It occurred to me after posting the last blog I should have included this song.

It recounts the story of a friend Geoff who in anticipation of his immanent death would drive his son to school each morning. They would then sit and listen together to the song Good Morning Dad, pondering their heavenly Father’s smiling face, before saying goodbye. It was a beautiful way for both to prepare for that more final earthly parting.

Geoff’s Song highlights how the end point of our wrestle in life is hidden in the place name where Jacob had his encounter. Peniel means the Face of God. Once we have seen God as he truly is then in the face of all our enemies be it an Esau or a rash or a painful hip or a life threatening illness, we can be at peace, and return our Father’s smile, transformed by the divine gaze.

In October we are planning to host a retreat in Ireland called Your Smiling Face with a team made up of friends in Belfast and some of our local team from here in Minneapolis. It will likely be October 20th and 21st. Details to follow.

Our friend in Belfast, Norah Bradford did a painting which says it all……..

May the story and the song and the painting meet you where you are now at, in your life’s journey

I mentioned over a month ago about my painful hip. I had hoped it would heal quickly but day after day and night after night the irritating ache continued unabated.

It was a ‘deja vu’ experience as I recalled late last year the two month irritating ‘rash’ journey of uncomfortable days and troubled nights with my rising time and again from a disturbed doze to try and find some relief from the incessantly itchy rash!

I wondered if with my painful hip I would make it to the Glory in Duluth event.

A scripture came to mind, ‘By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshipped as he leaned on the top of his staff.’ (Heb.11;21)

Not that I thought I was dying………but I had visions of my being on stage, having to lean on a staff as I lead people in worship

….and not just any staff.

I have been given 4 staffs by people ever the years. As I checked them I realized only one would really work for me in our home, the one with a rubber stopper on the end. (Pictured above) The stopper would prevent this staff sliding on our wooden floors.

Interestingly this staff had been bequeathed to me by our friend Carolyn, Mark Iverson’s widow, who had also gifted me Mark’s moccasin’s which I featured recently on my ‘sprinting’ blog.

How ironic!…….I now wondered if I would ever walk normally again, unassisted by a staff, much less sprint, again!

0ne morning in our “Restroom” I got a Revelation

Father said to me that I was having a Jacob to Israel experience with him.

I hobbled back to the table and sat down down again with Hilary to do our morning reading from the Book of Mysteries……..

I did end up making it to the Duluth event. What’s more, I was recovered enough to lead – without the staff.

We were to open. ‘Shabach’ had ‘set up’ on stage, so we approached to find our positions. I was assigned the middle mic. I looked down….. and there leaning against the stand………..was a staff!

It belonged to Nate, the lead singer. He lifted it out of my way.
At the end I took a photo of where he had placed it at the back of the stage.

The staff seemed to me to be leaning into the cross, formed by the back panels.

I knew it was Father highlighting to me again that those things which we experience as irritations in this life, are meant, in order to produce in us, the imitation of Christ, as we identify with him, in his sufferings.

How appropriate for this Glory in Duluth event……..

‘Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ

……if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.’ (Rm.8:17)

Or as Paul put it again elsewhere,

“….that I might know him, and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings becoming like him in his death, and so somehow to attain to the (out) resurrection from (among) the dead.’

One of our favorite songs growing up was John Denver’s

“Country roads, take me home to the place I belong

West Virginia mountain mamma take me home, country roads’

It was however not West Virginia but the State of Minnesota that we came to call ‘home’, where another folk singer of that era, Bob Dylan hailed from. With numbers such as Blowin’ in the Wind and Masters of War he became synonymous with songs protesting against war.

But such protest songs are as ‘old as the hills.’

In the 14 Psalms of Ascent the starting point for the songs of the pilgrimage upwards to Jerusalem is ‘’ I am a man of peace, but when I speak they are for war.(Ps.120)

(Although I know some of my readers may still be skeptical about this, this could be a Donald Trump quote given how history records he is the only one of the last 6 presidents to not succumb to the industrial military complex and lead this nation into another war!)

