RIGHT NOW ALWAYS

         Dear All of Us,

   From my heart and pen,
   a New Year's Gift for you.
       In this new year
          may we all be 
"Having the time of our lives"
     RIGHT NOW ALWAYS

                     *****

                             A NEW NOW

                                       Never had
                                 NOW
                         Like this before!
                                Never
                     "Been here, done this"
                               Sure is  
                            A New Now
                             But then
             They just don't come any other way
                             do they?

                           Need to live it
                             Right Now
                              Really is 
                           Now or Never
                            There's only 
                            Forever Now
                             Right Now.

                "Now is the time of God's favor,
                      Now is the day of salvation."
                                                       II Corinthians 6:2

                                 *****



                          MOMENT ETERNAL

                          Time lined living 
                                        Embrace
                           Moment moved
                          Right now always.

                                 *****




         HAPPY NEW YEAR !

          Holding us all in

          God's Dear Love

          Right Now Always

 
             John Frank


________________________________________________________________



























               

"O CHRISTAS TREE, O CHRISTMAS TREE"

Dear All of Us,

"O Christmas Tree  O Christmas Tree"

Come to think of it,
and for all the busyness and buzz of the season
let's be sure to do just that,
the Christmas Tree is a right at home symbol
of living centered in Christ.

To have a Christmas Tree 
we have to rearrange our living room.
Being centered in Christ 
we have to rearrange our living,
adjust our thinking, our values, our life style.

As we rearrange our living room,
we discover dirt, dust, debris
underneath the accustomed arrangement
of our living room.
Being centered in Christ exposes 
some underpinnings of our living 
that need to be cleared.

The Christmas Tree is "ever" green.
It lives and thrives whatever the environment.
So, too, ourselves centered in the ever living Christ.

In this the darkest time of the year
we string all sorts of lights
on the Christmas Tree.
In Christ,
"the light of the world",
we defy the darkness within and about us.

Around the Christmas Tree
there are all sorts of wonderful gifts.
Centered in Christ we are gifted and we gift.

And of happy course, 
there is the nativity set 
centered amongst those gifts.
In its simple sacredness
it proclaims Divine Love aborning 
in our humanness.

"O Christmas Tree  O Christmas Tree"
a right at home symbol 
of living centered in Christ.

From my heart and home to yours
              Christ Love.

               John Frank


_______________________________________________________________

PARTIAL

Dear All Of Us,

A personal lesson on the partial.

Hope it will help illustrate how

             PARTIAL
      all good things are,

       AND THAT'S OK.

It was quite a few years ago.
We didn’t hit a wall and die

but we sure came to a dead end.

Glenn and I had been traveling

life’s roadways together

for a long time.

It had been a close
spiritual friendship,

a wonderful blessing.

Then our Spiritual GPS failed.

We found ourselves where
       we couldn’t be,

          quite lost,
    confused and upset. 
What was was no longer.

A spiritual friendship,

as good as it is,

just like all other
goods in life,

is ever changing,

is always limited.

That’s because

all good things are partial,

at least right now.
There's sequence and growth
into God's Fullness -
many partial goodnesses
as we grow into
God's completeness.  
A baby starts out
with mother's milk,
is weaned to
many other forms 
and intensities of nourishment
before it is ready 
for filet mignon.
   

Let’s put it this way.

A spiritual friendship is a lot like
traveling together in a car.

You’re trying to help each other

get somewhere, somewhere good.

At times it is euphoric.

At other times it is dreadful.

Most of the time

it is somewhere in between:

       reassuring, conflicted,

       supportive, trying, clarifying.

Always it is an up close,

       sweet to sour sweaty sharing.

Overall, for all the
limits and changes,

it is definitely a good,
but always a partial good.

At times one’s in the driver’s seat,

at other times there’s a switch off.

Sometimes it’s a matter
of speeding things up.

Other times it means
slowing things down.

Often it’s necessary
to turn a corner,

try an alternate route,

figure your way around a detour,

navigate a rough stretch of road.

