rebelling against low expectations
It’s what makes me stop watching the news for weeks at a time: Catastrophes, loss of freedom, flourishing of evil. You get the picture. It’s all over the media. Yes, of course it’s true that bad news gets more response than good news, and that gives the media reason to focus on the worst parts of the world. But even with that knowledge, it’s very easy to feel like the world is getting worse. And...
I’m the kind of person who cries at every funeral. But I’m also the kind of person who leaves each funeral deep in thought. Funerals make me ponder life and death and consider what it means to live life well. They make me think about success and failure. They make me think about the person who passed away, and all my memories with him or her. They make me think about the legacy they left. For...
“So, what do you want to do after high school?” I asked my co-worker as we sat at the edge of the courtyard, our backs against the cold concrete wall. It was a hot summer day and cooling off in the shade was the perfect thing to do after a Wednesday at day camp. The last few children that hadn’t been picked up yet scampered around, playing four square or catch. “Well,” she said, “I want to be a...
Recently, one of my uncles died. While I wasn’t super close with him, he had always been a part of my family. He was a constant. Although I didn’t talk with him a lot, I knew he was always there. But those are things you don’t think about when that person is still in your life. Those are things you think about after they have passed. And it was only when my family prepared a song to record for...
“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16) Growing up, that was one of my favorite verses. To me, it was a perfect description of how incredible the moment of Jesus’ return will be for his followers. But when is Jesus coming back...
Good Friday. The day Jesus was nailed to a cross. The day he was beaten. The day he died. When you first think about it, it seems illogical. Why would Christians call the day their Lord, their teacher, their God died “good”? The day after the Passover, about 2000 years ago, the Friday before Easter Sunday, was horrible. Gruesome. Sad. I have heard it been called the worst day in history. Death...
What if I got real honest? What if I took a risk? What if I opened up my heart and let you see in? The song was not at all the kind I usually listen to. The music wasn’t mine, but the lyrics hit me deep and I instantly knew what I had to write. There was someone on the other end of my screen who had to hear this. Now, as I sit here, staring at my laptop, watching words appear in clear black on...
This past year was hard, no question. Looking ahead to the new year, I immediately feel a little worried about the uncertainty. None of us know what the new year holds. But I for myself have decided not to let the enemy win this one. One of the best weapons we have against the devil’s schemes is thankfulness. I want to start the new year with thankfulness. Thankfulness looking back I have always...
Recently, I wrote about how important it is to serve despite any lies the devil might feed us (find that article here). As I pondered the topic more, I thought about the situation the world is in at the moment. Many of you may be thinking that yes, serving sounds great, but how do I do that now? If the last article covered serving in theory, this one covers one aspect of how to put this into...
Doing the dishes, going shopping for an elderly church member, or tidying up a Sunday-school room. All this is serving. Serving is usually done in the hidden. Often, it is the “dirty jobs” or jobs done behind the scenes. On the surface, serving is as easy as picking up a broom and sweeping up after a meal–and yet, I so often see that many teens shrink back from taking the initiative when it...
rebelling against low expectations
