“The only foundation for… a republic is to be laid in Religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments.” – Benjamin Rush
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First Principles: “The Only Foundation For…A Republic Is To Laid in Religion. Without This There Can Be No Virtue, and Without Virtue There Can Be No Liberty
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Benjamin Rush, First Principles, Founation, Liberty, Object and Life, Religion, Republic, Republican Government, Virtue
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Rumors Had It
Rumors Had It
by Michael Doyle
After my day filled with too much birthday celebration,
I am looking back with joyous contemplation.
Rumors had it that I would die 13 years ago.
Here on my 63rd birthday, it only goes to show.
That like a rock that keeps on incessantly rolling,
The moss in my life is where I keep on strolling.
Walking and photographing beautiful nature preserves,
And living as much life as this man deserves.
Sixty-three candles flicker in their shadow play.
Here I am, with nothing all that wise to say.
The sarcoidosis that came to scar my lungs and body,
Hasn't stopped me much despite its disability.
Today I woke up, and that's always a good day.
My youngest made chicken and waffles the right way.
Maybe that's the secret to getting life's miles,
It's a lifetime of pleasure and satisfied smiles.
Memories linger across the fabric of life's tapestry.
Each thread linked and stitched, filled with mastery.
Of all the lessons I've learned every day and night
Have taken away the darkness to fill my soul with light.
Sixty-three candles flicker in their shadow play.
Here I am, with nothing all that wise to say.
The sarcoidosis that came to scar my lungs and body,
Hasn't stopped me much despite its disability.
My life has so many stories yet to gently unfold.
There are songs to sing and stories yet to be told.
Life's canvas is vibrant and meant to be lived bold.
And miles to travel with your hand to hold.
Life is a gift drifting through time's river softly.
Fleeting seconds of joy and happiness complete me.
Until the day that my Lord calls me home, I will live.
With all the beauty I can see and the truth I can give.
Sixty-three candles flicker in their shadow play.
Here I am, with nothing all that wise to say.
The sarcoidosis that came to scar my lungs and body,
Hasn't stopped me much despite its disability.
(c) December 23, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged :Light, Birthday, Candles, Chicken and Waffles, Contemplation, Darkness, Daughter, Flickr, Good Day, Lessons, Life, Life's iles, Memories, Moss, Nature Preserve, Photography, Poetry, Poetry and Poems, Rock, Roll, Rumor, Sarcoidosis, Shadow Play, Smiles, Soul, Stroll, Tapestry, Wake Up, Wise, Writing, Youngest
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Thought For the Day: Wherever You Go, Go With All Your Heart
“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” – Confucius
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Confucius, First Principles, Go, Heaart, Wherever, You
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First Principles: Among the Natural Rights of the Colonists Are These: First A Right To Life, Secondly To Liberty, and Thirdly To Property; Together With the Right To Defend Them In the Best Manner They Can
“Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: First a right to life, secondly to liberty, and”” thirdly to property; together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can.” – Samuel Adams
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Best Manner, Colonists, Defend, First Principles, Liberty, Natural Rights, Property, Right To Life, Samuel Adams
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A Short Story of Jesus, Part II
A Short Story of Jesus, Part II
by Michael Doyle
It came to pass as it was foretold,
That Jesus grew into being about 30 years old.
While in the wilderness, John called for repentance
Knowing that his cousin would be of great consequence.
Shouting in the desert for all to hear,
John the Baptist told all that God's kingdom was near.
The Lamb of God came to take away the world's sin,
And was baptized to walk among mankind once again.
In the Jordan River, Jesus underwent His immersion,
Though being God, He had no need for spiritual conversion.
The time had come for the Father and He to know true union,
As the Holy Spirit sowed the seeds of this holy communion.
The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus with great precision,
And announced to the world that Jesus was on His mission.
For forty days, Jesus was subjected to great temptation.
Satan failed as Jesus withstood His tests in anticipation
Of the very words that were once written,
Refusing in all ways to take any paths hidden.
Defeating Satan by the Word of God alone.
Jesus came as the sacrifice through which mankind atones.
In an all to human world filled with burning sin,
Jesus urged his first disciples to become fishers of men.
The twelve came together to work in offering holy service.
Each of them came to serve this very purpose.
Loving faith came to return sight to the blind
With none but the keeper of sins to be left behind.
Just a little mud rubbed into the eyes,
And with this miracle, even cripples began to rise.
Unclean spirts and hypocrites who live for earthly power
Were unhappy as the Son of Man claimed His holy hour.
To believe exceeds the best of almost any feeling.
With such faith, there is only Heaven's healing.
The Son of God was born with full authority.
This was unbearable to the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
From Jerusalem to the shores of Galilee,
The religious leaders tried to trap him with heresy.
Convicted by their own sins, no man could throw a stone.
