Last week, I asked if doing devotionals is actually important. The answer was that it was not only important but also necessary to do devotionals every single morning. If you have not already read that you can do so here.
But how do we stay consistent? Consistency is something I struggle with whether that’s doing devotionals every day or posting on my blog every Saturday morning (that this post was posted on Sunday speaks to that).
Plus, what is a devotional even supposed to look like?
I talked to some adults who have done devotionals much longer than myself and asked what they do. Here’s what I found: Continue Reading...
For some teenagers, the practice of spending time in prayer and Bible study in the mornings- devotions- has been something they have been told to do since the earliest days they can remember. For others, it is a totally new concept. Regardless, the result is often the same because it seems like we often don’t have enough time in the morning to get ready for school, let alone read our Bibles. We are already getting too little sleep to afford waking up any earlier, right? Even when we do have time, we often don’t see the urgency in doing it. Continue Reading...
Next week will be the last post of the blog season of 15-16. I will be taking the month of August and potentially September off to get settled into school. While there will be no podcasting or publishing posts happening, I hope to post various posts written by others that I feel may be beneficial to the readers. I will be back posting and podcasting soon. Don’t forget to check out this week’s podcast: Deep in the Rough– Episode 2.
Shame is a tough thing to deal with. It’s a ‘feeling’ that seems to cling on to us in various ways throughout our lives. Shame is a problem. When dealing with a problem, it’s best to know as much possible as there is to learn about it. Unfortunately, shame is one of those problems that doesn’t seem to be talked about enough. Even when it is discussed, I, at least, am still left with questions. In this featured article, Heather Davis Nelson does a great job answering questions about shame such as “What is the difference between shame and guilt?” or “How does shame affect us?”. This article is a relatively short read, but one that I hope will answer questions that you may have about the topic of shame. I encourage you to share your thoughts in the comments. You can find the article Here.Continue Reading...
Being a teenager is tough regardless of what century or decade you live in. Being a teenager is a time of finding out who you are and what you want to do. Along with this comes pressure. Pressure comes in many forms and from many places; it could come from your parents, school, or peers. As teenagers, peer pressure in particular is a very common issue. Exploring what God wants you to do in life is hard enough as it is, now there is added strain coming from our fellow classmates and friends. This pressure can cause us to avoid doing the things we possibly love the most because we are too wrapped up in what others think. Fortunately, we aren’t the first people to deal with this problem.Continue Reading...
This Summer, I have been making a focused effort to spend this time off from school in a productive way. A key component in doing so, as I mentioned in my Don’t Waste Your (Summer) Life post, is to read. An activity is usually more enjoyable if it’s easier and that’s the way it typically goes for reading, as well. My dad has had to do a LOT of reading through out his life with College, Seminary, and just being a pastor so I look to him for advice. He wrote an article back in February on his blog and I would like to share it with you. He lists seven ways we can make reading better, faster and smarter by going into points such as removing distractions and ways to build speed. We are all going to have to read at some point so why not look for ways to make it easier? Check it out at davidcprice.com . Have any thoughts or suggestions? Let me know in the comments.Continue Reading...
A couple months ago, I wrote a post entitled ‘Worshiping Your Way Out of Despair’ and it was exactly that: how to get out of those ruts. I, myself, was recently in one of these times of despair. It was a time of feeling distant from God, bogged down and stuck in sin; it’s an awful feeling. Because I had studied the topic for a blog post, I KNEW what to do, but the old saying rings true yet again: “knowing is half the battle”. My problem was making excuses such as, ‘Well, I just sinned so I should probably wait’ and ‘I’ll do it in the morning’ which would turn into ‘Eh, I’ll just do it tomorrow’. Where did this get me? Further and further away from God. What DO we do when excuses plague our thoughts and desires?Continue Reading...
If you are a teenager reading this, I want you to quickly do the math and think about how many summers you have left before college. If you are a parent, think about how many summers, if any, your child has. I recently realized that I only have three summers remaining (this one included!). That was a very sobering thought… three summers before I’m off to college. With only three summers left, I want to make sure I don’t waste my summer and encourage other teens not to waste theirs, either, so I thought about some do’s and do not’s to ensure we make the most out of our remaining childhood free time.Continue Reading...
