Story Warren

Kindling Imagination for Kingdom Anticipation

The Warren & the World Vol 7, Issue 11

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It’s been a WEEK over here. I’m feeling overwhelmed and snappish and ready for a break and just done. Ever been there? I didn’t even want to compile The Warren & the World and considered letting you all go without it for this round.

I was having one of these weeks sometime last year, and just then an artist brought in her piece for a gallery exhibition I was coordinating. She’d written out what she wanted on her label:

Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.

And I started crying right there, because this week, this season, this day–it’s not the way it’s supposed to be. But the story isn’t over yet. Spring is coming.

Around the Web

12 Ways to Pursue Better Rest

Rachel Donahue writes at The Donahue Daily on what she’s learned about pursuing rest.

  • After the holidays, I had a Sunday-morning conversation with a friend, asking how she was doing. She responded with frustration that despite trying to rest, she didn’t feel rested.
    I know that feeling.
    You kick back to watch a movie, or you curl up in a chair for half an hour to scroll through social media, and you’re resting, right? Your body is pausing activity to be still, possibly even dozing off for a bit. Then why on earth do we not feel rested?
    Read more

Yours Also the Night

Julie Spencer reminds us that God never shows us a “closed” sign.

  • The day is yours, and yours also the night…
    —Psalm 74:16
    Sometimes when I cannot sleep, I wander through the house, looking at all the other people who are sleeping. There’s a satisfaction in knowing that all my loved ones are contentedly asleep, with their blankets cozily snuggled under their chins. I feel a flash of jealousy, too, sometimes, a sense of martyrdom: “Well, at least someone is getting some sleep around here.” Cue the dramatic sigh.
    Read more

Fruit and Vegetable Bug Snacks

My nephew loves bugs. Everybody knows it, so these pretty snacks have been popping up in my Facebook feed as people share them with my sister. Whether you’ve got a budding young entomologist in your life or just need a creative option for snack time, here’s some fun.

  • Bring out your child’s inner artist with healthy fruit and vegetable bug snacks! These cute little bugs are a fun and easy recipe for kids.
    Read more

Book of the Week: Stella by Starlight

Sarah Mackenzie introduces us to a middle grade novel that tackles some hard themes of history well.

  • In this book… Meet Stella, an ordinary African-American girl living in Bumblebee, North Carolina, during the Depression era. Our story begins the night Stella and her younger brother, Jojo, witness the Ku Klux Klan burning a cross, which changes Stella’s life forever. Her town and her life are never the same.
    Read more

Around the Warren

The Age of the Hedgehog

Chris Wheeler considers the stages our kids walk through.

  • It all started with a book.
    We found Jane McGuiness’s Prickly Hedgehogs at our local library and picked it up for the sake of its vibrant, gentle illustrations and simple narration. Our children ate it up. Shortly after we returned it, however, our son Kai entered what will henceforth be known in our family as, “the Age of the Hedgehog.”
    For two months now he has been snuffling around the house, collecting everything that resembles hedgehog food: plastic vegetables, toy insects, green LEGOs, etc.
    Read more

Walking With Aslan

Isabel Chenot has a poem for us.

  • If I could go, my small hand hidden
    in your tangled flame,
    feeling strength flow
    through a massive frame.
    Read more

Something to Do with Your Kids

Even my friends in North Dakota saw warming temperatures this week. It seems, though we sometimes don’t believe it, that spring really and truly will come again. The equinox has passed, and it’s officially time for a list of spring activities for your family.

Something to Watch

As we continue walking through the season of Lent, I wanted to share these songs with you. My friend Paul Burton has arranged a song cycle called Songs for the Shadowland. This is the first, “All Glory to God on High.” You can find the whole playlist here.

Thanks for reading. We’re on your side.

-The Story Warren Team
Carolyn Clare Givens
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