Roasting Your Own – An Aside

Happy Christmas Dear Reader,

I know that some of you read my blog whilst enjoying a cup of coffee. I often am, as I am now, enjoying a cup of the bitter brew when I write to you. The difference for me today is that this coffee is unique.

Here are things that I know about the coffee I am currently sipping:
-It was grown in Mexico
-It is fair trade coffee
-I bought 25 pounds of it
-The beans were carefully roasted in 4 ounce lots
-The blend is a dark full roast and a medium roast
-It is the best coffee I have ever had
-I roasted it myself

I realize that saying it is the best coffee I have ever had is a bit arrogant and perhaps I am a little high from the constant contact with the oily caffeinated beans. I would say that roasting the coffee is almost as addicting as drinking it. But this coffee was roasted, allowed to breath for twelve hours and then sealed for twenty-four. I have a very excellent grinder that allows me to set the level of grind for the kind of coffee I will brew.

After careful reading and planning I made my first pot of home roast (the official name is Orion’ Blend). I have three roast colours; Dark – Betelgeuse, Medium –Bellatrix, and Light – Mintaka. I am working on a Rigel blend but cannot decide if I want it to be lighter or extra bold. I did burn one roasting in trying to get beyond the dark roast but as a friend said, “that happens.”

All of this may seem light and unlike my usual seriousness. I assure you this is serious business. Coffee is a multibillion dollar industry. Pound for pound I am paying about 50% less than I usually would. I enjoy doing it. It is benefiting growers directly and it is very easy. It takes about ten minutes to roast enough for a pot of coffee. Now before you think I have gotten too politically correct, it is rather that I am doing something I enjoy and saving money. I also am sure that the coffee I serve my friends is wholesome and has no odd chemicals in it.

Beyond that I have learned more about the bitter black bean that I love in a way I had not imagined to learn it. I have grown a new appreciation for the amazing thing that is coffee. I will do my best not to take it for granted again. My cup is empty and I am on to other things, the first being a hearty refill.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."

On Holding Orion

Happy Christmas Dear Reader,

We all know that holding a new born child has some magic in it. New life with a new slate that is clean and a new story to write is the very best kind of enchantment. We had the joy of gathering together over Thanksgiving weekend with all the grandparents present. The mirth and merriment had no end.

Ten adults with their own lives as stories all had a single focal point most of the evening. When I was privileged to hold my Grandson nothing else in the world seemed to matter. He is changing us all and I know he changes me every time I hold him. My thoughts whilst holding him the other evening were all on this child and the potential to always be a good example for him.

We all get to choose how we will be around a child. The language we use, the habits we indulge, and the values we support will all impact this fresh life. I cannot compartmentalize my life into the thing I do around Orion and the things I do away from him. Who I am will influence him. My values will bleed through no matter how I try to mask them.

I must become committed to following Christ as closely and as honestly as I can so that whenever I am around my beautiful Grandson that is what he sees. I cannot harbor any anger or hurt. I cannot indulge any selfishness or self-centeredness. He will pick up on how I feel about others and so I must love others as I wish for him to do.

I loved holding him and realize that no matter how long I hold him, it will not be long enough. That realized it followed that all the others wished to hold him as well. I could have sat with him in my arms all evening. I used to hold his father for hours and hours. In realizing that all the aunts, uncles, and grandparents want to hold him as well, I must guard my good desire from becoming selfish greed.

Every good thing can become a bad thing once it is no longer selfless. It is the self that creates the sin that ruins the good things. Christ must increase and I must decrease.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."

Meaning over Mistletoe

Greetings Dear Reader,

I trust that you all had a happy Black Friday. I know that many of you were up and about early in the pursuit of deals and steals. There is nothing wrong with Christmas shopping or enjoying the fervor of the day. My daughter Christmas and I headed to observe own Black Friday traditions. As I have been talking about often lately, I am doing my best to focus on the purpose of Christmas over the trappings.

