The Guy's Guide to God, Girls, and the Phone in Your Pocket: 101 Real-World Tips for Teenaged Guys

by Jonathan McKee

Overview

Spiritual, Practical, Real-Life Advice with a Twist of Humor

The Guy's Guide will encourage your faith, challenge you spiritually, and give you real-life advice how to live out your faith in today’s highly secularized culture, with distractions lurking around every corner. . .and just a click away.

101 real-life tips including. . .

• Today’s nerd is tomorrow’s boss.
• If you have to look over your shoulder to check if anyone’s in the room, you probably shouldn’t be typing it into the search engine.
• Learn a skill that would help you survive a zombie apocalypse.
• Losing your temper feels really good. . .for about 17 seconds. Keeping your cool feels even better. . .for the rest of the week.
• Realize most bad choices usually began five choices ago.
• If you have a TV in your bedroom, unplug it right now and move it to another room.

. . .and dozens more helpful hints provide spiritual, practical, and even humorous advice for navigating the challenges of your teen years with confidence and wisdom.

 “Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity,

God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Romans 12:1–2 msg

JONATHAN MCKEE is the author of over a dozen books including Get Your Teenagers Talking, Should I Just Smash My Kid's Phone, and The Zombie Apocalypse Survival Guide for Teenagers. He speaks to parents and leaders worldwide while writing about parenting and youth culture and providing free resources for families on TheSource4Parents.com. Jonathan, his wife Lori, and his three kids live in California.
JonathanMcKeeWrites.com. Twitter.com/InJonathansHead.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781624169908
Publisher:	Barbour Publishing, Incorporated
Publication date:	04/01/2014
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	290,427
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Jonathan McKee is an expert on youth culture and the author of more than twenty books, including The Bullying Breakthrough, The Teen's Guide to Social Media. . .and Mobile Devices, and The Guy’s Guide to God, Girls, and the Phone in Your Pocket. He has over twenty years of youth-ministry experience and speaks to parents and leaders worldwide. For more from Jonathan, go to BecomingScreenWise.com or follow him on Twitter.com/InJonathansHead.


 

Table of Contents

Start Here 14

1 Realize that most bad decisions began five choices ago 16

2 Turn off your smartphone before you crawl into bed 19

3 Tell your parents to block that channel. (You know the one I'm talking about.) 22

4 Today's nerd is tomorrow's boss 25

5 Choose your friends wisely, because the people you surround yourself with reflect who you are 27

6 Learn to cook. The ladies love a man who knows his way around the kitchen! 29

7 Wisdom is paved with past mistakes. Don't miss the opportunity to learn from your blunders 31

8 Losing your temper feels really good…for about seventeen seconds. Keeping your cool feels even better…and for a lot longer. 33

9 Learn a skill that would help you survive a zombie apocalypse 36

10 If you have a TV or computer in your bedroom, unplug it right now and move it to another room 38

11 Let others see Christ in you…not you in you 40

12 Don't underestimate a female's sense of smell 42

13 You'll never please everyone, and you'll never 14 please yourself completely…so seek to please your Creator. It's mind-bendingly fulfilling! 44

14 Remember, the girl you're checking out is someone's daughter! 46

15 Profane talk provides others with a glimpse of what's seeping out of your heart 48

16 Guys who trash-talk usually do so because they're insecure and self-doubting 50

17 Go an entire day without using anything electronic 52

18 When a girl walks by…keep looking forward 54

19 Being in shape shows self-control and commitment… and girls like all three! 56

20 Remember, you are much smarter than your dog! 58

21 Go out of your way to say hi to an elderly person. Introduce yourself. Start a conversation…and listen 61

22 Memorize scripture 63

23 Next time you want to spend $30 on a new shirt, buy a $3 shirt at the local thrift shop and spend $27 on a homeless person 65

24 A guy who looks at porn can't even satisfy his own wife 67

25 For one day, try really hard to be good. The next day, give up and let Jesus control your actions. Which one is easier? 69

26 Girls who are friends are way better than girlfriends 71

27 Doing the wrong thing is easy, and most people do it. Doing the right thing is often difficult, and few achieve it. Choose the right path 73

