rebelling against low expectations
Life doesn’t have to be going poorly in order for you to be afraid. Sometimes the good things in life are just as frightening as the bad; like starting high-school or university, starting that new dream job, or finally dating that person you’ve had your eye on. Even though all of those things are good, it can be easy to still fall back into fear. What if I mess up? What if I’m...
What is the most daunting thing that Christians are called to do? Love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them? Turn the other cheek? Speak for those who can’t speak for themselves? I would say that, for me and many fellow Christians, the scariest thing we are called to do is evangelize. We are called to share our faith. It’s frightening to stick your neck out there and share the...
What do you want to accomplish in your lifetime? Pause for a moment and think it through. Maybe you thought, “Not that much,” or “I want to do a lot, but I don’t think I’ll actually be able to.” Very few will confidently think, “I’m going to do great things.” While we need to cultivate humility, and while we should seek to be openhanded with...
What is your identity? Are you a soccer player, a student, a sibling? Maybe you’re a writer, a daughter, or a friend? Somewhere in the process of defining our identity, most of us would answer that we are a child of God. This is the most important part of our identity, yet we often don’t grasp the full power of that label. All our other labels will fade away—one day, we will no longer play sports...
Let’s face it: school can be overwhelming. There are assignments to complete, to-do lists to conquer, modules to work through, and deadlines to overcome. But whether you’re an organized perfectionist, or a distracted procrastinator, as a child of God, you are called to excellence. What Is Excellence? The definition of excellence is as follows: the quality of being outstanding or extremely good...
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...
I’m a teenager. And I love the new journeys and responsibilities that accompany being a teen like getting a job, learning to drive, and being trusted with important tasks. But what I find frustrating is the “teenager mold” our society has created. Until we turn twenty, most adults’ expectations of us are so low, it’s depressing. They assume all of us between thirteen and nineteen are just selfie...
My family and I were headed to an American Heritage Girls’ scouting camp out for my younger sisters. As we were driving, I scrolled through Instagram. A coworker (who is the same age as me) posted pictures of her and her husband vacationing in Nashville. It looked like they were having a great time! As my family drove through the desert, my thoughts wandered to my dear friend who I’d been...
Daniel was a man of obstinate integrity. A rebel at heart, he dared to defy one of the most powerful empires in history in a successful effort to obey God. Though Daniel was just a youth when brought as captive from Israel to serve in Nebuchadnezzar’s palace, he understood the invaluable importance of living a holy life despite the moral deterioration of his pagan surroundings and even that of...
“I’m not right for the job. All I know about being a secret agent or trying to outsmart the Gestapo is what I’ve seen in the movies. But if you can’t find anyone else, I’ll go.” These were the words of Varian Fry, a courageous American man who lived during World War II. Along with a team of several men and women, he saved the lives of between 2,000-3,000 people facing certain death at the hands...
rebelling against low expectations
