Bible Reading: John 15:10-14

Jillian knew she needed to hurry--her grandmother would be waiting. Nana picked her up after school, and Jillian spent the afternoons at Nana's house, reading and playing with Nana's cat. After work, Jillian's mother came to take her home.

Today Jillian worried about making Nana wait but decided it was worth it. Nana deserves a Valentine's Day gift, Jillian thought. That's why she had removed coins from her piggy bank earlier in the week--to order an elegant red rose for Nana. The student council at Jillian's school organized the rose sale, and Jillian couldn't wait to pick it up on Valentine's Day and give it to her grandmother. Now, on her way to Nana's car with the rose in her hand, Jillian walked slowly and carefully to protect the flower.

Thinking of Nana waiting for her in the car, Jillian walked faster, skipping a few steps. Nana's going to be so surprised! But then she stumbled and fell to the floor, dropping the rose. She struggled to her feet, rubbed her aching knee, and gasped. The delicate bloom had been crushed in Jillian's fall.

Jillian retrieved the flower and trudged gloomily to the car.

"Happy Valentine's Day, sweetie!" Nana sang out.

"Not so happy." Jillian held out the ruined rose. "I bought this because I wanted to give it to you as a Valentine's Day gift, Nana, but I tripped and fell on it."

"It's lovely!" Nana answered, taking the flower gently into her hands.

"What? It's terrible!" Jillian exclaimed.

"It's a gift of love," Nana replied. "You gave something up in order to give it to me. That reminds me of the greatest gift of love I know about."

"What do you mean, Nana?"

"Jesus showed us what love is all about when He gave His life for us. And when we trust in Him for the forgiveness of our sins, He pours His Spirit of love into our hearts."

"That's a lot better than a rose," Jillian mused.

"Jesus's death for us declares, 'I love you.' And you gave me the rose to say, 'I love you.' When we know Jesus as our Savior, we can share His love with others." Nana smiled. "Just as you did for me today."

-Allison Wilson Lee

How About You?
Do you ever wonder if you're able to show God's amazing love? When we begin a relationship with God by putting our faith in Jesus, His Spirit comes to live in our hearts. In His strength, we can share His love with others. Our love is imperfect, but God's love never fails. Even our messy efforts to show love can point others to the love of Jesus!

Today's Key Verse:
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. (NIV) (1 John 3:16)

Today's Key Thought:
We can share God's love

Bible Reading: Psalm 139:14-18

"Mom, you should see the new kid in our class at school," said Phoebe as she pushed construction paper aside to sit at the table. "He just moved here, and he's weird!"

Mom frowned. "That's not a nice thing to say, Phoebe."

"But he is!" Phoebe insisted. "He dresses funny--none of his clothes ever match. And he's so into math it's scary. He missed half of morning recess today because he was asking Mr. Potter a bunch of questions about math stuff we're not even studying. Who would choose math over recess?" Phoebe snorted at the thought.

Mom sighed and reached for a stack of cards. "What do you think of my cards so far?" she asked as she spread them out.

"Oh, they're gorgeous!" Phoebe said as she picked up a card with a red felt heart on the front. She opened it. To Tommy, it said. Happy Valentine's Day! Love, Mrs. Schaefer. Phoebe smiled. "Your first graders are going to love them!"

"I don't know," said Mom. "I didn't have enough material to make them all the same, so some have felt hearts and others have ribbons and others have glitter on the front. I think I'd better throw these out and just pick up a box of identical valentines at the store before school tomorrow to hand out."

"What? No!" cried Phoebe. "Your cards are so much better than store-bought ones! You put lots of love and effort into making them."

"But you don't seem to think the same thing when it comes to people," Mom observed.

"Huh?" said Phoebe.

"You seem to think that everyone should think and act the same way. But God created all kinds of people, with different interests and personalities, and He loves us all so much that Jesus died for us. But instead of trying to get to know the new boy in your class, you just make fun of him. You seem to prefer store-bought people to the unique ones God poured lots of love and effort into."

Phoebe stared at the table, twirling a piece of pink ribbon around her thumb.

"Where did you say this boy moved here from?" asked Mom.

"I don't know," Phoebe said quietly. Then a smile spread across her face. "But tomorrow I'm going to find out!"

-Daniel A. Burns

How About You?
Do you have trouble accepting people who are different from you? Every person was created in the image of God, and He loves us all. The next time you come across someone who's different, remember that Jesus loves them. Then try to get to know them. You just might learn something new--and make a new friend too!

Today's Key Verse:
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. (NKJV) (Psalm 139:14)

Today's Key Thought:
Accept everyone

Bible Reading: Psalm 34:1-3; Ephesians 5:20

"I actually thought it was going to be cool to have this cast on my leg," Ben said as his dad helped him into the car after church. "When Joshua had a cast on his foot, the kids were always offering to carry his books and stuff like that." Ben sighed. "I can't say it's been that way for me, and these crutches really slow me down."

"I'm sure you'll get used to them soon," Dad assured him.

On the drive home, Ben's parents discussed the church service. "Pastor Everson's message was right on!" said Mom, and Dad nodded.

Ben frowned. "Maybe, but it was hard to pay attention when the microphone kept messing up. Did we have a new sound person today or something?"

Dad shook his head. "No, Mr. Stanley's been running the sound board faithfully for years. I don't know what happened with the mics today." Dad paused, then said, "It's like your leg, Ben."

"My leg? What's the sound guy got to do with me and my broken leg?"

"How often in the last twenty-four hours have you thought about your leg?" asked Dad.

Ben winced. "About a gazillion times."

"Before your accident, you didn't even think about the way your leg felt, did you?" asked Dad. Ben shook his head. "You never thought about the microphones or the great job the sound man was doing until something went wrong," Dad observed. "Just like you didn't think about your leg until something was wrong with it. We need to learn to be thankful and show appreciation for what goes right, and not be so quick to criticize when something goes wrong."

Ben grinned. "But if I walk around saying 'I'm sure glad I didn't break both my legs,' people are going to think I'm weird!"

Mom and Dad laughed. "Maybe, but it wouldn't hurt for us to remember once in a while to thank God for an arm or leg that feels good," said Mom. "The absence of pain deserves to get some of our attention too. Jesus has given us so many blessings, including the best one of all--eternal life with Him. Instead of only paying attention to what goes wrong, let's thank Him for the many ways He shows us His love and takes care of us each day."

-Mike Dize

How About You?
Do you notice when things are good and right? Those things are everyday blessings, but they often don't get our attention the way painful things do. The next time your stomach hurts, thank God for the health you have. When you have to do homework or chores, be thankful for the times you get to play. Thank Him for all the good things He's given you and for loving you and taking care of you each day.

Today's Key Verse:
Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms. (NLT) (Psalm 68:19)

Today's Key Thought:
Be thankful for daily blessings

Bible Reading: Philippians 1:21-26

A hard rain shower passed, and sunshine glistened on the grass and trees. Then brilliant colors arched the sky. It was still raining lightly as Mabel gazed out the window. "Dad, come see the beautiful rainbow!"

Dad joined her at the window. "Wow, look at that!"

"How does God make rainbows?" asked Mabel.

"Well, when the sun is behind us and the rain is in front of us, the rays of sun pass through the raindrops,"

said Dad. "The water acts like a prism."

"What's a prism?" asked Mabel.

"I'll show you. Come with me." Dad led the way to his odds-and-ends drawer. "Would you like a rainbow to keep in your room?" he asked.

"Sure, but how?" asked Mabel. Dad smiled as he picked out a ball of string, scissors, and a small, triangular-shaped piece of glass with a small hook on one end. "What's that?" Mabel asked.

Dad held it up. "This is a prism." He tied one end of the string to the hook in the glass and held it out toward Mabel. "Cut here." She took the scissors and cut the string. "Okay," said Dad, "let's take this to your room."

Mabel was puzzled. "What are you going to do with it?"

Dad smiled and tied the triangular piece of glass to a curtain rod in Mabel's room. A moment later, a little rainbow danced on her desk and spilled onto the floor. "I love it!" Mabel exclaimed. "Just wait till I tell my friends I have my very own tiny rainbow!"

"You'll have it only when the sun is shining," Dad said. "The sun shining through the prism is what makes the rainbow." He turned and looked at her. "Did you know that you can be a prism too?"

Mabel laughed. "Sorry, Dad, but the sun shining on me just makes shadows."

"I'm not thinking about the sun in the sky," Dad said. "I'm thinking about the Son of God--Jesus. Because you trust in Him, He's put His Spirit in your heart, and His love shining through you will produce something even more beautiful than a rainbow. Through your actions and attitude, people around you will see God's love, joy, and peace."

-Tanya Ferdinandusz

How About You?
What can you do to make rainbows in your world today? Could you encourage a friend who's feeling down? Or do chores around the house to help your parents? Or sit with someone who's lonely? God can use you to bring a rainbow of His love to others' lives. Trust Him to help you reflect His light so others can see how much He loves them.

Today's Key Verse:
Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (NIV) (Matthew 5:16)

Today's Key Thought:
Be a prism for God

Bible Reading: Romans 8:14-17; 1 John 3:1-2

"Today," said Miss Hamilton as she passed out paper in art class, "you are going to use chalk to draw a picture of your family."

Some of the kids groaned, but Melia smiled. She knew just what to draw. She started sketching, and soon her paper was nearly filled with faces of girls, boys, men, and women. She used every color of chalk as she drew blondes, brunettes, redheads, and bald heads. She used peach, tan, brown, black, and beige on the faces. She was putting glasses on some of them when Miss Hamilton said it was time to stop.

"Who would like to share your picture with us?" Miss Hamilton asked.

Violet raised her hand. "This is me, my parents and brother, and all my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins," she said as she held up her paper.

"Aunts and uncles and cousins?" asked Ian. "Were we supposed to draw them too? I thought we just had to draw our parents and brothers and sisters."

"I said family, so that can be whoever you want to include," said Miss Hamilton. She stopped at Melia's chair. "Melia, would you like to tell us who all is in your picture?"

Melia held up her picture. "I don't know much about my real family," she said hesitantly, "but here's my foster family. And this lady is my caseworker. This is a picture of the man who teaches my class at church. These are some kids in Honduras that our class collected money for. This one's my pastor. This is a missionary family in Africa, and here are some people who go to their clinic. These are--"

"Wait," said Ian. "Those people aren't your family."

"Oh yes, they are!" Melia stated firmly. "The Bible says everyone who's a Christian is part of God's family. I'm a Christian, and these people are too, so they're all my family." She stopped, unsure of what her classmates, and especially her teacher, would think of that.

"I like it," Violet said as she started sketching a few more figures in her picture.

Miss Hamilton smiled. "I do too. I think it's a wonderful thing to have such a large family."

-Sharyl Noelle

How About You?
Do you think of other Christians as family? If you're a child of God, all those who trust in Jesus are part of your family. This includes people you don't know from countries all over the world. It includes people who are well-known who you wish you could meet. It includes everyone who knows Jesus as their Savior. Because of Him, we all belong to God and are part of His family.

Today's Key Verse:
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. (NKJV) (Romans 8:16)

Today's Key Thought:
All Christians belong to God's family