The Concert

Bible Reading: Mark 3:7-12; Luke 5:17-26 Jenna hurried to get ready for the concert. Her dad had bought them good tickets, and she wanted to get to their seats as soon as possible. As soon as she was finished putting her hair in a ponytail, she hurried down the stairs. “Let’s go!” Her dad chuckled…

The Dusty Table

Bible Reading: John 10:27-28; Romans 8:35-39 “I want to ask you something, Mom,” Emma said hesitantly as her mother tucked her into bed one evening. “I trusted Jesus as my Savior last summer, but it seems like I’m still always doing something wrong—like being mean to Colson tonight. When I do stuff like that, I…

Building Up

Bible Reading: Psalm 119:103; Proverbs 12:18; Colossians 4:6 “My turn!” Junior shouted as he laid the next block. He and his brother were playing a tower-building game, and the tower was getting high. Carefully, he laid down the next piece and held his breath as the tower wobbled, wobbled—then, thankfully, stopped. “Okay. Your turn, Max.”…

Foreign Words

Bible Reading: Proverbs 2:1-6 “We had such cool visitors in our social studies class today!” Ollie told his parents one evening. “Mrs. Berg invited a Vietnamese family to talk to us about their culture and tell us what it’s like to try to fit into the American way of life without losing their heritage.” “Interesting,”…

Fish for Dinner

Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 Karina and her friend Dan rushed into the kitchen after practice. “Perfect timing!” said Karina’s mom, taking a pan out of the oven. “Mmmm!” exclaimed Karina. “That fish smells yummy—Dan? Where did you go?” “I’m outside!” Dan yelled from the porch. Karina walked outside and saw Dan putting on his…

A New Life

Bible Reading: Ezekiel 11:19-20 Riley couldn’t believe the man up front was still talking. He sighed and looked at Mom, who was listening intently. She had become a Christian a few months earlier, and she’d been making Riley go to church with her ever since. I wish things were the way they were before, Riley…

Memory Quilt

Bible Reading: Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 8:28 “That’s going to be so cool when it’s finished,” Kendyn said as she watched her mom sew some pieces of a patchwork quilt. Mom smiled. “I hope so. This project is very special to me.” She picked up a few of the fabric squares. “Do you recognize these pieces…

Burdens

Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:32-5:1; Philippians 2:1-4 “This is cool!” said Weston as he and some other boys from church hiked through the woods. Sometimes they walked easily along the well-beaten trail, but other times they had to scramble over fallen trees or weave their way around them. “Hey, Lucas!” Weston called out. “Race you to…

Always Showing Up

Bible Reading: James 1:16-18 “It’s so snowy,” Johnny said as he looked out the school bus window. “I wonder if my mom will make it to meet the bus.” Caden glanced at his friend. Sometimes Johnny’s mom was waiting for them when their bus got to their neighborhood, and sometimes she wasn’t. “My grandpa will…

The Path Less Traveled

Bible Reading: Proverbs 4:10-15, 18-19; Matthew 7:13-14 “This is so much fun!” exclaimed Scarlett as she tramped along through the snow with the other kids from her church. “Yeah,” said Ada. “This is a cool place to have a winter retreat.” Soon they came to a fork in the path. The kids ahead of them…