Second Thoughts ~ UFO’s and Jesus Part IV

Greetings Dear Reader,

Be our guest.  Really, think about it.  What if there are cultures out there who have the capacity to visit us?   What is our obligation?  It really is something we must consider.  If they have visited us, we must consider what they have seen.

They have found that we kill each other, even the most defenseless among us.  We are greedy and we pollute or world.  We squander resources.  Our focus neglects those in need for the sake of our wants and desires.  We do not look good on paper to those who may be assessing us.

How then, should we treat them if the visit?  The answer is the same for any entity in the universe.    If Greys, Greens, or One-eyed one-horned flying purple people eaters visit us we are required to love them.  We are obligated to show them love and compassion as we are with anyone native to our world.

The world does not know but there are plenty of theories about us having alien visitors.  Like all those who encounter us, we are to be recognized by them for our love.  We may not understand them but we are able to love without understanding. 

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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Love Actually ~ Closing Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

Few of us would refuse a thirsty person a cup of water.  There are even places where it is against the law to do so.  Water is essential to our lives.  Our bodies cannot survive without it.

Love is like the water that sustains our souls. Whether we admit it or not, we all want to be loved.  We all desire to know that someone loves us where we are and when we are no matter who we are.  It is built into us to desire to be loved.

We cannot, however, make other people love us.  It just does not work that way.  We have to see how much we are loved and that the Father’s love is enough to allow us to love others without reservation.  We search for someone to love us unconditionally and try to get others to prove that they love us.  We search for what we already have.

What we can do is love others without expectation or qualification.  We can use the strength available in the Father’s love to do this.  We must do it without expecting anything.  I was talking with some friends last night and the topic of saying “I love you” came up.  We have to be willing to say it to everyone without expectation of them returning the gesture.  We have to show love to everyone even if they hate us for it.

Loving others is a bidirectional one-way street.  We must love everyone without condition, even the positive ones.  Some will respond and some will not. Some people will love us and some will hate us.  It is vital that I focus on loving others. I am one hundred percent responsible for loving you with all that I am right where you are. It is paramount that I seize the love in each moment.  Still there are those who refuse to be loved.  I will get back to that tomorrow.

For this moment I must love every person in every situation.  In the next moment, I must do the same.  Creating these moments is how I seek the heart of God and follow Christ.  Every other rule, law, past-time, vocation and endeavor must be built on this.  If it is not then I am not doing it right. 

We are not designed to be self-sufficient.  We are built to love and be loved.  I get in the way of others loving me when I fail to love without reservation or expectation.  My project for the year, learning to love more deeply and fully in every moment is difficult.  One month in, I am seeing the vitality and the challenge of it.

Your company and interactions make it easier to fight this fight Dear Reader.  I say again, unequivocally, unconditionally, and without expectation, “I love you.”  As we travel together, I hope that I find deeper and clearer ways to show it.  I am thankful for your love and that you are a part of my journey.  What about you Dear Reader?  I ask without equivocation or expectation.  I ask out of love for your best interest.  Are you willing to take on the challenge to love without reservation or expectation?  Even if you do not, I will still love 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.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

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

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Love Actually ~ Be First, Be Fast

Greetings Dear Reader,

As I get closer to the end of this discussion, I find there is a challenge that I must adopt.  A few weeks ago, someone was venting his anger at me with a good quantity of stored up venom and vitriol.  He used words that he knew would offend me and attacked me in ways that he knew would wound. 

In the midst of it I heard my heart say, “Forgive him, even when he is still harming you.”  Then I remembered Stephen’s response when he was being stoned to death, “Father do not hold this sin to their account.”  As he attacked me, I forgave him.  As I drifted off to sleep that night, I reviewed his words for my own sin and asked the Father not to hold his against him.

What we have is enough.  It is enough to protect us from any verbal or emotional assault if we let it.  Things may hurt but they need not destroy.  What we must do is become first and fast.  We must be the first in things that show that love is paramount to any other feeling, position, or place.

We must be the first to forgive.  We must do it quickly and completely without condition or caveat.  We must determine that forgiveness is not based on change in others but on the change love has made in us.  It is useless to wait for others to change for us to forgive.  It only harms everyone involved and there is fallout for those around us.

