rebelling against low expectations
I love those old fairy tales. You know, the ones where the valiant knight saves the princess? The ones where chivalry and honor are boldly demonstrated and called for? Those ones. It always makes me sad when I’m out grocery shopping and I don’t see men opening doors for women anymore, or helping them carry the groceries. Or even when I look at relationships where either the man is...
I shift uncomfortably in the back seat as all eyes in the car suddenly turn to me. A quiet giggle lingers on my lips as I play with my hands, struggling for the right words for The Question. Ah yes, The Question. That Question. “So Rachel, what would you like to do?” Every teenager in the car has answered it flawlessly so far, as if they have stood in front of the mirror rehearsing it a dozen...
“Finally, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things.” — Philippians 4:8 Mindless thinking. Quite the oxymoron. But looking past that, there is an element of truth in that phrase...
Have you ever had one of those mornings where you wake up, and just wonder, “What am I doing with my life”? You sit and wonder if your life matters, and who would miss you if you were gone. You have this big sense of restlessness within you. “Is there more to life than what I am currently living?” “When will my big moment come?” “Will I ever amount to...
Politics are tense these days. Have you noticed? Most of the tensions are centered around whether or not man has a “right” to something. It’s those decades-old arguments: “We have a right to own guns!” “We have a right to have abortions!” “We have a right to free speech!” “We have a right to religious freedom!” and so on and so forth. These ideas are ingrained into Americans as immovable...
Why is it that we teens seem plagued with restlessness? More so than other age groups, teens especially feel like they’re living in a transition stage — and they want out. I can relate. Sometimes we get caught in this horrible trap of longing so much to “grow up” that we forget to find joy right now. But perhaps the restlessness is good. C.S. Lewis once said, “If I find in...
When I was a kid, I never wanted to be a ballerina or a princess. I have always had a heart for missions. When I was five years old, my parents sponsored a little girl in Guatemala so she could go through school, have food to survive, have clothing, and learn about Jesus. When I was eight, I got a letter from the organization, showing pictures of more children who needed sponsored. I sobbed and...
(MarketWatch) — The number of teens with summer jobs has fallen roughly 30 percentage points since the late ‘70s. In 1978, nearly three in four teenagers (71.8%) ages 16 to 19 held a summer job, but as of last year, only about four in 10 teens did, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the month of July analyzed by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. It’s been...
Two years ago my wife (then fiancé) was training six hours a day with a professional ballet company, working a part-time job, and planning our wedding. Six months later she was struck down by a debilitating illness that left her bed-ridden, in crippling pain, and suffering from severe neuropsychiatric symptoms. We are still fighting to get her health back. The Centers for Disease Control reports...
“If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load.” — Galatians 6:3-5 Comparing is something I struggle with daily. There are days that don’t go smoothly for me, and I fall into...
rebelling against low expectations
