Your Brother’s Keeper ~ Crossing Lines

Greetings Dear Reader,

Recently I watched the movie Changing Lanes again.  If you have not seen it, the story is of two men who collide on the freeway in New York City.  Their lives then collide as well.  Watching it in the current air of social unrest, I was reminded of the disparity that exists in so many areas of American life. 

Please understand, I do not think that everything we see on the media is true or that for one moment that they are telling us unbiased truth.  There is a problem.  It is not as intentional as others would have us believe.  It is also not as benign as some choose to think.  We do not treat all people with equality and respect. 

I am not going to dive into the discussion about who is right or wrong.  I am going to address the greater problem.  In a country so deeply divided, there are those who follow Christ on all sides of the issues with which we struggle.  More than anyone else, we should have the capability and willingness to cross the lines and listen with loving hearts to our opposition.  We are the ones who are supposed to live peaceably with all humans.

The lines that exist between us have been created by us.  When we make it a point to really listen, we can really hear.  When we put away our bias and obey the command to have compassion, we truly see the needs of others.  I do not care what issues we disagree on, if we claim Christ then we must cross the lines and deal in love and compassion.  There is no valid argument against this.

Obeying the command of Christ to compassionate love is not agreeing with any of the issues that we find outside of our faith.  Loving others and hearing their grievances is part of following Christ.  If my faith is real, then the things I find wrong will not harm it.  I should not expect those who disagree with my beliefs to live by them.  They have the right to expect me to live by them at any cost. 

No matter how much hatred, anger, or outrage someone throws at me, my response is to cross their line and show them compassion with honest listening.  My obligation is to hear and care.  My “thoughts and prayers” must be lived out in my provision and respect or they are useless in the eyes of those who do not believe. 

I need to refrain from judgment and demanding that others live like I do.  I have to train my brain to love first no matter what the line is.  My primary response must be to walk into any situation carrying a banner of love and peace.  My faith must mitigate my fear and prejudice.  I must be challenged to live that on every level of my life.  I must accept the challenge and challenge you to do the same, Dear Reader.  If I do not, my wagging head only swings my plank in a wider, more damaging arc.  I want to remove the plank from my eye so that it feels safe to journey next to me.  I desire for you to feel as welcome as you are.

Jesus Friend of Sinners – Casting Crowns

Jesus, friend of sinners, we have strayed so far away
We cut down people in your name but the sword was never ours to swing
Jesus, friend of sinners, the truth's become so hard to see
The world is on their way to You but they're tripping over me

Always looking around but never looking up I'm so double-minded
A plank eyed saint with dirty hands and a heart divided

Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to the world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks yours, yeah

Jesus, friend of sinners, the one who's writing in the sand
Make the righteous turn away and the stones fall from their hands
Help us to remember we are all the least of thieves
Let the memory of Your mercy bring Your people to their knees
No one knows what we're for only against when we judge the wounded
What if we put down our signs crossed over the lines and loved like You did

Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks yours

You love every lost cause; you reach for the outcast
For the leper and the lame; they're the reason that You came
Lord I was that lost cause and I was the outcast
But you died for sinners just like me, a grateful leper at Your feet

'Cause You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever

Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to the world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks Yours

And I was the lost 'cause and I was the outcast, yeah
You died for sinners just like me, a grateful leper at Your feet

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 homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

#aramisthorn

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

Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon          

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Your Brother’s Keeper ~ We are Wrong

Greetings Dear Reader,

Yesterday, I related the story of my encounter with a young man who could laugh like a Kookaburra.  In the same store at a later date, I had another encounter.  I was wheeling my trolly through the soup aisle when an African American mom and her daughter were headed in the opposite direction. 

I only mention her race because it is important to the encounter.  The little girl was filled with energy and smiled at me as we were about to pass.  She was riding in the large part of the trolly.  She raised her left hand and blurted, “Give me a high-five mister.  It is a great day.”  Even before she got it all the way out her mum was trying to shoosh her. 

The mum looked at me, nervous, and said, “Don’t bother the man.  He doesn’t want to give you a high-five.”  She looked at me with eyes that were apologetic and sadly, fearful.  I instantly felt compassion for whatever has instilled this fear and sadness in her.

Looking at her, I said, “With your permission,” and held up my hand to her daughter.  The daughter giggled and smacked me the hardest high five she could muster.  The mum informed me that her daughter had been doing this all over the store and nobody responded until me.  When she said this, the daughter responded, “But I got somebody to do it, so I am done now.”

