LIVING IT UP

   

   Dear All of Us,

     Come on!

   Let's fasten

  our seat belts

        and

   try a touch

         of

    Fantasy Fun

  Here goes!

Our never met,

nor ever known, 

common cousin

five times removed

is skink'n wealthy.

He is a quirky recluse

living in a 

super spectacular, 

outlandishly

high tech villa

high in the Andes.

He recently had 

a delivery 

of one of those 

new fangled

      AI Gizmos

and he traced us all down.

Now, he's big into both  

surprises and generosity.

So, look in your 

mailbox,

ok your email,

for a special delivery notice.

By supper tonight,

in your favorite color,

in your driveway,

will be the most

outstandingly crafted,

quality controlled,

exquisitely engineered, 

absolutely newest, hottest, 

Twin Torgue,

789 horse power, 

         V8

   Lamborghini.

        AND

in your bank account 

will be $500,000

for gas and insurance.

The absolutely only thing 

to do is hop in 

and go like hell.

Leaving it on the driveway

for fear of getting a dent in it

is sheer stupid.

OK, back down to earth 

about lifting up

heavenly things,

and out pacing 

any Lamborghini.

We human beings are

divinely created and crafted.

The genius, intricacy, potential

of us leaves a Lamborghini 

          in the dust 

and any amount of money 

          worthless.

The only thing to do is

hop into full torque living 

and go like heaven!

Sitting still for 

fear of anything 

is sheer stupid.

We are given 

      US

to go full tilt at 

 LIVING IT UP

Long ago 

there was a

deeply wise Bishop 

and Doctor of the Church

- Saint Irenaeus - 

He put us right,

said it simple straight:

  

  "The glory of God 

    is a human being 

    fully alive."

       WOW!  

What gets God 

going and glowing 

is us doing just that!

The HOT that is GOD

fires up, flames forth,

glows baby, glows

through us fully 

LIVING IT UP

We're created to 

   GOD GLOW

to let light shine 

through every 

bit and brilliance 

      of us.

No body shaming allowed.

No self-doubting permitted.

No bunker hiding possible.

No inferiority complexes.

We are all more than 

      life ready 

in our unique customizing.

So go glow we do.

Extroverts dizzy dance life.

Introverts slow waltz it.

Talents, traits, 

gifts, graces, 

all ignited, ablaze  

in their fullness.

It's Glorious.

We tend to think 

that we give glory 

     to God.

Actually, it's dual deal.

God radiates out 

from our center.

        It's 

        US

   Living It Up

It's God Glorious.

In our Fun Fantasy

that Lamborghini

is valued around 

    $350,000

We are priceless:

" I thank you, High God -

  you're breathtaking!

  Body and soul, 

  I am marvelously made!

  I worship in adoration -

  what a creation!"

       Psalm 139: 14

       The Message

 "God spoke:

  'Let us make

  human beings 

  in our image, 

  make them 

  reflecting 

  our nature.'"

      Genesis 1: 26

       The Message

 "reflecting" God's Nature.

     Awesome glorious!

Talk about 

exquisite engineering.

What quality control.

That eight cylinder

Lamborghini

wouldn't dream

of firing

on a cylinder or two.

Nor should we.  

The denizens of 

      foul up

dictate only select sorts

are road worth in life, 

permitted in the 

fast lane.

They're driving backward 

on a detour.

We can't let them 

slow us down 

or misdirect us.

We're too busy 

zipping along

Route Real

Living It Up

We're comfortable 

in our own skin.

It's God Given.

It's how God wants 

to happen in us, 

through us,

Glow Glorious 

      in us.

That's awesome 

     sacred.

We fire on every 

God Given 

ability, talent,

shape, tone,

  particular,

     of us

     as is, 

as God Given, 

as God Glowing 

as we are

Living It Up.

  ******

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              thanks!

           How Great!

We get to be God's Campfire

     for those around us.

     See you next week

          Love to all

          God Bless

         John Frank

           ******

   

 

HERE AND THERE

 

Dear All of Us,

Bless the Brits.

Such a dear people.

Magnificent cathedrals,

Shakespear to

passionate football.

