F A V O R A B L E FEATURES 6...Sergio Consuera "Husband, Youth Leader & Father talks about his past and balance" 7...The GLOW Conference Post Review "His Favor Ministries' founder attends an all girls conference" "His Favor Ministries' founder attends an all girls conference" 8...Zhanyia McCulough "13 year old goes from being teased to launching her own product" 10...Anaya Fernando "Teenpreneur creates a bath essentials that looks edible"
14...Christopher "JUDE" Williams "Christian Hip Hop Artist on the rise talks social media, music and more" 15...Savannah Rae "San Antonio native, seen on stage with Demi Lovato during The Voice and American Music Awards shares about her upcoming project" 16...Jessica Crawford "National Recording artist takes a break from touring to give an update"
20...Au'Lauren Million "Pageant Contestant expresses her desire to use her platform to fight against bullying and more" 22...Croyce Allen "Teen Actor, Director and Advocate has no problem giving back"
26...James "JE" Tyler "Author and Speaker encourages young people through his literature and workshops" 30...Richard Piette Jr. "Pastor discusses the Above and Beyond Youth Conference and being a family man" #
I wanted to challenge others to not focus on their present circumstances but instead look to the God who is everpresent in the midst of those circumstances. Jesus called Peter out of his boat to walk on a substance he had no business walking upon. The moment Peter took his focus off of Christ and looked at the storms all around him, he sank. It’s no different with us. If we look to Christ to be our strength in the midst of difficulty, we will find ourselves rising above the water. I can’t promise the circumstances will change, but one thing I can promise is that His love will surround you in the midst of the storms. It sounds cliche, but His love truly is enough!
~Roy Tosh
Christian Hip Hop Artist, Minister, Speaker 5
Life, what does that word mean? There are many variations of the definition of the word, but ultimately it means: a form of existence that allows for constant growth and change. Different from inanimate forms of existence. The thing about life is that it can end in an instant without notice. The opposite of life being death. There is also eternal life, our life after the one we have on this earth. The question is are we taking those necessary steps towards progression in our faith to reach the ultimate goals as believers, doing what we are called to do on this earth with our time that is allotted, bringing others to the faith, and growing our relationship with God so that we can reach eternal life. One of those next steps for me was getting baptised. Growing up I had seen people be baptised, but I never really understood why or what it symbolised. So it was never something that I really had a desire to do. Many people do this when they are young, but like me, probably didn’t understand the full meaning. In recent years I have become more interested in the symbolism of being a “born again christian�, holding on to those bits and pieces of information I heard about it in sermons. It was not until a few weeks ago when I decided to make that decision for myself. A defining decision I might add. I can remember sitting in church and being filled with an emotion I can't even describe, trying to keep the tears from rolling down in that moment I decided. After I was baptised there was a feeling of calmness that came over me and from that instant I knew my life was continually changing for the better. I decided to share my experience with the next step that I needed to take with growing my relationship with God because it might encourage the next person to do the same with whatever their next step may be. Always remember there is opportunity in obedience.
ShiaNNe TayloR
@shi.tay_7
#
Devo Time Lately in my life, devotion time has been something I struggle with doing. I know many teens out there relate to this and even adults! It’s a challenge to find time. Our days are always booked it seems like or maybe we just simply don’t want to sit down and read a book. I’ve started a new way of getting in my devo time. I hope that this will encourage you to do the same!! I started by picking out a book of the Bible. I choose Acts. Each day, during my set time of only 30mins( it’s a lot easier to find than you think!) and I read a chapter a day. My first thing I do is I pray to God to help me listen to what he wants me to get out of this piece of scripture. I then read the passage and highlight anything I find important. My next step is that I take a notebook and at the top, I write the book, chapter, and date. The whole page is then filled with all the important things I found in the passage. I have colorful pens to help make all the info interesting. Taking this all and putting it into a work of art really helps me and makes me look forward to the time. I get a lot out of it and connect with God. Some pages are more decorative than others, but that’s okay! I challenge you to find your 30 mins and try this out for yourself! Not only do you get to doodle all your thoughts on the reading, but you’re slowly learning the word of God and reading through the Bible.
KayLee Fishburn @haylee_fishburn 29 @grace_blog