rebelling against low expectations
When the iPhone was introduced to American society in 2007, everyone fell head over heels for this shiny, new, flashing rectangle of limitless possibilities. We dove right in. But who could comprehend how such a small piece of metal would change our lives as we knew it? I was only two years old then, and wouldn’t get a phone for many more years, though I am now as hooked as everyone else. But...
Have you ever felt like you were slipping out of Christ’s grasp? That your sin and struggles would push away His love for you and dry up His mercies once and for all? It is easy for my mind to slip into thinking these untrue and unbiblical beliefs, and it’s a depressing and miserable place to be. I often need to remember that when Christ saved me from sin and death, it was not a temporary fix but...
When we hear the word “missionary,” we usually think of someone in a foreign country spreading the Gospel amidst constant persecution. We sigh, feeling guilty that we aren’t helping to “make disciples of all nations” because we have fridges, soft beds, supermarkets, vehicles, hospitals, plenty of food and water, and relatively easy lives. But the truth is, you don’t have to travel overseas to be...
Allow me to unfold the incredible story behind the beloved hymn, It Is Well, so that you may know, just like the Spafford family, that your soul can be well, even though sorrows high as sea billows roll through your life. This story is both heartbreaking and amazing at the same time. The reality that one man and wife could experience so much heartache and loss, while still glorifying God is an...
My heart ached as I stared down into the freshly dug grave. Oh, how dark the muddy, cold earth looked around the little box that held my cousin’s stillborn baby girl. Death had come to our family again and in a crushing defeat. No joy would come, no hopeful celebration of a new little life. It was all taken away from a family who would have loved and cherished her. Death. The separator of close...
In the Lord of the Rings, as the journey grows increasingly dangerous, and it starts to become unclear who is truly on his side, Frodo slips on his fateful ring, running as fast as his hobbit legs can carry him, alone to the dark land of Mordor. But his faithful and devoted companion Sam eventually figures out where Frodo has gone and catches him in the nick of time—moments before Frodo sails...
The word “love” appears 684 times in the Bible, therefore, it must be an important topic! God apparently had much to say about love—from how much He loves us, to how we can love Him in return, to how we can love other people. While we can’t explore every passage on love, I have picked just a few to observe from the Old and New Testaments. These passages teach us what it means to truly love in...
“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” Many of us are familiar with these seemingly simple words, along with the rest of Psalm 23. While they may be simple, these verses do not fall short of profound truth and encouragement. Many of my family members are farmers in Michigan. One spring morning, my mom drove my siblings and I to the Upper Peninsula to visit our uncle who raises sheep. While...
rebelling against low expectations
