Bible Reading: Psalm 119:9-16

Rylee leaned back to see the top of the huge saguaro cactus next to her. Its spiny arms reached out and up toward the sky. "With so many big arms, this thing should be holding something. Try sitting on one of its arms, Easton," Rylee said with a grin.

"No way!" said Easton. "I'm not sitting on those prickly things!"

"Those arms," said Dad, "are holding what is probably the most valuable thing in the entire region."

"And I know what it is," Easton said. "Water! Cactus plants can live in the dry, hot desert by storing water inside their trunk and arms."

"That can't be right," said Rylee, looking around at the sand and rocks. They extended as far as she could see. "There's no water here!"

"Easton is right," said Dad. "Cactus roots don't go very deep into the earth. Instead, they go down only about three feet and then spread out about a hundred feet in all directions. The spread-out roots draw in every drop of rain, sending it to a hidden storage area in the arms and trunk of the cactus. That inner water supply is what keeps this cactus alive and growing. These big fellas can soak up as much as two hundred gallons of water--enough to last them a whole year!"

"Yeah, that's why they're pleated like an accordion," Easton said, eager to show his knowledge. "The pleats expand as the spongy material inside absorbs water."

"That's incredible!" said Rylee. "Well, Mr. Cactus, I can see you're a pretty smart guy!"

Dad smiled. "One with a good lesson for us about the importance of storing things."

"About storing water?" asked Easton. "I don't really mind carrying a water bottle--and I like the size of my arms the way they are!"

Dad laughed. "I wasn't thinking of your arms, Easton. Let's try your heart! I hope both of you will store God's Word in your heart and mind. Then when things get difficult, you can draw from those words of hope, comfort, and guidance. Knowing God's Word helps us remember what Jesus has done for us and that He's always with us. Like water in a dry desert, it will nourish you and help you grow in your relationship with Him."

–Trudy Vander Veen

Bible Reading: Revelation 7:9-12

I can't even understand what they're saying," Ezra said as he and his family entered the church building. His family's car had broken down just over the Canadian border, so they now had to go to church at a place in Quebec, Canada, that his dad had heard about. Everything about the church seemed different to Ezra--the language most of all.

When everyone started singing hymns, Ezra's dad passed him a book that said Cantiques on the front. "It's a hymnbook," Dad said. He flipped to the correct page and pointed to a line of words in the song. Ezra tried to follow along with the French song, but none of the words made any sense to him.

Later, after church was over, Ezra noticed someone waving to him as he and his family left. He waved back, and his dad asked, "Who's that?"

"Oh, that's Jacque," Ezra explained. "I met him in Sunday school. He helped me understand the French on the papers the teacher handed out whenever there wasn't English underneath it."

"I see," his dad said. "I suppose it was a bit confusing for you in the church service and in Sunday school."

"You can say that again," Ezra replied.

"Going to church in a different country is an interesting experience, isn't it?" said Dad. "Though it can be confusing when things are different from what we're used to or we don't understand what's being said, it's good for us to worship God with Christians from other places in the world. We're all part of God's church and are brothers and sisters in Christ, who saved us by dying for our sins. We worship God in the same way, just in different places and languages." Dad smiled. "In fact, the apostle John wrote in the book of Revelation that there will one day be countless people of every nation, tribe, and language worshiping Jesus in heaven."

"Including people from Quebec who speak French?" Ezra asked.

"That's right." Dad turned to see Jacque and his family leaving. "By the way, au revoir means 'goodbye' in French."

"Au revoir, Jacque!" Ezra called.

"Au revoir, Ezra!" Jacque called back. "I hope to see you again!"

–Ethan Terry

Bible Reading: Romans 5:1-5; 8:24-28

"It's such a nice day," Adrianna said. "Look at the sunshine, Mom! Nate, don't you wish we could go to the waterpark today?"

Nate looked at his little sister. "It would be fun, but I'm sure Mom and Dad have other plans for the day."

"I'm not sure what our plans are," Mom said, taking a sip from her mug of coffee. "And it does look like a nice day."

"Can I ask Daddy if we can go to the waterpark?" Adrianna asked, carrying her cereal bowl to the sink.

"You can ask," Mom said. "I'm not sure what he's thinking for today though."

"Yay!" Adrianna skipped out of the kitchen. "The waterpark! The waterpark!" she sang.

Mom smiled at Nate. "She's sure abounding in hope, huh?"

"What?" Nate's forehead wrinkled. "What do you mean?"

"In the Bible, the apostle Paul writes to the church in Rome encouraging them to abound in hope," Mom said. "To abound in hope means to be filled with it."

"What kind of hope?" Nate asked. "Hope in what?"

"Hope in God," Mom said. "Paul reminds them that those who trust Jesus as their Savior have peace and joy and can be filled with hope because of His promises. It's a little like how Adrianna has hope your dad will say yes to a waterpark trip--she knows he loves her and enjoys doing good things for her."

