Evil be thou my Good – Crooked Sticks

Greetings Dear Reader,

Someone once counseled me on how to know that I am flawed.   He simply said to ask my family.   Those closest to us know our flaws.  Sometimes they love us anyway.  Some of them at least tolerate us.

We embrace the idea that we are right and others are wrong in arrogant divisive stubbornness.  It may be our greatest clinging to evil when we forget to be humble in our correctness.  Truth is not ours.  Truth is something to which we must cling in remembrance of a time when we had it not. 

When we abandon the fact that we are all crooked sticks in daily need of grace we give foothold to the evil that is pride.  We give place to the evil in the world when we think it does not infect us.  When we say we are without sin we embrace evil.

I cannot ever claim to be a “good man”.  Rather I am a fallen man who by the grace of the Father has opportunities to do good.  I must never forget that in moment I must choose to do what is good.  In each moment I must choose to follow Christ and not my own designs.  It is only in daily giving my self back to the Father that I can avoid embracing evil as good.

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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East to West – Closing Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

So I was up again in the wee hours pondering this.  There is no answer that I can put into words without metaphor.  Then again the concept of sin and redemption must be explained in metaphor.

Defining how far the East is from the West can be measured point to point.  It cannot be measured in terms of things like redemption.  We use terms like; “I once was lost but now I am found” or “All I know is that I once was blind but now I see.”   We cannot see the spiritual so we express it in metaphor.

The image of the extent of God’s love is expressed in the cross.  The tree of death becomes the new tree of life.  The Son of God comes to redeem us and dies to make it so.  He explains that there is a symbol, a metaphor for how far away our sin is removed.   

Psalm 103:12 - As far as the east is from the west— that is how far he has removed our rebellious acts from himself.

Then the question comes.  It is begged, repeated, and demanded.  How far is the East from the West?  The answer both metaphor and vivid visceral reality is in the answer:  From one scarred hand to the other.

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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East to West – Who Holds Whom?

Greetings Dear Reader,

“I can't live by what I feel, but by the truth Your word reveals I'm not holding on to You, but You're holding on to me You're holding on to me.”

So much of the wrong side of Christianity teaches us that we have to hold on to Christ to keep our relationship with him.  To manipulate believers constructs have been created that make us think we have to struggle and suffer to earn God’s continued love and acceptance.  The truth of this is truly as far as the East is from the West. 

Jesus made it clear that all that were his would not be taken from him.  He also made it clear that he would not cast them out. That means you and I Dear Reader.  The truth is that Jesus pursues us relentlessly. 

On my very darkest day Christ is there in every moment.  In most wicked moment Christ is there begging me to follow him and not my own will.   Even when I ignore him he stays with me.  I can hold on to Christ if I choose to but the reality is that he always holds onto me. 

No matter how I feel or think Jesus is there in every moment holding me as his own.  I must walk by faith in the truth of these promises.  It is never that I merit God’s favor.  It is that I always have it and need to tap into the riches that it provides.   I am never not his no matter how I feel.

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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East to West - The Day Begins

Greetings Dear Reader,

“I start the day, the war begins, endless reminding of my sin. Time and time again Your truth is drowned out by the storm I'm in. Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way.”

Most mornings the first few moments of being awake are great.  I usually awaken with music in my head.  It is almost always some song that I love or need to learn from that day.  Then there is the processing of what must be done.  That is when I remember that I am alone.  That is when I the guilt, the loneliness, and the reminders of my failures begin to vie for my attention.

It is only by placing my faith if following Christ for the next moment that I find the will and strength to write, work, prepare, and live.  I learn in those moments that I would rather follow than falter. 

I know that God will not reject me yet the rejections from my past try to make me believe that I am always going to be rejected.  Experience with humans MUST NOT translate to my expectations of God.

The Father loves me as and where I am.  He does not require perfection and he does not care about the past failure.  What he wishes is that I follow his Son in the moment.  He does not promise that I will not still feel how I feel.  I am not assured that I will not struggle.  I am promised that my needs will be met.

