Christina Biebe Lake

When an author of fiction employs the imagination and sets characters in a new location, they are in a sense creating a world. Might such fictional worlds give us a deeper appreciation for our own? Many readers have found themselves, like the Pevensie children, transported by C. S. Lewis into Narnia, and they have traveled from Lantern Waste to Cair Paravel and the edge of the sea. Thanks to J. R. R. Tolkien, readers have also journeyed with Bilbo, Frodo, and their companions across Middle-earth from the Shire to the Lonely Mountain, the forest of Mirkwood, the mines of Moria, and the very fires of Mount Doom. But as often as we enter these fictional worlds as readers, we eventually return to our world refreshed with sharpened insight. In The Wonders of Creation, biologist Kristen Page explores the beloved fictional landscapes of Narnia and Middle-earth in order to discover what we might learn about real-life landscapes and how to become better stewards of God's good creation. Based on the annual lecture series hosted at Wheaton College's Marion E. Wade Center, volumes in the Hansen Lectureship Series reflect on the imaginative work and lasting influence of seven British authors: Owen Barfield, G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, George MacDonald, Dorothy L. Sayers, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams.

Teaching is a sacred profession to which you have been called. But sometimes you feel burned out: the relentless pace, the overload of classes, the grading, the advising, the additional committee work. Drawing on more than twenty years of teaching experience, Christina Bieber Lake writes to encourage you to rediscover your passion for your profession, to help you move from surviving to thriving, and to remind you why you chose this vocational path. Creatively structured around the typical rhythms of the academic calendar, this book offers refreshing and practiced advice about how to flourish in the midst of the teaching life. Lake also takes on several pressing questions: How do I balance work and family time? Where do I fit in time for my research and writing? What particular challenges do female faculty face, and how should they navigate them? Remind yourself why you teach. Rediscover your passion for this vocation.