rebelling against low expectations

About the author

Alex and Brett Harris

are the co-founders of TheRebelution.com and co-authors of Do Hard Things and Start Here. They have a passion for God and for their generation. Their personal interests include politics, filmmaking, music, and basketball. They are both graduates of Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia.

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115 comments

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  • SO cute some people just have the gift of photography while others (like myself) don’t think of things like that as easily. We are going to read the book as a family over family vacation, which will be the second time for me and my parents 🙂 It is a great book and we will be giving it as graduation gifts this year.

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  • What a cutie…:) Like God says we should have the faith of little children! When God says we can do anything through Him who strengthens us little kids don’t think ,” well, i am sure God didn’t mean ANYTHING!”, instead they simply trust and have faith! We should learn from the little kids!!

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  • elizabeth C.
    Thank you for the idea for reading the book as a family.
    We are going on vacation (driving to CO.) in a couple of weeks,
    so guess what we will be doing?

    Praise God to all of you young people for doing the hard things.
    God bless!!!

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  • Cute picture!

    Thanks again for writing the book! I just sent in for my 3rd shipment of books (buying them 2-3 at a time) so that I’ll have more for gifts! So far we’re giving them out for 5 graduation/birthday gifts, and I know it will be a good choice for many others when the time comes!

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  • So sweet! If we teach our younger siblings to do hard things then wow!There are going to be a lot of trees!

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  • Ha ha. Andie – I don’t think that is a pick-ax. I thought it was at first too, but when I really started looking at it I could tell that it is a regular ax. At least, I’m pretty sure it is.

    Anyway, cute picture. I like it. I am always trying to take amazing pictures; I never end up getting many. ;-P

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  • reminds me about how we all have some “little people” looking up to us and watching every move we make. what this generations aspiries to do will inspire the generation to come….

    BTW… That kid it too cute!!!

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  • Jacob: I’ve been wondering the same thing, and checking back for it every day.

    Do u know when it will be finished, Alex and Brett?

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  • I was able to pass on a copy of the book yesterday! I tried to give it to one of the two teenage boys in my 4-H group and he wouldn’t take it. He claimed that he wouldn’t read it and after I said to pass it on to some friends, he said they definitely wouldn’t read it. I was disappointed since I think he could’ve benefited from it (just like every teen).
    I then tried the vice-president of our group and she accepted it! She expressed interest in it and said instead of keeping it, she would pass it on to friends when finished with the book. Once she said that, I felt relieved and at peace. I believe that she was the right one to pass it on to. I pray that it will make a difference in her life.

    I just wanted to share that 🙂

    In Christ,
    Amanda

    P.S.
    Great picture! Cute 🙂

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  • I know this is off topic, but we just found out this morning that CCM singer Steven Curtis Chapman’s five year old daughter was hit by a car and killed yesterday. Please pray for the Chapman family.

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  • Hey Everyone,
    Please pray for Steven Curtis Chapman.He just lost his daughter last night.Alex and Brett,
    What If you guys could do a blog post wherer we could leabe encouraging notes for them?
    Your Sister In Christ,Hannah

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  • Regarding the picture: Cute! I’m sure God can and will work in that little guy’s life. God is good!

    Regarding the last few posts: That’d be tough! I’ll pray. God is still good, and let’s pray that the family of that child who is now in Heaven will keep their eyes on the Lord for comfort and strength.

    He’s Alive!

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  • I think that is an awesome picture and it does an excellent job of representing what we have to do as rebelutionaries. And the little kid is so cute!

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  • Alex and Brett,

    I saw that you had “Unveiling Islam” on your Reading List. What do you think are some ways to evangelise to Muslims? My dad is Muslim, and so is a great majority of my family from his side. I’m afraid to talk to them about Jesus sometimes because I don’t know how they’ll respond. I know that’s totally wrong of me though. The Koran that Muslims read has the stories we call the Old Testament in it. But it doesn’t have the New Testament. My dad has very strong oppinions about Jesus, and says he was merely a prophet, nothing more. But as his daughter, how do I tell him that He is so much more? My mom says I shouldn’t offend him, but should I really be worried about that? I know that I should be respectful and definitely courtious in a situation like this. I just don’t know how to go about evangelizing to him.

