Read: Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Titus 2:11-14 “It’s okay, just go ahead and grab them. No one’s looking!” Maggie was at the arcade for Leah’s birthday party. Maggie and all Leah’s friends were running around playing games, winning tickets, and having a great time. That is, until Leah noticed the little door to one…
Read: Isaiah 53:3-7; Matthew 9:10-13 Ciara cringed as someone started coughing their way down the hall. A moment later, the coughing stopped, but then her younger brother, sitting next to her at the kitchen table as they did their school, began coughing. Ciara scooted away. At least she had gotten over her cold before the…
Read: Romans 8:1-9 Jonah sifted through the model airplane parts covering his desk until he found the one he wanted. Almost done! I just have to get this propeller on. His fingers clutched the plane as he tried to attach the propeller. Then he heard a crunch. He had held the plane so tightly that…
Read: Psalms 26:2-3; 139:23-24 Eden’s sweater crackled as she pulled it on over her head. She smoothed down her hair and hurried downstairs for breakfast. “What’s so funny?” she asked her brother as she took her seat at the table. “There’s a sock stuck to your back!” said Jonathan. “Oops!” said Mom as she removed…
Read: 1 Corinthians 10:11-13; 1 Peter 5:8-9 “Look at Roxy crouching under the bushes,” Lyra said softly. Dad nodded. “I think she sees the doves looking for seeds underneath the bird feeder,” he replied. “She’d like to ambush them.” “That means make a surprise attack from a hiding place, right?” As Lyra spoke, the cat…
Read: Psalm 32:1-5 “Ouch!” cried Wren as she climbed into the tree house her dad was building. Dad stopped hammering and raised his brow. “I hurt my finger,” Wren said. “Let me take a look.” Dad put his hammer down and studied her finger. “You’ve got a sliver, but don’t worry, I’m an expert sliver…
Read: Proverbs 6:16-19; Romans 6:11-18 Be sure you check your arms and legs for ticks!” Jay’s mother called as he ran into the house. It was tick season, and the insects thrived in the woods where Jay played with friends. He obediently rolled up his sleeves, and sure enough, a tiny black bug had attached…
Read: Matthew 7:1-5; James 1:12-15 “I can’t believe it! Andrew says he’s a Christian, but I saw him looking at a bad website on his tablet today,” Zane told his dad. “He must be really weak to look at that kind of stuff.” “So looking at websites like that doesn’t appeal to you at all?”…
Read: Genesis 3:8-23; Romans 6:23; 8:1 Lila normally loved her and Mom’s monthly post-church café tradition. They sat at their usual window seat, but today Lila nudged ice cubes around with her straw in silence. Unable to bear the silence anymore, Mom asked what was wrong. Sighing, Lila responded, “Well, we learned about sin today…
Read: Exodus 20:12-15; Ephesians 4:25-32 Alastair walked into the kitchen where his sister Stasia was doing homework. “Emerson got in trouble again,” said Alastair. “I can’t believe he’s going to flunk math over this!” Stasia looked up in surprise. “Over what? What did he do?” “Mr. Hoover caught him looking at somebody’s paper during a…
