Bible Reading: Psalm 62:5-8

Natalie glanced at her phone. Twenty minutes. Twenty minutes to change and eat something before she had to leave for dance. Gotta move. She grabbed some mac and cheese and popped it into the microwave. As she bounded up the stairs, she passed her little brother Jacob sitting in time-out. Minutes later, the microwave dinged. Natalie tugged her leotard into place and pushed one more bobby pin into her bun. She rushed downstairs and retrieved her food. Stirring her mac and cheese, she glanced at Jacob sitting on the bottom step with his elbows on his knees, fists digging into his chubby cheeks.

"What did you do this time, sport?" Natalie plopped beside her brother.

"Yelled at Mommy." Jacob sighed. "I hate time-out."

Natalie patted his back. "Mom doesn't stick you here just because you're in trouble. It's to help you settle down and get under control. Are you still mad?"

"No." Jacob paused. "Nat? Does sitting help you too?"

Natalie paused mid-chew. Sitting still didn't happen much. Rushing to school and dance left her feeling anything but in control. "I'm too big for time-outs now," she said.

"You're never home." Jacob's eyes were sad. "I miss you."

Natalie licked the cheese from her spoon. She loved dance company, though it meant she practically lived at the studio. What happened to family time? What happened to time with God?

She looked at the shelf in the kitchen where she put her Bible. Maybe I need a time-out too.

Natalie glanced at her phone. Five minutes. She squeezed Jacob, then walked over and picked up her Bible. A highlighted verse caught her attention: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Rest. Sounds great, God. Natalie remembered learning that this verse meant those who trusted in Jesus didn't have to strive to earn God's favor, because Jesus earned it for them. I need to stop and remember that more often. Remember He's in control. She took a deep breath and continued to read.

Soon Mom was calling. Time for dance. Natalie checked her phone. Her five minutes were gone. Somehow God had stretched them, and she sensed His peace. She grinned and grabbed her brother's hand. "Race you to the car!"

–Gayle Veitenheimer

Bible Reading: Isaiah 64:6-7; Ephesians 2:8-10

"All right!" Oliver exclaimed as his mom presented him with a pair of bright new sneakers. "They're just what I wanted!"

"I'm glad you like them," said Mom. "But let's try to keep them clean. Save them for school or when you're out with your friends. You have plenty of old shoes to wear when you're in the yard or playing basketball at the park."

"Okay, Mom," Oliver said as he put on the new shoes.

He did remember to be careful with them for a while, but one day when he came into the house, he left a trail of muddy tracks through the kitchen.

"Stop right there, Oliver! Oh, your new sneakers--they're a mess!" Mom pointed to his mud-caked shoes.

"I'm sorry, Mom," said Oliver. "I forgot I had them on. Mrs. Alberts needed help in her garden, and I guess I went a little bonkers with the garden hose."

Mom sighed, shaking her head. "It was nice of you to help her, Oliver, but in spite of your good deed, your shoes are still dirty."

"Yeah." Oliver looked down at his feet and sighed. "They look pretty bad." Then he smiled. "It's kinda like the verse we learned at church last week. My teacher said it's easy to think that the good things we do can cover up the wrong things we've done. But the verse we learned says our good deeds are like dirty rags--or in this case, dirty sneakers. They can't make us clean."

"That's right," Mom said. "Nothing we do can ever clean up the sin in our lives. That's why we need Jesus." She bent over to help Oliver pull off his dirty shoes. "Jesus promises that when we confess our sins to Him, He will forgive us and wash us white as snow."

"Can you forgive me too, Mom?"

Mom smiled. "Of course I'll forgive you, Oliver."

"I'll try to be more careful." Oliver looked at his muddy shoes. "Will you make my sneakers clean again?"

"Not as clean as Jesus can make your heart," said Mom. "But I'll do my best. Bring them over to the sink and I'll check the cleaning supply cabinet."

–Nathan Runyon

Bible Reading: Luke 6:27-37

After their bikes were stolen, Ryder and Zach asked all their friends and neighbors to be on the lookout. They prayed about it too--and Dad even prayed for the person who had taken the bikes.

As they were praying together a few days later, Ryder's thoughts wandered. I wish I could get my hands on whoever took my bike, he thought. He'd have a black eye and a bloody nose and--

Ryder opened his eyes just then and noticed the words on a plaque hanging on the wall: "Forgive one another as the Lord forgave you." He struggled with his thoughts and feelings. He felt like getting back at the person who had taken his bike, but he knew Jesus wanted him to forgive.

Later that week, Ryder looked out the window to see Bryn, a girl from his class at school, standing outside with a man next to her. What's Bryn doing here? he thought. Then he noticed she was holding on to a red bicycle.

"My daughter has something to say to you," the man said when Dad and Ryder came to the door.

"I think this is your bike," said Bryn. "I saw a man putting a blue bike in his truck in front of your house. This one was standing there too, but when I came along, he took off. I meant to just borrow it and bring it right back, but then I scratched it and was worried you'd call the police. I'm sorry. I'll pay for it."

