ours, but God's glory
This is the glory foretold freely in the spirit
When God is truly speaking, open hearts can hear it

Three stages come; the first is given in salvation
The price of the cross is the model and explanation
Next then comes, our blessed sanctification
That leads to the freedom found in God's glorification

The forward motion of our spiritual journey
Recognizes the principled process of finding our destiny
Waiting to be reached for until it is attained
In the incarnation and affirmation that we have gained

Deity is what saves us and is found when we lose vanity
Because He understands us, having walked among humanity
Dwelling in the lure of sin and filled with grace
There is truth to be lived in inside His blessed embrace

Justice without mercy becomes the worse sort of tyranny
In all of this, the eyes must turn toward our legacy
The faith of our fathers has cost for the well-worn heart
With concern for living life out in all of its parts

The closer we become toward God in our unfolding story,
We become new creatures filled with sparks of God's glory
It's in the building of bridges we become reconciled
Bring us love and truth from which there is no denial

Trespasses no longer counted nor held against us
And each of us becoming ambassadors simply because
We are to bridge the gaps needed for revelation
It becomes known that Heaven is our life's destination

All pretentious preferences must be cast aside
The church of Heaven has no room for that pride
Multigenerational, multicultural in scope of vision
This multidenominational church has no need for precision

The "to-die-for" beliefs need to be discussed, not defended
This is the path of all those that are rightly friended
Blessed are the peacemakers within God's good family
Who walk toward reconciliation lived out in humility

...all for the sake of real unity...

(c) June 18, 2023 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Ash Falls 2023

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