For Weal and For Woe ~ …and Taxes

 Greetings Dear Reader,

If we are honest, we all dislike paying taxes.  That thirty percent or more of our income could be used for much better things.  Still, Jesus makes it clear that we are to pay the taxes. 

We then object to the ways in which they are used.  I agree that homeless veterans and our elderly deserve more than our representatives from the billions of dollars that our government collects from us.  The waste that occurs bothers me greatly.  We have ways to object and to require better representation.  Unfortunately, we mostly leave it alone and complain.

For weal or woe, the use of our taxes is our responsibility but where I am thinking is a bit beyond that.  I must do my part to hold those who serve in government accountable.  I must not worry or complain about the incursion into my pay.  Jesus spent a great deal of time explaining and proving that we do not need to worry about money.  We are supposed to live by faith in the Father’s provision.

Beyond that, we are supposed to be generous and share what we have with others.  The poor are our responsibility, not the government’s.  We need to get this formula in our hearts and minds.  The Father will provide for our needs and we are to share with others out of love and compassion. Since the Father allows us to be taxed, we must lovingly speak our concerns and pray for our leaders.  Then, the smart thing to do is forget about that money and use what remains wisely.

I find that living this way creates great freedom.  I am free to see a need and meet it.  I am privileged to hear the Spirit direct me to help someone and respond without worry about my own situation.  This thought allows me to work and wait for the things I desire.  It even allows me to temper those desires in the right way.  It allows me to align my desires with the Father’s.

Our resources are provided by the Father whether we acknowledge it or not.  If I am to follow in faith, then I must accept that all that I have is a gift and it is all to be used to follow Christ more closely and share with others in their need and in my joy.  All that we have, Dear Reader, is meant to help us along the way whether it is taxing or not.  Whether things are good or ill, we are promised that our needs will be met.  Learning to trust that is part of the joy.

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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“Render unto Caesar what is Creaser’s and to God what is God’s”

For Weal and For Woe ~ Death…

Greetings Dear Reader,

If you have been reading me for some time, you know that I deal with death in a fairly straightforward way.  My first published book, Chronicles of Thanatos the Reaper is an explanation of the necessity of death.  Death is part of life.  It may be the part that we least accept as belonging.

We comfort ourselves with palliative placeboes about the dead and use the loss to our own purposes.  We do suffer genuine loss and we do feel real pain at that loss.  Rarely do we deal with death in a way that acknowledges the God who allows it.  I will not speak to the purpose of death here.  I would, instead, palaver about the way we walk with it.

Humans have astounding skills at avoidance.  When the topic, like death, clashes with our ability to cope, we can avoid it as if it does not exist.  Then death stops by anyway and we are unprepared for his visit.  If we do not ponder and palaver over the good aspects of death, we are not able to process its unwelcome invasion of our reality.  The difficulty there is that death is the reality and our avoidance is the fantasy.

Many are still grieving the loss of Chadwick Bozeman.  I think that he understood death.  When death did him the courtesy of telling him what he was fighting and how it would end, he lived up to his own words.  Mr. Bozeman had previously said, “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything You gave me.’”  His approach to his cancer was not to use it for public attention but to keep working and fighting.  Death is inevitable and I would laud Mr. Bozeman for his faith and integrity. 

Death is the transition that we all face.  It is the debt that we all owe for the life we are given.  We choose whether we accept him for weal or woe.  I try to choose it as the transition that will fulfill all the things of which I dream.  In a time where death is part of the daily conversation, I hope that I am living out my thoughts on it.  I see many around me who have just settled in fearing death but doing nothing with life as they wait for his unwelcome visit.

What I must do is listen to Chadwick Bozeman.  I must use the gifts given to me in each moment of life.  I must love life but also realize that it is only a dress rehearsal for the great adventure waiting for us beyond the horizon.  There are those who will mock me for my belief.  Instead of being offended, I intend to live life more deeply by loving them.  I am not better than them.  I am simply going to honor my Father by letting him worry about it.  We can see death as weal or woe Dear Reader.  The choice is ours.  We are accountable for how we live and for our attitude about death.  When he shows up for me, I hope that I have the faith and courage to welcome him as a friend who is there to guide me home.

