rebelling against low expectations
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...
Figuring out our future careers and callings can be both scary and exciting. Some people seem to have a very clear call from God on what they are supposed to do with their career, but from my experience, a crystal-clear vision isn’t the norm. Most people need opportunities to experiment with different jobs before they discover what fits them best. When I was in high school, I assumed college...
Lately, my evening reading has been a linguistics textbook. I’m sure you’ve already figured this out: I’m taking summer classes, getting some extra credits so I can keep up my GPA and maybe graduate early. Except, I’m not. Words are fascinating to me: the way they work, how you can string them together to form sentences and create meaning, and especially how they relate to certain branches of...
The worst place to die of thirst must be the ocean. “Water, water, everywhere, and not a drop to drink,” says the old poem, and it’s an apt description of the situation. Stranded in a small boat, with not canteen of fresh water, you’re surrounded by miles and miles of water–but none of it does you any good. Ocean water isn’t fit for drinking. The salt in it dehydrates you, drying you...
If I had to use one word to describe this semester, it would not be the word “fun.” As if a full load of college classes wasn’t enough, high school algebra and chemistry are killing my GPA. I don’t know anyone taking the same classes as me, classes I didn’t want to take in the first place. And no one wants to get me started about the complete lack of decent places to sit and study...
Some time ago, I wrote for TheReb about whether fiction is less important for Christians. As Christians we seem to have a problem with thinking fiction—fantasy, realistic fiction, ancient epic—is somehow subpar; that really spiritual Christians don’t bother with it. In fact the opposite is true. Fiction is food for our souls. It broadens the scope of our imagination, lets us see good and evil in...
Homeschooling culture is funny. I admit it. There’s a lot to pick on us about. Thankfully, we have a pretty good sense of humor and can dish the homeschooler jokes out ourselves. John Crist and Blimey Cow being chief among us. But as funny, humorous, and, at times, embarrassing as homeschooling can be, I wouldn’t trade it. I’m glad I was homeschooled. The thing about homeschooling is despite the...
Excuse the generalization, but homeschooled kids like myself can have have really strong imaginations about the scary world of “school.”As we watch the Christian movies and hear the warnings of our Sunday school teachers, our minds get stuffed with ideas of all the persecution we could face.Well, after just three weeks as a dual-enrollment student at my local community college, I can tell you...
It’s school season (if you haven’t noticed). And with it, the school season brings many things: friends, full-schedules, the thrill of learning, homework, late night study sessions, early morning study sessions, teachers, tests, projects, drama–it goes on and on. But what it brings the most is a pile of unknowns. And with the unknowns come questions… Questions about whether you’ll be...
It was the last day of my high school biology class: Presentation day.For two hours straight, my classmates told me how the soaps I’m washing my hands with are exposing our bodies to antibiotics, and the air I’m breathing should be purified with the use of quiet dehumidifier allowing bacteria to become immune to the them so that when someone truly needs an antibiotic to fight an infection...
rebelling against low expectations
