Five years after she graduated from high school, teacher, youth minister, and sought-after speaker Katie Prejean McGrady returned to her alma mater in Lake Charles, Louisiana, to teach freshman theology. In the early years of her career, McGrady’s hormonal, sometimes grumpy, and often confused students taught her what it means to evangelize. Her frequently witty and always candid stories—and the ten lessons she offers—will inspire anyone who works with youth in the Church today. As she began her first year of teaching, McGrady was eager to impart the Catholic doctrine she loves to her class in room 24 at St. Louis Catholic high school, but she was quickly rattled by the magnitude of the task, especially when she was challenged by a teen who said he didn’t believe. In ten brief and compelling chapters, McGrady shares humorous and hopeful interactions she’s had with her students that helped her learn that teaching them about Jesus and his Church is not as important as knowing them, loving them, and inviting them to know and love Jesus as a personal friend and savior. Her frequent mistakes and occasional successes with her students taught McGrady how to evangelize young people by building relationships in joyful, humble, and prayerful ways. Likewise, McGrady determined that the power of inviting conversation, welcoming questions, and witnessing to faith through personal stories engages students and helps them fall in love with Jesus.
Winner of a 2019 Association of Catholic Publishers Award: Teen Books (First Place). How well do you know Jesus? Like, REALLY know him? Catholic author and speaker Katie Prejean McGrady shares sometimes embarrassing, often humorous, and always inspiring stories about how she came to know and love Jesus and how you can, too, through prayer, scripture, sacraments, and service. In the summer of 2016, Katie Prejean McGrady walked off the stage feeling great about a forty-five-minute talk she had just given, when a young man from the audience stopped her for advice. His questions caught her completely off guard. “Who is Jesus?” “How can I get to know him?” Prejean McGrady—who speaks to tens of thousands of Catholic teens and young adults a year about her passion for Jesus—couldn’t give the guy a straightforward answer. And it bugged her. Bigtime. In Follow, she uses engaging, sometimes awkward, and frequently funny stories from her own life to show you four simple and practical steps to get to know Jesus and have life-changing friendship with him: Prayer (lift your heart)—She helps you understand that prayer is just talking to God and gives you the tools to start. Scripture (open your ears)—Prejean McGrady introduces you to an easier way to start reading the Bible. Sacraments (receive God’s grace)—She encourages you to see the sacraments as spiritual fuel for your relationship with Jesus. Service (share the gift)—She will nudge you beyond your comfort zone in the Church’s common mission to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world. Prejean McGrady will help you open your heart and mind to meeting Jesus in a personal way and challenge you to see him for who he really is.
Winner of a 2020 Catholic Press Association book award (third place, books for teens). Are you looking for a daily Lenten resource for teens that meets them right where they are in life? Husband-and-wife youth ministry experts Katie Prejean McGrady and Tommy McGrady offer realistic and engaging spiritual guidance for Lent that includes timely topics for teens such as relationships, being your best, competition, control, fear, and forgiveness. The simple format of Lent: One Day at a Time for Catholic Teens offers depth without complexity and direction without pressure. Each daily devotion is based on a Bible passage that connects with a topic important to teens. A brief reflection helps readers consider the day’s topic through the lens of faith. Unlike many other Lenten prayer books, each day offers exercises and activities to help teens grow closer to Christ. Optional activities in “Feel Ambitious?” invite teens to read, reflect, and respond to a longer scripture passage that connects to the day’s theme. Another unique feature is that on Sundays, the McGradys ask teens to choose one spiritual challenge from a short list to focus on throughout the week. Saturdays provide a simple method to reflect and examine how well they did with their Lenten prayer and practices during the previous week.
Following the success of their bestselling devotional Lent: One Day at a Time for Catholic Teens, youth ministry experts Katie Prejean McGrady and Tommy McGrady offer devotions for Advent and Christmas that help teens make sense of the things that matter most in their lives such as relationships, their future, and coping with stress. Realistic and easy to use, each daily devotion starts with a brief Bible quote that connects with a topic important to teens such as insecurity, pressure, trust, fitting in, finding hope, and choosing joy. A brief reflection helps teens consider the day’s topic through their faith. The McGradys sometimes offer comfort, hope, or reasons for joy in these reflections, while on other days they issue a challenge or two. Unlike many other seasonal prayer books, each day offers exercises and activities such as naming areas of teen’s lives where they want to be more hopeful or to trust God more. The result is a closer relationship with God. Each single-page, weekday devotion can be as brief as five minutes or as long as thirty if a teen chooses to do a bit extra with a feature called “Feel Ambitious?” This activity invites them to read, reflect, and respond to a longer scripture passage that connects to the day’s theme. Saturdays and Sundays offer additional challenges to reflect on the previous week and to look ahead to the next.
