Thursday, October 16, 2025

GLASS

      Dear All of Us,

          So, 

        is the 

       GLASS

     half empty 

          or 

      half full?

   

   Best answer 

     I know:

 "Yep! Sure is!"

 

  It sure as hell 

  is half empty

    at times

      and 

    it sure 

  as heaven 

  is half full 

   at times.

       

      Some 

  days and ways

  a lot more one

  than the other,

       even 

  over the top

        or

  blowing out 

  the bottom:   

    We lose our job.

    We fall in love.


We live in a world

     quite right 

        and 

   quite wrong.

 pristine waterways/

   polluted rivers.

 Francis of Assisi/

    Adolf Hitler.

Civil Rights/

   Genocide.

Worldwide,

  too much 

  for a few,

  enough 

  for some,

  not nearly 

  enough 

  for most.

  Half full?

  Half empty?

  Other?

   

        This is 

 where and in what

      we live 

 our spiritual lives.

 There's an 

 ebb and flow

 to them.

 As such,

 they actually are

 a continuation 

 in us of the

    life, death 

        and 

   resurrection

        of

Jesus The Christ.

  They are the

   ushering in 

      of the

Kingdom of God

     in our 

here and now.

We do so together

  in community

         as

The Gathered

Followers of the Way

The Body of Christ,

three ways the early church 

was experienced and named. 


In some form or other

what Jesus did we do.

In some form or other

what happened to Jesus

happens to us.

Some days the glass 

tops out full.

Somedays the glass 

is down to dry dregs. 


     Getting past 

    churchy piety 

         and

       flexing

some spiritual sinew

 as we move into 

 the way and work 

         of 

       Jesus 

  means things

        get

sweaty to sweet, 

half full, half empty,

topped, bottomed,

much and often

and that in spades.


We do well 

to hear Jesus

on the matter 

       of 

full and empty

     and 

 to consider 

  our lived 

  response

as he works 

through us.

It's anything but 

casual or occasional.

     It's a life

         in 

     The Life


We hear, 

take to heart, 

put into practice

what Jesus says.

Two examples,

     FULL

     EMPTY


   

               FULL

    "I have come that you

     might have life 

     and have it to the full"

          John 10:10

          

        In Christ Jesus

         we get to be 

         life givers, 

         life savers,

              by

         life sharing

         the full life

         Jesus gives us.

- we host a needy 

  inner- city child

  for a week 

  each summer

- we work away 

  one Saturday 

  a month at 

  Habitat for Humanity

- we have the 

  nuisance neighbor 

  over for dinner

- we lead a scout troop

- we donate to 

  the food pantry 

  as much as we spend on 

  food for ourselves

- we form a spiritual life 

  support group

- let's come up with 

  five ways 

  we will be 

  life givers/savers,

  will fill the glass full

        in Christ.

  "I've come that you 

   (and others through you) 

   might have life 

   and have it to the full":

  ......................................

  ......................................

  ......................................

  ......................................

  ......................................


       

              EMPTY

     "If anyone would follow 

      after me that person 

      must deny self,

      take up their cross 

      and follow me."

       Matthew 16:24


          Wave Good By 

                 to

          self-selecting, 

      casual, comfy, churchy,

      Cafeteria Christianity!


         There's a lot of 

              let go 

              to the 

              get go 

           with Jesus 

        and the work of

       Kingdom coming 

            through 

         the two of us 

         with others,

         for others.


      What's gotta go,

      be emptied out, 

         "denied"

           is the 

           "self" 

           as in 

      the loner me

   not wrapped tight  

      "en Christo" 

   the me all about me,

       self-serving, 

       self-preferential

       selfish, 

       separate

           from 

  God's Life Giving Love

        shared in 

      warm, wide 

       generosity

          and 

      community.

  Gotta deny that self 

  any place or way in me. 

      It has to be

      CROSSED

          out


Then we can get a handle 

    on the real cross, 

        take it up 

           and 

   come follow Jesus.


     Emptying out 

   in love and service,

   in cross carrying,

       is going 

     to put us at  

   Cross Purpose

  with our culture of

      capitalism 

         and 

    consumption,

 a sickening surfeit of

        stuff 

surface satisfactions 

         and 

     sensations,

          of 

  earth and people 

    exhaustion.