The trip requires
shifting gears regularly.

Sometimes, though,

it means abandoning the car

and each getting their own Uber.

               
           Painfully Partial.

                Hard!!

It’s hard to let go a good.

Most of us want to hold on to them,

partial as they always are.

Life just doesn’t play out
that way though.

Please permit me to switch
from cars to cake.

I recently had a piece of chocolate cake,

homemade the old fashioned way,

nothing from a box,

all fresh, organic ingredients.

It was the best ever chocolate cake

in the entire history of the whole world.

OK, SO I HAD A COUPLE OF PIECES!!

Then it was all gone.

DAMN!!!

Well, actually, OK !!

That’s because Goodness,

is experienced in numberless ways

as we journey through life:

people, place, food and drink,

family, nature, music,
art, science, literature -

good upon good.
grace after grace.

All of them are gift.

All of them change.

All of them limited.

All of them partial,

parts of an evolving into

           Fullness.

To cling to one is to loss it

and miss all the rest.

To keep morphing metaphors,

         it’s like music.

We sing one beautiful note
   after another unto a
         Sacred Song.

As pure and beautiful as
each note is, we let it go

as we voice new notes,
evolving an ever fuller
tonal richness.

So it is with every

moment and motion

in our living.

They are gift and

they are partial,

part of 
       The Wholeness,

part of 
       Goodness Unlimited,

            The One 
           many name 
              God,

the Goodness in which we
and all creation grow to

              
          Fullness.

Speaking of names,

Glenn isn’t his real name of course,

but he and I really are
united deep down

in God Goodness, in God Love.

Whether we will ever again

be able to ride share 
after all these years,
to travel life’s roadways 
together anew,

doesn't seem likely.
So much change and timed differences.

What is clear is, though, is that
we have been blessed to be a part
of each other’s journey to Fullness.

Neither of us clings to it.

Both of us are grateful.

Both of us are open
to the final lengths of the journey

however that gift will be given,

moment and motion
partial and evolving.

All this underscores that

our whole life

is a series of partial goods
growing to greatness:

     *a to die for chocolate cake,

     *a Soulmate,

     *a Rocky Mountain retreat,

     *befriending a migrant family,

     *the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins,

     *moments of mystical merger,

     *having a baby,

     *landing a great job

     *getting a good night’s sleep

     *paying off a student loan -

partial goods as we journey to

          Complete Good

              Fullness
                  in
                God.


    Patience with the partial.

      Growing to Complete.

        

           As we journey,

            I pray us all

        “Traveling Mercies.”

             
             John Frank

                 
                *****


A big box of thanks for sharing

         "frankly speaking"

with others by word of mouth

and by way of your

social media connections.

It's the main way word gets out

 so we all can connect here each week.

Your help is just that

and is greatly appreciated.

             *****

       

Welcome to those recently joining in

          with us all here at

          “frankly speaking”

      spirituality for the street.
      A very special Shout Out 
to the large number of folks from Ukraine
among them these past few weeks.

To get a sense and perspective

 on how we do this ride share here,

please take a little time and reflection

                     with

        What’s Going On Here?

                     and

         Consider Your Source

       ( right column online )

                    

        

        “frankly speaking”

*is posted online each Thursday evening
       East Coast USA time, at

   johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

    (bookmark for ready access)

*is available by automatic

  email delivery each Friday

      (sign up top right online)

*past posting are available at

            Blog Archive

       (lower right online)

            Thank You

Looking forward to seeing you all next week!!

**********************************************************

SURRENDER

Dear All of Us,

Bet you that the most unpopular hymn ever is
      
              "I Surrender All".

Hey, real men never surrender.

Red blooded Americans certainly don't.

To surrender is to wimp out.

To surrender "all" is a total wipe out.


As a kid back in the 40's, 

(no, not the 1840's, the 1940's!!)

when we boys would rough house

it meant taking a guy down,

pin him and make him give.

If needs be, twist whatever parts were available 

to get him to surrender.

Boy brutal.