"And we can have hope God will do good things for us?" Nate asked.

Mom nodded. "That doesn't mean He'll give us everything we ask for, but we can abound in hope knowing that He saved us, gave us His Spirit to be with us, and promises to do good things in our lives."

"Do you think Dad will say yes to the waterpark?" asked Nate.

Before Mom had a chance to respond, Adrianna bounded back into the room. "We're going to the waterpark!" she shouted.

Mom grinned. "Your sister's hope did not disappoint," she told Nate. "Just like God does not disappoint us when we hope in Him."

"The waterpark--yay!" Nate pumped a fist in the air. "And a God we can hope in." He glanced at his mom. "I'm happy for that too."

–Emily Acker

Bible Reading: Psalms 26:1-3; 139:23-24

"What's wrong with the car, Daddy?" asked five-year-old Lydia as the family drove to their country home after a church service in the village. "It's jerking."

"It's sure running rough," said Dad. "It's been doing that lately, but it's never been this bad before."

"Are we going to make it home?" Lydia peered through the window at the trees lining the steep drop at the side of the road.

"Sure, we'll make it," said Lydia's older brother, Barrett. "We always do."

The car slowly climbed a long, steep hill. Dad pushed the accelerator pedal to the floor, but the car refused to speed up. Dad frowned. "I must say, I'm annoyed with myself for not checking this out sooner," he said. "I should have taken the car to the mechanic when I first noticed it wasn't running smoothly."

"I think it's getting worse," said Barrett. He wasn't so sure they'd make it home after all.

Mom sighed. "Well, at least we're close enough to home that we can walk the rest of the way if we have to, but we'd have a long uphill hike."

"I guess the car needs regular checkups just like we do," said Barrett. "Like Pastor Kim said in his sermon this morning--have a checkup every day, and if you see a trouble spot, take care of the problem before it gets worse."

"Our car needs a checkup every day?" Lydia asked, puzzled.

Barrett laughed. "No, we do! As we pray, read the Bible, and go to church, we need to be on the lookout for any trouble spots of sin that God may be pointing out to us. If we see any, we need to confess them to Him right away. Jesus will forgive us and help us fix them so we can run smoothly again."

To the relief of the whole family, the car kept going and they finally reached their driveway. "Well," said Dad, "I hope you'll remember this lesson about doing regular checkups in your life, because I don't intend to let this car teach us that lesson again. Tomorrow it goes to the mechanic to be fixed!"

–Emilia D. Nichols

Bible Reading: Matthew 25:14-29

"Yum, your mangoes are the best, Nenek!" Eyes sparkling, Kira chewed the scrumptious mangoes her Indonesian grandmother had just peeled for her.

"You mean Kakek's mangoes," Nenek said, chuckling. "Your grandfather was the one who bought and planted the seeds in our backyard. The tree grew and grew, but no mangoes. Kakek persisted and kept fertilizing it though. It was only after his death that fruit buds bloomed. Too bad he never saw the fruits of his labor."

Kira's eyes dimmed as she thought of her grandfather, who died two years ago. "I miss Kakek."

"Do you remember how he often took you to church?" said Nenek. "Even when his health started failing, he loved to take you and talk about what you learned afterward."

Kira nodded. "I remember he took me to church two weeks before he was hospitalized. I didn't want to go then--I was tired from a basketball tournament on Saturday night, which we lost. But on Sunday morning, Kakek showed up with a huge smile and convinced me to go."

"I remember you were really down that night," Nenek said. "You and your team worked so hard for that tournament."

"Yeah--I thought of quitting basketball then. But then Kakek took me to church, and the sermon was on the parable of the bags of gold. Two of the servants were faithful with what God gave them and were able to make it grow. After church, Kakek said the parable was about using whatever God has given us--including our talents--to help more people know about Jesus. He told me about the time he lost a tennis match but kept on practicing and eventually won a game. He said his faith in Jesus kept him going and that he was trusting God to help him use his gifts however He wanted him to. It made me realize how much I needed Jesus. I asked Kakek to pray with me, and I became a Christian that day." Kira's face brightened. "I'm so glad I had him in my life, Nenek." She wrapped her arms around her grandmother.

Nenek planted a kiss on Kira's forehead. "So in the end, Kakek did see the fruits of his labor--not the mangoes, but you putting your faith in Jesus."

–Ruth Setyadi

Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

"I need you to move a little faster, Lincoln. What's taking you so long? This morning could not be going any worse, and you're not helping things at all."

Lincoln blinked back tears as his mom snapped at him for being too slow heading out to the van. One of his shoes had been hard to get on, so he was dragging his foot a bit, waiting until he was seated to fix it.

"I can't believe I overslept," Mom muttered to herself as they got into the van. "Today of all days, when I have a meeting with my boss…"

Lincoln got settled in the van and worked on adjusting his shoe. He had it fixed by the time his mom dropped him off at his grandma's house.

