rebelling against low expectations

Change The World, Today?

C

Christina Dickson

Special Guest Post by Rebelutionary Christina Dickson

This last Saturday I went to shoot the Rebelution Conference. Toward the end of the conference, Brett challenged attendees with six tasks. They were all extremely practical and thoughtful steps. One that intrigued me the most was asking older people what they wish they would have known or done when they were younger. On my way back home from D.C. I decided to give this a go.

The flight from D.C. to Minneapolis I sat next to a financial adviser. He was very clean cut, but had calluses on his hands from when he worked in carpentry and construction. I asked him this question, and he looked down at me with a raised eyebrow. “You know, I’m not sure exactly how to answer that. I wish I wouldn’t have done as many stupid things when I was in college.”

It was promising to be an interesting conversation, but he got up and took a different aisle seat. My flight from MN to PDX was really different. I sat in the exit row. On my left was a teenage basketball player.

Obviously, I couldn’t ask the teenager what he would have done differently — he didn’t have all that much life experience. So, I decided to change it up. I found out that he had just graduated, and was extremely glad to do so because he thought school was incredibly boring.

He wasn’t sure where he was going next. He wanted to play for a school but the recruiting season was mostly over. If he didn’t play for school, he thought he might go into fashion design, because he liked clothes.

After this chit chat, I asked, “What would you do to change the world if you could?”

A blank stare was my response for a full five seconds, and then his face became a mask of incredulity. “Why you askin’ me that?” He demanded. “No one ever asked me that before.”

I came from a different angle. “Well, what moves you?”

He sat back and crossed his arms. “Nothing.”

“Nothing moves you?”

He shook his head.

His next argument was that he couldn’t do anything about anything, because people are people and they decide what they want to decide and believe what they want to believe, and he can’t change anything about that.

His statements made me so sad. But the worse part came when I asked why he believed that he couldn’t affect change.

“Because I’m black.”

I felt like the wind had been knocked from my lungs. “That’s lame.” I said aloud before I could help it.

He glared at me. “That’s easy for you to say,” he challenged.

“Dude, my dad is black. He works for a technology company and is very successful.”

He got quiet at this, and after a few moments, I tried to be kinder. “Well, I guess the moral of this story is…” I waited until he looked into my eyes. “Don’t use who you are as an excuse for not becoming who you could be.”

He didn’t say anything. But he nodded after a moment.

And then, he turned on his iPod.

I didn’t realize this was the extent of my generation. In a culture where individuality is prized, we still don’t believe that one person can make a difference. We don’t believe that every choice matters and affects those around us.

We still don’t believe that our lives can change the world.

I, for one, am not going to accept that.

Yesterday, I asked my mom what she wished she would have known when she was my age. After a small smile, she said, “I wish I would have known how much power I had as a young person to affect change. I wouldn’t have wasted so much time.” She then proceeded to tell me about a quote she read recently from Helen Keller — a woman who, despite many disabilities, affected enormous change in the world.

“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do.”

It doesn’t matter if you work 9 to 5. It doesn’t matter if you stay at home and live a quiet life. It doesn’t matter if you are a full time musician or student. It doesn’t matter if you’re not incredibly gifted.

If you are here on this earth, God has a purpose for your life. He has a calling on you to affect change in this world as He lives through you. To seek anything less than this call is wrong. Already, too many people don’t think their lives matter. Too many people don’t care about affecting the world for good.

God’s people shouldn’t “do nothing”.

If I could do one thing to change the world, it would be to give people glasses to see the world through the lens of Jesus. Then, people would reach out. Then, people would see hurts and not be apathetic, or think their lives insignificant.

That’s why I’m going to Ecuador. That’s why I spent months on the streets of Portland. That’s why I teach and mentor.

Because Jesus will change the world through me.

What about you?

What one thing would you do to change the world if you could?

What will you do to change the world today?

What are you waiting for?

Wanna Change The World?

Make sure you visit Christina’s organization, Revelutionary Media, which brings together outstanding Christian artists to produce beautiful and true media for the greatest good and highest glory of Jesus Christ. This is exciting stuff.

