Re-Blog: This is the Title Page

This is a post my co-admin wrote for Aslan's Meditations on our website. (Aslan's Country) I absolutely love the way he put everything - it's short, but it's powerful.

Like a lot of you, I’ve been insanely busy this past school year... AP courses, chemistry, the list goes on... and that doesn’t even include the whole month-and-a-half of my life I (almost) entirely dedicated to promoting Voyage of the Dawn Treader and traveling to London for the premiere. Nor does that include the long laundry list of church and family events. No wonder it’s already May.

I love to think about eternity... how one day very soon those who choose to follow Christ will all live in eternity with God in Heaven. And when I think about eternity, it makes life on earth seem so trivial and relatively unimportant. I ask myself, “Why am I living for today? Why am I doing (or not doing) things because of the effect they will have right now? Shouldn’t I be living for something more?”

Yes.

You see, the mentality I think many of us have is that we live a good life on earth; then one day we die and eternity begins. But this is so far from the truth! Eternity starts now.

Think of it this way. Why would you live one day homeless if you had a Father who had a beautiful mansion and wanted you to live in it? In the same way, why would you live your earthly life pursuing worldly things when you have such a larger life to live?

I love how C.S. Lewis puts it in The Last Battle (scan from my first edition copy):

You see, our life on earth is only the title page of the great story of eternity. When you pick up a book, don’t you expect its title page to reflect the contents of its chapters? You wouldn’t expect a book about candy and delicious foods to have a title page that says “Poison,” would you? Just so, shouldn’t the title pages of our eternal lives reflect the greater purpose we live for?

This is a concept I love to think about, yet rarely carry through in my life. Just this morning, I was at a high school in town (I’m homeschooled) with eleven other students, anxiously awaiting the beginning of the AP U.S. History Exam. Believe me, that’s no easy exam. So there we were in the lobby, waiting for the doors to the exam room to open. The students were gathered around one of the teachers, who was attempting to go over a quick review of U.S. history with them. He began it like this.: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Suffice it to say that this was a very liberal school, and most people there were not interested in God, at least not in glorifying Him. Several times the students interjected “and Jesus” into a very warped retelling of U.S. history. I glanced away, shocked at their blindness. “How can you not see that you’re making fun of the Jesus who died to save you?!” I wanted to ask.

I’m not sure why I didn’t.

In truth, these students and teacher were exactly like the dwarfs in The Last Battle. They didn’t believe in Aslan, and they didn’t believe in Tash. “The dwarfs are for the dwarfs,” I could only imagine them saying next. There I was, in my Narnian armor, and yet I didn’t have the courage to speak up. “Oh,” I told myself, “that would only make me more nervous before the exam.” Perhaps it would have. But what’s an exam score in light of eternity? There were the students who were destined for hell, and here I was, worried about the details of the Vietnam War.

This is the title page.

Will the title page of my life be like this morning? Will I continue to live as a Christian who doesn’t speak up for my God, who did so much more than speak up for me when he died for me? Will I continue to create a title page that says “poison,” or will the title page of my life truly reflect the contents of my “Great Story”?

We should become more like Reepicheep---longing for Aslan’s Country, longing to see our Master’s face, living every second of our lives for one purpose alone: to make our title pages match the story of eternity.

What does your title page look like?

Images: Scans from my first edition of The Last Battle (except for the image of Reepicheep)

Guess what today is?

April 8th!!! haha, bet you never would have figured that out by looking at the calendar or anything.

Actually, nowadays they look at cell phones and ipads. Huh.

Anyways. Today is April 8th. Well, actually, today is March 30th, but blogger has this spiffy and grand thing called "scheduled posts" and this is now set not to publish until April 8th. So in reality it really is April 8th.

This is weird. It's like I'm predicting the future or something.

Anyhow. Two very special things are happening today, and I shall award you brownie points if you can tell me the first one. The second one is not your duty to know, but you should know it anyway. (that was a contradiction, I think. oops. )

First off: DAWN TREADER COMES OUT ON DVD TODAY!!!

Oy, ain't it purty? I can't wait to get one. ;sladksdagh;adsf It's going to be so much fun and now we can have NARNIA MARATHONS. Anyone want to have one with me? I've always wanted to do that.

