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

by Jonathan McKee

Spiritual, Practical, Real-Life Advice with a Twist of HumorThe 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.

Genres: Childrens, Parenting, Religion, Young Adult

224 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2014

About the author

Jonathan McKee is the author of over twenty books including the brand new IF I HAD A PARENTING DO OVER; 52 WAYS TO CONNECT WITH YOUR SMARTPHONE OBSESSED KID; and the Amazon "Best Seller," THE GUY'S GUIDE TO GOD, GIRLS AND THE PHONE IN YOUR POCKET. With over 20 years youth ministry experience, Jonathan speaks to parents and leaders worldwide. You can follow Jonathan on his blog at JonathanMcKeeWrites.com, getting a regular dose of youth culture and parenting help. Jonathan, his wife, Lori, and their three kids live in California.

Reviews

[midnightfaerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

McKee has got some great books out there for kids and this was no exception. My eldest just turned 13 and although insists there are no girls he has interest in, he's started spending more time in the mirror on his hair. This is a great one for the beginning teen years, giving advice about just life in general. From memorizing scripture, to learning how to cook, the advice given is great for any guy, but especially for a young Christian man learning to navigate the world of self, girls, and social media. I loved how McKee broke these up into little chapters so it was easy to use for our weekly health class. I usually always read one or two out loud but then often my son would ask for another one or two. Took about a half an hour total. We stopped to discuss each one and I tried to give advice if there was some to be had about the girl side of things. I especially loved a few of the chapters on girls. One of my favorites was "Don't underestimate a female's sense of smell." I tried to reiterate how important this one was to my son, my being a female and living with a house full of boys it was especially important. Girls know the difference between a shower and a French bath (when you skip the shower in lieu of cologne)! Another one I enjoyed was "When a girl walks by, keeping looking forward." I told him when I was a young girl, I always noticed guys looking at me, but the guys that didn't, those were the ones I paid attention to! I told him some personal stories and it was great bonding time. He also goes on to give advice on things like talking to the homeless, let others see the Christ in you, and today's nerd is tomorrow's boss. It's a great way to connect with your son and spark up some conversations that might otherwise be difficult to initiate. I like McKee and will probably end up getting some more of his books to use.

[London Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shaped me as I grew up. I can’t remember when I first got it, but it was many, many years ago. I’ve read it numerous times since then. A lot of who I am now, the man I have grown into is, is from this book.

If you have any young boys-middle school and high school-in your life who could use some encouragement and guidance I highly recommend this book.

This book changed me as a kid and I’m sure it’ll continue to impact me as I live the rest of my life.

[Gina Hott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hott Synopsis:

Every day each of us is faced with choices. What you chose will determine the course of your life.
No, it’s not drama. It’s cause and effect. Spend a little time each day and see what choices God wants you to make and why. Yes, even HE has something to say about screen-time!

Hott Review:

What I liked: This book is amazing! It’s s 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!

What I didn’t like: There are some subjects broached that are not appropriate for all teens. Yes, they’ll encounter them but they may not be ready to think about them.

More…

Author: Jonathan McKee
Source: Shiloh Run Press via Netgalley then I bought it (& the sequal) for myself!!
Grade: A
Ages: 15+
Steam: YA — There are some controversial topics that all teens may not be ready to read. Do a quick review before handing this over to your teen.

[Sheila (catching up on reviews .. or at least trying ;) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got this for my teenage son (read before gifting) it was the perfect purchase. I really appreciated how honest and blunt the book was. Something boys can really relate too due to the honesty of situations and what goes thru boys heads .

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an okay resource for teen boys; it's not awesome, but also not too terrible, except for a few statements I censored myself 😄. I'd love to find a similar but better resource. I ripped out a few pages before giving to my sons to read because a few of the points were either preposterous (like the section on how girls act and how to deal with them when on their periods 🤬) or biased in a direction I disagreed with.

[Željko Filipin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book for teenage boys. Full of good advice like taking showers and brushing teeth, how to survive zombie apocalypse, limiting screen time and dating girls, safe driving and growing in faith... I really liked it. I'm not sure how much I would like it if it was written when I was a teenager. I'm not sure if my favorite teenager will even read it.

[M Muresan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very inspirational, motivating to change habits and be a better person!

[Sheperd Newton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really informative!

[Sarah Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read to the boys during school devotions

[Stephanie Baldree · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book explains things well and is easily read. Great way to reinforce what you teach and caution your teen boys about today. Good sound biblical advice.

[Jennifer Rodgers- Cabrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received book through Goodreads First Reads giveaway. (a few years ago :()

Overall, I thought it was a great advice book. I like how the author was blunt about the issues facing teenagers...trust me your 15 year-old and probably younger have been exposed to all of these in one way or another. Like one other person said it's a little too heavy on the religion for me and got very irritated at the comment on depression on the 97th tip. I get what the author was trying to do but I think he went about it the wrong way and downplayed a very serious mental health issue.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks for allowing me to win this in exchange for my honest review. I loved this book. I is in just the right format to keep young guys reading.

It sure covers a lot of territory that are of interest to young men today. It is spiritual without being in your face. After reading this I am passing it along to a 16 year old and will be encouraging him to pass along to his friends.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book for parents to give to their high school sons. A lot of good information on how to grow in faith, talk to girls, avoid sins/temptations, how to be a good son, a good friend and how to use and not use your phone.

It is direct on porn, sex and other hot topics. It stays the mainline course. A bit graphic for young mids.

[Annette Schlier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for teenage boys! I passed this one down to my grandsons!

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

first reads honest review this book is OK its a lil to heavy on the religion for my tastes . but other the that its a good advice book.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great conversation starter with teenaged boys. I found that once they’ve read about a topic, it’s not just Dad bringing up an old-fashioned idea.

[Andrew Howlett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is a preeety gud buk. But on a more serious side, I have taken a lot what this book has been teaching me to heart, and is a must-read for struggling teens.