rebelling against low expectations
This pandemic severed our social lives, and many teens are turning to social media to fill some emptiness. As we scroll through happy pictures, jealousy creeps into our minds before we can stop it. Looking at huge successes of other bloggers can turn my happy attitude into discouragement as I look at my blog stats. God blessed me with so much, but if I’m honest, I find comparison and covetousness...
Recently, hundreds of people gathered in my state and others to protest stay-at-home regulations put in place by the state government. Among the protesters were small-business owners struggling to maintain their businesses, parents out of work and ineligible for unemployment benefits, people awaiting care that has been deprioritized, and others who were simply unconvinced of the danger of COVID...
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). When you do something, who’s getting the glory? When people watch your actions and listen to your words, is their admiration directed towards you or to your Heavenly Father? “All the glory to God.” I speak, read, and pray these words often. Since God has saved us, what can...
I was crying and screaming. “God, where are you?! Why have you left me when I need you the most? Why have you abandoned me?” I have severe anxiety. It wakes me up at night, gives me nightmares, and when my body doesn’t know what to do with all the built-up anxiety, it shuts down and makes me pass out. The panic attacks I experience make me want to just lay down and never get up...
My feet pounded the track, and I was out of breath. I was struggling, pushing hard…and then someone lapped me. Track is hard. I’ll be honest with you and tell you I was not a runner when I joined the middle school track team last spring. I got 16th place in a mile race with only 16 runners, and I was lapped quite often. I tried hard, but I was frequently discouraged. Still, I’m thankful...
I hate writing about the Gospel. That’s not hyperbole, not an SEO-driven hook to get you the read the rest of this article. It’s 100% true. That might be a shock to a lot of you. After all, I’ve had articles previously published here on the Reb. But that was a long time ago, and the truth is nowadays I hate doing Gospel-focus articles, deeply. Look at my personal outlets as of late and you’ll...
Sometimes we’re not sure we can handle life. We understand the big battles and the somber sufferings will be difficult, but sometimes even the daily tasks mount to overwhelming. We have that massive assignment to finish, and studying has to be balanced with work. We have customers yelling at us over something outside of our control, and it takes everything in us to just be kind. We have only an...
It was a week before our end year concert. The orchestra director made a few announcements that I didn’t hear. I could only seem to listen to my heart beating, my blood rushing, my breath passing through my mouth. Eventually, she passed around the seating chart. It felt like the violins and violas were taking as long as possible to examine the chart. Then it reached the cellos. Time seemed to...
You’ve started classes. You’re beginning to fall into a schedule. And most likely you’re creating—or rediscovering—school year habits. Hopefully they’re good habits—starting work on assignments ahead of time; minimizing your time on social media; eating breakfast. Perhaps some of them are not so great—procrastinating schoolwork with Netflix or staying up until ungodly hours. But in all of that...
I didn’t want to wait. I’d already been waiting for months! I’d had plenty of preparation already, I had prayed a lot about it, I had the time, and I was ready to do this hard thing. God had placed in me a passion and desire to start a Bible study group to disciple younger girls. It was the sort of thing that I couldn’t simply forget or push to the back of my mind, even though I tried. But then...
rebelling against low expectations
