FROM THE HEART

  Dear All of Us,

    This week

 more than ever

      I write 

      straight  

FROM THE HEART

 from my heart 

 right to yours.

I ask your patience.

This is going to take 

      generous

consideration and focus.

I ask that together

       we give 

     mind-time 

        and 

  spirit-expanse 

      to it.

It's critical.

I'm painfully 

 concerned

for all of us.

      Concerned 

we darn well need be 

these dangerous days.

    Concern yes.

But worry and anxiety no. 

They just compound 

the problem 

and deplete 

our response reserve.

Worry and anxiety no.

Sadly though, so many are

painfully anxious right now,

worry weary worn.

There's such anxiety 

about what's being 

taken away and 

what is replacing it.

In painful contrast 

there's such anxiety, 

disguised as satisfaction, 

about getting rid of much

and reordering much other, 

yet worried and anxious

down deep that  

it may not work or hold.

Here in my homeland

       - USA -

      we are in 

   the early stages

    of a massive 

 Cultural Revolution.

Half of us are for it.

Half of us are not.

This seismic social 

shift and split

has unmoored 

much here

and worldwide. 

In different ways and

for different reasons, 

just about all are anxious,

admitted or satisfied.

We embody the very

root meanings of 

                   anxiety:

 (L)   "anxius" = distressed, troubled

 (Gk) "ankho" = to choke

And here comes Jesus:

 "Don't worry about things... 

  For you already have life and a body...

  Will your worries add a single moment to your life?...

  But your heavenly Father already knows perfectly well 

 (your needs) and will give them to you 

         if you give him first place in your life 

         and live as he wants you to." (1)

                (alinement with Reality)

Friends Right,

Friends Left,

Friends Middle. 

Do we give God 

  first place?

Are we living

as God wants?

God is no fool 

      and

we dare not fool around.

Jesus is bluntly clear. 

He's certainly not

fooling around.

Here are the

     now measure 

           and  

    forever results 

         of the

     anxiety free 

   Kingdom Living

     Jesus offers,

by giving the Father 

      first place 

        and 

       living 

 as he wants us to 

       or 

 not doing so:

    "I tell you the truth, 

     whatever you (do) did for 

     the least of my brethren, 

     you did unto me." (2)

There is a 

divine equivalency.

Treating others 

is treating God

for good or ill, 

giving God 

first place 

or not, 

living as the Father 

wants us to 

or not.

That's the measure.

The ultimate results are 

" Inherit the kingdom"

     eternal fulness

 (wondrous heaven)

            or

  "Depart from me ... 

   into the eternal fire" 

   forever nothingness

 (that will burn like hell)

 each depending on how 

 we treat God in others. (3)

Jesus is crystal clear 

about the measure:

     "Do unto others 

      as you would have them 

      do unto you." (4)

By what I do to and 

don't do for others 

I am directly doing 

or not to God,

I am giving primacy of place 

to God or refusing it.

Let's turn that round 

       to see it  

  ever more right:

   whatever we want 

   is a guide good to 

   what and how we 

      treat others:

- I don't want others 

  to have way more 

  than needed and me 

  not having enough 

  to make it, 

  so I will...

- I don't want others to force 

  their preferences on me, 

  so I will...

- I want safety, good education, 

   adequate medical care, 

  clear air, clean soil, 

  a decent standard of life 

  for me and mine, 

  so I will...

- I want others 

  to recognize I am 

  a child of God and 

  treat me as such, 

  so I will...

- I don't want others to have 

  privilege or preference 

  over me, 

  so I will...

- I don't want others forcing 

  their conscience on me, 

  so I will... 

- I want society to be structured 

  and experienced as 

  a family not as a 

  competitive corporation, 

  so I will... 

- I don't want to be 

  media-mental-moral-mad messed,

  so I will...

- I want genuine religious freedom, 

  so I will...

- I don't want The Common Good 

  to be restricted to select strata, 

  so I will...

- If I'm ever down and out 

  I don't want to be thrown out 

  on the street, 

  so I will...

- If I ever become mentally ill 

  I don't want others 

  to run away from me, 

  but get me help, 

  so I will...

- I don't want to be deported 

  just because I'm white 

  and was born here, 

  so I will...

- If/when/as I get poor, old, 

  handicapped, "different", 

  I don't want to be ignored, 

  hung out to dry 

  so I will...

- And.............................

  so I will...

If we love others as ourselves

we are giving the Father 

primacy of place,

we are living as the Father 

wants us to, 

we're loving God,

     "God is love... 

      There is no fear (anxiety)in love...