So, you should all go out to the shops and purchase your VERY OWN copy of this amazing movie. How cool is that? You can now legally own the movie in your home and watch it as many times as you please without having to trek down to the theatre multiple times. (not like any of you besides me would do that) (but you should still go buy it.)


Alright, next, a Very Awesome Movie is coming out today: Soul Surfer.

To say the least, I was rather ecstatic when I heard they were making this into a movie. It's about the life of Bethany Hamilton, who got her arm bit off by a shark while surfing, and today she's like a world-known surfer. I was hesitant about it at first, but as more clips have come out, it looks like they're sticking to Christian values and actually sharing Christian themes prominently in the movie. AFFIRMfilms is also in the production - they worked on Facing the Giants, Fireproof, The Grace Card, etc. All those awesome Christian films.

I'm excited about this film for a number of reasons:
1) AnnaSophia Robb is in it. I like her. :P
2) It's based off a true story
3) They promote Christian values
4) It's another good movie out there

Alright, so perhaps I'm being a little redundant. However, (for any of you who care to know) Carrie Underwood, who did the end credits song for Dawn Treader ("There's a Place for Us") stars in this movie as well. So you see Narnia really is connected to this in a roundabout sort of way. (I actually heard about this movie because Carrie Underwood appeared in our Narnia news feed during VDT's theatrical run. True Story.)

Trailer:



There's another movie coming out April 8th called "Hanna", which caught my attention for obvious reasons. It stars Saoirse Ronan, whom I'm a fan of only because she was in "The City of Ember." However, it...uh, looks really weird, and I'm not terribly sure about the values/themes presented, and it looks kind of dark. So, if any of you happen to see it, tell me what you think of it. You can't ever tell much from the trailers.

EDIT: so upon further investigation of the trailers and websites, it's apparently about a 16-year-old girl who is trained as an assassin all her life by her father, and then sent out into the world with one mission. (probably to assassinate someone.) It's apparently how she discovers that there's more to life than what she's been brought up to know, but that's sort of ambiguous. (it could be redeeming, making it a decent movie, but I doubt it.) Given what I know about it now, I doubt it's a very good movie.

Alright, that's all.

Oh! In case you were wondering, this post is scheduled because - guess what? I'm at a speech tournament. (no. way. I'm never at speech tournaments.)

Love, Hannah

IT'S TRUE!!!!

Rarely does something like this hit my blog moments after it hits the Narnia fan-base. But here it is.

Magician's Nephew is officially going to be the next movie.

That's right. Only a couple hours ago, The Christian Post published an article confirming that Walden Media was planning to make this movie next in the series. You can read our post at Aslan's Country HERE.

My first reaction: YES! WE GET ANOTHER NARNIA MOVIE!
My second reaction: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

I really really really really want to see Silver Chair made. I think it has fabulous potential if they market it correctly. It has a plot, contrasting characters, an evil guy too! It even has lessons, Aslan appears, and the opportunity to build characters is amazing.

While they're going to be able to market this as a prequel, they're going to have to be REALLY careful...with a lot of stuff. The Magician's Nephew has a magic to it that the other books don't - and while I could abide more plot changes in Silver Chair because of it's nature, I will not abide much for this one. They'd better get it right.

Hear that, Walden? You be careful this time. Aslan's Country is watching you.

What are your thoughts?

A much needed Narnia update.

That's a warning for all you people who think I'm crazy and obsessed, you can stop reading now. (::heehee::)

So Dawn Treader recently "won" on Box Office Mojo for "biggest box office failure" (or some other such depressing title) which....yeah. I kind of have to agree. It was a box office failure - especially in the US.

The US domestic gross is currently $104,159,819 and the foreign gross is at $296,500,000 which puts the total at$400,659,819.

We were all ridiculously pleased when they finally hit $400m - woooo!!! Based purely off of opening weekend (which was a major fail: $24,005,069) it wouldn't have been near enough to continue to the next film. However, now that they have reached $400m, which exceeded their production budget by a lot ($155m) things are looking much better.

Compared to the previous movie, Prince Caspian, this isn't actually too bad. Prince Caspian started out with an opening weekend of $55,034,805. It grossed $141,621,490 domestically, $278,044,078 in other countries, and $419,665,568 worldwide.






