Books!!

Books have always been dear to me. Sometimes more dear that they probably should be because they distract me from my homework, from social outings, from reality...

But the thing is, books are like old familiar friends. They never change, but you always find something new when you open them again! Every time I pull one of them from my shelf I anticipate the adventures within and know that when I am finished reading it, I will be slightly sad that said adventure has ended.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is one of my favorite books of all time! I love the sarcasm of Scout and the wisdom of Atticus and the big brotherliness of Jem. Familiar characters and a story of a child's innocence among troubled times, what a great read!

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is another one I like very much. A story of vanity, self-pleasure, denial, and bad decisions. A very dark novel that will draw you in so fast that you'll not want to stop reading!

But of all the books I have read in my lifetime, none are more precious to me (besides the Bible of course!) than The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.

I was a late reader of these books. I think I was 11 or 12 when I first read them. I had heard of them all my life but I had never had taken the time to sit down and read them. I rented the battered and torn copies from my library and read them all within a few days. I was hooked. I had never read a story that made me feel so...happy but sad at the same time. How much I wished this story was true! (Come on, admit it...you've looked in the back of your own closet/wardrobe/cupboards.)

As I got older, I read them every year and was always surprised at some little thing I didn't remember reading before! It was like experiencing the story over again for the first time ever single time!

Well this year, after two years of not reading them (college got in the way!), I read them again over Christmas Break. Again, I found things I didn't remember. But as I read them this time, I focused not just on the story, but on the characters' connections with Aslan. I found when you read them in this state of mind, they mean SO much more!

So I just wanted to share some of my favorite things about these amazing books and some things about each character and their interactions with Aslan. It amazes me how much they connect to me in almost every instance and how I can use my favorite story to make wise decisions in my life.

I will be making a blog post for each book in the series and the things I find inspirational about each character and story.

THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE

These are some quotes in particular that I like from this book:

"Yes, of course you'll get back to Narnia again someday. Once a King in Narnia, always a King in Narnia. But don't try to get there at all. It'll happen when you're not looking for it."

"Wrong will be right, when Aslan come in sight,

At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,

When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,

And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again."

"Aslan a man!" said Mr. Beaver sternly. "Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion-the Lion, the great Lion."

"Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But h

e's good..."

"For when they tried to look at Aslan's face they just caught a glimpse of the great, royal, solemn, overwhelming eyes; and then they found they couldn't look at him and went all trembly."

"But Edmund had got past thinking about himself after all he'd been through and after the talk he'd had that morning. He just went on looking at Aslan. It didn't seem to matter what the Witch said."

Ok so, the characters are some of the most lovable and memorable characters in literature and for good reason! There is hardly a character in this story that we can't compare to!

Lucy: the picture of innocence and trust. She knows what she knows and she would never pretend otherwise. When I read about Lucy, I think of how much I would love to be like her in character. She never doubts Aslan once in this story. She sees who He is and never takes her eyes off of Him during all of their trials. She also is never silent about Narnia and Aslan as we as Christian are far too often when it comes to sharing Christ to our world.

Peter: Peter kind of reminds me of a college student. Yep. He has all kinds of responsibility on his shoulders what with being the oldest and promising to take care of his family. He loves his family but his extra responsibility makes him hesitant and worrisome. I often feel like Peter, like I have to be the one to take care of things and not let God handle them. But when Peter meets Aslan, he is changed from being overprotective and worried, to being confident in his purpose and loving toward his siblings.

Susan: Susan is the one who stops and thinks about everything. Her problem is, however, she thinks far too much about things sometimes. She hesitates to trust anything going on in Narnia and complains a lot about how things could turn out. Many, many times I find myself fretting about things as Susan does. We all have our times when we doubt that God is working in our lives. But as we see throughout all of these books, Aslan never abandons Susan, it is she who abandons Him.

Edmund: Who in this world CAN'T compare to Edmund? The picture of our sinful nature in the first part of the book, we can all see bits of ourselves and our selfishness, hatred, bad attitudes, and disobedience. However, once he meets Aslan he is changed rapidly and permanently into one of the best characters of the entire series. If we, like Edmund, would willingly let God transform us from the inside out we would all be much better off.

Mr. Tumnus: Mr. Tumnus is, of course, a snitch. One who feels like he is between a rock and a hard place. He works for the White Witch because he feels he has no other choice. Until he meets Lucy and sees that there is another way. I see Tumnus as a lost person in our world. Seeking a life free of his bonds if only someone would come along and show him the truth.

Mr. and Mrs. Beaver: The Beavers always remind me of a cute old couple who have lived their whole lives serving Aslan! They always make me wonder what my legacy will be like when I get older. Even if I have not felt or seen God working, will I still be faithful?

Yep, there you have it. I don't know why I wrote this but I just really felt like doing it. I know you may already have heard or thought about these things, but it's just something I appreciate. God uses written words to get a hold of me quite often and when I read Narnia this time, it really sunk it. Ok...I'm done!

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