Journey to Narnia with Aslan the Lion

Aslan is the beloved talking lion featured in the Chronicles of Narnia books by C.S. Lewis. He is vividly described in the novels. He’s been depicted in cartoon form in the animated version of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. He has beenportrayed by actors in lion costumes in stage and film adaptations. In the upcoming feature film adaptation of LWW, Liam Neeson provides the voice for the movie’s CGI version of Aslan. 

In The Magician’s Nephew, the great Lion Aslan sings the world of Narnia into existence with the “deepest, wildest voice ever heard.” In The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie travel to Narnia. Aslan makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the life of the traitorous Edmund. The storyline of The Horse and his Boy takes place at the same time of LWW. In that book, Aslan is called “the great Lion, the son of the Emperor-beyond-the Sea, the High King above all kings in Narnia.” When the Pevensies Return to Narnia in Prince Caspian, Lucy must decide whether or not to follow Aslan when her siblings are unable to see him. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Aslan appears as a lamb briefly before returning to his leonine form. In The Silver Chair, a drop of Aslan’s blood gives new life to King Caspian. In The Last Battle, Aslan and his friends live happily ever after as the real story begins. 

Aslan may remind readers of another character in another Story. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Aslan tells Edmund and Lucy they won’t return to Narnia, but they will meet him in their world, in which Aslan goes by another name. “You must learn to know me by that name,” Aslan tells the children. “This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.” 

What is Aslan’s other name? When asked by a reader, C.S. Lewis replied: “As to Aslan’s other name, well, I want you to guess. Has there ever been anyone in this world who •Arrived at the same time as Father Christmas? •Said he was the Son of the Great Emperor? •Gave himself up for someone else’s fault to be jeered at and killed by wicked people? •Came to life again? •Is sometimes spoken of as a lamb? 

What do you think Aslan’s other name is? If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe see the movie with Spirit Group, H2H, LYO or with your family during the holidays. And invite a friend to accompany you as you "Journey to Narnia."

Journey to Narnia with Jadis the White Witch

With Halloween approaching at the end of October, it seemed appropriate to write about some of the scary characters in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia books. 

Jadis, the White Witch, is featured in The Magician’s Nephew and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. In The Magician’s Nephew, Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer become unwilling “guinea pigs” in a test of Andrew Ketterly’s magic rings. Digory and Polly find themselves in a Wood Between Worlds, where pools of water lead to different worlds. One of the pools leads to the city of Charn, where Digory awakens the evil Jadis from her slumber. The children then return to Earth, inadvertenly bringing Jadis along, where she begins her plans to take over England, and then the world. The children manage to get Jadis back to the Wood Between Worlds, and then they all travel to the world that will become Narnia, as the great Lion Aslan sings the world into existence. 

In chapter 13, Jadis tempts Digory to take a forbidden fruit that promises to cure his ailing mother. The scene will remind readers of the temptation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3. Ultimately Digory does not take the fruit. 

Many years pass on Earth and in Narnia. In the opening chapters of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, the four Pevensie children live with Digory, who is now an old professor living in the English countryside. Jadis is now the White Witch and self-proclaimed “Queen” of Narnia, a land where it is “always winter, but never Christmas.” Edmund Pevensie encounters the White Witch, who tempts him with Turkish Delight. Unlike Digory, Edmund makes choices that go from bad to worse, and ultimately betrays his brother and sisters. 

At age 31, The White Witch in the animated version of the story still gives me the creeps. And she hangs out with a creepy crowd, including “ogres with monstrous teeth, and wolves, and bull-headed men; spirits of evil trees and poisonous plants... Cruels and Hags… Wraiths, Horrors, Efreets, Sprites, Orknies, Wooses, and Ettins. I don’t know what some of them are, but they all sound scary. 

All the Narnian characters—good and bad—are “just pretend,” but they remind us of the good and bad in each of us.

Journey to Narnia with the Magician's Nephew

Alice’s tumble down the rabbit hole led her to Wonderland. Later she entered Looking-Glass Land through the mirror above the mantle. With the help of happy thoughts and pixie dust, Wendy flew toward the second star to the right, then straight on ‘til morning until she reached Neverland. Dorothy and her house were lifted by a cyclone and taken to Oz. Lucy found passage to the land of Narnia through an old wardrobe in a spare room in an large, mysterious house. 

 But before Lucy’s first trip to Narnia, Polly Plummer and Digory Kirke travelled there with the help of magic rings. Their story is told in The Magician’s Nephew, one of seven Chronicles of Narnia novels written by C.S. Lewis. A major motion picture adaptation of one of the Chronicles—The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe—will open in theaters on Dec. 9. In the coming months, we’ll offer additional information about the movie, about the Chronicles, and about C.S. Lewis. 

The Magician’s Nephew is the prequel to The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (LWW). Though written and published after LWW, Lewis suggested reading The Magician’s Nephew before the other Chronicles. 

Aided by magic rings created by Digory’s greedy Uncle Andrew Ketterly, Digory and Polly find themselves in a Wood Between Worlds, where pools of water lead to different worlds. One of the pools leads to the city of Charn, where Digory awakens the evil Jadis (known in LWW as the White Witch) from her slumber. The children then return to Earth, inadvertently bringing Jadis along, where she begins her plans to take over England, and then the world. The children manage to get Jadis back to the Wood Between Worlds, and then they all travel to world that will become Narnia. 

Each of the Chronicles has parallels with stories from the Bible or allusions to the life of a Christian. In The Magician’s Nephew we witness the creation of Narnia, as the great Lion Aslan sings the world into existence. Compare chapters 8 & 9 of The Magician’s Nephew with Genesis 1:1-2:4. Also, the temptation of Digory in chapter 13will remind readers of the temptation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3. 

