TheRebelution.com is a website for teens by teens — helping you rebel against low expectations and do hard things for the glory of God. Learn More →
In November 2018, an almost 27-year-old young man from Washington State, USA, made international headlines. Almost overnight, it seemed the world knew the name of John Allen Chau. On November 17, 2018, John’s physical body was killed by arrows shot by the Sentinelese people from the North Sentinel Island, one of the last unreached people groups of the world. He had been carefully planning this...
Anna Brown is 18 years old–and already recording and producing “His Story”, a musical that is based on the life of Jesus. How did a teen decide to write a musical that could match one of the most popular modern productions? It was a process that started several years ago. History Has Its Eyes on You In 2016, Anna went on a mission trip to Kenya where a friend introduced her to...
“You don’t understand! Your life is perfect compared to mine! You wouldn’t understand.” “Ha! You think my life is perfect? Oh, no…” Comparison. That’s what it was. I was recently watching one of my favorite TV shows, and this scene eerily reminded me of a scene from my own life. I had believed someone else’s life was perfect. I complained that their life was perfect. I compared, allowing myself...
My schedules and planners say I want to know my future. Don’t we all? We want to know what’s going to go on. We want to know what we are supposed to accomplish. What should I do once I graduate? What friends should I hang out with this week? Should I pursue a writing career, or an engineering one? Should I accept this job in Colorado, or move with my family to Florida? Should I begin this new...
Do you ever wonder why there’s so much drama surrounding relationships? Ever since the days of Adam and Eve, people have managed to fall in love, marry, and make things work. It shouldn’t be that complicated, right? After all, God knows who we’re supposed to marry. Can’t he work out all the logistics? Nevertheless, in the “crushing” stage of relationships, we tend to do dumb stuff that causes...
“Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.” (Psalm 146:3) People often talk about marriage as if that is the highest goal in life. As if once you are joined with another soul you are finally complete. As if trusting fully in another person is the greatest thing to pursue. A few weeks ago, I went to a conference that radically challenged me in my...
With Valentine’s Day coming up, we usually see cards, candy, and red and pink hearts everywhere–all representing this thing called love. But what is love? Google defines love as “an intense feeling of deep affection.” That’s a powerful description, isn’t it? However, Valentine’s Day celebrates romantic love, and many of us teens don’t have a boyfriend or girlfriend at this stage of our...
I have never had a date on Valentine’s Day. Not only that, but I’ve never been on a date. Period. So as the season of red bouquets and frilly cards comes around once again, you’d think a feeling of dread would begin to overtake me. I’m as single as they come. But even though I have always been single in February, Valentine’s Day is still my favorite holiday. Here are three reasons why: 1...
Life is hard. Although “hard” is relative and looks different for everyone, this is an inescapable truth to which we can all relate. Pain. Depression. Grief. Heartache. Anxiety. These are just a few of the things that can knock us down, hold our attention, instill fear, and test our faith. There are real reasons to hurt. We as Christians should never minimize that. But friend, there...
It was early Sunday morning. Suddenly, I was awakened and told to go downstairs. I jumped down from the top of my bunk bed. The sun was shining through the windows, and the sparkling dew still coated the ground. We gathered around, and my father began to pray. It was a disguised way of telling us children that our mother, after being bedridden for nine months from cancer, had passed away in the...
rebelling against low expectations