I was delighted with the girl.  The mum and I chatted for a moment and I could tell that she needed to move on. As they moved down the aisle, I heard the mum say, “You see sugar, nice people come in every color no matter what your uncle says.”

It was my turn to be sad.  I was sad that any child has to be taught to not fear others.  I was sad that the mum had been fearful of my response to her child.  Sadness over the depth to which we are all wrong about how we treat each other welled up in me.  No matter what anyone believes, we all fail to treat each other as we should.  This is not a platitude or weak mea culpa.  We need to accept our guilt for failing to treat everyone with dignity and respect out of love.

Almost all absolutes about humans are in error.  We still form weighted opinions based on race, religion, politics, and social alignments that play the percentages.  We find a tribe or clan to align with and fuel our status at the expense of other clans or tribes.  We choose foolishness and greed to neglect the needs of others.  We all hate for some reason.  Many justify their hate based on the actions of others.

The problem is that we are responsible for everyone.  We are required to love every human soul and meet the needs of that human if we can.  Racial, religious, and social division are our way of justifying our bloody deeds in the name of our creed or cause.  If I accept the requirement to love the Father by loving my neighbor, the stranger, and my enemy, then none of the other things matter accept in understanding their needs. 

We all fail to love others as we are required to do.  We all are our brother’s and sister’s keeper if we have any hope of following Christ.  I saw that mum and little girl again yesterday when I was grocery shopping.  I should say that the little girl saw me first.  Her voice radiated sunshine, “Hey mister, you got a high five for me today?” 

Of course, I did.  The beauty of the moment was that her mum was smiling too.  She greeted me and this time we exchanged names.  What I need to do; what we all need to do, Dear Reader, is to replicate moments of honest love and kindness with everyone.  We have to begin to be that constant source of loving respect in every situation.

Any statement that I am following Christ that does not include this determination is me following a false path.  As we journey together, I must become a living source of love and light to whoever falls into step with me.  Those small events will cascade into something beautiful if we determine to be this.  Until we do, we need to really listen and hear when others do not feel loved and respected.  We need to see their fear and anger and mitigate it through the love of Christ.  We need to give little kids a high five whenever they ask for 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 homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

#aramisthorn

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

Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon          

Web Page:  www.aramisthorn.com

Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com

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Your Brother’s Keeper ~ Answering the Right Questions

Greetings Dear Reader,

If we are honest, we must accept that we are our brother’s keeper.  Recently, I was at a large store in the early evening.  A four or five-year-old African American lad was in line in front of me with his mum.  Every thirty seconds or so the child would let out a loud call that sounded just like a Kookaburra. 

I looked at the child, fascinated by the sound.  My enjoyment was interrupted by the mother, challenging me.  “Do we have a problem here,” she angrily asked.  I was shocked by the timber of the voice of someone who had never met me being so filled with vitriol. 

I smiled my warmest responding, “No we do not.  I love the Kookaburra and have never heard his call done so well by a human.  If I have offended you by enjoying I will continue by apologizing, please forgive me.”

For a moment, she looked doubtful.  Most of her anger faded and the lad looked me in the eye, smiled, and let out another Kookaburra laugh.  She did not say anything else, turned to her trolly, and wheeled the lad away.  As I turned my focus to the cashier, I heard the Kookaburra one more time and smiled deeply.  The cashier informed me that the little guy has some kind of learning disability and he thinks that he is laughing.

I thought how hard it must be for that mum to encounter all kinds of impatient and judgmental responses in dealing with the needs of her child.  I wondered how often her challenge was met with misunderstanding, unkindness, and even hatred.  It must have been unsettling for her to see my scruffy-bearded self, staring at her son.  It may have been further worrying for me to know the sound the child made and to enjoy it.

What mattered most in that exchange is my understanding that I had to meet her challenge with love and kindness.  I had done nothing wrong and she was placing herself between a judging world and her child.  It cost me nothing to respond with gentleness and humility.  I am thankful that the Father provided me with the grace to answer the right questions.

You see, Dear Reader, if my focus is on my own pride and ego, then I respond differently in that moment.  I react to the challenged if my focus is on me.  I say something arrogant or unkind if I seek to be understood before trying to understand.  That lovely lady has traveled a hard road if she is that angry at strangers smiling at her son.  I must always answer the question of where my focus is.  It must always be on showing the love of Christ in every interaction.