Winner of a 2019 Association of Catholic Publishers Award: Teen Books (First Place). How well do you know Jesus? Like, REALLY know him? Catholic author and speaker Katie Prejean McGrady shares sometimes embarrassing, often humorous, and always inspiring stories about how she came to know and love Jesus and how you can, too, through prayer, scripture, sacraments, and service. In the summer of 2016, Katie Prejean McGrady walked off the stage feeling great about a forty-five-minute talk she had just given, when a young man from the audience stopped her for advice. His questions caught her completely off guard. “Who is Jesus?” “How can I get to know him?” Prejean McGrady—who speaks to tens of thousands of Catholic teens and young adults a year about her passion for Jesus—couldn’t give the guy a straightforward answer. And it bugged her. Bigtime. In Follow, she uses engaging, sometimes awkward, and frequently funny stories from her own life to show you four simple and practical steps to get to know Jesus and have life-changing friendship with him: Prayer (lift your heart)—She helps you understand that prayer is just talking to God and gives you the tools to start. Scripture (open your ears)—Prejean McGrady introduces you to an easier way to start reading the Bible. Sacraments (receive God’s grace)—She encourages you to see the sacraments as spiritual fuel for your relationship with Jesus. Service (share the gift)—She will nudge you beyond your comfort zone in the Church’s common mission to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world. Prejean McGrady will help you open your heart and mind to meeting Jesus in a personal way and challenge you to see him for who he really is.
Five years after she graduated from high school, teacher, youth minister, and sought-after speaker Katie Prejean McGrady returned to her alma mater in Lake Charles, Louisiana, to teach freshman theology. In the early years of her career, McGrady’s hormonal, sometimes grumpy, and often confused students taught her what it means to evangelize. Her frequently witty and always candid stories—and the ten lessons she offers—will inspire anyone who works with youth in the Church today. As she began her first year of teaching, McGrady was eager to impart the Catholic doctrine she loves to her class in room 24 at St. Louis Catholic high school, but she was quickly rattled by the magnitude of the task, especially when she was challenged by a teen who said he didn’t believe. In ten brief and compelling chapters, McGrady shares humorous and hopeful interactions she’s had with her students that helped her learn that teaching them about Jesus and his Church is not as important as knowing them, loving them, and inviting them to know and love Jesus as a personal friend and savior. Her frequent mistakes and occasional successes with her students taught McGrady how to evangelize young people by building relationships in joyful, humble, and prayerful ways. Likewise, McGrady determined that the power of inviting conversation, welcoming questions, and witnessing to faith through personal stories engages students and helps them fall in love with Jesus.
Winner of a 2020 Catholic Press Association book award (third place, books for teens). Are you looking for a daily Lenten resource for teens that meets them right where they are in life? Husband-and-wife youth ministry experts Katie Prejean McGrady and Tommy McGrady offer realistic and engaging spiritual guidance for Lent that includes timely topics for teens such as relationships, being your best, competition, control, fear, and forgiveness. The simple format of Lent: One Day at a Time for Catholic Teens offers depth without complexity and direction without pressure. Each daily devotion is based on a Bible passage that connects with a topic important to teens. A brief reflection helps readers consider the day’s topic through the lens of faith. Unlike many other Lenten prayer books, each day offers exercises and activities to help teens grow closer to Christ. Optional activities in “Feel Ambitious?” invite teens to read, reflect, and respond to a longer scripture passage that connects to the day’s theme. Another unique feature is that on Sundays, the McGradys ask teens to choose one spiritual challenge from a short list to focus on throughout the week. Saturdays provide a simple method to reflect and examine how well they did with their Lenten prayer and practices during the previous week.
Following the success of their bestselling devotional Lent: One Day at a Time for Catholic Teens, youth ministry experts Katie Prejean McGrady and Tommy McGrady offer devotions for Advent and Christmas that help teens make sense of the things that matter most in their lives such as relationships, their future, and coping with stress. Realistic and easy to use, each daily devotion starts with a brief Bible quote that connects with a topic important to teens such as insecurity, pressure, trust, fitting in, finding hope, and choosing joy. A brief reflection helps teens consider the day’s topic through their faith. The McGradys sometimes offer comfort, hope, or reasons for joy in these reflections, while on other days they issue a challenge or two. Unlike many other seasonal prayer books, each day offers exercises and activities such as naming areas of teen’s lives where they want to be more hopeful or to trust God more. The result is a closer relationship with God. Each single-page, weekday devotion can be as brief as five minutes or as long as thirty if a teen chooses to do a bit extra with a feature called “Feel Ambitious?” This activity invites them to read, reflect, and respond to a longer scripture passage that connects to the day’s theme. Saturdays and Sundays offer additional challenges to reflect on the previous week and to look ahead to the next.
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