Right about so much,

except driving on the 

wrong side of the road

    (just joshing)

Often understated.

Clipped and crisp 

in expression:

     "There, There,"

       for comforting.

      "Here Here!" 

       for affirmation.

Those two expression 

applied variously, 

bespeak for

the Brits and 

all the rest of us,

how we are

are victims of 

"There There"

overwhelming our

 "Here Here."

People are in pain,

scared, depressed.

The media drops 

   all the world 

         out    

       THERE

   on us in our 

       HERE

It is this an

incessant flood 

of what's going on" there"

raining down on us "here."

It's a tsunami of

information, opinion, 

persuasion, propaganda, 

trivia, fact and falsification.

Our heads and hearts 

are swamped.

We just don't know how 

to float our boat in it all.

The media just now 

is like a herd  

young stallions,

unbroken,

powerful, promising, 

sleek and fast, 

difficult and dangerous.

The horse breeders 

let them run uncontrolled.

They, too, are 

wild and unregulated

as they rake in fortunes

letting loose this stampede 

of worldwide there 

all over us in our right here.

Two metaphors 

for media too much.

It dehumanizes.

It debilitates.

It depresses.

Our spiritual lives 

are stillness deprive, 

souls and psyches 

whipped wide wild.

We need to live the way 

God fashioned us.

We do not and 

we cannot live 

all over the world,

and be responsive

to all that happens 

       THERE

  We are located 

    and limited.

 We thrive in our    

        HERE

We can even move 

to another here,

but we need a here.

Let's really 

see and say it -

we can't live or

cope with every there.

Everywhere is nowhere.

We do well to know 

there are lots 

of "here's" out

    THERE

    But we 

need to heed 

that we are 

structured, 

for living in our 

     HERE

our hometown, 

in our version of

 "Home, home

  on the range,"

 in our

 "Home Sweet Home,"

  in our homeland 

  at our address right

        HERE

Otherwise, 

things go wacky wrong.

And they have.

We do not need to know 

that there was 

a shooting and deaths

at a birthday party 

there in Louisville

last week unless 

Louisville is our here.

We are not structured 

to hear and process 

     nonstop 

"news and views"

 about too much 

 from too many

 about all sorts of

    THERE 

  geographic

  ideological

  ethnic

  religious

  political

  social

  cultural

When blitzed

we cave in 

or strike out.

Corporations, 

politicians, 

pundits,

propagandists, 

advertisers, 

join in causing 

this cultural cascade 

and its conflicts

- and discernably  

       not with 

   the highest of 

       motives.

Let's sharpen the pencil.

There are lots of 

    Here and There

in God's Good Creation:

    great diversity

    of location,

      of manner and mode of life,

    of culture and custom,

    of political and spiritual persuasion.

There are lots 

     of right on real people,

     of wrong and wronging people,

     of principled conservatives 

        and liberals.

     of hard-hearted, 

     block headed conservatives

     and opiniated air head liberals.

Whether we accept it or not, 

that's how it is.

We need to know that.

We do not need to know 

all about all of that

all the time.

If we try we short out,

spin out.

All this in no way means

we are to bury our heads 

in the sand and

bunker our hearts

in vaults of insensitive isolation.

We need to know and care

about our world oneness.

It gets debilitating when 

our attention and 

outlay of concern 

are unfiltered,

obsessive and constant. 

Our spiritual lives 

suffer to stifle.

Overwhelmed by 

what's going on

   worldwide

and in every diverse

nook and cranny

and happening 

of our nation,

we fail to be 

resident and vigorous 

in our right now and

        HERE

and that is where 

we locate to live

God Good Life. 

        

         Again, 

everywhere is nowhere.

         In the 

wisdom and graciousness

         of God 

   we are invited to 

       come alive

          love  

        enliven 

         HERE 

A new and necessary 

spiritual discipline 

is to refuse the addition

to distraction that is

  Media Madness.

We have lots of good 

     to be and do.

It's diabolical to be 

drawn off, distracted,

      depressed,

psychically neutered

out of it, to be

missing in the action

right here and now.

    Let's "Here it."