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About the author

Alex and Brett Harris

are the co-founders of TheRebelution.com and co-authors of Do Hard Things and Start Here. They have a passion for God and for their generation. Their personal interests include politics, filmmaking, music, and basketball. They are both graduates of Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia.

74 comments

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  • Wow. Thank you, Cristina. The phrase that hit me the most is “In a culture where individuality is prized, we still don’t believe that one person can make a difference. We don’t believe that every choice matters and affects those around us.”

    What would I do to change the world if I could? I honestly say… I have only a small idea. I hope that I could be a part in God’s bringing revival to my town.

    What will I do to change the world today? Pray. That is the hardest thing, but so important. When I pray, I must put my faith in God, that His Power is sufficient for me. That His Power is made perfect in my weakness. From there, He can use me. I choose to be faithful in the small things, in my job, in money, in edifying my friends and family.

    Thank you again.

  • “Don’t use who you are as an excuse for not becoming who you could be.”
    ….this is something we all can remember. God can use those who are weakest and those with seemingly no potential to accomplish great things for His glory…if only he/she submits to God’s call on their life and energetically goes about doing the things God has set in their hearts.

  • I am wondering now if my dogs are safe. My dogs are huge – a great dane and a mastiff – no other canine can take them down…alone; but I heard a coyote barking just a few minutes ago. (The bark of a coyote is a hideous noise.) What coyotes like to do to their fellow canine, the domestic dog, is to draw them out with whine/barks of friendship – out away from their family, away from anything that could help or protect them – and (I’m not sure how they do this, they probably have some sort of cornering method or something.) they eat them. There are little domestic dog skeletons out in our woods right now. The only reason why I’m not out there checking on my dogs right now is that I’ve seen the coyotes do this to them before, and my dogs’ reaction to that is generally, “Bite me, stupid. I’m not leaving my house.”

    I am going to do something radical today. I am going to survive. I am not going to run out on my responsibility to be here and be present with all that I am until God calls me home. I am not going to listen to those wiley coyotes who say, “It would be better if you weren’t alive.”

    “Bite me. I’m not leaving my house.”

  • I totally have days where I feel much how that boy expressed that he felt — and only by God’s Grace do I not give up and do I open my heart once again to His Passion to bring about change.

    I think that something I would like to do to change the world is to live a message of hope for people like him — to live the message I believe in and want him to hear, like Jesus did for me.

    That’s what I pray that I do today.

  • P.S. Christina, would you mind if I ask what the boy’s name was? My mom and I would like to be praying for him.

  • What one thing would you do to change the world if you could?

    What will you do to change the world today?

  • Don’t hit tab. Do Not Hit Tab! Fingers! Don’t Hit TAB.

    I don’t really have any grand or impressive ideas for sweeping the world with change.
    The one thing I would do, be a steady light of the Grace of God to bring Salvation to the weakest and worst and a steady light of the Grace of God to continue to Save the weak children who cry to Him to be saved from themselves and their sins.

    Today, cry to Him for strength for today(rather than doing of my own strength), trust Him for the outcome of today(rather than worrying over my ineptitude to handle the day), and serve Him with today(rather than using today to please myself).

  • Wow. Awesome post. So inspiring. And true. I guess there are times when we believe that we really can’t change the world, so we don’t do anything at all.

    Thanks a lot for the post, Christina! 🙂

  • Wow, this was such an awesome post. I love the idea of asking people the “what do you wish you had known” question. It has proved to be a great way to get a conversation to the deeper level and at the same time be encouraged. I like the way Christina changed the question for this guy. What a cool idea!

  • That was GREAT!! It is so sad that people think that they can’t change anything becouse of who they are. It was sooo cool to see how Christina applied that question to that guys age. she made it personal. Thats what all of us should do.
    Thanks for sharing this story with us.

  • Hayley Pennington: Thanks for commenting. I was wondering if you’d mind explaining what you mean by these words in more practical terms:

    “I am going to survive. I am not going to run out on my responsibility to be here and be present with all that I am until God calls me home.”

