Keys for Kids - daily devotions and Bible stories for kids

I'm part of God's family now, Brock thought happily. Earlier that day he had decided to trust Jesus as his Savior. He smiled, thinking of others he knew who were also part of God's family--his parents, grandparents, and his friends at church. But then he thought of his two best friends at school. Clay and Miles don't go to church, he thought. I wonder if they'll still want to be my friends when they find out I'm a Christian.The three boys had been friends since kindergarten. Clay was a practical joker, and Miles was a storyteller. In fact, they all liked to tell funny stories and make each other laugh--but now Brock was afraid they'd be laughing at him. Maybe I won't tell Clay and Miles I accepted Jesus, Brock thought when he got to school the next morning. He shuffled to his seat just as the bell rang. Clay waved and pointed to a plastic spider he had put on the chair in front of him. Clay would do anything for a laugh, but today Brock didn't feel like laughing. "Hey guys, wait till you hear the new story I've got!" Miles said as they went out at recess. "You got any new ones you want to tell first?"Brock took a big breath. He suddenly knew this was the right time to tell them he had decided to trust in Jesus. "Yeah." Brock spoke quickly before he lost his nerve. "You'll never guess what happened to me yesterday…"When Brock finished telling them his new story, it was quiet for a moment. "Oh. Well, that's cool," said Miles. "I don't really know much about Jesus.""I can tell you more, and you can come to church with me if you want," said Brock. "That's a good place to learn about Him. You can come too, Clay." Clay shrugged. "I don't know. I have other stuff to do on the weekends. Hey, let's go get a ball game started.""I'll ask my mom if I can come to church with you," Miles said as he and Brock followed Clay out to the ball field. "I'd like to hear more about Jesus. It sounds like a really good story."–Darlene M. Root

"Look at Roxy crouching under the bushes," Lyra said softly. Dad nodded. "I think she sees the doves looking for seeds underneath the bird feeder," he replied. "She'd like to ambush them.""That means make a surprise attack from a hiding place, right?" As Lyra spoke, the cat sprang toward the birds, and the doves quickly flew to a tree branch. "I'm glad they got away," said Lyra. "I think they know there's a cat in this yard, so they watch out for her when they eat.""You're probably right," said Dad. "We could learn a lesson from them." He smiled at Lyra's surprised expression. "That cat reminds me of how Satan likes to hide and then spring out at us when we least expect it. Sometimes we may feel tempted to do something because he's ambushing us. We need to be alert to when he may be trying to get us to sin."The next day, Lyra pointed the cat out to her dad again. Dad laughed when he saw Roxy, her tail up, slowly walking across the patio toward the doves. "It looks like she's pretending to be their friend so they'll think she won't hurt them," he said."Well, I don't think it's going to work," said Lyra. "But that's another lesson from Roxy, isn't it? Satan often pretends he's our friend too by making what's wrong look good, but he's still trying to fool us into disobeying Jesus." Lyra watched as the birds flew away when the cat got too close. "Roxy didn't fool the doves at all." "No, they weren't fooled," said Dad. "It almost seems like God gave birds an instinct--a natural ability--to sense danger and escape it.""It would be nice if we had an instinct to get away from Satan," said Lyra."We do!" said Dad. "When Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead, He defeated Satan, and He gives us the power to resist the devil. As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit living in us to warn us of danger and guide us in doing what's right. We can guard ourselves against Satan's ambushes by remembering that Jesus has freed us from the power of sin and given us all we need to escape temptation." –Pauline Youd

