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
The Mediocre Purist
Brittney McGann’s piece at Charlotte Mason Poetry explores the value of learning our weaknesses.
- This notion that mediocrity is “a middling state” and not the same as outright failure, that it might even be better than great success, more restful and more enjoyable, seemed to me like permission to be average. It reminded me of the idiom, “jack of all trades, master of none.” Up until that point, this idea had a negative connotation in my mind, and it was something I had personally struggled with. But then I began to really consider the idea. As a child, I had developed a habit of only doing what came easily to me.
Oxygen
- If you’ve ever flown on an airplane, you know the safety announcements before your flight. If you’ve flown on as many airplanes as I have, you have those announcements memorized. You could actually be the flight attendant.
This weekend, I keep thinking about the part about oxygen masks and children. The instructions tell parents to take care of themselves first, then put the mask on your children. Those instructions are exactly opposite of what maternal instinct tells me to do. Maternal instinct says, “Save your child. Sacrifice yourself for your child.” It puts my needs after my children’s needs/wants.
A Baptist, an Anglican, and a Presbyterian Walk Into a Monkey Bar
- Last week, my friends Russ Ramsey, Russell Moore, and Thomas McKenzie met me in a pre-school classroom in Nashville to have some fun and talk about family.
We recorded four short episodes, now titled “A Baptist, an Anglican, and a Presbyterian Walk Into a Monkey Bar.” Here is the first one, on the exciting subject of Scripture Memorization. Don’t miss it.
Does God Care Who Wins?
Are you following March Madness? Do your kids play soccer, or baseball, or basketball, or any other sport? Do you care who wins those games? Do you think God does? Bob Schindler, Executive Director of Church Sports Outreach, has written a book that wrestles with the complexity of that question and and how we can explore it well with a right view of who God is. Check out his Kickstarter and consider supporting the publication of the book.
- Does God care who wins?
If you say, “No,” why no? Are our games not important enough in light of other world issues? This is the common reason given. It trivializes sports and leaves us wondering what else isn’t important enough in our lives to garner God’s concern.
If you say “yes”, why yes? Does God favor a particular team over another and if so, why? This answer tends to trivialize God and leaves us encouraging different values than those God declares matter to him in the gospel.
Around the Warren
Sir Raleigh, Storytelling, and the Sea
Alan Howell explores the power of storytelling through the lens of one of history’s greatest explorers.
- A wonderful painting hangs on the wall of my office. This gift from my lovely wife is a reproduction of Millais’ The Boyhood of Raleigh, and I hope it continues working its way into my heart and imagination.
James K. A. Smith summarizes well the story behind this painting: “Sir Walter Raleigh, you might recall, was one of Queen Elizabeth I’s intrepid explorers. He established some of the first British colonies in what is now North Carolina. But he also twice set sail in search of the elusive El Dorado. In the painting, Millais imagines just what creates such an adventurer and explorer. His hypothesis? A good storyteller.”
Don’t Miss Singing the Bible with Slugs & Bugs
James Witmer reminds us that Slugs & Bugs’ Kickstarter is in its final week There’s still time to find out what all the fuss is about if you don’t know!
- Randall Goodgame and the Slugs & Bugs team are launching not one, but two new Sing the Bible albums this year: Sing the Bible With Slugs & Bugs 3, and Sing the Bible Christmas!
If you’ve heard Slugs & Bugs and Lullabies, Slugs & Bugs Under Where?, Sing the Bible With Slugs & Bugs, or Sing the Bible with Slugs & Bugs 2, you probably need nothing else but the link to their Kickstarter Pre-order page: http://bit.ly/STBVol3.
You’re welcome.
If you haven’t yet experienced the musical delight that is Slugs & Bugs, however, feel free to keep reading.
Something to Do with Your Kids
It’s officially spring–though some of our thermometers might not say so yet. If you’re in that group, or if you’re a reader from the Southern Hemisphere and it’s actually fall, You can just tuck this link away for another day. But if you’re itching for a little bit of spring-ness, maybe you need some ideas for spending family time outside!
And Something to Watch
This acrobatic dance group from Brazil is kinda amazing.
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 16 - May 10, 2025
- The Warren & The World Vol 15 - May 3, 2025
- The Warren & The World Vol 14 - April 26, 2025
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