Marie’s Father Speaks: “We do not want anger in our hearts”

Tags

God the Creator, Inspiration, Jesus

Marie’s sister graciously gave permission to use this photo.

Yesterday an interview with Marie’s father, Pastor Antoine Schluchter, was posted online in the periodical La Liberté.   This incredible story was written by journalist Maud Tornare.  Here it is, translated to the best of my ability:

Marie’s Father:  “We do not want anger in our hearts”

It is after a long and heavy wait, full of hope and anguish, that Marie’s parents must now face the incomprehensible:  the death of their daughter, killed by an insane murderer shortly after her 19^th birthday.

“Although we have seen our daughter, we still cannot believe it.  We haven’t yet processed the irrevocable fact of her death,” confided Antoine Schluchter.  At the other end of the line, the voice of Marie’s father is fragile, broken by long silences that speak for themselves of the immense suffering her parents are enduring.

Their daughter Marie had been living since September with a friend of her father’s in Payerne where she was apprenticed in the restaurant of a golf club.  Born in Madagascar, the young woman went home regularly to visit her adoptive parents.

After living in France for many years, the family returned here five years ago.  Before the kidnapping, the couple had never heard of Claude duBois, the man with whom Marie had recently formed a relationship and who coldly murdered her and abandoned her body in the forest.

“We’re haunted by the fear she must have gone through,” said her father.  “But at the same time, my wife and I are borne up by a hope that is stronger than everything else.”

Pastor at Villars-sur-Ollon, Antoine Schluchter affirms that he finds the strength to overcome this trial through his faith in God.  “I often doubt myself, but never the love of Christ.  This tragedy has not weakened our confidence in God, but has strengthened it,” he explains, weighing each of his words carefully.

Marie’s parents want to express thanks for the incredible support they have received from their neighbors and also from complete strangers.  The tragedy has created an international solidarity that extends well beyond Switzerland.

“This support and this caring expressed by many are so important to us.  I learned that the members of a mosque in a Moroccan village prayed all night for our daughter.  This is something incredibly deep.  We have received support from the United States where our other daughter lives, and there have been so many gestures of friendship from people here, too,” the pastor recounted with great emotion.

Not the least sign of rebellion or anger appears in the words of Pastor Schluchter—not even toward the system of justice that allowed the murderer of his daughter, a man with a serious criminal past, to commit once again an irreparable wrong.

“I have only one wish:  that a tragedy like this one we are living through would bring about a realization, better follow-up and handling of cases like this.  What happened to my daughter is something incomprehensible, but we do not want to fill our hearts with anger nor be at the forefront of a battle that we do not care to fight.”

Marie’s sister shared this precious photo of Marie and her nephew.

What can one say after reading such a story?  Just this:

“To God be the glory” and “Dear God, please bless this dear family.”

 

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For Marie: Make Every Hour Count

Tags

God the Creator, Jesus, Love

I’m posting this from my other blog.  It has nothing to do with Narnia, and I thank God that it has nothing to do with my grandchildren, but it is every parent’s worst nightmare.  My heart is so full today that I cannot keep quiet.

http://zephyrhillfarm.blogspot.com/2013/05/for-marie-make-every-hour-count.html

Yesterday we got word that a distant family connection in Switzerland, our son-in-law’s sister-in-law, had been abducted by a convicted rapist-murderer.  He was released last year from a 20-year prison term after only 12 years and was out on house arrest.  Now 19-year old Marie was missing, and authorities feared the worst after he was apprehended and no trace of her could be found.

The news flashed around the world on Facebook, and people all around the world were praying for Marie, her pastor father and mother in Switzerland, and her sister’s family in America.  Marie’s family released a statement saying that they trusted in God and continued to speak of Marie in the present, but that if the worst happened, their hope endures beyond death.

This morning we received the tragic news that Marie’s body had been found.  Her family still does not know all the details, but they know that her fear and suffering are over and that Marie is at peace safe in God’s arms.  They are standing firm in their faith in God and are grateful for the prayers of so many around the world.

We knew Marie’s family when we lived in France, when she was a little girl.  We have not seen her since, but our hearts are full of grief for her and her family, understanding just a glimpse of the nightmare that is theirs.  This tragedy is something that we usually see on TV or read about happening to a total stranger in the newspaper.  But this time it has touched our world and rocked us and made us weep and made us think.

It has made me think about what is truly important in life.  If I knew that someone I loved had only a few hours left on earth before they met a tragic and terrifying end, what might I do differently?  I hope that I would be able to comfort myself that at least my loved one knew I loved them, that I had taken the time to tell them so, that the last time we said goodbye I had looked in their eyes and said “I love you” and hugged them goodbye.

By God’s grace, most of us will never experience anything so horrendous in our lives or the lives of our loved ones.  But I hope that Marie’s legacy will be that people all around the world make sure that everyone they love knows it right now!  Let’s tell them while we can.  Make every hour count for love.

In closing these thoughts I would like to share this beautiful poem that came into my daughter Jenny’s mind as she and Jean-Marc ran side-by-side on a warm sunny day.

Marie –

I wonder if she feels the wind on her face
Like heaven’s embrace
The Father welcoming her into His arms

I wonder if she sees the bright blue sky
Like heaven’s answer to “why”?
As she runs through eternity’s fields and farms

I wonder if she smells the blossoms
Of Paradise awesome
The Garden’s inviting charms

I wonder if she senses the warmth of the sun
Like heaven’s summons to fun
The Spirit keeping her warm

I wonder if she holds His hands
Like a daughter, she stands
As the Son removes from her all harm

I wonder if she tastes the waves and the sea
Of our tears and our glee
As she embraces true life in His arms

Jennifer Grace Lea

Narnia Music

Tags

Dawn Treader, Jesus

Here’s a great post on Narnia Music for you Narnia fans.  It’s from a group called Benjamin Dunn and the Animal Orchestra.  Here is their YouTube video of the song “Eustace” from their new album “Fable,” the lyrics of which are in Pine Needles and Paper Trails’ post shared above.

DIY Decor Project: Let Your Walls Speak with Wall Words from eBuySigns.com

Tags

Aslan, Decor, DIY, Inspiration, Jesus, Narnia, writing

This project ranks right up there with Aslan and the Wardrobe as one of my very favorite design details in Narnia.  And even more clearly than either of them, it speaks to the reason at the heart of our project:  Why Narnia?

I discovered eBuySigns.com while searching online for vinyl wall words.  Reviews on their website say they are lots cheaper than all their competitors.  Their “wall lettering” page claims to provide “Wall lettering made easy” and “Free shipping over $25.”  Believe me, IT’S ALL TRUE!  Once I had designed my wall words in a few easy steps with the design tool, I went to half a dozen other sites and put in the same parameters.  EBuySigns’ price (under $40) was less than every other competitors’ price of $100 -$200.

The design tool lets you choose your own font, the number of lines you want, the height and width of your final product and your font color, as well as highlights and borders to tweak the appearance of your lettering.  You can see your final product on a background color similar to your own wall color.

One tip I would offer is this:  If you have a long quote (as I did), it works better if you copy and paste your quote in line by line.  I tried pasting my entire quote, and it appeared smushed and impossible to read.  When I called the helpline, a friendly tech told me to break the quote into lines, and it instantly appeared the way I wanted it.  Once that was done, I was able to play with arranging the lines in different ways, as well as making the sign higher or wider until I got it exactly right.

I ordered the sign, and a few days later it arrived, safely packaged in a sturdy cardboard tube.

 Jenny and Jean-Marc were already here for Christmas, so I pressed them into service as Official Photographer and Assistant Sign Applicator.  One question I had wondered about was whether the size indicated online would be the size of the sheet or the actual size of the letters.  If you’re working with a limited space, this question becomes very important.  The design tool seemed to indicate that there would be a border of paper around the letters, so I ordered accordingly.  As you can see from the photo above, this was indeed the case.

Applying the sign was just as easy as the tech and the website claimed, and the instruction sheet that came with the sign was simple and easy to follow.  This post will illustrate in detail the steps we went through, beginning with (1)  Position the sign on the wall, making sure it is level.  While Jean-Marc held the sign, I got on a ladder and measured so that Jean-Marc could level the sign as needed.

(2)  Apply a piece of (masking) tape as a hinge across the top of the sign.  (At this stage, we double-checked our measurements.)  Once we were sure the sign was level, Jean-Marc removed the corner pieces of tape.

(3)  Lift the sign, holding it in place by the tape-hinge, and begin to remove the backing paper.  I began loosening the backing paper at the top left corner.

(4)  Steadily pull the backing paper loose while holding the sign away from the wall.

(5)  Completely remove the backing paper, still holding the sign away from the wall.  That’s the easy part done!  The next part was easy, too, but a little scary–made less so by eBuySign’s guaranteed application!

(6)  Lower the sign against the wall and begin to adhere it at the top center.  (The letters themselves are the only adhesive part of the sign.  They are held in place by the cover paper while the adhesive is protected by the backing paper.)

(7)  Using a credit card (maybe the one you paid with!), begin to press the sign firmly against the wall, working outwards and downwards to smooth away any air pockets.

(8)  At this point we added another step:  Using your fingers, apply firm pressure to any areas that appear more opaque (indicating a lack of adhesion to the wall). We found that fingers could exert more concentrated pressure than the edge of a credit card, while being gentle enough not to tear the paper.

You may note the crescent of blue wall that appears at the top of the sign (left of my hand).  I inadvertently left out the right-hand parenthesis and was dismayed to see only the left-hand parenthesis on my sign–despite careful proof-reading.  The solution was as simple as cutting out the offending parenthesis with a scissors before beginning installation of the sign!

Now comes the fun part!

(9)  Begin removing the cover paper from the lettering by pulling away the tape along with the attached cover paper.  Our hints for this step are to GO SLOWLY and to WATCH CAREFULLY where you are pulling.  There were a few spots where the sticky lettering had not been adequately adhered to the wall, and I could see them actually pulling off on the cover paper.  It was very easy to stop pulling and apply extra pressure at those spots to make sure the lettering was stuck to the wall before proceeding.

(10)  Continue removing the paper, working across the top of the sign from left to right.

(11)  Once the top of the sign is free of the cover paper, continue pulling steadily downwards to remove the paper.

(12)  Hold your breath in anticipation as your sign is nearly revealed in all its beauty!  (Just try to skip this step!)

(13)  Turn and face the camera so your Official Photographer can catch the triumphant grins you have applied to your faces at the same time you applied your beautiful eBuySign to the wall!

(14)  Be sure your Official Photographer zooms in for a close-up of your amazing sign …

(15) … and don’t forget to have her zoom out to get the full effect of your quote.

That’s all there is to it!  I promise you, it took me twice as long to write this tutorial as it took to apply my sign, and it will take you longer to read the tutorial than it will take you to follow these steps to your own customized, unbeatably-priced, unique wall words.

Narnia: Ready for a Royal Visit

Tags

Aslan, Aslan's Tent, Cair Paravel Library, Dawn Treader, Decor, Design, Grandkids, Jesus, Kara, Narnia, Spare Oom, The Lodge, Wardrobe

Here’s a glimpse upstairs after I finished getting Narnia ready for the first Royal Visit by the Grandkids.

(A word of explanation is in order about “Narnia.”  We call the whole upstairs “Narnia” because all the different rooms were actually in the real Narnia, and they are part of our whole Narnia theme.  We also call the Grandkids’ Dorm itself “Narnia” because you go through the Wardrobe to get there.  Hopefully the meaning of my use of “Narnia” will be clear from the context.)

Aslan’s Tent is the parents’ bedroom.  As you climb the red-carpeted stairs, Aslan’s Tent is on the right, across the hall from Cair Paravel.  It’s the only room that already existed upstairs.

There’s room for a sitting area in the corner of Aslan’s Tent near the French doors to the balcony.  (The large mirror is only here temporarily.)  I have plans to make Aslan’s Tent more Rococo-Morocco, but all in good time.

Step across the hall into Cair Paravel, soon to become the Library.  The doorway at left leads to The Lodge; the one on the right, to the landing between Cair Paravel and Aslan’s Tent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The other side of Cair Paravel will soon hold bookcases, and the reading area will move over next to the Wardrobe.

The stained glass door that leads into Spare Oom contributes to the castle ambience of Cair Paravel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s peek into The Lodge as we call the bathroom (in honor of the furry friends who led the Pevensies to Aslan).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was delighted to find this Amish-made towel tree in a local furniture shop.  I was also excited to find the Bed, Bath & Beyond shower curtain that ties in the colors of the river rock floor, the Brazilian cherry vanity, and the log walls.  Who knew furnishing a bathroom could be so much fun?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every bathroom in our house has to be set up for reading, so an antique hook and a Victorian-era hanger were pressed into service as a magazine rack.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kara found this reproduction sampler (made in China) at a local antique store, and we laughed so hard I had to buy it.  That’s one of the best $10 I’ve ever spent!  Kara thought hanging it across from the shower would be the perfect touch.  In case you can’t figure out why, here’s what the motto says:  “When this you see remember me, and bare me in your mind.  Let all the world say what they will, speak of me as you find.”  (The answer appears at the end of this post.)

I had fun making this toilet paper holder from:  a lion’s head pull I spray-painted bronze; a key chain ring; a piece of leather rein; a curtain rod hook; and a piece of an old broomstick that Herb cut down for me.  The rein is permanently screwed to the dowel on the right while the curtain rod hook fits through an existing hole in the rein for changing rolls of TP.

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s take a quick peek into Spare Oom as we call my craft room.  It’s a great place to read by a window with a view or to stick an extra guest, as long as they don’t mind a crafty mess!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally–on to Narnia proper!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aslan waits beside the miniature Christmas tree Kara decorated as a gift for her niece and nephew.

If you look behind you after you enter Narnia, this is what you see.  Some of the decorative features are (from left) a cross-stitch of Jesus and the children rescued from a junk shop along with the lion mirror (Aslan, of course!); an antique hunt cabinet with a dragon that we purchased from Kara; and next to the lion corbel, the quote that sums up our whole project, taken from C. S. Lewis’ The Voyage of the Dawn Treader:

“I am [in your world],” said Aslan. “But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. That was the very reason you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.”

(A future post will cover this vinyl wall words project.)

The berths on the boys’ side have fur throws for blankets and red velour spreads which can double as dress-up capes.

The dress-up capes on the girls’ side are purple.

At the foot of each bed is a crown hook for hanging pajamas or robes.  (A future DIY post will feature the hooks.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we turn out the lights, all is ready for the arrival of Charis and Kol, Daughter of Eve and Son of Adam, Queen and King of Narnia.

Busy Waiting

Tags

Aslan, Dawn Treader, Decor, Jesus, Narnia

Now that we have our building permit, we just have to wait for our contractor to finish his current job.  It’s supposed to be finished up by the end of this week.  I’m trying to be patient!

Meanwhile, I’m never really “off the job” when it comes to Narnia.  Today I had to run some urgent errands, but on the way home I decided to reward a job well done.  On the spur of the moment, I stopped in to a little resale shop I’ve passed many times.  I don’t have a list of anything special I’m hunting for–just anything Narnian!  This is what I found:

A mirrored Aslan . . .

. . . and a cross-stitched Jesus with little children on His knee.

They’re perfect to illustrate our theme quote:

 “I am [in your world],” said Aslan. “But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. That was the very reason you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.”  (C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader)

I couldn’t believe I found them both in the same place!

Didi has already agreed to make a frame to more securely hang the Aslan mirror, and I’ll decorate the two frames so they complement each other.

As if that wasn’t enough spoils for one day, an impromptu stop in a somewhat “Ye Olde Junque Shoppe” place in Chickamauga uncovered this little treasure right inside the front door.  The nice thing about it is that curious toddler fingers can explore it (while sitting on a rug, of course!) without fear of sinking the delicate ship!  A little imagination, and it’s the Dawn Treader sailing Narnian seas.

Why Narnia?

Tags

Aslan, Aslan's Tent, Cair Paravel Library, Dawn Treader, Decor, Inspiration, Jesus, Narnia, Narnia Movies

Perhaps this should have been the first post!  But the question arises, why create Narnia in our attic?

The simplest answer is: The minute that an expectant grandmother looked into this empty attic space, it was Narnia, entered through a wardrobe door.  At the time I was thinking of combining Narnia and Middle Earth into a sort of Narnian Hobbiton.  But the more I’ve thought of it, the more clearly it has become purely Narnia.

I know now that there was a deeper reason, one that I had not consciously realized.  It took watching a movie I hate to help me see it!

Part of my early planning process was to re-watch the Narnia movies.  I wanted to see them again with a different viewpoint:  What was someone else’s vision of Narnia?  

I really liked “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”  With my camera was right beside the remote control on the couch, I could hardly watch the movie for snapping photos of things that inspired me.  That’s where I got the idea of Aslan’s Tent for the parents’ bedroom and The Lodge for the bathroom.  I wanted to represent the children’s gifts from Father Christmas as well as their four crowns and a Narnian flag with a lion rampant.  I now had a clear idea for the Stone Table and the arch behind it.  Best of all, I had a vision of how I could faux-paint the stone arch around the large attic window with the resurrected Aslan silhouetted in the light of the window!

I liked “Prince Caspian,” too, although there weren’t any new bits of inspiration.  

Next in the series would be “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.”  Hmm, small problem:  Didi and I hated the movie and refused to buy it!  But Kara came to the rescue with her DVD, and I settled down to force myself to watch the movie, mainly because I wanted to catch the producers’ vision of the Dawn Treader.  

Yep, I still hate the green mist and the great extent to which the movie strayed from the book.  It’s like a bad combination of “The Exodus” and a video game quest!  But I found myself caught up by the rich inspiration in so many scenes:  The Dawn Treader sailing through the sunset, the weathered deck, the rich wood everywhere on the ship, Caspian’s cabin, the way the light & shadow fell in the hold where Eustace stole an orange, coiled ropes everywhere, the dragon’s hoard, the treasure chest, and the Eustace-dragon himself.  I realized I wanted portholes revealing mermaids and seahorses.  Maybe no sea monsters, though–we are trying to get small children to sleep there!

Perhaps because my attention was no longer focused on how much I hated the movie, I was struck by the ending as if by a bolt of lightning.  How could I have forgotten this powerful scene that was almost edited out of the movie?

When Lucy and Edmond learned they could no longer return to Narnia, there is an interaction between Aslan and the children.  Lucy is crying because she will never see Aslan again if she can’t come back to Narnia.  He reassures her:

“I AM [in your world],” said Aslan. 

“But there I have another name. 

You must learn to know me by that name. 

This was the very reason

why you were brought to Narnia,

that by knowing me here for a little,

you may know me better there.”

And there it was:  The real reason I want to create Narnia in my attic for my dear grandchildren.  I was in tears, myself, touched by the beauty of Aslan’s words and how clearly they point to Jesus.

This is not just a fun playground or a fantasy world for some spoiled grandchildren.  This is a place whose very purpose is to point little hearts to the Savior that loves them, died for them, and rose again–through the image of a loving and lovable, though never safe, Lion.

I knew I wanted to display this quote in Narnia.  My internet research led me to the idea of having it made into vinyl wall words.  I found a great website called EBuySigns where I can have it done for about $50 compared to almost $300 on every other wall words website I checked.

The movie I hate has put into words better than I ever could the very reason I’m creating Narnia in my attic!  If that’s not humbling, I don’t know what is!