Forgetting Who God Is – Unchanging

Greetings Dear Reader,

We are mercurial in our opinions, moods, and loyalties.  We do not believe we are but it is true none-the-less.  We change our minds about things we have committed to do.  We have mood swings and mood tsunamis.  We put our wants above the things to which we have pledged our lives and loyalties.

God does not change.  He is the constant in the chaos.  He is our fulcrum and lever in the void.  His love for us is unchanging.  His desire to return things to good is unwavering.  His passion to redeem all that he created is immeasurable.  He gives us an inkling to that measure in his Son, Jesus. 

What we see in Christ is the God who was willing to travel to us when we could not travel to him.  We see the unwavering love and commitment of one who wishes for us to have all that we are created to have.

When we waiver on the things that show God’s love for us we represent a wavering God.  Since he asks us to follow in faith this cannot be the way he is represented.  He does not change and his compassion does not fail.  We see new aspects of his love and care daily but we ignore them.

I must see him in every moment.  I must see his consistency and compassion in every small thing.  I must acknowledge that God is unchanging in all my choices of faith and then he will direct my path.  The journey involves a guide who is constant, present, and communicating.  He is mine and I am his.  In every age it has been thus and so shall it ever be.

El Shaddai – Michael Card

El Shaddai, el Shaddai,

El-elyon na adonia,

Age to age you're still the same,

By the power of the name.

El Shaddai, el Shaddai,

Erkamka na adonai,

We will praise and lift you high,

El Shaddai.

Through your love and through the ram,

You saved the son of Abraham;

Through the power of your hand,

Turned the sea into dry land.

To the outcast on her knees,

You were the God who really sees,

And by your might,

You set your children free.

El Shaddai, el Shaddai,

El-elyon na adonia,

Age to age you're still the same,

By the power of the name.

El Shaddai, el Shaddai,

Erkamka na adonai,

We will praise and lift you high,

El Shaddai.

Through the years you've made it clear,

That the time of Christ was near,

Though the people couldn't see

What messiah ought to be.

Though your word contained the plan,

They just could not understand

Your most awesome work was done

Through the frailty of your son.

El Shaddai, el Shaddai,

El-elyon na adonai,

Age to age you're still the same,

By the power of the name.

El Shaddai, el Shaddai,

Erkamka na adonai,

I will praise yo 'till I die,

El Shaddai.

El Shaddai, el Shaddai,

El-elyon na adonai,

Age to age you're still the same,

By the power of the name.

El Shaddai, el Shaddai,

Erkamka na adonai,

I will praise you 'till I die.

El Shaddai.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Forgetting Who God Is – Love

Greetings Dear Reader,

Let me say this without reservation:  God does not hate anyone.  No matter what anyone may say to you God does not hate you.  He does not hate gay people.  He does not hate any race of people.  He does not hate the people who do things Christ followers think are wrong.

He does hate some activities.  So do we.  When we proceed from the assumption that God hates anyone we create a barrier to faith for them.  We must proceed from the truth that God’s love transcends every barrier.  He loves everyone. 

We put requirements and standards on God based on our definition of what love is.  It is God that gave us the power to love.  It is God that defines love.  It is by his definition that we learn what love is.

The failure of Christ followers to live out the love of God in the lives of others makes seeing this difficult.  It is there.  It is available to anyone willing to accept it.  So many people who accept that God hates anyone have not worked through what God has to say about love. 

Jesus gave us two commandments to follow:  Love God with all your being and love your neighbor.  He also told us to love our enemies.  He did not tell us to hate anyone.  We are to avoid sin.  We are to hate sin.  We are to love every life that exists.

If I do not live out this in every encounter with every human then I dare not think that I am following Christ.  As I prepare my heart for Advent I must focus on the purpose for the incarnation.  “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, the WHOSOEVER (anyone, anywhere, anytime) believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.”

 I must love always.  I must love in a way that with what meager ability I possess I reflect God’s love for the world.  Jesus is God’s final word on the matter.

The Final Word – Michael Card

You and me we use so very many clumsy words.

The noise of what we often say is not worth being heard.

When the Father's wisdom wanted to communicate His love,

He spoke it in one final perfect Word.

He spoke the incarnation, and then so was born a Son.

His final word was Jesus, He needed no other one.

Spoke flesh and blood so He could bleed and make a way Divine.

And so was born a baby who would die to make it mine.

And so the Father's fondest took on flesh and bone.

He spoke the living luminous word, at once His will was done.

And so the transformation that in man had been unheard,

Took place in God the Father as he spoke that final Word.

He spoke the incarnation, and then so was born a Son.

