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Dear Friends:

This is the third message in a series on fretting and worry. I am blessed by the many responses. May the Lord use these words to bring you peace.

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Do not fret because of the wicked;
do not be envious of wrongdoers
For they will soon fade like the grass.
and wither like the green herb.
.
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
so you will live in the land and enjoy security.
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
(Ps 37:1-4)

The instruction to “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself. . .” that was discussed in the first two messages of this series (Ps 37.7). It may be as difficult to obey as anything prescribed in Scripture. The old saying, “The Lord helps those who help themselves” rings in our ears. The guilt-inducing platitude, “You do your part, then the Lord will do his part” presses on our insecurities to goad us into action.

Another cliche fuels our fretting, “You don’t want to be too heavenly minded to be no earthly good.”  It can seem inexcusably lazy, presumptuous and sinful to sit still and wait patiently for God to do something.

Every one of those popular admonishments is a temptation to pride and self-righteousness. These are particularly deceptive temptations because they appeal to our good intentions and best efforts. The “wicked” are bad guys. Someone needs to set them straight and call sin by its right name and is that not our calling? But who is the fretter setting straight? No one. Fretting tears one up on the inside with fear and worry, but it is ineffective to accomplish anything Jesus said (Mt 6:27).

The Psalmist indicates that the interior harm of worry is caused by an interior sin. We may not be an idolater, blasphemer, murderer, adulterer, liar or slanderer, but who of us hasn’t envied someone. Envy is simply a synonym for “covetousness” proscribed by the Tenth Commandment (Ex 20:17). People are doing the wrong thing and getting away with it, maybe even getting wealthy. That irritates us no end, and irritation is one of the symptoms of fretting. It is a form of envy to become irritated at the success of another. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: A Word of Grace, Kent Hansen

Note: the following blog post is a repost from our 2009 Southwest Regional Retreat Writers Workshop blog page. Click here for the main 2009 C.S. Lewis Southwest Regional Retreat page.

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Tolkien calls the name [Inklings] “a pleasantly ingenious pun ,” referring to those who “dabble in ink.” C.S. Lewis

Hi, this is Nan Rinella, and I, along with Laura Sullivan, will be coordinating this event under the direction of Stan Mattson, President of the C.S. Lewis Foundation.

I’m a native Californian transplanted in Amarillo, Texas. It was in 2001 that Lewis and Tolkien captured my interest and I became an enthusiastic student of their lives and works, attending my first foundation event in 2004. It is indeed a pleasure to be on the volunteer team. I’m a writer, speaker, freelance journalist, and have directed Frontiers in Writing, Panhandle Professional Writers annual conference, as well as attending a myriad of conferences.

Laura is a probation clerk in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and administrative marvel. She found C.S. Lewis by accident and was smitten. She has attended events for five years and coordinated the retreat for the last two years. We’ve joined forces and are excited about launching our pilot writers workshop.

In this series of blog posts, we’ll be giving you “inklings” about our program, hopefully answering questions like: “Why should I attend?” “What’s special or different about this workshop?” “What will you offer that’s worth my time and treasure?” “Who are these speakers, and what will I learn from them?”

Our website lists our presenters’ bios and credits. However, on this blog, we’ll introduce you to personal snapshots, interviews, Q&A’s, and reviews of their books. I’ve found that reading at least one book by each speaker in preparation for a conference makes the experience richer, and gives you a head start in connecting with faculty members. Diana Pavlac Gyler’s tome on the “Inklings” was the inspiration for this workshop. Just reading Joy Jordan-Lake’s novel was an education in exceptional writing. Frank Ball writes an “eyewitness” story that makes a believer out of you. Terry Glaspey’s book on Lewis leaves you wanting more.

We challenge you to read Lewis, if you haven’t already. And if you haven’t time to digest Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, read The Hobbit. They’re not just for children, nor are The Chronicles of Narnia.

Why a C.S. Lewis conference? What can two older English professors at Oxford and Cambridge-who wrote a half century ago-teach us today? Just how relevant are the Inklings and their experiences? Oh, will you be surprised, delighted, encouraged-and you’ll be a better writer for it. I promise. Because, you see, I was. I am. You will too.

