SHED

Dear All of Us,

 

SHEPHERDS FOUND GOD 

    IN A FARM SHED

 WHERE ARE WE LOOKING 

        TO FIND GOD

   Christmas Blessings

      John Frank

      ******

LIGHT BRIGHTS

Dear All of Us,

The Center Room of our

urban cottage in the sky (1)

faces west with four 

six by two and a half feet 

windows, and south 

with three more.

We have a corner on 

skyscape spacious.

That darkens out 

early, though,

these December days.

Not to worry.

My wife, Suzanne, 

has strung

loops of light

framing and filling 

the windows -

hundreds of tiny brights.

Set against the dark, 

they light dot defy dark.

It's quite 

a symbol 

of our 

spiritual lives, 

especially 

these dark days.

More and more 

that dark 

blocks out 

light bright,

inks out 

the lightsome,

spacious skyscape of

Grace and Creation -

truth denied 

savage politics, 

authoritarianism,  

wealth grab, 

culture clash,

tech terrifying future,

millions starving,

violence normalized - 

enough already!!

Not to worry!!

In our midst is

The Light of the World,

dark death defying.

Once in a while flashing in 

a bolt stunning bright - 

discovery of the wheel,

Francis of Assisi,

Gregorian Chant,

printing,

harnessing electricity,

Pope Francis.

Beacons bright all.

For most of history,

and mostly these 

dark dangered days,

The Light of the World

is strung out 

in you and 

I hope in me,

LIGHT BRIGHTS

        of

      Grace 

       and

  

    Creation -

raising our kids,

doing decent at work,

being vibrant in our 

spiritual communities,

looking out for the 

left outs and lost outs,

being people of 

peace and prayer,

living modestly, 

sharing extravagantly,

caring for the elderly,

speaking only when,

as Richard Rohr 

counsels:

    

     "Is it loving,

   

      is it true,

      is it necessary?" 

seeing and embracing 

           God 

            in 

 Nature and Neighbor, 

being faithful to 

family and friends, 

and an ever long string of 

    LIGHT BRIGHTS

We're looped out 

over all our

dark dangered world

          and

we will outlast and 

outlight the darkest 

of these days sharing 

The Light of the World.

Yes we will.

Together we are 

dots of light 

defying the dark,

shining hope 

as all people and places

await the dawn,

the coming of 

The SUN SON OF GOD,

In this mean time 

we are God's

LIGHT BRIGHTS

    ******

We hear with our eyes and

follow with our lives:

- Jesus once again 

  addressed them:

  "I am the world's Light. 

   No one who follows me 

   stumbles in the darkness. 

   I provide plenty of 

   light to live in."

      John 8:12 

          

    The Message

- Here's another way to put it:

  You're here to be light,

  bringing out the 

  God-colors in the world.

  God is not a secret to be kept.

  We're going public with this,

  as public as a city on a hill.

  If I make you light-bearers, 

  you don't think I am going 

  to hide you under a bucket, 

  do you?  I'm putting you 

  on a lamp stand.

  Now that I have 

  put you there on a hilltop, 

  on a lampstand - shine!

  Keep open house, 

  be generous with your lives. 

  By opening up to others, 

  you'll prompt people 

  to open up with God, 

  the generous father in heaven.

       Matthew 5:14-16

        The Message

           ******

(1) Our Washington DC 

     fifth floor apartment

            ******

What an enlightening 

to be here together.

         ******

ONLINE POSTING

Thursday afternoons

(often mornings)

East Coast USA time.

         ******

LAST FIVE POSTINGS

Just scroll down beneath

this posting.

          ******

Looking forward to us all

being together here 

next week.

Love to all.

God Bless.

  SHINE

John Frank

  ******

       frankly speaking

  spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

              ******

  

BRILLIANCE

Dear All of Us,

Thank God

it's impossible 

for the sun

to keep its 

intense 

goodness 

to itself.

Otherwise, 

we'd all be 

a bunch of 

popsicle people

frozen solid 

somewhere in

the deep freeze

of space.

