Thoughts and Questions from Aramis Thorn: November 2020

30 November 2020

Second Thoughts ~ Why the Wise Men?

Greetings Dear Reader,

The part of the Magi in the Christmas story has intrigued me since I was a wee lad. I read books about their gifts and fantasy about the fourth wise man (even though we have no idea how many there were). I love the idea of wizards from the East fulfilling the destiny of their ancient order. Thereby hangs this tale.

I got the idea for this novel from my Son, Bezel. He simply asked why the Wise Men came to visit Jesus. The research for my answer to him was obviously a story that needed to be told. When I typed the last sentence, I knew I had something special to share with you, Dear Reader.

I encourage you to acquire and read Magi: The Gift Bearers as a gift to yourself this year. Perhaps it will be suitable for giving to others as well. From now until December 10^th you can email me at aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com if you wish a personalized copy. You can always order it from My Publisher as well. Here is a preview for you to enjoy:

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/

“The Star-Lead Wizards came to see, who might his new-born dragon-slayer be.” - Michael Card

Two Days of Transition ~ Closing Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

Tomorrow is December. With that comes the last 31 chances to make the most of a year that presented many challenges. As always, I will close the year in a few weeks with thoughts of what I have learned and what will be my focus in the coming year. Today, however, I will complete my transition from the foundation of that which is holy and the formation of gratitude to the celebration of Christ’s Advent.

In the transition, I need to be sure to carry the value of every soul and gratitude I have gathered with me. This is the kind of baggage that is easy to have and lends itself well to travel. Let us then review what we have to carry us along the way and sustain us in the journey.

As I say often, we begin with love for the Father with all that we are and love for each other like his love for the Son. We add to that choosing to be unoffendable. What others do must not distract us from our focus on love. With a foundation and creed, we can add to our assets freely giving grace and mercy. We need it so much that we dare not neglect giving it away. In this then, we may also carry gratitude for all things. We can then see the worth of every soul we encounter.

The transition to December will give us the freedom to share the love of Christ in a season where it is supposed to be our primary focus. It would be easy to transition to worry and stress. I think we should choose to see every encounter as an opportunity to share love and peace with those we meet. I will be looking for opportunities to love others and aid them when I can.

Things will not always be as we wish them to be. What we can do is choose to seek Christ in every moment and do as we think he would. The thing I know for sure is that he would choose to love first. He would choose to see the needs of others and make them his mission. Tomorrow, we will begin an earnest walk through the season with a song, a story, and a prayer.

Today, I will take a deep pause to bid the first eleven months of the year farewell. Then I will express gratitude for all the blessings they have given me. Join me in doing this, Dear Reader. Your companionship in the journey is one of my greatest blessings.

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.

“Can you feel the life around you? Can you understand the changes when they come? Do you see yourself reflected in the seasons? Can you understand the need to carry on?

29 November 2020

Second Thoughts ~ First Sunday of Advent

Greetings Dear Reader,

This year I am going to touch on Advent during my regular Christmas blogging. Today, however, is the first Sunday of Advent and this is still November. I want to focus on the theme without giving away too much of what is to come.

The first Sunday of Advent focuses on the final Advent; the return of Jesus. He promised he would return again and the idea of recalling his first coming is to open the path to the pattern of redemption. It is to see just as the apostles were told, he will return.

This is one of the many reasons that Christmas is so dear to me. It is the time when history was full and the Messiah came to redeem us. Now history empties again so that Jesus can come to reclaim us. We do not know when but we know that we can anticipate it with joy.

For tonight, Dear Reader, we light the candle and sing a song. We wish upon a Christmas star for the return of the one who loves us all and will bring us home. We hope, we long for, and we pray.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

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

It is in celebrating the first Advent that we are reminded to look for the second one.

Two Days of Transition ~ Opening Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

As I departed my younger Son’s home Thanksgiving evening, his family was beginning to decorate their tree. I was weary or I would have stayed for the fun. I knew I had the long drive ahead of me on Friday.

Whilst driving through Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee, I noticed the changes. Farmhouses and buildings reflected the onset of the outward Christmas season with dancing lights and decorated trees under the slate-gray sky. I had cued up my Christmas folder on the phone and was already wearing my Christmas bandana.

