SOAR Teen & Young Adult Christian Magazine

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With realness and encouragement Jenna Lucado Bishop shares her heart with young women around the country, relating to their everyday questions and delving into the truth of God’s word with them. Whether speaking on stage at The Revolve Tour, a faith and fun-filled weekend for teen girls, or co-authoring books with her father, best-selling author and speaker Max Lucado, Jenna’s passion for God is apparent and inspiring, and her energy and the warmth of her personality are inviting. In this interview Jenna shares how she was led to get involved with The Revolve Tour and gives advice for dreaming on in God and serving Him right where we are, even in uncertain times:

Interview by SOAR’s Editor Julene Fleurmond (A special thank you to the Revolve Tour staff for the interview!)

SOAR: I wanted to start off by asking what led you to be involved with The Revolve Tour and having a heart especially for teen girls?

Jenna Lucado Bishop: My heart for teen girls can be traced back to college. I joined a little singing group that would travel to various girl’s events to lead worship. It was at these all-girl weekends that I realized I loved talking to, encouraging, and offering advice to teenage girls. I wasn’t much older than them, but I had just enough wisdom to offer since high school was finally in hindsight:) I knew that one day, I wanted to work with teen girls full-time. I just didn’t know what that would look like. And it DEFINITELY would not look like me speaking from a stage! Seriously. I never wanted to be a speaker.

Well fast-forward four years, and I hear about this new conference called Revolve. Revolve comes from a “mama” tour called Women of Faith. I knew Women of Faith through my dad, and they told me all about this new conference for girls that they were starting. I casually mentioned that I would love to serve at something like that. I was envisioning helping behind stage or on the concourse, selling product or joining the marketing team. I never knew Mary Graham (president of Women of Faith) would sit down with me a year later and ask me if I wanted to try teaching on stage.

SOAR: When and how did you realize that God was calling you to be a speaker and writer, (did your father’s work have a big influence)?

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By SOAR • March 2011 • No Comments

What does love mean to you? Here are some more responses from SOAR readers on love and waiting for the true love story that God writes (click here for part 1 if you missed it):

Genevieve, A 20-Something Shares the Love

What does real love mean to you?
Real love is 1 Corinthians love to me. It is not love that one receives because of works, it is what motivates us to treat people with the love Jesus showed at Calvary, the “inspite of” love. The love that does not “turn off” because of actions but responds to need to feel it.

Why have you decided to wait?
I have decided to wait because I know my worth and feel like my husband will be worth it. To youth I say the God in you created you for greatness and He can and will strengthen you to wait. The wait is worth it everytime, and the blessings associated with the self-control fruit of the spirit cannot be topped so value yourself and you will be able to embrace real love.

Stephanie, Recently engaged and glad she waited

What does real love mean to you?
To me, real love is love that is centered around Jesus Christ. That’s the only solid foundation in this world that human beings can build a lasting relationship on.

Why have you decided to wait?
I decided to wait because when I was 18 years old, God told me through a minister this message: “He talks about you all the time, and He said you’re like His little flower. You’re to be put on display, but not to be touched.” I knew then that if Jesus took the time to send me a message through someone, then it was incredibly important to listen to it. So praise Jesus, I’m on my way to getting married in June as a 25 year old virgin, all glory to God!

Advice I would give to youth on waiting: DO NOT DATE A SIGNIFICANT OTHER IF THEY ARE NOT JUST AS COMMITTED TO WAITING AS YOU ARE! I started college with seven other close friends who were just as committed to waiting as I was, and by the end of our four years, I was one of only two virgins left. It was just a moment of weakness that overtook all of them, and I know that if my fiance’ and I weren’t equally committed to waiting, then the same fate would probably have overtaken us. If your partner isn’t serious about waiting, don’t date him/her until he/she is.

Kathy Breaks it Down

What does love mean to you?

Oh boy! You’re going to make me preach! The Bible clearly defines love in 1 Corinthians 13. So, I’ll start with this: Love is an action verb. Love is NOT a feeling. It is a series of actions and characteristics that one exhibits to the benefit of another based on a decision that was made intentionally. Kind of like exercise, one decides to work out and will carry out a variety of cross training activities that are all the execution of that decision. (I wrote this really great definition once on Facebook, but I couldn’t find it lol.)

Why have you decided to wait?
I decided to wait because it was instilled in at a young age that virginity and purity are important. Eventually, it became a value that I adopted for myself especially as I began to understand the biblical significance of sex.

