rebelling against low expectations

What are your plans for 2017?

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ANA WRITES: 2016 has come to a close and many are setting goals and making plans for next year. So I was wondering: What are your plans for 2017? Where do you think God is leading you?


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are submitted by real rebelutionaries who are looking for godly answers to tough questions and lively conversation with other young adults. You can join the conversation by commenting below. If you'd like to submit your own discussion question, email us at [email protected].

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  • My one “resolution” is to write more. I haven’t decided what I want to do with my future, but I know that I love to write, so perhaps that is what I’ll do. The one piece of advice I keep hearing is if you want to be a writer, you have to write as much as possible.

    Although, I think our “resolutions” are a bit wimpy, when I think of Jonathon Edward’s resolutions.

  • Olivia W. covered my writing goal perfectly! I would love to start a blog this year! I also plan on reading more of my Bible in 2017… I got a journal and plan to write down a verse that I read every day. I am excited to see what all God has in store for my youth group, we are really a family; and I can’t wait to see how we grow together this year!

  • Dang. Um, I want to graduate. After that I dont really know, but in the mean time I’m trying to build stronger relationships — especially in my church.

  • Well… *awkward silence*

    I should probably graduate. And maybe go to collage. I really have no idea at this point XD I’m just really grateful that God is faithful, even when I have no clue what i’m doing with my life, and I want to get to know Him better in 2017.

    • Okay, I feel like you should know how encouraging this was. I don’t know what I’m doing either, so it’s really good to see you in the same boat but trusting God anyway.

  • I have a lot of plans next year. 2016 was just all around crappy in a lot of ways. Because of the heartache, financial difficulty, and strained relationships my family and I have endured this past year, for 2017 I intend to be completely intentional with everything. I have huge plans, from hosting conferences, volunteering, being camp counselor, and leaving the country for 5 months. All of these are, in one form or fashion, hard.

    I think if I learned anything this year, its that being intentional is key to healthy everything. Healthy relationships. Healthy careers. Healthy heart and mind. And when I say the word ‘intentional’, I don’t mean legalistic and rigid. I mean simply thinking, praying, and acting in love with everything you say and do. I’m excited about this next year. And though I have many plans, He orders my steps so life is an adventure (:

  • To have live every day by faith in the Creator who loves me.

    This year I turn 18 and with that comes a lot of changes. I don’t know what my future holds but I know that God is in control and will be with me no mater what.

  • I hope to finish high school and continue working my way towards earning a bachelor’s degree in history, with a minor in writing. Also, I hope to write a biography or a historical novel about Angelica, Elizabeth, and Margarita Schuyler.

  • I plan to get back into good reading habits this year. Last year had so much time spent in-and-out of hospital for me, that my reading habit sort of slowly died out. I plan to start by finishing a few books I’ve already started (i.e. The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis, among others). Some good book recommendations Fiction & Non-Fiction would be appreciated!

    • The Boys in the Boat is my all time favorite non-fiction book. It hooks you right at the start, follows an incredible story focusing on one person within a team, and is so well written. Medium-light fiction book would be the Ranger’s Apprentice books by John Flannagan. I love those books so much…

      • Ranger’s Apprentice is the one series I love to death, but don’t have. I mean, I have the prologue series, but not the main one. The Wars of the Realm series by Chuck Black is also fantastic.

        • I like Chuck Black too. I need to finish his Wars of the Realm books. Also, Flanagan did a spin-off serious called Brotherband. I don’t think they’re quite as good, but they’re fairly good. I just dearly love the characters in Ranger’s Apprentice and thus can’t quite manage to latch the same adoration onto the Brotherband characters.

          • Yeah, I read all of those too. I agree with your opinion on them, the series isn’t quite as good. Sometimes it almost seems like John Flanagan is running out of ideas for his newer books. If you’ve read his newest Brotherband book, you’ll probably get some sense of what I mean.

          • I have read that book, actually, and I did like it. It’s hard for an author as prolific as he is to keep coming up with new ideas for all these different characters, so it is understandable. Still, my favorites remain the Ranger’s Apprentice books, particularly book 4(Battle for Skandia), book 7(Erak’s Ransom), and book 10(the Emperor of Nihan Ja).

  • Grow closer to God and find my contentment in Him alone. I also want to work on my relationships with my siblings and friends.

  • To read my Bible, along with several books on theology and apologetics, completely through. I have started to do this several times over the last year, but I never manage to get past the end of Genesis, unfortunately. Here’s to hoping I’ll make it this time!

    • I feel you. The reading plans are hard. I usually just read one book over and over for a few months. But since all scripture is profitable and that’s pretty much the only way I can read the OT, I’m starting one too. I have my church to keep me accountable which helps. Keep at it! 😀

      • Thanks for the encouragement! I definitely have trouble reading the OT sometimes; the minor prophets sometimes don’t seem as relevant as other parts of Scripture, as important as they are.

  • I am planning to read the bible through {hopefully this time I will actually make it}. I have tried in past years, and you know, you have a great and wonderful start, and then it kind of dies off again. And by the time you start it up again, you are too far behind. But this year is going to be different. I also am planning some large crocheting projects. I am also hoping to find somewhere where I can crochet donations. I am sure that this year is going to be a year to be zealous about witnessing, who knows it may be our last……..

    • Hospitals around here are always looking for hats to give to premies and cancer patients. That might be a good to give.

      • THANKS SO MUCH!!! I have been looking for some general places to look into. So far I hadn’t found much {mainly because I haven’t been looking very much yet} . But thank you so much. I have been looking for a way to use my {so-called talent {please don’t think I am boasting, I really don’t want it to come across as that} . Thanks

  • Read my Bible at least 4 days a week(doable goal to start, that way I don’t burn out and feel like a failure if I accidentally miss a day, though ideally it would be 7 days a week)
    Sing more
    Stick to my budget
    Walk more

    Overall goal: rest and balance.

  • I have no idea!!! Or. . .well, hopefully I’m going to graduate this year, get a job, go on a short terms missions trip, and make my relationships stronger and more God glorifying. So yeah, I guess I do have some ideas for this year, but of course, I don’t have it all planned out.

      • What’s your book about? And where are you going on a missions trip? I’m going to Mexico in March! 🙂

        • That’s so cool! My sister went to Mexico once. My book is a novel about friendship. The main characters are two dogs that are kind of best friends but are put into a situation where they have to decide whether they’re going to be friends or rivals/enemies.

          As far as the mission’s trip, I’m not really sure what’s happening with it. I will probably find out soon though!

  • My goal for 2017 is to build up a nonprofit that provides clean energy through the use of solar panels to struggling families. I will sell panels to better off families, and charge them installation costs to fund the free ones I would provide for the poorer people. I go a lot more in depth in my blog (www.jakestudebaker.com) but that is my main goal. I turn to this site after reading the book in hopes of finding some other teens who may be able to help me, or some people who can offer advice.

    • Jake, it is really encouraging to me to hear that you want to start this organization to help others. I think the Church in America has really slacked in assisting those in need.
      Also, I have quite a bit of experience with electronics, so I might be able to answer any questions you may have.

  • Okay. There’s one problem I have with making goals: I tend to break ’em. If I had to make a goal, then it would have to be to change the mindset that is buried in my brain this summer. I am one kid who has a go-big-or-go-home mindset, so I tend to try and jump across the Grand Canyon in a single bound (metaphorically speaking). I will never make it through high school that way!

    • Same way, but if you keep reading the Word of God and especially pray about it, then that would help. Maybe God has other plans for you.

  • My goals for 2017 are kind of vague. I definitely want to progress my writing skills, probably finish the LOTR series, and spend some more time outdoors. Spending more time with God is also something I want to do this year.

    • The LOTR series is my second favorite series, after Rick Riordan’s Hero’s of Olympus series. I have read the LOTR books countless times, and watched the movies countless times. Finishing them is a great goal.

      • My friends are constantly recommending that I finish them, so we’ll probably read the second LOTR this summer together. I read the Heroes of Olympus series, and it was an interesting concept, very addicting.

        • Yeah, the only thing I didn’t like about the Olympus series is that if I didn’t know better, or if I didn’t have such a strong relationship with God, I might of believed Greek Mythology.

    • The exact same with the LOTR series. I had the books forever, but I only just started to read them…. I have NO clue about why I waited so long to read them, it is a great series.

    • I remember the time I started reading the LOTR series with my dad, funny thing is that we watched what we read. We did that with The Hobbit, but the book was so different from the movie(it was animated). Anyway while reading LOTR at night along with my family, we were kind of bored of it so we watched it instead. I was probably 7-10 years old but I watched it, since then My siblings and I were LOTR fans.

      I’m finishing The Lost Road also by JRR Tolkien based on The Silmarillion(I’d recommend The Silmarillion, Now I like it better than LOTR, even though I didn’t finish the LOTR series in book).

  • I (Erica) am 15, and for me, 2017 involves becoming more mature and ladylike, which is very hard to do with 2 brothers ages 13 and 2 and no sisters. :-/ But that is what God has given me, and I wouldn’t trade either of my brothers for anything!
    Now, back to the New Year….
    While looking for quotes for the New Year, I came across one that really spoke to me. It was this:
    “Our hope is NOT in the New Year…but in the One who makes ALL things new.”
    It is so true! We can set as many goals as we want, but the truth is, we are ALL sinners, we ALL have weaknesses, and we are ALL in need of a Helper (God). Matthew 19:26b says, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” And in Psalm 115:9, David writes: “O Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield.”
    That being said, I think it is great to make New Years resolutions, especially if you are really serious about it, and I do have some goals for this year. But we need to remember that we can only accomplish them with the help of God and not by ourselves. Another note along those lines is that I believe it is very important to make a doable plan of how we are going to accomplish our goals. So, I am working on forming a plan in order to finish a book that I have been writing with a friend via email, work on compiling a recipe book, cook more, get a few jobs that I can do from home, spend more time with my brothers, make a better use of my time, and know God better. I also want to do more hard things and serve others more this year. It sounds like those who have already commented on the ‘Plans for 2017’ post have some really great plans for this year! God bless you all in your pursuit of being a Rebelutionist! May He give you strength to do hard things! 🙂

  • One of my goals is starting a blog to inspire other teens to follow God and reach the world. I want to see teens and young people change the world. I want to see teens and young people to be Warriors on their knees. I want to see teens and young people know that their God is always with them and is One Step Away.

    1 Timothy 4:12 “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”

  • There are two sayings/mottos I’m using for this next year.
    1) Start My Journey. This stuck out to me because I’ve decided that this year I’m really going to change all the habits in myself that I don’t like. I’m going to literally, start my journey towards God and towards reaching that person I’ve always wanted to be.
    2) “Chase purity, chase humility, chase gentleness, chase kindness, chase love, chase life, chase truth.” This just goes along with 1).

  • This year, I’m hoping to read through the Bible(So far I haven’t missed a day[it’s the 22nd] and I’m well into Exodus). Also memorize both some big chunks of Scripture, but also individual, more specific to my life verses.
    I hope that my prayer life takes off this year, and that I learn to be more humble.

  • 2017:
    Whoa… 2 months has flown by…
    Ok.
    Main goals:
    -Stick to my promises
    -Set challenges for myself in every aspect of my life
    -Be a great friend
    -Learn to listen & hold my tongue
    -Stay fit

  • For me (although this reply is kinda late), I want to focus on managing my time better, as many people in my school are consumed by the addiction of video games. To do this, I want to fill that time with writing a comic on WWII, which is currently going well, although nowhere near finished. I also want to find a way to influence my peers in a good way, which is why I’ve began to read “Do Hard Things” (which is also what brought me here).

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 →