The Dark-Tinted, Truth-Filled Reading List We Owe Our Kids

N.D. Wilson writes over at Christianity Today about the need for good, true books.

• Two functional orphans living in a roadside motel are taken to Ashtown, a place where many of the world’s wildest secrets have been kept for centuries. Sounds like a great little slumber party. So why include pain? Why must the children face hardships? Why must the villains be so, well, villainous? Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if the evil was jokey? Lighthearted? More like a school rivalry than a matter of salvation or damnation?

  Yipes. No. Wrong. F.

This is a great post. Read it.

Toward an Old Meaning of Vocation

Bethany Jenkins at the Gospel Coalition writes about how we define vocation.

• Since “vocation” is derived from the Latin word vox, which means “voice” or “vocal,” she says, we should think about it as “one’s entire life lived in response to God’s voice or call.” It’s more about who we are (identity) and whose we are (belonging) than about what we do.

I think a good understanding of vocation is a great way to bless our kids. Read more.

You Only Have $5…

Brian Lee shares an account of a class in a technology ventures program focused on helping the students be creative about how to make money.

• Each of fourteen teams received an envelope with five dollars of “seed funding” and was told they could spend as much time as they wanted planning. However, once they cracked open the envelope, they had two hours to generate as much money as possible. I gave them from Wednesday afternoon until Sunday evening to complete the assignment.

This is problem solving at its best. Read more.

10 Mister Roger’s Quotes 

Anne Colbert at Mashable compiles 10 upbeat quotes from Mister Rogers. I have a soft spot for Mister Rogers.

Won’t you be my neighbor? Read more.

Around the Warren:

Don’t Panic

James Witmer starts our week out with a shocking opener (at least, around these parts):

• I have a confession: This week, for the first time, I sat down with my three kids and read multiple chapters of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

I really love this post, especially as I wrestle with when I should introduce certain books (including The Chronicles of Narnia) to my kids. Read more.

“…Lit by Imagination…”

Paul Boekell provides this Emily Dickinson quote:

Making the World More Beautiful (with Miss Rumphius)

Laura Peterson introduces us to one of her favorites:

• Are you acquainted with the Lupine Lady? She lives in a small house overlooking the sea, and goes by the more proper name of Miss Alice Rumphius. I’ve known her since I was a child, and I love introducing her to new friends. The Lupine Lady is the central character in the picture book Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney, and it’s one of my favorite stories.

Read more.

Everything: The Sword of Jeromer Romery

S.D. Smith writes and Joe Sutphin illustrates this tremendously fun short:

• There twice lived a boy in the land of Boint Lee, a boy named Jeromer Romery. Yes, he lived twice. You heard me right. For once he had fallen out of a tree and, having landed on a bunch of brutal attackers, knocked them all senseless. When he emerged, confused and victorious, from the pile of bad guys, they called him the boy who had died, but lived once again, and very luckily. But that was too long and dumb of a title, so some people just called him “Lucky.” The only harm that had actually come to him was he had nicked his chin on one of the bad guy’s spears, so several people instead called him “Nick,” and not Jeromer Romery, or “Lucky.”

Read more.

Something to Use with Your Kids:

As every good Canadian knows, the summer olympics are merely warm up for the main event. You heard me. The winter olympics are coming — less than one month! Melissa Taylor at Imagination Soup has a list of books related to the Winter Olympics. Get ready for curling folks! Read more. Hurry!

And Something Fun to Watch

All right, staying on a theme here: Curling is actually super fun. And with this video, your kids can learn what exactly is happening when someone yells “Hurry!”

We’re on your side.