Story Warren

Kindling Imagination for Kingdom Anticipation

The Warren & the World Vol 8, Issue 10

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I’ve watched on Facebook and read emails from my friends living in Asia over the past five or six weeks and their stories of changing schedules, ministries, schooling, etc., have felt far away. But this week, as school after school and church after church announced moves to online gathering and as the toilet paper disappeared from stores, I realized that my friends’ lives were not distant, they are merely ahead. Like the saints who walked before us, whose stories we read in Scripture, they are a cloud of witnesses telling us that it is possible to trust God in the midst of the unknown. May you hear their message today.

Around the Web

We Are Okay, and We Are Not Okay

Christine’s family has been quarantined for 40 days–starting not long after they returned to China, moving to a brand new city. Their world is the walls of their apartment for now. And they’re not okay, but they’re okay.

  • It is now Day 40 of the COVID19 outbreak and our own personal journey of staying in China to ride out the storm. It feels like the entire country is holding its breath— quiet and hunkered down— waiting and feeling like a balloon that may soon burst after so many weeks of trying to contain this nasty virus.
    It is Day 40 of staying at home, stores and businesses closed except for the grocery. Day 40 of staying home and switching our entire school system to online learning, figuring out new platforms and spending more time on screens than we ever thought we would or should. Day 40 of watching the sun come up without fail, tipping over the edge of the window where wrens flit about the bare brown branches as if they didn’t have a care in the world. So free, those little wrens. So watched over. May they never be caged.
    Read more

45+ Fun Staycation Ideas for Kids To Do At Home

You might need some home-based activities in the coming days.

  • staycation ideas to do with your kids with this helpful guide of resources and ideas of things to do, read, and create.
    Families all over the world are staying home for upcoming spring breaks, canceling trips, due to concerns about illness. Some of you are possibly staying home due to school closures.
    Read more

Awaken Wonder

Easter is coming, and–whatever the Christmas songs say–it really is the most wonderful time of the year. Scott James reminds us why.

  • Wonder is contagious. When we’re in awe of something, we have a natural tendency to tell others about it so they can marvel at it as well. Whether it’s a book, a movie, or a restaurant, humans are inherently gifted evangelists, spreading the good news of whatever we hold to be wonderful at the moment.  
    As a parent, I have the privilege of helping my children curate wonder. They are born worshippers and their hearts are continually casting about, looking for something marvelous to behold. 
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Wash the Next Dish

Chris Wheeler picks up the dishtowel and carries on.

  • Today, again, I am at the wide sink in our kitchen scrubbing up the dinner dishes.
    We don’t own a dishwasher, and I don’t think we’ve ever owned one. I grew up on a chore rotation of dishwashing, so it never really struck me as a priority to have a dishwasher. Some days, however, I think about our burgeoning family of recently-seven and wonder if we’ve made a terrible error in judgment.
    But this is not one of those days. 
    Read more

Around the Warren

Invisibility and How to Overcome It

AJ Vanderhorst considers what to do when he finds himself seeking the  achievable goal of invisibility.

  • I haven’t had much luck believing six impossible things before breakfast. Not even aided by espresso. However, in pursuit of more achievable goals, I’ve been thinking about the nature of invisibility.
    Many big accomplishments have been made possible by the i-power. Midnight explorations at Hogwarts. Escapes from nasty relatives. Thievery in goblin tunnels with far-reaching implications for Middle Earth. 
    In certain moments, who hasn’t wanted to be totally unseen?
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Edward Tulane and the Soft, Sharp Heart of Love

Loren Eaton reviews a favorite Kate DiCamillo book.

  • At first blush, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane seems an odd choice of book to encourage holy imagination in a child. Newberry-winning author Kate DiCamillo’s tale of a china rabbit who becomes separated from his owner (one Abilene Tulane of Egypt Street) and undergoes numerous misadventures has a distinctly downbeat tone. The trouble, if we want to call it that, begins with the titular protagonist. Edward Tulane is not a nice china rabbit. 
    Read more
Mime shows at something invisible on his palm

Something to Do with Your Kids

St. Patrick’s Day is around the corner and you might find it an opportunity to share some of the real story of the missionary to Ireland with your family. While you’re at it, make some Irish flags!

Something to Watch

This is a fun experiment from Smarter Every Day on what happens during acceleration.

Thanks for reading. We’re on your side. 

-The Story Warren Team

Carolyn Clare Givens
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