Bible Reading: John 14:1-6

Adelyn looked around her empty room. She brushed her hand across the mural Dad had painted on the wall one last time, then picked up the last box and brought it out to the truck. When Mom pulled the truck door down with a loud rumble, Adelyn couldn't help it. She burst into tears.

Mom pulled her close. "It's going to be okay, Adelyn," she said in a hoarse voice as Adelyn sobbed into her shoulder. Mom was crying too.

"I don't get it," said Adelyn. "Why do we have to leave our house?"

"Because the bank lent us the money to buy the house, but after your dad died, paying back the loan on my own became too hard. So now they're taking back the house." She stroked Adelyn's hair. "I know it's hard to leave the house you grew up in, especially with all its memories of your dad, but we don't have a choice. We'll live with Grandma and Grandpa for a while, then you and I will find a nice apartment."

"But I don't want to live in an apartment!" said Adelyn, barely able to get the words out through her tears. "I want to live here! This is where you and Dad and I always lived. This is our true home!"

"Oh, Adelyn," said Mom. "This isn't our true home--it never was. It was a wonderful place to live, but it was never meant to last forever. As Christians, our true home is with Jesus. He is with us now, and when we finally see Him face-to-face in heaven, it will be better than anything we could possibly imagine! And you know what the best part is?"

"What?" asked Adelyn, wiping her eyes.

"Our eternal home has already been paid for! We could never afford it ourselves, but Jesus gave His life so we could live with Him forever."

Mom led Adelyn to the door of the truck. "I know how hard this is--it's hard for me too. Jesus said we'd have trouble in this world, and it's okay to feel sad about it. But don't lose sight of your true home. Jesus will be with you through all of life's troubles and promises you a home with Him forever."

–Courtney Lasater

How About You?
Have you experienced pain or sadness in your life? Maybe you lost someone close to you or had to move away from a place you loved. Whatever it is, you don't have to go through it alone. If you know Jesus, He promises to always be with you and to one day bring you to your eternal home, where you'll never feel pain or sadness again. Your true home is with Him.

Today's Key Verse:
In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (NIV) (John 16:33 )

Today's Key Thought:
Christians have a home with Jesus

Bible Reading: Matthew 5:13-16; Luke 8:16; John 5:24

"Help! It's not working! Troooooy!"

Troy stepped into the kitchen to see his little sister's hands covered in purple glue. "Crafting again, Emmy? What are you trying to do?"

Emma blew a curl off her forehead in frustration. "I'm trying to make slime! I have glue, water, and baking soda. Look at this, it's just a sticky mess! Not slimy at all."

"You forgot the activator." Troy pointed to step four of the recipe. "You need contact lens solution--I'll get you some of mine."

"What does an activator do?" Emma asked when Troy returned with the missing ingredient.

"An activator reacts with the rest of your ingredients and transforms them into something new--in this case, slime! Slime happens when you mix the liquid substance in your glue with the boric acid in an activator. This fun transformation is called cross-linking."

Troy added the activator to his sister's bowl and watched her stir it in. "It's so slimy!" Emma held her slime in front of Troy's face with a grin. "Thanks for helping me!"

"No problem, sis. Hey, did you know that you helped me?"

"I did?" Emma poked her slime. "How?"

"Before you called for help, I was thinking about some friends of mine. They don't know Jesus and have started doing some stuff that's not good for them. Instead of talking to them about it, I just stayed away from them. But God used your slime project to remind me that I should do something different."

"What's that?" Emma asked.

"Since I have God's Spirit in me, I can be an activator to those around me who are in darkness. I have His light, and I need to shine it to others. I don't have to participate in the wrong things my friends are doing, but I can choose to show them a better way. I can tell my friends about a different kind of cross-linking: Jesus died on the cross and rose again so we could cross over from death to life and be transformed!"

Emma raised her slime in the air. "Activators make everything better!"

–Savannah Coleman

How About You?
Are you allowing God to use you as an activator to those He has placed in your life? Jesus said that those who trust in Him are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. If we hide the light of Jesus within us, how will those who are lost come to know Him? Trust God for courage to be an activator for Him and shine His light to those around you.

Today's Key Verse:
In the same way, 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 an activator in the world

Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 7:9; Psalm 105:42-45; Romans 8:32

"I'm getting mint chocolate chip!" Peyton said as he climbed into the van. "Two scoops!"

Ian was right behind him. "I'm getting orange sherbet with sprinkles!"

"And I," said Dad, "am getting the biggest fudge sundae you've ever seen."

"Hey!" said Peyton. "You didn't get a good report card."

"No, but I promised everybody ice cream after a good first half of the school year," said Dad. "And since I'm driving, that includes me. Now buckle in, we have a few stops to make first."

They watched longingly out the window as Dad drove past the ice cream shop. But after the grocery store, gas station, and library, Peyton and Ian grew worried. When Dad drove by the only other ice cream shop in town, Ian frowned and crossed his arms. "He broke his promise," he whispered to Peyton.

Peyton swallowed. "Um, Dad? Are you mad at us?"

Dad met his eyes in the rearview mirror. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, because you changed your mind about ice cream. There are no more ice cream shops." Peyton looked out his window. "Where are we, anyway?"

Dad was about to respond when Ian spoke up. "Look, a big sign with a cow on it! Ice cream!"

Dad pulled in and parked the car. "Best ice cream for miles. A bit of a drive, but I thought you two deserved something special."

"You didn't lie to us!" said Ian.

"Of course not," said Dad.

"It was just taking so long," said Peyton. "And we've never been this way before."

