Showing posts with label Dan Fogelberg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dan Fogelberg. Show all posts

09 February 2020

Songs in the Darkness ~ Direction in the Dark – Closing Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

One road was simple acceptance of life
The other road offered sweet peace
When I made my decision
My vision became my release

There is a milestone ahead.  It is more significant for some than others.  I will speak more about that tomorrow.  There are times when we have to choose a direction in the dark.  I have been in the place more than once where physical, mental, or metaphorical darkness shrouded my ability to make a decision.

Faust at the Crossroads
Too often, we choose what will be the easiest path, or at least, the path of least resistance.  I was in deep darkness and chose a much harder path.  The darkness, the result of choosing the wrong path for too long, made the choice dangerous and fearful.  People proclaim they want you to be free, be well, and be happy until they do not like the choice you make to acquire those things. 

The truth is that a year of pursuing love over any personal desire is that it has brought me sweet peace.  We have difficulty envisioning how a reset of our lives can lead to all the proper things.  Fear and pain make it hard to see in the darkness they bring with them.  What we do is we choose the easy path that simply accepts that things will not change.  This leaves us in our darkness.  It leaves us in pain.

The other thing we do is that we repeat the patterns that others see in us that are unhealthy.  We say we are going to get things together but those choices do not change.  As the milestone looms, I realize that things have changed.  I am more alone than I have ever been but I am also at peace with it.  I do not have everything I want but I have what I need to keep moving forward.  I have a clearer vision of who and where I wish to be. 

We all have nether lands where we can find our way back to real faith and following.  We must, however, choose the path no matter how deep the darkness or fearful the choice.  The path of peace is the way home.  The pavement of love is where I must walk.  I must always have space for you on the journey and beside my fire Dear Reader.

We will break camp in the morning and reach our required milestone.   Let us end this part of the journey with the song I shared as I lit the fire.  I will fill our mugs with mead and our bowls with the fine Cavendish.  We will listen and you may share your thoughts and questions with me.  I am ever thankful for your company.

Netherlands – Dan Fogelberg

High on this mountain the clouds down below
I'm feeling so strong and alive
From this rocky perch, I'll continue to search
For the wind and the snow and the sky

Oh, I want a lover and I want some friends
And I want to live in the sun
And I want to do all the things
That I never have done

Sunny bright mornings and pale moonlit nights
Keep me from feeling alone
Now, I'm learning to fly and this freedom is like
Nothing that I've ever known

Oh, I've seen the bottom and I've been on top
But mostly I've lived in between
And where do you go
When you get to the end of your dreams?

Off in the Netherlands, I heard a sound
Like the beating of heavenly wings
And deep in my brain, I can hear a refrain
Of my soul as she rises and sings

Anthems to glory and anthems to love and
Hymns filled with earthly delight
Like the songs that the darkness
Composes to worship the light

Once in a vision, I came on some woods
And stood at a fork in the road
My choices were clear yet I froze with the fear
Of not knowing which way to go

One road was simple acceptance of life
The other road offered sweet peace
When I made my decision
My vision became my release

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 ͡°)

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08 February 2020

Songs in the Darkness ~ Choices

Greetings Dear Reader,

Once in a vision, I came on some woods
And stood at a fork in the road
My choices were clear yet I froze with the fear
Of not knowing which way to go

Once I was sitting in a clearing in a jungle.  I had gone there to pray and meditate.  I was there longer than planned and the sun set behind the mountain to my west.  The clearing lay in a valley so the darkness descended rapidly. 

I, however, was not yet finished with my prayer and thinking.  I was prepared for the place I was in.  I had a light and a means to protect myself.  I chose first to embrace the darkness.  As the nocturnal jungle came alive around me frogs began to speak to each other.  Fireflies began to signal their amorous desires.  Two pairs of eyes appeared at the edge of the clearing.  Then a low growl echoed from somewhere nearby.

My first response was fear.  I had leaned the sounds of the big cats in the jungle and this was a Jaguar.  In case you do not know, Dear Reader the Jaguar is the third-largest cat in the world.  I sat frozen for a moment.  Then it occurred to me that my fear could do nothing about the situation. 