    What does this look like in real life? What does “not leaving the house” look like? Should I be taking that metaphorically or literally? Thanks in advance for clarifying! 🙂

  • Thank you, Christina, for that excellent (and convicting) post! It’s working as a reminder to keep asking those older than us, “What do you wish you had known?”, as well as giving us another idea to ask our peers about changing the world. And I’m looking forward to what you’re doing through “Rescue The Beauty”! May God bless.

  • I am in awe! This entire website is an answer to prayer and Christina’s post is good advice for everyone; young and old. I am a 40 something mother of 5 and I have been praying for a way to reach my children in spite of the society we live in. With all of you here it helps me to not only see the potential of today’s youth and be encouraged by it, it also helps me to become a better parent and a better person. Thank you!

    PS ~ When I was a teen, I wish I would have had the encouragement and direction that is given on the Rebelution website. I never knew I had the potential to do any more than simply survive.

  • Excallent post, Christina! I was greatly moved by it! Wow time to get to work on something! I need an idea!

    All For His Son’s Glory!

  • That’s incredible! I really feel spoken to. Thank you very much. It’s just what I’ve been trying to explain to my friends and blog. I’m gonna search for my Holy Ambition and suceed in acomplishing something great in my life even if it’s the last thing I do…

  • That was very encouraging! Thank you for the post, Christina! Lately I’ve been thinking about small ways of changing my lifestyle so that I impact the world in a greater way. I suppose that even those sorts of little changes that Christians make every day change the world in some small way.

  • Notice that the title of the Harris brothers’ book is not “Do Big Things.” Small things can make as much of a difference as big things. Christina, you may very well have changed the life of that young man, and in doing so changed HIS world. It’s like the starfish story (http://muttcats.com/starfish.htm)–you “made a difference for that one.”

  • thanks so much for sharing, Christina! and way to be bold, talking to strangers like that. who knows, maybe your conversation will have an effect on those strangers in the future. we can only pray that God will work in thier lives, maybe even through your words.

    Thanks again for the post… very encouraging!

  • I’m going to treasure that quote from Helen Keller.

    This whole post is wonderful–wonderfully challenging but also wonderfully encouraging for someone like me, who many people might view as not doing “hard things” at all. (Thank you, Christina!) Serving my parents & grandparents at home, instead of seeking a career or education path away from the home, isn’t the easy task it might seem. It is incredibly draining and frustrating at times, especially when sometimes my forgetful grandmother can’t remember from one moment to the next what I worked hard to say or do for her. But I know I am filling a definite need, one that God has called me to fill, and I’m content to follow where the Lord leads. Someday He may call me to do something much more “out-there” or higher-profile, but I believe that I will find that the challenges aren’t all that different from the ones I face today. The patience, love, kindness, responsibility, etc. that I learn now will be of incredible use to me farther down the road.

    If I could, if it were possible for me to have this power, the thing I would do to change the world would be to teach everyone the true meaning of love–Christian love, as found in Christ–whether or not they accept/practice it. I especially desire for all Christians to grow to understand love truly, and show it faithfully. While I can’t tear the blindfold off the world (God does that one person at a time, and He is the only One who can do it fully), I can and must bear the light faithfully, reaching those whom God lets me come into contact with. I can start by sitting at His feet and learning more of His love–and then going out and sharing that love with others.

    Ultimately, my goal must be to follow my Savior’s footsteps wherever He leads me–keeping my focus on Him, not balking whether, as someone told me, He asks me to step down into the valley or climb the high mountain. That’s doing hard things day by day, moment by moment, by the grace of God.

  • Thanks Christina, I think that the mentality of youth today is so low…They don’t know what they want..and they just live for the moment. I think that is just so lame. I am a guy who has dreams and aspirations…and guess what?? I’m a minority…and people don’t expect much from me! And what the guy said in the plane, is just a barrier that he is putting in his life…he is surely using his color as an excuse to not accomplish BIG things in life. I believe that anyone can change the world, by doing the most litlest thing. Giving effort goes a long way.
    I want to encourage those out there, to give their best and all in everyhing they do…and most importantly honor God in everything we do.
    Go out there and plant the seed that will help change the world!
    God Bless

  • That was an excellent and inspiring post, Christina. Thank you. I’m glad you were able to have the conversations you did with those on the plane. I’m sure you planted many seeds. Keep up the good work!