It is also vital that we be the first to seek peace.  We must do it first and fast so that bitterness does not grow in us.  It is our obligation to be at peace with anyone no matter how much pride we must surrender to achieve it.  Frist and fast at peace prevents us from collecting enemies and allows us to show love at a sacrificial level.

When we see others in need we can be first and fast to render help.  Even if all we have is a kind word, we do not know the good it can do when offered.  I find that a simple act of kindness offered does so much that I could not anticipate. I do not do this as well as I wish but being intentional about it creates a deeper desire to make it a reality.

The bottom line is deciding that we are going to be first and fast at showing, expressing, and speaking love into the lives of others.  We cannot control their choices or responses.  We can be there, loving, forgiving, giving, and waiting with open arms.  I find both power and protection in this aspect of thought.  There is pain but there is not damage.  There is purpose and peace even when others choose to remain at war with me.

Becoming first and fast at love has a price.  We will have to shed pride, self-centeredness, what we think are our rights, and the need for people to meet our needs.  In all of those things there is a type of selfishness that mitigates our attempts to love.  Still, it is worth the effort and cost.

I must become the first to love and fast to show it.  I need to radiate kindness and grace.  I will always need to hone these things.  I will always need to do better today than yesterday.  In a society where the memes have more truth than the words we say, action to love first and fast stands out.  Many will hate us for it.  Our errors will be held against us by others.  None of that prevents us from choosing to love first and fast.  I may have failed at it yesterday but I can be quick to adopt it today.  How about you Dear Reader?  Care to join me in the fight?

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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Love Actually ~ Meddling

Greetings Dear Reader,

Often there was a time when my Grandfather would reach a specific point in his sermons.  He would say, “Time for me to quit preaching and get to meddling.”  Those who knew his preaching knew what was next. He was about to focus his attention on application.

I am going to meddle a bit.  Please be positive that it all applies to me as well.  There is never a moment where I point the finger at you.  Rather, I draw applications that can put my thoughts into action.  I point out actions that will demonstrate my faith.  Some of them are universal.

Ponder those you claim to love and how you currently treat them.  Push away the thoughts that urge you to focus on their faults and failures.  Dismiss the urge to justify your anger and outrage.  Consider if your treatment of those you love reflects Christ’s love for you.  Ruminate on how much they must need to see the love of Jesus if they act the way they do toward you or others.

The second thing to consider is if you would wish to be treated as you are treating others.  Do you want to be ignored, rejected, dishonored, or dismissed?  No one’s sin is worse that yours or mine.  No one’s past allows you to decide that they are unworthy of your love.  I have failed at this with people who desperately need to see the love of Christ in their moments of pain.

I know people who have walked away from faith because keeping the faith meant they had to forgive someone they did not wish to forgive.  It meant they had to love a person they thought unworthy of their demonstrated love.  This is so backwards.  We need to live out the truth that everyone deserves condemnation and is still worthy of love.  Every soul matters to the Father.  He is unwilling that any should perish. 

There is no substitute for living and applying actual love to every individual in every circumstance in every moment.  It is what the Father does for us with every grain of sand that falls through the glass.  It is his constant loving consideration of us that allows us to exist. 

I have such a long way to go but that does not mean that I am wrong about this.  It means that we can walk together toward loving the Father more deeply.  It means that we can meddle in each other’s lives deeply by showing love no matter what the cost.  We can follow Christ more closely by loving those he loves.  I begin to think of it this way:  If I am unwilling to live out actual intense love to anyone for whom Christ died then I am disagreeing with God.  I am, therefore, wrong.  No matter what protestation I can conjure, justification I can muster, or situation I can relate, Jesus loves that person in that moment.  My argument against loving in themoment is, therefore, invalid.  Failing to love others intensely and sacrificially is at the core of every wrong we commit. 

So, who is it Dear Reader that you need to love more obviously, intentionally, and flagrantly?  What do you need to do to show others that you really do love them?  As I said at the beginning of this month, my focus is to transform every interaction into an opportunity to show my love and more importantly the love of Christ to everyone.  Loving others is a battle of moments from which we may never declare a ceasefire.  What are you going to do about it? 

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

Novels on Amazon             

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Love Actually ~ Expression and Intensity

Greetings Dear Reader,

Let me first qualify what I am about to say.  I am not going to be speaking of physical or erotic love here.  It may sound like it at times but that is not my focus.  That it may sound like Eros contributes to the need to understand the intensity of the love we are to have for each other.