It was Grandparents' Day at Finley's school, and the kids were taking turns introducing their grandparents to the class. When it was Finley's turn, he went forward and proudly introduced his grandparents. "Grandma and Grandpa Smith are visiting from Arizona," he said. "They like to travel, and they're going to take me to the Grand Canyon the next time I visit." Finley turned to his other grandmother. "Grandma Peters lives here, so I see her a lot. She's teaching me how to play the piano, and she always makes me laugh." Then Finley held up a picture for everyone to see. "This is my other grandpa. He's not here today because he's in heaven. He went there before I was born, so I never saw him. But I feel like I know him because Dad and Mom and Grandma tell me all about him. He was always helping people, and he was a great baseball pitcher." Finley smiled and returned to his seat beside his grandparents.That evening Finley told his mom and dad about Grandparents' Day. "I'm glad you tell me about Grandpa Peters and how he was always kind and loved to help people," Finley said. "I feel like I love him even though I've never seen him."Dad smiled. "I love someone I've never seen too," he said. "Do you know who that is?"Finley looked uncertain for a moment, then smiled. "I think you mean Jesus," he said. "I love Jesus too. So do Mom and all my grandparents.""Yes, we do," said Mom. "You love Grandpa Peters because we tell you how good and kind he was. Why do you love Jesus?""Well, the Bible tells me how good He is," replied Finley. "He loves me too! And He gives me lots of good things--you and Dad and my friends and everything I need. Best of all, He died for me, and He's always with me--I can talk to Him anytime.""That's exactly right, Finley," said Dad. "We love Jesus even though we've never seen Him--but someday we will see Him, won't we?""Yep!" Finley grinned. "Just like Grandpa Peters is seeing Him in heaven now!" –Teresa M. Beverly

Joy took a deep breath of the fresh afternoon air. Her older brother paused now and then to examine a tree or check out animal prints. Living near the woods was nice because you could take a nature walk whenever you wanted to. Suddenly, the kids heard a menacing rattle. James flung his arm in front of Joy and stopped her from continuing down the trail. There, just a few feet from where they stood, was a large snake rattling its tail. When it rose to assume a striking position, Joy felt her mouth dry instantly with fear. "Stay still and quiet," James whispered. A few seconds later, he laughed. "Notice anything about that snake, Joy?" "It's blue," Joy whispered, confused. "So, it's not a rattlesnake?" Michigan had only one kind of venomous snake, the Massasauga rattlesnake. Because of where they lived, Mom ensured they knew all about it. "Nope, I'm pretty sure it's a blue racer," said James. "See how there's no rattle on its tail?" The snake lowered its head and darted down the path away from them. "Whoa, it's fast!" said Joy."That's why they're called blue racers!"Joy was in awe. "Blue racers are wise to make us think they're rattlers. The way it shook its tail against the leaves sounded like the sound real rattlesnakes make!" The siblings followed a gentle cooing sound around the next bend. Perched on a high tree branch was a grey bird. "That's a mourning dove," Joy noted. "I'd rather see birds than snakes!" "Hey, sis, I just thought of something! Remember that verse in Matthew Mom was talking to us about last week?" "The one about snakes and doves…" Joy gasped. "That verse said, 'Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.'" James nodded. "Jesus wanted His disciples to spread the good news of how He came to save us. He warned them that some people would not want to accept their message, so they had to be wise about how they shared it--in both their words and their actions," James recalled. "Like them, we need to trust God to help us share His love and truth with wisdom and innocence." –Savannah Coleman

"What beautiful zucchini!" Mom said as she and Alex walked in their garden. "It's amazing how God makes all kinds of wonderful food grow for us, isn't it? He's so good!" Alex smiled and nodded, then looked down as his phone buzzed with a text message. "Nicholas's sister Joceyln is driving him to that new burger place down the road, and he invited me to go with them," he said. "Can I go?" Mom agreed, so Alex hurried off to join his friends.When they sat down at the restaurant with their food, Alex remembered his mom's words. If zucchini was something to be thankful for, burgers were blessings for sure! I want to thank God for the food, Alex thought. He usually prayed before meals, but he hadn't known Nicholas and Joceyln very long and didn't know if they were Christians. Will they understand? he wondered.Nicholas took a big bite of his hamburger, then looked at Alex. "Why aren't you eating?"Alex hesitated as Joceyln came to the table with napkins, then sat down and unwrapped her sandwich. He waited to see if she would bow her head. When she didn't, Alex decided to ask about it, even though he was a bit nervous. "Um, do you mind if I pray? I just want to thank God for the good food He's given us." To Alex's surprise, Nicholas and Joceyln both looked up from their burgers and smiled. "That would be great!" said Joceyln. "We completely forgot to do that." Then they all bowed their heads.When they finished, Joceyln grinned at Alex. "I'm glad you reminded us to pray. It's good to talk to God throughout the day and thank Him for all He's given us--even burgers!" "You made me think of Daniel in the Bible," said Nicholas. "He prayed to God even though the king said he'd be thrown into a lion's den if he did. He prayed during a scary time, but it's just as important to pray during good times too."Joceyln nodded. "Jesus wants us to go to Him in all situations--to thank Him in good times and look to Him for help in times of trouble." She smiled. "And now, here's something else you can thank Him for--ice cream sundaes on me!" –Margaret M. Primrose

