I’ve had more than one person ask me if it feels to me like this week has lasted forever (or been full of Mondays) and they’re not wrong. Nothing terrible or tragic has happened in my world, but boy is the week taking forever. If yours is too, may your days be bright. (And actually, if they’re rolling past quickly, I hope they’re wonderful, too.)

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A Father with No Regrets
As we move into Father’s Day weekend, Barbaranne Kelly considers fatherhood and our good Father.
- My husband is a strong man. But, as our five children well know, he’s also a sentimental softie when we reach certain milestones. With each graduation, each moving out, and each wedding, there comes a moment when Jim will cry. Whether it be a speech or a toast or a quiet moment hugging goodbye, their big, strong father will break down in tears. This spring and summer, our youngest child graduated from college, will move to Austin to begin his new job, and marry his childhood sweetheart. It’s the Great Sentimental Milestone Trifecta. We’ll need tissues. Lots of them.
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How to Meet God at Your Lowest Point
If you’re an America’s Got Talent viewer, or if you’ve been on social media in the past week, you’ve probably seen Nightbirde’s performance. Jane Marczewski’s story is not an easy one, but it is a powerful one. Her words in this guest post at Ann Voskamp’s blog are raw and real.
- I don’t remember most of Autumn, because I lost my mind late in the summer and for a long time after that, I wasn’t in my body. I was a lightbulb buzzing somewhere far.
After the doctor told me I was dying, and after the man I married said he didn’t love me anymore, I chased a miracle in California and sixteen weeks later, I got it. The cancer was gone.
But when my brain caught up with it all, something broke. I later found out that all the tragedy at once had caused a physical head trauma, and my brain was sending false signals of excruciating pain and panic.
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50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They’re 12
This list is full of classics and contemporary books!
- From picture books to graphic novels, fantasy to family fun, these must-read books have the power to hook kids of any gender. Some are cultural touchstones that belong in every kid’s library. Others open kids’ minds to cultures beyond their own. And some are recent releases that have the timeless quality of classics — the kind that get handed down to siblings and passed around classrooms. Whether you have a reluctant reader or a budding bookworm, consider these surefire, kid-tested titles.
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For Those with Little Faith
Scott Hubbard reminds us that Jesus is there for those with little faith.
- “O you of little faith . . .” The words run through the Gospel of Matthew as a kind of refrain, reminding us of the disciples’ wavering trust. And perhaps of our own. Four times, we hear this rebuke cushioned with tenderness, this tenderness steeled with rebuke.
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Around the Warren
To Know Me There
Carey Sommer notes that handing a child a book is not teaching him to escape, but showing him how to live.
- Lucy, Edmund, and Eustace are at the end of their voyage on the Dawn Treader, and they are going home. Lucy asks Aslan when they will come back. Aslan gently tells them they are not coming back. They are too old, and must draw near to their own world. Weeping, Lucy asks how they can live without Aslan. Then Aslan says, “But you shall meet me, dear one.”
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Julia’s House Moves On
Carolyn Leiloglou reviews a book by Ben Hatke.
- Julia’s House Moves On by Ben Hatke is a beautiful picture book about not having it all together. Because none of us do, really. And sometimes it takes a book like this to help us, and our kids, take a deep breath and remember that our plans may not work out, and that’s ok.
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Something to Do with Your Kids
Ties are still the right thing to give to Dad, right? Well, he might enjoy a custom art tie from his kids!
Something to Watch
Travel is still fairly limited (and getting to South Africa is hard for most of the world anyway), so just enjoy this trip there.

Thanks for reading. We’re on your side.
–The Story Warren Team
- The Warren & The World Vol 13, Issue 4 - February 1, 2025
- The Warren & The World Vol 13, Issue 3 - January 25, 2025
- The Warren & The World Vol 13, Issue 2 - January 18, 2025
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