rebelling against low expectations
Do you ever think you’re too far gone for God to care about you? That you’ve done things too horrible for him to accept you? Do you think you’ve ruined your life forever, and there’s no way home, no way out? This was the story of my life up until a few months ago. When Love Moved First I was raised in a Christian home, and I had prayed for Jesus to come into my heart when I was around five years...
2019 was rough. I don’t say that lightly. 2019 was simultaneously the best year and hardest year of my life at the same time. If you asked me to pick just one favorite memory from the year it would be impossible, because I experienced and lived so many wonderful moments. But at the same time I walked through some of the darkest valleys I have ever experienced. I had days where I sat in the...
Life is hard. It doesn’t take anyone long to figure that out. We all face things that sometimes make us want to disappear and not face reality for a long time. But the truth is that there will always be things we can’t get away from. It is our choice what we will do with those difficult situations. Keep Your Head Up. “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes...
I love the old hymns. There is something about the deep spiritual and theological truths, and the way the lyrics and the harmonies flow, that compel me to stop whatever I’m doing at the moment and just listen. These are the old-school hymns like Amazing Grace, It Is Well with My Soul, and Great Is Thy Faithfulness. I was raised on these songs and have known them by heart since I was a young girl...
I used to think I knew what worship meant. I used to think that worship was raising your hands while singing Chris Tomlin lyrics or praying passionately while soft piano chords played in the background. I used to think that worship was going to church on Sunday and Wednesday and participating in the service. I used to think that worship was doing all of the “church” things I was supposed to do as...
It creeps in during the middle of history class. It shows up unannounced on a hot summer day filled with no plans. Boredom. Apathy. Laziness. The older we get, the less often we seem to be plagued by boredom because we stuff our schedules to the brim with sports and activities and homework and friends and technology. But we still feel it. Where does boredom come from? Is it a sin to be bored? The...
There are some things we love that are too big for us. The sea and the sky, the waves and the stars, the pearls below and the planets above–these two have always been my loves. They’re close and familiar to me; they feel of warm soles slapping against grey boardwalk planks, and of neck upstretched to see it all spread out at night. Yet they’re far and distant too, both ever stretching out of...
In philosophy, there is a phenomenon referred to as “common knowledge.” I’d like to think that the differences between guys and girls are common knowledge. However, in our culture, things that were once commonly known are becoming commonly disputed. One thing the world is trying to convince us of is that if guys and girls are really “equal”, they are also “the same.” When the fundamental...
“God, please tell me everything I need to do. I’d feel so much better if I knew what your plans were.” Does that sound familiar to you? Have you ever wished to know what God’s plans are and what you need to do in the future? I have, and many times I’ve wished that he would reveal more than just the “next step.” However, moving and writing has taught me...
“You’re too hard on yourself.” I’ve heard this so often that after a while I took a strange kind of pride in it. Such perfectionist tendencies must be good, I thought, and surely this is much better than the other extreme. Unfortunately my obsessive compulsive perfectionism spilled over into my spiritual life, with very bad consequences. Only last year did I start to realize how much pressure I...
rebelling against low expectations