His final word was Jesus, He needed no other one.

Spoke flesh and blood so He could bleed and make a way Divine.

And so was born a baby who would die to make it mine.

And so the Light became alive and manna became Man.

Eternity stepped into time so we could understand.

He spoke the incarnation, and then so was born a Son.

His final word was Jesus, He needed no other one.

Spoke flesh and blood so He could bleed and make a way Divine.

And so was born a baby who would die to make it mine.

And so was born a baby who would die to make it mine.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Forgetting Who God Is – Opening Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

We often hear about a person before we meet them.  How someone else characterizes an individual is going to be limited to his or her perspective.  It will be coloured by opinion, background, culture, and education.   People will front load their opinions of others.

So much of our view of God gets front loaded before we really know him.  We fail to give the opportunity to be who he is.  We fail to see him for what he wants to be for us.  There are those who do not believe in him who mock him.  There are those who misrepresent him who claim to be his followers. 

As a part of my preparation for advent I want to revisit some of my thoughts on who God is.  I think we are so inundated with what culture says God is that we forget to listen to who he says he is.  We do not get to know him.

As I walk through this I will attempt to lay aside the filters of culture and presupposition.  Rather I will try to establish the presuppositions that God wishes us to have.  Walk with for a bit.  Perhaps your thoughts can help clarify mine. 

I Will Bring You Home – Michael Card

Though you are homeless

Though you're alone I will be your home

Whatever's the matter, whatever's been done

I will be your home

I will be your home

I will be your home

In this fearful fallen place

I will be your home

When time reaches fullness

When I move my hand I will bring you home

Home to your own place in a beautiful land

I will bring you home

I will bring you home

I will bring you home

From this fearful fallen place

I will bring you home

I will bring you home

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Second Thoughts – Daughter’s Day

Greetings Dear Reader,

Sometimes I will end the day with thoughts that are important to get out.  Usually I just write them and put them in my journal folder.  I have chosen that on occasion I will share them with you Dear Reader.

I lost a daughter many years ago before I could really know what it was to be a father to a daughter.  I often wonder how many things would have turned out differently had she lived.  That hole in my heart has never truly healed.

Later we adopted a young girl and she has been a source of healing to that hurt.  In the United States today is Daughter’s Day.  We celebrated by taking Christmas to the Mall of America.  I have never seen anyone cover so much mall so fast. 

I do not have much to say except how proud I am to be her father.  She is intelligent, creative, and talented.  She is working to be more each day than she was the day before.  Everything about her ask me to be more like Christ so she can have the example she needs.

Happy Daughter’s Day Christmas.  I am proud of you.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Already and the not yet – Closing Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

I am already perfect in the eyes of Christ but he has not yet perfected me.  That is where life is headed.  The march toward the day when I will no longer struggle with sin seems endless but the day will come.

Christ is already working in the world to bring it back to good but we are not yet good.  We already live and move in Christ but we are not yet with Christ.  He is coming quickly but he is not yet here. 

All of the life of following Christ is a journey from the already to the not yet.  It is making today into something that lasts forever.  It is investing time into eternity.  We weave the tapestry of the everlasting with threads of the finite existence.  We can already taste the life that is ahead of us but we are not there yet.

Every day that I choose to follow Christ with all my heart I turn moments into more good.  I am turning the already into the not yet.  I get to participate in turning death into a fighting chance to live.  I am allowed to be a part of the beauty and grace into which Christ wishes to transform the world.

I long for the time to be through the glass all things to be good.  We already on the journey.  It is not yet the hour but the minutes are ticking away.

Maranatha – Michael Card

Maranatha is a cry of the heart

That's hopeful yet weary of waiting

While it may be joyful with the burdens it bears

It's sick with anticipating

To long for the Promised One day after day

And the promise that soon He'd return

It's certain that waiting's the most bitter lesson

A believing heart has to learn

Maranatha,

How many more moments must this waiting last

Maranatha, we long for the time when all time is past

A commotion, a call then that will be all

Though it's not yet the hour

The minutes are ticking away

Maranatha is the shout of the few

Who for so long in history've been hiding

Who truly believe that the sound of that call

Might actually hasten His coming

For no eye has seen and no ear has yet heard

And no mind has ever conceived

The joy of the moment when He will appear

To the wonder of all who believe

Maranatha,

How many more moments must this waiting last

Maranatha, we long for the time when all time is past

A commotion, a call then that will be all

Though it's not yet the hour

The minutes are ticking away

Maranatha, how hungry we are just to see Your face

Parousia, to finally fall in one long embrace

A commotion, a call and that will be all

Though it's not yet the hour

The minutes are ticking away

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Already and the not yet – Three Months to Christmas

Greetings Dear Reader,

As of yesterday there are only three months until Christmas.  I will not belabor this but the excitement already peaks forth form my heart.  What concerns me is the already and not yets that surround it.

