Archives For lifestyle

Book Review: Start Here by Alex and Brett Harris

Aaron Armstrong —  March 19, 2010


Title: Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are
Authors: Alex & Brett Harris
Publisher: Multnohmah

In their first book, Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations, Alex & Brett Harris challenged and inspired young people around the world to stop wasting their teen years and make the most of them for the glory of God. But many were left asking the question, “How do I start?”

That’s why the Harris brothers wrote Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are to provide answers to tackle the questions that arise from a desire to do hard things.

Surpassing it’s Target Audience

The sign of a good book is its ability to surpass its target audience. Although directed at teens, adults of all ages will find as much to benefit from Start Here as will any teen “rebelutionary.” The advice found in its pages is practical, thoughtful, honest and thoroughly biblical. The testimonies of real young people who are doing hard things are encouraging and inspiring. And I think that’s why their message resonates with so many readers. A wasted life is a fruitless life and the Christian life is to be abundantly fruitful.

Don’t Be Busy, Be Fruitful

One point I particularly appreciated is that busyness doesn’t equal fruitfulness:  Continue Reading…

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Oh no—We were Emo!

Aaron Armstrong —  July 31, 2009 — 4 Comments

We made a stunning revelation Wednesday night: In college, Emily and I were so emo—and we didn’t even know it!

Now, I may not have worn eyeliner… or painted my nails… or worn girl pants… but when it came to home decor, we were so emo.

We learned this with the help of Everybody Hurts: An Essential Guide to Emo Culture. In this book, authors Leslie Simon and Trevor Kelley include an important chapter about growing up—the most dreaded concept to everyone from teens to 40-somethings. In this chapter, they write:

Generally, interior design is a concept that most emo types fail to embrace until they reach their mid-twenties, which is why their first home away from home (often obtained around the age of nineteen) will include the following:

“Band posters… DIY bookshelves [made of milk crates, naturally!]…The ‘Dude, what’s up with your futon?’ Futon.

Honestly, this is not too far off from our first apartments (and college dorms). Comic book art and band posters, the hand-me-down puffy pleather sofa (which, in terms of decor, may be on par with the futon), a DIY entertainment unit. It was pretty rough.

But here’s what caught our attention:

Your average adult emo home will be heavily outfitted by Ikea, West Elm, or Pottery Barn and will probably look identical to all your friends’ homes. Generally, these homes will include the following:

A real couch… A slightly better bookshelf [with real books in it that cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $150, but still has the stability of a stack of milk crates]… Photographs and art, but not too much [usually consisting of either cartoon-looking concert posters or nauseating photos of the married couple].

Our house is an Ikea catalog. We can’t help it, they make affordable and awesome furniture. Our shaky bookshelves are bowing under the weight of a couple hundred real books. And yes, we have pictures of ourselves around the house, and a painting of toast in our kitchen.

Now while Emily tells me that our home decor is called something like “modern country,” I think there’s a lesson to be learned: There’s a little emo in all of us.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to watch a Cameron Crowe movie and then listen to Weezer.

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It makes me laugh: Information Overload Syndrome

Aaron Armstrong —  July 21, 2009 — Leave a comment

HT Kevin DeYoung

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Dave Ramsey – Town Hall for Hope

Aaron Armstrong —  July 1, 2009 — Leave a comment

On April 23rd, 2009, Dave Ramsey hosted the Town Hall for Hope. Over one million people in 6,000 locations were given the real answers about where the economy is going and how we can find hope in the midst of what many media outlets have dubbed “The Great Recession.”

You can watch the Town Hall for Hope in its entirety below:

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more about “Dave Ramsey – Town Hall for Hope“, posted with vodpod

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Week Five: Am I an Adrenaline Junkie?

Aaron Armstrong —  May 26, 2009 — 2 Comments

This week, at the request of my mentor, I’ve been reading a book called Adrenaline and Stress, by Dr. Archibald D. Hart. Because of the recent events in our lives at the Armstrong home, we’ve all been feeling a greater deal of stress, and the truth is, I’ve never learned to manage stress well.

I always thought that I was immune to stress. That I could handle it, because, well, “I’m a man.”

Stress “helped” me function. It made me more productive. For five years, I worked a job with extreme deadlines and unrealistic expectations. 60 hour weeks were the norm. And I could do it. When I left there, I didn’t know quite what to do with myself at Compassion, because I didn’t have the enormous workload. I was actually stressed about not having anything to do. Now, the opposite is the case. But here’s the thing:  I have a great deal of trouble relaxing. I don’t vacation well. I don’t know how to take time off. And I don’t sleep much or well.

Continue Reading…

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A Real Alternative Lifestyle: Petra

Aaron Armstrong —  April 7, 2009 — Leave a comment

This week, A Real Alternative Lifestyle continues. This week, we hear from Petra, a 24-year-old woman in Ontario, Canada.

Aaron: How did you become a Christian?

Petra: At an Acquire the Fire Conference when I was fifteen.

Aaron: What does it mean to have a biblical worldview?

Petra: I try to live as Christ has taught me to live. I take the moral of the stories that he told his disciples, the character of God, the complete Word, leaving nothing out, and the commandments and apply them daily to the way I live. I don’t accept everything I am told by the world as truth but rather listen to what the Lord and the Bible tell me is true. There is absolute truth that exists in the world, and so as long as I allow the absolute truth to guide my worldview: God is good, He cares for me, turn the other cheek, bless those who curse you, etc. then everything else can be relative. It’s easy for me to be counter cultural, because I’ve never enjoyed doing what everyone else is doing. But what I’m realizing more and more is that the thought pattern of the majority of the world is upside down. I cannot cling to the changing nature of society. It’s too transient, too mutable, and unstable. So, I try to change my thought pattern and listen to the Word. Continue Reading…

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