Well, now after all that, let's see if I can sell surrender.

It'll be like selling a week at a ballet school to Hulk Hogan,

or a Toyota Prius to Jeff Bezos.

Actually, it'll be even harder than that.

Well, here goes!




I want to ask each of us to indeed 

            "surrender all" 

                to God.

That's counter cultural for sure and more.

It negates power and pride.

They are the two false gods

dictating and directing 

so sadly much of who and how we are,

and how all that gets lived out in our current cultures.




"Surrendering all"

      to God 

does not mean

a negative giving up.

It does not mean

to wimp out,

to wipe out totally,

to cave and cringe

before God.

It's means exactly the opposite.

In the best possible way it means

to give "up" to God

all we are and have.

It means accepting God's invitation 

to merger and expansion,

to Oneness in and with God. 




The word surrender in its roots says it well.

It comes from the Old French:

             sur = over

             rendere = give back.

Thus, to give over, to give back.



We give over, give back to God

for complete inclusion in God

what God has given us - ourselves:

       our limitedness for God's infiniteness,

       our partial for God's total.

It's like a candle accepting the invitation

to become one with the sun.

Holy Surrender is letting go the limited for the Limitless.

That's a negation opening to affirmation of fullness.




What do the everyday, practical, personal, social,

the "out here on the street of life" implications of such surrender look like?:

      - we stop going our own way, trying to fit God 

        into it somehow or other every once in a while

      - we go the way of Jesus, he who is 

        God Obvious, God Human,

        our life coach and model - we recognize and accept him as

       "the way, the truth, and the life" (John14:6) -

        we welcome his presence in us -

        "Abide in me as I abide in you."(John 15;4) - 

        we live out that presence 

        in all the particular and practical "nows" of life -

        everything is involved:

        how we drive, eat, work, relate, spend, save, recreate, 

        help, forgive, dress, cook supper - Everything!! -

        " I live now not I, but Christ lives in me." (Galatians 2: 20).

      - we live the Beatitudes ( Matthew 5:1-11), not just reference them

        as a vague and distant, "maybe some day" ideal -

        living the Beatitudes gets us practical and personal about 

        simplicity, possessions, getting righted with Reality (righteousness),  

        being peace-filled and giving, living out a pure clarity of mind and heart, 

        taking it easy on others,  suffering social, financial,

        and other hits for all this.

      - one way and multiples of many, 

        we welcome the Love Energy that is God 

        to be the thrust of all we are and do - all the time 

        and in every way possible.

      - we  "...love God, neighbor, self" 

        with all we've got (Mark 12:28-31):

        we love our bodies and personalities 

        (for me that means it's not only ok to be an introvert,

        in fact it's one heaven of a privilege),

        we love the beautiful people in our lives and every bit as much 

        we love the difficult, unattractive people in our lives, 

        we love God by caring for God's creation, 

        we go to a quiet space 

        and open enfoldment in God's embrace - 

        we really are "In" Love.



Perhaps the hymn " I Surrender All " deserves another sing.

In any case, the best thing we can do with ourselves

is give ourselves completely to God. 

That means we live a hymn that lets God "sur"  "rendere" us One,

we surrender ( give over, give back) ourselves 

to God's infinite embrace and inclusion.

To surrender is paradoxically to "up grade".

Paul put it like this:

     "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, 

       that one is a new creation.
   
       The old has passed away, 

       behold, the new has come."

           (II Corinthians 5:17) 



    Thanks for your good company.

 May we all surrender into the upgrade.

           Holding us all in

       The Love Who Is God.

             John Frank

                *****



Greetings and a warm welcome 

to all those joining in here 

for the first time.

We have been blessed this week

with first time participation from Rwanda,

and significant increase in participation

from Russia.

It's a privilege to have your company.


         "frankly speaking"

      spirituality for the street

   is posted Thursday evenings,

        east coast USA time

  (johnfrankshares.blogspot.com)

and is available by automatic email

each Friday ( Sign Up top above)


        See You Next Week!!!


___________________________________________________