rebelling against low expectations
Thumbs swipe across an oily plate of glass. Pupils fixed on a blur of changing colors. Sans serif font writes captions underneath aesthetic coffee mugs, curly lettering, and faces crinkled with laughter at the beach. By the forty-third swipe, your brain doesn’t even bother to see what posts are saying. All you see is boredom. All you feel is your head thudding with the pound of pointlessness...
I used to think I knew what worship meant. I used to think that worship was raising your hands while singing Chris Tomlin lyrics or praying passionately while soft piano chords played in the background. I used to think that worship was going to church on Sunday and Wednesday and participating in the service. I used to think that worship was doing all of the “church” things I was supposed to do as...
There are some things we love that are too big for us. The sea and the sky, the waves and the stars, the pearls below and the planets above–these two have always been my loves. They’re close and familiar to me; they feel of warm soles slapping against grey boardwalk planks, and of neck upstretched to see it all spread out at night. Yet they’re far and distant too, both ever stretching out of...
Something my youth pastor always tells us is to preach the gospel to yourself every day. You may be thinking, “But I already know the gospel. Why do I have to preach it to myself?” While preaching the Gospel to ourselves may sound unusual, it’s actually vital to our spiritual growth. But what does that even mean? Preaching the gospel to yourself can be done in many ways. It could mean...
My summer started with all the normal things—volleyball practice, church activities, babysitting, etc. School had wormed its way in also—which I’m sure many fellow homeschoolers can relate to. There was also a job, a mission trip, and a YoungLife camp. Yes, it would be a busy summer, and I would be a little stressed. But I thought I could handle it. But then grief burst in. Three days before...
“Everybody wants to go to heaven. It beats the other place, there ain’t no doubt. Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wanna go now.”¹ So declares the old country song, and we may find ourselves unconsciously nodding along to those lyrics. Most of us really don’t want to go to heaven–at least, not right now. We know we should, and we know it’s better than the other place, so we do...
Guy/girl relationships can be confusing, can’t they? Guy/girl relationships online can be even more confusing. Does she like me? we wonder. Why is he emailing me? Why does she always comment on my posts? I think he’s flirting . . . is he flirting? Does she private message other guys . . . or just me? We stalk, we scroll, we like and comment, and before we know it, we have a full blown crush on...
Hey, you—dude in Vans and denim, brushing paint across canvas and concrete—I want to talk to you. You—the girl sipping coffee, spinning stories across your laptop screen—listen up. Teen brimming with inspiration, searching for outlets to spill yourself—let me enter your world and offer a hand. Because you and I have something in common: We’re kindled by the passion to create. We’re who culture...
In today’s world, coveting isn’t given a second thought. We often covet without remorse, perhaps without even conscious thought. It has become such a common part of our daily lives that we don’t even notice it. We buy our cars and eat our expensive dinners, but we rarely stop long enough to think of what the Bible says about coveting. So, what is coveting? We all know the classic “Thou shalt not...
Recently in my youth group, my pastor gave three criteria for examining our actions to see if they are what God would call good: “What kind of actions do you think God would call good?” • Those done in obedience to God’s command • Those done in reliance upon God’s power • Those done for God’s glory But as I thought about them, these three criteria really convicted me. Can we honestly...
rebelling against low expectations