Imani plopped down in the grass next to the garden. "I'm never talking to that girl again!" "Who? And why not?" asked Dad without looking up. He was planting a row of carrots."Natalia--the new girl down the street. I'm tired of trying to be friends with her. I said hi to her three times, and all she did was look down. Then this morning I invited her to play kickball with some of the other neighborhood kids, but she said, 'No, thanks,' and quickly walked away. She's so rude!" Imani spotted the garden hose and remembered her little patch of marigolds near her bedroom window. She began to uncoil the long green hose."What are you doing with that?" asked Dad."It's pretty hot outside, so I'm going to water my flowers," Imani replied. "Why bother?" said Dad. "The seeds aren't growing. You planted them ten days ago, but I don't see anything happening. They must be duds." He fanned his face with his cap."You've gotta be joking, Dad," said Imani. "You know it takes time for seeds to grow. Just watch. Any day now flowers will be sticking their little green leaves up out of the ground." Dad smiled. "You seem to have faith that those marigold seeds you planted will grow. Why don't you have faith in the friendship seeds you've been planting?""Friendship seeds?" asked Imani in surprise."That's right," said Dad. "Each time you reach out and show kindness to Natalia, you're planting a seed of friendship. Just like your marigolds, you can't always see anything growing at first, but I think you should keep watering the seeds you planted. Don't give up trying to be friends with Natalia. Be patient with her and trust Jesus to make the seeds of friendship you plant grow. Remember that He is always kind and patient with us even when we don't respond right away, and He'll help you be that kind of friend too." Imani dropped the hose and turned off the water. "I'll take care of this later," she said. "I'm going to water my friendship seeds instead and see if Natalia wants to come over for ice cream." –Teresa M. Beverly

"Wow, Mom! Look at that huge caramel apple!" Zayne exclaimed when he and his mom walked into the grocery store. "Can I get it to take to school tomorrow?""Well, a regular apple would be better for you, but that one is a beauty," Mom said. "Okay. You can have it this time."During class the next morning, Zayne thought about the caramel apple in his lunch bag. His mouth watered as he imagined biting into it. He was glad when lunchtime finally came. Sandwich first, Zayne told himself. Then the carrot sticks. At last he pulled out the apple. He held it up to show his friends, and one of them tried to grab it. Zayne laughed and quickly bit into it. To his great dismay, the inside of the apple was soft and brown, and it tasted horrible! He tried to just eat the caramel on the outside, but he kept getting some of the soft apple with it.When Zayne got home, he opened the refrigerator to find a snack. There in the fruit bin were several shiny red apples. He looked at them, but chose a cheese stick instead. "I don't trust apples anymore," he told Mom when she took one out. "The one we bought yesterday was no good. I had to throw it away." "What a shame," said Mom, shaking her head. "It was so pretty!" She grinned at Zayne. "But you know, it's a good reminder of how we can be like that apple.""We can?" asked Zayne. "How?""People aren't always what they appear to be," Mom explained. "It's pretty easy for us to hide thoughts and feelings from other people--it's even possible for us to keep others from seeing sin we're holding on to in our lives. But we can't hide anything from God. He isn't fooled by false outer appearances because He sees our hearts. Even if no one else knows about wrong things we're doing or thinking about others, He does. And if we confess them to Jesus, He will forgive us and make us clean."Mom cut into her apple. "You can see the inside of this apple now, and it looks great," she told Zayne as she handed him a slice. "Have a piece." –Karen R. Locklear

