The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

I love to read.

I've been reading like a maniac since I was three years old and my mama taught me how. I own about 700 books (my own, not my family's) and I have read at least a couple thousand - and I am not counting Dr. Suess!! :) Why am I telling you this? Because I am about to do the first of seven book reviews on my all-time favorite series. And I want you to know that when I say that Chronicles of Narnia is my favorite series of all time, I am not saying it lightly.

I first encountered Narnia when I was really young - about six or seven. I was still living on Ranchito Ave (I'm not even sure if that is how you spell it!) at the time. Since then, I have read them no less than twice a year. People who don't believe in reading a book more than once will shudder when I say this, but its true and I am not ashamed.

I stronly believe that every person should read these books, especially younger kids, as they were written for children. My job in the next seven weeks is to convince you of this. (You can tell I am my father's daughter because I am starting a seven week series :) So here it goes:

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Narnia was written as an analogy, to teach biblical stories, truths, and theologies to children. Lewis wrote the first book for his goddaugter, Lucy, and named the main character in the first book after her.
Summary: A young girl named Lucy accidentally stumbles into another world while playing hide and go seek with her brothers and sister. She learns that an evil witch is making it so that it is always winter. When she goes back to her own country, she tells her siblings about her adventure, but they do not believe her and when she tries to show them, they cannot get into the country. Later, they are all able to get in and they discover that there is a prophecy that four humans from Earth - two boys and two girls - would come and rescue them from the evil witch. Of course, the witch sets out to destroy them. One of the brothers defects to the witch's side and betrays his siblings. Then Aslan, the great Lion King, comes and joins the other three and sacrifices himself to rescue Edmund (the brother who defected). He then comes back to life and defeats the witch's army and establishes the children as kings and queens of Narnia. They live there for many years until one day, while hunting, they accidentally stumble back into their own world and discover that no time has passed on Earth.
This book and The Last Battle I think are the heaviest as far as analogies go. I will try to keep this post short although I will warn you, I could talk about this book for hours. Some of the best analogies are:
1. Aslan, who is a portrayal of Jesus Christ, willingly sacrifices his life to save the others. He goes very meekly and humbly to die, although we do get to see that He is troubled beforehand by what he knows he will experience. There is a beautiful scene after he comes back to life.
2. Aslan speaks of the Great King over all the worlds. He says that he is in submission to his father, the King.
3. Lucy gets into Narnia first, all by herself. She gets in through a wardrobe she was hiding in during a game of hide and seek. Later, after she comes back, she brings the others into the wardrobe to see it for themselves, but there is only a normal back to it. Lucy is very confused and upset by this. Later, her brother Edmund revisits the wardrobe and finds himself in Narnia. After this, Peter and Susan are also able to get through. I think this is a great picture of how God chooses who He will save and what time He will save them. He chose to let Lucy see before any of the others and even though she preached the truth to them over and over, often in tears, it wasn't until later that He saw fit to open their eyes.
4. There is a great chapter you can use to discuss the value of a good reputation with your children. When Edmund goes to Narnia the first time, he visits alone, but Lucy goes in after him and she sees him there right as they are leaving. She is so excited because he can back up her story now, but he is upset that she was right all along and lies and says that they were just pretending. This obviously upsets Lucy even more and she is extremely difficult for her older brother and sister. She insists she is telling the truth and starts keeping to herself and crying a lot. Peter and Susan, worried about her, visit the Professor they are staying with and ask if he thinks that she might be mad. He says of course not and then asks a few questions about Lucy and Edmund's character. They both agree that up until now they would have always thought that Lucy was telling the truth and Edmund was lying but, in this case, she couldn't be telling the truth. The professor then gives them a very nice lecture on logic and tells them that accusing a person who has always been found truthful of telling a falsehood is a very serious matter and should not be undertaken without a very strong reason.

There is so much more I could go on about, but this post is getting long and it is getting late so I will end it. Join me next Monday for Prince Caspian (and don't be deceived if you saw the movie - the book is excellent!)