There are already decorations and lights in some stores.  Some places have the leftovers from last year on “clearance.”  I hear Christmas music snippets in my mind as I consider the already hungry merchants.

I already long for cold and snow although I do not yet have a plan for how to appoint my abode for the festivities.  I face for the first time ever waking up alone on Christmas morning and that is frightening.

All of this is a collection of not yet.  I need to focus on the already.   I already know that Christmas will come.  I will get to celebrate Christ which is my focus.  I will have time off for things I love.  I will have a new novel to give as gifts.

It is not yet time to dwell on Christmas but I already am.  It is Christ that I want to celebrate.  I want to find a way to make him evident in all I do relative to Christmas and my life.  I want to make the already a draw to the not yet of Christmas and all it portends.  After all the already of Christmas has promises to keep for the not yet of Christmas.

Promises to Keep – Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Christmas time

On a cold December morning

All is calm

And the world is still asleep

Christmas lights

That have been caught without warning

Gently glitter on

Stars to wish upon

All the world is at peace

Christmas time and the year will soon be leaving

Cloaked in time till it's just a memory

Christmas stays if we don't forget its meaning

Days go quickly by

Years they multiply

And we go searching for thee

And the dream is still alive

From that first December morning

And it always will survive

As long as we can see

That the dreams we find in life

Are the dreams we tend to seek

And Christmas has its promises to keep

Christmas time

And the moments just beginning

From last night

When we'd wished upon a star

If our kindness

This day is just pretending

If we pretend long enough

Never giving up

It just might be who we are

AND SO IT'S GOOD THAT WE REMEMBER

JUST AS SOON AS WE'VE DISCOVERED

THAT THE THINGS WE DO IN LIFE

WILL ALWAYS END UP TOUCHING OTHERS

SO FROM A FADING NEON STAR

SOMEWHERE SHINING IN THE NIGHT

WE FIND A FATHER FAR AWAY

NOW REFLECTING IN ITS LIGHT

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Already and the not yet – Wishes, Dreams, and Visions

Greetings Dear Reader,

I aspire to some grand things.  Apparently I am optimistic and believe in the impossible.  I start with the idea that everyone it worth knowing.  I proceed from the assumption that I can be friends with almost anyone. 

Some of my dreams have already been realized.  Others have died in my arms.  Some were murdered by others who I thought shared them.  Dreams turn our already into a better not yet if we build them.  Visions lead us to better places if we follow them in line with Christ.

In the journey back to God he wishes us to be what we are created to be.  God promises that if we are loyal to him in the already he will give us the desires of our heart in the not yet.  We have to live and move in Christ to find the things that make us who we are created to be. 

The Father has built into me things that are amazing and beautiful.  I must get out of the way and let him build those things in me.  I must pursue Christ and the dreams I have in him.  I must turn my already into a not yet that embraces Christ and my visions.

As I said in the first post on this subject it is part of my preparation for Advent.  I have Christmas dreams that are idealistic and buildable all at once.  I try to celebrate Christ every day. 

This Christmas Day – Trans-Siberian Orchestra

So tell me Christmas are we wise

To believe in things we never see

Are Prayers just wishes in disguise

And are these wishes being granted me

For now I see the answering

To every prayer I've prayed

She's coming home this Christmas Day

So tell me Christmas are we kind

More this day than any other day

Or is it only in our mind

And must it leave when you have gone away

It's different now, It's changed somehow

And now you're here to stay

She's coming home this Christmas Day

And all at once the world

It doesn't seem the same

In a single night

You know it all has changed

Everything is now how it should be

I have the ornament

I have the perfect tree

I have a string of lights

I have a chance to see

Everything that my heart thought could be

For of all the dreams

You were the first I knew

And every other one

Was a charade of you

You stayed close when I was far away

And in the darkest night

You always were the star

Who always took us in

No matter who we are

So she's coming home this Christmas Day

Merry Christmas, Merry Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, Merry Merry Christmas

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Already and the not yet – Bad Habits

Greetings Dear Reader,

I already have bad habits.  We all have them.  It is one of the already states that we share across the globe.  We did not develop them immediately and we will not break them immediately either. 

This is an aspect of already to not yet that requires discipline and patience.  It requires time and yieldedness.  I already procrastinate over unpleasant tasks.  I need to get them out the way.  I am making headway but have not yet conquered this.

