It’s Good to Be a Jar of Clay

Trillia Newbell talks about embracing the treasure we have in earthen vessels.

• Being a mom to small children, I am faced daily with my weakness. Often it’s in the form of tiredness and impatience. Motherhood can be tiring, but my children are not at fault for my weakness. They are a great joy and blessing. The tiredness part actually becomes another reminder that I am a part of a fallen world. It makes me feel how badly I need a Savior.

A much needed reminder. Read more.

The Importance of Creating a Family Culture

This is a helpful reminder (from an unexpected source) of the need for parents to be intentional about building culture with their families.

• As a young dad… I want to create a close-knit, fun-loving family and raise children with upstanding character. So I’ve asked the parents of the families I admire what their “secret” is to creating such a tight family bond. They all pretty much say the same thing: They’re intentional about creating and fostering a positive family culture. 

Read more.

Faith in Fiction

Here’s a challenge from a Christian who writes literary fiction: He says we ought to be careful to care about what’s happening in current fiction. Also, it features this incendiary paragraph:

• I’m sick of Flannery O’Connor. I’m also sick of Walker Percy, G. K. Chesterton, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, T. S. Eliot, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and Dostoevsky. Actually, I’m sick of hearing about them from religiously minded readers. These tend to be the only authors that come up when I ask them what they read for literature.

See, you can’t NOT click the link. Read more.

Life Lessons from Boy Meets World

This article by Jesse Carey is about the teeny-bopper show that I watched every single episode of in the 90s, but it’s about more than that, too.

• The same generation that once loved TGIF without irony is the one now that has become jaded by the Church when they finally got old enough to recognize its flaws. Any cynic can bash an institution for things it’s done wrong. But, just like with old TV shows, there’s something to be said for looking past the goofiness to see what makes something great.

​Read more. For Cory and Topanga’s sake.

The Psychology of Music

A fun infographic that explains how music interacts with your brain. Read more.

Around the Warren:

On Your Limitations:

Rebecca Reynolds started off the week with another in her series of letters to her children. This one was about limitations.

• Do not be ashamed of your limitations.Don’t be grieved because you have weaknesses and gaps.

  Do not worry that you are very, very bad at some very good things.

  Here is why. Color theory.

It’s a beautiful post. Read more.

Life on the Interstate

Guest poster Jerel Law recounts a recent road trip he took with his family, and the lessons God teaches through those lenses.

• It’s possible to measure these journeys in miles, or gas stations stops, or fast food meals, or in lots of other mundane ways.  My hope, though, was that God would allow us to measure our trip by something further below the surface.  I didn’t even know what.  But pointing my car north on I-77, packed to the gills with three kids and about a thousand other things, felt like an act of faith.  That God would take the promise of the road in front of us, and bring us to somewhere somehow more alive.

Go read the rest. Read more.

The Grey Squirrel and the Pouncing Intruders

James Witmer weaves the tale of a squirrel and a cat. A good read-out-loud for you and your kids.

• His winter-time sleepiness had melted away in the sunshine, and he scampered all around the garden, checking his store-houses for snacks. He was just digging up a nice stash of acorns when, suddenly, SCHWALUMF! A fat, orange-striped cat crashed through the garden, nearly on top of him!

We’re still working on the correct phonetic presentation of Schwalumf! Until then, improvise. Read more.

Something to Try with Your Kids:

Do-it-yourself paint recipes:

11 different ways to make a gigantic, beautiful mess with your kids. Read more.

And Something Fun to Watch

This is a sweet story about an artist who found a different way to create as his abilities were limited by his age. It’s also a testimony that the limitations of a medium shouldn’t be that daunting.

Thanks for reading! We’re on your side.