28 Don't text and drive until you've learned how to juggle straight razors nude 75

29 Take off your headphones and play your music out loud 77

30 Always stop and talk with the homeless 79

31 Put yourself in charge of God's money 81

32 Find a mentor 83

33 Wanna be an individual? Post some constructive and affirming comments online 86

34 Open doors for all women and girls…always! 88

35 Grab a friend and go volunteer somewhere 89

36 If you say you'll do something…do it! 91

37 You aren't the future of the church…you're the church now! 93

38 Talk with people, not at them 95

39 Don't get caught up in the present 97

40 It's a lonely road when you "do what you want." 99

41 You don't have to say everything you think 102

42 Live life with the knowledge that you are being watched and imitated 104

43 That sin no one knows about? It's time to tell someone 106

44 Never neglect an opportunity to protect the weak 109

45 Do you want to attract girls? Brush your teeth! 111

46 Talk to her face-to-face 112

47 Don't let anger do your thinking 114

48 If you want to be a better man, be a better disciple of Jesus 116

49 Make friends with someone who inspires you to do what's right 118

50 Every girl wants to be treated like a princess…no matter what she tells you 120

51 Give elderly people time and respect 123

52 Your Xbox Gamerscore will not go on your résumé 125

53 If you have to look over your shoulder to see if anyone's in the room…don't click on that link 127

54 Your response is your responsibility 129

55 Don't do anything with your girlfriend that you wouldn't do in front of your grandmother 131

56 A little bit of cologne will make you smell good, but a lot of cologne will not make you smell even better! 134

57 Listen more than you speak 136

58 You're not trying to become a big boy, you're trying to become a man 138

59 The best role models are rarely found on a glowing screen 141

60 There's nothing more attractive to a godly woman than a man after God's own heart 143

61 True leaders are servant leaders 145

62 Be careful what you allow on your playlists 147

63 Every premarital sexual act will follow you into your marriage bed 150

64 The pursuit of stuff, status, or sex always disappoints 153

65 How you treat your mom foreshadows how you will treat your wife 155

66 "Meat first!" 157

67 Remember who you are 159

68 Always meet the parents. If you like a girl, get to know her family 161

69 Make a memory 162

70 Never strike or physically harm a woman or a child. Stand up to anyone who does 164

71 Never settle for mediocrity from yourself 166

72 Reputations are earned. A good reputation can be destroyed by one bad decision. A bad reputation can only be repaired, over time, by many good choices 168

73 Learn how to worship your Creator. The greatest worshipper in the Bible was also the greatest warrior 170

74 Pray for your future wife today 172

75 Respect the word no 174

76 You always have a choice, and there's always a way out of a bad situation. Make sure you know what your options are 176

77 Your true character is revealed when no one else is watching 178

78 God sees everything you do, so you might as well get real with Him 180

79 God wants you to enjoy a naked woman… one naked woman 182

80 Never date someone you wouldn't marry 184

81 Never finish a sentence with "just saying." 186

82 Learn to say, "Tell me more." 183

83 Take responsibility for your actions and the consequences that follow 190

84 Protect girls from being sexualized. What they really need is love, respect, and commitment 192

85 Learning to get along with your siblings is practice for getting along with your wife 194

86 If you can't afford to pay for a girl on a date, don't go on a date! 196

87 Stop hanging out with Chase! 198

88 Speeding doesn't show a guy's masculinity; it reveals his idiocy 199

89 Shave that fuzz you call a mustache 201

90 Two is better than one 202

91 Ten movies you must see 204

92 Master the sin that you don't think you struggle with 205

93 Text more! 207

94 Soak it in 209

95 Make time for "guys' night" with Dad 211

96 Make time for "date night" with Mom 213

97 Be a foot 215

98 Shut your cake eater! 217

99 Eat more Cocoa Puffs 219

100 Puppies and babies are keys to a woman's heart 219

101 Learn to recognize Ms. Hyde 221

Editorial Reviews

I read this book because I have a pre-teen son who is already having questions and concerns about not only becoming a man, but becoming a Godly man. This book was extremely helpful with all his questions and topics I didn't even know we SHOULD be discussing with him! It will definitely be a book that we will be referencing over and over again throughout his teenage years and also when his younger brother becomes a teenager. I will definitely be sharing this book with the youth pastors at my church!

GoodReads - Jennifer Cabrera

This book is amazing! It’s a series of short Q&A essays to not only help teens learn how to conquer their choices God’s way but also what to look for so they don’t start heading down the wrong path.
My favorite part? As a girl reading it hit me that they weren’t pulled together in a specific format but then it hit me that the book reminded me of a conversation with my teen sons. Short. To the Point. No Fluff. Just Facts. Perfect for a teen’s brain!

Hott Books - Regina Hott

As the father of 11 grown sons (yes, 11 boys among 19 total children), I would have loved a resource like this when my sons were teenagers. Teen guys today will love Jonathan McKee's humor and insight, and his perfect balance of caution and encouragement. It's a clear map to the good life!
 
Pat Williams
Senior Vice President, Orlando Magic
Author, THE LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE DEVOTIONAL


“Wow!  Jonathan McKee hammered this one out of the park!  The Guy’s Guide to God, Girls, and the Phone in Your Pocket, speaks in a language that boys and young men can relate to and understand.  This easy-to-digest little book teaches young males the wisdom they need in order to be successful in life. It covers virtually every topic (even the tough ones) that males struggle with today and provides powerful solutions for them without preaching at them.  If I still had a boy at home, I’d be running to get this book!”
 
-Rick Johnson, bestselling author of That’s My Son, Better Dads Stronger Sons, and A Man in the Making


"Jonathan McKee's THE GUY'S GUIDE TO GOD, GIRLS, AND THE PHONE IN YOUR POCKET is refreshingly brutal. As a mom, sometimes it's hard to know what's going through your teen son's head when it comes to anything. That's where Jonathan comes in. With a casual and warm tone, he advises boys on how to live—from the more superficial (yet important) how to smell and sleep to the heavier advice on how not to get entangled in porn, how to worship, and how to take ownership of everyday tasks. The lessons are brief and accessible. This book is a must-have for modern boys."

-Nancy French, New York Times Best-Selling Author 


“Face it: You’ve outgrown diaries for ‘wimpy kids’ and so-called dangerous books for boys. Now it’s time for some brutal honesty; some meaty, man-sized chunks of wisdom every guy must hear: secrets about God, girls, grooming, friends, faith. . .and what it means to be ‘a man after God’s own heart.’ This book delivers! Buy a copy for yourself and another for a friend, and take to heart the good stuff packed in these pages.”

—Michael Ross, bestselling author of Worry-Free Living and a former youth editor at Focus on the Family

From the Publisher