Keys for Kids - daily devotions and Bible stories for kids and families

Read: Colossians 4:2-6 Johannah stared out her bedroom window as Mom came into the room and sat down on the bed. “How are you feeling?” Mom asked as she stroked Johannah’s forehead. “I think you still have a fever.” “Why do I have to be sick today?” moaned Johannah. “I wanted to go sing at the hospital with my Sunday school class.” Her lower lip quivered a little. “And it makes you feel bad that y...

Read: Luke 2:4-18 “Mmm…I love candy canes! They’re my favorite Christmas treat,” Abbie said as she licked her sweet candy. “They are yummy,” said Mom. “But what makes them my favorite Christmas candy is the story they tell.” "Candy canes tell a story?” Abbie asked. “Yes,” Mom said with a gleam of excitement in her eyes. “Flip your candy cane upside down. What letter do you see?” “It’s the letter J...

Read: Isaiah 64:4-6 “Mom, guess what?” said James. “My school is having a snow sculpture contest, and there are prizes!” “What are you going to make?” Mom asked. “A polar bear.” James grinned. “That will be the perfect animal for this cold, snowy weather.” Each day leading up to the contest, James practiced making bears. At the end of the week, a whole family of snow bears stood in front of the ho...

Read: 1 Timothy 4:11-16 “Why do we have to take Mrs. Anderson to church with us tomorrow?” asked Miriam. “She’s so boring—all she talks about is her cat. I can’t stand her!” “I don’t like her either,” said Miriam’s little brother Brendon. “Me neither!” said Flynn, the youngest. “That’s enough!” said Mom. “That’s not a kind way to talk about an elderly woman who can’t get out on her own.” A while l...

Read: James 3:3-10 “Why didn’t you invite Jase to come camping with us?” Dad asked as he and Thatcher sat beside their campfire. Thatcher looked at his dad. “His mother’s in a mental hospital!” “Yes,” Dad said. “She’s getting the help she needs for her mental health.” “I knew she was in a hospital, but I didn’t know it was that kind of hospital until a guy at school told me,” Thatcher said. “The k...

Read: Isaiah 9:6-7; 53:5-6 Lexie dangled her feet off the bunk bed as her sister got ready for their Christmas program rehearsal. “I’m going to mark my script so I don’t miss any of my lines,” Lexie said. She stuck her pen in her princess purse. “Girls! We need to be at church soon!” Mom stuck her head in the door. “What? You’re not even dressed? We should have left already!” Anna poked her head o...

Read: John 3:14-21 “It’s so pretty!” said five-year-old Julia as she stood at the rope barricade and stared in wonder at the shiny balls, glittering stars, and sparkling snow on a Christmas tree at the mall. “Is the snow on the Christmas tree real?” “No,” said Julia’s older sister, Dakota. “It comes in a spray can, and you just spray it on.” “It looks so real,” said Julia, disappointed. “Who are a...

Read: Matthew 2:1-12 “Mrs. Chavez read us a short story today called ‘The Gift of the Magi,’” Jenna announced at dinner. “By O. Henry! I love that story,” exclaimed her mother. “It’s about a young couple who were really, really poor,” Jenna told her older brother, Damon. “They really wanted to buy each other a special Christmas present, but the only valuable thing the guy owned was a gold watch, a...

Read: Psalm 139:14-18 When Emmalyn got home from school, she went straight to her room, flopped face-first on her bed, and began to cry. Soon there was a knock at her door. “Emmalyn, it’s Mom. Can I come in?” Emmalyn managed to let out a muffled yes, and Mom came in and sat down on the bed. “What’s wrong?” Mom asked. Emmalyn sniffled. “Judson noticed that I’m the only one with red hair in our clas...

Read: Romans 12:3-10 “It’s my idea! I should wrap all the presents!” Libby cried. “But you’re not good at wrapping,” Hattie answered. “It’s a class project to raise money for missionaries our church supports. We are going to work together ,” Miss Coretta intervened. When Miss Coretta had asked their class for ideas to help support missionaries, Libby shared her plan: wrapping Christmas presents at...

Read: John 13:3-10; 1 John 1:5-9 “Hudson!” Mom’s voice startled him as he stepped into the kitchen. “Look at your shoes!” Hudson looked down at his feet and then at the trail of mud behind him. “How did your shoes get so dirty?” Mom asked. Hudson shrugged. “I was just outside.” “Well, please go back outside and clean off your shoes.” A few minutes later, Hudson came back, and he and Mom wiped up t...

Read: Matthew 2:9-11 The Ravens were up by one in the championship game of the winter league basketball tournament when the scoreboard buzzed. The game was over! All the guys huddled around their star player, Bryson Phillips, who scored 28 of their 62 points. On the car ride home, Bryson couldn’t stop looking at his Most Valuable Player trophy. “This is the best day of my life!” he told his dad. S...

