rebelling against low expectations
Lately, my evening reading has been a linguistics textbook. I’m sure you’ve already figured this out: I’m taking summer classes, getting some extra credits so I can keep up my GPA and maybe graduate early. Except, I’m not. Words are fascinating to me: the way they work, how you can string them together to form sentences and create meaning, and especially how they relate to certain branches of...
What hard things do you want to do this summer? If you’re still in school (even homeschool!), you probably view summer as a time to take a break, rest, relax—and pursue some goals. There are lots of goals we can make for our summers: reading more, getting a job, starting a business or a new project. But one of the most important goals you and I can make for the summer—or anytime—is to know God...
What if? Few phrases in English are so full of possibility, fear, and anticipation. What if I finish that project? What if I don’t? What if I achieve that goal? What if I fail? What if everything somehow goes right? What if something terrible happens tomorrow? Tomorrow—it’s all in the future. And with all of tomorrow’s possibilities come all its fears. Tomorrow everything could be wonderful...
Sometimes, devotions are great. You sit down with your Bible (and coffee, if that’s your thing) as morning light filters through the window and read a few chapters or dig deep into one passage. You write out the beautiful, powerful truths you’re learning in your journal. You spend time in prayer, praising God for his goodness, overflowing with thankfulness and dependence on him. Other times, you...
We’re apt to criticize the Christmas season. It’s true, there’s a lot to criticize in the way our culture defines Christmas. What should be a season of beauty, wonder, and worship becomes several weeks of fighting crowds and harried online shopping. Celebration of our Savior’s birth turns into the stress of too many parties and events. As Christians, of course we should push back against this...
Some time ago, I wrote for TheReb about whether fiction is less important for Christians. As Christians we seem to have a problem with thinking fiction—fantasy, realistic fiction, ancient epic—is somehow subpar; that really spiritual Christians don’t bother with it. In fact the opposite is true. Fiction is food for our souls. It broadens the scope of our imagination, lets us see good and evil in...
The night of the last presidential election, I made a poor decision. I looked at Twitter. My feed was full of tweets and retweets rejoicing, mourning, celebrating, or decrying the situation as it unfolded, minute by minute. Praise and blame was heaped on both of the major candidates—and on their supporters. My birthday came just a year too late for me to vote in the presidential election. As I...
You’ve started classes. You’re beginning to fall into a schedule. And most likely you’re creating—or rediscovering—school year habits. Hopefully they’re good habits—starting work on assignments ahead of time; minimizing your time on social media; eating breakfast. Perhaps some of them are not so great—procrastinating schoolwork with Netflix or staying up until ungodly hours. But in all of that...
Over the past couple of days, I’ve been making shopping plans. Not the going-to-the-mall-and-buying-clothes kind of shopping. This is about notebooks, backpacks, and all the other things I need to get before I leave for college in just a couple of weeks. The shopping lists on my whiteboard have been getting longer and longer as I try to figure out where and when to buy socks, sheets, and extra...
It’s no secret that I love music. The Spotify app on my computer is almost always open. I have several albums downloaded on my phone. I memorize the lyrics for my favorite songs and sing them at the top of my lungs when no one else is around. I play both violin and guitar whenever I have time, and I’ve even tried my hand at songwriting (rather poorly). It’s no secret that our culture loves music...
rebelling against low expectations