Dad smiled. "I understand. You know, God also takes us places we've never been. When it seems like it's taking a long time, it's easy to forget His promises too."

"I did wonder where you were taking us," said Ian, eyeing a big jar of sprinkles behind the counter.

"And we might wonder the same thing about God," said Dad. "But God never lies. He fulfilled His promise to save us by sending us His own Son, and He will always keep His promise to love and care for us, even when we struggle to trust Him." Dad led the boys up to the counter. "Now, pick what you want. I promise it'll be some of the best ice cream you've ever had!"

–Kelly Carlson

How About You?
Do you ever feel like God is breaking His promise to take care of you and do what's best for you? In the Bible, God proved He was faithful in His promise to send Jesus to save us from our sins and restore our relationship with Him. His promise for you today is that He will always be with you. No matter what you're going through, you can trust that He will never let you down.

Today's Key Verse:
He will remember his agreement forever. He will always keep the promises he made to his people. (ERV) (Psalm 105:8 )

Today's Key Thought:
God keeps His promises

Bible Reading: Romans 5:3-5; Galatians 5:22-25

"You take the sword, Leo, and be ready when I storm the castle," Javier instructed as he slipped on his dragon mask.

His little brother nodded, put on his knight helmet, and paced back and forth in front of the tent.

Javier ran off and disappeared from Leo's view, crouching behind a bush. Then he crawled back to the tent and quietly entered it from the back, unnoticed by Knight Leo.

"RAAAAAAWR!" Javier bellowed. "This is my castle now! Flames! Run for your life, knight!" He continued to yell as loud as he could as he ran at his brother.

Leo threw his helmet down and dropped his sword. "That's not fair!" he exclaimed. "You came from behind. I wasn't ready for you!"

Javier ripped off his mask. "Oh, come on, Leo! Knights don't throw their helmets down and whine. I hate playing with you, you always wreck everything!"

"Whoa, you are a fiery dragon," Mom said as she came over at the yelling. "Calm down, Javier. Don't treat Leo that way."

"But he does this every time! When we played astronauts and the aliens came, he threw a fit. When we played superheroes and the villain caught him, he started crying. Superheroes don't cry, Mom!"

"I know, Javier," Mom said. "Leo just has some trouble staying in character." She turned to Leo. "Javier has a point, Leo. When you're playing pretend, it's more fun if everyone stays in character." She turned back to Javier. "But you're also acting out of character when you talk to Leo like that."

"But he makes me so mad!" said Javier.

"All the more reason to stay in character," said Mom. "It's easy to be kind when everything goes smoothly. It's when things don't go our way that we need to remember who we are as followers of Jesus. He defines our true character. He has freed us from sin and given us the Holy Spirit, who lives in us and is helping us become more like Jesus. Remember that the next time you're tempted to do something wrong--like lash out at Leo in anger. Jesus wants us to love others the way He loves us."

Javier looked at his brother. "Sorry, Leo," he said. "I didn't mean to be such a dragon."

–Kelly Bakshi

How About You?
Do you ever act out of character? Do you have moments when you treat others poorly or do things you know are wrong? If you're a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit in you so that you can show other people the good, gentle, and gracious character of Jesus. That's who you are--a forgiven child of God who is becoming more like Jesus every day. Trust God to help you stay in character and show His love to others.

Today's Key Verse:
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (NIV) (Galatians 5:25 )

Today's Key Thought:
Stay true to who you are in Jesus

Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:1-6

"Well, if that's the way you're going to be, I'll just find someone else to do my science project with!" Will turned and walked away from Torin and Carlos before they had a chance to respond.

At dinner, Will was still angry. "Torin and Carlos won't listen to me," he told his dad. "They want to change the whole science project. I don't care what they say. I like the way I planned it."

"Sounds like you're having trouble flying in formation," said Dad.

"Huh?" Will frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Remember when we saw the Navy's flying team perform at the air show last week? How far apart were those six jets?"

"They were really close!" said Will. "I think the announcer said they sometimes were within three feet of each other." He remembered the thrill of watching the shiny blue and yellow jets. "When the leader moved in a certain direction, they all moved that way. If they didn't, they'd be in big trouble."

"Right," said Dad. "Flying in formation like that takes real teamwork! But doing a good job on any group project requires teamwork--and that includes your science project. You need to work together as a team."

"But they won't listen to me!" said Will.

"Well, they should listen to your ideas," said Dad. "But you should also listen to theirs. Have you done that? Have you really thought about whose ideas would work the best?"

Will sighed. "I guess not. I'll talk to Carlos and Torin and see if they'll still let me work with them."

"Good," said Dad. "You know, this reminds me of how Christians need to fly in formation too. Since you know Jesus, you're part of His team of believers--the church. As Christians, we need to work together to help more people know about Jesus. But we can't do that if we're only thinking of ourselves and what we want."

"We need to be like Jesus, right?" asked Will.

"Right," said Dad. "We need to show one another the kind of love He shows us, and that includes listening to each other's ideas and being patient and understanding. When we do that, others will see God's love in us and want to know more about Jesus."

–Diane Hesselberg

How About You?
Do you have a hard time working as part of a team? Do you get upset when others don't agree with your ideas? Remember that God wants Christians to work together in unity. Ephesians 4:2 says to be humble, gentle, and patient as we bear with one another in love. Share your ideas, but also listen to other people's suggestions so you can work as a team in love and unity.

Today's Key Verse:
How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity! (NIV) (Psalm 133:1)

Today's Key Thought:
Work in unity with others