Bible Reading: 1 Chronicles 29:10-13 Laughter erupted as the Belford family finished a rowdy game of charades. Melody, a neighbor girl who had joined them in the game, got ready to leave. “I wish my family got along and had fun together like yours does,” she told Cara. “We argue and fight all the time….
Bible Reading: Amos 4:13; Mark 4:35–41 “Wow, look at that wind!” Jacob said as he watched his kite fly through the air. “It’s a perfect kite-flying day!” “Yeah,” said his friend Asher, gripping the spool of his kite tightly. “I can barely hang on to mine!” When the boys finally decided they were hungry for…
Bible Reading: 1 Peter 3:8-12 “Can I take Casper to school tomorrow?” asked Max one evening. “You can’t take your rabbit to school,” said his older brother, Kolton. “Where would you keep him? In your desk?” He laughed at the idea. Max made a face at his brother. “We have a rabbit in our classroom,…
Bible Reading: Romans 5:6-8; 1 John 4:9-10 “Hey, Jared, come over here! Look!” Hailey whispered excitedly to her brother as they explored the field behind their grandparents’ home. “Look where?” Jared asked. “What do you see?” “That bird up ahead of us. Shh!” Hailey’s attention was on a little bird fluttering frantically on the path…
Bible Reading: Luke 6:27-36 “Muffin!” yelled two-year-old Isabel as she toddled into the living room. She plunked down on the floor next to Muffin, the family dog. Isabel reached out a chubby hand and pulled Muffin’s fluffy brown tail. Muffin didn’t bite or even growl. She just moved away as quickly as she could and…
Bible Reading: Psalm 34:13-14; Hebrews 12:14-15 “I know, but that’s what Bianca said.” Kaylee switched the phone to her other ear. “She told me she was sick of hearing you whine all the time. I can’t help it if she says mean things about you.” After talking a little longer, Kaylee put down her phone…
Bible Reading: Luke 10:30-35; John 15:12-13 As Carmen stepped off the school bus, she caught a glimpse of her best friend—at least, her best friend in elementary school—staring stonily out the window. Now part of the popular group, Melissa didn’t even look at Carmen. She hadn’t even seemed to notice her the whole first week…
Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:20-27; Hebrews 10:19-25 Sophia stared through the glass case at the tubs of ice cream. At first she wanted strawberry, but then she changed her mind. “Bubble gum, please.” The woman behind the counter dropped two scoops onto a cone. Sophia thanked her and followed her mother to a table. “Let’s…
Bible Reading: Ephesians 2:8-10 “I wish I never came to your house for spring break,” Darren told his cousin Jonathan. “Since you became a Christian, all you say is, ‘Don’t do this and don’t do that.’ Next you’ll be complaining about the picture on my T-shirt and telling me to dress in a choir robe!”…
Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:4-13 Lynn visited her garden every day, and her tomato plants, which she and her sister had named Love, Joy, Patience, and Goodness, grew and grew. Then one evening dark clouds began to gather on the horizon. At first Lynn watched from her bedroom window as droplets of water fell from…
