Story Warren

Kindling Imagination for Kingdom Anticipation

The Warren & The World Vol 12, Issue 45

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Does your family have favorite Christmas traditions? I was talking with a friend today about how her adult children have taken point this year on planning Christmas—which means some of the traditions are changing. She’s a little sad, but she also sees their perspective. They want her to spend time playing games with them rather than standing in the kitchen cooking a big meal. It’s a change, an adjustment, but one that might just become a new favorite tradition. As Sleeping at Last says in the song “Snow”: “Life without revision with silence our souls.”

Around the Web

Exactly What You (Miraculously) Need For Perfect Family Holidays (& “Fix” Impossible Things)

Ann Voskamp reminds us to slow.

  • It’s only a few days before Christmas, when I’m standing in the kitchen with a pulse oximeter at the kitchen table, checking the heart rate of our youngest daughter’s single ventricle heart that sometimes breaks into these wild galloping arrhythmias.
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Celebrating Christmas with Hope

Bethany Belue helps us see the light in the midst of hard.

  • Christmas is my favorite season with children, with all the lights, decorated yards, Christmas festivities, and the awe they experience as they soak in each fun holiday activity.  It’s a sweet time of joy and celebration and I make every effort to enjoy each moment with them and let go of my stress and anxiety that sits just below the surface. That’s because, in the midst of all the celebrations and joy, the hard parts of this life still exist. 
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Unusual Christmas Traditions

This infographic tells about traditions for Christmas from all over the world.

  • Ho ho ho! It’s that time of year again, when Santa brings toys to all the good girls and boys. We love family Christmas traditions during the holidays. It’s a season to celebrate, grab presents, reunite with friends and families, and enjoy that delicious Christmas dinner. Even if it’s Kentucky Fried Chicken!
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Fun Middle-Grade Reads for Winter Break

Janie Cheaney recommends some reads for the next few weeks.

  • Library Girl is the whimsical story of a girl finding a home while her adoring caretakers find true love. In We Do Not Welcome Our Ten-Year-Old Overlord, four children encounter and alien being whose intentions are unclear. And In The Long Way Around Vivian, age 12, is thrilled about the upcoming camping trip with her mom, her younger sister Amy, her cousin Owen, and her Uncle Mike (Owen’s dad). 
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Around the Warren

Motherhood, the Creative Endeavor.

Kelly Kelly reminds us that creativity comes in many forms.

  • Every year in October, I post a picture of myself and my little family from over a decade ago now. It was the year that we had been compared to the Weasley family from Harry Potter the most. The arrival of our baby girl made the picture complete; once she got to the age when I regularly put her in pigtails, we heard the comparison from Potterheads all the time. We weren’t red-haired, but otherwise, the similarities were too big to miss.
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Ideas From the Book Exchange

Millie Sweeny shares a tradition.

  • Every year, we host a Christmas-ish pajama party and white elephant book exchange with some of our favorite people. The house gets full and messy, the kids are loud, and we sit around, laugh, and share (and steal) some of our favorite books from the past year. It’s a sweet way to share things that have been meaningful or just enjoyable. I’ve been thinking about what books to contribute this year, and as it’s also gift-giving time in general, here is a list of books I love to share with you, too, in case you need something new to read or give.
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Something to Do with Your Kids

Do you love the Polar Express? Here’s a fun paper plate craft to go with the story.

Something to Watch

Have you ever heard of the language Llanito? Check out the story on RobWords.

Thanks for reading. We’re on your side. 

–The Story Warren Team

Carolyn Clare Givens
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