Around the Web:

Be You, Bravely

Christen Ridley Price writes over at The Mom Initiative about being brave. She talks of the courage needed to face parenting. She challenges her readers to move from “it’s hard” to “have hope.”

• Motherhood has opened the door to me being brave. From the moment that I learned my twins were going to be born three months early, I knew that I had to choose bravery over fear and different over ordinary. For the next 83 days, our two pound infants fought for their lives in an incubator down the hall from me, in an intensive care unit designed just for babies. It didn’t seem fair, for babies to have to struggle for each breath the moment they were born, or to be constantly pricked and prodded with I.V.’s, feeding tubes, and heart monitors. But, my girls were brave as they grew outside my womb and inside these plastic boxes. Their birth story was different and I was now different too. 

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How to Have a Perfect Life

The subtitle to this article is, “(and be miserable trying).” Kelli B. Trujillo writes at Today’s Christian Woman of the demands we put on ourselves to be perfect—to meet that ideal we set.

• Perfectionism is a self-deceiving game that leaves us weary losers every time. But in our imperfection—from a posture acknowledging our limits, failings, needs, and weaknesses— we can turn toward the perfect Father and his complete love. We can find a wholeness that has nothing to do with better or more but that’s all about grace and hope. We can find joy, direction, comfort, and fresh mercies in the faithful presence of our God who is the very essence of holy perfection (Deuteronomy 32:4).

Whether in our parenting or in other aspects of our lives, perfectionism is the enemy of grace. Read more.

The Gospel in a Good Marriage

Holly Stratton writes at The Gospel-Centered Woman about the importance of the gospel in a good marriage. 30 years in, they’re still in love, but they also know that it’s not their own doing.

• Bottom line, I’m madly in love with the best man in the universe, but he just ain’t good enough. That’s a monstrously important fact to know, especially for those of you who find yourselves desperately yearning for relational happiness, whether married or not. I’m wholly qualified to tell you that even the best and the kindest just do not satisfy. Only Christ can satisfy. I can’t say that too many times. Only. Christ. Can. Satisfy. Relationships were never intended to be vehicles for human happiness; rather, they were sovereignly designed to be instruments of redemption that conform us to Christ and bring glory to God.

Holly and her husband are running a race together, imperfectly imaging our relational God. Read more.

The Freedom to Create Waste

Our grandparents taught us not to let anything go to waste, but Carey Pace argues that the freedom to waste allows for great creativity. 

• It is wise to be frugal, except for when you consider art.  The freedom to create, use, experiment, manipulate, and play with artistic mediums without the fear of repercussions for generating mistakes or waste is a luxury that many in this world don’t ever hope to experience.  I was struck by this several weeks ago while watching my daughter happily create with abandon at her art table.  How many children would be just as wildly creative as she if they only had free access to the materials?  For those of us who do have this luxury, are we denying our children the opportunity and the creative breakthrough that comes with the access and freedom to waste?

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Around the Warren:

One Step Further

Helena Sorenson reminds us of a deep truth: we are who we are supposed to be, and we are exactly as skilled as God made us to be. Even more importantly, being ourselves glorifies God and gives the world our particular gift.

• It’s a simple truth, so obvious it’s almost silly that it should have to be spelled out in words: I’m called to do what I do best. I’m called to speak the truth of my story and the truth of the gospel and to show love and grace to the people I know, with the skills I’ve been given, in a voice flavored by my unique personality.

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“Story… begin to comprehend the world.”

An admission from Leif Enger. A visual from Paul Boekell.

Story Warren Presents: Author Talk by Jonathan Rogers

Julie Silander tells of another edition of Story Warren’s In-Person Presence: Jonathan Rogers is headed to Charlotte, North Carolina. 

• In the upcoming months, we look forward to connecting with many of you face-to-face. Our team is eager to serve you through teaching, training, and encouraging your local community. Last year, S.D. Smith and Zach Franzen spent an afternoon with several children exploring the role that illustration plays in serving story – complete with a chance for kids to have their art critiqued. Last June, our extended team (including Andrew Peterson and a number of allies) spent the day with 200 kids and their families from 12 different states at Inkwell, our first conference.

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Cecily Parsley’s Selected Rhymes

Something to Do with Your Kids:

Some of these might be a bit too messy to do indoors, but if you’ve got a garage or unfinished basement or if you catch a warm day you should be able to tackle some of these before spring comes again. These bubbles are magical.

And Something to Watch

This bird makes a sound like a laser gun in the movies…and lots of other cool sounds, too!

Thank you for reading. We’re on your side.