Congratulations to…. Carvis Russell! All participants’ names were put into a hat and randomly drawn. I will be doing more giveaways in the future so be on the lookout! Also, I am not able to get a post up today due to an exam I have tomorrow but am hoping to be able to write one later this week. Again, congratulations to Carvis Russell and a big thank you to everyone who participated. God bless.
Around the middle of April, I was given a copy Lecrae’s unreleased autobiography, but I was not allowed to share any news about it until it released today. Not only that, I also received one to give to one of my subscribers. Because of this, I am doing a giveaway contest that ends Sunday night (5-8-16) at 11:59 Est.! The rules are very simple and easy: You must A) Be subscribed B) Comment on at least one post and C) Share the blog on social media in some way, shape or form (use the hashtag blogjcp [#blogjcp] so I can find it). I will be doing more reviews and giveaways in the future so be on the lookout for those as well. Find all the details in the video below. Now, on to the review.
I have been a fan of Lecrae for many years now after Austin McAfee first introduced me to him way back when. I’m pretty sure he (Lecrae) has a direct correlation with the ‘gangster wannabe’ stage I went through in sixth grade (I still cringe thinking of it). However, if you don’t know who he his, here’s the basic rundown: Lecrae is a Christian rapper who had, in my opinion, one of the biggest influences in starting the industry. He has released seven albums including Gravity and his latest, Anomaly. Lecrae has been nominated for 5 Grammy Awards while winning two of them. He now writes his life story in his autobiography: Unashamed. Regardless of your taste or stance on Hip-Hop, this book has content we can all benefit from.
One of Unashamed’s biggest focuses can be found on the book jacket, “if you live for people’s acceptance, you’ll die from their rejection.” This is a relatively popular quote but Lecrae really dives into what it meant to him and how it had affected him throughout his life. For me, as a teenage writer, this quote has a very deep meaning that I constantly struggle with. The thoughts of what other teens will think when they see my blog, for example, constantly passes through my mind. This book paints the picture of how Lecrae was always trying to be two different people, one in front of one crowd and another in front of other friends and the consequences/effects it had on him. Regardless of age, many struggle with this and it is a very important lesson to learn.
Lecrae’s background is one of fatherlessness, sexual and physical abuse, drugs, and poverty amidst other things. Just because you don’t have the same background doesn’t mean there is not a very powerful lesson to learn here. This is a valuable resource to see what people who DO have these problems are thinking, what they deal with, and how they feel about their circumstances. After reading this book, I have much more insight on these matters than I did before. I can’t relate to these things on a personal level, but I can do my best to understand them. This is VITAL. In the Great Commission, we are called to go into all the world, ALL the world. This does not just mean the suburbs, this means the ghettos, too. How do you expect to be able to evangelize someone if you don’t understand what they’re going through? No wonder so many people feel like they are being talked down to, sometimes they are! We, (myself included) need to learn as much as possible about the people we want to share the Gospel with and this is a pretty good start.
Not only is it important to understand the people so that we can share the Gospel with them, but also so we can recognize when someone is going through something that is physically dangerous for them. In this book, Lecrae talks about the ways that he and other people struggling with the same thing, such as sexual abuse, acted. You can see the different ways that Lecrae acted during different key struggles and times in his life and then look at someone you know and see the same thing. It’s hard to recognize a problem if you don’t know what it looks like.
Another big thing to learn from the book is what a Godly woman looks like. This paragraph is not just important for guys, but also to show girls what it is like to be a Godly woman. As Lecrae walks us through his book, we see the different women he encounters. We see the relatable struggle of lust he deals with throughout his life. We see women that do nothing but cause harm, and the Godly woman he is now married to. Being able to recognize each type of woman is crucial in our own lives. Lecrae not only shows the different type of women but also the consequences of being sexualized at such a young age, abortions, and more. We have the opportunity to learn from someone who has messed up so that we don’t do the same thing.
Lecrae reveals his life in this book- the great moments, the awful moments, the time when he was saved, the times when it all seemed to fall apart. There is something to learn for all ages, all walks of life, all tastes in music, Christians, and non-Christians, which is why I highly recommend this book. You can find it at various places such as Amazon.com and UnashamedBook.com, which are all just a click away. Check out the video below for details on how you can win a free copy of the Unashamed book. Go check out some of the other content I have on here just a heads up: there are some exciting new features I’m planning to roll out as soon as Summer begins, it’s going to be a blast. Thanks for reading, have a good day.