A few hours later, Mom returned to pick him up. "I'm sorry I was a little grumpy this morning, Lincoln." She held up a cup of an iced brown liquid. "I needed my morning coffee. I really can't go without that."

Lincoln sighed. "You needed it, Mom?"

"Yes. You know me and coffee; I can't function without it."

Lincoln followed his mom out to the van. "I thought the only thing we were supposed to need was Jesus."

"Hmm." Mom settled into the driver's seat. "Well, technically, He is all we need," she said. "But we have some earthly needs too."

Lincoln frowned. "Like coffee?"

Mom backed out of the driveway and started through town. She was quiet for a few minutes before she glanced back at Lincoln. "Okay, that's not a good excuse," she said. "I'm not a baby, crying because I need my milk at the start of the day. More importantly, Jesus gives me the power to love others the way He does. I should be able to be a loving and kind person without coffee. I'm sorry."

"I forgive you," Lincoln said. "And I'm sorry you overslept this morning."

"Everything worked out in the end," Mom said. "Right now I just need God's grace, huh? I need Him to forgive me for letting my bad morning and lack of coffee affect my attitude and lead to a case of the grumpies taking over."

–Emily Acker

Bible Reading: Philippians 3:4-11

"Dad, my glasses broke!" Levi said.

"Let me see," said Dad. "It looks like a screw needs tightening. I think I can fix them."

"I wish I could get new glasses like Justin's," Levi said. "The ones he got are really cool. He's always getting new things, and kids crowd around him to see his new stuff. With glasses like that, I'd be important like Justin."

"Well, let's see what we can do with these," said Dad. He set Levi's glasses on his workbench and reached for his toolbox. "For a job this important, I'll use my best tools." Dad lifted out a tray of screwdrivers, all of them in good condition. Dad was a carpenter, and he took good care of his tools. He pushed the tray toward Levi. "Which one should we use?"

Levi looked through the tray of short, long, wide, and narrow screwdrivers. None of them was the right size for the tiny screw. "None of these will work," he said.

"Are you sure?" asked Dad. "These are my very best tools."

"But they aren't the right ones for the job," said Levi.

"You're right." Dad pulled a tiny screwdriver out of a drawer and used it to tighten the small screw. "You know, getting new stuff to make us feel important is like using the wrong tool for the job. New stuff gets old and breaks, or someone else gets something better or more exciting than what we have. We might even find that other people just think our stuff is important and not us."

"So if getting new stuff is the wrong way to feel important, what's the right tool we should use?" asked Levi.

"The only way to truly feel loved and important is by receiving Jesus's gift of eternal life and embracing our identity in Him. He died and rose again to make us God's children, and that's a gift that will never break or wear out. Nothing will ever come along that's better. We're always loved and important to Him."

Dad handed Levi the repaired glasses, and Levi put them on. "Thanks, Dad," he said. "I can see much better now--and I see I'm important to Jesus. No new stuff needed."

–Heidi J. Schmidt

Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 31:7-8; Joshua 1:5

"Mae, I'd like you to put Miles down for his nap today," said Mom. "I need to make an important phone call."

"Okay," said Mae, smiling at her little brother. "Nap time!" she announced to the energetic little boy. Laughing, Miles toddled away, wanting his sister to chase him. Mae caught him quickly. "Sleepy time, buddy," she said, taking him to his crib. She hoisted him over the side and laid him down. Little Miles scrambled around on the mattress, ignoring soft toys and stuffed animals. He settled down when Mae patted his back for a few moments. "Sweet dreams," she whispered, backing out of the room.

Just as she was about to shut the door, Miles started crying. "Blankie!" he sobbed. "Blankie!" He pulled himself up and began to shake the railing.

Mae frowned. Where did he leave his blanket? She checked the TV room. She dug through the toy box. She searched the hall closet. She looked under the dining room table and on the chair seats. Finally, she found the blanket in a lower cupboard in the kitchen.

As soon as Mae handed Miles his blanket, he stopped crying. He clutched the blanket in his arms and dropped to the mattress. After a few shaky breaths, he smiled contentedly at Mae. "Sweet dreams," she said again as she left.

"Miles had to have his 'blankie' before he'd go to sleep," Mae told her mother later. "Good thing I found it or he never would have settled down."

"That blanket is his security," said Mom. "I guess we all need security--even grown-ups! We need to feel comfortable and cared for and safe. What's your security, Mae?"

"My security?" asked Mae in surprise. She shrugged. "You, I guess. I know you're here to help me if I need you." She grinned. "You're my 'blankie.' What's yours?"

"Well, we all find some security in family and friends, but a Christian's real security is in Jesus and His love and forgiveness. He cares for us, and He's always available. He saved us and promises to do what's best for us, even when we go through difficult times."

Mae nodded thoughtfully. "He's better than a blanket any day."

–Mary M. Ihlenfeldt