Wednesday, January 14, 2026

RITE RIGHT


      Friends

This week's offering 

is being posted 

an evening earlier 

than usual.

  All the best.

   John Frank

    ******



Dear All of Us,

Years, musculature 

and energy ago 

I regularly stayed at 

my friend and more 

Jude Willett's farm. 

It is near the 

Abbey of Gethsemani 

in beautiful,

rural Kentucky. 

Being on the farm

         was 

    St. Benedict's 

      LIFE RITE,

   "Ora et Labora"

       for sure.

  

We bailed hay, 

planted, picked 

and canned vegetables, 

cut timber, built a barn, 

transported 

hogs and cattle 

to and from the 

auction house 

in Frankfort,

having a six A.M. 

breakfast at 

Tom Pigg's eatery

in Bardstown on the way

- an overabundance of 

  delicious cholesterol 

  and a generous spread 

  of country fresh folks -

shared story and soul, 

teased and prayed. 

        I loved it.


There is an earthy, 

hard scrabble, 

honesty and often 

humorous comradery 

about farm folk. 

They help 

each other out. 

Living close 

to the earth 

lifts soul 

heavenward. 

Life is paced 

slow and steady. 

There's time to notice

God Good

across the spread

of time and place.

That was in

marked contrast 

to the intense, 

rushed life 

for me

back home in 

suburban New Jersey 

in those days.


Being on the farm 

meant many blessings. 

High on the list 

was a chance 

to slow down and

and catch up with 

God, Creation 

and myself.

That difference made 

all the difference

for Soul Self.


Farm Rite is one 

of countless Life Rites 

that mix and match us 

      Life Right

with our deeper selves,

neighbors and Nature,

a fresh encounter 

with the divine

incarnate varied wondrous

in our midst.

e.g. music camps, 

square dancing,

mission trips, 

literary gatherings, 

hiking/biking clubs, 

spiritual retreats,

prayer/Bible Study groups, 

community gardening, 

singing barbershop

quilting circles,

Saturday volunteer

"Fix It Teams" 

for the needy, ...


These immersions in

good difference

refresh, renew our spirits.

There is a fundamental

wholeness, holiness

      in them.

They clear channel 

    The Spirit 

with new grace gifts.

They balance us out

      Rite Right

       ******


       

       FURTHERENCE

      For Ponder Prayer


The apostles then rendezvous

with Jesus and reported on all

they had done and taught.

Jesus said,

"Come off by yourselves,

 let's take a break 

 and get a little rest."

 For there was constant 

 coming and going. 

 They didn't even 

 have time to eat.

  Mark 6:30-31

 THE MESSAGE


    (Jesus) 

"Are you tired?

Warn out? 

Burned out 

on religion?

Come to me. 

Get away with me and

you'll recover your life.

I'll show you how

to take a real rest. 

Walk with me and

work with me - 

watch how I do it.

Learn the unforced 

rhythms of grace.

I won't lay anything heavy

or ill-fitting on you.

Keep company with me 

and you'll learn to live

freely and lightly."

Mattthew 28-30

THE MESSAGE

     ******



 WEEKLY POSTINGS

Thursday afternoons

(often mornings)

East Coast USA time


PAST POSTINGS

Just scroll well 

down below

 this posting.


It's so right rite

being here together 

each week.

Have a good one 

upcoming.

   Love to all.

   God Bless, 

   John Frank



                   frankly speaking

             spirituality for the street

          johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

                       ******



 










 


Thursday, January 8, 2026

NEWS


Dear All of Us,

David Muir is a crisp,

sober, fast paced, 

TV newscaster 

here in the States.

More nights than not

he begins with:

"There's news tonight."

That news is mostly 

like the night, 

the deepest, 

darkest night -

gerrymandered injustice,

petulant, polluted politics,

intentional inequality,

international upheaval,

people and places violated,

truth deliberately distorted,

rage at roads of social intersections,

religion wrong left and right,

media mind bending,

violence normalized,

individualism isolating to 

loneliness and depression,

sleaze sports,

vapid, dumbing down

entertainments.

