Guest Author - Diana Pederson

Kevin Johnson. Could Someone Wake Me Up Before I Drool on the Desk? Bethany House Publishers. 1995.

This devotional book may be ten years old but I bet your middle school or high school child would love it! There are 45 devotionals divided between four topics: Standin’ Strong, Getting’ Along, Hangin’ Tight, and Stickin’ Close. Each devotional starts with an introduction, contains a scripture reading followed by a discussion, and concludes with a scripture selection from the reading for the day. These are almost comical devotions that definitely apply to the teen’s life.

Lorraine Peterson. Lord, I haven’t Talked to You Since the Last Crisis, But … Bethany House Publishers. 1994.

Learning the power and purpose of prayer is the topic of this book for teens. Section 1 is called “It’s About Your Attitude—Maybe You’ve Grown Up, But Your Prayers Haven’t. Six chapters will teach your teenage how to connect with God beyond the “Lord Bless everybody” type prayers.

Just Between God and Me: Parts of Prayer is the topic of the second section consisting of six chapters. Here your teenager will learn the different parts of prayer including thank you’s, praying over life decisions, confessing, learning to be a disciplined person, and learning to deal with the truth about God, not your imagined truth about Him, and staying focused.

Each chapter is divided into five days of activities that guide the reader through learning specific things about prayer. I liked the way this book was laid out with actions to take along with material to read.

Recommendation

Christmas is a wonderful time of year to challenge teenagers to develop a deeper relationship with God. These devotionals are sure to capture their interest. Perhaps you could challenge them to start the New Year out with the goal of completing both of these devotionals. It is too bad these books are for teens. The same material could easily be used by adults.