rebelling against low expectations
And then suddenly, it was over. Weeks and weeks, months and months of secrets and shopping and decorating and waiting for one day – and now in a great big exhalation, that day is over. All we’re left with is recycling bags full of wrapping paper and a leaning Tower of Pisa stack of leftovers in the fridge. The snow (or grass) looks browner today, the trees deader, the presents nice...
It’s almost Christmas and stores are selling out of wrapping paper and gift tags as fast as you can say, “Happy Holidays.” For those of us who celebrate Christmas – and the gift-giving tradition that so often accompanies it – choosing the perfect present, finding it, buying it, and wrapping it can be a stupefying process. That’s why I’ve created this handy guide to gift-giving...
A lot of you are like me. You have dreams. You have big and marvelous and glorious visions to change the world. You’re going to backpack mountains and invent cures and write books and build orphanages and explore and love and do and be. You’ll do it. I know you will. But not today. For whatever reason, today you can’t. You are sick. You are not old enough (legally). You have...
Teachers everywhere are sharpening pencils, scarecrows are in display windows, and Wal-Mart has officially stocked the shelves with full-priced backpacks. It’s back-to-school time yet again. Maybe you’re starting college. Maybe you’re homeschooled. Maybe it’s your senior year or your freshman year or maybe you start junior high this year. No matter what stage you’re...
We live in turbulent times. This is a world where black and white have been blurred to gray and institutions entrenched in the very fabric of society are now open to debate. On Friday, June 26, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) legalized the recognition of same-sex marriage in all 50 states. As faithful Christians, we want to give thoughtful consideration to so serious and essential...
It’s been almost a month since the Charleston shootings, almost a month since that night of June 17 when nine lives were claimed at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. It’s been almost a month since nine of our brothers and sisters were killed for their faith and their race. Yet we’re still grieving. The shock and the tragedy are still fresh and the families of the...
Last autumn, it happened. All of my fear, excitement, trepidation, dreaming, praying, hoping, and searching ended. I got my first job. It was a momentous occasion. A first job usually is. Ask almost any adult what their first job was and they’ll grin and tell you a dozen stories about it. As I look back on that experience, there are twelve things I learned about looking for a job (first, or...
All of us have things that we’re insecure about. For most of us, a big portion of those elements are physical — our height or hair or weight or teeth or ears or feet or fingers. But we also can feel insecure in our communication or our intellectual capacity or how we perform a task. Insecurity is like this gall-embittered drink we all taste in our teen years. Almost all of us inevitably...
My dad is going to help me pick out a husband. He’s not the shotgun-toting type, and we don’t believe in arranged marriages. I’m not from another culture or planet and I’m not a crazed fanatic. Yet my dad is helping me choose my husband. In fact, he’s already done that. No, I’m not getting married yet. I’m not even eighteen. But over my childhood and teen...
Do you ever wonder at the world? Not in a tired way. Not like you’re upset or frustrated. Like you’re in awe. We live in a world of marvels, glorious complexities and breathtaking beauties. Every day we are surrounded by them. Yet we drink them all in without a shred of wonder or an ounce of awe. We are bored. How poignantly G.K. Chesterton assesses our condition: “We are...
rebelling against low expectations
