"God knows our situation; He will not judge us as if we had no difficulties to overcome. What matters is the sincerity and perseverance of our will to overcome them."

Mere Christianity

"Peter held the door closed but did not shut it; for, of course, he remembered, as every sensible person does, that you should never shut yourself up in a wardrobe."

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Merry Christmas!

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:10,11

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life."

John 3:16

"We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks incognito. And the incognito is not always had to penetrate. The real labour is to remember, to attend. In fact, to come awake. Still more, to remain awake."

Letters to Malcolm

"It was when I was happiest that I longed most...The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing...to find the place where all the beauty came from."

More quotes from C.S. Lewis


"And that is why all religion is about absence. Because once the gods were there. And that is why all poetry and music strike us with this awful longing for what once was ours--because it begins in regions of the brain where once the gods made themselves heard."

S. Faulkes, Human Tissue, 453.

"I know now God why you utter No Answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away."

Till We Have Faces

"The point is that they are one more proof of how deeply, whether we like it or not, we believe in the Law of Nature. If we didn't believe in decent behaviour, why should we be so anxious to make excuses for not having behaved decently?"

More quotes from C.S. Lewis

conscience (noun)

1. the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one's conduct or motives, impelling one toward right action

2. the complex of ethical and moral principles that controls or inhibits the actions or thoughts of an individual

3. an inhibiting sense of what is prudent

"Human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and can`t really get rid of it."

More quotes from C.S. Lewis

"I love the empty, silent, dewy, cobwebby hours."

Letters to an American Lady

What makes leaves change color?

In case you wonder (or forgot what we learned in biology class)...here's the simple explanation for the colors of the autumn leaves.

Happy Halloween!

Word of the Day:

ensorcell \en-SOR-suhl\, transitive verb

To enchant; to bewitch.

Stranger Than Fiction

I do so love this movie. Just got to see it again today (not at all like me on a sunny Saturday afternoon...but I couldn't resist). If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. But please understand, this is not at all like Talladega Nights (thank goodness).

Romans 8:38
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God."

Ephesions 3:17-19
"I pray that you...may have power...to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

"Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person`s ultimate good as far as it can be obtained."

The Four Loves (C.S. Lewis)

More on Fargo...

Tried (in vain, I believe) to help a friend understand the merits of the movie Fargo. Tried to illustrate what I see in Margie and Norm and the points the movie makes about greed and the value of the simple things in life. I think I would just have to watch it with her to get her to see what I see. But that's not likely to happen. Oh well.

My Grandma Tuinstra's favorite verse

Micah 6:8
He has shown you, o man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.

"God is not proud...He will have us even though we have shown that we prefer everything else to Him."

"Now is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It won`t last forever. We must take it or leave it."

More quotes from C.S. Lewis

"It seems, then," said Tirian, "that the stable seen from within and the stable seen from without are two different places."

"Yes," said the Lord Digory, "Its inside is bigger than its outside."

"Yes," said Queen Lucy, "In our world too, a stable once had Something inside it that was bigger than our whole world."

The Last Battle

"The pain itself made Puddleglum's head for a moment perfectly clear and he knew exactly what he really thought. There is nothing like a good shock of pain for dissolving certain kinds of magic.

He said, 'All you've been saying is quite right, I shouldn't wonder. I'm a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won't deny any of what you said. But there's one thing to be said, even so. Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things - trees, grass, sun, moon and stars and Aslan himself. Then all I can say is, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that's a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We're just making up a game, if you're right. But in playing a game we can make a play-world that licks your real world hollow. That's why I'm going to stand by the play-world. 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. So, thanking you kindly, we're leaving your court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for Overland. Not that our lives will be very long, I should think; but that's small loss if the world's as dull a place as you say.'"

Puddleglum to the Green Witch of Underland in The Silver Chair