If I was going to be safe, I had to walk through the jungle back to camp.  There was no alternative other than staying in the clearing alone.  If I called out, I was too far away to be heard.  Eventually, I might be missed but no one knew where I was.  I turned on my torch and walked carefully, calmly by its light back down the path to the compound.  In case you are wondering, I did not die.

The bottom-line truth is that we make choices in the darkness.  We decide if our fear, pain, and longing are going to rule us.  We choose if anger and hurt have sway over us or if, in the darkness, we are going be the light we are supposed to be.  If we embrace fear the light cannot show us the way.  The way out is almost always through.

It is in the darkness that we can learn to refine our fear into fuel.  We can allow the choices to distill into the obvious by discerning which one leads to the light.  In the darkness, the choice that is light is obvious.  We shutter the beacon with fear and doubt.  We choose to remain in the dark, silent instead of composing the songs that give us courage.  Every moment holds the opportunity to take a further step toward home no matter how dark it is now.  And it is true of this life, this darkness, that the only way out is through.

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 ͡°)

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07 February 2020

Songs in the Darkness ~ Anthems and Hymns

Greetings Dear Reader,

Anthems to glory and anthems to love and
Hymns filled with earthly delight
Like the songs that the darkness
Composes to worship the light

When discussing faith with others, I often ask them to take their faith out and show it to me.  One cannot.  Faith is evidenced by what we do and cannot be shown as a physical thing.  In the same way, we can only express heavenly things through earthly metaphors.

Because we are finite, we grapple with sufficient descriptions of the infinite.  We reach the place where our very best words run out of sufficiency.   Our very best similes do not measure up and our analogies feel pale and wane.  Still, we long to find a way to express the depth of the Father’s love and the boundless expanse of his glory.

No matter how bright the day or the moment, we still are trying to define the Light from within the darkness.  We are trying to explain daylight having only lived in the night.  It is only through faith that we catch glimpses of what the light will be like.  It is our songs in the darkness that compose the songs that worship the Light.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but when Jesus proclaims that he is the Light of the World, it is not simply metaphorical.  John expresses that he is the light that shines in the darkness and that the darkness cannot comprehend him.  It is the same light that we follow through the dark world in faith for our journey home.

The songs in the darkness, when composed to worship the Light connect us to that Light.  We find that the Father inhabits our praise of him and gives us the courage and strength we need to continue the journey home.  He asks that our songs of love continue not only for him but for all he has created as well.  He does not want us to glory only in his magnificence but wishes us to extend it to glory in the infinite diversity in his creation.

Light and life in me is all the result of the Father’s love for us through his Son and the Spirit.   We overcome the darkness by composing the songs of love, glory, and our delight in all that the Father has made.  If Dear Reader, I focus on these songs as we travel, we will find that the darkness flees before us.  We find that we can help others find their way out as well.   I will put another log on the fire whilst we sit here a bit longer and I will share a song of questions with you.  Sing along if you know the tune and we will light up the darkness a little bit together.

Light of the World – Michael Card

You are the Light of the World oh Lord
You make Your servants shine
So how could there be any darkness in me
If You are the Light of the World
You are the Light of the World

You are the Bread of Life oh Lord
Broken to set us free
So how could there be any hunger in me
If You are the Bread of Life
You are the Bread of Life

You've overcome the world oh Lord
And given us victory
So how could I fear when trouble is near
If You've overcome the world
You've overcome the world

Wipe every tear away oh Lord
And teach us the song of the Lamb
The promise is true but it's still up to You
To wipe every tear away
Wipe every tear away
Wipe every tear away

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 ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:
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06 February 2020

Songs in the Darkness ~ The Refrain in our Brain

Greetings Dear Reader,

Off in the Netherlands, I heard a sound
Like the beating of heavenly wings
And deep in my brain, I can hear a refrain
Of my soul as she rises and sings

When I wrote about liturgy a few weeks ago, I spoke about cants and responses.  The response in liturgy is like the refrain of a song.  It is the familiar part that carries the anchor of the story a song is telling.  It is the fragment we can remember when the remainder of the song is elusive.

We all have songs that call to us.  They may be songs we know well or anthems we sang at a certain point in our life.  It may be the song of our tribe or the song we hum as we move along home.  Our soul rises to sing the song that we have made familiar or associated with an event or feeling.

