Build it Better ~ Closing Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

Things change.  That is the only constant in the universe outside of God.  The cosmic dance reels and whirls through its steps.  We are the tiny spec in the backwater galaxy that gets to think it is all alone in that dance.

We have missteps and stumbles.  We choose to tear down good things and build up ones that are bad.  What if we chose to take a beat before we begin to build again?  What if we used the remaining time of seclusion to learn how to be still?  Building takes planning.  There is much less activity at a drafting table or in a project plan than there is in the actual building.  That is, however, where dreams and hope begin to take shape.

What we can do is use the time to plan how we will build it better.  We can determine what steps in the dance we wish to follow and ones we need to leave behind.  We can stop chasing bad creativity in our minds by laying aside worry and fear.  We can pursue the steps of good and right by using our creativity to create them.

That which drives us cannot be condition or circumstance.  The music must be the song of love from the Father played on the instruments of faith and hope.  At the heart of it all, we do wish for things to be back to good.  We are not always willing to do what it takes to get there.

I must plan, project, and pray in ways that allow the Father to have his will and me to release the things that are not worthy of building.  I must not indulge in the negative and dark.  I must be still for a bit and listen, learn, and linger.  It is the Father who will give us what we need including the will to follow his Son well in the dance.  I am going to spend some time laying here, forgetting the world, and holding onto the Father.

He promises to be with me through it all.  He gives me moments in the dance where I can pause and be his alone.  I do not think we will create a utopian world on our own.  We hold too much selfishness still for that.  What we can create pockets of love and hope.  We can dance in faith.  There are times, however, when we must be still to know that he is God.   We must let him be the one who carries us as we are still and learn from him.

I challenge you to listen to this song as a prayer.  I do not think that the author intended it that way but it works for me.  We will get there.  I hope it is together.  We can build it better if we choose.  You are always welcome to walk or just lay here with me, Dear Reader.

Chasing Cars – Snow Patrol

We'll do it all, Everything
On our own

We don't need anything
Or anyone

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

I don't quite know
How to say how I feel

Those three words are said too much
They're not enough

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Forget what we're told before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life

Let's waste time chasing cars
Around our heads

I need your grace to remind me
To find my own

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Forget what we're told before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life

All that I am
All that I ever was
Is here in your perfect eyes, they're all I can see

I don't know where; confused about how as well
Just know that these things will never change for us at all

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

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Build it Better ~ To Not From

Greetings Dear Reader,

The first scene of Chariots of Fire is of men running on the beach.  The iconic music and the timber of the scene tells us that these men are running to something.  Then there are the scenes in movies where it is obvious that someone is running from something.

We can tell by the person running whether they are running from or to something.  It sets the tone for the movie of the scene.  It tells us how to think and feel about the characters involved. 

When we are doing the same it is not always as obvious.  The scene we set is usually hidden when we are running from something.  Whether it is a person or circumstance, we try to hide it when we are running.  When we are driven by fear, pain, and anger, we make poor choices about where we are headed. 

We are all going somewhere.  We journey from point to point and choose our path and progress.  It is up to us whether we run from things or toward good.  All of our choices point toward our direction and the feelings we embrace.  Each choice is moving away from and toward something.

What I must run toward is that which is not temporal of based on fear.  We must seek that which is lasting and filled with love.  Like that scene in Chariots of Fire, we will find those who run with us.  We can run toward Christ each moment and support each other in doing it.   It is not a race against each other.  It is a race against seasons and time. 

It is our journey to run to not from.  It is our place to run this race together.  It is my obligation to run well and finish the course with a heart full of love and grace.  Our destination is always forward.  The only way out is through.  The only way home is to traverse the dark valleys and sunlit fields in faith. 

Even when I feel weary, I have the power to keep going if I choose it.  I do not even need to depend on my own strength.  The Father will provide all I need if I chase the Son and look forward not backward.  You are always welcome to run with me, Dear Reader.   We have someplace to go and I love your company.  With each step, we build it better if we keep our focus.

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          

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Build it Better ~ Here There Be Dragons

Greetings Dear Reader,

Yesterday held more time for thinking than anticipated.  The day carried in it sunshine, mild temperatures, and a light breeze.  I drove through the mountains looking for property on behalf of a friend. 

