Closing the Year: I DARE YOU TO MOVE ~ Get Up

Greetings Dear Reader,

We hear and see the time the memes about getting up and trying again.  One of my favorites is that you are not a failure until you stop getting up again.  We also hear everywhere that this year has been a hard and trying one.  Many are anxious for it to end.

In just a few hours the new year will begin on the other side of the world.  Drinks will be hoisted.  Kisses will be exchanged.  Resolutions will be vowed and shared.  Over the next twelve days most of those resolutions will be broken.  It is one of the many ways we fall.  We will fall and fail and fracture.  It is the nature of humans.

When we choose not to get up is when we are in danger.  It is in those failures that cause us to quit that we really lose.  The choice never to quit is one that no one can take from us.  When we quit on each other we do it out of choice.  We can justify it all that we want to salve our conscience.  We can redefine what we have said to make it seem like it allowable to treat others with less than love and respect.  All we are resolving is our own rationalization. 

We know what is best for us.  We know what we should be and how we should act.  Instead we fall into habits that salve our pain and hinder our progress.  We dream and talk but we do not move toward deeper love and stronger peace.  I am working at both.  I have a long way to go and situations and other humans keep knocking me down but I will keep getting up.

I think there Is not a day where I do not fall in some way.  It is getting up that will allow me to keep following; moving.   It is getting up no matter how painful it hurts to do it that will put me in the right way to reach my destination.  So, I dare you to move by getting up.  I dare to keep loving, keep working at peace, keep showing mercy and grace Dear Reader. 

You may feel you cannot get up.  Yes, you can.  Even if there is a moment where you really cannot Jesus promise is to carry you if necessary.  We believe we cannot more often than is true.  We do not get up because it seems more comfortable to stay in our old familiar pain.  As we close the year, I dare you to move.  Tell me about it so that I may walk with you.

Reckless Love – Cory Asbury

Before I spoke a word, You were singing over me
You have been so, so good to me
Before I took a breath, You breathed Your life in me
You have been so, so kind to me

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine
I couldn't earn it, and I don't deserve it, still, You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God, yeah

When I was Your foe, still Your love fought for me
You have been so, so good to me
When I felt no worth, You paid it all for me
You have been so, so kind to me

And oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine
And I couldn't earn it, and I don't deserve it, still, You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God, yeah

There's no shadow You won't light up, Mountain You won't climb up
Coming after me
There's no wall You won't kick down, Lie You won't tear down
Coming after me
There's no shadow You won't light up, Mountain You won't climb up
Coming after me
There's no wall You won't kick down, Lie You won't tear down
Coming after me
There's no shadow You won't light up, Mountain You won't climb up
Coming after me
There's no wall You won't kick down, Lie You won't tear down
Coming after me
There's no shadow You won't light up, Mountain You won't climb up
Coming after me
There's no wall You won't kick down, Lie You won't tear down
Coming after me

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine
And I couldn't earn it, I don't deserve it, still, You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God, yeah

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.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn

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Closing the Year: I DARE YOU TO MOVE ~ Welcome to the Fallout

Greetings Dear Reader,

When I speak of fallout, I am not talking about the radioactive kind nor am I referencing the popular video game.  I am referring to “the adverse side effects or results of a situation.”  When we take action to change our lives there is always fallout.  We need to expect it.  We need to prepare to weather it.

When we have become comfortable in the things that are unhealthy for us, we find that others are comfortable with those things as well.  There is fallout when we change.  There will be those who do not see things the way we do and will dislike or even hate us for it.  When we move, we will be judged and found wanting by others. 

We cannot change without there being fallout.  We must choose if the change we aspire to accomplish is good and right.  We must also choose if the fallout is something we can navigate.  We cannot control the responses of others.  We may not even be able to explain our choice in a way that makes sense to them.

It is in following that we find the path and not in the approval of others.  It does not mean that we do not care or that those who are impacted by our change do not matter.  It means that we must trust that the one we follow has that fallout in his hands as well.  The fallout is almost always the result of my sin and that of others.  It is the consequence of sin or the painful process of recovering from sin. 

When we attempt to shake of those things that make us less than we should be, it will not always please those around us.   It will not be easy or painless.  There will be consequences that we do not wish.  Still, Dear Reader, I dare you to move.  I know that I must.

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.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

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Closing the Year: I DARE YOU TO MOVE ~ The Tension is Here

Greetings Dear Reader,

We all live in the tension of the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.  What am I going to do different?  What do I wish to accomplish?  What to I need to change?  Whether we are told in kindness or not, others tell us what is wrong with us.  We decided if we agree and are going to do anything about it.