The sun sure is

   hot stuff

having a blast 

being brilliant.

It pours itself 

      out 

pure, intense

  goodness

   energy

That's how 

it goes 

all through 

God's Good 

Creation.

It goes as 

God goes -

     hot stuff

  having a blast

  being brilliant,

  God pouring out

   pure, intense

     goodness

      energy

in all kinds of ways.

God counts on us

to be in on this 

Divine Radiance.

     

At our deepest, 

at our core,

we are 

  hot stuff

meant to be 

having a blast

being brilliant

pouring out

pure, intense

 God Love 

  Energy.

  We are 

at our core

 GOD HOT

We don't have 

to invent it 

or power it.

In fact we can't.

It's already there. 

We just need 

     to let

     God

   Flow Go

 through our 

    living 

      of 

 God Love

As the sun has

limitless rays

so does God.

  That's us

and all the rest 

of Creation

same source,

unique and 

complimentary 

radiances.

  BRILLENCE

  shining out:

Andrea Bocelli,

soul toned passion.

Mr. Rogers, 

gentle realness.

Shohei Ohtani,

baseball like

none before.

Jimmy Carter,

people principled.

Bishop Tutu 

      & 

The Dali Lama,

Soul Joyed.

Julia Child,

food effusive.

    A few 

 BRILLIANT

Public Persons

Closer to home 

      it's us

      each a  

   BRILLANCE

         a

   RADIANCE

        of

      God

flowing various 

through us living

     God Love

through our 

     unique

   Soul Gifts 

       See 

1 Corinthians 12

Romans 12:4-8

We raise kids.

We do a smack up 

job at work.

We keep the lights on 

when the world 

around us darkens 

We live "Light" hearted.

We steady the insecure.

We throw parties.

We gather prayer groups.

We guide teens.

We tell stories.

We make music.

We grow gardens.

We paint pictures.

We play sports.

We write.

We champion 

social justice.

We care for 

the elderly.

We teach. 

We feed and 

shelter the need.

We organize.

We counsel.

We reverence

      and

protect Nature.

We bake to die for

apple pies.

Some of us 

even write 

spirituality blogs

every week.

     We are

    GOD SUN

   CENTERED

  "The glory 

 (BRILLANCE)

    of God 

     is a 

human being 

  fully alive."

St. Irenaeus

Our purpose in life:

giving God a chance

through us to 

shine share God's

   BRILLIANCE

     ******

How good to weekly

    Shine Share

      together

        here.

A BRIGHT WELCOME

           to

      ALL RAYS

ONLINE POSTING

Thursday Afternoon

(frequently morning)

East Coast USA time.

RECENT POSTINGS

    AVAILABLE

         by

  scrolling down

     beneath

   this posting

Our Circulation Staff 

       is great.

Our Circulation Staff 

          is

        YOU!

    Thanks for 

connecting others 

         to

frankly speaking 

Let's ever more open

        Soul Center

        letting 

        God's

    BRILLANCE

     shine out

    refreshing, 

    redeeming,

    rejuvenating,

    rejoicing in 

Creation's Unfolding

      See you 

     next week.

     Love to all.

     God Bless,

     John Frank

                   frankly speaking

              spirituality for the street

           johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

                        ******

ADVENT

Hi Everyone!

Given that the

 Thanksgiving 

   Weekend 

    and the 

 beginning of 

    Advent

came together 

this past weekend,

let's move on from

   the posting

"TURKEY TIME" 

 to this posting

   "ADVENT"

    ******

 

Dear All of Us,

The Dictator

and his thug 

storm troopers

route and rule.

Law and order 

lost, disordered.

The rich richer.

The poor poorer.

Sound familiar?

It did to Jesus.

It was the 

tone and temper

of his time and place,

the control culture.

Empire dominated 

      as did

 ritual religion.

     Jesus' 

   ADVENT

  his coming,

  was to do 

  something about it 

  and all that troubles 

  soul and society, 

  to detox both.