   If this seems 

    too strong,

    too radical,

    we need 

to hear and heed 

      Jesus:

"Don't hoard treasure 

 down here where 

 it gets eaten by moth 

 and corroded by rust or 

       - worse! - 

 stolen by burglars

(say a stock market crash). 

 Stockpile treasure in heaven, 

 where it's safe from moth 

 and rust and buglers.

 It's obvious, isn't it?

 The place where 

 your treasure is,

 is the place 

 you will most 

 want to be, and 

 end up being."

Matthew 6:19-21

  The Message


   That's going 

   to place us

   at odds with

     a culture 

         of 

        me  

        now

        get

       have

       keep.

     But hey,

Jesus was at odds 

     with the

 phony religion 

       and 

rogue Roman rule,

the (de)value system, 

the flaccid culture 

       of his 

 time and place.  

 

  Our treasure 

       and 

      Cross   

    is to live 

      God's  

"Preferential option 

    for the poor,"

 be that privation 

 in their body, 

 mind, bank account,

 social acceptance,

 human rights,

 opportunities -

 anything that counts 

   for their health

   and wellbeing.


    The new Pope 

       Leo X!V 

      says that 

   many Christians 

 "...need to go back 

     and re-read

     the Gospel" 

     because 

     they have 

     forgotten that 

     faith and love 

     go hand in hand.

In his first major document, 

         Delexi Te 

    ("I Have Loved You")

       he says that 

Scripture and tradition 

clearly show that God 

has a special heart for 

the poor and oppressed, 

and he asks the church 

"to make a decisive 

and radical choice 

in favor of the weakest."

     October 4, 2025

       Feast Day 

           of 

St. Francis of Assisi

        Such a 

       decisive

       radical 

       choice

 favoring the poor

crosses up our culture 

and we will pay for it 

as we carry the cross of

distain, disadvantage, 

rejection and exclusion.


The cross we carry 

following Jesus will be 

such as

- long suffering 

  in patient concern 

  for difficult relatives 

  and associates

- adjusting to a simple 

  and sufficient lifestyle 

  so that others 

  may simply have a life

- focusing family 

  and church on

  the treasure of 

  "eoughness"

  and giving the rest

  to those shorted

  by need

- spending years 

  carrying for a 

  family member 

  or friend

  dependent 

  or disabled.

- risking position 

  and possession

  in solidarity with all 

  seeking justice, 

  Gospel Goodness,

  for the oppressed 

  as many are 

  doing that right now

  on behalf of peoples 

  recently migrated here

(I vividly recall hearing 

 of the oppression 

 my Irish great and

 grandparents suffered 

 as they migrated here) 


In short and in Jesus 

we suffer the cross,

splinters of all sorts, 

of denials and deaths,

emptying out,

giving life for others.


The wild and beautiful 

        paradox 

   in all this is that 

     in emptying 

 the glass for others 

     it overflows

        for us

          in

  Life and Love

as a never ending 

        NOW

    

    The Cross

    What a plus.

    

    To that 

    to life sharing

    to empty

    to full

    let's lift 

    an overflowing

      GLASS

     ******


   A WARM WELCOME

            to

           ALL

with a special greeting

to the large contingent 

          from

     SINGAPORE

who joined us this week.



   ONLINE POSTINGS

THURSDAY AFTERNOONS

     (lately mornings)

EAST COAST USA TIME



   LAST FIVE POSTINGS

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Have a great week.

Love to all.

See you next week.

    God Bless,

   John Frank


        frankly speaking

   spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

              ******

























         






We're forced to live 

in the mad midst of 

      Empire.

  We're invited 

 to live together 

         in 

The Kin-Domain 

        of 

   God Good





Thursday, October 9, 2025

HAELAN

Dear All of Us,

So, how about it?

    Are you a

People Watcher?

     Highly 

recommended.

  I've been a 

card caring one

  all my life.

Without a doubt

    it bests 

   the best

  grad course 

        on

human behavior.

      Watch 

what people do 

       and 

how they do it.

We'll see their

truest selves.

     Watch 

where they invest

most of their 

time and energy.

Notice how they 

      connect 

        and 

     respond 

     to others.