"You're the person who stole my bike?" Ryder felt a rush of anger as he looked at the long scratch on his new bike, but then he remembered how he'd once made fun of Bryn at school and made her cry. He'd later apologized, and she'd forgiven him. I need to forgive her, he thought, because she forgave me--and because Jesus forgave me too.

"It's okay, Bryn," Ryder said. "I forgive you."

As Bryn and her dad walked away, Ryder happily pushed his bike into the garage. As he did, the long scratch caught his eye once more--but this time it didn't make him angry. Thank you, Jesus, for forgiving me for all the wrong things I've done, he prayed, and for helping me forgive Bryn.

–Evelyn J. Behrens

Bible Reading: Psalm 19:7-11

As Ryder and Zach set plates and forks on the table for lunch, a dog started barking outside. "There goes Sarge again," said Ryder. "He's always barking."

"This bark sounds different than usual," said Mom. "Maybe one of you boys should go check it out."

"Aw, Mom, we're busy," said Zach. "Besides, Sarge barks at everything--squirrels, people, cars. You name it, he barks at it." Since Mom didn't insist, no one checked to see why Sarge was barking.

When Zach and Ryder went out to ride their bikes later that afternoon, they stopped and stared at the empty garage. "Where are our bikes?" asked Zach.

"I don't believe it!" cried Ryder. "They're gone! Who would have the nerve to come into our garage in broad daylight and take our bikes right out from under our noses?"

"After all the work we did mowing lawns to buy those bikes," said Zach. "Now this!"

The boys rushed into the house. "Our new bikes are gone! Someone stole them!" Everyone hurried out to see for themselves.

Dad returned to the house to call the police department and report the loss. When he came back outside, he stopped to pet Sarge. "Didn't we hear Sarge barking a couple hours ago?" he asked. "He was trying to warn us, and we didn't listen to him."

That evening Dad read aloud from Psalm 19. "Warnings are important," he said after he finished reading. "Today Mom warned you boys not to ignore Sarge's barking, but you did. Sarge was warning us about the bikes getting stolen, but we didn't listen. In this psalm, we see that God speaks through His Word not only to teach us about who He is and how much He loves us, but also to warn us about sin."

"You mean how sin separates us from God, and only Jesus can free us from sin and give us eternal life?" asked Zach.

Dad nodded. "Yes, the Bible definitely warns us about sin in that way. But it also warns those who already trust in Jesus about the consequences of sin and how disobeying God can create huge messes in our lives. Let's be sure to listen, knowing that Jesus will always forgive our wrongs and help us obey Him."

–Evelyn J. Behrens

Bible Reading: Proverbs 3:1-8

"My stomach hurts, Mom," said Kaylee, burying her head in her pillow. "Don't make me go to school today."

Mom put her hand on Kaylee's forehead. "You felt okay at dinner last night--you ate half a pizza! Is something wrong?"

Kaylee glanced at her tablet lying on her bedside table. "Not really. It's just--I posted something last night that I probably shouldn't have. I just know Lucy's going to be totally mad at me."

"Oh, Kaylee," said Mom. "Get dressed and let's talk about it during breakfast."

As Kaylee stirred her cereal, her tablet pinged with a new message. She didn't reach to answer it.

"So, what's the matter?" asked Mom, sipping her coffee.

Kaylee groaned. "I sent a message to Chris last night. About Lucy. I said she wants him to sit with her at the school play next week."

"Does she?" asked Mom.

"No," muttered Kaylee. "And the worst part is, Chris posted my message on his page, so now everyone thinks Lucy likes him. And it's all my fault!"

Mom sighed and shook her head. "Why'd you do that, honey?"

"I don't know," said Kaylee. "It just seemed like a funny thing to say."

"Kaylee, you know written words are just as hurtful as spoken words."

Kaylee's tablet pinged again. She looked at the message and sighed. "It's Lucy," she said. "What am I going to do?"

"What do you think you should do?"

Kaylee looked at Mom, fighting back tears. "Tell the truth?"

"That would be the loving thing to do." Mom smiled. "In fact, the Bible even tells us to write love on tablets."

"It does?" asked Kaylee, her eyes widening.

Mom nodded. "God tells us to write love on the tablets of our hearts. That means showing others His love through our words and actions. When we trusted in Jesus, He gave us the Holy Spirit so we could love others the way He does. We show others love by telling the truth and treating them with kindness--both in person and online."

Kaylee looked at her tablet on the table. "I guess that means I need to write love on this tablet too."

–Jennifer Dillard

Bible Reading: Psalms 16:11; 37:3-7; Matthew 18:2-4

"Look, Daddy!" exclaimed four-year-old Beck as he peered out the airplane window. "Look! There's snow down there!"

Beck's older brother Micah laughed. "That's not snow. Those are clouds. They just look like snow."

Dad smiled and nodded. "They look solid, don't they? Like you could walk right out on them."