Shades of dark 

ever darker

leading to

social blackout,

self-downed dark.  


There's more than Muir

reporting darkness.

There are those 

turning off the lights.

These false prophets 

promise plenty,

leave us 

shorted, distorted.

They have become among

the world's wealthiest 

by pushing psychic 

and social porn

(porn = perversion of the good).

They and their lackeys

deep darken the populous. 

Loose in the land 

are legions of these 

false prophets

profiting from 

their violation

of the real and good.  

In their adolescent 

immaturity

    and 

grandiosity,

they peddle 

truth pillaged,

reality riddled weird. 

They provide 

platform and program 

flashing at us 

a mad, mad world

soullessly spinning to spoil,

piling up a garbage dump

of damnable 

distortion and destruction.


        PHEW!!!!!


Incessant exposure to such

over and over and over again

saps spirit, worries head,

attacks heart, stuns soul.

It's more than galaxies 

from good news.

It is damnable 

downing 

dark!


Yes, there is 

a miserable, mass mess,

ink dark depressing.



Most media misses the

The actual lead stories 

in life. 

Our balance and 

well-being depend 

on not missing them.

In them the 

minus mania of

the mass media 

is "crossed" 

positive plus,

foundation firm,

heart humming,

light bright generating.

It reports, reflects

The Goodness 

that is God

radiant,

day bright, 

growth warming in

a divine profusion,

dynamic, splendid,

ever expanding,

not to be missed. 

The Real Lead Story 

       In Life


Nature releases 

deep down 

God Goodness.

It does so in quilts 

of splendor spread 

varied worldwide - 

canyons, creeks,

fields fruitful,

mountains,

birds,

creatures stripped,

spotted, sleek, 

submerged, slow,

seasons warm 

in growth, 

resting to renewal.

      Nature  

petals to planets, 

God's first imprint,  

The oldest Bible,

top of the news,

font page positive,

not to be missed.

The Real Lead Story

      In Life
 

Our globe of glory 

is home to 

households of us,

unique and 

complimentary.

Lots of lots, 

differently good.

Here in The States 

peoples delightfully 

varied in 

the Dakoda's,

rural Kentucky,

Louisiana bayous,

busy Manhattan,

sprawling California,

the mid-west 

plains of plenty,

suburbs and towns

across the land.

Cousins many

worldwide.

We dress, think, 

cook our food,

raise our kids, 

speak our 

hearts and minds,

live our traditions,

in distinctive richness

of manner and mode.

All around 

our shared world

the vast majority 

of us are

doing our best 

to be friends and

families, neighbors, 

co-workers, helpers,

living real life's 

lead story.

God is love and 

we can be too.

For us God is 

experienced, 

understood, 

ritualized

in a splendid 

palette of traditions. 

A kaleidoscope 

wonderous.

Oh yes!

There is so much other

and abundantly more 

    God Goodness 

      reporting

The Real Lead Story

        In Life



Worldwide, though,  

the controlling media,

hypes the horrible,

cheapens taste,

violates truth,

tries to addict us to 

screen and screech 

darkness. 

They and 

their tech tools 

grease the skids 

for the

dark doers in 

government,

commerce, 

culture, 

courts.


To put it 

painfully plain, 

modern media and 

tech mania are

demon possessed.

People indiscriminate

with them will be 

morally and mortally 

mauled dark dead.


A Soul Suggestion:

Our souls and society 

depend on us managing

a corrective telling to 

a media and technology 

deployed and determined 

to control us dark.

It's so prevalent 

that we are tempted 

to take it as normative.

It is devilishly 

just the opposite.


So, we carefully 

select and limit

our media/tech 

exposures.

This is a needed, 

countercultural 

act of living 

a wholesome, 

reality based, 

spiritual life.


We do well to ask:

- is this true

- is this necessary

- is this in sync with

  with the words 

  and way of

  Jesus Christ

- is this living 

  Kingdom Coming?



All this is hard to hear.

The alternative is to die 

before we are dead.


We get all this right 

or it's hell on earth for

the earth and 

us its people. 


The media/tech people

rule the world,

subtle in their slickness. 

As mentioned above, 

they grease the skids 

for the despots who 

are brutalizing truth,

the earth and

increasingly more

of its people.

This is not 

what and how 

God invites us 

to be and live.

Again, the

media/tech demons

offer us 

bread and circus 

as they degrade us 

and all of 

God's Creation

claiming betterment.


To "Say it again Sam":

Their "product" 

is so common,

so culture interwoven, 

that we seem to see it  

as just the way things are.

This is precisely  

how the Nazi's

duped and doped 

the people of Germany.

Media hypnosis.

There was hell to pay.


Given the speed 

and lethalness of

today's misinformation 

and nukes 

with AI now taking hold 

of the controls,

we need the 

grace and wisdom 

to checkmate 

the reporting 

from lie-land and

fully, vigorously 

    live-tell 

The Real Lead 

In Life's Story.


Just as we become 

what we eat, 

so we become 

what we take in

head, heart and soul,

individually and 

as a society.


We wouldn't allow 

a pervert 

to abuse a child.

We must not allow 

the media/tech 

false for profit,

pervert prophets

to abuse us, 

The Common Good,

The Good Earth 

where we live

by God's gift.



An essential help here 

is to be woven tight 

in a spiritual community

that strives to live

actually and practically, 

        truthfully

   in mutual support 

     THE GOSPEL

   of the one who is

       "The way, 
 
        the truth 

       and the life."

        John 14:6

         That's 
 
    The Real Lead

            In 

     Life's Story

      It sure is 

     THE GOOD 
 
       NEWS
      
      ******


PS

On the chance that 

all this may seem 

alarmist, overstated,

we do well to read real, 

        to read 

       real Jesus 

           on 

   pervert prophets

     who seek to

spoil soul, society, and

   sanctuary earth

for profit and power:

     "Watch out for 

      false prophets.

      They come to you 

       in sheep's clothing, 

       but inwardly they are

       ferocious wolves.

       By their fruits 
    
       you will recognize them."

                  Jesus

             Matthew 7:15


             
           John cautions:


     "Beloved, do not believe 

      every spirit, but

      test the spirits,

      whether they are 

      of God;

      because many 

      false prophets 

      have gone out 

      into the world."

        1 John4:1


     
     Jesus yet again:


       "Then many 

        false prophets 

        will rise up 

        and deceive many. 

        And because 

        lawlessness 

        will abound, 

        the love of many 

        will grow cold."

        Matthew 24:11-12

   It is helpful to Pray Ponder 

       all of chapter 24.

    Could the conclusion 

          have many 

   moments and motions

        wrapping up 

  in a slow motion over time,

     our time included?

           ******

PPS

Please consider reading 

all of Matthew 24  

as offered in 

    THE MESSAGE  

     (free online)

     for another 

wording of the warnings.

        ******
              




   A WARM WINTER WELCOME

                 TO

                 ALL

              ******


ONLINE POSTING

Thursday afternoons

(frequently morning)

USA East Coast time

       ******



LAST FIVE POSTINGS

  Please scroll down 

       beneath 

     this posting
          
        ******


            THANKS

         much to many

           for sharing

           with others

         frankly speaking
    spirituality for the street
johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

              ******


     So good to be together.

Thanks for your good company.

        See you next week

            Love to all.

            God Bless,

            John Frank

             ******








    
  









 


 






















Thursday, January 1, 2026

Fit

Dear All of Us,

So, I just got 

a new pair of cargoes, 

my favored most pants.

I'd ware them to bed  

if I could get away with it.


Given their givens 

        and 

 given my givens,

      though,

     size-wise

   adjustments 

   are requisite 

 if there is to be 

   any kind of a 

        FIT

   (and that's 

  entirely up to 

   the cargoes, 

   of course!)