It is the reminder of my failures that I use to drive me toward Christ.  What I am when I do not is hurried.   The east to west becomes evident when I follow.  It becomes blurred when I do not.

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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East to West – A Reminder of Distance

Greetings Dear Reader,

“Jesus, can You show me just how far the east is from the west 'cause I can't bear to see the man I've been come rising up in me again.”

The things I want are simple.  I think that the pain of the past often causes me to forget the Father’s forgetfulness when it comes to past failures.  I never want to be the man I used to be before I became moment by moment serious about following Christ. 

I can count all of the terrible things I used to do to and know when they try to assert themselves.  It is not enough to decide I am not going to “do ths again.”   I must moment by moment do what is right so that I do not have time to do what is wrong. 

It is in the following that peace is found.  It can be a struggle and part of that struggle is forgetting the depth to which I am forgiven.  People will remember our past failures and treat us badly based on them.  Jesus does not.

I need to be reminded daily how far the east is from the west.  I need to walk in that remembrance.  It is in this that I live and move and have my being.

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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East to West – Never Left; Never Forsaken

Greetings Dear Reader,

“I know You've cast my sin as far as the east is from the west and I stand before You now as though I've never sinned but today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way”

It is the resurgence of false or past guilt that freezes me.  It comes to me in the wee hours of the morning or when I am in a tense situation.   The voices in my head bring up the past and remind me of the treacherous shortcuts that bring temporary relief but enhanced pain later.

It is never that Christ will abandon me or give up on me.  He already knows everything that I will ever do and think.  Rather it is that my fallen nature wants me to be debilitated.  It is the joust between faith and falsehood that I attend daily as both spectator and prize.  The hitch is that I decide who wins. 

I choose how I will deal with the reminders and how I will let them impact my life.  It is my obligation to forbid that past to hinder the present.  I must always remember how Christ views me.  He has already dealt with my failures and gives me the opportunity to experience his grace and peace. 

The greater failure is to avoid having faith in that provision.  I need to experience the grace given me in every moment.  That sounds mystical but in practical application it really works.  It is a moment by moment choice that I must make in learning how far the east is from the west.  

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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East to West – I Don’t Want to End up Where you Found Me

Greetings Dear Reader,

“The chains of yesterday surround me, I yearn for peace and rest.  I don't want to end up where You found me and it echoes in my mind, keeps me awake tonight.”

The wolf is always at the door.  The flesh wars against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh.  The things that I want to do that are wrong always clamor for my attention.   They want to distract me from what is good and kind.  They offer paths other than the journey.

I recall what it was like before I chose to follow Christ.  All I wanted was escape from the pain I constantly carried.  Some of it is still there but it no longer controls me or makes me want to die. 

I am not in a dark place whilst I walk through this sign.  I am wrestling with being alone.  It takes a constant remembrance that the Father knows my needs and has all in hand.  I truly believe this.  It is late at night, when I retire alone that the darkness reminds me how lonely I am. 

It is in these moments that faith matters.  It is in this time that I decide if I am going to follow for not.  The trick is that I will choose to follow.  It is not in me to do it on my own but Christ promises to give both the will and the ability to follow. 

Once again it comes down to faith.  I must live what I believe.    I must actively follow even in the darkness I must follow and believe.

Loose Ends – Dan Fogelberg

Climbing a mountain

In darkness

Stranded alone on the ledge.

Every attempt that I make to hold on

Pushes me nearer the edge.

Sensing the changes impending

My thoughts are diffused by despair

I feel like I'm swimming straight up

Underwater

Desperately racing for air

I'm racing for air.

And the chords struck at birth

Grow more distant

Yet, we strike them again and again.

And we plead and we pray

For a glimmer of day

As the night folds its wings

And descends

Exposing the loose ends.

Surrounding myself with possessions

I surely have more than I need

I don't know if this is justice, hard earned,

Or simply a matter of greed

A matter of greed.

And the chords struck at birth

Grow more distant

Yet, we strike them again and again.

And we plead and we pray

For a glimmer of day

As the night folds its wings

And descends

Exposing the loose ends.

