Keeping the Fire Alive

a conversation with Victoria Julieann

Hello everyone! This month we’re doing an interview with Victoria Julieann, co-host of the Counter Culture Teen Podcast. On this show, Victoria and her co-hosts talk with their guests about cultural issues facing today’s teens and young adults and offer thoughts on how we should respond, both as Christians and as patriots. We highly recommend you check it out on Spotify and YouTube. Through it, she’s shown a great heart for the Lord and strong patriotism. I (Hannah Grace) have been privileged to get to know Victoria as a writing partner and can testify to her boundless drive, inspiring enthusiasm, and fiery faith. We look forward to hearing her responses to these questions our co-editor Aaron J. Lockard has come up with, and we hope you are too!

What’s your favorite thing about having a podcast? What’s your least favorite?

I think my favorite thing would be the difference between writing something and saying it. I’ve had experience in both writing and speaking via email lists and the podcast, and I can honestly say that some messages and themes can hit a person harder when heard rather than read. I think it’s the sheer power that voice inflection can have on emotion and the ear. So yes, I really enjoy having opportunities to both write and speak on different platforms.

As for my least favorite part, I don’t necessarily have one to be honest! Though it can be trying at times and is most definitely challenging, I love that God has given me and my team the opportunity to do something like this, especially since we are often very busy with other things in our lives.

What’s your “why” in life, besides Jesus? What gets you out of bed in the morning? And what’s your “why” for the podcast?

Honestly … I don’t have a why besides Jesus. He really is everything to me, and nothing else holds that preeminent seat in my life. That doesn’t mean I don’t have goals and dreams—it just means that they are surrendered to the will of God! Some of my biggest things that I’m currently praying about and working toward are pursuing a career in Law Enforcement, joining the Police Explorers, and looking for opportunities to continue living for Jesus using my talents and helping others do the same.

As for my reason for the podcast, I hope that CCT will continue to grow for the purpose of reaching more and more Christian teens and young people. I think that one of modern day Christianity’s problems is the lack of discipleship for believers within the family and the church body. Teenagers are at the age where they are impressionable and are just beginning to understand or question who they are and what their purpose in life is. It is vital that Christians, and especially new Christians, receive regular discipleship and mentorship in the Word and faith at this age—whether that be from their parents or the church. Counter Culture Teen strives to stand as a resource and a support to Christian teens as they grow stronger in their faith, while also cultivating a love for their country.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I’ve always loved questions like these! In five years, I’ll be twenty. If God wills it, I hope to be thriving in my last year of Police Explorers if I’m not going to college. However, since college is looking more and more likely each year, I hope to be a Sophomore at Pensacola Christian college in Florida, majoring in Criminal Justice and minoring in either Psychology or English. I hope to be a multiple-time published fiction author, perhaps even published with a traditional publisher. I hope to be in top shape for the Police Academy once I get out of college, and maybe running a successful writing mentorship business on the side.

Five years ago, where did you see yourself being now?

Five years ago … let’s see, I was ten. Before I turned thirteen, I always had this vision of once you were a teenager then you had this long way to go before you were an adult (which I have found out is false).

I don’t believe I really had an idea of where I would be then, but I was writing and watching police officers with a spark of interest, so I think subconsciously I knew that’s the direction I was headed.

When did you decide to follow Jesus, and what drove that decision?

I was raised in a Christian family, and it was the influence of my mom and the church that I was brought to that really introduced me to Him. I got saved at five, but I really began to walk with Him once I turned thirteen.

I’ve seen and heard of other worldviews that try to explain the world and our existence without God, and logically, I believe that without Jesus, the essence of the universe and our understanding of life literally and physically crumbles. I believe in Jesus because there is too much affirmative proof to claim that He does not exist.

What drives your decision to keep following Jesus every single day?