  • Wow. That was awesome. I just cannot believe that this is what our generation has been brought up to believe. That we can’t change the world? Even worse, nobody wants to listen anymore. It’s sad…

  • Wow.
    As for changing the world. I have absolutely no idea what I’d do. I’m at that stage of life where everyone expects me to know what I want to do when I get out of college. Well, the problem is that I dont. I have no idea what my calling is. I dont know what I want to do after college, or even what i want to go to college to major in. To change the world, I’d do something I love. Something I love, something I can do. I know God will call me to that. I can only hope He uses me greatly.
    This was a great post, and I cant wait for what God has in store for me now. Thanks for posting it!
    ~Amber Lynn

  • Thank you so much for writing this post! It inspired me in a tremendous way. I have been tempted to feel that I won’t make a difference because…[fill in the blank]. Thank you so much for reminding me that God can work through anyone, no matter what their problems are.

    ~Cherise

  • Awesome post, Christina! “Don’t use who you are as an excuse for not becoming who you could be.” I think that’s a problem in our culture. Young people are not doing hard things because they’re young people. They don’t realize that when they’re young, they can reach out to other young people better than anyone else. I hope that any young people reading this who are like that will try to make a difference in the world.

  • WOW! thats all I can say. I was able to hear Zach Hunter and some other people speak out about changing the world at the Baptist Youth World Conference last week and I kept on asking myself what I could do to change the world. But then I realized that I am changing the world by growing in christ and sharing that with others. By trying to be more like Jesus maybe people will see that there is something more to life. I struggle sometimes to do that but I am trying. thanks christina!

  • My mother is Ecuadorian. I’ve visited Ecuador 3 times in my life (I’m 20). The poverty of that country is a real eye opener. The last time I went, I was approximately 14 years old. The stuff that I took with me, some clothes, accessories, things that in a few months would have been garbage, the girls over there treasured my things as if it were gold. I remember vividly, one day we went to a restaurant on a beach and I couldn’t finish my food. This small boy asked my mom if he could have it, her eyes watered up as she gave him the food. It was heartbreaking to see a child get nourished off of my left overs. We can do something. It only starts with one person. “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do.” Through Christ we can do all things! He gives us strength, He is the one that holds our hands to guide us to where we need to be. I refuse to live to the standards the world subjects me to live, I will be seperate and different, not for my glory but for the glory of the one who loves my soul. For He has chosen us for a time like this to stand in the gap, intercede for those whose strengths are lacking and build us a family of warriors who are not afraid of the world, but violent to take the kingdom of heaven by force! Thank you Christina for reminding me of what God taught me so that I can fulfill the plans He has for me. God Bless!

  • God bless you, Christina. May you continue to shine for Him as you help those people who desperately need Christ. Always have the full armor of God on as the enemy is on the prowl. Be on guard and finish strong, dear sister in Christ! God bless you. 🙂

  • “I am going to survive. I am not going to run out on my responsibility to be here and be present with all that I am until God calls me home.”

    What does this look like in real life? What does “not leaving the house” look like? Should I be taking that metaphorically or literally? Thanks in advance for clarifying!

    Specifically, for me, not leaving my house looks like not entertaining the suicidal thoughts that come into my head. Being present with all that I am looks like doing important things such as laundry, dishes, praying, etc. instead of sleeping/feeling sorry for myself all day; it looks like being excited about life while having grace for my family and a good attitude toward the things that I am doing. Today was like this in many ways.
    More generally, not leaving my house means not giving Satan a foothold in my life.
    Your book has been helpful – thank you for writing it.

  • I think I would right a book or two and make sure both end up on Oprah. One about the thiery of Evalution & the Biblical truth and what kind of impact each one has on our schools. For example: Evalution gives the idea of a meaningless existance wile the Bible gives a real and true reason for life. And I believe that since the Bible has been kicked out of the class room there is now a big excuce for not leting one’s life continue (Suiside). And another book about how to go after the Destiny that God has for you.
    Even when it means leaving all other dreams behind.