Prince Caspian, however, was a box offices failure in contrast to what the production was expecting, based on the numbers from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe:

Opening weekend: $65,556,312
Domestic: $291,710,957
Foreign: $453,300,315
Worldwide: $745,011,272

My reasoning: Obviously LWW was a smash hit and there's nothing to worry about with that. Prince Caspian was marketed excellently (you can thank Disney for that) but had a poor theatrical run - because the production got cocky after LWW and decided to release it with Indiana Jones and Iron Man. (how dumb is that?) It had a fairly okay opening weekend, but didn't progress that far because it wasn't that good.

In contrast, their production budget was $255m. Yeah.

So then the production got scared that they'd keep losing money so they backed out and 20th Century Fox took over.

And they don't know how to market properly. VDT was probably the worst marketing failure I have ever seen in a movie - resulting in a poor opening weekend. BUT - people told other people about it - that it was a good movie - and they managed to pull off a worldwide gross that wasn't too far from Prince Caspian - and exceed Prince Caspian's foreign gross by $20m.

This poster is probably one of the most poorly designed posters in history. With the exception of Eustace, the faces of all the characters (partiularly Lucy, Edmund, and Caspian) are ridiculously washed out and none of them are in character at all. the "N" on the sail of Dawn Treader is backwards because they flipped the picture around (and how they thought they could get away with that, I don't know.) Aslan also looks like he's about to murder everyone with his laser glare. (this is a foreign poster, btw, but all of them looked the same, domestic and foreign included)

SO, that was a lot of gibberish about the box office numbers. What's next?

Originally the production of Dawn Treader said they would let fans decide whether they wanted The Magician's Nephew or The Silver Chair next - and the votes came in with an overwhelming favor for The Silver Chair. This is obviously the next logical step in the series.


However, last month, the producer of the three Narnia films thus far, Perry Moore, died on February 17th, age 39. For those of you who don't know who he is: while he was the producer, he was also the one who started the entire Narnia film franchise to begin with. He had the vision and he got the ball rolling.


After his death, a lot of fans were worried as to what the future of the films would be - until two days later, February 19th, when we learned that the night before he died, Perry Moore had secured funding for the production of - The Magician's Nephew.

So what does this mean for the series? It's looking a lot like The Magician's Nephew will be next.

While I'm ecstatic to see another Narnia film and I can't wait to see what they do with this one - I'm sorely disappointed that the Silver Chair won't be next.


I have been SO anticipating this movie for a long time, and it's always been one of my favorites in the series. And Will Poulter, who plays Eustace, is going to be too old to be in SC if they make MN first.

From a strictly marketing standpoint, MN would be a lot easier to do. Think - how easy would it be to market a "Prequel to Narnia?" But "Sequel to VDT?" - with only one reoccurring character? (that's Eustace) They already had a hard enough time tying VDT in with PC - in fact they were trying to tie it in more with LWW by bringing back the witch (who had hardly no screen time at all) and playing up a lot of themes that didn't actually come into the movie.

Alright, so if you've made it through all that I think you really deserve a prize. I tried to make it more bearable by putting lots of nice pictures in.

In other news, VDT comes out on DVD APRIL 8TH!!!! (check the cool widget on the sidebar!) That's right. If you haven't seen it, you need to. The DVD cover (for once) is uh-mazing and it's PURPLE, and it's got tons of awesome bonus features on it. While the cropping/photoshopping wasn't that good, at least they improved the placement/coloring. It's only flaw is the lack of Caspian on the cover - and the witch in his place. >.<

As for what comes next in the Narnia films...who knows? It's nothing like Harry Potter, Twilight, or Indiana Jones, where the production is secured, and the characters are always the same. But that, I believe, is what makes it unique. Lewis made each book a stand-alone book, yet they all tie beautifully into each other. There's a reason their called the chronicles of Narnia. But the key to making these films a success is not the marketing, but the adaptation - taking the core, important themes found in the books and translating them on the screen.

Translation

Sorry for the lack of blog updates that span more than 3 inches of page. (or perhaps you like short blog updates, reader?) Life is sort of up and down and crazy.

Someone translated my Aslan's Meditations Devotional into Brazilian Portuguese, right HERE. Isn't that just really neat? I stuck it all into google translate, and while it sounded sort of like someone who didn't know english very well, it was the same idea, and I thought that was SO. COOL.