I hinted at the second question we need to be answering.  If I seek to understand, rather than demanding to be understood, I can work for peace.  I can stand my ground without being offensive or escalating the situation.  My response was intended to show kindness to the woman and her child.  We did not have a problem as she inquired unless I chose to be prideful and unloving.  My mind considered that in the few seconds I took to respond.  Finding Christ in that moment, however, requires a soft answer, seeing another human in need, and responding with love no matter what her disposition.

The last question I consider at the moment is that concerning my rights to be un-assailed and treated with kindness.  It is true that just as I should be kind to everyone, everyone should be kind to me.  Since that will not be the case, I must be the voice for peace and kindness.  My anger and pride do not need a morsel of feeding in this situation.  Rather, I must view my “rights” in perspective to the Father’s sovereignty and commands.  The Father allowed this situation to unfold.  The occurrence does not nullify his requirement that I treat every human with love, kindness, deference, and respect. 

Compared to my own sin, this woman’s anger is nothing.  Perhaps she needed someone to enjoy her son so that she could have a moment of relative peace.  I do not even need to know that, Dear Reader.  I must trust that my obedience will be used by the Father in his effort to make all things good again.  I do not get to design what that journey looks like.

I think that when it comes to the hard issues we face currently, that we are not asking or answering the right questions.  We are not putting others in the light of needing kindness and love above all else.  We consider our own “rights” and wants over the needs of others.  We respond with hatred when what we must do is respond with the deep compassion that leads to love and peace.  Perhaps that child and get us all to pause and laugh for a bit.  It could yield a great deal of good is we do so.

Which Way are You Going – Jim Croce

Which way are you going, which side will you be on?

Will you stand and watch while all the seeds of hate are sown?

Will you stand with those who say, let his will be done?

One hand on the bible One hand on the gun

One hand on the bible One hand on the gun

Which way are you looking, is it hard to see?

Do you say what’s wrong for him, is not wrong for me?

You walk the streets of righteousness but you refuse to understand

You say you love the baby

Then you crucify the man

You say you love the baby

Then you crucify the man

Every day, things are changing, words once honored turned to lies

People wondering, can you blame them Its too far to run, and too late to hide

Now you turn your back on, all the things that you used to preach

Now its let him live in freedom if he lives like me

Well you light has changed, confusion rains, what have you become

All your olive branches turned to spears

When your flowers turned to guns

Your olive branches turned to spears

When your flowers turned to guns

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 homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

#aramisthorn

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

Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon          

Web Page:  www.aramisthorn.com

Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com

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

Second Thoughts ~ Missing Baseball

Greetings Dear Reader,

I realize that Baseball is not as important as oppression or the murder of the innocent.  I have not lost that perspective.  I do, however, feel that we must grieve all losses or they come back to hurt us.  Baseball has been a part of my summer, my legacy, and my faith for too many years for me go unscathed from its absence.

For those of you who feel the same, please enjoy this little distraction.   I have watched through Ken Burns’ documentary Baseball and then after each “Inning” have watched the movies associated with that era.  I am providing that list for you with little commentary.  The Inning descriptions are taken from Wikipedia. I hope you enjoy it.

1st Inning – Our Game

This inning serves as an introduction to the game and the series, and covers baseball's origins and the game as it evolved prior to the 20th century.

2nd Inning – Something Like A War

This inning covers approximately 1900 to 1910 and includes the formation of the American League and its integration with the National League, culminating in the establishment of the World Series, as well as the emergence of the game's first great star, Christy Mathewson, which helps to clean up baseball's image as a rowdy, brawling game. Ty Cobb is discussed in-depth (the title of this inning comes from one of his many quotes). Many of the quotes used in this inning and of the other early innings are taken from Lawrence S. Ritter's The Glory of Their Times.

Movie(s):

 Cobb (1994)

3rd Inning – The Faith of Fifty Million People

This inning covers approximately 1910 to 1920 and follows baseball as it goes through its greatest era of popularity yet. It heavily focuses on the Black Sox Scandal, taking its title from a line in the novel The Great Gatsby. The line refers to how easy it was for gamblers to tamper with the faith that people put in the game's fairness.

Movie(s)

Eight Men Out (1988)

4th Inning – A National Heirloom

This inning covers approximately 1920 to 1930, and focuses on baseball's recovery from the Black Sox Scandal, giving much of the credit to the increase in power hitting throughout the game, led by its savior Babe Ruth. The title comes from what sportswriters called Ruth.

Movie(s)

The Babe (1992)

5th Inning – Shadow Ball

This inning covers approximately 1930 to 1940. A great deal of this inning covers the Negro Leagues, and the great players and organizers who were excluded from the Major Leagues. Also, the episode deals with organized Baseball's response to the Great Depression, as well as the sad decline of its most iconic star, Babe Ruth, and the emergence of new heroes, like Bob Feller, Hank Greenberg, and Joe DiMaggio.

Movie(s)

The Pride of the Yankees (1942)

The Stratton Story (1949)

The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)

6th Inning – The National Pastime

This inning covers approximately 1940 to 1950. The emphasis here is on baseball finally becoming what it had always purported to be: a national game. As African-Americans are finally permitted for good into Major League Baseball, led by Jackie Robinson. This inning also looks at how the game responded to World War II and how the game became, more than ever, a symbol of America itself.

Movie(s)

42 (2013)

A League of Their Own (1992)

7th Inning – The Capital of Baseball

This inning covers approximately 1950 to 1960. Burns emphasizes the greatness of the three teams based in New York (the New York Yankees, the New York Giants, and Brooklyn Dodgers). This inning also covers one of baseball's golden eras and how America's own changes, such as leaving urban areas and heading west to more open suburbs, caused baseball to painfully follow.

Movie(s)

Fear Strikes Out (1957)

8th Inning – A Whole New Ballgame

This inning covers approximately 1960 to 1970. As the nation underwent turbulent changes, baseball was not immune, as Babe Ruth's beloved record of 60 home runs in a season is threatened by a sullen and complicated player, Roger Maris, and for the first time in decades, pitchers, led by stars Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson, dominate the game. The loss of home run power and betrayal to the game's past, combined with the meteoric rise of football, cause many to turn their back on baseball. Expansion and labor are major topics in this inning.

Movie(s)

61* (2001)

9th Inning – Home

The final inning covers approximately 1970 to 1990. While baseball survived the 1960s, the changes were not over, and in some ways, its most bitter conflicts were just beginning. Major topics include the formation of the players' union, the owners' collusion, free agency, and drugs, as well as gambling, scandals. However, the game manages to win back the hearts of many with such moments as the excitement of the 1975 World Series and the return of the New York Yankees to dominance. The documentary ends with an ironic boast that baseball (and indirectly the World Series) had survived wars, depressions, pandemics, and numbers of scandals and thus could never be stopped. The 1994 World Series, the series to be played the year the film first aired on PBS, was canceled due to a players' strike. This marked the first time since 1904 that the World Series was not played.

Movie(s)

The Rookie (1990)

Moneyball (2011)

Million Dollar Arm (2014)

Fictional but worth the time and tears:

Field of Dreams (1989)

For Love of the Game (1999)

Trouble with the Curve (2012)

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 homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

#aramisthorn

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

Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon          

Web Page:  www.aramisthorn.com

Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com

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Medium         Instagram 

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

Your Brother’s Keeper ~ Opening: We have some thinking to do

Greetings Dear Reader,

I have to admit that the evolution of this year has troubled me on a deep level.  I am not fearful or angry.  Instead, I see us descending into things that are unhealthy for us as humans.  Like so many societies before us, we are choosing division over unity.

I think about Cain after he has killed Able.  He asks the Father, “Am I my brother’s keeper.”  The Father’s answer to him is what we miss, I think.  “His blood cries out to me from the ground for justice.”  The Father is concerned about justice from the beginning.  The difficulty is that we only see justice from the perspective of our cause.

I want to ponder what my real responsibilities are relative to other humans.  I need to look at the cries for justice in light of who my brother is, what injustices are real, and what I am to do to be a real keeper of my brother.  It is always my responsibility to keep my brother when I can.

I begin with this thought, Dear Reader: I know that the needs of others are to be a prime mover for me.  Jesus made it clear that our material possessions do not matter as much as the needs of others.  Perhaps, if we were giving more to the needs of others, they would not be motivated to take it. 

As a Christ-follower, I am required to consider the needs of my brothers and sisters who have been treated unjustly, are in need, or are bereft of hope.  Protesters who are angry are not exempt from the command to show love for their neighbor and enemy in all they do.  Police officers are obligated to look beyond the brotherhood to the needs of every fellow human.  Those looting are not being good to their brother or sister. 