Aunt Jan was brewing herbal tea when Leah was dropped off for a visit one Sunday afternoon. Leah happily sat down in the homey kitchen and sniffed the air. "Mmm, it smells good in here!""Orange blossom tea--my favorite," said Aunt Jan with a smile. She pointed to a cake on the counter. "Help yourself."Leah got a plate from the cupboard and cut a slice of cake. Aunt Jan raised her brows. "Why so quiet today?" she asked. "You usually talk my ears off!" Leah laughed. "I was just thinking," she said."Well then, why not let me think with you?" said Aunt Jan. "What are we thinking about?""The lesson we had in Sunday school today was about growing in the Lord," Leah said. "Our teacher said we need to grow as Christians in order to become like Jesus, but I'm confused. Didn't He change us when we put our faith in Him? I guess I don't quite get it.""You're right, Leah," said Aunt Jan. "Jesus did change us when we trusted Him to save us from sin--we changed from being dead in sin to alive in Christ. But it takes time to grow in our relationship with Him and become more like Him." She took a sip of tea, then looked down at her cup. "It's a lot like tea," she said."Tea?" Leah asked. "Yes, tea," said Aunt Jan. "The moment a tea bag is put into hot water, it's no longer water--it's tea. That's like what happens to us the moment Jesus comes into our lives. But even though Jesus saves us from sin in an instant, it takes longer for us to learn to live out His truth and love in different areas of our lives and become more like Him--just like tea grows stronger the longer the tea bag is in it. The more we learn about Jesus and depend on Him to work in our hearts, the more we grow in our relationship with Him and become more like Him."Leah grinned. "Thanks, Aunt Jan. I think I get it now!"–Cindy Van Schalkwyk

It was starting to rain. Daisy hated being out in the rain. But she had gotten into a big fight with her older sister before heading outside to walk the dog. They had yelled at each other and called each other names, and she wasn't ready to go back to the house and face her. Daisy didn't know what she was going to say when she did.So she kept walking down the sidewalk. Her dog, Oscar, was getting wet too, but he didn't seem to mind.The further she got from home, the heavier the rain came down. Daisy was getting soaked now and wondered if it had been a good idea to stay out so long. What if she got sick? She'd better turn around and go home.Daisy tugged on Oscar's leash and got him to jog with her back to the house."Where were you?" her sister Violet asked as soon as she stepped through the door. Was her sister still angry with her? Daisy bit her bottom lip. "We were walking.""You're soaking wet." Violet frowned. "Go take a bath and warm up. I'll deal with Oscar."Daisy handed her the dog's leash and hurried to do as she was told.After a nice warm shower, Daisy dressed in some dry clothes and made her way to the kitchen, where she could hear her sister moving about."Here." Violet set a steaming mug in front of her. "I made you hot chocolate.""Thanks." Daisy put her hands around the mug but didn't sip yet. "You're not mad anymore?""No." Violet sighed. "I'm sorry. We always fight, and then when something happens like you go wandering out in the rain, I regret everything I said.""I regret everything I said too," Daisy said. "I hate fighting with you."Violet nodded. "At least we can say we're sorry and forgive each other. And God forgives us too.""No matter how many times we fight," Daisy said."Or what we do." Violet smiled. "We can always forgive each other and count on God's forgiveness so that we can start over again." –Bethany Acker

Marilyn gazed at her dad as he dozed in the hospital bed. She hated the atrocious yellow hospital gown and the tubes that went into his chest. He was supposed to be strong, but here he just looked tired and weary. "How much longer will he be here?" Marilyn asked Mom hesitantly. She desperately wanted Dad home. A deep sigh came from her mom. She rubbed her forehead. "I don't know, honey. The doctor is unsure."Marilyn bit her lip. "Doesn't God want Dad to be healed?"Mom took Marilyn's hand in her own, and Marilyn leaned into the warm touch in the otherwise cold and bare room. "God loves us and your dad so much, Marilyn--more than we could ever comprehend. He doesn't want us to be sick or suffer. God is good, and He hates our pain, but He allows it in our lives for reasons we don't fully understand.""I hate it too." Marilyn glanced at Dad again as he slept.Mom squeezed her hand. "Every day I ask God, 'Why is there sickness?'" Marilyn felt assured knowing Mom asked the same big questions she did. "The world isn't supposed to be this way," Mom said. "Even though we humans messed it up with our sin, God is at work every single day to make it whole again. That work is called restoration.""And He's doing this now?" Mom nodded. "It started in the first book of the Bible when God promised to bless His people and guide them when they were lost. Then Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again so our relationship with God could be restored. Jesus also healed and fed people, giving us a glimpse of God's plan for eternal restoration. Today I see His restoration in the gifts He's given people and the ways they use them to help others--like the doctors caring for your dad. And one day, God promises to bring complete and total restoration. There will be no more sickness and no more death forever."Dad stirred in his bed as Marilyn asked, "But what about today?""Today I hold on to that hope knowing that God is with me, you, and Dad," Mom said.Marilyn smiled at Dad as he slowly opened his eyes. Hope. For now, that was enough. –Zoe Brickner

