Story Warren

Kindling Imagination for Kingdom Anticipation

The Warren & The World Vol 9, Issue 47

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In the busyness of Christmas travel preparations, I missed last week’s The Warren & the World entirely. Hopefully you didn’t miss it too much. If you have a few moments of quiet in the next few days, I hope you’ll enjoy this week’s edition. Merry Christmas!

Around the Web

Waiting to Love Well: Advent, Friendship & the New Creation

Carly Marlys points us toward the New Creation in our Advent waiting.

  • Advent has always been described to me as a time of waiting for the coming of the Christ child, and throughout my childhood, I accepted that information and didn’t waste too much brain space on it. Even when I did consider the implications of Advent, it always seemed so ceremonial and almost archaic to me, a beautiful ceremony without an abundance of practical application. The birth of Christ had already happened in time and space, in history, and while I understood the need and desire to celebrate that fact, I didn’t really understand why we still insisted on waiting. The light of the world has come. What are we waiting for in the Advent season specifically?
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Efficiency Isn’t Fruitfulness

As she prepares for the New Year, Kelly Keller reminds us that among all the fresh new day planners and bullet journals, efficiency is not the same thing as fruitfulness.

  • Just as the road to hell is marked by a series of little turnings, a gradual descent, the road to sanctification is marked by a series of little uphill battles, a little endurance, and the occasional battle won. It is not the fast-track version of efficiency that the world, as well as many in the church, want to sell you.
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Picture books for boys (and girls) who love action and humor

Megan at Redeemed Reader has a picture book collection for us.

  • A reader-inspired hunt for a roundup of favorite picture books for boys and girls who love action and humor.
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Adventures of the Juniper

Our friend Michael Tinker’s new series is ready to watch! You can rent it at the site below, and check out the Christmas episode linked below (available until Boxing Day—that’s December 26, for the Americans among us!).

  • 6 live-action episodes aboard the JBI Starship Juniper where Michael, Septima, Captain Archibald, Dr Von Pomplenickel, Igor and, of course, Mr Grumpy, will get up to all sorts of hilarious and meaningful goings on. Each episode also features a song bringing it all together.
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Around the Warren

You Are Loved

Don’t miss this new song from Michael Tinker’s Adventures of the Juniper!

  • Here’s a new song from the decks of spaceship JUNIPER!
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The Shiloh Series | Helena Sorensen

Théa Rosenburg recommends our own Helena Sorensen’s Shiloh series—a good read for this dark time of year.

  • We live in a world blighted by sin. This past year, we’ve seen startling markers of it: the day I first drove downtown last spring and saw the shops closed and the streets empty, I felt it. This is not how it was meant to be. But even on a day like that, when everything felt marred and twisted, I could hear chickadees calling and could look up and see cirrus clouds curling in the upper realms of the sky. The sun rose over the bay, enlivening our stilled city with its light.
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We Wait in the Darkness: Some Thoughts for Advent

Glenn McCarty reminds us in the waiting.

  • The first week of December holds an infamous anniversary for me. This time a few years ago, I found myself flat on my back for nearly a full week after I was hit full-force by a most memorable stomach virus. At the time, pre-pandemic, it seemed like about the worst thing anyone could endure; certainly, for me, it was one of the most disruptive illnesses I’d ever experienced. 
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How God Used A Christmas Carol to Resurrect Literature in My Life

John Sommer tells a story of rediscovering literature through a Christmas story.

  • My personal golden age of children’s books came much later for me than for most reading children. Coming from a family of non-readers and being dyslexic limited my exposure to great books, but visiting Granny’s house did introduce me to Dr. Seuss and the Little Bear books.
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Something to Do with Your Kids

Here’s a fun star sponge-painting activity you could do as you talk about the star leading the magi to find Jesus! 

Something to Watch

Episode 4 of Michael Tinker’s series Adventures of the Juniper is available on YouTube until Boxing Day (December 26)!

Thanks for reading. We’re on your side. 

–The Story Warren Team

Carolyn Clare Givens
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