   Not so our 

 spiritual lives.

There it's strictly 

  Double Dutch,

  us and other,

when adjustments 

are requisite for a

         FIT

We and all manner 

     of things

 material, spiritual, 

  social, personal,

         and

  environmental

 interwork change 

        for a

     God Good

         FIT

   

 It mostly means 

 much more than 

   a tiny touch 

   of tailoring.

  

For us to be 

     FIT

    for a

maturing 

spiritual life 

means a 

continuous 

"re-sizing" 

   of our

   images, 

  concepts, 

  attitudes,

relationships, 

     and

  practices

 about God, 

 about ourselves, 

 about just about

    everybody 

       and 

 everything else.

  It is decidedly

      Adjust 

       for a

   GOD GOOD

        FIT

 

A lanky lean teen 

   can't fit into  

    a toddler 

   stout short.


We change 

to fit in with

what is good, 

   as is

or we are 

  "unfit"

That hurts us

      and 

we hurt others.


   That's because the

        ONENESS

          that is

           God,

          that is

          What Is,

          Goodness,

          Existence, 

          Creation,

          Reality  

          "Is"-ness

             is

             a 

delightful dynamic, an

expansive movement,

      God Good

creatively, continuously 

   unfolding forth.


"When i was a child 

 I talked as like a child,

 I thought like a child,

 I reasoned like a child.

 When I became an adult, 

 I put childish ways behind me."

      1 Corinthians 13:11

         Freeing change

              FIT

         for fullness.


It's exhausting but 

it's exciting because 

it's expansive

in all directions.

     

So much for

"Give me that 

old time religion."


When I was 

five years old,

God was up there 

in heaven, 

busy at the controls.

Now at eighty-five,

God is deepest me,

all around,

endlessly beyond,

All In All.

In truth, though, 

I can't 

contain God 

in a concept.

   

     Happily,

     Metaphor,

     Analogy,

     Simile 

     Poetry 

 speak a peek 

      into

The Mystery

      of 

  What Is,

     of

   God


For me 

at eighty-five 

it's like this: 

I am immersed

      in a

 Sea of Good,

   flowing in

creative currents

        of 

   God's Love

dynamic in delight.

I am in the flow 

and the flow is 

in me and 

through me.

Sure, there is some

disgusting pollution 

fouling the flow 

right now

in our world

and in me.

It's in the 

process of being

purged pure in 

God's Redemptive, 

Recreative Love

   Currents.


Hey, I'm starting 

to sound like

like a preacher!


Gotta Go.

I'm off for a walk

wearing my 

new cargoes.

After my daughter 

tailored them,

we're such a 

comfy good

     FIT

  ******


  FURTHERENCE

For Ponder Prayer


"Remember not 

the former things, 

nor consider 

the things of old. 

Behold, I am doing 

a new thing: 

now it springs forth, 

do you not perceive it? 

I will make a way 

in the wilderness and 

rivers in the desert."

Isaiah 43:18-19

- We need to let go 

  to take hold,

  to be taken hold of.


"For everything 

there is a season,

and a time for 

every matter 

under heavens."

Ecclesiastes 3:1

- It's time for what

    where we are 

       in this 

   season of life?

      ******


  So good that

      we all 

fit together here 

    each week.


WELCOME

   to all 

newly come 

among us.

Please feel free

to fit right in.

We'd be blest!


ONLINE POSTING

Thursday afternoons

  (often mornings)

East Coast USA time.


LAST FIVE POSTINGS

          Just 

     scroll down 

       beneath 

     this posting


May we all 

prayerfully 

  size up 

what needs 

    to be 

 "re-sized" 

    for a 

God Good Fit

 in us and 

 in our world.

See you next week.

A Blessed New Year.

  Love to all.

  God Bless.

  John Frank

   ******


        frankly speaking

   spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

              ******