rebelling against low expectations
It’s easy for me to sit here and say I’ll follow God, and be willing to give it all for him. But when the rubber hits the road, it’s incredibly hard. Life is messy. We don’t live in a neat little world, where if something goes wrong, we can just move on, forget, heal, and all our problems eventually fade away. This is real life. One thing is crucial for those who are suffering right now to...
“Then Moses said to the Lord, ‘O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.’ So the Lord said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you...
Dear fellow missionary kids, We’re on a mission. We have a goal. A task to complete. Or do we? Many times, it seems as if we aren’t working to achieve this goal. We get bogged down. Forgetful. The enemy uses the troubles of this life to make us lose sight of the prize for which we’re fighting for so hard. We take our eyes off the goal–off the prize. I must be honest, I have done this...
My Dad has been a preacher my entire life, which means I’ve been in and out of all kinds of churches. From strict, conservative acapella-singing-only kind of churches to talking-to-the-preacher-during-the-sermon and dancing-with-flags kind of churches. I remember visiting a pentecostal church when I was nine and trying to figure out why the other boy I had met was saying he had already been...
Four years ago, God called me into ministry as a pastor. I was fifteen, and before then, I had actually wanted to be a lawyer– a prosecuting attorney to be specific. The plan was to graduate college, go to law school, and then just… start. But then God changed my heart, and instead directed me into the ministry. At that moment, I thought to myself, “You know, I don’t know how this is all going to...
The three of us eat lunch surrounded by blue walls and an even bluer sky. Moments before, as I walked my class to the cafeteria, a student asked if she and her friend could talk to me about “something important”. And now I find myself in the center of an elementary school at a red table with two ten-year-olds. Between bites of food, the student (whom I will call Ella) explains what is weighing on...
You know those days when everything seems a little too messy? When everything you touch seems to explode? When you catch a glimpse of your reflection and can’t help but cry inside? When it seems like you failed yet another day? Maybe for you, a day like that comes around now and then. But if you’re anything like me, maybe that day seems like every day. We all have moments when we feel worthless...
I was fourteen when God taught me a thing or two about real faith. It was a few months after I’d been baptised; my relationship with Him was growing and I was regularly aware of his presence in my life. I felt close to him. The change was so gradual I didn’t notice it at first. But one day I realised: I do devotions daily, but I don’t get much out of it anymore. And I can’t feel the Lord near me...
Valentine’s Day was stained with blood. The first thing I saw when I logged into Twitter was the words “school shooting” and “Florida” used in the same sentence. My first, selfish thought was, Where? Near here? And then, Oh no. Not again. Our collective hearts are heavy, not only with the news of this tragedy, but with the weight of similar horrors that seem to come on each other’s heels...
In 1979, the American rock band, Eagles, released their sixth and final studio album, The Long Run. After disbanding in July the next year, the former members pursued solo careers. Don Henley, the Eagles drummer, released his debut album I Can’t Stand Still in October of 1982; the second single, “Dirty Laundry,” reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1983. I came across this dated but timely song...
rebelling against low expectations