Cassian pointed to a row of cars on display at the automobile museum. "Don't these old cars look funny, Grandpa?" Grandpa smiled. "Well, they look a bit funny to us now, but they were pretty fancy in their day." He pointed to one of the cars. "My grandfather drove a car like that when he was a young man. It came in any color you wanted, as long as what you wanted was black."Cassian laughed. "Did you get to ride around in it when you were a kid?" "No," said Grandpa. "It was long gone by then. I just saw it in a picture.""Some of these old cars look brand new!" Cassian said, peering through the window of one of them. "This one doesn't look like it's ever been out on the road.""Oh, but it has," said Grandpa. "It's very old and must have traveled many miles, but it's been restored.""Restored?" asked Cassian. "That means it's been fixed up so it looks just like it did when it was new, right?"Grandpa nodded. "Worn-out parts have been replaced, and the car's been repainted with shiny new paint. It's just like it's brand new again." He stooped down to get a closer look at the car's shiny wheels. "It's kind of like what Jesus does for us when we confess our sins to Him. He forgives us and makes us clean again. The Bible says He restores our souls. It's like He refreshes us and makes us brand new.""When an old car is restored, it must look way different than it did when it was worn out," said Cassian. "But Jesus doesn't make us look different.""Well, I'm not so sure about that," said Grandpa. "He changes our spirit and soul and attitude, and I think that can make us look different too. We're able to have a better outlook on life and care deeply for others because we know our sins have been forgiven and we belong to Him. And that often puts a smile on our faces instead of a scowl. Don't you think?"Cassian thought about it. "Yeah," he said. "I guess so!" –Sam L. Sullivan

As Jesse and his dad walked through the mall, Jesse talked about how he and some kids from church had collected cans from people around the neighborhood for a fundraising project. "When I knocked on Mr. Martin's door, he wouldn't give me any cans to take back to church. He said he didn't even believe I was a Christian!""I'm sorry to hear that," said Dad. "That was an unkind thing for him to say. Have you said or done anything that would make him feel that way?""I don't think so," Jesse answered. But then he remembered something. Maybe Mr. Martin knows I'm the one who knocked a ball through his window, he thought. I was going to tell him, but the other guys said I shouldn't. They said he'd never know who did it. "Nothing much, anyway," Jesse added when he noticed Dad frowning at him.Just then they arrived at a sporting goods store. Jesse pointed to a football displayed in the window. "Look! There's the ball I want. Can we go in and see how much it costs?" "How do you know they sell that kind of football here?" Dad asked.Jesse gave his dad a questioning look. "How do I know? It's in the window! Everybody knows the stuff you see in the window is sold in the store." Dad nodded. "It makes sense that what we see out here is what we believe we'll find inside. That's how it is with people too. What they see in our actions is what they believe we're like inside. So for someone to believe we're Christian, they need to believe we belong to Christ--that's where the word Christian comes from. They need to see the love He has put in our hearts flow out through our actions. And when we fail to show His love and do something hurtful, we need to admit our mistake and try to make things right." Dad headed for the store's entrance. "Well, let's go inside and see if you can afford that ball."Jesse hesitated. "Dad, wait!" he said. Then he told him about the broken window. "I'm not going to buy a football now," Jesse said. "I need to use my money to pay Mr. Martin for that window." –Mary Rose Pearson

"We had so much fun!" Summer said when she got home after spending the afternoon at the beach with a friend. She plopped down in a chair and looked around the room. "Why is it so dark in here?" she wanted to know. Her brother laughed. "Because you're still wearing your sunglasses," he told her. Summer laughed too and removed the glasses.Dad smiled. "I just thought of something, Summer." He reached for a Bible and opened it. "Put those glasses back on and come here a minute. I'd like you to read a verse for me." Dad pointed to the verse he wanted her to read. Summer looked at the Bible. "You mean with my glasses on?" she asked, and Dad nodded. Summer held the Bible a little closer. The print wasn't very clear, but she managed to read it. "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." Summer stopped reading and grinned at her dad. "Seeing through dark glass describes me--it's like me reading through sunglasses.""It describes all of us," said Dad. "For example, it can be hard for us to see why certain things happen in our lives. When your cousin Payson died last year, we were very upset--and even angry--weren't we?" A sad look crossed Summer's face, and she nodded her head. "We all had questions," said Dad. "We wanted to know why it happened, right?" Again, Summer nodded. She still wondered. "In this life, we see the things that happen as if we were wearing dark glasses," Dad continued. "Many things are unclear, and we wonder why God allows them to happen. But when we see Jesus face-to-face, we won't have questions like that anymore. We'll truly understand that His will is perfect and everything happens according to His plan. For now, we just need to remember that Jesus knows our pain because He suffered and died to save us and trust Him to work everything out for good."Summer took her sunglasses off and looked at them. "I don't understand why God let Payson die, but I'm glad Jesus knows how we feel and is helping us through it." –Richard S. Maffeo

