The first step

Well, this ought to be interesting.  For me, anyway, if not for anyone else who reads this.

Welcome to my first blog entry ever.  I've often heard people mention blogs, and suggest them to me as a way of communicating.  Since I seem to have more than the requisite 30,000 words (or whatever the statistic is) that women are supposed to have daily, I thought I'd give it a try.  At least it is a safe(ish) repository for some thoughts, accessible to those who wish to read it, and ignorable by those who do not.

I am grateful to see that the gateway seems to have a spell checker.  Good, since I'm a stickler for grammar and spelling and hate it when I see misuse or typos, and hate it even more when I perpetrate them myself.  It's good to have safeguards.

I decided to call the blog "Travels with the Lion," because I like to travel. and we try to make sure our family goes somewhere interesting every year.  I am thankful that our girls are such good travelers, and I'm hoping we are opening the world to them in a special way, even in the logistics of learning to travel with carry-ons only, and how to manage the many different kinds of bathrooms we come across.

I also like to travel on my own - to conferences, and sometimes even solo vacations.  This helps me strike a balance between doing things my family can do, and doing things to challenge myself.  The name also addresses the "journey" (cliche, but true) that is everyday life.  The reason I travel with a Lion is that the figure of Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia resonates deeply with me.  Even as a girl, I always liked stuffed animals better than I liked dolls.  CS Lewis really did a great service to many people by embodying the qualities of Christ in the figure of this powerful, tender, good-but-not-safe character.  For me, the portrait of God "with skin," but in a lion skin, is easier to grasp than picturing him as a man.  That's all the explanation you're going to get right now, and if it doesn't work for you, that's all right with me.  It works for me.  For those of you who may be offended at the idea of God embodied in an animal, I'm more than happy to hear your arguments, but that's a discussion for another post.

That Lion goes with me in all my travels.  

I decided to start a blog because I used to write these long e-mails about my daily experiences on trips and send them to my friends.  I realize that sometimes I have more words to say than they are really interested in reading.  This way, I can post for myself, link to my Facebook page (or send an e-mail link to those who don't have FB, such as my parents) and those who want to see them will see them, and others can feel free to ignore.  I tend to have long FB posts anyway, so this will help clean that up a bit.  I have an upcoming trip in a few weeks, and I thought it might be nice to get this established before I go, to get the hang of it.

I realize this first entry is rather pedantic and explanatory, rather like the introduction of a book.  Sorry about that.  Once I get used to it, I'll feel less clammy hands and throat-clearing and more real me.  For now, let this be my first step on a new path as I continue to travel with the Lion.  In his relentless tenderness (phrase borrowed from Brennan Manning), may he guide me, and you, as we go.

wb