Oh, languages fascinate me!

Aslan's Meditations: Add all that?!

I wrote this week's devotional for Aslan's Meditations - we're starting a series in 2 Peter 1:5-8. You can view the whole thing HERE.

I always liked filling out surveys...

Yup! Now it's your turn!

If you read this blog, you probably know about the Narnia fansite I run called AslansCountry.com. We started in June 2009, and have since grown to be an awesome, thriving Narnia community! This year we were able to meet the cast members, interview the cast members, cover the Royal World Premiere of the movie, and so much more.

Okay, enough for the scripted blurb about AC. We really, really would appreciate feedback on what you think of the site. Honestly. Tell us what you like, what you dislike, and how we can make things better. What would you like to see us add this year? Now is your chance to say so! :)

You can find the survey HERE.

Thanks guys! =D

Aslan's Meditations: Room for the King

I wrote the devotional for this week on Aslan's Country - enjoy! (: The actual post is here.

All three times that I’ve seen Dawn Treader so far, there is one line that particularly stuck out to me – not in an odd, awkward way – but that it was done very, very well, and it got me thinking.

When they are being taken captive by the slave traders on Narrowhaven, two men have Caspian’s hands behind his back, and he desperately yells to them:

“Listen, you insolent fool! I – am – your – KING!”

But they paid no heed: instead they bound him and locked him in a dungeon.

The slave traders didn’t know Caspian was their king. They didn’t know that he had come to set things right on their island and to bring peace. They didn’t know he was the one they should be following.

As the Christmas season approaches, it got me thinking – that’s what the Romans did to Jesus when He was born. Obviously He couldn’t cry out Himself, but the skies shook with the glory and celebration of the birth of our King and Savior.

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
“ Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:13-14)

It says ‘Look, world – a KING has been born. Your King, your Savior, the Messiah’

But as Christ grew and taught, that’s also what the scribes, Pharisees, priests, and mobs did to Him. Scorned Him, beat Him, refused to believe.

How obvious would it have been to the slave traders if they had taken a second look at Caspian? They might find a signet ring, Peter’s sword – maybe treasure, wealth, and fame. They could look at the way he dressed, talked, acted, and carried himself. All these things that would show them in a heartbeat that Caspian was, indeed, a great king.

It doesn’t take more than this second look to see this about Christ. Had the Romans really sought to find out just who this Man was – they might have found something completely different than the mobs and crowds seemed to cry.

Would the slave traders have seen Caspian differently if they were torn, broken, and living in poverty? The people of Narrowhaven did. In the battle on Narrowhaven, there are a few shots of the people – and you see in their eyes a kind of wide and awestruck wonder and excitement. I can just imagine them thinking “who are these people who have come to save us? And why?”

It is for those who humble themselves to look at who Christ really is that He saves.

Jesus says in Luke 5:32 - I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.

So often, we treat God as though He’s just there to help us when we’re in trouble. Just there to be a powerful, magical force who cleans up after us and takes away our pain. Our culture has grown up with the idea that God is a being who needs our worship. Who needs our praise.

What a lie.

God doesn’t need us at all. We, like the people of Narrowhaven, are broken, tormented, and living in the poverty of the choices we have made and the sin that surrounds us.

Yet God wants to have a relationship with us.

Have you ever stopped to meditate on the beauty of that?

Because God is not just a being out there who comes when we need Him, fixes things up, and then leaves so we can revel in the glory of our own accomplishments. He’s not just a god who needs our worship to make Him happy – or a force that must be pleased with certain rituals in order to keep Him quiet and out of the way. He’s not a vending machine who gives us what we wants if we put the right amount in and push the right buttons.

In fact, He’s anything but that.

He is – GOD.

He is not only the one who comforts us in our pain, works out our problems, and requires our worship. He is so much more than that.

He is our Creator, Master, Father, Savior, King, and everything we ever needed. He is so much greater, bigger, and mightier than anything we could imagine. He is glorious beyond comprehension.

Psalm 19:1-3

The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
² Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
³ There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.

Psalm 144:3

³ LORD, what is man, that You take knowledge of him?
Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?

