Bible Reading: Psalm 57:7-11

"Let's get ready for church," said Dad. "We don't want to be late."

"Dad says that every week," Amos told his sister, Maggie. "We should get ready early some Sunday, just to see if it's really Dad talking or if it's a recording that plays every week." Dad grinned and nodded.

When they arrived at church, no other cars were there. "That's odd," said Mom. "I wonder what--" She stopped and pulled out her phone. "Oh no!" she exclaimed. "We're an hour early! Last spring we moved the clocks ahead an hour, and last night we were supposed to set them back again." They could hardly believe that no one had remembered to change the clocks around the house.

"While we wait, let's get ready for church," suggested Dad.

Maggie giggled. "It must be a recording after all, Amos. We woke up, ate breakfast, cleaned up, got dressed, and even came to church a whole hour early--but the recording is still going off!"

Dad laughed with the rest of the family. "We prepared our bodies," he said, "but it would be good to prepare our hearts for worship too, and today we have time."

"We can't feed our hearts breakfast," said Amos.

"Sure we can. We can feed on God's Word for a few minutes." Dad opened his Bible and read a short passage aloud.

"Okay, but we can't wash our hearts, can we?" asked Maggie when Dad finished reading.

"Sure we can," said Dad. "We can search our hearts and confess sins to Jesus, and He'll cleanse us."

"We can't dress our hearts though," said Amos.

"Sure we can!" Maggie echoed Dad's words before he could say them. Then she looked at her parents. "But how?"

"How about by praising God?" suggested Mom. "Singing praises to Him can help set our mood for worship. What should we sing?" Amos suggested a praise song, and Maggie wanted an old hymn she liked, so the family sang them both.

"Maybe we should do this every Sunday and really get ready for church," Maggie said as other cars began to arrive.

"Is that my recording I hear?" asked Dad. They all left the car smiling.

– Nance E. Keyes

How About You?
Do you prepare your heart as well as your body for worship? It's good to be clean and look nice, but it's also important to make sure your heart is ready to worship God and learn from His Word. Next time you get ready for a church service, pray that God would soften your heart and open your eyes and ears to the things He has for you.

Today's Key Verse:
Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart. (NKJV) (Psalm 10:17)

Today's Key Thought:
Prepare your heart for worship

Bible Reading: John 3:3; 14:1-6; 1 Peter 1:3-5

"Do you really believe what your Sunday school teacher said?" asked Oscar. He was spending the weekend with his friend Michael while his parents were out of town. "Your teacher said some people won't go to heaven. If that's true, who gets to go? Do you? Do I?"

"Like Mr. George said, only people who trust Jesus as their Savior will go to heaven," Michael replied.

"Well, I don't get it," said Oscar. "Can we ask your dad?" Michael nodded, and the boys went to the living room where Michael's father was reading. Oscar cleared his throat. "Hey, Mr. Woods, everybody will go to heaven, right?"

Mr. Woods shook his head. "Not everybody." He looked at Oscar and rubbed his chin. "Oscar, when you go home after school each day, do you ever ask yourself, 'Will Mom let me stay for dinner?' Or, 'Will my parents give me a bed to sleep in tonight?' Or maybe, 'What will I do if Mom and Dad don't let me in the house today?' Do questions like that ever come to your mind?"

Oscar laughed at such a ridiculous idea. "Of course not! I'm their kid, so it's my home."

"Well, it's the same way with God's family," said Mr. Woods. "When you trust Jesus as your Savior, you become a child of God--part of His family--and your home is in heaven with Him. If you haven't trusted in Jesus, you're not part of God's family, and heaven isn't your home."

Michael turned to his friend and asked, "Are you part of God's family, Oscar?" Slowly, Oscar shook his head.

"You can be," Mr. Woods told him. "You were physically born into your parents' family, so you're their son. To be part of God's family, you need to be born again--not physically, but spiritually."

