rebelling against low expectations
In 2004, the world changed. Facebook arrived on the scene, and life as we knew it was never to be the same again. The year 2006 saw another explosion on the social media front-lines—Twitter. Instagram and Pinterest joined the frenzy in 2010, as people began Pinning and ‘Gram-ing their lives, and likes, for all their devoted followers to see. And let’s not even add YouTube and Snapchat to...
How should Christ followers approach media? In our culture, media is very popular and for some people, it rules their lives. As Christ followers, we should approach the subject of media conscientiously. We can easily fall on either side of the horse, legalistic or liberal. And it’s hard to keep balanced. Here are a couple questions to ask yourself when you’re contemplating watching a TV show, or...
Families in our audience are likely familiar with Jaquelle Crowe, the bestselling teen author of This Changes Everything: How The Gospel Transforms the Teen Years. Well, today I get to share an interview with Jaquelle’s parents, Sean and Diana. I conducted this interview last year for the 500+ families in our online parenting course, Raising Kids to Do Hard Things. But given our recent...
Technology isn’t the problem. Overload is the problem. Modern families have a complicated relationship with technology. On the one hand, we love technology. It improves our lives, helps us stay connected with people we care about, and is increasingly necessary for daily living. On the other hand, we worry about technology. We worry that our children are wasting time. We worry that they are...
“Three doubts holding you back from sharing the gospel.” “Three steps to start reading the Bible today.” ”Three truths every young person should know about social media.” These are three examples from my list of articles I have written this year. Do you notice a trend? Yes, they all start with three, but I’m talking about something deeper. There is a tendency— for myself...
Every day, we are faced with innumerable opinions from others. Whether it be through television, music, or literature, we are exposed to what people think. Like it or not, we live in the age of media. As Christians, how are we supposed to react to all this noise in the world? I think that in order to know how to respond to different kinds of media, we should first define what media is. What is...
“By the seventh day, God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done” (Genesis 2:2-3). The Sabbath is a distinct day; it is unique, consecrated, set apart. The seventh day is listed among the Ten Commandments that God delivered...
Social media has changed my life. It’s an incredible opportunity to connect with new people I would have never met otherwise. To share and learn new ideas and perspectives. But there is an uncomfortable truth I sense more and more when using social media. A lurking danger behind all the connecting, content-creating, photo-sharing, and influence-growing. Here are three truths every young...
Media brings the world to our fingertips, which has the potential to greatly affect our lives for good or for bad. While Christians can use media to glorify God, here are 5 questions to ask before you consume media. 1. How is this influencing my behavior and attitude? If your favorite sports team loses, what happens to your attitude? What if for the hundredth time you just can’t get past a...
One week without technology. I know it’s not a very original idea, but I did it anyway, and this is why. First of all, I was absolutely sick of it – sick of using my phone too much, sick of getting distracted on the internet, sick of it all. It was hurting my relationship with my creator. In the weeks before I took the challenge, I concluded that if I don’t feel close to God, there’s a...
rebelling against low expectations