This God, this Lord, this Creator of all and majestic and high beyond all others – this is the One who humbled Himself to obedience – to the point of death as a human. (Phil. 2:5-8)

I can imagine Jesus thinking…or maybe even wanting to yell out to the world: “I AM YOUR CREATOR! YOUR SUSTAINER! THE ONE WHO DIED FOR YOU!”

Not only did Bethlehem have no room for their King when He was born, but the world didn’t either.

Like the slave traders though, the Romans disregarded whatever evidence there may have been for Kingship and beat, tortured, mocked, and killed Jesus – the very man who had come to save them.

And what about our world today?

Especially during the hubbub of the Christmas season – it’s so easy to forget about Christ – who He really is and what that means to us.

Christmas may not have been when Christ was really born – but how often do we get caught up even in the idea of “giving” or “helping” others – and lose sight of the real reason we live and breathe and do anything?

1 Corinthians 10:31 says therefore whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Every breath I take, every move I make, should not only recognize Christ as my King and Savior, but proclaim it to anyone I encounter.

Puddleglum, in The Silver Chair, he emphatically states

"I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia."

Do we live as though we have Christ in our lives, that we acknowledge Him as King? Or do we trample Him, lock Him up under the excuse of “business”, “work”, “holidays”, “this is important”, or whatever other ideas we come up with?

When we hear Christ say “I – am – your – KING!” what does that mean to us? Do we respond by continuing about our normal lives as if Christ was never a part? Or does it move us to worship and bow before Him because He IS our King?

1 Timothy 1:17 - Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Images from AslansCountry facebook page and google images.

Has it really been 3?

First time seeing Dawn Treader (pre-screening with the brother)

And second time (midnight showing (!!!) with awesome people)

And third time (just this afternoon and with large amounts of awesome people)

And still as wonderful and magical as ever.

Would you look at that beautiful countdown on the left sidebar? It says NOW PLAYING!! wahoo! Go see it. :)

That'll Show 'em

OH MY WORD!

THREE DAYS UNTIL DAWN TREADER!!!

Excited, people? It's going to be so amazing!!!

Guess what else?

Michael Apted (director), Mark Johnson (producer), and other important people at Walden making this movie are going to make a decision about making the "Silver Chair" into a movie based on opening weekend.

That's right. We determine whether the movies continue.

Dawn Treader *almost* wasn't greenlit, and it took a LONG time for them to start on it because of how terribly Prince Caspian did in the box office. Dawn Treader is GOOD - and I (again) definitely recommend seeing it. On opening weekend. Even if you don't go with me. Or you don't live in Washington state.

Go see it. Opening Weekend. December 10-12.

Let's go show those producers that we care about this film.

Dawn Treader: My Review

Spoiler Free: (or sort of, anyway)

I’ve been, as I’ve said to many, “cautiously optimistic” about this film for a very long time. Hoping for a great movie, but not putting too much of my faith into it.

I was amazed. The effects were phenomenal, the storyline was great, characters were excellently portrayed, the music was awesome. The jokes and humor weren’t slapstick, but were actually funny. The action scenes were amazingly well done, and the depth of the emotion in the more serious scenes brought me to tears numerous times.

To those of you who worry about the witch: don’t. Although it seems at times that she appears, she never is actually real or alive. The “green mist” is simply an evil force that tempts them: added to provide a contrasting idea in which they must fight against.

Spoiler: (highlight to read)

They took the idea of temptations in the book and used that as the sort of “antagonist” in the story to provide clash, opportunity for growth, and a climax. While I found it slightly overplayed at times, it did not ruin the overall themes of the story, nor did it affect the characters themselves.

There are still things I don’t like, things that shocked me when I first saw them, but hey – every movie will have them, and it’s not a perfect movie. But it definitely rises above the episode before it – it captures the characters well and the overall themes in the story are well preserved.

The beginning and the end are especially enrapturing. I’ll say no more on that. ;)

Read the full post here.

Also, if you live in the Seattle area or you are going to be in Seattle when it releases, and you haven't already received the facebook invite, you are invited to come see Dawn Treader with me on December 10th!! I'm trying to get tons of people so we can get a really good group rate. If you want more info, you can comment or email me and I'll get you details. (:

I definitely recommend seeing this movie. I think Narnia fans will be pleased and enjoy it. I laughed out loud, sat on the edge of my seat, and cried…Definitely worth watching.

I should not be this easily entertained.

But you know I am anyway.

