rebelling against low expectations
My hopes of having a good holiday season this year weren’t that high. Because COVID has made 2020 stressful, isolating, and hard to navigate, I had my doubts that Christmas would be as enjoyable as other years. I didn’t expect to have a wonderful time because Christmas during a pandemic couldn’t be as special, right? In spite of such a hectic year, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to be savoring...
Nine times out of ten when our friend suffers, we ache to our core. In response to that burden, we search for ways to alleviate their pain, to give them comfort. I faced that kind of scenario recently. My friend, Eliza Downer—a worn-out warrior battling for joy and strength amid the weariness that comes from chronic illness—was about to restart “one hundred days of thankfulness” and...
We’ve all had those relatively smooth “good weeks” when temptation isn’t shouting in our faces. Once sin has taken us out in battle, it retreats for a season, crouching quietly in the shadows (Gen. 4:7). Then, temptation comes in poisonous innocence. Just one more time. You haven’t done this for weeks, it can’t hurt to do it once more. A harmless offer, right...
UPDATE: THE VALENTINE CARD CHALLENGE goal for 2018 has officially been reached! We ended up with 233 cards total. If you volunteered to make cards, please send them in by February 16th. Thank you, everyone! You’re the best! Three years ago, my heart ached for a Valentine’s Day that was different. I was eighteen, wondering if gifts of chocolate and a rose from my dad could finally come...
Jesus left the riches and purity of heaven to become flesh for us. He put it all aside, exchanging it for poverty and filth. Why would the King of kings do something so incredulous? It was because He had compassion on us in the midst of our hopeless depravity. He knew we were desperately poor—without any hint of true righteousness to our names. We have never had one good deed to rub together with...
Last Christmas, my mom and I tackled errands together in chilly December weather. As we buzzed through store after store with a list that always seemed to do more stretching than shrinking, I noticed how hectic everything was. A continual pattern of long lines, crowded aisles, and packed parking lots accompanied the bright, glittering decorations and festive music. People rushed to purchase gifts...
A hurricane of harsh words flung from my lips one morning. Another bout with sin. Another let down. In the aftermath, guilty frustration rushed through my veins; my heart felt tired and heavy. One glimpse at my reflection in the mirror and my face crumples into a cry. Broken, weak, and flawed, I stand there asking. In the multitude of my mistakes, can fragments of beauty be found after all? As I...
Late one afternoon, two tiny birds perched in dappled sunshine distracted me. I remembered this phrase with a surge of comfort, wonder, and hope: His eye is on the sparrow. Often, I know it in my head more than I embrace it with my heart. Most of us grapple with those eighteen inches and although we may drift into a rusty forgetfulness about certain truths, it doesn’t tarnish their authenticity...
Some days, the weight of what the future might holds seems crushing. How will life turn out? Will seemingly broken pieces ever be put together again? For weeks, the news has broadcasted live footage of babies suffering from chemical gas. Dying. This unthinkable atrocity is enough to make you shudder. Conflicts are raging around the globe. Terrorist attacks. Shootings. Bombs. Cold brutality. How...
My grandma is a quilter whose sewing resume stretches over three decades. The patience and perseverance necessary to maintain this skill of intricacy amazes me. Precise measuring and cutting. The hum of a sewing machine joining fabric together. An iron, hissing steam – pressing underside seams into smooth, neat lines. Undoing mistakes. Repeat, repeat. And in the end? A masterpiece of colors...
rebelling against low expectations