"How do I do that?" asked Oscar.

"That's the best part--God has already done all the work for us! Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again so that we could have eternal life with Him. When we trust that His work is enough to make us part of God's family, we have a home with Him forever." Mr. Woods picked up his Bible. "Come sit and let me explain, okay?"

Oscar nodded. "Okay," he said and took a seat.

– Nani T. Bell

How About You?
Is your home in heaven with Jesus? The Bible says that everyone who trusts Jesus as their Savior is born into God's family, and their home is with Him. The only way to have eternal life is through Jesus. Trust in Him today, and you will have a home with Him in heaven forever. Is your home in heaven with Jesus? The Bible says that everyone who trusts Jesus as their Savior is born into God's family, and their home is with Him. The only way to have eternal life is through Jesus. Trust in Him today, and you will have a home with Him in heaven forever. (To learn more, click the "Good News!" button in the right column of this page or go to www.keysforkids.org/goodnews.)

Today's Key Verse:
But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. (NLT) (Philippians 3:20)

Today's Key Thought:
Heaven is home for Christians

Bible Reading: Psalm 136:1-9

"Our room is going to look so cool!" Ivy said as she set her brush down and took a seat on the floor. She and her twin sister, Elinor, had just finished painting their room completely black. After it dried, they were going to put star-shaped glow-in-the-dark stickers all over the walls.

"It's going to be like sleeping outside!" Elinor said.

"Okay, now we need to decide how we're going to put the stickers up," said Ivy. "Do we want to do some sort of pattern or just put them up randomly?"

Just then Mom walked in. "The walls look good, girls." She turned on the overhead light. "I'm glad you're going to add the stickers though, otherwise it would be pretty dark in here."

"Thanks, Mom," said Elinor. "That light helps--it's only three in the afternoon and it's already getting hard to see in here!"

"Yeah," said Ivy. "Can you imagine what it would be like if God had made the sky completely black, without any stars or light?"

"That would be pretty dark," replied Elinor. "Do you remember when we first moved here and we'd try to find the bathroom in the middle of the night with no lights on?"

"I do," said Mom. "You girls got so many bruises from running into things that we finally had to get a night light."

"Yes, and we were sure thankful for it!" Elinor picked up a star sticker from the floor. "I'm thankful God gives us night lights outside too. The stars and moon are beautiful to look at."

"And bright," added Ivy. "When the sky is clear and the moon is full, we don't even need the house light on to play basketball."

Mom nodded. "Sometimes we take for granted all that God has created and provided for us. It's important to remember to pause and thank Him for everything. I'm thankful that Jesus is the light of my life and that He loves me enough to die for my sins."

Ivy sat up. "Elinor, that gives me an idea for how we should arrange the stickers! Let's scatter them around, but in the center of one of the walls, we form the words 'Give Thanks.'"

"Let's do it!" said Elinor. "That will be a good reminder to thank God for everything He's done for us."

– Melissa Yeagle

How About You?
Do you remember to thank God for everything He's given you? He created this beautiful world for us to enjoy and provides for our needs each day. He gave us His own Son, Jesus, who died and rose again to save us from sin so we could live with Him forever. What are some things you're thankful for today? Take a few moments to pray and give thanks to God for the wonderful things He's given you.

Today's Key Verse:
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. (NKJV) (Psalm 136:1)

Today's Key Thought:
Give thanks to God

Bible Reading: Psalm 118:6-9; Isaiah 41:10

Danae was excited when she returned home from an afternoon of horseback riding. "That was so much fun!" she told her family. "We went on a trail ride through the woods. My horse was spooked once, but I didn't fall off!"

"Spooked?" asked Dallas, Danae's little brother. "Did you see a ghost?"

Danae laughed. "No, Dallas. It's just that when horses see something they don't expect--like a piece of paper blowing in the wind--they might all of a sudden jump sideways or try to run away. We call that being spooked. If you're not a good rider, you might fall off when the horse does that."

