rebelling against low expectations
I’m Alycia, and I’m a recovering perfectionist. For years, I struggled to connect with people because perfectionism controlled my life. I was constantly working, stressed about the size of my to-do list and the fleeting hours of my day. Desperate for respite, I tried therapy, journaling, reading my Bible, taking long walks, anything I could think of. But they only provided temporary relief. I...
“I am so glad you will be able to have the ‘college experience’,” a couple of people have told me recently, when hearing of my plans to move out of state to attend college. After spending almost two years taking online college classes and living with my parents after high school, many are thrilled that I will finally have the “college experience” and get out on my own. But the concept of the...
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...
There are so many sources of worry and anxiety in our lives –auditions, interviews, school, sports games, moving, and more. Chances are, when things make your life harder, making you worried or sad, you go to your friends or family to talk about it with them. I completely understand your reasoning for this. I mean, my friends are often in the same situation as me, so they’re the ones who can...
“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.” – Exodus 20:7 Most people interpret the third commandment as “don’t use God’s name as a cuss word.” But “taking the Lord’s name in vain” refers to any use that is irreverent or “empty,” if you look at the original Hebrew. With this in mind, consider the widespread...
Gen Z is facing an unprecedented identity crisis. Every time I ask a youth pastor or Christian leader what they think is the biggest struggle teens are facing today, the answer is the same: identity. I’ve observed this myself. Teens are struggling to know who they are and if they matter. I hear their questions and as an early-twenties Gen Z, I can relate. Who am I? What determines my identity...
It can be very easy to stay stuck in the past especially when a past season has been very difficult. From my personal experience, I know the struggle is real. When I was in the middle of a dark time in my life, the Lord spoke to me from the song Out of Hiding by Steffany Gretzinger. I woke up one morning hearing the lyric, “Oh, as you run, what hindered love will only become part of the story.”...
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...
rebelling against low expectations