    I am 15 years old and have big expectations for both my near and far off future. And right now is where it starts. I had the same mind set as the world or at least a close one untill I saw Alex & Brett on the Joni Lamb show. I have been waiting around my home to get old enough to get out and do something. But now I think I’ll start changeing my neiborhood and the school then the world. And I’m going to put “Do Hard Things” on my sweet 16 birthday list.

    God bless you Christina and God bless Alex & Brett. Christina, it is hard for me to talk to people I don’t know, like you did. I am by nature a shy but honest person. Your quite an inspiration to me. I just hope I can get the guts to do that some day and some day soon.

    Note: My website is my yahoo 360 page. You are welcome to check it out and read my blog.

  • That’s a cool challenge. I know a lot of people my age who always say, “well they won’t listen to us.” and “I can’t make a difference; I’m only a teenager.” I think it’s time for us all to wake up and realize that we can make a difference, but we’ve got to take the initiative to start.

  • Hayley Pennington
    Thanks for your courage in sharing your struggles so openly, I’ll certainly be praying for you.
    I want to encourage you in this fight, I was there not so very long ago. It can be very hard, dark, and lonely. But God is a faithful Father, He stand ready to help you. He is eager to save you daily, even from yourself. God has been faithful to you so far, showing you the battle and giving you grace to fight for joy in Him, He will not stop working in you and through you. And He will never stop loving you. To quote Veggie Tales “He died for us to give us life, and to give us hope He rose.”
    You have been given the gift of life in God, now and forever. Treasure this gift of time, for you have time to work for Him; that on the other side your joy may be complete as you see all the ways that God has worked through you, even when you could not see or imagine anything good being done.
    I’ve struggled with this all to often before and after I was saved. Had He not saved me I know I would be dead by now. For it has only been hope that He was still working in me that has sustained me at times. That and the thought of how sad He would be if I showed up at His gates having killed myself because I couldn’t trust Him to keep His word that all this was for good.
    He is faithful, He is good, and He is a fountain full of grace. He will give you grace for this fight, the more you ask the more He will give you until your cup overflows and you stand amazed at the wondrous love that He freely gives His children.
    May Peace be yours in Him, Grace

  • Thank you so much for that insight. This past week God has opened my eyes. A friends sister died at the age of 20 kinda suddenly, and God showed me how fragile life is, how His plan may not be what we expect. He also showed me how I need to fulfill His will now. There is no telling when I might not be here to do so. Thank you agian for the word.

    P.S. I really like your picture! 🙂

  • Hayley I am also thankful that you were able to share your thoughts, they were so encouraging. And I will be praying for you!

  • Wow what an inspiring post!! It makes me want to go out and do something to change the world!!
    Thank you!!

    I can do ALL things through Him

  • That is really amazing!

    Some how I think God is calling me to reach out to teens. I think that church communities need to make a greater effort to reach out to the teens. Teens are capable of understanding the deeper harder things in the Bible, They just need someone to challenge them into doing the hard things. Like what the Harris brothers have done. I think that God is calling me to reach out to teens. I think that is how I would like to change the world.
    I am trying to reach out to the teens in my church. That is how I am working at making a difference.
    With the Lord, any thing is possible. So lets go change the world.
    Even if I don’t know his name, I will be praying for the boy in that story.

    ~ MacKenzie

  • “It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.”

    This quote, from the 2005 movie, “Batman Begins”, has haunted me for the past 3 years. Read it again.

    While at one angle, we can interpret it to mean that our actions are what defines us, thus ignoring who (or, in this context, Whose) underneath our actions. Or, as in the context of Doing Hard Things, we can interpret it as our actions through the strength of Christ are what defines me.

    As a 44-year-old adult single male who has grown up in the church, attended Bible college and is currently employed in Corporate America, I, like many of you, find myself STILL wondering, what kind of an impact will I make/have I made on the world and the people around me? Sadly, for me, I don’t see that I’ve made much of an impact; however, from what my friends tell me, I have made an impact in their lives.

