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
What Your Child Needs More Than Self-Esteem
At The Gospel Coalition, Hannah Baehr explores the challenges of raising tiny sinners.
- “Self-worth is everything to a child!”
She said it with finality, her eyes intense with passion. “Telling kids they are bad only causes emotional instability they aren’t ready to handle. I’ve seen it result in terrible things . . . ” She trailed off, but her penetrating look did not.
She was the older, experienced mom; I was young and rocking my firstborn. Her warning intimidated me, but it left me with this tension—where does self-worth fit in a world of sin? If every human is born in sin, then tiny humans are no different.
19th C. Classic Children’s Books You Might have Overlooked
At What Do We Do All Day, Erica points us to some of the classics.
- Many parents want to read what they consider to be “Classic Children’s Books.” These 19th century children’s books are certainly classic! It is rather difficult to make a list of 19th century books that you haven’t heard of. After all, there are only so many 100+ year old books that are still worth reading to your children! That said, I have left off the major contenders. So, I’ve created a list of 10 books from the 1800s which go beyond well-known names like Alice, Jo March or Tom Sawyer and Huck.
How to Bring the (Whole) Bible to Life for Kids
Jimmy Needham explores how to engage kids with the whole of Scripture.
- A couple years ago, my wife stumbled on a blog by a mom who had been reading the Bible to her children, one chapter a day. Not a children’s Bible. TheBible. She started when they were young, and eventually worked through all 66 books. I was inspired.
That same week, I sat my three- and four-year-old daughters down and opened up Genesis 1. The Bible has 1,189 chapters (929 in the Old Testament and 260 in the New). If we read one chapter each day, it will take us a little over three years.
Tripping Over My Feet
Kelsey Miller shares her story of walking through her anxiety with a counselor and what it taught her about living in every day.
- Janie said it could be the beginning scene of the indie movie about my life that, if you ask me, will probably never be made. On my first day of therapy three summers ago, I walked into the front room, confused by the lack of official-looking-person who was to tell me what to do. Couches. Doors. A vase of flowers. Peaceful noisemakers drowning out the sounds of tears and sorrow (I couldn’t imagine then that laughter might be an option). But there was no front desk, no greeting. I sat down on the couch. I stood up. I walked down the hall, but the rooms with open doors were empty and the ones with closed doors? There was no way I was going there.
Around the Warren
Our Very Own Great Tower
Josh Bishop tells us about the place in his house where the world expands.
- If you rummage about in our living room, you probably won’t notice our Great Tower. It’s shabby and brown, and it has a hole rubbed through the leather in the center cushion, courtesy of either the dog or our sons. We found it on Craigslist at a price so cheap we’d’ve been fools not to buy it.
The couch isn’t much to look at, but I love it. This is where the really important stuff of life happens, the earnest work of a parent: telling and retelling the stories that shape our children’s imaginations.
Retellings Reconsidered
Emma Fox considers the plethora of fairy tale retellings available and give us some criteria for examining them.
- As a child, I read every fairytale and folktale collection that I could get my hands on. I loved being swept away to other times, places and worlds. I relished being called into perilous adventures, then brought safely home again, with the heroes rewarded and the villains soundly trounced.
In high school, I discovered fairytale retellings: novelized versions that took the skeletal framework of a familiar tale and fleshed it out with vivid worldbuilding and fully realized characters. Back in the late ‘90s, of course, the pickings were rather slim.
Something to Do with Your Kids
Looking for some fun activities to do with your family on Independence Day? Here’s a list of 4th of July Games to Keep Kids Entertained All Day for you to check out.
And Something to Watch
We’re less than a week away from America’s Independence Day, and it’s a good time to think about some of the foundational elements of the country. This clip from AMERICA: The Story of Us on the History Channel has insights from contemporary voices on why the Declaration of Independence was so important.
Thank you for reading. We’re on your side.
Carolyn Clare Givens is a displaced Northerner exploring the foreign ways of the South. She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with her literary cat, Lord Peter Wimsey. She's the author of The King's Messenger and Rosefire and in her free time helps run Bandersnatch Books.
You can find her at carolyncgivens.com or on Facebook or Instagram at @carolyncgivens.
You can find her at carolyncgivens.com or on Facebook or Instagram at @carolyncgivens.
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I love the article on reading the WHOLE Bible to kids! What great ideas : ) Thanks for sharing.