In the subsequent psalm 121, the songwriter lifts his eyes ‘to the hills’, the pagan ‘high places’ and asks the question, “Where does my help come from?’ He answers, not from any of these lesser gods, but from ‘The Lord, The Maker of heaven and earth.’ He will ascend to Jerusalem where God had at that time ‘placed his name’ to worship the one true God in a temple made of stone.

In The New Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven, (Revelation 21,22) God has placed his name on (and in) ‘the foreheads’ of the believers, who together form the temple of ‘living stones’ where God is to be celebrated in song.

A version of another ‘protest song’ by the psalmist, Psalm 73, appears on my Ascent of the Bright Hostage album. Always With You, however does not leave us frustrated with how the wicked seem ‘to get away with it’ The psalmist receives the revelation of their end, and of the blessedness that is his of intimately knowing his God. Listen and enjoy

In the last few days, another ‘protest song’ has burst into the public awareness from ‘the hills’ of West Virginia, a State known for its beautiful mountains but also as the ‘poor neighbor’ of Virginia. The song speaks about the Rich Men North of Richmond, in neighboring Virginia. It is a reference to Washington DC and all the corrupt leadership there that is now being exposed, that has for long oppressed and impoverished the ordinary working people.

I am posting Dr Steve Turley’s report of the song here because at one point Oliver Anthony introduces his song to an audience by reading another of that ‘protest song’ psalmist’s writings from Psalm 37……..

Interestingly only a few weeks ago we met and got to know our first West Virginian friend. He was the suitor of one of our spiritual daughters who had lived with us. She wanted us to meet her young man. I must say we were mightily impressed. We prayed with them and prophesied to Vincent about his name, that he was indeed called to be a Victor!

When I think of the songwriter Oliver I think of Oliver Twist and how he was put upon by the evil Fagan. But the end of that story has the ‘Please can I have some more sir?’ righteous beggar, seeing justice done and in the end receiving his inheritance.

Such are the ‘great reversal’ days of ‘Twist’ in which we live! Hallelujah!

‘For the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous. The days of the blameless are known to the Lord and their inheritance will endure for ever.’ (Ps. 37:17.18)

The Glory in Duluth event last Sunday was gloriously collaborative. Not only between the different ministries who were ‘on stage’ but with the local circle facilitating the event.

There was some push back by other Church groups who had already organized events on the same day. ‘But they are at different times’ our friends offered. ‘Why not make it ‘a glory hop’.?

So they went in support of the first event who in turn promoted the second and so on. This co-operative disposition resulted in some miraculous reversals of attitude and action!

This spirit of ‘let’s set aside our minor doctrinal differences to unite around the essentials’ was a main theme of Donna Rigney’s ‘Tell it like it is!’ talk.

It reminded us of the ‘Come Together in Jesus Name’ days where the Spirit was poured out powerfully and indiscriminately in Ireland as believers chose to major on the majors. This ‘ecumenical grace’ waned as people retreating into ‘denominational’ camps and tried to ‘own’ this gift for themselves.

Our assignment on Sunday was to give folk a ‘warm welcome’ and so we began with our Irish hospitality number, ‘Come On On On In’ – a lighter fun song, we thought, to put people at their ease.

The gathering however would have none of it, and immediately all rose to their feet, hands earnestly uplifted to heaven in an appeal …….

“Come On On On In”

Later, many agreed, ‘The Spirit fell!’

‘I heard us singing it ……..as if it were an appeal from the land, urging God to come……And he did!’ was Donna’s comment.

Our final song, The King of Summer I featured a few blogs back. A local brother commented that there was then a profound ‘silent unity’ as we recognized God had responded to our invitation to come in and……

‘Sit yerself down’

This of course is my reflection but only in combination with each and every other participant with their own unique perspectives could it be recounted how by ‘truthing it’ and ‘in love’ we were made one.

This indeed is the ‘Glory in Duluth’ Jesus speaks of in John 17:22, ‘I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one.’

On our way out of town, Dan from the praise band Shabach texted me this photo he had just taken in the city

………..a wink from heaven

+ BOOM.