Most of my thinking was positive and pleasant.  Every once in awhile, however, a thought would drop that was worry or loss.  Anger at situations outside of my control would try to grasp power over my thinking, distracting me from the beauty around me.  These dragons of the mind lurk in the shadows wishing for the power they once had over me. 

I used to easily feed them.  They ruled the landscape of my creativity.  I would waste hours brooding and imagining the worst.  Time was squandered plotting revenge or the next move in my plans.  Those dragons hoarded all of my love and I became poor at showing love to others.

As these dragons tried to poke their heads out from the shadows yesterday, I refused to feed them.  I cannot slay them forever.  I can through love and grace keep them at bay.  I can use good thinking, disciplined by faith to withhold that which gives them power.  It helps me understand why we are required to bring into captivity every thought. 

If we are going to build better, we must lay aside doubt and fear.  Anger and bitterness must be walled up and starved.  We must embrace faith, love, and courage as we rebuild from the inside.  The Father promises the strength and grace we need to do this if we are willing.  It is a life-long battle but worth it.

I awake this morning realizing that I am stronger than I was.  I also realize that I must keep constant vigil over the dragons that lurk in my mind.  They must never be given space to feed or grow.  They must not have a voice or, worse, action. 

If we are going to build it better Dear Reader, we must choose to not take up the things that hinder that effort.  We must lay aside old anger and bitterness.  As we emerge from this long dark, we can do so with the dragons caged and their prisoner, our mind free.  I can follow in faith if I avoid anger, I can do so with love and grace.  I want to extend that love to you, Dear Reader.  I wish for us all to be free from the dragons of the mind that would keep us from this.  By grace from the Father, we can journey home in freedom if we will.  Please walk a little further 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.

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

Build it Better ~ What You Get

Greetings Dear Reader,

This is the time of year where I usually rant about the poor quality of modern-day Cracker Jack prizes.  They have diminished drastically in quality since I was a youth.  I loved them enough to make them a feature in a short story I wrote about baseball.

For your benefit, it used to be that the prizes in a box of Cracker Jack (it not “Jacks”) were things to be wanted, valued, and traded.  One could use them.  It was something to prize.  It would make your friends envious.  Thought and quality went into what you were given in the box of popcorn and peanuts.

In the midst of that disappointment, I still buy Cracker Jack.  I still enjoy it.  If I am completely open about it, I still hope that I will get a whistle, a top, or a small pewter airplane when I dig into a box.  I know I will not but I still hope. 

There was a time when I was at a Braves’ game with my Grandfather.   The prize in my Cracker Jack was game where you have to get the tiny balls in the holes all at once.  I already had two of them and was yearning for the pewter airplane.  When I complained about it my Grandfather wisely answered.  What he said stuck with me.

Diverting his attention from the baseball game, he turned and looked at me.  With all the love in that he held for me, he said, “You do not always get what you ask for.  You get what you are given and are required to do your best to love with that.”   He did not shame me or make me feel bad.  He gently taught me how to look for ways to show love with what I have.  This was only the beginning of that lesson and he lived it out in front of me every time we were together.

We can only work with what we are given, Dear Reader.  We may not have what we want but as we build again, we can still do better with what we are given.  We can lay aside the desire to complain that we do not have enough.  We can work with what we are given and do all that we can to do so in love.

I will never be able to love others as well as I should but I can take what I am given and use it to build better acts of love toward others.  I can refuse to complain about what I have.  I can focus on being grateful for it and use it to love others.  I will choose to build it better by accepting what I get and working to make every encounter one that leaves others feeling loved and valued. 

The world will be broken until the Father brings it all back to good.  I can complain about the world I am given or I can work to love others.  I am learning that the latter makes for a richer and more joyful life.  Let us build it better together, Dear Reader.  If we do, we will be very pleased with what we get.

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

Build it Better ~ Dream Builders

Greetings Dear Reader,

I read an article on the intelligence of starting a new business during a time of crisis.  The article basically related that people are looking for something new and that those who are building stand out from those who are complaining or giving up.  I have a dear friend who is building during this time and see the value in staging for when things are better.