Rigel shines bright as it navigates
 the tension of its binary existence

Notice that the choice is binary.  The first is that question of whether or not we agree with the things that others point out as needing change in us.  We may dice it up into facets but we still choose whether or not we agree with others about who we and what we need to change.  It is yes or no. 

Disagreeing can be honest or it can be denial.  Our philosophical differences or our social alignment may influence whether or not we agree.  The difficulty is that in most cases, disagreement can damage the peace of the relationship.

The other binary choice is whether or not we will act to change that in us which should be different.  Most of the time we do not.  More often we dismiss the truth of the need to change.  We also make weak resolutions to the change no matter what time of year it is.  It is summed up by example in the person who says, “I should lose some weight,” whilst cutting that second piece of cake.  It is not easy to change.

I work at making sure my life lines up with my beliefs.  I fail at times.  I am blind sometimes to my faults.  The tension is always there between who I am and who I should become.  I cannot fix it all at once.  I can work today to become better than I was yesterday.  There are things I can stop right away.  There are things I can do and things I can stop doing. 

Instead of creating resolutions for the New Year, I have been working at my resolve to live in the moment as an obedient follower.  It is both difficult and easy.  My mind and spirit wrestle with the old and the new.  My heart and thoughts harm and heal me.  I begin to understand Paul when he says, “The things I do I would not and the things I would I do not.”

The tension is here between who you are and who you should be.  Until you are perfect it will always be that which we must encounter Dear Reader.  The question, again, becomes one of the binary sort.  Will you move or not?  I dare you to.  I know that I must.

“Welcome to the fallout
Welcome to resistance
The tension is here
The tension is here
Between who you are and who you could be
Between how it is and how it should be”

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.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn

This BLOG:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

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Closing the Year: I DARE YOU TO MOVE ~ Things to do at the Gym

Greetings Dear Reader,

Were I still working with my friend Dwight, he would observe how much he would hate going to the gym next week.  He is faithful in his exercise and activity.  His disdain is for the influx of newbies coming and mostly soon leaving.

We all know how irritating it is in January when the gym resolution-aires show up and get in the way of our routine.  We have been faithful all year and here come the short timers thinking they own the place.  Here are some ideas to thin the herd and get a laugh or two.  Dwight let me know if you try any of these.

• Clean out a Hershey’s chocolate syrup bottle and use it for a water bottle.  Enjoy the staring eyes, gaping jaws, and unfettered judgment.
• Wear a fat suit on Monday through Thursday – Return without it on Friday.  Offer to sell your secret for $1000.
• When no one is looking, place a large bowl of left-over Christmas candy on the check in counter.
• Slip empty candy wrappers into the gym bags of strangers who come as a couple ~ don’t get caught.
• Have the most unhealthy food you can find delivered to the gym in the name of someone else there.
• Arrange for a food truck to show up at breakfast time.
• Place coupons from competing gyms on the wind screens of cars in the parking lot.
• Greet newcomers warmly and be their BEST FRIEND EVER.  As they leave tell them that next time you will introduce them to the Brotherhood of Suffering for Shape.
• Put Pringles cans in the water bottle holders on the tread mills.

In the event that some of you do not see my Cheshire smile or the tongue firmly implanted in my cheek, I am not suggesting that anyone sabotage another’s efforts at health.  We do need to find humor in the changes that people vow to make and for some reason cannot manage.  We also need to change our feeling of discomfort over others using “our” space.  The problem is not the crowd. It is how we view that crowd.  It is almost always our heart and attitude that creates inconvenience.

So Dear Reader, if you need to exercise then go do it.  If you feel put out by the influx of newbies in your circle perhaps you should find a way to welcome them and help them succeed.  I know that I need to be more fluid concerning changes when they come.  I need to understand that the time to change for the better is the moment I realize that I need to and not on an arbitrary day on the calendar.  It is vital to my progress that I dare to move closer to Christ and allow others to move as well, even if it is to MY elliptical.  

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.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn

This BLOG:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

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Closing the Year: I DARE YOU TO MOVE ~ Put it Down

Greetings Dear Reader,

Movement is best accomplished unencumbered.  It is the things we carry that weigh us down and hinder our progress.  We have to travel.  It is our nature.  We choose if we will follow the path or search vainly on a false one.