Back from Duluth we watched the latest Johnny Enlow Unfiltered. Interestingly this was episode 70. The number for glory is 1000. Adam died at 930, 70 years short of the glory, so 70 speaks of Restoration.. It points to God’s promise, “For as truly as I live all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord’ (Num.4:21)

Again in Duluth after proclaiming Jesus King and inviting him to come and take his place ‘in this place at this time,’ we had sung,’ Let your glory fill the earth ………from sea to shining sea…….‘til every eye will see’

It was at this same time that a ‘bombshell interview’ with Dr Jan Halper-Hayes ‘went viral’ The magnitude of this, on our way to this glory filled future, is at the heart of this presentation by Johnny. Here is the link.

My friend Tom sent me a flyer last week for an event next weekend we have been invited to participate in called Glory in Duluth.

Donna Rigney was featured recently on Elijah Streams

https://www.elijahstreams.com/watch/watch.php?ID=1391

Hilary fished out a photo of us for the leaflet. It was only the other night that I realized it’s ‘co-incidental’ significance.

The wild goose is the Celtic symbol for the Holy Spirit and has been a continual theme in our being lead to, within and beyond the U.S.

To celebrate our becoming US citizens our grandsons Ravi, Ajay and Ivan gifted us with the scarf we are wearing and sharing. It depicts another bird, the loon, which is the state bird for Minnesota (which incidentally mates for life)

So last week’s blog ended with the two of us crossing over The River of The Holy Spirit and heading north in Minnesota on ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me’ Highway…… of Isaiah 61.’

That journey north for us continues to Duluth next weekend where we will sing as we have sung there many times before,

Let your glory fill the earth.

May this be God’s time to answer the cry of many hearts!

Our route north this time will be up Highway 35. Again Isaiah 35 interprets this…….It is ‘the Highway of Holiness’

So…..’Come up onto the Highway of the Lord and together we’ll go in!’

Yesterday Hilary and I did something we rarely do. We went out ‘for a run in the car’. I was not fit for a ride on our bikes as I had collided with a tree when playing soccer with my sons and grandsons which left me with a very painful hip. You should see the tree though

So we ventured out to explore the picturesque Wisconsin countryside.

We ended up in Stockholm, Wisconsin that is, and in the historic Stockholm Pie and General Store that boasts it is ‘The Best Pie Shop in Wisconsin’. On our way back through Minnesota we stopped off for a pizza in Redwing.

From Pie to Pizza are again something we don’t do a lot of.

Driving back I became aware of an ache, a ‘groaning’ …….not just in my hip, but in my spirit.

It was that intercessory groaning of Romans 8: 26, when we don’t have words. It was the groaning of Jesus as he carried the weight of the sins of the whole world on the cross as recorded in Ps. 22. ‘My God, my God , why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me , from the words of my groaning.”

We had noticed in the two eating establishments how many very overweight folk there were, uncomfortably overweight, unhappily overweight.

‘It’s what they’ve been fed’ is what came to me. ‘Not just the ‘bad food, but the bad information from ‘the father of lies’ who has ensnared them and robbed them of health, of joy, and of hope that it could be any different!

Hilary added, “Yes, traditional pie was likely ‘in the beginning…….created good!’ …..no GMO wheat, or insecticide covered berries, and sparing on the sugar. Then out into the fields to work it off with healthy manual labor being blessed by grounding of the earth and vitamin of the sun, God’s truly ‘safe and effective’ remedies for illness.

We continued pondering in silence, and our spirits lifted again with the depth of the sun bathed greenery all around on tree clothed rolling hills and crop laden valleys, not unlike the ‘drumlins’ that had enfolded me as a lad decades before when come Sunday afternoon we’d take granny ‘out for a run in the car.’ through County Down in ‘the Emerald Isle.

Then that other ‘groaning’ scripture came to mind. Roman’s 8: 22 …and hope began to arise,

‘For we know the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only creation but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons,the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.’

Pondering this hope, moved me from Pain to Pang……. knowing that there is a joyful birthing taking place even now, not just for the sons of God but ultimately for all and for the whole of creation.

We crossed over the Mississippi, named by the first European explorers, “The River of the Holy Spirit’ back into Minnesota, and headed north.

I looked up……..

Highway 61. ……….Revisited from my Dylanesque youth!

