rebelling against low expectations
I still remember submitting my very first article to The Rebelution. I was 16 and had started writing less than a year before. I sat in front of the computer, obsessively re-reading every word and staring nervously at the “send” button. I was positive it would be rejected. Absolutely positive. I nearly started screaming when I received the response: “We’d love to publish this!” That moment...
I drove past a rainbow on my way home yesterday. Stripes of color fluttered in the breeze, the flag displayed in my neighbor’s front yard more proclamation than decoration. It’s interesting how a simple piece of fabric woven with a certain pattern of color can make such a bold statement. It’s a symbol of solidarity and inclusion. Of embracing one’s “true self” without shame or reservation. It’s a...
When I graduated five years ago, I didn’t have a life plan. I remember wrestling with uncertainty, trying to figure out what was next as I attempted to answer the bombardment of What’s next? questions. I felt the suffocating pressure to have my life plan mapped out by graduation day. I’m sure many 2021 graduates can relate. In the five years since I received my diploma, I’ve experienced numerous...
Editors Note: Today we’re celebrating the one-year anniversary of The Rebelution’s latest book Love Riot: A Teenage Call to Live With Relentless Abandon for Christ! Below is one of our favorite excerpts from Love Riot taken from Chapter 6: Everything Means Everything. Jim Elliot could have done anything he wanted. Well-liked and respected among his fellow college students, he was...
How can I encourage my peers to follow Jesus? Have you ever asked this question? I know I have. Throughout my years of following Christ, I’ve struggled with watching many of my peers slowly drift away from God. It’s hard to see friends make unwise decisions and watch them struggle in their relationship with God. It’s painful to see them leave the church. It’s lonely when your friends don’t share...
Jim and Elisabeth Elliot are two of my heroes. I’ve devoured as many books by Elisabeth Elliot as I can get my hands on and been moved to tears by Jim’s commitment to God—and the tragedy it led to. I’ve read their journal entries and love letters, listened to audio clips from Jim and talks given by Elisabeth. God has used their steadfast devotion to Him to fuel a fire of passion in my own heart...
I just want to go back. I can’t tell you how many times this thought has crossed my mind lately. I want to go back three months ago and alter the course of the future. I want to go back to the me I used to be before grief pummeled my heart and hopes and dreams collapsed. I want to go back to the precious memories of lost relationships. I want to go back to a pre-pandemic world. I just want to go...
Do you have a list? You know, a list of the qualities you want in a future spouse. Some people have general lists that may or may not be written down. Others get a little more specific and put down preferred hair and eye color or even what musical instruments or sports they want their significant other to play. I once heard of a girl who had a list nine pages long, detailing everything from birth...
I have last year’s goals spread out before me. Some practical: Work out two days a week. Get to bed by 10:30 each night. Some ministry and work related: Write book two. Redesign website. Some spiritual: Study the Bible in a deeper way. Be consistent with my prayer time each day. If the beginning of a year is anything, it’s a time for casting vision. Dreaming. Planning. Making new goals and...
Go ahead, be honest. Are you a little relieved 2020 is almost over? The beginning of a new year always strikes me as a little strange. I mean, if you really think about it, it’s just another day run together with all the rest. 24 hours after the day previous and 24 hours before the next. From day to day, there’s nothing special about a new year. But we still crave a fresh slate, the start of...
rebelling against low expectations
