A Word of Grace – May 14, 2012

Monday Grace

Dear Friends:

This message will go out on Mother’s Day weekend. Whether you are a mother or daughter, father or son, cast-off and orphaned or held close in family in friendships, I hope that this message that I first sent out seven years ago will bless your day and week with the tender mercy of the Lord who loves you.

. . .
I visited a client’s office late on a hot Wednesday afternoon. I announced myself to the administrative assistant, Mignon Mosely, and sat down on a chair opposite her desk. Mignon is a lovely woman, always immaculately dressed, gracious and helpful without fail. She is shrewd in dealing with the demanding clientele of her employers to whom she is invaluable and their number one public relations asset which I hope they realize. She loves Christ and has shown me a thing or two over the years about following him.

The counter in front of her desk frequently has a brightly colored can collecting donations for the causes like children’s health or breast cancer research that are her passion. I took a look at that and then glanced at the photographs and decorations around her desk. There was a round piece of white paper with blue circular printing around the rim. accented with musical notes. It said, “I Sing Because I’m Happy.”

The song rolled up out of my heart.

Why should I feel discouraged,

Why should the shadows come,

Why should my heart be lonely,

And long for heaven and home,

When Jesus is my portion?

My constant friend is He:

His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know He watches me;

His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know He watches me.

#

I sing because I’m happy,

I sing because I’m free,

For His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know He watches me.

–Civilla Martin

“I sing because I’m happy,” I said out loud quoting the lyric of the chorus. “I sing because I’m free, for His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.”

Mignon said the last line of the chorus with me and added,”That was my mother’s favorite song.” Read more »

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C.S. Lewis in the News – May 11, 2012

Here are this week’s appearances of C.S. Lewis and his works across the web:

A Narnian bear (one of the Bulgy Bears?) on display at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia

Museums

The World of Narnia exhibit comes to Sydney, Australia

Theatre

The Screwtape Letters comes to the Paramount Theatre in Chicago

A review of the aforesaid play by CBN

A review of Freud’s Last Session, also playing in Chicago

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to play on the grounds of the Kensington Gardens, London.  Poirot Actor David Suchet will be playing/voicing Aslan. What fun it would be to see it at such a great venue in London!

 

Books

Seattlepi.com newspaper posts a book review about Diana Pavlac Glyer’s wonderful book The Company They Keep: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien as Writers in Community

A blog review of C.S. Lewis Goes to Heaven by David Clark, a book about C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce. Review by our friend William O’Flaherty on his C.S. Lewis Minute site.

 

Blogs

Our close friend, staff member, and sometimes photographer, Lancia E. Smith, just concluded her series of interviews with our dear friend and conference speaker Malcolm Guite. Don’t miss this fascinating interview about poetry, faith, music, teaching, C.S. Lewis, the Inklings, Malcolm’s life, and other tidbits of goodness, truth, and beauty.

Blogger John Hawkins posts what he considers the 25 top C.S. Lewis quotes. Do you agree with his list?

 

Events

Our very own The C.S. Lewis Retreat at Camp Allen opens for registration.  The Retreat will take place at Camp Allen Retreat Center in Navasota, Texas, from November 9-11. There will be three tracks (readers, writers, and kids), an early arrival option for Friday morning/afternoon with various sessions and workshops for writers and nonwriters, dance and music performances, worship, fellowship, hosted group on event themes, outdoor activities, Bag End Cafe, and much more! Save up to $65 per person by registering by July 15th.

Visit our website for more information and updates. Featured speakers and performing artists include:

More updates are coming soon (some just as soon as I finish this blog post!).

 

 

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We’re Looking for a Few Good Interns

Intern Mary Carol Barks, former Intern Chris Howell, and "Intern Prime" Steve Elmore at the 2011 C.S. Lewis Summer Institute

We are currently accepting applications for 2 communications/publications internships at our home office (Redlands, CA). Internship periods range anywhere from eight weeks to a year.

Communications interns will be immersed in the daily operations required to communicate our mission and work to our supporters, alumni, news organizations, and the general public. Intern assignments may include copywriting, desktop publishing, graphic design, Internet research, website development, social media, blogging, proofreading/editing, publication production, public relations tasks, audio/ video/ photograph production, development/fundraising communications, and archiving.

Intern candidates must be current college students or very recent graduates. For the current openings, interns must live within commuting distance to the C.S. Lewis Foundation and have reliable transportation to/from our Redlands office. For more information, please visit http://www.cslewis.org/about/internship/index.html

If you know someone who would be interested, please forward this message!

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A Word of Grace – May 7, 2012

Monday Grace

Dear Friends:

When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher pay the temple tax?” He said, “Yes, he does.” And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, “What do you think, Simon? From who do the kings of the earth take toll or tribute? When Peter said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the children are free. However, so that we do not give offence to them, go to the sea and cast a hook, take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me.” (Matt. 17:24-27)

It’s a bad idea to go out without Jesus. I should have known better before coming downtown today.

I am a commercial fisherman who wants to be a disciple. Part of being a disciple is to make one’s teacher look good, right?

But I never saw this coming. I understand catching fish with nets. I know from experience that nets meant to entangle fish can become entangled in weeds and rocks.

That’s how I am feeling after the tax collectors ask me, “Does your teacher pay the temple tax?” out there in the market place with everyone listening.

“Yes, he does” I tell them without a moment’s thought.

Their knowing smirks tell me that I’m in big trouble. I hate this. They don’t know Jesus like I do. I am with the man day and night. I have never seen him pay the tax, but neither have they! No, wait…that doesn’t sound so good.

Let me think. I am an intimate associate of the hottest preacher and I want him to succeed. I mean what kind of legitimacy will he have to the church and the community if he doesn’t play by the rules. After all, I’ve heard him say myself, “I have come not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it.” Read more »

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Live and Study at C.S. Lewis’s Home, “The Kilns”

If you’re planning to conduct research or take a study leave or sabbatical in the Oxford area, the Study Centre at The Kilns offers a unique opportunity to live, study and fellowship within an intentional Christian scholarly community.

During the academic year, The Kilns offers both short and long term residence opportunities to qualified visiting faculty, clergy, independent scholars, artists and advanced graduate students for varying lengths of residence, ranging from one week to ten months.

Click here to find out more information about the Scholars In Residence Program

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