rebelling against low expectations
About a year ago, I joined the Young Writer’s Workshop. I decided to join because I thought it would help me as a writer (and it has!). But joining also led to something else. Suddenly I was pulled back into a world I had forgotten about for a few years– the world of rebelutionaries, doing hard things, and rebelling against low expectations. I first read Do Hard Things when I was about 13...
I was reading The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer recently and came across a passage that resonated with me and stopped me in my tracks. Much of our difficulty as searching Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist upon trying to modify Him and bring Him nearer to our own image. The flesh whimpers against God’s inexorable sentence...
A year ago, I entered the ranks of the working world, and got a job. And not just any job—a “best in town” kind of job that most people only dream of, with a kind boss and flexible hours. But unfortunately, it wasn’t the job I wanted. While I methodically filed papers and made phone calls, I dreamed of the day when I’d be able to leave the drudgery of a “normal job” and do what I really wanted to...
I lay on my bed, curled up as small as I could. No tears, just silent in my thoughts. I wrapped myself in my arms, squeezing harder the more I wished my thoughts would quit their tormenting. I had just begun thinking over my day when it all came flashing back, and I could feel the blood rush to my face. I had done it again—I had said something ridiculous, as if flaunting my stupidity in public...
I hunch over with a bag of lightly buttered popcorn to the side, blue light searing my face. Click. Tap. Click. Tap. Click. Click. Click. A few hours of clicking later, I finally get tired of it, so I exchange my keyboard and gaming mouse for a remote. Actually—I swapped it for the full screen button, because who watches cable TV over Netflix or anime these days? Consumer Christianity We live in...
Your life has a story. Every choice, every step, every decision…is part of your story. It’s the story you’ll one day tell your kids, and the one you’ll eventually tell your grandchildren. It’s your life. It’s your story. Back in the days of Israel’s second king, David, a very perceptive young woman understood this truth. And her choice to act on it, is something we can all learn from, even today...
Kathy Ellefson lay on the hospital bed, giving birth to her fourth child, Aaron. But she had a horrible, inexpressible feeling something was wrong. When the nurse carried the baby boy over, she said he might have Down syndrome. Mrs. Ellefson was relieved! She had thought her baby was going to die. Instead he had Down syndrome, a genetic disorder where one has an extra chromosome, causing mental...
“Breakfast!” Comes the call from downstairs. In a zombie-like state I drag myself out of bed, stumble down the stairs, and collapse into my chair, looking as if I’d just run a triathlon. Comatosely eating whatever food is set before me, I begin the long trek up the stairs and give myself forty minutes until I start my day. That’s how my days used to begin. In a state of indifference, routine...
Summer is the time when I typically slip into a slump. It’s the kind of slump which makes me avoid productive tasks, watch way too many YouTube videos, and look at political commentary far too frequently. Last year, after starting my summer off by taking the SAT and ACT tests, I completely crashed. For several weeks, I sat around being an unproductive blob. This year, I feel the temptation...
rebelling against low expectations