Remember this post and this post? I am here to present you with another PURPLE FOOD!!

It's a Chinese purple yam pastry. And it's soooooooo good. (:

In other news, Dawn Treader was AMAZING. And it is also SNOWING outside. That's right. Snow, in Seattle, in November, sticking on the ground. In fact, as I speak, there are extremely large flakes coming down at a very fast pace. ::grin:: I went dancing about the house today and then for a romp in the snow with my dog. No co-op! And I leave for my grandma's house tomorrow.

Life is good! [=

What we've been waiting for

DAWN TREADER COMES OUT IN 23 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!

But guess what??? I am going to see it in TWO days!!!

Hear that echo? TWO!

I honestly can't believe it myself. This entire movie has been nothing but anticipation for years. And all of a sudden I'm going to go see it. It's sort of surreal.

So you're probably wondering why I'm seeing it 20 days before the release - basically I was invited to a special pre-screening. I am basically excited BEYOND WORDS. It's going to be amazing.

In the mean time, Carrie Underwood's new song (which will appear in the credits of the movie) was released today.

I was pretty skeptical about it at first, but so long as it's only in the credits, I think I'll be fine. Dawn Treader is, in a lot of ways, extremely different from the first two movies - and I think variation in the credits music is okay too.



In other news, there is also a Narnia exhibit in malls across the US called the "Ice Palace", and last weekend they had the Grand Opening Ceremony at the Ice Palace in LA - and one of our mods got to go to it AND, get this, MEET Georgie Henley (Lucy), Will Poulter (Eustace), and Michael Apted (director). Anyway. That was pretty exciting, even though I wasn't there. :P We've got exclusive reports and videos on Aslan's Country.

And, stay tuned, I'll soon have a review of the movie for you. :)

AHH! Life is so exciting. DAWN TREADER! yeahhh.

In which I again direct readers to a website

::rubs hands together::

Yes, it's Aslan's Country.

Well, sort of.

See, we'd like to know how we can improve. So go to this little linky: http://www.clueapp.com/19687 and let us know what stands out on the site. What do you remember the most?

ps - new poll!! =D

Surprise for the Day

They've come out with a NEW Dawn Treader trailer!!

Okay, okay. I know you're probably dead sick of the endless posts about Aslan's Country, Narnia, Dawn Treader...bear with me. Only 63 days longer...then I'll calm down. (after I post a nice little review)

[WARNING: major spoilers!]



I love that we get to see more of Eustace - both as himself and as a dragon. There's a lot more of Dark Island, which worries me some because Edmund seems as if he's just about to give into whatever it is the White Witch is tempting him to do. In Prince Caspian, Edmund was the strongest against the White Witch's power - I'd hate to see him be so weak in this one.

The whole "searching-for-the-swords-to-save-Narnia" is pretty cheesy. Not ever Narnia book is about "the fate of Narnia rests on YOU!" sort of theme, but it seems like they've incorporated that into this movie. But if that's the only major change and they don't do any character changes, I think I'll be okay with it.

I'm loving Lilliandil. And Ramandu's Island - so far it's looking amazing.And the Magician's Island. We haven't seen very much of Narrowhaven except for fighting scenes.

Excitement grows!!

Aslan's Meditations: Before the Morning

Recently on Aslan's Country, we've started a weekly devotional posted every Monday morning to kickstart the week. This week I had the privilege of writing the devotional, so I thought I'd post it here. You can read the actual devotional here, and previous devotionals here. Enjoy!

Last week, AslansLily wrote about witnessing to those lost in the dark, like Lord Rhoop, lost in the darkness of his own desires. But so often, we ourselves run into the darkness - a different kind of darkness. We lose our way, we stumble, we forget about Christ. Whether it be the issues with friends, family, problems at work or school, our faith, at church - we all know the pain and desperation of darkness.

It's often hard to see the "end of the tunnel" in the midst of the things we run into in life. As my friend Problematic said, "sometimes the only light [you] can see at the end of the tunnel is the oncoming train."

But it is during these times, I have found, when all you see is darkness around you, that God is nearest to you.

Fear is a powerful thing. We've all experienced it - it seizes us with its all-encompassing grip and paralyzes even the best of our senses. This is the fear of the Dawn Treader crew as they circle round and round in Dark Island.

