Story Warren

Kindling Imagination for Kingdom Anticipation

The Warren & The World Vol 12, Issue 25

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I discovered Rugby Sevens this afternoon and watched multiple games (they’re only 14 minutes long, so you can do that), and I still have no idea how Rugby works. But that’s one of the delights of the Olympics—discovering (and getting mildly obsessed with for less than 10 days) some sport you’ve never heard of before. Have at it. The Opening Ceremony is this weekend, and I’m ready for the sappy stories and exciting photo finishes.

Around the Web

How to Have a Better Second Half of Your Life & Your YearIn Praise of Plodders

Nadya Williams has a good work for the daily good work of the small life.


  • Sometime in the mid-sixth century BC, one of the greatest empire builders of the age, king Croesus of Lydia, reportedly met the Athenian lawgiver Solon. One of the legendary Seven Sages of Greece, Solon was at the time on a self-imposed sightseeing tour abroad, and Croesus was eager to meet him and get his stamp of approval.
    Read more

If You’re Tired: 3 Real Ways to Navigate Uncertain, Polarizing Days

Anne Voskamp gives us tools for these days.

  • When you stand down at the river, a loud world gets mighty quiet.
    Like the mightiness of grace, of God, might actually come in the quiet.
    My Grandmother never told me that —
    But it’s what I tell the kids a thousand messy times, though they know I’m the one preaching the gospel of the whole shebang to myself:
    When you’re worked up, whisper.
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Seasons of a Reading Life

Kristen Pittman reminds us of the ebbs and flows of rhythm.

  • At the end of June, I packed six books for vacation. I finished only two.
    Reading four of those books in two weeks at the beach was a reasonable goal for me. The extra two were to be icing on an easily made cake. So, you can imagine my dismay when I came home and returned most of them to the top of my “To Be Read” stack.
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Speak Words That Are Fitting

Christina Fox reminds us that the right words are important even when we’re uncomfortable.

  • Have you ever gone through a hard season, and someone said something with the intention of making you feel better, but it only made you feel worse? Perhaps you just learned shocking news that brought you to your knees and a friend said, “God will work this out for your good.” Or maybe you just experienced a significant loss, and someone said, “Everything is going to be okay.” Or you faced a very real fear, and someone said, “Don’t worry about it. You just need to trust in God.”
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Around the Warren

My $7 Reading Summer

Mark T. Collins earned some reading cash and learned a good lesson.

  • A few years ago, I pulled some books out I thought my third grade son would enjoy. At the time he mostly wanted to read silly books that were sometimes funny, but otherwise annoying. I was happy he was reading something, but there were so many more stories to explore, and I wanted to share a few.
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Review: Birdie’s Bargain

Jocelyn Flenders reviews Katherine Paterson’s middle grade novel.

  • Birdie’s Bargain begins with a prayer. It’s a prayer that many of us have prayed when we reached the end of ourselves.
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The Two Princesses of Bamarre

Théa Rosenburg reviews Gail Carson Levine’s take on a classic trope.

  • Occasionally, I find myself suffering from what I call “brave princess fatigue,” a condition caused by reading book after book about princesses who are not in need of some sort of rescue—heaven forbid!—but are, rather, hardy warriors themselves. I weary of these stories not because I object to brave princesses (in truth, I quite like them when they’re written well). What I’m grumbling about here is the princess whose moment of growth comes when she realizes that she’d always had the strength she needed—surprise!—within her the whole time.
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Left in the Rain

Renee Emerson writes a poem for us.

  • One sodden sock
    and another
    dotting the yard
    like strange flowers.
    Read more

Something to Do with Your Kids

Need some summer art fun for the whole family? This list purports to have the twelve best summer art activities for kids, so I recommend it as a starting point.

Something to Watch

Before we start with this year’s competitions, a glance back at some of the top-scoring gymnastics Olympians in recent memory.

Thanks for reading. We’re on your side. 

–The Story Warren Team

Carolyn Clare Givens
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