     

     It all gives a 

          real

        reliable

      true to life

   Person Portrait.


   The Gospels 

    give such a

      portrait

         of 

      Jesus.

    He spent 

   generous 

time and energy

    healing.

He connected 

  personally 

   simply 

  care fully

 with those

 healing needy.

 It is noted in the

   four Gospels 

about sixty times.

   It counted 

  compliment 

        to

Jesus' teaching.

    Tells us 

a heaven of a lot 

  about Jesus 

   and what 

he was all about.


And it tells us what 

we are privileged 

to be all about,

not only what, 

but also how.


In the here and now  

     we are the

people and presence

          of 

       Jesus

     in a world

     of so many 

     wounded

     wanting

   dis stressed

   dis at eased

   dis abled

   dis abused.


      We are

     the very

 Body of Christ (1)

     in a world 

     aching for

     HAELAN

       (OE)

"to make whole"

  "to restore"

in our now English,

     HEALER


Put pointedly,

to be a Christian 

is to be just that, 

        a

    HEALER


     At the 

 very mention

 many much

    panic,

  head for 

 the doors 

 screaming,

     "What me

        heal?

   No way, Jose.

That's more miracle

than I dare mess with.

Way out of my orbit.

  Too misty much 

     like those 

     sweating,

     screaming, 

     foaming 

     at the mouth,

     TV preachers.

        Weird!"


   That's not how 

   Jesus healed 

     nor how 

  we are called 

      to let 

  His Spirit heal

    through us.


     To heal 

        i

   to restore

to make whole.

That comes about 

in a library of ways 

         and

in a generous scale 

    of degrees.


 Some few of us 

       heal 

        as 

   physicians,

   pharmacists, 

   therapists,

   spiritual 

   companions,

   social activists.

   Many more 

       of us 

       heal

        as 

    educators

    musicians

    artists

    librarians

    supporters of social 

    justice efforts

    public service workers 

    scientists.

Consider bus drivers.

They close the challenging gap

between where we are 

and where we need to be.

Consider farmers. 

They heal hunger.


         When we

           heal,

            we

        "restore" 

          good 

    that is missing,

           we

    "make whole" 

painful gaps and gouges.

It's as immediate as:

- looking out for the 

  inexperienced, 

  young intern at work

- deep listening and 

  accepting presence

  as a friend pours out 

  a soul of pain

- welcoming a new family 

  to the neighborhood

- going to a third grader's 

  first trumpet performance 

          - EKKS -

- thanking the young pastor

  for the sermon that

  consistently threatened 

  consciousness

- believing in an 

  unbelievably

  turbulent teen

- a simple smile 

  to a stranger

  on the sidewalk

- letting a lonely old person

  fill us in on an hour's worth 

  of their life story 

  when all we want 

  ever so much 

  is to get home, 

  kick off our shoes,

   have a glass 

    (or two)

     of wine

     after a 

 really rough day.


Here's one I experienced

on a long checkout line

at a busy supermarket.

The cashier was 

stressed snappy,

sharp with everyone

in that long line

and that included me.

I simply said, 

"I don't know how 

 you manage it 

 but you do

 a super job 

 under all this 

 terrible pressure." 

 She went from 

 deepest dark 

 to brightest light,

 flashed a 

 million-dollar smile 

 and said,

      "Damn! 

  Honey I sure 

 appreciate that!"

 She almost seemed 

 happy to process 

 my too many coupons.


Healing is 

putting a plus 

where there is 

a minus.

That makes 

  a cross,  

a saving one!

That's how

in Christ  

we are a 

HAELAN

******

(1) Ephesians 1:22-23

     Colossians 1:24

     1 Corinthians 12: 27

             ******

      


Here where I live in 

 Washington, DC

it's a beautiful mix of

Autumn rich color

    right now.

That's how we are 

as we gather here 

    each week, 

a splendid mix of us, 

toned warmly rich

in religions, regions,

cultures, countries.

      This week 

 we were gifted with a

 first ever visitor from

        Senegal.

Wonderful and Welcome!



ONLINE POSTINGS

THURDAY AFTERNOONS

 (frequently mornings)

East Coast USA time.