Much of what we do that is unhealthy is stoppable.  We will always sin.  We will always fail but we can be better every day.  We can be more than we are.  The problem is that we try to do it all at once.  We try to be perfect when we are not yet. 

We already have bad habits.  We can be better.  Someday Christ will perfect me.  He will strip away the imperfections that keep me from being all his but not yet.  Whilst I wait I can chip away at the imperfections by doing a little better each day.  I can eliminate the things the keep me from following as closely as possible.

I already know what I need to do differently.  The changes need to be addressed daily.  I must follow Christ more closely by eliminating bad habits.  He must increase and I must decrease.

Less of Me – Glenn Campbell

Let me be a little kinder. Let me be a little blinder.

To the faults of those about me, let me praise a little more.

Let me be, when I am weary, just a little bit more cheery.

Think a little more of others and a little less of me.

Let me be a little braver when temptation bids me waver.

Let me strive a little harder to be all that I should be.

Let me be a little meeker with the brother that is weaker.

Let me think more of my neighbor and a little less of me.

Let me be, when I am weary, just a little bit more cheery.

Let me serve a little better those that I am striving for.

Let me be a little meeker with the brother that is weaker

Think a little more of others and a little less of me.

Think a little more of others and a little less of me.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Already and the not yet – Digital Dissatisfaction

Greetings Dear Reader,

Next month I am due for a new phone at a low price.  In trying to decide which phone I want to acquire it occurred to me how skilled the phone industry is at creating digital dissatisfaction.  My current phone is excellent.  Most of the new ones I have to choose from lack features that I value.

As I ponder this I realize that computers generate this same discontent.  When I transition to my home hardware to the hardware I use at work there is instant desire for more, better, and faster.  The constant spiral of new software and hardware push both in the direction of constant need.

This is a great example of how we fail to embrace the already and abandon it for the not yet.  We live in the constant state of dissatisfaction over what we do not have.  We miss the potential and value of contentment with what we do have.  If I compare the speed and power of this PC to my first one there are light years of advancement to appreciate. 

Whilst most of my life needs to be moving from the already to the not yet, when it comes to contentment it is the opposite.  I must learn to be content with what I have already and not overthink what I do not have.  It is in the moment that I must value and appreciate what I have.  I must avoid the greed inherent in material not yet. 

There will be constant enticement to dissatisfaction with my already have.  In the case of possessions I must not allow dissatisfaction to push me to greed and obsession with passion.  It only causes me to gather things that weigh me down and hinder my following.

Loose Ends – Dan Fogelberg

Climbing a mountain in darkness

Stranded alone on the ledge

Every attempt that I make to hold on

Pushes me nearer the edge

Sensing the changes impending

My thoughts are diffused by despair

I feel like I'm swimming straight up underwater

Desperately racing for air

I'm racing for air

And the chords struck at birth grow more distant

Yet, we strike them again and again

And we plead and we pray for a glimmer of day

As the night folds its wings and descends

Exposing the loose ends

Surrounding myself with possessions

I surely have more than I need

I don't know if this is justice hard earned

Or simply a matter of greed

A matter of greed

And the chords struck at birth grow more distant

Yet, we strike them again and again

And we plead and we pray for a glimmer of day

As the night folds its wings and descends

Exposing the loose ends)

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Already and the not yet – Maybe Next Year

Greetings Dear Reader,

I realize we are several months away from resolutions and weight loss plans.  We are also on the back side of summer where we ponder the things we wanted to do but did not.  We vow we will do them next summer.  None of them happen if we do not do them.

One of the things we must do is to turn the not yet into already.  Some things take planning, funding, and execution.  Some things require that we begin them.  Summer plans must wait until summer but may need planning in the previous fall.  Some things require the moment.  It is the latter that we must never relegate “maybe next year.”

Part of embracing the already is using each moment to follow Christ more closely.  No matter the cost or pain we must abandon the things that hinder the journey.  No matter the challenge or difficulty we must be better today than yesterday.  I already need to do better but I am not there yet.

I can plan that vacation for next summer.  I can dream of things I want to do and become.  I can imagine and visualize.  None of that matters if I do not make the internal things already.  I must continually build on the progress I have already made to get to the place in following Christ that I have not yet achieved. 

Living in the already, even in changing what needs changing, means the I see and act on the now and never say maybe tomorrow, later, or next  year.  It means I live in the moment.  I live in the already to shape the not yet.

