rebelling against low expectations
Independence is championed in modern culture. Being self-sufficient is seen as the ultimate goal of success. We’re pushed to rely on ourselves and make decisions based on our own good and preservation. This has led to some major problems in life, because we were created by God for community. Consequently, I have noticed a general trend among young people. They’re searching for...
To you, the kid with the boring testimony: I get it. You write your story: I was born into the church, accepted Jesus when I was four, and have been following him ever since. Then you crumple it up and try to think of something more exciting, because that isn’t going to convince anybody of the miraculous work of God. To the kid with the boring testimony: I understand. I’m the kid who has been...
Today we vote. Today we “decide the fate of the Republic.” Today, those of us in America, exercise our “God-given rights” as a Democracy to decide who we will be: What laws we will follow and what leaders we want to guide those decisions. I don’t know about you, but this season can be a little overwhelming. Everyone’s emphasizing the importance of this election, even though we emphasize that...
Depression. It’s something we’ve all experienced. We’re weak. Yet we do everything in our feeble strength to convince others we’re strong. People ask us how we’re doing and we say we’re good. Even when we’re not. Why? We’re broken. There’s no changing it. From the moment Adam and Eve first sinned, humanity has been broken. On this side of heaven we’ll always be broken. If you’re reading this...
“What car were you in?” He asked. “I wasn’t in a car. I was running home and wanted to offer any needed assistance,” I replied. After thanking me for stopping and returning to the phone clutched in his hand, I resumed my Garmin watch, though home was a mere three-tenths of a mile from the intersection where multiple cars collided on a sunny afternoon. Did the Holy Spirit prompt me to stop and...
We were on a trip around the East Coast. My brother and I were enjoying it all. The scenery, the food, and especially the history. But then my parents started feeling a nudge in their heart that we needed to move out there. What? It’s funny how we nod our heads to the things we’re taught until we’re waist deep in a circumstance where we actually need to use them. I always knew my hope was...
I used to be an introvert. When my family walked into church and the pastor told us to “mingle,” dread crawled up my spine. At parties, I sat alone and pretended to be okay with remaining silent. Fear kept me from speaking the first words, and I watched the faces going by, hoping a friend would break away from their cliques to talk to me. I used to be an introvert. In some ways, I still am. But I...
If you were accused of doing something you didn’t, how would you react? Once upon a time, I’d have fought the accusation. But something happened several months ago that changed my opinion. In October, my class put on a skit. We needed a mop bucket, so we got permission to use the janitor’s. After we performed the skit, we returned the bucket to the janitor and didn’t give it another...
Did you know God is more concerned about whether or not you love your neighbor than that you get straight A’s in your math class? Paul said in his letter to the Romans to… “Owe no one anything, except to love each other… Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:8-10). Anything we do without love is totally worthless. Love is pretty important...
The dance is beautiful. One glimpse of the rhythm and movement fills your heart with such wonder that you lose all sense of time and self. Such power emanates from the dancers moving one around the other that it seems as if shots of electricity surge out of their fingertips wrapping the others in glory and delight. It doesn’t take long before you find yourself swept into the magic of it all. One...
rebelling against low expectations
