It’s baseball season, and a couple weeks ago I decided to dive in—watching a team’s games throughout a season is a big commitment. It’s a LONG season and while yes, I can edit manuscripts while the game goes in the background, it’s a conscious decision I have to make if I want to follow my team through the season. When you live nearly 700 miles away from your team, they’re not really thrust upon your attention. But the Detroit Tigers are the best team in baseball (for this fleeting moment), and I’m just going to enjoy the ride. If you’d like to read a little bit of where my love came from, you can catch this very old article I wrote for Story Warren!

Around the Web
I Will Sing
Sharon Rockwell shares the beauty of song in our lives.
- When I hit a recent milestone birthday, my children made sure that I was celebrating for a full week. There were new surprises each day. My favorite was a poster board they created with their special memories about me, one for each year. My daughter wrote this as one of hers, “I loved that you sang hymns to me while you were fixing my hair for Sunday School.”
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A Day at the Beach by Gary Schmidt and Ron Koertge
Janie at Redeemed Reader reviews Gary Schmidt’s new book written with Ron Koertge.
- A Day at the Beach delivers on its title: snapshots of a variety of 11-13 year-olds during a single day on the Jersey shore.
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Why It’s So Difficult to Set Our Minds on Things Above
Matt McCullough challenges us to turn our minds to heaven.
- Paul commands us to set our minds on things above (Col. 3:1–4), and one reason for this instruction is that it’s so much easier not to. All sorts of diversions come more naturally. I don’t have to tell my kids to finish their ice cream. I do have to command them to take five spoonfuls of their cauliflower soup.
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Three Picture Books to Make You Think
Janie’s got some picture book reviews for us, too.
- In Echo, a spoiled little boy learns that real friendship doesn’t mean total agreement.
Home features big thoughts that may eventually get too big.
A Cup of Quiet features an imaginative grandma and a little girl learning to listen.
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Around the Warren
Form Follows Function: Why We’re Making a Different Kind of Game
Kelly Keller shares more about the philosophy of our new video game about Helmer.
- It was the American architect Louis Sullivan who coined the phrase “form follows function.” Most of you, like me, may know it better due to the design work of Frank Lloyd Wright. The saying has become a catchphrase—or unkindly considered, a cliché—in design circles. What it means, simply put, is that designers, artists, and architects ought to consider the purpose of the design first, and then make the shape of the design suit the purpose.
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Why Kids Need Fairy Stories in a Modern World
Samantha Roth shares the value of fairy stories.
- A few years ago, I came across an article that claimed it was harmful for children to be exposed to fairy tales. The author said the stories were backward and gave children delusional ideas about reality. As someone who finds fairy stories to be inspirational for my own writing, I wanted to explore what fairy stories really do for children and their development. Do they give children living in the twenty-first century detrimental ideas? Or do they help children develop a moral framework while igniting their imaginations?
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Introducing the Time Steward Adventure Journal
Kelly Keller introduces a resource for stewarding time.
- One of the things we wanted to do with the Helmer and the Dragon Tomb release was help families with conversations about time. Screens can be a minefield in the way they can use our time—both for kids and adults. Without an intentional approach, screen usage can eat up hours and days.
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Don’t forget to Back the Kickstarter!
We’ve reached our base goal! But there’s still time to join us in bringing Helmer’s story to life—both in novel and in game form!
Back the Project

Something to Do with Your Kids
Who doesn’t need a shark tube craft? That’s a silly question. Of course, you need a shark tube craft.
Something to Watch
You might be thinking about a summer trip to a National Park this year—if you’re not, though, here’s a little taste of them.

Thanks for reading. We’re on your side.
–The Story Warren Team
- The Warren & The World Vol 13, Issue 22 - June 21, 2025
- The Warren & The World Vol 13, Issue 21 - June 14, 2025
- The Warren & The World Vol 13, Issue 20 - June 7, 2025
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