rebelling against low expectations
New Year’s Eve 2019. I remember it like it was yesterday. We didn’t have any plans, so my family and I stayed home to ring in the New Year. We binge watched a TV show while I ate too much chocolate and an embarrassing number of cream puffs until a shiny, brand new 2020 rolled onto the calendar. Another year over. Another just begun. A few days before, I’d written in my journal, “What will this...
Follow Me. Two words. Countless implications. Jesus commanded us to pick up our cross and follow Him no matter what. No matter our culture. No matter what our friends say or the world around us does. No matter our human inclinations and preferences. No matter anything. If we truly live out Christ’s command of “Follow Me” those two words can change our lives. Not only did Jesus tell us to follow...
Do we compartmentalize God? I know I have. We place Him in sections and corners of our lives, relegating Him to those areas and barricading the rest of our lives out of His reach. We condemn sin when we see it in the world, but have no problem being entertained by it on our TV’s. We believe our lives have God-given purpose, but don’t think twice about wasting hours on social media. We love...
When I was eleven, my parents gave me my own study Bible. I’d had other Bibles before, of course. I remember a children’s Bible with a picture of Jesus on the cover and I once had a mini pink Bible that I ruined when I accidentally dropped it in a mud puddle. But to me, this Bible symbolized adulthood. For years, the Bible has been an integral part of my life. I can honestly say it’s changed the...
What needs to be changed in my life? The other day I scribbled this question in my journal. I was struggling with several areas of my life, knowing I needed to change and desperately wanting to. But I didn’t know how. These struggles felt too deeply rooted, too ingrained into my heart and life to be altered. Besides, they weren’t that bad. Nothing everyone else doesn’t also battle from time to...
I’m tired of apathetic Christianity. I see it in the world around me. I see it in the church. But mostly, I see it in me. A reluctance to give Christ everything. A subtle complacency. Compromise filtering in. I see people claiming the name of Jesus on Sunday and living like the rest of the world Monday through Saturday. And then I look at my own heart on countless Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays . ...
There’s a new generation arising. Some call us the iGen or Generation Z. Others refer to us as postmillennials. We’re the heartbeat of this century. We’re known as coffee shop loving, selfie taking, video game playing, fun-loving individuals. Who are we? We’re teenagers. A lot of people have a lot of opinions about us. But few automatically label us as passionate Jesus followers. I’m out to...
All across the country, churches have closed their doors. Two weeks ago, my church canceled all services until further notice. Since then, church has looked like sitting on the couch in front of my laptop. I’m thankful for the technology that enables me to continue hearing from my pastor, but there’s no denying it’s not the same. I miss my church family. I miss worshipping together. I even miss...
Guy/girl relationships can be confusing, can’t they? Guy/girl relationships online can be even more confusing. Does she like me? we wonder. Why is he emailing me? Why does she always comment on my posts? I think he’s flirting . . . is he flirting? Does she private message other guys . . . or just me? We stalk, we scroll, we like and comment, and before we know it, we have a full blown crush on...
Lately, God’s been messing with my prayers. Not with what I pray, or when, or where, or for how long. But with how. As I’ve been reading the book of Acts, two things have stood out to me: the faith and the prayers of the early church. I read phrases like “constant prayer” and “continued steadfastly in prayer” and I wonder if they could be applied to me. I come across stories like that of Peter...
rebelling against low expectations
