frankly speaking

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

SEEK OR SOUGHT

Dear All of Us,

So, what do you think?

In our longing

for that one,

special, life-long

friend/mate,

do we wait it out,

wait to be sought out?

Or do we get out

and seek out that one,

special life-long

friend/mate?

YES

When it comes

to the God,

do we seek or

are we sought?

YES

Is it Abraham Heschel's

God's Search for Man,

Vicktor Frankl's

Man's Search for Meaning?

YES

It's the proverbial

twosided coin -

a unified,

complimentary

"two-fer"

all at once

In our spiritual desire for

The Ultimate, One, Special

Eternal Good God

We hurry up and wait.

Two Soul Sensitivities

at the very time.

Trusting that we are sought,

we wait.

All ears and eyes, heart and soul,

we seek.

Both necessary.

Each unique.

God seeks us.

We seek God.

That's what lovers do.

Both are an unfolding of

Love

God's and Ours

The seeking and being sought

can happen at the same time.

We hold a newborn baby

and sense God coming to us

and ourselves coming to God.

They can come about separately.

We are suddenly graced

as John Wesley was

that Pentecost Eve

when his heart was

"strangely warmed."

Sought

We read Richard Rohr and

find a contemplative

way to pray.

Seek

Sometimes we wait for one

or the other or both.

Sometimes we feel God

drawing us into moments of

profound, indescribable intimacy.

That's Soul Sought

At other times we seek God

in nature, in meditation,

in service, in........

That's Soul Seeking

Often we experience

being sought and seeking

in the same places and ways.

God "shows up" in:

prayer private and shared,

scripture,

the writings of mystics,

scientific research,

sharing,

caring for others,

love making,

a delightful dinner party,

Holy Communion,

great art and literature,

seeking justice for all,

a job well done,

in a simple kindness,

medical care,

a good education,

in our church,

at a State Park,

dancing and singing.

No matter

sought or seeking,

it's an unfolding -

sudden, slowly,

progressively, surprisingly,

a first ever, a regular.

One way and many

we hurry up and wait.

Forcing delays or destroys.

We don't try to get

a seven-year-old

to be a mystic on his

First Holy Communion Day,

but that could happen!!

God seeks us out

as God presents.

In our seeking

we find God

as God presents.

God just wants

our openness

and takes it from there.

Most basically,

God wants to be our

LOVER

There's a lot of surprise

to it whether it's

SEEK OR SOUGHT

******

FOT REFLECTION

What does The Spirit

Soul Say

to us?

"For thus says

the Lord God:

I, I myself will search

for my sheep and

will seek them out."

Ezekiel 34:11

"You will seek me

and find me,

when you seek me

with all your heart"

Jeremiah 29:13

"Rest in the Lord and

wait patiently for him."

Psalm 37:7

******

WELCOME

frankly speaking

spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

a weekly

ONLINE POSTING

Wednesday before noon

East Coast USA time

EMAIL DELIVERY

Fridays

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

BEST PRACTICES

Dear All of Us,

And you sure are just that -

ever so dear.

Here's hoping things go well

for each and every.

In regard to how things go,

a rather

pivotal/practical/personal

question.

Do we get ten miles ahead of

the next fad/fashion,

angling to be

"Chi Chi" sharp/successful?

Or do we hang back ten miles,

waiting to see how

it all proves out

and be safe secure

in an armored vehicle

of caution?

Now, I don't own any vehicles

other than a lightweight walker,

and I'm way too old

to jump at anything.

But then I do want

to keep moving

and stay abreast.

So, I guess

I'm mostly middle man.

I go for the mantra:

"Be not the first by whom

the new is tried,

nor the last by whom

the old is laid aside."

I'm not the first

in my neighborhood

to get the latest hula-hoop,

nor is our home

completely furnished in great,

great, grandmother's furniture.

When it comes to

our spiritual lives,

it's a major lift

to have

Proven

BEST PRACTICES

over the latest and

hottest spirituality fads,

such as every morning

beginning prayer time

by drinking eight glasses

of celery juice

spiked with paprika,

while standing

completely naked,

mentally picturing

peaceful and flowing

fields of flowers

and chanting

"UMMMMMMMM"

until we experience nirvana,

need to head for the restroom.