Magic Every Moment – Dan Fogelberg

I awoke this morning to a shattering sound

And I went downstairs and found these shards of glass strewn all around

There upon the floor I found this poor broken dove

And it made me realize how very fragile is this life that we so love

I came back up to bed and I held you so tight

And I prayed up to the Father, oh I prayed with all my might

That He'd always keep you with me, that He'd always keep you safe

And when I went downstairs I found that dove had somehow up and flown away

There's a magic every moment

There's a miracles each day

There's a magic every moment

Oh won't you let the music play

Oh won't you let the music play

On a high and windy island I was gazing out to sea

When a long forgotten feeling came and took control of me

It was then the clouds burst open and the sun came pouring through

When it hit those dancing waters in an instant all eternity I knew

There's so much we take for granted--there's so much we never say

We get caught up in the motion of just a living day to day

We are fettered to the future, we are prisoners of the past

And we never seem to notice 'til our lives have finally

Slipped right through our grasp

There's a magic every moment

There's a miracles each day

There's a magic every moment

Oh won't you let the music play

Oh won't you let the music play

You can see forever in a single drop of dew

You can see that same forever if you look down deep inside of you

There's a spark of the creator in every living thing

He respects me when I work but He so loves me when I sing

There's a magic every moment

There's a miracles each day

There's a magic every moment

Oh won't you let the music play

Oh won't you let the music play

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Already and the not yet – Working for the Weekend

Greetings Dear Reader,

I am always amazed at the number of social posts complaining about Monday.   My Daughter put up at least two yesterday.  We dread Monday and live for the weekends.  We sacrifice the potential joy of the already trying to get to the not yet.

If Monday were not a day of work we would hate Tuesday.  If we worked four days a week instead of three (I have done this.), we would still not like it.  Our fallen nature is opposed to work. 

I think that part of this comes from working in jobs we hate but feel we have no option.   I know people who love the work they and Monday is just another day to live out their dreams.  It is a day that the Lord has made and we should rejoice and be glad in it.

If I live for the weekend then I am not living in the already.  If I embrace each day as a day to encourage another soul, love the world and the Father, and follow Christ as closely as possible.  I must live a life that reflects Christ in every day.  I must pursue him and not a future time where I think I will be happier.

If I live in each moment; in the already for Christ then I can forge a continually improving not yet.  That is what matters. Focus on living for Christ in the moment yields a not yet that is filled with a multitude of moments that are Christ centered.  That is a Monday or any day worth living.  

A Week of Moments – Ian Anderson

A week of moments a clutch of days

Ten thousand minutes of a Passion Play.

Medley of quavers informs the tune.

Its all too much: over all too soon.

Sweet condensation on chilling wine

Travelers palm, flamboyant tree

Fast photos ripped and lost consign

A week of moments to faint memory.

A week of moments plucked from the page

Found far horizons, a sunset stage.

Suitcases bulge, in silence packed

A chapter closed: no looking back.

The lightest touch upon my arm

No fierce restraint, no call to stay.

Hushed room maids glide like pawns to king

With pool attendants in chess piece array.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Already and the Not Yet – First Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

I suppose I wonder first what this phrase calls to mind for you Dear Reader.  I am tempted to leave it at that and see your responses.  That, however is not how we do things is it?  The focus of my thinking is in where we live.  We live in the already but spend a great deal of time on the not yet.

My current distress forces me to live moment by moment at times.  My life is supposed to be lived in the now.  We live so much of our lives wanting the not yet over the already.   We want what we want over what we have. 

If I fail to be thankful for and acknowledge what I already have I may destroy it in pursuit of the not yet.  I may give up what is good for what I think is better.  I know I have done this and still see the ripples of that foolishness. 

Jesus wants us to walk with him in the moment.  He wants us to be present with him for each stop of the journey.  When we are happy he wants to be acknowledged for his provision.  When we are in pain he wishes to comfort us.  We follow Christ and he wants us to be with him in every step.

As I prepare myself for the impending Advent season I need to ponder what I already have and assure that I cherish each present moment.  Walk with me as I do dear reader.  As always I value you thoughts and questions.   

Know you in the Now – Michael Card

Echo of history

A light so many strain to see

The One we talk so much about

But rarely ever live it out

Could You tell me why

Was it for this You came and died

A once a week observance

When we coldly mouth Your words

Lord I long to see

Your presence in reality

But I don't know how

Let me know You in the now

We should confess

We lose You in our busyness

We've made You in our image

So our faith's idolatry

Lord, deliver me

Break my heart so I can see

All the ways You dwell in us

That You're alive in me

Lord I long to see

Your presence in reality

But I don't know how

Let me know You in the now

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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A Voice from my Childhood Silent

Greetings Dear Reader,

I learned yesterday that Milo Hamilton, voice of the Atlanta Braves from 1966 – 1975 passed away.  He and Ernie Johnson were the voices that issued from my red Sinclair transistor radio.   In the evenings of my childhood summers he was my comfort as I drifted off to sleep.

