The Warren & the World is Story Warren’s weekly newsletter, providing a round-up of our favorite things from around the web as well as a review of what was on our site over the past week. We’re glad you’re here!
Around the Web
When Our Big Plans & Unspoken Dreams Aren’t Turning Out at All
- And just like that, I began my new job as a custodian two days later. I could not help but chuckle as I was cleaning the toilet I had been sitting on two days before (I know — too much information).After the first couple of days of excitement from just having a job, reality set in.
I thought, Wow. I’m a custodian. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with being a custodian. Nothing at all.
It’s just that this was the furthest thing I had envisioned when I left my previous church job to plant Quest Church. It wasn’t part of my strategic plan.
Creative Activities vs Creative Inspiration
- Even when we seem to have less time for creative activities (on a summer road trip or at the beach, perhaps) everyone is probably soaking up creative inspiration.We’re making memories and storing images and smells and sounds that become a part of who we are as people and as artists. Those memory banks can be called upon whenever we are creating.
These experiences help form who we are and give us food for thought and food for art.
Back to School Supply List: 21 Resources
Julie Sanders shares a different kind of Back to School Supply list: 21 resources full of encouragement and practical ideas.
- When all is said and done, what students need to learn is a curious mind, opportunity to explore, and interaction about their discoveries. Moms, on the other hand, can use something NOT found on a back to school supply list: ENCOURAGEMENT and PRACTICAL IDEAS. So, here’s a list of useful resources and inspiring posts just for YOU in the midst of the back to school season. The top is packed full of helps for prayer, because that’s the foundation for a great school year!
Parenting From the Couch
M. Blazoned has a word for the tired parent, the parent who just can’t keep up with all the advice in the parenting books, the judgy parents out there, or “that perky friend down the street who does crafts with the kids with sincere happiness.”
- Despite the name, you won’t actually be sitting on a couch at any point. Oh, come on, you’re parents. You don’t sit on couches. You probably sat on your couch once when you had company over that time. You perch on a hard chair in your kitchen wearing a ratty old fleece surrounded by bills to pay, unopened mail, school flyers, and work from your job you are avoiding. Forget actually sitting on a couch. It’s a metaphor. I mean, do Helicopter Parents actually get in a helicopter and hover? No. Are Tiger Moms actually tigers? No. Well, maybe. I’m not entirely clear on that. I skimmed that trend.
Around the Warren
Batman and Bach
Glenn McCarty writes on the juxtaposition of Batman and Bach and finding the largeness of God in the ordinariness of life.
- Batman and Bach. Go figure. Could you have picked more contradictory interests? But that’s my son. Both of my boys, in fact. They’re walking contradictions. They love action figures, lightsabers, and … the Moonlight Sonata. There was actually a moment when the strains of a Bach cantata drifted out of the stereo speakers while my son leaped from the couch at his older brother yelling, “Come and face justice, Bane!”
Ticket to Write, Part 2: Painting with Words
Our friend Jennifer Trafton is back with another great way to have fun with words. Don’t forget to check out Jennifer’s online writing class for kids, which starts on August 24. There’s a link at the bottom of her post to learn more.
- One of the wonderful things that words can do is paint pictures in our imaginations. Good writing makes us see something in a new way, and it makes us feel something about what we see. To practice word-painting, here’s one of my favorite activities using word tickets, which you can do at home with your family.
Something to Do with Your Kids
Here’s art that is both edible and beautiful. Something to do during snack time.
And Something to Watch
In today’s video, the Martians on Sesame Street discover the radio.
Thank you for reading. We’re on your side.
You can find her at carolyncgivens.com or on Facebook or Instagram at @carolyncgivens.
- The Warren & The World Vol 13, Issue 13 - April 19, 2025
- The Warren & The World Vol 13, Issue 12 - April 12, 2025
- The Warren & The World Vol 13, Issue 11 - April 5, 2025
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