rebelling against low expectations
In a crowded room my friend sat down next to me, looked me in the eyes, and asked me the exact question I didn’t know I needed to answer. It was 12am PST (3am EST) and still, without hesitation, I called my best friend to confess sin, to cry, and to seek comfort. When I endured test after test and still had no diagnosis, my friends laid their hands on me and prayed fervently for answers. I have...
In a time of worldwide suffering, we must face our true beliefs about the character of God. Maybe we believe that God must be absent. He must be apathetic toward humanity. Maybe he’s paralyzed because the suffering of his people is so great and he doesn’t know what to do. Maybe God unleashed this on us as a sort of punishment for our unrighteousness. Or Maybe we’re just wondering how God could...
If you’re anything like me, you’ve experienced a mix of emotions each day that your life has been disrupted by COVID-19. My vacation to California was cancelled. I miss seeing my 8th graders in class every day. I teach over a screen now. Our school trip to D.C. was cancelled. I can’t meet in person with my Bible study anymore. My husband was excited to start coaching middle school golf and was...
This time of isolation, quarantine, and illness has brought on or exasperated depression and anxiety for many of us. The rising death toll, the extended quarantine with no real end date, the cancellations, the daily rhythms disrupted, the relationships cut off with no warning. They seem to be piling one upon the other, in an ever-growing burden. If you don’t already have depression or anxiety...
It creeps in during the middle of history class. It shows up unannounced on a hot summer day filled with no plans. Boredom. Apathy. Laziness. The older we get, the less often we seem to be plagued by boredom because we stuff our schedules to the brim with sports and activities and homework and friends and technology. But we still feel it. Where does boredom come from? Is it a sin to be bored? The...
When I was in middle school and high school, people started to notice I didn’t look quite like everyone else. I was very skinny and all of the sudden I started earning new nicknames: Twig, Chicken Legs, Little Liz. Kids started asking questions and making comments: Are you eating? Look how skinny your arms are! You’re so skinny, if you turned sideways you’d disappear! Do you have an eating...
Dear Teenagers, You are daring and fearless and bold. You have an undeniable sense of justice and you’re ready to fight for it. You dream big and step up to the plate. You are doers. You love with no reservations. You take risks. You forgive. You are accepting and empowering. You laugh and enjoy and create. You are energetic and adventurous. You give yourselves away. You are relationship-driven...
rebelling against low expectations