    As Christians, we need to do EVERYTHING we can, in His strength, to impact the world for Him and to His glory. Paul says it best in Philippians 4:13, (ESV), “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength” and later to the Corinthians, “But as you excel in everything–in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you–see that you excel in this act of grace also.” (2 Co 8:7, ESV) Peter writes that, “… in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:11c, ESV)

    As a Christian, “It’s Whose I am underneath and what I do for Him to bring Him glory that defines me.”

    How do I see this practically, Alex? In my life now, it means

    *PRAYER and BIBLE READING to God that He will guide me throughout my day and guard my heart against temptations within the workplace.

    *Always being truthful to my managers and co-workers, no matter what that may mean. In other words, when I err, I take the responsibility of owning up to it instead of making excuses or blaming others (us men refer to this as “manning up”).

    *Doing my best in every task I undertake. If I have to work with a computer application like Word or Excel and I am not familiar with it, taking ownership and proactive initiative and doing some outside reading on it. It might even require purchasing a book and learning more about it (think: Half Price Books and Excel for Dummies!).

    *Asking for help (see last bullet-point)–if I don’t understand something, proactively initiate with someone who does understand.

  • I know how I’m going to change the world a little bit. I’m showing my youth pastor this website. It’s awesome!

  • Wow! Great post! I just got back from a missions trip with some members of my youth group to the LA Dream Center. The Lord has been teaching us alot of what this post said, through our trip. It’s been really amazing!

  • Christina, thank you for this thoughtful, moving post. Really, really good. I know I don’t think often enough in “change the world” terms, or that my life – quiet though it may be – can make a difference. But people change the world all the time – I know because so many of them have changed my corner of it! And *that* makes all the difference in the world.

  • I read this a few days back and I decided to try it on one of my friends… I was surprised at the answer, she said “well I want to impact PEOPLE, who in turn, can change the world…” that surprised me, I mean usually people say something about them personally doing something… I asked to explain and she said “I want to change the PEOPLE in the world.

  • hi in the pic it says wanna change the world and i know an awesome teen organization that takes teens around the world i have gone on two mission trips one to Costa Rica and one to Romania there life changing experiences not only for you but for people you tell about God the website is globalexpeditions.com

  • Christina,
    I can totally relate to your post! I come from a multi-ethnic background too, and I am familiar with the social messages about limited effect on the world because of race, especially among blacks. I am half black also and the idea among my African-American peers is one often of paralysis instead of progression. It’s really sad, but through persistence and by setting a high standard, it’s something we can change! Keep on keeping on Know that you have inspired me, and even provoked me a little bit too!

    -Grace

  • Your post brought tears to my eyes. I am not even sure why. I know deep in my heart that behind the questions you were asking, there is light being cast on a deep darkness and bondage in our culture. Keep asking the questions–but darkness cringes at the light. Such good questions sound innocent–but when you step into the gap of lies, delusions and evil; you are not innocent but conducting warfare. Stand and fight!!

    You are so right to expect life to be much more; for the lives of young people to be much more; and that elders contribute (and young people receive) much more into young leadership. Your post brings to mind my wife and mother of our three young bi-racial children; my African-American wife who died two years ago following an illness triggered by the last pregnancy. She overcame great obstacles (cultural, personal, family, racial, historical) to achieve and mostly to serve as a follower of Jesus. Service is not without sacrifice. It can come with great price.

    She often asked others to sign an intergenerational pledge, pledging to give and receive from at least one person that was 20+ years older or younger.

    Go for it Christina! The person who looks back over her shoulder is not fit for the Kingdom.

    Blessings.

  • Woah, this is an awesome post. I am a Youth Pastor currently trying to instill the very concept of this post into our Church’s youth. I find that I am a child of this mentality. I realized too late in my life that I could do so much more. In my youth I was too caught up in myself and my limits to try and reach for anything else. Now that I am older, I am fighting tooth and nail for everything that I lost. I am renewing my mind, and trying to affect those around me.

    This post puts a smile on my face because I see the youth of today, and I see that you guys can exceed us all. I see that you love God, and are learning to lean on him for everything. It is really a thing of beauty, and I praise God for the opportunity to live in and be a leader to this generation.

    I change the world by trying to affect everyone I meet. With a smile, with a verse, with a joke, with a hand shake…I try to reflect Jesus in everything I do. I do my part in reaching out to those around me, and I leave the rest to God.

  • Hey Christina! Long time, no talk! I have been thinking about your media ministry lately, and it’s so cool to see your post! (Not to mention your pics from the conference.) Awesome stuff here…can’t wait to see you again sometime! Give me a call or e-mail and tell me when you’ll be around! 🙂

    Blessings, Peace, Charity,
    Adrienne

  • I am pleased that young people are positively motivated. Reading this post however, I am reminded of the difference between speaking the truth – my own truth – and speaking about other people’s shortcomings in order to make a point. I have found that I learn the most and grow the most when sharing the truth about my own experience – keeping the focus on myself.

  • you know when i was 18 i had dreams of becoming a nurse and going to college then it seemed liked all i kept hearing from people at home was your too dumb and stupid and i lost hope in myself. so i finally had to move away from my dad at te age of 18 and i moved to illinois i spent almost 2 years there and it was so amazing how God worked in my life. God placed me right in his path. he helped me break down walls i had bulit up on the inside and deal with my past hurts. well now i am 20 years old and i have moved recently to jacksonville florida. i will never forget what God taught me in illinois he taught me how to forgive, how to be paient, how to love people that hurt you, and most imporantly how much i need christ in my life. i ll tell you i wish i knew about christ in highschool i wished i kew how i could of changed the world. i wish someone told me to stop living for the low expectations in life and start living a fully satisfiying life.
    i think it’s wonderful that you gys are doing this because i have worked with a youth group at my old church and it saddens me to hea and see the struggles these kids go through. i know how hard life can get and i hope none will ever have to experince the struggles ive been through. i guess what God has ultimatle taught me was that he has brought me through the darkest times of my life to have me stand up and share what victory he has had in me. i guess when i was a teen i lived a low expecation life but now i want to live boldly and extradorinary life for Gods glory.

  • Hey that was really awesome! Thanks for shareing that! It really made me think about some things! I really want to be a better person!
    Thanks again!
    your sis in Christ
    MaryBeth .C.

  • If i could change the world I would let everyone see that acting like we can’t do anything important in the world is just an excuss to not trying to make a change. This article made me think of some songs by a famous musician named Jack Johnson. He is an incredibly down to earth guy who writes songs that speak to me and should speak to everyone.This was a great article by a great girl who sounds alot like Jack. The songs are called Where Did All The Good People Go and Sitting, Waiting, Wishing, chek them out.

  • This is a topic that has been on my heart for a long time. Thanks for the great article!
    I know I am just one person, but that God can use one person to enact great changes in the world. Just look at so many people in the Bible!
    Many people have used the example of Queen Esther to encourage me to pursue my dreams about changing the world because Queen Esther was just an ordinary girl God placed in extraordinary circumstances to bring about a major change in policy in the Persian empire.
    I have dreams; I have hopes; I keep praying that God would use me some big way to bring about change in this world. I am not throwing around the word “change” lightly, either. The Lord has been guiding me towards law school to pursue civil rights, and I think that is one steppingstone on the path towards enacting some change in this world for the glory of God.

  • I write songs and post them on facebook I hope one day I can get famous off of them and I will donate nearly half of my proceeds to christian charities, the genre is contemporary christian lately I have been practicing guitar alot and I am working on my singing. I had no idea I could even write songs until december ’08. This new talent has flipped my world upside down. Before I wanted to be a chef but no I am apparentally really good at this. I am in the process of reading your book and I was just on a retreat last weeekend April 24-26 where the lessons were based on your book and confrences. The 24th was my birthday and I felt moved by God on this trip I just dont know what to do well thanks for taking the time to read my post if you do I hope to come back to this blog again and see the response it gets.

rebelling against low expectations

The Rebelution is a teenage rebellion against low expectations—a worldwide campaign to reject apathy, embrace responsibility, and do hard things. Learn More →