"We shall never get out, never get out," moaned the rowers. "he's steering us wrong. We're going round and round in circles. We shall never get out."

Depression, sadness, anxiety all work the same way. They take hold of us, each individually, from our own viewpoint and experiences.

And soon everyone was hearing things. Each one heard something different.

It's dangerous to allow these feelings to take hold of us -they begin to control our lives and it changes how we interact and see other people, and unless we give our fears to Christ, they can cause us to fall away from Him.

Philippians 4:6 encourages us to be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

Think about how amazing it would be if we could always be anxious for nothing! But Philippians says we can. And how? By prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving.

"Lucy leant her head on the edge of the fighting-top and whispered, "Aslan, Aslan, if ever you loved us at all, send us help now." The darkness did not grow any less, but she began to feel a little - a very, very little - better. "After all, nothing has really happened to us yet," she thought.

Philippians 4:6 continues into verse 7 to say that the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Prayer is an amazing thing that not only can accomplish many things but also, as Lucy experiences, changes our outlook on the situation as we give our situation to Him in faith.

Lewis notes that the darkness did not grow any less, but Lucy not only felt peace, but was also able to realize the positive side to their situation. Sometimes He calms the storm - other times, He calms His child.

Often times, however, we are afraid to allow God to work in our lives in this way. We're afraid of pain, of losing people we love. But in James 1, we are exhorted to count it all joy when we encounter these trials. To embrace a trial, something painful and dark, is the last thing we would imagine to do - but yet it is the attitude Lucy has as they enter Dark Island.

[Caspian:] "I suppose we shall have to go on. Unless Lucy would rather not?"
Lucy felt that she would very much rather not, but what she said out loud was, "I'm game."

One of the most beautiful things God has taught me is what He will do when we are willing to "sail into the dark." So often I have given in to the emotions of the present moment, forgetting about God, forgetting that He has orchestrated this for the reason of drawing me nearer to Himself!

When we truly find joy in the midst of pain - the joy that can only come from Christ, we realize that nothing else matters but that Christ is magnified in us - whether in the light or in the dark.

Habukkuk 3 says though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls - yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

I find it interesting that in the NKJV, "joy" is used as a verb. "I will joy in the God of my salvation."

It's what I like to call "joyful serenity made perfect with pain and sweetened with God's grace, blessings, and love."

It's the joy you find in the midst of the pain.
The peace you find to accept what you have lost.
The grace God gives you to give up what you know you cannot keep.
The blessings He lavishes upon you to show you His everlasting, eternal, all-encompassing love.

It's not bittersweet, because it's not both at once. It's not just plain happiness, because there is pain in there.

And then, what a glorious morning it is, when light begins to pierce the darkness! When suddenly - you can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

There was a tiny speck of light ahead, and while they watched a broad beam of light fell from it upon the ship. It did not alter the surrounding darkness, but the whole ship was lit up as if by a searchlight.

Note that the storm had not yet ended. It did not alter the surrounding darkness - but now they had a light to show them the way.

But no one except Lucy knew that as it circled the mast it had whispered to her, "Courage, dear heart," and the voice, she felt sure, was Aslan's.

And then, following the sweet voice of the albatross, before they knew it - they had broken out of the darkness and into the light.

And just as there are moments when simply to lie in bed and see the daylight pouring through your window...and to realise that it was only a dream: it wasn't real, is so heavenly that it was very nearly worth having the nightmare in order to have the joy of waking.

Read that again.

In order to have the joy of waking.

It's the darkness that makes the light beautiful. It's the pain that makes the healing wonderful.

The deep, meaningful joy is one that you cannot experience fully unless endured the pain beforehand.

Weeping may endure for a night - but joy comes in the morning. (Ps. 30:5)

And when the morning comes, we come through a different person. Renewed, strengthened, and in awe of God's grace and power.

...they had half expected to find that the darkness would cling to the white and the green and the gold in the form of some grime or scum...[but] the brightness of the ship herself astonished them...

We come through more like Christ, bearing more fruit for His glory. And this, dear friends, is our goal, is it not? To continually be more like Christ - no matter what it takes. He is our strength, our life, our everything - and the continual source of all joy.

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4, NASB)

That's Obsession Dedication

Alright, most of you know about Aslan's Country, the site I co-administrate.

