Someone was coming for dinner. My sister and I always made biscuits: three parts self rising flour to one part shortening; add milk and kneading. And we would set the table with special dishes. Five children, extremely tight budgets, a move overseas and back – my mom preferred useful presents for her birthday or Christmas;…
I’m hanging out in the Canadian Rockies this week with dear friends I haven’t seen in five years. My soul is being filled with friendship and with beauty and with cool temperatures (while friends and family bake in a heat dome). I head back to “real life” soon, but this moment is no less real…
The good (maybe bad?) thing about how we title these emails is that I have a count at the end of each year to tell me how many weeks I missed—nine in 2023, I see. It was almost ten (you’ll note that this email is arriving to you late) because I’ve been with family and…
My niece performed in a rendition of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella last weekend and I still have the songs in my head. I’m not sure what that says about my brain, but it definitely reminded me of how sticky good music can be. If you’re looking for a fun listen, open the Broadway cast recording…
A friend in northern New York posted photos of a tree in their yard over the past week or two, each one with fewer and fewer leaves—a countdown, of sorts, to the end of the season. A friend in Minnesota thanked me for sharing a flaming maple from my drive home today, so that she…
For the past three years, our family has celebrated the end of summer with a week in the mountains at the same off-the grid cabin. Over time, certain features of the place have woven themselves into our memories, like familiar friends with whom we can’t wait to reunite. We all delight in the view of…
We’ve officially entered autumn. I’m anticipating the turning of the leaves and the cooler weather, but even yesterday, when it was in the 90s, I realized that it cooled in the evening, turning pleasant, if still warm. What do you anticipate most about autumn? Around the Web Two Truths and a Lie about Moving Ron…
Saving Samantha: A True Story, written by Robbyn Smith van Frankenhuyzen and illustrated by Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen, tells the story of how Robbyn and her family rehabilitate a fox kit. Robbyn’s journal entries are intermingled throughout the story, describing their care for the fox and the adventures she has. The book starts out with Robbyn…
A few nights ago, I was on an airplane home from an incredible trip to Colorado Springs. My eyes were glued to the view outside the window as we were literally flying through a sea of clouds, enveloped in light and water, set afire by the sunset at our backs. The entire trip was encounter…
The Book of Psalms, perhaps more than any other biblical book, has a way of striking us right at our center. All of Scripture has this effect, to some degree. But for all their curious imagery, the psalms are written in language we understand: the emotion in them is raw, sometimes unexpected, and always deeply…
Next week, we’ll be taking a break from The Warren & the World (sometimes we plan our breaks and it’s not just me forgetting to send it). We’re taking the break because I will be off the grid. One of the themes of this summer at my job has been the push to rest. We’ve been…
Sorry to miss a week of sharing links from around the web and the run-down from Story Warren with you! After avoiding it for two years, the plague caught up with me last week and I was out for the count. I’m feeling better now and I know I must be recuperating because I smelled…
