Commitment - Pledge

Greetings Dear Reader,

A solemn promise relative to an undertaking is called a pledge.  The most commonly known pledge in this country is the Pledge of Allegiance.  I recall saying it every morning in primary school.  It is simple and short:

“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

We pledge ourselves to endeavors, symbols, and causes.  We speak formatted words or agree to take certain actions for a purpose.  Again we are submitting our will to an endeavor.  Pledges are commitments to a cause.

When we pledge ourselves to the cause of Christ it is no small things.  We pledge this so often in the formatted prayers and hymns we sing.  I do not think we ponder the weight of the words we say and sing. 

A Christ follower is called to a cause.  We are to use love, kindness, and grace to teach others to follow Christ.  So many of us have pledged our lives to this cause.  Living out the command to teach others to follow Christ does not require us to speak any proscribed words.  We are pledged to this cause by our commitment to Christ.

This is a cause I gladly renew my pledge to each morning.  I sit for a moment and take in what God has to say to me through the Bible.  I then ponder how I will live out that message in my commitment to teach others to love and forgive.  Some days are diamonds and some days are coal. 

The Pledge – DeGarmo and Key

He died for me, I'll live for him.

It's a world of choices, patterned to confuse,

Distracting, little voices whisper what to do,

Searching for the pieces, one step from the edge,

Turn your heart to Jesus, make this solemn pledge...

He died for me, I'll live for him,

He died for me, I'll live for him.

Above all lords and regents, he is king of kings,

I'm pledging my allegiance through these words I sing,

Take this oath of service; write it on your wall,

It's our only purpose for living life at all.

He died for me, I'll live for him,

He died for me, I'll live for him.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Allergies

Greetings Dear Reader,

I am allergic to the planet.  Once winter has played out its last and the world begins to spring back to life I am assailed.  It starts with a little bit of congestion on the left side of my head.  It is always the left side. 

Then begins the dance of saline spray, hot tea, Guaifenesin, and cool breezes.  I was tested many years ago and basically anything with pollen attacks and attempts to kill my respiratory system.  The worst is pine pollen.  I register almost off the charts at the high end of allergens.  Cats, raccoons, and possums also diminish my capacity to breath.

For a time I had to stay indoors much of the spring.  That is no longer true but I must stay ahead of the attacks.  I win most of the time.  It is a discipline of avoiding what assaults me or being prepared ahead of time.  It is a vigilance of mastering the subtle signs and stopping things before they start.

I cannot stop the allergies.  I am allergic to one of things that is the essence of life in a fallen world.  Others have it much worse that I do and this is not a rant or complaint.  In truth those allergies teach me a great deal.   They remind me that I am not designed to be broken and fallen and inhabiting a fallen broken world.

I am designed to be a good man in a good world.  My being was mapped by God to belong to a world that is his, under his guidance, free of allergens and sin.  I am designed to be good but I fail.  We are not designed to live in a fallen world as walling beings.

That is how it is.  The journey I am on is the journey back to good.  It is the journey from this broken world back to a good one.  It is the journey away from the world for which I was not designed to the world for which I am intended.  I have fallen to earth as a contagion and allergic to it.  Following Christ is the treatment for the condition and the path to healing.

What I have to do is keep ahead of the symptoms.  I have to recognize the onset of failure to follow or selfishness.  I have to see when I am putting my interests above those of Christ.  I must follow without hesitation.  I must keep walking and avoid the things that trigger my allergies.  In this context stopping to smell the roses is exactly the wrong thing to do.

Aliens and Strangers – DeGarmo and Key

Sunday morning, and the pews are filled with friends of mine, yeah, friends of mine,

And, for the first time, I look around,

I realize, I realize...

My closest friends are aliens and strangers,

Travelers here, living with danger,

My closest friends are aliens and strangers,

Travelers here, living with danger.

I used to wonder why they act so strange,

Now I know, yeah, now I know,

I heard the preachers say this world we're in is not our home, it's not our home.

My closest friends are aliens and strangers,

Travelers here, living with danger,

My closest friends are aliens and strangers,

Travelers here, living with danger.

They're all pilgrims just passing through, heroes away from their homeland,

And, since I've discovered the truth, I look at my friends and I can't help but think that....

All of my friends, they're aliens,

Just passing through, yeah, they're aliens,

My closest friends, yeah, they're aliens,

My closest friends, oh, they're aliens,

Just passing through, just passing through,

Just passing through, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Say What You Need to Say – “Fitting In”

Greetings Dear Reader,

I am not always sure what fitting in is.  I do know that most of the time I feel like I do not fit in.  I cannot remember a time when I did not feel this way.  I have tried to fit in.  I have tried to assimilate but that is always futile for me. 

This situation leads to other things I need to say but that will come later.  For now I have to focus on this thing.  It has led to some terrible decisions and some beautiful moments.  It is a curse that can be a blessing.

The curse part is that I often end up on the perimeter of things.  When I attempt to engage with those who do fit in I always recognize the polite toleration required in social situations.  I don’t get invited to the circle and refuse to force my way into it. 

That edge is not as empty as one would think.  It is populated by others who do not fit in.  They need friends too.  I have spent most of my adult life connecting with those on the edge.  It is little wonder that I thrived in environments filled with them.

Whether it was teaching or social I have been privileged to know others who did not fit into the mold society forges for us.  There is amazing beauty there.  Men and women who do not fit in have so much uniqueness to offer.

No Compromise - Keith Green

The other aspect of this is that I am supposed to not fit in in some ways.  As Christ followers we are assured that we do not fit in.  We are told that the world will not accept us.  By not fitting in I can use love and kindness to show others that may not fit in that they have a place where they are always accepted. 

I am supposed to be different.  I supposed be the fool for Christ.  I am supposed to be a stumbling block for those who think that they can fit in outside of Christ.  They will fit into something but it will not satisfy.  It hurts to be the odd one out.  It is worth it if I can reach others who may need some help finding the way in.  There are ways in which we are not supposed to fit in.

Aliens and Strangers – DeGarmo and Key

Sunday morning, and the pews are filled with friends of mine, yeah, friends of mine,

And, for the first time, I look around,

I realize, I realize...

My closest friends are aliens and strangers,

Travelers here, living with danger,

My closest friends are aliens and strangers,

Travelers here, living with danger.

I used to wonder why they act so strange,

Now I know, yeah, now I know,

I heard the preachers say this world we're in is not our home, it's not our home.

My closest friends are aliens and strangers,

Travelers here, living with danger,

My closest friends are aliens and strangers,

Travelers here, living with danger.

They're all pilgrims just passing through, heroes away from their homeland,

And, since I've discovered the truth, I look at my friends and I can't help but think that....

All of my friends, they're aliens,

Just passing through, yeah, they're aliens,

My closest friends, yeah, they're aliens,

My closest friends, oh, they're aliens,

Just passing through, just passing through,

Just passing through, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)