Story Warren

Kindling Imagination for Kingdom Anticipation

The Warren & The World Vol 12, Issue 23

by Leave a Comment

Jack Zulu and the Girl with Golden Wings has officially released! This second book in the Jack Zulu series is now available at the Story Warren Store, Amazon, or Audible. Watch authors S. D. Smith & J. C. Smith talk about the book in the launch party replay here.

Around the Web

The Wild Glory of an ‘Ordinary’ Life

Jon Bloom explores the beauty of ordinary.

  • To the left of my desk is an original oil painting by an award-winning artist named Audrey Strandquist. Unless you live about an hour west of Minneapolis and are above the age of fifty, I doubt you’ve seen her work. Audrey was my wife’s maternal grandmother, and her awards were conferred mainly at regional fairs. She typically painted landscapes, but in the painting next to me, titled “Threshing” and dated August 8, 1940, she beautifully captured a portrait of her tall, strong 24-year-old soon-to-be farmer husband, Wally, standing next to a bin of freshly threshed grain. In the background is a field of mature corn. Audrey was 23 when she applied the oils to this old canvas.
    Read more

Daughters of the King

Laura Tucker reminds us of our position as image bearers.

  • “This must be your twin!” I hear this often when I am with my mother. She is my mother— not my sister—and she is in her 70s and I am in my 40s. In some ways, this comment makes me wonder, “How old do I look,” but it is a compliment…she has great skin, hair, and style!  She has passed down genetic traits and characteristics, so, as her daughter, I do in fact resemble her likeness. But more than genetics, years of time spent with her has formed my facial expressions, mannerisms, and word choices in such a way that more and more I often hear, “You look just like your mother,” or “I know whose daughter you are!”
    Read more

Two Picture Books about Dads and Kids

Janie Cheaney reviews two picture books.

  • Up High and Big Bear and Little Bear capture some of the everyday moments in father-son relationships.
    Read more

Some Stories Read Us

Matthew S. Harmon explores why Jesus spoke in parables. 

  • Although Jesus was not the first to use parables in his teaching, his extensive use of them was a distinct feature of his teaching style. But why? Some suggest that he simply harnessed the power of story to enhance his teaching. But Jesus himself explains why he used parables, and he grounds his explanation in a network of Old Testament texts, with Isaiah 6:9–10 as the star of the show.
    Read more

Around the Warren

The Previous Lives of Used Books

Théa Rosenburg delights in the used book section.

  • On bookmarks, dogears, and underlined passages
    Years ago, I approached a local bookseller as he sat behind his counter, vigorously scrubbing the cover of a well-trampled book with some sauce that took the grit off—voila!—like magic.
    “What is it?” I asked, probably bouncing a baby in a carrier and possibly holding a toddler by one hand.
    He twitched his eyebrows at me and rumbled, “Lighter fluid.”
    Read more

Gathering Stories

Lindsey Murphy reviews a set of novels for adolescents from Owl’s Nest Books.

  • Since going back to work full time, I’ve learned even more the importance of living seasonally. It’s ok—I’m not about to go all basic white girl and start talking about Pumpkin Spice Lattes In The Fall.  What I mean is a little more along the lines of Ecclesiastes 3:5- “a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them.” The school year feels a lot like scattering stones for me.  Teaching, grading, helping with homework, driving to music lessons, driving to church, driving to practice (so much driving). Scattering food on tables, scattering words on pages, scattering people to places. There hardly feels time to gather.
    Read more

Something to Do with Your Kids

Who doesn’t love a sensory bin? I mean, I suppose someone doesn’t, but they’ve always been one of my favorite things. Here are some great suggestions for summer sensory bins.

Something to Watch

How many countries are there in the world? The Map Men attempt to answer the question.

Thanks for reading. We’re on your side. 

–The Story Warren Team

Carolyn Clare Givens
Latest posts by Carolyn Clare Givens (see all)

Leave a Reply