Whether you are a fiction or nonfiction writer, a published professional, accomplished yet unpublished, or maybe in print but not paid, a novice with aspirations, or a church or community volunteer desiring more expertise -this is the opportunity for you.

The program was designed to satisfy both those desiring advanced teaching, those who’ve just begun to learn the craft, and those just wanting to improve their skills. Then, of course, there are all important private appointments with our editor, agent, media tech expert, and authors.

All this and the retreat, too-devotions, praise and worship, special breakout sessions, Sunday service, song and inspired dance artistry. It’s self-contained, nestled in the piney woods of the Camp Allen Conference Center. Rustic, but comfortable. Telephones, WiFi-but no TV. The meals are yummy with variety for different tastes. Save room for cobbler a la mode. And tea with our Lady Diana.

Make this a vacation with purpose. There are outdoor activities that can occupy a spouse, and are available for attendees who want to take Saturday afternoon off. The children’s program for ages 7-12 is a voyage on the Dawn Treader.

Are you ready to “go further up and further in?

Tags: C.S. Lewis, Camp Allen, Diana Glyer, J.R.R. Tolkien, Joy Jordan-Lake, Laura Sullivan, Nan Rinella, Southwest Regional Retreat, Terry Glaspey

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Dear Friends:

This is the second in a series of messages on worry and fretting.

Be still before the Lord,
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret over those who prosper
in their way,
over those who carry our evil devices.
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Refrain from anger and forsake wrath.
Do not fret–it leads only to evil.
For the wicked shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord
shall inherit the land.
(Ps 37:7-8)

Sooner and later, the fretter is going to run out of strength and time. Our finite resources of the flesh are never enough to satisfy the demands of a hungry heart that was made as an eternal dwelling place for our infinite God. “The wicked shall be cut-off,” David wrote. Time and life will end with the fretter’s anxious thoughts and efforts gone for nought unable to lengthen our reach for eternity by even one inch, according to Jesus (Matt 6:27).

So how does a fretter retire? What does an unemployed fretter do? The Lord does not leave us groping for an answer.

Be still before the Lord,
and wait patiently for him. . .
those who wait for the Lord
shall inherit the land.
(Ps 37:7a-8b)

What we do is wait, the very action that is counter-intuitive to a fretter. The Lord speaks of “inheritance” which tells us that there is a future and a hope and the “land” which tells us that our inheritance will be spacious.  But it is not the gift that we are waiting for. It is the Lord himself.  His presence is everything.

The key to waiting is patience–the deferral of our shallow aspirations for view lots, granite counter tops and state-of-the-art security systems when our Lord wants to give us worlds and galaxies. Patience is a focused, enduring trust that God will prevail for us. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: A Word of Grace, Kent Hansen

Dr. Steven Beebe, a friend, donor, and alumnus of C.S. Lewis Foundation events (Oxbridge 2005 and 2008),  has recently discovered a fragment of a manuscript that appears to be part of a collaboration between C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien called Language and Human Nature. Here is the press release from Texas State University San Marcos:

What if two of the most famous and widely read 20^th Century authors who have each individually sold millions of copies of their books had written a book together?

C. S. Lewis, author of the Narnia Chronicles and Screwtape Letters, and J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, had planned in the 1940s to write a book together about Language. According to a letter written by Tolkien in 1944 to his son Christopher, the collaborative book was to be called Language and Human Nature. A news release from their publisher announced that the book was scheduled for publication in 1950. It was, however, never published. Scholars have thought, until now, that it was never started.

Steven Beebe, Regents’ Professor and Chair of the Texas State Department of Communication Studies, discovered the opening pages of the unpublished manuscript in the Oxford University Bodleian Library and has recently documented that the manuscript was the beginning of the previously believed to be unwritten Lewis and Tolkien book.

Although C. S. Lewis started the book, there is no evidence that Tolkien began work on the project.

“What is exciting” said Beebe, “is that the manuscript includes some of Lewis’s best and most precise statements about the nature of language and meaning.  Both Lewis and Tolkien wrote separately about language, communication, and meaning, but they published nothing collaboratively.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Tags: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Language and Human Nature, Steven Beebe, Texas State University San Marcos