rebelling against low expectations
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! I groan and fumble in the dark to find my phone. I squint to make out the time. 6:30a.m. I wriggle out of bed and begin getting ready for school. The next thirty minutes are a blur. I finally make it to the car with my breakfast in one hand and my Spanish flashcards in the other. The school day passes by uneventfully. Classes, tests, quizzes, and lunch just like every other day...
Recently, I participated in a play with my classmates. The theme was the relationship between God and humans. I played the part of an average human. In the play, the human is lying on the couch when their phone dings. There are two notifications, one from God, and one from their friends. Do you know what they did? The human ignores God’s invitation to be together, and instead, goes to their...
I sit staring at my computer. A million distractions and notifications hum around me, each one tearing at my few remaining strands of focused energy and productivity. I pick up my phone, check a few emails, and give Instagram a ‘brief’ glance over. Fifteen minutes later, I attempt to refocus on the task, but my brain is still whirling. When should I reply to that friend? My new post...
It’s that time of year. School started a few weeks ago. Many of us are adjusting from having lots of free time to having less and less as the school year progresses, and sports and clubs pick back up. The large number of things to do, and the seemingly small amount of time to do them, can be overwhelming, especially for those of us who just finished a slow and restful summer. With all the things...
Editor’s Note: When it comes to working out and taking care of our bodies, we might think things like that don’t have anything to do with being a follower of Jesus. But we believe that, as Christians, we should be wise stewards of the resources God has given us and one of our foremost resources is our own body! Read on for Audrey’s excellent tips on being intentional to care for...
As I’ve been dealing with social distancing, canceled events, and the overarching fear and uncertainty engulfing our world, I’ve been thinking about Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the final two years of his life, which he spent in prison for suspected political resistance against the Nazi regime. While our circumstances and Bonhoeffer’s are very different, I believe there’s much...
I’m in an interesting phase of my life where I’m not doing anything big or exciting. My weekdays consist of waking up (always good), doing my morning routine, completing my schoolwork for the day, having dinner with my family, going to sleep (another great activity), and doing it all over again. This is so monotonous to me. I’m the type of person that loves spontaneity. Thankfully, my parents...
I don’t have a smartphone. At least, not anymore. About five months ago I sold it and gave up the luxury (yes, luxury) of WhatsApp and Instagram. In many ways this article is the story of an addict. How God opened my eyes to the endless Facebook scrolls, and the never ending YouTube videos. And how downgrading to a ‘dumb phone’ opened my life to an intimate relationship with God. Becoming...
Editor’s Note: Throughout the years, TheReb has published thousands of articles, each challenging and encouraging Rebelutionaries to do hard things and seek God. But among these posts, some have especially resonated with you, our readers. So over the next few weeks and months, we’re bringing back these classics, reposting our most popular and well-read articles every Thursday. May they encourage...
When we’re caught up in Rebelutionary living and striving to do big, hard, risky things, it’s easy to forget the why. Why leave our comfort zones? Why live radically? Why do hard things? Because Jesus breathed life into our dead souls (John 5:24) and calls us to live for his glory (1 Corinthians 15:49). This gospel characterizes the Rebelutionary. It breeds radical intentionality. In a lazy...
rebelling against low expectations