We are all guilty and have some thinking to do about our actions and attitudes.  There is no such thing as more or less guilty when it comes to failure to love as we should.  I invite you to look with me for thoughts that lead to love and peace so that we can guard against the things that have crumbled other societies to dust.  As always, Dear Reader, I welcome your thoughts and questions.  The path may be hard but we can navigate it together.

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 homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

#aramisthorn

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

Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon          

Web Page:  www.aramisthorn.com

Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com

Facebook       Twitter        

Medium         Instagram 

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

Beauty and The Beast ~ Closing Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

Whether it is reading the original story or watching one of the Disney movies, I love this Beauty and the Beast.  It is a tale of love and redemption.  It reminds us all that love can overcome things far better than we imagine.

Still, there is horror there too.  We have a monster inside of us that is powerful and wishes to only serve himself.  We deny, hide, or indulge this beast as our mind wills.  We put the needs of the beast ahead of our obligation to love the Father and love all other humans.  We indulge the cravings that make us selfish and breed hatred.

I realize that sounds very dark but that is because it is.  There is darkness in each of us that is only eradicated by the love and light of Christ.  That light only enters by our allowing it, however.  Jesus does not force his way in but knocks and asks.

If I am to continue to keep the darkness at bay, I must see even the minor things in me that lead to rejecting the light.  “Just giving advice” leads to my desire to control.  If asked I will point out options but I must avoid the trap of telling others what to do about anything.  If pushed on the issue, I must lovingly point out that it is healthier for other to reason out their own choices through prayer and honest thinking.

When I show love, it must be without expectation.  I must not attach any obligation to love given or received save that of my obligation to love everyone without condition or expectation.  I must give with generosity and one the giving is done; I have no right or expectation of how my gift is used.  Kindness must be my way of life.  Anger has no right to life beyond the day and it is better dispatched quickly.  Offenses are optional in the adopting.  It is better to leave them lie and be lovingly unoffendable. 

All of these things keep the darkness illuminated.  I am not there and have very far to go to be there.  I was reminded by someone I love that I am better than I was.  I celebrate the love and mercy of the Father that has my life in a place where others benefit.  The beauty of this constant vigilance is that when every thought is being trained to love others, the journey is consumed by working to love others.  It is steeped in working to love the Father.

There is a Beast in me who still rages to have his way.  The beauty is that the love of Christ and of those who see me working to no longer be that man is given freely without my demanding it.  It is rich and sweet and I treasure it, Dear Reader.  When we journey together showing each other love with no other agenda, the travel is where the beauty is.  I love you, Dear Reader.  This tale is truly as old as time.  I am thankful that we are in it together.

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 homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

#aramisthorn

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

Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon          

Web Page:  www.aramisthorn.com

Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com

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

Beauty and The Beast ~ The Enchantress

Greetings Dear Reader,

We know why the Beast was enchanted.  There is understanding as to why his own lack of love earned him the curse he carried.  What I question when I read this story is the motivation of the Enchantress for being involved with him at all.

When one considers, however, that there is a clear reason, it becomes key to our process of quelling the beast within us all.  The Enchantress is clearly seeking the reclamation of the Beast.  She wishes for him to love and to be loved.  Her heart is to teach him how powerful love is. 

Remember that the key to all of this tale is love.  It is what pushes the story to matter.  It is what fuels the resolution whether the original one or Disney’s.  It is love that condemns the Beast.  It is love that guides him to understanding his errors.  Love melts his cold heart and transforms him to someone who loves others above himself.

The entire idea of redemption is based on love.  If I hope to gain any ground in the war against the Beast within me, the weapon must be love.  The fuel must be love.  If anything in this world is “magic”, it is love.  It possesses a power that we do not fully understand.  I would even venture that our comprehension of love is only a glimmer of it true brilliant light.

The Father is so much more than an enchantress.  He is that which commands that all we do be based on our love for him and each other.  I must replace every selfish and vain thought with love.  My prime mover must be my love for the Father.  The entirety of my dreams and aspirations must be given over love faced outward to others. 

The power of this flow to and through me will allow me to quell the Beast, Dear Reader.  We can travel together teaching others that love has the power to restore and redeem.  It is possible to show what Christ can do in all of us if our focus is love.  It is the fuel for our journey of faith and we have a long way yet to go.