Exploring Wisdom

Do you think you’re wise and understanding? Does God think you’re wise and understanding? I was reading in James recently and here’s what I found. James 3:13 says “Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.” Take note of the wording here… “gentleness of wisdom”. The passage goes on to say in verses 14-16 : “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.” Notice that godly wisdom does not co-exist with an arrogant and selfishly ambitious heart.

Then the passage continues in James 3:17 where it says: “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.” So if I thought I was wise, then I need to take a deeper look into what God says wisdom looks like. It’s easy to look at the “text book” definition of wisdom (skillfully living according to God’s word) and figure that we’re wise (or at least ‘pretty wise’). We reason “I’m a believer. I try to obey God. I read my bible. I train up my kids in the way they should go. I’m involved at church. I’m pretty wise!” But look at how James speaks of wisdom. Ouch… maybe I need to fine-tune my way of assessing whether I’m wise in God’s eyes.

Am I arrogant (or prideful)? - Do I seek to exalt God and His holiness and His purposes or do I seek my own glory?

Am I selfishly ambitious? - Do I seek my own good or my own plans and agenda before others? Do I submit (without complaint and much arguing/discussion) to my leaders?

Am I pure? - Would purity be a good way to describe my speech, thought life, deeds, the things I watch, listen to, partake of, or dream about?

Am I peaceable? - Do I seek/pursue peace or do I stir up strife? How often do I have to “iron things out” with people because of a disagreement? Do I find myself involved in disagreements and/or debates with my fellow believers often?

Am I gentle? - Do I run over other people’s feelings or do I handle other’s with care, showing (and feeling) grace and compassion for them. Do I forget that other people have real struggles and concerns, fears and heartaches? Do I speak sweetly but inside feel cold to those whom I interact with?

Am I reasonable? - Can people reason with me? Do I submit my thoughts/feelings to God’s standards of what is good, right, true and acceptable or do I always have to justify my deeds? Do I pursue order in my thoughts, my deeds and in my life/surroundings?

Am I full of mercy and good fruits? - Do I act out compassion and grace as God has shown to me? God calls us to “visit orphans and widows”, to “extend our hands to the poor”. Do I feel compassion for the lost or the person who offends my senses? Does humility and humble service characterize my thoughts and actions?

Am I unwavering? - Am I steadfast, consistent- holding firmly to the rock of God’s truth? Do I know God’s word enough to not be blown “here and there by every wind of doctrine”? * Note this is in harmony with gentleness, mercy and peace seeking. It does not contradict the others. We must hold firm to God’s word, truth and authority over our lives while still being gentle, peaceable and merciful.

Am I without hypocrisy? - Do I practice what I preach? Do I tell others to read scripture or submit or not be lazy or trust in God and then not do it myself? (And make excuses for it or lessen my own sin?)

Those cause me to think a little harder about whether I am so wise as I thought. Since the temptation arises to defend or justify myself rather than admit failure and repent before the Lord; I will close with another verse from James.

James 1:22-25 “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of a person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.”

On Their Way to Cameroon, Africa

6000 miles away, 7000 ft above sea level, two flights of at least 8 hrs each, lots of different smells, strange looks, and lots of people surrounding them is just the beginning of the journey a few men of our church embarked on today. A culture shock is an understatement; combine that with lack of sleep, tiredness, and a rush of emotions at every turn, this trip is expected to capture all their senses. The planning for this trip hasn’t been short of obstacles either; it has been challenging and nerve racking at times. But we serve a great God and in his time it all worked out.

Do remember them in your prayers; though it is a relatively short trip it is especially hard to be away from families. There are some real dangers to consider as well, but again, we trust that the cost and sacrifices made by these men and their families are worth it for the name of Christ. Also pray for our pastor Rick as he stayed behind to tend our local flock, and that my friends is no easy task considering he has two other jobs…Then again, what do I know?