Of course! It is Isaiah 61, quoted by Jesus of himself…….and of us, his body, for it is given for us to be the mediators of this hope

‘The Spirit of the Lord God……….. is upon me, because he had anointed me to bring good news to the poor, he has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, proclaim liberty to the captives and the recovering of sight to the blind to set at liberty those who are oppressed to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’

Today I caught up on the latest Johnny Enlow Unfiltered, Episode 67. ……there it all was being told again, all that we had been experiencing, right from the on point ‘Trump’ clip at the 8:40 minute mark through to the end!

The previous episode #66, was also a profoundly sobering follow up to The Sound of Freedom message. Another must watch.

Our friends Pieter and Loes Donkers in the Netherlands are moving house. They discovered an old box of my CDs and wondered what I wanted them to do with them. I said, “Give them away to anyone who’ll take them…. and just dispose of the rest.’

After receiving Paul McAree’s encouraging email last week, Pieter wrote one to me……

Hi Paul,

I distributed a number of your CD’s in our congregation, two weeks ago. Well, today the preacher took one of your songs as the base of his sermon, namely the song “We seek your presence”

He was touched by it, he told us and he wanted to use it to encourage us to seek the Lord. When he finished his sermon, he played your song on his mobile device for all of us to hear.

So I asked him if he would allow me to tell something about the composer of the song, which he did, so I told them (briefly) the story of you and your family being called by the Lord to go from Belfast to the US, the hard times you had in the beginning to support the family and what the Lord finally provided for. A story that encouraged us to seek His presence! Your CD’s still inspire!

Reminds me of Corrie ten Boom. After she came out of the concentration camp and was led by the Lord to spread the gospel, the Lord promised her that people would listen to her.

When I taught religion in high school, I used to show my wild and worldly pupils an old video of Corrie as an old lady, sitting in a chair and knitting (or something like that) and then she shares the gospel, very quietly and friendly, in English, with a terrible Dutch accent. You would think that would be utterly boring for those youngsters. On the contrary. The all listened in breathless silence. I saw the promise that God gave Corrie fulfilled through that old video.

Today I saw the ministry God gave you, working through that old CD.

Blessings,

Pieter

Again take a few minutes to ‘Sit back, relax and enjoy the journey of this song’……..with ‘those whose hearts are set on (this) pilgrimage.’ (Ps. 84)

Following the last blog in which I mentioned Paul McAree, I received this inspiring email from….’yer man himself’ He began it,

‘Wow Paul

I just listened to King of Summer…as of hearing it fresh for the first time again. O my! You really played a blinder the day you wrote this song. You must’ve had your Weetabix and said your prayers that morning! Definitely my top pic’ for my ‘Desert Island Discs!’ A cinematic vision of heaven for the poor sinner, just after drawing his last breath here on earth. An extraordinarily vivid cinematic scriptural vision of heaven, perfectly depicted in your lyrics. As I recall you recorded it in one ‘take’. All credit to young Paul McAdam who plays the Irish whistle and pipes, culminating in the ‘Celtic orchestra’ on the last verse, including the bodhrans (Irish drum), on our stripped down instrumental arrangement. We recorded this 30 years ago this year in my little studio above the legendary “American Bar”, just a stones throw from where the Titanic was built and launched in Belfast, 111 years ago this year! Like a good wine, this song never grows dull, but with time just gets better and better!

“Fill your mind with thoughts such as these!”

Thank you Jesus!
Paul

PS You know there were seven clergy men on the Titanic, Catholic and Protestant, who stayed with their flock that day. All of them went down with the ship, RIP. Father Thomas Biles was invited onto a life boat, at least twice. He chose to stay and minister to the souls about to die a terrible death, just after midnight on Monday April 15th 1912, far from home in the freezing North Atlantic. It begs the question; what would we have done? Surely all of them saw the Beatific Vision that morning! As we, and our loved ones before us hoped to do in their time. Come Lord Jesus.’

When we recorded O Ireland 30 years ago, in Paul’s little studio above The American Bar, little did I know our family would subsequently find themselves actually living in America and sharing those same songs every Sunday for the first 5 years in…..an American bar, in fact in no less than The Titanic Lounge of Kieran’s Irish pub!

Between our live sets ‘O Ireland’ would provide the background music as we mingled and met with the folk Father has brought through the doors that week to be exposed to the ‘goof news’ in an Irish cultural context.

