“Wonder is involuntary praise.” Edward Young said that and I’m glad he did. What are we doing to facilitate wonder in our families? C.S. Lewis said we need an enchantment to set us free from the bondage of worldliness. How are we working for our children’s liberty? If it is only in books and art and…
Last week our neighborhood lost power for a day. All day long I walked into dark rooms and flipped light switches out of habit. I’m not accustomed to operating in the dark. As the hours passed, I began to worry about all the food we could lose in the refrigerator. No one was allowed to…
Reading through the Old Testament with my kids (via Eegermeir’s Bible Story Book) has taught me a lot. Simplifying things to the bare essentials does much to reveal themes in the greater story. Today I am struck by the reason given for Israel’s frequent slides into idolatry. We are told that, over and over, they…
Have a wonderful Christmas! We’re taking the holiday off here at Story Warren and will be back after all 12 days are done. For this last day of Advent, a thought from our friend, Thomas McKenzie… “The story we tell every Advent, like the story we tell every Sunday, is an old one. It is…
Note: I have published this elsewhere before, but thought it was appropriate for Thanksgiving. I hope it is is encouraging. –Sam —————————————– My son scampered around the graveyard, having to be reminded not to be too rambunctious. I asked him to stop playing on the gravestone pictured and got his happy, “Sure, Daddy.” I commented…
Two weeks ago I went grocery shopping with fifteen stickers on my face. The night before, news had come. It was news about someone I love – the kind of news that etches a mark on your timeline, dividing life before from life after. I was devastated. I woke up the next morning full of…
Two years ago, on a blustery October day just like the one out my window, I took a walk with six children down a country road near Boston. When it was over, I felt that I had sojourned in a different world and I almost hated to come back to my own. It wasn’t the…
I like fiction. While many here wouldn’t find that confession controversial, the good Christian folk among whom I grew up would lift an eyebrow at it. Why? Well, first they’d always say, “Can’t you see you’re wasting your time with things that aren’t real?” I’m sure readers of Story Warren can see problems in that…
My wife once had a green thumb. But it was of a particularly virulent type, and she’s now pretty green all over. And just pretty, too. But I digress – beautifying our home, for her, means inside and out, and I have been fascinated by how we are spiritually enriched by the horticultural beauty. This…
When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!” (Genesis 27:34) Esau’s cry has not faded from our modern hearts, it’s just harder to hear in the noise. A desire for blessing is a cry for approval. It is…
Bob Dylan sang about it, N.D. Wilson tweets about it: “Slice the world as fine as you like, an Artist has been there first.” NDW By the way, check out N.D. Wilson’s Notes From the Tilt-A-Whirl for a round-trip through wonder, joy, and gratitude. Wilson is a poetic, artful, humorous tour-guide. It’s one of my…
The independence being celebrated today is, of course, independence from the likes of me (Brits). Excuse me but first of all, what is a Brit doing posting on Independence Day? I know. It’s terribly cheeky but I didn’t do it I was pushed Sam made me do it. Now that we’ve got that out of…