And the chords struck at birth

Grow more distant

Yet, we strike them again and again.

And we plead and we pray

For a glimmer of day

As the night folds its wings

And descends

Exposing the loose ends.

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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East to West – Omniscient Forgetfulness

Greetings Dear Reader,

“Here I am, Lord, and I'm drowning in your sea of forgetfulness.”

I sometimes forget that when I acknowledge my wrongdoing (sin) that the Father not only forgives it but he forgets it.  God who knows all things chooses to forget our sin.  He chooses to remember all his love for us and forget all of our sin.

I recall and regret things that are forgiven and forgotten.   They still hinder me at times.  They still cause me to move more slowly in life than I desire.  I am not sure how to let go of some of it.

When my past failures haunt me I sometimes allow them to keep me from moving forward.  The specters of the past cloy at me constantly to steal my peace of mind.  They want me to drown in a sea of false guilt and regret. 

I must remember in these moments that this is not how the Father sees me.  It is rather that he sees me a forgiven, restored, and sinless.  It is we that get overwhelmed and drown in our past.  We are not supposed to live this way. 

Ghosts – Dan Fogelberg

Sometimes in the night I feel it

Near as my next breath and yet untouchable

Silently the past comes stealing

Like the taste of some forbidden sweet

Along the walls in shadowed rafters

Moving like a thought through haunted atmospheres

Muted cries and echoed laughter

Banished dreams that never sank in sleep

Lost in love and found in reason

Questions that the mind can find no answers for

Ghostly eyes conspire treason

As they gather just outside the door

And every ghost that calls upon us

Brings another measure in the mystery

Death is there to keep us honest

And constantly remind us we are free

Down the ancient corridors

And through the gates of time

Run the ghosts of days that we've left behind

Down the ancient corridors

And through the gates of time

Run the ghosts of dreams that we left behind

Sometimes in the night I feel it

Near as my next breath and yet untouchable

Silently the past comes stealing

Like the taste of some forbidden sweet 

And every ghost that calls upon us

Brings another measure in the mystery

Death is there to keep us honest

And constantly remind us we arn’t free

Down the ancient corridors

And through the gates of time

Run the ghosts of days that we've left behind

Down the ancient corridors

And through the gates of time

Run the ghosts of dreams that we left behind

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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East to West - Opening

Greetings Dear Reader,

Psalm 103:12 - As far as the east is from the west— that is how far he has removed our rebellious acts from himself.

Once again a song has wormed its way into my brain and will not let go.  It is a good song with many inroads into my life.  It has been there when I awakened every day for about a week.  It floats through my mind unbidden whenever I am not concentrating on anything else.  It resurges as I drift off to sleep.

It is a good thing I like the song and I really do.  I must see what it is trying to teach me.  As I walk through the verses I will ponder the theology and lessons in the song.  I do not feel that I am in any spiritual danger and that intrigues me further.

Enjoy the song and walk with me as I try to figure out what it is telling me.  Your company always makes the journey better Dear Reader.

East to West – Casting Crowns

Here I am, Lord, and I'm drowning in your sea of forgetfulness

The chains of yesterday surround me

I yearn for peace and rest

I don't want to end up where You found me

And it echoes in my mind, keeps me awake tonight

I know You've cast my sin as far as the east is from the west

And I stand before You now as though I've never sinned

But today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

Jesus, can You show me just how far the east is from the west

'cause I can't bear to see the man I've been come rising up in me again

In the arms of Your mercy I find rest

'cause You know just how far the east is from the west

From one scarred hand to the other

I start the day, the war begins, endless reminding of my sin

Time and time again Your truth is drowned out by the storm I'm in

Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

I know You've washed me white, turned my darkness into light

I need Your peace to get me through, to get me through this night

I can't live by what I feel, but by the truth Your word reveals

I'm not holding on to You, but You're holding on to me

You're holding on to me

Jesus, You know just how far the east is from the west

I don't have to see the man I've been come rising up in me again

In the arms of Your mercy I find rest

'cause You know just how far the east is from the west

From one scarred hand to the other

One scarred hand to the other

From one scarred hand to the other.