Think about the driving force of love when it consumes us.  Consider how we shut out other things to focus on love when we are pursuing someone with all our heart.  Ponder all the literature, music, and energy that gets put into defining and expressing love.  This is something worth our attention.

We do not understand the height or depth of the love that the Father has for us.  His ultimate statement of it is that he allowed Jesus to serve as the propitiation and purgation of our sin.  How much must Jesus love us if he is willing to do this knowing that we will not think it enough?  

What he asks is that we love each other with the same level of intensity.  What we must do is determine to follow him in the expression of the deep sacrificial love that we find in him.  We can choose to love others with passionate intensity that considers their needs above our own.  It is in this love that our faith allows us to relegate our worries to the Father’s care so that we can server the need of our fellow travelers to be loved. 

In the heart of my life this is what I want to be for everyone.  I know that I fail.  I make horrid choices at times that cause pain for others.  I must focus on the eradication of those moments by being loving with a depth of passion that stands out.  My failures do not mean that I do not love you Dear Reader.  They mean that I fail at showing it and I am still on the journey to perfecting it. 

If I can deliver this intensity of love in every encounter, I can avoid the failures that mark me at my worst.  I can let go of pain and prevent bitterness.  I can follow Christ more closely and perhaps allow him to see how much I love him.  We cannot comprehend the depth and breadth of Christ’s love but we can strive to give glimpses of it to everyone we meet.  It is really a matter of choice and action. 

Do not consider for a moment that I think I have a handle on this.  Rather, I am determined to become it.  I am going to attempt to seize each moment and fill it with a passion for others that shows this love.  It can only be the compound impact of moments of love that changes me and hopefully benefits you.  It is a matter of putting the noun and verb together in that simple sentence: Love loves.  

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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Love Actually ~ …and Verbs

Greetings Dear Reader,

Yesterday we centered our thinking around love as a noun (that little underline of yesterday is a link in case you did not know that. [I cannot link you to yesterday and it would be foolish to try, but it is a link to yesterday’s post]).  Today we will give our attention to love as a verb.  It is here that we find love to be demanding and filled with expectations.

A verb gives action to the sentence.  It tells us what the subject does.  Again, the example from yesterday serves.  I write. I write this blog, stories, books and poems.  Everything that follows write is just a way to give more information about writing.  It explains what kind of writing I do when I write.

“Love loves,” is a complete sentence.  The action of loving is summed up well by Paul in the passage from Corinthians that we looked at yesterday.  It is to be understood that our actions are what determine if we actually love.  I cannot take my love out and show it to you.  I can show you that I love you by doing things that are loving, that demonstrate it.

We convince ourselves that we still love people when we in fact resent them or are harboring, carrying, and nurturing some offense they have committed.   We cannot love someone without showing it.  The noun love is dependent upon the verb love for its existence.  “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

Love must be demonstrated.  It must have hands and feet.  It is where we earn the right to be heard.  It is the place in which we find the end of our self-centered greed and the beginning of generosity and sacrifice.  I do not want to deceive you.  Love demands all of us.  Every bit of our being must be consumed by love.  We are required to love others as Christ loves us.

Anther aspect of the verb part of love is that it is not intended to have a pasts tense.  We are not allowed to stop loving others.  It is intended to be as constantly present in tense as God, the great I AM is.  The verb love must always be present tense in our actions toward others. 

This verb can have a future, but it is only a promise that when the future moment arrives, love will be present.  The verb can be used in the past tense in this way as well.  The Father makes it clear that he has loved us since before the foundation of the world.  Our lives are intended to be a long series of loving acts demonstrated by kindness, generosity, and service to others.

This means that if I am going to actually love there are things I must do.  Love the noun only gets its life from becoming love the verb.  I must forgive.  I must interact with those I claim to love in a loving and positive way.  I am obligated to show love to everyone I encounter.  Oh, and I must do it all out of love for the Father.

It is in this that I will find out if I am willing to shed that which is in me and unloving.  I can imagine a world where we all choose to be loving toward each other.  It is in this kind of world that we will eventually live.  What we need to do, Dear Reader is begin building it together so that others can see it.  What do you think, care to help me?

Don’t Tell Them Jesus Loves Them – Steve Camp

Oh, the suffering souls

Crying out for love

In a world that seldom cares

See the hungry hearts

Longing to be filled

With much more than our prayers

And a young girl sells herself on Seventh Avenue

And you hear her crying out for help

My God! What will we do?

Don't tell them Jesus loves them

‘Till you're ready to love them too!

‘Till your heart breaks from their sorrow

And the pain they're going through

With a life full of compassion

May we do what we must do?

Don't tell them Jesus loves them

‘Till you're ready to love them too!

All the desperate men

Are we reaching for the souls,

That are sinking down sin?

Oh, cry for the church

We've lost our passion for the lost

And there are billions left to win

And another 40,000 children starved to death today

Would we risk all we have

To see one of them saved!?!

Don't tell them Jesus loves them

‘Till you're ready to love them too!

‘Till your heart breaks from their sorrow

And the pain they're going through

With a life full of compassion

May we do what we must do?

Don't tell them Jesus loves them

‘Till you're ready to love them too!

Why have we waited so long

To show them Jesus lives

To share salvation's song!

Why have our hearts become so proud

That we fail to see

To love them is to love God!

And a young girl sells herself on Seventh Avenue

Hear her crying out for help

What will we do?

Don't tell them Jesus loves them

‘Till you're ready to love them too!

‘Till your heart breaks from their sorrow

And the pain they're going through

With a life full of compassion

May we do what we must do?

Don't tell them Jesus loves them

‘Till you're ready to love them too!

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

Novels on Amazon             

Web Page:  www.aramisthorn.com

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

Love Actually ~ Nouns…

Greetings Dear Reader,

From the beginning of our understanding of words, we learn that to form a complete sentence we need a noun and a verb.  Without the noun there is no subject for the verb.  Without the verb there is no action for the subject.  “I write” is a complete sentence. 

Some words function as both a noun and a verb.  They can be the subject of action or they can be the action for a subject.  When Paul writes to the Corinthians about love, it is the subject. 

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 New International Version (NIV)

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸ Love never fails…

We could journey through these words discussing the many ways in which we do or do not show love by what we do or do not do.  “Do”, by the way is a verb.   When love is subject of the sentence, we see what love does.  This means that if we are to understand this thing, love, we must look at what it does.  The actions that follow love are what it is.  It is a great way to measure your successfulness at loving others by replacing the word love and the pronouns for it in the passage with one’s name.

⁴ Aramis is patient, Aramis is kind. Aramis does not envy, Aramis does not boast, Aramis is not proud. ⁵ Aramis does not dishonor others, Aramis is not self-seeking, Aramis is not easily angered, Aramis keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Aramis does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ Aramis always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸ Aramis never fails…

When I read it this way, I realize that I have many areas where I can be much better at being love for others.  I see where I must improve if I am to love others as Christ loves them.  When I think of those who see me in a light that is less than loving, I must be more certain to live out these words toward them.  The noun is to become who I am and not just what I think.

Actual love is who we are supposed to be Dear Reader.  If we hope to love others then we must be able to read Paul’s words with our name there being increasingly true.  Ponder those in your life and ask if you can put your name as the noun for love regarding him or her.  If you cannot and are not willing to make the change, you should not claim to love that individual.  If I am to claim to love you then I must become these things for you.  No matter how you treat me, I must personify love to you. That is a moment by moment task for me and for you.  I see where I need to change and grow to actually love.  What are your thoughts Dear Reader?

Love – Petra

Love is patient, love is kind
No eyes of envy, true love is blind
Love is humble, it knows no pride
No selfish motive hidden inside

Love is gentle, makes no demands
Despite all wrong, true love still stands
Love is holy, love is pure
It lasts forever, it will endure

Love knows when to let go
Love knows when to say no
Love grows in the light of the Son
And love shows the world that the Son of Love has come

Love is loyal, believes the best
It loves the truth, love stands the test
Love is God sent in His Son
Love forgives all we have done

Love knows when to let go
Love knows when to say no
Love grows in the light of the Son
And love shows the world that the Son of Love has come

In this world where hatred seems to grow
True love goes against the flow
And becomes so hard to show

In this world where push turns to shove
We have strength to rise above
Through the power of His love
Lord, we need to know the power of Your love

Love knows when to let go
Love knows when to say no
Love grows in the light of the Son
And love shows the world that the Son of Love has come

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

Novels on Amazon             

Web Page:  www.aramisthorn.com

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

Love Actually ~ The Language of Love

Greetings Dear Reader,

We make communication difficult from the outset.  Into the common language we infuse political correctness, social mores, and partisan lingo.  We build social barriers and walls of language so that we can measure out our interactions through words and action to fit our fears and desires.

The language of love needs very few words and almost all of them are filled with power and promise.  When we express our love, it is best done through action.  There are, however, words that we must use to convey true passionate love for each other.  They are simple but require our full investment.

“How can I help?”   We too often offer our aid in situations by saying, “let me know if you need any help.”  This puts the responsibility for initiating the help on the one in need.  That is not the way it works.  Asking for a way to help, instead, puts the person in the place of receiving your availability right now.  That is the crux of love, our availability to the other person for the acceptance of where they are and in the meeting of their needs.

“How are you?”  We use this as a common greeting but rarely listen in love to the answer.  We rarely really wish to know how the other person is and so, the opportunity to show love in the moment passes.  What we need to do is step beyond the common social greeting and express that we really wish to know how the other person is.  Further we should become known as people who listen to how others are doing with compassion and empathy so that others desire to answer us honestly when we greet them with this question.

“I care about you.”  I am so amazed at how this catches people off guard.  When I express that I care it surprises people.  It is not that they are surprised that I care but, rather, their surprise is that someone genuinely cares about their situation.  Showing that one cares is seminal to being able to express honest passionate pure love without creating misunderstanding.

“I love you.”  These words are over used and undervalued.  We do not express love to enough people with honest use of these three words.  We think that others will misinterpret us so we hold back.  We worry that we will be thought of oddly so we refuse to take the risk.  It is love that casts out fear.  It is being willing to risk all to love others that crushes resistance to the Father’s love. 

I always have a foundational motive for my love of others.  I do not show it as well as I wish but it is always there.  I want everyone Dear Reader to see just how much the Father loves him or her as an individual.  In case you have not heard it clearly, I do love you.  My love is weak and paltry compared to the Father.  I am flawed and I fail so my love is not always as visible as I wish it to be. 

We are called to love each other.  That is supposed to be our benchmark.  So, I say it again as we journey through this conversation about actual love.  If we fill our lives with living in a loving way, then we may be able to say that we love each other and be believed.  Please overlook my human flaws enough to really hear that I love you.  We can discuss the rest as needed.

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

Novels on Amazon             

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

Love Actually ~ Hope and Expectations

Greetings Dear Reader,

One of those moments that I value is when ideas resolve into a moment of clarity.  When we think at things from several angles and see the path through the thinking to ideas that are foundational to life.  When thinking about actual love, one must manage other things in order to live with love as a prime foundation.

If we are motivated by actual love then we have an endless ability to hope.  Love hopes in all things.  It believes.  Because of that it also bears and endures things.  If it is out of love then that we must build our hope and endurance.

The place where the way becomes narrow in hope is knife edged.  I had a conversation about false hope with someone.  In that conversation I was able to articulate one of those moments of crystallization of thought that I had recently had.   It is this; my hope is my own based on my love.  Hoping is not ever something wrong if it is based on love.   It is when we intertwine expectations with hope that we poison it. 

My hopes are to be rooted in love for others.  Expectations go too far and make love and hope about me.  Hope yielded of love does not make demands based on that hope.  It hopes for the other individual to find fulfillment in love alone.  At the heart of many of our difficulties lie our expectations. 

Love offers hope to others and asks them to be vulnerable to possibilities born out of that love.  Expectations place demands on others that are self-serving and not the product of actual love.  This is universal and not just the romantic or friendship love; the obligation of actual love to hope always without expectations.  In that narrow space exists the safety to accept love because it will not turn to demands.

I know how deeply I fail at this at times and must resolve to live love without expectations.  I must hope without entwining expectations of others within that hope.  I must not mitigate love by setting standards for others.  In those moments where I can achieve this, I can hope that others feel loved. 

There is, however, a twist.  Everyone is required to walk that same narrow way.  You and I must both practice love and hope without expectations Dear Reader.  It is in those moments where we meet, both hoping without expectations, that we can express actual love to each other.  It is in this that we can both disappear and the heart of Christ can be felt between people.  It is in the hope of love without expectations that the journey is born and can live.  Redemption, reconciliation, and peace are all possible in this narrow space that has room for everyone.

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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