Friday Morning is different today

Don't you just love this cutie picture of my family, it is only 20 years old or so. i am so proud of my family, and love to remember those times, which were tough when we were living them, but were so nice to remember.

Friday morning is different today than most Friday's that i have had. It came quicker, since i rolled into the house at 3:00 a.m. from one of the latest and best nights i have spent in a while. my exhilaration had many sources. i was able to spend three hours in NARNIA! i drove the church van and picked up kevin, bobby barnd who is in his 60’s. Bobby made me the second oldest person in the room. we also picked up gabe, who is a delight to be with and to see him grow. Peggy completed our group. She was married to ron for the better part of two decades before he died two years ago. He was a quadriplegic when she married him, but she served him and loved him to the last day of his life. we met lloyd, susan, and rachel there too.

in all we had 8 who worship together regularly, and this night our treat was to be transported to a special world. i have read all seven of the books out loud, in the car while driving, and in a dorm room while sick as a student in college. i have read about the books in words by the author, have seen news reports warning us to avoid “christianizing” the books, and knew of the tension between lewis and j.r.r. tolkien his old drinking and writing buddy. They disagreed about the depth of religious content to use, with tolkien opting for less and lewis choosing to make his writings more overtly symbolic in his use of religious imagery. Both have stood the test of time, and have enriched the world for a full generation by their writing, even after their time here was ended.

anyway, i was dragged hook, line, and sinker into this fantasy. it was perfectly timed to move quickly, to make me cry when i was supposed to, which is a wonderful-freeing experience for an old battle worn warrior. Lord, please use this film to speak to folks like me who need to have a “punch-up” in the area of our emotions. I left the theatre feeling like it couldn’t have been better for me, or more true to the book. Lord, thanks for your many acts of love and patience to your children.


i was struck by the similarities to my siblings, mostly surface of course. i was king peter, naturally. Mary is Susan, nuf said. myla is lucy and marty is edmond. here is where it gets twisted, because in our youth, i was the “fall away” kid, not marty. mary was always the mother hen for the three of us, who were her “little chicks.” My family didn’t follow the story line, but lewis sure captured the dynamics of a family of 4. i was nostalgic, and wished for a closer walk with my siblings.Christ, will you intervene for me with my family. i love them, and am the person i am today because of the family we were, living with mom and dad, and sharing the good and bad of my youth. That part of my family seems broken, and i would love to see it healed.

i am including this picture of my siblings, i am the cute one on the right! you will discover later in this blog why i am including it.