the COYA project went really well. Choose: Own Your Adventure is another way of saying you’re trying to raise teenagers. It helped them think about the weight of their choices like our friend caleb gordon rapped about in his song “fruit of my labor” (check it out please on youtube!)
with people like caleb pouring into their lives, it’s so refreshing (as parents who met discipling teens) that people are helping our own teens in the same way! Fruit of your labor indeed. Thanks Caleb. Thanks Jesus. Enter:mission.
now that we have teenagers, it’s so important to be able to have those difficult conversations with them. Those who lead us have encouraged us to use poetry and rap lyrics in order to do so. We are grateful for the advice 🙂
Verse 1
Leading teenagers is scary
Even for missionaries/
We set the pace and direction
Distance like visionaries//
Please pray that God protects them
Invest in risky experience/
We sent them into their interests
Hoping God can keep em
Curious//
And grounded in
Perspective that their
Peers left as children/
As the foundation for
Their building i know
This is not appealing//
As their trust leads into
Discipleship and
Responsibilities carried/
Into marriages and
Parenting i toldju
Teenagers were scary//
Some see them as mental
Children just with curves or
Facial hair but/
If they see it as a time to
Prepare you should be scared//
Verse 2
Lies seep in when I already wanted them/ and all the excuses cover my sin like let me in!!// God and family I’m sorry for replacing you/ Yeah it only takes one tiny excuse, and then what I was supposed to use… I abuse//
And here I am coming back for repentance/ then the shame and guilt gets me trip’in//
Ok listen up here’s a story about a leader called Trump/ Don’t ever make him mad aka Ahab// Here’s another story I have to tell about a boy who acts just like Jezebel/ both of their leadership results are just as terrible// the prophets can only talk in parables so that their feelings don’t get hurt/ and when the prophet comes he says all you got to do… IS CHOOSE// and when the real leader comes he looks at what you have done/ and says if you really want to try THEN FOCUS ON THE WHY// you can always tell a real leader from a fake one/ because a real leader doesn’t stop when the pressure is gone//
Verse 3
I didn’t even know I had this side of me. My flesh is so wrong, never says bye to me/
Something times I want to keep hiding. in decisions, flesh and spirit colliding//
Every time I fall, it’s easy to focus on my excusing intentions. But I have to remember that thought did not come from my dimension/
And every time I get up, it’s tempting to say.
I don’t need yo help. I can do it my own way//
At first, I feel judged when I’m falling away.
Till I feel good, like man, I’m not really going astray/
So “if my biggest enemy is me and even I can’t stop me.¹” Then I should invest in me and not depend on papi//
When I let my bro help me, even when he rebukes me. I don’t need to hide behind him like a corrupted copy/
I might not be the cool most-needed MVP.
But I know I can change and not be sloppy when I’m leading//
“Told me to love em, I love till it hurts²”.
Roles always first, when it’s Test time we already rehearsed./
kwaselizabroham 