rebelling against low expectations
Imagine a world where no one watches movies. Think college guys in dorm rooms quoting lines from their favorite movies and thinking they’re hilarious. Except they never saw the whole movie from beginning to end. Weird, right? But you, the normal human being you are, go to your friends and say, “What if we sit down and watch the entire movie tonight?” Everyone looks at you with a face twisted in...
In the past, my Bible reading has been largely unplanned and unscheduled. I would randomly pick a book of the Bible to study because it’s what struck my fancy in the moment, and I wouldn’t set any kind of time frame to complete it. Whenever I finished that book, I’d pick the next one in the same manner, and so on. But this year, I decided to try something different; something...
At risk of repeating the obvious: We’re living in the internet age. We communicate through emojis, learn through videos, and relate through pictures. We have surmounted the limitations of space, breaking her hold on us, as we can now communicate just as easily with those who live across the country as with those who live across the street. But we’re not just inhabitants of the...
What is it about vacations that make them so wonderful? Depending on who you are probably determines your favorite vacation, but I think we love them so much because we crave rest. We crave a break from our normal routine. My vacation was extra sweet this summer. Not because I got to read three books in one week (what a dream!), but because I left my phone in my room and took a week long hiatus...
Where do you start when you want to understand a verse, passage, or chapter of the Bible? There are a lot of things you could do to help you understand it. But the most important tool—other than prayer—comes before all of those. That tool is context. The Importance of Context My mom once said that every verse you study lives in an environment. If you were going to study an animal—say, a species...
Day one at my first internship had a rocky start. I was so excited and nervous I wasn’t thinking straight, and I fumbled over the elevator buttons to get to the second floor! After struggling for a while, a facilities worker who was in the elevator graciously pushed the correct button and got me to the second floor. Thankfully, the rest of my first day got better from there, and that internship...
I’ve never had a talent for playing instruments. My voice isn’t all that great. In fact, I’m one of the least musical people you’ll ever meet. However, I love listening to music. While I’m getting ready in the morning, doing homework, and driving in the car… I always have music playing. Even now, as I write this post, I’m sitting outside with music playing on my phone in the background. A couple...
Learning about the practice of new spiritual disciplines can be intimidating and overwhelming. It can feel like a New Year’s resolution where the excitement of a new goal is what carries us into a few weeks of strict implementation, only to be squashed by exhaustion, discouragement, and unforeseen circumstances. But it is possible to take small steps toward practicing spiritual disciplines in...
You know what is one of the worst cliche sayings ever? “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” I’m not one for cliche sayings to begin with, but that one has never sat quite right with me. I’ve always felt like it was a lie; a saying to give you false hope in the midst of your suffering; something to slap on the walls of a classroom to give half-hearted encouragement to its readers. After...
Bible reading. Prayer. Meditation. Fellowship. If you’ve spent some time in the church (or even on TheReb), you’ve probably heard a lot about these. You’ve probably also heard about some lesser-known practices like fasting, solitude, secrecy, or celebration. These are spiritual disciplines. Maybe you’re dedicated to practicing some or all of them. Maybe you think it would be a good idea and want...
rebelling against low expectations