I do not transition to Christmas as I celebrate it in some form every day. My first cup of water each morning comes from my “Jesus is the reason for the season” mug that my Daughter, Christmas gave me. I have a small LED Christmas tree that is on my desk year-round. It sits right next to my pewter Nativity. Christmas is always on my mind because it is the advent of my daily thinking on how to follow Jesus more closely.

It is watching others transition to Christmas that thrills me. It is little children seeing me and for a moment wondering if they are seeing Santa. It is the opportunity to have my genuine joy seem in place instead of an oddity. In this time of transition, I long to share the love and joy of Christ with everyone I encounter.

The heart is the thing we must prepare. It is why we will talk of Advent in December. In these two days, I want to plan how I will keep Jesus at the forefront of all I do for Christmas. I will give good gifts but will also ensure that the gift of Christ as our savior is the focus of all giving. I will market my Christmas novel, Magi: The Gift Bearers but will give away copies to those the Spirit directs me to give them to.

The point is to put in place clear thinking about who Jesus is and what he wants us to observe. All of the other trappings of Christmas are fine as long as that is the perspective. The idea that I get to spend the last thirty-three days of 2020 openly sharing the Christmas I carry in my heart every day thrills me.

As we turn toward the fleeting sands of this year in the glass, Dear Reader, it is time for us to have hope and share it with each other. Jesus gives us that hope and more. He asks that we follow him in faith. He promises to be with us every day from December to December. He asks that we see his advent as the beginning of time pouring back into eternity where he will once again make all things good. Travel and transition with me and we will find a way to get there together, Dear Reader.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

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

The sand slips through the hourglass with just thirty-three days left in this year.

28 November 2020

Gathering Gratitude ~ Closing Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

As I journey back to my current abode, I anticipate that things I carry to reinforce my love for others. I always bring them something when I travel so that they know I thought of them whilst away.

Having given Christmas gifts to my Midwestern family, I am in full Christmas mode but will spare you for a few more days. We will close our gathering gratitude and spend a couple of days in transition.

My closing thoughts are relative to a comment made on my Thanksgiving Meditation. Someone lovingly took issue with my representing fate as lashing out to get our attention. I would first express my gratitude for this wonderful human commenting. Here is her comment in full:

“I appreciate many of his sentiments but do not believe that the Fates are vindictive. To think they punish us because we are not sufficiently grateful makes us responsible for things that are often outside of our control. Sometimes we are to blame for what befalls us but sometimes we aren't. To say we caused it gives us way too much power. And guilt.”

If one believes that every outlash is vindictive, my dear friend’s comment is spot-on; aces. I, however, do not intend vindictiveness in the correction of loss. Rather, I would be sure to meditate on the truth that in loss and gain, we are to be thankful. When things are removed from my life, it is part of the Father’s design to draw me closer, humble my spirit, and create in me a heart of gratitude for all that is in my life. Job was not to blame for all that befell him, but he teaches us the lesson of honoring the Father even in the lessons of loss. Since the Father knows all that we will do, we do not cause him to do anything. Instead, he has already planned his counter to our move based on what he knows.

It is not guilt and power I see here but, rather, joy and gratitude that I have a Father that loves me enough to do what it takes to get my attention. My words, my authorial intent is to meditate that even in loss there is gratitude to gather. There is joy in every step of the journey if I focus on Christ and my walk with him, Dear Reader. Jesus justly lashed out at the temple. The Father justly lashed out at Korah’s family when they intended to kill Moses. God never reacts. He responds. In that alone is enough wisdom to gather gratitude. It is the knowledge that the Father allows everything that occurs in my small life to get things back to good on a cosmic scale. There is great joy and gratitude in that understanding.

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

26 November 2020

Gathering Gratitude ~ A Week of Moments

Greetings Dear Reader,

I arrived here last Friday knowing that none of my plans were certain. I am learning that this is the bests way to live. There were no expectations and, therefore, no disappointments. As I drive today, my heart is filled with gratitude I have gathered over the week.

I am thankful for the journey here with a beloved friend. The conversation and kindness do my heart good. The friendship and shared vision of what can be, remind me to be in the moment every moment. Love and hope are good traveling companions.

