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

Read: Psalm 119:9-16 Sally shivered as she sat on the park bench. The weather was getting cold. Soon there would be snow, and Grandma wouldn’t want to come to the park once the sidewalks were slippery. Sally reached into the bag Grandma had brought and pulled out another nut. The squirrels around her sat on their hind legs, waiting. “Looks like they’re getting ready for winter too,” Grandma said....

Read: Psalm 65:1-8; Philippians 2:5-8 “Mittens, you’re driving me crazy!” Li said as she stepped over her cat. “What’s Mittens doing?” Mom asked. “Nothing, but I always have to step over him. I’ve actually stepped on his tail lots of times,” Li said. “I don’t do it on purpose, but he always gets under my feet. Why does he just sit in the middle of the floor where we’re trying to walk?” “I guess he...

Read: Matthew 18:12-14 “Zeke!” called Layla. “There’s a storm coming. We need to get the chickens in!” Zeke followed his sister outside. “Do you think chickens are like sheep?” he asked. Layla stared at Zeke as she opened the gate to the chicken coop. “What? No, chickens are different. They have feathers.” “Jesus talks a lot about sheep in the Bible,” said Zeke. “Do you think Jesus likes sheep mor...

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 it had cracked above one of the wings. Filled with anger, Jonah cursed and flung the plane against th...

Read: John 1:14-18; 8:4-11 Tessie sighed. Time for performing the skit that she and her friends had prepared was running out. Still Candace did not show up. “Where is she?” Tessie whispered to Gus, another student in the group hoping to perform at the homeschool talent show that evening. Gus shrugged. “We worked on this for so long—I don’t think she would miss it without telling us. Something must...

Read: Luke 21:1-4; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 “What’s wrong?” Dad asked Sylvie after junior youth group. “Did something happen at your meeting?” Sylvie sat down at the table where Dad was cutting vegetables. “It’s Melissa again.” The two girls had known each other for years, but they were not friends. “I got there five minutes late,” Sylvie said. “The only empty chair was in the front row by Melissa. It...

Read: Matthew 7:7-11 “Hey, wait up!” Jordyn grabbed her foot and looked at the bottom of her shoe. “Look—the sole of my shoe almost ripped right off!” She glanced around with a red face. “How embarrassing. Right in the middle of the store!” “Let me look at it,” Mom said. “How did that even happen?” “Well, I knew they were starting to fall apart, but I didn’t know it was this bad.” Mom smiled. “You...

Read: Romans 12:4-8 BLATT! BLATT! BLATT! Brayden was sitting in front of the music stand with his trombone, moving the slide, when Dad walked in holding a baseball and glove. “Hey, Brayden,” Dad said. “How about taking a break to play catch?” In the backyard Dad threw easy tosses to Brayden, who then threw them back. “How’s the trombone going?” Dad asked. Brayden shrugged. “Okay, I guess.” “What d...

Read: Isaiah 11:6-9; Romans 8:19-22 Aaliyah rushed outside to see why Grandpa’s dog was barking so loudly. She found Otis jumping up and down, trying to reach a squirrel up in a tree. “I think that squirrel is scolding you, Otis,” she said as the squirrel chattered loudly. She laughed and pulled the dog away. Looking around for Grandpa, Aaliyah headed for the toolshed and saw her cat hiding in the...

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 the sock from Eden’s sweater. “That’s caused by static electricity. It makes things s...

Read: James 1:17 Parker put down his fork and sighed. “Thanks for dinner, Mom. It was great!” Mom smiled. “Well, thank you, Parker. I know lasagna is your favorite, but you seem to have enjoyed it more than usual.” “Yeah, but it wasn’t just the lasagna. This whole day has been great!” Parker sat back and clasped his fingers behind his head. “The weather was perfect—not too cold and not too hot. An...

Read: Romans 12:17-21; Colossians 3:12-14 Alaina ran all the way home from the park and came into the kitchen out of breath. She poured a huge glass of cold water and gulped it down. A few minutes later, her sister walked in. “Why didn’t you wait for me?” Hailey asked. Alaina shrugged. “I saw you talking with Blake, so I decided to go for a run.” Hailey sighed. “Are you still mad at him for what h...

Read: Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 8:28-29 “What do you want first, the bad news or the good news?” Mom asked when Morgan got home from school. “The bad news, I guess.” Morgan knew that when Mom played bad news/good news, the news was never terribly bad. “Dad’s job is now transferring to Dalton instead of Briggs,” Mom said. “Dalton? But we already found a nice house in Briggs!” Morgan sighed. “What’s the...

Read: Psalm 51:10-17; Ezekiel 36:26-27 Aunt Dee must be here! Qian thought when he saw a blue mini van parked in their driveway. Maybe she brought Grandma home from the hospital—the doctor said she might come home today. Grandma had been very sick, but she’d had an amazing operation. She’d been given a heart transplant—her diseased heart was removed and a different one was put inside her body. Now...

Read: Hebrews 11:1-3; 1 John 5:4-5 “Look out!” said Benjamin as his sister stumbled over a chair. “You must be blind as a bat if you didn’t see that chair, Eliza!” Eliza huffed as she righted the chair. “Bats aren’t blind!” she said. “Yes, they are,” said Benjamin. “They find their way around by listening to sound waves instead of by seeing things with their eyes.” “Yes, but they can see,” said El...

Read: 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 “We can make applesauce, apple dumplings, apple strudel, apple pies, apple butter…” Hannah’s voice trailed off as she lugged a basket of apples into the kitchen. “Sounds like you’ve got big plans for all these apples we picked,” said Aunt Maria. She took some of the apples from Hannah’s basket. “We’ll make a batch or two of applesauce and freeze some of it. Would you like...

Read: 2 Timothy 3:14-17 “This isn’t working!” said Lucas. “Josiah is really good at math, and today he showed me how to do these math problems, but I still can’t figure them out.” Mom walked to the table where Lucas was doing his homework. “Doesn’t your textbook tell you how to do them? Let’s take a look at it to make sure Josiah gave you the right information.” “Okay,” said Lucas. He opened the b...

Read: 1 Peter 1:17-21 “Oh no!” said Mei. “I won’t be able to mail this birthday card to Grandma until Monday.” “Why not?” asked Mei’s little sister, Anya. “The mailman hasn’t come yet. I’ll go put it in the mailbox for you.” Mei shook her head. “We’re out of stamps. Without a stamp on the envelope, this won’t go anywhere.” Anya looked thoughtful for a moment and then bounded off to her bedroom. Sh...

Read: Ephesians 4:31-32; Colossians 3:12-13 Aaron and his mom sat on the floor with one of his dresser drawers beside them. “I want to keep that!” Aaron said as Mom tossed a worn-out toy into a trash bag. Mom was helping him clean out his drawers, and she kept wanting to throw things away. “Why keep all this junk?” Mom asked. “It doesn’t leave any room for all the good things you have.” “It’s not...

Read: James 3:5-10 Milo looked up as his little sister limped into the kitchen. “What’s wrong?” “I need new shoes!” Presley said. She lifted her right foot. “This one hurts me!” Milo smirked. “Because you don’t know how to put shoes on right. You probably have them on the wrong feet.” He laughed. “You’re such a baby!” Presley crossed her arms. “I’m six years old. I know which shoe goes on which fo...

Read: Matthew 5:10-12, 44; 1 Peter 4:14-16 “I had a terrible day,” Chase told his friends Thomas and Joel. “The guys in gym class laughed at me because I told them to stop making fun of this kid who goes to my church. Then they started making fun of me instead,” he said as his mom set a plate of carrots and dip on the table. “My day wasn’t so great either,” said Joel. “A girl in my class offered t...

READ: Romans 10:9-13; Galatians 3:28 “Oh, look, Mom!” Alyssa picked up a pair of gloves in the store. “These would match my new winter jacket perfectly! But I doubt they’ll have my size—they haven’t had my size in anything else I wanted today.” Alyssa and her mother were having a rather unsuccessful shopping trip. “Well, let’s have a look,” said Mom. “We might be able to order your size online if...

Read: Psalm 34:18; Matthew 28:20 Maya watched the windshield wipers sweep away the raindrops as she brushed away her tears. The autumn sky was gray as they drove home from her grandma’s funeral. “Why did God let Grandma die, Mom?” Maya asked. Mom turned around, and Dad looked at her in the rearview mirror with sad eyes. “Cancer kills a lot of people, Maya,” said Mom. “Grandma loved Jesus and had a...

Read: Psalm 29 Adrian dragged his toe in the dirt as the swing went back and forth, back and forth. He was hardly swinging at all. “Isn’t swinging supposed to put a smile on your face?” Adrian looked up and cracked a grin. It was his neighbor, Mr. Snyder. “I saw you sitting here as I walked by and noticed you seem a bit down,” Mr. Snyder said as he took a vacant swing. “What’s nagging at you?” “Ju...

READ: 1 John 4:7-11 “I know the Bible says God loves everybody, but I don’t really see how He could love Gianna,” Quinn told her older sister as they raked leaves in the backyard. “Is she that girl in your class who cuts in the cafeteria line?” Tori asked as she filled a large bag with leaves. “Yes,” said Quinn. “And cheats and steals and says mean things about people.” Tori was about to respond w...