Lorehaven helps fans of all ages explore fantastical stories for God’s glory. Find the newest fiction for young readers plus teens+YA and adults. Get articles and podcasts that engage the best Christian-made fantasy, sci-fi, and beyond. Subscribe free to join the Lorehaven Guild for monthly book quests!
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‘The Chosen’ Creator Dallas Jenkins Responds to On-Set Pride Flag Criticism

Jenkins: “I don’t celebrate Pride Month. I don’t celebrate the pride flag. If I wore a shirt, it would probably say Humility on it, just because pride has gotten me in trouble.” · E. Stephen Burnett

The Little Mermaid’s Live-Action Remake Fares Better Than Critics Forecast

Some new songs may flounder, but Ariel’s voice and Triton’s character redeem the 2023 Disney film. · Marian Jacobs

Fantastical books for middle grade readers!

Best for older children ages 8–12
Hamelin Stoop: The Eagle, the Cave, and the Footbridge, Robert B. Sloan.
The Oasis King, Mark David Pullen
Bear Knight, James R. Hannibal
boys’ fiction · girls’ fiction · all fiction
Lorehaven Guild · Book Quests · subscribe

Top resources

  • Try These Three Practical Questions to Discern Fictional Magic
  • How Do We Discern Good and Bad ‘Magic’?
  • Three Fantastical Christian Stories to Help Your Kids Head Back to School
  • The Death and Rebirth of Magic in Children's Fantasy

The Little Mermaid’s Live-Action Remake Fares Better Than Critics Forecast

Some new songs may flounder, but Ariel’s voice and Triton’s character redeem the 2023 Disney film. · Marian Jacobs

New books for teens + young adults

Best for readers ages 13–18—and beyond!
Hamelin Stoop: The Eagle, the Cave, and the Footbridge, Robert B. Sloan.
Radiant, Ashley Bustamante
Hunt for Eden's Star, D. J. Williams
young men’s · young women’s · all fiction
Lorehaven Guild · Book Quests · subscribe

Top resources

  • Beware the Real Danger of Entertainment
  • Christian-Made Fantasy Can Shine Light in the Grimdark
  • How to Disciple Your Kids with Dangeous Books
  • How Reading Epic Fantasy Helps Me Be Brave
  • Engaging Fictional Violence in Our Real Worlds
  • Engaging That @&*% Our Stories Often Say

165. How Does Science Fiction Help Us Escape Real-World Gravity? | with B. L. Dean

‘The Chosen’ Creator Dallas Jenkins Responds to On-Set Pride Flag Criticism

Jenkins: “I don’t celebrate Pride Month. I don’t celebrate the pride flag. If I wore a shirt, it would probably say Humility on it, just because pride has gotten me in trouble.” · E. Stephen Burnett

New fiction for adults

Challenging novels for wise readers 18 and up.
The Soul Mark, Jasmine Fisher
The Kingdom of Heaven, Evelyn M. Lewis
War of Torment, Ronie Kendig
men’s fiction · women’s fiction · all fiction
articles · podcast · reviews · subscribe

Top resources

  • Even If We Like Fantasy and Sci-Fi, We Can Still Practice Accidental Legalism
  • How God Uses Story Villains for Our Good
  • Sensual Scenes in Fiction Pose Unique Temptations for Women
  • Stories With Bad Ideas Can Still Help Us Grow
  • Engaging Fictional Violence in Our Real Worlds
  • Engaging That @&*% Our Stories Often Say

165. How Does Science Fiction Help Us Escape Real-World Gravity? | with B. L. Dean

‘The Chosen’ Creator Dallas Jenkins Responds to On-Set Pride Flag Criticism

Jenkins: “I don’t celebrate Pride Month. I don’t celebrate the pride flag. If I wore a shirt, it would probably say Humility on it, just because pride has gotten me in trouble.” · E. Stephen Burnett

Film, streaming, TV, video games

Help your kids engage their world for Christ!
Explore The Pop Culture Parent

Top resources

  • Let’s Not Excuse Movie and TV Porn For the Sake of ‘Redemptive’ Stories
  • Christians Can’t Consistently Blame Leftist Fiction While Pushing Our Own Propaganda

The Little Mermaid’s Live-Action Remake Fares Better Than Critics Forecast

Some new songs may flounder, but Ariel’s voice and Triton’s character redeem the 2023 Disney film. · Marian Jacobs

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Hints at Redemption from Postmodern Pain

Marvel’s new space adventure is here to remind us of what the MCU used to be, with clear conflict and competent villains and no political preaching. · A. D. Sheehan
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Lorehaven helps fans of all ages explore fantastical stories for God’s glory. Find the newest fiction for young readers plus teens+YA and adults. Get articles and podcasts that engage the best Christian-made fantasy, sci-fi, and beyond. Subscribe free to join the Lorehaven Guild for monthly book quests!
Crew manifest Faith statement FAQs
All author resources Lorehaven Guild Subscribe for free

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Thirty Questions for Critics of ‘The Chosen’ or Other Christian Creators Who Hire Heathens

Yes, we must judge any creative work with righteous judgment, but don’t strain at gnats while swallowing camels. · E. Stephen Burnett

Shazam Sequel Can’t Appease The Fans’ Fury

More fans want superhero stories to act their age, connect with a larger world, and respect metahuman virtues. · E. Stephen Burnett

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Lorehaven helps fans of all ages explore fantastical stories for God’s glory. Find the newest fiction for young readers plus teens+YA and adults. Get articles and podcasts that engage the best Christian-made fantasy, sci-fi, and beyond. Subscribe free to join the Lorehaven Guild for monthly book quests!
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/ Magazines / Winter 2020

How to Find Stories that Restore Your Soul

God can restore your injured soul through the grace-filled habits of story journaling and curated fiction reading.
Marian Jacobs | No comments

I don’t need to tell you that 2020 has been full of trauma for our country and our world.