One by one, they slipped away, leaving Jesus and the woman alone.
God asks only that we grow to sin no more,
And that heavenly treasures exceed being spiritually poor.
God walked among us for our own well-being and good,
To serve us in our needs as He, God, understood.
Our worldly hunger causes us to eat many a full dish...
While Jesus brings the nourishment of the loaf and the fish.
(c) December 22, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Atone, Bible, Blind, Christianity, Consequence, Conversion, Faith, Fishers of Men, Full Authority, God, God's Kingdom, Holy Communiion, Holy Spirit, Immersion, Jesus, John the Baptist, Jordan River, Lamb of God, Mission, Poetry and Poems, Purpose, Repetace, Short Story, Sin, Temptation, Walk, Word of God, World's Sin
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Thought For the Day: I Have Not Failed. I’ve Just Found 10,000 Ways That Won’t Work.
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas A. Edison
As the new year approaches, and we still find so much yet to be done and/or improved on, it is wise to keep this in mind. If it has not worked before, it’s not a failure. It’s that we have yet to find what will. f this philosophy was good enough for Edison and Churchill, why is it not good enough to carry us through to our own victories?
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Fail, Ten Thousand, Thomas A. Edison, Thought For the Day, Ways, Work
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First Principles: It Seems To Be A Law of Nature, Inflexible and Inexorable, That Those Who Will Not Risk Cannot Win
“It seems to be a law of nature, inflexible and inexorable, that those who will not risk cannot win.” – John Paul Jones
Posted in First Principles
Tagged First Priiciples, Inexorable, Inflexible, John Paul Jones, Law of Nature, Risk, Win
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The Joy of Repentance
The Joy of Repentance
by Michael Doyle
We are thankful for time together.
We know the Word makes life better.
Joy, peace, and hope add up to adoration.
That gives this time, its fascination.
Each of us would love to employ
Those things that bring every day joy.
Music brings us a bit of sunshine
That makes the modern church, yours and mine.
Isaac Watts converted the Psalms onto his page
So that each song anticipated the coming age.
With every note that we sing,
We open our hearts before our heavenly king.
Incarnation opens all to vulnerability.
This is true of al regardless of capability.
The Second Coming will be something permanent.
This is predicted in every twinkle in the firmament.
A joyful noise is hear throughout creation.
It will be heard without cessation.
Every heart must and will prepare Him room,
With the light of God removing all gloom.
In the beginning, the Word was there.
So, why would any man have cause to fear?
The world is is rescued from infernal night,
And is filled with the Lord's holy light.
It is ours to accept or reject God's love,
In choosing sanctified life from above.
We must accept or reject God's warning,
Becoming one with God's family n our new morning.
This life has no room for circumspection,
Jesus is or isn't the truth of our resurrection
Our joy is found in our sanctification.
It is found reigning over all of creation.
The truth can come across harsh and loud.
It has a way of thinning out the crowd.
Joy can only come when we are able to tender
The sum of ourselves in total surrender.
It comes down to our human acceptance,
That our joy is predicated on our repentance.
Turning away from our erroneous ways,
To find ourselves spent in our better days.
We fin ourselves turning away from the wrong
To find the truth and give in to where we belong.
The truth of this, we find with abundant grace.
We find this in God and in His joy that we embrace.
Jesus, is the way, the truth, and the light.
It's only in finding Him that we become right.
In all love, there is only truthful way.
God gave His only begotten son that we might be this okay.
Our invitation isn't to simply worship.
It is to from with God the right relationship.
We bridged this gap on the cross at Calvary
When God sanctified Himself and gave us eternity.
The God of wonders works inside our hearts.
He has done so since creation's start.
God see us and delivers us as we are,
No matter if we need to travel near or far.
(c) December 21, 2025 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserve
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Adoration, Bible, Christianity, Faith, God, Hope, Incarnation, Isaac Watts, Jesus, Joy, Modern Church, Peace, Poetry and Poems, Pslams, Repentance, Second Cominig, Time Together
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First Principles: In the Same Way, Let Your Light Shine Before Others, That They May See Your Good Deeds and Glorify Your Father In Heaven
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:16 NIV
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Father, First Principles, Glorification, Good Deeds, Heaven, Light, Matthew 5:16 NIV, Others, Same Way, Shine
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Thought For the Day: There Are Only Two Things of Which I Am Sure: One Is That I Am A Miserable Sinner; and the Other, That Christ Is An All-Sufficient Savior
“When I was young, I was sure of many things; now there are only two things of which I am sure: one is, that I am a miserable sinner; and the other, that Christ is an all-sufficient Saviour. He is well-taught who learns these two lessons.” – John Newton
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Christ, John Newton, Learn, Many Things, Miserable Sinner, Savior, Sure, Thought For the Day, Two Things, Well-Taught, Young
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ALOHA PROMISES FOREVER 