"I'm ahead of you, Mom!" Kenzie called as she paddled down the river in her kayak."Kenzie, stop and look ahead of you!" Mom called back.Kenzie slowed down her kayak, noticing a bunch of branches ahead of her on the water. "What are those?" Mom moved her kayak beside Kenzie's. "I think it's a beaver dam. Let's sit here for a little bit and see if anything comes out." "Okay," Kenzie replied. She kept her eyes on the dam as she took a sip of her water. A couple minutes later, Kenzie noticed some movement. "Look, Mom.""It's an otter," Mom whispered as the pair watched the tiny animal. "Otters sometimes take over abandoned beaver dams." "It's so cute." Kenzie smiled as the otter dove into the water and swam away. "God's creation is beautiful," Mom agreed. "I love kayaking. It gives us a chance to admire all the wonderful things God has created.""We learned about that in Sunday school yesterday!" Kenzie exclaimed. "In Psalms, there's a verse that says the earth is full of the creatures God made." Mom nodded. "Another verse in Psalms says, 'Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.'" She smiled as she looked at the beaver dam. "Both verses are great reminders that God made so many things for us, and we should take the time to admire them. One way to praise God is by admiring His creation.""A lot of verses in Psalms tell us to praise God, don't they?" said Kenzie. "Yes," Mom replied. "We have so many reasons to praise God. Not only did He create the earth and all the creatures in it, He created us in His own image and sent Jesus to save us from sin and give us a relationship with Him that lasts forever. He has done so much for us, and He wants us to praise Him and enjoy the good things He's given us."Kenzie grabbed her paddle. "Let's praise Him right now by admiring His creation as we race on this nice water He made for us!" she called as she began to paddle down the river.–Kimberly Brokish

"This is the prettiest flower garden I've ever seen!" said Nia.Grandma looked up from her weeding. "I enjoy it too. When it's nice outside, I spend time almost every day watering, weeding, or transplanting something. It's a lot of work, but worth it." She smiled as she pulled a weed out of the dirt. "It reminds me of my life as a Christian.""It does?" asked Nia. "Why?""Well, for one thing, weeds in my life can grow as quickly as weeds in my flower bed," replied Grandma."Weeds in your life?" asked Nia. "You mean things like problems? Like when people are nasty or you get sick or somebody you love dies?" "Yes," said Grandma. "We experience all kinds of difficult and painful situations, and if we're not careful, they can cause us to become angry, bitter, and unforgiving. Those attitudes are like weeds with very long roots. The weeds in my garden would take over if I let them, and the weeds in my life would too.""So how do you get rid of them?" asked Nia. "Well, I like to think of the time I spend with Jesus as His weeding and watering time for my life," replied Grandma. "Praying, reading my Bible, going to church--those are all ways to learn more about Jesus and what He wants for me.""I try to pray and read my Bible and listen in church," said Nia. "But sometimes it's hard."Grandma nodded. "Sometimes I don't feel like working in my garden," she said. "But then I remember how important it is for my flowers and do it anyway, and once I get my hands in the dirt, I often find it to be a pure joy." "So can you make flowers grow in your life by doing those things like you do in your garden?" asked Nia. "Well, God makes the flowers grow, not me--in both my garden and my life," said Grandma. "But I can give the flowers in my life--the Bible calls them the fruit of the Spirit--a good place to grow by spending time with Jesus so I have the strength to handle any weedy situations that come along. It's well worth the effort." –Rosalie J. Currier