    ~Monica~

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  • Think Big, Do Big!!! You rock, little guy!!!!!!!
    great pic;) he’ll probably be the next george washington, except instead of a cherry tree……..a slightly larger tree;)

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  • http://www.answering-islam.org/

    Perhaps this site would help you Monica.

    About your dad: while you consider and pray about how to talk to him, don’t forget that your best avenue of witness to him is by your life. In fact, that is really your best witness all the way around because it gives meaning to what you say. I know I’m not Alex or Brett, but I hope I was of some encouragement.

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  • dear Alex and Brett,(or anyone else who thinks they can help=)

    im reading your book and allthough it makes alot of sense to me, i still find myself falling into the familiar rut of doing the bare minimum, barely coasting by in school and not doing jobs around the house. i want to know how i should start to take apart the mountain i have created in my mind. Any suggestions would be awsome!!!

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  • Cameron: I definitely understand what you’re saying here, I constantly have to keep praying myself out of this rut and relying on God to pull me through. I’ve noticed that ultimately, getting out of the rut requires us to rely on God, but it also requires will power. We have to prayerfully assess our mountains, look at them from the perspective of, “I’m doing this for someone I love- how can I glorify God in this situation?” and then “put our backs into it”. Maybe with school, it starts by choosing to do the difficult project instead of the easy one. After a while, we get used to doing difficult projects, then we can take on difficult classes. Maybe at home it starts by chosing to takle one job at a time, and avoid the things that distract us. If you’re like me, you look at the whole package of chores and say, “There’s no way I can do all that!” We have to break it up, and find out what’s keeping us from doing this stuff. Maybe we’ll discover that idols of pleasure and comfort are preventing us from doing hard things, so we can confess these idols and pray that God would help us fight them.

    The first few times I force myself to work a little harder on a school project, it’s difficult. The first few times I make a conscious effort to cook dinner, or clean the house, it’s difficult. But after a while, with God’s help, it becomes a little easier, and I start concentrating less on the act itself and more on why I’m doing it. It’s like trying to roll a boulder: initially, it takes a lot of effort to get the thing to budge, but eventually, it starts to move and pretty soon, it starts rolling on its own. I’m not saying that it’s effortless, but as God continues to refine us, we look at things differently, and often they appear less daunting.

    I hope that some of that helps. I don’t know if you’ve finished “Do Hard Things” but the last few chapters talk more about taking apart our mountains… you might check them out.

    God bless!

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  • Hey Cameron,

    I know it is hard to do all those small hard things! I’ve made it a habit to say “Do hard things, Jasmine! Do hard things!” all the time. Here is my advice: Read passages of the Bible about work & laziness and think about what the Lord says about them. Re-read the section of the book about small hard things and write down the things you know you need to take action in. And most importantly, pray. Ask God for help every day in being diligent in school and chores. Try to do your chores & school like you are doing them for Jesus. Know that you cannot successfully do big hard things unless you can diligently do small hard things. Hope this helps!

    -Jasmine

    P.S.- The picture is adorble!

    And I am definitely praying for Steven Curtis Chapman. I love his song Cinderella and I was soo sad when I had found out about his daughter dying! I read somewhere that it was Steven’s son who was backing into the driveway and didn’t see the youngest daughter and hit her. Is that true? I wasn’t sure. Anyway, news of his daughter dying deeply grieved me and I am praying for the entire family. “What If you guys could do a blog post where we could leave encouraging notes for them?” Hannah I really like that idea also.

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  • Cameron: Great job for being willing to take on the challenge of “do hard things”. I’m proud of you. 😀 The first thing that popped into my head was each day find one thing you are doing (even if it seems kind of small) and think of how you could go one step further. Sometimes it’s those little steps that end up being big steps in the end. They can also help you in getting ready to take bigger steps.

    This is kind of off topic but I believe very important. The other day Steven Curtis Chapman’s youngest daughter was killed in a car accident. The most heartbreaking thing about it is it was her older brother who accidentally hit. So, please pray for the Chapman family and especially the brother.

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  • Hillary.S, I heard about that and I’m praying for them.

    Cameran, What I do when I feel like I’m doing the bear minimum is, I pray and ask God to give me joy and passion for whatever I need to do a better job on. God wants us to do everything to our full potential and usually if I have a passion for something I do a good job, but if I don’t have a passion for it I’ll probably do a bad job.

    -cj

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  • Apparently my first comment is awaiting moderation, so just ignore that comment where I’m saying that I spelled Cameron’s name wrong.

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  • “Even a child is known by his actions; by whether his conduct is pure and right.”
    Proverbs 20:11

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  • Cameron:
    I agree with what Hillary said. But to add to that one thing that I have always found helpful when trying to work on a certain area of my life is to tell someone else what I am working towards. That way they can keep you accountable and encourage you.

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  • Andrew Branch,

    Thank you very much. That was such an encouragement and it really helped. Sometimes I forget to think about that…

    ~Monica~

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  • to cameron: i know how you feel, i’m just like you and one thing i know for a fact….

    to do hard you MUST PRAY HARD!!!

    hope th@ helps, i’ll be praying hard for you!;)

    your sister in christ,

    Genna

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  • Gotta’ agree with Garrett o this one.

    Say, is it too late to add a conference for example in Vancouver B.C.? I still can’t believe y’all were in OR before we moved from Texas and will be in TX in June, now that we’ve moved to WA. 🙁 I’m just sorta’ joking. 😉

    Have a great time in CO, and TX! 😀

    -Melanie

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  • I will add my Awwwwww to the chorus!

    Andie: My baby brother loved my book also. Hey, who could resist a 3-D shiny red cover that comes OFF! AND goes back ON! 🙂

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  • Camreron: After reading that book I found myself thinking that nothing was not a hard thing, because think of the concequenses! Even just not doing those little hard things like.. whatever, you might find yourself compromising more. I would encourage everyone to think of everything as something hard!

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  • I agree with Josiah… but at the same time, it’s okay if you don’t. I’m leaving for camp today! The one and only sad thing about it is that I’m going to miss the Denver conference. I live only half an hour away, but I’ll be a few hours away. 🙁 Oh, well. No offence, but I think that camp is going to be better than the conference. 😀 5 days of preaching and such!
    Well, I need to eat lunch and hit the road! I’ll be praying for the conference, though!

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  • hey I just wanted to let you guys know that what you are doing is powerful! My dad is a pastor and he is giving the books to all of our graduates this year. I really enjoyed the book, and I know that God is at work in you guys. Keep doing hard things!

    Your fellow rebelutionary and sis in christ,
    allie

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  • I would soooo take picture of the book, but It’s currently getting passed around my church. It has my name in it so hopefully i’ll get it back!!!

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  • I’m 13 and looking for a job, but it seems that no one wants to hire a 13 year old for anything. When I’m 15 I plan on being a life guard at the local pool. I do have a question though. Why is it that no one wants to hire a 13 year old for anything? Is it because they think that they won’t be responibal enough or what? I really wish i could get a paying job to save money to buy a car when I’m old enough to drive.

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  • Hi, Annie. I hope you don’t mind me throwing in my opinion. But I think that a lot of the reason people won’t hire anyone before 16 is because of child labor laws. These are certainly good for some reasons, but it does make it difficult to make money at a young age. One job that is great preparation for the future, and is also a lot of fun, is being a mother’s helper. This can include babysitting, tutoring, house cleaning, cooking, etc.- whatever the mother needs help with. I know that many mothers would like to have this help around their home. It’s a great way to bless them, a fun ministry, and a way to make a little money.

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  • You should put the picture on the back of a t-shirt, and under put DO HARD THINGS!!!! 🙂

    Anyways, Annie, I’m 13 too, and I am a mother’s helper. It is a rewarding experience, and very humbling. (not to mention that you can make money that way too! – not to sound greedy, since the best part really is to help.)

    ~ Kaitlyn Kay

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  • Cute…. That is inspiring aswell. Kaitlyn’s idea is good too, make a T-shirt with the little guy on it 😉

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  • Way2go Josh and Andrew!
    I C U R putting your “One Focus” skills to use!

    BTW Josh, i have to ask you somthing. Can you send me your address?
    And did you have fun in Cali?
    [email protected]
    :0)

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  • This is a very beautiful website, I have enjoyed my visit here very much. I’m very honoured to sign in your guestbook. Thanking you for the great work that you are doing here.

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By Alex and Brett Harris May 19, 2008
115 comments
rebelling against low expectations

The Rebelution is a teenage rebellion against low expectations—a worldwide campaign to reject apathy, embrace responsibility, and do hard things. Learn More →