      But perfect love 

      drives out fear(anxiety) ..." (5)

As already said, these are

dark, dangerous times.

A lot is coming down and undone.

A lot more is to come down and undone.

It's a ride to we know not where.

Concern for sure.

    "Be wise as a serpent

     and as guileless

     as a dove" (6)

    

       Practically

   we can do little

   to right a world 

 being spun backward.

     A select few 

dominate the controls

         BUT

   anxiety, worry

    on our part 

won't change that.

     They are 

  wasted energy,

    missed life, 

disconnect from God.

To hell with anxiety!!

  To heaven with

     Godly Life 

in loving community,

personal, practical, 

        shared

         with

care for the least and all.

          Whatever

       the particulars 

       where we live 

      may we give God 

         first place 

        in our lives 

        and live as 

     God wants us to.

        For all of us 

          I pray it

     FROM THE HEART

   right from my heart 

         to yours.

Thanks for giving extra 

        Soul Time 

        this week.

 I'll make it up to you 

      next week.

       Promise!

With a bit of effort

I can actually can be 

     brief in word 

          but 

never in love for you!!

     God Bless

     Your brother

     John Frank

        ******

(1) Mt.6: 25-27, 32-33

     Living Bible translation

(2) Mt.25:40

(3) Mt.25:34 & 41

(4) Mt.7:12

(5) 1Jn.4:16,18

(6) Mt.10:16

            ******

  AN AFTER THOUGHT

Some may say what about 

studying scripture, 

contemplative prayer,

spiritual community,

stiving for social justice, 

working for planetary survival

         as ways to 

mystical union with God?

The answer is, for sure.

They all lead to, support,

flow from 

     LIVED IMMEDIACY

         WITH GOD

That happens out here on

the street of everyday life,

face to face with God as we are

face to face with those in need.

We're so close and busy with 

      LIVING GOD LOVE

that we just don't have time 

         for anxiety. 

This is not to say that 

just everything will be 

honky dory, pain free,

smooth going on Easy Lane.

           No way

Empire is making hell.

It hurts big time bad.

Hurt is one thing.

Useless anxiety is another.

We get to start heaven 

in the midst of hell. 

      ******

           

        WELCOME ALL

               to

       frankly speaking

   spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

      This week we were 

      joined and blessed 

      by many new folks.

         Thank You!

           ******

NEXT ONLINE POSTING

Tuesday morning/afternoon

East Coast USA time

April 15, 2025

NEXT EMAIL DELIVERY

Friday

April 18, 2025

           ******

See you next week.

Love to all.

God Bless,

John Frank

 

                    

                                             

 

YES

Dear All of Us, 

So, guess what?

Well, that's not really a question.

It's a lead in to me blowing off a bit. 

You see, I just spent 

the whole darn morning 

writing a long, big, fat,

bloated blog piece 

all about our 

    spiritual life. 

 It's a mess mass of 

      words.

     EKKKS!!

     ******

             LATER

Thanks for letting me word 

my frustration with 

this morning's word overload.

After prayer and a nap

here's a new go at it. 

       ******

 

Actually, our spiritual life is 

a beautifully simple matter.

       ONE WORD 

          does it.

 Our whole spiritual life 

        in a word is

            YES

  Our whole spiritual life 

            is a 

           Lived

            YES 

             to 

        God Good

 practical and personal

Watch out, though. 

Sad too much 

so called spirituality

words us to death

as I started to do 

this morning. 

It piles on

a dump truck of 

  "Have To's" 

      and 

"Don't You Dares,"

worries us down.

It wares the 

liv'n heck out of us.

We have to 

figure out and do 

a heaven of a lot 

to get there and 

avoid a hell of a lot more

to not go there.

It's decidedly 

an overtime job X2.

Well, we're just not up to it.

It's like an electrical cord 

stressing for the output 

of a generator.

Better put, the wonderous word 

of the spiritual life is that 

   God is in a Love Burst,

   God is branching out 

     all over the place

   We call it Creation.

          God is 

    Self-Expressing

      Love Making

  proteins to planets, 

  tulips to Grand Tetons.

            And 

        most of all

God passionately wants 

     to self-express,

       to expand 

 as us and through us.

 All we have to do is 

         live a

         YES

  God takes care 

    of the rest.

God not only supplies the energy,

God is the energy and the Reality

  that we can be and do in our

  unique, personal, human way. 

       God wants to be 

       person present 

             in us

          through us,

          in person 

   in the persons we are.

  (Yes, that's repetitious.

   May it add emphasis

   to what God wants

   and we need notice!)

As many here know, 

my favorite most parable 

is John 15:1-8. 