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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Some things are inevitable and we choose whether they are for weal or for woe.

For Weal and For Woe ~ Opening Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

 If you have not heard this phrase, it is an old one.  The word “weal” comes from the tree of language that gives us the word “well” as in you are doing well.  I think we all know the meaning of the word “woe”.  What the phrase means is that for good or for bad we will do whatever it is we have chosen to do.

There are things we choose no matter how the outcome and that is one facet of this phrase's use.  The other is that there are things to which we hold for weal or for woe.  No matter the circumstances, this is where we choose to stand.  No matter how good or bad times are, I hold to these standards.  It is something I value highly even though I have not always lived it.

As summer takes a long slow look at its last twenty-one days, I want to consider that the Autumn of this year will ask us the latter question.  Already people are hating the year as if the good and bad in our lives were ruled by the time through which it passes.  The good ship Earth carries us through time the things that unfold are not ruled by it but, rather, by the Father.

In the interesting times through which we pass, there are things that will try our faith and test our resolve.  I wish to ponder the things that are not subject to the weal and the woe of it for me to be what I should be as a follower of Christ.  I wish to ask the questions that I used to avoid and choose where I stand.  If there are questions you have concerning this, feel free to share them and I will address them.  As I have promised my Grandsons, I will never tell you what to believe but I will always tell you what I believe if you wish to know.

This will be a journey of values and standards.  They are mine even when I fail at them.  Failure on my part, however, does not diminish truth.  Rather, it is the truth that draws me back.  It is the standard of truth that gives me a place to stand when I am uncertain.  If we know where to stand, then whether the world turns for weal or for woe, we will weather it. 

The one we follow never promised it would always be good. He did promise that he would be with us and that when we reached our destination, all things would be made good again.  Until then, for weal or for woe, there are places we must stand.  Please walk with me as I ponder a few of these.  I promise that I cherish your companionship and long to hear your thoughts and questions.

Pilgrims to the City of God – Michael Card

Pilgrims of passion we follow the One
Who holds out a cross and a crown
We travel a dark road that has but one Light
For we have here no lasting town

Sometimes we run by the power of His might
On our own, at the best, we can plod
What we hopefully look for is just beyond sight
We are pilgrims to the city of God

The stigma of strangers lost in a strange land
In a fallen world that's not our home
But we are not homeless prodigals here
Because we have someplace to go

Sometimes we run by the power of His might
On our own, at the best, we can plod
What we hopefully look for is just beyond sight
We are pilgrims to the city of God

Behold you have come to Mount Zion
The City of Great King
To thousands and thousands of angels who've come
Assembled to joyfully sing, they sing

Sometimes we run by the power of His might
On our own, at the best, we can plod
What we hopefully look for is just beyond sight
We are pilgrims to the city of God

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

For weal and for woe, we have somewhere to go.

Four Words ~ Closing Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

As a species we are very good at denying the inevitable.  We do things that harm us and deny that they will.  We fail to learn from history that we create.  We are willful to the end. 

The ultimate truth is that the Father’s will is going to be accomplished.  We look for signs and certainty instead of following in faith.  We say we believe or we refuse to believe and try to make our own path.  We have a trailblazer who knows the way.  Instead of following in faith we willfully demand that the Father conform to our image of him.

In faith I must say, “They will be done.”  With all my heart I must follow the Son who will lead me to the Father.  In love they both promise that they will get things back to good again.  By grace and mercy they will show me the way. 

It is not about my will.  It is about the Father’s will.  This heart and attitude is also following Christ.  It is what he chose in the garden.  It is what I must choose every moment if necessary.  Father, not my will but yours.

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 ͡°)

Four Words ~ Faith

Greetings Dear Reader,

The ultimate task of asking for the Father’s will to be done is to have faith.  Faith, belief, and trust are required in all our transactions with the Father.  He wants us to have the faith that small children have in their Fathers.