Then again, it's important

to leave behind practices

that are and need to be,

such as kneeling

up straight

on a cold, hard floor,

for two hours

slowly praying

a ten-page novena

to St. Flagelatio

after a dozen swips of

The Discipline

that sick, sordid,

supposedly ascetical,

Cat and Nine Tails.

Hey, Reductio ad Absurdum

sure helps makes the point!

Spiritually,

THE

BEST PRACTICE

is not to have one

until we first have

the best and right

attitude.

That means we turn off

the flashlight of control,

open wide

the shutters of self

and let

The Sun of Spirit

shine/sparkle

as it will.

Most of us need to do this

every thirty seconds or so!!

We are just that much

in the dark,

addicted to fussing with

our flashlights of control.

Any spiritual practices

are best if they are

appropriate to our

condition and potential.

An off the chart

Myers Briggs

extrovert does best with

a group/interactive retreat,

and certainly not an

Ignatian thirty day

silent one.

We happily high

introverts do best

the other way round.

Listening, deep and still,

putting into practice what

The Spirit

is what it all comes to.

"The work of the Holy Spirit

in our lives is to reveal to us

the truth of our being

so that the way of

our being can match it."

Wm. Paul Young

So Some

BEST PRACTICES

- soul soaking in

The Sacred Scriptures

- sitting on a park bench

watching the birds and

squirrels dance divine

- meditation, gentle deep

- reading solid

spiritual authors

such as

Joan Chichester

Richard Rohr

Rob Bell

Doroty Day

Henri Nouwen

Barbara Taylor Brown

Thomas Merton

Frederich Buechner

Evelyn Underhill

among many

- doing as Jesus counseled,

go to our room alone,

close the door and

pray to The Father -

that "room" can be

one with a door,

it can be outdoors,

but vey much

just the two of us

- that's got an active twin -

soul listening/loving

speaks us forth in

Lived Love

in extravagant

service and care

particular to our

situation and competence

- wholehearted participation

in a spiritual community -

the wisdom of folk religion

proves positive -

"We don't go to heaven alone"

- listening to The Spirit

leads us to see and share

our giftedness -

a living out of

God Gift Given

To Be Given

The Spiritual Gifts Inventory

online from

Discipleship Ministries

United Methodist Church

is free and quite good.

- Simplifying our lifestyle

so as not to be tied down

by stuff and busies.

That way others can be

lifted up to sufficiency and

we can be set free,

Present Centered

- Participating in retreats,

revivals, hymn sings,

bible studies,

small group ministries,

e.g. Men's Spirituality,

outreach ministries,

e.g. tutoring needful children

- various devotional practices,

e.g. Stations of the Cross,

rosary - important not to get

"thingy - clingy - culty""

with them-

use only as a clear

means to pray.

- fasting: from food,

social media, anything

that helps keep us from

the trap and tangle of

unreal control and comfort.

- take counsel with a wise and

spiritual director, or a wise and

deeply spiritual acquaintance

A BIGGIE:

be where we are,

be present to the present,

be in the flow of now,

be here,

that's where God is,

in the majesty and mess

of the moment,

be attuned, attentive,

Here and Now

that's where we

"Practice the

Presence of God"

The Presence

is always present.

We need to be as well,

present in The Presence.

If not, when we try

to activate some

spiritual "practice"

nothing real happens.

It's like turning on

a computer

that is not connected

to the power source.

Put another way,

be open, receptive,

and responsive to

The Presence

as and how it presents.

God is in what's going on,

all of it,

easy, hard, sweet, sour.

We need to be also.

Spiritually, we need to be

"Present to be accounted for."

Being on the phone

and the computer

while cooking supper

means being out of touch

and missing in action.

Absorbed and responsive

to immediacy is the best of

BEST PRACTES

As mentioned above,

before any particular practice

comes the going of control

and the opening to

The Spirit

Then we are clear and clean,

ready for

SPIRIT- ual

BEST PRACTICES

******

Whether this is our first

or our umpteenth

time together

it's just plan

WONDERFUL

that we all

are together

here at

frankly speaking

spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

a weekly

ONLINE POSTING

Each Wednesday morning

East Coast USA time

LAST FIVE POSTINGS

Please scroll beneath

the current online posting

EMAIL DELIVERY

Each Friday

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

PROGRESSIVE

Dear All of Us,

OH BOY!!

