rebelling against low expectations
Teens want our Christianity to be alive. We live in a world full of bright explosions, flipping numbers, and urgent calls from everywhere. There is so much to do, so we want our faith to be powerful, moving, and deeply felt. So when theology comes up, we might sigh. When discussions about inerrancy or impeccability or any other long i-word comes up, we shrug or settle back into that resigned...
My heart broke as yet another chronically ill teen unwittingly voiced questions and struggles I’d heard over and over again. Most of us don’t know it, but we all seem to have the same questions. Perhaps there are some variations in wording and scenarios, but those questions you are ashamed to verbalize? So many others have wondered the same things. You know what? It’s okay to ask those questions...
Over the past couple of days, I’ve been making shopping plans. Not the going-to-the-mall-and-buying-clothes kind of shopping. This is about notebooks, backpacks, and all the other things I need to get before I leave for college in just a couple of weeks. The shopping lists on my whiteboard have been getting longer and longer as I try to figure out where and when to buy socks, sheets, and extra...
What is it about vacations that make them so wonderful? Depending on who you are probably determines your favorite vacation, but I think we love them so much because we crave rest. We crave a break from our normal routine. My vacation was extra sweet this summer. Not because I got to read three books in one week (what a dream!), but because I left my phone in my room and took a week long hiatus...
I’m a teenager. And I love the new journeys and responsibilities that accompany being a teen like getting a job, learning to drive, and being trusted with important tasks. But what I find frustrating is the “teenager mold” our society has created. Until we turn twenty, most adults’ expectations of us are so low, it’s depressing. They assume all of us between thirteen and nineteen are just selfie...
100 billion. That’s a big number. As teenagers, we rarely think of a number that huge. Trust me, a million is a lot for my mind to grasp. Thankfully, we have a God who loves big numbers. One fact I learned recently is that we have 100 billion neurons in our brain and 100-1,000 trillion synapses. While this might seem like some fancy fact you learned in science class, this statement is actually...
My schedules and planners say I want to know my future. Don’t we all? We want to know what’s going to go on. We want to know what we are supposed to accomplish. What should I do once I graduate? What friends should I hang out with this week? Should I pursue a writing career, or an engineering one? Should I accept this job in Colorado, or move with my family to Florida? Should I begin this new...
Stop feeding us pizza. Okay, I admit that was a strange way to start an article with such an intense title – but it got your attention, didn’t it? Now, let’s talk about Generation Z and the future of the Church within America. Culture Shift in the Church There is no denying the shift in the culture, but it seems not many understand what that looks like for this generation of teenagers. Otherwise...
In my last article I wrote about how teens should set boundaries with technology. If you want to know why, you can go back and read that short article. One of the most influential pieces of technology in human history has been the smartphone. I think the smartphone is brilliant and helpful, but it can quickly become toxic and harmful to our productivity, mental well being, and physical health. In...
I have been on Facebook since I was thirteen years old. Now, I am twenty-five, which means I’ve been on Facebook for over twelve years, having joined in November of 2008. To put this in perspective for you younger folk, when I joined Facebook, then President-elect Barack Obama had not yet been sworn in as President of the United States and Apple’s revolutionary new device, the “iPhone,” was...
rebelling against low expectations