I too have been building on my dreams.  Since this time is focused on faith and following, I will not go into that now.  I will say that our dreams are never destroyed by circumstance unless we allow it.  It may be that we are slowed down, have to take a different approach, or find new ways to build.  None of that means that the dream should be set aside. 

If I am going to follow Christ faithfully, I must see that he has it all under his control.  I do not know enough to judge that.  I am, however, certain that the choices are always the right ones when he makes them.   I make mistakes.  I fail to follow faithfully.  The thing is this; Jesus already knows what my dreams are and how he is working to give me the best ones.  He already plans how things will unfold and waits for me to accept his pacing and provision. 

It is the pursuit of dreams in which we find if our faith holds.  If it is not holding, we need to bolster the faith first.  It is no small thing to have faith.  Faith is the power behind all that we are as Christ-followers.  Love is the engine and faith is the fuel.  That is how we empower the will to dream.  That is how we keep moving in the wilderness.  It is how we quarantine without losing progress. 

I must remember that the Father is not surprised by any of this.  He has worked it all out, asked the Son to lead us, and asked that we follow in faith.  Part of keeping that faith is to hang on to my dreams and build them for when the day comes where they can have substance.   Everyone who gives up never gets there.  That is the truth of it.   You are always welcome to share your dreams with me.  I will believe with you.  I will support you and pray for you, Dear Reader.  Dream on and we will build your dream together.  When you have a moment, you can return the favor if you wish.

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        

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

Build it Better ~ Beautiful City

Greetings Dear Reader,

I will write more about this later, but on Monday I had to drive into Atlanta.  I thought about how much the skyline has changed since I lived there as a boy.  When I was young, I could see the spaceship-like Polaris Room from my porch.    So often I dreamt of it being a real flying saucer and taking off into space in it.

As I drove through the city of my birth, I was amazed at how beautiful some parts of it are.  There are still large homes with vast lawns.  Even the smaller homes are farther apart than their likenesses in the northern Midwest.  It also occurred to me that the beauty of this place is not the blooming Dogwood trees or the ivy growing up brick walls that have stood for a century or more.

What makes a city beautiful is its people.  As long as there is hunger, homelessness, injustice, and violence, there is a taint on the beauty of any city.  Avalon mentioned to me last night that in her city, the quarantine has allowed the homeless to surface and be seen.  All I could think about that is what an opportunity we have to address this crisis as we begin to rebuild. 

I have pondered every day the people who have no shelter in which they can shelter in place.  They cannot get a mask or count on family to help their needs.  If we are going to build it better going forward, we must recognize that the homeless situation in our world is unacceptable.  I must see that the work is never done if people are hungry and outcast.  I have been there and no matter how much we talk about programs and organizations, it is our obligation to help.  The problem is ours.

We can build a better city in every city.  We can decide with one voice that this shall no longer stand.  We keep blaming the wealthy for our problems whilst ordering our vente lattés.  Perhaps it is time for us to emerge from our collective social adolescence.  Let us instead follow Christ in his command to love all of our neighbors the way he does.  Let us built is better, Dear Reader and make it a beautiful city.

Beautiful City – Godspell

Come sing with sweet rejoicing

Come sing with love

We're not afraid of voicing

All the things we're dreaming of

Oh, high and low,

And everywhere we go

We can build a beautiful city

Yes we can, oh yes we can

We can build a beautiful city

Call it ours, and call it the city of man

We don't need alabaster

We don't need chrome

We've got our special plaster

Take my hand (Take my hand)

I'll take you home (I'll take you home!)

We see nations rise in each other's eyes (in each other's eyes!)

We can build a beautiful city

Yes we can, oh yes we can

We can build a beautiful city

Call it ours, and call it the city of man

Come sing with sweet rejoicing

Come sing with love

We're not afraid of voicing all the things (all the things)

We're dreaming of (we're dreaming of)

Oh, high and low, and everywhere we go (everywhere we go)

We can build a beautiful city

Yes we can, oh yes we can

We can build a beautiful city

Call it ours, and call it the city of man

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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Medium         Instagram 

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

Build it Better ~ It Starts with Belief

Greetings Dear Reader,

When I consider the great inventions that have changed our lives, the common thread to discovery or success is belief.  Someone believed that we could move across the land on a “magic carpet made of steel.”  Two brothers who made bicycles believed we could fly.  A whole gaggle of scientists other folks believed they could send people into space and even to the moon.