     

      We bloom 

where we are planted

and that is exactly right

     "HERE HERE!"

          ******

                                                 POSTSCRIPT

                This week's blog about HERE AND THERE, about Media Madness,

                was completed Saturday afternoon, July 13, 2024.

                Late that afternoon there was a horrendous shooting in Butler, PA

                at a Trump For President Rally. A bystander was killed, two others were 

                critically wounded. The shooter was killed. Former President Tramp

                was shot in the ear, an inch or so from a most likely death.

                That tragedy THERE is something that we in our HERE  

                certainly need the media to report - factually, clearly, completely, 

                not incessantly, sensationally, nor politically. 

                We in our HERE cannot do much about the anger, vitriol and violence 

                in all the THERE'S of our nation and world

                                                    EXCEPT

                in our HERE we can recommit to practical love of each other, 

                tolerance and acceptance of different people and persuasions,

                and non-violent responses to hurt and frustration. Each of us is a cell 

                in The Body Politic across the THERE of our nation and world. 

                Each can make a difference for a peaceable whole.                   

                                                                

                                                      We 

                                                     HERE 

                                                hear and heed 

                                                      Jesus

                           - " Those who draw the sword die by the sword."

                                                 Matthew 26:52

                          - "Peace I leave you, my peace I give you."

                                                   John 14:27

                          - "I say to you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, 

                             do good to them that hate you, and pray for them 

                             that despitefully use you, and persecute you."

                                                     Matthew 5: 43-44

                                                         HERE HEAR

                                                            ******

                                                    

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               to

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      God is Here and There.

      God put us HERE.

                 YES!

         Peace be with you.

            Even better,

           we get to be    

              peace.

           God Bless

              and 

           Tallyho!

        John Frank

          ******

      

             

JUST KIDDING

Dear All of Us,

"Hey, Come on!

 I'm just kidding."

Real Life Translations:

   "Don't take it seriously."

   "Nothing of consequence."

        JUST KIDDING

           around

      

          Kidding     

   Well, we like kids,

            but

they don't figure big in 

our social calculations 

of success and count

until and less

they are competent, 

competitive achievers.

That's when they are 

of consequence and 

to be taken seriously,

no kidding about it!

That's the current 

culture curve.

That's essentially 

how the disciples

felt when they 

were trying 

to shoo the kids 

away from Jesus.

Kids don't qualify 

for prime time.

Oh Yah?

   But Jesus called 

   the children to him 

   and said,

  "Let the little children

   come to me, and

   do not hinder them,

   for the kingdom of God 

   belongs to such as these. 

   I tell you the truth, 

   anyone who 

   will not receive 

   the kingdom of God 

   like a little child

   will never enter it."

   Luke 18: 16- 17

Is Jesus just being 

a bit poetic here,

a touch of soothing

       Hallmark

     kid cute stuff

     but decidedly

   JUST KIDDING? 

What's he talking about?

His talk just isn't  

in the language of

Wall Street, 

Madison Avenue,

The World Bank,

politics,

clergy advancement,

military ranking,

Walmart,

sports,

entertainments.

Definitely not in 

the curriculum at 

The Harvard School 

of Business.

That's for sure!

That's because 

all those are 

articulations,

dialects of 

    Empire.

Jesus speaks an

altogether different

      life lingo.

Jesus invites us to 

take a pass on Empire.

Sure, we have to 

live and work 

in the midst of it -

in it but not of it.

Jesus invites us into 

  Kingdom of God 

     Realm Real

       in our 

   here and now 

    our forever

And yes, Jesus is

 JUST KIDDING

The only way in 

is the way of kids

- simple, straightforward,

  unqualified, wholehearted 

  receiving of a good:

"I tell you the truth,

 anyone who will 

 not receive the 

 kingdom of God

 like a little child

 will never enter it."

  It's pure gift.

  All it takes is 

  a lived yes,

  indeed, 

  a lively yes

  just like kids.

You know what?

This is so simple  

I'm having 

a hard time 

trying to say it.

Hey, I'm going 

to take a brake. 

Be back!

          ******

   GONE SWIMMING

          ******

OK, I'm back on

the blog job.