We invite you to travel to Narnia this fall, as anticipation of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe movie grows. Next month, watch for information about “Inklings” and our Chronicles of Narnia reading program. You don’t need pixie dust, an old wardrobe, or severe weather to transport you to another world. Magical adventures await when you open the books of Narnia!

Kenosis

Kenosis 

If any encouragement in Christ, 

If any consolation from love, 

Be of the same mind, 

Having the same kind As Christ Jesus above. 

Meeting the needs of your brothers, 

Look to the interests of others. 

Share the Spirit, 

make joy complete. 

Do nothing from selfish conceit. 

Though Christ was equal with God, he 

Wore a corruptible body. 

Humbling himself, 

obedient to death, 

Until he breathed his last breath. 

Now he's exalted, 

lifted above, 

Giving glory to God, 

the Father of love. 

Every knee will bow at the name of the Word. 

Every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.

The Amazing gRace

Week of April 3, 2005--

Seven of our middle and high schoolers (and two youth from St. Luke Lutheran in Cold Spring, Ky.) participated in an “Amazing Race”-themed spring break trip April 3-8. Like the reality television show, we didn’t know where our “Amazing Grace” trip would take us.

Our trip began with a twist: rather than leaving for our destination the first day, we spent Sunday night at church. Sunday evening included a relaxed dinner together, exciting competitions, searching for five treasure boxes hidden within the church, working on a “Youth Create” art project, singing, doing Bible study, and playing Cranium.

We awoke Monday morning to a delicious breakfast, then packed the vehicles and departed for the Good Samaritan Center. Pastor Anne (from St. Luke) led the nursing home’s Monday morning worship service, and the rest of the group sang several songs. From the Good Samaritan Center, we went on a short walking tour of Jeffersontown, which ended at our cemetery. We ate lunch together in the “old church” and gave ourselves a tour, looking at the beautiful old stained-glass windows. After a “mandatory photo opporunity,” we began our trek “from one ‘Ville to another.” Some were convinced we were going to Ohio; others thought we were headed to a camp in Indiana. After dinner, we reached our final destination—Lutheridge Camp and Conference Center, near Asheville, North Carolina.

Our time in Asheville included service projects, initiative games and the Group Interaction Course at camp, a scenic drive along the windy Blue Ridge Parkway, and a hike up Sam’s Knob. We also looked for letterboxes in Asheville. Letterboxes are hidden throughout the United States. They contain a rubber stamp. Letterboxers use the stamps to stamp their personal logbooks each time they find a new letterbox.On Thursday we headed toward home. To shorten the return trip, we spent the night at Faith Lutheran in Lexington. On Friday, we returned to Louisville for more letterboxing, ate lunch, then said our good-byes.
It was an amazing week with a great group of kids!

Construction Zone 2005

Weekend of March 4, 2005--Construction Zone
The "Cincinnati" Construction Zone was held March 4-6, in Erlanger, Ky., due to a scheduling snafu. The event is a retreat for high school students, sponsored by Youth Encounter. The most memorable part of the weekend was assembling food packets for Feed My Starving Children. The "Pathways" or workshops on Saturday were also worthwhile--so much so that I forgoed (forwent?) my traditional Saturday afternoon nap. As you can see from the photo above, the group I took was mostly girls.

Disneyland 2005

Disneyland 2005
Age: 30-something (Scott, 27)
Admission: 2-day Park Hopper, $106
Dates: Feb. 2, 3, & 6, 2005
Special Celebration: Happiest Homecoming on Earth--50 Years(beginning May 5)

Disneyland Park Attractions:
Main Street USA--
The Walt Disney Story, featuring "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln"
Penny Arcade

Adventureland--
Indiana Jones Adventure
Jungle Cruise
Tarzan's Treehouse

New Orleans Square--
Haunted Mansion (twice)
Pirates of the Caribbean (twice)

Frontierland--
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Scott twice)
Mark Twain Riverboat
Columbia sailing ship

Mickey's Toontown--
Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin

Fantasyland--
"it's a small world"
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
Alice in Wonderland
Matterhorn Bobsleds
Pinocchio's Daring Journey (Tom, twice)
Storybook Land Canal Boats
Snow White's Scary Adventures
King Arthur Carrousel (Tom)

Tomorrowland--
Astro Orbiter
Autopia (Chevron)
Innoventions
Star Tours
Disneyland Monorail

Closed--
Space Mountain
Splash Mountain
Disneyland Railroad
Enchanted Tiki Room & Tiki Juice Bar
The Disney Gallery
Mad Tea Party

Coming Soon--
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

Restaurants & Snacks--
Lunch (chili in a bread bowl) at Main St. Refreshment Corner
Supper (mozzarella strips) at Stage Door Cafe
Frozen drink

Other--
The Golden Horseshoe Stage show

Disney's California Adventure Attractions:
Golden State--
Soarin' Over California (Tom, three times)

Paradise Pier--
California Screamin' (Scott, twice)
Sun Wheel
King Triton's Carousel (Tom)

Hollywood Pictures Backlot--
Jim Henson's Muppet Vision 3D
Disney Animation

Bug World--
It's Tough to Be A Bug

Other--
Golden Dreams
Mulholland Madness (multiple times)
Mission Tortilla Factory (Mission Foods)

Other--
Disney's Electrical Parade

Restaurants & Snacks--
Supper at Pacific Wharf Cafe (Tom)
Bur-r-r Bank Ice Cream (Nestle)

Closed--
Grizzly River Run

Downtown Disney (Tom only):
Restaurants & Snacks--
Lunch at Rainforest Cave
Ice Cream at Haagen-Dazs Shops