I love decorating and changing the home to reflect the spirit of the season. I love moving among the bustling shoppers smiling and finding opportunities to show small kindnesses. The look given when you give away your shopping cart or help someone with packages is so much more one of surprise that it once was. Common courtesy is no longer common and yet it must be so if I am to live the spirit of Christ’s love and kindness.

As you will hear me say often over the next month and as Mr. Dickens said so well, “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”

No matter what my vocation I must focus my avocation on ensuring that I am about the business of the meaning of Christmas. It has nothing to do with decorations, shopping, food, or mistletoe. It has everything to do with providing opportunity to all that I encounter to see and feel the purpose of the season. It is all of no use if the threads of redemption and reconciliation are not sewn into the fabric of all I do.

I was with someone yesterday who battled to focus on others instead of himself whilst shopping. A constant stream of muttering about what he wished to have accompanied his attempts to shop for others. It reminded me keenly that I must focus on others and know that Christ has my needs in his heart.

So as I move among the shoppers and shop keepers I will choose meaning over mistletoe. I will choose kindness over self-centeredness. I will choose generosity over greed. By God’s grace I will live with that spirit in heart daily.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."

The Vigil - 3

Greetings Dear Reader,

Drawn towards destinies darkling kite, riven by reality
Riding the passion to terrible height, life upon death’s tree
Cause me to drink from the chalice of fire. Forge me anew in the heat of desire
Let me inhabit the holy empire and make war on the armies of night. – Kemper Crabb

I am going to war in December.

Even the celebration that wishes “peace on earth” to all is an act of war. We serve on a battlefield where there are no neutral zones. We journey through a world where there is not a demilitarized zone. The Advent of Christ is a major military move in a campaign against the darkness that wishes to claim us all. On a field where there are no rusty swords our weapons are strange and seem ineffectual until employed.

There are the common weapons that Christ followers know. The Sword of the Spirit, the Shield of Faith, the Breastplate of Righteousness, and the Helmet of Salvation are all well known to us. We have sabatons in the preparation of the gospel. Our loins may be girded with truth. (Ephesians 6:10-18) We have others weapons as well; weapons of mass destruction.

When we show love, employ kindness, and rain down humility on others we become beacons of light that can shatter the darkness. We give others the courage and strength to embrace Christ and join our fight for reclamation of creation. Every encounter is a skirmish. Every conversation is a salvo.

When I stand in line at the store and treat the cashier with deference and politeness, I am attacking the darkness. When I get a trolley for an overburdened mother, I am waging war. When I give my time and attention and money to those who are in need; that is battle rage. I can become a berserker, seemingly mad in my quest to exhibit the love of Christ all that I do. I promise that the army of darkness will try to kill me for it.

I choose deliberately to go to war. I choose with intent to love, forgive, and show kindness. I do not care if I am boiled in my own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through my heart. I will sing as I go. I will sing battle songs that cry out to all that Christ has come and that his purpose is to draw ALL humans to himself.

Mankind is my business and it is for them that it is all done. If you have the heart I ask you to ride out to war with me.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."

Giving Thanks in 2010

Greetings Dear Reader,

I have so much to be thankful for this year. You are near the top of the list. I do not know all of you and that does not lessen one bit my gratitude for your patronage. As we turn the corner into December I will be attempting another marathon of postings. I invite you all to interact anonymously or not with my postings. Your feedback, responses, opinions, and questions are always welcome.

Know please that as I went before the Father this morning to give thanks that I thanked him for you. So as I move on to family centered things for the day I wish you all a most joy filled Thanksgiving Day.

Later this evening I will take up my "Christmas Present" mantle and do all that I can to live the season as a celebration of Christ as it is meant to be celebrated. I start it out by pondering all the great blessings in my life. I am so grateful and honored by all that God has given me and I pray that I live up to his trust in me.

