It’s been a full week for me, and last night’s Bible study on Sabbath hit a chord—I probably needed to hear that bragging about busyness is something our culture lauds, but not the way we’re created to live. May you find the rhythms of rest you need.

Around the Web
Woodsy Winter Reads
The folks at Read, Discuss, Do! have some great book suggestions for winter.
- Winter is in full swing here in Nebraska, but it doesn’t exactly look like it. We’ve barely had any snow, though January has brought with it plenty of cold days. But when snow isn’t found outside, it can be found in books.
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So This Is What’s Been Happening (Or How to Live Your One & Only Life)
Ann Voskamp is not waiting for life.
- I’ve been on lamb watch, watching for signs of new life, the first 10 days of the new year.
The new year’s only 11 days old, when our family patriarch , my husband‘s beloved father, departs from life on this earth.
Life is this long waiting and a short blink — and just what you do with the time in between. It’s strange how that is: When the short dash of a beloved’s life ends, a heart fracture from missing them, cracks and begins.
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2025 ALA Newbery Award – Nailed It!
Our friends at Redeemed Reader share what they got right and wrong in their Newbery predictions, with links to their reviews of the books in contention.
- Well, not exactly. We (especially I) were off on our predictions about the winners, but pretty accurate about what the Newbery Committee would be looking on with favor–and we’re happy to say we’ve covered all of them!
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The Book Basket: A Gentle Introduction to the Bard of Avon
Our friend Kelly Keller is introducing Shakespeare.
- A vital part of any English-speaking education is an introduction to Shakespeare. Not only is the man’s body of work mind-boggling, his language serves as the source for many familiar metaphors. His plays are spoofed, reworked, and referenced without end. Once you have a grasp on him, other works open up wide.
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Around the Warren
That Joyful “No”: Stories of Resisting Temptation
Alicia Pollard shares stories that take us away.
- I was eight or nine, sitting at a beige plastic desk, a copy of the MCAS (the Massachusetts standardized test for elementary schoolers) test book on my right and an answer booklet full of bubbles under the pencil in my right hand. These testing sessions were times of great pressure (“Do your best!” “No cheating!”) and as a dedicated rule-follower, I was determined to do everything right.
But then I started reading the next reading comprehension passage in the text, and the room’s smudged chalkboard and gray threadbare carpet faded away.
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Lamplighter Kids Podcast: Stories that Light the Way to Virtues
Ashley Anthony introduces a podcast for kids.
- The highway stretches before us. We’re ten minutes into the hours-long car ride, but already, our four kids clamor for a movie. My husband and I glance at each other, silently calculating if 15 hours of screen time in two days is too much. One of us admits aloud that it is. So we put on Lamplighter Kids Stories, a free podcast that emerges young listeners in stories that teach values—a podcast our children love.
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Something to Do with Your Kids
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and here are some fun book crafts to help celebrate!
Something to Watch
Zach King collected his top illusion videos from last year into a supercut.

Thanks for reading. We’re on your side.
–The Story Warren Team
- The Warren & The World Vol 13, Issue 5 - February 15, 2025
- The Warren & The World Vol 13, Issue 4 - February 1, 2025
- The Warren & The World Vol 13, Issue 3 - January 25, 2025
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