Branded on My Heart ~ Opening Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

I think that as I roll into this new year, I still need to spend some time pondering the old one.  Each December different media sources put together a list of people who have passed away over the last year.  There is a list on Wikipedia of all the notable deaths around the world. 

We dare not spend too much time looking at the rearview.  There are, however, things branded on my heart.  There names that when I hear them, I have to pause and ponder.  Some are family and some are friends.  There are also a few famous people who have impacted me deeply enough.  By extension, as I say often, every human death diminishes me.  Thank you, Jon Donn. 

There are names branded on my heart.  They are “wounds I will not erase,” because they were written there by God.  Part of loving the Father is to always love the names he puts in my heart.  I fail at this sometimes but I am determined to be better at it.  In light of that, I am going to spend a couple of days pondering the names branded on my heart and how to better love them this year.  Some are easy and some are going to be a challenge.  It is not a challenge to love them.  It is a challenge to find ways to show it that work for them.

This is not a discussion of love languages or a formulaic method for being more loving.  It is a journey through how I love and an inventory of ways to do so more effectively.  You are welcome to join me and to find ways in which you can love as well.  It will not be easy but it is our first, best destiny to love the Father by loving others.

As I look briefly into the past, I will try to find the things that hinder my love of others.  In gaining ground there I can focus on application in the future.  I will consider how I grieve, how I show love, and how I reach others.  It is a time to be together even when we consider that we have to be apart.

Following Christ well requires that I focus on this often.  It demands that I abandon everything else for its sake.  Last year I focused on learning to be lovingly unoffendable.  The year before was learning how to love first in each situation.  We will see what this glimpse over my shoulder provides for this year.  Please share your thoughts and questions with me. 

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a 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.

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“I hear God in your laughter; I have seen him on your face and it’s clear now what he’s after, for he wrote your name on my in flame; that’s a wound I’ll not erase.” – Kemper Crabb