I love you all, collectively and individually.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis ThornMat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out

Choosing Your Artificial Christmas

Greetings Dear Reader,

I know that we are two days out from Thanksgiving and there are some of you who think that Christmas should wait. I draw a clear distinction between the merriment of Christmas and the merchandising of Christmas. One cannot celebrate the birth of God Incarnate and worship things at the same time. The other day I was shopping for a gift for my younger Son. I took a walk through the trees and decorations at the store because doing so lifts my spirits.

Whilst walking among the non-living trees I heard a boy call out from his cart. He was talking to me. I was wearing my burgundy waffle Henley and my black jeans. I was wearing a red bandana. The boy was pointing toward me and speaking to his mum. “Look, mom. I told you he was here. Hurry mom, we gotta get our artificial Christmas and decorate it.”

I smiled at the lad. He was not the first child to think I was Santa. Hopefully he will not be the last. I reassured him, “Do not worry. Your mother will get things ready in time. She always does.” The child visibly relaxed and retreated a little into the cart. It has been many years since I worked professionally as Santa but some of the magic is still there. The mom whispered a thank you and hurried on before the spell wore off.

The child’s words, however, stayed with me. I wondered at the pressure of a world where the only choice is an “artificial Christmas.” Were I able I would pass the true joy of Christmas to every man every day. What I must do is find that joy within my own spirit every day and rekindle it afresh. I can give the gifts of Christmas; love, forgiveness, peace, and good will every time I encounter someone if I choose to have them ready to give.

There are two Christmases. The real one that is imbued with Christ and his journey of redemption for our sake is the real one. This real Christmas can still involve family traditions and giving gifts that come from the heart. The merchandising and diminishing of Christ as the founder and finisher of our celebration is the artificial one. I must be so in tune with Christ that his joy and mirth spill out of me constantly. I have so many things to be thankful for but chief among them is a year spent trying to find the joy of Christ in every moment.

As Turkey and trimmings make the turn to black Friday and the decorating of trees, I pray that I find in every moment the Christ who is there waiting for me. I hope that I abandon pretense of any kind and offer my fellow man both substance and style. My prayer is that I offer all around me a real Christmas that need never be put away because it is the wrong season. It is always the right season to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Now, as the last broad oak leaf falls, we beg, consider this:
there’s some who have no coin to save for turkey, wine or gifts.
No children’s laughter round the fire, no family left to know.
So lend a warm and helping hand –
say Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow. – Ian Anderson


Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."

Orion Rising

Greetings Dear Reader,

At 12:20 yesterday morning (22 November 2010) my first Grandchild made his exit from one world and entered ours. The Hunter's Moon was full and his Constellation was high in the night sky. I held him for the first time some twenty minutes later. He was alert and looking around. He was wiggly and commanded the undivided attention of all seven adults in attendance. He looked so much like my son did on his first day amongst us that I was completely befuddled.

I watched as my Grandson exerted his power over all around him. It was amazing to see each of the adults transformed from a person with a unique personality to an entranced holder of new life. Every aunt, uncle, parent, and grandparent looked transfixed at Orion’s bright eyes and spoke words of love and kindness to him.

The labour was difficult on his Mum and his Papa is tired from the long attendance. We were all tired form the waiting. The first thing that got my energy up, before I even saw my Grandson was the joyful laughter of his Papa as Orion emitted his first cries of life. The heavy delivery room door between could not muffle the delight in my Son as he welcomed his Son. In that moment we all changed forever.

I long to capture the power and potential of this child’s arrival but cannot quite find the words. The short of it is that it was all settled in that moment when his father opened the thick wooden door and presented Orion to us all. A very noisy bunch of people became suddenly quiet. We took turns holding this beautiful boy.

When it was my turn I whispered to him the same first words I whispered to his father the first time I held him: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish by have everlasting life.” I explained to him how much I already loved him and promised him that we would have many conversations.