"Horses are so big!" said Dallas. "Why would papers scare them?"

Danae shrugged. "I don't know. They just do. But if the horse knows you and trusts you, he usually calms down and you can get him to go places he'd be scared to go otherwise."

"Sounds like you've learned a lot about horses and how to ride them," said Dad. "Your description of how a horse responds when he trusts his rider is a good picture of how we should respond when we truly trust God."

Danae tilted her head. "You mean we shouldn't be afraid to go wherever God wants us to go because we can trust Him to take care of us?"

"Exactly," said Dad. "We need to trust Him in every situation. Sometimes we get spooked when unexpected things happen in our lives. We need to learn to trust God to take us through all the scary places."

"Like when Mom was diagnosed with cancer?" asked Dallas. "That was scary."

Mom nodded. "It was scary for me too. But your dad's right--we can trust God to take care of us in scary situations like that. Even though I was afraid of what might happen, I knew that because Jesus died to save me, He would always be with me through everything. Knowing that gave me peace and helped me not be afraid."

"I didn't know I'd learn all this just from horseback riding," Danae said.

A mischievous grin crept across Dallas's face. "Maybe it's time for me to take lessons too so we can all learn more about Jesus!"

– Deborah S. Marett

How About You?
What things in life spook you--what scares you or makes you nervous? When you face scary situations, remember that Jesus is with you and in control of everything that happens. He loves you so much that He gave His life for you, and He promises to take care of you. Trust Him to help you through any situation.

Today's Key Verse:
In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. (NKJV) (Psalm 56:11)

Today's Key Thought:
Trust God in scary situations

Bible Reading: Psalm 34:1-15; 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

Thea inhaled the mist from her nebulizer. She felt her chest muscles relax as air rushed in. Just a few minutes before, an asthma attack had robbed her of her breath. "How do you feel now?" Mom asked as Thea let out a breath.

"Better," Thea said. "I wish I didn't have asthma."

"I know," Mom said. "But thank God we have this medicine when you do have an attack."

"Mom, why doesn't God just heal my asthma like I've asked Him to?" asked Thea. "Doesn't He like me?"

"I don't know why God heals some people and not others. Even when Jesus lived on earth, some sick people weren't healed. But we know that Jesus loved them and that He loves you because He died so we could have our sins forgiven."

"Then why pray about it if God isn't going to heal me?" Thea asked. "I still have the medicine to make me feel better when I need it."

"Remember when we took you to the emergency room during your first asthma attack?" Mom asked.

"Yeah, that was scary," Thea said. "I could hardly breathe at all! Then Dr. Singh came. He knew what medicines I needed."

"Maybe since you have your medicine, we don't need Dr. Singh anymore," Mom suggested.

"But Mom, he's in charge of my treatment plan!" Thea protested.

"You're right, Thea. We still need Dr. Singh--and we also need God. When we pray, we're asking God to take charge of our lives. God loves you and is working for your good. In fact, God gave the knowledge to treat asthma to doctors like Dr. Singh. Your medicines came from the earth He created. Your doctor isn't here for every attack, but we trust and follow his treatment plan. We don't know all the ways God is working in our lives, but we know He loves us and is always with us, even when doctors can't be. We can trust that God knows just what we need and is bringing about good, even when He doesn't answer our prayers the way we ask."

Thea sighed. "Then I guess the best treatment plan for my asthma is to keep praying and let God be in charge."

– Heidi Schmidt

How About You?
Have you given up praying for a problem that has lasted a long time? Are you unsure what God is doing about it? Remember that prayer is asking God to be in charge. Prayer invites Him to be with you and bring His power into your life. God always hears you. He loves you and gave you the gift of His Son, Jesus, who died to give you eternal life. You can trust Him to work for your good.

Today's Key Verse:
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. (NKJV) (Psalm 34:15)

Today's Key Thought:
Ask God to take charge of your life