It is in this faith that we find our way.  The just live by faith.  Without faith it is impossible to please the Father.  We are redeemed by grace through faith.  If we just focused on the ways in which the Word tells us to have faith we could muster an excellent understating of why wanting the Father’s will to be done is logical and wise.

It is in belief that we have the courage to want his will over the things that seem wise or obvious to us.  When we believe we do.  My Grandfather always said, “You do what you believe.  Everything else is just religious talk.”  If I am not kind to others then I dare not speak of the kindness of Christ.  If I am not willing to love others then I must not tell them that God loves them.  The fact is that I must do what I believe of my belief is dead and not focused on the living God.

It is in trusting him that we find the freedom to forgive and love others without reservation.  It is in trust that we can say that we wish the Father’s will to be done here as it is above.  I must desire for the two worlds, ours and the Father’s kingdom to come to be one.  I must long for this.  It is easy because I do.  I want this so much.

I become weary of the struggle with sin.  I see the unkindness in the world and it hurts me.  I see my own failures and long to be free of the things that drive me to fail.  I want every thought to be loving and kind.  I want to never be selfish or self-serving. 

I have faith that the Father wants this.  I believe that he is working to get things back to good.  I trust that his will will be done.  Without this I have no hope.

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 ͡°)

Four Words ~ Just

Greetings Dear Reader,

When I question the will of the Father I not only question his goodness.  I question his justice.  When I do this I move away from the safety that God is always just. 

We often cry of injustice when we do not like the circumstances or understand all of the situation.  There are injustices created by man.  We wrong each other constantly for selfish reasons.  We create injustice and then assign it to God.

It is in the Father’s justice that we can find the courage to say “Thy will be done” when we do not understand the circumstances.  Again, like the Father’s goodness his justice is based on his understanding of the universe and not ours.

I can only see what I see.  He sees everything.  He knows what comes next and works out final justice for us all.  We cannot define justice as we wish it expect God to comply to our definition of it.  We try to remake the Father’s justice in our image. 

I know that the way out is through.  I know that the justice that the world needs is found in doing the will of the Father.  Even when he allows what is unjust to us he knows how he will get all things back to good.  He asks me to trust him and follow.  That is the just thing for me to do.

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 ͡°)

Four Words ~ Good

Greetings Dear Reader,

Hillary Scott’s song Thy Will Be Done  juxtaposes the pain of a situation with the need to understand that the Father’s will must be done even when we do not understand.  When understanding fails we must stand on faith.  We must want the Father’s will no matter how difficult it is to get there.

We must recognize that God is good even when we do not feel good.  The situation must not determine what we think of the Father.  As a father who has failed at times I understand how it feels to be judged wanting by your children.  This can only be an inkling of what the Father must feel when his every move is to show us his love for us.  He has never failed us and yet we fail to trust him and follow his Son.

When I doubt the Father’s goodness I fight against what he allows.  I run in directions that are not part of the journey home.  I hinder my progress in getting back to good.  I make the journey more difficult than it must be for me.  God is good.  He is good indeed.

I may never understand how my shattered heart is a part of the plan.  I need to cling to the reality that the Father is good and that it is that goodness that I can count on.  I do not always need to understand to honestly say “Thy will be done.”

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 ͡°)

Four Words ~ Done

Greetings Dear Reader,

Once again we find the power of a small word.  Done is complete, finished, ready, or accomplished.  When something is done it is an action that is completed.  It is a task that is accomplished. 

We use this word in negative ways.  When we are at the end of our patience we will tell people we are done.  This is not accomplishment as much as it is resignation.  It is one of the things we do.  We think we have done something when we have quit.

The idea for me is to complete what must be done.  I must follow.  I must be faithful.  I must love and hope and endure.  I must learn.  Most importantly I must not be done until the Father says that I am done.  I must keep moving and following until the journey is done.

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 ͡°)

Four Words ~ Be

Greetings Dear Reader,

This itty-bitty word has so much power.  Coupled with the preposition “to” it becomes the short definition of our existence.  Anyone who knows a little Shakespeare knows the phrase “to be or not to be” even if they do not know the context or significance.  “Be” is the verb that defines that we are.