Talk about 

"kidding" around.

I got to our pool.

There was a dad 

and his kids already

in the water.

They were having 

one uproarious,

heaven of a good time,

the kids squealing 

in delight 

as their dad 

flipped them, 

swirled them, 

squirted them,

danced them around.

Dad was delighted 

in delighting.

No letup or 

slow down to it.

Sheer glee all round.

          THAT'S

   what receiving the

     kingdom of God 

      like a child is.

         ACCEPT

         ALL IN

    totally engaged 

    as dad delights.

And if things tangle up, 

       God Dad 

straightens them out.

Now, here's 

the really hard part.

The single most 

terrible sin the

  Establishment Church

has ever committed is 

to have watered down, 

papered over,

dumbed up,

what it takes 

to get life right,

to get in on the 

Kingdom of God.

It complicated, 

compromised  

entrance 

to kingdom life 

at the pass.

The Establishment 

       Church, 

bought into Empire, 

it's ways and deceits,

established itself 

as absolutely necessary, 

as the only key into

 The Kingdom of God,

clergy at the controls.

Rules, routines, rituals,

doctrines, dogmas, 

disciplines, hierarchies,

to choke the soul.

So, lots of folks took a look,

didn't see much heaven 

in it all, said

     "The hell with it" 

        and bailed. 

        See the 

damnable damage done.

Others were seduced 

into life-long struggling,

trying to qualify,

wrack up the points, 

and be able 

to get a ticket 

to the Kingdom 

     Hereafter

      through

Church Incorporated.

See the perversion, 

the distraction from God.

The Establishment Church

has either run people off,

or duped the majority 

who stick around 

into settling for 

a surface religiosity

 - believe these things,

 - observe the rules and regulations

 - show up for the required rituals

 - avoid sin, most especially

   cooking the books at work,

   having sex outside of marriage,

   loosing your temper or fibbing

 - for the eager beavers, 

   work hard at the spiritual disciples,

   wrack up even more points

   getting holy

   so you can go first class

   to the kingdom of Hereafter.

   

A lot of chasing the wrong rabbit.

By contrast, when we simply,

like a child invited 

to a birthday party, 

accept the gift of 

kingdom life,

we joyously join in

going full court 

living the Gospel

together in community. 

Our valve system, lifestyle,

finances, family and social life,

practical commitment 

to justice for the earth 

and all her people

are God's Love Lived 

at our address.

Please know there is 

a vast void between 

    The Church 

          and 

The Establishment 

        Church

My experience pastoring

over fifty-five years

in two denominations,

in parishes, teaching, 

administration,

clergy mentoring, 

spiritual companioning, 

retreats and writing

has shown me that 

denominations, 

churches,

religious institutions

are all a mix of 

       The Church

        and sadly

The Establishment Church

It's critical to know that 

and the degree of that.

I hear Richar Rohr on this.

He counsels living on 

the edge of the inside.

Often that's the best 

we can find and do.

Whatever our 

ecclesial address,

we can do the Jesus

   JUST KIDDING

  Jesus revealed that

      Kingdom Life   

             is 

     God in the pool

inviting us to come on in,

       be loved alive.

Jesus lived and taught

     Kingdom Life

He modeled it for us.

His Spirit 

energizes us for it.

We just need 

to jump in. 

Just for the record, the 

Establishment Church

has done much good. 

Horribly, though,

it tried to take 

God's place. 

It got in God's way 

and our way in God.

Meister Eckart 

nailed the simple 

in a simple way:

    "All God wants 

     of you 

     is to get out 

     of the way 

     and let God 

     be God in you."

That goes for 

each of us, 

all of us 

     The Church

   "The Gathered"

around dad in the pool.

Come on!

Let's head for the pool.

I mean that in

the best sense of

keeping it simple, 

like the little ones 

Jesus holds 

before us by his

 JUST KIDDING

    ******

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Here's to a wonderful week.

        Love to all.

