Ministry - Blogs - tangle.com

1. Megan, tell us a little about you. What are some of your interests, passions, likes and dislikes?



Well, I would have to say that my first priority in life has always been my family. We have so much fun when weâre together and weâre all so close. Everything else about me resonates from that. From vacations and tagging along on business trips with my dad, I have been very fortunate to have traveled a lot with my family. I love to visit new placesâ¦and would really love to go to Italy! On the other hand I am just as likely to stay at home and cuddle up on the couch and watch a movie with Mom, Dad, and Zach or coax my mom into riding the tube with me on the lake! She is so funny.



When it comes to school and my future endeavors I am still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. ⺠I am currently at Liberty University. My passion is to help girls understand and truly feel how beautiful they really are. I am just not sure if that means I am going to go for psychology or to medical school for dermatology. Whether I work with them on their outward appearance or with their personal lives in counseling, my passion is to ultimately help girls anchor their spiritual identity in Christ.



2. Whatâs the story behind Totally Godâs? (That is, how/when did you get the idea to write a book? What made it happen?)



Even though both of my parents are authors, and I have sort of lived in the writing world, I never really thought I would write. Until one night my high school senior class went on a hayride and sat around a bonfire together at a local camp near our high school. As I tell the story in the book the focus of the conversation that night went deeper than I ever imagined. My friends shared stories that most others in the group were unaware of. Stories of heartache. Pain. Hurt. The openness of one led to the vulnerability of anotherâ¦and before you knew itâ¦one-by-one my friends were talking about who they were, what they were going through, and how they felt about class, family, and friends. Many said they were distant from God. Most didnât know how to reconnect with Him. Others had been deeply hurt by family members who were supposed to love them.

We were all lost in the depths of one anotherâs heartache.



At the end of the evening when my dad picked me up, I thanked him for being there for me throughout my life. I realized that night how good I really had it. That I was lovedâby my family and by God. And as I rode home with my dad the wounds of my generation became personal. My classâ¦even my closest friendsâ¦were hurting more than any of us there ever imagined.



From that night on my desire has been to help the girls of my generation live free. Itâs one of the greatest lessons I have learned from my parents growing upâthat God really loves me. And that He has a dream for me. My passion is to help girls understand thisâthat God has a dream for their life! That no matter what they have been through or whatâs going on in their life right now, that God is real and that He desires to help them live free. That they can be totally His!





3. Not many people write their first book at the age of 17! What was it like writing a book at such a young age?



Well, itâs exciting and kind of weird. I didnât know what to expect. I am still weirded out seeing my picture and name on a book and on posters and stuff. But in all of it I just hope that whatever I said in there can help girls grow closer to God. If just one girl is impacted by the book, it was all worth it.



4. You get personal in your book, even sharing excerpts from your journal. Was it hard for you to be that candid and open?



You knowâ¦not really. Being selective helps. ⺠But in all seriousness there are so many girls out there who are going through the same things. They are journaling too about the same issues. Self-esteem. Dating. Friends. Decisionsâand the consequences of those decisions. Their emotions. Family life. You name it. I just wanted to be as honest as possible so that girls who read the book could feel in some way that theyâre not alone. And that they can live free.



5. Give us some perspective on what itâs really like to be a young person trying to follow God today. What are the issues, struggles, and challenges facing todayâs generation? What are teens and young adults searching for?



I think the hardest part of being young is the pressure to fit in. I talk candidly about that in the book too. There are a million voices speaking into our lives everyday trying to grab our attention. TV shows. Magazine ads. Media. Friends. Boys. Teachers. Coaches. Siblings. Pastors. Grandparents. You name it. With so many voices fighting for our attention demanding us to be just like they want us to be, itâs easy to question who I am. And the truth is we want to fit in! We want to belong! But in our attempts to fit in, to be noticed and chosen by the âinâ crowd around us we too often go to extremes just to receive that attention and feel like we belong to something or someone. In fact, I have seen so many young girls compromise who they are by doing things theyâd swear theyâd never do just to feel loved.



What I love about God though is that He is the One who placed that desire in us to want to fit in. But I donât believe He just placed it there and then said, âOk Megan, go find somewhere in the world to fulfill that longing to fit in.â I think the Bible is clear about thisâwe are already loved and chased by God Himself! Paul said, âIn him we were also chosenâ¦in order that weâ¦might be for the praise of his gloryâ (Ephesians 1:11-12, NIV). We were chosen by God to bring Him glory. We are Godâs servant! He says, âI have chosen you and not rejected youâ (Isaiah 41:9, NIV).



I think God is deeply saddened when we turn away from Him in our search for love and belonging. My advice would be this: Stop trying so hard to fit in when you were created to stand out! We cannot allow the millions of other voices to influence what we believe and stand for. We already belong!

6. OK, parents are usually the ones giving their children advice. But if you could give some advice to todayâs parents, what would you say? What can they do to help their kids? What doesnât help?



Parents can be two extremes: Some are overindulging and smother their kids and then others are almost borderline neglectful or unavailable to the point that the kids donât feel loved at all. My advice would be to find a healthy balanceâto give your kids your opinion. Whether it seems like it or not your opinion as parents matters to your kids! But once you give it, be willing to allow them then to step out with that information and make the decision on the information they have. If they fail or make a bad decision, be there to love them and pick them back up. Your presence matters!



Pray with your kids every night. My parents did! People thought my dad was crazy because he would always be planning trips and weekend get-a-ways for the family. But Iâll tell you this: If you were to ask him today, he would not have a changed a thing. Donât be afraid to show your kids you love them! My dad has always said that every kid deserves at least one person who is crazy about them. Set high dreams for them and then encourage them to live them out. If you believe in your kids, theyâll believe in themselves.



7. Your book includes little snippets of wisdom from your dad, who is also a professional counselor. What is some of the best advice your dad has ever given you?



Wowâ¦thatâs a tough one to answer. Iâve been blessed with an incredible father who has taught me life lessons for as long as I can remember. And the best thing about my dad is that he hasnât just preached to Zach and meâ¦He has truly lived it out before us. I think more than anything else thatâs what spoke volumes into my lifeâthat with all of his traveling, he still never misses a game. Family always comes first.



Specifically, my dad has always taught me the importance of following God in all things. No matter the circumstances. To dream big and to not be afraid to failâ¦but instead to believe in myself and not to settle for less than what God has planned.



8. You have a section in your book thatâs called âBelieving in and Understanding Purity.â What is true purity?



You know, I talk in that section about the purity ring my dad gave me when I was 14 years old. It was a promise I made to my parents and to God that I would stay %%!$ually pure until marriage. I think thatâs so important.



But I think thatâs just one aspect of purity. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians that we are to have a âpure and undefiled faith.â He later writes that we are to live with undivided devotion to Christ. I think living a pure life is about being undivided in your affection toward Godâ¦to truly believe in your heart that Christ is the center of your life and that all of the decisions you make from who you date, to who your friends are, to what you do on Friday night when nobody is watching is grounded in trusting in Jesus.



9. What are your plans for the future? Do you plan to continue writing?



Yeah. I would like to continue writing. I have already started journaling and brainstorming thoughts based on my daily walk with the Lord, the things I struggle with, and also what I am learning from the girls I spend time with at school. I am not quite sure yet with college and everything how much writing I will get done but journaling is definitely one way I pray and communicate with God. If I can put take those thoughts and prayers and turn them into something I believe God can use to help my peersâI am going to do it.