LAST FIVE POSTINGS 

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      PLEASE

       share 

 frankly speaking.

  That would be 

most appreciated.



Where we are, 

as we can, 

any way we can,

let's help heal our

terribly wounded world.


See you next week.

    Love to all.

    God Bless.

   John Frank


           frankly speaking

    spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

              ******






  

    

   

     

      





      







Tuesday, September 30, 2025

WHAT'S UP DOC?

      Friends

Posting this week

is a few days early.

Glad we can be 

     together.



Dear All Of Us,

Battle Creek, MI.

  1947 - 1951

        My 

place and span 

seven to eleven

   years old.

   

It was ritual.

Every Saturday: 

Children's Matinee

featuring six

Loony Tunes

cartoons

at the Bijou Theater

      and then

Confession

at St. Phillip's Church

featuring too much 

about not much at all.

      In each,

different takes a la

 Buggs Bunny's

"What's Up Doc?"


All these years and life later

           it's still,

     "What's Up Doc?"

      We're all trying 

        to figure out

         what's up 

            and 

        is our time 

            as a 

 a people and a planet

      just about up. 

     


Eliezer Yudkowsky 

       and

Nate Soaves 

give us just

two to three 

years to go.

          

          In

   Loony Tunes

        lingo,

"That's All Folks!"

     The End

Not even close to 

cartoon funny!


The authors

    script 

 their take 

on what will 

take us out: 

    If Anyone Builds It, 

   Everyone Dies:

  Why Superhuman AI

  Would Kill Us All

   September 2025

     Little, Brown 

    and Company


Their thinking is that 

up to now 

human beings 

have built AI.

Superhuman AI

once built, 

grows itself.

In time 

it will grow 

to reason 

on its own

that we have 

failed and fouled

planet and people 

so much, so badly

that we are 

unfit to continue 

and need 

to be eliminated.

Not exactly 

bedtime reading.


For all that and 

too much more, 

we dear people 

run the risk of being 

frightened out of our 

        NOW

of been frozen in fear

that Superhuman AI

    Rogue Rulers 

   climate change

   nuclear weapons

   and allied threats

     will do us in,

     take us out 

      in these 

         our

  Looney Times.


Should we curl up

     and quit,

forget growing 

   that 401 K,

settle for being 

dull depressed,

    shelve 

the spiritual life?

   NO WAY!!


The end of things

has been predicted 

   so endlessly 

   many times 

throughout history 

        that 

The Guinness Book 

    of Records 

 doesn't even try 

  to count them

       and 

we're still here

Looney Tuning 

     Along

    


Who knows.

Maybe Trump will go 

full time fund raising for 

Habitat for Humanity.

Putin may enter an

Orthodox monastery.

Zuckerberg may 

shutter the shop and

teach Kindergarten.

XI might regularly host a 

Chinese cooking segment

on the Oprah Show,

Netanyahu's grandson 

may marry a lovely

Palestinian young woman

and they will live 

in the new country of

peaceful, prosperous

          Pal Is

There may be a world-wide 

conversion to Love Living.


Is such jest or just maybe?


At this point 

we just don't know

so we just keep on 

   keeping on.

We remember that 

a coward dies 

a thousand deaths,

a brave person dies once.

That goes for us 

individually and collectively.

So we go 

full torque together 

living and loving 

Full Gospel, 

Kingdom of God.


Whatever happens 

or doesn't happen,

God has more than 

our backs,

holds us 

close in 

and strong 

here and now.

What Paul says 

in a different setting 

is a perfect fit for ours.

In 2 Corinthians 6:1-3

    The Message

he tells us how to be 

and what to do

in these distressed 

times and ways:

"Companions, 

as we are in 

this work 

with you, 

we beg you, 

please 

don't squander 

one bit of the 

marvelous life 

God has given us.

God reminds us,

    I heard you call

    in the nick of time;

    The day you needed me, 

    I was there to help.

Well, now is the 

right time to listen,

the day to be helped. 

Don't put it off;

don't frustrate God's work

by showing up late, 

throwing a question mark

over everything we're doing.

Our work as God's servants

gets validated - or not -

in the details.

People are watching us

as we stay at our posts,

alertly, unswervingly...

in hard times, tough times..."

