Share in the Glory of the Winter Games

I’m Canadian. I can’t not talk about the Winter Olympics that started yesterday. Thankfully, David Mathis wrote brilliantly about how to enjoy the olympics in a uniquely Christian way:

• The Christian can enjoy the Games with more substance and depth than anyone. Here’s a call to Olympic viewing with spiritual significance.

Great post. Can’t wait to watch curling. Read it.

8 Ways to Reverse the Decline of the American Book Lover

David Murray things we should read more. I think I should read more if I want my kids to read more… which means I agree with David Murray.

• Nearly a quarter of American adults have not read a single book in the past year.

  The number of non-book-readers has nearly tripled since 1978.

  In 1978, 42 percent of adults had read 11 books or more in the past year; today just 28 percent hit the 11 mark.

  The average 18-to-29 year old finishes nine per year, compared to 13 among older American.

He has eight suggestions to help you fight back. Read more.

In Praise of the Popular Story

Alan Noble reminds us of the value of pop-stories.

• For adults, sometimes it feels as though we must choose between aesthetically excellent films that will depress us and poorly written stories that will merely distract us. We long for a good movie to keep us interested, to draw us into the adventure or drama, to keep us laughing, or horrified, or titillated. Film is a spectacle whose purpose is to captivate us. Or we watch movies to be challenged philosophically, to feel life’s mysteries deeply, to question the world around us. All these things are good and worthy of pursuing. But I don’t want us to overlook the value of a good, well-told, popular story.

I want my kids to be snobs about what they consume, a little. But I want to be careful to train my kids to not be such snobs that they miss out on good things just because they’re popular. Read more.

Add to the Beauty

Chris Yokel at the Rabbit Room talks about some of the goings-on in Detroit.

•  The headline, “Why I Bought A House In Detroit for $500” caught my eye, and soon I was engrossed in the story of Drew Philp, who at 23 decided to purchase an abandoned house in Detroit in an area that many people are deserting as the city slowly crumbles into chaos. He and his neighbors rebuild their homes, grow vegetables, raise chickens, start schools, build ice rinks in abandoned back yards in the winter, and generally create community in a place that most of the nation has consigned to hell.

Read it. Very, very good. Read more.

 

Around the Warren:

Black Threads

Ming-Wai Ng writes beautifully about the hard truth that God uses even awful things.

• If communism had not taken over China, I would not be here.

  If that black thread were to be purged from the tapestry of history, I would not exist. My entire being, my entire story, would unravel.

I needed the reminder this week. Read more.

I become a thousand men and yet remain myself

Paul Boekell presents a brilliant Lewis quote:

• 

Imagination, Instruction, and a Cheery “Robot” Quartet

Loren Eaton reviews Bob Staake’s Hello, Robots.

•  It’s also not hard to find children’s books that are dynamic; writers love to offer stories arranged in unorthodox ways and illustrators adore painting striking pictures. The trick, though, lies in finding titles for little ones that provide both instruction and artistic excellence.

I love Loren’s reviews. I’m looking forward to reading this book. Read more.

The Whittler

Joe Sutphin is a brilliant illustrator and writer. He presents The Whittler.

• Now, by no means am I a fanciful thinker, or one to buy into tales of faeries and such, but I have come to understand that there are rare occasions in life when a man may find himself faced with the unexplainable. It was on such an occasion as this that I found myself, a fairly level-headed man, questioning most everything I’d ever known to be true.

Read it to your kids — check it out.

Something to Do with Your Kids:

I’ve got a two-fer for you this week:

• First, there’s a great infographic introducing you and your kids to calligraphy. My handwriting looks worse than your doctor’s. Seriously. This is a dying art. Read more.
• Secondly, Google introduced another neat tool. This one lets you build with lego in your web browser. I love building with lego. This way, you never run out of bricks. Read more.

And Something Fun to Watch

It’s finally here. Winter Olympics 2014! Here’s a best hits compilation from years past:

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