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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Old Sins Cast Long Shadows

Greetings Dear Reader,

I heard this phrase in a movie recently and began to search for it origin.  My research revealed that it is connected to Numbers 14:18 (NIV) “The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

This triggered some thinking on how my past failures impact others beyond me.  I can see clearly how my failure at my first marriage has had a lifelong impact on my children.  Choices I have made outside of Christ still echo in my world. 

I think we do a poor job distinguishing between forgiveness and consequences.  God always forgives when we acknowledge our sin.  That does not me that he removes the natural consequences from them.    Out sin has consequences that we must often endure.  Sometimes in his mercy we are not made to endure them. 

As the years flow through the glass I see more clearly how my sin has impacted others.   I see how my wrong choices have done damage beyond me.  I cannot waste time and effort on regret.  I must instead work to do good for others.  I must avoid repeating the same sins and walk in faith that the Father will bring all things to good.

Some days the regret wishes to rule me.  It wish to force me into inactivity through failure to move.  It is in the moving; the following that I can right some of the wrongs.  I can be honest about how I have failed and help others learn from my errors. 

What I must not do is let past sin keep me from doing my best to do good now.  If it means that I must be more humble and more gentle then that is what I must do.  If I need to earn the right to be heard over and over aging then I will.  I will keep moving.  I will keep following.  How about you Dear Reader?  Are you willing to move instead of being mired in the past darkness?  I will not let the long shadows of old sin keep me from bearing the Light.

I Dare you to Move – Switchfoot

Welcome to the planet

Welcome to existence

Everyone's here

Everyone's here

Everybody's watching you now

Everybody waits for you now

What happens next?

What happens next?

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

I dare you to lift

Yourself up off by the floor

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

Like today never happened

Today never happened before

Welcome to the fallout

Welcome to resistance

The tension is here

The tension is here

Between who you are

And who you could be

Between how it is

And how it should be yeah

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

I dare you to lift

Yourself up off by the floor

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

Like today never happened

Today never happened

Maybe redemption has stories to tell

Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell

Where can you run to escape from yourself?

Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go?

Salvation is here

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

I dare you to lift yourself

To lift yourself up off by the floor

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

Like today never happened

Today never happened

Today never happened

Today never happened before

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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On Prayer – Confession

Greetings Dear Reader,

I do things wrong.  So do you Dear Reader.  John, Jesus’ best friend writes that “If we say we have no sin, then we lie and the truth is not in us.”  I often think we are so far from understanding our own sin that we do not grasp its severity to God.  This same God loved us so much that even though we sin his Son died for us.

God also promises that if we acknowledge our sin he forgives us.  He cleanses us from the unrighteousness we gather along the way.  Just like I shower every morning, I spend time acknowledging the things I have done wrong.  I do this in the evening as well. 

Sometimes I have to resolve to seek someone’s forgiveness.  I must own when I transgress.  I must keep the accounts short and not let my failures accumulate.  It is the daily cleansing of my spirit that clears my hindrances to prayer.  We cannot expect to have good communication when we have offended the one with who m we converse.

We do not need to see this as a groveling begging for another chance.  It is being honest with a Father who loves us and wants us to be better tomorrow than we are today.  It is the path to a deeper richer relationship.  It is at the heart of honesty.

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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On Truth – Poor Parallels

Greetings Dear Reader,

When one is trying to be honest in ones thought it is necessary that to be sure that we compare our reasoning to valid standards.  We tend instead to draw parallels that are not honest.  We compare our failures to things that make us feel better about who we are instead of comparing them to valid standards.

We adopt standards that are lower than God’s and compare them to standards that are lower than ours.  We put the failures of others as worse than ours and diminish our own accountability in doing it.  We judge others instead of holding our lives our as needing grace and redemption.  We find God wanting, dismiss him, and say we have no sin.

It is easy for me to talk myself into thinking I am in the right by comparing my situation to one worse than mine.  What I must always do is compare myself to the standards God sets for me.  I have no time to judge others.  I need to be concerned about where I am in relation to Christ.