Read: Matthew 13:18-23 When Penelope got home from school, she found Grandpa on his knees in the garden. “What are you doing?” she asked. “Planting vegetables,” replied Grandpa. He grinned. “Aren’t you glad we live in a climate where we can grow things all year round? Nothing tastes better than vegetables fresh from the garden.” “But didn’t you plant stuff in those same rows last week?” asked Pene...

Read: Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-3 “Grandpa’s going to like that birdhouse you’re making for him, Tomás,” said Dad. “It looks great—but I see it’s not quite like the one pictured in your woodworking manual.” “No,” replied Tomás. “I left the perch off and made the hole smaller. This way, starlings won’t move in before the songbirds get a chance.” “Good thinking!” said Dad. “That reminds me of the model...

Read: Luke 1:11-19, 26-38; John 20:24-29 Yamen set his pencil down with a sigh. “I can’t concentrate on schoolwork, Mom. All these doubts keep filling my mind.” Mom plopped down next to Yamen. “Like what?” “Like…stuff they taught us in science class when I was going to school last year. They made it sound like we’re just here by chance instead of being created by God. I’ve trusted Jesus as my Savi...

Read: Romans 5:15-17 “Melanie says it doesn’t make sense that Christians give each other presents at Christmas,” Andrew told Mom on the way home from school. “She says we just use Jesus’s birthday as an excuse to be greedy like everybody else. Is she right? What makes us different from people who celebrate Christmas but don’t believe in Jesus?” “Well, tell me this,” said Mom. “Who was Jesus?” Andr...

Read: Psalm 119:162-168 “What’s all that material for, Mom?” Serenity asked when she and Charis got home from school. “And what are these little frame things?” “Your grandma needs some hot pads, so I thought maybe you and Charis could make some for her birthday,” Mom replied. “These ‘frame things’ are little hand looms. I’ll show you how to make hot pads with these strips of material.” “Oh, I know...

Read: Psalms 51:7-10; 103:8-14 “Miles, look! It snowed last night!” Talia called to her brother as she looked out the window. “It’s so gorgeous—all clean and white and sparkly! I just love it, don’t you?” “Oh, yes! It’s sooo beee-yew-tiful!” Miles clasped his hands in mock delight. “I just adore the snow. I think it’s simply marvelous, and I—” Miles’ teasing was cut short by the napkin his sister...

Read: Matthew 6:5-13 “Let’s pray,” Mom said, closing the Bible she and Travis had been reading. They were having devotions together, just the two of them, because Dad was out of town. “You pray,” said Travis. “Okay?” “Okay,” said Mom, “but don’t you want to talk to God too?” Travis shook his head. “Not today.” Then he squirmed while Mom prayed aloud, wishing she’d hurry up. God already knows every...

Read: Deuteronomy 29:2-6 “And I have led you forty years in the wilderness,” Charlotte read aloud from her dad’s Bible. “Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet.” Charlotte looked up. “Those must have been some sandals! My favorite ones only lasted one summer.” “You could have worn them longer,” said Everett. “You just wanted new ones.” “The main poin...

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 of the games was slightly open. One of the arcade employees had opened it to...

Read: Matthew 5:14-16 “What are you doing, Dad?” asked Elijah. “Mom and I decided we’d like a window here in this wall, so I’m measuring and marking where I need to cut the hole for it.” Dad carefully drew lines where he planned to cut. “Why do you want a window there?” asked Elijah as he helped Dad with the tape measure. “You want to see the garage next door while you eat?” “The view may not be s...

Read: Acts 10:28, 34-35; Revelation 7:9-10 “What color should I use next in this afghan, Melanie?” Aunt Lizzy asked as she finished knitting with yellow yarn. “Use the purple yarn!” said Melanie. “That’s going to be so pretty when it’s finished. It has so many different colors.” Aunt Lizzy nodded. “Yes, and a lot of different kinds of stitches too.” She began adding the purple yarn. “How’s school...

Read: Proverbs 3:5-8; John 1:9-14 As Peter, Calvin, and Esther waited for their dad after church, they looked out at the parking lot through the stained glass windows near the back of the sanctuary. “I see our car,” said Calvin. “It’s green.” Esther disagreed. “No, it’s not. It’s yellow.” “You’re both wrong,” said Peter. “It’s blue.” Just then, Dad walked up. “What’s going on?” he asked. “We’re ta...

Read: John 15:12-15; 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 “Mom, it’s going to be so great having Piper live right across the street!” Ava said as she got ready to go help her best friend’s family move things into their new house. “Now we can sit together on the school bus and go to each other’s houses all the time. And pizza is her favorite food, just like mine!” Mom smiled as she took a pizza out of the oven. “I...