To be or not to be...

We fill our lives with questions about being.  “What are you going to be when you grow up?”  I remember first hearing this question when I was four.  I wanted to be my Grandfather.  We struggle all our lives with what we will or are becoming.   We become what we feel, think, and do.

When I came to faith I was on the edge of ceasing to be.  I was ready to end my life because the pain and anger had become unbearable.  A man took the time to show me that I could be.  He showed me that the pain might no end but there was a path to follow away from the anger and hurt. 

The Father longs for us to be his.  He wants us to follow his Son.  He wishes for us to become like him.  It is in him that I live and move and have my BEING.  I must learn to be still.  I must learn to be in his presence constantly.  I must be journeying ever closer.

The very name of the Father, “I AM” is a form of “be”.   In all that there is in life, at the core is the realization that the Father is.

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 ͡°)

Four Words ~ Will

Greetings Dear Reader,

Will is an interesting thing.  We see it as a power.  We use it to accomplish what to our reason seems impossible.  I wonder if we truly ponder how powerful will is.  We have done great things by force of will.  We have done terrible things as well.

We choose what we WILL do and what we will not.  We have the freedom to choose.  It may be that the most obvious act of grace is that we are allowed to choose.  God could force us to see him as he is.  He could remove the will he created in us.  He could demand that we do all that he wills.

That is not how the Father treats us.  He wants our love based on choice.  He wants us to see his love for us and choose him.  We use our will to reject him.  We judge him imperfect based on our world view and will him away from us.  

We live in a world where it can be difficult to work the will of the Father even when we want to do so.  I need to become someone who constantly realigns my will with the Father’s no matter how difficult it is.  At times I do not want it.  At times I feel I cannot align my will with his.

Fortunately he works in us to reform our will.  He gives us grace and mercy to get to the right place.  He gives us freedom from the things that hold us away from him.  He promises to give us the will not just the ability to do his will.  He works in me to both will and to do his good will.

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 ͡°)

Four Words ~ Thy

Greetings Dear Reader,

Pronouns have always been peculiar to me.  They ebb and flow in their use and meaning.  They are misused and even politicized.  Pronouns change form over time as well. 

Pronouns derive their meaning from context.  It is one of the reasons they are so useful.  Using then properly is important because the wrong pronoun can point us in the wrong direction.  A plural pronoun used where there is a singular subject can be confusing.  It is why using “their” to avoid gender specificity is inaccurate.

This tiny word “thy” is an archaic pronoun that means “your”.  In context of the phrase we are building it refers to the Father.  It points to the God of the Universe with three tiny letters.  It signifies that the Father is the subject of what we are about to say.

At some level the Father should always be the subject of our purpose.  He calls us home, reminding us that he is our Home.  He asks that we follow his Son.  He asks that we put love above all that we do.

It is with this word that we approach the Father and call to him.  I must never let this tiny possessive pronoun cloud the understanding of the one I approach.  I must always realize who it is I am addressing.

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 ͡°)

Four Words ~ Opening Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

It occurs to me often that we make things far too complex.  We layer pretense end complexity onto the basic.  We systematize and codify We make rules where we are supposed to follow our hearts.  We disavow the basic rules we are given and put rules in place that are untenable.

Too often I build pretense and complexity into the things that are simple.  Even more foolishly I allow the past to complicate the future.  I allow the things I cannot control to keep me from being who I must be in the moment.  At times I put my expectations at the forefront.  I put what I think I need in the moment ahead of following Christ.

All of this can be mitigated by four simple words.  I can focus, as Christ did on the response that he gave and instructed us to give.  I can follow him in his example even though it is not a popular thing to do.  At times I must think this through.

I must remind my heart of the simplicity of the Gospel.  I must recall that what I have is to be entrusted to his will and guidance.  I must follow.  That means that I submit to where I am led.  I do not follow blindly so I must think it through.

You are welcome to walk with me Dear Reader.  Your company is always a comfort in the journey. Please see the warning sign.  Sometimes the path reveals truths we do not 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 home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)