Anything that we need to rebuild, that we wish to build better, we must begin by believing that it can be better.  We must see past the current state to the desired one and believe that we can get there.  We must see past the obstacles to the beauty that is possible, to the reality that we can create.

If we choose to believe that we can be better we are part way there.  Belief, faith grants great power.  I do not always understand why it does.  I do know that when I focus on my faith first, I can do better.  Faith is counterintuitive because even when it is reasonable there is a leap involved.  We exercise it.  We step out in it.  We must eventually take a leap. 

If we are going to build anything better, we must believe that we can.  We must adopt the pose that we can be kinder, more loving, less judgmental, more forgiving, and faithful to our journey.  I believe that we can build a better society where the needs of others are our passion.  We can recreate our world to put people ahead of greed.  We can take better care of each other. 

Dear Reader, it must begin with believing that we can.  It must be the power of that belief that drives us to build it better.  We must embrace the requirements of our faith and use them to build on what we have.  As we ponder emergence back to a social world, what we believe is what we will do to recreate that society.

If I truly follow Christ then I must believe that we can live like he is currently present with us.  I must love and live every moment as the gift that it is.  I must see that emergence back into a social world is the chance to live my faith more deeply, consistently, and intentionally.  The road is still a long one but we can help each other walk, socialize, and build better if we choose it; if we believe it.  Every great thing begins with the belief that we can do it.

Was There Nothing? – Ásgeir

Was there nothing but the hush of night?
Had a boat; don't remember where.
Did you flee from what was said and seen?
Truth's not true under the light of lies.
Raise your sword and shield

Was there more than just the prose of night?
Had a grave; don't remember where.
Beaten down awhile I lift up my prayer.
Broken promises have set the snare; both sincere and not.

Was there nothing but the blessed night?
Had some gold but don't remember where.
When does faith lift up its head so high?
Oh, my Lord, won't you please tell me why faith bestows power?

Was there nothing but the hush of night?
Had a treasure but I don't know where.
Did you flee from what was said and seen?
Yes, the good was not without the bad.
Raise your sword and shield.
Yes, the good was not without the bad.
Raise up your sword and shield.

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         Instagram 

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

Build it Better ~ Opening Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

As I drove through northwest Georgia Saturday, I passed a large horse farm with long fences and horses running through vast verdant pastures.   In one of those pastures was pair of old stone chimneys that had once been at either end of a house.  One could tell that the chimneys were from a time where a fireplace was vital to the house.  It is a credit to the builder that both stand so tall and sure when the remainder of the house is long gone.

I pondered that if the land were mine, I would rebuild a house around those fireplaces.  I would put that proud work to use warming and charming a new home.  I would also do my best to build it better so that the house and fireplaces long remained.

It was announced yesterday that some of the restrictions in Georgia will be cautiously lifted over the next two weeks.  This brought to mind the chimneys.  I was thinking about what we are going to build, resurrect, or embrace when we move on from this crisis.  I am pondering our choices and wish to palaver with you about it.

What we build, we must build better.  We would all agree that building it better is good.  What we must agree on is how we are going to proceed.  That is what I wish to ask and investigate for a few days.  There are so many losses and so much to consider.  We need a foundation that will last as long as those chimneys and longer.

Please keep me company as I ponder how I will be in heart and mind as we see if we have learned anything.   I want to be sure that my faith and following emerge stronger and true.   It is in this that I cherish your company, Dear Reader.  Perhaps we can build something worth having. 

Build it Better – Aron Wright

You can still see where the water was
In a line at the top of the chimney bricks
Sometimes, something so broken can never be fixed
So we saved a few things that were spared
And brought it to the ground

Cause you always build it better the second time around

I drove past the place where we used to live
Where you said you never wanted kids
Sometimes, something so broken can never be fixed
I'm sleeping more and eating again
I'm starting over like a factory town
And you always build it better the second time around

You always build it better the second time around
You always build it better the second time around

You always build it better
You always build it better
You always build it better the second time around
You always build it better the second time around
You always build it better the second time around
You always build it better the second time around

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         Instagram 

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