Journaling with C.S. Lewis
week one| week two |
week three | week
four
week five | week
six | week
seven| week eight
Clear,
direct, literal, objective.
When the stresses
of life leave us feeling unsure and unbalanced, we
can find ourselves wishing
that things fit more precisely into the
above four categories. Yet such a life
would be flat and devoid of
color or texture. After a time, our souls would feel
empty and as rigid
as hard wood. Thankfully, that is not the life God has given
us.
Instead, God has graced us with a life that is richly patterned, and deeper
than our minds can fully comprehend. We are able to take one thing that
seems
clear, direct, literal, and objective, and suddenly find in it
images and
insights that help us see it and ourselves in a completely
new way.
The journaling
questions below are designed to help you explore
those more hidden depths, by
taking images from the writings of C.S.
Lewis and discovering in them deeper
truth—truth about ourselves,
the world, and God. As you write, you will find
yourself responding
first to the more objective truth; return to the question as
often as
you can during the week and continue writing until you have dropped
into another layer of understanding—one you had not seen before. When
you have
explored the question deeply, take an image from your writing
with you to be
your companion throughout the day.
week one
Something of
God…flows into us from the blue of the sky, the
taste of honey, the delicious
embrace of water whether cold or hot, and
even from sleep itself.
—“Scraps,” St. James'
Magazine
journaling
question:
- Where does God unexpectedly
flow into me and how do I know
it’s God?
week two
And then she
understood the devilish cunning of the enemies' plan. By mixing a little truth with it they had made their lie far stronger.
—The Last
Battle
journaling
question:
- Where do lies and truth meet in my life?
week three
Sleeping on a
dragon's hoard with greedy, dragonish thoughts in his heart, he had become a
dragon himself.
—The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
journaling
question:
week four
Then instantly the
pale brightness of the mist and the fiery brightness of the Lion rolled
themselves together into a swirling glory and gathered themselves up and
disappeared.
—The Horse and His Boy
journaling
question:
How can I claim the glory in my life before it disappears?
(return to
top)
week five
Pure,
spiritual, intellectual love shot from their faces like barbed lightning. It was
so unlike the love we experience that its expression could easily be mistaken
for ferocity.
—Perelandra
journaling
question:
Where does the love from heaven seem so intense in my life that it feels
fierce?
week six
"You would not
have called to me unless I had been calling to you," said the Lion.
—The Silver Chair
journaling
question:
(return to
top)
week seven
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.
—Till We Have Faces
journaling
question:
week
eight
In the midst of
a world of light and love, of song and feast and dance, [Lucifer] could find
nothing to think of more interesting than his own prestige.
—A Preface to Paradise Lost
journaling
question:
- When does my self-importance hide me from truth?
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