Story Warren Weekend, Vol. 14, Issue 34

Hello,

Last weekend in church, I had the pleasure of sitting three rows behind an infant. She was happily and quietly seated on her mother’s hip as the sermon went on, looking over her shoulder. I was reminded once again of how such an everyday occurrence can transform entire pews of adults into delighted children, as we all enjoyed her sweet face.

Around the Web

The Face We All Look For: Speaking of infant faces, here’s a meditation on the very human need for connection with another’s face. “Somewhere deep in their little hearts, children know attention equals value and belonging, for we give our time and eyes to the things we value most. To a child, attention is also affection, and they long to be the objects of our affection.”

On Parenting and Letting Go: “As we are with our child less and less and our daily influence wanes, we can take comfort that they are God’s. He will be the One who is with them all the days of their lives—not just the first eighteen years. He will guide them, provide for them, and comfort them when we aren’t there to do it.”

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Around the Warren

This week we took a minute to remember the recently departed Wendell Berry, one of our favorite authors. This excerpt from “Economy and Pleasure” features Berry’s reflections on working alongside the play of children. “The children play at the grownups’ work, as well as at their own play. In their play the children learn to work; they learn to know their elders and their country. And the presence of playing children means invariably that the grown-ups play too from time to time….”

Author Glenn McCarty reflected on the sad side of children’s stories. “Confronting death in stories can be scary, but when it occurs in a supportive environment with conversations that bridge the gap between the waking dream of fiction and the incarnate world around us, it’s a vital part of the maturing process. Stories aren’t giving our children anything they don’t already see around them.”

Something to do with your kids

Here are some fun games to play if you’re planning some fall family fun (indoors or outdoors!).

Something to watch

Thanks for reading. We’re on your side.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Kelly Keller

Kelly Keller is the managing editor of Story Warren. She has her BS in Elementary Education from Messiah University and has taught various ages, but her favorite was worldview and literature with high school students. The “gap” in her resume is actually a window of eighteen years of homeschooling, which she recommends as an effective, though demanding, way of expanding one’s home library.

When she’s not behind her laptop, Kelly enjoys live music, baseball, reading great books, and traveling with her husband, David. Kelly hails from beautiful snowy New England, but after two decades in North Carolina, she feels right at home.

She invites you to subscribe to her newsletter, On the Common, or to follow her on Instagram.

Latest posts by Kelly Keller (see all)

• An Interview with Jonathan Rogers - October 5, 2026
• Story Warren Weekend, Vol. 14, Issue 37 - October 3, 2026
• Congratulations: Our First Ally in Imagination - September 30, 2026