So excited to announce that I have just finished publishing my first story on Wattpad! It's called This Is My Story and tells the story of a 17 year old boy named Tyler Johnson who has autism. He then finds that he has been given a chance to let his voice be heard after winning a writing contest. It talks about diversity, acceptance and being true to yourself.
You can check out the first chapter right now. Here's the link:
Have you heard of Lauren Daigle before? For those of you who don't know who she is, then let me tell you more about her. Lauren Daigle is a contemporary Christian music singer who was born in Lafayette, Louisiana. She grew up in an environment filled with zydeco, blues and Cajun music. Lauren made a name for herself when she released her debut EP How Can It Be in 2014 and the album of the same name in 2015. She has been signed to the label Centricity Music since 2013.
Daigle was named one of Christian music's break-out artists, and her first single How Can It Be was named by iTunes as one of the top Christian songs in 2014. The album peaked at number one on the Billboard Christian Albums Chart for six weeks. Eighteen months later, it achieved a Gold Record Status. Additional singles from How Can It Be like First and Trust in You was at number one on the Billboard Christian Airplay Chart for seven and eight weeks, respectively.
She would go on to win six Dove Awards in both 2015 and 2016, two Billboard Music Awards, two Grammy nominations, and an American Music Award for Favorite Contemporary Inspirational Artist in 2017. She currently took home the same award at last night's 2018 American Music Awards.
On October 21, 2016, Daigle release her second album titled Behold: A Christmas Collection. It was her first Christmas album that she had done. A Deluxe Edition of Behold will be released on November 2, 2018 and will include three extra songs.
She was also chosen to sing the song, Almost Human, for the Blade Runner 2049 soundtrack in 2017.
On September 7, 2018, Daigle released her third studio album Look Up Child through Centricity Music.
It was spawned by the lead single You Say which was released on July 13, 2018. It became Daigle's third number one single on the Hot Christian Songs Chart and debuted at No. 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
You can purchase the song on Amazon Music, iTunes and Spotify:
You can also check out the music video for "You Say" right here:
Look Up Child debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 with 115,000 copies, of which 103,000 were pure album sales. It marked as the highest-charting album by Daigle, and the highest-charting Christian album overall since Hard Love by Needtobreathe reached No. 2 on the chart back in 2016.
Lauren Daigle has proven to be an inspiration to young fans everywhere. Her husky and soulful voice has been compared to singers like Adele and Amy Winehouse. She was named by music critics as "Christian music's Adele" after the release of her Look Up Child album. An article for Rolling Stone said that she's "bigger than Drake and Ariana Grande". Her musical genre is Contemporary Christian Music, but sometimes, she likes to mix it up with different genres like soul, reggae jive, jazz, pop and orchestra music.
Lauren Daigle is the singer that you need in your life. This girl has proven to be a force to be reckon with. I recommend that you listen to all of her albums that she has released and hear for yourself why she is "Christian Music's Adele" right now.
In fact, make sure that you listen to Look Up Child on Amazon Music, Spotify, iTunes, Google Play and on her official website:
Tori Kelly is a California-based singer who has made a name for herself with her debut album Unbreakable Smile in 2015.
She has also released two extended plays titled Handmade Songs by Tori Kelly in 2012
and Foreword in 2013.
Not only can she sing pop and acoustic music, but she can also sing gospel. On September 14, 2018, Kelly released her second studio album titled Hiding Place. It is Tori's first ever gospel project.
Then on September 28th, two weeks after the release of her album, she unveiled the Hiding Place 8-day devotional plan for the Bible app. This plan was written by Tori Kelly herself and it's based off of the songs from her album of the same name. I started on this plan by Tori on September 29th and completed it on October 6th. Each day as you read her devotionals, you will see a different song by Tori that is featured on her gospel album. Then, she goes into some very personal details about herself like how she dealt with not knowing who she is as far as her identity, the feeling of loneliness, being rejected from different record labels, learning how to show love in a world like this, etc. But through it all, God helped Tori out of some difficult times and let her know that she is his "masterpiece".
I hope and pray that when you read Kelly's testimony, that you will be moved by her words and also feel the need to know that God is with you all the time. When you don't have the answers to life's questions, ask Him. If you are going through an identity crisis or feeling lonely, listen to what God says about you through His word. Whether you are listening or reading His word, you have the power and authority to believe that you are His beloved and not give in to the devil's lies. Not today, Satan!
Support Tori Kelly by reading her new Hiding Place: 8-Day Devotional Plan on Bible right now:
Michelle Williams is probably best known for her rise to fame as a member of the girl group Destiny's Child, but what you didn't know is that the singer found herself paralyzed with "What's next?" anxiety. But God still had plans for Michelle. Williams has since continued to receive critical acclaim, honors and awards in her solo career so far. She is a singer-songwriter, Broadway actress, designer, entrepreneur, TV host and more. In this exclusive 3-day devotional plan on Bible, Williams will inspire you with three pillars of biblical truth that helped lifted her out of that anxiety and depression - into the abiding faith, hope and joy that she enjoys today.