The immediate call from my Son, Bezel last Friday morning filled me with gratitude that he made sure I knew he was looking forward to seeing me. He goes out of his way to make time for me whenever I am in town. His love is obvious in the way he shares it with everyone around him. I am proud of the man he has become.

A beloved friend drove five hours one way on Saturday, to spend time with me. He is dearer to me than I can express. His family is one that I treasure. I got to long-distance teach him how I roast a turkey. It is a memory I will cherish.

Seeing and celebrating my oldest Grandson and time with my younger Grandson gave me so much for which to be thankful. All of the moments of conversation with them deepened my love for them. It also caused me to see the little ways in which faith tries to take hold in them.

Thursday, spent with Bezel and his family was rich and beautiful. His love for his family trumps everything else about him. He is thundering velvet as a parent in a way that sculpts character and stability. I am so very proud of the man he is.

Today I drive and pray. There were some heart hurts along the journey. My favorite waitress in the world has been injured and is in great pain. Not everyone who I wished to see was available. Not everyone who saw me was pleased. Those things are not in my control. Loving everyone involved is. As I turn toward the south again, Dear Reader, I carry you with me in my heart. This journey makes me long for my independence and the Tortoiseshell. I will pray for you as I journey. Happy Thanksgiving.

Week of Moments – Ian Anderson

A week of moments – a clutch of days –
Ten thousand minutes of a Passion Play
Medley of quavers informs the tune
It's all too much: over all too soon

Sweet condensation on chilling wine
Traveler's palm, flamboyant tree
Fast photos ripped and lost consign
A week of moments to faint memory

A week of moments plucked from the page
Found far horizons, a sunset stage
Suitcases bulge, in silence packed
A chapter closed: no looking back

The lightest touch upon my arm
No fierce restraint, no call to stay
Hushed room maids glide like pawns to king
With pool attendants in chess piece array

A week of moments – a clutch of days –
Ten thousand minutes of a Passion Play
Medley of quavers informs the tune
It's all too much: over all too soon

Sweet condensation on chilling wine
Traveler's palm, flamboyant tree
Fast photos ripped and lost consign
A week of moments to faint memory

Wishing you joy in the journey,

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

A week of moments – a clutch of days –
Ten thousand minutes of a Passion Play
Medley of quavers informs the tune
It's all too much: over all too soon

Gathering Gratitude ~ Thanksgiving Meditation 2020

Happy Thanksgiving Dear Reader,

It seems we rarely understand the good we have,
Until we are sitting, suffering in the ashes
Of what was ours that we failed to appreciate.
Then fate, trying to get attention, out-lashes.

Too often, we mourn the loss of what was not ours,
But was loaned to us to teach us pure gratitude
For the goodness of grace and mercy rained upon
Our lives to form a humble, thankful attitude.

With less to have and to hold we perhaps will learn
That even in loss there is much for which we can
Give thanks to a Father who through loving-kindness
Honors and redeems humble hearts through his Son, the man.

Then Jesus, who lifts us from the ashes of our great loss,
Invites us to join him at the manger and humble cross.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

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/

When we ponder what we have, anything less than gratitude is risking losing it.

25 November 2020

Gathering Gratitude ~ A Joyful Sound

Greetings Dear Reader,

Whenever I return to this town, I seek out shops where I have frequently done business. I love greeting clerks and servers I have known over the years. I revel in the delight when they see it is me, not because it is me, but because of a legacy of treating them with love and kindness.

Over the next two days, there will be greetings and partings. How we greet others says a great deal concerning how we feel about them. The energy and feeling we put into greeting people matter. How we treat others always matters.

Even those with whom we have difficulty deserve a kind greeting. All who are in our circle are worthy of love and warmth. If we do not offer it because of past ills, then we fail to live out gratitude. We fail to honor all that we have been given.

It is our obligation to treat others well. Perhaps the joyful sound of a warm greeting can set the tone, Dear Reader. The journey of gathering gratitude is one of being mindful of the good in others and focusing on thankfulness for that when we see them. Anything less is selfish hoarding of resentment. It has no place in my journey.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Greetings always set a tone. Choose gratitude.

