The Warren & the World Vol 4, Issue 46

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

HSP 38 Charlotte Gleason: A Literary Lifestyle

My friend Charlotte Gleason is a college educator, a mom, a lover of books, and a homeschool parent. In this podcast, she’s interviewed about incorporating literature and writing into her family life and homeschool curriculum to help prepare children for college.

In this episode of the Homeschool Snapshots podcast we chat with Charlotte Gleason, a homeschool mom of three, who loves food, literature, and teaching college-level classes.
Charlotte began homeschooling because she wanted her children to be able to run and play as well as have time to read. She encourages us to make literature and grammar an integral part of our homeschool as a way to prepare our children for success in college.

4 Prayers to Pray as a Family during Advent

Advent begins next week, and Alicia Michelle has four prayers we can use with our families during Advent.

Because of its focus on prayer and contemplation, Advent allows us to step away from the holidays’ hurried pace and to breathe in the presence of God as we ponder and joyfully cherish the expectancy, hope, joy and peace seen in the nativity story.
It’s easy to see why celebrating the four Sundays of Advent is such a wonderful holiday tradition for families!
But where does one start? What can a family’s Advent prayers and celebration look like? And how can we keep weekly family Advent activities from becoming just one more holiday ritual?

3 Parenting Myths We Are All Tempted To Believe

Tim Challies explores the truth behind these parenting myths.

God tells each of us that we are responsible to faithfully parent our children, and that ultimately our task is to raise our children to be fellow disciples of Christ. Through his Word he instructs us how to go about so daunting a task. Yet even while God sets the challenge and provides the instruction, he makes no guarantees about the result. He gives no sure formula that will result every time in healthy, obedient, saved children.

How to Read a Bible Full of Promises

In this interview, D.A. Carson explores the promises of Scripture and how they change the Book we read.

The Bible makes many, many promises. There was an old chorus I learned when I was a child in Sunday school. “Every promise in the book is mine, every chapter, every verse, every line.” And, of course, that is not true. There are some promises made to people other than me. So, one must read promises in their context. But there are many promises that God gives to human beings generically — all human beings — and other promises that he gives only to his own blood-bought, covenant people, and some promises that he gives to Israel, and some promises that he gives to individuals — to a Davidic dynasty, for example.

Around the Warren

Bunnicula Left Its Mark on Me

Joe Sutphin digs into the value of listening to stories.

A few days ago in the mail, I received a t-shirt with the classic Bunnicula book cover on it. I’ll admit, I got a bit emotional. Bunnicula was written by Deborah and James Howe and published in 1979. It is a humorous, children’s mystery novel about a family who finds a black and white bunny at a movie theatre one evening while watching Dracula, all told from the perspective of the family dog.
I never read it.

The Killer Angels

Liz Cottrill recommends Michael Shaara’s remarkable historical novel.

I still have that book-reading habit, and want to tell about a book I think would appeal to teen boys today. A couple of months ago, a friend asked me if I’d ever read The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. I hadn’t. She told me she invented errands so she could listen to the audio in the van and her son was profoundly affected by it. So I read it.
It is the story of Gettysburg told through the thoughts and actions of some of its greatest heroes. Both sides had heroes.

Something to Do with Your Kids

I’m a big fan of Mad Libs, and appreciate any opportunity to play with them. So when I saw this Thanksgiving Mad Lib, I figured it was time to share my love of them with you. Perhaps you can use it at Thanksgiving dinner.