"Look, Levi, I'm making a snowman!" cried Claire, rolling a white blob of playdough into a ball.But her brother didn't seem to be listening. Levi was concentrating. He had spent the last ten minutes sculpting the face of a lion out of some yellow playdough. Claire had to admit, Levi's lion was pretty good. He had used a plastic knife to carve out the lion's features, and now he was working on a fiery mane."Looks like you guys are having fun!" said Mom, pausing at the table to view their creations. "I like your snowman, Claire! And that lion's beginning to look quite lifelike, Levi. I love the way you've twisted all those strands together to make his mane. You're both so creative!""Creative?" asked Claire. "I thought only God created things.""Well, the Bible says God made people in His own image," said Mom, taking a seat at the table. "That's why we enjoy being creative. Some people like to paint. Some people like to bake. But while humans can only create things using materials that already exist, God created the universe out of nothing.""Nothing?" asked Claire. "How can you make something out of nothing?" She waved her hands around as though trying to shape a creature out of thin air. "It's impossible!"Mom laughed. "God created light just by speaking! And Psalm 33 tells us He created the heavenly hosts--all the stars in the sky--by the breath of His mouth."Claire gasped. "Wow! That's amazing!""But when He created Adam," Mom continued, "God fashioned him with His own hands from the dust of the earth and breathed life into his nose."Levi finally spoke. "Whoa! This lion I've been sculpting is just a model. It will never live or move. But God made a real man!""That's right," said Mom. "Only God can do that! And only God can give people new life. The Bible explains that because Adam and Eve disobeyed God, humans are born spiritually dead because of sin. But when we trust Jesus to save us from sin, it's as though God breathes new, eternal life into an old pile of dust. Jesus makes us alive all over again!"Claire and Levi looked at each other and smiled. "That's so awesome!" –Angela Jelf

"Nick, can you come up here and hold this for me?" Mr. Manning asked.Nick's heart beat faster as he walked to the front of the classroom. He got nervous any time he had to be in front of others.With shaking hands, Nick took the poster his teacher asked him to hold. A minute later, he was sitting on the floor with his teacher in front of him."Just breathe," Mr. Manning said.Nick did as he was told and eventually calmed down. When he looked around, he found the classroom empty. "Wait…where did everyone go?""They went out to recess," Mr. Manning said. "You can go too."Nick frowned. Everyone had abandoned him, even his friends."Hey, are you okay?" A voice came from behind Nick as he headed for the door.Nick turned and saw Alex, a kid he barely knew, using his hands to move his wheelchair up to him. "Why aren't you at recess?"Alex shrugged. "I wanted to make sure you were okay.""I thought everyone just went out and left me." Nick sighed. "Thanks for caring."At church that evening, Pastor John talked about the apostle Paul. "In the book of Second Timothy, Paul writes about a time when everyone abandoned him but God," Pastor John said. "Have you ever felt like that? All alone? Sometimes we don't even feel God with us."Nick thought of how he'd felt at school that day. He had felt completely alone. He hadn't seen Alex in the corner of the room, and he had felt abandoned."God is always there," Pastor John said. "Whether we feel His presence or not, He is always with us."Nick looked at the stained glass window, the one that showed Jesus hanging out with a group of children. Are you always there, God? he wondered. Even when it feels like everyone has abandoned me?"God never abandons us," Pastor John said, as if reading Nick's thoughts. "Jesus died for our sins and rose again so we would never be separated from Him. Even if everyone else abandons us, God is with us and will help us with every problem we face. He also places caring people in our lives--sometimes ones we don't expect--to remind us we're not alone." –Emily Acker

"Aunt Vivian, will you help me carry these shells? There are so many I want to take home!" The beauty of the seashells scattered on the beach captivated Gatlin. He had already filled his hands with shells of many colors.Aunt Vivian laughed. "Gatlin, why don't you pick your favorite shells to take home? We can't carry them all." After Gatlin and his aunt strolled back to their beach towels, he dumped the shells in a pile. Together they began sorting out the most interesting ones."Thanks for taking me on my first trip to the beach, Aunt Vivian," Gatlin said.Aunt Vivian nodded. "This has been such a fun day. I love being out in God's wonderful creation.""I just wish I could take all these shells home. I didn't know there would be so many!" Gatlin exclaimed."As many shells as there are, there's even more sand. And the Bible tells us God's thoughts toward His children outnumber even the grains of sand," Aunt Vivian added."Wow." Gatlin paused in sifting through the seashells. "God must think about us a lot.""He sure does. Jesus even told His followers that God knows the number of hairs on our heads!" Gatlin looked out toward the waves and the sun setting over the water. "God must really love us," he pondered. "I know Jesus came to save us, but I didn't know He pays that much attention to me.""He does, Gatlin," Aunt Vivian answered. "God cares about every single person in this world. He sees everyone and knows their hearts. And as Christians who trust in Jesus, we can have peace knowing that God is always with us and that we matter to Him." She paused then picked up a peach-colored shell shaped like a heart. "Look at this one!""Oh!" Gatlin grinned. "I think I'll keep this one to remember that God knows me and loves me." "Good." Aunt Vivian smiled. Then she jumped up from the sandy towel and said, "Race you to the water for one last swim!" –Allison Wilson Lee

