rebelling against low expectations
The phrase “books on theology” scares some people. Okay, a few years ago it scared me! I thought of the hundreds of books lining the shelves of my dad’s library and all the weighty volumes and non-fiction theology books he read and I knew I couldn’t read them. They were for the spiritually elite, the pastors, and professors. They were too above my head; I wasn’t old...
We live in a culture that is constantly talking about love, lust, sex, and romance. It’s hard to get away from, honestly. You can barely turn on the TV, walk around the mall, or glance at a billboard without being assaulted by it. Of course, the mere fact that culture is vocal about it is not the problem. It’s an important conversation to have, for sure. The Bible itself frequently talks about...
Do you have a list? You know, a list of the qualities you want in a future spouse. Some people have general lists that may or may not be written down. Others get a little more specific and put down preferred hair and eye color or even what musical instruments or sports they want their significant other to play. I once heard of a girl who had a list nine pages long, detailing everything from birth...
My mom and I were at Fred Myer buying seeds for our garden. We both had masks on—and I was also wearing my sunglasses (for some reason, I had forgotten to take them off as we were entering the store). Now for some time, it had been my usual routine to verbally vent to those around me (usually my mom) about how my mask kept me from vital access to oxygen. “I can’t breathe!” I would exclaim...
For the first couple weeks of my quarantine, everything was going great. I had a lot of time to relax since I didn’t have to run to extracurricular activities and classes. And, being homeschooled, staying at home a lot of the day was pretty normal. But then, I got hit with depression, lack of motivation, and boredom. Since I couldn’t get out of the house, I ran out of things to do! It was so easy...
All the things I had planned to write don’t make sense anymore. I meant to talk about needing beauty in the midst of the cacophony of the world, full of the steady patter of cars and busyness and cement sidewalks—that chaos of busyness. But that’s gone now. I meant to speak of the longing for a great Something, a something that took the discordant notes of the Monday commute and mundane...
As an extrovert, I have been figuring out how I can still foster relationships and satisfy my urges to hang out with people while practicing social isolation. While many of us are stuck in our homes due to coronavirus, I have discovered that hearing someone’s voice is one of our most powerful tools to foster relationships, and I think we should call people more often, even when we are not in the...
Not long ago, we were all going about our regular lives, sticking to our usual schedule. Now, everything is far from normal. I’m sure you all have experienced an interruption of plans because of COVID-19’s rapid spread across the world. My friends and I met at church on March 8th as usual, never expecting that a couple of weeks later, church would be closed until further notice. There have been...
Recently, Brett Harris wrote an article about the coronavirus “cancelling our life.” It was an incredible article (if you haven’t read it yet, you really should), and the title is really accurate to how many people I know feel, myself included. It’s completely disrupting our lives, forcing almost everyone to become a homeschooler, cancelling sports, cancelling social gatherings, and essentially...
Coronavirus. It’s going crazy. Media is flooded with it. Borders are closing. The number of deaths is rising, not to mention the thousands infected by SARS-CoV-2. Countries are closing down their schools and switching to online learning. Churches are cancelling their services. Shops are bought out. The economy is suffering. Whole regions are under quarantine. You are most probably in some way or...
rebelling against low expectations
