rebelling against low expectations
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...
Fitting an arrow to the string, the crown prince took aim and released. The arrow flew through the air, landing a great distance away. A small boy–his servant–hurried to pick it up and bring it back to him. “Is not the arrow beyond you?” he called after the boy. As he said those words, he remembered his excellent education, his training with a sword and bow, his preparation to be a...
From blue crayon sketches to squeaky violin recitals to Disney murder mystery novels, hobbies have long been a part of my life. I’ve hated the hours of practice, hated the pieces that went in the trash, hated the wasted time. But if I could reclaim that time for another purpose, I wouldn’t. In fact, I’d probably invest still more into my hobbies. My sketches may not be featured in some New York...
We sit around in her room as she tells us how God brought her here. Of the open doors, the blessings, the hard stuff. We sat on the back porch, wrapped in blankets, the sound of the rain a perfect soundtrack. The Tennessee lightning bugs popped in on us every now and then. We discussed match-making, and car accidents, and neighbors. It was such a far-cry from what I would picture as “culture...
Water–the thing we all need and yet we often take for granted. With taps, faucets, and bottles of it all about us, we hardly ever consider its availability. But when it is scare, it becomes the most important thing. When you live in Arkansas a small running creek is no big deal; when you live in West Texas it’s a small miracle. Last time, we discussed how God’s Word is like water, and how...
“Dear younger me, where do I start? If I could tell you everything that I have learned so far, then you could be one step ahead… ” (Dear Younger Me, Mercy Me) Over the years, we’ve all had our share of mistakes, experiences, and victories that have taught us and grown us. How much simpler life might have been if we had known it all beforehand! Though time travel...
Every weekday morning has a similar sound. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. “Oh no, morning. Please, just five more minutes,” I groan as I reach over to press the snooze button. With the exception of those who enjoy rising early, no one likes to hear their alarm clock in the quietness of the morning. We groan and sloppily reach out to press the snooze button on our incessantly ringing alarm clock...
Life seemed like it should be full. True, the first semester had been absolutely insane. I was at a new school, yet I had adjusted fairly well all things considered. Everything was picking up speed as we approached the mid-terms and consequently, Christmas break. I was constantly studying and making sure my end of term grades were perfect (or as perfect as they could be). Friends wanted to hang...
I never planned on taking a gap year. I never dreamed of deviating from the four-years-of-college-right-after-high-school path. I’m the kind of person who enjoys school and accomplishing things, one of those type-A high achievers. That’s why, when I was forced to take a gap year due to health issues, I felt devastated. I went from several AP classes to a low-skill, very part time job...
In November 2018, an almost 27-year-old young man from Washington State, USA, made international headlines. Almost overnight, it seemed the world knew the name of John Allen Chau. On November 17, 2018, John’s physical body was killed by arrows shot by the Sentinelese people from the North Sentinel Island, one of the last unreached people groups of the world. He had been carefully planning this...
rebelling against low expectations
