Story Warren

Kindling Imagination for Kingdom Anticipation

The Warren & The World Vol 12, Issue 34

by Leave a Comment

Helene is making her presence known in my neck of the woods. My house seems all set—power’s still on, I’m on high ground, and while I live surrounded by woods, there are only a few trees right near my house. But many friends in the area are out of power and have trees down. My church coworkers have started a thread inviting others over for showers and coffee. We just had one of our big church events of the year yesterday, and if that didn’t prove that we’re all in this together, this morning’s thread does.

Around the Web

When You Feel Like a Failure

 Gretchen Saffles reminds us what it looks like to start with Jesus.

  • “He spread a cloud for a covering, and fire to give light by night. They asked, and he brought quail, and gave them bread from heaven in abundance. He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed through the desert like a river. For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham, his servant”( Psalm 105:39-42).
    I slip out the door of my daughter’s room and lean my head on the scuffed-up wall in front of me.
    I’m such a failure, I think as I hear my baby crying and one of my sons yelling for me downstairs. I’m failing as a mother, failing as a friend, failing at organizing our home and our schedule, failing at keeping my attitude like Christ’s.
    Read more

A World Wonder by Laura Wifler

Betsy at Redeemed Reader recommends a picture book full of wonder.

  • A World Wonder cheerfully celebrates the real world wonders and reminds readers to fully invest in both their work and the people around them.
    Read more

13 Truths Every Teenage Boy Needs to Hear

Clarence Hayes reminds us of the truths teens need.

  • I’ve often thought, “If only I could go back to my teenage years with the knowledge I have now.” There are so many choices I would have made differently. As we all know, life doesn’t work that way. Those mistakes, missteps, and even poor decisions are part of the learning journey that shaped who you are today.
    Read more

Portals of Imagination

Kristen Pittman writes about the books that turn our world into portals for others.

One of my recent reads featured a heroine who learns our world is filled with Doors to other worlds, one simply must look for them. Then she discovers her own ability to write those Doors into existence.
The metaphor of storytelling as a portal into new worlds is not a new one. Much ink has been spent on the idea that stories open doors to faraway places. Of course, it’s a well-worn concept primarily because it’s true.
Read more

Around the Warren

Me and McCloskey

Glenn McCarty tells the tale of his lifelong love of Robert McCloskey.

  • Don’t judge me for this, but I do not remember the circumstances under which I first encountered Robert McCloskey’s Homer Price books. What a way to open a piece about the impact he’s made on my life and writing, right? 
    Don’t get me wrong, the picture books — especially Make Way For Ducklings, Blueberries for Sal, One Morning in Maine, and Lentil —  were a staple of my childhood, since my mother was a proud New Englander and my father a proud Ohioan, and both of them lovers of stories who made sure our house was stocked full of books. It must have been somewhere in grade school — early enough, I suppose for me to have adopted them into my subconscious and then forgotten the specifics — that I read them. But, like I said, I don’t remember. 
    Read more

Dear Josephine

Sarah Dixon Young commiserates with the mother of Peter Rabbit.

  • In Beatrix Potter’s imagination, Josephine Bunny was the hard-working single mother of Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-Tail, and Peter and was licensed to sell tea and tobacco.
    With a business to run and four little ones to raise, Josephine had her hands full. She was exasperated when little Peter did not go obediently down the lane, like the others, to pick blackberries. She had taken the time to think up that creative, useful activity for her children, but Peter countered with his own.
    Read more

Something to Do with Your Kids

‘Tis the season when trees draw our attention by flaming out like shook foil. A perfect time to introduce this colored tree art project.

Something to Watch

RobWords traces English back as far as he possibly can—which is really far.

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