I read this plan by Michelle Williams on September 17th and finished on September 20th while also giving it a rating of five stars. I don't know that Michelle went through anxiety and depression like she talked about on some of the video devotionals before she starts to share some of her favorite scriptures. Like Psalms 28:7, Matthew 6:25-33, Jeremiah 29:11, Philippians 4:8 and so many more.
Overall, I enjoyed this devotional plan and would recommend this for anyone who is going through anxiety or depression or both to just listen to Michelle Williams' testimony about how God helped out of a rough time.
Make sure that you read Anxiety & Depression: Finding Hope with Michelle Williams on the Bible app now and be inspired by it just like I was:
Sadie Robertson is a motivational speaker, best-selling author and is one of the stars of the A&E show Duck Dynasty. She has an all-new 4-day devotional plan on the Bible app titled Live Fearless based on her book of the same name. It also features exclusive video content as well. Join Sadie as she will both inspire and encourage you, as each day she shares one of her favorite Bible passages, then challenges you to push through you fears and anxieties, to break into the life of purpose that God has for you.
I started the Live Fearless plan on February 21st and completed it on February 25th on the Bible app. So, here is my take on it. Robertson goes into details about how God created you, wrote your story and also extends His words and His love to lead you. God may tug or pull you from one direction, while it's vital to fully embrace the next move with confident, knowing that He is pushing you into the path He has created for you. Then, there was another thing that I liked about Sadie. At the end of the devotional, she had these three questions to ask yourself. They are:
1. Whose voice is the loudest in my life?
2. Whose lead is strongest in my life?
3. What's my idea of winning?
Those are some tough questions that we need to think about for ourselves. And her faith as a strong, purposeful young woman, deeply grounded with God is so on point with this plan. She quoted so many Biblical scriptures like 1 Corinthians 15:57, Psalm 46, Revelation 4:8 and so I rated this five stars after its completion. So, anyone who is going to fears or anxiety should definitely read this plan by Sadie Robertson. I also recommend that you purchase her book Live Fearless: A Call to Power, Passion and Purpose where she talks about inspiration for the younger generation who are holding themselves back through fear, anxiety and loneliness.
Make sure that you read the Live Fearless with Sadie Robertson on the Bible app now:
Today, I am going to talk you about Kari Jobe's Heal Our Land devotional plan based on the song from her 2017 album The Garden. It is a 4 day bible plan is available on the Bible app. The app is free to download and can be purchased on Amazon, iTunes, Microsoft Windows and Google Play. Here are the links for it:
You can also use the app for voice with Amazon Alexa by enabling Bible on your Amazon devices or use the Amazon Alexa app to set up the Bible skill. Here is an article (that you can read below) on youversion.com that talks more about how to use it:
In the devotional, Kari talks about the process of how Heal Our Land came to be by sharing some of its lyrics while also showing you some encouraging scriptures for anyone who needs them in their walk with God. One of the scriptures is 2 Chronicles 7:14 which is where she got the inspiration for Heal Our Land. It reads:
"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn away from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sins and heal their land".
I started on this plan on the Bible app on September 24h and finished it on September 28th. And I was really moved by what Kari was preaching on each day of the plan. She said that the song is a "beautiful reminder" and that is about how God is the one who heals, restores and makes us whole. Our God is both merciful and gracious. In Psalm 23:6, David writes about "His mercy follows us all the days of our live" and in James 2:13, it reads that God's "mercy triumphs over judgment". I hope that when you read the "Heal Our Land" devotional and take the time to digest God's living Word, not only will you be inspired like I was, but you will also take hold of all of the marvelous things that God is. A redeemer, reviver, healer and so much more. I also recommend that you listen to the song along with this plan, so that you can further meditate on this while you read. I rated it five stars after I completed it.
Make sure that you, my friends, read Kari Jobe's Heal Our Land devotional for yourselves and prepare to be amazed by the power of our Almighty God. Here's the link for it:
Breathin is a song by singer Ariana Grande from her fourth studio album Sweetener. It was sent to US contemporary hit radio on September 18, 2018, serving as the album's third single. The song speaks about anxiety and how your breathing is affected when you're suffering from it. It is also based on Grande's own experience with anxiety.
Grande opens up the song with, "Some days, things just take way too much of my energy/ I look up and the whole room's spinning/ You take my cares away/ I can so over-complicate, people tell me to medicate", then she moves on to the pre-chorus with the lyrics, "Feel my blood runnin', swear the sky's fallin'/ How do I know this fabricated?/Time goes by and I can't control my mind/ Don't know what else to try, but you tell me every time". The singer finds herself saying these words for encouragement singing, "Just keep breathin' and breathin' and breathin' and breathin'/ I know I gotta keep, keep on breathin'/ Just keep breathin' and breathin and breathin' and breathin'/ I know I gotta keep, keep on breathin'".
I love the meaning of this track because it talks about how anxiety makes us feel inside and for Ariana to write and sing a song about this, is just so relatable once you listen to it. This is actually one of my favorites off of Sweetener. I am so glad that she finally released this as the third single from her album.
Make sure that you stream Breathin' on Spotify, iTunes & YouTube:
