rebelling against low expectations
(Redmond Reporter) — It’s not uncommon for teens to list video games as one of their favorite hobbies. Creating a video game is a different story. But this is exactly what 14-year-old Redmond resident Matthew Mistele did. The ninth-grader from The Bear Creek School spent the past year or so working on creating a video game, which was released on Jan. 22 and is now available on Xbox 360. “It’s a...
For the past fifteen years, photojournalist Chuck Bigger has traveled the globe with Compassion International, working to bring to life the stories of thousands of children living in poverty. When given the opportunity to interview individual children, Bigger likes to ask them this question: “If God were sitting in this room with us right now, what one thing would you ask Him?” This...
(Brass Magazine) — The American Dream–the success of the everyman — is getting knocked around a bit lately. But it can’t be counted out if high school kid from an industrial slash farming town in central Ohio needs to rent warehouse space to contain his rapidly expanding manscented candle business. ManCans’ headquarters is 1,000 square feet of concrete-floored, no-frills...
Take 30 minutes to watch this new message from Billy Graham, which aired on primetime television on November 7, 2013. Whether you are already familiar with Billy Graham and his life message, or have only heard his name, you’ll be impacted by this powerful film, featuring the stories of former Flyleaf lead singer, Lacey Sturm, and rap artist, Lecrae. Viewers are encouraged to view the...
(Branson Tri-Lake News) — To say 17-year-old Riley Banks is on a mission could be considered an understatement. The Branson teen has distributed hundreds of backpacks and school supplies to children in Kenya, provided more than 1,000 hygiene kits to girls there, helped provide a medical clinic for more than 1,300 people and opened a school this year. She does it all through her nonprofit...
We stumbled across this video the other day and were blown away. Who says teenagers can’t understand, study, and get excited about complex, abstract topics? Who says we’re only able to handle the latest celebrity gossip, pop song lyrics, and Internet memes? VIDEO: If you can’t watch the embedded YouTube video above, you can check out the video on Wimp.com by clicking here. If...
At the end of August, we posted a heart-wrenching plea from seventeen-year-old McKennaugh Kelley, asking, even begging for us to help two disabled Ukrainian orphans get adopted. You not only responded with compassion, you were moved to action, sharing the article around the Internet, pledging money towards adoptions expenses, and praying, praying, praying. Here’s an update from McKennaugh:...
Do small hard things really count? To answer this question, take out the word small. Do hard things really count? Of course! Remember, small doesn’t mean easy. We should still be stepping outside our comfort zones, going above and beyond expectations, and doing what is right, even if our actions don’t seem all that impressive to most people. Why? Because big or small, the hard things God calls us...
(Mirror) — Not many people can claim to have changed the world but for one lucky group of teenagers, they may well get that chance. The winners and finalists from the Google Science Fair 2013 were announced last night with young people from across the globe gaining plaudits for their futuristic sci-fi, medical and technology-based ideas. Youngsters aged 13-18 from more than 120 countries entered...
(Tennessean) — Nearly a year ago, Savannah Blaylock and Samantha Laubacher left a youth retreat with a simple charge: “Find something you’re not OK with and do something about it.” Then high school juniors, Blaylock and Laubacher were inspired by Brad Montague, co-producer of the Kid President video series, who spoke at the retreat. He reminded them that while they were not yet adults, children...
rebelling against low expectations