WHAT A KID!!

Oliver Martin Minnich

Ollie The Younger

My Grand Son

now two plus

and what a plus.

The other day Ollie

was sent home

from school

with a bit of a cold.

His Mom and Dad

had super important,

heavy duty schedules

at work.

They really just couldn't

spot each other.

So, could Ollie come over

to Grandma's

and Grandpa's?

Turned out to be

three wondrous days.

Of course, we did let

Ollie's parents

take him home at night!!

The days were calm,

filled with one on one

attention and activities:

Ollie helping make the batter

for blueberry pancakes,

and helping himself

to a lot of blueberries

that never made it

to the batter.

He loved

pressing play dough

into lots of shapes.

He knows the names

of all the shapes

by the way, and yes

I know I'm bragging.

There were animated

Sing Along enactments of

"The Wheels on the Bus"

and

"Itsy Bitsy Spider".

With the star shapes he sang

"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."

There were reams of

colored marker artwork,

Museum of Modern Art ready.

Storybook time,

bubbles and balls

out in the park and so

much delightfully more

filled the days.

Ollie even woke up

from his nap

singing in the crib.

I mean this was

GOOD!!

The following

Monday morning

Ollie's Mom explained

that after breakfast

Mommy and Daddy

were going to work

and Ollie was going

to Bambini (his school).

Ollie chimed in with

an alternate scenario.

"No.

Mommy and Daddy work,

Ollie Grandma and Grandpa!"

A two-year-old knows

what's going on

and can say so.

All this is long way round

- and I sure as heck

enjoyed sharing it -

The Bible is

PROGRESSIVE

The Bible writers knew

what was going on

and how to say so.

Like Ollie, that was

in terms of how far

they had progressed,

how far they

had matured,

in understanding

and its expression.

Read about

Adam and Eve

and read Paul.

What a progression

in both understanding

and expression.

The Sacred Scriptures

are surely sacred

and just as surely

scripted in the

sensing and saying

of their writers.

Limited bespeaks

the Unlimited

in a limited way.

We need

to understand that

when we read them.

Grandma and I

understand Ollie

as a two-year-old,

not as a Harvard

doctoral candidate.

He'll' be heard then

as he is then.

Right now he's

a wonderful

two-year-old.

He thinks and

speaks as such.

It works the same

with bible writers.

We misunderstand them

if we don't read them

in terms of their time,

circumstance and the

maturity of their

understanding and

the expression of it.

The sacred scriptures

say God

in people parlance.

The parlance of

primitive writers

is primitive.

The parlance of

later writers

reflects growth

and progress in

understanding,

consciousness and

expression.

Throughout,

the human

is the medium

for The Divine.

Human goodness

and evil,

expansiveness

and limit,

find themselves scripted.

There's excellence

and there's error.

What's recounted are

the frequent

three steps forward

and two backward

of the Chosen People

and often of the teller

in the telling.

For instance: over time

exile, slavery,

liberating exodus,

fidelity, infidelity,

maturing, mauling

and murder,

freedom and failing,

hope, renewal.

The values, insights,

imagery, and articulation,

are right from

central casting

of the writer's

time and place.

The ancients were at times

regressive

as they grew

PROGRESSIVE

The scriptures

reflect and recount

both and all.

A literal translation,

to say nothing of

a literal understanding,

of scripture can

at times mean

misrepresentation and

misunderstanding.

Example:

John 10:14

The Message

"I am the good Shepherd.

I know my own sheep

and my own sheep

know me.

In the same way,

the Fahrer knows me

and I know the Father.

I put the sheep

before myself,

sacrificing myself

if necessary."

In contemporary English

"to know"

means

to rationally understand.

It's cerebral, a head thing

and the knowing is limited

and not necessarily either

participative or causative.

As such, it is a

lame and limp translation

of the original Hebrew.

In Hebrew

"To know"

is bodied and passionate

love making

hot, sweet sex,

being swept away

into each other.

Deepest intimacy.

We note Mary:

"How can this be

as I do not

know man?"