Jesus offers to be our life

and to be fruitful through us:

     "I am the vine and 

      you are the branches...

      This is my father's glory, 

      that you bear much fruit"

      

In other words, Jesus is asking

     can I happen as you,

     can I love you to life in my life,

     can I be personal and present 

           in you and through you,

                can I be 

           the unique body, 

           personality, 

           gifts and abilities,

           soul and psyche 

           I so want to be for you 

           and through you 

           for others?

           Can we be so close

           that we are 

           paradoxically,

           actually,

           Two In One

        Separately Same 

                 

God wants to be 

placed and personal 

          to 

     particular 

people and places,   

those in our zone 

    through us.

To rework that homey, 

hooky image above, 

God is the generator and 

we are the electrical cord.

God is our current and 

we are God's 

connectors/conduits.

God electrifies, 

powers us and

through us.

     Our lived 

        YES 

means things like:

We let God be intimate 

to our deepest selves 

in prayer.

We delight with union

in God and 

with all of God's 

people and Creation.

We rejoice in our uniqueness.

We open wide to God 

surging through us: 

  - in the oneness of 

     that mystical union

  - giving us right and real 

    direction in life  

  - in our spiritual 

    sensitivities and practices

  - in voting, investing 

    our conscience 

    not our pocketbook 

    or privilege

  - in being patient with 

    the loudmouth at

   (work, church, a party,...)

  - in having enough and 

    sharing all the rest

 (admonition of St. Augustine)   

  - in being serious without being 

    stone cold sober somber,

  - in being easy, lightsome 

    without being 

    flighty feather fluffy,

  - in helping to clear 

    the dinner table 

    when we feel like 

    heading for 

    the lounge chair

  - in changing a particularly 

    repugnant diaper

  - in deep community 

    as a church

  - in buying and using 

    environmentally 

    just products

  - in fully applying 

    ourselves at work

  - in using and sharing 

    our particular 

    talents and abilities for 

    The Common Good:

    hospitality, coaching, 

    mentoring, organizing, 

    writing, leading, 

    sharing gifts that are 

    musical, intellectual, artistic, 

    athletic, spiritual, financial,

    crafts and trades,

    sponsoring/supporting 

    social justice efforts ...

God is a Love Surge.

God craves Oneness 

       with us.

There are people and places 

where God wants to plug in 

    and energize 

and that through us.

 What do we say?

May it be a robust, 

vigorous, wholly

   Love Lived

       YES 

     ******

   FURTHERENCE

"I live now not I, 

 but Christ lives in me."

   Galatians 2:20

What are the 

personal and practical 

implications of this 

for each of us and

for our spiritual community?

           ******

Speaking of Spiritual Surge

It's been another week with 

many, many new folks

joining in with us here at

     frankly speaking

        There's been 

     a significant surge

              from 

     The Netherlands

Welcome groups and individuals 

        from around our

   GLOBAL NEIGHBERHOOD

       OUR NEXT POSTING

   Tuesday morning/afternoon

    East Coast USA time

    April 8, 2025

      

   OUR NEXT EMAIL DELIVERY

   Friday

   April 11, 2025

LAST FIVE POSTINGS AVAILABLE

                    by

       scrolling down beneath

             this posting

       Great to be together.

         Have a good week.

             Love to all.

             God Bless,

             John Frank

         frankly speaking

   spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

            ******

WHAT A DIFFERENCE

Dear All of Us,

As a kid I had red hair.

Over time it turned blond, 

then white and then 

mostly just gave up

and took leave of my  

 now shinny head.

(Finally, I'm bright!)

WHAT A DIFFERENCE

   over the years

    

          

As a kid I didn't like 

    being different,

 

    being called

  

    "Hey, Red!"

except when someone 

   

         said

"My, what beautiful 

 red hair you have."

I don't think I'm 

all that different

than most of us.

I had to learn 

to deal with 

my differences

   and with

those of others.

A birth injury 

shortened 

   

    and 

weakened 

my left arm.

I sure was a

  "lefty" 

- left out -

of baseball 

and basketball. 

That difference hurt.

But look out because

my especially strong 

right arm, lungs and legs

would run you off 

the tennis court and 

outdistance you in track

and that in record time

to say nothing of 

formattable defense 

as a right back in soccer.

Those differences 

sure as heck felt good.

I have this theory that 

difficulty and discomfort 

with difference 

is a prime problem

in mental health and

in societal accord, 

both stemming from 

   souls stifled 

      fearful

       

         of

 

   difference.

Media and merchants

make their bucks 

  pressuring us

to duck and weave

to their manipulations 

 

     of difference

         and 

   our discomfort 

  

    if we don't.

A simple and silly 

style difference.

In my many years 

it was once fashion right 

to wear a bow tie, 

then damn that difference.

Wide, wide ties were in

then outed with trim ones

and those outed now 

with no ties at all.

Different religions diss

other religions for their 

different views of the Divine.

They ignore the wonder 

that God is so vast 

that no one angle 

sees or shows 

more than that.

We'd get 

a fuller picture 

if we all shared 

our different

views and angles. 

Fascist pick out and on 

a different minority and

get the populus convinced 

that those folks are making 

a terrible difference and

we have to get rid of them.

And of course 

the fascist leader  

will lead us to rid 

the dangerous difference.

That galvanizes the power 

      of the fascist, 

   distracts and dupes 

       the masses

     by brutalizing

    an innocent but

  

   different minority.

Cain couldn't handle 

his brother, Abel, 

coming in number one with

a very different offering, 

so he killed him. 

People still kill off

a lot of God Good 

because it's different.

Looking deeply we see 

the divine paradox that

           God is 

            ONE 

    

    DIFFERENTIATED

     That's Creation.

  

        That's us.

 That's rocks and rivers, 

     male and female 

       with some

  beautifully different 

  shades and shapes 

      in-between,

    salt and sugar,

 savors of difference,

  gentle, quiet people 

      and robust, 

   vigorously voiced

    different others.

In God's design,

difference is 

God shinning

in ever endless 

   radiances 

of light, intensity, 

hue and color.

To diss the difference 

      is to deny 

  God Goodness

  

  Differentiated

That throws horrid shadows

that frighten and foul.

That darkens delight.

We are so afraid of that dark

that we do dark to self 

and different other.

   

   Creation doesn't 

homogenize difference.

It glows through it and

WHAT A DIFFERENCE. 

In starting to write 

this weekly blog 

eight and a half years ago

I had to embrace 

the gift of difference.

I'm influenced 

by the unique 

manner and mode 

        

         of 

Shakespear, 

e.e.cummings 

and most of all 

Gerard Manley Hopkins.

I scatter words 

across the page,

take liberties with lines,

particularize punctuation,

type tones, touches, 

and tempos, 

play a bit, 

all in a free form.

That makes some people 

crazy and they check out.

That's fine.

There's a library of  

spirit sharing writers

available to us, 

and that in 

in many different, 

marvelous styles.

Ron Rolheiser, O.M.I. 

writes in long, linear fashion

and is it ever good!

Yet another is the

Daily Meditations

       from 

The Center for Action 

and Contemplation.

It presents a kaleidoscope 

               of

different styles and writers.

      I read it each day.

Sometimes the differences

        stretch me. 

    I count that a gift. 

This week I am sharing 

some about me and 

    my dealings 

  with difference.

   

  

   Now how about you?

        I pray you 

delight, prosper and share

           in your 

  

  God Given, God Glow 

  

       Different Ways

   May we all be at home 

  in our blessedly different 

       skins and souls 

  

       spirits and styles.

    God wants to happen 

             as us 

      

         right where 

            just as 

 

           we are.

  

There are many different 

 

         God Good 

 gifts to accept and give, 

 souls to sing, 

 unions to create,

 truths to speak,

 needy to nurture,

 impoverished to enrich,

    

 depths to discover,

 injustices to right,

 jobs to do,

 children to raise,

 elderly to assist,

 soils to rejuvenate,

 poems to pen,

 guests to bring home,

 pies to bake, 

 endlessly different and more. 

        

         God is a Give Away

              We accept

              We share

God wants to make a difference.

 

              That's us

 AS DIFFERENT AS WE MAY BE

                   

                and

     WHAT A DIFFERENCE

                

              ******

We gathered here are 

as different as can be

in age, personality, 

ethnicity, homeland,

spiritual gifts 

and experience.

All are welcome.

Being together, well,

WHAT A DIFFERENCE

        ******

Again and always, 

thanks to all who share 

    frankly speaking 

with others.

You are our 

one and only

Circulation 

Department!!

NEXT ONLINE POSTING

Tuesday morning/afternoon

East Coast USA time

April 1, 2024

NO FOOLING!

NEXT EMAIL DELIVERY

Friday

April 4, 2025

LAST FIVE POSTINGS AVAILABLE

                   by

scrolling down beneath this posting

Praying us all the grace to be 

and make the difference 

God invites and others need.

    See you next week.

       Love to all,

       God Bless,

      John Frank

       frankly speaking

   spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

 

            ******