Now I must become more and more purged of my fallen self and selfishness and become more and more a reflection of who Christ is so that Orion will see it clearly. Everything else is subtext. Everything else is commentary. Anything that detracts from this beautiful child seeing Christ in his Grandfather does not belong. Everything that promotes it honestly is a necessity. I already love him at a level that I cannot express. Welcome to the journey Orion. I hope I do well by you.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."

A Journey Over Stones

Greetings Dear Reader,

Most of us hate pain. Most of us would rather not have it at all if possible. Physical and emotional pains are very different and for some reason for the last month or so I have been recalling the most extreme physical pain I have ever experienced.

It was over thirty years ago. I was just a few months away from high school graduation. We went to a school wide retreat at a camp in the North Carolina Mountains. During one of our recreational activities I broke my leg very badly. Both bones were snapped, I ruptured ligaments, and tore tendons. The initial pain was dreadfully painful. It was about one in the afternoon.

What followed was the real pain. The camp staff rushed to my aid. They arrived with a stretcher and immobilized my leg then secured me to the stretcher. Four of them carried me to an ancient waiting station wagon. As carefully as possible they laid me on a mattress in the back of the station wagon. Then the torture began in earnest.

During the trip to the car, every jostle and slight shift send waves of nauseating pain rolling up my leg. Then as the driver started the engine to the station wagon one of the camp staff and one of my teachers climbed in the back of the wagon with me. They iced down my leg as the station wagon began to move over the smooth driveway to the road that led out of the camp to the highway. It was that road that was my torture.

For the next twenty minutes over a road paved with loose stones and another thirty over washboard dirt that was the pain. The suspension in the station wagon was far past its useful prime. The stones in the road were fresh and thick. Every bump sent shocks of pain racing up my leg. The man from the camp began to weep as he saw the pain I was enduring.

I began to pray. I asked God for one thing. I did not ask for the pain to stop. I did not ask for the road to be smooth. I asked that God would give me the strength to endure the pain. I lost myself in this request as I journeyed over those stones and across that long washboard road. Shortly after we reached the smoothness of the state highway I slipped into a fugue. The next thing I remember was being carried into the clinic in the small town nearest to the camp.

The intern at the clinic gave me a shot of morpheme and set my leg. He put a cast on it and told me to see an orthopedic surgeon immediately on my return home. What followed was surgery and months of recuperation. What I remember most about that journey from the camp to the clinic was the third person in the back of the station wagon with me.

Neither the camp counselor nor the teacher recalls a third person being there with us. It was a young woman and just as I began praying she began to sing. The song was one of my Grandfather’s favorites, God Leads Us Along. It was one of the things he used to sing when we worked in his garden or sat by a river fishing. The entire text of the song is at the end of this post.

My journey over stones was one of the worst physical pains I have ever endured. The teacher told me weeks later that when I slipped into that state of semi-consciousness that I was quietly singing that same song.

The pain never really subsided until the morpheme kicked in. What I did learn is that we can endure pain and even find a song in the midst of it if we are willing to do so. I have forgotten that lesson along the way sometimes but it has been on my mind a great deal lately.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."

In shady, green pastures, so rich and so sweet,
God leads His dear children along;
Where the water's cool flow bathes the weary one's feet,
God leads His dear children along.

Some through the waters, some through the flood,
Some through the fire, but all through the blood;
Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song,
In the night season and all the day long.

Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright,
God leads His dear children along;
Sometimes in the valley, in darkest of night,
God leads His dear children along.

Some through the waters, some through the flood,
Some through the fire, but all through the blood;
Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song,
In the night season and all the day long.

Though sorrows befall us and evils oppose,
God leads His dear children along;
Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes,
God leads His dear children along.

Some through the waters, some through the flood,
Some through the fire, but all through the blood;
Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song,
In the night season and all the day long.

Away from the mire, and away from the clay,
God leads His dear children along;
Away up in glory, eternity's day,
God leads His dear children along.