Luke 1:34

With Jesus and us

"to know"

each other

is to make love,

melt into a oneness

just as Jesus and

the Father do.

And to top it off,

in the original Hebrew

it is not

"father"

as in English,

the one who

spermed us

and supports us.

The closest

we can come

to the marvel

of the word

in Hebrew is

"Daddy,"

the guy who's

always there for us,

who would do

anything for us

no matter

what it cost him,

the one who

cozy's us up

on his lap and

rocks us to safe,

serene sleep.

Now those wordings

are pulsating,

joyous and unitive,

about as far from

"to know "and "father"

as the hot sun is from

the cold, dark night

earth.

Sacred Scripture

is written only in

the present tense

of the writer's then,

there and how -

consciousness and

context.

When it comes

to scripture

it's either

keep it to

a perfunctive,

surface sense,

and that at the risk

of being unmoved

and unmoving,

or go deep

and never stop

marinating in the

message and meaning.

Sacred Scripture has

a pantry full of marinates.

The latter means

prayerful wonder,

a Study Bible

and commentaries

pluming the levels,

tones, texture, tinting,

context and senses

of scripture.

References

offered below

Originally the scriptures

were read and

considered communally,

as the people "gathered"

(L."ecclesia" - "church").

Back then there were

no printed copy's,

for solo reading,

just an expensive,

single copy which often

circulated through a

number of communities.

Best to get back

to communal hearing

and sharing.

It gives The Spirit

a lot more space

to sweep us deep.

Hopefully little Ollie

will grow in

experience, understanding,

expression and sharing

as he matures

over the years.

Hopefully we will as well

as we grow into living

The Word of Life,

as we mature and grow

ever more

spiritually and scripturally

PROGRESSIVE

******

REFERENCES

AND

RESOURSES

THINGS HIDDEN

SCRIPTURE AS

SPIRITUALITY

Richard Rohr, 2008,

Franciscan Media,

Cincinnati OH

ISBN

978-0-86716-659-0

Hands down,

THE BEST

I know for the

general public.

Readable, insightful,

takes you where

you need to go

clearly and simply.

******

WHAT DO WE DO

WITH THE BIBLE?

Richard Rohr, 2018,

The Center for Action

and Contemplation,

Albuquerque, NM,

ISBN

978-0-281-08321-3

Short, clear and concise.

Quite helpful.

******

THE INTERPRETER'S BIBLE

1957, Abington Press,

Nashville, TN, 12 Volumes,

Genesis to Revelation.

My "Go To" resource.

Good scholarship.

Lots there!

Individual volumes

or the whole set

are available from

Used Book Stores

and generally

at a reasonable price.

******

THE NEW

INTERPRETER'S

BIBLE

A COMMENTARY

TWELVE VOLUMEES

1995, Abington Press,

Nashville, TN,

ISBN

0-687-27822-8

A different format

and tenor than

the predecessor above

- quite good, pricey.

******

WELCOME

frankly speaking

spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

a weekly

******

A Happy Hearty Shout Out

the expanding and extensive

gathering in here of so many

Sisters and Brothers

from

Singapore

You are welcome

We are blessed

"Behold, how good

and how pleasant

it is for brethren

to dwell together

in unity."

Psalm 133;1

IT SURE IS!!!

******

ONLINE POSTING

Wednesday mornings

East Coast USA time

LAST FIVE POSTINGS

Scroll down below

current online posting

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Each Friday

online posting

AS ALWAYS

MOST GRATEFUL

to all who share

frankly speaking

with others.

You are the

Circulation

Department

here and

much appreciated.

I am already

looking foreword

to all of us

being together

here next week.

Love to all.

God Bless,

John Frank

aka

Ollie The Elder

******

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

SERENE

CONFESSION

It's said that confession

is good for the soul and it is.

That doesn't make it easy, though.

So, here's my confession anyway.

This week's blog

is right out of my wrong

the other day.

I know of what I write here.

I lost it big time and

didn't keep it to myself.

There was collateral damage.

Oh Lord, be merciful

to me a sinner.

Oh Lord, thank you

for putting all the pieces

of this Humpty Dumpty

together again,

centering me in your

Wholeness

John Quite Frank

******

Dear All of Us,

Sometimes we just can't cope.

People and problems,

self and situation,

are way too much.

We go

BONKERS!

Our manner and behavior

are plain out

"For the birds!"

More than feathers fly.

We are jarred, off key,

ticked, out of sorts, flipped,

not nice to be around.

We've lost it.

We can't handle.

Coping, composure, calm

are out of the question,

out of reach.

Seems we just

"Don't have a prayer."

Well, actually we do.

THE NEW SERENITY PRAYER

God, grant me the serenity

to accept the people I can't change,

which is pretty much everyone,

since I'm clearly not you, God.

At least the last time I checked.

And while you're at it, God,

please give me the courage

to change what I need to change

about myself, which is frankly a lot,

since, once again, I'm not perfect.

It's better for me to focus on

changing myself than to worry about

changing other people, who,

as you'll no doubt remember me saying,

I can't change anyway.

Finally, give me the wisdom

to just shut up

whenever I think that

I'm clearly smarter

than everyone else in the room,

that no one knows

what they're talking about

except me,

or that I alone

have all the answers.

Basically, God,

grant me the wisdom

to remember that

I'm not you.

Amen

******

Thanks to the folks at

America| Media

for this praying us

SERENE.

******

For further ponder and prayer

please see below for

SCRIPTURE SERENE

******

SPECIAL ANNONCEMENT

We're in for a special surprise

next week.

In the words of Jackie Gleason's

Ralph Cranston

"How sweet it is!!"

(Yah, it's a generational thing

but hey, those

Saturday Nights Really Were Live!!)

Anyway, just wait til you see!!

NEXT WEEK

Posting Title:

PROGRESSIVE

Posting Dates:

Wednesday, September 6th.

through

Tuesday, September 12th.

******

A great big,

WELCOME

to all together

here at

frankly speaking

spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

I'm not sure just

how to say this,

so I'll just say it

straight out and

that right from my heart.

This week more than

five hundred of us

together here at

frankly speaking

are from

Singapore

That's not

at all important

as a statistic.

It is wildly wonderful

as a

HOLY COMMUNION

Thank You

Sisters and Brothers

from

Singapore

for the gift of

YOU

and our

UNITY

******

frankly speaking

a weekly

ONLINE POSTING

Wednesday mornings

East Coast USA time

LAST FIVE POSTINGS

Just scroll down below

the current online posting

EMAIL DELIVERY

Each Friday

at top of online posting.

Here in the USA this week

it is Labor Day Celebration .

Blessings on all as we labor

here, there, and everywhere.

"Laborare Est Orare"

"To Work Is To Pray"

St. Benedict

******

PONDER PRAYER

SCRIPTURE SERENE

"Don't fret or worry.

Instead of worrying, pray.

Let petitions and praises

shape your worries into prayer,

letting God know your concerns.

Before you know it,

a sense of God's wholeness,

everything coming together

for good, will come

and settle you down.

It's wonderful what happens

when Christ displaces worry

at the center of your life.

Philippians 4:4-7

The Message

When we are upset,

how do we get

set back up again?

What's our "go to"?

What do we make/take

of what Paul presents above

about getting above our downs?

A top spins only if

well centered.

When we spin out,

will we let Christ

displace worry

"...at the center

of your life",

be the center

of our life??

Are we willing to shape

our worries into prayer,

letting God know

our concerns?

When we're undone,

pieces of us all

over the place,

we are invited

to blow it all off to God

and let God center us,

put the pieces

together again, so that

"a sense of God's wholeness,

everything coming together for good,

will come and settle you down."

Beats Prozac!!

******

Praying us all

God Centered

Soul Serene

See you next week.

Love to all,

John Frank

******

I pray us all

SERENE

See you next week.

Love to all

John Frank

******

What's Going On Here?

Well, after you scope out " frankly speaking, " you'll have your own take on that, and that's the one that counts. As the guy at this end of " frankly speaking " ( the Frank in " frankly speaking " ), here's my take on what's going on here. I'm in the last lap of earth life, smart enough to know that I don't know a hell of a lot, and wise enough to to recognize that that I sure as heaven do have a few things to share. And " share " is the motivation, manner and motif here. It goes with the turf of old age - you want to see the kids ( of whatever chronological age ) make it , so give 'em the best you've got. MORE >