I look forward to hearing from them and share their adventures with you. But for now, I thought it might be fun to share a few pictures of last trip to Cameroon, a different crew of men were priviledged to go. The story went like this: They laughed until they almost peed their pants; their chemistry was obvious and contagious to others, they faced lots of obstacles trying to accomplished what they went there to do, but at the end of the day I think their biggest contribution was to lift the spirits of those serving there, especially the Yong family. Enjoy!

Witty Wednesday

And Change We Will Get...

Ok, so the elections are over and thought you may be disappointed with the outcome there was at least one big win last night. Yeah, Proposition 8 was a winner! It bans gay marriages in California. It is certainly an answer to prayer. But now more than ever we need to pray and pray earnestly for our leaders. The future is uncertain, but we need not to worry for we serve the Chief of Shepherds.

I found a quote today by non other than Spurgeon that says "If we cannot believe God when circumstances seem to be against us, we do not believe Him at all." Isn't that the truth? When we get all we want, we do not need to exercise our faith and the trust we say we have in God. Well, now is our chance to get busy trusting and believing that God is the Maker of history.

Have a blessed day!!

Thoughts on Friendship

Over at Boundless, Suzanne Hadley writes about the 5 friends every woman should have.

1. The Intercessor

2. The Celebrator

3. The Encourager

4. The Teacher

5. The Questioner

A while back ago I came across this article and I would encourage anyone interested on becoming a better friend to read it. If you are interested on my initial reaction to this article, you can read it here.

Lately I have been pondering what makes a bad friend. You know, the kind of friend every woman wants to avoid!

I have been thinking about it because I want to avoid being such a person. I do not want to be the kind of person saying, " I really don't know why they avoid me all the time." or "I don't understand why we don't get together much anymore." or, " We used to be close and now they seem constantly annoyed by me." I guess this would seem somewhat selfish, but I think being a good friend and enjoying good God-given relationships, gives glory to God. It certainly provides opportunities to encourage one another to persevere until the day of the Lord. Whereas, if you are a bad friend, you will have a hard time maintaining any sort of meaningful, helpful relationships.

So, here are few types of friends I think we all avoid and should avoid being.

1. The Arrogant. This is the person who thinks very highly of his/her self. This person frequently compares themself to you and usually comes out on top. They spend much time showing off their wisdom, knowledge and superior preferences. Their thoughts and ways of doing things are always superior to yours. They make you feel like everything is a competition and that you are competing way out of your league. This person's mannerisms and tone of voice drives you crazy.

The rest of these are really outworkings of the arrogant.

2. The Wounder. Yes, Faithful are the wounds of a friend and deceitful are the kisses of an enemy, but COME ON.... it's not the only thing friends do. A friend is also friendly. Do you always feel compelled to correct? Have you ever thought of encouraging more than you correct or criticize? If the wounding must take place, is it out of a motive to express love and build them up in the faith? Do they understand it is for their good? Have you previously been encouraging and a faithful friend in other areas? If you are known for wounding, you will find yourself without friends, plain and simple.

3.The Belittler. This is someone who takes as many opportunities as they can to cut you down. You are a Belittler if the people around you always expect you to mock them and put down their ideas and way of doing things. They make fun of your job, education, family, recreation, hobbies- your general likes and dislikes. The belittler's children are always better than yours and the way they run their family is better as well.

4.The Gossip. This is an obvious one. This is the woman who has the attitude that Clairee (Steel Magnolias) had. " If you don't have anything nice to say, come sit by me". We need to avoid such a friend and avoid being such a "friend".

5.The instigator/meddler. This is the woman who loves to tell you how things should be done in your household. She doesn't mind mocking or criticizing your husband. She enjoys telling you that you and your husband are doing things wrongly.

I need to ask if I see myself in any of these. Do my friends see any of this? Maybe a good way to evaluate, would be to look around and see if I have any real friends. Do people avoid me? Have I been able to successfully maintain close relationships? If not, why not?