Somehow, very early on, when I was like 11 years old, waiting became less about fearing my parents, or pregnancy and more about wanting to surrender that part of my life to God for myself (everything else came later). I attended Bible studies with my sisters’ young adult group. From these lessons, I began to understand that sex was more the the physical act between the man and woman but it went much deeper than that. I had learned that marriage is an earthly reflection of our relationship with God so we cannot do as please with our bodies. The purity that God requires of us for our own protection and the protection of our souls. The physical connection in intercourse is like signing a contract, you’re telling this other person,”I’m all yours.” Therefore, you cannot make this binding agreement with multiple people or just anybody. When I understood what sex is really designed to be, I knew that I wanted it God’s way.

Loving advice from Gabrielle, a mom

With so many young girls trying to grow up so fast with all this technology, we need to tell our young girls and older ones that haven’t reach maturity to wait. Many times the mother might not have someone there to guide them, also they don’t explain the process. Love is something so precious; when you move too fast you can get hurt, and a hurt from “love” is painful. There are signs you have to watch so that you won’t get them confused with love: Verbal, physical or mental abuse whether from a parent or a mate. Now that I am older have decided to be sold out for Jesus to send a companion [to me], even if He never does, being an example for my daughter to follow or some other young person…

Take your time, God will find you the right person and He has great plan for you all.

By SOAR • February 2011 • No Comments

The Revolve Tour Update

Above: Photos from the “Dream On” event in Dallas, TX (from The Revolve Tour’s Facebook Page).



Britt Nicole is currently on The Revolve Tour: Dream On, a fun, faith-filled weekend event for teen girls coming to a city near you. I got to meet her when the tour kicked off in Dallas and could tell that Britt has a beautiful heart for God and people from the way she took the time to speak to each of the girls during the autograph signings, and even gave me some words of encouragement before she left.

It was amazing to see her and her dancers do the song Headphones and others live – each one was awesome and so full of energy. I was especially moved to tears during the song “Have Your Way,” also from the album The Lost Get Found which talks about giving all of our heart, dreams and life to God.

Visit www.revolvetour.com for dates and more information about the Revolve Tour, it is an amazing event! Check back later on SOAR for more on my experience.

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Video Pick & Inspiration: Headphones from Britt Nicole

Britt Nicole sings about the ups and downs of life, and reminds us that God’s love is always in reach in this colorful, inspiring and playful video for her song “Headphones” from the album The Lost Get Found. You can also find a guitar-accompanied version on her Acoustic EP.

Britt Nicole on the Story Behind Headphones:

“I actually wrote it to my cousin, who is around ten years old; I think she’s twelve now. I wrote this song for her…

“The first verse talks about how we want to fit in, and how sometimes we want to be like everybody else. But God has something so special for you, you are fearfully and wonderfully made, and He made you unique. He made you to be who you are. If you’re ten years old, you’re kind of figuring out who you are. You’re learning different things at school. You’re seeing that some people live one way, and some people live a different way. I would encourage her to be who she is, and to not be afraid to stand up for God.”

- From an Interview with Tracy Darlington on TitleTrakk.com

By SOAR • January 2011 • No Comments

Check out the latest from the Dream in Soul Store which offers a line of uplifting apparel and gifts created for you to express your faith. The goal of the line is to bring glory to God through creativity and to present unique pieces that speak truth and inspire others. Click here to visit the Store.

By SOAR • January 2011 • No Comments

When you have a divine urging inside of your heart it can be hard to ignore it, but can sometimes become difficult to press forward to what God has called you to do. Purpose often doesn’t come without its detours especially when obstacles and disappointments blur the vision God placed in our heart.

Dianna Hobbs can attest to facing obstacles when pursuing music, her buried passion. As the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of EEW Magazine, the premiere Christian publication for African American women, she has paved a path of influence in media throughout the years, along with pouring out daily encouragement on her blog.

Behind the scenes though she felt God drawing her to begin her music ministry. It was only recently that she got the courage to do what He said, and thankfully she did. Now Dianna is inspiring many hearts through her music, which blends CCM, pop, R&B, and sometimes, soft rock along with encouraging messages. In this interview Dianna talks about her journey and gives advice to others who may need direction in bringing their God-given dreams into fruition…

By SOAR • November 2010 • 1 Comment