24 November 2020

Gathering Gratitude ~ The Dance We Do Alone

Greetings Dear Reader,

I always take time to ponder my gratitude for absent friends during Thanksgiving. In this year of plague, many will experience unexpected empty seats. There will be sorrow as we gather this year. Still, we need to find ways to have gratitude for the lives others have shared with us.

In our sorrow, gratitude can be a comfort as we recall what a person has left in our lives that is good. We can forgive the wrongs of the past that we cling to and find gratitude in the lessons learned. In the end, if someone is gone, there can be no reconciliation except that which we do within our hearts. We dance alone with our thoughts of another. We choose how we treat them even after they are beyond the reach of our treatment.

As we move through this cosmic dance, we must face times when we dance alone. We must choose where the love and gratitude fall within us regarding others. If we cling to the wrongs and reject the good, we harm ourselves and lie about another. It is not that our good is righteousness. It is, rather, that we have to forgive and remember those who are not with us. We must forgive their wrongs for our sake. We must remember the good things they have done and be thankful for them.

There is peace in that which will heal us and teach us. There is life available in death to help us dance the journey home. The dance is always better without the burdens of the past, Dear Reader. It is why we are told to forgive immediately. It is why we are required to love always. In remembering to be thankful for everyone we find the grace we need to love everyone. We find peace that frees us to dance our way home.

For A Dancer – Jackson Brown

Keep a fire burning in your eye
Pay attention to the open sky
Never know what will be coming down
I don't remember losing track of you
You were always dancin' in and out of view
I must've thought you'd always be around
Always keeping things real by playing the clown
Now you're nowhere to be found

I don't know what happens when people die
Can't seem to grasp it, as hard as I try
It's like a song I can hear playing right in my ear
That I can't sing
I can't help listening
I can't help feeling stupid standing 'round
Crying is the ease you down
'Cause I know that you'd rather we were dancing
Dancing our sorrow away
No matter what fate chooses to play

Just do the steps that you've been shown
By everyone you've ever known
Until the dance becomes your very own
No matter how close to yours
Another's steps have grown
In the end, there is one dance you'll do alone

Keep a fire for the human race
Let your prayers go drifting into space
You never know what will be coming down
Perhaps a better world is drawing near
Just as easily it could all disappear
Along with whatever meaning you might have found

Don't let the uncertainty turn you around
Go on and make a joyful sound
Into a dancer, you have grown
From a seed, somebody else has thrown
Go on ahead and throw some seeds of your own
And somewhere between the time you arrive
And the time you go
May lie a reason you were alive
That you'll never know

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/

Keep a fire for the human race
Let your prayers go drifting into space
You never know what will be coming down
Perhaps a better world is drawing near – Jackson Brown

23 November 2020

Gathering Gratitude ~ A Tale of Two Earrings

Greetings Dear Reader,

Recently¸ Avalon retold a story from many years ago. Rubies have always been the precious stone at the center of our journey. She had a pair of very nice ruby earrings but only wore one at a time. She lost the first one. She was distraught, and I reassured her that she had another. Then she lost it. We both looked high and low for them and we were sure they were lost forever.

Fast forward a few months and I am exiting the shower. A sudden sharp pain is in my right foot. It is something stuck in my foot. Yes, it is one of the ruby earrings. I call for Avalon whilst withdrawing the earring from my foot.

She comes to me. I am still in a good bit of pain and standing on one foot. It is clear that I am in pain. I show her the earring and explain that it got stuck in my foot. She grabbed the proffered earring and beamed excitedly. Ignoring my bleeding foot and pain she asked, “Did you find the back?”

First, Avalon is not that insensitive. She was overtaken in the moment because she felt so guilty for losing the earrings. Also, it was worth the pain for her to have one of them back. We did find her a more secure backing for it.

A few months later we gathered with some friends for some table-top gaming. As I poured out dice on the table, there in the midst of them was the second ruby earring. We both gasped and Avalon beamed at me and asked, “Did you find the back?” We were able to tell our friends about the first earring.

There is so much gratitude to be gathered in this tale. Gratitude that she had her earrings back is obvious. That there is such a good story behind and an object lesson on gratitude is priceless. Hidden in the tale, however, is the element of mystic gratitude that only Avalon and I know.

You see, Dear Reader, both of those earrings were lost far from home. One was lost at a sundries story two towns away from where we lived. We were aware of the loss at the time and searched for the earring for almost an hour without success. The second was lost on vacation in another state. The great gathering of gratitude is that we cannot explain how the earrings came home to Avalon. We can express gratitude for them and that is what matters. We can gather more gratitude over the years for the memory of the entire story.

The difference between false memories and true ones is the same as for jewels: it is always the false ones that look the most real, the most brilliant. – Salvador Dali

22 November 2020

Gathering Gratitude ~ Orion

Greetings Dear Reader,

For as long as I can remember, I have loved the constellation Orion. As a child, my eye was always drawn to Rigel. My Grandfather told me about the hunter and his story. He pointed out the stars that identified Orion’s faithful hunting dogs. Each time I see this constellation my mind fills with memories of love and gratitude from my Grandfather.

Now, as each year passes, I gain new things for which to have gratitude because of my Grandson, Orion. Today is his tenth birthday. As I ponder this fine young man, I consider all the love and joy he brings to the world. I revel in his intelligence and creativity. He has had his own theory of time travel for three years and it makes sense.

Today I will get to celebrate him. I will see his smile and hear of his adventures since we were last together. I will tell him of my writing and journeys. We will create new moments for me to treasure. What I am focused on this morning is recalling all the blessings that are mine simply because he is.

As Orion turns toward his second decade, I will love seeing him become a young man. I will use the love and gratitude of now to create new things for us to remember. Happy Birthday, Orion.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

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

The hunter climbs the night sky seeking what lies ahead.

21 November 2020

Gathering Gratitude ~ Familiar Faces

Greetings Dear Reader,

I have only been in the North a day and yet the familiar faces already thrill my spirit. When I dropped off Avalon, seeing her parents was a joy. I got to see the waitress and owner at my favorite diner. The manager of my favorite coffee shop beamed when I walked in the door.

Since I will not be able to travel for Christmas this year, I am bringing Christmas gifts for my Sons and Grandsons. Were project Tortoiseshell complete, I would be able to be here. That, however, will be the case when the Father allows. Still, I anticipate the joy of seeing family that I love dearly. I am already grateful for my younger Son reaching out to make sure I knew the plans. He called just as I arrived in town.

When we travel and get to see people that already know us, it is one of those events that should trigger gratitude in us. In some cases, however, we have unsettled conflict and difficulties. We must be the ones to walk through the fog of war that exists in some areas and instead be the bearers of love and peace. It will be hard. It may hurt. It is a way to show gratitude for others and the love of the Father.

One of the ways to break the ice is to extend gratitude for the good in others. Everyone has something decent in them that we can value and appreciate. Instead, we carry the offenses and wrongs as our unidimensional view of a human that the Father loves. I need this mercy and must, therefore, extend it to others. In this, we can find the leverage we need to look past the wrongs of the past and see the potential peace of the future.

I enter this weekend of celebration knowing that I am grateful for those familiar faces, Dear Reader. I am going to gather all the gratitude I can for the love I can show others. It is the grace and mercy of the Father that makes any of this possible. I will not dishonor that by failing to be grateful for those I already know and love.

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/

“I can’t wait to see those faces.” - Chris Rey

Thoughts and Questions from Aramis Thorn

30 November 2020

Second Thoughts ~ Why the Wise Men?

Two Days of Transition ~ Closing Thoughts

29 November 2020

Second Thoughts ~ First Sunday of Advent

Two Days of Transition ~ Opening Thoughts

28 November 2020

Gathering Gratitude ~ Closing Thoughts

26 November 2020

Gathering Gratitude ~ A Week of Moments

Gathering Gratitude ~ Thanksgiving Meditation 2020

25 November 2020

Gathering Gratitude ~ A Joyful Sound

24 November 2020

Gathering Gratitude ~ The Dance We Do Alone

23 November 2020

Gathering Gratitude ~ A Tale of Two Earrings

22 November 2020

Gathering Gratitude ~ Orion

21 November 2020

Gathering Gratitude ~ Familiar Faces

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