We face a difficulty when we fill that well of songs with dirges.  I will get to that tomorrow, but I want to remind you of something my Grandfather always would say in his sermons.  When he was speaking about music or retaining the Bible in our minds, he would relate the importance of it in a crisis or painful situation.  He would say, “Fill your mind with Scripture and spiritual songs because what is down in the well is what comes up in the bucket.”

When the darkness folds its wings and descends, we can remember the beating of heavenly wings.  We can recall the songs that we heard in the darkness and join in the refrain.  Again, as I must conclude so often, the choice and solution lie with me.  The choice is to sing in the darkness.

The choice is to allow the refrain rising in the brain to have freedom.  Let the songs in the darkness become that which allows the light of Christ in us to push away the darkness.  The bottom line is that we must choose to hear the songs that are there for us.

As we journey through the darkness, Dear Reader, we must choose what to believe, embrace, and do.  Our brains can be trained to respond with the refrains that light the darkness and give courage to the heart.  We can allow those refrains to rise in us when the darkness is doubly dark.  We can shine and be that beacon that others need.  It is in this that we can find a way to drive away any darkness.  It is here that we can learn to move through the darkness in love and hope.  Whilst we tarry by the fire a bit, I would teach you an ancient song that “makes the woeful heart to sing.”   This song is centuries old and the melody older.  It rises in me when the darkness is descending and kindles the light that never dies.  Sing with me if you will.


Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature,
O Thou of God and man the Son,
Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor,
Thou, my soul’s glory, joy, and crown!

Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands,
Robed in the blooming garb of spring;
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
Who makes the woeful heart to sing!

Fair is the sunshine,
Fairer still the moonlight,
And all the twinkling starry host;
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels heaven can boast!

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 ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:
#aramisthorn
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05 February 2020

Songs in the Darkness ~ End of Dreams


Greetings Dear Reader,

And where do you go,
When you get to the end of your dreams?

We all have dreams.  There are things to which we aspire, things we wish to do, and hopes we long to realize.  We sometimes invest all that we are in those dreams. 

There are days, however, when one realizes that the dreams will never materialize.  For me, it was because the dream I pursued was not in line with truly following Christ.  I had convinced myself that it would serve, but I was trying to build something that was not right for me.  I tried to construct something to mitigate the effects of the darkness on me.  My dream was to use control and order to hold back the darkness that plagued me.

Instead, my life is supposed to be a light in the darkness.  I was speaking with a friend about this earlier this week.  We cannot prevent the darkness from coming, it happens every day.  What we can do is realize that we have songs to light the darkness.  We have someplace to stand at the end of our dreams.

The truth for me is that at the end of dreams, that edge of darkness, I found that dreams from long ago awakened in me.  When I gave up the dreams I had manufactured and allowed my heart to only dream of the Father, I was given new dreams.  They were renewed from decades ago.  They held no desire for mitigating inner darkness just to keep it at bay. 

What I found at the end of my dreams was a way out of the internal darkness.  I found songs in the darkness that let me see that I was meant to light the darkness around me.  I was intended to allow Christ to deal with my pain and anger.  Instead of using my own devices to ease it, I was to focus on love and light in the eyes of others.  I am meant to have dreams of being light for others, or rather, reflecting the light of Christ in me to others.

At the end of the dreams, we create that are not Christ-centered are new dreams, new visions of what can be if we yield to Christ alone.  For years I had prayed for dreams that would feed my defenses instead of dreams that would serve others.  I began to tell the Father that he could do whatever he needed to do to me in order to accomplish his vision for us.  I warn you that is a dangerous prayer but a righteous one.

As I shed my mind and heart of the things, I had taken on to hold the darkness at bay, new songs began to arise.  Old songs took on a new life.  These songs are made of light and come from a different place inside me.  When I came to the end of MY dreams, I was able to begin to see the dreams that Father has for me. 

We have to travel through the darkness, Dear Reader.  In that journey, we are meant to be light so that others can find something to follow in the darkness.  I do not wish them to follow me.  Instead, I long for them to see the love of Christ in me and follow him.  It is not the lighthouse that matters, but rather, the light that it bears.  My dream now is to sing songs in the darkness that draw others to the safety of that light.  Will you sing with me whilst we sit a little longer?