I would sleep out on the porch of our non-air-conditioned Victorian house listen to him call the Braves games from his booth in Atlanta Fulton County Stadium.  Win or lose he was always upbeat and informative.  My Grandfather had great respect for him.  

His passing triggered the memories of other losses during that time in my life.  I was listening to Milo when I learned I would never see my Grandfather again.  He was still alive but I was forbidden to see him.  I listened to Milo the night my Grandfather reached the clearing at the end of the path.  I listened to him for years as a reminder of my connection to my Grandfather.

Every man’s death diminishes me.   The baseball world is smaller today.  This man loved baseball and spent his life telling us about it.  As I grow older more and more of my favorable childhood voices grow silent.  This loss echoes loudly in things I loved and love.

It is a salient reminder that so much of what we love is temporary and fleeting.  I must cherish every moment with those I love.  I must hope that they learn this lesson as well.  I must pray that we all do so.  I will ponder it out of love and respect for those who have given so much to that boy so long ago.  I will learn to live it out of love for my family. 

I must journey on until I join them after the final inning.  

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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In Christ Alone – Closing Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

This is simple.  If I am to stand it must be in Christ.  If I am to live and move it must be in Christ.  “From life’s first cry to final breath Jesus commands my destiny.”  It is not up to me to decide if this is true.  It is up to me to live that it is.

I can choose to do what is right and live within this.   I can choose to resist it.  There is no path that runs true outside of following Christ.  If I accept that my best destiny is to follow in faith then I live in harmony in Christ. 

Getting everything right is impossible.  Dismissing my weaknesses and leaving them behind is not an easy affair.  It is only in Christ that I can find the will and power to be a better man.  It does not quell the pain of solitude or eliminate the fear that I feel.  It does give me ground on which to stand.

As I move into this place I find that I want to escape it.  I cannot.  I will not.  I will find a way to follow Christ with my whole heart.  I will find a way to be in Christ alone whilst I am alone.  He does not promise that it will be easy.  He does promise the way out is through and he will lead me.  In Christ alone I take my stand.

I have so many good things in my life.  The things I lack right now are painful and deep.  As I set out on this journey I must see the fairness and beauty that is Jesus.  I must live in the belief that even the lonely parts of the journey are with Christ.  Jesus, however, makes the woeful heart sing. 

Fairest Lord Jesus (The Crusader’s Hymn) – Kemper Crab

Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all nature,

O thou of God and man the Son,

Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor,

thou, my soul's glory, joy, and crown.

Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands,

robed in the blooming garb of spring:

Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer

who makes the woeful heart to sing.

Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight,

and all the twinkling starry host:

Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer

than all the angels heaven can boast.

Beautiful Savior! Lord of all the nations!

Son of God and Son of Man!

Glory and honor, praise, adoration,

now and forevermore be thine.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Second Thoughts – Promised Promotion

Greetings Dear Reader,

Sometimes I will end the day with thoughts that are important to get out.  Usually I just write them and put them in my journal folder.  I have chosen that on occasion I will share them with you Dear Reader.

I have been thinking about how to better promote my writing.   I am also trying to keep my promise to someone to post a quarterly blog that promotes said writing.  Let’s get the cheesy part over with first.

I would like each of you that read my blog to help me out.   If you could share my actual page with a friend or introduce a social media friend to one of my posts I would be thankful.  I realize I am asking a great deal but there are reasons why I am doing this.

The first is that I have a new book coming out in the fall and want to begin to drive some traffic to my pages in advance.  The second is that I am going to ramp up my writing this winter and hope to gain momentum.

I also need to find the right person to redesign my Author page.  If you are interested you can email me at Aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com.   I only need to post one more “marketing” post this year but will likely do a couple when the book comes out. 

Until then know that I value your time and attention to my work.  You are precious to me Dear Reader.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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In Christ Alone – My Comforter

Greetings Dear Reader,

We all know that smile that parents get when they see their children about to learn an important lesson.   I think sometimes God gives me that knowing look.  As parents we also have those moments where we ask our children just to trust us. 

God promises to be my comforter if I will let him.  He assures me that even in my solitude I am not alone.  Most of my mind screams that he does not understand when I know he does.  Most of friends insist that I will get used to being alone.  I do not believe that for a moment. 

  

We do so many things to comfort our lives.  There is something about other humans that comforts me.  When I am alone for too long it is almost physical pain.  When I dine alone it impedes my spirit in a way I have never been able to overcome.  When I am alone for too long it hinders my sleep and my stability.   Still I must choose to do what is right.  Still I must allow Christ to teach me what he wishes to teach me.