"Yes, but they wouldn't hold you up!" Micah replied. "If you stepped out on one of those clouds, it would be a giant step down to earth."

"Maybe the clouds are made of snow!" Beck said.

Micah shook his head. "No. Clouds are just water vapor," he said in his best big brother tone. "I learned that in science class. They can't hold anything up."

"Ohhh," murmured Beck. Then he had another question. "Why does the plane stay up in the air?"

"The plane is built just right for flying," said Dad, "and the pilot goes to school to learn how to make it stay up." Beck seemed satisfied with that explanation and turned back toward the window.

Micah watched his little brother for a moment. "You know what, Dad?" he asked quietly. "Beck believes everything we tell him."

"That's because he trusts us to tell him the truth," said Dad. "It's too bad, but as we grow older we find there are some people we can't trust. Many people are trustworthy, but even people we trust may sometimes disappoint us."

Micah looked out at the clouds moving past the plane. "Last week Pastor Carter said there was someone who would never fail us. He was talking about God."

Dad nodded. "God has proven Himself to be trustworthy by keeping every promise He has ever made."

"Like how He promised to send a Savior, and He sent Jesus to die for our sins," Micah added.

"Exactly," Dad said. "He's as solid as a rock and completely trustworthy. Notice how I'm the first person Beck asks when he has a question. Since God is our Father, He wants us to seek His wisdom before anything else."

"Daddy! What's that?" Beck pointed at something else outside the window, and Dad and Micah exchanged smiles.

–Ruth Andrews

Bible Reading: Luke 6:27-36; Romans 5:6-8

Max strung out a long piece of cheese and took a bite of his pepperoni pizza. He loved this restaurant--it had tons of fun games. This would've been the best day ever except for the mean kid.

"Mom, see that tall kid over there with red hair? When I was shooting hoops, he shoved me and stole my tickets out of the game."

His mother frowned. "That wasn't very nice."

"I know." Max picked at his food. "I feel like punching him in the face."

"Now, Max, you know that's not how we treat people," said Mom. "The Bible tells us to love our enemies."

"But he's mean!" said Max.

"Do you realize that people were mean to Jesus too?" asked Mom. "The Bible says we were all enemies of God at one time, but Jesus willingly suffered and died for our sins so we could be forgiven and become God's friends."

Max took a bite of his pizza and glanced at the boy. "I think I'm gonna play some games with the rest of my tokens."

"Okay, but you don't have much time. We need to leave in ten minutes to pick up Grandma from the airport."

Max headed for the race car game where he ran into a friend from school. "Hey, Jacob. What are you doing here?"

"I'm gonna play this racing game." Jacob jumped in the seat and slid a token into the slot. "I bet I can beat you."

"No way." Max smiled as he took a seat behind the wheel.

After a couple rounds with Jacob, Mom called to him. "Max, it's time to go!"

He looked down at the coins in his hand. He still had five left. For a moment he considered giving them to Jacob. Then he remembered what his mother had said.

"I gotta go," he told Jacob. He jogged over to the guitar game where the red-haired boy stood in front of the screen.

"Here." Max held out his coins. "These are for you."

The boy's mouth dropped open as Max handed over the tokens. "Why would you give me these?" he asked.

Max shrugged. "I thought you could use them." Then he smiled and went to find his mom.

–Annika Klanderud

Bible Reading: Psalms 33:13-15; 139:7-12

Graham held very still when his mom came outside, hoping she wouldn't see him. He loved to hide in the old apple tree. When he peeked through the leaves and branches, he could see Mom in the yard below. He could see Tabby, Mrs. Underwood's cat, creeping through the grass next door. He could see Brie playing with her friend across the street. But no one on the ground could see him.

"Graham! Brie!" Mom called. "Lunch will be ready soon--you have about five minutes left to play." She went back into the house.

Graham didn't feel like coming down just yet. He lay on a branch, stretched out flat on his stomach. He watched a blue jay land by the fence. He watched Mrs. Underwood come out onto her back porch and call Tabby. He watched a red pickup truck drive down the street.

When Mom came out a little later, Graham was still in the tree. "Kids!" Mom called. "Lunch is ready! Time to come in!" Graham swung down and dropped to the ground as Brie came running home.

"Surprise, Mom!" Graham said as he entered the kitchen. "I saw you when you came outside, but you couldn't see me! I saw you too, Brie. I could see everybody!" He grinned. "Kind of like how God watches us from up in heaven."

"Nah," said Brie. "God watches everybody in the whole wide world, all at once, all the time!" She grinned at her brother. "He was watching you while you were hiding and watching us."

"But that's not all," said Mom. "Unlike you in the tree, God doesn't hide from us, and He's never far away. He doesn't watch from a distance but is right here in this room! Because we trust Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit is always with us, caring for us and watching over us."

"I guess we can say God is here, there, and everywhere," Brie said. "He always knows where we are and what we're doing. He knows everything about us."

"Then He must know I'm hungry!" Graham said as he sat down at the table. "What's for lunch?"

–Katherine E. Swarts