People have lost jobs, homes, health, and even loved ones—if not to COVID-19 and the economy, then to an aggressive political divide.

On top of that, many people have felt the weightiness of their usual personal sufferings that would have taken place no matter the state of the world. And if that isn’t you, then chances are you know someone who has suffered this year.

Yet through all of this, I have developed some of the best spiritual disciplines for healing from loss and depression I’ve ever had.

By “spiritual disciplines,” I don’t mean that we fix ourselves. Instead, we use methods of grace so that God can teach and heal us. Prayer and Scripture meditation are our first methods of grace. Second to these are the use of reading and writing fiction and poetry, worded to draw us closer to the heart of Christ.

The following are the disciplines and methods I’ve developed to that end.

Story journaling

The first is story journaling. You can write partly fictional stories and memories to help you heal from anxiety or possible trauma.

If you’re not a professional writer, don’t fret. The writing I’m suggesting is private journaling. You don’t have to worry that it isn’t good, because no one will read it except you and Jesus. This writing is more like a prayer, lament, or meditation.

If you’ve ever visited a biblical counselor, you may have heard of what I’m about to describe. The counselor will ask you to sit down, close your eyes, and envision a painful memory or situation. She or he might say, “Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Good. Again.”

You picture something from childhood, earlier this year, or the conversation you just had this morning. You see it in your mind and feel a tightness in your chest or stomach.

“Now Jesus enters the room or space in your memory,” the counselor says. “Perhaps he touches your shoulder, hugs you, or speaks into your pain with the truth of Scripture.”

When you imagine your savior and hear his words, that tightness soon recedes. Tears of relief prick your eyes.

Sure, you can do all of this in your mind. But writing is slower, more deliberate, and uses a different part of your brain. It also helps to revisit the story another time, when you need to be reminded of what Jesus says about you and your suffering in order to continuously banish the lies you believe.

I recommend sticking close to Scripture, when you imagine what Jesus says and does, so you don’t put words in his mouth that he wouldn’t say. For example, this work of flash fiction I wrote may help illustrate what I’m describing.

Reading fiction and poetry

The Bible models other methods of healing through Jesus’s parables, and through the Psalms, which are designed to help shape our thoughts and emotions.

When you read someone else’s experiences, you engage another perspective that you may never have learned on your own. That is, after all, one of the greatest gifts of living in the community of believers.

Recommended fiction

  • The Ravenwood Saga by Morgan L. Busse
  • Fawkes by Nadine Brandes
  • The Story of With by Allen Arnold
  • This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti
  • Creation of Jack by E.B. Dawson

We all know God specifically gifted Christians to serve the Church. But did you also know that creative saints throughout history, and some alive today, write poetry and fiction specifically to help the hurting sufferer and sinner? (See the sidebar for a short list of books recommended to me, though I haven’t read them all personally.)

Why did Jesus so often speak in parables, metaphors, and questions? Here’s a hint: it has to do with God making us in his image. How are we made in his image? We differ from animals not just in how we look, but in how we think. Animals have emotions just like us, but they can’t reason or think about thinking as we do. That’s the primary way we’re made in God’s image, and that’s the reason why Jesus spoke in parables. He was trying to get people to think. He wants us to comprehend complex and supernatural truths in ways that make sense to us.

When we read stories, we see characters believe lies before they learn the truth about themselves, their world, or both. When a character develops in a way that also aligns with Scripture, we learn truth and as they do. We experience what they experience, and we can imitate them in our own way.

Reading fiction without discernment can also be dangerous, because we could join characters in learning ideas that may not align with Scripture. But if we stay armed with our God-given reason, we may enjoy imperfect, man-made stories and come away with truth and healing.

If you find yourself in a particularly difficult season of life, try temporarily limiting your literary diet. That way, you can feed your soul on hearty, rich truth from trustworthy believers, instead of more difficult and weedy fiction from other sources. Drink from the fountain of authors like C. S. Lewis, George MacDonald, or J. R. R. Tolkien. For poetry, always begin with the Psalms, especially hymns of praise and psalms of lament. I also personally love the poetry collection by Bethany A. Jennings, This Poem is a Weapon, which speaks into loss, mental illness, and healing from a gospel-centered worldview. If you’re like me, you’ll feel as though she crawled inside your heart and penned the words with you in mind.

But before you begin any of this, stop and pray. Ask God to heal you, comfort you, and bring you to a knowledge of the truth we have through Christ—the prince of peace.

Staff writer Marian Jacobs has created Lorehaven stories since the first print issue, exploring Jesus, monsters, and spaceships. Her work has also featured at Desiring God and Stage and Story. She and her family live in Palm Springs, California.
Website | Facebook | Twitter |
Marian Jacobs
Staff writer Marian Jacobs has created Lorehaven stories since the first print issue, exploring Jesus, monsters, and spaceships. Her work has also featured at Desiring God and Stage and Story. She and her family live in Palm Springs, California.
Website · Facebook · Instagram · Twitter

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Lorehaven helps fans of all ages explore fantastical stories for God’s glory. Find the newest fiction for young readers plus teens+YA and adults. Get articles and podcasts that engage the best Christian-made fantasy, sci-fi, and beyond. Subscribe free to join the Lorehaven Guild for monthly book quests!
Website · Facebook · Instagram · Twitter