Taking a “gap year” (a year off between high school and college–or anytime along your college path) has been seen as unconventional, non-conforming and even controversial. However, this past year, due in large part to COVID-19, students deferred college admission at three times the usual rate! A recent study by College Reaction and...

The Noise. Life is noisy! Whether it’s scheduling noise, social noise, cultural noise or mental noise, our days are loud and cluttered with activity, demands, stress and distractions. Often, our focus drifts from the Main Thing. Our souls get off-center and our spirits becomes frayed. We may even spend daily time with Jesus, but are

Benjamin Franklin once said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” By the time you’re a freshman in high school you’ve most likely encountered excellent teachers who have inspired you to learn. Hopefully you have tapped into the joy of discovery, felt the exhilaration of accomplishment and experienced the rich pay-off of...

We don’t talk much about holiness. The word itself carries an almost archaic feeling. For some reason, the concept has lost appeal, gotten pushed aside and been intentionally (or at best, unintentionally) ignored. Perhaps “holiness” reminds us of the Puritans, or of the kind of Christians we never want to be—those repugnant with...

Traditionally, college visits have been one of the anticipated “high points” of a high schooler’s experience. Nothing compares with checking out college campuses and beginning to dream in living color: how the food smells and tastes, how the dorms feel, how the professors and students interact and the general atmosphere of the college...