rebelling against low expectations
(Washington Post) – Natalie Hampton spent most of her 7th and 8th grade school years eating lunch alone. The new girl at an all-girls private school in Los Angeles, she became the target of a clique of “mean girls” who excluded her from parties, called her names and even physically assaulted her, she said. They told her she was ugly and would never have any friends. They shoved her in a...
We just recently stumbled across this article from Smithsonian.com, published last summer. Meet Alexis Lewis, a teenage inventor who thinks all kids have the capability to invent. Here is a powerful and inspiring interview with the then 15-year-old. (Smithsonian Magazine Online) – Benjamin Franklin invented swim flippers when he was 12 years old. Frank Epperson, age 11, conceived of the...
This won’t be long. This article is shorter than almost anything we’ve posted in the past. It won’t be crowded with clever writing or human wit. But it will be powerful. Even, dare I say it, life-changing. If you want to know what it looks like to follow Jesus, read on. Read on, and believe. “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its...
Do Hard Things was a book that changed so many of our lives. It awakened us to a new vision of living boldly for God’s glory and daring to do hard things for Him as a teenager. Alex and Brett Harris weren’t afraid to tell us the truth, even when it hurt. But they also encouraged us deeply, bolstering our faith. Here are ten quotes from the classic to encourage you today. “The teen years are not a...
(CNN Money) – A summer with his grandfather was all it took for him to be inspired. When Mukund Venkatakrishnan was 14, he visited India and was tasked with helping his grandfather get tested and fitted for a hearing aid. He saw what a costly and difficult process it was and resolved to find an alternative. “Since audiologists are specialists, even finding and getting an appointment...
(CTV News) – A pair of B.C. teens is hoping to change the way we eat by creating cutlery capable of scanning each bite for bacteria, allergens and nutritional content. Designed by 16-year-olds Madeleine Liu and Angela Wang, Culitech cutlery uses technology called “near-infrared spectroscopy” to analyze food’s molecular breakdown. The compact cutlery comes in fork, spoon or...
(The News Tribune) – When Spencer Broden was a first-grader, he accompanied his parents when they volunteered at the Tacoma Rescue Mission, and he almost always made friends. One of them changed his life. “I became fast friends with another kid, Justice, and one day I went to his house,” Spencer recalled this week. “Like all little kids, the first thing I wanted to do was check out what...
It’s here, folks – 2016. As we ring in this new year, what better way to begin than with reflective prayer? Tim Challies wrote this prayer based on two entries in the classic Puritan collection of prayers, The Valley of Vision. May this be our prayer. My Good and Gracious Father, You have brought me safely through another year. This was a year in which I saw and experienced so much of...
rebelling against low expectations