I do believe that God will see me through this.  I know he has me sequestered for a reason.  Not knowing the reason makes it more difficult.  Being willing to learn makes it less so.  So I open my devotional at work to steel myself for the day.  Immediately I feel that parental smile from God as he sees me beginning to see. 

Once again Streams in the Desert seems to be tracking with my life…

Hide thyself by the brook Cherith (1 Kings 17:3).

God's servants must be taught the value of the hidden life. The man who is to take a high place before his fellows must take a low place before his God. We must not be surprised if sometimes our Father says: "There, child, thou hast had enough of this hurry, and publicity, and excitement; get thee hence, and hide thyself b the brook--hide thyself in the Cherith of the sick chamber, or in the Cherith of bereavement, or in some solitude from which the crowds have ebbed away."

Happy is he who can reply, "This Thy will is also mine; I flee unto Thee to hide me. Hide me in the secret of Thy tabernacle, and beneath the covert of Thy wings!"

Every saintly soul that would wield great power with men must win it in some hidden Cherith. The acquisition of spiritual power is impossible, unless we can hide ourselves from men and from ourselves in some deep gorge where we may absorb the power of the eternal God; as vegetation through long ages absorbed these qualities of sunshine, which it now gives back through burning coal…Our Lord found His Cherith at Nazareth, and in the wilderness of Judea; amid the olives of Bethany, and the solitude of Gadara. None of us, therefore, can dispense with some Cherith where the sounds of human voices are exchanged for the waters of quietness which are fed from the throne; and where we may taste the sweets and imbibe the power of a life hidden with Christ.   --Elijah, by Meyer

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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In Christ Alone – When Strivings Cease

Greetings Dear Reader,

Most of the time the statement “Let go and let God” seems trite and oversimplified to me.  When we strive against what God wishes for us, however, we always fail.  As I prepared to write this morning I completed my Bible reading and checked to see if any of my friends needed prayer.  One of the avenues I check is Face Book. 

To my delight my Daughter, Christmas had put up a new painting.  I would include it in the post but she is asleep and I do not have permission.  It moved me to deeper understanding of how we can grow when we cease striving against what God has to teach us. 

Everything about following involves yieldedness.  We turn ourselves over to the one leading us.  We yield to the mastery of Christ over everything in our lives.  We submit to his calling, direction, and will.  We walk on our knees.  We learn on our knees.  We stand and advance on our knees.

As I seek to live, move, and be in Christ alone this painting and this understanding energizes me.  Thank you Christmas.  Thank you dear Daughter.  It is in ceasing to strive against the call of Christ to whatever he has for us that we find who we are and how we should live. 

The Basin and the Towel – Michael Card 

And the call is to community

In an upstairs room, a parable

Is just about to come alive

And while they bicker about who's best

With a painful glance, He'll silently rise

Their Savior Servant must show them how

Through the will of the water

And the tenderness of the towel

And the call is to community

The impoverished power that sets the soul free

In humility, to take the vow

That day after day we must take up the basin and the towel

In any ordinary place

On any ordinary day

The parable can live again

When one will kneel and one will yield

Our Saviour Servant must show us how

Through the will of the water

And the tenderness of the towel

The space between ourselves sometimes

Is more than the distance between the stars

By the fragile bridge of the Servant's bow

We take up the basin and the towel

And the call is to community

The impoverished power that sets the soul free

In humility, to take the vow

That day after day we must take up the basin

And the call is to community

The impoverished power that sets the soul free

In humility, to take the vow

That day after day we must take up the basin

That day after day we must take up the basin

That day after day we must take up the basin and the towel

Take up the basin and the towel, basin and towel

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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In Christ Alone – Fear is Stilled

Greetings Dear Reader,

I have written extensively about fear.  Recently I had a conversation with someone whose fear has frozen her for years.  She has great potential but has stayed in a job she hates due to her fear of change.

The love and peace of Christ can still fear.  Fear is what keeps us from taking up whatever cross Christ has for us to carry.  I was pondering this very thing when I read yesterday’s entry for Streams in the Desert.  I will add it below.

I think too often we fear that when God leads us into a wilderness that he will not be there with us.  The point is that is where we can discover just how close he really is.  If we do not carry the burdens he asks of us then we will not learn the lessons he has for us. 

It is fear that drives us away from God, toward despair, and into failure.  It is fear that takes away our peace and keeps us from being loving.  Fear kills our thinking and cripples our faith whenever we let it have reign.  We must use the love and peace of Christ to still our fear. 

