The Ridiculous Grace of Adoption

Marissa Cope shares her story of the power of God in her adoption.

• The adoption agency my parents used had a policy that if a sibling was old enough, he could go back with the caseworker and actually carry the child out to the parents.  So my brother, Jeremy, carried me out to my parents. I did not look exactly like a Gerber baby. I had been delivered with forceps that left a slight indentation on one side of my face and temporarily pinched a nerve, which made my mouth hang down on one side. But when my brother carried me out in his 6-year-old arms, he presented me to my parents and said, “Isn’t she pretty? Doesn’t she look just like me?”

Christians ought to uniquely love adoption. Read more.

How to Raise Selfless Kids

Dave Stone shares lessons he learned teaching his kids to put others first.

• The great conductor Leonard Bernstein was once asked, “What is the hardest instrument to play?” To which he replied, “Second fiddle. I can always get plenty of first violinists, but to find one who plays second violin with as much enthusiasm . . . now that’s a problem.”

​Read more.

“Jabberwocky” & the Value of Nonsense

Our friends at the CIRCE Institute have this post from Brian Phillips about Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky.

• I quickly picked up a book of poems in desperate attempt to undo my moment of terrible fathering and began reading “Jabberwocky” to stop the crying and painful questions about stumps and seemingly thoughtless boys.
  I had them at “slithy toves.”

Loved this post. Read more.

77 Christmas Presents for Her that Won’t Break the Bank

This is a shameless plug for the men reading. Get out ahead of this Christmas thing. No ideas? Go steal some of these. Read more.

Best Coin Ever Spent

With the advent of all these viral videos, it’s become hard to tell what is staged and what isn’t. This one, even if it was completely staged, is awesome. I cried. Go watch it.

Corrections

Someone is going to have to start proofreading this thing. Last week, we called the Newberry award the Newbury award, and messed up i before e in Achieve. And not a single one of you caught it!

Around the Warren:

A Slave in My Own Kingdom 

Guest poster Helena Sorenson draws on The Silver Chair to explain a lesson from her life.

• I really don’t know how Lewis did it, how he stuffed so many little gems between the pages of The Chronicles of Narnia. As a child, I saw them sparkling, and they were lovely. As an adult, having done a bit of living and then returned to the tales, I’ve been able to pluck out the shiny things and put them in my pocket. I found one recently in the closing chapters of The Silver Chair.

A great read. Read more.

Chasing the Family Epiphany

Guest poster Nita Andrews introduces us to her husband Al’s new book, A Walk One Winter Night:

• It is so hard–that month of toil, we call December. All of us live an insane existence for a month every year. When Al couldn’t shake the dullness of a commercialized holiday he decided not to pretend about how awful it felt.  This led to one of the most honest prayers he has ever prayed. He said out loud, “I don’t like these people.” To be exact, he said, “WHY, don’t I like these people?”  It was the ‘Why’ that give this utterance the shape of a prayer. It was his wish to meet God and pester heaven with the ‘Why’ that made standing in the rain and talking to saints a good thing to do.

Read more.

Give it to the Alien

Carolyn Clare Givens brings us an awesome, fun short story.

• The drivers of the first sixteen cars that passed by thought it was nothing more than some dead animal, hit by a car in the darkness, shifted to the roadside by passing traffic, and tangled together with an old t-shirt someone had lost.
  Sixteen drivers missed the miracle.

Read it to your kids. They’ll love it. Read more.

Something to Try with Your Kids:

Belinda Mooney at CarolinaParent.com has some recommendations for making Thanksgiving special for your kids.

• Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to look back over the past year and reflect on blessings. It is a time to spend with family and friends, sharing good food and fellowship. But like many holidays, what is meant to be quality family time often ends up being hectic. Your family may feel scattered and rushed instead of enjoying one another.
  With a little planning, Thanksgiving can be a day to enjoy some activities together. Here are some tips to make your day easier and fun.

Read more.

And Something Fun to Watch

Introduce your kids to Bob Dylan and show them some cool video editing? How can this go wrong?

Thanks for reading! We’re on your side.