Bible Reading: Psalm 46:1; 91:1-4; Philippians 4:19

"David, your mom is waiting for you."

David started at the sound of Tía Gloria's voice. "Where?"

"At the playground," she answered kindly.

David hurried down the stairs that led up to the home he had known for almost a whole year. He was one of thirty children who lived in the albergue in Lima, Peru, that served as a refuge for children who needed protection.

He looked around. Nearby on a bench, watching a toddler play, was a young woman, who was apparently expecting another child soon.

"Mamá!" David ran to her and gave her a big hug.

She hugged him tight. "David, you've grown so much. Tell me what you've been doing. What have you been learning at school? Are you happy here?"

David soon was talking and smiling, telling his mom about his classes, his friends, and the fun activities he got to do with his albergue family. He played with his little brother and held him. But, after a while, his mom got up, put her bag on her shoulder, and took the toddler's hand. "It's time for me to go," she said.

Pain struck through David's heart. He threw his arms around her. "When can I go back with you?" he asked, fighting tears.

David's mother had a sad look on her face. It was too hard to explain her situation to her little boy. That the safest place for him was there. That she needed a safe place too.

As the door closed behind her, David turned and ran. Tía Gloria found him behind one of the slides.

"David," she said gently, "it's not that your mom doesn't love you. But she needs help too and can't take care of you in the way she wants to right now. But you've been learning about a strong Father who is always there for His children. He's with you, even if others can't be. Who is that?"

"God," David answered, looking up through his tears.

"That's right. God is our refuge--our place of help and comfort. Jesus understands the hurt you're feeling because He experienced the pain of our broken world too when He came to save us. Would you like us to pray to Him right now?"

David nodded. "Yes. And let's pray that He will help my mom too."

-Rachel Avallone

How About You?
Are there times when you feel alone? Have you been disappointed by people you expected to be there when you needed help or love? Even the people who love us the most aren't able to give us all we need. People will fail, because people are imperfect and we live in a broken world. But our heavenly Father will never fail us. He gave us His Son, Jesus, who is with us no matter what. His love never fails.

Today's Key Verse:
Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close. (NLT) (Psalm 27:10)

Today's Key Thought:
Jesus will never fail us

Bible Reading: Psalm 141:3; Proverbs 8:6-9

"Hey, did you guys hear the one about the man with a wooden leg?" Mitch asked when some of his friends were over. He proceeded to tell a joke he'd overheard at school--a bad one he knew he shouldn't repeat, but he wanted to impress his friends. They thought it was hilarious. As they roared with laughter, Mitch's dad walked past the room. Oh no! Mitch thought when he saw Dad frown. I hope Dad didn't hear that joke!

After his friends left, Mitch wandered into the kitchen. "Hey!" he yelled, staring in horror at a poster he was working on for history class. It was on the table, and his little sister had colored green mustaches on the faces he had carefully drawn. When Teagan saw Mitch looking at it, she started to giggle.

"It's not funny!" Mitch roared, but Teagan kept on laughing. Dad came to see what the trouble was. "Dad, look what Teagan did! And she thinks it's funny!"

Dad immediately sent Teagan to her room. "Teagan doesn't realize how important that poster is to you," Dad said. "She thinks green mustaches are a good joke."

Mitch scowled. "Well, I don't! I'm going to have to redo the whole thing."

"I'm sorry, Mitch. But maybe you can learn something from this." Dad leaned against the countertop. "I'm wondering if you sometimes laugh at things that aren't funny. I didn't clearly hear the joke your friends found so funny, but I noticed you looked embarrassed when you saw me." Mitch blushed, but he was relieved his dad hadn't heard the whole joke.

"You know it's wrong to laugh at someone because of the way they look or talk or because they're unable to do something," Dad continued. "Whenever you laugh at something that's hurtful or wrong, or when you make fun of something that's private, it's sort of like painting green mustaches on things God has made. If you're as childish as Teagan, you might think it's funny. But how do you think Jesus feels about it? Does He think it's funny to laugh at sin or make fun of people He died on the cross for?"

"No," Mitch said quietly.

"God has given us so many good things to laugh about," Dad said. "Let's thank Him for that and be satisfied with them."

-Jessica Van Dessel

How About You?
What kinds of things do you laugh about? Have you heard jokes that make fun of people or things that are personal and private? Did you think those jokes were funny? God wants you to have fun and laugh, but He would never laugh at anything that was hurtful or embarrassing to you or anyone else. He loves us way too much to do that! Laugh at things Jesus would laugh at too.

Today's Key Verse:
Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes--these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. (NLT) (Ephesians 5:4)

Today's Key Thought:
Hurtful humor isn't funny

Bible Reading: Psalm 34:11-16

"School was so much fun today," Nadine told her dad at dinner. "Mrs. Edwards had to go to the office for something, and everybody ran around and talked while she was gone. She was so mad when she got back! She said she could hear us way down the hall. Then she made us sit with our heads down on our desks for a while. But she had to go back to the office, and when she left, everybody went wild again. So she made us all stay in at recess."

"Did you talk and leave your seat too?" asked Dad.

Nadine looked startled. "Well, yeah. Everybody did. I figured we'd all get yelled at, so I might as well do it too." Changing the subject quickly, she said, "Can I turn the heat up a little? I'm cold!"

"When the sun goes down, it does get cold pretty fast," said Dad. "Go ahead--turn up the thermostat a bit." Nadine got up and went to do so. "A thermostat is a great invention," Dad said when Nadine returned to her seat. "It's a controlling device. It doesn't just read the temperature in a room; it does something about it if it's not where it was set to be. It tells the furnace when to go on and off." He paused. "I wish I could install a thermostat on you."

"Huh?" Nadine looked at her dad, surprised.

"Just like thermostats, Christians should be in control of themselves too," Dad said. "Like knowing when to be an example of Jesus to others and when to run away from bad behavior. The Bible tells us to overcome evil with good. To do that, we need to remember that Jesus has freed us from sin and given us His goodness and love, and we need to trust Him to help us be good examples in everything we say and do."

Nadine gulped. "You mean, I should have been quiet and stayed in my seat today, and then maybe some of the other kids would have too?"

"They may have," said Dad. "But even if they didn't, I'm sure your teacher would have noticed the respect and care shown to her through your actions."

"You're probably right." Nadine sighed. "I think I owe my teacher an apology."

-Hazel W. Marett

How About You?
Do you go along with the crowd? If everybody does something, do you think that makes it okay for you to join in and do it too? If so, you have things backwards. If you're a Christian, you should be like a thermostat and take control of your actions in every situation. As you trust Jesus to help you turn down hurtful behavior and turn up His goodness and love, you can be a good leader and a good influence on your friends.

Today's Key Verse:
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (NKJV) (Romans 12:21)

Today's Key Thought:
Be a good influence

Bible Reading: Psalm 136:1-9, 23-26

"I'm full!" declared Abigail, pushing away from the table.

"Me too," said Matthew. "That turkey was yummy!"

"Would you all like pie now?" asked Mom. "Or would you rather wait until later?"

"Later!" everyone chimed in.

Mom began to remove plates and food from the table, and everybody pitched in to help. "Let me pull the rest of the meat off the turkey bones," Dad said when the table was cleared.

"Thanks. That will be a big help," said Mom. "I'll put the leftovers away, and you kids can load the dishwasher. You'll have to wash some of the pots and pans by hand."

Abigail sighed. "Matthew, you scrape, and I'll rinse," she said, and they got to work. "Oh, Mom," Abigail said after a bit, "there are so many dishes to do today. I don't like doing dishes! We'll hardly have any time left to play!"

"Oh, I think you'll have plenty of time," Dad said. "There aren't very many to do by hand. Most of them go in the dishwasher."

"Yes," said Mom. "The dishwasher is definitely something to be thankful for!"

"Well, I still don't like dirty dishes," grumbled Abigail.

"Hmmm," Mom murmured. "Sometimes it's hard to be thankful for things we don't like, isn't it? But how did we get all these dirty dishes in the first place?"

"We ate Thanksgiving dinner," Matthew replied.

"Right," said Mom. "We ate lots of food, and now we have lots of dirty dishes! So, really, we should be thankful for these stacks of dishes we need to clean because they're evidence of God's goodness to us."

"Oh, I get it," said Matthew. "God gave us all the good food we just ate, and we have lots of dirty dishes to prove it!"

Mom nodded. "The Bible tells us to give thanks in everything. Even when faced with things we don't like, we can thank God for His goodness and for always being with us. We're able to do that because Jesus saved us and promises to bring good out of everything we go through, even hard things."

"Well then, I guess I really am thankful for these dirty dishes," Abigail said as she scrubbed a pot. "But I'm also really thankful for the dishwasher!"

-Hazel W. Marett

How About You?
Have you ever thanked God for dirty dishes? How about dirty clothes? Maybe you can think of other things that aren't fun to deal with but really are a blessing. God has given us so much, and we can give thanks in any situation because He has given us the greatest blessing of all--Jesus. Be sure to thank Him for all things, both big and small.

Today's Key Verse:
In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (NKJV) (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Today's Key Thought:
Thank God for all He gives

Bible Reading: Colossians 3:12-15

Grayson stomped into the kitchen where his mom was making a pie. "What's wrong?" she asked when she saw the angry frown on his face.

"Kobe stepped on my new remote control car." Grayson held out the mangled toy. "He said he was sorry and that he'd pay to have it fixed, but I don't know if it even can be fixed. I told him he can play by himself from now on!"

"I'm sorry about your car, Grayson," said Mom. "That's frustrating. But isn't Kobe your best friend?"

"He was my best friend," Grayson mumbled.

"That's what I thought," said Mom. "I think your friendship is something like my pie crust." She pointed to the crust she had just placed in the bottom of the pie plate. "What do you see?"

"Not much," said Grayson. "But what's that rough spot? A patch?"

"That's exactly what it is," said Mom. "I accidentally tore a hole in the crust when I put it in the pan, so I flattened a small bit of dough, dampened the edges, and pressed it over the hole. The patch makes the crust strong enough to hold these blueberries." She picked up the berries and poured them in. "Now, something can tear a hole in a friendship too, even between best friends. Then the two friends have to patch the hole. Kobe did his part when he told you he was sorry and offered to pay to have your car fixed."

"But I got it for my birthday!" exclaimed Grayson.

"What's more important? A toy car or a best friend?" Mom asked.

Grayson didn't say anything for a while. "Okay," he said at last, "I'll forgive him, but he'd better be more careful."

Mom raised her brows. "What does God say about the way we should forgive?"

"Um…He says the way Jesus forgave us is the way we…" Grayson stopped. After a moment, he looked up. "When's supper?" he asked.

Mom smiled as she put the pie in the oven. "Since I'm busy getting things ready for Thanksgiving tomorrow, we're just having a frozen pizza. Which means there's plenty of time to go see Kobe and patch your friendship."

"Good! Thanks, Mom!" Grayson grabbed his coat and dashed out the door.

-Dorothy T. Clemmens

How About You?
Aren't you glad God freely forgives and doesn't hold grudges? When friends apologize, do you freely forgive them? If they don't apologize, do you try to figure out something you can do to set things right with them? Don't let the hurt fester until the friendship is lost. When you've hurt someone, say you're sorry and ask for forgiveness. And when others hurt you, forgive them the way Jesus has forgiven you.

Today's Key Verse:
Bear with each other and forgive one another…Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (NIV) (Colossians 3:13)

Today's Key Thought:
Friends forgive each other