The Smelly Cover-Up

Bible Reading: Psalm 51:1-12; 1 John 1:9 Jonathan took out his dad’s aftershave lotion and rubbed some on his face before leaving the bathroom. When his mother stepped into his room a little later, she sniffed the air. “What do I smell?” she asked. “Jonathan used Dad’s aftershave lotion,” Sophie hollered from her room across…

Stretched Thin

Bible Reading: Psalm 40:1-4; 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Angelo kicked at a stone on the pavement. “Did I tell you that I can’t go live with my dad?” he asked his friend Tai. “I have to stay with Mom.” Angelo sighed. “Dad always took time to do stuff with me. Y’know—guy stuff. Now I’ll only get…

Instant Replay

Bible Reading: Psalms 19:12-14; 139:23-24 Levi and his dad were enjoying a football game on TV. “Watch out for that guy on your right!” yelled Levi, and Dad waved his arms as if the players could see him. But it was no use—the man they were cheering for went down. “That was dumb!” exclaimed Levi…

No Strings Attached

Bible Reading: Romans 12:1-2; Galatians 2:20 “Grandma, in Bible times people had to sacrifice animals to God, didn’t they?” Jovie asked one day. “Why don’t we do that now?” “When Jesus died for our sins, He was the perfect sacrifice. Animal sacrifices are no longer needed because Jesus’s sacrifice covers all our wrongs when we…

A Fresh Start

Bible Reading: Lamentations 3:22-23 Mitchell sat on his bed looking out the window. Tomorrow was the start of a new year, but he wasn’t all that excited about it. He liked things the way they were, and he didn’t want anything to change. “What’s up, Mitchell?” Mom asked as she walked into his room. Mitchell…

Ready for Showers

Bible Reading: 2 Timothy 2:15; 4:1-5 Everleigh excitedly told her church group about her trip to England. “The funniest thing was that most people carried umbrellas everywhere—even on sunny days! That seemed really odd to us.” Mr. Hunt nodded. “I remember how much it rained when I visited England several years ago. Did you take…

Throw It Out

Bible Reading: Leviticus 19:16-18; Romans 12:17-21 “Mom, can we go to the park?” asked Harmony. “I want to go sledding.” “All right,” said Mom. “But we’ve got to get this kitchen cleaned up first, including the refrigerator.” “Okay,” said Harmony. “I’ll start there.” She opened the refrigerator door and started going through the items. “Harmony,…

The Dripping Faucet

Bible Reading: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, 12-13; Ephesians 5:15-17 “I used to look forward to Saturdays before we moved here,” Dad said as he crawled out from under the sink. “Since we began restoring this old house to its original splendor, it seems like there are never enough hours in the day to fix everything!” “Well, now…

Head X-Ray

Bible Reading: Matthew 9:2-4; Hebrews 4:12-13 Jeremiah sat in Dr. Smith’s examination room, his head pounding. I should have listened to Mom and Dad and stayed away from the construction site, he thought. “How did you say this happened?” Dr. Smith asked as he finished stitching Jeremiah’s forehead. “I tripped and fell on the sidewalk.”…

Just Different

Bible Reading: Romans 12:4-11; James 1:17 “A few more days,” said Miles, “and we can watch the best ball game of the year!” He picked up the football he’d gotten for Christmas. “The next best thing to playing football is watching the Rose Bowl game!” “Huh!” scoffed his sister Heidi. “The best thing about football…