Love. Pure love. When I grasped the meaning of the cross and the sheer magnitude of the love and mercy He has for me, there was nothing else I could do but love Him for it. It’s something only another believer would know—that paradigm shift. It’s that pull stronger than instinct and that urge deeper than the core of cores—knowing that we are created to be with God. It’s our very substance. Every fiber of our being longs for it. It’s like Phil Wickham said in his song “Homesick for Heaven”:

I’ll run as fast as I can into Your arms
‘Cause I was created to be where You are
There’s an ache in my heart, I’m homesick for Heaven

And that’s what it’s like to be on fire for the Lord.

What do you believe is the biggest problem facing American youth today? How do you think we fix it? Do you think many people agree with you on either of those things?

I think the biggest problem we have as Christian young people is losing sight of the real battle and enemy. Getting distracted from it. Allowing information to overload our thinking so that every day we are mentally drowned by an “information overload” as my mom always tells me. And that distraction and diverted focus is the very thing that the enemy will use against us. It is a catalyst for a myriad of other problems and issues that we have: addiction, depression, sexual impurity, you name it.

My suggestion for a solution? We need to examine ourselves and straighten our priorities. Christian teenager, if you are reading this and you are struggling and can’t seem to live a godly life, or the pull of the flesh is too strong, then more likely than not you are letting something other than Jesus have that preeminent seat in your life. It is a direct violation of the first of the Ten Commandments: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3 KJV).

We need to tear down every idol and anything that sets itself up higher than God (2 Cor. 10:5). We must do this in every aspect of our lives if we want true change. Because change does not start from the outside in: it starts from the inside out. If there’s one thing I learned from Stephen Covey’s book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, it’s that if you want to see true change in your life, changing just your habits or outward life are meaningless because at the core, you still want and are the same thing. True change requires a paradigm shift in the way we view the world, the things we most want, love, fear, and hate. And that’s what walking in a healthy relationship with God looks like—because only He can change us completely from the inside out. We just need to be willing to surrender all and let Him in.

As for whether many people would agree with me, it really depends, because I think the vast majority of young Christians are not aware of the spiritual battle being waged around and in us. I think, however, once they are Biblically made aware of the situation, a fair amount would agree with me.

What do you think most people believe is the biggest problem facing American youth today, and why do you think they believe that? How do they say it can be fixed?

I think a lot of people are looking at the outward effects that spiritual warfare is having on us and not looking deeper for the root cause. Social media usage is a big one. I feel like while some people don’t see it as a problem, increasingly, more and more people are. That’s a good thing. However, a lot of people have mixed opinions on how it should be handled. At the core of most of their arguments is the proposition, Manage It. Not purge it. Not get rid of it. Manage it.

For the people who have social media as the idol in their life, the solution is not to manage it. God did not command us to manage our idols. He commanded us to destroy them—tear them down completely. (Again, 2 Cor. 10:5). Because no man can serve two masters. No one can serve themselves and God (Matthew 6:24).

And finally, a couple of fun questions:

Who’s your favorite founding father?

This is a tricky question for me. As a kid, I loved America out of pure admiration and devotion. I was ignorant of the many flaws our country has and how flawed our founding fathers were too. After all, our founding fathers were only men, not God. Patriotism, in my book, is being aware of all the flaws your country and its founders have and choosing to love it all anyway. Choosing to fight for it anyway. Why? In order to make it better. To improve its flaws. There’s a difference between recognizing your country is flawed and hating it. I just thought I’d point that out. That being said, I think I’d look up to John Quincy Adams for his strong faith. I know he’s not considered a founding father, but he was the son of one, and that’s close enough for me! (:

Who’s your favorite person from the Bible?

I’m assuming you’re meaning besides Jesus of course, haha! If so, I’d have to say David, for his writing in the Psalms, his heart after God’s, and probably just his overall story!

And that’s all for today! We hope you enjoyed this interview with Victoria, and we look forward to continuing to collaborate with her and the Counter Culture Teen Podcast in the future.