  Jesus came as 

  a man and more 

  with a mission.

  Jesus came

  that we "... 

  might have life and 

  have it to the full,"(1)

  inside and out,

  soul and society.

That was 

two thousand 

years ago.

So what difference

has it made?

What's culturally current

these days?

Richard Rohr pinpoints:

  "There are three kinds 

   of cultures today,...

   political cultures 

   based on the 

   manipulation of power,

   economic cultures 

   based on the 

   manipulation of money, and 

   religious cultures 

   based on the 

   manipulation of 

   some theory about God."

   Each power fuels violence,

   painfully obvious to 

   subtlety sinister. (2)

       A NEEDED 

       SIDENOTE

       If the latter about 

       religious cultures 

       and violence 

       startles to angers,

       consider:

       The Inquisition 

       and the Crusades, 

       the thousands 

       upon thousands

       tortured and killed.

       The Protestant/

       Roman Catholic

       Thirty Years war, 

       up to eight million 

       civilians and soldiers 

       dead from battles, 

       famine, disease.

       Henry VIII taking 

       over the church

       and taking off 

       select heads.

       Puritans barbequing

       people at the stake.

       The Christian authors 

       of the American 

       Constitution 

       legitimating slavery.

       Generations of RC 

       teens and parents 

       told they would go 

       to hell for all eternity

       because of 

       masturbation/

       birth control. 

       Moslem jihad - 

       mass murders.

       These are but 

       a tiny portion 

       of such diabolic 

       religious evil.

       

Back to topic.

Two thousand years later

what's different 

other than the 

trappings and tempo?

Checking out 

the news, 

PBS to Fox,

Jesus and 

Kingdom culture 

central are not.

If we now 

let Jesus in, 

open to his 

 ADVENT

 what can be 

 different?

Rohr more:

"Jesus announced,

 lived, and inaugurated 

 for history 

 a new social order 

 that is an 

 actual alternative 

 to each of the above...

 He called it the 

 Kingdom or 

 Reign of God.

 It is the subject of 

 his inaugural address 

 and the majority 

 of his parables, 

 and clearly the 

 guiding image of 

 his entire ministry.

 It was also the reason 

 he was killed:

 'It is better for one man 

  to die for the people' (3)

  than to question 

  the bottom line that  

  is holding the 

  whole system together."(4)

    (Remember Dorothy Day:

    "...our problems 

     stem from 

     our acceptance 

     of this stinking, 

     rotten system...")

So it's Advent.

Advent candles 

on the table

and calendars

on the refrigerator

are fine.

"O Come, 

 O Come 

 Emmanuel"

is a lovely hymn. 

THE ADVENT 

OF JESUS,

THE ADVENT 

OF THE KINGDOM, 

they are not.

A "new social order" 

they are not.

The Sermon 

on the Mount (5)

details what is.

The Kingdom of God

is a radical departure in 

value and lifestyle 

from current cultures.

It is a wondrous,

full embrace and 

acceptance of the

invitation Jesus offers:

"Change your life. 

 God's kingdom 

 is here." (6)

 

To change our lives,

to get in on

The Kingdom of God,

is a lot more than 

going to church weekly, 

not cooking the books 

at work, 

sleeping only with 

our spouse, 

and observing 

a few pious practices.

It's powerfully,

beautifully more.

It is a change from 

the inside out -

heart and living,

self and society.

It's God Good

   infusing 

   Fullness 

   Divine. 

To open wide,

sustain stable, 

I respectfully urge us, 

vigorously encourage us,

to join with 

one to a few others

to pray ponder over:

JESUS' ALTERNATIVE PLAN 

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT

         Richard Rohr

       Franciscan Media

         Cincinnati, OH

              2020

Yes, that will take 

a lot of time.

It' more than 

worthy worth it.

It is uncompromisingly 

candid, clear, honest,

deeply insightful,

scripturally candid,

profoundly spiritual,

and particularly practical.

It will change us.

And we will be in on

changing the world.

We'll put feet under

"Thy kingdom come." (7)

Jesus showed up 

two thousand years ago. 

So far, with some 

holy exceptions, 

we have 

mostly responded 

with lots of institutional,

ritual religion,

minimal Kingdom.

Two thousand years 

is a long time 

to keep Jesus waiting

and two millennia

of God's children 

     wonting.

Being safe, set and settled 

in a comfy circumstance

is an operative temptation 

for most of us.

And look at the world 

we get falling for it!

       EKKS!!

"Change your life.

God's Kingdom 

is here."

It's available.

It's go ready.

And God 

sure would like 

our get go,

our company

and help in this

       now.

Jesus showed up 

and still does.

    And us?

    ******

For those open to it,

 please see below  

   FURTHERANCE

Going Growing Into

The Kingdom Of God

       ******

(1) John10:10

(2) Jesus' Alternative Plan

     The Sermon On The Mount

(3) John 11:50-53

(4) Jesus' Alternative Plan

      The Sermon On The Mount

(5) Matthew 5-7

(6) Matthew 4:17 The Message

(7) Matthew 6:9-13

          ******

WEEKLY POSTINGS

Usually Thursday Afternoons

(often mornings)

 East Coast USA Time

        ******

LAST FIVE POSTINGS

 Please scroll down

        below 

    this posting

      ******

     FURTHERANCE

GOING GROWING INTO

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

For those of us 

ready to open the 

Advent Door  

and help Jesus

usher in

The Kingdom of God

here's a stout cup 

of practical practice.

For this Advent and

right on through to the 

end of Lent 2026: 

- we slowly, daily

  pray ponder

  over Richard Rohr's

  Jesus' Alternative Plan

  The Sermon On The Mount.

- we spend 

  an hour a week 

  sharing with one 

  to a few others

  how we hope 

  to live the life of

  Kingdom freedom,

  the whys, what's 

  and how's,

  the soul lift and 

  caring service,

  the justice stabilizing

  of it and the 

  spiritual guts required. 

- on our own and 

  with the others

  we continue to explore 

  what is offered and

  how to actually live it

- we begin and end 

  praying for

  clarity and courage

- we do not approach 

   all this as a study 

   but as a

   growing into 

   what Jesus 

   invites and offers

-  we support 

   each other 

   in all this

   and do so 

   lots of lots.

    ******

I'm not a 

holy old man, 

but sure as "h"

- that stands for 

    "h"eaven -                                                                                                    

I am a smart old man.

I realize the odds 

for a take here 

are less than 

a bet that

Donald Trump 

practices yoga

every morning.

I also know 

the power 

of a few in Grace.

Check out 

Mother Teresa

and her Sisters.

So suppose that 

half of us

reading this 

right now

flew free and

"changed our lives",

        Read 

       values 

         and 

      lifestyle,

   opening to the

      ADVENT

         of 

  THE KINGDOM,

let it "BE" "COMING."

We here are many 

from many lands.

It could actually 

transform us and 

help our world 

do so as well.

It would be the

Kingdom coming 

"on earth as in heaven"

 and that would be

  WONDER FULL

   Love to ALL

   God Bless

   John Frank

    ******

        frankly speaking

    spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

             ******

  

 

  

 

       

 

TURKEY TIME

  Dear All of Us,

Here in The States

         it's

   Turkey Time, 

the most travelled, 

  the highest

High Holy Day

 of the year.

 Christians, 

 Moslems, 

 Jews, 

 Sikh's, 

 Hindi's, 

 nones,

just about everyone

of every sort, stripe, 

ethnicity and persuasion

gathers for one great big

           Feast

             of

          Thanks 

         Together

  

  It's literally a national

         Eucharist

 as in the ancient Greek     

      "eukharistos"

      thanksgiving

We go out 

of our way to be 

thank full together

(and that means

a lot more 

than just travel).

We step around 

blocks of difference to be 

thank full together.

We feast festive to be 

thank full together.

     It's a real

Whole Communion

     because 

    in thanks

we are together.

