rebelling against low expectations
As human beings we go through life constantly striving to be somebody. We all yearn to be more than ordinary. As children, we were asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Many of us answered, “I want to be an astronaut, a firefighter, a princess…” (Sadly I recently realized I couldn’t be a Disney princess because there’s a height limit… I’m kidding! I really wanted to be a...
December is a season of light. Literally. Drop by your local Home Depot, Lowe’s, Walmart, or Target and locate the large space allocated for Christmas décor. Note the abundance of lights. String lights. Net lights. Icicle lights. Rope lights. Mini Lights. Dome lights. Lights for the front door and for the gutters. Lights for the trees and for the sidewalks. Lights for the bushes and the wreaths...
Last Christmas, my mom and I tackled errands together in chilly December weather. As we buzzed through store after store with a list that always seemed to do more stretching than shrinking, I noticed how hectic everything was. A continual pattern of long lines, crowded aisles, and packed parking lots accompanied the bright, glittering decorations and festive music. People rushed to purchase gifts...
There is nothing like the holiday season. Our towns shine with festive lights, the weather gets chilly, and you have an excuse to drink hot chocolate often. Christmas music is listened to during car rides and family members gather from afar together on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. It’s also a great time to be reminded of our calling as Christians to live our days full of thanksgiving...
I think a dream is dying inside me. I’m in a valley where I can’t see my way out for the high slopes, and all I see before me is the next bend in the road. When I turn it, I just find another one. Inside, I feel like laundry being wrung: scrunched-up and confused. The befuddlement is worse than the pain of the dream’s death. I huddle on the ground. There’s no use pretending – God knows how I feel...
It’s the kind of wonder Lucy Pevensie experienced when she first stepped out of the moth ball-infused wardrobe into the wintery magic of Narnia. It’s the kind of wonder movies like “It’s a Wonderful Life” and books like “A Christmas Carol” are made of. It’s the kind where angelic hosts light up the night and lowly, dirty shepherds kneel in the presence of a King. Wonder is what Christmas is made...
There is a time in all our lives when we get hit by a rogue wave. We suddenly look up from whatever we are doing and we have no more to give. We are empty–all that is left within us is a raging desire that cannot be described and always seems out of reach. We are afraid of this feeling, which I can only describe as a longing for something greater. We hide from it because we live in a world that...
It was my freshman year of high school. The boys volleyball tryouts had just finished, and I was called into a classroom to hear if I made the team or not. “Tim, we were very impressed by your performance during the pre-season and tryouts. For that reason, we’d like to try you out on the JV team.” I didn’t know how to react. I was one of two freshmen on the JV team! The...
In the Scriptures are written that we all are born in spiritual deadness and that we will all eventually pass away physically. All of us were born dead in our trespasses and sins, and from birth until our conversion, we walk under the influence of Satan. But at our conversion, when we hear the Gospel proclaimed and are the objects of the accompanying work of the Holy Spirit, we are made alive...
I hate goodbyes. I’m not sure that anyone likes them, really. Goodbye is a word with such a finality to it, especially when it’s for the last time. Recently, over the course of about two and a half years, I’ve had to say a ton of goodbyes—to friends, to family, and to places that I called home. And to top it off, I’m looking towards even more goodbyes—some of them in the near future. As...
rebelling against low expectations
