Cross Words: A Devotional for Youth

By Duana Cisney and Jenifer Gamber

Youth (and their parents, mentors, and leaders) are continually seeking a devotional from a mainline Christian perspective that honors them. Different than many youth devotionals, which use punitive language and the context of purity, Cross Words is a devotional for students that is engaging and realistic about their brokenness alongside God’s redeeming grace and forgiveness. It will help them walk through the daily blessings and challenges of life, offering opportunities to consider how their faith might be strengthened through those experiences.

Each week offers a brief reflection followed by a question to ponder, Scripture, prayer, or quote to use as a daily touchstone in the coming days, set in a format with open space for their own writing and drawing. Using approachable wording that doesn’t require them to learn a new language in order to understand the reflection will appeal to today's teens. Meeting young people where they are on their journey, it can be used for personal devotion or in educational settings, youth meetings, confirmation classes, mission trips, pilgrimages, retreats, coffee shops, or with families around the supper table.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Morehouse Publishing
• Release date: Apr 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9780819232465

Duana Cisney

With over eleven years experience at both church and diocesan levels, Duana Cisney continually seeks to serve youth in new ways. She received her Advance Certification in Youth Ministry at the Seminary of the Southwest. As a teenager, she faced some tough challenges and regrets not having had a safe church family to walk alongside her. She wants our teens today to know that they will make mistakes and that God will be there for them no matter what. She feels it is important for students to know they aren't perfect, but they are made in the image of God and that alone is wonderful. She lives in Greensboro, NC, with her husband and three teenage children.

Book preview

img1 January

O God our heavenly Father, you have blessed us and given us dominion over all the earth: Increase our reverence before the mystery of life; and give us new insight into your purposes for the human race, and new wisdom and determination in making provision for its future in accordance with your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Collect for the Future of the Human Race, BCP, 828

In our liturgical calendar:

January 1—The Holy Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ

January 6—The Feast of the Epiphany

The Season of Epiphany

In our secular calendar:

January 1—New Year’s Day

3rd Monday in January—Martin Luther King Day

JANUARY

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Week 1: A New Year

For many people, the New Year always brings thoughts of the tradition of having a New Year’s Resolution. I like the New Year and the fresh start it brings, but I don’t really like the New Year’s resolution part. It feels like we’re setting ourselves up for failure because, the truth is, most people don’t keep their resolutions past the first couple of months of the