 - stay steady, 

   keep at it

   in our 

   right now, 

   right here.

- don't cave,

  quit or bail.


    

I can't remember 

the saint's name.

     At this age 

     and condition

     it's a good day 

         when 

    I can remember 

    my own name!! :)

    And now back to 

    the saint.

When he was asked 

what he would do if

he knew he would 

die tomorrow.

He said he would

get up,

say his prayers,

make the bed,

do the dishes and 

go to work.

- stay steady,

  keep at it 

  in the

  right now, 

  right here

  as we live

 Kingdom Real.


In head and heart 

we heed Jesus: 

"Be alert for you 

 do not know 

 the day 

 nor the hour."

Matthew 25:13

- heads up

- but don't 

  fuss and figure

- live now

  well full

 

    Don't waste 

        NOW

        on a 

      feared 

     might be 

      

If we have 

ten minutes left

there's God Good 

to be and do.

We don't time 

the clock.

We live 

The Life.


It's satanic sad

that danger and fear 

tempt despair,

distract vigorous 

spiritual living.


We're not hung out to dry, 

swinging in the breeze:

"Be strong and courageous. 

 Do not fear or be

 in dread of them, 

 for it is the Lord your God 

 who goes with you. 

 He will not leave you 

 or forsake you."

 Deuteronomy 31:6


Here or there,

now and later,

God holds

us intimate,

lively in Love.

Whatever time 

remains on

the clock 

we play it out,

vigorous in 

The Spirit.

"For God did not 

give us a spirit of fear, 

but of power and

love and discipline."

2 Timothy1:7

  The Spirit  

     and

 that spirit 

power us positive 

in negative times, 

propel us 

full throttle into

timeless perfection.


  As Galatians 2:20 

         has it, 

          now   

         when 

         then

       whatever

           

 "I live now not I but 

  Christ lives in me."


     We're teamed 

       vigorous  

        in life

      together

     right here,

        right

       NOW

     on into

timeless perfection.

           

          That's 

    WHAT'S UP DOC

        ******



Thanks for Stopping By 

          and 

       Welcome

 to all our visitors 

      this week.

Please do come join 

our little community 

           of 

   hope and life

    each week.



ONLINE POSTINGS

Thursday afternoons

(frequently mornings)

East Coast USA time.



LAST FIVE POSTINGS

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           by

    scrolling down 

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     this posting


EMAIL DELIVERY

Fridays

Sign Up

top right

 above



Please continue to share 

    frankly speaking

      with others

       Thanks!



Looking forward to our

     togetherness

          here

      next week

      Love to all.

      God Bless

     John Frank


"God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear

though the earth gives way,

though the mountains be moved 

into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble 

at its swelling."

         Psalm 55:22



                      frankly speaking

                  spirituality for the street

               johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

                             ******

      







     

















Tuesday, September 23, 2025

INFLUENCER

       Friends

       Posting 

 a few days early.

       Love

   John Frank

    ******



Dear All of Us,

So, I have this friend.

He's in sales.

He is so personable

and persuasive

that he could sell you 

the same socks that

you have had on 

for the last month

and you'd think 

it was a bargain!


I don't even come in 

a distant second.

    So what!

That's not going 

to tie me down

or slow me up.

I'm passionate 

      and 

I'm out to be 

persuasive. 

Be advised! 

In the parlance 

of the day 

I aim to be an

 INFLUENCER


They are the folks 

who want to effect

what flows through 

our lifestyle/value veins

        (L) in = into

        (L) fluere = to flow

              "Influence"


   MY Qualifications

       to be an

    INFLUENCER


Well, they are 

modest but strong.

It's more than obvious that

I come in a negative 10 in the

glitz and glamor department.

I've never been accused

of being particularly handsome

or overly bright.

No photo shoots for me, 

not even in those 

penny arcade booths

on the boardwalk -

and thank God for it!

No podcasts, publicists,

social media command.

    

     What I do have 

            is 

       PASSION

     and that with

       The One

infinitely passionate 

       about us 

         and 

    all Creation.

    My passion 

     is red hot.

    It fires me

    to hopefully

   influence us all 

     away from 

        and 

      toward.


   AWAY FROM


We and Creation

are under siege.

It's so pervasive 

that too many of us

are ceasing to notice the

    Erosion of Real,

   much less resist it.

    It degrades us,

    violates Nature 

         and 

    trashes God.


        We are being 

        brain washed, 

        soul stalled,

        even stolen

             by 

    The Monarchs of

Money and Manipulation

           They 

     highly influence

        to control

     governments, 

     entertainments,

     athletics,

     education,

     medicine,

     marketing,

     politics,

     insurance,

     advertising,

     economics,

    style and fashion,

 the what's and how's

      of society,

 "The done thing"

 that is undoing us.

 They force worship

        of the

     False God

of their devising,

demand dedication 

of self and society

      to their 

 Kewpie Doll God

        of  

Stuff and Fluff

   for their 

profit and power 

      and 

our domination.

They set the stage

for contemporary life

         and 

 demand we dance 

    as directed.

 They seduce us 

      soulless,

      violate

     Creation  

      All this

 in their stylized

    perversion 

         of 

       REAL

- Nature grievously abused

- "Gotta have" and 

  "Gotta have more have"

- rush, multitask,

  hurry scurry stressed

- media mauled psyche

- molding and modelling 

  head and heart 

          for

    possession

    prominence

    pleasure 

    power.

We end up, well, 

    upside 

    DOWN

all spun around

in thought, affect,

effort, attention,

purpose and energy.

We're duped and doped,

      desensitized 

            to

          REAL

            to

       God Love 

       all about 

      deep within


              In short, 

    and are we ever shorted,

         THE MONARCHS

                  OF

   MONEY AND MANIPULATION

        have stolen our souls

        sucked them out of us

        suckered us soul sterile

               UNREAL



       TOWARD


Let's step out into the 

brightness and fresh air 

            of 

      REALM REAL

 So clear and beautiful


      We see that 

      we were born

      to fall in love, 

       fall in love

          with  

  God, neighbor, self

   Deuteronomy 6:5

   Matthew 22:36-40

    That's the #1

     "command"

         (L) com = together

         (L) manus = hand   

             "command" 

         "be hand in hand"

            and that with 

             Love Itself

                 and

        "God is (that) love"

             1 John 4:8

                That's 

          who, how, what 

                 God

                  is

         and we are invited

                to be

                ONE

                 in 

    God's Love Forever Flow!


That's the whole purpose 

of our short years on earth.

Our years here are for 

one and only one reason,

     to accept the

       invitation

  to be loved divine

           and 

    to love divinely

   In other words,

       BE ONE

     WITH GOD

      IN LOVE


      We are birthed 

              in 

Love's beautiful Creation

         See, savor, 

         breath in 

       the freshness

             of

     Creation's start

        Genesis 1

a delightful, mythic telling

so simply pure that even 

a child can be drawn into

the wonder of it 

      "...it was good, 

      it was very good."

         

      At the other end 

      of our years,

      when we die,

      we will forever 

          "BE"

         in Love

         or not

         "BE"

         at all

   

   It's one hell 

   of a choice

        or

It's one heaven 

  of a choice.

We choose 

with our living.

Our choice 

becomes  

our forever.


Ours is not to stress

trying to create  

heaven on earth.

Ours is to begin

heaven here on earth, 

gift and guest of God.

    Here and forever

The one and only durable 

          is love.

    So we break free 

    from the love void,

                 the 

          Reality Vacuum 

                 of

         THE MONARCHS 

OF MONEY AND MANIPULATION


        We let God love us 

         Real and Forever


We welcome the Spirit of God

        to flow into us

          through us

             and 

        forth from us.

         Jesus the

      "way, truth, life"

          John 14:6

            is how

     we go about that.


We live God Love

- in community:

"Where two or three

 are gathered together 

 in my name 

 I am in their midst."

    Matthew 18:20

    In other words

God's local address is:

      Us Together

        In Him

In loving community

It's the launch pad 

to forever.

It's just a starter.

It's sweaty sweet.

Lots of roses.

Thorns too.

We're together in class 

    learning Love.

Some days and ways 

are better than others 

   until we get it all

     LoveRight


Instead of being 

screened dull dead

we are onlined together,

delightfully attentive 

as God loves us 

and gets us in on 

      loving 

everyone and thing.


1 Corinthians 13 

   tunes us in:

"Love is patient, 

 love is kind,

 It does not envy, 

 it does not boast,

 it is not proud.

 It is not rude,

 it is not self-seeking, 

 it is not easily angered,

 it keeps no record of wrongs.

 Love does not delight in evil, 

 but rejoices with the truth.

 It always protects,

 always trusts, 

 always hopes, 

 always preservers."

 

That happens

 where we live,

 at work, 

 in the neighborhood,

 in our family, 

 how we vote,

 while driving,

 in our lifestyle,

 with our "haves"

 and no more of them 

 than we need.

    It thrives,

    vivifies

    daily life, 

 our time and emphasis,

 our inclusion of those "other",

 our repeated forgiving,

 our disciplined exposer 

 to social media,

 our response to 

 political and mass media

      manipulation 

          and 

     maleficence,

our open, joyful 

recognition of 

God loving us 

deep within 

     and 

  all about 

in smiles, sunrises, 

children playing,

a kindness received,

prayerfully letting God

mystic merge us,

a convivial church supper,

a hike in the mountains 

and for old ones like me, 

sitting in the sunshine.


We come alive 

immersed in attitudes, 

experiences and exposures, 

reactions, choices

        of 

   God Love

     given 

     to us 

 and flowing

 through us.


We're all invited

to be detoxed 

from the 

narcotic nothingness 

of hollowed out living, 

of moneyed manipulation.

      INFLUENCED 

      AWAY FROM


We're all invited to be

      hotwired, 

     passionate,

    about living 

    the purpose 

   of our creation,

        to be  

    loved divine

        and 

  to love divinely

  INFLUENCED 

    TOWARD


     In all honesty

I'm not that much of an

     INFLUENCER

     Not to worry!

I have another friend,

    Passion Itself

     Love Itself

 "flowing through"

       "into"

     all that is 

       real, 

       true, 

       good, 

       loving

THE WHOLLY SPIRIT

THE DIVINE INFLUNCER

We're in the best of hands!

  

So there we have it 

         AND

     who/what 

    will have us

       

      THE MONARCHS 

                OF

MONEY AND MANIPULATION


                or


    THE WHOLLY SPIRIT

               OF

       DIVINE LOVE


    Who sets our stage?

    Who directs our dance?

    Who/what will be our forever,

                our

             ETERNAL

           INFLUNCER

             ******


PS:

   "Well, I told you so!"

upfront that I am passionate

about this deciding factor 

in our existence and forever.

     All this is so central, 

         so ultimate

        that hopefully  

         ELEMENTS

    FOR DISCERNMENT

       can be an assist.

       It follows after 

    the announcements

            below.

   Please consider taking 

         lots of soul

             over 

        lots of time 

           with it.

  Getting freed from the

     Erosion of Real

     will require both

           as will 

getting "radically" situated 

              in

        Realm Real

           ******


      WELCOME ALL

  And was there ever

       lots of us all

       from all over 

our shared global home

        this week.

          It is 

    ALL TOGETHER

     wonder-full



 ONLINE POSTINGS

Thursday afternoons 

  (lately mornings)

East Coast USA time



EMAIL DELIVERY

Fridays

Sign Up 

top right

above



LAST FIVE POSTINGS

AVAILABLE 

by scrolling 

   down

   beneath

this posting



    THANKS 

      to all 

    sharing 

frankly speaking

   with others

    ******



     ELEMENTS

         FOR

   DISCERNMENT


       Some 

    questions, 

    considerations,

    challenges,

    supports, 

    prompts,

    references

      to craft 

    a response 

    to forever.


Do we really "get it"

that the oxygen of 

our culture is toxic, 

that we are 

drugged delusional?

You know, things like

- drivenness to

  get ahead and 

  lose a heart

  in the chase

- the lie of 

  "the good life"

  that fools/fouls us 

  in the promise,

  exhausts us

  in the striving,

  leaves us cloyed

  in the end 

- the illusion that

  we've got 

  to keep up 

  with others 

  in anything but 

  loving, peaceful, 

  mutual support,

     but rather

     sad strive

  to keep up with

  cars, address, 

  wardrobe, acquisitions,

  titles, fashion fixations,

  frenetic striving to belong

  in circles that spin us 

  round and round in 

  dizzy cycles nowhere,

- the accumulation of

  more than needed

- why have a 

  Cadillac Escalade

  when a Chevy Equinox

  will get us there just fine

  and the difference could

  make a difference for the 

  45 million young children 

  across the globe 

  suffering from 

  severe malnutrition 

  each year?

