Do Hard Things: A Book Review

Alex and Brett Harris are twin teenage brothers that recently wrote a book called “Do Hard Things.” They founded the website TheRebelution.com. That’s right, rebelution. A made up word they invented by combining rebellion and revolution to form a new word for an entirely new concept: rebelling against rebellion. More precisely, they define rebelution as ‘a teenage rebellion against low expectation.”

You may have heard them recently on Focus on the Family discussing their book. The message is simple, but far too often overlooked in society today: rebel against low expectations. This book is targeted squarely at teens, though I can not deny that the message impacts other generations, especially a mother with two young girls headed for the teenage years faster than I thought. I was inspired and energized by what God is doing with this book. It made me think, ‘how can I do hard things as a Christian, wife, mom and teacher to teenagers.'

In their book these teenagers challenge other teens to try to do five kinds of hard things. They are: to go outside your comfort zone, to go beyond what is expected or required, to rebel against the idea that things are too big for one person, to do things that don’t earn an immediate payoff, and to challenge the cultural norm.

These five simple but power-packed ideas can shape the next generation to do great things for God. This book is written in teenage vernacular with the ‘like you knows’ and small paragraphs easy for any teen to read and digest. I love the fact these Godly authors are challenging a whole generation of young people to use their lives to do the hard things God calls them to do when society begs to avoid hard and protect their comfort. I pray that the teen years are only the beginning, only the foundation, of lives lived to the glory of God.
If you have a teen, know a teen or will be having a teen, I encourage you to pick up a copy of “Do Hard Things.” May the world be forever changed by doing hard things for the glory of God.

Have a great day,
Lesley