Jesus never commands us to condemn others.  We are supposed to encourage and restore.  We are supposed to worry about the two by four in our eye before we try to take the speck out of someone else’s.  We are supposed to be following Christ.  Everything I do must be compared to who Christ is.

I cannot compare my sin to anyone else and gain any ground.  I cannot judge, reject, or condemn anyone else and hope to show them the love that Christ commands me to show them.  I cannot draw dishonest parallels and get anywhere.

I fail and I sin.  I deny the hard truth that my sin is my responsibility.  I have nowhere to go with this except to Christ.  I cannot compare anything to Christ honestly and find it better.  I cannot follow anything but Christ and find my way.  When Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” he excluded any other way, truth, or life. 

It is hard to hear this but inside it there is a sense to it.  Why would I not see someone who commands me to love above all else as exclusive?  Why would I draw any other parallel when that parallel cannot be an honest one?  There is not honest parallel to Christ.

In Christ Alone – Stuart Townend

In Christ alone my hope is found,

He is my light, my strength, my song;

this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,

firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My Comforter, my All in All,

here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh

Fullness of God in helpless babe!

This gift of love and righteousness

Scorned by the ones he came to save:

Till on that cross as Jesus died,

The wrath of God was satisfied -

For every sin on Him was laid;

Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay

Light of the world by darkness slain:

Then bursting forth in glorious Day

Up from the grave he rose again!

And as He stands in victory

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,

For I am His and He is mine -

Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,

This is the power of Christ in me;

From life's first cry to final breath.

Jesus commands my destiny.

No power of hell, no scheme of man,

Can ever pluck me from His hand;

Till He returns or calls me home,

Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

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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Say What You Need to Say - I Struggle With Sin

Greetings Dear Reader,

Faith and following are an everyday thing.  I try to give my life back to God every morning when my feet hit the floor.  I can lose that purpose by the time I get downstairs if I am not vigilant.  Little things that do not matter can derail my daily following.

I hate the struggle.  I hate that I cannot just decide that I will no longer do a thing and that is that.  Temptation, bad habits, and unmet needs scream very loudly for attention.  No matter how well I have done for how many days it only takes a moment of inattention to fall.

God already knows when and how I will fail.  He knows the sin that will overtake me.  He knows the wrong choices I make.  Everything about the struggle is related to my choices.  I hate that I have to choose.  I want to have chosen once and it be over with for that choice.

The problem would be that I would not want it that way for bad things.  It is the recurring choices that allow us to improve so there must, therefore, be recurring choices that degrade us.  It is a reminder that it is the journey and not the destination.

I can only succeed through faith.  I can only follow by choice.  I hate the struggle.  I want it to be a happy and easy path that is wide and quite navigable.  The problem is that the broad path leads to destruction. 

I need to say that it is not easy.  I know I make it look that way sometimes.  Please know that it is a struggle to do what is right even though that is all I really want.  There is still joy in the journey Dear Reader. Part of it is found in the struggle when God provides the will to do what is right no matter what the cost. 

Your company along the way helps Dear Reader.  You are a part of the joy.

Joy In the Journey – Michael Card

There is a joy in the journey

There's a light we can love on the way

There is a wonder and wildness to life

And freedom for those who obey

And all those who seek it shall find it

A pardon for all who believe

Hope for the hopeless and sight for the blind

To all who've been born of the Spirit

And who share incarnation with Him

Who belong to eternity stranded in time

And weary of struggling with sin

Forget not the hope that's before you

And never stop counting the cost

Remember the hopelessness when you were lost

There is a joy in the journey

There's a light we can love on the way

There is a wonder and wildness to life

And freedom for those who obey

And freedom for those who obey

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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Honest Words - Failure

Greetings Dear Reader,

Some of you may wish to curl up your toes hear.  When I was still teaching I was actual told that I could not tell and adult college student that he had failed a class.  I was instructed to tell the student that he had “delayed success” in his English Composition effort. 

