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

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 others, but still… Mom returned from blowing her nose. “All right, Max, have...

Read: 1 Timothy 4:6-8, 15-16 As Marco walked home from school, he heard a familiar voice calling his name. Turning, he saw his Sunday school teacher. “Hi, Mr. Yoon!” exclaimed Marco, running to meet him. “What are you doing on this street?” “I just came from Jack Myers’ house. He and his parents visited our church last week, and I offered to look at a problem they’re having with their garage door....

Read: Isaiah 41:8-16 “Mom, this game is impossible,” Heidi complained as she glared at the computer screen. Mom looked over, then laughed. “I played that when I was younger, and you’re right, it’s very hard. That’s how life was for the people who took the Oregon Trail out west over a hundred years ago.” Heidi frowned. “Really? They had to leave food behind and kept getting holes in their wagon? An...

Read: Psalm 119:9-16 Dad’s voice drifted around the corner of the house. “Forty-seven, forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty! Ready or not, here I come!” Alexei scrunched sideways into the small opening under the porch and pulled his knees up to his chest. “No!” he said as his little sister tried to wriggle in with him. “Go away! There’s not enough room here, and if Dad sees you, he’ll find me too. Go fi...

Read: Matthew 6:31-33; Philippians 4:4-7 “Hi, Mom,” said Leilana. “Did your dentist find any cavities?” Mom shook her head. “Not one,” she said with a sigh. “There wasn’t anything wrong, but I still have a pretty big bill to pay.” Leilana laughed. “You sound like you’d be happier if you had a mouthful of rotten teeth so you could feel better about paying the bill. Are you worried about paying it?”...

Read: Proverbs 15:13-17 “Guess what happened at Grandma and Grandpa’s,” Taylor said, giggling. She and her brother Elliot had just gotten home after spending the weekend with their grandparents. “Grandma had orange juice in a plastic pitcher, and when she picked it up—” Taylor could no longer talk because she was laughing too hard, so Elliot finished the story. “The handle of the pitcher broke off...

Read: John 6:5-13; Colossians 3:23-24 “I wish I could help!” Lana said as she watched her older brother and sister get ready for the high school service project. They were going to pass out food at the church’s Thanksgiving food drive. “You did help,” Mom told Lana. “You took cans of food to your Sunday school class—cans you bought yourself by doing extra chores around the house.” Lana frowned. “T...

Read: Ephesians 4:30-32; 1 John 1:9 Mia loved playing foursquare. Every day at recess, she was first to grab the big rubber ball and station herself inside the “king” square of the painted foursquare grid. Thwump! The ball ricocheted out of Tatiana’s square and rolled into the bushes. “You’re out!” called Mia gleefully. “And I’m still in.” Tatiana exited the square. Womp! The ball bounced into Jon...

Read: Romans 3:21-28 “I have a surprise for you today!” Mom said as Carmen walked into the kitchen. “What, Mom?” Carmen sat down to a bowl of cereal. “I know about my birthday dinner tonight with Grandma and Papa. That’s not a surprise.” “This one’s different. I’ll tell you when you get home from school. Hurry with your breakfast so I can walk you to your bus stop on my way to work.” All day Carme...

Read: Psalm 37:23-28 Weston shuffled through the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. “Wow, I’ve never tried to do a puzzle with so many pieces before!” “I know it looks hard, but I’m sure you can do it,” said Mom. “Want some help? I could turn the pieces right side up for you.” “Okay,” Weston said. “I’ll work on the barn.” He started to sift through the jumbled pile, looking for red pieces. “Weston, do you...

Read: Colossians 3:14-17 “What do you think of this one?” Sofie asked her older sister. Kara was helping her choose an outfit to wear for her school pictures the next day. “Why don’t you pick something simpler?” Kara suggested. “Remember, Mom said you have to pick clothes without too bold of a pattern so they will look good in the picture.” Sofie slid the shirt on the hanger and hung it back up in...

Read: Matthew 6:9-15 “Kayla, could you please pass the corn?” Nate asked. As Kayla picked up the bowl of corn with one hand, she accidentally spilled it all over the table. “Aw, man,” said Nate. “I was really looking forward to some corn!” “I’m sorry, Nate!” Kayla said. “I didn’t mean to spill it—it was an accident!” “I know, Kayla,” Nate replied as he helped her clean up the spilled corn. “I’ve s...

Read: Romans 5:17; Ephesians 1:7-10 “Hurray, we’re getting burritos! We’re getting burritos!” Keira skipped gleefully as she and her mom and older sister, Addi, walked into their favorite Mexican restaurant and got in line. They’d been running errands all morning, and Keira had been in a bad mood and had started several arguments with her sister, so she was surprised when Mom offered to get them b...

Read: Ephesians 6:10-18 Callie sat at the edge of her bed and put on a pair of white socks. Then she looked up and saw her brother Jackson standing in her doorway wearing one black sock and one white sock. Callie laughed. “Your socks don’t match,” she said. Jackson looked down at his outfit. “They do too. The black one matches my black jeans and the white one matches my white t-shirt.” Jackson smi...

Read: Matthew 7:7-11 Keaton watched a frog as it hopped around the yard. When it stopped, it blended in with the grass. If Keaton looked away, he had a hard time finding it until it started hopping again. When Dad got home, he joined Keaton on the porch. “Hey, Keaton. How was your day?” Keaton shrugged. “I just spent the last half-hour playing hide-and-go-seek with a frog.” He sighed. “Not that he...

Read: Psalm 51:7; Philippians 2:1-11 “I’m glad I’m not like Rachel,” Mackenna said as she gazed at the falling snow through the car window. “What do you mean?” Mom asked with a slight frown. “Well, Rachel is kinda—oh, I don’t know—stuck on herself a bit. Whenever we talk, she does most of the talking, and it’s usually about all the things she’s good at.” Mackenna rolled her eyes. “What an ego!” “R...

Read: Matthew 5:23-24; Romans 12:18; 1 John 1:9 “Jia’s mad at me,” Lara told her mother as they drove down a country road toward town. “When she got an A on our spelling test and I got a C, I—well, I said she must have cheated. I know I shouldn’t have said that.” “Why don’t you text her and apologize?” suggested Mom. “Okay, I will, but not right now,” Lara said. “I’ll wait until she’s in a better...

Read: Isaiah 53:4-5; Matthew 10:29–31; Hebrews 4:16 As soon as Carolina wiped away one tear, another lousy one slid down. She grew tired of crying over her sinus issues because it only made her throbbing head worse. She sniffled. “I don’t understand how Jesus promises to wipe away every tear. That sounds exhausting!” G-ma kissed Carolina’s forehead. “Darling, crying is okay, especially when we cry...

Read: Psalm 150 “What’s all the racket about?” Mom came out of her office and stood in the doorway of the living room. “You two have done nothing but fight and complain all afternoon.” Asher and Olivia glared at each other silently. “Praise the Lord!” Mom suddenly shouted. Asher and Olivia jumped in surprise. Mom smiled as the kids looked at her curiously. “You were yelling and complaining in loud...

Read: Galatians 5:22-25 The pocket of Octavia’s red sweater bulged. She didn’t want Miss Allen to notice, so she quickly slipped into her seat. She removed a big orange from her pocket and hid it behind the box of crayons in her desk. The morning dragged by. Usually Octavia liked reading class, but not today. She couldn’t keep her mind on the story. A classmate—Ford—had agreed to give the signal f...

Read: Matthew 6:25-34 “This state park is really nice, isn’t it?” Dad said as he and Henry walked along a wooded path. “Huh? Oh, yeah,” Henry mumbled in response. But he hadn’t really noticed—he’d been too busy wondering if Dad would be able to find a new job. The place where his dad worked was going out of business. “Dad, what if we run out of money for food and stuff?” Dad was about to answer, b...

Read: Luke 8:26-36 FLASH! Lightning ripped across the black sky. Instantly every street light went out. “Whoa,” Luke said. “Talk about a spooky night! It looks like a ghost town out there.” Beth peeked out from under her covers. “Don’t say the word ghost.” Mom came into their bedroom with a flashlight. “Hey, Mom.” Luke put bed covers over his head to look like a ghost. “Tell us a ghost story.” “On...

Read: Philippians 4:6-7; Hebrews 13:8; 1 Peter 5:7 Tears fell down Leah’s cheeks as she and her parents drove past their old house in the country to see what it looked like now. They had moved to the city to be closer to her dad’s work, but Leah had loved living in the country and really missed her old house. She wished they could have stayed. Leah’s old house looked so different now. The bushes h...

Read: 2 Corinthians 8:8-12 Emma tiptoed into her house. The wind howled at her back, and she pulled her scarf tight against her neck. If only she had her coat. Slowly, she closed the door until it clicked shut. The last thing she wanted was for her mother to see her like this. She sighed. It was nice to finally be in her warm living room. “Emma?” Uh-oh. She cringed as she turned to her mother and...

Read: 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 Hunter peered ahead through the fog that surrounded them. “Hey, Dad!” he said as he and his father approached the large city they were visiting. “Look!” He pointed toward the distant city skyline that was almost completely hidden by the fog. “You can hardly see those huge buildings today.” “Keep watching them,” Dad said. “As we get closer, the fog will seem to disappear...