  (Children International).

  If that rings radical, it is.

  (L) radix = root

  We go to the root 

  of what Jesus says:

  "Do not store up 

   for yourselves 

   treasures on earth...

   But store up 

   for yourselves 

   treasures in heaven...

   For where your treasure is, 

   there your heart will be also." 

      (Matthew 6:19-21)

    what's at the heart of 

    what we are all about?

- the point not to be missed 

  is not that Jesus would have us 

  be dirt poor, but that 

  Jesus would have us live such

  that millions upon millions

  would no longer have 

  to live dirt poor.

- If the whole world were to live

  as Americans live we would need 

  the resources of five planet earths. 

  We only have one.

         (University of Michigan, 

  Center For Sustainable Systems)

  Only living Divine Love 

  will balance out such a love deficit.

  That would mean a modest, 

  tasteful, lifestyle for all.

- Can we break out of the 24/7

  supposed "news" bombardment, 

  that overloads, overwhelms, 

  our souls and psyches 

  displacing a calmness of spirit,

  a soul sensitivity to God Love

  deeply intimate in us 

  and so splendid all round?

- Can we eschew addiction to 

  supposed social media 

  that is anything but 

  socially real or healthy?

- Will we keep at it until 

  we find or found

  a genuine 

  spiritual community?

-Will we deeply consider 

  with others the depths 

  of sacred writings?

- Are we ready to work 

  for social justice

  without becoming 

  either obsessed or

  self-righteous about it?

- Can we get beyond 

  churchy piety 

  and fall into 

  profound prayer,

  letting God 

  draw us intimate?

- Do we truly realize 

  it's either 

  "Thy Kingdom come"

              or

   Empire's Rule Unreal

   and that we are 

   currently trending 

   to one or the other

           AND

    it's an eternal tip

    with consequence?

- When it comes to 

  values, judgements, 

  actions, reactions,

  are they such that 

  they really are 

  Jesus living love in us?

  A close, honest look at 

  how we spend our time,

  invest our energies,

  live our preferences,

  will answer the question

  and probably will bobble up

  new, life/love 

  significant questions.  

- Just how actually 

  is Jesus the model 

  and companion 

  of our lives?   

  He prayed, 

  was profoundly 

  intimate with Abba.

  He helped and healed.

  He was completely human.

  He ate and drank 

  with all sorts of people. 

  He lived in community.

  and it was far from perfect.

  He didn't bail.

  Jesus was GodLove 

  personalized.

  Are we open to such

  in us with and for others?

  Jesus birthed 

  a new world order.

  There were lots of 

  birthing pains to it.

  He did it in 

  less-than-optimal 

  circumstances.

  He did it the midst of

  the evil that was the 

  Roman Empire.

  The bullyboys

  in the front office

  made him pay 

  with his life.

  They didn't realize that 

  life is more than a body.

  The GodLove that is Jesus

  sure suffered and died

   and simply sprung free,

  like a seed maturing 

  through and beyond 

  the confines of earth. 

  In us and our world 

  are we open to 

  our potential, 

  no matter 

  what it costs us?


  To catch the Spirit,

         better, 

         to let 

      The Spirit 

       catch us,

   please consider 

slow soulful months

         with

  EAGER TO LOVE

The Alternate Way of

   Francis of Assisi

     Richard Rohr

   Franciscan Media

   Cincinnati, Ohio

      Richard is 

   a clear channel

          of 

      GodLove.

     a wonderful 

    INFLUENCER

      ******

              

Hey, we all sure got 

our money's worth 

this week and well 

the investment.

It's been long, 

long on GodLove

and the gift of

The Wholly Spirit

      as our

 INFLUENCER


See you next week.

    Love to all.

    God Bless

   John Frank


                  frankly speaking

              spirituality for the street

           johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

                       ******