rebelling against low expectations
It was in the darkest moments that I understood the power of music. Since I grew up in a musical family, I’ve always been around music. Until a few months ago, however, I never truly valued music. Only recently I understood what a gift it is. I have seen what it can do to my mind and my heart. I have seen how God can use it. In the last year many songs have helped me speak truth into my life when...
Corrie ten Boom is known for rescuing hundreds of Jews during WW2 through her work in the Dutch underground. Telling this incredible story in The Hiding Place, she begins slow, with glimpses into her childhood, her life as a young adult trying to navigate her future, and the years preceding the Nazi occupation of Holland. What is remarkable is how the lessons from these times, as Corrie frames...
“Who am I?” I ask and look around feeling lost, purposeless, and out of place. “I mean, who am I really?” I’m the pastor’s daughter. I’m an artist. I’m a writer. I’m a homeschool graduate. You can fill those things in with anything you want. I’m so and so’s girlfriend. I’m the captain of the football team. I’m the one with good grades. I’m so and so’s best friend. The list could go on and...
You sit surrounded by people, yet you feel alone. Each person talks to someone else. Each one seems to feel completely at home with those around them. You get a few glances, maybe even a few smiles, but there’s no doubting you feel like an outsider. You feel small. You feel invisible. Even if you’re conversing with someone, perhaps one you may even call a friend, you wonder if they’re really...
Winter is all well and good in December – we can dream of a white Christmas (or not, if you live closer to the equator). The chill in the air may be a reminder of hot chocolate at home and presents under the tree. But soon enough, December is past, and we face not only another year, but another few months of cold weather and gray skies. Many of us are also beginning another semester of school and...
It was Narnia that started the whole trouble. As a little girl, I was mostly concerned with stories about puppies and ponies – not fantasy epics. Narnia was coy. It lured me in with promises of talking animals, then awoke in me a longing too serious for words. From then on, I knew I belonged to another world. At first, I assumed it was a love of Narnia in particular. That wasn’t it at all. When I...
It happened so quickly, there was no way to know, no way to prepare… “We’re going to wreck!” I shouted to my passengers. They were my younger sister, Roseanna and her friend, Nikki. The car spun out of control on the wet road. It was hit by oncoming traffic. When it came to a stop, it burst into flames. There I was, behind the wheel, reaching for the handle to open the driver’s door. Roseanna was...
Since I was small, I have loved poetry. The way it doesn’t just tell you something but helps you to see and feel it too. I’ve tried my hand at poetry many times, one such occasion was last Christmas. If there’s any time of year that lends itself to poetry, it’s Christmas. I sat on the sofa, staring at the tree, my pen poised above the paper. Half an hour later these stanzas looked at me from the...
Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy. It’s what all the Hallmark movies tell us, with their over-the-top decorations and picture-perfect events. It’s what all the songs talk about (It’s the most wonderful time of the year, right?) It’s advertised on every commercial and ad: if we just buy this or do that or decorate just so, we’ll be happy and we’ll have the best Christmas ever. Yet rather...
There is a plague sweeping our culture today. A plague that brings thousands to their knees. It’s taking hold of more teens and young adults than we know, and it is devastating. If you don’t suffer from it, you may not see it as a plague at all, but it is. And it has a name: Anxiety. I assure you, you know people who battle it every day. Some of you may say, “Everyone feels anxious sometimes...
rebelling against low expectations
