rebelling against low expectations
This last December, I participated in perhaps the craziest ministry outreach ever. I work with an inner-city children’s ministry, and we ran two major Christmas events over one weekend, telling hundreds of kids and their families about Jesus and giving them all Christmas presents. Our final event on Sunday involved busing in dozens of kids to our church partner that had been collecting special...
A couple years ago, I attended a friend’s laser tag birthday party. The venue was packed and chaotic. Over the course of playing many rounds of laser tag, I was astounded by how disrespectful most of the participants were to the employees. At the end of a round, I mentioned to one of the employees how chaotic the place was and how difficult it must be to work there. I was shocked and heartbroken...
I’ve always feared caring for small children. Obviously, small children are not inherently scary, but I have never had any practice in caregiving. I started volunteering in the elementary children’s church when I was twelve years old, and I stayed with that age group for years because that’s where I was always needed. Thus, I never got any practice caring for smaller children. Of course, I...
I crashed the computer program in less than two minutes. I’m not talking about the kind of crash where you can just exit out of the program. I pushed the wrong combination of buttons, and the computer screen completely froze up. After initially panicking, I finally restarted the computer, desperately hoping it would regain its sanity. How did I end up in this predicament? Well, I was sitting in...
If you have ever been a dedicated church member, I am sure you have witnessed church chaos or drama at one point or another, maybe even multiple times. My family and I have been a part of several churches where we fully dedicated our time, finances, and resources to serve the church. Unfortunately, during my teenage years we also experienced several messy break-ups with churches due to issues...
Editor’s Note: Here at TheReb we’re all about encouraging young people to do hard things and take their faith seriously. But sometimes, its good to have a little fun. One of our editors recently shared how we shouldn’t be ashamed of being sheltered, and one thing many ‘sheltered’ homeschoolers have in common is their love for the show, VeggieTales, an animated series...
My grandparent’s home is graced with clocks that provide a steady tick-tock in every room. Without fail, the stately grandfather clocks ring out a loud bong, bong, bong to mark the hour. These clocks not only create a unique ambience, they also provide a constant reminder of the time. Whether in bed, at work, or at play, the clocks’ constant presence reminds everyone in the home that the...
During middle school, I was a member of a theater group. My classmates and I were inexperienced actors who regularly made mistakes. One of the girls in our group would apologize after every mistake. She developed a habit of saying “I’m sorry” even when she hadn’t messed up. She said it so often that the director finally told her, “No more apologizing! Stop saying you’re sorry!” I can relate...
Dear Social Media, We have had a complicated relationship for many years. Now that I am in college, I need to reevaluate my obsession with you. You have shown me many things, both good and bad, that I never would have seen on my own. You have familiarized me with many unique lifestyles and have enabled me to travel the world without leaving my bed. You have given me wonderful acquaintances. You...
Stop Striving. Just Rest. I obsess over checklists. I love New Year’s Resolutions. I revel in beating a deadline. I defend my 4.0 grade point. But all my striving often leads to let down. I am crushed when I fail to achieve my goals. I beat myself up mercilessly when I feel that I have failed. My overly intense personality manifests itself in physical symptoms. My shoulders and neck are often...
rebelling against low expectations