This particular student had failed to attend two thirds of the classes.  He had failed to turn in the weekly homework for the entire term.  He had failed to complete his term paper.  He failed to tell the truth to his instructor, my friend, when confronted numerous times about his deferment of his success.  I failed to be politically correct with him.

I have seen bad teachers and my friend Katie is the opposite.  She went above the requirements for every student who showed the possibility of being successful.  She did everything possible to make students feel safe, capable, and motivated to avoid delaying success in her classes.

We fail sometimes.  As a school chair I did dismiss a teacher who told a student that she was a failure.  That is mean and horrid.  No one is “a failure.”  Failing, however, is a part of the learning process.  You fail.  You evaluate. You learn more and then you try again.  There are also some things some students will never be able to accomplish.  They are not a failure but they will fail at some things always.

To me it is dangerous to teach others that the never fail.  It sets a state of mind that they can do anything.  There are things I cannot do.  I will never set a record for the long jump.  I fail at jumping most of the time.  Even puddles do not fear me.  They know that I will land in them.

We fail.  We are a fallen, flawed, and fractured species.  Without the understanding that we fail we may not see our greatest failure.  We may not understand that we need something beyond ourselves for redemption.  If I do not acknowledge my failures then I will not see my need for God. 

I sin (we will visit this word a little further down the path).  I do not always follow Christ in daily situations.  When I fail to follow in the moment that moment passes.  I have not delayed success.  I have FAILED.  I can still follow but the moment is gone and will never return.

It is my responsibility to acknowledge that I fail to do what is right at times and use that knowledge to learn, grow, and fail to fail in the future.  If I do not learn from my failures then I will not follow Christ faithfully.  If I do not embrace the full weight and length of the coil of my sin then I will fail to be horrified by it.  I will fail to see my depravity so that I might fight against it.  That would lead to failing to follow which in turn would be the greatest failure of 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 home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Why I love Christmas – Advents One and Two

Happy Christmas Dear Reader,

I do not wish to put too many clouds on the horizon of you Christmas joy.  It does, however, bear calling to mind that purpose of the birth is death.  The import of the incarnation is to create a vessel like us that can pay the penalty of sin for us.  The first advent creates the path to the cross.

The death then leads us to resurrection.  The hope is fulfilled in part by the acceptance of Christ by God as the penalty for our sin.  We rejoice at the birth.  We mourn the death.  We rejoice again at the resurrection.  Then Jesus departs.  We are left with history and faith.  We are left like those before the first century waiting for the fulfillment of a promise.

Jesus promised us a second advent.  He promised to prepare a place for us and then return.  I love Christmas because it reminds me that there will be another advent.  It will come when time is full again.  It will be sudden and unexpected by most.  It will be the last need for advent. 

We are traveling toward this day just like the Magi traveled toward Bethlehem.  Some of us reach Christ before he comes for us.  Every Christmas I hope that it is the last Christmas we celebrate in anticipation of Christ’s Second Advent.  I long to wish Jesus a “happy Christmas” face to face.

There is no known recording of this song.  I wish there were.

A Pauper’s Hymn – Michael and Sarah Sharp

Traveling hard  before  a  Sabbath  sunset, 

Cold the woman great with child. 

Lonely taxed from Naz’reth wand’ ring, 

O’re Judea’s barren wild. 

Homeless in a stable came the birth that night. 

What could this weary woman bring? 

Nothing less on earth than Heaven's Best; 

A Savior, Redeemer, King.    

Men of the East with wisdom following 

The star that heralds heaven's own 

Christ the Savior come to ransom 

Those who would choose Him to disown 

Warned of the madness of a puppet king, 

The child  is safe in Egypt as he grows, 

But in David's City the children die. 

Rachel weeps for those she'll never know.           

The decades pass, the boy a man, 

Condemned by hope and a lie, 

Hanging cold upon a wind-swept hill, 

Suspended between the worlds to die. 

How long will you wait to embrace His gift? 

Where else will you find harbor for your soul? 

Than in  the  out-stretched  arms  of  the  Christmas  babe, 

Who  ransomed  your  eternal  soul.                         

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 ͡°)