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 ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:
#aramisthorn
Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn
Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon          
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04 February 2020

Songs in the Darkness ~ Thrive in Place


Greetings Dear Reader,

Oh, I've seen the bottom and I've been on top
But mostly I've lived in between

We all have memories that bring a smile or bring a tear.  There is pain and sorrow as well as joy in all of our lives.  We have times where we are riding high.  We have times that are dire and dark.

Most of our lives, however, are in the in-between.  The long journey home is the long ribbon of road between the highs and lows.  Too often, we fail to see that the long narrow path is where most of our living occurs.  It is the space between the highs and lows that we must fill with work, leisure, and living that creates a life yielded to love and peace.

There is a combination of thoughts I would embrace here.  Both are from Paul.  The first is from his letter to the Philippians:

4:  10 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last, you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

It is the last phrase that matters.  Paul has found the power to be content no matter the circumstances.  He was imprisoned, beaten, threatened, rejected, temporarily blind, and hated by his former colleagues.   Whether poor or rich, happy or sad, Paul has learned to be content with how things unfold. 

The second thought of his that I will join to this are his words to his young apprentice, Timothy.  In his first letter to the younger man he writes.

6:  But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

If we see these two things in harmony then the in-between of life becomes a great opportunity.  If I am going to be content where I am and love the Father will all that I am then that is how I gain.  That is how the flat narrows of the journey become brilliant and bright.  That is where we find that the bulk of our lives can have substance and meaning.

This is neither profound nor new.  It is, however, vital.  The peace that we need in the darkness is found in realizing that our fellow traveler, Christ is there in every individual moment.   He is there to love us, guide us, and show us how that moment yields its own light.  That light is within us to drive the darkness away, or better still teach us to be content in it.

We gain great freedom and power when we realize that it is not the darkness that is our enemy.  It is our own discontent heart.  It is failing to see that we do not travel alone for even an instant.  If I practice the presence of Christ in the long narrow flats of the journey, I am prepared to find his presence in the dark valleys.  I am ready to celebrate him on the mountain tops.  I can learn to see him in every place in the in-between.  

Carrying this with me at all times further allows me to share it with you, Dear Reader.   It gives us a starting place to navigate whatever the matter is.  It puts perspective on every moment of darkness and teaches us how to embrace the light.  We gain ground every time we do this.  We can carry our songs of hope in the darkness and learn together how to thrive in place.  Shall we?

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 ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:
#aramisthorn
Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn
Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon          
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03 February 2020

Songs in the Darkness ~ Learning to Fly


Greetings Dear Reader,

Sunny bright mornings and pale moonlit nights
Keep me from feeling alone
Now, I'm learning to fly and this freedom is like
Nothing that I've ever known

There is an Opus and Bill film called A Wish for Wings that Work.  It is basically about a penguin that wishes to fly and his adventure trying to get there.  There is also the last of the fascinations and abilities mentioned in Radio Flyer.  It is worth noting all seven:

There are seven lost secret fascinations and abilities. They are that: animals can talk; your favorite blanket is woven from a fabric so mighty, that once pulled over your head, it becomes an impenetrable force field, nothing is too heavy to lift with the aid of a cape; your hand held forefinger out and thumb up, actually fires bullets; jumping from any height with an umbrella is completely safe; monsters exist and can be both seen an done battle with; and the greatest, most special and regrettable loss of all: the ability to fly.

Somewhere along the way, we forget that we are meant to fly.  We chase it in many ways that do not pan out.  It is woven throughout fiction.  We pretend that we can fly and even invent devices that help us break free of the ground for a bit.  What we really desire, however, is to fly.

I am learning how, Dear Reader.  No, I am not taking courses for a pilot’s license or wearing a glide suit and jumping off cliffs.  I am learning just how free it is to only follow Christ.  I am seeing just how much freedom and peace there is in dropping my expectations and demands.  In putting together a few hard standards for my life, finding great freedom in riding these particular rails.

Here are the basics and they truly are yielding a level of freedom that I have never known.  The first is that I will do my best to love the Father and humans with all that I am in every situation.  Second, I am working to be lovingly unoffendable.  This part is hard at times but it forces me back to the first and primary directive of love.  There are moments when I have to resist the strong urge to become angry at an inappropriate level.  It is a struggle worth winning.

The third aspect of this is the entire idea of moving all my life into the freedom provided in obeying the first two standards. Free of expectations and demands, I listen and move.  I begin to accept the idea that there are subjective aspects to following Christ that others will not understand. I work toward the things I feel the Father wishes me to become.  I will not try to move things that are out of my purview and I will interact with every situation with love to the best of my power.

If you need practical suggestions for how to work all this out, I am willing to share what I do, but please remember Dear Reader that your journey is not mine.  Your path will unfold as it should and I may be able to guide you a little from my experience.  What you must do is find it for yourself.  I always was skeptical when others would say that I could not understand this from the outside.  I have learned that it is true.  I invite you to follow with me and discover it for yourself.  We can learn to fly together if you like.

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 ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:
#aramisthorn
Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn
Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon          
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02 February 2020

Songs in the Darkness ~ The Road Ahead


Greetings Dear Reader,

And I want to do all the things
That I never have done

As I was driving back from my mountaintop visit, a yearning that has been growing in me found resonance in the song repeating on the stereo.  Forming thoughts on what is next for me, I long to tick off some of the things that I have yearned to do since I was very young.  This line sounds within me and the road calls me.  I am not free to set out yet but through the grace and love of the Father, I am a step closer.

Sometimes I think that the wanderer in me could just travel with no purpose or plan.  This is not all wrong but it is not enough.  It is good to be free and willing to go wherever the Spirit drives me.  I must, however, have a purpose.  Fortunately, that purpose is defined for me.

The things we wish to do must all have the purpose of loving the Father with all that we are.  If we work, it is to be done as if we are doing it out of love for the Father.  Our hobbies, interests, and interactions are all supposed to be aligned the same way.  Everything should arise from me as an expression of love to the Father. 

Martin Luther expressed this as, “Love God and do as you please.”  This leads to some clearer thinking about how my day, years, and life should unfold.  I mentioned a few weeks ago the idea of expressing to others an approach of filtering everything through the primary statement of “I love you.”   The idea is to begin all things with the statement “I love you so…” 

Let us then translate this to the choices of where we go and what we do.  The thought I am trying to master is, “I love you Father so I am going to…”   This makes the choices clear in many situations.  I cannot do things that do not communicate love and make this statement honestly.  It encompasses the position of loving other humans.  It embodies the freedom found pursuing only following the Son out of love.

When Jesus said to deny our own interests and follow him, he did not take away our freedom but instead made it part of all we do in life.  If I filter my wants through my love for the Father and following the Son, the songs in the darkness are songs of hope.  If I am not doing this, the songs remind me of what I do not have and lack hope.  When I begin to feel a lack of love or hope, I need only to see if what I am wanting is in alignment with my love for the Father.

It sounds easy but it is not always.  I may have to focus on the Father more intently to bring my desires back in line with my love for him.  If I am acting out of love for God, Dear Reader, then I can do as I please and will not go wrong.  If I strive to love the Father with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength, then the road will open as it should and I will be content.  You are always welcome as a fellow traveler.  Your companionship is always part of the most beautiful songs.

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 ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:
#aramisthorn
Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn
Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon          
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01 February 2020

Songs in the Darkness ~ Hanging by a Moment


Greetings Dear Reader,

Oh, I want a lover and I want some friends,
And I want to live in the sun…

The things I want have changed greatly over the last year.  I spent many years trying to force-build something that was more based on my wants than on my faith and following.  I told myself and others that I was creating something good.  The something would be good if it were not I that was trying to build it.

I do want the things listed above but I have always tried to control them when I have had them and that destroys them.  In my first college years, I lived in the sun.  I did not value it when I had it and now I long for those days often.  I did the same with the women who dared to love me.  I used expectations and control to try and force the proof of love that they already showed me daily.  I fear I have learned this lesson too late.  Faith, however, makes followers of us all and the one we follow insists that we not lose hope.

Even though I have made new friends, I long for the evenings spent gaming and dining with the ones from years past.  I am learning to stop at loving others without expecting anything from them.  It is more rewarding than I ever imagined.  The big payoff is that I receive the love I long for from others BECAUSE I do not demand or expect it. 

Wanting these things is good.  Realizing that the Father provides what I need at the right time and measure pushes me to let go of expectations and hang on to hope.  It drives me to quit demanding that the future hold what I think I want and to let it unfold the things that I need.  I am determined to embrace the moment by listening more than I speak, giving more than I take, and loving instead of demanding love.

Hanging in those moments are the times when the songs arise in the lonely darkness; when I am alone in that barren land between turning off the lights and drifting off to sleep.  Those times become easier when the drifting time is filled with memories of a day just passed in love and gratitude instead of control and demand. 

I cannot change the past.  I must, therefore, not waste time and creativity imagining what I could or should have done.  I am learning from it.  I will invest those lessons in creating new moments of love and grace.  Those who risk my presence will not have to endure demands and expectations.  When you choose to walk with me Dear Reader, we can share the moments in which we choose to love others.  We can realize that hanging by those moments is the best way to fly.  The songs that arise in the darkness will have sweet refrains that become a lullaby instead of dirge.  You are welcome to sing along, always.

Hanging By A Moment - Lifehouse

Desperate for changing
Starving for truth
I'm closer to where I started
Chasing after you
I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held onto
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you

Forgetting all I'm lacking
Completely incomplete
I'll take your invitation
You take all of me now...

I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held onto
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you
I'm living for the only thing I know
I'm running and not quite sure where to go
And I don't know what I'm diving into
Just hanging by a moment here with you

There's nothing else to lose
There's nothing else to find
There's nothing in the world
That can change my mind
There is nothing else
There is nothing else
There is nothing else

Desperate for changing
Starving for truth
I'm closer to where I started
Chasing after you...

I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held onto
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you
I'm living for the only thing I know
I'm running and not quite sure where to go
And I don't know what I'm diving into
Just hanging by a moment here with you

Just hanging by a moment (here with you)
Hanging by a moment (here with you)
Hanging by a moment here with 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 homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”
(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:
#aramisthorn
Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn
Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon          
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31 January 2020

Songs in the Darkness ~ Touching the Untouchable


Greetings Dear Reader,

From this rocky perch, I'll continue to search
For the wind and the snow and the sky

You saw my rocky perch yesterday, shrouded in clouds and rain.  Today I would have you see it in all the sunshine and glory it holds.  You see, beneath that curtain of clouds lies a vast beautiful valley that stretches to mountains in the distance.  In the bloom of Spring, this place is indescribable. 

Whilst in the clouds, during my prayer time, I searched for the wind and the snow and the sky.  I could see some effects of the wind.  But as Jesus pointed out long ago, one can hear the wind but does not know where it comes from or where it goes.  I think the metaphor here is much for vital than tracking the drifts and eddies of a river of air.

The wind, snow, and sky hold the elements of exploration and adventure for me.  They are the edge of the unknown.  Jesus further said when he spoke of the wind, “so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”  I have a deep and growing longing to be like the wind.  I long to appear and do what I am meant to do, then move on to the next place where I am meant to do something different.  I long to be as mysteriously beautiful as that snow, to reflect its reminder that even the winters of life have artistry, and to always seek the sky.  I have always wished to live in space. 

The time alone and in rebuilding my heart has made me hunger for the journey to be always consuming me.  I want to be in the wind, bourn on and born of the Spirit.  I long to see where the journey leads me so that I can in some way benefit others through it.  I wish to sit at fires unexpected, arriving exactly when I am meant to; giving love, joy, and hope where I may.  Then, when the wind is up, travel on to the next place where kindness, grace, and generosity may need a nudge or some reassurance.    

In the midst of all this hunger is also the value of patience.  I must not force or push any of the things I desire even the ones I feel the Father has put in my heart.  I must prepare, work, and wait.   I long for my writing and the road to be the remainder of me but only when the Father feels I am ready.  I do feel strong and alive but I also feel the call to move onward, outward, and ever homeward.  Oh, that we all had the courage to be bourn only by the Spirit along every road we take. 

I realize that the tone and timbre of this is different to you Dear Reader.  The songs in the darkness can become dirges if we do not remember the one who calls us.  No matter the circumstance or situation, it will not last Dear Reader.  It may hurt or be lonely.  We may not be able to see how we will get there.  I must realize that there is always still that beautiful place beyond the clouds even when I cannot even catch a glimpse of it.  My journey will get me there eventually if I just keep walking in faith.  Your company is a treasure in this.

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 ͡°)

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
Facebook       Twitter        
Medium         Instagram