Most of you also know how much I love Narnia.
Annnnd you probably also know how this site has kept me up till 3am more times than one.

But when all has been said and done, I'm most proud to announce that after weeks/hours/months/insane-amounts-of-time that we have re-designed the site and have launched it! The new site is much better looking, much more intuitive, and has lots of new features. There are still a few missing pages, but it's SO much better than it used to be!

I'm SO excited for this site and everything we've put into it, so I'd love it if you clicked the link down there and visit the site!

Plus, of course, we are your best source for Narnia movie news and resources!

You can visit it at http://www.aslanscountry.com
Vote on the poll and tell us what you think!
Our facebook page is here: http://www.facebook.com/aslanscountry
Our twitter page: http://www.twitter.com/aslanscountry
YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/aslanscountrytv

Further up and Further in,
Hannah

Charlottesville [part I - we're bored, tired, and need something to do]

}:D{

=]

8*{

@:-(

[];{[]fghjmgjehghjhegfghjfhjd;dhfgjdskal;fsgkj!!!!!!

PS Matthew wants you to know that Charlottesville isn't boring.
and he's right. it's not. the end.

PPS Matthew is my friend in Virginia.

The hurt before the healing

If you can't tell, I've been discovering a lot of great, great music lately. Really, really good songs. It's a good thing I got itunes money for Christmas. :)

Instead of posting the video, I want to post the lyrics to this song - it's called "before the morning" by Josh Wilson. The most important parts are pretty obvious. =]

Do you wonder why you have to
Feel things that hurt you?
If there's a God who loves you,
Where is He now?
Or maybe there are things you can't see
And all those things are happening
To bring a better ending
Someday, somehow, you'll see.
You'll see.

Would you dare, would you dare to believe
That you still have a reason to sing
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling
It can't compare to the joy that's coming
So hold on, you gotta wait for the light
Press on, and just fight the good fight
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling
Is just the dark before the morning

Once you feel the weight of glory
All your pain will fade into memory

Come on, you gotta wait for the light
Press on, and just fight the good fight
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling
Is just the hurt before the healing
Oh, the pain that you've been feeling
Is just the dark before the morning

Yesterday, on the forum I administrate (Aslan's Country), we held our first Bible study with our moderators. We studied "Being a Christian in a world of sin", which, as I've realized, encapsulated my whole awana Mainstudy in one sentence. The whole thing is Paul exhorting the Corinthians to be different in a world of sin around them.

I could start reciting all I know about Corinth, Paul, and the book of 1st Corinthians from my quiz study, but I'll spare you the details :P

Back to our study today - it was on Romans 8:18-25. I wasn't going to post the whole thing, but it's so good...so please don't be daunted by it's length. Read it. :)

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

Or maybe there are things you can't see
And all those things are happening
To bring a better ending
Someday, somehow, you'll see.

Hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what we sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

Isn't that just amazing? I love that word - hope. I was thinking last night that I should name my girls (assuming I have any) Faith, Hope, and Charity. But anyway.

We also talked at the young ladies' Bible study I was at on Thursday night about living in light of eternity, from Philippians 1. (amazing how God ties everything in your life together all at once, isn't it?)

God has so, so, so much in store for us! ...the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God!

Any pain we are in right now, pain of the world around us, anything God has thrown at us is to bring glory to Himself, to draw us closer to Him. And just think how glorious it will be in Heaven, when the morning comes. We can't see it now and there's no way that we can. But if we press on, persevere, keep hoping, there will be joy in the morning. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning! (Psalm 30:5)

And, because I just love all these verse that are coming to mind,

Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, will doubtless (there's that hope again!!) come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. (Psalm 126:5-6)

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the scripture and the song. :) Kudos to you for reading the long post!

Keep hoping,
Dark comes before morning,
Hurt comes before healing.

Aslan's Country Survey!

Most of you know about Aslan's Country, the Narnia forum I co-adminstrate. My fellow admin has written up a lovely survey for the New Year - and if you complete the survey, join the forum, and send him a Private Message, YOU could be eligible to win a FREE Aslan's Country t-shirt! :P

I'd love to hear your responses to the survey, but please don't take it if you haven't browsed the site first... ;) (so please, browse the site!)

Aslan's Country
Survey