More than an hour after Amelia had gone to bed at her grandparents' home, she still had not fallen asleep. She tried everything she could think of to relax her mind, but nothing worked. Finally, she slipped out of bed and went to find Grandma."Grandma, I saw an ad on TV about sleeping pills," said Amelia. "Do you have any? Can I have some?""I don't have any--and I don't think it would be good for you to take anything like that anyway, Amelia," said Grandma.Amelia sighed. She thought Grandma might say something like that. "But I just can't get to sleep," she said."You're probably worried about the divorce hearings tomorrow, aren't you?" asked Grandma, giving Amelia a hug.Amelia nodded. She felt better just having Grandma close. "It makes me nervous," she said, wishing she could tell Grandma exactly how she felt. But Amelia couldn't put her emotions into words. "I'm afraid of what will happen.""It's been bothering me too," Grandma told her. "We need to keep on praying for your mom and dad." Grandma was silent for a moment, and Amelia guessed their feelings were almost the same."Sleeping pills might make our bodies go to sleep, but I think there's an even better medicine for our nerves." Grandma picked up her Bible and opened it. "I'll read one of my favorite passages to you. It's in Philippians, and I think it will help both of us."As Grandma read out loud, Amelia noticed the Bible verses encouraged her to pray about everything. "Amelia, as your Savior, Jesus promises to be with you in every situation," Grandma said when she finished reading. "He wants you to trust Him with the things you're worried about so you can feel His peace--no matter what happens." Grandma prayed and asked God to quiet their nerves and give them rest. She also prayed for Amelia's parents."I think I can go to sleep now," Amelia said as she hugged Grandma. "Thanks for reading those Bible verses to me. That was good nerve medicine." Amelia settled back into bed, and even though she was still nervous, she felt better knowing Jesus promised to be with her and give her peace. –Esther M. Bailey

"Can I have one of your French fries?" Gavin asked his sister as he snatched one from her plate. "Hey, no! You have your own!" Hailey protested. She put her arm around her plate to defend her food. "But you got the crispier ones!" Gavin held up one of his flimsy French fries. "Our oven hasn't been cooking evenly. Here, Gavin, I got a few more crispy ones," Mom said and scraped some of her fries onto Gavin's plate. "I thought that since we rented this place it meant the landlord had to fix things like that," Gavin said as he ate another fry. "He does, but he also prioritizes repairs," Mom explained. "He oversees more than twenty apartments and does most of the repairs himself. Our oven not working is not as important as someone's broken heater, so we have to wait until the landlord has time to fix it." Mom got up and put her plate in the sink. She returned with her Bible and took the church prayer list out. Every night they prayed for the people and things on the list together. "God has a lot more people to take care of than our landlord. Is that why we sometimes have to wait for our prayers to be answered?" Hailey asked. "No, that's not why," Mom replied. "Unlike our landlord, God is able to immediately do anything we ask. But He doesn't always answer our prayers right away because His plan is often different from what we think is best. That doesn't mean He doesn't hear our prayers. God sees and hears everything because He's omnipresent.""Omni-what?" Gavin asked with a puzzled look. "Omnipresent," Mom repeated. "It means He's everywhere all the time. Millions of people could pray at the same time, and God would hear them all. But even though He's everywhere, God is present with Christians in a special way. The Bible calls Jesus 'Immanuel,' which means 'God with us.' When we put our faith in Jesus, God gives us the Holy Spirit, who will never leave us. Even though God doesn't always answer our prayers right away or how we want, He promises to be with us through everything." "I'm thankful God is always with us to help us," Gavin said. "Let's pray that He'll help our landlord fix our oven soon!" –Melissa Yeagle