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 homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

#aramisthorn

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

Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon          

Web Page:  www.aramisthorn.com

Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com

Facebook       Twitter        

Medium         Instagram 

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

Beauty and The Beast ~ Original Endings

Greetings Dear Reader,

I think that most Disney movies are great entertainment for kids and for kids at heart.  The stories teach a lesson and end with the triumph of love in some way or another.  I am all for that.

We do, however, forget how these fairytales end.  The stories as they were written are quite grim.  In Cinderella, the original story has the sisters cutting off their toes to fit the glass slipper and ravens claw out their eyes on the way to the wedding.  Mulan is forced into prostitution and commits suicide.  In Beauty and the Beast, the Beast dies.

Yes, the Beast dies and we do not get the wedding dance ending that Disney provides.  We must understand that there was a lesson in this original ending.  The beast could not live on as a beast.  He had to die.

I came to the place where that within me that did not love had to die as well.  I spent too long trying to hide it.  I put too much emphasis on believing I could control it instead of giving my heart to the love that the Father offers and trusting him to kill the beast.  Not facing the depth of my darkness, the beast within me, caused me to let it live.

The idea of dying to self is key to following Christ.  No matter how many times we desire to make this true, it is a daily process.  It is moment by moment capturing every thought and putting the love of Christ in the center of our thinking.  In every thought, I must replace anything that is not loving with the seeking of Christ’s love for me and expressing that love to others. 

We cannot hope to finish this process until we reach the clearing at the end of the path.  In the end, however, the beast must die.  That within each of us that does not love and thinks only of itself must pass.  That which loves must live and grow strong.  I can only achieve this through the love of the Father and the grace and power given me by the Spirit.

I fiend also that as I begin to tell the whole of my story that others are encouraged.  Other find that they too can face their darkness and light it with the love of Christ.  As my eldest Son once wrote, this love is barrier crushing.  There will always be challenges to this whilst we live.  We can kill the beast, Dear Reader.  It begins with capturing our thoughts, facing our truth, and allowing the Father to show us how deeply he loves us.  When you are ready to deal with your darkness, I promise to love you as well.

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 homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

#aramisthorn

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

Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon          

Web Page:  www.aramisthorn.com

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Beauty and The Beast ~ Learning to Love

Greetings Dear Reader,

The fulcrum for the story is that the beast does not love others as he should.  He is cursed by the Enchantress that he remain a beast until he learns to love to the degree that someone loves him in return.  It is this that is the golden vein of the tale.  In this challenge lies the journey that we all must take and so the richness of the tale. 

There were few examples of love in my upbringing.  My parents divorced before I was aware that I had a father.  He did not come into my life more than a few times and those all ended badly.  I have long since forgiven him but his minor presence did enough damage to mark me always. 

The combination of my parents and their actions harmonized to ignite an anger in me as a boy that soon burned away peace and love in my heart.  I learned quickly how to appear as others wished to see me but the coals of that bonfire of anger always smoldered.  My attempts to control that which lurked inside of me caused me to control others in an outer layer of hedging that they could not understand. 

It was never about control for the sake of using others.  It was how I kept that lurker at bay within me.  It worked inside me but I was not loving others as I should even though it was my love for them that moved me to protect them from myself and try to find a belief that I could be loved. 

When things would come undone due to my blindness to my impact on others, I would feel betrayed.  I was still not loving others as I should.  It took the hardest of rejections by someone who had always shown me, love, to begin to see that I had to confront the darkness and allow the Father to love me.  I had to come to the place where I did not seek to be loved, but rather, sought to love others without expectation or condition. 

I am not there yet, Dear Reader.  I have many miles to go, pouring out the parts of me that are selfish and self-centered.  As I work at loving others and cease pursuing being loved, I find that I see the genuine love of others when it is there.  As I have been honest about my dark struggle, there are those who love me more deeply. 

It becomes clear that this is why Christ insists that we all love the Father and others without condition or expectation.  It is the power of love that crushes our fear, selfishness, anger, and pain.  It is what fuels our ability to forgive even the deepest wrongs.  We may begin with things that drive us to be beasts, but love, given freely drives that out, rebuilds our hearts and allows us to see that love that others have for us when we set them free to do so.  The journey home is too long for me to take another step that is not founded in love for others.

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 homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”
(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:
#aramisthorn
Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn
Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon          
Web Page:  www.aramisthorn.com
Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com
Facebook       Twitter        
Medium         Instagram 
BLOG Archive:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/