        God Bless,

        John Frank

          ******

  

 , 

 

 

      

HOW

        FYI 

Am posting a

few hours early

    Dear All of Us,

    Seems we all 

   have decidedly 

different and distinct

    preferences 

      on just

       HOW

 we like our food 

    served up -

well done, crispy,

really rare, tender,

seasoned to next Sunday,

piping hot, crunchy. 

        It's the

         HOW 

     of the what.

    

      Such goes for 

         all our 

    life preferences

    music to politics,  

        education 

  to home furnishings. 

The biggest of the big is 

           HOW

we like God served up 

    in our favored

types and tones of spirituality,

nature's settings and splendor,

the arts, social geographies,

communities of significance,

and totally outranking all of them

       our preference for

                HOW 

God is served up in other people.

   Even with a food court

        of differences,

most of us want God served up

in people pleasant, personable, 

attractive and impressed with us!

   Tough toddles, Totsie!!

Ain't gonna happen everyday 

     and never all day!!

   To switch metaphors,

    God sings us people 

      in a vast range

              of 

     tones and tempos

     in the harmony of 

            Being

    Our spirituality, 

    sanity, society

depend on developing 

     an ear for God.

       Otherwise 

     we are out of 

     sink and step,

  tone deadened dull, 

   missing the beat, 

tripping up the tapping, 

     discordant.

  We jar dissonant 

        God's 

 rhythmic cadence

and it sure as heck is 

  jarred dissonant

      just now.

To combine the metaphors, 

we miss God people present

    unless we meet God

       served up as, 

      have an ear for God, 

             in

   others quite other, 

often mirror opposites

           of us:

liberals - conservatives, 

introverts - extroverts 

people religious -

    people nonreligious and

    people of other religions,

sophisticates -

    plain down-home folks,

travelers - stay at homes, 

fans of The Boss -

      devotees (Tah Tah) of Brahms

vegetarians - carnivores,

city folks -

     town and country folks.

It's a stretch for sure

and for sure worth it.

It opens us wide to God

         present

         in them

       different all.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

and Antoin Scalia

  experienced 

 that goodness, 

 that Godness,

  in spades.

That stretch, though, gets 

especially difficult to painful

when it comes to hearing God,

when it comes to God served up,

in sick, sinful, difficult, dangerous,

               people.

Covered over is their deep down 

              God Core.

We certainly need to deal with 

their negatives and dangers

as necessary for our safety 

and well-being.

But, for all the stress,

even that danger of it,

We just must not miss 

    their positive core.

That's where we meet God.

    If world leaders 

      get in touch 

  with the God Core, 

        say, of

   Vladimir Putin,

they would have the 

best possible clarity 

on how to deal with him

and respond to his aggression.

          It's not ours to decide 

                    HOW

        God is served up or heard.

           It is ours not to miss 

                     God

              people present.

         Particularly pertinent 

         is this in our right now. 

  People are scared, angry, divisive,

         and dangerously so.

  We either meet and merge in God

     at each other's God Center

                    or 

         we strike out in hurt 

                and thus 

             strike out in 

                 HOW

     God is present in others, 

             even if they

            don't know it,

     don't or can't or won't 

              live it out

and that to Creation's detriment.

 

All pretty piety pushed aside, 

  quite clearly, quite actually 

                HOW 

we respond to and treat others is

              EXACTLY 

     how we do or don't meet

                God.

         "Whatever you do

          to the least of these, 

          you do unto me,"

           Matthew 25:40

              That' the 

                 HOW

                 of it.

               ******

NEXT ONLINE POSTING

      Wednesday

      July 12, 2024

NEXT EMAIL DELIVERY

       Friday

       July 14, 2024

It is so good 

to have 

so many from

HONG KONG

now fully part of 

our weekly gatherings 

here at

      frankly speaking

  spirituality for the street

johnfrankshars.blogspot.com

LAST FIVE ONLINE POSTINGS

          AVAIILABLE

                by

     scrolling down below

         this posting

         HATS OFF

         to all who 

  have been telling others 

               of 

       frankly speaking.

           Thanks!

     Looking forward 

     to being together 

     here next week.

       This July 4th.

       A prayer for

  "..liberty, freedom 

    and justice for ALL"

            Love  

         God Bless,

         John Frank

           ******