Some through the waters, some through the flood,
Some through the fire, but all through the blood;
Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song,
In the night season and all the day long. – George A. Young

That’s why I don’t care if I look like a fool

Greetings Dear Reader,

To do all the things that I have written about this week does make one appear quite mad. I follow in faith someone I cannot see. I believe I have an unseen enemy who wants to destroy me. I rest my eternal soul on the gamble that an invisible God loves me and is willing to pardon my offenses against him through grace. I am willing to forgive and attempt to love my enemies and forgive wrongs done to me.

I have to trust in the absurdity of love and the amazing nature of grace. I have to carry the song in my heart and on my lips. I have to be the fool. The classic image of the fool so depicts what I must be. Those who choose to follow Christ are often scoffed at. They are vagabonds dependant on that distant calling tune to lead them onward. Ultimately the truth is that I must worry about nothing but what God thinks of me. If I know I am doing right by him and humbly follow only his calling; dance only to his piping, no matter how foolish I look to others then I am wise. It is after all the foolish things of the world that God uses to confound the wise.

So dear reader, if you hear me signing and it embarrasses you, I care about your discomfort but will not quiet my tune for you. If you see me moving forward and it seems that I am blind, know that I am listening to the pipe of God’s own Fool and it sings me down the path. You are welcome to follow along if you wish. I promise the adventure will be glorious.

Seems I've imagined Him all of my life
As the wisest of all of mankind
But if God's Holy wisdom is foolish to man
He must have seemed out of His mind
Even His family said He was mad
And the priest said a demon's to blame
But, God in the form of this angry young man
Could not have seemed perfectly sane

We in our foolishness thought we were wise
He played the fool and He opened our eyes
We in our weakness believed we were strong
He became helpless to show we were wrong

So we follow God's own Fool
For only the foolish can tell
Believe the unbelievable; come be a fool as well

So come lose your life for a carpenter's son
For a madman who died for a dream
And you’ll have the faith His first followers had
And you'll feel the weight of the beam
So surrender the hunger to say you must know
Find the courage to say I believe
For the power of paradox opens your eyes
And blinds those who say they can see

So we follow God's own Fool
For only the foolish can tell
Believe the unbelievable; come be a fool as well – Michael Card

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."

That’s why I sing for a God unchanging

Greetings Dear Reader,

I sing. When I am out and about, walking down the halls at work, or puttering about the house, I sing. Most of what I sing during these times is directed at God. Saint Augustine of Hippo (AD 430) is often attributed with saying "Qui cantat bis orat" or “He who sings prays twice.” Although we cannot find anything that proves he said this, the words are true. He did say "cantare amantis est” meaning "Singing belongs to one who loves."

One of the ways I work out my feelings as they involve my faith is singing. The Ephesians were told to sing to themselves in “Hymns and Psalms and Spiritual Songs, making melody in their hearts to the Lord.” I know that when I do this it impacts me. I know that when my spirit urges me to sing and I refuse it is because I want to hang on to a foul mood.

Music is so much more powerful than we realize. In a conversation with my Son, Bezel the other day we talked about how music influences everyone in our family. My older Son, Maxim and I were also recently discussing his favorite band and as I have delved into their music to know him better I can see why the content flows with who he is. We are a restless lot and I know that music always impacts me.

I just changed up the memory card in my car, replacing the music I have been listening to with a mixture of some new faith centered music and my first salvo of Christmas hymns and songs. I will never say that all music must be faith based to be good. Nor will I give my ear to most “Christian” music. I will say, however, that when I am troubled, angry, or subdued in my pursuit of Christ, that Christ centered music can be the factor that tips the balance in favor of following.

Augustine proposed, “Because God has made us for Himself, our hearts are restless until they rest in Him.” When I sing to God words that are truth I find rest even from my deepest pains. I think of all those who have journeyed through the years with a song on lips and in their hearts and long to learn from their example. Sometimes the song has a minor key and sometimes it is even a dirge.

No matter the tune or the context, when I sing to God the path is easier and the stones in way are smaller. God is constant and when allow truth to make music in my heart and on my lips I inch closer to him with my burdens lightened.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."