rebelling against low expectations
“Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say rejoice.” – Philippians 4:4 Rejoice always. It’s hard to rejoice always; some days it seems like there really is nothing to rejoice about. Your world may be closing in and collapsing all around. Hopes, dreams, relationships, security—all dropping like flies. You feel more like crying or screaming than rejoicing. Or perhaps...
Sometimes I catch myself feeling very dissatisfied: “The stuff I have isn’t good enough.” “The day isn’t going how I want it to go.” “The food I want isn’t in the refrigerator.” Everything revolves around my own wants and my own needs—me, me, me. At least, that’s what my flesh tells me. God, on the flip side, convicts me in my discontentment: He is all I need; I don’t need stuff to satisfy me...
One night I dreamed a dream. As I was walking along the beach with my Lord, Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, One belonging to me and one to my Lord. After the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that many times along the path of my life, Especially at the very...
There are a few things I believe most everyone could work on: being polite, thankfulness, and taking an interest in others. These things sound simple enough, but they require intention and practice. Today I want to talk to you about how these three things can glorify Jesus in your everyday life, and how you can grow in each of them. #1. Politeness When I was about seven my dad started teaching my...
“Jesus, I love You…but I’m tired,” Dad sighed, leaning against his headrest, as we sat in our Landcruiser about to head into town. I bit back a smile at the words, so simple, yet so raw and real and honest. We were preparing to run some errands, and already the day had been full of everyday, unpredictable, West-African adventures. The power had gone out not once, not twice, but three times. We...
“You need to celebrate!” my mentor told me. I’d just told her something I’d been praying for and working toward for months had happened. I laughed, feeling like a hypocrite. I’d just told my mentee that morning to celebrate what God was doing in her life. In our culture, we don’t celebrate a whole lot. Yet celebration is a spiritual discipline. The Israelites, following God’s law, made...
One year ago, I made a different kind of new year’s resolution. My resolutions used to look like “Get healthier” and “Be more consistent at practicing my instruments.” Last year, I shared on theReb my decision to forget about those resolutions (which I never manage to stick to anyway) and do something more like a challenge I challenged myself to write down one thing every evening for which I was...
Having a legalistic background growing up, I experienced family devotions as being forced and stale. They were a chore. When it came to my own pursuit of God, I struggled then and now to this day. However, there is one habit that has been like a breath of fresh air. Gratitude. Gratitude has been an incredible encouragement to me. It is a practice that matters every day, not just in November for...
With Thanksgiving preparations, and the holidays approaching, it’s easy to get distracted and forget what Thanksgiving is all about. But as Christians, we should be even more intentional to live out the real meaning of Thanksgiving, since being thankful is an important part of having a healthy relationship with God. Everyone’s situation is different, and believe me, I know what a struggle it can...
rebelling against low expectations