When I arrived in the South some people gathered to help me understand how to navigate the path I needed to walk.  One of the things on which I needed to focus was seeking and giving forgiveness.  It has always been easy for me to forgive when forgiveness was sought.  As is the nature of the journey, the Father wishes to press me for more.

One of the ways in which we can move is to move first.  I am determined to learn to forgive before it is asked for.  I am going to learn to go further and ask the Father not to hold to account those who sin against me.  It will not be easy but it is right.  It will not be fun but it will bring joy.  It is not possible to make war if we constantly seek peace.

I had determined to follow this part of the path and as is the way of things, it was immediately truly tested.  In a situation where I would wait for the individual to realize their wrong and seek forgiveness, I instead dismissed the offense and prayed for the Father to not hold this sin against them.  It was not easy.  It was painful and difficult.  It was also genuine and from the heart.

I am in a place seeking forgiveness where I fell.   I am trying to unravel the wrongs I have created and finding ones I did not know existed.  Since I am in such need of real forgiveness I must up my skill in immediately giving out the same.  I must keep no accounts, even for a moment.  I must move first and do so in love and humility.

It is also necessary to avoid the trap of being prideful in my forgiving.  It is enough to do it in my heart and not seem self-righteous by expressing it to the offender.  It is sufficient to silently pray for the person even whilst they are assailing me.  It is the right path to follow. 

So, Dear Reader, as we enter into a new year, I dare you to move first.  I challenge you to forgive without any other reason that to love the other person.  There are many other valid reasons to do so including not carrying the weight of grudges and anger that sap our souls.  I dare you to put it all down and keep your love and mercy; your kindness and grace.  We all need it so much we dare not withhold it from others.  I dare you to move.

“Maybe redemption has stories to tell
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell
Where can you run to escape from yourself?”

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.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn

This BLOG:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

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Closing the Year: I DARE YOU TO MOVE ~ Opening Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

On Boxing Day many places in the world are enjoying another day off to revel in the season.  In other places the thoughts of the world turn to the closing of the year and the new one ahead.  Resolutions are proposed and posted.  We envision plans and change.

What I hope to do is put in place a determination to move.  In managing life, we can dream about what we want all we wish.  If we do not move in the direction of our dreams we will never get there.  I have heard so many people talk about how terrible the past year has been.  I admit that it has been a very hard year but it has also become the staging ground for changes that are vital to me rebuilding my life.

I am not going to tell you that I have all the answers but I do know that if I do not move, I will be in the same place this time next year.  I am counting as lost the things that I used to use to shore up my fractured self.  I have things to accomplish and places to go.  I have fences to mend and wounds to heal.

It is not that I can accomplish this.  It is that I must not resist the movement necessary for it to be accomplished.  I am not going to make resolutions but I am going to lay a foundation for ways to keep moving.  As I do that, I hope that you can find something to help you down the road as well. 

I am too flawed to be an example and too broken to be of great use to you Dear Reader.  I can, however, be open about where I am going and hope that we can help each other avoid a snag or two.  Your company in the journey is always welcome, even if you only see my flaws.

Dare You to Move – Switchfoot

Welcome to the planet
Welcome to existence
Everyone's here
Everyone's here
Everybody's watching you know
Everybody waits for you now
What happens next?
What happens next?

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened before

Welcome to the fallout
Welcome to resistance
The tension is here
The tension is here
Between who you are and who you could be
Between how it is and how it should be
Yeah

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened before

Maybe redemption has stories to tell
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell
Where can you run to escape from yourself?
Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna go?
Salvation is here

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself
To lift yourself up off the floor

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened
Today never happened
Today never happened before

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.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn

This BLOG:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

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Where Are You Christmas ~ Promises to Keep

Happy Christmas Dear Reader,

The morning for me starts as it does every year.  I awaken knowing it is Christmas morning.  I thank the Father for the gift of the Son.  I recite Luke chapter two in my head.  I pray for my Children and Grandchildren.

My heart is fixed on the birth and adoration of Jesus.  As I prepare my coffee, I offer a prayer of gratitude for it.  I turn on the PC and see pictures already posted of those who celebrate on Christmas Eve or of those who are in parts of the world where my Christmas morning is the end of the day for them.  I do not have all that I wish for but I have all that I need.

In the month-long search for Christmas I find that I am in better shape than I thought I would be.  My heart hurts but there is joy in the journey still.  I am strangely at peace.  I understand more about the moment of faith in what can be true. 

I will focus on this writing for a moment.  I will sip eggnog coffee and write.  I will listen to songs that remind me to keep following in faith.  I will watch the wonder of children as my nieces and nephews open their gifts. 

Where are you Christmas?  You are in every moment that I choose to believe, hope, and follow.  You are in the millions of little things that cry out to the world that the Father loves us.  You are in the crisp clear starlight where Rigel shines so brightly reminding me to believe.  You are the promises that there will be a Christmas some day with no absence, longing, or lack of anything good.

I wish you a Happy Christmas Dear Reader.  Your company on this journey is precious to me.  I see you in the hope and faith that I carry.  I see you in the promises that Christmas yet has to keep in all our lives.  I look forward to watching them all come true with you.  Tell me a Christmas story.

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.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn

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Where Are You Christmas ~ Little Town

Happy Christmas Dear Reader,

The time with my Son Bezel yesterday was great.  I am so very proud of the man he is.  Part of our journey yesterday involved being at a mall.  This is my first such experience since coming back to the South.  I was unprepared for the vast crowd at a massive shopping mall two days before Christmas.

It struck me deeply how filled with tension the air was.  The contrast to the quiet I have been living felt like waves crashing against me over and over.  The impact was just how much everyone needs the truth of what Christmas is.  I have been asking where it is all month.  This has kept me from being drowned by the sorrow of things I treasure but do not have.  It has kept me focused on becoming stronger in faith and in following more closely the one who really matters.

My situation is evolving and not as dire as it was even a month ago.  Even so, parts of my heart still long for there to be peace in my family and in the world.  I suppose the difference is that the pain and longing are cloaked in hope instead of despair as they were in August. 

Where are you Christmas?   You are in a memory recorded by Luke the Physician.  It is a memory of a small town and a long journey.  In just a few hours it will be Christmas morning on the far side of the world.  I am praying for those I love to have deep Christmas sleep tonight.  I am hoping for Christmas dreams for them.  I am focused on Christ showing himself to them in a beautiful new light that draws them further on their journey toward him.

If I place my hope in anything but this birth and the things that follow then my fears get great purchase and overtake my heart.  Dear Reader I am going to have a quiet Christmas and I will keep you in my prayers as I do so.  I would love to hear how you made merry and what blessings came your way. 

Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem – Sarah McLachlan

O little town of Bethlehem,

How still we see thee lie.

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep

The silent stars go by;

Yet in thy dark streets shineth

The everlasting Light.

The hopes and fears of all the years

Are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary,

And, gathered all above

While mortals sleep, the angels keep

Their watch of wond'ring love.

O morning stars, together

Proclaim the holy birth,

And praises sing to God the King,

And peace to men on earth.

How silently, how silently

The wondrous gift is giv'n!

So God imparts to human hearts

The blessings of his heav'n.

No ear may hear his coming;

But in this world of sin,

Where meek souls will receive him, still

The dear Christ enters in.

O holy child of Bethlehem

Descend to us we pray

Cast out our sin and enter in

Be born in us today.

The Morning Stars together

The great glad tidings tell

Oh, come to us abide with us

Our Lord Immanuel

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.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn

This BLOG:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

Novels on Amazon             

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Bookings at aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com

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Where Are You Christmas ~ Missing You at Christmas

Happy Christmas Dear Reader,

This is going to be personal at first but I promise to get to you Dear Reader.  I hope that each of you has close to you those you love.  Those of you who are parents understand that physical proximity to our children is more important than we sometimes admit.  When it cannot be so, we feel and unspeakable loss.

In that light, as I search for Christmas, there are things I would say to my beloved Children that I want everyone to hear:

Maxim ~ I love you.  I know that I am not who you wish me to be as your father.  I see how hard you work at being a good father to your sons.  I pray for to you to find the peace that can only be found in Christ.  I wish for you to have joy and revel in the life you are building for yourself.

Bezel ~ I will see you later today and I hope that you know how much you are loved by your father.  I am proud of the way you keep trying to find a path that fits who you are.  I am a believer that you have a mission.  You have a destiny to do something great.  Jesus made it clear to you long ago.  Your heart has such deep compassion that it is easily hurt.  It also can do so much to heal others.

Little Lamb ~ I miss you every day.  Over the years I have been glad to see that you have not been marked by my failures and the hard world.  I have no idea what you would be now but I do know that I love you and that your absence is always with us.   

Christmas ~ I know that you are seeking what you need.  Seek Jesus first and you will find the rest.  Your health and well-being matter more to me than I have words to express.  I love you and miss you.  I feel the weight of our first Christmas apart more deeply than I can carry at times.  I suppose this is why Christ carries us all when necessary.

Avalon ~ It was a joy to talk with you yesterday.  I know that seeking without finding can be frustrating.  I love you and pray for you.  The Father has built so much in you that the world needs.  You will always be welcome wherever I am. 

Now for you Dear Reader:  Had I the power I would gather you all to someplace beautiful and bright with gifts for each of you and the blessings of Christ rich upon us all.  That, however, is not my place but the someday of the one we celebrate and follow.  I am so thankful for your company and conversation on the journey.  Your questions and thoughts as I travel make the world more tolerable and my faith more steady. 

Where are you Christmas?  You are in the love that we feel so deeply even when we cannot share it with those absent from us.  You are in the determination to love no matter how much must be endured to do it.  You are in the moments where we realize that the distance and partings will one day be healed and that the celebration will be all that it can become. 

If you are missing someone Dear Reader know that I am with you and that I love you.  You may reach out to me if needed.  You are precious to me.  As we approach the eve and the day I will keep you in my heart, mind, and prayers.

Wintersong – Sarah

The lake is frozen over
The trees are white with snow
And all around reminders of you
Are everywhere I go

It's late and morning's in no hurry
But sleep won't set me free
I lie awake and try to recall
How your body felt beside me
When silence gets too hard to handle
And the night too long

This is how I see you
In the snow on Christmas morning
Love and happiness surround you
As you throw your arms up to the sky
I keep this moment by and by
Oh I miss you now, my love
Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas, my love

Sense the joy fills the air
And I daydream and I stare
Up at the tree and I see
Your star up there

This is how I see you
In the snow on Christmas morning
Love and happiness surround you
As you throw your arms up to the sky
I keep this moment by and by

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.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

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Where Are You Christmas ~ Driving Home for Christmas

Happy Christmas Dear Reader,

Many years ago I used to dream of a home where my Children and Grandchildren would return year after year for Christmas.  It was a home I designed and built with room for everyone.  I still have those designs long after the dream cannot become reality. 

In later years, I would imagine the space to have everyone together no matter where we were.  That too has been fragmented by time and trials.  My choices and those of others have taken us in many directions.  Were I able I would be driving to see my Grandchildren today.   That too is not possible. 

 My search for Christmas this year has been in anticipation of the reality of not seeing most of the people I long to see.  I will get to see my younger Son tomorrow and that fills me with joy.  As I have longed him on so many other Christmas days I long for my eldest Son and my Daughter.  I long for my Grandsons and my friends in the north. There is something for which I long more deeply than all of this, however.

I long to keep moving toward home.  I long to be driven to follow Christ more closely.  I am not depressed but I am sad because I am not as close to Christ as I wish and because of our distance from Christ I am distant from some that I love.  The only thing that I can fix is my closeness to Christ. 

Where are you Christmas?  You are in the dreams that die helping me to follow you out of their rubble.  You are in the hope that we are on the road and we can follow if we will to a winter with no discontent.  You are my companion as I drive this broken road and strive to find the beauty in the brokenness.  You know my heart and my new dreams.

Do not worry overmuch Dear Reader.  I am filled with hope even though I feel sad.  I am remaining true to my faith and following.  I treasure you and all the thoughts you share with me.  I will be praying for you and yours as you travel for Christmas.  Tell me a Christmas story to read whilst I work and pray through the day.  I sing for you Dear Reader.

Driving Home For Christmas - Chris Rea

I'm driving home for Christmas

Oh, I can't wait to see those faces

I'm driving home for Christmas, yea

Well I'm moving down that line

And it's been so long, but I will be there

I sing this song, to pass the time away

Driving in my car

Driving home for Christmas

It's gonna take some time

But I'll get there

Top to toe in tailbacks

Oh, I got red lights all around

But soon there'll be a three-way

Get my feet on holy ground

So I sing for you

Though you can't hear me

When I get trough

And feel you near me

I am driving home for Christmas

Driving home for Christmas

With a thousand memories

I take look at the driver next to me

He's just the same

Just the same

Top to toe in tailbacks

Oh, I got red lights all around

I'm driving home for Christmas, yea

Get my feet on holy ground

So I sing for you

Though you can't hear me

When I get trough

And feel you near me

Driving in my car

Driving home for Christmas

Driving home for Christmas

With a thousand memories

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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Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn

This BLOG:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

Novels on Amazon             

Web Page:  www.aramisthorn.com

Bookings at aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com

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