The Road to Bethlehem – An Angel Came Down

Merry Christmas Dear Reader,

So many stories within the story clamor for my attention.  I even have the boldness to craft a few of my own.  Those will hopefully be available by Christmas next.   One of my favorites of the modern era is that of the Angle of Christmas Eve as told by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.  Christmas Eve and Other Stories is the first of several works that asks us to look at Christmas in our modern world and still see the magic in it.

This music tells the story of an angel assigned by God to discover what man has done with the gift given on the first Christmas Eve.  Since God is omniscient it is obvious from the outset that part of the learning is for the angel.   In the opening narration the story is set in an old city bar and as it unfolds we are reminded that contained in the music of Christmas is the story of hope that we all need to embrace.

In an old city bar, that is never too far

From the places that gather the dreams that have been

In the safety of night with its old neon light

It beckons to strangers and they always come in

And the snow it was falling, the neon was calling

The music was low, and the night Christmas Eve

And here was the danger that even with strangers

Inside of this night it was easier to believe

For it was into this bar that I happened to wander

To stare into a glass and my universe ponder

So I walked up to the counter shook the snow off my coat

Then I ordered a whiskey that I used like a moat

But an old man soon joined me and asked if I knew the time

One word led to another and somehow I didn't mind

Then he offered a drink from a bottle 'neath his coat

And he smiled a little smile as it trickled down my throat

And I felt myself relaxing here among the ghosts that failed

Then the old man topped my glass off and began this little tale

In the moments of our lives both the joyous and the tragic

If the truth is to be told, we are all pursuing magic

And the magic that we seek as we're sure you have discovered

Can be found in certain places far more easily than others

In the sand beneath the Sphinx in the dreams of candlelight

But the surest place of all is in the forgiving world of night

And of all the nights throughout the year that come and gently leave

None hold the dream of magic like the evening, Christmas Eve

And so, it's on this night with its promise deep within

As the snow now starts to fall our story does begin

This story is worth the hour to hear it.  We need reminding that in sight and inside of this night there is always hope.  There is always a way to find the life and love that is Christmas.  We are a short ten days out from Christmas eve.  I will share further parts of this story as we draw closer to the night. 

For now Dear Reader, please remember that whether you believe or not it is possible if we are honest that we are all seeking a little magic. 

An Angle Came Down – Trans-Siberian Orchestra

An angel came down

One night to the Earth

A mission from God

To find out the worth

Of everything that

His children had done

Since that winter night

The birth of His son

And then a sound filled the night

In the cold winter air

And in the midst of his flight

It was holding him there

And as he looked toward the Earth

For the source of this sound

On that cold winter night

It was pulling him down

To bring something back

This angel was told

That no one could touch

But angels could hold

So on that night

When the sky had cleared

Among all the stars

An angel appeared

And then a sound filled the night

In the cold winter air

And in the midst of his flight

It was holding him there

And as he looked towards the Earth

For the source of this sound

On that cold winter night

It was pulling him down

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.”

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Already and the not yet – Maybe Next Year

Greetings Dear Reader,

I realize we are several months away from resolutions and weight loss plans.  We are also on the back side of summer where we ponder the things we wanted to do but did not.  We vow we will do them next summer.  None of them happen if we do not do them.

One of the things we must do is to turn the not yet into already.  Some things take planning, funding, and execution.  Some things require that we begin them.  Summer plans must wait until summer but may need planning in the previous fall.  Some things require the moment.  It is the latter that we must never relegate “maybe next year.”

Part of embracing the already is using each moment to follow Christ more closely.  No matter the cost or pain we must abandon the things that hinder the journey.  No matter the challenge or difficulty we must be better today than yesterday.  I already need to do better but I am not there yet.

I can plan that vacation for next summer.  I can dream of things I want to do and become.  I can imagine and visualize.  None of that matters if I do not make the internal things already.  I must continually build on the progress I have already made to get to the place in following Christ that I have not yet achieved. 

Living in the already, even in changing what needs changing, means the I see and act on the now and never say maybe tomorrow, later, or next  year.  It means I live in the moment.  I live in the already to shape the not yet.

Magic Every Moment – Dan Fogelberg

I awoke this morning to a shattering sound

And I went downstairs and found these shards of glass strewn all around

There upon the floor I found this poor broken dove

And it made me realize how very fragile is this life that we so love

I came back up to bed and I held you so tight

And I prayed up to the Father, oh I prayed with all my might

That He'd always keep you with me, that He'd always keep you safe

And when I went downstairs I found that dove had somehow up and flown away

There's a magic every moment

There's a miracles each day

There's a magic every moment

Oh won't you let the music play

Oh won't you let the music play

On a high and windy island I was gazing out to sea

When a long forgotten feeling came and took control of me

It was then the clouds burst open and the sun came pouring through

When it hit those dancing waters in an instant all eternity I knew

There's so much we take for granted--there's so much we never say

We get caught up in the motion of just a living day to day

We are fettered to the future, we are prisoners of the past

And we never seem to notice 'til our lives have finally

Slipped right through our grasp

There's a magic every moment

There's a miracles each day

There's a magic every moment

Oh won't you let the music play

Oh won't you let the music play

You can see forever in a single drop of dew

You can see that same forever if you look down deep inside of you

There's a spark of the creator in every living thing

He respects me when I work but He so loves me when I sing

There's a magic every moment

There's a miracles each day

There's a magic every moment

Oh won't you let the music play

Oh won't you let the music play

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 ͡°)