In fact not only did we worship in an American bar, but we can be seen in the photo above eating and drinking last week at the American bar of The Anchor Fish and Chip Restaurant owned by our son Luke! Our final fling together before Abby, Stephen, Luke and Tom headed back from home to home.

We realized at the time of recording O Ireland how prophetic it was that God had appointed a ‘prod’ Paul and a ‘fenian’ Paul to ‘make music together’ at a time when our unredeemed ‘tribes’ where literally killing each other! Paul mentions the third of the Trinity of Pauls our Father assembled for the project. Our gifted Irish musician, Paul McAdam, at that time as far as I knew was not professing any faith in Jesus.

Wow I believe stands for, the Wonder of Worship….. of a God who can bring together a prod, a fenian and a prebeliever into a divine harmony in order to create a glimpse into the ‘kingdom of heaven’ ……..that is already here, and yet is coming still. (Is. 9:7)

At a time like this when those with eyes of faith see the arrogant ‘Titanic’ (and Titan) of this world’s Babylonian kingdom (Rev. 18) leaking and rapidly sinking, how encouraging for this ‘Beatific’ song with it’s story and setting,, to float as a ‘lifebelt’ up to the surface once again

The question remains,

‘Will your Anchor hold in the storms of life? ‘

Thankfully the answer comes,

‘We have an Anchor that keeps the soul

Steadfast and sure while the billows roll

Fastened to the Rock which cannot move.

Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love!’

Or in the words of a present day hymnist…….

P.S. If you look carefully at the photo above you can see three other Kyles in the top left corner. That is a photo of Joel and Grace at their ‘Groom’s dinner’ that happened in The Anchor before their wedding celebration last year.

And that young chef? Why it’s none other than Roy Kyle on his second shift

I was talking to Paul McAree the other day and he said that this summer he had been listening to The King of Summer and thought it was maybe his favorite of all the many songs we’d recorded together. He was a mite surprised when I replied, ‘Me too’

I love how these blogs keep us connected to many friends all over the world.

After last week’s offering beginning with Good Morning Dad, I got three messages from three friends, one in New Zealand, one in Ireland and one in Canada. Each of them had or were currently going through very challenging personal trials.

The line came to me from another of my songs,

‘……but open hearts, open heaven’s door, to see and hear and touch and feel all we’ve been longing for’

It is this ‘beatific vision’ that these three people have been given that inspires and sustains them.

Then on listening to the song again I realized it too builds to bring us to the same place……

‘ My Father’s smile, Jesus’ embrace,

The Spirit’s kiss. We’re face to face

Man and God at last are one.

Salvation’s work, has now been done.’

Take a few minutes to sit back and listen.

Relax, and open your heart again to this blissful reality, that,…….‘the King of Summer’s here’.

Last night 7 of the older and younger Kyle men went together to see Sound of Freedom which has become a #1 box office smash in the nation.

It is an incredible movie with many poignant moments. One that stood out for me (spoiler alert) was when the rescued child Rocio wakes from sleep and turns to see her father’s face. As the camera lingers our hearts swell with theirs. This is the joy our Heavenly Father wants all his children to know as they behold His smiling face.

‘On that brand new dawn we say,”Good Morin’ Dad!’

A few blogs back I recommended watching The Great Awakening which I believe is also being used to ‘waken up’ millions worldwide, from a ‘hypnotized’ state. If you haven’t seen it yet you can watch it for free at, Plandemicseries.com

In a recent enlightening interview with the Director, Mikki Willis, he describes his personal journey out of this hypnotized state as he participated in Hollywood, ‘the environmental movement’, and politics, to also awake to a real reconnect to God, creation, humanity and family. Here is the link…..

https://www.brighteon.com/5da2466b-2af9-463f-a641-4db7c5576897

God is literally ‘the bottom line’ in both the movie and the interview.

Someone else I have linked to over these last years in the blog is J.P.Sears. AwakenWithJP is his website and in a recent video he also gives a great sharing about his personal journey back to God.

P.S. A tip. I personally go to speed settings and increase to 1.5 or faster, to move through these longer videos more quickly.

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