Story Warren

Kindling Imagination for Kingdom Anticipation

The Warren & the World Vol 9, Issue 15

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Two murder-mystery-themed items made their way into my around-the-web collection this week. Your littlest ones might not be up for them, but I began reading Agatha Christie in elementary school and was no worse for the wear, so I’ll keep both in the list.

A few years ago, I presented on Golden Age detective fiction at a conference, and one of the points I highlighted was the way most of of those mystery writers used the form to highlight the beauty of justice. The stories begin with the disruption of order and end with the restoration of right—they are microcosms of the Fall and Redemption. You know your own kids, so keep alert for content that  might be upsetting to them, but consider adding some murder mysteries to the reading mix.

Around the Web

In Praise of Reading Aloud

Ali Kjergaard writes at Mere Orthodoxy in praise of reading aloud—not just to children.

  • It felt a bit awkward at first, a group of friends in their mid twenties sitting around in my library in an old Capitol Hill row house. We had all brought our copies of various Tolkien, some with a well-loved copy of The Fellowship, others brought stacks of the lesser known stories; The Silmarillion, The Unfinished Tales, Sigurd and Gudrún. Different levels of Middle Earth experts all brought together by a common love of Tolkien. We had discussed the idea of a “Tolkien reading night” for awhile, but on a rainy night we were attempting to make it happen. But would we be bold enough to flip open the pages and read the words aloud? Reader, we did. And it has made me wish I read aloud more.
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The Golden Age Detective Stories

Hayley at Redeemed Reader introduces us to some of the Golden Age greats.

  • Who murdered ____?  Is it the estranged relative?  The thwarted lover? The embittered neighbor?  But the more immediate question for you, dear reader: what mystery to read?
    Let me introduce you to some of the great authors of the Golden Age, and one of their successors.  But what is the Golden Age?  Reaching from the 1920s – 1930s, the Golden Age was a heyday for the mystery genre, though it’s more of a starting point than a definitive decade.  Some golden age authors continued to write beyond the 1930s, and G. K. Chesteron began a decade earlier.     
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Don’t Put a Spiritual Bow on Your Brokenness

KJ Ramsey reminds us that suffering can last, but there is grace. 

  • The year I got sick, I was a resident assistant tasked with emotionally and spiritually supporting a group of nearly thirty college women.
    I spent hours each day in the library writing papers, the day punctuated by meals and coffee dates with women from my dorm. After copious amounts of tea sipped between fervid research binges, I would walk across the dark, quiet campus to my hall, where I would stay up even later attending to the tears of peers getting over breakups or venting anger about their roommates.
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Bible Infographics for Kids

Redeemed Reader recommends a great resource for learning the Bible.

  • Bible Infographics for Kids presents Bible facts and concepts in an entertaining, memorable way.
    Read more

Around the Warren

Two Books on Friendship

Aimee Davis points us to two sets of friends.

  • Friendship is a tricky thing. Today’s world of social media and texting adds a level to friendships – or rather takes away a level – that has never been experienced before. Throw in a pandemic and the whole idea of how to “do friendship” could make anyone crazy.
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Morning is Coming

Jessica Burke looks toward morning from the dark.

  • She comes to me in the middle of the night, crying. I pull her small body into my bed next to me. “What’s wrong?” I ask, pushing hair from her eyes.
    “I’m scared of the dark,” she whimpers, her body settling into mine.
    “Me too. Remember when I screamed when I was taking the trash outside?”
    She laughs. “But it was just a bumpy toad, Mama!”
    Read more

Something to Do with Your Kids

You all know how much I like a good at-home science experiment. Here’s a whole book of them!

Something to Watch

This here’s a whole mystery in about a minute and a half. It’s funny, the animation is delightful, and there’s a lesson on humility to be found.

Thanks for reading. We’re on your side. 

–The Story Warren Team

Carolyn Clare Givens
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