   

There's a lot 

to munch on there

besides turkey.

    ******

On a personal note,

this marks 

nine years of 

frankly speaking.

Thank you

for our weekly

Whole Communion

     together

   I am full of

THANKS GIVING.

The hope from 

start and still 

       is to 

clarify and encourage.

"Give thanks to the Lord..."

        Psalm 107

     and I sure do!!

     and to all of you

     and I sure do!!

  See you next week.

      Love to all.

      God Bless.

      John Frank

      ******

 

 

 

   

 

   

  

HAPPENS

  Dear All of Us,

      In the 

high octane days

     of youth 

I was a counselor 

        at a 

summer day camp.

     Loved it!

Had twenty-five 

six-year-old boys.

Yah, every night

went home

really happy 

and darn tired.

The biggest hit 

and challenge 

of the day

was swimming.

Everybody loved it.

It meant a

school bus ride out

to McDonald's Beach

       -  Speaking of McDonald,

          this was 

          so long ago that 

          Ronald Mc Donald 

          hadn't even been 

          invented yet!!

The kids had a ball, 

worked off incredible 

amounts of energy 

and so did I 

flipping them

in the water and 

letting them dive 

off my shoulders,

submarine dives

with them 

on my back.

      And then!!

        It was 

locker room mayhem 

getting them changed 

and packed up for

the trip back to town.

All these centuries later 

I can still hear 

the perplexed plea

from somewhere 

in the locker room,

      "Mr. J, 

   I can't find 

my underpants!"

And often 

neither could I 

find them for 

little Bobby 

or little Charlie 

the next time

it happened.

Never figured 

that one out.

Thank goodness

the parents were 

understanding. 

And they were

really generous

and considerate 

letting me know when 

some of the boys 

arrived home

with their 

underpants on 

inside out,

back in front,

or both!

So, what's 

so spiritual about 

The Saga of the 

  Underpants,

right side out, 

or not quite,

or not at all?

Well, you just let 

an old man do 

what we like to do -

tell stories.

So grace full 

of you for me!

Thank You

There's much more.

The story 

reflects that

little graces  

are actually 

big graces: 

- a teen counselor 

  stretch's for

  little kids,

  a start-up step 

  for him

  toward future

  fathering

- He meets God in 

  God's favored 

  little ones

  ("...the kingdom 

  of heaven belongs 

  to such as these.."

  Matthew 19:14)

- the little ones 

  experience 

  a touch of 

  God fathering 

  them in him

- For both it was

     a playful

Holy Communion

          in 

     God Love, 

     vigorous, 

  truly soul full

- it tells the tale that 

  HOLINESS HAPPENS

    WHERE WE DO

        

       All this 

    HAPPENED  

          at

McDonald's Beach, 

     Wayne, NJ

  

 Ronald McDonald 

 debuted in 1963.

  

The above 

took place in 1956.

 

 The boys were six.

  Today they are 

  actually more than

  eligible for 

  Social Security!!!

  

  I thank God for them.

  I thank God for you.

  I thank God for 

  little graces 

  that actually are

  big graces.

  I thank God

  We're all 

  happening.

       

   "Not all of us

    can do 

    great things. 

    But we can do 

    small things 

    with great love."

    Mother Teresa

       

    "God is love"

     1 John 4:8

   That's how God

      HAPPENS

       ******

     

    WELCOME

       to this

 Holy Communion

      ******

    A SPECIAL

   HIGH FIVE 

   for our 

   first ever

   participation 

   from 

   Palestine.

   So glad to be 

   together here.

   Heartfelt prayer 

   for you, 

   your people 

   and land.

 

ONLINE POSTING

Thursday afternoons

  (often mornings)

East Coast USA time

      ******

       PLEASE

  continue to let 

  frankly speaking 

      happen 

  where you are 

   by sharing it 

   with others.

     Thanks

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  Great to be together.

  See you next week.

      Love to all.

      God Bless.

      John Frank

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         frankly speaking

    spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

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