I can only follow if I do so without fear.  I my feel afraid but I must not give fear movement or momentum.  It is at the heart of my selfishness and anger.  It is the soul of my fallen nature.  Only without fear can I face the journey before me.

From Streams in the Desert – September 14 – Lettie B. Cowman

The cross which my Lord bids me take up and carry may assume different shapes. I may have to content myself with a lowly and narrow sphere, when I feel that I have capacities for much higher work. I may have to go on cultivating year after year, a field which seems to yield me no harvests whatsoever. I may be bidden to cherish kind and loving thoughts about someone who has wronged me--be bidden speak to him tenderly, and take his part against all who oppose him, and crown him with sympathy and succor. I may have to confess my Master amongst those who do not wish to be reminded of Him and His claims. I may be called to "move among my race, and show a glorious morning face," when my heart is breaking.

There are many crosses, and every one of them is sore and heavy. None of them is likely to be sought out by me of my own accord. But never is Jesus so near me as when I lift my cross, and lay it submissively on my shoulder, and give it the welcome of a patient and unmurmuring spirit.

He draws close, to ripen my wisdom, to deepen my peace, to increase my courage, to augment my power to be of use to others, through the very experience which is so grievous and distressing, and then--as I read on the seal of one of those Scottish Covenanters whom Claverhouse imprisoned on the lonely Bass, with the sea surging and sobbing round--I grow under the load.

--Alexander Smellie

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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In Christ Alone – Depths of Peace

Greetings Dear Reader,

I am surly not there yet but I am closer.  I am at peace that God has me in a place where he wants me to learn something.  There is still no peace in the exile and isolation.  There is still no peace in my pain.

The former peace, however, needs to be enough for now.  If God wishes me to learn then the student I must be.  I love learning and it is a life-long pursuit for me.  I have had to learn in the midst of pain before now. 

So as find peace in the requirements of my situation I must focus my faith on the things with which I am not at peace.  I can endure anything if Christ wills me to walk through it.   What will be on the other end of the trial I do not know.  Submitting myself to the tutelage is the only way I will find peace in it.   

God does not promise that there will never be loneliness, isolation, and pain.  He does promise that if I hold onto my faith I can get through it.  So I focus on the learning and stop asking why.  I resolve to be honest about where I am and follow in faith.  I must find a way to use the time to grow and find new ways to be a better man. 

I hate the pain.  I love God.  We will see how it unfolds as I seek peace in Christ alone.  I dare not tell others to do this if I am not willing to do the same.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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In Christ Alone – Heights of Love

Greetings Dear Reader,

“This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the payment for our sins.”  Sometimes I think that this is all that needs to be said.  It should be but it is not.  We find vast and interesting ways to make our hearts hard toward this love.

Every time I do not act out of love toward others I distance myself from the love that redeems me.  Christ does not abandon me. Christ does not leave me alone.  He does not add up my errors, hold grudges, or abandon me.  He asks me to do the same.  He asks anyone who follows him to do the same.

If it is in Christ I live and move I can show this same love.  I can lay aside fear and strife.  I can truly trust and give.  I can let the pain of the past fade and take away its power to intimidate my future.  The love of God never fails.  If I act in that love then I cannot fail.  Even if others do not respond, I have not failed.   Because God loves me he will never fail me.

This is the ultimate hard deck.  This is the thing beyond which there is nothing that needs to be said.  This is the essence of what it means to follow Christ.  It is the core of what it is to be in Christ alone.  When I am alone if I am in Christ I can find a way.

“What will separate us from the love Christ has for us? Can trouble, distress, persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger, or violent death separate us from his love? As Scripture says: ‘We are being killed all day long because of you. We are thought of as sheep to be slaughtered.’ The one who loves us gives us an overwhelming victory in all these difficulties. I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love which Christ Jesus our Lord shows us. We can't be separated by death or life, by angels or rulers, by anything in the present or anything in the future, by forces or powers in the world above or in the world below, or by anything else in creation.”

How Deep the Father’s Love for Us – Stuart Townend

How deep the Father’s love for us,

How vast beyond all measure,

That He should give His only Son

To make a wretch His treasure.

How great the pain of searing loss -

The Father turns His face away,

As wounds which mar the Chosen One

Bring many sons to glory.

Behold the man upon a cross,

My sin upon His shoulders;

Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice

Call out among the scoffers.

It was my sin that held Him there

Until it was accomplished;

His dying breath has brought me life -

I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything,

No gifts, no power, no wisdom;

But I will boast in Jesus Christ,

His death and resurrection.

Why should I gain from His reward?

I cannot give an answer;

But this I know with all my heart -

His wounds have paid my ransom.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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