Stop and Look Around You

Bible Reading: Romans 5:8; Philippians 2:1–4; 1 John 4:7–8 Felipe’s fingers raced across his tablet as he sat on the subway. His mom and sister sat behind him going over Adela’s Bible verse for church. Every afternoon, their mom met them at school to ride home with them. And every day, Felipe played the same…

The Manners Game

Bible Reading: Titus 3:1-5 “Scuse me,” Dex said as he reached across his sister’s plate to get the salt. Phoebe frowned. “Do that again, and I’ll wipe my knife on your shirt!” “Hey! Watch your manners—both of you!” said Mom. “Dex, if you want something, please ask to have it passed.” “But it’s quicker to…

Volcanic Anger

Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:26 The baseball blasted off Rob’s bat like a rocket. “Nice shot,” Buddy said. The ball crashed through the upstairs window of the Cooleys’ house. Mrs. Cooley screamed, and a man’s shouts filled the air. Rob dropped his bat. “We’re dead. Let’s get out of here.” Buddy nodded. “If we’re gonna run,…

A Gift for Mom

Bible Reading: Colossians 3:20-25 Daniel plopped down on the top step and scowled. His sister, Nia, found him there. “Tomorrow is Mother’s Day, and we don’t have a gift for Mom yet,” she said. “Let’s go see what we can find.” “I can’t,” Daniel said. “Mom says I can’t go anywhere. I didn’t clean my…

Grandma’s Trophies

Bible Reading: Matthew 6:19-21 “Look, Malachi!” Nevaeh said as she pulled a small, worn book out of an old trunk that had belonged to their great-grandmother. Her voice echoed a little in the big attic where they were cleaning. “This looks like a journal Grandma Baker wrote. She gave it the title ‘My Trophies.’” “Cool,”…