On Giving Thanks – Books

Greetings Dear Reader,

In the office where I do most of my writing I am surrounded by hundreds of books.  As a writer I know the value of reading books.  I read much more than I write.  I read across the centuries.  Fiction and non-fiction are both vital to reading.  I have difficulty making the adjustment to reading digitally.  I love the feel of a book in my hand.  There is not a room where I spend waking time where there is not a bookshelf of sorts.

It needs to be clear that what I love is reading and not just books.  There is a difference.  I know people who collect books and those who collect reading.  I am the latter.  For me books are the collection of the thoughts and questions of others.  It is a chance to see this world or an imagined one through the eyes of someone else.  I have the opportunity listen to and learn from people long dead and in the midst of history.  I get to feel how they felt in the moment.

So much about reading is immersing one’s self in the mind of another.  For a time we become selfless in a fashion.  We give the mind over to the way in which another sees, thinks, and feels.  Even if it is fiction we are seeing the world through the eyes of the writer.  I am so thankful for the many authors who have taken the time and risk to share their thoughts and questions with me.

I pass on this gratitude by giving books to others.  It is with thankfulness that I reach to my shelves for relaxation or research.  It is with a grateful heart that I pick up a tome for some time away from this world.  It is with anticipation that I read to learn a new thing.  It is with yearning for understanding that I read what others have written about God.

Throughout our history when evil men wish to oppress others they take away books.  I am very thankful that I live in a world where my books are mine to read, enjoy, share, and even write.    

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 ͡°)

On Giving Thanks – Education

Greetings Dear Reader,

No matter how I feel about any of it, I have had an excellent education.  My mum sacrificed so that I could go to excellent primary and secondary schools.  The colleges I attended were also excellent.  Good teachers invested time in me.  God gifted me with a good intellect.

I have been able to develop strong work and success at that work because of my education.  I am able to process and apply truth because of the training I have had.  I value learning as a lifelong process because of the training I have received.  I am able to help others.  I have been blessed to teach others and help improve lives because of education.

I have had teachers and mentors along the way who helped shape my knowledge, wisdom, and character.  They have built into me things that are eternal and enduring.  They have given me a higher purchase from which to view the world.  They have been my friends.

I am thankful for the education that I have and realize the accountability it holds for me.  If I do not have gratitude for this then I cannot hope to pass it on properly.  I must avoid the pride that accompanies knowledge and instead seek wisdom.  With gratitude begins the journey toward wisdom that will ensure that my intellect is used for Christ.

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 ͡°)

Epiphany – Apostrophe

Greetings Beloved Readers,

Smee: I've just had an apostrophe.
Captain Hook: I think you mean an epiphany.
Smee: No... lightning has just struck my brain.
Captain Hook: Well, that must hurt.

Very often I have ideas that creep into my mind slowly after much thinking, careful researching, and zealous pipe pondering (for those of you who care nothing in the bowl but regular old Cavendish). Once in a great while though, I have an apostrophe err…epiphany.

Today is the feast of the Epiphany. It is the day we remember the visit of the Magi. So much tradition has grown up around the simple statements made by Matthew in the second chapter his Gospel. This was a big deal. At Christmas we sing We Three Kings and set up Melchior, Balthazar, and Caspar around the manger. Do we really consider the impact of this bit of the Advent story? I thought that on the Feast of Epiphany you might benefit from some observations about the visit of the Magi.

They were men of science: In those days there was not a distinction between Astronomy and Astrology.
They left their homes in search of a great King whose birth was heralded by the stars.
They brought expensive gifts to honor this King and inquired at Jerusalem, Israel’s capital for the new King’s whereabouts.
It was not just Herod the Great who was disturbed by this news but all of Jerusalem.
Herod feigned friendship to the Magi and intended to murder this new King, an obvious rival
God warned the Magi to avoid Herod on their journey home
A direct result of their visit was the murder of all the toddlers and infants in Bethlehem

In many parts of the world today, children are awakening to gifts left by either the Magi or Befana (see her story here http://village.fortunecity.com/radclyffe/541/SoulKitchen/Folklore/folklore.html). Perhaps a simple way to extend our Christmas into the New Year and avoid the post Christmas let down is to hold back a small gift or sweet treat for our children and loved ones and surprise them with it on Epiphany or Twelfth Night. We know that the timing we assign to all of this is traditional and not factual. We know that we know very little about the Magi and even less about the events surrounding their visit to Jesus. We also know that they undertook a perilous journey and went into great danger to honor the Advent of Christ. I encourage you to find a way to remember that men who did not need to left their homes to honor the birth of Christ and in some way share that wonder of that with your loved ones. Their journey was significant enough to God for him to include it in the Gospels. That alone makes it worth commemorating.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn