rebelling against low expectations
Now it might seem confusing that we are telling you to not despise the day of small things, but also to avoid getting stuck there, and to keep going. We quote Jim Elliott saying, “Wherever you are — be there 100%” while also instructing you to pursue every open door. It could seem like we want everyone to “stay where they are” and “move” at the same time. In reality our hope is that you would...
When we are faithful where we are God is faithful to open doors to bigger things. But we still have to move to get through them. So many young people say they are waiting on God’s leading, yet they are not moving to explore the opportunities right in front of them. Some of this stems from laziness, some from fear of failure, and the rest from simply misunderstanding how the leading of God works...
So how do we avoid getting stuck? How do we continue to make progress towards the big things God has called us to do — especially when we aren’t even sure of what those big things are yet? The first answer to that question is provided by Jim Elliott, one of the five young missionaries martyred by the Auca Indians in South America. He wrote, “Wherever you are — be there 100%.” This answer may...
Thomas Huxley was wrong about a lot of things, but he was right when he wrote, “The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man’s foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher.” Theodore Roosevelt’s life is an amazing example of a man who lived every day as if it were his last, worked every job as if he’d never have another, and in the end found himself...
History tells us that our best life is not our easiest life. Those men and women who were of the greatest service to God and to mankind were those who gave the most of themselves; those who endeavored, not to avoid difficulties, but to overcome them; not to seek comfort, but to do what was necessary, no matter how hard. These are the men and women who made decisions, not on the basis of...
This world would have you think that your best life would be a life in which you were able to completely avoid responsibility and effort. But such a life would be as pale and flabby as the body of a man who had never moved and never seen the sun. It could be compared to the strange fish that live in the complete darkness of the deepest parts of the ocean, who never come in contact with a hard...
When we sign on to God’s plan for our growth, we’re declaring war on our sin nature and it fights the idea of do hard things with everything its got. The reason it’s so hard to do hard things is because our sinful flesh wants us to do easy things. Jonathan Edwards, a great American theologian, once wrote: “The way to Heaven is ascending; we must be content to travel uphill, though it be hard and...
We’ve really missed blogging, so we’re excited to embark on a new four-part (for now) series on Why Do Hard Things? — an important question that we’ve thought about a lot lately. Let us know your thoughts! We’ve all heard people say that God wants us “on fire” for Him. Maybe your youth pastor has talked about being “sold out” for Jesus or a conference speaker has challenged you...
At one of our Do Hard Things conferences in Dallas I made the following challenge to the parents in attendance. Alex & Brett thought is was good enough that they decided to share it with everyone here on the blog as well. Read it together as a family if you can and let us know what you think. It’s an encouragement from one parent to another. Parents, the first thing I want to tell you this...
Bre Engel is a high school senior from Indiana. Along with other young people from her church Bre participated in some community service projects and gave a report to her local church. Afterwards she heard a man saying, “Aren’t you glad these kids aren’t out smoking pot or drinking, but are instead doing service for our community?” “That comment just broke my...
rebelling against low expectations
